Disclaimer-Sadly, I don't any of the rights to the DC universe, just to my thoughts.
Your reviews make me giddy. XD They're the best food for writing. And kudos to those that figured out that the chapter names were lyrics to 'This is War' by 30 Seconds to Mars.
Warnings-Contains blood, slight torture, and mild language. I think the teen warning should cover the story.
9:59 P.M.
All of the heroes that were affiliated with the Team were gathered in the Watchtower. Everyone stood in front of the screen as Batman powered the computer up. As soon as it was up and running, the video appeared. He didn't hesitate to start the playback.
It started with a view of the seven captured teenagers who all simply looked bored, tapping their fingers on the ground. It turned to Artemis, who had much the same bored look, even tapping her fingers. But the heroes noticed how pale she was and all the blood… The camera panned back to the seven others, Zatanna still out. She'd probably stay that way until they were rescued.
Nonetheless, the teens looked bored, sitting against the cell's back wall. Someone with a gun stepped into the picture, everyone tensing, on Earth and in space. The teens stopped tapping. Words scrolled on the screen.
We won't hesitate to shoot if we don't get what we want.
They shot the wall right next to Miss Martian's head, missing her by an inch. She squeaked and Manhunter's fists clenched. Everyone was wondering the same thing.
What did they want?
In answer to their question, words scrolled along the bottom of the screen.
Send $50 million to this address. Then leave. We will know if you don't and we won't come out if you do. Leave it under the third bench on the right side. Do it by midnight tonight.
Following the message came the address of the Central Gotham Park.
The sound of faint coughing came through the video. The camera moved to show Artemis's cell again. The archer was coughing out blood to the side. Most of the League members flinched. That explained the blood splatters surrounding her. Green Arrow and Batman's fists clenched.
One of the guards shot into her cell. The bullet barely missed, even less then Miss Martian. She froze, staring at the bullet embedded in the wall next to her, breath caught in her throat. She didn't make a sound but felt all eyes on her.
Everyone heard the next shots before they saw them. Then, a simultaneous intake of breath from the video and two hisses. The camera was still focused on Artemis, where they could see her eyes hut in pain and her right hand clutch her thigh. Blood made its way through her fingers.
Four hours for her at maximum.
They knew the words were true as the camera panned to the other cell. Wally was clutching his shoulder, blood seeping through his fingers, too. The rest of the teens were torn between looking at him and at Artemis, though most went with glaring at the guards. Flash's fist pounded against the hardware of the computer, though no one could blame him. Words scrolled again along the bottom of the screen.
Everyone hour you wait, someone else gets shot.
Batman thought for a moment before the video cut out. Surely they would try to send a message, not just look bored tapping their-
"Of course!" Batman muttered to himself, Clark being the only one who could actually hear it. He rewound the video and zoomed in to their fingers before starting the playback again.
"What are-" Green Arrow was cut off by Bats himself.
"Look, their fingers tap in a pattern." Everyone realized it was true. "Now, what is the pattern?" Everyone was quiet for a moment; Dinah even pulled out her cell phone.
"That's it!" She shouted, smiling. Everyone turned to her expectantly. "They're tapping out the numbers on a keypad. The left thumb represents the one, index two, and the right hand represents the other digits. Play the video again." Batman did as she said and she watched carefully. She started to tap on her phone. "Metro. S.T.A.R. Labs. Abandoned. Near Daily Planet." She smiled triumphantly, showing the screen around. She had used the T9 setting like she would to send a text message.
"Alright, so who's going to Metropolis?" Batman turned to the heroes. Of course, he already knew what the answer would be. Seeing the teenagers like this would convince anyone of what to do. With the warning of the shootings, they would need to hurry.
"Isn't it obvious?" Superman asked. "We're all going." The others nodded to Batman, who nodded in return, Flash and Green Arrow looking the most determined, though Black Canary wasn't far behind. She always felt responsible for the teens, ever since she'd taken over training. Speaking of which, she would make sure that they had extra training sessions. She knew Batman would have the same idea.
"Then we need to get going." 'Artemis won't last long.' Batman thought and everyone moved towards the hanger. They would take the Zeta tubes but it would be harder to get everyone back like that. Once everyone else had left the room, Superman put a hand on his best friend's shoulder. Batman turned to give a glare, the hand being immediately removed.
"We'll find them, don't worry." Clark said but Bruce only shook his head.
"I know. That's not what I'm worried about. They seven of them will be fine when we get there." Bruce replied, starting to move towards the hanger.
Clark knew what he meant. He was worried about Artemis. He knew Bruce wasn't very good at expressing emotions but he could tell. Well, that, and the fact that he said seven and there were eight teenagers there. Bruce was worried about Artemis, but only Clark could see that. He and Dick were probably the only people in the world besides Alfred that could tell his emotions.
The two of them joined the others in the hanger. Five minutes later, the Javelin was zooming out from the hanger towards Earth.