7
The Minds Of Men
It was a normal day for the manager of Hub City National Bank, Melvin Tortilla. A short, stocky man, he always led a normal existence, and despite his rank within his workplace, he was usually seen as a normal man.
It was the beginning of the morning. The bank had just opened, and the first few people were beginning to enter. Melvin Tortilla sat behind his desk and began to do the usual paperwork that was expected of him. That was when he had another headache.
Melvin had been having these headaches for quite a while now. He had gone to the doctor, but no cause for them was ever found. Melvin led a normal, happy life that was relatively stress free, and he loved his job. There was no external reason for him to feel sharp headaches. The only other solution was that there was a problem with the brain itself – a fact that had terrified him and his family. But as luck would have it, his brain was fine. There were no tumors and no invasive parasites within it.
The normal man bent over his desk, hoping to cope with the pain until it went away, like it always did. But it was taking too long. Not only that, but the pain was getting worse, and then he heard it; a coarse voice bellowing at him.
"YOU FILTHY ANIMAL! DO IT! DO IT! DO IT!" it yelled out at him. Melvin looked around and to his horror, found no one there. With his hands shaking, he took out his gun, a present from his wife to deal with supervillains. He began waving it around, aiming it at empty air.
"DO IT! DO IT! DOIT! DO IT!" the voice began to yell, and he lost all control of himself, even of his thoughts.
Melvin rushed out of his office and into the large atrium in which most of the transactions were done. The tellers and security guards looked at Melvin in surprise. Rarely did he come out at this time, unless a client asked to see him.
A security guard approached Melvin, and quickly noticed the gun, and the wretched expression on his face.
"Mr. Tortilla? Are you alright?" the guard asked in a soothing tone of voice.
Suddenly, Melvin shoved the guard to the ground with a surprising amount of strength. He held up his gun, and shot three times at the ceiling.
"Everyone put your hands up! This is a hiccup!" he said to the stunned workers and clientele. Suddenly, the entire atrium was filled with smoke. Confused, Melvin looked around, still waving his gun in any direction.
And then the man appeared – the man with no face. Melvin tried to shoot at him, but the man was too close. Melvin was disarmed easily; he was knocked out by a single punch to the chin.
The faceless man looked at the fallen bank manager as the smoke began to dissipate.
"A normal, honest bank manager behaving like a common thug? Something foul is afoot" he said, before leaving the bank altogether.
The television was on, and what it was showing was foreboding. Good old G. Gordon Godfrey was on, once again spewing out his spiel. He was prancing about the stage of his studio, waving his arms dramatically.
"Well ladies and gentlemen, for once I would like to present you all with good news, start the show on a good note. Of course, the world, being as it is, overrun with superpowered bullies who pass off as heroes, does not allow me to do that. Last night, this used to be a factory in which peanut butter was made, processed and bottled" there was an image of a factory behind Godfrey "Well guess what, your little children won't have yummy peanut butter in their sandwiches today, because last night, the masked vigilante called Arsenal burned it down, claiming that it was filled with a new drug called Metaplex. Of course, no such drug was found, if it even exists. I think it's all a scam made up by these so-called 'heroes' to give them excuses to wantonly burn things down. What is worse is the example that the juvenile superheroes give to our young" Godfrey began to walk to his right, and the camera followed, showing a group of teenagers "These youngsters here are the more recent victims of the misdeeds of the junior members of the League. Horribly misguided by their wretched example, these youngsters pumped themselves with drugs and other unspeakable abominations and attacked me, thinking that they'd do the world a favor, when in truth, they were serving a greater evil. Fortunately, these youngsters have been saved and redeemed by my own efforts and by the efforts of men such as Lex Luthor, who will not rest until the evils of such juvenile delinquents like Arsenal and that despicable spider…"
The television was suddenly turned off. Arsenal, the vigilante mentioned, hurled the remote control away in anger. Peter looked up from his books, wondering what had just happened.
"Godfrey is a lying rat! He's now stooped to a new low. He knows that Metaplex exists and I found plenty of them in that factory!"
It was then that Peter noticed that the recreation room had people in it. Kid Flash was sitting on the couch, munching on Chicken Wizzies, and then dumping the contents of the bag it into his open maw. Kaldur'ahm was standing in the middle of the room, with his arms crossed over his chest.
"There is no need to act so violently. We all know how low that man can get" Kaldur said, trying to calm the archer down.
"Then why watch his show at all?" Arsenal asked, opening his arms in a gesture of disgust.
Kaldur place his hand on Arsenal's shoulder. "Because, we must know every nasty little thing that is being said about us. How are we to respond to our critics otherwise?"
"Did you really have to burn that place down?" Kid Flash asked.
"Yes I did!" Arsenal looked around and spotted Peter with his books "Who's the new guy?"
"That is Spider-Man. Spider-Man, meet Arsenal"
Peter got up and shook Arsenal's mechanic hand.
Arsenal looked at Peter from head to toe "Well, you certainly look like a spider"
"Yes I do. But you don't look like an arsenal. Why did you choose that name?" Peter asked.
"Because I'm not just an archer, I'm an arsenal of weapons. I think that's obvious" he said as he left the room, tapping his prosthetic arm.
Peter turned to Kaldur. "I'm glad that I didn't say that I thought that Arsenal was a poor choice of a name. In England, Manchester fans could kill him, if I understand my soccer facts correctly and the more obscenely minded might call him Arse-n-hole. So I hope he doesn't go to England with that name." Peter said, returning to his books, sitting on his still warm seat.
"What other name could he have? Red Arrow's already been taken" Kid Flash said.
Peter sat still for a moment. "Hawkeye" he said.
Kaldur looked at Peter with some concern. "Peter, should you be studying this hard for your exam?"
"You're the umpteenth person to ask me that, and the answer is yes. Most of the times, the sciences in our universes match, but in others, it just boggles me what this universe gets away with." He then pointed at Kid Flash "Like you"
"Slow down man, what do you mean?" Kid Flash asked.
"In my universe no physical being could run faster than the speed of light. From what I understand, you have to turn into energy yourself in order to do that. You and your grandfather (and that's something else that boggles me) can run that fast without losing your physical form. To you it's normal. To me, it's weird and breaks every rule I know. And that's why I have to soak up everything I can, so I don't end up being registered as mentally handicapped."
"I think you have understood enough of the scientific principles of this world to not be registered as mentally disabled. You should take a rest. Otherwise, you'll burn out, and then you'll be considered mentally handicapped." Kaldur said.
Peter closed the book he was reading.
"Fine. I'll take a rest. But only because you're asking politely. And an Atlantean being polite is very unexpected" Peter said, getting up.
Kaldur looked at Peter, baffled by his comment "Are the Atlanteans in your universe not courteous?"
"Do you even have Atlanteans?" Kid Flash asked.
"Yes we do have Atlanteans, and so far, they haven't been very nice. Most of them are blue except for Namor, the Sub-Mariner, who's half human and the closest thing to a hero the Atlanteans ever produced; and he started by tossing tourists off of the Statue of Liberty. He nearly destroyed New York if the Human Torch hadn't stopped him – well, the original Human Torch, who wasn't really human at all. He was in fact less human than Namor, if you look at it that way. It's a very long and complicated story that requires me to tell you about Horton cells, but right now, I need to keep that science out, and the science of this universe, in."
Peter turned to leave the recreation room. Kid Flash got up and ran to block his path in under a second.
"Hey, where are you going?" he asked "I thought that we might paint the town red or something"
"I'm sorry, but I can't. I need to go to the holographic training room. Maybe we can do that some other time" Peter said.
"Sure, no problem" Kid Flash said, moving out of Peter's way. The youthful hero from another Earth grabbed a satchel that was in the corner, and he walked out of the recreation room.
By now, Peter was familiar with the corridors within the immense space station. He changed into his suit, and quickly reached the holographic training room – nicknamed the kitchen (although Peter thought that Danger Room was a much better name), walking right in.
Before entering the training room proper, one had to set the programs within the control booth. Spider-Man quickly typed in the settings. Once that was done, he entered the training room.
Beneath his mask, he smiled. It might not have been real, but this holographic mock-up was the closest he would ever get to returning home. He stood within a representation of the New York that he knew so well. High above, Spider-Man could see billboards advertising for J. Jonah Jameson's Now magazine. He could see the Baxter Building, and even that idiot, the Human Torch flying about in stupid loops. Spider-Man could never thank the Martian Manhunter enough for this. If it hadn't been for the Martian's telepathic abilities, copying details directly from Spider-Man's memories into the computer, the young wall-crawler would never have had such a good facsimile.
There was a crash, and Spider-Man saw Doctor Octopus escaping from the police, carrying within one of his metallic tentacles a strange looking device. Spider-Man immediately sprung into action. The holographic Doc Ock tried to catch the web-slinger with his tentacles, but Spider-Man agilely dodged each one of them, eventually coming close enough to punch him in the nose.
Spider-Man's spider-sense alerted him to the pseudo-danger behind him. He leapt up and made a somersault just in time for one of Green Goblin's razor bats to strike the ground he had been standing on.
As Spider-Man was about to aim his web at the Goblin, the glider suddenly exploded as a bolt from a crossbow hit its belly. The Green Goblin was hurled down to the ground, and disappeared.
Spider-Man turned and to his amazement, he saw the girl from the library standing there, holding a pistol-sized crossbow in her hand. Oddly enough, she was wearing Huntress' costume. Or it could have been that Huntress was wearing the girl's head. For a second, as Spider-Man stood there in shock, looking at a girl he never thought he'd see again outside of hallucinations and dreams, he couldn't get it. And then it hit him.
Despite his spider-sense, he had been too stunned to realize that Dr. Octopus was still active, and so, the tentacled scientist had bopped him on the head. Of course, Spider-Man quickly turned, ripped off the holographic arms, and then punched Doc Ock in the face again.
The hologram of one of his most persistent enemies disappeared, and he turned to face Huntress, the girl from the library. He didn't know what to say.
"Hello" he said, waving his hand shyly "Fancy meeting you here, in this chunk of metal floating in space, and wearing a costume"
Huntress smiled "Well, I couldn't come here naked"
Spider-Man was really glad that he had a mask on his face. "No, of course you couldn't. That would be silly. And you're not silly" he leaned against the holographic wall of a holographic building "You're a mystery", he said, concluding.
Huntress rolled her eyes in a strange way of expressing pride. "My name is Helena, by the way"
Spider-Man's mind went back to the books on mythology his Uncle Ben had given him. The Trojan War was fought because of the breathtaking beauty of a woman named Helen. The name was certainly appropriate for the girl standing right in front of him.
"That's a beautiful name. Mine's Peter" Spider-Man said. In the back of his mind, he was well aware that he shouldn't just give out his real name like as if he were tossing out confetti in a ticker tape parade. However, the fact that the Justice League, and everyone else aboard this satellite had already known who he was before he had even met them had somewhat eased his concerns. He was never actually paranoid about his identity, but it had been imperative to keep it secret for Aunt May's sake. But she wasn't here, and this was another Earth in which Peter Parker did not exist. Peter still wondered how the League managed to connect his name to that of Spider-Man. He suspected that Dick Grayson was involved, or perhaps even Bette, but he wasn't certain which. Dick was the likeliest candidate to have leaked out his identity to the League – Peter just wondered what his connection was.
It was also a bit unfair. Everyone in the Watchtower knew his name, but he only knew the true identities of a few. He didn't even know if Superman had a secret identity, although he did behave as if he had one. And Batman was still a mystery.
Peter would have asked, but he didn't feel that he had the right to do so. Thus, he only knew the identities of those who had offered them up to him, like Dr. Ray Palmer, or Kaldur'ahm, or Bart Allen.
Or Helena.
"But for some reason, I think you already knew my name, even then, didn't you?" Peter said.
Helena shrugged.
"I saw you on my dad's computer. Well, I hacked into it, or rather, I trespassed and then I hacked into his computer" she said.
Peter gave Helena a questioning glare. Of course, she couldn't see it on account of his mask, but the body language was clear.
"How was I on your dad's computer?" Spider-Man asked. A sudden notion occurred to him that just seemed outlandish "Who's your dad?"
Helena stood there, suddenly on her tiptoes. She looked around aimlessly, avoiding Spider-Man's lenses.
"He's a very wealthy man" she finally said.
And that got the somewhat irregularly performing cogs in Peter's mind moving along. Why would a wealthy man have data concerning Peter within his computer? The only wealthy man that Peter had met was Bruce Wayne, in Gotham city – and wasn't it odd that a playboy billionaire philanthropist would take an interest in an unknown youth from out of town? He was the only one who knew that Peter Parker existed.
The realization came to him in an explosion of thought.
"Your dad's Bruce Wayne!" Spider-Man exclaimed. And then something else hit him "Your dad's Batman!" Peter knew that there was something fishy about the man "And that makes you Helena Wayne!" the web-slinger than scratched his head "But I've never read or heard anything about you. All of the newspapers and other such media say that Bruce Wayne is a bachelor"
The expression on Helena's face was that of someone trying to explain a complicated matter. "I'm Helena Wayne now, but I wasn't a few days ago. My dad didn't know I existed until a bit recently. My mom has a difficult past with which to deal with. Dad only found out recently. Mom told me about a year ago. I was shocked as well. Of course, she never lied to me. I was always told that my dad was a mysterious knight – and she was right."
"You must have had a lot on your mind" Peter said, as he removed his mask. It was strange taking off his mask like this, in front of Helena, but it seemed proper. Besides, like everyone else, she clearly knew who he was. Keeping the mask on would be stupid.
"I have as much as anyone else" she said shrugging just slightly.
"So, did your dad tell you to come here, or are you here for the free tour of space?" Peter asked.
"There's a free tour? Dammit, I knew that I had been cheated" she said mockingly "but yeah, my rich and creepy daddy got me up here. Apparently I'm too dangerous to be left alone. Mom agreed with it, so I don't see much of a point fighting it. I do get to meet interesting people though. Yesterday I was introduced to Superman, and boy, it's weird how a man can conceal his identity with a pair of glasses"
"WHAT?" Peter said, his eyes so large that they almost seemed to bulge out of their sockets. He stomped the ground so hard that the holographic illusion of New York began to flicker. It all clicked within his mind. The reporter, Clark Kent, who had been sitting next to Bruce Wayne "I was fooled by a pair of glasses? I used to wear glasses, and I still had to wear this mask! Oh good grief! This universe is driving me insane" Peter put his hands on Helena's shoulders and looked at her pleadingly "Please tell me that the glasses are super-scientific devices capable of altering the features of a man within the mind of the person looking at the man"
Helena winced. "I'm sorry. I think they're ordinary glasses."
Peter's shoulders slumped. "I'll continue with my delusion, if you don't mind"
"Okay" Helena said.
Peter put his mask back on. "I need to grab something to eat. Would you be interested in joining your friendly neighborhood wall-crawler for a chili dog in the cafeteria? I have enough money to…" and then Spider-Man began to pat the places where his pockets would be "… pay you absolutely nothing at all. It's a good thing that the food in the cafeteria is free. And it's good too"
Helena held out her arm.
"It's a date then, you very lucky boy"
Lex Luthor sat in silence, watching the news on the television. What was shown was not to his liking. Azraeuz and three other Apokoliptian warriors were tearing Khandaq apart, slaughtering thousands of people. The anchorwoman called them the four riders of the Apocalypse. Luthor didn't like that at all.
The newscast ended with Black Adam engaging the four riders in furious battle. The last image was that of the Khandaq marvel breaking Azraeuz's neck and then ripping his head out. After that, the image became blank.
Luthor took a deep breath and began thinking of solutions to the problem created by Queen Bee's inability to control their Apokoliptian allies.
"This is a problem, don't you agree Luthor?" asked the man standing next to Luthor
"This was to be expected" he said, without even looking at the scarred immortal "We all knew what Darkseid was capable of, and that his people were unstable at the best of times. We must simply show ourselves their betters"
"Yes of course. Still, we must be more prepared than we are now. I'm certain that Queen Bee thought herself to be prepared to deal with those monsters" Vanda Savage said.
"I'm working on a solution" Luthor said.
"You're referring to the MR-16?" Savage asked "Do you have full control of its effects?"
Luthor smiled. Any man would find the smile hard to read. It could be a smile of satisfaction. Or a fake one meant to hide the fears of the man smiling. "New studies have yielded interesting results"
"You sound like a commercial Luthor" Savage grumbled "I hope your affirmation isn't as vapid as the ones on television. This entire incident hasn't just alerted the League – it has cost us a valuable ally" Savage said.
"Black Adam is not dead" Luthor said.
Savage grunted "No, merely sent across the stars by Queen Bee's new toy – a man I know nothing about."
"Queen Bee's paramour does present an interesting question, but he is of little importance in the grand scheme of things" Luthor said. Now he was clearly lying to Savage. This new man in Queen Bee's life did bother him greatly. Every agent Luthor had were employed in the arduous task of digging as much dirt as possible about the mystery man. So far, nothing had been discovered – only garbled incidents which could not be proven conclusively.
Vandal Savage growled.
"Luthor, we both agree that humanity must evolve to a higher state and that the supposed heroes of this world, by defending the weak and helpless, are grinding this progress to a halt. We must however, have an eye on our allies. Find something better than the MR-16."
Spider-Man sat by the window of the bio-ship. He looked at the people with him, and wondered if he had made a serious mistake in accepting the League's offer. He had been lumped up with the younger members, even though the Team and the League were theoretically the same thing. Of course, he could understand why this had happened. He was himself young and they knew it. What was strange was that ever since Uncle Ben had died, Peter never felt very young. He didn't feel like a child. Even less so when he put on his mask. He was Spider-Man, not Spider-Boy – none of his enemies were aware of how young he was. The Green Goblin probably thought that he was in his mid-twenties. But these young superheroes he was with, did seem young despite their experience. Spider-Man wouldn't certainly call Kaldur'ahm a child – as a matter of fact, Aqualad was older by a few years – but Beast Boy, Blue Beetle and Lagoon Boy did seem like kids – in spite of the fact that they were close in years. Kid Flash was hard to read. He was always joking, always hyper-active, but he had been told by Blue Beetle that that was all an act – including the speedster's constant use of the words 'crash' and 'mode'.
As this was her ship, and she was the team leader M'Gann was behind the controls, her hands on two glowing orbs. Spider-Man wondered if she was using her telepathy. Sitting directly in front of him was Beast Boy. On the other side were Static and Huntress. They were team beta, apparently, charged with checking out Hub City, which Kid Flash immediately classified as a dump. While team Alpha, made up of Kaldur, Batgirl, Blue Beetle, Superboy, Kid Flash and Wondergirl checked out the arctic, in search of several remains of the Reach, team beta was out investigating the odd behavior of the citizens of Hub City – which Kid Flash had classified as a dump. Maybe there was no paranormal explanation needed – dumps breed weirdoes. It was a known fact. But then, New York had a plethora of supervillains, while New Jersey was unscathed. Spider-Man's ego had been shaken by the fact that he was on the beta team, and not the Alpha one. It was something that he would have to deal with.
"Are you okay?" M'Gann asked, suddenly.
Spider-Man wasn't even aware that she was talking to him until Beast Boy said, "She was talking to you dude"
"I'm sorry. I'm fine. This situation is weird for me. I'm in a spaceship with a bunch of superpowered kids fighting crime in a city I know nothing about. I'm getting overwhelmed" Spider-Man said.
"Nightwing would probably say whelmed" Huntress commented.
"What does that mean anyway?" Static asked raising his hand.
"To cover up. The word whelm is from the Middle English whelmen which meant to capsize, turn over, and bring to ruin. It's such an unusual word nowadays, I don't know why Nightwing keeps using it" Huntress said.
"He's just like that. I think he likes the wordplay" M'Gann said.
Curiously enough, it was Beast Boy, who Spider-Man thought had the shortest attention span, who got things back on track.
"Aren't you a superpowered kid fighting crime?" the green boy asked.
"You should tell that to the jokers that are always trying to kill me" Spider-Man said "But this" he said, raising his hands towards the ceiling of the ship "Seems unusual to me. When I'm out there, fighting the good fight, I don't feel like a kid, or even extraordinary, although at times, I love being stronger and faster than the guys trying to stick a knife in my back, and I love swinging on my webs. Despite that, everything seems normal to me, not a reenactment of latest episode of Star Trek, and in a strange way, I feel mundane. And now I feel weird, like I'm in a show I shouldn't be in. It's unsettling to say the least."
"You feel like a cowboy in a caveman movie, is that what you're trying to say?" Static asked.
That wasn't quite it. He couldn't tell them that at times he saw them all as kids and not as capable superheroes that were mostly of his age. He noticed the Huntress gazing at him with piercing blue eyes. He was glad that he had his mask on.
"Peter, this is a new world for you. The rules by which you lived by in your home might not apply. Believe me, I know what that's like" M'Gann said "It will pass, you'll see."
"Besides, isn't it good to be in a spaceship?" Huntress asked.
"Well, I've been in the Fantasticar" Spider-Man said. Everyone just looked at him, clueless.
"It was nice, at the time" the web-slinger assured them.
Soon, they were flying above Hub City, and Spider-Man could see that what had been said about it was absolutely true. Seen from above, it looked like a dark dump a mockery of what New York was. Indeed, the brightest streets the wall-crawler could see made Gotham's darkest alleys seem safe in comparison. It was as if a man disciple of Ayn Rand had designed the city to assure that people lived in the proper, might is right way.
The bio-ship began to slow down over what seemed like a park, if it the trees weren't all dried up and dead, and the grass withered away. Slowly, the alien vessel made its descent. Spider-Man was surprised that the ship wasn't being mobbed.
"The people in this city must be jaded to not care about an alien ship landing in this barren lot" the wall-crawler said.
"He doesn't know!" Beast Boy said jokingly.
"Know what? Am I in a wiener ship now?"
"The ship is cloaked right now. I forgot to tell you guys. Sorry." M'Gann said turning her head from Spider-Man to Huntress.
"Well, that should solve some problems" Huntress said "Like being able to sniff out a trap before we fall into it"
"You don't think the bat's intel isn't good?" Static asked
"It's pretty good, but why would the mayor of Hub City ask us to solve their current problem? Don't they have a police force? Don't they have their own superhero?" Huntress said
"You mean that faceless guy?" Static asked.
"I'm sure that the mayor has her own reasons not to ask help from the Question. I'll ask her, but in the meantime, we do our jobs" Miss Martian said.
Spider-Man had to agree on some level with Huntress, and not just because she was a pretty face. He remembered the debriefing shortly before this mission. Kaldur had told them all that the mayor of Hub City had requested the League's help in investigating the strange occurrences within her city: people were beginning to behave in an unusual way, even for Hub City. This could easily be a trap, although this would be the sort of thing the Fantastic Four would look into. So far, his spider-sense wasn't tingling.
"They're already here" M'Gann said as the ship touched down. Spider-Man looked at the image on the view-screen. A woman with short red hair stood at the edge of the park, surrounded by several large, thuggish looking men.
"Is that her?" Beast Boy asked.
"Oh yes it is" M'Gann replied.
I'll keep us all connected. Huntress does have a point, after all, M'Gann said telepathically.
Spider-Man winced. Even after he had been coached by Martian Manhunter and M'Gann herself, he still found this a bit intrusive. His spider-sense was buzzing in the back of his head.
The bio-ship's hatch opened and the five youths walked out to meet the mayor. Spider-man looked around, apprehensively. Astonishingly, there was no one to witness this, and yet, to him, it seemed that this was happening out in the open.
Miss Martian greeted the mayor of Hub City in the usual manner of handshakes and polite smiles.
"It's an honor to meet you" the mayor said, as she shook hands with the beta team "I didn't think that any member of the League would come to help us out."
"The League is always at everyone's service whenever we can Mayor Fermin" M'Gann said "Could you please elaborate on what you said to the League? That the people of this city were acting strange?"
Mayor Fermin nodded "It happened a few weeks ago. We didn't notice it at first. The first case was of a bank manager who tried to stick up his own bank. Sometime later, a few doctors started dancing around in tutus; police officers were throwing custard pies at people, and other such things. We just thought that it was madness. This city can be quite mad at times. We don't need the Joker. But as the days went by, more and more people began acting up."
"Could it be the water?" Spider-Man asked, looking around, and not expecting much from this city's hygiene. In any case, it was always the water.
"Nothing toxic was found within the bodies of those infected. And that's why this is so strange. People are just acting up and we can't figure out why. I can't rely on my own police force because of this"
And other reasons I bet, Static thought out, I've read about this place.
Now's not the time, M'Gann silently replied. "I think I see why I was sent here" she said "With no physiological proof that anything has affected these people, than it could, possibly, be of telepathic origin"
Do you feel anything?, Huntress asked.
I can feel it very well. There's a powerful telepath here in this city, M'Gann replied
Psimon?, Beast Boy asked.
No, this is different, M'Gann replied. She looked at Mayor Fermin straight in the eye, and said "Mayor, we'll look into this with care and discretion"
"Hey!" Beast Boy said, interrupting M'Gann and the mayor "Don't you have a superhero here to investigate?"
Mayor Fermin looked at the boy with unease. "I would rather not rely on the Question" and her face went slightly red.
Spider-Man felt a bit queasy. He didn't have much experience fighting against telepaths. He honestly didn't know if he could withstand them. He hoped that whatever problem this city was having was caused by someone he could punch.
The wall-crawler turned his head as his spider-sense alerted him to danger. Someone with bad intentions was hiding amidst the dead trees. He was about to face whatever danger there was, when he noticed the screams behind him.
He turned to see the other members of the team, even M'Gann, clutching their heads in pain.
"What happened?" Spider-Man asked, still staying alert to what was going on in the trees.
"What was that?" Huntress asked wincing and scowling.
It took a few seconds for Spider-Man to realize that his spider-sense had been felt by the others through Miss Martian's mental link. He was surprised to see them all so shaken up. This was one of the more normal jolts he received.
"That's my spider-sense. It goes off whenever there's trouble. And it's telling us we've got trouble. Madam Mayor, you should leave" the wall-crawler said.
Before the mayor could take a step, several men emerged from the cover of dead vegetation. Everything about them was gaudy. Their hair was brightly colored, and their faces were painted. Their outfits were a bedlam of color.
It was the craziest thing Spider-Man had ever seen in his life.
"Who are those people?"
"They're Madmen" Huntress said.
"I asked who they were, not what they were" Spider-Man said as he leapt towards them, and drop kicked two. Spider-Man webbed the face of one of the Madmen, pulled the web, and then slammed his body against another Madman. "Believe me Mister, this only hurts because right now, you're hurting my eyes and my sense of good taste" another Madman tried rushing Spider-Man, but the wall-crawler leapt over him, grabbed him by the arm, and threw him like a club at several of the other Madmen. It seemed strangely appropriate for Spider-Man to fight these villains, and he didn't know why. Even in their tasteless gaudiness, they seemed familiar to him.
Static held off the others with his electric discharges, while Beast Boy turned into a bear, and fought the others. Huntress used her bare hands, delivering punches and the usual karate chops at the Madmen. Miss Martian used her telekinesis, and an extra pair of arms.
In very short time, the Madmen were on the ground, knocked out and defeated. Miss Martian approached one, and studied him closely.
These men are under someone else's control, M'Gann thought out to the others.
Do you know who might be controlling them?, Huntress asked
It's very well hidden, and if I digged deeper, I might cause permanent damage, M'Gann thought out, before falling silent for a moment. The Martian got up and made a quick scan of the mayor and her bodyguards.
They were safe, for now.
"Mayor Fermin, I need you to go somewhere safe. Now" she said.
"Are things that bad?" the mayor asked.
"They could be" Beast Boy cut in.
Spider-Man was distracted by his spider-sense. Since M'Gann had now shielded herself against it, the others didn't feel what the web-slinger felt; and what he felt was his spider-sense alerting him to a presence beyond the woods.
The wall-crawler didn't even think twice. He broke out into a quick sprint and was soon upon the man. The man acted quick enough to release a nauseous gas upon the web-slinger; Spider-Man managed to recover quickly, but not quick enough to stop the man from getting into a car and driving off. Without delay, Spider-Man ran after the man. He heard Huntress calling him from behind, but he couldn't let the man get away.
The car was incredibly fast, and Spider-Man was already having problems keeping up on foot; once there were enough tall structures around, Spider-man began his trademark web-slinging.
Between ugly gray edifices Spider-Man swung, getting closer to the fast car with each swing. His spider-sense quickly alerted him to the odd tube coming out of the car's ceiling, with its end following the wall-crawler's trajectory. A beam of energy came out, but Spider-Man curled his body upwards just in time to avoid the blast. Another blast severed the web-slinger's web-line. Spider-Man twisted and turned and landed on the trailer of a nearby truck, itself moving at perhaps too much speed itself.
Spider-Man ran along the truck's trailer and leapt off of the cab, once again swinging through the streets of Hub City in pursuit of the fast car. Finally, with one bound and leap, Spider-Man was on the car itself. He grabbed a portion of the car's top and ripped it off. There were two men inside. The driver didn't seem to react to the fact that Spider-Man had just turned the car he was driving into a semi-convertible. The other was a man with madness in his eyes.
"Hey there guys. I was passing by, and I noticed your groovy, swinging car – a convertible no less – and I was wondering if I could join you for a chat over milk and cookies" Spider-Man said.
The passenger just screamed. Spider-man's spider-sense hit him hard, and his mind suddenly began to swim around madly. He was aware of his hands on his head, of falling down from the car on to the street. He saw Dr. Octopus, the Green Goblin, Mr. Big and the Enforcers, and a blond girl falling from a bridge. The buildings began to sway with the wind as if they were blades of grass, and the sky was purple. He felt hands on his mind, putting everything back together. And then, he found himself sitting on the sidewalk, his back against a lamppost, rubbing his aching head, and looking at Miss Martian.
"What just happened?" he said.
"You went off alone and you got attacked by a telepath" he heard the Huntress say.
Spider-Man turned to look at her; behind her were Static and Beast Boy, who was perched on Static's shoulder in the shape of an owl.
"Oh brother! That was very bad!" he said, rubbing his head harder.
"You'll get better. But we'll have to stick together if you don't want to suffer another attack like this" Miss Martian said. She then turned to the others "All of us will have to stick together. Especially you Gar. This definitely isn't Psimon."
"Do you know who it is now? Do you have a clue?" Static asked.
"No. Not yet" Miss Martian said.
"Well, he hurt my pride. And my brain. I have a score to settle with him" Spider-Man said, getting up on his two feet, quickly recovering. He was especially sore that in a situation that he felt he could handle himself, he found himself on his bottom, in a sidewalk. This wasn't the first time he needed help of course, but this was the first time he was integrated within a team. Spider-Man looked around and saw that the street was oddly empty of traffic. He had to assume that M'Gann had something to do with that.
"We all do" M'Gann said.
"Now all we have to do is find him" Huntress said, looking at the street for clues.
"That won't be necessary"
Everyone looked and saw a man in a fedora and trench coat coming out of the nearby darkness. He seemed normal, except that he had no face. Spider-Man was unsettled at first, as were Beast Boy and Static. Huntress had her face frozen in a snarl. Only M'Gann seemed unimpressed. But then, she was a shape-shifter. And she moved towards the faceless man as if she knew him. Or at least, knew who he was.
"This is the Question" she said, turning to the others. She then turned to the faceless man "Do you know what's going on?" Miss Martian asked.
"I have an idea" the Question walked towards Spider-Man "It's strange, but I feel a strange affinity with you. Almost as if we were brothers"
"I don't see the similarities" Spider-Man said, staring at the faceless man.
"Oddly enough, I do" Question said "The man you were chasing in such a thrilling manner was Dr. Arbie Twain, a rival of a friend of mine. He's been involved in some strange events as of late. He's been hiring trucks and he had an antenna built not far from here. No one's taken note of it, which has been odd. I have no doubt he's involved in a strange string of events which have lead honest men and women to commit crimes. I hate it when the wicked use the good for their foul ends."
"Maybe he's just nudging people predisposed towards crime. You know, those people with more gray in them" Static said.
Question suddenly turned to the youth "That doesn't exist. You're either good or bad. Criminals should not be allowed a justification for their actions by a smudge of gray."
"I don't want to ever see you near me or my family" Huntress said with some irritation.
Miss Martian immediately cut in. "Do you know where we can find Arbie Twain?"
"Of course. I'll take you to his antenna" Question said.
They stared at the antenna from the top of a nearby, abandoned building. It was on an almost barren plot of land; next to it was an abandoned apartment building, the only other thing occupying the area.
It was an unsettling sight, to say the least.
"It's like a bad horror movie" Static said.
"Come on! It's just an abandoned building" Beast Boy said
But Spider-Man knew that it wasn't just an abandoned building. His spider-sense was telling him the opposite, actually.
"Are you picking anything up?" Huntress asked. This actually startled the wall-crawler. No one ever asked him if his spider-sense was acting up.
"Yes, as a matter of fact. We have to check out that building" he said, surprised by his own readiness in being a part of this team. The psychic attack hadn't shaken him up that badly. He was getting used to these people around him.
It was harder to get used to the Question, who walked forward. "Twain must be up to something in there, in conjunction with that antenna. Perhaps something that will enhance whatever telepathic ability he has to encompass the entire city, allowing for a better grip on people's minds. It's almost like a cartoon, but it makes sense, given what's been occurring, that he would need an enhancer"
What the Question had said made sense, and Spider-Man found that unnerving, as well as the fact that he now felt a strange affinity for this man.
Spider-Man was about to make a leap, when he heard M'Gann's voice in his head.
Don't rush in like that. I know it's worked for you plenty of times before, but in cases like these, we need to be more careful, she thought out. Besides, I need to prepare your mental shield. All of your mental shields.
"That's not just what's bothering you, is it?" Huntress said.
"I think someone else might be involved" M'Gann said. Before Beast Boy could say a word, she said "Definitely not Psimon."
"So what's the plan?" Static asked.
M'Gann turned to Huntress. "Are you as good a detective as your father?"
Huntress's eyes rolled around, as if someone had pulled her shirt up.
"I'm pretty good" she said "I'm like my mom too, you know"
"Your dad's a detective?" Beast Boy asked.
"Yes he is" M'Gann said "I need you to look into Arbie Twain's business transactions and everything else he's connected to. You can take my bio-ship"
"Sure, I'll just take a nice stroll to the park…" Huntress said, until the bio-ship appeared, flying over their heads. Huntress looked up, spent a few seconds in silence, and continued, "I'll get to it right now."
She turned to Spider-Man. "Spidey, mind giving me a boost?"
"I'd do anything for you gorgeous" Spider-Man said. He put his hands together, and once Huntress had her foot in, and was ready, hurled her upwards towards the opening within the ship. As soon as the aperture closed, the bio-ship was off.
"She knows how to fly that thing, right?" Static asked.
"She knows" M'Gann said. She looked around. "Where's the Question?"
"He must have slipped away" Beast Boy said.
M'Gann sighed. "We don't have the time to look for him. Static, I want you outside; Spider-Man, I want you to go inside and find out what Twain's up to. Beast Boy, stay close to Spider-Man. I'll stay here in case whoever it is that's causing this decides to attack"
Spider-Man looked at the green boy. "Let's go kid" he leapt away from the building, followed by a green sparrow. He quickly reached the apartment building and began to climb up its walls, entering through a windowless aperture. In the form of a house cat, Beast Boy dropped by his side. They were in an empty apartment. Nothing was in it, not even an old doll or crumpled newspapers. The doors were gone as well. It seemed that the apartment building wasn't just abandoned – it had never been finished to begin with.
"Why do the bad guys always chose such horrible places to hide out in?" Spider-Man asked out loud.
"Bad guys go well with bad places, because they have bad taste" Beast Boy said, following it up with a meow.
"Comedy is a very hard business kid" Spider-Man said. He began investigating every room, and every apartment, hoping that his spider-sense would pick up anything of interest. It was Beast Boy's dog sense – which he had once he had taken the form of a pit-bull – that lead them to something interesting. Beast Boy let out a bark and ran down the stairs. Spider-Man went right after him.
"Yes boy! We have to save Timmy before he climbs out of the well!" Spider-Man said.
"That's supposed to be good comedy?" Beast Boy remarked.
"It's better than the stuff you get in Vegas" replied Spider-Man, as they both entered the apartment.
Upon entering, Beast Boy turned into a baboon, while Spider-Man proceeded forward.
This apartment wasn't empty. The light was on, showing that the building was connected to the city's power grid, and pouring out of several light bulbs hanging haphazardly from the ceiling. There was a desk, with a computer turned on, but little else.
Slumped in a chair, was the man who had given Spider-Man the psychedelic experience, Arbie Twain.
"Okay Twain, you've got a lot of explaining to do" Spider-Man said, until he noticed that Twain was staring blankly at the ceiling. The web-slinger immediately checked the man's pulse.
"Is he, you know…" Beast Boy began to ask.
"He's alive" Spider-Man said, with a bit of relief. He took a deep breath and concentrated. He wasn't used to doing this.
M'Gann, are you seeing this?, he thought out to the Martian girl.
Clearly, she replied through thought, I had a feeling he was just a pawn. I'm going to look closer into him.
There was a moment of pause.
He has telepathic potential, that's for sure, said the Martian, but it seems he may have messed with something he couldn't handle. I can't read any more from him. It's very well shielded.
So it's still not Psimon, Spider-Man thought out.
I wonder if you're as bad as Gar, Miss Martian thought, and no, it's still not Psimon.
"Hey, there's a note here on the keyboard" Beast Boy said. Spider-Man quickly picked it up and held it up to the light. The letter had the following:
COULDN'T WAIT FOR YOU GUYS. GOOD LUCK.
Well, this must be from the Question, Spider-Man thought to M'Gann, it would have been nice if he could tell us where he went.
Just like you, M'Gann commented, Huntress is already on it. She should be able to find out something.
Suddenly, the spider-sense began to call out to the wall-crawler. He was surrounded by danger.
M'Gann, what's going on? There was no answer from the Martian.
"Is there anything wrong?" Beast Boy asked.
"You can bet your life on it. My spider-sense is tugging me in every direction" Spider-Man said.
"I'd rather not bet my life" Beast Boy said, taking the form of a jaguar.
A man with a gun entered the apartment. He aimed at Spider-Man, but he was too slow. The web-slinger rushed him and knocked him out with a jab to the chin. Another man came in, but the green jaguar pounced and knocked him out with his green paw.
"Static was right. This is a bad horror film." Spider-Man began to look around "Where's the dumb blond when you need her?" the web-slinger looked out and saw a lot of people running through the corridors towards them.
"Where did all these people come from?" Spider-Man said as he kicked the first man towards those behind, knocking them over like dominoes. He rushed Beast Boy into the apartment and webbed up the opened entrance. He could have easily fought all of those people, but he felt that there was no time to waste, especially since M'Gann hadn't made contact. And no one knew what would happen if he got bitten. He didn't need the powers of a telepathically enslaved man.
"Grow some feathers kid, we're going out the window" he said to the green boy. Beast Boy quickly turned into a falcon and flew out the window.
Spider-Man leapt out of the window, and shot out a line; what he saw as he swung downwards amazed him. A crowd of people were surrounding the building, like a mindless mob of zombies. Static was floating nearby on a manhole cover, using his electromagnetism to drive people away. The sight of Static flying on the circular piece of metal reminded Spider-Man of the Green Goblin. He quickly shook that memory away.
"Static, what's going on?" he yelled at the electromagnetic youth.
"I don't know. They just came out of nowhere" Static said, letting a stream of electricity come out of his fingers and hit the attackers below. Spider-Man had been assured before that Static knew how to control his powers. He had to trust the youth; he wasn't Electro. Spider-Man swung towards a wall of the apartment building, looking down on the crowd. As he was on the wall, his head pointing at the ground, staring at the mindless mass, he envied Static's powers.
"What happened to M'Gann?" Beast Boy asked.
"She's over there" Static said, pointing upwards. M'Gann was floating up in the air, her body as stiff as a board, her eyes glowing.
"Is she alright?" Spider-Man asked.
Beast Boy had taken the form of a hummingbird, and he hovered close to the wall-crawler. "She must be locked in a telepathic fight"
A man with a gun stuck his head out of one of the windows. Before he could point it at Spider-Man, the web-slinger hurled a web at his face. The man disappeared back into the building.
"How long does she usually take?" Spider-Man asked.
"It depends on how strong the other telepath is." Beast Boy said
"That's nice to know" Spider-Man said. He turned to look at the building's other windows. More people were sticking their heads out. Spider-Man began shooting webs at them, and closing the apertures. "It's always a joy dealing with living breathing zombies, and not the mad robots or pirate Nazis. Or dinosaurs. This scenario really needs dinosaurs to make it perfect"
Spider-Man leapt down to the ground where the other mind-controlled people were, and immediately started punching and kicking. Beast Boy and Static followed suit; the green changeling turned into a gorilla and Static shot out electric bolts and charged punches. The web-slinger grabbed two mind-controlled thugs and knocked their heads together. He then webbed up the entrance of the apartment building, trapping those that were already inside.
A mind-controlled man in a wife-beater threw a punch at Spider-Man's jaw. The wall-crawler didn't duck or block the punch. He took it in the jaw.
"Is that the best you got?" Spider-Man asked, not at all impressed with the man's strength. Spider-Man gave the guy a quick right hook that left him on the floor.
Spider-Man opened his arms at the other zombies. "Come on boys! Who's next? I've got enough for everyone here"
That was when the mind-controlled human puppets came out of their spell. They blinked and looked at each other, and the surrounding area in confusion.
Miss Martian descended down in front of the others.
"So, did you win? Do you know who it is?" Beast Boy asked, turning back into a boy.
"I won, but he's tough. I still don't know who he is" she said. Then turning to the confused people, she said, "Please stay calm, you've been through a rough experience. Stay put and the proper authorities will come to get you". She then transmitted the same message to the people inside the apartment building. She turned to her team "They should be fine. Huntress has called help. And she also has an address"
The bio-ship appeared above them, and lowered down.
"We have to hurry" M'Gann said. They all entered the ship, which destroyed the antenna before moving along.
The trip was quick, no longer than five minutes. The bio-ship was soon hovering over a rundown radio station which had an antenna next to it.
"Another antenna?" Static exclaimed.
"Yes, another one. Arbie Twain has been very active lately, buying antennas, building antennas. It's as if the man had a fetish." Huntress said, back in her previous seat.
"He didn't. Someone else needed an antenna; Arbie most likely absorbed that in, and his mind took it as a need to create antennas all over the city."
"How do you know that this is the antenna to rule them all, and in the darkness bind them?" Spider-Man asked.
"Twain invested a lot more money in this old radio station, and it was early on, before his spending and activities became more erratic" Huntress explained.
"And I can feel our enemy in there" Miss Martian said. "He's strong, so I going to have to stay here and make sure he doesn't mess with your minds."
"We're going to have to use our fists then" Huntress said, looking at the view-screen that showed several Madmen walking around the old station.
"It's what we do so well. And I like the way you use your fists" Spider-Man said
"Always the charmer" Huntress said.
The bio-ship's hatch opened, and all four of the young heroes jumped down. A green eagle attacked the first Madman he saw, while Spider-Man landed in such a way as to give two of them two diving punches simultaneously. Static again used his electromagnetic abilities and Huntress landed down like an acrobat, and immediately began kicking and punching the Madmen that came at her.
Beast Boy turned into a cape buffalo and rammed the front doors of the station, knocking them down.
Be quick, Miss Martian thought out, I can feel that we need to hurry.
Beast Boy, Static and Spider-Man rushed in, but Huntress stayed behind. The web-slinger stopped and looked back at her.
"You don't want to join the fun?" he asked.
"I want to check something out first" she said.
Spider-Man nodded and he entered with the other two. More Madmen were inside, but they were all easily taken care of, either with shock treatment, paws and jaws, or just good old fashioned punching.
The wall-crawler soon kicked down the control room door. He froze as he saw what stood there before him, next to several improvised control consoles. It was a very large gorilla, scarred by Kobra-Venom with a helmet on its head.
"Well, it seems that you've found me" the gorilla said "But you won't stop me, not even with the help of your Martian friend."
"Who are you?" Spider-Man suddenly blurted out.
The gorilla scowled and bared his teeth.
"As I expected, you're as stupid as the other Neanderthal. He thought that he could increase his abilities by tapping into mine. I made him regret it. And I'll make you regret the day you ever met Grodd, you filthy animal" the gorilla said with a growl.
Gorilla Grodd!, M'Gann thought out, I wondered what had happened to you.
"Well Martian interloper, you'll pay the price for you negligence. My work is already completed!" Grodd said out loud. He suddenly banged his fist on a big red button on one of the consoles.
Nothing happened. Spider-Man didn't even feel the familiar tingling.
"I wish Kid Flash was here. I've been telling him about the differences between this universe and my own, and here's one big difference: the talking gorillas in my universe aren't evil! Agents of Atlas forever!"
Grodd then roared and with one arm he yanked a control console from out of the floor, and hurled it at the young heroes. Spider-Man leapt towards the ceiling, Beast Boy turned into a sparrow and Static just got out of the way, as the console crashed down.
"Are you angry Grodd?", Huntress' voice could be heard through the intercom "You're not very smart yourself since it was easy for me to sabotage your little device on the antenna. Haven't you ever heard of backups?"
Grodd growled. "You filthy animals! I hate you all! I was about to conquer this stinking world and make it a paradise for all apes. A planet of apes! And then you had to interfere! You're dead! You're all dead!"
Beast Boy turned into a gorilla and he soon began to wrestle with Grodd. The telepathic ape however, had the upper hand, and he tossed Beast Boy aside.
"You can never compete with the real deal you waste of skin!" Grodd snarled. Static hurled out a jolt that slammed Grodd against the wall. The gorilla recovered quickly, ripping up a console that had been bolted to the ground and hurling it at Static, who had to take cover.
Spider-Man leapt from the ceiling. "I don't mean to be a spoil sport here, but according to modern cladistics, humans are apes. What you wanted is already real" Grodd tried to punch Spider-Man, but missed. "You're supposed to be smart, right Grodd? You shouldn't turn the world into something that it already is. It's a waste of time. Just relax and eat some nachos" Spider-Man then gave Grodd an uppercut that had the large primate on the ground.
"That's what happens when you're not a science major!" Spider-Man said.
Static and Beast Boy came to look over the fallen gorilla. Beast Boy nudged the wall-crawler with his elbow.
"Isn't it fun being in a team?" the boy asked.
Spider-Man looked at the gorilla. The telepathic monster could have easily taken over his mind; without M'Gann, his brain would have been mush. Huntress, by disabling Grodd's machine had without a doubt saved the world. Static and Beast Boy had been helpful as well.
The web-slinger nodded.
"Okay, I guess you're right. Now let's call the proper authorities. This big guy here is weird" Spider-Man said with some relief.
Several minutes later, the authorities had arrived. Miss Martian immediately approached Mayor Fermin, telling her how she and Hub City could help those that had been influenced by Grodd. The mayor seemed to agree with everything. Grodd himself was manacled and placed within an armored car. Miss Martian had the big gorilla under a telepathic trance that would hopefully not be broken before they put an inhibitor collar on him.
As they were about to leave, the Question came out of the shadows.
"You're late" Static said, noticing the faceless vigilante.
"Twain sent me on a wild goose chase" he then turned to Spider-Man. He handed the wall-crawler a book "Here take this. It'll do you good" he said, and then disappeared.
"What did he give you?" Beast Boy asked.
Spider-Man held up the book. It was Atlas Shrugged, by Ayn Rand. He sighed deeply.
Beast Boy however, couldn't help but laugh. He held the helmet Grodd had on his head in his hands.
"Well, I got something better than that" he said "It'll look better in the trophy room"
"You have a trophy room?" Spider-Man asked.
"We have a trophy room in the Watchtower" M'Gann said "You haven't seen it yet?"
Spider-Man shook his head.
"I'll take him there to see it" Huntress said, standing by the wall-crawler's side.
"How could I ever say no to that?" Spider-Man said, smiling beneath his mask.
The girl who had once been known as Artemis leaned against the wall of a building, looking at the Eifel Tower with a sorrowed expression. She remembered when Wally had kissed her here, and had suggested they visit this place.
Well, she was here, but there was no Wally. And this was business. Deathstroke the Terminator had been spotted in Paris. The League needed to know what he was doing. So far, the mercenary who had been her father's rival had managed to keep his profile low.
Tigress would have to prowl more extensively tonight. Artemis put her hands in her pockets and she started to walk away from the tower. She lifted her eyes, and to her surprise, she saw Bart.
At first, she wondered what Bart was doing here in Paris, but then, to her shock, she realized that the Kid Flash before her wasn't Bart. The image flickered, and it seemed as if he was running in place, but he was recognizable. She had no doubt it was Wally.
This was an illusion; an illusion caused by grief. There was no doubt about that. Artemis would have to speak to Black Canary soon enough. And then, the phantasmagoric figure of Wally spoke:
"Artemis! Artemis!... baby! I have... stay here... universe ... danger. There's ... Darkseid, ... Anti-Life ... hidden ... minds of ... human beings...alternate Earth, ... Spider-guy and Doom... to take care of... and fast... worse than... saw him kill...!...cube!"
Suddenly, Wally's phantasmagoric image disappeared. Artemis fell down on her knees, not knowing what to do.
Endnote: This chapter, like the fifth, took some time for me to complete, but not for the same reasons. I knew more or less what I wanted to do (whether I succeeded or not is up to the reader). However, I think I might be a bit fatigued by this story; I know how this story will end and all, and I do intend to finish it, but my imagination is already wandering in other directions. This is a personal problem of mine, and the reason why I find it hard to finish a story. Don't worry, since this has been published, and isn't stored within the privacy of my hard drive, I will finish the story - the outlines are being elaborated on. However, I need a distraction. I don't know if I should, but I've been thinking about publishing another few chapters of a different story (another crossover) I haven't completed yet, but which I have written well before this one. If anyone who is reading this story thinks that's a bad idea, please tell me. I may or may not take another two to three weeks to publish the next chapter of this story.