Sam directed part of his energy into his hand in order to produce some light into the otherwise dark corridors. They had been walking for roughly four minutes but had yet to reach a door or some sort of clearing. It seemed that whoever had built this maze had done a tremendous job. It was also apparent that this labyrinth was making even Batman uneasy.
Sam tensed when he heard the sudden, low growl which the hero behind him emitted. He tried to calm his nerves, but no matter how hard he tried he could not. Nova had heard that the Bat's prowess was strategic planning and that his calculative mind had saved his skin multiple times. Sam was also aware of the speed that brain worked with. Even now, as he was going over whatever he had read and heard about the enigmatic hero, Gotham's protector was probably brooding over different scenarios. Obviously the Bat was not satisfied with whatever conclusion he had reached.
Suddenly Sam could feel warm breath on his neck and he resisted the urge to tense. He also managed to not jump when the raspy voice behind him whispered, "Be careful. I think we are heading directly for a trap."
Nova nodded. He was about to sigh in relief when the voice came back, only this time, the hot breath that accompanied it made goose bumps appear on his exposed skin.
"There is someone behind us."
Sam's eyes widened. He had not heard or seen anyone enter this place behind them. He had felt the presence of someone outside, but he could not for the life of him sense the same presence now. Sweat gathered at his brow and he was about to brush it away when Nova heard a familiar clink of metallic tentacles. Sam smirked. He turned around slightly and whispered, "Doc Oc."
That was the only word he could get out before three sharp projectiles were swung their way. Batman was quick to react and he immediately squished Sam against the wall as three razor sharp knives cut through the fabric of his cape. Batman cursed under his breath, ignoring the blushing teen underneath him. He merely looked ahead at the laughing man with disarrayed green hair. The Bat narrowed his eyes and spat, "What are you doing here, Joker?"
Sam's eyes widened. His blush disappeared entirely, despite the fact that Batman was still flat against him. Instead, Nova's attention was focused on the newly arrived duo. His eyes swept over the familiar form of Doctor Octopus only to land on the unknown frame of one of the most formidable villains in the world.
Sam felt shivers run down his spine once the Joker locked gazes with him for a split second. Sam could swear the red-painted Glasgow smile had grown as a form of 'greeting' toward his new prey. However, just before that gaze could assess all the different ways its owner could inflict sweet pain upon the young body, Batman spoke once more, successfully directing the Joker's attention to himself again.
"I asked you a question." The Dark Knight seethed.
The Joker merely laughed as his fingers played with a thin blade which did not pierce his skin, despite his carelessness with its lethal edge. Sam gulped. He had been prepared for whatever craziness Doc Oc had gone into, but he never could have imagined that the insane scientist would team up with such a formidable enemy. Needless to say, in spite of how selfish and cowardly it sounded, Sam now wished he could dig up a hole and disappear into it.
"I believe I am not obliged to answer." The Joker began as he took a step forward. Batman quickly adopted a fighting stance and pulled out a small bomb. Sam could not figure out whether it was just a smoke bomb or one filled with poison. It seemed the voiceless threat was enough to make the Joker chuckle, but stop. He even mockingly lifted his hands in surrender, fingers wrapped loosely around the edge, small droplets of blood tainting its glowing sharpness.
"Relax, Bat. I am not here to cause more chaos than usual." The Joker said, and then continued playing with the weapon.
Batman's stance had not changed. However, Sam could feel the venom those words were laced with. The tension in the air was palpable. The danger in this whole situation was suffocating yet hypnotizing. As much as Sam hated to admit it, he felt himself being sucked into the world the collision of two geniuses created.
"It seems we have a new figure on the board. How are you planning to use him, Bat?" The Joker sharply remarked, trailing his smothering gaze over Sam's shaking form once more. Nova's reaction was immediate - shivers course through his system, but somehow the teen managed to avoid the freezing of his blood vessels. Instead, he glared at the villain, while he clenched his fists. It was high time he upped his game.
Concentrating energy into his fist, he shot a few blasts the Joker's way only to have the villain jump backward. The Joker was cackling, while Sam felt sweat pour down. He was not used to utilizing so much of his strength into simple blasts. With a sharp intake of breath he realized that Doc Oc had probably built this place and there could be something which was sucking the life out of him and redirecting his energy flow into the scientist's new machine.
With one last chuckle the Joker landed a few meters away from Doctor Octopus, making Sam inwardly smirk. They had fallen for it. With dozen blasts he made rocks fall over them. It appeared that neither of them had expected such a bold move to come from a rookie. Nova smirked once more before he made a sharp turn and headed straight for Batman. Sam braced himself for what was about to come. He focused his energy throughout his body and reallocated most of his body's resources in his hands.
Nova sighed in relief when he managed to grab Batman's hands and fly them both out of the tunnel at his maximum speed. He was grateful that Batman had managed to subdue most of their opponent's shots which had been directed at Sam. Now all they had to do was avoid the falling rocks. Sam prayed once more that night, knowing full well that he could not dodge or perform the so-called 'jinking' even if he wanted to. After all, he was not sure if his body could take it.
Just as the last rock fell Sam made it to a door. As he burst through it, he abruptly let go of Batman and heard the Bat grunt as he hit the floor, but managed to spin backward and wind up on his knees in a relatively dignified position. The Dark Knight wiped the dirt his costume had accumulated during the 'maneuvers' Sam had pulled. The man then turned to Nova and watched the pile of limbs slowly resemble a human form.
Sam had rested his entire body against a metallic wall. He was panting as sweat rolled down his body in waves. Nova coughed and covered his mouth, but the blood came. Inevitably he had to curve his body to the right and regurgitate. While doing so, Sam spit quite a few curses in his mind for the weak body he had. Once he made it out of this hellhole, he was going to talk to Fury about his training plan. He needed to focus more on aerial combat. After all, that was his most powerful weapon at the moment.
Sam sighed in frustration once he felt how drained he had become. It seemed that he had little to no energy left. The surprise attack he and Batman had planned beforehand thankfully worked, but now all Sam could do was search for clues and hopefully find an exit before either the Joker or Doc Oc or worse both of them showed up.
Sam was surprised by the hand that was offered to him in order to get up. He wiped his mouth with his one hand and used the other to grab the limb Batman had offered him. Nova was astonished when his body was tugged forward and he found himself flush against Batman's body. He soon felt fingers touching at various places and putting pressure on a few specific ones. Sam mostly rolled his eyes, but could not help moaning when certain muscles were stretched too much for his liking. The reason for his discomfort was the fact that Batman had used his superior strength to check whether Sam's body had suffered too much damage. Soon the Bat was satisfied and withdrew his hands. However, his gaze was still on Sam's shaking form.
The Bat suddenly cursed. He clenched his fists. Sam smirked. He knew that the hero was resisting the urge to punch him for doing something as ridiculous as using aerial combat maneuvers which were meant for pilots during war, not reckless teenagers with a deadly helmet.
"When did you learn the Immelmann?" Batman asked once he his anger had subsided. It seemed that Nick Fury had instructed him to make sure Sam did not go over the top. Internally, Sam rolled his eyes.
Like I'd listen to either of them.
Sam shrugged in response, but immediately regretted it. He felt muscle spasms wreck his body further and resisted the urge to whine as he slumped forward. Luckily, Batman was there to catch him. He carefully rested Sam's back against a nearby, open wall and took one last look at the boy before he asked, "Have you done this before?"
"What exactly are you referring to?" Sam enquired as he closed his eyes. He breathed in deeply before he reopened them and professed, "I've never changed speed so drastically before. I've never done it, while making an Immelmann turn. Plus, I've never shot such strong blasts before either. But I had to make them believe that I was a worthy opponent. You said it yourself. They would expect you to do something crazy and try to defeat them both. They would not anticipate that I would do the same. I was your 'trump card' so to say."
Batman whacked him on the head once more, making Sam groan. He then grabbed the boy's collar and pushed him forward so that they were nose to nose. With a slithering glare Batman whispered, "Don't use such sarcastic remarks against me. It is my responsibility to make sure you return in one piece."
"I am in one piece. The Joker has not got his hands on me yet. Who knows? I might just get lucky and he'll kill me fast. I think that you're his real challenge, right? No one else compares. He will probably demolish everything else before he gets to you, though. From what I've gathered he believes in some chaotic form of philosophy and likes to watch the world burn." Sam replied.
Batman narrowed his eyes and was delighted to see slight fear in Sam's eyes. It seemed that the boy had not gone into delirium yet. With an unreadable expression Batman let go of Sam's collar and turned around, focusing his attention on the task at hand – finding out as much information as he could from the source. However, before he started searching, he said one last thing, "More usual than not, people like him also want to be the cause for that burn."
Sam's eyes widened at the gelidness that entered his system. It was not that Batman had used a cold tone of voice. In fact, the statement had been pronounced with as little emotion as possible. However, the message it conveyed was loud and clear – beware of the Joker. He would do anything to get what he wants.
As time passed Sam felt part of his strength return. He was soon able to get up and walk around. It seemed his body was healing faster than normal. At times like these Sam was grateful that he could access higher power from the Nova Force. Of course, he would have to pay for it later. After all, his body was not built for such tremendous energy and it was probably starting to suffer from the repercussions already. With a shaky intake of breath Sam hoped that Batman would be able to hold off their enemies if such a need occurred.
"I found something." Batman suddenly uttered, making Sam flinch. The boy shook his head and immediately walked over to the computer Batman had hacked. As he read the information, Sam's eyes widened.
"This is…" He whispered as his brain tried to digest the information it had just swallowed.
"The perfect weapon." Batman whispered as he continued to read through Doc Oc's notes about the various experiments he had conducted on most likely innocent citizens.
"It seems," Batman continued, "that he has yet to gain full control over their minds. But, unfortunately, from what I've seen so far, the human and animal DNA have been perfectly linked."
"In other words the effect is irreversible?" Sam questioned.
Batman shook his head. He opened his mouth and closed it before he plugged in a flash and downloaded as many files on it as he could. Perhaps the scientists at S.H.I.E.L.D. would be able to notice something he had not. With a sigh he watched the screen change and was soon satisfied that every last bit of information had been transferred successfully. The Dark Knight then turned around and said, "Let's go."
Sam rolled his eyes at the lack of answer, but followed the Bat, nonetheless. The two were soon out of the tunnels and found themselves at Central Park. Sam's eyes widened. Just how far did these tunnels stretch? He received his answer when an all too familiar voice uttered:
"How nice of you two to finally join us?"
Batman's eyes widened once bullets were thrown their way. He quickly used some of his batarangs to deflect them, all the while running toward Sam. He grabbed the boy by the waist and hoisted him up. With his other hand the Bat used one of his batarangs which had a rope attached to it in order to escape. He shot the projectile toward one of the taller trees and with quick movements he was able to evade the octobots' blasts along with the bullets the Joker sent his way.
Batman went past a few trees, repeating the same action over and over again. He would land on a thick branch, hoist Sam either up or simply adjust the position he held the boy in and then aim at another branch. Naturally, Sam complained and reminded Batman that he could fly, but all his words fell on deaf ears. After the tenth time the Bat had swung him over his shoulder as though he were a stack of potatoes, Sam decided he had had enough.
"Would you put me down already?! It's not like they're following us." Sam spat out.
His reward was a harsh jab at his ribs. Sam groaned and glared at the back of the Bat's head. The Dark Knight simply continued his journey. Five minutes passed in the same manner. Sam would either glower or grumble and Batman would not say a thing. The Bat, however, would occasionally jab Sam at his ribs or whack him on the head when they had landed on a branch Gotham's protector had deemed safe, but not safe enough.
After ten minutes with a satisfied smirk he landed on a particularly big and tall tree's branch which was surrounded by numerous leaves. With a slightly more sadistic smirk Batman unceremoniously dropped Sam on the wood. The teen groaned and moaned once his ass came into contact with such a rough surface.
"Do you enjoy hurting people in general or should I consider myself special?" Sam quipped as he rubbed his behind. Batman simply smirked and crossed his arms as he observed with an amused expression the sight before him. Sometimes, the Bat really did enjoy teaching pesky youngsters a lesson.
"That was for disobeying my orders." Batman iterated before he added with a soft sigh, "You should not have felt obliged to push yourself to your limits."
Sam stopped stroking his newly acquired bruise in order to grasp what Batman had just told him. With a roll of his eyes Nova replied, "It was a calculated risk. Plus, you told me that it would be best if I somehow managed to draw their attention toward myself. You never specified the means with which I could do it."
"I seem to have forgotten which imbecile would regard signing your own death wish as a 'calculated risk'." Batman countered. He then watched Sam open his mouth only to close it again. The boy's expression soon softened and turned from anger to remorse. His fists were clenched, but not with as much force as before. His eyes were downcast and soon were closed. Nothing needed to be said. Batman knew that Nova was feeling guilty for putting so much at stake back there and Sam was aware that the Dark Knight would not lecture him any longer because he had clearly learned his lesson and, of course, their plan had worked. Now all they had to do was find a way to get through the Joker and those bloody octobots.
"Leave that metallic waste of space to me." Sam suddenly said once he had regained part of his energy back. His blood was boiling and he needed to get some of the tension out of his system.
Batman narrowed his eyes. He could not help but suspiciously ask, "What are you trying to pull?"
Nova rolled his eyes before he sighed and elaborated, "From what I've gathered this Joker guy is obviously interested in causing chaos yet he finds that you are a worthy opponent. Therefore, he would not waste his time with someone like me. I am not insane, Batman. I know my limits. I am well aware that the Joker would kill me if I faced him."
Sam's eyes went downcast once more. Batman observed his slumped shoulders for a while before he sighed and stepped forward. He knelt before the boy and looked him in the eyes as he uttered, "I never said anything about facing him alone. I am not certain whether I would be able to defeat him in my current state. All I need is to catch him off guard and buy us or at least you enough time to escape."
Sam's eyes narrowed before he replied, "What are you saying…?"
Sam's eyes widened once Batman pulled something out of his utility belt. It was the flash. Sam's mouth fell open before he tried to protest. Batman silenced him by pushing the piece of technology into Sam's hands and saying, "Make sure it gets to S.H.I.E.L.D."
Nova nodded. After all, even he was not stubborn or stupid enough to oppose Batman when the hero had tuned off the world around him completely and was now formulating a plan. Judging by the permanent scowl on his face, however, he had not come up with anything he would deem 'appropriate' or 'risk-free'.
"What if we manage to blind him?" Sam suddenly said. "I could use my 'supernova explosion' and focus most of it on the Joker in terms of light and increase the heat on the octobots' bodies. All we need in order to do that is gather them in a clearing."
"Wouldn't that drain you?" Batman asked. It was true that all he needed against the Joker was an opening. One moment of weakness was enough in order to electrocute the villain into unconsciousness. However, the price Sam was going to pay was too great. Plus, it would not be crazy to think that the Joker would figure it out. Nova might not be a very well-known hero, but the chances of running into him once you were causing mayhem in New York was too great. The Joker would have obviously done a bit of research. The man was insane, but he almost never came unprepared.
"It will, but what else can we do? We need something fast which will shock them." Sam continued as a smile formed on his face. Batman, however, crushed it with his next statement.
"He might know what is coming."
"Wh-what? How?!" Sam half-yelled.
Batman pinched the bridge of his nose. He made a few steps forward before he sighed and replied, "We will use it, if the situation becomes dire, but do it only and I repeat only," he turned around and pointed a finger at Sam, "if you are absolutely convinced there is no other way out of there alive."
Sam nodded. Batman furrowed his eyebrows once more before he smirked and said, "I think I know what we should do."
He then motioned for Sam to come forward and whispered the plan into his ear. After a few seconds Nova smirked as well as he pulled away and uttered, "I think that just might work."
The Joker was walking around, aimlessly pointing his bazooka at random trees, all the while singing, "Come out, come out wherever you are, Bat. And bring your new friend out to play. You know what they say – the more, the merrier."
He then cackled and decided to shoot at some of the octobots which had the misfortune of being near him. However, his cackling ceased and turned into chuckles as Nova came out of nowhere and started shooting at him, making the Joker step backward in order to avoid the sea of blue energy that poured down on him. The octobots near him were destroyed as Nova shot a few more bouts of energy the Joker's way. His call was answered with bullets flying directly for his heart and neck area, but Sam managed to avoid them. Soon the cackles of the Joker increased as he accelerated the speed of his shooting.
Nova panicked, but after a split second managed to recollect himself. He realized that he had no time or chance to dodge all of those bullets. Therefore, he had to disobey Batman's orders and perform something which would probably crack a few bones, if done incorrectly. Bracing himself Sam looped into a vertical climb, letting his speed fall and his altitude increase. He then made a flat-turn over the top, diving to complete a quarter loop at the original altitude, but going in the opposite direction.
Sam smirked once he heard the Joker misdirect his shooting and then stall it, giving Sam enough time to increase his speed to its maximum capacity. After exactly two seconds he was right next to the Joker throwing some of Batman's bombs at him. The Joker cursed, but managed to avoid them. However, the trap had been planted.
Sam put on the oxygen mask Batman had given him as he ascended once more to the vast skies, watching the ground get covered in greenish-gray smoke. The Joker started coughing and soon coughs could be heard from the bushes as well. Sam smirked triumphantly. It seemed their plan had worked.
Soon loud curses could be heard as Doc Oc haphazardly exited the safety confines of the bushes and webs were shot at his face. The Joker's eyes widened as did Doc Oc's when Spider-man jumped on the ground and, feigning being hurt, said, "Tsk, tsk, tsk. How many times do I have to tell you, Doc?" He then shot his electrifying webs at both villains. The Joker dodged the one meant for him, but Doctor Octopus was not as fortunate. As he screamed, Spiderman added, "Never start the party without me."
