Same disclaimers as before

Chapter 8: Names

Josh gulped as he stared around the massive Meta Wing. He shook violently as two cackling teenagers in bright, flashy costumes flew past him as they raced to the ceiling.

Flash had abandoned him at the large molecule hologram when an emergency had sprung up requiring his attention, leaving Josh without a guide. That was almost ten minutes ago. Since then, heroes young and older than him had filled past on their way into the hall of Meta-based heroes. Voices filled the air as they discussed their triumphs and joked and told stories. Josh remained silent. He had never been very good at making friends; his severe anxiety had kept him from much social interaction. His medication helped, but only enough for him to really function in a professional environment. The Watchtower, while formal in some areas, was the opposite of formal.

After almost a half-hour, he simply couldn't take it. Flash had pointed out a bathroom at the base of the ramp and Josh turned to get himself into a nice, tight stall. Unfortunately, he turned and bumped straight into someone. "Oh! Sorry!" he said nervously and a bit too loudly. The figure he knocked flipped it's hair away and Josh's jaw hit the floor.

"Sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going." Said the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen in his life. She was tall and slender, coated with a brilliant, silver shine. Her costume must be sealed to her because Josh couldn't see where it her skin stopped and her outfit began. She wore no mask, but her smiling eyes glowed white. She had silver earrings and her belt, the only part of her uniform that seemed to be separate from her body, was blindingly bright. She smiled warmly at Josh and walked by him. He slowly turned his head to follow her figure until it disappeared into the crowd.

For a moment, he simply stood still, unsure if he had truly seen the angelic vision. With a rush of adrenaline, he burst into a run. He ran up the wall, an almost instinctive act at this point, and jumped from the wall to a metal rafter near the roof. He crouched down and scanned the crowd, trying to find the brilliant silver sheen of her skin. A flash of light caught his eye and he glanced up just in time for him to see her walk out of the hall into the corridor leading to the Aquacultural Area.

Without thinking, Josh jumped from the rafter. He had just left the safe and sturdy perch when he realized, quite suddenly, that it was a good three or four story drop to the hall floor and he, unfortunately, could not fly. Josh gasped and scrunched his eyes tightly.

"Hey," Josh's eyes snapped open. He was floating gently towards the ground, towards a woman in a cloak with her hand outstretched towards him. Slowly, his feet fell to the ground and he stared at the hooded woman. She stared back at him, her eyes poking out from the darkness of her hood. "Um," she said hesitantly, "It's not that bad. You have so much to live for, and stuff."

If it were possible, Josh's eyes widened further. "Oh! No!" he said, waving his hands in protest, "I wasn't! No! I just was up there and, ah, I, um, forgot myself."

"Oh," said the woman. She was much younger than Josh had first realized, probably no more than sixteen. In fact, there was something familiar about that soft drawl.

Josh tilted his head to try and see under her hood. "Ariel?"

The girl blinked. "Do I know you?"

"It's me, Josh. We escaped from the Brainiac ship together."

"Yeah, I remember you. So you're a hero too now, huh?"

Josh tried to look over Ariel to try and spot the silver woman. "Uh, yep."

"Cool. What're you looking for?"

"Ah, a woman."

"Right. Don't let me keep you." She stood aside and Josh speed off into the crowd towards where he had last seen the woman. He ran through the corridor he saw her go down and skidded to halt in the Aquacultural Area. He looked around and ran onto the raised park. After a second, he saw her shining head. She was lying under a tree, playing with some of the low hanging leaves. Josh ducked behind the nearest tree and peered out at his goddess.

Every second he stared at her, she seemed to become more lovely and elegant. A single leaf drifted down and fell on her nose, causing her to giggle. It was like a jingle bell at Christmas. Josh smiled as he watched her. At least until he realized how creepy he must look to a third-party viewer. He quickly pulled his head back and adopted the fetal position, still trying to hear the sound of her laugh. After a moment, he peeked out around the tree once more.

She was gone. Josh sighed and slapped his forehead in regret. "Looking for someone?" Josh spun around and pressed himself against the tree as he faced the silver woman. His breath became quick and nervous as she narrowed her emissive eyes. "Who are you? What do you want?" Unlike before, her voice was cold and hard. Yet still it was melodic and beautiful, like a masterfully forced sword.

"I-I just-" started Josh. Faster than his eyes could follow, the woman's right arm shot out, extending to wrap around his neck.

"Tell the truth," she hissed. Josh thought fast and talked faster.

"My name is Josh. I'm new here. I lost my guide. I thought maybe you could show me around." He said as quickly as he could.

The woman blinked and retracted her hand. "Sorry," she said sheepishly as she

rubbed her wrist, "But with the whole Brainiac thing…well, we can't be too careful."

"Right, it's cool," said Josh, his blood pumping and hands shaking.

"Well the least I can do after all that is to show you around. C'mon! I'll tell you the secrets of the Tech Wing." She turned and sauntered off, Josh following behind her like a hound dog. "I'm Platinum, by the way."

"Josh," he said, his eyes not leaving her luxurious silver hair.

"You know, you really should make a codename for yourself. I mean, your secret identity is really only for those close to you."

"Then it's a good thing you know it," said Josh softly.

"What?"

"I said is, um, Arsonist a good one?"

Platinum smiled. "I like it. A little bad-boy, but it fits."

. . .

Ariel walked into the Magic Wing with her eyes closed. Her powers and past experiences allowed her to sense the enormity of the magical presence in the hall. She opened her eyes and gazed in wonder at the pillar of pure magic that erupted in the middle of the hall. But she wasn't here to wonder at the magical majesty.

She walked slowly up the ramp as magical heroes and members of the Sentinels of Magic walked or flew by. Each time one of the blue-garbed Sentinels passed her, she cringed as she remembered her previous encounters with them.

She reached the top of the ramp and turned towards the stairs. Her heart, soul, and brain all screamed at her to turn and run. There was no way she could face Raven in real life. Her mental projections were hard enough. But still, her legs pushed her forwards, powered only by an inner force that desired peace and clarity, even if Ariel herself could not admit it.

She reached the tall room at the top of the stairs where she had visited on her first trip to Watchtower. This time, it was almost vacant. The meditating group was gone, only Raven on a purple pillow with a few candles remained. The heroine was facing away, looking out into the depths of space.

Ariel took a deep breath and was about to speak. "Come," it was a simple command, but its abruptness and force made Ariel start and literally choke on her own words. She cleared her throat and stepped forwards until she was standing behind Raven.

"Hi," said Ariel after a pause.

"Hello."

"So…I'm here."

"I gathered as much. Unlike you, I do not have mental hallucinations before my confrontations."

Ariel blinked in confusion before falling to the floor with a groan. "You were in my head the whole time. It was never a projection."

Raven turned slightly and Ariel saw a very small smile. "You are gullible, Ariel, not crazy."

"There are those who would disagree." Ariel rubbed her temples as Raven turned back to the window.

"You needed a little push, but were unwilling to speak with me. I apologize for invading your privacy."

Ariel sighed. "In comparison to what I did to you? I kinda deserved it."

Raven grunted. "You were young, a child. You made a mistake."

"Other kids didn't make my mistakes."

"You were brainwashed. It wasn't your fault."

"I was weak." Raven was silent. Ariel rolled over onto her side and wrapped her knees to her chest. "Thanks for the cloak, by the way."

"Of course." They sat in awkward silence, both of them truly trying to find the right words to say. Only a few years ago, they would have both tried to kill each other.

"I know this might be a sensitive subject," said Raven softly, "But do you still have the tattoo?"

Ariel winced and rubbed her shoulder, remembering the incessant needle and the pain as ink pierced her skin. "No. I got it lasered after I got out of rehab. I didn't need to be reminded of what I did every time I got out of the shower." After a pause, she asked, "So where do we go from here?"

Raven sighed and stood up, the candles flaring brightly as she stretched her muscles. "Obviously you are not entirely comfortable around me. I can well understand. But you should still know that I have forgiven you entirely for what you did."

Suddenly, Ariel felt like crying. She stood angrily and glared at Raven. "Why? Why can you forgive me so easily?" she demanded.

"I have been trained since youth to restrict my emotions," said Raven, not breaking her gaze into Ariel's eyes, "It takes a lot to make me hold a grudge." Ariel wanted to punch something. Better yet, she wanted to be punched.

"It doesn't matter if you forgive me," she whispered, "It doesn't change what I did." She swiveled and ran towards the stairs.

"Charmer." Ariel turned back as she reached the stairs.

"What?"

"I heard through the grapevine that you hadn't given yourself a codename yet," Raven returned to her cross-legged pose on her pillow, "Charmer might be a good one to try on." Ariel scowled and ran from the room.

. . .

Devon ran up to the door of the funhouse tent. He tried to open it, but it was locked. Annoyed, he banged on it. A small viewer opened up above him and two yellow eyes peered out at him. "Password?"

The image of the clown appeared in the corner of Devon's visor again. "Batman stinks!" he cackled. The viewer closed and the door swung outwards violently, the opposite of what a door was supposed to do.

"Sorry, boss," said the fat man in makeup who stood guard as Devon walked in. Inside the tent was chaos. Police and clowns were clashing everywhere, gunshots and laughs flying around the room. A scratchy carnival tune played over the loudspeaker and green gas drifted in small clouds through the air. For a moment, Devon just stared at the insanity unfolding before him.

He looked up at the fat, door clown. "Why aren't they hurting you?" he asked through the gas mask.

The clown shrugged. "Sometimes the cops are crazier than we are!"

"How did they get in? Did they know the password?"

"No, Boy Blunder led them in through the back."

"Oh," Devon looked back at the chaos and looked around for something to use to his advantage, just like he'd been trained. After a moment, he found what he's been looking for; a support pole that led to the ceiling. With expert skills imbued after a week of intense mental simulations and physical training, Devon clambered up the pole like a monkey. At the top he climbed into a hanging net and scrambled over the fighting below. A stray bullet whizzed past him and he shrieked in surprise, but he continued to climb. At the end of the net, he jumped down and used his cape to glide over the combatants and landed with a grunt at the flap to the next room. He quickly ducked in and stared in wonder.

The room was filled with giant bouncing balls and the walls were lined with enormous, wrapped presents. There was still fighting, but it was clear that the clowns were winning. Several cops were struggling, mummified in wrapping paper as their friends fought against swarms of the Joker's henchmen each. Devon felt a hand on his shoulder and he turned.

"Over there!" said a clown. He pointed to the far wall where a massive Joker face protruded. It's open, wide grin led into some kind of laundry chute. "Harley's down there clubbin'," he giggled, "With a giant hammer!"

Devon blinked. "I don't get it."

"It's a joke for grown-ups, kid. Just go help Harley! We'll finish up here." Devon nodded and ran forwards, flipping over a police officer as he did. He duck and wove through the various fights, flailing his baton to help the funny men when he could. After a few seconds, he reached the chute and jumped down it.

He landed in a large, underground warehouse. There were a few cops and clowns, but they were fighting in pairs across the room. Devon looked around for Robin, assuming he'd find him fighting this Harley woman.

Something slammed into him and he skid across the floor, falling over. Next to him, he heard a low groan. Devon pushed himself up at the same time as a teenage boy in a red and yellow jumpsuit with a black cape and an identical gas mask to Devon's . "Who taught her how to use that thing?" muttered the teen as he rubbed his head. He glanced over at Devon. "Are you the backup Batman sent?"

Devon stared at the strangely dressed boy. "Are you Robin?"

The teen kicked up his fallen bo staff and twirled it expertly. "That's my name, don't wear it out. Now, I need you too-" Devon flicked out his baton and smashed it behind his knee. Robin cried out in surprise and pain and dropped to one knee. Before he could react, a massive wooden hammer flew out of nowhere and slammed into the side of his head. The force of the blow sent the boy wonder flying and he smashed into the far wall with a grunt.

"Fore!" came a high pitched cry, "Well wouldja' look at that! My hammer moves faster than the speed of sound!" A tall woman with a white face, a red and black unitard, and a split hat cart-wheeled over to Devon. She leaned down and grinned, her bright smile taking up most of his vision. "Well aren't you just the cutest little rugrat! And I bet ya got some nifty powers to show off, don'tcha?"

Devon smiled. The clown in his visor had made him a little scared, even if he was giving Devon candy. But this lady just seemed nice. "I'm Devon. What's your name?"

"Little old me? Why I'm Harley Quinn!" she took a theatrical bow and picked up her hammer. As she stood up, she swung it onto her shoulder, hitting a cop in the rear in the process.

"That's a pretty name."

Harley covered her face with her hammer and blushed comically. "Oh, well aren't you just a gentleman! But Devon is a kid's name. How about I give you a grown up name? Let's see…" she pursed her lips and stared at Devon.

"Mr. Lex calls me his Songbird. Is that a good name?"

Harley clapped her hands and squealed. "That's a great name! Nice and cute, just like my little gentleman! You know, a real gentleman would keep a lady safe from certain birdies that want to hurt them."

Devon stared at her in confusion for a second, but then smiled. "Like Robin, right?"

Harley patted him affectionately on the head. "And smart too! I gotta ask Mr. J if we can keep you!"

"Hey, don't you need a gas mask? Here, you can have mine." Devon started to take his off, but Harley quickly grabbed his wrist.

"Hold your horses, bucko!" she said, "I'm immune to this stuff! You take just one whiff of Mr. J's new stuff and you'll have to have a closed casket." Just then, a swirling bolo wrapped itself around Harley and she scrunched up with a slight 'eep'. Her hammer was trapped to her arm and her arms were trapped to her sides. Off balance, she fell on her side with a groan. Devon spun and glared at Robin. The boy wonder was panting slightly, his arm still outstretched from his bolo throw.

He twirled his staff behind his back. "You wanna go, kid?" he growled, "Let's go." With a roar of rage, he charged forward. Devon spun his baton and knocked away Robin's first blow. Robin smirked and flipped his staff, slamming the butt of his staff on Devon's head. His helmet protected him, but he still staggered back as stars blinked in front of his eyes. His vision cleared in time to see Robin's boot smash into his visor. Devon fell back and gasped as his gas mask snapped off. Devon's eyes widened and he quickly slapped a hand over his mouth.

Robin grinned. "What? Don't like the stuff you're protecting?" Devon shook his head vehemently. "Probably shouldn't have side with the bad guys then." Robin jabbed forward faster than the naked eye could follow and plunged it into Devon's stomach. The air was forced from his body. Devon quickly shut his mouth, trying not to breathe, but it was futile. He vainly waved his hand in front of his face to try to disperse the gas around him. To a certain degree, it worked. He only inhaled a small bit of the toxin. Unfortunately, that seemed to be enough.

Devon smiled against his will, trying to keep from laughing. But he could already feel the gas floating through his blood. It was like adrenaline mixed with something else. Was this how dad had felt when he took his funny little pills? Devon shook as he opened his mouth. "HA!" it was a burst of concentrated laughter combined with his sonic powers. Robin's cried out in surprise as he was thrown away.

The edges of Devon's vision began to darken and he giggled as he sprawled over.

"Hang on, kiddo!" said a clown leaning over him. Devon closed his eyes and lost consciousness, a high pitched squeal ringing in his ears.

. . .

Lex Luthor and Joker were sitting in a side lounge in the Hall of Doom, a set of cards between them.

"Two pair," Lex placed his cards down with a monotone.

"Ha! Four aces!" Joker cackled and scooped Lex's chips into his lap.

Lex sighed and leaned back against the cushioned couch. "That's the third time in a row you've gotten four aces, Joker."

Joker fixed his rival with a stink eye. "So?"

"So, if you're going to cheat, at least respect me enough to try to hide it."

"What do you care about a few million? You're so stinkin' rich, the entire world economy could take a huge dive if you sneeze into your morning coffee!"

Lex rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I prefer tea." There was a beeping noise and Lex sighed as he whipped out his phone. "Luthor speaking."

"Lex. Is Joker there?" the voice was very recognizable. It was cold and metallic with just a hint of an eastern European accent.

"Yes."

"Put me on speaker," said Dr. Victor Fries, more commonly known as Mr. Freeze. Lex complied and placed the phone on the table. "Joker, can you hear me?"

Joker glanced up from his loot. "Oh, it's old cold shoulder. How come you never return my calls? We could chill out together sometime!"

A rush of static was all they could hear of Freeze's sigh. "Puns like that are why you and I don't 'chill', Joker. Besides, this call is business."

"What do you want, Victor?" asked Lex dryly.

"The new player in Gotham, Anarky, he vandalized the hospital where my wife is kept. The explosions he caused damaged some of her cryo-containments and she's at risk of thawing out."

"Mmm, I see the problem," said Lex, lacing his fingers together in thought.

"I have to keep her alive. I've been developing a cure for years and I have a rough prototype. It's untested, but under the circumstances, I don't have much of a choice."

"So what did you want from us?"

"I need funds. Men, money, and the tools I need to fully commandeer the Gotham General Hospital."

Lex thought for a few moments in silence, his eyes never leaving the phone and Joker's eyes never leaving Lex. Finally, Lex cleared his throat. "Consider this a blank check."

"Thank you, Lex."

"Anything for a member of the Society," said Lex with a smirk. On the other end of the line, Freeze laughed heartily.

"Of course," he said, well aware that Lex would ask for a favor in the future, "Joker, I know you want to get this Anarky fellow just as much as I do. If you ever get a lead on him, let me know." As the line went dead, Lex tucked the phone back into his pocket and glanced up at Joker, who was whistling innocently.

"I don't suppose I can expect you to stay out of this, can I?"

Lex didn't know if he had ever seen Joker's grin so wide or so cruel. "Why Lex, whatever do you mean?"

. . .

Sorry for the delay. Please review!