Lol, by far the funniest thing to my mind is the fact that I'm writing a Young Justice fanfiction while watching episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation on DVD! To amusing, but hey! Whatever works!
Shout out to: Jasmine Nightshade! You are officially in the club I lovingly call my "Faithfull Few". Lifetime supply of cookies to you dear! You have been with me from the start of this particular adventure, and I could not be more gratefull!
ENJOY!
"And here we are yet again, ladies and gentleman, at the corner of Filth and Crud avenue! From the director of the Gotham City kidnappers, and the producers of crime in the city, we bring you the superhero sewer sliders!"
All seven heroes turned their heads to stare. They'd only just arrived at the sewer entrance a moment ago, and were just preparing to go in when Wally had made a comment about how he'd been so hoping that he wouldn't have to visit a Gotham City sewer again this soon.
At which point Coyote had taken on the tone of an announcer and produced that particular spiel.
Coyote flushed, giving them an embarrassed grin. "What?"
Robin's trademark cackle rang out through the still night air, the laughter of his teammates following close behind. Oh yes, they were definitely liking the Coyote!
Kaldur reached up a hand, touching his fingers to the call button on his com. Whereas before, Conner, M'Gann, and Zatanna had been able to hear it, now none of them reacted. "The com links have all apparently been disabled." He stated calmly. "Miss Martian. Please establish the psychic link."
"Miss Martian. Please establish the psychic link."
Coyote's eyes grew wide. A psychic link. Of course! That was why they coordinated so well during a fight. They literally knew what each other were thinking! Which meant that they would know what he was thinking!
Oh, you are in such deep…
Yeah, not helping! As soon as Miss M plugs into my psyche every secret I've ever had is going to be out in the open! They'll know everything about me! They'll know who I am! They'll know I'm…!
"Coyote?"
Coyote jerked out of his inner turmoil. "Uhh…Yeah?"
Miss Martian gave him a sympathetic smile, placing a gentle hand on his arm. "Amongst my other abilities, I'm an empath." She explained. "I know you're scared…And you don't have to be."
That's what you think space chick…Mini Me muttered.
Coyote chewed his lower lip nervously. "But I am…" He admitted. "This psychic link… There are things about me…" He winced and looked away. "...I'm not ready for you to know."
Miss Martian smiled. "And those secrets will hold till you're ready to tell us." She answered. "The psychic link allows us to share thoughts and ideas, but it only shares what we want each other to know."
"Yeah, it's like talking, just without moving your mouth." Kid Flash affirmed.
Zatanna giggled. "That's ventriloquism, Kid Flash."
Robin laughed. "Well with as much practice as we've had we could totally hit the Broadway stage as ventriloquists tonight!"
"It'll be ok Coyote." Artemis assured him. "Just instead of thinking out loud, you're talking in quiet."
Coyote shifted hesitantly. If that's the case, there's the chance they might still hear you. You're gonna have to be incredibly quiet!
Me! Why are you laying all the weight for this hair brained scheme on me? If you don't want to be found out then don't let the mental chick wire your brain to her cronies!
Your survival and mine rest on your ability to keep quiet! Coyote thought back angrily. So are you going to work with me on this or not?
The voice was silent for a moment. Only because it's in the interest of self preservation. He answered. Now I'd suggest you talk to them. They're starting to look at you like they think you're paranoid or nuts.
Oh gee, thanks...though essentially correct on both counts... He took a deep breath and nodded to the team, Miss Martian in particular. "Alright, I'm in. Let's do this."
Miss Martian smiled. Link established.
Coyote jumped. "It's that simple?"
She nodded. It's that simple. She agreed.
"Kind of anticlimactic, isn't it?" Robin teased.
Coyote nodded. It definitely was! He would've thought he'd feel something when she tied their minds together! He smiled. On the other hand, the annoying little voice in his head was being mercifully silent for once.
So can we get moving already? Superboy thought at them. He was crouched by the sewer entrance, peering intently inside.
Indeed. Aqualad nodded grimly. We should be moving. Superboy, please take the lead. Robin, follow behind him and point the way.
Superboy nodded and quickly slipped forward into the sewer. Finally!
A multitude of eyes watched the team from the shadows.
They peered through cracks in the concrete, and through gaps in the larger pipes. They silently followed the team as they made their way farther into the sewers, eyebrows raising in surprise at the sight of the hyena.
But there was no malice.
There was curiosity. There was confusion. And there was fear. Those who watched feared the team, and what their coming would mean for them. But at the same time they feared for them. They knew what sort of creatures lived in the sewers. Most walked on four legs.
But some walked on two.
They quickly retreated when the team began to glance suspiciously at the shadows. Especially the one in the black T-shirt with the Superman symbol, the green skinned girl, and the boy dressed in fur.
There was hesitancy.
Some wondered what would happen if they warned these strangers of what waited ahead of them…
There's someone near. Coyote thought hesitantly across the psychic link. He still wasn't entirely used to the concept. They could be watching us.
Several someone's. Conner thought back, slowing down and raking his eyes across the surrounding tunnels.
M'Gann pulled up short, her eyes glowing silver green as she reached out into the surrounding tunnels with her mind. She'd already been flying a few inches above the sewer muck but now she rose higher, her eyes drifting closed as she reached even farther.
Kaldur stopped, slowly drawing his water bearers from their carriers. Where are they? He asked calmly. And how many are there?
Coyote frowned, raising his head and drawing in the scents from his surroundings. After a minute he shook his head. I'm not sure. Not without ranging out farther to nail down a specific scent. Superboy is correct, there is more than one, and they are quite close.
Not anymore. M'Gann's eyes snapped open and she floated down to be closer to her friends eye level. They were watching, but they know we've spotted them now and they're leaving. They're scared of us and…She frowned. …scared for us? I'm not exactly sure, there are so many minds and some of them are really foggy. Like they're drunk or something.
Do they pose a threat to us? Kaldur asked.
M'Gann shook her head. Not to us. Like I said, they're afraid.
I wonder why they're so scared of us. Zatanna added silently.
Umm, guys the tracer's moving farther out. Robin warned, watching the tracking device's screen. Effective range on this handheld version is only a couple miles. We need to keep on the move in case they surface somewhere and hop in a car.
Then come on! Conner thought irritably at them, pacing like a caged animal. If these people aren't a threat then who cares who they are?
The others nodded, though Robin's was more reluctant. He couldn't help it, Batman had hammered it into him repeatedly during his training to get all the facts, and to know about what was going on. To be watched by an unknown, and in this case several unknowns, made him uneasy.
Kaldur silently debated for a moment then concurred. Lead the way Robin.
The boy wonder nodded and trotted forward, following close behind Conner as the clone took point once again. As they walked Artemis' eyes narrowed and she pulled an arrow from her quiver, nocking it to the string.
Wally cocked his head curiously. What's up Arty?
Artemis gave him a look. Miss Martian said those people watching us were scared.
Yeah, they were scared of us. Wally answered, wondering where she was going with this.
Artemis rolled her eyes, and slowly explained it as if she were speaking to a four year old. Yes Wally, I'm aware of that. They were scared of us. But Miss M also said that they were afraid for us. She nodded meaningfully at the tunnels ahead, illuminated by their flashlight beams. So what's ahead of us that has them spooked?
M'Gann's panicked voice suddenly leapt into their minds. LOOK OUT!
Her warning didn't come quickly enough. A crackling buzz sounded and the tunnel suddenly it up. The electricity raised up their legs, overloading their senses. Their knees buckled, and they very quickly dropped to the ground, collapsing in the electrified filth of the tunnels. Even Conner dropped to his hands and knees, though he stubbornly refused to fall any further than that.
The only one not effected was M'Gann, hovering a few feet above them.
Are you alright? She thought anxiously at them. Guys?
Robin groaned. We're alright Miss M…He panted silently. Just stunned.
Miss Martian, hide! Kaldur ordered suddenly.
M'Gann immediately obeyed. Footsteps splashed through the muck in the tunnel ahead of them, and lights could be seen heading their way.
Below her and to her left, Coyote silently reached out a hand and laid it on his hyena's withers. He murmured a soft phrase in a language M'Gann didn't know, and then the hyena was simply gone. As though she never existed. Coyote pulled his hand back, letting it drop back down into the muck to take some of his weight.
Three men came around the next bend in the tunnel, stopping when the beams of their flashlights found the team lying there in the muck.
"Yeh didn't hold the current long enough!" The shortest man exclaimed irritably, slapping one of his companions. "There's still a couple brats not lying on the floor! Hit the button again!"
Rolling his eyes, the taller man in question held up what appeared to be a remote with a single button on it. He pressed that button with a dramatic flourish and held it, and the team's world lit up like a Christmas tree.
Electricity raced through the sewer muck and crackled up and over them again, scorching away what little resistance was left in them. One by one they began to give out, slumping down into the watery crud that coated the tunnel floor. Zatanna was the first to slip into unconsciousness, followed quickly by Robin, Artemis, and Wally.
The other tall man, this one sporting a mustache, shook his head. "Man, these kids just aint quitin' are they?"
The dark haired one with the remote snorted. "They'll give. Everyone gives eventually."
Miss Martian. Kaldur thought weakly. As electrical attacks were something he did use on occasion, he had some natural immunity, but that wouldn't sustain him for long. Unless our lives are directly threatened, remain hidden. These are the men we observed in the security footage. They will lead us to the children.
Behind him Coyote gave a low groan, his body finally giving out under the electrical onslaught. Kaldur soon followed, his own immunity finally overcome.
That left Superboy alone, panting for breath.
"Too long." the short one snorted. He stomped forward and his leg shot out in a powerful kick. Under normal circumstances, such a kick wouldn't have even made the clone flinch.
But these weren't normal circumstances.
M'gann watched, flinching as each blow fell. Conner wasn't going down without a fight. The fifth hit was already flying when she quietly entered her boyfriends mind and, with a whispered apology, caused his mind to go dark. The last hit struck him, and Conner dropped like a stone.
It took everything she had not to fly to her boyfriend's side to make sure he was alright.
"It's about time!" the short one grumbled. Over his shoulder he added, "Go on, go get the sleds, they'll be out for a good half hour yet!"
The other, taller two shook their heads, turning and trotting back the way they'd come. "Do this, do that, stay here, go there, grab that kid…" muttered the man with the mustache.
"Yeah, who died and made him boss? The little shrimp..!" the dark haired man grumbled in agreement.
"Just get goin!" the short man yelled.
He watched them go, then went and crouched amongst the unconscious teens. In an almost bored fashion, he caught hold of Wally's flame red hair and pulled, lifting the speedsters dirty face up to get a better look at it. After a moment's scrutiny, he shrugged and dropped the teens head back down into the stinking mud.
His companions returned a few minutes later. But this time they weren't alone.
With them were children. Children of all descriptions, ages, and sizes. All were dressed in ragged, clumsily patched clothing. M'Gann cocked her head curiously.
Many of them were dressed in what appeared to be simple tunics, like the sackcloth tunics she'd seen in a Robin Hood movie once. She hadn't thought that humans still dressed like that. Most of them were wearing shorts or torn off pants underneath the tunics.
The children were hauling sleds behind them. Old, scrappy looking things that appeared to be made of planks of plywood. Rough, weathered pieces of knotted rope formed the handles, giving the children something to haul against.
Keeping up out of their reach so that there was no chance of someone bumping into her invisible form by accident, she moved nearer to the sleds. Upon closer inspection, she realized that they were sleds in name only, and then only in the loosest sense. They were wooden pallets flipped upside down and dragged on their tops, the kind one would use to transport goods on.
It was into these that the children were ordered to put her teammates.
They didn't argue, indeed, they never made a vocal sound of any kind. No grunts of effort as they tried to lift Conner, or growls of frustration when they couldn't. They ended up dragging him across the be-slimed floor and shoving him into their makeshift sled.
The sled tilted a little, one corner lifting up a couple inches before springing back to smack down on one little boy's toes. He opened his mouth as though to gasp but one of his companions quickly clapped a hand over his mouth before any sound could escape. They stood frozen like that for a moment, seemingly terrified. At length the boy nodded, tears welling in his eyes as the two hurried to help the other children drag their next passenger into the sled.
One by one the teens were dragged onto the sleds. Zatanna joined Conner. Wally and Coyote were tossed on another. Artemis and Robin were paired together. And Kaldur was placed in the last on his own.
"A' right you brats! Get a move on!" the short man yelled, tossing a well aimed kick here or a cuff to the ear there as the fancy took him, striding amongst the children.
The children hurried to grab the ropes of the sleds they'd apparently been assigned to, and once all were ready they all threw their weight forward against the ropes. M'Gann's heart ached to see them straining at the ropes, and yet make so little progress.
When the men began to hit the children, claiming that they could work harder than that, she decided she'd had enough.
She quietly held out her hands, making a gentle pushing motion toward the sleds that held her friends. Slowly, those sleds began to slide forward. Not enough to make the ropes go slack, that would be too obvious! But just enough to ease the burden a little, and make it easier for them to traverse the dank sewer passages.
They began to make more headway and M'Gann was quick to follow them, gliding above them as silent as a wraith, and infinitely less noticeable.
DUN! Dun! dun! SUSPENSE! Lol, I'll work on getting the next part up faster!
Review people! Reveiws are like bunnies! You leave them alone and they multiply into new chapters!
Until next time...