Chapter 12: Control

Nightshroud slashed his hand through her armor and onto her skin, sending warm blood into the air and causing her to scream out in pain.
"He broke through all TEN BARRIERS!?" Lana thought, astonished. "HOW!?"
The dark warrior then grabbed her neck and punched her hard in the face, sending her flying towards the ground and into the same crater he had fallen into.
"JAMES! STOP!" Alcor protested, but he ignored him.
"Shut it Alcor!" James screamed. "I'll show her what happens when you murder my family!"

Lana slowly stood up from the crater but was suddenly grabbed again by Nightshroud.

"I had never thought about it." He spoke in a voice not his own. "But I wonder if I could leak my energy into you…I've tried to murder before, but the Bat stopped me. But you know what? He's not here."
He slammed her into a concrete wall in front of the burned down factory. Her hood came undone and revealed her bloodied face as she coughed up blood and looked into Nightshroud's now demonic red eyes.
"Let me…show you what I went through in this very spot." He grinned.

Suddenly, he placed both of his hands on either side of Lana's face.
"W-what are you doing!?" She cried out.
Solarium started to seep through the destructive girl's forehead. She then started screaming loudly as the world around her changed. She blinked and saw she was tied to a wooden pole. Around her the world was burning, the sky was red, and in front of her was an army of shadows facing her. Each figure was shadowy black with white eyes.
Suddenly, a pillar of flames erupted around her. She screamed as the flames started melting her skin. More and more her skin melted as blood started to drain from her face.

"STOP! STOP! PLEASE STOP!" Lana screamed.

Just then, Nightshroud appeared in front of her.
"Stop being a pussy." He burst out laughing. "I thought you had a plan? I thought you knew how things worked? I thought you were going to change everything."
"You…are…INSANE!" Lana replied, angrily.
Nightshroud grinned. "I'll take that as a compliment. Now then, I think it's time we ended your pathetic existence. What do you think everyone?"
"Death! Death! Death!" They chanted.
Nightshroud filled his right hand with red Solarium and reared it back.
"So what if I never figure out who you really are?" He chuckled. "You'll be dead. That's all that matters."

With a roar he plunged his hand towards her chest. Gasping, she shut her eyes and braced for impact, but it never came.
Suddenly she stopped feeling the flames, and she opened her eyes.
"LET ME FINISH HER!" Nightshroud screamed out. "I'M SO CLOSE!"
"No." The voice replied. "You've crossed the line. Stop now."
Lana looked, and saw Batman with his back turned to her.
"I…can't…move…" She moaned. "He invaded my brain with his Solarium and created an illusion…but it felt all too real…"

Forcing herself to move, she reached into her pocket and pulled out a remote.

"You cannot stop me in this form Batman!" Nightshroud flew at him, but the Dark Knight suddenly did a side flip, which made him fly underneath him. At the same time, he fired his grappling hook as he passed. It clung to his neck and stopped him in midflight, sending him to the ground.
"We'll meet again…James…Nightshroud." Lana thought as she pressed a button on the remote. Her long-range teleporter tracked her location and beamed her out of the factory ruins.
"NO!" Nightshroud fired a blast of red Solarium to where Lana was a moment before she disappeared.
"God damn it! I HAD HER!" Nightshroud angrily punched the ground, leaving another crater.
Batman lunged at him and placed a patch over his chest.

"W-what are you doing!?" Nightshroud/James protested as the red energy started to disappear. His fangs changed back into regular teeth, his red eyes returned to his traditional hazel, and his red Solarium turned blue again.
"No…no…no…" James fell to his knees and covered his face. "I lost control again…I don't even know how many times I've lost it. God I can't handle this…"
"You're lucky I don't throw you in prison James." Batman scolded. "Get out of here. Now."
Nodding, James as Nightshroud quickly flew high into the air and disappeared into the night.
Sighing, Batman looked around at the destruction the two of them caused.

"This is just the beginning for those two…" He thought. "James still doesn't know who Lana really is…and when he does…"

He pressed a button on his wrist and the Batmobile screeched through the debris and stopped next to him. He jumped into the front seat and drove off.

"James!" Pam exclaimed. "What happened?"
Pam had gone to the old Ace Chemicals factory after Joe had filled her in on the details about Lana. Everyone else had gone home leaving just the three of them.
"I…lost control again…" He replied sadly. "I just can't control my temper when I'm in battle. I—"
"You say that but it hasn't happened much since Brainiac's attack." Pam assured. "Look, you just found out about the fate of your sister. That would drive anyone mad."
"But I tried to psychologically torture Lana with my powers!" James insisted. "I tried to destroy her mind instead of killing her so she'd feel the effects for longer! I mean it's a f-cked up—"

"Once again, you learned a startling revelation James." Joe interrupted. Don't assume that you have no control over your anger. It's true that you've had really bad experiences with it but you are better now than you were then."
"I…guess so." James replied.
"Alright come now." Pam grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the Ace Chemicals exit. "You're spending the night with me this time. Joe, I take it you're handing the renovation of this place?"
"Uh…yeah I am!" Joe stammered. "Just go James, you need to take your mind off of this."

Pamela Isley lay on her large bed and placed James's head on her chest.
"Rest." She insisted. "Don't think about anything. Don't think about what happened today, why it happened, or whom you've met. Just think of me and sleep."
Pam and James were settling into James's apartment as the clock struck 1 a.m.
"Luckily it's Saturday morning." James muttered, depressed. "Cause I would be in no shape to wake up or go to class today."
"Well forget about it." Pam insisted. "You're here with me now."
A tear went down James's eyes as he snuggled up closer to the plant user.

"At least I won't need to live in this apartment anymore." He said tearfully. "That money could serve us well."

"I'd rather you handle that James." Pam warned. "I may no longer rob banks as Poison Ivy, but that doesn't mean I'm suddenly a Girl Scout who wants justice for all. I do still have my tendencies, and those aren't going away."
"You're right about that." James said. "But still, you are in a better place now then before."
"True." Pam kissed the young student's head. "Goodnight."
"Goodnight Pam."

In an Unknown Location…

Lana sat down in front of her supercomputer and opened up footage of the battle. She was having trouble sitting still as her hands shook. The dark-haired girl gritted her teeth as she felt her ribs.
"All broken…" She thought. "No one was ever able to penetrate my barriers like he did…let alone nearly smash me to bits…"
But she could not help but think back to the illusion James had subjected her to; burning alive…skin melting…it felt real.
"How did he do it!?" Lana thought, alarmed. "He shattered me not only physically, but almost mentally. I'm still shaking from the aftermath…Rage energy? I never knew he still had it. I know he fought Nero but…"
She put her hands together and enveloped herself in purple energy. The kinetium flew around her body and healed the wounds she sustained in the battle. Soon she was completely healthy.

"I must still continue with the plan." Lana thought. "I'll set it in motion at the right moment. For now, one body for the next six days."
She reached for a piece of paper and read off the names:
"Jacob Simonson…Madison Adams…Zach Mosart…Drew Herney…"

SIX MONTHS LATER

James sat in his apartment, depressed over the recent news that Pamela Isley had broken to him. Next to him, Max was laying on his shoulder. He thought back to the conversation he had with her in the greenhouse an hour ago:

"James." Pam walked up to him.
"Yeah Pam?" He answered.
"There's something I need to tell you." She started.
He turned to her worried. "What's wrong?"
"Remember when you went to the future?" Pam asked. "Remember when you met my older self and our daughter there?"
"Yeah I do. Why?"
"And also after that I neglected to take my pill so we could make it happen?"
"…Yeah…"
Pam sighed. "I'm not pregnant."
"W-What!? You aren't? How come?" James asked, shocked.
"I don't know." Pam shook her head. "I guess since that was an aborted timeline…it was only by chance."

James sighed sadly. "It's okay Pam. We'll have other chances. I mean we—"
"But James…" Pam started. "That means she won't grow up with Max—"
"Well we don't know that for sure." He said. "You never know, since your metabolism has started to slow down, it could be anytime!"
Pam looked at him, and nodded.
"True." She answered. "I'm sorry James. I—"
"Hey don't worry." He shook his head. "Maybe this is for the best. Remember, I'm a target right now, so you giving birth now would put you and the child in danger."

"I guess it was not to be." James muttered.
"You hit it right on the head earlier James." Alcor spoke. "Since this Lana character is still out there, if she ever caught wind of Pam being pregnant…"
"She'd immediately try to kill her." James finished. "Yeah that's true."
Max looked up at him opened his mouth and closed it as if trying to say something.
James looked it him curiously.
"Max?" He asked. "Something wrong?"

The child looked at him and opened his mouth again, but no sound came out.

"I think he's trying to speak James…"
The student jumped off the bed and faced the child.
"Okay." James nodded. "M-A-X. Max."
He then pointed at him to show it was his name. The boy nodded as if to say, "I know."
"Alcor why can't he speak?"
"Let's look."

James eyes turned a dark shade of blue as he scanned the boy's body for any irregularities. His eyes suddenly stopped as his throat.
"What the…?"
"His vocal cords are dead." Alcor answered. "This must've been Cadmus to keep him from communicating."
"Bastards…but why didn't Bruce catch it? He's been running tests on him for months."
"He must've already known." He replied. "Fixing someone's voice is a risky business. You could damage more then just their diaphragm if you get it wrong."

"Let's try."
"Are you certain?"
"Yes. I've been studying my own Solarium for some time now. I found out that there is a method of cellular regeneration. I've been in contact with Dr. Leslie Tompkins as you know and she's told me some of the tests she's run with a sample of Solarium I sent her."

"Sounds like a plan. Let's do it." Alcor agreed finally.