The obligatory notes before the chapter:
Nothing much to say here, life's been crazy. I've been asked to illustrate a Superman Story. Yay! If you haven't seen my art yet, feel free to check it out- the link's in my profile. :)
Getting ready for NaNoWriMo- National Novel Writing Month. It's a writing challenge- 50,000 words, 30 days, no looking back. I challenge all my readers to try it- you can do it! www(dot)nanowrimo(dot)org. I'm going for 75,000 words this year, just to challenge myself a bit. But, because it's an all-November thing, I probably won't update the Justice Little League throughout that month. Sorry... you'll just have to be satisfied with a cliffhanger chapter... oh wait, I'm not supposed to give that away, am I? :P
Hope you enjoy the most recent chapter! As always, reviews are most welcome!
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"Seriously, guys! How much fun is this?!?" Green Lantern let out a 'Tarzan yell' and swung on a vine he'd created from his ring, coming within inches of his friends' heads. He landed with a dramatic flourish next to Shayera. "Me: Tarzan. You: Jane."
The winged girl rolled her eyes. "Me: not interested. Find another place to play, John." She had to duck, though, as another costumed child swung overhead- this one bedecked in red and black and sporting a large 'R' on his chest.
"Way cool idea, GL!" Robin shouted as he swung away.
Batboy and Nightwing sighed in unison. "Grow up, kid," Nightwing muttered under his breath. He glanced down at his mentor. "Recapping, then. Morgan turned you all into kids, and then did the same to the whole league. Now we're trying to find a way to reverse the spell." Batboy grunted in the affirmative. "And how exactly is this temple going to help?"
Superboy hovered nearby and answered for his friend. "Apparently, this temple may have some sort of clue to the Amulet of First Magic- which no longer exists- that's supposed to help us figure out how to beat Morgan's magic."
Flash zipped up between them. "And if we find the temple, and some sort of riddle or clue or puzzle or maybe just a big ol' honkin' sign that says 'Beat Morgan this way', then we'll be able to fix this. Or at least have an idea how to fix it. Or if not an idea, just a clue would be nice. Anything, really. And maybe there'll be some food in the temple, 'cuz I'm getting kinda hungry, and it'd be nice if there was food nearby. I mean, besides the fruit. There's tons of fruit around here, but I don't know if it's poisonous or not, and I don't want to risk, like, getting purple spots on my face, or turning green, or, I don't know… dying or something. That'd be bad. Real bad. 'Cuz you guys know how you couldn't do anything without me. The League'd be… doomed. Seriously doomed. Like, Superman-sized doom. That's not sayin' we're not doomed now or anything, with us being kids and all… wait. Of course we're not doomed. What am I thinking? We're never doomed." Flash put his hands on his hips in a semi-heroic pose. "We're the Justice League!!" He paused, as if waiting for some form of acknowledgement.
"Way to keep up the spirit, Wally," Superboy said, clapping a hand on his shoulder.
"Aw…" Flash scuffed his feet on the ground in mock embarrassment. "So… When are we going to be there?"
Diana flew down from the overhead canopy, "I can see the temple."
***
The temple sat in the middle of a dried-out valley, a scar of desert in the midst of the lush jungle. The far-off mountains seemed somehow closer from the edge of the desert where the children –and one adult, but who was counting? – stood, their white tips shining in the bright sunlight.
The temple itself was a ruin, ancient pillars hanging to one side or another, lining what must have once been a broad avenue leading to the large, sprawling building. Wisps of mist inhabited the shadows cast by the tall courtyard walls, streams of sunlight lending a less-than-menacing air to the entire area. Stone steps led up to the front doorway, or where it once must have been, for the ruins had collapsed, leaving a stone pile at the top of the stairway.
"Well, it doesn't look that bad," Robin announced, cheerily.
"Until you ask why Greek architecture is in South America," John answered. "Then it's just creepy."
"It's not Greek," Diana argued. "It's Roman."
"It's still creepy." As if that was the final statement on the subject, Lantern flew down, leading the way into the valley, lit ring first. The rest followed him warily, staying alert for danger.
Once they reached a secure location (or as close to secure as they could be, with a 'creepy' temple looming nearby), Batboy crouched down, tracing out his plan in the dirt for all to see. "The temple's here," he said, pointing at a big circle, "and we're here. Now, Oracle mentioned that there's a legend of a guardian- a stone golem of some sort…"
Nightwing interrupted. "Like Cinderblock, I'll bet. I can handle it."
Batboy shot a glare at him. "This isn't kid stuff anymore, Dick. We all stick to the plan and get in and out of that temple as quickly and safely as possible. And that includes taking care of the guardian." Nightwing folded his arms with a frown.
Wally piped up. "I know! I could run in and take care of that monster as fast as possible, and maybe find some food while I'm in there, and clear a path for you and… and… I'm sure there's more I can do! Quick and safe, get it?"
Superboy frowned from his position above the rest of the group, hovering a few feet above their heads. "We don't even know if this 'golem' exists. I bet it's just a story. Even if it wasn't, how hard could it be to beat a rock?"
Robin stood and looked up at him. "There's no telling what kind of traps could be in there, and you're the only one who's bulletproof. I'm sure Batman's got a plan, and I'm gonna follow it."
"First time for everything…" Shayera muttered to Diana. Superboy snickered.
"Can I finish with the plan?" Batboy asked him in annoyance. Superboy quieted down, a small smile twitching at the corner of his face, but he waved for the black-clad boy to continue. "Thank you…" he turned back to the rest of the group. "Clark- I need you to scan the inside of the temple. I'd like to know what we're going up against before we just-" he shot a quick look at Wally "-run in. If the Golem's there, we'll take it out. If it's not, great. Makes our job easier. Diana, Shayera, John, There's a huge rock pile blocking the only entrance I can see. Can you three take care of that? Dick, Tim, stay alert. We don't know what we're going up against."
"Morgan might have left some traps," Robin stated.
"Duh," John said, laughing.
"And me?" Wally asked Bruce.
"You're with me, Wally. I've got a plan for you."
In a blur of red and blue, Superboy flew away, stopping near the temple. He floated in one place, scanning the entire building top to bottom, a frown beginning to crease his face. He floated in one place for a moment, and then returned to the rest of the group, deflated. "The place is full of lead."
"The entire temple's made of lead?" Bruce asked.
"No, it's just that there's a lot in there. All I could see was a bunch of shapes. No signs of life, though, so it looks like your Golem's just a story." He folded his arms as he landed, and leaned against a fallen pillar.
"Alright, then, one less thing to worry about," came the reply. "Diana, Shayera and John- it's your turn, the rest of us will follow." The three flew off towards the temple, weaving between pillars. "Clark, take up the rear with Dick. Stay alert- just because you didn't see a guard doesn't mean it's not there.
"Always prepared for the worst, huh? And they call me the Boy Scout."
***
"Nothin' to it," Lantern said, lifting one rock after another off the pile, green energy surrounding the stones.
"Easy for you to say," the winged girl answered. She gave a shout and smashed her mace into the nearest rock, shattering it into pieces and scattering them.
Diana blocked a shard with her magic bracelets. "Watch it!" She flung a stone, three times her size, into a clear spot about fifteen yards away. It broke into two pieces upon landing.
Suddenly, a growl sounded behind Shayera. She jumped and turned, holding her mace at the ready. The rocks behind her slowly moved, shifting and reshaping themselves. Moments later, a fifty-foot tall monster stood where the pile of stones had been lying. Reaching down with one hand, it knocked all three children aside, sending them flying across the open courtyard.
Bruce's eyes widened as he watched them soar over his head, creating a small cloud of dust as they landed. The cloud dissipated quickly, revealing the three lying in a heap, unmoving.