Young Justice: Everymen
Initiation
Disclaimer: Young Justice belongs to Greg Weismann, Brandon Vietti, Cartoon Network, and DC Comics.
The Oxford Comma belongs to Oxford (clearly) but I rather like to use it.
21:24 31 December 2011
Hall of Justice
Stones tinged off of Wonder Woman's wrists as she moved towards me faster than I could register as I pelted all the rocks I could see at her. But they were like tiny gnats compared to a charging elephant. Brushing the stones off, she flew towards me, her lasso in hand with a look of pure rage on her face. I gulped. I needed to pacify her.
And then what felt like a train hit my face and I screamed in pain. Through the stars and splotches of light that exploded across my vision, I saw Wonder Woman retracting her fist, ready to strike again. I looked into her eyes but those weren't the eyes of a noble warrior. Her eyes were blank and her face was curled into a snarl.
I needed to act quick. And so my arms went up, raising as I stretched and reached and pulled until I finally found the ceiling once again under my power. I closed my eyes but I could feel the cold surface humming and completely under my command. I took a deep breath, waiting for her to pause, hoping for her to stop. Maybe she'd say it was just a training exercise.
7:56 7 January 2020.
Everyman Institute, Five miles outside Washington DC.
"This can't be the right place," Cassie muttered, checking the GPS on her phone.
The taxi had dropped her off in front of a small two story building. The main parking lot had only a dozen cars parked in it. There was a small plot of grass in the front and neatly trimmed hedges lined the sidewalk. It was quaint. And way too small to be this region's Everyman Institute. The only reason Cassie hadn't turned around yet was the sign the door that clearly read "The Everyman Institute" in a clean print.
"Nah, kid, you're at the right place," a gravelly voice came from behind Cassie. "The glorified meta-human boarding school, right?"
Cassie turned and nodded. The speaker was a man in his forties that Cassie could only describe with one word: gruff. He had a gruff, scraggly stubble and a gruff, bored look on his face, covering a pair of icy, alert eyes. Cassie noticed that he was wearing a only a t-shirt and jeans and boots and nothing else even though it was freaking January outside. But then again, Cassie supposed, she didn't need a coat either, but rather like how they looked on her.
"Yeah. I'm starting this session. Do you work here or something?"
"No. Here for initiation. Len Snart," he added, offering her his hand.
"Cassie Sandsmark."
Cassie took the hand and gave him a weird look. His name sounded familiar.
"What? I'm not too old to save the world," Len said and started walking towards the building. "Don't worry about what it looks like. Hear it's bigger inside."
After a little pause, she hurried after him.
The entry way was packed with chattering metas. Some of them were as old as Len but most were in their early twenties. Cassie was definitely one of the youngest in the room.
Some people were quietly chatting on the couches, waiting for the orientation to start. Some were waiting in line for the sign in. But in the center of the waiting room was a ring of loud, chanting metas. Most of which, Cassie noted with a smirk, were men in their early twenties.
Walking over, she poked her head into the circle. A burst of fire shot towards her and she flinched. The circle whooped and cheered.
The flaming man in the middle of the circle chuckled and pretended to flick some lint of of his shirt.
"Hey, Hotshot," another guy had entered the ring. "Gimme your best shot."
The Hotshot grinned and sent a blast of fire in the challenger's direction. Instead of diving out of the way, the guy took it.
His shirt burnt off almost immediately and his skin blackened. With a shocked look, Hotshot stooped. But as fast as the challenger's body had been charred, it healed back to original state.
The challenger raised his arms in victory. "Took me forever to figure out I could do that."
The crowd cheered again as both men exited the circle. And meta after meta, the group entered the ring. One who called himself "The Giant" could grow to giant sizes. A guy who called himself Jerico was a psychic of some kind. A woman in her twenties could shrink in size and fly. She called herself Bumblebee. Argent, Herald, and more. The first two guys (Cassie found out later) called themselves Hotshot and the Challenger.
One by one the demonstrations waned as the people in the ring went. And by the end it was only Cassie left.
Smirking, Cassie jumped into the ring.
"They call me Collateral Damage Girl," she said proudly. "And I'm from NYC. Anyone want to see what I can do? I'll need a partner from the audience."
The group cheered and clapped, but no one came into the ring. They must have heard about me, Cassie thought grimly.
"No," said a quiet, calm voice from the crowd. "I don't want to."
"C'mon, Small Fry. We showed you our stuff." Looking around, Cassie saw The Giant nudging a shorter meta near the outside of the ring. "Don't make me pick you up."
"C'mon. Small Fry, Small Fry," the droid started to chant as they pushed him towards the center.
"I can walk by myself, thanks," said the young man, as he stepped into the circle. He couldn't have been much older younger than Cassie herself, she noted.
Pocketing his cellphone (he had been typing on it the entire time), he stood with his arms crossed across from her.
Cassie smirked. She could wipe the floor with this guy's weenie ass. Without hesitation, she charged him, ready for a quick grab'n'thow.
But he wasn't where he had been a second ago. Dumbstruck, Cassie blinked. Speedster? They were rare but it would explain the sudden-
She felt a tap on her shoulder and she whipped around, her fist swinging... And missing as Small Fry ducked under her arm in perfect timing. Definitely not a speedster, she noted as got a glimpse at his neck. No inhibitor collar.
Super reflexes? She swung another punch at him, waiting for him to duck so she could knee him in the stomach. But this time he grabbed her shoulders and vaulted himself over her, avoiding her punch again. The crown snickered. Cassie turned red.
That dirty little... She kicked off the ground and flew at him at top speed. And... Caught him in a choke hold. Let's see him break it, she thought.
And he didn't. He couldn't. Ducking down, he flipped her and she landed with a disproportionate crash. But, not letting herself fail too quickly, she swiped with her hand to make his knees buckle and knocked him ground as well.
Quickly she picked herself up and prepared for him to pop up from off the ground when an automated voice came from the intercom.
"After you have checked in, we request that Everymen initiates file in through the double doors for the first part of initiation."
Cassie scowled.
"You got lucky this time," she said. She gave him a grudging hand to help him off the floor.
He ignored the hand and gracefully hopped to his feet. "I still got some tricks up my sleeves." He stuffed his hands in his pockets and joined the que at the door.
The group of metas filed through the doors into an auditorium and quickly took their seats. A woman in a high cut business suit walked on to the stage and stood at a podium, rearranging her notecards. Tapping on the microphone to make sure it was on (and flinchig a the sound when she would out that it definitely was) began to speak.
"Welcome to this region's Everyman Institute. I'm Janice Morgan, the associate director of the National Everyman Project and the regional director here. On behalf of all of our staff and our founder, Lex Luthor, I'd like to welcome you all."
There was mild, awkward clapping from the audience.
There was a creak of a chair next to Cassie as she heard someone sit down.
"Hey, kid, not late am I?" Len slid into a seat next to Cassie.
She shook her head.
"I'd also like to congratulate you all on agreeing to participate in this program," the associate director continued, "Of the four percent of registered meta-humans, our records say that only five percent of those agree to participate in the Everyman Institute. You are the special few of most ambitious and powerful meta humans and it is a great honor to have you all here."
There was more awkward clapping.
"Also, if they don't ask you to come, it costs and arm and a leg," Len muttered to Cassie darkly.
"They ask you?"
"Yeah, they ask most people they want to come to come. But most of the weak ones they don't ask."
"Weak ones?"
"Oh, you know, super-senses, flash precognition and the likes. Master martial artists have been doing that for centuries. They don't find it useful."
"What about people who didn't get the procedure that are metas?"
Len looked at her suspiciously. "Never heard of anything like that. Why?"
"No reason." Cassie directed her attention back to Ms. Morgan.
"... You must be very careful to do well on the assessment. It will determine your program for the rest of your time here. Afterwards, we will discuss your rooming arrangements and extra skill classes. Now if you'd step through the doors near the stage, you'll board some elevators that will take you to your assessment rooms."
The elevators sank into the earth at an alarming rate. They were going deep into the earth; way deeper than the little building on top had implied. It was right then and there when Cassie realized what Len had meant; the Institute was definitely bigger than it looked.
When the elevators finally dinged and the doors opened, Cassie knew that they were far underground. Stepping out, she stumbled. Motion sickness...
She joined the group of the twenty or so metas. They had landed in a concrete hallway with dozens of doors lining the hall, all labeled "examination room" and number.
"Anyone hear about the examinations?" Hotshot asked out-loud. No one responded.
"Great," he muttered.
A voice crackled to life on the intercom. "Will the examinees please line up in front of an examination room? The assessment will begin when the doors open."
After a "good luck, kid" from Len (where had she heard that name before?), she lined up her door. And noticed who was standing to the room next to here.
"Hey, Small Fry, ready for the test?" she asked to the sour-faced acrobat.
"Please don't call me Small Fry," he said, still facing the door.
"But those guys called you that."
He gave her a look.
"My name's Cassie. Not Collateral Damage Girl," she said and offered him her hand. He took it, but only resignedly.
"My name's Alvin Draper," he replied. "Call me Draper."
"So, Draper," Cassie said, grinning, "We never got to finish showing off our skills. What'd ya say? Whoever finishes first on the assessment gets bragging rights."
It seemed to have struck the right chord with somber teen. Draper almost grinned back. "I'll be waiting."
"See you on the other side."
And with that, the doors opened. Cassie, Tim, and the rest of the metas stepped through the doors.
Cassie stepped into the darkened room. Her footsteps echoed all around.
Slowly, the lights flickered on, revealing the assessment room. It was a narrow, concrete room with a very high ceiling. Good for flying, Cassie grinned.
Then her grin faded as her eyes slid over the blank walls and the bare floor. What was there to be tested on?
The door slammed behind her and Cassie wheeled around.
"No way."
There was a giant robot standing right in the corner next to the door. They wanted her to fight a giant robot?!
"Sweet."
The intercom crackled to life once more.
"Fight!"
"Don't mind if I do," Cassie grinned, massaging her fist.
She took off into the air. She'd like to see Alvin beat up a robot.
Tim had watched as the metas has entered the room as soon as they were told. Amateurs. They'd never see a surprise attack coming.
Covertly looking around the hall (maybe he could sneak off just for a second and get some recon...) when he saw another person standing outside his room.
"Smart, kid," said Len Snart, giving Tim an approving grin. Len Snart, more widely known as Captain Cold, one of the Flash's rouges, Tim thought bitterly, was in his way. Of course a rouge wouldn't walk in blindly either.
Tim sighed. No way was he getting recon when a criminal was watching.
"Can never be too careful," Tim replied and nodded to Cold. He paused and peeked his head in the door and looked off into his blind spots.
A giant metal creature stood right next to the doorway in just a way so that someone entering without looking wouldn't see it.
Tim snickered. A giant robot. Really?
He instinctively grabbed for a batarang, but then remembered that Alvin Draper didn't have one. He cursed and then ran full tilt into the room and did a handspring with a 180 lateral twist, landing crouched and a good distance away from the enemy. He was ready for the inevitable attack.
But none came. Tim frowned suspiciously and noted the surroundings. Narrow room, high ceiling, all concrete. Though the walls still looked awfully thin.
Slipping off his right shoe, still crouched for an attack, he threw it at the robot. It bounced off and rolled away. The robot remained still. Was this a joke?
"FIGHT!" The intercom roared and echoed throughout the room. The robot's eyes came alive. And it raised a glowing hand out in the direction of Tim.
"Shit."
He barely had time to tumble out of the blast radius before energy beam blasted the wall behind him, leaving heavy scorch marks.
Slipping off his other shoe, he hurled it to the side of the robot's head. Again, nothing happened as the shoe bounced to the ground. Tim groaned, what had he expected to happen? Superman was supposed to handle the giant robots, not Batman. He hadn't trained for this. How was he supposed to do this? If only he had his staff...his electric staff.
Bruce must have rolled over in his grave from that act of stupidity.
Tumbling again to avoid an energy blast from the robot, he rolled and found himself right next to the robot's leg. The rubber-coated metal robot's leg.
He took a deep breath and let the buzzing energy coarse through his veins and through his hands and start melting the rubber.
He grinned as he watched the rubber drip down the sides of the leg. Just a few more seconds and the metal would be exposed.
BOOM!
There was a earth rattling crash as Tim was knocked away from the robot's leg.
A cloud of dust enveloped his vision and then slowly cleared away as he saw the wreckage. There were piles of concrete pieces from where the dividing wall had been. And bridging those two walls was the body of another robot lay.
There was coughing as a blonde head appeared through the wall.
"That's what I call bringing down the house," Cassie said, hands on her hips. She coughed again and started fanning the dust away from her face.
Tim frowned and picked himself up onto his feet. He hissed in pain as he felt a giant bruise in his side where a chunk of wall had hit hit. At least it wasn't anything important like his head. Collateral Damage Girl was the understatement of a year.
"How'd you do that?" He looked at her suspiciously.
"What?"
"You just took down a concrete wall with a giant robot. Doesn't that sound a little fishy to you?" he picked himself up and walked over to Cassie's robot.
"You mean what?"
"How does a metal robot break a wall and stay intact?" he kneeled down close to the robot. That makes no sense..."
Tim frowned, looking over the wiring of the robot. She was being awfully quiet
"...Cassie?"
"Draper!" She shouted and pointed to behind him.
Tim turned around to see a flash of light coming straight towards him...
Next on Everymen: Fortress in the Sky. Initiation ends! But does Tim get to see it?
AN: Thanks for all the reviews. They really motivate me to write.