*A/N: Yeah it's been a while, sorry 'bout that :D Hopefully this will make up for my laziness. ENJOY! And always, please leave a review!
Stumbling through the densely forested, uneven terrain and boggy puddles of the marshy woods, Flash and Superman continued their search for Batman and Wonder Woman. With Green Lantern slowly gliding overhead, the trio prowled the forest. "This place is huge!" Flash sighed, flabbergasted, as he looked up and around at the endless plethora of trees and other plant life. "Where do we even start looking?"
"I wish I knew," Superman replied, just as blown away by the landscape. After escaping the poachers' warehouse, the group had been wandering the forest for what seemed like hours, without any sign of Wonder Woman or Batman.
"Maybe Bats will give a holler like he did back in Metropolis?" Flash suggested optimistically.
"Not likely," Superman replied negatively.
"We weren't exactly set free," Green Lantern pointed out.
"I'm sure those thugs are probably searching the woods for all of us right now," Superman continued. "If Batman were to howl out like he did back in the city, he wouldn't just be telling us where he and Wonder Woman are. Our best bet is to keep moving and hope we find them before those poachers find us," he instructed as he continued to lead the way through the mud.
"Well, even if those thugs do find us, I'd say your value has decreased significantly," John joked as he flew over Clark's head and directed his attention to his paws.
"Ugh this is gross!" Flash added as he turned around and looked at his own filthy paws and the messy tracks that followed behind them in the mud.
"This isn't good..." Superman said to himself as he looked down at his sloppy brown paws, and back to the trail of prints they left behind them.
"Yeah, but it's nothing a good bath won't fix. You'll be pearly-white again in no time!"
"I meant these tracks," Clark said, irritated. "They can follow these." He said, turning to study the trail and how far back it led.
"Those guys could be following us right now," John said as he perched on a tree branch overhead.
"John, fly back and see how long this trail leads. If those goons see these prints, we're as good as caught," Clark said to Wally as John obediently retraced their steps. While waiting for him return, Clark explained their mission to Wally. "We've got to get out of here and find Bruce and Diana," he said, looking up at the landscape, elaborately scanning the terrain, his ears picking up on every sound in the forest. "Wally, any chance you can pick up Bruce's scent? It helped us find Lantern; we've got to try it again."
"Sure," Flash confidently replied. "Might be a little harder now that we're outside, but I'll give a shot." He said as he began to sniff the air. While Flash tried to sniff out Batman and Wonder Woman, Superman anxiously waited for Green Lantern to return with a report on their 'print problem.' After several minutes, John returned to share his findings.
"Those tracks go back pretty far," he said regrettably. "But I haven't seen any of those goons; doubt they'll try to follow now that it's getting dark," he said, looking up at the fiery orange evening sky.
"We've still gotta find Batman and Diana," Clark said determinedly. "Flash, any luck?"
"Not sure," Flash replied in a focused tone, taking a minute to answer before approaching a nearby tree and sniffing its surface. Upon touching his cold wet nose to the rough surface of the tree's bark, the fox's scarlet ears perked up and he shouted for his friends. "Guys!"
"Is it Batman?" John asked anxiously as he and Clark sprung to Wally's side.
"Yes and no," Wally replied between sniffs. "He was here, hours ago," he explained, "But so was..." his voice trailed off as he continued to smell the area, more focused and serious than before. "Uh-oh..." he said coldly.
"What is it?" Clark asked in anxious concern.
"We've gotta move. Now!" he commanded as he backed away from the tree, his tail stiffened behind him as he backed up. "Those goons have been here. Recently."
"How recently?" John and Clark asked nervously.
"Not long after we got out," he said as he smelled the tree again.
"And Batman?" John asked.
"Hours ago," Wally replied while briefly tearing his attention away from the tree. "I'm getting Diana too, they must've passed through here when they escaped; and gone..." he paused and smelled the air, "this way!" he shouted as he sprinted off on a tangent through the forest.
"Flash, wait up!" Clark and John shouted as they quickly followed behind. After minutes of sprinting through the darkening forest, the trio stopped at a small bog littered with puddles and pools of varying sizes and depths. "Where to know?" Clark asked, looking down at a heavily panting Wally.
"I don't know," he said, out of breath as he leaned forward and sniffed the ground in front of a large pool of water. "Trail ends here."
"They must've swam through all of this," John suggested.
"Great," Wally grumbled. "Then there's no way I can tell where they went now. If they swam through this stuff they could've gone in any direction. We could be wandering around here all night trying to figure out which way they went."
"We have to keep looking," Clark said eagerly. "This pool doesn't take up the entire area; and they couldn't have stayed in this water for long. We can make our way around it and try to pick them up on the other side," he suggested. "You said those poachers were out here, they may not be looking for us, and could be getting close to Diana and Bruce. We have to keep looking." Dutifully, John and Wally agreed and joined Clark in his trek around the perimeter of the small pond. Still trying to pick up any scents or signs of their friends, the three fiercely intensified their search as Clark- utilizing his superior night vision- led the way through the darkening night, and Wally continued his efforts to pick up a scent from Diana or Bruce. With John keeping a keen eye out from the skies, the trio moved efficiently around the pond, exercising their newly heightened skills to the best of their ability. Halfway around the pond, Flash stopped short and looked around him; his ears erect and alert to even the slightest sound.
"What is it?" John asked as he landed beside his friend.
"I can smell Lex's poachers again," Flash replied, vigilantly sniffing the air. "The scent's pretty old, about a few days-"
"-boy, you're getting good at this!" Green Lantern interjected, both he and Superman blown away by Flash's newly polished talent. With a happy nod and a wagging tail, Flash accepted the compliment before continuing.
"-But something still doesn't feel right..." he said warily. "I'm still not getting Bats or Wonder Woman," he said as he looked around. "Actually, other than you guys, I don't think anything has been near this area for days."
"Stay close and stay alert," Superman advised as they slowly made their way to the other side of the pool. Moving cautiously, they continued to keep their search going, hoping to find any signs of their friends, but as the night grew darker, the faint sting of doubt began to cloud their minds. 'What if they'd been found and brought back to the warehouse? What if they were also lost somewhere in these woods? What if they were in trouble? What if-' Just then Flash's nose encountered a familiar scent on a breeze, and this time it was stronger and closer than ever.
"Guys!" he shouted as he stood up on his hind legs, nose reaching into the air in an attempt to take in as much of the breeze as possible. "It's Batman! He must be nearby!" he exclaimed excitedly as he picked up the pace and continued to press forward, Green Lantern still gliding overhead, and Superman trotting at his side.
"And Diana?" John asked eagerly.
"No, it's just Bats," Wally replied. "But I'm sure she can't be far; he did say he was going to find her and get her out safely."
"Is he nearby?"
Taking a moment to sniff the air again, Flash's happily waving tail was enough of an answer to convince Clark and John to pick up the pace. Now almost at a full speed gallop Wally and Clark scoped out the night, searching for their friend. As Flash insisted that they were getting closer the trio began to call for Bruce and Diana, eagerly waiting for a reply. Slowing down for a moment to get their bearings, the three began to walk around the area, weaving between the scattered trees and bushes, trying to find their friends while John flew ahead and searched from the skies. Still on the hunt, Superman became so focused on locating his friends that, for the moment, nothing else mattered, nothing else existed. Not the trees, not the sky or the stars, not even the ground beneath his feet. Swiftly moving through the forest, he briefly slowed for a minute to allow Flash to catch up and share his findings.
"He's close," Superman said confidently. "I can smell him too."
"Great," Flash replied happily. "They've got to be nearb-"
"Look OUT!" Suddenly Flash felt his feet leave the ground, as if he'd been snatched up from by a mysterious entity from the heavens.
"Flash!" Clark shouted as he leapt forward in an attempt to get his friend back, only to be struck in the shoulder and pushed backwards onto the ground by an invisible force. "What in the- Flash!" he roared, causing the entire area to tremble in response.
"Stay there!" commanded a familiar voice- through clenched teeth- as a dark shadow and glowing yellow eyes, approached from the other side of a large patch of soggy grass and dirt.
"Batman!" John and Clark said happily as their excited eyes adjusted to the pitch black darkness, allowing them to see the inky black wolf that proceeded to gently lower Flash from its jaws, to the ground.
"Whoa," Flashed sighed exasperated as he looked up to Batman. "For a second there, I actually thought you were gonna eat me!" Graciously, Batman nodded before returning his attention to Superman who clumsily returned to his feet, asking why he was knocked to the ground in the first place.
"Don't move," Batman instructed as he searched the ground before finding a large stone on the ground. Confused, Clark and John watched as Bruce used his nose to flick the rock forward, watching it intently as it rolled over in the soggy dirt. When nothing happened, he cautiously pushed it forward a second time, studying the ground in front of him.
"Bruce, what is it?" Superman asked as he tried to determine what his friend was doing. Watching as the rock slowly continued to roll forward, his question was soon answered by a sudden, loud crack as the stone and another large object unexpectedly jumped up from beneath a mass of scattered leaves and brush!
"A bear trap," Batman calmly replied as he approached the deactivated trap and studied it further. "And I'm sure that wasn't the only one in the area..."
"Wow," sighed Flash, exacerbated.
"How'd you know that was there?" asked John as he landed beside the heavy metal trap, studying its rusted hinges and the now cracked stone that lay beside it.
"It's a hunter's trap," Bruce replied matter-o-factly, "they're everywhere in these woods. Count yourselves lucky that's the only one you came across. One that big could've easily broken your leg," he said to Superman. "Or worse," he continued, looking down at Flash.
"Thanks," Clark replied gratefully. Silently, Batman accepted the thanks with a nod before turning and leading the way through the dark woods.
"Come on, Diana isn't far," he said as he informed the others of their escape and the shelter he'd found. "We can stay there until morning; then we have to go back to the warehouse-"
"What!?"