Chapter 8 Realization

Wayne Manor 2:30 am EST

Robin was asleep. His face had a smile as big as Joker's on it. Of course, this meant he was dreaming about Zatanna.

The two were at the beach by the Cave. They sat on a red and white checkered blanket. A picnic basket lay on the blanket between them. Dick took his hand and placed it on Zatanna's. She looked at him and smiled.

"Zee, I have something to ask you." Dick said. "How do you like me?"

"Well you're a good friend." Wally's voice suddenly floated through Dick's head repeating 'friendzoned' over and over. But Zatanna continued.

"And I really trust you. I feel like you know me. Like you have cameras watching me."

Dick chuckled nervously.

"And well," Zatanna came forward and kissed Dick so quickly, Flash would have been proud.

Back in the real world, Dick squirmed in bed, murmuring with a smile on his face.

In the back of his mind, he upped the priority number of finding Zatanna.

Crime Alley 2:30 am EST

Portal was doing a bust in Crime Alley. Twenty-five goons surrounded him. Max Drumwood, a rising boss, was leading this little charade. Five goons dashed forward.

Portal side-stepped and tripped one, while grabbing another's arms, twisting them, flipping him around, and kneeing him in the back. Another one jumped at Portal. Portal was pushed on his back, grabbed the goon's hands, and kicked him off. Flipping back into a fighting stance, Portal kicked one goon, punched another, back-punched one more, winded several more, and kicked one guy in the knees. Within thirty minutes, all the goons were down, and Drumwood was in custody.

Flying away from the seen, Portal was hit in the shoulder by a gunshot. He hit a rooftop and got onto his feet. Looking up, he was punched by a masked assailant. Stumbling into the arms of another, Portal had been captured.

The next morning, Wally, Dick, Connor, and Kaldur were sitting at the table in Wayne Manor's dining room. Bruce walked in with a teen the Team had never seen before.

"Hey Bruce, who's this?" Dick asked.

"This is Green Lantern Kyle Rayner. Kyle, this is the Team." Bruce said.

"I thought Team had eight members." Kyle said, looking at the young heroes skeptically.

"Three were kidnapped, one is MIA."

Wally choked on his bacon. "Artemis is kidnapped!?"

Kaldur then asked worriedly, "And Portal is missing?"

Robin's glare was so hard his glasses almost literally shattered.

"Crane." His voice sounded venomous. The remainder of the Team went wide-eyed.

North Gotham Clinic 9:45 am EST

Portal, Artemis, Zatanna, and M'gann were screaming extremely loud. Scarecrow just laughed under his mask, while Haverage and his men left again to find more members of the Team. Secret Soldier just yawned, while Sportsmaster blew a fuse at his daughter getting tortured. Even though he would torture her too, that was his job, not Scarecrow's.

Artemis bucked and kicked against the bed she was strapped to. Barely biting back her screams, she dreamed about her worst fears coming to life.

Artemis' psyche unknown time and time zone

It was a normal day at the cave. Artemis and Wally were, of course, arguing. It had ended abruptly when Artemis lashed out and slapped the speedster in a fury. Storming off, she could hear Wally mumbling something about her. God, he could be so annoying sometimes! As she walked into her room, she was taken aback at the sight of Sportsmaster, her dad, sitting on her bed.

"Hey there Baby Girl." He said, voice thick with evil intent.

"What do you want?" Artemis replied, closing her door.

"Just wanted to visit my daughter!" He said.

"Get to the point. What do you really want?"

"Already got it." He said pointing to one of the cameras in the Cave. Artemis eyes opened, as the Team walked into her room, shouting phrases like "traitor", "no wonder you hate me", and "I knew it".

She turned around to see Sportsmaster replaced by Scarecrow, a grin which rivals Joker's on his face. Artemis dashed to punch him, but he just disappeared at her touch. She turned around, and she was in front of a dead Justice League, arrows in each of them.

Sportsmaster leaned close to her ear, and said, "Welcome to the winning team, Baby Girl."

Artemis sobbed, a small "No" escaping her lips. Then the Team stood in front of her, blindfolds over their eyes, and bound by their hands and feet. An arrow pierced each one, as Artemis realized she couldn't control herself. Her eyes were wide, filled with tears, as her family of friends died by her hand.

In the real world, Artemis screamed murder.

Portal's psyche unknown time and time zone

The Void. Portal's powers of portal generation had taught him through experience about The Void. The Void was a place where portals didn't work, and to escape The Void, one had to travel what seemed like endless miles. But here, there was no escape. Portal flew and flew, but he never got far. Then, his air started getting sucked from him, as The Void began to, close? Portal's eyes widened in shock, and flew as fast as he could. He began to see an opening, but his air supply ran low slowly but surely. Gasping in one last breath, everything grew dark.

He awoke in a white, bright place. Portal looked around. A yellow light shone above him, and descending from it was Scarecrow, wearing the suit of a Yellow Lantern. Scarecrow pointed his ring at Portal, and instead of a construct coming out, fear gas spewed out from the ring. Portal coughed, and once again, he was confronted by his nightmares.

In the real world, Portal bucked against his bed, and grunted wildly.

As his subjects kicked and screamed, Scarecrow laughed. Only this escaped his lips,

"Everything is going as planned. All will see The Light, and the world will then see it's worst fears realized!"

A/N: Dun Dun DUN! The fears of two more Teammates have been seen. Will the Team rescue their friends soon? Will Batman break some bones at the League of Shadows? Will all see the Light? Find out next time! Until then, Read and Review, True Believers!