Revelations
Disclaimer- you all know the drill, I don't know Young Justice yada yada yada, only own Oc's blah blah blah, now on with the story!
Italics- telepathic communication
Shade's POV
I was leaning against Zaphira's side in the main hangar watching Kaldur and Robin spar. Captain Marvel and Zatara were on the opposite side of the room watching the match as well.
I've already had my training match for the day and went up against Artemis. I won the match about 10 minutes into the fight by pinning her to the ground with her head locked in a chock hold with my knee pressed up against her back.
It's become somewhat of a competition between the team to see who can beat whom and how long each of us lasts against the top person during our sparring matches. I've been the top person on the team for three weeks now and Artemis has been trying her hardest to knock me off.
It's a friendly competition, but it always feels good to knock someone out of a spot. Artemis was a hard opponent, but I ultimately pulled out another win. Her fighting's improved tremendously since she's joined the team and during our sparring matches we teach each other new fighting techniques to help each other improve.
At the moment Robin and Aqualad are evenly matched so they were easily dodging and blocking their opponents punches and kicks. I watched the fight intently evaluating their movements and techniques checking for any sloppiness or miss steps.
Out of the corner of my eye I saw Megan, Conner, and Wolf walking towards the hangar. The two teens were smiling and talking to each other while Wolf walked beside them enjoying the peaceful air around the two. Wolf noticed Zaphira and I on the floor and walked over to us as Robin and Aqualad stopped sparring.
"Hey Wolf" I greeted scratching behind his ear as he sat beside us. He barked in greeting and placed his head in my lap. I lifted my hand and ran my fingers through his fur. Zaphira turned so she was facing Wolf and they started a conversation in wolf language.
Ever since the India mission Wolf and Zaphira have become super close. Now that Zaphira gets to go on missions she visits the cave more often so they get to hang out all the time. Over the past few days they've become as close to each other as Robin and I are.
I patted Wolf on the head and asked him to get up for a sec so I could talk to Aqualad and Robin. He complied and lifted his head from my lap allowing me to stand and walk over to the two boys. Wolf returned his head to the floor and continued his conversation with Zaphira as I walked away.
Robin and Aqualad were watching Conner and Megan talking in the corner and Robin leaned over to whisper to Aqualad behind his hand.
"You know they're a couple right?"
Kaldur smiled "I believe I knew before they did."
"Well I know I beat you both because I called it from day one" I added as I walked up behind them.
They turned to me as Wally and Artemis walked towards the hanger from the opposite hallway Conner and Megan just walked through.
"Do we tell them?" Robin asked tilting his head towards Wally and Artemis.
"It's not our place" Aqualad said.
"Well I don't know about you but I can't wait to see the look on Wally's face when he finds out Megan's already taken" I snickered as the two walked up.
"So if Zatara is our babysitter of the week, why's he still here?" Wally asked referring to Marvel who was chewing on a chocolate bar.
"And why is he eating my snacks?" Wally asked slightly irritated while placing his hands on his hips.
"Recognize Batman," the computer announced as Bruce teleported into the cave.
"Computer, national news" Batman commanded as he walked into the hangar. Everyone immediately stopped what they were doing and walked over to Bruce as a large holographic screen popped up in the middle of the room with the national news playing.
It showed the reporter Cat Grant live in Metropolis with a massive vine like plant in the background destroying buildings, throwing cars, ripping up roads, and causing chaos around the city. Everyone was quiet as we listened to the reporter.
"The initial attack was short-lived, but Metropolis was only granted a short reprieve, and despite the intervention of Superman and the Justice League, there seems to be no end in sight."
Batman paused the video and turned back to the team.
"Should we get out there?" Robin asked.
"No the League will soon have the situation under control, that's not why I'm here. According to your Intel Sportsmaster supplied Cadmus' blockbuster formula to Kobra" Batman said before letting the team finish the rest and put the pieces together.
"Who combined it with Bane's venom to create Kobra venom" Wally said.
"Which The Brain used to create his animal army" Robin said catching on.
"And upgraded Wolf" Conner added scratching Wolf under the chin.
"The Brain also used inhibitor collars like the ones at the penitentiary," Megan said.
"Batman is it possible that plant thing's on Kobra venom too?" I asked connecting the dots.
"I had Green Lantern run a spot analysis," Batman said as he waved his hand and a holographic keyboard formed before him.
He started typing and pulled up a holographic 3D picture of the plant's cells before continuing. "Divine cellulose does contain certain trace amounts of a Kobra venom variant."
"These cannot be coincidences. Unrelated criminals are cooperating with one another worldwide" Aqualad concluded.
Robin waved his hand just like Batman and a holographic keyboard popped up in front of him before he started hacking.
"Exactly. It's now clear our enemies have formed some kind of secret society of super villains. The attack on Metropolis is only the beginning" Batman said.
"You got that right," Robin confirmed as he pulled up multiple screens of different news feeds showing plants attacking cities all over the world.
"Plant creatures have sprouted in Gotham City, Paris, Star City, Taipei" he listed when suddenly all the screens went blank and turned to static.
"Dude" Wally said as Robin tried to get the feeds back up.
"It's not me" Robin defended as he typed, "someone's cutting in the satellite signal…all satellite signals" he said in disbelief.
Suddenly the static stopped and someone popped up on all the screens. I looked up and my blood ran cold when I saw the Joker's grinning face filling the entire screen.
His eyes seemed to stare right at me or more like right through me. His eyes twinkled darkly as his grin grew and I moved closer to Robin who looked at me for a split second before turning back to the screen.
The Joker has always been the only villain that truly scares me. I never liked clowns, but this dude put a whole new definition of fear into it.
The Joker loves to toy with Batman and as a result loves to mess with Robin and I to get to Bruce. My fear of the Joker didn't really start until the day he managed to kidnap me during patrol. I was held captive for 4 dreadful hours and trust me when I say those were by far the worst 4 hours of my life. I was left alone with the psychotic man for 4 solid hours and every minute was filled with nothing but taunting and constant torture. He even sent Bruce and Dick a live video feed of him torturing me so they could participate in the 'fun.'
That day has scarred me deeper than any other and I've forever since hated and feared the Joker the most out of every other villain I know. I'd rather face all of Gotham's criminals combined than deal with the Joker.
"Ladies and gentlemen" the clown's scratchy voice boomed through the speakers. "We interrupt your regularly scheduled mayhem to bring you this important announcement from the Injustice League."
He pulled out his famous switch blade and I flinched, but thankfully no one noticed other than Robin and Bruce. I could still feel the sting of that blade piercing my skin.
Joker grabbed the camera and moved it so it faced a group of famous villains before his creepy laugh filled the air sending shivers down my spine.
In my peripheral vision I saw the rest of the team flinch when they heard the Joker's laugh. They've never had to deal with the clown like Robin and I have so they weren't used to his nails on chalkboard laugh. Then again I don't think anyone could get used to that laugh, it just wasn't natural.
Vertigo stared into the camera and spoke for the group.
"We are responsible for the attacks on your cities. If you wish to save them a ransom of 10 billion American dollars is required. Delivery instructions have been sent to the United Nations. There is no time limit, but the longer your government's wait…" he trailed off as the Joker turned the camera back to himself.
"The more we get to have our jollies" he finished for Vertigo before laughing and cutting off the transmission. Even though he wasn't on the screen anymore I could still hear his laugh ringing in my ears.
Robin leaned over discreetly "you ok" he asked barely above a whisper. It was so low even I had trouble hearing him and he was right next to my ear.
I nodded telling him I was fine.
He looked at me suspiciously, but let it slide. He knew how I felt about the Joker and still held a grudge against the man for what he did to me.
Batman put a finger up to his ear activating his COM link "roger that Aquaman. The UN will prepare the ransom as a fallback, but it won't come to that."
Batman put his hand back up to his ear and cut off the communication.
Robin hacked into the system and pulled up the video feed of the Injustice League. He paused the image so we could all get a good look at the members.
"Count Vertigo, The Joker, Poison Ivy, Ultra-Humanite, Atomic Skull, Black Atom, Wotan. 7 heavy hitters, probably behind everyone and everything we've faced" Robin said.
"There's your secret society" Wally added.
"Not so secret anymore" Artemis said suspiciously.
"Perhaps after India they realized we would deduce the truth and saw no point in hiding any longer" Aqualad inferred.
"Yeah that was their mistake. Right now I say we go kick some plant creature butt" Wally said enthusiastically and punched his fists together in anticipation.
"The Justice League will handle the plants. I have a different job for this team," Batman said.
"Oh man" Wally whined before Artemis punched him in the arm to shut him up.
"With the plants attacking so many locations simultaneously, there must be a central control system. Your mission is to destroy it" Batman said making my eyes widen when I realized what he really meant.
"No way! Bruce wouldn't let us do that on our own. This has to be a joke" I thought as Zatara walked up to Batman.
"You realize what you're really asking them to do" he asked Bruce wanting to make sure he understood the complications of what he was purposing.
"They're ready" Batman responded immediately not hesitating for a second, which caused me to smile at his level of trust in us.
"Ready? Ready for what?" Wally asked and Artemis punched him in the arm again.
He yelped in pain and grabbed his arm before glaring at her "Ow! Will you cut that-"
"Hello Wally" she said cutting him off. "If the big guns are fighting plants, who do you think we'll be fighting?"
Wally rubbed his arm "I don't know I guess we'll…" before he could finish that sentence Artemis pointed towards the screen making Wally turn and stare at the Injustice League.
"Oh" he said softly realization flooding his features.
"Well Batman, I trust you're correct" Zatara sighed.
"I trust you can locate the enemy," Batman quipped.
"Indeed" Zatara nodded "Wotan's informants suggest sorcery is part of how the plants are controlled. Robin, if you will provide a holo-map" he asked as Robin quickly typed in the code to make a large holographic projection of the earth fill the space between the adults and us.
"I'll search for signs of concentrated sorcerous activity," Zatara explained as he lifted his hands towards the map and spoke a spell in what seemed like a foreign language but in actuality was only him saying a phrase backwards. A red dot popped up on the map and started blinking.
"There, that is where you will find the Injustice League's central control system" Zatara said as he returned his arms to his sides.
"Coordinates locked in, the Louisiana Bayou" Robin confirmed.
"We are on our way" Aqualad said before we ran out of the room towards the locker rooms to change into our uniforms since we were all in civvies. Once everyone was dressed we grabbed our weapons and ran towards the bioship where Zaphira and Wolf were already waiting for us. We ran inside the bioship and quickly took our seats.
Ever since Zaphira and Wolf started accompanying us on missions I've moved seats from the middle of the bioship to the floor. I now sit in-between Zaphira and Wolf using their bodies as back supports while still having space to spread out my legs. Megan created a cut out section in the floor for me to sit in while still being comfortable and lean against the two wolves. I was comfortable and cozy, but still protected since I was technically still in a chair with a seat belt to keep me strapped in and secure. This was my new designated seat on the bioship and no one tried to tell me other wise.
The flight was relatively short and only lasted about an hour since the bioship was exceptionally fast. Everyone was checking and preparing their weapons or in Wally's case fueling up on food in preparation for the battle. Since I don't use weapons I was mentally preparing myself for the upcoming battle and focusing on feeling the energy of the elements around me.
Robin actually brought the hover board and staff Priscilla gave him for extra protection against Wotan since it blocks magic attacks. Robin and I sat down one night and decided to give the weapons cool names so we wouldn't have to keep calling them the hover board and staff forever.
We came up with the names Midnight for the hover board and Blackout for the staff.
"What's in the duffel?" Wally asked munching on a banana.
"Plan B" Aqualad replied looking down at the duffel.
"That must be the money the Injustice League requested," I thought.
"Most likely" Zaphira agreed looking at the bag suspiciously.
Suddenly Megan grabbed her head and moaned in pain.
"You all right" Superboy asked immediately.
"Dizzy" Megan answered squeezing her eyes tighter.
"Martians get air sick?" Robin said surprised looking back at Megan.
"She does look a bit greener than usual," Wally said.
Megan shook her head "not me, her."
"I feel fine" Artemis said thinking Megan was talking about her. I didn't say anything because I didn't believe she was talking about either of us.
"Not her" Megan said slightly frustrated "the bioship. She's trying to shield us but-" her explanation was cut off by something hitting the underbelly of the ship.
The force sent the ship flipping through the air as it lost control. I wrapped my arms around Wolf and Zaphira trying to keep us steady as the impact tossed us around in our chairs even though we were buckled.
The bioship came to a sudden halt as it crashed into the bayou like a car hitting a wall at 100 miles an hour. Everything was quiet for about a half a second before the ship was jostled again as three large vines shot out of the water and wrapped themselves around the bioship preventing us from escaping.
I released Wolf and Zaphira as I sat up in my seat and the seatbelt around me disappeared. I walked over to Megan who was holding her head in pain. As I walked over Black Atom jumped on the bioship and ripped a hole in the ceiling making the bioship telepathically scream in pain.
"Uhh! He's hurting her!" Megan yelled grabbing her head as the pain intensified.
Superboy responded to her cry of pain and jumped out of his seat. He hurled himself at Atom as he stuck his head through the hole and punched him in the face sending him flying away from the bioship.
The vines started to drag the bioship under the water after Atom left and water started rushing in through the hole Atom created. Zaphira and Wolf stood up as the water started to rise up to our ankles. The water slowly rose higher as the plants dragged us farther and farther under the bayou.
Robin dived under the water to grab something, as Artemis started complaining, "No, no way I'm nearly drowning three missions in a row." She pulled out two water breathers from her bag and handed one to Wally.
"Wow, uh thanks" he said taking the water breather from her hands gratefully.
I lifted my hand once the water was up to our shoulders and blocked the water from coming in through the hole by using my powers. I was able to keep more water from coming in but that was about all I could do at the moment.
The plants still had a grip on the bioship so I couldn't use the water to help push us out and if we opened up another hole more water would come in, but at the moment that seems like our only option.
"M'gann we need a way out, open up a hatch. I can create air bubbles around anyone who can't breath underwater and doesn't have a water breath so we can swim out" I yelled as she hit her head and said her famous saying "Hello Megan."
She formed gills in her neck and dove under the water. I put my hand down letting the water from the hole come flooding in since we were swimming out anyways. I dove under the water as Megan created a large hole in the bottom of the ship causing it to fill with water.
I waved my hands and created air bubbles around Superboy and the Wolves since they were the only ones who couldn't breath underwater.
Aqualad's an Atlantean, Megan had gills, and the other three humans had water breathers. I didn't need a water breather or an air bubble since my powers allow me to breath underwater as if I was breathing oxygen.
"Out everyone out" Aqualad commanded in our minds as each member swam through the hole. We swam out of the ship as it was dragged to the bottom and broke the surface about a minute later. The water was surprisingly deep.
Once everyone's head was above the water I let the air bubbles fall. Everyone walked out of the water and onto the marshy bank.
"She's in shock, she'll need time to recover" Megan said referring to the bioship as we looked back at the water where she disappeared.
Suddenly I felt a strong physic force in my head and screamed in pain as I fell to the floor along with the rest of my team. I know that feeling; there's only one person in the world who could make someone feel this disoriented and confused…and that was Vertigo.
Wally and I looked up to see said man standing over us using his retched headgear to send out his vertigo effect.
"Vertigo" Wally growled at the man despite his dizziness.
"It's Count Vertigo to you peasant" he snarled at Wally as if he was nothing more than the dirt on the bottom of his shoe.
"Tell that to someone who cares," I said and he glared at me.
Superboy pushed through the effect and ran towards Vertigo but was intercepted by Black Atom. He fell to the floor from the force of Atom's punch.
Aqualad pulled out his water bearers and pointed them towards the bayou water. He lifted the water from the bayou and sent it towards Vertigo throwing him into the trees. Vertigo's concentration was broken and the dizziness went away.
I stood up from the floor and got into a fighting stance as Aqualad gave out commands through the link.
"Robin, Miss Martian, and Shade disappear. We'll keep them busy. You three fulfill the mission objective."
I nodded and ran into the trees with Robin while Megan flew over us in camouflage mode. We ran until we weren't able to hear the sounds of fighting anymore. As we ran it started to get dark, which made it easier for Robin and I to blend in with our surroundings.
Once we were in a good position Robin stood beside me and Megan floated above us getting a better view of the area. They were lookouts as I crouched down to the ground.
Just like India I placed my hands on the ground and closed my eyes trying to sense something out-of-place in the wilderness. I quickly got a response from the earth sending me disturbing vibrations in the direction of the Injustice League's base.
"Got it," I told them through the link. Since this was a stealth mission we only communicated telepathically unless it was absolutely necessary to speak out loud.
I stood up from my crouch and faced the direction of the disturbance I felt. We started walking in the direction and the feeling got stronger the closer we got.
Megan seemed to be on edge about something ever since we started, I could feel her apprehension through the link. She must've had enough with the feeling and finally decided to speak up.
"I lost contact with Aqualad and the others. Should we…"
"Sorry, that's not the gig, this is." Robin sharply interrupted her plea as I pulled back some bushes to reveal the large base.
Their headquarters were large, but the strangest thing about it was the massive plant sticking out the middle of the building with veins of gold like it was half machine half plant.
"The Injustice League central control system" Robin said. "Looks like that plant is acting as an antenna to control the other plants worldwide."
I felt a tingling in my gut like someone was watching us and whipped around to see Poison Ivy smirking with her hands on her hips.
"Well hello" she said in her mockingly sweet voice making Megan and Robin twirl around and pull out their weapons, but Ivy was quicker.
She lifted her hand and large plants shot out of the ground wrapping themselves around the three of us. They lifted us into the air as we kicked and struggled to break free.
Ultra Humanite hopped out of the trees and pointed his gun at us moving his eyes between each of us trying to decide who was the biggest threat. His eyes landed on me and he raised his gun to my head.
"And good-bye" Ivy said folding her arms in satisfaction as Humanite prepared to fire.
"Well they're idiots," I said making Megan and Robin grin to themselves but they quickly suppressed them so they wouldn't tip-off the enemy.
Ivy failed to make sure my hands were bound tightly so I moved my hands by my side and rumbled the earth underneath their feet making the two villains stumble.
Megan's eyes glowed green as she used her telekinesis to aim Humanite's gun towards the base of the plants. He gripped the trigger and the bullets hit the plants breaking their hold on us. We fell to the ground and Robin and I took off running the minute our feet touched the ground.
"Robin maneuver 12" I said in his head and he nodded in conformation.
"Let's do it."
I veered to the left and flew into the trees while Robin continued to run as Ivy regained her balance and turned to see only Robin running away.
"Sorry Boy Wonder. I'm putting an end to your little reconnaissance mission," she hissed as plants popped out of the ground and shot at Robin full force.
He dodged her attacks and jumped up to grab a thick tree branch to escape them. He swung on the branch to gain momentum before letting go just before a plant smashed into it. He placed his feet on the trunk of a tree and used it as a platform to flip from and face Ivy.
As Robin lured Ivy closer and closer I slunk towards her while hiding in the shadows.
I was officially in my element, the shadows, the darkness; I was famous for being the best at lurking and disappearing in the dark. I was better than Robin and sometimes even Batman depending on the situation. I was born to be in the shadows, it came naturally to me, and it was one of my greatest hero advantages.
I hid behind a tree only inches away from Ivy and waited until Robin got her in position. She took a few steps forward as Robin did his job perfectly and kept her attention focused on him. Finally she took the final step forward and I shot out of my hiding spot. She wasn't expecting me to pop out of the shadows and was completely caught off guard.
I punched her in the face and quickly twirled my foot bringing it up to kick her in the face sending her stumbling away. As she stumbled I kicked her hard in the back for good measure and sent her crashing into a tree. She hit her head against the bark and crumbled to the ground unconscious. I knew she wouldn't stay that way for long, but it'll have to do for now.
I looked down at the unconscious Ivy before flying after Robin who was running towards a small open field where he last saw Megan after she was chased away by Humanite. We meet up with Megan after she managed to lose Humanite.
"Robin, Shade she's made contact" Megan said excited.
"Artemis?" Robin asked.
"No, the bioship" Megan said as we saw a golden cage fly over us.
I looked closer and noticed that the cage was filled with our captured teammates.
"They've got our friends," I yelled floating up to free them.
"Dawn wait!" Robin yelled grabbing my arm before I flew off "we need a plan first."
"Way ahead of you Robin" Megan said grinning as the bioship zipped past us.
I smirked at Megan knowing what she was going to do.
"Oh your good" I complimented saying it out loud instead of through the link.
Megan just smiled before taking off towards the base.
"You need a ride" I asked Robin holding out my hand to offer him a flight back to the base. He grinned the biggest grin I've seen him have in a long time and he shook his head no.
"No I've got my own ride," he answered as something flew towards us in the darkness. It was almost impossible to see because of its dark color.
Midnight flew through the trees and floated down to Robin's feet. I grinned and floated off the ground as he stepped on the hover board and it lifted off the ground. If it was possible his grin grew even bigger.
"This is seriously the coolest thing ever" he praised as he commanded the board to fly.
Robin's been training with the board and learned how to fly and use almost all of its features. He's programmed the board to be used by two other people beside himself and that's Bruce and I.
He's gotten really good with the two weapons Priscilla gave him and he brings them every time we go on patrol. He's been keeping his promise to Priscilla about keeping them safe and rarely goes anywhere without them.
We were even able to find a way to transform the hover board into something easier for him to transport. We were able to make a commend to transform the board into a small key chain with a miniature version of the hover board hanging on the end. It stays in this form until Robin commands it to transform. Robin keeps the key chain with him everywhere he goes and never leaves the house without it.
Robin zipped through the air with a look of pure joy on his face. He was grinning from ear to ear and his hair whipped around his eyes from the high-speed we were going. He guided Midnight through the trees avoiding obstacles and plants like he'd been doing it for years and not just a couple of days.
We meet up with Megan just as she reached the base and she told the bioship to start the plan.
The ship hit Wotan in the back as she flew over breaking his concentration on the cage. Since Wotan wasn't focusing on it anymore the golden cage disappeared and our friends fell through the air but righted themselves just before they landed in the muddy water and marsh surrounding the base.
Artemis and Aqualad landed in a crouch off to the side of the group, Superboy landed next to Wolf and Zaphira closer to the base and Wally landed in the middle of everyone. Since they weren't very high when they fell no one was injured.
Humanite jumped out of the trees and pointed his gun at Superboy. Conner narrowed his eyes and stood up as Wolf and Zaphira growled at Humanite.
"I hate monkeys," he growled before engaging Humanite with the two wolves.
Robin, Megan, and I looked at each other before looking at the plant sticking out of the building knowing what we had to do.
Megan went back into camouflage mode and Robin held out a hand for me. I grabbed his hand and swung up on the board wrapping my arms around his waist as the board grew slightly longer to accommodate two people. The board only did this for people Robin wanted on the board with him.
Two new foot holes appeared under my feet and I felt an invisible force attach to my feet like something was latching me to the boards surface. Robin and I still don't know what makes our feet stick to the board when we touch it, but whenever you feel that force it's like your feet are locked to the board. No matter what you do, what maneuver you pull, or how fast you go, you won't fall off. We could be flying upside down at 300 miles an hour and still not fall off.
Robin activated the camouflage setting of the board once I was secured and an invisible bubble surrounded the board. If anyone had watched they would've found it weird how two teens were standing in front of them one second and then gone the next.
To us it was like nothing changed, we could still see what was going on around us and it didn't look like anything was concealing us, but to everyone else we were invisible. The board blended in with its surroundings and hid us from view.
We lifted off the ground and floated up to Megan. Even though she couldn't see us she could still sense where we were through our mind connection.
The three of us flew up to the huge plant as the rest of the team distracted the Injustice League members. I looked down as Robin flew the board and saw Aqualad launch Artemis into the air by allowing her to step into his interlaced hands and throw her. She flipped in the air and brought out her foot kicking Ivy in the face as she came down from the air.
"Ivy is just not having a good day" I chuckled internally.
"Her face is going to be swollen black and blue by the end of this if she keeps taking hits like that. Oh and I need to remember to congratulate Aqualad and Artemis on using Maneuver 7 so well, they've been having problems with that move lately" I thought as I turned back to the task at hand.
We reached the top of the building and Robin pulled out a bunch of batarangs from his belt and the two bags the bioship dropped off for us at the top of the building. He handed one bag to Megan and sent her off to plant the bombs on the top half of the plant. He grabbed the other bag and lifted it on the board as Megan flew off.
I grabbed half the bombs and started throwing them at the vine with precision and expertise. Robin joined in and we flew around the plant throwing batarangs left and right until the entire plant was covered in them.
Megan floated down and de-camouflaged as we meet up once the job was done.
"The plant is covered you can start the timer now" she said as Robin pulled out a mini trigger device. He pushed the button and the batarangs started blinking simultaneously as they counted down the thirty seconds before detonation. With all the blinking batarangs on the vine it made the plant look like a weird lit up Christmas tree.
Ivy turned to look at her plant and gasped seeing all the blinking batarangs.
"My baby!" she screamed in a way that I'd only compare to a mother crying over her recently injured child. She watched as the bombs went off and her precious plant went up in smoke.
Megan, Robin, and I floated over to the edge of the building, which was in Ivy's direct line of vision. Robin folded his arms and with little emotion said "timber" and I almost smirked at the look Ivy was giving us.
She screamed in fury and threw a bunch of vines at us but Megan flew forward and stopped the plants with her mind before they got to us. However before she could react Megan got hit in the back by one of Atomic Skull's blasts of energy sending her to the ground below.
"Children" the voice I've been dreading to hear this entire mission said as I watched Megan fall. I tensed and turned to see the Joker and Atomic Skull standing on the roof glaring at us.
"Children foiled our plan" Joker screamed, his hands twitching uncontrollably. "Inconceivable, unacceptable, retributional" he yelled growing louder and louder with every word until he paused after the last one.
"That last one might not be a word," he admitted before that menacing grin formed on his face and his voice grew low and dark "so sue me."
"Kill them, Kill them all" Vertigo said from the ground as Robin and I flew down to Megan and helped her off the ground. The fight had official started. It was battle time.
I commanded the force around my feet to release and I hopped off the board. Robin landed on the ground and stepped off of Midnight so it changed back into a key chain. The key chain floated into his hand and he stuffed it into his belt.
As he pocketed the chain he grabbed something else from his belt. I already knew what he was getting before he even had his hand out of his belt. He pulled out a pen and pushed the button on the side transforming the pen into the staff Blackout.
He twirled it in his hand and placed one end on the ground as Wotan flew above everyone and yelled "Enough" causing everyone to pause.
Robin threw a batarang at him, but he put up a protective bubble around himself so he wouldn't get hit. He lifted his hands and blue bolts of electricity magic flew out and aimed themselves towards every member of the team. Everyone was hit and fell to the floor in pain since the magic didn't let up once it hit them. As two bolts of the magic flew towards Robin and I Robin pushed me behind him and lifted the staff.
He held the staff in front of us just before the magic hit. The staff started to glow and heat up as the magic hit it. Blackout took the brunt of the attack and absorbed the energy from the magic attack blocking it from hitting us.
Robin gritted his teeth and fell to his knees from the strain of keeping the staff up to hold off the magic. I walked up beside him and placed my hands on the staff pushing alongside him to help keep the staff up. Just like Priscilla said the staff absorbed all the magic from the attack and Wotan looked at us strangely. He was probably confused on why we weren't falling to the floor in pain.
"What kind of sorcery item is this?" he yelled strengthening the magic.
"Oh nothing special Wotan, just a regular old staff. You seem to be falling behind with your magic training if we can hold you off with a measly old staff" I taunted.
"Why you little-" he muttered, but I didn't hear the end of his statement since he muttered it under his breath and truthfully I probably didn't want to.
Aqualad managed to hold out his hand and use his powers to keep the magic bolt from hurting him. He moved over to Megan and lifted his other hand to block her bolt as well.
"Plan B" he ordered and she nodded.
She lifted the bag from the ground and gave it to Aqualad. He turned to unzip the bag using a hand and his shoulder to block Wotan's magic as he did so. We gasped as he pulled the helmet of fate out of the bag.
"What kind of plan B is this" I screamed internally. "This is more like a 'don't ever try no matter what the circumstances are cause Nabu will hold you prisoner forever' type of plan."
Wally told me all about Nabu and how he almost didn't come back after putting on the helmet.
"Aqualad no!" Wally yelled trying to warn him, but it was already too late. Aqualad placed the helmet on his head and transformed into Doctor Fate.
"Wotan you are mine" Fate/ Aqualad yelled at the sorcerer before attacking. Wotan called back his magic bolts before engaging Aqualad/Fate. Robin and I lowered the staff as it cooled and its glow ebbed away.
"Have I ever told you how much I love this staff?" Robin asked.
"About three times everyday" I laughed standing up from the crouch I was in.
We stood up from the ground and I immediately felt a familiar chilling feeling I only got when he's around. I clenched my fists and prepared for the fight I've been anticipating all night.
"Wonder Boy, Shade, you're mine" The Joker howled in a deep voice as he pulled out a switch blade and laughed like a maniac. Robin stepped up so we were shoulder to shoulder and I glared at the Joker hiding the fear I felt behind determination.
He swung his blade at Robin and I, swinging his arms around wildly but with precision and efficiency that most people wouldn't expect from the clown.
The Joker might be psychopath, but he's a smart, precise, methodical, athletic, and deadly psychopath. Despite the stupid grin he plasters on his face and the bone-chilling laugh he creates he's not a man to be underestimated or trifled with. Don't let his clown-like appearance and attitude fool you for a second.
Robin dodged the knife attacks and I got close enough to kick the knife out of the Joker's hand before flipping out-of-the-way. The Joker looked down at his knife lying on the ground before slowly turning back to face me. The look he was sending my way almost cracked the fearless façade I'd put up.
He pulled out two switchblades from his pocket, but didn't make a move towards us yet. I heard sounds of the team fighting behind me but I didn't dare turn away from the maniac for a second. If I did that it would be the last thing I ever did.
"Oh how rude of me. I totally to forget to ask Shade, how've you been lately. I haven't seen you since our last little get together not too long ago. That was so much fun, maybe we should do it again. You'd love that wouldn't you" he said his smirk growing with every word.
"You're much more fun to mess with then Wonder Boy over there. I know it gets under the Bats skin when you mess with one of his protégés, especially when it's his small and fragile little girl. Its fun to mess with the Bat, but doing it through you two is always an extra bonus" he said changing from the crazy yet playful clown into the deadly and evil Joker I knew oh too well.
He could hide behind that fake playfulness all he wants, but we all know that deep down he's an evil, sick, and twisted bastard.
Robin growled and took a step forward putting himself in-between me and the Joker.
"Shut up Joker," he hissed holding the staff in front of him threateningly.
Joker put a hand to his chest and gasped like a overdramatic drama queen "Now Robin that hurts, it hurts a lot, but I see we've gotten a little protective since the last time I saw you two."
He leaned forward and put his hand up to his mouth like he was telling us a secret "Is there something going on between you two that I should know about. Maybe a secret affair, boyfriend and girlfriend behind the scenes?"
His eyes grew wide and he jumped up and down waving his hand in the air with fake excitement "Oh OH I got it...friends with benefits!"
Robin hurled a batarang at the man before he could speak another word but Joker leaned to the side and dodged the weapon. He turned back to facing us but this time his playfulness was completely gone.
"Alright then, I see we're not in the mood to play the guessing game today. That's fine, I've always liked the game 'Death by a thousand cuts' way better anyways" he said lowly gripping his switchblades tightly.
The Joker ran forward and Robin sidestepped away from the blades swung at him. The Joker changed his focus to me and swung his knives relentlessly forcing me to go on the offensive.
I flipped away from him giving myself some space and picked up a small rock before hurling it at the Joker's left hand sending his knife clattering to the floor. He recovered quickly and brought his other hand forward with lightening speed. I wasn't able to react fast enough and got a deep cut in my left arm. I hissed in pain but didn't give the Joker the satisfaction of hearing me scream. The cut wasn't deep enough to need stitches but it was still deep and stung like hell.
Robin came in and kicked the Joker in the side before flipping to my side. While the Joker was unbalanced I attacked. Thankfully the Joker hadn't cut my right arm, which was my dominant fighting arm.
I swung and punched him in the face before bringing my knee up to his stomach knocking the wind out of him and possible bruising a rib or two. Not wanting to take any chances I put my foot on his back and pushed him to the ground. I looked down at him and turned away for a split second as I heard Robin yell when one of Ivy's plants grabbed him from behind. I was about to run over and help him when the Joker suddenly shot up, grabbed my ankle, and pulled me down to the ground before flipping over and pinning me under him.
I wiggled around trying to escape but he tightened his grip to the point that if he squeezed any tighter my wrists would break. He grabbed another blade from his belt and used his elbow to keep me pinned as he put the knife to my throat.
"See now we've gotten to the best part of the game" he whispered. His face was so close that I could see the tiny cracks in his horrendous white makeup. His eyes twinkled with glee and his mouth spread into a wicked grin as he whispered "instant death."
I felt an immense power surging though me as the Joker pressed the knife deeper into my neck sending a small trickle of blood sliding down my neck. My hands clenched into fists and I growled in anger.
"Get. Off. Of. Me. You. Sick. Twisted. BASTARD" I yelled releasing a large blast of wind from my body knocking the Joker off. I stood up from the ground and my eyes were blazing in fury. I was muddy, sweaty, and slightly bloody from the cuts I'd received but I was filled with determination and anger.
"I'm tired of the games," I yelled punching him in the face, fracturing his jaw.
"I'm tired of your tricks" I kicked him in the gut breaking at least two of the previously bruised ribs.
"I'm tired of your stupid grin" I elbowed him in the face breaking his nose.
"And most of all I'm tired of your stupid, annoying, laugh!" I hollered punching him in the shoulder with enough force to pop it out-of-place.
The Joker grabbed his shoulder but didn't scream out in pain when it got dislocated. His nose was gushing blood, his jaw was slightly off-center, and his right eye was beginning to swell up and form a nasty bruise. Two of his ribs were broken so his breaths came out in short wheezes.
He must've been in an immeasurable amount of pain, but he didn't express any signs of it. Then again he's certified crazy so I wouldn't be surprised if he actually felt joy instead of pain when he gets injured.
He used his uninjured arm to grab his knife and held it up, but he didn't get a chance to use it. It was knocked out of his hand by a batarang originating from higher up than ground level. We both looked up to see who threw it and I smiled at what I saw.
Floating down from above us was The Justice League. All the members who couldn't fly were standing on a green platform originating from Green Lantern's ring.
Batman stood on the edge of the platform holding another batarang in his hands just in case he needed to throw it. He glared at the Joker and watched him intently searching for any signs of sudden movement. While the Joker was distracted by the Justice League's arrival I ran over and punched him in the face one last time sending him to the dirt floor in a daze. I glanced down at him before floating away to stand next to Robin and KF as the League landed on the ground.
"It's over," Batman said walking off the platform as the League surrounded the villains. The IJL members glanced at each other before holding their hands above their heads in surrender.
"There will be another day," Vertigo said.
The Joker slowly picked himself off the ground and I smiled in satisfaction knowing I was the one who gave him most of those injuries.
"Another day? Another day! There won't be another day, not for any of us!" he laughed as he lifted his hands into the air, which were still covered with the control gloves, and stared moving is fingers around.
I don't know how he managed to do this since moving his dislocated shoulder alone would cause him an immeasurable amount of pain but add that to moving two broken ribs and the pain would increase ten times over. If there's one thing I can say about the Joker it's that he's very determined.
As his hands moved the plants around us started to move and released a green gas from their spores.
"Joker venom spores, don't breathe" Batman yelled as he punched the Joker in the face knocking him unconscious and stopping his insane laughter. I held my breath so I wouldn't breath in the venom but noticed that the gas wasn't going to disperse in time for everyone to breath again so I took action.
I lifted my hands and moved them around twirling and moving my body as I swirled the wind around us. I collected all the gas around the area and floated into the air as I made an air funnel around the green gas. I flew up high and once I was far enough away from everyone else I swirled the venom into the air until it left the atmosphere.
Once the gas was gone I took a deep breath and returned to the group. I landed on the ground softly and grabbed my arm since the cut was bleeding profusely.
In order to rid the area of the gas I had to move my arm and as a result irritated the wound further causing it to bleed excessively. The Injustice League was already tied up and being ushered into Green Lantern's cage for transport back to prison.
I walked over to the team and glanced at everyone in the group to make sure everyone was all right. We were all exhausted from the fight and our uniforms were covered in dirt, sweat, and blood but other than that everyone was ok.
Wolf and Zaphira's fur was matted, tangled, and dirty but that was nothing a good bath and brush couldn't fix. I noticed however that Zaphira was leaning into Wolf's side and one of her paws was lifted off the ground. It was bent at a weird angle and I assumed that her wrist was broken.
Wolf helped support her weight since she can't put the paw on the ground without hurting herself further. Wally had a broken arm but it was in a man-made sling that would have to do until we got back to base. I had a cut on my arm and a small cut on the base of my neck thanks to the Joker but fortunately we seemed to be the only ones who received bad injuries.
"What were you thinking? How could you let him put on the helmet? Nabu will never release him now. Kaldur will be trapped inside Dr. Fate forever" Wally screamed as Fate/Aqualad stood there not saying a word. Wally hung his head and stared at the ground, as everyone waited for something to happen.
To everyone's surprise Fate lifted his hands to the helmet and took it off letting the Dr. Fate uniform disappear leaving Aqualad in full control of his body again.
"Nabu let you go?" Wally said in disbelief.
"He almost did not, but your friend Kent was most helpful. He says hello," Aqualad said making Wally smile.
"Zaphira are you ok" I asked walking over to her and Wolf.
"Yes, I'm fine Dawn. Black Atom got a good grip on my wrist and twisted it. Wolf attacked him after that so he didn't do any severe damage. My wrist will heal in two to three days. I heal faster than most animals or humans. My healing abilities are like Wally and Barry's. Its faster than a normal human's, but I don't have to eat as much as they do" she explained.
"Ok good, have Wolf help you back to the ship. You don't need to walk on that paw for at least the rest of the night, even if you do have super healing. We'll probably be staying at the mountain tonight so Wolf can help you walk around" I said giving her a hug.
I turned to Wolf and patted him on the head "Good job Wolf, thanks for the help. And would you mind helping Zaphira back to the bioship, I don't want her walking on that paw and I know she's stubborn. She'd just do it anyways unless you stop her."
Zaphira gave me the wolf version of a glare and Wolf barked in a laugh. He nodded in agreement and helped Zaphira back to the bioship going at a slow pace so Zaphira wouldn't get hurt trying to go too fast.
"I swear those two are made for each other," I thought as I walked over to Robin.
"We're done here. The super villain secret society has been neutralized. As for your performance…it was satisfactory," Batman said making everyone smile. We all knew this was the closest thing to a compliment we were going to get from Batman, and those are far and few between so we took them when they were offered.
I turned to the team and gave them a large smile "Well in case you haven't noticed we just won a fight against the Injustice League. Since none of you are celebrating like crazy I'm going to assume that it hasn't set in yet, but it's set in for me and I just have one thing to say. We so totally rock!" I yelled wrapping my uninjured arm around Robin's shoulder.
"I agree with Shade 100%," Wally said wrapping his free arm around my shoulder.
Unfortunately he accidentally bumped my left arm and I winced "Uh KF can you watch the arm please, Joker got a lucky swing in" I whined as his side pressed into the wound.
Wally quickly stepped back and noticed the cut on my arm. "Shade why didn't you say something earlier" he asked gently grabbing my arm to get a better look.
"Cause it's not that big of a deal" I said pulling my arm away.
"Shade, Robin" Batman called us over.
"That's our cue, we've been summoned. Be right back" I said lightly before walking over to Bruce.
"Hey Batman" I waved as we walked up to him.
He folded his arms and raised an eyebrow "You're really going to stand here like nothing happened. I know about the injuries on your arm and neck now let me see them so I can evaluate how bad they are."
"You all worry too much. It's really not that bad" I grumbled to myself as he looked at my arm.
"I'll be the judge of that," he said while pulling out a roll of gauze from his belt.
He handed it to Robin as he spoke "I have to talk with some of the other Leaguer's about today's situation so I have to leave. The cut on your neck isn't that bad, it just needs to be cleaned and wrapped so it doesn't get infected. The cut on your arm won't need stitches but it needs to be cleaned and wrapped by the end of the day, and no waiting until the morning Dawn, I mean it," he said giving me a good glare before turning to Robin.
"Wrap her arm for me. It'll have to do for now until we get back to base and can wrap it properly. I want you to clean her arm when you get back to base as well. She won't take it as seriously as you will if she wraps it herself."
"Hey I so would take it seriously," I defended as he walked away and headed towards the other League members.
"Sure you would," he said sarcastically, but only loud enough for us to hear it.
I rolled my eyes as Robin replaced him and started wrapping the gauze around my arm and neck. We stood there in silence as he wrapped my arm before he finally broke the ice.
"Are you ok?" he asked looking up from his work.
"I'm fine. We didn't die and we won the fight so I'd count this mission a success" I answered.
"You know that's not what I meant Dawn."
I sighed, "I know Rob, but I said I'm fine and I meant it."
"Then why are your hands shaking" he asked grabbing my right hand to stop it from shaking.
"Your hands only shake when you're nervous or extremely upset" he said looking up.
I forced my left hand to stop shaking as Robin released my right hand.
"You snapped," he continued as he tied the ends of the gauze around my arm together tightly so it would stay wrapped.
"I got a little angry at the situation, but I'm fine now" I told him calmly.
"The Joker got under your skin," he quipped just as calm while folding his arms.
"Doesn't he always" I muttered rubbing my arm.
"Not this much" Robin answered immediately looking at me suspiciously "what happened after I got distracted by Ivy."
I snorted, "You got distracted by Ivy, more like captured and dragged away."
"Don't try to change the subject Dawn, it's not going to work," he said standing his ground not letting me avoid the subject.
"Fine, fine ok you win. First off nothing really happened after you left. He got a good swing in and cut my arm when I got distracted. I was able to put him down right before you got taken and I thought he was unconscious so I looked away for about a split second when I heard you scream.
Unfortunately he wasn't unconscious like I originally thought so he grabbed my ankle and pull me down to the ground. He pinned me down and held a knife to my throat which is how I got this," I explained pointing to the small cut on my neck which was now wrapped up.
"He threatened to kill me, yada yada yada, the usual, only this time I'd had enough. I was tired of his stupid manipulation tricks and schemes and I just…snapped.
I released a powerful wind-blast and knocked him away. I took him down in a flurry of punches and kicks while breaking his nose and ribs, fractured his jaw, and dislocated his shoulder, which I'm very proud of by the way. Surprisingly the Joker didn't stay down despite his injuries and was about to continue attacking when Batman showed up. After that you know the rest" I said shrugging.
Robin just looked at me as he processed this information. He sighed before pulling me into a hug.
"I'm just glad your ok" he said before letting me go.
He looked into my eyes like he was staring right into my soul.
"You're sure your ok" he asked softly "and don't lie to me Dawn."
"Seriously Rob I'm fine. The Joker's gone and I dealt with him. Everything's fine, lets just enjoy the moment," I said giving him a light punch in the shoulder.
He laughed as we walked to the bioship with the rest of the team.
"You're right and I must admit we did kick some major villain butt back there," Robin agreed.
"You sound surprised?" I said mockingly.
"Nope, not at all" he said as we walked into the bioship.
"It just feels way better than I originally imagined" he smirked as we took our seats.
I absolutely love, love, love, LOVE the Joker! He's by far one of my favorite villains of all time. He's a crazy evil genius and I love him for it.
I loved writing this chapter and the interactions with Dawn and Robin. I also wanted Dawn to have a notorious Gotham villain that she hates above everyone else and who better for the role than the Joker. Please review!