A/N
Hello, and welcome once again friends. I hope that you have enjoyed the series so far, and we still have quite a bit left to go.
5,000 views! Whooooppp!
Somewhere in here is a reference to an old animated show, so brownie points to whoever finds it.
Reviews
Elvisfonz23: Thanks, man. By this point, I have run out of compliments for you.
patattack: I know it was a little boring, but that was actually the whole point- expressing SB's and Kyle's boredness of it all. I wanted the readers to experience that same feeling.
MoustachedCat: Awesome! I always knew we could be friends...
Chapter 20: Brain Freeze...
October 14th, 12:00AM- Middle of nowhere
Kyle's POV
Well... this 'ingenius' plan of Robin's ended up spectacularly... not. Being caught within a few mere seconds of landing and being thrown into a cell with laser bars (hot enough to send us both scampering back) isn't exactly my definition of perfectly accomplished. Or, that's just the fact I'm stuck in a cell with Conner. Of all the people on the team.
Actually, it did work to a small margin, due the fact that we wanted to infiltrate this base and well, we are inside of it. Albeit, trapped, bound, and generally feeling miserable about our complete and utter failure. Besides that, we did reach our first our first object with minimal effort, as we were all knocked unconsciouss by a... walking brain encased in a piece of glass? Maybe, it wasn't as heroic of a defeat as it first appeared.
"I spy with my little eye, something beginning with S."
"Shut up. "
The only thing that is keeping me relatively sane at this point is the little game we are playing. Helping to take my mind off of our current and severely real predicament, it makes for an excellent relaxer and distracter. If only Conner would join in on the fun.
"We need to do something or this will take a lot longer than it needs to be." I sigh. "Do you want to start with guessing or should I? Either way, I won't mind as long as we are having some degree of fun."
"If you find that fun, you are an idiot- It's boring." Conner says.
"Only boring people become bored, my friend." I chuckle at the expense of the clone. "Guess you weren't born with a sense of humour."
Silence prevails and my joyful mood soon turns sour at the lack of anything remotely entertaining to do, apart from endlessly staring at the floor like a lunatic. Why does life always have to find ways to screw me over? I complain in my thoughts. Next, I'll become the leader of the team and then they will say it was a genuine mistake.
Although, there are some noticable upsides to the unexpected situation, and not just in terms of the mission, but in general. One: I get to spend some well-earned quality time with my best pal Conner- the grumpy, tempremental teenage clone. And, we don't have to listen to Aqualad or Robin's constant orders and perfect morality speeches. We know you both are the most moral people in the world, so you don't have to rub it in our faces through your 'hero' talks.
"Conner?"
My cell-buddy doesn't respond and plain ignores me, facing the other side.
"Kon-Elllll?"
"What?" was his eventual quiet response. "Don't tell me that you're going to start playing that game again."
"No. I just wanted to know if you can help me imagine a construct that can get us out of here. I'm all out of ideas, at the moment." I suggest, messing around with my rings in the process. Thankfully, whoever dragged us into here left them on, or goodnight to me.
"How about you concentrate! And figure it out!" Superboy rudely yells at me, considering that I technically wear the one thing that could possibly help us escape. It's not like he can use brute force to break out as the lasers can't be broken. "You're useless." he ends with a huff, his head aimed at his knees.
"Hey! It's not like I can just... phase... through... it." Conner's head perks up with realisation. "Are you kidding me!? We've been stuck here for ages, and I forgot that I can simply walk through! Sometimes, I wonder if I am actually awake most of the time."
"Just shut up and do it!" Conner redirects me to the vital and potentially life-saving task at hand.
Okay Kyle, you can do this. Just be angry, okay. Focusing on all the things that make me truly furious- being shunned from the corp, Artemis' daily sarcasm, and the fact we are still treated like child by the league- I step up to the laser fence. They think you're pathetic and weak, so prove the doubters wrong, I motivate myself.
"Just do it!" Superboy snaps from behind.
"Okay, just calm down, Shia." was my immediate response to the nagging. "I have to channel my rage and use it. Not something easily done when I've got you hounding me every few seconds. If you want to get out of this cell, I need full concentration. So... shush."
Prepping my heart for the awaiting influx, I release my anger into the ring, illuminating the room in a bright crimson. Thankfully, I had enough due to stealing no small amount of Conner's inner anger, which I can sense every waking moment of the day.
Boldly, I stride through the boiling beams, passing through with an odd tingling sensation running down my spine. Once upon the other side, I turn back to my comrade. "Ah, victory at last. Bet you Kryptonians can't do that." I taunt him.
"Are you going to let me out, or what?" he glares at me from across the fence. "We don't have all day. We have to help the others." he carries on as though that would instantly change my mind. Maybe, I should leave the grinch to his mood swings. But, that would be mean.
"Wait a sec."
Artemis' POV
Out of all the people that I could have been imprisoned with- including Kyle- I ended up with the silent and mildly boring personality of Aqualad/Kaldur. With almost three attempts to make him say something to entertain us, he has kept his mouth tightly shut. What I would give to be with either Kyle or Wally, I want to scream to the world in hope that God would answer my prayers.
Sure, they would annoy me, however it's better than brooding with the oldest member of the group like a vampire. Does he ever relax and try to be more... sociable? Judging by the lack of even a few words, he's content with the situation.
"Is something on your mind, Artemis?"
His sudden question brings me both joy and surpise. Although, I can't tell whether it was purely rhetorical or one that desires and answer from me.
"One tiny, miniscule thing." I sarcastically answer with a fake smile. "How are we getting out of here!?"
"Lower your voice, Artemis. They may think that we are escaping." Kaldur commands as though it would damage our situation. "Before you ask 'aren't we escaping?'I would like to say that we won't be, for now. The others will be rescuing us." he monotonously continues, not a shred of concern in his voice.
"How can you be so sure?" I ask, changing my position to become more comfortable- lying on one side, arm supporting my head, and streched out at full length.
"I have faith. Perhaps... you should also trust your teammates." was Kaldur's slightly patronising response.
I laugh. "By that, you also mean putting my faith in the person known as Kyle. Yeah, I think that i'll pass on that one. It would be easier to place a bet on Batman bursting into song to impress Wonder Woman."
"You do not give him a lot of compliments, but I know that you trust him. In some ways, we all do in our own minds." Aqualad stares into my eyes, piercing into my soul. "Superboy defends him as equally as the rest of us, M'gann is carefree around him, Robin trusts him, Wally confides in him, I am willing to lay down my life for him, but you... you pretend to not care. It's your way of closing off your emotions, much like Batman does."
Okay... this is getting way too deep for me. When I want him to talk, he doesn't. But when I give up, he sprouts all this spiritual/observation nonsense.
"Right... that was a terrific talk and all, but let's end it there before things get too Twilight." I say, once again with a note of sarcasm and sassiness. "I might start uncontrollably crying due to the immense feels."
"You can avoid me for now. Outrunning yourself is a lot more difficult and is always a losing battle, Artemis." Kaldur quietly advises. "Let us hope that you are wrong about Kyle, but I already know the outcome. He will come through for all of us."
Tiredly, I bury my head in my knees. " Well... tell me when we get updated about that, will you?"
Wally's POV
All matters assessed... we are utterly doomed to die in this laser-guarded-thingy-cage, or that's what my brain keeps on reminding me every few minutes as though I'd forgotten. The only glint of hope we have lies in our genius- Robin. And, he's trying his best to get our sorry behinds out of the cell. Plus, M'gann is humming to herself in what I can only describe as cheery optimism. At least someone is doing my job for me.
"I'm nearly there, guys. I just have to figure out a way to rewire the lasers into a low temperature setting." Robin reveals, sweat dripping down his forehead as he bites down on his lip in concentration.
"Dude, the panel is on the other side." I point out, ending whatever was concocting in Robin's mind. "I've told you, we are d.o.o.m.e.d. Doomed. There is no possible way that we can safely pass through the lasers without me or M'gann finding a way to phase. Since that's highly unlikely, how about we relax for a while?"
"Lighten up, KF. This can't be how our adventure ends. We haven't saved the world, yet." Robin chuckles. "Besides, think of all the food of all the delicious food that you would be leaving behind. Giving up on this is giving up on the brownies; Kid Flash wouldn't do such a thing."
"Yeah, but Kid Flash can't get out of the death trap, so the brownies will have to be eaten. Dear God, let Shazam eat it. He deserves the smooth and heartwarming chocolate." I theatrically raise my hands up to the bland ceiling.
"See, KF, optimism is key." he triumphantly smirks.
The bitter truth is that he's right in more ways than possible. Think of all the expressions that relate to how being happy with life coincides with great karma: 'what goes around, comes around' and 'always look on the bright side of life'. More the latter than the former, I suppose.
"So... any suggestions on how to reach the panel? I'm all ears." Robin asks.
"I could always try and do it telekinetically, but I would have to know which wires to remove or change. It would be hard, though." Miss Martian suggests. "Especially since it would require a lot of precision control, which Uncle J'onn is better at."
"That's a great idea! Why didn't I think of that!?" Robin darts up from his seated position and approaches the fence.
"Maybe because you were definitely not stressing and was thinking properly." I sarcastically wink with a smile. "Let's get out of here."
The boy wonder nods. "agreed."
"Guys, I still need to do the thing and I don't know if I'm ready." M'gann says.
"Well," I reply. "Before, Robin said that optimism is key and he's right; focus on the task at hand and believe in yourself. Just like we believe in you. You can do this, Miss M."
At my words, her face steels in determination. "You're right. I'm going to get us out of here." she announces, whilst gracefully floating towards the bright red fence of utter annihilation. Then, she halts directly before accidentally hitting the lasers and closes her eyes, her face scrunching in concentration.
"Okay, Miss M." the birdman intakes a deep breath. "Lift the lid, first." he instructs, to which she immediately obeys and the lid comes flying off. "Good. There are a couple of wires in there that we will need to cut out and a few that we need to swap."
"You can tell, how? You've just looked at the thing." I scoff.
Robin shoots a warning glance behind his back before turning again and flicking his eyes over the panel. "The blue wire on the top left needs to be cut, but make sure that you don't snip the yellow one, as well. That would be... disastrous." and hey presto, she effortlessly manages to do exactly as Rob commanded. "Last thing: You see that red one? You're going to swap it with the green, but it has to be really fast or we could all go kaboom. So... no pressure."
"Oh... okay... I'll try." M'gann chokes under the not-so-helpful pressure.
"We don't need you to try... we need you to succeed." Rob once again shovels the responsibility on our young Martian.
"Rob. Don't." I shake my head.
"What?" he innocently shrugs his shoulders. "Batman always does this to me."
"That's because Batman is a certified psycopath, and you are his slave." at a perfect timing, Kyle Rayner casually saunters until he is adjecent to the wire box. "No offense, of course. Strictly speaking, it's not your fault."
"Just get us out of here." Robin sighs.
"Okayyy..." Kyle mumbles as his hand flickers over a set of buttons next to the box. "Now, which one... are you?" he whispers, apparently to no-one in particular amongst our group. "Since we were this... they must be th- Voila!" he exclaims and the fence momentarily shimmers and then shuts off. "The paragon of awesomeness does it again!"
Stepping out of the once-cage, I pat him on the back. "Thanks, man; we owe you a cake when we get back."
Kyle smiles. "Don't sweat it." he hits me back. "Let's get the shebang out of here, shall we? Conner is already dealing with the others, and we have a brain to interrogate."
A/N
This was a little shorter than the others, but don't judge.