Hi! I'm back and alive! Here's chapter 3 with 2425 words, and I do not own the song Airplanes, by B.O.B and Hayley Williams of Paramore. Remember that in this story, these songs are published by those artists and the characters hear it on computers and radios and all that crap. This isn't like High School Musical where the songs seem to be made up on the spot; characters listen to the music real people do.
On with the story!
Nothing. He felt absolutely nothing. Opening his eyes, he looked at the white walls that greeted him. What happened? He touched his left arm, feeling no pain, and checking, there were no burns. Looking around the room, he saw Alex doing something similar, looking as confused as he did.
"You two are going to need some work. I mean, I know you can do better than that. You could have seriously hurt them or killed them, considering they were only clones and the fact that they weren't even real. Why do you insist on holding back?" Malvarma looked down at them, seemingly disappointed.
"Probably because we're not as cold-hearted as you." Dick spat at him. To their surprise, the man smiled, as if there was some inside joke they didn`t know about.
"Right on the nose as always Mr. Grayson." He chuckled. "Also since you are not as cold-hearted as me, maybe I should train you to be just that." Neither of them liked the smile on his face, nor the way he said his words. "Take them to the other room where their surprise is." He walked out leaving the two as robots came to escort the duo to whatever the insane man had planned. Once they made it to the room, the doors opened and both of them gasped. A bruised man sat in a chair, hands and feet tied up, mouth gagged. A little girl who couldn't be older than 8 sat next to him in another chair, tears falling like a waterfall down her face, her mouth also gagged. Both gave pleading looks to the vigilantes as they walked in. Malvarma's voice echoed around the room.
"What you have to do is simple. Alexis, kill the man."
"I would never do-" She outraged before she was interrupted.
"I know, that's where the cute angel comes in. Kill the man, or she dies."
Line Break
Oliver Queen knocked on the door of a rundown apartment in Gotham. He tugged his jacket closer and looked around him, knowing that a millionaire vulnerable like this in Gotham is bound to catch someone`s eye. The door opened, showing an ebony woman in a wheel chair. She smiled at him. "Hello Oliver, come on in." Paula said, opening the door wider to let him pass through. He nodded and smiled back at her, walking in. Most people wouldn't trust an ex-con with their secret identity, but Paula was different and he knew he could trust her. "You must be here to see Artemis. She's in her room, worried sick about her friends. Do you have anything that might help find them?" The mother asked as they walked to the girl's room.
"We're not sure if it will help but we found something that might belong to them and I wanted to ask her about it." They stopped in front of the bedroom door.
"Someone is here to see you, Artemis." A quiet 'come in' answered the call, and the adults shared a look before the elder blonde opened the door and walked in. Closing the door behind him, he looked at the girl sitting on the bed. She stared at him expectantly.
"Well, did you find something?" She asked.
"I think so. You know that necklace you're wearing right now?" He pointed toward the object in question. Artemis glanced down at it, her hand reaching up to touch the piece of jewelry.
"Yeah. She gave one to me, Dick, and Barbara. Why?" Oliver pulled out a familiar gold chain from his pocket, an oval locket on it, an 'R' labeled on it.
"I found it at the scene and thought you might know something." He explained. She got up and took it gently from his hand. It dangled from her fingers as she stared almost nostalgically at the necklace. Opening it, she laughed slightly at the picture inside.
"They were always oblivious to the fact that they are basically meant for each other." She closed it and sighed, sitting back down on her bed, Oliver sitting beside her. "She gave it to us the day before her and Dick was kidnapped. Of course she would have bad luck and end up being taken on the night right before her birthday."
"Seems like she has a record of having terrible birthdays." He said. She looked at him confused.
"What do you mean?" She asked. He looked at her seriously.
"Bats did some research on her. Her mother died in a house fire on her sixth birthday." Artemis' eyes widened a little before she went to staring at her lap.
"Guess there was a lot we didn't know about Alex."
"There's a lot the team doesn't know about you." He reminded. She narrowed her eyes a little bit but relaxed seeing his point. She still has secrets about her and her family and the team doesn't know anything at all about her bloodline.
"Not exactly sure how to tell a team of young superheroes that your dad and sister are assassins they've fought before while your mom is an ex-con. There is also the fact that I was raised to be in their line of work." She twiddled her thumbs, thoughts of doubt going through her head, but her worry about her friends overcoming it.
"Don't worry. Have you ever known us to ever lose a fight, no matter how long it goes on?"
"We sometimes lose the fight against death." Artemis said solemnly. She put her hair behind her ear and put a determined expression on. "Do you think we'll be able to track Robin with it?"
"Maybe. I was just going to ask Zatara if he could. But just in case, you should hold on to that for me." He smiled a little. "We're going to bring them back, just be ready for it when it comes."
Line Break
Alex didn't know what to do. She would never end a life. It made her as bad as the criminals she helped Robin fight. Now she was in a checkmate, and it wouldn't matter what she did if someone was going to die anyways. "How do I know you're not bluffing?" She said shakily, keeping her eyes on the two victims. A muffled scream came through the gag as the little girl jerked, a shock running throughout her fragile body. Even more tears fell down the young face, sobs breaking through the gag. "Okay! Okay! Stop it!"
The man looked over at the young girl as she calmed down. His expression first filled with worry, then anger, determination, and finally acceptance. Understanding what was going through the man's head, Dick stepped up. "Can we take off the gags?" A passive 'go ahead' was the response and he moved to take the constricting cloth off of the man. He gasped heavily as his mouth was finally released, and the vigilante moved over to do the same for the young girl.
"Just kill me. I can tell you don't want to, but I can also tell you don't want her to die either. At least I got to live a life before this, hers just started. Don't let someone innocent lose their childhood." The man pleaded.
"What's your name?" Alex asked, eyes already filling with regret at what she was about to do.
"Randy Johnson."
"Well, Randy, you are a great man you know that." She took a deep breath, anguish clear as day. "I'm so, very, terribly sorry for this. I'll make sure it's as painless as possible. Dick," She stared straight at his eyes. He nodded, understanding as she gave a glance to the youngest presence in the room. Dick moved towards the girl and kneeled in front of her.
"Hey there. Mind telling me your name?" His voice was soft as he spoke. The little girl looked at him warily, scared of what he would do.
"Marilyn Galena, but everyone calls me Mary." He slightly choked hearing that the girl had the same name as his mother. He smiled gently.
"My name is Richard Grayson, but everyone calls me Dick." He took her face in his hands, using his thumbs to wipe away the tears. "Don't worry. I just need you to close your eyes, okay?" Mary nodded and squeezed shut her eyelids. He covered her ears with his hands, and turning slightly towards Alex, signaled with his head to go on.
She raised her fist. "I'm so sorry." The man looked at her with acceptance. He smiled.
"I know. I forgive you." Her punch came in contact with Randy's face, knocking him out. She took his wrist, seemingly pressing random places on it. Suddenly his back arched up, and with one final gasp, his body went limp. Randy Johnson no longer had a beating heart, no longer could he breathe, and could no longer smile. Dick let go of Mary's ears, standing straight. He looked worriedly at his best female friend.
"Alex-" He was interrupted by the sound of Malvarma's voice over camouflaged speakers.
"Good job, though there was definitely too much emotion and mercy. I would say to just kill efficiently and quickly so you can move on to the next. At least it was done. Take them back to their room."
"Wait, what about Mary?" He glanced at the child, wondering what they were going to do.
"She'll be released later on. Now you can go to your room." The robots came in and escorted them through the hallways to their room. The entire time Dick was giving worried glances while Alex just stayed stoic, showing no emotion whatsoever. As soon as they were put in the cell and the door closed, he turned towards the pyrokinetic. She sat on the bed, head down, hair covering her face. Her shoulders shook slightly, and he could she was crying. He walked over to her, sitting down beside her and, putting an arm over her shoulder and pulling her close. She put her head on his shoulder as she continued to cry.
"Why do people always get hurt because of me? Why can't I just go back when I was five, before everything happened? Why can't we just leave?" He just held her comfortingly, listening. She started to calm down, her sobs turning into sniffles. She remembered a song she heard on TV before, seeming to fit that moment.
Can we pretend that airplanes in the night sky are like shooting stars?
I could really use a wish right now
Wish right now
Wish right now
Can we pretend that airplanes in the night sky are like shooting stars?
I could really use a wish right now
Wish right now
Wish right now
She sang softly, her voice fitting the lyrics perfectly. Dick did the next part, and couldn't help but feel how much it related not only to what Alex just said, but to their lives in general.
Yeah, I could use a dream, or a genie, or a wish
To go back to a place much simpler than this
'Cause after all the partyin' , and smashin', and crashin'
And all the glitz, and the glam, and the fashion
And all the pandemonium and all the madness
There comes a time when you fade to the blackness
And when you starin' at that phone in your lap
And you hopin' but them people never call you back
But that's just how the story unfolds
You get another hand soon after you fold
And when your plans unravel in the sand
What would you wish for if you had one chance?
They both knew what they would wish for. A chance to see their family alive and happy, with no one getting hurt, but of course they knew it would never happen.
So airplane, airplane, sorry I'm late
I'm on my way so don't close that gate
If I don't make that then I'll switch my flight
And I'll be right back at it by the end of the night
Can we pretend that airplanes in the night sky are like shooting stars? (Shooting stars)
I could really use a wish right now
Wish right now
Wish right now
Can we pretend that airplanes in the night sky are like shooting stars? (Shooting stars)
I could really use a wish right now
Wish right now
Wish right now
Their voices sounded perfect together, and seemed to help anchor themselves with everything that's going on.
Yeah, yeah somebody take me back to the days
Before this was a job, before I got paid
Before it ever mattered what I had in my bank
Yeah, back when I was tryin' to get a tip at Subway
And back when I was rappin' for the hell of it
But nowadays we rappin' to stay relevant
I'm guessin' that if we can make some wishes outta airplanes
Then maybe, yo, maybe I'll go back to the days
Before the politics that we call the rap games
And when ain't nobody listened to my mixtape
And back when I tried to cover up my slang
But this is for the hater, what's up Bobby Ray?
He wanted go back to before he became Robin, before he was taken in by Bruce, before he was sent to that juvenile center, before his parents' died. Just a romani gypsy kid who was in a family circus. She wanted go before she became Phoenix, before her powers, before dad drank in depression, and before her mother died in that house fire. Everything then was perfect, a family, a home, and love.
So can I get a wish, to end the politics
And get back to the music that started this shit
So here I stand and then again I stay
I'm hopin' we can make some wishes outta airplanes
Can we pretend that airplanes in the night sky are like shooting stars? (Shooting stars)
I could really use a wish right now
Wish right now
Wish right now
Can we pretend that airplanes in the night sky are like shooting stars? (Shooting stars)
I could really use a wish right now
Wish right now
Wish right now
I could really use a wish right now (oh,oh,oh,oh)
I-I-I could really use a wish right now (mmmmm)
Like, like, like, shooting stars (oh,oh,oh,oh,oh...oh)
I-I-I-I could really use a wish right now
A wish, a wish right now
Everyone, the league, the team, Jonathan, Bruce, Barbara, Alex, and Dick wished the same thing.
They wished for the two to be safe and at home, away from the hell hole