Ch.24: No Memories, Remember?
Watchtower: February 21, 22:43
"You know, you're never going to be of help to them if you don't get any sleep."
Wonder Woman walked in, sporting a worried look. Batman ignored her and continued looking through everything he could that could possibly explain the teens disappearance. How the capturer found every last tracking device on Danny and Robin was amazing, speaking that he hid a few and the boys didn't even know about them.
"Bruce, go to bed." Wonder Woman said, placing a hand on the Dark Knight's shoulder. He merely shrugged it off. The Amazon glared.
"Wayne…" She hissed.
The Caped Crusader didn't even flinch at the tone she used. The Amazon gave a sigh and walked off, leaving the Dark Knight to continue his work for the third night in a row.
Random Forest: February 22, 11:32
"How come I can't just run? I mean, when we're flying, I'd never be able to keep up, I'll admit that. But, how come when we're on the ground, you won't let me run?" Wally questioned, hanging onto Artemis's waist as they rode the Griffin of Growth as they rode up a hill.
He was surrounded by his friends. Dick and Zatanna were riding Protection, the cobra. Care the Tiger was being ridden by Megan and Superboy. Kaldur and Raquel, as they have gotten used to calling her, rode Wisdom, and Danny rode Lone.
Around all the animals' necks was a leather strap, with two riding straps hanging off. The drivers sat near the front while the passengers sat behind them, hanging on for dear life. They all had leather saddles to match.
The Ghost Boy smiled at his friend. "Uh, Wally, my Totems are built to run through forests, swamps, jungles, and other terrain."
Dick laughed. "Yeah, you'd probably run into a tree or fall in a ditch."
The two black haired boys both started laughing a bit harder and high fived.
Everyone had a deep suspicion that those two were brothers, one way or another.
Lone let out a snort of amusement, and Wisdom smacked him with her tail. Lone growled but Wisdom batted her eyes innocently. The other Totems present started letting out amused sounds.
"Oh hush up, you two. Always going for each other's throats." Danny said, rolling his eyes. The two growled but stopped once they reached the top of the hill they had climbed. In the distance, they could see a bunch of mountains a few miles ahead of them.
"Should we head that way?" Superboy asked.
"The mountains do seem to form a valley on the other side." Zatanna added.
"The mountains would also prove to be a good barrier." Megan included.
Kaldur nodded. "We can check it out and see if it is fit for our needs." He said.
Raquel threw her hands in the air. "Yes!"
Danny looked ahead and smirked. He made a clicking sound with his tongue and the Totems rushed forward, heading straight for the dense forest ahead.
"Uh, Danny, you sure about this?!" Artemis asked, uneasily.
Danny laughed at them. "Nope!"
Everyone let out a scream as the Totems ran, followed shortly by Danny's laughter.
The Totems, to everyone's relief, easily swiveled around trees, dunked or leaped over fallen logs, dodged ditches, and continued to keep an even pace with each other, though they separated a bit for elbow room, as it was a dense forest.
Danny, with Lone easily taking the lead, looked around for a route easier than the one they were taking. In a matter of seconds, he spotted one. He turned to the rest of the group behind him. "Hey guys! This way!"
Lone spotted what his master of sorts did and switched his direction. He headed straight up a pathway to a cliff. The others followed his lead. The small group found their way up the cliff face and ran across a ledge on the side. It was narrow and taken with caution. But, with an easy path ahead of them, the Totems sped up some.
The cliff face ended only a mile later but the path evened out into a plain from there. Halfway to the mountains, they sent Wally ahead to see if it was worth their time. He sped on ahead as the others continued running forward. He came back a few minutes later, easily hoping back on Growth.
"There's a city!"
The Totems abruptly stopped.
"A city?" Zatanna asked.
Wally nodded. "Yeah, the valley is low and wide. Perfect place for one." He informed.
"Does the city take up the whole valley?" Kaldur asked.
Wally shook his head. "No, only about half of it."
Kaldur nodded, and they gave him a second to think. "We have been traveling for a few days now. It would be nice to set up a permanent camp. We'll go and set up in the unoccupied area of the valley."
Most of the teens cheered and the Totems took off. The teens, reenergized with the thought of a permanent camp, enjoyed the ride and loved the feeling of the wind through their hair.
The Totems had no problem running the last mile to the mountains. It was also an easy climb up the mountains, in their minds.
Once they reached the top, they looked over the wide valley.
Wally was right. A city did take up about half of it. A sea breeze rose up from the ocean next to them.
After sharing glances, the Totems took off towards the unoccupied area of the valley. They stayed quiet so they would not be heard. The Totems were only quick shadows in the forest.
They went around the city and found a good spot for a camp near a river, surrounded by many trees. It made for the perfect spot.
They spent the rest of the day making the area a little more livable. They moved logs, dug down into the earth so they could make a decent fire pit, and other things of the like. By sundown, it was the best camp they'd had so far.
Around sunset, Raul, the Phoenix, shrunk down to the size of a pigeon and hopped into the logs made into a sort of teepee. His wings instantly made a blaze and he curled up in the warmth of the fire, enjoying the blue-green embers and the licking flames, even though Kaldur, Megan, and Danny kept their distance.
For fun, they all sang really stupid songs to occupy themselves. It really was stupid. When Artemis and Zatanna were done singing I Lost On Jeopardy, Danny and Dick started waving around for their time.
"Do you want to sing, guys?" Superboy asked, sarcastically. The two nodded and gained cheeky smiles.
Oh Lord, what could it possibly be?
"This is called…" Dick started off and pointed to Danny. "Dumb Ways to Die!" (Danny, Dick) (And before you start complaining, yes, I'm doing this song again.)
Set fire to your hair
Poke a stick at a grizzly bear
Eat medicine that's out of date
Use your private parts as piranha bait
Dumb ways to die
So many dumb ways to die
Dumb ways to die-ie-ie
So many dumb ways to die
Get your toast out with a fork
Do your own electrical work
Teach yourself how to fly
Eat a two week old unrefrigerated pie
It didn't come as a surprise when everyone gagged at the thought.
Dumb ways to die
So many dumb ways to die
Dumb ways to die-ie-ie
So many dumb ways to die
Invite a psycho killer inside
Scratch a drug-dealers brand new ride
Take your helmet off in outer space
Use your clothes dryer as a hiding place
Dumb ways to die
So many dumb ways to die
Dumb ways to die-ie-ie
So many dumb ways to die
Keep a rattlesnake as a pet
Sell both your kidneys on the internet
Eat a tube of superglue
I wonder what's this red button do?
Danny and Dick both made an explosion noise.
Dumb ways to die
So many dumb ways to die
Dumb ways to die-ie-ie
So many dumb ways to die
Dress up like a moose during hunting season
Disturb a nest of wasps for no good reason
Stand on the edge of a train station platform
Drive around the boom gates at a railroad crossing
Run across the tracks between the platform
They may not rhyme but they're quite possibly
The dumbest ways to die
The dumbest ways to die
The dumbest ways to die-ie-ie
So many dumb
So many dumb ways to die
Be safe around trains, a message from Metro
By the end, everyone was in hysterics, and Danny and Dick both joined them. It was rather amusing actually. "Who's next?"
Wally raised his hand. Everyone cheered. Wally grinned and started singing the lyrics to Don't Download This Song.
Red Tornado typed rapidly on the computer. The power radar suggested an immense power surge near noon. Red Tornado gave whoever it was some time before he decided to go after them. But whoever had the power levels stayed and were set up near Happy Harbor.
There were nine of them in all. There were three humans, two aliens, an Atlantean, and a ghost. The Atlantean and one of the humans were magic users. The aliens were Martian and Kryptonian. One of the humans had the speed over that of a human's. The last of the humans gave off an aura, similar to the one Green Lantern gave off. And the ghost gave off human and magical properties.
If anything, Red Tornado thought they were the Team. But why didn't they come back? It didn't make sense, in his mind. Only a few things actually made sense in this case. They could be under mind control, have their memories lost, or blackmailed.
Red Tornado had already contacted Batman, and he would be here in-
"Recognized. Batman; 02."
And he was early.
Batman stalked forward. "What is it, Red?"
The android turned to the Dark Knight. "The sensors detected high power levels. Seven beings have advanced abilities of all sorts."
Batman narrowed his eyes. "That sounds a lot like…"
"The Team." Red Tornado finished for him. The Caped Crusader nodded and turned to leave.
"Wait."
Batman turned to him sharply. "What?" He hissed.
"Do you not find it suspicious that they have not gone home?"
The Caped Crusader paused.
It was weird. Danny and Dick usually hated being anywhere they didn't know, and the others had similar feelings. Why hadn't they gone back to their worried parents or at least back to a place they find familiar? It could be pure luck that they were here, but it seemed highly unlikely they wouldn't recognize the place where they hung out or, in some cases, called home. What could be their reasoning?
"I'll figure out why they didn't back." The Dark Leaguer said and left.
They teens had long since settled down for the night. Most of them were in a deep, dreamless sleep, one they hadn't had for a long time. Some were having sweet dreams in Nevermore. But only one was having a memory.
"One… Two… Three…"
The small Lord of Order giggled to himself as he thought of a place to hide. Natick saw the woods that connected his World of Order to the one of Chaos. He didn't know about it though, the dangers of the woods, so he ran straight in, not knowing of the danger awaiting him.
"Four… Five… Six…"
Natick giggled to himself again. "Nabu will never find me here!" He said to himself, happy to outsmart his good friend. He loved hide-and-seek! It was so much fun! He wished he could play it every day!
"Seven… eight… nine…"
Natick looked behind him, still giggling to himself at his pure genius. He didn't notice he passed the border into his neighbor's territory. He didn't notice that the healthy trees started to wilt and were dying all around him. He didn't notice that the baby blue sky was starting to turn red. He only knew his friend was almost done counting and he had to hide.
"Ten! Ready or not, here I come!"
Natick giggled and hid under a log, still completely oblivious to the world around him. Well, that was, until he was roughly pulled from his spot by his golden cloak. He yelped, his blue eyes wide. He looked up at the person who had grabbed him and found himself staring at a man with pitch black hair, red eyes, and wearing too much black, in the small boy's opinion.
The man stared at the child with glee. "Well, well, if it isn't Queen Annora and King Windsor's son, Prince Natick. What a pleasant surprise."
Natick tried to get away from the scary man. "My mommy told me not to talk to people like you!"
The man laughed. "Of course she would! She wouldn't want her little baby getting involved with me, King Morocco of Chaos!"
Natick's eyes went wide. He'd heard of Morocco. He didn't know much, but he knew enough to known he meant bad news.
Natick tried pulling his cloak from the man's grasp but it was useless. He vaguely thought about ditching the golden cloak altogether.
"Natick, come out, come out wherever you are!"
Natick saw his chance and got ready to scream to his friend. Morocco covered the boy's mouth before he could. Natick, going into a panic for he was only a beginner in the Mystic Arts, tried to think of possible ways to get away. He did what any other kid his age was (it was older than he looked for he was immortal); He bit the king's hand.
Morocco took his hand away from the child in shock, briefly releasing the cloak. Natick scrambled to his feet and tried running. The Lord of Chaos grabbed his cloak again and slapped him.
"NABU!"
"Natick?"
Tears sprang to the Lord of Order's eyes. "Get my daddy, Nabu!"
He could practically hear his friend go into a panic himself.
"What's going on?!"
Morocco slapped a hand over the child's mouth before he could say more. "Now, now, Natick. You'll be alright. Come along."
Before Morocco could drag the small boy away, a giant white wolf lunged at him. The wolf bit down on his arm and started shaking him around violently, letting go of Natick in the process. The small boy scrambled to his feet again and started running. He felt another presence behind him and looked up. A giant black eagle with four red eyes was diving for him.
A black Amarok jumped in the way before though and swatted him away, snarling as he did. He turned to Natick and urged him forward with nudges from his muzzle. Natick did as told and got up and ran. The wolf ran behind him, urging him on with more nudges.
"Natick! Baby, where are you? Natick, sweetie!"
Natick panted but joy sprang to his heart. "Mommy! I'm here, I'm here!"
He heard his mother gasp. "Natick? My little noiva, come here!"
Natick had to smile. He was her little noiva!
Natick broke through the tree line and made a bee-line for his mother. "Mamá!"
The woman turned and opened her arms just as her son collided with her. She picked him up happily, looking over him as she did. "My noiva, where have you been? Nabu was petrified when he heard you scream! And your father and I have been looking for you everywhere!"
Natick's happy face turned sad and tears welled in his eyes. "I'm sorry. I was hiding and then a man tried to take me away!"
His mother wiped away his tears before they could fall. "It's alright, little noiva. Please, don't ever do that again."
Natick nodded and really looked at his mother's loving face.
She had electric blue eyes, like his own, but she had long silver hair in a braid. She wore a golden leotard with transparent navy blue sweater over it. She had golden cuffs on her upper forearms, and sandals on her feet. Gold streaks were lined throughout her hair. Her head was also adorned with a simple crown, a sapphire in the middle.
"Did you find him, Annora?" Natick and his mother, Annora, saw a man running up to them.
He had black hair with forest green eyes. He wore a navy blue tunic with gold shorts underneath, sandals, a golden cloak, golden cuffs around his wrists, and a golden crown on his head with a sapphire in the middle, much like Natick's mother's.
"He more or less found me." Annora said in a teasing manner.
"Papá!" Natcik yelled.
The man smiled at his son. "Hey there Tikki, where were you?"
Annora made a face that said don't ask. Natick's father quickly smiled. "Never mind Tikki. Your mother can tell me later. She's so boring!" He said in a teasing manner.
Annora smacked her husband playfully. "Ah Windsor!"
Natick wrapped his arms around his mother's neck. "Mommy isn't boring! You are!"
Natick's father, Windsor, gasped dramatically. "Tikki, that hurts! She took you to the dark side!" Windsor started to cry into his hands overdramatically.
Annora saw right through it. Natick, though, did not.
"I didn't go to the dark side, Daddy! I'm right here! Don't cry!"
Windsor stopped immediately. "Ok!"
Natick smiled and laughed. Windsor smirked and bent down to give his wife a kiss. Annora gave Windsor a sly smile and started walking in the opposite direction, right before he could, almost sending him sprawling to the ground.
Natick laughed and pointed at his father, looking over Annora's shoulder. "Bye bye Papá!"
Windsor watched in disbelief as his wife took his son away. "What was that for?!"
Annora shot him a mischief smile, and he followed after the two.
The small family walked back to where the place of hide-and-seek began. Nabu was pacing worriedly. He instantly brightened upon seeing his best friend in his mother's arms. "You found him! You found him! You found him Auntie Annora!"
Do not be fooled. Nabu is just a really close friend.
The couple smiled and chuckled.
"Yes, we found him. But we're heading home now. Would you like one of us to take you home?" Windsor asked.
Nabu shook his head. "No thanks, Uncle Windsor. Mommy's waiting for me at home anyways. I better head out now."
"Let me take you." Windsor insisted. After a moment of thinking, Nabu nodded. "Ok! Hurry up! Mommy's waiting for me!"
The couple momentarily kissed goodbye and Natick waved at his retreating father and friend. "Bye Nabu! See you soon!"
Annora gave her son a peck on the cheek. "Time to go, noiva."
Natick rested his head on her shoulder. "Ok."
Annora carried her son to a white horse with a golden mane. His saddle was decorated in elaborate jewels and pieces of gold.
Annora didn't hesitate to jump on, Natick squealing with joy. The mother of one smiled and turned to horse in the direction they called home and rode off in a canter.
Queen Annora and King Windsor, now decorated in formal clothes of a king and queen, glared at their little "visitor". King Morocco of Chaos gave his brother and sister-in-law cool smiles. Natick was hiding behind his mother's throne, clutching her hand.
"Brother, how long has it been?" Morocco said, throwing his hands up in dramatics.
Windsor glared. "What do you want, Morocco? I have no time for your games."
Morocco gasped, as if in shock. "That hurts Windsor! I just wanted to see my dear nephew, Crown Prince of Order!"
Annora gave a fierce glare. "You will not touch my son, Morocco. You would only try to provoke him."
Morocco gasped again. "I would never!"
Windsor gave an irritated sigh. "Enough with the dramatics. Now state your business and leave."
Morocco turned just as irritated. "Am I not allowed to see my nephew?"
Annora continued her glare. "You have already seen him. You have no reason."
Morocco smirked. "I see him now, hiding behind your throne."
Natick cowered under his uncle's gaze, and tried hiding further.
"Enough Morocco!" Windsor shouted and stood up. He had enough of his brother frightening his child. "Leave, before I set my hounds after you!"
As if on que, you could hear the howls of wolves and snarls and growls of other beasts.
Morocco sighed in annoyance. "I'm leaving. I'm leaving. Send a warning next time your son decides to visit the Chaos. Ta-ta!"
Morocco left in a flash.
As soon as he was gone, Annora dragged her son from his hiding place and placed him in her lap, holding him tightly. She kissed his head and rocked him gently. Natick trembled but did not cry. Windsor sighed and fell back into his seat, rubbing his face. He reached out and grabbed his wife's hand and they gave each other a squeeze.
Danny shot up and looked around. The fire was still going, and from inside, Raul gave him a glance in curiosity. The two beings already knew the other had no idea what that dream was but it never ceased to diminish their natural curiosity.
The Ghost Boy got up and looked around. His friends were still asleep and the moon shone brightly in the sky. He rubbed his face with a sigh and decided to look around the area. He ventured off and Raul watched him leave, not even twitching in his spot among the flames and embers.
It wasn't long before he had a good idea of the area. It was then that he got the feeling to turn around. Once he did, he saw Klarion smirking at him, Teekl in his arms. Of course, he had no idea who the heck they were. Just that they reminded him from the Morocco guy from his dream.
"If it isn't Natick." Klarion taunted, stroking his stupid cat. Danny's eyes narrowed. Yes, that was one of his names. But how did this nut job know him?
"How do you know my name?" Danny questioned. He wanted to say 'one of many names' but that would be overkill.
Klarion laughed. "You don't remember? How about I enlighten you. My names Klarion!"
The cat jumped out of his arms and the Witch Boy threw a red blast at the Ghost Boy.
Danny threw up a Ring of Thirteen symbols and smirked. "That the best you got?" A bright flash emitted from him and Natick stood in his place. "Cause this is so going to be an easy fight."
Klarion growled in annoyance. "Just as annoying as before, I see."
Natick smirked. "That's what everyone tells me."
Another red blast and another shield. Natick said something under his breath and a golden beam shot forth, knocking Klarion into a tree. "Man, this is easy! Geez, I thought you were supposed to be good!"
Klarion growled again. "Teekl, get him!"
The cat let out a growl and switched to his big cat form. Natick narrowed his eyes. "If that's the way we're playing, might as well go all out. Lone…"
In an instance, Natick turned into Lone with black eyes and the real lone had appeared next to him. The Amarok's growled at their opponents.
Klarion got back up and dusted himself off. "Great, he learned how to do that little trick even with memory loss. Fantastic."
Natick let out an inhuman growl. "Brat."
Both wolves had moved their mouths, but one voice that was entwined when two spoke.
Klarion roared and sent another blast. The two wolves separated. Lone went for the pussy cat and Natick went for the Lord of Chaos.
Natick easily dodged his opposite's blasts. He ducked and lunged. Klarion made two hands of red energy and grabbed the black wolf. He threw him to the side but Natick got back up immediately and lunged again. He was able to bite down on the Chaos Lord's shoulder and fling him around like a rag doll. Klarion grabbed Natick's shoulders though and sent an electrifying red lightning into his shoulder. The giant wolf dropped the Lord and howled.
Klarion sent another red blast but a red shield with the same symbol on Natick's forehead appeared before him. It was the ancient symbol for danger.
The two enemies circled. Natick's head and tail low. Klarion had his arms raised, ready for any oncoming attacks.
Klarion, surprisingly, attacked first. He sent another blast, which Natick jumped out of the way from. He lunged forward and sent the two rolling.
Lone let out a bark in worry but his attention was quickly directed back to Teekl.
Natick swatted Klarion across the face with his claws. The Lord of Chaos got up from his spot and felt the blood seep from his cheek. Natick growled at him. "Leave Klarion. You cannot hope to defeat me."
The Witch Boy growled but left through a portal wordlessly.
Lone raced towards him, worried when Teekl had disappeared. Natick reassured the other Amarok and in a flash, he was Danny again. He put his hand under the wolf's chin, and stroked his head affectionately.
"Danny."
The Ghost Boy whirled around and came face-to-face with the Dark Knight.
"Who are you?" Danny asked. All he knew was that this person could be a potential threat to his friends.
Batman narrowed his eyes. "You don't remember me?"
Danny narrowed his own eyes. "Should I?" He asked.
He wished he remembered what his life was like before this. But he also didn't. Every time he thought about it, dread filled him. He was curious but did he want to know that much?
"How much do you know?" Batman asked.
Danny shrugged. "I remember small things. My birthday, my name, how my powers work, what my powers are. I know things you'd learn at school, but anything that could separate me from a crowd, well; I'm out of luck in that category."
Batman sighed. "This is going to sound far-fetched but I know you and your history."
Danny let out a hallow chuckle. "Yeah right. That is far-fetched."
Batman let out another sigh. "I can help you remember, but only if you let me. Work with me." The Dark Knight stuck out his hand, hoping Danny would take it.
The gesture was oddly familiar to Danny, yet he couldn't remember where from.
He gave a glance to his embodiment. The wolf gave a small huff of air. In an instance, he had hoped onto the wolf and was racing off through the forest, heading straight towards his friends to warn them and get them gone. He could hear the person behind him shout but didn't look back.
Lone easily jumped over logs and took the hard route to the campsite, hoping to throw the older man off track.
The two raced into the clearing, Lone making a lot of racket as he did.
The others groggily got up and found Wisdom, Care, Lone with Danny on his back, and Growth surrounding them, urgent faces.
"Get up! Now! Long story short; weird dream, fought a brat, and now I'm being chased by a nut-job in spandex! I know he'll be back and we can't let him find us! Suit up and let's get going! Dick, Zatanna, with me!"
The others were up immediately and were hoping on their rides. Dick and Zatanna with Lone and Danny. Megan and Superboy were on Care. Kaldur and Raquel got on Wisdom. And Wally and Artemis got on Growth.
Danny froze the campfire once Raul disappeared and made a clicking noise. The Totems ran like the devil was on their heels. It wasn't one of their casual rides as they looked for a home. No, this one was urgent as they tore through the forest, taking all of the hard paths, not making it easy for their chasers.
Of course Batman made chase. That was his kid that ran away, with no memory of who he was. All he found was their old campsite. The fire that had blazed was frozen in mid flicker. It shined in the moonlight, giving off speckled designs. Some places were more frosted and gave off spiral designs, and gave off a cold feeling.
The Dark Knight sighed. This was going to be a lot harder than he had first anticipated.
"How long are we going to run?" Artemis asked as the Totems took a break (even if they didn't need it) on top of a cliff.
Danny shrugged his shoulders. "We haven't dealt with this person before. Though we may have and not know it, speaking that we have no memories of our past lives. We don't know his stamina, his determination. Heck, we don't know who the heck he is. All I know is, he was wearing dark spandex in the form of a bat. He screamed of 'nut job'."
"You seem to know how living on the streets works. Why?" Kaldur asked.
Danny shrugged. "No memories, remember? Ha! I just made a bad pun!"
Dick rolled his eyes and slapped him. "Enough with the bad pun thing. It's overwhelming. Hey, why isn't anyone just whelmed?"
Most people laughed, but there seemed to be something familiar about the simple statement.
"Dick, please, no butchering the English language. Then you would actually earn your name." Danny said with a smile, his blue eyes sparkling.
Again, there seemed to be something familiar in the way Danny and Dick teased each other.
Danny looked to where the moon was setting. Time did fly.
"We should head out. The day's almost here and we need to get moving. We don't know if the nut job has friends. If that's ok with you Kaldur." Danny said quickly. The Atlantean was their leader. He was second in command, along with Dick, as the leader could not choose.
Kaldur nodded though, with a smile. "It is alright. Your logic makes sense. It would also be nice to find a better place to set up camp than where we did the night before."
Danny nodded with a grateful smile. "I can have my other inactive Totems scout the area and look for a place."
Kaldur nodded and the other Totems appeared.
Anhur the Cobra, Amoux the Python, Gale the Eagle, Banshee the Raven, Isis the Caladrius, Raul the Phoenix, and Marrok the Thunderbird waited patiently for their assignments.
Danny crossed his arms and gave them a small glare. "You already know what I'm about to ask. Why come? But you three," He gestured to the three legendary birds. "Keep low. We don't need unwanted attention."
The Totems made laughing sounds, but complied with Danny's wishes. The snakes slithered off into the bushes, and the birds took to the air.
Danny rubbed his forehead. "They're so annoying, sometimes."
Connor rolled his eyes. "Complain as we ride, will ya?"
Danny gave a glare but hopped onto Lone, Dick and Zatanna behind him. As they left, at a walking pace, Danny blathered on about all his complaints. The others kindly (LIE ALERT!) told him to shut up.
Batman sighed as he entered the Cave.
So close, and yet so far. So simple, and yet so complicated.
His life in two sentences. And if you want to narrow it down even further: It sucks. His life, in two words! Amazing, no?
"Did you find the Team?" Red Tornado asked as he walked in.
Batman shook his head. "I found Danny, but he had no memory. I bet he and the others are working together though. I don't doubt none of them have their memories either."
"What are we going to do?" Red Tornado asked.
Batman let out yet another sigh. "I don't know."
Banshee had found a cave on her scouting flight. The teens had checked it out in anticipation and were pleased to find it unoccupied. It was an easy thing to sweep out, as it was pretty clean (in a sense) already.
They already had a fire pit set up, but were saving it for the night, when they would need it, in some cases.
After that, they went to explore on foot. It was fun to just joke around and be teens (again, in a sense). On their trek, they found another river, only bigger. One side was a cliff, and the other was a nice shallow shore that eventually got deeper.
One glance at each other with knowing grins and that was it. The teens striped to their underwear and bras and hopped right on in.
Don't give them that look. I wouldn't be surprised if you've done it!
The teens swam and splashed each other, loving the feeling of the cold water on their sweating bodies. For Kaldur, it felt like home, as he was an Atlantean, though he preferred salt water.
The teens didn't even notice all the scars they had. It was like they were completely entranced in having fun with each other. Some even dared to climb the cliff. The boys had a race. Connor won, Danny coming in at a close second, Dick at a very close third, and Wally coming at a very sad pace in fourth. Kaldur followed but did not take part in the race.
The girls followed and Artemis won, followed by Zatanna, Raquel, and Megan.
Then, the 'sweethearts' did the 'sweetheart thing'. The boys threw the girls in. Connor, Wally, Kaldur, and Dick laughed at the girls below and then yelped in surprise when Danny pushed them in after.
The boys glared at Danny after resurfacing, who was laughing his butt off.
"That's what having a girlfriend gets ya!" He yelled down at them, pointing a finger with a giant grin on his face.
"She's not my girlfriend! You could've thrown Zatanna in for all I care!" Dick shouted up at him.
Danny grinned. "Good, cause if you were dating her, I would probably maul her!"
Zatanna rolled her eyes. "Thanks!"
Danny just continued his laughing. "It's not you Z-Z! Most people would tease him, but since I'm not exactly 'normal', I have to do un-normal things! You catching my drift?"
Zatanna shook her head. Danny shrugged. "Doesn't matter either way."
"You pushed us in!" Wally yelled.
Danny smirked. "You would've done the same thing!"
"Shut up!"
"Ha ha! I was right!"
Danny jumped after his fellow teens.
The rest of the day was spent trying to get back at Danny. They failed miserably, as Danny had anticipated they would try. It was actually the girls who got the revenge for the guys, as Danny had not anticipated their attack.
They didn't know, however, that there was a camera watching them for the Justice League. Only the mentors were allowed to watch, as their protégés were only in their under garments, being moronic teenagers.
Batman's reaction: He was smirking when the boys were pushed off the cliff. He face-palmed when the girl's got revenge. The rest was spent shaking his head at his boy's actions.
Flash: Completely disappointed that his nephew turned his back on the enemy (Danny) and had girls taken care of the revenge. The rest was spent laughing his butt off.
Superman: Happy, because Connor was being a teen, like he should be.
Green Arrow: Both mortified and amused. (His protégé is a girl, remember?)
Icon: He was completely and utterly stoic the entire time.
Aquaman: Happy, in the same aspect Superman had been.
Martian Manhunter: Surprised, as he had not seen this happening, ever.
Black Canary: She smirked at the whole frikkin time.
The Justice League and the teens both didn't know another person was watching.
Vlad Masters smirked as he watched the scene, his eyes landing on Danny the entire time. He could have the boy. And he could get the other teens to follow. He would have an entire team of super-powered beings! What a great plan he had stored!
Now fully dressed, the teens sat around the fire Raul was providing, once again.
And once again, they amused themselves by singing really stupid songs. This time, they all came together instead of singing separately.
Faces filled with joy and cheer
What a magical time of year
Howdy Ho! It's Weasel Stomping Day
Put your Viking helmet on
Spread that mayonnaise on the lawn
Don't you know it's Weasel Stomping Day?
All the little girls and boys
Love that wonderful crunching noise
You'll know what this day's about
When you stomp a weasel's guts right out
So, come along and have a laugh
Snap their weasely spines in half
Grab your boots and stomp your cares away
Hip hip hooray, it's Weasel Stomping Day
They all pretended to make sounds that sounded like dying weasels, but instead sounded more like, as my dear friend in Tennessee would say, a herd of sick, dying elephants.
People love them down the street
Crushing weasels beneath their feet
Why we do it, who can say?
But it's such a festive holiday
So let the stomping fun begin
Bash their weasely skulls right in
It's tradition, so that makes it okay
Hey everyone, it's Weasel Stomping
We'll have some fun on Weasel Stomping
Put down your gun, it's Weasel Stomping Day
Hip Hip Hooray, it's Weasel Stomping Day
Weasel Stomping Day
Hey!
Ooo, I take that back. The whole song sounded like a herd of sick, dying elephants.
To the teens though, they were laughing their butts off. It was then broken by the sounds of their grumbling bellies. It was silent for a moment, before they burst into another fit of laughter.
"I vote we sing Lasagna next! Or maybe The Night Santa Went Crazy!" Wally said.
(What are these kids listening to?! Wait a minute, I love those songs…)
Kaldur stopped his laughter but continued smiling. "How about we go find a way to get some food?"
Wally nodded. "Not a bad idea, my friend. I'm starving."
Artemis smacked him upside the head. "You're always hungry, moron."
Danny and Dick thought it was hilarious as they broke down into another fit of laughter.
The rest of the teens got up, and Connor dragged the two laughing boys behind him.
"It's not that funny!"
"Yes it is!"
"Don't lie to us, you liar!"
"Why are they my friends again?"
The teens laughed and high-fived each other as they had been able to catch a deer. It was small, but it'd feed them. None of them really cared, though. They had been taught to kill in the short week they were captured. One hit with an arrow from a bow made of ecto-plasm from Artemis was enough for it to fall to the ground, still and dead.
They also had to survive. Sometimes, you have to do what you have to do.
They easily cooked it up after finding some braches from a young oak tree. The branches were green and new, meaning they wouldn't catch fire easily.
Eating the fresh meat was a new experience, but not necessarily a bad one. The meat was tender and tasted amazing. It disgusted the teens to a degree that they were enjoying it this much, but again, you had to do things to survive.
Danny got up to go on a water run, making a bucket made of ice to keep the water cold. Dick went with him, being the loyal brother he is. They were laughing at how bad Wally's singing was when they heard something.
"Daniel? Daniel, where are you?!"
The teens shared a glance. They whirled around and sprinted back to their campsite.
"Guys! Someone's after us!" Danny said as they ran in, bucket diminished. The other teens got up worriedly.
"Who is it? The man from last night?" Kaldur asked hurriedly. The flame in the camp site flickered out as Raul left, for obvious reasons.
Danny shook his head. "No. Last night, the man's voice was deeper. This person also sounds older. Kaldur, I think we should-"
"Daniel, there you are! Oh, and your friends too!"
The teens instantly formed a defense position, as a group. They each had their different styles to fight, but they were also recognized as a group, the way they stood. It was amazing how fast they read each other and prepared for battle.
What they saw was a white haired man with his hair in a ponytail. He feigned a surprised look, but it didn't reach his greedy eyes.
"Daniel, what's wrong? It's me! Your father!"
Everyone stood shell shocked.
This was Danny's father? How come everyone knew for a fact it wasn't?
Danny narrowed his eyes. "When's my birthday?"
The man, who was still 'shocked', frowned. "October 31st, why?"
Danny was still unconvinced. "What am I?"
The man was still frowning. "You are a halfa; half ghost, half human. You got that from me."
Danny crossed his arms. "Prove it."
A black ring appeared around the man's waist, transforming him into a ghost. Danny should know, as his ghost sense went off.
All logic said that this man was indeed his father. But all his emotions and instincts told him to run and never come back. This man was dangerous.
'He knows something you don't.'
Danny looked at his teammates. They held the same logic he had, but the same mixed feelings.
The man walked forward and placed a hand on Danny's shoulder, 'concern' written on all over his face.
Greed.
All this power is mine!
He'll believe anything I say!
I've won, Justice League.
Danny jerked away with a gasp. His friends grabbed him and brought him back. The man looked completely 'forlorn'.
Danny gave a reassuring (not at all) smile to his friends.
"Uh, guys, I think he's ok. I mean, he knows me?" He said uncertainly. He decided to ignore the voices in his head.
Kaldur narrowed his eyes. "You think?"
Danny nodded.
"If you want, you can come with us. You don't know who your parents are. It only makes sense to stay together. Right… Dad?" Danny said, nervously and uncertainly.
The man smiled brightly. "Oh Daniel! Your friends are more than welcome with me until we can find their parents! Now come along! We have so many things to do!"
The kids shared worried glances but followed the man.
"Uh, what should we call you?" Raquel asked.
The older halfa changed back to his human half.
"You may call me Vlad."
Batman slammed his fist on the counter. Vlad had gotten his and the other Leaguers kids while they were vulnerable. Vlad Masters was going to pay!
The kids could only stare in awe at the mansion in front of them. It was huge with a green and yellow color scheme.
Vlad chuckled at their awe and showed them inside. He gave them a tour and showed them to their rooms. All of the teens shared one hallway, which was very comforting to all of them. They wanted to stay together as much as possible.
They each slipped into their rooms, promising each other to meet up in the morning to discuss the situation. It was still new and they weren't very comfortable with it all.
Death glared at the time screen in front of her. Her foot continued to rock her chair slowly. One of her hands was twirling a strand of hair in her finger while the other was positioned in a cradle, only with no baby in it.
The area around her was black with violet and crimson lighting. There were four portals to different planes. One portal was white and gave off a warm, golden light. Another was red; growls, screams, and snarls were resounding from it. Another was a blue-green that led to the Ghost Zone. And the last was cream-colored. There was nothing special about it.
Small specks of colorful dust(?) swirled around the room before materializing into an infant in Death's waiting arms. Feeling an arm around him, the baby snuggled into the embrace, giving a small, pleased sound.
For a moment, Death looked at the infant in her arms and smiled sweetly. She hummed in pleasure before turning back to the screen in front of her with a glare.
"I thought I said you weren't supposed to call his spirit."
Death released an annoyed sigh and pushed herself up from the rocking chair. She used both of her arms to support the infant. She turned around to face Clockwork.
"His time has come. My job is to call the spirits from bodies once a being's time is up. And why would you want me to make an exception? I've wanted to make many exceptions but that is against my calling." The woman hissed. She gestured to the screen. "And you want me to send the child back to that future? Why Clockwork?"
"I'm fully aware you are using your limited time powers to see the child's future but are you even paying attention to all the good things that will come if he lives? All the joy he will bring people?" The Time Lord asked.
Death continued to glare at Clockwork. "The child is going to be broken, then built up, then broken all over again. All the bad outweighs the good."
Clockwork smiled faintly. "Then you have not looked ahead far enough. Send the child back, Deanna."
Death stood in silence. Looking between the time screen and the infant, she sighed. Slowly, she walked to the cream-colored portal. Her heels clacked against the nonexistent floor. She stopped before the portal and watched the infant fizzle into pixels before flowing into the portal. On the other side, Death heard cheers.
The woman turned to Clockwork. "If his life is taken before you want, I am not making another exception."
Dick watched in amazement as his parents swung from the trapeze. They were amazing! And today he would join them!
He was allowed to climb up to the stand. His father showed him how the basics were done. His mother cheered him on. The next thing Dick knew was that he was flying through the air, just like his parents. It was an amazing feeling. He felt like he could do anything.
"You're like a păsărică!" His mother shouted encouranigly. Warmth spread throughout Dick.
Wally sped around like a tasmanian devil. He was laughing as much as he could while still retaining the ability to breath. His parents were in utter shock and didn't know what to make of their speeding son.
When Barry came around, he could only stare at his speeding nephew. His parents were still in shock and could do nothing for their son.
Barry suddenly laughed and easily caught his nephew. "I see you're a speedster now!"
Wally nodded enthuastically. "Yeah, just like you!"
Barry laughed again. "I guess you'll have to be my sidekick now, huh?"
Wally nodded, not even seeing his head as he moved. "My name could be Kid Flash, just like you're Flash!"
M'gann sat in her room, crying her eyes out. Why did being a White Martian have to be so bad? Why couldn't she be like everyone else and be green? No one could help her, for she had no friends. She picked up one of her many stuffed animals from earth and hugged it. These were her friends.
M'gann looked at one of her many devices to see a transmissions from earth. She took it up gingerly and cocked her head at it. It read 'Hello Megan!'. M'gann pressed play and couldn't help but smile at the screen as the video played. She sat in the pile of her many friends so they could watch along with her.
She laughed and enjoyed herself for a change, not worrying about what everyone else might think at the moment. She was having too good of a time to care.
Her parents found the scene heart-warming and saddening.
Artemis sat in her room, crying. Her sister slept on through the storm, not waking at the loud thunder. The small blonde hugged her teddy bear.
Her father had beat her tonight because she was being a bad girl again.
Why couldn't she fight her sister like he wanted? What stopped her every time? It didn't make sense.
Artemis let out a small scream as another clap of thunder rounded and lightning spider webbed across the sky.
She wished Mommy was there, holding her tight and saying everything was alright. But it wasn't. It never would be. She wished her life would go away. She wanted a happy family where she wasn't expected so much of herself. Just a passing grade on her first grade spelling test, or telling her parents she learned how to play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star on the piano, but screwed up on every note.
Artemis crawled under her bed, hugging her bear tight. She fell into a deep slumber, where everything was bright and beautiful and her parents loved her and her sister dearly. They were a happy family in her dream.
But then again, it was only a dream.
Kaldur sighed as his legs swung back and forth on his bed. He looked outside.
He couldn't see much, as it was nighttime. He could see the palace surrounded by other buildings in the far distance in Atlantis. He didn't have the luxury of living there like all Atlantians. He had to live in the outskirts with his father and mother.
He loved his mother dearly but his father was abusive and wanted him to be like him. His mother usually rocked him to sleep. Sometimes he was lucky and got to stay with his step-father. He wished life were easier. Maybe one day he could be like King Orin, saving lives instead of taking them.
Yeah, that'd be the life.
"Dani's awesome! Next time she comes around, I'll have to introduce you guys!" Danny said excietdly, talking to Superboy right after meeting him.
The clone was still skeptical. "How did she get to be a girl?"
Danny shrugged. "No idea. She and I call ourselves cousins though to cover up. I wanted to call ourselves siblings but that didn't make sense so..." He shrugged again, trailing off.
"Why do you care about her?" Superboy asked.
Danny shrugged again. "Well, for one, she comes from my DNA. She may not exactly be like me, but it's better that way. We both have our dislikes and likes. She has her own life and I'm happy for her. Why wouldn't I care about her?"
Superboy looked at Superman.
Why didn't he care though?
Zatanna laughed as her father levitated her off the ground. They were playing around, having a great time. It was one of the few times he wasn't working.
Zatara laughed and placed his daughter on his hip. "Oh Zatanna, I love you so much."
The little girl giggled to herself. "I love you too Daddy!"
She hugged him tightly around his neck. Zatara returned it as much as he could without hurting her.
"You know I would do anything for you, do you Zatanna?" Zatara asked.
Zatanna nodded. "Yes Daddy! You tell me everday so I never forget!"
Zatara smiled. "Well, I'll say it again. I would do anything to keep you safe, dear."
Zatanna giggled before hugging her father again. "I know, Daddy. I know."
Raquel watched with interest as her favorite sidekicks worked with their mentors on the TV.
They were so cool! She wished she was like them! Then she could live the same life; saving lives, fighting crime, making scarifies for others.
"Hey! Why don't you and I become heroes! You could be called Icon!" Raquel said exctiedly.
Augustus Freeman sighed. "I don't know, Raquel..."
The small girl jumped up and down. "Come on! You could help even more people you can't help with you lawyer job! Don't you want that?"
The man thought for a moment.
Danny/Dick/Artemis/Kaldur/Superboy/Raquel/Megan/Zatanna/Dick woke in a cold sweat, bolting up. They looked around and breathed a sigh of relief when they saw where they were. They all let themselves fall back onto the bed and fall back into a dreamless sleep, not a second thought about their dream.
All the teens snuck over to Dick's room, as that was their meeting place. They all sat around the room, the sky outside still dark. A lamp was on, casting shadows on the wall.
"Anyone have a weird dream last night?" Connor asked. Everyone nodded.
"It was like a memory." Artemis commented.
Kaldur nodded. "We should share what happened in our dreams. I will go first. I was sitting in my room as a child, thinking about a better life than the one I had."
"I was at my first trapeze lesson with, I think, my parents." Dick informed.
"I was sitting in my room crying during a thunderstorm." Artemis mumbled, her cheeks flaring red.
"I died and came back to life when I was first born." Danny said with this deadpan look.
"I discovered a show called Hello Megan! from a transmission of some sort." Megan said.
"I was speaking with, I'm pretty sure, my father." Zatanna said.
"I was convincing someone to become a hero." Raquel continued.
"You were talking to me about a girl named Dani." Connor said, gesturing to Danny.
"And I had just discovered my powers." Wally said, finishing the topic.
"Do you think these could be our memories?" Kaldur asked. The others shrugged.
"They could, but they could also be our imaginations gone wild." Raquel said.
Danny grinned at Robin. "Our imaginations decided to rebel."
Dick laughed. "The irony of that statement..."
"Now is not the time." Connor said, shaking his head.
The two boys shrugged, not really phased in the least. It was like they had faced worst.
Everyone tensed when they heard someone walking down the hall. They all rushed back to their rooms, blending with the shadows. Dick turned off his lamp and jumped under his covers.
"Meet in my room when the target is gone." Megan said.
"On it."
The teens waited but were surprised when they were all awakened by Vlad, telling them to follow him. They were still wary of the man. He gave off a bad vibe. They were all starting to regret their decision.
Vlad led the teens into a training area. It had everything the teens needed to train. There was a pool for Kaldur, targets for Artemis, loops in the air for flyers, a track around the gym for Wally, a trapeze set for Dick, things for Zatanna and Megan to practice on, weights for Connor, and a sparring mat.
The teens were immediately out there, practicing in their element. Danny and Raquel were racing through the loops, Kaldur was swimming in the pool, Artemis grabbed a bow hanging on a rack and started shooting at the targets, Dick flew through the air on the trapeze, Wally ran around the gym in a frenzy, Zatanna practiced her spells, Megan practiced her telekinesis, and Connor lifted weights.
They didn't notice Vlad's smirk.
After about an hour of practicing their individual talents, sometimes trading off with another person, they decided to spar, as was usual. Well, it was unusual they thought it was usual but hey, they still had no memories.
Dick and Kaldur paired up, Artemis and Raquel paired up, Wally and Connor paired up, Zatanna and Megan paired up, leaving Danny with Vlad, who volunteered. Everyone else thought it was creepy. Cause it was.
All the teens focused on their partner, and started when they were ready.
Vlad and Danny took their stances. The younger of the two was completely emotionless and focused on nothing more than his partner (to his dismay). The older of the two had been focusing on the other for the entire hour.
Stalker, much?
They started and Danny had Vlad on his back within thirty seconds.
Now, if I remember correctly, isn't Vlad supposed to have, like, twenty years more experience than a kid who has no memories what's-so-ever?
The other pairs stopped and had to laugh, leaning on each other for support.
Even Danny was chuckling. "Well, that was easy."
Vlad growled as he got up. "You caught me off guard."
Danny shook his head. "No. You foolishly left your right side open, letting me take that side and flip you."
"Combat is all about acting, not reacting." Connor said with a smirk.
"You have to stay in control of the fight." Artemis continued.
"A good offense is a good defense." Raquel continued.
"As well as the other way around." Dick informed.
"Never let your opponent know your weaknesses." Kaldur said.
"And if you can, turn your weakness into your strength." Megan said.
"Always be unpredictable." Zatanna said.
"And don't let yourself be caught in the other's plans." Wally said. And everyone's grins turned to smirks, as Vlad looked at them dumbfound.
"Maybe I should spar with someone else." Danny said slowly. Vlad growled and left angrily. Once he was gone, the teens burst into laughter for an unknown reason. They didn't even question where they got this knowledge.
Black Canary and Batman smirked at the screen. Oh yeah, those were defiantly their protégés. Ata kids! Too bad they could only hack into the gym cameras.
After the teens had sparred until they collapsed, they ate lunch, much to Wally's happiness. Then, they were called to Vlad's office after. Their happiness, as they had made fun of a lot of things during lunch, turned to wariness and distrust.
They all stood as a group in the office. Vlad smirked at them, despite earlier events. (They made fun of his lack of combat a lot during lunch. They also said something about getting a cat…?)
"Now that you are here, we may begin." Vlad said leaning forward.
Kaldur narrowed his eyes, bad things that could happen to his team going through his head. "Begin what?"
Vlad continued smirking. "Mayhem, that's what."
The teens shared worried looks.
"Why would we do that exactly?" Wally asked.
Vlad shrugged. "Because you do this all the time."
Artemis raised an eyebrow. "We do?"
Vlad nodded. "Yes, my dear. Your little team worked for me before you went missing. We go out, cause damage, steal valuables, things of the like."
"Why would we do this again? I mean, it doesn't make any sense. That's wrong." Zatanna said. The others nodded, agreeing with their friend.
Vlad sighed. "It seems my little team has given up hope for me. What shall I ever do now?"
The kids thought for a second. This man, creepy as he was, had done a lot for them. They were his team. Why were they so reluctant? Why did they think he was lying?
"We'll do it." Danny mumbled, after getting silent permission from everyone.
Vlad brightened immediately. "That's great! Suit up! You will leave as soon as possible!"
The teens stood together in an office, waiting for Vlad. They were all dressed in black suits with a lot of compartments, and a mask. The girl's had black panthers for their masks, and the guys had owl masks. Even Danny matched the others in his human form.
Vlad walked in with a smirk and brought up a picture of a Wayne Tech facility. "This is the place you will be stealing from."
Everyone shared uneasy looks.
"Why that place?" Dick asked.
Vlad shrugged. "It has advanced technology and research that could be useful. I want you to take anything that might be helpful in our cause."
Kaldur sighed. "Let's go team."
Everyone slipped on their masks and left the room. Vlad had a black bike for each of them. They had been waiting in these suits since noon.
So much for 'you will leave as soon as possible'. They could've left a long time ago, but now that it was dark, Vlad let them go.
As they sped off on their almost silent bikes, they all let out a mental sigh. Dick spared a glance at everyone else. "I feel like we're about to do something wrong."
Later that night, all the teens were lying in bed, wide awake. The heist went fine, almost too fine. They worked swiftly and quietly. They were only caught as they were leaving and no one had even got a glimpse of the team. It felt great to work as a team but…
"Does anyone else feel like they just betrayed someone important and themselves?"
A chorus of eight 'Yes's' went throughout each teens head.
Dick sighed. "I was hoping you guys wouldn't say yes."
Connor growled in their heads. "Well sorry if we have the same feelings as you."
Kaldur let out a sigh. "Let's not get into a fight. Maybe we should tell Vlad we change our minds about these crimes."
"Then what? He'll get rid of us." Artemis said.
Danny sighed. "Artemis is right. There's something weird about him. I'm pretty sure he's not my father."
Wally scoffed. "No."
Artemis growled at her boyfriend. "Don't make me come over there."
Megan let out a sad sigh. "I wish we could remember. I've tried unblocking the mental blocks stopping us from remembering but it won't work." She said. The others sighed along with her.
"We should get some sleep. Good night team." Kaldur said. Various 'good nights' were said before they cut the line.
The Justice League was still having trouble deciding what to do. They could bust in and get the kids. Technically it wouldn't be kidnapping as they were their kids. But they also knew that wouldn't work, as the Team was very wary right now.
Just like they were trained. Good kids, good kids.
Then they could use a small approach. But that would take too long. They all knew it was them who broke into Wayne Tech. No one got past that much security without knowing your way around, consciously or unconsciously.
It was all very nerve-racking when they just wanted their kids back.
The next day, Vlad had another mission for them. The older man would take them to the city of Milwaukee so they could destroy it. Vlad would watch them. The kids agreed but only because they thought it was right.
But wrong.
How does that make sense?
The kids were standing atop one of the skyscrapers in the city. They didn't have their masks now, so everyone could see who their attackers were. Danny had changed to his ghost form and the rest were given dark-tinted goggles.
"Should we be doing this?" Raquel asked.
Kaldur sighed. "This is wrong but we have no choice."
The others were quiet after.
Vlad smirked in his ghost form. "You may go."
The others wasted no time to jump from the skyscraper, to the street below.
The civilians didn't know what to make of the sudden. The sidekicks were easily recognizable in their costumes. Why were they attacking? Where did they come from? They had been missing before!
In the course of twenty minutes, and with a little teamwork, the teens were easily destroying the city. That is, until the Justice League came.
The adults surrounded the teens.
"Stand down." Aquaman ordered sternly, eyeing his protégé.
"See, what'd I tell you? The nut job in spandex has friends." Danny said through their mind link.
Zatanna made an annoyed sound. "What do we do Kaldur?"
The leader looked at their opponents. "Let's bait them. See what they know."
"We know who you are." Flash said.
Raquel scoffed. "Prove it!"
Superman glared. "Come with us and we can."
Kaldur crossed his arms. "We will go nowhere with you. How do we know you are doing nothing more than baiting us?"
"You can't know. Sometimes you have to do nothing more than give a leap of faith." Canary said.
Danny growled. "A leap of faith has gotten me nowhere in the past."
Most people's eyes widened.
"How do you know?" Batman asked.
Danny frowned. "I-I don't. I just know my decisions usually cause me pain, nothing more."
Batman frowned to himself. Not all of his decisions sucked. I mean, he decided to stay with him, didn't he?
Vlad appeared in the middle of the circle the teens had formed. "Ah, the Justice League, trying to take my team from me, hmm?"
Batman growled. "They aren't your team."
Vlad smirked. "Look around. They are my team."
The teens only listened. They did not speak.
"Attack." Vlad said plainly and the teens did, not knowing what else to do.
The Team fought savagely. The Justice League held back. They knew their kids were only acting under Vlad's orders because they knew nothing else, really. They had been living in the woods up until now.
Predictably, the Team was already beginning to win with the Justice League holding back. With their kids not holding back, they were beginning to realize why the villains hated them.
Danny and Dick took on the 'nut job in spandex'. Kaldur fought his fellow Atlantean. Artemis fought the Robin-hood wannabe. Raquel fought the dark skinned hero. Zatanna casted her spells onto Wonder Woman and Black Canary. Wally confused the older speedster. Connor took on the Man of Steel. And Megan took on her fellow Martian.
As they did, the adults tried to figure out how the heck this was going to go down. They really needed to restore the teen's memories but they refused to hurt their kids again. They were horrified when they found they attacked the teens when they were under mind control and Klarion didn't hold back.
"Come on boys, you know me." Batman ground out.
Of course, this fight was easy for the entire group. The teens had been able to retain the ability to predict the next move Batman would make, as well as vice versa. He had a feeling it was more muscle memory though.
"Uh yeah! It was you who found me that one night!" Danny said.
Dick looked at him surprised though. "Wait, this is the specific nut job in spandex? I so thought you were talking about Boy Scout over there."
Ok, just for that, they both got a punch to the gut but nothing hard. But he did enjoy that Dick thought that Danny was talking about Superman. It was rather hilarious actually. And they also retained the ability to mock Superman, much in the fashion Batman preferred.
But he also had to remind himself that the boys were still being manipulated.
Once again, he was drawn back into the fight the boys were putting up. They were doing a fairly good job at almost overcoming the Batman, but that might have something to do with the muscle memory thing. As they were both predicting the others next move. It was both heart-warming and annoying.
Danny and Dick jumped next to each other and got in another battle stance. They saw that Batman was about to jump and braced themselves. It was unpredictable that Batman would jump over them and head for Vlad, not that they (secretly) minded.
The other adults seemed to have the same idea and abandoned their fight with their teens, as this was getting them nowhere.
"Vlad, messing with us is like messing with the marines!" Flash yelled.
"You mess with one of us, you get all of us!" Superman shouted.
"And you messed with our kids!" Canary yelled.
"You have a fate worse than death on your hands!" Wonder Woman shouted.
The adults tried in vain to hit Vlad but it was useless. They had (foolishly) left their anti-ghost equipment back at the Watchtower in their mad dash to see the kids.
The teens, however, were in shock.
The not-so-nut-jobs were worried for them. They were fighting for them. Why? They attacked. Why weren't they attacking back? Why did they hold back?
The friends shared a look as the adults drew back.
Vlad laughed. "You think you could defeat me? Team, attack."
The adults waited to do some more blocking and dodging, still thinking of a way to bring back their memories.
The teens were ready and Danny and Dick locked eyes with Batman. The Dark Knight left his stance, much to the others astonishment. The two boys rushed forward but Batman turned around and faced Vlad with a stoic expression.
They found out why.
Danny and Dick used Batman's shoulders as a launching pad and flew into the air, fists raised high. Vlad, in his utter shock, did nothing to block the two punches to his face. The two teens somersaulted once they hit the ground and stayed in a crouch, smirking the entire way.
"We said we lost our memories, Vlad!" Danny said mockingly.
Dick laughed. "Yeah! Not our common sense!"
The two boys laughed. Batman smirked.
Ata boys.
The two teens rushed forward and Vlad finally noticed that Dick had a Specter Deflector, as well as the other teens and some other ghost hunting equipment Danny had made the night before.
Oh crap…
The teens all rushed into the fight. They took turns trading blows. The older halfa had no way of dodging or attacking, as when one disappeared, another was there to take their place. It was all very confusing and by the end of his beat down, he had no way of telling which way was up, or which way was down.
The teens all stood around the concussive halfa, laughing at one of his greatest failures. Most of them tensed when their mentors approached, thinking the worst. Danny and Dick stayed calm though and Batman placed his hands on their shoulders, earning grins.
"You know who that is?" Raquel asked. The two teens looked at their mentor.
"We don't remember him." Danny said.
Dick laughed. "But it takes a person a lot of time to be able to predict their next move and talk through eye contact."
Batman smirked.
The other teens relaxed and gave small smiles to their mentors.
Danny turned back to the other teens. "Now we must discuss the issue involving no memories, what's-so-ever."
They nodded.
"Stand in a circle." Martian Manhunter directed. The teens did as they were told.
"Now, brace yourselves, getting your life back might cause you to become dizzy." The Martian warned. The teens did as they were told and did nothing to get Martian Manhunter out of their heads. They all gasped and grasped their heads when their entire life came back to them.
The mentors caught their protégés as they collapsed. Most of them were groaning from the oncoming migraine. Unconsciously, they all hugged their mentors for comfort.
"Anyone else feel like they're about to puke?" Danny mumbled into his mentor's arm. A chorus of groans rose up from each teen. "I'll take that as a yes."
Batman could feel heat radiating from Danny and Dick, which was weird. "Is it normal for them to have fevers?"
Martian Manhunter nodded. The teens groaned again.
The adults picked their kids up. Danny and Dick's heads rested on the Caped Crusader's shoulder.
"I never want my memories erased again."
"None of us do, Dick. Now shut up. Remember, my bedroom is just down the hall from yours."
This is honestly one of my lamest chapters ever.
Kadzait: It really is.
Makes me so sad...
Thanks to these people for favoriting and/or following: Som3on3 and EcoReibun.
Thanks to Fantomo and Halfagirl-Astronaut for favoriting and following me!
Reviews:
Em: That's ok! Have fun reading your book! XD
Lee: Thanks~! That makes me happy!
BringbackDannyPhantom: Hahahaha! No kidding! :D
KuriMaster13: Nothing like evil little children ruining your day! XD
Supaherolena02: No she did not! XD I'm so glad you're enjoying!
Sina Xiel: Oh chill, Bats got the GIW shut down, though it never says. And that last chapter was so much fun to write. XD
Breyannia: Hahaha! Glad you love this as much as you do! :D Makes my day, every day.
IWasNeverReal: Hahahaha! THANK YOU! Yeah, and seriously, Bats has got his hands full.
Anonymous: (Kadzait: It also makes people want to kill the writer. Me: You are such a Negative Nancy, Nancy. Kadzait: Did you just call me Nancy?)
McKennaTennyson-Harper12: I'm glad you were laughing your butt off on the last chapter. Makes my day so much more interesting. XD
Bibbledoo: GIVE ME THE COOKIE! *snatches cookie and begins devouring it*
Skymuse: Hahaha! So true. So true. XD
Hitomi-tama: For whatever reason, your review made me crack up the most. XD
EcoReibun: My friend, that is coming soon. *wink-wink*