*Alright, here's chapter 8! Hope you still enjoy the story and on a good note my school is wrapping up in a few weeks so I'm wanting to get another chapter out by the end of the end of this month!*
Batman was typing away on the keyboard, concentrating on the screen in front of him, while Shadow fought to stay awake. To help her with this, she would have liked to move around, but the guy had said to sit and she was far too exhausted to put up a fight.
She ached all over, she felt cuts and gentle bleeding where the Joker had got her during their vicious battle, her head hurt, and - although she tried to use the night air to replenish herself - she needed the natural restoration of a good night's sleep. Not to mention, she could tell that the sun was coming up since it was getting harder to gather energy.
She stirred when a woman came in, she was blonde headed and wore black boots, gray leggings, a shirt that exposed her shoulders, but was covered with a short blue jacket, all of this was topped with a black choke collar.
"We're here and are loading the last of the scum onto…" Her voice faltered when she spotted Shadow sitting in the corner. Shadow glared up at her.
"Is this her?" The woman turned to Batman.
"Yes," He replied curtly. She crossed her arms and apparently Batman took this as a sign that he needed to explain further.
"I found her fighting the Joker, Aqualad said that they didn't have many problems with her and she obeyed orders, he had asked Miss Martian to tail her just in case, but they got separated when trying to free Robin." He never stopped what he was doing on the computer as he recited this all and Shadow listened carefully since she didn't know what happened to everyone after they separated.
"From what I gather Shadow went after the Joker while Miss Martian and Kid Flash were preoccupied with Wizard and Shade. Zatana arrived to help and together they brought Robin out. I arrived about this time, and went to look for the Shadow myself. I found her in a room alone with the Joker and after dealing with him brought her here."
"So far she hasn't made any attempt to escape, and I've tried to find out information from this computer but..." He trailed off there and Shadow saw him lean in more over the keyboard. The woman seemed to find this a little perplexing as she asked. "Is everything okay?"
He didn't answer, but Shadow noticed that ,the part of his face that was exposed, was in alarm and his hands swept over the buttons forming a blur. She saw frustration build up and the woman demanded to know what's going on, then the machine started smoking.
Shadow half arose, swaying slightly as vertigo took her, and then Batman shouted. "GET DOWN!"
In a swift movement he grabbed the woman and Shadow then hurled them to the ground, Shadow felt the air leave her lungs as her sore body slammed painfully with the cement and the man's black cape obscured her vision. A small explosion rocked them forward and sent computer debris flying in all directions. Shadow tried focusing her energy to help cover them but didn't think she managed to do much.
Batman stood up, seemingly unfazed by the explosion and only irked that it had happened. The woman groaned as she straightened herself.
Shadow was having a bit more difficulty and felt the rough grip of gloved hands grab her and pull her up the rest of the way. She hated needing the help and didn't say anything, partly because she was never the politest and partly because she was feeling ill again.
"What was that?" The woman demanded, pushing hair out of her face.
Batman didn't give an answer, instead he walked across the ground as if looking for something, then cursed while he stooped to pick up a small black object. It was smoking in one area but nevertheless he inserted into one of his many pouches on his belt.
"The computer had some alien tech in it, which was apparently incorporated with a failsafe that just went off. I wasn't able to break into most of it," he explained with a deep-set scowl on his face.
"Oh, great…" The blonde sounded shocked and frustrated. "Well, what about-"
She turned to look at Shadow and when she saw how battered and sick she looked, asked instead. "Are you okay?"
Batman turned and saw too.
Shadow didn't answer, but swayed where she stood and then proceeded to fall, only to be caught by the woman and then proceeded to vomit all over her shoes.
She heard the woman give only a grunt of disgust, but didn't care; she was on the verge of fainting. The room was turning upside down and her vision went like static before her.
The person whose shoes she had just defiled swung Shadow's shoulder over hers and Batman came on the other side and braced her before all three exited the building.
Shadow tried walking, to not rely on them. Her head hurt, body ached, and her blood started prickling again. As if the lightning had never really left her, as if it was just lingering there.
She could hardly keep focus, images and sounds swayed in and out of her mind. She remembered other people hurriedly coming up to them asking questions, then walking over ground, then being lifted into a seat, a sensation of flying at fast speeds, her head lolled back and then she couldn't remember any more.
After Shadow had gone after the Joker, Kid Flash and Miss Martian were left to deal with Shade and Wizard. For Kid Flash the fight seemed more dangerous than before because if they lost this one, they might lose Robin again, and he was not about to let his best friend be another science experiment for these wackos.
Shade's shadows had tried to engulf him, but Kid Flash turned around and ran up the wall to launch himself at the man.
He made contact and both of them slammed into the wall, Shade managed to recover though and tried to hit Kid Flash in the chin with his staff, but the young speedster dodged him and sent two swift jabs to his face and five in his abdomen.
The master of darkness landed on his knees hard, clutching his stomach as his cane rolled a foot or two away.
"This is for Robin," Kid Flash's voice carried a darker tone than his more joyful hyper one, and he lifted a foot and crashed it into Shade's face, his head reeled back and smacked against the wall before passing out.
Two shots hit the yellow clad hero in the shoulder imbedding themselves in the padding, he whirled around to see two guards coming up the hall way and more right behind them. He also heard Miss Martian give a shout behind him. He felt the flames right as he turned and saw the alien surrounded by them and that they were increasing in length.
Kid Flash didn't make three steps to help her before two nets entangled him.
He let out a yell of aggravation and tried working furiously to get out. He was very close to the fire and could feel it scorching the left side of his body. To make matters worse the guards were getting closer.
"Ezeerf erif!" Kid Flash couldn't see the person, but he recognized the voice and the frozen flames next to him confirmed his answer.
"Your timing could have been better!" He yelled out, arms still stuck firmly to his sides, his head and half of his body still felt too hot for comfort.
Miss Martian rose up and, with a powerful psychic blast, knocked both Wizard and the guards unconscious. Nevertheless, she looked pale.
"Mih dnibnu sepor!" Zatana said again.
Kid Flash's confines immediately came off of him and he stood up.
"Well maybe next time I'll-" Zatana froze mid-sentence and Miss Martian gasped.
"What?" Kid Flash asked incredulously and looked behind him to see if anyone was coming.
Zatana smirked, placed a hand on her hips, arched an amused eyebrow, and said casually, "Your hair's on fire."
"Huh," Dubious he lifted a hand to the left side of his hair and felt live sparks. "Gah!"
Quickly as he could, they were put out.
"Let's get this door open hot head," Zatana smiled and stood in front of it.
"That's the door Robin is behind, right?" Artemis had come up, her quiver half –empty and another arrow already in her bow. "And why is Kid Flash a hot head?"
"Do you really have to ask?" Zatana smirked.
Artemis glanced at her boyfriend who gave her a look that said I-dare-you-to-respond. "You're right, no reason needed." She anwered with a sly smile.
Miss Martian couldn't suppress a giggle. Zatana said, "Nepo rood!"
But nothing happened. She looked confused then tried; her arms spread wide, "Rood eht evael smrahc!"
There was a whooshing sound and she explained, "Wizard must have placed protective charms over this, but it should open now."
The excitement of finally rescuing their friend was contagious, they were all eager for Zatana to get that door open.
For a second time she shouted, "Nepo rood!"
This time, the door swung open.
Robin lay on a bed by the wall. His uniform was still on, torn up and bloodied. Machines beeped nearby and an IV was in his arm.
Kid Flash was by his side in a second, rapidly removing what few bandages there were and the IV. Zatana came beside him closely followed by Artemis. Miss Martian was about to step in when she paused.
"Something wrong?" The Artemis asked.
"I…" Miss Martian looked behind her, then back at the group. "Where's Shadow with the Joker?"
"With the Joker?" Artemis asked and Zatana narrowed her eyes in thought.
"When we were fighting," Miss Martian explained to Artemis. "the Joker lured her away, I better go look for her."
The telepath's voice and features showed signs of regret at having to leave Robin, but she was consoled when Artemis gave her a nod and told her. "We've got him, go on."
She smiled her thanks and then left, flying out of sight.
"That's the last of it," Kid Flash reported. Robin hadn't stirred one bit and Kid Flash was worried, but he wasn't about to show it, although Artemis knew.
Gingerly, he started to lift his best friend.
"Do you want me to take him?" Zatana said, worried that if Kid Flash went too fast it could hurt Robin and thinking that levitating him would be better.
"No, we need to get to the ship and I can hear the battle still going on outside," He held the Boy Wonder close. "You can give us a shield and help fight, and if things start to go bad I can get him out of there faster."
He then turned to Artemis, "Can you scout ahead?"
"On it."
She stepped out of the door, checked both left and right, and then started making her way out.
Kid Flash took a deep breath before walking out. Zatana was behind him and gave the incantation of, "Dliehs evitcetorp."
Walking forward, she came out in front of the blue orb that now shimmered before them.
"We have Robin," Kid Flash reported to the Team.
"How is he?" Aqualad asked and Kid Flash felt him grunt and retaliate to some attack.
"Alive, but unconscious. He was hooked up to a bunch of machines and an IV. It's hard to know what his injuries are due to the old uniform."
"Aqualad," Miss Martian's voice floated in their heads. "I've lost Shadow and am unable to find Joker."
Everyone could hear the disappointment and self-frustration.
"How come?" Aqualad asked, remaining calm although he was wondering how Batman would take the news. Probably better since they got Robin back, but still…
"I don't know, we got separated in battle, when Shadow went after him," Kid Flash could sense the panic that she tried to hide, and backed her up.
"It's true, Wizard attacked her with fire and I was busy with Shade. The Joker lured Shadow off somewhere-"
"And I have no idea where!" Miss Martian sounded again interrupting Kid Flash which was something she normally doesn't do and it only showed how much she was distressed. "I've done mind sweeps and searched the building but they're just gone!"
By now Kid Flash and Zatana were out in the open, Artemis was ahead and busy firing arrows as some of the guards came after them.
"Don't bother going soft on them girl", Rocket said as they saw her race by them and send some of them up to the sky. "They're just robots. D'ya need some help with that shield Z?"
"Yes, please…" Zatana was focusing a lot on the shield, her hands were up and her face looked strained, and some of the machines tried to shoot through it which didn't help.
Rocket flew above them and soon a purple was added to the blue hue and their orb expanded a little.
Miss Martian spoke again, although her angst voice was replaced with shock. "Oh…my…"
"What is it?" Superboy finally piped up, chucking seven guards out of his way as others tried to overtake him.
"It's Poison Ivy, Brain and Mallah…and Profesor Ojo along with Scarecrow?" She said.
"Yeah, what about them?" Rocket asked, sending two guards flying into three more.
"They're all hooked up to these machines…like they've been injured." Miss Martian told the Team.
Aqualad responded, "We will have to deal with them later, right now recovering Shadow is your top priority…"
He stopped and Kid Flash saw him look up. Soon a strong rushing sound was heard and Kid Flash saw the Bat-jet race into view.
"All right!" Rocket exclaimed at the sight.
Batman extended his cape and flew down where the three of them were protecting Robin; his jet stayed hovering over some trees. A magnetic force must have been over it because when some of the goons tried to shoot at it the bullets slowed down so much that they fell harmlessly away.
"How is he?" The Dark Knight demanded as Zatana and Rocket opened a space for him to walk through.
"Alive," Kid Flash told him. "But unconscious. I couldn't determine if he had any injuries."
"Where's Shadow?" Batman asked when he saw Miss Martian come out of the building.
"We, er-" Kid Flash faltered. "Lost her."
He could tell he was not pleased with this news, but he said evenly. "Get Robin on board the bioship and head back towards the cave, I'm going to see if I can find Shadow."
He walked out of the shield and turned to face Miss Martian. "You say she went after Joker, do you think you can locate him?" He asked.
"I've been trying, but we can go look again." She said and let the way into the building.
By now most of the guards had been taken down and they were close to the bioship. Rocket and Zatana let the shield fall as the ship opened up upon recognizing them. Artemis stood guard outside, and once Kid Flash walked in she backed in after him.
When they came in, the ship made a blue and pink bed for Robin while Zatana and Rocket went in the back to get the needed supplies.
Kid Flash gently laid him down and a pillow formed under his head. "I hope you're okay, buddy."
He looked down at his friend's pale skin, it made the bruises seem more pronounced and the red around the cuts brighter.
Artemis undid Robin's cape and started taking off his tunic so they could examine him better. Meanwhile, Aqualad and Superboy went to make sure that Miss Martian and Batman wouldn't need their help.
They were in the building when an explosion went off.
They were strong enough to resist the vibration, but a black mist overtook them.
"Miss Martian, are you okay?" Superboy asked.
"I'm fine, but Shade woke up." Another explosion took place.
"Where is Batman?" Aqualad asked, feeling his way through the inky blackness with Superboy leading him.
"He told me to go after Shade, but he's found Shadow. I think I'm close to finding you guys."
Sure enough, Superboy grunted and Aqualad heard, "Hey, Superboy."
"Where is Shade?" Aqualad couldn't see anything and this unnerved him.
"He's close," Miss Martian said, feeling to make sure she knew where he was then attempted to disperse the cloud.
"I can't move it much," She said.
"I see him," Superboy took off in the direction.
"Superboy, wait!" She called after him then lifted Aqualad and followed.
They heard a few grunts which were easily recognizable to them and the darkness disappeared.
Shade lay at Superboy's feet, once more knocked out.
"Well that is taken care of," Aqualad said, but then asked. "And Batman, where is he?"
"That way," Miss Martian pointed in the direction where Aqualad and Superboy were originally headed.
Aqualad nodded and gave them the order of tying Shade up before going to look for Batman for more orders.
… Back on the bioship KF, Rocket, and Zatana were tending to Robin while Artemis piloted the bioship.
"How is he looking?" The young archer asked, she wasn't used to piloting, Miss Martian had given each of them a few lessons, but she still felt uneasy about it.
"He seems to be okay," Zatana answered, she was standing next to the bed with KF, while Rocket was checking to see if anyone was at the Cave. "He was dehydrated and it looks like he hasn't eaten anything in a day or so."
She moved to a chair next to him and sat down. "He has a lot of bruises and cuts but nothing I'm sure he won't be able to shake off."
She looked relieved as she stared at him. His mask was still on, Rocket had made a move to take it off but Kid Flash told her that it was best to keep on, secret identity and everything.
"Well, no one's at the cave." Rocket told everyone. "At least not yet, I contacted Aqualad and he said that Red Tornado and Black Canary will be there soon, and he'll follow shortly after."
"Does he have Shadow?" Kid Flash asked, he remained at Robin's side refusing to move.
"Ya, he does," Rocket responded. "According to Aqualad, she was pretty banged up. Apparently, Joker led her to a room and switched on some lights that drained her power."
The others leaned in curiously as she related to them what she was told.
"Then they had a big fight, that's when Batman came in."
"What about those other villains that Miss Martian saw, Poison Ivy, Professor Ojo, Brain and his gorilla?" Zatana asked.
"Don't know, he didn't say."
When they arrived at the Cave they hooked Robin up in the infirmary room, but, other than the bruises and scrapes, he looked fine.
It was a weight off their shoulders to know that he was okay, but they were anxious to know what happened to the rest of the Team.
They were still in the room with Robin, not wanting to leave and not sure what to do, when the zeta tubes announced that Red Tornado and Black Canary arrived and they went out to greet them. They met in the kitchen and spoke over the counter.
"How is Robin?" Canary asked with worry.
"He's fine," Rocket reassured her. "Just mostly bruises and cuts."
Kid Flash sniffed the air and asked, "What's that smell?"
"It's nothing," Black Canary said before continuing. "Shade, and Wizard are on their way to Belle Rev and Joker is heading for his cell in Arkham Asylum."
Since that's the only place that will have him. Black Canary thought to herself.
"What about the villains Miss Martian saw in that room?" Kid Flash asked, as he pulled three bags of chips from the cabinet and ripped one of them open.
"They'll be under supervision for the time being." Black Canary told them, which made all of them pause. Why were they going to be under 'supervision' and not Wizard, Joker, Shade, and especially Joker?
"Why?" Artemis was the one who voiced their thoughts, sitting on the counter next to Kid Flash who was emptying the first bag into his mouth.
"I don' think now is the time to brief you on that Batman-" Canary was interrupted by Kid Flash.
"So you're still going to treat us like kids and not tell us why?" He glared at her from where he stood.
"I am not treating you like kids," She was trying to maintain her temper. "I don't have much time right now and I just came to check on you guys-"
"Like kids…" Kid Flash turned his head away from her, sat on the counter, and opened the second bag.
The woman's eyes stared at him, controlling herself not to outright yell at him and satisfying herself with the thought that she can put him back in his place during their next training session.
"Look, I know you're still upset about Robin," She started again. "But he's fine. I need to go on League business and Red Tornado is going to stay with you, okay?"
Her tone made it sound more like a command than a question, but the teens nodded and said variations of 'okay' and 'fine'.
"Good." She had turned to leave when Kid Flash sniffed the air again and said, "I think that smell is getting worse."
"Ya, it smells rancid," Zatana commented.
Since Artemis was on a higher elevation than Rocket and Zatana and more observant than Kid Flash, she was the only one to ask, "Black Canary, what's that on your shoes?"
She didn't face them as she replied, "It's none of your concern."
Rocket had moved to get a better view and told her, "It looked like…puke…."
"Gross!" Zatana said with a face of disgust, it quickly fell when she said, "Black Canary, you didn't throw up did you? Are you alright?"
The woman finally faced them and said a little defensively, "I'm fine, it wasn't me who threw up."
"Then who..." Artemis thought out loud looking to Kid Flash, who gave a knowing smile in Black Canary's direction and said, "It was Shadow, wasn't it?!"
"No," Canary was going to defend the girl but she had glanced down to the floor, a giveaway that she was lying and it did not go unnoticed by the Team.
Artemis was first to speak, since Kid Flash burst out laughing. "So it was her!"
She couldn't help but smile; same went for the rest of them although Zatana did ask if she was okay.
"She will be fine, but she's exhausted." The woman took a threatening step towards them demanding that they 'Will not let anyone know about this because if we do need to keep her she will be staying in the Cave'.
She turned away once more and strode out. "Now like I said I have League business and need to go!"
Red Tornado had just stood there, not saying anything, but now he walked in where Kid Flash was still doubled over laughing and the three girls were smiling to themselves.
"Is Robin in the infirmary wing?" He questioned in his monotonic robot dialect.
"Ya, he is." Kid Flash answered him, hopping down and leading the way. "Want to go see him?"
"Yes, please." Red Tornado told him, and followed him with girls trailed along.
Shadow woke up groggily and her head hurting again. She really needed to stop waking up like this. Her blood was also feeling prickly again and she had to blink several times for her vision to come into focus. Then she tried to sit up.
She apparently went too fast the first time, got dizzy, and fell back on the pillow. Back to square one… she thought dismally, recalling her time in alley. Luckily, this time she could remember everything, including that they had saved Robin.
Still laying down and closing her eyes, she used her right hand to rub her face, and then turned to look at her left because she felt something in it.
It was wrapped in gauze and a small tube led to an IV. The needle made her briefly relive her time in the sphere and she did her best to suppress a shudder.
The gauze however made her take into account that she could feel more of the stuff wrapped around her body. She looked down and noticed that her shirt was different.
The rising feelings of anger and confusion flared up in her as she tried to sit up again, and successfully made it this time.
First, she took stock of her surroundings. The room she was in was windowless (so she couldn't tell what time of day it was) and it was mostly white and small. It had the same infirmary and extremely clean feeling that the X-men's hospital wing had.
She noticed a counter with a sink to her left with cabinets above and below it. A door on the far wall on the left side with a small camera in the corner, and on the right another, much smaller, room built in. The door was cracked ajar and Shadow could see a toilet and so assumed it was a bathroom.
To her immediate right, stood a table with her clothes washed and laid out, a couple of chairs were up against the wall.
Second on her list: Assessing the damage. She lifted the covers off and found she now wore a light blue short-sleeved shirt and gray shorts.
She hated wearing shorts, and avoided it if she could. She managed to get use to short sleeves but it was just weird to her to see so much of her skin exposed.
Some gauze was wrapped around her left thigh and shin and, on her other leg, were some smaller bruises and cuts. Feeling underneath her shirt, her torso was mostly covered in more gauze and was very sore. Her arms looked better, but still showed sign of having been in multiple fights in a short space of time.
She was feeling very tired but wasn't in the mood to fall asleep.
I need to find out where I am. She eased herself up more and then tried to swing her legs out of bed.
It was hard to do just that, as she felt sluggish and heavy. It was like her body knew what she was attempting to do and outright refused to obey.
The room started to spin and her vision went tunnel while the colors got mixed up. Finally, groaning in defeat, she lay back down on the bed and closed her eyes.
Maybe I can find out where I am later…
She knew waiting could be dangerous, but she was just so dang tired.
Then, she heard the door to her room open with a quick whooshing sound as someone walked in. Deermo! Who could it be? She tried sitting up again as fast as she could but it didn't go to well and she only managed to prop herself up on her elbows.
Batman stood there, tall, strong, and all black except for the lower have of his face exposed underneath a half-helmet thing. He seemed to fill the whole room and contrasted largely against the white paint.
The blonde haired woman that Shadow accidently threw up on came in right behind him. Shadow moved, more slowly this time, and finally managed to sit up straight.
Batman spoke first. "We have a lot of questions for you, and I would advise you to answer truthfully."
She should have known this was coming. She should have seen it that day when she was talking to Robin on the island. Should have realized that the moment they captured her, they were going to want to know everything about her.
Where she was from, her world, her past, the X-men, how she got here, her whole life in general.
Shadow sat there, feeling the most weak and desperate than she had felt in a long time as she looked up into the two intimidating figures.
She sighed, as much as she hated opening up and as much as she dreaded at how far into her past they were going to ask about, they were her only chance of figuring out a way to get her back home.