Glad everyone's been enjoying 'Jump the Shark'. I know it's a leap from how the show went about things but when I wanted to use Control Freak, I knew this was going to get a little crazy. I also take it everyone liked Damian being scared by Carter? I just thought of Alien when Captain Dallas gets attacked. It just seemed right to incorperate that in for them. And also, Wee Baby Carter and Iris' bios are up on my Tumblr page.
Side note, did anyone see TTG with Beastboy as Martian Manhunter for Halloween? Saw a pic online and laughed so hard.
The Darkman - I always took it as Barry is Wally's uncle and Iris was named after his aunt. Bart is the one who's screwed up since he met his mom and uncle while they were still unborn.
Eric - Hope you like what happened to Artemis in this one, and I always had a plan for the superbabies since the start, they are little (unintentional) trouble makers after all.
Black' Victor Cachat - Raven will get her time with wee baby Carter, but she's mostly going with the mindset of, 'They actually want to be around me but I'm not used to it, so I'll show my thanks in my own way'.
4.
Happy Harbor
July 4
20:56 UTC
On the outskirts of Happy Harbor, Lilith Clay busied herself in the kitchen of her apartment both Kaldur and Roy Harper helped her settle into. It had been a long day for her. First was finally gathering the courage to leave her domicile to head down to the nearby grocery market for something to eat. Both Kaldur and Cassie helped her in that regard. Next was the continuing questioning by members of the Justice League including Dinah Queen, J'onn J'onzz, and the man known as Captain Atom. That had been an ordeal in itself as she had sworn she was answering the same questions over and over again for the umpteenth time since being rescued from that cult.
As she pulled a knife from a drawer to slice into a block of cheese, she could hear the red haired archer, Roy Harper, finish up in the restroom. She had told Kaldur she did not need any watching over but he insisted and had a friend keep an eye on her just incase she was found and attacked. Not a day went by that she was not reminded about how she may still be a target for the Blood Cult.
"Well, I think it's time I take off for home. Might have an assassin on my tail if I stay too much longer, but Kaldur should be stopping by soon." Seeing Lilith pay him no mind had Roy thinking he was not heard. "Lilith?"
Heading to the kitchen, past the muted TV, Roy went to see what she was doing that had her head somewhere else when he reached out and touched her shoulder. "Liliti-"
(Gasp!) Dropping the knife, she held her hand close to herself. A few drops of blood splattered on the counter with a light, steady stream flowing through her fingers.
"Whoa, Lilith, I'm sorry," Roy said quickly as he reached out for her hand. "Here, let me-"
"No, don't-"
Growing stiff, Lilith's eyes widened as she went into a trance. Her pupils faded over, going completely white as she saw Roy yelling in pain a moment before the building he was in came crumbling down. A cat-like mask lay next to his feet with crimson covering the eye holes with a small child-sized kimono nearby. What colors they were, she could not tell as the entire scene was bathed in red. With the building lying in ruins, she could see the cityscape around it on fire with the sounds of people screaming at the top of their lungs. And above the red sky, two sets of yellow eyes appeared as a deep, ominous laugh echoed across the land.
"Don't what?" Roy asked. "Lilith?"
Blinking her eyes several times, the Brazilian girl ripped her hand free. "Don't touch me!"
"I was just trying to-"
"Get out!"
"Hey," Roy protested, "I was checking to see how bad you cut your-"
"Get out! I said get out!" Shoving him in the back, Lilith forced him to the door, almost having him smash into it face first.
"Fine, I'm gone." As Roy tried to control his temper, Lilith wrapped her hand in her shirt. "Kaludr owes me big for this." He then slammed the door shut behind him and headed down the hall.
Making sure the door was securely locked, Lilith leaned against it and slid into a sitting position on the floor. Taking a deep breath, she held her face in her hands and began to cry, ignoring the small amount of blood from her freshly cut hand. She balled herself up, grasping her knees tight and just stayed there. What she saw, everything, felt as if she were in slow motion when in reality, it only lasted a half a second. She hated this ability of hers and further withdrew into herself as across the room on her TV, a familiar looking, dark skinned man with tattoos on his arms came on screen as a new show began playing.
Outside in the hall, Roy pulled out his phone as he waited for the elevator. Selecting the picture of Kaldur, he waited for him to pick up as the elevator car arrived to take him down when he got his voicemail. "Kal? You really need to check on Lilith in the morning. It's nearly nine and I have to leave, but she accidentally cut herself then freaked out when I tried to see if she needed any stitches. Call me back when you get this. I'll be leaving my phone on until midnight."
Unknown Location
July 4
Unknown Time
Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale
A tale of a fateful trip
That started from this tropic port
Aboard this tiny ship
The mate was a mighty sailing man
Control Freak's brave and sure
Five passengers set sail that day
For a three hour tour, a three hour tour
The weather started getting rough
The tiny ship was tossed
If not for the courage of the fearless crew
The minnow would be lost, the minnow would be lost
The ship set ground on the shore of this uncharted desert isle
With Kaldur'ahm
Control Freak too
The billionaire and Flaming C
The young masked man
The teacher and Mrs. Lear
Here on Kaldur'ahm's Isle
"Get her!" Leaping over a fallen log, the gasses wearing Dick Grayson landed in a squat and continued the chase he, Wally, and Kaldur were on as they ran through a tropical jungle.
"I hate cocoanuts!" Wally shouted as he was smacked in the shoulder by another of the hard fruits. "Those things hurt!"
"I would have to agree!" Using his water bearers, Kaldur had long ditched his half mask and tried to ensnare Control Freak who was using the many palm trees for cover. Unlike Wally, the Atlantean was not in his clothing he had started the night in. Instead of his former attire, he now wore a pair of white pants with a long sleeve, red shirt, and a white fishing hat that would jus not come off.
"How are we having such a hard time taking someone like her down?" Sliding under several airborne logs Control Freak was using as weapons via her remote control, Dick popped back up and hurled another Bird-a-Rang at her.
"That's cause I'm ruler of TV land, (yipe)!" Ducking behind tree, the ginger remote holder dodged the incoming weapon. "Hey, you could put an eye out with that thing!"
Punching in several numbers, Control Freak had the normally streamlined laser shot turn into a wide arc. She sliced through a number of palm trees in an attempt to catch any of the three chasing her, leaving scorched trunks, burnt leaves, and fried cocoanuts in its wake.
"Crap, gotta change batteries," Control Freak muttered. "TIME OUT!"
Pausing, Dick, Wally, and Kaldur were not sure what they had just heard. The island they were on grew quiet with the exception of their breathing and Control Freak muttering to herself on how changing the batteries in her replacement remote was difficult then went on about how she had put one in backwards.
Looking at the others, Dick was the first to speak up. "Did she just say 'Time out'?"
"Time in!" Sending another blast their way, the greasy haired girl took advantage of the sudden distraction as she fled through the tropical trees and brush.
"She is heading towards the beach," Kaldur said as the three once again gave chase. "And that gives me an idea."
Falling out of the thick brush and landing on her face, Control Freak felt her feet smack the back of her head as she landed in a scorpion. Getting up with a moan, the redhead rubbed her lower back as she grabbed her remote and planned on where to hide to take the group by surprise. Settling on a pile of rocks, she she ran as fast as she could on the loose sand and dove behind the boulders while spitting some of the sediment out of her mouth. She now had a clear shot at where the three heroes would emerge.
"Come on, any time now."
Biding her time, Control Freak saw a few branches move. Shifting her shoulders, she quietly counted to three before leaping out from behind the rock and sending a stream of laser fire where the movement occurred.
"BONZAI!" Watching a line of fire form from where her laser hit the foliage, Control Freak had a wicked, drooling grin as she expected to see the three fallen bodies of the ones chasing her but grew disappointed when she saw only the burning limbs and leaves from her failed surprise attack. "Oh man. That was perfect. What happened?"
Instead of paying attention to her failed trap, she should have been paying attention to what was occurring around her. Slowly and steadily, the sea water around the beach sank back into the ocean. Shallow water fish, crabs, and plants were left drying in the sun and wet sand with the trench coat wearing girl literally scratching her head, when the sound of running water caught her attention.
Turning around, all the color in Control Freak's face faded away, leaving her freckles and acne as the only coloring on her cheeks. Her eyes grew wide with her pupils shrinking at the sight of a large tidal wave coming her way.
"Eeep." Fumbling with her remote, the redhead girl quickly formed another portal near her to escape the incoming wall of water. "Time to switch to another channel."
"But not without us!" Rushing her, Wally managed to grab one of her battery belts around her chest and ripped it off just as she dove into the portal. "Dragh! So close!"
"Hurry, it won't stay open for long!" Diving in after her, Dick disappeared into the swirling vortex with Wally following behind him.
"At least Wally got my full powers back before the remote ran out of batteries." Leaping into the portal last, Kaldur was just in time as the tidal wave he created crashed into the island as it closed up.
Titans Tower
July 4
21:02 UTC
"Knew you were a coward," Raven said as she looked down on Damian. "You let a baby scare you?"
"It was not a baby!" Damian shouted. "It was a monster trying to eat my face!"
"Carter wouldn't eat anyone's face, most of all yours," Cissie told him. "You're not pretty enough."
"I hate you all," Damian told her darkly.
"He's not up there anymore." Entering the living area, Garfield and Terra were visibly disappointed with not finding the infant. "Here's your shirt back."
Ripping his shirt away from the green youth, Damian put it back on and began to mutter to himself on how much he hated those around him right now.
"Okay, so, what's the plan now?" Terra asked as she grabbed her leftover drink and took a swig.
"We have Wolf, Kyle, and Cassandra looking in the locked down area of the tower for Iris and have locked down the hanger so Carter can't go back up there," Garfield told them. "Sphere's still scanning for them both but it looks like they're not moving around anymore."
"So that leaves us where?" Cissie asked.
"That leaves us trying to get the others back out of the TV while we keep an eye out for the others. We have them pinned down to this floor through searching so we should just look over every room again."
"Well count me out," Damian told him. "I'm not helping you find that little monster or the brat you can't catch."
"Raven, will you please?"
Giving a nod, the Gothic girl had her eyes flash white for a moment as she had a strip of black energy clamp down over Damian's mouth to keep him quiet as well as surround the chair he sat in with the same black energy.
"Thanks. Okay, now, what do you need to get the others out of the TV?"
"After looking through my tome, I found a spell to counteract the one used to trap them. I'll need something personal from each of them to get things started. It can be something they own or something personally associated with them."
"I'll be back. Cissie, come with me." Scampering out if the room as a monkey, Garfield disappeared around the corner of the hallway toward the bedroom area with the blonde archer following him.
"So you really think you can get them back?" Terra asked Raven who was getting ready for the incantation by drawing a circle on the carpet with chalk.
"I'm sure I can. It just takes what I asked for and deep concentration." Flipping through her book, Raven began to draw several glyphs in and around the circle she had just created.
"Oh right, you need to concentrate to use your powers, not like me. It's easy to move the Earth with just a thought."
"Which is why you seem to have trouble performing smaller tasks."
"And what does that mean?"
Standing, the Gothic Titan saw how Terra stood, with her hands crossed and a hip sticking out. "It means, with a little more practice, you could do the simplest things regarding your powers. A giant boulder may be good to deter the enemy, but a small pebble would be more quiet and useful in certain situations."
"But a bolder can be used to take out an entire group of bad guys."
"And a pebble can be used to systematically take them out when stealth is involved. A little practice in your down time could go a long way."
"Maybe you're right. Wonder if Gar would like to help me out one on one sometime."
Rolling her eyes, Raven went back to what she was doing while Terra had a small grin.
Unknown Location
July 4
Unknown Time
"Get back!" With a hard swing of a large crossbow, Artemis knocked down three incoming, snarling, undead corpses to buy her a moment to reload.
Since waking up after being sucked into whatever purple portal Control Freak created, in an outfit that looked to have not been washed in months, the blonde woman found herself in a world she only imagined existed on TV or in movies. Leaving the safety of a dilapidated house, Artemis had thought she was in another part of Jump City, not wherever this place was. A few minutes of searching for answers as to where she was led her to her current predicament, being surrounded by a small army of actual zombies.
Shedding her sleeveless jacket to favor movement, Artemis could not believe she was face to face with the decaying undead in the middle of what was a highway with abandoned cars and trucks parked around her. The first of the undead was dropped with the butt of her weapon smashing into its face. The second received an arrow to the left eye with the third being kicked in the temple. Now, she was trying to fight her way down the road to a nearby tanker truck to climb to the top of the large container it hauled milk in.
Shouldering her crossbow, which was larger than the ones she was used to carrying, Artemis used one of her bolts to take out another of the zombies when she reached the ladder of the large tank. Rushing to get out of the way of the hungry undead cannibals, she was just about to reach the top when the rusting metal rung snapped under her weight and she came crashing down.
Groaning, she was in a daze and unable to move as an incoming zombie had her in its sights. Shambling over to her, the undead ghoul hissed as it sought to sink its teeth into her flesh and was just about to partake in its Vietnamese meal when an arrow pierced its temple, putting it down permanently.
"Got it!" Making his way around a couple of cars, a scruffy looking man with hair down past his eyes drew a knife and stabbed another of the zombies in the head. Behind him, a woman with short salt and pepper hair used her knife to take out another zombie who Artemis knocked down and was crawling towards the blonde woman.
"Clear." Holstering his knife, the man looked over to his companion as she joined him to check on the fallen woman.
"Is she bit?" the woman asked.
"Don't know, doesn't look like it."
Waiting for Artemis to make the first move, the man reloaded his weapon and had it aimed at her should she attempt to attack them. Once up, and with the wind restored to her lungs, Artemis held her hands up to show she was on their side.
"Whoa, hey, I'm...I'm not doing anything here. Just trying to figure out where I am." Looking at the two the former black ops member was surprised she recognized them. "Wait, I know you."
"Well we don't know you," the woman said. "So what's your name and where are you from?"
Standing slowly, Artemis dusted herself off, not that it made any difference with the clothing she had on. "I'm Artemis, don't know how I got here but, it is so cool I'm speaking to the Darryl Dixon and Carol."
"How do you know our names?" the man, Darryl asked. "You been spying on us?"
"What? No! I've just seen your show and...wait a second, I've seen your show, I'm talking to you. I'm in the blasted TV?!" Looking around, Artemis could not believe where she was. "UGH, I'm gonna kill that girl!"
No sooner had she said that when another portal opened up behind her. Darryl and Carl both aimed their weapons at the swirling vortex as Control Freak came tumbling out. "Finally got away from those thr...crap."
"You!" Artemis yelled.
Fumbling with her backup remote, the ginger girl crated another portal just as Wally, Dick, and Kaldur came tumbling out of the old one.
"Later losers!" Diving into the new vortex, Control Freak disappeared into another channel as the three males got to their feet.
"Artemis," Wally all but shouted as he ran up to his wife and hugged her tight. "You wouldn't believe where we've been."
"I kind of have an idea," she told him.
"Talk later, Control Freak's getting away." Using the remote Wally had managed to swipe from Control Freak, Dick kept the portal open long enough for them to chase after the fangirl villain. Just as suddenly as hey had appeared, they were gone.
"What was that about?" Carol asked as the portal closed then faded away.
"Don't know," Daryl answered. "Not sure I want to know." Shouldering his crossbow he turned to look at Carol. "Come on. Let's just get back to finding Carl. Kid needs to learn to stay in the house."
Titans Tower
July 4
21:09 UTC
"This is just getting worse and worse. First we lose Carter, then we lose Iris, and now we lost Wolf. Can anything go our way?" Trudging down the hallway back to the living area, Kyle and Cassandra had no luck in finding either child.
As they neared the entrance to to where the others were, they saw Garfield and Cissie just ahead of them with a few things in their possession. Both were running fairly quickly towards them with their items held close to them.
Feeling Cassandra tap his arm, Kyle turned and saw her sign 'What are they doing?'. "I don't know, but I doubt they'll be happy when we tell them we lost Wolf."
Entering the living area last, the young Lantern and Damian's bodyguard saw a set up straight out of a horror movie. Positioned in front of the TV was a large circle with various markings in its center. Three lit candles formed a triangle around the circle with even more markings between them. Raven stood at the base of it, flipping thorough her book and quietly recited the spells as Terra flipped through channels in search of the original team.
"Okay," Garfield said as he held up a silver remote. "I got Sphere's remote for Conner since they bonded after finding her. I got a picture of Sis from when she got married. For Artemis, Cissie brought an arrowhead she helped her make. Kaldur was hard to find but we grabbed an extra Water Bearer he left when he helped train us last. Wally, Cissie got a pair of goggles he gave her. And for Nightwing, we found an extra Bird-A-Rang."
"Those will do." Taking the objects and placing them around the circle, Raven went over her book again and made sure everything was ready to go. "Okay, now I need to concentrate and need everyone to be as quiet as possible. This is going to take a lot of energy to do."
"I'll make a wall to keep both Iris and Carter out just incase they're still walking or crawling around here." Having his ring glow green, Kyle began to create a barrier blocking the entrance. "And...on a side note, we kind of, sort of lost Wolf."
Hearing a loud thud, the group of teens saw Garfield with his head down on the coffee table, moaning about how they were all going to get it once the others were brought back.
"Come on, Gar," Terra said as she helped him back up. "Let's let bird girl do her thing while we go looking for the rugrats. You could always turn into a bloodhound and smell them out if your desperate."
"Why does the universe hate me?" Garfield pouted as he and the others left the living room.
Left alone, with the still bound and gagged son of Batman, Raven shook her head and went back to her book.
Unknown Location
July 4
Unknown Time
Waking up with a groan, M'gann held her head as she sat up. A moment or two passed as she got her bearings and tried to look around to see where she was at. Wherever she was, it was dark but comfortable as she found herself sitting on several silk pillows.
"What in the world?" Moving around with her hands searching the area around her, she came across a lamp but could not find a switch for it.
With her eyes adjusting to the darkness, it became clear wherever she was, was surrounded by stained glass in mostly pink and purple hues. All light coming in was dim and scattered from the glass in a way where it made everything inside multicolored when a shadow crossed one side of the strange room on the outside.
"Hello?" M'gann called out. "Hey, let me out of here!"
Looking through the glass a best as she could, the Titan co-leader still could not see anything or anyone. Backing up, she then closed her eyes in an attempt to telepathically communicate with whoever it was outside when she found she could not do so. She could not send or receive any thoughts whatsoever and became a bit panicky when she felt her room being moved around.
Falling to her knees, the Martian felt as if the entire world were being flipped end over end with her in the center of it. Pillows, blankets, and some sort of trinkets she could not make out spilt all around her as she tumbled this way and that until she heard what sounded like muffled shouting. With one final jolt, M'gann flipped over to land on her back with her legs perched up against the glass wall with the room spinning around her when a light from high above cascaded down on her. Instantly, she ceased to be herself and instead took the form of smoke as she was sucked up towards the light, yelling all the way.
"Now you'll get it. Now you will feel my power!" Holding a bottle in front of her, Control Freak pulled the small glass topper off and unleashed a large puff of pink smoke.
Taking cover, as they did not know what the smoke was, the four team members waited for whatever Control freak had in store when the smoke landed in front of her. Instead of dispersing, the pink cloud began to take on a form, making the four do a double take at what they were faced with.
Gotham City
July 4
21:13
Sitting at a workbench in a supposedly abandoned steel mill, a scrawny looking man in an emerald colored robe was hunched over an assortment of computer parts with a soldering gun in hand. Pausing momentarily, the brown haired, glasses wearing man ran a hand across his forehead as he looked over his current work.
"Genius craftsmanship, as always."
Holding up a small bronze box the size of a softball, the man looked it over for any imperfections and was pleased when he found none. If anything, he prided himself on his intelligence and detailed perfection. Setting it down gently, the man pressed a button on its top and watched as it changed shape. Within a few seconds, the box shifted into an exact replica of the Wayne-Tech building in the center of the city with small LED lights spelling out 'He may be a pain, but his once brilliant reign will end with my brain. One man's trash is another man's goldmine'.
"Three potential targets, but only one will be the big payday. Not even the Dynamic Duo can cover all fronts."
Before he could reset his device, the sound of metal scraping against steel made him jump in his seat. Startled, the man turned and adjusted his glasses as he struggled to see in the dimly lit room he was in, which was largely due to the fact it was meant for the storage of computer equipment for the factory.
"Someone thinks they can impede on the work of Edward Nigma by breaking into his lair?"
Grabbing a cane that doubled as a sword, Edward Nigma, the criminal known as The Riddler, went to investigate the source of the sound. Everything was quiet again but the lack of sound did nothing to make him think all was well in his hideout. Keeping light on his feet, the criminal genius kept to the shadows as he neared the entrance to he room he set up as his primary sanctuary. Reaching the doorway, he readied himself for a fight and counted to three before leaping out with his sword held above his head, and found nothing.
Looking around, Edward could see nothing except the darkened inner machinery of the mill when he heard the clicking of the metal again. Only this time, it was coming from above and behind him.
Spinning on his heels, Edward came face to face with a set of glowing yellow eyes staring right back at him. The form they belonged to was lanky to say the least. Burlap pants covered long, skinny legs with a matching long sleeved shirt covering the torso with a rope holding them together. As it came more into view, he could see stitching like the kind someone with no sewing skills would make, crooked and messy. Extending from the bottom of the pants were large, black boots covered in dirt. Its arms, as thin as the legs were boney and ended in gloved hands with fingers ending in long points, but the right hand was different. The right hand had a set of five syringes instead of fingers.
As it dropped down from the ceiling, from the shadow casting pipes and wires, Edward could finally see the face clearly and wished he had not. Instead of a face, there was a mask, a burlap mask of a scarecrow with demonic yellow eyes and a jagged mouth in the form of an evil smile. Now that he could actually see it in better light, Edward saw it had no skin. The exposed parts of its arms and legs were straw, actual straw that poked out of the openings of its clothing. It was the criminal known as, The Scarecrow.
Landing in a kneeling position, Scarecrow rose to a towering height, well over a foot taller than Edward and looked down on him as if he were an insect.
"C...Crane? Crane?" Edward stuttered. "Is, is that y, you?"
"No," Scarecrow said in a deep, forced whisper that sounded like it were exhaling and wheezing at the same time. "There is no Jonathan Crane. Only...The Scarecrow."
Shooting his left hand forward, Scarecrow, formally Jonathan Crane, dug a three bladed dagger into Edward Nigma's stomach. As the brilliant criminal lurched forward from being skewered, a set of red jewels in the blade's handle began to glow. Of the five, two were now glowing brightly. Ripping the dagger out, Edward fell to the floor. His skin was pale, dry, with his eyes completely white.
Standing over his lifeless body, Scarecrow sheathed the dagger into his rope belt and stared down at the one time criminal genius and thorn in Batman's side. "All hail...Trigon."