I haven't responded to comments directly in a bit, so I'm gonna do that!
Aky2: First of all, this was probably one of the few times in my life I've gotten a chance to actually use the four years of Spanish I took in school. Second, I haven't watched season three yet so I don't have an opinion on the entirety of it, but I do think that Aqualad's new relationship status is pretty neat. Aqualad really deserves to be happy after all he's been through and it's awesome that he found someone that cares about him and vice versa.
ADDBaby: Oh, your passionate reviews always warm my heart and bring a smile to my face. I'm glad I could bring you joy. And come on, like I wasn't going to drop at least one Tarzan reference. It would have been such a waste.
Stopdropanroll: Let me tell you, trying to tweak the dialogue so that Skylar didn't come across as irritating as everyone else was a trial and a half. The exchange between her and Kaldur about stepping up as a leader went through at least three rewrites before I was happy with it.
Hoodedgenius98: It's a little weird. But I can't but help but imagine one of the Leaguers (let's say Batman) looking dramatically out of the window of the Watchtower, looking down at the Earth, only to see an elephant just rocketing off into space. He doesn't know how, but he knows that somehow the kids were responsible for it.
Aquila Aqua: I mean, Superboy did the same thing, but because Wolf is "Of an acceptable size" and "Easier to take care of" and "Probably won't accidentally crush someone to death", he gets to keep him.
MOUNT JUSTICE
OCTOBER 1ST, 2010
18:13 EDT
"Recognized: Hawkgirl, B07"
Skylar practically tumbled through the zeta tube, though she quickly covered up the slight shakiness of her limbs by continuing to stride forwards. Her moment of weakness had seemingly gone unnoticed. Aqualad and Robin were in the midst of a fierce hand to hand spar, so she made her way over to the two supervising adults, Zatara and Captain Marvel (the latter of whom was steadily munching on a donut with brightly colored frosting).
Zatara raised a brow at her. "You're late." She could tell from the quirk of his lips that he was merely teasing her. "Aqualad had to take your place training with Robin."
"I got… held up." Ski'Lira rolled her neck from side to side, relishing in the stretch. "Building collapse."
"Oh man." Captain Marvel's voice was muffled by the large chunk of donut in his mouth. He hastily swallowed. "Is everyone okay?"
"… Sure."
"Are… you okay?"
"Fine."
She may or may not have been strongly censoring both of her responses, and judging by the narrowing of the old magician's eyes, her attempt at deflecting hadn't been one hundred percent effective.
The building collapse had been… bad, totaling three casualties, four in critical condition, and twelve moderate to minor injuries. She'd spent almost two solid hours lifting rubble and pulling victims from the debris. An investigation had already been opened up for the construction company highly suspected to be at fault, which was also responsible for several more buildings in St. Roch. It was a messy situation that was far from over, but she'd done all she could for now.
Physically, she was unhurt, just really tired. More than anything she wanted to just go back home and sleep for a month. But it wasn't meant to be. Once she'd finished giving her statement to the police, she'd hightailed it towards the nearest zeta point. She didn't even have time to change into casual clothes, so she remained in her dirty, bloodstained, and slightly ripped uniform.
Aqualad and Robin's simulation came to an end as Conner, M'Gann, and Wolf emerged from the hallway leading to the hangar. The couple were caught up in each other's presence, presumably chatting telepathically.
Aqualad moved to stand near Hawkgirl, and he offered a slight nod of greeting before he brushed some rubble off of her shoulder. Robin sidled up to the both of them. "You know they're a couple, right?" He whispered to the Atlantean.
"I believe I knew before they did." Aqualad replied, a small smile on his face.
"At least you didn't have to help one of them figure out their feelings." Ski'Lira made a face, which in turn made Dick let out a quiet cackle.
The trio's attention was drawn away from the happy couple to Artemis and Wally as they came from the lounge hallway.
"Do we tell them?" Robin asked.
"It is not our place." Aqualad answered solemnly, a slight note of warning in his tone, dissuading the Boy Wonder from doing anything.
And she knew that Dick had more than a few plans stocked up. He'd texted her about it two days ago while he was trying to wind down from patrol.
Her response had been 'Let them figure out their own problems and go the hell to sleep.'
"So, if Zatara is our babysitter for the week…" Wally began once he was close enough to be heard, pointing at Captain Marvel. "Why's he still here? And why's he eating my snacks?"
Nonplussed, Captain Marvel just kept munching away.
Any more accusations that the speedster could have made were lost as the zeta tube activated.
"Recognized: Batman, 02"
Batman strode swiftly out of the tube, his posture screaming 'trouble'. "Computer, national news."
A large rectangular screen popped into life, hovering over them as it switched to the requested channel. Cat Grant, looking more than a little frantic, stood in the middle of a street reporting live from Metropolis. "The initial attack was short-lived." The video cut away from the blonde woman to an overhead shot of absolutely massive plants towering over and wrapping around skyscrapers. "But Metropolis was only ranted a short reprieve." One of the buildings was crushed like an empty soda can, crumbling down to the ground in a shower of rubble.
"Despite the intervention of Superman and the Justice League, there seems to be no end in sight." Footage trailed Superman as he saved two people stranded on the roof of a building mere moments before they were taken down with the structure as it collapsed.
The video shifted, now focused on Hawkwoman as she hit a vine full force with her mace, John Stewart following up with a blast of energy from his ring that sliced it apart. Hawkman appeared from off frame, hitting a tendril so hard that the tip popped off.
She knew her parents had been called out suddenly on League Business, but she had no idea this was why.
"Should we get out there?" Robin asked, saying what they were all thinking.
Batman turned to them. "No. The League will soon have the situation under control. That's not why I'm here." A slight gesture of his hand summoned a holographic screen just behind him, bearing the image of a familiar masked visage. "According to your intel, Sportsmaster supplied Cadmus' Blockbuster formula to Kobra."
"Who combined it with Bane's Venom to create Kobra Venom." Wally continued.
"Which the brain used to create his animal army." Robin added.
"And upgrade Wolf." Conner reached over and scratched the massive white wolf under his chin, making the beast's tail sweep lazily from side to side on the ground.
M'Gann perched a hand on her chin, thoughtful. "The Brain also used inhibitor collars like the ones at the penitentiary."
"Batman…" Artemis' brow was furrowed. "Is it possible that plant thing's on Kobra Venom too?"
The Dark Knight didn't reply right away, instead gesturing again so that a holo-keyboard appeared in front of him. "I had Green Lantern run a spot analysis." After a few key presses, a diagram of the chemical makeup of the plants appeared, replacing the picture of Sportsmaster. "Divine cellulose does contain trace amounts of a Kobra Venom variant."
"These cannot be coincidences." Aqualad mused. "Unrelated criminals are cooperating with one another worldwide."
Robin pulled up his own keyboard, his fingers flying across the screen.
"Exactly." Batman confirmed their suspicions succinctly. "It's now clear our enemies have formed some kind of… secret society of super villains. The attack on Metropolis is only the beginning."
Hawkgirl was pretty sure that this was supposed to be bad news, but she couldn't help but be thrilled at the prospect. If she were anyone else, she would be practically vibrating with excitement. M'Gann seemed to pick up on her surface thoughts, as she looked over her shoulder and shot her a look.
Hawkgirl offered a shrug and a smirk.
"You got that right." Robin seemed to find whatever he was looking for, as more screens popped up, showing feeds from multiple sources. "Plant creatures have sprouted in Gotham City, Paris, Star City, Taipei-"
A harsh noise made all of those with sensitive hearing cringe slightly as the screen fizzled into static.
"Dude!" Wally admonished.
Robin's typing speed increased as his mouth turned into a displeased frown. "It's not me. Someone's cutting in the satellite signal. All satellite signals."
The answer to the question of who exactly had that kind of power was provided a moment later as The Joker popped on screen, physically knocking on the camera lens to create a dull thud. Hawkgirl didn't miss the way Robin's shoulders tensed.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we interrupt your regularly scheduled mayhem to bring you this important announcement!" Reaching out, the mad clown physically moved the camera, panning over a small gathering of villains. "From the Injustice League! Ha ha haaa!"
Count Vertigo took over, his accent thick and face schooled into a neutral expression. "We are responsible for the attacks on your cities. If you wish to save them, a ransom of ten billion American dollars is required." The number gave Ski'Lira pause, as it seemed a little… stingy, considering they were a global threat. "Delivery instructions have been sent to the United Nations. There is no time limit. But the longer your governments wait…"
Joker turned the camera back on himself, manic grin in full force. "The more we get to have our jollies! Ha ha haaa!"
Just as the feed cut off, Batman's hand moved to his ear as his comm activated. "Roger that, Aquaman. The UN will prepare the ransom as a fallback, but it won't come to that."
Meanwhile, Robin hadn't ceased typing through the entire broadcast. He easily pulled the video back up, rewinding it before pausing on a frame of the villain lineup. "Count Vertigo, The Joker, Poison Ivy, Ultra-Humanite, Atomic Skull, Black Adam, Wotan… Seven heavy hitters. Probably behind nearly everyone and everything we've faced."
"There's your secret society." Wally gestured to the screen.
"Not so secret anymore." Artemis corrected, a stern set to her mouth.
"Perhaps after India they realized we would deduce the truth and saw no point in hiding any longer." Aqualad posed, and it did sound like a logical conclusion.
Though the motivations still seemed… off.
Ski'Lira couldn't put her finger on it, but there were some things that just didn't quite match up. Like the Brain's involvement, for one. And Klarion. Before she could speak her thoughts aloud, Wally interrupted.
"Yeah. That was their mistake. Right now I say we go kick some plant creature butt!" He pumped a fist into the air.
"The Justice League will handle the plants." Batman shut that down swiftly and brutally. "I have a different job for this team."
"Aw man." Quick as a viper, Artemis punched him hard in the arm, making him wince.
"With the plants attacking so many locations simultaneously, there must be a central control system. Your mission is to destroy it."
Zatara moved to stand near Batman, a displeased expression on his face. "You realize what you're really asking them to do?"
"They're ready."
"Ready?" The resident speedster blurted out. "Ready for what?" Artemis hit him in the arm again, hitting the exact same spot. "Ow! Will you cut that out?!"
"Hello, Wally!" The blonde huffed. "If the big guns are fighting plants, who do you think we'll be fighting?!"
"I don't know, I guess we'll-" Artemis pointed at the screen. "… Ohhhhh."
Zatara let out the smallest of sighs. "Well Batman, I trust you're correct."
"I trust you can locate the enemy?" The vigilante requested.
"Indeed. Wotan's informants suggest sorcery is part of how the plants are controlled. Robin, if you will provide a holomap? I'll search for signs of concentrated sorcerous activity."
At the old magician's request, Robin pulled up a large blue globe in their midst. Zatara approached with his hands held palm out, and he proceeded to start an incantation. There was a moment where nothing happened, until a glowing red dot appeared on the surface. From where she was standing, Hawkgirl couldn't see the exact location, only that it was somewhere around North America.
"There, that is where you will find the Injustice League's central control system."
"Coordinates locked in." Robin announced. "The Louisiana Bayou"
Ski'Lira felt like she'd been punched straight in the chest. Her breath stilled as her eyes widened (though they remained hidden behind the lenses of her helmet). It was remarkable how three words had torn through her legendary resting bitch face so easily.
"We are on our way." Aqualad affirmed.
And like that, the Team was moving. Going through the process of changing out her shirt and pants into clean, intact replacements gave her time to reign her emotions back in and try to rationalize the situation.
It wasn't until they were on the bio-ship and en route to Louisiana that someone broke the silence.
"Are you going to be okay?" Superboy's question made Hawkgirl look up from her study of a detailed map of the Bayou courtesy of the console in front of her, unsure who he was speaking to until she saw he was staring directly at her.
"I'm fine." She insisted. "Why?"
"Well, we're going… you know." He made a vague gesture with his hand. "Doesn't that worry you?"
"Um… What exactly is going on?" Artemis spoke up, looking between the two of them.
"Is our fearless Thanagarian worried?" Kid Flash teased (though there was a concerned look in his eyes).
Hawkgirl realized then that none of them would let the matter drop. "It's close to St. Roch." She answered, looking back down at the map again. The glowing red dot was far too close to her hometown for comfort. "It… does worry me. Slightly. I'm mostly upset that they managed to settle so close and neither I nor my parents noticed."
"Hey, we're going to take care of them, okay?" Miss Martian assured.
"Yeah!" Kid Flash agreed. "We'll get rid of those pests on your home turf easy peasy! Who knows? Maybe the alligators will have eaten them by the time we get there!"
Hawkgirl huffed out a laugh through her nose at the mental image. If only. "I have no doubt we will succeed. And I suppose their location makes some logical sense. It's very easy to hide in the Bayou." With a press of a button, the map she had been looking at was streamed to everyone else's screens. "This is where they are. And this is the nearest settlement, a hamlet that specializes in fishing, gator hunting, and fan boat tours." She made a marker that was a significant distance away. "It's no wonder they remained undiscovered for so long, especially if they're making use of Wotan's gift in the magical arts."
"Are there any… possible dangers we should be aware of?" Aqualad twisted himself as much as his seat would allow to look back at her. "You have fought in this type of terrain often, yes?"
She made a hum of agreement, considering for a moment. "It won't be too dissimilar to fighting in a jungle, though the ground is far more treacherous. It's usually a fifty-fifty chance if what you think is solid ground is actually solid. And the water's always deeper than you expect it to be, so caution is key."
"We will remain vigilant… for more than one reason." Seemingly satisfied with the answer to his inquiry, Aqualad lapsed into silence.
That was when Wally loudly cleared his throat. "So, anyone else think it's weird how the Joker is part of this… super-secret villain team?"
"It's definitely weird." Robin agreed without hesitation. "He doesn't really… play well with others. A few months ago he 'teamed up' with Black Mask… let's just say it wasn't pretty. Actually…" He trailed off for a second. "I've only ever seen Poison Ivy team up with Harley Quinn and Catwoman."
"Ultra-Humanite only cooperates with other villains to meet his own agenda, so who knows what the heck is going on there." Wally crossed his arms as he settled back against his seat.
"… I hate monkeys." Conner murmured, the first verbal input he'd provided in a while.
"Technically an ape." Robin corrected. "Anyway, none of these guys really seem like 'team' material."
"Neither does Batman." Hawkgirl pointed out.
"… Okay, fair."
BAYOU BARTHOLOMEW
OCTOBER 1ST, 2010
18:32 CDT
What should have been a nearly silent, tension-riddled atmosphere as they flew over Bayou Bartholomew was somewhat ruined by Kid Flash chewing loudly as he hastily devoured a banana. Mouth still full, he got Aqualad's attention. "Forgot to ask earlier, what's in the duffel?"
"Plan B" Their leader replied coolly, offering no further explanation.
Hawkgirl and Miss Martian were the only two who actually knew the contents of Plan B, though she had her suspicions that Robin had figured it out.
Plan B was a hastily slapped together plan they'd come up with before they left, a sort of safety net if things went really wrong.
Her agreement had been reluctant, but in the end, Hawkgirl went along with it.
Mostly because of Plan C.
Miss Martian suddenly cringed, her hand flying to her forehead as her eyes scrunched up. "Ugh."
"You all right?" Conner's attention immediately snapped to her.
"Dizzy"
"Martians get airsick?" Robin asked.
The speedster tilted his head slightly. "She does look a bit greener than usual."
"Not me." M'Gann snapped back. "Her."
"I feel fine?" Artemis seemed highly confused.
"Not you. The bioship. She's trying to shield us, but-"
That was all the warning they received before the ship suddenly went haywire, jerking back and forth in a chaotic pattern. A massive force slammed into the underside of the ship, sending it careening straight down towards the water of the bayou, where it proceeded to skip across the surface of the water like a stone. The ship didn't halt until one of the wings wedged deeply into the mud.
They had just barely managed to recover from the unexpected amusement park ride and were clambering out of their seats when a hole was torn in the room, revealing the perpetually scowling face of Black Adam.
M'Gann doubled over in pain, just barely managing to screech out, "He's hurting her!"
Superboy lunged upwards, slamming his fist straight into Black Adam's face and sending him flying away. However, the sudden opposing force sent the ship sinking down further into the bayou, and water poured through the newly opened hole in a torrent.
Hawkgirl felt a frantic tap on her shoulder and turned to see Robin, who was holding a rebreather in his outstretched hand, his own already in his mouth. She gave him an acknowledging nod as she took it and popped it between her teeth.
"No. No way I'm nearly drowning three missions in a row." Artemis grumbled, donning her own rebreather before offering KF one of her backups. Ski'Lira knew for a fact that Artemis had made it standard to always carry three in her utility belt. The archer was taking zero chances when it came to potential drowning anymore.
Wally took the rebreather with a stunned look on his face. "Wow, uh… thanks."
"M'Gann, we need to get out." Superboy said. "Open a hatch."
The Martian's face screwed up in concentration, before she slapped herself in the forehead in an all too familiar gesture. "Hello, M'Gann! Of course!" She slightly tilted her head to the side, exposing her neck to display the newly formed gills she shifted for herself, before promptly diving to the bottom. As she did so, Hawkgirl felt a familiar press in her mind as the mental link was established.
Just in time too, as the cabin completely filled with water.
At Miss Martian's direction, a hole opened up in the bottom of the bioship.
"Out, everyone out!" Aqualad's command came over the link clearly, and he was the first one to exit, leading the way.
It was a short distance to the shore, but just as Hawkgirl had forewarned, the water was deeper than expected. Everyone kept an easy pace behind the Atlantean, with even Wolf swimming confidently through the slightly murky water. The second she made it ashore, her booted feet sinking slightly into the spongy ground, she shook out her wings to rid them off the excess moisture. If they weren't just as soaked through as she was from the swim, Hawkgirl probably would have received some glares from her teammates.
The group moved forward into a small copse of trees, looking on as the bioship was fully dragged underwater by thick green tendrils strongly resembling the plants attacking the globe.
If that wasn't a sign they were in the right place, she didn't know what was.
"She's in shock." M'Gann informed them quietly. "She'll need time to recover."
Out of nowhere, they were all struck by a wave of overwhelming dizziness, forcing them to the ground. Hawkgirl was strongly reminded of the gravity traps in India, albeit far more nausea-inducing. She let out a growl of frustration as the cause approached them.
"Vertigo." Kid Flash spat.
"Count Vertigo to you, peasant." The villain corrected with a sneer, dropping his power in the process.
Superboy was the first to manage to clamber to his feet, only to be swiftly knocked back down by Black Adam. Aqualad reacted next, using water from the bayou around him to drive Vertigo back and keep him from using his abilities again.
"Robin, Miss Martian, Hawkgirl, disappear." Aqualad ordered over the mind link. "We will keep them busy. You three fulfill the mission objective."
Hawkgirl nodded at him once before flinging herself into the tree line.
H
"I blocked contact with Aqualad and the others. Should we-"
"Sorry, that's not the gig. This is."Robin tore away the last bit of foliage blocking their path, revealing a looming, dome-shaped building with a thick glass roof. An organic growth identical to the ones plaguing the globe sprouted from the top like some kind of Lovecraftian decoration. "The Injustice League central control system. Looks like that plant is acting as an antenna to control the other plants worldwide."
The sound of someone approaching from behind drew Hawkgirl's attention, and she spun around and drew her mace in time to see Poison Ivy.
"Well, hello." She greeted with a smile. In a flash, all three of them were bound up by vines and thrust a good fifteen feet in the air before being held there. Hawkgirl immediately started to struggle, but her arms were shoved into an awkward position she had to fight against.
Poison Ivy wasn't alone, Ultra-Humanite stepping up beside her, bearing a heavily modded gun that he trained on them.
"And goodbye." Ivy finished, smile unwavering.
Miss Martian's eyes glowed just as Ultra-Humanite pulled the trigger, and the projectiles that left the barrel sped towards the base of the vines, rather than directly at their faces. Explosive shells ripped through the vegetation, burning and charring through and freeing the young heroes.
Or at least, two of them.
Hawkgirl's own vine hadn't took a full hit, so it was weakened rather than outright destroyed, leaving her temporarily trapped. With sheer brute force, she pushed the vine outwards and slipped out between them. Before she could hit the ground, she flared out her wings and took flight, scanning the newfound battlefield for her teammates.
Miss Martian seemed to be fine on her own, easily evading Ultra-Humanite, so she turned her attention to Robin.
He had run off further into the bayou, dodging attacks from more of Ivy's vines. "Sorry, Boy Wonder," the female villain was taunting. "I'm putting an end to your little reconnaissance mission."
Hawkgirl swooped down towards Ivy, her mace ready to strike, only to be grabbed by around the middle by another plant. She resigned herself to tearing her way out of another unpleasant hug, only to find herself dropped onto a strangely spongey surface. Ski'Lira had roughly three seconds to realize exactly what she'd been dropped into before the jaws of a massive, Venus Flytrap-esque monstrosity snapped shut around her.
"Fine." She growled to herself, putting her mace back on her belt and cracking her knuckles. "If that's how you want to play, let's play."
Letting out a war cry, she lunged forwards, clawed gauntlets held out in front of her. The razor sharp tips dug into verdant flesh, rending large chunks that oozed abnormally hued chlorophyll. If it possessed vocal chords, it would probably be screeching. The first major tear she created caused water to trickle in and start filling the makeshift prison. Great, the thing had taken her underwater.
Roughly fifteen seconds later, a green-streaked Hawkgirl burst out of the flytrap like one of the monsters from Alien and started to swim upwards.
When she surfaced, she spit a mixture of the green fluid and bayou water out of her mouth, incredibly thankful for her near-immunity to Terran toxins and diseases. She did not want to know what would have happened if the Kobra-laced cellulose actually affected her system, or whatever bacteria was swimming around in the water. It wouldn't have been pretty either way, that's for sure.
"Robin, Hawkgirl." Miss Martian's voice sounded off in her head.
"Artemis?" Robin asked.
"No."
Hawkgirl looked up to see Wotan flying through the air courtesy of his magic, bearing a glowing orange cage behind him that contained the rest of their teammates. Black Adam trailed behind, with Count Vertigo riding on top of the cage.
And that's when the bioship careened straight into the procession, taking out Wotan and causing the cage to dissipate as his concentration was broken. His captives tumbled down into the bayou, landed near a reconvened Ultra-Humanite and Poison Ivy.
"Rendezvous back at the dome, we're not going to get a better distraction than this." Hawkgirl ordered as she ducked back underwater so as to skirt around the commotion (as much as she wanted to join the fight, she had a more important job right now).
Soon, she found herself standing alongside Miss Martian and Robin one more.
"You'll need these." Robin was saying as she approached, handing M'Gann a stack of birdarangs.
"Want a lift?" Hawkgirl offered, earning herself an enthusiastic grin in response.
Taking to the air, Hawkgirl hovered a few feet off the ground and held out her hands. Like the well-practiced trapeze artist he was, Robin easily leapt up and snagged one of her wrists in a tight grip, leaving one of his hands free. From there, it was just a matter of flying up towards the mother plant, with Miss Martian pursuing.
Starting from the top, Hawkgirl flew around in a spiral pattern as Robin used his free hand to lob birdarangs. Miss Martian followed behind, throwing her own ammunition using her telekinesis at the spots they missed.
In the end, the twisted plant looked like some kind of warped Christmas tree.
The trio landed on a relatively safe spot at the base of the "tree". It was then that Poison Ivy finally noticed them, her beautiful features contorting into a horrified look.
Robin activated the explosives, and the area around them erupted into fire and flaming chunks of plant matter. Hawkgirl curled her wings behind her two friends like a makeshift shield, both keeping debris off of them and blocking the flames from M'Gann's direct view.
"Timber." Robin deadpanned.
Letting out a horrified screech, Ivy sent a slew of vines in their direction, only for M'Gann to easily disintegrate them with her telekinesis. In the Martian's moment of diverted attention, a beam of energy shot out from behind them and nailed her straight in the back, sending her tumbling off of the half-destroyed roof.
Jerking her head around, Hawkgirl caught a single glimpse of an approaching Atomic Skull and Joker before she scooped up Robin in her arms in a princess carry and flew down to the ground, narrowly avoiding another shot from Atomic Skull. Over the roaring of the flames, she could hear Joker lamenting to himself.
"Children, children foiled our plan. Inconceivable!" He sounded a little like a disgruntled Scooby-Doo villain. "Unacceptable, retributionable! That last one might not be a word, so sue me."
As she landed safely on the ground, Robin scrambling out of her arms, she caught sight of both Count Vertigo and Black Adam, who had met back up with Poison Ivy.
"Kill them. Kill them all." Count Vertigo ordered.
Robin helped a disoriented Miss Martian back to her feet, only to be forced to dodge again as Atomic Skull sent out another beam of energy.
Hawkgirl's attention locked on Black Adam, who she perceived to be the greatest threat at the moment. Flaring out her wings, she rocketed towards him as a crackling miasma of white energy erupted on the head of her mace. Yelling out a war cry, she slammed her mace straight into Black Adam's jaw, sending him staggering back.
Adam snarled at her as he wiped a trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth. "Thanagarian trash." As she reeled back for another hit, he backhanded her across the face. She was sent sprawling into the mud, though she managed to keep a hold of her mace. The entire right side of her face was throbbing, but she ignored it.
"ENOUGH!" Wotan's voice echoed across the battlefield, freezing hero and villain in their tracks. Hawkgirl looked towards the source of the voice in time to see a bolt of magic headed her way. Leveraging herself up into a crouch, she batted away the energy with her mace, gritting her teeth at the sudden influx of force. With singular determination, she beat back the beam, keeping it at bay and taking full advantage of Nth metal's anti-magic properties.
Unfortunately, that also meant she was stuck.
It was only a matter of time before one of the other villains attacked her, taking advantage of her cornered state.
Looks like they'd need to use Plan B after all.
"Aqualad!" She shouted, catching his attention from where he was crouched near M'Gann. Seeing her, his eyes widened and he gave a single nod.
Successful nonverbal communication during a combat scenario was the best.
Shifting his position so he was hovering above Miss Martian, he used his hands to divert the magic away from her and free her from the spell. "Plan B." He said quietly. M'Gann's eyes immediately glowed green, and the duffle bag Aqualad had stowed on the bioship dropped out of the sky a moment later. Freeing up one of his hands, Aqualad unzipped the bag and revealed the gleaming golden contents, holding it aloft.
Shocked by the mere sight of the artifact, Wotan ended his spell. "The Helmet of Fate…"
With the threat of the magical beam gone, Hawkgirl dropped her arms and bent her head, panting slightly. Sweat had beaded across her brow, and she had to actively resist the urge to tear off her helmet and wipe the salty rivulets off of her face and away from her eyes. Instead, she settled for blinking rapidly and trying to get her breathing back to normal, taking advantage of the short reprieve.
"No, Aqualad, don't!" Kid Flash scrambled to his feet, only for Black Adam to deck him in the face, sending him careening back-first into a tree. Superboy swiftly dealt a punch to Black Adam in return, almost managing to hit the same spot she'd hit with her mace earlier.
But despite the speedster's attempt at swaying him from his intended course of action, Aqualad still lowered the helmet onto his head. An eye-searing flash of light ripped through the clearing, until Doctor Fate stood among them once more. Or rather, floated.
Standing up, Kid Flash cradled a most likely broken arm. "Oh dude…"
Doctor Fate flew up to face his opponent head on. "Wotan, you are mine." Wotan fired an orange energy spell, only for Fate to respond with a golden spell of his own emanating out of his chest. The Lord of Order's spell proved to be far superior, ripping through the orange beam and slamming into the opposing caster. Wotan ended up half-embedded in the roof of the villain's headquarters.
Satisfied that Wotan wouldn't be a threat to the troops on the ground any longer, Hawkgirl did a quick scan around her. Everyone seemed to be doing relatively fine on their own, with Artemis covering an injured Wally, Robin dodging Joker, and Superboy taking on Ultra-Humanite.
Guess that left Black Adam for her… again.
This time, it was the villain that made the first move, flying towards her and lashing out with a fist that she barely managed to dodge, ducking and rolling. In that instant, she was battle ready again. Before she popped back to her feet, she lashed out at his ankle with her mace. Black Adam took the blow, gritting his teeth and raising his foot up, slamming it down onto the ground and creating a small shockwave that rippled through the boggy ground.
The terrain upset, Hawkgirl took to the air, Black Adam following suit. Usually, she would have had some iota of advantage against a fellow flying opponent, seeing as she was more familiar fighting in this kind of terrain than him. However, Black Adam's awesome strength meant little things like flora obstacles were of no consequence.
When she did a tight circle around a tree in an attempt to get behind him, he merely went through the tree. His hand extended out in front of him, and she reacted on instinct, activating the chain on her weapon. Just as his fingers brushed the skin of her throat, she wrapped the chain around his wrist, tucked in her wings, and dropped. Landing on the soft ground, she yanked the chain down with both hands, forcing Black Adam into the dirt. If she hadn't managed to surprise him, she was sure that definitely wouldn't have worked.
Black Adam stood up and shook off the loosely wrapped chain, lips curled into a snarl and tensed to move at any moment.
But a magic-laced voice from above gave him pause. "Not today, Wotan."
Instead of heading for her, he vanished and reappeared with the rest of the villains as the sky filled with familiar (and highly reassuring) figures, the cavalry finally here.
Zatara, Superman, Martian Manhunter, Captain Atom, Captain Marvel, Hawkwoman, Hawkman, John Stewart, Aquaman, Batman, Green Arrow, and Black Canary, nearly the entirety of the Justice League descended, surrounding the villains in a circle.
In short, they weren't taking any chances.
Hawkgirl and the rest of the sidekicks remained on the fringes of the League's protective circle.
"It's over." Batman announced, brooking no room for argument.
Vertigo traded a look with Ivy, before he put his hands up in surrender, the rest of his band following suit… apart from Joker. "There will be another day." Vertigo declared.
"Another day?" Joker practically screamed. "Another day! There will be another day?! Not for any of us!" He held up his hands and waggled his fingers, which seemed to be covered in some kind of tech-infused gloves. "Ha ha haaa!" As the Joker shrieked out another of his signature laughs, a thick vine rose out of the bayou, this one different from its predecessors. The green flesh had sprouted some kind of red bud.
Said buds promptly burst open, erupting with a billowing green gas. Ski'Lira suddenly found herself flanked by both of her parents, wings flared out to nearly their full span.
"Joker-made spores." Batman said. "Don't breath!" He darted forward and slammed a fist into Joker's face, keeping him from creating any more of the spores.
Just as the cloud rose up and was about to engulf them, Doctor Fate appeared above it. "Fear not." A golden ankh appeared, cloaked in a golden sphere that sucked all of the gas into it in an instant. "Fate has intervened."
H
Most of the League had left to escort the villains away, as the firepower was needed to make sure not a single one so much as attempted to escape on their way to incarceration. Her father had been one of the guards selected to go, but her mother had remained behind along with Aquaman, Captain Marvel, Batman, and Zatara.
And now they stood before Dr. Fate, a matter that needed to be resolved quickly. Hawkgirl's grip on the handle of her mace was tight, which went unnoticed by her peers
"What were you thinking?!" Wally demanded. It had been a while since she'd seen him so riled up. "How could you let him put on the helmet?!" He shot a look back at M'Gann and Hawkgirl that radiated betrayal, before returning his attention to the golden hero. "Nabu will never release him now. Kaldur will be trapped inside Dr. Fate forever."
When Kaldur's hands reached up and slid the helmet off, reverting to his normal self with a burst of magic, her grip on her mace loosened, relaxing out of her subtle battle stance. Kid Flash ran forward, practically radiating disbelief.
"Nabu let you go?"
"He almost did not." Kaldur admitted. "But your friend Kent was most helpful. He says hello."
"We're done here." Batman interrupted now that the matter was resolved. Far more easily than she had expected it to, to be honest, though she had an inkling that the only reason Zatara had stayed behind was to deal with Dr. Fate if the situation called for it. Same with her mother. "The super villain secret society has been neutralized. As for your performance…" He paused. "It was satisfactory."
In 'Bat Terms', that was practically glowing praise.
She'd take it.
Realizing they've been effectively dismissed, the team huddled up again.
"That was still really stupid." Kid Flash was grumbling, apparently still far from done griping about their life choices.
"There is a reason why it was meant as a back-up plan." Kaldur patiently explained. "I was hard-pressed to get Hawkgirl to agree to it at all."
"How did you know he'd let you go?" Artemis asked.
"I did not know for sure, but… I had a feeling." The Atlantean answered honestly. "And in case I was wrong…" His pale green eyes flickered over to Hawkgirl.
Hoisting her mace up onto her shoulder, she flashed them all a sharp grin. "Plan C."
Robin returned her smile. "And that would be…?"
"Ringing his head like a kettle bell until he let Kaldur go." From across the clearing, she heard her mother bark out a laugh and Aquaman mutter 'She's your daughter all right.' Speaking of Kaldur, she had an important question to ask him. "So, Mr. Nelson's… okay?"
"He seems to be." Kaldur told her. "He wanted me to pass along his well wishes to you as well, including his thanks, for staying with him after he… passed. He thought it was, and I quote 'quite sweet'."
Hawkgirl looked away. "That tower guardian is a damn gossip."
Miss Martian cleared her throat a little. "I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm getting pretty tired. And Kid Flash really needs to get that arm looked at."
"Oh my god please." The speedster groaned. "Do you know what happens if someone with an enhanced healing factor doesn't get a break set fast enough? Nightmare." He shuddered.
The group moved off towards the bioship, more than ready to be done with this mission.
Artemis was the first to notice that Ski'Lira didn't move. "Hawkgirl?"
"I think I'll just fly home." Hawkgirl explained. "No point in doubling back."
"You sure?" Robin confirmed.
"Positive. Fly home safe." She held up a hand in farewell.
"You too!" Miss Martian replied brightly.
She waited until everyone had disappeared into the bioship before heading over to the League, sidling up to her mother who affectionately whapped her with a wing in greeting. "Ready to go, fledgling?"
Hawkgirl gave her a tired smile. "Definitely."
ATTENTION! Readers, I want your help with writing a oneshot!
In cooperation with an international charity created to help the victims of villain attacks and their families, the Justice League (and their associated sidekicks) are openly answering questions submitted by the public. For five dollars, they get to submit a question, and can donate more than once to ask more. The questions are screened, of course, and all of the profits go directly to the charity.
Two separate videos are being filmed, posted on the charity's website and any and all social media associated with the charity. The Justice League's video has been up for two days, but now it's time for the members of Young Justice to film their own.
So, my lovely readers, what questions would you submit to the team?
Feel free to make it as ridiculous or as serious as you want. Have a question you've always wanted answered? Here's your chance! Want to know the craziest thing in Robin's utility belt? Here's your chance? Want to force Hawkgirl into admitting something crazy? Here's your chance! Just really want to know what Aqualad's favorite color is for some reason? Here's your chance!
Just leave your chosen question (or multiples if you like) in a review!