THREE: Hope is a Dangerous Thing
The following morning was nothing short of awkward. I cooked breakfast while Kara tried to help. Gar got Damian talking about the League of Assassins while Harley seemed to watch him with an almost clinical fascination.
I think she's shocked to meet someone who might be crazier than she is, I thought.
"What is the plan of attack, Grayson?" Damian asked.
"It's Robin in mixed company," I said sharply.
"Oh please, Kid," Harley said. "I've known your real identity for ages."
"Wait, Grayson?" Gar asked. His jaw dropped comically. "You're Dick Grayson?"
I sighed. Screw it, I thought. Bruce had always stressed keeping my real identity a secret, but I saw no point in lying anymore, at least not to my team.
"Yeah, Gar," I said. "It's me... But if anyone else is alive, don't tell them that, okay?"
"Your secret's safe with me, Robin!" Gar replied cheerfully.
"You didn't answer my question, Grayson," Damian reminded me. "What is your plan?"
"We need to figure out what we're up against. Harley seems to know the most about everything happening out there," I replied. "Tell us what you've seen, Harley."
She sat on the edge of the dining room table and started swinging her legs back and forth nervously. "Alright, here's what I know," she began. "Three months ago, Lex Luthor completed a project he'd been working on for at least a year. His intention was to make a machine that would destroy everyone and everything that didn't obey him. I get the impression something traumatic happened that started him down this path, but I don't know what it was. All I know is that he said something about this being 'for her.' I have no idea who he was talking about."
"We need to figure that out," I said.
"The machine he created is based in artificial intelligence. He named it Apophis, because it can destroy worlds and unleash chaos. Apophis follows orders, but he also has the ability to think based in his coding. That creature decided that Lex was aiming too small. He took the plan to the next level, turning the strongest people he could capture into creatures of pure evil. He killed most of the planet because he deemed them incompatible with that plan. The ones who survived are suffering a fate worse than death. They're trapped in their bodies and are completely unable to control their own actions."
"So he's turning heroes evil?" Damian asked.
"Not just heroes, Kid. He's got villains working as his brainwashed minions, too. He had King Shark until I put him down yesterday... At least Sharky's free now."
"Who else has he captured?" Gar asked.
"I don't have a full list, but I can confirm a few... Like I said yesterday, he has Superman and Wonder Woman. He also has Cyborg-"
"Vic..." I mumbled in horror.
"And he's got Doomsday, Darkseid, Shazam, and Fish Man."
"You mean Aqua Man?" I asked.
"Yeah, that guy."
"Is there anyone else?" Kara asked.
"There are others, but I haven't seen them. He's definitely got a Speedster, but I can't confirm which one because he or she runs by too fast for me to see them clearly. Lex keeps a woman close to him. She's smart and is basically running his empire with him, but no one ever sees her. He keeps her locked up in his base of operations."
"How do you know so much?" Damian asked suspiciously.
"A Martian told me," Harley replied.
"A Martian? Which one?" I demanded.
"Manhunter. His mind was too complex for Apophis to keep control of, but he kept falling back under... His grief made it easier for Apophis to take control."
"M'Gann..." I said softly as realization dawned on me.
Gar burst into tears then. "She saved me," he said. "She showed herself to him to give me enough time to escape."
Kara wrapped her arms around him tightly, trying to comfort him. Harley looked sympathetic. My heart broke, both for Gar and because I now had confirmation that my friend was really dead.
"What a waste," Damian said coldly.
"What?" Gar asked through his tears.
"You say she gave her life to save yours, but what was the point? You are nothing but a weepy mess who spent the last three months hiding and running for your life. That sounds like a waste of a sacrifice."
"Damian, stop it," I said firmly.
"No, Grayson. You stop it. Stop hiding. Stop running. The time has come to fight."
"That's what we're trying to do!"
"That's a lie. You're all still hiding in this big, safe mansion. You're coddling this fool who's sitting here crying instead of fighting back against the people who killed someone he cared for! Someone who gave her life for him! You're wasting time!"
I wanted to snap at him, but I realized what he wasn't saying. He wasn't mad at Gar; he was mad at himself.
"Your mother saved you, didn't she?" I asked.
"This isn't about her," Damian replied sharply.
Kara moved closer to him. "This is about everyone who was lost," she said gently. "We're going to fight in their names, and we're going to save everyone we can."
"And how do you plan to do that, Kara?" Damian asked. "Please tell me your plan is better developed than Grayson's."
"We're going to infiltrate Lex's operation," she replied. "We'll get someone on the inside."
He considered this. "I'm listening," he said after a moment.
Kara smiled and asked, "Harley, did Martian Manhunter tell you anything else?"
"Yeah," Harley replied. "He told me to kill him... He begged me to kill him before Apophis could take control of him again and make him hurt anyone else... So I did it... I killed him."
"You did what?" I demanded.
I moved to attack Harley, but Kara gently touched my arm and said, "Dick, don't..."
"She killed Martian Manhunter!" I protested.
"She also killed King Shark, who was obviously a friend of hers. It was the only way to free them, Dick. Martian Manhunter asked her to do it."
I sighed, defeated. I knew Kara was right, even if I hated it.
"I buried him," Harley said softly. "He told me where he wanted to go, right next to where he buried Miss Martian and Superboy in one of his moments of clarity."
"Conner..." I didn't think I could break any more than I already had, but that did it. I sank to my knees. I was trembling. I thought I'd accepted that my friends were all dead, but Conner was Clark's clone. I guess finding out that Clark had survived made me think that Conner might have, too.
You had hope, I scolded myself. Hope is a dangerous thing. You won't get hurt if you don't have hope.
Kara immediately wrapped me in a hug. "It's okay, Dick," she said soothingly. "We're here."
"How?" I asked softly, trying to pull myself together and mostly failing miserably. "How did Superboy die, Harley?"
"Superman killed him," Harley replied.
Kara covered her mouth in horror. "He wouldn't have... He couldn't have..." She mumbled.
I squeezed her hand, trying to comfort her despite my own emotions.
"Sorry, but it's true," Harley said. "Superboy survived the initial attack. He was kidnapped, just like the others. According to Manhunter, Miss Martian put a protective telepathic shield around Superboy's mind before she died, so he was still himself... Full of rage as usual, and completely heartbroken, but totally in control of his own mind. He tried to get through to Superman, but it didn't work. Superboy's death was enough of a shock to make Manhunter start fighting the mind control."
I nodded. Somehow, I found the strength to stand back up. Surprisingly, my legs cooperated and I was able to stay on my feet.
"So it's mind control turning them evil?" Gar asked. "We can totally break that, right?"
"It starts as mind control, but it's like an infection. It spreads to their hearts and turns them evil for real," Harley clarified. "It's why, even though Manhunter fought the mind control, he kept falling back under it. The infection can't just be reversed. I don't know how to cure it. The only thing I've been able to do to free some of them is kill them."
"Kara, who do you suggest we send to infiltrate Lex's organization?" Damian asked.
"I'll do it," I volunteered.
"Actually, I think it should be Harley and Gar," Kara replied. "Lex will underestimate Harley and just assume she's on his side because she's known for enjoying chaos and destruction."
"That's true! They're two of my favorite things!" Harley agreed.
"And Gar can change form to sneak out and report back to us," Kara continued.
"This is too dangerous for Gar," I protested.
"Look, Robin, I'm not a little kid anymore," Gar replied. "I can handle this." He looked deep into my eyes. "I owe it to M'Gann. I'm ready for this."
"Let him do it," Damian said. "A shapeshifter is the exactly kind of asset we need against Lex and his creation."
"I'll look after the kid," Harley added.
"That's not exactly comforting," I mumbled.
"Please, Robin?" Gar asked. "I need to do this. I refuse to sit on the sidelines with everything that's happened."
"We need a way to guarantee Apophis can't turn you evil," I replied.
"I might have something," Kara said. She pulled two gems from a pouch she'd hidden in her right boot.
"What are they?" I asked.
"These gems are from Krypton. They provide clarity. As long as you have one of these on you, your mind can't be influenced by outside forces."
"How many of those do you have?" Damian asked.
"Seven... It's a lucky number. I don't know what made me grab these from my ship, but I felt like I'd need them." She passed a gem to each of us.
"If we give these to someone who's been turned evil, will it fix them?" Gar asked.
"They're preventative. If Harley's right and this thing works like an infection, the gems won't be able to reverse the effects," Kara replied sadly.
"This is still a huge help, Kara," I said. "At least we won't be able to be turned. Thank you."
She brightened slightly. "Of course," she replied. "I'm here to do anything I can to help."
"Alright, so we have a plan!" Harley declared.
"We have part of a plan," I corrected her.
"That's more than we started with," Damian replied. "Let's flesh out the last of the details and set it in motion."
"Hey, I'm theteam leader," I pointed out.
"Then act like it, Grayson. Let's get this done already."
I rolled my eyes. This kid really was a handful. "Alright," I said. "Here's what we're going to do."