Chapter 28
A/N: hey everyone! Welcome back! So, by posting this that either means I'm done with my classes for the semester or just took a sanity break before finals. Anyways, glad to see y'all back again and thanks for the reviews! Remember, I just own the story, none of the characters are mine.
/comms/
Telepathy/flashbacks
October 30, Gotham City, 23:28EDT
City lights illuminated the dark clouds rolling overhead, obscuring the tops of skyscrapers as snowflakes fell down to the streets below.
Behind a pane of glass, a tall figure approached the glass, sipping on a glass of scotch. William Afton missed this. He missed Gotham. As filthy as the City of Shadows was, it was home. It was where he built his empire, created his legacy, perfected his art. Really, it was no wonder he came back.
Even if it was only for a day or two.
He couldn't afford to stay longer. Not with the Dark Knight's ongoing witch-hunt against him. And he could only pay off so many cops before one either got cocky and would threaten to expose him for more money or he ran into one of Gordon's unbribable lapdogs. Thankfully it was the night before Halloween, meaning all eyes would be on Arkham.
So, there would be no checking in on his most successful project—despite its unwillingness to cooperate. Still, from what he's heard so far, Michael seems to be handling himself just as well. Good grades, no fights, all in all, the boy appeared to be a model student.
Sighing, William took another sip of his glass. If only he'd known that all it took to get his eldest to behave was triggering the remnant's more…interesting properties. Then he would've escalated the experiments a lot sooner. Maybe then the boy would've been easier to reign in.
However, this time, he had not come to try to tame is wayward offspring. No, he had come for something—no, someone far more important than his son.
Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a small, capped vial, watching the shimmering silver liquid within. Holding it in the light, he watched with a fond smile as the remnant within refracted the light, almost making it look iridescent. It was hard to believe how far he had come since he started. How a mere impulse had lead him to the very path to immortality. Michael may have been the first successful final product, but Elizabeth…His beloved daughter had been the one to show him that he had been right. That all his hard work hadn't been for naught.
What kind of father would he be if he didn't reward her for her sacrifice?
Turning around, William put the vial back into his pocket before he turned to look out the window, continuing to sip on his glass. It wouldn't be long now.
Almost as if in response to some invisible cue, the man could hear the faint thuds of something crawling through the vents. Growing louder as their source grew closer.
Until the noise suddenly stopped.
Watching through the reflection in the glass, William waited for his guest to reveal themselves. Slowly, but surely, metal cables slithered through the vent slats overhead. Descending towards the floor in long ropes before falling in a misshapen pile on the ground. Silence filled the room, only broken by the soft slithering of the tendrils as the clambered over one another, weaving themselves into a form that was a mockery of a living creature.
As soon as the mismatched eyes of the abomination he created had reflected in the window, William took a final sip of his drink before setting it down. Now, is where he would have to be delicate. One wrong move and he would be forced to use his back up plan. A plan he knew would work, Michael had proven it had; but still, it was not one William himself had any intention of attempting just yet.
"Hello Elizabeth," he greeted his daughter, watching as the creature behind him paused, its eyes flickering between green and a myriad of other colors. No doubt all the souls vying for control. But still, his daughter was strong, he had little doubt she would be the one to crush their wills to let her take command. "I'm sorry it's taken me so long to come visit you, my little princess. But it's good to see you again." William turned around, looking at his daughter for the first time in years.
He knew she was going to look different. After all, his little girl had disobeyed him and went to visit Circus Baby just after he had explicitly told her not to. Still, he was surprised at how well he managed to conceal his surprise at seeing the slithering mess of wires forming a mockery of a humanoid form hidden behind a clown mask. William supposed he should've known better. After all, this was the form that allowed her to escape using her own brother's body as a puppet.
The memory made him smirk slightly. Even in conflict with his intended victims, his little girl was so much smarter than her brother. It really was a pity that she didn't listen to him that day. But it didn't matter. That mistake was going to be rectified.
"Now, Princess, tell me, how would you feel about getting your body back?"
-.-
October 31, 19:34EDT
Mike's scars were itching. It wasn't something to be worried about, Dr. Thompkins said it was relatively normal actually. The problem was that he wasn't allowed to scratch at it.
Last time he had when it felt like this, he had made himself bleed. He had healed quickly of course; however, it had still scared the crap out of Henry. The man had practically thrown him into Dr. Thompkin's office before he could even get his holographic-watch on. Naturally, she had quickly eased the man's worry, but it didn't stop his uncle from hovering around for the next day or two.
Still…something felt…off this time. It almost felt worse than it had before. Like there was something just under his skin, just out of reach of blunt nails and hard corners no matter how hard he scratched. There were even moments where it felt like his scars would burn. And, to make matters worse—disbarring the previous incident—he couldn't really scratch at it even if he wanted to. Not without risking ruining the make-up he'd spent way too long on to make his Frankenstein's monster-concept perfect.
Hopefully it was just anxiety.
Though the feeling of dread seeping into his very bones seemed to say otherwise.
"Mike!"
Pulling himself out of his thoughts, Mike turned around to see Artemis jogging over. "Hey Artemis, ready for the party?"
"No, I just casually go out dressed as a vampire," she said punching his arm.
"Hey, we live in Gotham, you never know."
"…Ok that's fair. So what are you? Zombie?"
Mike wrinkled his nose in indignation. He did not spend an ungodly amount of time and make-up making fake stitches and adjusting parts of his skin tone to be mistaken for a zombie. "Frankenstein's monster."
"I guess your big head should've made that obvious."
"And I should've known you'd be a vampire, because you suck," he shot back, sharing the blonde's mirthful grin. "Anyways, we should, get to the cave. The others might be waiting on us."
"After you."
"Ladies first," Mike replied giving a dramatic bow.
"Age before beauty."
"You're the vampire, so if you insist," he grinned stepping back.
Artemis rolled her eyes, stepping into the decrepit phone booth holding one of the Gotham Zeta tubes. "Recognized: Artemis—B08."
Looking away from the light, Mike waited until it died down before he stepped in after. "Recognized: Remnant—B07."
-.-
Mt. Justice, 19:37EDT
"Recognized: Remnant—B07."
"Oh thanks, you too," Zatanna said to Artemis. Turning towards him, the young magician gave him a wave, "Hey…Mike, right? Cool costume. Frankenstein right?"
"Well, the monster, but yeah," he shrugged. Though it didn't stop him from tossing a smug smirk at Artemis who merely rolled her eyes in turn. "Excited for the party?"
"I'm just grateful Dad let me hang out with you all again after last time," Zatanna replied.
"Yeah," Artemis agreed, "that's fair."
"Oh look, Zombie Captain Marvel," Zatanna pointed out as they walked towards the others. "That's hilarious. Is the Justice League having a party? Because my dad didn't mention anything."
Cap's eyes went wide and he waved his hands, "No, no, no. See, I…" he looked between all of them and scratched his head nervously. "Fine, I'm going trick-or-treating," the man flew towards the Zeta tube crossing his arms as he looked back at them. "And I'm not sharing my candy!"
"Recognized: Captain Marvel—15."
"Damn, that's cold," Mike muttered.
Not that it mattered, he would probably steal some from Wally's secret stash later.
Putting his hands in his pockets, he looked back towards the others, watching as M'gann continued to wrap Conner up in bandages. "Guess we weren't running late after all."
"Nope," Zatanna replied. "Which is good, because I was actually starting to think I was making you all wait on me. Is Robin coming?"
Mike shook his head, "Nope, said he had something to do with Bats. Which makes sense. Gotham's always a nightmare on Halloween. Don't see why tonight would be any different."
"And Kaldur?"
He shrugged. "No idea."
"Anyways," Zatanna pointed over her shoulder, "how long have M'gann and Conner been a thing?"
"Oh shit," Mike muttered as he looked to Artemis, watching warily as the blonde laughed in disbelief. He and the others had started a bet on who would realize first. He and Robin were betting on Artemis, but that still didn't mean he wanted to be in the temperamental archer's vicinity when she found out.
"No. They're not a…" Artemis trailed off, looking at the pair as they playfully bickered as M'gann helped her boyfriend get into costume.
However, instead of exploding like he had expected, Artemis grit her teeth and whirled on her heel towards the Zeta Tubes. Sharing a look, he and Zatanna trailed after her. "I'm sorry," Zatanna started, "it just seemed so obvious. I-I—I didn't realize…Wait, what about the dance?"
"Not in the mood," she answered crossing her arms. Turning towards him, the blonde furrowed her brows. "Did you know about this?"
"…Maybe."
"And you didn't tell me?"
Mike bit his lip. He didn't really have an explanation—well, he did. It just wasn't one she would like.
"Ugh! Did everyone know but me?!"
"Wally doesn't."
Artemis did not look particularly amused by that response.
"So…" Mike scratched the back of his head, "are you going back home then?"
The girl sighed, putting her hands on her hips, "I dunno, it's not like sitting with my mom sounds anymore appealing than the dance right now."
"Well," Zatanna spoke up. "There is another option. Egnahc sehtolc otni ruo smrofinu!" Smoke momentarily covered all three of them, and Mike looked down to see that his costume had been replaced by his normal uniform. "Girl's night out…plus Mike."
"Hey, I spent a long time on that costume," he growled as the two began walking towards the hangar. "Ugh! Wait up!"
-.-
Manhattan, 19:54EDT
"Well," Zatanna said as the three of them came to a stop, in front of a building surrounded by cop cars, "guess whatever happened here is over."
"Not necessarily," Mike spoke up. Leaning against the handles, he pointed towards the police tape and the body bags. "There're detectives here, crime scene's fresh. Looks like whoever was responsible got away."
"We're here to kick ass, not play detective," Artemis hissed. "I want some action."
"Well if we go looking for trouble, it's only a matter of time before we find it."
"But maybe you need to talk," Zatanna replied, "about Conner and M'gann, or whatever."
Artemis scowled, starting her engine, "What I need is something to beat up." Without waiting for a response, she began driving away. Prompting her comrades to share a look before chasing after her.
Driving down the surprisingly quiet New York streets, the trio began looking for something to do. Or, more accurately, someone to fight.
Though they didn't seem to be having much luck. They didn't even need to stop driving to take out a mugger on the side of the road. A simple spell from Zatanna and a few arrows from Artemis had him pinned down in no time. They barely even slowed down for the next set of robbers coming out of a store as Artemis's arrows knocked the weapons from their hands, and a quick kick from Mike knocked them unconscious.
Frankly, the first time they actually had to get off their bikes was when they noticed a group of men following a girl into a park. They had surrounded her by the time they caught up, but nothing had happened yet. And nothing was going to happen.
"Etativel reh!"
The men paused as the jogger began floating into the air, looking just as confused as she did. However, they didn't have time to consider why their prey was now flying as one man was hit square in the face with a wrench and another was ambushed by a very unhappy archer. The remaining two seemed to collect themselves and ran at them, but it wasn't long before all four men were unconscious and tied to a tree waiting for the cops to pick them up.
"You know, there were easier ways to take them," Zatanna pointed out as they walked back to their bikes.
"You mean less fun ways," Mike corrected.
"What he said," Artemis agreed, sounding noticeably less angry than she had earlier. "Besides, they had it coming. No harm done."
"To us," he snickered, earning a chuckle from his friends.
However, the moment didn't last long as suddenly the trio found themselves on their backs in the middle of the street. Fire and smoke billowing from where their bikes had been mere moments before.
"No, indeed," a voice spoke, "Harm is not done." A man emerged from the flames, wearing nothing but a trench coat and pants, a sword in hand. "Much harm left to do."
Mike didn't even know this guy for two seconds, and he already felt the almost indescribable urge to beat his ass and hurl him from the nearest rooftop.
"The its cannot escape Harm."
Pushing herself up, Artemis notched a couple of arrows on her bow, "Escaping wasn't on the menu."
Their new opponent scoffed as the projectiles flew at him, merely being swatted aside with his sword. "Its arrows do not impress."
"Fine then," Zatanna said, "Taeh taht s'nopaew latem!"
The hilt of the blade began to glow bright red, earning a scoff from the man. "Neither does its magic. Both must do better or suffer harm."
"It needs to shut the fuck up!" Mike snarled, hurling an explosive at the anime-villain-wannabe.
Their attacker went to block the object with his sword, only to get blasted back by the explosion. The man rolled along the ground, pushing himself to his feet with a grin, "This it is deceptive, it may prove to be a challenge yet. But it will not be able to escape harm."
"We get it! Your name is Harm."
"Their ridiculous garb and Rudimentary skills indicate instruction from Green Arrow, Black Canary, and Zatara. Harm will study these three to learn methods for killing their mentors."
Mike smirked, "Joke's on you, my mentor and I don't have the same skill set."
Zatanna, meanwhile, took a more rational response, "Oh, you did not just threat my dad. Etativel drows ot em!"
The blade began shaking in Harm's hand, pulling his arm up towards them. "It wants Harm's sword, very well." Grinning, the maniac hurled the weapon towards the magician, the sharp edge of the blade slicing through a few hairs as it narrowly missed her and embedded into the wall behind them.
"Big mistake harmster!" Artemis snarled, firing two more arrows at him. Arrows which the man caught and threw back at her.
Thankfully no one got hurt as they leapt to the side. "Ok," Zatanna muttered. "Maybe he's tougher than he looks."
"We're at a disadvantage right now," Mike stated. "We need to fall back and regroup."
"Over here!"
Turning towards the voice, Mike spotted a pale girl dressed in a white poncho, waving them over. "Let's go!" he ordered, tossing a warning look back at Artemis.
"Fine! But only to regroup!"
"Erif nrub nordluac elbbub!" Zatanna chanted, causing the flames from the previous blasts to erupt into an inferno around their opponent. "There, that should slow him down for a minute," she said catching up to them.
"Nice."
"Thanks, it's something I've been practicing since—"
"Wait!" Artemis interrupted, "Who's that?!"
"This way," the girl said waving them down another path.
"Do you care right now?" he said.
"No."
Turning around the corner, the trio skid to a stop as they came upon a wall. "Dead end."
"Where'd she go?"
"Up here." Looking up, Mike watched as the ladder for the fire escape came down, and the girl stood on the edge of the roof, beckoning them to follow.
"I like her already," Zatanna grinned as she and Artemis began climbing.
Following up after them, Mike pulled the ladder back up before he fired his grapple and pulled himself up onto the rooftop. Behind him, he could hear Artemis muttering, "Why didn't I think of that?" A moment later, there was the distinctive thud of something embedding itself into the concrete as the two girls came over the ledge a few seconds later. They both appeared to be slightly out of breath, but hopefully they managed to put some distance between themselves and…that weirdo.
Turning, his gaze landed on the young girl standing just a few feet away from him. "Uh, thanks for the assist and all," he said as the girls came over, "but aren't you a bit young for this? Where are your parents?"
"Dead."
"Oh, sorry to hear that."
"Who are you?" Zatanna inquired.
"Greta."
"That won't cut it," Artemis immediately shot back. "Do you know Harm? Does he have any weaknesses?"
Mike was about to get on his teammate for her rudeness, only to be cut off as Greta pointed behind them. "No time. He's here."
Following her motion, the three of them watched as their assailant leapt onto the rooftop still wearing the same stupid grin. "At least they make the hunt interesting."
"He's fast, I'll give him that," Artemis muttered. Turning on her heel, she fired an arrow into the side of a rooftop water tower, causing gallons to start falling towards them.
Fortunately, they weren't drenched as Zatanna began chanting a spell, driving the torrent towards Harm and encasing him in ice. Unfortunately, that only held him for mere moments as his sword glowed and shattered the ice encasing him.
"Shit!" Mike cursed as they turned to put some distance between them and Harm.
"Ok, these boots adorable. But not so good for a chase sequence. Lacitcarp raewtoof won!"
Leaping to another rooftop, Mike tossed another explosive behind them, hitting Harm in the chest and blasting him back. "I knew something like this was gonna happen," he growled, racing to catch up with the others. "This is what happens when you go looking for trouble!"
"Now's not the time for a lecture Mike!"
"Doesn't change the fact I'm right," he retorted as they leapt to the next building.
Any further argument was stopped as a blast of what appeared to be lightning impacted the roof in front of them. Skidding to a stop, the three of them turned, raising their weapons as Harm threw a knife at them. Artemis cried out as the taunt string of her bow was cut by the blade, leaving a cut in her cheek as it ricocheted and embedded into a nearby brick wall.
"You ok?"
"Fine. Distract him while I restring."
"Easier said than done," Mike said jumping back as Harm attempted to knee him in the gut after he kicked Zatanna to the side. Pulling out his wrench, Mike hurled it at the man and leapt at him as he moved to deflect the random projectile. Tackling Harm to the ground, Mike grunted as the man elbowed him in the face and rolled on top of him, raising his sword. The only reason he probably didn't plunge the blade into his chest was the fact that Artemis had managed to restring her bow and how held an arrow at his head.
"How about we play without the toys?" she said, no doubt hoping to bait their enemy into a more fair fight.
On top of him, the man snickered, pulling the sword's scabbard from his back. "It tries to bait Harm. Leave Harm weak," the man got off him, sheathing the sword and dropping it beside him. "But Harm has no weakness," he said taking off his jacket dramatically, leaving him shirtless.
"Maybe except his ego," Mike muttered, pushing himself up to his elbows as Artemis and Harm began fighting. Pushing himself up, he wiped his lip and spat out some blood. So much for a relatively calming patrol.
"Rem, help me with this," Zatanna said.
Pushing himself to his feet, Mike approached the sheathed blade that was now planted in the ground under their feet. Zatanna pulling at it and not making it budge an inch. Nodding to the magician, Mike stepped forwards and began pulling on the blade. It was heavy. Too heavy for something its size. Probably had magic or something—like the sword in the stone did. Gritting his teeth, Mike pulled harder.
When he finally did feel it move, he didn't have long to relish in his albeit minor victory before he cried out as electricity arced over his frame.
"Remnant!" Artemis and Zatanna shouted as their comrade went down.
However, that moment was enough to distract Artemis as Harm decked her across the face, knocking her on her back. "And it cares about others. Another weakness," he sneered. "The sword has rejected its impure heart. It has not made the sacrifices Harm has to become pure."
"Do you ever shut up?" Mike muttered as he began to get back up with Zatanna's help.
"I'm going with no," Artemis replied.
"This way!"
Turning, Mike winced as he felt a splitting headache trying to form, but he did manage to spot the girl they had been following. And it appeared he wasn't the only one as Zatanna spoke up, "Look, it's Secret."
"She hasn't lead us wrong so far," Artemis said, pulling out an arrow and throwing it to the ground in front of Harm, causing smoke to erupt around him.
"Etativel drows dna tih mih!" Zatanna said, causing the sword to fly from the ground and slam into its owner's chest. "Hopefully that should slow him down."
"Dude, they guy has been blown up three times," Mike retorted. "I'm starting to think nothing short of a bomb going off in his face will stop him."
"Great pep talk, Mike," Artemis shot back as they leapt to the next roof. "Real inspiring."
"I'm just stating the facts," he exclaimed.
Zatanna was once again the one to pull them out of their spat as she groaned. "She's gone again. Now what?"
"We zip line," Artemis said, notching another arrow, "to that magic store."
"Then what? Keep running?"
Another blast of lightning forced them to leap to the side before they could come up with a proper plan. Turning around, the three watched as Harm landed on the roof, looking positively murderous. "This can be no coincidence. They alight on Harm's very roof!"
Against his better judgement, Mike sneered back at their pursuer, "And here I thought we were going to have to go to the dump to figure out where you lived."
Somehow, this only seemed to piss him off more. "How did they know?! Tell Harm! Now!"
And, for some reason, neither Artemis nor Zatanna bothered to shut Mike up, "Say please."
"No more games." Raising his sword, Harm slammed it into the ground and the three screamed as electricity sudden shot through them.
-.-
22:03EDT
Mike groaned as consciousness began to return to him. "Note to self, don't get electrocuted twice in one night," he muttered, tilting his head back. Taking a couple breaths, the slowly opened his eyes to look around the room. It was dark and relatively bare save for a bed a dresser, a nightstand, and his gear sitting tauntingly on the bed.
But, more importantly, he was alone.
"Shit." Biting his lip, Mike gauged his next move. He couldn't exactly call out to Zatanna and Artemis, not without alerting their captor that he was awake. No. It was better to keep the element of surprise. Especially since the idiot had only bothered to use regular ropes to tie him up.
Smirking at the fact, Mike quickly used his enhanced strength to break the bonds restraining him. He was quick to put on his equipment, just strapping his knife back to his leg as the door creaked up. Yanking out the blade, Mike prepared to ambush the pain in the ass that had been hunting them, but instead came face-to-face with Greta. "It's you," he breathed, sighing with relief. "You ok?"
"I'm fine," she turned away from him, motioning for him to follow. "Your friend is this way."
He didn't need to be told twice. Following the girl down the hall into another room where Zatanna sat tied to a chair with duct tape over her mouth. Her eyes went wide when she saw the girl, almost as if she was alarmed, but she seemed to be relieved when Mike rushed over, ripping the gag off. "Ow," she hissed. "Sepor emoc esool." Before he could attempt to untie her the ropes flew off, piling themselves in the corner. Wiping her mouth, the magician looked at Greta accusingly. "First you lure us into a trap, then you free us. What's your game?"
"There's no game. I'm trying to help."
Zatanna didn't respond to Greta, merely sighing and turning to investigate the room.
"Give her time," Mike offered reassuringly.
Greta gave him a small smile before following after Zatanna as the girl held a picture in hand. "Is this your room?" she asked, holding out the photo. "Do you live with his nutjob?
Mike frowned as he spotted Harm standing with Greta. His stomach twisted. They looked happy. Much like his own family had been before his father had lost his mind.
"He's my brother," Greta replied meekly.
Mike winced in sympathy, reaching out to pat her should before deciding otherwise. It probably wouldn't be comforting to have someone how had murdered their own brother offer consolidation.
"Secret, right," Zatanna scoffed, tossing the picture on the bed. "Naturally."
"Secret?" Mike repeated, picking up the picture and setting it back in its place. "Really?"
"That's what she said."
Mike balked at that, looking to Greta then back to Zatanna. "No, she said that this nutcase—no offense Greta—is her brother."
"Wait…how…you can understand all that just from the word secret?"
"No, she told me, just like she's been telling us all night," he corrected.
"She's just been saying secret all night!"
Mike looked to Greta, getting a shrug in return. "No she hasn't."
Zatanna looked like she wanted to argue, but merely exhaled loudly, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Ok, so for whatever reason, you can understand her. Does she know where Artemis is?"
Greta nodded, "In the room across the hall. But he is there with her."
"Door across from us. But we need something to distract self-narration over there," Mike relayed, still not sure as to why he was apparently the only one who could understand the girl.
"Ok," Zatanna said, jogging over to grab the cross bow, "I have just the idea, hide." The three of them pinned themselves to the wall weapons drawn on the off chance that it didn't work. "Ekam na noisulli fo em htiw eht wobssorc."
From the other side of the door, loud footsteps barged towards the room as Harm leapt in, the door swinging towards them and obscuring them from sight as he barreled towards the fake Zatanna. Seizing the opportunity, the darted across the hall, quickly freeing Artemis with the same spell that Zatanna used to free herself. The blonde nodded to them in thanks and they quickly raced from the room down the hall, towards the stairs where Greta stood waiting.
However, upon seeing her, Artemis had a similar reaction as Zatanna and immediately raised her weapon, prompting both of her friends to try and stop her. "Wait!"
"What?! She's his partner!"
"No she's not," Mike defended.
"She led us here!"
"Then why did she help me?"
"Don't know. Secret."
Mike groaned. "Not you too."
Artemis tossed a confused look at him before turning to Zatanna for an explanation. "Mike can understand exactly what she's saying."
If the archer was going to question him about this apparent anomaly, she was cut off as the hall glowed with light from Harm's sword. Leaping to the bottom of the stairs as a blast hit where they'd last been standing, the trio jumped down through the new hole in the floor into the kitchen.
Running towards another door, Mike turned as he saw Artemis standing at the stove. "Now is not the time for cooking!"
"Nope, but it's about it get gassy in here," she said fleeing from the stove and firing an arrow that Harm naturally catched as he landed behind them.
Mike was quick to slam the door behind them and leap into the basement as the sound of an explosion shook the building above them. Breathing a collective sigh of relief, the three of them walked up another flight of stairs and exited out of the cellar into a small yard. However, Mike paused as he looked behind them, "Wait…where's Greta?"
Neither Zatanna nor Artemis answered, merely staring at something in the yard. Zatanna took a few steps away, kneeling down beside something. "She's here."
Sighing in relief, Mike trotted up the stairs only to stop in his tracks as he spotted both girls kneeling beside a too small grave.
A grave that was hidden in a backyard. A grave that could have only been dug by the very person who had loved her. The same person who had killed her in cold blood. Michael's heart plummeted.
"Greta Hayes. Beloved sister."
A pale ghostly figure rose from the grave, materializing in the familiar face they'd come to know over the past couple hours. She looked at them uncertainly, as if she was scared about how they'd react.
"This is your grave," Zatanna whispered. "This is your secret. This is you."
Greta looked down, giving a small nod.
Artemis, was a bit less tactful about the situation, "A ghost. An actual ghost."
"It was him," Mike said, his voice sounding calmer than he expected, "wasn't it?"
He'd already had his suspicions, but seeing her nod in confirmation made his blood boil. This man—no, this monster had had a younger sibling who loved him, who trusted him, and he had killed in cold blood. He had fucking buried her to hide his crime. Mike would have given anything to get his brother back after what he had done, and this abomination had just thrown it away!
Electricity crackled in the air as Harm blew the door open. Clearing having survived the explosion. But Mike didn't turn away from Greta's grave, doing his best to reign in the blinding hot rage surging within him.
"They defile Harm's holy place!"
"We defiled it!" Artemis scoffed. "You did this! To your own sister!"
Harm didn't respond nor did Mike turn to see his response. But, he heard his friend's sharp gasp.
"You're proud of it?" Artemis whispered in horror. "And you had the gall to write beloved."
Smoke curled off Mike's fingers.
"Not gall, truth," Harm spoke. "She was the only thing Harm ever loved. That's why she had to go. Harm's heart had to be pure. Greta had to be cut out, excised like an infection."
Something in Mike snapped.
The next think Artemis and Zatanna knew, their teammate was no longer beside them and there was now a hole in the wall where Harm had been. They both felt a chill behind them, turning to look as Greta reappeared, looking concerned. "Secret."
"Sorry Greta, but we don't know what you're saying."
The girl seemed to understand, because she pointed towards the hole in the wall where they now heard loud crashes followed by pained screams. The two girls moved to intervene when Harm was flew through the wall, creating another hole in the wall. The man had seemed relatively unharmed throughout their fight, but now he had a knife in his shoulder, another in his thigh, severe handprint-shaped burns on his chest, and there was blood on his face as fresh bruises bloomed. In the darkness, they spotted a pair of glowing red eyes and violet flames lit illuminated their friend's figure.
"S-Stay back," Harm said, raising a bloodstained sword. Scrambling back, the man shakily rose to his feet, looking between Mike and them before his gaze landed on the small white figure standing behind the two heroes. "I see…it has cast another of its illusions."
"Except I didn't speak," Zatanna shot back. While she was rather nervous by her friend's sudden, violent shift in demeanor, she couldn't bring herself to feel sympathy for Harm. Frankly, he deserved it. "Harm knows it must speak to cast a spell."
"You asked how we found this place? Face it Harm, your secret's out."
Harm went pale, now stumbling away from his sister as she approached him. "No. You're not real." He raised his sword. "Harm's heart is pure. Harm's not sorry! I'm not!"
"You should be," a voice snarled.
Even though they knew better, neither Artemis or Zatanna could connect the voice to their friend. Mike stepped out of the shadows, his normally bright violet eyes now almost solid black save for the small red pinpricks in the center and there were dark-silvery lines spreading along his veins. However, both girls were more focused on the obvious stab wound in the center of his chest.
"Stay away!" Harm snarled, swinging his blade towards Greta as he attempted to get away from Mike. However, neither venture was successful as the blade merely passed through the ghost and their friend locked the murderer in a painful-looking grip.
Unphased by her brother's attack, Greta continued forwards, reaching out into Harm's chest. The elder cried out in pain as she removed something, something that glowed whenever he used the sword. The light vanished out of existence, and the moment it did, Harm suddenly seemed unable to hold the sword. The scabbard clawed at his other hand, causing the man to drop it as the sword seemed to grow heavier in his grasp.
Like it had to them, the blade shocked them, prompting the former wielder to drop it, letting the sword slide back in its sheath.
"I don't need the sword," Harm growled, kicking at Mike. However, it didn't seem to have any effect on him.
A cold hand grabbed his wrist, pulling Mike's attention away from his prey and to a girl in white. "Don't. Evan wouldn't want you to."
That snapped him back to reality.
Suddenly aware of the pain in his chest, Mike shoved Harm away towards Zatanna and Artemis. Blood was soaking into his shirt from a large stab wound in his chest, just below his sternum, right where—nope. Now was not the time. Sitting down against the wall, he ignored Artemis's taunts and jeers as she toyed with Harm.
"What have I done?" he whispered, leaning his head back against the wall. Oh God, what had he done? Why had he flown off the handle like that? Especially in front of his friends. People he was supposed to protect from this side of him. They were going to hate him. Or worse, they were going to realize just what kind of bloodthirsty monster they had in their midst. After all, he was the son of a serial killer. He was a monster who already had innocent blood on his hands.
"He doesn't blame you."
Pausing his downward spiral, Mike looked to Greta as the girl sat beside him. "What?"
"Your brother. He does not blame you. He knows you were not in full control of yourself. And he has seen how much you miss him." she replied. "You despair in a way my brother never had for me." She squeezed her knees tighter. "Evan forgives you."
Mike's chest twisted in pain. And it wasn't from the open wound in his chest. Oh God, Evan…he didn't blame him. He forgave him. The very creature that had cut his life short. How? How could that boy be so kind? "Is he…"
"He is at peace."
"Thank you," he whispered. "And I promise Greta, we'll make sure you receive a proper burial. That you won't be forgotten."
"And we'll see that your brother is properly punished for his crimes," Artemis chimed in as she and Zatanna stood on the side.
Smiling, the little girl nodded as she faded away, "Thank you."
The three of them took a moment of silence for the girl, looking at where she had last been with different thoughts running through their heads.
"I can't believe someone would do that to his own sister," Artemis whispered. "If my—never mind."
"Some people are just monsters," Mike murmured in agreement. "I would do anything to get my brother back."
"You have a brother?" Artemis asked.
"Had," he corrected, wringing his hands together as he tried to push away the stinging at the corner of his eyes "He died, a few years back…it was my fault, I-I should've been better, and now…" he pinched the bridge of his nose. Crap. He was not supposed to be losing his composure like this. They had initially come out to distract Artemis and now they needed to focus on Greta. He couldn't be selfish and let his issues get in the way.
"So…that's why…" Zatanna said in realization, looking at the destruction behind them. "I'm sorry Mike."
"It's not your fault," he reassured.
"But you blame yourself anyways," Artemis spoke up. The blonde had their back turned to them, arms crossed. "I get it." The girl sighed, slowly turning around. "I…I have a sister. She ran away when I was ten. I haven't seen her since, so…yeah, I get the feeling."
"It's not your fault she ran off," he said, standing up, wincing as he felt the still healing wound tear slightly from the sudden movement. "And I'm sure she doesn't blame you for making her wanna leave," he put a hand on Artemis's shoulder. "Think about it this way, at least until you hear otherwise, you can at least imagine that she made a better life for herself. And if she's anything like you, she's probably doing just fine."
"Thanks."
"Anytime," he said, pulling back as he heard the faint sound of sirens. "Cops are coming."
"We did blow up the kitchen," Zatanna pointed out.
"True."
"And…Mike do we need to get you to the hospital or something?"
"Nah, it's already healing."
"You got stabbed. In the chest. With a sword."
"It's a minor flesh wound."
Artemis punched his shoulder. "Stop getting yourself injured on missions!"