MOUNT JUSTICE
OCTOBER 1ST, 2010
18:13 EDT
"Recognized: Hawkgirl, B07"
Ski'Lira practically tumbled out of the Zeta Tube, though she hastily recovered and hid the shakiness of her limbs by continuing to stride forwards. Her momentary weakness seemed to have gone unnoticed, which was a great relief.
Aqualad and Robin were in the midst of a fierce hand to hand spar, and not wanting to interrupt, she instead made her way over to the two supervising adults. Today it was Zatara (who had been the League member seen the least around here) and Captain Marvel, who was munching on a donut with vibrantly neon frosting.
Zatara raised an elegant brow at her, "You're late." His words may be a reprimand, but she could tell from the quirk of his lip that he meant it more as a tease. "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, especially when there was an audible pop. "Building collapse."
"Oh, man," Captain Marvel's voice was muffled by the large chunk of donut currently stuffed in his mouth, but he hastily swallowed to ask, "Is everyone okay?"
Not a question she really wanted to answer right then, she shrugged. "... Sure."
"Are… you okay?"
"Fine."
Based on the narrowing of the old magician's eyes, her attempts at deflecting hadn't been one hundred percent effective against Zatara.
The incident had been a bad one. Six casualties, four in critical condition, and fourteen moderate to minor injuries that required immediate medical care. She had spent almost two solid hours lifting and maneuvering around rubble, pulling victims from the debris and ferrying them to a veritable swarm of police officers and paramedics.
An investigation had already been opened up, as it was highly suspected that the construction company responsible for building the structure was at fault. The same company was also responsible for several more buildings in St. Roch, which meant each one was a possible risk. It was a messy situation that was far from over, but she'd done all that she could.
Physically, she was unhurt, just really tired. That kind of bone deep exhaustion that only came from serious, continuous manual labor. More than anything, she'd wanted to go back home, crawl into her bed, and sleep for a solid month. But it wasn't meant to be.
Once she'd finished giving her full statement to a detective, she'd hightailed it towards the nearest Zeta Point. She didn't even have time to chance into casual clothes, so she remained in her dirty, bloodstained, and slightly ripped uniform.
She was just now realizing that she probably looked ghastly, but she was far too tired to care.
Aqualad and Robin's simulation came to an end as Conner, M'Gann, and Wolf left the hallway leading from the hangar. The couple were totally caught up in each other's presence, presumably chatting telepathically, which had become their go to way of conversing with each other as of late.
Sidling up next to Hawkgirl was Aqualad, who offered a slight nod of greeting before doing a double take, brushing a stubborn piece of rubble off her shoulder. Before he could speak to her, Robin popped up, "You know they're a couple, right?" He whispered to the Atlantean, as if unveiling one of the greatest secrets he'd ever held.
"I believe I knew before they did," Aqualad revealed, smiling softly.
"And yet 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 at her expense. "That was one of the most painful conversations I've ever had in my life."
"You cannot have done too badly, if this is the result."
The trio's attention was drawn away from the happy couple as Artemis and Wally came from the lounge.
"Do we tell them?" Robin asked, genuinely curious.
Aqualad gave a slight shake of his head, "It is not our place." There was a slight note of warning in his tone, dissuading the Boy Wonder from doing anything rash.
And Ski'Lira knew for a fact that Dick had more than a few plans stocked up. He'd texted her in length about it two days ago while he was still wired from patrol and having difficulty finding rest.
After he'd sent her wall upon wall of text, her response had been a simple 'Let them figure out their own problems and go the hell to sleep'.
The line of conversation was shut down entirely on Wally's approach, who pointed at Captain Marvel. "So, if Zatara is our babysitter for the week, why's he still here? And why's he eating my snacks?"
Nonplussed, Captain Marvel just kept munching away.
Wally pouted, before blinking suddenly. "Wait, HG, is that blood on your shoulder?"
"Oh, don't worry." She assured. "It's not mine."
He gaped at her, mouth flapping silently like a fish.
"Recognized: Batman, 02"
When The Dark Knight came through, his posture was tense, practically screaming 'trouble'. "Computer, national news."
A large rectangular screen blinked into life, hovering over them as it switched to the requested channel. Cat Grant, the usually stalwart reporter, looked more than a little frantic as she stood in the middle of a street in Metropolis. "The initial attack was short-lived." The shot cut away from the woman to an overhead view. Absolutely massive plants were towering over and twining around skyscrapers, constantly shifting and moving, and causing horrifying grinding noises as they twisted around the buildings. "But Metropolis was only granted a short reprieve." One of the buildings was crushed like an empty soda can, crumbling down to the ground in a shower of debris.
"Despite the intervention of Superman and the Justice League, there seems to be no end in sight." The footage trailed Superman as he saved two people stranded on a rooftop mere seconds before the structure collapsed in on itself. Frame shifting, it focused on Hawkwoman, who was striking at a vine full force with her mace, John Stewart following up with an emerald blast of energy that sliced it in two. Hawkman swooped in from off frame, smacking a tendril so hard that the entire top part popped off.
She had known her parents had been called out suddenly on Emergency League Business, but she had no idea this was why.
"Should we get out there?" Robin voiced the thought running through all of their heads.
Batman turned to face them, "No. The League will soon have the situation under control. That's not why I'm here." With a gesture of his hands, a second holographic screen was summoned behind him, bearing the image of an all too familiar hockey mask. "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." Reaching over, Conner gave the massive white wolf scratches, making the beast's tail sweep lazily from side to side.
M'Gann perched a hand beneath her chin, thoughtful. "The Brain also used inhibitor collars like the ones at the penitentiary."
"Batman..." Artemis' brows were knit together. "Is it possible that plant thing's on Kobra Venom too?"
Their mentor didn't reply right away, instead using a holo-keyboard to tap out some information. "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 set to work on his own keyboard, fingers flying across the holoscreen as he followed a lead.
"Exactly," Batman confirmed their suspicions, which was... not relieving to hear. "It's now clear our enemies have formed some kind of... secret society of super villains. The attack on Metropolis is only the beginning."
Honestly, this wasn't much of a surprise. Villains may be, on the whole, egotistical maniacs, but a great number of them were very smart, and likely saw the success of the Justice League's teamwork.
"You got that right," Robin located what he was looking for, creating more screens showing live news feeds from multiple sources across the globe. "Plant creatures have sprouted in Gotham City, Star City, Taipei-"
A harsh noise made all those present with sensitive hearing cringe, as every screen fizzled into static.
"Dude!" Wally admonished.
Robin's typing speed only increased as his mouth tilted into a displeased frown. "It's not me! Someone's cutting in the satellite signal. All satellite signals."
The question of who exactly had that kind of power was answered a moment later, as the paper white face of The Joker blinked on screen, physically knocking on the camera lens and creating a dull thud.
Hawkgirl didn't miss the way that Robin's jaw set and his 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, Batman's hand moved to his ear, "Roger that, Aquaman. The UN will prepare the ransom as a fallback, but it won't come to that."
Throughout the entire broadcast and afterward, Robin had yet to cease typing, easily retrieving the just-aired video and rewinding it, 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 waved at the screen with a flourish.
"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 offered, and... that did seem possible. But there was still no justification of The Brain's involvement here. Unless he'd been outsourced by this super villain team?
And the motivation was just... off. Monetary gain? That didn't match the modus operandi for any of the villains they'd seen on screen. Poison Ivy was an eco-terrorist, Wotan and Black Adam were both strong magic users that had zero need for cash, Count Vertigo just wanted to be in power, and the Joker... well, his motivations were a mystery to anyone and everyone at any given moment.
Before she could speak any of her worries 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, blinded by the prospect of a fight.
"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 jerked a finger 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."
Upon the magician's request, Robin created a large blue hologlobe in the center of the group. Zatara approached, hands held palm out, and he started an incantation. There was a moment where nothing happened, then a glowing red dot appeared on the surface. From where she was standing, Hawkgirl couldn't make out the exact location, only that it was someplace in North America.
Zatara nodded sharply, hands dropping now that the spell was done. "There, that is where you will find the Injustice League's central control system."
"Coordinates locked in." Robin announced. "The Louisiana Bayou."
With those three words, Ski'Lira felt like she'd just been punched straight through the chest. Her breath froze in her lungs.
"We are on our way." Aqualad confirmed with their mentors, who silently urged them onward.
And like that, the Team was on the move. Hawkgirl only had a scarce few moments to switch her shirt and pants into clean, intact replacements, but the mundane process gave her time to reign her emotions back in and rationalize the situation.
It wasn't until they were on the bioship and en route to Louisiana that someone broke the silence.
"Are you going to be okay?" Superboy's question made Hawkgirl look up from where she'd been studying a detailed map of the Bayou. She was unsure exactly whom he was speaking to until she noticed he was staring directly at her.
"I'm fine," she insisted. "Why?"
""Well, we're going... you know. Doesn't that worry you?"
"Um..." Artemis was glancing between the two of them, thoroughly confused. "What's going on?"
"Is our fearless Thanagarian worried?" Kid Flash teased, though there was still a concerned glint in his eyes.
Realizing that this wasn't a matter that could be dropped so easily, she cleared her throat. "It's close to St. Roch." She looked back down at the console before her. The glowing red dot displayed on the map was far too close to her hometown for comfort. "It does worry me. Slightly. I'm mostly upset that they were settled so close and neither I nor my parents noticed."
"Hey, we're going to take care of them, okay?" Miss Martian assured with her unending well of optimism.
"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!"
She couldn't help but huff out a laugh 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 handy button, the map she'd been poring over was streamed to everyone else's consoles. "This is where they are." She tagged a secondary location a significant distance away. "And this is the nearest settlement, a hamlet that specializes in fishing, gator hunting, and fan boat tours. It's no wonder they remained undiscovered for so long, especially if they're making full use of Wotan's magic."
"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?"
Hawkgirl hummed in agreement, "It won't be too dissimilar to fighting in a jungle, though the ground is where it's truly treacherous. It's usually a fifty-fifty chance if what appears to be solid ground is actually solid. And the water is always deeper than you expect it to be, so caution is key. And watch out for the gators."
"We will remain vigilant." Satisfied with the answers she'd given, Aqualad lapsed back 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 quickly, as if he'd been lying in wait for the opportunity to voice his opinion. "He's never really... played well with others. A few months ago he 'teamed up' with Black Mask, and uh... let's just say it didn't end up so well for Mask."
"Poison Ivy is strange too, right?" Hawkgirl threw her own hat in the ring.
"Actually, yeah, I've only ever seen Poison Ivy team up with Harley Quinn and Catwoman. And now she's the only girl in the boys' club? That doesn't track."
"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, throwing his feet up onto the console. "Last time he fought my uncle, he broke into a museum just to correct a mislabeled display, and now he's after money?"
"... I hate monkeys." Conner murmured, the first verbal input he'd provided in a while.
"Technically an ape," Robin corrected. "Anyway, I think we're onto something. None of these guys really seem like 'team' material."
"It still doesn't change the fact that they're still clearly working together." Artemis' words were a grim reminder of the situation they were about to walk into. "We can figure out the 'whys' after we beat them into the Bayou."
H
BAYOU BARTHOLOMEW
OCTOBER 1ST, 2010
18:32 CDT
What should have been a dead quiet, tension-riddled atmosphere as they flew over Bayou Bartholomew, was somewhat ruined by Kid Flash's obnoxiously loud chewing as he devoured a banana. Mouth still full of his last-minute snack, he called out to Aqualad. "Forgot to ask earlier, what's in the duffel?"
"Plan B," their leader replied coolly, offering no further explanation for the bag that had yet to leave his side since boarding.
Only Hawkgirl and Miss Martian knew the full extent of Aqualad's plan, though she had her suspicions that Robin had figured it out from context clues.
Plan B was their hail mary, a last minute plan they'd slapped together before they left, a sort of safety net if things went really wrong. Aqualad had drawn the two girls aside, voicing his legitimate concerns, and outlining his reasoning for the solution.
Her agreement had been reluctant, as Hawkgirl shared his opinion that this mission was likely the most dangerous one they'd faced so far.
However, she had added a condition that if she agreed to Plan B, she was allowed a Plan C.
She hoped it wouldn't come to Plan C, but anything could happen out there.
Miss Martian cringed, hand flying to her forehead and eyes scrunching up as if struck by a sudden migraine. "Ugh."
"You all right?" Conner's attention immediately snapped to her.
"Dizzy"
"Martians get airsick?" Robin asked.
The speedster tilted his head slightly as he examined her closer. "She does look a bit greener than usual."
"Not me." M'Gann corrected. "Her."
"I feel fine?" Artemis was confused.
"Not you. The bioship. She's trying to shield us, but-"
That was the extent of the warning they received before the ship lurched back and forth, jerking around in a chaotic pattern like a person trying to fend off a hornet. An unseen force slammed into the underside of the ship, and its flight was fully interrupted, careening straight down towards the murky waters of the bayou. It skipped across the surface of the water a few times, only stopping when one of the wings caught a patch of mud and wedged itself.
They scarcely had any time to recover from the unexpected amusement park ride when a hole was torn open in the hull of the ship, revealing the perpetually scowling face of Black Adam.
M'Gann doubled over in pain, screeching out at a pitch they had never heard from her, "He's hurting her!"
Superboy moved first, lunging at Black Adam and slamming a fist straight into the villain's face, knocking him away. However, the sudden opposing force only expedited the sinking of the ship into the bayou. The hole dropped below the waterline, and soon the cabin began to fill.
A frantic tap on Hawkgirl's shoulder alerted her to Robin, who had a rebreather already popped into his mouth. He held out a spare device in his hand to her.
Hawkgirl shook her head, based on the depth of the water they'd dropped into she would likely be fine on a breath hold with her helmet sealed, and she'd rather he have his backup in case something went wrong.
"No, no way I'm nearly drowning three missions in a row." Artemis was grumbling to herself, slipping her own rebreather between her teeth before offering Kid Flash one of her spares. Ski'Lira knew for a fact that Artemis had made it a standard to carry at least three of those in her utility belt at all times. The archer was taking zero chances when it came to the possibility of drowning.
Wally took the rebreather, stunned by the gesture. "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!" Slightly tilting her head to the side, her exposed neck shifted and split, displaying the newly formed gills she'd created for herself. She dove to the bottom of the ship, and as she did, there was a familiar press to Hawkgirl's mind as M'Gann created the mental link.
With the last of the cabin almost filled, Hawkgirl took one last deep inhale before reaching up and tapping the unseen trigger in her helmet. Golden metal plates dropped from inside the helmet and entwined into a diagonal slat pattern, curving down across her face and latching across her neck, creating a seal. Now she had a few extra breaths of whatever air was built up in her helmet, along with what was in her lungs.
One of these days, she'd ask her parents for the upgrade that added an oxygen system, but that would require an entire trip to Thanagar.
At Miss Martian's direction, a new hole opened up at the bottom of the bioship.
"Out, everyone out!" Aqualad's command came over the link, and he was the first one to exit, leading the way.
It was a relatively short distance to shore, but just as Hawkgirl had forewarned, the water was deeper than expected. Everyone managed to keep an easy pace behind the Atlantean, with even Wolf paddling with confidence. The second they were back on land, her booted feet sinking into the spongy ground, Hawkgirl shook all of the excess moisture from her wings. If they weren't just as soaked through as she was from the unexpected swim, she probably would have earned some irate glares from her teammates as they were splattered with droplets of bayou water.
Moving into a nearby copse of trees, they could only look on as the bioship was fully dragged underwater, the exterior wrapped in thick green tendrils strongly resembling the plants that were currently rampaging across the globe.
If that wasn't a positive sign they were in the right place, she didn't know what was.
"She's in shock," M'Gann informed them solemnly. "She'll need time to recover."
Out of nowhere, a wave of overwhelming dizziness overwhelmed them and they all fell to the ground. The feeling was strongly reminiscent of the gravity traps in India, albeit with the fun inclusion of severe nausea.
"Vertigo," Kid Flash spat as the perpetrator stepped out of the shadows.
"Count Vertigo to you, peasant." The villain spat, dropping the disorienting effect.
Superboy clambered to his feet first, albeit shakily, only to be swiftly knocked back down by a returning Black Adam. Aqualad reacted next, using a surge of water from the surrounding bayou 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 sent back a feeling of assent, flinging herself backward into the tree line.
H
"I blocked contact with Aqualad and the others. Should we-"
"Sorry, that's not the gig." Robin tore away the last bit of foliage obscuring their path, revealing a looming, dome-shaped building with the thick glass roof. An organic growth sprouted from the top and stretched to the sky like some kind of Lovecraftian decoration. "This is. The Injustice League central control system. Looks like that plant is acting as an antenna to control the other plants worldwide."
Slightly muffled footsteps came from nearby, and Hawkgirl spun around, mace drawn, in time to catch Poison Ivy on her approach.
"Well, hello," she greeted with a saccharine smile. In a flash, all three teens were bound by vines and hoisted a good fifteen feet in the air, held in place. Hawkgirl made a valiant attempt to struggle free, but her arms were locked in an awkward position.
Poison Ivy wasn't alone, the hulking form of Ultra-Humanite joining her at her side, bearing a heavily modded gun that he trained on their vulnerable forms.
"And goodbye," Ivy bade, smile unwavering.
Miss Martian's eyes glowed just as Ultra-Humanite pulled the trigger of his weapon, and the projectiles that left the barrel instead sped towards the base of the vines. Explosive shells ripped through the vegetation, burning and charring the verdant flesh.
Two of them were freed upon first impact.
Hawkgirl's own vine had only taken a glancing blow, so it was weakened rather than outright destroyed, leaving her still trapped. Gritting her teeth, she tensed and pushed her arms outward, creating enough of a gap that she slipped free. Before she hit the ground, she flared out her wings and took flight, scanning the battlefield for where she was needed most.
Miss Martian was faring fine on her own, easily evading Ultra-Humanite, while Robin had run off further into the bayou, dodging attacks from more of Ivy's 'babies'.
"Sorry, Boy Wonder," the woman taunted, "I'm putting an end to your little reconnaissance mission."
Hawkgirl swooped down towards Ivy, mace primed and ready to strike, only for a new plant to loop tendrils around her waist. She resigned herself to the reality of tearing her way out of another unpleasant hug, only to find herself plopped onto a strangely spongy surface.
It took her exactly three seconds to register that she was being devoured by a massive, Venus Flytrap-esque monstrosity. Jaws clenched shut above her, and there was a faint hissing coming from whatever souped-up digestive juices this thing had tried to eat at her boots. Fortunately for her, Nth metal wasn't quite so easy to dissolve.
"Fine," she growled to herself, hooking her mace back onto her belt and cracking her knuckles. "If that's how you want to play, Ivy, let's play."
Letting out a war cry, she lashed out, the razor sharp tips of her gauntlets tearing into the vulnerable insides. Large chunks were rended from the vicious weed, abnormally hued chlorophyll oozing from the gaping wounds. If this thing possessed vocal chords, it would probably be crying out in agony. The first major tear she created caused water to trickle in and start filling her makeshift prison. Great, this thing had taken her underwater. That did nothing to deter her from destroying this thing.
Roughly fifteen seconds of frenzied mauling later, a green-streaked Hawkgirl burst out of the flytraps mouth and started to swim to safety.
When she surfaced, she spit a mixture of the green fluid and bayou water out of her mouth, as she hadn't been able to re-seal her helmet in time. Ski'Lira was incredibly thankful for her near-immunity to Terran toxins and diseases. She absolutely did not want to know what the effect the Kobra-laced cellulose or whatever bacteria was thriving in this water would have on her system otherwise.
"Robin, Hawkgirl." Miss Martian's voice sounded off in her head.
"Artemis?" Robin asked.
"No."
Up above, she caught sight of Wotan hovering through the air courtesy of his magic, bearing a glowing orange cage behind them. Within were the rest of their teammates, looking worse for the wear, while Count Vertigo rode on top of the cage as if it were a palanquin. Black Adam trailed behind, no doubt acting as a guard dog, ready to intervene the moment any of them made an escape attempt.
The procession was cut short, as the bioship rocketed straight into Wotan, taking him out and causing the cage to dissipate as his concentration was broken. His captives tumbled down into the bayou, landing near the reconvened Ultra-Humanite and Poison Ivy.
"Rendezvous back at the dome, we're not going to get a better distraction than this." Hawkgirl directed the members of her small strike team, ducking back underwater so as to skirt around the commotion. As much as she wanted to join that fight, Aqualad had given her a task and she was determined to see it through.
Soon, the three found themselves reunited, ready for their second try at distraction.
"You'll need these," Robin was saying upon her approach, handing M'Gann a stack of birdarangs. Really, it was a wonder how he fit so many of those into his utility belt.
"Want a lift?" Hawkgirl offered the younger teen, earning herself an enthusiastic grin in response.
Jumping up, Hawkgirl locked herself into a hover, holding her hands out invitingly. Like the well-practiced trapeze artist he was, Robin easily leapt up and locked his fingers around one of her wrists, leaving his other hand free. Only once she was sure her own grip on his wrist was easily secure did she dare to fly further up, right towards the mother plant.
Starting from the top, Hawkgirl flew around the vegetative atrocity in a lazy spiral pattern. Robin lobbed birdarangs as they went, Miss Martian contributing to the number of explosives tagged to the floral antenna, using her telekinesis to bolster her aim and make sure she covered the spots Robin had missed.
In the end, it ended up looking like some kind of warped Christmas tree with all the blinking lights scattered over its surface.
It wasn't until they were tucked away in a relatively safe location at the base of the 'tree' that Poison Ivy finally noticed their devious work, her beautiful features contorting into an expression of horror.
Robin activated the explosives with a single click of a detonator, the area around them erupting into flame. Little chunks of smoldering and charred plant matter began to rain down around them. Hawkgirl curled her wings around her two friends like a makeshift feathery shield, both to keep them from being pelted by charcoal and to block the fire from M'Gann's direct view.
"Timber." Robin deadpanned.
Screaming in rage, Ivy sent a slew of vines in their direction, only for M'Gann to disintegrate them with a burst of telekinetic force. While the Martian's attention was diverted, a beam of energy shot out from behind them, nailing her straight in the back and sending her tumbling off of the half-destroyed roof.
Jerking her head around, Hawkgirl only saw a single glimpse of an approaching Atomic Skull and Joker before she scooped Robin up in her arms in a princess carry, flying them both down to the ground. Another energy blast courtesy of Atomic Skull skimmed her flaring feathers, as the Joker began to lament to himself loudly over the roaring inferno.
"Children, children foiled our plan. Inconceivable!" He ranted. "Unacceptable, retributionable! That last one might not be a word, so sue me."
Once she'd landed back onto the ground, Robin scrambled out of her arms to stand on his own. But they were far from out of the woods, both literally and metaphorically, as Count Vertigo and Black Adam also made themselves known.
The good news was that the rest of the Team were there too, so they could more easily watch each other's backs. Hawkgirl traded a look with Aqualad, a silent acknowledgement of how rapidly they were reaching the point of desperation.
Hawkgirl's attention locked on who she perceived to be the greatest threat at the moment, Black Adam. Mace in hand, she activated the energy miasma around the head of the mace. Yelling out a war cry, she used her wings to propel herself forwards and slammed her magic-nullifying weapon straight into Black Adam's jaw.
Adam snarled at her, wiping a trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth. "Thanagarian trash," he cursed at her.
As she reeled back for another strike, he backhanded her across the face. She just barely managed to keep a hold of her mace, even as she was sent into a graceless sprawl onto the ground. The entire right side of her face was an angry mass of throbbing, and she was pretty sure the edge of her mask had cut into her cheek, judging by the slight liquid warmth she felt.
"ENOUGH!" Wotan's commanding voice echoed across the battlefield, freezing both hero and villain alike in their tracks. Attention on him, the warlock sent out a spell that locked on to every one of the teen heroes.
Seeing the flaring pale blue bolt headed for her, Hawkgirl leveraged herself up into a crouch and held her mace in front of her. Her feet slid deeper into the muck by the sudden influx of force, but with singular determination, she kept the beam at bay.
But she was thoroughly stuck in place.
It was only a matter of time before one of the other villains would attack her, taking advantage of her cornered state.
As much as she didn't want to... it looked like Plan B was their only option.
"Aqualad!" She called out to him, to where he was crouched near M'Gann. Seeing her, his eyes widened, and he gave a single nod.
Successful nonverbal communication during an active combat scenario was the best.
Shifting his position so that he was shielding Miss Martian from the worst of the blast, Kaldur diverted the magic away from her. "Plan B," he said quietly. Miss Martian's eyes immediately began to glow bright green, and the duffle bag that Aqualad had stowed away on the bioship airdropped onto the battlefield.
Freeing up one of his hands, Aqualad unzipped the bag, revealing the gleaming golden contents that had been hidden within, holding it aloft.
Shocked into inaction by the mere sight of the artifact, Wotan's spell ended. "The Helmet of Fate..."
Threat of the magical beam gone, Hawkgirl dropped her arms and bent her head, panting from exertion. Sweat beaded across her brow, and she had to actively resist the urge to tear off her helmet in order to 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 during this short reprieve.
"No, Aqualad, don't!" Kid Flash rushed to his feet, only for Black Adam to punch him in the face, launching him back-first into a tree. Superboy took the opportunity to swipe at the magical villain with a hit of his own, almost hitting the same spot that Hawkgirl had tagged with her mace earlier.
But no swaying on the speedster's part could divert Aqualad from his intended course of action. The helmet, he lowered onto his head, giving in to Fate. An eye-searing flash of light ripped through the clearing like a soundless lightning strike, and Doctor Fate was amongst them once more.
When he stood, Kid Flash was cradling a visibly broken arm. "Oh, dude..."
Doctor Fate flew upwards, facing his chosen opponent head on. "Wotan, you are mine." An orange energy spell shot from the villain's fingertips, only for Fate to respond with a golden spell of his own, emanating out of his chest. The Lord of Order's spell proved far superior in strength, ripping through the orange beam and into the opposing caster.
Wotan ended up half-embedded into the roof of the dome-shaped headquarters.
Confident that Wotan wouldn't be a threat to the troops on the ground any longer, Hawkgirl did a quick scan. Everyone seemed to be doing relatively fine on their own, with Artemis covering an injured Kid Flash, Robin giving the Joker the runaround, and Superboy taking on Ultra-Humanite with a certain vehemence.
Guess that just left Black Adam for her... again.
This time, it was he who made the first move, flying towards her at scarily fast speeds and lashing out with a fist that she barely managed to dodge, ducking and rolling to the side. In that instant, she was battle ready again, all tightness from her lungs and weakness in her limbs forgotten.
Before she popped fully back to her feet, she aimed her mace for his ankle. Black Adam took the blow, jaw clenching and raising his foot up, thumping it down onto the ground and creating a small shockwave that rippled through the boggy turf.
The terrain unstable, Hawkgirl took to the air, Black Adam following suit. She was used to operating with some iota of advantage against a fellow flying opponent, especially since she was more familiar with fighting in this kind of terrain. However, Black Adam's nearly unrivaled strength meant little things like trees in his path were of no consequence.
When she did a tight circle around a particularly aged tree in an attempt to get behind him, he merely went through the trunk. His hand was extended out in front of him in an attempt to grab whatever part of her was closest. Reacting on instinct, she activated her mace's second form. Just as his fingers brushed the skin of her throat, she wrapped the lightweight chain around his wrist, tucked in her wings, and dropped.
Landing on the soft ground with a little poof of loose grass, dirt, and sludgy water, she yanked the chain down with both hands, forcing Black Adam down into the waters of the bayou. It was only thanks to the element of surprise that the maneuver had worked.
Black Adamn stood up in the shallow water, shaking off the loosely wrapped chain, lips curled into an irate snarl, tensed to move at any moment.
But a magically-enhanced voice from above made him pause, "Not today, Wotan."
Instead of going for her throat again, he vanished, reappearing with the rest of the villains as the sky filled with familiar (and highly reassuring) figures. The cavalry was 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 and shielding their young counterparts from further harm.
They really weren't taking any chances.
Hawkgirl and the rest of her Team remained on the fringes, not a single one daring to move.
"It's over," Batman announced.
Vertigo and Ivy traded a look, before the former lifted his hands into the air, surrendering. One by one, the rest of the nefarious band followed suit... apart from Joker. "There will be another day." Vertigo declared, as if trying to reclaim any victory he could.
"Another day?" Joker hollered at the top of his lungs. "Another day! There will be another day?! Not for any of us!" He held up his hands, waggling his fingers, showing off the tech twining through the fabric of his gloves. "Ha ha haaa!" As he shrieked out one of his signature laughs, a thick vine rose out of the bayou, this one far different from its predecessors, red buds sprouted all along its length.
When the buds burst open, they erupted with a billowing green gas. Ski'Lira found herself no longer standing alone, as both of her parents flanked her either side, wings flared out to nearly their full span.
"Joker-made spores," Batman's voice had a frantic energy she'd never heard from him before. "Don't breathe!" Darting forward, he clocked Joker in the face, keeping him from hopefully triggering more gouts of spores.
Just as the rapidly approaching cloud of toxin was about to engulf them, Doctor Fate appeared above it. "Fear not," a golden ankh appeared at his whim, a golden sphere sucked all of the encroaching spores into it in an instant. "Fate has intervened."
H
A majority of the League had left by now, escorting the villains to their respective prisons. The firepower was direly needed, so not a single one even attempted to escape on their way to incarceration. Her father had been one of the guards selected to go, specifically as a deterrent for Wotan and Black Adam. Shayera had insisted on remaining behind, along with Aquaman, Captain Marvel, Batman, and Zatara.
And now, they stood before Dr. Fate, the last matter that needed resolving. Unseen by her peers, Hawkgirl's grip on the handle of her mace was tight.
"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 at M'Gann and Hawkgirl that radiated betrayal. "Nabu will never release him now. Kaldur will be trapped inside Dr. Fate forever."
Kaldur's hands crept up and latched onto the helmet, sliding it off. With a burst of magic, he was reverted to his normal visage, and Hawkgirl's grip on her mace relaxed as she dropped out of her subtle battle stance.
Kid Flash ran forward, hovering as if he were stopping himself from going in for a hug. "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 any further explanation, as that could all wait for the inevitable debriefing. "The super villain secret society has been neutralized. As for your performance... It was satisfactory."
In 'Bat Terms', that was practically glowing praise.
Taking the dismissal from active duty it was, the Team all huddled up, no longer just teammates, but also a group of friends having just gone through a frankly, extreme situation.
"That was still really stupid," Kid Flash was grumbling, far from done griping about their life choices.
"There is a reason why it was meant as a backup plan." Patient as ever, Kaldur did his best to assuage the speedster's worries. "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 admitted. "And in case I was wrong..." Pale green eyes flickered over to Hawkgirl.
Hoisting her mace up onto her shoulder, she flashed them a shark-like grin. "Plan C."
Robin gestured for her to continue, "And that would be...?"
"Ringing his head like a kettlebell until he let Kaldur go." From across the clearing, she heard her mother bark out a sharp laugh, followed by Aquaman muttering 'She's your daughter alright.' Speaking of Kaldur, she had a fairly important question to ask him. "So, Mr. Nelson's... okay?"
"He seemed 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, thankful that her mask hid the slight pinking of her cheeks. "That tower guardian is a damn gossip."
A cleared throat drew attention to M'Gann. "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 at a resurfaced memory.
The Team moved towards the waiting bioship, whom M'Gann had assured was back to full capacity, or close to it at least. They were all more than ready to be done with today.
Artemis was the first to notice that Ski'Lira wasn't following, "Hawkgirl?"
"I think I'm just going to fly home," she explained. "No point in doubling back."
"You sure?"
"Positive. Fly home safe," she held up a hand in farewell.
"Will do!" Miss Martian replied with a far more enthusiastic wave of her own. "And you too!"
She waited until everyone was safely aboard the bioship and preparing for takeoff before heading over towards the League members. When she sidled up to her mother, she was met with an affectionate whap of a wing in greeting. "Ready to go, fledgling?"
"Definitely."