Chapter 1
Rain beats down like a heavy drumbeat, the teens run through the forest, evading whatever is attempting to take them. Kid Flash being the fastest, he's able to get away rather easily, leaving him to have to find the team and get them to safety. It's all up to him. He's trying to get them to the Bioship. The rest of the team is trying to find their way to it, flashes of lightning help, but also remind them of the danger…
In this darkness, a creature of indeterminable shape follows like a shadow. To most, it looks like a shadow, to others, they perceive it differently… Miss Martian is the only one who can see its true form, and it horrifies her… The only thing she can call this thing would be an abomination, a creature not even of this plain of existence. She screams out in fear as it approaches her, grabbing her arms tight.
Superboy hears his girlfriend scream and calls out for her. He's been trying to find her but had no clue where to look. He tries to find the source of the screaming. He stumbles a bit due to a deep puddled hole in the ground, but he forces himself to recover. He runs into Aqualad, literally, they bump into each other. Aqualad falls back, Superboy manages to grab a tree and hold onto it.
"M'gann screamed! I think it got her!" Superboy tells Aqualad.
"I thought that was her scream I heard… It sounded right next to me, but I could not find her! I am sorry…" Aqualad says softly. Superboy closes his eyes tight, dismayed, but he refuses to give up. "We should stick together. Safety in number." Superboy opens his eyes, nodding a little.
Artemis is running through, an arrow notched just in case. Unfortunately, she loses her grip as she tumbles down a hill, smacking brush and trees as she rolls, getting horribly scratched up. She reaches the bottom of wherever she is and the lightning provides her sight for a moment, helping her see who she believes is Zatanna.
"Zatanna?!" She calls out, getting up. She staggers, but takes off running, hoping she's found someone on her team. Suddenly, this overwhelming sensation takes over, making her stop moving. Her body feels heavy, like she can't move, but her head feels light, like it could fly away. Her body trembles, fear gripping her heart like a vice. "Help!" She screams out.
Superboy hears Artemis scream and turns, running toward her location, Aqualad runs after him, managing to keep up, but barely. Superboy uses his heat detection to locate her. She's lying unconscious, he can hear her heartbeat, so she's still alive, her heart is practically beating out of her chest. Aqualad lifts her up.
"We need to find the bioship!" Aqualad says. Superboy nods in agreement, though Aqualad can't really see. There's a strange sticky substance on her, and he's praying that's not blood…
Kid Flash manages to find Rocket thanks to her glow, she activated her belt in hopes of helping her see. She yelps when she sees KF, not realizing it's him at first and she creates a bubble, making him run into it. He bounces off it, falling backward. It takes him a moment to recover, looking at her.
"Rocket!" He shouts. He stands up.
"Kid Flash?!" She shouts back, dropping the bubble and she bolts to him, hugging him, having been terrified on her own. Kid hugs her back, relieved to have found a member of his team. She's trembling terribly. "Oh my God! You're alive!" She lets go and backs away to look at him better. There's a long flash of thunder, helping Kid see. His eyes widen as he sees the shadow behind her. He picks her up and starts running.
"We gotta go! It's here!" He says. As he runs, he ends up tripping on what he thinks is a branch or a log, maybe a root. He falls over it, dropping Rocket in the process. She yelps out in pain. Her glow though allows her to illuminate Miss Martian's body.
"M'gann!?" Rocket questions. She crawls over, pushing KF off of her to take a better look. She pushes Miss Martian over so she's on her back.
"No…" KF mumbles, reaching for her. He places fingers on her neck. He sighs in relief when he feels a pulse. "… We have to go, but I can't carry both of you, and it's too dangerous for you to fly!"
"She needs more help! Take her! I have my force bubbles, I can protect myself. Go!" Rocket orders. Kid nods, taking Miss Martian into his arms this time.
"I'll come back for you!" He tells her.
"You better!" She says, more a bit playfully. He nods at her again and speeds off. Rocket sits down, summoning one of her bubbles to keep her safe until he comes back. Suddenly, there's a pounding sound from behind. She turns to look behind her, not seeing what's making the sound, but she can almost sense this dread, impending doom… She faces forward, closing her eyes, pretending it's not there. It's not there… It's not there…
Zatanna uses her magic to light her way, finding the Bioship. She smiles widely, relieved. She runs to it, going inside, hoping the others are there. She looks around the entire ship, but doesn't find anybody. Her heart sinks, terrified and worried for her friends and Team. They better be ok… She racks her brain, trying to think of how she can help… She steps back out of the Bioship, but as she steps out, a flash of lightning strikes in front of her. Her eyes go wide in shock. The force and energy of it blasts her back so hard, she's is half in and half out of the Bioship.
Kid Flash isn't too far, finding the Bioship and runs up to it. He sees Zatanna lying unconscious, there's a strange smell in the air… What is that…? He runs in, sets Miss Martian down and then runs back for Zatanna, picking her up and setting her next to M'gann. She's burnt… But she seems to still be alive… there are strange vine-like marks on her skin… She was struck by lightning…? She's lucky she's alive… But he can't take care of her wounds right now, he has to help the others! He gets up and runs back out, going back to Rocket.
Robin is jumping from tree to tree, staying within the canopy. He had to take his cape off because it kept getting snagged in branches and was hindering his movement too much due to the rain soaking it. He knows this is dangerous, but he feels like it's safer up here than down there. The monster can't seem to go any higher than the ground. Unfortunately, he grabs a particular branch that makes a cracking sound. Before he can react, the branch breaks, making him and it fall to the forest floor, hitting other branches along the way, scratching him up. He lands on his back on the bottom, the air knocked out of his lungs. To add insult to injury, the branch lands on his stomach, making him arch forward, then falling back to the ground. He coughs, gasping, turning onto his side to recover. He finally brings himself to sit up, pushing the branch off and standing back up. He winces as he puts pressure on his left leg. He curses under his breath, fearing his leg is broken… He can't afford to let this happen… That creature could be around any minute and he just made a lot of noise…
He steps down, wincing a bit more, but he tries to run, more or less hobbling, using the trees as support. He feels something grab his shoulder, something sharp digging into his skin. He turns, swiping his arm back to strike, hitting something solid, but it doesn't seem to react to his attack. There's a tearing sound as his suit begins to rip. More of these strange clawed things dig into his skin, gripping him tight and cutting him. He struggles against it, but it's impossibly strong… An even larger hand-like limb grips around his neck and clavicles, one of the fingers grazes his cheek, almost caressing it with its claw, cutting it. Another wraps around his throat tightly, choking him.
"I caught you, little birdie…" A chilling voice says, whispering in his ear. Lightning flashes, allowing him to finally see the clawed hands, if only for a second. They have no real form or consistency to them. If he didn't know better, he'd say he was being groped by a shadow… His body suddenly feels so weak. He tries to force his eyes to stay open, but the harder he tries, the more they want to close until finally he must obey his body. His eyes snap shut tight, his whole body trembles. He can't help but feel so afraid of whatever this thing is… This anxiety… the feeling and fear like he's about to die…
"Such a beautiful soul… So innocent… So pure…" The haunting voice says softly.
"What do you want…?" He manages to mumble out. It doesn't answer. He suddenly feels a sharp pain in his neck. He winces, yelping softly, mouth gapping in pain, but he's so weak, he can't even scream. Eventually, his whole body becomes numb, his consciousness fades.
Aqualad and Superboy find the Bioship, going inside, they find Miss Martian and Zatanna already inside, unconscious. Superboy kneels beside M'gann, looking her over, she too has a strange sticky substance all along her body. It's a dark, viscous, like globs of jelly, but darker, thicker and smellier…
"What is this…" Superboy questions.
"I wish I knew…" Aqualad says softly. He sets Artemis down next to Zatanna. He checks on Zatanna. She doesn't have any of that goop on her, but there's this smell, burnt… but also sweet? And like old pennies… The burn marks on her skin… It looks like a large lightning bolt in the sky, they've already started to blister. There's also soot covering the majority of her body. "Looks like Zatanna was struck by lightning, not attacked by the creature…"
"Any idea what that creature was…?" Superboy asks.
"Not a clue… I only saw a glimpse of it before it disappeared in the darkness. It was like a shadow… but no body was casting it." Aqualad explains. He stands up. "Stay here with them, I will look for the others." Superboy stands up.
"No way you're going back out there alone! It didn't seem to bother us when we were together, we're staying together!" Superboy argues. "Safety in number, remember?" Aqualad sighs and nods. The two start to walk out, but see Kid Flash running up with Rocket in his arms.
"Superboy! Aqualad!" KF says happily. "You're ok!" He's absolutely relieved.
"Glad to see you too, my friend." Aqualad says, smiling, also relieved. Kid sets Rocket down, she's completely silent, eyes wide. Her whole body shakes and her heart rate is rapid. "Rocket? Are you alright?" He places a hand on her shoulder. She looks up at him.
"She won't speak." Kid says. "I've tried everything." Aqualad nods. He wraps an arm around her, helping to guide her inside. "Who all is left?"
"I think just Robin." Superboy says. "We found Artemis, she was unconscious." Kid Flash's eyes widen and he runs inside to his girlfriend. He kneels down, looking her over. She has that same sticky stuff on her that Miss Martian has.
"Artemis…?" He says softly, placing a hand on her arm. He shakes her gently, but she doesn't stir. He whimpers a bit in concern but stands back up. "I'm going back out there for Rob." He tells Aqualad and Superboy. Aqualad is helping Rocket to sit down in one of the Bioship's chairs.
"It's dangerous to go alone." Aqualad says.
"All the more reason to get out there. Rob's all alone!" Kid Flash explains. He runs out of the Bioship, Superboy runs after him, wanting to help. He obviously can't keep up, but at the very least he's strong and relatively invulnerable. But whatever this thing is… can it hurt him…?
Suddenly, there's a loud roar, so loud that it makes Superboy's ears ring. He screams out in pain, covering his ears. Kid hears Superboy scream and comes running back to him. He didn't hear the roaring sound… He finds Superboy kneeling on the ground, curled in, covering his ears.
"Supee!" Kid shouts. He kneels in front of him, grabbing his arms. Superboy flinches, nearly hitting his teammate, but he manages to stop himself centimeters from Kid's face. "What happened?"
"Th-there was… a loud… roar…" He says, his breathing is labored, eyes wide. "It was like I was paralyzed…" He tries to move, but his body refuses him, no matter how hard he tries. Lightning flashes and Kid gets a better glimpse of the creature once again, this time it's much closer. His eyes widen once more, mouth gapping, breathing in sharply from fear. Big bright purple eyes stared back at his emerald eyes. "I can't move…" He feels his body grow weaker and weaker, almost like that feeling he got from the kryptonite… Kid doesn't know what else to do but wrap his arms around him, as if trying to shield him from whatever is causing this. Superboy's body goes limp, collapsing into Kid Flash's arms.
"Superboy!" Kid shouts in concern. He pulls away, shaking him, his eyes are closed. There's that sticky substance on him as well… What the hell is this thing…? Kid growls in frustration, but moves so he can get Superboy onto his back. He's pretty heavy, and he's running out of energy, but he has to get him back to safety. He starts running back to the Bioship, though not at his top speed, being greatly hindered by the deadweight on his back and trying not to drop him. He nearly doesn't make it, so exhausted. But he runs in, carefully lowering Superboy next to Miss Martian. Aqualad stands up.
"What happened out there…?" Aqualad asks.
"It got him… I don't know what it did, but it got him…" Kid says softly, looking at Aqualad. "There was nothing I could do…" Aqualad places a hand on Kid's shoulder.
"I am sure you did the best you could…" Aqualad says. Kid doesn't respond, just looking down.
"I saw its eyes… They weren't human…" Kid mentions. He closes his eyes tight, fists clenched, shoulders shrugging. "They were horrible…" Aqualad embraces him, trying to comfort him. After a moment, he lifts his head, signaling for the Atlantean to let go and step back. "Have you… tried contacting the League…?"
"Several times… Static… we are alone out here." Aqualad explains.
"They… They'll come looking for us, right…?" Kid asks softly.
"Batman may suspect something is off when I do not report to him at some point." He answers, trying to keep his hopes up. Kid nods. He clenches his fists again.
"I have to find Rob…" He says again. "I'm praying this thing hasn't found him yet…"
"You need to stay here. I know how much Robin means to you, he means a lot to all of us, but you risking your life will not help him." Aqualad reasons.
"I can't sit here and do nothing…" Kid says. "It hasn't touched me yet… I don't think it can… I-I have to try…" Tears form in his eyes. Aqualad sighs through his nose.
"Go, but promise me you'll come back." Aqualad says. Kid doesn't say anything, but he runs out of the ship once again. Aqualad looks at his unconscious friends, then looks at Rocket. She's staring at the floor, eyes blank, as if there's no thoughts in her mind, her hands rest in her lap. Aqualad tries again to get into contact with the League. The screen is static, but he can make out some grainy images of what he thinks is Batman, hearing his chopped-up voice calling out to him. "Batman! If you can hear me, we need help." The screen cuts but hasn't disappeared yet. Aqualad scans the screen, looking around it. Lightning strikes, showing a twisted, horrible image of some sort of being. Aqualad's eyes grow wide, mouth gapping. He clenches his fists tight, glaring at the thing.
"What do you want?!" He shouts at it. "Where's my friend!?" There's only a sharp, screeching of what sounds like laughter, causing him to wince, covering his ears. Rocket cries out, covering her ears too, sobbing. The power to the Bioship seemingly shuts off, they can't see anything… Rocket continues to sob, trembling terribly. Aqualad goes to her, his eyes adjusting to the dark quickly. He grabs her arms. "Rocket?" She shakes her head, just crying. She curls into a tight ball on the seat, completely shutting down. He presses his head to hers affectionately. "We will escape… I promise…"
He moves away from her. He turns and starts for the hatch, but suddenly has this feeling… Like… Everything that an anxiety attack feels like… but he's never had an anxiety attack… He's witnessed plenty, but to feel one for himself… He places a hand to his chest, his heart is racing… There's this heavy feeling… instincts are telling him to run... but he turns, looking behind him. He sees it. Those bright purple eyes. He gasps, falling backward from fear. There's a sharp feeling in his stomach all of a sudden, like knives being driven into his skin. He throws his head back, screaming. His screams cause Rocket to curl in more, covering her ears.
She makes one of her bubbles surround her, protecting her. Kaldur collapses, eyes rolling back and he lies limp. The creature then turns to Rocket, the second to last of its victims. It wriggles and writhes over to her, caressing the bubble, almost humming, a sort of child-like giggle coming from it.
"Pretty, pretty, pretty precious baby." It says in a sort of sing-song voice. "Why not let me in? I only wish to play." No matter how much she tries to tune it out. "Why don't you play with me, baby? Eternity isn't too long…"
While Rocket is being tormented, Kid is running through the forest again, trying to find any trace of his best friend, calling out his name, begging for a response, just the rumbling of rain and the rolling of thunder answers him. There's a bright flash and he sees a mass in the brush. He stops, looking at the shadowy form. More lightning strikes, and it's… not… quite the monster… He steps up to it, grabbing at it. It's soft… He knows this material. He gasps shakily, taking it off the branches. Robin's cape… Tears fall, blending with the rain. He sinks to his knees, hugging the cape to his body.
"God, where are you…?" He says softly, shoulders trembling. If only they had Wolf… Maybe he'd have been able to track Robin down… But… They were advised to leave him behind… Why did this mission have to go so badly…? It was just supposed to be a standard recon mission! Kid Flash pulls the cape from him, looking at it. "I'm not giving up on you, I'm finding you…"
If his cape was here, then maybe he's not too far off. He suddenly hears laughter in the forest, he can barely make it out as the rain beats around him. He looks around, but obviously he can't see. He starts running again, looking desperately for him, calling out for him more and more. He reaches a sort of clearing. There's… no rain here… There's no rain, no thunder. It's… peaceful… He can even see the moon above his head.
Kid's mouth gaps as he looks around. He can't see the forest somehow, not even from behind where he just was. How did this even work…? It's almost like that pocket dimension thing from the Tower of Fate. He walks forward, looking around more. This… can't be real… He must have passed out from exhaustion. He's dreaming! He hears a giggling sound, so small and child-like. The tone of it… the voice…
"Rob…?" Kid calls out. He turns this way and that, looking around. He hears more giggling. Then more… it sort of echoes. Surrounding him. "Robin!? Where are you?!"
"Here I am!" A sweet voice says happily. He turns around, seeing a little boy with beautiful stormy blue eyes. "Who are you, Mister?" The little boy asks. Kid looks at the little boy, mouth gapped. He's probably no older than four or five…
"Is that really you…?" He asks.
"Uh, yea? Well, mommy calls me her Little Robin." The child says, smiling happily. "Mommy's an acrobat! And she has red hair like you! And green eyes!" Kid kneels down in front of the little boy.
"Dick?" Kid asks.
"Yea!" He says, he giggles a little. His tiny hands take KF's. "Come play with me!" He pulls at him, trying to get him to follow. Kid looks at his own hand, it suddenly looks small now too, just slightly bigger than Dick's. Then he looks at him, feeling almost the same height… He smiles widely.
"Ok!" Wally agrees. His voice is lighter, much lighter, child-like. But right now he doesn't care. He just wants to run and play with his best friend. He starts to run, holding hands. Steadily, a pain grows in his chest. He stops, looking down, the bright red t-shirt he's suddenly wearing starts to turn dark red as blood pools through it. He gasps. The pain grows and grows until finally his brain snaps out of this delusion. It's dark again. A flash of lightning shows him the clawed fingers of the creature, gripping to his chest and sides.
It tricked him… How did…? What is this thing…? His body grows numb and weak, he collapses to his knees. He tries to fight through it, trying to run, escape, do something… but he can't move… He soon falls to the ground, his mind going blank…
Then… suddenly… there's warmth… softness… Safety…? His eyes flutter open and he looks up. He sees… a ceiling… His ceiling, in his room… He sits up, looking around. He's in his room… How…? He swings his legs over the edge of the bed and stands up. He places a hand on his dresser. It feels real… This doesn't feel like a dream… He runs over to a mirror in his room, lifting his shirt, there's no marks. No scars, nothing. He looks back at himself, staring at his emerald eyes. Did he dream all that…? There's no way…
He turns, going to his phone, grabbing it and unlocking it, he finds his contacts, recents, he called Dick recently, he has to call him, to check on him. But… There's no contact… He shakes his head, dialing the number instead. It rings and rings… then…
"Hello?" Dick's voice… Wally sighs with relief.
"Dude, you will not believe the dream I just had." Wally remarks.
"Uh… ok?" Dick replies, sounding very confused. "Who is this?" Hearing that, his heart sinks.
"What do you mean, who is this? It's Wally!" Wally says.
"I think you have the wrong number. Sorry." He hangs up. Wally pulls the phone away, looking at the screen, seeing the call has disconnected. He sits on his bed. Why didn't Dick know who he was…? What the hell is going on here…?!