The next morning, while Harry and Ron retreated to Harry's room to practice, Lunatic enjoyed a delicious breakfast, courtesy of Mrs. Weasley, and began getting to know the people his best friend had chosen to associate with. As he dug into his eggs, pancakes, and bacon with all the exuberance of a starving child, Lunatic couldn't help but internally sneer at the looks they were giving him. It was a look he had seen a thousand times before on an innumerable number of faces: pity.
As if he was some charity case that needed to be taken care of and protected from the big bad world; mentally, Lunatic snarled in fury at their looks, the same way he snarled at everyone else who had dared to look at him in such a way. How dare they! Where were they when CADMUS was putting electrodes into his brain to study how his mind worked when he used his powers? Never mind how painful that experience had been or how the child had nearly been rendered brain-dead as a result.
Or how about when those same scientists vivisected him as he screamed for someone to make it stop? No, Lunatic didn't need anyone. Except Harry. Harry had been the first one to look at Lunatic and not see a broken little boy who needed pity but a kindred soul who had suffered as well and just wanted to try and help if he could, and that meant the world to Lunatic.
Finishing the last of his breakfast, scooping the last few crumbs into his mouth, Lunatic quickly wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, causing Hermione to look at him with disgust before swiftly washing his plate and putting it on the drying rack.
"So…. Lunatic…" Mrs. Weasley began, clearly uncomfortable with the boy's moniker, "I'm sorry, but do you have another name?"
"Nope," Lunatic replied, popping the 'P' and flashing his devilish grin as he dried his hands.
"But surely your parents gave you a name other than Lunatic?" Molly replied uneasily.
A dark look came across Lunatic's face then, and the room collectively shivered as the temperature seemed to drop several degrees.
"I have no parents," Lunatic growled, "My father is a monster whose savagery is the reason for my birth. And as for my mother? Well, let's say that she better hope I never find out who she is…"
The group shuddered again at the words, and Molly felt herself pale at the unspoken implications of what the child was saying; even worse was the wholly look of hate that appeared on the child's face as he thought of his mother, for a moment it actually looked like Lunatic's eyes turned into slits.
"Lunatic!" Nightwing snapped, instantly causing the oppressive feeling of hatred and rage to dissipate, "That's enough."
"Sorry, Nightwing," Lunatic replied with a wince, "I forgot my manners for a moment."
Nightwing said nothing and nodded at the boy before returning to his breakfast; turning back to Mrs. Weasley and the others, Lunatic flashed his smile again and bowed low, crossing one arm over his stomach while the other was crossed behind his back.
"I humbly apologize for that, my lady," Lunatic replied, "I sometimes forget myself when my creators are brought up. I was never given any other name, so I chose one for myself. I am Lunatic. And that is all."
Molly grimaced at that, and her eyes met with Raven's for a moment before she looked back at the still-bowing boy in front of her; Raven had told her and Andromeda a little about the child's life, and it had taken a Herculean amount of willpower for Molly not to break down in sobs at what the boy had experienced in his short twelve years of life. Andromeda had been on the opposite end of the emotional spectrum, wanting to immediately march on CADMUS labs and Crucio the lot of them; only Raven telling her Aunt that such action would most likely land Andromeda in prison, had stopped the woman from following up on her threats.
"Um… Mr. Lunatic," Ginny asked shyly, "Can I ask you a question…?"
"Why certainly, my dear," Lunatic replied at once, rising back to his full height and flashing another dazzling grin. It was impressive how wide he could smile, Raven thought wryly.
"With all the bad guys coming here to capture you and Harry, why are you still here? Harry, I understand. This is his home, after all. But why are YOU still here? Wouldn't it be easier for you to just run away?"
Everyone stared at Lunatic as Ginny finished speaking, waiting to see how the little madman would respond; as they watched, the smile slowly slid off of Lunatic's face until, for just a moment, Lunatic looked like the child he really was.
"Harry Potter is my friend," Lunatic replied simply, causing the Titans to smirk slightly, as though they were expecting no other answer.
"That's it?" Fred asked in confusion, "I've got lots of friends, but…"
"I don't," Lunatic replied, cutting Fred off and widening the twin's eyes.
Before anyone could say anything else, the alarms began to blare in the Tower, causing the visitors to clamp their hands over their ears swiftly; striding quickly over to the computer by the door, Cyborg began to furiously type in commands until, at last, words began to flow across the screen.
"The city's under attack!" Cyborg cried out, staring at those watching with wide eyes, "What's the situation?" Nightwing demanded as he stepped up next to Cyborg and began to read.
"The Police are reporting that Toyman, Giganta, Grundy, and a few others tried to rob the Jump City National Bank but were caught in the act. They fled, and the cops followed, but it was a trap! They're reporting that they're under attack from at least two dozen supervillains! Five cops dead so far."
"This is it…" Nightwing said softly as he continued to read the report of the situation; turning to the watchers behind him, Nightwing internally scowled as he saw the scared looks on the children's faces.
"Molly," Nightwing said louder, "You remember the plan, right?"
"Yes," Molly said, nodding at once, "Andromeda, Dora, and I are to lock down the Tower, protect the children, and attack anyone that tries to get in."
"Good," Nightwing nodded in approval; a moment later, Nightwing tapped the earpiece in his right ear, and a scowl came across his face as he replied, "Understood."
"The Justice League is en route," Nightwing said as he tapped his earpiece again, "ETA is ten minutes, though."
"So, we just have to hold them off until then?" Beastboy snarked, "No pressure."
"You know this is a trap, right?" Raven asked, "They, no doubt, want us away from the Tower so they can attack it and capture Harry and Lunatic."
"Let them try," Lunatic grinned as he straightened his hat, "This time, I'm ready for them!"
"Shut up, Lunatic," Raven said, rolling her eyes before turning back to Nightwing,
"I know it's a trap, but we have no other choice," Nightwing replied, "The League won't be here for a while, and we cannot leave those civilians to the mercy of those supervillains."
"Especially seeing as how the word is foreign to those assholes…" Beastboy mumbled though all heard his words.
An explosion suddenly rocked the Tower, and the group ran to the nearby window to see what had happened, only for their eyes to widen in horror as they watched one of the far-off buildings begin to collapse in a shower of steel and glass.
"Oh my god…" Nightwing whispered just as the door slid open, and Harry and Ron came running in to see what was happening; a moment later, the alarms went off again,
"All those people…" Starfire whispered in horror, "How could they…?"
"What's with the alarms?" Harry cried out, his hands clamped over his ears,
"The city's under attack," Nightwing shouted back as he rushed past Harry, "Titans move!"
Cyborg and Starfire immediately followed Nightwing out the door; however, before Beastboy could, Dora grabbed his shirt, pulled him into a searing kiss that lasted for several seconds and left the green boy dazed.
"You come back to me, Garfield Logan, you hear me?" Dora said once Beastboy had recovered, causing the boy to blush slightly,
"I promise," he replied, nodding once before turning into a sparrow and quickly flying after his teammates.
While that was happening, Raven had tried to leave as well, only for her robe to be grabbed by Harry as she passed; looking down at her little brother, she could see he was struggling to think of something to say to her.
"Raven… Please be careful…" Harry whispered, his eyes low so she wouldn't see how pathetic he looked; a part of him was still angry with her for the part she had played in his 'exorcism.'
But another part of him was screaming that this could very well be the last time he would ever see her alive, and if he let her go without saying goodbye, he would regret it forever.
Raven's eyes widened, thankfully hidden under her hood, and she quickly nodded at Harry before kneeling in front of him and pulling him into her embrace. Harry squeezed so hard that it actually hurt for a moment, and Raven winced, even as she began to let go. Finally free from her brother, Raven rose back to her full height and looked Molly right in the eyes,
"Please look after my brother for me, Mrs. Weasley."
"You have my word, Raven," Molly replied with steel in her voice, "They'll have to get through us if they want these children."
Looking down one last time at her little brother, Raven nodded before she was encompassed in shadow, teleporting away a moment later; seconds after that, Andromeda stormed into the room, looking frazzled and thoroughly annoyed by the loud alarm going off.
"Harry! Show me how to work this infernal muggle contraption! We need to lock down the Tower!"
"Yes, Aunt Andromeda!" Harry said at once, running over to the computer and showing her what she needed to do; a moment later, the blast doors slid down, causing the room to descend into darkness for a few seconds before the lights came on.
"Right, that's taken care of, then," Andromeda said with a nod before turning back to the group, "Now, we're all going to stay here together until the fighting is over. If, by some miracle, those animals get past the lockdown, then the three of us will try and keep them pinned down until help arrives. While we're doing that, I want you, Harry, to take the children somewhere safe and hide. You undoubtedly know this Tower better than anyone else here, so you will be able to keep them safe, understand."
"I understand," Harry replied at once, causing his Aunt to smile down at him for a moment before drawing her wand; seeing what she was doing, Dora and Molly drew theirs as well, causing Andromeda to nod approvingly. Turning back to the watching children, Andromeda began speaking again in a more severe manner,
"If at any time your life is threatened, I want you to use any curse in your arsenal. Is that clear?"
"But… But the law!" Hermione said at once, "We're not allowed to use magic outside of Hogwarts!"
"The law also states that in times where self-defense is necessary, you are allowed to use any spell you have to," Andromeda replied at once, "And I know that a witch as intelligent as yourself has probably already studied a few advanced spells."
Hermione said nothing, but her slight blush indicated that Andromeda had been correct on her learning ahead.
"And you two!" Andromeda added, turning to face the twins, "I know both of you are probably harbingers of chaos and anarchy if you're anything like your uncles were. So, if the time comes, I want you to use everything you've got to keep your siblings safe."
The twins nodded as one, a look of steel glinting in their eyes as Ginny edged closer to them; Fred wrapped his arm around his little sister and flashed her a smile, which seemed to calm her a little.
"And me?" Lunatic asked in a creepy child-like voice, "Does Looney get to play too?"
"You," Andromeda said with a smirk, "You mad, little bastard, are free to do whatever you want in defense of this Tower."
"Yaaaaay!" Lunatic said happily, quickly bringing his hands together before his face and clapping cheerfully as he bounced in place.
"God help those poor bastards…" Ron mumbled, causing Harry to snort from beside him.
XXXX
Officer Daniel Estrada was no stranger to life-or-death situations; he'd spent ten years in the Marines and earned two purple hearts and a silver star as a result. Afterward, still eager to serve, he'd joined the Jump City Police Department, hoping to do some good to make up for some of the bad. In the twelve years he'd been a cop, he'd seen all sorts of crazy shit that made him reconsider becoming a cop.
It was expected when one lived in a city protected by superheroes because, like flies to honey, it seemed that supervillains were drawn to whatever frigging city a superhero called home, in some quixotic idea that they had a chance of actually beating them. You'd think they would have learned after being beaten so consistently.
Personally, Daniel would have been happy to see the whole lot of them, hero and villain alike, locked up together as he was of the firm opinion that no one should have that much power and be left without oversight. So, when the call came over the radio that the Jump City National Bank was being robbed by a bunch of supervillains, Daniel had just written it off as an average Tuesday.
He'd been one of the dozen officers to respond to the call just as Toyman, Giganta, and Grundy came out of the bank with a group of hired thugs dressed in black close behind; the officers had immediately drawn their weapons, using the doors of their cruiser's as cover, and demanded the criminal's surrender. The next ten minutes were one of the longest of Daniel's life; Toyman had immediately thrown a handful of marbles at the cops, which exploded as soon as they hit the ground, blowing one car to smithereens and killing the two officers who had been using it as cover. Grundy had taken a giant leap into the air, bringing both hands up above his head, and slammed his fists into the ground, creating a mini quake that caused the surviving officers to stumble to regain their balance.
Snapping both arms forward, the zombie grabbed the two closest cops by their throats before yanking them into the air; before Daniel could do anything more than stare in horror, Grundy snapped both of the cop's necks, killing them instantly. With a roar of contempt, Grundy threw the two bodies away before bending down and grabbing under the nearest cop car; issuing another roar, Grundy threw the car into the air, causing it to crash several feet away with a crash that moments later turned into an explosion as the car turned into a fireball.
"Open fire!" Daniel roared as loud as he could; training taking over in an instant, the officers immediately began to empty their clips into Grundy, causing the zombie to cover his head with his arm in an attempt to shield himself from the bullets.
"Grundy no like cops and their weak stinging weapons!" The zombie roared as it backed away from the officers.
By this time, the thugs had begun to open fire on the officers as well, and the street turned into a virtual warzone; Giganta had grown to a towering size and delivered a devastating kick to one of the cop cars, sending it flying away like a soccer ball into a nearby building in an explosion of glass.
A moment later, an actual explosion happened, which made the building rock back and forth for a moment before the top collapsed in a shower of glass; like a tower of cards, the rest of the building began to collapse as well, while those present, both villain and cop alike, watched in horror.
"What the fuck have you done?!" Daniel roared as he began to fire at Giganta's leg, "All those people!"
"Ow! Knock it off!" Giganta cried, the bullets annoying her; bending over, the giant swatted Daniel away like a bug, causing him to slam backward hard against the side of a nearby car. Groaning at the agony coursing through his back, Daniel limped to the back of his car and popped the trunk; reaching into it, Daniel withdrew his shotgun and began to pump shell after shell at the giantess, causing her to cry out in pain,
"Come on, then!" Daniel snarled against the pain, "Come on, you hijo de puta!"
"You wanna sting like a bug!" Giganta yelled angrily as blood ran down her legs, "Then I'll squash you like one!"
Raising her boot into the air, the giantess prepared to step on Daniel, and as his gun clicked empty, he knew he was about to die; closing his eyes, he collapsed to his knees and whispered a silent prayer to Saint Michael for forgiveness for his many sins, and took what he thought was his final breath.
"Why don't you pick on someone your own size!" A voice roared, making Daniel open his eyes in relief at being alive.
Standing in front of him, holding Giganta's foot in place and keeping it from crushing him, was Cyborg, but the strain seemed to be getting to the hero as he looked back at Daniel and yelled out,
"What are you waiting for, a written invitation? Move, dude!"
"I… I can't…" Daniel whispered, his body finally giving in to the pain as the adrenaline left his body, "I think my back is broken…"
A look of sympathy came over Cyborg's features as he looked down at the kneeling officer.
"Alright, officer, just hang tight for a minute, okay?"
Returning his focus to Giganta, Cyborg shoved as hard as he could against her foot, causing her to stumble backward. She lost her balance; before she could regain it, Jinx suddenly appeared, leaping off the roof of a nearby building and delivering a devastating punch with her pink-infused fist. With a cry, the giantess fell backwards, crashing on top of the bank and flattening it like a box castle.
The last thing Officer Daniel Estrada saw before darkness finally took him was Cyborg running back towards him; the hero was shouting something, but Daniel couldn't hear him anymore.
XXXX
Cyborg ran back toward the fallen officer he'd just saved from being squashed; the poor guy was a mess, bleeding from a dozen different wounds, with the worst appearing to be a laceration to his head that was turning his short black hair red.
"Officer! Yo man, stay awake!" Cyborg shouted as he bent over and picked the cop up, shaking him slightly to get him to open his eyes, "Hey! Wake up!"
Raven suddenly teleported a few feet away, causing Cyborg to look up; Starfire was currently fighting Grundy while Nightwing and Beastboy dealt with Toyman and his goons. Giganta, thankfully, seemed to have been knocked out when she fell and was still lying on top of the bank.
"Rae!" Cyborg shouted in relief, "I got a survivor here, but he won't be for long if we don't get him to a hospital!"
"On it!" Raven replied, raising her arms into the air and enveloping herself and the officer in a black mass of shadow, "Azarath, Metrion, Zynthos!"
A moment later, both Raven and the officer were gone just as Cyborg heard a rumble from behind him; spinning on his heel, Cyborg powered up his arm cannon and fired, delivering a devastating blast to Giganta's head, which knocked her back down and caused her head to bounce off the ground hard, knocking her unconscious.
"Why don't you just take a little nap, okay?" Cyborg snarked,
"Is this really the time for jokes!" Jinx snapped,
"No time like the present," Cyborg snarked back
"You've gotten stronger, Cyborg," a voice said from behind, making the heroes spin in alarm,
"Brother Blood…" Cyborg growled as he saw who his next opponent was, "Still the ugly piece of crap I remember."
Brother Blood glared hatefully at the heroes as memories of old battles crossed both of their minds for a moment; Jinx licked her lips nervously, understandable since the last time she had seen Blood, she had been one of his students. Reaching up, the villain lowered his hood, showing his half-cyborg features,
"I shall truly enjoy killing you, brat. And you as well, Jinx, my little traitor.
"Oh, blow it out your ass," Jinx retorted, causing Blood to narrow his one remaining eye at her.
"Didn't we do this song and dance once before?" Cyborg smirked, "How'd that work out for you last time?"
"Insolent children!" Blood snarled, ripping his robe off of his body and showing the augmentations he'd added to his body, which made him look like a professional bodybuilder, "I'm twice as strong as I was last time!"
"Oh yeah?" Cyborg snarked back as a green crow appeared next to him before changing into Beastboy, "Prove it."
"Dude, what have you done to yourself?" Beastboy said in disgust, "Didn't anyone ever tell you that steroids shrink your balls?"
"You assume he has any left after his operation," Jinx added with a smirk,
"I will break you in two!" Blood raged, red sparks dancing off of his body,
"Yeah, heard the before," Nightwing replied as he approached, dragging an unconscious Toyman behind him, "You really are a broken record, maybe get some new material."
"You know what IS different from last time?" Blood asked with a sneer, "This."
The background behind Blood exploded as the surrounding building turned into fireballs; a moment later, Firefly flew out of the flames, cackling madly,
"So pretty! Look at the flames!"
A moment later, the pyromaniac was zooming away, a trail of smoke and flame following behind him as he laughed like he'd lost his mind, which was very likely the case.
"That's not good!" Beastboy shouted over the noise as the heat rushed over them; a moment later, the ground began to rumble as dozens of people started to run out of the flames and toward the Titans in a mad dash of violence. Many appeared to be average thugs and mercenaries, but a few weren't, and the Titans began to pale as one as they recognized a few of the figures running toward them from out of the flames as Brother Blood smiled arrogantly.
"Definitely not good!" Beastboy shouted as he sighted Plastique, Bane, Captain Cold, and Goldface running toward them.
"Agreed," Nightwing replied, his eyes narrowing as he caught sight of Scarecrow, Killer Croc, Metallo, and Trickster. Raising his hand to his ear, Nightwing shouted above the roar, "Where are you! We're about to be overrun!"
As though answering his prayers, a jet suddenly screamed out of the clouds over them; a moment later, the cargo doors opened, and Nightwing breathed a sigh of relief as he watched Wonder Woman and Hawkgirl dive out of the back of the plane. As Wonder Woman slammed into the ground, she immediately drew her sword with one hand and lashed her lasso out like a whip with the other, causing the running villains to slow their rush momentarily.
"For Olympus!" Diana shouted, holding her sword high for a moment before charging forward; Hawkgirl was less eloquent, choosing to issue a war cry instead as she flew toward the slowly growing army, holding her mace high. Almost a second later, Flash suddenly zoomed out of nowhere and appeared next to the three Titans, taking in the situation instantly and frowning as he saw the burning building behind the villains.
By now, the city was in flames, and the sky was choked with smoke from the dozens of burning buildings. SWAT had finally arrived with four vehicles stuffed with officers who immediately began to open fire as soon as their boots hit the ground. All in all, it looked like a war had broken out in the middle of Jump City.
Seeing three of the Justice League's heavy hitters, as well as a literal army of cops, caused many of the front line of attackers to reevaluate their chances of success. Still, they were quickly shoved forward by the ones following them. Moments after landing, Diana and Shiera were completely surrounded and yet seemed perfectly at ease as they spun and fought with everything they had; Trickster soon found himself unconscious, courtesy of Shiera's mace, but before she could raise her mace to attack again, she was suddenly sucker punched by Bane.
"About time you showed up!" Beastboy shouted at the League members in annoyance, "Seriously dude! How can you be the fastest guy on earth and still take so long!"
"Hey! I was at work!" Flash retorted, "Not all of us get to hang out in a cool Tower all day!"
Cyborg suddenly charged forward, using his arm to block an attack from Brother Blood before delivering a brutal punch to the villain's face, which sent him flying in the opposite direction; not willing to give up his momentum, Cyborg charged after his enemy, jumping into the air with the intention of landing on top of Blood fallen body. That plan was quickly derailed as Blood jumped to his feet, grabbed Cyborg's leg, and threw him away and into the smoke of the battlefield. Blood jumped into the smoke after Cyborg a moment later with a snarl of contempt and rage.
"We're here now, and that's all that matters," Superman said as he floated toward the heroes, Starfire and Green Lantern, following behind.
"Where's J'onn?" Nightwing asked Green Lantern as he floated down to him,
"We decided that at least one League member should be at the Tower. Just in case."
"And Grundy?" Nightwing asked Starfire,
"Courtesy wearing a lamp post as a coat, courtesy of Superman," Starfire replied cheerfully before staring at the army currently fighting against the two female heroes.
"So, what's the plan?" Nightwing asked, looking up again as the jet circled around again; a moment later, Batman's form could be seen diving from the back, falling for a few seconds before expanding his cape and gliding to the roof of a nearby building.
"Take them down," Superman said at once, glaring angrily at the bodies that littered the street, his arms crossed over his chest as he floated several inches off of the ground, "Before they can kill any more civilians."
"As good a plan as any, I suppose!" Beastboy said before transforming into a rhino and charging toward the battle; a moment later, the others followed, each howling a battle cry as they did.
The battle of Jump City had begun.
XXXX
Grodd watched the destruction happening from Jump City through his binoculars and smiled; the idiotic heroes had taken the bait, and now only a paltry few would be left to defend the Tower where his targets waited. Lowering the binoculars, Grodd looked around at his companions; he was currently sitting in a high-speed boat alongside Livewire (who did not look happy to be here), Star Saphire, Lady Shiva, and a dozen hired thugs, who would no doubt die in the attempt of taking Titans Tower. And if they didn't, well, Grodd would ensure they did afterward.
It was simply too much money to give away to plebian criminals like the ones he'd hired. Five other boats similarly stuffed with attackers followed behind Grodd's boat, bringing their number close to thirty, and as his eyes trailed to the closest one, he could see Gizmo glaring straight ahead at the Tower with pure hatred. No surprise there, considering what Raven had done to the kid a few years back, nearly shattering the boy's spine and causing him to spend the next two years learning how to walk again.
Grodd smiled cruelly as he gazed across the water at the glaring young man. Such hate could be used to great effect if used properly, and Grodd intended to use Gizmo's sagacity to the greatest possible effect he could.
As they landed on the beach, turrets suddenly sprang out of the sand and began to open fire on the villains, causing them to duck for cover; thankfully, the turrets weren't powered up to kill, merely stun, but as Grodd watched four of his numbers hit the sand unconscious, he roared in rage,
"Take out those guns!"
Livewire sprang into action, turning herself into a lightning bolt which she used to quickly pass through each turret, shorting them all out in a few seconds and causing them all to explode in a beautiful display of fire and destruction; a moment later, she was standing next to Grodd, lazily examining her nails as he nodded approvingly.
"Gizmo!" Grodd snarled, "Get to work!"
"On it!" The young man said, quickly limping up the path as the other followed close behind; when they reached the blast doors, Gizmo immediately pulled a portable computer from his belt and plugged two wires into the computer port on the side before he began to type furiously.
"Come on you… Oh, you wanna play? Okay, crud sniffer!" Gizmo growled and mumbled under his breath as he tried to beat the Titan's security system, "Okay, take down that, nullify this, and…"
With a sudden groan of protest, the blast doors began to slowly rise up as the security system was disabled; looking up with a smile of victory, Grodd watched as the blast doors surrounding the entire Tower slid back up. The Tower was utterly defenseless.
"Well then," Grodd smirked, "Let's go and collect our money, shall we?"
The crowd behind him roared its approval, making him turn to face them with a smirk,
"Kill anyone you encounter if you wish! But Lunatic and Arcane are to be taken alive! Now attack!"
XXXX
The group had been watching Looney Tunes when the blast doors slowly began to slide back up, causing everyone to stare for a moment in alarm.
"The doors!" Hermione cried out in fear a second later, "Harry! Why are the doors opening!"
Harry immediately jumped over the couch and ran to the nearby computer terminal before furiously punching in commands,
"Come you piece of…" Harry mumbled under his breath; a second later, he lost his temper and punched the terminal, shouting, "Work!"
"Harry, calm down!" Andromeda said at once as she and the other approached, "What is going on?"
Taking a calming breath, Harry replied in a more controlled voice,
"Someone's hacked the system and unlocked the doors. Moreover, I've been locked out of the system, so I can't reverse what they've done!"
"Um… Guys…?" Ron's voice called from behind, making them turn around to see what he wanted.
"Oh, great Merlin…" Molly whispered in horror as she saw what her son was pointing at; the entire city appeared to be in flames, and the smoke actually appeared to be blocking out the sun.
"Mum… Was this what it was like during the war…?" Dora asked in a horrified voice,
"No…" Andromeda responded, "This is worse…"
Suddenly, a figure in a purple outfit swinging on what appeared to be a spiderweb smashed through the glass, causing everyone to cry out; rolling to his feet, the figure quickly took in the situation and sneered as he did so.
"A bunch of women and kids. This is the easiest payday of my life!"
Quickly shoving the children behind them, Andromeda, Molly, and Dora immediately withdrew their wands and pointed them at the man standing across from them with his arms crossed over his chest. He was tall, standing well over six feet, and appeared to be wearing a purple outfit with a large black spider emblazoned on his mask, from which two fiery orange glass lenses peered out.
"Look, ladies," Black Spider said placatingly, "I don't want to kill any of you. Just tell me which one of these brats is Arcane, and I'll be on my way. I can already see Lunatic. Besides, I don't know what you plan to do with those… sticks. So, unless you plan to give me a splinter, I'll be taking the brats."
"You won't be taking any of them!" Andromeda snarled, for a moment showing the fabled 'Black Insanity.'
Placing his hands on his hips, Black Spider looked up at the ceiling for a moment and sighed,
"Whelp, can't say I didn't ask nicely…"
A second later, the villain leaped into the air at the group, shooting two of his webs into the air to deliver a swinging kick to Andromeda's face.
"Stupefy!" Andromeda screamed at once, causing a streak of red to shoot from her wand and hit the swinging villain directly in the face; quickly ducking down and pushing everyone else with her, Andromeda narrowly avoided being hit as the unconscious man swung over them and directly into the wall with a loud crash.
Running toward the broken window, Dora leaned out and peered down, her face growing pale as she turned around to face the group,
"There's more coming!"
"How many?" Andromeda demanded as she rose to her feet and faced her daughter; behind her, Molly quickly conjured a rope and tied up Black Spider, ensuring the rope was as tight as possible.
"I don't know!" Dora cried back as she took another look, "Maybe two dozen?"
"Dammit!" Harry shouted, causing the adults to turn to him; he was standing in front of the computer and glaring at the monitor.
"Watch your language!" Molly cried at once, causing Harry to mumble a quick apology,
"I've been completely locked out of the system! I can't call the others for help!"
"That's right, crud sniffer!" A voice suddenly called out from the speakers, causing Harry's eyes to narrow,
"Gizmo…" Harry growled, memories of their last encounter returning to him, "I would have thought you'd learned your lesson the last time you came after me."
"You know this person, Harry?" Molly asked, "Is he a friend?"
"Not even close!" Both boys shouted as one.
"He and his band of thugs kidnapped me when I was a kid," Harry growled, "They were hoping to use me as bait to hurt Raven and the Titans. He didn't count on them finding out where they'd taken me before they were ready."
"Do you have any idea what your sister did to me…?!" Gizmo's voice hissed before exploding with anger at the end, "I was almost left paralyzed! It took me two years to learn how to walk again!"
"That's your own fault!" Lunatic retorted, quickly defending his friend, "No one told you to kidnap Harry! You chose to! And you suffered the consequences from that choice!"
"I'm going to enjoy killing you, Harry…" Gizmo's voice hissed, "Everyone else here wants that fat bounty on your head, but me? I'm just here to kill you and enjoy the sweet song of pain your sister will make as a result."
"You're insane," Harry stated,
"And you're all alone!" Gizmo's voice retorted, sounding crazier than before, "I've got complete control of the Tower and have already shut down all of its defenses! If you're smart, you'll just give up before one of the other freaks running around this place finds you. I hear some of them got a taste for young meat."
The women shuddered at Gizmo's unsubtle threats about what might happen to them should they be discovered.
Naturally, it was Lunatic who broke the silence, lifting his head, the boy glared at the speakers with unbridled hatred; it was almost universally understood that the one crime that Lunatic found absolutely disgusting was rape. More than one criminal had been discovered in the streets of Gotham, having been beaten nearly to death by the boy after being caught attempting to drag some poor woman into an alleyway.
"You disgusting piece of filth," Lunatic's voice said coldly, not at all sounding like the boy's usual happy-go-lucky tone, "How dare you threaten these innocent women with such dishonorable methods! I might have just played with you a little bit before. But now? Now, I'm going to break you!"
As he finished his rant, Lunatic snapped his fingers, causing all of the speakers and cameras in the room to explode in a shower of glass and sparks that made everyone cry out and cover their heads.
When the explosions finally stopped, Harry peeked out from under his raised arm to see that Lunatic had vanished,
"Looney?" Harry called out, but only silence was his answer,
"Come!" Andromeda quickly cried, making the group look at her, "He's doing his part to keep us safe, and we must do ours! We need to go somewhere safe, where we can hide!"
"That means the bedrooms are out," Harry said at once, making his Aunt nod, "That's the first place they'll look."
Before they could take a single step, however, J'onn Jones suddenly floated out of the floor like a ghost of Hogwarts, and causing the others to cry out in alarm at his sudden appearance; raising his hands placatingly, the Martian quickly said,
"I mean no harm! I am J'onn Jones, a member of the Justice League."
"Oh, thank Merlin!" Molly replied, "Where are the rest of you?"
"Out there," J'onn replied, pointing out the window towards the burning city, "Trying to save the city from being razed to the ground. It is proving difficult."
"So it's just us?" Dora asked incredulously, "That's mad! There are dozens out there!"
"And we are here," J'onn replied, "Focus on what you can do instead of what you cannot."
"He's right," Andromeda replied, "We're not dead until we're cold and dead! So, until that happens, let's move!"
"While you take the children somewhere safe, I will attempt to 'thin the herd,' so to speak," J'onn said,
"Good luck, it's mad out there," Andromeda replied,
An explosion somewhere inside the Tower seemed to emphasize her words, and as the group regained their balance, they all nodded in understanding before making a mad rush out of the door to find somewhere to hide.
As they ran down the hallway, they suddenly heard Lunatic's insane cackle, followed by the sounds of gunshots and screaming.
XXXX
Author's Note:
Yes, I know you hate cliffhangers and believe me, I do as well; however, I wanted the Battle of Jump City to be as badass as it can be, considering how long I've made you all wait for it. So, would you rather have one really long, crappy chapter or several equally long amazing chapters? I thought so, lol.
Until next time! Peace!