We all stared at Robin. He shrugged. “Wasn’t me.”
“There’s got to be a mistake,” Wally insisted. His green eyes were filled with fear, and he was grasping my hand again. Robin stepped back, out of the tube, then stepped back in. Access Denied. More red light. He tried again, and again.
“What is up with this thing?”
Connor shoved him aside. “Let me try.”
Access denied.
“Maybe it’s the others, playing a prank on us,” I suggested. “They seemed pretty mad that they weren’t coming with us. Maybe it’s just a joke.”
The others frowned, even though we were hoping that was the case. Wally tried again. Access denied. He pounded on the wall of the booth angrily.
“Okay, joke’s over!” he shouted. “Let us in!”
Only silence.
“I’m serious, guys!” he screamed again, his voice echoing around the walls of the booth. “This isn’t funny! Let us in!” More silence.
“Maybe you can hack it,” Megan said softly, turning towards Robin. He pulled up his screen, trying to hack it with no avail.
“Or not,” he replied; the others groaned, but he didn’t notice. “My database isn’t recognizing that there’s a problem. Sorry.”
“Then I guess we’re going to have to go through the front door then,” Fin remarked. “You know, at the base of Mount Justice. Unless Megan can summon the bioship.”
Megan smiled. “I’ll try.”
An hour later, we were standing at the entrance at the base of the mountain. We had taken the bioship most of the way, but when we were within a one-mile range of Happy Harbor, it mysteriously shorted out, and we had to walk the rest of the way. “Are you sure nothing’s going on here?” I asked nervously.
“At this point,” Robin said grimly. “I’m not sure of anything.”
The door in front of us looked similar to a garage door; no handle, and it presumably slid upward when opened. Wally located the button that would open the door, and he eagerly jabbed at it. Nothing happened.
“Oh great,” he groaned. “Now this one’s broken too?”
I still thought that it didn’t all add up, but I knew not to tell the others. They would never believe me.
“This I can hack,” Robin assured, already bringing up the screen on his watch. Fin stopped him.
“Wait,” she hissed. “We should listen first, see if anything’s going on inside. Megan?”
The two of them closed their eyes and stepped forward. We knew to steer clear when they were listening for thoughts. Finally they opened their eyes again.
“You hear anything?” Robin asked. They shook their heads.
“Nothing,” Fin replied. Megan frowned. “It’s weird. Even if they were hiding, they would still have thoughts.”
Robin looked at his screen, still typing on his keyboard. “There we go. It should open now.”
Wally punched the button, and the door slid open. We all stared inside.
“It really is empty,” I whispered. I wasn’t sure why I was whispering, it just seemed like the appropriate thing to do in the current situation. The room, which was usually blazing with color, was pitch black. There was not a flicker of light anywhere, nor a single sign of life. We all stood there, dumbstruck, until Wally, clearly fed up with waiting, began to bound into the cave. Connor quickly pulled him back. “There’s something in there. I’m sure of it. But whatever it is, we face it as a team.”
Wally nodded.
“I’ll establish a telepathic link,” Megan suggested. “Just in case.” We all nodded.
“What are we even scared of?” Wally asked, slightly whinily, still struggling against Connor’s tight gasp. No one answered, but when we had gathered our wits, we took a collective deep breath, gritted our teeth, and stepped inside. At first there was only silence. The darkness was not clearing up, and there was still no signs of life.
Then came the screeching, like the wailing of a mutant possessed bird, only a million times louder. It was so loud that the sound waves were actually visible, blinding ripples of white light that pounded through my skull, threatening to deafen me and rendering me lightheaded. Megan was screaming, Wally was struggling against Connor’s grasp--he had tried to bolt out the door until Superboy stopped him--and Fin was the only one who had kept even a trace of composure. Realization dawned on her face, which had lit up from the blazing waves of sound. “Black Canary!” she screamed through the telepathic link.
“What?” Robin shouted back, his voice equally panicky. “Why would she---”
He was abruptly cut short. Fin had burst into flames, and the light revealed a dark figure grasping the Boy Wonder’s throat. The figure’s blonde hair rippled in the breeze that had blown in from outside.
“Put him down!” Fin screeched, poising to throw a fireball.
“No!” Connor commanded telepathically. “We can’t attack a member of the Justice League.”
“But she’s gonna kill--”
“I said no,” Connor replied firmly.
“Since when did you become the leader?” Wally retorted.
“Since Aqualad disappeared, Robin got attacked by a member of the Justice League, and I was the only member of the Team with any common sense! That’s when. Now, anyone know what we should do?”
“We get the hell out of here, before this aster gets back its dis!”
“Robin?” Fin asked incredulously, and her head swung up towards the ceiling, where a flash of red and gold descended until it swung over our heads. “Idiot! It’s already got it’s dis!”
Gunshots sounded from somewhere deep in the cave, and a shower of bullets next to them rang their assent.
“Come on!” he shouted, extending the end of his rope for the rest of us to grab on. We stood our ground.
“We can’t leave without the others,” Megan replied telepathically. “Has anyone seen them?”
We all shook our heads. Another shower of bullets brought us back to our senses, and a row of figures stepped into view. At once, they cocked their guns and fired. “Duck!” shrieked Fin, and we tore away before we could see who it was. We thundered through the cave, ducking under furniture and chunks of rubble. Megan was shrieking, but whatever she was saying was inaudible over the din of the battle.
Seeing a large chunk of what was once part of the ceiling--between the guns and presumably the powers of Black Canary and the rest of the Justice League, the cave had been torn apart--I dove under, and the others followed. We were crouched forward, afraid to sit down, and panting.
“What do we do now?” I asked, still telepathically.
“We find the others,” replied Robin.
“Artemis?” Megan called; she could send thoughts the farthest out of any of us. “Aqualad? Where are you?”
A sharp squeal from behind me answered that, Wally had tried to sit down, and had sat on something warm and dark. “Right---here---” came Artemis’s voice, and the dark shape pushed upward, sending Wally sprawling backwards in surprise.
“Thank god,” said Fin. “Where’s Aqualad?”
“I am here,” Aqualad stood up to face us, and Wolf ran forward to greet Superboy. Quicksilver stepped out of the shadows behind him.
“Good,” Superboy said. “So, tell us. What in the world is going on?”
“It appears to be the Justice League, or someone pretending to be the Justice League---”
“Yeah, yeah, we got that,” Wally interrupted, and Aqualad turned to glare at him.
“We have no idea who, but I believe it is safe to say that they are not who they seem. Our only choice is to escape, and if it is, in fact, an enemy, we will know soon enough. I shall try to contact the Justice League, to see if that will clear things up, but in the meantime, it is not safe here.”
We nodded.
“Should I call the bioship?” Megan asked.
“Good idea,” Robin replied, and sprung upward into the open. We all followed suit, racing down into what was once the hangar. Fin threw a fireball to deter the enemy from pursuing us, and as we scrambled into the ship, Artemis paused at the bottom of the ladder to load her bow and fire a stream of arrows. As the ship, which appeared to be working again, flew swiftly out into the night, Artemis swung inside, and when I looked back, Mount Justice had exploded in flames.
“So, now what?” Wally asked. We had been flying for an hour, and no one had spoken until now.
“Do you have any idea where we’re going?” Artemis asked, turning to Megan. She shook her head.
“Away from here. That’s all I know now.”
We were in camouflage mode, we had been from the beginning, but without warning, we suddenly switched out. “Megan?” Robin asked uneasily. “Was that you?”
Megan nodded, then pointed out the window, where a cluster of specks, which seemed to glow against the dark night, was growing larger and larger as we landed. Soon, the shapes became more distinct, and they were revealed to be people. The bottom hatch slid open, and one by one, we jumped out onto the ground, our feet slapping the hard earth. We were surrounded in a circle by none other than the Justice League.
Wally frowned, then sprung forward, trying to attack, but Connor had expected it, and pulled him back again.
“What happened?” Batman asked grimly, staring us down.
Wally spoke up.
“Someone attacked us---you attacked us! back at the cave.”
“And I had no choice but to blow it up,” Artemis added softly, staring at her feet.
“We know,” piped up Red Tornado. “But it was not us.”
“Who, then?” Robin questioned.
No one answered. Finally, Batman spoke again.
“Now that you have no place to stay, we had to look into some...alternatives. You probably know of Bruce Wayne, the billionare. He is an old colleague of mine, and he has been on a family vacation this week with his foster twins, Dick and Kyra. I have spoken to him, and he has very kindly offered up his manor for you to stay in for the time being.”
Wally’s face lit up. “A real mansion? Sweet!”
Batman nodded. “Wayne’s butler, Alfred, will be watching over you. Do not cause him any trouble.”
“We won’t,” Fin assured him, smirking slightly, and we all nodded our assent.
“Good,” Superman said. “It’s just down the block.”
“There’s got to be a mistake,” Wally insisted. His green eyes were filled with fear, and he was grasping my hand again. Robin stepped back, out of the tube, then stepped back in. Access Denied. More red light. He tried again, and again.
“What is up with this thing?”
Connor shoved him aside. “Let me try.”
Access denied.
“Maybe it’s the others, playing a prank on us,” I suggested. “They seemed pretty mad that they weren’t coming with us. Maybe it’s just a joke.”
The others frowned, even though we were hoping that was the case. Wally tried again. Access denied. He pounded on the wall of the booth angrily.
“Okay, joke’s over!” he shouted. “Let us in!”
Only silence.
“I’m serious, guys!” he screamed again, his voice echoing around the walls of the booth. “This isn’t funny! Let us in!” More silence.
“Maybe you can hack it,” Megan said softly, turning towards Robin. He pulled up his screen, trying to hack it with no avail.
“Or not,” he replied; the others groaned, but he didn’t notice. “My database isn’t recognizing that there’s a problem. Sorry.”
“Then I guess we’re going to have to go through the front door then,” Fin remarked. “You know, at the base of Mount Justice. Unless Megan can summon the bioship.”
Megan smiled. “I’ll try.”
An hour later, we were standing at the entrance at the base of the mountain. We had taken the bioship most of the way, but when we were within a one-mile range of Happy Harbor, it mysteriously shorted out, and we had to walk the rest of the way. “Are you sure nothing’s going on here?” I asked nervously.
“At this point,” Robin said grimly. “I’m not sure of anything.”
The door in front of us looked similar to a garage door; no handle, and it presumably slid upward when opened. Wally located the button that would open the door, and he eagerly jabbed at it. Nothing happened.
“Oh great,” he groaned. “Now this one’s broken too?”
I still thought that it didn’t all add up, but I knew not to tell the others. They would never believe me.
“This I can hack,” Robin assured, already bringing up the screen on his watch. Fin stopped him.
“Wait,” she hissed. “We should listen first, see if anything’s going on inside. Megan?”
The two of them closed their eyes and stepped forward. We knew to steer clear when they were listening for thoughts. Finally they opened their eyes again.
“You hear anything?” Robin asked. They shook their heads.
“Nothing,” Fin replied. Megan frowned. “It’s weird. Even if they were hiding, they would still have thoughts.”
Robin looked at his screen, still typing on his keyboard. “There we go. It should open now.”
Wally punched the button, and the door slid open. We all stared inside.
“It really is empty,” I whispered. I wasn’t sure why I was whispering, it just seemed like the appropriate thing to do in the current situation. The room, which was usually blazing with color, was pitch black. There was not a flicker of light anywhere, nor a single sign of life. We all stood there, dumbstruck, until Wally, clearly fed up with waiting, began to bound into the cave. Connor quickly pulled him back. “There’s something in there. I’m sure of it. But whatever it is, we face it as a team.”
Wally nodded.
“I’ll establish a telepathic link,” Megan suggested. “Just in case.” We all nodded.
“What are we even scared of?” Wally asked, slightly whinily, still struggling against Connor’s tight gasp. No one answered, but when we had gathered our wits, we took a collective deep breath, gritted our teeth, and stepped inside. At first there was only silence. The darkness was not clearing up, and there was still no signs of life.
Then came the screeching, like the wailing of a mutant possessed bird, only a million times louder. It was so loud that the sound waves were actually visible, blinding ripples of white light that pounded through my skull, threatening to deafen me and rendering me lightheaded. Megan was screaming, Wally was struggling against Connor’s grasp--he had tried to bolt out the door until Superboy stopped him--and Fin was the only one who had kept even a trace of composure. Realization dawned on her face, which had lit up from the blazing waves of sound. “Black Canary!” she screamed through the telepathic link.
“What?” Robin shouted back, his voice equally panicky. “Why would she---”
He was abruptly cut short. Fin had burst into flames, and the light revealed a dark figure grasping the Boy Wonder’s throat. The figure’s blonde hair rippled in the breeze that had blown in from outside.
“Put him down!” Fin screeched, poising to throw a fireball.
“No!” Connor commanded telepathically. “We can’t attack a member of the Justice League.”
“But she’s gonna kill--”
“I said no,” Connor replied firmly.
“Since when did you become the leader?” Wally retorted.
“Since Aqualad disappeared, Robin got attacked by a member of the Justice League, and I was the only member of the Team with any common sense! That’s when. Now, anyone know what we should do?”
“We get the hell out of here, before this aster gets back its dis!”
“Robin?” Fin asked incredulously, and her head swung up towards the ceiling, where a flash of red and gold descended until it swung over our heads. “Idiot! It’s already got it’s dis!”
Gunshots sounded from somewhere deep in the cave, and a shower of bullets next to them rang their assent.
“Come on!” he shouted, extending the end of his rope for the rest of us to grab on. We stood our ground.
“We can’t leave without the others,” Megan replied telepathically. “Has anyone seen them?”
We all shook our heads. Another shower of bullets brought us back to our senses, and a row of figures stepped into view. At once, they cocked their guns and fired. “Duck!” shrieked Fin, and we tore away before we could see who it was. We thundered through the cave, ducking under furniture and chunks of rubble. Megan was shrieking, but whatever she was saying was inaudible over the din of the battle.
Seeing a large chunk of what was once part of the ceiling--between the guns and presumably the powers of Black Canary and the rest of the Justice League, the cave had been torn apart--I dove under, and the others followed. We were crouched forward, afraid to sit down, and panting.
“What do we do now?” I asked, still telepathically.
“We find the others,” replied Robin.
“Artemis?” Megan called; she could send thoughts the farthest out of any of us. “Aqualad? Where are you?”
A sharp squeal from behind me answered that, Wally had tried to sit down, and had sat on something warm and dark. “Right---here---” came Artemis’s voice, and the dark shape pushed upward, sending Wally sprawling backwards in surprise.
“Thank god,” said Fin. “Where’s Aqualad?”
“I am here,” Aqualad stood up to face us, and Wolf ran forward to greet Superboy. Quicksilver stepped out of the shadows behind him.
“Good,” Superboy said. “So, tell us. What in the world is going on?”
“It appears to be the Justice League, or someone pretending to be the Justice League---”
“Yeah, yeah, we got that,” Wally interrupted, and Aqualad turned to glare at him.
“We have no idea who, but I believe it is safe to say that they are not who they seem. Our only choice is to escape, and if it is, in fact, an enemy, we will know soon enough. I shall try to contact the Justice League, to see if that will clear things up, but in the meantime, it is not safe here.”
We nodded.
“Should I call the bioship?” Megan asked.
“Good idea,” Robin replied, and sprung upward into the open. We all followed suit, racing down into what was once the hangar. Fin threw a fireball to deter the enemy from pursuing us, and as we scrambled into the ship, Artemis paused at the bottom of the ladder to load her bow and fire a stream of arrows. As the ship, which appeared to be working again, flew swiftly out into the night, Artemis swung inside, and when I looked back, Mount Justice had exploded in flames.
“So, now what?” Wally asked. We had been flying for an hour, and no one had spoken until now.
“Do you have any idea where we’re going?” Artemis asked, turning to Megan. She shook her head.
“Away from here. That’s all I know now.”
We were in camouflage mode, we had been from the beginning, but without warning, we suddenly switched out. “Megan?” Robin asked uneasily. “Was that you?”
Megan nodded, then pointed out the window, where a cluster of specks, which seemed to glow against the dark night, was growing larger and larger as we landed. Soon, the shapes became more distinct, and they were revealed to be people. The bottom hatch slid open, and one by one, we jumped out onto the ground, our feet slapping the hard earth. We were surrounded in a circle by none other than the Justice League.
Wally frowned, then sprung forward, trying to attack, but Connor had expected it, and pulled him back again.
“What happened?” Batman asked grimly, staring us down.
Wally spoke up.
“Someone attacked us---you attacked us! back at the cave.”
“And I had no choice but to blow it up,” Artemis added softly, staring at her feet.
“We know,” piped up Red Tornado. “But it was not us.”
“Who, then?” Robin questioned.
No one answered. Finally, Batman spoke again.
“Now that you have no place to stay, we had to look into some...alternatives. You probably know of Bruce Wayne, the billionare. He is an old colleague of mine, and he has been on a family vacation this week with his foster twins, Dick and Kyra. I have spoken to him, and he has very kindly offered up his manor for you to stay in for the time being.”
Wally’s face lit up. “A real mansion? Sweet!”
Batman nodded. “Wayne’s butler, Alfred, will be watching over you. Do not cause him any trouble.”
“We won’t,” Fin assured him, smirking slightly, and we all nodded our assent.
“Good,” Superman said. “It’s just down the block.”
