Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

A/N: Hey everyone! Welcome to a new story! Honestly idk, why I’m running with this idea and I know I should be working on my other stories. But, here I am, mostly because I couldn’t get this idea out of my head. Anyways, I don’t own FNAF or YJ, I’m just here losing my mind. Let me know what y’all think.

Gotham City, July 12, 20:25EDT

He should be dead.

He was supposed to be dead.

He had to be dead.

There was no way he could have survived…that.

And yet he felt warm.

He shouldn’t have felt warm. Not unless he was in hell.

But he didn’t think his version of hell would be this comfortable.

If anything, he was pretty sure he just lived it.

His stomach still hurt though.

“How is he doing?”

Was that…a voice?

“It’s a miracle he’s still alive…”

His head hurt. It felt like it’d been stuffed with cotton balls.

He never liked cotton balls, they felt weird and always made him want to pull away. They always smelled like disinfectant too.

“When do you think he’ll wake up?”

To his surprise, he could feel the muscles of his brow twitch. He could smell disinfectant.

“We can’t be sure. We aren’t even sure how he’s still alive to begin with after…something like…that.”

Distantly, he could hear a faint beeping.

The first thought to cross his mind was that it was his alarm clock. That somehow, this all had been a horrific dream. But, the rhythmic sound was too soft and too far apart to be his alarm.

“But I wouldn’t get your hopes up.”

His stomach still hurt. It felt like his insides had been twisted all out of whack.

“…you should go home, get some rest—”

“I’m not going anywhere.”

Involuntarily, he felt the muscles in his fingers twitch, sending sensations shooting up his arm as the pads slid over a super soft fabric. It didn’t hurt, but it felt like…too much. After Lord knew how long he’d experienced nothing but agony and darkness, anything other than the constant throb of pain seemed like it would overwhelm him.

A soft groan escaped him.

Though he wasn’t sure how.

He wasn’t supposed to have lungs anymore.

Almost immediately the soft voices flittering on the edge of his consciousness went silent. The echo of approaching footsteps practically reverberated in his head as someone walk closer. His forehead felt warm as he felt fingers trail along his hairline, brushing a few locks of hair out of his face. “Michael?” a gentle voice spoke clearly as a warm hand enveloped his own. “Can you hear me?”

Someone…someone was worried about him. Why would someone be worried about a dead man?

Unless he wasn’t dead.

But he had to be.

There was no way he was alive.

The warmth surrounding his hand left, leaving his fingers cold. The loss of sensation almost made him whine. While it burned at first, the heat started to feel nice.

It almost made him feel alive again.

To his relief, the warmth enclosing his hand returned. These hands felt bigger and more calloused than the other one, but it still felt nice to feel their owner’s thumb running up and down his knuckles. “Mikey? It’s me. It’s Uncle Henry.”

Uncle Henry? He was here?

“Can you hear me, kiddo?”

Mike furrowed his brows, he thought he could start to make out light bleeding through his closed lids. His fingers spasmed as he tried to squeeze the man’s hand. It must’ve worked because he felt his arm be lifted higher. One of the hands left his own, coming to rest on his forehead. “Mikey?”

Leaning into the touch, Mike peeled his lids apart, wincing as nothing but white assaulted his vision. The blinding light made pain shoot through his head. Squeezing his eyes shut, he grimaced, feeling his dry lips crack as he slowly tried to open his eyes again.

This time, he could make out blurry blotches of color against the sea of white around him. One was closer than the others.

Blinking a few times, his vision slowly began to clear, the colorful blobs becoming more solid. Light brown eyes gazed down at him through graying locks of strawberry blonde hair, the light glinting off the glasses in front of them almost masking the relief that shone within.

“Un…” pain shot through his throat, his voice scratchy, “Uncle Henry?” At his weak words, Mike immediately felt guilty as he saw tears coming from his godfather. He hadn’t meant to hurt him.

However, before he could apologize, his uncle’s hand trailed from the top of his head to his cheek, the man looking at him quietly with tears as he squeezed his hand. “I’m so sorry Mikey. I should’ve checked on you sooner.”

Why was Uncle Henry apologizing? This wasn’t his fault. None of this was his fault. Uncle Henry hadn’t been the one to rip his family apart.

All that blame lied on Michael.

He should be apologizing for bothering the man and making him worry. Mike had been handling himself for almost two years as it was. His uncle shouldn’t be burdening himself with the likes of him.

It wasn’t like he didn’t deserve everything that happened anyways.

The warm thumb tracing his cheek paused, making Michael open his eyes again. He didn’t recall closing them to begin with. That didn’t matter though, he made Henry worry again.

“S-sorry.”

Judging from the deepening frown on the man’s face, that hadn’t been the right response.

“Mikey, you have nothing to be sorry for,” Henry replied stroking his hair. “I’m just thankful you’re alive.”

He almost believed him. But no one had ever been truly happy to see him. His neighbors were only nice because they pitied him.

Swallowing the lump in his throat, Mike looked away. The first thing his gaze landed on was the woman standing with a clipboard in the back of the room. Her white coat almost blended into the walls behind her.

He must’ve been in a hospital. He’d been in hospitals enough for him to know. It should’ve been immediately obvious to being with given the beeping of the heart monitor, the smell, all the white walls, and the strange feeling of something blowing air over his nose and mouth.

A soft smile crossed the woman’s face as she stepped forwards, using her free hand to adjust her glasses. “Hi Michael, I’m Dr. Thompkins,” she introduced herself. “It’s good to see you’re awake. You’ve been in a coma for the past three weeks.” Clicking her pen, she looked at the heart monitor, quickly jotting a few things down as if she hadn’t just dropped a major bombshell on the young man. “How are you feeling?”

“Like shit.”

The doctor grimaced in sympathy, “I imagine so. Your injuries were quite horrific. You’re lucky to be alive.”

Damn, even when he’d been in hospitals before they’d never stated things so bluntly. Even when it had been obvious that Ev—his brother was going to die, they’d been gentle. He must’ve been in a bad state if she wasn’t trying to sugarcoat it.

Then again, it probably was hard to sugarcoat being disemboweled and worn as a meat suit for the better part of a week.

“Does anything hurt?”

“My stomach,” he answered moving the hand that wasn’t clutched in Henry’s iron grip.

“On a scale of one to ten?”

“Maybe…about a four or five?”

Dr. Thompkins frowned slightly as she continued writing. “Ok,” setting her clipboard down, she grabbed the stethoscope hanging around her neck. “I’m going to check a few things real quickly, ok?”

Mike nodded as he felt Henry squeeze his hand before letting go, stepping out of the room. Anxiety pooled in his chest as the door closed behind them man, leaving him alone with the doctor.

“Alright, I’m going to check your heart and breathing first.”

Closing his eyes, Mike kept himself from flinching as the cold stethoscope touched his skin, moving around every few moments to a new spot.

To his relief, it ended after a couple minutes, and he gave a shaky exhale, looking to the woman as she wrote on the chart. “Does breathing hurt?”

His chest ached, but he wasn’t sure if that was just from stress or his probably broken ribs. But it wasn’t painful if that’s what she was asking. “It’s just uncomfortable.”

Dr. Thompkins made a small sound of acknowledgement. “Ok, last thing I want to check up on is your abdominothoracic stitches. Do you want Mr. Emily in here?”

Michael paused. To be honest, he was scared. He hadn’t looked in anything reflective or even down at his own arms yet. He didn’t want to see how bad he undoubtedly looked, let alone how ugly his scars were going to be. But still, he was sixteen. A grown man, he didn’t need someone to hold his hand like a baby.

“No.”

“Are you sure?” she asked again, her brows furrowed in concern.

This time, Mike merely nodded.

He could hear the pulse on his heart monitor pick up alongside the feeling of his stomach sinking. With a shaky breath, he leaned his head back, squeezing his eyes shut doing his best to ignore what was happening. Trying to think about anything other than the pain in his stomach and the blood pooling around him.

“Mike.”

He could feel the cold metal tendrils dig into his flesh and burrow into the gaping wound of his abdomen.

“Mike.”

He was cold. His flesh was ripping. He could feel it starting to move inside—he couldn’t do anything.

“Mike!”

He was dying. He couldn’t breathe. He didn’t want to die.

“Michael!” Henry’s voice snapped through, making the teen look at him. He was distinctly aware that his cheeks were wet, but Mike didn’t care as the man pulled him into a hug, tucking his head against Henry’s chest as fingers carded through his hair. He was vaguely aware of his uncle whispering something into his ear—it was probably about how pathetic he was for losing his composure like that. But right now, Mike didn’t care. Right now, he felt warm, he felt safe.

It was better than anything he’d had in years.

-.-

Dr. Thompkins stepped out of the room, closing the door softly to give the pair some privacy.

Striding down the hall, she stepped into her office, closing the door as she sat down in her chair wishing she had a drink.

She’d been a doctor for a long time, and in Gotham, there was no shortage of insane cases. Especially given a few of her regular patients. But still, she hadn’t ever seen someone survive injuries as horrific as these. It was nothing short of a miracle the young man was even alive, let alone conscious.

Dropping the clipboard on her desk, she ran a hand down her face. She knew she should’ve insisted to let Mr. Emily in. Having a familiar face might’ve helped keep him calm. Or she should have at least given him a mild sedative. It would’ve hampered her examination results, but at least she could still have ascertained something from half-conscious responses.

Still, what she currently had was better than nothing. He still had some time before he was completely healed, but so far, everything was going much better than expected. Though she was going to need to increase his pain meds. And now that he was waking up, they needed to start weaning him off the IV and respirator.

Of course, there was also that one other thing she needed to do. Sighing, she opened a drawer, pulling out a phone and clicking the only contact on it.

-.-

Batcave, 22:25EDT

Fingers rapped against the desk as dark blue eyes looked at the screen before them, flicking between different articles and pieces of evidence. Something was going on in the criminal underworld and Cadmus was connected to it.

Naturally, Lex Luthor was involved. Cadmus was a subdivision of LexCorp. Luthor was also the only villain who could obtain Superman’s DNA without him realizing what happened and had enough money to fund the experiments needed to create this clone army.

But, some of the files he’d recovered found that a shipment of product from Cadmus’s Project Blockbuster had been shipped off to Santa Prisca. The island nation known for its Venom factory. The same island that had also been recently taken over by the Cult of the Kobra just a few weeks ago.

Luthor was a man of science. There wouldn’t be a reason for him to ally himself with religious fanatics.

Of course, as deep as the man’s pockets ran, Luthor was never one to turn away a potential payday. Even if it was with blood-money.

He’d have to check the man’s financials to be sure. But it was doubtful they’d be easy to track. If Luthor went so far as to hire the League of Shadows to eliminate anyone who even had a single tie to Cadmus, there was little chance he’d be paid directly. Money laundering or a similar practice would be more likely.

However, if he wanted to be certain, he’d need access to the Cult’s files. Ones that rarely were kept on a standard system. And, given that Santa Prisca wasn’t on the League’s UN charter, the League would need probable cause to enter the country—because for some reason the presence of drug cartels alone wasn’t enough.

But, it wasn’t like they recently developed a way to bypass this barrier. A recon mission to Santa Prisca would be a good first mission for the newly formed Team. They could find out why the factory was still running at full capacity. If they were lucky, they’d find the connection linking Luthor to their activity. Maybe even who the buyer was too. But, any info they could obtain would be useful nonetheless.

Either way, he wasn’t going to be making much progress until he got access to the financials.

Closing the files on the Cadmus Conspiracy, he stood up, pulling his cowl over his head. Hopefully an early patrol would keep the low lives from crawling out of their holes for the night. At least then he could spend more time on his other, more important, cases.

Particularly the Afton case. Some of the things he’d found had been quite concerning. Actually, the deeper he dug, the more he didn’t like the picture that was forming. If this case was going to be as serious as he expected it was, he’d have to do another sweep of the house to make sure he didn’t miss anything.

“You have a call, Master Bruce.”

Given that Alfred didn’t sound urgent, Batman continued to head towards the car. “I’ll check it later.”

“It’s from Dr. Thompkins.”

That got his attention. Turning on his heel, Bruce removed his cowl, looking at the monitor to confirm the ID. Sitting back down in his chair with a deep exhale, the vigilante ran a hand down his face. He’d been dreading this call for a while. Commissioner Gordon had called him for this case personally, stating that it had made several of his best detectives sick.

Not that the Dark Knight blamed them.

Certain cases were always harder than others for various reasons. Personally, Batman had always found crimes against children to be difficult, especially after taking Robin under his wing. Of course, he also knew many found crimes as gruesome as this had been to be hard, regardless of the victim’s age. So, a case like Michael Afton’s was, as Robin would say, a double whammy.

Even he had been certain the teen had been dead when he saw the body lying just inside the entrance of his home. Despite his grievous wounds, there hadn’t been much blood around him, but investigators had found various dried pools around the house alongside furniture that had appeared to be knocked over. It was clear the kid put up one hell of a fight before he’d been killed.

Or had been assumed to be killed, as when the Dark Knight knelt down to inspect the body for evidence he heard a painfully weak wheeze. One that anyone less trained would have missed. But, cases where a victim survived something impossible wasn’t unheard of—they were just extremely, astronomically rare.

No doubt his sudden order for an ambulance had made at least one of the nearby officers almost pass out.

But still, given the child’s prognosis, Leslie could have only been calling for one reason: after being in a coma for over three weeks and despite the doctor’s best efforts, the boy had passed away.

“Dr. Thompkins,” he answered. “I take it this is about the Afton case?”

“Yes,” she answered curtly. “You should get over here. He just woke up.”

Chapter Text

A/N: hey everyone! Welcome back! So…it appears that I’m still going with this. Don’t know where I’m going with this, but it’s somewhere…hopefully. So, I’m sure you’ve noticed that some of the aspects of the FNAF timeline have changed. And yeah, they have. Anyways, I just own the story, none of the characters are mine.

Gotham, July 12, 22:45EDT

Mike lost track of how long he’d been lying there against his uncle’s chest.

He must’ve dozed off because at some point Uncle Henry had pulled the blankets up over his shoulder and leaned against the back of his bed.

“Have a good nap kiddo?”

Stifling a yawn, Mike gave him a nod in reply. He was still tired, but he did feel marginally better than he had earlier.

A hand ran up and down his back as Henry’s chest shook with a half-hearted laugh, “That’s good, it looked like you needed it. Are you feeling hungry? I can see if one of the nurses can go pick us up some milkshakes. Nothing too big though, Dr. Thompkins said since you haven’t eaten much we’re going to have to take it slow so you don’t get sick.”

That didn’t make much sense to the teen. His dad didn’t always give him money to buy food. Any food they did have in the house had during those times had gone to the twins and his father before him. Mostly because his father would’ve blown a fuse if he had to listen to the twins—especially his favorite—complain about being hungry. And their dad worked long hours to keep a roof over their heads. So, Mike had gotten used to long periods without eating. He could always get stuff at school, and he wouldn’t have to hear his brother whine about being hungry. During the times there was enough food for him to make extra or have leftovers he’d never gotten sick.

But right now…he wasn’t sure he could stomach anything without wanting to throw up. Even the sheer idea of eating made his stomach churn.

“Tell you what? How about we order something and if you don’t want it you don’t need to have it?” Henry continued, startling him out of his thoughts.

Before he could protest, Henry gently set him back against the mountain of pillows and stepped out of the room.

Leaning back, Mike looked up at the ceiling, tears already pricking the corner of his eyes. He was so stupid. He should’ve just said no. He’d already cost Henry too much already. He didn’t even want to think about how expensive his hospital bill was going to be. The last thing he wanted was to be even more of a burden than before.

“Good news!” Henry smiled stepping back inside holding two child-sized cups. “I got there just as they were about to close. Your favorite was chocolate, right?”

Well, no going back now. He should probably have some to at least make sure Uncle Henry didn’t waste any more money on him. Reaching out to take the cup, Michael paused, staring at his arm. He’d been too scared to look at his appearance earlier, but now dread coursed through him at the sight of pale violet skin instead of his normal Caucasian tone.

“Michael?”

Mike didn’t respond, sitting back as he stared in shock at his arms. He never considered himself as a vain person—he didn’t have time to worry about something so stupid—but he’d always been fit and at least healthy looking. Now, though, his arm looked thin. It wasn’t as bad as he’d seen in those pictures in third world countries, but it was thinner than he’d been before. And purple.

His. Skin. Was. Fucking. Purple.

He probably looked like a zombie from one of those comics one of his former friends used to read. Oh God, what about the rest of him? Did…did he start to decay while that thing was wearing his skin?

“Michael? What’s wrong?”

He looked at Henry incredulously. Could he not see the problem in front of him? He probably looked like a monster. He was a monster. How could Henry not see it? How could he not see he looked like he was a walking corpse?

Shoving his frustrations aside, Mike, bent over the sides of his bed, ignoring the pain in his gut as he looked for something reflective so he could see how horrible he looked. To see that any hopes he had of possibly achieving a semblance of a normal life were obliterated.

“Michael,” Henry spoke softly, grabbing his wrists in a firm but gentle grip, “please, you’re going to hurt yourself.” Slowly releasing his hands, the man reached into a bag, pulling out something with a deep breath. “Listen, I know this is going to be…a lot to take in. But, please, remember whatever it is, you’re alive because of it. You’re still here because of whatever this is. I promise, we will figure this out. I am not going to leave you to do this alone, ok?”

Henry didn’t wait for his answer as he set the object he now recognized as a handheld mirror on his lap.

Swallowing the lump in his throat, Michael’s shaky hand picked up the mirror, keeping the reflective surface tilted down. He could just set it aside, live the lie that he looked normal until he was inevitably forced to face the truth. Not have to face his likely grotesque features.

But still, he’d have to face it eventually. Father would tell him to man up and get it over with. That playing make-believe was a baby’s game.

Mike braced himself and flipped the mirror up.

He was shocked to see that he both did and didn’t recognize the man in the mirror. It looked like him, same face, same hairstyle albeit a bit grown out, and a few new scars now alongside the old faded one, but the rest…it was like looking at a stranger.

Like he feared, his skin had indeed turned violet. But that wasn’t the only change. His once chestnut-colored hair that barely brushed his nape had grown out to almost touch his shoulders, the deep purple, almost black, taking over. And his eyes…they seemed to pierce through him. The bright blues—the only aspect of his appearance he’d gotten from his mother—now had a tinge of violet similar to his father’s that glowed brightly against the black of the rest of his eyes save for the flicker of red in the center of his pupil.

All he needed was a pair of horns and a tail to be the demon child everyone always claimed him to be.

“Mike?”

He opened his mouth to respond, but all that came out was a choked sob. His life was over. How could he move on from this?

Warm arms wrapped around him, and Henry pulled him close, running his hand up and down his back. “I know, kiddo. I know. We’ll figure this out.”

“I’m a monster.”

The arms holding him squeezed tighter, “You aren’t a monster, Mike. You’re still you, just…a bit different now.”

Mike disagreed. He killed his brother. He let his sister die. How did that not make him a monster? The only difference was that he now looked the part.

As if he could tell he didn’t agree, Mike could feel Henry take in a breath to speak again only to be cut off by a knock on the door. “Mr. Emily? Mr. Afton?” Dr. Thompkins spoke. The knob twisted, and the physician peered in, not making any comment about the breakdown Mike was having at the moment. “I know it’s late, but there’s someone here to see you.”

A dull throb of pain ran through Mike’s body as Henry held him closer. Clearing his throat, Henry spoke, his voice colder than anything Mike had ever heard from the man before, “I thought there weren’t going to be any reporters?”

If Dr. Thompkins was bothered by the accusation, she didn’t show it. “It’s one of the lead detectives on the case. I had to contact him to let him know Michael woke up. He wants to ask Michael some questions, alone.”

Henry still remained tense, but the teen felt the man silently exhale in relief. “You think you’re up to answer some questions, kiddo?”

Not really, but it was better to get it over with rather than prolong the inevitable.

Seeing his nod, his godfather gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze, before standing up, pulling the blanket back over him. Ruffling the teen’s hair, Henry walked to the door as Dr. Thompkins stepped aside, allowing the man to pass before someone else entered.

Mike didn’t know how to react as he stared at the Dark Knight of Gotham standing in his doorway. The Batman was in his room.

Batman. Was. In. His. Room.

It was basically every Gotham kid’s dream to meet the Batman, anyone who’d ever heard him speak used his words as their senior quotes. Meeting the Dark Knight was practically a badge of honor. If his current situation wasn’t so crappy, this probably would’ve been the best day of his life.

Silence stretched on as the door closed behind the vigilante, and Mike picked at his blanket, doing his best to ignore the eyes on him. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end, it felt like he was being sized up the way his father always did when he was looking for even a sign of weakness.

What was he even supposed to do? He knew his father’s patterns, he knew—or at least used to know—his uncle’s too, and most people were easy to figure out; the Dark Knight, on the other hand, was a complete unknown. Did he try to start a conversation? Just wait for the hero to start his line of questioning?

“Your shake is melting.”

His…his shake?

Turning his head, Mike blinked as he stared at the foam cup sitting on the bedside table, watching as a small drop of chocolate ran down the side. “Oh…” Not wanting Uncle Henry’s money to go to waste, he reached out, grabbing the cup and fiddling with the straw, trying to find the will to eat.

“How are you feeling?”

Mike shrugged, continuing to play with the straw. His stomach still throbbed from his earlier freak out, but in terms of pain he’d experienced, it wasn’t too bad. Granted, he doubted anything could ever compare to...that. “Better than before.”

The Dark Knight gave a quiet noise of acknowledgement, “May I come closer?”

Slightly confused by the request, Mike gave him a small nod, watching as the tall shadow approached. Wasn’t he here to ask questions about what happened to him? Why wasn’t he just getting it over with? Michael didn’t want a literal hero to waste their precious time on him when it could be spent saving dozens if not hundreds of people. The sooner he got the answers he wanted, the sooner the superhero could go work on something more important.

“I understand that you’re going through a lot right now, but I have a few questions for you.”

“No shit, why else would you be here?”

Mike regretted the words as soon as they left his mouth. What the hell was he thinking? Who the fuck talked to Batman like that?! His father would probably go through with his drunken threats to kill him if he ever found out about this monumental screw up.

However, instead of getting angry, the teen almost swore he saw the Dark Knight’s mouth twitch.

“Can you tell me who attacked you? Do you know them?”

Biting the inside of his cheek, the teen looked back down at his half-melted shake. “Kind of? I guess? It’s hard to explain. You probably won’t believe me.”

Masked eyes narrowed, sending a trill of trepidation up his spine. “I’ll be the judge of that. What happened?”

Taking a deep breath, Mike started explaining everything that happened. How he got a letter from his father just after he’d gotten fired from his last job for arguing with a customer. About how it was detailing a technician job at their family’s company and some things his father wanted him to check out in his stead. He did his best to skim over how excited he’d been over the sudden interest his father had expressed in his future, it wasn’t relevant to the case. It probably had only happened now cause by holding his own for so long he’d proven to the man he could handle himself as a capable adult. And, probably cause his father was just as busy as he’d always been.

It was only when he started explaining his hellish week at Circus Baby’s Pizza World his skin began to crawl. He explained the weird design flaws he’d noticed: the yellow police tape and the various system errors. “What kind of place shuts off oxygen?” had been closer to his exact phrasing. About his first encounter with the seemingly hostile children’s toys as the little sidekicks of Circus Baby had tried to pry the door to his hiding spot open with staticky laughter.

“The animatronics tried to attack you?” Batman interrupted, a scowl settling on his face.

Mike gulped, nodding hesitantly. “Yeah, I guess their night settings are a bit, uh, buggy. Granted, using a shock to keep them running almost twenty-four seven would probably create problems. It wouldn’t allow much time for the systems to reboot and reset themselves for updates and maintenance. And since they’re so used to having people around all the time, I think their limited AI programming tells them to seek out people, which is why they get so…playful at night.”

It wasn’t the best phrasing, but it made the most sense. When Foxy caught him after he worked on Freddy, the animatronic had the opportunity to kill him, instead it shoved him into a springlock suit, almost as a messed-up game of dress-up or hide-and-seek.

Though he was still pissed as Bon Bon for biting his arm. Next time he saw that stupid animatronic hand-puppet he was going punt the little bastard into the bay.

“That still doesn’t explain what happened to you.”

His mouth suddenly felt bone dry and his eyes stung. Glaring into his lap, Mike tried to control his trembling hands. “At—at the end of my first week, t-they had some problems with Circus Baby. They couldn’t reach their normal technicians, so they called me. So, I went in and…I found them—the missing techs. I was going through my normal routine of checking up on all the animatronics when…” he trailed off, thinking about how his heart had almost exploded out of his chest as he saw the men hanging above the stages, the metal coils practically crushing their necks as the bodies dripped blood and entrails onto the stage. He remembered feeling horrified as Hand Unit said everything was functioning as normal, as if he couldn’t tell the difference between the presence of animatronics performing on a stage and a pair of dead bodies. “They were dead. I don’t know what happened. I went to go call someone, only to realize that the door had locked behind me. The system said I couldn’t go home until I got my job done. So,” he took a deep, shaky breath, trying to calm his nerves, “I went towards the maintenance room, to work on Circus Baby. Apparently she’d had some malfunction on stage. I figured her repairs would be easy cause out of all the animatronics she was the only one who wasn’t…weird at night. She actually warned me about the other ones, and hadn’t made any moves to attack me, so I didn’t think twice when she mentioned something going on and where to go to find out.” Mike’s chest tightened as his eyes continued to sting.

In hindsight, it was clear of how much of a dumbass he was. Just because one animatronic wasn’t feeling particularly murderous didn’t mean it wasn’t dangerous in other ways. She literally told him a story about luring in a little girl with ice cream and killing her. How could that not have been a red flag? Sure, he found the story odd, but when he heard of her breakdown the next day he attributed the gruesome tale to that. Even with an error, where would an animatronic with no access to the internet learn a story about that?! Their jobs were to entertain children, not scare the crap out of them! How did he not see something so fucking obvious?!

“Michael,” Batman spoke, his hand landing on his shoulder, “what did she do?”

“I—I followed her directions, to the room where she said I could find evidence, but…there wasn’t—I didn’t know it was the scooping room,” Mike cut himself off with a choked sob, curling in on himself. For a moment, he heard the metal door lock behind him, felt the metal coils wrapping around his neck and limbs, holding him still. He remembered looking through the glass to see a figure approaching, thinking he’d been saved before watching the tangle of wires wearing a clown mask claw at the window with a sinister grin.

“The scooper only hurts for a moment.”

Without warning, Mike felt his throat tighten, the same way it did when that mess of wires and oil had slithered its way back up the remains of his torn esophagus, ripping at flesh as it forced its way out of his mouth. This time, instead of tasting blood, metal, and oil, he just tasted bile as he emptied the nonexistent contents of his stomach into a bin that had not been there before.

A hand ran up and down his back as the bin was pulled away, set on the ground by the foot of his bed for later disposal. A water bottle soon replaced the shake in the teen’s hands, “Drink, you’ll get dehydrated.”

Mike didn’t argue, opening the cap and eagerly taking a swig, sighing in relief as the cool liquid washed away the vile taste in his mouth and replaced the sensation of wires in his throat. “Thanks.”

“I have one last question, and then I’ll leave you be for tonight,” the Dark Knight continued. “What is the scooping room?”

Mike almost felt sick again, but swallowed it down. After a breakdown like that the hero deserved some answers, especially since he was already wasting so much time with him. Leaning back against his pillows, he blinked slowly, suddenly feeling drained, “It’s, uh, pretty self-explanatory. They have a room with a giant scoop that rips out the internal wiring of the animatronics, this way actual technicians don’t have to do it.”

The Dark Knight didn’t show any outward reaction besides the slight widening of his eyes and the clenching of his fist. He had more questions, many more, but they could wait for right now. The boy was clearly reaching his physical and emotional limit.

And, he needed time to process what he just heard.

Michael had spent five nights alone in a building with subpar safety trapped with violently aggressive robots that had killed two adult men. Even more frighteningly, that reaction indicated the teen had been fully aware of what happened to him. He had been conscious when his organs had been ripped out. That didn’t even account for the following week he’d been missing before being found in his home almost dead.

The fact that this was the eighth case of a crime against a child with a connection to Fazbear Entertainment in eight years made it more concerning. It seemed like every year, without fail, there was the death of a child at one of their facilities. And that was just known cases in Gotham alone. But, he did have someone he could question about it right outside.

Batman stepped closer to the teen as he began drift off, occasionally jolting himself back awake for a few seconds before slipping back under. Grabbing the thin sheets, he pulled them a bit higher over the dozing boy, “Get some rest.” Stepping through the door, the Dark Knight leveled a glare at Henry Emily as he let Dr. Thompkins pass to check on her patient. “We need to talk.”

Henry gulped, following the vigilante into an empty room, nearly jumping as the door closed behind them.

The Dark Knight watched as the man nervously wrung the hem of his wrinkled shirt, shifting from foot to foot as they stood alone. “Four missing children, murders of three kids, the disappearances of several technicians, two reported work-related deaths, and now an attempted murder, and I would be willing to expect more the further I dig. I’m going to give you one chance to explain, Mr. Emily. What are you hiding?”

The blonde sputtered, jaw dropping in shock, “You—you don’t think I have anything to do with this!”

The Dark Knight knew he didn’t. The evidence he’d found in the Afton house had basically confirmed that the man’s business partner had been acting alone. But it was best to make sure that he wasn’t going to be sending an accomplice back to sit by whom he suspected to be the man’s most recent victim. “You are the owner of the company.”

“What does that have to do with killing children?! I would never—God!” The man took a deep breath almost looking sick as he sank into a chair. “Listen, I know it’s hard to believe, but please, I would never do anything to hurt anyone, let alone a child. I don’t want anyone to go through that pain. And, I know my company has never had the best track record, it’s something I’ve been trying to fix for a long time. But Will is in charge of East Coast operations and I haven’t talked to him in a while. I don’t know if he’s cutting corners to save face. I’ve been living in Central City for almost five years now, I just…couldn’t take being here anymore after…” the man trailed off running a hand through his disheveled hair, “You’re more than welcome to access anything you need to figure out what’s going on.”

Batman had already accessed the company’s systems, but Mr. Emily didn’t need to know that. Though, the data he found did provide some credence to the man’s words. The facilities in the Midwest and on the West Coast did have a significantly lower amount of work-place injury reports. The most recent severe ones being a robbery in California three years ago and an attempted kidnapping by a well-known criminal in Utah about a year ago.

“How long have you been unable to get in contact with Mr. Afton?”

Mr. Emily blinked, “I, uh, lost touch with him not long after Evan—his youngest—passed. I just figured he’d been taking it hard, especially so soon after Lizzie.”

Yes, Michael’s siblings, both of whom had died a year after each other. One under mysterious circumstances, the other due to a prank gone wrong.

Running a hand through his hair again, Mr. Emily hissed through his teeth, “I still don’t know what made Fredbear malfunction that way. The hydraulics of his jaw shouldn’t have been strong enough to crack a kid’s skull.”

No they shouldn’t have.

“I think Mikey still blames himself,” Henry continued resting his elbows on his knees. “It was a cruel prank, but you can tell he didn’t mean it. He’s a good kid, Will just tends to be a bit hard on him sometimes.”

That was the understatement of the century.

“Were you aware that Michael has been living alone for almost two years?”

“What?!”

“None of his neighbors or teachers have seen William in two years, any time they ask about him Michael says he’s on a business trip or is at work. The only time he’s reached out to talk to Michael was a recent letter about checking something out for him at one of your company’s locations—the same one where he was attacked at.”

“Two years? Mike has been living alone for two years?” the man said, his knuckles turning white as he clenched his fist. “And I’m guess that isn’t the worst of it, is it?”

“No.”

“I’m gonna kill him.”

The Dark Knight almost expected the man to storm out of the room to try to hunt down the man himself. Especially if he told him the rest of what he had discovered. “Doing that won’t help Michael.”

“I know,” he sighed, deflating back into his seat. “I’m just…frustrated about all of this. Mike’s a good kid, if I’d known what he was going through, I would’ve been there in a second.” Rubbing the back of his neck, Mr. Emily, leaned back in his seat. “Listen, I know you’re probably busy, but this accident…I don’t know what it’s done to him. Do you know of anyone who could, uh, help him through this?”

“Yes, I do.”

Chapter Text

A/N: Welcome back guys! Surprised y’all’re still here honestly. Anyways, as I’m sure you’ve guessed there are changes to the timeline, mostly in that it doesn’t take place in the 80s. Remember, I just own the story, none of the characters are mine.

Gotham, August 3, 15:15EDT

Mike couldn’t believe he agreed to this. Actually, he was more surprised his uncle agreed to let him do this. Save for his doctor appointments and work, Henry practically hovered all the time as if he was worried he’d hurt himself just walking to the couch. The fact that the man had agreed to even let him step in a gym—even a personal one—was shocking.

Though he was still reeling from the fact that the Dark Knight had apparently taken enough of an interest in his training to control his newfound abilities to actually ask another hero to teach him.

At moments, he felt like he was living some comatose dream: training with a literal superhero. It was awesome. Sure he’d been stupid sore, but it was worth it. It actually made him feel kind of normal again. She didn’t make any comments about his appearance or problems outside of what they talked about during their normal sparring sessions.

Of course, he still felt bad she had to come all the way from Star City to train with him.

“Sorry I’m late,” a familiar voice spoke he turned to see a familiar blonde step into the private gym. “There was,” she cut grit her teeth, removing her jacket to reveal a bandage on her arm, “a problem.”

“It’s no problem,” he shrugged. “I know you have more important things to do.”

The heroine pursed her lips, “Michael, we talked about this. Helping you isn’t a problem. I’m more than happy to teach you the way my mentors taught me. It’s hard to figure out your abilities on your own.”

“What abilities?” he scoffed, crossing his arms. “All I can do is lift heavier things, see better in the dark, and heal myself. There isn’t much to control.”

“You still need to learn how to control that strength,” Black Canary countered, putting her hands on her hips. “Just because you’re stronger doesn’t mean you’ll always win. I’ve beaten plenty of opponents much stronger than I am—you included. Or do I need to give you another reminder?”

Mike grimaced, shaking his head quickly. As much as he was learning about fighting from the woman, he was still nowhere close to beating her in a spar. His face had actually become very well acquainted with the mats over the past few weeks.

Granted, since she was here, he would bet she was going to kick his ass again anyways.

Stepping into the ring, Canary smirked, putting her hands on her hips. “Think you can beat me this time?”

“Have I ever?” he quipped back, raising his fists.

“Don’t sell yourself short, you’re much better than when you first started,” she replied.

Her fist flew towards his face without warning, forcing the teen to sidestep as he grabbed her arm. Spinning around, he hefted the heroine up, tossing her over his shoulder onto the ground. Still holding her arm like he was taught, he was prepared to arm-bar her when she used her free hand to grab his wrist and yank him down where her boot landed on his gut, vaulting him over her onto the mat before she had her knee on his sternum, again.

“You lasted longer this time.”

“Great,” he muttered, taking her hand as she helped him up, “I made it all of ten seconds.”

“That’s better than the other protégés some days,” Canary chuckled, getting back into a fighting stance. “What did you do wrong this time?”

“I took too long to arm-bar you, even when you were going easy on me.”

“Yes, and your grip was too loose. That’s why I was able to swing around to kick you over me. Next time, use a wrist-lock or be faster.”

Nodding, Mike settled back into his fighting stance, this time making the first move. He feigned a punch to her right before using his left leg to kick her side. It almost worked too as she grabbed his leg, spinning around and knocking him flat on his back. Seeing as she still had his ankle, he swung sideways, using his free leg to kick her foot as he grabbed her other leg.

It wasn’t his brightest choice given the sharp pain in his ankle, but it’d heal in a couple hours. He probably needed more practice fighting injured anyways. Besides, it’d didn’t hurt that much.

Still, somehow his idiotic idea worked as she landed flat on her back, giving him time to get back to his feet at the same time she did. “So, how’d you get hurt?”

“Don’t try to distract me,” she replied, ducking down to kick his legs out from under him.

Jumping over the leg sweep, he blocked another punch. “What? Why would I do that?” he smirked, throwing his own punch. “It was a bad guy,” he ducked under another swing, “right?”

Canary didn’t answer, instead grabbing his arm and flipping him onto his back, nearly knocking the wind out of him. “That was good. But don’t hurt yourself again.”

Sighing, he leaned onto his elbows, “It doesn’t hurt that bad.”

“You still haven’t been out of the hospital for too long. I don’t want you to push through injuries.”

“You push through injuries,” he pointed out. “And every other hero does too. What’s the difference?”

“The difference is that you’re a civilian,” she stated, putting her hands on her hips. “You don’t need to push yourself.”

Mike didn’t say anything, but that comment kind of stung. He knew he wasn’t a good person, not good enough to be a hero anyways, but at least he had been able to pretend he was preparing do some good in the world. Make up for his previous crimes and atone for his sins.

Besides, if he was going to start doing something good with himself, then it would mean that two superheroes wouldn’t be wasting their valuable time on him.

“Michael?”

“It’s nothing,” he replied, rising to his feet, “I’m just gonna,” he motioned to the bench, “go let my ankle heal.”

Dull pain radiated up his leg as he strode over to the side of the room, ignoring the gaze trailing after him. The teen’s body ached as he flopped down onto the couch, pulling out his phone to look through his notifications—not that he got many. He wasn’t exactly popular, pariah actually being a more apt description. Not that Michael blamed anyone for ostracizing him. It wasn’t like he didn’t deserve it.

Besides, not having a social life gave him more time to find odd jobs between normal work and school. Bills didn’t pay themselves.

Though, now that he was living with his uncle, Mike suddenly had much more free time on his hands. Maybe he could start looking into some of his old hobbies? Find something to keep himself busy.

Like he thought, there wasn’t too much he’d missed since coming to the gym. Just a couple texts from Henry about dinner and work—probably telling him he needed to cook something himself tonight since he’d be working late. Wouldn’t be hard though, Henry kept the pantry of their new house absurdly full.

The sound of approaching footsteps drew the teen out of his thoughts. Looking up from his phone, he watched as Black Canary sat down on the couch beside him. “So, how’ve things been lately?”

Mike shrugged. Things were better than they had been from when he initially got out of the hospital. Sure, he didn’t need to worry about food, bills, or even chores, but that didn’t mean there weren’t other things to worry about. He still needed to find a way to earn his keep. Uncle Henry wouldn’t just let him laze around forever. Frankly he’s surprised the man hasn’t demanded that Mike do some cooking, cleaning, something to show his usefulness and value. Anything to prove he wasn’t just a black hole for the man’s hard-earned time and money.

He hated feeling useless.

Beside him, Canary reached out, putting a hand on his shoulder. Her blue eyes swam with concern as he looked at him. He hated it. He hated feeling weak, useless. Being pitied. Being trapped inside all the time because he currently didn’t have a way to hide his appearance. Being a burden to everyone around him.

“Mike, is everything ok?”

“I’m fine.”

“I can tell you aren’t,” she gently replied. “Remember, I’m here to talk to if you need to.”

The teen shrugged his shoulder out of her hand, rising to his feet and walking back over to a punching bag. “Look, it’s not that I don’t appreciate what you’re doing,” he spoke, throwing the first punch at the bag, “but don’t you have more important things to do than babysit me? I’ve handled myself for years now, I don’t want to be a distraction.”

Grabbing the other side of the bag, Canary held it still as he continued to punch it. “You aren’t a distraction, Mike. And you’re a kid, you shouldn’t be going through things like this alone.”

“Please,” he scoffed, hitting the bag a bit harder that time, “I make you travel all the way from Star City on an almost daily basis to deal with my problems. I take time away from your hero stuff and probably your personal life. It’s not like you’re going to be making a pathetic bastard like me a good guy, anyways. I’m man enough to grow the fuck up and get over my own weakness.”

Mike’s arm was stopped as the heroine grabbed his wrist making him distinctly aware of the red on his knuckles and stinging in his eyes. “Michael, listen to me,” she said putting both her hands on his shoulders, “believe it or not, you are still a kid. A good kid who’s been through too much. What you’re going through right now, it’s a perfectly normal reaction to trauma Mike. And none of us: me, your uncle, and even Batman, think of you as a distraction, or burden, or whatever else you are telling yourself. All of us want to help you.”

Glowing violet eyes glanced away, “Would you say that even knowing I was a monster?” he whispered.

“You aren’t a monster.”

“I killed my brother. I’m the reason my sister’s dead. I tore my family apart. How does that not make me a monster?”

The corners of his eyes stung again, but he didn’t make any move to acknowledge another lapse in his control. Right now, he just kept his eyes averted as he awaited her inevitable reaction of hatred and disgust. At least by driving her away she’d have more time to spend on more important stuff.

However, instead of being shoved away or smacked, he was surprised as she led him over to the couch. Sitting him down, he sat quietly as she dabbed a towel on his bloody knuckles. “I won’t lie to you Mike, Batman showed me the casefiles of what happened, and do you want to know what I saw?”

Mike didn’t answer save for a small shrug. She was going to answer her own question anyways.

“I saw a kid who’d been forced to grow up too fast. A kid who was acting out in a cry for help. Yes, what you did to your brother was wrong, I won’t deny that. But, even now it’s obvious that you still blame yourself for what ultimately was a terrible accident.”

“But—”

“Michael, answer this: “Did you forcefully shove the animatronic’ s jaw shut?”

The teen choked on his words, quickly shaking his head.

“Did you tamper with it to make it more dangerous?”

He shook his head again.

“Did you intend to kill your brother?”

“N-No,” he whispered. “I—I was just messing with…” Mike trailed off, his blood running cold as he thought back to his conversation with Circus Baby the night Fuckyou Foxy decided to knock his ass out on the end of his shift.

Circus Baby…she had described the death of his sister. Lizzie had been alone, no one had seen what happened with her and Circus Baby. And yet she had mentioned ice cream in her stomach. None of the other kids that had been playing that day had mentioned ice cream. Why would she do it when alone? Why would there be a claw in her stomach?

He had been alone too. Every night when he worked in the God-forsaken facility, he had been by himself. And every night, the animatronics had been hostile without fail. The two dead technicians had been in separate rooms too when he found their bodies. Safety was his uncle’s number one priority, no way would he allow such a major design flaw to pass. Unless…

Unless he didn’t know about it.

His father had done all the final schematics and construction.

Sure, the man was neglectful at times, but that’s just cause he was busy keeping a roof over their heads and paying all the bills. And he only disciplined him when he didn’t do what he was told. Granted, there were a couple times he’d tried to strangle him when he’d been drunk, there was also that time he woke up to the man standing at the end of his bed with a knife…but that had been a prank. He wouldn’t kill kids…right?

Just because he built the animatronics didn’t mean someone else hadn’t tampered with them. It could’ve been the person who killed Charlie, last he heard they still hadn’t been caught. And, if they did manage to tamper with the high-tech Circus Freaks, tampering with a springlock animatronic like Fredbear would’ve been child’s play.

“Mike?”

The teen jerked in surprise, his head snapping up to meet the heroine’s worried gaze. “Huh?”

“Is everything ok? You zoned out there for a moment.”

“Uh…you said you saw the casefiles right?”

“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure nothing that isn’t relevant to the case will be used.”

“It’s not that,” he interjected, biting his lip. “Was—was there any evidence that there was tampering with the animatronics?”

The blonde’s brows furrowed in confusion.

Not that Mike blamed her with her earlier questions. “It’s just,” he started, “when I was working at the location where I was…where my accident happened, the animatronics’ AI were acting, uh, strange.”

“Strange?”

He nodded, “You know how during a normal day when there’s lots of people around, they do their entertainment thingy?”

She nodded.

“Well, geez,” Mike sighed, rubbing the back of his neck, “this is hard to explain.”

“Take your time.”

“You see, when I was working there, I was by myself. And—ugh! How do I explain this without sounding nuts?”

“It’s ok,” Canary interrupted, putting a hand on his shoulder, “tell me what you can.”

The teen nodded, “Well, on the second, or maybe third night, I went into one of the rooms to do a quick check. The system said everything was fine in there, but considering that the computer system was super glitchy; like it was so bad it autocorrected my name to Eggs Benedict,” he shook his head, with a chuckle, “Eggs Benedict, how the fuck do you get that from Mike?”

Canary chuckled, “I would say that is a massive error.”

“And that’s not even the last error that stupid computer did,” Mike huffed. “But, yeah, so you can imagine that I didn’t exactly have the most trust in the system’s capabilities.” Slowly his smile faded from his face, “When I went into the room, everything seemed to be in order, but then the animatronic started talking to me again. She told me about how she was counting the number of people in the room, and eventually, she said that there was only one person in the room: a little girl. And, I guess she lured the girl over with ice cream and…attacked her.”

Alarm flashed across the heroine’s face, “It attacked her?”

Mike nodded. “Yeah, she said her stomach opened and revealed ice cream. The kid stepped closer, took the ice cream, and then…well,” he shrugged. “But, the thing is, now that I think about it, that behavior lines up with what I saw. I worked the night shift, so I was always by myself. And during that time, the animatronics were always pretty aggressive. One of them knocked me out actually, I ended up waking up in a springlock suit.”

“A springlock suit?”

“It was the first animatronic model the company used. They could function as normal animatronics and be worn by a person to walk around offstage too—though I thought we stopped using them cause they were dangerous if the locks failed.”

“Wait,” Canary interrupted, “one of the animatronics knocked you unconscious, and shoved you into one of these suits?”

“Yep, and that’s not even the worst of it,” he replied. “The next night, the end of my first week, I went in and two of the other guys apparently hadn’t gone home yet. Anyways, I found them dead,” the woman looked quite horrified at his statement, “they were in separate rooms. I think they each had been alone when attacked, cause last time when I saw them, they had been together with an animatronic and they’d been fine then. And, considering how the animatronics are around groups, I think something is going on with their programming, making them aggressive—at least when there’s no one else around.”

Of course, to know if that was true, he’d have to find a way to test that theory.

-.-

Metropolis, 21:18EDT

A bell chimed above Canary’s head as she stepped into the small retro diner in her civilian clothes. Looking around, she spotted who she was looking for: two dark-haired men, one in a nice suit, the other wearing normal work-clothes sitting at one of the booths away from everyone else. Undoubtedly, they were here to discuss a certain hot-headed clone.

A likely tense discussion. Maybe it was a good thing she decided to not wait at the Cave. This was probably gonna take a while, she would need to order a shake or something.

“Something tells me this isn’t about dessert,” one sighed handing back their menus to the server.

“Since when does Bruce ever do anything just for fun, Clark?” she spoke up, sliding into the seat beside him. “Strawberry shake please.”

“Dinah,” Bruce greeted with a nod, before his dark blue eyes locked back on the man across from him as Bibbo walked away. “The boy needs you.”

“No. He needs you. He needs Red. I’m just a constant reminder of what he’s not.”

“Sorry, Clark but you’re dead wrong,” Bruce deadpanned.

“Took the words right out of me,” Dinah agreed turning to look at the Kryptonian. “Clark, believe it or not, that kid thinks the world of you. All he wants is to prove himself to you and be like you. How can he do that if you don’t give him a chance?”

Clark glanced away, his nose crinkling with skepticism.

“Look, I know he troubles you, but he’s here,” Bruce stated. “You have to get over the how and why. Trust me on this. This boy needs his father.”

“I’m not his father!” Clark snapped, rising from his seat as if he was going to slide out of the booth.

Grabbing his sleeve, Dinah pulled the man back down. “Hate to break it to you Clark, but like it or not you are related to this boy. I don’t care what you want to label it as, but regardless it is your job to teach him. For years you’ve been feeling alone and have wanted to meet another Kryptonian, and now there’s one standing right in front of you, you won’t even give him the time of day. And, unlike you Clark, this kid, doesn’t have the strong support system you have now and when you grew up,” she said, crossing her arms and glaring at the stubborn man beside her. “Right now, all he has is me, Bruce, Red, and our attentions are divided between the rest of the kids. As his mentor, you should be his strongest ally, and yet, all I see is someone who is blaming a child for how he was born. Do you think you could look your parents in the eye and justify this behavior to them?”

Clark’s eyes were wide as he stared at her in shock. She knew it was a low blow, but right now, Dinah didn’t care. Someone had to slap some sense into this man before he did more damage. And Dinah had no qualms about tattling to Clark’s mother if this stupidity continued. Because if her words didn’t set him straight, Mrs. Kent certainly would.

Bruce, as stoic as ever, merely nodded to the server, taking his cake. “So, how’s Mike doing?”

-.-

Gotham, 21:21EDT

Mike pulled his hood higher, hiding his face as he walked by a rough-looking man. He could feel the stranger eye him for a moment, trying to assess if he’d be worth mugging or not. Eventually, the gaze turned away as the footsteps faded away as the teen continued down the street.

Distantly, he could hear the sounds of sirens, hopefully whatever was going on wasn’t too bad. But, he also hoped it was a big enough distraction for his activities to go unnoticed. Technically since his dad was awol Mike was the owner, so it’s not like he was really breaking in.

He’d only be breaking the law if the place was still an active crime scene. And, considering that everything happened in June, he doubted it would still be guarded by police if it was considered an active site at all.

To his relief, the crime scene tape seemed tattered, suggesting that the cops hadn’t been by in a while. Darting into an alley, Mike strode up the back steps and grabbed the handle, ignoring the growing pit in his gut. Slowly turning the knob, the door clicked open, swinging into the darkness beyond.

This was it. His last chance to back out. He didn’t have to do this. Canary was probably telling Batman what they discussed anyways if it was relevant to the case. If he hadn’t already figured it out on his own, it wouldn’t be long before the Dark Knight investigated his theory. He could even mention it to Uncle Henry, see if he could find anything.

Swallowing the lump in his throat, Mike turned and closed the door behind him, plunging the room into pitch black. Though it didn’t last long before his eyes adjusted, the soft glow providing just enough light for his eyes to use. And, the darkness made it easier to see the flickering lights underneath the elevator.

His footsteps echoed around him as he strode towards the doors, half-expecting to spot one of the Funtime Fuckers twitching just beside him with outstretched claws.

The metal doors scraped open, the lights flickering again as he stepped inside the familiar elevator. Mike took a deep breath, shoving the pooling dread in his gut aside. He had to do this, he needed answers. He needed to know if his father had anything to do with what happened to him, his siblings, and probably others if the missing persons reports were to be believed. And the only places he was going to get those answers was here and his old house.

Stepping inside the metal tube, the teen pulled his hood down, and took out the headlamp he used last time, fastening it on his head. Pressing the button to close the doors, he chewed the inside of his cheek as the elevator jerked slightly.

Maybe this was a bad idea.

“Welcome,” Hand Unit’s familiar voice spoke, nearly making him jump out of his skin. “Welcome to the first day of your exciting new career. Whether you were approached at a job fair, read our ad in Screws, Bolts, & Hairpins, or if this the result of a dare, we welcome you. I will be your personal guide to help you get started: I am a model five of the Handyman’s Robotic and Unit Repair System, but you can call me Hand Unit. Your new career promises challenge, intrigue, and endless janitorial opportunities. Please enter your name.”

Mike sighed, picking up the tablet. They must’ve removed him from the system after he was hospitalized. Though they apparently hadn’t taken the time to fix the damn thing as the keys were still glitching.

“This cannot be changed later, so please be careful.”

How? How could he possibly be careful if the letters were barely on the screen long enough for him to read them?

Scowling, Mike raised his hand, quickly tapping the letters to his name as they flickered across the screen. This time, he was going to get his name right.

Or that was what he planned as the screen flashed in error. “It seems you had some trouble with the keypad. I see what you were trying to type and I will autocorrect it for you. One moment please.”

Great, what was he gonna get this time?

“Welcome: Waffle Fries.”

Mike facepalmed.

Chapter Text

A/N: hey everyone, welcome back! Glad to see y’all here again! Anyways, I just own the story, none of the characters are mine.

Gotham, August 3, 21:32EDT

“Let’s turn on the light to see if Ballora is on stage.”

“Yeah, not happening,” Mike grumbled, ignoring the AI’s spiel. Pulling out a folded paper with a makeshift map scrawled messily onto it. Coming back from the maintenance room, on the left of Foxy’s room he vaguely remembered seeing the outline of a door just before being knocked unconscious. One that he hadn’t seen on the schematics he’d downloaded. Hopefully it led to a server room. Shoving the object back in his back pocket, he crouched in front of the vent leading into Foxy’s room. “Hand Unit, open the door to Funtime Foxy’s room.”

“Let’s turn on the light to see if Ballora is on stage.”

“Honestly I don’t know what else I expected.” Reaching into his toolbelt, he pulled out a screwdriver and shoved it under the little doorway. The metal groaned as he pried it open, finally getting enough room to shove his fingers of his free hand underneath. Shoving the screwdriver back into his belt, he pushed the door up.

“Warning: You’ve entered a restricted area. Entering this side of the site is forbidden by unauthorized personnel.”

“Yeah, I don’t care,” he snapped, sliding through the vent into the room. The sound of his boots hitting the floor echoed throughout the dark room, making the teen pause as his gaze flickered across the room, adjusting to the lack of light. Slowly, he could make out objects in the room, though he was most focused on three things: the familiar animatronic standing on the stage, and the two doors on each side of the room, one leading to his target and the other…he wasn’t going to think about that one. Right now, all he needed to think about was reaching the door without triggering the infernal animatronic’s motion sensors.

It shouldn’t be too hard considering he wouldn’t need to flash a light every few seconds to see where he was going. And, he would be able to actually see the damn thing coming this time. The only thing he’d have to worry about the stupid robot tracking was the glow of his eyes. Though humans didn’t have glowing eyes. So maybe Foxy wouldn’t register him as a target. That’d make his experiment a bit more challenging; hopefully he’d find the evidence he needed in the server room or even his home before he'd have to actually test that hypothesis.

Taking a deep breath, Mike quietly began walking across the room towards the office door. His heartbeat echoed in his ears, almost deafening the sound of his footsteps as he crossed the room, keeping a close eye on the fox. Its head twitched, moving towards him, causing him to freeze as he watched the animatronic. But after a few moments, it didn’t move again. Exhaling in relief, Mike slowly continued his path, moving just a tad slower to keep from tripping the sensors again. The robot twitched again, however, by this time Mike was at the door.

Only he hadn’t accounted for a locked breaker-box perched right beside the thin metal seams in the wall disguising the door. One he would bet was actually hiding a keypad. A keypad was the only thing standing between him and answers.

Cursing under his breath, he crouched down, pulling out a screwdriver. He didn’t have time to guess the code. Electric sparks flew between wires as he hotwired the lock, smirking as the door opened. Stepping inside, he grit his teeth, scowling as he found himself facing an empty security station.

“It seems you have accidentally wandered into a restricted area. Due to the sensitive nature of the materials you may be exposed to here, you will not be allowed to leave until the clean-up crew arrives at six AM, so hang tight. Rest assured that you will be promptly rescued, fired, then sent home. Thank you for being an employee. We that your experience has not be as regrettable as ours.”

Mike raised a brow, yeah, couldn’t really fire someone who didn’t work there—actually, now that he thought about it, they still owed him a paycheck. He’d have to add that to the talk he was planning to have with whatever dumbass his father had hired to run this particular location.

Shaking his head, the young man slid into the chair. He was distracting himself, and right now, he needed to focus on the task at hand. While it wasn’t a server room like he’d been expecting, the fact that the system locked him in did mean that there was a chance he could find something in there. Though…leaning back in his seat, Mike frowned as he noticed the odd doors on either side of him. These weren’t in the schematic either.

Narrowing his eyes, he turned on the computer in front of him. Whatever his father was up to, he was going to find out.

-.-

22:15EDT

Mike couldn’t believe it. He didn’t want to believe it. But he couldn’t argue with the evidence sitting in front of him. The meticulously typed notes of experiments hidden away on a completely separate hard drive he’d found tucked in a hidden compartment of the wall. The pictures of at least a dozen victims. Statistics about which animatronics had the highest success rate in luring children into the hunting ground he was now seated in and methods to improve them.

And…there had also been one about his baby sister. He had been the reason his baby sister was dead.

For years, Mike had blamed himself for not keeping an eye on her like he was told. When in reality it was dad that had been responsible for her death. And, the worst of it was, Lizzie had been the first death here. That meant that he’d killed more people. There were more kids that his father had slaughtered.

Mike’s stomach twisted; if his dad’s murderous machines killed Lizzie, his favorite, then who was to say his other children weren’t fair game? Their dad already had no qualms about leaving bruises.

Suddenly, those moments where his father stood by his bed, holding a knife or with a hand on his throat seemed a lot more frightening. How many times had he woken up that way? How many times had his dad threatened to kill him? How long had this been going on underneath everyone’s nose?

If Mike was a monster, then his father had straight up crawled out of the deepest pit of hell, because there was no way a human would do this.

Stepping back from the monitor, wide eyes gazed into the darkness where he’d heard Freddy and Ballora roaming around him. He wondered how many bodies could potentially be scattered around him.

Mike never considered himself the most religious, he vaguely remembered his mother taking him to church before she died, but some part of him half expected to see a tormented soul of one of his father’s victims glaring at him.

Swallowing the bile in his throat, Mike slammed his hands onto the buttons for the doors and vent, sealing off the room while he processed his thoughts. Ok, so first thing’s first, he needed to get out. But, right now, the door he came through was sealed shut until he figured out whatever passphrase unlocked it. Even if he did open it, then he’d still have to get past Foxy and whatever other animatronics were currently roaming around. And he wasn’t going to risk getting lost in whatever deathtrap his monster of a father had constructed.

So, he could wait till the morning crew arrived and see if they noticed something wrong, find his own way out, or try to call for help. Checking his watch, Mike scowled, yeah, waiting around wouldn’t work, he’d run out of power before then, assuming the Circus Freaks didn’t try to kill him again. Finding his own way out, well, it either meant hacking and then trying to see if he was faster than the fox or hoping his father had built another exit in wherever the dark halls lead to.

Calling for help would be his best chance.

Pulling out his phone, he sighed in relief. He had a signal, a weak signal, but he’d take it. He began scrolling through his contacts, looking for a specific number. Canary had said only to call it during an emergency.

Well, he was trapped underground in the place of one of his worst traumas in a room where he discovered his own father was a serial killer. Mike would consider that an emergency.

“MICHAEL! WHERE ARE YOU?!” the woman shouted the instant the call opened. “Your uncle called me almost an hour ago saying he couldn’t find you! We were worried sick! What happened?!”

“I’m ok, for right now,” he replied, muttering the last part. “I’m at Circus Baby’s Entertainment & Rental, maintenance area.”

The other side of the line was quiet for a moment, “…Isn’t that…”

“Yeah…I just,” he sighed, “I just needed to check something out.” He flinched as he heard Bon Bon slam against the metal door from Freddy throwing him again.

“What was that?!”

“Just the animatronics being asshats again.”

He could hear a few muffled curses as she spoke again, probably talking his uncle or someone else. “Mike, stay there, Batman’s on his way.”

Mike looked around the sealed room he was trapped in, “On it.”

-.-

22:45EDT

Mike should’ve taken his chances with Fuckyou Foxy.

Because this was getting ridiculous.

Right now, he had three of Ballora’s little sidekicks plastered to his face, giggling like maniacs when he tried to pry the bastards off. He would’ve been able to keep them away had they not leapt at him the moment he tossed them aside. And had their bigger companions not kept hurling themselves at the doors and vents around him. Plus, he had to deal with Circus Baby’s tiny asshats trying to cut off the air and electricity.

He at least might’ve been able to trick the fox by turning on his headlamp and throwing it as far from his as possible while making a break for the vent. But, no, he decided staying put in a serial killer’s paradise was the best idea.

Honestly, it’s no wonder that Circus Baby had tricked him, because Mike was a certified dumbass.

“Michael.”

The teen practically leapt out of his skin, throwing himself across the room, barely noting the minirenia’s crawling off his face. Holding up a wrench, he turned to the gaze of the Dark Knight instead of the animatronic he’d been expecting. Batman loomed in the doorway behind him, and Mike could make out the form of Foxy sprawled on the ground.

“Hey Batman,” he smiled sheepishly, lowering his makeshift weapon.

“What were you thinking?”

Shifting from foot to foot, the teen suddenly felt rather embarrassed. “Uh…there was something I wanted to check out?”

“The tampering?”

Mike grimaced. Yep, Canary told him about his theory. But at least he wouldn’t need to explain his thought process. “Yeah,” he chuckled nervously, “guess you helped me prove that theory.”

The vigilante did not look amused. “You put yourself in unnecessary danger.”

“I would’ve figured it out!” he snapped, crossing his arms. “I survived these things before,” he motioned to himself, “this.”

“You almost died.”

Mike deflated. Yeah, he had, but knowing what he knew now, he’d hardly called it his first brush with death. Just his closest.

“Are you hurt?”

“No, a few close calls, but I’m ok. Physically at least.” He sat back down, resting his elbows on his knees as he looked down at the ground. “My dad sent me here to die, didn’t he?”

The following silence was almost deafening. “Yes,” the Dark Knight eventually replied, his tone losing part of its hardened edge, “he did.”

Mike nodded, swallowing the painful lump in his throat. It hurt, knowing the monster his father truly was. To learn that his father would’ve been happy to see him die.

Some childish part of him wanted to go back to before all of this, back before when he thought his father had been capable of love. Back when he used to hang on the man’s every word. When he thought if he just worked hard enough to prove himself, his father would someday find him worthy of his love and attention.

Even now, some part of him still wanted that. Even now, knowing the truth, Mike still loved his dad when he should’ve hated him.

Choking back a sob, he became aware of a hand running up and down his back. God, he really was pathetic. His chest felt tight as he took a deep breath, trying to reign his emotions back under control. He’d been crying way too much as of late. Grown men didn’t cry. “S-Sorry.”

“It’s alright, you’ve been through a lot.”

Mike shook his head, “Still doesn’t excuse my behavior.” He could see the eyes of the cowl narrow, but before any argument could be made, Mike began wriggling the mouse on the desktop. “Anyways, I—I found something,” pulling out the files, he turned the screen towards him, “it’s pretty bad.”

Batman didn’t respond, his jaw visibly tightening as he looked through what the teen had discovered. “I had my suspicions; however, I wasn’t expecting it to be this bad. We’ll have to check the other locations.”

“Father used to visit Metropolis, Boston, New York, and Orlando a lot.”

The Dark Knight nodded, putting a hand on his shoulder, “You did good work. However, you can’t go running off on anymore unsanctioned missions. Now,” he motioned him towards the door, “your uncle should be here to pick you up.”

Mike winced, his uncle was going to have his head. With a sigh, he rose from the chair striding towards the door. “You sure you want to be left here alone?”

“I’ve disabled the animatronics, and Commissioner Gordon will be here in a few minutes.”

The teen nodded, stopping just outside the hidden room before turning to look back at the hero, “Wait, you said no more unsanctioned missions. Does that mean I could do sanctioned ones?”

“If your uncle approves: yes.”

-.-

23:12EDT

“ABSOLUTELY NOT!”

“What?! Why?!” Mike protested.

“No!” Henry exclaimed. “I am not letting you run off and put yourself in danger! You just got out of the hospital, Michael!”

“And I’m all healed!”

“Yes! After spending several weeks in a coma!” the older man reminded.

“Did you not hear a word I said? I want to do this! I want to help people!”

“You don’t need to prove yourself Mikey. You can help people in other ways. Ways that won’t risk your life!”

“I can’t just sit around and do nothing knowing he’s still out there!”

“And I don’t want you going anywhere near that man again!” the ginger-blonde snapped, grabbing his shoulders. “William is a monster. He murdered countless children, including my daughter and his own kids.” The man trembled as he set a hand on the teen’s cheek, “I will not let him take you too.” The teen grunted as his godfather pulled him close to his chest. “I refuse to bury another child.”

Mike closed his eyes, resting his head on the man’s shoulders as he felt shuttered breathing. “I’ll be ok. I promise. But I can’t do it; I can’t just sit and wait for someone to find him, to make him pay for him crimes. I want to help. Please.”

His uncle’s eyes looked tired as he looked at him, making the blonde look older than he was. With a deep breath, Henry gripped his shoulders, keeping the teen plastered to his side as he looked out to Batman and Black Canary. “You’ll keep him safe, right?”

The heroine smiled, “I wouldn’t call hero work safe, but I will personally take over his training and give Mike all the tools he needs to succeed. Batman will provide some other equipment. He’ll also be going on missions with a team of other proteges that the League knows about and will be able to assist with if anything goes sideways.”

Michael bit his lip, looking back to his godfather as the man pursed his lips, pushing his glasses up in thought. “Ok, I’m not totally happy about it, but I will let you do this Mikey,” Henry yielded, “mostly because I’d rather you do it under supervision rather than going behind my back. However,” he pointed his finger and tapped the tip of his nose, “if you do anything reckless like tonight again, I will revoke your…extracurricular activities for a week. Got it?”

“Yes, sir.”

Chapter Text

A/N: hey everyone! Welcome back to the story! I’m glad to see all the interest! Anyways, I’m just the owner for the story idea, everything else ain’t mine sadly.

Telepathy

Gotham, August 8, 19:50EDT

“You excited?” Canary inquired leading Mike through the maze of alleys.

“Kinda,” Mike smiled nervously. “Still can’t believe this is happening. I almost feel like I’m rushing into it.”

Canary paused, looking at him, her brows furrowed in concern. “Are you sure you want to do this? You can back out. We are not here to pressure you into this.”

“It’s fine, I can do it,” he replied. He wasn’t going to let her training go to waste. “What are the others like?”

“Like you: teenagers.”

“Ha ha.”

“But still,” she chuckled, stopping besides a decrepit phone booth, “you should fit in just fine.”

“You don’t think I’ll freak them out?” he questioned, waving to the general area of his face.

“Only if you stand in the shadows like that.”

Mike rolled his eyes, a playful smirk forming on his face. “So, what’s with…that?” he waved to the outdated structure. “Is it like an elevator or something?”

“Or something,” Canary smiled, opening the door. “Step inside.”

Mike glanced at his mentor, looking between her and the booth. Why did this feel like a trap? Was it some sort of League initiation ritual? Hazing? Pressing his lips in a thin line, Mike stepped inside, crossing his arms. Hopefully this elevator wouldn’t drop ten feet like the one at his old job did on his first day.

“Recognized: Remnant—B07.”

“What the fu—”

-.-

Mt. Justice, 19:52EDT

“Recognized: Remnant—B07. Black Canary—13.”

Mike stumbled forwards, his body tingling as he rematerialized in a location he didn’t recognize. “Whoa.”

There was a chuckle to his side. “Yeah, first time’s always a little jarring,” Canary smiled sympathetically. “But, welcome to Mt. Justice.”

“Holy shit,” he whispered eyes widening as he looked back at the tube and the arcing cave he now stood in. “Holy shit. Did we just teleport?”

Canary nodded, “That’s a Zeta Tube, they’re how we get between places so fast. We have ones in every city the League operates in or where we’re most likely to be called.”

Ok, so teleportation was real. That was awesome. Stepping forwards, he looked around with wide eyes, “Did you really hollow out an entire mountain?”

“Yep, it was the League’s original headquarters before the Hall of Justice, now it serves as the Team’s.”

“This is so cool,” he said, looking around the room before his gaze landed on the familiar form of the Dark Knight.

Batman gave him a small nod of acknowledgement, but the teen was more focused on the three other figures standing around him: Red Tornado, Green Arrow, and a girl in green with a bow he didn’t recognize. The archer turned towards them, a lopsided grin appearing on his face, “Hey babe, is this the troublemaker I’ve been hearing so much about?”

Mike glanced to Canary, watching as she rolled her eyes. “Don’t worry about him. He has a terrible sense of humor.”

“Hey! My humor is fantastic!” Green Arrow protested, “Right guys?” He turned to the rest of the heroes, clearly looking for support. Support he didn’t get as none of them replied. “I hate all of you.”

“So, Remnant,” a voice said next to him, making him turn to see the blonde girl standing next to him, “haven’t heard of you before. You new?”

“Yeah,” he nodded. “You?”

“Same,” she nodded. “I’m Artemis.”

“Remnant—but you already knew that.”

Artemis chuckled, “Have you met any of our new teammates before?”

Mike shook his head, “No, you?”

“I’ve seen them, but we never really talked.”

“What are they like?”

“First impression? Chaotic.”

“Awesome.”

Their conversation ended as they heard approaching chatter emanating from one of the halls leading further into the cave. Turning their heads, the two newbies watched as the recognizable form of Robin and Aqualad strode in accompanied by a couple protégés they didn’t recognize, but it wasn’t hard to figure out who their mentors were. The conversation of the other teens came to a stop as they noticed them, and Mike bit the inside of his cheek, trying to gauge their reactions.

He didn’t anticipate the redheaded Martian to fly at him and Artemis with a welcoming grin. “Hi! I’m Miss Martian! But you can call me M’gann! Are you guys joining the Team?”

“Uh, that was the plan,” Mike replied.

“Welcome to the Team,” Aqualad spoke next. “I’m Aqualad, leader of the Team. But my friends call me Kaldur.”

Beside the Atlantean, Robin smirked, crossing his arms, “I don’t think I need an introduction.”

“Why? Forget your name?” Mike quipped without thinking. It was only once he remembered who he was talking to, that he felt like an idiot.

However, instead of being mad, the Boy Wonder snickered at his response. “Anyways, the big brooding guy right there is Superboy,” the original protégé spoke. “So, do we get introductions? Or did you forget your names?”

Mike rolled his eyes, “I’m Mike, or Remnant on missions. This is Artemis.”

“Hi. I go by Artemis either way.”

“So how long have you been doing this?” Robin inquired.

“Oh, I started training with Canary about…a couple weeks ago,” Mike winced, rubbing the back of his head, “Though I was only invited to join after your mentor caught me being stupid a few days ago.”

“Same here.”

This garnered a laugh from the smaller teen, “So you’re the ones who irritated him? He came back to the Batcave muttering about reckless teens. I thought he was talking about us. Though, I will say we’re not the easiest to deal with. Our missions rarely seem to go right.”

“How?”

“Well…first mission we found SB and destroyed a building,” Robin started, “The next mission we blew up a factory. Another—I wouldn’t call it a mission, but we did fight a tornado villain that trashed part of town. Almost thought we killed him till we realized he was a robot. We did manage to stop a villain from stealing some plutonium. And a couple days ago we fought that android that the League had fought earlier after it was stolen from transport and we ended up trashing a Gotham school and blowing up the android’s head.”

Mike blinked, “So…basically no matter what we do, something is going to end up blowing up?”

“Basically.”

“…I don’t know if I should find this awesome or potentially frustrating.”

“I like to think of it as a weird combo of both.”

“I don’t think it’s been that bad,” Miss Martian smiled sheepishly, only to get skeptical shrugs from the others.

“Of course,” Aqualad interjected, “we are all still new to the aspect of teamwork with others other than our own mentors. It stands to reason that mistakes should occur. But that is why the Team exists, to help us learn how to function in a team. I’m sure before long, our missions should go much smoother.”

“I hope so,” Artemis chimed in. “I like living.”

“Oh!” Miss Martian smacked her forehead, “Hello Megan! You guys haven’t met Kid Flash yet…” she put her hands on her hips, “he should be here any minute…”

“Recognized: Kid Flash—B03.”

“Speak of the devil.”

“There he is now! I’m sure you guys will get along famously.”

Turning to the Zeta-Tube, Mike put his hands on his hips, watching with wide eyes as the missing protégé arrived not in uniform, but in a swimsuit with two armloads of beach stuff. “The Wall-Man is here! Now let’s get this party star—” eagerly stepping forwards, the speedster tripped on a flipflop, faceplanting to the ground as a beachball bounced past Batman, “—ted.”

“So, Wall-Man, huh?” Artemis began, “Love the uniform. What exactly are your powers?”

A scowl crossed the more experienced apprentice’s face as he got to his feet, making a show of wiping nonexistent dirt off himself, “Uh, who’re these guys?”

“I’m Artemis, this is Remnant, we’re your new teammates.”

“Hi.”

“Kid Flash. Never heard of you.”

“They’re our new protégés,” Green Arrow interjected, motioning between himself and Canary.

“What happened to your old one?!”

“Recognized: Speedy—B06.”

All heads turned to the Zeta Tube as a tall redhead in a red and black uniform with a domino mask strode in. “Well for starters, he doesn’t go by Speedy anymore. Call me Red Arrow.”

“Real original name there,” Mike muttered under his breath as he crossed his arms.

“Roy,” Green Arrow started, looking surprised, “you look—”

“Replaceable.”

“It’s not like that. You told me you were going solo.”

The other archer scoffed, “So why waste time finding a sub? Can she even use that bow?”

“Yes, she can.”

“Who are you?” Kid Flash demanded, looking at the blonde.

“Niece,” both mentor and protégé answered.

Beside him, Robin snickered, “Another niece?”

“But she is not your replacement,” Aqualad spoke. “We have always wanted you on the Team. And we have no quota on archers.”

“And if we did, you know who we’d pick,” the speedster added smugly.

“Whatever Baywatch, I’m here to stay.”

Artemis wasn’t kidding about the Team being chaotic. He hadn’t even been here ten minutes and already there was a fight. What exactly did he sign up for again?

“You came to us for a reason,” Aqualad said, stepping up to Red Arrow as the archer turned to leave.

“Yeah, a reason named Dr. Serling Roquette.”

Mike perked up at that name. “The nano-robotics expert?”

“And claytronics expert,” Robin remarked with a grin, typing on a holographic keyboard hoving over his glove. Soon enough there were several holograms displaying information hanging around the room.

“Ok, that’s cool,” Mike muttered.

“She vanished from her job at Royal University in Star City two weeks ago.”

“Abducted two weeks ago,” Red Arrow corrected. “By the League of Shadows.”

“Whoa. You want us to rescue her from the Shadows?”

“Hardcore,” Kid Flash grinned, fist-bumping the Boy Wonder.

The Shadows? Who were the Shadows? Glancing around the room, Mike bit the inside of his cheek as he saw everyone else seemed to know what was going on. Everyone except him. Though, Artemis was new, maybe she was in the same boat.

“I already rescued her.”

The others seemed to deflate. “Oh.”

“Only one problem,” the archer continued, “the Shadows already coerced her into making a weapon.” A new screen appeared, showing a few images and schematics for nanobots. “Doc calls it the Fog. Comprised of millions of microscopic robots. Nanotech infiltrators, capable of disintegrating anything in their path: concrete, steel, flesh, bone. But it’s true purpose isn’t mere destruction, it’s theft. The infiltrators eat and store raw data from any computer system, and deliver the stolen intel right to the Shadows. Providing them access to weapons, strategic defense, cutting edge science and tech.”

“Perfect for extortion, manipulation, power broking,” Artemis groaned. “Yeah, sounds like the Shadows.”

“Like you know anything about the Shadows,” Kid Flash scoffed.

Artemis, in turn just flashed a smug smirk in his direction.

“Who are you?!”

Mike sighed silently. Guess he was the only one who didn’t know what was going on. Oh well, he could figure it out on his own.

“Roquette’s already working on a virus to render the fog inert.”

Robin’s eyes widened, “But if the shadows know she can do that…”

“They’ll target her,” Red Arrow nodded. “Right now she’s off the grid. I stashed her at the local high school’s computer lab.”

“I don’t think I’d call that ‘off grid’ pal,” Mike commented.

“Who are you?” Kid Flash jumped, seeming to remember he was there.

“I’m Remnant. We just met a minute ago.”

“You left her alone?!” Green Arrow exclaimed, staring at his former apprentice.

“She’s safe for now.”

“Then let’s keep her that way. You and I, just like old times.”

The new solo hero crinkled his nose, “You and I? Don’t you wanna take your new protégé?”

If the older archer was going to say something, he was cut off by Batman placing a hand on his shoulder. As if having a silent conversation, the hero sighed in defeat, “You brought this to the Team. It’s their mission, which means it’s hers now too.”

Red Arrow scoffed, “Then my job’s done.” The former protégé’s footsteps echoed in the silent cavern as he strode towards the teleporter.

“Recognized: Speed—”

“That’s Red Arrow, B-06. Update.”

Welp, that was beyond awkward.

-.-

Happy Harbor, 21:59EDT

Mike leaned against a wall, crossing his arms as he stood in the front of the nearby town’s high school. Honestly, he wasn’t sure what he’d been expecting from the Team, but it certainly wasn’t…whatever that was back in the Cave. Surely even young heroes had to be more mature than that.

Sighing, he looked out into the nearby bushes. He didn’t hear anything so far. And the only thing he’d seen had been an absurdly fat raccoon.

“Everyone online?”

Mike almost jumped out of his skin, looking around. He could have swore…

“Ugh,” Artemis’s voice groaned, “this is so weird.”

He just heard Artemis talk. She was inside. And he knew his hearing hadn’t improved that much.

“And distracting,” a new voice muttered. “Coding a distributive algorithm virus on a kiddie computer with less ram than a wristwatch is hard enough. But now I have to hear teen think in my skull?!”

Holy shit, first teleportation, now telepathy. Mike didn’t know if he wanted to find this disturbing or awesome.

“Lady, do you always complain when someone tries to help you?” Kid Flash scoffed.

“Pot, kettle. Have you met?”

“Hey, hey, I don’t need attitude from the newbie who drove Red Arrow off the Team!”

“That is so not on me!”

“Fate of the world at stake!” Dr. Roquette reminded.

Oh God, if this was how it normally was, Mike could very well try to take his chances with a murderous animatronic again. “Kill me now.”

“Hey, she started it.”

“How about I go patrol the perimeter with Superboy, Miss Martian, and Remnant?” Artemis offered.

“Good idea.”

Oh, thank God it was over.

“You might want to cut her some slack,” Robin spoke up after a moment. “It was her arrow that saved your butt from Amazo.”

“What? No. That was Speedy—er, Red Arrow’s arrow, right?”

“Not so much.”

Kid Flash scoffed, “Well, still not giving her that satisfaction.”

“You know I can still hear you?”

“I couldn’t get the Justice League.”

“A virus won’t be of much use if we cannot find the weapon,” Aqualad spoke, trying to get the mission back on task. “Can you track it?”

“My utility fog is not a weapon, it’s science, brilliant science.”

“Hate to break it to you, but you had the chance to design this fog for espionage alone and you made it to where somehow, contact with it disintegrates anything in its path making sure that whoever has the fog becomes the only person with the downloaded intel,” Mike spoke up. “Sure it’s brilliant science, but it’s science that was ultimately designed to be a weapon. So, can you track it or not?”

“Of course I can track it. But to do that I’d have to go online. Might as well post up a billboard with this address and assassinate me written in neon.”

Ok, yeah, that was fair.

“We will protect you,” Kaldur reassured the doctor.

The other ends of the link were, thankfully quiet for a minute before the woman spoke up again, “Tracking fog now.”

-.-

22:33EDT

So far, everything seemed quiet as Mike walked the perimeter. Turning a corner, he spotted Superboy coming from the other side. Superman’s protégé appeared to be startled by his appearance for a moment, but he gave him a quiet nod as they passed by each other.

Of course, the was when Mike heard a faint rustle in the bushes. Pausing his patrol, he looked around, noticing the more experienced sidekick had stopped as well. Without a word, Superboy leapt up onto the roof, his footfalls crossing the building to the other side quickly.

Sighing, he stopped his walk, trying to see if he could see anything in the brush. If someone was going to break in, it’d be on the more vulnerable perimeter. Not where there were multiple guards. Fences weren’t that hard to get over if you knew what you were doing.

That was at least how he and his ex-friends had done it when they were being stupid. Huffing to himself, Mike shook his head. Hard to believe he’d once been so irresponsible. No wonder his dad left him.

Shoving the thought aside, he turning his attention back on task. Getting distracted wouldn’t do them any favors.

Of course, someone might’ve needed to mention that to his teammates.

“Hmm, that boy.”

Even though she wasn’t talking about him, Mike felt himself flush slightly. That had clearly been a private thought.

“He can hear you,” Miss Martian reminded pointedly. “We can all hear you.”

Mike slowly exhaled in relief. Hopefully that would help Artemis compartmentalize her thoughts. Things were awkward as they were. Mike had been hoping that this Team thing would be fun, but so far, all it had been was, well, rather confrontational. He’d been expecting to fight bad guys, not his own teammates.

“Oh, I know.”

Or maybe he’d spoken too soon. “Guys, focus now. Argue later.”

Aqualad appeared to be on the same page, “Miss Martian, Dr. Roquette has located the fog. Reconfigure the bioship so Robin and Superboy can pursue.”

“Ready.”

Looking up, Mike watched as the alien ship flew away with two of his comrades. Lucky bastards.

Taking a deep breath, Mike closed his eyes and exhaled. Hopefully, now, there would be less distractions. The sooner they finished this mission, the sooner they could all go home and not have to deal with each other until next time.

“You embarrassed Superboy!” Miss Martian scolded, breaking the relatively nice silence that had settled in the link.

“Didn’t hear him say that.”

“Must you challenge everyone?”

“Where I come from, that’s how you survive.”

Survive. It was an interesting word choice. To most, it would seem like a strange choice of words, but to him it was something that explained Artemis’s attitude. Mike knew that mentality all too well. That had been his life since…sometime after his mother passed. Weakness wasn’t tolerated in the Afton household. It had always been survival of the fittest.

Artemis was probably just as used to relying on herself as he had been. This team thing was just as new to her as it was to him. No wonder the whole confrontation with Red Arrow and Kid Flash had ruffled her feathers. Had he been put on the spot like that, Mike would’ve done anything to hide his weaknesses. It was a simple fact of life: the sooner you make sure people know you won’t be messed with, the sooner those who pushed people around left you alone. She had just been doing that. Showing them that despite their cutting remarks she wouldn’t be dissuaded.

Mike wondered when his turn would be. Soon enough, they would grow bored of Artemis and turn their attention onto him. Hopefully he’d be able to keep his cool during that time. Sometimes being too combative would just attract more attention. It certainly got on his father’s nerves.

But still, this was not helping their mission. “Guys. Focus.”

Hopefully that reminder was enough to get the pair back on task. The last thing they needed was a bad guy getting in while their guard was down.

Chapter Text

A/N: hey everyone! Welcome back! Glad to see all the reviews and interest in this story. Honestly, I didn’t think it was going to get this much so thanks! Also, more good news! I have just finished my last semester in college! And I have the summer before grad school starts, which means I’ll have more time to work on this and other stories.

Anyways, I don’t own FNAF or YJ, just the story idea.

/comms/

“Telepathy”

Happy Harbor, August 8, 23:15EDT

A bad guy had gotten in while their guard was down.

They stopped the assassin, but they had to move the doctor because she got away.

Mike sat across from Dr. Roquette at a different terminal in the diner they had decided to hide in. Glancing away from the screen, he saw Kid Flash perched on a counter, looking bored as Artemis paced. They would toss glares at each other every now and then, but least they were being quiet this time.

“Stop it, both of you,” Aqualad scolded suddenly.

“What?”

“I can hear you glaring.”

Snickering to himself, Mike turned his attention back to the screen, he flipped through the different camera feeds. A green square appeared on one of the streams, causing him to pause as he adjusted the angle and zoomed in. Hopefully it was just another animal.

It wasn’t an animal, but it wasn’t a cause for alarm either. Just Kaldur continuing his patrol around the building. “Everything’s all clear on the cameras so far.”

“Good. Keep your eyes open, our enemy will likely try something again soon.”

Even though he couldn’t see it, Mike nodded, adjusting the controls to have multiple feeds on the monitors at once. It would be more difficult to keep track of each individual screen, but overall it’d be more effective than flipping through the various feeds. This way there’d be no prolonged blind spots.

Though he didn’t have to wait long before he got another set of motion notifications from the southwest side of the building. Same area where Aqualad had been a minute ago. Clicking back to full screen, Mike’s brows shot up as he spotted the assassin plus two others on camera, surrounding what appeared to be an unconscious Aqualad.

“We have company,” he said, looking to his startled comrades. “The assassin from earlier and two others: a Captain Hook and Spider Man knockoff. Aqualad’s down.”

“Got it.” Kid Flash jumped off the counter as Artemis pulled out a bow. “Any idea where they’re coming from, Remnant?”

Almost as if to answer his question, the Spider Man assassin burst through the door.

“I’m guessing the front door,” Mike replied.

Kid Flash was the first to react as he shot forwards, trying to kick the hitman’s feet out from under him. The assassin leapt up, avoiding the strike. Midair, he flipped over and landed on his feet dangling from the ceiling as he flicked his wrists, sending red web-fluid splatting against the floor. Leaping out of the way, Mike grabbed the chair he’d previously been sitting on, hurling it in their opponent’s direction. The Spider dodged, dropping from the roof as the chair legs embedded themselves in the popcorn ceiling.

The sound of glass shattering behind them made Mike turn, gritting his teeth as he saw one of the other assassin’s leaping behind a bench as Artemis shot an arrow at him. Glancing back at the first assassin, he saw him trying to land a hit on the speedster. Looks like Kid had that one covered.

Ok, so they had two assassins, but they were missing one. “Anyone got eyes on the third assassin?” he asked.

“No.”

“I’ve got eyes on her,” Miss Martian replied as a table lifted into the air, blocking two crossbow bolts coming from the ceiling.

“Martian’s here! It’s now or never!”

Kid Flash grunted as Black Spider kicked him overhead and into a wall. Turning around, the web-slinging assassin grabbed the table, yanking it out of the way as the leader leapt from the ceiling towards the doctor. That wasn’t good. They needed to keep the hired killers occupied.

Mike’s bright idea to distract her was to throw the wrench from his utility belt at her head. She barely dodged the surprise weapon, but behind her mask he imagined she was looking at him incredulously. It probably wasn’t every day she got attacked with everyday tools. Standing between her and her target, Mike raised his fists. His uncle was going to kill him if he found out he threw himself in front of an assassin. “Dr. Roquette! Go with Miss Martian and Aqualad! We’ll handle them.”

Nodding quickly, the blonde scientist practically raced from the building, yelping as the metal hook of the other assassin shot towards her. Only to turn midair and shoot back towards its sender, hitting him in the face.

He had to keep himself from smirking as he raised his fists. In his opinion that looked like a pretty convincing performance. The longer their enemies believed Miss Martian was Dr. Roquette, the more time they would spend on a while goose chase while the real doctor had all the time in the world to make a virus to end the fog.

Twirling her sai in her hands, the masked woman tilted her head, “You’re only prolonging the inevitable.”

“Who’s the one being outsmarted by a group of teenagers, again?” he shot back.

He almost swore the assassin snickered. “I like you.” Without warning, she shot forwards, the blade of one of her sai digging into his forearm as he blocked the stab towards his throat. “That had to hurt.”

“Please,” he scoffed, kicking her in the gut. The blade of her weapon was still stabbing through his arm as she flipped back, landing in a crouch. Ripping it out, he tossed the weapon behind him, out of reach. “You’re gonna have to try harder than that.”

“Is that so?” she mused, pulling out a collapsible katana.

Mike barely dodged the woman’s lunge, the tip of the blade cutting his cheek as he stepped aside. Grabbing her outstretched arm, he flipped her over his shoulder, slamming her onto the ground. He was about to arm-bar her when she twisted in his grip, one foot kicking his arms while the other swept his legs out from under him. Pain stabbed through his head as he felt to the ground, blood trickling form his forehead from where he’d hit it on a corner on the way down.

“Not bad,” the assassin spoke, stabbing her katana into his leg. “But not good enough.” Springing to her feet, the assassin raced through his fighting teammates, “Pursuing target. Keep ‘em busy.”

Cursing silently, Mike forced himself to his feet, ignoring the pain in his leg as he pulled the blade out. There was no way he was in any condition to pursue her right now. Not for a few minutes. And in that time she could find the doctor. Someone else needed to stop her. His gaze landed on Captain Hook fighting Artemis. He could keep him busy for a little bit. Miss Martian had already done a number on him as it was.

The one-armed assassin swung at the archer, turning his back to him. Seizing the opportunity, Mike lunged, wrapping his arm around the man’s neck and squeezing. “Go! I’ll handle him.”

The blonde nodded, a determined look settling on her face as she whirled on her heel, sprinting towards the door. “Pursing their leader, take the rest down,” she called to Kid as she passed.

“You so aren’t the boss of me!”

“Just do it!” they both snapped.

The assassin Mike was attempting to strangle stumbled back, hitting a wall as he tried to use his good arm to pull him off. Squeezing tighter, the teen grunted as the assassin forcefully slammed his back against the wall, still trying to dislodge him.

After a few more slams, slowly, the assassin lost consciousness, collapsing to the ground. With a sigh of relief, Mike got off the unconscious man, a mix of sweat and blood plastering his hair to his brow as he looked for the cuffs Batman said he had in his belt. Though, considering the man had only one arm, it did take him a minute to figure out how to cuff him. Mike ended up settling on locking his free-hand to his belt and tying the hook-chain around it. “I got mine.”

“Great,” Kid Flash called, breathing heavily. “Little help?”

Pushing himself upright, Mike looked over the desks, brows shooting up as he spotting Kid Flash sitting on the floor in front of an unconscious assassin as red webbing pinned his arms to his side. “Uh, yeah,” he nodded, “Just a sec.” Turning around, he scanned the floor for something to cut the webbing. Thankfully, however, it didn’t take him long to find one of the discarded weapons from the assassin he’d fought.

“Holy shit. Are you ok?”

“It’s just a flesh wound,” he smirked, kneeling by the other assassin and pulling out the second set of cuffs.

The speedster didn’t look amused by his half-assed joke. “Seriously man, that’s a lot of blood.”

“Eh,” he shrugged, moving over to his teammate, “I’ve had worse. Hold still.”

If the other protégé was going to protest, whatever it was seemed to die on his lips as Mike started cutting slowly at the sticky web. He’d frequently have to pull the blade back, wiping off webbing before starting the tedious process again.

He was almost done when the sudden voices in his head almost made him cut the other teen. “Our mission has been successful,” Aqualad stated. “Though Cheshire got away. Kid, Remnant, what of your status?”

Almost instantly a shadow crossed the speedster’s face. “Oh, really? Cause we got ours.”

Mike sighed audibly, setting the weapon down, “Please don’t start fighting again. I don’t need that headache.”

At least Kid Flash had the decency to look a little guilty. “Guys, Remnant’s hurt.”

“It’s not that bad.”

“Dude! You’re bleeding from three places!”

Mike gave him an irritated glare, “I’m fine.”

“We will let Red Tornado determine that in the med-bay back at the Cave,” Aqualad chastised. “But still, the fog has been neutralized, and Dr. Roquette is safe. Thanks in no small part to both of you. Welcome to the Team.”

“So, what’d you think of your first Team mission?” Kid Flash grinned, holding out a hand.

A small smile tugging at the corners of his lips, Remnant accepted the help up. “You guys are insane,” he chuckled, shaking his head. “I like it. Just, please, don’t argue like that through the mind-link again. Getting stabbed hurt less than that.”

“Dude!”

Chapter Text

A/N: Welcome back! Glad to see y’all’re enjoying the story so far. Now, this chapter’s more of a filler. But, remember, I just own the story, none of the characters are mine.

/comms/

Telepathy/Flashbacks

Mt. Justice, August 13, 15:28EDT

Mike jerked himself awake as he leaned back in a chair. Rubbing his brows, he looked tiredly at the screen flickering behind Captain Atom as the hero lectured. Normally meeting a new hero would be cool, but right now, he was just dying of boredom. He’d been relieved to hear that the start of his school had had to be delayed a few weeks because the school had apparently been damaged in some supervillain fight. However, apparently Captain Atom hadn’t gotten that memo as he decided today’s training was a lecture.

He really hoped there wasn’t going to be a quiz.

“When your mission relies on subterfuge, resist the urge to go on the offensive. The last thing you want to risk is exposing yourself and the team, because a covert operation means keeping to the shadows.”

Mike had a feeling that comment was a dig at his comrades. From what Robin and KF told him, they sucked at being stealthy. Blowing something up during a mission was almost becoming an expectation at this rate.

“Concealing your identities and successfully infiltrating your targets is important; which means you’ll have to do advanced research, study, and long hours of stakeout. And, of course, you must always remain alert…” turning to look at them, the hero trailed off, brows furrowing slightly.

Glancing around the room, Mike could see that the others appeared as bored as he was. M’gann looked like she was either zoning out or daydreaming, Robin and KF were playing what appeared to be an intense game of rock, paper, scissors, Artemis looked like she was trying to keep herself from dozing off, and Superboy and Kaldur had looked like they both actually fell asleep.

“This is boring isn’t it?”

“Yeah.”

The silver hero nodded, “All right then, how about we go about this in another way?” Turning away from them, Captain Atom tapped a few controls on the remote and the screen flickered, replacing the boring lecture notes with a few documents and a picture. “This is a cold case from the Vietnam era: Captain Nathaniel Adams, US Air Force. Convicted in 1968 for murdering his commanding officer: General Clement Lemar. Adams died in prison, but, I have received reliable intel that he was framed. Your assignment is to investigate this report. Prove his innocence or reaffirm his guilt and report back to me. I think this will be a good way to put what you’ve learned into action.”

To his right, there was a scoff from the now awake Superboy, “Really? You need superpowered operatives for this?”

“Do you want me to continue the lecture?”

“NO!”

-.-

Washington D.C., 23:03EDT

“Entering Pentagon now,” M’gann informed as she flew inside the building. Ducking into a bathroom, she decamouflaged and morphed into the form of an unassuming Pentagon officer. “Coast is clear.”

Walking out of the bathroom, she strode down the hall towards a door. With a spot rap on the door, she stepped into an office, raising her arm into a salute. “General Eiling, Sir!”

“At ease Captain, sit,” the general spoke. “Now, explain to me why the judge advocate general’s office is reopening this case?”

“I’m afraid I’m not at liberty to do that sir,” she answered taking a seat. “You were the judge at Adams’ court martial. Which makes you a potential witness—”

“Witness?” he interrupted. “To what? The Adams case was open and shut.”

“Why don’t you just tell me what you remember general?” M’gann prodded glancing behind the General to the vent. Just through the grate, she could make out a small camera from where she sat. On the other side of the grate, Robin opened the feed, watching the interview.

“Fine. Captain Nate Adams was your classic malcontent. We were barely acquainted before the incident. In fact, I was better acquainted with his victim. Adams blamed Lemar for a Viet Cong ambush; as if any officer would intentionally get his own men killed. But Adams wouldn’t listen to reason. He was caught in the act by an M.P. Sargant Polk, I think his name was. I was a colonel when I drew the case. I found Adams guilty and sentenced him to life in prison,” the old general scoffed, “Turned out to be a short sentence. Adams took his own life before a year was out…”

-.-

Las Vegas, 20:12PDT

“So…a casino?” Superboy asked as he and Wally strode up the steps to the brightly lit building.

“It is Vegas,” Wally smirked. “You know, here no one thinks twice about anything that happens. There’s even a saying for it: What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.”

“Awesome,” he muttered as they stepped inside. Blinking the boy grimaced, it was loud. There were people either screaming or cheering, he couldn’t tell. And all the flashing lights were going to give him a headache. Fortunately, even through all the flashing lights, movement, and noise, he managed to spot their target. “Lieutenant Yarrow?”

“No, the man grumbled swirling his drink. “Retired the uniform and the title. Now I’m just Mr. Yarrow. But you can call me Henry. Hit me.” The dealer nodded, sliding a card over, Yarrow flipped in and cursed under his breath, “Twenty-two, bust.”

“Sir, on one under twenty-one is allowed in the casino,” the dealer spoke. “You are under twenty-one?”

“In weeks or months?” Superboy quipped causing the others to snicker.

“Cute,” the man snickered. “You must be the journalism students. C’mon, my luck’s run out anyways. Let’s find a place to talk.”

The group walked over to a booth, sitting down as Wally ran off to get food. Coming back a few minutes later, they could see the redhead had a huge grin on his face. “Four-ninety-five all-you-can-eat buffet! My kind of town!”

“So you were Adams’s defense counsel?” the clone asked.

“His friend too,” Henry spoke. “We served together in ‘Nam. The only survivors of Hill four-o-nine. Nate worked Air Force intelligence. He suspected a weapons smuggling ring and confided as much to General Lemar.”

“So how does that lead to him being accused of murder?” Wally asked between bites.

“Lemar claimed to hear about the rumors too. He ordered Nate to take a squad to Hill Four-o-nine. It was an ambush,” Henry continued looking down and fiddling with the ring on his finger, “Nate saved my life. The rest of Nate’s men weren’t so lucky. Afterwards, Nate became convinced that Lemar was part of the smuggling ring and sent us into the ambush. I tried to talk him out it…”

“Out of what?”

The former Lieutenant sighed, “Nate was insistent on confronting Lemar. But, he blacked out a moment later. Afterwards he’d claim to be drugged and I believed him, ‘cuz there’s no way the Nate Adams I knew would murder a man in cold blood. I took on Nate’s defense, but the prosecutor, Lieutenant Kevin Blankly proved Nate’s service knife was the murder weapon. And the medical examiner, Major Shirley Mason, testified there were no drugs in Nate’s system. So, as a result, the judge found Nate guilty and sentenced him to life in prison,” he slammed his fist on the table, making Wally and Zatanna jump, “and that’s where Nate died! But, get this, that judge, Colonel Wade Eiling, he married Nate’s widow and raised Nate’s two kids as his own! Don’t tell me that doesn’t stink to high heaven?!”

-.-

Arlington, 23:57EDT

“Sup guys,” Mike greeted, “how’s Vegas?”

/Loud/

/Ignore him,/ KF interjected, /So get this, turns out Adams’ buddy believed he was drugged and framed to commit the murder. But here’s the thing, the medical examiner said there were no drugs in his system/

“That’s weird.”

“Yeah,” Robin agreed pulling up a map, “If Adams was framed, looks like the place to start would be the medical examiner Shirley Mason.”

“Where can we find her?” Miss M asked.

The Boy Wonder didn’t answer, instead he ran forwards, causing his two teammates to chase after him over the rooftops.

“Where are we going?!” Remnant called, almost tripping and doing a swan dive off a roof in an attempt to catch up. Their friend still didn’t answer until they came to a window.

“This is Mason’s apartment.”

 Peering in through the glass, his brow’s furrowed. “Guys, there’s something on the floor.”

“What?”

“Hard to tell, but I’m going with body.”

Beside him, Robin’s jaw clenched. “Miss M, can you open the window?”

The girl startled, her green skin looking ashen as she used her telekinesis to let them in.

“Geez,” Robin whistled, “looks like you were right Rem, the medical examiner needs a medical examiner,” he hopped down, crouching beside the body, “she has something in her hand. I don’t wanna disturb the crime scene, but we need to see what it is.”

“H-How’s this?” M’gann said shakily, raising her hand and levitating the body off the floor.

“Perfect,” Robin said, reaching out and adjusting the angle of the picture frame in her hands. “Looks like this photo was taken in the sixties,” the Boy Wonder pointed to one figure, “this might be her, but that was a while ago…”

“It doesn’t have to be,” M’gann said, setting the body back down on the ground. Standing straight up, her form morphed to match the woman in the picture, “Here’s the woman in the photo,” her form began to age, “and this is the woman on the floor. They have the same musculo-sleketal structure. She’d definitely the woman in the picture.”

“Guess that’s one question answered,” Mike deadpanned.

“Yep,” Robin agreed, typing on his holo-glove, ““I’ll run facial recognition software on the rest. It could take a while. But I should be able to generate a list of names to go with Mason’s.

-.-

Honolulu, 19:06HST

“Thank you again for meeting with us,” Kaldur said as he and Artemis sat down across from a woman and a military officer.

“I’m only here for my sister Peggy’s sake,” the brother grumbled taking his seat. “Nate Adams is not a topic to ever choose to discuss.”

“Randy!” Peggy hissed punching her brother’s arm. “You’re talking about our father!”

Rubbing his arm, Randy tossed a glare at his sister, “Wade Eiling is our father. He raised us. Adams gave up any parental rights the day he betrayed our country and murdered her superior officer!”

“Our mother never thought he was guilty! And I don’t believe it either.”

Randy rolled his eyes, “I love you sis, but your opinion doesn’t count. Dad died in prison before you were born.”

“Ha! You just called him dad!”

-.-

“Well that was useless,” Artemis grumbled as they walked along the beach, the waves lapping at their feet. “Randy was…intense, but at least he was realistic. Biology hardly guarantees parental skills or even basic honesty. Nathaniel Adams may be guilty as charged. Right Kaldur?” Getting no response, the two girls looked at their teammate. “Kaldur?”

“Apologies Artemis. My thoughts were of Atlantis with my mother—Sha’lain’a—she’s a native of the Atlantean city-state of Shayeris; my father, Calvin Durham, is a surface-worlder like you two. He was genetically altered by Black Manta to infiltrate Atlantis. He did, but his love for my mother caused him to switch sides.”

“Your dad worked for Black Manta?!” Artemis exclaimed.

“People change.”

-.-

Annapolis, August 14, 00:32EDT

“I know my grasp on Earth history is based largely on sitcoms, but why would a North Vietnamese General be in a 1968 photo with US personnel?” M’gann questioned as she, Remnant, and Robin crouched behind some foliage observing a large house from below.

“Good question,” Robin agreed pulling up his data, “This General Trang was the first person my facial recognition software IDed.”

“But that doesn’t explain why he’s here, in the states with a mansion,” Mike pointed out.

“Yeah, that takes money and connections.”

“Two things participating in an illegal smuggling ring could provide,” Wally said as he and Superboy joined them.

“So Adams was right!”

“KF switch to thermal. You seeing this?” Superboy asked as he looked at the house.

Pulling down his goggles, he turned them on to look, “Shit. Trang’s not alone in there. Looks like some sort of samurai.”

Mike perked up, looking to Robin, “Rob wasn’t Mason killed by a sword?”

“That’s right, which means we probably just found the culprit.”

“Then what are we waiting for?!”

“Let’s get him!”

“No,” Robin interrupted, “remember, this is a covert op. We need to keep to the shadows. We don’t take the offensive. Like in Captain Atom’s lecture.”

“You were actually listening to that?” Remnant questioned. “Look, I think we have all the intel we need. Why don’t we just grab this guy and interrogate him?”

“Because it’s a covert op,” Robin reminded. “Besides, we still don’t know who’s in charge or if Adams really was framed.”

“I’ll go check it out,” Miss Martian volunteered. Pulling up her hood, she went into camouflage mode and flew up towards the mansion.

“I know why you’re here,” she heard as she approached the balcony door, “I still have my sources. I know about Mason, I know about your work. I am disappointed Rako. I have protected you since you were a child; have you no loyalty?”

“I do,” a new, slightly gruff voice spoke, “just not to you.” M’gann gasped as she saw the man raise his sword. Thrusting out her hand, she used her telekinesis to rip it from his grip as the samurai turned to face her. “A new security system General? Most impressive.” He threw out an arm, slapping M’gann across the face and knocking her to the floor where her hood fell off, revealing her. “Too bad I’ll have to dismantle it.”

“NEVER GONNA HAPPEN!” Superboy snarled bursting through the wall. Lunging at the samurai, the man growled, swinging his blade across Superboy’s chest. Stumbling back, the clone pressed a hand up to the wound, hissing as he felt something wet and sticky trickling over his fingers and soaking into his shirt. “I’m…I’m bleeding?”

“Superboy! You’re cut!”

“What?! But I thought Kryptonians can’t be cut?!”

“I’m going in.”

Kid Flash sprinted forwards, leaping through the hole Superboy made in the wall. He flipped in the air, vaulting off the samurai and causing him to stumble. The armored warrior turned towards the speedster, sword raised.

A wrench hit his hand, knocking the blade out of his grasp. The samurai whirled on his heel, throwing several throwing stars in Remnant’s direction. Ducking under the stars, he charged forwards, grabbing the blade. Only, he didn’t get far before the samurai grabbed the sword and kicking Mike in the gut. The force of the blow sent him flying into Superboy and Kid Flash. “Ow.”

“Come guys, get it together. Let’s take him!”

Their charge was stopped by something falling onto them. Superboy ripped the offending object aside revealing a doorway that was hidden by a tapestry that’d been previously been hanging there.

“We were caught off guard by a blanket,” Wally grumbled. “This is so embarrassing, almost a comedy.”

“It would be,” Robin said standing in the door, “if Trang’s corpse didn’t scream tragedy.”

-.-

Metropilis, 01:45EDT

“Kids today. They stay out till all hours and for what? So they can ignore each other in my diner!” Bibbo grumbled serving another customer as he glared at the group of ten teens on their phones.

“Has everyone downloaded the annotated photo we found in the dead woman’s hand?” Robin asked.

“Yes.”

“Yep.”

“Yeah.”

“Check.”

“Superboy?” M’gann asked.

“What? Oh, yeah. Got it.”

“Is it your wound? Does it still hurt?”

“It’s fine. It’s just a scratch, move on.”

Mike adjusted his hood and cap, glancing around the room. So far, no one seemed to pay attention to his appearance. Sitting in the middle of his friends seemed to do the trick. After all, why would a purple person be sitting in the middle of a group of perfectly normal teens? Reaching for his mug, he took a sip keeping his head low, “Really? Dude, I know my wounds, that was more than a scratch. You’re just lucky it didn’t go any deeper.”

“Anyways,” Robin interrupted, “facial recognition software’s IDed almost everyone in the photo, which we think was taken in 1968. The same year Adams was charged with murder.”

“The only players not in the pic are Adams and General Eiling, whom sentenced Adams to life in prison, where he died and after which he married Adams’ wife and raised his two kids.”

“This boy…” M’gann spoke up zooming in on one figure in the photo, “could he be the assassin? The one Trang called Rako?”

“He did say he raised him since he was a child,” Wally reminded.

“But didn’t he say he was loyal to someone else?” Artemis asked. “Cause it didn’t seem like he was too loyal to Trang back there.”

“No kidding,” Mike agreed. “This photo’s looking more and more like a hit list.”

“And I can bet on who’s in charge of it,” Superboy said, “our missing CIA Agent Alec Rois.”

“Considering his resume has things like brainwashing,” Robin grumbled, “I can take a guess on who Rako’s working for.”

“And somehow Rois and Rako found out we were investigating the Adams case and decided to tie up loose ends.”

“Which means either Sgt Polk or Adams’ old friend Yarrow are next,” Superboy frowned and Wally nodded,

“Yeah, if that’s the case it’s kinda our fault…”

“Doesn’t matter right now. Yo Kaldur, what’s our next move?”

All eyes turned to their leader as he looked up from his own phone. “We split up. Half of us go investigate Polk here in Metropolis, the other half heads to Vegas to protect Yarrow.”

-.-

Las Vegas, 00:45PDT

“Not too fancy, looks like Yarrow wasn’t on the take like the others,” Robin muttered as he, Superboy, Wally, and Mike crouched in the bushes near the former officer’s house.

“I knew I liked the guy. We should get in there. Warn him he’s in danger.”

“Bad idea,” Robin spoke up. “We don’t even know if he’s on the list. If he’s tipped off, then Rako and Rois will know we’re on their trail and then they’ll get rid of him. He’s a liability.”

The dark night suddenly became bright as an explosion knocked them on their backs. Scrambling to his feet, Wally began racing towards the house, “Yarrow was inside!” The speedster sprinted around the house, creating a vortex to pull air away from the fire, smothering it into dull embers.

“Fast work KF!” Robin called.

“Not fast enough,” the redhead panted. “Yarrow’s dead.”

“You sure?”

“Judging from the smell, yes,” Mike winced. “Sure it’s Yarrow?”

Wally nodded, “Yeah. Recognized the tattoo.”

“Damn!”

“Here’s what I don’t get,” Superboy spoke up, “Rako’s MO was sword and shuriken.”

“But Rois’ was demolitions,” Robin reminded. “Confirming that they’re working together on the hit list.”

“Let’s hope the others had better luck than we did, otherwise I doubt we’re cracking this case.”

“They didn’t have better luck,” Wally sighed running a hand through his hair.

“Shit.”

-.-

St. George, 03:26MDT

“This the place?”

“According to the intel, yeah,” Robin nodded, putting his holoscreen away. “SB, you got anything?”

Superman’s protégé looked at the building, eyes narrowing, “Yeah. Rako’s in there, along with two other people, I don’t know who though.”

Artemis sighed as they all began walking into the building, “Let’s just get this over with.”

“I agree.”

Grabbing their weapons, the team turned to see Rako on their right, Rois to their left. “You’re Rako, General Trang’s protégé all grown up to become his murderer,” Kid greeted.

“Which means you must be CIA Agent Alec Rois,” Artemis said.

“Alec Rois is dead.”

“I dunno, you look pretty lively to me,” Remnant replied.

“That just leaves the big boss,” Robin said and they looked up, “Henry Yarrow.”

The man on the platform above chuckled, “You don’t seem surprised. Did you also guess you walked right into a trap?”

“It wasn’t hard,” Kid Flash deadpanned. “Though it’s not like it’s much considering there’s seven on three.”

“After forty years in the Adams game kid, let me give ya a little tip: quality trumps quantity,” Henry smiled, “unless you’re talking explosives. My friend there’s holding a dead man’s switch. If anything makes him unhappy, or causes him to let go, this whole hangar goes BOOM! Keep that in mind boys. I know that S and can guess what it means. Your little pals aren’t invulnerable even if you are.”

Rako sneered, “Superbrat? Invulnerable? My sword proved otherwise.”

“Rako!” Yarrow snapped as the samurai took a step forwards. “Remember, your sword was forged from X-ionizer. It could cut the real Superman.”

“Aw, so he didn’t prove anything at all,” Mike taunted.

“No sword stands against mine!”

Mike smirked, holding up his surprisingly handy wrench “It’s a good think I don’t have a sword then.”

“Perhaps we can return to the matter at hand,” Aqualad spoke up.

“Apologies, old men are so easily distract—wait a minute!” Henry gripped the railing with white knuckles. “Where’s that flippin’ Boy Wonder?!”

“Flippin’ your way now!” Robin exclaimed springing from the shadows, kicking the man in the face. Yarrow fell back, a gun falling out from his shirt. Scrambling towards it, a bright blast came his way causing him to cover his eyes. The platform rocked and Yarrow’s eyes widened as he saw the spot his gun had been blasted. “ROIS! BLOW THIS POPSICLE STAND!” Yarrow shouted.

“I’M TRYING!” he cried out. “SOMETHING’S HOLDING DOWN MY THUMB!”

Artemis fired an arrow, and it exploded into a hardening polymer, encasing the Agent’s arm. “GOT HIM!”

“NO!”

“I have trained to defeat men, you shall lose against me child!” Rako snarled, swinging his blade as Superboy ducked.

“Please," he scoffed, kicking the assassin’s feet out from under him. “Aqualad!”

The samurai-assassin barely had time to react before a torrent of electrified water slammed into his face. Landing on his back, the man tried to roll to his feet, before his face became acquainted with Mike’s wrench.

“What is it with you and hitting people with tools?” KF asked.

“It’s the first thing I grab?” he shrugged.

“You don’t have anything else to throw do you?”

“Other than more tools? No.”

-.-

Mt. Justice, 11:57EDT

“Adams recovered evidence of a weapons smuggling ring, he brought intel of a weapons drop to his superior officer, General Lemar. Unfortunately Lemar was part of the smuggling operation and saw Adams’ intel as an opportunity,” M’gann informed. “He could use it to get rid of Adams and the head of the operation Henry Yarrow.”

“Yarrow was only a lieutenant so taking orders from him didn’t sit will with Lemar,” Aqualad added on. “So he tipped off their North Vietnamese contact General Trang. And Yarrow had just been told Trang wasn’t supposed to go to the drop. In reality, Trang and Lemar agreed to ambush Yarrow’s squad instead.”

“All of them were meant to die, including Yarrow. He just didn’t count on Adams saving both himself and Yarrow.”

“Which left our dear lieutenant with two problems,” Wally counted on his fingers, “His incorruptible buddy Nate who knew Lemar was part of the ring; and Lemar himself, who tried to stage a coup.”

“So to handle it he simply pitted them against each other. Probably wasn’t too hard for him to rile Adams up against the General, and he probably had no trouble drugging his pal’s drink either,” Mike said. “Allowing him to send Adams on his merry way to confront Lemar.”

“The drug made sure Nate wouldn’t remember,” Robin added, “which allowed Polk to handle Lemar and frame Adams.”

“And the trial that followed,” Wally scoffed, “that was a joke. Almost everyone was involved in the ring; Yarrow, Mason, Polk, Blankly, all of them.”

“What about Eiling? The judge?” Captain Atom questioned.

“He wasn’t in on the conspiracy,” Kaldur responded, “as far as we can tell he believed Adams was guilty.”

“Did his psychic confession confirm it?”

“Basically,” she nodded.

“As for the body in Yarrow’s house, turns out it was Polk,” Wally spoke up. “They had the same tattoo, and I didn’t know the difference between their scents since I hadn’t met them. When the others searched Polk’s place it was set up to make them think he was on the lamb.”

“And when we found the intel among the debris tipping us to St. George’s airfield, we knew it was a set up,” Superboy rolled his eyes.

“I’m impressed, you did good work.”

“Too bad we were too late for Adams.”

“But not too late for his kids,” Captain Atom reassured. “Go tell them what kinda man their father really was.”

-.-

Honolulu, 09:16HST

“Seems I misjudged you. Guess I really wanted to believe you were guilty, Captain Adams,” Eiling spoke as he, Captain Atom, and Nate Adams sat in a dark car as the three young heroes in disguise spoke to Nate’s kids.

The silver hero chuckled, “Yeah, well, I really wanted to believe you were dirty Eiling. Guess that makes us even then. Nate, now that your name’s been cleared, let me go reintroduce you to your kids.

-.-

D.C, August 17, 00:00EDT

“Took ya long enough,” Eiling grumbled as a man entered his office. “Escaping from a jail in St. George Utah shouldn’t be that hard for you Alec.”

The former CIA agent shrugged, “Escaping was easy, but you should try hiding a seven-foot Cambodian sometime. How’d it go on your end?”

Eiling scoffed, leaning back in his chair and lighting a cigar, “Yarrow took the fall for everything; the smuggling ring in ‘68, the murders this week.”

Rois chuckled, “So no one suspects you were Yarrow’s boss the whole time? The only reason you weren’t in the picture is cause you took it?”

“You kidding,” he snickered, “Captain Atom’s my new best friend. Which should serve us well in the days ahead.”

Rois laughed, “Wicked Wade. Very wicked indeed.”

Chapter Text

A/N: hey welcome back y’all! Hope y’all’re enjoying the story so far, despite my fumble with the last chapter. I know it wasn’t my best work, and I probably should’ve skipped over it. Anyways, I hope I can continue to meet your expectations for it.

Remember, I just own the story, nothing else is mine.

/comms/

Telepathy/Flashbacks

Gotham, August 19, 10:30EDT

Mike stood on the edge of a red lake, watching the blood-colored water lap against the black shores. “You cannot stay here, Little Soul,” a deep voice rumbled behind him. “Not when you are too important to lose.”

Distantly, he could hear enraged screams. “I’m not important. Just a remnant of what used to be. I don’t deserve a second chance.”

Behind him, the being shifted, “In that we beg to differ.”

Mike thought the being said something else, but he couldn’t make out what before he was shoved into the cold red water. The last thing he heard before his lungs filled with water was a thunderous roar of rage.

Sweat drenched his brow as Mike shot up. Leaning forwards, he caught his head in his hands, trying to get his breathing back under control. What…what the hell was that? He hadn’t had such a…strange nightmare in some time.

At least most of the time they made sense, reminding him of the monster he really was. His normal dreams made sure to slap a dose of reality into him. No matter how much he played hero, he was always going to be his father’s son.

A knock rapped on his door. “Mikey?” Uncle Henry spoke. “Everything all right in there?”

“Y-Yeah.”

He must’ve not sounded convincing as the man opened the door, concern written clearly across his face as he entered. “You sure?” Walking over, the strawberry blonde sat on the edge of his bed, “You sounded pretty freaked out. Do you want to talk about it?”

“It’s nothing,” he reassured, “just a bad dream.”

Henry sighed, “You’ve been having a lot of those lately.” He reached out, trying to pat his leg, though he ended up comforting a pillow. “You sure you don’t want to talk about it?”

“I’m fine.”

“Mikey, I’m worried about you,” his uncle confessed. “I know you wanted to do this…hero thing, but if it’s affecting your health—”

“It’s not that!”

“Then what is it? I want to help you kiddo, but I can’t do that if you keep shutting me out.”

The teen sighed, flopping back into his mattress, ignoring the squeak of the old Fredbear plush as he landed on it. “It’s just…”

“Just what?”

“I dunno. Everything? It’s not like I don’t like doing the team thing—I do, don’t get me wrong. It’s more fun than I’ve had in a while, and I’m making friends—I think. But, Batman hasn’t said anything about finding Fath—William,” he corrected. “He said I could help and there hasn’t been any new updates!”

“That was because I told him to leave you out of it.”

Mike sat up, looking to his guardian, “What?”

Henry gave him a pointed look, “Michael, I told you, I didn’t want you going anywhere near that man. And that was one condition of mine when I let you do this.”

“What?! Your only condition was don’t be stupid!”

“And we’ve seen how well that request has gone so far.”

“To be fair, we were left unsupervised.”

“Either way, I don’t want you going after William.”

“But—”

“No buts, Michael. That is the one rule I have about you doing this hero thing. William is a monster, leave him for the League to handle.”

-.-

Mt. Justice, 19:39EDT

Mike leaned against the wall, crossing his arms as he watched Superboy and Kaldur circled each other in the ring. His teeth ground together as he ran the pad of his thumb over his knuckles; he really needed a spar. Especially after today.

Despite hours of pestering that would’ve made William beat him black and blue, Henry refused to budge on his stance. The man hadn’t even raised his voice during any point of their fight in comparison to Michael’s shouting. He had only yielded after the man had threatened to ground him from today’s team hangout.

At first, the suggestion had surprised him, especially compared to his father’s punishments. William would’ve taken a meal or two, his hanging out privileges, and would’ve confined him to his room for an unspecified amount of time after kicking the shit outta him. As strange and relieving as he found his guardian’s incredibly mild form of punishment, he was not about to push further.

He would like to have a week or two without large bruises blooming across his torso.

However, that meant he had to, as Canary would say, channel his anger and frustration in a healthy way. And, for him, that meant either tinkering in the shop to calm himself down by focusing on something productive or venting through training. Today, he was going with training. Henry probably needed time to cool off anyways.

“Initiate: Combat Training.”

“So, Mike,” Wally said between bites of a burrito, “who do you think will win?”

“Well, considering SB spends more time sparring with me and Canary, I’m going with him.”

“Kaldur does have more experience.”

Mike shrugged, “True. But doesn’t Kaldur typically use weapons?”

The speedster paused midbite, “Touché.”

“Fail: Aqualad.”

“Told you,” he smirked, elbowing the redhead.

“At least we didn’t bet money on it.”

“Yeah, cause you’d be paying me.”

“Shut up.”

“Nah.”

Wally tossed him a half-hearted glare while taking another bite of his snack. However, if he was going to say something else, it was cut off by a hiss from above. Looking up, they saw a metal door in the ceiling slide open, allowing Red Tornado to descend.

“Does he just like…live up there?”

“Yeah, he’s the Team’s den mother,” KF shrugged. “Mostly because unlike everyone else he doesn’t have a social life.” Before Mike could comment, the speedster shot forwards meeting the hero as he landed, “Do you have a mission for us?!”

“Mission assignments are the Batman’s responsibility.”

“Yeah, well the Batman is with the Robin doing the dynamic duo thing in Gotham,” the speedster retorted. “But you’re clearly heading somewhere; a hot date? A mission?”

“If we could be of help,” Kaldur offered putting a hand on Wally’s shoulder to keep him from harassing the hero.

Without so much as a nod, Tornado turned and pulled up the monitor an image flashing across the screen, an old man. “This is Kent Nelson, a friend,” Tornado stated. “He is one-hundred-six years old.”

“Damn.”

“Yeah, guy doesn’t look a day over ninety.”

“And he has been missing for twenty-three days. Kent was a member of the Justice Society,” a black and white image popped up, “the precursor to the Justice League.”

“Of course,” Kaldur realized, “Nelson was Earth’s sorcerer supreme; he was Dr. Fate.”

Oh yeah, Mike kinda forgot about that. It was hard to remember sometimes that there had been heroes before the ones everyone knew today. And magic was real; actually after everything he’d been through the past few weeks, he wasn’t surprised. This was just his life now.

Kid Flash scoffed under his breath, drawing him out of his thoughts, “More like Dr. Fake. Guy Dumbledores it up to scare the bad guys and impress the babes.”

“Kent may be on one of his walkabouts,” Tornado continued. “But, he is the caretaker of the Helmet of Fate, the source of the Doctor’s mystic might. Such power should not be left unguarded.”

“He’s like the great sorcerer priests and priestesses of Mars!” M’gann’s face lit up. “I would be honored to help find him.”

“Me too!” Wally exclaimed, his hand shooting into the air instantaneously. “So honored! I can barely stand it! Magic rocks!”

Red Tornado held out a key, “Take this, it’s the key to the Tower of Fate.”

“M’gann, what are the odds we both admire magic so much?” the speedster smirked snatching the key.

“Oh, yeah, I’d like to know the odds of that too,” Mike snickered.

-.-

Salem 20:22EDT

“So Wally,” Artemis drawled leaning back in her seat, “When did you realize you’re honest affinity for magic?”

“Well,” he put his arms back behind his head, “I don’t wanna brag or nothing, but, back before I was Kid Flash, I seriously considered becoming a wizard myself.”

“Really?” Mike smirked, “Care to show us any magic tricks? I’d love to see some.”

At his request, M’gann seemed to perk up in her seat, “Wally, you can do magic?”

“Uhh…well, I don’t have anything on me right now, sorry.”

“Oh,” she seemed to deflate, “That’s too bad, I would’ve loved to see it. But, on the bright side, we’re arriving at the coordinates.”

They all pressed against the windows wanting to see the hold of Dr. Fate. Instead, they saw an empty field. “It’s an empty field,” Superboy deadpanned.

“Maybe it’s underground?” Mike suggested as the Bioship landed. “After all, I don’t think Tornado would’ve sent us here for nothing.”

“Eh…you haven’t really met him,” the speedster grimaced.

Well, there was a story there. But, it would have to wait for later. Striding down the ramp, the grass crunched underfoot as they stepped out, looking around for something to indicate a lair to a secret entrance. Tornado said it should be easy to find. Though, maybe he had a different definition of easy; he had been there Lord knew how many times before.

“I’m gonna check around,” KF announced, pulling out his goggles and darting off, racing around the field.

“Think he’ll find anything?” Artemis asked.

Mike shrugged, “Not unless he spontaneously believes in magic.”

“So you believe in magic?”

“Honestly? My life’s been so goddamn strange already, might as well add magic to the mix.”

“Fair enough,” she shrugged watching the speedster return, “Find anything?”

“No.”

“So, what do you think’s hiding it? “Adaptive micro-optics combined with phase-shifting?”

“Absolutely…not!” the speedster corrected himself as M’gann stepped over. “Clear this is the work of mystic powers!”

Artemis rolled her eyes, putting her hands on her hips. “Idiot.”

“Why do I have the feeling this is going to blow up in our faces spectacularly?”

“Probably because it will.”

Fair enough. Crossing his arms, he tuned out Wally’s rambling, looking around the field. The base was here. Why else would a field this big in the middle of a city be empty without it being a park or game field or something? Despite what the others said, Mike doubted that Tornado didn’t send them on a wild goose chase. Not when it involved whom he suspected was a friend. The old guard had to be at least somewhat close to the new after all.

Suddenly, the hairs on the back of his neck rose without warning. Much like they had when he’d was being watched back at…his old job. Slowly turning, he spotted something on the edge of the clearing. However, it was proven to be a false alarm as a cat ran across the alley. Yet, he still couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong.

“You ok?” Artemis asked.

“Y-yeah, fine.”

The others didn’t appear to notice Mike’s shift in demeanor as Aqualad pulled out the key Red Tornado had given them. “A test of faith,” he repeated looking out into the empty field, “stand behind me.” Stepping forwards, he pushed the key into the air, watching as the front half disappeared. Turning the key, they all heard sound of something unlocking.

And suddenly there was a brick wall and door right in front of them. Looking up, they all stared as they saw the massive tower that absolutely had not been there before.

Pushing the door open, they all strode inside, stepping into a large empty foyer. Actually, it seemed more like a cell, no stairs, no doors save for the one they’d just come through, no way to lead them into the rest of the tower.

“Uh…where’d the door go?” Superboy spoke up.

Correction, there was no doors at all.

Ok, it was just like outside. There was something they were missing. Striding towards one of the walls, Mike tapped at the bricks. One of them had to be a button or something.

“Uh, dude, what are you doing?”

Opening his mouth to respond, he turned only to stop as the shimmery gold figure of an old man appeared in the room. “Greetings, you have entered with a key, but the tower does not recognize you. State your purpose and intent.”

“It’s alright guys, let me handle this,” Wally smirked. “We are true believers! Here to find Dr. Fate!”

“I’m gonna kill him,” Mike muttered as the shade vanished is a disappointed look.

The ground shook under them and before any of his teammates could react, the ground gave out underneath them.

“Shit!” Sprinting over to the edge, his eyes widened as he watched bricks rebuilding themselves over the hole. “Guys?!” Through the reforming ground, he could make out the others clinging to the walls of the chasm, hovering above a pool of magma. Cursing more, Mike started to pull at the rocks, tossing them aside as he tried to make the hole bigger so he could pull them out. “Hold on!”

“Having trouble…maintaining altitude,” Miss M huffed. “I’m so hot.”

“You sure are,” the speedster was quick to reply.

“WALLY!” several of his comrades screamed.

“Hey! Inches above sizzling death, I’m allowed to speak my mind!”

“IN THAT CASE I’M GOING TO KILL YOU FOR GETTING US IN THIS FUCKING SITUATION!” Artemis screamed. “If that imbecile didn’t lie to whatever the hell that was, this wouldn’t have happened!”

“Wally…you don’t…believe in magic?” the Martian whispered.

“Magic isn’t real!” he snapped.

“Save your argument for later dumbass!” Mike snapped instantly shutting the speedster up as he tossed a brick that had replaced the one he’d just removed aside. “We’re still in a life or death situation. And because you were too busy trying to lie your way to impressing M’gann, you failed to answer the question.”

“Hello Megan!” M’gann exclaimed, smacking her forehead, “We failed to answer the question! We’re here because Red Tornado sent us to check on Mr. Nelson to make sure he and the helmet are ok and safe!”

This seemed to work, as the lava receded to reveal a metal floor. Which was good, because despite his best efforts, Mike was not making this hole big enough for someone to get through. The tower had stopped trying to kill them, so it would have to provide a way out. “I’ll find you guys later!” he called, hoping he could be heard as the last brick sealing the hole in the ground. Sitting back on his heels, Mike ran a hand through his hair. “This sucks.”

Pushing himself to his feet, he turned, looking around the room. However, this time, there was a door that hadn’t been there before. Hopefully it would lead him to wherever the others had ended up. The old wood creaked as he stepped through the threshold, a large spiral staircase rising up into the tower.

“There couldn’t be a magical elevator?” he muttered. Sighing, he started up the stairs. This was going to take a while.

-.-

As he predicted, it had indeed taken some time to reach the top of the stairs. However, it did not lead him to wherever his team had gone. Instead, it lead him into some sort of living room or study. It was old-fashioned, covered in expensive-looking paintings and artifacts, thick red rugs that reminded him of his Uncle’s study back home, some sort of couch with a coffee table in front of a massive fireplace, a desk, and an entire wall full of books.

“Where am I?”

“You’re in the study.”

Jumping in surprise, Mike turned around, coming face-to-face with the projection from earlier. “Jesus Christ,” he panted. “You almost gave me a heart attack.” At least the thing had the decency to look a little apologetic. “Where’s everyone else?”

“Your friends are fine, little soul,” the specter replied.

The teen bit back a grimace. He wasn’t sure he would call them friends. Sure, they were nice, probably the closest thing he’s had to real friends in a few years. But they probably wouldn’t be so friendly when they figured out who he really was, what he had done. It was best to keep his distance.

However, it was at least relieving to know they hadn’t died in his absence. “How do I find them?”

“Go through there, follow the stairs,” the apparition spoke as the wall behind him rumbled. Turning, Mike watched as the bricks slid back to reveal a maze of stairs. “Head for the giant bell. Good luck.”

Stepping through the opening, Mike ran a hand through his hair. How the fuck was he supposed to find his way in this D&D nightmare?

“By the way,” the projection spoke as the doorway began to close behind him, “the Old Man says hi.”

“Who?” he asked. Though he didn’t get an answer save for the apparition merely smiling before disappearing into mist. “Ok, that was different.” Going to the edge of the landing, he looked down brows shooting up as the maze seemed to descend as far as it went up, which was forever. “Am I still in the same building? You know what, it’s magic. Why am I even asking? It’s not supposed to make sense.”

Taking a deep breath, he pinched the bridge of his nose. Now was not the time to lose his cool. Ok, so first thing’s first: he needed to find a bell. How a bell was going to lead him to his teammates he wasn’t sure, but still, it was all he had to go on at the moment. He could figure out what next after that.

Which meant, going up was probably his best option. At least, he hoped it was. All he could recall was that giant bells were typically associated with high places in towers or cathedrals. So, if he was in a tower, that probably meant going up.

Pulling the grapple off his belt, he jogged up the closest set of stairs, trying to reach a clear space to fire the line. It would be faster than trying to navigate the labyrinth of walkways. With his luck, he would’ve gotten himself lost trying that.

-.-

Mike was lost.

After landing on so many platforms trying to reach his destination, he had, at some point, gotten turned around. For all he knew, he could’ve been standing like Spider-Man on what should have been a wall or ceiling. It had even crossed his mind to jump off one of the platforms to try to get gravity to reorient him, but with his lack of luck he’d have swan dived right into another brick structure.

“Follow the stairs,” he muttered crossing his arms as he glared at the maze around him, “There’s nothing here but stairs!” Sighing, he ran his hand through his hair. “I’m gonna be lost here forever.”

Almost as if the universe was trying to prove him wrong, he heard a distant blast from the direction he was currently assuming was down. Peering over the edge, he didn’t see anything, but he did hear what sounded like childish screaming.

Guess that explained where everyone else went.

Though before he could try to find a way down to them, he barely avoided getting run over by a floating elevator that stopped right in front of him. With a soft ding, the doors slid open, revealing Artemis, Wally, and the man they were sent to find: Kent Nelson.

“Mike?”

“Friend of yours?” Mr. Nelson asked looking to the pair.

“Yeah,” Artemis said.

“Hi.” Stepping inside, he looked around, expecting to see the others. “Where’s everyone else?”

“We got separated.”

“Ah.”

“We can exchange pleasantries later,” Nelson stated closing the elevator doors, “Right now, we must focus, we’re going up against an opponent with tremendous mystic power.”

“You mean Abra?” Wally scoffed. “Flash proved he uses futuristic tech to simulate magic. He’s all show, no biz.”

“Correct,” the old man spoke, “but he isn’t the problem. Klarion Witch Boy on the other hand—the soulless brat with the cat—he’s the issue.”

“I’m guessing he’s the one I heard screaming?” Mike inquired.

“Yes. He’s a Lord of Chaos, the ultimate enemy for a Lord of Order like Dr. Fate.”

“Right,” Wally drawled, “you’re a Lord of Order.”

Nelson gave a short laugh, “Oh no, not me. I’m just an old coat Fate would toss on from time to time, until my wife Inza convinced me there was more to life,” he sighed looking down at his pocket watch sadly. “Ah, she was a real pistol, my Inza.” Shaking his head, he stuck the object back into his pocket, “Anyways, Klarion’s after the Helmet of Fate, the source of Dr. Fate’s power. If he gets his sticky little mitts on it, he’ll turn this world into his own personal playground of pandemonium. We can’t let that happen.”

“Sounds fun,” Artemis grumbled.

The old hero chuckled, “Yes, young lady, it will be difficult.” The elevator came to a stop, the doors sliding open revealing more crazy stairs as well as a platform with a giant bell.

Mike groaned, he’d spent who knew how long trying to find the damn thing, and an elevator found it in less than a minute. Where had this been when he’d gotten lost earlier?

A creak from above stopped his musing. Looking up they watched as a door opened, allowing their friends to tumble out followed by a gust of cold snowy air.

“Hey guys,” Wally greeted as they collected themselves.

“DUCK!”

Instinctively following the order, everyone ducked down as a blast flew over their heads, scorching one of the pillars by the bell. Looking in the direction it came from, they all saw a man dressed like a pompous pirate and a teen in a suit with horn-like hair with a cat perched on one of the other platforms.

Rolling out of the way of another blast, Mike got back to his feet as both Wally and Mr. Nelson vanished in a flash, the witch wannabe flying after them. Leaving the rest of them alone with the badly dressed stripper.

Superboy was the first to charge forwards, jumping from their platform at the magician. Only he didn’t get far as the man waved his wand, electricity flying off the end and hitting his teammate in the chest, coating him in electricity. “That’s not good,” Mike muttered.

On some silent signal, they all fanned out, coming at Abra from different angles. The magician spun, firing random shots in each of their directions. His first lucky shot hit Artemis as she attempted to leap at him while his back was turned. Ducking under her kick, Abra shot a bolt from his wand, hitting the blonde with a blast of electricity.

That wand was their biggest problem.

Grabbing his wrench, the teen hoped his aim had improved as he hurled the improvised weapon. Abra was turned away, moving to attack Kaldur, so he didn’t notice the projectile till it hit his hand with a sickeningly familiar crack.

With a scream, the villain dropped the weapon, cradling his undoubtedly broken hand to his chest.

As the others took the chance to handle the now incapacitated magician and stop his attack on their friends, Mike stepped forwards, picking up the wrench. He…he hadn’t meant to break the man’s hand. All he wanted to do was disarm him. Not shatter his wrist.

Taking a breath to calm himself, Mike looked at the man. This was a person who’d had no problem holding an old man hostage for several days. Who had no qualms about electrocuting teens. He did not deserve his sympathy.

“Hey, you ok?”

Turning, Mike met Artemis’s gaze, her brows furrowed as she looked at him. “Y-yeah. Never better.”

The girl raised a brow, glancing at Abra before rolling her eyes. “Dude, chill, he deserved it,” she scoffed, punching his arm. “Now come on, we need to find Baywatch before he does something stupid.”

Chapter Text

A/N: Hey everyone! Welcome back! Anyways, remember, I just own the story, none of the characters are mine.

/comms/

Telepathy/Flashbacks/Dreams

Gotham City, August 27, 4:49EDT

“Aqualad, are you linked?” M’gann asked.

“Huh? Oh, yes Miss Martian,” he answered, “your psychic link is functioning perfectly.”

“That’s a relief. We couldn’t hear you, it was like your every thought was a million miles away.”

Aqualad didn’t answer, only glancing behind back at them for a moment before continuing to lead the way through the maze of sewer tunnels.

“We’ve been walking for hours,” Remnant groaned dragging a hand down his face tiredly. “We don’t even know where this thing is.”

A strange rumble echoed through the tunnel causing them all to look between each other in confusion. The sewer water exploded, and muddy claws grabbed them and sent them slamming into the grime covered walls.

“You just had to say something,” KF growled.

“Well, hey, we found it!” he shot back, struggling against the muddy grip pinning his arms to his side.

Aqualad pulled out a water-bearer, a glowing blue blade forming. Swinging down, his blade slashed through the hand holding him allowing him to drop into the water. Landing on his feet he raced over and swung again freeing Superboy as he struggled to free himself from the clay. An explosion rocked the monster as Robin jammed one of his explosives into its arm, launching the small boy across the sewer while M’gann used her telekinesis to free herself.

The monster roared in anger, throwing both Mike and Wally at their friends. More focused on catching their comrades, the missed as the creature melted back into the sewer water.

“That was unpleasant,” M’gann muttered. “It was like tangling with a rabid ma’alefa’ak on Mars.

“Unpleasant sure,” Wally said sitting up and wiping mud out his hair, “But it was kinda easy. That thing was a pushover. What the heck was Batman worried about?”

His question was answered as something slammed into their backs knocking them into the sewer walls.

“You were saying?” Remnant groaned.

/Batman to Team. Report status. Have you encountered the creature?/

“Unfortunately.”

“Yes,” Aqualad answered. “Though our encounter was far from successful.”

/Tell me everything that occurred. I want details/

“Ask Batman where Artemis is?” Wally growled. “How come she gets to skip this super fun party?”

-.-

5:53EDT

“Man, I really need a shower,” Wally groaned as he stepped out of the Bioship’s changing room. “I mean, what’s the point of putting on a clean costume when I’m not fresh.”

“At least you have a clean costume,” Superboy deadpanned as he tried to shake the clay off his arm.

“Yeah, an old costume,” the speedster complained. “No stealth mode! It stinks!”

“Actually, I think the stink is you, freshness,” Robin quipped.

“More like all of us,” Mike huffed, pulling hardening lumps of clay from his hair. “And, can I say, I cannot wait to take a shower.”

“But what about the creature? Batman wanted us to track it.”

“But why settle for just tracking it?!” Kid Flash protested. “Ok, sure, it got the drop on us the first time. But now we know it’s tricks!”

“Yeah,” Robin of all people agreed, “We split up, track the bastard down! Whoever finds old clayface radios the team.”

“And we converge as kick his ass,” Superboy agreed.

“Dudes, it just kicked our asses,” Mike reminded. “Besides, I thought we weren’t supposed to engage.”

“It’ll be fine,” Wally waved him off. “We know it’s tricks.”

“I beg to differ.”

“Aqualad, what do you think?” M’gann asked.

“What?” the Atlantean startled. “Oh, yes. It seems we have a plan.”

“See, that settles it.”

Running a hand down his face as the Bioship descended in front of a warehouse, Mike sighed, “This is going to end horribly.” Pushing himself up from his seat, he followed the others down the ramp, crossing his arms as he looked at the building. “So, what makes us so sure that the blob is in there?”

“I managed to throw a micro-tracer at him when he was throwing you and KF,” Robin answered.

“…He’s goo. Are we not sure he didn’t lose it?”

“Only one way to find out,” KF grinned, elbowing him. “So, we all split up, search the building.”

Without even waiting for an answer, the speedster shot inside. And the others didn’t comment on it as they began going their own directions. “Am I the only one who’s ever seen a horror movie?”

Shaking his head, Mike reluctantly followed his friends inside. “If we die, I’m going kill them.”

-.-

Superboy walked through the towers of crates looking around warily. Making a turn, his brows furrowed as he saw something smeared on the ground. He quickly jogged over to it, kneeling down and wiping it with his fingers. A dark muddy material came up off the ground. “Clay,” he muttered.

Cracking his knuckles, he stood up seeing the trail of mud going deeper into the maze. It wasn’t long before he reached the end of the trail, but who he found there wasn’t who he expected.

Instead of the monster, Miss Martian was standing with her back turned to him. “Miss Martian?” he asked stepping closer as she didn’t respond. “M’gann? What’s wrong?” He set his hand on her shoulder only for his eyes to widen as clay covered his fingers. Blue eyes snapped up and he was greeted by the monster’s grotesque face.

“SUCKER!” it taunted grabbing his head and ramming the clone’s head into its chest clay wrapping around and engulfing him.

-.-

Miss Martian flew down one of the aisles looking around. “Over here,” a voice called from behind her. Coming to a stop, she turned around and flew over into another aisle where Superboy stood. “Bad news gorgeous. He caught me off guard and got away.”

The Martian blushed. “You…you think I’m gorgeous?”

“Well sure,” he smirked, “who wouldn’t?” She didn’t expect to have a clay battering ram slam into her the moment he stretched out his arm.

-.-

“Hey Green Cheeks,” Wally greeted as he stumbled across M’gann. “Any luck?”

“No,” she pouted.

“Hey, I’m sure we’ll find the bad guy,” he reassured.

“Thanks,” she said turned to him and kissing his cheek and hugging him.

“Babe, I knew you’d come around,” he grinned leaning into a kiss.

-.-

“Whichever one of you can say my middle name is the real Kid Flash,” Robin said looking between the two Kid Flashes on either side of him.

“That’s easy,” one said.

“Yeah,” the other one smirked, “For me!”

The Boy Wonder’s eyes as both began to deform. “Chump!”

“Sap!”

-.-

Wood cracked as Mike pried the next crate open, looking inside for some sign that their rouge mud-man had decided to hide inside on the off chance that Robin’s tracker hadn’t fallen out. But, of course, it was another box full of what looked like machine parts.

“Any sign of Clayface?” Aqualad called up to him.

“Clayface?” Robin chimed in coming around the corner, “Uh, no, not here.”

Hanging off one of the bars, Mike looked down at the team leader, “Not so far. Don’t think he’s smart enough to hide in any of these thousand boxes. He’s probably still in the sewers.”

Aqualad scowled, turning around, “Any word from the others?”

Robin’s arm began to turn into a club causing Mike’s eyes to widen. Ok, maybe he’d underestimated this thing’s intelligence. “Aqualad!”

The Team leader whirled on his heel at their warning, get hit in the face and slammed through one of the crate piles. Through the newly formed gap, Mike could make out the form of the others already lying unconscious on the floor.

“Shit.”

Jumping to the other scaffolding, he swung through the gap; similarly to when he’d quickly swing through the vents into the party rooms back at his former place of employment. A metal door screeched as Aqualad collided with it, cracks spreading out from the site of impact. Cursing again, Mike was almost tempted to just dump the contents of his utility belt onto the ground. He really should’ve remembered all of what Batman had been kind enough to provide him. This was what happened what his first instinct was to hit the nearest enemy with a wrench.

Reaching into a random pocket, he pulled out something and threw it. For once, the universe was on his side as it exploded the moment it hit the clay monster’s back, splattering it across the walls. “Yes!”

His relief was short lived as the mud started slither across the floor as the creature reformed. And it looked pissed.

“Oh fuck!”

He was saved from becoming the blob’s newest punching bag by the familiar form of the Batman bursting through the window above them. Glass reigned down around them as the Dark Knight tossed two batarangs at the monster, smaller explosions blasting its arms away as the man landed. Before it could react, he pulled out a taser.

Clayface screeched as the electrified wires made contact with him, and he melted into a puddle of goo.

“What happened?”

Oh, shit they were in trouble.

-.-

Mt. Justice: 7:45EDT

“I need to talk to Aqualad,” Batman stated as the team bridged in. “The rest of you, hit the showers, get your injuries treated, and head home.”

“Home? I am home,” Superboy muttered walking past.

Mike groaned, looking back at the Zeta Tube, “You couldn’t have said that back in Gotham? I could’ve showered at home.”

Actually, that sounded like a much better plan. He wasn’t too keen on communal showers, especially with all his scars. Turning around, he strode back towards the teleporter, typing in the coordinates of the Gotham Zeta Tube.

“Just Aqualad,” he heard Batman remark, followed shortly by the sound of footsteps retreating.

“I am sorry the team performed poorly—” Kaldur began.

“The team performed adequately, the problem was you. You’re their leader and your head wasn’t in the game.”

Oh, please for the love of God, power up so he could leave. “Recognized: Remnant—B07.”

“Thank God,” he whispered, all but jumping into the bright light. He was ready to go home, take a shower, and flop in bed for the rest of the day.

-.-

Gotham, 8:50EDT

Mike sighed in relief, drying his hair with a towel. Hopefully that finally got the gutter goo smell out of his hair. Though his uniform was gonna be a bitch to deal with. No way was he going let anyone else deal with it.

Even if the butler his uncle hired was insistent that handling such things was literally what he was paid for.

Mike hadn’t even been aware his uncle was looking to hire a butler. Sure they were apparently rich and all, but he didn’t think they needed a butler. Of course, when he asked, Henry had smirked and said someone had to keep an eye on him when he had to go on business trips.

Though, the teen would admit he was more than curious as to where Henry found a butler that was so chill with all the…weirdness. The man hardly blinked when he first met the man by almost barreling into him. And he didn’t seem to say anything about the fact that Mike had come home at the crack of dawn covered in sewer slime.

But still, Mike was not about to punish someone with sewer stench.

Striding to the corner of his room where his laundry was, he was reluctantly ready to take the stuff down to clean. Only to find his hamper was gone. Looking around his room, Mike spotted something on his bed. Picking up the paper, he read the note with a grimace.

Welp, so much for not forcing the poor butler to not deal with the mess. Man had already taken his stuff. Hopefully he got a good bonus for that.

Setting the paper aside, he frowned as he noticed the notebook lying under it. Initially he just assumed Henry had taken one of his old journals to leave the note about his clothes, but now, he could tell it wasn’t one of his. It looked brand new actually. Picking up the book, he was surprised to find a set of drawing pencils and a set of watercolors.

There was a note on the inside too.

Hey kiddo,
              Just wanted to let you know that I’m gonna be out on business today. And sorry I wasn’t able to give you this in person (I’ve been waiting a month for this thing to arrive). I planned on giving it to you before I left for work, but I didn’t know you’d come back from fighting what I can only assume was a compost pile so late.
             So, here’s the very, very late birthday present. Enjoy!
With Love,
              Your Favorite Uncle

Smiling to himself, Mike leaned against his headboard, opening to the next page as he grabbed the pencil pack. Staying up a little longer to sketch wouldn’t kill him.

Besides, from the way it looked like Bats was about to tear into Kaldur, he would bet he would have more than enough time to rest over the next couple days anyways.

Chapter Text

A/N: Hey everyone! Welcome back! So, this update took me a little longer, mostly because my laptop decided to restart and erase what I had initially written. So, yeah, I had to rewrite all of that. Anyways, remember, I just own the story. Nothing else is mine besides the occasional minor background character.

/comms/

Telepathy/flashbacks/whatever else I need italics to be

Bialya, September 4, 00:16EST

Sharp pain trying to split open his skull was the first thing Mike registered as consciousness came back to him. What the fuck happened last night? Had he been attacked coming back from work?

Sand shifted through his fingers as he pushed himself up.

Wait…sand?

Opening his eyes, he looked around. Instead of finding the familiar cityscape of Gotham, he was sitting under a shocking clear night sky in the middle of rolling dunes. Was he…in the middle of the desert? How the hell did he end up in a desert?

Holding his head, he tried to think back to what happened. Ok, so, he just finished up his shift. They had to herd some drunkards out. Some guy was harassing one of his coworkers, he stole some extra cash from the dumbass’s wallet when he was tossing him out. Their boss hadn’t realized anything was wrong cause he and one of the dancers had disappeared up to his office to get drunk, high, or both. The bartender had seemed more pissed than usual as they were closing up, but other than that, it seemed to be a normal night. Maybe he’d been jumped while going home?

Though, that wouldn’t explain how he ended up in the middle of buttfuck nowhere.

Feeling itchiness on his hands, he frowned, wiping his hands on his pants to wipe the grains off. Only it seemed to make it the scratching worse. He looked down to see fingerless gloves covering his hands. Mike knew for a fact he hadn’t worn these for a few years. Actually, looking down at himself, this was not his work uniform at all. It looked more like the stuff he wore on the weekends he worked at the mechanic shop. Now that he thought about it, his skin seemed a bit off too, but it was probably just due to being under a perfectly clear night sky for the first time in his life.

Seriously, what the fuck happened last night?

-.-

A dull throb pulsing through was the first thing that registered as consciousness returned. Sitting up, M’gann rubbed her forehead. Oh gods, what happened? A breeze brushed by her, causing her to look up as red hair entered her vision and she saw a vast desert night sky. It wasn’t an unusual sight, Mars has such sights too, but…something was off. The moon was brighter. Reaching down, she let the sand shift through her fingers her brows furrowing. It didn’t feel like the sands on Mars; it was…coarser. Looking back up at the sky, she saw that there was a colored tint to the sky as the dawn slowly approached, unlike Mars, which has a dull gray-white color. This early sunrise had a green color as the first rays of golden light began to seep through.

“Hello Megan!” she exclaimed facepalming. “I’m on Earth!” Rising to her feet, she dusted the sand off her clothes looking around for some sort of explanation as to how she got there. Her plan to get to Earth had been by her uncle, and he wasn’t anywhere nearby. She tugged at the edges of the strange cloak wrapped around her shoulders before looking at the dark costume she was it. It looked similar to her uncle’s, but why was she wearing it? “Is this a dream?”

Something exploded behind her, blasting the Martian girl off her feet. Rolling back to her feet with an ease she couldn’t remember ever having she found herself looking at a boy with black hair, fair skin, and dark blue eyes. He was cute, but what mostly drew her attention was the glaring red symbol on his chest.

“I know that symbol,” she recognized looking up at the man again in surprise. He was younger than she imagined, “Are you Superman?”

This question seemed to anger him. The teen before her released what could only be described as a feral howl, ripping the shirt on his chest and lunging at her. With reflexes she didn’t know she had, M’gann leapt out of the way and got back to her feet to see him lunging at her once again. She shot up into the air, hoping that would bring her out of reach of the stranger’s rampage. She didn’t understand. She’d seen plenty of Earth TV to know their language.

Unless what her uncle said was true and humans spoke hundreds on languages on their own world unlike her people. But her telepathy made her able to understand any language, why couldn’t see communicate with him? It was like he was a wild animal.

A shockwave rippled under her and her eyes widened as she saw the stranger leaping at her, jumping high enough to get above her. He raised his fists above his head and M’gann instinctively raised her hands, forming a telekinetic barrier. The impact he made sent a shockwave out, sending both of them blasting back in opposite directions.

Crashing into the sand, M’gann quickly sat up looking around to see if her attacker would return. Seeing nothing, she brought her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, ignoring the tears forming in her eyes. Why was it that her biggest dream seemed to be turning into a living nightmare?

-.-

Robin groaned, holding his head as he stumbled to his feet. Resting his palm on a rock he looked around trying to find a landmark or something that could tell him where he was. Something in the distance caught his attention, he narrowed his eyes trying to filter through the blinding light of the dawn to discern what it was.

What he was able to make out was a approaching cloud of dust. That meant something was moving towards him.

Not know if it was friend or foe, the Boy Wonder slunk back behind the rock he was leaning against, quickly climbing up the back to see what was passing him. Whatever it was, it could give him a hint as to wherever he was. He flattened himself to the rock, peering over carefully as he watched an armored truck with soldiers pass by.

The flag on their shoulders made his brows furrow as he slid back and pressed his back against the rock and pulled out his hologlove, “Those are Bialyan Republic Army uniforms,” he muttered while typing, “but what are Bialyans doing in…” he blinked as he saw his GPS coordinates, “Bialya. Rephrase: What am I doing in Bialya?” Another detail on the screen caught his attention, causing his jaw to drop, “In September?! What happened to March?”

Something was definitely wrong. He was in a hostile country with no memory. Something happened and whatever it was, it couldn’t have been good. Robin reached up to radio his mentor only to stop as something in his gut told him to stop.

A sharp pain stabbed through his skull, and for a moment, he could see the form of Batman standing in front of a monitor explaining something, saying something about radio silence.

A memory. Ok, so he knew he was coming here. But why? And with who? Batman said radio silence, but the way he was explaining it, it was like it was to a group. Who all came with him?

A black cloth caught his attention as it rolled along the ground in the small breeze that blew by. Jumping down, Robin scooped up the cloth, his brows furrowing as he saw a familiar red symbol.

Ok, so what did he know so far? Well, he was in Bialya, he knew he was coming, he had no memory of the last six months, and he came here with others, one of which was associated with Superman. Putting the evidence of the Kryptonian ally he pulled out his hologlove again and he began typing. There had to be more explanations stored in here somewhere.

-.-

It was warm…really warm. Warmer than Gotham should be in March. Furrowing her brows, she could now feel a warm hand on her shoulder, carefully shaking her. “Hey, wake up,” an unfamiliar, but concerned voice spoke.

So, whoever she was with, didn’t seem to have any malicious intent so far. Which was a good thing considering Gotham’s lowlifes.

Artemis forced her eyes open, grimacing as pain came through her head. God, she had a killer headache. Maybe she partied a little too hard with her friends? Her blurred gaze landed on a grey and red blur kneeling beside her. Blinking to clear her vision, she found her eyes widening as she recognized the figure in front of her: Kid Flash.

Kid Flash, the fastest kid alive, was leaning over her, shaking her shoulder.

The implications made her scramble to her feet.

The redhead’s green eyes widened, and he raised his hands placatingly, “Hey! Hey! It’s ok. I’m not going to hurt you,” he said. “I’m one of the good guys, you know, Kid Flash.”

Looking at the hero, her brows furrowed. “Seen Kid Flash on the news, he doesn’t wear black.”

The speedster looked down at himself, looking confused. “I’m not too clear on that myself,” he confessed. “What about you? Green Arrow fixation?”

Artemis looked down to see what he was motioning to, and her eyes widened in shock. She was in a uniform, a hero-like uniform. It was green and there was an arrow symbol on her chest. “Who put me in this?!” she exclaimed.

The speedster shrugged, rubbing the back of his head showing his discomfort. “Wow, I’m not touching that with—so anyways,” he cut himself off, “you know how to use that bow?”

Kneeling down, she picked up said bow scrutinizing it. It was her bow alright; at least there was something familiar here. “Yeah, my dad taught me,” she said before almost slamming her head against the wall. Of course, who else would do this? “Dad, he must’ve done this! Another of his stupid tests!”

This caught Kid Flash’s attention as he crossed his arms, looking serious. “What kind of tests?”

“He probably wants me to kill you.”

The boy’s eyes widened. She didn’t blame him, no doubt being told that the person he likely just saved had to kill him had to be unnerving. Though, he was a hero, so perhaps that happened more often than she thought.

A shrill whistle hit her ears causing her to look up in confusion. “What’s that sound?”

While she didn’t know what sound it was, Kid Flash did, because before she knew it, she was scooped off her feet and was blinded by sunlight as they burst from the shack they’d been hiding in. Looking back to the house, her eyes widened as she saw something crash into the roof.

The resulting explosion knocked the hero off his feet, knocking them both to the ground. Sitting up, they looked to see tanks approaching, soldiers standing and running nearby with guns. One shouted something and they opened fire.

Bullets sprayed the sand as they landed on the ground by them. Thankfully, these soldiers seemed to have as good of aim as a stormtrooper so far.

Artemis reached into her quiver, pulling out an arrow. She notched it and fired, the arrow flew and, to her surprise, when it hit one of the trucks, it caused an explosion. She couldn’t remember having explosive arrows, but hey, she wasn’t one to complain about good fortune.

The truck she hit flew into the air, almost landing on one of the tanks.

Her legs were sweeped out from under her, causing her to yelp. Turning to face the culprit she saw she was back in the arms of Kid Flash, “Sorry,” he apologized, “they’ve got bigger arrows.”

Well, he wasn’t wrong. “Thanks.”

The redhead gave a wide smile, “Hey like I said: good guy. Now, not to pry, but what’s your name? And what’s this thing you said about killing me?”

-.-

To say Mike was panicking was the understatement of the century.

He had no idea where he was, how he got there, who did this to him, and, to top off the shit shake that seemed to be his life, he was purple.

He. Was. Fucking. Purple.

What the hell happened to him? Why couldn’t he remember anything?

Sitting down against a cluster of rocks, he put his head in hands. Mike didn’t know what to do. He’d handled himself for almost two years, but, right now, he had no idea what to do. He was scared.

 Choking back a sob of fear and frustration, he leaned back, looking up at the cloudless sky forcing back tears. God, he was pathetic. This wasn’t the time to break down like a crybaby. Mike needed to man up. Get over his weakness and solve his own problems.

With a sigh, Mike forced himself back to his feet. It was still early, the sun was still rising. Meaning he had a general idea of his bearings. The trick would be figuring out which way would lead him towards civilization, or, more importantly, water. He had a half-filled bottle, but it would only last so long before thirst or the desert heat burned away that resource.

Hopefully he found civilization before then.

Sweat was already starting to drip down his brow as he began to trudge through the one random rock cluster he managed to find. His life sucked. Though, maybe he could just end it all. Curl up under one of the boulders and just wait for dehydration, heatstroke, or something else to kill him. It wasn’t like anyone cared enough to come looking for him.

Shaking his head, the teen cast the thought aside. Moping wouldn’t get him anywhere. It certainly wouldn’t convince his father he wasn’t a lost cause. He’d been doing so well lately too. Good grades, steady income from odd jobs, nothing that would indicate that he shouldn’t be able to handle himself. Unless…unless this was another test.

There was a time his father had been insistent on learning survival skills. Maybe this was to make sure he remembered to practice them.

Though, that wouldn’t explain why he gained the complexion of a grape. Nor did it explain the new scars. They couldn’t have been from his father. He’d never left scars this bad before.

No, his father wouldn’t do this. William Afton may’ve been a hardass, but he wasn’t needlessly cruel. Not when it wasn’t deserved anyways. And Michael hadn’t done anything recently that would’ve garnered his father’s ire enough to bring him out whatever hole he disappeared into.

So, he was back at square one.

Mike sighed, running a hand through his hair. Thinking about who could’ve done this wasn’t helping right now. He needed to focus on reaching civilization and finding someone who could fix…whatever was wrong with him.

Though, he would admit, it was nice not hearing the endless buzz of the city. Sure it was eerie with the way he only heard his own movements and the shifting sands, but still, it was kind of nice. Maybe after he was…healed or whatever, he could go hiking in the woods outside Gotham some time. It was something he could try to do when he had some free time. It wouldn’t cost him anything besides the bus fare, and even then, he could probably walk.

He was brought out of his thoughts by what sounded like muffled talking.

Oh thank God, people. Picking up the pace, he jogged towards the sound of voices. However, just before he turned the corner where he heard them coming from, Mike hesitated.

Looking down at himself, the teen bit the inside of his cheek. Was…was this a good idea? He looked down at himself. Who would help someone that looked like him? In Gotham he’d be lucky if someone didn’t choose to beat him half-to-death just with one look.

But still, what else were his options? Just lay down and die? No, it was better to go out fighting.

Taking a breath, Mike reluctantly turned the corner, involuntarily wincing in anticipation for the adverse reaction. However, after a moment, he didn’t hear anything. No exclamations of shock. No sounds of footsteps fleeing with the sound of terrified screams. No angry shout of someone ready to kill him. Just, the same disjointed muttering he’d heard walking over.

Slowly opening his eyes, he prepared himself for the gaping looks of horror staring at him. Instead, he saw more rocks leading to open desert.

Where the fuck was he hearing voices from then? Maybe he was finally going mad.

Well, it was about damn time.

It was only when he heard the mumbling again, it finally occurred to him to look away from the horizon. In front of him, a few yards away, a form was sprawled on the ground.

“Shit.” Almost tripping himself rushing over, Mike grimaced as the guy’s skin seemed to burn against his on contact. Mike wasn’t an expert on health, but he would bet this guy was having heatstroke or something. Grabbing under the guy’s shoulders, he was surprised to find that he wasn’t having trouble picking the guy up. Dude looked like he should’ve been heavy, but it was like picking up a gym bag.

Still, now wasn’t the time to question his one stroke of luck.

Carrying the guy over to the shade, Mike couldn’t help but notice that the guy seemed familiar. He was tall, dark skin, blonde hair, tattoos on his arms, wore a weird gray suit with fins on the legs, and there were tattoos that seemed to resemble gills along his neck. He knew this dude from somewhere. He didn’t look like any of the waitstaff he worked with. Maybe a bouncer? Or…he could be a guard for one of the VIPs, dude looked tough enough. Though, that didn’t explain the uniform.

Against his better judgement, Mike grabbed his water. Taking a swig for himself, he poured some down the unconscious man’s throat, hoping he wasn’t accidentally drowning the guy.

He didn’t think his conscience could handle another death on his hands.

To his relief, the guy coughed, pale blue eyes opening. A split second later, Michael was knocked on his back, a glowing blue sword that had definitely not been there before at his throat. This was what he gets for trying to be a good person. “Who are you? Where am I?”

“I-I don’t know,” he stammered, ignoring the pounding in his chest.

The stranger’s eyes narrowed. Sword still pressed at his throat as he looked around, gaze stopping to linger on the spilled water bottle. To Mike’s relief, the blade pulled away. “I apologize,” he said, moving off him and leaning against the rocks, sweat trickling down his brow.

“Eh, it’s not the first time I’ve had a knife to my throat,” the other teen smiled sheepishly, rubbing his neck.

“Still, you were helping me, and I reacted with violence. I am sorry,” the stranger apologized again. “I’m Aqualad.”

In hindsight, it was no wonder the guy looked familiar. Michael had remembered seeing him on the news with Aquaman a few times. “Mike,” he offered lamely.

“Thank you for helping me, my Atlantean physiology is not suited for hot environments.”

“Thanks for not killing me,” the other teen chuckled. “Uh…” he rubbed the back of his head nervously, “you don’t happen to remember why you’re out here do you? Because I have no fuckin’ clue how I ended up here.”

The superhero sidekick was quiet for a moment, seeming to think. “No…last I remember I was in Atlantis.”

Fan-fucking-tastic.

-.-

KF slid to a stop panting heavily as he set Artemis down, “Sorry,” he gasped between breaths, “running on empty, don’t think I’ve eaten in a while.” Standing up, he revealed a small compartment hidden in his suit’s sleeve. The speedster frowned as he slammed the snack-holder shut in irritation, “Must’ve been out here for over twenty-four hours, or my cupboards wouldn’t be bare.”

“Well that still doesn’t explain what happened,” Artemis pointed out.

Kid Flash opened his mouth to answer when he noticed a shadow that seemed to be getting larger. Glancing up, he could make out something descending towards them. He grabbed the blonde, barely pulling her out of the way as whatever it was made impact, sending a plume of sand into the air, the shockwave from the impact knocking both teens off their feet.

As they stumbled to their feet, Kid Flash was caught off guard as a shirtless guy lunged at them through the dust cloud. He threw his fist, hitting the speedster in the gut and sent him flying back into the cliffside.

Artemis’s brows shot up as their attacker turned to face her and she grabbed an arrow and fired it at him. The explosive arrow only seemed to tick him off more. He leapt at her and Artemis sprang out of the way to avoid the attack. She was saved by something flying overhead and exploding, blasting their attacker back.

Pretty sure her brows had been singed, she sat up to see a tank and troops approaching. They looked like the same group that attacked them earlier. But why attack feral boy? Wasn’t he one of their guys?

Her answer came in the form of their newest assailant leaping at the tank. “Whose side is he on?”

“You wanna stay and find out?” Kid Flash asked.

“Nope,” the blonde said, not protesting this time as the hero picked her up.

-.-

“You feeling better now?” Mike asked, looking to the hero.

“I’ll admit, I have been better, but it is at least not as bad as it had been earlier,” Aqualad answered, sounding relieved as a cool breeze brushed past them.

After he had found the unconscious hero, they had decided to hide out in the shade of the boulders for the rest of the day. Opting to wait for the cooler night to use the stars the navigate and start moving towards civilization. Mike would admit, it was a much better idea than his plan to just pick a direction and hope for the best.

“So…do you remember anything?” he asked, hoping to break the awkward silence.

“No, but hopefully we’ll be able to find answers,” the sidekick answered, glancing at him, “Have you remembered anything about what happened to you?”

Michael shook his head. “No. Nothing after leaving work.”

The hero pursed his lips, brows furrowing. They fell back into silence, trudging through the shifting sands, following whatever direction Aqualad had pointed them in. Mike had absolutely no clue where he was going, but he trusted the hero to not get them both killed.

Though he did start to question the hero’s judgement as the sound of gunshots echoed from the very direction they were walking towards. And, instead of walking away from it, the hero managed to hold himself up to start running towards the sound of fighting.

“I must be outta my mind,” Mike muttered, shaking his head as he ran up the hill after the hero.

Aqualad had already joined a familiar a red and yellow clad form fighting men dressed in military gear. To his right, Mike heard muttering in a language he couldn’t understand. He turned his head, spotting the forms of three more men, raising their weapons.

Against his better judgement, Mike grabbed his wrench and hurled it at them. With surprising accuracy, the tool hit the man’s hand, knocking then gun aside into the other weapons. The soldiers’ heads snapped towards him, the closest one looking surprised as Mike’s fist collided with his face.

Getting over their shock, the other two men raised their weapons, clearly intending to shoot him. Only they were stopped as their guns disappeared from their hands followed by a blast of wind. “I’ll take those! Thanks!”

It was only when a fist hit his jaw, Michael remembered that he was currently fighting one of these asshats. Fortunately, he was used to taking punches. This guy’s hits were nothing compared to what he was used to. And clearly, despite being a soldier, this guy wasn’t used to fights, because it took one hit between the guy’s eyes to knock him out cold.

“KF!” a voice called. Turning, Mike did his best to keep his composure as he saw the Boy Wonder jogging towards Kid Flash. “Good to see a familiar face.”

The speedster grinned, “Hey Rob, memory loss?”

“Six months! Let’s hogtie these creeps and compare notes.”

Mike got off the guy he’d been fighting, dragging him over to the pile of unconscious bodies the heroes had been forming. He remained quiet as he watched them, trying to comprehend his situation. Ok, so he was trapped in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by foreign soldiers, and with Robin, Aqualad, Kid Flash, a blonde archer who was probably associated with Green Arrow, and a green-skinned girl who had to be an alien.

Seriously, what the actual fuck happened last night—Wait…did Robin just say six months? Did…did he lose six months of his life?

Apparently, he wasn’t the only one who was confused, because the archer spoke up as soon as they’d gotten all the soldiers tied up, “So, does anyone know exactly what’s going on?”

“I do,” the alien girl answered eagerly.

“Care to share with the class?” Robin said, narrowing his eyes suspiciously.

“We’re a team, friends,” the green-skinned girl spoke up. “We get sent out on missions by the Justice League to fight crime undercover!”

Mike raised a brow. Him? Fight crime? Yeah right. He wasn’t a good person. No hero would want a murderer as their sidekick. Heck, his own father hadn’t wanted a monster like him as a son. Then again, why should his father put up with the child who murdered his own brother in cold blood? Mike didn’t blame the man for fucking off to God knew where. Lord knew he more than deserved it.

Oftentimes, he agreed with his father in that it should’ve been him that died pleading for mercy in Fredbear’s jaws; the same way his brother had been.

“So we’re a team?” Robin reiterated, snapping Mike out of his spiraling thoughts.

“All of us and Superboy,” the Martian girl spoke up.

At her words, the other boy’s brows shot up and he rummaged through his belt and pulled out a cloth. “So this must be his.”

“Did you see him?” the Martian girl inquired.

“I think we did,” the blonde said.

Kid Flash rolled his eyes, “Feral boy? Some teammate, he attacked us.”

“In his defense,” the blonde archer spoke up, “he didn’t know who we are. I don’t know who we are.”

“Last thing I remember is Batman ordering radio silence,” Robin chimed in, “our team must work for him.”

“How do we know we don’t work for my mentor?” KF asked tapping his symbol. All their eyes widened as grey and black changed to yellow and red. “Whoa,” he started tapping the button again watching as the colors kept changing, “this is so cool.”

The others reached up to tap their symbols. Only Aqualad’s uniform changed like Kid Flash’s did.

“Quit touching yourself!” the blonde scolded swatting the speedster’s hand away. “We need our memories back.”

The green girl’s eyes began glowing. “I’ve established a telepathic link to bring you all here into my mind so see what I remember so far,” she explained. “Our broken memories can form a whole, but I need you all to open your minds to mine.”

“Wait, you wanna hack into our private thoughts?!” Artemis exclaimed.

“I don’t mean to intrude—”

“You need our memories to figure out what happened, knock yourself out.”

“My mind is all your gorgeous, try not to let it’s brilliance overwhelm you,” Wally smirked.

“Or underwhelm you,” Robin snickered. “Hey, why isn’t anyone just whelmed?”

Wally pouted before he blinked as Artemis took his hand and he sighed, relaxing and giving her a reassuring smile. “Only the past six months, and only what you need.”

M’gann connected their minds and an image formed.

“An immense power sugre was detected by the Watchtower in the Bialyan desert,” Batman began. “Spectral analysis revealed non-terrestrial origins. Find out what happened and what landed there.”

“Forgive me,” Kaldur spoke up, “but Bialya, if I recall correctly, it is not on the League’s UN charter.”

“Indeed,” the Dark Knight nodded, “Bialya is a rogue state, ruled by the tyrannical dictator, Queen Bee. All communications are subject to interception, keep radio silence at all times. You’ll land in Qurac, on Bialya’s border, two clicks from the hot zone.”

“All-clear,” they heard Robin say as they crouched on a ridge overlooking a camp.

“The Bialyians control the site.”

“Set up here.”

“We’ll be up and running in no time.”

“Bingo! Site’s lousy with Zeta-beam radiation!”

“How the fuck would Zeta-beam radiation end up in the middle of the desert?”

“Detecting non-terrestrial trace elements from the tent.”

“I’ll check it out in camouflage mode.”

“Be careful Miss Martian, camouflage isn’t completely invisible.”

“And maintain telepathic contact.”

“I will Aqualad.”

“What happened next?” Robin asked.

“I don’t know, that’s the last thing we remember,” M’gann said.

Mike stepped aside as the other discussed game plans. Crouching down, he rested his elbows on his knees, trying to control his shaky breathing. Now was not the time to lose his cool. He could deal with…the memories—his problems, later. The team couldn’t afford to deal with his weakness right now. Right now, they just needed to focus on saving Superboy.

Standing up, he turned back to the others, stepping back into the group as if he’d never left to begin with. “Kaldur’s dehydrated, I’m basically out of fuel, we need to go back to the Bioship,” Kid Flash stated, crossing his arms.

“I can’t, I have to find Superboy, six months ago he didn’t exist. He has no memories, just animal impulse. I’m the only one who can help him.”

“We can’t help Superboy if we’re all almost dead on our feet.”

Before she could argue, Miss Martian grabbed her head in pain. “No!” the Martian girl protested. “Superboy’s in pain! We can’t wait!”

“WE STILL DON’T KNOW WHAT ERASED OUR MEMORIES!” Robin shouted after. “IT COULD HAPPEN AGAIN!”

-.-

Qurac: September 4, 23:42EDT

“Oh thank God,” Mike said as they finally got back onto the Bioship after hours of walking. Not waiting for anyone else, he stumbled over to his seat, all but falling into it with a sigh of relief.

Soon enough, a familiar gust of air passed by, leaving a water bottle in each other their hands. All of them only had the energy to nod to the speedster before they began inhaling the life-saving liquid.

“Oh, Artemis, you never explained why your dad wanted to kill me?” Kid Flash remembered, wiping some water from his lips.

“Wait what?”

“Oh!” the archer’s eyes widened, “Uh, that was a mix up. I remembered the plot of a movie; it was about a ninja girl who’s ninja dad wanted her to kill her ninja boyfriend from a rival clan.”

“So I’m your ninja boyfriend?” the speedster smirked.

“Amnesia, remember? I forgot how truly annoying you are!”

“Oh, like you’re the goddess of congeniality?!”

“Do we need to get you two a room?” Robin smirked.

“Please,” Mike groaned, “I don’t think I could handle another migraine.”

“Hey!”

“Hey everyone! I got Superboy!” Miss Martian’s voice spoke in their heads. “He’s back to normal and we’re on our way back!”

“Dang it!” Wally exclaimed, causing all heads to turn to him, “I forgot to get a souvenir from the mission!”

“We got that covered.”

“Good, cause I wanna go home.”

Chapter Text

A/N: Hey everyone welcome back. It’s good to see y’all again. Remember, I just own the story, nothing else is mine.

/comms/

Telepathy/flashbacks/whatever

September 5, Mt. Justice, 19:12EDT

“Well, that was fun,” Mike groaned stretching his arms. His whole body ached. Which was weird, because he’d slept in much worse places than in Bioship’s seat. Guess he’d been spoiled by his new bed. Though he did just spend several days stumbling about in the desert with little water and no food. Weird, he used to be fine to go for a few days without food. Guess he’d also been spoiled by the constantly filled pantry too.

God, Henry really was spoiling him. And he hadn’t done anything to earn such luxuries. With his father earning that much would’ve taken years of work—years he put in for jack shit. He didn’t get it some days. Why nothing ever seemed to piss the man off. It drove Mike nuts at times. It was like standing next to a ticking time bomb. Something was going to make that bomb explode eventually, and personally Mike didn’t want to be the one who took the blow for once.

“Kaldur, you sure you’ll be alright? We don’t have to head home right away.”

“I am fine, and will be soon returning home myself,” the Atlantean replied.

“Hey, Mike,” M’gann spoke up, gently tapping his shoulder as the others talked. “Are you doing ok?”

“Oh…uh, yeah, I’m fine,” he shrugged, putting a smile on. “Why?”

“Mike…I didn’t mean to pry, but, on the way back…” she trailed off, “you seemed upset.”

“It’s nothing,” he replied.

“Recognized: Robin—B01. Kid Flash—B02. Artemis—B07.”

“Look, it’s nothing. Just some bad memories…I should get home,” he said.

He turned away from his teammate, walking towards the Zeta Tube before she could argue, “Recognized: Remnant—B06.”

-.-

Gotham, 19:34EDT

“Michael!” Henry exclaimed, all but tackling the tired teen as he stumbled through the door. “Where have you been? It’s been almost three days? Batman wouldn’t answer me when I called. Canary said to ask Batman, I’ve just been going in circles all weekend.”

He didn’t answer, but, for once, Mike didn’t try to squirm out of the man’s hold. Instead, he set his head against the man’s shoulder, doing his best to ignore the stinging at the corners of his eyes.

“Hey?” his uncle spoke again, his voice softer than it had been a moment ago. “Is everything ok kiddo?”

No. Everything was not ok.

The man’s shoulder stifled the teen’s sobs as the pair sunk to the ground in the middle of the foyer. He could make out his uncle whispering softly as he ran a hand up and down his back. Instead of calming him down, it just made him cry harder.

His chest burned.

He could feel the metal coils slithering under his skin. Tearing at flesh as they turned him into their own personal skin-suit.

He could hear that…thing’s staticky laughter in his ears. Mocking him.

And through it all, Henry wasn’t questioning his weakness. No, the man was just there. Like he always was. Being strong when he could barely keep himself together.

Mike didn’t deserve this.

He didn’t deserve any of this.

He didn’t deserve Henry’s kindness, his endless patience, unconditional love.

He ripped Henry from his life. Forced him to move back to the city that had almost destroyed him. Michael had been nothing but a hassle for the man. He was the one who was too weak to hold himself together. And every time, Henry was there.

Sometimes he wanted the man to shout at him, scream, do something that would show him that his fears were right. That he really was nothing more than a burden on the man’s life.

“Mikey,” Henry spoke, “what’s wrong? Did something happen during the mission?”

They had moved to the couch, a steaming mug of hot coco being handed to him by a concerned-looking Efrem. Letting the heat seep into his fingers, Mike remained firmly plastered against his godfather’s side.

How was he going to explain what happened in Bialya? Talk about having months of his memory erased. No, it wasn’t like he was mad at M’gann for restoring his memory. Missing months of his life—even if he was technically in a coma for some of said missing months—would have been awful. But, still, there were some he wished could have been erased all together. This way he wouldn’t have to relive…that night.

“Kiddo?”

“I—I’m fine,” Mike stammered, wiping his eyes.

“And I’m Batman,” the man deadpanned. “I’m worried about you son.”

“Sorry.”

“Mikey, you don’t need to apologize,” Henry reassured. “I just want to make sure you’re ok.”

“Why?”

The man blinked in surprise, staring at him as if he’d grown another head. “Why?” he repeated incredulously. “Because why wouldn’t I? Kiddo. Why on Earth do you think I shouldn’t care about you?”

Mike shrugged, not willing to meet the man’s eyes as he stared into his mug, watching the little marshmallows bob up and down.

“Mikey, hey,” Henry said, “did someone say something?”

“No—no,” he said. “No one said anything.”

“Then what’s going ok, kiddo?” the man almost whispered. The man sounded heartbroken.

The teen bit his lip. God, why couldn’t the man do something? Yell at him. Shove him. Something other than continue to be so…so nice. He hadn’t done anything to deserve it. He needed something to just knock some sense back into him.

“It was just…the mission, it was pretty rough.”

“Ok.”

“We…we, uh, lost our memories for a little bit—”

“What? How? Are you ok? Did you hit your head—?”

“Uncle Henry,” Mike interrupted, “it wasn’t like that. It was a psychic attack, M’gann fixed it. It’s just…”

“Just what?”

“When she restored our memories, I also had to remember….that night.”

“Oh…oh God Mikey,” his uncle whispered, pulling him back into a bone-crushing hug. “I am so sorry, son. I’m sorry you had to go through that again.”

“It’s not your fault.”

“And it’s not your fault that happened to you kiddo,” Henry rebutted. “But still, that doesn’t answer the question as to why you think I shouldn’t care about you?”

The teen didn’t answer.

“Kid, you aren’t a burden, an inconvenience, or whatever else you’re telling yourself right now,” the man continued. “And I will find a way to get it through that thick skull of yours, however long it takes,” he playfully ruffled his hair. “Now, how about to cheer up we order some pizza and ice cream? Then we can just get in stretchy pants and watch some movies. Sound good, son?”

Personally, Mike just wanted to sleep for the next decade, but his stomach seemed to disagree as it growled loudly making the man laugh as Mike chuckled lightly. That sounded like a better plan than anything. And, after that little breakdown, he needed some downtime.

-.-

September 6, 9:45EDT

Mike? Are you ready?” Henry called lightly rapping on the door. Not hearing a response, he turned the knob, slowly opening the door to make sure he could close it again on the off chance the teen hadn’t heard him.

Though, he wasn’t surprised to find that, in reality, the teen was still sprawled out on his bed, softly snoring.

Guess he shouldn’t have been surprised, kid did have a rough day yesterday. Shaking his head, Henry strode into the room, sidestepping various pillows and blankets that had been thrown astray during the night. “Mikey,” he chided gently, shaking the teen’s shoulder. “It’s time to get up.”

His reply was an unhappy groan from the teen as he turned away, burying his head into the one pillow he managed to keep.

“Come on,” he prodded again, “I know bed is nice, but we have things to do today.”

There was a muffled noise from the pillow.

“What was that kiddo?”

Michael groaned again, rolling onto his back, bright blue-violets glaring tiredly at him. “Do I have to?”

Henry chuckled, “Unfortunately. School is starting soon, and we need to get your uniform.”

This garnered another unhappy groan from the teen as he sat up, his hair sticking up wildly. “Why can’t I just stay at my old school again? At the rate these classes are starting I won’t be getting out of school until June.”

“Well, for one, Gotham Academy is closer, it has better programs, and it’s safer than your old school. And the reason why it’s starting so late is because some villain decided to destroy half of it, so they’re currently repairing it.”

“Why do I have to go to a place with uniforms?” he grumbled, falling back into bed.

“Because that’s what your school’s dress code is,” Henry chided, “Now get up, we have to go pick up your stuff.”

Mike made another unhappy noise. He rolled over, almost falling off the bed as he started to get up. Rubbing his head, Mike yawned, distantly aware of the sound of his door closing as he shuffled towards the bathroom.

Forcing himself to get ready for the day wasn’t as difficult after he splashed himself with some water. But he still wished that he could lay in bed or on the couch. Shopping for school was something he never considered exciting. Despite all the attempts his mother, Henry, TV commercials, and even on the rare occasion his father had tried to make it seem.

Though, he doubted any kid enjoyed getting ready for the school year.

Tying a hoodie around his waist, he rubbed the back of his neck, still yawning. It was too early for this.

“Ready?” Henry asked, handing the teen a coffee.

“No.”

“Yeah, but better to just get it over with.”

Enjoying his cocaine in a cup, Mike still gave the man an annoyed look. “And how am I going to do that looking like a grape?”

Henry facepalmed, “I knew I forgot something. Hold on a sec,” the man darted away, and distantly he could hear Efrem asking his uncle something as the man sounded like he was tearing his office apart. Though Mike didn’t really care enough to check at the present moment. Soon enough, the man came back, hair slightly disheveled. “Here,” grabbing Mike’s wrist, he put a watch on it, before pressing a couple buttons, “that should do it.”

Before Mike could ask what he meant, the light on the watch flickered, and he watched as a split second later his pale purple skin was replaced by familiar freckled Caucasian skin. Darting to the nearest mirror, the teen’s jaw dropped. He looked normal. His hair was still darker than it had been before his…accident, making him look more like his father than ever, but save for that, the slight violet tint to his eyes, and his new scars, he looked just like he used to. “H-How…?”

“A lot of trial and error,” Henry chuckled. “I used some of the hologram tech we’ve been working on. It’s solar-powered—so you don’t need to worry about the battery—waterproof, fireproof, and I’ve even made it resistant to electricity, since I don’t know what you and your friends will be up to. This way you don’t need to hide out all the time.”

The corners of his eyes were not stinging. It was just allergies. “W-Wow…thanks,” he said. Nope, he did not sound choked up. Not. At. All.

“Aw,” Henry smiled, squeezing him into a hug.

Mike, for once, did not try to squirm out of the man’s hold. It was the least he could do for the man. He…he didn’t deserve a gift as amazing as…as this.

A large hand rested in his hair, tucking his head against the man’s chest, “Hey, I know where that head of yours is going kiddo,” the man whispered, “making this for you wasn’t an inconvenience, it wasn’t a waste of time, you’re my boy, and I’m always here for you kiddo.”

Nope, Mike wasn’t crying. His eyes were just leaking.

“Now, c’mon, kiddo,” Henry spoke, his voice turning playful as he placed a hand on the teen’s shoulder, “the sooner we get shopping out of the way, the sooner we can go get some ice cream or something.”

Smiling slightly, he used the heel of his hand to get rid of the evidence of his tears. That was hard logic to argue with.

-.-

10:54EDT

Mike was out of coffee.

Mike. Was. Out. Of. His. Liquid. Cocaine.

This sucked.

Glaring at the empty mug, he sat in his chair, chin resting on his palm as he and Uncle Henry waited for their turn. Who knew that a tailor shop would be so busy this early? He figured that in the middle of the day during the workweek, everyone would be too busy to shop for clothes. Apparently, that assumption did not apply to stupidly rich people.

Granted he and his uncle were there too, so he was one to talk.

“So, after this,” Henry started, “we can stop for lunch. And then we need to stop by the DMV—”

“The DMV?” Mike interrupted, raising a brow at his guardian. “Why are we stopping there?”

Henry looked at him, as if it was obvious, “Mike…you’re sixteen. You can drive now, assuming you pass the test.”

“…I haven’t even been expecting to take the test.”

Henry facepalmed, “I knew I forgot to tell you something.” He sighed, rubbing his temples, “Oh well, we’ll just see how it goes.”

Sounded like a plan.

“So, how long will the DMV take?”

“Why? Got a hot date?” Henry inquired, a smirk flashing across his face.

Mike gave the old man a deadpan look. Please, if his love life ever existed to begin with, it would now be as dead as he should’ve been.

The golden-ginger shrugged, “What? I’m just curious. How about your, uh, club? Anyone in there you’re interested in? I know you mentioned Megan before. She sounds nice.”

Michael felt his face heat up. Please Lord, end this conversation.

“Oh, unless, you’re into…well, I know Sammy leans that way too. And my niece Katie. She actually just graduated from the school you’re going to. Maybe she knows someone—”

Please God, kill him now. End his misery before he died of embarrassment alone. “No, Uncle,” he groaned, putting his head into his hands. “I don’t have a date, I’ve never even had a girlfriend, so please, stop.”

“Have you had a boyfriend then?”

“No!”

“Michael Afton,” a tailor called.

“Right here!” he practically shot out of his seat. He was pretty sure his cheeks were still bright red. But at the moment he didn’t care. Right now, all he saw was an end to his suffering. He would rather be poked and prodded at for an hour or two than deal with this. “See ya later, Henry.”

-.-

13:34EDT

“Henry!” a voice called as they entered some café. Following the voices, Mike saw two young women sitting in a booth. One was a blonde that looked about his age, the other was a bright redhead who seemed about Kaldur’s age.

“Katie! Bette!” Henry grinned, practically dragging Mike with him to sit beside them. “How are my favorite nieces?”

“Doing good, the redhead smiled. “We’re just getting Bette ready for her new school year.”

“I just don’t get why we couldn’t just do classes online for the first few weeks if the school was in that bad of condition,” the blonde, Bette, groaned. “Be better than starting in September and ending in June.”

“Bette, there are scholarship students,” Henry reminded, “they may not be able to afford the materials.”

“Oh yeah,” she muttered, rolling her eyes and she took a bite of her salad.

“Hi,” a waitress interrupted. “What can I get you today?”

“I’ll have a number one and a latte,” Henry smiled. “Mikey?”

“Uh…” he glanced down at the menu. “I’ll do a rubén and a caramel frappe?”

“So, you’re Michael Afton?”

Jumping slightly, Mike looked across the table to the blonde. “Uh, yeah.”

“Cool, I always loved going to your family’s—well, your family’s and uncle’s restaurants as a kid. Bonnie was my favorite. And, even if Kate won’t admit it, she was big fan of Fredbear.”

Mike did his best to not pale at the mention of that particular animatronic. The same one that had haunted his nightmares ever since…the incident.

“I’m Bette, you’re a sophomore right?”

“Uh, yeah.”

“Cool, we’re in the same grade. So, why are you living with Uncle Henry now?” she continued, ignoring both Henry’s and Kate’s exclamations. “Is it true?”

“Bette!”

“Is what true?”

“That you were in some terrible accident? That your father’s missing and the reason for it is that he went mad and tried to kill you?”

“Mary Elizabeth!” Kate snapped, leveling a stern look to the blonde. Taking a deep breath, the redhead, pinched the bridge of her nose. “I’m sorry about her. Sometimes, she doesn’t know when to stop. Bette?”

“Sorry.”

Mike wasn’t sure if she sounded sincere, but he felt Henry pull him into a one-armed hug, giving him a reassuring squeeze. “So…Kate,” the man coughed as the waitress came back with their drinks and food. “How’s college treating you?”

Tossing one last glare to her sister and an apologetic look to Mike, Kate smiled at Henry, “Not bad. I mean, all my teachers lied to me when they said all my professors would be hard asses—I mean, there’s like one or two, but most of them are pretty chill.”

Hid godfather chuckled, “They still selling that story huh?” Shaking his head in exasperation, the man took a sip of his coffee. “How are classes?”

“It’s just the intro courses right now, so nothing too difficult for me.”

“Still planning on applying to West Point?”

“After I get the basic courses out of the way, I’ve already got my recs lined up.”

“That’s great!”

Mike sighed in relief as the attention turned off him. Though he could still feel Bette’s questioning gaze on him. Hopefully, now everything would calm down. Seriously, how hard was it to go one day without drama?

Chapter Text

A/N: Hey everyone! Welcome back! So, just so y’all know, while I am having fun writing the story, I would like to hear some reviews to see what y’all think or if there’s anything I could improve on. But still, anyways, remember, I just own the story, nothing else sadly.

/comms/

Telepathy/flashbacks/whatever else I need

Gotham, September 10, 2:33EDT

Batman was probably going to kill him. Actually, the Dark Knight was probably going to be chewing out Red Tornado before he killed him. It had been shockingly easy to swipe his own bike from the cave without the android coming out to see what he was doing there in the middle of the night. But, then again, Robin did say that he never seemed to care what they were doing.

Perfect person to watch a cave-full of super-powered teenagers.

Still, Mike wasn’t going to complain about the android hero’s inattentiveness. Especially since it gave him a chance to look for answers given how Batman had shut him out after his uncle’s insistence.

It wasn’t like he didn’t enjoy the team thing, he did. But, he could recognize it for what it was: a distraction. Not that he didn’t appreciate it at times, but all the hovering made it difficult to investigate his father’s activities.

Which was why he took the opportunity to sneak out as soon as his uncle was out of town on some business trip. Though it had been shockingly difficult to get past Efrem—the man was like a damn ninja some days.

The engine of his motorcycle was surprisingly but thankfully quiet as he turned into his old neighborhood. Like he suspected, most of the houses were dark and quiet as he drove through the suburbs. There were a few stray lights on here and there, but they were undoubtedly teens like himself breaking curfew. No nosy neighbors peeking through their curtains.

Granted, not that they’d be able to see anything when he got on the road to his house. Wasn’t that how his dear father got away with it for so long?

But still, there had to be something that the police missed, maybe even that Batman missed. It was a longshot, but right now it was his only way to figure out what was going on.

At least it wasn’t his first time breaking back into his own house.

Parking his bike, he looked up at the house he’d lived in for his whole life up until a few months ago. Clearly his attempted murder hadn’t done anything for the place. Police tape was still tied to the mailbox and he could see the evidence tape still on the front door, the grass looked like it hadn’t been cut since the last time Mike had done it, and he could even see evidence of some animal activity from the woods. So, clearly there were no buyers, or his place was still regarded as a crime scene even after all these months. Then again, his father was a serial killer, so until he was caught, the bodies stopped piling up, and that man was tossed into the deepest cell in Arkham behind metal walls with no windows and the key was thrown into a volcano, it was still an active case.

But, that worked for him, no new owners meant all his family’s stuff would be there and not in some storage facility. It also meant he wouldn’t be breaking into some poor family’s new home to tear apart specific rooms in an effort to look for evidence about a child killer. Furthermore, with it being an active scene, meant that no stupid teens were going to try to break in and steal shit. The occasional presence of cops alone in the neighborhood had been enough to deter his ex-friends in the past. Mike would bet that other kids on the outskirts of Gotham were just as cowardly as those dicks were.

Bastards sure made short work of distancing themselves and planting all the blame on him, after all. If he ever saw any of them again he was going to break their noses.

Taking a deep breath, Mike exhaled and dismounted his bike. He could plan a way to get revenge on the pricks that had helped bully his brother after he did what he came here for. And to do that, he first needed to get in. Hopefully, no one noticed that the latch on the back window was broken.

Leaves crunched under his boots as he strode around to the back, occasionally tossing a glance out into the tree line to make sure there weren’t any wolves or feral dogs lurking around. Making it around the house, he reached up to tug on the screen. To both his surprise and relief, it popped off like it always had. Glancing through the glass, he couldn’t help but smirk, looked like the lock was still broken.

Thank you, Gotham’s finest.

Grabbing a screwdriver, he shoved it under the edge of the window making a gap large enough for him to get a handhold. Mike then winced a moment later when he shoved the window open with more force than needed. He almost thought that he’d break the glass. Fortunately, luck was on his side for once as it didn’t shatter into a million sharp fragments like he expected. But there was a new crack in it.

Guess Canary had a point in those lessons about controlling his strength.

Smirking to himself, Mike hefted himself up to slide inside. However, he didn’t remember it being this hard to squeeze through. Then again, the last time he’d had to sneak in was when his dad had still been around. After he left there had been no reason for Mike to sneak in. Shouldn’t have been surprising that he’d had a couple of growth spurts since then. He wasn’t exactly the scrawny twelve-year-old he used to be.

At least his recent training made sure his skills and B&E weren’t forgotten. Though…did it really count as B&E if it was breaking into your own home?

Well, this wasn’t his place of residence anymore, he still owned it, so technically it was still his house, but that was until the case was over. After that he was either going to sell it or burn it to the ground.

Of course, that would be after he found the evidence he needed to get Batman to let him back on the case.

There had to be something they all missed. Michael’s father was a paranoid maniac. He wouldn’t hide everything in one place. No, Circus Baby’s secret hideout had its own hidden compartments within, same with the hideout he overheard had been in Freddy’s. Both places had been mazes too. Mike would bet solid money that there were even more hidey-holes he didn’t know about.

No doubt the cops had already searched his father’s office, but he doubted the man hid everything in there. So, there was somewhere else in this house, somewhere else that everyone had to miss. Somewhere no one would think to look.

William used to spend a lot of time in Lizzie’s room after she died. Lizzie had always been his favorite, so it wouldn’t be surprising if a grieving father hid in the room of his lost daughter.

And, when looking for evidence in a serial killer’s home, why look in the perfectly preserved room of a six-year-old girl? The one room in the house where nothing bad had ever happened.

Almost tripping himself on the one stair with a divot in the center, Mike flew to the second floor, throwing open the door to Lizzie’s room. At first glance, everything seemed to be exactly as the last time he saw it. Bed made, toy box in the corner, some little make-up table against the wall, even the remains of a foxy toy she’d fondly called Mangle were still strewn about the floor, the pieces waiting to be reassembled in whatever way a child’s twisted imagination could dream.

Elizabeth had been so happy to get that toy for Christmas. Father had made it for her after all.

Shaking his head, Mike disregarded the toy as he stepped into his little sister’s room.

He wasn’t here to reminisce.

He was here to avenge her death.

Hopefully, father slipped up and assumed no one would check the bedroom of a dead little girl.

The wood of the dresser groaned in protest as he began forcing the drawers open for the first time in years. Mike ignored the painful twinge in his chest as he looked down at the drawer full of small, folded pink horse and princess pajamas. Instead, he pulled the clothes out doing his best not to crumple them as checked for anything trapped in between the folds. Though his search had proven fruitless. There had been nothing trapped between the clothes ether. Pulling the drawer out fully, he shook it violently, hoping to hear something rattling within a false bottom. He even flipped the box over to see if there was anything tapped to the bottom.

Nothing had been in or on the other drawers either, nothing besides clothes and a random resealable bag of candy.

Mike never thought Lizzie would be one to hide candy in her room. He used to do the same thing when Uncle Henry gave him chocolates.

A small smile flickered across his face at the memory. He’d put it all back when he was done. Just like he found it…though it wasn’t like the owner would come back to ever finish it.

Smile falling, Mike set the bag of candies aside. He needed to focus. Kneeling beside the dresser, he tapped on the sides, listening for a hollow space. Other than the reverberation of the empty cavity he just cleared out. Maybe there was something behind the dresser. Fortunately, thanks to his newfound strength, it wasn’t that hard to pick up the lump of wood and put it out in the hall.

The paint was the same base gray his father always used when they were going to repaint a room. Lizzie had been wanting to paint her room a new color. Mike shook his head, turning his attention back onto the details in front of him. There didn’t appear to be any discoloration that would suggest it’d been repainted over a few times. And he wasn’t even going to get started on drywall. Sure, he’d done a couple construction jobs—under the table naturally, no reputable place would hire a minor to work construction in Gotham—but he’d never done much walling. So he had no way to tell if there was a hollow space or not.

Actually, he could rule out walls, his dad’s expertise was metal-work, robotics, engineering, biotech stuff, that sort of thing. Though the man was knowledgeable about both plumbing, deep cleaning, and off-grid survival skills—but in retrospect the reason why was pretty obvious considering what he knew now. It was why Mike had come back to the goddamn place to begin with.

God, he really needed to stop getting distracted.

Ok, so, dresser and inside the walls were out. That left the bed, the make-up thingy, the toy-box, the vent in his sister’s room, the closest, the actual toys, the figurines of the shelves, a potential secret cubby carved into the closet, and maybe even a secret cubby carved into the floor under the carpet. The latter two options were longshots at best, but could work if nothing else panned out.

Cleaning up his previous mess, he moved to the toy boy, starting the arduous process of checking every toy while he emptied out the box. This was going to take a while.

-.-

3:45EDT

There had been a false bottom in the toy bin.

Tossing the plank of wood aside, Mike reached in picking up a journal. It looked worn, his father probably used it a lot. Good. That meant there had to be something regarding the bastard’s activities within its pages. Pulling the backpack from his back, he shoved the journal in. He could review it after he finished his search. Besides, there were other things in the bottom too. A strange collection of test tubes for instance.

Picking up the tray holding them, Mike’s brows furrowed as he looked at the liquid within. They were a variety of colors, and they shimmered like mercury. Except for the dark violet ones, those ones looked more like goo. “What the hell were you up to?” he whispered, gently setting the containers in his bag. He’d have to be careful transporting them. Mike had a feeling something bad would happen if the dark vials broke.

Besides, his theory had been right. There were places no one thought to look. And he would bet good money that there were other hiding places that hadn’t been found.

Ignoring the mess, Michael renewed his search, he could clean up afterwards. Almost ripping out the vent cover as he peered into the vent leading into his sister’s room, the teen paused as he came face-to-face with a small red light.

A camera.

There was a hidden camera looking into his baby sister’s room. Mike would bet there were others too, hidden all around the house. It explained how William always seemed to know what they’d been up to, even when the man hadn’t stepped foot in the house for days at a time. He always knew, because he was always watching.

That explained why Batman hadn’t been able to find his bastard of a father. The man had been following the investigation going on in his own home. He probably overheard all the theories and conversations, kept track of all the evidence they collected.

 Growling, Mike flipped off the camera right before he ripped the damn thing out. The metal crumpled under his fingers. Sparks coming off the device and hitting his skin painlessly as it lost power. He’d have to find and destroy the rest.

-.-

5:16EDT

The rest of the search into Lizzie’s room had been fruitless. No other hidden compartments, nothing stuffed into the pillows or mattress, nothing hiding in the toys or books, there wasn’t even any loose areas of carpet that would suggest something was hidden under the floor. However, he did manage to find two more cameras in his sister’s room alone. He didn’t want to imagine how many were hidden throughout the house.

But still, there had to be somewhere else someone wouldn’t have looked.

Ok, so if he were a paranoid serial killer, where would he hide evidence he didn’t want found in the case of discovery? It would be somewhere no one would think to search. Somewhere that wasn’t obvious. Somewhere well hidden, where no one would stumble across it on accident, but also quickly accessible for when he needed it.

A pit of dread settled in his stomach. After…the incident, Mike hadn’t been allowed into his room either. Not that Mike would’ve wanted to after what he’d done.

Swallowing the lump in his throat, Mike exited Lizzie’s room, striding towards the other end of the hall. With a shaky breath, Mike opened the door, looking into his brother’s bedroom for the first time since…that happened. Like his sister’s room, everything was just like he last saw it. Toys scattered on the checkered carpet floor, bed made, two blue dressers, the door leading to the Jack and Jill bathroom the young twins used to share, little glow in the dark stars stuck to the roof and walls, a lone Freddy plush sitting on the bed, all waiting for an innocent little boy that was never coming back.

A boy who would never get to grow up because his own brother, someone who was meant to protect him, had instead laughed as his fragile skull had been crushed.

His hand shook as he reached out towards the dresser. He…he had to do this. Ev—all those kids deserved justice. Their murderer was still out there, walking free. He had to do this, for them. It was the least he could do after letting it happen for so long.

Mike should’ve known. He should’ve done something to stop him. He had known his father was a monster. Time and time again he had seen his father come home at absurd hours, clothes occasionally covered in dark stains he had assumed to be oil. And he had the chance, time and time again to stop his father’s rampage. Mike could’ve poisoned William’s precious bourbon, the coffee he’d made for the man morning after morning, any of the meals he had cooked. Heck, he was always the one in the kitchen, Mike had access to all the knives, he could’ve just manned up and stabbed the bastard in his sleep.

But no, instead he just played the part of the weak, pathetic son that couldn’t do anything right.

The blood of all those innocent people was just as much on his hands as it was on his father’s. He had to give them the justice they all deserved.

Which meant he needed to see if his father had used his brother’s room just as he had Lizzie’s. Even if the thought of ripping the room apart made his chest tighten painfully.

Releasing a shaky breath, Michael slowly began emptying the dresser drawers. Repeating the same process had had in Lizzie’s room: checking the folded clothes for anything hidden in them, shaking the emptied drawers to listen for items hidden inside, feeling the sides of the dresser for hidden compartments.

As luck would have it, they were just as fruitless as last time. He did find another camera built into the fan though. Cleaning up the mess, he moved to the few toys his brother had. Unlike his sister’s barbies and horses, these ones could be taken apart and put back together. The perfect place to hide some small pieces of evidence.

Sitting with his back against the bed, he grabbed the toy phone, flipping it over and pulling out his screwdriver to open it. Like any toy, it looked pretty basic on the inside. A few bells and whistles that let it make noise when dialing the rotor, but nothing fancy. Which was why the blue chip that had fallen out was so out of place. It was just a little smaller than a sim card, it probably had info on it too. Shoving it into his pocket, he put the phone back together and started taking apart the toy robot. He was doubting he'd find anything else considering all his searching in Lizzie’s room had only produced the one hiding spot, but still, it was worth a shot.

-.-

7:00EDT

Searching his brother’s room thankfully hadn’t taken as much time as Lizzie’s. And, like her room, the only thing he found in there had been the chip and another camera.

Yet, it still felt like he was missing something.

But he had searched everywhere that Batman or the cops wouldn’t have checked. Everywhere except…he closed the door behind him, looking down to the far end of the hall. Towards the one room that had always been further from the rest: his room. There was no way his father could’ve—Mike almost facepalmed. The cameras.

His father saw everything.

He would’ve known when Mike had snuck out, when he fell asleep, when he took showers, man could’ve snuck into his room whenever he liked. And given how many times Mike had woken up to his drunken father trying to strangle him or with a knife to his throat, the man clearly had no problem barging into his room when he was sleeping. Lord only knew what the man did in his room when he was sober.

Storming down the hall, he all but kicked the door in as he looked into the space he’d lived up until a couple months ago. Unlike his siblings’ rooms, it wouldn’t take long for him to rip this place apart.

Chapter Text

A/N: hey everyone welcome back! Remember, I just own the story. Nothing else is mine.

/comms/

Telepathy/Dreams/Flashbacks/take a guess

Gotham City, September 10, 9:30EDT

Mike sighed dropping his bag while glaring at the offending pile of tools sitting on his table beside his newest project. Henry always did joke that his absentmindedness would come to bite him in the ass. He was just expecting it to be over something stupid, like homework.

Sighing, he grabbed the bag, moving to one of the other welding tables. He just spent hours cleaning up messes, he didn’t feel like cleaning up another. Setting the bag on the table, he pulled out his findings, spreading them out on the table.

So, he had the chip from his brother’s room, the mystery vials and journal from Lizzie’s room, and the mystery book that had been hidden of a stuffed animal Mike had gotten from his father when he was three.

The question was which one he wanted to start with. He figured the chip would have to wait for the Cave. It had better security and Batman’s paranoid ass would be more prepared for whatever could be on that thing. Which left the book, the journal, and the test tubes.

He’d probably need some lab equipment for the test tubes. Which could also probably be found at the Cave—that place seemed to have everything. The equipment he had in the workshop was meant for robotics, not…mysterious glowing liquids.

Meaning, until he visited the Cave when he was certain Batman wouldn’t be hovering nearby, the main focus of his investigation would be into the bound stacks of paper he found. Both of which would undoubtedly provide more questions alongside their horrific answers.

Maybe he should flip a coin. Heads read his father’s potential demon book. Tails read his father’s demented journal. It was as good a plan as any.

Releasing another sigh, Mike massaged his temples. No, playing childish games would only stall things. He just needed to get this over with before someone found out about his little escapade. Because when that happened, he was going to be grounded for the next month. They’d probably confiscate the stuff he found and give it to Batman so he can get frozen out of the case again.

So, until then, he might as well look into whichever one would get him the most info. And his money was on the journal.

Experiment 1:
              Subject: Mysterious liquid that appeared during the disposal of subject 1.
              Appearance: Pale silver-red metallic liquid similar to mercury.
              Source: Unknown
              Nature: Unknown.
              Attributes: Appears to be magnetic as it clings to the nearest metal and coagulates like liquid mercury.
              Experimental Focus: Determining the nature, attributes, and source of subject matter.
              Method: First part of the experiment will determine the flammability, toxicity, irritability, corrosiveness, density, melting point, and boiling point. Second part will determine source and nature.
              Flammability Results: Yes. Never leave near an open flame or even high electricity. It can and will burst into flames.
              Toxicity Results: In rats doses greater than 10% of their body weight proved fatal. Results were propagated in further tests conducted on cats and dogs. However, this toxic effect does not appear to occur in multiple doses. Reason why remains will be further explored in further experiments.
              Irritability Results: Not an irritant.
              Corrosiveness Results: Not corrosive.
              Melting Point Results: After five hours of trying to methodically solidify a sample, said sample was dumped into liquid nitrogen and still came out as a liquid. It doesn’t have one.
              Boiling Point Results: Whatever temperature fire spontaneously appears. This shit is stupidly flammable.
              Density Results: 20.99g/mL (surprisingly dense for a liquid).
              Source Experiment: This substance was found during the disposal of the remains of subject 1 and was coating the exosuit used for controlled transportation and disposal. Other exos were examined, however, only transport spare was affected. This leads to the conclusion that the material was obtained from the body itself. It was coating inside of suit after burning. An interesting conundrum as this material is highly flammable but only appeared around fire, leading to the conclusion that due to this, the material has not been discovered yet. An empty suit was burned as a control: No material appeared to be coating the inside. Due to this result, it can be inferred that the presence of subject 1. To test this, the process was repeated with a live rat and lit on fire for about 30min. The inside was too charred, and the process was repeated as time was decreased in 5min increments. At 15min, the experimental subject was dead and the material could be found inside the burned exosuit helm. This process was then repeated three more times with a cat, a dog, and a rabbit. Subjects who were already dead, produced little to no material what so ever. It was also conducted using different conditions: with different types of metal and without metal. In all trials without metal casings present, none of this “remnant” was produced. However, trials with silver, gold, and titanium produced the more than previous trials. All trials produced similar results, however, due to size, the amount produced differed based on the temperature, and duration of the fire. Further testing determined electricity produced twice as much as fire. In conclusion, this “remnant” is a high-density, highly flammable and conductive liquid that is produced by a living creature during its dying moments in the presence of electricity or fire.
              Nature Hypothesis: Essence of life? I know it sounds preposterous, but all conducted trials on subjects that had been dead for some time did not produce any of this material. For this substance to be made, a subject must be dying or freshly dead in the presence of fire/electricity and something metal. This “liquidation” does not appear to occur in other circumstances, as the knife was examined and only a strange black material to be studied later was obtained. Why this occurs is still unknown. But if my theory is correct, then this material could be the key to not only healing all wounds, but also immortality itself.

More experiments will be done to determine the authenticity of both this experiment and my hypothesis.

Mike slammed the journal closed. Running his fingers through his hair.

What. The. Fuck. Did. He. Just. Read?

Seriously.

This was insane.

The beginning, that made sense. His father was a renowned robotics, engineering, and even biotech expert. Of course a new material that could potentially be detrimental or beneficial to his work would be something he’d investigate vigorously. But…this…this was madness, beyond madness even.

Mike’s gaze flickered to the vials sitting nearby, lingering on the pale glowing ones. There was no way this…

He ran a hand down his face. Ok. Ok, he was tired. He’d been up all night. Heck, he’d been up late the past few nights patrolling with his mentor or hanging out with the team or working on the new prototypes with Henry in the shop.

Canary or Henry, maybe both, had mentioned something like this before. Something about a lack of sleep making it hard to have things make sense. Which was weird because he’d been working on little sleep for years. And this stuff with the team required staying up for days at a time sometimes. He should be able to focus.

Though a voice that sounded suspiciously like his mentor made a point of reminding him of his emotionally draining night. He wouldn’t be able to function being more exhausted than normal.

Yeah, he was going to need a nap and a shit ton of coffee before he tried to tackle this insanity again. Because if what he just read was right, then…then the GCPD’s current body count was nowhere near being close to done.

Because William Afton was not going to stop killing. Not until someone killed him.

-.-

Gotham, September 22, 5:55EDT

Something felt off.

Mike wasn’t sure what, but something didn’t feel right.

Sighing, Mike turned on his side, wincing at the ache in his stomach from the movement. Settling himself into the new position, he gazed out the window watching the flashing lights of the foggy city. Mike felt exhausted. He wasn’t sure why as he’d basically just taken a month-long nap; but he figured it had to do with his meds or something.

Though his uncle did mention when they were chatting that he was probably going to feel tired because he was healing. Who knew healing would take so much out of him?

Which is why it was surprising that he was having trouble falling asleep.

Was it just nerves? This was the first night he’d be spending in the hospital without his uncle there—well, while he was conscious anyways. But he could handle it. He’d slept alone in a house for years. He wasn’t a child. And, frankly, the man probably needed to sleep in a real bed rather than continue to strain his back. One night alone wouldn’t kill him.

Besides, he’d probably have nurses and doctors come in and check up on him regularly. So it wasn’t like he was really alone.

He could hear the door to his room click open, sliding shut quietly as if not to disturb him. It was probably Uncle Henry coming back to check on him. Ignoring the warm feeling in his chest, he closed his eyes, trying to make it look like he was asleep. Mike listened as the soft footsteps got closer to his bed and he felt eyes look over him. However, something about the gaze boring into him made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.

Something wasn’t right.

Opening his eyes, Mike rolled back onto his back, starting to sit up, “Uncle Henry—” seeing who stood in front of him, his voice caught in his throat. “D-Dad—” a hand pressed against his face, covering his nose and mouth as he was shoved back into the bed and stifling over whatever he was about to say.

“Shh, we don’t want to cause a scene now, do we?” William whispered, holding up a syringe.

Mike froze, eyes widening as he looked at the liquid within. Whatever that was, he did not want it in him.

His father growled as Michael clawed at his chest, trying to force the man off of him. His lungs began to ache as the palm smothering him pressed harder into his face, effectively cutting off his air. It wasn’t until his arm started to feel cold that Michael realized that his father had indeed managed to inject whatever he had into him.

Shit.

Bucking in the bed, Mike hoped he was causing enough of a ruckus to gain someone’s attention. His father looked amused as he looked down at him, a familiar smirk forming on his face as he watched his struggles. Black crept onto the edge of his vision, slowly consuming it as his lungs continued to seize. Mike wasn’t sure if it was because the lack of air or the unknown drug in his body.

His lungs burned. He couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t breathe again. He was going to die. He didn’t want to die. He didn’t want to be that thing’s puppet again.

Suddenly, he could breathe.

Gasping for air, he barely noticed the side of his bed shift as he blinked a few times trying to refocus his vision. “There we go, that’s it,” a voice soothed as Mike became aware of fingers gently carding through his hair, “I bet that feels much better.”

It did feel much better. He could breathe now. The hand running through his hair felt nice. It made him think of his mom. Mom used to rub his head like this. He missed her.

“You don’t need to worry about anything right now,” the voice spoke softly, “Daddy’s here.”

His dad? Turning his head slightly, he felt his cheek fall into a warm palm as he looked at the blurry figure looming over him. Mike’s vision seemed to fade in and out of focus as his body suddenly felt strangely heavy. He was vaguely aware of his father stroking his cheek, but everything seemed…foggy.

It wasn’t until his father’s hand tugged at the hem of his hospital gown, that something in the back of his muddled thoughts began to scream in warning. Mike wanted to back away, but his body wouldn’t respond. All he could do was lie there and whimper as William opened the front of his gown, revealing his bare chest.

“Shh,” William hushed, patting his hair, “shh, it’s ok. It’s ok.” Tears burned at the corner of Mike’s eyes as something dug into his chest painfully, scraping the top layer of his skin away. “That’s it,” his father whispered, kissing his forehead, “You’re doing so good.”

That only made his eyes sting more when his father started to carve at his flesh again. He didn’t understand why his dad was doing this. His actions and words were the antithesis of each other. It hurt. But he couldn’t move. He couldn’t get away.

“Good boy,” William praised, kissing the crown of Mike’s head. The new cuts on his skin began to burn painfully as something damp was dabbed against them, making the teen whine. “You’re doing wonderfully.” Arms gently wrapped around him, pulling him into a warm chest. His father tucked Mike’s head into the crook of his neck, softly shushing him between gentle kisses into his hair. “Stay still,” his father whispered, and Mike whimpered, anticipating more pain. He did feel a soft sting in the side of his neck, but, it didn’t hurt as much as the cuts to his chest. “It's ok. I know it hurts. But, it will be over soon.”

Mike made a small noise, letting his eyes drift shut. The warmth felt nice, and the pain from his neck didn’t feel too bad. His chest still stung, but the warmth radiating through him seemed to curb it somewhat. He did feel a little lightheaded, but strangely enough, Mike couldn’t bring himself to care. His dad was here. Everything would be ok as long as he was there.

“See how easy this is when you don’t fight me? When you listen?” his father spoke softly, pressing his nose back into his hair, softly running his hand up and down Mike’s back. He couldn’t recall the last time his father had held him like this. He forgot how soothing it was, to cuddle against his dad. To know he was there to scare away the monsters. “This is much better isn’t it? Not forcing me to hurt you?”

Oh, well that explained why he hurt earlier. He couldn’t remember what he did, everything seemed foggy. But, whatever it was, it probably warranted his punishment. His dad always said he didn’t have to care about him. At least he cared enough to whip him back into shape.

“I wish you could always be like this: so behaved, obedient,” William mused, “You’re such a good son like this. Alas, nothing good ever lasts. You aren’t going to remember this, just like the last few times. And you won’t remember next time either.” He leaned forwards, and Mike felt his father softly kiss his forehead, “But, know that I am the only one who will ever love you. You belong to me.”

The teen managed to push a small noise out, wanting to show his father that he understood. William seemed to pick up on it, because a smile crossed the man’s face as he stroked his cheek. Warmth bloomed in the teen’s chest, he made his dad happy. Things were always good when his dad was happy.

Mike felt another soft sting in his neck, the skin feeling cold as he suddenly started to feel sleepy. Somehow, through the haze, he felt his body relax further into his dad’s hold. He felt tired. Cuddling into the safety of his father’s hug, Mike finally allowed himself to close his eyes. Through his last tendrils of consciousness, he thought he could hear his dad whisper, “Sweet dreams baby boy, sweet dreams.”

A shout escaped Michael’s throat as he shot up in bed, his heart pounding in his chest as he looked around the room, half-expecting to see the familiar form lurking in the shadows.

He’d had some crappy nightmares before. But this one…it was right up there with the one where some demonic Fredbear was stalking him, trying to claw its way into his room. Though nothing was going to top the one that forced him to relive…that night.

Slowing his breathing, Mike flopped back onto his bed, staring up at the ceiling. No way he was going back to sleep now. With a sigh, he turned on his lamp and rolled over to pull the journal out from under his pillow. He could at least make some progress in looking over the notes.

Experiment 42:
              Focus: Effects of Remnant on the Human Body
              Subject: Michael Alaric Afton
                           Age: 8yo
                           Height: 128.2cm
                           Weight: 25.8kg
              Previous Ingestion Experimental Findings: Doses through samples injected into food/drink started at 5mL increasing in 5mL increments for a week. Initial doses produced little physical effects; however the subject became more irritable for approximately 2-4hrs after dose. After doses greater than 15mL, subject began experiencing stomach pains, bloody noses, and other symptoms akin to food poisoning. Subject also complained of food tasting “strange.” Ingestion is not recommended.
              Injection Findings Over 1 Week: First dose of 5mL was injected into subject via the left jugular vein. No observable effects. Second dose of same volume was injected into the subject’s right carotid. Subject appeared to be more clingy and tired than usual. Third dose was increased to 2 doses of 5mL into the right brachial artery. Subject remained tired but became more irritable. Fourth dose of same volume as 3^rd was injected into the left brachial artery. Subject was lethargic and clingy. Fifth dose was increased to 3 doses of 5mL into right jugular. Subject was more active than during previous days, still irritable though. Sixth dose was injected into left carotid. Subject returned to regular energy levels but remained more irritable and sensitive than normal. During a tantrum subject managed to rip a head off one of his brother’s stuffed animals.
              Determinations of Experiment: Injections are more effective and can be increased to higher doses faster than ingestion doses. Most effective when injected into carotid arteries. Further observations will be conducted with increasing doses to determine long term effects.

Neck stinging, Mike reached up to rub the spots he’d been stabbed with in the dream. Ok, so maybe it was a little more than a nightmare. It was probably just his brain trying to make sense of everything he’d been reading recently. But still…just when he thought the bar for William Afton’s depravity was on the ground, the bastard had gone to get a shovel. The man had not only murdered children for his own insane claims of finding the key to immortality, but he had experimented on his own son, and probably his other children, with this soul juice.

It made him feel sick. His father had been drugging him for years. Giving him the potential essence of children. From the looks of it, even just small doses over a short period had affected him somehow. Just how much had he changed because of this experiment? Was this why he’d become such an ass? Because he’d been unknowingly made that way by his own father?

“Mike?” he heard Henry’s muffled voice from the other side of the door as the man knocked. “Is everything alright?”

“Yeah,” he groaned, reluctantly sitting back up, he shoved the journal under his sheets, shivering as he felt sweat run down his back. “Just had a bad dream.”

There was silence from the other side for a moment, before he heard the door click open. Henry peered in, looking like he just rolled out of bed himself. “Another one? You’ve been having a lot of those lately,” the man sat at the end of his bed, “Everything alright?”

“Yeah,” he shrugged. “Guess…I’m just worried about school.”

Henry raised a brow at him, adjusting his glasses with a knowing look. “Son, you’re a terrible liar.”

Even though he knew his uncle was trying to be helpful, Mike couldn’t help but feel offended. “Hey! I managed to fool my teachers, classmates, and neighbors for years, I’m a great liar!”

“If you were you would’ve kept up the lie longer than that.”

“God damnit.”

“Language,” Henry chided playfully, before he turned serious again. “So what’s really going on, kiddo? These nightmares have been getting worse recently. Is there something wrong on the team? Did someone say something? Do something? Oh God, was it a reporter? Because I swear to God if I hear another word about Ms. Vale trying to meet you, I’m going to file a restraining order—”

“Henry,” Mike interrupted, patting the man’s shoulder. “It’s none of that—wait, did you say Vicki Vale? She’s the hot one, right?”

The blonde man facepalmed. “Michael, focus.”

“I’m perfectly focused.”

“Yes, on Ms. Vale, who you will be staying away from young man,” Henry said, giving him a pointed look. “She hasn’t gotten this far on looks alone. Both Batman and the cops investigating William don’t want any leaks about the case. He can’t track the investigation if he doesn’t know it’s going on. And as the state’s star witness, you won’t be answering any reporter’s questions for the time being.”

Pity. It would’ve been cool to meet her. But still, Mike did not mind being able to avoid the pack of piranhas known as the press. He would much rather deal with supervillains.

“I hate to interrupt, sir,” a voice interrupted, prompting both to look towards the doorway where a butler stood observing them with a raised brow, “but I believe Master Michael has to leave for school in half an hour. And you, Mr. Emily, have a meeting with Mr. Wayne to discuss the upcoming charity gala.”

“How long do you think it takes to get dressed?”

“Do you want breakfast, Master Michael? If so, I suggest you get moving.”

Beside him, his uncle made an exaggerated sigh, “Well, I suppose duty calls. You packed everything right? Books? Pencils? Pens? Notebooks?”

“Yep, all in there.”

“Any problems with the watch?”

“Not when I’ve used it.”

“Good,” Henry sighed, leaning over and hugging him. “You, have my phone number, so feel free to call me if you need anything. I’m always here to talk if you need it.”

“Thanks,” he said, leaning into the hug.

He could practically feel the man’s smile. Slowly, the man pulled away to let him go, “Now, I might not see you before you head out, but I’ll make sure there’s plenty of coffee ready.”

“Love you.”

Mike felt Henry freeze, and the teen himself paused after he realized the words left his mouth.

Shit.

He did not mean to say that.

Maybe the man would think he was talking about the coffee? He always made his love for caffeinated drinks very well known.

Not that he didn’t care about his uncle. No, Henry had been amazing these past few months. Man was probably the most stable male parental figure he’d ever had. Of course, his biological father had set the bar quite low. So low that someone trying to go below it would be limbo dancing with the devil. Though…it wasn’t like Henry hadn’t been going above and beyond what he’d been expecting.

His uncle had paid more attention to him in a few months than anything he’d ever gotten from William his whole life.

So, he really should’ve seen the bone-crushing hug coming. “Love you too, son.”

This time Mike froze, watching as his guardian ruffled his hair, exiting the room to go get ready for his meeting.

Mike should probably get ready too. It would be easier to process…whatever just happened after he had some caffeine. A lot of caffeine.

-.-

7:50EDT

Mike slug his bag over his shoulder as he got out of the car. Waving goodbye to Efrem, he strode towards the collection of buildings. It looked pretty good for just having been partially destroyed by his teammates last month.

But then again, most people who came here were stupid rich. So the repair costs were probably a drop in the bucket to a place like this.

His old school might’ve just used a liberal amount of duct-tape and some spackle to fix a problem that was too expensive. Like they had had a set of bleachers in the second gym that could not come out no matter who or how many people tried. They eventually decided to leave it, but that didn’t stop his classmates from breaking onto campus and drilling random shit into the plastic benches to make the world’s most dangerous indoor rock wall. And, true to his old school’s motto of just hoping for the best, they left it at that.

 It was still there last time he checked. It had even become part of the curriculum too. Only three people had broken bones from slipping. So, all in all, it seemed to be going pretty well.

“Mike!”

Pulling himself out of his thoughts, he turned watching as a familiar blonde approached. “Hey Bette.”

“Excited for your first day?”

“Not particularly.”

“Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll love it here,” Bette reassured. “Now we are waiting on one more—there she is.”

Following the excitable blonde’s gaze, Mike’s brows shot up as his gaze landed on a familiar head of absurdly long blonde hair standing in the middle of the courtyard, tugging on her skirt uncomfortably. “Artemis?”

The girl jumped turning to look at them. Her gaze landed on him and her brows furrowed. Clearly she didn’t recognize him like this.

“You know each other?” Bette inquired.

“Uh, yeah,” Mike spoke. “We go to the same martial arts class.”

He glanced to the archer, watching as her eyes widened a fraction as she finally made the connection. “Mike? Jesus, I almost didn’t recognize you. You look…”

“Put together like a normal functioning person?”

“Normal.”

There was a cough to his left and Mike turned remembering Bette was standing beside them. She crossed her arms, looking at them with a smirk. “Care to introduce me?”

“Oh, duh, Artemis, this is Bette.”

“Hi,” Bette waved. “I’m your new student liaison. Welcome to Gotham Academy.”

“Uh, thanks. I’m Artemis,” the other girl replied, “but you knew that.”

Bette opened her mouth to talk again when a random boy ran up, grabbing Mike and Artemis with a smirk. “We’ll laugh about this someday,” he said taking a selfie with them before darting off.

“Uh…what the hell?”

“Who was that?”

“A freshman, ignore him,” Bette sighed, rolling her eyes as she motioned for them to follow.

“Well that was weird,” Artemis muttered, tossing another glance around the courtyard.

Mike nodded in agreement, “Yeah. Is it just me, or did that kid seem familiar?”

“It’s just you.”

Rolling his eyes, Mike pulled out a piece of gum, popping it into his mouth. “So, what’re you doing here? I thought you lived in Star City with your uncle?”

Artemis paused, biting her lip, “No, I actually live here with my mom. I just don’t want to explain how I found out about all this stuff it’s, uh, complicated.”

“Ah.” If anyone got complicated, it was him. His life was nothing but complicated. “I get that.”

Chapter Text

A/N: Hey everyone! Welcome back! Thanks for all the reviews, I’m happy to see them. Anyways, remember, I just own the story, none of the characters are mine, sadly. Enjoy!

/comms/

Telepathy/Flashbacks/Whatever else italics works for

Gotham, September 22, 19:02EDT

“Hey Artemis!” Mike called, jogging over to where the archer was as she was about to open the door to the Zeta-booth.

The blonde visibly jumped, turning to look at him before relaxing and rolling her eyes. “Oh, hey Remnant,” she said looking at him again, not noticing how he winced at his own chosen name. “Sorry, I’m still trying to wrap my head around earlier. You looked so different.”

“Eh, I’m used to it,” he shrugged. “I mean, it makes sense, since this is the only way you’ve seen me before. Trust me, seeing my normal face again is a bit weird for me too.”

“Artemis?” Robin’s familiar voice called out as he stepped out from behind the booth, causing both of them to jump.

“Robin? I, uh…”

“How random you’re in Gotham City, instead of Star City where your uncle Green Arrow lives.”

Oh, the Boy Wonder was totally onto her.

Artemis tossed Mike a glance and he shrugged. He wasn’t a snitch, but this was her lie. “I’m uh, here to see my cousin,” she decided, “She was in the state spelling bee, here in Gotham City.”

Mike had to keep himself from facepalming. His sister used to lie better than that.

And clearly, Robin had picked up on it too as his knowing smirk somehow grew wider. “C-O-O-L. Did she W-I-N?”

“N-O.”

“D-R-A-G.”

“Let’s just go to the Cave,” Mike sighed.

“Ladies first,” Robin bowed dramatically to the archer.

“Your town. You go.”

Robin gave him a look, “What do ya say Rem? Rock, paper, scissors?”

Mike shook his head, raising his hands, “After you.”

With a shrug, the Boy Wonder stepped into the booth. “Recognized: Robin—B01.” Both remaining teens covered their eyes as the younger vanished in a flash of blinding light. Once it faded, Artemis stepped in next. “Recognized: Artemis—B08.”

“They really need to make this thing bigger,” Mike muttered, stepping inside once the light faded away.

“Recognized: Remnant—B07.”

-.-

Mt. Justice

“GET DOWN!”

Seeing something fly towards him, Mike dodged to the side, almost knocking over Artemis as he barely avoided being lit on fire by the fireball flying past them.

Artemis shouted, grabbing his arm and pulling him away from the Zeta-Tube. Her eyes were wide as she stared at him. “Are you ok?”

“Y-Yeah, just a bit surprised. What the fuck is happening?”

“I don’t know!”

Robin leapt from the smoke, hurling two disks into the plumes as Artemis pulled out her bow. There were clangs of metal as something hit its target, but the relief of knowing where their opponent was didn’t last long as another burst of flame flew at them forcing the three teens to dodge.

Rolling to his feet, Mike made out two tall forms approaching through the smoke. One male, one female. Reaching into his belt, he tossed two of the explosives Batman gave him, smirking as he heard the same metallic clangs from earlier before the resulting blasts knocked their enemies away from them.

“Who are we fighting?!” Artemis exclaimed, notching another arrow.

“Don’t know,” Robin answered, “but we’re sitting ducks by there tubes. Head for the exit!”

Nodding, the trio ducked under another torrent of flame as they raced for the hall. Artemis fired another arrow in the direction the flames came from. However, as they entered the hall, the trio was forced to stop as a torrent of water came towards them.

“Or not,” Robin muttered.

Turning to run, they didn’t get far before the wave slammed into their backs. Mike lost track of Robin and Artemis as he hit the floor, the force of the current dragging him along the ground until he was slammed against the wall.

As soon as it came, the water retreated. And just as soon, the fireballs were once again being hurled towards them as they raced away from the hangar towards the gym. “Robin to team. Come in. Aqualad.”

“Any luck with telepathy?”

“No—” An explosion cut off Artemis’s response, knocking them to the ground as the tornado of fire burst into the room, chasing after them.

Scrambling back to their feet, they ran through one of the doorways, turning a sharp corner as they ran into one of the locker rooms. Mike almost slammed his shoulder into the wall as the flames came uncomfortably close. It was official: fire was his new greatest fear.

Racing through the locker rooms, his stomach sank as they hit the showers, or, in other words, a dead end. But, it was a place the fire couldn’t reach. Splitting up, the three of them began turning the knobs, ignoring the fact they were getting soaked as water poured down on them.

“Robin to Batcave: Override RG4. Cave calling Justice League. H-O-J slash Watchtower B01. Priority ray,” Robin tried. “Comm’s down. Locked.”

“Is there a way to bypass it?”

“Not without getting out of the Cave.”

“Well,” Mike chuckled, “at least the water’s helping till we figure out a plan.”

The universe, being the asshat it was, decided to prove him wrong as the room began to shake. Metal knobs of the showers shot off the walls, flying across the room and shattering tile as the force of the rising water pressure exploded through. The metal of the showerheads soon followed, popping off into the rising water.

“Or not.”

Taking a deep breath, Mike kicked off the room, swimming towards the door. However, he quickly rethought his choice as he got to the edge. The water was stopping at the edge, almost like an invisible plane of glass was blocking it, separating the room from the swirling fire tornado beyond. Yeah, they weren’t getting out that way. Turning to look to the others, he watched as Robin appeared to pick up on why he stopped, the Boy Wonder quickly swimming to the wall and planting one of his explosives before kicking away from the bomb.

Mike was pretty sure the following explosion actually bruised his internal organs, but he was more relieved to take in a breath of fresh air.

“We need to get lost,” Robin said as they raced towards the living room.

“Air vents,” Mike replied. “If they’re big enough, we could bypass whoever the fuck is hunting us.”

“There!” Artemis pointed, spotting an entry above the stove.

“Good. Go!”

Neither of them needed to be told twice as they leapt over the kitchen island to rip off the vent cover. However, they both noticed they were one person shot. “Robin!”

“What’re you doing?!”

“Downloading Cave blueprints could come in…” he trailed off as they all heard footsteps approaching. “Go! Go!”

Kneeling down, Mike interlaced his fingers together, vaulting Artemis up the shaft before making sure Robin followed. Grabbing the vent cover, he hurled it like a deadly frisbee in the direction of the footsteps before leaping up into the vent.

Hopefully that slowed whoever was after them down.

Climbing up the shaft, he pulled himself up onto a flat ledge, quickly crawling after to catch up with his friends. These vents were much nicer than those at his last job, he almost had to army crawl through those things.

“Go left,” Robin said, pulling up the map while he was crawling.

Mike couldn’t help but notice that it suddenly felt very hot in the vents. Crawling forwards quickly, he bit back a grimace as a massive blast of fire shot through the vent passage they’d just been in. “Too close.”

“Take the first right,” Robin directed. “There should be a vent cover right in front of you.”

At the back, he couldn’t really see what Robin was talking about, but he could hear the metal scraping as Artemis pulled the grate off. The air tunnels shook as she jumped down, but Mike was more focused on a different sound. The vent cover was flat on the ground, there shouldn’t have been anymore metal scraping…unless…

“Shit.” Leaping down the shaft, Mike rolled at the bottom, quickly, swinging out behind the others into the boiler room. “They’re in the vents.”

Robin didn’t waste any time pulling up their map. “This way.”

As they ran down the stairs, they heard the vent explode behind them as the flaming figure landed on the platform. Their back was turned to them, but it was clear from the movement of their head that they were scanning the room. Until they raised their arms, raising the flames.

This time they didn’t even bother with the stairs before jumping off the catwalk beside some overheating boilers.

“That’s not good.”

“No shit,” Mike snapped, pushing them both out of the hiding spot to run. Overheated steam hissed around them as the temperature continued to climb, coming dangerously close to hitting them as they raced under the ball of fire chasing them. Spotting them, it began to hurl fireballs at them, the ones that missed partially melting the metal it hit.

Yeah, getting his by that wouldn’t be good for his possibly very flammable ass.

Though he wasn’t fast enough as another fireball hit his shoulder. Already he could tell that part of his shirt had been burned away, but he could acknowledge the injury later. The longer he ignored it, the less he would focus on any pain. Rolling around the corner, Mike joined the others as Robin searched for their next hiding spot. “I know that other access tunnel’s here somewhere…”

“You mean this one?” Artemis retorted, standing by an open vent.

Planting explosives on the boilers, the two teen boys quickly leapt into the vent. “Hold on,” Robin said. Reaching into his belt, the Boy Wonder pulled out something, using it to pry off the cover for an access port. “Blocking Cave’s motion and heat sensors to prevent the enemy from tracking us.”

“And I ask again: Who is the enemy?”

“I got a glimpse of them, one male, one female,” Mike replied. “The chick controls the fire. Meaning that the man controls the water. I’ve heard metal a few times too when we’ve managed to hit them. They might be wearing armor, but…” he trailed off. Yes, it could have been armor, but their movements, the way Human Torch back there had been scanning the area and the way she moved to raised the temperature, the seemed almost…robotic.

“But what?”

“I dunno, it’s just a theory.”

“Well theory’s all we got, so spill.”

“They could be robots,” he suggested.

“Let’s find out,” Robin smirked, typing on the holopad. “Downloading Cave security footage…there!” Four camera feeds came up, and Robin zoomed in on one, revealing the forms of their teammates standing with Sphere and Superboy’s bike.

“Torque wrench,” KF demanded, holding out his hand as M’gann levitated it to him. “Thank you, Green Cheeks.”

“I have been meaning to ask,” Aqualad spoke up, “any problems juggling schoolwork with your responsibilities here?”

“No.”

“Juggling’s just one of my many talents. Socket wrench.”

“Daily cheerleading practice has presented a challenge. Oh, but my first loyalty will always be to the team—this team. Not the Bumblebees.”

“Artemis and Remnant start school today. Do you think they will have trouble maintaining their loyalties?”

“Mike?” KF scoffed. “Dude’s a bit shy but he’s fun to hang with, he’ll be fine. He’s not like Artemis. I mean, how much more hostile and annoying—”

Whatever the speedster was going to say next was cut off as the screen cut to static. “What happened?”

“Explosion took out the camera. I’ll find another angle,” Robin growled, switching to the next feed.

A new screen pulled up and they could make out their friends’ forms as three columns of water burst from the pool towards them before another torrent flew towards the camera. The next feed showed the others getting up before it was taken out by another burst of water. Switching to the final feed they watched as Miss M and Kid looked towards something off camera before another explosion cut off the signal.

“That’s it, all four are dead,” Robin sighed, quickly noticing the rather alarmed looks on his teammates’ faces. “The cameras! I meant the cameras. I’m sure the others are ok.”

“Hopefully…”

Mike nodded in agreement. But his attention was more focused on something else, “They knew exactly where to hit.”

“Huh?”

“The cameras,” he supplied, looking over the static-filled screens. “In each feed they managed to stay out of sight and cut the signal before we could get eyes on them. I mean, I’m new to this hero thing, but Batman doesn’t strike me as the type to leave cameras in plain sight where any enemy could find them.”

Robin frowned, eyes narrowing. “You think they knew where they were?”

“With how fast they cut the feed? Yeah, they knew exactly where the cameras were.”

The Boy Wonder scowled, clearly feeling as pissed about the revelation as Mike felt. Someone had told these intruders where the cameras were. Someone had betrayed them. “I’ll find the fastest way to the hangar,” Robin said. After a minute, he pulled his glove away and motioned for them to follow. Crawling down the maze of vents, they made their way towards a panel that Robin kicked open. There was a dull clang as the piece hit the floor, allowing the trio to climb out and land silently in the library. “There’s a secret access panel behind one of these bookcases,” Robin whispered as they darted through the narrow isles.

“Seriously, cliché much?” Artemis muttered.

“You guys should see the Batcave,” Robin scoffed.

A door hissed open, and they all stopped, pressing themselves against one of the shelves facing away from the door. Mike put his hand on his hip, pulling out his wrench. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Robin holding a batarang on the opposite aisle and Artemis was notching a bow behind him.

“Artemis, Remnant, Robin.”

Almost instantly, the archer’s stance relaxed as a grin came to her face. “It’s Red Tornado,” she said starting to come out. An unfamiliar android stood in front of her.

“Yes on the Red, no on the Tornado,” Mike said coming out and hitting the robot across the head with his makeshift weapon. The force of the impact knocked the robot into one of the shelves, knocking it over and leaving a dent in its helm. As it began to get back up, Mike grabbed its arm and turned on his heel, hurling the android into the wall, causing cracks to spread out. Running to the library entrance, they stopped as they same flames and another android slid on the ground in front of the door, blocking their way out.

“What are they?!” Artemis exclaimed as they ran back through the shelves towards the back.

“Androids, probably similar models and generations as Red Tornado,” Mike answered, joining Robin in ripping books from the shelves, trying to find the secret passage. “Maybe older since we haven’t heard of them before.”

“Did you know Tornado had siblings?!” Artemis asked firing an arrow at the android marching on them.

“No!” Robin exclaimed grabbing Artemis and dragging he through the now open passage as bookshelves began to fall towards them.

“So what now? Red Tornado is one of the main powerhouses of the League, how are we supposed to take on two of him?!” Artemis exclaimed.

“They do seem pretty user unfriendly,” Robin quipped.

“Don’t joke!”

“Attention Robin. Attention Artemis. Attention Remnant. You have exactly ten minutes to surrender or the lives of your teammates will be extinguished.”

“Well shit.”

“At least we know they’re alive.”

“Nine minutes and forty-five seconds.”

“We can reach the hangar through this way,” Robin motioned.

“So now we have a time limit, as if this couldn’t get any worse,” Artemis grumbled.

A roar started coming towards them and they all stopped as all eyes went wide as a torrent of water came around the corner and slammed into them. “You were saying?” Mike grumbled grabbing his friends as they struggled to orient themselves in the now underwater hallway.

Robin pulled out a pair or rebreathers from his belt putting on in his mouth and handing it to Artemis. Reaching into his own belt, Mike felt around until he eventually pulled out one of his own, popping it into his mouth. Movement came from the corner of his eye and Mike pushed Artemis out of the way as a red and yellow hand tried to grab her ankle. Handing her off to Robin as he pulled out a grapple, Mike grabbed an arrow and stabbed it into the android’s eye. He was going to stab the other eyes, but the android tried to grab his arm, forcing him to kick away from the attacking robot.

Firing his own grapple like Robin had, he shot away from his attacker. He pressed the button to detach the line, allowing him to put the grapple back onto his belt as he shot towards the surface where he could make out Artemis and Robin dodging fireballs hitting the surface.

Breaking out of the water beside them, he took out his rebreather.

“Rem, you’re not dead!” Artemis exclaimed.

“Nope.”

“You guys ok?” Robin asked, bringing KF and Superboy to his attention. Both teens were up to their necks in rising water, trapped in place by some twisted metal.

“Forget us! Help M’gann!”

Looking up on the higher platform, they could see a cage of fire, undoubtedly with Kaldur and M’gann inside it. “Aqualad! Is she…?” Artemis trailed off spotting the unmoving form leaning against the Atlantean.

“She is unconscious,” Kaldur replied, his voice sounding strained, “I fear she—we cannot last much longer.”

Cursing, Mike handed his rebreather to Superboy, reaching around in his belt for a second one to hand Wally. If they had something to use as the water rose, then the rest of them could direct their attention to rescuing M’gann and Kaldur.

However, the fireball barely missing his face cut that process short. Diving underwater, he and the others swam for the stairs, gasping for air as they scrambled up the steps as the androids closed in around them.

“I’m almost out of arrows,” Artemis spoke, notching her second to last arrow.

“You guys distract them, I’m gonna try to get M’gann and Kaldur,” Mike said, leaping up to grab the ledge. “If something happens, leave without me.” Pulling himself up, he ran over to the flaming cage, wincing as he could feel the scorching heat. The flames weren’t coating any metal bars, which meant that this prison was just one of flames. Perfect to contain beings whose weakness was fire.

Unless they were willing to be burned for a moment.

The water wasn’t far. Theoretically even if their clothes did catch fire, he could throw them in to douse the flames. The only problem was himself. From what he’d read in his father’s experiments, the stuff that he’d potentially been drugged with for years was highly, highly flammable.

Hearing a small explosion behind him followed by a splash. Mike cursed. It was a risk he was going to have to take, because his distraction time just ran out. Leaping through the bars, Mike ignored the singe marks on his shirt as he knelt by Kaldur. “Sorry about this, but you’ll thank me later.” Grabbing his team leader, he yanked them both through the flames and was about to toss the older teen into the waters below. However, that plan was thwarted by a blast hitting his chest, knocking him on his back.

Pushing himself to his feet, he glared at his attacker as she landed a few yards away. He cursed to himself as he quickly looked over his opponent. Other than Red Tornado, he wasn’t fully familiar with this android model. The exoskeleton was almost seamless. Save for the elbows, shoulders and knees, there weren’t many gaps large enough for him to pry something in to take her apart. And even those gaps were going to be difficult to reach. Ducking under a fireball, Mike slid past the robot, tossing an explosive at her back, letting the blast put some distance between them.

She got back up. But, he couldn’t help but notice her left shoulder hitching slightly as she rose.

Mike smirked. He would bet that there’d been previous damage there before. That meant that side was weaker. Reaching down to his leg, he grabbed the one weapon he kept on him in case of emergency.

Fire lit in the android’s hands and she threw them at him. Dodging to the side, he hurled the knife not noticing the momentary lick of fire on the tip of the blade as it flew towards the robot. The blade hit its target, burying itself almost to the hilt in the robot’s shoulder. It wasn’t much, but hopefully a few major circuits had been damaged. At least enough to make fighting these things easier for his teammates.

A metal fist made contact with his cheek as the other android joined the fight. His jaw hurt. Something had probably been fractured at least. Looking up, he glared at the two androids as they loomed over him. “Surrender Remnant.”

Mike spat blood at their feet as he got back up raising his fists. “Fuck you.”

-.-

“Six minutes.”

“What do we do now?” Artemis asked, leaning back against the wall, still trying to catch her breath from their watery escape.

“We save them, that’s how it works,” Robin stated.

“Maybe that’s how it’s supposed to work! But those robots took out our super powered friends!” Artemis exclaimed.

“You seem distraught,” Robin commented.

“Distraught! M’gann is dying! Mike’s probably been captured! We don’t have any powers! And I’m down to my last arrow! Of course I’m distraught!” she snapped.

“Well get traught! Or get dead,” Robin snapped as he started leading the way.

“How are you still so calm?” she asked.

“Practice, I’ve been doing this since I was nine,” Robin answered.

“What good is that now? What chance do we have against unrelenting machines?” she scoffed.

“Duh, they’re machines,” Robin groaned, turning towards her with a grin. “And one electromagnetic pulse will shut down any machine in range!”

“You two better have an EMP emitter because I know I don’t have one in my quiver.”

“Fresh out,” Robin said. “But I know we can make one. What do you say KF, doable?”

/Totally doable/

“Five minutes.”

/You know if you had more time/ Ignoring the speedster’s remark, the pair began to crawl through the vents making their way to an exit. /Med-lab, x-ray machine/ KF said as they kicked open a vent. /You’ll find a small vacuum tube called a vircator that converts high energy pulses, reprogram the units high energy pulses from x-rays to EMPs with a cascading energy vector directed outward/

“A ripple effect, like dropping a stone in a pond,” Robin said, kneeling down beside the machine, pulling out the component.

/A stone with ten to the twelfth power wattage/ Wally stated. /You’re gonna to have to hook it up to the cave’s main generator/

“Which is where?” Artemis asked, only to get a sheepish look from her partner.

-.-

“Four minutes.”

Removing another panel, the pair crawled out of the vents onto a ledge in the hangar. Down below they could see the two androids keeping an eye on their friends. The water threatening Superboy and Kid Flash was still rising, albeit slower than it was earlier, probably to keep them from dying too soon. On the upper platform, the fire cage was still lit trapping the unconscious forms of their other three teammates.

“Ok…start the distraction.”

“I really hope this works.”

“HEY! RED TOMATO! WHO’S YOUR GIRLFRIEND? RED ONION?!” KF shouted.

“We’re screwed,” Artemis muttered.

“Be positive,” Robin scolded.

“YEAH! AND BTW, WORST DEATHTRAP EVER! WE CAN ESCAPE ANYTIME WE WANT!” Superboy joined in.

“I’m positive we’re screwed.”

“I CAN VIBRATE MY MOLECULES OUTTA HERE BEFORE YOUR BINARY BRAINS CAN COUNT TO TWO!”

“Cover me,” Robin said as he swung over to the main generator.

“AND YOU CAN’T KILL A KRYPTONIAN DUMB-BOTS! WE DON’T BREATHE AIR!”

Crouching down he opened a panel and began to attach the vircator.

“AND MISS MARTIAN! I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU’RE BUYING HER ACT!”

“Rerouting power now,” Robin said.

“YEAH! DO YOU KNOW HOW HOT IT GETS IN THE CAVES OF MARS! YOU’RE JUST MAKING HER HOMESICK!”

Sticking the component in, Robin cursed as he noticed a gap. “The circuit’s incomplete,” he hissed as he began searching his pockets. “I need some piece of metal.”

“ROBIN LOOK OUT!” Artemis screamed as a wave slammed into the generator.

Grabbing her arrow, Artemis aimed it at the water android, only for a fireball to throw off her aim as she shot the arrow, making her miss her target. Backing up she reached for her quiver only to find it empty. Rushing back into the vent, a blast of flame came in and knocked her forwards.

Rubbing her head, she got up and continued crawling to a tear in the tunnel that had obviously been made by several distinct claws where she could see into the hangar.

A column of water rose with her friend trapped inside, looking closer she saw Robin wasn’t moving.

Crawling back, she put her hands on her head, tears streaming down her face as she saw the images of her trapped friends flash through her head. “No, no, no, no, no,” she whimpered.

Looking out again she saw the water was now at Conner’s and Wally’s chins, the water torrents had deposited Robin’s limp form onto the ground, and Remnant was trapped in the cage with Aqualad and M’gann, his shirt had been scorched.

Retreating from the gap, Artemis slumped against the wall, her heart pounding in his chest. “If I surrender, I die with the others, but if I find a way out, out of the cave, out of the mountain, I can contact the League, get help.” Yes. The League could handle this. They would be more than prepared to fight these things, save her friends.

The tunnel suddenly sloped forwards and sent her tumbling down the vent shaft and into the trophy room.

Sitting up, she sighed in defeat. “Who am I kidding, best I can do is hide, hope the League finds me before the Reds,” she murmured. Looking to the trophy case, she saw the mask of Cheshire. “I know you understand.”

Eleven-year-old Artemis held her Freddy plush close to her chest, watching the form of her older sister move back and forth across the room as she packed her things. “We have to keep this family from falling apart,” she pleaded, hoping that her big sister would listen to reason.

Her sister stopped moving in front of her bag, causing the little girl’s spirits to rise in hope. They dropped just as quickly as Jade smacked her forehead, “Toothbrush, duh, knew I was forgetting something,” she said stomping towards their shared bathroom.

Artemis clutched the bear tighter. If love didn’t work, then maybe her father’s method of fear would, “Dad will come after you.”

“Let him,” Jade smirked putting on a baseball cap, “I’ll just disappear, like the Cheshire cat.” Slinging her bag over her shoulder she stopped in the doorway. “You should get out too. I’d take you with me, but you’d slow me down.”

“Someone has to be here when Mom gets out,” the little girl responded.

The elder rolled her eyes and scoffed. “Haven’t you learned anything? In this family, it’s every girl for herself.”

Picking up the mask Artemis gazed at it. “That might’ve been true about our family, but I’ve found a new one, and here we’re all for one and one for all,” she said.

“One minute.”

She was out of time. Getting the League would take too long. By the time back-up arrived all her friends would be dead.

Looking next to the mask, she found the arrow she used to save Kid Flash’s life when they fought Amazo. Snatching it from the shelf, she put it in her quiver and made her way to the hangar.

Getting into the elevator, she took a breath to calm her nerves down. The door opened and the two androids looked at her. “I surrender, stop the clock.”

She looked into the flaming box to see Kaldur roll over and look at her his body trembling violently, Robin was still lying where he was dropped, M’gann still hadn’t moved since she last saw her, Mike hadn’t moved either, though she did notice that his shirt had practically been scorched away and he had some cuts, and Conner’s and Wally’s heads just vanished under the water as they took a last desperate breath.

It was now or never.

The aqua-droid held out his hand for her bow, but she jumped, vaulting off the metal hand. The second one raised its hand to shoot fire at her, but she pushed off its face, using it to flip her. Grabbing her arrow, she took aim and fired it towards the main reactor, completing the circuit.

The sound of electricity filled the room and a pulse spread out across it, deactivating both androids.

As the bots crumbled to the ground, Artemis ran forwards, crouching by Robin as the water levels sunk and the fire died out.

“Kaldur! How’s M’gann?” Superboy called.

“She breathes, I believe she will recover,” he replied. “What of Robin and Remnant?”

Looking back down at the Boy Wonder, she put a hand to his chest, hoping to feel a heartbeat. To her relief, Robin began coughing. “H-he’s breathing.”

“Way to get traught,” Robin smiled, slowly sitting up.

A groan came from behind her, and Artemis turned, sighing in relief as Mike slowly pushed himself to his knees, blood trickling down from a gash on his forehead. “Ow. Ok, what dumbass idea did I try this time?”

“You tried to fight two angry robots alone,” Artemis retorted, coming over to help him up.

“Ah, sounds about right,” he grimaced, touching his head as he got to his feet. “I really should stop getting into fights with murderous robots. Never seems to go well.” Striding towards the fallen android, he bent down, pulling his knife out of its shoulder, sticking the blade back into its clip.

“You make it sound like this is a regular thing for you,” Robin remarked jokingly as he joined him beside the android.

“Eh, it’s only like the fifth time it’s happened.”

“…Why is fighting angry robots a norm for you?” they heard Wally call from below.

Mike just shrugged as he pulled off the female android’s arm. “Because that just seems to be my luck.”

M’gann groaned, turning all attention to the Martian girl regained consciousness. “What happened?”

“Evil Red Tornadoes invaded the cave, Artemis saved our butts, so all-in-all another wonderful victory,” Mike replied, pointing in the general direction of the archer with the detached arm.

“I wouldn’t have saved you guys if you hadn’t almost gotten yourself killed distracting the Reds to allow Robin and KF to set up the EMP,” she reminded.

“Yeah, don’t let her take all the credit,” Robin grinned, picking up the arm the moment Mike set it aside.

As soon as Kaldur had M’gann supported on his shoulders, they headed downstairs. “You two ok?” Wally asked looking at Robin and Mike.

“Yeah, I figured the best shot was to surrender, I pretended to drown before I actually did, blacked out though,” Robin shrugged.

Attention then turned to Mike, who looked down at himself, finally noticing his shirt had basically been completely burned away, exposing the ghastly scar on his torso alongside a few other scars. “Eh, I’ve had worse.”

“Well, we’re glad everyone’s not dead,” Wally grinned. “But, uh, can you get us out?”

“Yeah, I think there’s a metal cutter in medbay?” Artemis said.

“Probably storage,” Robin corrected I’ll go get it.

“So…evil Red Tornados,” Artemis said, putting her hands on her hips, “this is different.”

“Think Red Tornado knows about them?”

“Considering they aren’t in any of the League villain files, probably not,” Mike remarked, taking off the shoulder plate of the other arm to begin detaching it. “But where is Red Tornado? Shouldn’t he be here?”

“He had monitor duty on the Watchtower,” Kaldur replied as Artemis helped him up.

“I thought he was exempt from that?” Kid frowned.

“Perhaps he was covering for someone?” M’gann suggested.

“Green Arrow,” Kaldur supplied.

“Hey Rob! Cut us out please!” Wally called as Robin entered the room with a gun-looking device.

“It’s gonna take a minute to power up.”

“M’gann?” Superboy said taking her hand.

“I’ll be fine, Conner,” she said weakly.

“Will you quit playing with that and cut us free already!” Wally snapped at Artemis as she shook the laser, trying to turn it on. “How long does that thing take to power up?! I have to pee!”

“Well, you better hold it! It doesn’t work remember? EMP shuts down all machines,” she retorted.

“All machines present at the time,” Red Tornado said flying in, making all of them jump. “What has occurred?”

“We had a little visit from your family,” Robin said.

“You’re very nasty family!” Artemis added.

“I was not aware I had relations.”

“Well, here they are,” Mike said, pulling off the other arm of the female android. “Surprise!”

“Where have you been?” Conner demanded.

“Monitor duty on the Watchtower,” Tornado stated walking to the androids, “when it became clear cave communications were down, I attempted to investigate, but your Zetatubes were also offline. I teleported to Providence and proceeded here.”

“Took you long enough to get here,” Mike commented, not looking up from dismantling their attackers, “Did you take a cab?”

“No,” Red Tornado replied. Approaching and kneeling beside fallen androids.

A shaking came from the wall and Sphere hopped out. “Hey boy,” Superboy greeted.

Artemis grunted as the laser shot off, making her step back to deal with the sudden kick.

“The pulse has worn off!” several voices exclaimed in unison.

Their attention snapped towards the Leaguer standing beside the androids Mike was trying to dismantle. Tornado stood up from where he was looking at the other two androids and flew up into the air. Two cyclones formed around his arms, sucking in the air around the room.

Several gasps echoed around the room as the air was sucked from their lungs. Grabbing his throat, Mike glared up at the Leaguer. Of course, he had suspected this was an inside job. It should have been obvious. “Traitor,” he hissed, black creeping into his vision as he began to pass out.

-.-

“Mike.”

“Michael.”

“Michael, wake up.”

A weak groan escaped his lips as he slowly sat up, his head throbbing. A hand rubbing his back, and he slowly opened his eyes, blinking a few times to focus on the blurred figure kneeling beside him. “Hey,” his mentor smiled gently taking his arm and helping him up.

“Ow,” he muttered holding his head. Looking around the room, he grimaced as his head continued to throb, but pushed past it to take in the situation. Batman was talking with Robin, Superman was helping Artemis to her feet, Captain Atom and Flash were trying to cut the others from the metal prisons, and Manhunter was helping Green Arrow rehydrate M’gann and Kaldur.

“What happened here?” Canary asked.

“What happened?!” Artemis snapped. “The Reds happened! Red Tornado and his…siblings!”

“Speaking of which,” Mike growled, his eyes flashing red as he rose to his feet unsteadily. He ignored Canary as she tried to get her protégé to sit back down. “Where the fuck is that traitor?! I’m going to make him a paperweight!”

“Gone,” Robin answered. “All three of them, gone.”

Chapter Text

A/N: Hey everyone! Welcome back! Thanks for the reviews! Glad to see y’all’re enjoying the story. Anyways, remember, I just own the story, none of the characters are mine.

/comms/

Telepathy/Flashbacks/Whatever Else I Need

Mt. Justice, September 23, 6:34EDT

The Cave was save for the quiet murmurs of the adults and the faint sounds of repairs being made by other Leaguers. The teens sat at a table moved into the briefing room to let them recoup from the attack. Striding back into the room, Green Arrow approached the table, setting a bowl of pretzels in the middle of them.

“Thanks, but no thanks,” Wally of all people said, pushing the bowl away from him before resting his head on his arms.

“Yeah, we want answers on Red Tornado and his siblings,” Robin spoke up causing the blonde archer to glance away for a moment before reaching for the bowl.

He was intercepted by Wally who quickly hugged it to his chest. “Leave the bowl,” he said between bites.

Mike made a small sound of amusement. Leave it to Wally to be hungry during a time like this. Right now, even after healing his various fractures from his fist-fight with the Reds, he wasn’t sure he could stomach anything right now. Not without feeling the phantom pains of thick metal coils in his throat.

Besides, he was too angry to eat. Once again, the League was shutting them out. Red Tornado had betrayed them. It should’ve been obvious from the first time he saw the demented droid’s siblings. Who else could have given them schematics of the Cave? The exact schematics that no doubt let them find the cameras as easily as they had. Besides, the fact the dude had “monitor duty” they exact day of the attack; yeah, no way that was a mere coincidence.

“You knew?!” Conner exploded, the volume of his shout making Mike’s sensitive ears ring as all head snapped towards the Kryptonian clone as he pinned Kaldur against the wall, practically trembling with barely contained rage. “That android and his maniac family nearly killed M’gann! And all of us!”

Lifting herself from the table, the Martian girl flew over as the others got up to follow. “Conner! What are you doing?”

“Kaldur knew we had a traitor among us and said nothing!” he spat in reply.

“What?!”

“You knew?”

“And didn’t tell us?”

“I sought to protect the team from—”

“From what?!” Artemis interrupted. “Information that could’ve saved our lives?!”

“Did it even fucking occur to you that robots can be hacked or reprogramed?!” Mike snarled. “Of everyone here, a robot is the biggest fucking liability I see!”

“Enough.” All heads turned towards the source and the teens immediately stood down as they met the Batman’s hard glare. “With Red Tornado missing, the team will now be overseen by rotating supervisors. Captain Marvel has volunteered for the first shift.”

Stepping forwards, the red and white clad hero grinned widely, “I’m really looking forward to hanging out with you guys.”

“That’s it?” Mike growled crossing his arms. “Red Tornado just tried to kill us and you’re not even going to give us a real fucking answer? Just: hey, here’s your new babysitter, have a good day? No! We want answers! Stop sidelining us!”

“Red Tornado is a member of the Justice League,” Batman responded. “That makes him a League responsibility. You will leave him to us.” Turning away from the group of teenagers, he activated a holoscreen, “I have another assignment for this team.”

“Gotham mayor attacked by guerilla gorilla?” Wally read the headline.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me,” Artemis muttered.

“Was this the only thing he could find to distract us?” Conner scoffed.

Mike scoffed, “Wouldn’t put it past him. Telling us to stay out of the way seems to be his thing.”

Robin apparently agreed as he stepped forwards, “Batman, please tell me you’re not sending us on this joke of a wild ape chase!”

The Dark Knight’s scolding glare landed on them causing all mouths to snap shut, “I never joke about a mission. I’ve checked the sources, I’ve studied the patterns, Mayor Hill’s encounter is only the latest in a series of incidents. Aqualad, you and your team will depart for India and investigate.”

Wally scoffed, almost shoulder checking the Atlantean, as they moved towards the Bioship, “Your team.”

-.-

India, 08:36EDT

Tense silence filled the air as the Bioship landed in an open clearing in the jungle. Without a word, everyone got up once the ship hit the ground, lowering its ramp for them to depart. “Switch to stealth and we’ll review mission parameters,” Aqualad ordered, breaking the silence as all eyes turned towards him.

Kid Flash was the first to respond. Scoffing as he tapped his symbol, switching to stealth, “Parameters? We don’t need no stinkin’ parameters.”

“It’s recon, we know what to do,” Robin stated.

“Kid, Robin!” Kaldur protested as the pair began to stomp off.

“The three of us started this team because the Justice League was keeping secrets!” the Boy Wonder snapped, whirling back to glare at their leader.

“Or did you forget about that just like you forgot to tell us about the mole?” Wally added lowering his goggles. Without waiting for an answer, the pair disappeared into the jungle.

“Like he was ever going to tell us,” Mike snarled, crossing his arms. “I don’t know about all’ve you, but I like my chances away from him.” Without waiting for a reply, he turned around vanishing into the foliage.

“C’mon,” Superboy said grabbing M’gann’s arm. “I’ll keep you safe.” M’gann glared at him, clearly saying something to him telepathically causing him to look surprised and to take a step back. “I just wanna protect you.”

“Like Aqualad protected us?” Artemis replied pointing her bow at the clone as she stepped up beside M’gann. “I’m not sure your protection or your patronizing is good for our health.” Whirling on her heel, the two girls went off in their own direction.

Superboy clenched his fists, whirling around and stomping up to Kaldur, “Why didn’t you stop them?! You’re supposed to be charge!”

“I am—” Kaldur began, however, he didn’t get to finish before Superboy leapt off.

“Um…did I miss the part where you actually said what the plan was?” Captain Marvel spoke up as he stepped off the ship sheepishly.

Aqualad merely sighed, leading the Leaguer in another direction.

-.-

“I can’t believe Kaldur wasn’t going to tell us!” Artemis snarled as she stomped through the jungle, M’gann floating just behind her. “If it wasn’t for Robin setting up that EMP, we probably would’ve been toast!”

“You don’t know that Artemis.”

“Oh yes, I do!” she replied. “Those robots took out all of my superpowered friends! Plus, all’ve you had more training than I do. Do you really think I could’ve handled them alone?! I don’t think I could. And do you wanna know how this whole fiasco could’ve been avoided?”

“By telling us.”

“Exactly!” Artemis exclaimed throwing her arms in the air. “I mean, what the hell?! Where on Earth did he get the idea that one of us would be betraying the team?! I wouldn’t, you wouldn’t, I know the others wouldn’t! So apparently Kaldur doesn’t trust us. Us! His own team!”

M’gann nodded, allowing Artemis to continue her rant as they moved by a riverbed. Neither one of them noticed movement in the water.

-.-

Leaves rustled as Mike pushed through the brush. Distantly, he could hear the sounds of animals and probably his teammates moving through the brush, but it was hard to tell over Superboy’s painfully loud impacts from his jumps.

“So much for stealth,” he muttered, continuing to move through the dense foliage.

Still, as grating as the sound was on his stupidly sensitive ears, he would admit it the noise had its use. While he might not have been able to clearly pick up anything potentially coming towards him, the sound would inevitably draw the attention of any enemies towards him. Superboy was a tank. Short of a missile to the face, dude could take quite a beating before he needed help. Which meant he had time to investigate whatever the fuck was going on here.

And the sooner they got that over with, the sooner he could go back to hunting his father and working on his plans to dismantle Red Tornado.

Mike still couldn’t believe he’d been so stupid. He should’ve put the pieces together as soon as he even saw the damn droids. Even though he was a Justice Leaguer, Tornado was, at the end of the day, a robot. Robots could be reprogrammed, hacked, heck, they could even have latent software acting like a trojan horse.

That was how his father’s precious creations had worked after all. Their violent nature being unknown to all until one unlucky soul was unfortunate enough to be left completely alone with them. Only then would their true programming take control.

Tornado was probably the same. Behaving one way around all those who were deemed too dangerous to take on. Keeping his real intentions hidden behind a distant but friendly when spoke to mask, waiting for the time to strike. It explained why he never attacked the League. At the end of the day, all of them working together were way too powerful for one machine to take on alone.

Even Amazo hadn’t been able to do that, and, from what Mike had studied about said android, he was easily twice as powerful as Tornado.

So of course, if he wanted to weaken the League from within, why not go after their unsuspecting protégés? The death of a kid you were supposed to protect was a brutal blow to recover from. If you ever recovered at all.

Michael knew that better than anyone.

The android’s actions even proved it. Tornado had volunteered to become their den mother. He lived in the Cave, never leaving save for missions, never sleeping. Always watching. Learning their routines, weaknesses, everything about them that he could eventually use against them. So, the moment he felt he’d been exposed, he took off, claiming to be doing a job he was exempt from and leaving all of them at the mercy of his siblings. This way, if they did die, Tornado would have the perfect alibi.

Bastard probably didn’t even have a proper reaction programmed into him for a losing scenario. Would explain why he tried to kill them instead of keeping his cover intact.

He should’ve never trusted a robot. Not one that either he nor Henry had built and programmed themselves. The Funtime Freaks should’ve taught him that lesson. Look where that got him.

Here. In the middle of fucking nowhere. Chasing after flying monkeys because Batman had once again decided to shut them out.

For the second time in his life, Mike was being shut out of the investigation of someone who’d tried to kill him. He’d had it. He was tired of all the distractions. He had agreed to do this team thing because Batman had promised him he could help hunt down his father. And instead, the Dark Knight had gone behind his back, agreeing to freeze him out and leave him in the dark. Just to sit there, waiting on the sidelines like the weak, pathetic boy he’d always been.

He'd been hoping that once he got further with his own investigation, he could show it to Batman. Prove he wouldn’t get in the detective’s way and could help find his father.

But, now, considering the fact that Batman was doing this again…No. The Dark Knight had proven he couldn’t be trusted in this sort of situation. He would bet the man would sooner snatch all his evidence away and shut him out again before even thinking of letting him back on the case.

He couldn’t tell Canary either. His mentor had always promised that everything they talked about would be private…unless it was information that pertained to his case. Mentioning anything he’d read in the journal would undoubtedly raise questions. Questions that no doubt the Batman would hear about and ask himself.

Henry was out of the question too. He would sooner pull the plug on his activities than even think about letting him near William again. His guardian would undoubtedly tell Batman because he didn’t want Mike to be involved.

And Mike wasn’t ever going to consider mentioning this shit to his teammates. They had their own problems and lives. He wasn’t about to let them fight a deranged serial killer. No. This was his fight.

And if he had to do it alone…so what? It wouldn’t be the first time he’d fended for himself.

Other people would only get in the way. If William was as bad as he suspected, then going it alone would be for the best. Distractions couldn’t be afforded. The man wouldn’t hesitate to kill them. Not if the journal was accurate.

Mike didn’t even want to think about what would happen if his father had time to get creative.

No, doing it alone was best.

This way there’d be only one life to risk: his.

-.-

Robin shoved a branch aside, nearly breaking is as he and Wally stomped through the thick brush. He couldn’t believe Batman sent them on this wild ape chase. He wanted to be back at the Cave, hunting down Red Tornado.

But no, instead they were here, in the middle of nowhere, chasing a gun-toting gorilla with a leader who didn’t trust any of them as far as he could throw them. He’d known Kaldur since he became a sidekick for crying out loud! Robin was the first protégé, the very first, all the others only came in after Batman introduced him to the League. And still, Kaldur, someone he’d considered a close friend, didn’t trust him or Wally. They’d been through everything together and Kaldur didn’t trust them. He was starting to wonder if Kaldur was the one who could be trusted.

Too busy fuming, neither boy noticed the dark shadows pass overhead.

-.-

The ground shook as Superboy bounded through the forest, leaving large craters in his wake as he moved loudly through the otherwise quiet environment. But he didn’t care.

This was the last place Superboy wanted to be, right now, he wanted to turn Red Tornado into a punching bag, or better yet, wring Kaldur’s neck for lying to them. Kauldur put them all in danger. He almost killed M’gann and everyone else. All because he thought one of them would betray the team.

Leaping away again, Superboy never noticed the patter of paws hitting the ground after him.

-.-

“Guess this is where Mayor Hills’ monkey business happened,” Captain Marvel said landing behind Aqualad as he knelt, examining the scattered tracks in the ground. “So at least we’ve confirmed his story.”

“It would appear so,” Aqualad replied picking up a bullet casing. “But that still leaves many questions unanswered.”

“Such as why this happened? Where did their attacker go? And what is their plan?” Captain offered. Turning to look to the young leader, the older hero frowned. “You do know what happened is not your fault right?”

Kaldur looked at him, raising an eyebrow.

“You could not have known Red Tornado was the mole. Mistakes happen. What matters is that we move on and work to right the wrongs made. In the end, everything will work itself out.”

“I hope you are right,” Kaldur said standing up.

A branch snapped nearby, silencing any further conversation as they looked out into the jungle surrounding them. Trees began to rustle, and one fell over as a massive elephant emerged from the jungle, charging towards them with an angry trumpet. The massive animal swung its trunk slamming into Captain Marvel and sending him soaring across the clearing as two more stomped out from the brush, each swinging their heads angrily.

-.-

Superboy landed on the ground and grunted as something slammed into him. rolling over, his fist closed around what felt like fur. Throwing the thing away, he heard a yelp and stood up do see a dark wolf getting up, baring its teeth at him.

Growls came from all around him and he turned to see more of the beasts emerging, saliva dripping from their maws. The wolf that attacked him first growled, its hackles rising before it lunged at him. throwing a punch, he swatted the animal aside as its companions leapt at him. Superboy grit his teeth as he heard his shirt tear and teeth try to dig into his flesh. Grabbing the wolf from his back, he tossed it off of him, sending it slamming into one of its companions before it was replaced by another of its packmates.

-.-

Mike was pretty sure the universe hated him.

Because of all the angry animals he could’ve ran into the in jungle, he came face-to-face with a bear. A freakishly large bear. He thought only polar bears got this big. But as usual, his luck—or rather lack thereof, decided to prove him wrong.

The animal bellowed, shuffling closer, eyes glinting in the moonlight.

What was the rule for bears again? If it’s brown lay down, black fight back, but if it’s white you’re about to see the light? Or did that rule only apply to bears in North America? Though didn’t they also have grizzlies in Europe and Russia?

Fuck it.

“BACK OFF!” he screamed, stepping towards the creature as he pulled out one of the explosive disks. “I SWEAR TO GOD I WILL TURN YOU INTO A THROW RUG IF YOU TRY SHIT!”

The bear did not appreciate his attempt at intimidation. Rearing onto its hind legs, the animal gave out a roar.

Not about to get mauled, Mike hurled his weapon at the bear before leaping to the side. Ducking behind a tree, he winced as he heard the explosion, followed by the animal’s surprised yelp followed by the smell of singed hair. Slowly peering out, he watched as smoke rolled off the creature’s singed fur as it lumbered away. Clearly it had decided that he was probably going to be too much work to be food.

Sighing in relief, he stepped out from his cover. However he paused when he heard a crunch underfoot. Glancing at the bear, he was relieved that the animal had decided to continue on its way, letting him kneel down to pick up the object that had fallen to the ground.

“What the hell?” he murmured, picking it up. Scorch marks scoured the front of the smoking metal, the little red lights that had been on slowly fading away. It must’ve come from the bear. “Why is there an inhibitor collar here?”

-.-

Robin grunted as Kid Flash tackled him to the ground as massive claws closed around where he’d previously been as a massive vulture swooped down. A rush of wind came as the unusually large animal flapped its wings, moving higher into the air alongside its companion.

Scrambling to their feet, Robin reached into his utility belt and tossed several explosives at the birds. “I thought vultures were only supposed to eat dead meat!” he growled as the birds gave loud screeches as the explosives went off. glancing behind them, the Boy Wonder cursed to himself as he saw the two birds fly through the smoke.

“Well, these are some very proactive scavengers,” KF commented as he ducked under the snapping beak of one of the birds.

“Proactive and supersized,” Robin remarked pulling out several smoke bombs. While the explosives didn’t seem to do much damage, at least they could disappear. “Thinking what I’m thinking?”

“Kobra Venom? Yeah.”

“That, and we need to make ourselves scarce,” he said throwing down the smoke bombs.

-.-

The smooth surface of the river was broken as something burst from the depths, spraying water on Artemis and Miss Martian. Massive jaws snapped at M’gann almost clamping down on her, before she used her telekinesis to push the massive crocodile away. The massive reptile hissed crawling towards her again and Artemis notched an arrow to aid her friend.

She didn’t expect a second crocodile to burst from the river. Teeth grazed her arm as its jaws latched onto her quiver. Throwing itself back, Artemis grunted as she slammed into the water surface, bubbles passing through her lips as the predator dragged her under the surface. She could feel the force of water move around her and the color of light and dark rapidly changing between. She wasn’t sure if that was because she could’ve been blacking out from lack of air or simply because it was possible the monster was doing its infamous death roll.

A shadow came towards her and Artemis’s eyes widened as M’gann came to her aid. She managed to grab onto her, holding the strap of her quiver. Suddenly she was on the ground surrounded by walls of water, looking up at M’gann she saw her using her telekinesis to hold back the river and its beasts like the Red Sea. Coughing, she wiped her mouth, feeling gross, “Ugh, almost drowning two nights in a row, way less fun than it sounds.”

-.-

Kaldur rolled to the side as one of the elephant’s trunks came dangerously close to hitting him. Getting back to his feet, he turned to face the mutated pachyderms. The massive animals trumpeted angrily as they swung at Captain Marvel. As one turned its head, the Atlantean could see the glint of metal around its neck alongside the faint glow of red lights lower. An inhibitor collar. Kaldur would bet there was one on the one charging towards him too.

Pulling his waterbearers off his back, he summoned his waterwhips and charged. The trunk of one of the elephants swung towards him, rolling under the limb, he swung his whip, the end of it wrapping around the collar. Aqualad then yanked as hard as he could. The collar snapped, small pieces of metal and wire falling to the ground separately from the rest of the prison enforcement device. Looking up, Kaldur watched as the angry rumbles of the beast calmed down, its ears twitching back from their aggressive position. “Remove the collars!”

“On it!” Captain Marvel replied as he shot towards one of the animals. Landing on its back, he quickly used his strength to rip the collar in two, allowing it to fall to the ground as he floated off the elephant’s back and watched as it began to stomp away from them. “It was pretty sweet how you figured out it was the collars causing the problem.”

“But the presence of the collars indicates that there is a higher intelligence behind this attack. The rest of the team may also be at risk.” Reaching up to his ear, Kaldur turned on his comm to contact the others only to grimace as he received the sharp ring of interference. “Comm’s dead. And Miss Martian did not establish telepathic communication before separation.”

“Actually, you allowed everyone to split up before communications were set,” Captain Marvel corrected.

“They would not listen!”

“Then you make them listen,” the Leaguer replied. “Remember, back at the cave, Batman stopped everyone from fighting with one word.”

Aqualad glanced away, appearing to sulk. “That’s cause Batman is…Batman.”

Captain Marvel shrugged, crossing his arms. “Hey, you don’t have to tell me; when I first joined the League, all he did was boss me around. And it’s hard to not take it all personally. However, I never disobeyed an order, and that’s probably what’s kept me alive. A leader needs to take command.”

Kaldur nodded, “Thank you, for helping me understand.”

“Hey, Wisdom of Solomon.”

“Aqualad, can you hear me?”

Perking up at the sign of the telepathic link, the Atlantean turned, holding his head. “Yes, Miss Martian. Report?”

“Artemis and I were attacked by animals wearing inhibitor collars like those used in Belle Reve Penitentiary.”

Aqualad thought about his response, but his attention was momentarily diverted as he heard Captain Marvel talking, “Cool, a tiger,” the hero grinned. “I’ll be right back!”

“No, wait!” he called fruitlessly, watching the Leaguer disappear into the jungle. “Speed of Mercury.”

-.-

Captain Marvel flew after the tiger as it bounded through the brush. Leaping into another small clearing, the large feline came to a stop, turning around to look at him baring its massive fangs as it growled at him. “Hey there Mr. Kitty,” he greeted gently landing on the ground some distance between him and the big cat, “why don’t you let good ol’ Cap take that nasty collar off for you?”

Slowly walking forwards, he raised his hands to show he was unarmed as the tiger took a few steps back, growling at him still. Something clicked as he took another step forwards and several metal rods shot out of the ground. They turned on with a dull hum and the hero collapsed as his muscles seemed to feel like jelly.

Nearby, there was a growl and Captain Marvel strained to turn his head as a gorilla aimed a gun at his head, baring its fangs angrily.

“Uh, oh. That’s not good.”

-.-

“Miss Martian, I need a telepathic link up with the entire team.”

“Link established.”

“Oh God, just what I need, Kaldur’s voice in my head,” Mike immediately remarked.

“I’ve soo missed that,” KF agreed.

“Should you really be giving us orders?” Artemis scoffed. “And should you really be following them?”

“Guys, listen please,” Kaldur implored.

“Hey Kaldur, KF and I were attacked by giant vultures,” Robin said. “Though since we’re moles you probably believe we attacked ourselves.”

“If he did, he wouldn’t tell you,” Mike sneered.

“Superboy are you online or just pouting?”

“Busy, call back later.”

Kaldur sighed, rubbing his temples as he trudged through the jungle in the direction he’d last seen Captain Marvel fly off in. He wished the hero had been included in the link. Perhaps he could’ve gotten his teammates to cooperate for the time being.

It wasn’t that he didn’t understand their anger. He did. And had he been in their position, Aqulad would bet that he himself would be furious. But, still, the whole event at the cave wasn’t Kaldur’s fault yet everyone was blaming him. How us he supposed to know Red Tornado was the traitor? Of all the people to suspect, a member of the Justice League was low on the list of suspects.

Of course, all the events of the past twenty-four-hours just proved him wrong.

“What gets me is how nonchalant he is about telling us,” Wally grumbled.

“He should be chalant, way chalant.”

“How can we be a team if he doesn’t trust us with his secrets?”

“Or if Conner doesn’t trust us to take care of ourselves.”

“No, he just expects you to stab everyone else in the back.”

Coming into a clearing, the protégé paused as he saw several pylons sticking out from the ground. Getting frustrated, Kaldur ripped one from the ground. Tossing the metal aside, he took a moment to take a breath and collect himself. Losing control would not do anyone any good right now. Captain was right, right now, the team needed a collected leader.

Exhaling, he opened his eyes, looking around the clearing. Ok, so his theory about a higher intelligence was right. Animals couldn’t have collared themselves, nor given themselves Kobra Venom. And, they probably weren’t able to install these pillars in the middle of the forest.

The leaves rustled as a breeze blew through, drawing the Atlantean’s attention to a piece of white cloth rolling over the grass. A piece of Captain Marvel’s cape.

“Did you really think you or I could’ve been the mole?” KF spoke, undoubtedly asking Robin.

“We’ve known each other for years!”

“Trust is a two-way street!”

“And you know they’d hate it if we kept secrets from them.”

“Not that we would.”

“Never.”

“ENOUGH! ALL OF YOU!” Kaldur interrupted. “Stop your childish squabbling for five minutes! We are on a mission! Do you think the League does this on their missions?! No! So shut up and listen! Captain Marvel has been captured. And we must rescue him.”

“Under your leadership?” KF scoffed. “I don’t think—”

“This is not up for debate,” Aqualad snapped, silencing all argument. “You all chose me to lead. When the mission is over, if you wish to select a new leader, I will gladly step aside. But until that time I am in command.”

-.-

“This has to be the place,” Robin said as the group crouched in the bushes on a ledge overlooking a large complex.

“Where else would it be? Have you found any other mysterious hidden complexes in the jungle?” Mike deadpanned.

“I can fly over,” M’gann offered.

Putting on his goggles, Kid Flash switched through a few frequencies before grabbing her arm. “Negatory, there’s a field that extends over the compound as a dome.”

Robin pulled out his glove, and started typing, “Those pylons are insulated, but one good shock could cause a momentary gap.”

“I see a target,” Artemis relayed notching her arrow.

“Be ready to hit it,” Kaldur said. “Be ready, all of you.” Without waiting for their response, Aqualad jumped from the ledge, sliding down the hill and running towards the line of metal pillars. From above, they could see the Atlantean’s tattoos glow as he slammed his hands into the shield. Pulling his hands away from each other, a small hole began to form in the barrier. “Now!”

Artemis fired her arrow, the projectile whizzing past their leader’s hands and hitting a panel within the shield.

The field dropped from existence and the rest of the group descended the hill. However, movement from the roof caught their attention as they looked up to see a monkey perched upon it an inhibitor collar around its neck. It gave a loud screech as alarms began to go off, the swirling red lights illuminating more primates rushed towards them as a furry tide.

“Remove the collars!” Aqualad ordered as they leapt at them.

“Easier said than done!” Mike replied, falling back as one of the creatures leapt at him, large teeth snapping at him. Baring his own teeth in turn, Mike punched the monkey in the face. The animal yelped from the impact, allowing Mike to push it off and pin the animal to the ground. Grabbing the collar, he squeezed the device, ignoring the sparks flying off as he ripped it off.

The now rather terrified monkey practically flew from his grip as he released it, barely grabbing the next one leaping at him. It screeched as he pinned it down, quickly ripping off the collar before running off, joining the group of other, now collar-free monkeys near the edge of the jungle. Though one threatening step forwards was all it took for them to race off into the foliage.

The complex door opened and a gorilla wearing a beret and a machine gun strolled out with a growl. He suddenly whipped around and grabbed something slamming it to the ground, where M’gann returned to visibility. He turned his gun on her.

Kid Flash was the first to react. “Get you paws off her you dirty ape!” Wally snarled charging forwards. Instead, he just slammed into the ape, bouncing off its round belly.

 Aqualad took the speedster’s place, swinging his swords in an attempt to force the ape to release their comrade.

Mike decided to just expedite that decision by grabbing his knife and throwing it. As he expected, the ape roared in pain, instinctively jerking back its injured shoulder, loosening its grip on M’gann and reaching up with its other hand to grab the hilt of the blade.

Now free, Miss Martian got up and whirled on the gorilla, lifting him into the air telekinetically. He didn’t even have time to rip the knife out before she blasted him through the nearest wall. Dust filled the air of the massive gap in the wall, but with the breeze it didn’t take long to clear as they rushed through the threshold. Ahead of them, Captain Marvel was strapped to a table, a concerning number of sharp instruments around his head.

Normally a concerning situation, but the hero was invulnerable. And Mike was more focused on the brain-jar-trash-can-thingy rolling towards them. He had accepted his life was going to get weird, but seriously: What. The. Fuck?

“It’s the Brain!” KF exclaimed.

“I can see it’s a Brain,” Artemis scoffed.

“Not a brain! The Brain!”

“In the flesh,” it spoke, “So to speak.”

“Holy fuck it can talk!” Mike yelped, throwing a screwdriver at it. The sound of cracked glass filled the air as the shaft pierced the dome enclosing the Brain. No liquid was leaking out because the improvised weapon piercing it sealed the hole shut. Still, the reality of his actions took a second to kick it.

Mike had just thrown a screwdriver at one of the world’s most notorious supervillains.

He really needed to work on his instincts.

Senior Trashcan didn’t have eyes that he could see, but Mike imagined that the villain was trying to glare daggers through him. “Mallah.”

The gorilla growled, baring its teeth at him as he pulled out a remote and pylons rose from the ground. Before they could react, a hum filled the air and making them all instantly drop.

“Miss Martian, Superboy, now.”

M’gann’s eyes glowed and she yanked the remote over, where she turned off the pylons.

The wall behind the gorilla burst inward and Superboy stood there with a white wolf cracking his knuckles. The wolf charged and jumped off Mallah, slamming him to the ground. As he got up, Wally barreled into him, making him stumble back as Robin swung over, kicking him in the face. Miss Martian levitated him up and slammed him to the ground. Trying to get up again, the ape was blindsided as Mike leapt at it from the side, punching the ape in the face. The blow almost knocked the ape back over, thin trails of smoke rising from its face. Seizing the opportunity, Superboy tried to punch the disoriented ape. However, he jumped back, firing the gun. Bullets ricocheted off the clone as he stepped in front of his less bulletproof teammates.

The ape was so preoccupied he didn’t notice Artemis fire an arrow. It hit the barrel of the weapon, only releasing one shrill beep before exploding. The blast knocked the primate back, knocking its beret off its head.

Forcing himself back up, the gorilla growled, looking much worse than it had when they first encountered the beast. “No Mallah, this will not be our Waterloo,” the Brain interrupted, rolling up beside his companion as a large device began to unfold from his robot. “Au revoir, mes amis.”

“Get down!”

Everyone ducked as they expected a big explosion…but the lights just all went out. When they came back on both were gone.

“Wait…that big weapon thingy was…a light switch?”

“A little overdone if you ask me,” KF said.

“Yep.”

-.-

Mike sighed in relief as they finally made it back to the Bioship. “Finally,” he sighed.

Behind him, he could hear Artemis scoff. “What the heck are you grinning about?”

“One word: souvenir,” Wally replied cheerfully.

“Two words: gorilla lice.”

Now interested, Mike turned his head, smirking as he saw the look of horror and disgust cross the speedster’s face as he yanked Mallah’s red beret off his head. “Aw man!”

Ok, now that was funny.

“The rest of the pack is gone,” Superboy’s voice rang out as they turned to see their teammate kneeling down, “what’re you still doing here?” A smile crossed his face as he pet the white wolf that had fought with them.

“I think he likes you,” Mike remarked, joining Conner in kneeling beside the large canine. Holding out his hand, he watched as he sniffed him before licking his hand. Grinning, Mike began scratching his belly. “Good boy. Who’s a scary, gorilla-eating wolf? You are.”

“Can we keep him?” Conner asked, joining him in petting the wild animal they were treating as a large dog.

“First Sphere, now that beast,” Wally laughed, “Dude you’re making quite a habit of picking up strays.”

“Maybe because he’s such a stray himself,” Miss Martian smiled.

“Well, he’s gonna need a name, how about Krypto?” Wally suggested and the wolf growled at him.

“Pass.”

“Besides, isn’t that name taken?” Artemis asked as they watched the wolf roll over, tail wagging.

“How about Buddy?” Mike suggested.

The wolf paused. Mike swore the animal was giving him a judgmental look.

“…Or not.”

“Look,” Robin spoke up, his serious tone drawing all attention towards him as the Boy Wonder almost glared at Kaldur, “I need to know: why did you keep the mole intel a secret?”

The good mood of the group soured. Mike clenched his jaw, standing up and crossing his arms watching as the Atlantean took a moment to decide his response. Finally, Kaldur sighed, “The tip came from Sportsmaster.”

“WHAT?!” Artemis exclaimed. “You can’t trust him!”

“I do not, it seemed possible, even likely he was attempting to divide the team with false information.”

“And given how this mission went he almost succeeded,” KF sighed.

All of them suddenly felt guilty, glancing away as they thought about their actions during the mission. None of them had acted very professionally, had they?

“But,” Robin broke the silence, his voice becoming less harsh, “you had to consider it might be true.”

Aqualad nodded, “Yes, I did. In which case I did not want to alert the traitor.”

Mike sighed, putting his hands on his hips. “Hate to say it but…makes sense. Causing distrust among your enemies is probably supervillain 101. Sorry we were such asses.”

“I am still prepared to step down.”

“All in favor of keeping Aqualad as leader?” Wally asked raising a hand and the others joined him.

“Guess its unanimous,” Captain said patting Aqualad on the shoulder. “See you guys tomorrow.”

“You’re not coming with us?”

“Nope, gotta fly,” he said taking off.

Striding up the ramp, Mike scratched the wolf’s ears, “So what’re you gonna name him?”

“What’s wrong with Wolf?” Conner asked.

“Generic, but acceptable,” Wally said as they entered the ship.

It was different, Mike would give it that.

Chapter Text

A/N: Welcome back y’all! Good to see y’all’re still enjoying the story and thanks for the reviews! Anyways, as y’all already know, I just own the story. Nothing else is mine.

/comms/

Telepathy/Flashbacks/Whatever else

Mt. Justice, September 26, 10:00EDT

“Two days ago, you all participated in a mission in India, uncovering the operations and experiments of the Brain,” Batman said. “We believe this is just the tip of the iceberg. Common criteria of the Bwundan Jungle suggests the Brain has another Kobra-Venom operation.”

“And you want us to shut it down,” Kaldur said.

“Exactly.”

“Great, that probably means we’ll have to fight more monkeys,” Kid Flash groaned.

“I hate monkeys.”

“Well, then you’ll be able to punch plenty,” Mike remarked as they walked to the Bioship.

-.-

Bwunda, 20:11CAT

A screen beeped as the Brain rolled up to the monitor. Pulling up the feed, he could see the children landing the jungle. “Oh Mallah, les enfants, zey plague me. First India and now L’afrique. Have they no respect pour la science?”

“No, my friend, they don’t. Like most’ve their kind, they fear simple progress,” a white gorilla with a visible brain spoke.

“Tragique, but true mon cher Ultra Humanite. Mais, what would you suggest?”

“The obvious, send the monkeys. Let them deal with the pests. That’s their job, isn’t it?”

-.-

“Link established.”

“You know, if you want to establish a link, I can help—”

“WALLY!” they all yelled.

“What? Just trying to spread the love.”

“Well, if you keep it up, I’m going to smack you.”

“Ha ha, very funny.”

“Does it sound like I’m joking?”

“Dude!”

“Go ahead, I’m not gonna stop you,” Artemis chimed in.

“Dudes!”

“Um, does anyone else smell monkey,” Conner spoke up. “Cause this jungle reeks of monkeys, and I hate monkeys.”

“Well, we are in the middle of the jungle,” Robin reminded. “So, Artemis, Mike, have you guys met anyone interesting at school?”

“Enough,” Aqualad interrupted. “I know we are all adolescents, but we do not have to be cliches. We must focus on the mission at hand.”

All around them, the brush began to shake as huge gorillas emerged, baring their teeth.

“I see your point.”

Standing back-to-back, they all began to pull out their weapons. “Remove their inhibitor collars,” Kaldur ordered, using one of his maces to beat back the first gorilla to leap at them. “Do that, and they will break off their attack as last time.”

“One problem,” Superboy spoke up, ducking under a punch, “They aren’t wearing any collars!” Leaping to hit the silver ape, he grunted as a massive hand wrapped around his throat. The large primate bared its teeth with a growl and hurled the clone through a large tree.

“Then what’s controlling them?” Mike asked, vaulting himself over one’s shoulders. Landing on its back he wrapped his arms around its neck, trying to strangle the ape as it gave him the worst piggyback ride of his life.

“I don’t know, but they seem very distressed,” M’gann pointed out.

“Maybe we got too close to wherever they were nesting?”

“They’re gorillas, not birds!”

“Miss Martian,” Aqualad called ducking under the swing of a gorilla, “go into camouflage mode. You will be our secret weapon in case something goes wrong.”

“Acknowledged.”

“We must escape and regroup. Robin lay down cover!”

“Way ahead of you!” the Boy Wonder called leaping off the back of one of the enraged apes and throwing a barrage of smoke bombs to the ground.

A thick haze formed around them as the smoke permeated the air.

“Switching to infrared,” KF said, “Looking for a clear path—got it, follow me!” The speedster darted off through the smoke, though his path was suddenly blocked by a wall of muscle. “Oh God.”

“Not God. Grodd,” a new voice spoke.

Pain shot through their heads as M’gann screamed.

Gritting his teeth through the pain, Mike tightened his grip on the gorilla’s neck. The ape Mike was riding on roared in anger and the boy’s eyes widened as he felt a massive hand grab his arm. “Oh shit.”

Next thing he knew he was flying through the air. Pain erupted in his leg as he hit something hard, splinters digging into his back. He must’ve gotten thrown into a tree—or to be more accurate, been thrown through a tree.

Groaning, he rolled onto his stomach, wincing as he felt the bones in his leg shift in protest. Yep. Something was definitely broken. Shit.

Why is it he was always the one to get injured? Was his luck just that nonexistent?

Pushing himself up, he froze as something clicked around his neck with the familiar sharp hum of electricity. Double shit.

 Before he could call out to the others to warn them, the hum reached a painful crescendo. That was all the warning he had before electricity arched over him.

A shockwave shook the clearing as a massive plume of dust rose from the sudden impact. Through it they could see a massive gorilla rising to its feet. The beast bared its fangs and roared, charging towards Aqualad and Superboy.

Nearby, Artemis reached towards her quiver to grab an arrow to help her teammates when something grabbed it. Remembering the crocodiles from a few days ago, she immediately unclipped the quiver; dropping to the ground, she whirled on her heels and shattered her bow against the silvery hide of another gorilla. The archer leapt away from the animal, pulling out her crossbow. However, she didn’t have the chance to fire as something latched around her neck with an all too familiar buzz.

A scream pierced the air and Kid Flash turned on his heel to see Artemis collapse to the ground, an inhibitor collar sparking around her neck. Charing towards her, he was intercepted by a massive wall of fur slamming him to the ground. The breath was knocked from his lungs as a massive paw slammed onto his chest, holding him down. But even through that he noticed something latch around his neck.

Cursing to himself, Robin flipped over the gorilla he was fighting, quickly dodging its attacks. This was going terribly. He needed to regroup with Kaldur and Conner, fall back into the jungle and regroup. M’gann was camouflaged, it was likely they could come back to find her. As for the others, they would need to rescue them, but it was a necessary sacrifice. This mission was going to fail if they all ended up captured.

A hand grabbing his ankle pulled the Boy Wonder out of his thoughts. Before he could react, he was slammed to the ground, the breath being knocked from his lungs from impact. The next thing he knew, something was clicking around his throat and electricity was lighting his nerves on fire just as inhibitor collars were locked around his remaining teammates’ throats.

-.-

Gorilla City, 23:59CAT

“Excellent work, mesa mis,” the Brain praised watching as the group of apes dropped the unconscious teens into a pile before him, “but where is la Martian? And where is mon loup?”

Across from him, a silvery gorilla raised one of his massive fists, signing a reply.

Ultra Humanite huffed, “What is he saying?”

“Mon frere, have you still not learned la langue des signes?”

“I’ve been a tad busy surgically upgrading your apes. So…”

“He says la Martian was invisible—no not invisible—camouflage. Zey knocked her out but couldn’t find le corps.”

“And what of your wolf?”

The Brain huffed, “Zese idiots didn’t realize I wanted la creature. Zey let him go.”

“To be fair, you ordered them to bring the team. You didn’t specify to include their pet,” Humanite replied. “The Kobra-Venom has made them physically superior, and our brain-enhancement procedures have granted them sentience, but you cannot expect genius.”

“C’est vrai. I blame Mallah. He has spoiled me. But, alas, zey cannot all be Mallahs.”

“And the Kobra-Venom itself may be interfering with the mental enhancement,” Humanite continued, reaching into a bag. “But the solution to our missing subjects is a simple one,” she tossed a collection of goggles to the gorillas before them. “Take these. Find the Martian and the wolf. And do not return without them, or their will be consequences.”

-.-

“Ugh,” M’gann groaned as she sat up. Rubbing her head, she looked around, finding herself in a dark plane. “What happened?”

“Grodd happened human,” a gruff voice snarled from behind her.

Leaping to her feet, the Martian girl stumbled back to see the very beasts that had just been attacking her and her team.

A dark brown gorilla stomped forwards, baring its massive fangs. “And Grodd demands your help.”

“Manners my love,” a dark-furred one said putting a massive hand on the larger ape’s shoulder. Settling back onto her knuckles, she lumbered forwards and took M’gann’s hand, gently shaking it. We desire the human’s help, but we do not demand it.”

“I…I’m not human, I’m Martian,” M’gann corrected. “Miss Martian to be exact.”

Another gorilla came over, a white streak of fur running down its back, parting the silvery fur. “I am not sure I understand. Our vocabulary expands rapidly, however, there are still gaps.”

“It’s not important.”

The silver ape gave her a nod, “I am Solovar, the alpha of this troop.” He turned motioning to a black gorilla, her fur so dark at moments it looked blue, “This is my mate, Baka.” Solovar then motioned to the gorillas that had first approached her, “This is Primat and you’ve met Grodd.”

Glancing at the massive gorilla that had attempted to crush her earlier, she frowned as she saw him give an annoyed huff. As much as she didn’t like that one, the others seemed to be much more receptive to let her have her own choice and at least would explain what was going on. Which she needed if she had any hope of helping her team. If her memories of the battle were correct, she was going to need their help. “It’s nice to meet you all.”

“It is our pleasure to meet you as well.”

“But, I do have some questions,” Miss Martian began. “Where are we? Why is it so dark? How are you capable of telepathy? Why did you attack us? What is going on?”

Primat gave an amused laugh, “All these questions, all at once, like an infant.”

“She is young for her species,” Baka reminded.

Solovar stepped forwards, looking grim. “We will do our best to enlighten you, but time is short. Almost three years ago now, two strangers arrived: an old woman and a thin man with their borrowed shadows. They constructed a single metal cave, a Kwan-zett hut, to conduct their experiments. They captured Mallah, the youngest of our troop, and operated on his brain. Mallah…was not the same afterwards. He approved of their experiments, even betrayed his own kind to his new masters. Good Tolifhar was the first to fall to his attacks. They took Tolifhar and they murdured the ape we knew; replacing Tolifhar’s brain with that of the old woman, creating the abomination, the Ultra Humanite.”

“But the horror continued. Ultra Humanite and Mallah extracted the brain from their thin human companion and placed it within the hollow, metal tree stump. This new thing wished to be completely free from the distractions of the physical. To simply be The Brain. They added more to their metal cave and called their new kingdom: Gorilla City. It is their little joke, for it was here they have enslaved every gorilla in our troop. Only the Holy One managed to escape.”

“From there, the put inhibitor collars on us and performed their enhancement surgeries on our brains. We gained intelligence, awareness, and sentience, but neither happiness nor freedom. Especially once they brought in their monstrous allies. One had taken an interest in Grodd,” Primat said, reaching out and patting the brown-furred gorilla.

Grodd huffed, jerking away from her. “We do not discuss the Soul Taker.”

Primat sighed, stepping back. “We have seen others,” she continued, “but they mostly have left us alone, for the most part.”

“More recently, they injected us with their Kobra-Venom. It was very painful, but it made us larger, stronger. And now they are ignorant of our greatest strength, the telepathy their enhancements provided,” Grodd huffed, slamming his fist on the ground. “Thus they have scattered the seeds of their own demise!”

“But, you don’t have the collars now,” M’gann noticed. “Why do you still aid your oppressors?”

“They have an even greater hold on us, one that we cannot risk,” Solovar sighed, “they have our children. If we do not obey their commands, their lives are forfeit.”

Miss Martian gasped.

Grodd huffed, stepping closer, his massive frame looming over her. “They have your troop as well. All are in collars. We will rescue them, you will secure our progeny. And together, you and I—er, Solovar, will lead the revolution.”

“Wait! I don’t lead the team!”

The massive ape tilted his head, looking confused. “How can that be true? Your mind is clearly the most powerful.”

The complement nearly made her blush. M’gann had heard her uncle say she was powerful before, but to hear it from someone else, it was different. “Really? You think so?”

Grodd did not answer as he growled, his fist slamming down as he turned to the other apes. “We deal with an underling who cannot guarantee that her alpha nor her troop will cooperate.”

“We have no choice but to trust her,” Solovar replied. “And to demonstrate that trust, we will return you to the physical plane…”

Opening her eyes, M’gann was greeted by dim orange lights dangling from a metal ceiling. Slowly sitting up, she looked around, meeting the gazes of the four gorillas that had been with her in the telepathic link. She jumped as something came to her side, licking her cheek. “Wolf!” she exclaimed wrapping her arms around the canine’s furry neck.

“And return your beast to you.”

M’gann pulled away from the team pet, scratching him behind the ears as she looked to Solovar and the others. “Ok, I’m on board, and, I promise, my team will be too. But, we need a plan.”

“Oh, we have a plan.”

-.-

The first thing Mike was aware of as consciousness returned to him was the pain throbbing from his leg. Taking a deep breath, he shifted his leg, biting his lip as pain shot up his leg. Yep, definitely broken. Which is…weird. How long had he been unconscious? If it had been for half-hour or more it should’ve healed by now.

It was then he noticed the feeling of metal digging into his wrists, holding his arms above his head as something wrapped around his throat.

His feet couldn’t touch the ground. And, even if they could, his leg was broken. He wouldn’t be able to run away.

Mike took a sharp breath. Nope. No, this was not the time.

“What is the plan for these heroes?” an unfamiliar voice spoke.

Ok. Ok, he didn’t know that voice. That was good. It meant he wasn’t…there.

“So many options: ze brain extraction, ze experiments avec Kobra-Venom and ze Project Cadmus,” an accented voice spoke.

It made Michael’s stomach drop. The voice sounded robotic. But none of the animatronics he knew of sounded French. Funtime Fuckface had sounded close with how nasally the damn bear was, but this voice wasn’t that. It did sound familiar though.

Still, he couldn’t help but feel nervous at the thought of opening his eyes. Some part of him was still telling him that this was a lie, that when he opened his eyes he’d find himself back in that room.

“I suggest we choose...all of ze above!”

Wait…what were they talking about?

Shit. He needed to focus. Ok, he wasn’t back there, so that meant he could stop panicking like a fucking child. Shifting his injured leg, Mike bit down on the inside of his cheek, ignoring the tang of iron on his tongue as pain shot up his body. Still, he was grateful as it gave him the chance to focus.

“We may want to rethink that,” the first voice interjected. “We can get intel from the other sidekicks. Though, I must admit, we could do some serious damage by keeping the League’s trainees hostage.”

“Yes, yes, I suppose zis is true. So, no brain extractions, but zat does not mean we cannot do other experiments!”

God damnit.

Distantly, he could hear a door sliding open, followed by the annoyed huff of a gorilla stomping forwards. “Well, well,” the first voice spoke again, “there’s your beast. But where is the Martian?”

M’gann was still free? That was good. Great even.

Slowly opening his eyes, Mike took in the environment around him. Out of the corner of his eye, he could make out his teammates pinned to the wall beside him. In front of him, he could see the gorillas that had attacked them, a white gorilla with what appeared to be an exposed brain, and, of course, a familiar trashcan on wheels. They were grouped together, standing around Wolf’s form on the ground in front of a screen. Unfortunately, it was off, so no intel there.

The white gorilla turned, prompting Mike to squeeze his eyes shut in an attempt to feign unconsciousness. “The Boy Wonder! He’s gone!”

That exclamation almost made Mike open his eyes to see if they were right. Seriously, he hadn’t heard a thing. Guy was like a damn ghost sometimes.

“Comment c’est possible?! Ze door is sealed! Where could he have gone?!”

The trashcan’s answer came in the form of Robin’s creepy disembodied laughter. Mike was just grateful with wasn’t like twenty octaves deeper. Otherwise, it would’ve sounded way too much like a certain nightmarish bear haunting his nightmares.

But still, the laugh had its intended effect on their enemies, especially as several bursts of smoke began to fill the room.

“WHERE IS HE?! WHERE IS HE?!” the Brain shouted.

If the situation wasn’t so dire, Mike might’ve found the French trashcan’s screeching hilarious. However, he was more focused on trying to get out of his restraints now that the bad guys were distracted. He didn’t have a lockpick in his glove—he probably needed to add that at some point—nor could he reach his toolbelt, not without aggravating his leg further. And, considering that he’d been unconscious long enough to be dragged to wherever the fuck they were by gorillas and cuffed, the fact his leg hadn’t started healing meant something was wrong with his powers. Looking to the others, his brows furrowed as he recognized the dark metal wrapping around their throats: inhibitor collars. Well, that explained why he wasn’t healing. Which probably also meant his super-strength was out of commission too.

Fantastic.

So, he was just going to have to just hang on the sidelines until someone got him down. Which was probably for the best as his broken leg currently wasn’t going to help anyone.

The flashing lights of electricity momentarily illuminated the figures in the smoke. He could make out Robin’s form leaping over one of the gorillas, disappearing from sight as everything dimmed back into a smoky gray. Though it didn’t last long before the Boy Wonder emerged from the smoke, hopping up besides Superboy and tinkering with his collar. There was an audible click, and the lights from the collar powered down just as a massive hand erupted from the gray plumes, snatching Robin away from his cape.

Conner didn’t waste any time as he ripped himself out from the wall, the metal shackles still firmly fastened against his wrists. He glared into the smoke, audibly growling as he whirled around, ripping off Kaldur’s cuffs and collar.

Aqualad landed on the ground, quickly joining his teammate in freeing the others. “Miss Martian, are you in range?”

“I heard that!” Artemis exclaimed excitedly, rubbing her wrists as Superboy ripped her collar off. “The link’s up! M’gann must be—”

“No,” Superboy said ripping the collar off Wolf. “It doesn’t feel right.”

“It is Grodd,” a menacing voice snarled. “Now listen up humans…”

Mike didn’t pay much attention to the plan as he noticed the sound of the vents powering up. Their cover was about to run out. Seeing motion out of the corner of his eyes, he noticed Aqualad reaching up to uncuff him, “Don’t worry about me! Just get rid of the collar, I can handle myself from there!”

“Ventilation’s finally kicked in.”

Kaldur gave him a quick glance before nodding. Mike sighed in relief as the pressure around his throat vanished as the metal snapped under the retreating Atlantean’s grip.

“And I have summoned ze reinforcements.”

“Good,” KF’s familiar voice sneered as the last whisps of smoke cleared revealing the rest of the team standing across from the villains, “cuz you’re gonna need ‘em!”

“Grodd,” the white gorilla smirked, “destroy them.”

“Zat may not be necessary, mon ami,” the Brain said, rolling back to reveal a troop of Kobra-Venom gorillas. One of which had a familiar form lying limply in its hands. “Notre Solovar has la Martian and will wring her neck if zese enfants do not stand down!”

Mike grit his teeth, glaring at the trash can on wheels. “Heal faster,” he muttered to his leg. The sooner his leg fixed itself. The sooner he could see how far he could throw the damn thing. Because all he was doing right now was sitting there and looking pretty.

“Then you leave us no choice,” Aqualad spoke, his voice surprisingly steady as he lowered his weapons. “Start the revolution!”

Without warning, his team leapt forwards as Grodd and the other gorillas turned on their captors. The four bad guys were then blasted off their feet by a telekinetic blast. M’gann floated into the air transforming into a gorilla as she slammed down onto Mallah, helping Solovar restrain him as Grodd stomped over to knock the lights out of his former troopmate.

“M’gann! Do you have to take that form?!” Superboy inquired as he kicked Ultra Humanite aside. “You know I hate monkeys!”

“But it seemed so appropriate,” she replied using her telekinesis to toss Mallah away.

“Do not call us monkeys, human! You might as well state your hatred for all Primates!”

“Don’t give him any ideas!” Kid Flash replied as he snatched the guns out of the hands of the Shadows that had been rushing in to help.

“My optical sensors!” the Brain screeched as one of Artemis’s arrows hit the damn thing. However, his dismay didn’t seem to last long, “Imbeciles! You cannot blind ze brain!”

“But I can give it indigestion!” Robin quipped.

Mike was not about to question the other teen’s logic as he was more focused on the fact his bones had finally seemed to move back into place. He doubted they were fully healed, but it was better than nothing. He ripped himself from the wall, ignoring the pain in his leg as he landed on the ground.

The punch he threw at the nearest Shadow’s face felt quite cathartic after all of that.

“Brain! The apes! They are telepathic!”

“Indeed. Un development interessant. Mais zis is not ze time for study,” the Brain replied. “Attention revolutionaries! I have activated ze self-destruct! La Ville de Gorille is doomed! Vous avez cinq minutes!”  

-.-

They had barely managed to escape with everyone. They left most of the Shadows hog-tied nearby, but no doubt the assassins had already made their escape as the group of teens tiredly trudged through the jungle.

Mike was, much to his embarrassment, forced to take support from one of the others. Apparently his broken leg wasn’t as invisible as he thought as someone had spotted the splotch of blood on his pants. Apparently, his bone had broken skin. And apparently his stupid body didn’t get the memo to heal everything before people worried.

So now, here he was, burdening his teammates once again with his injuries. After being so useless in the fight back at the compound, the least he could’ve done was carry himself back to the Bioship.

The others did not agree with his sentiments as Wally had all but thrown him on the back of one of the gorillas for a piggy-back ride. A sharp glare had quickly shut down any more ideas after that suggestion. Mike had wanted to keep whatever fragments were left of his pride.

“You doing ok, Remnant?” M’gann inquired.

Mike could feel the eyes of the others on him. “Peachy. I’d be better if I could walk.”

“Dude, you broke your leg.”

“It wasn’t that bad.”

“You have a gash from the break!”

“It’s healing.”

“Is it fully healed?”

“…Maybe.”

“Rem, if you don’t stop trying to wriggle your way out of this, I am going to pick you up and carry you back to the ship.”

“Face it dude, despite your apparent mission to get yourself maimed every mission, you’re stuck with us.”

Mike rolled his eyes. “Awesome.”

“Yep. We are awesome,” Wally grinned. “And, to prove it, look what I got,” he put a red beret on his head, “souvenir.”

“…Do you not remember what happened with the last beret?”

The speedster’s eyes widened and he scrambled to yank the hat off his head. “Aw man!”

Chapter Text

A/N: hey everyone! Welcome back! Glad to see y’all’re still here! So, just so y’all know, I have made the concept art for Michael. It’s on my DeviantArt page under my same username, so feel free to check it out. And thanks for the reviews! Anyways, as y’all know, I don’t own FNAF or YJ, I’m just here for fun.

/comms/

Telepathy/Flashbacks/Whatever else

Gotham, October 1, 5:45EDT

Michael’s scars were aching. It wasn’t uncommon or anything, but it was the first time it had happened without a nightmare beforehand. Still, it made going back to sleep before his alarm went off a pain in the butt.

Sighing, Mike rolled over onto his stomach, grimacing as he almost blinded himself trying to turn on his lamp. Considering he only had like fifteen minutes before his alarm went off, there wasn’t really any point in trying to go back to sleep. Last time he tried that he slept through his alarm and Efrem had to wake him up.

That was an experience he did not wish to ever repeat.

Still, at least he could make more progress on getting through the journal. Reaching into his pillowcase, he felt around for the notebook, frowning as he was coming up empty handed. He checked his other pillows. They were also empty. Sighing, he propped himself up on his elbows, glaring across the room towards his backpack. He left it in there didn’t he?

He really didn’t want to get out of bed.

But…maybe he didn’t have to.

Pulling himself out from under the sheets, he crawled to the edge of his bed, leaning off to reach towards his bag. The damn thing was still out of reach. Putting his free hand on the ground, he pulled himself out further, grabbing his bag and dragging it closer to pull out the journal.

It was only once he got it out that he realized he didn’t think this plan through.

Currently, Mike was hanging half-off the bed, one holding a serial killer’s journal and the other being the only thing keeping him from falling to his floor. Hoping for the best, he tossed the journal back towards his bed. It hit the side of the bed as he simultaneously lost his fight with gravity and faceplanted with an audible thud.

“Mike?” Henry’s muffled voice called. “Are you ok?”

“I’m fine.”

The sound of footsteps approaching reverberated through the floor. “What happened?”

“I dropped my shirt.”

“…That was awfully loud for a shirt.”

“I was in it.”

There was silence from the other side of the door. After a moment, the knob wiggled and the door opened, revealing the concerned looking faces of both his guardian and the butler. They were quiet as they took in the probably absurd sight before them: his dumbass self, sprawled on the ground, legs sticking in the air from where the bed propped him up.

He could already hear their repressed chuckles. “Having problems getting up kiddo?”

“You could say that.”

“Need help getting up?”

“No.”

“Alright, breakfast will be ready in twenty.”

Mike raised a hand, giving the men a thumbs up. He could still hear them chuckling between themselves as the door closed. Honestly, the only way this could’ve been more embarrassing was if he’d been sleeping in just his boxers.

“I’m glad my misery brings you humor!” he called after them.

He swore they started laughing harder.

It was going to be one of those days, wasn’t it?

-.-

Mt. Justice, 18:24EDT

Kaldur stepped aside as Robin tossed a punch his way, causing his younger teammate to grit his teeth as he continued to evade his attacks. Spinning out of the way of a kick, Aqualad whirled on his heel and tossed his own punch as the boy sprung back, putting some distance between them. The older boy chased after, barely ducking a well-timed punch from the Boy Wonder as he struck. Leaping up, Robin swung around to kick him and Kaldur leapt back, dodging the strike.

“You almost had him that time,” Mike called from where he leaned against the wall.

“Like you could do better!” Robin challenged flipping behind Aqualad and kicking him in the ribs.

Mike didn’t even bother looking up from the journal, flipping to the next entry. “I could, but it wouldn’t be as fun as watching you two play chicken.”

“You’re not even watching!”

“I wasn’t aware I was refereeing this match,” he absentmindedly replied, adjusting his grip on the bound pages.

Huh…this entry was different than the others. All the ones he’d read so far had been about the modifications made to the murder bots, experiments on the soul juice obtained from random victims, or the experiments with said soul juice his father had been conducting on both himself and his eldest. They’d been methodical, easily read. But this one…the writing in this entry was almost illegible, like it had been hastily written. One would almost call it frantic.

              I had to do it. She left me no choice. She was going to leave me! That WHORE thought she was going to take my children. She was going to ruin EVERYTHING!
              I shouldn’t have been so careless. I should have waited longer to treat Michael. But I couldn’t wait. We have been making so much progress with the remnant. He’s becoming exactly what I had imagined he could be. I couldn’t let her take him my children away from me. They are mine. They belong to me! There is no one better to raise them than me, their FATHER.
             That bitch thought she could take them away from me. She thought she raise them better than I could. I couldn’t let that happen. I know my lawyers would’ve destroyed her. The slut knew too much. She wouldn’t have stopped until she stole MY children. Till she turned them against me! No. I wasn’t going to let that happen. I did what I had to do.
              Besides, I needed to collect more remnant for Michael anyways. He’s starting to need more than I currently have. My previous experiments prove that adults don’t produce as much as children, but it will have to do for now.  And with the GCPD being more vigilant than normal I have to lay low. At least until the next villain distracts them for me. This and what I got from the last extraction should let me hold out until then. Normally I’d just go to another city, but it’d be suspicious if I took off so soon after the bitch’s murder.
              I’ll have to dispose of the body before my children wake. Telling them she’s left would be most effective, as it would give me time with the body. But people will be looking for her. No, it’ll have to be suicide I’ll have to leave the body in Crime Alley. She was known for doing charity work in the area. It would be best to throw the blame onto some random gang violence. It worked for the Wayne murders after all. I’ll have to make the extraction quick so I can set up the scene. The sedatives I gave the kids should keep them asleep till noon, so I’ll have plenty of time to clean up.
              Oh, my dear Clarissa, everything I have done has been for this family, my family. You left me no choice. I did what I had to do. Perhaps one day you’ll see it that way my beautiful ballerina. Your body may be gone, but trust me, I promise, you aren’t going to leave this family. You won’t die. I’ll fix you, my love. Just like I fixed our son. Just like I’ll fix our other children. One way or another, our family will be perfect.

“Dude, you ok?”

Mike jumped at the voice, slamming the journal shut. Turning to the source, his brows shot up as he found Captain Marvel standing beside him, munching on a protein bar. “Oh, uh, yeah, I’m fine.”

“You sure? You got quiet there for a minute. And I think you look a bit pale.”

“Yeah, I’m sure. Just dealing with some…stuff.”

“What kinda stuff?”

“Personal stuff.”

The Leaguer took another bite of his snack with a shrug. “Alright then. But remember, I’m always happy to hang out if you need something.”

“…Thanks?”

Tossing a smile to the hero, he put the journal into his bag beside his sketchbook. Yeah, that probably wouldn’t be happening anytime soon. Sure, Captain Marvel was cool—dude was far more chill than some of the other members of the League—but the guy had absolutely no filter. So yeah, no way was he going to be talking about his mother’s murder.

A murder that had happened at the hands of her own husband, his father; not at the hands of a random mugger or a gang like he’d always believed. Yet another lie William Afton had perpetuated. His father had murdered his mother because she was going to divorce him. His mother had discovered what William had been doing. She had tried to take them away from him. She had died trying to save her children.

Mike had always respected his mother. He knew most of his ideology about her now was because she’d died when he was young. Granted, she had been the one person during his childhood to actually care about him. But now his respect for her had doubled. He probably wouldn’t have been brave enough to stand up against the man. Not before now at least.

Shaking his head, Mike did his best to discard the thoughts. Now wasn’t the time to dwell on them. Slowly migrating over to the others, he joined Robin and Kaldur as they talked, “Do we tell them?”

“It is not our place.”

He had no clue what they were talking about. So he could either stand there awkwardly or just ask what was going on. He chose the latter. “Tell them what?” Mike inquired.

“About…you know,” Robin motioned with his head towards Conner and M’gann.

Mike’s brows shot up, and he gave a surprised chuckle, “Well damn. It’s about time they got together.”

“So,” Wally started as he and Artemis joined them, “if Zatara’s our babysitter for the week, why is he still here?” The speedster gave a pointed look to a certain red and gold clad hero. “And why is he eating my snacks?!”

Mike crossed his arms with a shrug, “Maybe you need to hide them better?”

KF gave him a look that was a mix between betrayed and annoyed. However, whatever he was about to say was cut off by the familiar whir of the Zeta Tube. “Recognized: Batman—02.”

“Computer, national news.”

In the middle of the training room, a holographic screen popped to life, showing video feed of giant plants attacking a city. “The initial attack was short-lived, but Metropolis was only granted a short reprieve.” One of the vines coiled tightly around a building, sending glass, dust, and concrete flying as it squeezed. Two people could be seen on the rooftop of the crumbling building. Fortunately, though, both were soon scooped away by a red and blue blur. “And despite the intervention of Superman and the Justice League, there seems to be no end in sight.”

Robin asked the question that was on all of their minds, “Should we get out there?”

“No,” Batman answered, pausing the video. “The League will soon have the situation under control.”

Mike set his bag down, crossing his arms. “Then why are you here?”

“According to your intel, Sportsmaster supplied Cadmus’s Blockbuster formula to Kobra—”

“Who combined it with Bane’s Venom to make Kobra-Venom,” Wally interrupted.

“Which the Brain used to create his animal army,” Robin continued.

“And upgrade Wolf.”

“The Brain also used inhibitor collars,” M’gann chimed in, “like the ones used in Belle Reve Penitentiary.”

“Batman,” Artemis spoke up, putting her hands on her hips, “is it possible that these plant-things are on Kobra-Venom too?”

“I had Green Lantern run a spot analysis. The vine’s cellulose does contain trace amounts of a Kobra-Venom variant.”

“These cannot be coincidences,” Kaldur sighed. “Unrelated criminals cooperating with one another worldwide.”

“Exactly. It’s now clear our enemies have formed some kind of secret society of supervillains.”

“I mean, it was only a matter of time,” Mike said. All eyes turned towards him. “Ever hear the motto: the enemy of my enemy is my friend? Same logic applies. Work together to deal with your common enemy now, kill each other later. And besides, they’ve seen how successful teamwork is for the heroes. Stands to reason the same results could apply to them.”

“Indeed,” the Dark Knight concurred. “And the attack on Metropolis is only the beginning.”

“You got that right,” Robin said, typing quickly. In rapid succession, several more news feeds appeared before them. “Plant-creatures have sprouted in Gotham City, Paris, Star City, Taipei—” Robin was cut off as the screens turned to static.

“Dude.”

“It’s not me,” Robin griped. “Someone’s cutting the signal, all satellite signals.”

“Any idea who?”

Their answer came as a frighteningly familiar face appeared on screen. A pale white finger tapped on the glass, as if trying to get their attention. Not that it was needed. Few were stupid enough to ignore the Joker when the madman was on the air. “Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, we interrupt your regularly scheduled mindless mayhem to bring you this important announcement,” the Clown Prince of Crime grinned, grabbing the camera and jerking it sharply towards a group of figures, “from the Injustice League.”

“We are responsible for the attacks on your cities,” a green-clad Dracula sneered, somehow managing to look down his nose at the camera. “If you wish to save them, a ransom of ten-billion American dollars is required. Delivery instructions have been sent to the United Nations. There is no time limit. But, the longer your governments wait…”

The camera jerked again, spinning back to the Joker’s wide smile. “The more fun we get to have,” the clown cackled. “Remember kiddies, take your time. There’s no rush, no need to fret. So turn that frown upside down! Afterall, you’re never fully dressed without a smile!”

The feed cut out to the madman’s laughter, and Batman turned tapping his commlink, “Rodger that Aquaman, the UN will prepare the ransom as a back-up plan, but it will not come to that.”

Robin typed on his pad, rewinding the feed to highlight the members of this Injustice League. “Count Vertigo, the Joker, Poison Ivy, Ultra Humanite, Atomic Skull, Black Atom, Wotan—Seven heavy hitters. Probably behind nearly everything and everyone we’ve faced so far.”

“There’s your secret society.”

“Not so secret anymore.”

“Perhaps after India they realized we would deduce the truth and saw no point in hiding any longer.”

“Yeah,” Wally scoffed. “Well, that was their mistake. Right now, I say we go kick some plant-creature butt!”

“Plants don’t have butts.”

“You know what I mean!”

Mike frowned, crossing his arms as he looked at the screen. Something about this…it didn’t seem right. Sure, it seemed probable that after everything, it wouldn’t be hard to conclude that they’d been figured out. But still, Mike had lived in Gotham his whole life, it wasn’t a secret that Joker didn’t play well with others. Why would that change now?

“The Justice League will handle the plants,” Batman said, interrupting the team’s planning session. “I have a different assignment for this team.”

“Oh man!”

“Damnit, hopefully it’s not another distraction mission,” Mike grumbled.

“With the plants attacking so many locations simultaneously there must be a central control system. Your mission is to destroy it.”

“Holy shit.”

“No way.”

Beside the Dark Knight, Zatara gulped. “You do realize what you’re really asking them to do?”

“They’re ready.”

“Holy fucking shit!”

“Ready? Ready for what? What’s happening?” Wally questioned.

Artemis punched the speedster’s arm. “Hello, Wally! If the League is out fighting the plant-monsters, who do you think we’ll be fighting?”

“I don’t know! I guess we’ll…” he trailed off looking back to the screens. “Ohhh…oh shit.”

“Well Batman, I trust you’re correct,” Zatara conceded.

“And I trust you can locate the enemy?”

“Indeed,” Zatara nodded. “Wotan’s involved, meaning sorcery is part of how the plants are controlled. Robin, if you would provide a holomap.”

The Boy Wonder nodded, typing on his glove and pulling a holograph of the globe.

“I’ll search for signs of concentrated sorcerer activity. Zatara gave the boy a nod as he stepped forwards raising his hands, “Etacol eht ecruos fo eht cigam ecnabrutsid!” On the globe, a small red dot appeared. “There, that is where you will find the Injustice League’s headquarters and their central control system.”

“Coordinates locked in: the Louisiana Bayou.”

“We are on our way.”

-.-

Gotham City, 19:49EDT

Massive vines slammed down on the overpass, causing cracks to spread along the surface as people scrambled to escape the plants. Their screams were drowned out by the crushing of metal and the shattering of glass. Before long, those noises were too covered by a louder sound. A black jet dove between the buildings, firing missiles at the plant. Explosions rocked the monster, causing one of the vines to fall off, landing on the highway. On the bottom of the jet, a hatch opened as it soared closer, dropping a dark green gas which dissolved the plant on contact.

Seizing the opportunity, Captain Marvel landed at the massive plant’s base. The overpass trembled as he jammed his hands underneath the main structure, trying to pull it out as its roots fought to keep the monstrous thing trapped within the ground. Parts of the roadway collapsed, freeing the flailing roots and allowing the hero to lift the mutant plant from the ground and fly it into the atmosphere so he could dispose of it in space.

On the ground, Zatara formed a bubble around himself as the Batplane zipped by, dropping more of the gaseous weed-killers the Dark Knight had hastily developed. Levitating off the ground, he watched as more vines clawed their way from the earth, seeking to destroy anything and everything in their path. “Tes erif ot eht seniv!”

At his words, flames erupted along the surface of the vines, causing them to writhe and screech as the fire ate through them. On their surface, small blooms opened, revealing what appeared to be seeds. However, the hero didn’t have much time to figure out before they explodes, releasing a green gas into the air, engulfing the nearby firefighters. What happened next, chilled Zatara to the core.

Through the thick green haze, he could hear the uncontrollable laughter of the men, watching as they stumbled out of the fog, covering their mouths in an attempt to block the gas. Not that it was effective. He could still hear their laughter and see their shoulders shake from the uncontrolled seizing of their muscles before each of them collapsed due to the effects of the Joker Venom.

-.-

Bayou Bartholomew, 18:52CDT

Laughter filled the chamber as the owner watched the firefighters go down. “Kobra-Venom’s got nothing on good ol’ Joker Venom!” the Clown Prince of Crime grinned wiggling his fingers as he controlled the plant puppets wreaking havoc on the various cities.

“Both work well in consort,” a familiar accented voice purred, causing Joker to glance over his shoulder as he saw Count Vertigo.

An interesting name in Joker’s opinion. “Tell me Count Vertigo, does your powers, plus your title make you the Duke of Puke? Or would it be the Count of Klutzes?” He grinned upon getting no immediate reaction. “Does the idea make you nauseous?”

“Enough Joker!” Poison Ivy snapped as she knelt down by the roots of the central node. Her palm spread across the root, allowing a green glow to return to the graying extremity. “We do not have time for your games as my babies fight to keep this plan going!”

At her words, Ultra Humanite ran up, tapping something on their pad causing the technological parts incorporated into the plant to glow. “We will keep her healthy Ivy,” Wotan reassured. “But she requires more power. Skull!”

The grey, zombie-like being looked up at him. Giving a quick nod, his head began to glow and he fired it into the conductor. The gray color of the trunk began to fade rapidly as a lively green consumed it. New leaves even emerging from the influx of energy.

Watching it all, Count Vertigo took a breath. Now that Joker was done fooling around, it was nice to see they were all getting back on track spectacularly. “Remarkable what a little teamwork can accomplish.” His moment of peace was then broken by the shrill shrieking of the alarm. “Intruder alert! Find them! And end them!”

-.-

The Bioship was silent as they entered the borders of the bayou they’d tracked the Injustice League to. Every now and then the silence was broken by someone shifting either out of nerves or to triple-check their gear. All eyes were watching their surroundings. An operation this big was going to have security. At this point, an attack was only a matter of time.

Turning his attention away from the window, Mike once again checked his gear making sure everything was ready. He’d restocked on explosives and smoke bombs, the grapple had recently been checked, so he was good on his standard equipment. Save for the fact he lost his last knife in the shoulder of an irate gorilla back in India so he’d had to improvise with a kitchen knife till his new ones were made.

But, he was more concerned with his more…experimental gear. Most of them were still in the early testing phases if they’d even entered at all. But, considering the situation…well, it was going to be a field test. And if they failed, well, then he had some extra explosives along with some notes of what not to do again.

“So, uh, what’s in the duffel,” Kid Flash spoke, breaking the tense silence that had enveloped them.

The rest of them turned to look at their leader, wondering what the speedster was inquiring about. It didn’t take them long to spot the dark duffel bag at Aqualad’s feet. “Plan B.”

He didn’t elaborate further, but the Atlantean’s tone suggested that it was not a plan they would want to enact.

“…Let’s hope we don’t need it.”

M’gann groaned, leaning forwards in her chair as she removed a hand from the controls to rub her temple. “You ok?” Superboy asked.

“Dizzy.”

“Martian’s get airsick?” Robin questioned.

“She does look a bit greener than usual,” Kid Flash frowned.

“Not me, her.”

“I feel fine,” Artemis said, raising her hand placatingly as all eyes turned to her.

“Not her, her,” M’gann corrected, “the Bioship. It’s like she’s trying to shield us from something.”

Around the cockpit, shoulders tensed. “From what?”

The answer came as electricity arched over the ship as lightning hit it. The ship swerved trying to stay in the air only to be slammed into the murky waters by a second bolt. Those inside the ship grunted as they were jerked around as the ship skipped along the water, before coming to a stop, allowing most of them to feel the ache in their bodies from the lightning that the Bioship had mostly taken upon herself.

“I think that was our welcoming committee,” Mike grunted.

“At least they were kind enough to greet us.”

“Yeah. I feel so welcomed.”

The area around them shook again, and they all watched to see the same massive vines their mentors were fighting in Metropolis curling around the Bioship, pulling them under the water.

The top of the ship shook as something landed on it. M’gann cried out, holding her head as she felt her ship’s agony as something tore through the hull. A hand soon appeared through the roof, slowly prying a hole in the Bioship, making their teammate cry out in pain. “He’s hurting her!”

The culprit revealed himself by tearing a hole in the roof. However, his attack was quickly stopped as Superboy lunged from his seat, decking Black Adam in the face.

Granted, they didn’t get a reprieve either as water immediately began surging through the opening. Slowly starting to flood the cockpit. “No. No way I’m nearly drowning three missions in a row!” Artemis growled pulling out two rebreathers passing the other to Wally as Robin and Mike pulled out their own.

“M’gann! We need to get out! Open a hatch!”

“Hello Megan,” Miss Martian said smacking her forehead as gills appeared along her neck. Diving down underwater they watched as she opened a port at the bottom.

“Out! Everyone out!” Aqualad ordered.

Not that they needed to be told twice.

Swimming through the murky waters, the followed Kaldur towards shore. Upon reaching the edge, they darted into the brush, looking back to watch more vines crawl up the Bioship, pulling it under the surface. “She’s in shock,” M’gann whispered painfully, “she’ll need time to recover.”

Before any of them could respond to reassure her, all of them cried out as a sharp pain split through their skulls, causing them to collapse to the ground, clutching their heads. Gritting his teeth, KF managed to push himself to his elbows, glaring up at the figure stepping out of the undergrowth. “Vertigo.”

“That’s Count Vertigo to you, peasant.”

“Pfft, peasant?” Mike scoffed, rolling onto his stomach to glare at the Duke of Puke. He knew his type. Bastard probably would’ve been besties with his dear old dad. People like them were very protective of their fragile egos. Guys like them never would let someone tarnish their image. Not without consequences. That was how it had always been back when he lived with William.

Which meant, he knew exactly how to get under the Barf Baron’s skin. If he pissed him off enough, the guy was going to slip up.

And, if there was one thing Mike was good at, it was pissing people off.

“Look, I understand your inbred brain can’t keep up with the times, but seriously?” he sneered, “That’s your worst insult? Man, no wonder no one wants you in line for a throne. I mean, look at you, you’re so pathetic you need other people to do your dirty work for you. A real man would handle his own fights. Or are you too much of a bitch?”

“What did you say peasant?!”

“Rem, what are you doing?”

“Shut up, I have a plan.”

The villain stomped towards him, a scowl smeared across his face. He looked pissed. Good.

Taking a breath, Mike pushed himself up more. He’d been in worse pain than this. But Viceroy Vomit didn’t know that. Right now, Mike was using his best acting skills to make it seem like he was truly struggling to push himself up. “You heard me, bitch. Or do I need to figure how to speak stupid so your pea-brain can possibly comprehend—I’m sorry, I meant understand what I’m saying? Or…is even that too much for you? You don’t strike me as the sharpest tool in the shed.”

Count Vertigo loomed over him, face burning bright tomato red. A few veins visibly popping out from his forehead and neck. “You dare speak to me that way you peasant mongrel bastard—” the Count’s train of insults was abruptly cut off as Mike leapt up, headbutting him with an audible crack. The man stumbled back, gripping his nose as blood spurted from between his fingers, all concentration on attacking them lost.

Superboy was the first to shoot to his feet, moving to lunge at Vertigo. Black Adam blocked his path, throwing a powerful punch that slammed the clone into a tree. Using the distraction to his advantage, Aqualad stood up, sending a torrent of water to blast the two villains back.

“Robin, Miss Martian, disappear. We will keep them busy. You two fulfill the mission objective.”

Without a word, their teammates vanished into the brush just as Adam reoriented himself. With a snarl, the man leapt at Aqualad, punching the Atlantean in the face. Wolf leapt on his back, digging his teeth into Black Adam’s shoulder. Or at least trying to before the poor canine was hurled off.

Ok, so clearly between their two opponents, tall, dark, and angry was the problem. Ducking behind a tree, Mike pulled out one of his experimental weapons, “Artemis, KF, you two think you can handle Prince Puke?”

Wally gave a large smirk, pulling down his goggles, “I don’t think Baron Barf will be much of a problem.”

Mike rolled his eyes, ignoring whatever wry remark Artemis made to the speedster as the pair rushed off to handle Vertigo before he recollected himself. Honestly, he was just hoping these things worked like they were supposed to.

-.-

Judging from his headache, things did not work the way they were supposed to. Grimacing, Mike pushed himself up, finding himself trapped with the others in a glowing orange-gold cage.

“They awaken. You’re certain this cage will hold them?” Prince Puke’s annoying voice sneered.

“The cage is impenetrable,” another voice replied. Turning towards the source, he spotted Wotan using magic to fly them towards…wherever they were going. “Even the Superboy is incapable of escaping.”

Beside him, Kaldur pushed himself up, looking mildly offended at the evil sorcerer’s words. Grabbing the bars, the Atlantean glared at their captor, “You are not the only one trained in the mystic arts Wotan!” His tattoos began to glow and sparks covered his teammate’s frame as he pulled on the magical cage, its bars bending slightly before Kaldur slumped in defeat, thin trails of smoke billowing off his shoulders as Wotan laughed.

“Please, Atlantean. Do not pretend you’re in my league.”

Mike glanced between Kaldur, their captor, and the bars. If Kaldur and the others could keep Wotan distracted, Mike bet he could probably squeeze through the bars. He’d had to shimmy though vents tighter than that before. Of course, he wouldn’t get far if he didn’t know who all he was up against.

Ok, so first part was making sure Wotan wasn’t paying attention. The evil wizard was rather significant threat and would undoubtedly be the one who’d stop him the second he noticed him trying anything.

Next would be to do something before Black Adam turned around to notice. He had completely and utterly kicked their asses earlier. Superboy’s punches didn’t work, Aqualad’s attacks didn’t work, Mike’s explosives and other weapons didn’t work—honestly nothing short of a missile to the face would bring him down. So the moment he turned around things were not going to be fun.

Which, left Vertigo directly above them. Honestly, dude wasn’t much of a problem. He could be the distraction.

Mike was not above hurling a man off a flying platform into another person to let them fall a few hundred feet into a swamp.

Which wouldn’t be hard considering the dumbasses didn’t take his belt. He wouldn’t even have to find a way to escape the cage. The idiots didn’t even bother to disarm him. They took Kaldur’s waterbearers and Artemis’s bow, but they didn’t even think to grab his belt. Save for his tools, he still had every single one of his weapons.

Scooching back to sit beside Wolf, Mike bit his lip, glancing up towards Wotan. Thankfully, the villain didn’t seem to be paying attention to them, more focused on flying. Mike could feel his team’s eyes on him, looking slightly surprised as he began to wedge himself between the bars.

“Rem…what the hell—” KF’s whispered question was cut off as Artemis slapped a hand over his mouth, glancing towards the bad guys.

Seeing that the bad guys hadn’t noticed their antics, Artemis slowly took her hand off the speedster’s mouth, scooching back to follow Mike’s lead in slipping through the bars.

The wind whipped at their hair as they gripped the bars of the cage. Pulling themselves up, Mike and Artemis crouched behind Vertigo, his cape almost smacking them in the face. Smirking to himself, Mike grabbed the cape and yanked on it as hard as he could.

Count Vertigo gave a choked yelp, garnering the attention of his allies as the man was yanked off his feet and hurled off the cage towards the marsh below. Clearly alarmed, Black Adam shot towards his falling comrade, allowing Mike to hurl one of his explosives at Wotan. The explosion knocked the sorcerer away from them, ending the spell as he lost his concentration.

Unfortunately, that also meant that they no longer had something supporting them.

At least the swampy water and mud broke their fall.

The brown sludge stained their clothes as they got to their feet, looking around them as they watched the forms of Ultra Humanite and Poison Ivy step towards them. Artemis and Kaldur reached for their weapons as Conner muttered something about monkeys, lunging towards Humanite with Wolf in tow.

“Ugh, I feel naked,” Artemis scoffed as she remembered she’d been disarmed. “And not in a fun way.”

Mike almost balked at her comment as he turned with Wally to watch Vertigo and Black Adam land a few yards away. Yeah…he was just going to ignore that right now.

As KF charged forwards, Mike split off, running to the side as Artemis and Kaldur dealt with Ivy behind them. Already he could see the speedster slowly down as he was no doubt under attack by Duke Puke. Pulling out a few of his shuriken, Mike circled around their opponents, hurling the projectiles at them. Black Adam didn’t seem to notice the weapons as they bounced off his frame. Count Vertigo on the other hand, gave a startled cry of pain, barely able to react before electricity covered his frame, breaking his concentration.

Though it wasn’t soon enough, as before Kid could begin to recover Adam stepped forwards, backhanding his friend away. There was an audible crack as the fist collided with the speedster’s face. Though it was quickly overshadowed by the sickeningly familiar crunch of bones shattering as the speedster’s body hit a tree.

For a moment, Mike almost thought he saw a striped t-shirt as the speedster’s limp form fell to the ground. But he didn’t imagine the amused chuckle that came from the form in front of him.

Vision tinted red, Mike charged forwards, not even bothering to care as he stepped on the unconscious Vertigo to vault himself up and tackle Adam. Wrapping his legs around the man’s stupidly thick neck, Mike used his momentum to slam his opponent to the ground. Black Adam grunted at the impact, mud splashing around them as the bad guy began to fight to get him off. Especially once he learned Remnant was not above fighting dirty.

Jamming his thumbs in Black Adam’s eyes, Mike rolled off the villain, grabbing his arm and hurling him into Humanite as they tossed Wolf off of them and into Conner.

An explosion shook the air, and Mike and the others covered their heads as plant matter and glass reigned down around them, the dark air glowing orange with fire as the remains of the control plant were consumed in flames.

But they didn’t have time to revel in their victory right now. Not while most of their enemies were still standing.

Mike grunted as Ultra Humanite rammed into him. Falling back, Mike kicked off the ground, diving his hands into the mud as he swung his feet overhead, catching himself in time to roll out of the way of one of the ape’s punches. Now at their exposed backside, Mike leapt forwards, throwing his own punch as the smell of burned fur and flesh permeated the air, smoke rising from the ape’s side as they were punched back through a tree.

“ENOUGH!”

Turning towards the voice, Mike didn’t have any time to brace himself as a bolt of electricity hit his chest, knocking him on his back. Pain shot through his chest, radiating from his old scars as the lightning hit the sensitive tissue. His muscles spasmed involuntarily at the stimuli, lighting his nerves on fire as it radiated through his torso. Distantly, he was aware that he wasn’t the only one screaming.

The lightning ended as abruptly as it came, allowing him to gasp in relief. His muscles and body still ached, but already the pain was beginning to fade away as his body was either healing in overdrive or he just tuned it out. He didn’t particularly care to find out which right now. No, right now he was more distracted by the golden helmet in Kaldur’s hands.

“NO, AQUALAD! DON’T!” Wally shouted from across the clearing, his green eyes wide with horror as he cradled his injured arm to his chest.

A gold flash illuminated the clearing, forcing the others to look away for a brief moment. Once it was gone, they looked back to see the golden form of Dr. Fate flying into the air to engage the other sorcerer.

“Wotan. You are mine.”

This wasn’t his fight. He needed to focus. Turning back to Ultra Humanite, Mike raised his fists as the ape charged towards him. However, they didn’t get far before their rampage was interrupted by Wolf leaping onto their back, teeth digging into the ape’s shoulder. Humanite roared in a mix of pain and rage, turning swiftly in an attempt to dislodge the canine. However, during this attempt, they forgot about the protégé they’d been fighting. Seizing the opportunity, Mike leapt forwards, throwing another punch at the gorilla’s face, knocking them to the ground as Wotan slammed into the marsh, splashing mud and water into the air.

Mike raised his fists again, whisps of smoke coming off his knuckles as he watched Humanite push themselves back to their feet. However, instead of looking at him, the gorilla’s face was looking up as they backed up. It was then he noticed that the other villains had joined Humanite and Wotan.

Following their gaze, he couldn’t help but let his shoulders slump in relief as he spotted the League landing around them.

“It’s over,” Batman said, stepping off the platform one of the Green Lanterns had made.

All eyes fell to the Injustice League. The group glanced between themselves for a moment, likely weighing the pros and cons of continuing the fight. Ultimately, they decided to surrender, raising their hands in submission.

Vertigo coughed, blood still dripping down his nose, mixing with the mud covering half his face, “There will be another day.”

“Another day?” Joker scoffed. “Another day?! There won’t be another day! Not for any of us!” A wicked grin split the clown’s face as he raised his hands, lines on his gloves glowing as he wiggled his fingers with a cackle. Underfoot, the ground trembled as more vines emerged from the swamp. Small red pustules dotted their surface, swelling rapidly before they ultimately burst, releasing a cloud of gas into the air.

“Joker Venom spores! Don’t breathe!” Batman ordered, lunging across the clearing to handle Joker.

Mike doubted he or anyone else needed to be told twice. Everyone knew what would happen if they even inhaled a smidge of that gas.

“FEAR NOT!” Fate exclaimed, flying above the cloud. A glowing ankh appeared before him and it pulled the gas towards it. The swirling clouds steadily dissipating as they disappeared inside the symbol, leaving them with thankfully clean swamp air. “FATE HAS INTERVEINED!”

-.-

Mike crossed his arms as he waited with the rest of the Team. The bad guys were currently en route to Belle Reve, Arkham, or wherever else they were supposed to go, each being escorted by several members of the League. Leaving them with just a few adults and Fate. The latter of whom was currently the target of Kid Flash’s wrath.

“WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!” the speedster screamed, glaring at the golden-clad hero. “Nabu will never release him now. Kaldur will be trapped inside Dr. Fate forever.”

All eyes turned to Fate, who remained motionless for a few moments. However, to all of their surprise, he raised his hands to the helmet, a golden light flashing as it was removed.

Wally didn’t waste any time to rush over to Kaldur, “Nabu let you go?”

“He almost did not,” the Atlantean replied tiredly. “But your friend Kent was most helpful. He says hello.”

“I guess we’d say hi back, but…” Mike trailed off looking at the helmet, “I dunno if he can hear us in there.”

Wally shrugged. “Maybe he can? I don’t really know how it works without a host.”

“What’s it like in the helmet?” Artemis inquired.

“It’s like…it’s like a black void with one spotlight on the helmet representing Nabu’s…consciousness, I guess,” Wally shrugged.

“Oh…so how do you see out of it.”

“Uh…” the speedster trailed off, sharing a look with Kaldur. Getting a shrug in return, the redhead sighed, “honestly, I have no clue.”

The others looked at each other and shrugged. Magic may’ve been real, but that didn’t mean either had the patience to try to understand it.

“We’re done here,” Batman said, interrupting the conversation between the teens. “The super-villain secret society has been neutralized. As for your performance…It was satisfactory.”

The wincing teens balked, quickly glancing between themselves to make sure they just heard right. They had been expecting one of Batman’s infamous lectures about what they did wrong. A complement…they were not prepared for that.

“Did…did Bats just complement us?” Artemis whispered.

“I think so.”

“Enjoy it while it lasts, I don’t think it’s ever going to happen again.”

Taking that as their que to leave, they began turning to walk back towards the Bioship so they could go home and rest. At least that was Mike’s plan before a hand rested on his shoulder. “Remnant,” Kaldur spoke. “Fate also told me to give you a message.”

Reluctantly, Mike turned around, crossing his arms skeptically. “Me?”

Aqualad nodded, shifting from foot-to-foot. “I must admit, it was a rather…strange request.”

Mike shrugged, “Hey, my life’s been nothing but strange. Shoot.”

“Yes, Nabu told me that the Old Man said to tell you to: keep an eye on the shadows as there are traps waiting to be sprung into the light,” Kaldur relayed. “Do you know what this means?”

Mike shook his head. “I wish,” he sighed, running a hand through his hair, “I—I don’t even remember meeting this Old Man guy. I don’t know why he’s sending me messages.”

Kaldur nodded, noticing his teammate’s exasperation. “Yes…there was another message as well…”

“Lemme guess? Just as cryptic as the last one?”

“…Not exactly.”

Mike looked back to his team leader, watching as he seemed more uncertain than before. “What is it?”

“He also told me, to tell you—and I’m quoting here---to get your stubborn head out of your ass and ask for help for once in your life.”

Mike may not know who the hell this Old Man guy was. But the dude was seriously starting to get on his nerves.

Chapter Text

A/N: hey guys, welcome back! Thanks for the reviews for last chapter, I’m glad to see y’all’re enjoying the story. Anyways, remember, I don’t own any of the characters, just the story.

So, just so y’all know, this chapter is a bit short. But I still hope y’all enjoy it.

/comms/

Telepathy/Flashbacks/whatever else I need

Gotham, October 7, 16:34EDT

Thunder rolled over the sky as Mike strode up the hill, ignoring the autumn chill bleeding through his school uniform. He probably should’ve brought an actual jacket, but he couldn’t really bring himself to care. Not today.

Taking a deep breath, he stepped up to the arching black gates of Gotham cemetery. Its metal hinges screeching, the sound echoing over the graveyard as he slowly opened the gate.

Gravel and fallen leaves crunched underfoot as he walked between the ornate headstones. His gaze flickering over names until it landed on three graves placed under the shade of a large tree. Guilt pooled in his chest as he knelt by the headstones, doing his best to wipe away years of neglect with his sleeve.

“I’m sorry it took me so long to visit,” he whispered, tracing his thumb across the engraved names as he pulled a vine away. “I’ve been…busy.”

It sounded like a pathetic excuse to his own ears. He’d had plenty of time to come visit. It shouldn’t have taken this long for him to visit his family.

He was just a coward.

Pulling out the dead flowers, he set them aside, replacing them with new, fresh flowers. “So…uh, hi. It’s been a while. I’m living with Uncle Henry now. He’s been nice. Way better than Father, but…it’s not like that bar was very high…” he trailed off, “…I—I know what Dad did. I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry. I wish I had known sooner. I could’ve been able to do something. Stop him…maybe if I had, none of this would happen. Maybe…maybe you guys would still be here…”

A cool breeze rushed past, forcing Mike to brush some of his hair out of his eyes. Looking up, he could see the dark clouds passing overhead, the occasional roll of thunder echoing around them. The new flowers probably wouldn’t last long. But, it was all the more reason to visit more frequently.

“I’m going to fix this; what Dad’s done,” he said, looking at the graves of his mother and sister. “I’m going to get you the justice you deserve. Don’t worry about me. You should be able to rest in peace…”

Pulling his bag off his shoulder, Mike rummaged through his bag. Eventually, his fingers brushed cool metal. The fabric rustled as he pulled out a metal bear, one that looked just like the Fredbear plush his brother had loved so much. It had taken a while to make between school and his extracurricular activities. But he was just relieved he’d gotten it done in time.

Eyes burning, he sat down in front of the newest of the three graves. “Hey Ev, Happy Birthday…I-I made this for you. You probably miss your bear, so…” he trailed off, eyes burning. Blinking away the stinging pain, he reached out, carefully setting the bear against the grave. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I was a terrible brother. You didn’t deserve what I did. You deserved so much better than me, Ev…I know I don’t deserve your forgiveness, and I don’t blame you if you choose to hate me forever. I deserve it. You should be here instead of me. I should be the one under that headstone I’m so sorry, Ev. I’m so sorry I was so awful to you, that I wasn’t a better brother. If I could, I would change places with you in a heartbeat.”

Wiping his eyes, Mike ignored the chill of cold air on his cheeks. Thunder rolled over him again as the first few drops of icy rain began to splatter against the ground.

“I’m going to fix this,” he whispered.

Rising to his feet, he picked up his bag, patting his brother’s grave. “Happy birthday, Evie. I love you.”

-.-

17:45EDT

Mike was drenched by the time he got home. Water dripped from his hair and clothes onto the entryway rug.

“Michael!”

Looking up, Mike watched as his uncle trotted down the stairs, his eyes wide as he took in the teen’s soaked form.

“Jesus Christ,” Henry said, coming over, herding him towards the stairs.

Mike shrugged, following his uncle’s lead, letting his suit-jacket be discarded into the bin as a set of pajamas was tossed into his arms. All but being shoved into the bathroom, Mike changed out of his wet clothes, eagerly slipping on the pjs. Outside the door, he could make out, Henry voice, he didn’t exactly care enough to figure out what exactly was being said.

Stepping out, wet clothes in hand, Mike was surprised to find himself alone.

Good. He didn’t deserve comfort anyways. Not after what he did to Evan. He sat down on the bed, not bothering to try to dry his hair as he wrapped his arms around his knees.

Though he wasn’t alone for long as Uncle Henry returned. He must’ve zoned out because Mike only became aware of his return as he felt a blanket being draped over his shoulders, followed by the warm mug being placed in his hands. “Hey kiddo,” he greeted gently, “bad day?”

Mike shrugged, keeping quiet as he watched the rain patter against the glass.

Arms wrapped around him, and the teen felt himself be pulled into a hug. “It’s ok kiddo, I miss him too.”

At those words, the damn broke. The sound of anguished sobs barely audible over the rain pelting the window. Mike set the mug aside, clutching to Henry as the man held him, running his hand through the teen’s hair as he sobbed.

Evan would’ve been twelve today. His baby brother had never gotten the chance to celebrate almost being a teen because Michael had been a terrible person. He was a monster. He didn’t deserve to survive when his sweet, kind baby brother had died terrified and in unimaginable agony. Why did he live? Why was he alive when his family wasn’t? They were innocent. They didn’t deserve what happened to them. They didn’t deserve to die. How come he survived when they didn’t?

Granted, he already knew the answer to that. Something inside him was…wrong, broken even, because of whatever experiments William had done on him.

But still, that didn’t mean that his brother’s blood wasn’t on his hands.

“Is everything else ok, Kiddo?” Henry spoke up, rubbing circles into his back.

Mike pulled the blanket tighter around himself as he slowly glanced up to meet his godfather’s gaze. Henry looked concerned, brows furrowed as his warm eyes met his.

Swallowing a lump in his throat, Mike reached for his bag, pulling out the journal. Its bindings felt slightly damp, but there didn’t appear to be any damage to the pages. Without a word, Mike all but shoved the book into Henry’s hands, quickly wrapping his arms around his knees and hiding his face as he waited for the man’s reaction with bated breath.

Henry was silent, the only sound coming from him being the occasional sharp inhale alongside the turning of a page.

“Michael…what is this?”

Pulling his head up, Mike didn’t meet his uncle’s gaze. “It’s…I found it. When you were out of town. I…I just—I was hoping I could find something that could help find him. I found that, alongside some other stuff, hidden in our rooms.” Finishing his explanation, Mike tightened his grip on his knees. He didn’t know what the man’s reaction was, but it undoubtedly wasn’t good. He had gone behind Henry’s back. Had gone directly against his orders. Whatever punishment he was going to get, he didn’t doubt it wasn’t going to hurt.

The teen did his best to not flinch as he heard the man’s deep sigh. “Mike, kiddo, look at me.”

Following orders, Mike did his best to keep his eyes averted as he turned to face his guardian, only glancing up enough to keep from pissing Henry off more.

“Hey,” Henry spoke, his voice noticeably softer than it was before. Reaching out, Mike barely restrained from flinching as the man reached out, gently cupping his cheek. “Hey kiddo, what do you think is going to happen?”

Mike pulled the blanket tighter, responding with a shrug. He wasn’t sure how to respond. Whenever his father asked such a question it was either rhetorical or any answer he gave was wrong. So sometimes it was better to not reply at all—though sometimes that only pissed off William more.

Henry’s shoulders slumped. “Kiddo, listen,” he started, slowly setting a hand on his shoulder, “yes, I’m disappointed by the fact you went behind my back, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to hurt you.” The man pulled his hand back, “In fact, I’m more furious at myself.”

Mike looked up at that.

Henry nodded, “I’m the one who asked for you to be kept out. I should’ve known you were going to keep searching for answers anyways,” a soft chuckle escaped him, “you’re just as stubborn as your mother.” Slowly, the soft smile faded from Henry’s face. “So…is this why you’ve been having the nightmares lightly?”

The teen shrugged, “Partly, I think I’ve just always had those since well…you know.”

His uncle nodded. “I’m sorry you’ve been dealing with it all alone, kiddo. I bet you didn’t tell me or Ms. Canary cause you thought we’d just cut you out again, huh?”

Well, he wasn’t wrong. “Yeah.”

Arms wrapped around his shoulders, and Mike found himself nearly crushed against the burly man’s chest. “I’m sorry I made you feel that way kiddo. I wasn’t trying to hurt you.”

Mike leaned into the man’s hold. “I know.”

“Still doesn’t change the fact I made you distrust me. I’m sorry about that kiddo,” Henry apologized. “I’ll talk about letting you back on with Canary and Batman tomorrow.”

“So…you’re not going to give them evidence?”

“Not tonight. I think they can wait for it a bit longer,” Henry replied. Mike felt an arm leave from his side, sliding under his legs, causing a yelp to escape him as Henry scooped him up with shocking ease. “Right now, I think someone needs a funny family movie and cuddles.”

Mike normally would’ve tried to protest, saying that he wasn’t a child or something along those lines. But tonight, going along with Henry’s idea sounded nice.

-.-

Batcave, October 8, 10:34EDT

Bruce was grateful that he wasn’t needed at the office today. Because he wasn’t sure he would be able to pay attention to work given the new evidence Mr. Emily had handed him. Apparently, Michael had been holding onto it for some time, trying to investigate William Afton’s whereabouts on his own.

Frankly he should have seen it coming. Both Bruce himself and Dick had been the same way when they weren’t being told about what was going on in the investigations regarding their parents’ murders.

The only difference in Michael’s case was that they knew who the perpetrator was. They just didn’t know where he was.

It was a fact that was driving Batman mad. This madman had been running around under his nose for years. He had looked into those missing children’s cases. All the evidence pointed to Jackson Hawthorne as the kidnapper and murderer. William Afton had pinned the murders of several of his victims on an innocent employee and had made Batman and the GCPD believe it.

The close call even seemed to spur him on. Afton just got smarter about his kills, almost all of his victims after the first group had been runaways, homeless, orphans, children that no one had even noticed were missing. There had even been a few adults in the mix as well, including his own wife.

Each successive entry was just as horrifying as the last. Afton didn’t even see his victims as human. He treated his own sons as guinea pigs for his twisted experiments. All of this tragedy just for the theory that he had somehow managed find a way to harvest souls in a way to extend life.

A theory Bruce might have found as absurd had it not been for Michael.

According to the journal, William had been experimenting on his son with the substance ever since he was eight. It certainly explained a few things, but those were just theories right now. But, unlike William, Bruce was willing to let them remain theories. He wasn’t about to experiment on a human subject, he had the resources to conduct more ethical experiments in his own lab. He certainly wouldn’t think of experimenting on a traumatized boy.

Which was why Batman found it so frustrating that the man seemed to disappear into thin air. Especially when he’d come so close when Mike had been in the hospital. When William had disguised himself as a security guard and snuck into the kid’s room. Had he gotten there a little faster, he might’ve been able to capture the serial murderer before he disappeared into the shadows again.

The rate of kills Batman had estimated suggested Afton couldn’t hold himself back for long. There should’ve been some trail to follow, bodies, money, something. Someone as recognizable as William Afton could not just disappear off the face of the earth.

And yet it seemed like he had.

Clenching his jaw, Batman turned the journal page, expecting to find a new set of names and crimes to add to the current charges being accumulated against the murderer. Instead, he frowned as he found yet another messily scrawled entry. The writing wasn’t as frantic has it had been during the last couple of entries like this. When he wrote this, William was certainly frustrated, but he wasn’t enraged as he had been in the other entries.

             Something is wrong. I don’t understand why though. Everything had gone exactly better than I could have ever envisioned. At long last, Michael had finally made his first kill. It was sloppy, more exposed to witnesses than my own first kill had been. But he is new, mistakes happen. I suppose I should’ve seen this coming. Michael was going through another aggressive phase because of the recent treatment escalation. I should’ve been there to corral him for the time being, at least until I could’ve found him more suitable prey.
             It’s a pity. The Illusion Disc experiment was going well too. At least I still managed to collect some useful data. And I just started his remnant treatment too. So that was a waste.
             But still, Michael had made his first kill. He should be more excited. I had been. I couldn’t wait to feel that rush again.
             Instead, he has lost all progress he’s made. He isn’t eating, he’s sobbing like Evan always had—thank God I won’t have to listen to that anymore—he hasn’t left his room since the plug was pulled, and he’s even fallen behind on his remnant regimen because he’s not sleeping. Michael seems to have become just as weak and pathetic as he had been when I started treating him.
            All that work down the drain. What went wrong? I did everything perfectly! I trained him to be strong. I molded him to be a man. Not a weak sniveling child. I showed him how to enjoy the thrill of the hunt. Taught him to kill. He had enjoyed it when we killed those elk on our hunting trips. He had no problem when I taught him how to gut a fish. People say that the first human kill is the hardest, but seriously, it’s just like killing anything else. He enjoyed it then. Why not now?
             I know Michael had been a stupidly sensitive child, but the remnant should’ve taken care of that. He should be fixed. So why is it he seems more broken?
           Perhaps I have been too lenient in disciplining him. Michael does need a strong hand to guide him. I’ll need to redouble my efforts. And I’ll have to increase the doses, that should crush whatever old weaknesses are trying to reappear. Going hunting more often should also help get him used to killing again. At least until I can work him up to human kills again.

Bruce’s stomach sank as he reread the entry and looked back on previous entries paying more attention to the wording. With each treatment of this remnant, the man seemed to go for whichever results provided not life-extending properties but that provided the most aggression. Every time Michael’s aggression would wane, William would increase the dose, starting the cycle again. He would take the kid hunting and fishing, observing how the boy reacted to death. Whenever Mike seemed unsure, Afton would force him to help him clean the carcass. To get him used to being around death, to get used to killing.

William hadn’t just been abusing and experimenting on his eldest child, but he had been actively grooming him to become a serial killer.

Chapter Text

A/N: hey everyone! Welcome back! Glad to see y’all enjoyed the last chapter and thanks for the reviews and even fanart! OMG never in a million years did I think any story of mine was going to have fanart, so thank you so much, I'm glad y'all like the story enough to put time and effort into something like that. Anways, remember, I sadly do not own FNAF or YJ, I’m just the person who came up with this crazy crossover idea.

/comms/

Telepathy/flashbacks/journal entries

Mt. Justice, October 10, 16:58EDT

“Good work everyone,” Canary praised, stepping into the middle of the training ring. At her words, the teens ended their spars, turning to look at their trainer. “In fact it’s been a very productive week.”

“Yeah, for everyone except Kid Malingerer,” Artemis snickered, putting her hands on her hips as all eyes turned to the speedster chilling in the lounge chair on the sidelines.

“Hey!” Wally protested, “arm broken in combat against the Injustice League here, remember?”

Mike crossed his arms, raising a brow, “I’ve gotten injured on missions before too. You haven’t seen me begging people to wait on me hand a foot.”

“Dude! You heal in ten minutes, so not the same thing!”

Opening his mouth to reply, Mike was cut off as his mentor chuckled behind him. Glancing back, he could see the blonde shaking her head, a small smile on her face. “I’ve really enjoyed being your, uh, den mother this week,” she started.

However, whatever else she was about to say was cut off as the Zeta-Beam powered up. “Recognized: Zatara—11.” All heads turned towards the portal as the magician stepped through. Without so much as a greeting, he stepped to the side, typing on the controls. “Access granted: Zatanna Zatara—A03. Authorization: Zatara—11.”

The portal powered up again, allowing a black-haired girl to step through. “Zatanna, this is the team,” Zatara introduced. “Team, my daughter, Zatanna.”

M’gann smiled, flying forwards to greet the newcomer. “Hi. I’m—”

“Robin!” the Boy Wonder introduced himself, interrupting his teammate. “Uh, I mean,” he coughed, “I’m Robin. She’s M’gann, uh, and that’s Wally, Artemis, Kaldur, Mike, and Conner.”

“Welcome to the Cave.”

“Uh, thanks,” the girl smiled.

“So, uh, you-you—are you joining the team?” Robin sputtered, rubbing the back of his head.

Mike grinned, putting his hands on his hips. “Oh, someone has a crush,” he sang teasingly. It wasn’t loud, but it was loud enough to garner chuckles from his friends as Robin turned bright red.

Zatara, oblivious to the teen antics, stepped forwards, taking off his hat. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. This is strictly a visit. Though I am sorry we missed the training,” he spoke. “It’s something from which Zatanna could benefit.”

“Do the rest of you still get the impression we’re still on probation with Zatara?” M’gann inquired.

“Not just Zatara,” Superboy agreed, “I mean, why is Marvel still hanging around?”

“Because we like having him around,” Wally replied.

Artemis smacked his arm, “You like having him around, cause he waits on you hand and foot.”

“And your point is?”

“I hate to say it, but I might agree with Wally on this,” Mike spoke up. “I don’t think we’re on probation with Cap. If anything, he just strikes me as overly friendly and childish. Dude probably doesn’t get much fun chill out time in the League.”

“True.”

“It almost makes one nostalgic for Red Tornado’s tenure as our supervisor,” Kaldur sighed.

“Yeah,” Robin agreed, “at least he trusted us.”

Mike scowled, crossing his arms. He would personally beg to differ. He’d rather deal with a rotating regime of babysitters than be under watch by a robot. “More like spied on us. Face it, that android probably just gave us a long leash in an attempt to get us to drop our guard so he could steal intel behind the League’s backs. Down here, I bet there isn’t nearly as much security as there is in the Watchtower. The moment he suspected that his cover was blown, look what happened.”

“Mike’s right,” Conner quickly agreed. “That machine nearly got all of us killed!”

“Are you guys having a psychic conversation?” a new voice interrupted, and all eyes turned to the new girl. “Cause I can’t decide if that’s cool or, uh, really rude.”

Glancing behind them, they could make out the eyes of the two Leaguers looking at them questioningly. Surprisingly, Superboy was the first to break. “Alright, fine,” he groaned, “We were talking about Tornado. It’s been weeks since his attack and the League hasn’t told us anything!”

“Yeah, not telling us things seems to be becoming a habit,” Mike muttered.

Canary gave her protégé a pointed look before she looked back to Conner, “The League is searching for Tornado as well as the other androids that invaded the Cave and their creator, T.O. Morrow.”

Mike perked up at that name. T.O. Morrow, he knew that name. It sounded familiar. His dad had probably mentioned that he’d occasionally cooperate with different robotics experts for various projects and ideas. Perhaps Morrow had been one of them.

“Batman’s made tracking them down our highest priority,” Canary finished.

“But you’ve found none of the above!” Robin argued.

“Not yet,” his mentor replied, “but Tornado is Justice League. The team is not to pursue this.”

Zatara stepped forwards, looking rather uncomfortable, “Why don’t you all take Zatanna on a, uh…a tour of the Cave?”

“You’re giving a tour?” Captain Marvel said, returning with a plate of loaded nachos. “Cool!”

“Actually,” Conner spoke up, “I was hoping you’d take Wolf outside. He needs the exercise. Uh, we’ll join you in a few.”

“Sure, sure, no problem,” the hero grinned, patting the canine’s head. “Come on Wolf!”

Wally looked rather despondent as he took off with the team’s pet. “Uh, what-what about my nachos?”

“You’ll live,” Mike replied, dragging his teammate towards the hall leading towards the living room.

“Michael,” Canary called. “I need to talk to you for a moment.”

Sighing, he released his teammate’s collar. “Go ahead, I’ll catch up.” The others gave him a few glances as they disappeared, but Mike opted to ignore them as he crossed his arms. “So…what is it?”

“I was just wanting to check in, see how you’re doing,” his mentor replied. “Batman told me about the evidence you found a few weeks ago. I’m sorry you had to go through that all by yourself.”

He shrugged, “It’s fine. I’m used to doing things on my own.”

“I understand,” she spoke, her voice sounding slightly sad, “but understand, your uncle, myself, Batman, and the rest of the League are here to help you. I know it’s hard to change old habits, and I don’t doubt your father’s and our recent actions haven’t helped. We were only trying to protect you.”

“I don’t need protection,” he growled, jerking back from his mentor’s outstretched hand. “What I need, is for Will—that bastard, to get what he deserves.”

“And what is that?”

Mike paused. That…he wasn’t sure. One part of him wanted to see that man live out his days behind the bars of Arkham or Belle Reve. Knowing that he’d been the one to put him there, to see his reputation and everything he cared about be burned to the ground. Another part of him…it wanted to see his father suffer. Suffer like all of his innocent victims before he died the exact same way Mike almost had. It wanted to make certain that that monster would never hurt another person again.

That part scared him.

“Mike?” Canary’s hand was on his shoulder, and he found himself guided towards the wall, where they sat down.

“Yeah?”

“What is it? Is everything ok?”

He shrugged. “Honestly…I don’t know…is—is it bad that I want him to suffer?”

His mentor was silent for a moment, pursing her lips as she thought of a response. “No, it’s not. In fact, wanting revenge is perfectly natural. But, the thing is we don’t want to act on those impulses. And I know it can be hard, especially after being what you’ve been through. I don’t blame you for wanting William to feel your pain. However, you need to think about it like this: would revenge help you in the long run? Sure, in the moment, it might feel good, but, later on, something like that will weigh on you. And what about the families of the other victims? I’m sure they would like to see that the man who hurt their loved ones be put behind bars.”

Mike nodded. That…that made sense. William may’ve been a monster, but, at the end of the day, he was still his father.

“Does that help?”

“Yeah, thanks,” he smiled. Pushing himself to his feet, Mike rubbed the back of his head. “I should…I should catch up with the others. Thanks again.”

“Remember, Mike, I’m always here to talk.”

Giving her another nod, he turned, jogging down the hall towards where he last saw the team going. However, he didn’t even make it halfway before he bumped into them. “Hey guys—” a hand covered his mouth, and he was whirled around, being pushed towards the hangar.

“We’re kidnapping Zatanna, we’ll explain on the way.”

What the fuck had he missed?

-.-

Canary watched as he protégé ran off to join his friends.

She was glad they’d had the chance to talk. It wasn’t as thorough of a session as she had wanted to do, but that would suffice until they had one of their one-on-one sessions. She didn’t want to keep him from his friends longer than she had to. Especially when he was finally starting to open up and relax around them.

Mike had initially been reluctant to call the team his friends. Not that she blamed him. From what he’d told her, Mike’s previous group of friends had been far from the actual meaning of the word. It seemed more like to her they were more interested in what Mike could get for them than actual friendship. They certainly hadn’t hesitated to turn on him after the accident.

She had been relieved to hear that he was starting to fall into a relatively normal routine and life. That he was starting to act like a normal, carefree teenager. Mike certainly needed stability after everything that had happened to him.

Canary had glanced over the journal entries before Bruce had all but snatched them away to start his investigation. The few entries she had read…they were horrifying. She couldn’t even imagine the hell it must’ve been for Mike and his siblings to live under that man’s roof. They probably had spent every day of their lives living in utter terror. William had controlled almost every aspect of their lives either directly or indirectly.

Based on her protégé’s x-rays, punishment for stepping out of line was brutal.

Frankly it was no wonder he was having such dark thoughts. Anyone would want revenge for suffering like he had. And, that didn’t even include the psychological trauma of realizing his own father had not only tried to kill him, but had murdered his mother, sister, countless others, and had even been using him as a lab rat since he was a child. She would be concerned if he didn’t want revenge after all of that.

But still, they were absolutely going to be having a long, long talk about all of this.

-.-

“So, we’re going after the Reds?” Mike reiterated as he sat in the Bioship, crossing his arms as he looked to the others.

“Yep.”

“And we’re kidnapping Zatara’s daughter so she doesn’t tattle?”

“To be fair, it was her idea.”

Mike sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. This was going to end one of two ways: very good or very bad. Either way, afterwards, Canary and Zatara—probably the rest of the League too—were going to ground their asses for a month after this stunt.

/M’gann,/ Canary’s voice rang out in the cockpit, /the Bioship wasn’t authorized for departure/

“We’re kidnapping Zatanna!” the Martian girl eagerly replied, earning a few facepalms from her teammates. “To, uh, show her Happy Harbor. Be back soon!”

/Uh…alright then. Have fun/

The link closed and Mike couldn’t help but lean back in his seat in shock. They actually bought that? Black Canary actually bought that. Holy fuck, if they got caught they were going to get their asses whooped.

“So where are we going?” Robin spoke up. “Batman’s the world’s greatest detective and he’s searched for the Reds and Morrow in every logical location. If we’re gonna do better, we need an illogical solution. A-a truly dumb idea.”

Almost all eyes turned to a certain redhead eating a candy bar. Wally blinked a few times, looking to the others with a mix of disdain and betrayal. With an audible sigh, the speedster set down his snack, “As a matter of fact, I do have an idea.”

Mike tuned out the rest of the conversation, choosing to lean back and look out the window. He felt slightly disheartened by Robin’s statement. Yeah, Batman was the world’s greatest detective, and even he hadn’t been able to find his father when the man had been living in his own city. How were they supposed to do it now that William seemed like he was five steps ahead of them?

Running a hand through his hair, he gazed up at the ceiling, hoping a new idea would spring from it. The others were on the right track, checking places no one would think to look; but Mike had no clue as to where to even start. His best guess was somewhere in the woods. His father had always been fond of their camping trips. But, there were millions of acres in the U.S. alone. And, what if William went somewhere he didn’t like? Hid out in some secret bunker in the desert? He could’ve even changed his name and face several times over by now. His father had more than enough money to do so considering when Mike had finally hacked into the accounts to pay bills back when he’d first been ditched all the accounts had been drained. Accounts that were worth millions. For all he knew, his dad was laughing his ass living the high life in Cuba or somewhere similar where the police could be bought. Free from the League’s reach and free to murder indiscriminately at his leisure.

Maybe he’d have to pester Batman for another look at the journal. Or even ask about that one book he found and never bothered to look at. Maybe there was something in them that had a clue as to where his hiding place would be. It’d be better than sitting around on his ass and just wait for the man to strike again.

-.-

Batcave, 17:22EDT

To say Bruce was frustrated was an understatement.

He’d been meticulously combing over the books left by William Afton, trying to find a clue as to the serial killer’s potential whereabouts. But so far, all he had found was victim names, the dates of their murders, and all the horrific experiments and rituals the man had done to those he had tortured.

What he had been able to determine was that the man’s range had been much, much wider than initial estimates had predicted. Afton didn’t appear to favor any particular area. He’d had victims in the Midwest, in the mountain areas, and along the West Coast. However, based on the journal entries, his methods appeared to differ based on region or circumstance. Which was why they never connected any of the cases had never been connected to him before now. Bruce was even willing to bet that Afton had a few aliases he went by as well, to further cover his tracks.

It was infuriating.

There weren’t many people Batman would consider to be as paranoid as himself. And yet, Afton appeared to be just that. The man had covered his tracks so methodically, no one had even glanced once in his direction when something happened in his vicinity. Not even the murders of his own wife and daughter. He always had the perfect alibi, the perfect excuse, the perfect act prepared to throw investigators off the scent.

The worst of it was, most serial killers had a specific type. Afton…he just seemed to go with whatever worked. He didn’t have a type. Yes, most of his victims were below the age of twelve. But he still killed teens and adults whenever it suited him. He didn’t even stick to a socioeconomic background until after the successive disappearances in Gotham. It was only after he framed his employee for murder that he began attacking those who were less likely to be reported missing.

If they were reported missing to begin with. Some of the names he’d found had been initially reported as runaways. Some hadn’t been reported missing at all.

Looking at the map on his monitor, he added a few new cases to the map, hoping to see if a pattern came up. There were areas the madman appeared to hunt more regularly, most along the East Coast, Gotham being one of them. However, there was one outlier. A city known as Hurricane, Utah.

Based on the various entries regarding the experiments he did on transients and runaways, it seemed to be an area William visited often. Furthermore, when he looked into it, Bruce found that William actually inherited some land in the area from a distant relative. A junkyard about over two hours outside the town limits on the edge of a national park.

Perfect area to dispose of a few bodies. Or, more importantly, the perfect area for a serial killer to hide out.

Either way, it merited looking into.

-.-

Belle Reve, 18:35CDT

“Warden Strange owed us a favor for stopping last month’s prison break,” M’gann said, slamming her palms on the metal desk, “He’s given us five minutes alone with you.”

“Spill Ivo!” Superboy snarled. “How do we find T.O. Morrow and his Reds?”

A lanky man with greying ginger hair leaned back in his leaned back in his seat, “Now, why in the world would I know how to find Morrow?”

“Because, and here’s a truly dumb idea,” Kid Flash started. “You’re Morrow’s biggest competition. Who better to know what he’s up to, and where?”

“Ah. I see your point. Let me rephrase: Why in the world would I help you find Morrow?”

“Because,” Mike started, crossing his arms, “Ivo, currently, you hold the title as the robotic genius who built an android that was able to not only stand toe-to-toe with the Justice League. But also used integrated self-cloning nanorobotics with adaptive programming that almost instantaneously adapted the underlying circuitry of the endoskeleton, making it able to almost flawlessly mimic their powers on the fly.” He stepped closer to the table, “Morrow, right now, I would bet good money he’s using the memory files stored in the Reds’ processors to learn every weakness about the League and construct a newer model that would be able defeat them. And even if the League does beat it, it’s probably going to take several hours longer for them to beat. Taking your title as the most fearsome robotics expert in the world, as his was more dangerous and able to last longer against the League than yours.”

Ivo paused, tilting his head curiously at Mike with a wry smile. “You know your robotics, young man. It’s not every day I get to have an intellectual conversation. Tell me, what’s your name?”

“He knows,” Aqualad said, stepping forwards as the man tried to distract them. Looking to Miss M, he gave a nod. “Do what you must?”

The mad scientist chuckled, looking to the Martian girl challengingly. “Please, as if I’ve never faced a telepath before.”

“Trulb tuo S’worrom eurt noitacol!” Zatanna snapped, glaring at Ivo.

“Morrow’s in a secret underground base beneath Yellowstone National Park one-hundred meters south of Old Faithful,” finishing the statement, Ivo covered his mouth. His eyes were wide in shock as he looked around the room. “Wait…what—what just happened?”

“That was awesome.”

-.-

Yellowstone National Park, 20:22MDT

“Blackout all communication,” Aqualad ordered. “Soon Canary and Zatara, Batman too I imagine, will know of our visit with Professor Ivo. We haven’t much time.”

Robin broke the following silence with a small chuckle as he waved to get Zatanna’s attention, “Look, I’m trying to be all nonchalant here—”

“Why? Be as chalant as you like,” she replied.

Mike rolled his eyes, muttering under his breath, “Kill me now.”

“I think we’re all just trying to get a handle on your powers,” Artemis spoke up. “Could you teleport us to Tornado? Or Morrow to a cell? Or force his bots to surrender?”

“Or create peace on Earth for all time?” Zatanna added. “Zatara couldn’t even do all that, and I’m nowhere near my dad’s level. I need to know a spell cold, or else have time to prep it. Plus, all magic requires energy, which usually has to come from within. I just can’t make the impossible happen at will.”

“Pity.”

“What’s our ETA to Yellowstone?!” Superboy snapped. “I am way past ready to stuff Tornado into a trash compactor.”

“Are you so certain he betrayed us?” Kaldur inquired.

“Aren’t you?!”

“I am not convinced.”

“Well I am,” Mike argued, typing quickly as he pulled up the schematics and code the League files had on Red Tornado. “You have to remember, Tornado is ultimately a product produced by a supervillain. His code probably has hidden directives: gathering data on League movements, locations, weaknesses, identities, loved ones, everything a bad guy would need to bring the League to its knees. My best bet, is that RT was a sleeper agent or trojan horse. Feeding intel to the big bosses who in turn gave orders to small time villains, this way when something the Injustice League felt was being almost discovered, they could send a decoy to occupy the League until the problem is dealt with. Isn’t that how Cadmus worked? A small fire the League wanted to investigate only to immediately be stopped by some magic voodoo shit?”

“…Yeah. That’s exactly how it worked,” Wally remarked. “Had we not gone to investigate…”

“Cadmus probably would’ve been covered up by the time the League got there.”

“Even so, that makes him the victim of his creator’s programming,” Kaldur responded. “Certainly he deserves a chance to prove he’s more than the weapon others designed him to be.”

Conner took a deep breath, leaning back in his seat. The clone looked less enraged by Kaldur’s comment.

However, Mike just scoffed under his breath, opting to close the screen and glare out the window. “And sometimes all we are is the monster others made us into,” he grumbled.

In the distance, he could make out the steam rising from the geyser fields, the occasional jet of scalding water shooting into the air as they made their approach.

It was different, seeing Yellowstone at night. Last time he’d been there, Mike had been what…six? Seven? Either way, it had been daylight, and back when his family had been whole. He still remembered his father letting him sit on his shoulders as they walked, eagerly explaining the mechanics behind the geysers and hot springs as they walked along the elevated wooden paths.

A small smile crossed his face at the memory. It was one of the few good ones he still had about the man. It was perhaps one of the only times he saw his father genuinely happy.

Though William had perhaps been too eager to explain the dangers of going off the path. Mike still had the occasional nightmare about being boiled alive by a rainbow-colored acid spring or being eaten by scalding volcanic quicksand. Granted, the stories did do their jobs in keeping him from running off to explore. So, if there was one thing his dad got right, he guessed standard wilderness safety was it.

The jostle of the Bioship landing pulled Mike out of his thoughts. Standing up with the others, all eyes looked towards their team leader.

“Stealth mode,” Kaldur ordered, tapping his own symbol to let the colorful suit be replaced by its more muted counterpart. Following his lead, the others, save for Mike, Robin, and Superboy, pressed their symbols. Satisfied, Kaldur nodded, stepping towards Zatanna as she opened the door. “I recommend you stay behind.”

“Is that an order?”

“No. You must do as you see fit.”

The black-haired magician smirked, “Good. Emit ot yrt eht wen kool!” Smoke swirled her frame and swallowed her before it disappeared just as quickly, leaving Zatanna in an outfit resembling her father’s suit.

The others didn’t comment on her new look as they raced out of the Bioship, towards the coordinates that Ivo had given them. “Link established.”

“This is so weird.”

“Eh, you get used to it.”

“Everyone be on alert. Morrow may already know we’re here.”

“And watch your step,” Mike chimed in, “Geyser fields are notoriously unstable. One wrong step and we’re knee deep in boiling acid water or superheated mud.”

“Good to know.”

Crouching at the edge of the fields, Robin pulled out his scanner, “Ivo was right something’s down there.”

“Am I the only one wondering how the fuck he built a secret compound in the middle of the country’s most popular national park’s deadly geyser fields without anyone noticing?”

“You can ask Morrow after we kick his ass,” Superboy replied, charging out onto the open plains.

They didn’t get far before a powerful gust of wind stopped them in their tracks, knocking them flat on their backs as it blew them off their feet. Pushing themselves up to their knees, they glared up at the source. Red Tornado hovered above them, tornadoes bursting into life around them.

“WHY TORNADO?! WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?!” M’gann shouted, her voice barely audible over the powerful blasts of wind.

His response came in the form of several more tornadoes forming, carving distinct paths into the dirt.

“Message received?”

“Who cares?!” Superboy snapped charging forwards. “Get him!”

“Superboy! Maneuver 7!” Aqualad called out chasing after him.

Superboy turned around, interlacing his fingers, catching Kaldur’s foot and vaulting him into the air towards Red Tornado. Aqualad raised his fist, ready to punch him when the android ducked under, slamming his own fist into the Atlantean teen’s face. The force of the blow blasted Kaldur back towards the ground and he crashed into Superboy sending a plume of dust and steam into the air. It was quickly cleared by a powerful gust of wind, catching the incoming projectiles aimed at the android by the three weapons-based teens. The force of the gales flinging the explosives back to their senders. They exploded on impact with the ground at their feet, flinging the three teens back. Using the distraction to her advantage, M’gann flew up behind Tornado in camouflage. Unfortunately, she didn’t get far as the android whirled on her the moment she got within arm’s reach. Snatching her by her collar, M’gann barely had time to yelp before she was hurled towards the ground, slamming into Kid Flash, sending both sprawling across the ground.

Save for the gusts of wind, the geyser field was silent as Tornado looked over the unmoving forms of the teens sprawled on the ground. However, that silence was soon broken by slow metallic clapping. “Tell me, how long do you plan to keep up the performance?” another Red scoffed. “I have all your memories Tornado, and a next gen processor, I know your next more before you do.”

“Well, we tried,” Artemis grimaced as they all pushed themselves back to their feet, realizing the jig was up.

“Was worth a shot.”

The field under them lurched as more cracks spread along the surface as a massive boulder levitated from the ground, revealing the words Play Dead that Tornado had carved into the ground. “Really? Blowing a message into the sand?” The hunk of land behind the red crumpled into several boulders that were sent flying towards them. Superboy leapt into the air, punching through one of them as M’gann used her telekinesis to toss several of them aside. Those that made it past them were intercepted by explosives, breaking them apart into smaller, less deadly bits.

“Is everyone alright?” Mike asked.

“We’re fine,” Zatanna answered, “but Red Tornado’s getting away.”

“Great! Is he abandoning us?” Artemis scoffed, firing an arrow.

“I don’t believe that!”

“Actions speak louder than words!”

“You stand no chance against me humans.”

“WE’RE NOT HUMAN!” M’gann and Conner screamed, lunging for the android.

“My apologies,” the Red scoffed as two rock hands rose from the earth, clapping together to knock them from the air. “I suppose the properly inclusive term is: meat bags.”

Waving his hand, the ground once against shook violently as a crevasse ripped itself open in the field, swallowing Artemi, and Aqualad as they charged forwards. Firing an arrow with a line, Artemis grabbed onto Kaldur as the Atlantean. The violent jerk of the line straightening knocked them into the wall.

“Hold on!” Mike shouted, running up to the edge. Grabbing on the line he yanked up as hard as he could. He could hear their surprised shouts as they were jerked out of the closing crevasse and tossed into the air. “You guys ok?”

“Fine.”

“Less talking more fighting!” Robin shouted, racing up a boulder. Leaping off he tossed two batarangs in the Red’s direction, landing on the ground and rolling to his feet besides his friends as the android caught them, the explosives going off in his hand, smoke curling through its fingers. “That didn’t even leave a scratch!”

“This might be harder than we thought,” Kid Flash winced.

“Tornado’s memory files and my superior processing speed allow me to anticipate your every move.”

“Ekoms emoceb a dlofdnilb!” Zatanna replied, smirking as a piece of cloth appeared and wrapped itself around the robot’s eyes. “Tornado never knew my moves.”

“And I bet you got some good ones,” Robin smirked before pausing, “wait…whoa, sorry that might’ve come off a little too Wally.”

“A little?” Mike remarked, throwing an explosive towards Red Volcano. The device hit the android’s shoulder, blasting it back.

“Shut up Remnant!”

The ground shook, and the androids eyes glowed red, behind him, the top of the Yellowstone Super Volcano began to spew lava. “That’s not good.”

“He’s activated a stage two eruption. If he gets to stage three, kiss the hemisphere goodbye!”

“Hit him from all sides!” Aqualad ordered as he and Superboy leapt at him.

A chunk of rock erupted from the rock tower their opponent stood on, slamming into the Atlantean’s chest as the android caught Superboy’s incoming fist. Jerking the outstretched arm to the side, Red Volcano tossed the clone out of the way. Before he could prepare his next attack, an unseen force tried to yank Volcano off his tower.

Mike took the opportunity of the robot’s distraction to scale the rock tower with his grapple. Using the momentum, he swung himself over the ledge, kicking Red Volcano in the chest, sending him stumbling off the rock tower.

However, the fall didn’t incapacitate the murderous machine. The ground jerked under Michael’s feet as M’gann screamed nearby, a steam vent opening beside her to spew a gust of scalding volcanic fumes into the Martian’s face. “M’gann!” Conner called, leaping over to help his girlfriend as the Red stomped towards her unmoving form. Volcano whirled on his feet, backhanding the Kryptonian away as he picked up the Martian girl by her cape.

Mike grit his teeth, that wasn’t good. Turning around, he threw one of his few potentially working EMPs in the Red’s direction as he leapt off the crumbling pillar. To his disappointment, he heard a clang followed by the sound of splashing lava. His weapon must’ve ricocheted into one of the magma flows.

“Ekoms dna srorrim etaerc Dik Hsalf snoisulli!” Zatanna chanted. Smoke rising from the various volcanic vents swirled, forming rather lifelike images of their teammate. Grinning to herself, the magician put her hands on her hips as the army of Kid Flashes ran to attack the android. “I-I use a scaled down version when I wanna sneak out of the house.”

A few years ago, Mike would’ve killed for something like that.

However, the spell seemed to do the trick. Distracting Red Volcano long enough for the real Wally to leap from behind him, snatching M’gann out of his grasp. He skid to a stop in front of them, cradling their teammate to his chest.

They could all feel sweat starting to run down their backs from the heat. They needed to finish this battle now or risk the worst natural disaster the world had seen in a few millennia.

The next blow came in the form of a torrent of boiling water slamming the Red straight into a lava flow.

“Nice hit Aqualad!” Robin praised.

“The hit was not mine.”

“Look!”

All heads turned and eyes widened as they met the familiar form of the Red that had attacked them in the cave. Raising their fists, the teens expected a fight on two fronts, instead, they were surprised as it soared over them on a wave, accompanied by Red Tornado who slammed into the other Red as it tried to lift itself out of the molten rock.

The volcanic Red began to get up again only to be forced to defend itself as the fiery Red soared overhead, raining down fireballs. The force of the impact of the flames sent magma splashing as she quickly changed coarse, diving down to tackle the larger Red. “Sister! Brothers! Stop!” Instead of getting a reply, Red Volcano was knocked back under the lava as the water controlling one leapt on it, pushing it under. It was followed by Red Tornado, flying down and flipping midair, kicking his feet into the chest of the other one until he was almost waist deep.

He might’ve gone further had Superboy not leapt across the river of molten rock to yank their former den mother out just before the other Reds exploded.

Unfortunately, they didn’t get to enjoy their victory as the ground shook under their feet. Looking up, all eyes widened as they could see the volcano’s cone visibly distending as magma flooded the chamber below.

They didn’t have long.

“Tornado! We’re on the verge of a stage three super volcano eruption, there’s no turning back from that! We need to vent pressure, fast, otherwise that ash cloud will bring on a worldwide nuclear winter unless you divert it!” Wally instructed. “Robin, triangulate around for pressure focus!”

“Right!” Robin said typing on the scanner, three red dots appearing around the volcano. “These spots!”

Artemis nodded and hopped on Wally’s back, letting him run her around as she used her bow to fire explosives at the pressure points. With each blast, massive tides of lava spurted from the new exits, creating new flows of lava. It was an arduous process, but with each new vent, they all could see the bulge in the volcano’s face begin to deflate.

Seeing they were no longer at risk for a magma explosion of epic proportions, the archer and the speedster returned to the group. They nodded to Tornado upon their arrival, whom, without a word, shot into the air, disappearing into the clouds of smoke and ash filling the sky.

To their collective relief, the ash began to get sucked up out of the atmosphere and, slowly, the tides of magma began to slow, steam rising off the cooling molten rock.

-.-

“There,” Mike said, wiping his hands, “that should do it.”

“Yes,” Tornado replied, lowering his faceplate, “I can speak again.”

Mike didn’t comment, merely getting onto one of the computers connected to the android to look over his code.

“You were willing to sacrifice yourself to save the planet,” Kaldur spoke.

“The planet would have survived,” the android corrected. “It was humanity that was saved. Though…not by me. It was my sister and brother, they were the true heroes this day.”

“My point is this: you were never the mole, never a traitor.”

“No,” Tornado answered, “I left to protect you from further attack and to find my creator, Morrow.”

Mike scowled, typing quickly as he searched for keywords in the code. Something that would tell him that his distrust towards Tornado wasn’t unfounded and that he hadn’t been fully intending to dismantle an innocent…AI—robot—whatever he qualified as. A highlighted piece of text lit up on the corner of the screen, prompting Mike to take a closer look at the directives.

All eyes turned to him as a somewhat frustrated sigh escaped him. “He’s not lying,” Mike reluctantly agreed. “Tornado does have some old programs explaining his function as a trojan horse, but honestly, they’re so corrupted they might as well be completely obsolete. Do you—actually, never mind, I’m gonna delete it, for security purposes.”

“Are there any other potential hazards in my code?”

Mike glanced at Tornado, brow rising. He had been expecting some protest to deleting code, not inquiries if there was more he needed to get rid of. “Not that I can see so far. I’ll probably be able to do a more thorough scan back at the Cave.”

“Hey Reddy!” Robin called, holding a metal arm above his head. “Look! We can rebuild you! Better than before. Right Rem?”

Stepping away from the computer, Mike approached the box full of spare parts. Most of the limbs and materials seem inclined towards the other reds. They had complex exosuits when compared to Tornado’s rather…can-like appearance. Picking up an arm from what he assumed was the water-Red, he compared it to one of Tornado’s arms. Considering Tornado needed to be aerodynamic he would need as few seams as possible, cutting out any of Red Volcano’s bulky parts and he wasn’t even going to consider Human Torch or whatever her name was as she was too slight for Tornado. Besides, it stood to reason that the aquatic one would require one of the least amounts of friction besides Tornado. The build of the other one certainly seemed less bulky than Tornado. No doubt designed to increase maneuverability in the water and make the first model seem more human-like.

Still feeling his friends’ eyes on him, Mike set the arms aside before he dove back into the box. “Yeah, I could do it. And,” he tossed out some legs and a few metal bars, “with all of this I should be able to give you a couple more upgrades: faster processing speed, increased durability, and with some time and a fuck ton of coffee I should be able to give you your siblings’ powers.”

“I do not believe I should be repaired.”

Mike paused at that. Red…didn’t want to be repaired? Why? The last time Mike had encountered a robot that hadn’t wanted to be repaired was…was back there. Back when they had planned to…he clutched his stomach, feeling his shirt rub over the massive scar that the—that it had left.

“Why did you volunteer to become our den mother anyways?!” Superboy demanded.

Mike didn’t bother to turn to watch the android for his response. His heart pounded in his chest as he awaited the answer. Last time…last time he dealt with something like this, that damn…demon had wanted to escape. And it had done whatever it took to reach that goal.

“I was the pragmatic choice,” Tornado answered. “I do not require sleep. I have no secret identity of second life to live.”

Quietly, Mike gave a shaky sigh in relief, pulling his fingers out from the dented metal under his fingertips. He wasn’t sure why he was so worried about his answer. Tornado…even if he wanted to appear more human, there was nothing he could do to achieve that. Not without someone noticing anyways.

“But,” Wally spoke up and Mike felt his stomach drop, “you do have advanced AI programming, designed to learn, adapt, evolve.”

“Hello Megan! You wanted to become more human.”

Mike tuned out the rest of the conversation. The sound of his pounding heart and shaking breaths was all he could hear. He needed to calm down and pull himself together before someone noticed. What was that technique Canary gave him again? Find five things in his surroundings? Five things that grounded him to here and now. That shouldn’t be hard.

Ok, first: where was he? He was in an underground lab—Yellowstone. He was in Yellowstone National Park. Not far from Old Faithful.

Second: what could he smell? Filtered air, motor oil, the copper tang of burnt electrical wires, blood. So much blood.

Digging his fingers further into the sides of the container, Mike bit his lip sharply, the pain grounding him for a split second before he tasted iron on his tongue. Just like…just like what it…

Three: What could he hear?

“If we looked like you…”

Nope, nope, nope. Now was not the time to remember that. He wasn’t there. He was in Yellowstone.

Four: what was around him? Metal walls, robotic parts, cables—computers. There were computers in the room. There was a table in the room. There were people in the room.

That’s right. There were people here. He wasn’t alone.

Five: who was around him?

Taking a slow breath, Mike closed his eyes, listening to the chatter behind him. He could hear Artemis and Robin. They were making some joke about the League. There were a few chuckles from other people. Other living people. He could hear Kaldur talking, he wasn’t sure about what, but right now he didn’t care. Right now, Mike was just happy to hear human voices.

His throat tightened as he heard a robotic voice reply.

“The scooper only hurts for a moment.”

That had been a fucking lie if he’d ever heard one. Mike didn’t think anything would ever compare to that agony again.

Biting the inside of his cheek, Mike did his best to ignore the taste of copper on his tongue.

He needed to pull himself together. He was not in that room.

“Mike?”

Jumping in surprise, his head snapped in the direction of his friends, meeting their concerned gazes. Hopefully they hadn’t noticed he had been mere moments away from a mental breakdown. “Uh, yeah?”

“You ok? We were calling your name for a few moments.”

“Yeah,” he replied, giving them his signature lopsided smile. “I think I zoned out for a moment there. Now,” he clapped his hands together, shakily grabbing a few of the arms and legs for Tornado’s model, “I think we should get this done before we’re grounded for the rest of our lives.”

He didn’t mention that right now there was no way in hell he was going to upgrade Tornado.

Chapter Text

A/N: hey everyone! Welcome back! Glad to see y’all here again and thanks for the reviews. Remember, I’m just the writer, none of the characters are mine, just the story idea.

/comms/

Telepathy/flashbacks/whatever else I need

Batcave, October 11, 20:34EDT

The team had been grounded for a week after their stunt with the Reds. No missions, no patrols, not even team hangouts. And at home, that also meant no gym time and no video games.

Sighing, Dick flopped into the char sitting in front of the computer, gazing up at the ceiling. Already he was starting to get bored. Alfred was getting stuff ready for some masquerade charity gala coming up—a terrible idea to hold in Gotham during October, but no one listened to his opinion when it came to fancy events. Not that he blamed them, normally he made his disdain for them well known. So well known that sometimes Bruce or Alfred would force him to go when he was in trouble as a form of punishment.

But still, he would even take helping Alfred with a stupid gala than sitting here losing his mind. After last time he tried to help though…well, long story short, Alfred had banned him from ever helping again. To be fair, save for planning theme and date ideas, Bruce was also banned from the process so it wasn’t like he shouldn’t have seen that coming. Unfortunately, that meant he couldn’t go upstairs until Alfred was done organizing his army.

So he was going to be losing his mind until either Alfred was finished for the night or Bruce got back and he managed to talk the man into letting him help on a case or something. He would’ve done so before the Dark Knight left, but apparently, he was working on one of those cases he didn’t want Robin involved in. Something of which still drove him nuts to this day.

Actually…Dick sat up, glancing towards the elevator. Al probably wasn’t going come check on him anytime soon. And Bruce probably would be going on patrol as soon as he was done with whatever he was working on; so he wouldn’t be back till late tonight. Meaning he was going to be alone for the next few hours. A smirk crossing the Boy Wonder’s face, he rolled the chair up to the desk, eagerly typing on the keyboard, pulling up the cases Bruce refused to let him help with.

Dick scowled as he saw a message flashing across the screen.

Richard, if you’re reading this that means you’re doing something I specifically told you not to do.
Get out of these files.

“Really?” he muttered, raising a brow.

Shaking his head, Dick rolled his eyes as he hacked into the files. It didn’t take long for him to get in, meaning that his mentor had thought his warning would’ve deterred him from breaking the rules. Since when has that stopped him before? Bruce should’ve known him better than that.

Most of the cases in the restricted files seemed boring for the most part; just the standard rapists, pedophiles, human traffickers, all that stuff. Cases he didn’t particularly blame Batman for leaving him out of. There had to be something interesting going on given how much Bruce had been working on these cases.

Continuing to scroll though the cases until he paused, moving back up to one he had passed. “Afton?” he murmured, brows furrowing. Like Mike? Why would Bruce have a case on Mike?

Brows furrowing, Robin began typing, working on hacking into the files. They had been suspecting a mole after all, and considering Mike’s behavior when they rescued Tornado…it seemed a little more than suspicious.

It wouldn’t hurt to check. He was just making sure his team was safe.

Perpetrator: William David Afton
Aliases: N/A
Age: 36
Relatives:
              Gwendolyn Mary Afton—mother (deceased)
               John Winston Afton—father (deceased)
              Clarissa Laura Schmidt-Afton—wife (deceased)
              Michael Alaric Afton—son
              Elizabeth Morgana Afton—daughter (deceased)
              Evan Arthur Afton—son (deceased)
Crimes: 25 counts of 1^st degree capital murder and kidnapping (more cases to be added). 2^nd degree murder. Mass Murder. 18 counts of human experimentation (more to be added). 15 counts of mutilation (more to be added). 3 counts of child abuse. 3 counts of child neglect. Child abandonment. Domestic abuse. Attempted murder. Conspiracy to commit murder. 2 counts of negligent homicide. 10 counts of criminal negligence (more to be added). Obstruction of justice. Frame-up. Assault and Battery. Aggravated assault. Assault with a deadly weapon. Tampering with evidence. Torture. 30 counts of animal abuse. 27 counts of abuse and desecration of a corpse.
Suspected Crimes: Numerous counts of kidnapping, murder, mutilation, and human experimentation. Embezzlement. Several more cases of assault and battery. Weapons smuggling. Corporate Espionage. Forgery. Perjury. Violation of a restraining order. Impersonating an officer. DUI. Public intoxication.

Victim 1: Michael Alaric Afton
Age: 15
Case Details:
               Michael Afton was discovered in his home on the evening of June 15^th after neighbors requested a welfare check. One witness reported that she hadn’t seen him in almost 2 weeks. Police arrived at 20:34EDT to find the front door cracked open with drops of blood on the front step. With probable cause, the two officers entered the household to find the body of 15yo Michael Afton sprawled on the ground in the foyer. Forensics found that the teen had been disemboweled and exsanguinated. However, they were not able to pin down the exact TOD. They also determined that based on the lack of blood that the body had been moved from where the actual attack had occurred. At this point Batman arrived to investigate the case and found that the victim was still (somehow) alive. Officers at the scene immediately called for EMS and began administering medical aid.
               At 22:04EDT Michael Afton was transported to the Gotham Central Hospital where he was admitted to emergency surgery. Dr. Thompkins reported that surgery was successful, but the victim was in a coma due to the extent of his injuries. During x-rays, doctors also found signs of previously broken bones that had not been reported, indicative of abuse at home. These injuries included, but were not limited to: multiple cracked and broken ribs, compression fracture on left tibia, spiral fractures on the right radius and ulna, fractured mandible, broken nose, fractured left zygomatic, and a cracked hyoid.
                Police were unable to get in contact with the father William Afton in the direct aftermath of the attack and contacted his godfather Henry Emily in Central City.
Case Notes:
              On July 12 at 20:45EDT, Dr. Thompkins reported that Michael woke up from his coma. He had gone through several significant physical alterations (the reason of which may now be linked to experiments conducted on him by William Afton).

Oh…oh.

That was why Bruce had a file on his teammate.

Dick felt like an idiot. He should’ve known something was up. He was a detective for Pete’s sakes. It should’ve been obvious. He should’ve seen the signs that his friend had been suffering in silence this whole time.

Hell, he’d even overheard the whispered rumors at some of the galas he’d gone to this year. Rumors that Dick didn’t bother to pay any mind to because most of the time they were so off mark they’d have better luck shooting blindfolded.

His chest tightened with guilt. Biting his lip, Robin closed the tabs. Yeah, he probably should have just minded his own damn business.

-.-

Hurricane, 18:45MDT

Muddy gravel crunched underfoot as Batman stepped into the scrapyard. The normally quiet sound seeming impossibly loud as the air of the surrounding forest seemed to go dead silent the moment the Dark Knight passed the towering metal walls. Dim blue and yellow lights barely illuminated the maze of discarded shipping containers and piles of twisted metal. He wondered how many of these paths circled back on themselves.

He wondered how many people had raced down those paths in a desperate search for an escape. Only to have their hopes crushed moments later as they came back to where they had started.

It was a method that was beyond twisted.

Releasing his victim, offering the opportunity to escape all the while knowing that there was none. None except for the one the killer himself knew about. One that Afton could lock at any time he pleased with the push of a button. He would give them one last shred of hope. Amuse himself by watching them try to flee for their lives, running in circles around traps and monsters lurking in the piles of discarded animatronics and metal. Eagerly watching as his victims’ hope and resolve crumble away into ash.

At least until he grew bored and decided to dispose of them.

If his victim was lucky, they would perish quickly at the hands of one of William’s abominations. As terrible as it was, it was unfortunately a much, much better fate than the torture awaiting them in whatever hideout lurked nearby.

A hideout Afton was no doubt watching him from right now. No doubt waiting to strike the moment the opportunity revealed itself.

He would have to be cautious.

The Dark Knight remained on alert as he moved between the piles of junk towards the center of the yard where the main structures stood. It was most likely that the entrance to the serial killer’s shelter was nestled in one of the buildings. Where it would be safe from someone accidentally stumbling upon it when moving materials to be melted down and recycled. Nor would it accidentally be flooded by water surging into the pit by flood valves.

Though he couldn’t rule out the shipping containers either. There were enough piled on top of one another that hollowing them out to create a well-disguised hideaway wouldn’t be out of the question. However, a hiding place like that was riskier than what Afton normally preferred. He would check there should his search in the other buildings prove to be unfruitful.

Emerging from the piles of twisted metal and old animatronics, Batman’s gaze landed on a small building ahead of him. Approaching it, the vigilante frowned as he took in the entrance. Instead of a door normal door, this building had a metal gate sealing off the building. A gate that was electronically locked.

Something was definitely hidden in there.

However, before he could begin remotely hacking into the lock, the Dark Knight paused as he heard the sound of distant footsteps. Distinctly metallic footsteps.

Retreating back to the shadows, Batman crouched beside a pile of dismembered animatronics, some covered in a dark liquid that looked similar to blood. He made a note to take a sample later, but right now, he was more focused on the pair of glowing gold eyes turning the corner.

Batman would bet this was the animatronic Afton had hunting victims here, acting as a bulletproof guard dog whenever it wasn’t needed to kill.

Emerging into the light, dull red metal glinted as the foxlike hound came to the edge of one of the runoff trenches. Unlike the madman’s other creations, this one actually seemed to behave more animal-like. Moreso, it looked dangerous. Afton’s other animatronics looked safe, some may say even downright welcoming and friendly; but this one…the other ones might as well have been plushies compared to it. Large claws on the fox’s paws sunk into the mud as massive, pointed ears scanned the area for even the slightest noise to suggest the presence of an uninvited guest. A long metal tail flicked behind the creature, the dull misty lights illuminating the no doubt poison-tipped spikes covering the vertebrae-like metal casings in a way that resembled fur. As it approached the building the Dark Knight had just been at, it raised its head as if it was sniffing the air, revealing rows of sharp, bloodstained fangs.

So far, the animatronic didn’t seem to notice he was there, but if this thing had a sense of smell, that wouldn’t last long.

He would need to take it out before it alerted anything else lurking in the junkyard to his presence.

As the guard dog began to patrol again, Batman moved around the pile to the other side to keep behind the beast as it lumbered past where he had just been. He could hear a hitch in the creature’s step as it walked. Peering around, he could see its hips jerk with each step of its left hind leg. Considering that the other patches of rust didn’t seem to bother it, Bruce would bet it had been the result of a vain attempt by a previous victim who had been brave enough to fight back.

Leaping from his hiding spot, the Dark Knight threw a batarang towards the robotic canine, retreating into the shadows as the explosion knocked the guard dog into a nearby metal pile. He could hear the shifting of scraps as the animatronic rose back to its feet.

The fox pulled itself from the pile, smoke rising from its frame as its head swung back and forth, scanning for the source of the attack. A deep growl came from the robot as its tail fluffed up. Swinging its appendage, the spikes along its tail few off, sending sparks into the air as they bounced off the pieces of metal around him. One flew dangerously close, the pointed tip stabbing through a metal plate beside the Dark Knight’s head. Toxic or not, those things were absolutely lethal.

Pulling out another batarang, the Batman hurled it towards a pile further away from him. The clang of metal echoing loudly over the junkyard as the projectile hit something. The approaching steps of the fox stopped, its ears pointing up as it charged forwards, moving past the vigilante without noticing his presence. There was still a hitch in the animatronic’s steps as it ran towards the sound. But, other than that and a few new scorch marks, his explosive didn’t seem to do much damage.

Afton had designed these things to be stupidly durable no doubt. But, if he recalled correctly, he did always make a way to stun them; just in case there was a malfunction that caused the robots to turn on him.

After all, electricity had worked for the models at the other locations. Who was to say it wouldn’t work there?

Pulling out another batarang, he hurled it towards the fox. The weapon landed on its back, causing the animatronic to whirl around, spotting its target. However, before it could attack, electricity covered its frame, producing a static howl as it collapsed. Narrowing his eyes, Bruce watched as the glow of its eyes slowly powered off.

Or so it seemed.

He wouldn’t put it past the inventor to program such a trap into his monsters. Keeping a wide berth, Batman pulled out his taser, firing it at the fallen robot watching electricity arch over the metal frame till he heard something pop, smoke erupting from its seams. Now more satisfied that it wasn’t faking and wouldn’t be getting back up anytime soon without repairs, he crouched beside the creature, taking a few samples from it. Hopefully there would be some clues as to who all had been killed by the abomination. He also took a few samples of the black sludge leaking from its chest.

Keeping an eye out for any other traps, he returned to the locked building to break inside. No matter how long it took.

-.-

19:33MDT

Batman stepped out of the elevator into the underground lab. Unlike the twisted alien-like landscape above, the secret bunker seemed impossibly clean. Save for two rooms.

Unlike the rest of the bunker, the first of these rooms was well-lit, illuminating the dried blood splattered across the room. Permanently staining the leather restraints of the almost rust-colored metal table. Mounted on the wall, was a wide array of bloodstained blades and other torture devices.

The second room was connected to the first. This one was just a concrete room with an animatronic lying limply in a corner, scorch marks scarring both it and its surroundings. No doubt this was where William came to dispose and harvest the remnant of his victims when he was finished with them.

But, at the moment, these were not the chambers he was focused on. The Dark Knight’s attention was more directed towards the room filled with monitors, all displaying camera feeds from multiple different locations: Circus’s Baby’s, several other pizzeria locations, the Afton house, almost all of the feeds were places undergoing active investigations. William Afton had been watching the investigations. He had known exactly what they had discovered almost as soon as it happened. It was how the murderer had kept so far ahead of them.

However, those weren’t the only feeds on the cameras. These two feeds seemed to be coming from the same place: a bedroom. Jaw clenching, Bruce moved the feeds to the largest screens, trying to find details giving away the location or who’s room it was. His stomach dropped as he spotted a few schoolbooks and a worn plush rabbit sitting on a desk beside a desktop. This was a kid’s room. Afton was already hunting another victim.

On the other feed, he spotted movement. A door began to open. But, before he could see who the target was, all the screens cut to static as a symbol of a purple rabbit flashed on the corner.

“Hello,” a staticky, deep voice spoke. “Sorry about greeting, but it appears that you seem to have just missed me. I’m sorry I wasn’t there to greet you personally. However, as much as I would enjoy your company, I have a prior engagement to attend.”

“Touch that kid Afton and I promise you’ll be quadriplegic for the rest of your life.”

“Well, aren’t you just a ray of sunshine.”

Bruce glared at the screens. Grabbing the keypad, the began typing quickly. He needed to triangulate the man’s location now. And to do that, he had to keep him on the line. “Your plan won’t work. This won’t bring your family back.”

“Families can be replaced. Speaking of which, how is my son? A little bird told me that he was in your little apprentice club. I trust you’re keeping that boy in line. He’s such a difficult child to deal with, without proper guidance of course.”

He knew. Afton knew what Michael was doing. Somehow the man was still finding a way to insert himself into the kid’s life. And someone was feeding him this information. Someone within the Team or the League was feeding intel to their enemies.

“Michael is none of your concern.”

“He’s my son,” the murderer snarled. “I just want to make sure he’s being properly corrected.”

The Dark Knight must’ve struck a nerve to garner that reaction. Good. The more he pissed Afton off, the more likely the man was to make a mistake. “He’s much better now that you’re out of his life.”

There was a sigh from the other end. “So you aren’t disciplining him? Honestly, I shouldn’t be surprised. Henry was always too soft to do what needed to be done. Perhaps I’ll pay my boy a visit. Teach him a proper lesson.”

Batman could practically hear the man’s grin in his voice at those words. The man was smiling at the thought of torturing his own son. It was cases like these that truly pissed him off. Personally, he’d rather die than even think of raising a hand to his own child. So, to see this man—this monster—seem to relish the idea of hurting a kid…Afton better hope that someone else found him first.

“Anyways, I should get going. You’re probably getting close to figuring out where I am, and I have something to attend to. By the way, the rest of the security system should be active by now. Good luck.”

Metal bent under the Dark Knight’s fist as he slammed it down on the table as the static cut away to blue error screens.

-.-

Dallas, 20:42CST

William set his phone down on the table, tossing a smile to a waitress as she came over, pouring some more wine into his glass. “Thank you,” he said, smirking to himself as he saw a blush cross her face. Taking a sip from his glass, he watched the city skyline, looking at the lights gleaming in the darkness. He could still feel his heart pounding as adrenaline coursed through him.

That had been exciting.

Almost being caught, he forgot the kind of rush that brought. It was almost as good as the kill.

Though he had to admit, he’d been surprised it had taken the Dark Knight so long to turn up at that particular hunting ground. Perhaps he’d been overestimating his opponent? Of course, it was better to overestimate than to underestimate. That was how he’d avoided being noticed for so long after all.

He probably would have remained unnoticed had Michael not gone and screwed everything up. Sure, the remnant experiment had gone wonderfully. His survival had proven that William was on the right track. Unfortunately, it also made the boy a liability to him. A liability he couldn’t control.

Not for a lack of trying. After he got the alert from Circus Baby that the scooper had been used, William had returned to Gotham to see the results. Imagine his surprise when he had almost been killed by whatever abomination had been living inside the body upon his arrival. He hadn’t been able to get any samples or run any tests. And whenever it saw him, well, he had a few new scars that said how well those encounters went.

It had just been best to assume that the results had been a failure. William had planned to return once that thing had left his son’s corpse. It would’ve only been a matter of time considering decomposition. However, he hadn’t anticipated nosy neighbors calling the police. Nor had he anticipated Michael’s miraculous survival.

Not only did that news confirm his theories. But it also meant he had his first successful subject. A subject who’d unfortunately been under police protection, the watch of the most feared vigilante in the Justice League, hovered over relentlessly by his dear friend, and had a team of doctors and nurses tending to him constantly. It had been stupidly difficult to sneak into the hospital to take samples and administer a few more remnant injections.

A security guard strode through the hospital corridors passing by busy doctors and nurses. The busy medical staff occasionally glanced his way, but never longer than enough time to give him a short smile or nod of acknowledgement. It was moments like these that made the man grateful for all the crime in Gotham. People never glanced twice at a roaming security officer.

Which meant no one ever thought about his precautionary scans of the surrounding area. Grabbing the brim of his hat, he used it to block his face as he strode by another camera. Violet-colored eyes scanned the room, taking note of those in the main ICU ward. So far, most of the staff were looking after the more terminal geezers. Though, he did pause when his gaze landed on a familiar mop of disheveled strawberry blonde hair.

Henry Emily, his old business partner and friend. He was still here?

Furrowing his brow, the William Afton checked his watch. No, his timing was right. Henry should’ve been going back to his hotel by now. Finally worn down enough by the persistence of the doctors and nurses tending to his son to go back and take care of himself. Go back to the hotel, take a lonely shower, sleep in a cold empty bed for the night before coming back the next morning and starting the cycle all over again.

With a small chuckle to himself, William shook his head. This wasn’t the time for such thoughts. He was here to visit someone else equally valuable to him. Of course, that would be difficult if he didn’t figure out why the man was still here? He didn’t need anyone to interrupt his visit.

“Are you sure you don’t need me to get you a coffee or anything Dr. Thompkins?”

“I’ll be fine Mr. Emily,” the doctor who’d been treating his son replied, adjusting her glasses. “As much as I appreciate the offer, don’t think I can’t tell you’re trying to avoid going to get some rest. Even Michael is getting worried.”

So, his boy had finally woken up? Well, that explained why his dear friend was fretting more than usual. Henry always did tend to fuss when someone he cared about was hurt.

“I know, but…I’m just worried something will happen. Mikey could slip back into a coma, or worse.”

Dr. Thompkins reached out, putting her hand on the man’s shoulder, “Don’t worry. He’s already doing much better than we anticipated. I highly doubt anything will change in the next few hours. So, please, go get some rest. Michael needs you here at one-hundred percent. I promise, we’ll call you if there’s any change.”

William tuned out the rest of the conversation. This could either be very beneficial or detrimental to his tests. He’d already been pushing his luck just coming in for short visits. And, with the almost constant monitoring of the physicians and police over his son, he hadn’t been able to collect any samples. Sure, he’d gotten a lucky hair sample and had been able to document the boy’s progress. But, otherwise he simply just couldn’t risk it.

Now that Mike was awake though, and since he technically hadn’t made any attempts on his son’s life, William would bet that the constant watch on his son would’ve relaxed. Perhaps long enough for him to run a few tests, alongside some father-son bonding time.

Quickly checking that no one was watching, William opened the door and slid inside his son’s room, quietly shutting it behind him. Turning around, William removed his cap, running his fingers through his dark brunette hair as he regarded the boy.

It was interesting. None of his other subjects had produced such results. The closest he would say would be the change in behavior some of the animatronics would momentarily experience after making their first kill. Of course, that was likely just the containment protocols activating. But still, what made Michael, his eldest and firstborn, so different from all the others? Even his own siblings? Why did he survive when they didn’t? Was it the remnant injections? Or was it something else?

He would’ve loved to take his son and figure out why these changes occurred. See how these differences allowed him to survive injuries that were supposed to kill him.

Alas, it currently was too difficult to snatch his son away from Henry’s influence. Too many witnesses and cameras. Not to mention the Dark Knight’s recent interest in his activities. Almost relentlessly sticking his nose where it didn’t belong. He’d flown under the Batman’s radar for over a decade, but, as usual, Michael had to go and ruin his plans. Almost as soon as the boy had been found, the vigilante had been getting too close for comfort.

Of course, not close enough to make him think twice about coming to see his son. As far as the investigations went right now, all they were working with was that he was that he “abandoned” his son. It wasn’t enough to search for him once he left the state.

It was a pity. With Michael so weak it would’ve been so easy to take him. And by the time he could regain some strength, William would’ve been able to block any escape route and have materials ready to restrain him, physically and chemically of course. It would be so easy to drug the fight out of him, to make Michael completely and totally reliant on his father. But it was too risky right now.

The form on the bed shifted, causing William to sigh as he pulled out a pouch from his pocket.

“Uncle Henry? I thought you…” the teen sat up, his glowing blue-violet eyes staring at him in shock. “D—Dad?”

Taking his opportunity, William shot forwards, pressing a hand over his son’s nose and mouth to stifle startled shouts. “Shh, we don’t want to cause a scene now, do we?” he whispered, pulling out a syringe and plugging it into the boy’s IV port. William smirked, pressing harder against his son’s face as the boy attempted to struggle against him. He watched as the drug drained into his brachial artery.

Slowly, Michael’s struggles grew weaker, eyelids slowly drooping as his pupils dilated, unable to focus on anything around him. A weak sound escaped the teen’s throat as his father removed his hand, allowing the boy to breathe.

“There we go,” he hushed, running his fingers through his boy’s hair as he sat on the edge of the bed, “I bet that feels much better.” Opening the little bag fully, William looked over the selection of tubes, syringes, and scalpels. Picking up a syringe, he flicked the end of the needle, “You don’t need to worry about anything right now, Daddy’s here.” Sticking the new injection into the port, he pushed the muscle relaxant into the boy.

Setting the empty syringes aside, William looked down, cupping his son’s face, watching as his head slowly sagged into his palm. The pad of his thumb ran along the boy’ cheek, trailing a pale scar that hadn’t been there before. He wondered where he got it.

He wondered if he had more of those.

His son whimpered pathetically as his hands tugged on the collar of his hospital gown. Tears leaking from the boy’s eyes as the ties holding it closed slipped open, letting William view the array of pale scars marring the teen’s abdomen. The injuries were consistent with those his previous victims had gotten from the scooper. But, unlike them, Michael seemed to have healed.

“Shh,” he soothed, plucking a scalpel from the bag, “shh, it’s ok.” Stroking his son’s cheek, William twirled the blade between his fingers before placing the edge of the surgical instrument against the boy’s chest. “It’s ok.” Michael gave another soft whine, the muscles of his face attempting to screw his eyes shut as the blade scraped against the unscarred skin. Small droplets of blood welled up where he carved out his sample as he pulled the piece of skin away to stick it in a test tube. Sealing it shut, he cleaned the blade before placing it over a section of scarred flesh. William leaned forwards, pressing a soft kiss to his son’s forehead, “That’s it. You’re doing so good.”

Repeating the process, William did his best to keep his son quiet. It wasn’t that he didn’t enjoy hearing the boy whimper in pain. Actually, William didn’t mind seeing his son’s confused tears. He had always loved making his eldest cry. Especially as he got older, because he tried so hard to hold back his weakness. It was quite amusing to see the normally stubborn and defiant child wake up weak, disoriented, and in pain, completely unable to fight against him, completely at his mercy. But, unfortunately, right now he couldn’t afford even a drop of spilt blood. It could give away his visits. So, right now, he needed to maintain Michael’s compliance by keeping him nice and relaxed.

“Good boy,” he praised, kissing the crown of the boy’s head as he used an alcohol swab to disinfect the wound. “You’re doing wonderfully.” Tying the gown closed, William set the scalpel and his skin samples aside as he grabbed another syringe, this one connected to an empty vial. Michael gave a pathetic noise in an attempt to protest, as his father hefted him up, setting him against his chest. William stuck the end of the needle just a few inches below the teen’s jaw. “Stay still, it's ok. I know it hurts. But,” he began extracting blood, watching it spurt into the tube, “it will be over soon.”

Finishing his first tube, William glanced to the door. He was starting to push his luck. Sealing the sample, he pulled out another vial, attaching it to the syringe before releasing pressure, allowing the scarlet liquid to squirt inside the glass.

“See how easy this is when you don’t fight me? When you listen?” he spoke, gently setting his chin on the undoubtedly woozy boy’s head. “This is much better, isn’t it? Not forcing me to hurt you?”

Michael, too drugged up to answer properly, made a small noise his head rolling to rest against his father’s chest. The boy’s pupils were blown wide, creating a thin ring of color as he stared at his father with unbridled love bleeding through the pain and confusion. Even after all of this, Michael still was perfectly loyal.

Chuckling, William pulled the needle out, watching the injection site to see if any bleeding occurred. “I wish you could always be like this: so behaved, obedient,” he mused, grabbing another injection flicking the end of the needle, “You’re such a good son like this. Alas, nothing good ever lasts. You aren’t going to remember this, just like the last few times. And you won’t remember next time either.” He leaned forwards, pressing his lips against his son’s forehead, soft hairs tickling his nose as he continued to whisper, “But, know that I am the only one who will ever love you. You belong to me.”

With a final fatherly kiss, William pressed the needle back into his neck, slowly draining its contents into the teen’s bloodstream. Once he finished, William leaned back against the wall, holding his son close, occasionally running his hand up and down the boy’s arm. The remnant-mixed sedative didn’t take long to take effect in conjunction with the other drugs in his small body. Michael’s eyelids continued to droop, his limp form sagging against William as the substance ran its course, the periods between his eyes opening getting longer and longer. Soon after, Michael’s eyes closed, his breathing and heartrate slowly falling into the rhythmic pattern of someone in clutches of a deep, peaceful slumber.

“Sweet dreams baby boy. Sweet dreams.”

William smiled fondly at the memory. He’d almost been caught that time too.

Honestly, that boy was probably going to be the death of him. Especially considering now without his guidance Michael had no doubt become more obstinate than ever.

All that work, molding the boy into his perfect copy, down the drain. All because Henry and no doubt the League were too cowardly to teach his son properly. The boy was as stubborn as himself, the teen needed a firm hand to keep him in line. Michael had very rarely defied him outright when William had been in charge. And, any time he had, the man had made sure that he got the message to never do it again.

It had done wonders for his behavior.

At least until he’d gone to live under Henry’s roof.

“David,” a voice greeted. Turning his head, William stood up, shaking the hand of the man standing in front of him, “It’s good to see you again, old friend.”

“Likewise, Lex,” he replied. Motioning to the table, the two men sat down. “Tell me, how is that little project of yours going? I heard about the incident in Louisiana.”

“Everything is going right on track. In fact, that’s what I’m here to talk to you about. How would you feel about coming out of the shadows, and into the Light?”

Chapter Text

A/N: hey everyone! Welcome back! Glad to see y’all’re still eager for new chapters. Remember, I just own the story, FNAF and YJ are not mine.

/comms/

Telepathy/Flashbacks/whatever else

Mt. Justice, October 15, 21:33EDT

“Seen it. Seen it. Seen it. Don’t want to see it. Seen it. Boring. Don’t own any stocks. Already own a Slap Chop. Seen it. Seen it. Seen it.”

“Dude!” Mike exclaimed, tossing his hands in the air as the speedster continued to flip through the channels. “Just pick something already!”

“Well, it’s not my fault we get over six-hundred channels and absolutely none of them have anything on!”

“There’s been loads of stuff on!” Artemis countered, “What about Jurassic Park? That was on!”

“Seen it.”

“Who cares?! We’ve all seen it!”

“I haven’t seen it,” Conner remarked.

“You know, for the fasted kid alive, you’re stupidly slow at picking channels,” the archer continued.

“There’s nothing on!”

“Oh, for the love of God,” Mike lunged for the remote, “Just let someone else pick!”

“Perhaps we should do something else?” Kaldur suggested.

This garnered several raised brows. “We’re not training.”

“That was not what I meant,” the Atlantean replied. “I was merely suggesting we could do another activity. One that will not result in argument. Such as when we went to the beach?”

“Kaldur,” Wally said, releasing the remote scowling at Mike’s victorious smirk, “I don’t know if you know this, but water gets a bit too cold for us this time of year. And it’s dark out.”

“Oh! What about camping?” M’gann chimed in. “The temperature’s nice and there’s a half-moon tonight so we’ll have plenty of light.”

“That sounds fun.”

“Yeah!” the speedster was quick to agree. “We can even build a fire and—”

“A fire?” the Martian paused.

“Yeah, you know, a rice roaring campfire,” Wally started before he noticed the glares the others were giving him. “What?” He turned, looking at M’gann and Kaldur before paling, “Oh…I’m sorry, I forgot.”

“It’s fine,” Kaldur reassured. “We should be fine as long as we keep some distance from the fire.”

“Would we get to roast marshmallows?” M’gann chimed in, “I’ve never had marshmallows before.”

“Oh,” Artemis perked up, “we could get chocolate and graham crackers, make s’mores.”

“Great! I’ll go grab the stuff!” the speedster exclaimed.

-.-

22:35EDT

“This was a great idea,” Robin said, holding his hotdog over the fire. “Certainly beats watching Wally try to find something for us to watch.”

“There was nothing on!”

“Sure there wasn’t,” Mike drawled, taking a bite of his hotdog. “Just like there wasn’t a missing socket wrench.”

“For the last time, Mike, I did not take your wrench!”

“I’ll believe that when I find evidence of someone else rifling through my shit!”

“He’s got a point, KF,” Robin shrugged.

“Dude! Whose side are you on?!”

“All of you, knock it off,” Kaldur scolded, rolling his eyes.

“So,” Conner spoke up, “this is what you mean by camping? Sleeping in these flimsy tarps and sit around a fire?”

“Yeah, pretty much,” Wally shrugged. “So it you feel like heading home—”

“Ignore him,” Mike huffed. “There’s more to camping than just sleeping in a tent.”

“Really? How?”

Mike paused, thinking for a moment, “It’s more about…getting outside. Going hiking, fishing, hunting, you know, roughing it in nature, spending some time away from all the chaos back home,” he answered with a fond smile. “Typically normal camping isn’t done in the back yard though,” he motioned to the Cave, “Not unless you’re like, five.”

“You know, camping isn’t something we have on Mars,” M’gann spoke up, sticking a marshmallow onto a stick, “The surface is basically unhabitable, so we have huge cities in the underground caverns beneath the surface. So, how does normal camping work?”

“Well,” Mike started, folding his arms behind his head, “like I said, you’re typically you’re out there for more than one night and just roughing it. You know, no phones—except like an emergency satellite phone—no computers, basically away from all civilization. My dad used to take me all the time. We would pack enough stuff to last us a week or two and we’d just go exploring.”

“Where was the coolest place you camped?” Artemis inquired, blowing out her flaming marshmallow. “My family used to go along the Appalachian Trail.”

Mike grimaced, “Yeah, Dad wanted to hike the entire thing, but I got the flu. But we did go to Yellowstone once or twice, Moab was fun, there were a few other national parks and forests—oh, but, I would say my favorite was when we went to Alaska for mountain climbing. The avalanches sucked ass, and I had to climb my way out of a crevasse, but other than that it was fun.”

“Sounds like a lot of work.”

“That’s what makes it fun.”

“You know what Mike, I think this is the first time I’ve ever heard you talk about your family,” M’gann remarked, not noticing how her friend froze. “Your dad sounds nice.”

Across the campfire, Robin watched the exchange with a scowl. Yeah, Mike painted a nice picture of his home life. He might’ve believed it had he not known the truth. Had he not seen those files, seen the evidence of the hell his friend had lived through, he wouldn’t have thought twice about the story.

In fact, Dick would bet there was a lot Mike was leaving out about the trips. Based on the pictures and x-rays he glimpsed, Mr. Afton had no qualms about hurting Mike at home. Out there, in the middle of nowhere, with no way to contact authorities, there was nothing to stop him from unleashing his full wrath. Yeah, he would bet things had not been as nice as Mike was making it sound.

Still, even if Mr. Afton wasn’t violent physically during the trips, Dick could still imagine how the man could’ve used them to torment his teammate.

Granting him a break from the abuse, promising that it wouldn’t happen again and giving him a trip as a peace offering. For however long they were out, Afton would act like a normal father, getting Mike to drop his guard. Only to return home and start the cycle of violence all over again.

He wondered how many times it had happened until Mike had only looked forwards to the trip as a momentary reprieve to his suffering.

“Dude?” Wally spoke up, pulling the Boy Wonder out of his murderous thoughts. “You ok? You went quiet for a bit.”

“Oh, uh, yeah. Fine.”

The redhead raised a brow, clearly not believing him. However, Dick didn’t care. He just needed to change the conversation before something could slip. Robin may’ve been infamous for prying into people’s business, but there was no way he was going to reveal something as personal as this. “You know, that isn’t the only stuff you do when camping,” he chimed in, crossing his arms. “One popular tradition is to sit around the campfire and tell stories.”

Thankfully, a certain Martian was eager to jump onto the idea, “Oh! I would love to hear your story Kaldur. Could you tell us how you became Aqualad?”

Well, his idea was scary stories, but this worked better.

“Oh,” Kaldur said, looking to the others, seeing all the curious looks staring back at him, “I suppose I could do that. If you do not think it will be too boring.”

“Not at all! I’d love to hear it.”

"Well, I grew up in the city of Shayeris, a city in Atlantis. You see, surface dwellers think Atlanteans are all the same, but our kingdom has many cities, many people, and many cultures" he began to explain.

"So basically here but underwater.”

Kaldur nodded, giving a light chuckle in amusement at the statement. "I suppose so. Anyways, when I was twelve, I completed my education and began my mandatory service in the Atlantean military, which is a standard for all at that age," he stated after seeing a few horrified looks crossing their faces. "After a while I was transferred to the prestigious Conservatory of Sorcery in the Atlantean Capitol of Poseidonis. Queen Mera is the headmistress of the conservatory and wife of King Orin, Aquaman. It was a difficult time for me."

"Why?"

"It was difficult, as it would be for anyone at the age of fourteen, I suppose, but it was also the time in my life where I met the friends that I know will be with me for a lifetime," he answered, before continuing on with his story. "Then came a horrible day when Poseidonis was attacked by Ocean Master. I can remember it vividly as it was the day Aquaman nearly met his end. They fought for what seemed like hours, and their clashes seemed to sha'ke the very city to its foundations. And then, Ocean Master gained the upper hand and nearly defeated Aquaman—actually, Aquaman was defeated," he corrected. "Garth, a fellow student and friend of mine, and I intervened on the King's behalf. It was the only thing we could think of doing. The danger didn't occur to us because the only thing that mattered at the time was that our King was in trouble. It may have been one of the most foolish things Garth and I had ever done, as we nearly met our own end."

"So did you die?" Robin interrupted a teasing smile forming on his face before he yelped as a small stick hit him in the back of his head.

"No," Kaldur deadpanned, rolling his eyes. "However, Garth and I quickly realized that we had no hope of defeating him whatsoever. But the time we spent engaged in battle against Ocean Master was enough for our king to recover. And that was all he needed as Aquaman triumphed over Ocean Master, driving him away from the city and saving us all!"

"So how does this lead to you becoming Aqualad?" Conner questioned.

"Aquaman's a being of two worlds. On the surface, he fights for justice for all beings; under the sea, he's a leader to many. Both roles carry the weights to responsibilities, overwhelming responsibilities only the best of men can carry for so long. But even Aquaman can't do it forever. Realizing that on the surface that both Batman and Green Arrow had taken on apprentices that could one day take over their respective mantles, King Orin had been contemplating the same idea," he started again, intending on giving them the answer on how the rest of the story related to his status as Aquaman's protégé. "With this in mind, he approached both Garth and I with the possibility of becoming his proteges. I must admit, the prospect intrigued me immediately as I had never been to the surface world and I am the to admit that I'm a bit of an adventurer. Many is the day in class that I'd dream of visiting distant oceans and one day, even the surface world. Both Garth and I seriously considered the King's offer. My friend ultimately chose to continue his studies at the Conservatory. For me, however, the chance to visit the surface word was a dream come true. So, at the age of fourteen, I became Aqualad. I miss my friends Garth and Tula, but the chance to do work with my mentor and king was an opportunity I couldn't pass up. I like to think the work I'm doing makes a difference. The rest of the story you know. Aquaman brought me to the surface world, and here I am with all of you."

"Wow, so you wanted to be Aqualad?" M'gann asked.

"Yes, the chance came and I could think of no other path."

“Cool.”

Across the fire, there was a scoff as Wally leaned forwards in his seat. “Well, if you think he,” the speedster motioned to their leader, “wanted to be Aqualad so badly, let me tell you how I got started.”

“Oh God,” Artemis groaned.

Ignoring her, Wally began talking, “You see, it literally goes back a couple of generations, each generation of Flash started with a bang! Jay Garrick was in a freak lab accident; boom there it is! During the forties and fifties he was everywhere! The fastest man alive! Jay Garrick was the world's first Flash! Then one day this guy come along, a huge fan of the Flash. Wanting to know all about Jay Garrick—back then secret IDs weren’t really a thing—he contacts Jay and they spend hours talking about his adventures and the accident that turned him into the Flash. This guy goes so far as to re-create the accident that created the original! However, while Jay's was an accident, this one was set up in a lab, he wanted it to happen! Result? Still a big ass explosion, but lo and behold he becomes Speedy McSpeed-Speed himself! Now he's the Flash—well, not the original Flash, but the new Flash, the one we all know—and this time he's even faster than Flash—the old one—it gave him ever more speed! So check this! great minds think alike cause like Flash was a fan of the first Flash I was a fan of Flash—the second one not the first one. Though I did become a fan of Jay too after I got to know him, anyways, long story short, one day I was in my uncle's house and stumbled across his notebooks and got the shock of my life! That was the day I found out my uncle was the Flash! Once the shock wore off, I kept reading. He was keeping a journal of all the experiences and experiments, most importantly the one that turned him into the Flash—the second one not the first one."

"We get it already!"

"When I found that, I kept hinting to my uncle that he could maybe use a partner. I tried to convince him; I mean, by this time Bats already had Rob and Green Arrow had Speedy. This was a no brainer!" he grinned. "I've gotta admit, Flash was a bit resistant at first…"

"Does this sound confusing to anyone else?" Conner muttered.

"Just let me finish!" Wally scolded tossing a half-hearted glare. "So, having seen the journal, I tried to re-create the experiment with my own chemistry set. And what do you know, I was able to do it!"

"It actually worked?" Kaldur asked looking surprised.

At the question, the redhead grimaced, "Well…not really at first. It kinda landed me in the hospital."

"Of course, it did," Artemis muttered.

"But, a couple of weeks later I was off and running!" he smiled. "I couldn't wait to show my uncle! When he saw I had powers how could he not want me as his partner?!"

Mike smirked playfully, "I can give a few reasons."

Wally continued to ignore his comrade's commentary, "You guys should've seen his face when I showed him! This time he jumped at the chance to have a partner. Flash couldn't wait to show the world! He was beyond ecstatic and couldn't contain his excitement. It was the greatest day in the history of the world! Why do you ask?"

"For the record we didn't."

"That's that day the world got Kid Flash! You are welcome."

"We're all thrilled you're so speed capable," Robin said rolling his eyes behind his glasses.

"What's the matter? Jealous?"

"Of you? Yeah right."

"Robin, how'd you get started?" M'gann asked taking a bite of a smore.

"HA!" Wally laughed. "Are you kidding? Bats won't even let him tell us his real name! Supey could probably give a better origin story!"

Dick went quiet, giving his friend a glare worthy of his mentor. Wally knew his origin. He knew how hard it was for him. Even if Bruce let him talk about their identities and that stuff, there was no way in hell he’d just casually talk about what motivated him to start as Robin.

"You already told me his, you rescued him from Cadmus right?"

"Yeah, we did."

“Yes,” Kaldur confirmed. “Chronologically, Superboy is only eight months old.”

Silence fell over the others at the realization, their eyes wide as they looked to the Kryptonian. “And,” M’gann spoke up, “you have no memory of things before being rescued?”

“I have some memories, from the g-gnome,” he answered after a moment, “It would teach me about the world outside while I was in the containment pod.”

“So…you can remember things?” M’gann said, tilting her head, “When you were in the containment pod they would feed you information and you could remember it, right?”

Conner shrugged, “I guess so.”

“Well,” the Martian continued, “if you remember what they taught you, you must’ve been thinking about the things they told you. What did you think about it?”

“When I was in the pod, I was fed information. I really didn’t start thinking for myself until I got out.”

“What kind of things do you think about now?”

Superboy startled at the question. “Uh…school, I guess?”

“Boring!” Kid Flash called. “C’mon man, there’s gotta be something! Video games, a crush, something worthwhile.”

“Knock it off Baywatch!” Artemis scolded, punching the speedster’s arm. “Maybe he doesn’t want to talk about it. We all have our secrets.”

“Well, what about you Artemis? How did you start out as a hero?”

The blonde glared at the redhead. “Like I said, Green Arrow’s my uncle. I’ve always been a good archer, and after watching a few of the fights with the League I couldn’t help but notice how his bow looked just like Uncle Ollie’s. I put to and two together, confronted him, asked him to train me, and I started this summer. I would’ve been working with Red Arrow too had he not left. There’s not much to it.”

It was a very concise response. Dick wondered how much GA and Bats had her practice that story to make sure she got it right. Probably a lot knowing his mentor. Still, whatever her real origins, Artemis had her reasons for joining the opposite team as the rest of her family. They would only be a problem if those reasons involved betraying them.

Before Wally could continue to pester the archer, Miss M smacked her forehead, “Hello Megan! I didn’t tell you all my story. So, as I said earlier, on Mars everyone lives underground because the surface is uninhabitable. Our family lives are very intertwined and we primarily communicate telepathically. This helps large Martian families maintain a sense of community and stay close.”

“Large? How many people are in your family?”

“Well, Martian families are usually quite large when compared to Earth. I have twelve sisters, seventeen brothers, and over three hundred cousins,” she answered, not noticing the startled choking of her companions around her. Mostly because she was distracted by KF suddenly appearing in her personal space with a frighteningly large grin.

“Three hundred?”

“…Yes?”

“Are they all hot girls like you?”

“Dude!”

“Wow. You are a class act.”

“Dudes! It’s three hundred hot babes. That’s a planet I want to visit!”

“Oh, that’s it.” Beside Dick, Mike got up and grabbed the speedster by his collar, dragging him away. “Stop thinking with your second brain dumbass,” he pushed Wally back into his seat.

“What the hell man?”

“He has a point Baywatch.”

“But—”

“Shut up Wally!”

Tossing a few more scalding glares at the redhead, Artemis looked to M’gann. “Sorry, you were saying?”

The other girl tossed them a grateful look, “Well, half my cousins are males, but yeah, most Martians look a lot alike…most are green, like myself and Uncle J’ohn, but there are also Red Martians, Yellow Martians, and White Martians. However, some on my planet do not see White Martians as equal.”

“Good to see that racism is a universal concept,” someone remarked sarcastically.

“My parents were both Green and I was raised in what you would call a…liberal household. My family—I—had no issues with White Martians. Others were…not as tolerant. And their treatment of White Martians was especially horrible.”

“So how did you come to Earth?” Kaldur inquired, putting another marshmallow on his stick.

“Ok, so out of all of my family members, I was always close to Uncle J’ohn. We had a great relationship. We would watch his exploits on Earth with the rest of the League. He grew to be a true beacon of hope and stood for what society could achieve. He became the most famous Martian in our history. Upon his return to Mars, it was declared a day of planetwide celebration. When he came back though, it was not just for the adulation of our people, but he also had a specific purpose in mind. Having learned about all of you—Robin, Aqualad, KF, and Speedy—he decided it was time to introduce a younger Martian hero to Earth. So, he declared he'd hold a competition to find the next Martian champion that'd be returning with him to join the heroes of Earth! Like over half the Martian population, I decided to enter the contest. However, I was coming to Earth. The competition was fierce and dangerous, as well as exciting and consumed and touched the lives of every Martian on the planet. At first, my uncle didn't seem to want me to enter the competition. I thought it was just cause he knew that our adventures could be life-threatening and dangerous. But I didn't let that stop me! From everything I'd heard of Earth till that point, I knew I had to go there! I was determined to win! And I did it! I won the competition!" She jumped from her seat, floating in the air with her arms thrown up. "My heart soared! I was coming to Earth! This was the most exciting day of my life! And now I'm here will all of you! Part of the Team! I love it!"

"And we're glad to have you here M'gann," Kaldur smiled.

“You could say that again!” Wally agreed.

“So, what about you Mike? Why did you join the team?”

The smile on his face slowly vanished. Mike looked down, his hair shadowing his eyes which glowed through the dark locks eerily. Dick could see his knuckles turning white. “I’d rather not talk about it.”

“Why?”

“Because I don’t want to.”

“But why?”

“Because it’s personal!” he snapped. With an annoyed growl, he got up, almost knocking his chair over. “I’m going to bed. Goodnight.” The campfire was silent as their teammate stomped away, ducking into the tent he was reluctantly sharing with Dick and Wally.

Stretching out, Robin got to his feet, “Well, I don’t know about you guys, but I think I’ve had one s’more too many. I’m gonna hit the hay.”

Artemis nodded, moving to head to the tent she and M’gann were sharing, “Besides, I don’t think Canary will be happy if we’re late for whatever training exercise she has planned tomorrow.”

“True.”

“Oh yeah.”

“This has been such a wonderful evening,” M’gann smiled, “but I am excited to sleep in a tent.”

“Oh! I’m right behind—” Wally started before a hand grabbed his arm.

Robin raised a brow as the speedster met his gaze, “You do remember you’re sharing a tent with Mike and I right?”

“You sure you don’t just want to sleep inside? Mike seems pretty…temperamental right now.”

Anyone would be temperamental after being asked to talk about their worst trauma like it was just a normal campfire story. So, Dick didn’t blame Mike for snapping. If anything, he was irritated at KF for trying to pry when he was asked to stop. Wally was a great friend, but he seriously needed to learn to take a hint. “Nah, it’s only one night, we’ll live.”

The speedster didn’t seem particularly happy, but he didn’t argue. “Hey, you think next time we should go real camping?” Wally suggested as they climbed into the tent. “Like at a real camping place instead of just in our own backyard?”

“You don’t strike me as the outdoorsy type,” Dick muttered.

“It was just an idea.”

They didn’t talk anymore as they climbed into their sleeping bags.

Chapter Text

A/N: Hello everyone! Welcome back! Thanks for the reviews! And I’m glad to see y’all’re still here and are enjoying the story. And I hope this and other future chapters still continue to meet y’all’s expectations. Remember, I don’t own FNAF or YJ, just the story.

/comms/

Telepathy/flashbacks/whatever

Mt. Justice, October 16, 16:00EDT

Things were tense at the Cave as the team stood on standby, watching the various news feeds flashing across the screens, the emergency alerts flashing brightly as various Leaguers fought the onslaught of enemy invaders.

The alien ship had come out of nowhere, almost instantly beginning its assault. Already they had lost several of the League’s powerhouses in the first wave.

And now, their secondary defenses didn’t seem to be doing much better either.

On the feeds, they could see it. One by one, each member of the Justice League vanishing in a flash of light.

“Ladies and Gentlemen we have lost Black Canary, Green Arrow, and the Hawks,” the news anchor spoke solemnly. “Other heroes reported dead or missing include: Batman, Icon, Superman, Captain Marvel, Martian Manhunter, the Green Lanterns, Aquaman—”

An incoming transmission muted the report. /Red Tornado to Cave. I fear I am all that remains of the League/

“RT—” Robin started, only for the line to go dead.

Shocked silence fell over the group of teenagers. That was it. The Justice League had fallen. Leaving them to pick up where they left off. The fate of the world was on their shoulders. The fate of humanity was now the responsibility of a small rag-tag team of sidekicks.

The literal last resort was now in charge of saving the planet.

“We are Earth’s heroes now,” Kaldur finally spoke up, his voice tense.

Mike couldn’t help but gulp slightly at that. Unlike the others, he didn’t share their confidence in their ability to win this. These things took out the entire Justice League with terrifying ease. They killed the world’s strongest heroes with barely a fight. How the fuck were they—a group of literal teenagers half the size and with half the power and training as the League—going to defeat something that their mentors couldn’t stop?

There was no way this wasn’t going to end horribly.

“So, what are we waiting for? A theme song?” Superboy growled, turning to Aqualad.

“A strategy,” their leader answered. “Earth’s weapons are ineffective. And it has been made tragically clear a direct attack will not succeed.”

“Gee, I couldn’t tell,” Mike muttered, instantly regretting the words as soon as they left his mouth. This was not the time to be a smartass.

“Checking satellite imagery,” Robin said, typing quickly. Pulling up a hologram of the globe, they all watched as vast swaths of their planet flashed red. “Here’s where the aliens are now.”

Frowning, Conner stepped forwards, pointing up, “This one get lost?”

All eyes followed his gaze, landing on a single red dot in the artic circle.

“Maybe it’s hunting Santa?” Mike offered uselessly.

Robin, on the other hand, seemed to know exactly what they were looking at, “It’s Superman’s Fortress of Solitude!”

“Superman has a Fortress of Solitude?”

The Boy Wonder ignored his teammate’s comment as he explained, “Its power source must’ve attracted the aliens’ attention. At least enough to send a scout ship to investigate.”

“Must be some fortress,” Superboy huffed.

“It does house a lot of alien tech,” Robin remarked.

This did not seem to help their teammate as he turned away from the hologram as if he was going to walk away. “Conner—”

“No, it’s ok,” the clone interrupted M’gann’s attempt to comfort him, “I guess there’s a lot about Superman I’ll never know…you know, now that is.”

“We will target this lone ship,” Aqualad stated.

Kid Flash was quick to agree, “Yeah. We need to capture it, study it, break it down to build weapons so we can fight back. Hit those ugly aliens with their own mojo!”

Artemis punched the speedster in the arm, causing him to yelp in pain. “Martian and Kryptonian in the house, remember?”

KF’s eyes widened as he glanced towards the pair. “Uh…not that all aliens are automatically ugly.”

“Good save Wally.”

-.-

Superman’s Fortress of Solitude, 17:53EDT

The hum of the alien ship’s engines filled the air, and occasional gust of freezing wind blowing snow across the frozen landscape. It drowned out the soft crunches of snow as the team moved to encircle the ship, all staying out of sight until M’gann made the first move.

Without warning, the metal of the ship screeched as one of its wings bent under an unseen force. Sparks flying from the metal as it was torn off and tossed to the side. “Communications disabled.” The ship fell to the ground, its impact shaking the ice. “Propulsion disabled.”

Nearby, Artemis emerged from her hiding spot. One of her arrows hitting the ship’s entrance, covering it in a hard layer of solidifying foam. “And ETs are sealed inside.”

Clearly alarmed, their enemy began firing shots randomly. Some of their shots coming dangerously close. However, they were so focused on shooting, they didn’t notice the ice cracking under them.

The scout ship jerked violently as the ice partially collapsed. Aqualad leapt out of the water, landing on the torn wing. Noticing his presence, the cannon turned to fire, but was blocked as Wolf rammed into its side throwing off its shot. Before it could readjust, Superboy leapt up, sliding under the cannon and grabbing it, holding the barrel still.

Seeing the main threat neutralized, the others raced out onto the icy plain, standing guard as Robin flipped onto the ship’s hull. “Identifying weapon’s structural stress points and links to the ship,” opening his holo-screen, the Boy Wonder pointed, “Here, here, and here.”

Following his directive, Miss Martian used her telekinesis to sever the links as Superboy pulled, exposing the underlying circuitry.

A high pitch hum filled the air as several of the firing components fell out behind the Kryptonian, one of them beginning to power up. Before they could react, Wolf lunged, knocked Conner out of the way as it fired. A bright flash of light blinded them for a moment, but, when it faded, the component had lost power and the canine was gone.

“Wolf.”

Robin jerked out of his shock, looking to his screen with wide eyes, “T-there was no indication of feedback. I’m sorry.”

“…Can’t do anything for him now,” Conner sighed, climbing back onto the hull and grabbing the cannon again. “Let’s go.”

This time, the alien weapon disconnected without incidence. Hefting the massive weapon over his shoulder, Superboy leapt to the Bioship as M’gann called it over. “Rerouting systems to integrate cannon into ship’s biomatrix,” the Martian informed, setting her palms against the side of her ship, “We’ll need to decamouflage for a few minutes.”

“We may not have a few minutes!” Robin said, as two more alien ships flew overhead.

“Shit. They must’ve been alerted when we cut the signal.”

“Miss Martian open fire!” Aqualad ordered, a hint of panic creeping into his voice.

“Can’t,” she replied, “weapons systems are offline to incorporate the new cannon. And that’s not fully integrated yet either.”

“Is there any way to speed it up?” Mike asked, pulling out a few explosives from his belt.

“No.”

“Fuck.”

“Got you covered!” Artemis called, notching a pair of arrows. Firing the projectiles, two explosions rocked the air as they hit their targets. “Get inside. I’m almost there!”

One of the ships exploded into pieces, fragments raining down onto the ice. The other ship had been grazed, the explosion hitting it knocking it out of the sky. The ground shaking as it crashed, skidding across the ice.

However, it didn’t appear that the crash had affected whomever was inside as a moment later, the cannon turned, the barrel glowing with energy as it prepared to fire. “Artemis. Behind you!”

The archer turned, raising her bow in an attempt to defend herself. It proved to be useless as the cannon fired and hit their friend.

“ARTEMIS!”

“NO!”

Sliding off the captured ship, Kaldur grabbed his water-bearers. “Get inside, all of you,” he ordered. No waiting for a response, their leader charged forwards, his tattoos glowing brightly as he slammed his fists into the ice. The water underneath surged violently, erupting from the ice in a torrent surging towards the ship that had killed their friend.

In a useless attempt to defend itself, the ship fired its cannon several more times. But the unaffected surge of water merely continued towards it, ripping the ship from the ground before it swirled around it before the current changed and dove straight into the side of the nearby fortress. The force of it destroying the ship instantly upon contact with the impenetrable metal walls.

Despite orders, no one had moved from their spots. Still somewhat in shock at what had just happened. “They’re dead,” Wally snarled, venom dripping from his words as he glared at where the ship had once been, “every single alien, it it’s the last thing I do.”

No one argued against him.

-.-

Almost everyone was subdued on the flight back. Silence filling the air, only broken by M’gann’s quiet sobs. Occasionally, Wally would exclaim something indistinct in fury, causing the others to flinch as the speedster slammed his fists into the panel before him.

However, unlike them, Mike felt…strangely detached. He wanted to be sad, to mourn the death of his friend. But for some reason, he just couldn’t bring himself to do it.

Maybe it was because he was just used to those around him dying violently, maybe he was just broken in a way that couldn’t be fixed, but Mike just couldn’t bring himself to feel…anything. It happened. People died. It was just a fact of life. They knew that dying on the job was a risk when they had signed up for this.

Or at least he thought the others had understood that.

“Enough,” Kaldur spoke up. “There will be time to mourn later. Right now we have a job to do: defend the Earth and make sure Artemis’s sacrifice was not in vain.”

Mike found himself nodding in agreement. “He’s right, right now we need to focus on the mission.”

“Back to the Cave?” M’gann asked, her voice thick with barely contained sorrow.

“No, the Hall of Justice. The people of Earth must know that there are still heroes defending them. There is still hope.”

-.-

Washington D.C., 18:45EDT

Explosions rocked the capitol as the team made their final approach. Already they could see several alien ships weaving between the offensive measures the military made, raining fire upon the woefully underprepared army below and forcing the soldiers fighting for their homes and lives to take cover until the assault stopped.

Staying camouflaged, the Bioship pulled up over three of the alien ships currently attacking the army in front of the Hall of Justice. Opening the bottom, the bottom opened, allowing Superboy to jump out, knocking one of the ships to the as the Bioship used its integrated cannon to destroy the other two ships.

Already they could hear the cheers as the ship landed.

“See, it is Superman,” one soldier grinned. “Told ya he wouldn’t leave us out here alone.”

“I dunno, he looks kinda young.”

“I’m not Superman,” Superboy corrected, tossing the debating pair an annoyed glance.

“I don’t know who you are son,” a man with stars on his uniform said, stepping to the front. “And right now, I don’t care. You wear the S and you got the job done.”

“I’m not Superman,” he muttered.

“Tell that to the enemy,” the General chuckled. Seeing movement, the man turned giving a salute, “General Wade Eiling, U.S Air Force.”

“Aqualad, Justice League,” their leader replied. “We’ll help you salvage as many of the aliens’ cannons as possible. And then we’ll start taking back what is ours. Remnant, Kid Flash, Robin,” Kaldur turned, “do you think you can integrate the cannons into the military weapons systems?”

Mike paused in thought. Without a word, he leapt up onto a fallen ship’s hull, kneeling beside the glowing discs that powered the cannons. Pulling out his knife, he severed one of the cords, looking at the components inside. Alien tech wasn’t his expertise, and it had been a pain in the ass to work on studying it besides his normal schoolwork, but, from the looks of it the cords seemed basic enough. They’d just need an ample power source. “I think so,” he called, looking down at them. Already he could see hopeful faces in the crowd. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to get their hopes up, but they needed to be realistic about the situation. “But it’s gonna take time. We might be able to move faster if we scrap the entire cannon, use the firing components to make individual weapons. The yield won’t be as powerful though.”

“But it is possible?” General Eiling said.

Mike nodded. “Yeah.”

“Good. What do you need to get started, son?”

“…Do you have paper? Cause it’s a lot.”

-.-

21:03EDT

Sweat dripped off Mike’s brow as he stood on a tank, feeding cables down the barrel of its cannon as they began attaching one of the firing components to the end of the barrel. If the military still wanted to use its surface-to-air missiles, they’d have to use them from shoulder-mounted rocket launchers—assuming Mike didn’t determine that those were the next best weapons to modify once he was done with the tanks. Still, even though it was far from perfect, the tanks themselves were almost perfect for connecting the alien hardware to. The barrel of the gun could be moved to change both the angle and direction of the shot and it had enough power to charge the disintegration beams—and if they were low on power, it stored enough batteries to do the work instead.

Though, this process would probably be going faster if the others were helping. Where the fuck were they? He swore if they were inside the Hall bawling, there was a good chance he was going to bitch-slap someone. This wasn’t the time. They could grieve after this fiasco was over.

At least the soldiers were being useful.

“How’s it going in there?” he called, sitting up, holding the deadly alien weapon in his hands.

“So far so good sir!”

“Ok, I’m about to attach the ring.”

“Rodger that!”

“M’gann check his mind. Make sure he is whom he appears to be,” Kaldur ordered over the link.

“It’s him. He’s real. He’s alive!”

Mike groaned, whatever they were talking about, it was so not helping him focus. “Guys, little less chatter please. I don’t want to blow up what’s left of D.C.” Moving to the side, he turned the firing module away from the tank, making sure it was aligned with the barrel before he began welding them together. “Toss me the blowtorch.”

For all their praise about being excellent shots, these men were terrible at tossing tools to him. As proven by yet another of his requests landing, not in his hand, but a few feet away from him.

It wasn’t like he could move right now either.

“Sorry about that,” someone said, climbing up to hand him the torch.

“Thanks. Hold that.” Turning the flame onto its lowest setting, he began welding the alien weapon to the barrel, praying to God it wouldn’t damage the firing mechanism inside. Sparks bounced off his skin as he worked, and before long he was done with the second tank. “Ok,” he sighed, hanging the tools back in his belt, “hopefully that should work.”

“I’m sure it will, son,” the General spoke. “I’ve had a few of the men watching you as you worked, hopefully that should help speed things along.”

“It should,” he nodded, running a hand through his hair tiredly. He needed a break, just for two minutes, something. Something just short enough to let him breathe for a moment while not slowing down progress. “Where are the others?”

“Right here!” Kid Flash called as he and Robin ran over, climbing onto one of the trucks close to the Bioship.

“What’s going on?” Mike said, jogging over to them. Peering over the Boy Wonder’s shoulder, his brows furrowed. Why were they scanning the cannon? What had they figured out while he’d been busy?

“I knew it! Look!” KF pointed to the reading on the screen. “It’s giving off Zeta Beam radiation. The same stuff that powers our Zeta Tubes. This thing doesn’t disintegrate, i-it teleports! Artemis is alive!”

“Maybe, but—”

“No maybes. They’re all alive!”

Mike was pretty sure he was about to have an aneurism, “I would’ve liked to know that before I just spent the past few hours dismantling this shit to modify the tanks!”

Of course, as usual, the others seemed to ignore his point as M’gann chimed in, “That must’ve been what you wanted to tell us!”

“What who wanted to tell us? Who are you talking about?! What the fuck is going on?!”

He didn’t receive an answer before they all heard the engines of incoming hostiles. A lot of incoming hostiles. Because of course the aliens couldn’t come any other time. Just when he was trying to figure out what the hell was going on.

Honestly, at this point, he wouldn’t be surprised to learn the universe was just actively fucking with him in particular for shits and giggles.

“Hold on! We’re on our way!” Kaldur said.

“Negative,” Robin replied. “We can’t win this.”

Mike didn’t disagree. Even with the two modified tanks, it wouldn’t be long until they were overwhelmed.

“Miss Martian, camo the Bioship.”

As if they heard the telepathic order, one of the ships fired. Even from where he was crouched, Mike could hear M’gann’s scream over the shouts of the men around him.

“Fall back!” General Eiling shouted. “Get inside!”

Mike cursed, ducking behind one of the remaining trucks as a blast barely missed his head. Yes, inside would provide cover, but the question was for how long? They didn’t have League clearance. There was no way they could get all the men though, not without hacking into the system. And that was going to take time. Time they didn’t have, unless…

Unless something or someone bought them time.

He glanced back towards the Hall.

No one had noticed he was missing yet.

Good.

He didn’t need someone trying to talk him out of this.

It was for the best. He hadn’t been much help to the others right now anyways. A chain was only as strong as its weakest link, and right now, he was that weak link. He wasn’t as strong as Superboy, he couldn’t run faster than sound, he couldn’t control water or throw things with his mind, and Robin and KF were both more than competent in tech that his absence wouldn’t be felt.

Besides, they all had things to live for anyways.

The least he could do was buy them time to escape.

Leaping from his hiding spot, Mike hurled several explosives at the ships passing overhead. The resulting explosions rocked the air as he slid into one of the buildings, barely avoiding a blast that destroyed a chunk of wall behind him. His bootsteps echoed in the abandoned building, heart pounding in his chest as he discarded his less valuable weapons. As fun as it was to hit henchmen with a wrench, it wasn’t going to be much help fighting alien warships and he needed to make himself as light and fast as possible.

Bursting onto the roof, he sprinted towards the edge, all but hurling himself off the building towards one of the ships. To his relief, his dagger managed to dig into hull, arresting his fall. Pulling himself onto the top, he came face-to-face with a cannon snapping in his direction, powering up. Without thinking his plan through, Mike slammed his fist into the hull. Flames erupted from his fist at the impact, melting the metal under it.

However, he didn’t have time to process what just happened when the resulting explosion blasted him through a nearby building. Pain shot through as he came to a sudden stop, a pipe from the rubble stabbing through his stomach and a rather large piece of rubble landed on his leg. Even if that didn’t happen, he didn’t doubt there were numerous broken bones.

Hopefully the others had managed to bypass the systems by now. Because time was up.

One of the cannons began powering up. Glaring down the barrel, he spat blood onto the ground beside him. “Fuck you.”

At least this time he actually had the chance to fight back.

-.-

Unknown

He should be dead.

He was supposed to be dead.

He had to be dead.

There was no way he could have survived.

And yet he felt cold water lapping at his boots.

Curling his fingers, he felt sand shift between them as a cool breeze blew by.

He…he was alive?

How?

Opening his eyes, he blinked as an unfamiliar teal sky marred with black clouds gazed back down at him. Obsidian sand scraped against him as he sat up, his gaze immediately landing on the scarlet waters he’d been lying on the edge of. Around the lake, he could see the glowing forms of dead trees.

Where was he?

“Back so soon, Little Soul?”

Startled, Mike whirled around, turning to face the imposing voice. He found himself staring at…a red alligator?

At least it looked like a gator.

It was sitting in a lawn chair on the lake’s shoreline just a few feet away from him. A cooler was sitting in the sand beside it and there was a fishing pole standing in a holster, its line disappearing into the red waters.

White pinpricks in the center of its pitch-black eyes flickered over to meet his gaze, causing the hair on the back of the teen’s neck to rise in alarm. Mike had no idea what this was, but there was no doubt in his mind that it was powerful and it was dangerous.

“Who—who are you?”

The massive being sighed, sounding annoyed, “I suppose it should not be surprising you do not remember. I have many names, Little Soul. But…” the gator appeared in front of the teen suddenly, causing him to scramble back in shock, “you can call me: Old Man Consequences.”

If this were any other situation, Mike might’ve found the name ridiculous. However, he decided against making a wry remark while this thing’s teeth were just inches from his face. There was no way that wouldn’t end badly.

“Wait…Old Man?” he paused. “Like the one Mr. Nelson and Kaldur mentioned?”

Consequences huffed, “I see Nabu has been as helpful as ever. Clearly you did not get my message, or you would not be here.”

“I got it!” Pushing himself to his feet, Mike found himself standing at only the gator’s chest. But it didn’t stop him from glaring up at his mysterious tormentor. “It’s not my fault there was an alien invasion! Speaking of which, where am I?! Last thing I remember I was getting shot by an alien cannon. Am I dead?”

The Old Man tilted his head. “An invasion? There is no invasion on your planet at this time.”

Mike frowned. “I would beg to differ.”

Consequences crouched down, his black eyes boring into Mike’s own almost seeming to stare into his very soul. “…Ah. I see,” he swore the gator grinned, “The human mind is an inherently fragile thing. It is no wonder you ended up back here.” The Old Man rose back to his full height, engulfing the teen’s shoulder in one massive claw, “Rest assured, Little Soul, the things you just experienced are merely figments of your mind. Your friends, are unharmed.”

“Then why am I here?”

The being sat down in his chair. Motioning to Mike, the teen turned to find one his size now behind him. “As I said. The mind is a fragile thing. You are back because you believe you have died.”

“Back? I haven’t been here before. Where is here?”

“Some would call this a way-station. A place where souls pass through on the way to the afterlife. However, every now and then, a soul will be reluctant to move on or will get lost. It is my duty to guide them to where they are meant to spend eternity.”

“So…I am dead?”

The Old Man chuckled, “No. A coma. As for why you are here, you are a…special case.”

“Does it have to do with how I’ve been here before?”

“Partially,” he answered grabbing his fishing pole and casting the line, “Every now and then, I encounter souls who seek to sever their ties to the mortal plane. Their reasons vary. You were perhaps the most stubborn soul I have ever dealt with.”

“Hey!”

Consequences chuckled, “It is not an insult. Very rarely do I encounter souls as exceptionally strong as yours.” The alligator went quiet, reeling in his line, “It took some convincing to get you to go back.”

Mike pulled his knees up, wrapping his arms around them, “So…why didn’t you let me die then? Doesn’t letting me live violate some law of nature or something?”

The Old Man cast his line again, “As I said: you are a special case, Little Soul. And, even if you are not convinced your life is worth saving, you will find there are many others around you who will disagree.” He tilted his head up, looking to the swirling skies overhead. “I see your friends are beginning to wake.”

Brows rising, Mike followed the being’s gaze, trying to see what he was in the strange skies. “How do you—”

“Time is different here, Little Soul,” Consequences said from behind him, holding the back of his chair. “And young one, do not make us meet in these circumstances again.”

Before Mike could reply, he was suddenly picked up and thrown into the icy red water.

-.-

Mt. Justice, October 16, 16:21EDT

Mike gasped for air, almost headbutting his mentor as he shot up. Goosebumps crawled up his arms as he still felt the chill of the cold water. Taking a deep breath, he focused on the hand resting on his back. Around him, he could hear quiet voices. Looking up, he could see the others slowly getting up, their respective mentors hovering beside them looking worried.

“It’s alright Michael, breathe,” Canary said. Her voice had wavered slightly, as if she had been shaken by what just happened.

“You’re all alive!” M’gann exclaimed, a familiar smile crossing the Martian’s face as she got up.

Batman set a hand on his protégé’s shoulder as he looked to Manhunter as Captain Marvel helped the elder Martian up, “What happened in there?”

J’ohn groaned, pressing his palm against his forehead. “The exercise…it all went wrong.”

“Exercise?” Robin panted, sweat dripping down his brow.

“Try to remember,” the Dark Knight spoke. Mike couldn’t help but notice that the man’s tone was much gentler than it normally was. “What you experienced was a training exercise. Manhunter psychically linked you all in an artificial reality. You all knew this going in. What you didn't know was that it was a train for failure exercise. No matter what the team accomplished, the scenario was designed to get worse. Still you were aware, nothing was real. Including the deaths of the entire Justice League."

Mike’s eyes widened. The Old Man was right. It hadn’t been real.

"That is why you hardly grieved,” Manhunter continued, slowly pulling himself from Captain Marvel to support his own weight, “even when Wolf was disintegrated before your eyes.” Everyone glanced to the canine as Conner hugged the creature close to his chest. “But all that changed when Artemis died. Though consciously Miss Martian was aware that it wasn't real, her subconscious could not make that distinction. She forgot it was only a simulation, and her subconscious took over, making all of you forget as well."

M'gann took a step back, her green skin turning a shade of grey as she leaned against the cot she’d previously been lying on. “I…I’m so sorry,” she whispered.

Conner, still holding onto Wolf like a lifeline, was quick to jump to her defense, “This isn’t her fault! Why didn’t you stop the exercise?!”

“We tried,” Manhunter answered, his voice sounding pained, “But, M’gann had…a death grip on the scenario. Even Artemis, who should’ve awakened upon her death, was so convinced she had died, she slipped into a coma. I realized that I would have to take control from within, but upon my arrival, I was overwhelmed by your collective emotion. There was too much noise to think clearly…to remember why I was there. The deaths of Aqualad and Superboy helped. But it was only once the mothership was destroyed, and Kid Flash and Robin were silenced, did my mind clear enough to remember why I was there: to shock M'gann out of the exercise. Before your comas became permanent. My apologizes, I had no idea a training exercise could be so dangerous…so damaging…"

There was a soft squeeze to Mike’s shoulder, prompting him to look back at Canary. Her brows were furrowed as she glanced between him and a now weeping M’gann. The question was clear: would he be ok if she went to comfort M’gann?

He nodded. M’gann needed more help right now than he did.

Upon his consent, his mentor got up, walking over to the sobbing girl.

Mike rested his elbows against his knees, his gaze landing on what appeared to be burn marks on his cot. So…he guessed that hadn’t just been part of his imagination either. Sighing, he turned to watch the others. Everyone else seemed…subdued. How bad had it gotten after he died? He had been the second person to die in the simulation, and he felt fine.

Though…maybe he was able to handle this better than the others. Maybe he was just used to death lurking over his shoulder. Almost everyone he’d ever loved had died a violent, agonizing death. Hell, even he had suffered a violent—albeit temporary—death. What was a few more people in his life dying?

It probably wouldn’t be the last time something like this happened anyways.

Chapter Text

A/N: hey everyone, welcome back! Good to see y’all here again! Remember, I just own the story, nothing else is mine.

/comms/

Telepathy/flashbacks/whatever

Mt. Justice, October 18, 17:21EDT

“Recognized: Batman—02.”

“How are they doing?” the Dark Knight inquired, striding up towards where Manhunter and Captain Marvel stood watching several video feeds, showing the group of teens curled up in the living room.

“I am still shaken by what we have wrought,” J’ohn replied. “One can only imagine how these youths fare.”

Batman looked up to the camera feeds. None of the teens were talking to each other, each child lost in their own thoughts. Each looking shell-shocked.

Guilt twisted in his chest. What had they been thinking? Putting already traumatized children through an exercise like that? How on Earth had no one considered the repercussions?

He gave a defeated sigh, “I know our simulation went awry, but I was hoping the Team would rally by now.”

“Trauma tends to linger. Something I know you know well old friend.”

“Black Canary?

“She has her work cut out for her.”

-.-

The Cave was painfully quiet. Since the exercise the other day, everyone had been rather gloomy. Even the adults seemed broodier than usual.

It wasn’t that he blamed the others for their reactions. No. If anyone understood what it was like to die and come back, it was him.

It was just, for some reason, this whole fiasco just didn’t bother him.

He just…didn’t feel anything about it.

Which was one reason he was hiding away from everyone else. They were all suffering and he…he was just fine.

Sure, they all died. But, at the end of the day, it hadn’t been real. So, there was no reason to be upset about it. It happened, but it was just better to move on and forget about it. There was nothing they could do to fix it anyways; it hadn’t been real. Besides the odds had been stacked against them from the start, it only would’ve been a matter of time before they lost anyways.

Frankly, he was kind of surprised they all survived as long as they did.

But, he didn’t voice those thoughts out loud. He didn’t want to make them feel worse.

So, he was just going to use the free time to work on hunting down his father. At least until Canary hunted his ass down for their talk.

Pulling up the files, he opened the digital copy of the notebook, scrolling back to where he last was. Upon his initial glance, he could see that the writing was not the methodical notes his father took during an experiment. Must be one of the instances where something pissed off his father. That was the only time he wrote like this.

              Something is wrong. I don’t understand why though. Everything had gone exactly better than I could have ever envisioned. At long last, Michael had finally made his first kill. It was sloppy, more exposed to witnesses than my own first kill had been. But he is new, mistakes happen. I suppose I should’ve seen this coming. Michael was going through another aggressive phase because of the recent treatment escalation. I should’ve been there to corral him for the time being, at least until I could’ve found him more suitable prey.
             It’s a pity. The Illusion Disc experiment was going well too. At least I still managed to collect some useful data. And I just started his remnant treatment too. So that was a waste.
             But still, Michael had made his first kill. He should be more excited. I had been. I couldn’t wait to feel that rush again.
             Instead, he has lost all progress he’s made. He isn’t eating, he’s sobbing like Evan always had—thank God I won’t have to listen to that anymore—he hasn’t left his room since the plug was pulled, and he’s even fallen behind on his remnant regimen because he’s not sleeping. Michael seems to have become just as weak and pathetic as he had been when I started treating him.
            All that work down the drain. What went wrong? I did everything perfectly! I trained him to be strong. I molded him to be a man. Not a weak sniveling child. I showed him how to enjoy the thrill of the hunt. Taught him to kill. He had enjoyed it when we killed those elk on our hunting trips. He had no problem when I taught him how to gut a fish. People say that the first human kill is the hardest, but seriously, it’s just like killing anything else. He enjoyed it then. Why not now?
             I know Michael had been a stupidly sensitive child, but the remnant should’ve taken care of that. He should be fixed. So why is it he seems more broken?
           Perhaps I have been too lenient in disciplining him. Michael does need a strong hand to guide him. I’ll need to redouble my efforts. And I’ll have to increase the doses, that should crush whatever old weaknesses are trying to reappear. Going hunting more often should also help get him used to killing again. At least until I can work him up to human kills again.

 Mike felt his blood turn to ice as he reread the entry. His dad…his dad had wanted him to kill someone. No, he had been expecting it.

All those camping trips, all the hunting they did…it was to get him used to killing. They were supposed to make him like taking a life. Get him used to seeing innocent people as little more than lambs to be slaughtered.

His father hadn’t been pissed that Michael had killed his baby brother. No, he’d been pissed that he hadn’t enjoyed it.

Mike felt sick.

His father had been trying to turn him into a killer, into…into a monster.

And, in some way, he had succeeded. After all, only a monster could murder their own brother in cold blood. Only a monster could go through something like what just happened in the simulation and feel nothing.

One of his best friends had died right before his eyes, and he had felt nothing.

If he felt anything at all, he’d felt pissed. Not because she died. But because everyone else was acting normal. They all had been grieving and all he could think about was the next part of the mission.

His friend had been killed, and all he could think about was how everyone else’s emotions were going to get in the way.

Something was wrong with him. Something was deeply, fundamentally broken inside of him. Because no normal person would act like that. No normal person would be mad at their friends for grieving.

Glass dug into his hand as the tablet broke from how hard he was squeezing it. Jumping back from his seat in surprise, he dropped the components, watching as they shattered on the floor, making a mess. He…he hadn’t even noticed he’d been squeezing that tight. What if it had been someone’s neck? He would’ve killed them. He just could’ve killed someone without noticing until it was too late.

Maybe…maybe he really was a monster.

-.-

Dinah leaned back in her seat, watching as the fourth child of the day sat down in front of her. So far, she would say these sessions had been going moderately better than what she’d come in expecting. While Artemis had been rather reluctant, they did have a, an albeit small, breakthrough. Wally was just in straight up denial. And Conner…he just needed time to work things out at his own pace. It was perfectly natural for some people to need time to process before they could talk. Several of her other patients were the same way. She would be there when he was ready.

But, right now, she needed to focus on the teen in front of her.

Kaldur looked just as rattled as both Conner and Artemis had been. The normally stoic Atlantean boy had large bags under his eyes and was visibly slumping in his seat, resting his elbows on his knees.

“Hello Kaldur,” she smiled gently. “How are you holding up?”

Across from her, the young man sighed, “As well as can be expected.”

An honest answer. Good. That was a great start. “I see. Do you want to talk about it?”

The boy nodded. “I…When I started this, I always knew there was a chance for something to go wrong,” he said, looking down at the floor, “it was something that stuck with me since my mandatory military training back in Atlantis. I thought I was prepared for it. But…”

“But?”

“But, instead…” Kaldur took a deep, breath, trying to calm himself down as he rest his forehead on his palm, “instead, I let two of my friends die under my command. I should have told Artemis to retreat, ordered M’gann to use her telekinesis to destroy the incoming ship, or I could have used my waterbearers to take the ship down. Instead, I let her die.”

“Kaldur,” Dinah spoke, "focusing on the what-ifs never helps. Believe me I know. But, unfortunately we cannot change the past. However, that doesn’t mean it was your fault. You were thrust into a position you never should have been in, in circumstances that never should have happened. I know you did everything you could.”

“I was the General. I was in charge of making sure my team survived, making sure we completed the mission,” he replied. “And I didn’t even notice one of my friends hadn’t even made it inside until it was too late. I acted as a soldier. I am not fit for command…I—I think I should resign as team leader.”

She didn’t blame him. Who would want to be in command after that? It was perfectly natural for Kaldur to be more hesitant now. “Who would you recommend to take your place?”

The Atlantean boy, interlaced his fingers, still looking at the ground. “Artemis is too raw and untrusting. Kid Flash too brash and impulsive. Miss Martian remains eager to please. And Superboy carries too much anger.”

“Leaving only two options: Robin and Remnant,” she finished. Canary did her best to not show her surprise. She knew Robin was the logical choice. But, Michael was a surprise, if not welcome contender. She was at least proud to see that her protégé had gained the confidence of his teammates.

Kaldur nodded. “Yes…Remnant has on occasion acted as a second. He notices problems the others tend to overlook. But,” the teen sagging in his chair, “he’s much like Superboy at times. He lets his temper get the better of him.”

Now that sounded more like her apprentice. “And what of Robin?”

Kaldur’s head snapped up to look at her, his pale aqua eyes wide. “But he is too young—”

“Kaldur,” she interrupted gently, reaching out to pat his knee, “you’re all young.”

Still, he shook his head. “I cannot shift this burden to him. Not yet,” the boy sighed, sitting up to lean back in his seat, “It seems I must withdraw my resignation.”

-.-

Michael sat in a corner of the library, arms wrapped around his knees as he stared at the broken tablet on the floor. He needed to clean it up. Preferably before someone noticed. He didn’t want to get in trouble. But he just couldn’t bring himself to move.

Instead, he just sat there, staring at the mess he’d made.

He didn’t know how long he’d been sitting there. His tears had dried some time ago.

Now, he just felt empty. He didn’t know why though. He knew his father was a monster. He should have seen something like this coming. His father hated his guts. He made it clear time and time again that he was worthless to the man. A mistake that should’ve never been born.

It wasn’t like he was wrong, anything Mike got involved in always seemed to end in disaster.

Seriously, he was so pathetic that William never gave him attention unless he wanted something or needed a good punching bag.

It wasn’t like he was good for much else.

But, then again, nothing he’d ever done had been enough to please his father.

William had been probably just been planning to throw him under the bus first chance he got. Though it wasn’t like he would have even made a good patsy. He’d always been a terrible liar.

His gaze landed back on the broken tablet. He probably needed to clean that up soon.

-.-

“Hi M’gann,” Canary said, opening the door to let the girl in. “How are you doing?”

The normally bubbly girl didn’t answer, merely floating to the chair and sitting down in it, knees hugged to her chest.

Dinah’s heart sank. She knew that out of all of them, M’gann was likely going to be taking this the hardest. Poor girl probably blamed herself. “I see,” she mused stepping over to sit across from the girl, she rested her elbows against her knees. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“I…I don’t know…” she whispered, hugging herself tighter, “what is there to talk about?”

“Well, we can start with how you feel about what happened in the simulation,” Dinah offered. “Or, if you don’t feel comfortable talking about that right now, we can talk about something else. Work up to it? Does that sound ok?”

M’gann nodded.

“Ok. Where do you want to start?”

“I-it’s just…” she hiccupped, wiping her eyes, “it’s just what am I supposed to think? It was all my fault. Hello Megan,” the girl smacked her forehead harder than Dinah had ever seen M’gann do it before, “who else could turn a simple exercise and turn it into a nightmare?”

“M’gann,” she said, reaching out to grab her hand, “listen to me: it was an accident. This was not your fault. The blame lies on us for even thinking of this idea. We didn’t consider the repercussions. So please, don’t punish yourself for this.”

“B-but it was my—I-I traumatized my friends!”

“Honey,” she interrupted the poor girl’s rambling, “it was not your fault. If you need to blame someone, M’gann, blame us. Because you are in no way responsible for this.”

The Martian didn’t respond, but her skin did change from its normal green to a pale, freckled tone.

“You—you turned white,” she said, quickly shoving down her surprise. She had to remember, Martians worked different than humans. J’ohn could be seen changing skin tones sometimes depending on his mood. M’gann must’ve been going through the same thing.

Or at least she would have believed that had it not been for her visibly horrified reaction. “No!” Shooting to her feet, the girl’s eyes were impossibly wide as she stared down at her hands. “Oh…” she sighed, taking a deep breath, slowly sinking back into her chair, “oh, you mean Caucasian.” She leaned forwards, resting her elbows on her legs, her long red hair obscuring her face, “Y-yeah. I’m fine being Megan. But, right now, I don’t think I can trust myself with my other powers.”

Canary’s heart sunk. That’s what she’d been afraid of. “M’gann, you’re a Martian. You refusing to use your powers is like me refusing to speak,” she said.

The girl didn’t reply.

“You know, I once tried that: not speaking.”

M’gann looked up at her, bright orange eyes glistening with unshed tears.

“It had been my first day of school and I was so nervous I had my first Canary Cry. I nearly deafened my entire first-grade class. So, I understand what it’s like, being scared of what your powers can do. However, denying a part of yourself is never the answer. It will only make u feel worse. Trust me. I know it’s going to be hard, and it will take time, but the feeling of guilt will eventually go away. And, I’m sure your uncle would be more than happy to help you. You just need to take your time, pace yourself, practice until you regain control and build back your confidence.”

-.-

Blood dripped onto the counter as Mike pulled shards of glass out of his palm with a pair of tweezers. He supposed he should’ve been more careful cleaning his mess up. But he had been more focused on making sure no one saw his lapse in control. Besides, he didn’t mind the pain.

It actually helped clear his head.

Pulling out a particularly large shard, he dropped it in the wastebin, running his hand under the cold water washing the blood away as his cut slowly stitched itself shut.

That had been embarrassing.

Seriously? What the fuck? He’d read entries much, much worse than that. He’d spent hours analyzing entries describing the torture and mutilation of dozens of innocent people, seen pictures of what his father had done to his victims, read about how the man had murdered the rest of his family and had been treating him as his personal lab rat and punching bag. So why did that entry affect him so badly?

Not even the entries regarding his mother’s or Lizzie’s murders had bothered him this badly.

Honestly, it really shouldn’t have been a shock his father had decided to turn him into his personal hunting dog. The man had already made him his personal punching bag and servant waiting on him hand and foot. Why not make him his personal hitman on top of it?

Yanking another shard from his hand, he grit his teeth. It wasn’t even the worst thing that had ever happened to him. But of course, his self-centered ass freaked out the moment the journal mentioned more ways the man had been tormenting him.

It was just another thing to add to his no doubt mountain of trauma.

What was wrong with him? He shouldn’t have been freaking out so much. It was pathetic. He was a grown up, he had handled himself alone for years in Gotham City. He hadn’t needed anyone then. He didn’t need anyone now.

Michael wasn’t the weakling in those journals anymore.

Glaring into the mirror, he ignored tears burning at the corners of his eyes as he saw William grinning back at him.

-.-

Any job had its good and bad days. For Dinah, both as a therapist and heroine, this was a bad day. Don’t get her wrong, she knew it was only a matter of time before the team would be ordered to have sessions with her. But, she hadn’t been expecting it to be after such a traumatizing situation, let alone one that the League had caused.

They were their mentors. They were the people who had been meant to protect them from things like that, to allow those kids to maintain their innocence for as long as possible. And instead, they had done just the opposite. They had recklessly chosen to allow them to do an exercise that would permanently traumatize the most mentally stable adult.

She felt so stupid.

What the hell had they been thinking?

They had put several traumatized children into a situation where they would be forced to watch everyone they cared about die before their eyes. They had forced these kids to relive their worst nightmares.

Now children were paying the price for their oversight.

M’gann no longer felt safe using her own powers and had guilt eating her from the inside out. Artemis was blaming herself for causing the disaster, despite the fact it hadn’t been as much her fault as it had been anyone else’s. Kaldur’s normally unshakable confidence was now cracking as he questioned his ability to lead. Robin was now terrified at the thought of taking charge and causing people he cared about to die. Wally was still in denial. She still had yet to speak to Conner since he took off mid-session. And Michael…well to say she was worried was an understatement.

No one had seen the boy since he arrived at the Cave earlier that day.

Down the hall, she heard something shatter.

That couldn’t be good.

Jogging over, she bit her lip knocking lightly. “Is everything ok in there?”

There was a thud on the other side, “It’s fine.”

Dinah pursed her lips. Yeah, that was a lie if she ever heard one. “I’m coming in.”

There wasn’t any protest as door creaked open, stepping inside the first thing she noticed was the mirror. Large cracks fragmented the reflective surface, and several fragments were shattered on the counter and floor. It looked like someone had punched it.

The next thing she noticed was the small trashcan sitting on the counter. Stepping forwards, she peering inside, brows rising as she saw bloody pieces of glass.

“Sorry.”

Turning around, she found Michael sitting on the floor. He looked worse for wear. “Bad day?” she asked, sitting down beside him.

Mike shrugged, “…Yeah.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

He opened an eye, the normally bright glow noticeably dimmer. With a silent shrug, he leaned forwards, resting his cheek on his knee. Using his forearm to hug his knee close, looking towards the broken mirror. “I’ll clean that up.”

She grabbed his shoulder as he started to get up. “Don’t worry about it,” she said, gently pulling him back down.

“But—”

“Mike, it’s ok. We don’t mind fixing it,” Dinah reassured. “It was an accident.” Taking his hand, she grabbed the first aid kit lying out, pulling out the glass fragments. “So do you want to tell me what’s wrong?”

“There’s nothing wrong.”

“And I’m sure that mirror cracked itself,” she countered. “So what’s going on?”

The teen sighed, leaning back against the wall, running a hand through his hair with his free hand. She couldn’t help but notice the small, dried spots of blood on that hand too. “I…I don’t know.”

Canary set the tweezers aside, grabbing a bottle of peroxide to pour over the cuts before they fully healed over. It was better to be safe than sorry in her opinion. “Then let’s start with the cause of all this,” she winced sympathetically as her protégé hissed as the disinfectant was poured onto his hand, “I know the exercise would’ve been hard for you. Even if it hadn’t gone wrong.”

Beside her, Mike scoffed quietly, “Because I had to watch people die or I had to die again?” He pulled his hand away, wiping it on his shirt. “The truth is…” he sighed, leaning his head back against the wall, “the truth is, it didn’t bother me. It wasn’t like I didn’t care, but…I just—I just couldn’t feel anything.” The boy hugged his legs closer to his chest. “Everyone else was hurting and I…I just felt annoyed.”

“Annoyed?”

He nodded. “It was just…I…it wasn’t like…I don’t know!” he exclaimed, tossing his hands in the air in frustration. “I knew the risks when I signed up for this. Hell, I took one look at the news feeds during the simulation and knew it was a suicide mission. They killed the entire League, what chance did we have?”

“So, you went in assuming someone was going to die?”

“Well…yeah. I knew it was only a matter of time.”

That made sense. In fact, it was frighteningly similar to Bruce in her opinion. The Dark Knight always went into a mission expecting the worst outcomes. It was what made him so capable of handling a situation when it went sideways. He was mentally prepared to detach himself from the situation if the worst came to pass so it wouldn’t affect his performance.

Make no mistake, it was nowhere near a healthy coping mechanism. Bottling stuff up that way typically ended badly; especially considering all the pressure from holding it back built up until it finally burst. But, during a mission or in an emergency, it had proven time and time again to be an invaluable skill.

Mike must’ve learned to compartmentalize similarly at some point in his life.

Which explained his outburst. Something had just been the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back.

“So it annoyed you that the others didn’t make the same assumptions?”

Her protégé frowned in thought. “I mean, a little bit, but I think I was just more frustrated that they had been letting their grief distract them.” Mike leaned back against the wall with a shaky breath, “Wha—what does that say about me? My friends were in pain and all I could think about was how much of a liability they could be if they didn’t pull themselves together. Who does that?!”

“Someone,” she interrupted, grasping his shoulder firmly, “who has been through more than anyone their age should ever have. It’s a defense mechanism you developed to protect yourself.”

“Oh…” he whispered, staring at her with wide eyes. “So…so I’m not a monster?”

“God no,” she said. It was perhaps a bit harsher than she intended, but this needed to be addressed immediately. Her protégé already had a low self-worth when they met, it had taken months to get him where he was now; thoughts like these would obliterate all the hard work and progress he had made. “Michael, what you experienced, that’s normal. I won’t say it’s the healthiest coping mechanism, but everyone has their own ways of processing grief. Some react in the moment, some, like you, can push it aside to let the main problem or emergency pass before they handle it. You are not a monster. What on earth put that idea in your head?”

The teen visibly flinched back, hugging his legs tighter. “I—while everyone was—well, since I wasn’t well…feeling bad about what happened, I decided to try to get some work done…”

Dinah’s stomach dropped. Oh God no. “You investigated your father’s case. Didn’t you?”

Mike didn’t meet her eye as he nodded. “Yeah,” he murmured thickly. “I—I thought I could help. Maybe see something in the entries I hadn’t read yet that would suggest his next move or find where he was.” The teen slammed his fist into the floor, tears glistening at the corners of his eyes “I don’t get it! I’ve read worse that that stupid entry! Why am I freaking out?! What the fuck wrong with me?!”

“There’s nothing wrong with you,” she reassured, scooching closer, wrapping her arms around him. “Listen to me, believe it or not, this has probably been building up for a while. You’ve been under a lot of stress the past couple days. It was probably just a matter of time before something pushed you over the edge. So,” she sat back, “what happened?”

“Father. He was…” Mike sighed, running his fingers through his hair “I think he was trying to make me like him. Trying to…”

“Trying to make you a killer,” she finished upon his hesitation.

She wasn’t surprised. When she had finally harassed the Dark Knight enough to let her look through the books, she had done her best to be as thorough as possible while being fast enough to satisfy the Batman’s lack of patience. Despite her best efforts, she knew there were clues to Afton’s behavior she had missed. The fact that William had been actively grooming his son to be his replacement or patsy was one of those things. She had felt sick when Bruce told her. It made her wonder what other kinds of nightmares hadn’t been documented in those cursed pages.

Honestly, Bruce better pray to God he found that bastard and threw him into the deepest pit in Arkham before she could get to him. Because at this rate, after everything she’d heard and seen, there was a good chance she was going to make sure William Afton would never be able to live outside of a prison hospital ever again.

She sighed silently. That definitely had been Mike’s final straw for this week. A discovery like that combined with recent events; it was no wonder he had a breakdown.

Her protégé nodded. “He was trying to make me a monster, and…and I think he succeeded,” the young boy whispered, “partially at least.”

“Mike, what happened to your brother was not your fault,” Dinah repeated. And she would keep reminding him until the day he could see that he had been just as much his father’s victim as his siblings had been. “And, the fact you still blame yourself, the fact you’re talking to me about this, the fact I can tell you’re terrified of becoming like him proves you are not anything like that man.” She brushed back a dark lock behind his ear, “I know you’re scared, but you don’t need to fight this battle alone. All of us, your uncle, me, Batman, the rest of the League, and your friends, we’re here to help. You just need to ask for it.”

The teen gave her a small smile. “You sound like someone else I’ve talked to recently. Though he wasn’t as nice about it.”

Whoever they were, Dinah was going to buy them a drink.

Chapter Text

A/N: hey everyone! Welcome back. Honestly when I first started this story, I was not expecting it to go this well. So, glad to see y’all’re still enjoying the story. Remember, I just own the story, neither YJ or FNAF are mine.

Also, if some of this chapter seems choppier and shorter than usual, it’s because I had some serious writer’s block and it seemed determined to fight me every step of the way.

/comms/

Telepathy/flashbacks/whatever else

Batcave, October 22, 16:34EDT

Bruce ran his hand through his hair, fighting the urge to slam his fist into the desk. It seemed like his investigation into Afton was going nowhere. The man was infuriatingly good at covering his tracks.

Typing on the keypad, he pulled the data from the junkyard he had been able to recover. So far, most of it was the names of more victims and the details of the horrific experiments he’d committed. Apparently, Afton had recently found a way to refine remnant production from adults and almost double the amount he obtained from younger victims. How exactly, the Batman wasn’t totally sure yet. A few entries mentioned things that suspiciously sounded like occult practices. But they weren’t detailed enough for him to be certain. However, regardless of his methodology, it meant that the man was going to be much, much harder to find. Afton’s victim pool had not only gotten larger, but depending on who he killed the time between his kills could grow.

Right now, based on the dates in the journal, Batman had concluded that Afton would make a series of at least three kills once every two months. And, those kills would often be spaced out between cities and victim demographics, making it even harder to connect murders to the man.

Or they would have been hard to connect had Afton not decided to document his crimes.

Still, it was one thing to know the crimes. It was another to make sure their perpetrator was found and brought to justice.

His gaze wondered back over to the screen. It had taken hours of tireless work, but he had managed to recover some of the footage from the camera feed leading to the man’s potential next victim. So far, none of it had the face of the target, leaving the Dark Knight to be forced to analyze the items in the room itself. At least until he could isolate the signal.

It wasn’t a young child’s room. There weren’t many toys, save for a few stuffed animals. They were old, worn, no doubt they had been well loved by their owner. The bunny against the expensive gaming computer had a few patches sewn on it. Beside it, the Dark Knight could see a stack of schoolbooks. The footage was grainy from that distance though, making it hard to read the titles.

“Hey B.” Turning away from the screen, Bruce watched as Dick jogged over, his hair already falling back into its familiar mess. A wide grin crossed the teen’s face as he hopped onto the nearby counter, his legs swinging back and forth as he bit into a candy bar. “What’cha working on?”

“A case. How was school?”

“Eh, the usual,” the boy shrugged. “What case are you working?”

“One you’re not allowed on.”

Dick pouted, leaning back on one hand as he took another bite of his snack. His blue eyes glanced towards the screen, “Is that the Afton case?”

Bruce gave his adopted son a pointed look, garnering a shy smile from the teen. Honestly, he didn’t know what he should have expected. Dick had always been incredibly curious and was almost as relentless in finding answers as he was some days. He lost track of how many criminals had confessed to their crimes simply by the colorful child incessantly asking why over and over. Lord knew it had almost driven him up a wall. So, he really should have seen it coming.

“And what do you know about that case?” the Dark Knight inquired, raising a brow. “I thought it was in a file you weren’t supposed to go in?”

The boy blanched; eyes wide as he realized his mistake, “…You left it open?”

“Richard.”

“Ok, fine,” the teen groaned, “I was bored. You were out, I finished my schoolwork, and Alfred was organizing an army, what’d you expect?”

“I expect you to listen.”

“It wasn’t like I took the batmobile for a joyride,” he countered.

Well, he wasn’t wrong. Last time that happened…well, Bruce made sure to ground the boy for at least two weeks and have him help Alfred. So, considering all the things he could have done, peeking into a few cases was not the worst. “And out of all the cases in there, you just so happen to find the one relating to a child killer?”

Dick scoffed. “You mean I happened to notice the one related to my friend,” he corrected, crossing his arms. “Look, it was just after the whole mole debacle, and I saw a case that had my teammate’s name on it.”

“And you assumed the worst,” Bruce nodded in understanding. It was a fair assumption. After that scare, it was no wonder the teen had looked into the case. Had he been in the boy’s shoes, it certainly would have been more that suspicious.

The Boy Wonder nodded, suddenly looking rather solemn. “Yeah…I didn’t know it was that bad.”

Rising from his seat, the Dark Knight strode over to his protégé, setting a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Hence why I didn’t want you on the case.”

Dick looked up to him, “Have you found him? Mike’s dad?”

Bruce set his jaw. While Dick may have now been in the know, that didn’t mean he was going to let him on the case with him. Frankly, if he had his way not even Michael would be working on it. But the older teen had already proven he was not afraid to go behind the Dark Knight’s back to stay on the case. At least this way Bruce and Dinah could make sure that Mike never got within a mile of his father.

“Not yet,” he answered, returning to his seat. “I almost had him a couple weeks ago.”

“But he got away?”

The Dark Knight didn’t respond, merely striding back to his seat to glare at the images on the screen. “Afton bugged the crime scenes. He’s been following the investigation since it started. They’ve been removed, so hopefully, that should inhibit his ability to stay ahead of us.”

“You don’t sound hopeful,” Dick remarked, hopping off the counter to stand beside him. “So what’s with the nanny cam?”

“It’s one of the feeds at his safehouse. He’s hunting a new victim.”

Dick’s eyes widened as his head snapped to gaze at the screens, “Do you know who?”

Bruce didn’t reply, merely clenching his jaw in response.

Understanding the response, the Dark Knight felt his protégé step closer to lightly press against him in a show of comfort. Who it was for, Bruce didn’t really know, but nor did he mind; Dick had had a rough couple weeks, so if he needed more affection than usual, he could manage.

“Sure you don’t need a second set of eyes?”

“You’re not getting involved in this case, Dick,” he chided.

“C’mon, I can help.”

“No.”

“Please.”

“No Dick.”

The Boy Wonder groaned, throwing his head back dramatically as he was reluctantly herded away from the computer.

-.-

Gotham, 16:52EDT

Robin could see his breath as he stood in front of the large door, the first few snowflakes of the year starting to drift down from the sky above. Taking a large knocker, he rapped it against the door, quickly shoving his hands in his pockets to warm them up.

Fortunately, it didn’t take long before he heard footsteps on the other side. The door slowly creaked open, revealing an aging man that kind of reminded him of Alfred. “…Can I help you?”

“Hi, is Mike home?”

Brows rising the man gave him a curious look before stepping aside to let him in. The door clicked shut, and the butler stood off to the side, just out of arm’s reach and keeping the Boy Wonder in his line of sight. “Master Michael. You have a visitor.”

Distantly, Dick heard a thud, followed quickly by a few short curses and footsteps. Looking towards the noise, he watched as Mike almost slid into a wall as he rounded the corner. The older teen’s hair looked messier than it had at school earlier that day, and he had paint on his arms and cheek. Blue eyes met his, and his teammate’s brows furrowed. “Robin?”

“Hey.”

“It’s alright Efrem, he’s one of my friends.”

Across from him, the man, Efrem, nodded. “I’ll go prepare some hot chocolate and cookies.”

Mike raised his hand, opening his mouth to protest, however, by that time the butler had vanished. Sighing in defeat, Mike tapped his watch, the hologram flickering away to reveal his teammate’s true appearance. Though, the Boy Wonder didn’t have the chance to comment on the tech before he was met with a concerned gaze. “Everything alright?”

“Yeah.”

His teammate crossed his arms, raising a brow skeptically, "You sure? Last week was pretty rough, and you were eliminated after me, I’m sure it couldn’t have been easy.”

Dick bit his lip. Yeah, he didn’t want to think about the failed exercise right now. He was better than he had been—primarily thanks to his chat with Dinah. Though he still had the occasional nightmare about it over the week, but Bruce hadn’t left him alone long enough for them to cause any serious problems. “I’m doing better. What about you?”

Mike shrugged, “I was the second to die. So, nothing much to worry about here.” As if he sensed Robin didn’t believe him, his friend put on a smile, motioning for him to follow. “C’mon.”

Behind his glasses, Dick rolled his eyes. He didn’t believe that for a second. However, he didn’t voice his opinion as he followed his friend through his home. It was a nice place, not as lavish as Wayne Manor, but still impressive. Stepping into a living room, Dick flopped onto a couch across from his friend. “Nice place.”

“Thanks. You sure you’re doing alright? It isn’t like you to just turn up at people’s houses…well, at least at my house. Not that I mind, but you can’t blame me for being concerned.”

“I’m fine, B’s just being stubborn.”

He could see Mike roll his eyes knowingly. Clearly, he’d already been on the other end of the Dark Knight’s overprotectiveness. “Ah. What is it this time?”

Robin bit his lip, this is where it got a bit complicated. He wanted to help, but at the same time, there was no telling how Mike would react to the knowledge that he’d been snooping through his case. Furthermore, he didn’t know if Mike would even be willing to let him join from his side. There was an equally good chance that his teammate would beat him off of the case with a stick if it came down to it.

“Well…uh…it’s about…”

“About what?”

Taking a breath, he calmed himself down. Ok, he just needed to rip off the band aid and get it over with. “…I may have looked into your case when I wasn’t supposed to.”

The sudden silence in the room was deafening.

Glancing up, he bit back a wince at the sheer mix of shock and horror flickering across Mike’s face. “Y-you…what?”

Time to explain himself. “Well…it was just after the whole Red fiasco, when we heard the rumor about a mole. I was snooping, and—”

“And you saw a case relating to me,” Mike finished, pinching the bridge of his nose. The older boy sighed loudly, “Ok, that’s fair. I probably would have done the same thing.” He ran a hand through his hair, leaning back in his seat. “How much did you see?”

“Enough.”

Mike closed his eyes, taking a deep breath as he massaged his temples. Leaning forwards, he rested his elbows on his knees, trying to process the information.

The event with the Red Volcano was a couple weeks ago, so Robin had known about it for some time now. It certainly explained why the Boy Wonder seemed to suddenly like sticking to his side despite the fact they hadn’t been the closest beforehand. Whatever he saw must’ve been enough to rattle the younger but more experienced protégé.

He supposed it shouldn’t be a shock that Robin discovered his history. The kid was Batman’s apprentice. If anyone in the team was going to discover his past, it would be him.

Still, his father had operated under the Dark Knight’s nose for years. And, now that he’d been discovered, he didn’t doubt William Afton was jumping for the chance of revenge. So, he wasn’t particularly eager to let Robin near the man.

“Sorry you had to see that,” he said, reaching over and patting the other boy’s shoulder.

Robin’s head snapped up to stare at him, his brows raised. “Why are you sorry? I’m the one who snooped.”

Mike gave the younger a pointed look, “It’s fine. Like I said, I would have done the exact same thing in your position. In fact, it would’ve been stupid to not look into it.”

The younger boy shrugged.

With a sigh, Mike leaned back, crossing his arms. “So why come to me?”

“Bats isn’t letting me on the case.”

“And he’s right to do so,” the older boy stated.

Robin grit his teeth. That was the exact reaction he didn’t want. Still, he was more than prepared to coerce his friend into letting him help. Another set of eyes wouldn’t hurt. “So, I take it you’ve seen the junkyard evidence?”

That got his teammate’s attention. “The what?”

“Batman visited some junkyard your dad owns in Utah a few weeks ago. Apparently it was one of his hunting grounds,” he answered. “He didn’t tell you?”

“Fucking hell!” Mike shot up from his seat, storming out of the room. And, for a moment, Robin wondered if he pushed too far. However, that train of thought was quickly derailed as he came back into the room holding a tablet, his fingers tapping the screen quickly as he searched the pages. “Motherfucker. He promised he’d keep me in the damn loop!”

That was a familiar feeling. “Here.” Holding out his hand, he took the tablet from Mike, quickly typing on it. Bruce had shared the files, alright. But, in true Dark Knight fashion, he put a password on it. No doubt B had said he would share the information, not that he would let Mike see it. He would bet Batman had also found a way to keep notifications about new intel from being sent out either.

It took longer than he would’ve liked to get through the firewalls protecting the evidence. No doubt the extra measures were installed to keep Mike from hacking into it. Though even with them, Robin would admit it probably only would’ve taken his teammate just a bit longer than he had to get through it. The only reason he got through them so fast was because it was the same system he had learned how to hack on.

The moment he got through, the tablet practically teleported from his hands into Mike’s. The older teen’s brows were furrowed as he looked through the findings.

Robin himself had only glanced through the case a couple times when he thought Bruce or Alfred weren’t around. But he didn’t do it often. Partially because there was simply so much to go through. Partially because he did feel slightly guilty for invading his friend’s privacy. Which was probably why he’d decided to come here rather than investigate on his own.

“This footage,” Mike spoke up, snapping the younger boy out of his thoughts, “Bats got it at the junkyard?”

His friend’s tone was tense. Suggesting that he had noticed something. Taking the offered tablet, Robin found himself looking at the recovered video from the next potential victim’s room that his mentor had recovered. “Yeah. We think it’s a potential target. You see something?”

Mike didn’t answer. His gaze flickering between the stairs and the tablet. Without a word, he snatched the tablet away and started making his way up the stairs.

Clearly seeing that Mike had noticed something that both he and Batman had missed. Robin chased after. Following the older boy down the hall, he watched as Mike all but threw a door open and stormed inside. It didn’t take long to figure out that this was his room. There were books from school stacked on the desk and Robin could even see some art supplies scattered on the bed. However, the main thing that got his attention was a scruffy plush bunny with patches sewn on it, leaning against an expensive gaming desktop. Just like the one he saw in the footage.

Because it was the one in the footage. The cameras hadn’t been spying on a potential victim.

They’d been spying on Mike.

Chapter Text

Chapter 25

A/N: Hey everyone! Welcome back! Glad to see y’all’re still enjoying the story so far! Glad to see all the reviews! Anyways, sorry for the long wait. I’m convinced my Master’s program is trying to kill me. So yeah, updates are gonna be a bit sporadic right now. Remember, I don’t own YJ or FNAF, just the story.

/comms/

Telepathy

Gotham City, October 22, 20:33EDT

There had been two hidden cameras in Michael’s room.

The first one they had found had been hiding in the Fredbear plush sitting on his bed. The second had been in the plush Bonnie that his father had given him when he’d been seven.

The cameras were old, meaning that they hadn’t been installed recently. But that didn’t make it any less terrifying. The fact that they were old mean that they’d been inside those toys for years. His father had been spying on him and his siblings using the very toys that brought them comfort.

He supposed he shouldn’t have been shocked. His father had set up other cameras throughout his old house after all. But this…

He felt violated. This had been the one place he felt free from his father. The one place where he wasn’t associated with the man or feared people learning everything that had happened behind closed doors. And now…

Now he didn’t feel safe in his own room anymore.

It felt like William was taunting him. Like he was saying that no matter where he went, he wouldn’t be able to escape him.

Rubbing his arms as a shiver ran down his spine, he tossed a glance in the direction of his room. He couldn’t hear anymore sounds of Batman searching through his room, double checking to make sure neither of them had missed anything.

He doubted they had; Robin’s scanner had seemed pretty thorough.

And something in his gut told him that there weren’t anymore.

Mike wasn’t sure why, but after they had removed both cameras from the room, he suddenly felt the dull unease he always felt prickling the hairs on the back of his neck leave. He hadn’t even known it had been there until it was gone. It was just something he was used to living with. Sure, it had lessened since he’d moved in with Henry, but it still had been there. Hell, he still sometimes woke up from a dead sleep in the middle of the night because it felt like something was watching him.

But it was something he chalked up to nightmares or paranoia due to his history.

Though at this point the universe seemed to love proving him wrong.

Across from him, Robin paced back and forth, looking towards the door frequently. No doubt he was just as irked as he had been when Henry had herded them to the living room, insisting they let the adults handle this. Both of them had argued, but neither had succeeded.

Still, he didn’t doubt that the Dark Knight was going to chew them out for going behind his back. They could throw it back at him and ask their questions when that time came. Lord knew Mike had quite a few choice words for the shady Justice Leaguer. Especially after he tried to find a loophole that would keep him off the investigation again.

Mike would make sure to remind Batman that he was more than willing to go behind the League’s back to find his bastard of a sperm donor if they kept trying stupid shit like this. And no doubt Robin would be all too happy to help.

The sooner the Dark Knight got it through his thick skull that he wasn’t going to be deterred, the better. Ultimately, they were on the same team, and they wanted the same goal. It would be more beneficial to work together than to keep playing tug-o-war with his father’s breadcrumbs. The man already had too far of a lead, there was no telling about how long they had before he extended the gap further by changing tactics again.

Of course, they wouldn’t be able to fix this whole fiasco until Batman was done in his room. Which would probably be when he found the entrance to Narnia; because he didn’t know what else he was looking for in there.

-.-

Henry paced outside the door to Michael’s room, tossing glances at the tall shadowy form lurking inside. He was doing his best to be patient, but it was hard.

That man had been in Mike’s room. He had put fucking cameras in Michael’s bedroom. William had gotten past his security system without even tripping a single goddamn sensor.

Gritting his teeth, Henry ran a hand through his hair. This place was supposed to be safe. It was supposed to be somewhere where both of his boys felt safe in such a rough city. And, instead, Michael’s privacy and safety had been violated by one of the very monsters he was trying to protect him from. Clearly there had been something he had overlooked, something that had allowed that bastard to waltz right in like he owned the place.

He would have to reevaluate the entire system.

Henry wanted to punch a hole through the nearest wall out of frustration.

But he held himself back for the sake of the teen downstairs. It was his responsibility to keep his godson safe, and he had clearly failed to do that given the current situation. He wasn’t about to make it worse by accidentally forcing Mike to relive bad memories.

Still, that didn’t mean it wasn’t difficult to keep himself from throttling someone in an attempt to get answers.

“Mr. Emily,” Efrem spoke, making his presence known, “I have looked through the security footage. On first glance, nothing appeared to be abnormal. However, I have seen a few discrepancies that might suggest interference and merit further investigation.” He held up a flash drive, “I have made copies for Mr. Batman to investigate. Perhaps he may notice something that I missed.”

Henry certainly hoped so, but he still intended to inspect the footage himself. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Batman—though he would admit that the hero’s methods were more than a little questionable at times—but he needed to see what happened. Hopefully that would help him see how Will got past his security.

At least this way he would feel like he was being useful.

So far, he hadn’t felt like he’d contributed much to helping catch his ex-friend. He and Will had once been best friends—maybe even something more at one time or another—if there was anyone that should have been able to give more insights as to what the man was up to, it should’ve been him. Yet, it seemed like every bit of information he offered seemed to lead nowhere.

Probably because he didn’t know his childhood best friend as well as he thought he had. All he really had known was the mask that had everyone fooled.

“Mr. Emily?”

Jerking out of his thoughts, Henry looked to meet Efrem’s gaze.

The butler raised a brow, “Is everything alright, sir?”

“Yes, just lost in thought,” he replied. “How are the boys?”

“Neither are happy that they’ve been confined to the living room.”

He didn’t doubt that. Both Mike and Robin had been arguing with him and Batman as they herded the boys out of the way. But it was for their own good. At least until Batman finished his investigation of the cameras and footage.

Movement came from the bedroom, prompting both men to look towards the Dark Knight as he stepped through the doorway, holding the cameras in evidence bags. “Did you find anything?”

“Nothing else besides the two cameras the boys found,” Batman answered, taking the offered flashdrive from Efrem. “The cameras seem old, so I don’t think they were installed recently, but I won’t know for certain until I get to inspect them more thoroughly.”

Despite the severity of the situation, Henry couldn’t help but sigh in relief. If the cameras hadn’t been installed recently, that meant that they might’ve already been there when Mike moved in. Make no mistake, it was still a terrible situation, but it also meant that that man hadn’t recently broken into the house.

Though that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to reevaluate the security system and find a way to scan every inch of the house for any unauthorized cameras.

Following the Dark Knight down the stairs, they made their way towards the living room where the two teens were waiting for them. Neither boy appeared to give any outward reaction to their appearance, but Henry would bet that they likely had a few choice words and questions.

Michael was already starting to drum his fingers against the armrest as he leaned back in his seat, a calculating look in his eye that reminded him of Will. No doubt the boy was already coming up with several arguments to throw back at them depending on their answers.

“All the surveillance devices have been removed,” Batman spoke curtly, breaking the silence, “Hopefully we should be able to track the signal to find William’s location.”

Mike raised a brow, “You know, we would’ve known about the cameras sooner if you told me about what you found.”

“The information was shared.”

“Bullshit!” Rising from his seat, Mike crossed the room to glare up at the Dark Knight. “If you really shared it, we wouldn’t have had to hack into the file to see what you found. So you can’t be mad at us when this debacle is of your own making.”

“Michael,” Henry admonished gently.

“I’m not wrong, though,” he argued. “It’s this kind of paranoid shit my father’s counting on.”

The Batman didn’t respond, his jaw clenched as he returned Michael’s glare. Though it didn’t seem to deter the teen; despite the fact he did not look very intimidating in his pajamas.

Henry sighed, stepping between the pair. “That’s enough,” he interrupted. “Listen, I know we’re all frustrated about the situation, but fighting won’t get us anywhere.” He gave both the teens and the Batman a scolding look—a feat Henry was more than shocked to have achieved. “So let’s take a step back, calm down, and then we’ll regroup tomorrow. Sound good?”

“Fine,” Mike muttered, stepping back and crossing his arms.

Giving the Batman a final nod, Henry turned his attention away from the Dynamic Duo as Efrem no doubt led them out. His gaze landed on Mike, watching as the teen glared after the Bat. However, instead of scolding the boy about his attitude, Henry paused as he saw Mike’s knuckles turning white from how hard he was digging his nails into his arms, his jaw occasionally shifting as if he was chewing on the inside of his cheek.

Sighing, Henry took a moment to calm himself. Of course, Michael was snappy and on edge. Anyone would be if they learned they’d been spied on when they’d been at their most vulnerable. It was a huge violation of privacy.

Frankly, he wouldn’t blame Mike if he wanted to switch rooms.

Actually, he’d be more shocked if Michael didn’t want to switch rooms after this.

“Mikey?” he spoke up, placing a hand on the teen’s shoulder. “You doing ok?”

Henry could feel Mike shaking. Whether it was from fear, rage, or even a mix of both, he wasn’t sure. Either way, his boy was in pain. And it was all his fault.

The teen didn’t answer. Not that Henry blamed him. But that didn’t stop the man’s stomach from sinking. Especially after he noticed the bright red droplets welling from under where his nails were digging into his arms.

He didn’t know what to do. Mike was suffering and he didn’t know what to do. He wanted to go hunt down William and beat him within an inch of his life for everything he had done. But, unfortunately, that wouldn’t help the situation at the present moment. Taking another breath to reign in his anger, he took a step closer, gently setting his other hand against the boy’s fingers, trying to loosen the grip without startling him. “Mikey, son, please, you’re hurting yourself.”

To his relief, those brilliant blue-violets flickered towards him, realization slowly dawning on him as he looked down at his arm. Uncrossing his arms, Mike looked to his arm, staring in shock at the small cuts that began to stitch themselves shut before their eyes. “…Sorry.”

“Oh, kiddo,” he whispered sadly. Mike had nothing to apologize for. Especially not for something like this.

Michael didn’t resist as Henry pulled him in for a hug, the teen’s head resting on his chest as Henry ran his hand through his tangled hair.

Kissing the crown of his boy’s head, Henry hugged the teen tighter. “You have nothing to be sorry for son. I should be the one apologizing.”

In his arms, Mike stiffened and the boy pulled back, looking up in shock.

Before he could protest, Henry gave him a gentle but pointed look as he cupped his cheek. “Don’t give me that look. It’s my job to keep you safe. You should’ve been completely safe here, and I failed to do that. Can you forgive me?”

He could tell Mike was biting back an argument that said he didn’t blame Henry for what happened, but he seemed to hold his tongue and simply nodded before he pressed back into the hug.

“If you want, we can move your stuff to a new room this weekend? Would that help?” he offered. “It’s a bit late tonight, so if you want to sleep in one of the guest rooms—”

“Can…can I stay with you tonight?” a quiet voice asked hesitantly, “I…I don’t want to be alone.”

Henry could see the teen’s ears turning a dark shade of violet in embarrassment. Undoubtedly his godson was internally beating himself up about asking for something so childish.

It made his heart sink. Henry knew Mike was typically rather reluctant to seek comfort. Mostly because of all the bullshit Will had done. Hell, Henry knew the kid had a seriously bad day if he got more than two hugs from him. And that was even with Michael slowly becoming more comfortable with seeking affection.

So, for him to be this clingy meant that the whole situation had rattled him more than he was letting on.

He’d have to call Ms. Canary and let her know of the new development.

“Yeah,” he spoke up, running his fingers through tangled hair, “of course you can stay kiddo.”

Without another word, Henry scooped up the teen up, much like how he used to carry Mike when he’d been little. Hopefully, both of them would be able to get some sleep tonight.

-.-

Metropolis, 23:12EDT

The cabin was relatively quiet as the jet rolled onto the runaway, pale fingers drumming against an armrest as violet eyes glared out the window. William was vaguely aware of the sound of Luthor typing in the next row, but he paid it little mind.

No, he was more focused on the fact that Michael had discovered his cameras. Well, his primary cameras. He still had other ways to keep an eye on his son, but they were far more convoluted than what he typically preferred. After all, Michael was now his only child. What kind of father would he be if he at least didn’t make sure his son was behaving himself?

Not that it ever stopped the obstinate boy before.

If anything, William would bet his son’s recent playdates with the League’s brats was making his behavior worse than ever.

Still, it was frustrating. His son and the Dark Knight had been systematically dismantling his surveillance system, meaning that tracking the ongoing investigation was going to be much harder than it had been when he’d been watching his son. It was certainly helpful with how much time his boy had been investigating the case.

Though, it didn’t hurt that it also allowed him to monitor the side effects of potential remnant withdrawal. Sure, Michael’s current…condition significantly skewed his results, but data was data. It would be of use to him one way or another. Besides, he could always collect more pertinent information using other subjects. There was no limit in people that wouldn’t be missed.

However, given the investigation’s recent escalation, he would have to lay low for a while. The League was getting far too close for comfort. Hopefully a few weeks of radio silence would convince the Bat that his cameras were a dead end.

And he doubted Lex would mind. Even if there wasn’t the other project he was brought in for, the man was already more than interested in his work. He would bet Lex would happily provide him with lab rats to play with in the meantime.

-.-

Gotham City, October 23, 08:30EDT

“Geeze, you look like shit.”

Mike didn’t doubt it. Even with the energy drink and coffee he chugged down that morning, he could still feel his eyes crossing with the effort it took to stay awake. Flopping down into his seat, he set his head down on the desk, hoping to catch a few more second of sleep. As expected, he slept like shit last night.

And, because of his inability to go to fucking bed, Henry had been forced to stay up and deal with his clingy ass. He felt terrible about it, he remembered the man saying earlier that week that he had some meeting with Wayne Enterprises today and now he was going to be exhausted for it. All because Michael had been too pathetic to grow up and sleep in his own bed.

Honestly, he didn’t know why his uncle put up with him. All he ever seemed to give the man was nothing but trouble. Henry’s life hadn’t been nearly this difficult before Mike waltzed in a fucked everything up like he always did. He bet his uncle would be much happier without him in his life.

He bet everyone would be much happier if he just disappeared.

“Mike? Are you ok?”

Lifting his head, he met Artemis’s and Bette’s concerned gazes. The two blondes had their brows furrowed, occasionally giving the other a concerned glance. With an unhappy groan, he set his head back in his arms. Great, now he was worrying his friends too. They shouldn’t have to worry about him. He was supposed to be strong enough to handle his own problems like an adult. Not be a burden to everyone around him. “I’m fine.”

“Dude,” Artemis muttered, “you look like you’re gonna collapse.”

“I just need to get another shot of caffeine,” he muttered, running a hand down his face. “Think the vending machines are open yet?”

“Mike, I saw you practically inhale an energy drink not even ten minutes ago,” Bette remarked. “I don’t think that much caffeine is healthy.”

“I’ve lived through worse.”

“All the more reason you should be more concerned about your health,” she replied. “I don’t think you want to be in the hospital twice in one year.”

He doubted his powers would let that happen, but Bette didn’t know that.

“You know, if you go to the office, I think they’ll let you go home,” the blonde continued.

Yeah, that wasn’t going to happen. He didn’t get good grades by skipping class. He’d gone to school with a stomach bug before that made him want to puke his guts out every ten minutes. He could handle being tired.

Chapter Text

Chapter 26

A/N: hey everyone! I’m back again! So, I know the update schedule’s been wild for all my stories and I’m sorry about that. It’s just difficult to allocate time between all of them and my studies. For the most part, I get most of my writing done when I have the free time and motivation. Anyways, thanks for the reviews, and I hope y’all enjoy the next chapter, I know it’s not my best, but I figured I should at least give y’all something.

/comms/

Telepathy

Gotham, October 23, 12:00EDT

Mike looked like shit.

Sitting down across from him, Artemis watched as the older boy seemed to half-heartedly pick at his food. Something must’ve happened last night, because when she saw him yesterday he’d been fine. It was possible that he’d been called to patrol with Canary and just got back at the crack of dawn. Lord knew she’d had that happen before when she’d been called by GA once or twice.

Then again, from what she remembered on missions, Mike seemed to tolerate sleep deprivation better than most of the team—well, except Robin, but that kid was just built different, so he didn’t count. And, she hadn’t heard anything when she’d been patrolling with GA about Mike and Canary being involved in any insanely long stakeouts recently. And even then, they worked pretty quickly. Though, it wasn’t like she could ask him right now. Not with so many civilians present.

“Nope,” Bette said, snatching Mike’s drink away from him. “You’ve already had several energy drinks today and a coffee. You got out of the hospital in August, you need to wait at least a year before putting yourself back in it.”

“A little more caffeine won’t kill me.”

“Caffeine is a drug! You could overdose!”

Mike gave the blonde a deadpan look, “On caffeine?”

Artemis’s brows furrowed as she watched the argument. Normally she’d be more than content to watch her two school friends bicker about stupid shit, but her attention was more focused on something else. Mostly on the fact that that had been the second time that Bette had mentioned that Mike had been in the hospital. And, given by how much the blonde was fussing about it, she would bet that it had been for something pretty bad. Which didn’t make sense, considering his powers let him heal a broken leg in the span of two hours at most. Unless…

Unless Mike got his powers recently.

He did start about the same time she did. And the timeline seemed to match. After all, Baywatch mentioned that he got his powers suddenly after he basically blew himself up. Maybe Mike had been in a similar accident? That would explain why he didn’t want to talk about how he joined the Team.

But, it wasn’t like she could ask him. First off, they were in public. So she couldn’t really ask about his powers right now. Secondly, and more importantly, Artemis knew Mike would not be happy to answer her questions. The dude was practically as secretive as she was about her home life. Hell, the only time she’d heard him mention his family had been when they’d gone camping. Otherwise, for all she knew, he could’ve been from the moon.

Maybe she just needed to ask Bette? She seemed to know more about what was going on in her friend’s life than anyone else in their group of mutual friends did—except Robin, because once again, the kid was just weird.

Though it wasn’t like Rob would tell her either. The Boy Wonder seemed to suddenly like sticking to the older boy like glue when they’d hung out with the rest of the Team.

She still wasn’t sure if she’d hallucinated the sight of her more serious teammate letting their youngest comrade hang off his back like a koala last time they’d been at the Cave.

So, if anyone was going to tell her about what was going on, it was most likely going to be Bette. The girl seemed to know everything going on with everyone. How? Artemis wasn’t totally sure. It probably had something to do with the other blonde being insanely popular. Either way, she seemed to have access to all the best gossip.

However, that would have to wait for when she managed to get the other girl alone. This wasn’t a conversation she wanted people to overhear. She didn’t want any rumors spreading.

And she also did not want to end up on Mike’s bad side.

Artemis hasn’t seen him fully lose his temper yet. Sure, he’s been pissed a few times, but he hasn’t been in blind rage like a few others on her team had been before. And, something told her it would not be pretty when he did snap.

Though…she could ask her mentor.

Green Arrow was Canary’s…boyfriend? Fiancé? Partner? Whatever they were, they spent an awful lot of time together. So, he probably would’ve heard something about Canary’s new protégé. And, since her mentor was a chatterbox, and could talk about anything and everything under the sun, he probably wouldn’t think twice about her inquiring about her teammate’s backstory.

Of course, with that route she’d be risking word getting back to Batman, or worse, Canary and Mike. None of which would appreciate her prying into people’s personal business given her own present situation. Especially since her teammate had been courteous enough to not pry into her business nor rat her out. And that was even despite having valid reasons to do so during the whole mole debacle.

“Seriously Bette, give me back my soda.”

“No.”

Mike slammed his hands on the table, snapping Artemis out of her thoughts as she watched the older boy push himself out of his seat. “Fine, I’ll go buy another one.” Without waiting for Bette’s inevitable argument, the brunette stormed off towards the nearest vending machine.

Leaving Artemis alone with Bette.

The other blonde leaned back in her seat, rubbing her temples as if she had a headache coming on. “Honestly, he’s gonna give himself a heart attack one of these days.”

Artemis doubted Mike’s powers would let that happen, but she didn’t voice that opinion. “So…uh…what was that about?”

Bette seemed to remember she was there, looking to her with surprise, “Oh, that? It was nothing.”

“Sure didn’t sound like nothing. You’re fussing over him like his mother or something. And, that’s the second time today I’ve heard you mention the hospital,” she pointed out. “So what’s going on? Is Mike sick or something?”

“What? No,” Bette shook her head before pausing, giving her a look, before she glanced around the cafeteria, “It’s just…you didn’t hear about the incident that happened over the summer?”

The archer felt her stomach drop. That didn’t sound ominous all. “What incident?”

“Well, over the summer, Mike was in the hospital,” Bette spoke quietly. “Apparently he was in a coma for like a month or something.”

“What?!” Artemis grimaced at her own exclamation, glancing around the room to see if she’d drawn any untoward attention. That was news to her. Frankly, the idea of Mike being injured enough to be in the hospital was more than a little jarring. It probably was due to the fact that he had the most insane healing factor on the Team and since she’d known him she’d seen him walk off normally crippling injuries. But still…it was not a pleasant mental image. “What…what happened?”

Bette paused, glancing in the direction Mike vanished in. “Well…the thing is no one’s really sure. I mean, my uncle was with him the whole time, but he didn’t really talk about the case when he stopped by the shower and eat. I do know the cops are investigating though.”

And Batman too probably, Artemis would bet.

“There is one rumor I’ve heard, but,” Bette pointed the tip of her plastic knife towards her warningly, “for the record, you didn’t hear it from me.”

“Didn’t hear what?” Mike spoke, almost making Artemis leap out of her chair as the boy returned. He looked more awake now that he was sipping on a new caffeinated beverage. Not getting a reply, Mike raised a brow, giving the other girl a pointed look as he took a slow sip of his drink, “Bette, are you gossiping again?”

The pale blonde smiled playfully, leaning back in her seat, “Not over anything serious.”

Mike rolled his eyes as he sat back down. “Just because it doesn’t seem serious doesn’t mean it can’t become serious.”

Bette waved him off, “I know. But still, it was just girl-talk with Artemis.” The other girl gave her a wink, probably in an attempt to signal that she’d tell her more later.

“What if someone overheard?”

“Then they shouldn’t be eavesdropping. Besides, is it really a rumor if it’s true?”

“Some people claim to have facts to support their baseless claims,” Mike retorted, “Just because they say there’s facts doesn’t mean there is. So yes, depending on the information, I’d say it is a rumor, especially if the alleged facts are baseless.”

As usual, Artemis ignored the debate her two friends started. No, she was more focused on the new revelations made to her. Her gaze trailed to Mike, flickering over the pale pink marks peeking out from under his uniform. Scars were normal among heroes, and Artemis knew that each of her teammates had their fair share. However, she couldn’t help but notice that Mike seemed to have more than the rest of them.

They were hard to see, but they were there.

Initially she attributed it to the fact that Remnant almost always managed to get himself injured on a mission, but now…now she couldn’t help but wonder if he got those scars some other way.

Her gaze flickered to the pale lines circling his throat. The scars on his neck looked like they came from something sharp, but they were just thick enough to be questionable. They almost looked like they were formed by a garrote, or maybe the sharp edge of a blade being drawn over skin. It also didn’t escape her notice that he had similar looking scars on his arms too, almost like something had been wrapped around them.

Of course, it wasn’t like their origin mattered. Either way, if there was one thing Artemis had learned from her father, it was that scars like that were not the result of an accident.

No, those kinds of scars came from intent.

Artemis set her fork down, stomach dropping as if filled with a sick dread.

There was a reason Mike didn’t want to talk about why he joined the team. A reason explaining why her teammate seemed to almost be immune to pain. Explaining the numerous scars she’s seen covering his arms and throat. Michael hadn’t gotten his powers in some freak accident. No. He’d gotten his powers because someone had done that to him.

Someone had tried to kill Mike.

-.-

Mt. Justice, 16:43EDT

The room was quiet save for the sound of running water as the door clicked shut behind him. Looking up, Mike’s gaze met the concerned but welcoming gaze of his mentor looking back at him.

She looked tired. Moreso than usual.

“You ok?” he asked, the question slipping out before he had the chance to consider his words.

Across from him, the woman gave him a soft smile. “I should be asking you that,” Canary said, leaning forwards to rest her elbows on her knees. “Your uncle told me about what happened,” she reached out putting a hand on his knee, “I can’t imagine what you’re feeling right now.”

Silence once again fell over the room as Canary waited for his response; only broken by the soft sound of running water as Mike sat in a chair, refusing to meet his mentor’s eyes. He loved working with Canary, he really did, it was the most fun he’d had in years. But, if there was one downside about working with her, it was their almost mandatory therapy sessions.

It was just…he never really knew how to convey his problems. Not without making himself appear as pathetic and weak as he actually was.

It certainly didn’t help that Mike had never been one to talk about his feelings—not that he could remember anyways. Perhaps there had once been such a time in his life, but if there had been, it was long gone by now.

His father had made sure of that.

“That good, huh?” Canary spoke again. The question seemed to be making a lighthearted attempt at a joke, but her tone held a edge of sad understanding. “I’m not surprised. You must feel violated; knowing you were being watched from the safety of your own home.”

Mike merely gave her a small shrug. “It wouldn’t be the first time,” he murmured back, pulling a knee up to his chest. After all, he had been the one to discover the cameras in his old home. He’d dealt with it then, he could deal with it now.

“That doesn’t make it right,” she replied. “If anything, that makes this worse. You were supposed to be safe.”

“It’s not your fault.”

“Yes, it is,” Canary argued, “Michael, it was our job to keep you safe. And we failed that. This never should have happened.”

Mike gave a noncommittal hum, crossing his arms as he leaned back in his seat. It wasn’t like he blamed the heroes for the mishap. Frankly, if anyone was to blame it was him for not making the correlation sooner. He had been the one to find cameras. He should’ve known that his father would’ve naturally done something like this; after all, it hadn’t stopped the man from hiding literal books of murder in their toys. Hiding cameras like that would’ve been child’s play in comparison.

Instead, he’d once again been too stupid to recognize the obvious signs sitting right in front of him. Nope. Instead, all he had done was let his father get even further ahead of them because his failure had allowed the bastard to see every step of the case he had. Because of him, the investigation was now further behind than ever because now everyone was fussing over him instead of hunting down his sperm donor.

No wonder Batman left him out again. He was clearly too much of a liability to deal with.

“Michael,” Canary spoke up, her voice uncharacteristically gentle as she sat down next to him, “Hey, I know what’s going on in that head of yours.” Reaching up, she gently set a hand on his shoulder. “None of this is your fault. I know it doesn’t feel that way. I know you blame yourself for not seeing this sooner, and maybe even for…other things that were out of your control. And, I know you may not feel like it, but you are just as much of a victim of your father as the others were.”

Mike scoffed in disbelief, “Yeah right.”

Resting his cheek against his knuckles, the teen looked away, making a point to ignore the no doubt despondent look on Canary’s face. He never liked seeing her disappointment after he made comments like that. But it wasn’t like he was wrong. He wasn’t like the other victims. He survived. They didn’t. He had already had blood on his hands. They had been innocent. They shouldn’t have been grouped with someone like him.

The hand on his shoulder gave a firm yet gentle squeeze. “Mike,” she spoke, “you’re been abused, tortured, experimented on, and almost killed. You are a victim of your father. And, what happened to all the others was not your fault. There was nothing you could have done.”

Personally, Mike disagreed.

As if she knew what he’d been thinking, he felt his mentor’s hand squeeze his shoulder again. “Michael, listen to me,” Canary said, giving him a pointed but sympathetic look, “I know you don’t feel like it, you probably haven’t felt like it in a long time, but you are a child. No one blames you for what your father’s done. And it was not your job to stop him. The blame lies with us. It’s our job to protect you, to let you be a kid again. This never should have happened. You should have been safe, and you weren’t. We failed to keep you safe. And for that, we are so sorry.”

Mike leaned forwards, resting his elbows on his knees as he looked down at the floor. Some part of him was agreeing with her. He had been how old when his father had fucked off? Twelve? Thirteen? What could he have done? Especially against the man that had terrified him?

But still, another part of him still blamed himself. Mike had been the one literally living with the madman. If anyone should’ve noticed what William had been up to, it should’ve been him.

“I don’t blame you,” he finally spoke. “I should’ve seen this coming. Fath—William never liked it when I stepped out of line.”

“So you think he’s sending a message?”

Mike nodded.

“And what do you think he’s saying?”

Looking up, the teen met his mentor’s gaze. “It’s his way of saying that I’m never going to be able to escape him. That I’ll always belong to him.”

Beside him, the heroine stiffened, “So you think this is a threat?”

Mike shrugged, looking away again. “I wouldn’t put it past him.”

“He’s not going to hurt you,” Canary reassured, rubbing his back. “We won’t let him.”

The teen felt a small smile tug his lips. “You might need to worry more about me hurting him now. I’m not as easy to push around as I used to be.”

“True, you do have an excellent teacher,” the woman sat back, tapping her cheek contemplatively, “Eh, I’m sure the prison won’t care if he arrives in a body cast.”

That got him to laugh. “Thanks,” taking a deep breath, Mike leaned back in his chair, looking up at the ceiling, “I needed that…today’s been…a little nerve wracking.”

“I can imagine,” his mentor replied, her tone turning soft at his now somber tone. “Still, you want to know what I see?”

Mike raised a brow, “And what might that be?”

“You scare him,” she answered.

“Great, I scare a serial killer. How exactly does that make me feel better?”

“Because almost single-handedly you exposed his crimes to not just the police and FBI, but to the Justice League,” Canary said, sounding proud, “You’re the only witness to his crimes. The only surviving victim. You have the power to put him in prison not only for the rest of his life, but give the families of his victims’ closure. That’s why he’d scared of you. It’s because he can’t control you anymore, and he knows it.”

Chapter Text

A/N: hey everyone! Welcome back! So, by posting this that either means I’m done with my classes for the semester or just took a sanity break before finals. Anyways, glad to see y’all back again and thanks for the reviews! Remember, I just own the story, none of the characters are mine.

/comms/

Telepathy/flashbacks

October 30, Gotham City, 23:28EDT

City lights illuminated the dark clouds rolling overhead, obscuring the tops of skyscrapers as snowflakes fell down to the streets below.

Behind a pane of glass, a tall figure approached the glass, sipping on a glass of scotch. William Afton missed this. He missed Gotham. As filthy as the City of Shadows was, it was home. It was where he built his empire, created his legacy, perfected his art. Really, it was no wonder he came back.

Even if it was only for a day or two.

He couldn’t afford to stay longer. Not with the Dark Knight’s ongoing witch-hunt against him. And he could only pay off so many cops before one either got cocky and would threaten to expose him for more money or he ran into one of Gordon’s unbribable lapdogs. Thankfully it was the night before Halloween, meaning all eyes would be on Arkham.

So, there would be no checking in on his most successful project—despite its unwillingness to cooperate. Still, from what he’s heard so far, Michael seems to be handling himself just as well. Good grades, no fights, all in all, the boy appeared to be a model student.

Sighing, William took another sip of his glass. If only he’d known that all it took to get his eldest to behave was triggering the remnant’s more…interesting properties. Then he would’ve escalated the experiments a lot sooner. Maybe then the boy would’ve been easier to reign in.

However, this time, he had not come to try to tame is wayward offspring. No, he had come for something—no, someone far more important than his son.

Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a small, capped vial, watching the shimmering silver liquid within. Holding it in the light, he watched with a fond smile as the remnant within refracted the light, almost making it look iridescent. It was hard to believe how far he had come since he started. How a mere impulse had lead him to the very path to immortality. Michael may have been the first successful final product, but Elizabeth…His beloved daughter had been the one to show him that he had been right. That all his hard work hadn’t been for naught.

What kind of father would he be if he didn’t reward her for her sacrifice?

Turning around, William put the vial back into his pocket before he turned to look out the window, continuing to sip on his glass. It wouldn’t be long now.

Almost as if in response to some invisible cue, the man could hear the faint thuds of something crawling through the vents. Growing louder as their source grew closer.

Until the noise suddenly stopped.

Watching through the reflection in the glass, William waited for his guest to reveal themselves. Slowly, but surely, metal cables slithered through the vent slats overhead. Descending towards the floor in long ropes before falling in a misshapen pile on the ground. Silence filled the room, only broken by the soft slithering of the tendrils as the clambered over one another, weaving themselves into a form that was a mockery of a living creature.

As soon as the mismatched eyes of the abomination he created had reflected in the window, William took a final sip of his drink before setting it down. Now, is where he would have to be delicate. One wrong move and he would be forced to use his back up plan. A plan he knew would work, Michael had proven it had; but still, it was not one William himself had any intention of attempting just yet.

“Hello Elizabeth,” he greeted his daughter, watching as the creature behind him paused, its eyes flickering between green and a myriad of other colors. No doubt all the souls vying for control. But still, his daughter was strong, he had little doubt she would be the one to crush their wills to let her take command. “I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to come visit you, my little princess. But it’s good to see you again.” William turned around, looking at his daughter for the first time in years.

He knew she was going to look different. After all, his little girl had disobeyed him and went to visit Circus Baby just after he had explicitly told her not to. Still, he was surprised at how well he managed to conceal his surprise at seeing the slithering mess of wires forming a mockery of a humanoid form hidden behind a clown mask. William supposed he should’ve known better. After all, this was the form that allowed her to escape using her own brother’s body as a puppet.

The memory made him smirk slightly. Even in conflict with his intended victims, his little girl was so much smarter than her brother. It really was a pity that she didn’t listen to him that day. But it didn’t matter. That mistake was going to be rectified.

“Now, Princess, tell me, how would you feel about getting your body back?”

-.-

October 31, 19:34EDT

Mike’s scars were itching. It wasn’t something to be worried about, Dr. Thompkins said it was relatively normal actually. The problem was that he wasn’t allowed to scratch at it.

Last time he had when it felt like this, he had made himself bleed. He had healed quickly of course; however, it had still scared the crap out of Henry. The man had practically thrown him into Dr. Thompkin’s office before he could even get his holographic-watch on. Naturally, she had quickly eased the man’s worry, but it didn’t stop his uncle from hovering around for the next day or two.

Still…something felt…off this time. It almost felt worse than it had before. Like there was something just under his skin, just out of reach of blunt nails and hard corners no matter how hard he scratched. There were even moments where it felt like his scars would burn. And, to make matters worse—disbarring the previous incident—he couldn’t really scratch at it even if he wanted to. Not without risking ruining the make-up he’d spent way too long on to make his Frankenstein’s monster-concept perfect.

Hopefully it was just anxiety.

Though the feeling of dread seeping into his very bones seemed to say otherwise.

“Mike!”

Pulling himself out of his thoughts, Mike turned around to see Artemis jogging over. “Hey Artemis, ready for the party?”

“No, I just casually go out dressed as a vampire,” she said punching his arm.

“Hey, we live in Gotham, you never know.”

“…Ok that’s fair. So what are you? Zombie?”

Mike wrinkled his nose in indignation. He did not spend an ungodly amount of time and make-up making fake stitches and adjusting parts of his skin tone to be mistaken for a zombie. “Frankenstein’s monster.”

“I guess your big head should’ve made that obvious.”

“And I should’ve known you’d be a vampire, because you suck,” he shot back, sharing the blonde’s mirthful grin. “Anyways, we should, get to the cave. The others might be waiting on us.”

“After you.”

“Ladies first,” Mike replied giving a dramatic bow.

“Age before beauty.”

“You’re the vampire, so if you insist,” he grinned stepping back.

Artemis rolled her eyes, stepping into the decrepit phone booth holding one of the Gotham Zeta tubes. “Recognized: Artemis—B08.”

Looking away from the light, Mike waited until it died down before he stepped in after. “Recognized: Remnant—B07.”

-.-

Mt. Justice, 19:37EDT

“Recognized: Remnant—B07.”

“Oh thanks, you too,” Zatanna said to Artemis. Turning towards him, the young magician gave him a wave, “Hey…Mike, right? Cool costume. Frankenstein right?”

“Well, the monster, but yeah,” he shrugged. Though it didn’t stop him from tossing a smug smirk at Artemis who merely rolled her eyes in turn. “Excited for the party?”

“I’m just grateful Dad let me hang out with you all again after last time,” Zatanna replied.

“Yeah,” Artemis agreed, “that’s fair.”

“Oh look, Zombie Captain Marvel,” Zatanna pointed out as they walked towards the others. “That’s hilarious. Is the Justice League having a party? Because my dad didn’t mention anything.”

Cap’s eyes went wide and he waved his hands, “No, no, no. See, I…” he looked between all of them and scratched his head nervously. “Fine, I’m going trick-or-treating,” the man flew towards the Zeta tube crossing his arms as he looked back at them. “And I’m not sharing my candy!”

“Recognized: Captain Marvel—15.”

“Damn, that’s cold,” Mike muttered.

Not that it mattered, he would probably steal some from Wally’s secret stash later.

Putting his hands in his pockets, he looked back towards the others, watching as M’gann continued to wrap Conner up in bandages. “Guess we weren’t running late after all.”

“Nope,” Zatanna replied. “Which is good, because I was actually starting to think I was making you all wait on me. Is Robin coming?”

Mike shook his head, “Nope, said he had something to do with Bats. Which makes sense. Gotham’s always a nightmare on Halloween. Don’t see why tonight would be any different.”

“And Kaldur?”

He shrugged. “No idea.”

“Anyways,” Zatanna pointed over her shoulder, “how long have M’gann and Conner been a thing?”

“Oh shit,” Mike muttered as he looked to Artemis, watching warily as the blonde laughed in disbelief. He and the others had started a bet on who would realize first. He and Robin were betting on Artemis, but that still didn’t mean he wanted to be in the temperamental archer’s vicinity when she found out.

“No. They’re not a…” Artemis trailed off, looking at the pair as they playfully bickered as M’gann helped her boyfriend get into costume.

However, instead of exploding like he had expected, Artemis grit her teeth and whirled on her heel towards the Zeta Tubes. Sharing a look, he and Zatanna trailed after her. “I’m sorry,” Zatanna started, “it just seemed so obvious. I-I—I didn’t realize…Wait, what about the dance?”

“Not in the mood,” she answered crossing her arms. Turning towards him, the blonde furrowed her brows. “Did you know about this?”

“…Maybe.”

“And you didn’t tell me?”

Mike bit his lip. He didn’t really have an explanation—well, he did. It just wasn’t one she would like.

“Ugh! Did everyone know but me?!”

“Wally doesn’t.”

Artemis did not look particularly amused by that response.

“So…” Mike scratched the back of his head, “are you going back home then?”

The girl sighed, putting her hands on her hips, “I dunno, it’s not like sitting with my mom sounds anymore appealing than the dance right now.”

“Well,” Zatanna spoke up. “There is another option. Egnahc sehtolc otni ruo smrofinu!” Smoke momentarily covered all three of them, and Mike looked down to see that his costume had been replaced by his normal uniform. “Girl’s night out…plus Mike.”

“Hey, I spent a long time on that costume,” he growled as the two began walking towards the hangar. “Ugh! Wait up!”

-.-

Manhattan, 19:54EDT

“Well,” Zatanna said as the three of them came to a stop, in front of a building surrounded by cop cars, “guess whatever happened here is over.”

“Not necessarily,” Mike spoke up. Leaning against the handles, he pointed towards the police tape and the body bags. “There’re detectives here, crime scene’s fresh. Looks like whoever was responsible got away.”

“We’re here to kick ass, not play detective,” Artemis hissed. “I want some action.”

“Well if we go looking for trouble, it’s only a matter of time before we find it.”

“But maybe you need to talk,” Zatanna replied, “about Conner and M’gann, or whatever.”

Artemis scowled, starting her engine, “What I need is something to beat up.” Without waiting for a response, she began driving away. Prompting her comrades to share a look before chasing after her.

Driving down the surprisingly quiet New York streets, the trio began looking for something to do. Or, more accurately, someone to fight.

Though they didn’t seem to be having much luck. They didn’t even need to stop driving to take out a mugger on the side of the road. A simple spell from Zatanna and a few arrows from Artemis had him pinned down in no time. They barely even slowed down for the next set of robbers coming out of a store as Artemis’s arrows knocked the weapons from their hands, and a quick kick from Mike knocked them unconscious.

Frankly, the first time they actually had to get off their bikes was when they noticed a group of men following a girl into a park. They had surrounded her by the time they caught up, but nothing had happened yet. And nothing was going to happen.

“Etativel reh!”

The men paused as the jogger began floating into the air, looking just as confused as she did. However, they didn’t have time to consider why their prey was now flying as one man was hit square in the face with a wrench and another was ambushed by a very unhappy archer. The remaining two seemed to collect themselves and ran at them, but it wasn’t long before all four men were unconscious and tied to a tree waiting for the cops to pick them up.

“You know, there were easier ways to take them,” Zatanna pointed out as they walked back to their bikes.

“You mean less fun ways,” Mike corrected.

“What he said,” Artemis agreed, sounding noticeably less angry than she had earlier. “Besides, they had it coming. No harm done.”

“To us,” he snickered, earning a chuckle from his friends.

However, the moment didn’t last long as suddenly the trio found themselves on their backs in the middle of the street. Fire and smoke billowing from where their bikes had been mere moments before.

“No, indeed,” a voice spoke, “Harm is not done.” A man emerged from the flames, wearing nothing but a trench coat and pants, a sword in hand. “Much harm left to do.”

Mike didn’t even know this guy for two seconds, and he already felt the almost indescribable urge to beat his ass and hurl him from the nearest rooftop.

“The its cannot escape Harm.”

Pushing herself up, Artemis notched a couple of arrows on her bow, “Escaping wasn’t on the menu.”

Their new opponent scoffed as the projectiles flew at him, merely being swatted aside with his sword. “Its arrows do not impress.”

“Fine then,” Zatanna said, “Taeh taht s’nopaew latem!”

The hilt of the blade began to glow bright red, earning a scoff from the man. “Neither does its magic. Both must do better or suffer harm.”

“It needs to shut the fuck up!” Mike snarled, hurling an explosive at the anime-villain-wannabe.

Their attacker went to block the object with his sword, only to get blasted back by the explosion. The man rolled along the ground, pushing himself to his feet with a grin, “This it is deceptive, it may prove to be a challenge yet. But it will not be able to escape harm.”

“We get it! Your name is Harm.”

“Their ridiculous garb and Rudimentary skills indicate instruction from Green Arrow, Black Canary, and Zatara. Harm will study these three to learn methods for killing their mentors.”

Mike smirked, “Joke’s on you, my mentor and I don’t have the same skill set.”

Zatanna, meanwhile, took a more rational response, “Oh, you did not just threat my dad. Etativel drows ot em!”

The blade began shaking in Harm’s hand, pulling his arm up towards them. “It wants Harm’s sword, very well.” Grinning, the maniac hurled the weapon towards the magician, the sharp edge of the blade slicing through a few hairs as it narrowly missed her and embedded into the wall behind them.

“Big mistake harmster!” Artemis snarled, firing two more arrows at him. Arrows which the man caught and threw back at her.

Thankfully no one got hurt as they leapt to the side. “Ok,” Zatanna muttered. “Maybe he’s tougher than he looks.”

“We’re at a disadvantage right now,” Mike stated. “We need to fall back and regroup.”

“Over here!”

Turning towards the voice, Mike spotted a pale girl dressed in a white poncho, waving them over. “Let’s go!” he ordered, tossing a warning look back at Artemis.

“Fine! But only to regroup!”

“Erif nrub nordluac elbbub!” Zatanna chanted, causing the flames from the previous blasts to erupt into an inferno around their opponent. “There, that should slow him down for a minute,” she said catching up to them.

“Nice.”

“Thanks, it’s something I’ve been practicing since—”

“Wait!” Artemis interrupted, “Who’s that?!”

“This way,” the girl said waving them down another path.

“Do you care right now?” he said.

“No.”

Turning around the corner, the trio skid to a stop as they came upon a wall. “Dead end.”

“Where’d she go?”

“Up here.” Looking up, Mike watched as the ladder for the fire escape came down, and the girl stood on the edge of the roof, beckoning them to follow.

“I like her already,” Zatanna grinned as she and Artemis began climbing.

Following up after them, Mike pulled the ladder back up before he fired his grapple and pulled himself up onto the rooftop. Behind him, he could hear Artemis muttering, “Why didn’t I think of that?” A moment later, there was the distinctive thud of something embedding itself into the concrete as the two girls came over the ledge a few seconds later. They both appeared to be slightly out of breath, but hopefully they managed to put some distance between themselves and…that weirdo.

Turning, his gaze landed on the young girl standing just a few feet away from him. “Uh, thanks for the assist and all,” he said as the girls came over, “but aren’t you a bit young for this? Where are your parents?”

“Dead.”

“Oh, sorry to hear that.”

“Who are you?” Zatanna inquired.

“Greta.”

“That won’t cut it,” Artemis immediately shot back. “Do you know Harm? Does he have any weaknesses?”

Mike was about to get on his teammate for her rudeness, only to be cut off as Greta pointed behind them. “No time. He’s here.”

Following her motion, the three of them watched as their assailant leapt onto the rooftop still wearing the same stupid grin. “At least they make the hunt interesting.”

“He’s fast, I’ll give him that,” Artemis muttered. Turning on her heel, she fired an arrow into the side of a rooftop water tower, causing gallons to start falling towards them.

Fortunately, they weren’t drenched as Zatanna began chanting a spell, driving the torrent towards Harm and encasing him in ice. Unfortunately, that only held him for mere moments as his sword glowed and shattered the ice encasing him.

“Shit!” Mike cursed as they turned to put some distance between them and Harm.

“Ok, these boots adorable. But not so good for a chase sequence. Lacitcarp raewtoof won!”

Leaping to another rooftop, Mike tossed another explosive behind them, hitting Harm in the chest and blasting him back. “I knew something like this was gonna happen,” he growled, racing to catch up with the others. “This is what happens when you go looking for trouble!”

“Now’s not the time for a lecture Mike!”

“Doesn’t change the fact I’m right,” he retorted as they leapt to the next building.

Any further argument was stopped as a blast of what appeared to be lightning impacted the roof in front of them. Skidding to a stop, the three of them turned, raising their weapons as Harm threw a knife at them. Artemis cried out as the taunt string of her bow was cut by the blade, leaving a cut in her cheek as it ricocheted and embedded into a nearby brick wall.

“You ok?”

“Fine. Distract him while I restring.”

“Easier said than done,” Mike said jumping back as Harm attempted to knee him in the gut after he kicked Zatanna to the side. Pulling out his wrench, Mike hurled it at the man and leapt at him as he moved to deflect the random projectile. Tackling Harm to the ground, Mike grunted as the man elbowed him in the face and rolled on top of him, raising his sword. The only reason he probably didn’t plunge the blade into his chest was the fact that Artemis had managed to restring her bow and how held an arrow at his head.

“How about we play without the toys?” she said, no doubt hoping to bait their enemy into a more fair fight.

On top of him, the man snickered, pulling the sword’s scabbard from his back. “It tries to bait Harm. Leave Harm weak,” the man got off him, sheathing the sword and dropping it beside him. “But Harm has no weakness,” he said taking off his jacket dramatically, leaving him shirtless.

“Maybe except his ego,” Mike muttered, pushing himself up to his elbows as Artemis and Harm began fighting. Pushing himself up, he wiped his lip and spat out some blood. So much for a relatively calming patrol.

“Rem, help me with this,” Zatanna said.

Pushing himself to his feet, Mike approached the sheathed blade that was now planted in the ground under their feet. Zatanna pulling at it and not making it budge an inch. Nodding to the magician, Mike stepped forwards and began pulling on the blade. It was heavy. Too heavy for something its size. Probably had magic or something—like the sword in the stone did. Gritting his teeth, Mike pulled harder.

When he finally did feel it move, he didn’t have long to relish in his albeit minor victory before he cried out as electricity arced over his frame.

“Remnant!” Artemis and Zatanna shouted as their comrade went down.

However, that moment was enough to distract Artemis as Harm decked her across the face, knocking her on her back. “And it cares about others. Another weakness,” he sneered. “The sword has rejected its impure heart. It has not made the sacrifices Harm has to become pure.”

“Do you ever shut up?” Mike muttered as he began to get back up with Zatanna’s help.

“I’m going with no,” Artemis replied.

“This way!”

Turning, Mike winced as he felt a splitting headache trying to form, but he did manage to spot the girl they had been following. And it appeared he wasn’t the only one as Zatanna spoke up, “Look, it’s Secret.”

“She hasn’t lead us wrong so far,” Artemis said, pulling out an arrow and throwing it to the ground in front of Harm, causing smoke to erupt around him.

“Etativel drows dna tih mih!” Zatanna said, causing the sword to fly from the ground and slam into its owner’s chest. “Hopefully that should slow him down.”

“Dude, they guy has been blown up three times,” Mike retorted. “I’m starting to think nothing short of a bomb going off in his face will stop him.”

“Great pep talk, Mike,” Artemis shot back as they leapt to the next roof. “Real inspiring.”

“I’m just stating the facts,” he exclaimed.

Zatanna was once again the one to pull them out of their spat as she groaned. “She’s gone again. Now what?”

“We zip line,” Artemis said, notching another arrow, “to that magic store.”

“Then what? Keep running?”

Another blast of lightning forced them to leap to the side before they could come up with a proper plan. Turning around, the three watched as Harm landed on the roof, looking positively murderous. “This can be no coincidence. They alight on Harm’s very roof!”

Against his better judgement, Mike sneered back at their pursuer, “And here I thought we were going to have to go to the dump to figure out where you lived.”

Somehow, this only seemed to piss him off more. “How did they know?! Tell Harm! Now!”

And, for some reason, neither Artemis nor Zatanna bothered to shut Mike up, “Say please.”

“No more games.” Raising his sword, Harm slammed it into the ground and the three screamed as electricity sudden shot through them.

-.-

22:03EDT

Mike groaned as consciousness began to return to him. “Note to self, don’t get electrocuted twice in one night,” he muttered, tilting his head back. Taking a couple breaths, the slowly opened his eyes to look around the room. It was dark and relatively bare save for a bed a dresser, a nightstand, and his gear sitting tauntingly on the bed.

But, more importantly, he was alone.

“Shit.” Biting his lip, Mike gauged his next move. He couldn’t exactly call out to Zatanna and Artemis, not without alerting their captor that he was awake. No. It was better to keep the element of surprise. Especially since the idiot had only bothered to use regular ropes to tie him up.

Smirking at the fact, Mike quickly used his enhanced strength to break the bonds restraining him. He was quick to put on his equipment, just strapping his knife back to his leg as the door creaked up. Yanking out the blade, Mike prepared to ambush the pain in the ass that had been hunting them, but instead came face-to-face with Greta. “It’s you,” he breathed, sighing with relief. “You ok?”

“I’m fine,” she turned away from him, motioning for him to follow. “Your friend is this way.”

He didn’t need to be told twice. Following the girl down the hall into another room where Zatanna sat tied to a chair with duct tape over her mouth. Her eyes went wide when she saw the girl, almost as if she was alarmed, but she seemed to be relieved when Mike rushed over, ripping the gag off. “Ow,” she hissed. “Sepor emoc esool.” Before he could attempt to untie her the ropes flew off, piling themselves in the corner. Wiping her mouth, the magician looked at Greta accusingly. “First you lure us into a trap, then you free us. What’s your game?”

“There’s no game. I’m trying to help.”

Zatanna didn’t respond to Greta, merely sighing and turning to investigate the room.

“Give her time,” Mike offered reassuringly.

Greta gave him a small smile before following after Zatanna as the girl held a picture in hand. “Is this your room?” she asked, holding out the photo. “Do you live with his nutjob?

Mike frowned as he spotted Harm standing with Greta. His stomach twisted. They looked happy. Much like his own family had been before his father had lost his mind.

“He’s my brother,” Greta replied meekly.

Mike winced in sympathy, reaching out to pat her should before deciding otherwise. It probably wouldn’t be comforting to have someone how had murdered their own brother offer consolidation.

“Secret, right,” Zatanna scoffed, tossing the picture on the bed. “Naturally.”

“Secret?” Mike repeated, picking up the picture and setting it back in its place. “Really?”

“That’s what she said.”

Mike balked at that, looking to Greta then back to Zatanna. “No, she said that this nutcase—no offense Greta—is her brother.”

“Wait…how…you can understand all that just from the word secret?”

“No, she told me, just like she’s been telling us all night,” he corrected.

“She’s just been saying secret all night!”

Mike looked to Greta, getting a shrug in return. “No she hasn’t.”

Zatanna looked like she wanted to argue, but merely exhaled loudly, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Ok, so for whatever reason, you can understand her. Does she know where Artemis is?”

Greta nodded, “In the room across the hall. But he is there with her.”

“Door across from us. But we need something to distract self-narration over there,” Mike relayed, still not sure as to why he was apparently the only one who could understand the girl.

“Ok,” Zatanna said, jogging over to grab the cross bow, “I have just the idea, hide.” The three of them pinned themselves to the wall weapons drawn on the off chance that it didn’t work. “Ekam na noisulli fo em htiw eht wobssorc.”

From the other side of the door, loud footsteps barged towards the room as Harm leapt in, the door swinging towards them and obscuring them from sight as he barreled towards the fake Zatanna. Seizing the opportunity, the darted across the hall, quickly freeing Artemis with the same spell that Zatanna used to free herself. The blonde nodded to them in thanks and they quickly raced from the room down the hall, towards the stairs where Greta stood waiting.

However, upon seeing her, Artemis had a similar reaction as Zatanna and immediately raised her weapon, prompting both of her friends to try and stop her. “Wait!”

“What?! She’s his partner!”

“No she’s not,” Mike defended.

“She led us here!”

“Then why did she help me?”

“Don’t know. Secret.”

Mike groaned. “Not you too.”

Artemis tossed a confused look at him before turning to Zatanna for an explanation. “Mike can understand exactly what she’s saying.”

If the archer was going to question him about this apparent anomaly, she was cut off as the hall glowed with light from Harm’s sword. Leaping to the bottom of the stairs as a blast hit where they’d last been standing, the trio jumped down through the new hole in the floor into the kitchen.

Running towards another door, Mike turned as he saw Artemis standing at the stove. “Now is not the time for cooking!”

“Nope, but it’s about it get gassy in here,” she said fleeing from the stove and firing an arrow that Harm naturally catched as he landed behind them.

Mike was quick to slam the door behind them and leap into the basement as the sound of an explosion shook the building above them. Breathing a collective sigh of relief, the three of them walked up another flight of stairs and exited out of the cellar into a small yard. However, Mike paused as he looked behind them, “Wait…where’s Greta?”

Neither Zatanna nor Artemis answered, merely staring at something in the yard. Zatanna took a few steps away, kneeling down beside something. “She’s here.”

Sighing in relief, Mike trotted up the stairs only to stop in his tracks as he spotted both girls kneeling beside a too small grave.

A grave that was hidden in a backyard. A grave that could have only been dug by the very person who had loved her. The same person who had killed her in cold blood. Michael’s heart plummeted.

“Greta Hayes. Beloved sister.”

A pale ghostly figure rose from the grave, materializing in the familiar face they’d come to know over the past couple hours. She looked at them uncertainly, as if she was scared about how they’d react.

“This is your grave,” Zatanna whispered. “This is your secret. This is you.”

Greta looked down, giving a small nod.

Artemis, was a bit less tactful about the situation, “A ghost. An actual ghost.”

“It was him,” Mike said, his voice sounding calmer than he expected, “wasn’t it?”

He’d already had his suspicions, but seeing her nod in confirmation made his blood boil. This man—no, this monster had had a younger sibling who loved him, who trusted him, and he had killed in cold blood. He had fucking buried her to hide his crime. Mike would have given anything to get his brother back after what he had done, and this abomination had just thrown it away!

Electricity crackled in the air as Harm blew the door open. Clearing having survived the explosion. But Mike didn’t turn away from Greta’s grave, doing his best to reign in the blinding hot rage surging within him.

“They defile Harm’s holy place!”

“We defiled it!” Artemis scoffed. “You did this! To your own sister!”

Harm didn’t respond nor did Mike turn to see his response. But, he heard his friend’s sharp gasp.

“You’re proud of it?” Artemis whispered in horror. “And you had the gall to write beloved.”

Smoke curled off Mike’s fingers.

“Not gall, truth,” Harm spoke. “She was the only thing Harm ever loved. That’s why she had to go. Harm’s heart had to be pure. Greta had to be cut out, excised like an infection.”

Something in Mike snapped.

The next think Artemis and Zatanna knew, their teammate was no longer beside them and there was now a hole in the wall where Harm had been. They both felt a chill behind them, turning to look as Greta reappeared, looking concerned. “Secret.”

“Sorry Greta, but we don’t know what you’re saying.”

The girl seemed to understand, because she pointed towards the hole in the wall where they now heard loud crashes followed by pained screams. The two girls moved to intervene when Harm was flew through the wall, creating another hole in the wall. The man had seemed relatively unharmed throughout their fight, but now he had a knife in his shoulder, another in his thigh, severe handprint-shaped burns on his chest, and there was blood on his face as fresh bruises bloomed. In the darkness, they spotted a pair of glowing red eyes and violet flames lit illuminated their friend’s figure.

“S-Stay back,” Harm said, raising a bloodstained sword. Scrambling back, the man shakily rose to his feet, looking between Mike and them before his gaze landed on the small white figure standing behind the two heroes. “I see…it has cast another of its illusions.”

“Except I didn’t speak,” Zatanna shot back. While she was rather nervous by her friend’s sudden, violent shift in demeanor, she couldn’t bring herself to feel sympathy for Harm. Frankly, he deserved it. “Harm knows it must speak to cast a spell.”

“You asked how we found this place? Face it Harm, your secret’s out.”

Harm went pale, now stumbling away from his sister as she approached him. “No. You’re not real.” He raised his sword. “Harm’s heart is pure. Harm’s not sorry! I’m not!”

“You should be,” a voice snarled.

Even though they knew better, neither Artemis or Zatanna could connect the voice to their friend. Mike stepped out of the shadows, his normally bright violet eyes now almost solid black save for the small red pinpricks in the center and there were dark-silvery lines spreading along his veins. However, both girls were more focused on the obvious stab wound in the center of his chest.

“Stay away!” Harm snarled, swinging his blade towards Greta as he attempted to get away from Mike. However, neither venture was successful as the blade merely passed through the ghost and their friend locked the murderer in a painful-looking grip.

Unphased by her brother’s attack, Greta continued forwards, reaching out into Harm’s chest. The elder cried out in pain as she removed something, something that glowed whenever he used the sword. The light vanished out of existence, and the moment it did, Harm suddenly seemed unable to hold the sword. The scabbard clawed at his other hand, causing the man to drop it as the sword seemed to grow heavier in his grasp.

Like it had to them, the blade shocked them, prompting the former wielder to drop it, letting the sword slide back in its sheath.

“I don’t need the sword,” Harm growled, kicking at Mike. However, it didn’t seem to have any effect on him.

A cold hand grabbed his wrist, pulling Mike’s attention away from his prey and to a girl in white. “Don’t. Evan wouldn’t want you to.”

That snapped him back to reality.

Suddenly aware of the pain in his chest, Mike shoved Harm away towards Zatanna and Artemis. Blood was soaking into his shirt from a large stab wound in his chest, just below his sternum, right where—nope. Now was not the time. Sitting down against the wall, he ignored Artemis’s taunts and jeers as she toyed with Harm.

“What have I done?” he whispered, leaning his head back against the wall. Oh God, what had he done? Why had he flown off the handle like that? Especially in front of his friends. People he was supposed to protect from this side of him. They were going to hate him. Or worse, they were going to realize just what kind of bloodthirsty monster they had in their midst. After all, he was the son of a serial killer. He was a monster who already had innocent blood on his hands.

“He doesn’t blame you.”

Pausing his downward spiral, Mike looked to Greta as the girl sat beside him. “What?”

“Your brother. He does not blame you. He knows you were not in full control of yourself. And he has seen how much you miss him.” she replied. “You despair in a way my brother never had for me.” She squeezed her knees tighter. “Evan forgives you.”

Mike’s chest twisted in pain. And it wasn’t from the open wound in his chest. Oh God, Evan…he didn’t blame him. He forgave him. The very creature that had cut his life short. How? How could that boy be so kind? “Is he…”

“He is at peace.”

“Thank you,” he whispered. “And I promise Greta, we’ll make sure you receive a proper burial. That you won’t be forgotten.”

“And we’ll see that your brother is properly punished for his crimes,” Artemis chimed in as she and Zatanna stood on the side.

Smiling, the little girl nodded as she faded away, “Thank you.”

The three of them took a moment of silence for the girl, looking at where she had last been with different thoughts running through their heads.

“I can’t believe someone would do that to his own sister,” Artemis whispered. “If my—never mind.”

“Some people are just monsters,” Mike murmured in agreement. “I would do anything to get my brother back.”

“You have a brother?” Artemis asked.

“Had,” he corrected, wringing his hands together as he tried to push away the stinging at the corner of his eyes “He died, a few years back…it was my fault, I-I should’ve been better, and now…” he pinched the bridge of his nose. Crap. He was not supposed to be losing his composure like this. They had initially come out to distract Artemis and now they needed to focus on Greta. He couldn’t be selfish and let his issues get in the way.

“So…that’s why…” Zatanna said in realization, looking at the destruction behind them. “I’m sorry Mike.”

“It’s not your fault,” he reassured.

“But you blame yourself anyways,” Artemis spoke up. The blonde had their back turned to them, arms crossed. “I get it.” The girl sighed, slowly turning around. “I…I have a sister. She ran away when I was ten. I haven’t seen her since, so…yeah, I get the feeling.”

“It’s not your fault she ran off,” he said, standing up, wincing as he felt the still healing wound tear slightly from the sudden movement. “And I’m sure she doesn’t blame you for making her wanna leave,” he put a hand on Artemis’s shoulder. “Think about it this way, at least until you hear otherwise, you can at least imagine that she made a better life for herself. And if she’s anything like you, she’s probably doing just fine.”

“Thanks.”

“Anytime,” he said, pulling back as he heard the faint sound of sirens. “Cops are coming.”

“We did blow up the kitchen,” Zatanna pointed out.

“True.”

“And…Mike do we need to get you to the hospital or something?”

“Nah, it’s already healing.”

“You got stabbed. In the chest. With a sword.”

“It’s a minor flesh wound.”

Artemis punched his shoulder. “Stop getting yourself injured on missions!”

Chapter Text

A/N: Hey everyone! Happy New Year and welcome back! Glad to see y’all’re still here enjoying the story. Remember, I just own the story, none of the characters are mine sadly.

/comms/

Telepathy/Flashbacks

Mt. Justice, November 5, 19:43EDT

“I think we had a productive session today,” Canary said stretching as her protégé laid sprawled out on the floor, breathing heavily from their spar.

Mike nodded in agreement, staring up at the ceiling. “Yeah. Thanks,” he panted, rolling his shoulder, sighing in relief as it popped, “I needed that.”

“After our talk earlier today, I’m not surprised,” the heroine smiled, offering a hand. “Still, I’m impressed with how much progress you’ve made.”

Reaching out, the teen accepted the support, using it to help get his feet back under him. “I still haven’t beat you.”

The woman chuckled, “You’ll get there one day. Still,” she set a hand on his shoulder, “you’ve come a long way. And I don’t just mean with training.”

Mike turned to his mentor, raising a brow at her skeptically. “I think Halloween begs to differ.”

“Setbacks are normal,” Canary replied. “We all have good days and bad days. Halloween just so happened to be a bad day. But,” she gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze, “I’m proud that you were willing to talk about it, especially to your friends. I know it’s hard for you to open up to others.”

Michael glanced away, biting the inside of his cheek. One part wanted to make a wry remark about how it probably wouldn’t happen again—and if he had his way, his friends would never see him like that ever again. However, another part of him didn’t want her to be disappointed in him. Especially since she was so happy he appeared to be making progress. Mike didn’t feel like he was making any progress. But, it did seem like more people were making comments about him seeming happier lately; so maybe he was actually getting somewhere.

He would just have to take her word for it.

“Now,” the woman relinquished his shoulder, playfully ruffling his hair, “I think I’ve kept you long enough. The others should be back by now. Go have fun with your friends.”

Rolling his eyes, Mike smiled as he gave his mentor a small wave before he jogged off towards the hangar.

However, he didn’t expect to have something tackle him from behind the moment he walked in. “Hey, Rem!” Robin greeted, the boy already hanging off his back with a grin.

“Can’t you greet people like a normal person?”

“Nope!”

The older boy sighed, crossing his arms as he waited with the others for M’gann and Conner to return with the Bioship.

Fortunately, it didn’t take long for the red and black ship to fly into the cave, ramp descending to let Conner lumber down with a huge crate on his back as the Martian girl levitated two more boxes.

“Did you get everything?”

“Everything on your list Batman,” M’gann reassured. “Plus groceries.”

Naturally, Wally was the first beside the boxes filled with food as she set them down. “Cookie fixins?”

“Snickerdoodles.”

“Babe, you rock my world.”

“Stop thinking with your stomach and help put stuff up,” Mike scolded, swatting the speedster on the back of the head.

“What he said,” Robin agreed, sticking his tongue out at the redhead.

“Dudes!”

“And you’re one to talk,” Mike chastised, glancing over his shoulder to his rather talkative backpack as he picked up one of the boxes of groceries.

“I’m moral support.”

“Keep telling yourself that.” Walking towards the elevator, he stepped besides the button looking back at his surprise passenger. “Well, moral support, are you gonna hit the button for me?”

The Boy Wonder grinned cheekily, “Don’t have to.”

Mike opened his mouth to ask what he meant, but received the answer in the form of the elevator door opening to reveal Artemis and Zatanna. Both of whom looked perplexed by the situation before them. “Uh…”

“Don’t ask,” Mike muttered. “Hi Zatanna, welcome back.”

The magician smiled slightly, giving him a shy nod, “Thanks.” Looking over his shoulder, the girl raised a brow, “I see you have a hitchhiker there.”

It took Robin less than a second to scramble off of Mike’s back, the younger boy’s face bright red. “Uh, I was just messing with him,” the Boy Wonder answered quickly, “So, Ze, since your back does that mean you’re joining the Team?”

Zatanna crossed her arms, looking past them towards the small group of adult heroes. After a moment, the girl sighed, sounding exasperated, “I don’t know. Zatara’s so overprotective. I mean, just getting him to let me visit takes a full day’s wheedling. I just wish he’d give me some space.”

As if the universe heard her request, all the adults disappeared from the room at once.

“Careful what you wish for.”

-.-

 20:13EDT

Mike’s fingers flew across the holographic keyboard as he watched lines of code fly in front of him. To say he was stressed was an understatement at the present moment. He was half-listening to the conversations going on behind him, but he still heard enough to understand that the adults just hadn’t disappeared from the Cave. It seemed like everyone above the age of eighteen had vanished all over the he world.

Which wasn’t good considering he and Henry were still working on phasing out the old animatronics his father had created. The same ones that were programmed to attack unaccompanied children.

That meant he had to find a way to remotely hack into the older models. It wasn’t impossible, over the years the animatronics had been modified to connect to wifi to download songs kids wanted and that sort of thing. Furthermore, he and Henry had both gone through the code line-by-line to make sure any such violent programming was removed. Still, it didn’t hurt to be safe rather than sorry.

A worry that proved to be valid as logs revealed that someone had reinstated the erased coding. And this time, his father had installed firewalls to protect it.

The little purple bunny that popped up to laugh at him each time it blocked his progress was really starting to get annoying.

Still, as he worked on breaking down the firewall, Mike couldn’t help but wonder as to why his father still seemed to be using this method. The man was far too paranoid to leave such a loose end, not without a proper reason. Taking a breath to calm himself, he got back to work. As much as he wanted to theorize as to the methods of William’s madness, he needed to stay on task and delete the code. Or he would need to instill a full emergency shut down.

It was an effective method, but the problem was that it would turn off the newer models too. The models that Henry had programmed to be quite protective of kids. The same ones he had already cleared and authorized to perform rescue ops in other cities. A company-wide shutdown would end those operations until they could be individually manually rebooted.

“Why won’t you die already?” Mike hissed, aggressively hitting several buttons as the laughing pain-in-the-ass once again popped up.

There had to be a weakness in this thing. The old models were now becoming obsolete. So, while his father may have gone through the trouble of reinstating and protecting the program, that didn’t mean he made it as secure as he thought. Why go through all the trouble to make something impenetrable when its housing was going to be broken down and melted into spare parts?

No, William Afton wouldn’t have wasted time on something like that. Especially if he believed that they still thought the systems were clean.

He had to have slipped up somewhere.

-.-

Earlier: Mt. Justice, November 5, 19:43EDT

“I think we had a productive session today,” Canary said stretching as her protégé laid sprawled out on the floor, breathing heavily from their spar.

Mike made a small noise of agreement, still lying where he had fallen. “Yeah. Thanks,” he panted between breaths, “I needed that.”

“After our talk earlier today, I’m not surprised,” the heroine smiled, stepping over and offering a hand to help him up. “Still, I’m impressed with how much progress you’ve made.”

“I still haven’t beat you,” he groaned, reaching up to take her hand.

Dinah chuckled, pulling the teen to his feet. “You’ll get there one day. Still,” she set a hand on his shoulder, “you’ve come a long way. And I don’t just mean with training.”

Mike turned to his mentor, giving her a disbelieving look. “I think Halloween begs to differ.”

The heroine bit back a grimace at the mention of last weekend’s incident. Honestly, she was amazed he handled himself as well as he had. No doubt seeing someone who was proud of murdering their own sibling would’ve been traumatizing for the teen—who still blamed himself for the accidents that had killed his siblings. Make no mistake, they were making progress. Her apprentice had opened up so much more in recent weeks and she was proud to see him finally breaking free of his father’s chains.

She just wished Michael wasn’t so hard on himself all the time.

“Setbacks are normal,” Canary reassured. “We all have good days and bad days. Halloween just so happened to be a bad day. But,” she gave his shoulder another gentle squeeze, “I’m proud that you were willing to talk about it, especially to your friends. I know it’s hard for you to open up to others.”

Mike glanced away, jaw shifting as he no doubt chewed on the inside of his cheek. Already she could see the self-doubt conflicting with his desire to appease others and maintain a perfect image.

Before her protégé’s thoughts could continue to spiral, Dinah reached out and gently ruffled his hair. “Now, I think I’ve kept you long enough. The others should be back by now. Go have fun with your friends.”

Her words clearly had the desired effect as a tilted smile crossed the boy’s face as he gave her a wave before quickly darting off. And to think, just a few months ago he would have scoffed at the idea of having friends.

Shaking her head in fond exasperation, she followed her apprentice at a slower pace, making it to the hangar as the Bioship landed.

“Canary,” Batman greeted as she joined the other adults.

Nodding in greeting, she crossed her arms and turned to look at the group of teens, smiling as she caught Robin jumping onto Michael’s back. “Not like you to show up for shopping trips,” she spoke in a silent question.

“I had some things I needed the kids to pick up.”

Now fully looking at him, Dinah raised a brow. “And, you couldn’t do that because…?”

“Stop thinking with your stomach and help put stuff up,” Mike snapped, unwittingly saving Bruce from answering as he smacked Wally on the back of the head.

“What he said,” Robin agreed, grinning from where he clung to Mike.

“Dudes!”

The sight made her smile slightly. It was good to see the boys getting along so well. Initially she’d been rather reluctant to let Robin join on the case, however, after both teens had threatened to go behind their backs again the adults had yielded. And while they hadn’t made any significant progress on finding the madman who dared call himself a parent, Dinah was pleased to notice that it seemed to forge a strong friendship between the two teenagers. It was something both needed. A way to vent to someone in the event neither felt comfortable talking to an adult.

The photos she’d managed to snap of the Boy Wonder clinging to her apprentice were just an added bonus.

“I’m glad you brought Zatanna, old friend,” Batman said, stepping up beside Zatara, making a point of avoiding Canary’s question. “Does this mean you’ll allow her to join the team?”

If she were anyone else, she might’ve smacked Bruce for his lack of tact. It was no secret that Zatara was fiercely protective of his daughter, especially given what happened to her mother. The man had already been reluctant to let her come the last couple times—both of which nearly ended in disaster. Frankly she was more surprised that he was letting Zatanna near the Team again after all that.

“I do not know,” Zatara replied. “Zatanna’s so…” he trialed off with a tired sigh, “My only child. I wish I could get used to the idea that she’s, uh, growing up.”

Dinah put a hand on the magician’s shoulder sympathetically. It was a conundrum every parent she’d met went through. She’d seen it from families she worked with in her day job to her friends in the League. Ollie had been practically tracking Roy’s every move when he started to become more independent, terrified that he’d do something stupid and would be in trouble with no backup. For the first few weeks out of the hospital, Henry had almost been babying Mike out of worry he’d hurt himself again—which was almost warranted as the first thing Mike did when he had finally been left alone was go to the place he had almost died in. Hell, she’d even noticed Bruce seeming to be resisting the idea of Robin spreading his wings.

“I’m sure our parents felt the same way,” she reassured, ignoring Bruce’s glare. If he said anything she would quickly throw it back on him and remind him of Alfred—the man who had been there since he was a baby and had helped raise him all the way through his no doubt super angsty teen years. “Give it time. She may not understand now, but I’m sure she will one day. Just don’t be too hard on her, give her a little space.”

Before Zatara could reply, a loud crash filled the room as every single member of the team vanished into thin air.

-.-

Gotham, 21:07EDT

Henry paced his living room, running a hand through his hair as he listened to the news. He had gotten a call from his ex a few minutes ago saying that their son had vanished. That they had searched everywhere and couldn’t find him. Henry couldn’t help but think of the first worst-case scenario. The last time one of his children had disappeared like this…the last time had been when Charlie…

The man shivered, still able to see the small body lying in a halo of scarlet.

No, he couldn’t think about that right now. Sammy was fine. He was going to be fine. He had to be fine.

Taking a shaky breath, Henry pulled out his phone, once again dialing his son’s number. Deep down, he knew it was a futile effort, but some part of him could only hope that his boy had simply just decided to sneak out and party.

“Sorry, but the number you’re trying to reach is—”

Hanging up before he could hear the blasted message again, he put in a new number and tried calling that. Its owner hadn’t been picking up either, but Henry knew that the signal at the Cave could be spotty at times. So hopefully that was all there was to it.

“Sorry, but the number you’re trying to reach—”

Henry hung up, his heart twisting painfully. He’d gotten the same message the last time he tried too.

Taking a deep breath, the blonde tried to calm himself. Michael was fine. He was safe with his friends under the League’s protection in a secure top-secret facility. His youngest was going to be fine.

Glancing to the doorway, his gaze landed on Efrem. The man stood tall as usual, watching the news with an intense gaze as he cleaned a glass. Henry wished he could be half as calm as the other man was. Right now, it felt like his anxiety was going to make his heart pound out of his chest.

“Worldwide reports are all the same. Every child under the age of eighteen has disappeared. Parents are desperate for answers from secular and religious leaders, from the heroes of the Justice League, and from scientists at facilities like STAR Labs.”

Muting the TV, Henry fought the urge to pester the living hell out of the League. To demand answers from them. Despite the fact he knew that they would have solved the problem by now if they knew what was going on.

No. Calling the League wouldn’t do him any good. From the sounds of it, they were spread pretty thin to deal with riots and demands for answers from others as it was. Adding to the chaos wouldn’t help anyone. The sooner they were left alone, the sooner they could put things back to normal.

So that meant he just had to sit there and wait. Hoping that someone managed to figure out this mess.

Still, the news report had both confirmed his fears and had left him feeling conflicted. On one hand, it meant William wasn’t exacting some sick twisted revenge on him by going after his loved ones. On the other, it meant something far, far more sinister was at work.

He wasn’t sure which option he would have preferred.

-.-

Mt. Justice, November 6, 00:15EDT

The Cave was silent as Dinah stood with Bruce and Zatara at the monitors. Zatara had managed to locate the source of what had caused the children to disappear, now all they had to do was come up with a plan. A plan that was limited in options as there were currently only four Leaguers available, the rest busy handling the chaos of no doubt terrified parents. She probably would have been out doing damage control as well had she not come to the Cave for a session with her protégé.

“Recognized: Captain Marvel—15.”

Brows rising, Canary turned with the others to see the red and gold clad hero fly in. Bruce had mentioned that no one had been able to reach their comrade. It was likely he’d been managing the chaos in Fawcett City and simply forgot to check in. Still, it was good that he was here now. They needed as much help as they could get. Especially considering that they had no clue as to who was behind this or what their motives were.

“Alright guys, I’m here to…” Captain paused as he landed, blinking at them in almost what she would describe as shock. Without warning, the man shot forwards and picked them up in a bone-crushing hug. “You’re back! Is it over? Where’s the Team?”

“Haven’t you heard?!” Zatara snapped. “Every child in the world has—”

“Zatara, wait,” Batman interjected, placing a hand on the magician’s shoulder before looking to Marvel. “Captain, where have you been?”

The immature hero’s eyes widened, “On a world without grownups. Holy moly, there are two worlds!”

“Two dimensions,” the Dark Knight corrected. “One for adults—”

“And one for kids.”

“And you can travel between them?” Dinah spoke.

Cap nodded, “I think I can—I-I know I can! SHAZAM!”

-.-

Kid Dimension: Mt. Justice, Noevember 6, 00:20EDT

Mike crossed his arms as he listened to the plan the others were developing to fight the mystery mage. So far, he could tell none of the others were entirely happy; but unfortunately, all they had to go off of was a location and the fact that it was done by some stupidly powerful magic.

Essentially, they were flying blind.

However, any further debate on what to do was silenced as a clap of thunder reverberated around them, prompting Mike and Conner to cover their ears from the painful volume as a flash of lightning momentarily blinded everyone. Working to reorient themselves, the group of teens turned around, weapons drawn to face the intruder.

Instead, they found a grinning eight-year-old boy. “It works!”

Lowering their weapons, they all tossed glances at each other before converging around the child. “Who are you? Where did you come from?”

The boy, unperturbed by Kaldur’s interrogation, merely grinned up at them. “Quick! Read my mind!”

All eyes turned to M’gann. After a few seconds, the redhead gasped, “He’s…Captain Marvel.”

Mike looked at the Martian girl, looked at the kid, then turned back to M’gann. “Fanboy?

She shook her head, “No. He’s actually Captain Marvel.”

“Yeah,” Wally scoffed, “and I’m Speedy Gonzalez. Look, just because he believes he’s Cap—”

“Gee Wally,” the boy spoke, causing all heads to snap in his direction at the mention of the speedster’s secret ID, “do I really have to get you nachos and pineapple juice to get on your good side?”

“…Oh my God…There’s a fucking eight-year-old in the League.”

“Mike!”

“Language!”

“I’m ten!”

“We can argue semantics later,” Aqualad interjected. “Cap, considering that you are here, it stands to reason that you have arrived from a world where there are only adults?”

“Yep!” the kid nodded. “I can travel between them. Batman wants to coordinate a plan.”

-.-

Roanoke Island, 01:04EDT

Mike crouched as he moved through the brush surrounding the clearing. His gaze was focused on the devil-haired brat he remembered from when they went to Dr. Fate’s base or whatever it was. From what he remembered Mr. Nelson saying, this kid was basically chaos incarnate. So it made sense they found him standing there in the middle of a pentagram in a clearing. Dude seemed like the only villain they’d met with enough juice to pull this off.

Around the perimeter, he could hear some of the others moving. Taking their positions in preparation for their attack.

No doubt the adults were doing the same on their side.

Reaching into belt, he pulled out a couple of his explosives and waited for the signal.

The Chaos Lord stiffened, body whipping around as a red shield appeared in front of him, deflecting Artemis’s and Robin’s attacks with a smug smirk. “Please,” Klarion scoffed, “is that the best you got?”

Seizing his chance, Mike burst out of the brush behind the Witch Boy, throwing his own explosives at his exposed back.

With almost inhuman grace, Klarion bent backwards, letting the explosives fly over him. They hit the ground just in front of his teammates, blasting the pair back as the Witch Boy whirled around, facing him with a maniacal grin. “Well, well, you must be the Old Fart’s brat? Did he really think I’d take it easy on you just because you have his favor?!”

Seeing sparks coming off their opponent’s fingertips, Mike leapt to the side as lightning arced over where he had been moments ago. However, he was not the only one to try to take opportunity of the Witch Boy’s distractions. On three sides of him, Kaldur, Kid, and Superboy charged, weapons and fists drawn. Though they didn’t get fer before they slammed into an invisible barrier, red light rippling out from the impact to reveal a dome surrounding him and the pentagram.

“Kaerb hguorht sih dleihs!” Zatanna’s voice rang out, and the others turned towards the dome in hopes to see it dissolve.

Instead, Klarion scoffed, “Baby magic.” Raising his hand, the Chaos Lord looked down his nose at Zatanna as he began speaking words in an unfamiliar language. A wicked grin crossed his face as he sent her flying with the flick of his finger.

It was only then did he whirl around, flames spewing from his mouth. Those attacking the shield, especially those weak to fire were forced to pull back or be scorched.

While Klarion was distracted, Wally skid to a stop besides Artemis, helping her back to her feet. “Hey, I just remembered, when Fate possessed my body, he hurt Klarion by attacking the cat.”

Following his gesture, the blonde’s brows furrowed as she spotted a tabby sitting just outside the Witch Boy’s shield. Smirking, Artemis notched an arrow, “Good. I’m not a big cat person anyways.”

However, when she fired the arrow, Klarion raised a hand and it turned into a ball of yarn. Klarion chuckled, watching as his familiar playfully bat at the ball. “Show them what a familiar to a Lord of Chaos can do Tiekel!”

Before their eyes, the small tabby grew three times in size and was replaced by a saber-tooth tiger. Thankfully, Wolf was all too happy to immediately ambush and bite on the feral feline.

Inside the shield, Klarion growled as he saw the Crystal glow. The Witch Boy scoffed, “So, you teamed up with the grown ups. Teamwork’s so overrated.” Channeling the energy, the lightning came out from the gem and slammed into the group of pests.

Fortunately, the blasts covered the crack of another flash of lightning. Racing through the woods, a small form ran into M’gann. Opening his mouth, Billy’s eyes widened as the Martian girl covered his mouth with her hand. “I’ve linked you up telepathically with the rest of the team.”

“Cool—er, the gem! The one in the center of the pentagram! Destroy it and we win!”

“That’s all I needed to hear,” Zatanna said. “Distract him!”

“For what?!” Mike exclaimed, ducking another lightning bolt and throwing another explosive at the villian. Glancing back, the boy’s eyes widened as he spotted her kneeling down to pick up a golden helmet. “ZATANNA!”

Drawn by his shout, the others turned, their faces quickly taking on a mix of horrified and worried expressions. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!”

“STOP!”

She ignored their pleas and put on the helmet. In a flash of golden light, their friend was replaced by the familiar form of Nabu. “Klarion. This ends now.”

“Billy tell Zatara!”

“Right!” he said. “SHAZAM!”

The Lords of Order and Chaos flew into the air, clashing overhead. An opportunity none of the others sought to waste as they began chipping away at the shield surrounding the crystal.

“HA! THERE SEE!” Klarion screeched from above, “WITH THE WORLDS DIVIDED THE HELMET’S SPLIT IN TWO! YOU’RE NOT ALL HERE NABU! AND YOU’RE LOSING HOLD ON THAT WEAK, SO TO BE DEAD GIRL! She gave herself up for nothing.”

“No Witch Boy,” Fate said raising a hand a light began to gather on it. “Fate decrees her sacrifice will not be in vain!” Firing the blast down, combined with the efforts of the team, the barrier gave way and Klarion was trapped in one of Fate’s spells.

“Now Kid!”

KF raced out, snatching the gem from its spot and tossing it up in the air towards Fate. Catching it in their hand, Fate began reciting a spell and everything burst in light. When it cleared, all the adults were present, standing over the crumpled forms of several other evil sorcerers.

From his chains, Klarion sighed, “Well, guess they don’t make evil immortal sorcerers like they used to.” Snapping his fingers, the golden light imprisoning him dissolves, allowing him to stand up and wipe his pants. “Oh well, fun while it lasted. Tiekel!” The cat turned, giving a final growl to Wolf as it trotted away, shrinking as it hopped back into its master’s arms. “Nice to meet you brat,” Klarion said, waving to Mike, “Don’t know why the Old Bastard likes you, but what can you expect of some like him. See you later Armadillos,” he grinned hopping into a portal, “unless I see you first!”

At his ominous words, the portal closed with a pop, leaving them staring at where the Lord of Chaos had been. All heads quickly turned to Fate. “…Is there any reason why you didn’t try to stop him?”

“To what end?”

“You just let a madman go free,” Canary replied, putting her hands on her hips. “You claim to be all about order, yet you let someone who brings chaos walk free.”

“Exactly. Klarion is chaos incarnate. He cannot be contained.”

“Bullshit,” Mike snapped. “You’re bound to a helmet, do the same to him! He can’t do anything if he’s ”

“Lords of Order cannot force their will upon Lords of Chaos.”

“Then what’s the use of order?!” Mike threw his hands in the air, “Kill the cat then! You said he’s bound to this plane by his cat right? Kill the cat, problem solved!”

Behind his helmet, the others swore they saw Nabu’s eyes narrow. However, before an argument could break out, Zatara stepped forwards, removing his hat, looking solemn. “Fate…Great Nabu, please, release my daughter.”

With bated breath, all heads looked up to Dr. Fate.

“No.”

“What?!”

“Witnessing the havoc wrought in these hours, the world needs Dr. Fate. And the girl’s natural affinity for the mystic arts makes her the perfect host.”

“YOU MOTHERFUCKER!”

“YOU CAN’T DO THAT!”

“SHE HAS HER OWN LIFE!”

“KENT WOULD NEVER ALLOW YOU!” Wally shouted.

“Kent Nelson objected strenuously, so I released his spirit into the afterlife. He is gone.”

“Listen dipshit!” Mike snarled, glaring up at the Sorcerer, “I don’t know how things work where you come from, nor do I fucking care, but here crap like that makes you just as bad as Klarion!”

“And just because you are favored by Consequences does not mean I will let you stand there and insult me.”

“No!” Zatara called, stepping forwards in front of the group of angry teens. “Please Nabu, do not take their words to heart. They only worry for their friend. But please, I must ask, take me instead. My skills are already at their peak, my body is physically stronger, better able to withstand the strain of your power.”

“All true. But if I remove the helmet, what guarantee have I that you will don it?”

“My word. Uban, I evig uoy ym drow.”

With a nod, Fate landed and Zatanna removed the helmet. “Dad!”

“Zatanna!” he smiled hugging his daughter one last time. “Remember, I love you.” Kissing her forehead, he took the helmet from her hands. “Take care of my girl.”

“You have my word,” Batman replied.

Zatara lifted the helmet and Zatanna’s eyes widened. “NO! PLEASE! THIS WAS MY FAULT! DAD DON’T! DAD!”

There was a flash, and Zatara became Dr. Fate. Turning away from the young magician, he levitated the group of mystic criminals in the air. “Leave this to Fate.” Flying away, with a golden light, they were gone.

And the team could only stare as their friend collapsed to the ground with a cry of utter despair.

Chapter Text

A/N: Hey everyone! Welcome back! Now, I know the last chapter wasn’t my best. That was a difficult one to work. Anyways, sorry for the lack of updates, my semester started back up and it’s kicking my ass. Trying to work on it when I can, but most of my time is mostly focused on surviving my classes.

/comms/

Telepathy/flashbacks

Gotham, November 11, 10:33EDT

The first thing Mike was aware of as he woke up was pain.

It was a dull ache in his head, pulsing in time with his heartbeat. But it was still enough to wake him up.

The teen groaned, tossing an arm over his eyes, hoping that he could go back to sleep. It had been a while since he’d had a morning like this. One where he woke up with a pulsing headache that would slowly develop into a migraine throughout the day. Mike had hoped his powers would’ve gotten rid of them, but it seemed like he was being proven otherwise.

Though, he wasn’t sure how much of it was just due whatever change in the goddamn air initiated it and how much was due to his patrol with Canary last night. He had only gotten back at around four because Star’s paramedics had decided to take their sweet time in checking him and his mentor over.

Granted it wasn’t like he could blame them given the situation they’d come to. But that didn’t mean it wasn’t annoying.

They had gone to intercept a drug shipment he’d determined to be arriving that night. However, he’d miscalculated how many traffickers were going to be there that evening.

Apparently there had been some last-minute change of plans that he had missed when hacking into their network and several of the higher ups had chosen to come in to check on the new product. It had been both a beneficial and detrimental oversight. On one hand they had been able to deal an almost crippling blow to that particular gang. On the other, it meant the ensuing firefight had been all the more violent. Frankly he was amazed he’d only been shot once with how many bullets had been flying.

Unfortunately, their stormtrooper-like aim had resulted in several bags of high-end cocaine exploding into thick white clouds on the docs. And, it didn’t help that a few minutes later he’d been blasted into the harbor by some jackass with a bazooka. Which resulted in him inhaling some freakishly cold seawater and he consequently spent a minute or two hacking up the stuff.

That had been fun.

Not an experience he’d like to repeat though.

Because, despite his healing factor, his lungs were still hurting from that.

Where the hell did that dude found a fucking bazooka anyways? He was pretty sure that it hadn’t been there a few moments prior.

Unless they were smuggling weapons along with drugs. Which would explain why so many people were there that evening.

Refraining from facepalming at yet another apparent oversight, Mike slowly rolled onto his side, grimacing as the little movement had made the pain spike sharply.

It was going to be one of those migraines, wasn’t it?

Taking a few deep breaths, he reached up with one hand, massaging his temples in a hope to relieve the building pressure. He really couldn’t afford a migraine today. He had a test in calculus to deal with. And, there was also Wally’s not-so-secret surprise party at the Cave that afternoon. He still needed to pick up the speedster’s birthday card.

Slowly peeling his eyes open, Mike winced as the dim light bleeding through his closed blinds and curtains aggravated his headache.

Wait…light?

Ignoring his headache, Mike pushed past the pain as he sat up quickly, grabbing his phone. The blinding light from the damn thing made him want to bury his head under a cold pillow and just hide for the rest of the day. However, the time flashing on the screen made him throw those plans to the side.

“FUCK!”

Almost tripping himself as he scrambled out of bed, the teen flew to his closet practically ramming himself against the door as he tried to hastily pull his uniform. Of course, it didn’t help that at that moment his head decided to feel like it was trying to split open. Crouching down on the ground, he massaged his temples, hoping the pain would go away so he could get ready for school. Or at least long enough for him to get an ibuprofen.

A soft knock that seemed impossibly loud came from the door. “Mikey? Is everything ok?” Henry’s voice spoke as the door slowly creaked open. The man was quiet for a moment, and Mike almost opened his mouth to reply before he felt a hand rest on his back. “Hey,” his godfather spoke again, his voice now a few tones softer. “You feeling ok?”

Mike hesitated before answering. He really needed to get to class, but it didn’t seem like his guardian was in any particular rush to take him. And, if he was honest, he really didn’t feel like going today.

Shaking his head just enough that it wouldn’t aggravate his headache in reply, Mike looked away waiting for the man’s inevitable exasperation for his weakness. However, instead of being scolded, a hand came to rest on his forehead. It felt nice and cool, making him nearly sigh with relief as some of the pressure alleviated.

He would be lying if he said he was disappointed when it left. “Looks like you have a small fever kiddo,” Henry murmured. “Anything else? Nausea? Headache?”

Mike nodded at that, making a show of rubbing his temples to emphasize the source of his current discomfort.

His guardian winced in understanding. “Alright kiddo,” he stood up, holding out a hand, “let’s get you back to bed.”

Accepting the aid, the teen slowly rose back to his feet. However, he shook his head at his godfather’s suggestion, pointing to his backpack.

Following his gaze, Henry gave him a smile, pushing him back towards the bed, “Don’t worry kiddo. It’s a snow day. I’d show you,” he motioned to the window, “but I don’t think you’d appreciate it right now.”

Mike nodded in confirmation, letting himself be nudged back under the warm covers. That certainly explained the migraine. He sometimes got them when the barometric pressure changed suddenly.

His mom did too from what he recalled. She almost always knew when the weather was going to change because of it. She used to call it the world’s lamest superpower.

As someone who was suddenly spending an absurd amount of time with superpowered people, he was inclined to agree with that assessment.

Still, he was more than happy to have an excuse to toss his phone aside and go back to bed until the migraine subsided.

-.-

14:03EDT

Henry strode up the stairs, holding a tray in his hands as he went back to Mike’s room. Despite the fact that the kid had pretty much been dead to the world since this morning, the man did his best to stay quiet. Michael’s sleep had been fitful at best due to his migraine. And that was including their best efforts to keep the teen’s room dark and quiet. So far the cold compress seemed to be the only thing making a dent in the pain, but it would only last so long before it would need to be replaced. Starting the cycle all over again.

Hopefully, the dosage of ibuprofen Dr. Thompkins gave him would be adequate enough to let the kid ride it out.

Lord knew how sucky those could be without the right meds. Henry had heard William complain plenty of how it had been when Clarissa had gotten her migraines. They were one of the few things that had been able to knock the normally unstoppable woman on her butt.

Though, this was the first he’d heard of Mikey having them. From the sounds of it he didn’t have them as often as his mother did. So at least there was some good news.

Still he did feel bad for the teen. Henry had been fortunate in the fact he didn’t get migraines very often—the last had been about a couple years ago from what he recalled. But, he did remember that he had refused to leave bed except to go to the bathroom or to throw up.

Fortunately, Mike hadn’t thrown up. However, given that the teen had been hiding under the blankets all day and the worsening weather, Henry doubted he’d be going to his friend’s party. Which sucked because he knew the kid had been looking forwards to it.

Knocking lightly, Henry slowly opened the door his gaze landing on the nest of pillows and blankets the boy had the audacity to call a bed. “Mikey?” he called out, keeping his voice low on the off chance the teen was awake. Not receiving a response, he stepped into the room, doing his best to balance the tray of food Efrem had prepared.

As expected, his youngest child was curled up in the mess, the cold compress miraculously still on his forehead as he cuddled with a large plush he’d gotten the teen when he’d been in the hospital. Henry hadn’t been able to pronounce the animal’s name, but it looked cute and Mike seemed to like it.

Setting the tray down, Henry stepped up to the bed, gently reaching out to rouse the teen. He felt bad; it looked like the kid had finally managed to fall into a restful sleep. But, unfortunately, Mike hadn’t eaten anything substantial all day. He managed to drink a fruit smoothie earlier, but with the teen’s metabolism he doubted it did much to help him recover from whatever chaos occurred from his patrol in Star. So, he needed to eat.

That and Henry did not want his son’s sleep schedule to be more out of whack that it already was.

“Mikey,” he murmured, shaking his shoulder. “It’s time to wake up.”

There was a groan from the nest and Mike pulled the blanket above his head. Hiding under the covers as if that would convince the man that he’d disappeared.

“I know, son,” he cooed, gently nudging the shapeless form hiding in the blankets. “But you need to eat. Then you can go back to sleep.”

Slowly, the sheets shifted and a pale blue-violet eye peeped out. “Promise?”

“Cross my heart,” Henry agreed. While he wasn’t particularly thrilled at the thought of letting the teen go back to bed, he was willing to allow it. Mostly because it got him to agree to eat. Secondly because he didn’t doubt the kid needed rest considering his rather hectic schedule.

With an unhappy groan, Mike emerged from his hiding place, leaning against the mountain of pillows he’d created. The boy’s skin was still a shade or two paler than its normal soft lavender tone and there were dark rings under his eyes and a flush across his cheeks.

Poor kid looked miserable.

Grabbing the pills from the tray, and a glass of water, Henry held out the medication. “Here,” he said, “Dr. Thompkins said this should help with your headache.”

Mike nodded, taking the pills quickly. “Thanks.”

“Hopefully that helps. Anyways, Efrem made you tomato soup and grilled cheese,” he said, grabbing the tray and setting it on the boy’s lap. Sitting on the bed beside him, Henry refrained from reaching for the spoon to feed him like he would have with Sammy. However, unlike his eldest, Henry doubted Michael would’ve been as receptive to his fussing.

Not with how William had beaten the idea of needing help from others as being weak and pathetic into the child’s head.

Instead, Henry settled on resting his hand on the boy’s forehead, trying to gauge his temperature. As expected, Michael still had a fever. It seemed to have risen a bit from this morning, but not enough for him to start calling Dr. Thompkins yet.

“Anything in particular you want to watch kiddo?”

Mike paused, thinking for a moment before shaking his head.

Henry kept himself from sighing. He knew Mikey wasn’t feeling particularly talkative today, but he had been hoping that the boy had been up to maybe putting on something he liked. Something that may’ve helped keep the nightmares at bay and let the boy sleep peacefully.

Grabbing the remote, Henry scrolled through his selection of movies, trying to find something he knew Mike would like. He ended up settling on Treasure Planet, remembering how Mike had dressed like the main character for two Halloweens in a row following the first time he saw it.

The man didn’t miss how the teen’s eyes lit up when he saw the movie start playing on the screen.

It had probably been some time since Mike had been able to watch this movie.

Leaning back, Henry sat back watching the movie, occasionally tossing a glance to his son to make sure the boy was eating. Thankfully, it didn’t take long for the teen long to finish his meal, prompting the elder to set the tray aside as Mike laid back, curling into Henry’s side.

Smiling to himself, Henry reached up, running his fingers through the teen’s hair. He didn’t often get to spend time like this with Mike. Not between his work and the teen’s school and extracurricular activities. Sure there were the days when the kid didn’t have those and they just hung out, but that usually only for dinner before Michael ran off to go through his father’s case for the thousandth time, train in the gym, paint, or go tinker in the workshop.

It was like the kid refused to give himself a break.

So it was nice to see the kid taking one. Despite the fact that he had to get sick for that to happen.

The form by his side shifted, prompting the man to look down. Mike had fallen back asleep while he’d been lost in thought. Chest rising and falling in a slow steady rhythm. Pausing the movie, Henry moved to a show he’d been watching recently. This way the kid could pick up where he’d left off.

That and it would keep Henry from falling asleep. Someone had to keep the nightmares at bay.

A/N: Hey everyone. Hoped y’all enjoyed the update. I know it’s not my best work. This chapter’s been fighting me, but I figured y’all’d appreciate it.

Chapter Text

A/N: Hey everyone, welcome back! Good to see y’all again. Glad to see y’all enjoyed the last chap, despite it being kinda rushed. I’ve been distracted with classes. Hopefully soon I should have more free time to work on stuff soon. Remember, I just own the story, none of the characters are mine sadly.

BE WARNED, THIS CHAPTER IS GOING TO BE GRAPHIC

/comms/

Telepathy/flashbacks

Gotham, November 13, 21:13EDT

“I still can’t believe I missed the first League-Team team-up!” Mike groaned as he sat on a rooftop beside Robin, taking a sip of a shake they got from a nearby Bat-burger.

“Eh, don’t feel bad, KF missed it too,” the Boy Wonder reassured.

“Yeah, but he got to save an entire country and managed to singlehandedly convince the Queen to get rid of Duke Puke’s diplomatic immunity,” the older boy retorted.

Robin shrugged, taking a sip from his own shake, “It’s not your fault you were sick, Rem.”

“Still doesn’t mean it doesn’t suck,” Mike said leaning forwards. “So, how was it? Fighting alongside the League?”

“Eh, honestly, kinda whelming. We spit up into teams and went to fight different ice fortresses. So Kal and I went with Flash, Aquaman, and Batman. So really it was like fighting alongside our mentors.”

“Ah, so how was the party?”

A wide grin spread across Robin’s face, “Well, KF finally learned that Miss M and SB are dating.”

“Oh come on! I missed that too!” Mike exclaimed, throwing his arms in the air. “C’mon! Details!”

“Well, ok, so we’re all sitting in the living room, eating cake and talking. So, I’m talking with Zatanna and Artemis and we notice that M’gann is handing KF presents and food, meanwhile he’s hinting at wanting something else.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah, anyways, we saw he wasn’t taking a hint so Artemis volunteered to go over there and she told him.”

“Bet he was thrilled about that.”

“Still worth the look on his face.”

Mike laughed, “I would’ve paid to see that.”

“Wish I had footage to show you,” Robin agreed.

The elder chuckled, taking a sip from his drink. “So,” he smirked, “you were talking with Zatanna huh? Don’t tell me your flirting was as bad as Wally’s.”

Robin’s face turned bright red as he shoved him with a free hand, “Shut up man!”

“What? It’s cute.”

“Dude!”

Grinning at the younger teen’s expense, Mike took another sip of his drink. “So, as fun as hearing about team drama is, I don’t suppose there’s any particular reason we aren’t hanging out at the Cave?”

“Right!” Robin raised his arm, pulling up his holo-screen, “So, you remember when all the adults disappeared of the face of the Earth?”

“How could I forget?” Mike deadpanned, scooching closer to peer over the younger boy’s shoulder.

“Anyways, I was looking into a report from STARR Labs about some research item of theirs going missing. Their footage was all scrambled from the two different loops created by the split realities, but I did manage to find this,” Robin said clicked on an image. “Look like something your da—William would make?”             

Yes. It did.

Because his father had created it.

If Robin said anything else, Mike didn’t hear it. Instead, all he heard was the blood rushing in his ears, as his heart threatened to pound out of his chest. Barely muffling the haunting, staticky laughter of the demon that continued to infiltrate his dreams despite everything he did to forget.

He had hoped it had been gone. Never to return.

That it had crawled into some hole and turned to rust.

Because then that would mean it couldn’t be back. It meant that that thing couldn’t come after him again. Couldn’t use him as its toy again. He would no longer be a puppet bound to the twisted whims of the abomination that had destroyed his life.

And yet, there it was.

Just like last time.

“The answers you’re looking for are on the other side.”

Mike bit his lip, glancing back in the direction of the exit. This…this was a bad idea. He could still smell the tang of iron in the air and hear the drip of blood from one of the bodies on stage falling to the floor. He…he needed to go. To call the cops. Someone more qualified than he was to deal with this.

Stepping away from the door, he crouched down, flashing his light as he scanned the room for Foxy. He hadn’t seen the damn fox so far, but he wasn’t willing to take chances. Not after last time.

His footsteps echoed loudly in the room. But, otherwise it remained suspiciously quiet as he made his way to the maintenance vent.

“Don’t leave.”

Mike paused. He just needed to take a few more steps. Then he’d be home free. He could just hand the situation to someone else. Find a new job and forget this ever happened. He obviously wasn’t going to find whatever it was his father wanted. He just needed to cut his losses and find another job.

It wasn’t like his efforts were going to earn the man’s approval anyways.

“Please…help us.”

Against his better judgement, Mike turned around and went back to the door. “God, I’m such an idiot,” he muttered. Pushing the door open, he stepped through gaze flickering around the room for the answers Circus Baby had promised.

Instead, his attention was snapped to the door as it slammed shut behind him.

“Hey!” Racing back to the door, he pushed against it, trying to force it open. “What’re you doing?!” Punching the metal, Mike ignored the racing of his heart as he whirled around, looking for another exit. “I thought you wanted me to help you!” he called out, gaze anxiously flickering around the room, “Let me out!”

“Don’t worry. You are helping us.”

Before he could ask what she meant, something grabbed his arm and yanked him away from the door. Mike grunted as his back slammed against the ground as cold metal constricted his wrist, dragging him across the floor. “Hey! Stop—Ah!” he yelped as his trapped arm was suddenly yanked up violently, almost popping the shoulder out of its socket as he was forcefully yanked to his feet.

“You are in the scooping room now.”

This had been a mistake.

“Funtime Foxy has already been here today.”

Breathing quickly, he felt his blood run cold as he looked up to see the thick metal tendril ensnaring his wrist, creeping down his arm. Reaching up, he tried to pry the thing constricting him off. Only to have his efforts thwarted by a second tendril descending from the ceiling, forcefully yanking his free arm above his head, tying his wrists together.

“Funtime Freddy had already been here today.”

“W-what are you doing?! Stop! Let me go!”

The tendrils ignored his pleading, instead they continued to slither down his arms. He shivered as the cold metal slid under his shirt, scratching against his skin as it pulled the fabric up as the coils returned to wrap around his throat.

“Ballora has already been here today.”

Two more cables emerged from the darkness, snagging his ankles.

“Get off me!”

His cries were once again ignored as they coiled up his legs, effectively immobilizing him.

“Circus Baby has already been here today.”

Mike’s heart pounded in his chest. They weren’t listening to him. He didn’t know what these things wanted. But he did know he didn’t want any part of it. And there was nothing he could do to stop it. “Why…why are you doing this? Just let me go. Please.”

“I’ve been out before. But they always put me back. They always put us back inside.”

“You want out?” Mike panted, struggling against his bonds, ignoring the metal digging into his skin. Blood welled up as his restraints cut into his skin, trickling down his body and soaking into his shirt. “I can get you out. I-I can help you.”

“There’s nowhere for us to hide out there. There is nowhere to go. Not while we look like this.”

The teen’s heart dropped with a sense of impending dread. “W-what?” he spoke, the question coming out more as a frightened whimper. Shivers ran up his spine as he felt the tendrils shift, squeezing tighter as if to keep him still.

“But…if we looked like you…”

Oh…oh God. Trembling, his gaze fell on the scooper dangling in front of him. Its sharp claws level with his stomach. Why…why was he here? What did they mean? What did they want with him?

Breath coming in short pants his gaze flew around the room as he renewed his struggles, desperately trying to escape. Hope rose in his chest as he saw a figure approaching from the other side of the glass. “Oh, thank God,” he murmured, vaguely aware that his cheeks were damp. “Please! Help! I’m trapped! I—they—Please get me out. Please, I’ll do anything. I don’t wanna die. Please.”

His rising hope was crushed as the figure came into the light.

“Please, don’t do this,” he whispered.

The coils around his throat tightened to a painful degree, cutting off his air and silencing any further protest.

The monstrosity on the other side tilted its head in mock innocence, its clown mask smiling at him, “Don’t worry.” A clawed hand reached up, wrapping around the lever. “The scooper only hurts for a moment.”

The light above the scooper went red, an alarm blaring as the lever was flipped, sealing his fate.

“No! Stop! Plea—!” he screamed as blinding pain exploded in his stomach. His abdomen burned as the sharp metal barbs cut through his skin, tearing at flesh and organs. Just as violently as it hit, the claw curved around, retreating back to where it had been resting.

And all he could do was watch as it tore away as his viscera dripped over the side, splattering bits of him on the floor.

His chest burned, the muscles spasming as he attempted to breathe. Instead, blood spilled over his lips, his screams reduced to wet choking sounds. At long last, the coils finally released him, letting his body crumple to the floor.

The impact knocked a weak cough from him, causing more blood to sputter from his mouth, trickling down the side of his face to drip into the dark puddle growing underneath him.

He was cold. Yet, his chest burned as the rest of his body began to tingle with a warm, almost soothing, numbness.

He…he was dying…wasn’t he?

Maybe it was for the best. It wasn’t like anyone would care if he just disappeared. Everyone who ever cared for him had already thrown him aside like the trash he was.

At least this way he could see Charlie again. He could see his brother and sister. He could see his mom.

He missed them.

At least now he could tell them how sorry he was for everything. For not being a better friend. For not being a good brother. For being a horrible son. He could take all the pain in the world for that chance.

It wasn’t like he didn’t deserve it.

“You won’t die.”

Mike forced his eyes open, feeling blood pool in his throat, gurgling up every time his body tried to breathe. The world around him was fuzzy, a blur of shapeless colors fading to grey as his body began to give out. Unfortunately, the world snapped back into focus as another explosion of pain rocked his body.

And the first thing he saw was the smiling mask of the monster that did this to him.

There was something shifting under his skin, tearing into what was left of him. All the while the mask tilted its head innocently, acting as if it had done nothing wrong.

Coughing up another mouthful of blood, he weakly reached up, pushing at the thing now looming over him. It was a futile effort, he knew that. But it was all he could do to try to fight his attacker. To keep it from doing…whatever it was going to do to him for as long as he could. “G-get—get off m-me.”

“Don’t worry.” A claws hand rested on his chest. “I will put you back together.”

“N-no. S-stop.”

“Don’t cry,” a claw traced his cheek, “I promise, it will all be over soon.” Talons trailed down his chest, and he almost swore the thing was grinning. “You won’t feel a thing.”

A hand reached into the gaping hole in his abdomen, and Michael screamed as his world exploded in agony. Metal coils dove into his flesh, stabbing through joints and ripping through muscles. Cracking bones as they wrapped around them, stealing control away and leaving him a prisoner in his own body.

And Mike had never wished for death more than he had in that moment.

-.-

Batcave, 22:47EDT

Robin hugged his legs as he sat next to his friend’s bed, waiting for him to wake up so he could apologize.

He didn’t know what he’d been thinking. Showing what he found to Remnant first. He should’ve known better. He had worked with victims of violent crimes before. He knew that there were certain things that could trigger a visceral response in them. He should’ve gone to Batman or Canary first. They knew more about the case than he did. They might’ve been able to see this coming.

Instead, he had run straight to his friend with the new break in the case.

And what did that do? It triggered a panic attack so severe had Robin not seen it start he would’ve thought that Mike had been hit with a concentrated dose of fear gas. It was so bad that Bruce had heard his friend’s screams from a couple rooftops away even before Dick had been able to call him.

They had eventually managed to calm him down long enough for Batman to sedate him. But that didn’t mean the sounds of his friend’s begging screams wouldn’t be haunting him for a little while.

Or at least until he could show Mike how sorry he was.

“Recognized: Black Canary—13.”

From outside the door, Dick could hear Dinah’s footsteps echoing loudly in the cave. “What happened?”

“Post-Traumatic Stress reaction,” Batman’s tired voice replied. Dick could just imagine his mentor sighing as he removed his cowl to run a hand down his face. “A bad one.”

“I figured, but I need more to go on than that.”

Dick heard another sigh. “Robin made a breakthrough in an previously-assumed unrelated case and discovered it was linked to William Afton. He went to Remnant to see if he recognized the specific animatronic in the footage. His assumption was correct as the mere sight of it triggered an extreme post-traumatic response.”

Canary was silent. No doubt the woman was thinking about how to handle the situation.

Personally, Dick hoped that she went to help Mike first. Her protégé needed her help more than he did. Especially given that Robin was the reason they were in this predicament in the first place. If he hadn’t been so stupid, then he and Mike would still be hanging out and patrolling like they planned.

“You don’t think…?”

“That that animatronic is the one who caused Michael’s injuries?” Batman finished, “Yes. The extent of its involvement in his attack remains unclear, but its markings correlate with the injuries he received when being restrained.”

There was a sharp intake of breath. “So…you’re saying that thing held him down while…?”

“Yes.”

Robin paled. He felt sick. If what he was hearing was right then he had not only shown Mike one of the animatronics that had tried to kill him night after night, but one that had been directly involved in his near-death experience. The one that had held him down as he had been disemboweled and tortured.

God, now he really felt like shit.

Hopefully Rem would wake up soon so he could apologize for being…well, for being a dick.

Thankfully, his prayers were answered as his teammate gave a small groan.

The older teen sat up, leaning forwards to rest his head in his hands. Robin wasn’t sure if he noticed his presence, but nonetheless he chose to stay quiet in order to let his friend collect his thoughts. That and he still needed to figure out how he was going to sneak out of the room.

Considering that Dick was the reason Mike was currently in the med bay, he doubted that he wanted to see him right now.

Unfortunately, his presence didn’t go unnoticed.

Mike’s gaze met his and the teen sat up, quickly putting on a familiar soft smile. “Hey Birdie. How’re you doing?”

“Shouldn’t I be asking you that?” Robin replied. “You’re the one in the med-bay.”

“Not by your fault.”

Robin shot Remnant an incredulous look. He did remember how he ended up in this situation right?

And, as if he knew what he was thinking, the older boy raised a brow in turn. “I’m serious,” he said, leaning over and ruffling his hair, “it’s not your fault. You didn’t know. I’m the one who didn’t tell anyone about…it.” Mike shivered, taking another deep breath. “Look, don’t blame yourself for my stupidity.”

“It’s not your fault if you don’t wanna talk about what happened—”

“It is if I’m going to help with this case,” Mike interjected. “It was going to happen eventually. I just need to grow up and deal.” Running a hand through his hair, the older boy rubbed his neck. “So…I’m guessing since I’m…wherever this is that it was pretty bad?”

Robin reluctantly nodded, “Bats had to sedate you.”

Rem looked mildly miffed, but he didn’t look surprised. “That bad huh?” he muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Well, at least I didn’t go on a murderous rampage.”

To most, the tone of voice in that statement seemed joking. But, Dick could feel the elder carefully watching him. Like he was worried he was going to receive a different answer.

Not that the Boy Wonder was surprised given that he himself feared becoming the exact same as Bruce one day. He loved the man, he was like a second dad to him, but still…sometimes it scared him how far he was willing to go for the mission.

However, instead of letting his thoughts spiral, the younger shook his head. “Nope. Just probably scared the crap outta half of Gotham.”

It was a poor attempt at a joke. As was proven by the frown crossing Rem’s face at his response.

Scooching closer to the side of the bed, Robin felt the older boy scrutinizing him. “I didn’t scare you, did I? I know my…episodes can be, uh, unpleasant.”

That was an understatement.

Still, it wasn’t Mike’s job to apologize for something that wasn’t his fault.

“It’s not your fault.”

“Doesn’t change the fact I scared you.”

“Well it doesn’t change the fact that I caused it.”

“Who was the one who didn’t tell anyone what happened?”

“And who would blame you for that?”

“Are you two really arguing about who’s at fault?” a new voice interrupted, prompting both boys to stop and look to the door.

Black Canary was leaning against the frame,  a small solemn smile on her face as she watched the two teens bicker. It was both heartwarming and depressing to see. Because on one hand she got to see how close the two had become over the past few months. But, on the other, they were both placing the blame on themselves for what was ultimately just bad luck.

It was something that spoke volumes about both of them.

However, that was a conversation to have another day.

“Robin, can Remnant and I talk privately?”

Despite the mask on the younger’s face, she could tell she was sharing a glance with Mike before he reluctantly rose from his chair, leaving the room. Closing the door behind him, Dinah made a mental note to speak with Richard later to see how he handled what happened. However, right now, her attention was more focused on Michael.

The boy had somewhat curled in on himself, looking away as if he refused to meet her eyes. “…Sorry.”

Sighing to herself, she sat down on the edge of the bed. “Mike, it’s not your fault. You had a post-traumatic response. Anyone who’s been through half of what you have is going to have it.” She reached out, patting his knee. “And I won’t lie, dealing with it is never easy.”

“Good days and bad days right?” he spoke up, finally looking up to meet her gaze.

“Exactly,” she nodded, scooching a little closer on the off chance he needed something to ground him. “So, do you want to tell me what happened?”

Mike’s breath hitched slightly. Closing his eyes, she could see his knuckles turn white as he clenched a fist, no doubt trying to fight off the memories. Releasing a slow, shaky exhale, his gaze flickered to the corner of the room.

Dinah could see the gears turning in his head. Undoubtedly going through all the pros and cons of delving into more specific details of his attack. It was a topic they had avoided for a while now. Mostly due to the fact that whenever they broached it, it would result in situations like this.

They weren’t nearly as bad as this one had been. But Dinah had had to guide her protégé through more than one of his panic attacks.

“We can still work our way to that conversation if you want,” she reminded. “We don’t have to do it now.”

Across from her, Mike took a deep breath. “Will…will talking about it help? With the investigation?”

“I won’t lie to you kiddo, we won’t know that until you tell us,” she confessed. “But that doesn’t mean you should feel pressured into talking about it.”

“Ok,” he said. Running his fingers through his hair, Dinah could see her protégé’s hand shaking. “I think…I think…”

“Michael,” she spoke, reaching out to rest a hand on his shoulder before he could begin panicking again, “it’s your trauma. You deserve to work through it at your own pace.”

“I know,” he nodded, meeting her gaze. “And I think I need to get this off my chest.”

Chapter Text

A/N: Welcome back everyone! Good to see y’all here again! Glad to see y’all liked the last chapter. It was a fun one to write. Anyways remember, I just own the story, none of the characters are mine sadly.

/comms/

Telepathy/flashbacks

Batcave, November 14, 01:02EDT

Dinah slumped into the nearest chair. Doing her best to keep herself calm and collected as she processed what she had just heard. She knew it had been bad.

Still, she hadn’t anticipated it being that bad.

No wonder her protégé had had panic attacks upon even broaching the subject. Because what she had just heard was nothing short of horrific.

Leaning forwards, she ran a hand through her hair, biting her lip anxiously. She had worked some bad cases before. Ones that had left her struggling for days on end to figure out how to help her patient. But this one…it could very well take the God damn cake.

How was she supposed to help someone process and recover from that?

She had dealt with cases of mind control. She knew how to work with severe brainwashing. What she didn’t know was how to treat someone who’d been forced to become a prisoner in their own body.

There were similar cases some of her colleagues had worked on. Situations where someone had been paralyzed after a horrific accident or was diagnosed with a degenerative disease. Like her protégé they had been forced to a fate they didn’t want nor deserve. Resigned to becoming prisoners in their own skin.

Yet, with Michael it didn’t seem that simple.

Maybe it was and she was just overthinking it, however, some part of her was saying that it wasn’t the same. That it was one thing to be paralyzed by an accident or a disease while it was another to be restrained and tortured. Made to beg and plead for his life as his attacker just watched with an unchanging grin. Forced to feel every little thing that…abomination did to turn her apprentice into a fucking puppet.

Because that was what is had done. That monster had tried to kill a child so it could use his body as its own personal plaything.

And Michael had been conscious when this had been happening.

It still wasn’t clear how long he’d been forced to endure its torment. His memory becoming spotty about what happened after it had crawled into his skin. She could tell he had been thinking long and hard, trying to recall anything afterwards. But, thankfully, he couldn’t seem to remember anything.

Honestly, Dinah hoped it would stay that way. There were some things that were better off forgotten and this was one of those. The less he remembered about his time as that thing’s prisoner, the better.

Because she wasn’t sure if she could hold herself together again. It had been heartbreaking, listening to the boy she’d spent so much time taking care of break down into incoherent sobs and pleas for mercy as he forced himself to remember one of the most traumatic days of his life. Brushing off her gentle reminders that he didn’t need to do this at the insistence that he just needed to grow up and get over it already. To see that he still thought so little of himself he would minimize everything that happened to him and just say that he had probably done something to deserve it.

No one deserved what that child went through. And the fact some part of him still thought he did was absolutely horrifying.

If she had to do that again…she was worried for her ability to help her apprentice. To keep him grounded in reality and keep him from drowning in his own memories. Because there was a very real chance she could go to prison for eviscerating the man who had done this to him if she ever ran into him.

“How is he?”

Looking up, Dinah rested her elbows on her knees, meeting the Dark Knight’s gaze. “How do you think?” she shot back, doing her best to reign in her anger. She knew what he wanted. And she wasn’t going to give it. Most of what Michael described didn’t seem to have any major relation to the case. Yes, there were one or two details that did appear to be relevant, but beyond that she was bound to doctor-patient confidentiality.

Though, even if she wasn’t, Black Canary wasn’t going to betray her protégé’s trust like that.

Michael had taken a huge step in the recovery process. It had been long and emotionally draining, but it had been progress. It had spoken to how far the boy had come since she had first started working with him.

When they had first met, Mike guarded his words carefully. Always taking time to respond to her questions, think them through so he could ensure no perceived weaknesses were exposed. Or instead firing back with sarcastic and scathing remarks in an effort to keep others at arm’s length. Not that she was surprised by such behavior. The boy had been consistently hurt and manipulated by those who should’ve cared for him and had been subsequently abandoned by the same perpetrators. It was no wonder he had trust issues.

Looking at him now, it was like looking at an entirely different person. There were still hiccups as was proven by tonight, but at least now he was willing to let her see past the walls he had built. Trusting her enough to let her see the bright, gentle boy that had been hiding behind them.

There was no way in hell she take advantage of something so preciously given. She would not betray Mike’s trust like that.

He’d been betrayed enough to last him a lifetime.

As if he knew what she was thinking, Bruce gave a tired sigh, running a hand through his hair. “Is there at least anything pertinent to the case?”

“Yes,” she replied, leaning back in her seat, crossing her own arms. “Now, I’m the first to admit I don’t know much about robotics. But something he said…something’s not right about them. And I don’t mean in they were programmed to kill kind of way.”

“You mean in the way that they seem alive,” Batman finished.

“That’s right.”

The Dark Knight nodded, glancing towards the med bay. “Come with me, I think I found something to explain this.”

Dinah glanced back towards the med-bay, brows rising as she heard muffled laughter accompanied by the sounds of what she assumed was a movie. Robin must’ve snuck back in shortly after she left to get it set up that fast.

Good. Both of them needed a night to rest and decompress.

“They’ll be fine. Agent A will make sure they stay out of trouble.”

She didn’t doubt that for a second. Alfred was more stubborn than Bruce was some days. That, and the man had survived raising Bruce. Handling two highly trained teenagers would undoubtedly be child’s play in comparison.

That and she knew both boys were better behaved than the Dark Knight most days.

Following Bruce to a different area of the Batcave, Dinah crossed her arms as they closed the door behind them, watching as the other hero sat down at a monitor to begin typing. “So, what did you find?”

“You remember the Junkyard site?”

Black Canary grimaced at the mention of the place. She had gone there once or twice to help Batman investigate. And it allowed her to get some insight to how the madman’s mind worked.“Yes?”

“When I first got there, Afton attempted to wipe the servers, and he nearly succeeded. However, I managed to recover a few files,” he relayed, clicking on something, “including this. It’s a video about one of his earlier experiments.”

That piqued the heroine’s interest. Depending on how early this footage was taken in the man’s rampage, then it was likely that Afton hadn’t had the change to refine his methods yet. He was more prone to making mistakes. And with mistakes, there was evidence that could be used to find him.

She almost pushed Batman out of the way to get a look at the footage.

Immediately, static flashed on the screen before it was silenced by the sound of light tapping. Coming into focus, the woman’s jaw clenched as she saw the man’s face.

No matter how many times she saw it, it still unnerved her how much the man looked like Michael. His face was a little thinner and Mike’s eyes were more blue, but it was still eerie. Logically it made sense given genetics and all that. But that didn’t mean she liked it.

“Alright, let’s make this quick,” William said, leaning back in his seat, calmly looking through a clipboard as if he was going through budget reports instead of documents about human experimentation and torture. “For centuries, there have been tales and legends defying death and extending their lives through unnatural means. Some of these stories speak of harnessing a human soul. Using the energy of their life to do remarkable things. And, for just as long, people have been looking for a way to harness this power. Have some succeeded? Sometimes. But, not in the way it should have. Until now, that is,” the man grinned wolfishly at the camera. “In reference to Experiments 85 to 126, I have been able to isolate a metallic substance from living creatures as they die. I call it remnant.” He pulled up a vial containing an iridescent, silvery liquid. “And I believe that this, is the physical manifestation of a living soul. Which can be infused to give life to pretty much anything. However, the extraction of this material does result in the life’s end. A soul for a soul if you will. The PTC experiments my uncle oversaw seems to corroborate this theory. However, I believe I have discovered a…truer way of doing this. To actually harness a soul to allow me to bring an individual back from the dead, rather than use it to animate other things as was the goal of that particular project.”

Dinah’s brows furrowed at that statement. What did he mean by other project? Had they underestimated how long William had been killing people?

Glancing to the Dark Knight, she could see his brows furrowed, fingers drumming on the desk. A tick she noticed Batman tended to have when he was agitated. No doubt that man had already been digging into this other project. And judging from his demeanor she would bet that it hadn’t been particularly fruitful so far.

“Anyways, this is Experiment 127,” Afton continued, “And the way this is going to work is that I’m going to go through each of the animatronics and infuse them with a remnant injection. I’ll then interview them to see what they remember from their previous lives, if they remember anything at all. And, if all goes well, then we’ll move onto motor skills—heh, no pun intended. So, let’s get started.”

The screen cut to static before it focused on a new location. This time with the animatronic known as Foxy if she recalled correctly in the center of attention.

“Experiment 127: Test 1 of 5. Subject: Funtime Foxie. Remnant Donor: Liza Rodriguez. Age: 12,” William’s voice recited with an almost bored tone. “Conducting remnant injection now.”

Upon his words the lights in the room went dark, leaving only the red illumination as an alarm sounded. However, the noise was quickly drowned out as electricity suddenly arched over the robotic frame, making it release an unholy screech as different parts jerked before falling limply by its sides once again.

“Hello there. I am Springtrap. Does that name sound familiar?”

Sharp static came from the animatronic, however, both heroes felt their blood run cold as they heard a response.

“Not t-that I recall.”

“Do you know what your last name is?”

A spark came off the animatronic. “I am…Foxy-y. Or at least that’s all that I remember.”

“So you’re aware?” William spoke, a distinct note of pleasure in his voice.

“Aw-Aware that I was somebody else before this.”

“Do you remember what happened?”

“I—I thi-think I was at a party…T-There was music and si-singing,” it answered. “But—something bad happened, to me.”

The man made a hum as if he weren’t the cause of the tragedy they were witnessing. “Well that’s unfortunate,” he replied, his tone dripping with false sympathy. “But you’re here now. You can leave all of that behind. I have put you back together.”

“Ca-an I?” The robot jerked, a sinister red gleam flickering deep in its black eyes. “I don’t think you understand how strange this feeling is. A person one moment,” its head jerked slightly into a small tilt, “and a hunk of metal the next.”

“It’s a fresh start. A new life. I’d kill to have that opportunity.”

The fox’s head twitched again, jaw opening slightly as if it were baring teeth. The red glow more prevalent now. “Yes, well, I suppose you and I have very different ambitions then. At least I’m not a murderer.”

There was a scoff offscreen. “A murderer? I didn’t kill you if that’s what you’re implying,” the man all but snarled. “Your body was donated for science.”

A burst of static came from the animatronic, almost resembling a laugh. “That’s funny. Donations usually require consent. Or for the donor to be dea—”

The fox was cut off as it was covered in electricity without warning.

“End of Trial 1.”

Canary could feel her hand trembling. This…this couldn’t be real. This had to be fake. Something Afton had deliberately planted to make them run in circles. Because if it wasn’t then—then that would mean his experiments were so much worse than previously thought.

However, before she had the chance to confront Batman about it for confirmation a new video started. This time showing a more humanoid robot model.

“Experiment 127: Trial 2 of 5. Subject: Ballora. Remnant Donor: Daisy Jones. Age: 10,” William recited just as he had in the first trial. “This trial will be conducted with a larger quantity of remnant to determine the effects of an increased dose. Starting infusion in three, two, one…”

As before, the animatronic jerked as it was electrocuted. However this one didn’t release the same unholy scream.

“Who are you?” it spoke immediately.

If Afton was surprised by the question, he didn’t make any indication of so. “Don’t be afraid,” he reassured. “I’m just here to ask you a couple of questions.”

“Who are you?” it repeated.

This time there was a slightly exasperated sigh, “I’m the man who gave you a gift. The gift of a new life.”

“And why should I trust you?” the animatronic shot back. “Because the last time I trusted somebody, things didn’t end so well.”

“Do you remember what happened?”

“…I remember.”

“Can you list details?” he inquired, almost sounding excited to hear about the murder he committed from the perspective of the victim.

“I can. But I don’t think I’ll share them with you.”

Afton almost seemed to growl. “Listen. I’m the one who gave you life. And as your creator, I think it would be in your best interest to tell me everything you remember.”

“No.”

This time, an angry shout precipitated the arc of electricity. “End of Trial 2.”

As static filled the screen again, Dinah crossed her arms. “He has a God-complex. That’s for sure.” Sighing, she ran some fingers through her hair. “I don’t suppose you’ve seen anything useful against him?”

Bruce clenched his jaw. “No. It appears that his experimental location for these trials was in Circus Baby’s Pizza World,” the man ground out, no doubt furious that this had all gone on right under his nose. “And we’ve already searched every square inch of that facility.”

She opened her mouth to inquire what else he had found in the footage, but unfortunately was cut off as the next clip began.

“Experiment 127: Trial 3 of 5. Subject: Funtime Freddy. Remnant Donor: Jeremy Watkins. Age: 7,” the same bored voice recited. “Now, it appears that how much a subject remembers correlates with the amount of remnant injected. But, it also appears to increase subject hostility. Which could be potentially hazardous for myself. To fully test this hypothesis, I’m going to use a much smaller dosage. So let’s get started.”

Sparks flew off the animatronic’s metal frame as the new trial began. However, unlike the previous trials, this one appeared to have no response. A second shock elicited the same response.

Offscreen, there was a disappointed sigh. “It appears that a minute concentrate has no substantial effect. Results of Trial 3 are negative. A potential remedy would be adding a secondary power source to stabilize its life force. However, that will have to wait for future experiments.”

The camera cut again, this time focusing on a large clown-like robot. The one Canary recognized instantly as the one that had been directly responsible for Michael’s near death experience.

“Experiment 127: Trial 4 of 5. Subject: Circus Baby. Donor…” William hesitated, his tone dropping to what almost sounded like something pained, “Donor: Elizabeth Afton. My daughter.” A strained inhale could be heard as the man seemed to be collecting himself. “Here it goes.”

The alarm sounded briefly before the infusion began, causing the animatronic to jerk upright.

“Hello,” Afton greeted hesitantly, “Do you…remember me?”

The massive robot buzzed with static, its head tilting slightly. “You’re William Afton. My creator.”

“I…I suppose that is correct,” he replied with an almost impossibly gentle voice.

“Do you know who I am?”

The man seemed startled by this question as he stammered for a response, “I, uh, I—Yeah. You are Circus Baby.”

“I am?”

“Yes…But, um, do you—do you happen to know who you really are?”

“I…don’t understand.”

“Think,” the man demanded, a deep undertone of pain bleeding through. “Remember! Who were you before all of this?”

“I don’t understand.”

“Please Baby Girl,” the man almost pleaded. “Try to think back.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Please remember. Your name was Elizabeth Afton!”

“I don’t understand.”

“Lizzie Belle! It’s me! It’s Daddy.”

The animatronic’s eyes flickered a vibrant green. “I don’t understand.”

“Princess, please. Daddy’s right here.”

“I don’t understand,” it continued to repeat. Sparks beginning to fly off its frame.

“Remember!” the man demanded, the sound of something clanging echoing in the background. “REMEMBER DAMNIT!”

The footage cut off without warning, leaving the pair sitting in stunned silence.

For a moment, Dinah could almost see a human underneath the monster. A broken man who wanted to bring his daughter back. Still, it didn’t excuse the things he had done. If anything, it made them worse. Because it meant he put other people through the exact same pain of losing a child. That he willingly sacrificed his two remaining children just to resurrect the one he killed by his own negligence.

All just to further his own research in the name of science.

“We can use Circus Baby to our advantage.”

Snapping out of her thoughts, Dinah looked down to stare at Bruce. Out of everything they had just witnessed. Seeing the souls of literal children forced into those abominations. Realizing that those animatronics were prisons for the soul of a frighted child who’d had their life snatched away from them in one of the worst ways possible. That was what he focused on.

“What?”

“Elizabeth. She is Afton’s weakness. He’ll have to come back for her eventually. He won’t stop trying to resurrect his daughter,” he said. “Not after proving his theories correct.”

“And how is he going to do that?” Dinah shot back. “By figuring out how exactly Mike was different. Afton’s not gonna do shit about that thing until he gets his hands on that kid!”

“Our interference in his attempts to abduct his son will aggravate him. We know the man has a temper. Sooner or later he will lose patience and will try to get back to Elizabeth.”

“Or he gets more aggressive. We already know he’s not afraid to take risks,” she reminded. “Besides,” she turned away, thinking back to her earlier conversation with her protégé, “I don’t think Elizabeth is in Circus Baby anymore.”

This got Bruce to turn away from the screen, raising a brow at her. “How would you know?”

“Because I think she’s the one who tried to kill Mike.”

Chapter Text

A/N: Hey everyone! Welcome back! Good to see y’all here again. Sorry the last couple of chapters were short, I wanted to get a couple out before my spring break finished. Speaking of which, now that it’s over, updates are going to be less frequent for a bit. So this might be the past chapter I manage to get out for a while. Just depends on my workload and free time.

Also, fun little fact, I was watching the Resident Evil 4 remake when I was writing this chapter, and I realized that I basically gave Mike Leon’s character design. Another fun fact, I had not previously watched the original game, so it happened by pure coincidence.

Anyways, remember, I don’t own any of the characters.

/comms/

Telepathy/flashbacks

Mt. Justice, November 22, 09:50EST

“Rumaan Harjavti is the democratically elected President of Quarc,” Batman began, pulling up the image of a stout, Middle-Eastern man happily shaking hands with Bruce Wayne. “He’s been praised as a fair and wise leader. A humanitarian.”

From beside him, Mike heard Wally snickering under his breath, turning to Robin, “Sure, any friend of Bruce Wayne’s.”

Both he and Robin elbowed the speedster to shut him up. It was no secret that the Batman was preferential to Gotham’s alleged White Knight. The man had made it a mission to improve Gotham and spent more money on charity in a single night than he had made working almost full-time at multiple jobs for the past couple years. Plus, all his money meant he was a frequent target to kidnappings and that sort of thing, so really it wasn’t a surprise that the Bat had to save the billionaire playboy’s ass so much. Apparently it happened enough to where the man openly made donations to the League on a regular basis.

Still, he didn’t really see why the speedster was suddenly remarking about it. Shaking his head, Remnant turned his attention back to the briefing. Whatever Wally was going on about, he could figure it out later.

“However, five days ago, Harjavti allied himself with the dictator of the neighboring nation: Queen Bee.”

Mike grimaced, as did the members of the Team present for this mission. They all knew about Queen Bee. Their last mission in her country had been brutal. And it had taken them a few days to fully recover from the grueling mission hot, Middle Eastern desert. Furthermore, Captain Atom had made them spend hours reviewing old cases during another one of his agonizing lectures. The tyrant queen had come up in more than one of their cases: human trafficking, torture, experimentation, brainwashing, and an extensive list of other crimes against humanity.

Personally, when Mike had been reviewing them, he couldn’t help but get the feeling this woman and his father would’ve gotten along swimmingly.

“Not a fan,” Superboy audibly scoffed.

“Who is?” Mike muttered, earning a shrug from the other boy.

Batman, as always, ignored their remarks as he continued with the briefing. “Recently, Harjavti has begun backing the baseless claim that Qurac and Bialya were one nation in ancient times. And has announced that there will be a reunification ceremony in two days in Qurac.” Pressing a button, all eyes turned to the screen, watching as a press conference came up.

Harjavti stood at a podium, several guards standing on either side of him as he stood before a detailed mural of the tyrant. He didn’t look excited for someone about to change history, nor resigned or stressed as would be expected in the situation where he was being forced into the agreement against his will. Instead, his face was eerily blank. Even his voice was flat. Like he was reading from a script rather than trying to reassure his protesting people that this was the best course of action.

The footage quickly switched to a similar conference going on in Bialya. The queen standing at her own podium, masked soldiers behind her as a smirk played on her lips as she surveyed the crowd. Her tone was smug as if she’d won a major battle.

“And the Quracis are ok with this?!” Wally interjected.

“Hardly,” Batman answered, pulling up more images from the news. Showing crowds protesting against the unification of the two countries as soldiers came in to stop them. “They’re well aware of the brutality of Queen Bee’s regime. But Harjavti has censored the press, silenced all legitimate protest, and invited the Bialyan military into his country to enforce martial law.”

“Queen Bee has to be controlling Harjavti,” Robin said, crossing his arms. “Doesn’t she have the power to enthrall most men?”

“And some women,” Batman confirmed, “But not long distance. And we had confirmation that she hasn’t left Bialya.”

“Well, she’s doing it somehow,” Mike said, pulling up a holographic keyboard and clicking back to the President’s press conference and comparing it to an image of a previous one. One where the man looked…livelier. “Guy looks like he has all the personality of a rock right now. Even his voice seems off.”

“Like he didn’t believe what he was saying?” M’gann spoke up.

Her teammate shook his head, “No, reading a script would’ve have more…life than that. He almost sounded robotic.”

“Like someone was putting the words into his mouth?”

Remnant shrugged, “Basically.”

Robin nodded in agreement, “Yeah, Harjavti’s normally pretty outspoken, and,” he began on his own keypad, pulling up audio-logs, “his voice in the press conference, it didn’t have any of his normal inflection tones.”

“Indeed,” Batman said, appearing to confirm their assessment, “Something else is at work here. Find out what. Robin, you’re team leader.”

The younger boy’s eyes widened in shock and Mike swore the boy paled a little as he ignored Wally’s grin. “Promotion, sweet!” the speedster raised his hand for a high-five, but was left hanging as the Boy Wonder stepped forwards, looking nervous.

“Me? What about Aqualad?”

“Busy helping Aquaman. You’re the next logical choice.”

Robin’s shoulders slumped slightly in obvious disappointment, “Great.”

KF, meanwhile, was oblivious as ever. “Dude—ow!” he yelped as Mike elbowed him sharply. Rubbing his arm, the redhead looked at him in annoyance. “Dude! What was that for?”

Instead of answering, the older boy gave the speedster a scalding glare before rolling his eyes. He knew Wally was terrible at picking up social cues, but this was getting ridiculous. Mike was the first to admit that he did not always get social cues right. But even then, he’d never been this bad. And right now, it was painfully clear that Robin did not want to be in charge.

Which was concerning. During past assignments or when they went on patrol together the younger hadn’t hesitated previously. So what changed?

Biting the inside of his cheek, Mike followed the others to the Bioship. However as the others began to get on, he gently stopped Robin by grabbing his shoulder. “Hey, are you ok?”

“I’m alright.”

Crossing his arms, the elder raised a brow. “And I’m Superman,” he deadpanned before sighing. “But just know I’m here to talk if you need it, Birdie,” he ruffled the boy’s hair, earning a half-hearted glare. “I know it’s not easy dealing with this crap on your own.”

That garnered a scoff and an incredulous look from Robin. “Uh, you try to deal with stuff on your own all the time.”

“And how do you think I learned that lesson?”

“Canary.”

Mike didn’t bother arguing that one. Wasn’t like he was wrong. It was the whole reason he was in therapy to begin with.

Still, didn’t mean he was thrilled about the whole being emotionally vulnerable thing. However, he supposed it was worth a shot.

There was no way in hell he’d be good at it, but at least he was trying.

“That and she said I was going to become as emotionally constipated as Batman,” the elder smirked. “You know…just in a nicer way.”

That actually got the Boy Wonder to stifle a laugh. “Thanks.”

“Anytime.” Satisfied that he at least somewhat managed to improve the younger’s mood, he gently nudged him up the ramp of the ship. The sooner they got it over with, the sooner they could go home.

-.-

Qurac, 23:56EDT

“We’re right above the Quraci-Bialyan border,” Robin relayed as the Bioship began to descend.

From the other side of the ship, Mike heard Wally scoff. “A border the Bialyans are currently in the process of ignoring.”

Following his gaze, all eyes landed on a small group of tanks barreling over a fence, startling a nearby herd of animals as they waltzed on in as if they owned the land.

Conner huffed, crossing his arms, “No opposition, guess Harjavti really is in bed with Bialya.”

“Wouldn’t expect any opposition here,” Robin stated, “this is an animal sanctuary.”

From the back, there was a startled gasp and all heads turned to M’gann. “The Logan Animal Sanctuary?”

“You’ve heard of it?”

Before anyone could comment, KF once again drew their attention. “Guys, we have a problem,” he said, “tanks caused a stampede. And there’s civilians in harm’s way.”

“I see them,” Superboy corroborated, “woman and a small boy.”

“Shit.”

“We have to help them!”

“We’re way off mission here,” Robin grumbled, before giving a defeated sigh. “Deploy, but stealth mode. If the Bialyans know we’ve hit them this becomes an international incident.”

“Awesome,” Mike muttered, getting up and stretching.

As the Bioship descended, it fired a brief succession of blasts at the tanks. Hitting one, making it steer into another, stopping the formation in its tracks. Smoke rising from the wreckage masking the descent of three figures to the ground.

The soldiers seemed frozen in place, some staring at the tanks in confusion, others clutching their rifles tighter as they warily surveyed the land. However, their reprieve didn’t last long as two separate smoke clouds burst to life in the middle of the platoon. Followed swiftly by something rapidly ramming into them, knocking the men off their feet.

Fortunately, beyond that and one or two more shots from the Bioship seemed to deter them. The men quickly picking up their weapons and making a hasty retreat.

From where he couched in the brush, Mike couldn’t help but furrow his brow. That seemed…too easy. For the freakishly loyal soldiers of a dictatorial monarch, they seemed relatively easy to scare off.

He’d mention it to Robin in a bit. See how they could coordinate a plan against a potential retaliation.

Emerging from his hiding place, Mike stepped up beside Robin as he hopped down from a nearby tree, glancing over the two civilians that had been in the stampede’s way. Based on a cursory glance they seemed a bit rattled, but relatively unharmed; nothing more than a few scrapes from the dirt SB kicked up during yet another of his spectacular landings.

“Are you both alright?”

The boy’s head snapped to face them as Wally skid to a stop beside them, and his jaw dropped in shock and awe. Almost immediately, the kid began earnestly tugging on the woman’s arm. “Mom? Mom! Mom! We were just saved by Robin and Kid Flash!”

“Well, Superboy, Remnant, and Miss Martian helped too,” Wally remarked, almost causing Mike to do a double take. Because of everyone on the team he thought wouldn’t hesitate to take full credit for a save, the speedster had unsurprisingly beat everyone else to the finish line.

“We diverted the Bialyans around the sanctuary. You should be safe now.”

“Uh, yeah,” Wally agreed, his tone holding a mild degree of exasperation, “coast is clear Miss M. you can de-camo now.”

Mike didn’t know why, but he suddenly felt the urge to either facepalm or snack KF upside the head for his remark. Fortunately, he didn’t have to as the Martian girl revealed herself, shyly lowering her hood. “Hi.”

The kid’s face lit up, however, the woman only frowned as she put her hands on her hips. “You may’ve made things worse. Bialyan border crossings are a way of life here. Usually the wreck a few fences and move on. You might’ve made us a target.”

“Mom! Uncool!” the boy whined. Almost as if to agree, the oryx he was petting gave a huff.

Sighing, the woman ran a hand through her hair. “I’m sorry. I should thank you,” she said, reaching out to put a hand on the young boy’s shoulder, “This is my son, Garfield. And I’m—”

“Marie Logan!” M’gann exclaimed, suddenly becoming her normally bubbly self again. “I can’t believe I’m actually meeting you in person! Uh,” embarrassed she scratched the back of her head, “I—I’ve admired your stance on animal rights for years.”

“You’ve only been on Earth six months,” Superboy pointed out.

Now, clearly embarrassed, she glanced away, a bright flush on her cheeks.

However, before anyone could continue to pester her about why she was such a fan of Ms. Logan, they were distracted by the pained bellow of the wildebeest Conner knocked over when he’d been diverting the herd away from them. The woman strode towards the animal, looking over it quickly, “The oryx is sick, and I think you injured this wildebeest,” she said, tossing Superboy a scathing glare over her shoulder.

“Uh…sorry?”

She gave another sigh, crossing her arms. “I suppose it was unavoidable. But both need to go to out clinic.”

“The boys can do that,” M’gann immediately replied. “You and I can, uh, fix your fences.”

“That’s not exactly our—” Robin began before the Martian girl turned to him with a pleading look.

“Robin.”

“Please, Mom?” Garfield simultaneously asked.

Mike bit the inside of his cheek. While he wasn’t particularly fond of this idea—particularly since they’d just been unwillingly volunteered by M’gann for stuff on top of their mission—it would give them time to go over the Presidential Palace schematics again. To confirm their plan. Plus, they would have to make sure their intervention didn’t result in retaliation from the hostile country.

“It would buy us strategic time,” Mike whispered, reluctantly siding with the Martian.

Judging from the small slump in the younger’s shoulders, he knew he had a point. Nonetheless he still wasn’t happy about the situation either.

“Fine.”

-.-

23:55EDT

Mike rubbed the back of his neck as he strode towards the small farmhouse, hoping that Ms. Logan wouldn’t mind if he put on some coffee. It had been a pain to grab the animals for preliminary treatment. Even more so with a little kid trying to tell them what to do from the sidelines. Despite the fact that all of them had more than enough medical training to know what they were doing.

Hearing something rustle overhead, he looked up, hoping the first rays of sunlight would illuminate whatever was hiding in the branches. Fortunately, he didn’t need to wait for his eyes to adjust as something fell out of the tree with a screech. The mysterious brown thing landing on Wally’s head, scampering around his side as the speedster jumped, trying to dislodge it. Instead, he ended up losing his protein bar as it leapt off him and landed on Garfield’s shoulders, staying still long enough for them to see it was a small monkey.

The young boy laughed at the redhead’s antics, reaching up to scratch the small primate on the back. “It’s ok. Meet Monkey.”

“Good name,” Conner grumbled, “But I hate monkeys.”

Almost as if it was offended, the monkey hit the clone on the head with the protein bar it stole.

“And it looks like Monkey hates Superboys,” Robin snickered.

“Dude,” Wally grinned, “be glad he only threw a protein bar.”

Mike grimaced at the reminder of that particular behavior. SB would not have been happy if that had happened.

Following the kid into the house, the several of them didn’t hesitate to flop down on the available couches. The only exception being Superboy, who chose to stand, leaning against the wall. “So,” Garfield began, “pretty weird about Miss Martian and my Mom, right?”

Several glances were shared before all eyes fell back to the young boy. “What do you mean?”

Garfield rolled his eyes as if it were obvious, “I mean she looked exactly like Mom. You know, except greener.”

“She does?”

Mike leaned back in his seat, crossing his arms as he thought back to when they had first met the woman and her son. Now that the kid mentioned it, he did remember thinking that they looked similar. In an almost uncanny valley sort of way. Still, things like that happened all the time. There were plenty of cases of unrelated individuals looking almost exactly like each other. It was just one of life’s many, many ways of screwing with people.

“Well duh,” the boy continued, “Especially back when Mom was a teen and she starred on some TV show called: Hello Megan.”

Now that got everyone’s attention.

“Wait…Hello Megan is a TV show?”

“I thought it was just something she said all the time?”

“Yeah, on the TV show,” Gar said, putting his hands on his hips. “Way before we were born. Only one season. You can’t even find it online.”

“Ouch,” someone muttered. Clearly that was a testament to how well the show did.

Ignoring the remark, the kid turned to the TV stand, a curious look crossing his face. “I know Mom has a tape somewhere…” trailing off he went over to the collection of ancient footage, scrouging through it before pulling out something covered in dust with a grin. “Hello Megan, the pilot episode!” Blowing off the dust, the boy turned around, sticking it into the VHS player.

“Geez, you still have VHS,” Wally muttered. “Where’s your 8-Track?”

Mike would’ve elbowed him had it not been for Conner saving his skin. “Wait!” he said, turning towards the door, brows furrowed in concentration. “Aircraft. Headed this way.”

Now fully alert, Mike did his best to filter through any other ambient noise. His hearing wasn’t as sensitive as SB’s, but it was enough to confirm the faint sound of approaching engines. “Gar, stay put!” Robin ordered as they all ran outside, slamming the door behind them to keep him out of the way.

Mike swung onto the roof, ignoring M’gann and Ms. Logan as they arrived. Instead, he crept to the highest point, pulling out his binoculars to get a better look.

Though, he might not have needed to, because it took him less than a second to find four approaching aircraft. “Drones, coming in hot!”

Almost as soon as he called out the alarm, the drones opened fire, prompting Mike to dodge incoming bullets. Throwing an explosive, he quickly slid off the roof, rolling to his feet as the drone he somehow managed to hit exploded. Superboy ran over, using his body to cover Ms. Logan and M’gann, bullets and shrapnel bouncing off his skin as the remaining jets passed overhead.

“Nice hit,” Wally said.

“It was a lucky shot,” Mike muttered. “Rob, remind me to make a rifle or something to use on really far away moving targets.”

“Bats won’t like that.”

“He can deal.”

“Where’s my son?!” Marie called, worry flashing in her eyes as she looked towards the house.

“We ordered him to stay inside and locked him in.”

“Did you get the back door?”

Mike couldn’t help the string of curses that fell from his lips as he spotted the barn door opening. Revealing the one and only Garfield, waving his hand around to get their attention. “MOM! It’s ok! I got the animals out!”

And, just like they feared, another hail of bullets hit the ground near the barn. One lucky shot being all it took to send the propane tank erupting into an inferno. “GARFIELD!” Ms. Logan screamed, struggling against Conner’s hold as he kept her from racing into the flames.

Meanwhile, M’gann shot over, catching the boy as he fell to the ground, the explosion having blasted him into the air. Descending to the ground, the Martian girl deposited the boy in his mother’s arms. “I told you there’d be consequences,” Marie snarled.

“We can play the blame game later,” Remnant growled, watching as the remaining drones began to circle back. “We need to get him inside.”

Looking to the others, he watched as M’gann flew up to confront the jet. Superboy bounding just behind her as backup.

Satisfied that the pair would make undoubtedly quick work, Mike followed the others inside. Kid flash was running around the house, quickly snatching materials and bringing them back to a room where the woman had Gar lying on a bed. Mike froze in the doorway, taking in the scene. Marie had a stethoscope to her son’s chest, brows furrowed in intense concentration as Robin worked to attach an IV.

Mike saw an opening where he was needed. A spot by his head where there was now bleeding from a significant scrape that needed quick cleaning and bandages. Something neither Robin nor Ms. Logan could do while they were assessing his vitals. And yet, Mike couldn’t bring himself to move. Instead, he felt his hands shake as he watched the blood trickle down the boy’s temple.

And for a moment, he saw a hospital room with doctors frantically shouting as they too stood over a body too small for the bed it was in.

Shaking his head, Mike pulled himself out of those thoughts. Now was not the time. He had met his monthly panic attack quota. Right now, he needed to keep a clear, level head. “KF,” he spoke as the other boy darted back in holding the last of the supplies. The bandages and antiseptic wipes. “Head of the bed. You’ll be able to clean and wrap the wound the fastest. It should help stabilize him quicker.”

Wally nodded, quickly racing over to the bedside. Hopefully he’d bought that. It wasn’t like it was wrong. The speedster was the optimal choice for cleaning and bandaging open wounds. Especially given how he wasn’t sure he’d be able to keep his hand steady while seeing bandages being wrapped around another injured skull.

“He’s on shock,” Marie said, pulling her stethoscope back. “Are any of you O-negative?”

Mike once again cursed loudly, barely restraining himself from punching the nearest wall. His blood wasn’t a match.

Once again, he was useless when others needed his help. He had even thought about going to lock the back door. But no, instead he’d been stupid and assumed the kid would’ve listened. Now, once again, because of his recklessness a child who had barely gotten to live was going to die and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

“What about Superboy and Miss Martian?” the woman continued. No doubt desperate given as it appeared that so far none of them were suitable donors.

“He’s Kryptonian,” Robin replied. “And Miss Martian—”

“Might be able to help.” All head turned and Mike and Wally stepped aside, letting the girl through. “My shape-shifting occurs at the cellular level. I think I can morph my blood to match his.”

“Please! Try it!”

M’gann nodded, “I’ll need to concentrate. No distractions.”

Marie didn’t need to be told twice as she whirled on them. “Out! Everyone out!”

No one bothered to argue as they slipped from the room. Robin barely squeezing out before the door closed slammed shut on his cape.

Slowly trudging to the living room, they all slumped in the chairs. The silence stretching on as they waited on word if the procedure worked.

Clenching his jaw, Mike made a show of pulling out the building schematics for their mission. He needed to do something. Anything to keep himself from thinking about how he’d sat waiting just like this before, desperately praying for a miracle.

From beside him, Mike heard an exasperated laugh. Glancing away from the screen, he watched as Robin leaned back in his seat, rubbing his brows as if he were trying to stave off a migraine. “And to top this shit show off, Harjavti steps down tomorrow,” he muttered, “subjecting all of Qurac to this danger!” Running a hand down his face, Robin leaned forwards, resting his elbows on his knees. “KF, can you find a news stations?”

“Sure. Which remote is it?”

As Wally worked on figuring that out, Mike put a hand on the younger boy’s shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze. “It’ll be alright,” he murmured.

Robin huffed, “And how can you be so sure?”

“Because we’ve pulled off shit way crazier than this with slimmer odds,” he replied, unhelpfully.

“Yeah, but Aqualad was in charge then. And last time I led…” the younger grimaced. “It didn’t go well.”

Mike frowned, taking note of the pained tone of his voice. Something happened. Whether it was when he hadn’t been able to make a mission or before he arrived, something had happened that seemed to rattle the normally unshakable kid. Still, as curious as he was, it wasn’t his place to pry. Rob would tell him on his own terms. Instead, he chose to ruffle his hair, hoping the message got across.

“Got it!” Wally exclaimed, drawing their attention towards the TV as he finally seemed to figure out what remote to use. However, what came on was definitely not the news. As was proven by a theme-song starting to play.

And eveyone’s jaws dropped as they saw an all too familiar redhead appeared on screen.

Hello Megan!
School and boys and parents too
A whole lot to juggle for miss you know who
Ohh
Hello Megan
Ohh
Hello Megan
This cheerleader knows the score
Center of attention and so much more
Ohh
Hello Megan
Ohh
Hello Megan
A little bit distractable
But never really too attractable
She’s really a lot attractable
Ok, a lot distractable
But eventually she’ll get a clue

“Hello Megan!” the girl on the tv said, smacking her head in the exact same way their teammate did.

“Maybe it’s a coincidence,” Conner muttered.

The girl for me
The girl for you
Hello Megan
Hello Megan
The girl for me
The girl for you
Hello Megan
Hello Megan
Hello Megan!

The theme song ended with a flourish and everyone watched the tv with piqued interest as the show began.

“Mom!” TV Megan called, as she ran down the stairs, backpack slung over her shoulder. “I’m going to the library to study.”

The woman feather dusting the couch of all places raised a brow, “But didn’t you invite a certain someone to study here?”

On some hidden cue, the doorbell rang, prompting the redhead to facepalm. “Hello Megan!” Darting down the stairs, she opened the door to reveal a guy. “Conner!” she exclaimed, leaping into his arms. “I thought you’d never get here.”

“Yeah…pure coincidence,” Wally said, sounding like he was doing his best not to burst out laughing.

Unfortunately, they all were so preoccupied none of them heard Miss M enter the room. “It’s done,” she said, causing them all to jump and turn around, hoping Wally could quickly change the channel before they were caught.

By some sheer stroke of luck, the speedster managed to flip right to the channel showing one of the President’s press conferences. “My fellow Quracis…”

And by some miracle, M’gann didn’t even notice their haste to change the channel, instead walking up to the tv. “Is that Harjavti?”

“Queen Bee’s rule is a gift to Qurac.”

“Hey!” Superboy growled, clenching his fists, “That guy in back. I know him.”

Pulling up his screen, Robin zoomed in on the footage, allowing everyone to see a pasty, hooded figure hiding amongst the Bialyan soldiers. “It’s Psimon,” M’gann said. “The psychic we fought last time we were in Bialya.”

“Same one that wiped our memories?” Mike remembered.

The girl nodded, “He was working for Queen Bee then. He must be controlling Harjavti for her now.”

“Well that explains Harjavti’s erratic behavior.”

“Ugh,” Wally groaned, “I still remember the headache from when he brain blasted us.”

“We have to get Harjavti away from him,” Robin said.

“And deal with Psimon,” Mike added, crossing his arms. “Otherwise we’ll be back to the exact same situation in just a few months.”

“Agreed, but the President is the priority.”

“I think it worked,” Ms. Logan said, emerging from the hall. “Garfield’s stable.”

There were a few quiet sighs of relief at the news. “Good. Because we have our mission.”

-.-

Dhabar, November 23, 04:11EDT

This was too easy.

Mike knew that they’d been trained to handle these sorts of missions. But still, something wasn’t right with the situation.

They should’ve run into some resistance by now. Especially in a security breach as important as the fricking vents. Vents that lead right to the President’s office. Vents that were big enough to let several people crouch inside comfortably while waiting for an opportunity to strike. There should’ve been cameras, motion sensors, invisible lasers, hell, even a trip wire to guard such a major access point. And yet, so far, neither his nor Robin’s equipment picked up anything.

Nor had they picked up any signs of people in the room with their target.

For a group trying to assimilate another country against its will, they were keeping their hostage on a relatively loose leash.

No. It was too perfect. Like someone wanted them to drop their guard. To take the bait laid out before them on a silver platter and not check for a hook.

And judging by the way Robin’s jaw was clenching, Mike would bet the younger had reached the same conclusion.

It was a trap. An obvious one at that. However, that trap was currently the only thing standing between them and their mission objective. Meaning, that if they wanted to finish it, they were going to have to set if off.

They didn’t have much of a choice.

Kicking the vent cover off, they watched as it clattered to the floor below them. One by one, they hopped out of the vent, landing on the floor of the suspiciously empty office, all eyes watching the doors warily as Robin darted forwards to Harjavti.

Mike glanced back, watching on the off chance Psimon had some hidden mind control trap or something. He wouldn’t put it past him. Lord knew how often he heard of that bullshit happening in Gotham.

The Quraci President seemed as lively as a corpse. It didn’t even look like he registered when Robin called out his name the first couple times. It was only when a hand settled on his shoulder that the man even blinked, his gaze glassy and dazed as dull eyes slowly looked away from the window to look at them. “Where is my daughter?” he said. Brows furrowing Harjavti grimaced, slowly raising a hand to his forehead, blinking a few more times as his eyes began to regain some liveliness. “Where’s Psimon?”

“Don’t worry about him,” Robin replied. “We need to get you out of here.”

Hopefully that would be before Psimon and the Bialyans realized what was happening.

Unfortunately, those prayers went unanswered as the doors burst open. Revealing a sizable group of soldiers, each wearing strange red and black packs that were undoubtedly far more dangerous than they looked. They were followed by a Bialyan man wearing a decorated uniform. “Well, well,” the commander drawled, “American heroes. No doubt here to assassinate the President. Such a shame we were too late to stop them.”

“Those are Apokolyptian weapons,” Superboy growled over the link.

“Which they’ll use to kill Harjavti, we get blamed, and Queen Bee gets to rule Qurac.”

Mike bit back a string of curses. From what he’d heard about the mysterious alien tech was that it was a pain on the ass to deal with. And, since it was alien, it was the perfect weapon to use to frame the League. An organization some would say was infamous for extraterrestrials.

“Form up around the President,” Robin ordered.

“I think you got the situation mixed up,” Mike sneered back, raising his fists as he slowly took a step back to cover the foreign leader. “Sounds like you were talking about yourselves there pal. It’s ok, not everyone’s blessed with brains like we are.”

As expected, the officer scowled. No doubt displeased about his ego being bruised. Good. That meant he didn’t see M’gann’s camouflaged form sneaking past him.

All she had to do was ambush them from behind and let the chaos begin.

Instead, the girl took off down the hall. “I found Psimon!”

“Wait!”

“I’ll get her.”

“No!” Robin said, stopping Superboy from leaving. “The mission is Harjavti.”

Great, there went their advantage of surprise.

“Get the—” the command was cut off as a wrench hit him in the face with a satisfying crack.

Hopefully it broke his nose.

Still, it was enough of a distraction to make their opponents falter. Long enough for them to strike first.

Lunging at the soldier closest to him, Remnant dodged the glowing barrels of the alien weaponry, kicking them to the side as the man opened fire, creating a hole in the wall. The guy beside his comrade swung moving to hit the teen. However, he didn’t anticipate his opponent ducking, letting him deck the other solider instead. Nor did he realize he just left himself wide open.

Well, he didn’t until his arm was grabbed and the man was hurled halfway across the room into his commanding officer as he tried to make an escape.

Judging from the pain groans around the room, Remnant would bet the other Bialyans’ efforts had gone just as well as those fighting him had.

“Honestly, I expected more,” he said, picking up his wrench as several Quraci guards ran in, following by a young woman who immediately ran to hug the President.

“Thank you for saving my father,” the girl said, looking immensely relieved. “We’ll take care of him now.”

That was all the confirmation they needed. Leaving the Presidential guard to tie up the foreign soldiers, the group raced down the hall where M’gann had disappeared down. Listening for sounds of carnage that were do doubt coming from the intense fight between the two telekinetics.

“M’gann, we’re almost there!” Conner called as they turned a corner.

“I see Psimon!” Mike confirmed moving to throw his favorite improvised weapon.

Unfortunately, he didn’t get that far before his head exploded in pain. Falling to his knees, he was vaguely aware of the other guys collapsing beside him, crying out in pain. Of course, that was all he remembered before everything went black.

-.-

His head hurt. That was the first thing Mike registered as consciousness returned to him. Raising a hand to massage his temples, he reluctantly opened his eyes bracing for the pain that came with bright lights on these occasions. Fortunately, everything was dark.

Unfortunately, Wally had to start talking, “Ugh, and there’s the headache.”

The older boy grimaced as the noise seemed to make things worse. He would’ve told the speedster to shut up, but talking didn’t sound like a pleasant idea right now. No, what sounded nice was curling up somewhere dark and hoping he didn’t see the sun for the next week.

If this was what a hangover was like, then he was glad he decided to avoid drinking.

Slowly sitting up, Mike did his best to ignore his throbbing skull as he took in the room. To say it looked like a bomb went off was an understatement. Glass was dusting the floor like evil glitter, many of the benches were broken beyond hope of repair, and there was even a sizable crater where Psimon was sprawled at the base of near the wall.

“Psimon?” Robin groaned.

“He brain blasted you,” M’gann stated. “I stopped him.”

“Thank God for that,” someone muttered.

-.-

Mike leaned against the wall, resting his eyes as he waited with the others for M’gann to return from playing Queen Bee for the press. The headache had thankfully passed mostly. Mostly thanks to some of Harjavti’s medics, who had brought the good shit to treat their injuries and deal with Psimon. Who still hadn’t moved from where M’gann had blasted him against the wall.

From what he heard, the guy was in rough shape. But he’d live.

It was strange, Remnant didn’t think he’d ever seen Miss M be so rough with an opponent. Sure, her powers packed a fucking punch. But no one they fought before had seemed so…still afterwards.

Hopefully it was just his brain playing tricks on him. He did just get hit by the mental equivalent of a grenade.

Hearing a creak from one of the damaged doors, he opened his eyes, watching as M’gann strode in quickly morphing back to her normal appearance.

“Sorry you had to lie to everyone like that,” Robin apologized. “But I couldn’t think of any other way to convince the public that Queen Bee was behind this.”

“Honestly, I don’t think it’d be that hard for them to believe,” Mike deadpanned. “She is a dictator.”

Robin gave him a look saying that he wasn’t helping but the older boy raised a brow in response. It wasn’t like he was wrong. After a moment, Robin gave him an resigned yet mildly annoyed look before looking back to the girl as if he was going to say something else.

However, whatever it was it was cut off by KF darting up and punching the Boy Wonder in the shoulder with a grin. “Dude! Saving a country. Pretty big win for your first turn as leader.”

Robin didn’t look particularly thrilled by that reminder, giving the speedster a half-hearted thanks in turn.

Mike gave him a thumbs up, moving it to the thumbs down position when the younger hero met his gaze. A quick quiet way of checking in on how he was doing without alerting the others. Seeing the gesture, Robin gave a small nod, looking a little more relieved for a moment as the speedster kept talking.

-.-

Logan Animal Sanctuary, November 24, 21:30EDT

They had decided to stay in the country for another day. To make sure Queen Bee didn’t try anything as soon as they left the country.

The other unspoken reason was to check on how Garfield was doing.

Which was how they found themselves back in Ms. Logan’s house, watching the news as Mr. Wayne spoke with President Harjavti at a press conference.

“Gee,” Wally drawled, his voice holding an almost teasing edge, “Bruce Wayne sure got here fast. Almost like he—”

Robin elbowed the speedster in the stomach, looking irritated. “Don’t you have a souvenir or something to collect?”

Mike raised a brow at the interaction. But didn’t bother interfering. It wasn’t his business.

Instead he watched as the redhead facepalmed, going to the TV stand to pick up a VHS tape with a smirk, “Something you want to tell us?”

From her seat, M’gann sighed tiredly. “Growing up on Mars was not a happy time for me. But I started watching the broadcasts Uncle J’ohn sent from Earth, to teach us about our sister planet. When I saw Hello Megan something just clicked. Maybe it was the similarities of our names. Maybe it was the way all’ve Megan’s problems could be solved in thirty minutes. All I know for sure is that Megan helped me smile through a lonely childhood. So, when I came to Earth, and had to pick a human form, I chose you,” she looked to their host, “Well, uh, I chose Megan.”

“Which begs the question, what do you really look like?” Robin asked.

Mike would’ve scolded him for starting to snoop into other’s business again, but he couldn’t deny the fact he was curious too. Martians were a race of shapeshifters, there was no telling how they could actually look. He was mostly curious if it was something like out of a movie or video game like everyone typically thought.

Needless to say, her true form was rather underwhelming. M’gann still looked like herself. Just bald with a more prominent brow ridge. “Oh.”

“Bald M’gann,” Wally mussed with a nod. “Still hot.”

That comment earned Mike kicking him off his armrest and onto the floor as Robin chuckled quietly at the speedster’s misfortune.

Chapter Text

A/N: Hey everyone. Welcome back! So, as you can see, I have finished my finals for this semester! And it means I have a short break before I have my summer classes start. Glad to see y’all’re enjoying the story so far. Just so you know, I had to drag this chapter kicking and screaming to get it done. Remember, I don’t own the characters, just the story.

/comms/

Telepathy

Gotham, November 25, 13:33EDT

Mike was reluctant to roll out of bed for several reasons. First of all, he was still tired from patrol. Canary had had some personal thing with Green Arrow, so he had gone out with Batman and Robin again.

Well, mostly Robin. Batman had just given a long sigh of reluctant acceptance that he was apparently working with them now.

Either way, it meant he’d gotten home near the ass crack of dawn.

And, unfortunately, despite how much he wanted to, he couldn’t lie around in bed all day and lounge in his pjs. Nope. They had Thanksgiving plans.

Plans he’d only found out about after he’d gotten back.

Worse was, they were plans that did not allow him to wear sweats. He actually had to dress nice.

Which, in his personal opinion, was stupid. Thanksgiving was supposed to be a day for family bonding. A day to chill out, watch a few dumb movies, play games, and gorge on food.

This was the first time in a while that Mike had actually been looking forwards to the holidays. It would be the first time in years where he wouldn’t have to work. Wouldn’t lie and say he was just there for the holiday pay rather than admit the fact he had no one who cared enough to be waiting at home.

And sure, he had what he wanted now, but did it really have to involve getting all dressed up when by the end of the night everyone would just want to put on sweats anyways?

Besides, who would care? It was typically done with family and friends. It wasn’t like he was insisting on wearing sweats to a gala next time he got grounded and dragged to one.

Not that it would matter with all the suck-ups he’d have to deal with.

He’d gotten used to seeing kiss-asses. It was just a constant of life. There was always going to be someone who was willing to flirt or flatter their way up the ladder. Someone who felt they were better than everyone else and deserved the merits without the work. He’d had a few coworkers like that. It had actually been the reason he’d quit a few of those jobs. So, seeing them at galas really wasn’t surprising. With that much money it was expected.

What he wasn’t expecting however, was being the target of said kiss-asses.

Mike wasn’t stupid. He knew he came from a wealthy family. His family owned two major corporations. It really shouldn’t have been a shock.

But, after so long of living paycheck to paycheck, he guessed he’d gotten it in his head that he could be the target of their efforts.

Frankly, it was kind of scary how many people had swarmed him and Henry when he’d gone to his first gala in years. People he didn’t even know asking questions about his accident, what happened to his father, and other personal things. Acting like they’d known him for his whole life. People who didn’t hesitate to reach out and invade his personal space to pinch his cheeks or grab his bicep. Making comments about how cute or strong he was and would no doubt be a heartbreaker when he was legal. And, when they weren’t doing that, he was confronted with people lying through sweet words. Trying to manipulate him in order to get what they wanted. At least his uncle had managed to drive them off and pull him away before he had a panic attack.

Same thing almost happened at the last one he went to too.

God, he really hated going to the damn things.

Honestly, he still wondered why Gotham’s elite was so insistent on having the damn things almost on a monthly basis. Sure they were for good causes, but it always seemed to be an invitation for someone to try and rob them all.

It was like they never learned.

But, then again, these were the same people who kept throwing Joker in the same cell he’d escaped from countless times rather than just reinstate the death penalty and eliminate the problem altogether.

Of course, that opened a whole new can of worms regarding morality. One that he was not eager to open again after he and Robin had spent an entire battle against some gang—it might’ve been one of Penguin’s crews—arguing about it. Long story short, they agreed to disagree on the matter.

A knock rapped against his door, pulling the teen out of his thoughts. Rolling over, he looked to the door as it creaked open, revealing his uncle. Unlike Mike, the man was already dressed for the day. Not that he was surprised, Henry was one of those psychopaths that loved mornings. “Afternoon kiddo,” the man grinned, sounding way too cheery for someone who hadn’t had caffeine yet. “I was just about to come wake you up.”

Frowning, Mike looking at his watch, brows shooting up as he saw the time.

“Figured I’d let you sleep in today,” his uncle spoke, striding over to sit on the edge of the bed. “Looked like you needed it.”

“Gee, that’s one way to say I looked like shit,” Mike muttered.

“More like you looked tired,” Henry corrected, reaching out and running his fingers through the teen’s disheveled hair. “You’ve been busy. I thought you needed a break.”

“Thanks.”

His uncle smiled, leaning over give him a quick peck on the forehead. “Good. Now,” a hand ruffled his hair, “time to get up. We’ve still gotta pick up your friend before going to dinner.”

Oh yeah, Mike almost forgot he’d invited Artemis to Thanksgiving.

-.-

14:37EDT

“Artemis! Have you finished getting ready?”

“Yes,” the blonde called in response, slipping her boots on. Looking in the mirror, she brushed her hair back, hoping that it would stay somewhat presentable. She wasn’t exactly thrilled about having to dress up for a normally casual holiday, but she wasn’t about to argue the fact with her mom. Nor was she about to embarrass herself in front of her friends.

Back at Gotham North, almost everyone had been in the same social class. All of them had been from the Narrows and Park Row. No one there was a stranger to crime and economic hardship. There wasn’t any judgement about what people had to do to survive.

At Gotham Academy, however, she stuck out like a sore thumb. Almost everyone there came from money; Mike and Bette included. And sure, they didn’t mind her status. But she didn’t know if their families would be the same way—well, Mike’s family at least.

Bette’s parents had all but unofficially adopted her with how often she was over at the other blonde’s place when she had free time. No doubt it was a gesture her mother would reciprocate if Artemis ever brought Bette over, but she didn’t want to embarrass herself by revealing the glaring disparity between their lives.

Mike’s family however…she almost knew nothing about them. Nothing beyond the occasional comments she’d heard in passing. She knew he had a brother who died tragically, she knew he was in some sort of accident recently—the details of which Bette still had yet to fill her in on—and she knew he appeared to be close with his father.

Now that she thought about it, Mike was almost as tight-lipped about his personal life as she was.

Still, she wasn’t about to embarrass herself more than necessary. She already felt bad that they had to come pick them up. Last thing she needed was for Mike’s family to judge her worse for looking bad. Artemis had heard some stories from her classmates about some families forbidding their children from associating with others of lower social standing. She doubted Mike would listen if his family was like that, but she didn’t want to put him under that kind of pressure. The poor guy already looked dead tired half time as it was.

“Artemis! Your friend is here!”

Cursing to herself, Artemis rushed to the door, hoping to get there before her mom could embarrass her.

Unfortunately, she was too late. “Hi Mrs. Crock,” Mike’s familiar voice spoke. “I’m Mike, Artemis’s friend.”

“It’s so nice to meet you, Artemis has told me so much about you,” her mom replied. “Though, she never told me you were so handsome.”

“Mom!” Artemis exclaimed, rounding the corner. Watching with horror as her teammate flushed bright red at her mother’s comment.

The brunette stood up completely, still blushing as he rubbed the back of his neck. “Hey Artemis,” he greeted. “You guys ready?”

“Ready when you are,” the blonde shot back, earning a familiar lopsided grin in turn.

“Awesome,” he said, turning to look at the steps before looking back at her mom.

Artemis could see the question flashing in his eyes, wondering if he should ask to help but also worrying about being too impolite. Rolling her eyes, she moved behind her mom, grabbing the handles of her wheelchair. “Hey, Mike, can you get the door?”

The boy perked up, clearly glad to be of some help. “No problem,” he replied, closing the door behind them before hopping down the stairs to get the car door.

Helping her mom into the car, Artemis began folding up the wheelchair. “Thanks again for inviting us,” she said, moving to put the chair in the trunk.

“It’s no problem, we’re happy to have you,” he smiled. “I mean, we wouldn’t have invited y’all if we didn’t want you there.”

“True,” she agreed, sliding into the back seat behind him.

“Hi,” a new voice spoke up, “You must be Artemis.” Turning to the voice, she met the warm gaze of a bearded blonde. “I’m Henry, Mikey’s told me so much about you.”

Artemis smiled, this must’ve been Mike’s dad. She could see the resemblance. It was barely noticeable—almost nonexistent—but it was there. “It’s nice to meet you too,” she nodded, shaking his hand.

The man smiled back, turning back to the road as he started the car. “So, how are you enjoying team thing?”

“I like it,” she said. “It’s hard to balance it with school sometimes, but it’s manageable.”

“That’s good. How’s Green Arrow as a mentor?”

“He’s good. A bit less strict than I was expecting, but he makes it fun.”

“What about you Mike?” her mom chimed in. “How do you like it?”

“It’s great,” he replied. “Canary’s tough, but she’s a great mentor. We even sometimes run into Artemis and GA on our patrols in Star.”

Artemis chuckled, “Yeah, basically it becomes the two of us keeping an eye out for things as Arrow tries to drive Canary up a wall with his flirting.”

Beside her, Mike snorted, “Yeah, she hates it when he does that when we’re on duty. You think he’d learn after that one time Everyman knocked him out.”

The blonde heroine shrugged.

“Well, you both are being safe out there right?” her mom questioned, tossing both of them almost accusing looks.

Artemis rolled her eyes. Of course she was careful. It was literally one of the stipulations she had been given when joining the team. Sure, there were times she was going to get scrapes and bruises—it came with the job—but it wasn’t like she was actively throwing herself in front of bullets. Unlike some people she knew.

“Yes ma’am.”

The archer gave Mike a deadpan look.

Of everyone on the team, he was currently the last person who could say that. Why? Because the idiot always managed to get himself injured in some way or another. Granted if Conner wasn’t invulnerable he’d probably be right behind in the running too. Either way, the guy was damn lucky his healing factor was absolutely insane.

The conversation died down soon after for the most part. Mike’s dad and her mom continued talking with each other for a bit, but the two teens were relatively happy to sit in silence for the time being.

For it being a holiday, the streets were still pretty busy. People rushing for last minute shopping, going to their visit their friends and families, or getting in line early for the bloodbath that was a Gotham Black Friday.

Slowly making their way through traffic, she watched as they slowly left the city center and drove towards their school on the nicer side of town. The old, run down buildings steadily being replaced by the sight of nice buildings, eventually leading to suburbs as they left the main city limits.

It was only when normal houses began to be replaced with opulent mansions that Artemis began to wonder where exactly they were going.

Her answer came in the form of ornate gates holding a familiar crest.

Eyes widening, she looked down at herself, now feeling severely underdressed. Despite the fact that everyone else in the car was dressed as casually as she was.

“Ow!” Mike yelped as she punched his shoulder. Rubbing his arm, the brunette gave her a betrayed look. “What was that for?”

“You didn’t tell me we were going to Wayne Manor!” she hissed.

“I told you the original plans changed.”

“You didn’t mention we were having dinner with the richest person in Gotham!”

“I told you we were having dinner with Bette’s cousin. He’s Bette’s cousin,” he said, like that explained everything.

“Well how was I supposed to know that?” she retorted.

“I thought she told you. Why is it my job?”

Artemis didn’t have an answer for that. So she settled on glaring at the boy before crossing her arms and glaring out the window.

She felt so embarrassed. Bruce Wayne was the one who gave her the scholarship to her new school. And now she was meeting him completely unprepared. What if she made a bad impression? What if he rescinded her scholarship? As much as she complained about it, Gotham Academy was starting to grow on her. Yes, the commute sucked ass and the uniforms were a pain to deal with. But the classes were challenging in a way she hadn’t had for a while. And she made friends that actually got along with her old Gotham North friends. Sure, some of the other students were judgmental about her status as a scholarship student, but they didn’t bother her in the way the bullies at North would try to. Probably because last time someone tried both Mike and Bette utterly eviscerated their social life.

When it happened she’d been upset that her friends thought that she couldn’t handle herself. Now looking back on it however, it was both scary and impressive how they utterly humiliated the guy without even throwing a punch.

Needless to say, she made a mental note to not get on either of their bad sides anytime soon after that.

“Artemis,” Mike said, giving her a light elbow. “It’ll be fine. You look great.”

Brows rising, Artemis turned to face the brunette, watching as he paused, slowly turning bright red as he realized what he said.

“That came out wrong. I mean, I wasn’t saying that you don’t look nice. I would’ve told you if you needed to dress nice,” he stammered, scratching his cheek nervously. “Not that you aren’t dressed nice—you are—but uh, you don’t need to worry about being underdressed. No one’s going to care. About the outfit! No one’s gonna care about the outfit. Not that you need to worry about someone judging it. It’s just that this is just a casual dinner…with family…so no one really cares…about that." The boy facepalmed, using a hand to pinch the bridge of his nose. “You know what, just ignore me.”

Artemis would be lying if she said she didn’t feel somewhat reassured by the older boy’s fumbled complement. It wasn’t something he’d lie about to make someone else feel better. No, when Mike lied, it was about things regarding himself. Like when he said he wasn’t a good artist. Or lied about being fine when he was clearly dead on his feet. He almost always honest about his opinion on others, even if he needed to sugarcoat it from time to time.

And, given just how badly he stumbled through that, she doubted he was sugarcoating things. It was more likely he was at the point he was so tired his filter turned off.

He had the eyebags to prove it.

Still, that didn’t mean she couldn’t have fun at his expense. “That’s the smartest thing you’ve said all day.”

“Which part?”

“The part about me ignoring you.”

There was a long sigh from her companion, “That sounds about right.”

Sliding out of the car, Artemis pulled out her mom’s wheelchair, glancing up at the massive manor. “Who needs that much space?” she whispered, mostly to herself.

“You’d be surprised,” a new voice chimed in, making the blonde jump. Whirling around she came face to face with a younger but strangely familiar teen. “Hi, I’m Dick.”

“That’s an unfortunate name,” Mike snickered, earning a glare from the boy and prompting him to stick his tongue out at the elder. A gesture her friend was happy to return.

Artemis rolled her eyes, helping her mom out of the car. “Boys,” she muttered.

“Wait a minute…” Mike said, eyes widening as he pointed accusingly to the newcomer, “you’re the kid that took a pic with us on the first day!”

Dick grinned fiendishly, rocking back and forth on her heels, “Yep. Told you we’d laugh about it someday.”

“Just when I think you can’t get any weirder,” Mike huffed.

“Wait, you two know each other?” Artemis asked, looking between them.

“Yeah,” Dick answered. “We’re in the same study hall.”

“And I had to keep Lex Luthor from figuring out you were the one who hit him in the head with a shrimp,” Mike reminded, giving the younger a pointed look.

“What about how you tried to put puff paint on his head?” the boy accused.

“Tried? I succeeded,” the elder grinned. “Or did you forget the smiley face he had on the back of his head?”

“Does he still not know that was you?”

“Nope.”

Ok, Artemis would’ve paid to see that. “Did no one tell him?” she spoke up.

“Nope,” the two grinned, giving each other a fist bump.

“That was the best part of that evening,” a familiar voice chimed in.

“Bette!” Mike’s dad exclaimed, running over and picking up the blonde in a what appeared to be a bone-crushing hug. “How’s my favorite youngest niece?”

“I’m your only youngest niece,” the blonde replied, her voice slightly muffled.

“Still doesn’t change the fact you’re my favorite youngest niece,” the man grinned, setting her down.

Bette rolled her eyes, brushing out her shirt. “Hey Artemis,” she said, coming over to hug the other girl, “thanks for coming.”

“Thanks for inviting us.”

“Pfft,” the other blonde waved her off, grabbing her arm to bring her inside, “we’re happy to have you. We wouldn’t have invited you otherwise.”

“Thanks. You never told me you and Mike were cousins.”

Bette paused giving her a confused look before her eyes widened as she looked in the direction of her uncle. “Oh! No! Mike isn’t my cousin. He’s my uncle’s ward.”

“His ward?” she said, her voice dropping in volume. Mike wasn’t living with his family? Why? Since when? Did something happen?

The other girl facepalmed, “Right, you don’t know about his accident. Knew I was forgetting to tell you something.”

Artemis perked up. She’d almost forgotten that conversation. How Bette was supposed to tell her how exactly her friend had ended up in a coma for a little over a month. But they had gotten distracted by a pop quiz in their next class. Sure, Artemis had done her own research, but she had found very little regarding what happened. The best she could gather was a case with an unnamed victim who had been found after being missing for a week.

Bette glanced behind them, looking to where the adults were talking. Mike and Dick had darted off into another room, and they could hear their shouts over the sound of a video game. Meaning that they shouldn’t be interrupted for a few minutes.

“Ok, so it involves the accident Mike was in over the summer?” Artemis recapped, closing the door behind them.

Bette nodded, sitting down on the couch. “Yeah. I did tell you he was in a coma for like a month right?”

“Yeah. You just didn’t tell me what happened,” she confirmed, sitting across from her.

“Right,” Bette nodded, “So, like I said, no one’s really sure what happened. But, I heard that the cops are looking for Mike’s dad.”

“His dad? Why are they looking for his dad?”

“Because they think he was the one who tried to kill Mike.”

“WHAT?!”

“Shh!” Bette hissed, almost lunging over the coffee table to cover her mouth. The girl watched the door for a few moments before sighing. “Yeah, that’s the lead rumor right now. I mean, no one’s seen William Afton in the public eye in a few years. And, I overheard Uncle Henry talking to Mom about him—they sounded really freaked out. But, yeah,” she leaned back against the couch with a shrug, “like I said, it’s just a rumor.”

“Do you think it’s true?” Artemis asked. The question spilling from her mouth before she could think it through. She hoped it wasn’t. When Mike talked about his dad when they’d been camping it sounded like he was a nice guy—better than her own father anyways.

But…then again, Mike almost never talked about his home life. The only times he talked about his personal life was when they’d been camping and on Halloween. Other than that, she almost knew nothing about his family. Now that she thought about it, it seemed like he was more closed off about his personal life than she was.

Not that she had a problem with that. It’d be hypocritical of her to pry into his personal business when he’d been courteous enough to not dig into her personal life.

Still, it did raise questions.

Looking back to Bette, she watched as the other girl bit her lip. “I don’t know,” she finally answered. “I never really met Mr. Afton. From what I heard he was nice. But…I dunno, something about him always struck me as…off. Like, not that he was socially awkward or something like that. It’s just that—he just seemed—I always felt like—”

“Like if you were left alone with him something bad would happen?” Artemis finished, her stomach dropping in dread.

Bette nodded, rubbing her arm, “Yeah. Exactly.”

Artemis felt sick. She had learned from a young age to trust her gut. And right now, her gut was screaming to listen to Bette.

The why didn’t matter. What mattered was that Bette had noticed something that everyone else had missed. Something that scared her.

Bette didn’t scare easy.

The other girl hadn’t seemed nervous whatsoever when Artemis’s dad had crawled out of whatever hole he’d recently slunk into. Startling both of them when they’d been shopping during one of his regular check-ins. In fact, Bette had screamed at him, called him a creeper, and proceeded to hurl a stiletto at him with frightening accuracy.

Long story short, her father had declared Bette to be his favorite out of all his daughter’s friends.

So, for her to be scared…it meant something about Michael’s father had scared her more than coming face-to-face with one of the Shadows’ most vicious and cruel assassins.

That was a terrifying thought.

And, it made her think about Mike’s behavior in a new light. How he never talked about his home life. How he was always cautious around adults he didn’t know. The way he would position himself between Robin and a Leaguer they didn’t know; it was just like how Jade would step between her and their father when he was angry. And, just like her, he had taken blows meant for them. Sure they were in the field, but he didn’t have to take the hit. Plus, there were his scars and pain tolerance to consider too. Mike’s pain tolerance was insane. She’d seen him try to walk off a broken leg several times. Even with all her training, she wouldn’t be able to do that as easily as he could.

“But look,” Bette spoke up, brushing her hair back, “like I said: it’s just a rumor. And, it’s not like Mike or Uncle Henry will tell us.”

Artemis paled. She knew Bette was inquisitive—she often didn’t stop until she got the truth. Meaning, that it was her job to remind her to respect their friend’s privacy. It was the least she could do after he’s kept her secret for so long—even through the whole mole debacle. “Look, it’s not our business. I don’t think Mike would like it if we pried into his business. He probably doesn’t talk about it for a reason.”

“Yeah,” the other girl sighed reluctantly. Rising from her spot, the blonde stretched. “C’mon. We should join the guys before they start asking questions.”

A/N: Hey guys. Good to see y’all again. Sorry this chapter seemed to rushed. I just could not get it to cooperate with me in any way, shape, or form. Hopefully the next chapter will be better. See y’all next time!

Chapter Text

A/N: Hey everyone! Welcome back! Good to see y’all again. Sorry about last chapter. It was just that one did not want to cooperate—and it didn’t help that I started writing in in the middle of the semester just before finals; so my thoughts were kinda disjointed for that one. Hopefully this one flows smoother.

Remember, I just own the story. Nothing else is mine.

/comms/

Telepathy/flashbacks

Metropolis, November 27, 22:22EDT

Lex Luthor sighed as he sat down at his desk, massaging his temples tiredly. He knew that sending in Superboy to investigate the disappearance his missing projects would stir up trouble, but he hadn’t imagined that quashing the genomorph’s little rebellion would’ve been such an issue.

Ever since the weapon had decided to run off to play hero, the other genomorphs had gotten it into their heads that they too deserved liberation. That they could betray those that had given them life and choose their own paths. It was a pain to deal with.

At least they had protocols in place to prevent something like this from happening again.

Though, it wouldn’t be a concern as long as everything went according to plan.

“And how did your little expedition go?” a voice spoke over his shoulder.

Despite the fact he should’ve been used to it by now, the businessman couldn’t help but jump slightly as William appeared behind him. Sighing, he leaned back in his chair, turning to face the brunette. “Will, do you need to keep doing that?”

The man flashed a familiar teasing smile, casually leaning against his office bar pouring himself a glass of scotch. “And where would be the fun in that?” he mused, taking a sip. “It’s not my fault you’re so easy to scare. Still,” he brushed a lock of hair falling out of his ponytail, “judging by your demeanor we have a setback?”

“Not exactly,” Lex replied. “Superboy did accept the Shields, the virus should be uploading to the League systems at any moment. And, he did manage to locate the missing genomorphs as well as a few misplaced projects.”

William strode over, handing his friend a glass, “Yet you’re frustrated?”

“Yes,” he grumbled, accepting the glass. “The boy did not take the news to our relation as well as I hoped. With how negligent Superman has been, it shouldn’t have been too difficult to earn the boy’s trust.”

“It rarely is simple with children, Lex,” Will said, his voice sympathetic. “You know how my own son has been recently; ever after everything I did for him.” The man took another drink, “At least you can have a conversation with your child without worrying about him trying to throw you in prison, or worse.”

Yes, Luthor supposed that was true. William’s son was…problematic to say the least. He had had the pleasure of meeting the young man at the few galas he had attended since getting out of the hospital. The kid was smart. Too smart for his own good.

He wouldn’t be easily manipulated.

It was a pity. The kid would’ve been an invaluable asset with his skill set and position.

And, even if he could be swayed easily, Luthor couldn’t get close to him without Emily hovering nearby or Wayne interjecting to ask about something or other. It was especially frustrating since the kid had effectively cut off the remnant pipelines Will had painstakingly worked on. Meaning his friend had to resort to less…pleasant means of acquiring the material—not that the man seemed to mind.

But Lex wasn’t sure how much longer he could explain away the screams of his friend’s new toys when the other man got a tad overzealous.

“What about his eventual withdrawal?” Lex spoke up, swirling the liquid in his glass. “Surely Michael will be more willing to cooperate then?”

There was a long-suffering sigh from his companion, “To be candid: I’m not sure. Michael should have already been experiencing withdrawal symptoms—he had in the past after going this long without treatments. But, so far, I can’t find any sign of them.”

“Do you think his new powers have something to do with it?”

“Possibly,” Will said, sitting in another chair, annoyance flashing across his face. “Though it’s equally possible the League synthesized something to combat it. I haven’t been able to study it as thoroughly as I would like. The tissue samples I obtained do seem to indicate something along those lines; however, I can’t fully corroborate that without more…in depth tests.”

“No luck with your other subjects?” he asked, sitting across from the brunette man.

“No,” William snarled, his violet eyes flashing a silvery-red for a split second. “None of them have been strong enough to survive the process.”

“What about Subjects 42, 33, and 37?” Luthor questioned, “Those three survived?”

“Yes, yes,” the other man waved him off, “but their powers are different. The remnant injections did appear to play a factor in the development of their powers, but they aren’t the same. Only one of the genetic markers line up between all subjects.”

Pausing, Luthor set down his drink, looking at the other man in intrigue. “As if there’s a genetic marker for superpowers?” he proposed, leaning forwards. “One of our partners has mentioned such a theory before.”

“Perhaps, but there’s a difference between correlation & causation,” Will reminded. “We wouldn’t be able to confirm until obtaining a subject with this marker that doesn’t have any powers to see if they have the same reaction. And given how the Bat is already too close for comfort…”

“We wouldn’t be able to collect a substantial amount of subjects fast enough to confirm,” Lex concluded. “Not without raising alarms.”

“Indeed.”

Shame. It sounded like an avenue the Light would be more than happy to explore. Alas, it appeared that that project would have to wait for a later date. One preferably that would buy them enough time to set up a proper patsy to take the fall.

“Would you be able to continue with the subjects you have?”

“I’ve already sent the orders to have them delivered to Queen Bee or Ra’s. I figured one of them would find some use for them. Not like I can get mush use out of them anymore.”

Lex hummed to himself, he wasn’t particularly thrilled that the other man had made such a call without consulting him. However, he couldn’t deny that the man had a point. As curious as the brunette undoubtedly was about what made his surviving toys tick, he was smart enough to recognize that killing them wouldn’t be beneficial in the long run. Not when they could be sent and trained to serve the Light.

“And what of our other project?”

“The sea star?” William raised a brow, taking a sip of his drink. Snapping his fingers, Luthor bit back a grimace as he heard the scraping of slithering metal from above. Long tendrils descended from the overhead vent, cradling a glass canister containing a writhing tendril with silvery veins. “Thank you, Princess,” the other man smiled, taking the container as the coils retreated. “Anyways, I finished the preliminary adjustments. All that needs to be done is the final adjustments with Klarion and the Brain,” he took another sip, violet eyes flashing again, “I trust you’re upholding your end of the agreement?”

“Since when have I ever lied to you?”

“Well…” the man grinned, tilting his head playfully, “there was that one time—”

“Vegas doesn’t count!”

“What about—”

“Neither does Aruba!”

The brunette shrugged, leaning back in his chair with a smug grin, “You asked.”

Lex sighed, rolling his eyes, as he set his glass down. “You know I keep my promises Will,” standing up, he straightened out his suit, “Now, we should head down to the lab, Klarion should be here any minute.”

“Already?”

“Like I said: I keep my promises.”

-.-

Wayne Manor, December 1, 19:23EDT

“Master Michael,” a posh British voice greeted as he stepped up to the door.

“Hey Alfred,” Mike greeted, “good to see you again.”

“You as well, sir,” the man said, stepping aside to let him in.

Mike followed the butler towards the sound of people and music. Coming around the corner, he could see one of the larger rooms in the mansion had been taken over by his classmates. “Mike!” a familiar voice called as he set down his present.

Turning, the older teen grunted as a small, wry form collided with his side. “Hey squirt,” Mike said, ruffling the younger boy’s hair.

By his side, Dick huffed, fruitlessly trying to swat his hand away as stray black locks fell into his face. “Dude! It took me forever to get my hair to stay back,” the boy wined, the grin on his face showing he wasn’t as angry as he wanted to seem.

“With the amount of gel in there, I’m amazed it’s not a helmet,” Mike snickered as the boy gave an indignant squawk.

He still wasn’t fully sure how this friendship developed. He’d met the kid at the few galas he’d been forced to attend, and they had a class together, but they didn’t really talk much. At least until Mike found him trying to hit Lex Luthor on the back of the head with a shrimp. And, instead of being responsible and telling him off, what did he do? Immediately joined in, that’s what.

How they didn’t get caught was an honest to God mystery.

They’d hung out a few more times since then—mostly when their respective guardians had some sort of meeting. But the kid grew on him.

Almost literally, the younger teen seemed to stick to him like glue some days. It actually reminded him a lot of how Robin would cling to him when he’d had a bad day.

Though…now that he thought about it…that wasn’t the only way Dick reminded him of Bird Brain. They were both acrobatic, smart to a scary degree, absolute chatterboxes, and had remarkably similar personalities—granted, all of which could just be explained by coincidence.

However, it was a little harder to explain the fact that both of them had the exact same birthday. Mike had been at the Cave just a few hours ago to celebrate Robin’s birthday. And now, he was here celebrating Dick’s; right after the Boy Wonder declared he needed to get going because he was going to be late for something. Not to mention, all’ve Wally’s comments on their mission in Qurac, like he knew something about the other boy’s identity.

Of course, it wasn’t his business who Robin told his identity to. It was his business. Heck, if he didn’t go to the same school as Artemis, there’d be no doubt the other girl wouldn’t have told him anything.

Plus, he wasn’t going to be a hypocrite either given that he refused to tell the team anything identifying about his personal life.

Still, there was only so long he could ignore all the little puzzle pieces falling into place.

Now, it was just a matter of confirming it without arousing suspicion.

This way there was no harm done if he was wrong. But if he was right, well it wasn’t like Robin could be mad at him given how he pried into Mike’s personal business.

 “Sorry I was late,” he apologized. “I take it I didn’t miss anything too important?”

“Nope,” Dick grinned. “Actually, you got here just in time. I need someone to help me beat Artemis and Barb in foosball.”

Letting himself be dragged across the room to the table where Bette and Artemis stood talking with a young redheaded girl.

“Hey Mike,” Bette greeted, leaning against the table. “I was starting to think you’d died or something.”

“I got here like ten minutes after you did,” he scoffed.

“Still late.”

“Shut up.”

“Make me.”

“Oh, we will,” Dick grinned, spinning one of the rows on the table. “Right after we kick your ass at foosball.”

“Unless,” Mike chimed in, sliding up to the table, “you guys are too scared?”

“Please,” the redhead scoffed, “like we didn’t just kick your butt five minutes ago.”

“Yeah, well, now I have a better ally,” the boy retorted.

Bette made an indignant sound, “Hey!”

“Sorry Bette,” Mike grinned, “not your fault I’m better.”

The blonde slammed her hands on the table, looking to the other two girls. “Make him eat those words!”

“Gladly.”

“Bring it on.”

-.-

Twenty Minutes Later

“What were you saying again?” Barbra grinned playfully from the other side of the table.

“I believe,” Artemis started, “it was something along the lines of: kicking our asses?”

“Right,” the redhead nodded, giving a fist-bump to the archer, “and I believe we told them we’d make them eat their words.”

“And we did.”

“Alright, we get it, we suck,” Mike groaned. “Do you need to keep rubbing it in our faces?”

“Yeah. Duh.”

“Please,” Dick scoffed, “it’s not our fault that you’re freakishly good at everything Babs.”

The redhead snickered, “It is your fault that you’re not better than me.”

Fortunately, the boys were saved from further ribbing by a call from the doorway, “Who wants pizza?”

Turning to the door, Alfred walked in, holding a stack of pizza. Beside him, Dick made a shocked noise, “You ordered pizza?”

The butler looked at his charge with a raised brow. “Don’t be absurd, Master Richard. I ordered the boxes. I made the pies.”

“That makes more sense,” the younger boy muttered. “You guys go get food. I’ll be right back.”

Mike didn’t need to be told twice. Practically flying to the table, the elder began loading his plate up with food, pointedly ignoring the judgmental look the girls were giving him. They could shove it. He was hungry. His powers took a lot out of him.

That and he made a point to avoid eating too much before coming over. According to Efrem, Alfred’s pizzas were to die for.

Which was surprising because the two men seemed to have some long-running competition about who was the better cook if how Thanksgiving went was any indication.

Sitting on the couch, he joined the others in watching a movie. There was still a few conversations going on, but the room had quieted down for the time being. At least until they brought out cake. Because after that things would probably devolve into teenage chaos.

Especially since he’d heard several people talking about playing spin the bottle later.

Chapter Text

A/N: Hey everyone! Welcome back! Sorry that it took so long for me to update. I had a bit of writer’s block and life was just being well…life. Now, I know last chapter was a bit short, so I’m hoping that this one will be longer. However, it might not be my best written chapter given how much it’s been fighting me. But, it’s still good to see y’all’re enjoying the story so far.

Remember, I just own the story, nothing else is mine.

/comms/

Telepathy/flashbacks

New Orleans, December 5, 06:41CST

“A warehouse? Little cliché, isn’t it?”

Turning off the engine, Sportsmaster glanced at his review mirror, meeting the cold violet gaze of the man he was ordered to escort. As an assassin, he had had the displeasure of encountering a lot of…messed up people. And, normally it didn’t bother him. It was just something that came with the territory.

However, despite this, no matter how many times he encountered William Afton, the man never failed to give him the creeps.

“Best place to work without arousing suspicion,” the assassin answered, turning off the engine.

“True,” the man hummed, sliding out of the car behind him.

Leading the way inside, Sportsmaster punched in the code to open the doors. Revealing the forms of two of his bosses standing in the center along with one of their aids. No doubt waiting for their arrival.

The sound of the door opening drew their attention, causing them to turn towards the source. It also caused a look of surprise to cross Klarion’s face as he spotted them, thought it didn’t last long before a wide grin formed in its place. “Will! You didn’t tell me you were coming!”

“And ruin the surprise?” the serial killer grinned, splitting from the assassin’s side to approach the Chaos Lord. “Now where’s the fun in that?”

“I guess this means Morrow isn’t coming?”

William scoffed, “Obviously. Honestly, that man has no hope of even coming out of his coma. Let alone escape. As much as I would love to pick his brain, the old bastard refuses to die despite his uselessness. And I can’t get access to just get it over with.”

“Maybe we could teleport in, and you could rip it out?” the Witch Boy suggested, his face beginning to morph into a demonic grin.

“Don’t tempt me with a good time, Klarion. As fun as that would be, we have work to do.”

-.-

Gotham, December 5, 16:56EDT

To say Artemis had been having a rough day was an understatement. First, she had almost been late to school because she slept through her alarm following a late night on patrol in Star. Not that she regretted going on patrol. No. That had actually been one of the best ones of her crime fighting career so far. Perhaps the only highlight of her day so far. Seeing that little girl’s face when she realized her dad was saved…it made all the late nights & grueling hours of training worth it.

However, consequently, she hadn’t been able to get coffee to help her focus in class as she’d been more focused on catching the bus. Then, she had a quiz in pre-calc that she may’ve bombed because of her exhaustion and stress from the morning.

It wasn’t like she hadn’t studied for it, but still, it was rough. Especially since math wasn’t her best subject overall. It wasn’t her worst…but definitely not her best. At least she could afford to do bad on one or two assignments here and there.

Plus, during lunch she hadn’t been able to hang out with Mike or Bette because she had a dental appointment she completely forgot about. Meaning she hadn’t been able to vent to either of them about the bullshit assignments and quizzes.

So, after all that, being able to go home and relax was something she desperately needed. At least to give her a few hours to decompress before going to hang out at the Cave with the others.

Those plans hadn’t lasted long as she learned that the entire foundation of her training with the League was a lie.

Batman and Green Arrow hadn’t reached out to her because she was doing good on her own and had saved Baywatch’s sorry ass. No. Turns out they had confronted her mom first. And the woman, believing only the worst of her youngest daughter, had begged them to keep her on the straight and narrow.

Like she wasn’t already doing that for herself.

Instead of showing that she had proved herself to be different from the rest of her family by showing how she preferred to use her skills for good, her mother had turned her into a pity case.

At least to the adults.

“Ok, so maybe I wasn’t brought in because I impressed them,” she muttered. “I’ve just spent the last four months doing nothing but. I’ve got nothing to prove. I’m one of a kind.”

“Artemis?”

Jumping, the blonde scrambled to her feet, looking up meet the mischievous smirk of a certain bird-themed heroine’s protégé. The older boy was on the balcony above her, leaning against the railing giving a snicker at her reaction.

“Jesus Christ, Mike!” she hissed, glaring up at him. “You almost gave me a heart attack!”

“Well, it’s not my fault you weren’t paying attention,” he retorted, swinging over to land on the balcony beside her. “So, is there any reason why you’re trying to imitate Bats? Because I hate to break it to you, but that man is the king of brooding.”

Artemis gave him a deadpan look. Completely unmoved by his attempt at humor. Which wasn’t unusual. His jokes were almost as bad as Green Arrow’s some days.

Still, something in her expression must’ve tipped him off as the smug grin faded. Quickly being replaced with a look of concern. “Is everything ok?”

“Yeah, why?”

The boy gave her a look, his glowing eyes seeming to see right through her. “Because I literally walked up on you talking to yourself about not needing to prove yourself,” he stated, crossing his arms as he leaned back against the rail. “So, what’s going on? Did something happen with GA?”

“No…nothing happened!” she said, raising her hands defensively.

“Then did something go wrong on patrol?”

“No. Patrol was great actually.”

“So what’s going on then? Is it someone at school? Because if someone needs a reminder, I’ll be more than happy to—”

“No! No…It’s not anyone at school,” she reassured. And that much was true. Sure, there were jerks at Gotham Academy. But they typically just made the occasional snide comment about her being poorer than them. Otherwise, they just ignored her entirely.

Probably because they were still utterly terrified of her friends.

Not that she was complaining, though. The less she had to deal with rich assholes the better.

“Ok…so what’s going on then?”

Artemis sighed, slumping over the railing. “It’s just…” she trailed off, unsure of how to continue. It wasn’t like she didn’t want to vent. Lord knew she did it enough to drive her friends insane some days. And, many times, getting an outside perspective helped.

But this was different.

All those other times didn’t call her loyalty to the Team into question. Nor did it saddle her friends with her issues either. They had their own problems to deal with. The last thing they needed was to deal with burdens that were ultimately hers to bear.

“Never mind.”

“You sure?” Mike spoke gently.

“Yeah.”

Thankfully, he didn’t press further. “Ok.” Pushing himself upright, the other protégé tossed her a soft smile, “But I’m always here if you ever wanna talk.”

Without waiting for a reply, the boy vaulted himself over the rail, dropping down to the ground below and walking to the Zeta Tube. Giving her a casual wave before stepping inside the booth housing the secret teleporter.

“Recognized: Remnant—B07.”

Even though they didn’t really talk a whole lot. The archer couldn’t help but feel a weight come off her chest in relief. Sure, GA may’ve taken her under his wing because Bats and her mom told him to. But at least her team still had her back.

Despite her origin, she had proven herself to be a valuable member of the Team.

Swinging over the railing, she landed in the alleyway, making her way over to the Zeta.

“Recognized: Artemis—B08.”

Her good feelings didn’t last long.

As when she stepped into the Cave, instead of seeing her friends crowded around the training area ready for practice, she found them crowded around a certain red-clad protégé standing with her mentor.

“Artemis,” Green Arrow grinned, giving her that same stupid carefree grin he always did, “Look who’s agreed to join the Team.”

“Finally!” Baywatch chimed in excitedly.

Putting her hands on her hips, the archer bit the inside of her cheek. Great, just when she thought this day couldn’t get any worse.

“Sure,” she muttered, stalking over, “Team’s needed a real archer.”

The blonde could feel the concerned gazes of a couple of her teammates on her, but she elected to ignore it. Instead focusing on her mentor as he began to type on one of the holopads. “Alright everyone, the Dynamic Duo’s working on a case in Gotham, but Batman gave me a heads up the he received an alert,” pulling up an image, everyone in the room held their breath as a familiar photo appeared on the screen, “Sportsmaster was spotted coming through the Louis Armstrong International Airport in New Orleans.

“In full costume?” Zatanna said, raising a brow, “Nervy.”

“In street clothes,” the archer corrected, switching to a different camera feed.

Doing her best to remain impassive, Artemis watched as the face of her father appeared on the screen. As her mentor said, the blonde assassin was in casual clothes—something which rarely ever happened as the job always came first with him. Still, even with the drastic change in his appearance, it was hard to not recognize the face of the man that had tormented her entire childhood.

However, she couldn’t help but feel her gaze drawn to the brunette man he was talking with. Despite the sunglasses and baseball cap obscuring his face from view, she couldn’t help but feel like he was familiar. Eerily familiar. She just couldn’t place where without seeing the rest of his face. Though, it was more than likely it was one of the other assassins in the Shadow’s employment she’d probably just seen in passing once. Or a target he was getting to lower his guard. Hell, it could’ve even been a random guy he struck up conversation with to make himself seem less suspicious. Anything was possible with her sperm donor.

She just wished she knew why the brunette man was bothering her so much.

And it appeared that she wasn’t the only one.

Mike had gone rigid beside her. Gaze locked on the screen as his breath seemed to catch in his chest. The other protégé’s normal soft lavender tone almost turning white as the color drained from it. Accentuating the black veins starting to creep out to map the vessels under his skin.

He looked scared.

For the first time since they’d met, Mike looked scared. She’d seen him nervous, angry, flustered, annoyed, and even wary. But she’d never seen him look as frightened as he did right now.

Whoever this other guy was, Mike knew him.

Enough to know to be scared of him.

And Mike didn’t scare easy.

However, it appeared that she was the only one who noticed her friend’s predicament as Green Arrow continued talking,  “Facial recognition software picked up the ID. Find out what he’s up to.”

“All of us?” Conner scoffed, crossing his arms, “Seems a little overkill for a shadow job.”

“Perhaps a small squad would be more efficient,” Red Tornado agreed. “Miss Martian’s camouflage abilities seem ideal.”

He wasn’t wrong, on either count. Too many people would only increase their odds of getting caught by her paranoid father. And, well…some of their members didn’t exactly excel in the art of stealth. Superboy and Baywatch namely. Neither of them seemed to understand the concept of being quiet. Zatanna, on the other hand, was still too new to tell, but given how she did on Halloween Artemis would say she was good. Plus her illusions would be helpful. Especially as their stealthiest member was off in Gotham doing who knew what.

M’gann was a must because telepathy was the ultimate form of stealthy communication, and she could blend in with her surroundings to a degree. Kaldur was their leader, so his inclusion was obvious. And, she knew how the Shadows operated, so her expertise would be helpful.

Normally, she would include Mike in that list. After Robin, he was the stealthiest person on the Team. And that was even before he started training with the Bats. The guy knew how to sneak around. Plus, she’d caught him and Robin hacking random places together when they were bored.

However, given his reaction, she doubted letting him come along was a good idea. It might be better if he sat this one out.

Which of course left Red Arrow…sure he was experienced and all, but he hadn’t worked with the Team before. Heck, he’d been flying solo for over four months. So, there was no way he’d be able to easily coordinate with them. Not until he trained with them a bit at least.

It would probably be better if he sat this one out and familiarized himself with the Cave.

Of course, her mentor had other ideas.

“I thought the sidekicks—sorry, ex-sidekicks could suit up on this,” he grinned. “Aqualad, Kid Flash, Red Arrow.”

The others didn’t appear to have any problem with this as the three smiled and Superboy shrugged, “Good. Stakeouts make me crazy.”

“We could use the night off,” his girlfriend agreed, sounding relieved.

Artemis, on the other hand, was not happy. After spending so much time working to prove herself to both her team and mentor, she was not going to be pushed aside. Not again. Certainly not for the older model who had a tantrum because he didn’t get what he wanted right away. She had had to fight and claw for what she had in life. And if she had to do it here too, then so be it.

She was the Team’s designated archer. Not Red Arrow.

“I want in,” she said, interrupting any and all ongoing plans.

“Same,” Mike said, his voice unusually icy as the black veins creeping further along his skin as his eyes flickered red for a split second. “Besides M’gann and Robin, we,” he motioned to himself and the blonde archer, “have the most hours logged for piloting the Bioship.”

Her mentor’s eyes widened, a look of concern washing over his face as he looked between the two of them, “…Are you sure?”

“We wouldn’t be offering if we weren’t.”

Mike’s tone left no room for argument. And while she was relieved that her traitorous mentor wouldn’t try to talk her out of it to appease his preferred apprentice, Artemis also couldn’t help but feel concerned.

She had never seen her teammate this upset before.

No…she had actually. On Halloween. When he lost his shit with Harm after finding out what he did to Greta.

So, something about this guy made him think of self-narration—or was it the other way around? Either way, if it was clear this guy was bad news. If not for just being associated with her father, then for how he got such a reaction from her normally level-headed friend.

“Alright then, the five of you suit up. The rest of you…do whatever.”

Not needing to be told twice, the blonde archer whirled on her heel. Snatching Mike by his wrist and dragging him towards the hangar before Red Arrow could come up with some bullshit excuse as to why they couldn’t come along.

Besides, it would give her a chance to see if Mike was ok.

“Um, I think Kaldur was wanting us to get the bikes,” the older boy said, his voice much quieter than it had been mere moments before.

“He and Red Arrow can handle it,” she replied curtly. Tossing a glare over her shoulder at the red-headed archer.

Behind her, Mike’s eyes widened, “Oh…Is this why you were mad earlier? Because he was joining the Team?”

“No,” she replied automatically.

If anything, it just factored into her current feelings of inadequacy.

Because why wouldn’t Green Arrow not choose the protégé he’d hand-selected an trained for years over a girl he’d been begged to train? Why wouldn’t her teammates pick the archer they’d known for years and who’d proven himself as a solo hero for months over a hotheaded blonde who told more lies than she spoke truth? How could she even measure up to that?

God, it was just like when her father would pit her and her sister against each other. And even then, nothing she ever did had been good enough. She could hit a bullseye from twenty yards by the age of five, but Jade could throw knives from thirty at the same age. Artemis memorized all the best points to hit a target to kill them instantly, well Jade had already managed to do that while memorizing all the deadliest and most effective poisons at the same time.

No matter how good she was, something always made her less than someone else.

“Artemis,” Mike came to a stop, giving her a concerned look that was very reminiscent of Canary’s, “we’re not going to replace you.”

“Tell that to them,” she hissed without thinking, jutting her chin in the direction of their comrades. “You saw how happy Baywatch was.”

“And Wally’s an idiot,” he shot back, crossing his arms. “Besides, we all know he’s biased as hell anyways. If anything, I’d say Red Arrow hasn’t exactly made the most positive impression to the rest of us. Remember our first day? He seemed all too happy to put us down and imply we were lesser than him for even being on the Team.”

Huh…guess she’d forgotten about that. Though she’d also been more focused on proving herself to the others then too.

“Furthermore, he’s been working on his own for months. Meaning he has no experience working with groups and is used to calling all the shots. So, no doubt it won’t be long before he starts causing problems with the rest of us,” Mike continued, almost seeming like he was on the start of a rant. “You on the other hand, have worked in a team dynamic for longer than he has. You know how it works. And you have our trust. Right now, I don’t trust him to get me out of a wet paper bag.”

Artemis had to admit, he did bring up some good points. It was pretty well known in the Team that Red Arrow did not play well with others. Hell, from the sounds of it he rarely played well with his own friends at times. To the point the older hero had been adamant about not joining the Team prior to today. Something must’ve changed recently to make him reconsider…

Well, whatever it was, Mike was right. Each and every one of them had had to prove they deserved a place on this team. There was no reason the same wouldn’t apply to him too. If anything, they’d be more critical of him because he’d been a protégé longer and because he had been performing solo for some time.

“Thanks,” she said, settling back into a calmer walk as they began heading towards the ship again. “But what about you? Are you ok?”

The other protégé blinked, giving her a surprised look before easily putting on a casual disarming smile, “Yeah. I’m fine. Why?”

“Because you looked completely freaked out back there!” she exclaimed, grabbing his arm and making him stop to look at her. Taking a breath to calm herself, she released her grip, “Mike, I know I should be the last person to say this: but don’t lie to me. Please.”

“I’m not lying.”

“The second man in the security footage,” she said, watching him freeze as he started to turn away. “You were staring at him as if you’d seen a ghost. And I should know, we’ve seen a ghost. So what’s going on?”

Mike paused, an indecipherable expression falling on his face as he looked down. “It’s…it’s nothing. Just personal stuff,” he murmured, still refusing to meet her gaze.

Must’ve been some personal stuff to get a reaction like that.

Still, however much she wanted to pry, she knew better than anyone that just continuing to push would only make him less likely to talk to her. Mike had been kind enough to respect her boundaries and stop when she asked while still being willing to offer support. The least Artemis could do was extend the same courtesy. “Just so you know, I’m always here to talk to if you need it,” she offered, repeating the words he spoke to her not even ten minutes earlier.

“Thanks,” he said softly, giving her a small smile. “C’mon, we should get the ship set up.”

“Like we need to do much,” she retorted, following him up the ramp as it descended. “I mean, all we need to do is take out seats,” to prove her point she sat down at the helm, putting her hands on the controls, “see all ready.”

Rolling his eyes, Mike took his normal seat. Opening his mouth as if to say something before Wally ran in wearing his biking gear rather than his normal suit. “Uh, what’s with the get-up?”

“Red and Kal are bringing the bikes,” the speedster replied, flopping into his seat.

“Do they need help?”

“Nah, it should be fine,” the speedster waved off. Turning in his chair, the redhead met the blonde’s gaze, “So, uh, this might wind up being one of those things that sounds better in my head than out loud, but: you are a real archer.” Met with the unimpressed gazes of two of his teammates, the speedster began to ramble, “No, I mean, not that I’m not jazzed about Red Arrow. We go way back, you know…But, uh, you’ve made your own place on the team. You have nothing to prove. Ok?”

“Ok,” she replied, “And Wally. It Sounded fine out loud.”

“I know,” Mike snickered from the side, “for once he actually said something intelligent.”

“Dude! Way to kill the moment.”

Rolling her eyes at their antics, Artemis turned her attention back to the controls as Aqualad and Red Arrow finally took their seats. Making a point of ignoring the distrusting glare the other archer threw her way. The others were right, she had nothing to prove.

Least of all to this self-righteous asshole.

-.-

Orleans Parish, 21:27CST

Artemis thought she had been on boring stakeouts before, but this one may’ve taken the cake.

On other stakeouts she at least got to stretch her legs and sometimes join in her mentor’s sarcastic remarks or whatever random debate her team had going at the time. But on this one they were radio silent unless anything was spotted. Because this time there was Martian telepathy to occupy them. Instead, she was left alone to her thoughts.

She did not like them.

Because already she could see the change Red Arrow was having on the Team. Like Mike had predicted, the older boy had already begun acting like he was in charge. Giving orders and all but pushing Kaldur aside as leader on this assignment. Showing his distrust of her by confining her to Bioship while letting everyone else have assignments on the ground.

And sure, maybe it was because she was one of the only two people there who had the qualifications to pilot the ship. However, she couldn’t help but chalk it up to it more likely being the result his blatant dislike for her.

Why else would he put Kid Flash, a kid who could run at the literal speed of sound, on one of the only two motorcycles they brought rather than let him move to his best ability? If anything, it seemed detrimental to confine the speedster to one of the bikes rather than let him run. It wasn’t likely he’d be spotted all the way from the road. Especially if he was using the stealth gear.

No. This was a deliberate move by Red Arrow to shove her out. To show that he was better than her by confining her to being overhead observance rather than somewhere where she could actually be helpful.

/Target’s heading north,/ Red Arrow said, finally breaking the unbearable silence. Down below, she could see him leap onto one of the stealthiest modes of transportation: a loud jet ski. /Pursue, but maintain a discreet distance. And that goes double for you Artemis. Sportsmaster’s proven adept at spotting Martian camouflage in motion/

/And I doubt he’s deaf either,/ Mike chimed in, the sound of his motorcycle engine revving in the background. /So make sure you avoid being too noisy Red/

At least someone had her back.

Though she did wish she was able to get close enough to see the older archer’s expression at being blatantly called out like that.

Trailing after them, she watched as her father wove through the deltas, eventually coming up to a small alcove where he came to a stop.

/He’s stopped,/ Red Arrow announced, stating the obvious, /Hold your positions. I’m moving in for a closer look/

Yeah, like that would go well.

Lowering the Bioship to the treeline, she watched as Red followed Sportsmaster to the edge of some train tracks, looking at his watch as if he were expecting something. And, against Red Arrow’s explicit orders, she rose from her seat and hopped out of the ship, relying on the soft marsh mud to dampen the sound of her impact.

Though, she didn’t get far before a telltale singsong voice called out from behind her, “Hey sis.”

Whirling around, the blonde archer met the ever-grinning mask of her older sister staring down at her.

“Long time, no reveal who you really are to all your friends,” Cheshire sneered, tilting her head playfully. No doubt the woman was grinning behind her mask smugly too.

However, before she could come up with a witty comeback, the assassin leapt from her perch, sword raised overhead. Firing an arrow, her sister swatted the weapon aside as she landed moving to swing the blade again before Artemis intercepted by catching the hilt with the metal shaft of her bow. The sound of the weapons scraping against each other seeming impossibly loud as she maneuvered the weapon overhead, giving her the opening she needed to kick the older girl in the gut.

Cheshire grunted at the impact, rolling back only to quickly spring to her feet, looking almost bored. “Nice. Did Canary teach you that?”

Not bothering to reply, Artemis notched another arrow, aiming the blunted end at her older sister.

In response, the assassin raised her sword, doing that small minute head tilt she did when amused, “Bet you run out of arrows before I run out of sword. Unless you plan on breaking out the pointy ones to use against your own sister.”

“Why shouldn’t I?” she hissed. “You’re working with Sportsmaster!”

“Not my choice!” Jade snarled, actually sounding angry, “Not my call.”

“Then who’s call is it?”

“Sorry. Just because I know your secrets doesn’t mean I’m going to tell you mine.”

Another sound caught their attention, prompting the two sisters to pause and look towards it just as an arrow exploded to catch Cheshire in a net, pinning her to a nearby tree as Red Arrow stepped out of the brush.

But, instead of seeming annoyed by the interruption, Artemis would swear her sister almost seemed pleased. “Why Arrow,” she purred, “if you wanted another date you only had to ask.”

“What?!” Artemis whirled around, staring at the other archer in shock. “You two are dating?!”

It appeared, this was news to Red Arrow as well given how flustered he looked. “What?! No!”

From where she was pinned, her sister only scoffed. “Why bother denying the attraction? After all Arrow, you’re here, with me. Again.”

Artemis didn’t know whether to burst out laughing at the older protégé’s mortified expression or start to throw up at the obvious seductive tone in her big sister’s voice. Maybe she would do some combination of both…After they dealt with this fiasco.

Ripping the net open with her sword, Cheshire stepped forwards, putting her hands on her hips. “Really, I’m so fond of you both. I couldn’t bear to hurt you,” she stabbed the blade into the ground, “much.”

Without warning, Jade leapt at Artemis. Kicking her feet out from under her before leaping away while throwing an explosive at Red Arrow, blasting the older protégé off his feet. Surrounding him in smoke before leaping at him through the fog. Rolling on the ground, Cheshire grinned as she landed on top of the archer, the tip of her sai digging into his cheek.

“Oh, too bad lover boy.”

Gritting her teeth, Artemis muttered a string of curses to herself as she pushed herself back up. only to freeze as she spotted her sister kissing Red Arrow.

Smirking, the older girl pulled back, tossing her a smug look, “But at least a kiss is still a kiss.”

That was all she managed to get out before a wrench hit her in the head. Grunting in pain, the assassin stumbled back, only to be completely knocked off her feet as Kid Flash slammed into her, snatching the weapon right from her hand.

“And a sai is just a sai,” the speedster returned, tauntingly waving the weapon around. “And quite the souvenir by the way.”

“Not the time KF!” Mike exclaimed, pulling out several explosive blades not too dissimilar from a batarang.

“Artemis! Tracer arrow on Sportsmaster! Now!” Red Arrow ordered as he scrambled back to his feet.

Not bothering to argue, she pulled out an arrow and notched it. Whirling around and taking aim, only to curse as she saw the boat speeding away. “Agh! He’s out of range!”

“Move!” Red Arrow growled, practically shoving her aside and notching his own arrow.

She expected him to miss like she would’ve. However, to her horror, his shot landed perfectly.

Though she didn’t have time to process the implications before he began racing down towards the jet ski. “You’re abandoning?!”

“I’m prioritizing!” he snapped speeding off.

From behind her, Cheshire chuckled, putting her mask back on. “Oh, that’s gotta sting. He makes the shot you were too afraid to even try.”

Growling, the archer whirled around, firing another arrow at the assassin. Unsurprisingly Jade dodged out of the way, pulling out a set of throwing knives and tossing one at her, successfully cutting her string. The sudden release of tension cause the broken cord to whip up, hitting the blonde across the cheek, creating a cut along it as she stumbled back from the unexpected blow.

Fortunately though, her momentary distraction didn’t appear to cause any problems as Mike and Wally both quickly jumped into the fray. The speedster circling her and dodging throwing knives tossed his way as Mike lunged from behind her. Moving to grab her arm as she prepared another throw.

Ducking under the outstretched arm, Cheshire dropped, moving to sweep his legs out from under him. She missed though as he proceeded to jump over the outstretched limb, kicking her in the face and knocking her in Artemis’s direction.

As always, her sister was quick to recover. But this time Artemis was fast, grabbing her sword and lunging towards the older girl, swinging the blade in an attempt to hit her.

Only this time, she planned it when the assassin dodged her attacks, kicking her to the side and sliding the sword back into its sheath. Unwittingly trapping the tracker she placed inside along with it.

By the time she had recovered, her sister had already disappeared into the shadows in full retreat.

“So,” Wally started, coming to a stop beside her to help her up, “did you—?”

“Tracer’s on her sword,” she replied.

“Brilliant. I knew you could.”

“Said the guy who had the easiest job out of all of us,” Mike remarked.

“Hey! I was plenty convincing!”

“Sure you were,” the other boy drawled as they made their way towards the shore where Red Arrow and Aqualad were emerging from the water.

Artemis however, lingered behind for a moment. Uncertainty twisting in her stomach. Already she could see how her replacement was going to turn the situation against her. How he would make the others lose faith in her skills and their trust in her as a teammate. And how he would eventually push her out to prove he was the superior protégé.

She couldn’t let that happen.

If she didn’t need to prove herself before, she certainly did now. Because she had worked too goddamn hard to be cast aside for some runaway who threw a tantrum because he didn’t get what he wanted. She was not going to let someone else benefit from all her hard work and take away everything she had worked for.

And one way or another, she was going to show them that she was the better option than Red Arrow.

Pulling out her bow, she quickly fired an arrow onto a passing train. Hoping the decoy tracker would be enough to distract them while she completed the mission.

“So we threw the fight as ordered,” Wally finished explaining, “After Artemis planted the tracer.”

All eyes turned to her.

Taking a breath, she stepped over, pulling out the tracker for the decoy. “Cheshire’s heading north.”

“Sportsmaster was headed south,” Red Arrow grumbled crossing his arms, “Kinda like this mission.”

“One of them may double back,” Mike spoke up. “Either way, they’re going to regroup.”

“Which means we’ll find them,” Kid chimed in again.

“We better,” Kaldur said, finally speaking up. “Sportsmaster acquired an attache case. We need to learn what it contained.”

“Any idea who tossed it to him?” Remnant asked, crossing his arms.

“No.” Turning to look at her, Artemis couldn’t help but feel apprehensive in the wake of her team leader’s disappointed glare, “If you had stayed aboard the Bioship—”

“I saw Cheshire sneaking up on him,” she said quickly, pointing to RA before anyone could accuse her of screwing up the mission.

“Then you radio a warning.”

“And if she found you by hacking our frequency?”

Silence fell across them as the other archer failed to come up with an appropriate response to her point. And, it appeared Kaldur agreed with her. “It is true,” he sighed, “We have come to rely on M’gann’s telepathy over our radios.”

“So let’s stop looking to place blame and start looking for Cheshire,” KF nodded.

“Here,” Artemis almost hissed, tossing the tracker to Red, “Since clearly I can’t be trusted. You track her.”

“I wouldn’t say you can’t be trusted,” Mike said, putting a hand on her shoulder before glaring at the newcomer, “He’s the one who’s been throwing around accusations since the start of this.”

“I know,” of all people, Wally agreed, snatching the tracker from Roy’s hand, “Jesus, Roy, I know you aren’t happy about GA taking on a new partner, but in case you forgot: you’re the one who chose to go solo. Remember?” Turning away from him, the speedster held the decoy tracker back out to Artemis. “Here.”

“It’s fine,” she said, waving them off. “I’ll just follow in the Bioship.”

Walking away, Artemis pulled out the real tracer and began her pursuit. Quietly hoping the others wouldn’t be too mad when they finally figure what she had done.

-.-

New Orleans, 22:18CST

“Ah, there it is,” William grinned, clapping his hands together as Sportsmaster returned with the final pieces of equipment. “I was starting to wonder what was taking so long.”

“There were…complications,” the assassin replied, setting down the case.

“Anything we need to be concerned about?”

“No.”

“Good.” Opening the case, the murderer grinned as he pulled out the two separate containers. “Thank you, Sportsmaster. You’re dismissed.”

Turning back to the table, William set the items down as he watched the Brain’s ape assistant open another similarly secured case, revealing the sea star creature he’d spent time working on a few weeks prior. Obediently, Mallah set it out on the table, allowing his master to unfurl one of his devices. Shooting it with a laser that made the limb squirm as the dark lines of remnant he pumped into it before pulsing to the surface.

As soon as the laser stopped, the robotics expert connected one of the canisters to the container, locking the two in place as the nanoscopic fog he’d been working on flowed in. Swirling around the dismembered appendage before being absorbed into the skin, almost immediately causing a dark violet grid pattern to emerge along the surface. Smirking to himself, William stepped back watching eagerly as Klarion began to hit it with magic.

It wouldn’t be long before the Light brought the League to its knees.

-.-

Artemis crouched on the roof, peering through the warehouse windows for any activity inside. Despite being the place where she tracked her sister to, she couldn’t help but note how empty the building appeared to be—save for the creepy ass party decorations that is. Hopefully Jade didn’t find the tracker and dump it here just to screw with her.

She’d really be in deep shit then if her ploy had proven to be unfruitful.

Against her better judgement, Artemis opened the window slowly. Being as quiet as she could while slipping inside and jumping down to the floor below. As expected, when she stood up, the place appeared to be devoid of life.

However, that did last long before she felt something thump against her foot. Looking down, she was unsurprised to see the tracker. Looks like Jade really had found it.

“You’re getting rusty.”

Jumping in surprise, Artemis notched an arrow, pointing it towards the shadows where the voice came from.

“Pulled it off my sword not even a minute after you put it there,” Cheshire continued, stepping out from the darkness, putting a hand on her hip, “Thought you’d want it back since it goes so nicely with the one Red Arrow gave you.”

Eyes widening, Artemis turned, heart sinking in her chest as she finally saw the small red disk latched to her quiver. One just like the ones she used.

“Someone on your team doesn’t trust you,” her sister sang teasingly, holding up a tablet to reveal none other than Red Arrow creeping around outside the warehouse. “Not that it’ll be a problem for long.”

Tapping the screen again, Artemis paled as she saw her father crouching on the roof above the other archer, javelin in hand. Sure, she may’ve not liked the guy. But that didn’t mean she wanted to see him dead.

Before her sister could react, she pulled out an arrow and fired it at the door. Hoping the ensuing explosion would be enough to knock the other protégé back out of the way.

Though, her action didn’t give her enough time to prep before her older sister punched her across the face. Stumbling back, she barely managed to reorient herself before Cheshire swung her blade right where she had been moments before. Raising her bow, she moved to block the next swing, trying to take the opportunity to kick her in the side as she knocked the weapon aside.

Unfortunately, it didn’t go according to plan as her remaining leg was kicked out from under her. Causing the blonde to slam back into the ground. Only able to look up with wide eyes as the sword was raised above her sister’s head, ready to deliver the finishing blow.

Thankfully, that never came as a blast knocked the weapon from Jade’s hand. The woman soon leaping back to avoid being hit by another arrow.

“Red Arrow to Aqualad. Located Cheshire and Sportsmaster. Rendezvous at my coordinates,” the older archer said, whirling around to fire another arrow at Sportsmaster. The shot missing and consequently forcing him to dodge a javelin hurled his way.

/Acknowledged. Sending Kid ahead/

“So you’re pretty much allergic to radioing a warning?” Red Arrow hissed as they were forced back to back. Each firing shots at the two assassins circling them like sharks.

“Artemis to Arrow. Watch out.”

Not eager to hear his reply, she lunged at Cheshire. Leaping up to throw a kick at her head. The assassin ducked under, whirling around to throw a punch at her before Artemis side-stepped the blow, moving to knee the older girl in the stomach, forcing her to leap back and put some distance between them. Unwilling to be deterred by this, the archer closed the space between them again, swinging her leg to kick her. Jade once again step aside, this time throwing a kick towards her head. Forcing Artemis to raise her arms in an attempt to block the blow. Her sister was quick to take advantage of the shift, moving to punch her again and causing Artemis to step back. only for her to be completely blindsided by a kick nailing her in the jaw. Sending her slamming back into a bunch of nearby decorations.

Wiping blood from her lip, Artemis pushed herself up, wincing as her head began to throb from the force of the impact. Hopefully she didn’t have a concussion.

Across from her, Jade casually whipped out her sai. However, like last time, she didn’t get to use it before being slammed aside by the unmistakable red and yellow form of Kid Flash.

“Aqualad, Remnant, and I found the tracer on the end of a caboose,” the speedster started, reaching out to help her up, “And I don’t mean Cheshire’s.”

“She must’ve ditched it,” Artemis lied.

“Yeah, figured—Wait, then how did you and Red end up here?”

Cursing her own lack of forethought, Artemis was grateful for the distraction in the form of the menacing red light coming from the other room. And for her sister angrily attacking the speedster before he could continue his train of thought.

“I’ve got this!” he called, punching Cheshire in the face. “Go!”

Not willing to jeopardize the mission any further, Artemis did as she was told and raced towards the room. Kicking it open, bow drawn and aimed at whomever was on the other side. “Freeze!”

Whatever it was she had been expecting, it wasn’t several major heavy hitters.

Just facing Klarion once had been a nightmare. But now she was having to deal with him, the Brain, the Brain’s monkey lackey, and the mysterious brunette man. And she would have to do it alone either until KF and Red incapacitated her family or until Aqualad and Mike finally arrived.

“Ah, you must be the complication Sportsmaster mentioned,” the brunette man spoke.

Artemis couldn’t help the shiver that ran up her spine as the man’s dark violet eyes regarded her. Nor could she help but notice how familiar he looked. It was creepy. Like in a déjà vu sort of way. She just couldn’t place there where or why.

“To be honest, I was expecting something more from Mikey’s little friends. I don’t even think you’d be worth the effort to play with.”

“Oh! I know what we should do!” Klarion grinned, hopping up and down like an excited kid on Christmas. Completely ignoring the shock that had settled over the archer. “Freeze!”

-.-

Mt. Justice, December 6, 03:21EDT

“Let me be clear: we failed,” Aqualad stated, giving his report to Red Tornado. “Though the Injustice League is in custody their allies still scheme. And we have learned nothing of their plans.”

“Gee, I wonder why,” Red Arrow snarled, glaring daggers at Artemis.

“Hey! Who found out Sportsmaster was working for Brain, Klarion, and…whoever that last guy was!”

“Yeah, great intel. Except once again, we don’t know who the third guy is!”

“Springtrap.”

All heads turned to Mike as he stepped forward, looking unusually subdued, “The third man. He goes by Springtrap. He’s a mass murderer and robotics expert.”

“Great! That’s one mystery solved! But it still doesn’t explain exactly what they were doing,” Red Arrow continued. “Something we would’ve found out had someone,” he pointed at Artemis, “not screwed up the op!”

“Hey! Knock it off!” Wally interjected, stepping between the two archers. “You’ve been doing nothing but dump on her since you got here! What’s your deal?!”

Red Arrow held up a tracker.

“The tracer?” Mike spoke up, still quieter than normal but not hesitating to join Wally in defending their friend. “The one Cheshire ditched. What does that have to do with any of this?”

“No, Artemis ditched that,” Red Arrow clarified, motioning to an identical tracker in Kaldur’s hand, “to send us on a wild goose chase. She put this one on Cheshire.”

The two defending her went quiet. And the blonde archer felt her stomach sink as her teammates turned to her looking betrayed. “Artemis? Is this true?”

She didn’t answer, however, it seemed to be all the confirmation KF needed as a glare settled on his face.

“Seriously?” he scoffed, “Are you that freaked out about Red Arrow joining the team you had to prove yourself by bringing down the bad guys solo?! Is it true?!”

Still unable to reply, all she could do was look away. Unable to meet the looks of betray and disappointment from those around her.

“Well, nice going,” Wally muttered, stepping away from her. “What you proved is that you’re selfish and insecure. Keep the sai,” he tossed the weapon at her feet, taking the tracker from Arrow, “This is the right souvenir for the mission.”

“I…”

“Save it,” Kid muttered, stalking away.

Feeling dejected, Artemis looked to Mike. Her stomach sinking further as the other protégé refused to meet her gaze.

“So how will you betray us next time?!” Red Arrow accused, taking a threatening step forwards.

“Fuck off, Speedy. She made a mistake.”

“Oh so now you’re defending her?!” Roy snarled, turning on her teammate.

“Not her actions tonight, no,” Mike answered. “But we’ve all made mistakes. Stop throwing a fucking tantrum because you got replaced.”

“Excuse me?!”

“You heard me dipshit,” the other boy shot back, poking the archer’s chest, “You’ve been tossing accusations since you got here asshole. Something you wanna tell us?”

“Are you accusing me of something?”

“Only as much as you’ve been accusing your own teammate all evening.”

“Enough,” Kaldur interjected, stepping between the two before the situation could escalate. “If making a mistake was a betrayal, then yes, we would all be traitors. However, that does not give any of you the excuse to throw baseless accusations. Hit the showers and head home. I must report to Batman.”

The two previously feuding boys tossed one more glare at each other before stepping back. Everyone beginning to go their separate ways.

Before she could move to the Zeta to head home, a hand gripped her shoulder painfully. “You’re not who you say you are,” Red Arrow hissed. “You can’t hide the truth from them forever. This isn’t over, not by a longshot.”

Chapter Text

A/N: Hey everyone welcome back! Glad to see y’all liked the last chapter. I know I was happy to get this story rolling again after some writer’s block. So, hopefully chapters come out a little more consistently now, but…I can’t really make any promises.

For the love of God, do not mention anything about the movie in the comments! As of writing this I haven’t seen it yet! I am going to, but I do not want spoilers!

Remember, I just own the story. Neither FNAF nor YJ are mine.

/comms/

Telepathy/Flashbacks

Mt. Justice, December 9, 17:22EDT

“Recognized: Remnant—B07.”

It was quieter than normal.

That was the first thing Mike noticed as he stepped into the Cave.

Though, considering the past couple of days, it wasn’t like it was particularly surprising. Tensions had been rising ever since the mission to New Orleans went sideways. Mostly because of a certain archer.

Ever since he arrived, Red Arrow had not so subtly been eyeing several of them with distrust. Throwing random accusations and insinuating that they’d betray the Team. Quietly trying to convince Kaldur and Robin that there was a traitor amongst them.

It was the mole fiasco in India all over again.

Only this time, the accuser refused to listen to reason.

And, in some ways, he’d been successful in sowing distrust amongst them. Kaldur had been looking more wary and guarded as of late. Conner had begun to throw distrusting glares in the direction of their leader and the new archer again. M’gann was less likely to start a conversation with certain members of the Team. KF and Artemis had stopped talking entirely save to argue. Robin was sticking closer to his own side or Wally’s. And even his own relationship with Artemis was strained after the stunt she pulled.

Mike wouldn’t lie and say he hadn’t felt betrayed by the blatant deception. For months, he’d been keeping the fact that she’d been living in Gotham secret from the others—except Rob, but he already knew so it didn’t count. And, even during the first mole fiasco, at any point Mike could’ve tossed the other girl under the bus for her secrets. But he didn’t. Because other than rumors, there had been no reason to distrust her.

He had been willing to give her the benefit of the doubt despite everything. And still she had gone behind his back.

It wasn’t like he would’ve been opposed to the idea if she told him about it. Sure, he might’ve been a bit wary about using such an underhanded tactic, but that had never stopped him before. At least then he would’ve been able to confront his father like he planned.

Because that had been his whole reason for going on the job.

Mike wasn’t stupid. He knew that everyone involved in his damn case wanted to keep him as far from William as possible. Of course, he didn’t blame them. It would be hypocritical given he had the same intention of keeping Robin away from his father.

But that didn’t mean he was happy about it.

Had Artemis trusted him the way he had trusted her, then maybe he would’ve been able to break William Afton’s jaw like he wanted. Finally, be able to show the man that he was no longer that weak submissive boy he used to beat the crap out of. Maybe then he wouldn’t have cast doubt onto himself by recognizing a villain that none of the others had ever heard of.

Especially since it was clear Artemis had been wanting to ask him about that. Even now he could see the gears turning in her head. Trying to piece together just what exactly was going on.

No doubt it wouldn’t be long before she would uncover his own secrets.

And there was no guarantee that she would take it well.

So far, he’d been lucky so far in managing to avoid her questions. Not that he was sure he trusted her enough right now to answer them anyways.

Because that was always his problem, wasn’t it? That he was too easy to trust. Even despite knowing better.

After all, that was how he wound up in this mess in the first place.

It was like he never learned.

So, yeah, long story short: he was essentially avoiding her. Well he avoided being alone with her.

At school it was easy. There were always classmates nearby. And typically they were hanging out with Better or some of their other friends. Making it difficult to ask about anything Team-related without exposing their identities. But, when they were at the Cave, he made it a point to hang out with one of the others. Hell, he even had stopped waiting for her at the Zeta like he used to.

Make no mistake, he felt incredibly guilty for his actions. Especially whenever he saw the hurt on her face whenever he avoided her. He was being a coward. Once again choosing to run from his problems instead. But…what else could he do?

He loved his friends. But he didn’t want to involve them in his problems anymore than they already were.

Sure, Robin may’ve been involved already. However, that was because the kid wormed his way onto the case by sheer stubbornness. And Mike only tolerated it because he didn’t want the other boy to run off on his own to hunt his psychopathic father.

While his confidence in Artemis had been bruised, that didn’t mean he doubted that she wouldn’t immediately try to jump in on the investigation herself. As abrasive as she was at times, she did care for her friends.

Sighing, he crossed his arms, leaning against the wall away from the others as he waited for the mission briefing to start. Hopefully it would be a quick one. He finally had tickets to go see his mother’s old ballet studio perform the Nutcracker.

And, for once, he was actually looking forwards to it. It had been years since he’d been able to go. He used to go every year with his family to watch his mom but…that stopped after his father murdered her.

At first, he’d been glad to not have to go to the same boring dance every year. They had used to bore him to death. He would’ve rather watched one of his mom’s ice-skating competitions. At least then they changed enough to keep things interesting. Plus, her insane routines had been amazing to watch. They made her a world-champion for a reason. But…it didn’t take long for him to missing it.

Well, he mostly missed going to practice with his mom.

As long and tedious as her training sessions had been, they were actually kinda fun.

After a while, he had actually wanted to try to see the ballet again. If only to feel a little closer to her. Of course, his father had refused adamantly. Going even as far as punching him for asking.

Guess now he knew why.

When his father had ditched him, Mike had initially thought he could finally go see it. Only, that had been before he realized just how damn expensive the tickets were. He’d been saving up for years, and only now due to his recent change in circumstances had he finally been able to purchase one. Better yet, in a decent spot too. Not just the nosebleeds like he’d just been initially hoping for.

“Advanced weapons tech has been stolen from manufacturing plants throughout Europe,” Robin started, apparently giving the briefing in the Dark Knight’s place. Drawing the older boy from his thoughts as he pulled up a map, “and each stop coincides with stops made by Haly’s Circus.”

Mike’s brows furrowed. Haly’s Circus? Where had he heard that name before?

Right…that circus that had been in Gotham just a few years back. Lizzie had been dying to visit it. And, as always, his father’s favorite had gotten what she wanted. They had been fully planning to go on opening night too. If it hadn’t been for…for her disappearance.

Though, it was probably for the best anyways. From what he remembered from the news, that had been the night those trapeze artists had fallen to their deaths. Dick’s parents if he recalled correctly.

“Batman’s sending us undercover to catch the thieves.”

Feeling confused, Mike bit the inside of his cheek. Keeping himself from making any snide comments. Mostly because it was highly unusual for the Dark Knight to let anyone else take over a mission briefing. Not unless there was something serious going on in Gotham.

And given that the Dynamic Duo had solved the most pressing case just a few days ago. There shouldn’t have been any reason for the Bat to not the give the orders himself.

Not unless, there was something more going on here than he understood. After all, this wasn’t the first time that something Robin did just so happened to coincide with something—oh…

Mike was a fucking idiot.

Of course Robin had a lot in common with Dick. They were the same goddamn person! There were too many coincidences for it not to be though.

If anything it just confirmed the suspicions he’d had for a while now.

He was just angry it took him this long to confirm it. Honestly, how could he not have realized it sooner? Both clung to him in very similar manners. They had the same birthday. The same gymnastics skills. Hell, even the same creepy ass laugh. Even on their first day of school, Dick had been hinting about his true identity. Why else would he say they’d laugh about it someday?

Really it was no wonder his father got away with murder for so long, because he had the observation skills of a rubber duck.

“Does this clown car have room for one more?” an irritatingly familiar voice asked, breaking the silence.

Turning to the entrance, Mike glared as his current least favorite member of the Team waltzed in like he owned the damn place. A casual smile on his face as if completely unaware of all the problems he’d been causing.

Thankfully, Robin appeared just as apprehensive. “Uh, we have it covered.”

Unsurprisingly, the smile fell from the archer’s face as he leaned in to whisper, not even bothering to adjust his voice for those with super-hearing in the room, “You may have the mission covered. But who’s covering the four potential mole suspects you’re bringing along.”

Huh, wonder when Red decided he was a suspect? Was it before or after Mike had taken the liberty of knocking him down a few pegs?

Either way, judging from the look of uncertainty flickering across Robin’s face, it didn’t look like the younger was going to be able to come up with a convincing reason for him to stay behind. Not without arousing suspicion.

Which could only mean one thing: Red Arrow was coming along.

Fan-fucking-tastic.

-.-

Bruges, December 10, 20:08CET

“Damen und Herren! Madame et monsieurs. Ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the Haly International Traveling Circus!” the ringmaster exclaimed, stepping into the center ring. “Where the world is your oyster. And these are our latest pearls, that Daring Dangers!”

The lights moved up to a platform up above, revealing the form of a young man standing on one of the platforms, grabbing the trapeze bar and swinging off.

“Dan Danger!”

Releasing the bar, he flipped past a redheaded girl in a white and red unitard similar to his own.

“Dawn Danger.”

Down below, a redheaded boy and a blonde girl notched three sets of arrows each, raising them to fire.

“Diane and Derik Danger.”

Between them a black haired boy and a brunette stood. One lifting massive barrels without any effort. The other casually flipping a throwing knife in his hand.

“And Dean and Devan Danger.”

On some unseen signal, Dean hefted the barrels up, tossing them into the air just as the two on the trapeze released to flip by each other again. At the same time, the two archers fired their bows, the weapons leaving a trail of sparks behind them as they soared through the air. Illuminating the small daggers flying up from the ground below. All narrowly missing the to trapeze artists as they flew through the air.

“You’ll never see another trapeze act like this, folks! And all performed without a net.”

Turning on the bar, Dan met Dawn’s gaze as she swung her legs over, lowering her arms in preparation to catch him. As the bars began to swing back towards each other, he swung his legs forwards. Vaulting himself from the trapeze towards the girl. Arms outstretched ready to catch him.

Only…it didn’t go according to plan. As their aim was just slightly off. Causing their fingers to just barely graze by each other as the boy fell towards the ground. Screams beginning to fill the air as the crowd realized what was happening.

“Robin!”

“Shit.” Mike cursed. “Throw me!” Running towards Conner. The other teen nodded, picking up a barrel and throwing it into the air as the other boy jumped on. Riding it up only to leap off, using the momentum to flip and kick Robin back towards M’gann.

Falling back towards the ground, Mike curled up and did his best to roll with the impact. Quickly springing back to his feet just in time to see M’gann and Robin land safely on one of the upper platforms. Though, his relief was almost overshadowed by his ankle screaming at him. No doubt having been at the very least sprained during the landing.

It wasn’t the worst injury he’d ever had. But it still hurt.

Still, better him than Rob. Mike could at least walk off a broken bone within an hour or two at most. And while the Boy Wonder no doubt had learned how to survive landings from such heights, there was no guarantee that he’d walk away entirely unscathed. Something which the younger teen would no doubt be quite angry about given his own personal investment in the mission’s success.

So, yeah. Better him than Robin.

Besides, the other boy had been more than willing to help him investigate his own personal case. Even more amazingly he’d been willing to tolerate all the problems and baggage Michael brought into it. Helping this mission go well was the least he could do.

“What did I say about blowing our cover?”

“Oh, like saving your life was such a bad thing?” Conner retorted.

“Don’t worry, Rob,” Mike chided lightly, “as far as the crowd’s concerned, it was all part of the show.”

“Exactly!” M’gann chimed in. “The crowd couldn’t see me use telekinesis from below…Besides, I’ve been using it all night. I’m not exactly the acrobat you are.”

“Yeah, neither am I right now,” Robin grumbled. “Think I caught that twenty-four-hour bug that’s been going around the circus.”

“I could’ve filled in for you if you weren’t feeling well,” Mike reminded as the pair began to climb down. “I mean, you have been showing me how to do this kind of stuff. And if I miss, the fall won’t kill me.” Striding over as they made it to the ground, the elder boy gave the younger a cursory exam. On first glance, the boy appeared to be mostly ok, if only a bit rattled. But Mike couldn’t help but note the flush on his cheeks and the sweat dripping down his brow.

Maybe he should’ve insisted the other boy sit out when he first started looking unwell.

Though…given the circumstances, Mike wasn’t too sure how successful that would’ve been.

“Too short notice. Besides, the show must go on.”

“Bullshit.”

“Put your hands together for the Daring Dangers!”

Unaware of the telepathic debate, the crowd cheered as the acrobats put on wide smiles. Waving to them as if it had all just been a part of the show.

“Didn’t think you’d make it through,” M’gann said as the lights fell away from them. Hiding them in the shadows as the next act began.

“Neither did I.”

“Real vote of confidence guys,” Mike deadpanned. Putting a hand on Robin’s shoulder, the older boy frowned as he felt the heat rolling off his skin. “C’mon. Let’s get you backstage.”

Robin didn’t protest as he was nudged towards the arena entrance. Only giving a passing glance to the firebreather talking to one of the stagehands as they moved somewhere where the youngest could take a seat.

They only just managed to get settled before two other guys began yelling at the ringmaster. “Haly what’s the deal?! Giving the top slot to those Danger kids!” one growled, “That’s our slot.”

“Was your slot. Until you missed that performance in Paris.”

“Carlo was sick. He’s better now.”

“Plus, those Dangers are a sham. They say they’re all brothers and sisters, but they don’t even look alike.”

Thankfully, if the ringmaster was bothered by the accusation, he didn’t show it. Instead choosing to push by the other acrobats, “Nah, you just don’t like the competition.” Though the man didn’t get far before he was stopped by someone else. A man in a suit this time. “Ah for crying out loud. Not you again. We’re in the middle of a show.”

“Then we’ll talk after. But we will talk. Another city last week, another tech firm robbed, another stop on your tour. If I prove you’re responsible, I will shut you down.”

Despite the obvious threat, the Haly held the man’s gaze. “I’ve got three minutes to gather props and get back to the center ring.” Without giving so much as a dismissal, the ringmaster walked away. Leaving the suited man standing in the middle of the backstage area.

Of course, it didn’t take long for him to turn his attention over to them.

Brows furrowing, the platinum blonde strode over, reaching into his jacket to pull out a badge. “Faraday. Interpol. New act?”

“Yeah,” Robin rasped, taking a bottle of water from Mike. “We just joined the tour.”

“Probably clears you,” he muttered, putting the badge back, “But don’t get too comfortable. Haly’s going down for this.”

-.-

23:24CET

Mike crouched beside Robin on the rooftop overlooking the warehouse they were staking out, waiting for the thieves to show up.

In all honesty, he was hoping that the thief would be too spooked by Interpol to show tonight. Because Robin wasn’t looking too good.

Ever since their earlier performance that boy’s condition had only seemed to get progressively worse. He was wiping sweat off his brow every few minutes despite the sharp chill from the snowflakes falling around them. Shoulders trembling every now and then as he fought back a harsh cough.

Whatever this bug was, it was clear that it was hitting the Boy Wonder hard.

If he thought he could’ve talked the younger out from coming on the stake out, Mike would’ve left him in cart holding their bunks. However, given the circumstances, he supposed he would just have to settle for keeping a closer eye on him for the time being.

“If Interpol’s already on this, why are we here?” Superboy grumbled, finally voicing his obvious annoyance.

“Because Batman said so,” Robin replied curtly, pulling out his binoculars.

“Why?” Mike hissed, “You got something better to do?”

Thankfully, Superboy didn’t reply. Seeming to get the message to shut up.

Good.

Normally, Mike would feel bad for being so harsh. But this wasn’t one of those times. Robin wasn’t at his best right now. So, someone needed to keep the mission on track. The sooner they finished this, the sooner they could get out of the cold and get some rest. “See anything?”

“Not yet,” the younger grumbled, jaw clenched.

“And how exactly do we know that the bad guys will strike here?” Artemis chimed in.

Amazingly, Red Arrow of all people agreed with her, “Yeah. There are more obvious targets.”

“Too obvious,” Mike corrected, quickly getting over his surprise. “Interpol will have them covered already.”

“Exactly,” Robin said, wiping his brow again, “Besides, based on the previous thefts this place meets the thief’s criteria.”

“How are you feeling?” M’gann’s worried tone finally spoke across the link.

“Lousy,” the boy sighed, “But I’ll manage.”

Yeah, he was definitely keeping a close eye on him this mission.

However, before he could start to interrogate the younger about his condition, Superboy noticed something, “Contact. Northeast quardrant.”

All went quiet as they whipped around to spot the intruder. The thief’s form quickly spotted running down the empty, snow-covered street. Pulling out his binoculars, Mike watched as the man charged at a lightpole, leaping up and using it as a vault to launch himself over the barbewired fence.

“Guess we know why Carlo missed that performance in Paris.”

“Perhaps. Could be Carlo, could be his brother.”

“Or just someone using the circus as a patsy to cover for their own activity,” Robin reminded. “Don’t be so quick to jump to conclusions; keep an open mind.”

Firing a line, the boys slid down it towards the warehouse rooftop. Quietly slipping in through the overhead skylight to drop onto the banisters. They quickly found their target using a crowbar to pry open one of the cases.

Well, if they weren’t certain if they had their thief before, they certainly did now.

“Caught red-handed,” Robin laughed, causing the man to jump and nearly drop the box he pulled out as his head snapped up, “Red-faced too I bet.”

On one of the other platforms, Artemis and Red Arrow drew their bows, “Acrobatics won’t get you outta this.”

“Surrender quietly, or things will get ugly.”

He did not surrender quietly.

Instead, he flipped back away from them, landing on another set of nearby crates. Pulling out what looked to be a baton. They quickly found out it was, in fact, not a baton the moment the end burst into flames. Allowing their opponent to spit a stream of fire in their direction.

“Shit!”

Leaping out the way of the flames, Mike rolled to his feet and ducked behind some of the crates. Quietly cursing the entire time. They had been expecting the acrobat, not the firebreather. There had been no indication at the circus that the guy even knew acrobatics. But clearly he must have because there was no way there was more than one thief. They would’ve seen them if there was.

“Those crates are full of live ammo!” Red Arrow exclaimed, drawing his attention to the bright white words written across the nearby boxes. “Move!”

He didn’t have to tell him twice.

Sprinting out from his cover, he fired a grapple hoping to swing away to the floor below before the flames reached the explosive behind him. Unfortunately, he didn’t move fast enough as the shockwave of the blast knocked him off the platform.

Mike didn’t know which hurt worse, the broken bones from the fall or the burns on his back.

Slowly sitting up, he grimaced as he spotted a metal bar sticking out of his leg. It must’ve impaled him when parts of the warehouse collapsed in the explosion. Meaning there was more than likely other injuries he hadn’t noticed yet either.

Well…that sucked.

He hoped the others were in better shape than he was.

Biting his lip, he ignored the taste of blood as he proceeded to ignore every piece of medical advice he’d ever been given and ripped the object out. Tossing the bar into the flames as he shakily rose to his feet, pushing pieces of rubble away off himself to get a clearer view of his surroundings.

To say the warehouse was trashed was beyond an understatement. Actually, it was probably going to get worse given the fact it was currently on fire.

No doubt Farady—or whatever his name was—was going to be pissed about all the lost evidence.

Not that it was his problem.

“Guys!” he called out, wincing at how scratchy his own voice sounded. No doubt a side effect of the rising temperatures around him.

Nearby, some of the rubble shifted. The metal scraping just loud enough over the flames to be heard before falling away with a loud clang as Conner tossed them aside. “That guy’s dead meat,” the clone growled.

To Mike’s relief, the others were with him. Each one looking a little scraped up and bruised, but for the most part there was nothing too serious. “Everyone alright?” he called, stepping towards them. The motion immediately made the teen his through his teeth as he felt his ribs shift unhappily.

It hurt like a bitch. But it wouldn’t kill him.

“We need to get Miss M out of this heat!” Robin exclaimed, drawing attention to the girl leaning against him. The redhead’s normally bright green skin looked ashy, her frame trembling lightly.

Superboy, who previously looked like he was about to run off after the thief, immediately became concerned. Darting over to his girlfriend’s side and scooping her into his arms, quickly racing out of the burning building.

“Artemis, Arrow…” Robin panted, suddenly looking quite pale, “find the thief…”

The boy stumbled forwards and Mike reflexively caught him before he hit the ground. His various injuries screaming at the sudden aggravation. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see to two archers looking quite alarmed. “Go. I got him.”

“Yeah right,” Red Arrow scoffed, striding forwards and gently grabbing both of their shoulders, “you don’t look much better yourself. You both need medical attention.”

“But the thief—”

“Like he matters more than you two,” Artemis said, coming up on his other side. “Let’s get them outta here.” Nodding with Arrow, she looped Mike’s arm over her shoulder while Roy picked up Rob. Quickly rushing towards the exit as the building continued to collapse behind them.

-.-

December 11, 09:21CET

“Another weapons plant hit. And once again the circus is in town,” Faraday said, glaring down at Haly, “I don’t believe in coincidences.”

“I don’t care what you believe!” the ringmaster shot back, poking the agent’s chest. “My people are not responsible! I did a bed check last night and everyone in my troop was asleep in their bunks.”

Around the corner, Artemis crossed her arms, “Well, we sure weren’t. And if he’s lying about us…”

“Actually,” Mike interrupted, “we might’ve been. I think I heard him walking about sometime after we got back. It could be he thought everyone was in their bunks.”

“Doesn’t explain why he checked so late though. If only to create an alibi.”

“Well listening to this conversation isn’t going to get us anywhere,” Robin muttered, turning away and walking towards the other exit.

Sharing a look, the others quietly followed behind him. Heading towards their bunks to regroup and rest before they’d have to start helping get ready for the performance that night. “So,” Artemis started, “Am I the only one who was thinking there were two thieves last night? The firebreather and the acrobat. Just dressed in identical clothes.”

“Maybe not just two,” Robin said as they boarded the train. “I looked at the footage from the other heists. The one in Madrid had what looked like the strongman and Paris had the tightrope walker.”

“The entire circus could be involved.”

“I don’t know,” Mike frowned, opening the door to one of their bunks, “I feel like we would’ve seen someone else come in. We had eyes on every corner of that building.”

“Wouldn’t be the first time someone snuck past you,” Roy sneered. “More than likely Haly himself is the mastermind of this entire thing.”

“You don’t know that.”

“It would explain his lies,” M’gann agreed.

Robin, who had barely just sat down, shot to his feet. “I told you to keep an open mind!” he snapped, whirling on his heel and storming from the small room.

Sighing, Mike rose from his spot as well. Still feeling the ache of his recently healed wounds. “I’ll go talk to him.” Not bothering to wait for whatever bullshit excuse Red could come up with to stop him, he slipped from the room. Making sure to grab his coat along with Robin’s.

He must’ve really been upset to have forgotten it after being so sick yesterday.

Though…Mike couldn’t say he was surprised. If his suspicions were correct—and they more than likely were—then of course the kid would be angry that the others were accusing people he considered family of committing these crimes.

“You didn’t have to follow me.”

Looking down, Mike’s brows furrowed as he saw Robin leaning against the side of the train. Arms wrapped protectively around himself as he shivered lightly in the cold air. “Maybe not,” he said, hopping down. “But you looked like you needed the company.” Draping the coat over his shoulders, Mike gently wrapped an arm around him. Guiding them away from potential eavesdroppers.  “How are you doing, Dick?”

“Better now, I think I’m over it for the most part.” The boy’s eyes widened, head snapping up at him in shock, “Wait. How did you—?”

“Finally put everything together?” he finished for him, “Well, you didn’t make it easy. But after so long all the coincidences began to add up and I put it together from there. In retrospect it was pretty obvious.”

“…Why didn’t you say anything?”

“It wasn’t my place. And regardless of the real reasons behind this mission it’s important to you. That’s good enough for me.”

“Thanks…” Robin said, coming to a stop as they strode in front of one of the old posters. The one showing his family’s old act.

Hesitantly, Mike spoke up, “You know, my sister was always a big fan of the circus. When she heard it was coming to town, she practically harassed…well she managed to get us tickets for it. We were planning to go on opening night but…well…” he trailed off slightly, cursing his own lack of conversation skills. Mostly for his lack of forethought in addressing the entire situation. Because not only had that been just weeks before Lizzie disappeared, but undoubtedly it was reminding Dick more about family’s accident. Sighing to himself, he turned to look up at the poster, “I’m sorry I didn’t get to see them perform. I heard they were amazing.”

“Yeah. They were the best,” Dick whispered softly. The tips of his fingers lightly tracing the poster. “…I miss them.”

This may not have been his place, but cautiously, he reached out to wrap an arm around his shoulders in a one-arms hug. “I know.”

“It’s just…when I heard about this…I may be biased, but I know Jack. He wouldn’t do something like this.” Dick turned away from the picture, wrapping both his arms around Mike’s torso. “I don’t want him to lose the circus.”

“He won’t,” he quickly reassured, running his fingers through the younger’s hair. “We’ll find who’s responsible, Birdie. Don’t worry.”

-.-

22:21CET

Mike grunted as he hefted up some of the bags, doing his best to help finish loading up the train before they left. Frankly, he was kinda amazed at how much there was to pack. Well, he knew there was a lot, but it never really occurred to him just how much a traveling circus would need.

“Need a hand?”

Turning around, he looked to see M’gann talking to one of the stage hands. Stepping away from him looking mildly uncomfortable. “Uh…I’m good. But I think some of the others could use a hand,” she motioned further down the line, where bother the firebreather and strongman were sitting on the ground looking exhausted and pale. “I think a lot of them seem to have caught that flu.”

“Yeah, it’s going around.”

Mike was going to point out about how strange it was that two of their apparent suspects were both obviously ill when they’d been perfectly fine last night. However, before he could, Haly strode up to the car, quickly pulling himself up, “Everyone aboard! Now!”

“Someone’s in a hurry,” Roy muttered.

Doing his best to ignore another obvious attempt to start another fight, Mike joined Conner in helping the obviously sick members load the last of the gear. Barely managing to finish before the final boarding call whistled through the air.

Quietly, they made their ways between the train carts. Moving to the one housing their bunks. Where they found the others crowded around M’gann. The redhead was now lying on the bed in the room she shared with Artemis, looking more gray then Caucasian at the present moment. “Sorry M—Dawn,” Dick corrected himself. “I didn’t think you’d get it from me.”

On the bed, the girl chuckled weakly, “I feel so silly. Who knew a Martian could be vulnerable to a human illness?”

“Uh…H.G. Wells?” Robin offered unhelpfully.

“She does have a point though,” Mike spoke up. “I mean, you were sick last night and I’m staying in the same room. If anyone’s most likely to catch it, it should’ve been me.”

“Yeah, but if your immune system is anything like your healing powers,” Roy chimed in still looking rather disturbed seeing Mike’s broken bones snap themselves back into place, “then you probably got over it so fast you didn’t even notice.”

“True.”

“When did you first start feeling sick?” Robin asked, turning all attention back to the sick Martian.

“Uh, it was really sudden. Just after we boarded the train.”

“Same with me last night,” the Boy Wonder remarked. “I remember Ray rubbing my head for good luck and suddenly I started feel sick.”

“Ray? That roustabout?” Conner spoke up, sounding annoyed. “He touched her shoulder just before we boarded. Guy must be a walking petri dish.”

“Maybe…” Robin trailed off, not finishing his thought before leaving the room. It looked like he was about to start running down the hall. But he was stopped by the form of the ringmaster blocking the hall, pushing a cart down it.

“Dan!” the man smiled, turning around to face them. “You’re looking much better.”

“Thanks,” Dick grinned. “Uh, Jack, just out of curiosity, how long has Ray worked for you?”

“Ray? I picked him up just at the start of the European tour. Poor guy’s down with the same flu as the rest of them.”

“We can check on him,” Artemis quickly offered, “It’s the least we can do.”

“If you insist.”

“You should stay in bed,” Dick said, looking to M’gann as she got up.

“As a friend once said: I’ll manage.”

Making their way down the quiet hall, they quickly made their way down the to cart that Ray was supposed to be staying in. Only instead of finding the blonde man sick in bed, the room was completely void of life.

“Guess he wasn’t that sick.”

“Uh, does this circus have an elephant I don’t know about?” Roy spoke up from further down the cart. Motioning to a box labeled elephant feed.

“Not on foreign tours.”

Now suspiscous, the others came closer as their teammate opened the box. “Empty,” he muttered before furrowing his brows, “no, wait.” Reaching into the box, his fingers scraped across the bottom, the tips coming up black. “Ash.”

“From the warehouse fire in Bruges.”

“Guess we know who our thief is,” Mike muttered.

“Uh, guys,” Artemis spoke up, causing all heads to turn to her as she looked under the empty mattress, “I found Ray.” Sitting back, the girl looked mildly perturbed as she held up a mask clearly made to mimic Ray’s face.

“Split up! Search the whole train!”

-.-

Mike followed silently behind Dick as they moved through one of the cars. Quietly listening at each door for any signs of their target. For the most part it had been quiet. However, the few times they did hear something, it had only proven to be one of the sick cast members.

Though, as they entered the next area of their search, it didn’t take him long to hear something from one of the rooms. Something that sounded like muffled shouting.

Motioning to Robin, the younger boy followed his gesture to the third door from the last. With a small nod, Mike pulled out a knife as Dick pulled out one of his batarangs. The pair quietly creeping down the hall to the door before suddenly kicking it open.

While there was no sign of their target, they did find the ringmaster tied up on the floor in his underwear. “Who did this to you,” Dick asked, quickly removing the gag from Haly’s mouth as Mike cut the ropes around his wrist.

“Ray!” Haly answered quickly. “Ray the Roustabout. Right after the train left Bruges.”

“Then who the fuck did we talk to?” Mike muttered to himself. But clearly not quiet enough as he got a glare from his teammate. Rolling his eyes, he got up, tucking the blade away as they ran back out into the hall. Leaving Haly to finish untying himself.

“Dawn, come in,” Dick hissed, tapping on his comm.

/Dan? Devan?/

“I tried to reach you. The other way.”

/Uh, I think the flu’s knocked out my other way/

“Fantastic,” Mike muttered, reaching up to his own comm. “Diane. Derik. Dean. Come in.”

/What read you. What’s going on?/

“We’re chasing down someone who’s stolen Dawn’s act,” Robin said, “Her whole shtick, if you catch my drift.”

Mike did. And he, in fact, did not like the implications of the other teen’s words. Because that could only mean that whomever they were chasing had stolen M’gann’s powers.

“Fuck.”

/I got him,/ Conner called. /But he’s onto me. Exiting the dining cart now/

“What happened in the past thirty seconds?!”

Racing down the hall as fast as they could, the pair barely managed to avoid barreling through doors as they moved between the carts. Trying to catch up as fast as possible.

/He’s gone topside/

Moving through the now demolished dining cart, the two made their way to the exit. Quickly leaping up to the roof as they heard Conner snap, “That won’t work on me clown!”

“That’s no clown,” Robin hissed, “He’s the Parasite. The guy who once stole Superman’s powers!”

The clown scoffed, “As if you kids are who you claim to be. Please.” Flexing his muscles, they watched as the paint-clad skin turned dark purple with a few weird pinkish growths spidering across his skin. Though for having Martian shapeshifting, the man really did have poor taste since he was still in the clown suit.

“Ew…I’m never going to complain about my looks again.”

Ignoring Mike’s comment, Robin waved his arm as Superboy began to step forwards, “Stay out of reach. There’s no flu going around. The weakness comes when he makes physical contact. It lets him feed off the powers and abilities of others.”

“I have been a bit of a glutton today,” Parasite sighed. “Chowed down on almost every loser in this troop. But oh my, the piece de resistance was Dawn Danger—or whatever her real name is,” he smirked at her as the others climbed up to join the fight, not realizing they were walking into a monologue. “Thought I’d munch on her trapeze skills. Imagine my surprise when she tasted like Martian Manhunter instead. She made a lovely appetizer. But guess who I want for my entre.” Smirking, the being’s eyes glowed and Conner yelped as he was suddenly yanked forwards by an unseen force. Flying straight into the Parasites open palm. “Mmm. Now that’s the full-bodied Kryptonian flavor I love.”

“Everyone stay whelmed! Subdue, but keep your distance.”

Following orders, Artemis and Roy raised their weapons. Only to be stopped by a pair of red beams shooting from Parastie’s eyes, incinerating their bows.

“You know, I’m not normally one to say this, but I’m sated.” Dropping Superboy, the creature took off into the air. “Hate to eat and run.”

Charging forwards, Robin leapt up, grabbing the edge of the crate Parastie had brought along. Swinging up over to balance on top of it before leaping at the Parasite.

“No hitchhikers!” he hissed, swatting the teen back. falling towards the ground where Roy was quick to catch him as Mike threw a tracker onto the bottom of the mystery case. Quickly pulling the youngest back up, they quickly turned as M’gann knelt beside her boyfriend, helping him back to his feet.

“I’m fine.”

“You’re drained!” Robin countered, “Parasite took more power than you even have. Heat-vision?”

“I have the genetic potential. It must’ve been enough for him.”

“Great.”

Going back down, they quickly made their way to their rooms. They got dressed in their respective uniforms. This way they could give chase the moment the train stopped in Gineva.

“It wasn’t a total waste,” Robin began as they regrouped. Smirking, the boy held up a small flashdrive. “Picked his pocket in the fight. Got this flashdrive, “plugging it into the port on his glove, he quickly hacked through the minimal firewalls protecting the information on it. “Looks like Parasite’s working for Intergang. Everything he’s stolen, they’re all pieces of something. They’re putting together a weapon that generates…black holes!”

“Well fuck.”

“Oh come on!” Roy groaned. “To build that you need a particle accelerator.”

“Like the large Bozon collider in Geneva?” Robin retorted.

The archer froze, “…The circus’s next stop.”

“And he’s got a head start now that he can fly,” Mike growled. “Tracker shows he’s almost half-way there.”

“Sorry.”

“Not your fault. But this thing could wipe out entire cities. We need to hurry.”

“You, Remnant, and I need to hurry,” Red Arrow corrected, grabbing his spare bow off the overhead shelf. “Without powers the others will only hold us back.”

“Hey,” Artemis snapped, holding up a crossbow, “You’re not the only one with a backup bow.”

Whatever fight was brewing was quickly stopped by a loud thud by the door. Prompting all heads to turn to see the massive crater Conner had created in the wall. “My powers are back.”

“What?”

“My powers are still—”

“I guess Kryptonians recover faster than humans or Martians,” he said, sheepishly rubbing his arm.

M’gann shrugged, putting her hands on her hips, “Well, don’t even think about leaving me behind.”

-.-

Geneva, December 12, 00:37CET

“I’m guessing he went that way,” Mike muttered as they finally caught up.

Though, it wasn’t as if his commentary was necessary. It was obvious given the trail of destruction and unconscious guards leading up to the demolished doors.

Without a word, they all quickly ran inside. Superboy only lingering for a moment to no doubt cover their flank. Weaving their way through the halls, they moved through the smaller passages, following Robin’s blueprints down towards the main accelerator. Using the cameras to watch as Parasite stood, working on the final steps of setting up the weapon, having decided to go shirtless in leu of the clown costume he’d previously been wearing—not that it was any form of improvement.

“We need to take him down,” Robin whispered. “Or at least lure him away so we can safely disengage the—”

Whatever the plan was, they didn’t get to finish it before Superboy gave an animalistic roar of rage. Blindly charging through the wall and at Parasite.

The man—creature—thing looked surprised to see them there. But he didn’t appear to be fully opposed to it as he telekinetically lifted Superboy. No doubt planning on draining his powers again. However, this time it appeared the Conner learned from the last incident as the moment he was within range the clone decked the purple people eater across the face. Knocking him several yards back.

“What’s wrong with him?!” Roy hissed, loading his bow as Parasite punched Superboy back.

“Wait!” M’gann said, putting a hand on his shoulder to stop him.

“Why?”

“I have a theory.”

“This isn’t exactly the time for theories!”

“Theoretically,” she continued, ignoring the protests, “if Parasite takes peoples powers. It stands to reason he also takes their weaknesses as well. If parasite had my powers, then he’s going to be weak to fire. What do you think?”

“Pretty big risk to take on a theory.”

“Do you see any other way right now?” Mike hissed.

“Do it.”

Reluctantly, they watched as Conner hit the ground after being thrown into the ceiling, getting into position and waiting for their opening. The Parasite quickly taking advantage of the stunning blow to yank him back into grabbing range. “Oh! What a rush. How’d you do it kid? Even Superman never recharged this fast?” Not bothering to receive an answer, Parasite tossed the clone aside. “Alright Dangers. Come on out. We’ve only got a few minutes before this baby’s done warming up and eats Geneva.”

Smirking, M’gann confidently strode out, putting her hands on her hips. “What do you have against Geneva anyways?”

“Never liked the food. But the menu keeps improving.”

“I’m just appetizer remember?” Letting herself be lifted into the air, she flew towards Parasite. However, once he swung to grab her, the Martian girl ducked, rolling out of the way and kicking his legs out from under him. “Here’s the main course.”

As parasite got up, he was hit in the chest with an arrow, the foam erupting from the tip and rising to cover the bulky frame. Solidifying as it spread.

Parasite, seemed very offended by the attack. “Foam? You think foam can hold me?” Eyes flashing, he yanked Red Arrow off his perch, holding him in what appeared to be a force-choke. “Or stop me from crushing out with just a thought? Combined Martian and Kryptonian powers here.” The foam crack as Parasite jerked, ripping his arm out from the containment.

“But do any of those powers free you before I stop your death machine?” Robin taunted from where he stood typing on the control board.

“This one does,” Parasite hissed, eyes beginning to glow red. Only he didn’t get to fire before Mike came from behind him and kicked the trapped being in the face with the heel of his boot, causing him to lose focus from the burst of pain.

Leaping back, Mike smirked as an arrow hit the side of his containment, releasing thin white mist. The Parasite now too mad to think about the implications of it as his eyes glowed red again. However, unlike last time, when he attempted to fire his heat-vision, the gas ignited and an explosion shook the room.

When the smoke cleared, Parasite stook in the center of the flames, sneering at them as he freed himself from the last of the foam. “So clever. Tricking me into igniting flammable gas. But you forgot,” he panted, “I have a double dose of invulnerability…Fire can’t…touch me.”

“Unless you make a meal out of my powers,” M’gann called, “And get my weaknesses as a side dish.”

The implication of her words seemed to dawn quickly on their opponent as his eyes went impossibly wide. Looking at the flames with newfound fear. “No…No!” Reaching out with a hand, Mike yelped as he was telekinetically yanked in Parasite’s direction. No doubt in a last-ditch effort to potentially use his powers as a way to counteract the new debacle he was facing.

Had Mike been anticipating the attempt, he probably would’ve tried to kick the asshole unconscious already. However, given that he thought the fight had essentially been over, he was wholly unprepared for the attack.

A large hand wrapped around his throat, holding him about the ground. And he grimaced as he could feel his energy being leached from him. But, it didn’t last long before Parasite froze, quickly dropping him before he doubled over coughing loudly as he fell to his hands and knees.

At first, it was because they thought their plan was working. However, that was soon proven wrong by the sight of their opponent vomiting up thick, black ooze. Desperately gasping for air between each convulsion of his stomach.

“What…” Parasite rasped, his whole body shaking, “what the fuck are you?”

Mere seconds later, he passed out, crumpling to the ground and lying in the mysterious goo. The sound of his unfortunate landing echoing loudly over the whir of the powering down collider.

Distantly, Mike could feel the eyes of the others on him. Wondering what the hell just happened and looking to him for an explanation.

The thing was, he didn’t have one. He had no idea what had just happened. There was no telling what it could be. Whether the results of his powers in general or some side effect of the experiments he’d gone through for his whole life.

Either way, they were going to have questions. Questions he didn’t know how to answer without revealing everything. And he didn’t want to do that. But given Roy’s recent campaign against everyone even remotely suspicious no doubt he would want to full explanation.

“We’ll take it from here,” Faraday’s voice rang out, drawing the teen from his thoughts as the Interpol agents arrived, inhibitor collar and fire extinguishers already in hand. “Thanks for the tip by the way. Helps to have the inhibitor collar prepped in advance.”

“Glad to be of service,” Robin grinned, darting up to his side.

Across the room, Roy amazingly let Artemis help him up. “Wow, he deigns to touch the hand of a suspected traitor.”

“Mind open,” he said. “I guess I never really saw you four in the thick of it before. Superboy’s a hothead, but I know I’m not one to talk.”

“No kidding.”

Mike felt Roy give him a mildly annoyed glare, but thankfully it didn’t carry the suspicious weight it had before, “You each could’ve betrayed us here. But you didn’t. I’m sorry I doubted any of you. There is no mole.”

-.-

Gotham, December 14, 17:22EDT

Mike sighed, watching his breath fog in the cold winter air. While he was glad the whole mole fiasco was over, he was more relieved to have made it back in time to go see his old mother’s troop perform. As bittersweet as it had been, he could tell how happy Dick was to be at the circus again. Hopefully being able to go to the recital would have a similar effect for him. He needed it after the past couple days.

The tension on the Team had thankfully begun to die down now that Red had chilled out. He actually wasn’t that bad of a guy when holding a real conversation with him instead of fighting as they used to.

Still, it was there.

And no doubt it would be for a while until they put recent events behind them.

At least they’d been more willing to accept his rather feeble answers as to why the Parasite immediately began vomiting upon consuming his powers. Because even after thinking through it over and over again, he still had no idea as to why that happened.

Presently, his only leading theory was that it did in fact have something to do with the experiments he’d been subjected to. The gunk Parasite coughed up looked suspiciously like the agony stuff mentioned in his father’s journal.

Though he wouldn’t know for certain until Batman finished his tests.

Checking his watch, Mike sighed in relief as he saw he still had a bit before he was expected to meet Henry at the theater. Hopefully that would be enough to get some of his Christmas shopping out of the way.

It was funny, normally he hated the holidays. But now he was actually looking forwards to shopping for them of all things.

Maybe it was because he actually had people to spend them with this year.

Not that he’d ever admit something so stupidly sentimental out loud.

Pulling out his phone, he began looking through the rudimentary list he’d made. He had ideas about what to get everyone, the problem was that he just couldn’t narrow it down. And while he could afford to get them all of it, he did want to leave the others with some options too.

He was getting Dick a Chica plush, just to mess with him. His real gift would be a pair of new spy drones he’d been working on in the shop for a little bit. They had been a pain in the ass to make. But hopefully they’d make their stakeouts easier. He also just finished a painting of him and his family on the trapeze he managed to get from Alfred. It had originally been intended as a gift for Dick Grayson, but now thay he knew they were one and the same, well…dude was just getting extra gifts now.

Artemis was another gift he made himself too. He reworked some metal coiling to create an elastic cord she could put on her bow. Maybe that would keep it from being cut so often. He had actually considered making a new bow entirely, but he figured that could be a gift for another year. At least after seeing how well she took to him offering to make modifications to her gear.

Zatanna was a little harder. He was tempted to get her something magic-related. But for one he didn’t want to get her something she already had. And he also wanted to avoid offending her. So, he hoped she wouldn’t mind a painting he made of her and her dad.

Which meant all he needed to shop for was Conner, Wally, M’gann, Kaldur, and Roy.

M’gann was easy. Anything involving cooking was almost guaranteed to brighten her day. So he’d already been looking at a few nice baking sets of her.

Kaldur was a little harder. Mostly because the Atlantean was pretty private. So he was probably just going to get him a gag gift at this point. Probably a few books about ocean life to mess with him.

Conner and Wally were getting the same thing, a fully equipped toolbox and kit. Conner because he’d seen the other boy curiously watching him do maintenance on the bikes and it seemed like something he was interested in. As for Wally, it was just to get him to stop taking his stuff.

Roy on the other hand…he didn’t know Roy well enough to know what he wanted. And previously he hadn’t liked the guy enough to consider anything more than a knockoff candy bar. Hopefully he wouldn’t be too upset if he got him a gift card instead.

It would probably be best if he got the books and gift cards today. Those would be small enough to carry around until he could drop them off at the car when Effrem dropped Henry off. Plus, they would be the quickest to get too.

Fortunately, it didn’t take him too long to find a bookstore with what he needed. Going inside, he moved through a few sections of books. Grabbing a few ocean encyclopedias along with one color by number book and a single children’s fish book just for funsies. Once he did that, he got Roy’s gift card, opting to put at least a hundred on it. Hopefully that would be enough to cover the cost of everyone else’s gifts too and make it equalish.

Finishing his purchase, Mike smiled to the cashier and wished them a good day. Striding back outside into the cool winter air, checking his watch again. He might have enough time to go get a mint hot chocolate.

However, before he could step in the direction of the café. He couldn’t help but notice something lying in the middle of a nearby alleyway. Pausing in stride, he looked to see something yellow and red lying in the middle of the dirty backway. A teddy bear.

Why would a teddy bear—and a brand new one by the looks of it—be lying in the middle of an alleyway?

Suddenly feeling apprehensive and against all better judgement, Mike strode into the shadows. Stepping out of sight as he approached the fallen object.

As he suspected, the golden bear was indeed brand new. So new it’s tags het yet to be taken off by its owner. However, what made his blood run cold was the sight of blood smearing the fur, making it clump together.

It was still wet. Meaning whoever had bled onto it had been there recently.

“Hello?!” he called out. “Is anyone there?!”

He almost missed it, but his sensitive hearing did in fact pick up the soft, frightened whimpers of a young child. And, without thinking, he ran towards the sound, fearing the worst.

To his relief, when he found the kid, he appeared to be mostly unharmed. The boy had his head buried in his knees. Arms wrapped around them tightly as his small frame shivered in the cold. The blood looked like it was coming from a cut on his arm.

“Hey,” he whispered, setting his stuff down and kneeling down. Hands raised to show he wasn’t a threat. “You ok?”

The kid didn’t look up, but obviously shook his head. “N-no,” he hiccupped. “I was supposed to be with my big brother. B-but we got separated. Daddy said to stay put while he went to look for him, but I got scared and now I’m lost.”

What kind of dumbass would leave one kid alone while the other was lost? In Gotham especially? That was asking for something bad to happen. Poor guy was damn lucky something worse didn’t happen to him before Mike found him.

“That’s alright,” he reassured. “Now, I know you don’t have any reason to trust me. I’m a stranger after all. But, I promise, I’m going to help you. We’ll find your Dad, kiddo. Ok?”

“Ok.”

“Can you tell me your name?”

“G-Gregory.”

“Hi Gregory,” he smiled, “I’m Mike.”

Slowly, the boy looked up. And the teen found himself staring at a face that looked exactly like his little brother’s just before he died. “My big brother’s name is Mikey too.”

“Of course it is,” a new, frighteningly familiar voice spoke, instantly turning the blood in Mike’s veins to ice.

Whipping around, he froze as he realized his exit was blocked by the form of William Afton standing behind him, grinning smugly. However, before he could move to do…anything, Mike grimaced as he felt something stab his leg.

Looking down, he watched as the boy stepped away, leaving an emptied syringe in his thigh. “What?” he whispered in confusion, trying to figure out what exactly just happened. His thoughts beginning to fumble over themselves as the world seemed to grow hazy around him.

“After all, what kind of family reunion would this be if it wasn’t?”

Chapter Text

A/N: Hey everyone! Welcome back! Glad to see that everyone enjoyed the last chapter. I know I enjoyed writing it. And while this chapter is shorter, I still hope this next chapter meets your expectations as well. Remember, I don’t own FNAF or YJ.

/comms/

Telepathy/Flashbacks

Gotham, December 14, 18:00EDT

Henry paced back and forth outside of the theater. Periodically checking his watch. The worry churning in his gut growing stronger with every minute that passed.

Michael was late.

Now, he was well aware his youngest was more than capable of handling himself. He’d seen the teen knock Killer Croc unconscious on the news once.

Still, sometimes he couldn’t help it.

Gotham was a dangerous city. And despite all of Michael’s skills, he was just a kid. A kid who had a bad habit of putting other people’s needs before his own.

Not that wanting to help others was necessarily a bad thing. It was just…Mike needed to put himself first sometimes. To remember that it was ok to be selfish.

Though…Henry supposed it was his job to remind him of that. He was Michael’s parent now.

Which is why his worry continued to grow as he looked at his watch again. Thirty minutes. Mikey was late by almost thirty minutes.

Michael almost never ran late. If he did, then it would be by five to ten minutes at most. Maybe even fifteen on a really bad day. He would never be this late. Especially not for something he’d been looking forwards to as much as this. Not unless there was an emergency. And he would’ve called by now if there was.

Something was wrong.

Pulling out his phone again, Henry called his son for what could possibly be the fifth time. Praying that this would be the time he would actually pick up. That there would be some reasonable explanation as to why he was running behind.

To his relief, this time his call was answered.

However, that relief quickly turned to horror as he quickly realized that it was not his son on the other end of the line.

“Hello Henry.”

Heart stuttering in his chest, Henry felt sick as his blood turned to ice in his veins. Body starting to tremble slightly from what he could only describe as utter terror. He knew that voice. How could he not? It was the voice of a man he had considered to be his best friend since high school. The voice of a monster that had recently haunted his nightmares. “Willaim.”

There was a chuckle on the other end of the line, “It’s good to hear from you again. I’ve missed you.”

“Where’s Michael?”

“So cold, Henry,” Will sighed, actually having the audacity to sound hurt, “Is that any way to greet an old friend?”

Unable to keep the anger from his voice, Henry clenched his phone tighter, “Where is he?!”

The other end of the call was quiet for a few moments, making his heart race with fear that he had pushed too far and William had hung up on him. However, it didn’t last too long before his ex-friend spoke again, this time his voice holding an edge that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up, “And how exactly is that any of your concern?”

Henry almost sputtered at the man’s audacity to ask such a question. “I swear to God, Will. If you so much as touch a hair on his head, I’ll—”

“You’ll what?” the other man sneered, “Protect him like you did Charlie?”

Henry drew a breath, pain shooting across his chest like he’d been shot. Even now, after all these years it still hurt to know that he had failed his daughter. That he had only just been a few rooms away while his baby girl had been slaughtered by his best friend on her own birthday. And to hear it straight from her murder’s mouth…it made that wound feel fresh all over again.

Especially now as he stood there, failing yet another of his older children all over again as that very same monster snatched him from right under his nose.

As if he knew that pain he caused, Willaim sighed, “That was a low blow. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you, Henry.”

“You killed my daughter. And now you’re taking my son. How the hell did you not mean to hurt me?”

“Your son?” Will growled, the gentle demeanor Henry had used to associate with the man vanishing in a heartbeat. “Michael is mine. Just because you lost your child doesn’t mean you get to replace her with what belongs to me.”

Henry knew he should be calling the cops. Hell, he should’ve been calling the League to let them know about what was going on. There were a lot of things Henry knew he should be doing in that moment. However, all he could feel was rage. “I’m not trying to replace my daughter. I’m just trying to replace you.”

The other end of the call was silent. But Henry knew he hadn’t hung up. He could tell by the shaky, deep breath coming from the other end. “So I was right,” he finally hissed, “You were trying to take Michael away from me.”

“You didn’t exactly make it difficult.”

“…Enjoy the time you had, Henry. Because you’ll never see my son again.”

No…No. Dear God no.

“Will, please,” Henry pleaded, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to say that. Please. Just let him go. I promise I won’t tell anyone. Please—”

“Goodbye Henry,” William said, ending the call.

Dropping the phone onto the icy tarmac, he crushed the device under the heel of his boot. Refusing to stop until the device was nothing more than splinters of glass and metal lying in the shallow snow. He would probably have Sportsmaster stomp on it a few more times before take-off to make sure it and whatever trackers it contained were completely obliterated.

Honestly, he wished it didn’t have to be this way. It was only like this because Henry always insisted on making things difficult between them. Always overstepping his bounds or ignoring his ideas and input. Everything would be so much easier if, for once in his life, the man just listened. Maybe then he could finally see that everything William had done had been for their benefit. That he had made hard but necessary sacrifices in order to meet his goals. Sure, he had made mistakes. Nobody was perfect. But they were all easily rectifiable. Especially now that Michael had proven each and every one of his theories correct.

Perhaps when all this was over and he was one of the most powerful people in the world, Henry would come to his senses.

“Daddy? Is everything ok?”

Brushing his hair back, William put on a small smile, turning to meet the unique hazel-gold gaze of his youngest son. The boy was currently bundled in a coat a couple sizes too big, and it was clear he was cold given by his occasional shivers. Still, despite this, the child had scampered over to his side, looking up at him with the same wide, worried gaze he had always had instead of going to the warm interior of the jet waiting for them.

“Everything’s fine honey,” he reassured, kneeling down to pull the large coat tighter around Gregory’s small frame. “But I appreciate the concern. Daddy’s old friend was just being difficult, that’s all.”

Tilting his head slightly, the child’s brows furrowed slightly, eyes momentarily flashing with a familiar anger. “You mean the bad man that tried taking Mikey away? Why do you care about him?”

The response drew a small laugh from the man. He had to admit, even now, it still threw him for a loop over how assertive the young boy could be. Probably because he had been expecting him to be meek and quiet like he had been in his previous life. It had been a surprising change, but one he appreciated nonetheless. “You’ll understand when you’re older,” he murmured, pressing a kiss to his son’s forehead. “But don’t worry, he won’t bother us anymore.” Rising to his feet, he gently nudged the boy towards the plane, “Now go warm up in the jet. I’ll get your brother.”

Seemingly satisfied with the response, Gregory happily turned away. Trotting off to go warm up in the waiting jet. Allowing the man to turn his attention back to the present issues at hand.

Primarily the issue of figuring out how quickly he would be able to remove any trackers the League had on his eldest. There was no doubt that the jammers would keep them inactive for the time being. But that didn’t mean they wouldn’t become an issue.

An issue he wanted to resolve as soon as possible.

Especially since he’d been more than a little cocky when he decided to pick up Henry’s call.

There was no doubt that the man had already called the police in the moment he had ended their conversation. Perhaps even the Justice League as well. And while he had already ensured that their escape was secured. That didn’t mean he wanted to lose his head start. He had made it this far without getting caught for a reason.

And it hadn’t been because he’d made stupid, impulsive decisions like this.

Still, he couldn’t help it. Henry might’ve been one of the few people William Afton actually cared about. But, no matter how fond he was of the blonde, in no way did that excuse his son labeling the other man as Dad in his phone.

Michael, his son, had labeled Henry, William’s closest friend, as his father in his contact list.

It was only natural that he would want to teach the other man his place. To remind him that Michael was his. Michael was his son, his firstborn. Michael belonged to him. Not Henry.

Drawn out his thoughts by a soft groan, Willaim turned his attention back to the cause of his current problems. Crouching down to look back into the car, his brows furrowed as he saw his eldest shifting slightly in the backseat. Weakly moaning as the teen slowly began to regain consciousness.

The sedative had worn off faster than he had anticipated.

But it was no matter. He would be able to correct that issue once they got on the jet. If anything, William could find a way to take advantage of this insignificant setback. “Finally waking up?”

Michael gave another groan, bleary eyes fluttering open. “Wha—”

“Shh,” he murmured, brushing his boy’s hair back soothingly. Hoping to calm him before he could fully wake.

The longer he kept Michael relaxed under the haze of the drug the better. It would help keep the teen sweet and compliant. More willing to obey.

“It’s ok,” William hushed softly, pulling the younger man closer, continuing to massage his scalp to soothe him, “It’s ok, baby. You’re ok.”

The gesture appeared to have worked. As before long, his son was contentedly leaning into the contact. A sleepy smile flickering across his lips.

Eager to take advantage of the boy’s current disorientation and unwitting compliance before the drugs completely wore off and he began fighting him again, William pulled the teen from the car. Draping one of his arms over his shoulder and wrapping one of his own around the teen’s waist. Allowing the boy to lean his weight against him as they began to make their way towards the waiting jet.

“Honestly, Michael,” he chastised, “why is it you can’t make anything easy?”

The teen gave him an unintelligible response. No doubt still too disoriented to form a coherent answer. Poor thing was only probably able to register that he sounded upset with him right now.

And he was. Just a little bit.

His eldest had made things so difficult with his continuous disobedience.

And he was going to punish him for it. But not now. Later.

At the moment, his present goal was to get them out of the city before the Bat caught their scent.

So, of course that would be the exact time Michael had to decide to be difficult. “…No.”

Sighing in exasperation, William adjusted his grip on the still disoriented teen. Gently hushing him as they ascended the steps. “Shh, it’s ok. It’s ok,” he cooed, brushing his son’s hair from his face as he tried to move away from him, “I’m not mad at you, baby. I know you’re just confused right now. Let’s get you on the plane. You’ll feel better once you lay down.”

Michael made another soft noise of protest, but thankfully didn’t fight him any further. Instead allowing himself to be led up the last steps and onto the jet.

“Gregory,” William called, moving over to one of the benches, easing his eldest down onto the cushions, “can you get my special case?”

“You mean the one you told me not to touch under any circumstances?” the boy called back, his head popping up from behind one of the seats.

At least one of his children listened. “Yes, honey. That case. Can you bring it to me?”

The child nodded, scampering off to the back to grab the bag. William could hear the sounds of his youngest son searching for a moment, but before long the kid ran back out. Carrying the large case in his arms. “Here Daddy.”

William reached out to take the case, however he was quickly interrupted by a sharp jerk against his side. “E-Evie?” Michael murmured dazedly, trying to push himself up.

He didn’t get very far before William very nearly shoved his firstborn back down into his lap. “Thank you,” he said curtly, dismissing the boy as he turned his attention back to the teen.

Or he would’ve had Gregory gone back to his seat like he was supposed to. “Dad…is Mikey going to be ok?”

“He’ll be fine. But if I’m going to help him feel better, I can’t be distracted.”

This time, Gregory seemed to understand. Giving him a small nod before trotting off back to his seat. Leaving William alone for some quality time with Michael.

Opening the case, Will reached in and pulled out a vial and an empty syringe. “Just hold on a few moments for me, pet,” he began filling the chamber, “this’ll make you feel much better.”

“No,” the teen mumbled, seeming more awake than he’d been a few moments ago. Now beginning to try to move away from him with actual effort. “No…I don’t want this.”

Damnit. Looks like Michael’s enhanced metabolism was stronger than anticipated.

Quickly pulling the pump all the way out, William merely pushed the end in until some of the drug squirted out of the end. Not bothering to check the dosage before plunging the needle into his son’s neck.

They had supplies prepped in the unlikely event of an overdose anyways.

Almost immediately, Michael’s struggles ceased.

“There you go. That’s it,” he whispered placatingly, playing with a few stray locks of dark unruly hair. Watching as the teen’s eyes began to flutter, desperately trying to fight the sedatives coursing through his veins. “Go back to sleep.” Stroking his son’s cheek, William bent down, gently pressing a kiss to the crown of his head, “Shh. It’s ok. Sleep now. Don’t worry, all you need to do is just be a good boy and obey me. And everything will be alright. I promise, baby.”

To his relief, Michael’s eyes finally rolled back, body going completely lax in his arms as he slipped into unconsciousness once again.

Good. Assuming he doesn’t start to overdose in the next five minutes, then that should be more than enough to keep him sound asleep for the rest of the trip.

William sighed, leaning back to look out the window, casually continuing to run his fingers through the sleeping teen’s hair. A weight feeling like it had been lifted off his chest.

At long last, after months of stalking and planning, Michael was finally here, in his arms. Tucked against his side like he always should’ve been.

Finally, he could finish what he started.

And sure, there was no doubt he would have to retrain his eldest. Undo all the bullshit the League and Henry had been teaching in his absence. No doubt destroying all of his hard work.

Oh well, once William did what he needed to do. They would have all the time in the world.

Chapter Text

A/N: Hey everyone! Welcome back! Glad to see that everyone enjoyed the last chapter. And it’s good to see everyone back. Anyways, remember, I don’t own YJ or FNAF, just this story.

/comms/

Telepathy/Flashbacks

Location: Unknown, December 15, 09:54EDT

His head hurt.

That was the first thing Michael registered as consciousness slowly began to return to him.

The next thing he registered was cold.

It seemed to be coming from everywhere around him. Like ice had been injected into his blood.

“Aw, are you waking up baby?” a deep voice cooed.

Mike’s brows furrowed, trying to find the strength to peel his eyes open. That voice…he knew that voice. He just…couldn’t remember where. God. It hurt too much to think. His head was killing him.

Fingers slowly carded through his hair, momentarily relieving the throbbing pain in his skull. “Shh, I know. I know, pet,” the voice purred again. “Just relax. It’ll all be over soon.”

What would be over soon?

What was going on?

With some effort, Mike began to slowly peel his eyes open. Only to immediately regret it as he found himself looking up into brilliant white light blaring down on him. Wincing in pain, he moved to block the blinding light, however that was prevented by the feeling of cold metal digging into his wrist.

And, suddenly, Mike was wide awake.

Everything around him was blurry as he forcibly ripped his eyes open. Blinking quickly, he tried to get his gaze to focus faster. His eyes flickering around the nearly all-white room in a desperate attempt to get an idea of what was happening.

His first thought was that he’d been sent to the hospital again. However, that thought was quickly tossed out the window as he realized he’d been strapped down. And not in the way medical patients typically were when they needed to be restrained for their own safety.

No. Instead of soft fabric ensnaring his wrists, he could feel almost half of his forearm pinned down by thick, cold metal that left barely any room to move. And those weren’t the only ones either. Now that he was more aware, Mike could feel the near freezing steel holding down other parts of his body. Completely pinning him down to the icy table he was lying on. Effectively immobilizing him entirely beyond any small movements or flinches.

However, he was most aware of the chilled collar ensnaring his throat. The soft rattle of chains echoing in his ears almost every time he tried to make any significant movement of his neck. It almost drowned out the constant hum telling him that it was no ordinary restraint.

One didn’t have to be a genius to realized he was completely and utterly fucked with the addition of the inhibitor collar around his neck.

“Are you back with me, pup?”

Michael’s heart stopped in his chest. And, with bated breath, he slowly turned his head back to his left, stomach churning in dread as he spotted the familiar form of William Afton smiling down at him.

It was then he remembered what happened. That he’d been lured into a trap. Ambushed by a kid wearing his baby brother’s face. Drugged and kidnapped by his serial killer father.

As if entirely oblivious or all too aware of his son’s thoughts, William’s hand continued running through his hair languidly. Occasionally stopping to play with a stray lock. “You cut your hair.” He tucked a bit behind his ear, “Pity. With your hair long you looked more like me.”

His throat felt dry. Too dry to speak without it being painful. However, if he could, Mike probably would’ve spat some stupid remark about that being exactly why he’d cut his hair shorter. It probably would’ve pissed the narcissistic bastard off, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. He had long accepted that he would never do anything right by the man no matter how hard he tried. The only difference was that now he had absolutely no desire to make him happy.

And, it appeared that his change in attitude had not gone unnoticed.

The fingers mockingly carding through his hair suddenly curled, yanking painfully and nearly slamming his head onto the medical table. “Michael, don’t tell me that you’re not happy to see me?”

He didn’t bother to dignify that with an answer. Not that he needed to. There was no doubt that the man already knew the answer anyways.

A fact that was proven the moment pain exploded across his face as William backhanded him.

“Honestly, Michael,” his father sighed, “why must you always make me hurt you?” The hand that had just slapped him gently reached up to cup his face, thumb softly stroking his stinging cheek. “I don’t like hurting you, puppy. But it’s the only way I can get you to listen. I promise I wouldn’t if you would just do what I asked. You understand, right?”

The teen bit back an audible scoff. He heard that line before. He believed that lie before.

Mike would be the first to admit he was rarely the smartest person in the room, but even he wasn’t that stupid. Not anymore at least.

And, clearly, William seemed to reach the same conclusion, as the man’s smile swiftly turned into a scowl. The hand cradling his face shifting to squeeze his jaw painfully, “You understand, right Michael?”

“Fuck you.”

Fury flashed in his father’s eyes just before pain exploded in his head. A large hand covering his mouth and nose, keeping him from breathing as its owner slammed his head into the metal of the medical table. “After everything I’ve done for you, you dare speak to me that way?” the man spat, seeming to press some of his weight on the teen’s face, as if he were trying to press his skull through the steel table. “I did everything for you and your siblings!” he slammed the boy’s head into the metal again, “And you just had to ruin all of it.”

Against his better judgement, but with a bit of satisfaction, Mike managed to bite his attacker’s palm.