I'm putting this out early because I'm going out with my friends in the afternoon to watch The Batman. Enjoy!
Dick's POV
He hopes to live out the rest of his life this way. Opening up his eyes every day to see Percy sleeping peacefully by his side. Dick smiled to himself as he looked on to the beauty lying beside him, he had forgotten what a good night's sleep felt like, but when she returned, everything felt right again. He leaned over, kissing the girl gently on the cheek, and got out of the bed quietly so as to not disturb her.
After a refreshing bath and a change of outfits, Dick sat down at his work desk by the window with his mask on. He had to check in with the Team and see what they had found out about the Light's new Partner. He had to admit it was irresponsible of him to leave the Team behind and let them deal with such a difficult situation, but he had no other choice, Dick could confidently declare to the entire world with no shame or whatsoever that Percy would always come first in his list of priorities unless, of course, the world that both he and the girl live in is about to be destroyed, which in last night's case, isn't that bad (or so he thought).
The holo-screen in front of him reared to life and he made a straight call to the Hall of Justice, where the Team currently resides since the Cave was destroyed. Then a thought popped up in his mind, which made him furrow his brows, turning to look towards the direction of his room. Speaking of the Cave being destroyed...how is he going to tell her about it? And the situation that involves Kaldur, Artemis, and all the others? What would she say? Of course, he is going to tell her the truth about Kaldur's undercover mission and Artemis's faked death, but will she understand what he is planning to do? Wally didn't, he's been having doubts the moment Artemis agreed to his plan...
Before he could dive further into his thoughts, the call he made came through and Mal's face appeared on his screen.
"Morning," Mal greeted, sipping a cup of coffee.
"Hey," Dick responded. "Sorry I had to leave you guys to take care of everything and leave so suddenly, I kinda ran into an emergency..."
"The others get it," Mal responded casually. "But do try not to disappear so suddenly ever again. I know it's the-uh, Bat-way, but sometimes you've got to admit, it's kinda unnerving."
Dick suppressed a smile. "Roger that," He answered lightly.
Mal took another sip from his cup, raising an eyebrow suspiciously at him. "Why do you seem happier today?" the man asked. "Your entire form is...not dark..."
Dick stole a glance towards his bedroom again. "Tell you later," He said with a mysterious smile. "Now, how did the report go? What did you guys find?"
Mal scratched the back of his head nervously. "Yeah...about that..." The Team leader's expression immediately changed. He really left at the wrong time last night.
"Report," He said and Mal straightened his posture.
"Uh, well," The man began. "As of last night, after the Team's successful mission in retrieving Beast Boy, Impulse, Blue Beetle, and Lagoon Boy, along with the abducted teens, the alien ship has moved from their location at the bottom of the sea and into the public's view."
Nightwing's eyes narrowed, his lips pressed into a thin line. He didn't like where this was going. Mal continued on with the bad news. "As you can probably tell, this is bad. They made a public appearance under the flag of peaceful coming before we could even tell the people what they were doing in the dark." Mal typed in a few things and a news report from yesterday popped up on Dick's screen.
"...Reporting today's top story: a small group of extra-terrestrials, the Reach, have arrived at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City. For more on this, we go live..." Dick stopped listening from there. His mind was a brewing storm, this is really not looking good for the heroes. If they were to out the Reach's real intentions now, how many would believe them? The Justice League would be viewed as the "bad guys", but if they don't say anything...then what would happen? What damage would it cause to the rest of the world? Dick stay quiet as he watched on the rest of the news and the appearance of the new aliens. After the video had ended, the two men stayed silent for a really long time, both deep in thought.
Then Mal broke the silence. "Honestly, it could have been worse..." He said. "At least we know now what they are exactly."
Dick nodded grimly, "True, at least we know what we are up against." He said, then tilted his head. "What did Captain Atom say about this?"
"Oh, he's at the United Nations Headquarters right now," Mal responded. "He's there to represent the Justice League in 'welcoming' the Reach."
"Bet he's enjoying that," muttered Dick. "And the abducted teens?"
"At Black Canary's office, figure she wants to talk to each and every one of them and make sure they are okay."
Dick remembered his own encounters with Dinah, after the traumatic experience of watching the entire Team and Percy die under his leadership. That was thankfully only a simulation, but what he is doing right now couldn't have been more real, two of his friends are in deep undercover, one false move and they will all die. Dinah's therapy session was, to be honest, not quite helpful, Dick had to learn to cope with the trauma just as he had done with his parents' death on his own. He sighed and blocked out those negative thoughts.
"Contact me if there are any updates with them." He said finally.
"Roger that," Mal answered just as Dick heard shuffling noises behind him and turned to see.
Percy emerged from the bedroom, yawning as she made her way towards Dick. He couldn't help the smile that rose to his lips as he watched her. Percy didn't bring any extra clothes with her last night so Dick lent her one of his shirts to wear to bed. The shirt was big enough for the girl, the helm reaching her mid-thighs and the collar hung loosely off her shoulders. Percy gave him a tired smile when she saw him.
"I'll be at the Hall as soon as I get my side of the things taken care of," Dick said, turning his attention back to Mal. "Until then, keep the Team safe."
"Roger that," and Dick ended the call.
Percy walked up next to him and leaned down to peck him on the cheek. "Who was that?" she asked. Dick didn't answer right away, instead, he placed his hand on her waist and guided her so she could sit on his lap. He leaned up to capture her lips into a kiss, her fresh ocean scent filling his senses. He could get used to this.
"Who were you talking to?" Percy asked again.
"Mal," Dick answered, burying his face in Percy's neck and breathing in her scent.
"Who?" That question made Dick straighten up again. He forgot that Percy did not know who Mal is and what he does, which also means she doesn't know the majority of the members of the Team. Oh boy, where to begin explaining...
Percy was looking at him with her intense sea-green eyes. "Dick?" she dragged out his name, an eyebrow raised at him.
The former Boy Wonder sighed. "This is going to take a while to explain, Princess,"
Percy crossed her arm in front of her. "Well, I have time," she said. "I have nowhere else to be at the moment." Dick tightened his hold on the girl's waist at this, the mere thought of her leaving again is just unthinkable. He pushed down the thought before it could take over him completely.
"Alright," He said finally. "Let's first start with what happens when you are gone..." It took quite a while that morning, explaining everything that happened in the last two years in great detail to the girl sitting on his lap.
"What happened to Kaldur?" Percy asked suddenly. "You didn't even mention him."
Here it comes, Dick knew there's no way he could avoid this topic, he just hoped that Percy could handle this well. Percy had long noticed his sudden change in mood, she reached her hand up and touched his cheek. Dick reached out his own hand to take her's and held it tightly in his. Here goes nothing...
"Tula, the girl that Kaldur had loved all his life, died on a mission with us," He began heavily, remembering his friend's heartbroken expression when he found out. "It broke his heart and he withdrew from the Team."
"What?" The girl asked quietly, her face full of disbelief.
"Hang in there," Dick said, stopping whatever the girl was about to say next. Dick had no intention of withholding the truth from her. If Kaldur were to get on Percy's bad side...well, the damages would have been great. Dick himself might not be spared either if she were to discover the truth. "He contacted me a few months back, said he found out about his birth father's real identity, and Love? Kaldur's father is Black Manta, and he is closely working with the Light. Kaldur said he's going to use this connection and infiltrate the Light from the inside. So we came up with a plan, to purposely make it seem like Kaldur had betrayed the Team and secure his position within the Manta force."
Percy's face was hard to read at this point, even for Dick. After a long pause, she finally spoke out, "Who else knows about this?"
"Wally and Artemis. And that's all," he answered truthfully. "Artemis had agreed to be part of the plan and just a few days ago...we faked Artemis's death by Kaldur's hands so she could go undercover with him..."
Percy ran a hand through her messy raven hair and heaved out a sigh. Dick looked at her worriedly, unsure of what was going on inside her head.
"Love?" He asked quietly, reaching up a hand to cup her face to make her look at him.
"I'm-I'm fine," she reassured, offering him a forced smile. "It's just, it's just a lot to take in at the moment...What else happened?"
"Well," Dick sighed. "During the last few months, we've also discovered something else..." He told her about Justice League's missing 16 hours, the intergalactic trial, the Kroloteans, the abduction of teens, and of course, the Light's new partner - the Reach, and its 'Black Beetle' which may or may not have some sort of connection to the Blue Beetle she had rescued from the waters yesterday.
"So the weird ship at the bottom of the sea belongs to the "Rich"?" Percy questioned.
"It's "Reach", Love," Dick corrected her patiently.
"Lame name but okay," Percy said absentmindedly, then a thought occurred to her. "How much did the Team change while I was gone? I saw a bunch of new faces yesterday, and honestly, it scared me...and while we are on the topic...how's Alfred? I know you mentioned that the Justice League and Bruce are all in space right now on an intergalactic trial thing, and I know I should have asked about the family yesterday but-"
Dick interrupted her with a kiss on the cheek. "Let's take this slow, shall we?" He said, his tone laced with amusement. "Start with the simple ones: Alfred's doing great. I'll talk about the family later. And yes, the Team has gained many new members over the last few years, and when you are ready, I'll introduce you to them all."
Percy looked a little nervous at this but nodded her head. "So what were you going to say about the family?"
Dick opened his mouth to respond but was suddenly interrupted by a ringing from his desktop. He looked over Percy's shoulder at it and noticed an incoming call on his holo-screen. Percy shifted, trying to get off but Dick held her in place. He reached forward and clicked open the call but turned off his camera. Dick gave Percy a reassuring wink and turned his attention back to the screen again.
"Report," It surprises him that it was Captain Atom's voice that came in instead of Mal's like he was expecting.
"The Team's in trouble," the Captain notified him. "I got a distress call from Black Lightning at the Hall of Justice, but I can't step away from what I'm doing at this minute," Dick sat up straight at this news.
"I'm on it," He reassured him.
"Good, bring whatever help you can get your hands on if it is necessary." the Captain said and ended the call.
Percy looked back and forth between the holographic computer and Dick, "So, I guess you have to go now?"
Dick raised an eyebrow at her. "You kidding? And you are coming as well, I could use your help."
Percy stood up from his lap, "Um, you do realize that I have no working suit, right? I can't go out wearing a suit that looked like it had been tortured in the hands of the dryer."
"Yeah...you're right," Dick sighed, then an idea popped into his head. "Or you could just wear a mask and use your old utility belt for now. I'll handle the suit problem later on."
"I could try," Percy said hesitantly. "But let's hurry, the thing sounds serious..."
"Ahahah," Dick grabbed the girl by the shirt collar and dragged her back to him. "Aren't you forgetting something?" He asked with a smirk.
The sea-green-eyed girl looked confused. "No?" That made the boy laugh and kissed the girl on the cheek.
"As much as I love to see you walk around in my shirt, that is limited only in my house, you are not fighting bad guys in this outfit." Percy blushed heavily as she looked down at what she was still wearing and quickly ran off to change.
At the bedroom door, she turned around to face him. "You need to stop giving people the wrong ideas," She grumbled. "Since when have your thoughts gone that dirty?" And the girl disappeared into the room. Dick only smiled and shook his head.
...
Percy's POV
Honestly, wearing civis to fight crime felt weird. It shouldn't have felt weird, it's just like fighting monsters and going on quests, but unlike those times, the Mist won't be working its magic on her to hide her identity this time.
Percy wore the same outfit she had yesterday and pulled up the black hoodie over her head to hide her dark hair. Dick had lent her an extra mask she could wear to cover up her unique eyes. And as for weapons...Percy would have to improvise and thank the gods, she has had lots of practice. She was hesitant to use her old utility belt, she hadn't touched that thing for two years now...
Dick was waiting for her by the zeta-tube, his eyebrows scrunched together, as his fingers tapped mindlessly at the zeta-tube monitor.
"Something wrong?" Percy asked.
"The Zeta-tube in the Hall of Justice has been shut down," He responded seriously. "I've tried reaching out to the team members inside but no calls are going through. We'll have to zeta to the nearest location outside the Hall."
"Then let's go,"
"Recognized, Nightwing B01, Tidal-Wing B02"
...
The Hall of Justice was being hailed by tank attacks when they arrived, at first, Percy thought the Army was attacking the Hall but when the smoke cleared away she saw what they were really trying to hit - the red pyramid-like forcefield that had blocked out the Hall of Justice from the rest of the world.
They found Black Lightning at the base of the pyramid forcefield, blasting the barrier with all his power, yet the forcefield showed no sign of weakening. Through the barrier, Percy could see that the Hall had been damaged: the glass doors were shattered, the concrete floor was cracked and dented, the giant statues of their mentors at the entrance were destroyed. Then Percy saw a figure standing motionlessly at the entrance of the damaged Hall, Zatanna, taller and more mature than she had last seen her.
"What is going on?" Dick asked Black Lightning.
The hero turned, as if just now noticing their arrival. "Nightwing," Lightning said surprised, then noticed Percy standing beside Dick. "Who is this?"
Dick glanced at Percy then back at the Leaguer, "I'll explain later, but she's here to help. Now, what is going on?"
"Well, I don't know the exact gest, but some alien with a weird robot decided to storm the Hall. I think it's here to challenge earth's mightiest heroes and whatnot."
"Who else is in there?" Dick asked again. "And why is Zatanna standing there motionlessly?"
"No clue," Lightning answered as he began zapping at the barrier again. "But we have to get to the others first, the alien seems to be a tricky one, the others might need our help."
Percy walked closer to the barrier and placed her hands on it. None of their attacks seemed to work on it, it seemed completely impenetrable, yet not completely. Small things, like sound and air, are still going through it just fine and this somehow gave Percy an idea and she hated it.
"I might have a way to get through," She told Dick.
"What?"
Percy turned her attention back to the red forcefield and concentrated. She hasn't done this in quite a while now, it never worked the way she had wanted it to work. Nico had tried to teach her but his power and hers are just too different. Percy focused hard, imagining the ocean waves and the sea breezes when - puff! Suddenly her body disappeared on the spot with a fresh scent of sea breeze. Then she reappeared again, this time inside the barrier, five feet above solid ground.
"Woah!" Percy exclaimed as she free-falls. Luckily her body reacted way before her brain did, tucking itself into a ball and rolling to a stop on the ground. She breathed out a sigh of relief when she realized that she had successfully mist-traveled and managed to keep all her appendages attached this time.
"Per-Tidal!" The sudden cry made the girl turn her head. Dick was banging helplessly at the forcefield, trying to get in.
"I'm fine," Percy reassured him, standing up and dusting herself off. "I'll help out the others as much as I can." then ran off without another word.
Percy followed the trail of wreckage inside and immediately saw the fight. She ducked just in time as a giant chunk of rubble sailed through the air above her head. She saw a purple alien with a robot hovering beside him standing not far from where she was. In the alien's hand, was Captain Marvel, who didn't look much different than Percy had last seen him. The Captain seemed breathless, holding up a hand to stop the alien's any further moment.
"You got stuff, I'll admit it," Billy said. "But I've still got one last trick up my sleeve..." With the last of his strengths, he struggled out of the alien's grasp and flipped over his back to grab the alien in a chock-hold.
"Shazam!" Lighting flashed, zapping both the Captian and the alien. Percy winced at the sudden bright light, after the flash had faded, there stood a young boy and an unfazed alien.
"Oh, man, I really thought that would work." complained young Billy.
"Flagrant foulism," the robot said. "My master has no interest in fighting a child." The alien grabbed Billy by the back of his shirt and made him look at him right in the eyes.
Percy couldn't see what the alien had done, but Billy's eyes suddenly glaze over and he went limped. The alien dropped him down on the floor and step over the boy. It was then that Percy finally got a good look at him, just like she had expected, the alien was hideous, its appearance resembled that of a sea monster her father used to hunt.
"Are there no worthy opponent that dares to take on my master?" the Robot challenged out loud.
Percy snapped out of her shock and balled her fists. Guess this will be her intro. Percy put on a burst of speed and ran towards the alien, aiming a kick straight at the alien's chest, sending him flying back and crashing against the opposite wall of the Hall.
"Am I a good enough opponent?" Percy mocked, standing ready for the alien's next attack.
"Foul!" cried the robot, flying down to check on its master. "Surprise attacks are not honorable!"
The daughter of Poseidon raised an eyebrow at this. "Seems to me that you are uneducated in the arts of combat."
"You do not identify as an alien or a pure earthling," the robot said. "You are not worthy to fight my master!"
That got the girl angry. She has only just met this robot and she already despises him and his master. "First of, gear-head, your master came to us to look for trouble first, and second, no, I'm not a pure earthling, I'm a freaking demigod!"
She charged again, but this time the alien was ready. He intersected her attack and aimed a punch straight at her face. It must have been surprising for the alien to find someone who could hold off his punches. Percy gritted her teeth, using the moment of surprise to flung the alien over her with all her strength.
footsteps sounded behind her and she turn to the noise. What she saw had her confused than shocked. Four people stood behind her, one was shrunken to the size of Percy's pen with wings on her back. She didn't recognize the buff male that the human bee was hovering over and as for the other two-
"Miss M? Superboy?" She asked quietly.
The two stared back at her, equally stunned. "You..."
The alien must have recovered quicker than Percy had given him credit for, before Megan could even finish her sentence the alien slammed into Percy again and sends her crashing through multiple display cases that lined the wall. The demigoddess grunted in pain as she fell to the ground, her body erupting in pain from glass shards and possibly broken ribs. Percy swallowed down the rusty taste in her mouth and stood up again.
Now she sees why surprise attacks weren't honorable in a fight.
Luckily her old teammates were quick to realize that she needs help in this fight. Connor jumped up and latched himself to the back of the alien.
"Stop! You earthlings truly have no concept of honorable single combat?!" The robot cried as SB proceeds to punch the alien repeatedly. That got the purple dude angry, and he flung the clone through the ceiling and into the floor above. Megan and the human-bee right on their tails with the robots shouting protests after them.
"You alright miss?" The buff male from earlier asked. Percy shooked her head to clear her thoughts.
"Yeah, I'm fine," She answered, "But we've got to help out Superboy."
"Who are you exactly?" the male asked again. "And why are you helping us? Also, how did you get in here?"
Percy pursed her lips. "I'll explain later, but I'm with Nightwing and I'm here to help."
"So how are we going to beat that alien?" he asked. Percy sighed, she don't know, but if her past experiences had taught her anything is that the solutions are all around her, she just have to use them correctly.
Percy looked around wildly at the destructions around her when her eyes landed on a manikin, or more specifically, the outfit the manikin was wearing - the Guardian suit. She sizes the male up and down. "I may have a thought," She told him. "How are you on Hand to Hand Combat?"
...
This may be the worst plan ever.
But as long as it works, Percy had no complaints. Is the plan crazy? Yes, since when had it not been? The Robot's own words tipped her off on one thing - the alien was used to single combat. So if she and her old/new teammates work together, they might have a chance of winning this.
When they had gotten to the scene, two more heroes were down, lying motionlessly on the floor. The alien stood over them, ready to make his kill. Megan was also at the scene, but she seemed hesitant to act like she was having an inner battle with herself.
"Enough!" Percy yelled, stopping the alien's further movement. The man whom Percy has come to know as Mal, stepped out from behind her, fully dressed in the Guardian suit. He looked a little nervous, but he put on a brave act.
"What is the meaning of this?" The Robot demanded.
"A fair fight," Percy answered crisply, standing at the ready and Mal followed her example.
"My master-" The Robot began but Percy cut him off.
"Oh please," She scoffed, "Don't start with "you master only fight in single combat" talk again. Is your master a weakling? Too cowardly to take on two people at the same time?"
The alien growled. "Don't you dare say that to my master! He is the most feared champion in the whole galaxy!" The Robot cried.
The demigoddess spread her hand. "Then prove it! Prove that he can take on the both of us and still come out triumph because I doubt it!" She fixed her eyes on the martian girl levitating behind the Robot and the alien, silently telling her to get her teammates out. She got the message.
Mal looked a little panicky at the enraged alien but Percy gave him a reassuring look. They've got this. Really, even the minotaur looks scarier than the alien standing before them.
"So what is the plan?" Mal asked her quietly.
"We hold them off for as long as possible," She answered back and the man snapped his head to look at her, his eyes wide behind his golden helmet.
"Th-That's it?!" He whisper-yelled.
"Sounds lame, but it will work," Percy answered. "I hope..."
Dick's POV
What is that girl thinking?! Jumping into action without a second thought! Does she even know what she's up against?
Questions swarmed inside his head as he paced back and forth in front of the barrier. He had tried all kinds of explosives on the forcefield, emptying his utility belt, yet there the forcefield stand, not a single scratch to be found anywhere.
Dick paid close attention to what was going on inside the barrier. The Hall of Justice had lost its formal glory, its structural damage was severe. Percy and the team need to get out before the entire building collapse on them. Then there is the question of how Percy had gotten through the barrier in the first place...Dick knew for a fact that over the last two years, something dramatic has happened to Percy, her eyes though still brilliant, held a certain sadness and pain behind their bright colors. And the way she carried herself, Dick could tell she's more confident and more sure of herself than ever before, he made a mental note to ask her about this as soon as they are alone. But first, he had to figure out a way to get to her.
Percy's POV
She found out quickly that the alien was not as easy of an opponent as that of the Minotaur. That was her bad, underestimating her enemy. Hopefully, Megan and SB had come up with a backup plan, because she had no idea how long she and Mal are going to last in this fight.
Percy gritted her teeth and managed a reverse hook-kick to the side of the alien's head, knocking him aside and giving herself some breathing room, but that breathing room was short-lived when the alien recovered and brought a punch down on her. Mal leaped over her back and surprised the alien with a punch of his own.
"Utter disgrace!" The Robot shouted. "Surprise attacks are not honorable!"
"You know," Percy said breathlessly. "I'm getting really sick of your blabbering-"
The alien growled, seizing Percy by the neck and holding her up three feet above solid ground. He grinned wickedly, his yellow eyes fixed on her masked ones as the girl struggled against him. Then something made Percy's eyes widen. Between the alien's eyes, on his purple forehead, a third eye snapped open, staring at her through the mask. Overwhelming drowsiness flushed over the girl as she was unable to break away from the stare. Every muscle of her body tells her to relax and stop fighting but her mind tells her to stay awake and snap out of it.
Come on...Come on!
Percy's fists clenched, willing every cell of her body to break free and raising a fist up to punch the third eye. The alien howled in pain and dropped Percy, who doubled over immediately, coughing.
"But-but how is it possible?" the Robot exclaimed in disbelief.
Mal helped up the girl and asked her lowly. "How did you do that?"
"Will-power, I guess," Percy rasped out, a hand over her sore throat. "Now, did the others contact you? Do they have a plan? Did Megan tell you anything?"
"How did you-"
"As I have said before, I'll tell you later. Now did they say anything?"
"She's trying to find a way to wake the others up and Superboy is-" She felt it before she heard it, dragging Mal out of the way as SB broke through from the floor below and crashing straight into the alien, pushing him back. Unfortunately, the alien had learned throughout their time battling and simply pushed back against the clone. Mal tried to help, but his lack of strength made him vulnerable to attacks, after a few successful hits, he two got floored.
Percy tried to stand, but yellow spots danced in her eyes as soon as she tired. The fight had long drained her energy, and breaking free from the alien's stare just doubled that.
The Robot hovered around Mal, who had passed out from the alien's attacks, "Master, this one has no powers! He is merely another distraction along with the girl!" The alien growled, picking up the man with one hand while the other pinned SB down on the floor. "Neutralize him, then take the other two's head!" cried the Robot.
Percy's eyes widened and tries to stand again. She had to stop him before...Suddenly, Mal raised his head and stared directly at the alien's third eye, his mouth opened but out came Zatanna's voice. "Ees Tahw I ees!"
The alien dropped Mal immediately and became motionless. Mal's eyes were glowing gold which unnerved Percy greatly. "Superboy," Zatanna's voice spoke again as Connor stood up slowly. "I've used Megan's link to possess Mal and turn the aline's power back on himself, but I don't know how long it will last..."
"Long enough." The clone answered, aiming a punch right at the motionless alien with all his strength, sending him flying back and crashing through several walls.
"Cheaters!" cried the Robot. "Sneaks! Frauds! You will all suffer for your crimes!"
Percy was getting really tired of hearing this machine talk, with the last of her energies she dragged the robot down and smashed it against the pavement as hard as she could, breaking it into pieces.
Apparently, she had gone too easy on the Robot as its head was still intact, it kept crying: "Poor sportism! Poor sportism!" Then it began to glow...
"Uh-oh..." She whispered, staggering back then sprinting towards the others. "Duck and Cover!"
KA-BOOM!
Dick's POV
Dick sware his heart leaped to his throat when he heard the Hall rumble. He pounded against the barrier as the great structure crumbled before his very eyes.
"No..." he whispered, eyes wide in horror at the sight.
Zatanna, who had been previously standing motionlessly on the steps had long regained her consciousness again and took off into the sky as soon as the Hall began to collapse.
"Zatanna!" He shouted, getting the girl's attention. "Where are they?"
"I don't know!" the Magician said frantically, swooping down and landing on the rubbles and began looking for the Team.
Dick looked around the scene desperately, his hand gripping on the bracelet beneath his suit sleeve. Then his eyes settled on movements dead ahead.
A huge chunk of rubble was tossed aside as Captain Marvel climbed out from underneath it. Zatanna saw him and immediately went up to meet him. "The others," she began quickly. "Are they..." Next to the Captain, the ruins shocked and two figures pushed their way out from underneath the pile of stones, revealing a small group of people inside.
Dick breathed out a sigh of relief when he saw that Percy was still alive. The girl meet his eyes and smiled at him, telling him that she is fine. His eyes then turned to his teammates, they were mostly unharmed, a little dirty from the destruction of the Hall but otherwise still in one piece. Dick was surprised and a little confused when he saw Mal wearing the Guardian suit, he will have to ask for the details later.
...
"Hit it all on three! One, two, three!"
Bright light and energy hit the barrier from both sides, temporarily lighting up the dark sky. When the lights died away, there the red pyramid still stands, perfectly intact.
Captian Atom stood beside Nightwing, his hands smoking from the previous energy blast. He locked eyes with Captain Marvel on the other side of the barrier. "Okay, together." He decided, running forward and aiming a punch right at the barrier as Marvel did the same. The forcefield remained strong.
The heroes on both sides gathered around the forcefield, completely out of ideas. Dick glanced worriedly at Percy and his team. Zatanna scratched at the back of her neck. "Well, that's that," She said. "We've tried all there is to try, even my spells won't work on this thing. We could try digging our way out..."
Percy placed her hand on the barrier. "I doubt that would work," She answered. "This thing goes way below, I could sense the cut-off water pipes down beneath."
Zatanna glanced at her curious. "Who are you?"
The daughter of Poseidon looked conflicted. "Uh..."
Dick stepped forward and placed his hand on the barrier, right where Percy's hand was on the opposite side. "I'll explain later," he said, giving Percy a smile. Zatanna looked at him and the demigoddess and looked away again, an unreadable expression on her face.
"Anyone else has a brilliant idea?" Superboy asked. No one answered. Then Dick heard the unmistakable sound of a helicopter, he turned around and saw a helicopter bearing the symbol of the United Nations coming to a landing right next to the red forcefield pyramid. Two people leaped out from it and Dick's eyes immediately narrowed at the sight of them.
Well, if it isn't Secretary Tseng and the Reach's ambassador.
The Ambassador walked straight up to the pyramid with a smile on his face. "It looks like you all could use a little help," he said casually.
"Um, yes, but-" began Dick, wanting nothing to do with the new alien, but the Ambassador simply ignored him. He took out a small device from his coat pocket and placed it on the barrier. The device beeped, and the barrier around the destroyed hall flicked once and disappeared.
"There," the Ambassador said, pocketing the device. "Problem solved."
Captain Atom had a conflicting look on his face as he turned to the Reach. "Thank you, Ambassador," he forced out.
The alien didn't seem to pick up on his displeasure, and if he did, he simply ignored it. "Such a shame your hall was destroyed," he said, looking at the ruins of what used to be the Justice League's "Headquarters". "I suppose it is fortunate you still have your other headquarters? The one in orbit above us now."
Dick's eyes widened. Oh, no...
The Ambassador seemed to be deep in thought. "What is it that you call that one? The Watchtower?" he questioned innocently.
"What?" asked a bewildered Secretary Tseng, coming up from behind. The alien ambassador seemed to finally have realized his mistakes.
"Oh, I'm sorry," He said, his tone showing no remorse. "Was that fact not for public consumption?"
Percy appeared next to Dick, her lips set into a thin line. "Oh, I'm starting to really, really hate this guy..." she muttered quietly. Dick slipped a hand into hers and gave it a squeeze, silently comforting her. Out of the corner of his eyes, he spotted several reporters with cameras in their hands, recording this whole ordeal.
Oh great, this is going to cause them more problems...And on top of all that, they had just lost their temporary base for the Team...great...well, luckily he had another place where they could use for the moment...
...
Percy's POV
Dick was called away on an emergency meeting with Black Canary and Captain Atom, so he let Percy come back to his place first, knowing that she needed rest after a long day. Percy appreciate that she could really use it, but the apartment felt empty without him, so she decided to wait for him on the couch.
Tonight's ordeal no doubt will bring out many questions as to who Percy is and where had she been in the last two years, she could perhaps come up with a believable lie to tell the Team, but what about Dick? She saw the questions in his eyes, she can't lie to him, but what if the gods found out about this and decided to kill her?
Percy glanced at the night sky through the window, she could see the stars and they are so bright tonight. "Bob says hello..." she muttered quietly. "And hi, Zoe..."
Oh, screw the gods and their warning, Percy finally decided. After dealing with their messes for an entire two years, she's done think about what they will do to her. She had fought two wars for them, it's time they cut her some slack.
Percy just hopes Dick will understand what she's about to tell him...because it's not pretty...
Boy, that took longer than I had anticipated! I believe this is the hardest chapter for me to write, I'm so glad now that this is over. Hope you like this chapter and I'll see you all in the next.
I Purple You~