M O U N T J U S T I C E
October 1, 18:13 EDT
Over an entire week after the Team's almost-disastrous mission to India, Reese's burns were almost completely healed.
Even with their little excursion to Gorilla City a few days ago to stop the Brain, Monsieur Mallah, and Ultra-Humanite, Reese's burns had been healing well.
There was still a ways to go, which was the main reason that Oliver and Bruce hadn't allowed her to start training again.
So, at the moment, Reese, dressed in a dark blue Star City hoodie and black leggings, sat cross-legged on the edge of the cave's training circle, Zira sitting in her lap, as they both watched Robin and Aqualad train instead.
The gorilla that Reese was currently raising had started to settle in well at Mount Justice, since it was practically a given that Ollie wouldn't let his daughter bring the baby ape home.
But, Conner and M'gann cared for Zira whenever Reese wasn't able to be there, and she was currently spending almost all of her free time at the Team's headquarters, to help when and wherever she could.
Though it looked like Zira couldn't be more than a few months old, Reese and Dick had both taken to try and teach her sign language, since they weren't entirely sure yet whether or not Zira was telepathic, like the other apes in her former troop.
As Reese's attention was brought to the side by Captain Marvel, who was eating one of Wally's protein bars, and Zatara, who apparently was the Team's "den mother" this week, Zira took it upon herself to yank on the chain holding the golden arrowhead around Reese's neck, jerking the brunette's head down a few inches.
"No," Reese said gently, prying Zira's fingers off the object and tucking the necklace back under her collar. "We don't do that,"
It had come to Reese's attention in the last ninety-six hours that, much like any small child (or a magpie), Zira was immensely fascinated with anything even remotely shiny, even the ancient magical arrowhead currently hanging from Reese's neck.
Realizing that Dick and Kaldur's sparring session was almost over, she stood up, walking over to the two as Conner, M'gann, and Wolf entered the cave from one of the adjacent hallways.
"You know they're a couple, right?" Dick asked from the corner of his mouth, using his hand to shield half of his face.
"I believe I knew before they did," Aqualad answered simply, and Reese grinned as Zira clenched her hands, before quite literally climbing from Reese's arms into Dick's.
"I'm pretty sure everyone knew before they did," Reese retorted as Zira climbed on top of Dick's head and began messing with his hair. "You know, except for Wally and Artemis,"
The sound of footsteps made the three turn and, speak of the devil, the Team's resident speedster and Reese's "cousin" walked into the cave side-by-side, from yet another hallway.
"But, do we tell them?" Dick asked, before Kaldur gave both him and Reese a slightly disapproving look.
"It is not our place," he said firmly, just as Wally and Artemis reached them.
"Nice hat, Robin," Artemis smirked, tilting her head towards Zira who at this point had managed to mess Dick's hair up enough that it looked like he had just rolled out of bed.
Robin rolled his eyes behind his sunglasses but made no move to take Zira off his head, just as Wally pointed a finger towards the two Leaguers on the other side of the training circle.
"So, if Zatara's our babysitter of the week," the redhead began, before turning to point at Captain Marvel. "Why is he still here? And why is he eating my snacks?"
Before anyone could give an answer to Wally's whining, the Zeta tube turned on, alerting them to the arrival of someone else.
Recognized Batman 0-2
The Dark Knight hadn't even fully materialized before he was speaking, a gruff edge to his voice that Reese had heard multiple times before.
"Computer, National News," he said shortly, before a holoscreen appeared, showcasing Cat Grant reporting on...something.
"The initial attack was short-lived..." the blonde woman began, as the holo-screen changed to show a video of what looked to be giant plants attacking Metropolis. "But Metropolis was only granted a short reprieve. And despite the intervention of Superman and the Justice League, there seems to be no end in sight,"
"Should we get out there?" Dick spoke up as Batman paused the newscast before turning around, his jaw set.
"No," he answered simply. "The League will soon have the situation under control, that's not why I'm here. According to your intel," Batman continued. "Sportsmaster supplied Cadmus' Blockbuster formula to Kobra,"
"Who combined it with Bane's Venom to create Kobra Venom," Wally added, before Dick piggybacked off his friend's observation.
"Which the Brain used to create his animal army," he said.
"And upgrade Wolf," Conner scratched underneath the white wolf's massive chin.
"Along with Solovar's gorilla troop in Bwunda," Reese added, taking Zira off of Dick's head and allowing the Boy Wonder to finally fix his hair.
"The Brain also used inhibitor collars," M'gann continued. "Like the ones at Belle Reve Penintentiary,"
"Batman," Artemis said finally, her voice sounding worried. "Is it possible that plant thingy's on Kobra Venom too?"
"I had Green Lantern run a spot analysis," Batman answered, bringing up a holo-image that showcased spiky balls, which Reese could only assume were Kobra Venom molecules. "The vine's cellulose does contain trace amounts of a Kobra Venom variant,"
"These cannot be coincidences," Aqualad said firmly, and Reese was inclined to agree, as Dick began typing on a holo-keyboard. "Unrelated criminals cooperating with one another world-wide..."
"Exactly," Batman said simply, his cowl lenses narrowing. "It's now clear our enemies have formed some kind of...Secret Society of Supervillains. The attack on Metropolis is only the beginning,"
"Got that right," Dick muttered, glancing up from the holo-keyboard as four more screens appeared. "Plant creatures have sprouted in Gotham City, Paris, Star City, Taipei--"
Before he could continue, all of the holo-screens turned to static, and involuntarily, Reese gasped. Dick's fingers had already begun to fly across the keyboard again, trying to get the newsfeeds back up, but it didn't look like it was working.
"Dude..." Wally muttered as he stared at the static, but Dick only grunted in frustration.
"It's not me!" he exclaimed. "Someone's cutting into the satellite signal. All satellite signals!"
Suddenly, the static was gone, but instead of the newsfeeds returning to the screens, it was something else. Someone else.
Reese gulped as she recognized the villain wearing a purple suit, the paper-white skin, the dark green hair and wide, red-lipped and menacing smile.
Joker.
Silverbird had never interacted with the Clown Prince of Crime herself, but she had heard enough about him from Robin and Batman that she knew she never wanted to.
Joker lightly rapped his knuckles against the lens of whatever camera he was using to broadcast, as if seeing if it was actually recording, before he finally stepped back.
"Ladies and Gentlemen," the psychotic clown began. "We interrupt your regularly scheduled mayhem to bring you this important announcement," Joker took out a switchblade and spun it around for a moment before he continued, turning the camera to the side. "From the Injustice League,"
Despite the grave situation, Reese found herself rolling her eyes at the wholly unoriginal name. Then, she recognized who else the Joker had gathered to be in his new League.
"We," Count Vertigo began, his heavy Vlatavan accent making him almost hard to understand. "are responsible for the attacks on your cities. 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--"
Before Vertigo could finish his threat, the camera panned back to Joker, and Reese subconsciously shivered with just how gleeful he looked at the chaos he was causing.
"The more we get to have our...jollies!"
With that, the screens turned back to static, as Batman tapped his commlink.
"Roger that, Aquaman," he began. "The UN will prepare the ransom as a fallback. But it won't come to that,"
Quickly, Dick reminded the footage from Joker's "broadcast", pausing it on a still that showed the six other members of this new Injustice League, and then he began to name names.
"Count Vertigo, the Joker, Poison Ivy, Ultra-Humanite, Atomic Skull, Black Adam, Wotan?!"
"Those are seven heavy hitters," Reese murmured, glancing towards Dick. "They're probably behind almost everyone we've faced so far,"
"There's your secret society," Wally muttered morosely, as Artemis glanced over towards the four of them.
"Not so secret anymore," she added, sounding almost sarcastic as Kaldur glanced up.
"Perhaps after India and Bwunda," he began. "They realized we would deduce the truth and saw no point in hiding any longer,"
"Yeah!" Wally exclaimed suddenly, pumping a fist in the air. "That was their mistake. Right now, I say we go kick some plant creature butt!"
"The Justice League will handle the plants," Batman said simply. "I have a different job for this team,"
Reese heard Wally groan in disappointment, before wincing in pain as Artemis promptly slugged him in the arm.
"With the plants attacking so many locations simultaneously," Batman continued, ignoring Wally's mini outburst. "There must be a central control system. Your mission is to destroy it,"
As she processed what it was exactly that Batman was asking, or rather, telling them to do, Reese's mouth dropped open. This was crazy.
Zatara, apparently, shared her sentiment.
"You realize what you're really asking them to do?" the Italian man asked, walking up to stand beside Batman, whose expression didn't change.
"They're ready," he answered simply, and Reese internally grinned. Wally, on the other hand, was more than a little confused.
"Ready?" the speedster echoed. "Ready for what?" Artemis slugged him again, and Wally rubbed the spot where the blonde had hit him. "Ow! Will you cut that--"
"Hello, Wally!" Artemis interrupted. "If the big guns are fighting plants, who do you think we'll be fighting?"
"I don't know!" Wally retorted. "I guess we'll--" he was cut off again as Artemis jabbed her finger towards the holo-screens, where the paused video showcasing the members of the Injustice League was still visible. "Oh..."
Beside the bickering pair, Reese rolled her eyes as Zira shimmied down her leg, landing on the floor and beginning to pull at the laces of Dick's shoe, as Zatara turned back towards Batman.
"Well, Batman," the magician began. "I trust you're correct,"
"I trust you can locate the enemy?" the Dark Knight asked, and Zatara gave a small nod.
"Indeed," he answered simply. "Wotan's involvement suggests sorcery is part of how the plants are controlled. Robin," Zatara glanced towards Dick. "If you could provide a holo-map,"
A massive blue globe appeared between the Team, Batman, and Zatara, before Zatara raised his hands.
"I'll search for signs of concentrated sorcerous activity," he said, before speaking in something Reese was only able to translate as English, but backwards. "Etacol retnecipe fo yrecros!"
A small red arrow appeared on the globe, hovering on the southern United States' coast, just above the Gulf of Mexico.
"There," Zatara said. "That is where you will find the Injustice League's central control system,"
"Coordinates locked in," Dick said simply. "The Louisiana Bayou,"
"We are on our way," Aqualad added.
B A Y O U B A R T H O L O M E W
October 1, 18:52 CDT
At this point, all seven of them were in the Bioship, flying over a Louisiana swamp and making the last preparations to any equipment they might use in the firefight.
Kid Flash was eating a banana.
"What's in the duffel?" the speedster spoke up, gesturing with his snack, and subconsciously, Silverbird glanced down at the dark bag sitting by her feet.
She glanced over at Aqualad, who only stared at Reese with an unreadable expression on his face before Silverbird turned back to Wally.
"Plan B," she answered simply, just as a massive wave of dizziness made Reese press her hand to the side of her head.
From behind her, she could hear M'gann experiencing the same thing.
"Pretty bird, you okay?" Dick's voice was quiet, but all Reese could do was shake her head as she felt Robin's gloved hand on her knee, trying to silently will the dizziness to go away as Conner asked the same thing of M'gann.
"Ugh," Miss Martian groaned, glancing over at Superboy wearily. "Dizzy,"
"Martians get airsick?" Robin asked, glancing away from Silverbird momentarily to look at M'gann.
"She does look a bit greener than usual," KF observed, but M'gann only shook her head.
"Not me," she insisted. "Her,"
"I feel fine," Artemis added, before glancing at the brunette still hunched over at the front of the Bioship, Robin staring at her, looking a bit helpless. "Reese?"
But, all Silverbird could do was shake her head frantically, hands clamped on either side of her head, the headache worsening by the moment.
"Something's wrong," Wally said gravely, staring at Reese, and Dick glared at the redhead over his shoulder.
"Don't you think I know that?" he snapped sharply, frustration and worry lacing every word and causing Wally to jerk back in his chair.
He had an inkling of what Reese was going through, the headaches they had both gotten from Grodd's psychic link in Bwunda was evidence enough of that, but this was...different.
This was worse.
"It's Bioship," M'gann grunted finally as Robin gently took Silverbird's hands in his, rubbing his thumbs over the backs of her hands, trying to bring the girl some sense of comfort. "She's trying to shield us, but--"
Whatever Miss M had been about to say was cut off as the Bioship spun around in the air, before everyone inside felt a sharp jolt, and M'gann lost control of it, sending them all tumbling through the air like a baseball someone had thrown with the strength of Superman.
Finally, they were jerked to a stop as the Bioship landed in the water. But, it didn't seem like things were going to go their way, because just as Reese sat up again, her eyes looking a little bit clearer than they had been thirty seconds ago, giant thorny vines exploded out of the water, wrapping around the Bioship and holding it in place.
Above M'gann's head, Reese was able to see a jagged hole appearing in the top of the Martian aircraft, along with the rugged face of Black Adam as he tore into it.
"Ngh," M'gann groaned, hands clamped around her head. "He's hurting her,"
With that, Conner leaped up from his seat, landing a solid punch to Black Adam's face and knocking the villain away.
But, with Black Adam gone, the Bioship began to sink, and the hole he had torn into the top suddenly began to flood with water.
"No," Silverbird heard Artemis mutter as Reese took the small rebreather handed to her by Dick. "No way am I drowning almost three missions in a row,"
Reese then dunked her head underneath the water, so she didn't hear or see what happened after that.
It wasn't that Silverbird completely hated being submerged underwater. She was a pretty good swimmer, but the way all her senses were dimmed and muffled underwater was a bit disconcerting.
As it were, in order to stop herself from floating away as she waited for M'gann to open a hatch, Reese grabbed onto a chair. Or at least, she tried to.
She accidentally grabbed Dick's hand instead.
But, instead of pulling away, Robin just glanced at her over his shoulder, smiled around his rebreather, and grabbed a chair with his free hand, keeping both of them relatively anchored.
Finally, M'gann, now with gills, swam down to the floor of the Bioship, where she then open a much cleaner-edged hole than what Black Adam had ripped open.
'Out,' Kaldur said suddenly over the now-established psychic link. 'Everyone out,'
Nobody wasted anytime in arguing, and then the seven of them, plus Wolf, swam around the edge of the riverbank in order to dodge the vines.
As soon as she was out of the water, Silverbird handed her rebreather back to Robin and sucked in a deep breath, though she was careful to keep quiet lest she alert the entire Injustice League to their location.
Then, Reese bent at the waist, pulling her hood down so it hung around her shoulders and began to wring out her hair.
Though it was naturally stick-straight, the dark brown strands with the metallic silver streak were almost always in a thick fishtail braid, and as such, had begun to leave Reese's hair wavy whenever she undid it.
That, and it always curled when she got it wet. And because Reese's hair was so long, drying her hair was like wringing out a soaked bath towel.
Walking forward a few steps, and through the cypress trees, Silverbird was able to see the Bioship being pulled beneath the surface of the water by Poison Ivy's vines.
"She's in shock," M'gann said quietly, sounding a little bit shocked herself. "She'll need time to recover,"
Before any of them were really able to recover from their impromptu dip in the bayou, the dizziness that had attacked Silverbird and Miss Martian suddenly came back full-force, though this time, it affected everybody.
As they were all thrown to the ground, Reese was able to see the royal garb of one Count Vertigo standing in front of the fallen forms of Artemis and Kid Flash, just as Wally, came up onto his hands and knees.
"Vertigo," she was able to hear the redhead say, and an idea began to take root in Reese's mind.
Honestly, she wasn't even entirely sure if it would work, but it was better than nothing.
"Count Vertigo to you, peasant," the man sneered, just as Reese lurched up, without a word to anyone, and met the Count's own "power" with a sonic scream of her own that hit Vertigo's waves of dizziness with a force that blew everyone back a few feet.
In the momentary lull, Conner leaped up again, but was thrown through the trees by a punch from Black Adam.
Again, taking opportunity from Count Vertigo's distraction, Aqualad used his water-bearers to bring some of the water up from the bayou's river and using it to, quite literally, wash Vertigo away.
'Robin, Silverbird, Miss Martian,' Kaldur began as Reese stopped screaming, now that Vertigo was somewhere back in the bushes. 'Disappear. We will keep them busy. You three, fulfill the mission objective.'
As Kaldur was punched away by Black Adam, Reese and Dick both took that as their cue to split, to slip through the tree towards where the Injustice League's headquarters was bound to be, and though she couldn't see her, Silverbird assumed Miss Martian was following them.
➸➸➸
'That was pretty cool,' Robin said softly through the psychic link after they had been walking through the bayou for a few minutes. 'You know, what you did with your Canary Cry and Vertigo. How'd you know that would work?'
Reese felt her face flush, and she pulled up her hood again so Dick wouldn't be able to see her face.
She didn't know what it was, or rather, she wasn't ready to admit what it was, that always made her blush when the Boy Wonder complimented her.
'Wishful thinking?' Silverbird said finally, shrugging a bit, before turning back around. A few more minutes, and then M'gann finally spoke up.
'I've lost contact with Aqualad and the others,' M'gann began. 'Should we-'
'Sorry, that's not the gig,' Robin cut her off, before pulling back a few branches. 'This is. The Injustice League's central control system,'
Through the trees, Reese was able to see a massive building that almost looked like an evil version of the Hall of Justice in the center of a clearing. From the faceted roof of the building rose a massive plant, that had to be the antenna controlling the rest of the plant creatures across the globe.
Dick agreed when Reese said as much through the psychic link, but the two of them and Miss Martian were so focused on studying the building in front of them that Silverbird wasn't able to catch the sound of Poison Ivy standing behind them until it was too late.
"Well, hello..." the red-haired villainess crooned, as vines erupted out of the ground, wrapping around Robin, Silverbird, and M'gann up in the span of two seconds and holding them up higher in the air.
As a vine wrapped around Reese's mouth like a gag, stopping her from screaming, her eyes widened as Ultra-Humanite jumped down to join Ivy on the ground, a menacing looking gun held by the gorilla who used to be called Tolifhar.
"And goodbye..." Poison Ivy continued. But, before Humanite was able to shoot the three of them, Silverbird saw M'gann's eyes glow green, and the trajectory was abruptly changed.
As Ultra-Humanite pulled the trigger, the blast was sent through the vines holding Silverbird and her friends, rather than their heads, and the three were dropped to the ground.
As soon as they were free, Dick and Reese bolted, though as they ran, Silverbird was able to hear Poison Ivy's voice from behind them.
"Sorry, Boy Wonder, Little Canary," she began, and vines began to raise out of the water again. "I'm putting an end to your little reconnaissance mission,"
Reese was really starting to hate plants.
Tree roots and vines started to join up to try and impale her and Robin, and the two even had to go so far as to slide across one of them in order to get away.
After vaulting off a pair of trees after a root destroyed the branch she'd been swinging on, Silverbird landed in the muddy bayou river water again, only to be tackled to the side by Robin a split-second before Reese would've gotten impaled against another tree trunk.
"Aren't you supposed to be the one who's hyper-aware of her surroundings at all times?" Dick exclaimed aloud as they both slid across another tree root in time to dodge another flying vine.
"Well, sorry I was trying not to die!" Reese retorted as the two jumped to another root as the one they had previously been on was destroyed, turning into splinters.
Since Kaldur and the others were nowhere to be found, it looked like they were getting closer and closer to needing Plan B, and Reese really didn't want to have to use it.
Silverbird suddenly felt the root she and Robin had been standing on explode, and they were both thrown through the air, landing heavily on the ground.
Reese and Dick had both landed on their stomachs, and when Reese brought her head up, it was to find icky brown mud soaking the entire front of her costume. Great.
She heard Robin cough from beside her, apparently he had swallowed some river water (gross), just as a cluster of razor-sharp vines appeared in front of them.
But, before they were able to attack, the vines exploded, and a camouflaged M'gann appeared in front of the two younger birds.
'Silverbird, Robin,' Miss Martian began. 'She's made contact,'
'Artemis?' Reese asked.
'No,' M'gann answered, and Reese looked up in time to see a golden cage fly above the clearing where she, Dick, and M'gann were, the cage holding the rest of the Team, and being carried by Wotan and Black Adam, along with Count Vertigo.
The Bioship suddenly flew down from higher in the sky, hitting Wotan in the back and pausing the sorcerer's long enough that the cage disappeared completely, dropping everyone to the ground.
Then, as the others took on the Injustice League, Robin, Silverbird, and Miss Martian headed towards the massive beanstalk-like plant on top of the Injustice League's headquarters.
Reese hadn't seen Joker or Atomic Skull yet, which was a bit concerning, but she had bigger things to worry about at the moment.
For example, putting some of Dick's explosive wing-dings all over the antenna-plant. By the time Poison Ivy noticed, it was too late, and the devices exploded, coating the plant in flames and making it fall apart.
As Ivy snarled at the three standing on the roof of the building, Robin crossed his arms and said a single word as the beanstalk-like plant fell around them.
"Timber,"
Ivy yelled out in rage, making more thorny vines appear from around her, but M'gann simply used her telekinesis to destroy the plants before they reached her, Robin, and Silverbird.
But, Miss Martian was suddenly knocked away by a yellow-green energy blast that made Reese and Dick duck before they were hit too.
Well, looks like Joker and Atomic Skull finally decided to join the party.
"Children?" Joker sneered as Robin and Silverbird ran toa void another of Atomic Skull's energy beams. "Children foiled our plans? Inconceivable! Unacceptable! Retributionable! That last one might not be a word," the maniacal clown added after a moment. "So sue me!"
"Kill them!" Count Vertigo sneered as Reese helped M'gann stand. "Kill them all,"
Thus, the Team was entered into another battle, but as Robin threw some of his wing-dings, and Silverbird shot another arrow towards Wotan, the sorcerer rose up into the air.
"Enough!" he called out, the smoke around him dissipating to reveal an orange shield-like bubble encasing him.
Then, Wotan held out his hands, and seven separate bolts of lightning hit the members of the Team one by one. Even Wolf was knocked from Ultra-Humanite.
When she was hit by the bolt of electricity, Silverbird flew backward, landing on her back next to Miss Martian and Aqualad.
Somehow, likely due to his Atlantean physiology and the glowing eel tattoos along his arms, Kaldur was able to sustain the lightning attacking him while staying relatively unharmed, holding up both hands and blocking Reese's and M'gann bolts as well.
"Plan B," Aqualad grunted as he struggled under the barrage of voltage coursing through his system, and Silverbird sighed heavily, brushing away the hair that was hanging in front of her eyes.
M'gann's eyes glowed green again, before the camouflaged Bioship flew down from where it had been hovering in the sky above the fight.
A hole opened in the bottom, and the duffel bag Wally had questioned Reese about earlier fell through.
The brunette caught it easily, and crouched down, shielded by Kaldur, who was still redirecting the lightning, and unzipped the duffel, revealing the contents inside.
Reese picked up the golden helmet, and the shock of seeing the ancient object was enough to stop Wotan from using the lightning anymore.
"The Helmet of Fate," he breathed out, and Wally spun around.
"No, Silverbird! Don't!" As Kid Flash was knocked away by Black Adam again, his shout had caught Robin's attention, and Dick turned, eyes wide, in time to see Reese put the Helmet on her head.
There was a flash of golden light, and in her place hovered a smaller, more feminine version of the Dr. Fate from when Kent Nelson had been Nabu's host, the only indication at all that Reese had even been there in the first place was her hair, blowing from underneath the Helmet in a non-existent wind.
And the golden arrowhead hanging on a chain that had previously been around Reese's neck now hung in full view, the object glowing a soft gold.
"Wotan!" Fate cried out, flying to hover across from Wotan in the air, the voice a weird mixture of Reese's own and Nabu's deeper undertone. "You are mine!"
Wotan shot a blast of orange energy, but Fate retaliated with a blast of gold from the amulet holding Nabu's cloak together. The gold easily overpowered the orange, and Wotan was thrown back into the roof of the Injustice's League's headquarters.
When it dissipated, Wotan was trapped in thick, golden chains.
Robin, meanwhile, was still reeling from the fact that Reese had actually put on the Helmet of Fate, and was trying really hard to not lose it, that he didn't notice Joker coming up behind him until the clown spoke.
"Wonder Boy," Joker began, in a poor imitation of Fate's voice. "You are mine!"
Joker cackled again before swiping his two switchblades at Robin, prompting Dick to backflip away, lest he want to get cut up into little Grayson pieces.
"Always wanted to carve this bird," Joker sneered, before running forward again.
Wotan, meanwhile, managed to break free of Fate's chains, sending them flying back, but Nabu simply made a golden ankh appear in the air, and the chains disappeared into it.
"Wotan has prepared for your return, Doctor," the dark sorcerer, before shouting again, sending another bolt of orange energy flying towards Dr. Fate.
Nabu relied on the golden ankh to absorb the energy like it did the chains, but when the ankh shattered, Fate was sent tumbling back.
Down on the ground, as he dodged the Joker's switchblades, Dick felt a jolt in his chest at the same time Fate was hit, and as he ducked behind a tree, Robin let out a breath.
At least that meant he and Reese were still connected. You know, somehow. He still wasn't entirely sure how these golden arrowheads worked.
Fate recovered quickly, and began to dodge the consecutive blasts that Wotan shot through the air, finally stopping to hover in the air above the dark sorcerer.
"Surrender sorcerer!" Fate shouted, the voice still a weird mixture of Reese's and Nabu's. "You cannot hope to defeat a Lord of Order!"
Fate shot another blast of golden energy towards Wotan, and the magic engulfed the dark sorcerer, but instead of being defeated, Wotan simply disappeared, reappearing behind Dr. Fate and catching the other magic user off-guard.
Though Nabu was currently inhabiting her body, and that was weird on so many levels, Reese was able to feel it when Wotan shot Dr. Fate from behind, and could she just say...ow?
"I can defeat you, Fate!" Wotan shouted, orange balls of dark magic engulfing his hands. "And I will!"
But, before Wotan could attack again, there was a sharp cry of "Ekirts natoW nwod!", and Wotan flew backward as Zatara and what looked to be the entire Justice League appeared from the sky.
"Not tonight Wotan," the magician answered simply.
As Robin leaped away from another strike by Joker's switchblades, a batarang suddenly flew through the air, hitting one of the knives with a sharp 'clang' and knocking the clown's blade away.
Looking up to the sky, Dick sighed. He didn't think he had ever been as glad to see Batman as this very moment.
One by one, as the powerful superheroes landed in the bayou, the members of the Injustice League were rounded up, before finally, Batman spoke.
"It's over," the Dark Knight said simply, and Count Vertigo, Poison Ivy, Ultra-Humanite, Atomic Skull, Wotan, and Black Adam all raised their hands up in surrender.
"There will be another day," Vertigo threatened calmly, before Joker, the only member of the Injustice League to not have surrendered (though really, no one expected him to), let out a dry laugh.
"Another day?" he echoed loudly, fists clenched at his sides. "Another day? There won't be another day! Not for any of us!"
Joker cackled maniacally again, before waving his gloved hands in the air. As he did so, multiple vines erupted from the water, the buds on them popping open, releasing a noxious green-colored gas.
"Joker Venom spores!" Batman shouted suddenly. "Don't breathe!" Though he then knocked out the Joker with one punch, Bruce wasn't able to stop the spores entirely.
But, before the Joker Venom was able to infect any of the gathered heroes or villains and kill them with laughter, Silverbird, still costumed as Dr. Fate, and with the spirit of Nabu still inhabiting Reese's body, rose up above them all.
"Fear not!" she shouted, causing another glowing gold ankh to appear in the air, the symbol effectively vacuuming up the cloud of spores. "Fate has intervened!"
As soon as everyone was safe, at least for the moment, and as Dr. Fate landed lightly on the ground, Robin finally lost his temper, stalking up to Aqualad and shoving against Kaldur's chest with a force that made his leader stumble back a few steps.
"What were you thinking?" Dick shouted, the pure desperation in his voice making even Superboy wince. "How could you let her put on the Helmet?"
"It was her decision, Robin," Aqualad answered calmly as he pulled the Boy Wonder's hands down, the Atlantean's pale green eyes only giving a hint at the pain he was really feeling. "You know as well as I do that when Silverbird puts her mind to something, no one can change it,"
"That doesn't make it any better!" he retorted. "You should have at least tried to stop her!"
"Would you have rather I put on the Helmet instead?" Kaldur asked, and Dick threw his arms out to the side.
"Yes!" he shouted, causing Aqualad's eyes to widen the tiniest bit, his jaw clenching.
Dick was angry, god, he was so angry, but that didn't mean he wasn't being logical. In his sense of the word anyway.
He would have rathered Kaldur put on the Helmet of Fate instead, to be inhabited by Nabu instead, if only that meant that Reese would still be here.
"It doesn't matter if Aqualad put on the helmet or not," Wally added as he walked slowly up to the fuming Robin and stoic Aqualad, right arm wrapped in a sling made from a shred of Vertigo's cloak. "Silverbird's still stuck in there, and Nabu will never release her now. Reese will be trapped inside Dr. Fate forever,"
Thanks, Wally. Dick could've gone the rest of his life without hearing that.
Reaching beneath the collar of his costume, Robin closed his fingers around the golden arrowhead that Silverbird had given him in August, the gift from Kent Nelson.
Dick hadn't taken it off since Reese had given it to him, not once. But today...today he did.
Robin felt the chain snap as he ripped the arrowhead from around his neck, flinging the necklace until it landed with a small splash at Dr. Fate's feet.
"Well," he began slowly, meeting the brown eyes of Reese from where they showed behind the Helmet, only these held no sparkle, no emotion, no indication that Reese was even the one wearing the Helmet of Fate at all. "Guess I won't be needing this anymore,"
➸➸➸
Meanwhile, inside the weird little pocket dimension that was the interior of the Helmet of Fate, Reese stood inside a small circle of light surrounded by shadow with Kent Nelson.
"That wasn't a very smart decision, young lady," Kent said sternly, his cane clasped between both hands. "Putting on the Helmet. I'm sure your friend told you what happened when he did it?"
Wally had. At this point, Reese wasn't sure if the redhead still believed that, when he had put on the Helmet of Fate, his brainwaves had been rerouted to make him believe was Dr. Fate, but he knew enough that he had explained what had happened when Klarion had been defeated.
How Nabu almost hadn't let him go.
"Would you believe me if I said I did it partly so I could talk to you?" she asked, glancing down at her boots and feeling her face burn.
Kent didn't answer, and when Reese glanced up again, it was to see the old man staring down at her, one eybrow raised and a curious twinkle in his eye.
"How so?" Kent asked, and Reese took a deep breath before continuing.
She reached beneath her jacket and pulled the golden arrowhead necklace out from where it had been hanging above her solar plexus, letting Kent see the ancient charm as Reese held it up to the light.
"These charms," she began slowly. "They've been acting...weird. Like, I don't know how to explain it,"
Reese knew she probably sounded as if she'd lost her mind, but Kent's face turned understanding, and he gave her a small smile.
"Ah," he mused quietly, tapping the arrowhead gently with the pad of his index finger. "Before I stopped wearing the Helmet, when I first met Inza, we used these charms. Nabu, back when he was less of a wet blanket, said it helped to keep his hosts grounded. Helped them distinguish between what was in the ethereal plane, and what was physical. The Arrowheads of Apollo have been around for millennia, and, over time, built up their own special sort of protection,"
Reese raised an eyebrow, and figured she must have looked a little confused, because Kent chuckled a bit before continuing.
"When one of you is in danger, the arrowheads will use their magic to send a jolt through the other recipient's mind," Kent explained, and Reese tilted her head to the side.
"So they're sentient?" she asked, now a little bit freaked that she and Dick had had little creatures hanging around their necks for the last month and a half, but Kent only laughed again.
"All magic is living one way or another," he explained vaguely. "The Arrowheads are just more in tune with each other. Along with building a protective shield around your respective minds. It takes a powerful telepath to break through one of those,"
Reese's head was beginning to swim, and not just because Kent was currently filling her head with more information than she had thought she'd get.
What looked like a screen suddenly appeared in front of the two, and Reese's eyes widened as she saw Robin throw his own arrowhead necklace on the ground.
"That's not good," Reese heard Kent mutter, before he raised his voice so she could hear him better. "Both arrowheads need to be in use at the same time, otherwise their magic will be in flux, and that's not good for anyone. I think it's time for you to go,"
"Anything else I need to know?" Reese asked, and suddenly, Kent's eyes turned both sad and serious.
"Yes," he answered. "Never let these arrowheads turn to lead. If either of these turn from gold into lead, it stops the recipient from feeling any sort of happy emotion at all. It turns you numb,"
"Okay," Reese said slowly. "How do I keep that from happening?"
"You don't die," Kent said gravely, and Reese felt her jaw slacken a bit. Almost as an afterthought, Kent cupped a hand around his mouth. "Also, you're going to get a better communication system, and tell Wally I said hello!"
➸➸➸
Then, the Helmet of Fate was off her head, and Silverbird was standing back in the bayou where the Team had fought the Injustice League, face to face with Robin and Kid Flash, who both looked like they had just seen a ghost.
"Nabu let you go?" Wally breathed out, and Reese took a shaky breath, still a bit stricken from what Kent had told her just before Nabu took off the Helmet.
"Yeah," she said slowly. "I-I guess so,"
Glancing up, Silverbird met the lenses of Robin's domino mask, and she gave him a small smile, before Dick's arms were wrapped around her and he was hugging her so hard Reese was lifted a couple of inches off the ground.
"You're going to give me a heart attack one of these days, pretty bird," Dick whispered, and as Reese squeezed his shoulders, she remembered what Kent had told her.
"Lead," she said quietly, and the Boy Wonder leaned back.
"What?" he asked, and Reese sighed before answering.
"Can't let the arrows turn to lead," she began. "Means one of us is dead, or the magic's in flux--I don't know,"
"Well, I'm not about to let that happen," Dick said, smiling a bit, before tilting his head to the side. "How'd you find all this out, anyway?"
"Kent told me," Reese answered, turning her head towards Wally. "He says hi, by the way,"
Kid Flash grinned as he picked up the arrowhead necklace Robin had thrown to the ground a few minutes before, the chain magically repaired, handing it back to Dick who slipped it over his head without a word.
"We're done here," the stoic voice of Batman made Reese jump as she, Dick, and Wally turned to face him. She'd forgotten the Justice League was here. "The Supervillain Secret Society has been neutralized. As for your performance--" the Dark Knight added. "It was satisfactory,"
Silverbird was pretty sure everyone let out a collective sigh of relief as they realized none of them was in trouble, but all Reese wanted to do right now was go home and sleep for the next forty-eight hours straight.
Well, that, or have a sandwich, she was pretty hungry.
----
Foreshadowing be like--
I swear I didn't originally intend for Dick and Kaldur to be at odds all the time, but it just kind of...happened.
It is now canon that Reese and Dick are Zira's human parents. I'm just putting that out there. Reese also won't be oblivious to her feelings forever. Wait three more chapters, then we'll get there.
Also, I have an idea for an original chapter that takes place just before Happy New Year, but I don't know if I should write it, or keep the events of what would happen in it a mystery. That way, the dramatic effect would be better. Let me know what you think!
And who knows, maybe I'll finally post the second chapter of my Ultimate Spider-Man fic!
Next Up: Humanity
~Matia~