Young Justice: Metropolis

October 1st, 2010

We reappeared in mid air––since everyone in our little group could fly and we were portkeying into an unknown situation, I’d decided it would be safer in the air than on the ground––some distance above the treeline. Below us, a sparse forest of old growth trees grew from the marshy waters of the bayou, the shallow waters broken up by lines of tall grass that wove between the trees.

Superman, Hawkwoman, and Hawkman lurched slightly, but had no real trouble adapting to the sudden change in location. They were slightly disorientated by the portkey, but recovered quickly and stayed in the air. Glynda and I both started to fall as I called upon my ‘flight’ magic and she activated her semblance, but Lantern Stewart swiftly formed a slightly blocky floating platform of green light beneath our feet.

After a moment, I floated up off the platform, as did Glynda, but it was still a bit of an embarrassing gaffe. I hadn’t considered that it took a few moments to accumulate the winds needed for the style of magical flight that Ozpin had taught me, nor had I warned Glynda of my plan.

No one commented on my slip, so I swiftly joined the others in looking around to assess the situation. The first thing I saw was the big, modern-looking building with the domed glass roof and a mostly imobile cluster of vines growing out through a hole in the center of the dome. That was almost certainly the control center, judging from the amount of magic and energy I could inside the building.

The second thing I saw was the very obvious trio of supervillains flying towards the building from off to the right. One of them––Wotan, the wizard who’d tried to blot out the sun if I remembered correctly––was projecting a cage of orange light from his hands, inside of which I could see Kaldur, a giant white wolf, and three teenagers, two boys and a girl, dressed in form-fitting costumes.

The cage was being supported from below by another villain I recognized from my research. Black Adam. Though he may not be using it as a surname, association with him was a stain on my family’s name and I had had every intention of dealing with him as soon as I was able to. It seemed the opportunity had come early. Even if I was not the one to deal with him personally, I would need to make sure that my contributions were publicly recognized.

The last villain was standing on top of the cage with his dark cape billowing behind him. I did not recognize him, but he was dressed almost like I would expect a wizard to, so I immediately assumed he’d be a serious threat.

I raised my wand. It didn’t seem as though we’d been noticed yet, but between the glow of Green Lantern’s constructs and the very eye-catching color schemes of Superman and the Hawk heroes’ costumes, it was only a matter of time.

My priorities were clear. I didn’t recognize the other three, but judging by Kaldur’s presence and what I knew about his recent hero work, these were the sidekicks of some of the League’s other members. I couldn’t see Miss Martian anywhere, so perhaps one of the teens was her shape-shifted into a more human form? It was hard to say for sure from such a distance. Still, the entire reason we were here was because ‘the kids’ had run into trouble, so it seemed self-evident to assume that freeing and protecting them was the best thing I could do right now.

Plus, that seemed like an excellent way of building connections. King Orin and Kaldur were said to be rather close, so it stands to reason that other heroes would be similarly close to their protege’s. That was Superman's symbol on that boy’s chest. Very promising.

And then, before any of us could do more than analyze the situation, a bright red flying…thing, perhaps some manner of plane, appeared directly behind Wotan and slammed into him, sending him tumbling. Then it was gone as quickly as it had appeared, shimmering out of sight. I could still see it as a thin golden flicker, visible only to one of the Order magic detection spells imbued into my mask, but it rapidly vanished into the distance.

Without Wotan to maintain it, the cage winked out of existence, dropping its occupants and the man standing on top of it down into the bayou below. Kaldur would probably be fine, and I assumed that the boy with Superman’s symbol on his shirt would be as well, but I was less sure about the other two.

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It was only thanks to my aura training that I responded as quickly as I did. “Arresto momentum!” I snapped, my wand cutting sharply through the humid air. The entire group––teens, wolf, and villains (with the exception of Wotan, who was too far away from the rest of them) alike––slowed to a crawl, still falling but as though through thick syrup and not air. Black Adam twisted sharply and the spell broke around him, allowing him to swoop down and snatch the third villain out of the air, while the others continued to drift down towards the shallow water below them.

Green Lantern was the first to speak. “My ring says that something in that building is being used to control the plants. We need to deal with it as soon as possible.”

Superman turned to the rest of us and nodded sharply. “Lantern, Hawks, take care of it. Joker and Atomic Skull are inside the building. Hydrys, Glynda, with me. I can handle Count Vertigo and Black Adam, but see if you can keep Wotan busy. Ultra-humanite and Poison Ivy are on the ground as well, keep an eye out for them.”

I was undeniably nervous about facing a wizard with centuries more experience than me––Superman really knew how to pick the easier fight––but I was confident that, if things went sour, I could at least escape. “Understood. I think we can manage that much. Glynda, let’s go.”

And then we were off. Superman shot forward as though he’d been banished, a streak of red and blue that crashed into Black Adam a heartbeat after the man dropped the third villain––presumably Count Vertigo––onto the ground. Both men went flying, but Black Adam clearly took the worst of it.

The two Hawk heroes and Green Lantern moved a moment later, flying off in a v-formation towards the nearby building, leaving just Glynda and I floating above the bayou. I licked my lips, peering towards where Wotan had splashed down into the water. “Glynda, you’re a faster flier than me. Try to keep him down if you can. I’ll check on the kids.”

“Understood.”

Instead of flying, I apparated, reappearing a short distance away from where the teens and their wolf had splashed down. The wolf and the boy in the Superman shirt were charging at a…gorilla holding an oversized gun in its arms. Probably Ultra-humanite? Odd name. Meanwhile Kaldur and the girl were facing down Poison Ivy, while the third boy––dressed in a dark costume with his bright red hair showing––was stumbling towards the recovering Count Vertigo.

The boy with the wolf would probably be fine. It was just a giant monkey. The other two groups, I was less sure about. Poison Ivy had a reputation in Gotham, and the redhead looked woozy already. Had he already been injured, or had he somehow managed to hit the ground head first despite my slowing spell?

No matter. I could deal with both. Two mana vanished in an instant and a copy of me appeared beside me, my wand already raised. Then we both apparated again. I appeared directly behind Count Vertigo, my wand already jabbing into his back. He tried to turn, but he clearly hadn’t been expecting my sudden arrival. Meanwhile, my copy appeared beside Ivy––it wouldn’t last long even if her reputed mind control abilities worked through my bubble head charm.

“Imperio!” I hissed.

“Stupefy!” my copy cast.

At point blank range and with aura augmenting our speed, neither was fast enough to avoid our spells. Ivy collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut, and my copy vanished a heartbeat later. Count Vertigo on the other hand stiffened briefly, then his mind was blanketed in the fog of the imperious curse and he relaxed, a small smile appearing on his face.

I had him kneel down and, when I told him to disarm himself, he removed the odd looking black jewelry he was wearing around his ears, which I pocketed.

And, really, that was the end of it. I had honestly expected more. There was a loud explosion as something inside the building detonated, and then soon after Green Lantern and the Hawks emerged carrying the limp forms of the Joker and Atomic Skull in one of Green Lantern’s bubbles.

With Ivy and Count Vertigo subdued, the other sidekicks had no trouble dealing with the gorilla. By the time that Wotan finally made it out of the water despite Glynda’s best efforts to pelt him with rotting logs, boulders, and chunks of the nearby building, the rest of us were waiting for him. He tried to flee, but Dr. Fate appeared out of an ankh-shaped portal and bound him with gleaming golden chains.

After that, it was just clean up. More members of the League arrived, and I took the opportunity to introduce myself and Glynda to them. I also managed to snag Blueprints of Count Vertigo, Poison Ivy, the gorilla, and Wotan, using the excuse of stunning them for transport. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get to the other three villains, but it was still a very successful day.

Giovanni, to my immense relief, never showed up. Neither did a number of other heroes who were dealing with the aftermath of the attack in other parts of the country. But that was fine. Nearly half the League knew my name now as more than just ‘that boy Zatara doesn’t like’. That was a win in my books.