27.
Pietro dun messed up. Now, let's see the...consequences of his choice, shall we? :)
Also, I split this in two parts because D R A M A.
Undisclosed Location
December 30, 17:07 ???
Wanda appeared in her room at the Light's base, her eyes aflame with scarlet energy. She let out a scream, a burst of her hex powers shooting out of her and destroying almost everything in her room. But she didn't care and she surely didn't stop there.
Wanda covered her hand with her energies and punched her wall, tears streaming down her face. "He...promised! Pietro...lied to me! To me! His own sestra!" Shrieking once more, Wanda spotted the photograph on the bedside table, the only thing still intact in her room. She flew over to it, picking it up in her hands. Her eyes traced the happy looks on her and Pietro's faces, the way he had his arm around her protectively, as if he would never let anything hurt her. Wanda scoffed at the thought. "'tro...you always said your one mission in life was to protect me from harm...well, who was going to protect me from you?"
Hearing a chuckle behind her, Wanda whirled around with her hands aglow with hex energy, her face twisted with a snarl. "Relax, child. Don't let our presence stop you from having your melodramatic breakdown. But do remember, we are on a schedule."
When she laid eyes on Lex Luthor, Queen Bee, Klarion, and Vandal Savage, Wanda felt something in her snap. "You! It is because of all of you that Pietro was in the position to betray me! If it weren't for you, Pietro and I would still be together! I never should have accepted your offer - "
"If you had not accepted our offer, you and your brother would be dead." Lex stated matter-of-factly. "Now, enough of the hysterics. It is time you brought Queen Bee and I to Prisca. Remember your place, Witch."
"My name is Wanda Maximoff and I am not your servant! Not anymore!" Wanda snarled, lifting her hands and twisting them harshly to the sides.
The adults went flying to the side, crashing into each other and into the doorway. But Wanda didn't stop there. She lifted them into the air and began choking them telekinetically, her face pulled back in a growl.
"Witch please, I taught you what you know." Klarion rolled his eyes, snapping his fingers and appearing behind Wanda. He pulled up a magical keyboard and typed on it for a second. "I believe that is enough free thinking for one day." When he hit a certain button, Wanda gasped and released the members of the Light, falling back into her catatonic state. She stood perfectly still, her face blank as the adults rubbed their throats. "Now, Witchy, be a dear and take my associates to Prisca, then come back here for further instructions, yes?"
Wanda nodded, going up to Lex Luthor and Queen Bee. She placed a hand on each of their arms before teleporting them to the island. Once they were settled there, they sent her back to the base, where Klarion and Vandal Savage were waiting for her.
"Now, your brother dearest may have ousted himself as the mole to Batman, but our back up plan is still in place, yes?" Vandal looked to Wanda, who nodded in response. "Good, then let us prepare ourselves to go to the Watchtower. We have work to do."
The Watchtower
December 30, 23:46 EDT
Recognize Vandal Savage A04
Vandal Savage walked through the zeta tubes to be met with the Justice League bowing down to him, all except Red Arrow, who was standing there with a confused expression on his face. "I-I was the mole?"
"Yes." Vandal Savage smirked, walking over to the computer and overriding it to allow Klarion and Scarlet Witch through. They walked through the tubes and Red Arrow backed up.
...R-roy...r-run!
Red Arrow got Scarlet Witch's telepathic message and ran for the zeta tubes, disappearing through them. Klarion turned to Scarlet Witch with a sneer. "You still resist? Huh. I guess I taught you better than I thought I did."
"Klarion, send a small squad after the clone." Vandal commanded. "As for the rest, I have plans for them..."
Mount Justice
December 31, 07:16 EDT
"We have reason to feel proud of yesterday's victories, but one thing has not changed. We still need to discuss Quicksilver's status on the team." Aqualad stated as the team made their way to the mission room, finding Batman and Red Tornado waiting for them.
"That can wait. We have another mole, Red Arrow." Batman stated, pulling up a picture of the aforementioned hero.
"Roy?"
"No way!"
"Batman, that cannot be. He was Green Arrow's protégé. We have all known him for years." Kaldur defended his best friend.
"Unfortunately, it is true. Scarlet Witch didn't trust Quicksilver to handle the job of betraying the team to the Light so she programmed Red Arrow in Taipei to do so. During the induction party on the Watchtower, Red Arrow overrode the systems and brought Vandal Savage to the Watchtower. Luckily, I had already deduced Red Arrow was the mole and was programmed by Scarlet Witch, so we were prepared. Savage was quickly subdued. But Red Arrow is still at large and considered extremely dangerous." Batman explained.
"We will find Roy." Kaldur declared.
"No. Red Arrow is Justice League, meaning he is our responsibility. Leave him to us." Batman listened to his com for a moment. "I am needed at the Watchtower. Tornado, stay with the kids."
Batman walked away to the zeta tubes, leaving the team to chat through the mind link.
Red Arrow was one of us. We will go after him.
Red Tornado came up behind Kaldur and stopped, shutting down.
Tornado!
What happened to him?
He is totally powered down.
All functions off line.
Guys, I am sensing a low level mystic force at play here. I don't know if it caused his shut down. Come to think of it, I was getting the same feeling off Batman.
Batman. He called us kids. He never does that.
Look. One of those biotech chips we confiscated off Cheshire.
Wally pulled the chip out of Tornado's hand, holding it up to show the rest of the team.
Something is not right. Robin, Kid, Zatanna, Rocket. See if you can get Tornado back online. The rest are with me to find Red Arrow.
Pietro followed after the rest of the team to the bioship, getting in as everyone ignored the elephant in the room. They flew to Washington D.C in silence until Artemis spoke up. "Computer logs indicate Red Arrow's zeta'd to the Hall from the Watchtower. But he could be anywhere by now."
Aqualad shook his head. "After Roy went solo, he installed equipment stashes in several major cities. This is one of them." The bioship landed on a building. "I will go alone to get him. If I need you, I will call through the mind link."
The team sat still while Aqualad went into the building, returning moments later with Red Arrow. They said their hellos as Red Arrow strapped in, turning to Quicksilver. "Looks like I'm not the only traitor on this ship."
Quicksilver flinched, knowing he deserved that one. "Look, I had no idea my sister was programming your mind. I swear."
"Yeah, full offense, but your word doesn't really mean anything." Roy bit back.
"Batman said he deduced you were a traitor before you betrayed the League, how?"
"He didn't." Red Arrow answered, narrowing his eyes.
"I'm sorry, but how is it that you are no longer enslaved?" Miss Martian asked.
"No Starrotech, for starters, just the programming your sister put in." Red Arrow nodded at Quicksilver. "She freed me from it once I allowed her, Savage, and Klarion onto the Watchtower, which is impressive considering she herself is teched."
"Wait, my sister has Starrotech in her?!" Quicksilver yelped. "That explains so much."
"I'm sure Savage planned to Starrotech me but your sister told me to run the second the tubes were available." Red Arrow admitted.
"I promise, I can clean any residual programming from your mind." Miss Martian offered.
Miss Martian, are you in range?
Here Robin. Linking both squads and decamouflaging.
Good, because we really need to compare notes.
The two squads of the team came together on the bioship and formulated their plan of attack.
The Watchtower
December 31, 23:16 EDT
Scarlet Witch stood with Vandal Savage underneath the floating Klarion, listening as the zeta beams went off and alerted them to the arrival of Black Canary, Red Tornado, and Red Arrow.
"Any problems?"
"Despite an initial set back, I was able to reinfect Red Tornado and Red Arrow." Black Canary responded.
"As well as the entire team. They await reprogramming back on earth." Red Tornado added.
"I think not. You see, Starrotech, does not reprogram the mind, it offers us remote control of it." Vandal Savage replied.
"We know exactly who is infected and who's not. And none of you are." Klarion added.
Scarlet Witch felt an order enter her mind and she shot her arms out, encasing the trio in her hex bands.
"But that is easily rectified." Savage smirked. "Fifty thousand years of life and nothing has ever troubled me as much as the founding of the Justice League. Dedicated to maintaining society's calcified status quo, the League would protect mankind from disaster, crime, tragedy of any kind. Had you never heard of survival of the fittest? In essence, you heroes sought to protect humanity from its own glorious evolution. As such, you forced my more enlightened colleagues and myself to organize a response. We created a co-optive network of operatives, placed key individuals in key positions, made certain we were on the cutting edge of all new technologies. Genetic engineering. Bio-chemical engineering. Robotics. Nano-robotics. Even techno-sorcery. Not to mention every conceivable method of mind control. Cold hard science and a little misdirection and now you champions of stagnation have become our agents of change, forcing the human race toe evolve on a more advanced schedule, allowing the Earth to take its rightful place in the center of the cosmos."
While Vandal Savage was droning on, the team had managed to sneak aboard the Watchtower.
RT did it. Wirelessly bypassed security for us as soon as he arrived. Savage shouldn't know we're here.
But what about my sister? She'll sense me.
Well, then we will just have to move quickly and hope Roy was being honest when he said that she is fighting against the Light's control.
Okay.
Move out.
The team split up and ran off in different directions on the Watchtower, each of them carrying the cure to Starrotech.
Quicksilver went with Zatanna, speeding her through the Watchtower. They came upon the Atom cutting up something and Zatanna got to work. "Etativel taht ssorg gniht."
As the Atom stretched to grab the floating piece he was cutting , Quicksilver placed the cure on his back before picking Zatanna up and running off with her.
Scarlet Witch watched as Klarion typed away on the magical keyboards. "The brats are aboard. They've taken away four of my toys."
"Recall all League away missions. Its time to put these children in their place once and for all." Savage declared.
"Finally!" Teekl meowed to Klarion. "Oh, yeah. Hey, Vandal, shouldn't those three be back on line by now?" Scarlet Witch's eyes widened as Black Canary let out a super sonic cry. She put up a shield just in time, the shield barely holding against the canary cry. "You'll be sorry."
Canary, Tornado, and Arrow all jumped into battle against Scarlet Witch as a boom tube opened up and six Justice League power houses came flying in, destroying the trio in three seconds flat. Vandal Savage looked down at them. "The children have clearly reverse engineered a Starrotech cure and vaccine. So there is no point in taking them alive."
"Goodie." Klarion chuckled.
Scarlet Witch stared blankly out into the cosmos.
The team ambushed Captain Marvel, Icon, and Doctor Fate at the zeta tubes as their were coming in, giving them all the cure.
Hey, if you guys aren't busy!
Be right there.
"I'll be right behind you." Zatanna called. Quicksilver stood back and waited with his girlfriend while she tried to free her father from the Helmet of Fate. She sat down after being blast backwards. "I can save Fate from Savage, but I can't save my father from Fate."
"Hey, don't beat yourself up. That is some powerful, ancient magic." Quicksilver gave Zatanna an encouraging smile. "Maybe one day, Zee. Now come on, we've got to help our friends."
With Scarlet Witch she felt an order enter her mind and she carried it out.
Teleporting around the Watchtower, Scarlet Witch gathered up the team and brought them to the main room of the Watchtower before Vandal Savage and Klarion, where they were restrained by Green Lantern's construct.
"Thank you, Witch." Savage pat her head as he stared at the team, the teens struggling against the construct. "You children have made my life very difficult. But no longer shall I allow it. It ends now." He looked to Klarion. "Give her the order. It is time this team of children was dealt with. Permanently."
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