I felt uneasy about this predicament that we had found ourselves in, we were playing too much into Talon's hands. My King felt the same way, but as we had all discussed this was the only way we were going to get him. Additional to the fact that we could not escape, Talon had us firmly trapped.
"Hold, I think I hear something." Hawkman commanded and we all stopped, straining our ears to hear anything that could indicate danger.
"Behind you!" The startled shout came from the throat of Hawkgirl as Hawkman was taken down with a flying kick by Talon.
He looked different, almost like he was a new person, but I knew he was Dick. And I knew because of that, that we will all be holding back.
"Hello there, fancy seeing you here."  He said as he turned around and I was taken aback.
His eyes were golden, his veins black against white skin. It was horrifying to know that was my friend.
"Dick, you don't want to do this." My King said as Talon twirled a small dagger between his fingers, "This isn't you."
"You seem to believe me to be someone I'm not." He said with an amused look on his face, "Allow me to set one thing straight; I am a monster, and it's honestly quite fun." Then he shoved his other hand backwards into Hawkgirl's stomach and turned to face her, "Oh, my dear, you really should have ran away when you had the chance."
And, like smoke in the wind, he was hidden again.
"Shayera!" My King called and ran towards her as she fell to the floor.
It took me a second longer to react but then I was by her side as well. I only took one quick look at her stomach to know she wasn't going to make it. Her organs were hanging out in a grotesque manner. Something I wish I had not seen.
"Tell," She was interrupted by a groan then continued, "Tell Katar I love him." Her breathing hitched again as she let out another groan, "And tell Nightwing. Tell Nightwing that I forgive him." Her chest gave a large final heave and then fell still, her eyes now staring unseeing at the ceiling.
"May you rest in peace." My King said and I muttered the phrase after him, "Kaldur, could you contact someone and get them to collect Katar, keep him safe."
I nodded and reached for my communicator but it was gone. Alright then, option number two.
M'gann, can you hear me?
Kaldur, what is it?
Can you and your team come to the hallway leading away from the gym, south side? Hawkman has been taken down.
On our way down now, stay there and be careful.
I turned back to face my King and nodded to show I had made contact before heading over to Hawkman. He looked in one piece, just knocked out cold. Wait, no he didn't.
M'gann, I urge you to hurry, he has sustained a bad injury.
Of course Kaldur.
I don't know how we didn't notice it, but Talon's shoes must have had spikes on the bottom of them, there were small dotted wounds all down his cheek.
"You know calling for backup is against the rules." I could hear his voice around me again, but I couldn't pinpoint, "Which means you're going to have to take the forfeit."
"What is the forfeit?" I asked as I backed up against my King and we circled, surveying the area as best we could.
"Why don't you find out?" And the lights went completely out.
I brought my Water barears to ready and continued to strain my eyes to see through the blackness, but it was no use because I felt a boot connected with my stomach and it was normal. Just the breathlessness of it as it usually is, no sharp implements. I instantly regained myself and swung out at random, hitting something. So I hit at it again and felt it fighting back.
"My King, I have Talon." I called out.
"Impossible, I am fighting Talon." He responded and the lights flickered back on just as my fist connected with My King's face.
"I think that was rather funny, don't you?" Talon smirked from the other end of the corridor, "Anyway, time to fly. See ya' 'round." And the lights flickered so that he as there one moment and gone the next.
I heard footsteps before M'gann, Martian Manhunter, Zatara and Captian Atom rounded the corner. Instantly M'gann doubled over and hurled as she saw, Zatara turned pale and the other two faltered for a second before coming again.
"I thought you said that he was injured mildly." John said and I followed his gaze back to Katar, or well, the remains of Katar.
It is like decomposition had happened in seconds, his flesh had gone in on itself and was dissolving before our eyes. His muscle was gone and his blood pooling on the floor where it seeped out. I quickly turned away and double checked my stomach that his boots hadn't made any holes in me. It must have been them that carried the poison.
"May you rest in peace." I said and everyone else parroted it.
"We should take them to the medical bay and prepare them for a farewell." My King suggested and we all agreed.
So that's what we did, John lifted them and I supported M'gann back to the medical bay. We lay them on the beds and covered them both, putting them hand in hand.
"We need to contact everyone else." Zatara said, "Could we all be connected?"
"Yes, but with the number of people here it could prove distracting and put us in more danger." Martian Manhunter explained, "It would be safer to only communicate when we need to."
"Alright, we'll get back to as we should be." I said and My King and I departed back to our perimeter and the others went back to theirs. When we got back we continued as we had been, but both of us were on edge now and our emotions were starting to catch up to us. It was only one more turn before I could take it no more and the floodgates opened.
"Kaldur, what is wrong?" My King asked as he turned to see me.
"I am sorry my King, I normally have better control over my emotions." I said, "It's just that I have watched a close friend kill two leaguers with no mercy. It is just quiet frightening to think that someone as golden as him has been doing this for years, doing worse."
"You must remember that the person we are facing is not Nightwing." He explained, "We are doing this to help him."
"Yeah, right." We both turned to see Talon standing there, leaning against the wall like this was the most natural thing in the world, "Anyway, I need to finish off here. You two, I like. So, you can move through to stage two."
And then he moved. I heard my King go down next to me before I had even registered him moving. It was a blur. And then I was falling and on the floor.
"Sweet nightmares Kaldur." And his fist connected with my face.

I couldn't get the image of the Hawk's out of my head. And knowing that Dick had done that. No, not Dick. Talon. Same body, different person. I could feel it in his mind, it was like a strangers. And not one that I wanted to enter, not that I could anyway.
"Are you okay M'gann?" I jumped as Uncle J'onn addressed me.
"No." I replied honestly, "I'm scared of what might happen. I mean, look what happened to them."
"We'll be fine M'gann." He said with a reassuring smile, "Nothing is going to hurt you."
I smiled and nodded back, but I was not reassured. I was far from it. We finished another round by the kitchen and recreational area with no sign of Talon. So off we went again.
"I do not see the point in this." Zatara said, "If he does not wish to be found we are not going to find him."
"Batman's orders Zatara." Captain Atom piped up, "We don't have a choice, unless you want to be the one to tell him how much you hate this."
It was silent then as we continued our rounds. I screamed as something jumped out at me and everyone turned, weapons drawn to see a Halloween decoration fold back through a door.
"Sorry." I muttered as we continued.
That was making it even creepier than it should be. I'd decorated the kitchen and the living room to look like a Halloween heaven, and now the pumpkins and the bats just made the mood scary instead of amusing. I looked up as I walked into the back of Captain Atom who had stopped just around the corner. Wasn't this the one with the window to the medical room? I peeked around him and threw up again. Dick was in there with the bodies, Shayera's flesh between his teeth.
He turned to face us, swallowing, "Why, hello there my dear! Tell me, are you afraid? You really should be." And a sickening grin split his face.
I turned tails and ran as he leapt into action, using Captain Atom as a vault to land on top of Zatara and knock him cold out. I didn't care where I was running, as long as it was away from him. I didn't want to fight one of my best friends, and I didn't want to see what he was going to do. I could hear the commotion behind me but I kept going and ducked into the bathroom, locking the door behind me. It was silent for a few moments outside, it could be safe. Or it could mean the worst. I broke into sobs on the floor.
"M'gann?" I could hear the panicked voice and instantly threw open the door to come face to face with my uncle, "Oh god, I thought you were gone. I thought he had you."
"I'm fine." I said as I brought him into a hug and cried into his shoulder, "We're both fine."
"Come on, this way." He grabbed my hand and dragged me down the hallway.
"Where are we going?" I asked, stumbling after him.
"We're getting out of here. I'll help you phase through the wall." He explained, "He took down the others like it was nothing, I'm not letting him get a hold of you."
"No." I said as I dug my heels in and stopped us moving, "We need to help the others, what if he goes back for Aquaman and Kaldur."
"Arthur and Kaldur are safe, they'll be able to look after themselves. Now come on." He said as he pulled on my hand again but I was not giving.
"You thought that about Captian Atom and Zatara, look what happened there." I said, my words stronger than I felt, "We have to stay, the more of us there are, the less chance he has. We just need to get in touch with the others."
"M'gann, you don't understand. You didn't see him in action." He knelt down to my level, putting his hands on my arms, almost as if he was restraining me, "We can't beat him, not even Batman would be able to beat him. He's not holding back at all, we can't stop him."
"Of course you can't." I turned around, face to face with Dick and I couldn't bring myself to bring up a defence, "I'm unbeatable darling, and you're just going to help me prove that."
I ducked as he launched himself at us and he soared over my head, very almost tackling my Uncle, but he got out of the way at the last moment.
"Dick, stop this. Please." I begged, tears threatening to spill, "I know you don't want to do this."
"Stop lying to yourself M'gann." He grinned, "You've been inside my mind, you've seen the real me. You know that there's nothing I want more than to hear the screams of my prey."
I didn't have a response to that, it was true. Just a glimpse is what I had, but it was enough to see what he wanted. What he loved, not a single part of his mind was blocked off. Open to anyone who wanted to see it but defences ready to jump to work at a moments notice. I didn't notice as he got up in my face until his clawed gloves were around my throat, "I like you though, you may progress to round two."
He gripped me tighter and I started to panic as my oxygen supply became scarce. He knew that at any moment I could physically remove him from me, but he also knew I wouldn't. I could see it in his eyes, and those golden orbs were the last thing I saw before the black dots became a solid black sheet over my vision.

I would like to say that I wasn't scared for my life, but then I would be lying. I saw Wally, I saw the fear in his eyes and if he can look at his best friend like that, then I sure as hell can. And it's not like we were fighting some mediocre villain, it was closer to fighting Slade and it was almost impossible to take him down. Then take into account that Robin's had training from both, though one was a tad more hateful (take a guess which) and that just made him more dangerous.
"I don't think we're going to find him." Dinah said as we all turned to face her as she closed the door to the therapy room after what must be our hundredth check.
"Of course we're not. Not unless he wants us to find him. He's a ninja." I said with a sigh, glad someone was finally agreeing with me.
"We have to." Oliver turned back around, agitation clear in every line of his body, "We can't let him continue like this, he's a murderer. Worse, a cannibal! And he should have been locked away to stop this from happening."
"Ollie-" Dinah begun but he cut her off.
"I know that it's hard to lock away a friend." He said, "I've heard it all before but at the end of the day you have to ask yourself, do you try to save one life or do you save innocent lives with certainty? And I know which one we should pick. Which one it's our duty to pick."
We all stared at him, shocked. He'd never voiced any of this before, and of all the members I'd expect to have wanted him locked up straight away, Ollie was not one of them. He was close with Dick, almost as close as me. It was Red who finally broke the silence.
"Maybe you should take a seat for a moment." He suggested, "We shall take a quick five-minute reprieve. Then we must get back on with the search."
"Sorry." Oliver said, "I didn't mean to snap but I can't stand the idea that I've sat around and possibly condemned more lives."
"It's not like that." I started, "We're trying to save our friend. If we can help him we can stop this ever happening again, we can't just lock him away every time!"
"Fine, you and Dinah keep going seeing you're so focused on saving a monster." Oliver bit again, taking me by surprise, his emotions were usually a lot better controlled than this, "I'm going to actually work on contacting the outside world and letting them know what's happening. Come on Red."
Then they both entered the therapy room, Red a tad more apologetic than Ollie was.
"He'll be fine, just give him some time to cool off." Dinah said and I directed my eyes towards her, "Come on, we'll do another sweep in the meantime."
We started to head down the dimly lit corridors again, checking the bedrooms and the bathrooms as we went.
"Do you really think he meant that?" I asked as I opened the door to the men's bathroom and peeked inside.
"Of course he didn't." She smiled down at me, but her eyes didn't agree with her words, "He's just frustrated and on edge. He'll be back and fine in no time."
I gave a small smile back as I closed the door and went over to the one for the girls, and stopped. The door was ajar, someone had been in here since we'd last been round.
"Dinah." I breathed and she turned, noticing as well and getting into a good stance to scream.
We exchanged a quick nod and then I threw open the door and dived out of the way as she screamed, taking out any surprise visitor. Once she had stopped my ears were ringing, as they always did, and I looked inside. No one there.
"Go have a look anyway." Dinah said, her voice battling to be heard over the ringing, "There could be something in there to give us a hint of who's been down here."
I nodded and headed inside the bathroom, but everything seemed in place. The cubicle doors were all open with nothing unusual inside, and the soaps by the sinks hadn't moved and the drawers on the vanity weren't open. It was useless searching in here, no answers anywhere. I came back out again just as Dinah closed another door and we continued our sweep.
Then we were back outside the therapy room. Dinah opened the door and I followed her inside to see Oliver and Red waiting for us, sitting on the chairs and facing away.
"Ollie, have you calmed down now?" Dinah asked, "We could use your help with searching for Dick."
No response.
"Ollie?" She asked again as she crept forward.
Something was wrong here, something was terribly wrong. Goosebumps crept over my arms as we got closer and then Dinah tentatively turned the chair and let out a human scream. And I joined her.