Catgirl: Young Justice BOOK 3 (ON-HOLD)

CHAPTER 18

|Mount Justice
|February 20 2016, 03:05

"And...touchdown." Batgirl returned to the plane's cabin after it had safely landed on Mount Justice's private beach. She looked between Calico and Catgirl, sighing, "What to do with you now we're here.."

"You could just let us go.", Calico suggested. "After treatment, of course.", he quickly added, nodding his head in Catgirl's direction, "Bad with flying. You know how she is."

Catgirl was still unconscious. Batgirl frowned, asking Bumblebee, "What's her condition?" It looked like her body had went into it's 'energy-saving mode' in attempt to recover from the rough flight.

Catgirl had barley recovered from her last flight before she got on this one- and this one had nosedived over a cliff edge.

It was safe to say she wasn't doing well, regardless if her body had slipped into it's energy saving state.

"Motion sickness.", Calico dismissed, "Few of those STAR Labs pills you keep from her and she'll be good to go." He didn't appear to be concerned for her the slightest bit.

Batgirl was though. She shared a very concerned look with Bumblebee, then they both glanced to one side of the plane. They were in a mind-link with the other heroes outside. Presumably, they'd been communicating the entire journey.

"If you're questioning my methods of keeping my sister alive, don't." Calico narrowed his eyes, knowing that was exactly what they were discussing behind his back. "I've kept her alive for nearly two years. Last I checked, that's more than your so-called 'team' has ever managed to."

Batgirl and Bumblebee looked at him, not saying anything as he picked up Catgirl. What could they say if he was right? They did pull out their weapons though, keeping them at the ready as he moved towards the door with Catgirl.

The door opened moments later to reveal Miss Martian and Wonder Girl, also ready to attack the infamous villain.

Calico ignored them all, looking up at the mountain towering over them. "So this is the famed Mount Justice..", he said, not exactly impressed.

It wasn't half as intimidating as Katherine had described it to be.

"You're only getting in once, so make the most of it.", Miss Martian told him, leading the group off the beach and inside the original Justice League HQ.

Calico remained aware of the girls around him as none of them letting down their guard. It was as if the closer they got to where they were going, the more defensive they got- which was strange.

Eventually, they arrived, but Calico was confused as it was just a room with holographic screens. There was nothing on the screens either; they were completely blank. "Then what's got you all so...?", he trailed off, noticing the two familiar figures talking in the corner. "Oh," he realised with a smirk, "You're not scared of me, are you? You're scared for me." He kept his amused expression, even if he did subconsciously hold Catgirl that little bit tighter.

"Batman, Nightwing.", Miss Martian stepped forward to report, "Calico and Catgirl did not escape. We successfully brought them here after capture, as you requested."

Calico lost his smirk as The Dynamic Duo stepped into the light of the holographic screens. They personally requested for them to be brought to Mount Justice. They had a plan?

Nightwing remained professional, but only just. "Catgirl," he asked nobody in particular, "What's her condition?"

Calico watched him tense next to Batman. He smiled again, answering, "Nothing that'd make you get yourself kicked off our case again, Birdy."

Nightwing balled his fists, but kept his composure. Batman motioned for him to step back, moving to check Catgirl's condition himself.

While he wasn't completely immune to Batman's intimidating presence, Calico wasn't half as scared of Batman as the other villains in Gotham were. He'd seen first hand with Jason Todd what Batman was really like, at his core; he saw a father who'd lost his son. So did everyone after it happened, but all the other villains could focus on was The Joker in a full body cast.

With an idea of 'justice' like that, Calico could never truly fear Batman. He thought he was quite pathetic, really.

After a quick scan with his wrist computer, Batman concluded, "Other than the obvious reaction to motion sickness, Catgirl is healthy."

Calico rolled his eyes, "I told you so."

Batman looked over at Miss Martian, giving her a nod before returning to Nightwing.

"This way," Miss Martian led Calico and Catgirl out alone, "Batman wants Catgirl to recover in the infirmary."

"And me?", Calico wondered, "What's the big bad bat got planned for me?"

Miss Martian didn't reply, leading the rest of the way in silence.

Calico didn't worry too much about what was going to happen to him after he knew Katherine was going to be taken care of. He knew they were prisoners to heroes, so worst case scenario he'd have to break out of prison transport and meet up with her back at The Flea. That was simple enough when you had a small army of men at your disposal- and one exceptional woman, who'd most likely sent backup towards Mount Justice already.

All Calico really worried about right now was making a mental map of Mount Justice- it's hallways, rooms, security, and residents.

If he was going to be here, he may as well make the time spent worth his while.

**********

Nightwing watched on his wrist computer as Miss Martian started to treat Catgirl with S.T.A.R Labs' motion sickness medication through an IV.

Batman had told Miss Martian over the mental link to allow Calico to stay with her.

'Catgirl is more of a threat than Calico could ever be', he'd said. 'He's the only one able to control her, so don't let her out his arm's reach.', he'd stressed.

Nightwing didn't say (or think) anything during the entire mission debriefing about just how wrong Batman was;

Katherine's feral side could be controlled this time. Nightwing had seen it with his own eyes- others did too, during Roy's intervention, but they didn't have enough information on how or why to present any solid proof to Batman.

After last time, Batman would need solid evidence that she could be saved. That they were 100% right, and there wouldn't be a repeat of history thousands of people payed for with their lives.

To Batman, right now, the only reason this hadn't already happened purely came down to the fact she didn't feel like it. He didn't take the time to consider why she didn't feel like genocide, even though it was so blatantly obvious.

Even if Batman did see past what he thought Katherine was limited to, there was no denying anything when it came to her brother. After what The Justice League had seen he was capable of on Malina Island, he had all the control in this situation.

Unless Calico felt like doing the right thing, they'd never get Catgirl back.

Calico knew this too. It was most likely why he had no worry at all bringing Catgirl back directly here, and he was enjoying it so much. Unless they wanted to risk more nuclear weapons being created and used, The Justice League's hands were tied.

They'd let Calico become too powerful.

Word Count: 1220

A/N: Sorry about the late update!