Verisimilitude

Division - Part 1

"Did you get everything?" He heard his mentor ask M'gann as he shifted anxiously. Conner and M'gann had just arrived back at the Cave via bioship and he was there to help unpack the boxes they had arrived with, which contained new training equipment for ones that were outdated or broken.

"Everything on your list, Batman," The Martian told him as she levitated two boxes, "plus groceries." She added, placing the box down.

"Cookie fixins?" Wally asked excitedly as he peered into the box of food.

"Snickerdoodles."

"Babe," Wally looked up dreamily, "you rock my world."

He made his way over to a crate, cutting open the tape on it easily with a birdarang. He was anxious by being around so many people who had perished during the simulation. Bla- Dinah had told him he should try to do it more and get used to it, but he was still uneasy.

Kaldur came over to rip the lid off of the crate when he finished with the tape. He gave him a nod and a small "Thanks." without meeting his eyes.

He carefully unpacked the box, when he heard a crash and a familiar voice yell "DAD!"

He spun, his birdarang in his hand and ready to throw, but there was no enemy.

There wasn't any adults either.

The box Zatara had been lifting was on the ground in pieces, its contents spilling out. His eyes traveled to the source of the shout. Zatanna.

His breathing picked up. Zatanna was there, not as Doctor Fate and Batman and the other Leaguers were gone.

Gone.

"We are Earth's heroes now." Kaldur said firmly.

"Then what are we waiting for, a theme song?" Conner asked, irritable and itching to get into the action.

"A strategy. Earth's weapons are ineffective, and it has been made tragically clear a direct attack will not succeed."

He took a mental breath, calming himself slightly. This could not - was not - another simulation. He would never agree to that, and neither would Batman or Black Canary.

Just as he managed to get his breathing under control, a sharp pain stabbed him in the stomach. He let out a cry of pain, clutching his stomach as he fell to his knees. He was aware of some people yelling and talking, and he could make out blurry figures that were his teammates.

Then the scene changed. It was small and quick, but it was there. He wasn't looking at the Team (and Zatanna), but rather Batman, Red Tornado, and Zatara. It was blurry, but he could definitely make out their figures. He squeezed his eyes shut, before opening them to see his Team looming over him.

He closed his eyes again, not feeling strong enough to look at all of them in the eyes. "What...happened?" he groaned.

"I dunno, they just disappeared and then you just collapsed." Wally informed him, "Dude, you okay?"

"I have a killer headache." He admitted, standing up and opening his eyes. "But other than that I'm fine." He looked around the room, "The real question is: Where is the League?"

====================

He tried to ignore the girl working with him. Zatanna was easier, yet harder to deal with than the others.

He had decided to hang back and coordinate from the Cave while trying to find a way to bring back the adults. It was just his luck that Zatanna had made the decision to stay with him in case he collapsed again.