Young Justice: New Worlds

Chapter 4: The Long Drop

BART

We fell for a while. I'll admit it. I screamed. They screamed. We all screamed. For the first second at least. Then it was just me and Beast Boy exercising our lungs. While we fell, Blue armoured up, Tim took off his hoodie, switched out his shades for his mask (with his eyes closed of course), took out his belt, put on his gloves (which were in the hoodie pocket) and took out his cape. Which I think was tucked in who knows where.  And Cassie just put on her armbands. 

"Well fine then, guess the mall thing's a bust," I said. No one ever responds. I took off my clothes too, revealing my suit underneath, and shoved on my goggles. Cassie suddenly flew, carrying Tim bridal style (he tried to shift into a more manly position, to no avail). Blue followed, and Beast Boy shifted into a peregrine falcon. "NOT CRASH! NOT CRASH AT ALL!" There weren't even any walls to run up. 

Jaime grabbed my arm, and I scrambled onto his legs, holding on for life. "Thanks, Blue! You know, for a second I thought you'd just let me fall but-" He grinned. "Tempting, but no." We joined the others, who hovered in the air. 

"What now?" asked Cassie. 

"You listen to me." 

We all turned to see that girl, standing on solid ground. I looked down. And somehow, so were we. (Tim and I quickly stood up on our own.) Her arms were crossed, and she looked mad, but her eyes weren't glowing anymore; I took that to be a good sign. She was also holding a stuffed dinosaur. The abyss we were falling down wasn't a bottomless hole anymore. I noticed more features about our surroundings. 

It wasn't that dark anymore, but that didn't make it any less mysterious. 

We were in a room now, with an open ceiling  that revealed obsidian black cliffs, all reaching towards the swirling white void we had dropped from. The walls were paned mirrors. They swirled in interchanging colors, showing barely discernable locations that shifted continuously. A park, then a mall, to a school, it never stopped, and became confusing to watch, so I stopped. 

"This is what I call Gateway," said the girl, and I turned to listen. "As you can see, I conjure mirror-like images and pathways. Portals. Sit down." I turned, and five chairs emerged from portals on the ground. "Thanks." She smiled. "No prob, I just like feeling taller, though." She took off her hat, causing her white locks to spill out. "I'm Adalae. Who are you?" 

We all looked at Tim, who cleared his throat, and began pointing at us in turn. "Robin, Wonder Girl, Beast Boy, Blue Beetle, and erm, Impulse." I looked at him, grateful. I was still wearing my old uniform. Wearing Wally's still gave me a sick feeling. I only did it on missions. Huh, was this a mission now? "Nice to meet you," he added. Always a good boy. 

Adalae looked at us strangely and cocked her head. "Those are weird. Have Earthen names changed since I've been there last?" I returned her question with one of mine. "Are you even Earthen?" She frowned. "I am actually. But I left eight years ago when I was only seven." 

"Noted," said Gar in the awkward silence, as we waited for her to expand on that sentence. She just looked down and scuffed the ground with her sneaker. "I come back frequently to stock up on resources. Clothes, food, you know. That's what you saw me doing, going on one of my runs." Now she glared at me. "But Impulse pissed me off, and I revealed myself. Usually, I'm in and out, and no one pays attention to me." 

"What are you going to do with us?" asked Blue. Now Adalae smiled. "Decide whether to let you go, or get rid of you. " She held out her palms. In one, she conjured a mirror of the mall. "I'm your only way out of here." In the other, a black hole swirled. "But if I don't like you, you're never getting back. That drop earlier? It was nothing." She grinned mischievously, and her eyes flashed.

Adalae paced around us. "So I'm going to ask a few questions, see if you're worth my while."

"Any objections?" 

Robin raised his hand. "I'm sorry, but there are. You won't learn anything about us we don't want you to." He stood up, but straps lashed out from the chair, securing him in. We all jerked in surprise, and then we were entrapped, too. Blue shot a sonic blast at Adalae, but she conjured a portal in front of her and it blasted Blue instead. Beast Boy tried shifting into different animals, but the bonds adjusted quickly, even when he turned into an ant.

Or they were, at least. I vibrated my molecules and I was free. In a few seconds, I had Adalae in a chokehold. "Free my friends." She obeyed. The team stood up at once and stretched. I let her go, too, but that was a mistake. Immediately, a mirror opened up under our feet. "Don't try anything," said Adalae. 

This was ridiculous. "Come on, this is going all wrong! We're the good guys! Heroes, we-we rescue people!" That caught her attention. "You guys are fun," she told us. "I hope you are what you say you are." Adalae addressed me specifically now. "Tell me more, about the hero thing." 

"Impulse," warned Robin. "Be careful." I gave him a somewhat reassuring glance, mouthing, I got this. He rolled his eyes. Yes, you can tell even with a mask on. And now, I just let my mouth run..

"We're heroes. Superheroes, because of the powers and whatnot. Well, Rob over there has no powers. Poor guy. He's a leader though. Hmm, leaders. Wonder what Aqualad will do to us? Or the other guy. Nightwing. He left though. Retired, they said. I guess, guess what happened was tuh...too much. Too much for all of us." I looked down. Then I saw what Adalae was doing.

Vapor was coming out of my chest, over my heart. It was strong and thick, and it swirled into a mirror Adalae was creating, and scrutinizing. What it showed made my jaw drop. The mirror grew, folding around us like a screen. And I watched it all happen again. 

The pods the Reach had left, set to destroy Earth. Terrorized citizens, and brave heroes. One by one the bombs shut down, except for the very last one. "No," I whispered. I'd seen enough nightmares of this, but it was new to the rest of the team. They hadn't been there, hadn't seen it for themselves.  

I saw myself, Uncle Barry, and Wally circling around the last one. "Oh man, Artemis is so gonna kill me for this, and don't even get me started on mom and dad! Just tell them okay-"  And then he was gone.

There was no noise. We all watched Adalae, who stood still, speculating. "I'll let you go back." She turned to me. "For what it's worth, it get's better. And yes, I know what it feels like." I nodded to her. Adalae raised her hands, and we were sucked into the portal. 

Good, because I really wanted to be at home, preferably with a bag of chicken wizzies and underneath a couple of blankets, shielding me from the world.

So you know a little more about Adalae! So, like? Dislike? And, I know I kind of rushed into this, do I need to slow down, or make it faster?

   -Reneryt :)