Justice League vs Teen Titans; Eagles Fly (Damian X OC)

Chapter 16: Fire in the Hole!

I was feeling the grove, so here you go.  I'll probably keep writing tonight and if I feel like posting, you'll know.  If not, it'll be up in a day or two.

Hope ya like it!

The suits had been testing my reactions to different foods, seeing if my avian DNA would have any affect on what I could eat. So far, all they found was that red meat made me violently ill. Other than that, there was nothing.

Now I am repeatedly being submerged in a liquid one of the suits had called perfluorocarbon. Apparently it had a ton of oxygen and could be 'breathed' by animals that needed air. One of the assistants said it could be used medically to save lives. The suits wanted to see what the effect would be on my lungs, as I naturally have a larger lung capacity than normal humans.

The first time the small metal box I was in started filling with water, I started panicking. The door was bolted and sealed tight, but that didn't stop me from pounding it with my fists and feet. As the water level rose, so did my heart rate. It was at my chin, and I could feel the sweat on my forehead dripping.

I sucked in a breath before it covered my mouth and nose, and held it as long as I could. My lungs screamed for air and my ears rang, but I didn't let go.

Then I woke up. I was breathing normally, but something was off. I began moving, and felt the water. Had I died? How was I breathing?

Before I could get much farther in my thoughts, the top of my crate was opened. Blinding light and hands shot in. I was dragged out roughly and thrown onto the floor.

Hacking and coughing the water out of my lungs felt like throwing up and collapsing a lung at the same time. I couldn't get another breath in and still get the water out of my lungs, and I couldn't get the water out of my lungs if I couldn't get air into them.

Once my painful coughs had subsided, I became aware of the suits talking to their assistants.

"It held its breath for an extraordinary amount of time," a suit mumbled, scanning a computer.

"How long was it unconscious?" an assistant questioned, peering over the suit's shoulder.

"Forty-five seconds exactly," the suit answered absentmindedly.

"Its body seems to need more oxygen, but the larger lung capacity seems to allow it to hold its breath for longer," another assistant observed. "And once it passed out, it took a longer time for it to wake up because oxygen needed to reach all parts of the large lungs."

"That is what I am thinking, yes," the suit observed.

He looked back to where I had been laying on the floor, trying to catch my breath.

"Put more sensors on it, and put it back in. I want to know what happens after the lungs have become accustomed to the perfluorocarbon."

It was going to be a long test.

***

Kori sat next to Tessa's bed, face buried in her hands. It had been a week since they had moved her to the med bay. Her thrashing and whimpering had decreased, only happening intermittently now. Kori had hardly left her side, and the rest of the Titans had decided that something needed to be done.

"Kori?" a voice called from the doorway.

"Huh?" Kori started. The others usually didn't talk, they just came and sat. She twisted to look at the door. There stood Dick Grayson, looking like he'd driven all night after a fight. There were scratches on his right cheek, and his hair was mussed in a very unGraysonlike way.

"Dick," she sighed, tired eyes softening. "What are you doing here?"

"Well," he began as he entered the room, looking around. "The others called me and told me what had happened. They told me that you were having a hard time, and that you needed someone. So I decided I would come pay you a visit. Even Damian said I should, which was very unlike him."

Kori smiled, her heart melting at the compassion of her Titans. She stood and pulled Dick into a hug.

"Thank you so much for coming," she sighed. "Can you do a favor for me?"

"Anything," he answered softly, arms wrapped snugly around her waist. She pulled away and looked him in the eye.

"I need to be here with Tessa. I'm worried what will happen when she wakes up. Can you take over the Titans? Please? Just until Tessa is better."

"Of course," he said without hesitation. "I promise, everything will be just fine."

"Thank you," she sighed, resting her head on his shoulder. "So much."

A fire. That was all I needed. And I didn't even have to set it! Some idiot assistant had knocked some potassium over and it ignited. No one noticed and it caught onto some equipment, and boom!

So when they were trying to get all of us experiments out, I went towards the fire. As I was making my way through the abandoned halls, I saw movement in one of the rooms. Not wanting to be caught, I picked up the pace. Behind me, out burst two other experiments. They scanned the hall, spotted me, and called out, "Wait!"

I turned reluctantly. More people meant less of a chance that I would get out.

"Do you know a way out of here?" the tall one asked as they ran up. He had wolf ears and fur sporadically covered his face and hands.

"I'm looking," she answered shortly.

"Please," the small one pleaded in a childish voice. "Take us with you. I don't wanna die here. They're mean. They hurt me."

"You have to keep up," I snapped, turning back down the hall. "I won't be saving any of you. You save yourselves.

The deeper we went into the Cage, the hotter the air grew. The smoke grew thicker, making it increasingly more difficult to breathe. The small experiment was falling behind, and had to be carried by the larger one. Their labored breathing seemed to echo through the hall.

Down the next hall we turn, I see a red 'Exit' sign, and increase my pace. The others had fallen behind, but I didn't stop until I burst through the door.

And I was outside. It wasn't raining, but it was cloudy. As I peered around the edge of the building, another explosion shook the ground and knocked me off my feet. The walls behind me started to crumble and collapse inward. It was only then that I realized that the other two experiments were still inside. I had outran them. But if I had ran at their pace, I would have been trapped in the building as well. I scramble up and run as fast as I can into the trees surrounding the Cage.

The suits will be able to tell that I'm not there. They kept a close eye on those of us who lived, and I'm a pretty valuable experiment. They'll notice that I'm not there, and they'll definitely send out a search team with dogs. Since I can fly, they'll use their radar, so it's safer to travel on the ground.

Then there's the problem of my tracker. We all have one. It's a small piece of tech, right at the base of my neck under the skin. I can probably get it out. Probably.

I look down at my clothes: a white cotton t-shirt and pants, and bare feet. I have to hold the pants up as I run, as there's no elastic or drawstring. I'll have to do something about them before I go around any people. The wings need to be hidden. The cold night air bites at my exposed skin, but I ignore it and keep running.

I don't know where the Cage is. I know it's in America. It's surprising what you can pick up from just listening to the suits and assistants. They seem to forget that we can hear and understand them, so they don't care what they say in front of us. It's how I learned everything I know about science.

Geography? Not so much.

There were a ton of pine trees, rocks that dig into my feet, and the dark, cloudy sky above me.

I ran as long as I could before collapsing into the dirt. I dry-heaved a few times before crawling under a bush and falling into a dreamless sleep.