CHAPTER 14: JOLT

Wally gasped as the world was spinning in front of him like clothes in a washing machine, making him want to barf.

He blinked a few times, attempting to clear the blurriness from his eyes and the fog around his brain. Five concerned faces came into focus, their eyes plastered to his face like he was some sort of freaky experiment.

"What happened?" he asked slowly, his eyes darting from face to face anxiously.

His voice was hoarse and scratchy; it's usual energetic quality absent. The rest of the team cast glances at one another, not sure exactly how to proceed.

"What do you last remember?" asked Aqualad cautiously, helping his comrade into an upright position.

"I remember the needle, and the Scarecrow's fear gas, and then-" Kidflash trailed off, not wanting to elaborate on the nightmares that had followed.

M'gann leaned forward to give him a hug, causing Artemis to look slightly annoyed on the other side of the circle.

"It's okay buddy," said Superboy, putting a hand on the speedster's shoulder," We're just happy that you up and back with the living again,"

"Then again," added Robin, "You might not be if it weren't for these two. Sounds like they had to go through some pretty bad stuff to get you that antidote,"

He gestured to M'gann and Superboy.

"What do you guys say on earth again?" asked M'gann scratching her chin, "Oh, it was nothing!"

Despite the dire situation, everybody laughed.

"Any signs that the Justice League may be sending backup soon?" asked Wally, suddenly feeling hopeful.

Nobody answered.

(Back in the Justice Legue Main Control Room)

There was a cold and stony silence in the room.

A long table was set, with Batman positioned at one head, and Superman on the other. The Flash, unable to sit still in the confines of one of the cushy black rolley chairs, (as always), paced back and forth impatiently, and Black Canary had begun to subconsciously wonder how long it would be before he would begin to wear a large gaping hole in the floor. The rest of the Justice League sat around the edges of the stainless steel counter, some twiddling their thumbs or fiddling with their capes. A map of Gotham, and another of the old wear house were spread before them like a puddle, and various red marking adjourned each, making them appear as if a treasure map of sum sorts.

"I feel that I must restate that these are code A missions, and that EVERYONE required to assist in anyway possible, which means-"

"No sleeping on the job," added Superman's gruff voice.

"That's right, we will require all able bodies we can get. The head of Gotham's crime scene, the Joker, is not one to be trifled with and we now have more Intel that he might have joined forces with others such as the Scarecrow,"

Bruce Wayne sighed heavily underneath his thick mask. The Young Justice team had been missing for two weeks now, but finding out that the Joker had captured them hadn't made him feel that much better. It was amazing to him how much lonelier Wayne Manor seemed without his bouncy ward, and even Alfred seemed to be crestfallen, guessing what had happened.

"But that's impossible!" exclaimed the Green Lantern, "I saw that he was locked behind bars with state-of-the-art security myself,"

"Then there must be a leak somewhere," said Wonderwomen calmly, twirling one of her thick, dark, locks around her finger, "He sure won't be the first to escape, or probably the last for that matter,"

"Do you think the mole might be involved?" asked Roy darkly from the corner.

Though the young rouge wasn't directly a member of the Justice League, he still cared about the well being of his former teammates and could be useful in combat, which is why Batman had allowed him to assist in the rescue.

"The mole is not of our concern right now," cut in Batman sternly," We have two, possibly more, dangerous criminals on the loose, along with an underage team that is trapped and being held hostage in the old warehouse on 46th avenue in Gotham. We believe at least one of those teammates to be critically injured, and needs to be evacuated for immediate medical attention,"

Green Lantern rose from his chair, "I'll head out to Arkum right away to make sure nobody else joins the party,"

"And I'll make sure that the press doesn't catch any wind of this," assured the Atom.

"Good," Batman gave a nod of approval to each, "Let's head into the field everybody,"

Robin was awoken from his restless dream by a resounding crash.

He pushed himself off the dank and dirty ground, listening to the sounds above him with a carefully trained ear. There was another thud, and then the shouts of several surprised guards. Guns open fired, and he felt the air suddenly become thick with electricity, as if a thunderstorm had just begun.

The Justice League had come.