 |  SEPT 2002 - #42 |
Nightmares
by Paul Hahn
| Nightmares by Paul Hahn | |
Over half of the resort was recently destroyed in an attack by the Imperial Forces of America.* The team didn't have a chance to rebuild before the White Queen drafted them on a mission to Montreal to find the missing Sebastian Shaw.**
*issues #37-38
**issues #39-41
With the mission complete, the team returned home. They were tired. They were sore. Some were hungry. But none of them wanted to deal with rebuilding.
"We'll start sorting through everything tomorrow," Nightwing sighed. "I suggest we all turn in early. Everyone's tired. It's been a long day."
"It's only been a day?" Superboy asked.
"Yeah," Nightwing sighed. "In the world of superheroes, comic books, and fanfiction, we never get a break."
"I'll say," Superboy sighed. "I am so going to sleep."
"G'night everyone," Arrowette said.
The rest of the team mumbled good nights to each other before heading off to their rooms. Except for Jolt, her room had been destroyed. She went to a different one. But the team all laid down for a nice, relaxing sleep . . .
"Come back!" Arnim Zola's voice filled her ears. He was calling loudly, demanding her return. "The Imperial Forces are far from being done with you!"
The Imperial Forces of America were chasing her. An army of soldiers, all firing their energy weapons at her. She dodged left, dodged right, ducked, jumped, rolled and hopped to try and stay ahead of the attack.
But she was losing hope.
"What do you want from me?" she screamed in response. "Why are you doing this?"
"I made you," Zola's voice replied, coming from everywhere and nowhere at once. "And you owe me service, child."
"No," she said. "I'll never serve you! I'll--!"
She skidded to a stop as a group of monsters appeared before her. She recognized them instantly: they were Zola's other successes. The Armageddon Man stood tall behind the group.
"No," Jolt said. She turned quickly to run, but stopped short. In front of her floated Wonder Girl, bursting with ionic energy. "C-Cassie . . . ? But . . . you're dead . . . "
"You heard Zola," Cassie said. "His creations can't die. We can be killed . . . but we'll come back. It just hurts like hell."
"If you're back, then you can help me!" Hallie exclaimed.
"I'm afraid not," Wonder Girl grinned wickedly. "All I can help you to do is . . . die!"
"Noooo!!"
Hallie nearly jumped out of bed. Her heart was beating incredibly fast. Her electric energy was almost pouring out of her. She tried to control her breathing.
"Dream . . . " she panted. "Just a dream . . . just a dream . . . just a dream . . . "
She took a deep breath. She was meditating. She hadn't felt so relaxed in a long time.
"You look so . . . content," a voice said.
Rebel's eyes opened, and she spun quickly to see who was addressing her.
"Cain," she said. Her own voice often surprised her. She seemed unable to talk in the real world, and usually in her dreams, too. But every now and then . . . "What do you want?"
Cain stood tall, strong. He was a muscular man with gray hair. "I came to see you, pumpkin."
"Don't call me that," she frowned. "You never earned the right to call me anything . . . anything except the name that I've accepted for myself."
"Rebel, right," he grinned. "It's cute."
"You have no hold over me anymore," she continued. "Leave."
"If I had no hold over you, would I be here?" he asked. "No, of course not. I made you who you are . . . what you are. Without me, you'd be--"
"Living somewhere with my family, having a normal, quiet life," she answered.
"I hate you.""Good," Cain said. "Go with that . . . use your hate . . . attack me!"
"It'll take a lot more than that to get a rise out of me."
"I see. Well, I suppose I could always tell you that if I hadn't taken you, you wouldn't have been left with a happy family . . . since I killed your mother."
Rebel's eyes went wide. She moved so quickly that a normal man wouldn't have seen her. But Cain blocked her kick with ease. He then punched her in the stomach and kicked her in the chin, knocking her down.
"Wh . . . what?" she asked. "I can't . . . can't predict your moves . . . "
"That's because I taught you everything you know. You can't beat me. You can't beat anyone . . . and you'll never get revenge against me . . .
for killing your mother.""What . . . ?" Superboy asked. "My powers . . . ?"
"Your powers are gone," a voice called. The robbers faded away as Match floated down from the sky. "They're mine now."
"I'll take 'em back!" Superboy exclaimed. He turned on his Photonic 'S' Shield with ease and charged forward.
"Idiot," Match said. He punched the shield, knocking Superboy back into the brick wall of the bank. "I took the name Match . . . because I'm more than a match for you. Even with your powers you couldn't stop me. And now . . .
I'm going to kill you."Superboy woke up in a cold sweat. He, of all the members of Young Justice, had the biggest ego and pride. And no one knew that he was slowly losing all his powers . . . and what little power he did have, was a gift from a mysterious man named Graviton.
She was at peace amongst the stars. Almost like she belonged there.
And then, all of a sudden . . .
she could feel it. Everything was wrong. She turned quickly and looked behind her. He was floating there, in space . . . Jason Wyngarde."You . . . " her eyes narrowed, her face suddenly extremely serious.
"Me," he smiled. "The man who's psyche you scattered amongst the stars. The man who made you what you are today. Your former lover . . . "
"We weren't lovers," she replied. "You turned me into your mindless slave . . . violated me . . . "
"Tough subject still, huh?" he asked. "Maybe you don't like to think about it? Maybe you just lock that unhappy memory away in some little box in a dark corner of your mind? Hmmm . . . I think you've got more than one little box. You've got hundreds of little boxes . . . thousands! Every unhappy memory . . . unpleasant thought . . . terrible deed . . . instead of dealing with it, you lock it away, never to be bothered by it again. How interesting . . . "
"What's more interesting is that you're here," Linda said. "You said it yourself . . . I scattered your mind across the galaxy . . . "
"I'm inside you, my dear," he replied. "I'm always with you. I'm in one of those little boxes . . . actually, I'm in a lot of them. And I'm coming out. Slowly but surely . . . taking it one day at a time . . . but I'll be out. Your days are numbered, Linda Danvers. I'm coming for you . . . "
"Bring it on," she replied. "You don't scare me . . . "
"You're not scared yet. But you will be . . . you will be."
"Hey Bart!" a dog said to him.
"Hey, Spot!" Bart replied, grinning madly. "Isn't Impulseland the bestest place on earth?"
"It sure is, Bart!" the dog replied. "It's the only place around where dogs like me can talk! Which is really great!"
"Bart!" Cissie yelled. "Over here!"
In the blink of an eye, Bart was there. "Hey Cissie . . . wow, you look great!"
"Of course I do!" she replied. "I always dress my best when I'm going to see my big, sexy, studly hero! You're so much better than Robin!"
"I know," Bart grinned.
"Now, go show me that speed!" she yelled. "Really turn it up!"
"Done and done!" Bart exclaimed. He took off at near the speed of light. He kept pushing his speed faster and faster. Then he heard it.
"Bart . . . "
"Huh?" Bart asked. "How can anyone be talking to me . . . I'm moving faster than the speed of sound!"
"Answer the call, Bart . . . go beyond . . . come to us . . . "
Bart stopped suddenly. "That's weird."
He then looked around. The world was
suddenly a dark and scary place, like something out of a fairy tale nightmare."What's going on? Cissie?" he asked.
"Bart," Cissie replied. She was lying in the mud . . . her body was bruised and beaten.
"Cissie?" he exclaimed. "What happened?"
"You did this . . . you were careless . . . you never think . . .
you're too stupid, Bart . . . stupid and useless and careless. And because of it . . . you killed us all!"A cloud of smoke was usually left behind whenever she teleported. For a split second, she passed through another dimension. She never really got a look at it . . . until now.
"What?" she asked. "I'm . . . not finishing my teleport?"
She looked around. The place was filled with colors . . . dark blues and purples, black with specs of white. "It's . . . strange. Almost . . . beautiful."
"Glad you enjoy it," Arrowette grinned.
"Cissie?" Empress asked. "What . . . ?"
"Did I ever tell you how much I enjoyed when you took over my persona as the Spoiler? No? Well, that's because I didn't enjoy it at all. And now, I'm out for revenge."
"Revenge? But, Cissie, what--"
"Don't Cissie me! I've done it . . . I've stolen your teleporting powers from you! And now, you'll be doomed to stay here, stuck in this plane of existence . . . for the rest of your miserable life!
"No!"
"There goes Arrowette!" a random teenage girl said. "She's such a role model!"
"Yeah!" a teenage boy said. "And man, she is the hottest super-hero ever!"
Arrowette grinned as she fired a gas arrow at the team of bank robbers. They scattered about, escaping the gas.
"I see you want to make this hard on yourself," Arrowette said. "That's fine by me!"
She tackled one robber, and kicked another in the jaw. She turned and fired a net arrow at the third, capturing him with ease. The fourth and final was making a break for it. Cissie reached for another arrow and fired. The man dropped.
"Alright!" Cissie grinned. "Another successful act of heroism for everyone's favorite archer . . . Arrowette!"
"Oh my god!" someone exclaimed. "This man . . .
he's dead!""What?" Arrowette asked, turning. It was a man, standing over the body of the last robber. "That's impossible . . . "
"You hit him with a real arrow in the chest!" the man exclaimed. "You killed him!
You maniac!""N-no . . . I . . . I didn't mean . . . ! I couldn't, I . . . no . . .
No!""Hello?" he called.
No answer.
"Hello?" he called again.
"Hi," a voice replied.
Nightwing spun around. His eyes went wide. Standing in front of him were Wonder Girl and Jade.
"What . . . ?" he asked.
"You killed us," Jade frowned.
"We trusted you to lead us," Wonder Girl said. "We trusted you,
and you got us killed! You left us to die!""No!" Chuck exclaimed. "It wasn't like that!"
"You didn't even care enough to find our bodies!" Jade exclaimed. "But that's just how it goes, isn't it? Everyone who gets close to you gets hurt . . . they die."
"We trusted you," Wonder Girl said. "And you killed us."
"No . . . "
And as
. . . and then . . .
He woke up. His eyes searched the room. Nothing. It was just a dream . . . just a nightmare. He took a deep breath. It was just a dream.
Right?
What else could it have possibly been . . . ?