Chapter 40 : N.O.W.H.E.R.E.
[Author note : I've decided to be a gracious author and gift you guys another chapter ! Kidding... Except for the chapter part. Also, head's up : chapters are getting shorter. If I want to write more chapters in the week, that's my only choice. Otherwise, it's the quality that's gonna drop... If it hasn't already.
Besides that, if you're interested in supporting me, or just want to read more of my stories, visit the Patréon website (é instead of e) and search for Cathbel. Until then... Enjoy !]
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A coastal highway in Florida.
A young blonde girl, wearing a red shirt underneath a denim jacket, light blue torn denim pants, was driving fast on the road, enjoying the cool evening air in her red convertible. Actually, it wasn't exactly her convertible. She had… borrowed it. Without asking. But anyways, people who bought cars like this could either afford another one, or had a great character flaw that made them essentially jerks, so… Yeah, it didn't matter ! Except when it did…
In the central rearview mirror, red and blue lights flashed in her sight. Looking up she saw what she was expecting. Cops !
« Oh, well… » She sighed and started to look for a place to park. Safety was important, after all ! She grinned slightly at the irony of this particular thought. Safety wasn't something her short life had seen a lot of… Between her deadbeat father who left when she was four, and her mother, a renowned archeologist going from dig site to dig site, Cassie, the blond girl, found it hard. Lonely. And quite depressing, to be honest. So, in order to cope, or draw attention to herself (she didn't know anymore), she'd started stealing. Small things at first : shoplifting, here and there. But then, it quickly escalated. Art or cultural pieces in museum, and here, grand theft auto ! It wasn't like she stole in order to re-sale it, so… no harm, right ?
As for the cop that was now making his way to the car, Cassie thought of a few ways to handle the situation. First, she'd try to finagle her way out of this one…
« Hello, officer ! I'm sorry… I was speeding, I know ! This is my mother's car and I just wanted to… I'm so sorry, sir ! » She pleaded turning on the waterworks.
Cassie said with big, teary puppy dog eyes aimed upward at the cop. Sometimes, those guys were suckers… Especially the decent ones. As she thought this, she didn't pay attention to the hands closing in on her neck. As they closed around it, the man lifted her up and out of the car, and Cassie panicked. She didn't understand what was happening… Why the guy was doing this… Even if he was a corrupt cop, what would be the reason to kill her ? Unless he was some kind of extreme vigilante killing off criminals ?
The blonde girl started to gasp for air pretty quickly while she inwardly debated whether or not she should fight this freak. As she was just about to either lose consciousness or break the dude's jaw, the grasp on her throat suddenly disappeared. Closing her eyes instinctively and coughing, she crouched and struggled to breathe. Suddenly, she heard a confident, and mildly reassuring voice asking (stupidly, she might add…) :
« You okay ? » A pause where she only glared in the direction of the person's voice and found… Okay, if his question was stupid, his outfit was worse ! A green domino mask on his face, as if that ever prevented anyone from finding out who you were… A yellow or gold cape. She wasn't sure because of the tears slowly clearing up from her eyes. A bright red tunic with yellow clippings, green motorcycle gloves and boots. Without the red, he would look like some sort of Jamaican mascot or sports enthusiast. However, Cassie knew differently… This kid had been seen often with another known vigilante : the Batman. Though, usually, they stayed in their polluted, filled with corruption, cesspit masquerading as a city. Gotham… Ugh ! There's just no worse place to live and grow up… No wonder the kid was nuts !
Seeing how she wasn't reacting or thanking him and started to make her way back to the car, Robin raised his voice :
« You're the one the medias are calling Wonder Girl, aren't you ? »
For just a fraction of a second, she faltered before she answered :
« I have no idea what you're talking about… See ya ! »
With a knowing smile, the vigilante kid approached her, swagger in his steps.
« I've actually looked into you, just so you know. Cassandra Sandsmark, daughter of Helena Sandsmark and an unknown father. You've travelled pretty much all over the world… »
« Not interested… Adios~ ! » She interrupted him as she turned the ignition on 'her' car. Just as she was about to put the pedal to the metal however, the two youngsters heard the sound of a chopper rapidly approaching. And before Cassie could react, a deluge of lead and iron swept up both her and her car. Robin only had time to dodge and watch with horror as the minigun tore through the teenager. The car quickly exploded and now only fire and smoke rose from it. Though it didn't make the new attackers stop their firing. And soon, a new sound rose in the middle of the roaring fire and falling debris. Metal hitting metal, as if the bullets were hitting something harder than the car…
« Damn it all ! I liked this car ! » Cassie's pissed off voice echoed before something flew out of the wreckage in the direction of the chopper. Robin, being a normal human with no meta-powers or magic, could only use his human-level dynamic vision. Cassie was… flying ? It was safe to say at least, that she had enough leg power to propel herself in the air as if she did. And the next moment, Robin confirmed his thoughts that she possessed super-strength as well as some degree of invincibility when she tore right through the helicopter. It blew up in a shower of flaming rain drops and metal parts.
Robin frowned slightly, not liking how the girl dealt with the situation so… lethally. Then again, against their current enemies, maybe it was the only way. From the few clues he managed to piece together, this organization the girl was currently fighting were quite evil. They had kidnapped a number of meta-humans across the country, made them disappear… And until now, none of them had resurfaced. At least, as far as he could tell (and he could tell a lot with Batman's spy softwares, his hacking capabilities and Wayne Enterprises satellites).
As the girl slowly floated back down to stand in front of what was left of the car she'd stolen, Robin mentally confirmed another one of her powers : flight. And, if he added the speed at which she jumped out of the car and reached the flying vehicle, maybe a degree of superhuman speed, as well. If she didn't have the Superman package, she had the Wonder Woman one. No wonder they called her Wonder Girl !
He suddenly smirked, thinking how a mouthful his last thought sounded. Cassie spotted it however, and for some reason started to make her way angrily towards him. As she towered over his smaller frame for a second, her fists against her hips, she spoke demandingly :
« I've heard about you. The bird following the bat around… What are you doing here ? »
Her last sentence and question in particular, was heavily emphasized and carried a not so slight undertone of threat. Robin shrugged as he started to explain himself :
« I've been followed a rumor… A ghost. My… partner didn't believe in it, and since it happened out of Gotham, he hasn't bothered with it but… I knew it was big. »
« What is ? »
« This… » He pointed at the empty air, where the chopper was earlier, then at the knocked out cop on the ground. « A shadow organization tracking down and abducting young meta-humans. The only thing about them I could find beside the abductions was an acronym : N.O.W.H.E.R.E.… »
* * * * *
Watching and listening to it all from the safety of his home through the camera feed of Mel's rifle, Ned muttered to himself.
« N.O.W.H.E.R.E., huh ? It does ring a bell somewhat… But I can't place where I heard of it. What about them, though… » He paused on the image of Robin and Cassandra Sandsmark. « Robin and Wonder Girl… Given how long Batman's been in business, it can only be the first Robin, so… Richard Grayson, isn't it ? And her… Isn't she supposed to be much younger than he is ? Why is she the oldest in this reality ? Is this supposed to be the start of the Teen Titans ? » He shook his head as he said : « There's no Cyborg, no Beast Boy, no Raven and no space princess by the name of… What was it again ? Some kind of spice name… Doesn't matter ! I don't remember Wonder Girl being a part of the original Titans roster. Maybe it happened in some version of the comics… » He typed on his computer with images about the two vigilantes attached to the file : Possible titans.
« Now that I think of it, I've known of another Wonder Girl… Donna Troy. So, this should have been the second one, I think ? Though she doesn't appear to like the name very much… » Ned muttered as he continued to take note and observe the two possible titans.
« What should we do, father ? » Winston's voice came from the speakers installed in his workshop.
« Continue to observe for now and try not to draw attention to yourselves. »
« They're just kids… Is it really necessary to be so wary of them ? » Mel asked, her French accent apparent in her words.
« It's not them I'm worried about. It's this organization Robin spoke of… »
« So, you know it ? »
« I… Don't remember. For some reason, I'm feeling quite anxious for some reason, though. N.O.W.H.E.R.E. is probably something pretty bad… »
« Worse than an immortal sorceress or a group of racist dark wizards ? »
This brought a smirk to Ned's face as he said :
« Heh ! Now that you mention it… Maybe I'm worried over nothing. Still, better safe than sorry, I guess. If they're in any danger however, I'll refer to your own judgement. Since you're on the scene and all… »
« Très bien ! »
« Acknowledged. »
« Bib-bip-boo ? » Bastion suddenly asked.
« Because there's no real reason for me to be out there. Mel's better at reconnaissance and Winston's smart and competent so he probably won't be spotted. I'm pretty sure he jerry-rigged some of my invisibility tech on his force-field projector… So, yeah ! They don't need me. Besides, you know me ! I'm kind of a drama queen… ahem, I meant king. I just know I won't be able to resist making an entrance ! »
* * * * *
A man with glasses walked, silently, in a well-lit lab with a number of scientist all around the room. Despite the lighting however, the man was steeped in shadows, where the only source of light on his person were the reflection on his glasses. It was almost as if, the shadows were alive around him… As he continued to advance unimpeded toward a single large human-sized transparent vat, he ordered :
« Wake him up ! It's time to see how well he fares in real life… »
« But, sir ! He's not ready ! » A red-head in a lab coat, another one of the scientist here, protested. « Beyond the fact that the simulations still haven't yielded any of our desired results, we have yet to unlock his full potential. Allow us a few more weeks… No, just one… »
« I'm not here to argue with you, doctor Fairchild ! I'm here to give you an order. Wake. Him. Up ! He has a mission… »
« I… Yes, Mister Templar, sir… » The red head faltered in front of her superior's gaze. As she operated the tablet in her arms to bring the subject out of his simulated sleep, the man stepped back, revealing a red luminescent letter on a black full-bodysuit… A stylized and very renowned letter that was actually a symbol the world over. The letter S…
And suddenly, the eyes of the subject opened up : piercing blue eyes, even through the slightly green colored solution in the pod. His black hair, usually mostly static, started to float around as the young teenager glanced around himself, curious.