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***
The new morning was pleasant, but the remaining wounds from the battle with Steppenwolf were a reminder of the coming mission on which their future depended.
In the hall where Apocalypse had been terrorizing Earth for the entire three months that Apocalypse had been terrorizing Earth, Will usually didn't wake up alone. He always had Beast Boy with him, who was sadly absent now. He missed him, for in that short period of time they had become not only best friends, but companions in failure.
The truth was that all this time Beast Boy had been bothered by the same problem Will had been....
«Will!
The wooden door swung open sharply with a heavy thud, and Will almost jumped up from the couch. It was Beast Boy, and he was smiling studiously, though the quivering corners of his lips hinted at intense agitation.
«Beastboy!
They immediately hugged and looked at each other like they hadn't seen each other in years.
«I thought you were dead! - he said.
«You're one to talk, I haven't seen you since the raid. How'd you get back?
«I come from Atlantis, we were taken from the island by Aquaman's men. And let me tell you, they got some nice water, but it's just not for me. I'm not a big fan of fish, especially talking fish, it's like I'm looking at myself. Never mind, it's just my imagination. I've come to take you to Atlantis.
«Got it.
"I'll finally know where it is. Never been there before."
«Too bad your tag doesn't work where you've never been. Hey, you didn't leave a tag on me, did you? I've been thinking about it all the way over here.
Will grinned.
«You know...I thought about it, but alas, no, people don't really like it when I do it.
«And that would be very efficient, I wouldn't have to swim after you, but... yeah, it's kind of creepy to imagine that some crap is on my back and you can suddenly be in my junk when I'm doing important things, it's not normal and it violates my personal comfort zone," Beast Boy sighed, then smiled sharply and clapped Will on the shoulder. - I'm kidding! It's fucking awesome! And you believed it! Okay, listen, next time you tag me, Vanessa and I talked about it and decided that we should do it to everyone.
«Well... you know, after Zatanna caught me with the spell, I'm already afraid to use the mark just for fun. Who knows what might come out of it.
«Hmm... That's right, I didn't think of that," Beast Boy said, getting serious, "Look, they've got Starfire locked up in a cage like some kind of dog, and they're holding her against her will. No matter how hard I try to get through to them, the people of Atlantis won't even let me talk to her. That's fucked up.
Starfire was still under Apocalypse's control, and so Arthur threw her into the dungeon without a second thought.
"No wonder, the King of Atlantis has always been pretty radical when it comes to his inhabitants."
«That's how...I'm sorry. We'll get Starfire out of their clutches, don't worry. Vanessa will find a way to bring her back to her senses.
«I believe that, otherwise we'll be in big trouble," Beast Boy smiled languidly.
In his hands was a small red stone, which he glanced at every now and then as he played with it in his fingers. It was Raven's.
«No rumors about her, right? - Will asked.
«Yeah...we used to wake up in the same house every day, but now...I've forgotten what she smells like.
«Mm... Let's talk about it over a cup of coffee, huh? - Will said, trying to cheer Beast Boy up with a friendly clap on the back. It didn't seem to make any sense, but the closeness and support of a friend was sometimes better than any medicine.
And they left the dusty hall where the two of them usually slept. It was chilly. The walls were blown in, and in some places they had collapsed. Some of the windows were covered with cardboard or wet boards. They walked into a gray kitchen with shabby white walls that looked like some kind of abandoned orphanage, and stopped at a white table where there were three plain white mugs, one of which was cracked. One of them, with a bear hugging Vodka. Will had once given it to Vanessa as a joke, having found it in a ruined housewares store, and she had suddenly liked it very much.
«Vanessa's been working all night," Will said, "trying to find a way to free the minds of her subordinates, but so far it's been a bust.
«Yeah, it's too bad the last carrier couldn't be used. Might have been able to save Starfire. By the way, have you learned to control your other self? Didn't he somehow manage to get Karen back? - Beast Boy asked hopefully.
«Yeah... but Minato said he got it by accident. I have an idea, but I need to test it on someone.
«On Starfire.
«Yes, most likely, but even if I do manage to free people from Darkseid's control, I'm not sure I can save everyone. I can't do it alone. If Darkseid realizes that I can free people, he'll probably increase his vigilance and move his subordinates away from the front. Or kill them altogether, so... we can't take any chances. We have to wait until Vanessa can come up with a virus that can free everyone's minds at once.
«And for that we need to get to Wayne-taver," Vanessa said, appearing in the kitchen.
Will and Beast Boy froze in their chairs, both with hot coffee in their hands, like two ungentlemen. Vanessa arched an eyebrow and took the mug from Will, blew on it, steam rising, and sipped, shrinking a little. It was chilly.
«I still don't see how we're going to get into Wayne-taver," Will said thoughtfully, "the town's crawling with para-demons. We'd have to get to Atlantis and survive there first.
«We have to get through this. There's no other way," Vanessa said firmly, and disappeared down the hall.
Will and Beast Boy looked at each other in surprise.
«Apparently that note from her father had a big impact on her," Beast Boy said.
«You bet, of all people, Batman had given her a big job that only she could handle. Vanessa dreamed about it all her life, I guess, even in such hard times each of us can find something good, - Will grinned sadly, looking at the red stone in Beast Boy's hand. He thought of Kara and the mug Vanessa had stolen.
***
«The first task is to get to Atlantis. To do this, we need to cross the floor of Gotham and get to the sea. As you can see on the map, the tunnel we used to get to Nerose Island has been destroyed by the enemies. And the entire coast in that direction is now under the increased control of the Army of the Apocalypse. In bad news, the enemy now knows what we're capable of and knows where we're hiding, so we're leaving our hideout once and for all.
«There are para-demons circling in the sky, searching hard for us. There's no way through the sky.
«Where the hell is the path open?! We have this bearded man, can we use magic and teleport? - Beastboy asked.
Vanessa sighed and drew the thick word "Magic" on the board with a red felt-tip pen and poked at it.
«If your opponent was some Beast Boy, maybe it would work, but Steppenwolf is a great strategist and warrior. He knows we have a mage. So he came up with a countermeasure to stop us from teleporting. Can you explain that, John?
John exhaled tiredly, pushing himself away from the wall he was leaning against and said:
«Zatanna controls a marked area off the east coast of the United States. Where we are now. If I use a teleport spell, she'll pick it up immediately and know where we're teleporting to. Rest assured, she'll be waiting for us in full armor.
«Mmmm..." said Beast Boy glumly, "then what are our options at all? What can we do?
«Bait," Karen said, giving Vanessa a disapproving look. It was obvious that they didn't like each other, but they understood each other perfectly. Probably because they were so much alike at heart.
«Right," Vanessa replied calmly, drawing two circles on the white board. - We'll split into two teams. Team A will stealthily head toward the coast, where the Apocalypse Army's control is now weakened, to the west, and Team B will distract the enemies.
«Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! Who would ever play bait?! It's pure suicide!
«Team B will have the fastest and most tenacious," Karen said.
«But it's not enough. Steppenwolf isn't stupid," Vanessa circled a red circle around the point in the Gotham City Center that was Steppenwolf, "He'll quickly realize that we're using a decoy to distract him. If he sees someone shining themselves right in front of his face, he will immediately order the para-demons to investigate the situation. Then he'll definitely detect the A-team, and direct all his forces to eliminate it. Or worse, he'll use all the Tyranids to destroy us.
«Tyrants...are we even going to be able to escape?
«We can't... unless the Tyrants are active.
«What are you talking about? Of course they'll be active," Beast Boy jumped with his hands.
«In a normal situation, yes. Tyranids are indeed extremely powerful weapons, but where have you seen any weapon with infinite supplies?
Vanessa quickly drew Tyrant on the board, and circled his battery-like insides.
«Any strong weapon needs a lot of power, otherwise it's just a clapper with no real output. The Tyranids are currently in tracking mode, but if the enemy spots us, they will activate immediately.
«And what's the way out of this situation? Moving stealthily? I don't believe we won't be spotted.
«Which is why we need a decoy that will make Steppenwolf not want to activate the Tyranids.
Beast Boy glanced over, he was the only one who didn't know what he was talking about.
«Well... and?
«You need a 'juicy' enough bait that the General can't ignore," John Constantine grinned, glancing at Willard Light, who had been silently listening to the others all this time.
«I'm ready," Will said, "I'll play the bait. My abilities are best suited for that.
Vanessa nodded.
«When the General spots you, he'll order you to keep the Tyranids on standby so they don't accidentally hit you. Because he's very eager to fight you one-on-one. That's what we'll use so the second team can sneak down to the sea unnoticed while you distract the Steppenwolf on your own. When he catches up with you, you can join us with the Thunder God Tag, but....
«It's still a risk. I realize that. Zatanna knows a way to catch me, but I'll figure something out. We don't have any other options anyway, do we? - Will said.
Vanessa couldn't find the words, though you could tell from the sad expression on her face that she was worried.
«In that case, I'm coming with you, buddy! Where you go, I go.
«Ha-ha-ha... you're being a fool, as always," Will smiled and patted his friend on the shoulder, "but alas, I'm afraid it's not your job, buddy. It's going to be too hot, and you know it.
«For real men, it's nothing.
«Yeah, but, uh.
«He's right, Beast Boy. You can't go with Will, or you'll die. To go with Willard you need not only the ability to run away, but to survive. You can't survive what Steppenwolf has in store for you," Karen said, turning Beast Boy around to face him. - And that's why I'm the only one who can go with Willard Light.
***
They couldn't wait any longer. Operation Reach Atlantis began late at night, after 23:00. It was darker than ever outside because the city was destroyed. The cool fall air wafted through the streets.
Will and Karen stood at the door leading to the garden, which in the night looked like loosened earth, like pipes had been dug up there or something. Once, when Will was asleep, a shell from the Apocalypse Army had fallen there.
The others had already left, she and Karen were alone.
«We've taken position and will start moving when Apocalypse spots you," Will heard Vanessa's muffled voice over the earpiece in his ear.
«Will was nervous, they were leaving soon, and there was no telling what the future held for them. Maybe today would be the last time they saw each other.
«Remember, Will, the link will hold until we make contact. Then we disconnect.
«I remember.
This was to prevent their communication channel from being hijacked later.
«Good luck, then.
«Yes... and you.
The connection broke. Will sighed, lowering his head.
«It starts in five minutes, and the night streets look so unkind when you look at them through dirty windows.
They couldn't be washed because it could be seen by enemies.
Karen stood nearby, leaning against the wall, looking out over the dead city. The ruined asphalt, the silence, not a single bird or insect, only the occasional howl of the wind, and the skeletons of buildings with clusters of overturned cars in the distance.
«It feels awful," she said, "do you think we should go there?
Will grinned, thinking Karen's words were a joke.
«Honestly, I'd be in a warm bed with Kara right now, but... I didn't appreciate it then. I don't know who would like this hell," Will sighed.
«...
Karen turned away silently, pressing her shoulder against the crumbling wall. She seemed very lonely at that moment. It was hard to make out her expression through her downcast bangs, the shadows interfering.
It was even harder to understand what such a strong and independent girl was thinking.
To Will, she was a person who had come to Earth and hadn't even had time to live like a normal person. She was immediately thrown into hell.
In some ways, he and Will were similar. Both of them were in an unfamiliar world, with unfamiliar people, forced acquaintances and a power that was nothing but trouble. Except that they saw things differently.
Will wanted to know what was in Karen's heart. She reminded him so much of Kara, but ...
«Time," she said as she opened the door.
And a cold wind rushed in, blowing the two of them around. The moon, shining an unkind scarlet color in the sky, rose high in the sky. And then the black clouds that hung there came down with a furious rain.
«Yes, let's go," Will threw on his black cloak and stepped forward.
"Bad Omen."
And what awaited them was far worse than this unfriendly wind and rain.
***
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