LOOTING DC #7. Call it Even?
Round two?
For half a second, Jake's mind wandered - not to his current predicament, not to the looming fight, not even to whether he could take on the entire Young Justice team and win.
He was thinking about power.
Not his power, not whether he needed to get stronger. No, something more specific. A curiosity sparked by the fact that this team could see in the dark. Well, not all of them - but Robin, especially.
The way Robin had been dodging his attacks wasn't guesswork. It wasn't just on instinct. It was precision. Robin could see. He didn't hesitate, stumble or miscalculate dodges. If he hadn't had some way to track Jake in the dark, he'd already be dead.
And that raised a question.
The EMP.
Jake had felt it - hell, he was still feeling it. The pulse had fried everything. The fabricator had taken the hit. His stolen tech was now useless. Even the Batmobile - God, he'd really been looking forward to that joyride - was now a glorified hunk of metal.
So how was Robin still seeing?
Sure, maybe he had some post-EMP-proof gadget tucked away. Maybe Miss Martian was linking their vision. But if Robin had a way to see without power, what did that say about Batman?
And then there was something else. Something even dumber, but it wouldn't leave his head.
The BatCave was underground. No magic, no other dimension. Underground. Yet there was a constant supply of fresh air. Not stale and recycled. Not damp and moldy. Fresh.
And Jake had breathed Gotham air long enough to know how it should taste.
So how the hell was the BatCave this well-ventilated, without power?
He was on the verge of a breakthrough - some maddening realization at the edge of his mind - when a voice snapped him back.
"Who are you, and what's your business in the BatCave?"
Jake recognized the voice immediately - Kid Flash - from watching Young Justice. Funny how voice-overs stuck even when the world became real.
From the tone and texture of his voice, Kid Flash wasn't really interested in Jake's answers. There was some genuine curiosity there, but Jake picked on something else.
He was buying time. Classic stall tactic. And Jake understood why. Robin was still stuck in the human-sized Spider's web. Jake wasn't sure why he'd spun it in the first place, but it had been the spider sense screaming at him to launch a webline here and there until it actually came to save him right when Robin could have finished things.
Young Justice wasn't afraid, not really. They were trained for worse. But they weren't stupid either. They knew when they were at a disadvantage. If they rushed in now, before freeing Robin, they'd be forced on the defensive - especially if Jake kept the pressure on.
Jake's webs weren't perfect yet, but they were tough. Tough enough to hold a human. Tough enough to slow most people down. But against Superboy's strength? Kaldur's sorcery? Miss Martian's telekinesis?
Jake wasn't willing to bet on it. Instead of answering Kid Flash, he chose to exploit his current advantage-
By going straight for Robin. Again.
This time, with far more ferocity than last time. It would take all his focus. He couldn't even afford to keep breathing.
Sharp inhale. Breath held.
Leap and swing.
Target: Robin - about 25 feet away.
First Obstacle: Kid Flash.
Two webs straight at the ground. A hard yank to the first one.
Pivot. Duck. Backward roll. Momentum break.
Twist and kick. Maximum strength. Contact.
Tiiiing!!!
Crap.
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Kid Flash's smirk quickly turned into a sour scowl the moment he found himself flipping over, hands outstretched.
He'd successfully dodged the first web he noticed snapping to the ground, but where did the second one come from?
Shock turned into bitterness as the speedster avoided crushing his ribs on the floor with an 'undexterous' cartwheel and body roll - just in time to help Kaldur break his backward momentum from a kick he'd just shielded with his construct.
Kaldur's feet scraped across the floor as he skidded, making Kid Flash consider an alternative approach to stopping the backlash. Rushing before the moment could pass, Kid Flash pendulum-swung Kaldur, constraining his motion to a circular path. Good thing they could communicate through the psychic link, or else Kaldur would be in for a rude ride - and Superboy wouldn't get the signal to strike at just the right moment.
Nor would Miss Martian, who was already lifting a heavy metal scrap from a broken machine.
Jake could dodge two attacks. Three he could survive and still come out on top. What about four?
Jake had sensed Superboy's punch, the metal block floating toward him - but two other things were coming at him with incredible speed.
One, he could tell, was an extremely angry speedster. The other was someone moving almost as fast.
Jake found himself in an exhausted and awkward position. The walls were closing in. He turned his back to the floor and desperately fired webs to the ceiling.
Maybe - just maybe - he could swing upward and dodge…
Zzzzzzzzzz....
When did he get above me?
POOOWWWW!
Jake barely moved a few inches before Superboy's angry punch landed on his chest - so close to his heart that he felt it temporarily deflate.
His webs had already caught the stalactites overhead, but all they did was slow his momentum on the way down, decreasing the size of the crater he formed on impact.
Jake felt the pain, the burn, the exhaustion - his cockiness draining from his soul. And he was about to experience it again as the half-Kryptonian dropped toward him.
Still… no breath escaped Jake as he let go of one of the double webs and pulled himself out of the way just in time.
Superboy's punch dented the cave floor further, increasing the size of the cracks and forming new ones in the process.
Meanwhile, Jake was trying to recalibrate and adjust to his recent overwhelm when he barely felt Kid Flash. Dodged. But still found himself being pulled anyway. By his own web.
What the-
Jake let go and fired another one. Big Mistake! Kid Flash was already on it. The speedster caught it, and this time used it to swing Jake toward a zealously waiting Kaldur. For the finisher.
Pulled by his own momentum, Jake barely had a second to react before Kaldur made his move. Kaldur reshaped his Water Bearers mid-strike, collapsing them inward and condensing them into twin orbs of dense, pressurized water.
Jake barely had time to think before Kaldur slammed them together.
BOOM.
A detonation of force, not unlike a depth charge, erupted point-blank in Jake's face. The shockwave hit first - blurring his Spider Sense. His ears rang alongside the crushing sensation. The air pressure shifted violently, stealing breath from his lungs. It's like he'd just been hit by a massive hurricane beholding a grudge.
Kaldur had launched Jake into a crushing whirlpool in midair, a vortex of water so compact it moved like a living creature.
Only his enhanced instincts could save Jake from getting dragged down with it.
Jake did his best to mildly twist, dislocating his shoulder for a fraction of a second just to slip through the violent current. He snapped his arm back into place mid-spin. And then-
Webs. Everywhere.
Thwip-thwip-thwip-thwip!
Before Kaldur could reshape the water, before Kid Flash could rush in again, before Superboy could wind up another earth-shattering punch - Jake let loose. A rapid spray of webbing coated the cave walls, the floor, their arms, their feet. Sticky, thick, and haphazard - not meant to hold, just to delay and disorient.
Just enough to buy himself a second to breathe.
Jake skidded backward, one hand gripping his side, lungs burning due to lack of air. He forced an inhale. Then let out a shaky exhale.
"Woah, wooah... Hooooff..." He shook his head, giving a breathless chuckle. "That was a close one there." He rolled his shoulders with a grin. "Looks like I've underestimated you guys."
"We are just gettin' started," Kid Flash bragged.
Oh yeah?
Jake straightened slightly, feeling his body shake from the adrenaline. His fingers twitched with readiness. He could tell that he wanted more.
Being surrounded by danger was exhilarating. But let's be real, Young Justice could get overwhelming.
Jake didn't need more to realize he had a slim chance of success if they came at him in full power. Kid Flash using his webs against him was proof enough.
Fine then.
Time to escape.
And get better for next time.
But first - Robin.
The beauties of a human-sized Spider's web. Strong, resilient, and takes about three hours to dissolve naturally. And being almost sure that Batman hadn't developed contingencies for his web snares yet, Jake could tell that Robin was still stuck. Unable to move.
Reflecting back to his suit, Jake scowled.
Tch.
The least Robin can do is help me escape.
Jake couldn't see. Not with the pitch black darkness.
But if I remember correctly...
He pictured the BatCave's layout in his mind. The support beams. The weight distribution. The weakest structural points....
Jake exhaled through his nose.
I hate to do this to the BatCave...
A quick series of precise web strikes - webs that latched onto support beams, pressure points, key structures. Then, with a firm clasp of his palms and fingers, he began breaking things.
No - he began collapsing them. And most of the cave with it.
The cave groaned. A domino effect of controlled destruction began, steel and stone shuddering as sections of the ceiling crumbled.
The team moved to stop him - only to realize where the destruction was centered.
"Shit! Robin!"
Kid Flash rushed forward, though he hadn't quite processed how he would handle the debris falling toward his friend.
Miss Martian threw up a telekinetic shield to protect them both, but things only got worse as even more debris collapsed - confined to that one location. Kaldur and Superboy jumped in to assist as best they could.
Meanwhile, Jake had orchestrated the distraction for one purpose.
To buy himself just enough time to do something even more impossible.
ESCAPE THE BATCAVE.
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So… I got lazy for a sec. No real excuses. Maybe I can make it up with a chapter tomorrow. Then another the day after? Call it even? What? You want more!? 😳 But I- I'm just getting started. 😼
Also, I don't have any early access chapters on Patreon, but if you feel like supporting me for absolutely nothing, Patreon.com/mimiclord. Just so you know, I don't plan on having early access chapters anytime soon. Sorry.