#worldheart

Turning back to the puppy she reached out her hand offering it to the dog. “Here boy.” She cooed at it until she felt its wet nose graze the back of her fingers. Gently and slowly, she patted the dog watching as its tail raised from between its legs to a wag in a few moments. “There there… Where’s your owner boy? Did you get separated?” She unzipped herself out of her sleeping bag to better reach the dogs neck. “No collar, eh? But you look so well fed. Ain’t no way you’re not someone’s pet.” She ruffled his fur, “You’ve got too much meat on you!” She laughed, especially with the dirty look it seemed to give her. “Don’t worry though. We’ll find your parents, yeah. Lemme pack up my things and we’ll take you to the pound or something. Must be someone looking for you out there.”

Her things were few and easily packed in minutes. She rolled up her sleeping bag tight as she could, stuffing it to the bottom of her backpack. On top of it she put her only set of spare clothes she owned, all slightly damp after hanging to dry all night. The last thing she packed was the small camping stove and the half full butane tank it used. Glancing back at where she’d set up camp, the only evidence that she’d ever been there was a cleaner spot in the dust where she’d laid out her sleeping bag and cooked her food last night. She’d even packed up the empty can and plastic cutlery in a plastic bag.

She had no collar, nor any leash to control the dog but it followed her when she called it. “What’s your name anyways?” She picked her way through the brush until she’d emerged back onto the sidewalk. No one stopped to question why she’d just emerged from seemingly nowhere under a bridge. When you looked like you might be homeless, you gained your own superpower. Invisibility. People gave her and her dog a good berth. The dog just cocked its head up at her again. “Right. No collar, no name, eh? Hmm.” She thought for a moment letting her feet carry her along the unfamiliar streets. “Then why not… Nah that is way to generic… You know, naming a dog is really hard. You don’t want to pick something too common ‘cus then its like, everyone knows you’re just lazy, but also you can pick something way to extra, ya know?” The dog sneezed, as if agreeing. “Yeah…”

Jaz was brought out of her thoughts as she approached a news stand. In her world, stands selling newspapers were relics that you wouldn’t find anymore, except in mention in the movies maybe. Here though, the pop-up cart was manned by an overweight man in a ball cap smoking and watching the news on his tiny TV he had set up in the corner of the stand. She flipped two dollars through the air, marvelling at how he caught it without breaking his attention from the TV. She grabbed a paper and paused for a moment to catch up on what was going on in this world.

“Super man missed the opening ceremony of the new library donated to metro city… The spokesperson for the justice league says there is no concern that Super man is missing but offered no explanation for his absence at the ceremony…” The TV news caster was really trying to sensationalize the fact that he’d ghosted the opening ceremony; it was this month's big narrative. Superman… Missing! Jaz shook her head.

“You really think he’s actually missing, or you think he just snubbed the library funded by Lex Luther?” She always tried to make friendly conversation with anyone she could meet. The dog’s ears perked at her mention of Lex Luther. They always fell into one of three camps though. The super fans, the super ignorers…

“In my opinion, I don’t care what Superman does.” And the super haters. “Or any of them for that matter.” He shook his head, flicking his attention from the tv screen to Jaz for the first time. “What’s your story anyways. The dogs new.”

“Meh, just passing through. You know where the pound is around here? Think he’s lost.”

He nodded his head. “Yeah, let me just write you down the instructions.” Jaz nodded and waited. Stands like this didn’t have free wifi, and her blessed phone had died last night anyways.

“Say, you got a charge I could snag for a bit?” He shook his head without looking up. “Ah. Fair.” He tossed her the note.

“Keep your head low, you got it? Don’t know why I’m telling you this, but you look like you gotta hear it. Keep your nose clean. You don’t want to meet the likes of Superman.” She nodded and turned to leave… But on a whim, she found the word slipping out of her mouth.

“Why?” The man levelled a hard stare back at her again. “I mean… Why do you hate them? The supers I mean.” She almost regretted asking, seeing the sheer rage build in his eyes.

“Because they’re loved. They’re hero’s,” He practically spat the word, “For destroying our cities, tearing up our homes. You know what the media doesn’t report on? While they’re all focused on, ‘oh Superman isn’t at the library today,’ they ignore how many dead are pulled from the buildings destroyed next to Gotham's docks last weekend. No one should have that much power, child. No one.” Jaz just nodded and walked away.

When Jaz had first come to this world, she’d quickly lost the excitement she’d held for coming here. She’d always imagined that if she did travel one the universes they supported, that she’d be counted among the super powerful; instead, she was weaker than a regular human here. Because her coming here was an accident, she’d never taken the drugs or gone through the procedures they took to prepare one for such a trip. That meant her body still worked on the rules and laws of the physics from her world, not the world of the supers she’d come too. Any normal human on the street could technically be slammed into a wall and, while bloody and bruised, they’d still be living. You slam a regular person into a cement wall hard enough that it cracks or crumbles around you and that person is dead. Broken back, internal haemorrhaging, no pulse; dead. There’s no walking away from that, and that was the constitution she was walking around with in a world full of superheroes and villains. She could almost relate to the wariness that man held for the supers.

“I think this is the place bud…” She glanced down at the border collie. It looked almost sad and took a step back when she opened the door for both of them. “Oh come on. Don’t worry, these people will help you find your way home.” The dog made a motion that eerily resembled someone shaking its head no. “Come on. You’ve been so good this far, just come in.” Hesitantly, the dog stepped through the door. She let it close behind them, walking towards the unmanned desk. “See? No biggie.” The bell rang clearly in the room. She waited but didn’t hear anyone call saying they were coming. She didn’t hear anything.

“Huh.” Jaz dinged the bell again, straining her ears. A loud crash caught her attention. The collie dashed behind the counter, slamming into the door. The sound of wood cracking rang out as the door slammed to the ground from the force of the dog, wood splinters flying from where its hinges were ripped out of it. The collie disappeared down the call chasing after the noise. “Wow… Even dogs can just break through doors like that here.” She quickly followed after it, hoping whoever was the cause of that noice wasn’t hurt.

Beyond the door she passed through a vet office, through another door and down some stairs to the second floor. She quickly began descending the stairs when she heard another crash and some voices. She made to call out when her mouth instinctively clamped shut. They sounded angry, though she couldn’t make out what they were saying over the sound of dozens of barking dogs. Down the hall from the stairs she spotted the border collie, oddly hunkering against the wall as if it was knowingly hiding from the commotion and eavesdropping. Jaz dashed towards it, slowing down as it noticed her approach. The dog almost… Motioned for her to join it, hiding against the wall? We’re dogs more intelligent in this world too? She shook her head, dispelling the thought as she pressed her back against the wall and listened in.

“Are these all the dogs.” A metallic voice growled.

“Yes!” The shrill voice of a terrified woman answered, “Don’t hurt me, please.”

“These are ALL the dogs?” The… Villain? Sounded frustrated.

“Yes! I swear, these are all the dogs we rounded up last night!” For a moment there was no answer.

“Sir, none of these match the description.” A different voice spoke.

“Damn! You stay behind, deal with this loose end. He can’t get far in his condition… And shut them up!” They were both yelling over the dogs barking. Even the dogs in other rooms were barking, They could sense the promise of violence in these peoples voices. Even Jaz could feel it. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on edge and her heart was racing as she racked her brain over what to do. She just wanted to take the dog to the pound, do a good deed. Why was there some sort of robbery at the pound?

“I can’t! They’re just dogs, they’re freaked out. Don’t hurt them! NOOOO.” Gunshots rang out, causing Jaz to grip her hands to her ears. The border collie sprang into action, leaping into the room. Jaz fell where it was, her hand reaching for empty air as she moved to try and stop it. She followed it around the corner in time to see it leap through the air and attack the weird looking metal dinosaur man. The dog bit into his shoulder, causing them to thrash and fight. The Dino man slammed the dog into one of the many cages lining the room, but the dog didn’t let go. On the floor was the woman who was shrilly yelling. She was currently crawling towards one of the dogs that was slumped on the floor in a growing pool of blood.

Jaz quickly glanced around the room looking for anything she could use. A comically large red wrench was laying against one of the cages near the door, she took her chance and dashed towards it, gripping it hard as she reared up and swung it against the Dino man's head. It made a loud clang and the metal piece vibrate fiercely causing Jaz to fumble the makeshift weapon.  It clattered too the floor as the Dino man, having caught purchase of one of the dogs hind legs, ripped it from his shoulder throwing it into Jaz’s chest flinging her across the room. Her head cracked hard against the cement wall she crashed into. Dimly she could feel the dog leave her shoulders, springing right back against the metal Dino again, but this time he was ready for it, with the wrench Jaz had dented his metal cranium with in hand he began swinging wildly. Through a blurred vision Jaz watched the scene. The woman was screaming, scrambling all the way down to the other end of the hall with the dogs pressed behind her. Some bravely barking, but most whimpering in corners of the room. A metal pipe above the Dino’s head broke from the force of the wrench smashing into it and it sprayed water all over the Dino covering the ground beneath him with it too. More things were broken or knocked loose. A cage crumpled under the force of him slamming the poor dog into it. Jaz was sure it would be dead after that, but it limply got back up, standing fiercely between the woman at the end of the hall and the Dino man. The metallic voice was taunting the dog too, odd. Why taunt it, its not like it could understand you… But Jaz was too far gone to make out what was being said. Something about finally finding you… If this was the poor dogs owner, she could understand why it was so hesitant to come here…

Something red caught her eye. Two dangling cables, snapped in the middle were touching the growing pool of water. Jaz’s eyes followed them to the large breaker in the wall above her head where a large red switch was flipped open. She wondered what would happen if she flipped it, limply raising her hand above her head. She managed to fumble the circuit closed in-spite the piercing headache moving caused her. The lights in the room all went out as the sound of electricity and rushing current connected arc’d through the pool of water electrocuting the Dino man. The only light in the room was cast by the sight of electicity burning its way through its metal body. Realizing it wasn’t going to stop after several minutes, Jaz winced and forced herself to flip the switch again. The room was cast in black as Jaz’s hand hit her lap.

“Wait.” Canary held out her hand to stop Arrow, “Where are the guards?”

“You think it’s a trap?” Arrow scratched his head, “They must’ve rushed off to deal with the cause of all those explosions.” He shrugged, “Besides, anything comes, and I got your back.”

“You mean I’ll save your hide while you stand back looking for your bow?” Canary countered. They approached the office, Canary on high alert for any signs of a silent alarm being triggered.

“Hey!” Arrow chuckled, “I’m just as good with my fists as you.”

“Right, and we’re ten-zero because you let me win, is it?” Arrow cleared his throat, changing the subject.

“Judging from the oversized chair the guy must be compensating for something.” He smiled seeing Canary’s eyes roll. She sat down in the huge chair while Arrow stood watch, keeping an eye out down the corridor as well as the factory floor. He watched her work at a thread on her jacket, undoing the seam to reveal a small thin metal plate that she inserted into the computers USB. The screen went black before a bunch of red symbols appeared. A moment later, ‘ACCESS GRANTED’ appeared on the screen and Canary went to work.

“That’s a nifty trick.” Green Arrow peeked over Canary’s shoulder.

“I asked Cyborg to make it for me. In case it gets in the wrong hands he made it with only three uses, but it can hack anything in the world.” Canary explained.

“So, we only have two uses left then, we can work with that.”

“One. I used it on a mission before this.” While she worked, Green Arrow noticed the nameless sidekick drop down from a vent and begin scrambling across the factory floor.

“Kids got spunk.” When he noticed how poor her hiding skills where he chuckled, “But she’s got a lot of training ahead of her.”

“Ollie, look at this.” Arrow turned from the window back to the computer screen.

“Wait, is that..?” On the screen was an image of Superman bound to an operating table with a red kryptonite crystal strapped above his chest. Tiny machine arms with saw blades, alligator forceps, lasers and the like were hovering over him. He looked like he was struggling under the red glow.

“It gets worse. Looks like they captured him using Kryptonite, and they were experimenting on him with it too.” Canary began transferring the files onto the stick, “He’s here still, and I know where.”

“Then let’s go find him.”

“Let’s.” Canary agreed. They’d made it halfway down the hallway when a giant form crashed into it from below, smashing through the glass and damaging the scaffolding that supported the hall and office. The walkway underneath them tilted towards the beast as the entire hallway began to fall. Canary lost balance, falling forward towards the new foe. It snapped at her, but she twisted her body out of the way just in time landing wit her feet on its shoulder using it to launch her between the scaffolding to safety. She landed on her hands, carrying her momentum into a roll until she was on her feet facing the crashing hallway. Green Arrow had managed to grab onto a holdfast, leaping through the windows of the office just as the impact caused them all to explode in a rain of glass. He rolled to a stop beside Black Canary taking cover behind one of the larger machines. The beast that had attacked them didn’t get out in time as metal scaffolding and glass buried it.

“Arrow! Canary!” Jaz had rushed out of a side room they hadn’t noticed before, “Over here!” Their attention returned to the heap of metal on the floor. Several machine arms had toppled over and the remaining hallway that the office was connected to began to fall to the floor, burying it even further. There was no sign of movement. “You guys ok? Did something attack you?”

“Whatever it was, I don’t think it’s getting back up.” Green Arrow said as they followed Jaz into the cell room.

She gave a worried glance outside the room, “Alright. Well, your bow’s here, inside that.” She pointed to a guard booth that overlooked the cell room. Black Canary had rushed to Icon’s side, checking his pulse and asking him questions. “The notepad inside has all the codes, I got a couple cells open but I need to get inside to see the other pages. Everyone seems fine, just really weak.”

“Good job, kid.” Arrow slapped her on the back. He could tell she was scared and putting on a brave face.

“Mind if I leave them to you guys? I still haven’t found Hero.” Arrow noticed she kept giving worried glances outside the door.

“Don’t worry about what’s out there, we have things under control. Know where Hero might be?”

“I have a feeling he’s just beyond that door. I’ll be right back,” Arrow nodded, watching her disappear down the back hall.

Green Arrow turned his attention back to the guard cubicle. He punched it with all his might, but the glass just warped and vibrated from the hit. “It’s reinforced.” He was searching the room for something to throw at it when another voice spoke up.

“Maybe I can help with that.” Out from one of the unlocked cells Huntress strode forward, though she stumbled and leaned against the cell wall.

“Huntress! It’s been a while.” Black Canary stood, approaching her to offer a hand.

“Wish it was under better circumstances.” She leaned on Canary, “The drugs they forced in us have left me too weak to be of any help, but I know they keep the key in that locker there.” She pointed to the third one in from the edge of the wall beside the cubicle.

“These guys sure know security,” Green Arrow joked. The locker door bent in half under the force of his elbow, and he easily slipped the lanyard and key off its hook.

“Well, you get what you pay for.” Huntress said, wincing. “Or don’t pay for. Guy was going to have a mutiny on his hands soon if you two hadn’t taken out the power when you did.”

“That wasn’t us. More importantly though, are you hurt? How long have you been down here?” Canary helped Huntress limp towards Icon at the center of the room.

“I don’t know, days at least. Weeks maybe. Hard to keep track of time down here.” While Huntress rested beside Icon, Canary unlocked the remaining cells using the notepad, helping carry several small-time heroes to the center of the room. Green Arrow began rifling through the chest, shouldering his own bow and quiver with a sigh before handing Huntress her crossbow and the rest of the equipment out. “But… If those explosions weren’t you then, who?”

The sound of shifting metal caught everyone’s attention outside, joined by the echoing noise of a dozen metallic footsteps entering the factory floor. “They’ve found us! Anyone strong enough to fight, we need all the help we can get.”

“Can’t you just use your Siren song?” Huntress chimed in struggling to stand.

“Not this time, they got to me too.” Black Canary retorted.

“Wait.” Arrow held out his hand, stopping them from engaging. The sound of gatling guns erupted just outside. “I’ll go check it out.” Sure enough, the metal lizards weren’t here for them. They had surrounded the scrap pile and were unloading bullets into it. Underneath the hellfire the metal framing was shifting until a massive beast burst forth unfazed by the bullets pelting its fur, it lunged at the nearest Raptor soldier, biting it in half before leaping at the next. “They won’t buy us much time. Let’s go see if theres a back way out, shall we?”

Through the back hall they found Jaz sitting in the center of a glass cylinder holding a small furry form in her arms. There was a layer of dog kibble all over the floor that crunched under Black Canary’s feet. “He won’t wake up.” Jaz looked up; tears had welled in the corner of her eyes.

Black Canary held her hand just in front of his nose and mouth, “He’s still breathing, but its faint.” Canary searched the floor, “I don’t see any water nearby, he might be severely dehydrated.” Arrow grabbed a water bottle left on one of the desks surrounding the cylinder tossing it to Canary. She cupped her hand underneath Hero’s muzzle pouring the fluid between his teeth. Jaz tried to tilt his head so it would pour down his throat. The dog began to cough, blinking its eyes. “Hero!” The dog tried to stand slipping on the kibble on the floor, “Shh, just drink. Focus on drinking, I got you.” Jaz took a shaky breath, smiling as she watched the dog begin to lap up the water.

Meanwhile, Green Arrow began yanking on one of the unpowered sliding doors at the opposite end of the room. Another set of hands grabbed onto the other door, and with their combined force the doors finally slid half open. “Icon? You shouldn’t push yourself.”

“I’ll be fine, this much I can still do.” Icon held his hand up stopping Arrow from helping him. “Worry about the others, they need it more than I.” He returned to help another Hero to their feet, shepherding them through the small opening they’d made.

A roar erupted through the hall they’d just come through, followed by the broken torso of a Raptor that smashed into the glass hard enough to crack it. Black Canary cursed, making sure the rookie was able to scoop the dog into her arms. She shielded them, getting them both out of the cage as the form of the beast leapt into the room crashing into the glass shattering it. Huge shards rained down on the party, forcing Heroes to duck under tables or jump out of the way of a particularly large piece.

“Get in! Everyone through the door!” Arrow yelled, helping shove the remaining Heroes through, practically throwing one through the crack before realizing Canary and the rookie had taken cover on the wrong side of the room. The beast reared up about to pounce on Canary who’d put herself between it and the kid when it was slammed into the wall by one of Green Arrows explosive shots. It turned its attention on him. He jumped out of the way as the beast smashed into the desk Arrow was standing on a second ago, splintering the wood and destroying the tech on it. “Canary! Rookie! Get through the door while I distract it!” Arrow yelled, raining three more explosive shots on the Beast. They each exploded against its side, forcing it to stumble back but leaving no damage otherwise.

On the other side of the room Canary grabbed onto the rookie’s hand, pulling her towards the door. Seeing this, the beast turned its attention back to Canary. Arrow cursed, shooting another explosive shot at its head to distract it but the beast simply caught this one in its mouth, letting it explode through its teeth before it launched itself at her. She shoved the kid backwards, making her fall on her butt across the floor while Canary dodged forwards doing a barrel roll out of harms way. Half a second later and the beast had crashed into the spot she’d just been, sliding across the kibble lined floor into the wall. Canary jumped, landing a kick to the beast’s head smashing him further into the wall. She gave the Rookie time to get up and run, except she was running in the wrong direction to the exit.

“Kid, this way! Focus on getting to the door, I’ll deal with the Beast!” Arrow commanded. He shot another arrow right at the beasts face as it reared up. It exploded in the air blanketing the creature in a thick net. As it struggled against the net the ball bearings underneath did their job wrapping around each other, tightening its grip. “Come on!” Arrow held out his hand, grabbing onto the Rookie’s arm, pulling her alongside him as they raced towards the door again. Canary was already waiting for them there. The Beast bit into the net, stomping on one side and tearing it enough that he could leap at them again. He landed in front of Arrow and the Rookie blocking their path to the exit. Arrow pushed the girl behind himself, shooting another arrow at the creature that burst into a spray of pepper mist. It shook its head, recovering immediately to slam a paw into Arrow’s chest knocking him away from the kid. It turned from her, lunging at Green arrow again.

Green Arrow slid across the kibble coated platform, knocking an arrow a moment too slow. Just as the beast’s jaws were about to close around Arrow’s leg Black Canary landed another flying kick knocking it of course, instead biting uselessly at the kibble on the floor. It still slammed into both of them sending them sliding into the far wall. Just as Green Arrow hit, he loosed a rope arrow that pulled him up to the platform overlooking the room grabbing Black Canary on the way.

With them out of the way, the beast turned its attention back to the girl who was once again making a break for the exit. It lunged in front of the exit, blocking her way. Green Arrow managed to disarm it again with his final net arrow before swinging in on a rope arrow to slam down on top of the creatures back with Canary. He quickly shot three more rope arrows that he pulled tight, pinning it to the ground on either side. “That outa hold.”

Canary hopped off the beast, placing a hand on the rookies shoulders, “Let’s get out of here now.”

The beasts eyes blazed golden as it unleashed another deafening roar. The ropes pulled taught against the strain of if trying to stand until one tore; slapping into Arrow knocking him off its back. Canary once again pushed the girl behind her before she kicked up off the wall to her right, grappling on the beasts neck. She’d grabbed the loose rope, wrapping it around his snout trying to use it to contain him. The other two broke a second later allowing the beast to rise up. It swung its head wildly trying to shake off Canary.

Arrow reached behind his back, hitting the beast with several normal arrows but they barely stuck beneath its fur. It managed to shift Canary off the back of its neck to its side, swiftly smashing her into the wall. Her grip finally released but it kept her pinned. Arrow taunted it, hitting it square in the eye with a boxing glove arrow. It lunged towards Arrow, releasing Canary to slide down the wall. Its teeth grazed his boot as he barely escaped using another rope arrow.

Not willing to leave Canary unprotected, Arrow had shot the arrow behind the beast after luring it to the center of the room. He pulled her to her feet before training one of his last remaining arrows at the creature.

“Guys! Go on ahead without me!” The girl called from the hallway. They were right beside the exit, but she was once again on the wrong side of the room, having run there to avoid the fighting.

“What? No! That’s suicide!” Arrow protested.

“Being a hero doesn’t always mean you need to lay your life down! You can still make it if you run behind it!” Black Canary pointed around behind the beast where there was a clear path towards them.

“No! Guys, its ok. The beast is Timber Wolf, he’s not in control when he’s in his Furball form. Haven’t you noticed; he keeps attacking you guys when you try to help me escape with you.” It moved itself to block their view of the rookie, almost as if to protect her.

“This is the hero you’re the sidekick for?” Arrow asked incredulously.

“He’s in a rage right now, yeah. I swear he’s normally nice. Well. Sort of.” She shook her head, “Don’t worry about me. You get the others out, we’ll find another way.” Furball growled at Canary and Arrow, lunging again. Grabbing Canary’s hand Arrow pushed her through the half open door, escaping through not a moment too soon as the beast slammed into the metal denting it easily.

Arrow swore, “I’m taking that as a promise! I better see you on the outside kid!”

“See you!” Arrow watched through the opening as Furball turned to face its sidekick. He trained an Arrow at it, waiting for it to attack… But it didn’t. He watched the rookie begin backing up down the hallway, Furball following close behind. He waited until both figures had disappeared before he lowered his bow. “We’ll I’ll be. She was right.”

Green Arrow rushed out from behind the wall holding his hands up and yelling, “Don’t shoot!” The men looked startled. They aimed their guns at him but didn’t attack, instead looking to each other confused. “There’s a giant wolf man back there! He completely destroyed the laboratory!” He pointed in the opposite direction. “You have to do something!” Arrow turned around backing up towards them as if he were more scared of what he was just running from than them. It worked. The men nodded to each other before training their guns on the hallway opposite ours waiting for this mystery foe.  They stepped forward moving to pass Green Arrow when he twisted, landing a punch to ones throat and an elbow in the others gut before following it up with another punch to his face knocking him out. He was close enough to side step behind the smaller Raptor using it as a shield while the Gatling gun unloaded into it. It shot a torrent of bullets into the chest of the smaller Raptor quickly piercing through its chest armour and tearing through the electronics within. Quick on his feet, Arrow faced the wall running himself up it, vaulting over the heads of both Raptors. He grabbed hold of the shock tail before it could strike him stabbing it between the gatling gun and the big Raptors shoulder. Its entire body became electrified but it could still move. It slammed Arrow into the wall pinning him and transferring some of the shock to him in the process. Jaz moved to help but Canary held her back. “Let him handle this.” Arrow reached up ripping the gatling gun off its shoulder by using both of his feet to kick it away. The second his feet hit the ground Arrow dropped low, lunging forward underneath its tail as it tried to whip him to position the gun in the crook of its neck. The bullets easily pierced through the thin, scale-like armour there, destroying its core. Both machines fell to the floor in a smoking heap, the light in their eyes turning off before they’d hit the ground. “Impressive.” Black Canary said, stepping over the two unconscious men to join Green Arrow.

“Spar me when we get back on the Watchtower and I can show you a thing or two,” Green Arrow joked, kicking the pile of metal Raptors aside just in time for the elevator to show up. Jaz hit the button to Maxmellius’s office, as well as the button to the floor just below it.

She explained the layout of the walkway. “There’s no way down to Hero’s cage from Max’s office, so I’m going to stop one floor early and try to find it myself. I think I’d spotted the way from the walkway anyways. You two can meet me there once you find what you need in his office.”

“We shouldn’t split up.” Green Arrow shook his head. “We’ll head to the office first, find out where the rest of the heroes are being kept, then we’ll get your friend.” He placed his hand on Jaz, she could tell he was trying to be reassuring again, but she had no intention of taking no for an answer this time. Another explosion ripped through the facility knocking Jaz off balance into Arrow’s chest. The elevators went pitch black and the emergency breaks sent everyone into the ceiling, before crashing back down.

“Damn! The emergency power is out now.” Green Arrow spoke as he helped Jaz to her feet. He pried open the doors pulling them halfway open. The Elevator was between floors, the top half of the doors opened to the lower floor where Jaz wanted to go.

“I think I can squeeze through. You two try and get to Max’s office while I help Hero out. I’m just going to slow you down if you ask me to climb an elevator shaft.” Jaz hopped up, grabbing onto the ledge. Using her foot against the wall as leverage she pulled herself over the ledge and out of the elevator. “Meet me at Hero’s cage, if you keep going straight from Max’s office you’ll be right there!”

“Kid, wait!” Green Arrow couldn’t react in time before she dashed down the hall. He turned to Black Canary, “Why didn’t you stop her?”

“I trust she knows what she’s doing,” Canary replied from the hatch she’d found on the roof. She was already out of it and on top of the elevator. By the time Arrow squeezed through the hatch she was already halfway up the wall.

Arrow climbed up after Black Canary, sparing a final glance after the girl. “I just hope she isn’t some hot shot kid who’s in over her head.”

Meanwhile, Jaz picked her way through the empty halls, peeking around every corner she came across just in case. She was no longer jogging confidently like she had when she had them with her, instead tip toeing around trying to make as little noise as possible. She knew she last saw Hero on the factory floor where they’d gotten captured and when she’d been up on the glass walkway she’d spotted another door on the other side of it that seemed to be in the right spot. She tried to remember the mantra she’d been repeating days prior, but the rumbling that kept rocking through the base and the fact that she was alone made it hard to concentrate. She stopped, pressing her back against a wall. “I can do this. I can do this. Jaz, just keep your head high, focus… What would Superman do in this situation.” A nervous laugh burst from her lips. “Superman wouldn’t be this scared trying to find his friends.” She took another deep breath, slowly letting it out before she started on her way again. Calmer now, she was able to pick her way through the halls until met with the same metal cylindrical doors that had opened for her previously. They were closed now, and it looked like they had no power to them anyways. She tried to pry one open, but aside from breaking a nail nothing happened.

Frustrated, Jaz looked around for what to do. How would they solve this problem in the comics? They would solve it with their powers... Ok, what about Batman though. He had no powers. Jaz ran her fingers through her hair, looking up in exasperation. Right above her was a ceiling vent. “Oh yeah.”

Jaz struggled longer than she’d wanted to trying to reach the vent. The code to the laboratory worked on the doors down the hall but she still had to push them open manually, which was a feat and a half on its own for her. Once inside she wheeled a chair to the vent and struggled to pull herself up through the tiny hole. The ordeal didn’t end once inside either. Her heart was pounding and it was hard to breath in the cramped space. It was so tight she was unable to turn around and that idea alone was sending her into a panic. Biting her lip, she pushed herself forward. The thought of Hero weakly staring up at her from that glass cage was enough to trump the fear she was feeling now. Every ten feet was another vent opening she could use to peer down and check her progress. The first one she came across she was already on the other side of ten fancy doors he’d had installed in the place.

Why the villain never thought to secure the filtration systems always dumbfounded her. Jaz was well past the doors when the vent took a sharp turn upwards travelling perpendicular to the curved walls lining the factory floor. At the end of the line, she finally had to leave the safety of the vents and drop down on the factory floor. She winced as she hit the ground at an angle, flopping over. Sharp stabs of pain radiated up her legs. Black Canary and Arrow had made dropping ten feet look so easy to do gracefully but Jaz had nearly twisted her ankle just there.

The factory floor was currently unmanned, and the recent power surge had stopped all the machines mid assembly. There were five conveyor belts feeding parts to the assembly bays with four giant machine arms sprouting from the floor for each one. Jaz crept through the room, dashing between machines and trying to use them as cover all while scanning the room between bursts for any signs enemies. She’d nearly made it to the other side where the small hallway was hidden when two thugs appeared in the door forcing Jaz to scramble behind cover again.

One was cursing and jogging past while the other yelled after him, “Come on Gary, we’re supposed to guard the room!”

Gary cursed back, “I’m not risking my life for some creepy old man with a dog fetish.”

“Think of the money, Gary!” His friend spoke as if he wanted to stay, but he quickly glanced behind his shoulder as if he was expecting something to jump out at him before he rushed to join his friend.

“What money? We ain’t getting paid, and now some fucking werewolf is coming right for us! I’m out, if you wanna die in this place suit yourself but I’m going back to Taboo. At least they’ll pay us on time.” They continued to argue all the way across the factory floor, completely oblivious to Jaz who hadn’t hidden herself well. They passed right by.

The room they’d left was full of cells that used the same force field-like technology as she’d faced in her room. There was a total of eight, but only six were in use. There was a small office to one side where it looked like the guards rested and watched their charges, inside it had several chests and what appeared to be Green Arrow’s bow resting against the wall.

At the back of the room was another hall leading further in where Jaz paused. Everything inside her wanted to move forward and find Hero, but she couldn’t just leave these men here. Especially after hearing that Brin could be headed this way. She let out a frustrated sigh, turning back towards the cells. Beside each one was a keypad just like her old cell and she knew by one look at each one they all used different codes. Some showed no signs of regular use except one.

“Icon?” Jaz’s voice was barely a whisper but even so the man stirred. “Oh! You’re awake. Just sit tight I’m gonna try and figure out a way to get you out.” The man struggled to pull himself up before slumping down. Kneeling in front of the keypad she could see some greasy stains on three numbers, but she had no clue how long the code was or which order they’d be in.

Her ears pricked. Glancing around she realized Icon was trying to say something. “What was that?”

“Notepad.” She stared into his dull eyes for a moment before she realized.

“Oh! They keep the passcodes on a notepad?” She didn’t wait to see him nod, springing back across the room towards the office. It was square, lined with desks and surrounded on all walls with thick glass; and it was locked. She cursed under her breath, this was the one door that didn’t need a passcode, it needed a key. She peered through the glass instead, spotting the notepad immediately. Pressing herself into the window, Jaz was able to make out the codes on the first page attached with which cell number they went to. The moment the shielding fell she rushed to his side. “Are you ok?”

“I’ll be fine, child. Go see that the others are ok.” His voice was barely a whisper, and his lips were chapped, his dark skin sunken in. They’d at least allowed him to stay dressed in his uniform, though all his gadgets were taken from him. She helped him up, carrying him to the center of the room before she went to work on the other cells. The sheet she’d read from only had three of the six passcodes she’d need.

The guards gave him precious sips of water but refused to speak to him. At Maxmellius’s command they’d inject him with green liquid that had no affect on Timber Wolf. They’d been taking his blood since then, and he watched them mix the green liquid in his water. He drank every last drop, glaring at Maxmellius the entire time.

He knew Jaz couldn’t survive the conditions they were keeping Timber Wolf in. Maxmellius would tease information about her, but ultimately Timber Wolf had no idea whether he could believe him or not. The walls to gave no clues as to how much time had passed down here. Weeks? All he knew was that he was running out of time. The rage inside him was growing and his ability to resist and keep it in check was waning hour by hour. Because of him they were recaptured… No. It was his cockiness that got them in this mess. He believed he could take on anyone dumb enough to attack the clinic. He thought they didn’t have the numbers or the ability to get past him… He walked her into that killing room. The worst part wasn’t the physical torture, nor was it the mocking taunts or experiments. It was the shame he felt chained and alone with his thoughts.

“Ahh, how has my mutt been.” The nasally voice of Maxmellius drew a growl out of Timber. He chuckled at the response before slamming Timber Wolf’s side with a bat. Timber grunted, “Ahh. It’s lovely to hear you finally make some music,” The man circled Timber keeping just out of range. “It’s only been a short couple of days and you’re already breaking under my boot.” The man moved to swing at Timber Wolf again but the bat was sent flying by a well placed kick. It smashed into one of the lights of the ceiling casting half of Maxmellius’s face in shadow. The mask of humanity the man wore cracked and for a moment Brin saw the sheer manic rage Maxmellius carried around with him. “Punish him.”

A bolt of electricity travelled through the chains shocking Timber Wolf. He bit his tongue trying to stop himself crying out. Enraged, Maxmellius shouted to them to increase the frequency until one of the scientists monitoring his vitals warned it could kill him. “I don’t care! Kill him if you have to! He. Will. Submit.” Timber Wolf began to see white as the sound of screaming deafened his ears. He dropped limp the moment they shut it down. He could barely feel the bat hit him as darkness swallowed his consciousness.

-          -      -

“Brin!” Light Lass’s voice snapped Brin out of his daze. He looked around realizing he was standing in the Legion clubhouse completely zoned out with her looking quite annoyed. “Earth to Brin, you in there?”

“I’m here, I’m listening… Sorry.” He rubbed the bridge of his nose.

“What were you thinking about just now, I had to practically yell your name to get your attention.” His heart twisted for a moment. It almost felt like old times between them, though the way her eyes refused to stare into his was a constant reminder that it was over.

“I... I don’t remember. Sorry, what was it you wanted to talk to me about?” It was his fault it was over. The thought twisted in his chest.

“About your mission. Are you sure about this? It could be a one way ticket back to the 2000’s… You might never come back.” Right, his mission. How could he forget?

“If this mission fails it’ll mean the end of our entire universe as we know it, and every parallel one as well. Without the Worldhearts, our universe will end. We must stop any chance that their plan could succeed.”

“I- I know. I’m not questioning the mission. I just.” Light Lass Looked away, hugging herself. “Its just, why does it have to be you?”

“Why?” Brin repeated, “Who better than me? Ultra boy?”

“No, that’s not what I mean-“

He cut her off, “I have no family, and I have no one to miss me if I can’t make it back.” Light Lass flinched. Her mouth opened as if she had more to say. He wanted her to say something, to tell him he was wrong, but her hesitance spoke louder than the words she wanted to speak. Frustrated, Brin turned away and didn’t stop when she yelled his name.

The door slammed harder than Brin expected. He blinked, turning around only to realize he was alone in the room with the Time Bubble. “Right. No one else is coming…” He remembered now. Brainiac 5 was wrong; the destabilization of their universe was already upon them. While earthquakes wreaked havoc on Earth and suns were dying the Clubhouse had been attacked by the mysterious cult they couldn’t track. The supposed weeks of planning they had to prepare was gone and the team they’d assembled was reduced to just him. He had no time to think about these things. Timber Wolf entered the Time Bubble engaging the coordinates Brainiac 5 had imputed already, just in case.

The Bubble began to travel, the familiar multicoloured hues distorting around Brin. Something was wrong. The colours stretched and tore, as if time itself was bleeding. The Time Bubble shuddered as the path grew twisted and warped. The Bubble was strong, it had survived crashes and explosions but now a crack appeared in the glass. The controls began sparking. The time and destination started to shift by hundreds of years back and forth faster and faster. The Bubble began to spin and Brin had to anchor himself to the controls as he tried to stabilize the machine. Brin was no immortal, if he landed in the wrong place in time he’d be useless, too soon and he’d die before the events came about and too late and well. It would be too late.

Another arc of electricity sent Brin flying into the glass cracking it further. The G forces pinned him to the glass, the last thing he saw was his arm struggling to reach the panel before he woke to the force of the Time Bubble suddenly stopping above the ocean. It fractured into seven pieces. As he fell from the clouds, he helplessly watched them streak across the sky. He hit the ocean hard, knocking him unconscious again. Had it not been for Aquaman that day, he would’ve died. He was a thousand years in the past, with no plan and no idea what had happened to cause the universe to collapse. All he knew was that the Worldhearts were at the centre of everything, and he needed to find them.

 -          -      -

Timber Wolf’s eyes opened. One was swollen shut and the taste iron and rust filled his mouth. He spat out blood on the floor just as Maxmellius entered his holding cell again. The man sneered, his feelings of superiority palpable in his expression. “Ah. How kind of you to join the waking world again. I see last night was too much for you.” The mans taunt stirred nothing in Brin. Maxmellius frowned, annoyed by Brins sudden apathy, “I see my training is beginning to work. You’re so obedient now, hardly barking.” He sneered, but Brin didn’t growl. He didn’t respond except watch him as he moved about the room just out of reach.

Maxmellius didn’t like this. He’d enjoyed toying with the supposed Hero but the way Timber Wolf was looking at him now. It was like he didn’t even matter, as if the hero was thinking about something else. “Well, since you’re so well behaved I should reward you, shouldn’t I?” He forced himself not to scowl when Brin didn’t react, “I saw your girlfriend. Jaz, wasn’t it?”

“Let her go!” Timber Wolf surged forward again straining against the chains, his fangs elongating past his lower lip. He could barely feel the pain in his arms now.

Max smiled getting the reaction he’d hoped for, “Did you know, your girlfriend is quite special. I tested her blood-“

“You bastard! Leave her alone, she’s just a human, she has nothing for you!” Timber Wolf yelled. He surged towards Maxmellius, the chains drawing taught putting strain on his arms. He barely noticed the pain.

“Oh, I’m not so sure you’re right about that.” His smile twisted when he noticed Timber Wolf Falter, “Her readings are entirely too different for her to be ‘worth nothing to me’. You’re correct, she is a human… But she’s entirely to weak compared to a normal human. Her bones are brittle, her flesh bruises far too easily. Even a child from could accidentally break her legs. Keeping her locked up here is honestly for her own good, she could die if she was allowed to just walk around outside. Besides, if I could understand what causes her weakness, manufacture it and weaponize it against the Justice League her body would prove all to important to my goals.” The shackles holding Timber Wolfs arms up groaned under the strain. His muscles were once again reshaping. Fur was erupting along his chest and forearms and his face was warping into a permanent snarl as Maxmellius spoke. “What I need is stem cells, and to get those I’ll need her bone marrow. Easy enough to crack into I suppose.” Timber Wolf roared incoherently.

“What do you want from us? Why are you doing this!” Brin was pulling on his chains so hard that he felt his shoulders dislocate.

“Why? To defeat the Justice League once and for all, of course… But, I’m feeling quite generous today. Let’s make a deal. I’ll spare Jaz that pain for one day longer if you become a willing test subject for me. I mean, I don’t actually have to ask you but-“

“I’ll do it.” Timber Wolf hung his head, gritting his teeth.

“Oh? Just like that. You don’t even know what I’m going to do to you.” Brin didn’t respond, but Maxmellius didn’t care. He nodded to one of the few scientists he had working for him. They brought him a new blue vial, uncorking it and holding it to Brins lips. “Drink.” Timber Wolf downed the entire vial. It hit his gut like a hammer. He faltered and took several steps back as far as the chains would let him before he slumped to the floor being held up by his arms.

 Timber Wolf writhed. The blue serum was entering his bloodstream wreaking havoc, weakening his ability to control his power. “You must be dying to know what it is I did to you. See, when the serum didn’t work the way it should have the first time, rendering you weak and incontinent, I searched through your blood for answers. Turns out your DNA is altered with a little something extra. The blue stuff should act around that now, weakening you properly. Can you feel it?” Max approached Brin again no longer taking care to keep out of range of any attacks he could land. As he spoke the rage inside Timber Wolf was unleashed. The serum did work on weakening his resolve. He could no longer hold the beast inside in check. Timber Wolfs muscled swelled, fur erupted over his body as his bones cracked and reshaped.  “Tomorrow I’ll drill into your friends femur and drain of it of the marrow. That should give me a good head start on researching her condition. Oh of course I won’t be using any pain killers. Don’t worry though, she’s to strong to struggle against the binds so she can’t hurt herself.” The sound of the shackles snapping startled Maxmellius but it gave him no time to prepare for Timber Wolf’s attack. Max was slammed into the mirrored wall shattering it and bending the bulkhead behind him. Timber Wolf was a ball of fur and claw. His jaws closed around the arm Maxmellius had raised to shield himself from the assault, snapping it and biting through it cleanly. He reared back to attack Maxmellius’s head when an eruption of bullets followed by the heavy metal body of one of Max’s beloved Rex tackled him.

It was larger than the Raptors, equipped with gatling guns mounted over its shoulders and tasers on the tip of its tail. The taser shocked uselessly against the chest of Timber Wolf. He lunged and bit its head crushing through the metal and tearing it from the body before tossing it aside. He turned to the men shooting at him through the door. They faltered and ran. Timber Wolf slammed into the wall outside his cell. The metal buckled under his weight. His vision was blurred and tinged with red and he was barely able to form a coherent thought.

He stumbled down the hall, ripping the metal door from the wall to enter the main laboratory. Brin tried to understand what it was he was looking at. There was a massive machine at the center of the room with various tubes and metal cords erupting from the walls and connecting to the machine. At its center was a giant blue plasma ball spinning in place with various other coloured plasma circling around it. Timber Wolf was trying to pull one of the metal arms out of the machine when bullets began pelting him and the machine around him. He ducked behind it and was about to run for the nearest exit when he heard the voice of Maxmellius ordering them not to damage the generator. Brin’s vision shook as rage coursed through his body, fighting with him for control.

“Careful dog,” The man spat the word, “Any damage you do to my machines, I’ll be sure to take out on Jaz.” Maxmellius had expected the warning to make the hero reconsider escaping. He was going to torture the man and break his limbs for having dared destroy his arm. An ear-splitting roar reverberated through the room. The last coherent thought had was to find Jaz before the transformation fully completed. Timber Wolf leapt from behind the generator snapping through the metal conduits stabilizing the machine. A hail of bullets didn’t slow him down. He slammed through the wall of Rex’s protecting Maxmellius, lunging at him. The machine exploded sending the room into chaos. Timber Wolf was slammed out of the air into the nearest wall as ceiling and rock tumbled into the room. He pulled himself from the wreckage tossing aside slabs of concrete before turning to find his prey. Maxmellius was no where to be found. Timber Wolf roared his frustration. Must. Find. Jaz.

The two Raptors surged into the cell. She dodged and danced around them landing strikes with a knife she’d stolen from one of the thugs. She was fast and nimble twisting out of the way of their strikes before using their momentum to knock them off balance. Canary kicked off the wall leaping over the head of one of the Raptors onto the shoulder of the other sinking the knife between the chinks in its armor. Before it hit the ground, she was in the air again slamming the head of final Raptor into the wall it behind it. She ducked as its tail swung harmlessly above her head before lunging forward to sink the knife into a weak spot on its face from where its armor had been damaged. While the fight was happening one of the thugs had called for backup on his radio and by the time the two Raptors had fallen four more were pouring through the door. One had a taser at the end of its tail that it used to try to stab at Canary. She backflipped out of the way landing in front of the the back wall of her cell. She was cornered but no doubt crossed her face.

“I’m waiting boys,” She goaded them. The cell was only large enough for two of them to surge in while the other two crowded the door cutting off Jaz’s view of the fight. They stabbed and slashed into the cell with their tails, especially the one with the taser. Jaz could hear when it managed to finally land a hit. Canary cried out but a moment later Jaz’s hope was rekindled that she could win this fight when one of the Raptors in the cell slammed into the two at the door. Canary vaulted over the three of them but the taster tail grabbed onto her leg mid leap shocking her in the air. She landed in a heap as electricity surged through her body and she grit her teeth trying to get back up.

By now both Jaz and Arrow were at the front of their cells yelling for them to stop. Canary tried to stand back up multiple times, collapsing into a heap on each attempt until she couldn’t lift herself off the floor. Only then did it stop electrocuting her. Two Raptors lifted her by the arms. Jaz watched in horror as they dragged the Black Canary away, her head rolling limply side to side.

Arrow slammed both his fists into the shield so hard it created a massive explosion of kinetic energy that slammed him into back of his cell. The two thugs laughed as they left the room leaving Jaz and him alone together again. Jaz leaned against the wall at the front of her cage burying her head into her elbow. She was to wound up to sit down and she felt sick and weak with hunger. At the very least they were being given water, but she’d had nothing else in her stomach since arriving here.

“Hey.” Jaz remained still, but Arrow kept repeating ‘hey’ until she glanced his way. He was crouching on the floor watching her, “You ok?” Jaz was about to say she was fine and to not worry when tears stung her eyes. “Woah, woah, woah. It’s ok. Hey, look at me.” He kept calling her until she met his gaze again, “We’ll be fine, ok? Canary will be fine, she’s a strong girl.”

“They just dragged her away-“

“I’ve seen her take worse beatings and still land a nasty punch afterwards.” Arrow sounded so confident in Black Canary’s capabilities.

“Why didn’t she use her siren song?” Jaz knew she’d had the perfect moment when the four Raptors and the two thugs were all lined up in the tiny hall in front of her cage.

“Because she didn’t want to hurt us. She told me her song could kill a human at close range and no matter what she did, we would’ve been hit by it.” Jaz slumped her head. She knew the answer, but hearing that she was the reason someone had lost their chance to escape… It didn’t sit right in her gut.

Don’t you worry about Canary. She’s a hero, one of the best. And besides, we’ve already been down here for a while now. I’m sure they’re looking for us as we speak up top. We just need the right opportunity and we’re out of here. Trust me, I’ve got this figured out.”

“You do?” Jaz wiped the tears off her face feeling embarrassed she’d cracked like that.

“I do. Just trust me and be ready for when the time comes.” She searched his face but couldn’t find an ounce of doubt in it. He looked calm and collected despite the bruises and cuts covering his body.

“When we get out we gotta find Timber Wolf, they have him someplace else in this compound.” Jaz sat back down taking deep breaths to quell the panic boiling in her chest. “And Hero. He’s the dog they were searching for.”

“Timber Wolf? Haven’t heard that name, is he your partner?”

“Yeah. You could say that.” Something she’d said made Arrow laugh.

“It’s like that, I see.” He was smiling but his face grew somber as he asked about Hero.

“We hadn’t figured out why they wanted him before they’d attacked the clinic again the next night.” Arrow just nodded thinking to himself. “You like Canary, don’t you.” Jaz’s words caught him off guard. He swiftly stood, shaking his hands out in front of him as if to dispel the idea from hanging around too long.

“Oh! No, no, no. Canary? Nah, she’s a friend- Er. Partner. Yeah, we’re just colleagues. Hardly even know each other.” He kept babbling until Jaz started to laugh.

“Partners, eh?” She smiled. In the real world she knew that they’d become more than just partners in the future. “Well, you two seem to make great partners then. You keep her spirits up and she keeps you grounded.” It wasn’t her place to interfere. This wasn’t her world after all.

“You think so?” He acted flustered, laughing as if he already knew that’s what she meant, “Right, we do make great partners.”

“I’m going to try and rest. The hungers taking it out of me and I’ll need whatever I’ve got left for that plan of yours I bet.”

“Right. Yes. The plan… Get some rest then.” Despite saying that Jaz struggled to sleep on the hard cot. Instead, she stared at the ceiling of her cell dwelling over all the things she’d experienced in this world and whether she’d miss it when the time came to go. She didn’t know how long it had been since they’d dragged Canary away when the door slid open startling Jaz awake from her half-dazed snooze.

Canary was still dazed and stumbling over her feet when they unceremoniously threw her into the back of her cell. She hit the wall and collapsed onto floor not moving. Jaz and Arrow didn’t speak, instead glancing at each other while they waited for the two men to leave. Arrow leaned forward as far as his cell would allow calling to Canary. She didn’t respond. Long arduous moments passed. No matter what Arrow said, she didn’t react.

“Do you think she’s…” Jaz couldn’t finish the sentence.

“No. I think she just needs some rest. They’d already taken her to get… Scanned or whatever they were doing to you and me. This was the second time they’d taken her out of this room. Whatever it is they’ve done, they’ll be able to fix it on the Watch Tower.” He sounded so sure that just hearing that seemed to ease Jaz’s worries.

“We should wait until she’s recovered a bit before we enact your plan.”

“My plan… Right. I’ll… Watch over her. You should go back to sleeping. You were snoring quite loudly.” Jaz’s face contorted in horror while Arrow laughed. “I’m joking.”

Jaz was only just beginning to fall asleep when the two thugs who’d originally scanned her entered the room. This time they were accompanied by two Raptors who quickly seized Jaz’s arms the moment the force field shut down. As they escorted her out Arrow called, “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

They led her out of the lab, down some of the same halls they’d taken the second time she’d been captured. This time they passed the hall she’d originally found Hero and Timber Wolf in except this time they walked down the hall they’d come from. At the end of it was an elevator. Jaz was careful to memorize the route to the elevator. Especially since she could tell it would take them out of the facility. They exited only a few floors higher, despite the facility being nearly twenty floors underground.

She found herself in the hall leading towards the glass dome they’d first encounter Maxmellius in overlooking the large room they’d been captured in. The first time she’d entered she was so distracted from the armies of Raptors that she hadn’t noticed the large mechanical equipment lining the walls. Huge mechanical arms were assembling more Raptor men using light and lasers to fabricate them as a spool of metal was fed into the machines.

They reached the midway point of the hall where it forked, on her left was the glass dome and ahead it continued on. This is where her entourage stopped. Jaz felt herself get pushed forward, forced to walked down the hall towards the dome alone. The floor was suspended metal grating with large glass panels encircling it. Inside Maxmellius’s office the floor extended to a circular platform surrounding his desk and large chair that was currently facing away from her.

The leather chair swivelled to face Jaz. Up until that moment her heart had been pounding in her chest but the sight of the middle aged Maxmellius sitting in a chair that was comically oversized for him struck her with how corny the entire scene felt, and she was reminded that she was in the world of a comic book. “Jaz Heller, I’ve been ex-“

“You know, the chair is killing the vibe.” She said dryly.

The man’s eyebrows knit together, caught off guard after she’d so rudely interrupted his monologue, “What are you talking about?”

“The chair. You look so tiny in it so the whole,” She gestured towards his entire dome, “Impact you were going for was killed ‘cus all I could think was how much the chair makes you look small.”

The man’s mouth gaped a few times, stunned. She could see colour fill his face, “What do you mean I look small. I’m five eight, I’m above average height for a man!”

“Wait, are you? Can you stand up?” Jaz folded her arms as the man hopped out of the chair standing at his full height. He was indeed slightly taller than her. “Yeah. It’s the chair then. Lose the puffy leather and the tall back. Something metal will give you that womp you’re going for.” Despite her calm demeanor Jaz’s heart was beating hard. Her palms were sweaty so she’d folded her arms to hide the fact that she felt like shaking. Maxmellius didn’t seem to be doing any better though. His face had flushed, and he sputtered.

“I’ll have you know I was not going for,” He shook his head trying to find the words, “For some sort of dramatized introduction.”

“Ok, but introductions are still really important dude.”

“Exactly.” He glared back at his chair realizing he’d just agreed, his eyes narrowing. “Come with me.” Jaz stepped aside as he brushed past. Up close he didn’t look like such an old man. Maybe in his forties or fifties. He had a combover his bald spot and a noticeable limp to accompany his hunch. Jaz glanced around but it wasn’t like she had any choice. She could maybe overcome him by surprise, but the Raptors were just down the hall putting an end to that thought.

They walked down the hall, past the four guards, this time headed in the direction opposite the one she’d originally came from. The hall lead to another circular room with a glass cylinder in the middle of it that extended down far below two stories. There was no way down from up here. “Look.” Maxmellius pointed to the center of the glass. Hunched on the floor was a furry ball.

“HERO!” Jaz called out, slamming into the railing as she did. Max instinctively reached out grabbing her by the arm in case she’d toppled over before he recovered and let go again, hoping she hadn’t noticed. Hero did though, her heart broke seeing him weakly lift his head and look at her. Instead of springing too his feet like he normally would he stood up on wobbly legs and slammed weakly into the glass. “What did you do to him?” Jaz demanded, turning on Maxmellius.

“Nothing he didn’t do to himself.” Maxmellius’s demeanor shifted. “For all the pain he’s caused, he deserves this fate.”

“He’s a dog, what are you talking about?” Jaz couldn’t keep the anger out of her voice, nor could she stop herself yelling at him.

“A dog?” The mans face contorted in laughter, “Do you here that Hero. She think’s you’re just a dog!”

Jaz’s eyes narrowed, glancing back at Hero who was now staring up at them. “Why are you doing this? You have Green Arrow and Black Canary locked in cages, hundreds of pets stolen across the city and the Justice League is out in force looking for you. Why?” Her voice dropped an octave as she forced herself to control her anger.

“Why? No one has ever asked me why.”

Jaz’s hands balled into fists, “I’m asking. Why are you doing this?”

Maxmellius glared at Hero for a while before speaking, “I’ve spent my entire life living in the shadow of these heroes. Scientific discovery pales in comparison to the eye-catching headlines that fill the newspapers, its all everyone cares about.”

“So, this is about recognition?” Jaz asked incredulously.

“No! See this is why I’m doing this. No one ever understands!”

Realizing she was losing him she spoke, “Then help me understand.”

He ran his hand through what was left of his hair carefully picking his words, “When I was young it didn’t matter what everyone was talking about… But it did matter to my wife. She wanted to make a name for herself, she was onto something!” Shadows spread across his face, “But in order to pursue it she would have to conduct some… creative experiments. The potential of it all! It far outweighed the minor sacrifices she had to make in the name of progress.” He’d become animated, shaking his fist as he said progress. “But when the Justice League got involved, when Superman… Killed my wife. Well, It was all they spoke about. Nothing about the achievements she made, nothing about her discoveries! Do you know that the world still uses her research to this day? The fabricators that make my army of Raptors were brought about in part because of her. They just won’t acknowledge whose corpse the technology upgrading their damned watch tower came from.”

Jaz struggled to find what to say. “So… Why the dog then?”

“Hah. The dog is a lesson. I’ll teach each and every one of them to know their places. Their minds are like animals, and just like animals they are meant to bark and sit at our command.” The cruel smile finally made Jaz clue in.

“Hero is a super… He isn’t just a dog, is he?” The way the mans smile contorted made Jaz want to punch him even more, “Who is he? Turn him back! None of this will undue your wife’s death-“

“Don’t bring her into this!” He cut her off.

“She’s dead Max, and none of this is going to bring her back!” He slapped her. The hit sent Jaz’s weak body slamming into the wall out of sight of Hero.

“Oh yes. I almost forgot,” He stood over Jaz watching her touch her stinging cheek and split lip, “At first I thought you were one of them from the odd scans sent to me by my Raptors.” He kneeled in front of her, “But you’re not. You’re weaker than even a human like me. Your bones are brittle. A good twist of the arm,” He grabbed Jaz’s jaw, “Or the flick of a wrist will snap your neck. I brought you here to ask just what are you, you don’t match the regular variables one would see in a human, yet your DNA says you’re nothing but-“

“Sir.” One of the thugs had approached them, a Raptor at his side. “We’ve got a problem.” After a moment Maxmellius released Jaz. She stood listening to the men speak. Two detectives had raided their final warehouse halting their operations drug production. Jaz watched them argue. The thugs were arguing that their gig was up now, without the drugs they had no hope to overcome the Justice League. Maxmellius wouldn’t listen, going so far as to order his Raptor to slam the man into the wall until he shut up. They were ordered to return Jaz to her cell while he organized a party to recover the missing stock of drugs.

She walked in silence with the two thugs she’d tried to manipulate however many days ago until they reached her cell. Jaz could tell from the look on their faces they weren’t happy, but she didn’t press her luck by saying anything. She waited until she heard the doors to the outer lab close. “Canary awake?”

At the same time, two Raptors grabbed Jaz by her upper arms while another tried to get a hold of Hero. He slipped out of its arms, easily dodging behind it. Jaz felt a metal tail snake around her neck. It squeezed cutting off her air. She struggled to grab it, to rip it off her neck, but her arms were clamped against her sides in a bruising grip by both Raptors. Seeing this, Hero stopped struggling and allowed himself to be grabbed. Jaz gasped for air, tears blurring her vision as the tail finally released her. By the time she’d recovered Hero had already disappeared and she was being dragged away in the opposite direction of Timber Wolf.

This time she was conscious for them marching her through the halls. She didn’t attempt to resist. There was no point anyways, being weaker than a normal human. Jaz focused on trying to memorize the exact path they were taking, recounting each twist and turn as well as every door number they passed. She looked for any markings she could use, but every hall was the same; smooth cement with no distinguishable features. In her mind she repeated each twist in turn like a mantra, adding to it as they went.

They stopped in front of a door labelled seventy three. The door slid the wall revealing a large laboratory with rows upon rows of operating tables and machines. At the center of the room was a large glass dome with green liquid suspended in it, but aside from bubbles it was empty. Jaz managed to catch a glimpse of the code they keyed into the door to open it and she burned it into her memory. They pushed her through the lab snaking between various large machines and equipment designed to scan and monitor. On the other end of the room was another door locked with a keypad. This time the Raptor noticed her watching and hit her hard on the back of her head scattering stars in her vision. She focused hard on remembering the two codes, completely ignoring her surroundings even as she was being shoved into a small metal cube of a room. A blue force field stuttered to life sealing her in. She glared at their retreating forms until the door had hissed shut.

“Hey. Are you ok?” A male voice called out at her from the cell directly in front of hers. Jaz blurted out the two codes she was trying to memorize. “What was that?”

“The codes to the doors, remember them.” She continued to focus on the mantra.

“Six numbers and five. You’re missing a digit.” A female voice caught Jaz’s eyes and she focused on the woman approaching the forcefield on the far end of the room. She had ice blue eyes and golden hair she let flow freely over her shoulders. She had the face of a supermodel and her bright red lipstick really stuck out to Jaz. She was dressed in black spandex with a blackish blue leather jacket on, floral patterned black spandex leggings and heeled ankle boots. Jaz took another look at the man who’d asked if she was ok before. He wore a black mask that concealed just his eyes, his blond hair was topped by a feathered green hat and he wore a green spandex and leather body suit.

“Oh! It’s you two!” Jaz smiled, “The Black Canary and the Green Arrow! I’m a big fan.” Despite herself, she smiled at the sight of them in the flesh. If only she was meeting them at a fundraiser or some other innocuous event, rather than trapped in a creepy old mans laboratory dungeon.

“We get that a lot,” The Green Arrow winked, flipping Jaz a finger gun.

The Black Canary rolled her eyes at him, “The door codes. What doors do they go to?”

“The complete one is the door to the lab, incomplete one is the door to this room.” Jaz replied.

“Great…” The Green Arrow paused, “You don’t happen to have a plan to get us out of the cages, do you?”

Jaz leaned against the wall, letting herself slide down the wall till she was sitting. “None whatsoever.”

The Black Canary swore under her breath turning away frustrated. “Don’t mind her,” Arrow tried to reassure Jaz. “So. You know who we are, but we don’t know you. Or, err. Recognize you at least.”

Jaz could tell by the way he was speaking that he was trying to help take her mind off things, “Uh, it’s probably best if I don’t say.” She smiled sheepishly trying to come up with some excuse.

“Oh! You’re not in uniform, are you?” Arrow came to the wrong conclusion, but Jaz quickly nodded happy to be saved the work of lying. In truth she just didn’t want it to get back to Terese and Clara that she’d been captured in this crazy man’s basement. He laughed embarrassed, “And here I thought you were a civilian.”

“She’s to calm to be a civ, Arrow.” Canary spoke behind her shoulder.

“So, how did they capture you two? I don’t think I’ve heard anything about you missing yet.” Jaz tried to change the subject fast.

“We don’t know how long we’ve been down here. We were tasked with protecting the streets of Metropolis while the rest of the league took on their main base of operations… Or at least, where we thought it was.” He scratched the back of his head. He was sitting on the metal cot that jutted out of the corner of his cell. “The rest is kind of blurry.”

“Ah, no wonder. That happened last night so you haven’t been here long at least.” Jaz gazed at the metal cot in her own cell calculating whether or not it would be comfortable enough to warrant moving.

“It hasn’t even been a day?” Arrow nodded, “Felt like its been forever since we’ve been trapped here together.” He shot Canary’s back a coy smile, “Well I’m sure they’re already looking for us as we speak.”

“I remember us checking in at the end of the mission,” Canary turned to face them, “They won’t come looking until someone notices us missing; and that could take days.”

Arrow stood and stretched, “Then we’ll just have to save ourselves.” He gave Jaz a confident smile before stretching out on his cot. Canary just shook her head before punching the force field for good measure. Her fist bounced back as if slammed with an equal amount of force and Jaz watched her rub her gloved hand as a wisp of smoke rose up.

The room fell quiet which was just as well to Jaz. The smack across her head had re-awoken that concussion of hers and her body felt heavy as it hit the metal cot.

 -          -      -

 Hero slammed into the glass wall of his chamber at the center of a circular room. The door they’d thrown him through sealed so tight the seam disappeared. He slammed himself against it, bouncing off the glass harmlessly.

“It’s no use,” The nasally voice of Maxmellius chimed in. Hero searched the room outside until he spotted the hunched figure walking along the upper balcony high above his chamber. The glass extended another story up with a lower walkway surrounding it and a balcony looking down on it. “The glass is infused with the same kind of red Kryptonite that I inserted in your body a week ago.”  His smile turned mocking, “How does it feel, being reduced to a mere dog before your fellow supers, Superman?” He spat the name.

Superman bared his teeth, releasing a menacing growl but the man simply laughed. “Oh that’s right, you’re a dog.” He sneered, “I can’t understand you, what was that again?” Superman took a running leap attempting to smash through the glass in front of Maxmellius. The glass hummed from the blow, but Supermans already weakened body couldn’t hold up in the face of the kryptonite infused glass. He bounced off harmlessly.

“Oh, don’t think you’ll be escaping again super dog. I want to make sure you watch as each one of your friends become mere pet’s just like you. Soon the world will see the downfall of the Justice League, and it all started because of you.”

Maxmellius paused for a moment, his face twisted in rage as a memory flashed in his mind. He smiled again when his eyes fell on Hero. “Now that I have you again, I’m going to shock the world with how its greatest hero has stooped so low as to eating dog food off the floor.” He slammed his fist into a button and a stream of kibble fell from a small hole in the ceiling high above. Superman ignored it as it rained down around him. “Oh? Not hungry? Don’t worry.” The man pointed to several cameras all pointed on the cage, “The camera’s are always running, Superman. No matter how long it takes, every animal has to eat.” The man’s laughter echoed long after he’d left.

 -          -      -

 Jaz startled awake to the sound of the forcefield shutting down. She blinked trying to get her bearings as two thug-like looking men dressed in torn jeans, ripped black shirts and spiked vests walked into the room pulling her to her feet. Canary was awake and standing at the front of her cell. “Where are you taking us?” She demanded.

“Us? Don’t remember inviting you,” One of the men responded. They didn’t wait to hear her response. They led Jaz to one of the numerous operating chairs in the lab, pushing her roughly into it. It had large leather straps to restrain her arms and legs which they wasted no time fastening despite her barely being in the seat. By the time they were done, and she’d squirmed her way into the seat properly, she realized they were loose enough for her to slip out of. Her heart began racing as she tried to figure out what to do.

“Head back.” The second man pulled her head against the pad, strapping it in place. He glanced at a notepad before positioning some of the machines, pointy ends towards her. As they worked around her they were complaining to each other.

“I can’t believe they have us doing this menial bullshit. What the fuck is this for anyways?” The grunt who’d strapped her down spoke.

“Oh shut up, will you?” The second one cursed as he sat himself behind a computer, “The gig’s gonna pay real good, who cares if we have to strap some dumbass’s down and press buttons.” He was following some instructions written down on a paper pad, typing it into the computer in front of him. As he did some of the machines responded, calibrating or adjusting themselves. The computer was facing her making it impossible for her to see what he was doing.

“That’s assuming we even get paid. Don’t you forget he was supposed to pay us a week ago, then it became once that damn dog was captured. Now, we got half our people behind bars and still no cash.”

“And It’s only been a day since we got the damned mutt in the glass cage. Besides, the guys running the dog collection got themselves caught, leading those damn detectives right too em. Just play it smart and we’ll get our money.” Silence fell between them while Jaz looked for an opening. She couldn’t help but notice the guns holstered on their belts. While they were ‘grunts’ to say the least, they were huge compared to her and she had no weapon she could use to knock them out.

“You guys honestly think he’s got the cash to pay you?” She chimed in, hoping to instigate something. They didn’t strike her as the type who were particularly loyal, at least not to anything but cash.

“Don’t talk to her.” The one behind the computer warned his friend. The other one just clicked his tongue, jabbing a needle into her arm far too aggressively. Jaz winced but otherwise made no noise.

“God damn it, why isn’t the vial filling.” He moved the needle in her arm forcing her to bite her cheek to stop herself crying out.

“Go for the vein dude, the fucking vein.”

It was a painful few moments as he kept jabbing and missing it. Finally, the vial began to fill. “Bet you don’t know what he’s gonna do with the blood eh?” Jaz kept prodding.

“I don’t give a shit what he’s going to do to you-“ His friend cut him off warning him not to speak to her. They yelled at each other for a moment longer before he returned to swap vials, filling multiple in a row.

“Don’t care, or don’t need to know?” Jaz tried again.

He chuckled, “Look, hero girl. I’m just in it for the money. Cold. Hard. Cash. I don’t give a shit about needing to know anything, so long as I get paid.”

“Then you should at least know whether or not this guy’s good for his word, eh?” She noticed his eyebrow twitch. It was all the indication she needed to know a seed of doubt was planted, “Think about it. Some nobody scientist experimenting on dogs, illegal operation in a shitty bunker of a laboratory down here. Hell, the guy can’t even afford real lab assistants, so he’s got you two down here using post it notes for his research. Does that sound like a guy who’s got money?”

“She’s just-“ He yelled at his colleague to shut it.

“And why do you care?”

“Honestly? I don’t. But I can say, if it turns out the guy’s been playing you, you’ve got a room full of problems to get back at him with.” She shrugged, hoping any of her bullshit had some truth to it. The rest of the procedure wrapped up in silence. Nothing else stood out to her that she could use. They escorted her back to the cell, taking care to conceal the pin from her.

“Damn.” Arrow was the first to speak. “I was hoping you could take those two.”

Jaz simply shook her head, laying back onto her cot wordlessly.

Timber could hear the footfalls of enemies upstairs. He thundered up the steps, but Hero slipped past him blocking the exit to the office. He bared his fangs at the dog who seemed unfazed by the sight. Beyond the rage clouding his vision, he noticed the Dino men were retreating. “You want us to follow them.” He kept his voice low and didn’t think twice when the dog nodded at him.

He followed the Dinos down the alleyway, sticking to the shadows. They pulled up hoods and placed hats to attempt to hide their form as they piled into a large military style SUV that barely fit their forms in the back seats. Swearing under his breath he looked around for what to do. If he took his bike, his suit would attract the attention of passersby, possibly even the Justice League, but if he lost them it could mean… He shook his head to clear the thought. Using his super strength he launched himself off the ground. He dug his claws into the wall before propelling himself higher using the momentum to reach the top of the four story building. From up here he had an excellent vantage.

Down below he spotted Hero giving into the chase. The dog was smart though. It purposefully hung back, and it hid every time the car stopped at a red light. Up top, Timber Wolf didn’t have to be as careful. He ran full speed to the edge of the building leaping over it. He bent his knees to quieten the impact of his landing and used his weight to push his momentum forward into another sprint and leap all the while never letting the SUV leave his sight. He used fire escapes where he could and his claws when he had to to scale taller buildings in his path. They followed the car to the west edge of Suicide slums where it crossed the bridge out of Metropolis. Here they both took the risk of letting the vehicle get just barely out of sight before they sprinted after it. Some cars honked having noticed his uniform but he paid no one else attention.

The vehicle didn’t stop till it reached a gate topped with barbed wire. While Hero tried to find a way under the gate, Timber Wolf grabbed onto the wire and tore a hole through the side of it. The thick forest provided excellent cover for them and the soft ground made it near impossible to hear him sprint. The SUV stopped in front of a large cement building built like a featureless rectangle in the middle of nowhere. The building was too new to pass as abandoned but from the outside there were no signs of activity. At least, to any human watching. With Timber Wolf’s super hearing he could hear machinery whirling away inside and the voices of multiple men behind its thick concrete walls.

He took vantage behind a large tree trunk up the hill. He watched the Dinos exit the vehicle along side two human drivers. There were no guards posted outside the building but Timber spotted several cameras attached to the sides of the buildings in areas where they were intended not to be spotted. He knew in the back of his mind that he should wait. He could hear his ex’s chiding voice Lightning Lass’ telling him to wait and watch, to scope out the place and attack once he had a plan. He was never patient though and she wasn’t here to stop him this time.

Carefully, Timber Wolf and Hero circled the compound looking for an easy way in. The place looked like it had originally been built on the old foundations of a mill. There were outer storage houses, some empty and others still full of old logs. Numerous old dirt roads now overgrown and unusable spanned out into the woods and signs of old stumps from past clear cuts dotted the newly grown forest surrounding it. The new building was a cement block with no features defining its surface. Just the two doors where the Dinos had entered previously. His nose picked up on something else though. Deeper into the woods out of sight of the main building he found an large cement block inset into the earth with a large metal grate covering the top of it. The familiar scent of oil and metal was blowing out of it.

“A vent.” He breathed. It dropped many feet, further than his eyes could piece through the dark. “Wait for us out here, howl if you see anymore arrive.” The dog seemed to want to disagree, but Timber didn’t give it any other options. He slashed through the metal grates, peeling it from the cement like opening a can. He wasted no time jumping down the hole digging his claws into the sides of the vent to slow his fall. He crashed through another ceiling grate into an empty corridor. The lights nearest him turned on. He waited for enemies to appear, long enough that the lights turned off automatically. Waving his hand turned them back on. “Shit. Motion sensors.” He had no doubt they knew he was here. He tensed hearing something swiftly approaching but he couldn’t discern where it was coming from until it was on top of him.

Hero crashed onto Timber wolf’s head and was sent sliding across the white floors. Just as quickly has he’d fallen he stood back up and shook his coat off appearing completely fine. Timber rubbed his head, “I thought I told you to stay.” Hero barked back indignantly. “Gahh, fine.” He cursed under his breath, “No use arguing with you now.” As he spoke a dozen Dinos and human guards turned the corner ahead of them.

He and Hero dived for the nearest alcove. A hail of gunfire erupted where they just stood and followed in their wake. The door in the alcove was bolted forcing Timber to face them head on. He waited for a pause in the gun fire before reaching his clawed hands around the corner firing back on the men. He could hear them yelling to duck and hide and the smell of blood reached his nose from claws that had struck their targets. Both he and Hero seized that moment to move closer, ducking behind cover the moment gun barrels began to peak around the corner again. Timber Wolf’s fangs elongated as fur began to blanket his body.

The gunfire ceased to let the Dino’s move forward. Timber advanced as well, leaping three quarters the length of the hall meeting them off guard. He’d grown familiar with fighting them, his swipes and blows landing perfectly between the gaps in their armour plating downing them one by one. By the time Hero had caught up to him he’d downed four foes and was throwing a fifth into a group of humans trying to take aim at him. Stray bullets bounced off of walls as they opened fire on him and the Dinos. Timber Wolf grabbed one of the fallen Dinos using its armoured body as a make-shift shield while also fending off the Dino’s who kept trying to surround him. Hero on the other hand zig-zagged through the chaos dodging into alcoves and behind oncoming metal Dinos until he was in close range. He leapt into the still standing group of humans wrestling guns from their hands and dodging between their legs before they could get a good shot at him.

It was enough distraction to allow Timber to dispatch the rest of the Dinos in the hall. The beast within him had nearly covered his entire body in fur, his face had contorted into a half man, half wolf monstrosity and the raw animalistic roar he unleashed sent the remaining human gunmen fleeing.

He rushed forward, barely registering the sounds of footfalls quickly approaching from the left-hand side. He took a swing blindly, narrowly missing Jaz who dropped to her knees sliding harmlessly underneath his massive swipe. She crashed into the corner of the wall where Hero excitedly jumped on her. “Holy shit!”

The shock of nearly taking her head off reversed his changes. The fangs began to retract, and the fur pulled back into his skin. “Jaz?”

“Damn dude! Next time check before you swing, you coulda killed me!” Jaz yelled up at him as she tried to wrestle Hero off herself.

“Sorry, I-“ Timber Wolf had no words for what had just happened.

“Look, first things first. You know the way out?” Jaz cut him off. She’d stood back up and was trying to decide which direction to run. “Well? Do you?”

“No. We can’t go back the way we came in.” Timber Wolf shook his head trying to clear it, “This way.” He began running the same direction Jaz was going down the hall.

“How do you know its this way?” Jaz struggled to keep the slow pace he set and she was panting heavily.

“I don’t.” When Jaz didn’t respond he glanced behind him. She was scowling. He wanted to know how it was she seemed so calm given the situation. Instead, he asked, “How did you get out?”

“I can barely breath dude.” She was panting between words, “Talk. Later.” He tried to hide his laughter, but she didn’t miss it, shooting him a glare in response.

The Hall swiftly ended in a large circular door. Just from the look of it, Timber Wolf could tell it was heavily reinforced. It wouldn’t be something he could tear through even with his claws and super strength.

“Welcome.” The arrogant and nasally voice startled them. Timber Wolf narrowed his eyes following the glint of a tiny camera lens hidden between the seams of the door. Beside him Jaz craned her neck trying to find the source of the voice. “I’ve been expecting you two.”

“Have you?” He asked incredulously.

Beside him Jaz mocked, “You Literally kidnapped me here, what do you mean ‘you’ve been expecting us’.” Timber Wolf’s eyebrows raised.

“Hah! I’ll ignore your comment as I highly doubt your minds can comprehend how bad your situation is. Allow me to show you.” The door opened like an iris shutter revealing several other layers of doors, one sliding up, another left, one down.

Jaz chuckled, elbowing Brin like she was sharing a joke, “One insult and he compensates by letting us into his lair. Check out the doors, too.” She just smiled at him when he gave her a suspicious look. He didn’t understand how she could be laughing in this situation; was she just a normal human?

The final door was another circular one. They walked through ten feet of doors, Jaz taking up the rear with Hero at Jaz’s side and Timber in the front. Around them was a massive underground dome lined with smooth concrete and a large central column with a glass ball affixed to the top of it. Inside was a tiny man in a lab coat. He had a hunched back and white hair in a ring around his bald pointed dome. His large glasses magnified his eyes so you couldn’t see the end of them, just the eyeballs, tying the look together. The dome was several football fields across and filled to the brim with metal dinosaurs. They were all lined up in rows of five with a single one at their head, larger than the rest and the only one holding a machine gun facing their direction. Timber Wolf fought the urge to curse under his breath not wanting to give Jaz or the old man any doubt that he could get them out of this mess.

“Now do you understand the predicament you’re in?” The nasally voice boomed around the dome echoing around them like a taunt. Instinctively Timber jumped in front of Jaz trying to shield her but there were on all sides. “Its no use! Every one of my squadrons are equipped with machine guns trained at the human girl you’re protecting! If you value her life, you’ll surrender.”

Timber Wolf cursed under his breath but didn’t move. The balding man chuckled, “The arrogance of you heroes. Look at you down there, pretending like you’re a match for my army Raptor Soldiers!” He made a show of laughing maniacally, “Your kind are the reason I decided to begin this research. I, Maxmellius Gorgonzolas will put an end to the hero menace.” He laughed.

“What research!” Jaz called out.

He ignored her, “Now, kneel with your hands on the ground otherwise I’ll order them to kill you both.” Jaz took a step closer to Timber. Try as he might, he couldn’t see a way out of this that wouldn’t result in her immediately dying. He had no back up, and no plan. He had arrogantly walked them straight into a trap and he didn’t have the power to protect her. Her hand gently touched the back of his arm.

“Brin.” He ignored her, unable to face her.

“At least let her go, she’s just a human!” There was a pang of desperation in his voice he hoped she didn’t hear.

“No.” Maxmellius laughed, “Why would I afford you any request when I hold all the power here?” The bug eyed man looked at Jaz, “Besides. She’s far more than ‘just a human’ as you say, and I intend to find out exactly what you are. Now, you have three seconds to kneel or my Raptors will open fire.”

Timber Wolf kneeled down as he man spoke three. He squeezed his eyes shut and balled his fists angry at himself. This was all his fault.

               ‘The Justice league has yet to address the public’s fears that Superman is missing. It has been over a month,’ The screen cut to a shaky camera displaying images of Super man walking out of what looked like the rubble of a building with a child in his arms reuniting her with her family, ‘Since Superman has last appeared to the public. Concerns over Superman’s absence at the libraries opening have grown exponentially as request for comment is continually ignored by the Justice league Media coordinator and spokesperson Abigail Point. As weeks pass with no sign of Superman, the public fears what this could mean for emboldened villains the world over. Superman is scheduled to appear at the children’s hospital next month…’

Jaz glanced back at Hero. He was completely absorbed by the story at this point. She’d never seen a dog act like this. The story had shifted to street interviews with ‘concerned citizens’ who voiced their well wishes and spouted some interesting theories on where Superman was. It ranged anywhere from him being on vacation to him having given up on the world. One that piqued Jaz’s interest was an interview given outside one of the many closed down animal shelters in Metropolis’s suburbs.

               “I know for a fact that Superman is genuinely missing, know how I know? Because this is happening.” He gestured to the boarded up windows and police tape across his business’s front door, “Here, in Metropolis city we have strange metal reptiles stealing pets off porches and destroying hard working American businesses and where is Superman! Where is the Justice League? People are getting hurt!”

The image cut back to the anchor as she continued the story but Jaz wasn’t paying attention to it. Hero had whined hearing the mans pleas and he genuinely looked… Concerned. He was too expressive for a dog. Jaz’s thoughts were cut off as Brin climbed up the staircase. “Anything good on tonight?” He was wearing what she could only describe as his costume.

“Who are you supposed to be?” She asked jokingly.

“Ha ha, very funny.” Brin sat down in the lounge chair of the couch. Jaz hadn’t seen a super up close yet, at least not one in the full getup. The orange and black spandex moved and hugged his form perfectly and the giant wolfs head emblazoned on the front of it… It looked genuinely good in person. Nothing like the cheap spandex or materials used in cosplay’s she’d seen at Comic-Con’s. It looked well made with small delicate details, little metal emblems and leather accents that elevated the suit from cheesy to cool. “I’m from the future…” She nodded, pretending she didn’t already know that, “But you already knew that…” The blood drained from Jaz’s face. Her heart instinctively began to race.

“What are you talking about?” To her credit, she kept a calm demeanour and tone of  voice.

“You do that really well.”

“Do what?”

“Lie. If I didn’t have this super hearing,” He said, pointing a clawed finger to his ear, “I may have fallen for it.” Jaz grit her teeth. Right, Timber Wolf had enhanced senses on top of his super strength and ability to shoot things with his claws.

She crossed her arms over her chest, “If you already overheard, why are you asking me all of a sudden?”

“I’d like there to be some honesty between us, Jaz.” There was an edge that entered his voice that put her hairs on end. “No more lies, no more deflections. Who are you, who are you really?”

Jaz struggled to come up with some way to get herself out of this, but as she racked her brain a low growl began to rumble in’s Brin’s throat warning her. “Alright.” She threw her hands up, running her fingers through her hair, “You’re from the future yeah?” He nodded, “Well. How bout try another world.”

“I’m not from Earth either, I’m from-“

“I know, and no that’s not what I meant.” She shook her head, regretting even correcting him… But she couldn’t keep up a lie as big as pretending she’s from some other planet in this galaxy. Timber Wolf was part of the legion of Super Heroes, he knew far more than she would about all the other planets and worlds here. “I’m… I’m from an alternate reality. Sort of. It’s… Its really hard to explain.”

Timber Wolf smiled, “Try me, I may seem like a dumb brute but I have the futures knowledge and understanding of the universe.” He shrugged, “Sort of.”

“It’s not so much you as it is me. I don’t honestly know as much as I probably should anyways. I- I wasn’t really supposed to ever come here, or really even supposed to know much about the program that sends people here.” She sighed again, biting her lower lip. Could she trust him? He was a Super and she’d seen some of the shows his character appeared in. He was a good person, albeit very hot tempered and prone to losing his sanity… “Me being here was a mistake. I’m just sort of floating around and making the best of it until the gate reopens and I can return home.”

He nodded, deep in thought. “Is that why you’re homeless?”

“Eh?”

“While you were passed out I searched your bag,” When she looked like she was about to protest he held his hands up in defence, “I couldn’t just let some random stranger off the street stay under the roof without knowing the least bit about you. Not with all the targeted attacks going on recently.”

Jaz glared at him, “Well, no. If I really wanted to, I could probably get a job and a place to stay. It’s just… Why waste my opportunity to explore a new world and experience all these new things as a nine to fiver, ya know?”

“So you decided to be a vagrant that bums her way through this world?” Brin raised a brow.

“I decided to be free. And I don’t bum my way through the world, we call it busking and I’m pretty good at card tricks. I earn my money.” She replied indignantly. Jaz watched Timber Wolfs smiling face warp into a snarl as he sprung to his feet faster than her eyes could follow.

“Stick close,” He barked before rushing down the stairs. Jaz had to scramble, nearly falling over her feet to try to follow him with Hero keeping close behind.

“They’re here?” She whispered, several paces behind him but he heard her anyways, nodding his response without casting a backwards glance. Jason met them at the bottom of the stairs, his laptop clutched to his chest. The sound of the door being busted inwards made Jaz and Jason jump, while Timber Wolf snarled.

“Go to the basement, stick together and call me if they find you. I’ll hear,” And with that Timber Wolf launched himself at the three metal forms that had already piled through the doorframe. Jaz followed after Jason, holding onto the hem of his shirt while he reached behind himself to hold onto her arm. Hero at her side looked torn between joining Brin or protecting them. The sound of Timber Wolf Grunting and the sight of him being grappled by three of the Dino’s decided it for Hero. He rushed into the fray, leaving Jaz to call after him as she was lead downstairs to safety.

 -          -      -

Hero leapt through the air using the full weight of his tackle knock the Dino with its arm locked around Timber Wolf’s neck off balance. Using that opportunity Timber Wolf reached behind himself shooting his claws between the jaw plates on the underside of the Dino. He’d grown so used to the pain that caused him that he didn’t even wince. It’s eyes flashed on and off before it slumped to the floor. The other two Dino’s tried to subdue Timber, but he punched one off balance while Hero slammed himself behind its knee toppling it to the floor. The tail of the second one swept underneath Brins legs sending him to the ground as well, with it falling on top of him. They struggled against each other, hand to hand grappling with each other as Timber Wolf’s claws sunk into its metal gauntlets.

The other Dino was trying to stand back up but Hero kept attacking its tail or its feet, distracting it just enough that it didn’t join the other on top of Timber Wolf. The second Dino came crashing into the first with Hero barely dodging out of the way. Brin landed on top of them, stabbing his clawed hands between the metal plates in the chest of the final prone Dino. He watched its eyes flicker and shut down. He stood up surveying the wreckage. The two arms of the second Dino had been ripped off its body before he’d destroyed its internal circuits, the third’s head was smoking and the final one had a gaping hole in its side.

His smile froze though when he heard Jaz scream.

 -          -      -

 Teresse followed Clara through the halls of the Watchtower. Back in their world Jaz had described it as a massive satellite base that the Justice League used to monitor their world. The place sounded impossible. It was equipped with artificial gravity, a jungle to filter air and a lake under it to provide environments for every league member to hang out in comfortably. Its hull was made of Prometheum, a metal that didn’t even exist on earth, and it was filled with strange technologies from Martians, Kryptonians, and other races that Teresse had already gone and forgotten.

Cyborg was their most frequent babysitter and he was currently walking them towards the research lab. It hadn’t taken much convincing to get him to talk to them about the metal lizard case the league was working on. He spoke as they walked telling them about how the lizard men had only just started popping up in and around Metropolis. They were working closely with the detectives to get to the bottom of it. Just last night they lead a bust on a warehouse suspected of being a base of operations. It led to dozens of arrests and the safe return of over a hundred dogs to their owners.

As they were walking, a sanitation worker dressed in blue overalls with a blue cap pulled down over his eyes accidentally bumped into Clara nearly sending her to the ground. He caught her with a slap against her back, muttering apologies as he rushed off. “Ow.” Clara winced.

“The hell was that?” Terese shot a glare back after the quickly disappearing form of the man.

“Are you ok?” Cyborg’s stopped to check on them. Clara nodded, “We’re almost there.” He frowned as he watched the janitor disappear around a corner.

“Any idea why they’re going after pets?” Terese asked.

“They’re not just going after pets.” Cyborg explained as he keyed in the code that granted him access to the research lab. Inside was a giant circular table with numerous buttons, dials and screens all flashing and displaying different feeds of information. The rest of the room was split into subsections with open halls into other offshoot rooms surrounding the circular main one. There were lab assistants with the Justice League symbol stitched into their lab coats rushing about and attending the numerous machines and whatever experiments and tests they were running. “Last night they all began transmitting the same image, they’ve even gone so far as to distribute it among every petty criminal and thug throughout the city.” Cyborg pressed a button on the giant round ‘war table’ that was at the center of the room. Terese and Clara gasped in unison as a giant image of their friends’ fierce face holding a comically large wrench over her head mid swing appeared as a hologram in the centre of the room. Beside it was the image of the same dog Jaz had sent them a picture of when they’d been talking earlier in the day.