(45) Failsafe 7
October 16
It was supposed to be just a simple training exercise. No actual harm done, just like it was all a collective lucid dream. A lucid dream that was being watched on the outside.
It was odd, seeing all 6 kids lay so motionless on the table. Set up in a circle, it nearly looked like the oddest sacrificial prayer circle they had ever seen. The electrode patches not helping the somewhat unnerving look of it. Wolf had decided to stick around as well, resting next to Connor. The bond between the boy and canine was exceptionally strong so they weren't too surprised.
The moment J'onn confirmed they were under, little projectors at the head of each table sparked to life. Turning on one by one, the perspective of each team member blinked to life. A small heartrate monitor depicted their physical and mental heartrates, just as a safety precaution.
At first it was quite interesting, seeing the world through their eyes. Especially Dick's, as the shortest in the group. It wasn't an angle any of them had ever experienced for themselves. All of them had started the hero business well into their adult years. The world really did look bigger through the eyes of younger ones.
The beginning went well. They could slightly tell the team was behaving more guarded, knowing they were being watched. It was a little daunting, watching their kids not react to their deaths, especially for those who had visual deaths occur. But, they were aware it was just a simulation. They knew the real mentors were perfectly fine, so there wasn't a need to take it personally.
They worked surprisingly well together. Somewhat better than anticipated as, outside of Batman and Canary, the others hadn't been close enough to team related things to get a feel for their performance together.
To nobody's surprise, however, the seriousness in the air faded after they boarded the Bioship. While there was still a certain level of professionalism, you could only expect so much when both Dick and Wally were put in the same small area for a long time. Speedsters always struggled with having to sit still for an extended period of time and Wally was no different. Pair that with Dick's general dislike for sitting straight in a chair and it was a recipe for minor chaos. With those two setting it off it wasn't long before Artemis and eventually the others, too, were dragged into it.
It pulled a smile to most mentors' faces. They were still just kids after all, no matter how much experience they already had in the field. As the two most senior members on the team, Dick and Wally had the most freedom to goof off during quieter times. Of course, that also meant they were also the ones who know best when it was time to straighten up.
The flight to the artic was relatively long, even with Bioship's speed. In their relative boredom, Barry and Oliver started a bet between who would mess up first and how. All in good faith of course, they were gunning for Wally tripping or Artemis missing a shot.
Dinah scolded the two, heavily discouraging the betting on their own protégés. Not like it actually stopped the two men. Much like Wally and Dick, Barry and Oliver were agents of chaos and they thrived on the little things. They immediately countered with betting Connor would lose his temper over something or disobey an order. Dinah only glared at the two, not dignifying it with a response.
The only people who remained sane during their antics were Arthur and Batman. J'onn was more focused on supervising the mental side of the exercise to pay them much mind.
Arthur had much faith in Kaldur. He was a very levelheaded boy for his age. Always working hard in their training and on missions. Though he admittedly has not seen much of the boy's solo work for himself, he did keep up with the reports of their missions. The pride he felt when it was announced Kaldur and Dick would co-lead the team was immeasurable. He was certain the boy would grow up to be a fine hero on his own and be a pride to Atlantis of which many tales would be written.
"ARTEMIS!" M'gann's haunting screech echoed from each of the displays, grabbing everybody's full attention.
Not one of them had expected Artemis to be the first to fall. A shockwave pulsated through the room as M'gann levitated off of the table, throwing the mentors off balance. Wolf's ears shot up, growling slightly as the canine looked at a random corner in the room. All laughs and bets immediately stopped. They hadn't thought they'd lose a member this early on.
Artemis's monitor blackened out before it shut down, only a small projection of a very slow heartrate still showing. Over on all other member's monitors, their heartrates were spiking unusually high, setting off alarms. Their physical heartrates quickening as well as they all experienced degrees of distress within the simulation.
Oliver walked up to Artemis, checking her pulse just to make sure the monitor wasn't wrong. It really was abnormally slow and oddly weak, slower than it should be for somebody who should have exited the simulation. "J'onn? Why isn't she waking up?" He asked fearfully. That's what was supposed to happen, right? They fail in the training and then they wake up.
So why wasn't she waking up?
J'onn looked just as confused as everybody else. He felt his control over the simulation slip and told them as much. Worry set in as they all realized things weren't going as planned and they may lose their only way to get their kids back safe.
Barry was the second to rush over to their protégé, physically feeling for Wally's rapid pulse. Out of all of them, he knew speedster physique the best. His onscreen heartrate was not fully compatible with their naturally faster pulse, throwing the readings off as his boy panicked. He pulled out his phone, keeping the clock app open so he could keep track with more ease as the rest argued around him.
Arthur, too, went to check on Kaldur. Just to be safe. Much like speedsters, Atlanteans also had a different physique than a typical human. Their heartrates were adapted to underwater pressure and beat at a slower pace. Though they were on the surface and their bodies adapted quite well, it did not quell the underlying concern that crept up in the man.
"We need to pull them out." Dinah demanded, standing by Oliver's side as the man tried in vain to wake up Artemis. She felt bad for him, especially since he personally promised her mother he'd keep her safe. She knew, oh how she knew that Oliver had a particular soft spot for the girl. The blonde was so much like him when he was younger, the same spitfire and snarky attitude he only somewhat grew out of. But right now, there wasn't much she could do to comfort the archer.
J'onn tried to focus on M'gann, trying to take back control on the simulation, of the world they had created. But it was to no avail. Her mental defenses were too strong for him to break through. Like he was locked out, looking in through Kryptonian proofed glass. The more he prodded at her defenses, the more sudden spikes in heartrate she experienced.
All of their attention snapped to Wolf as the canine suddenly alerted them of an unseen danger. With his ears pushed back and teeth bared, he snarled lowly in Dick's direction. Whatever it was that the hound sensed, it was enough to agitate him into snapping his teeth at the youngest in the room.
They all watched with baited breath, unsure of what the invisible threat was. None of them had noticed anything off. Anything willing and capable of sneaking in without an entire team of well-trained heroes noticing was not something to just ignore. A fear ran through them that if they moved, it would set off the mutant into attacking. Though they knew Wolf would never purposely attack one of their kids, whatever the threat was could use their defenses bodies as a shield. Or be too close and get them injured as collateral.
Dick laid motionless, the only indication of distress being his slightly elevated heartrate. Out of all of the kids, his and Connor's were the most stable. Nothing around him seemed out of the ordinary.
That was, until a white haired boy suddenly blinked into view. A small wave of psychic power pulsated off of M'gann. Near instantly, the Dick inside the simulation responded as the boy had somehow infiltrated the simulation. Both his simulation and actual heartrate stabilized at a less concerning speed. They all saw different angles from the members' monitors as they looked at the pair. Dick's was focused on the boy as the others watched the pair from a distance. However, the boy's clothes didn't fully match what he was wearing on the outside, oddly enough. Only minor details were different but enough to be noticed.
Was the simulation becoming more unstable, enough to let a stranger be pulled inside?
Being closest to the hound, responsibility fell to Arthur to jump forward and hold onto the beast before he pounced. As if suddenly rabid, Wolf growled aggressively at the boy, trying defend Connor and the others from the intruder. Standing defiantly at the head of the clone's table, Wolf bared his teeth once more.
Before any of them truly had a chance to respond, another secret intruder made their presence known. Spawning out of nowhere, a truly massive green hound appeared. The beast easily towered over Dick's table as it stood protectively over the boy. A collar of green fire adorned its neck with matching fiery tufts of fur on its legs and tail. The white haired boy stood motionless at its shoulder, nearly fitting under the beast as well as he was blocked from view for half of the room's inhabitants. The green hound snapped aggressively at Wolf, its barks nearly breathing smoke as it stood over Dick.
Wolf did not seem intimidated by its sheer size at the least, not backing down no matter how hard Arthur tried to hold him back. The pair slid forward which seemed to be a bad idea. Reacting in an instant the green hound swatted at Wolf, claws grazing pristine white fur and leaving trails of blood behind. Wolf, much to his credit, barely backed down. Only being pulled back out of reach by a struggling Aquaman.
J'onn tried to help where he could, only able to spare a little of his focus to help hold back Wolf as he levitated up. Even with M'gann holding the situation in a death grip, it was vital that he remained focused on the connection between the members. Especially now with another mind added into it that he struggled to locate, as if the boy's presence was masked by somebody or something else. Doing whatever he can, he just barely managed to force the internal time of the simulation to slow down to a near halt until they were able to get the situation on the outside resolved first. At least this way, they would have more time before any other member could fall into a coma.
As if remembering they were also in the room, the other mentors shot into action as well. Oliver reached for his quiver, putting together a tranquilizer arrow. Notching it quickly, Dinah only just managed to get out of the way before he tried to shoot the green hound. Tried being the keyword as the arrow harmlessly passed through the beast and nearly hit Arthur instead. The hound quickly snapped at Oliver, forcing the man to take a step back, before it focused back on Wolf.
Willing to give it a shot, Barry tried rushing in himself. Using his speed to his advantage, he grabbed the missed arrow and attempted to manually stab it into the green hound. His hopes were that, maybe, if the beast was distracted, it wouldn't be able to do its density shifting trick on time. Again, however, the beast seemed to be able to outsmart them. It followed where Barry was, easily tracking him even if he was moving at superspeed. Turning part of its body invisible, the hound was able to swipe at Barry's legs before the man realized where the danger was. Stumbling from the sudden pain, he rolled until he came to a hard stop, hitting his head on Kaldur's table.
Looking over his leg, blood ran out of deep, partially cauterized scratch marks. The beast sneered at him too, looking over everybody in the room with unnerving calculated eyes. It crouched down, leaving less distance between its body and Dick's. Clearly they underestimated it's intelligence as it already outsmarted two Leaguers. Three, if you counted how J'onn wasn't able to provide any aid.
"Everybody, stand back." Batman ordered, keeping his eyes trained on the hound standing protectively over Dick. Dinah and Barry looked like they wanted to object but he gave them no room. "Stand. Back." He growled out with a glare. Reluctantly, those who physically could, backed away. Or, dragged themselves away in the case of Barry, leaving a tiny blood trail in his wake.
Batman carefully approached the green hound, making small but deliberate steps closer. Once he was a reasonable distance closer, he whistled sharply, pulling the beast's attention to him. Immediately its head snapped to him, the flames around its neck flaring out as it snarled at the Dark Knight.
Batman didn't let it bother him. With the hound's attention on him, he slowly lifted his hands and pulled off the cowl. "What the actual fuck, Bruce?" Dinah sneered at the man who promptly ignored her. Keeping his face neutral, he held out a hand, just enough to waft his sent over to the beast. As hoped, it recognized him enough to slightly loosen its stance over his boys.
The hounds blood red eyes snapped between Bruce and Wolf, keeping its focus on the two perceived dangers. Noting it's unease towards the mutated canine, Bruce slowly inched over to stand directly between himself and Wolf. The hound still snarled at him, now fully focusing on him.
"Um, Bats?" Oliver called out, pointing towards the hounds body. Or rather, Dick's. Having moved so carefully it hadn't even registered, the large beast was gingerly pawing near Dick's waist while maintaining eye contact with Bruce. Taking it as it was, Bruce slowly let one hand drop to his belt. The moment his hand got near, the beast's ears flattened as it openly growled at the man.
Carefully he unclipped the buckle, letting his utility belt release from around him. With a single swift motion, he threw the explosive filled garment at Barry, knowing the speedster was the only one with a reaction currently time fast enough to not let it fall.
The hound seemed rather satisfied at the removal of his main weapon arsenal. Seemingly calming down, the flames around it's body sizzled out until it was all replaced with somewhat regular looking fur. If regular fur was neon green and seemed to not care much for the laws of gravity. A spiked collar now appearing around its neck, some kind of tag dangling from it. It shrunk slightly in size, still easily towering over Wolf and the table but now relying on keeping its front paws on it to stand over Dick.
Shifting slightly, the hound moved to block Bruce's view of the white haired boy with its massive head. Or rather, block the boy from Wolf's view as it seemed the mutated canine had initially reacted to his appearance, forcing the hound to react in kind.
Bruce kept his hands raised, he knew well enough the hound would know his utility belt wasn't the only place he kept weapons. Taking a testing step forward, he watched carefully for the hounds reaction. A low growl rumbled from its chest but otherwise it didn't react.
Going back to taking slow and deliberate steps, Bruce made his way over to the hound. Offering his hand again, he let it get another sniff in. "So, you're the one that's been keeping an eye on him, I take it." The hound let out what could only be described as an unamused huff, eying the man carefully as he reached underneath him. "Don't worry, I'm just checking on him." He elaborated as the hound let out a soft warning growl.
Dick's heartrate was relatively steady given the circumstances. No clear signs of distress beyond what would be expected. Bruce pulled his hand back and brought it back within the hound's line of sight. Nodding his head to the side, he gestured to the other boy. "Can I?" The hound seemed to contemplate for a moment, eyeing the man before finally shifting its stance ever so slightly.
Just as carefully as before, he moved closer. He wasn't sure what he was expecting, but it sure wasn't a freezing cold body and no pulse at all. Though a wave of panic shot through him, he tried to remain calm on the outside. Something that didn't seem to go well enough as Wolf picked up on the slight shift in his demeanor.
With reignited vigor, Wolf barked again. Nearly slipping out of Arthur's hold, Barry rushed over as well as he could to help keep a hold of him. The hound reacted in kind, embers forming around its neck again as it snarled at the mutant. Trying to deescalate, Bruce locked eyes with Oliver. Silent order received, the archer and his songbird moved to block the Wolf from the hound's direct line of sight like Bruce had before. It didn't help much in terms of calming Wolf down, but the hound seemed satisfied enough to calm down once more.
Looking over the boy's, Bruce tried to separate them. In his subconscious mind, Dick had latched onto the boy's hand with a death grip. Unable to get their fingers separated without risking injury, Bruce had no choice but to take a step back again. Shifting back into the hound's direct line of sight, he grabbed its attention. "Can you help move them?" He nodded to their linked hands, trying to make it clear he can't move them separately.
The hound looked between him and the four heroes blocking Wolf. With a huff and a shake of its head, the hound moved away from the table. Circling back around, he pushed at the boys' linked hands until their arms were over his neck. Crouching down between the table and the white haired boy, the hound allowed Bruce to lay the boy over his back.
Carefully scooping up Dick in his arms, Bruce made sure his head was properly supported. Taking that as its cue to stand, the hound rose up without even jostling the boy on its back. At an even pace, Bruce and the hound walked out of the room and towards the sleeping hall. Bruce lead the first half of the way until they reached the specific hallway the team's bedrooms were located.
Sniffing out which room to go to, the hound took lead. As they approached the door, Bruce felt a tingling sensation spread all over his body. Watching the hound closely, it walked through the door to Dick's bedroom like it didn't even exist. With no chance to slow down, Bruce trusted the odd tingling sensation and stepped through the closed door as well.
Resisting the urge to shudder at the sensation, he guided them towards the bed. Leaning over as far as he could, he placed Dick down closest to the wall. The hound levitated up slightly, keeping it's body straight as to prevent his cargo from slipping off. Carefully, Bruce lifted off the other boy and laid him down next to Dick.
With them both laying down, Bruce took off Dick's glasses and carefully peeled off the other boy's mask. He gingerly brushed the hair out of the boys' faces, making sure they were laying comfortably before he got off of the bed.
Placing both the sunglasses and the mask down at the foot of the bed, he grabbed a spare glove and set it up to show live feed from the training room. Both for the sake of the hound keeping watch over the others and for once they got the simulation sorted. Turning back towards his boys, he watched as the hound climbed up on the bed and laid down overtop their legs. Reaching out, he pet the hound, somewhat surprised he was able to touch it at all. "Keep them safe for me." Bruce smiled as the hound flopped its head down with a huff.
Looking over them one last time, he pulled his cowl back on before leaving the room again. One situation handled, one mess still left to fix.
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