Chapter 33

The time had been overdue for Donna to have a long overdue chat with Aresia. She currently had been resting in the little rooms and started to recover. Donna walked over and stared at Aresia. Time passed very slowly as the two Amazons locked eyes.

"If you're going to talk to me, say something."

Aresia's voice sounded tired and tense. Her eyes fixed onto Donna.

"I would ask how you're doing, but we both know the answer to that one," Donna replied.

"We do," Aresia said. "You know something. Given everything that I've been through .All of the hardships I had at the hands of men."

Donna tensed up, wondering where this conversation was going. Aresia pressed her hand to the side of the cell and peered into Donna's eyes with cold blue indifference. Inside of those eyes, were horrors, the likes of which Donna never saw in her life. Whatever Aresia saw, it was not pleasant.

"No one made me suffer more than Amanda Spence. A woman. If I ever get my hands on her, I'm afraid what I might do."

And Donna believed it. Honestly she did.

"What happened?" Donna asked. "What made you...you know?"

"Lose my mind?"

Well, this was not the exact way Donna would have put it. Still Aresia hit the head on the nail. Wordlessly, Donna nodded and opened her mouth to say something, but Aresia cut her off.

"Fine, its the burden I must carry for the rest of my life," Aresia said.

"Ares attacked, and you weren't well," Donna said. "One day you left the island, and then when you returned, it was...to kill all men."

Donna's voice spoke in a hush. Yes, Aresia remembered, and while the time between the Ares incident which caused her to have a mental break and the time where she left the island had been a bit fuzzy, she slowly put together on the details.

"I was in a shelter for troubled women," Aresia said.

A long pause lingered in the air before Donna responded.

"You should have come home," Donna said.

"I didn't feel safe," Aresia said. "But, it was there where my bitterness...it grew stronger. It was almost like every single bad thing that happened just hit me all the sudden. It was awful, one hundred percent. Do you understand?"

"I do," Donna replied. "I honestly do. Who ran the shelter?"

And it was here, where Aresia's mind went kind of fuzzy. She hoped to remember, to figure it out.

"I don't know who, but her name, it started with a G," Aresia said. "It wasn't a very pleasant place. Something false about it. I can't….I can't….I don't want to remember."

Very nearly, Aresia broke down. Donna knew the barrier between the cells was up to protect them from Aresia or maybe Aresia from herself. She had been very fragile after that night.

"Get some rest," Donna told Aresia.

"You should take me back to the Amazons, and face judgment."

"Not yet. We'll figure this out."

Donna closed her eyes. She knew precisely how Diana felt about Minerva now. She had been put in one of the most uncomfortable positions possible. No way to get out, one way or another. She really hoped they could piece this together because Aresia had been a lot.

"You wanted to see me?"

Anissa nodded and Harry could sense something was wrong right away.

"It's about Jennifer," Anissa said. "I was supposed to meet her this morning, for breakfast. But she didn't turn up. She left a concert last night and she never turned home. No call, nothing."

"Did you talk to your parents?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, told Mom, she's freaking out about it," Anissa said. "I know, I know, just concerned. Especially since the police are trying to tell her Jennifer's a runaway and not doing anything about it. She's had to raise all kinds of hell, for them to kind of take them seriously."

Harry pinched the bridge of her nose. He knew Jennifer would not be the type of person to just run away on a whim.

"Babs?" Harry asked.

"Hey, what can I do for you?" Barbara asked.

"It's Jennifer Pierce. Anissa was supposed to meet her, but she's...she's not there. I'm sending you her number right now."

"Right, let's see if I can do."

Despite the search taking place over a minute, it was the longest minute Anissa ever experienced in her entire life. She nervously tapped her fingers.

"Haven't been able to get in touch with Dad," Anissa said. "Hope he's not in trouble because of something."

"Let's hope not," Harry said.

"Well, she should be at a bus stop," Barbara said. "Or her phone was."

After Barbara sent Anissa the address, she frowned. Anissa studied the paper and recognized it immediately.

"That's where she called me from last night," Anissa said.

Harry and Anissa grabbed hands and disappeared right to the bus stop. Sure enough, in a bin, was Jennifer's phone. Slightly damaged. Harry accessed it, hoping to get a clue into what it found.

"Last time it was used was when she talked to you last night," Harry said.

"Damn it, so nothing here," Anissa said.

"Alright, I might have something, although while it's not a direct line to Jen, it's something," Barbara said.

"Go ahead."

Anissa and Harry moved back to a more private area before Barbara told them something.

"There's been a few abductions like this, the police trying to push it off as runaways," Barbara said. "Mostly minorities, but also a few low-income families. And, the most interesting case is one in Smallville. Chloe actually sent me the information this morning."

"Send it over, we'll check it out."

Anissa nodded. Better than anything.

"Chloe will meet you there," Barbara said. "Good luck. Hope you figure out what is going on."

"I've been doing some research, and in most of the abductions, there hasn't been any witnesses," Chloe explained to Harry and Anissa. "Except for this one, because someone saw something."

"Good," Anissa said. "We'll find this person and we'll take them down."

"I wish I could say that this just your average human trafficking, but it's much more," Chloe said.

"So, are these the ones that you're talking about?"

Harry and Anissa turned their attention to a very attractive woman dressed in a business skirt and blouse. She wore glasses and had her hair tied back. Her eyes pierced over the pair of glasses and stopped when she saw Harry.

"You're Clara's son," she breathed. "It's an honor to meet you. My name is Professor Kyla Willowbrook, and I represent the Kawatchee tribe. I've found your family fascinating over the years."

"My names Harry Kent, and this is Anissa Pierce," Harry said.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Professor Willowbrook," Anissa said. "My sister was abducted and I believe…."

"Ah, yes, the beetle demon," Kyla said. "We've seen him and believed he's targeted those with special qualities."

The words beetle demon piqued Harry's interest and not in a good way as well. Anissa just scrunched up her nose and said pretty much what they were both thinking.

"Beetle Demon?" Anissa asked.

"Yes," Kyla replied. "Well, that's what they claim. One thing we can verify is the granddaughter of one of our tribe elders, Danielle Moonstar, did not return from her walk to commune with nature. And a few people swore they saw this monster. This hideous beast lurking around the area where she was found."

"Do you have anything more on him?" Harry asked.

"One thing I can tell you, is a soothsayer of ours, she had a vision," Kyla said. "And she carved the image which matched the description of what has been seen around the tribe."

"Do you have the image, Kyla?" Chloe asked.

Kyla produced the image. Harry and Anissa both saw, reflected before them, a hulked out version of the Blue Beetle. Only there were some differences. Black, darker, and something sinister about the creature.

"They know," Harry said. "They're here."

"What's here?" Anissa asked. "What's going on?"

"They call themselves the Reach, and your sister and the others are in danger," Harry said. "I'm not sure what they want them for, or why they're targeting certain people, but I'm going to have to talk to Lyta about this."

Harry moved off and left Anissa along with Kyla and Chloe. When Anissa turned towards the two women, they just shrugged and gave her a sympathetic smile.

"Clara was the same way when she had her mind set on something," Kyla said.

"No kidding," Chloe murmured, half fondly, despite it being frustrating when Claire just zipped off like that.

Harry stopped off. He called for an urgent meeting with Lyta. Who showed up, along with Galatea. And Cheshire as well. With the looks on their faces, Harry figured they knew precisely why they had been called here to talk to them and wasted little time discussing the matter with him.

"You've stumbled upon the trafficking ring, haven't you?" Jade asked.

"Yes, they took Anissa's sister, and a few others," Harry said.

"It's been mostly under the radar for the past few weeks," Galatea commented. "It wasn't until now where we've been able to figure out everything."

"You're supposed to tell me these things," Harry said.

"We weren't certain," Lyta said. "And you did have your own issues but….."

"Oh, this is certain. This figure was sketched by a Soothsayer and matches one which has been seen sulking around a Native reservation."

Harry presented the image of the Black Beetle. Lyta and Galatea gazed upon it for a few seconds.

"The Light's new partner," Cheshire said. "I've been talking to some of my old contacts, and they've been making some plays."

"So do the Soothsayer was right on the money?" Harry asked.

"Yes,' Lyta said. "They're here. And it's a problem. Last time I was able to drive them from Krypton, barely. Their presence on the planet, they had ramifications, which were only felt in the planet's last days."

It was funny how the Reach were modeled out of beetles. One might suspect they were closer to leeches, who drained everyone until they were left withered and dying.

"We have to stop them before they get started," Harry said.

"Good idea, but the one problem is, they have help," Galatea said. "The Light wants them. They have no idea what they're in for. I told you we should have killed Luthor when we had the chance."

Galatea's accusatory eyes met Lya, who brushed it off.

"It wouldn't have done anything, because Luthor's just one step in the plan," Lyta said. "And there's someone more dangerous pulling the strings, I fear. Although at this point, we don't have enough proof of their involvement."

"So do we have any leads?" Harry asked.

He had to steer this conversation back to the matter at hand because time was running short. Cheshire slipped off of her mask and looked sardonically at Harry.

"Like I said, I've been talking to some contacts and called in a few favors. All signs point to Morgan Edge having a good idea where they're located. It's in some kind of Intergang stronghold, wherever the Light's new partner is holding them."

"So, we bust Edge, and his cronies," Anissa said over the comm. "Given that he's the most protected man this side of Luthor, not going to be easy."

"You're right," Harry concluded. "We're going to need all hands on deck to pull this one off."

Harry already formulated a plan. It might only be going off of a minimal amount of information. However, they had to stop the Reach's invasion before it started.

The Black Beetle stood at the door while the Reach Scientist and her colleagues experimented with the captured teenagers.

"Not all of them have the capability for the meta-gene to be activated," one of them said. "But, they all do have the markers, so there must be something about it."

The Reach Scientist responded with a very stoic nod.

"We will continue to run tests," the Reach Scientist said.

"I would not waste any time on spoiled meat," the Black Beetle said. "Tie up the loose ends and dispose of anything that is rancid."

"Not until I've exercised every test possible," the Reach Scientist said. "On the bright side, this one looks promising. She most certainly has the meta-gene."

A glow erupted from Jennifer Pierce. Lightning flickered around her as she sprung to life. Every inch of her body tingled, as it felt she was on fire.

"What the hell is going on?" Jennifer asked. "What the hell are you doing to me?"

"Child, you should be honored," the Reach Scientist said.

Jennifer screamed out loud as pain stabbed through every inch of her body. Oh, she did not feel really honored at this point. Every inch of her skin burned with fury as the lightning whipped around her. The Reach Scientist made some notes on her progress.

Promising, promising indeed.

Several Intergang goons moved out. A couple of them eyed nervously the truck they were guarding. It would be shipped out pretty soon, to some facility far across town. And the cargo on it was enough to make them feel nervous that something bad was going to happen.

"Looks like we're busting our asses and breaking our backs, while Mannheim and Edge both sit pretty," one of the goons said.

"Ah, it's better than doing a 9 to 5," another one of the gangsters said. "I worked in an office job, and I had to deal with so much shit all day. Much better than to traffic this...what are we trafficking?"

"Goods, that's all you need to know," the leader of the squad said.

Out in the shadows, Thunder and Superman said. The truck had been lined with lead, so it did not make it easy to take a look, without really taking a look.

"Get ready," Superman said.

The two were not alone. Miss Martian, Blue Beetle, Impulse, Wondergirl, and Artemis all turned up behind them. Artemis drew back her arrow, and prepared to take a shot to take them out.

"Don't worry, I've got this one."

Impulse whipped in and wiped out three of the thugs. A fourth thug dropped his cigarette to the ground in shock. Impulse whipped him down to the ground.

"So much for the stealth approach," Artemis said.

'Good,' the scarab said. 'The way it should be.'

Blue Beetle fired one of the goons with a stun blast. The scarab would have preferred a more lethal ordinance but it's host decided not to go down that particular route. More Intergang goons had been knocked down and fell in short order.

The final goon turned around into the fist of Cheshire who casually took him down to his knees. One more shot to the neck and he was out like a light.

"Stealth would have been better," Cheshire said. "How did you know it was here exactly? My source only had a general area."

"Well, the scarab told me...it would be," Blue Beetle said.

"We'll see if your little friend is right."

Wondergirl opened up the back of the truck. The entire team gasped, as they saw at least a dozen teenagers, in stasis tubes, all lined up.

"No Jen," Anissa muttered.

"And no Danielle," Harry said. "But, at least we have some of the teens."

"We'll see if this guy knows anything."

M'gann picked up the Intergang goon. His limbs snapped back as she tried to read his mind. M'gann frowned and tried to peer deep into his brain. No response. He was completely dead and the Martian could not get a thing out of his mind despite trying.

Suddenly, M'gann noticed M'comm in the shadows, ever so briefly. Then he was gone. She rose up, but Harry grabbed her by the arm.

"Stick to the plan," Harry said. "Search the area. Anything we can find, it will be good….unless the scarab's picked up anything else."

"No, it's all gone silent," Blue Beetle said.

Ruby could feel some frustration. They had found some of the captured teenagers, although it was not the ones.

"Police should be on their way in a few minutes," Harry said. "Let's see if we can find anything before they arrive."