Justice League Unlimited The Serpent

The Question Observes

This is my most tragic story yet, so some feedback from you guys would be much appreciated!

"Why is it always an old factory? That is the question." Victor Sage, AKA The Question, asked himself as he crouched atop a building on the outskirts of Star City.

Normally, this was Green Arrow's domain, for Question had never really been one for responsibility over any single town, much less a gigantic city. He was prone to wandering around to whatever place called his attention, though he did spend the majority of his time (as The Question) either on the WATCHTOWER or in the streets of his hometown in Hub City. But that was beside the point.

It had been three days since the Martian Manhunter, J'onn J'onzz, had been abducted while on patrol. And although Superman was quick to point the finger at Lex Luther's old gang, the Secret Society, Question knew better.

Villains like Atomic Skull, Shade and Cheetah won't gain anything from kidnapping a Justice Leaguer, much less someone like J'onn, who could just phase out of whatever restraints they put on him. And besides, half of the Secret Society were afraid of aliens, so that wouldn't work.

The factory that he was examining down below belonged to Cadmus, a secret organization that had a history of kidnapping and experimenting on Metahumans like those in the Justice League. These were the people that he knew were holding J'onn. And besides, there was something else that he wanted to check out in this particular facility.

Question pulled out a cellphone from the pocket of his overcoat and dialed a number. He would need backup for this.

"This is Dove." the youthful voice belonging to the pacifistic brother sounded over the phone, sounding half-asleep.

Question realized with a feeling of guilt that it was nearly midnight in Malibu, which was where Hawk and Dove lived when they couldn't take living in the WATCHTOWER.

"Sorry about the wake up call, but I need some backup. Is your brother awake?" Question asked, he heard a mumbled "I am now," from the red-cloaked brother.

"Excellent. I need you two in Star City."

Vic had to pull the phone away from his ear to avoid going deaf when Hawk angrily yelled, "WHAT?! YOU WAKE US UP AT THE MOST UNGODLY HOUR OF THE NIGHT, AND TELL US TO MEET YOU HALF-WAY ACROSS THE STATES, JUST BECAUSE YOU NEED BACKUP?!"

Vic's only reply was an unphased, "Yes."

[_-_]

The two brothers got to Star City quickly enough, though Dove could have gone without his brother's almost constant swearing at being woken up and the stream of violent threats towards Question's physical well being.

Hank Hall was absolutely NOT a morning person, another thing that set the brothers apart, because Don was absolutely a morning person.

But one thing they did have in common, was that neither appreciated being woken up in the middle of the night, especially after pulling a 24-hour surveillance shift at the WATCHTOWER (due to over half of the League either being in deep space or in the Med-bay, courtesy of a recent run-in with General Eiling) and a full week of non-stop peace talks in Kasnia. Those activities alone left both Hawk and Dove exhausted, but they still had their duties.

After Mr. Terrific teleported the pair to Star City, Hawk was still yawning, and Dove's violet gaze swept across the building tops around him. After a moment, he spotted Question waving to him from a rooftop a few buildings away before the detective stepped down and out of sight.

"Over here, Hank." Dove looked back to his older brother, Hawk's head had dropped to his chest and his eyes were closed. The blue-and-white-clad brother shook his head and walked over, gently prodding Hawk till the other awoke.

Don jerked his thumb to the rooftop where he last saw Question and wordlessly leapt over. Once they arrived, Dove spotted Question crouching near the edge of the building, binoculars in hand. The blue-clad hero glanced behind him at his brother to make sure that Hawk had followed. He had, and was now crouching beside Question. Though he whispered threats to the faceless detective, he was too tired to actually make good on any of them.

"What you see below us is a Cadmus facility, the very one that is holding J'onn, along with something I want to check on." Question stated, Hawk yawned again.

"Alright, let's start bashing heads." the red-clad brother mumbled as he made to jump down, only for his brother to stop him.

"Hank, wait. Question wasn't finished." Hawk crouched down again and huffed tiredly. Question then pulled up a holo-screen with the blueprints for the building, and pointed to one room in particular.

"This room here has the most heat escaping from it, so, therefore, it stands to reason that this is where J'onn is being held." Hawk tilted his head in confusion.

"What brought you to that conclusion?" he asked, his little brother facepalmed.

"One of a Martian's biggest weaknesses is fire, remember?" Dove asked, now more than a little annoyed with his brother, though he wouldn't act on it. As a pacifist, that wasn't who he was.

"That is correct, Dove." said Question when he looked up again. "All of Cadmus's facilities are built the same, so getting from here to there shouldn't be a problem. As for that thing I wanted to check on, have either of you been briefed on a project called "The Serpent of Cadmus"?"

The brothers both nodded, Batman had briefed them a few weeks ago while they had been preparing to go to Kasnia. He had wanted them to ask after the Cadmus connection that had been seen there in recent months.

"Good, then I shouldn't have to say anything else." And with that, Question leapt down from the rooftop and onto the pavement below.

Hawk and Dove both sighed audibly and their unspoken agreement was unanimous. This was going to be a long night.