Worldheart (A Justice League fanfic)

Chapter 14

Jaz walked backwards through the hall watching as Furball followed her. Now that he wasn't trying to kill her friends she was able to get a good look at him. He was huge, his shoulder reached above her own head, almost six foot seven- maybe even seven feet tall by her estimate. His fur was long, wavy and silky, the same shade of brown he had on his head before. His eyes too were the same shade of yellow, though now they held a spark of insanity in them that kept her on edge. He was panting and his eyes followed her every movement, but he didn't lunge or snarl. By the time she'd crossed the room full of empty cells, she switched to walking forward, glancing behind her to keep a careful eye on him.

Nothing attacked them as they crossed the factory. The floor was littered with torn pieces of Raptor soldiers and broken machinery. It struck Jaz that there were enough destroyed Raptors littering the room for her to safely say Furball had taken out an army of them. Perhaps the entire army of them. She became more convinced of it when they met no resistance the entire way. She lead them back to the fork where she'd initially met with Brin and Hero days ago, this time turning down the hall Brin and Hero had appeared in. At its end was a giant service elevator pulled on chains. It had no siding preventing someone from falling off, and was large and flat enough to carry two large trucks down on it comfortably. What wasn't comfortable was having to stand so close to Furball. Flashes of his fight with Green Arrow and Black Canary kept her tense, worried he'd turn on her.

They were lifted into the middle of a large cement warehouse, surrounded by unmarked boxes stored on pallets, ready to be fed onto the elevator and sent down. A glance inside showed they were full of metal, computer chips and other raw materials. There were tire marks on the floor that looked fresh, and the large garage door on one side of the building was left open allowing the cool night air to wash into the room.

Jaz rushed towards it, very aware of the wolf following closely behind her. Her legs didn't stop until she reached the forest clutching Hero close into her chest as an onslaught of twigs scratched her face and arms. She stopped only when it hurt to breath, pressing her back against a tree. Behind her, Furball was carving out a massive path through the underbrush, mowing down everything in his way unceremoniously.

"You should turn back now. Into your human form I mean." She said letting herself slide to the forest floor. She laid Hero in her lap rubbing her sore arms. The adrenaline from their escape was finally wearing off and, in its wake, she was faced with how weak she felt. There was no way Jaz had the strength to carry a medium size dog like Hero all the way back into the city.

"Brin?" Furball continued to stare at Jaz. It was like there was nothing going on behind those eyes. "Earth to Brin, calling your last braincell. We can't go into the city with you like that... Brin!" He blinked when she yelled at him but didn't respond in any other meaningful way. "Damn. Not home, eh?" She looked down at Hero. "Now I have two useless superhero dogs, huh." Hero was catatonic throughout their entire escape so far. Every so often she'd lick her finger and hold it in front of his nose just to check he was still breathing. He was, but it felt even fainter now.

Jaz slowly lowered Hero onto the ground, placing her hoodie under and around him, noticing an odd shape in her pocket while she did so. She pulled out a vial of red liquid remembering that she'd pocketed one. As the dots connected in Jaz's mind, she finally realized what must have happened. "Did they give you the green stuff? Is that why you're like this?" She decided they must have. They'd done it to Black Canary, why not Brin?

"Brin. I don't have a needle for this, and I doubt one would make it past your fur anyways." She spoke as she walked towards him, "Just... Don't take my arm off when I do this." Jaz carefully popped the tiny stopper at the top of the vial, holding the liquid in with her thumb while she mentally readied herself for what she was about to do. Furball was still staring at her blankly when Jaz jumped him, trying to pry open his mouth. He growled, shaking her off with ease. He didn't try to attack her, giving Jaz the final confirmation she needed. "You won't hurt me." He was now growling openly at her, his mouth slightly agape. She leapt back at him, shoving her arm past his teeth to pour the liquid down his throat. She winced as his canines scraped her skin, pulling her arm back out with scratches on either side but otherwise still intact. "See?"