BLUDHAVEN
July 5, 00:28 EST
Nightwing's eyes scanned his apartment cautiously the moment the door swung open. Everything was just as he had left it. The brown, carpeted floor was spotless, except for an empty bottle of water in the corner. The wall was almost the same shade as the floor, with only one decoration; a Flying Graysons poster. The green-grey couch had a single tear in the arm, and the coffee table in front of it was scratched up. Home sweet home.
He had no reason to believe that anyone was hiding inside, waiting for the right moment to strike. There was no way anyone could've gotten inside — both he and Batman had made sure of that. Still, he was always cautious. A few of his friends called him paranoid, but in his mind, there was no such thing. It was better to be over-cautious than dead. Not all bad guys were stupid. There were probably more than a few that would be capable to break into the apartment so they could have a go at the Dark Knight's former protege.
Once he was satisfied that everything was safe, he stepped inside, and locked the door behind him. He was tired, and he just wanted to curl up in his bed and forget everything for the next few days — or years. It had been at least two weeks since his best friend, also known as Kid Flash, had died yet the young hero was still in shock. It still just seemed so impossible. He had known Wally since he was at least ten, and now he was suddenly gone. Just like that. Dead.
Deciding that he didn't have the energy to actually walk to his bedroom, change, and get ready for bed, Nightwing settled with collapsing on the couch. He peeled his mask off, and threw it aside onto the coffee table, before stuffing his face in a pillow. At the moment, his old couch was the comfiest thing he had ever laid down on. He just wanted to lay there for the rest of the night, until someone or something forced him to get up.
Dick briefly lifted his head, and turned to look out the window. The shade was down, for the most part, so he had to look out the small crack on the bottom. The dark night sky was illuminated by Blüdhaven's light's. He couldn't hear any gunshots, much to his relief and surprise. Maybe that meant that the city could go a night without Nightwing.
After listening a few seconds more, Dick closed his eyes, and willed sleep to come to him. He relaxed his body, and let out a lengthy sigh. He already knew that when he woke up, he would not be feeling the aster. Then just as he had gotten comfortable, he heard a loud ring. And then another. And another. Surprised, he sat up almost immediately, and searched for the source. It only took him a few moments to realize that it was the phone, which sat on the coffee table.
Dick groaned, before picking it up. The name 'Amy Rohrbach' showed up on the caller I.D., and he resisted the urge to simply toss the phone away, and just try to go back to bed. The former Robin was well aware that if she was calling, it wasn't just to say 'hello'. Knowing that he would suffer tomorrow if he ignored her, he stood up, and answered the call. "Hey, Sarge," he said in a tired yet cheerful voice.
Amy didn't waste time with any greetings, not that Dick expected one. "We've got a situation outside the Justice Center. We're calling in everybody," she told him. He was glad she couldn't see him right now. She would see the disappointment on his face, and then he would never hear the end of it. "Jump into your blues, and get down here!"
Almost as soon as he had moved to Blüdhaven, he had realized that the police was nothing but corrupt, just like Gotham. He wanted to rid the department of corruption from the inside. Now, he was a cop, and Amy was his partner. Richard immediately started towards his room to grab his uniform. "Alright, I'll be down there soon. What's going on?" he asked while he opened his closet.
"We're pretty sure an alien crashed into the middle of the road. Definitely hostile —attacked the few men that tried to approach her. She flew off a few minutes ago," Amy replied. He could hear many voices in the background. "Just get down here!" She added, before hanging up.
A frown had formed on the young man's face as he tossed his phone onto his bed. Instead of grabbing his uniform, he closed the closet doors once more, and promptly left the room. Dick Grayson wouldn't be much help against an alien menace. Richard walked over to the end table and retrieved his mask, before placing it on his face once more. He then walked over to the window, forced it open, and jumped out into the night.
MANHATTAN
July 3, 22:19 EDT
1 Year Later
He ran, blood pounding in his ears, lungs straining, at their limit. All he could hear was the rough sound of his breath, and yelling behind him. Billy couldn't be sure whether they were still pursuing him, or just shooting from a distance. Either way, he had to move.
He veered off the road, and turned into the first alley he saw. His bare feet ached, and bled from the numerous sharp rocks he had stepped on. He just needed was somewhere to hide. It didn't matter where, nor did he care, as long as they couldn't find him.
The alley was void of any light. A few dumpsters, and some boxes lined the brick walls. Before he could decide which would be better to hide in, he realized the voices were getting louder. Closer. Not wasting a second, he ran towards one of the dumpsters, and pulled the top up. To his relief, it was empty — didn't mean it didn't stink to the high heavens, though. Billy took a deep breath, before jumping inside. He froze when he landed, and prayed that his pursuers hadn't heard his feet hit the cool metal.
Billy closed his eyes, and tried to control his breathing. He wanted to hear what was going on outside, and that was hard to do when all he could hear was his heart pounding in his chest. Carefully, he sat down, and leaned against the side. At the moment, he didn't care how bad it smelled. He was free, and that was all that really mattered.
He sat there for what felt like ages. Even once everything seemed quiet, he didn't bring himself to make a move. He wanted to make sure they were long gone before he got out. If they caught him again, they would probably send him to Belle Reve.
Now that the danger seemed to be gone, Billy could feel his body starting to crash. What he needed now was sleep. Sleeping in a dumpster wasn't exactly something he wanted to do, but he would deal with it. Making sure he didn't make too much noise, he stretched out, and lay down. It didn't seem too dirty, at least.
His eyes stared ahead into the darkness, and he thought over the details of what he had to do. After he finally got out of Manhattan, he would head straight for Star City. With a grin, and a soft chuckle, he closed his eyes as his head rested against the cold metal. He owed an 'old friend' a visit.
BIALYA
JULY 4, 18:16 EDT
"You promised!" A young girl's voice emitted from the phone in Tigress' hand. M'gann, Cassie, and Karen watched her, amused playing on all of their faces. "This is the third time this week that you've cancelled without any reason! If you don't want to help me, you could just say so."
"I'm sorry, I haven't been feeling well," Tigress lied easily, ignoring the looks she was getting from her teammates. "I didn't want to worry you. I promise, I'll help you with your archery tomorrow. If not tomorrow, then this weekend," She promised quickly. "I'm going to go get some rest. I'll call you later on," She then assured her, before murmuring a short goodbye, and then hanging up the phone.
Tigress had to admit, she felt a little guilty for lying to her student. It's not like she had any other choice, unless she wanted to say 'Sorry I can't teach you today. I'm too busy going on a mission in Bialya with Miss Martian, Wonder Girl, Bumblebee, and Batgirl'. She trusted the kid, but not enough to tell her about her life with the Team.
Wonder Girl looked over at Tigress with a curious look on her face. Before the demi-goddess could ask any questions, she looked over at Miss Martian. "Does Gar know why we're here?" she asked, catching everyone's attention almost immediately.
M'gann nodded. "He wanted to come along, but I asked Kaldur to make sure he didn't come with us," she answered, glancing in her direction for only a moment.
Tigress had been wondering where her 'little brother' had been during the mission briefing. News about Queen Bee's death had made it to the League. Then, not even a week later, they learned that she was alive. Suspicious that something may be going on, the League decided to send a small squad to find out what was going on.
"I wonder if Ra's Al Ghul brought her back after she died," Batgirl mused as she stared out the window. A couple of her teammates looked at her, but said nothing. It all could've been nothing but a huge rumor spread around- but that was unlikely. She may really be dead, with an impostor posing as her. The possibilities were endless.
STAR CITY
July 4, 18:30 PDT
Cissie knocked on the door to Artemis' apartment without hesitation. In her hands there was a thermos which she had filled with chicken soup. She had been worried that by the time she reached her destination that it would've been cold, and was pleased to feel the heat radiating from it, even though it had to be at least 80-something degrees in the hallway. Maybe this was why Artemis was sick. Her mother always told her that 'a hot house is a sick house'. The air conditions must've been broken.
She waited and waited, until finally, she heard something at the door. Cissie smiled, and waited for the door to swing open, but it never did. There was a bark from the other side, and her smile faded. It was just the dog. Now she was worried. Artemis was definitely home, so why wouldn't she answer the door?
Deciding that she should check it out, she crouched down next to the plant that was near the door, and picked a key out of it's hiding spot. She had seen Artemis use it once or twice. Not hesitating at all, she slid the key into the lock, and opened the door. It was much cooler inside than it was in the hallway. The dog jumped up onto her leg as she closed the door behind her. She chuckled, and reached down to pet his head. "Hey, boy. Where's Artemis?" she asked him while she walked into the living room.
Cissie set the thermos down on the table before looking around. "Hello?" she said, loudly. There was no reply. The whole apartment was empty, except for the dog. The blonde frowned as she looked at the dog. If Artemis wasn't here, then where was she? She pulled out her phone, and started to dial the number, before freezing. If Cissie asked her where she was, she'd probably get another lie.
There were two choices. She could either go home and just go with Artemis' story, or she could try and figure out what was going on. Cissie smirked, before walking towards the rooms. "What are you really doing?" she wondered out loud as she reached her bedroom. She flipped the light switch, and looked around. Her room seemed normal enough. Still, she walked right over to her dresser, and started looking through them.
Cissie found nothing interesting. Just normal things that you would find in a normal person's home. She felt guilty for snooping like this, but if she didn't find out what Artemis was hiding, it would never leave her alone. As she closed the final drawer, she looked around for somewhere else to look.
Her eyes immediately fell on the chest at the end of the bed. She turned to it, and the first thing she noticed was that there was a lock laying on top of it. Cissie walked over to stand in front of it before crouching down, and lifting the lid up.
She found sheets. Lots and lots of sheets. She frowned and lifted up one of them. Maybe Artemis wasn't hiding anything, and she just didn't want to teach her anymore? The thought crushed her, so she pushed it out of her mind. If Artemis didn't want to teach her, she would've just stopped.
Cissie wanted to stand up, but instead she just looked at the different sheets. It wasn't necessary to worry about messing them up- all of them had just been stuffed inside. Not one of the sheets was folded. Was it really necessary to have all these sheets?
Just as she was about to pull her hand out, she felt something hard. Surprised, she froze. She wrapped her hand around the object, and realized exactly what was hidden at the bottom. A bow. Her curiosity returned, and she started to pull the sheets out. She didn't stop until the green compound bow was visible.
Once Cissie tore her eyes away from the bow, she realized that it wasn't alone in the trunk. Under it were clothes that were a matching shade of green. The arrow sign on it caught her attention almost immediately. She had seen that many times, thanks to her mother being a Green Arrow fangirl.
She recognized all of it. The uniform, the bow… how could she forget? She would never forget how, when she was nine, Green Arrow and another hero had saved her father when an assassin tried to murder him. Cissie reached inside and pulled out the uniform and bow. Artemis Crock, her teacher, had been that other hero. This explained so much! She was probably on some mission, and didn't want her to know. The only question Cissie had now was 'What name did she go by, now?'.
Cissie looked at the clothes, as an idea popped into her head. A smirk was set on her face as she set the clothes down on the bed, and started to stuff the sheets back into the trunk.
"Since when does Queen Bee have robots?" Tigress asked through the psychic link as she lowered the binoculars. Normally she just had guards- lots of guards. "Do you think she got them from Luthor?"
"No idea," Batgirl replied, taking the binoculars back, and looking through them herself. "It's a possibility." She was then quiet for a few moments as she observed the robots a few moments longer. "Miss Martian, you should stay with the bioship. I'm 90% positive they fight with fire."
Everyone, excluding Batgirl, turned to look at the martian. Tigress wasn't surprised when there was immediate protest. "I can avoid the fire! There's no way I can let you guys go in alone."
"M'gann, Batgirl is right. We'll be fine," Bumblebee interrupted. "If we need help? We'll tell you."
"The only entrance is through the front door… Once we get inside, we should stick together," Batgirl said before Miss Martian could argue some more. "Let's go. Miss M… stay," she added before rushing off towards the entrance, being careful to not be seen. Bumblebee and Wonder Girl flew after her, keeping their eyes on the robot guards.
Tigress looked back at her friend. "Sorry…" she apologized, before following the rest of the squad. She half expected to get attacked the minute they stepped inside, and was actually surprised when the attack never came. Still, she didn't let her guard down — that would be the stupid thing to do.
Bumblebee flew ahead of the small group. Tigress watched her curiously, wondering where she was going. Just as she was about to ask, the girl explained "I'm going to check and make sure there aren't any guards close by."
"Come back as soon as you see any," Batgirl instructed, coming to a sudden halt. "I don't know about the rest of you, but I'd like there to be as little fighting as possible."
"Maybe there will be no fighting." Cassie said hopefully as she turned to Batgirl, but everyone knew that the chances of that happening were slim to none. It was a rare occasion, when a mission actually went as planned, and they managed to stay covert.
Tigress felt uncomfortable just standing around; it felt like they were just waiting to get caught by the first person who spotted them. She started to walk forward once more, keeping her eyes open. She had taken less than three steps when Bumblebee's voice rang in their heads once more. "Guard's coming down your way," she warned them. "We need to move."
All three of them looked around for a place to go. Cassie's eyes fell on something, and her face practically lit up. "The vents! They look big enough for all of us to fit."
"Perfect," Batgirl said, satisfied.
Cissie watched the robbery in progress from the alley across from the small jewelry store. There were only two guys, and she could tell that they weren't exactly the brightest. A smirk formed on her face as she weighed the green bow in her hands. It looked like it would be more difficult to use, compared to the bows she had been using since she was a young girl. She chose one of the trick arrows in her quiver.
As she pulled back on the bow, she was glad she had practiced a little before actually going out. The string was tighter, and the arrows were different from what she was used to. She released the arrow, and watched as it soared towards it's target. The two men looked at the ground in between them, confusion etched on their face. That confusion changed to an expression of shock as it exploded, releasing a gas into the air around them.
After a few seconds, both men dropped to the ground with dull thuds. She suppressed a chuckle as she backed away, further into the alley. That was the second time she had stopped a robbery that night- she was proud of herself. That, and she was having the time of her life. Yes, her mother had trained her to do this, but she never actually thought she would start crime-fighting.
She looked around, eyes noticing the fire-escape leading up to the roof. Cissie didn't waste any time, and just jumped up onto it. She wanted to see the city from the roof. Again, she was reminded of how she had seen Artemis and Green Arrow on the roof all those years ago. Once she reached the top, she walked right over to the edge.
Everything was quiet, for the most part. She could hear the monotone voices of a few people below her, but couldn't make out any words. She sat down, legs dangling from the edge, and just enjoyed the view. The weather was nice, the night sky was clear, and there was no place she would rather be.
"Little girls shouldn't be outside alone. Especially at this hour," A voice behind her asked. Alarmed and surprised, the blonde looked over her shoulder. An unfamiliar man stood there, watching her with an odd smirk on his face. "It wears the same garb as the other one, yet it is obviously not the same," he mused to himself, the smirk vanishing momentarily before quickly returning onto his lips.
Sensing the danger, Cissie jumped to her feet, and she nocked an arrow. She pulled it back, and allowed the tension to build while she watched him. "What do you want?" she asked, not allowing her voice to betray any fear.
The smirk on the strangers face only widened. "Harm wishes to settle his score with the other it, but this one will have to do," he told her before advancing towards her. Cissie released the arrow the moment he moved, and took a step back. Her heart skipped a beat when her foot only found air. A scream nearly escaped her lips as she threw herself forward to keep herself from falling.
Cissie's hands stung as they hit the rough exterior of the roof. She ignored the pain, and looked back up to see that Harm had simply caught the arrow. He snapped it in two, threw it aside, and continued to advance towards her. His eyes remained trained on her face as he came closer and closer, until he was standing in front of her. "Harm will enjoy this."
"Big enough, huh?" Tigress grumbled as they made their way through the vents. They was only just enough room for them to move. "If some weird ventilation-robot decided to attack, we'd be toast."
"Weird ventilation-robot? Don't worry. We're safe," Bumblebee told her. Her tone was full of amusement. "They could be smaller, y'know."
Tigress rolled her eyes, even though none of the others could see. "How do we even know where we're going? For all we know, we're heading in the opposite direction, getting further and further away from Queen Bee."
In front of her Batgirl came to a halt. Tigress looked ahead, and realized they had hit a dead end. Their only choice was to get out, or go backwards through the vents. "We don't. It's good the odds are usually in our favor," she replied, as she forced the cover off their exit, and managed to jump out.
Eager to get out of the cramped vents, Tigress followed her teammate, though less gracefully. Since they were smaller than the other two, Bumblebee and Wonder Girl flew out with ease and without a sound. They found themselves in a large bedroom room that was obviously Queen Bee's. Tigress was about to start looking around, when she caught movement out of the corner of her eye. She spun around to see what it was. If the decorations hadn't given away who's room this was, the fact that the Queen of Bialya was sleeping in the bed would have.
Bumblebee had noticed a few seconds before Tigress, and had silently moved to stand beside her. "She looks… younger," she observed, looking at her face. "But aside from that, she looks like herself."
"So is it or her, or not?" Cassie asked, watching the sleeping woman.
Batgirl turned back to them. "It's her. I'm 98% positive that Ra's used a Lazarus Pit to bring her back." she responded to the demi-goddess's question. "Called it. Let's go. The longer we stay here, the longer the guard's have to catch us here," Batgirl told them as she was about to jump back into the vent.
Tigress hesitated, before walking over to one of the windows. There were only a few guards outside, and they weren't too high up. More than likely, they could get out through the window without getting caught or hurt. "Going out the window would be faster," she said, looking over at the others. "There are less guards, and Miss M could bring the bio-ship around to pick us up."
Batgirl watched her for a moment, before walking over to look out the window herself. Bumblebee flew over to hover next to her head. "Miss M-"
"I'm on my way," Miss Martian interrupted. The Martian had been so quiet, that Tigress had almost forgotten she was there. "Be ready."
Tigress slid the window open, and looked down. It was high, but she had jumped from higher before. She made sure that it was open all the way, before jumping out. The urge to scream was there, but she restrained it. When she hit the ground, a sting spread from her feet up through her legs. She ignored it, though, and instead moved to a better place to hide. Once she looked up again, she saw Batgirl falling towards her.
Batgirl hid with Tigress, while Bumblebee flew down and hovered in front of them. "Cassie, hurry-" The heroes words were drowned out by the sound of shooting. They all looked up to see Cassie avoiding and deflecting each and every bullet that came her way. The guard's had seen her while she was on her way down.
"I just want to go on one mission where we actually manage to stay covert the whole time. Is that too much to ask?" Tigress asked as she pulled out her crossbow, and shot at a few guards. Her eyes briefly caught sight of Batgirl, watching as she immediately went into action and retrieved a number of batarangs.
A few yells of surprise were heard from the guards as they were hit, but unfortunately not enough of them were out of commission. "Apparently, with us it is," Batgirl replied as she tried to avoid getting shot by the guards, suppressing the urge to roll her eyes as she called out to the others. "We need to go, now! M'gann, where are you?"
"I'm on my way," The martian reassured quickly, although she was ignored by Tigress and Batgirl who had resorted to fighting the guards that came at them from both sides.
Crossbow cast aside, Tigress grasped one of the guards by the shoulder. She ignored his struggles, painfully twisting his arm behind his back and shoving him onto the guard that came at Batgirl from behind as the redhead ducked out of the way and aimed a fist at yet another guard. The blonde threw her foot back, heel jabbing against a man's gut. In one swift motion, she retrieved her weapon and used the crossbow's stock to strike him upside the head.
There was no time to observe as the man went slack and fell at her feet as she went up against the next guard that approached. And the next one. And the next one.
A few feet away, Batgirl had another man in a headlock as she ducked and evaded bullets left and right. Unlike Artemis, she seemed to be enjoying the thrill of the fight at least a bit more than her blonde teammate. Her one free hand reached for her belt as she grabbed onto the strap of the man's gun and promptly dragged him down, before throwing a few smoke pellets onto the ground. "I think it's time for us to scatter. Faster than fast."
The rest of her team silently agreed, finding some form of distraction before making their escape. As they sprinted and/or flew to safety, their eyes caught onto the figure of the bioship above their heads. "Come on!" M'gann's voice rang in all of their heads as she lowered the ship slightly for them.
Batgirl wasted no time in listening, retrieving her grappling hook and launching it onto the Bioship before rushing up into the air. Bumblebee and Cassie both flew, the current Wonder Girl having to hoist Tigress up as they all entered from beneath the bioship.
Once safely back inside, Tigress forced herself to breathe evenly as she leaned against the wall. She carefully made her way to her seat, just as the others did the same. None of them said a word as they were strapped in and their course set to the nearest zeta tube, making sure that they held no permanent damage.
"Next time, I think I'll stick to anywhere and everywhere but Bialya," Artemis murmured dryly after a while.
They all chucked simultaneously, yet silently agreed with her.
Harm punched, and Cissie was lucky enough to move her head out of the way, but he just continued to punch and punch, over and over. Finally, his fist connected with the side of her face, staggering her. She knew how to fight, but she hadn't actually fought anyone in what felt like ages. Mostly, she just focused on her archery.
Ignoring the pain, she turned to run. He was bigger and stronger than her. She didn't wantto get help, but maybe she needed it. Before she could get very far, though, she felt him grab her hair with one hand and pull her back. He punched her in the face with his free hand, and she could feel the blood beginning to drip from her nose. Whether it was broken or not, she wasn't sure.
Cissie blindly tried to shove him away, kicking and punching. He grabbed her throat with his free hand, and threw her. She wasn't sure exactly how far, but judging by how long she was in the air and how she landed, it felt pretty far. She hit the ground hard, and didn't move when she came to a halt.
Harm was laughing under his breath as he walked towards her. "It isn't as skilled as the other one." he observed as he stood over her, and pulled a knife out of his pocket. Her eyes fell on the object, and widened as a startled sound left her lips. He was going to kill her. There were no heroes around to save her.
He leaned down next to her, turning the knife around in his hands. Part of Cissie wanted to cry, but she refused. That was not going to be the last thing she ever did. Once she saw him raise the knife, she closed her eyes. She waited for the stab. Five seconds later, she was still waiting.
"No!" Cissie heard him yell. Her eyes shot open, and she saw Harm trapped inside a blue bubble. Relieved, she looked around for her savior. A short distance away, she saw Rocket. Cissie had seen her on the news more than a few times. Behind her stood three cops. Then she recognized the hero walking towards them. Zatanna. She was in the presence of two real live superheroes.
Zatanna walked up to the bubble to look at Harm, and said "Egnahc sehtolc otni sgnidnib." Cissie stood up, and watched as his clothes changed, and bound him. Rocket released him from the bubble, and the cops rushed forward to arrest him.
The magician turned to Cissie with a curious expression. "I know you aren't Artemis. What's your name?" she asked, crossing her arm while she studied her. This woman looked familiar. Yeah, she saw her all the time on the news, but Cissie could've sworn she had seen her before. It took her a moment to realize that she had seen her leaving Artemis' home once, with another girl. The other girl must've been Rocket.
"Cissie King-Jones," Cissie replied. She knew exactly what the hero was going to ask, and immediately launched into the story about what happened. "I was doing great until Harm showed up. I just wanted to see what it was like, and I found Artemis' old costume…" she trailed off when she realized she really didn't know what to say.
Zatanna took a step closer to look at her injuries. "You can explain to Artemis when she get's back," she finally told her. "Come on. We need to get you cleaned up," she said as Rocket joined them. Cissie kept her eyes on the ground, worried about what Artemis' reaction would be.
"I'll see you two later." Artemis said to Raquel and Zatanna as she closed the door. She was sore, she was tired, and she couldn't go to bed. She turned around and looked at Cissie sitting on her couch. The teen looked worried, and was watching her warily, as if she thought she was going to get yelled at or hit.
With a sigh, Artemis walked over and sat down next to her. "I called your Dad, and he knows about what happened tonight," She told her. Cissie eyes widened as she looked up. "I also told him you'll be staying here, and that I'll make sure you get home safely. We need to talk."