Author's Note: After thinking about writing a YJ fanfic over and over and brainstorming a lot with a friend this story was born.
Prologue: To Rescue Her Brother
My name, is Jonathan "John" Wick. And I was raised by the League of Assassins. I was trained in the art of killing and I have to say, I got pretty damn good at it. Became one of the best in the world in fact. Made a name for myself, people would start whispering in the dark corners of the world of Baba Yaga or the Boogeyman who could accomplish kills that always seemed so impossible to do. Sure, it wasn't the best life but it was the life I ended up in.
I thought that was it, I'd be taking in contracts all over the world for the sake of the League of Assassins for the rest of my life. As it turns out, the League of Assassins was only given claim to 18 years of my life.
That was because back when I was 18 I was on a job at a certain university: the Vancouver Institute of Science. I remember it well, I was contracted to kill one of the sleazier members of the faculty, an absolute waste of space really. I did the job of course, even made sure to make it look like an accident: he had a really bad fall down a particularly long flight of steps, no questions were asked.
After that I was just relaxing after a job well done, eating at one of the on campus restaurants when she caught my eye. She came in all demure and proper dressed in a white dress shirt and black skirt, with her stack of books and other school supplies just like any other college coed really but there was just something about her, that made me look, and I mean really look.
Trouble doesn't always call itself trouble and in this case, trouble's name was Helen Carter. She was an archaeology student in her final semester, finishing up on her thesis was all that was left and she made my cold heart skip a beat. And when our eyes met she just gave me this look, that let me know that I should go and talk to her.
So I did. She agreed to coffee sometime and after that the rest was history. We became lovers after just the one date, the one magical date. And boy was it magical, in more ways than one since she was an amateur sorcerer. She could do real interesting things by manipulating the air.
At any rate, it was a month into our relationship where I decided to come clean to Helen about my life. So, I told her everything there was to know about John Wick. All the contracts, all the killings, all the blood I had shed in the name of the League of Assassins that raised me, all of it. I wanted her to know the real me and she trusted me enough to know the real her and so I was only doing the same.
That's where she begged me to give up the life. To start anew, with her. I brought up the matter with Ra's al Ghul himself and he said that given all my years of service to the League and all the work I had accomplished up to that point, he was willing to release me with no consequences. I just had to pass one test.
I had to beat Ra's al Ghul, one on one, hand to hand. Someway, somehow I had managed to eke out a win. Sure, I had several bone fractures and a dislocated shoulder by the end of it and was spitting out loads of blood but a win is a win. And just like that, I was free of the League of Assassins.
Helen was overjoyed. Right after she scolded me to hell and back over how injured I got anyway…
Just like that I spent 2 wonderful years with Helen at my side. I settled down with Helen in Vancouver, in a nice house with two stories. Got to meet her family: her parents Robert and Cherry plus her kid brother, Benjamin. Nice people, they are.
I was happy, honest to goodness, happy. And that's when everything went wrong. That's when my whole world seemed to shatter right before my eyes.
Because that's when Helen died.
Helen was a crafty minx though. Months prior to her death, she arranged for a dog, a beagle named Daisy to arrive at my doorstep. Along with the dog came a letter, and a Coin that depicts clouds on one side and a starburst on the other.
The letter boils down to this: Helen didn't want me to let her death make me give up on life. She always knew that deep down despite all I had done, I was still a good man. And she implored me to be just that: a good man. Daisy was there to help remind me to be a good man, and to help me learn what it feels like to love again. As for the Coin? It was magic, the culmination of all of Helen's years studying magic at the Institute under one of the professors there (who I was told is actually Circe in disguise). All I had to do was think of Helen with the Coin on my person and then I'd be able to walk on platforms of air at will shortly after. The Coin was tied to me specifically so its effects only work for me though. It was meant to serve as a reminder of Helen that I can carry with me, always.
So, in honor of my deceased lover I kept going through the motions of everyday life. All the while taking care of my dog, Daisy. A year passes me by before I know it and a big problem arises.
I was routinely checking my email, when something readily caught my eye. It was the subject heading: Robert and Cherry's Worry. In the email from Helen's and Benjamin's parents I was told of how Ben had been acting up lately since he was still not over the death of his sister. Apparently, ever since he last came over to my place of residence and outrightly stole Helen's favorite ruby necklace he had been at odds with his parents over the matter. Personally, if he wanted to keep it for himself to better remember her by I was okay with it. I just wanted the kid to stop hurting.
Reading the email further, apparently Ben had gone missing for more than 24 hours and Robert and Cherry were reaching out to anybody that could help.
Immediately replying with a "I'll see what I can do." I log out of my account and began typing into a particular program built into my laptop that handles all of my tracking devices. Back when I gave Helen that ruby necklace I had it outfitted with a state of the art tracking device and a small listening device, because when you've lived my life you can never be too careful. I only hoped Ben was keeping the necklace with him all this time…
With a distinct dinging sound I bring up the tracker's location and it's… "Somewhere in the middle of the Pacific Ocean? Seriously? Oh Ben, what's happened to you..."
Manipulating the program further I pull up the route that was taken and it seems that Ben had passed through the Vancouver port before heading to that final destination in the middle of the ocean. So, my first stop will be the port and I'll be on the lookout for anything out of the ordinary…
Activating the program for the listening device built into the necklace next, I am assaulted by a couple of voices here and there that speak about studying and weaponizing the Meta-Gene, which allows some humans to develop superhuman powers.
But something else grabs my attention even more than that chatter. The sounds of electrocution and the screams. Mainly the screams. Of God only knows how many abductees.
Resisting the urge to smash my laptop to bits upon realizing that I've stumbled across some sort of human experimentation ring, I release several deep breaths to calm myself down. I run a hand across my face in exasperation of the trouble Ben is in but quickly school my features. Ben and a bunch of other kids were in trouble. And I had to go and save them.
I need to make sure that place of operation gets really inconvenienced. I can't blow it up to hell because the abductees could get hurt but just enough to really give the place a makeover. Also, I can't bring too much otherwise the extra weight will slow me down… and I expect a lot of opposition for this.
Shutting down my laptop and standing up from the comfy leather seat in my study, I made my way over to my master bedroom and stopped at the large closet.
I opened the closet and reached for a number pad somewhere in the middle of the wall behind all of my clothes, I quickly enter the passcode and with a hiss the wall and the bar where the clothes are hung slide to the hollowed out compartments at the sides of the closet, the bar slides to my right and the wall slides to my left.
In the revealed secret compartment is my combat attire: a beaked domino mask akin to a Plague Doctor's appearance and half mask for the lower face, a white undershirt, a red tie, a black suit jacket with padded armor at the sleeves and shoulder portions, black gloves with metal plates at the back, black pants, black leather belt, and combat boots. And also an assortment of weapons: a retractable aluminum baton, a combat knife, a silver 1911, a Glock 30, a black FN SCAR 17S assault rifle, a Kel-Tec KSG shotgun and an FN FNAR with a scope and bipod attachment. Other items are strewn about the secret compartment as well: smoke bombs, flash bangs, cryo grenades, a chest holster, a knife holster, a tactical vest and loads of ammo types.
I quickly don my combat attire (masks and all), holstering the 1911 at my chest, slipping the Glock 30 at the back of my pants, hooking the baton onto my belt and slipping the knife onto my right thigh. I slot into the tactical vest the necessary ammo clips: one clip of rubber bullets and one clip of taser rounds for the 1911. I make sure to keep the Coin in the right inner pocket of my jacket. I slip in 5 cryo grenades each into my pants pockets, bringing a total of 10 of the golf ball sized explosive. Lastly, I pick up the Kel-Tec KSG (which is loaded with taser rounds, with 6 spare shells clipped onto either side) and a bag of 5 C4 charges (these charges were kept in a different secret compartment that I have). With this I am ready for an assault on whatever outfit is keeping Ben and the rest of those kids captive.
Before going any further I slip on my favorite G-Shock watch and then bring out my cell phone, a Motorola Razr. I dial in a number that connects me to the Continental Hotel.
The concierge's voice immediately greets me upon being answered. "Hello, this is the Continental Hotel. How may I be of service?"
"Hello, Charon. This is John Wick. I need a dog sitter."
"Ah! Mr. Wick! So good to hear from you again. I'll send someone right over if you could just give me details regarding how long you will be away and..." Charon goes on like that and asks me some standard questions and I give my best estimates to it all.
Before I could even make it past the living room I am stopped by a whimpering Daisy. It looks like she can already tell that I'm going to be gone for a while. Poor baby. "Don't worry, Daisy," I pat her on the head and she leans into my touch. "I'll be back as soon as I can." I move all the way to the front door and take one look back at Daisy. She had not moved from her spot and is just watching me leave… I give her a nod before walking out the door.
The dog sitter arrives within fifteen minutes of me waiting at my front porch. She looked pretty nondescript for the most part, if you ignored the expensive looking suit and briefcase. I give her some quick instructions and then leave her the keys to my abode.
Walking up to my Ford Mustang Mach 1 I think about how long it's been since I've been out in the field. Three years now. Sure seems like a long time but in hindsight, not really.
I drive for about thirty minutes before I reach a generally secluded area that is five minutes away from the docking area of the Vancouver Port. I park my car in an empty spot and walk the rest of the way into the port.
It did not take long for me to find something suspicious. There were a bunch of teens inside of containment pods of all things being loaded onto some sort of ship that was shaped like a Manta ray. I recognized it as a Manta-Flyer, the common mode of transportation made use of by the villain Black Manta.
Making sure to walk on the air at angles that are basically in all the Manta Troopers' blindsides, I make my way towards the Manta-Flyer and slip into it, hiding behind the containment pods already loaded in.
As soon as the last of the containment pods were loaded onto the ship we were off to the coordinates where the main site of this whole operation is. And what I saw boggled the mind.
Alien tech, for that was the only thing that could explain what I was seeing from before docking into it, to the hatch of the Manta-Flyer being opened and the pods were about to be transferred in.
Thinking that I need to know where the rest of the abductees are being kept I shadow the Troopers as they bring in the containment pods, walking on the air above close to the ceiling.
On the way I hear sounds of experimentation being done in one room, I marked it down as one of the labs. Next I arrived at a second lab where the batch of abductees I was following were brought to.
Alright, so that makes two points of interest where I'm going to be busting out a lot of people. But before that, time for some exploring.
Keeping to the air close to the ceiling at all times in order to avoid detection I plant all five C4 charges in key structural points of the apparent alien ship. With that taken care of it's time to break into the first lab...
I'm just above the main door to the first lab now and I count 5 alien security sentries guarding it and 5 Manta Troopers walking nearby as well. The time for subtlety has ended so… It's go time.
Releasing the air platform I am standing on I land directly on top of one of the alien sentries, knocking him out in the process. Startled by my sudden appearance the next closest sentry is helpless against the shotgun taser round to his face.
Three more sentries charge at me, hefting these trident looking things, two from the sides and one in front. I shoot the one in front, right in the chest and then duck to avoid the thrusts from both my sides. The tridents interlock as a result and the sentries struggle to pull them back. Quickly pumping my shotgun I shoot the one on my left and then rapidly spin in place on the ground to sweep the legs of the remaining sentry. Kicking myself back to an upright position I then smash the last sentries face in with the stock of my gun as he struggles to get back up.
All alien sentries are then down but I find myself in front of 5 laser gun barrels as the Manta Troopers that were nearby have gathered and decided to pressure me. Sliding down quickly I aim two shots directly into two laser guns which results in a flashy explosion that knocks out all 5 Manta Troopers.
Amazingly, no alarm has been sounded just yet despite all of the noise I just made.
The door to the lab seems to be sealed and I have no idea how to handle this alien technology so… I pull out one cryo grenade, prime it and set it down at the base of the door. I take three steps back as the door is encased entirely in ice.
Running as fast as I can and then quickly jumping up I kick the now frozen door and it shatters in a brilliant display of shards.
Inside the lab I find who I recognize to be Lagoon Boy, a girl with half a bald head with short red hair who I recognize to be Shimmer and several other teens all in containment pods. Ben is here! Currently there is no one else in the lab and the abductees are asleep.
Working quickly, I smash open all the pods by using the stock of my shotgun. An alarm started blaring as soon as I smashed in the first one: the one that contained Lagoon Boy.
All previously contained teens are finally free within two minutes and I can hear footsteps rushing closer and closer to our location.
Lagoon Boy decides to confront me by holding on to my shoulders tightly. "Who are you?! I don't recognize you so you're not with the Team!"
Brushing off his grasp I reply with a deep sense of calm, my voice deepened further than it already was by the modifier built in to my half mask. "Baba Yaga. And right now, I'm your best bet at getting out of here since I know the layout. So please, work with me here."
Lagoon Boy gives me a doubtful look for a few moments but settles down soon enough. "Fine. You helped us get out of those pods so I know you aren't with the bad guys at least. Do you know where they are keeping anyone else? Some friends of mine got taken with me."
"They're probably at the second lab. Follow me. And stick close, everyone."
On the way to the second lab we are met with some opposition of course. Mostly of the Manta Trooper variety. I couldn't cause anymore of the explosion like earlier lest someone in the group get hurt but I could still shoot taser rounds into helmeted faces. We go through swaths of the Troopers and soon enough my shotgun is running on empty.
Just in case, I do not resort to my pistols just yet. I need an edge in case we come across greater resistance as we go around the alien ship.
Still, my shotgun is still good for knocking out the occasional Trooper. Or parrying the odd laser gun here and there as I proceed to elbow or punch the holder of said gun. Every now and then I even resort to kicks.
By the time we reach the second lab however it seems to have already been raided and is completely empty. Destroyed beyond recognition, but empty. "Oookay. So, I'm guessing this is the work of your 'Team' was it? Lagoon Boy?"
"Yeah! Angel Fish and the others must have infiltrated this place by now. We should definitely rendezvous with them! Could you take us to the docking bay? For sure, they brought the Bio-Ship!"
"No idea what a Bio-Ship is but… alright. Sounds like a plan. I was going to make an escape through the docking bay eventually anyhow, it's the only way to get off this ship, by using a docked vessel."
Perhaps it's because a group of heroes have invaded the place but we didn't meet much resistance on the way to the docking bay. It was really setting my nerves on edge. I could just feel that something was about to go down. I did not know what. I just knew my gut was telling me to be prepared for the worst case scenario.
We arrived at the bay to to be greeted by the presence of more heroes: Superboy, what seems to be Batgirl and Robin (judging from the utility belts they have slinged around them), Wonder Girl and Bumblebee. All of the newly encountered heroes were wary of me with good reason but Lagoon Boy vouched for me, explaining that I was on their side. He even guessed that I was some sort of hero he had never heard of before, called Baba Yaga. As soon as he mentioned my alter ego recognition flashed in the eyes of Batgirl and Robin and they seemed to straighten up further in response.
Things were really looking up though. All the abductees were freed as far as I knew so Ben was safe here, and we just had to wait now for the rest of the heroes to get here. So, of course that's when something chose to go horribly wrong.
Superboy mentioned something about a psychic link being down and says he's going to go find M'gann and Gar, whoever they are. But that's when he gets thrown back by some armored alien. A very large armored alien.
Huh. He kinda looks like Blue Beetle, except heavier built, taller and you know. Black. A Black Beetle.
Anyway, after throwing Superboy back into the bay Black Beetle seals off the bay effectively locking us inside with him.
"Listen, uh, Black Beetle!" Wonder Girl addresses the armored alien by pointing at him with her left hand. Also, called it. "You're totally outnumbered! Open those doors now and we'll go easy on you!"
"You?" Black Beetle begins, a smile never leaving his armored visage. "Will go easy, on me? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" He goes on laughing like that for several moments as he extends his armor.
"Oh that is not a good sign," Bumblebee says from where she is flying close to Lagoon Boy.
That's when the heroes decided to charge in. Black Beetle easily dismisses assaults from Lagoon Boy, Superboy and Wonder Girl. As they try to take down Black Beetle I ensure that the abductees move as far away from the combat as possible in this enclosed space.
He takes out Bumblebee with a sonic blast. I take out my 1911 currently loaded with live rounds and begin firing rapidly at Black Beetles throat and torso, but that did not even manage to dent his armor. Robin and Batgirl attack with explosive batarangs to no effect. Black Beetle electrocutes Lagoon Boy when he attacks from behind, then shoots staples when Robin and Batgirl try to taser him. One of them hits Robin, and he is pinned to the wall. One of the abductees tries to attack with a Manta Trooper's gun, but is taken down by Shimmer, who then fights Batgirl. Wonder Girl and Superboy take on Black Beetle again.
Deciding that Shimmer was the more manageable immediate threat reload my 1911 with the taser rounds that I packed. I sneak up on her as she is engaged in hand to hand combat with Batgirl and then quick as a snake I grab her left arm, twist it behind her and then shoot a taser round right onto her neck.
Batgirl just looks at me. "... you're welcome. Now let's help Superboy and Wonder Girl before-"
Right then and there Superboy comes flying past us and hits the wall, hard. "... before one or both of them gets knocked out." I sighed.
Currently, Black Beetle was grappling with Wonder Girl and she was losing. Badly. I look to Batgirl. "Do you think you can keep Black Beetle distracted while I try something?"
Batgirl nods in response and proceeds to run towards Black Beetle, throwing some more explosive batarangs all the while. In response Black Beetle tosses Wonder Girl in the direction of Batgirl and the two collide and fall down in a heap. Judging by the groaning I hear however, they are still in this fight.
"Hey, ugly! Over here!" I shout towards Black Beetle in a clear attempt to draw his attention away from the two downed girls. I know I needed a distraction but right now Batgirl can't exactly help.
Black Beetle chooses to rush at me and despite his size he is rather quick on his feet, he reaches me in mere moments despite my being several meters away. I duck under his arm that fires a sonic blast and then slide in between his legs to get behind him. From my position on the ground I empty what remains of my 1911's taser rounds onto the back of Black Beetle.
Miraculously, this elicits a reaction out of him seeing as all of those taser rounds are having an effect on the spot I fired at. Black Beetle grunted in pain for several moments which gave me ample time to get up and move away from him.
Holstering my 1911 I draw my Glock 30 and shoot at all of the taser rounds that latched onto the back of Black Beetle. This causes a not so insignificant series of explosions that drives Black Beetle further away. I then put away the Glock 30 since, it won't do me any good from now on. Not against that crazy armor of Black Beetle.
If only I had something that could put at least a dent on that armor...however much. And that's when I notice the Trooper gun that was lying around here, not too far away from my position. I run to it and grab hold just as Black Beetle was recovering from all of the explosions I caused on his back.
Wonder Girl and Batgirl soon join me at facing off against Black Beetle. As an opening gambit of the resuming fight Wonder Girl charges at Black Beetle and rains down punches on his torso with reckless abandon, yelling her heart out all the while. Batgirl charges in as well and starts throwing some more batarangs, expecting it to make a difference somehow despite earlier attempts proving the opposite.
Black Beetle swings his left arm with great force and knocks out Batgirl who is sent tumbling across the ground until she hits a wall.
All this time I've been trying to get a clear shot at Black Beetle but Wonder Girl and Batgirl were in the way. With Batgirl out of commission now, I may have a chance. "Wonder Girl, get down!"
She complies almost immediately, disengaging from Black Beetle and leaving him wide open. I take aim and fire straight at his face. The shot connects. Black Beetle is driven back.
I keep on firing. I aim at all possible vital spots. Gut. Knees. Face. Again and again. Walking forward with each shot. I get closer and closer to Black Beetle. The Trooper gun I'm using runs out. I'm about 3 feet away from Black Beetle and he looks real pissed.
I toss the Trooper gun towards his face and draw my Glock 30, I empty the rest of the clip into the tossed Trooper gun and it explodes as it makes contact with Black Beetle.
"ENOUGH! I will deal with you now, you puny human!" Black Beetle shouts as he waves away all of the smoke coming off from his armor. Good. I needed him to get angry. Needed him to get careless.
He dashes right for me but I saw it coming so I slide between his legs, and as I do I make sure to leave all of my 9 remaining cryo grenades at his feet. Already primed.
In a brilliant flash of glacial blue Black Beetle is frozen solid from head to toe in real thick ice. That should hold him for a good few minutes at least.
I sigh in relief as I stood back up. As for Wonder Girl? She moved away when she saw me keeping up the onslaught on Black Beetle.
She approached me as I was dusting myself off from the fight. "That was some quick thinking back there. Good job. The others should be here soon."
And just then all of the docking bay doors are opened and we are greeted to the sight of Beast Boy, Impulse, Blue Beetle, Miss Martian and Nightwing joining us from the other side.
In an orderly and calm fashion everyone is made to get aboard the Bio-Ship and we were soon off to get the hell out of there.
I pulled out my detonator for all the C4 charges and pushed the red button before getting on the Bio-Ship though. "To keep the aliens busy." I said, when asked why I set off a bunch of explosions all around the ship.
As we were already en route to wherever, I found myself being questioned. By Nightwing.
"Okay, so let me get this straight, Baba Yaga. You decided, out of the goodness of your heart to locate this ring of human experimentation and helped to free most of the abductees in the process? You? A former member of the League of Assassins? I don't buy it. You're not telling the whole story. Never mind the fact you didn't explain how you found out about it, but you're not being truthful about why! So?"
"...I did it for the sake of family. And that's all I'm going to say on the matter."
"Very well then. You'll have plenty of time to explain yourself further in the Hall of Justice."
And the conversation ended there. I got to say, I'm at least thankful he didn't have me restrained or anything. So I guess the heroes are at least grateful for the help I provided to them.
And that's all I got. I hope this prologue was fun to read. I know I am still lacking in skill when it comes to writing but practice makes perfect and this is one more story for the sake of practice. I don't know when the next chapter will be out. It depends on both my mood and how well this story does. Thanks for reading! Merry Christmas!