The Arrowcave, Jump City
"You don't usually bring girls home." Barbara Gordon remarked dryly over the rim of her glasses as Oliver and Helena stepped off of the elevator at the far end of Oliver's lair. Oliver remained stone faced as he set down his bow and arrow and removed his hood. Helena stood their awkwardly while Oliver handed Barbara the dog tag. Finally she reluctantly removed her cowl. Barbara looked between the dog tag and Helena, before nodding.
"Hmm. Makes sense." Barbara said and she swiveled back to her computer and began typing furiously. Oliver leaned against the side of the desk, watching her work.
"What makes sense?" Helena asked, intrigued as she slowly approached the duo. Barbara shrugged.
"You're Helena Bertinelli. Makes sense why you would go after Cassamento after what he did. The rumor mill said you were in protective custody." Barbara explained without looking at Helena, who was scowling.
"I hope this is good." She said with a sigh.
Big Belly Burger, Jump City
"Thanks for agreeing to meet us on such short notice." Ted Grant said as he sat down across from the red haired military man. Colonel Jacob Kane smiled.
"Anything for old Wildcat." Jacob Kane replied, sipping calmly at his coffee.
"Yeah, I'm sure the free autograph helped." Ted said in response, to which Kane laughed.
"Well, my daughter is a huge fan of yours. Or at least she was when she was younger." Kane replied.
"Most people are until they get to know me." Ted said sarcastically. Ted leaned forward.
"But I'm not here to talk shop with you, Jacob." Ted said. Kane leaned back, his face suddenly serious.
"Yes, I thought as much. How can I help you?" Jacob asked.
"You heard about the gang that went down at the docks?"
"Yeah, I heard it was the vigilante."
"Vigilantes." Ted corrected him, "And one of them was packing heat. Military grade weaponry."
There was a tense silence following that as Jacob calculated. Ted took the opportunity to continue.
"Now some guy with a bow and arrow is one thing, but once people start slinging government level sniper rifles from the rooftops we're talking something totally different." Ted said as Jacob nodded along.
"Yeah, I know your concern. Unfortunately I have nothing to offer you. As far as I know, nothing like that has gone missing recently. Something of that caliber would definitely be flagged, you understand." Jacob explained, "Of course I can give you what we have, but all of it is a couple of years old by now and obviously we don't know who did it or they would be behind bars by now. But I can pass along when, where, and what went missing. Hopefully it can help your case."
"That would be great. Pass it along to my office, if you would. Thank you, Colonel." Ted said as he stood up and shook Jacob's hand. He turned and headed towards the door where Laurel was waiting impatiently. Jacob sat there for a moment before calmly brandishing his phone and dialing a private number.
"Secretary Trevor? It's Kane."
"Do you have more information on Stewart?"
"Yes, it looks like he's in Jump City."
"Lois isn't going to be happy about that."
"Well you can tell Madame President that I have this situation handled."
"So I'll tell her you have Agent Napier on the case?"
"Napier? He's a bit of a nutjob..."
"He get results. That's what we're concerned about. You said you've got this handled, right?"
"Yes, sir. Stewart will be captured. You have my word." Jacob had barely finished his sentence when the line went dead. He sighed, looking down at his coffee as it seemed to glare back at him. He then picked up his phone again and began dialing field agent Jack Napier. Hopefully he wouldn't regret it.
The Amazo, Atlantic Ocean
"Do you think he got aboard?" Ivo asked his second in command, Mick Rory. The man simply shrugged, taking a slow drag on his cigarette.
"So what if he did? We've got the ring now." Rory suggested. Ivo nodded, seemingly understanding.
"Yes, he would be a good test for Amazo. Just to make sure it works." Ivo said as he approached a nearby machine. Elsewhere on the shop, John Stewart launched himself onto the deck from where he had been hanging onto the side for many miles. He pulled a small object out of his pocket and activated the receiver.
Jump City General Hospital
Cassamento slowly came to, having passed out at some point on the docks. He quickly became aware of a hollowness in his chest and remembered that he had been shot. He scowled as his eyes came into focus at his hospital room. He attempted to get up out of his bed, but quickly found that he was handcuffed to it. Santo groaned - typical pigs, locking him up while he was injured. They would take any chance to catch him, even an actual assassination attempt.
"Hey! I want my lawyer!" Santo tried to muster some furor, but the pain in his chest caused him to whimper. He saw a figure approach the door, and someone entered slowly.
"You're not my lawyer." Santo said incredulously as a figure entered the room and approached him bed.
"And you don't have long to live, Mr. Cassamento. Unless you accept my help." They responded. Santo tried to laugh bitterly, but it only turned into a bloody cough.
"What's the catch?"
The Arrowcave, Jump City
"Hmm, multiple years in the USMC before being transferred to a top secret government program. Seems like John got something of an obsession with an ancient artifact known as the Green Lantern, said to be an ancient weapon." Barbara began explaining to the two heroes as listened in.
"I don't give a damn why he did it, I just want to hit him for ruining my chances at catching Cassamento." Helena said petulantly. Barbara scowled at the brunette and Oliver leaned back against the nearby table.
"Do you have any way to catch him?" Oliver asked.
"I was getting to that. I..." Barbara said when something appeared on her screen.
"I'm picking up a strange signal out in the bay." Barbara said. Oliver was already reaching for his bow and arrow.
The Amazo, The Atlantic Ocean
John had thought he was being careful, sneaking around the ship and slowly picking off Rory's men. He was a professional, to be sure. But John was just on another level from these men. What he didn't account for was a giant robot standing there as he turned the corner. He paid the price for his confidence as a metallic hand wrapped around his throat, lifting him into the air. He grabbed at the metal, gasping for air when an arrow flew past his head and landed in a crevice in the robots form. It looked down at the arrow, perplexed that someone would even try such a foolish tactic. Then the arrow exploded, throwing it off balance and causing it to drop Stewart to the ground.
"Took you long enough, Hipp-" John began to say as he turned and saw the same guy from the docks. He groaned in utter disappointment. The brunette woman behind Green Arrow didn't seem too pleased either. Everyone turned to see as Amazo returned to it's feet, eyes glowing red. The trio looked at each other.
"We're all gonna die." John said dryly. All three dove out of the way as laser beams cut past them, cutting through multiple layers of hull.
"This day just keeps getting worse." Green Arrow said as he found himself behind a box. He dove to the ground as moments later the box was sliced in half by a metallic hand. John distracted the robot as he sent several sniper rounds into it's chest, but it did little more than distract the creature.
"You! Try to find Ivo! We'll distract this thing!" John yelled to Huntress who had found herself inexplicably trapped on the other side of Amazo. She glared death at everyone, but she was already on the ship. And she certainly didn't want to fight the giant killer robot. She turned to search the ship.
The Command Center
"Alright, take one more left and you should be there." Oracle's voice came into Huntress's ear. She was adapting surprisingly quickly to following the orders of the redhead on the other side of the line, something that she was not too happy about. Still, it was better than fighting a killer robot. Huntress peaked around a metal corner, spotting Ivo at the ship's wheel. She prepared a throwing star, not willing to waste her time on grandstanding. She launched it, however it did not meet it's target. Instead a bald-headed fellow in black fatigues stepped out into the open, holding up a metal encased wrist and deflecting the blade.
"Oh, joy." Huntress said in response to Mick Rory's sadistic smile.
The Main Ship
"What the hell were you planning on doing!? Talking it down!?" Green Arrow asked John Stewart incredulously as they now found themselves backed up to the end of the ship by the monstrosity that was Amazo. John shook his head as a sound began to rise behind them.
"Nope, I'm just the recon. And it sounds like reinforcements are here!" And with that John tackled Green Arrow to the ground - and not a moment too soon! A winged figure flew through where the two had just been standing, swinging a morningstar and impacting Amazo in the chest and knocking it through a nearby wall.
"Took you long enough!" John said as he got up. Green Arrow stared at the new player, a flying winged woman in a strange get up. His day had gotten slightly better, but a lot more weird. Green Arrow quickly became aware of a sound behind them, and turned once again as Amazo crawled out of the wreckage and tried to launch another volley of laser beams at them. Thankfully the new lady flew past the duo, deflecting the beams and grappling with his metal foe.
"You got anything incendiary in there?" John motioned to Green Arrow's quiver. He nodded quickly, not really questioning anything at this point in favor of destroying this giant metal robot.
"Starfire! Now!" John said after Green Arrow had prepared his arrow. He and John fired simultaneously - Green Arrow with his bow and John with a grenade launcher. Hawkwoman ducked out of the way just in time as Amazo was engulfed in flames, manner times hotter than one would expect but luckily Green Arrow had packed napalm.
"That should loosen him up a bit, lets flank him." John said with an eerie calm. He and Green Arrow strafed to the right side, shooting at Amazo as Hawkwoman closed back in and began pummeling Amazo right in the chest. Oliver upgraded to his armor-piercing arrows with the little motor on the back end for an extra kick. Between that and John's continued fire, it seemed like Amazo was slowing down, if nothing else.
"Alright, one more time." John said as they cleared to the other side of the robot. Green Arrow dutifully loaded up his bow, and the two launched their volley at the same time Hawkwoman unleashed another crushing blow at Amazo. Whoever this lady was, she scared the crap out of Oliver.
Following this latest blow, Amazo was slower than ever, and Green Arrow used it to his advantage. He fired another trick arrow - this one designed to tie up the feet of whomever it was fired at. Amazo faltered for a second and then finally fell as Hawkwoman jumped on top of him and punched him straight through the chest.
"Dear lord!" Green Arrow remarked as Hawkwoman pulled a shining green object out of the creature's chest.
"I've got it!" She remarked. No sooner had they procured victory over the killer robot did the ship turned dramatically sideways, as if someone had leaned on the steering wheel.
"That must be Huntress!" Green Arrow said and he quickly began sprinting towards the Command Center. John and Hawkwoman looked at each other.
"Get the ring out of here!" John said.
"I can survive a ship crash, you can't!" Hawkwoman remarked, but John was already following after Green Arrow. She grunted in frustration, but dutifully flew off to get the ring to a safe spot.
Command Center
By the time Green Arrow and John Stewart reached the Command Center, they had missed a lot of action. Their first sight was of a big gaping hole where the front windows used to be - Ivo was nowhere to be found. There were also bloodstreaks, bullet casings, and various sharp objects everywhere from what must've been a titanic fight. A fight which was just about to end as Oliver and John saw that in the corner of the room Huntress was pinned to the ground by Mick Rory whom had a knife to her throat. They both had various cuts and scars on them and Rory had multiple knives sticking out of what had to have been a bullet-proof vest.
"Stop right there or I gut the lady!" Rory said fiercely as he held a knife to Huntress's throat. Green Arrow held up his hands, ready to negotiate. John reacted a little differently, bringing his sniper rifle to bear and firing without hesitation. Poor Rory never had a chance - his unprotected head blossoming into a splatter on the wall and his body fell limply to the side. Green Arrow turned on him quickly.
"Why the hell would you do that!? She could've been killed!" Green Arrow yelled at John. Huntress jumped to her feet as the ship rocked back and forth, critically damaged from the various fighting that had gone on across the ship.
"I had that!" She added her voice to the fray. John just stared at them.
"Do you have a way off of this thing?" He asked.
Elsewhere...
"I was promised a functional weapon." The large red-skinned creature intoned darkly.
"A mere temporary set-back." The gray haired man next to him said, waving his hand.
"Please, have mercy on me, Master." Professor Ivo, in his sea-soaked clothes, said from his spot where he knelt before the trio. Ares stared at him ruefully.
"Are you sure it is only a temporary set-back, Ra's?" Ares asked. Ra's nodded sagely.
"Of course. The League of Assassins always delivers." Ra's said in response. The two turned their eyes to Ivo, who was groveling on the floor.
"He must be punished for his failure, of course. Diana-" Ares began to command the third person there, a brunette who began to reach for her sword. Ra's placed a hand calmly on hers.
"I hired Ivo. I shall deal with this myself - and with those who have interfered with our plans." Ra's said as he pulled his own sword from it's sheath and unceremoniously lopped off Professor Ivo's head. The room became darkly quiet in an instant, now devoid of his insipid groaning.
"I will hold you to that, Demon's Head." Ares said as he and his second began to slowly retreat the way they came.
"Those heroes will rue the day they crossed Ra's al Ghul!" Ra's promised aloud as he resheathed his sword.