I leaned over and shut down the connection, watching as the screen flickered back to a world map.
"James!" I called out.
"Yes?" He said as he poked his head through my doorway.
"Obtain some Kryptonite for me I'll need it for my next contract, and get a hold of Karen. I'll need four orders of shuriken, the best this time around. Call Luke and have him send me an order of the hollow tip bullets, and bring me everything you have on this little league the children have made. Give me the location of that priceless Greek piece in Star City, the one that I've had my eye on with Apollo and Artemis on it. Now go away."
When he left I sighed and pulled out a photo of Apollo, Artemis, and me out of my desk. It was all of us together just before I left Star City. I sighed once more and I said, "Artemis, Apollo, can I ever be forgiven for killing people to protect you two? Was it my place to kill any of them? I wonder if you could ever forgive me for turning into the monster that I've become."
I got up from my desk and went to bed, not knowing what was waiting for me in the coming weeks. Time would prove that my fate was intertwined with another whom I knew very well. My time was running out and the noose was slowly tightening around my neck.
I just didn't know it yet.
I shot up in my bed gasping from the ice cold water that had been dumped on me.
"Fucking asshole!" I growled as I threw my alarm clock at his retreating figure before I buried my face back into the pillow.
"Ow! That hurt!" James yelped.
Good. He deserved it.
I rolled out of my sopping wet bed and I ran a hand through my short and drenched wet hair. I sighed and pulled a towel from the dredges of my closet and began to dry my short, messy hair.
It was my personal belief that you are supposed to wake someone without shortening their lifespan. James obviously didn't get that memo. He probably got some sort of sick pleasure from it. I wouldn't be surprised at all.
"Mizuki!" I heard James suddenly gruff voice call out.
"What is it?" I snapped.
"The big man's on the phone and he wants to talk to you. You better hurry, he sounds pissed."
I dressed like my life was on the line. I threw on a dry shirt and pants in two minutes and was running into the office by the third.
I picked up the phone and cooly said, "Yes? You called?"
"I heard about your newest contract. I would also like you to kill those archers on the team and it'll be a bonus for you. A big one. I might even let you see your precious friends afterwards."
"Yes sir! I'll get right on it." I said monotonously, barely containing my excitement before I hung up. I began planning in earnest the three-man hit I was going to undertake.
No one would stop me from doing this.
Not if I had any say in it.
But that would be my doom and death if I did succeed.
Apollo would forever regret the day that he let Mizuki leave him. He honestly hoped that it would blow over and they would let her come back home but that didn't happen.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
"You have to let that go Ollie. It wasn't your fault." Artemis' voice echoed from the other side of the mountain's gym as Apollo beat down on the punching bag in front of him.
"Yeah because I wasn't the one who got our asses busted by the cops for tagging the side of the police chief's house!" Apollo shouted as he spun around. His face was twisted in conflict and grief.
"You and her were trying to get a message out to the public and you did it, you just got caught." Artemis shouted.
"I took this opportunity to try to find her but I've gotten fucking nowhere! I haven't found a damn thing about where she went! It's like she fucking disappeared!"
"Why does it matter to you so much?!" Artemis shouted ignoring the others watching from the kitchen.
"Because I love her and never got the chance to say it to her face!"
Dead silence.
"Ollie," Artemis sighed.
"Don't you 'Ollie' me!"
"I looked up her grandfather's area around the time she was supposed to get there when we got this gig. She never made it to her grandfather's estate. I'm pretty sure she was kidnapped. Ollie face the facts, she's probably dead by now."
"NO!" Apollo threw a sloppy rage-induced punch at Artemis that she easily dodged. The others quickly intervened to restrain Apollo in his blood rage. Apollo still fought against the others as they tried to hold him down while Megan telepathically called for Connor.
Apollo's resistance was soon brought to an end though
"ENOUGH!" A voice barely containing its rage commanded. Everyone froze to see Batman standing a distance away with Connor behind him.
"What is going on here?!"
No one answered.
"You know what I don't care. Get suited up for a covert ops mission. I have a mission for you."
I had planned this heist for quite a while now. I just had yet to carry it out, but now waiting worked in my favor. I could pull it off and complete my assignment at the same time. I was all work right now.
The plan was simple, I had some help from the League of Shadows to cause a racket and then the little leaguers would come running. While they were dealing with my hired help, I would ambush the archer twins and take them out before anyone had time to react. Then I would conveniently let Superboy tire himself out in a rage to avenge his fallen comrades and then shoot him dead once he left a nice opening for a headshot.
But I forgot that the League can't do anything right.
At all.
From the get go the Little Leaguers were onto them and therefore me. I was wearing my chameleon suit and I was crawling on the rafters after one target.
The alarms went off and I swore silently to myself and I lunged forward onto the male archer's back. I was going to get this contract done so I could see the twins again. I didn't care about the consequences of being caught. He threw me off of his shoulders and tried to punch me. I rolled off to the side into a crouching position.
"Now that's not very nice Robin Hood. What if I got hurt?" I mockingly said as I pouted.
We began to circle around each other.
"That was the point you know. But I've gotta ask, why here? At one of my favorite museums?" Archer Boy nocked an arrow and fired it at me only for me to cleanly deflect it with a shuriken.
"Because with your guys' deaths, my freedom is secured." I smiled as I tossed a handful of shuriken at him then charged at him. Archer Boy weaved his way through them and swung his bow like a bat at me. I dodged and then hit him with a hard uppercut to the jaw that sent him flying. I moved towards him intent on finishing him off, only to be blindsided by someone.
I pushed myself up and looked for my attacker. I saw Kid Flash standing next to Archer Boy.
"I guess I can't play anymore then," I smirked as I whipped out my pistol and fired shots off at him forcing him to dodge. I had previously predicted his movement and threw shuriken as well at where he would stop approximately.
"Back off bitch!" I heard a gruff voice shout as I dodged an arrow from behind me and my shuriken were knocked away by arrows..
"Where do you guys come from? A special sidekick catalogue? I need to order me one of those." I chuckled. Archer Girl began a rain of hellfire down on me and I dodged and deflected all of her attacks.
"Why won't you stay still?!" Archer Girl shouted.
"Oh please I've been under worse enemy fire before. This is nothing." I monotonously said, getting serious.
I pulled out a few smoke bombs and tossed them their way. It shrouded the entire museum in a thick fog that I could easily navigate through. I forgot to account for Birdboy though. I heard his cackle right before I blocked a kick aimed for my head.
We began a duel of fists when I asked, "Whatever happened to my hired help?"
"Oh they went down pretty fast for the Shadows. I'm sure they were greenhorns." Birdboy replied.
I suddenly kneed him where it counted and elbowed him in the back of the head before I reactivated my chameleon suit and weaved my way through the chaos.
What had been a near loss for me gave me lots of input for the future when I went for them again. I made my way home through the window and just set down my gear when an arrow sliced by my face. My mask was still on as was my jet pack but that wouldn't help me very much. I flicked my light switch on that fried any bugs in the room as well. I felt a little fizzle on the left side of my ribs.
"Interesting place you've got here." I heard Archer Boy say.
"Well you do tend to make oneself home at their base of operations." I bit back before adding, "I don't seem to recall inviting you to come home with me. I must've had lots to drink tonight it seems."
I turned around to see a ship bearing down on me.
Well shit.
"Why don't you take that mask of yours off? It's hiding what must be an ugly mug that I need to brighten my day with. Do it slowly and I won't shoot you with high-density foam."
My eyes widened. If I took the mask off they'd find me. Everyone would. I wouldn't be able to hide anymore
"No! Why should I?" I snapped.
"Now you're just being petty," Archer Boy clicked in disappointment.
"I'll take mine off if you take yours off too." I said with a smirk. His face was covered in a hood-like cowl that covered anything that would help me identify him off duty.
"So you want to play it that way? Fine. On three. One, two, three!"
I deactivated the switch that magnetically held it to my face via metal implants in my jaw. I held the mask to my face for a brief moment before I let my hand drop.
"Mizuki?!"