I woke up, disoriented, in a restraining tank. A cylinder of force shimmered around me. I took stock of myself and my environment. Slightly surprised that I did not feel any aftereffects from whatever knocked me out, I got to my feet and gingerly touched the force field humming around me, expecting anything from sparks to a violent electric shock. It turned out to be a non-reactive type, feeling like soft sandpaper under my fingers. I created a small blade and gave it a cautious, experimental poke. It was deflected upwards, pointing to the flow of energy in it.
I turned around to check the room I was in. It appeared to be some kind of holding facility, unsurprisingly, but I couldn't see any other occupants. It seemed like I was the star of the show for the time being.
The field was definitely impenetrable and there was not much to explore in the few square feet I had at my disposal. At the moment the best course of action for me was intelligence gathering. I knelt in seiza position, closed my eyes and waited.
Several minutes later I sensed a presence and opened my eyes. The girl Raven was there, taking readings from the monitors, probably checking on my status. She didn't speak. I followed her with my eyes, also silent.
She finished whatever she was doing with the monitors and approached the restraining tank. Her violet eyes regarded me calmly from under her hood. I returned the gaze with equanimity.
"How do you feel?"
"Guess."
"Is there any residual pain or discomfort?"
"No."
"Very well."
She turned and left. I closed my eyes and returned to my contemplation. I was already forming an escape plan, but before I tried it I needed to get as much information as I could.
Soon I heard voices approach. All five of them walked in.
Robin stepped forward. "It is good that you're awake. We must talk."
He probably expected me to protest my innocence, demand that I be released, threaten legal action and/or bodily harm or something along those lines. I was not going to give him the satisfaction. I looked at him coldly, not replying. He pushed on. "Were you working for Slade?"
I continued staring at him, silent.
He tried another tack. "Madam Rouge was apparently wounded in the explosion of the plane. She was gone as soon as we showed up. We captured Mallah, but he managed to break out of jail less than two hours after we locked him in."
So I was out for at least three hours, more probably six. Good to know. I remained silent, watching him.
"The briefcase is locked with a digital combination lock and any mistake in typing the correct combination will result in the destruction of its contents and probably anybody that is standing close to it."
This information was new, but expected. Whatever was in that briefcase was valuable and as such, well protected.
He looked at me for a minute and realized that I was going to keep giving him the same answer. He turned to the others.
"She obviously decided to be uncooperative."
Cyborg chuckled. "Maybe we can leave her with Raven. The two of them can stay silent at each other for the rest of the week." Raven looked at him and raised an eyebrow.
Robin frowned and turned back to me. "Listen, I don't like this situation. I have no wish to keep you locked up like this, but I don't see any other safe option unless you start to cooperate. Are you working for Slade?"
I was getting good at this game. I continued to eye him coldly, not saying a word.
He made a final attempt to make me talk. "Look, I know what you did back there. I saw that you twisted the blade so that it struck me with the flat instead of the edge. You spared my life, and that means you're not evil. But there is too much at stake here to allow myself any generosity without knowing more. I need to know who you work for, what is in that briefcase, and why are the top villains looking so desperately for it."
His final attempt was as successful as the previous ones. He sighed and turned. As they were readying to leave, I asked "Who healed me?"
They turned back as one. Robin's eyes narrowed. He glanced at Raven and said "She did. She's our healer."
I looked at her and nodded my head. "Thanks."
She looked back at me and cocked her head slightly to one side in a sign of 'you're welcome.' I was starting to like this girl. She could say more with one gesture than many people with thousands of words.
As far as I was concerned, there was not much left to be said. I closed my eyes, ignoring them. They all turned around and filed out.
A couple of hours must have passed. I kept my eyes closed, carefully listening to the sounds around me. It was as good a time to start with my plan as any.
I opened my eyes, still kneeling in seiza, and looked carefully at the closest restraining unit. Power to the units was probably fed from below, because the energy in the force field flowed upwards. I studied carefully all connections and conduits, the pedestal where the unit was placed, the surrounding support mechanisms and computers. I decided on the final course of action.
I created a small disk and carefully positioned it horizontally outside the restraining unit, a couple of inches below the level where I was kneeling. Then I brought it closer to the cylinder, almost touching it. It was difficult work, because the control of my constructs depends largely on being aware of them, and that is easiest to do if you can see them. The force barrier that kept me in was not completely transparent, though, and that meant that I had to concentrate a lot more than usual. I made some final adjustments to the position of the disk and took a deep breath. If I miscalculated, the least that would happen was that I would raise an alarm. The possibility that my next move could end up cutting off my own legs was also somewhat alarming.
I sent the command to the disk and it quickly expanded, biting into the pedestal as close to parallel to the ground as I could make it. The power to the restraining field was cut and the field went down. I carefully stepped out of the unit, trying not to move it. I dismissed the disk and the restraining field returned. It worked perfectly. I managed to cut the pedestal and interrupt the power with the thinnest force field I had ever made, so that once it disappeared, most of the atoms and molecules recombined as they were before. A close inspection would show what happened, but that was not an issue. For now, the important thing was that I was relatively free.
Now for the briefcase.
It would be in a lab or workshop. I did not know the layout of the place, so I would have to search for it. Not the optimal solution, but I couldn't see any alternative.
I cracked open the door of the holding facility and glanced into the corridor outside. It looked deserted. I decided to go with the left-hand search pattern. I turned left and crept down the corridor noiselessly.
As I walked stealthily down the corridor, I opened all doors and looked into every room I found. I skipped the elevator and the stairs, wanting to finish searching the floor I was on before continuing up or down. It didn't take long to confirm that I was the only person on this level, and that the briefcase was not on it.
I decided to go up a level. It was probably more dangerous but if the briefcase was above me it would cut down on my search time and in itself reduce the risk. Using the elevator was asking for trouble, so I turned towards the stairs, just across the elevator. As I approached them, I heard the elevator doors open.
I spun around and leapt towards the opening doors, without even knowing who or what was inside. I caught a glimpse of Raven, surprise in her eyes, her arms already lifting over her head, black mist gathering around her hands.
"Azarath Metβ OOOOF!" she cried as I shoulder-slammed into her midsection, forcing the air out of her lungs. Not without a bit of regret I landed a quick but brutal fist on her temple. Her eyes rolled and closed, and she fell unconscious. I lowered her gently to the ground and checked her pulse to make sure I did not do any permanent damage. Removing her hood, I also checked the place where I had hit her. She would have a nasty bruise and a bad headache, but nothing more than that. I noticed she was quite beautiful and wondered why she chose to hide her face under that hood and why she kept that nice, violet-black hair cut so short.
"Sorry, girl" I whispered. "I'll try to make it up to you later."
I stalked back to the stairs and went up a level. I continued my quick search pattern, not finding anything of interest. I went to the next level, conscious that time was running out for me.
The next level was a lot bigger. I cursed inwardly and continued with my search pattern. After a few doors, however, luck smiled on me as I found what looked like a workshop or lab. I went in.
The briefcase was on top of a work desk, surrounded by equipment that the kids β the Titans β had used to test it and to try to bypass the built-in security. I quickly searched it from all sides to make sure it was not tampered with, and finally, satisfied that it was untouched, I made to grab it.
"Hey! Hold it!" came the surprised shout from behind me, accompanied with the mechanical whirring and clacking of Cyborg's arm transforming into a cannon. I reacted without thinking, whirling and releasing a disk at the place where the voice came from, and continuing the move by rolling to one side. Cyborg's blast went over me, luckily missing the table with the briefcase, and exploded against the far wall, blowing up some equipment. I jumped to my feet from my roll and I felt my heart sink.
Cyborg's body was falling down to one side while his legs were collapsing the other way. My disk had struck him just below the torso, severing both legs. I ran to him, expanding a defensive disk in front of me.
I looked at him. There was no blood, but a lot of hydraulic fluid was seeping from the torn conduits on legs and torso.
Shit, I hope that doesn't hurt him, went through my head as I approached his prone body. He was conscious and angry, he used his arm to move himself into position and prepared to unleash another blast.
"That's not a good idea" I said behind my defensive disk, but he was furious and did not listen. He lifted his arm cannon and shot me. The blast exploded on my shield and much of it reflected back on him. His maimed torso was lifted and slammed into the wall, cracking it. He fell down, hopefully only unconscious.
I tried to take his pulse but the normal places where I knew how to do it were covered in titanium armor. I cursed both him and myself, but there was nothing I could do. I ran to the briefcase, grabbed it and sprinted out of the room.
Cyborg's blasts would attract all the others. The time for stealth was over, now I needed brute strength. I created a blade in each hand and started cutting a path through the walls.
After going through a couple of rooms this way, I found myself facing a large window. I could scarcely believe that I was almost out. As I ran to the window, intending to simply jump through it, a large green goat slammed into my left side, tossing me into a wall. Sparks danced in front of my eyes. Instinctively I created a large defensive disk in front of me, hearing a distinct "Ouch!" as something big and green crashed into it. I got up, seeing a huge green bear shaking its head as if to clear it. I lifted the disk and smashed its flat side on the bear's head several times. It went down, transforming back into Beast Boy.
Are you enjoying beating up children? I asked myself, disgusted. At least I could check Beast Boy to make sure he was alive. Satisfied that he had no lasting damage, I smashed the window glass and jumped through it, creating a disk to ride on. I glided as fast as I could towards the city.
As I approached the city, several green bolts hissed around me. I ducked and weaved, avoiding the next two barrages, until I spotted a warehouse. I flew into it, extending two large blades on each side, cutting through the piled up boxes and scaffolding on both sides as I flew through. Crates, boxes and debris fell down behind me, creating a lot of dust and hopefully hiding me from Starfire's sight.
I burst out of that warehouse and into the next, repeating the performance. This time, however, I turned sharply to the right, cutting an exit for myself in the wall. If I could get to the streets, I could lose myself in the crowd, where Starfire would not be able to fire her bolts at me for fear of hitting an innocent bystander.
As I suspected, she was waiting for me at the entrance to the warehouse, and my escape through the right-hand wall surprised her, allowing me to put some distance between us. She was much faster than me, though, and that advantage quickly melted. I finally flew into a parking garage, repeating my previous tactic of cutting the girders as I flew by. The upper floor collapsed behind me, cars and masonry toppling from above. I just hoped she was smart enough not to follow me through that.
I emerged onto a street and finally succeeded in shaking her off by flying through alleys and in and out of shops, restaurants and houses. I dismissed the disk and walked into a busy street, scanning the sky for signs of her. Not seeing anything, I stopped a cab and gave him directions towards my hotel.
I changed two more cabs before reaching the hotel, carefully searching the sky and ground for either her or Robin. Not finding anything suspicious, I finally got out of the cab and entered my hotel.
I got to my room and walked in. Somehow I was not surprised to find Slade sitting on the same armchair that he used last night. I walked past him, briefcase in my hand, and sat on the bed. I was starting to get angry.
"It would be nice if you could show some respect for my privacy!" I fumed, glaring at him. He followed me with his eye.
"I learned that you obtained the briefcase, so I came to pick it up. I also learned what you had to go through in order to get it. I am impressed, you know."
"Aren't you forgetting something?"
"No. The funds have already been transferred. You can check if you want to."
"Of course I want to." I opened my laptop and logged onto the bank's web site. The transfer was indeed complete. I closed the laptop and looked at Slade.
"There is one thing left before I give you the briefcase" I told him. His eye narrowed.
"What is it?"
"I want to know what is inside."
"You do not need to know."
I felt anger rise in me, even though I expected his answer. "Yes, I do. I had to beat up three kids before I could secure it. What is it so important that I risked killing children for its sake?"
"Those 'children' are very dangerous opponents" Slade said.
"I have noticed that. But it does not make them any older, nor does it make my distaste for hurting them less."
He looked at me, studying, analyzing. When he answered his words were light, but his tone had a hint of menace.
"Ah, the ruthless bounty hunter in the throes of an attack of scruples. What would your next clients think if it were to be known that you started developing a conscience?"
I felt a pang of fear, but it quickly turned into anger. I got up from the bed and paced the room, coming to stand at the window. I hoped it appeared as random nervous pacing, but it was my only exit if he decided that the time for talking was over.
I turned to face him, scowling. "Don't mock me. I wouldn't have any scruples towards hurting you."
"Wouldn't you, now? Wasn't that what happened last night when you cut off the briefcase handle instead of simply killing me?"
"That was just returning the favor." As soon as I said that I realized how flimsy an excuse it was.
His eye contemplated me in that same thoughtful manner.
"You are really going soft", he concluded. "I must take that into account next time I want to do business with you."
"I don't think there will be a next time."
He stood up, quick and deadly as a snake. "I agree."
He waited a few seconds, as if pondering if to attack me or not, and then said "I have fulfilled my part of our deal. It is only fair that you comply with yours."
"I have already told you my price."
He looked at me for a few moments longer. "I have a party interested in the briefcase. He may tell us what's inside. If you wish, you can come with me to deliver it and try to find out what's inside it."
I thought about his offer. It was the best deal I would get. I really had no choice, other than fighting him β or backing down, which was not an option.
"I will come. Meanwhile, the briefcase stays with me."
He relaxed and chuckled. "As you wish."
With those words, he was gone.
