So hey, yeah, super short chapter. But hey, at least it's not boring! I hope...

discb: Thanks! It was a challenge to invent.

KKsaiyancat: Thanks! Hope you still like it!

Disclaimer: I most certainly own absolutely nothing.

SPOILER

PS: In the end, keep reading! It's not over, I promise!

END SPOILER

"It's time," Rachel said as she called her team nine long days later. "Time to take the fight to them."

"How?" Cheshire asked.

"We set a trap, but every trap needs bait. Now listen carefully..."

After a very successful gang takedown on an anonymous tip, Dick was lounging at his desk in the Jump City Police Department with Vic and Karen.

"So hey man, about that barbecue..."

"Yeah, you can cook," Dick told his partner.

"Sounds good to me, just make sure I'm in town! I would not miss a home-cooked meal by Sparky for anything," Karen grinned. Dick's cell phone rang.

"Hang on a sec," he didn't recognize the number. "Hello?"

"Detective Grayson. Listen carefully."

"Who is this?" he asked, looking meaningfully at Vic, who began to trace the call.

"Stop searching. Stop prying. Hell, stop living for all I care! Just stop."

"And if I don't?"

"Check your email, detective," he checked on his computer to see three new messages. He clicked the one without a sender.

There was a photo of Kori in crosshairs.

"Who are you?" the voice, feminine, chuckled.

"I guess you'll never know," Vic nodded and Dick hung up viciously.

"Warehouse down on Thirty-Ninth."

"I'll go clear it with the captain."

"No."

"But—!"

"Detective Grayson, have you forgotten the Wilson case? Your obsession nearly killed a good officer. If you want to do this, you'll do it on your own time. Understand?"

"I...understand," Dick growled, his eyes burning as he stormed out. "Vic, Karen!" he barked. They hurried to his side. "We're on our own."

Cheshire smirked as Grayson hung up. Rachel looked at her.

"Warehouse on Thirty-Ninth," the assassin said simply.

"Mammoth, Rancid, you're up," Rachel ordered. "You've got ten minutes."

When Dick, Vic, and Karen arrived at the warehouse, all that was left was a pile of ashes. Dick snarled and slammed his fist into his palm. The criminals wouldn't get away again!

"We need a bigger team," he growled, knowing that he would be sorely outnumbered if he tried to take them down with just his two friends.

"I know just who to call," Vic smiled.

Thirty minutes later, a group of friends was assembled in the park: Dick, Karen, Vic, Wally, Gar, Roy, and Kori.

"Are you insane? They've got eyes on her!" Dick hissed.

"Easy! I had Wally pick her up," Vic soothed. "He lost the tail."

"Okay. We know that Gar and Wally's dates are a part of this and we know that they have a massive enterprise. We know they have a hacker and we know they have a sniper. We also know how to track them. Vic, can you trace back that number?"

"Call it and I'll do all you need and more," Dick dialed.

"Detective Grayson. I was beginning to think you'd gone up in smoke."

"Where are you?" he spat.

"Now you're a clever one, aren't you? Figure it out yourself. Oh and don't call me again," she hung up.

"I got a general fix. The docks!" the group took off in various cars, speeding off towards the sea.

"The signal should have been coming from this pier," Vic said, leading them through the rows of storage. One facility was open. On a hunch, Dick peered in. There was a cell phone lying beside a bomb.

"Everyone get down!" he shouted, racing in and snatching up the phone. He barely escaped with his life.

The phone rang.

"Stop playing games," Dick spat as soon as he answered.

"Who's playing?" the voice was masculine. "I'm not. Not when I can do this," a shot pinged off of the street beside Kori's hip. She shrieked. "And that was just a warning," Dick slowly lowered the phone as he hung up.

"What is it?" Vic asked.

"They want us to stop looking."

"But you won't."

"Never."

Dick and his friends had traced the signal to an old warehouse on the far side of town. He drew his weapon and kicked the side door in. He nodded to Vic and Karen, who were the next ones in. There were three levels.

"Vic, you take Wally and Roy: search the upper floors. Karen and Kori, you take the middle. Gar and I can handle the bottom," Dick ordered. They nodded and split up. Dick pulled his backup gun and tossed it to Gar. "We're splitting. You search that way," he pointed right, "and circle in. I'll go from the opposite direction," Gar nodded and began to move. Dick headed in the opposite direction, drawing his flashlight and holding it with his gun. He saw the light of Gar's phone slowly fading.

"Okay y'all, we're stickin' together," Vic said firmly, pulling both a flashlight and a gun. Wally and Roy nodded.

"Kori, stay close," Karen ordered, drawing her gun and flashlight.

"Something is moving…"

"I see it," Karen fired at a shadow.

"Eep!" Kori vanished.

"Kori!" Karen whirled around and heard a cold laugh. Her flashlight fell across a young Asian woman, holding Kori at knifepoint and covering her mouth with her other hand.

"You want her? Come get her," Karen aimed carefully, ready to fire. She was an exceptional shot, and she knew she could make the kill. "Jinx, now!" Karen's eyes widened as a a woman Karen recognized as "Lucky Day" slid directly in the way of her bullet. Stunned, Karen hesitated, and that was her fatal mistake. Jinx swung her leg around and kicked Karen hard. Kori screamed against her captor's hand as Jinx hauled the dazed Karen up by her arms and covered her mouth.

"Let's go find Raven."

Vic pulled out his cellphone and dialed Dick's number, clearly knowing that his partner's phone was on vibrate.

"Man, there's no one here. Let's call it quits."

"Um, Vic?" Wally said. "Small problem," Roy looked up from his own phone to see a young woman and three young men facing him.

"I think they're expecting us," he said, gritting his teeth as Vic hung up. The detective fired as the largest of the men charged, but the bullets didn't even slow him. He punched Vic across the jaw, effectively knocking him out.

"Nice one, Mammoth!" called the woman.

"Thanks," he grunted.

"Angel, heads up!" one of the other men called. She dodged a punch from Wally and sent him into a crushing bear hug from the final man.

"I owe ya one, X! Drop it, Rancid," the third man glared at her, but slackened his grip on Wally. Mammoth lifted Vic, Rancid Wally, and Angel Roy. They smirked at each other.

"Let's go downstairs," was the last thing Roy heard before he lost consciousness.

Gar heard something and whipped around. A shadow moved, but he was trembling too much to shoot.

"Wh-who are you?" a young man appeared before him and whipped the gun away, backhanding him into the arms of a teenager. Gar struggled, but the man struck the side of his head, knocking him out cold.

Rachel sighed. She had been sitting in the chair in the warehouse for over an hour. With Kyd Wykkyd and Gizmo on her level, Jenny and Cheshire on the second, and everyone else other than SeeMore on the third, she hoped everything was going smoothly. SeeMore was running surveillance on the roof, making sure no police backup arrived.

"Alright, I don't want any trouble! Hands in the air!" Grayson yelled, emerging from the shadows with his gun pointed at Rachel. She stood and raised her arms, smirking.

"Now now, is that really the way you want to play?" she asked coyly.

"You are under arrest!" Grayson announced. Rachel sighed.

"I suppose so. Oh Cheshire!" she called, hoping her team was in position and prepared to her specifications. Cheshire seemed to materialize beside Rachel, holding a knife to the throat of a struggling redhead.

"Kori!" Grayson yelled, swinging his gun around. Cheshire's knife pressed harder, and the redhead screamed against her captor's hand.

"You don't want to do that," Rachel cautioned. "Even the tiniest nick will kill her. So just drop your weapon, kick it over to me, and Cheshire will let her go," she ordered coldly. Grayson, eyes burning, dropped his gun and kicked it over to Rachel. She picked it up and tossed it back and forth between her hands before nodding to Cheshire, who sheathed her knife and roughly shoved the redhead at Grayson.

"Oh isn't this adorable?" Jenny taunted, stepping from the shadows and holding a gun to the head of another woman.

"Karen," the redhead mumbled.

"Here's a tip for you, asshole," Rachel hissed at Grayson as the rest of her team slowly appeared, holding more slumped shapes. "Don't mess with us. And if you do, bring more backup than a couple friends," she walked over to Grayson and toyed with the safety on his gun. "Nighty-night."

"What's on?" Jenny asked as she sat on the couch. Rachel glanced at her, briefly removing her gaze from the television.

"Just some old reruns, nothing good," was her reply. Jenny moved for the bedroom. "Uh, I wouldn't go in there..." Jenny turned and gave Rachel a look.

"Oh Rachel, you didn't..."

"Just until we can find something more permanent," Jenny wrinkled her nose.

"Ugh, whatever. If the place starts to stink, I blame you."

"By the time that starts to happen, they'll be underground. Cheshire, Kyd Wykkyd, Red X, Mammoth, and Angel are out looking for a few good places."

"A few?" Jenny raised an eyebrow.

"All of them together is a little risky, don't you think?"

"Touché. So how do we go about this...?"

"I've got it all worked out, don't worry," Rachel smirked. "The cops will never know anything happened."

"Found one," Cheshire called in with the coordinates of an abandoned storage facility.

"Us, too," Angel said while Kyd Wykkyd sent the address of the warehouse.

"We found one," Red X called in an office building that had been bought by Shadows.

"Good," Jenny said. "Angel, Kyd, you'll take Stone and Beecher. Cheshire, you've got Harper. Red X has got Anders and Grayson. Raven, you find a place and take Logan. I'll handle West. We clear?"

"Crystal," Rachel said drily.

"Gizmo, Rancid, Mammoth SeeMore, you need to keep the streets quiet and provide any needed assistance."

"You've got it," Rancid replied.

"Good work, team," Jenny said. "We're well on our way to easy street."