We will be skipping ahead a few months. Terry and Max have had time to get to know Six, Rex, and the rest of the Providence team. Also, this next chapter takes place after César has joined the group. I will be ignoring "Six Minus Six" and every episode thereafter.

I've inserted bits and pieces of comic book cannon. Asterisks indicate that there is a footnote that can be used to clarify any of these tidbits.

This chapter is dedicated to Zak Saturday and Beafstew.

Chapter Six: Old Friends and Enemies

Coast City, California, 0600

"Six, status report," White Knight demanded.

"We're closing in on the targets now, Knight. Van Kleiss's team seems to be headed towards the carrier berths. I'll contact you as soon as we know more." Six tried to keep his tone cool and professional, but White Knight's constant niggling was getting on the entire team's nerves.

"Do we have any idea what they're after yet?" White Knight asked.

"Negative. But this is a military base, this could just be about weapons," Six answered coolly. "Sir, why are we handling this case? I thought Coast City fell into Justice League territory?" *

Six waited as there was a pregnant pause on the other end of the line. When Knight finally answered he sounded both angry and confused. "Providence doesn't just wait for some vigilante to sweep in and save the day. I'm disappointed in you Six. I expect this kind of attitude from Rex, not you," he growled.

"Understood Sir, it won't happen again," Six replied.

Knight's reprimand stung, mostly because Knight was right and Six knew it. But the truth was that the former mercenary didn't wish to remain in Coast City any longer than necessary. Much like Metropolis or Gotham, Coast City was known as the base of operations for a fair number of superheroes and villains. He wanted to avoid running into any of his old colleagues or worse. There was a possibility, however slight, that one of the "capes" would recognize him from his days with the Numbers. The Numbers usually managed to stay under the Justice League's radar, but a few, such as Batman and the Question, had made the connection between the Numbers and their master, Deathstroke. Six had no reason to believe that the League would know of One's untimely demise.

Six was stopped short by a sudden tug on his collar. The mercenary gripped his katanas tighter and whirled to face his opponent only to find McGinnis. Six lowered his weapons and mentally kicked himself. He'd become so lost in his musings that he hadn't noticed the younger agent's abrupt hault. Of course, Agent Six allowed none of this to show as he raised an eyebrow quizzically.

Looking at McGinnis, Six couldn't tell if the younger agent noticed his slip or not. Terry nodded towards a nearby carrier and replied, "The Pack seems to have converged on a carrier, the USS Alexander Luthor. Max is scouting ahead." **

As if on cue, Agent Gibson's voice came over the com system. "I can see Skalamander and Biowulf on the quarterdeck. All visible members of the crew are down."

"Rex, Bobo, what's your status?" Six inquired over the coms. The two teams had split up to cover more ground; Rex and Bobo were headed in from the south.

"Hold your horses Six. We had some trouble getting past the MPs. Apparently, the Navy doesn't appreciate Providence 'mucking around' on their base. We'll be in position in about five minutes," Rex answered. "Any sign of Van Kleiss yet?"

"Negative Rex. There's no sign of Van Kleiss yet," Agent Gibson replied smoothly.

"For right now, let's focus on the matter at hand," Six interrupted. Rex's obsession with Van Kleiss was becoming more and more of a liability. It was best to steer the topic of conversation away from Van Kleiss. "Gibson, when this goes down, I want you to lay down cover fire. Can you find a suitable position?"

There was a long pause which Six suspected meant that Gibson was searching for a sniping position. Finally, Gibson's voice returned to the coms. "I'm on the roof of the MWR building across the street. I have a clear view of the dock, but it'll take me a few minutes to get back down if something goes wrong."

Six searched the road until he found the Morale Welfare and Recreation building. It was a single story brick building with a flat roof. This early in the morning it appeared empty. "Let's hope it doesn't come to that, Gibson."

"Six, Bobo and I are in position," Rex signaled in.

"On my mark," Six replied. Turning to McGinnis, he asked, "Ready?" Terry nodded silently. "Alright. Rex, I want you and Bobo to take on Skalamander. McGinnis and I will take care of Biowulf. Gibson, keep an eye on the flight deck and hanger bay. I doubt these two came alone. Don't let anyone escape."

McGinnis put a hand on Six's shoulder and nodded while Max answered, "Yes, Sir."

"Can we just get on with this? How many times do I have to kick these losers' butts before they learn?" Rex whined. Six noticed McGinnis rolling his eyes.

Ignoring, Rex's comments, Six turned to McGinnis to see how the younger agent wanted to handle Biowulf before moving in. Six cursed as he noticed that McGinnis had disappeared, again. For a moment, he noticed a dark shape moving across the bow of one of the Coast Guard cutters docked nearby. Just how did the kid do it? No one trains their bodyguards to move like that. Bodyguards are supposed to be seen; they're meant to be a deterrent. Special Forces operatives moved like that, sure, but the kid's tax records showed that he'd been working for Wayne Enterprises since high school. In the months since McGinnis joined the team, Six had come up with two possible explanations. McGinnis was a cleaner for Mr. Wayne. It would explain why the kid could fight and how he could disappear like a highly trained assassin. The other possibility was that Mr. Wayne was funding some sort of vigilante. Holiday's tests repeatedly proved that the kid had no sort of metahuman abilities, which significantly narrowed down the list of possible vigilantes.

Wasting no more time, he called to the rest of the team. "Alright, move in."

Rex attacked first. Without leaving his position, he built his slam cannon and tore out a hefty section of concrete. The pavement struck Skalamander dead center before the Pack was even aware of the Providence team's presence. Six closed in on Biowulf swiftly. Van Kleiss's chief enforcer turned to face the agent and swiped one clawed hand towards Six's midsection. Six darted backwards with a smirk on his face just as McGinnis leapt from the gangway. The younger man landed on Biowulf and wrapped his arms around Biowulf's neck trying to get a choke hold. Six wasn't sure how feasible McGinnis's plan was; Biowulf had a very large neck. Nevertheless, McGinnis provided a perfect distraction for Six to move in with his katanas.

Meanwhile, Rex and Bobo were keeping Skalamander busy. Rex had abandoned his slam cannon in favor of his blast caster. Rex used the blast caster's long whip to preoccupy Skalamander while Bobo chose his shots cautiously to avoid hitting the other agents in the crossfire.

Crack! Rex's whip came down hard around Skalamander's crystallized arm. Rex braced his feet shoulder width apart and began to pull, but Skalamander pulled harder. The larger EVO recovered quicker than expected and used Rex's own whip to toss the teen around instead. Rex dismissed his blast caster build, but not before Skalamander sent him careening into Six. The two Providence agents landed in a heap against a cargo container about five feet away. Skalamander raised his now freed arm to fire on the two agents and at such a short distance, he couldn't possibly miss. Six attempted to intercept Skalamander, but Rex must have hit his head when he fell. The teen wasn't getting up and Six was trapped underneath.

A powerful laser blast knocked Skalamander sideways. As the EVO's body landed in front of the two agents, Six traced the beam's trajectory back to Agent Gibson. Not for the first time, Six was glad that Agent Gibson was on their side. "Nice shot, Agent Gibson," he said into the coms. Max thanked Six as he slowly disentangled himself from Rex. He checked the teen's vitals before placing him in the recovery position and checking on McGinnis.

McGinnis was keeping Biowulf on the defensive, and Six chose to let McGinnis handle Biowulf. He swept the area for signs of Van Kleiss and the rest of the Pack, while keeping a close eye on the younger agent. Like Six, the younger agent preferred not to use guns. After their fourth or fifth mission together, Six finally showed McGinnis how to order weapons from the Keep's armory. The younger agent must have spent a small fortune in shuriken. Even more interesting, was the fact that McGinnis and Gibson spent considerable time customizing some of the weapons. Many of the shuriken were modified to explode, release gas, or even freeze on impact.

McGinnis had gone after the EVO's weak spots; multiple lacerations now marred Biowulf's long arms. Biowulf may be fast, but McGinnis moved faster. Shuriken whistled through the air and exploded as they impacted Biowulf's natural armor. While they did little to pierce it, they were effective at keeping the creature off-balance. Terry darted in while Biowulf struggled to recover and delivered a vicious volley of punches. As soon as Biowulf would begin to recover, Terry would move back out of reach of Biowulf's claws. He kept up a pattern of long-range attacks followed by series of kicks and punches hoping to wear the mechanical monster down.

"Guys, I've got movement on the Luthor," Max warned over the coms. "It looks like Breach." While Max and Terry had never actually met the Pack, they had both read over each member's dossier. Six surmised that there was little chance that Max could have mistaken Breach for someone else. The woman had four arms after all.

Six drew his katanas and waited for Breach to make the first move. Advancing towards her was pointless. There was no way to sneak up on her as long as she remained on the carrier watching the docks. And with Breach's teleporting ability, there was no way to predict where should come down at. Six studied his opponent silently from the shadows. She had a stack of file folders tucked under one arm. The young EVOs eyes widened as she noticed Skalamander's still form.

"Terry!" Six winced as Gibson yelled into the com links. Returning his attention back to the docks, he noticed blood and, strangely, sparks along McGinnis' back. The young agent was down on one knee and Biowulf was poised to deliver a fatal blow. Six quickly moved to help his partner. Terry stayed low and quickly moved around behind Biowulf. He hit Biowulf once on the back before moving clear of the EVO's long arms. Terry grabbed Six's arm as the two agents passed, turning the older man around. There was a soft whine followed by a loud explosion, as both men were thrown forward.

Turning around, Six found Biowulf was down for the count. He raised an inquiring eyebrow at McGinnis.

"Explosive lodged in the middle of his back, right where he can't reach," Terry replied with a feral grin.

Six nodded. "Your back?"

Terry shrugged, "Tender, but—"

A red rift appeared in front of Biowulf and Breach emerged. Terry responded immediately by launching three of his shuriken, only to have them sucked into the void thanks to Breach's portals.

Breach opened two rifts below Skalamander and Biowulf and the two EVOs disappeared. "Playtime's over," she crooned. "We've got what we came for."

"I don't think so," Terry replied. He tackled Breach just as she opened a third rift for herself.

"McGinnis, no!" Six commanded, but it was too late. He cursed under his breath before running into the rift behind Breach and McGinnis.

Boomshakalaka

"You're awake," McGinnis commented dryly.

Six immediately became aware of a deep throbbing pain emanating from the back of his head. He opened his eyes slowly and took in his surroundings. He was alone with McGinnis in what appeared to be Van Kleiss' headquarters on Abysus. Each agent was secured to a metal chair by heavy ropes. "Any word from our hosts yet?" he asked.

"Not yet, I woke up just a little before you did," Terry replied. "Give me just a minute; I'm almost through my ropes."

Six looked at Terry's hands and realized that whoever searched him must have missed some of his shuriken. He was now using one to steadily saw through the ropes. The final strands snapped just as the door to the chamber slid open. To his credit, McGinnis didn't even move. He kept his arms locked behind his back as if the ropes were still binding him. Six smirked; their captors were certainly in for a surprise.

Van Kleiss saddled into view. He was trailed by an attractive woman with exotic features and long brown hair. "Free already? I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, Detective."

Six was surprised to hear Van Kleiss' companion speak; the beautiful woman had the voice of a much older man. "I thought you died on New Cuba, Ra's," Terry remarked as he folded his arms in front of his chest. What their opponents failed to notice was that Terry slipped Six the shuriken as he did so.

Much like Six, Van Kleiss chose to silently observe the two. It was clear their companions had some shared history.

The woman smiled, "Ah yes, let's call it a perk of having your own personal Lazarus Pit."

Six caught his partner's eyes and nodded towards the woman. Terry sighed, "Agent Six, allow me to introduce Ra's al Ghul the—" ***

"Demon's Head," Six finished, clearly impressed.

"I see my reputation precedes me," Ra's replied. "I'm glad to see that Deathstroke's protégés still have respect for the old masters."

McGinnis' inquisitive eyes shot to Six at the mention of Deathstroke. The older agent quickly decided that it was time to retreat before any more of his secrets were spilled. He'd already sawed through enough of the ropes to weaken them, so he broke them with one concentrated effort.

Terry followed Six's lead. He tackled Ra's, knocking him into Van Kleiss while Six dived for their weapons on the other side of the chamber.

"Breach!" Van Kleiss called urgently. "Send them back."

Six ran towards Van Kleiss with both katanas drawn only to find himself back on the docks seconds later. A moment later, McGinnis joined him.

"Max!" Terry yelled.

Six turned around quickly to find the USS Luthor and the surrounding docks a smoking ruin. The Pack must have set off some sort of explosive after they left. Police, MPs, paramedics, and even members of the Justice League were on hand, pulling survivors from the wreckage. ****

Six watched in shock as McGinnis ran straight up to Warhawk who was talking to a group of MPs.

Warhawk literally growled as Terry approached. "You have some nerve showing up here." He moved away from the MPs and grabbed Terry's shoulder roughly. "Watchtower, two for transport."

Boomshakalaka

* Coast City, CA is a fictional city most commonly known as the home of Green Lantern Hal Jordan. Throughout comic book cannon it has been destroyed (literally wiped off the map) multiple times. After the most recent reconstruction it was given the nickname "The City without Fear."

** Most American aircraft carriers are named after former US presidents. In DC comics, Alexander "Lex" Luthor was president at one point.

*** If you've ever read comics or even watched any animated series based off a comic, you know that a good hero or villain never dies. Did Talia (Ra's) die in Batman Beyond? Yes. But honestly, Ra's has died many, many times throughout comic book cannon. Let's call it a perk to having your own personal Lazarus Pit.

**** In-port or out-to-sea, there's always people on board a naval vessel. Many of the junior personnel live on board.