Chapter 7
"I'm pretty sure we're breaking a few international boundary laws, Bruce… " Clark muttered quietly as he adjusted his obviously 'clueless tourist' disguise. The heat was intense in the humid tropical Bangkok, but the Kryptonian was unusually free of sweat, unlike his other two comrades. Bruce had forced a spray bottle on him to make him "less alien" and more human who actually SWEATS. He's just glad it was plain saline solution.
"No names." the dark-skinned man growled out. His eyes were wrinkled with age and his dark brown eyes were covered by his wide-brimmed straw hat.
Clark resisted the urge to roll his eyes, knowing it would only earn him a Bat-glare from the disguised detective. The seemingly Thai-local elder (damn Bruce and his creepily perfect make-up) with him began speaking fluent Thai to the hotel clerk. Clark would bet Bruce even got the dialect spot on. The hotel was dingy and dirty, hidden deep in the recesses of the back alleys of Bangkok. While there were a few tourists, the motel was small and inconspicuous.
"Forget it, Clark." John Steward wiped his sinewy forehead before continuing. "We'll be here till BB4 is safe and sound."
"BB4?" Clark gave him an amused smirked.
"Bat-baby four…" muttered John. "Sorry, been hanging out with Flash too long…"
The lantern was dressed in a similar tourist garb, with sunglasses and a beard to match. Their luggage was non-existent, only a backpack for each person. If the marine had to guess, it would be for easy movement and less evidence to leave behind a trail.
Finally obtaining accommodations, Bruce turned to glower at his two companions into silence before speaking in heavily accented English.
"Come, room is 7-18."
The two heroes, resigned to their faith, obediently followed the "limping old man" to the dubious-looking elevator. This was going to be LONG week.
24 hours ago…
"Keep yours masks on at ALL TIMES, no use of real names at any time during the mission, do NOT separate from my teammates, RETREAT at the first sign of trouble. I GOT IT, DAD." The exasperated teenager waved his arms in frustration. Danny pouted resolutely at Bruce.
While it was entertaining to watch for the rest of the bat-babies, namely Tim and Jason who were unhelpfully snickering in the background, Dick just wanted to get on with the mission.
"Yeah, yeah, alright, no worries Bruce, we got things handled" Dick intervened before any more drama escalated. "We'll stick to the mission only, in and out quick!"
Bruce sighed at his oldest ward. At least, his most reliable son will be there.
"I know you're all capable, but missions can be unpredictable and we can't risk- "
"I believe, Master Bruce, that you have checked and re-checked your prodigies' plans and equipment a dozen times without their knowledge" Alfred finally interrupted, appearing out of nowhere. "Come now, Sir, dinner is getting cold and the young masters have a mission to complete."
The true master of the Wayne mansion herded the rest of the Bat-family up the elevator, but before he went up himself he turned back towards the newly minted team. It was the same old pattern, Bruce was always overly protective of his children's first flight off the cave. The old man hoped in vain that his adopted son would reel in the urge to use the ENTIRE league of heroes as back-up like Master Todd's first mission. Then again, Master Richard's first mission was far worst, the league wasn't even formed then. The stereotype of first-time parents being over-kill, well-deserved indeed. Too bad it didn't dilute in every successive child in the Wayne family.
"Do be careful young masters, I'd hate to see your father tell me 'I told you so'," with that, the butler left the cave. Wally gave salute before activating his com-link.
"Three to beam up, Bangkok!"
Current time…
In was past midnight, but Bangkok was still alive and glowing. Hangover 2 was really on the dot on how crazy the nightlife was here. Danny was invisible and partially intangible as he followed his disguised partners through the city alleys. He kept his hand steadily on his brother's shoulder as he led the way. Dick had been reluctant to let him completely out of sight, so the physical connection was the compromise. Both Dick and Wally were dressed as travelling college kids, enjoying the exotic sights and sounds. Transvestites, drunkards, snap-happy tourists and locals littered the streets. It was crowded but they still managed to tail the target.
It was a specific senior employee, who always had a late-shift and an active nightlife at a very specific nightclub in the middle of the city. According to their info, he goes straight from work to play, no in-betweens. Meaning, the guy carried all his access cards and keys they needed for the silent break-in. Their team was strictly reconnaissance; they couldn't afford to alert the company of any possible leaks, lest they risk the destruction of any evidence in the panic.
The place was more risqué than anything Danny's ever experienced, but he powered through the embarrassment as they entered the establishment. Thankfully invisible, Wally couldn't tease him on how much he was blushing right now. His older brother on the other hand was looking straight at him, giving him a sympathetic grin, despite being invisible.
How he could have possibly known about Danny's reaction is beyond the halfa. Bat-powers. Right.
Time to focus, they were almost at their target's regular club. Dick and Wally would be the distracting, noisy college kids ,and Danny was to over-shadow one of the their target's… entertainer. A quick in and out, just fast enough to grab the access keys and put it back after Dick replicates the codes. Slip into the dude that's dress like a not-dude? Not like he can judge, being a cross-dresser is seriously HARD. Heels are evil and sexist torture devices, and are one of main reasons why heroines in heels should have Respect and a Bro-fist.
He should probably focus, fake-not-dude (FND) is 'dancing' in front of the target. He taps on both his partners' shoulders twice, signaling them to start making some noise.
On cue, both began a rowdy and loud argument at the bar. Close enough to be distracting but too far for the target to bother with. Once he saw the target glance their way, Danny dived into FND, the distraction giving him time to adjust to the body. He resists the urge to cringe as the man not so subtly slide his hand up his thigh, seeing his chance, he quickly grabs the key card and leaves FND's body.
FND looked a bit confused for a moment, but quickly recovered once his (her?) patron got more grabby.
He hovers back invisibly towards Dick and slips in the card in his jacket, giving it a light tug. Dick smoothly asks for the bathroom, and walks off. In less than five minutes he was back, giving Danny a chance to grab the card again.
Time for phase 2, and not a moment too soon.
The target's about to reach for his wallet, and he'll likely notice the missing key card if Danny doesn't hurry.
He slips back to an almost retreating FND, and in a fit of panic, sprawls on top the target. Guessing from the blissed-out look on target's face, distraction was a success. He slips back the card intangible, barely restraining the shudder but not the squeak of surprise when his butt gets groped. He really wasn't putting this in the mission report.
Job done, he slips out while sending a mental apology to FND.
He taps both his partners' once and follows them walk outside. Dick slips them into a dark, isolated alley, before finally letting Danny be visible again. Back to human, he sighs in relief. Staying intangible and invisible for long wasn't draining, but it took a lot of focus. Dick and Wally were already suited up in their darker garb, as was Danny. They had to infiltrate the building tonight since they changed codes everyday.
"Okay lil'bro, " Nightwing's voice was soft, but playful. "Time for the easy part."
Flash rolls his eyes good-naturedly, "Yah, time to watch your big-bro to show-off!"
Meanwhile…
It didn't take x-ray vision to see Bruce was ready to wring the target's neck. Clark wasn't even sure when Danny took-over the young man (lady?), but the groping didn't help. Even the man of steel felt overprotective seeing the whole ordeal, regardless of the fact he didn't know when Danny was even involved.
But it looked like it went off without a hitch, as expected of the Bat-clan.
"Come on," Bruce growled.
Even John winced at the harsh tone, Clark hoped Batman wouldn't make a sudden appearance is someone's bedroom in the near future.
They silently followed along, Batman knowing his oldest son well-enough to keep a safe distance. It took the team less than an half an hour to infiltrate and obtain the data. Bruce swelled in pride as he watched his sons execute their mission perfectly, even more so seeing Dick look after their youngest with more precaution than he normally does.
Once the team cleared out and returned to their hotel, Bruce instructed John to make sure they got back safe. The lantern would never admit it, but he approved of the overprotectiveness. Shayera and John always had a soft spot for Wally, being the youngest of the Founders, but more so with Dick, who practically grew up in their community of heroes. Don't even get him started on the youngest JLU member (Not yet, according to Batman), Danny.
Clark watched in amusement with his x-ray vision as the Dark Knight infiltrated the building without any key card, aiming for the security room to check if any of team got caught in the surveillance. Based on Bruce's smirk, the team was all-clear.
They flew back, despite Bruce complaints. Yes, yes, Clark knows he has a plane. John should be there to meet them and they'll be teleporting back home, with the boys none the wiser.