Bludhaven
December 4th, 2016
23:15 EDT
Howling winter winds pounded against the wall of the warehouse. Their cries went unheard as Garfield, disgruntled, turned the television up higher. It's speakers we no match for a distressed Bart.
"Whyyyyyyyy?" Bart wailed, letting his head and hands fall on his heap of homework spread out on the kitchen island. "I haaaate thiiiiiiiis." He bunched his face into a pout. "I almost miss The Apocolypse where I didn't have to do this junk."
Tim sat beside him. He chuckled in amusement, gathering a few of Bart's papers. Being Bart's tutor proved to be both tiresome and amusing. "Sorry dude, but in this time, freshman have to take biology."
Bart let out a dramatic groan, "But whyyyyyyyy. Who the hell cares how plants photosynthesize, or whatever. Whyyyyy do I have to memorize every part of a celllllllll?"
Tim shook his head, "Come on Bart just one more round of flashcards and then we're done. Besides don't you memorize things at superspeed anyways?"
"Well yeah," Bart rolled his eyes. "But just because I can memorize something and-and spit it out onto a test doesn't mean I actually understood it."
The corner of Tim's mouth rose into a half smile, "That's funny. That's what all the older guys say about college too."
Bart's papers were blown all over the floor as a sudden, chilling wind swept across the room. Jaime trudged as fast as he could through the front door. His fur-lined parka curled around his wind burnt face.
"Merida!" He slammed the door and tore off his gloves. He shivered, "Esta f-f-frio af-f-fuera." From down the hall, Sphere rolled up to greet him with her mechanical chirps. Jaime gave her a few quick pats.
"Heyyyy Her-man-o!" Bart greeted.
"What are you doing here?" Tim asked. "It's Friday night." He raised an eyebrow and smiled. "No hot date?"
"Cheyeah." Jaime scoffed, taking off his coat. "For people like us? No way." He immediately headed for the refrigerator. "Just bored. Thought I'd stop by."
That was a lie. Jaime had been on patrol in El Paso. Despite being Tye's long time friend he knew that he had to stop him. He thought maybe it he caught Tye in the act he could somehow scare him straight. He didn't want to tell anyone on The Team about it, even though he knew he could use their guidance. But Tye would certainly go to jail if he involved someone else. Though, with a sigh of relief, he found that since he visited the reservation, all was quiet in El Paso. Maybe he had gotten through to him, for now.
"What about you?" Jaime grabbed the chocolate milk from the fridge and closed it. "You're the one with a girlfriend. You make Cassie mad?" He teased as he poured himself a glass.
Tim's eyebrows rose as high as they could. "Trust me, a girl with the strength of an Amazon is the last person I'd want to upset." Jaime laughed. Tim continued. "Naw she's out gift shopping with the girls tonight for Raquel's wedding."
Jaime's eyes went wide at the thought of having to go shopping with girls, "Woof. Dodged a bullet with that one."
"Tell me about it," Tim agreed.
"Guys!" Garfield scorned as he looked over the back of the couch and glared at them. "Shut up. He's talking about us." He turned his attention back to the TV. The other boys filled in around him in the living room. The boisterous voice of G. Gordon Godfrey grated their eardrums.
"Folks if I've asked you once, I've asked you a thousand times: Should we trust these so-called 'Leaguers" these 'Superpowered Saviors'?" A collective groan filled the living room. "And most important of all (and the main topic of today's show) when will the government force them to take responsibility for their actions? The collateral damage they cause?" Godfrey crossed his legs in his chair. His eyes narrowed and he peered into the camera. "The civilian lives that get caught in the crossfire?"
The boys found their full attention given to the television screen. Mouth agape, Garfield turned the volume up louder with haste. He was sure that he was not going to like what Godfrey had next to say.
"I am sure we all remember the tragedy of Bludhaven not three months ago." Gordon continued. "All of the children who lost their lives in that alien terrorist bombing. The papers, ahh yes, the papers," He waived his pointer finger at the camera. "The papers will tell you how braaave and valiant your Justice Leaguers were but," He raised an eyebrow. "Where were they? Hum? As far as I could tell, the only 'Leaguer' doing anything was Superman and, well, we all know how well he helped." Beast Boy felt a growl emerge from his throat.
The boys flinched as Godfrey jumped from his seat, his face furrowed in rage as he came closer to the camera. His hands curled into fists. "THIRTY-TWO! THIRTY-TWO children lost their lives that day, and EIGHTY-THREE adults were incinerated in the skycrapers just five miles away. I say again, where were the other Leaguers? They have how many on their team?" His voice calmed. "Not to mention their protoges." Harsh scowls emerged on all their faces as Godfrey continued. "Where was Batman during this? Or Robin or Batgirl or anyone? Did they suddenly not care? Were we 'regular folks' just not a priority for them? And not just that, but look at the damage they leave behind." Images of the destruction after the attacks played on the large screen behind his chair as Godfrey continued. "Who pays for that damage? Huh? WE do. We the American people pay for the Justice League's sloppiness with our hard earned tax dollars. I, for one Ladies and gentlemen, have had it. And I am not the only one." The camera lens widened to show a middle aged woman with red curly hair and cat-eye glasses in the guest chair across from him. "Today on my show I have a special guest. My ever beautiful and sharp as a whip sister, Grace Godfrey."
A smile spread across her red lips, "Thanks for having me Gordon."
"Now Grace," Gordon gestured towards the audience. "Tell our kind viewers why you are here today."
"The same reason that you are Gordon." Her velvet voice spilled from her mouth. "Because I am worried. Worried and angry. I love this country, I love it's people, and most importantly, I love it's children. I'm sure you've heard of new superpowered teenagers sprouting up? Gordon, you cannot imagine what they are going through. One day you're normal and then the next you wake up and you're shooting fire from your hands!"
"I'd imagine it would be terrifying." G. Gordon added.
"It is G. And the Justice League has proven that they do not care about these children." The boys' looked around at one another, their faces bunching in confusion. "Children that only need support and guidance they treat with the same violence they'd show a homicidal maniac!" Her voice was almost panicked.
Gordon feigned astonishment. As if his show wasn't scripted. "Whatever do you mean Grace?"
"Well, I'll tell you." Grace turned her full attention towards the camera. Stern, overplucked eyebrows furrowed over her green eyes. "On October 27th a young girl's life was changed forever. "Deborah Morgna," Photographs of a teenage girl montaged on the screen behind her. Long red hair framed her heart shaped face. White teeth complimented her emerald green eyes. The photos showed her smiling and laughing with friends during school and casual activities. Grace continued, "A student at Gotham North High School faced a new nightmare plaguing our young adults. After coming home from a night out with friends, Deborah quickly found out that she was, what scientists are calling, a 'metahuman'. Humans who have the genetic makeup for so-called 'superpowers'.
"Wait, we fought that girl." Tim explained as he studied the screen, remembering the fight with Batman, Nightwing, and the others.
Grace continued, pity plagued her expression, "As her powers unlocked, Deborah found herself unable to control her powers, creating a few small fires on her city block."
"Small?" Tim sneered.
"Scared, terrified, alone, Deborah ran into the street, crying for help!" Grace chimed at the camera. Her eyes narrowed. "When Batman and his crew arrived, instead of trying to help her, Deborah found herself the victim of a brutal assault. Savagely beaten even after she was tazed."
"What?" Tim snapped. His eyes narrowed and nose crinkled in confusion.
Grace placed her hands in her lap. She straighten out her posture as she glared at the camera with tension. "We had acquired video footage of the assault. Please be advised that this video contains graphic violence. Children and people with weak constitutions should look away now."
A cameraphone video appeared on the television. It was shaky with screams of pedestrians in the background, but the action it captured was still all too clear. It was a recording of that night. Tim watched as the video played Batgirl and Red Arrow firing their projectiles. Red Arrow fired his taser arrow and Deborah fell to the ground. A chilling roar scraped across the fuzzy audio as Arsenal pounced on on her. His fists slamming onto her face as she was helpless to protect herself. A string of blood rose off his fingers each time he brought his fist back to strike again. The boys' eyes went wide. And, with convenience, the video stopped playing just before Red Arrow tackled Arsenal off of her.
"Jesus," Bart cringed as he covered his mouth.
"No way..its that-is that Arsenal?" Garfield gasped.
Tim clenched his teeth. His fist curled into a tight ball, "Yeah. And someone took a video of it."
This was not good.
Grace appeared again on the screen. She paused for a moment as she took a deep breath, "After her attack, Miss Morgna was admitted into the ICU at Gotham Municipal Hospital where she was then stabilized but required facial reconstructive surgery." She grabbed the side of her glasses with diligence, pulling them up the bridge of her nose. "Deborah is currently in lockup awaiting her trial. I was able to get an exclusive interview with her.
A new video showed on the screen. Deborah sat in a steel chair. Her wrists were handcuffed and she sported an orange prison jumpsuit. Tears streamed down her bruised face and a nose brace covered her newly reconstructed nose.
Her voice stammered with sharp breaths, "I couldn't-I couldn't control myself." Her cries were overdone and almost too pathetic. Tim could tell how forced they were. "I tried to stop but-but the fire..it just wouldn't. It wouldn't stop. I tried to get them to help me. I was so scared. I just wanted help, but they," She sobbed once more. "They wouldn't, they just kept attacking me. Why would they do that? Why?"
"Are you sure you weren't under the influence of something?" Grace's voice could be heard in the background. "Something that could have impaired your judgement or memory?"
Deborah shook her head vehemently, "No no of course not! I would never."
"That's bullshit!" Tim shouted as he jerked to the edge of his seat. The other boys jumped. His finger pointed at the TV as he addressed them. "I was there, that girl was high off her ass! She wasn't scared. She was trying to hurt people."
The video stopped and the feed of Grace and Gordon appeared once more. Grace addressed the camera, "And for those of you who are wondering, Deborah's tox screen from that night came back negative for any drugs or alcohol. And the Justice League has yet to be made accountable for their brutal assault of a young girl."
Stricken with rage, Tim jumped from his seat, kicking the coffee table out of his way as he stormed out of the living room. All they did that night was try to save innocent people's lives. And now they were facing backlash from the public because Arsenal couldn't keep it together.
"Turn that shit off dude," Jaime ordered Garfield, seeing how upset the segment was making Tim upset. Garfield changed the channel.
Cat Grant appeared on the screen as a rerun from her segment played, "El Paso mayor, Wesley Fermin has been cleared of all charges today as accusations of money laundering and sexual assault have been dismissed."
Garfield went to change the channel but Jaime intervened, "Wait, wait hold on a sec."
Cat Grant continued, "Early last week, charges were filed against Mr. Fermin by several women on the Tiguan Indian Reservation in El Paso along with money laundering charges, accusing Mr. Fermin of siphoning money from government aid programs and collecting illegal taxes from the residents there. All charges were unanimously dropped this morning however, as the citizens filing the reports, confessed at is was their attempt at creating a smear campaign for Mr. Fermin as he begins to run for Texas governor."
"Greaaaaat," Jaime complained as he closed his eyes with a sigh. He prayed that Tye didn't have anything to do with that. He wasn't sure how much more trouble he could let him get away with.
Jaime, Garfield, and Bart turned their heads towards the kitchen as the heard the sound of Tim's wrist communicator go off. Tim answered it. Batman's face appeared on the floating screen.
"Robin, what is your current location?" His voice was urgent and hurried.
"I'm at the warehouse in Bludhaven," he answered.
"Who is there with you?" He asked.
"Uhh Beast Boy, Kid Flash, and Blue Beetle. Oh and Sphere. Why?"
"I need you to all suit up for a mission right away. Zeta to the Zeta Platform in Minneapolis. From there I need you to head to De Moines, Iowa in the Super Cycle. Do it now, there's no time to waste. I'll contact you with more details soon."
"Uh. Wait but-"
"I'll explain soon. Suit up and head out now."
And as fast as he appeared on screen, Batman disappeared. Tim turned to the other boys. "You heard him guys move out!" He boomed.
The four of them did as they were told. They Zetaed to Minneapolis and climbed into the Super Cycle. Its engines purred in the sky as Blue Beetle, Kid Flash, Robin, and Beast Boy rode in it through the crisp night air. They shared a common feeling of disorientation as Batman had yet to contact them with more information. Just as the boys' whining was about to come to it's peak, the communicator on Robin's wrist cuff began to chime again. He answered the call and a video projection of Batman's face played in front of them.
"I'm sorry for rushing you all out in such a hurry. I couldn't waste time having you sit around while I retrieved details," Batman apologized.
"Hey it's cool Bats. We'll forgive you this one time," Kid Flash teased.
Blue Beetle gave him a quick jab in the ribs with his elbow. He drew his attention back to Batman.
"What do you have for us?" Blue Beetle asked.
"As you know, three months ago several members of The Light, one of which being Deathstroke, a.k.a. Slade Wilson, were apprehended at the end of Artemis's deep cover mission. Three weeks ago two of The Light's former scientists, supposedly named Emily and John Madison, came to the authorities with additional incriminating evidence against The Light. They agreed to appear in court at Deathstroke's trial next week if given federal witness protection and immunity. Apparently, they had left The Light of their own accord about a year ago and had been in hiding from them ever since. And they were tired of running."
"So I take it we're supposed to play bodyguard for them then?" Robin questioned.
The muscles on Batman's face tensed, "I wish that were the case Robin. Emily and John were found brutally murdered in an apartment in Des Moines an hour ago. According to my sources, someone from The Light initiated a $120,000 bounty on their heads today."
"Dios Mio...Merida," Blue Beetle swore.
"Sooo what are we supposed to do then?" Beast Boy asked.
"The Madison's had a child, a 16-year-old girl who goes by Lily." Batman stated. Next to his face on the screen appeared a picture of a young photo was slightly out of focus and appeared to be taken in passing. Her long, incredibly light hair appeared almost white, and covered most of her oval face. Her intense gaze peer over her shoulder
"Heyyy, she's pretty cute," Kid Flash chimed.
Batman sneered at his interruption. He continued, "Well, it appears that Lily escaped from the attackers. There is signs of heavy struggle at the crime scene and a trail of blood leading out of the apartment complex."
Robin seemed skeptical, "Batman what makes you think she escaped? Couldn't they have just kidnapped her?"
"No," Batman stated firmly. "She was included in the bounty, and it was stated very clearly that in order to receive it the Madisons were to be killed, and nothing less."
"So I take it you want us to find her?" Beast Boy asked.
"That's precisely why I included you on this mission Beast Boy," Batman said, "There will most likely still be law enforcement still at the scene, I need you to discretely infiltrate it and catch Lily's scent, we need to track her down as soon as possible. According to my sources, some of the Mid West's most deadliest of the criminal underworld are currently after her as we speak. Your mission is to find her before they do. I've gotten special permission from The League for you to bring her to The Watch Tower for now. Use the authorization code A14. With The Light's connections, there is no certainty where on Earth she would be safe. You'll bring her to The Tower so we can keep her safe and interview her. She might have important information on The Light as well. Martian Manhunter can wipe her memory of where the Zeta Tube is once everything is settled down."
"Waaaait," Kid Flash smirked. "So basically our mission is to rescue a damsel in distress?"
Batman sighed, "I suppose you could look at it that way."
"So crash!" Kid Flash exclaimed.
"Anyways," Robin brought the focus back. "Do you have an address for us?"
"I'm sending it to you now," Batman continued, "I wanted to send a female on this mission with you but everyone else is currently tied up. So remember to maintain a certain..sensitivity. Try not to come on too strong. Be prepared for her not to respond positively at first, after all men in masks are most likely who are trying to murder her."
"Got it Batman," Blue Beetle smiled. "Be sensitive and sweep her off her feet to safety."
Batman grunted, "Just get there and get her out, fast. Over and out." The transmission from Robin's communicator ceased as the screen disappeared.
"Dudes. Our mission is to save a cute girl," Kid Flash stated with glee. "That is so crash! How often does that happen?"
"For real. It's going to be even more awesome when I impress her with my super Scarab strength." Blue Beetle bragged, flexing his arm.
"Ttst. In your dreams dude," Kid Flash snickered.
Beast Boy rolled his eyes and groaned. He never understood what it was about girls that made the other guys act...well, crazy. "Yeahh, well she's currently being hunted, so worry about getting her to safety first."
"Guys, focus. We're here," Robin stated as he stopped the Super Cycle. He lowered it down into a cluster of trees just behind the apartment complex. He pulled up a blueprint on his communicator screen. "Alright, according to the schematics Batman just sent me, it's the second floor window all the way to the left, it should lead right into one of their bedrooms. Beast Boy, can you climb up there and get in through the window?"
"Psh. Can I climb up there?" Beast Boy scoffed. He hopped up the brick wall with ease. He peered into the window, making sure no one was around, and slid his fingers under the crack in the window. There was an eerie stillness to the room. The scent within it was musky and floral, a confusing mixture of two bodies. This had to have been the parent's room. From the other side of the closed door he heard stern voices, heavy footsteps, and the clicks of cameras. Batman had been right, CSI was still on scene. He morphed into a mouse and slide out beneath the crack of the door. He squeaked at the sight in front of him.
The unmoving, frigid bodies of the Madison's rested in the kitchen. Their blood painted a crimson story of violence upon a canvas of floor tile and soaked wallpaper. Their wrenched figures were splayed about the floor with fatal gunshot and stab wounds upon their chests and torsos. The table and chairs in the conjoined living room and kitchen were either overturned or destroyed. Whoever these people were, they had put up one hell of a fight.
Beast Boy scurried his tiny mouse legs over to the ajar door next to the parents' room. It was the only other bedroom in the apartment. The female pheromones in it were overpowering, Beast Boy was sure this was Lily's room. He morphed to his regular form, opened the window, transformed into a bloodhound, locked onto her scent, and hopped out her bedroom window. He barked at his teammates to follow him, they did so from the air with the Super Cycle.
Beast Boy found spots of her blood along the trail, reinforcing the scent. He followed it all the way to a large abandoned warehouse, her smell was overpowering; she had to be in there. He barked rapidly, signaling that they had reached their destination.
"Alright team," Robin started. "We might not be the only ones here so proceed with caut-"
The sound of rapid gunfire pierced the air. A sense of urgency rushed over them as they realized that they were out of time.
"We have to go now!" Blue Beetle shouted as he jumped from the Super Cycle. He jetted forward and crashed through a glass window in the ceiling of the warehouse. Beast Boy let out a loud roar and he morphed into a gorilla, tearing one of the doors off of its hinges. Robin quickly landed on the ceiling as he and Kid Flash jumped into the building through the hole that Blue Beetle had created.
Only slight streams of moonlight lit the the room as they were overcome by it's vast darkness. The gunfire had ceased but their ears were filled with the sounds of painful grunts, cries, and the shrill clank of metal.
"Where are they? I can't see anything!" Kid Flash exclaimed.
Jaime Reyes, I am activating our Infrared Vision, The Scarab stated.
Blue Beetle's vision became blurred outlines of blues and greens. He looked around him until he landed upon multiple figures of reds and yellows. It was very apparent that they were in engaged combat. The boys were shaken by another shot of gunfire. Blue Beetle began charging the cannon on his arm, adding more light to the room.
"There! Two o'clock! There's a door in 300 feet!" Blue Beetle shouted. They charged towards it in desperation, fearing that they may have been too late.
"Be ready for what's on the other side. Stay on guard!" Robin commanded.
Blue Beetle blasted through the doors with his sonic cannons. The four boys charged through the smoke, taking down the first armed assassin they laid eyes on. There were dozens of them scattered about. Each of them did their best to screen for the girl through the smoke and movement of attackers but found themselves unsuccessful. As the smoke and dust began to clear, they found themselves engaged in less and less combat until eventually they found no combat at all. However, the sound of fighting still rang in their ears.
When the dust finally cleared, they found not only the assassins that they knocked out, but strewn out along the ground were several bodies that they had not fought, severely beaten and bloody bodies; bodies that were no longer breathing. They brought their gazes to the center of the room, the girl that they were looking for stood hunched over a lying body of one of her assailants. She breathed heavily, clasping a metal rod between her hands. The other end of the rod rested upon the bleeding pulp of a head of the body she stood over. Four more assassins stood in a semicircle in front of her, all tense in attack stances.
The girl looked up at them, the shadows casted upon her face only intensified her deadly expression of rage. Blood-specked hair fell out of the upright hood of her jacket. Through her raspy breaths, she contorted her lips into a snarl. The four other assassins still did not move. She raised the rod and managed to take a large breath before bellowing, "Come on! WHO ELSE WANTS IT?!"
The assassin directly in front of her reached to pull a pistol from his waistband. Lily responded quickly, tossing the metal rod at him. It clashed against his forehead, emitting a spurt of blood. Before his body even had a chance to hit the ground, she ran towards the female assassin on his left, hitting her in the jaw with a powerful uppercut. Lily then grabbed the two metal sais from the female assassin's hands and kicked her square in the chest, sending her flying backwards.
Lily quickly spun around, she took her newly claimed sais and thrust them into both sides of the third assassin's torso. A few meters behind her, the final assassin drew his gun, and as if she saw it coming, Lily used the sais to spin around of the body of the attacker she had just stabbed. He let out his final cries as she used him as a human shield to protected her from the bullet's of the final assassin gunfire. As soon as the gun clicked, signaling that the magazine was empty, she snatched the gun from her human shield's waist and fired it at her attacker. The bullet found itself in the middle of his chest, he fell to the ground. Lily pulled out one of the bloody sais and ran towards the final assassin, he was still alive, his breathing bubbled, Lily straddled his chest. She held the sai to his neck.
Frantic she shrieked, "Who sent you!? WHO SENT YOU!?"
The attacker made a tiny, whispered noise before completely losing the fight for his life to his wounds. Knowing that her battle was over, Lily collapsed, placing her hands on the ground beside her attacker's head. She dropped her head, trying her best to catch her breath.
The boys watched in silence as her chest heaved. Even though they couldn't clearly see one another in the poor lighting, they were all very aware of the astonished looks on each of their faces. Wide eyes a dropped jaws were shared between them.
Jaime Reyes….it would appear that The Kid Flash's 'damsel' did not require your rescuing after all, The Scarab stated.
"You're telling me," Jaime whispered.
Lily heard him. Thinking he was another attacker, she quickly threw her sai towards his direction in the darkness. Jaime barely dodged the weapon as it flew past his head. She charged at him. As he backed away, she caught a glimpse of him in the moonlight. She threw a punch at his face, he dodged just in time.
"Wait! Stop-" Jaime attempted to plead. But Lily quickly dropped down to the ground and swung her right leg at his ankles, knocking him on to the ground.
"Blue!" Kid Flash called out to him. Lily jumped at Kid Flash. She attacked him with a barrage of punches and kicks. Using his enhanced reflexes, Kid Flash dodged them, but if only slightly. She was much faster than a normal teenaged girl. He attempted to plead with her as well, "Listen we're just trying to-" he was sharply cut off as one of her fists landed upon his mouth.
"Hey knock it off!" Beast Boy snarled at her as he grabbed her arm. She quickly grabbed his wrist and twisted his arm with great force. Beast Boy heard a sickening 'pop' emit from his elbow. As he cried out in pain, the girl landed a powerful punch on his diaphragm. Winded, he toppled over.
"LILY, stop!" Robin demanded. "We're here to help you!" She charged and engaged him. He blocked her attacks. Lily noticed how much more advanced he was at combat than the other boys. She took her opportunity once Robin raised both of his arms up in front of him to block. She grabbed his wrists and moved his arms out to his sides, leaving his face and neck vulnerable. Lily took the opening as a chance to headbutt him. She savagely brought her forehead down onto the bridge of his nose. He stumbled backwards, clutching his face. She went to charge him a second time, but Robin quickly grabbed a stun grenade from his utility belt.
"ENOUGH," he yelled as he threw the device on ground. It flashed a bright blinding light, causing Lily to stumble back a couple of yards. The boys gradually made it to their feet. The light fizzled until it settled on a level just bright enough to lightly illuminate the room. Lily was taken aback by the sight of the people in front of her. She had heard about them, saw them a few times on the news, but never had she imagined that they would be here.
A confused look came across her face, "Robin? Blue Beetle? Kid Flash?" She saw that Garfield was the last to stand up. He however, she had never seen before. "Umm..Green Brat?"
Gar tossed her a disgusted look as he grasped his injured arm, "The name's Beast Boy."
Even though her hair and hood engulfed most of her face. The boys could still see the tension in her face. And even though her posture was more relaxed, she still took a defensive stance. Lacerations and bruises were scattered about her legs. Robin noticed a large trail of blood streaming from the right side of her torso all the way down her leg.
Lily's voice was stern, "The Light must have gotten more powerful than I thought if they can send Capes to take me out."
Blue Beetle softened his voice. Trying his best to ease her, "Hey, hey we're the good guys here. We work with the Justice League, we work to take down The Light. And we're not here to take you out."
Her fists were still raised, but she relaxed her shoulders a little more, "Well if you're not here to kill me then why are you here?"
"Ummmm," Kid Flash rubbed the back of his neck, "We're here to...rescue you?"
She raised an eyebrow, then looked all around her at the multiple attackers that she had taken herself. "Oh. My heroes," she snickered sarcastically.
She suddenly felt an unbearable pain from the wound on her side. She let out a loud cry as she clutched it and collapsed to her knees.
Kid Flash sprinted over and knelt next to her. He lightly placed a hand on her arm, "Hey are you alright?" he asked her.
She grit her teeth as she flinched, "I'm fine. It's nothing."
"Not with that much blood," Robin knelt in front of her, blood still seeped slightly from his nostrils. "Let me see it."
The girl reluctantly lifted up the side of her shirt, revealing a large gash. "One of those bastards nicked me at the apartment," she told them.
"We have something that can patch you up for now in my utility belt," Robin continued. "But you have to come with us. We have orders from Batman to take you to our base ASAP to protect you from those bounty hunters."
"Yeah," Kid Flash added. "We should skedaddle you outta here Lily before any more of those crazies show up."
She chuckled, "Lily...I guess it's time to let my cover identity die with my parents right?"
She pulled the hood off of her head, revealing long waves of snow white hair. As she brushed her hair back out of her face, her chilling, almost seductive gaze pierced right through them.
"The name's Rose."