Muddling though Grey
Chapter Seven: Rogue Rescue
Disclaimer: Characters and premise are the property of DC, I'm just borrowing them for a little non-profit fun.
"This is the scene, live from Bend, Oregon, where a battle between several well-known JLA side-kick and the villainous Females Furies spilled out into the streets. The young heroes appear badly out numbered and getting the worst of it. Let's hope their mentors are nearby."
"Evan?" Superboy asked pleadingly.
"Yeah, I'm looking," Mirror Apprentice said as he peered at the buildings behind the reporter. "The place 'll feel sort of empty come Monday if they're all laid up during study hour... There, got something."
"KF owing us a rescue?" Trickster remarked. "We can hold it over his head forever."
"Count me in," Piper agreed. "Someone better leave a note or they won't save any pizza for us."
Mirror Apprentice shrugged, "Just leave the telly on, I think they'll figure it out. Ready?"
Aqualad stumbled when the largest of their opponents stomped her foot and created on Earthquake. The skeletal, knife-wielding brunette he'd been fighting took advantage of his misstep and plunged her knife in his side. Aqualad screamed as he felt flames scorching him from the inside out.
Kid Flash faced off against a female speedster. He was faster, more experienced and just better, but every time he tried to close with her the sword-handed blond or several of their archer teammates' cyber-hounds would fall on him.
Another part of the pack harassed Robin as he tried to battle a woman wearing a costume of leather straps and wielding twin whips.
M'Gann was on her knees, hands pressed against her temples from a brief brush against a yellow-skinned, mad-woman's mind. Artemis tried to protect her from further attacks from the mad-woman while trading shots with the other team's archer. Artemis misjudged Mad Harriot's intent, or possibly the Fury simply changed her mind mid-attack. Her claws slashed through Artemis' bow, reducing it to splinters.
With Aqualad down hard, Stompa turned her attention on Robin while Bernadeth paused to finish the Atlantean boy off. Superboy leapt out of the town square's reflecting pool and tackled Bernadeth, knocking her away from Aqualad.
Piper withdrew to a sheltered corner and began playing his recorder. Before long the Cyber-hounds were being pulled down by a horde of rats.
Trickster launched himself into the air. He tossed a small ball at Mad Harriet and it exploded into an ensnaring mass or silly sting.
As soon as he'd dropped the others off, Mirror Apprentice stepped back into the reflecting pool, then he appeared in a department store window behind the Fury's archer and cracked her over the head with the butt of his weapon.
In the reprieve caused by the Rogues' arrival, Young Justice rallied. Robin caught one of Lashina's whips and tossed her into Stompa. Artemis grabbed Aqualad and dragged him over to M'Gann so she could guard both of them.
"I call the speedster!" Trickster shouted.
"Her or me?" Kid Flash asked.
Trickster grinned. "Today we're saving your ass, KF." He beckoned to Speed Queen, "Come on chava, let's see if you're half as good as he is."
"Be a joy, tearing you limb from limb blondie," Speed Queen replied with a nasty smile.
"Nice of him to leave me with the looker," KF said to Gilotina.
"Let me take you into my arms, handsome." Gilotina smiled enticingly as she sliced through a concrete block with her bare hands.
KF gulped. "I'm voting for a long distance relationship."
Mad Harriet clawed her way free of Trickster's silly string. "You can't be any crazier than Joker," Robin said as he squared off against her.
Stompa and Lashina disentangled themselves and started looking for a fight. Mirror Apprentice sent a bevy of hard-light holograms at them. Stompa sneered. She grabbed the nearest and used it to bludgeon the others into non-existence. Then she paused, she looked around herself as if confused. She struck out at Lashina. Mirror Aprentice stepped back with a nod to Piper, who simply kept playing, his eyes never leaving Stompa.
Superboy and Bernadeth circled each other warily. "You hurt my friend," Conner snarled.
"If you'd given me another minute or two and I would have fileted and grilled the fish-boy," Bernadeth gloated.
Conner lunged at her, teeth bared in a snarl, then drew back in surprise as her knife cut nicked his arm. Smoke rose from the cut.
Lashina, upon escaping her hypnotized teammate, had gone for the wounded. Artemis fended off the Fury's whips with the broken pieces of her bow.
M'Gann put her hand on Artemis' back. "Thank you, I'm feeling better now." She gestured and bits of broken masonry rose up and pelted Lashina. The Fury shielded herself with her whips, but M'Gann had no shortage of ammo lying around given the extended battle that had already been fought. She increased the speed and density of her attack with a thought.
Robin tumbled and dodged around Mad Harriot's attacks. Batrang in hand he looked for an opening to throw it.
Trickster shook his head as Speed Queen tugged futilely at her gummed up feet. "You'd never make it in Central," he declared. He used another silly string bomb to make sure she stayed put.
"Piper! Heads up!" Kid Flash shouted as he lured Gilotina near Stompa. Still under Piper's spell the larger woman clothes-lined her teammate.
Kid Flash noticed that Piper was looking a little winded. "Got a tiger by the tail?" he asked once Gilotina had been firmly restrained. Piper, unable to stop playing without losing control over the Fury's power-house, only rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Twenty seconds," Kid Flash said and took off running. At nine seconds he made a U-Turn in southern Nevada, at twelve seconds a sonic boom marked his passage and he kept accelerating. At nineteen and three quarters of a second he jumped in the air. At twenty seconds he plowed, feet-first, into Stompa with a boat load of momentum behind him. She went down like a pole-axed steer.
Robin flipped backward to evade Mad Harriot's talons. She was as agile as Catwoman and as unpredictable as Joker. He was feeling good about how long he'd held his own, but he wasn't seeing a way to end the fight. Then Artemis dropped out of a tree with an arrow in her hand. An electrical discharge surrounded Mad Harriot. After she went down. Artemis kicked her a few times for good measure. When Robin gave her a look she scowled. "She broke my bow," Artemis explained with a final kick. "I really liked that bow." Warily Robin tied up the unconscious Fury and led Artemis away.
Bernadeth fainted at Conner. He twisted away, letting her knife slide past him then blew a stream of super-cooled air on her extended arm, encasing both knife and hand in ice.
"You weren't supposed to be able to do that!" the Fury screeched angrily.
Conner grinned unpleasantly. "Learning new tricks everyday," he growled then punched her. When she didn't go down like a human would have he shrugged and hit her again harder.
He glanced around the battle field and saw his friends securing the other Furies for the police. The battle was over, they'd won.
One of the JLA's javelins landed in a nearby parking lot while the teens were clustered around Kaldur, trying to determine how badly he'd been injured. "It's not too serious," Kaldur was insisting shakily. "Knife cauterized it." The rest of them looked dubious and Conner didn't take Kaldur's protest to mean he should be allowed to sit on his own without support.
Batman, Black Canary and Red Tornado exited the Javelin. Robin ran over to update his mentor on the situation.
"Conner! No, do not carry me!" Kaldur protested as the other boy picked him up bridal-style.
"He's hurt," Conner said handing the still protesting Kaldur over to Red Tornado. Then Conner backed off, quickly retreating toward his new friends.
While Red Tornado took Kaldur back to the javelin, Batman traded a glance with Robin. The boy wonder fell in, waiting for Batman's after-action review. The rest of Young Justice, including Conner followed suit. The three Rogues clumped together uncertainly off to one side.
With Kaldur down, Robin quickly and professionally summarized the mission. When he reached the point where the battle had erupted into the city, Batman halted him. "You failed to recognize a trap before springing it," Batman began. "But then I did the same. The entire operation here was a facade designed to lure you in. You did well, holding out against a superior and prepared force until help could arrive."
Batman turned to Conner and the three Rogue. "Your assistance was timely. Tornado, Canary and I would not have arrived soon enough to prevent casualties. You have an aptitude for teamwork that is impressive and, frankly, unexpected."
Piper and Trickster flushed at the thoroughly unanticipated praise. Older and more jaded, Mirror Apprentice didn't visibly react. Behind Batman Wally gave his Rogues a huge smile and a thumbs-up.
Batman tossed something toward Conner, who caught it automatically. He opened his hand and saw a new comm-link. "Try not to break or lose it for at least a month," Batman said. "You will be contacted when the team has a mission or group training. You can bring your new friends if they're interested."
"Does it pay?" Mirror Apprentice asked.
Black Canary looked outraged, but Batman held up a hand before she could say anything. "Not for training. I'll consider it missions with the rate dependent on the nature of the mission and your ability to contribute to the team."
Conner glanced worriedly in the direction where Red Tornado had taken Kaldur. "You could come back to base with us," Robin offered. "See how he's doing.
When that only increased Conner's nervous wariness toward them Batman tried a different tactic. "Aqualad won't be well enough to travel Monday. You could hold your study hall at Mount Justice instead of the Rogue's hide-out to avoid aggravating his injuries," He suggested. "Robin will alter the security protocols to all limited access for these three specifically."
"I don't have to stay?" Conner verified.
"You were always free to come and go," Batman said.
"I didn't feel like it," Conner said.
"You were. The JLA's monitoring notwithstanding, no one had the right to restrict your freedom of movement," Batman said. "You were never meant to feel like our prisoner."
Conner glanced toward the Rogues. Trickster shrugged and Piper nodded. "We'll come," he said. "Monday, after school, for an hour."
