AN: Early update. Another one will come on Sunday like usual. I just really want to get this one moving along.

PinkRedRose – Maybe the next chapter on Sunday will answer your question. Kaldur does need a little love after all.

Seychelles – No, that was Silver Banshee, always wanted to bring her in somehow. And as for the other ones you asked about, one will make an appearance later on.

Riley 000 – Interesting question. I would think if something like that happened, it might be like when Isis channeled her power through Zatanna in S2. But my guess is that someone might get hurt as all that energy would have to be routed from a magic user to someone with telepathy. It would be like channeling a watermelon through a doughnut without breaking the doughnut.

Ben A – Yeah, I saw the Scooby Doo Wrestlemania movie online before it was on TV. If you go back to a previous chapter, I made a quick reference to it. Now if only the guest appearance of the YJ gang on TTG will be good…

3.

Palo Alto Water Station Number Seven

April 28

21:09 UTC

Staring down the dozens of sharpened tipped weapons, Wally and Tigress knew they had to act fast once the whirlwind suspending them shot them forward. To normal people, like Artemis, there was no way possible for avoiding the blades. Wally was another story as everything moved slower to him due to his speed powers.

The moment the weapons shot forward, Wally was already moving. It was second nature to him as he scooped his masked wife into his arms and sped away. Tigress completed the move as she drew her crossbow and fired a five bolt volley at the white and black woman. Going off in sequence, the bolts exploded in a flash bang, smoke, bola, electrical, and in-capacitance gel to bring the woman down.

Screeching to a stop clear of the deadly weapons, Wally placed Tigress down and looked back at where the bolts went as his wife reloaded her crossbow. The pipes behind where they stood were full of the short swords sticking out of them with water spilling to the floor. As for the woman, she was nowhere to be found.

"I hate it when they do this," Wally complained as he looked the area over.

"Just stay alert, Wall-man, all we can do." Cocking back the automatic hammer to her quickfire crossbow, Tigress unsheathed her sword just incase she should have to fight hand to hand. "Can't believe I missed. Chick's faster than I thought."

"And again, I'm not fast enough. May not be as fast as I was working for the enemy, but I'm still faster than when I was Kid Flash."

Moving slowly, as slowly as the ginger speed demon could, the couple stayed back to back as they advanced back to where the woman was. Around the area, every last one of the hooded individuals lay motionless with no explanation as to why none were standing. A few of Tigress' bolts lay on the ground from where they impacted, the only sign of anything being where the whirlwind was.

"Is it just me, or is this creepy, what with the silence and sleeping bad guys?" Wally asked.

Taking them by surprise, a high pitched shriek came from above them as the black and white woman swooped in. Tigress was the first to act as she fired several shots from her crossbow. The woman dodged each one of them as she rolled and flew side to side while extending her hands to grab the masked woman below her. Diving out of the way, Tigress narrowly avoided being sliced, the same could not be said for the marks left behind in the concrete.

"Wally, watch it, she's got claws!" She barely had enough time to bring her sword up to block the banshee's next attack but soon went down as a scream was unleashed right in her face.

To Tigress, it felt as if her brains were leaking out through her ears with her muscles refusing to let her move. The room spun and all her coordination was lost, reminding her of what Wally said about Count Vertigo's powers. Wincing from the pain, she tried to look up as the banshee continued to scream at her but couldn't until she disappeared in a red blur and was tackled to the ground by the speeding redhead.

Letting out a hiss, the banshee scooted back a she and Wally got to their feet. Once standing, she whipped her head around, throwing her white hair into the young man who jumped back from being sliced across his leather jacket. She then flashed a wicked smile with her tongue hanging out as she floated into the air. As she was about to unleash another scream, her eyes went wide one moment before narrowing the next. Another evil grin spread across her face as she looked down at the two semi-retired heroes.

"Ye shant be wishin to be around a banshee for long. Consider this ye only warnin."

Letting out another scream, the banshee woman summoned a vortex of air around her. Once covering her body, she let out a malice filled laugh as the vortex turned into a devilish skull before dissipating into nothing. Silence filled the water plant with only the sounds of the two left behind individuals breathing. Both were in a crouched position with their hands over their ears to block out most of the shriek but it still took them a few moments to get back to their feet.

"Okay, I hate it even more when they do that." Popping his ears, Wally again looked around and so sign of the woman. The only things left were the swords embedded in the walls and the bodies of the hooded men. "And how come they're knocked out but we're not?"

Gently nudging one of the figures with her foot, and fighting through a throbbing headache, Tigress turned it over as she gripped the handle of her sword. With Wally keeping an eye out, she carefully lifted the hood of the person and gasped slightly. Staring up with lifeless eyes, the cloaked individual had a thick, white foam cascading from his mouth. His eyes were rolled back with his face already paling. The masked woman then got back to her feet and sheathed her sword.

"These guys aren't knocked out," Tigress said. "They're dead."

"Dead? I didn't see any wounds or blood."

"Poison. Check their mouths."

Doing what he was told, Wally crouched near another of the deceased men and checked them out. Donning his goggles, the speedster analyzed the mouth foam. In less than five seconds, a display of the toxin they ingested came on screen.

"Cyanide laced with a type of snake venom," Wally told her as he wiped his gloved fingers on the dead man's cloak. "These guys wanted to make sure they died, and quick."

"What's this?" Reaching under one of the other men's cloaks, Tigress took out a small, golden pendant around the size of her palm. It was inscribed with the same symbol as the one the group painted on the walls of the treatment plant.

"Sweet, souvenir," Wally commented.

"More than that." Holding it up, Tigress examined it in the light better. "It looks like it could fit in something, like it's part of another piece."

Searching the body he was at, Wally held up a pendant exactly like his wife had found. "Got one too. They must all shop at the same place." Looking around, he made sure they were alone but could not shake of the feeling they were being watched. "Guess it's time we leave. Don't see anything else worth investigating or taking."

Grabbing a sword from where it was imbedded in a pipe, Tigress took it and the pendant she had as she pulled out a cell phone and called for the police. Even though she and Wally were semi-retired and not affiliated with a certain team, they still kept one of the encrypted League phones just in case the need for one arises.

"Alright, ready to get out of here?" Wally asked as he zipped his shredded jacket up.

"Yeah, police are on the way and the League knows about the other treatment centers. They want to meet us at the convention center to speak with us directly."

"Well then, we shan't keep them waiting, my dear." Zipping over to the masked woman, Wally flashed a dorky grin as he picked her up in his arms.

Looking at him like he had something in his teeth, Tigress thumped him on the nose, earning a light 'ouch' from him. "Just go, freckles. The sooner we get there, the sooner we can get back home."

"As you wish." Dashing off, Wally carried his wife off to meet the League members.

"Ugh, I hate that movie," Tigress huffed as Wally laughed.

Palo Alto Convention Center

April 28

21:42 UTC

Atop the dome structure designed to house anything from graduations to monster truck events, Wally and Tigress were finishing speaking with Captain Marvel and Red Tornado about what they ran into earlier. Both pendants and sword were handed over to the League members with the wind controlling android scanning all three. As he did so, Captain Marvel went over the pictures Tigress took and compared them to what the other League members were reporting in.

"These tanks you got shots of are similar to the ones found in the other parts of the city but with one or two additional chemicals not present here," Captain Marvel said as he cycled through Tigress' digital camera.

"Great, more bad news," added Wally. "From what you said, adding those chemicals with the other six stations would not only increase the saturation of the water, but it would create a gas compound capable of toxifying the city for an untold amount of time."

"Toxifying?" Tigress asked.

"What? It's a word."

"Actually," Red Tornado spoke in his monotone voice, "an analysis of the different compounds would suggest the ground being saturated by the secreting smoke for the period of seven months. It would resemble a thick fog capable of staying in one spot due to its weight and inability of being moved by natural wind currents."

"See, toxifying," Wally commented.

"Shut up," Tigress muttered.

Looking at the two, the red and yellow costumed Captain rose an eyebrow as he palmed the two pendants and held onto the sword. "We'll, uh, we'll look into what these symbols mean and have the sword studied. Maybe we can find some clues as to what these men and woman were really up to."

"Um, hold up a sec." Hurrying to the Captain, Wally reached out for one of the pendants. "If you don't mind, I would like a chance to study one of these in my off time. Maybe see if a museum has anything similar, or something like it."

"Don't see anything wrong with that." After Captain Marvel handed off one of the pendants, he took to the air and flew off to get back to the other League members, leaving Red Tornado, Tigress, and Wally behind.

"If you do not mind me asking," Red Tornado said, "Why is it you two continue to argue as you did when you were teenagers, even though you are in a committed relationship?"

Looking at the red and gold android, Wally pocketed the pendant while Tigress answered. "It's, it's a couple thing. Helps us become stronger."

"And it's fun in the end," Wally added.

Drawing her cross bow, Tigress loaded a grappling bolt in place but was picked up by her husband. After the two disappeared in a blur, Red Tornado turned around and formed a whirlwind around his waist to fly into the air. "Human customs still elude me."

Gotham City

April 28

22:17 UTC

Entering the apartment of Artemis' mother, Paula, a maskless Tigress and Wally entered through the window of the bedroom the former occupied as a teen. Both her and her sister's beds were still there as was the 'Alice in Wonderland poster' on the wall and a few pieces of furniture. Only a small lamp on a table between the windows provided light for the two as they shut the window behind them.

"We really needed to play burglar?" Wally asked as he unzipped his jacket. "Can't we have just used the door?"

"Where's the fun in that?" Taking her belt with her weapons off, Artemis let them drop on one of the beds as she ran her fingers through her hair. "Besides, I didn't want to wake my mom or Irey up."

Being as quiet as she could, Artemis made her way down the hall to her mother's room and gently cracked the door open. Inside on the bed was Paula and Irey, sleeping peacefully with the TV muted on some show about creatures turning to stone by day and were warriors by night. A bowl of popcorn rested between them along with a few bottles of Kool-Aid.

Standing over the bed, Artemis had her arms crossed as she looked upon her daughter and mother. "I told her no sugar before bed."

"Parents have to say no," Paula said as she rubbed her eyes and took in a breath, "but grandparents get to say yes."

"Ma, how'd you-"

"Old habits, Artemis. I'm used to sleeping with one eye open."

Sitting on the side of the bed, the blonde woman moved a few of the empty bottles to the bedside table. "How'd she do?"

"Just fine. She's got Wally's appetite. I'll have to go to the store again tomorrow."

"Mmm, hey puawa." Coming in the room, Wally had a hastily made sandwich with loose pieces of meat dangling out the back. "Sorry we're so late."

"Make that a big box store," the older Vietnamese woman said. "It's no bother, Wally. But since it's late, why not stay the night? No need in waking Irey up."

"We don't want to be a bother mom, plus, we have something to look into tomorrow," Artemis told her.

"Yeah, Zeta Tubes only take a sec to-" Before Wally could finish, his mother-in-law interrupted him.

"I'll make waffles in the morning."

"W...waffles?"

"With strawberries."

"St...strawberry waffles?"

"And bacon."

"Ba...con?" Looking from his mother-in-law to his wife, Wally stuffed the remainder of his sandwich in his mouth and quickly ate it. "Well, I suppose we shouldn't wake Irey up with how late it is and you do have an extra room."

"Way to cover yourself, road rash." Bending down, Artemis kissed her daughter on the forehead then hugged her mother. "We'll let you get back to sleep, mom. Love you."

"Love you too, Artemis, Wally."

As the two semi-retired heroes left the room, Paula moved the empty popcorn bowl to the closest table to her and grabbed the remote to switch off the TV when Wally poked his head back in. "Uh, you were serious about those waffles, right?"

"'ll be sure to make you your regular twenty."

"Sweet." Dashing over to her, Wally wrapped his arms around Paula's shoulders in a hug. "Best Mother-in-law ever." He then quickly made his way out of the room.

"Speedsters," Paula said before making herself comfortable and falling back to sleep.

Bludhaven

April 28

23:24 UTC

Kneeling atop one of two identical office buildings, the former black ops member Nightwing monitored a police bandwidth while also going through various stories of the Metropolis airfield crash some days ago. It was just too strange for a craft to have crashed in the center of a freshly repaired airport. What made it even more so was the fact it was not documented and no bodies were found.

It had took some time but eventually the masked man was able to find a clue in the wreckage after it was moved to the Metropolis police impound lot. If it had not have been for Clark Kent's help, Nightwing would have to have gone in instead of Dick Grayson. When asked about why he wanted to know about it personally, the former team member said he just had a hunch something else was going on and he was never one to ignore them.

Since the near fall of Earth about a year ago, he had decided to retake his leave of absence and try the solo game for a bit. He still had contact with the three teams, but mostly wanted to prove to himself he could indeed work alone. With crime low for the time being, the former boy wonder put nearly all of his concentration into his search for answers to the plane. Again, his work could have been considered obsessive, but he always got results from it.

"Oracle, you still there?" he asked as he continued bringing up data he had collected on his wrist computer.

"Negative," came Martian Manhunter's voice. "She has gone home for the day to get ready for work. I will be on watch duty for the time being."

"Did she leave the list I asked for?"

"Yes she did. According to the video feeds, photographs, shadows, and other information you have supplied her, she has come up with two airports in brazil the plane could have been from as well as an old private airfield."

"A plane that small would not be able to make it this far north without refueling. What was the northern most terminal?"

"That would be the private airfield. And before you ask another question, yes, Oracle did obtain photographs of the plane at a small airstrip outside Mexico City."

Instantly, three images appeared on Nightwing's wrist computer. All were shots of the plane with two in the air and one on the ground.

"Oracle cleaned them up and has determined only three passengers were in the plane. None got off and no more got on. Once it landed, satellite footage showed two hooded individuals refueling it before takeoff. She was able to track it to Metropolis from there," Martian Manhunter told him.

"Any idea who it belongs to? Did she match the numbers I gave her?"

"She did. They came back as belonging to a plane owned by an African government official who was found murdered some five years ago."

"Stolen then." Rubbing his chin, Nightwing cracked his neck when an idea hit him. J'onn, what part of Brazil was that strip located at?"

"Central, just shy of the Amazon."

"Alright, get Kori and Kara to Watchtower first thing in the morning. They were around the area when they went exploring the world months ago and, as much as I don't want to say this, tell Kori to bring the pictures she took while there. The plane being from Brazil is just too much of a coincidence to ignore with what happened to Red Devil and the cult Blue told us about."

"Understood. I will also contact batman about this and see what he has found on the matter."

"Oh, well, if uh...if he was looking into it, then uh...yeah, I'll just meet you all tomorrow."

Cutting the link to the orbiting space station, Nightwing closed out his wrist computer and sighed. "If Bats was working on this, then he's already five steps ahead of me. Wish I could beat him to the punch just one time."

He then fired a grapple line and swung off into the night.