Geuuuuuuuuss who's back!
That's right, folks, after a long hiatus of getting settled in in a new place, I'm back on half of the board. It took me awhile to get rolling on this (not to mention several notes about working on it before Batman found me). I hope you all enjoy this new chapter, and don't hate me too much for the long wait!
Not much from the Peanut Gallery in this chapter. I like to think that they're all speechless in awe of my wonderful writing. ^^
Despite the bright sunshine, Archer and Sniper II found shady places in the dense leaves to hide themselves. They were crouched at the tops of two trees, watching what appeared to be the Science Centre. Lights were flickering on Sniper II's goggles, and Archer had his bow out.
"How close can you zoom in on those things?" Archer muttered into a radio attached to his ear.
"It might be easier to focus if you stopped distracting me."
"Oh, yeah. Sure. 'Cause I'm so distracting." Sniper II growled, but elected not to respond in kind.
"Alright, we're getting closer. From here on out, if it moves, shoot it." Archer fitted an arrow to his bow.
"What if it's you? 'Cause I could totally go for that." Sniper II looked as if the idea hadn't occurred to him.
"I'd... I'd prefer to live through this, thanks." Archer rolled his eyes, but leapt to the next tree, and then the next. The two seemed to be settling into some sort of synchronised rhythm, telling of a long partnership. Finally they came close to the edge of the trees, and Sniper II joined Archer where he knelt on a branch. Beneath them, a group of soldiers were watching what looked like a side entrance; they didn't appear to be the Joker Soldiers that had assaulted Wayne Manor, wild and psychotic - rather, they seemed to be regular guys in uniform. It took only a glance between the two, and then Archer took aim and fired at a pillar that made up part of the gate. The arrow did nothing but bury it's head in the pillar, but the effect among the men was immediate. One or two of them went for weapons, but a voice cut them off.
"Wait!" They all looked at the man who had spoken, who looked absolutely terrified. He pointed at the arrow frantically. "Look at that thing! It's one of Archer's arrows! Don't you know what that means!" A few of the men shook their heads, but others looked just as alarmed. "It means he's here! And if Archer's here? Sniper II isn't far behind! They always work together!" This caused general panic, and it wasn't long before the entire group had loudly announced defeat, tossed down their weapons, and fled. There was a long silence between Archer and Sniper II.
"Well." Sniper II finally said. "That was boring." Archer elbowed him in the knee.
"Quiet you. We should be glad our reputation preceded us. Makes things easier."
"I don't want things to be easier, I wanna shoot stuff."
"You're insane."
"Point." The two leapt down to the ground, landing carefully before getting to their feet and heading for the gate.
The Science Centre was sleeker than the Joker's giant 'J,' so much so that it was clear it was by a different designer. It was dark and smooth, low to the ground and gleaming rather than the grated iron of the Joker's building. The entrances were heavily watched, and the two young men remained crouched behind an empty outpost. Sniper II glanced around the corner, his goggles flashing again, scanning. Then, he turned back to Archer. They used nothing but hand gestures, but at the end of the tacit conversation, both exchanged nods, and then dashed in opposite directions. They slipped past guards, cameras, and other security measures in record speed, with the ease of two people who had beeb doing this for a long time. Not until they had both infiltrated the Centre and were in secure locations did either of them speak over their radios again.
"Security seems typical. You want to use the regular plan?"
"No. If the guards at the gate are onto us, better not to show ourselves." Archer peered into the hall from the crawl space he had found. "You have that map Strange II gave you?" Sniper II's goggles flashed again.
"Yup."
"Use it. I'll create a distraction on the other side of the Centre, and we'll maintain radio silence 'til then."
"How come you get to create the distraction?"
"Because I'm less likely to get psychotic with explosions."
"I take offense to that."
"Do." Archer snapped, and cut the connection.
Mr. J and Huntress had slipped in through a trapdoor in the roof of a tall, cement building with boarded up windows a few doors. Both crept along with equal stealth, staying low to the ground and in the shadows. They paused by a doorway, peering around it. Two guards were sitting, watching a screen and chatting amiably with each other. J nodded to Huntress, and, quiet as the cats her mother had loved so much, she stood moving into the room. She made short work of the men with chloroform and a strike to the back of the neck. That done, she slipped into one of the seats, fingers flashing across the keyboard as J came up beside her, looking over her shoulder.
'Helena Kyle-Wayne. Huntress. But I'd recommend you stay away from her.'
'Why?'
'How do I put this? She... She's not the forgiving sort.' I. Freeze and loaded her image on the tiny screen next to her profile. 'She hates the Joker more than anything. You don't want to make her angry.'
'What happens when she's angry?'
"You won't like her when she's angry. I don't like her when she's angry.'
"It looks like test samples are being kept on the eighth floor. They've got a refrigerated area near the back."
'You don't understand what the Regime has taken from me! You never could! It destroyed my family!'
"Well... I guess that's something we have in common.'
"Are you listening to me?" He looked at her.
"Sorry, was I spacing out?" He laughed eerily.
"Don't do that while you're wearing that mask. I was saying we should try dropping in through the ceiling. It looks like the off-duty room is directly above it - if we incapacitate anyone in there, we should have a clean shot at the samples." He nodded, sliding some gas bombs into his palms.
"Let's go, Milady Bat." She stood.
"I wish you would stop calling me that." And, with a swish of her cape and a squeak from his dress shoes, the two vanished back into the shadows.
There were three men in the locker room - they appeared to be normal guys changing out of uniforms. Crouching outside the door, Huntress looked at Mr. J.
"Those aren't-"
"They're only knock-out gas. Are you kidding? I'm not breaking out the laughing guns on these losers." He popped the tops off two of the bombs and rolled them into the room. There was a moment of silence in which they both pulled on gasmasks, and then the bombs exploded, sending a hazy gas into all corners of the room. When the coughing stopped and they heard three consecutive 'thumps,' they got to their feet and headed into the room. They stopped in the centre, and Huntress knelt down, producing a thin, saw-like blade from her tool belt, cutting into the floor in a circle with surprising ease and silence. This completed, she popped a grappling hook out of the same belt and dug it into the floor, lowering herself into the hole. Mr. J stayed above, crouching by the edge and watching her. She landed silently on the floor of the unit, checking around. There did not seem to be any security inside the refrigerator, and so she calmly moved over to one of the shelves, her eyes flicking calmly across the labels. Once she settled on some, she walked back to the hole, signing to J. He dropped a briefcase he had been carrying down for her to catch, and she carefully opened it on the floor, removed several of the samples and slipped them into openings in the case's interior. Satisfied that they were secure, she closed the case, latched it onto the cord with her, and pulled herself back up, passing J the case, then dislodging her hook. That completed, they both stood.
"Now," J said, oddly cheerfully. "Let's head out."
The alarum was blaring, and guards were rushing towards the other side of the Centre. Sniper II, flitting along the hallway, occasionally leaping into the rafters or hiding in lockers and around corners, shook his head. Honestly. Why do they always fall for this? He wondered silently, relying on basic hand-to-hand to take out the two remaining guards in front of the refrigerator unit. With them down, he moved to the door, activating a laser on his arm guard and frying the lock mechanism off before punching it to make the door open. "Nothing like the direct approach..." He murmured to himself, moving into the unit. "Now... If I were gas samples..." He began looking over the labels similarly to the way Huntress had. Abruptly, the original Sniper's eye on his arm guard began to blink warningly, making him look around. Footsteps echoed down the hall, making him duck quickly behind one of the shelves, crouching down, and watching the new arrival.
Archer was getting a bit peeved that radio contact hadn't come. It wasn't hard to outrun the guards when they weren't berserking Joker Soldiers, but it was getting tiring. He didn't dare try to contact Sniper II before it was time, however, to avoid giving away the other hero's location. Instead, he took the time it took his pursuers to round a corner to vault into the rafters and crouch there, watching them run underneath him. This is like one of those old movies. I wonder how much they're paying those idiots? He inched closer to the wall, wondering if he should head to the rendezvous early. It would certainly give him satisfaction to beat Gale there for once. He shouldered his bow, and was about to move when a sudden chill ran down his spine, like an ice cold hand had just touched the back of his neck. He felt the spot, looking over his shoulder, but saw nothing. Still, the sickening feeling of dread remained, and her narrowed his eyes against the darkness. There were no guards around him, no one to detect his presence, so why did he feel so uneasy? Paula was at school by know, if she knew what was good for her, and Lian should be safe at the house.
That left only one person.
Forgetting the rendezvous, he spun around, dropping from the ceiling, and began running full-tilt in the direction he had come from, his eyes now intense with determination above his scarf. He'd given up entirely on stealth, but the gods help any of the guards who tried to get in his way. One name dominated his concentration.
Gale.
There shouldn't have been any guards. They were supposed to be chasing Archer on the other side of the Centre. That was the plan. Brief fear gripped him that something might have happened to his partner, but he pushed it away. Not only was Archer fully capable of handling these fools, if something had happened, he'd know. But one look at the newcomer's clothes told Sniper II he wasn't a guard - he wasn't wearing a uniform. He was dressed rather blandly, a ratty sweatshirt hood pulled over his face. Sniper II bit his lip to keep from sighing and reached for his arm guard.
You hide very well...
The voice seemed to reverberate through the room, though it was not spoken. Sniper II winced, but gritted his teeth against the pain, a slightly shaking had moving toward his arm again. The newcomer, however, reached up and pushed back his hood.
Psimon can't SEE you... But Psimon can HEAR you...
M'gann clamped her hands over her mouth to cover a shriek.
"No..." Artemis tensed beside her.
"C'mon, Archer..." She murmured, not even realising she'd become so invested in the image.
The words came with a new, higher 'vibration.' A small sound escaped Arsenal's son, and he clutched his head, shaking. Psimon chuckled, not even bothering to go look, Instead, he closed his eyes in focus again.
Psimon says, take a little NAP...
On the last word, the reverberations sharpened, then stopped. Sniper II was frozen for a moment, then his pupils dilated, and he slumped to the floor of the unit, then lay motionless. Psimon calmly walked over, looking down at the young man.
"Ho ho ho... What do we have here..." He was about to crouch down when a voice came from behind him.
"You get the hell away from him." Psimon turned. Archer stood there, bow already drawn, and the arrow upon it was no trick. His voice was colder than the climate conditioning that surrounded them. Psimon just smiled.
"Well, well, well. Two of them. This is a rare treat."
"I said, get the hell away from him." The young man's hold on the bow tightened. Psimon laughed out loud.
"Please. You're not going to shoot me. You're kind are too good for that." Archer's eyes narrowed icily, and he readied the arrow.
"You wanna bet?" He growled, eyeing the psychic murderously.
For a moment, Psimon looked surprised.
"You mean it." He murmured, sounding fascinated. "You really mean to kill me. How unfortunate that I have no desire to die." He flicked his hand, knocking the bow and arrow out of Archer's grip. The young man growled again, glaring right back at the psychic when he focused his powers on him.
The guards are already on their way. Resistance is POINTLESS...
Archer gritted his teeth, his eyes flicking to where Sniper II lay. The sight seem to give him determination, and he struggled to move against Psimon's psychic force. The villain's eyes widened a little.
What... H-how are your emotions overriding my-
He stopped, because Archer had gotten close enough to stab him in the arm with a small needle. The psychic jerked, the used telekinesis to throw him away, pinning him to the wall.
Th-this... I know this feeling... That poison... Used on psychics... Your grandfather is Sportsmaster!?
That was, however, his last thought before the poison took it's effect and he collapsed in a heap. Back on the ground, Archer ran to Sniper II's side, rolling him over.
"Gale. Gale!" He shook him frantically. "Goddmanit! Answer me!" But Sniper II did not answer. Though his eyes were open, they were glazed over, and his expression was blank.
Aqualad shuddered. "I'm all too familiar with that expression..." He muttered as they watched in horror.
Archer's expression looked as if it were trying to decide between anger and grief, but at the sound of guards approaching, he retrieved his bow, and pulled the limp Sniper II up, putting on of his arms around his shoulders.
When the guards arrived, they found only Psimon, unconscious.
The front door of the Gotham Science Centre exploded, and Huntress and Mr. J dashed out of the smoke.
"I thought you were kidding about forcing our way out!" She snapped, grabbing his arm. "This is not how I work!" He just laughed madly.
"But isn't it fun!"
"Oh?" She looked behind them at the mass of guards that were picking themselves up. "And what about transportation?" He blinked.
"Uh..." She rolled her eyes behind her mask.
"You are so useless, here. Hold this." She thrust the case at him, stepping towards the street and hitting a button on her belt.
The Bat Symbol lit up, glowing purple.
"Uh, I fail to see-" In a swoosh of dust and window, the Batmobile skidded up to the curb, it's doors popping open.
"Get in!"
"Okay, I see, I see, I see!" He dashed over to the passenger seat while she climbed into the driver's side and hit the gas, speeding away. Watching the guards disappear in the distance, Mr. J sat back and sighed. "I should have known you'd have the Batcave on speed dial."
"I have the Bat-everything on speed dial. Speaking of..." Huntress told him cooly. She reached over, flipping a few switches. "I can't believe I'm saying this out loud, but Batmobile to Den." After a moment, the communicator light came on.
"Den to Batmobile," There was a slight snicker in the voice, "We read you. It's about time, too. We were getting worried." Mr. J leaned forward.
"I that you, Freeze?"
"Who else would it be? I'm Mission Control around here. Listen, I need you both back here as soon as possible."
"Why?" Huntress demanded. "Aren't the other two closer?"
"They're already here." The dark tone made the two look at each other.
"What happened?" I. Freeze was silent for a moment.
"... I've already put out a call to Mystic Martian, Flash Queen, and Lady Ranger, but..." The sound of his swallow was audible over the radio. "It seems Psimon got to Sniper II." Mr. J's dark eyes hardened, and he looked at Huntress.
"Floor it." He told her.
She did.
You bet she did. And yes, Huntress DOES have the Bat-everything on speed dial. Even the Batbutler. We may see him later.
Next Chapter: 'Long-Lasting Trauma'