I am so sorry it took me two weeks to get this out! I've been really busy with work and life in general seems to hate me. But we're finally in the double digits! YAY!~
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Young Justice sadly. If I did Roy wouldn't be a... a, I don't even want to think about it. INVASION I WILL KILL YOU FOR THIS!
Star City
October 4th 15:24 PDT
"Are you really sure that this is okay?" Tori heard Roy's voice off to her right and slightly ahead of her.
"It's fine. She can't see anything can you Tori?" Replied Oliver who was walking just behind her left shoulder. She had the distinct feeling he had just waved his hand in front of her face. Not that she could see it anyway with the thick black blindfold that covered her eyes.
"I am very much in the dark." She replied a bit dryly and she heard Dinah chuckle. Tori turned her head to the sound and felt her foot catch on something. She stumbled and felt someone catch her before she face planted into the ground, she gave a muttered curse but kept walking. "Do I really need to wear this?"
"Sorry Tori but it is a secret location." The older woman told her.
"Yeah, yeah, I know. The whole you'd have to kill me if you told me deal, trust me I've become accustomed to that." She waved her hand flippantly in the direction she thought Dinah was in as if she was brushing the thought away.
"That or erase your memory."Oliver joked.
"You can do that?" Tori asked suddenly wary of going anywhere. Why were they taking her to a mysterious secret location again? Oh right to meet her babysitters... wait bodyguards.
"Pretty sure Martian Manhunter can. But we don't do that unless it's an extreme emergency." Replied Oliver in a joking tone but Tori wasn't entirely convinced that it was only a joke. From what she knew Martian Manhunter did have telepathic abilities.
"Okay we're her. Dinah and I will go fist. We'll authorize Tori. So follow after her Roy."
There was no vocal response from Roy so Tori figured he must have just nodded. She heard a slight squeak of something metal that was in some serious need of oil and then a flash of light that Tori could see even through her blindfold.
"Authorized, Black Canary. Authorized, Green Arrow." A woman's automated voice announced.
"Here." Roy said when the light faded and he took her arm to guide her into some sort of metal box like contraption. Tori immediately tensed when she felt around and discovered that the box she was in was no more than 3 feet wide in any direction.
"Oh because doing this blindfolded isn't terrifying enough. There just has to be tiny metal boxes involved too." She grumbled under her breath. She had an acute fear of small enclosed spaces, they really freaked her out. She could have sworn she heard Roy chuckle at her obvious discomfort but the automated voice spoke over him.
"Authorized Victoria Chase." There was another flash of light and Tori was momentarily disoriented. She nearly fell again but caught herself on the wall of something large and round.
"Whoa, not sure that is a much fun as you told me it was Oliver." She said when she heard him laugh. "Can I take this stupid blindfold off now?"
"Go ahead." Dinah replied just as the computer announced Roy's arrival to... where ever it was they had ended up.
Tori reached up and picked at the knot on the blindfold until it came off. At first the light in the room blinded her, but when her eyes adjusted she saw that she was inside a large cave that was filled with every type of high tech machinery she could think of. Even the floor on which she stood seemed to have some sort of high tech function from the look of it. Her eyes detected sensors everywhere on it though it couldn't have been used as a security measure.
She looked around in awe at the size of the place. "It's huge!" She exclaimed much like a child might.
"Black Canary calling Team. To the briefing room please." Dinah said going into what Tori referred to as 'Black Canary Mode' as if the older woman could turn it on and off at will.
The four waited for the team to appear, Tori fidgeting the entire time. She shouldn't be nervous, the team had no idea that she was Spade and nor would they know. It had been agreed that she was going to be introduced as a civilian who had been targeted by the Shadows and needed protection. Still her nerves were starting to get to her.
Finally after what seemed to be an eternity they heard the chatter of voices as five teens emerged from a large hallway on the other side of the cave. One was missing, Tori noted. She remembered there being six when she had encountered them on the roof top, not including Roy of course.
"Hey Red!" The boy with flaming ginger hair called running over faster than should have been humanly possible. Even though he was in civvies she could tell that this MUST have been Kid Flash. There was no other explanation.
"Who's the new girl?" The tall and imposing dark haired boy asked.
"Yeah beautiful what's your name?" Kid Flash asked wiggling his eyebrows. This caused Tori to give a nervous laugh and take a few steps back towards Roy who placed a hand on her shoulder as if to comfort her.
"She's too old for you KF." Roy said in a deadpanned voice that just dared the other boy to say otherwise. "Besides she's taken."
"Aw man!"
The other teens laughed at the boy and Tori smiled a bit her face growing warm from all the attention and blatant flirting. She also felt relieved though, Roy had still been distant with her after everything and she had feared he would deny involvement with her, but what he said made her feel as if all hope was not lost.
"Where's Artemis?" Black Canary suddenly asked and Tori's head whipped to the blond woman so fast she nearly gave herself whiplash. Artemis? As in Jade's younger sister Artemis? Well thanks for sharing that tidbit of information Jade it's not like that could have helped her at all. Suddenly Tori was even more nervous than she was before.
"She's in the showers. She said she'd be out in a minute." The green skinned girl that Tori took to be Miss Martian answered.
"Alright we can introduce her later. Team this is Victoria Chase." Canary said motioning to her.
"I prefer to be called Tori." She said with a small wave.
"So are you going to be a part of the team?" The smallest of the group asked. This one had to be Robin.
"No, she is not." Dinah said sternly. "We have a mission for the team concerning Tori."
"She's been targeted by the League of Shadows." Roy told them.
"Why? She doesn't look like anything special." Superboy asked then seemed to think about what he had said for a moment and added, "No offense."
"None taken." She replied holding up her hands.
" So again... why?" Aqualad asked making a motion with his hands as if expecting someone to explain.
"The Shadows discovered that she has some involvement with the League." Green Arrow supplied vaguely.
"What did they see red Arrow sneaking out of your apartment or something?" Robin said with a smirk on his face. Tori felt her face flush again and couldn't help but raise an eyebrow toward the boy. How old was this kid again?
"Well not exactly..." She said with a short laugh. "I actually-"
"What is she doing here!" A yell suddenly cut Tori off and everyone's head turned ro the blond haired archer that had entered the room.
"Artemis calm down and we'll explain everything." Green Arrow tried to calm her, having known from the beginning that Artemis likely would know who Tori was. Though he had hoped she would not over react.
"Whoa Arty you know her?" Kid flash asked.
"She's a member of the League of Shadows!" Artemis exclaimed abruptly pullign out a collapsible bow from its holster on her leg. She pointed it threateningly at Tori, Roy immediately got in the way, his body partially blocking her's from the other archer's sight.
When the other kids turned to Tori she had already schooled her face to neutrality, she could tell by the expressions on their faces that they were tense and on edge. Except for Robin oddly enough who seemed to be at ease as if he had know this all along.
"I quit that job." She stated the line as if it had been rehearsed and put a hand on Roy's arm so he would step back beside her. She didn't need him in the way of a potential fight.
"It's true, Tori is done with the Shadows." Black Canary said calmly.
"Put the weapon away." Roy added with a growl.
Most of the team seemed to relax but Artemis still held the bow level with Tori's chest .
"Artemis." Tori began hoping that maybe she could talk to her and get her to see reason but once again Artemis cut her off.
"Shut up! So how did you convince the League you were good? Probably thought that returning all of those artefacts would make them think you'd really given it all up, didn't you?" Artemis snapped and Tori knew by the choice of her words that the younger girl was well aware of her other identity.
"When did you figure it out?" She asked slowly.
"When you vanished on the rooftop. You didn't think I'd forget something like that did you?"
"Wait a second..." Kid Flash interrupted as he clued into what they were talking about. "Are you-"
"The former thief known as Spade" Tori sighed and ran a hand through her hair.
"And you know Artemis?" Miss Martian asked.
"Yeah we..." Tori paused when she saw Artemis's eyes widen as if in fear. Then didn't know about her family then, Tori decided, and why wouldn't they be in the dark about the archer's heritage. It was almost as bad as if she was in the Shadows herself. "We go back. Our families were close... Real close."
Artemis relaxed a little but her glare didn't.
"So let me get this straight. You're Spade and the League of Shadows is after you... You know Artemis and you're dating Red Arrow?" Kid Flashed asked ticking off the points on his fingers. "How exactly does all that work out?"
"It's a bit complicated." Tori replied pursing her lips.
"It's not complicated! She's just been lying to everyone and using them!" Artemis growled.
"That's enough, all of you." A deep Male voice announced and all attention turned to Batman who seemed to have mysteriously come from nowhere, his intimidating presence alone made all of the teens go stiff. He glanced pointedly at Artemis's weapon and with a huff she put it away. He turned to Tori, his veiled eyes scanning her as if he was analyzing the best way to take her down in a fight. She almost shrank away and hid behind Roy, but managed to stand her ground and not look like a complete coward.
"This mission is not to be taken lightly. It is very true that the Shadows are looking for the rouge Spade and several assassins will be sent out to discover who she is. One already knows and as of yet we do not know why this information is being withheld from the Shadows." Batman said his voice the epitome of authority. "You are each going to take turns tailing and keeping an eye on Victoria. She knows the identities of three heroes already. Be aware that your mission is not only to keep her alive and away from the Shadows but also to gauge whether or not she has been truthful about cutting all of her ties to the Shadows. We'll do a more in depth briefing on the mission later and make up a schedule. Black Canary, Green Arrow and Red Arrow will all be helping us as well."
It was almost as if Tori wasn't there, the way Batman spoke of her. It was almost unnerving how he got straight to the point and practically demanded absolute obedience without even saying as much. It was both scary and a little inspiring at the same time.
"On another note, the League has decided to grant you permission to continue returning the stolen artefacts." Now he turned to Tori and her expression brightened a bit. ""But only on the condition that you only go out with Black Canary and you allow her to teach you some basic combat skill to protect yourself should you be attacked again."
"Don't you think you're being a little soft on someone who was working with the Shadows?" Artemis growled.
Batman sent her a glare. "This was the decision of the League. Connections to the Shadows do not dictate a person's character. Keep an open mind, you don't know the whole story." He said sterly and Artemis almost looked as if she had been slapped across the face. Tori felt a little bad for her but knew that her sympathy would be unwanted so she decided not to say anything.
"For now you are all dismissed. Green Arrow, Black Canary, I trust you can handle the girl for a few more days. Just until we're ready." The Dark Knight said turning his attention to the other two League members.
"Don't worry. Despite her history Tori.. Er, Victoria doesn't really cause too much trouble... anymore anyway." Green Arrow said with a grin.
"Good." With a swish of his cape he turned and left the room, the team following suit shortly after with glances over their shoulders at the group that was left standing there.
~O~
Later on that night Tori found herself sitting upside down on her bed with her head hanging off the edge as Black Canary paced back and forth across her room.
"How do you live in such a place Tori?" She teased looking around the dreary apartment with a bit of distaste. Tori just shrugged, though the motion was hindered by the fact that she was upside down.
"Umm... No offense Dinah, I love you like a big sister and all but why exactly did you spontaneously show up in my apartment? You said Batman had put up surveillance around the building and surrounding areas until the team could come to babysit me." Tori asked. The blond woman stopped pacing and shot Tori a disapproving look.
"You heard what Batman said didn't you? I'll be training you from now on." She replied with her hands on her hips.
"Yeah in combat." Tori pointed out. "And earlier you said we wouldn't start that until next week."
"True but the best way to get experience is out in the field. Besides I know you wanted to go out tonight anyway, it's been a while since you gave back an artefact. You're as anxious to get them all returned as the media is."
"Am I really so transparent?" Tori asked with a deadpanned expression.
"A little." Black Canary smiled ruefully.
"Good to know." The dark haired girl grumbled and sat up, twisting around so she was facing her new 'mentor'. "What did you have in mind? Last time i went out as Spade it didn't turn out so well."
"That's why you're not going out as Spade." Canary smiled and picked up a duffle bag that she had brought along with her. "I brought you a new outfit. Go get changed and we'll head out."
As much as Tori wanted to refuse she knew she couldn't, so with a sigh she took the bag and locked herself into her washroom to change. It took her a minute to figure it all out but eventually she managed to get everything on.
It was a little different from her Spade outfit which had only consisted of black and white. This costume was a mix of navy, black and a few dark grays. The shirt was navy and covered her entire torso from her neck to her hips and had gray on the sides, and had no sleeves. The gloves were fingerless like the old ones but the one on her left hand was shorter than the right, giving her easy access to the hidden compartment in her prosthetic. Her nearly skin tight pants were black and she had a lighter colored belt that had various pouches so she could carry things without the need for pockets. Her boots were the same color as her belt but with navy accents here and there. To finish off the ensemble there was a visor to cover her eyes with. After a little fiddling around she discovered that it had all the same capabilities her custom contacts had like zoom and infrared function. All in all, Canary had done a preety good job.
"it looks nice." Canary complimented when she walked out of the bathroom in her new outfit. "And it's made of tougher material then your old suit so it'll be more durable."
Tori gave a slight nod, she was pretty sure Roy had mentioned something about superhero garb being made of a tough yet flexible material called... Kelvar. That sounded right.
"You're going to need a new name too." Canary said after a minute. "Have any ideas?"
"Nix" Tori said without pause.
Canary raised an eyebrow. "Any particular reasons?" She asked in curiosity. The name was ironic, for it was a name that was shared by the Greek goddess of the night and darkness.
"It just seems fitting." Tori replied as she threw the empty duffle bag on her bed. The truth was that it was a name she had been called long ago, long before she had faced any of the ordeals that lead her on the path she was on now. It was the nickname her mother had given her when she was small and had first displayed signs of her meta ability. From what she remembered, which was very little, her mother always did have a knack for stating the obvious, even in nicknames. She had dared not use the name when she chose her identity as Spade, she did not want to disgrace her mother's memory like that. But now that she had chosen a better path she wanted to give the name meaning again.
"Alright then let's go. What are we returning tonight?" Canary asked going over to the window and hoisting it open so they could slip out.
"The Eye of Morgana." Tori replied, already having put the small eye star sapphire into one of the pouches in her belt along with her customary note. "It was said to have all the sealed powers of Morgana Le Fay. The security at the Stanfeild Museum of English Lore is not lax, so it may take some time to get in without getting caught. They will probably be happy to see it back."
"I'm sure they will."Canary smiled as she jumped through the window with the newly named Nix on her heels.
I totally suck at clothes descriptions.. I find them tedious and a little annoying but I wanted to get her new outfit up there even though I never really described her old one. XD.
So has anyone else seen the new Invasion episode? I think I nearly died when I saw Roy... he looks like a hoebag! I think I cried a little. However I'm not really bothered by the whole Roy and Cheshire situation. It happened in the comic books so I figured it was bound to happen anyway at some point. That part will not be in my story and neither will Invasion I think... well maybe the Invasion part will be, however... I have... other plans. MWAHAHAA if you want to see what you'll have to keep reading.
Thanks so much to Willow of the Bleeding Spectre, momopanda95, Mixed Reality, Super Sonic Death Turtle (LOVE the name btw.), EmpressBlack, bRoKEnhEaRTscROsSovEr, Lady Ishtar12123, VeeandreaHart, Mangagirl97, Oiten, and PennyVane for your faves and/or alerts. It means a lot to me guys!
Onto the reviews!~
ImmatureChild: BE HAPPY! I updated! And yeah I may throw something about her arm in there and Dinah and Ollie's reactions to it later on. Just like if she's discussing it with someone or something but I dunno yet. Thanks for the review!
BookwormStrawberry: Thanks for the reveiw and what you hoped for is here! The next few chapters will actually be team centric as Tori gets to know them.
lolmak: Thanks so much I definitely will!
VeeandreaHart: I'm not sure whether to laugh or be completely terrified by but don't worry, Frederick, the cricket who lives in my head assures me that it should be okay so I'll take his word for it!To solve the problem about the cookies though I'll give you two so you don't have to share. Thanks for reviewing!
RunningQueenx5: You are special! And of course I replied! I make a point to reply cause I know I get very happy when people reply to me... As for the CAPS LOCK... I love that button too... except when it sneaks up on me when I'm writing! Thanks for reviewing!
Chances vs Pills: Oliver cracks me up too. I loved writing that part. I was nearly in tears when the idea hit me!Thanks so much!
bRoKEnhEaRTscROsSovEr: Just saying that was a b**ch to type out! XD but that's okay! I love love loved your review! I hope you're amazed by this chapter too... I didn't think it was so amazing by hey whateves. Thanks for reviewing!
aireagle92: Thanks for the review! And your update is here!
Again thanks all you guys for the reviews and sorry this chapter came out so late. I've been dealing with a lot of drama at home from my mom so I've been staying at my Pa's for the past week getting fed my favorite meals by my amazing stepmum. I think I'm starting to get fat. I've also been dealing with a potential harassment issue at work that has me seriously considering quitting even though I desperately need the work. But yeah I won't regale you with that particular story.
Thanks for the support guys! I love you so much that I creep all your profiles... is it weird to say that every time I get a message for a new review or alert that I go and stalk people's profiles and stories? Maybe it is... *nervous laugh* man I'm such a creeper.
Lots of Love!
~Peter the Creeper... ha that rhymes!