"So this is it."
Dick laid the blueprints out on the table, and pointed to a picture of a woman, dark haired, and eyes glinting severely beneath her glasses.
"Cameron Anna Marshall. 38 years old, joint-owner of the Marshall-Cain company, and has been leading her particular branch for nearly 15 years. She's extremely intelligent- graduated with a doctorate in microbiology from MIT, and studied extensively on the human genome. The former Marshall Pharmaceuticals company specialized in rehabilitating drugs, but also funded a separate organization which researched genetic manipulation as well as metahuman abilities."
Roy cut in.
"We'll be infiltrating and hacking in to the databases of the companies' offices, then going to the research facilities to stop this nonsense once and for all, our goal being to find out why STAR put out a hit out on you."
"Let's do it."
x
x
x
Raven sat quietly in the back of the van, sorting through the various tools they would need, and listening to Richard's directions.
Smoke grenade. Left pocket of the duffle bag.
"There are 8 of us in all- Garth, Isaiah, and Toni will eliminate the guards planted-"
here. here. and here. Communications devices for every person.
"Wally monitors the security cameras, directs us where we need to go, from-"
There. Beretta M9 going into a leg holster, a prayer we'll never use it.
"Jen hacks the security controls, joins myself, Raven, and Roy in, and the four of us will search Marshall's computer, files, etc."
x
x
x
"Understood?"
Kori nods sharply, as do the other members of the Titans team.
"The creature in there- it's big; Star, you'll have to scope it out before we can go in."
"We'll destroy the labs, and all of the enzymatic cultures in there, prevent another of the monsters from getting out- they break things down, destroy- contact us once you see it."
"Uh, dude?" speaks Beast Boy quietly.
"Isn't that a little, like, dangerous?"
Robin pins him down with a stare.
"Yes. But it has to be done."
x
x
x
They pulled up, got out in front of the famously glassy building, and distributed all necessary equipment.
The security guards directly inside the high walls surrounding it were unsuspecting, even as three masked vigilantes picked them off with tranquilizer darts.
The 5 remaining members of the team stood below, at the gate, and waited.
"And we're live in 3…2…1….RUN."
Garth will temporarily disable the exterior security cameras. We'll have 20 seconds to get inside.
Jen picked the lock hurriedly, and one by one, they slipped in, mere dark shadows playing their way to the compact, unmarked door across the hall.
Inside, she easily disabled the security guard, and ushered Wally in, before closing the door softly behind her.
The four walked in complete silence for a time, the only sound the soft padding of their shoes on the floors, until-
"Hold on guys," Wally crackled, "there's someone coming down the hall- it's Marshall…"
The faint click of her heels as she passed their shadowed faces disappeared soon afterwards.
"She's gone. She left."
Richard breathed out softly, then peered around the corner.
"Let's g-"
Whumph!
x
x
x
Whumph!
The black streak formed itself into a young figure, black haired and vaguely Chinese in appearance, who stood over their fallen leader before-
Suddenly in front of them, taking Roy down with a roundhouse kick that barely clipped the edge of Jen's head-
The pink haired girl ducked, wincing, before striking lithely out at the air, too late.
At the last moment, she caught the swinging arm and drove it away from her, just as Raven sent a kick directly towards the back of their assailant's knee-
Which instead hit Jen in the thigh.
"Jesus!"
Angry, Raven splayed out her hands, and let the fierce, empty energy of her powers strike the young girl- for she was in fact a girl, across the stomach, pinning her against the wall.
Jen glared.
The girl did nothing, and abruptly, Raven gasped.
"Close your eyes. Don't flinch."
BLAM BLAM BLAM
A violent, red hot pain rose up on her stomach and chest, marked the sudden splattering of blood on the ground.
"Good girl."
The empath glanced over at Richard, slowly getting up and shaking his head.
"She's in pain. Her name is Cassandra."
He looked back.
"Heal her."
x
x
x
"HEAL HER, RAVEN!"
Something warm and salty splashed on her cheek, even as she bent over her fallen friend, whose breathing shallowed with every exhale.
"I, I can't…"
Sob, her voice racked with so much pain, and a great weight on her chest, on her heart, that took her breath away, just as it took Kori's.
Soon enough, the blue glow of her powers sealed the deep gashing wound on the Tameranian's stomach and pelvis, but too late-
"Come on comeoncomeon…"
PushPushPush
BREATHE
Push-
"Sh- she's- GODDAMMIT KORI! BREATHE!"
Deep, racking breaths, as if the empath and the leader, with their own huffing and sobbing, could perhaps instill in the fallen warrior a necessary pump of her lungs, of her heart.
The thick beating, as if wrapped in swathes of wool, slowed…
Then stopped.
well now, it appears that Kori is completely and utterly dead. also, a little cameo of Cassandra Cain (I mean, CAIN is the other joint owner of the company) as a badass little asian girl assassin, whose father did in fact play 'two for flinching' with a gun...