AN: And here comes the begging for forgiveness...
Not really, but I'm seriously sorry for being so late with this, still unbeta-ed, chapter.
I've probably got the smae excuse as every other teenager right now... Exams, but never mind that, enjoy the chapter!
Red Wings
Chapter 10
True to Robin's prediction, the four of them had to wait two hours, fifty-eight minutes and twenty-seven seconds for Warp to come round.
In that time they returned to the old Cadmus facility, where Static told them gleefully how Damian and Red Robin had gone from killing each other to working together after receiving a brief talking-to from someone they swore up and down was Nightwing.
The three remaining team members, plus Static, Gear, Robin and Red Robin were just getting on to wondering how it was possible, when three people, two men and a woman, walked in.
Static coughed and shifted uncomfortably, "Oh, hey... Red Hood, Arsenal, Starfire."
Robin turned in his seat slightly to better see the new arrivals; the first, clearly Red Hood, wore black body armour and a leather jacket, a pair of guns were holstered on his utility belt, a blood-red bat insignia was plastered across his chest and a matching helmet obscured his features.
In comparison the woman two steps behind him wore so little it was indecent, with her deep bronze skin obscured to a minimum by what was practically an armoured purple bikini. Her green eyes were unreadable as she flicked her scarlet hair away into the face of the trio's other third; dressed entirely in red, toting a bow, quiver, very convincing false arm and a baseball cap.
"Roy?"
Arsenal didn't say anything, but raised an eyebrow at Robin as Red Hood looked around; "Okay, so first I hear Bats is out of the country, then Golden Boy is missing and now Swan Queen and Demon are getting along? Don't tell me, we've got another hostile invasion."
"No." Tempest said, "We are facing a problem involving time travel."
Starfire frowned; "I was under the impression that this planet's primitive technology didn't allow for such events."
"Yet." Arsenal said, "Is it the same guy as before?"
"Yes." Miss Martian and Kon-El spoke simultaneously, glanced at each other and both turned pink, looking away very quickly.
"He is in a testing room," Tempest said, "We thought it best to keep him contained here where several rooms have been proofed against teleportation."
"Then I suggest we start getting a date out of this guy as soon as possible." Red Hood cracked his knuckles.
"Don't even think about it Todd." Damian walked in, "If you were to interrogate anyone they would end up dead before we got the required information. It would be much more prudent to allow the Martian to perform the interrogation."
"No." Once again Kon-El and Miss Martian spoke in tandem, drawing stares from the rest of those gathered.
Miss Martian blushed; "I- remember what happened last time I tried that on a human?"
She fixed her eyes on the floor, and Red Hood rolled his eyes, "Guess we'll be doing it the old fashioned way folks."
"But Kon smashed him into a wall." Red Robin said, "So we're not getting anything out of him either way for another hour at least."
"Nice going." Red Hood said, "Nothing like a healthy anger-management issue to top off a team of prom queens."
Miss Martian, Red Robin and Static joined Kon-El in glaring at the hooded vigilante for the jibe, but either he didn't notice or didn't care, because at that point he sat, pulled off his helmet and put his feet on the workbench they had been using as a table. Starfire soared off down the lab to examine some equipment and Arsenal joined her, occasionally pocketing anything he might be able to use for a trick arrow or a quick buck.
Robin turned to Red Hood, "So you're the other guy Ravager thinks looks like a-"
He was cut off by a large volley of coughing from Static, who was frantically shaking his head, but stopped when Hood also noticed.
"So Patchy said that, did she?" Hood asked.
Arsenal laughed from where he was standing, rifling through a cupboard; "If you're allowed to call her 'Patchy' then she's allowed to say what she wants about your old helmet, beside's she said it about Swan Queen too."
Red Hood looked at Robin, who nodded, then to Red Robin. He burst out laughing; "Remind me to send Wilson a Christmas card this year."
"You don't send cards for the pathetic holiday you call Christmas." Starfire said, not looking up from the equipment she was adjusting.
Hood shrugged; "Maybe I'll start. Or maybe I'll just beat the crap out of her dad for her."
"She will not appreciate that, Todd." Damian said, "She has a list of who has the right to beat up Wilson; Nightwing is first, she put herself second and her brother third, below that is me, a list of other people in the costumed and non-costumed communities, including Luthor I might add, and then, right at the bottom, is you."
Everyone stared at him for several seconds.
"You bothered to memorise that?" Robin asked.
"More to the point," Kon-El interjected, "She has a dibs list?"
"Apparently she does, Kent," Damian said, coolly, "And I find it very hard to believe that you lived with her for several years, dated her for six months and have several forms of advanced hearing and vision and didn't discover this information."
Kon-El looked at the others; "You guys all knew?"
Static looked amused; "Ravager has been in charge of dibs on multi-hero villains like Deathstroke and Prometheus for years."
Several pairs of eyes flitted to Arsenal, who had visibly stiffened at the mention of Prometheus and Static coughed uncomfortably. "Anyway, did anyone hear about that funny story with Blue Beetle's armour and Ravager?"
The moment was gone as everyone turned back to Static, who managed a convincing grin; "Blue's armour started texting her jokes, but made them seem like they were from Blue."
"The armour was flirting with her?" Red Robin asked.
"And she was flirting back!" Static exclaimed.
Hood smirked; "There are worse inanimate objects to be in a relationship with; right Roy?"
He called back to his teammate, who shrugged.
Hood's smirk widened, "At least Beetle's armour was sentient."
Arsenal pointed at Hood while his head was still in a cupboard; "One more word, egg-head, and you'll find my foot so far up your you-know-what that you'll have toes for teeth."
AN: Anyone who spotted any references to comics, in this or Blue Bird, can have a virtual cookie.
Reviews always apprieciated.
Until next time...