READ THE AUTHORS NOTE AT THE END!
I own nothing but the characters that don't appear in the DC universes.

-

Heru

Blacklash stepped out of the bus and into the station. He had taken his guise of John Black, the one he had come to think of as his own. Out of the multitude of faces he could take this was the most comfortable. Gear had speculated that he might have been sub-consciously calling upon the face he wore before the Big Bang but his reflection had never sparked any kind of recognition in him.

Since he had awoke from his coma he had been trying to find some clue as to his origin. According to the research he had done smell and taste were often the best senses to help recover memories. This didn't help him much since he no longer had such senses. Both his mouth and nose had been stripped from his face, assuming he even had them to begin with.

The mouth, nose and even eyes and ears that currently made up his face were all fake and didn't really work. Now- a-days he saw his surrounding through the three hundred and sixty degree Astral sight. Being able to see behind himself at all times, and even through the top of his head, had come in handy several times during his activities in Dakota.

He had made a point of listing as much about himself that he knew as he could. While smell and taste didn't spark anything other activities did.

Whenever he returned to his now natural state he tended to take more sinister poses. Rarely standing up straight he preferred to keep his back curled. Feral had told him that it was rather creepy, like he was getting ready to attack at any time.

At first he didn't understand why he would want to move like that. His back was always sore and instead of sitting down he would end up perching on the arm of a chair or on a table. After his arm was broken however and his bones became more malleable he found that it didn't hurt anymore so stopped worrying about it, though the question of why he did it in the first place never left him.

Another, and equally surprising, activity he found he enjoyed was climbing across the city. Whoever he was before the Big Bang he had been acrobatic to be sure. He would tumble, climb, jump, run, slid, flip and anything else that came to mind. His powers had added and extra dimension to whatever game he was playing as well. Being much stronger know he could leap across roads and over buildings and move faster. By creating barbed hairs across his hands and feet he was able to cling to surfaces not to mention what he tentacles could do for swinging.

The whip like tentacles was where he had taken the lash for his name. Not only were they deadly fast but also wicked strong. He could lift many times his own body weight with one and literally throw himself across the city. His time in New York had been the best yet. The taller buildings there had been perfect for him. He had not expressed this joy of course.

Another thing he found was that as Blacklash he talked as little as possible. It was like he was trying to fit in two personalities. John Black and Blacklash. This may not be so strange considering his desire to hide his identity from people but the fact that he had been doing it from the start was. It was like he was already used to leading a double life. One were he was a normal person and one were he was some kind of menace who tried to put people on edge.

He smiled at the girl behind the cash register as he paid for the map. How easily people did that. Simply pull a few muscles and a smile his born. Not so easy when you no longer had the muscles though. He had to literally mould his skin into the right shape. When in private with the rest of his team he didn't bother to move the false lips to talk. It was a nightmare when in public though. He had to keep reminding himself that he needed to move the lips.

The girl smiled back and gave him a playful wink. Technically he didn't have a gender anymore but he was sure he was male. His state of mind at that moment spoke volumes of evidence to attest to that.

Looking through the local map he quickly found the address he was looking for. Just yesterday he had been hit with a magic spell that he supposed to wipe his memory. Apparently the fact that he didn't have any had bodged it up and it had instead released a number of flashes of his past as well as a name. William Kaine.

Normally he would have asked Gear to search for the name but now wasn't a good time. Gear had only just remembered that a criminal from the future had murdered his parents. To ask him for help would have been disrespectful. Instead the older vigilante Batman had spoken to his daughter or someone over his com.

This Batgirl as she was called had proved to be just as efficient at finding the information as Gear would have been. Blacklash wasn't blind to the fact that Batman had only helped him as an excuse to question him. He seamed interested in his stealth skills. Blacklash couldn't be sure he had been taught them but Batman had seamed insistent. Just another piece of the puzzle.

While Virgil and Shanice taken a train home with Richie, and Amelia rode her bike into the sunset, John had taken a bus to the city William Kaine had lived in. In a lot of ways the city was like Dakota. Gangs, drugs and citywide apprehension. Following the map he found himself in what could only be described as the cities China town though judging from the signs in shops it was more like Japan.

If John didn't have to concentrate to pull any kind of facial expression then surprise would have been etched on his face. Turning to look at the shops again he re-read the sign, one written in Japanese. What it said wasn't anything unusual; it was more the fact that he could read it. He could read Japanese.

- - -

Dakota

It was late by the time Virgil and Richie got home. Virgil had insisted that Richie stay with his family instead of returning to the Headquarters. Before leaving for New York he had left a number of Nanites to excavate the five old shelters that he now owned. By now the five round rooms and each of their storage rooms should have been converted into five large rectangular spaces just waiting for him to fill with all sorts of paraphernalia.

Virgil knew he wanted to throw himself into his work but he wouldn't allow it. He had actually had to shock him a number of times before he caved and agreed to come.

Shanice had decided to go on a patrol after the long train ride. Being the athlete that she was she didn't like to sit still for such a long time so needed to stretch her legs. Throughout the entire journey she had complained that she would have been able to run home faster. Considering the speeds she could reach and her level of endurance this was probably true but she didn't want to stick Virgil with the grieving Richie.

- - -

Heru

Blacklash had defiantly been on these rooftops before. He would have been comfortable bounding about up here even back when he was blind. Every nut and cranny was fused into an instinctive knowledge. He could leap with full confidence that there was something to land safely on.

Having returned to his true form Blacklash was quickly making his way to the last known address of William Kaine. The apartment block wasn't much to look at. Apparently Kaine had lived here with his cousin and her grandmother.

Since then the grandmother had died and the cousin had moved out. William Kaine had been added to the missing persons database soon after the Big Bang, which supported the theory that he was William himself.

- - -

Dakota

Charge looked up at the lights that bathed the three of them in a green aura. It was supposed to drain the three of them of the energies Bang Babies needed to use their powers. These lights however weren't doing their job. No doubt thanks to that Amanda Waller.

Next to him Vamana was fiddling with the cuffs that bound his wrists together. When he had enough energy back he would spread the molecules that made up the restraints and allow each of them to simply pass through them. Then he would do the same to the back of the van so that they could make their escape. But before he could do any of that he needed to wait for his powers to return.

That wouldn't be long now.

- - -

Heru

The manager had not heard from his former tenant in some time. Fortunately she had left a forwarding address with him. He told John how she had moved him with her boyfriend at the time, though he didn't know his name.

The new address was some distance away. By the time he got there it would be to late to expect any kind of welcome. Instead he would have to find a place to spend the night and see them the next day.

It was during his search more accommodations that he saw them. Four shadows that moved across the rooftops. He wouldn't have seen them at all if it weren't for the fact he was on a taller building then them. They were each heading in the same general direction but they each travelled on their on path. Sometimes two or three of them would run together but eventually they would all brake away and travel alone.

Each one was dressed in what he could only describe as ninja garb and sported the same gruesome mask, though each mask was a different colour. The one with a white mask had a single straight sword strapped to his back while the green coloured one preferred two curved broadswords. Red didn't carry anything that he could see but he had the feeling they had something concealed. Finally blue carried a pair of Escrima sticks that fore some reason Blacklash was sure doubled as a blowgun.

Whoever they were they moved across the skyline quickly and with quite a daredevil finesse. They never hesitated before leaping from building top to building top. Running across walls, up and down fire escapes and drainpipes, rebounding of brickwork. If something was in their path the just climbed around or over it. It was truly a spectacle to behold. All the more so because they moved and rested in exactly the same fashion that he did.

- - -

The McKinley Residence

Amelia pushed her bike into the garage next to her mother's car. Removing her helmet she tied her blond hair into a ponytail before opening the side door into the house.

"Amelia?" Her mother called out questionably.

"I'm home mom." Amelia called back.

"Not for long you won't be." She heard her father say.

"Witnesses report that the three escaped meta-humans literally walked through the back of the transport. It wasn't until the van arrived at its destination that police found it empty and raised the alarm. All trains and buses out of the city are being inspected carefully before being allowed to depart though the general feeling is that these efforts came to late."

Amelia pulled the bobble from her hair before it exploded into the red mane of The Feral. The freckles on her face disappeared as her skin took on a golden hue and her eyes became a bright yellow. The Costume Cap saw to her cloths while her bike went from red to black.

"See." Leon said as he heard his daughter's bike ride away in the distance.

- - -

Heru

Tracking them wasn't easy. They never travelled in one large group so Blacklash had to make do following just one or two of them at a time. Keeping up with them wasn't a problem. His own skills were a match for theirs and his powers gave him an added advantage. The problem was keeping them in his line of sight. Several times he had to stop and search the rooftop for another group after loosing the one he was following.

Luckily he was able to keep sight of them long enough to watch them enter the building through the rooftop. Landing by the grate he lifted it silently like he had seen them do and followed. Clinging to the walls of the vent Blacklash slowly climbed down instead of leaping like they would have had to do.

Looking through the top of his head he could see nobody waiting for him on the floor below. Continuing to be cautious he pushed his head into the room. Able to scan his surroundings all at once he quickly concluded that the room was empty. Releasing his hold on the vent wall he dropped into the room and squatted on the floor.

It looked like an old garage. The two large doors that lead to the road outside were locked tight and any equipment that used to be here was long gone. It was dark but his aura sight could pierce through darkness with a blue tone. It was because of his aura sight that he saw the figure silently climb out of a hidden doorway on the floor. The hinges but have been well oiled because they didn't make a sound as the person pushed the trapdoor up.

"My the luck of the Oni smile on you this day." Blacklash said. Why he said it he didn't know, it just seemed like the right thing to do. For whatever reason it gave the person pause. For a long time neither of them moved. Blacklash could see the person's jaw moving behind their mask, they were talking with someone, but he couldn't hear any of the conversation. Finally they pressed their fingers into their neck and spoke aloud.

"And may that same luck not harm you tomorrow." Replied a woman's voice. Blacklash turned around so that his front faces her. It made no difference to him but he didn't want to make her feel uncomfortable. Like him she was squatting on the ground. "You're an Oni?" She asked.

"Depends what an Oni is." He replied.

"You managed to follow us?"

"Not easily. The only other person I know who can move like you is me."

"If you move like an Oni then you're an Oni."

"My name is Blacklash and there is a lot I don't know about myself."

"Such as?"

"My name for a start."

- - -

Dakota

She-bang was waiting already speaking to the officers in charge of the manhunt by the time The Feral arrived at the scene.

"I was about to call you." She-bang said once she stopped. Feral pulled of her black and silver lion design helmet.

"Need my nose?" She asked.

"This is your area of expertise."

"Charge…Behemoth and Vamana." Feral smiled after sniffing the air.

"What?" She-bang asked curiously.

"They're the hot twins remember."

"Hot twins?" She-bang echoed. Feral just purred. "You track them while I try and beat this image out of my head."

- - -

Heru

The Oni were ninjas for lack of a better term. They trained his arts of stealth and misdirection and specialised it non-direct crime fighting. They weren't exactly strict when it came to the law. They never killed unless necessary but they would influence others into killing. They would collect evidence against a criminal but they would also plant evidence if they couldn't get anything concrete. They were good guys, just not very nice people.

The luck of the Oni was something they believed each of them had. All members had faced life-threatening situations in the past but had come through them alive. Unable to call such a thing lucky or un-lucky it was their old sensei that had named it. It was the luck of the Oni, or Devil's luck, or touch of Q'wen. Many societies had their own names for it.

The luck of the Oni was what made them such powerful warriors. They could literally run through hails of bullets and come out the other side without a scratch, but the fact was they were still getting shot at.

When he explained his situation to them they confirmed that yes, William Kaine was once one of them but had disappeared. Their leader, Shiro-Oni, the one in a white Oni mask promised to organise a meeting between him and the last of Kaine's family. But that would have to wait until tomorrow.

- - -

Dakota

"You should have called me." Richie said as his fingers danced across Virgil's keyboard. Static had joined She-bang and Feral last night leaving Richie at his house asleep. The three of them, well Feral anyway, had tracked the fugitives across the city and finally to a train station where they split up. Richie was currently going through the stations records trying to find out where each of them went.

"I was gonna wake you but you looked so cute asleep that I didn't have the heart." Feral replied over the Shock Box.

"I've found out where the tickets they collected were to but I can't say who went where. We'll just have to pick one each." Richie said into his own.

"You mean we will just have to pick one." Static interrupted over the line. "I think I read something about resting after having your memory erased and brought back like that."

"Oh please. Like you ever read." Richie replied.

"The point is you need this time to rest." Static argued back.

"Oh, here I thought the point was you needed this time to prepare for your exams." He stated. Richie loved it when he won an argument.

"… … …Ah damn." Static moaned.

- - -

The Wardner and Kaine Residence

"I don't know a lot about before you were adopted. Your mother was only fifteen when she fell pregnant and she chose to have an abortion. I'm not sure how but you survived it."

Like Shiro had promised he had arranged a meeting with Kaine's family, specifically his cousin Michelle Kaine. Blacklash knew that the man planning to marry Kaine's cousin was actually Shiro and he now had no doubt that he was William. The more this woman, his cousin, told him the more it came back to him.

"After a while she was in a car crash. Fell into a coma after dragging herself to a gas station. When she came to term she had to undergo surgery to have you. You must have been the only reason she hung on for as long as she did because she died shortly after."

"My aunt Kat and uncle Tom adopted you and named you William after our grandfather. You lived in the same place for five years before the fire in the house. It trapped you in your bedroom so your only escape was through the fire. That's why I didn't recognise you. Your face was burned badly."

She had shown him a number of pictures of himself before the Big Bang. His face had been severely burned by that fire as well as having another scar under his eye. This eye was also red because of that injury.

"Homeless you came to live with me and my dad, your father's brother for a while. We grew close and used to introduce ourselves as brother and sister." She said with a fond smile. "Even after you moved to a new home we were inseparable. Your new house was close so the two of use went to the same school."

"Our parents decided to go on a camping trip together for the summer. It was on the third night that it happened. We were playing tag when a mountain cat attacked me. You tackled the cougar off me but it just started mauling you instead."

"I screamed as you tried to fight it. I'll never forget as you stabbed it the thing with a small knife that my dad got you. By the time your dad shot it you had lost a lot of blood. I was so scared you would die. You were air lifted to a hospital were you were treated. I don't know what it is about you Will but whatever it is it won't let you die. You managed to pull through, if just barely."

That's how he got the scar under his eye, he remembered. There were also scars along his arms after that encounter.

"While you were in hospital uncle Tom, your dad, died…aneurysm. You took it hard but eventually you recovered. You were quiet after that but became quite a little brawler. Your mom was called to the school after you broke a boys arm. You were teased a lot because you were so quiet and because of your face…burns, scars. You took it all well but when a bully pushed me into the mud…broken arm. You weren't teased much after that."

"Over Christmas you and your mother travelled to her parents to celebrate. While you were travelling a family of hunters who celebrated the holiday very differently kidnapped you. You were both were taken to a shack in the forest where each was given a knife before being released."

"They hunted you and eventually you were caught. You never told anyone what happened. We know you were shot and that your mom was killed. Based on the blood where they found her body, it's likely that you killed one of the hunters. They never found a body though, the rest of the family just disappeared."

"After that you came to live me and dad. Dad made you speak to a counsellor. Probably a good idea."

"I'm sorry but, how old was I by this then?" John interrupted.

"At this point ten. You lived with us for a year before we went on holiday. The idea sounded good on paper but in practice it couldn't have gone worse. You luck held up and the plane crashed, my dad…passed away. We barely managed to swim ashore with the others. A small island in the Caribbean. The plane had sent of a distress call so we were only there for four days. But we weren't the only things living on that island."

"We called them Rippers. Huge lizard-like cats. They changed colour and came out at night. There are so many strange things in this world. In my time here I would say that those things were easily the worst."

"We were taken in by my grandmother. She doesn't actually have any relation to you but she took you in anyway. That's when you met Wayne and his band of trouble." She smiled.

"Hey." Wayne protested.

"They called themselves the Freerunners. You joined there little band and spent your days and nights daredeviling from rooftop to rooftop."

"Le Parkour" John said. "I knew I was gymnastic and like my face I felt comfortable above street level. I did some research into it and found Le Parkour or Free Running."

"Actually the two disciplines are slightly different Le Parkour is more about…"

"Wayne." She interrupted. When he looked at her she shook her head with a smirk.

"Well, trust me they're different."

"Anyway. It was when you were fourteen that the fun began." Michelle said.

"Oh?" John wondered.

"Yeah, that's when we became Oni." Wayne started. "It's a long story so I'll just give you the highlights. We met and were trained by a man called Takumi Nishimura. After he was killed we became the Oni to avenge his death. Once that was done we found ourselves unable to quit and we still do it to this day."

"What happened to me?" He asked.

"Well…you were never a true Oni. You had the skills but you liked to take more of a direct approach. We, me and you, went to Dakota to track a criminal from these parts. I figured you had finally had enough and just gone off on your own. To be honest I wasn't very happy with you since I had to bring the guy in myself. I'm sorry, I should have looked for you."

"Wouldn't have made any difference. I slipped into a coma for three years and when I did wake up I had powers and no idea who I was. Well at least now I…" A beeping cut off John. "Excuse me."

Reaching into the pocket of his jacket John pulled out his own Shock Box. It was actually under his skin but he didn't want to disturb the other two.

"Blacklash." He said.

"Sorry to call in the middle of your quest of self discovery but I need you." Gear's voice said.

"What happened?"

"Vamana, Behemoth and Charge have escaped. I need you to go to Keystone City and track whichever one of them went there down."

"What about the other two?"

"They're for me and Feral. I'll have a bus ticket waiting for you."

"I'm on my way."

"That your new leader?" Wayne asked.

"Gear? No…well, he's the smart one so we all just follow his plans. They always tend to work." John replied.

"You have to go." Michelle stated.

"Yeah."

"Here." She said handing him a piece of card. Reading the righting he realised he was holding a wedding invitation. "And you had better show up. As my only living male relative I'm making it your responsibility to give me away."

"Thanks." John nodded before they showed him to the door.

"Don't be a stranger." Wayne said.

"I won't." John replied before his form shifted into that of Blacklash. Leaping up he climbed up the building before kicking off and snapping out a black tentacle. Swinging around the corner he vanished from the young couples sight.

- - -End of Kaine- - -

AN

I'm not happy. I finished this chapter about two weeks ago but then I went and lost the only copy so I've had to retype the whole thing! To make matters worse the original was much better then this.

Right, now that I've had my rant I a question to answer.

Mari says

I'm a little confused (okay, a lot confused) about Behemoth, Vamana, and Charge (maybe I just need to reread) and you expand more on them or aleast elaborate? I willing to wait.

Well it's a good job you were willing to wait. Behemoth, Vamana and Charge were the three Bang Babies who robbed a bank with Metallo. We'll learn a little more about them later.

That's it for the questions but I do have more to say. Aventurinne has done me the honour of drawing a sketch of my Dakota Titans team. If you don't already know there is a link on my Profile page so go have a look, it's surprisingly good. Be sure to leave a comment for her as well. I'm sure she like to here from you all as much as I do.

Finally I have a gift for you all. I'm going to hold a vote. The next four stories all take place at the same time so it doesn't matter what order I show them so I'm going to let you chose. Merry Christmas everyone.

The Super Girl and the Mega Mechanic

After following Charge to Metropolis and then to an out of the way town in Kansas Gear finds himself taking on more then he bargained for. Not only is Charge working for some very powerful people and displaying an ability he shouldn't have, but he also finds himself working with a distractingly pretty blonde girl.

The Warrior and the Predator

The Feral's hunt for Behemoth makes her cross paths with another feline and a certain Amazon warrior. The two join forces to track down the big man who has suddenly gotten a whole lot bigger.

The Scarlet and the Violet

Staying behind to protect Dakota the only thing Shanice was worried about was studying for her exams. But when a call from Virgil's father tells her his son has not come home She-bang soon finds herself in a fight with someone who is very interested in defeating the 'Vessel of Val Armorr'. Can She-bang's unreliable skills stand up to the merciless attack of Lady Shiva?

The Time-traveller and the Black Survivor

Blacklash was supposed to be tracking down Vamana. He wasn't supposed to be trapped in the past protecting some boy who can pick a boulder up over his head. Especially when that boy seams really interested in crushing him under said boulder.