Robin burst out of the portal, racing for the lounge. It had taken Batman and him a couple of months to repair the damage to the USB Kitty had downloaded and then reverse the effects of her abilities on the data saved, but they had finally retrieved something worthwhile. The teen skidded to a halt in the kitchen, eyes fixed on the lounge.
Kitty sat in the corner reading a book, her legs draped over Wally's lap as he attempted to complete his homework. M'gann was fussing in the kitchen, getting Kitty to taste everything as she went. "Not so fast Speed Racer," Kitty reprimanded as he lent forward to a bite of the martian girl's latest creation, "Homework first." Wally pouted and whined slightly before ducking his head back to his school work.
Robin took a seat using the computer system to summon everyone into the living area. The moment everyone was gathered the teen took the floor. "So Batman and I finally pulled some information thanks to Kitty's download of Ra's al Ghul's computer," the acrobat told them, earning the girl a one-armed hug from Wally, "Thanks to that intel we have a location for the League of Shadows. Batman did a little recon and we've got the basics on a facility in Wyoming and he wants us to check this place out."
The team decided to take two jets, M'gann piloting her craft with Conner, Kaldur and Artemis while Kitty took Wally, Robin and Roy in the Quin-jet. The archer claimed the seat beside Kitty, taking over the secondary flight controls, forcing Wally and Robin to take their places on the bench seats in the hull. M'gann let the Quin-jet fly first, using the signal jammers to hide both crafts from view as they gently landed in a clearing.
Getting in was easy, Robin and Kitty scaled the wall and opened a vent shaft large enough for everyone to slip through. Once inside they split in to two teams. M'gann and Kaldur would search the facility with Artemis and Conner watching their backs while the rest headed for the control room. Lockheed perched himself on Wally's shoulder as he and Roy stood guard with Robin and Kitty tapping away at the keyboards. "Okay," Robin called through the comms, "Looks like everything's in the main hanger. We'll meet you there."
As one, they moved through the facility, Kitty and Robin utilizing stealth to silence anyone they met on the way while Wally made use of his speed to surprise them so Roy could knock them out. The eight heroes burst into the hanger only to find in practically empty. "What's going on?" Artemis asked, glancing around at the bare room.
"Perhaps I can answer that," Cheshire purred, dropping to the floor in front of them while Sportsmaster sealed off the door behind them, "this is called a trap." A snap of her fingers and three creatures with the cobra serum dropped to the floor behind her. Roy pointed his arrow straight at Sportsmaster while Cheshire leveled her blades at Kitty. "You're mine girly," Cheshire growled out as the mutant girl drew her blades, stepping forward to face the assassin. "I wouldn't have it any other way," the brunette replied, offering a polite bow.
M'gan stepped up to Conner's side, Artemis shifting closer to Kaldur as Wally and Robin nodded to each other, the three pairs picking their opponent before charging. Wally took one last look at Kitty and Cheshire circling each other before turning back to his beast. Roy ducked and weaved, firing off arrows to counter Sportsmaster's attacks. Lockheed stayed hidden in the rafters, Kitty had told him to remain hidden unless needed and he intended to do just that.
Cheshire inclined her head, acknowledging the bow before darting forward. Kitty side-stepped, using the assassin's momentum to land a kick to her back. Cheshire stood to face Kitty only to have them both jump backwards as the beast Kaldur and Artemis was fighting skidded past. Taking the opportunity, the assassin leaped tackling Kitty to the ground and raising a Sai to stab her heart when Kitty phased into the floor, letting the blade stab concrete. "Well, well, well," the green-clad woman purred, "That is a neat trick."
A booted foot caught the assassin's chest, sending her flying backwards as Kitty came back up through the floor. Cheshire blew a kiss before scurrying up a ladder onto the raised boardwalk. Kitty took chase, flipping up on to the metal platform to continue the fight. If Cheshire wanted to raise the stakes, she was more then willing to oblige.
Kaldur distracted the beast, using his water to keep their target in place while Artemis tried to find a weak spot for her arrows. Conner was trading blow for blow, M'gann levitating everything she could to knock their creature out. Wally ran circles around their opponent giving Robin the time he needed to assess the situation. Lockheed swooped between all three, giving a small fire-blast to serve as a distraction to let the teens land a hit. "We need to work together," Robin called out through M'gann's mental bond with the group, "Use the beasts to take each other out." Working on each other's strengths, they slowly angled their battles until ducking one way or another had their foes smashing each other instead of the heroes.
Kitty and Cheshire ducked and weaved, trading blows blade for blade. The metal walkway restricted their better maneuvers, giving Cheshire's smaller blades the advantage she craved. The assassin darted in under the mutant's blades forcing the girl to dodge backwards, one sai nicking her cheek. A well placed foot had Kitty slipping, her back connecting with the grated metal. Glancing to the side, Kitty eyed a shipping container. Rolling her back, Kitty used the momentum to launch herself back up, both feet connecting with Cheshire's chest hard, her back connecting with metal once more before springing back to her feet.
Checking that her opponent was still recovering from her kick, Kitty placed her hands on the rail, using a handspring to gain momentum before back-flipping over to the container, blowing a challenging kiss to Cheshire as she landed with the cat-like grace she'd been named for. Cheshire launched herself after the girl, using a suspended chain to swing herself over. Taking a quick peek over the edge the assassin grinned, they were two stories up, high enough that a fall would either wind them, or knock them unconscious. Kitty twirled her katanas, their game of cat and mouse was about to be over.
Both women charged, ducking and dodging each others blows while trying to land their own hits. Ducking down Kitty swung a leg up to connect with Cheshire's head, forcing the older woman backwards as the younger girl followed up with a sweeping kick to knock her legs out from under her. The assassin flipped backwards, rolling with the blows and planting her feet to come back with a couple of hits of her own. Racing towards Cheshire, Kitty side-stepped using her speed to swing around her opponent, one leg staying at her back as the other wrapped around her waist sending her to the ground before the mutant girl smashed the hilt of her katana down on her mask. Cheshire flipped them over, gaining the higher ground while smirking dangerously behind her mask.
The heroes almost had the beasts when four of them suddenly dropped. Wally turned to Robin, his eyes wide. "I can't use my speed," the red-head told him just before the beast sent him flying across the room. With only Artemis and Robin to rely on the team fell hard, the creatures bringing them to their knees before soldiers filtered in and bound them. "That's because I cut your powers," a military man told them in a slightly southern drawl, "I had this place rigged with inhibitors just for you." A nod sent the beasts over to help Sportsmaster bring Roy to his knees, the archer joining the rest of the team in front of the General.
"The name's General Stryker," the man informed them, glancing around the room, "but I'm sure my pretty little animal's already told you all about me. Where is my little animal?" As if in answer, Cheshire's body flew from the top of the shipping container, her mask flying as she hit the ground. A girl with twin katanas using her body to cushion the impact before stabbing the blades into the arms of the kimono to keep the unconscious woman in place. "Ah, there she is," Stryker exclaimed calmly as he turned to Kitty, "Are you ready to come home?"
Kitty spun, reaching for her blades before Stryker stopped her. "I wouldn't if I were you," the General mocked, pointing a lazy finger to her friends kneeling with numerous guns pointed at their heads, "Not if you don't want to see their brains blown out. Now be a good girl and put your pretty necklace on." Styker tossed her an inhibiting collar, keeping a steady eye on the little mutant.
"Don't do it Kitkat!" Wally screamed, he didn't care what happened to them, as long as Kitty lived nothing else mattered. Her blue eyes locked on his frantic green orbs and suddenly she knew, she would do anything to keep him safe, even become a puppet. "If I do this," Kitty asked, her voice shaking slightly, "If I go with you, they go free?"
"You have my word," Stryker told her, his voice calm and even. Kitty glanced to Wally one last time, silently asking him to forgive her as she placed the collar around her neck. Two soldiers came up behind her, tugging her wrists behind her to handcuff the girl. "Kill 'em," Stryker told them, nodding his head towards the heroes.
"No!" Kitty cried jumping up to kick the two soldiers behind her in the face, "Lockheed, NOW!" She spun to Stryker only to have his fist connect with her stomach. The mutant coughed up a mouthful of blood as he threw her into the back of a van and ordered the driver to go as he climbed in the cab. Wally closed his eyes against the inevitable, he'd failed to protect her from Stryker and now his friends would be dying with him. He'd never see Kitty again and that thought alone hurt more then anything he'd felt before, so much he was almost glad death was coming for him.
May your thoughts and creativity flow,
Lady Ami DragonHeart