Chpt. XXIX: Raid

Dick rode in the passenger seat of the black off-road Jeep. Dick stared out the window. They drove out to Metropolis, but the base was set towards the outskirts of the city, away from the wandering eyes of the public. The area was a vast barren dry plain, almost near some mountains. Were they the Appalachian mountains? Dick shook the questions from his mind. He stared into the dark sky. He could see the stars lighting up the night from above. Dick smiled. It was a really beautiful scene. Dick would have to remember to take Barbara out one night to a place like this & watch the stars.

Dick turned to Roy, who was driving the Jeep. "Are there any girls in your life?" Dick asked.

Roy, with both hands gripping the driving wheel tight, glanced at Roy, but then turned back ahead. "Dude, are you seriously asking me this now?"

Dick shrugged. "Why not? I'm curious."

Roy rolled his eyes. From behind his seat, Dick could hear Rachel scoff. "Cut the guy some slack, dude. He wants to get to know you before we all die."

"Shut the fuck up," Roy grunted. "We're not going to die."

"Hmph," Rachel murmured. "Whatever."

Dick looked up ahead. "Stop, Roy."

Roy slammed his foot on the brake, sending the car to a skirting stop. Dick, Roy, & Rachel's bodies were both pushed forward, but were held back by their seatbelts.

Dick glanced at Roy, grinning. "And you weren't gonna wear that."

Roy turned to Dick, panting. "Okay," he said slowly. "Why did we stop."

Dick pointed ahead. In the distance, there was a small bright light shining. A sort of spotlight spun around every few seconds, acting as a sort of illuminating sonar. "That's the base," he said. "We should go onward on foot, otherwise we'd be noticed."

Roy nodded. "Okay," he said softly. Roy turned back to Rachel. "Are you ready to die?"

Rachel gave an ugly face back to Roy. "Yeah, but not before you."

Dick rolled his eyes. "You guys are the worst," he joked, stepping out of the Jeep.

The three stepped out of the car & went around to the trunk. Roy opened it up, then opened the floorboard of the trunk. In the hidden compartment, there was three black duffel bags laying there. Roy handed one to Dick, one to Rachel, & hoisted one up & set it down beside his feet. Dick looked up at Roy & Rachel.

Rachel had begun unpacking a black suit that she had insisted on bringing herself. Dick hadn't seen it until now. It was open & flowy, which Dick wasn't sure would be good for this mission. It resembled a cloak. He glanced over at Roy, who began strapping on a dark black body suit with a small hint of red when glistened in the light. Roy removed a pair of red glasses & set them on his face, which then glowed for a brief second. He unpacked the red bow & arrows. He slung the quiver holding the arrows around his shoulder, then strapped it tight to his back. The bow retracted into a small staff, which then shrunk into a foot long stick that he slid into a bracelet on his left wrist. It was a hell of a set up.

Dick smiled, satisfied with the preparation for the raid, then opened his bag up. He had his own body suit to be fitting himself into. His had a hint of blue. He didn't know whose idea it was to add that color, but he didn't mind. He liked it. Dick then removed a long black staff from the bag. It was the weapon he asked Harper to design for him. He felt like he would know how it worked. After all, he specifically asked for it himself. Whether or not Harper had added modifications to it, Dick had no idea.

"Okay, guys," Dick started. "Check your bags for an earpiece. We need that to keep in touch with Harper."

Rachel & Roy nodded, then dug in their bags for their earpiece. The three placed their earpieces in their right ears. Suddenly, a static noise shocked the three, but then a soft hum.

"Oh, hey," Harper's voice crackled. "Did you guys make it ok?"

"Yeah," Dick answered. "We're about to head into the base now."

"Okay, that's good. Stay super careful, guys. I won't be able to guide you guys until you get inside the facility. I don't have eyes on you right now, so be careful in the meantime. Keep your coms on & active at all times. You won't only need to communicate with me, but with each other too. Good luck, guys."

Suddenly, the com went dark. A soft hum was able to be heard, but nothing else. Dick glanced at Roy & Rachel, who both nodded softly. They were ready.

The three walked towards the base. They walked a long while. Dick began feeling tired, trekking through the rough hilly ground, but he pushed on. Roy & Raven weren't too far behind. They walked slowly to avoid any precautions that Cadmus might have set up before reaching the fence. Dick sighed, feeling his legs growing more & more numb with each step. He shook himself up, regaining his focus. He couldn't be dozing off now. It was the worst time to feel weak.

Finally, the three were about a few yards away from the fence. Dick crouched behind a thorny bush nearby. Roy & Rachel followed suit. The three sat there for a few moments, resting.

Dick scanned the ground. He reached in between his legs for a small pebble. He turned it around between his fingers. Dick glanced over his shoulder, back at the fence. Dick stood up for a brief moment, tossing the pebble at the fence. As the pebble came in contact with the fence, the fence glowed bright blue, electrifying the pebble. Smoke emitted from the fence, as though the fence had just fried a piece of meat.

Dick kneeled back down, turning to Roy & Rachel. "Alright then," he whispered.

The three sat silently for a few moments. Finally, Rachel sighed, breaking the silence. "Okay, well, I guess."

Roy & Dick turned to her. Rachel slid in between Dick & Roy. She grabbed Dick & Roy's hand with each of hers. "Okay, boys. Stay very calm. Take a deep breath."

Dick glanced at Roy, who gave Dick the same worried & confused look. Suddenly, before Dick could even guess what was about to happen, he felt an unexplainable phenomena. First his eyesight had gone completely. His chest began to feel as though it were filled with a gas, expanding more & more until Dick felt like he was about to burst. His limbs & face felt completely numb. He felt his entire physical being jerked around as though he were a ragdoll in a whirlpool. It was the longest second of Dick's life.

"Hey," Dick heard Rachel say. "You can open your eyes now, dude."

Dick suddenly realized that his eyes had been shut. Were they like that the whole time? He opened his eyes slowly, & his first instinct was to look down at his body. Nothing had changed at all. Whatever destructive feeling he felt was now suddenly gone. It left no physical damage on him.

"Whoa," Roy hummed. "What the fuck?"

Dick turned to Roy, who was staring at the fence. Dick looked over at the fence & noticed that the car they had driven in was now on the other side of the fence.

"What…" Dick turned back behind him to see that the base was now in their reach.

Dick turned to Rachel, who gave a small & faint grin. "You're welcome," she said softly.

Dick shook his head in disbelief. "Okay," he said, his voice cracking momentarily. "Well...alright then."

Suddenly, a spotlight lit Dick, Rachel & Roy on the ground. Dick quickly bent down to the ground & followed the trace of the light. He held his hand up to be able to see the source clearly. A watchtower had spotted them.

Before Dick could even react, he heard a quiet swift movement in the air beside him. As he stared up at the watchtower, he could see the spotlight slowly turn a few degrees to the right, shining the light away from the group.

Dick turned behind him. Roy had his bow in his hand. It was aimed right at the tower with his right arm pulled back already. Roy had made the shot that had saved their asses.

Roy grinned. "What are we waiting for?" he said in a smug tone.

Dick sighed and nodded towards the base. The three continued to walk across the barren field. They kept their heads low & their chests towards the ground. Just as they began getting closer & closer to the main entrance to the building itself, Dick heard a soft chatter. Dick motioned to Roy & Rachel to get low onto the ground. They crawled behind another nearby bush & took cover near it. Dick peered through the bush, seeing two soldiers armed with weapons patrolling the area.

Dick turned to Roy & Rachel. "Two guys coming in close," he whispered. "I'll take them."

Before either could object to this, Dick leaped out from behind the bush & sprinted at the two unexpecting men. They took a brief second to react in surprise before they could fall into their necessary killer instinct. That brief second was all Dick needed.

Dick ran up to the first man who was raising his rifle to aim it at Dick. Before the gun even reached the guards face, Dick swung his leg around, kicking the rifle out of the guards grasp. Dick then threw one swift punch at his chest and another at his neck. Then Dick swung his leg back around, connecting his boot with the side of the soldier's face. There was a distinct crack as the man crumbled down.

The next man already had his rifle up when the first man fell down. Dick rushed to him & used his left arm to deflect the gun, pushing the man out of his firm stance. The imbalancement was what Dick needed to disarm him. Dick used his forearm & pressed it hard against the back of the guard's arm. He screamed, dropping the rifle from his hand. Dick might have broken the arm. He then leaped onto the man's back, legs wrapped around the chest & arms around the soldier's neck, choking him. In a brief second, Dick broke the soldier's neck as he twisted the head, detaching the skull from the spine. The lifeless body crumpled to the ground as Dick looked up at Roy & Rachel. There stared at him. Dick couldn't tell if it was out of amazement or pure judgement.

Dick shook it off. "Come on," he grunted, nodding to Roy.

Roy & Dick spent the next few minutes changing into the guard's military uniforms. Rachel stood watch as Roy & Dick transformed into what they appeared to be real soldiers. Rachel tilted her head to the side. "Okay, so, I guess I have to sneak in my own way."

Dick & Roy glanced at each other. "Can you?" Roy asked.

Rachel nodded, and within a split second, her body was suddenly gone. Dick couldn't see her. She had disappeared out of thin air.

Dick stammered to ask where she was, but Roy lightly tapped his shoulder. "Don't dwell on it. We need to keep going."

Dick nodded and began walking towards the base. He walked beside Roy with the rifle strapped to his body & resting in his hands. As he approached the building, Dick could see more guards around the entrance area of the building. Dick walked passed two guards before entering the building. He glanced at the guards quickly before they could look at Dick and recognize his face.

"Shit," Dick hissed.

"What?" Roy whispered back.

"The tags," Dick mumbled.

The two stopped in their tracks in front of the doors. Dick turned around quick, facing his back to the door. He nudged Roy to do the same. "We have the other guards' faces on our tags."

Roy groaned softly. "Okay, so what do we do?"

Dick watched the guards walking away from the base. When he was sure they weren't paying attention, he raised his right hand to his ear piece. "Rachel," he said. "Can you hear me?"

"What's up?" Rachel responded.

"Can you, like, change the photos on our tags with some voodoo or whatever?"

There was a brief silence. "What?" she finally spoke.

"Our tags, we have the wrong faces on the tags."

Dick felt a sudden chill beside his body. He shivered all throughout his body, & then felt suddenly warm again. Dick glanced down at his body. He tugged on his tag to read it clearly. The name on the tag said "Richard Grayson".
Dick turned to Roy. The tag on his chest said "Roy Harper".

"We're good," Dick said. The two proceeded through the building. They walked into the lobby, where a blonde receptionist sat behind a desk typing away at a computer. She slowly looked up through her big framed glasses as Roy & Dick approached her.

"Hello, gentlemen," she said. "Where are you two headed tonight?"

"Okay, Dick, say that you're going to transport the product to the Cobblepot client. Say Roy is going to the testing facility for the alien subjects," Harper told Dick over the ear piece.

"Harper here is going to the alien testing facility. I'm on my way to assist the transport of the product for the Cobblepot client."

The blonde smiled. "Alright," she started. She turned to Roy & a smile rose across her shy cheeks grew a little red. "Mr. Harper, the testing facility will be to your right down that hall."

Roy nodded, grinning. "Thank you, beautiful," he said softly before making his way down the hall slowly.

The blonde watched him walk away. As soon as he was out of sight, she turned to Roy. "Is he new?" she asked eagerly.

Dick stared at her dumbfoundedly. He shrugged. "I don't know, ma'am."

The blonde glanced back to the direction Roy went, then sighed. "Oh, geez," she breathed to herself.

Dick cleared his throat. "The Cobblepot product, ma'am?"

The blonde gasped, recovering herself from her trance. "Right, oh my gosh, okay!" She said in a panicky tone. "The product is down that hall to the left in lab D-97."

Dick smiled softly. "Thank you, ma'am. Have a great day." He turned to walk away, but then suddenly turned back to the receptionist. "Hey, um...I know you don't know me, but...if anything happens tonight, you need to leave as soon as possible."

The blonde looked up at Dick with her big baby blue eyes. "What?" she asked in the most innocent voice.

Dick took a deep breath. "If anything happens tonight, leave fast. Do you understand?"

The blonde stared at Dick. She slowly nodded. "Thank you," she said softly with a nod. She was in agreement.

Dick finally turned down the hall where the lab was. Dick raised his hand to his earpiece & pressed on it lightly. He heard a beep. The channel had been opened. "Alright guys, we're in position. Rachel, wherever you are, find Roy & stay with him. He's headed towards the facility where Cadmus keeps their prisoners. I don't know if they've done testing on Jim or Kori, but chances are you two will find them there. I'll try to find the nerve toxin. If anything goes wrong, rendezvous to the Jeep so we can haul ass."

"Hey, um, Grayson," Roy spoke over the earpiece. "I think we should each have a codename right now."

"I agree," Rachel finally responded.

"Hell yes," Harper agreed. "I'm 'Motherbird.' No! 'Bluebird!'"

"Raven," Rachel spat.

"Arsenal," Roy grunted.

"What the hell kind of name is Arsenal?" Harper scoffed.

"What the hell kind of name is Bluebird?" Roy called back.

"Sentiments, you little shit," Harper hissed back.

"Oh my gosh, you guys are pathetic," Rachel groaned.

Dick grabbed his earpiece from his ear & brought it down to his mouth. He blew into the earpiece softly, then brought it back to his ear. "Have I got your attention yet?"

Everyone was quiet except the soft breathing of a few.

"Good. Sorry, guys. Okay, first of all, your codenames are ridiculous. Like, seriously, what the fuck. But it's not a bad idea. This signal could be intercepted, so codenames are a good precaution. Everyone copy?"

"Copy that," Roy replied.

"Roger," Harper said.

"Yeah, yeah," Rachel mumbled.

Dick sighed. He had to remind himself never to put Roy, Rachel, or Harper together in another team like this again.

Dick scoffed. He was already considering when there would be another time for a team like this. Dick shook his head and continued walking to lab D-97.

The halls were bright white. They looked almost futuristic. Dick's footsteps clicked and clacked as the halls echoed like they would in a church. The reflections on the crystal clean floor startled Dick a bit. He breathed slowly & deeply, containing his composure. He was inside of Cadmus. He was in the belly of the beast. He couldn't fuck it up now.

He passed by several doors before he noticed one with a sign across the door. It was Laboratory D-97. Dick gripped the doorknob and slowly twisted the doorknob open. As he stepped inside, the first thing he noticed was the smell. It was strong, like a roach killer spray. It didn't feel safe to breathe. Dick glanced around the room. The lab had several tables set up with over 50 glass vials on them. Each vial was set up on a rack, holding them in group sets. The vials were attached to long tubes that each connected into one another that all led to long long tube attached to the roof. The long tube stretched all the way across to the right side of the room, where it leg into a large metal container by the wall. It was more than 10 feet high & roughly 6 feet wide, if not more. On the side of the container was a small thin glass window. Dick could see a dark material forming inside. Dick could see the deadly toxin.

"Hey," a voice called from across the lab. A soldier began to approach Dick with another soldier to his left & a scientist to his right. "What are you doing here?"

Dick cleared his throat. He put on his best nervous voice. "Hi, I mean, hello...sir. I was sent here to check on something. This is the lab with the nerve gas for Mr. Oswald Cobblepot, right?"

The first soldier turned back to the second, then towards the scientist. He then turned back to Dick. "Are you new here, son?"

Dick nodded. "Yes sir, I am, sir!" he called out, faking the best pubescent voice crack.

The soldier scoffed. "All these billions of dollars, & this is who Cadmus hires?"

The second soldier snorted. "They even got us a really dorky receptionist."

"She's hot, though," the first soldier responded.

"I should've taken the position at LexCorp," the scientist muttered.

"Excuse me," Dick said softly. "I'm supposed to help transport this product to Cobblepot."

The soldiers turned back to Dick. "Right," the first one said. "Okay, follow me."

Dick followed the two soldiers and the scientist across the lab to a door. The first soldier turned to Dick ."Okay, the client has an escort on their way. They'll arrive on the site shortly. Once they do, I'll send back for you. You can wait here with Dr. Garner, here."

Dick glanced to the door. There was another scientist standing by, twiddling his fingers. He wore thick black framed glasses & stood in a thick lanky body frame.

The two soldiers and the other scientist went to the skinny doctor & began speaking to him. The nervous looking doctor nodded quickly, & as the three rushed past the doctor, he rushed into the lab, brushing right past Dick. Dick glanced back at the nervous doctor, who was already at the big container filled with the toxin.

Dick slowly approached the doctor, who was recording data onto a tablet. "Hello," he said softly to the doctor. The doctor slightly glanced up at Dick, held a small hand up to him, & went back to recording his data.

Dick stared at the doctor with a raised eyebrow. He cleared his throat. "So," Dick started. "What is this, exactly?"

The doctor turned to Dick. "Well, in layman's terms, It's a nerve agent chemically engineered to react with oxygen, which will cause the chemical to combust."

Dick nodded. "Okay," he said slowly. "That's pretty cool."

The doctor stared at Dick, then turned back to his tablet. Dick sensed a bit of judgement from the doctor. "What do you think about this?" Dick asked.

"Um," the doctor hummed, eyes still glued to the tablet. "It is certainly an advancement in modern warfare," he admitted.

Dick nodded. "Hell, yeah. We can finally use something to take down those damn terrorists."

The doctor glanced back at Dick, then down at his tablet. This wasn't working. Dick was an unconvincing soldier.

"What's your name?" Dick asked.

The doctor looked up at Dick & pushed his wire frame glasses farther up the bridge of his nose. "William," the doctor answered.

Dick nodded. "William, okay," Dick repeated softly. "Do you have a family, William?"

William turned to Dick. "Excuse me?"

Dick sighed. "William, do you have a family?"

William stared at Dick. "I, uh...my parents live in Gotham with my older brother."

Dick nodded. "That's nice," he said in a soft tone. "I don't have a family. My parents died when I was young."

William set the tablet down. "I'm so sorry."

Dick waved him off. "It's okay, I'm kind of over it." Dick stepped towards the container of toxin. "I just wish I could have stopped it from happening, you know? I barely had any time to do the things I wanted with them. My dad never got to give me that advice on how to get a girl. My mom never got to cry as she sent me off to college. They never got to see me walk down the aisle with the love of my life. They never got to see me become the person I am today."

William nodded. "I'm really sorry about that."

Dick nodded. "I'd do anything to make sure they were still alive, William."

William bit his bottom lip in deep thought. "I guess I can understand that."

Dick nodded to the container. "William, this toxin is being delivered to Gotham. It's going to be unleashed on your family. Your mom & dad, & your big brother. They're going to die, along with thousands of other innocent people."

William stared at Dick, then shook his head. "That's not funny," he spat out, picking up the tablet & continuing his work.

"I'm not lying!" Dick cried.

"Dr. Crane told me that this was going to be sent to a military office in Gotham to be tested for warfare."

"That's a lie! It's being sent to Oswald Cobblepot. He's a corrupt businessman who has no interest in handing this to the military!"

"Enough!" William growled. Dick was taken back by this sudden fierceness in the shy doctor. "I helped make this. I know exactly what is going on. You can't just waltz in here & tell me otherwise."

Dick shook his head. "William, Cadmus is lying to you. Their sole interest is profit. They don't care where this product goes. Cobblepot is working with a very bad person, and they're going to use this toxin in a city wide attack on Gotham. There's already been two attacks. This is the next one, man, you have to believe me! Think of your family, William! You're being given a chance to prevent them from getting hurt, or worse. I never got the chance to save my family. Don't waste this opportunity."

William stared at Dick. His lips began to tremble. The words had gotten through to William. "But...I'm supposed to finish this last batch."

Dick looked up at the container. The glass window showed the container being mostly full of the toxin. On the side of the container was an electronic number pad. It read "90%".

"William, you have to shut this off now," Dick pleaded.

"Hey!" a loud voice called from the exit on the other side of the lab. Dick turned to find three soldiers standing there. Each had rifles pointed at Dick. "Put down your weapon & step away from Dr. Garner!"

Dick unslung the rifle from his shoulder & set it down on a table beside him. He put his hands up & turned to the doctor. "William, please, shut the machine off. Don't let the process finish."

Garner looked at Dick with eyes filled with fear. "I can't…"

Dick shook his head. "Son of a bitch," he mumbled.

"STEP AWAY FROM DR. GARNER!" A soldier shouted at Dick. The three of them stepped towards Dick with their fingers held on the trigger of the guns. Dick felt his heart beat fast & his palms grow sweaty. He really couldn't do a lot at this point. He may easily die. This could be it.

"Dick, if you're okay right now, speak," Harper spoke on the earpiece. Dick kept silent. He heard Harper sigh on the other end. "Alright, guys, I'm going to set off the alarm. So everyone else is going to know that there are intruders. Everyone will have a limited window before things get heated. 10 minutes at the most. Everyone, I'm going to count from three, & everyone pull out. Good luck."

Dick breathed deeply, trying to keep calm. He tuned everything out except the static voice of Harper Row counting down. "Three…two...one."

Suddenly the lights dimmed from bright white to dark red. The corners of the room flashed like strobelights. Horns blared from everywhere, deafening Dick. He reacted fast. Dick reached for the gun he laid to the side of the table & sprayed a rain of bullets all across the lab, shooting at the soldiers. One leaped to cover to the left, & another to the right, but the soldier in the center was shot down. His lifeless body crumpled to the ground. Dick took cover behind a table holding vials as he heard bullets being shot back. He glanced to his side to try & spot Garner. The good doctor was taking cover behind another table with his face buried in his knees. Dick looked up at the container with the toxin. The number pad read "100%."

"Shit," Dick groaned to himself. Dick began to shoot at the container with his rifle. He made indentations in the metal of the container, but after a few moments, realized his mistake. He had opened up holes in the container, where the toxic gas began to hiss out of. Acting on his quick instinct, Dick ran in between two tables & slid beside William. Dick grabbed his arm and ran towards the door with William trailing behind. Suddenly Dick heard a whoosh & the two were blasted by flames & were smacked against the wall across the hall of the lab.

Dick cried out in agony, but suddenly felt the scorching pain on his back cool down. He remembered that he wore a high-tech bodysuit underneath the military uniform. Dick glanced to his side, where he saw Garner's body lying still on the ground. His back was completely scorched. Dick could see the very bone of William.

Dick gasped. He cursed silently to himself. He had hoped it wouldn't have come to that.

"Dick, get a move on!" Harper cried in the earpiece.

Dick grunted and leaped onto his feet. He did feel a slight pain as he put pressure on his right leg, but he continued to push on anyhow.

Dick ran down the hall towards where the initial exit was. The blaring alarm & the flashing lights were distracting for Dick, making his head throb. Dick shook his head & put his mind to focus. He ran all the way down, where he found himself back at the receptionist's desk. Dick noticed the receptionist wasn't sitting behind the desk. Dick took a few steps towards the hall Roy had gone down earlier when he heard a scream.

Dick turned back, where he saw the blonde receptionist from earlier. She was sitting with her back against the desk & her knees up to her chest. She was rocking herself back & forth, completely in shock.

"Hey!" Dick called, then ran back to her. He slid across the ground to her side. "Hey, hey, you've gotta go, like, right now!"

The blonde looked up at Dick with her big blue eyes. "I...I...I…" she began to stutter.

Dick reached for her hand and squeezed it tight in his. "Please, leave. Things are only going to get worse."

Just as he was about to stand up, two more guards emerged from the hall & began to open fire at the receptionist's desk. The blonde covered her head with her hands in fear & let out a screech. Dick knelt beside her, keeping his head down. He thought of where a nearby gun would be, & then realized he wasn't unarmed. Dick reached behind his back and retrieved his black staff. He examined it for a brief moment, observing its qualities.

He gripped it tight in his two hands &, in a swift motion, rose up from behind the desk and swung the staff across the desk. He sent the computer monitor & papers flying across the front lobby, serving as a diversion. The soldiers ceased open fire for a brief moment, which Dick used as an opportunity. He leaped across the desk, swung his staff up over his head, then brought it back down on a soldier's head. It knocked the soldier out cold. Dick then swung the staff around to the second soldier's neck, which sent him to the ground, but he quickly got back up. The soldier dropped his gun and threw his fists up.

A grin rose over Dick's face & he shook his head with a shrug. "Alright, then," he muttered.

Dick tugged on the staff, which split into two smaller staffs. Dick didn't realize that would happen, but he didn't show it on his face. He twirled both sticks in his hands & lunged at the soldier. He swung one hand at the soldier, who deflected the attack. Dick threw a low knee into the soldier's gut, which made him double over. Dick brought his left fist down onto the soldier's head. The soldier fell onto the ground, but reached over to try & grab his ankle. Dick pulled his foot out of his reach. Dick gripped the right stick like a knife & squeezed it tight in his hands. He felt the stick slightly vibrate. Dick let out a loud raging roar & jabbed the staff into the soldier's gut. Suddenly, the stick was electrifying him, & the soldier's entire body was shocked & jolted him. The soldier shook & jittered as he laid lifelessly on the ground.

Dick turned to the blonde receptionist, who's eyes peered over the side of the desk. She had seen everything.

Dick slowly approached her with a warm smile. He held the two sticks in one hand behind his back, and held out his other to her. "I'm one of the good guys," he said softly.

"You killed them," the blonde whispered. "You're not good."

Dick shrugged. "Okay, maybe I don't seem good right NOW, but I did NOT kill those two guys." Dick stood up straight & reattached the sticks together, recreating the long staff. "I want to help you. But I'm on a time crunch. If you don't want to trust me & let me take you to safety, I understand. But you need to leave NOW."

The blonde stared at Dick's eyes. He stared back, seeing the strong presence of fear in her blue eyes. Her lips slightly trembled, and her eyes twitched as she couldn't keep a straight stare at Dick. Her mind & heart were racing too fast.

"Go," Dick said as he finally got close enough to reach for her hands. He squeezed them tight in his. "Please, if everything goes wrong right now, I want to know that I at least saved one innocent person's life tonight."

The blonde suddenly embraced Dick with a strong & tight hug, then stood up & ran passed Dick. She bursted through the front doors of the lobby & ran outside. Dick hoped she knew where she was going.

Dick stood up & ran down the corridor that Roy had run down. He glanced to the side of the halls with signs that directed Dick to the testing facilities. The lights & alarms continued to make Dick's head throb, but Dick continued to push passed the pain still. He couldn't let a simple alarm system defeat him now.

He ran towards a door that said "CAUTION" on a plate across the door. Dick shoved right through it, pushing with his shoulder. Dick began seeing glass cells on each side of the halls. Inside of each were a pair of innocent prisoners. Each person was banging against the glass wall, calling out for help. Dick rushed passed each, feeling a tug in his chest with every horrified face that he ignored. Dick finally saw Rachel standing in front of a cell. She was banging against one of the cells, crying out into the glass. Dick ran up to Rachel & looked into the cell. Inside was Kori, banging against the glass with tears running down her face. Next to her was a boy with pure green skin & hair. He looked like an alien, but he was clearly a young boy.

Dick pressed his earpiece. "Bluebird, can you get Kori out of here? She's in a cell at my position."

"Okay, yeah, I can open up her cell," Harper said in the earpiece.

Dick watched as the glass wall began to hum and vibrate. The wall slowly lifted up into the roof, & as it did, Kori crawled underneath the glass. She leaped onto Dick & wrapped her arms around him. "Thank you so much!" she cried.

Dick held Kori for a brief moment, then pushed her away. "Okay," he said. He glanced at Rachel, who shot Dick with a scornful look as the green boy attached himself to her. She shoved him off and nodded towards the hall.

"Come on, guys," Dick said. He didn't ask questions. He needed to find Roy.

As the four ran down the hall, Dick pressed into his earpiece again. "Roy, where are you, man?" he called.

"I'm in the biomechanics sector!" Roy called. "I haven't found him yet, man!"

"Roy, we need to get going NOW!"

Just as Dick looked up, he saw three soldiers emerge from an exit in front of them. Each held their weapons up & aimed at the group.

Rachel shoved passed Dick & threw her arms up. Just as the soldiers opened fire, a purple light emerged from Rachel's arms. It created a force field. It was the same energy she was using in Chinatown. The bullets fired right against the force field, deflecting the rain of bullets. Rachel's arms began to shake as she held the force field up, but she was bracing herself for her next move. She pushed her arms forward, causing the purple force to rush through the soldiers. The soldiers were thrown back and knocked unconscious.

"Come on!" Rachel called. Dick ran beside Rachel with Kori & the green boy behind them. They rushed through the hall, & after a few moments, Dick noticed a room with a sign labeled "Biomechanics".

"Watch the door," Dick called behind him to no one in particular. Dick stepped inside of the room as Rachel, Kori & the green boy stood guard at the door. Dick surveyed the biomechanics room. It resembled a long hall with different rooms in the halls. Each room had a few beds in the rooms. Each bed had a person lying, recuperating. Some weren't fully human. Some had entire mechanical body parts.

Dick went through the rooms & as he passed by one, he heard a cry for help. "Hey!" called the voice. "You!"

Dick turned towards the room. He spotted two beds in a room. One bed had a man underneath the sheets with his eyes shut. He looked unconscious. The bed next to him had a black guy calling out for Dick.

"Shit," he mumbled to himself. Dick ran into the room & slide beside the bed. Dick got a good look of the man. His left eye was covered with an entire metal plate with a red sphere inside for a robotic eye. His right arm was whole & muscular, but the left was an entire robotic arm with a cannon in place of his hand.

"Help me," the man said. "Please, I can't stay here any longer."

Dick sighed. "I'm going to try to get you out if I can. Do you know where Jim Harper is?"

The man looked up at Dick with a puzzled look. "Harper, yeah…" the man glanced towards the bed next to him. Dick turned behind him to see the bed with the unconscious man. Dick noticed a large amount of wires & tubes connecting from different parts of his body. Each of the tubes led to a small port on the wall on the other end of the room. Dick ran to the port and examined it. There was a small button next to it. Dick pressed the button, & the wall shifted down to reveal an entire glass casing with a body submerged in water. Dick recognized the body. It was Jim Harper's body.

Dick turned back & forth between the body on the bed to the body in the glass. The two were identical. How was it possible? Was the body in the wall a hologram? Dick shook the idea out of his head, not asking questions at the moment. Dick turned to the man with the robot arm, who nodded softly.

"Jim!" called Roy from down the hall. Suddenly, Roy's head peeped into the room &, just as he almost ran back out, he saw Jim's body. With an open jaw, Roy ran inside to the bed & clung onto Jim. "Oh my god, Jim!" Roy shook the brother, but noticed the wires & tubes. Roy looked at the trail they led to & gasped. He saw the twin in the wall.

A sudden cry startled everyone in the room. Jim in the bed was suddenly awake & in shock.

"Jim!" Roy called. He leaped onto the bed & hugged his brother tight.

Jim looked up at his brother with a startled look. "Roy, how…?"

"Never mind that, guys, we need to leave now!" Dick spat. He pulled Roy off of the bed & gave Jim a hand off of the bed. Dick began detaching all of the different wires & tubes on Jim's body, hoping it'd have no effect on him. Dick & Roy each took Jim's arms & helped him walk speedily.

"Oh, hell no," called the man in the other bed. He held his robotic cannon arm up towards the three. "You're not leaving me in this place!"

Dick groaned. "Fuck, fine, okay, get off of your ass & come with us, then!"

The man rose up from the bed & leaped towards the three & rushed passed them & poked his head out of the door of the room. "Clear," he said. Dick, Roy, Jim & the man all ran through the door & down the hall towards where Rachel, Kori & the green boy were.

"Come on, go, go, go!" Dick roared as a sudden burst of gunfire was shot behind him. He ducked his head low & ran towards Kori, Rachel, & the green boy. Roy, Jim & the half robot stood side by side behind Dick. He turned back to find them defending Dick. Roy shot his bow & arrows at a few of the guards, while the half robot shot some with his cannon arm. Jim began fighting soldiers in close quarters, using ferocious punches & kicks to knock them out. Dick turned see a back door opened from down the hall where Kori, Rachel & the green boy were. Soldiers emerged from that door and began shooting at them. Kori began to float up & shot bursts of plasma at the soldiers. Rachel's hands began glowing with the purple energy force as she motioned her arms in different directions, tossing soldiers to the side with ease. The green boy stood behind Rachel, unsure what to do.

Dick grunted to himself, & just as he turned back towards the other end of the hall, a soldier had made his way passed Roy & Jim. Dick ran towards the soldier, nightsticks in hand, and swung on at the soldier's face. The soldier blocked Dick's attack & kicked Dick in the knee. Dick toppled to the ground, & the soldier brought his foot up for a stomp. Dick rolled to the side, dodging the stomp, then brought his foot up to the soldier's crotch. The soldier fell to the ground, clutching his groin & crying out in pain. Another soldier lunged at Dick. He sidestepped & brought a nightstick down on the soldier's head, bringing him to the ground. Dick turned & briefly saw the half robot's cannon arm swung back, pointing in the space behind himself. Suddenly, the cannon shot a burst of energy into the ground. The floor beneath Dick began to shake, then start to crumble.

Dick turned to leap towards Rachel & Kori, but before he could get himself off of the ground, he fell through the floor along with two of the soldiers & the debris from the floor.

A painful shock went through Dick's body as he landed on the first block of concrete. He rolled off of that down several more blocks, feeling each bruise on his arms, shoulders & legs. His chest was scrapped, & he felt his jaw and nose hit a hard surface several times. He hit the back of his head on another piece of debris, but quickly rolled off of that & finally came to a stop. Dick groaned as the pain surged through his entire body.

"Dick!" called Kori. Dick turned his head slightly to see her fly through the hole in the roof, down the mountain of debris, towards Dick. She landed softly next to Dick & rolled him over. She lifted him up in her arms and looked down at him. "Dick, are you injured?"

Dick fought hard not to express any pain. He bit his lip & after a few moments, he breathed. "No, I'm okay." Dick struggled to stand, but Kori helped him up. Dick stumbled in his footing, & clung onto Kori's arm. He looked up at the mountain of debri, then at the hole in the roof. He had fallen through it. He had fallen into a whole other floor.

Suddenly, Dick heard a fast pace in footsteps. He turned to find a soldier running towards them. Before he could warn her, the soldier smashed a concrete block over Kori's head, knocking her unconscious. The soldier swung a punch at Dick, but Dick grabbed the arm, twisted it back & brought his other arm down onto it. The arm snapped in half, & the soldier crumbled to the ground, clutching his broken arm. Dick limped over to a nearby block and carry it up to his stomach. He struggled to bring it to where the soldier was, but once he did, he took a deep breath, heaved it up over Dick's head, & brought it down over the soldier's head with a fierce force. The soldier's head was cracked open with blood dripping out from a large gash.

Dick turned to where Kori's body was. He limped over to her & bent down to her. He shook her to wake her, but she only hummed to himself, as though she were taking a brief nap. Dick sighed and brought himself back up. He surveyed his surroundings to find another way up to the first floor without having to climb the debris up to the hole where the gunfire was.

Dick raised a hand to his earpiece & pressed down on it. "Bluebird, can you read me?" he called out. The only response he got back was static.

Dick noticed a dark blue light on the other side of the dark underground corridor. Dick limped his way over to the light, grunting with every few steps he took. He was in agonizing pain. His ribs were probably broken, his leg was hurt for the billionth time, he lost some feeling in one arm, & he felt as though he now couldn't breath without wanting to hack up a lung. Dick shook his head. He couldn't think of all of the things that were hurting him. He had to push through the pain.

Suddenly, Dick saw a long command board in front of a blue wall. The wall was glass & it was filled with a dark blue liquid that seemed to glow a fluorescent light. Dick approached the command board. He surveyed each of the keys. They were dimly lit with dark neon colored lights. The buttons weren't labeled at all. Dick was unclear of what to do with the board.

Dick glanced up to the wall. As he got closer, he realized that the wall was in fact a cell. It contained a human body submerged in the blue liquid. It was a boy, maybe Dick's age. He was tall & muscular with dark black hair. His skin was pale. He wore a black body suit that had the logo of Cadmus stamped on the left pectoral muscle. Underneath was an I.D. number that read "SC-619".

Dick shook his head. How the hell was Cadmus getting away with keeping human beings prisoners? What the hell were they doing to these people?

The ground began to vibrate. The havoc taking place up above made the whole room shake, making dust rain down on Dick. Dick looked up at the ceiling, then back at the prisoner. Suddenly his eyes were open.

"Whoa!" Dick cried out, staggering back in shock. The prisoner began pounding closed fists on the glass. He created cracks in the glass & screamed out inside of the water. Bubbles rose up from his mouth in a rapid rate to the surface. He finally threw his arms back & brought them down on the glass, shattering the glass wall entirely.

Water rushed out onto Dick, washing him down onto the floor. The prisoner stepped out of the cell & over Dick's body. He bent over and reached for Dick's collar. The prisoner hefted Dick up & shook him violently and aggressively. "You're one of them!"

"What?" Dick yelped, struggling and squirming out of the prisoner's grip.

"You wear their sign!" the prisoner growled. "Cadmus!"

Dick looked down at his soldier's armor, which had the logo of Cadmus on the I.D. card. Dick shook his head. "I'm not one of them, I swear! I only have this one as part of a covert operation. I'm here on a rescue mission!"

"Rescue?" the prisoner asked in a low hoarse voice.

"Yes, rescue! I'm a good guy! I'm here to help, I swear!"

The prisoner looked into Dick's eyes, as though he were searching for any sign of truth. More than that, it looked as though he were searching for hope.

Dick breathed softly. "I can save you. I can get you out of here."

The prisoner stared at Dick. He nodded slowly. "Why did they keep me here?"

Dick shrugged. "I don't know, man." He turned and pointed at the mountain of rubble & debris. "We need to climb up that & make our way up through that hole. That's where we'll escape from."

The prisoner kept quiet, & followed Dick to Kori's unconscious body. Dick knelt beside her and lifted her up. He carried her towards the step climb, but before he even stepped foot on the mountain, he felt himself being lifted into the air. He panicked and turned his head around. He found the prisoner holding Dick by his waist and hoisting him up as though he were a sack of potatoes. The prisoner & Dick slowly floated up through the air, towards the hole.

"Oh, you're one of THEM too, huh?" Dick mumbled sarcastically. "Well, alright then." Dick suppressed his genuine surprise and focused on holding Kori's body tight.

After a brief moment, Dick & the prisoner floated up in the air & made their way slowly through the hole in the roof. The three emerged into the first floor, where Rachel & Roy & the rest were still holding back the guards.

"Okay, everyone, push towards the door!" Dick called. Jim approached Dick & held Kori in his arms. Dick grabbed his staff & broke it into two lengths. Dick ran straight towards a soldier with a gun pointed at him and swung one of the sticks across his face. The soldier doubled over, falling to the ground. Dick brought a stick down onto the soldier's chest, electrocuting him.

Rachel was still using a force field against some of the soldiers. She pressed her force hard against the soldiers at the door and pushed the soldiers away. They each fell onto the ground. "Come on!" Rachel cried out.

Dick gestured for the group to follow. Dick ran with Rachel out of the door, with Roy & the half-robot providing cover fire for the group. Jim held onto Kori as Rachel shot purple forces of energy from her palms to soldiers. Dick surveyed the outside area that they had run out to. There were numerous soldiers, all shooting about the base. A lot were shooting at each other. It took Dick a few moments to realize that some of the soldiers were fighting completely different people. There was a third party involved.

"Everyone, we need to make our way passed the fence as swiftly as swiftly as possible!" Dick said over the gunfire.

Suddenly a soldier ran behind cover a few meters away from the group and began taking fire at the group. Roy quickly strung his bow & snapped it back. He released, shooting the arrow deep into the soldier's chest. The soldier dropped his gun & fell back. Dick ran towards the fallen soldier & snatched his gun up & began shooting at soldiers approaching the group. The prisoner began punching a ton of the soldiers that came close to them. The green boy found a metal pipe nearby and began swinging that at a few of the nearby soldiers, providing backup for the larger prisoner.

Dick moved in close, making his way to the group & still providing cover fire for them. Roy was shooting from the back of the group while Dick shot the front. The half-robot shot from the sides. They made their way to the fence in less than a few minutes.

The green boy approached the fence to climb it, but was pulled back by Rachel. "It's an electric fence. You'll get fried!"

The half-robot stepped up and aimed his arm at the fence. "Give me a second," he said softly. The man's arm charged up with a bright bluish white energy. He glanced back at the group. "I think you guys should back up."

Everyone took a few steps back, & suddenly he fired the energy pulse out of his arm cannon. The electric fence blew apart, creating large sparks in the air & the ground. The metal fence was broken down, but was now ignited and caught on fire.

"Shit," the half-robot grunted to himself.

Dick ran up to him & tapped his shoulder. "It's all good! Just run straight through!"

The group began crying out to Dick as he tossed the gun aside and began sprinting towards the gap where the fence use to stand. The flames were large, but it was unstable; the flames were flickering by the wind. He could make it.

Within a few seconds, Dick ran up to the flames & made a large leap through the flames, feeling a quick burning sensation, but the sensation quickly disappeared. Dick turned around to see where he was standing. He had made his way through the flames & passed the barrier. Dick looked down at his body. The body suit he was wearing showed almost no damage. He felt his face, which was tender to his touch. Apart from that, he felt fine.

Suddenly Dick heard an arrow shoot in some direction. Dick ducked, thinking it was shot towards him. Dick couldn't spot the arrow. A quick burst of cold wind shot out of the flames, causing the flames to die out fast. Dick stood in front of the charred remains of the burning fence & saw the end of the arrow dug into the ground. Roy stepped right over it, through the charred fence & towards Dick, followed by the group. He shot an angry look at Dick. "Don't ever do something that stupid again."

Dick raised an eyebrow at Roy, who marched past him towards the nearby Jeep. Dick didn't appreciate Roy's sudden change in attitude. All of a sudden Roy was a careful guy? Dick shook his head, not letting himself get emotional. They needed to exfiltrate the premises.

Dick followed the group & tallied up the amount of people they were suddenly bringing back. There was Roy in front with Rachel beside him. Roy's brother, Jim, was behind Roy. Jim carried Kori, who was still unfortunately unconscious. Behind Jim & Kori were the three strangers they had managed to save. The young boy with green skin walked in between the black man with the half-robot body & the mysterious prisoner Dick found underground. They had come to Cadmus to save Kori & Jim. They left with a total of five people. How were they going to fit into the Jeep?

Dick turned back to the base, where the soldiers were still fighting the other group of armed forces inside. Dick didn't know who else had broke into Cadmus & opened fire. Maybe they were the ones who caused the sounding of the alarms. Maybe Dick & everyone was just at the wrong place at the wrong time.

Dick shook his head. As the group approached the Jeep, Roy stepped inside of the driver seat with Rachel in the passenger seat. Dick directed the half-robot man to step in the backseat alongside the green boy, who embraced Dick with a strong & sincere hug, & Jim, who was still holding Kori. Jim handed Kori's body to Dick, who held her in his arms. Jim nodded in respect & stepped into the Jeep.

Dick looked down at Kori. She was still unconscious, but Dick had no doubt she was alright. It was a simple knock in the head. She would wake up soon. Her face looked so calm as her lips were raised in a faint smile, as though she was still having a good dream. Dick smiled at her. She was going to be okay. She would wake up soon.

Dick looked up at the prisoner he saved from the underground prison chamber. He stared at the Jeep nervously. Dick smiled. "Don't worry. It's going to be okay, man."

The prisoner nodded softly, looking down at the ground. Dick nodded and walked to the trunk of the Jeep & opened it with his fingertips. Dick struggled to push the Jeep trunk open, but the prisoner helped. Dick nodded to the trunk & shrugged. "I didn't know we'd have this many people leaving with us. If I did, I would've made sure we had a bigger ride."

The prisoner smiled softly and stepped into the trunk. He bent low to stand inside & sat down with his legs crossed & his back against the wall. Dick laid Kori down on the floor of the trunk & crawled inside as well. He shut the Jeep door & positioned himself across the freed prisoner. Dick brought Kori closer to him and laid her head on his lap as a cushion. She moaned softly to herself. Dick couldn't help but smile.

Dick looked up at everyone in the Jeep. "Good job, everyone. This was good. We did great. Now, let's get out of here."