10868letsgo - Thank you! I'm so glad you enjoyed the chapter!
Kinaki747 – Thank you for the kind review. It truly is humbling and means a lot to me.
Djberneman – For the purposes of maintaining the story's integrity, I won't confirm nor deny any of the Masked Stranger identity guesses. What I will do is give you and anyone else a shout out if you wind up actually being right when the big reveal finally happens.
Andresskorskiruiz – I'm glad you enjoyed it.
Anime hotty lover.18 – It means so much to hear you say that. You have been so supported of me throughout this story and I am truly grateful for that. This is the last arc so buckle up for this one for sure.
Canix – I won't confirm nor deny your guess. Just gotta keep reading to see if you are right.
Mr. Shiki – I don't want you to lose your balls or anything, lol. But you're just gonna have to wait till the big reveal happens. I'll shout you out if you are right.
Brave2000 – Yeah it felt good to do a small scale chapter again. It's a lot easier to write than some of the more epic ones from the last arc.
Rio Skyron – I decided to treat you guys with a quick upload. You all are the best.
1968 – I can't say who it is or what clan they belong to (if they even belong to one at all). No funerals this chapter.
Gabe – Yup, I had to end it with a bang.
Klexxsny – who likes an OP character? I'm glad you do but that doesn't usually bold well for good storytelling.
Eugene – nah, not once in that chapter did I write that Nabu was scared of Itachi. I wrote that he was pissed at him, which was very true lol.
"I don't know about this. What if he shows up?" A thug said worriedly as he got out of a car.
"Who Batman? He's too busy trying to save the world to care about small fries like us." The thug's companion responded. Since E-Day, the Justice League had been working into overdrive to try and to repair its image.
"Yeah, but Batman still patrols this city. I heard that he stopped a bank robbery by Two-Face's thugs last week. And plus, there are rumors that the Crow is back in this city. I don't want to meet that guy." The thug said as sweat dripped down his face.
"Stop being such a coward. The Crow ain't been seen since that Wrath fellow smacked him up and down this city. That creep is dead and Batman will be next if he shows his ugly face. We run this city now!" The criminal said to his accomplice as they headed towards their destination. Since E-Day, it has been open season on control of Gotham's criminal underground. The criminal currently in the lead of that race was Oswald Cobblepot, aka The Penguin. He was spearheading his crew through all of the competition thanks to his access to weapon's ammunitions. In Gotham, those who have the guns have the power.
Penguin had been selling to smalltime gangs throughout the city without impunity for over a month and a half thanks to Gotham's vigilantes being preoccupied with the likes of Wrath. Criminals like Penguin and Two-Face took advantage of the chaos that day and used their power to seize control over the city as crime skyrocketed. Murder, theft, extortion, and the illegal sale of drugs and arms; these gangs did whatever they wanted.
Tonight, a big gun deal was going down in an abandoned factory over by one of Gotham's piers. The two thugs made it inside and saw their boss sitting in the corner of a dimly lit section of the factory. He had two automatic rifles in his hands and a giant cigar in his mouth as he was counting the advance down payment that he collected before even agreeing to meet this gang and negotiate a price for the guns. He had become so powerful that you had to pay just to speak with him.
"It's about time you idiots got here! Were you two blokes followed?" The Penguin inquired as he put out his cigar. They both shook their head as their boss loaded up the last of the rounds into the gun magazine. He tossed the gun at them as they barely managed to catch it in time. The thugs put it with the other guns as the other gang started showing up, "Good, last thing we need is to be made to look bad in front of company. Everything checks out?"
"Yes boss. The gang has the money and they aren't rats." The thug confirmed.
"Good, last thing we need is to waste our customers. It's bad for business. Who'd want to buy from me if they thought I'd just kill them in the end?" Penguin said as the thugs shrugged in silence.
Penguin's enforcer stepped forward and revealed himself. The man was ripped to the max with muscles and stood at an impressive 6'5 inches. He probably weighed around two hundred and fifty pounds. He growled with annoyance, "The boss asked you idiots a question."
The talkative thug gulped as the coward one sent a silent prayer. The brave one stepped forward as he answered, "M-My apologies, sir. Uh, everyone."
"Wrong," The Penguin shot the thug with a .22 revolver and killed the man instantly. His companion closed his eyes in fear of having seen someone be murdered in front of him for the first time. Penguin eyed the corpse in disgust, "No one, that's who'd buy from me you bloody idiot."
"Want me to kill the other one, boss?" The enforcer asked. Penguin shook his head, "No because no one would want to work for me if all I did was kill my employees too. Thomas, that's you name right? Come here."
Thomas stepped forward as Penguin put another round in his revolver, "Do you know why he died?"
"B-Because he didn't answer you…" Thomas answered fearfully. Penguin chuckled at Thomas, "No boy, because he was stupid and I can't have stupid people in my crew. Are you stupid?"
"No sir!" Thomas answered immediately. Penguin nodded his head as the other thugs walked out of the room to greet the other gang before the sale went down, "We'll find out soon. If you aren't stupid and you do what you're told, you're gonna be a rich bloke, Thomas. But, if you are stupid and I find out, you'll end up like him there. Dead on the floor. Understand?"
Thomas quickly nodded his head, "Yes sir, I understand."
"Good, now go help greet our guests," Thomas began to walk out to do what he was told. Before he could leave the room though, Penguin spoke again, "You have a sister, right? Her name is Sophia. She's a freshman in college and you're doing this to pay for her school, right?"
"Yes sir, but how did you know that?" Thomas asked. He immediately regretted that when Penguin answered.
"Because I'm no idiot. I know about everyone in my crew. That's why Jacob over there is lucky he had no family or else they'd be dead too. You better do well tonight because if you don't, well it can't be helped. Julius here likes his women more seasoned, but I guess he should be able to make due with breaking Sophia in. That doesn't bother you, does it?" Penguin asked to test Thomas.
"No sir." Thomas asked in a defeated voice. He knew he was trapped now. Penguin smiled at him as he got off of his chair, "Good on ya, mate. You just might be a smart man after all. Now let's go greet our guests."
Penguin, Julius, and Thomas all walked downstairs and saw the Black Vipers, the gang purchasing the guns, already inspected the guns they were about to buy. Penguin smiled as he saw another good gun deal going down, ''I see you like that one. It's called the Scorpion. A personal favorite of mine and for the right price, a favorite of yours too."
"How much for it?" The gang leader asked. Penguin fake pondered as he replied back, "Hm, I'll do you a favor as a sign of good faith and give you a discount for it. One grand extra added to your total to throw it in with the rest of the guns you purchased."
"That's over ten grand you're charging me then!" The gang leader complained. Penguin's thugs raised their guns in response and the rival gang did the same as the two were in a stalemate. Only Penguin's men all had semiautomatic weapons as opposed to the pistols that the Black Vipers had. That show of strength made Penguin's point.
"Look kid, running this city ain't cheap. You need men, money, and guns. You have two of the three and all you need to get the third is a little over ten grand. Imagine how much money you can take with those guns instead of the water guns your men have now. You'll easily get that money back. Or you could do something stupid, get your entire crew killed, and I take the money instead. Which sounds like the smarter choice?" Penguin asked him.
The thug growled before signaling for his mean to put their guns down. He turned as called for his right-hand man, "Get the money."
Penguin smiled as he signaled for his men to put their weapons down, "See Thomas, smart men stay alive."
"I see sir," They all patiently waited for the thug to return with the money. When the thug got to the car though, he saw that the driver was unconscious. He turned in a panic to announce the news, "He's out cold!"
"What the hell? I'm not the one to be messing with, boy!" Penguin shouted as his men put up their guns and aimed them at the buyers. The gang leader immediately tried to placate the situation by explaining that he would have no reason to knockout his partner. He then took it a step further, "It had to be that Batfreak. He still thinks he runs this city!"
"Come out Batfreak! If you don't, I'll come find ya! And when I do, I'll put a bullet in every bone in your body. I have enough rounds for that." Cobblepot threatened.
There was no verbal response to Penguin's threat. He signaled for his men to search the warehouse and hunt the vigilante down. He went to light up a cigar and took a puff, but what came out wasn't the satisfying smoke he was expecting. Instead, a bloody scream came out as he found a kunai lodged into the back of his left leg. Julius ran to guard him by acting as a shield and stepping in front of him.
"Ahhh! Somebody get this bloody thing out of my leg!" Penguin ordered. Unfortunately for him, he got his wish as he felt a presence suddenly appear behind him, "That thing is my kunai. And if you want it out so bad, I'll happily oblige."
The kunai was roughly pulled out of Penguin's leg as the villain dropped to a knee in pain. Cobblepot and his guard turned to see the culprit was none other than Jacob, the man he had shot earlier.
"You! You're supposed to be dead." Penguin muttered as he tried to stop the bleeding in his leg. Jacob shook his head at the crime lord, "Not quite. I guess in the end, the only idiot here wound up being you. Still confused? Let me show you who I really am."
Jacob went up in a cloud of smoke. When the smoke dissipated, The Crow was revealed as the vigilante glared at the crime lord. Penguin gulped as he realized that he was looking up at a man even more brutal than Batman, "Crow?! B-But how? I shot you dead. I saw the blood on the floor."
"You saw what I wanted you to see," Crow then loosened his anbu vest as an empty pack of red liquid fell out as well as the bullet Penguin shot at him. Penguin had no idea what was going on so Crow decided to explain it for him, "Thanks to my new powers, the bullet never even touched me. It only pierced the pack of blood I had hidden under my vest. The blood that you saw splatter wasn't mine. To even get this deep undercover I had to capture someone close enough to you to know something and…interrogate him. All that blood was the result of that interrogation. I left him alive, but just barely. Just enough for the police to round him up and put him away."
"You…you monster! You're gonna get yours." Penguin shouted. He felt the rest of the men converging on the location and got arrogant, "You hear that, mate? That's the sound of all my guns about to be emptied into your cold, dead corpse."
"Really, because I thought I took care of all of them already." Crow corrected much to Penguin's confusion. Penguin shook the confusion off and ordered the surrounding men to fire, but none of them listened. That was when Crow put up a tiger hand sign and undid the genjutsu that Penguin was under. It was then that the crime lord realized that all of the henchmen and buyers outside of Thomas were out cold. Broken limbs, torn flesh, and the smell of fresh blood marred this facility now. Even Julius was in bad shape as Cobblepot saw that he had a kunai stabbed into his pelvis that led to him bleeding in places that neither Cobblepot, nor any man in general, even wanted to think about. Penguin gulped in fear from the realization that he only had Thomas left.
"B-But how? When," Penguin fearfully asked. Crow stepped forward as Thomas looked on at what was happening in fear, "From the very instant you looked up at me I put you under my genjutsu. That's why you stopped noticing your bodyguard after a while. With the element of surprise, it made taking these common thugs out all too easy."
"Thomas! You have to help me. Shoot him now!" Penguin ordered but Thomas did not move. It wasn't until Crow addressed him that Thomas finally responded.
"Did you call the police?" Crow asked. Thomas nodded his head, "I did exactly as you asked. They're on their way now."
Penguin turned towards Thomas with a look of both anger and disgust of having realized that Thomas was in on this from the very start, "You! You sold me out?! You're dead. You and your bloody sister! You will get what you got coming!"
"Speaking of getting what people have coming," Itachi used his Rinnegan to lift up the bullet that he was shot with earlier, "I believe this belongs to you. You can have it back now."
Itachi used Almighty Push to shoot the bullet out of his hand and had it hit Penguin in his right leg so that the crime boss fell to the ground screaming. The bullet was still lodged into his leg from not having an exit point, so the pain Penguin felt was even worse than with the kunai. Itachi walked up to him as he got ready to speak, "You threatened Thomas' sister earlier, isn't that right? Something about proving that he was smart. You won't harm her and neither will your men for that matter."
"Yeah, and what's stopping me?" Penguin asked in defiance. Itachi used his Rinnegan to move the bullet while it was still in Penguin's leg to cause excruciating pain. It cut and tore through muscles and ligaments in Penguin's leg to cause the man to cry out in pain. Crow eventually stopped after minutes of torturing the crime lord and having him beg for mercy. He and Thomas started to walk away as they heard sirens blaring in the distance. As they disappeared, Itachi left him with some parting words, "Because if you do, I will retaliate by harming your son, Ethan. Since you're so obsessed with people being smart, have you ever wondered what the inside of your son's head looks like? Touch Thomas' sister and I will bring you Ethan's skull. I'll even cut the crown of his skull open so that you can just how big his brain really is. You can determine whether or not he's smart of dumb for yourself. I hope you choose wisely and make the 'smart' choice. Let's hope we never see each other again."
The hurt and broken crime lord gulped as all of his resolve faltered at the thought of having that happen to his son. And he had no doubt in his mind that The Crow would carry out his threat. The cops came in and arrested everyone soon afterwards. Penguin didn't even resist or say anything foul-mouthed from fear of Crow hearing him and getting to his son as retaliation.
Crow and Thomas were outside at a distance when Crow addressed him, "Thank you for trusting me enough to let me in. I never could have prevented this if you weren't brave enough to do that."
"No, thank you from freeing me from his grip. You could have beaten me up and thrown me in jail when you first caught me out in the streets, but you showed me mercy and gave me a way out instead. Now, thanks to you, Sophia and I may finally be able to live without fear." Thomas responded.
"What will you do next?" Crow asked. Thomas shrugged, "Leave the city. This place is too dangerous. I know you and Batman are helping cleaning it up, but while you were here, someone on the other side of the city was getting mugged or worse. Gotham is a dead place and I can't risk falling under its influence again. I only joined Penguin's gang because he offered to help me pay for Sophia's college. I didn't even know he was a crime lord at the time. By the time I found out, it was too late and I was already in too deep. But you got me out from under and for that I thank you. I will never forget your kindness."
"Thank me by never letting me catch you with a thug like him again. Go live your life and be happy with Sophia." Itachi responded. Thomas went to leave but had one last question, "By the way, were you really serious about what you said about Penguin's son? I know he's a crook himself, but to do all of that to him seems excessive."
"I had to make him fear me more than he hated you. So in a way, yes I was. If he touches your sister, I will show him the inside of Ethan's head, but in a genjutsu. It will have the same effect as the real thing. Besides, I detest unnecessary violence." Itachi revealed.
"I see. Thanks Crow. You're a real hero!" Thomas said before running off. Crow turned to the sky before teleporting away. He wound up traveling to the rooftop across from Carla's home. After Wrath was dealt with, she was able to go back home. And Carson and James returned with her. It was a happy reunion between the three of them. A broken family that had been reunited in a way.
Crow stared at the group. He was happy that they could all be normal for a bit. Itachi heard a whizzing sound and turned to see a batarang thrown his way. Itachi caught it and saw that Batman was the one who had thrown it.
"You're late, Crow." Batman said. Itachi shook his head, "Penguin has been dealt with. Did you take care of Two-Face?"
"Soon. Crow, go to the Cave. I have a mission for the Team." Batman said as he started walking away.
"I take it I don't have the option to say no." Itachi responded.
"Why would you want to? You haven't been on a mission with them since Wrath showed up. I'll have you all briefed on the details soon." Batman said as he grappled away. Itachi shook his head, "I could think of a few reasons why I'd say no. And here I thought I'd spend the day with Carson tomorrow. I guess I'll just have to cancel. She's going to be upset about that, but I guess it can't be helped. My friends need me."
Itachi left to go to a Zeta-Beam console to be transported to the Cave. On the way there he found Artemis there too and decided to join her. She was talking to herself about being one of a kind when out of nowhere, Itachi dropped behind her. She turned in a panic to strike whoever it was that had snuck up on her, but got put in a joint hold before she could even get a word out.
"You need to practice some more. I didn't even have to try to sneak up on you, Artemis." Itachi warned as he let her go. Artemis turned as saw that it was her friend and gave him a hug before punching him in the arm, "Do you always have to sneak up on people, jeez. What are you doing here?"
"Batman wanted me to go to the Cave. I guess I was lucky to meet up with you on the way there." Itachi replied.
"I hear you and him have been busy with cleaning up Gotham's streets. I can tell tonight is no different with all of that blood on you. I take it hat belongs to the bad guys. Who did you take out this time?" She asked.
"I'm no busier than you and Green Arrow are in Star City. And tonight, I got Penguin." Itachi answered.
"You've heard about me in Star City? What do you think?" She excitedly asked.
"You've gotten better. You'll be a great hero in no time. You just have to work on not letting people sneak up on you is all." Itachi joked with her. She shook her head at him as she laughed at his crude joke, "Oh shut up. Come on, let's go."
They both got Zeta-Beamed to the Cave and were surprised to see Green Arrow and Red Arrow in the Cave. They skeptically looked at each other before being called by Oliver, "Artemis, Itachi, you're just in time. Look who's agreed to join The Team."
Wally celebrated the news, "Finally!"
Itachi could tell that Artemis' mood dropped from hearing the news, "Sure, The Team's needed a real archer."
'This isn't going to end well,' Itachi thought as he and Artemis walked to join the group. It wasn't just Artemis' mood that made him feel that way. It was also the dirty look Roy was giving him for some reason. Itachi could tell that Roy was no fan of his. Perhaps it was all of the blood on his clothes based on how everyone else was looking at him too. He decided to try and put them at ease, "Nobody died."
"That's not what has us worried." Roy replied as he kept mean mugging him. Itachi chose to pay him no mind which really ticked the archer off.
"Okay, people, listen up," Oliver said to try and clear the air. He went over to the monitor to explain what the Team's next mission would be, "The Dynamic Duo's on a case in Gotham, but Batman gave me a heads up. Sportsmaster was spotted coming through Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport."
'I get sent on a mission while Batman and Robin work a case in Gotham. There's got to be an ulterior motive for assigning me here for just one man.' Itachi hypothesized.
"He showed up in full costume? Nervy." Zatanna commented.
"No, in street clothes. Facial recognition software picked up the ID. Find out what he's up to." Green arrow ordered.
"All of us?" Conner asked. He was curious about the need for all of them to be here, "This is unnecessary for just a shadow job."
"Perhaps a small squad. Miss Martian's camouflage abilities seem ideal." Red Tornado suggested.
"I thought the sidekicks, sorry, ex-sidekicks could suit up on this. So Aqualad, Kid Flash, and Red Arrow are up on this one." Green Arrow decided.
Though Artemis was disappointed, the others were kind of glad not to be chosen. Conner voiced his pleasure, "Good. Stakeouts make me crazy."
"We could use the night off." M'gann agreed.
Itachi was glad to be left off because it meant that he could spend tomorrow with Carson. But then he remembered Batman's request to join this mission, along with the look of disappointment on Artemis' face, and reluctantly spoke up, "Artemis and I will join this mission too. I have more experience than even the Justice League at conducting covert operations and with M'gann and Robin out, Artemis is the next best pilot of the Bio-Ship. This isn't a request."
Artemis and the others look at Itachi in surprise. He usually was the first one to try and find an excuse to get out of these small types of missions. Artemis was also grateful that he had enough faith in her to ask for her to join over anyone else. Oliver looked towards his fake niece for reassurance, "Artemis, do you want to join this mission?"
"Absolutely." She responded as the small team got ready to go. Itachi hoped that whatever this was really about wouldn't cause some rift in The Team.
The Bio-Ship left out of the Cave as the mission began. Artemis was currently flying to the starting point as the other heroes waited and monitored the surroundings. Itachi was staring out of the window when he noticed Wally turn to speak to Artemis, "Uh, this could wind up being one of those things that sounds better in my head than out loud but…you are a real archer."
Artemis gave him a look of discontent as she felt that this was out of pity. Wally quickly tried to cover himself, "No, I mean, I'm jazzed about Red Arrow. Uh, we go way back, you know. But you, you've made your own place on The Team. You have nothing to prove. Not to me, okay?"
She took his words to heart after that, "Okay."
Wally smiled at her as he turned back to his monitor. She spoke to him again, "And Wally…it sounded fine out loud."
Itachi smiled to himself at the scene. Back in the hanger of the Bio-Ship, Aqualad and Roy spoke in private, "I gather you did not join The Team for the camaraderie."
"And not to please Green Arrow either. There is a mole on your team, Kaldur. You don't want to face it, so I will. And my prime suspects are Artemis and Itachi."
The group soon landed in New Orleans after a few hours of flight. They currently had eyes on Sportsmaster thanks to Roy being in disguise while on the ground with Artemis and Itachi providing oversight.
"The target's heading north. Pursue, but maintain a discreet distance. And that goes double for you, Artemis. And you too, Crow. After that giant mishap in Gotham, I can tell that subtly is not your style. Sportsmaster has proven to be quite adept at spotting Martian camouflaging when in motion." Roy said as he went to follow Sportsmaster.
Both Itachi and Artemis did not like his tone as he made it a point to specifically call the two of them out. They both ignored his jab and stayed focused on the mission. Aqualad swam in the river for cover as he followed the criminal and Kid Flash rode on a motorcycle on a nearby road. Eventually, Sportsmaster stopped and Roy halted everyone's movements.
"He's stopped. Hold you positions. I'm moving in for a closer look." Roy said as he went on ahead. Itachi could tell that something was on his friend's mind by the look on her face. She could tell by that look that he was asking what was wrong and though she appreciated the gesture, but still didn't feel comfortable enough to reveal the truth to her friend.
So instead, she decided that they were coming off the bench, "I'm putting the Bio-Ship on autopilot. Come on, Itachi. We're heading to the ground. It looks like Mr. Attitude over there needs our help."
The two dropped down and went to join Roy. Before they got close to him, another presence revealed itself, "Hey sis. I see you brought my boyfriend with you. It is so good to see you, handsome. I thought that Wrath had killed you but I am so glad to be proven wrong. You still owe me another dance. And speaking of people owing others, why haven't you revealed who you really are to all your friends, sis?"
"Boyfriend?! You danced with her?! Does Carson know about this?!" She asked accusingly.
"Ignore her and stay focused." Itachi replied with a hint of annoyance from having the memory of dancing with Cheshire brought up again.
"I still haven't heard you deny any of it. We are SO gonna talk about this after the mission is finished." Artemis said as she got ready for combat. Itachi groaned internally as Cheshire enjoyed their banter.
"Carson? You're not stepping out on me, are you? I'm hurt. Now you owe me a kiss," Cheshire Cat dropped down to attack them. Artemis shot an arrow but had it blocked by her sister. Cheshire pulled out a pair of daggers and tried to attack her sister, but Itachi blocked the attack with kunai knives of his own. He parried Cheshire's daggers down as Artemis lunged at her with a kick that knocked her sister back a few feet. Cheshire was impressed.
"Nice move, did Canary teach you that?" Cheshire asked tauntingly. Crow replied to the assassin as Artemis drew her arrow, "No, I taught her that."
"Of course you did. I'd expect nothing less from you, handsome. Oh poor little sister. You still play with kid gloves. I bet you run out of arrows before I run out of sword. Unless you plan on breaking out the pointy ones to use against your own sister." Cheshire taunted. Artemis gave Itachi a look of disappoint as Cheshire revealed that they were sisters, but Itachi stayed focused.
"I already knew that you and her were sisters. I've known for a while now. It changes nothing so stay focused. If we capture her now, we can get intel out of her." Crow said as he got ready to attack. Artemis casted out the disappointment and took aim at her sister, "You are working with Sportsmaster."
"Not my choice and not my call." Cheshire defiantly responded. Crow could sense Artemis' resolve beginning to falter again and decided to act quickly by using his Rinnegan, "Universal Pull!"
Cheshire was lifted off of the ground as an arrow was shot at her. The arrow dispersed into a net that trapped her to a nearby tree as Roy revealed himself. Cheshire than began to flirt with the archer, "Why, Arrow, if you wanted another date you only had to ask. Sorry Crow, I've been seeing other people too since Wrath took you out."
While Itachi was mentally thanking the heavens for hearing that news, Artemis got into even more of a panic, "You two are dating?!"
"What? No!" Roy denied.
"Oh, why deny the attraction. Is it because my other boyfriend is here? The Crow is nothing but a fling. You're the only one for me. After all Arrow, you're here now." Cheshire said. Itachi got a bad feeling about why she was using the specific terminology that she was.
A train suddenly came by and Itachi turned to see that they had lost track of Sportsmaster, 'She was buying him time. She must be in communication with him. That means he knows we're here too.'
Cheshire cut herself free and drove her sword into the ground, "I care about all three of you. I couldn't bear to hurt any of you…much."
Cheshire lunged forward and did a low sweep kick to knock Artemis to the ground. She then threw smoke bombs at Crow and Roy. Itachi heard the motor of Sportmaster's boat and knew that the criminal was getting away. Itachi knew he had to end this fast, or risk losing Sportsmaster.
Cheshire lunged at Roy through the smoke and tackled him to the ground. She had a dagger to his face as she was straddled on top of him, "So difficult, but if I had to pick one, I guess it's you. Oh, too bad, lover boy."
She then leant down and kissed Roy. Artemis recovered just in time to see it. Cheshire broke the kiss and had a satisfying smile on her face, "At least a kiss is still a kiss."
"And a knee to the face really hurts." She looked up to see Crow painfully knee her off of Roy as she was sent back a few feet and landed in a painful heap. Wally sped towards the group and picked up her sai, "Nice souvenir."
"Artemis, shoot a tracer arrow on Sportsmaster, now!" Roy ordered. Artemis took aim but felt that the criminal was out of range. Roy gave a frustrated look as he did the job instead, "Move!"
Roy then hopped on his own speedboat to go after Sportsmaster. Artemis couldn't believe he'd just leave them like this, "You're abandoning us?"
"I'm prioritizing!" Roy then sped off to catch the criminal. Cheshire recovered in time to taunt the group, "Oh, that's gotta sting. He makes the shot you were afraid to even try."
Itachi had had enough of her taunting his friend and decided to shut her up as he and Artemis reengaged in combat.
While in pursuit of Sportsmaster, Roy quickly thought of a counter strategy, "Aqualad, the target's made me, so I'll take a dive. He'll think that he's in the clear and you can track him from below. We'll be right behind using the tracer."
Sportsmaster threw bombs at Roy and he took the dive like he said he would. Sportsmaster was smarter than that and knew that it shouldn't have been that easy. He stopped the boat to search it and wound up finding the tracer Red Arrow shot onto it. He dropped the tracer, along with some bombs, into the water to halt Aqualad's progress. It worked as the explosion sent the Atlantian to the surface as Sportsmaster got away on his boat.
Roy called out for his friend. Kaldur resurfaced next to him to show him that he was alright. Roy grew frustrated, but Aqualad stayed calm as he radioed for his teammates.
Back on land, Itachi was currently protecting Wally from a volley of shuriken being thrown by Cheshire. He deflected each one as Artemis went in to flank her, "Leave them alone!"
Cheshire quickly countered her sister, disarmed her, and kicked away like it was nothing. Itachi had had enough of this and decided to end this fight as he weaved hand signs for a jutsu, "Fire Style! Fireball Jutsu!"
He shot a medium sized fireball at her to keep it non-lethal and aimed it at the ground before Cheshire for extra caution, but it did its job as Cheshire was blown backwards by the impact of the blast. Wally and Itachi quickly turned to check on Artemis but she shrugged them off.
"Forget about me! What about…Cheshire?" Unfortunately, her sister used their concern for her to vanish before Itachi could finish her off. Itachi knew she'd do this. It was why he shot the fireball the way he did and held so much back against her. Not only was she Artemis' sister, but she had Cassandra under her care. He couldn't risk killing her before he got information of the girl's whereabouts. There was also the mission he had to focus on too.
"Good work on putting that tracer on her sword. She'll lead us to Sportsmaster for sure, which will give us time to regroup and think of a better strategy." Itachi complimented.
"You saw that?" Artemis asked. Itachi nodded at his friend, "It was what I was waiting for. She'd expect something like that from me, but not from you. She may not know how special you are, but I do. As long as I'm on the field with you, I'll always watch over my comrades."
"You're brilliant, Artemis. I knew you could- wait, there's the guys." Wally said as he heard the speedboat approaching. Another train went by and Itachi signaled her towards its direction. She knew exactly what he was thinking and shot a tracer arrow at it before joining the group. Their team chemistry had really improved.
"So we threw the fight as ordered, after Artemis planted the tracer." Wally explained to Roy and Aqualad.
"Cheshire's heading north." Artemis informed then as she and Itachi joined the group. Roy countered her intel, "Sportsmaster was heading south, kind of like this mission."
"Perhaps he'll double back, or maybe Cheshire will." Itachi suggested.
"Either way, they'll rendezvous, and we'll find them." Wally said to keep the optimism.
"We had better. Sportsmaster acquired an attaché case. We need to learn what it contained. If you had stayed aboard the Bio-Ship-" Aqualad started.
"I saw Cheshire sneaking up on Red Arrow. Itachi and I both decided that it was best to run interference before she got the jump on him." She explained.
"Then you radio a warning." Roy countered.
"And if she found you by hacking our frequency? Because by watching how you fight, she would have easily taken you down." Itachi countered back as Roy growled at him.
"It is true. We have come to rely on M'gann's telepathy over our radios." Aqualad added.
"So let's stop looking to place blame and start looking for Cheshire." Wally said. Artemis was already done with being doubted and gave up the tracking device, "Here, since clearly I can't be trusted. You track her."
Wally snatched the device out of Roy's hand and tried to give it back to Artemis. She rejected the offer, "Its fine. I'll follow in the Bio-Ship."
She walked away as the four of them discussed the plan, "Go, Kid, Arrow and I will return to the river and we will all follow as originally planned."
"I'll go with Artemis in the Bio-Ship." Itachi informed them. After they all dispersed, Itachi caught up with Artemis. She revealed the other tracker she had on her and together the two went to follow it back to its source. He stared at her from behind his mask before speaking, "More than anyone else on The Team, I trust you, Artemis."
"Thanks, Itachi. It means a lot." She responded as they left.
Sportsmaster made it to a warehouse in New Orleans. Ivo was waiting for him there as Sportsmaster delivered the briefcase he was carrying. Not only was Ivo there, but Klarion, The Brain, and Monsieur Mallah were there as well. They were currently experimenting on a severed tentacle of an ancient creature.
Artemis and Itachi were currently on the rooftop of that warehouse thanks to her tracker. They landed inside and saw a tracker thrown at their feet. It was the same tracker Artemis put on her sword, "I pulled it off of my sword about a minute after you put it there. I thought you'd want it back since it goes so nicely with the one Red Arrow gave you."
She turned and saw the tracer Red Arrow put on her quiver. She looked at Itachi and immediately discovered that he knew Roy had done it, "That was why you said that you trusted me. To spare my feelings. I guess I really do have still to work on people sneaking up on me…"
"I'm sorry." Itachi said. He didn't want his friend to feel dejected just because someone was petty and distrustful of her. It's why he chose not to tell her. Cheshire saw the scene and was amused by it, "Someone on your team doesn't trust you."
She sang as she pulled a video pad revealing Red Arrow sneaking up on the warehouse. She also revealed that Sportsmaster knew of his location and was ready to surprise attack him from the roof. Itachi knew he had no choice after that, "Fire Style! Fireball Jutsu!"
He shot a fireball at the warehouse door to blast Red Arrow away before Sportsmaster could start his attack. It was just in time too because Sportsmaster had just thrown his javelin at Roy. The criminal leapt from the rooftop to attack the surprised Roy as Itachi and Artemis fought Cheshire inside.
Cheshire quickly subdued Artemis with a few kicks and got ready to stab her with her sword. Before she could though, Itachi saved his friend by using his Rinnegan to use Almighty Push to throw Cheshire off of Artemis. Roy quickly radioed for Kid Flash and Aqualad to rendezvous at his location to help combat the assassins.
The three of them all got back to back as they fought to hold off the pair of criminals, "So I see the both of you are allergic to radioing a warning. That blast could have killed me."
"Oh no, Artemis to Arrow, look out." Artemis dryly responded as Itachi tried to figure out a way out of this situation. Sportsmaster charged at Red Arrow and knocked him back with his mace. Itachi provided him cover by throwing a few shuriken at the assassin. Sportsmaster countered those but got struck from behind by Roy thanks to the distraction.
Cheshire was quickly overwhelming Artemis in hand-to-hand combat and kicked her against a wall. Cheshire pulled out a dagger and got ready to stab her sister, only for Crow to come swooping in and throw her hard against a wall. Wally sprinted to Artemis to help her up as Itachi stayed on Cheshire.
"Aqualad and I found a tracer on a caboose. And I don't mean Cheshire's." Wally informed her.
"Yeah, Itachi and I figured that would happen." Artemis replied. Wally looked at her in confusion, "Wait, then how did you, Crow, and Red end up here?"
"Not now!" Crow shouted as he caught a punch from Artemis' sister. He then used the punch to judo-flip Cheshire, who used the opportunity to tackle Kid Flash when he wasn't looking. Wally punched Cheshire and told Itachi and Artemis to investigate that red light in the other room as he held off Cheshire.
They obliged and went towards where that room was to stop whatever was going on in there. Itachi kicked the door open as Artemis aimed a lethal arrow at all of the villains, "Freeze!"
"Don't be absurd. With what we've created tonight, I could-" Ivo started but Klarion didn't let him finish, "Don't waste such power on a little girl and some freak with weird eyes. Let's just do as she says, freeze!"
Before the heroes knew what happened, all of the villains had been turned to ice thanks to Klarion's magic. Itachi assumed it was some type of teleportation and cursed his luck for not reacting fast enough as the ice broke apart. He had let them get away before they could answer him about what exactly this Light organization was.
Outside of the room, Roy was struggling with Sportsmaster. Just as Roy got some sort of advantage, Sportsmaster, along with Cheshire, had turned into ice and broken apart too. Their escape spelled the end of it. The mission ended in failure.
The heroes returned to Mount Justice and went back in The Cave. The group called Red Tornado and the others to relay the bad news, "I'll be clear. We failed. Though the Injustice League is in custody, their allies still scheme. And we have learned nothing of their plans."
Red Arrow turned to Aqualad after he was done speaking, "Gee, I wonder why."
Artemis had had enough of Roy's backtalk, "Hey! Who found out was working with Brain, Klarion, and Ivo? Itachi and I, that's who!"
"Yeah, great intel. Except for the fact that Ivo's been in Belle Reeve the whole time. And the guards just checked. It's the real Ivo, not some robot." Roy angrily countered.
Itachi was about to speak for his friend's behalf, but Wally beat him to it, "You know what, I'm getting tired of you dumping on her."
Roy responded by showing the tracer. Wally didn't know, or care, what that meant, "Her tracer, so what? Cheshire ditched it."
"No, Artemis and Crow here decided to ditch that to send us on a wild-goose chase. They put this one on Cheshire." Roy responded as he revealed the second tracer.
Wally turned to hear it from Artemis, "Are you so freaked out about Arrow joining The Team that you tried to take down the bad guy solo? And you Itachi, you went along with this? Please, tell me I'm wrong."
She only sighed in disappointment. Itachi wished this had ended better for her as he wanted her to succeed. But he knew that she had to go through growing pains to truly learn her self-worth. It's why he went along with it. This failed mission will help her to grow in the end. Wally threw the sai down on the ground in anger, disappointment and hurt, "Wow, nice going. All you proved is that you're insecure and selfish. Keep the sai. This is tracer is the right souvenir for the mission."
"So how will the two of you betray us next time?" Roy accused. Itachi, this time, did respond to him, "I've had enough of your false accusations of us. Unless you provide irrefutable proof that Artemis and I are traitors, then back off. Mistakes aren't betrayals, if they were, then everyone in this room would be a traitor, including you because you sure made your fair share of them on the mission tonight. It's over, let it go." Itachi warned Roy who chose not to back down.
Aqualad decided to defuse the situation before Roy said something to Itachi that he would forever regret, "Enough, Roy. Get some sleep, all of you. I must report to Batman."
Everyone dispersed, but Roy went to Artemis before leaving. He whispered, "You're not who you say you are. The Crow can't protect you forever. This isn't over between the three of us, not by a longshot."
Itachi saw this and thought back to something. He was getting an idea of why Batman wanted him to go on this mission, especially when he figured that Batman suspected that someone was a mole on The Team. And by how Roy was acting tonight, it seemed that he and Artemis were the two prime suspects. But he knew that couldn't be everything.
'My father was the head of the village police force. He'd come home and advise me on certain situations since I was next in line to take over after father retired. In cases where there were multiple suspects in a mystery case, father used to always say that he'd get them all in a room and let them interact with each other uninhibited. He usually found that it was the suspect that makes the first and loudest accusation about the others that usually had the most to hide. Artemis and I never once accused anyone of being a mole, but Roy sure did. He wasted no time in showing his distrust of us and is trying to spread it to the others…that's it! This mission was never designed to be a success. Batman would have seen the festering distrust Roy had for Artemis and myself and never would have allowed us on the same mission if he wanted it to succeed. Batman just wanted all of the prime suspects in a room together to watch what happens. He doesn't just suspect Artemis and I, he also had doubts on Roy as well and wanted me to know that. He wants me to doubt Roy too, and now I do. The question now is what I do about it. I see, so this is why people call you the world's greatest detective.' Itachi thought as he Zeta-Beamed back to Gotham.
As Artemis got a chilling reunion with her father about possibly switching side, Itachi got the opposite when he reunited with Ms. Yumi. She hugged him and happily led him inside. They ate dinner as he discussed what had happened in the mission. She shook her head with sadness of her adopted son's problems.
"I wish things were better between you and your friends, Itachi." She said.
"They will be. My friends tend to come through when needed most." Itachi assured her.
"That's good. Speaking of coming through when needed, are you still going to be spending the day with Carson tomorrow? You did promise her." Yumi reminded.
"I know, I know. I wish I could, but with what just happened on the last mission, it is painfully clear that I need to start going on more missions with my friends until this threat is dealt with. This world, it's like I live on a plant of glass. I'm always trying to avoid breaking everything. That's the thing with glass, even when you try your hardest to avoid it, it can always end up cutting you. Carson will just have to be one of those cuts for now." Itachi sadly admitted.
"That girl loves you, Itachi. Don't waste that." Yumi responded.
"I don't doubt that. But my friends need me more than Carson does. I owe it to them. After this is all done, then I'll give Carson the attention she deserves…and you. You have been like a mother to me, I hope after this is all over I can finally be like a son to you." Itachi promised.
"You already have. But even so, I hope you keep that promise in the end. So what's your next move?" Yumi asked.
"I still haven't found Jason Todd or Cassandra and have no leads on where to look. I took out Penguin so Gotham should be safer with him behind bars. There ae several mysteries going on, but for now all I can do is focus on one at a time. So I guess my next move…is to find and crush The Light; specifically The Masked Stranger. I just need to find out who she is." Itachi answered as Ms. Yumi smiled.
"I believe that is the correct choice, my son. I believe the answers to all of your questions will reveal themselves soon enough. I know you. Even after seeing what some of those villains are capable of, you still want to take them on. I know in my heart of hearts that you will save everyone, Itachi. I've seen it in you ever since I was a young woman who knew nothing at all. You won't let us down." Yumi responded faithfully.
"I won't. I will save everyone." Itachi said with conviction.
That's it for this chapter! There was a lot less of the major spectacle of the previous chapters and a lot more of story progression here. I had to bring things down to Earth in this chapter. There are only three episodes left of the first season I have to write on so about a handful of chapters left. We truly are in the final arc. Thanks again for all of the love of last chapter! You guys rock! If you haven't already, don't forget to favorite, follow, review, or PM me. I always enjoy reading your opinions. I hope to get another chapter out within a few weeks. Till next time guys and gals!