Same italics and disclaimers as before.
Chapter 54: Assault on Arkham
Jason awoke, but didn't open his eyes. Partly due to his training as a detective, but also because his entire body felt sore and just twitching made his mind ache. After a few minutes of lying on his side, he heard rustling nearby. That was enough to let him know he wasn't alone. He slowly cracked open his eyes and winced at the bright, pure-white light that shone down on him. He pushed himself up and looked around.
The room he was in was wide and circular. The walls were white and the ceiling was lit, but it was the other people in the room that caught his attention. There were eight figures lying on the floor, all of various sizes and shapes. He recognized a few of them as criminals from Batman's legendary Rogues Gallery, but a few were unfamiliar to him. One of the ones he did recognize, however, was a gently snoring Harley Quinn. Jason snarled and stumbled towards her, his arms outstretched and aiming for her neck.
"Don't bother," muttered a voice. Jason looked over to see a man in grey and blue armor shuffle to his feet and lean against the wall. He had a short, scruffy beard and cold, hard eyes. "We might need her."
"Speak for yourself," muttered Jason, but he backed off anyway.
One of the figures sat up fast and immediately groaned in pain. "I got a hangover somethin' fierce!" he complained in a thick Australian accent, "But I don't recall the party." He ran a hand through his jagged ginger hair and looked around.
Harley's eyes snapped open and she backflipped to her feet. "Aw crud!" she sighed, "Not this again!"
The Australian glanced at the man against the wall. "You too, eh?" he said, "Like a bloody recurring nightmare, this is."
The bearded man nodded to Jason and the others who were just now awaking. "Looks like we got rookies." Jason turned his head to look at the others, but felt a sudden pinch near the back of his neck. With a frown, he reached around his head and pulled away a piece of surgical tape.
"Who are you people?" demanded an African-American man in a ninja getup, "And why am I here?"
A large, pale-skinned creature with a muzzle over his face and a twitching fin on his head stood up besides the man. "No bars, no chains," he murmured in a watery voice, "Time to feast!" He reached out and grabbed a nearby woman by the ankle. Before he could puller her towards him, she delivered a powerful kick to his chest and he stumbled back. The woman twirled on the ground and tripped the giant's legs out from under him. He landed hard on his back and the woman stood on his chest.
"Try that again, fish-fingers," Killer Frost grinned, "And I'll show you the meaning of cold-blooded."
"You're feisty," noted the bigger man.
The bearded man sighed and pushed himself off the wall. "Everybody, shut up," he commanded, "Name's Deadshot. The Aussie's Captain Boomerang and the crazy chick with the pigtails is Harley. We've been through this before so just calm down and don't do anything-" Before he could finish, a muscle-bound man in a red military outfit ran at the walls and punched it with a growl. The walls reverberated and the man pulled his fist away to reveal a deep dent. "Stupid," sighed Deadshot.
"Bah!" snorted the man, Russian by his voice, "I am leaving!" He pulled back his fist to hit the wall again, but before he could throw the punch the wall slid away, revealing a long hallway and a portly woman standing unafraid before him. The man narrowed his eyes and slowly backed away.
Confidently, the woman entered the room. Jason glared at her and clutched his head as he remembered her and what she did to him. "Waller!" he hissed, "You drugged me! Kidnapped me!"
"All within my legal bounds," she said smartly, "Now, sit down." One by one, the prisoners slowly fell to their knees so they were looking up at Waller as opposed to down on her. Except for Deadshot, he stood against the wall with his arms folded.
Jason joined him, shooting the older man a confused look. "What is all this?" he murmured.
Deadshot rolled his eyes. "Let her talk," he sighed.
"For those of you who don't know, I am Amanda Waller," she said, "I am here to induct you convicts and vigilantes into our special forces."
Before she could continue, Killer Frost grunted. "Pass," she called.
"I kill to keep degenerates like these off the streets," agreed the man from before, "I will not work with them."
Captain Boomerang sneered at the newcomers. "Fresh air and time off my sentence?" he patted his chest, "Feel free to keep callin' me up, love."
Waller sighed and rubbed her temples. "Task Force X is an off-the-books government strike team," she explained, "Made up of convicts with no hope for release serving as expendable agents for impossible missions. Succeed and I'll shave time off your sentences."
The Russian man narrowed his eyes. "And if ve don't?"
"You'll be dead," Waller said flatly, "Any other stupid questions?"
"Uh yeah, like, a ton," said Jason angrily, "I'm not a criminal. I work for Akatsuki and the Justice League. How come I'm getting drafted into your stupid, and most definitely illegal, little club here?"
"For your skills," said Waller calmly, "You have talents that are uniquely suited to this particular mission. I have special permits from the U.N. to conscript a non-criminal for this case."
Jason's mind spun, but he kept quiet. How was this legal? Or even possible? For the U.N. to approve of kidnapping a sanctioned hero would be to-
His eyes widened in realization. Luthor was the Secretary General to the United Nations. The approval to take him didn't come from the U.N., it came from the Light.
"Any other questions?" sighed Waller, checking her watch.
"Yeah," said Killer Frost angrily, "What's in my neck? A tracker?" Jason felt the back of his neck where the surgical tape had been. He felt a few tight stitches in the shape of an X over his upper spine, along with a tiny bump under his skin.
"Yes," said Waller, folding her arms behind her back, "And a powerful nano-tech explosive. Run away, get yourself captured, disobey an order, heck, give me a right answer too slowly and I'll blow your head off."
Harley sighed and fell on her stomach. "You know what you need, Wallsey? A boyfriend. Someone to take all that stress and just massage it away." Waller glared down at her and Harley quickly sat up. "Or a girlfriend. I don't judge."
"You're lying," said the Russian man, standing up, "You vould not take all of zis trouble just to kill us."
Waller grinned and stepped to the side, motioning to the long hallway behind her. "Try me," she challenged.
"Don't do it," muttered Deadshot, "Don't do it."
"Do it!" hissed Harley with wide eyes, "Do it!"
The Russian man cocked his head to the side and casually strolled forwards. He stopped at the edge of the hallway and turned back to look at Waller. She gave him a sincere smile and he took another step into the hallway. Immediately, he gasped and Jason saw the back of his neck glow red. He clasped his eyes shut before the explosion, but he felt the heat and heard the gasps of his fellow prisoners. He opened his eyes in time to see the Russian man's smoldering body collapse to the ground, headless and smoking. Waller turned to face the rest of them. "Anyone else?" she asked, looking around for volunteers, "I didn't think so."
Deadshot grunted. "What's so dangerous this time that you had to call in some newbies?" he asked.
"Simple," said Waller, "You're going to break into Arkham Asylum." There was a beat before the entire room started protesting in loud, conjoining voices. They all quieted down under Waller's succinct glare.
Deadshot had kept his mouth shut through the noise. "How do we start?" he asked.
Harley looked back at Deadshot like she hadn't realized he was there and slowly smiled seductively. "Ooh, I like you, cowboy!" she teased as she crawled towards him, "You're loco, and me likey your loco-motion!"
Deadshot rolled his eyes. "What's the plan?"
"Last night, an agent under my employ got himself captured," said Waller, drawing up a holoscreen of a mug shot, "A lowlife called Eddie 'Riddler' Nigma."
"Wouldn't exactly call him a lowlife," said Jason, "He worked for the Light for a few years. He was high profile enough to wind up in Belle Reve and, if my memory serves correct, you took him from Akatsuki's custody, what, three days ago? How'd you lose him so fast?"
Waller fixed Jason with her trademarked glare, but he resisted her and she moved on. "Before he escaped, Riddler managed to gain access to my main computer servers," she continued, "He downloaded a myriad of private and secret files. He's threatening to release them all on the internet. And you're going to get it back." The holoscreen changed to a floating image of Riddler's question mark cane. "Riddler has one copy and it's on a thumbdrive in his cane." The dot on the question mark started to glow. "The cane and Riddler are both locked away in Arkham, him in his usual cell, and the cane in the Arkham property room."
"In the intensive care ward!" giggled Harley, "Right under the solitary confinement cells! Good times!"
"So that's why you wanted me," grumbled Jason, "I broke into Arkham with Naruto once, but I had a Shinobi with me and we paid off a dirty guard. Something tells me it won't work the same way twice."
"No it won't," agreed Waller, "But you have extensive knowledge of Arkham's security systems. We'll need you to point out chinks in the armor, as it were."
"Beyond that, we'll need a man on the inside," said Deadshot.
"Oh! Can it be me?!" squealed Harley.
The other prisoners exchanged pointed glances. "She's a wild card," said the ninja bluntly.
"Harley Quinn has an encyclopedic knowledge of Arkham's layout and logistics," Waller stated.
Deadshot frowned. "She gonna be okay without her boyfriend?"
Harley's grinning face soured and Jason glared at her. "He tried to kill me and abandoned me," she said angrily with a pout, "We're through. I'm fine. He's a jerk. Whatever."
Killer Frost and Captain Boomerang glanced at each other. "Well I'm convinced," she said, sounding not at all convinced.
"You'll be snuck into Gotham," said Waller, "You'll rendezvous with a power broker who will set you up for the break in." The holoscreen turned off and Waller looked at her prisoners with a grim expression. "This is as off-the-books as it gets," she said, "So let's keep the body count to a minimum. Deadshot, Red Hood, rubber bullets only."
Harley glanced at her feet. "Um, Wallsey? What about the Bat?"
All eyes turned to Waller. Jason folded his arms. "He'll have his hands full," Waller assured them, "In fact; if we play this right we could take advantage of him."
She turned to leave, but Deadshot stepped forwards. "Waller," he stopped her, "You know my rules. Play fair and I'll shoot straight. Otherwise…" He let Waller's imagination fill in the blanks.
Waller grinned as she stepped into the hallway. "Be a good convict, Deadshot," she said, "Don't make me blow you up."
The walls slid shut behind her and Jason immediately growled in anger. "That colossal-" He was cut off by a sudden burst of knockout gas from the ceiling. It hit him in the face and he fell to the floor, sauntering off to dreamland.
. . .
He awoke tied to a metal seat. His arms and legs were restrained by metal cuffs, but it didn't look like he had anywhere to go anyway. He was in some kind of plane, more specifically in the bomb bay. "I'm getting tired of this trick," said Deadshot besides him, likewise tied down.
"You and me both, cowboy," flirted Harley from the seat beyond him, "Maybe when we land in Gotham I can show ya around! I know some, ah, tight, places!"
Jason snarled and pushed against his restraints. "When we land, you'll be a little to busy being dead to be showing people around, Quinn!" he shouted.
Harley looked around Deadshot at Jason in confusion. "Whoa! Easy there hot shot! What did little ole' me do to little ole' you?"
Jason stared at her. "You…you don't remember me?"
Harley cocked her head to the side and bit her lip. "Oh lordy," she sighed, "I didn't sleep with you, did I? Oh I hate it when they get attached."
"What? No!" Jason's heart beat faster and his eyes nearly popped out of his head with rage, "You killed me! You and Joker killed me!"
"Oh. Oh!" Harley nodded with false earnestly, "Yeah, yeah, I remember that!"
She smiled at Jason and he slowly slumped forwards. "You have no idea who I am, do you?"
"Sorry, hot shot," Harley sighed with a shrug, "Mistah J and I killed a lot of people on our day. Not many of them came back to life, though. Kudos." She leaned forwards a little more and looked over Jason hungrily. "Tell ya what though, how about when we land, I show you a good time instead of the cowboy here? I could use some young blood in my diet."
Jason glared at her and clutched his arm rests so hard his knuckles cracked. "Not. Interested," he said through clenched teeth.
"Oi!" shouted Captain Boomerang from the other side of the bay, "I told you, Harley! If you're givin' it out, send a chunk my way, eh?"
Harley recoiled in disgust. "Eh, go shake your boomerang in front of the shark."
"Do it," growled the giant beast, "And I'll bite it off." Killer Frost laughed and she shared a grin with the creature next to her. Jason glanced at them and did a quick double take when he saw the fish man's mouth. It was covered by an open, metal muzzle. It appeared this shark had no teeth, but rather series of sharpened, metal blades sticking out of his gums.
Deadshot sighed and looked over at Boomerang. "Are we gonna have a problem this time around?"
Boomerang shrugged. "I think we might, mate."
"No," there was a flash of silver and everyone collectively braced themselves. The ninja had freed himself from his bonds and was holding a jagged piece of metal to Boomerang's throat.
"Whoa, whoa!" he cried out.
"I don't trust you," snarled the ninja, "Honorless, rudderless, undisciplined. They'll never find your body."
"Oh!" Harley giggled, "Ninjas are awesome!" Suddenly, a red light began to flash along the wall. The ninja quickly retreated to his seat and strapped himself back in. Harley looked up at the light. "Does that mean we're there?"
As if to answer her question, the floor dropped out beneath them. Jason grit his teeth as some of the others cried out. The wind rushed past his face and he spiraled in midair, still attached to the chair. Beneath him were the sprawling lights and towers of Gotham City, his old home. "I hate heights!" shouted the shark creature as he tumbled past. Every muscle in Jason's body tensed as he tried to keep his body from flapping dangerously against his chair. Behind him, he heard Harley laughing in glee.
"We're not gonna make it!" shouted Killer Frost as they drew closer and closer towards the ground.
"Remember this feeling," said Waller's voice in their ears, drawing their attention to communicators put there, "I hold your life in my hands."
"Waller! Open the chutes!" shouted Deadshot, a tinge of fear in his voice, "Do it! Now!" They were falling besides the buildings now, watching floor after floor rush by faster than their eyes could process them. Finally, just a few hundred feet above the ground, the backs of their chairs opened up and released black parachutes. Jason's body jolted as his descent suddenly slowed to a near halt and he began to drift down into the ally below.
Killer Frost was not so lucky. The momentum of her fall snapped the cords of her parachute and she cried out as she fell towards the ground. With a grunt, the shark tilted his body so that she slammed into his broad chest. He grabbed her and they fell down together into a dumpster, the shark's chute tumbling onto them. Jason and Deadshot landed next to each other with matching grunts as they fell hard. They simultaneously unclipped their chutes and ran over to the dumpster as the others landed.
Killer Frost kicked off the chute and Deadshot sighed in relief. The shark groaned and Killer Frost grinned down at him. "Good shark!" she said, patting him on his clammy cheek, "Good boy."
"Whew," breathed Deadshot. He looked around and did a quick headcount. "Where's Harley?" he asked.
"It's okay!" she shouted from a corner of the ally. She was upside down and against a wall. "I landed on my head!" she assured them.
"Nothing new there," muttered Jason.
Deadshot gave him a glare. "Whatever your beef with Harley is, save it for after the mission, okay? I don't want my head blown off because you hold a grudge." Jason growled, but nodded. "Now," Deadshot turned back to the team, "How do we get to the rendezvous point unseen?"
"That's the easy part," said the ninja, motioning to a manhole cover.
"Bollocks!" shouted Captain Boomerang, his face paleing, "We're gonna march through festering sewage just so a bloke dressed as a bat won't see us?"
Deadshot snarled. "You wanna do this topside, slick? Be my guest."
Boomerang glanced at the rest of the group and up at the moon before looking at the manhole cover. "Nah," he said finally, "Not worth it, I guess."
Jason frowned and stepped forwards to help the ninja lift the cover. "Claustrophobics first," he said, motioning to Boomerang. Boomerang glared at him and slowly crawled into the darkness below. The rest of the team followed one by one until it was just Deadshot and Jason.
"Piece of advice, kid," said Deadshot as he started to crawl down into the sewer, "Don't start anything with Boomerang. You're not the only one who can hold a grudge."
. . .
They marched in silence for miles through sewage water until Deadshot finally stopped them. "We're here," he announced, pointing up at an exit. The shark boosted him up and he crawled into open air.
Jason was next and he glared at the location they'd arrived at. "The Iceberg Lounge," he said simply, "You're kidding me. We're getting help from the Penguin?"
"Look at it this way," said Deadshot as he helped Killer Frost up, "At least he's sane. Mostly."
Jason glared at the building and curled his hands into fists. "Yeah," he muttered, "Mostly."
The team was led through the club by the bouncer to the back rooms. The large man pushed aside a curtain to the V.I.P. lounge where a slew of armed guards stood around a table piled with a mountain of raw fish. "Your guests have arrived, Mr. Cobblepot," announced the bouncer.
"Right, right," the pile of fish was shoved onto the floor and there was the Penguin himself, glaring at the team as they approached. Jason shifted to the back as did, to his mild surprise, Harley. "Welcome to the Lounge," said Cobblepot, "Just finishin' my supper." He grabbed a fish off the pile and bit its entire tail off, bones and everything. He shoved a few more fish down his throat before Deadshot, clearly disgusted by the display, cleared his throat.
"Excuse me, sir, we-"
"Lawton!" cried Cobblepot in mock surprise, "Never took Deadshot for a team player."
Deadshot rolled his shoulders back. "Well, things are tough all over, sir."
Copplepot laughed, his large stomach jiggling with each labored chuckle. "Ain't that the bloody truth!" he crowed before turning back to his guards, "This man here's the best assassin I've ever seen! And I only work with the best!"
"I aim to please, Mr. Cobblepot," said Deadshot calmly, "I was told you can get us into Arkham?"
"I can," nodded Cobblepot. One of his guards handed him a manila file which he placed on the table. "I've made arrangements to get you into the crazy farm," he said, "Follow them too…" His eyes widened and he stumbled back in his chair. "You!" he shouted, pointing beyond Deadshot. Jason tensed up and prepared for a fight. "Clown!" Jason blinked and relaxed, realizing he hadn't been recognized for the second time that night. Copplepot scrambled for a shotgun under his table and leveled it at Harley as she peeked out from behind the shark man.
"You're not still mad about that truck, are you Ozzie?" she asked with a sheepish grin.
Cobblepot's guards drew their guns. Killer Frost folded her arms with a smirk. "Wah wah."
The room was filled with the sounds of guns being cocked and Harley slowly lifted up her hands in defense. "It feels like you are," she said calmly.
"You cost me money, funny girl!" growled Cobblepot, "You and your loony boyfriend stole my biggest weapons shipment and drove the whole bloody thing into the river! Just for kicks!"
Harley winced. "Would it make you feel better to know Mistah J and I aren't together anymore?"
"Nobody steals from me and walks away!" shouted Cobblepot, "Bad business it is!"
There was a moment of quiet before Deadshot sighed deeply and stepped forwards. "You're right, it is bad business," he told Cobblepot, "And yes, you should kill her. Forget that, I'll kill her for you, no charge."
"Aw c'mon!" complained Harley.
"Except you know what else is bad for business, sir?" continued Deadshot. Cobblepot tilted his head in mild interest. Deadshot's eyes narrowed. "Double crossing your clients. And I would hate for folks to say that Mr. Cobblepot takes your money and kills your operatives."
Cobblepot snarled, but lowered his gun. "Get her outta my sight," he rumbled, "Take the files and review the contents. You can get some shut eye in upstairs rooms. You deploy tomorrow night under the cover of darkness. And then, I never want to see one of your stinkin' faces ever again, are we clear?"
"Perfectly, sir," said Deadshot, grabbing the files from the table. The bouncer led them back to a hidden stairwell that took them up to a small hotel above the club itself. From the décor to the private bars in each room, it was clear that when not housing secret operatives to a shadowy government agency, it was a brothel.
One of the rooms had been converted into a makeshift armory. "All your equipment was shipped to us," said the bouncer, leading them in and picking up a large brown package. Jason's eyes widened and he immediately grabbed it. He tore away the packaging and ripped out his trusty sword.
"What the-?" he gasped, "What'd they do to it?!" The entire edge of the Executioner's Blade was covered in a thick, foam buffer. It was heavy and threw off the sword's balance, and without a cutting edge it was no more than a glorified metal cricket bat.
Deadshot found his wrist guns and picked up a cartridge of rubber bullets. He grunted and threw them over his shoulder. "You got anything high velocity?" he asked the bouncer. The large man opened a cupboard and tossed Deadshot a pack of real bullets. For the first time since he'd met him, Jason saw Deadshot smile.
"I'll have what he's having," he said, grabbing a few cartridges of high velocity bullets instead of the rubber ones waiting for him.
When they'd all gotten their weapons and gear, the bouncer showed them to their individual rooms and to a central lounge with a fully loaded bar. The team split up and went their separate ways. Jason rested on his bed and reluctantly closed his eyes.
. . .
Years before, Jason had visited the Iceberg Lounge under very different circumstances. He watched from the chandelier above the dance floor as Penguin closed up shop in the early hours of the morning. It was only when he'd heard the click of the lock that he moved. When Penguin turned around from the door, Jason wasted no time slamming him back into it with a severe neck hold. "R-Robin!" choked out the Penguin, "W-What?!"
"Tell me where you sent him!" shouted Jason, throwing Penguin to the floor and following him as he crawled backwards, "I know Joker came to you! You gave him a plane and burnt the charter! Where did he go?!" He grabbed Penguin by the collar and slammed him hard into his own bar.
Penguin coughed up blood and at least one tooth, but grinned back at Jason. "Aww!" he chuckled, "Did little Robin lose his friend?" Jason snarled and punched Penguin in the jaw. "You know," spat Penguin, "Joker told me he managed to nab Shinobi thanks to your little mistake! Good on ya, boyo!" Jason roared and threw Penguin over the bar into a wall full of drinks. The criminal cried out as broken glass tore into him and his blood mixed with the alcohol.
Jason picked up a chair and broke it over Penguin's back as he tried to stand up. "Where'd he go?!" he shouted, "Tell me and the pain ends!"
"Siberia!" gasped Penguin, "He and Harley took Shinobi to Siberia!"
Jason dropped him and walked away. "I'll be back," he growled, "With the police and a confession for you to sign."
Penguin rubbed his jaw as he saw the boy leaving. "Something tells me I won't be signing anything, boy," he muttered.
. . .
Jason sat bolt upright and dripping in sweat. Slowly, he pulled his legs off the bed and walked over to the window. Ever since his resurrection in the Lazarus Pits, dreams had been an infrequent gift. Usually, his sleep consisted of nothingness, like a return to death. Rare was it that he was allowed to dream, but rarer still did he suffer from nightmares. He shook his head to clear it and peered out over the Gotham was early morning, meaning he had a whole day to be cooped up before the actual mission began.
He took a quick shower to rinse off the sweat and dressed himself before going into the central lounge. Captain Boomerang and several of Cobblepot's goons were laughing at a table near the bar, raising pints and laughing about good times and good women. Jason called them a few choice words in his head before heading to the bar himself. "Thirsty?" he looked up to see Deadshot in a bathrobe coming out of his room to join him.
"Not really," said Jason, "I figure under the circumstances I could use a drink."
"You of age?"
Jason shrugged. "I was sixteen when I died and that was…god, must be three or four years ago now."
Deadshot raised an eyebrow. "So you're not twenty-one?"
Jason calmly poured himself a shot of expensive whiskey. "You gonna stop me?"
"Hardly," said Deadshot, grabbing himself a glass, "Cheers." Jason tipped the burning drink back into his throat and smiled slightly at the tingling sensation it left in his throat.
"Nice robe," he said, motioning to Deadshot's colorful attire.
"Not mine," said Deadshot, "Harley's."
Jason stared at him and glanced back at the assassin's door. "You're kidding me. Really?"
"Don't judge," said Deadshot coolly, "I'm weak willed."
Jason sighed and shook his head. "So you've done this whole riggamarole for Waller before?"
"A few times," nodded Deadshot, "Once she needed a hostage extraction in Bialya during the Markovian genocide, then she needed to frame a murder so that nuclear weapons would be stored in Scotland or something like that, the list goes on."
Jason slowly nodded and poured another round of shots. "What can you tell me about our team?"
"Not much," said Deadshot, accepting the drink, "Harley you seem to know. Boomerang and I did a few of these missions together. He's damn good at what he does, the problem is he knows it. I've heard of the shark guy. He's some kind of Atlantean serial killer down in Florida. The papers call him King Shark."
"Easy to see why," muttered Jason, pretending to take another shot.
"If you don't want to drink, don't drink," said Deadshot dully, "What can you tell me about the pale chick? Never seen her before."
"Killer Frost," said Jason, "She does ice. Pretty ruthless from what I've heard."
Deadshot nodded thoughtfully and took the bottle from Jason so he could drink from it directly. "And the ninja guy? Seems like he might have chip on his shoulder."
Jason shrugged. "I got nothing. But from what he said on the plane, he sounds like he might be more violent vigilante than convicted criminal."
"We're more than criminals," said Deadshot abruptly, "Get that idea out of your head, kid. That's how Waller thinks." He took another drink and lowered the bottle. "So you're Akatsuki, huh? Almost didn't recognize you without that red helmet covering your face, but the robes were kinda a giveaway. How'd you end up with them?" Jason kept his mouth shut and Deadshot laughed. "Okay, I see how it is. That's cool, kid, you don't have to tell me anything. That's the real beauty of these little suicide missions. We don't have to trust each other. All we have to do is play our part. Otherwise…boom."
"Oi! Lawton!" cried Boomerang, just noticing that Deadshot had joined them, "Hoist a pint with us, won't you?"
Deadshot turned around on his barstool. "I'm a whiskey man."
"Suit yourself," said Boomerang with a shrug, "Care for a friendly game of darts then?" Deadshot slowly smiled and nodded. The goons cheered and cleared room near a dart board against the wall.
Boomerange went first. He made a big deal of showboating his aiming process for several seconds before lazily turning around and tossing the dart over his shoulder. It flipped through the air and landed just above the bulls eye. His new friends cheered his talent and he offered a mock bow to Deadshot.
"Mind if I join?" asked Jason with a smirk.
"By all means, lad!" cried Boomerang with a jeer. Jason calmly stood up and grabbed a dart. He took aim and launched the dart at the board. As it flew through the air, he flicked back his robes and flipped out his pistol. He fired off a single shot and the bullet slammed into his dart. Both projectiles pierced through the board a bit higher than Boomerang's dart.
The goons applauded politely and even Boomerang looked impressed. "Neat trick there, lad," he said, "But you're a bit too much off the mark, eh? Lawton? You're up." Deadshot cracked his neck and stood up. Jason stepped aside as the assassin picked up his dart and twirled it between his fingers. With a grunt, he tossed it to his immediate right. The dart bounced of a bottle, the ceiling, a chair, and a myriad of other items before it landed squarely in the center of the board.
The goons gasped in amazement, but Boomerang frowned. "Lucky shot," he declared.
Deadshot arched an eyebrow. "Right. Let's see you do it."
Boomerang shrugged. "Alright then." He grabbed another dart and tossed it like Deadshot had. It bounced off a few items, but Jason was already measuring how off trajectory it was. Clearly, Deadshot was the better-
Deadshot lifted his fingers just in time to catch the dart before it pierced his throat. He frowned as he glared at the dart and then at Boomerang. "Sorry mate," said Boomerang with a grin, "Looks like that one took a bad bounce."
Wordlessly, Deadshot tossed the dart at the board. It flipped around twice before landing in the same position as his last shot. While Boomerang's eyes were following the dart, Deadshot rammed his fist into the Aussie's stomach. "Let's call it even," he said calmly as he headed back to his room, "Mate."
Jason smirked at Boomerang's enraged expression, but decided he'd had enough. He left the bar and the lounge to head back to the armory. Killer Frost was there, leaning against the wall and playing with some knives. "So," she said casually as Jason walked by her, "Deadshot and Harley, huh?"
Jason glanced back at her. "You knew about that?"
Frost frowned at him. "What's wrong with you? They were going at it like animals all last night. You could hear them down in the sewers."
"I'm a heavy sleeper," said Jason as he grabbed his sword, "I don't suppose you'd have any idea how to get this off?" He motioned to the foam blunter and Frost grinned.
"Oh, I could totally get that off," she said, "But I'd rather keep my head."
Jason groaned and twirled his sword experimentally. It was too heavy and his grip kept slipping. "By the way," he said, "You know anything about the ninja?"
"Yeah, Black Spider," said Frost with a yawn, "He used to work for the League of Shadows, but grew a conscience and now acts as some kinda vigilante. Except, you know, he kills people."
"Everyone around here does," sighed Jason, "Looks like I'm the only one without a kill under his belt."
"Really?" Frost sat up and stared at him with intrigue, "With a sword like that you've never offed someone?"
Jason's eyes narrowed. "I'm saving my first for someone special."
Frost laughed. "Yeah, I've heard that one before," she giggled, "Trust me, kid, your first kill doesn't matter. Sooner or later they all start to feel the same."
Jason hoisted his sword onto his shoulder. "Tell me, Frost," he growled, "You ever been dead?"
"No."
"I have," said Jason, "I died. My life ended. It was over. But then I got brought back."
Frost checked her nails. "Good for you."
Jason turned and hurled his sword with a grunt. The force of his throw combined with his sword's new weight made it break through the wall next to Frost's head despite the buffer. She cried out in surprise and tipped over, falling to the floor. Jason yanked his sword out and stood over her. "Let me tell you a little something about death, Frost," he growled, "It sucks, it really, really does. But you know what?" He leaned down and looked into her eyes. She wasn't afraid, but it was clear she was curious. "If I had the chance to stop my resurrection, if I could have stayed dead, I would have. Can you tell me why?"
Frost leaned back on the floor. "No idea."
"Pity," Jason stood up and put his sword against the wall before walking away, "Because I don't know either."
"You should get some sleep," said Frost after him, "I know if I don't get my eight hours, I'm a real killer."
"Then do us all a favor," retorted Jason, "Drink a lot of coffee."
. . .
At around eleven that night, the whole squad was in a van that belonged to a fake exterminator company. Deadshot was driving and he stopped the van near a closed up toy store. "Alright," he said, turning back in his seat, "We ready to do this?"
"Ready!" cheered Harley, applying her clown makeup, "Wish me luck, cowboy!" She kissed Deadshot on the cheek, much to his chagrin, and hopped out of the van. Deadshot immediately hit the gas and spun away. Black Spider opened a laptop and put it on the floor for them all to see. It showed love footage from a security camera inside the store.
Jason watched with his hands folded as Harley caused general havoc, throwing toys around and ripping apart dolls. She was making sure to make a lot of noise and attract attention to the cameras. And it worked. Within a few minutes, a silhouette fell over Harley's back. "You know where he hid it, don't you!" growled a familiar voice. Jason frowned and swallowed a modicum of fear as Batman stepped onto the screen. He felt the criminals around him shiver slightly at the mere sight of the Dark Knight. Harley spun around and gasped as Batman approached her. "Where is it, Harley?" he demanded.
"No idea what you're talkin' about, bats," said Harley with a sneer. She threw a few dolls at him as he drew closer, but obviously to no effect.
"Answers!" he demanded, "Now!" Harley moved to hit him, but Batman grabbed her wrist. In response, she kicked him in the chest and spun away.
He grabbed her before he could run and slammed her against the wall. "Where is it?!" he shouted in her face.
Deadshot frowned and pulled the van over into an ally. "What's he talking about?"
"Who knows what these wankers get worked up about," said Boomerang.
Jason glared at him. "I'm right here, you know."
Boomerang looked back at him. "Yeah. You're a wanker. Didn't I tell you that?"
"Shut up," Deadshot ordered.
"I don't know!" squealed Harley onscreen as Batman leaned in close to her, "I swear!"
Deadshot grimaced. "I'm going in blind against the bat," he decided, "Waller, what's going on?"
Waller's face filled the screen and she glared at Deadshot. "You don't get to call me up and demand answers, Deadshot."
Deadshot rolled his eyes. "Waller, what are they talking about?"
Waller paused before sighing. "Before he was captured, Nigma managed to sneak a dirty bomb to some of Joker's old gang members. They hid it somewhere in Gotham. Apparently it's big enough that the radiation would kill half the city. Batman's tearing the city apart trying to find it."
Jason stood up and hit his head on the van's ceiling, but he ignored the pain. "If Joker's goons got their hands on a nuke, then Joker's back in town," he said, "It's a welcome home present for their boss."
"Maybe," said Waller, "But nothing's certain as of right now."
"Joker with a dirty bomb," mused Frost, "That gives me the chills."
Boomerang, Deadshot, and Jason all stared at her incredulously. "Ice puns?" said Boomerang, "Really?"
Deadshot turned back to the screen. "Waller, this is nonsense."
"I don't care, convict," she said firmly, "Do your job." Her screen blinked off, leaving them watching footage from back at the toy store.
"Honestly, B-man!" shrieked Harley, "I don't know where Mistah J left half of his stuff! I just wanted a Chatty Boo-Boo doll before they hit the shelves tomorrow!" Red and blue lights flashed in the window of the store and Jason bit his lip.
"There," he murmured, "She's in."
Batman dragged Harley out of the store and off screen. "Get her back to Arkham," he told the police officers outside.
"Phase 1 complete," said Deadshot, "Onto phase 2."
. . .
Deadshot dropped Jason and Black Spider off near the end of the bridge to Arkham Island. They snuck forwards, carrying a duffle bag between them, and dove behind thick bushes in the gardens. "I'm glad to be working with you," said Black Spider as they changed into white caterer uniforms, "You seem to be the only one in the group with some sense of honor."
"I don't know," muttered Jason, "Deadshot seems alright. All things considered, I mean." A noise made its way to him and he peeked out over the bushes. "Huh," he muttered, "Say what you will about Cobblepot, he get's good intel." A group of cooks and caterers were sitting in a gazebo, tossing around cards and money. Jason checked his watch. By then, Deadshot and Harley would be making their way through Arkham's main gate, with Deadshot disguised as a guard. Boomerang and Frost would be coming in through the morgue and King Shark was in the sewers below, waiting with their equipment for a signal.
Jason and Black Spider watched in silence as the gambler's finished their game, leaving two men to shake hands as the co-winners. What their friends didn't know is that both had their sleeves stuffed with cards, although they did not escape Jason's trained eyes. As the others went back into the asylum, the two winners stayed to discuss how to trick their victims next time so as to not arouse suspicion. Jason and Black Spider simultaneously crept around them and knocked them out soundlessly.
Calmly, they made their way inside. Right beyond the door was a checkpoint, but they were prepared for it. Black Spider went first and tried his fake keycard. Jason held his breath and repressed a groan when a red light flashed. The guard next to the scanner checked his computer. "Says, uh, not found," he said apologetically.
"Let me try," sighed Jason. He swiped his card and received the same negative response.
"We just went out for a smoke break!" lied Black Spider, "Run it again."
The guard tried to refresh the scanner, but still there were no files. Jason bit his tongue and glanced upwards. What was taking Deadshot so long? "Nah, it's not working," said the guard, "I'm gonna have to get security."
Jason tired not to clench his fists in frustration. "Run it again," ordered Black Spider, "We have to be in there! We had a dual interview to get these jobs and we can't afford to lose them!" Jason's heart beat a bit faster as he realized that discovery didn't mean going back to Akatsuki. Why hadn't Deadshot hacked the system yet? What was holding them back?
The guard sighed reluctantly and refreshed the scanner a few more times. Finally, on the third try, the page refreshed to clear in Black Spider. "Sorry," sighed the guard, "It's an old system."
"Don't worry about it," said Jason, clearing his card as well.
"Rank amateurs," muttered Black Spider under his breath as they walked into the kitchen.
"Something must have happened," replied Jason, "Use extra caution until we find out what went wrong. We could be walking into a trap."
"Of course," nodded Black Spider. Jason looked around and nodded towards a tray of unwashed spoons. Black Spider smirked and walked towards them. He casually took the bin and Jason made his way around the kitchen to a dumbwaiter. As he watched for witnesses, Black Spider put the tray in a microwave and set it. Jason eased back into the dumbwaiter and used the pipes around him to move down, making space for Black Spider. As the ninja crawled in above him, Jason kicked the pipes and broke them, letting gas leak up towards the kitchen. A few seconds later, the microwave exploded and filled the kitchen with fire. Across the island, lights fluttered and backup generators were activated.
Silently, Jason and Black Spider followed the pipes to the boiler room, situated with a thick, steel grate right over the main sewer line. Frost and Boomerang were already there, trying in vain to lift the heavy grate. "Oi!" said Boomerang as Jason crawled out of the vent, "Did you blokes experience a bit of a delay too?"
"Yeah," grunted Jason as he gripped onto the grate, "Nearly threw us off."
"Same here," said Frost.
Footsteps suddenly echoed around the boiler room and they all adapted into fighting positions. "Relax," said Deadshot as he rounded a water heater, "It's us."
"You're late," said Black Spider as Deadshot and Harley joined them around the grate.
"Yeah," sighed Deadshot, "Ran into her ex and we had a bit of drama."
Jason's heart skipped a beat. "Say that again?"
Deadshot blinked. "The Joker. He's here."
There was a long moment of silence before Boomerang cleared his throat. "Makes sense if you think about it," he said, "Lock away Joker in Arkham, don't let anybody know he's here, make the world forget about him. Nobody comes to break him out because he's not even supposed to be here."
Jason narrowed his eyes. "I want my sword," he said softly. Deadshot nodded and knelt down to grip the grate with the others. Together, they pulled up the steel cover and King Shark lunged out of the water.
"I hate breathing sewer water," he grumbled, "Tastes like it sounds." He tossed a duffle bag off his shoulders and unzipped it, revealing the team's collective gear. Jason grabbed his sword, helmet, and guns and immediately turned to leave, tucking his helmet over his head as he walked.
"Where do you think you're going?" asked Deadshot as he wrapped a scope over his eye.
"Joker's here," growled Jason, "I'm gonna go kill him."
"Not with that bomb in your head, you're not," said Boomerang, "Joker's not part of the mission."
"I'm sure Waller won't mind," growled Jason.
"She will," said Deadshot softly, "She minded with Killer Croc saved a bunch of Markovians from a car bomb. She minded a whole lot when Plastique blew up a helicopter that was taking a child slaver to safety."
Jason stopped. "Plastique was one of Waller's?" he asked softly, "I…I didn't know. I didn't even know she was dead."
"Yeah," nodded Deadshot, "Waller didn't like that she went off mission, saw her as a potential threat for future incarnations of the squad. I suggest you don't make the same mistake."
Jason slowly raised his sword to his shoulder. "Alright," he sighed, "Where to next?"
. . .
Deadshot knocked politely on the doors to Arkham's main control hub. King Shark gargled a laugh at him. "Knocking is for the weak," he declared as he shoved the doors open. Boomerang ran in and tossed a pair of his namesakes around the room. All the guards and officers who turned to face them barely had time to reach for their weapons before they were hit in the head by the flying projectiles. Boomerang caught his tools and tucked them away as the team moved into the room. In Jason's ear, Waller's communicator activated. "You're at the point of no return," she told the team, "Don't get too cocky."
Boomerang reviewed the computers and grimaced. "That kitchen fire put the whole island on yellow alert. Those cameras make us, we're toast."
"So shut down all the security cameras. Duh," said Harley, making squiggly smiles on the knocked out guards.
"That's a sure fire way to get the Bat's attention," said Deadshot.
"So what?" asked Jason, "Batman is almost always watching a live feed from Arkham's security cameras."
Killer Frost frowned at him. "And how do you know that?"
"Believe me," said Jason shortly, "He'll be watching us run around like idiots and he'll be here before we can even find the property room."
"Play yesterday's footage," suggested King Shark.
Boomerang turned to grin at him. "Aw, the shark had his first thought."
"Shut up," said Deadshot calmly, "Say that again."
King Shark blinked nervously. "Play yesterday's footage of the same time."
"I can do that!" squealed Harley as she put herself behind a computer.
"We can operate without eyes on us," nodded Deadshot.
Boomerang folded his arms. "Batman's or Waller's?"
"Both." Jason bit his lip. Batman knew each individual guard at Arkham, he'd notice if the entire Thursday crew were inexplicably working on Friday as well. But perhaps that was a good thing, Batman would surely notice and come to investigate, which would certainly lead him to discover that Joker was in Arkham.
Killer Frost reviewed a map of Arkham on the wall. "The intensive care ward is just across the yard," she announced, "We'll have to bypass a few guard towers to get there."
"No problem," said Deadshot smoothly, "Let's move, but low profile." They turned to leave, but Killer Frost stayed a brief moment or two longer at a computer. Jason peeked at the screen before she shut it off to see a live stream of security footage from the cell of one Eddie Nigma. Interesting.
It was raining when they got outside, yet another of Gotham's perpetual on-again, off-again rainstorms. The team hid behind a row of bushes as the roving lights of the guard towers played over the yard. Black Spider peeked around the foliage. "I can scale the towers," he said.
"No time," replied Deadshot. He spun out from behind the bushes and raised his wrist guns, marking his targets.
Boomerang pushed past him and drew his trademark weapons. "You do two, I'll do two," he said.
Deadshot frowned, but nodded. "On my mark," he murmured, "Now!" He fired two shots and Boomerang threw two boomerangs. Deadshot's bullets struck home and the guards on the left fell simultaneously. One of the boomerangs knocked out it's intended guard, but the other ducked his head in time for the boomerang to pass over him harmlessly.
"You missed!" hissed Deadshot.
"Wait for it!" grinned Boomerang. Jason grimaced as the remaining guard drew his walkie-talkie and spoke into it for a moment before the boomerang reversed direction and smacked him in the head. "Ha! In your face!" crowed Boomerang as he caught his weapon.
"He called for backup!" growled Deadshot, shoving Boomerang away, "I'd count that as a miss, you two-bit c-lister."
"That's it!" shouted Boomerang, charging at Deadshot.
"Wow," said Jason in amazement as he watched the two men fight, "I mean, really, just wow. All of us at Akatsuki are concerned about supervillians teaming up, but if the Light is anything like this then it's really our fault we haven't already won by now."
"U.S.A.!" cheered King Shark, "U.S.A.!"
"Boys! We got company!" shrieked Harley, pointing to the other end of the yard. A small platoon of armed guards were running from the intensive care ward towards the towers. Shark quieted down and strolled between Deadshot and Boomerang.
"Shark! No!" hissed Deadshot, but King Shark wasn't listening.
"Finally!" he growled, cracking his knuckles, "Something to hit!" He charged forwards and barreled through the first few lines of the platoon, drawing away the fire.
"So much for low profile," muttered Deadshot.
"Ooh! I wanna play too!" squeaked Harey as she ran past them with her baseball bat held high. With a mutual shrug, the rest of the team entered the fray behind her. Jason deflected bullets off of his sword and rolled too the ground, using its thick blade to trip up the guards. It was over in seconds with both Deadshot and Boomerang operating from a few yards away and Killer Frost freezing anything she touched and King Shark acting as a living tank and Harley being Harley.
"Well that was fun," noted Frost as she stepped over a guard's frozen body.
Deadshot tripped up King Shark and slammed him to the ground. "Do not, under any circumstance, break cover during a mission," he ordered, "You got that?"
King shark roared and pushed himself up, grabbing Deadshot by the throat. Despite being inches away from gnashing metal teeth, Deadshot didn't look particularly afraid. "Don't ever do that to me again!" roared the sea creature.
Deadshot narrowed his eyes. "Or what? You'll chew my head off?" He raised his wrist gun up to King Shark's neck. "Do it," he challenged, "I'm beggin' you." Slowly, King Shark dropped him. Deadshot rubbed his throat and looked around at the team. "You think any one of you has a shot of getting out of here alive without me?" he demanded. He waited for a reply that never came. "That's what I thought," he growled, "We're lucky this was contained, but you better start following orders, all of you!"
Harley pushed herself up against Deadshot's chest. "Maybe you should just calm down, puddin'," she said seductively.
Deadshot grabbed her by the shoulders and held her at arm's length. "Don't call me puddin'!" he growled as he shoved her away.
He turned and marched towards the intensive care ward, leaving Harley to watch him mournfully. "Why do I always have to pick the bad guys?" she sighed.
Jason rolled his eyes and tucked his sword onto his back. "Maybe because you're a homicidal psychopath? That really limits your dating options." He and the team followed Deadshot into the ward and down into the basement where they were met by a large metal door and a keypad.
"This is the property room," said Deadshot, "Locked, of course."
"Not for long!" snarled King Shark. He strolled forwards and bit at the bar locks on the door. He tugged hard, but the bars didn't budge.
Boomerang smirked at his struggle. "Now that's just pathetic."
Harley rolled her eyes. "Every Arkham warden since the first one uses their birthday backwards for practically everything," she told the group as she punched numbers into the keypad.
Deadshot frowned at her. "How'd you know that?"
"I used to work here," said Harley, twirling her bat, "Didn't I mention that?"
Boomerang looked at her with a sneer. "Oh c'mon!" he said in an exasperated tone, "As what? A janitor?"
"A psychiatrist silly," she replied, "By the way pal, someone who uses boomerangs has some real issues letting go."
Jason folded his arms. "Pretty funny, Quinn," he growled, "But I'm still gonna kill you one day."
The doors slid open and Harley bowed. The room beyond was a wide warehouse filled with wooden crates stacked atop each other. "Where do we even begin?" asked Frost nervously.
"Everyone take a section," ordered Deadshot, "Just start looking."
Jason took the right hand corner and started tearing through the first box with a reluctant sigh. He broke it open with his sword and it's contents scattered across the floor. It was filled with bootlegged movies that hypnotized anyone that watched them. Jason picked one up with a grunt and grimaced as he remembered when he'd seen them last.
. . .
Jason swung down onto a stone gargoyle overlooking Gotham's financial district. "You know what I love about gothic architecture?" he said as Batman floated down next to him, "So many cool statues to pose next to. I mean, all the architects had to do was make a drain, right? But instead they made it look like these cool, bad-ass looking demons."
"Focus, Robin," Batman ordered as he peered down to the streets below, "There's our source."
Jason looked down and saw a man with a layout of knock-off movies surrounding him. "That's our guy?" he said in surprise, "It's just a hobo trying to make a buck. I mean, yeah it's technically illegal, but are we really gonna bust the guy for it?"
"Never take something at face value," said Batman, "Remember to use your tools."
Jason frowned and reached into his belt for a pair of binoculars. He used them and switched through the alternate vision modes until he hit a Geiger vision. "Uh, Batman?" he asked, "Are bootleg movies supposed to be emitting low levels of ultraviolet radiation?"
"No they are not," said Batman calmly, "And that's not a homeless man either."
Jason zoomed in deeper with the binoculars and managed to get a small peak at the pale skin and wide grin under the hobo's shoddy hoodie. "Joker!" he growled, "Wow! Okay, so we're gonna get him, right?"
"Of course," said Batman, drawing out pair of batarangs, "That's what we do."
. . .
Jason's memories were very rudely interrupted by the sounds of combat from a few aisles of boxes over. "It's Batman!" shouted Frost over the chaos. Jason grinned and tossed away the video. He ran over to the aisle where the action was in time to see Frost, using what he recognized as Mr. Freeze's gun, blast ice around King Shark's head as Batman, his old mentor, leapt away from the shot. Batman dodged around bullet fire from Deadshot and hurled exploding batarangs into his wrist guns. As Deadshot stumbled backwards, Batman grappled up to a catwalk where he engaged in hand-to-hand combat with Black Spider.
Boomerang slid around the corner and glanced at Jason. "I don't suppose you plan to help us?"
Jason leaned against a crate a shrugged. "Let me make up my mind," he said with a grin. Boomerang groaned and rushed into the fight. Batman tossed Black Spider off the catwalk and dodged Boomerang's attack with ease. Harley erupted from a nearby crate wielding a giant mallet. She twirled it expertly as she charged Batman, but he delivered a simple yet devastating clothesline to her neck and she flew back into another crate. Frost shot another cold blast at him, but he took her down with a well placed batarang. King Shark burst through a wall of crates and tackled Batman to the ground, but he used a pair of defibrillators in his belts as tasers and delivered an electric-charged punch to the Atlantean's jaw.
That was when Deadshot reemerged with a rocket launcher. He fired the first rocket at Batman, but the hero easily dodged under it. The rocket spun upwards and exploded near the ceiling, sending part of the catwalk tumbling to the ground. Deadshot loaded in another rocket and fired again, this time accidentally blowing up a support pillar. Large chunks of the ceiling began breaking apart and falling to the ground, making Jason dodge to avoid them. "This place is coming down!" he shouted, "Do we have the cane?"
"Yo!" Deadshot lifted up the cane to show he had it.
"Then let's move!" shouted Jason as he dashed for the doors.
Batman ran around a pile of crates in time to see him moving. "You!" he shouted across the room, "What're you-"
He was interrupted as Black Spider dropped from the ceiling and landed on his shoulders. Jason grimaced and skidded to a halt just outside the doors to the room. A billowing cloud of smoke fell to the ground with a ton of debris and he shielded his face against it. Something crashed into him and he was sent stumbling backwards into the far wall. "Sorry," muttered Killer Shark as he lowered Killer Frost off his shoulders. Deadshot, Boomerang, and Harley ran panting out of the smoky room and collapsed against the wall.
"Yahtzee!" sighed Harley with a wild grin.
Deadshot looked around. "Spider?"
"He went after Batman," said Jason, brushing himself off.
Boomerang glared at him and drew a sharpened boomerang. "He seemed to recognize you, didn't he?"
"I'm with Akatsuki, remember?" snarled Jason, taking a step forwards, "Of course I know Batman."
"Shut up," said Deadshot suddenly, "Look." Jason turned back to the door and saw a silhouetted figure against the smoke slowly making its way towards them. Everyone but Jason fell into fighting poses. "No way," breathed Deadshot as the figure emerged.
It was Black Spider. He was clutching his side in pain, but in his hands was Batman's famed utility belt. "The spoils of war," he announced as he wrapped the belt around his waist.
Jason's eyes widened and he took a step back in horror. Harley stared in amazement. "Black Spider took out the Batman?" she murmured.
"Mate, I'm a little choked up," agreed Boomerang in a hushed tone.
Jason's shaking hand found its way to the hilt of his sword and he swung it off from his back. "Congratulations!" he snarled as a few tears streamed from his eyes, "You're a dead man!" With a roar, he swung his sword at Black Spider's neck. It was intercepted by King Shark's thick forearm. Jason looked up in time to see the atlantean's fist coming at his face. He dodged to the side, but wisely backed off.
"That's enough!" shouted Deadshot, quickly coming between them, "Hood, I know you're upset and I get that, okay? It's never easy loosing a comrade. But unless you want to join him in the afterlife, stay your sword." Jason's hands trembled and his blade shook. Deadshot put a hand on the sword and slowly pushed it down. Jason collapsed to his knees, his whole body shaking. Batman couldn't be gone. He couldn't. It had been Batman who had raised him up from the slums. It had been Batman who had shown him what it was like to have a father. It had been Batman who-
Jason turned and punched the wall with all his might. It left a small dent in the metal, but it didn't help to assuage his overwhelming grief. Boomerang turned to Deadshot. "So you got the thumbdrive?"
"Of course," said Deadshot, taking the cane off his back. He removed the bobble that was the dot on the question mark and unscrewed it open. "What?!" he shouted as he looked into the empty hollow.
Boomerang cursed. "We've been bloody played!" he shouted, kicked at the floor.
King Shark looked around. "Hey, where's Frost?"
Jason looked around and realized that she wasn't there. "She run off on us?" asked Boomerang, "Waller'll blow her head off!"
"No," realized Jason, "She's still working for Waller. Riddler never had his files on a thunbdrive, he's too smart to leave it in something that easily accessible. No, he never recorded what he found, he just memorized all of it."
Deadshot slapped his forehead. "So we're not here to recover files."
"We're here so Frost can kill Riddler," finished Boomerang.
Jason's heart beat a bit faster and he turned to Harley. "You know where Riddler's cell is?"
"Just upstairs!" she cried out, "C'mon!" she ran for the stairs and the others quickly followed her. Nigma's cell was on the second floor of the building, but he wasn't there when they arrived. The cell was empty save for a book of riddles wetted by melting ice from the broken bars. "They're gone!" cried Harley unnecessarily.
Their ear pieces turned on. "You haven't been checking in," said Waller coldly, "And I don't like being blind."
"We had a run in with the bat," explained Deadshot, "But we're past it. We're just looking for an exit now."
"And you're all together?"
Jason and Deadshot exchanged a glance. "Of course," said Jason slowly, "Why wouldn't we be?"
"Oh really," said Waller, "Then will one of you explain to me why the Special Crimes Unit was called to the Arkham medical center?"
Deadshot looked out a nearby window at the hospital a few buildings over. "Maybe Two-Face has a pair of hemorrhoids," he suggested sarcastically, "We're out."
There was a pause before the line ended and Harley grabbed her head. "Please don't explode!" she whispered, "Please don't explode!"
"Shut up!" said Jason and Deadshot as one.
"Can you get us to the medical center?" asked Deadshot.
Harley blinked. "There are some catacombs under the building that leads right to the support structures of the medical wings," she said.
"Lead the way."
. . .
They entered the catacombs and immediately followed the sound of gunfire. They dashed along stone catwalks overlooking a perilous drop into a deep cave until they found a centralized pillar with an elevator. It was at the end of a long catwalk where a battalion of police were decked out in riot gear with S.W.A.T. shields and semi-automatics.
Frost and Nigma were cowering behind a broken stone wall at the end of the walkway. "This is the Special Crimes Unit!" shouted one of the police into a microphone, "Surrender and return to your cells!" As the rest of the team approached, Jason saw Frost give a very clear message to the police in the form of a rude gesture. In response, the police opened fire.
"Well that didn't work out," said Jason as he slid behind their cover.
"Then like the hanged man," said Nigma, popping the collar on his prison jumpsuit with a smile, "We are at the end of our rope."
"Wow I hate you," said Frost with a grunt.
Deadshot and Boomerang took out a few guards, providing cover fire for the others as they joined them behind the wall. "You alright?" King Shark asked, looking genuinely concerned at Killer Frost.
"I'm good, big guy," she said with a grin, playfully punching his giant arms, "Glad you made it."
"This better be good!" shouted Deadshot over the gunfire.
"It is," Frost reassured him, "Nigma knows how to turn off the bombs."
Jason stared at Nigma and he turned around with a grin. "Look familiar?" he asked, showing the team a small scar at the back of his neck, the same scars they all sported where the bombs had been implanted into them. "I can free all of you from Waller, but you got to get me into the medical center!"
Deadshot grimaced. "We got maybe ten minutes before Waller figures out what's what!" he shouted, "We need to get there or we're dead."
"Should've brought a tank," noted Boomerang.
"We did," snarled Jason, jerking his thumb at King Shark. King Shark nodded and looked out over the pathway before abruptly pulling his head back with wide eyes.
"No heights!" he insisted, breathing fast.
Boomerang stared at him. "You're joking."
"I said no heights!" screamed King Shark, curling his fists.
"Oh for the love of-" Jason sighed and took off his Akatsuki robes. He reached up and wrapped them tightly around King Shark's head, blinding him.
"I can't see!" complained Shark.
"I'll guide you!" Frost jumped onto his back, "Just go, okay? We don't have much time!"
Harley bit her lip. "I'm crazy, but this is just nuts!" Under Frost's direction, King Shark stepped out from behind cover, his armor and thick skin protecting him from the bullet storm. She whispered in his ear and he charged forwards blindly. He veered to the right and smashed into a large water pipe that spilled out onto the police. Before they could recover, Frost leapt off of Shark and put her hands on the pipe. The water froze over almost immediately, trapping the police in place. This left them completely vulnerable to Shark's blind charge for the door. He barreled through them until he slammed hard against the elevator and fell backwards.
"Well that was surprisingly effective," said Jason as he ran forwards. He ripped his robes off of Shark's head and slipped back into them as he hailed an elevator and the team assembled behind him. Nigma grabbed a gun off of a downed guard and cocked it.
"Did we win?" asked Shark, rubbing his head.
"Thanks to you, big guy," said Frost with a grin.
. . .
Nigma took them into the medical center and led them to an operating room. "Let's see now," he murmured, "We'll need this on, this for backup. Everyone grab a chair and circle up!"
"How exactly is this gonna work?" asked Deadshot as the team assembled their chairs.
"Electro-shock," said Nigma smartly.
Boomerang glared at him. "The what now?"
Nigma held up electrode patches and twirled them playfully. "I'm gonna run a thousand volts through your heads and fry your bombs."
"Ooh! I love Electro-shock!" laughed Harley as they sat in their chairs around a generator, "It's like a massage for your brain!"
"Lose anything metal," Nigma ordered.
Jason grit his teeth. "Electricity," he muttered as he unhooked his belt and dropped his sword on the floor, "Better than acid, I guess." He took off his helmet and tossed it behind him.
"I'll keep a look out," declared Black Spider, stationing himself near the window. Jason glared at him and slowly reached for one of his guns. Deadshot kicked him in the knee and he retracted his hand reluctantly. "More cops," announced Black Spider, "Choppers too."
Nigma started to strap them down to their chairs. "This'll work?" asked Deadshot nervously.
"Or give you a grand mal seizure," said Nigma with a shrug. He attached the electrodes to their temples as he spoke aloud. "Thousand volts, five bodies, multiply by seven pulses…"
King Shark strained slightly against his bonds. "You know what you're doing, right?" Nigma shot him a knowing glance.
The communicators activated again and Deadshot grimaced. "Don't stop working," he ordered Nigma, "Yeah, Waller?"
Jason was taking deep breaths to prepare himself for the pain, but he stopped to pay attention to the conversation. "The authorities know there's been a break in at Arkham!" shouted Waller, "You're on red alert!"
"News to me," said Deadshot calmly.
"What part of off-the-books did you not understand?!" demanded Waller, "Are you in the medical center?!"
"We hit a snag," said Jason quickly.
"Batman again? I trust your connection to him won't hinder your performance, Hood."
At the mention of his mentor's name, Jason took a sharp intake of breath. He glanced over at Black Spider near the window and swallowed his apprenhension. "Spider needed medical attention," he lied.
"Good one," whispered Boomerang. Nigma broke a broom over his knee and put the splintered pieces in their mouths. Jason bit down hard and tensed for the coming pain.
"No excuses!" shouted Waller, her froth evident in her voice, "Get back now!"
"Uh-huh!" said Deadshot through his broom piece. He nodded to Nigma.
Nigma grinned and kicked the generator. Immediately, Jason's world was filled with pain. If he was honest, it was a bit like being dragged from the afterlife, like his senses were restarting over and over and over again. It was a constant state of rebirth and reawakening in the most painful sense possible. He cried out, but kept his teeth firmly lodged around the wooden stick in his mouth. He heard a high pitched laugh and realized Harley had spit out her broom piece to fully enjoy the experience.
Jason grunted as he felt a burning sensation at the back of his neck that stood out amongst the rest of his pain. Then there was a popping sensation, like a pimple had just burst under his skin, and then it was over. He fell forwards in his chair and spat out the wood. He breathed heavily and panted away the residual pain. His body ached, but he knew how to ignore it. "I never need to do that again," sighed Boomerang.
"Are you kidding?" said Harley excitedly, "I feel great! Can we do that again? Pretty please?"
Jason picked up his head and looked around at the team surrounding him. "I think we're clean," he murmured, "Right?"
A sudden beeping noise cut through everyone's hard breathing and groans. Slowly, all eyes turned to its source, King Shark's head. He suddenly didn't look so strong. In fact, his eyes were small and his face was scrunched up like a child who had just had their first nightmare. "Uh, guys?" he said slowly.
"Do it again!" shouted Killer Frost to Nigma.
Nigma kicked the generator, but it didn't rev up like last time. Nigma kicked it again and grimaced. "It's broken!" he shouted.
Jason grimaced as King Shark's forehead slowly expanded. King Shark shook for a moment and closed his eyes before his head exploded. Pieces of his skull and brain scattered over the team and they cried out in surprise, grief, and disgust. An eyeball landed in Jason's lap and he pushed his chair back hard to get away from it. Shark's metal teeth embedded themselves in the wall behind Deadshot's chair, missing him by mere inches on the way past.
There was a long pause before Captain Boomerang cleared his throat. "So, ah, why'd his head explode?"
"Because the bomb didn't defuse, you idiot!" seethed Killer Frost, a single tear streaking down her cheek.
"Maybe his skin was too thick?" Nigma mused aloud, "Was he Atlantean? Does Atlantean skin absorb electricity? Isn't that how Aqualad does his thing or whatever?"
"Doesn't matter now," sighed Deadshot, "Waller just declared us all expendable. We're lucky ours defused."
Boomerang's eyes narrowed. "So what's his excuse?" he asked, nodding to Black Spider.
Jason lifted his head in confusion. If Waller had detonated their bombs, Black Spider should also be without a head, yet there he stood, very much headed. Nigma tilted his head to the side for a moment before giggling. "Oh!" he laughed, "Oh that's rich!"
Deadshot looked back and forth between Spider and Nigma. "What are you talking about?"
"You haven't figured it out?" said Nigma with a cruel grin, "The Black Spider is Batman!" He drew his gun and leveled it at Spider, who dove away. Nigma fired a few bullets as Spider dodged behind Boomerang's chair and hurled a batarang at his attacker. Nigma cried out and fell back. When he hit the floor, his gun went off and fired into the generator. Apparently, this was what was needed to activate it because Jason immediately felt electricity racing painfully through his muscles.
Nigma tried to stand up again, but Spider tackled him to the floor. He stood up and blades flicked out from his gauntlets before ripping off his mask. Underneath was indeed Batman's spiked cowl. If Jason hadn't been in excruciating agony at the time, he would have rejoiced over the fact that his mentor was not dead. "Talk!" he ordered, ripping off Deadshot's electrodes, "Why are you here?" Jason wanted to speak, to be the one to reveal the answers, but he was afraid if he tried he might bite his tongue off.
"Amanda Waller!" said Deadshot, "She wanted the Riddler dead!"
"Waller?" Batman frowned, "What's she playing-" He was interrupted by a pair of bullets that slammed into his shoulder and sent him spinning back. Jason turned his jittering head towards the door and his eyes nearly popped out of his head in shock.
"Guess who!" sneered the Joker, a gun in one hand, "I brought favors for everybody!" With his free hand, he tossed black marbles over the floor of the room while Batman hid behind a turned over medical table. Jason strained against his bonds, but soon didn't need to. The marbles exploded like tiny grenades, throwing him back against the far wall with enough force to shatter his chair. He quickly tore the electrodes off his head and shook it to clear away the fog of pain.
Jason looked around for his sword and saw it lying by Harley's overturned chair. She was knocked out in it, snoring gently as bullets and batarangs flew above her. Jason slid next to her and reached for his sword. It was time to take his vengeance, buffer or no buffer. "Let's move!" shouted Deadshot as he ran by towards the door. Jason looked at Harley for a moment and imagined leaving her there to deal with her crazy ex and his mentor. But he knew he couldn't. That wasn't who he was trained to be. He grabbed Harley and pulled her out of the chair, throwing her over his shoulder as he made for the exit. He could come back later for his sword.
"Wait," groaned Harley as they got close to the door, "Mallet."
"Yeah, yeah," snarled Jason, grabbing her giant mallet by the door as he ran through it, "You're lucky I didn't leave you. I'm wasting a perfectly good opportunity to kill Joker just to save your worthless butt. Remember this, Quinn!"
They ran for several minutes through the halls of Arkham, not sure where they were headed, just knowing they needed to get away from the two most dangerous people in Gotham. "How'd he get out?" demanded Boomerang as they ran.
"Harley shot into his cell when we found him," said Deadshot grimly, "Maybe he used the bullet casings to pick the lock? I don't know."
"Close," said a voice as they were about to round a corner. They all skidded to a halt just as the Joker calmly strolled around the hallway, popping his purple collar as he walked. "I think this was yours once, red head," he snarled, lifting up the Executioner's Blade on his shoulder and Jason's helmet in his hand, "Finders keepers though."
"That's fine," said Jason, stepping in front of the others, "I brought other toys." He flicked back his robes and drew out two SMGs. "I wanted to kill you with that sword," said Jason with a sneer, "It would've been much more personal. But we don't always get what we want."
"Quite right," said Joker calmly, "For example, I never wanted you to steal my old moniker. Why couldn't you come up with something original? Why not 'blue helmet'? Or 'green hat'? Why Red Hood?"
"What can I say?" sneered Jason, "You inspired me."
"Well I can see why," said Joker, puffing out his chest proudly, "Granted you pull it off a bit differently than I did. When I played that number I was more flashy Maitre D' than motorcycle fetish. Regardless." Joker swung the sword like a bat and Jason spun away to protect his guns. Doing so left his back exposed to Joker, and he took the opportunity to chuck Jason's helmet at the back of his head. Jason turned around in time to see the helmet flying at his head and instinctively dropped his guns to catch it. Joker grinned and raised his own gun at a now vulnerable Jason.
"Puddin'!" cried Harley in delight as she rushed forwards, "You're free!" Joker slammed the butt of his gun into her cheek as she approached him and she fell to the floor with a grunt. Boomerang winced at the brutality of the blow.
"Don't you puddin' me!" snarled Joker, "I get locked away for a few months and suddenly you've got new friends! Even picked a new guy!"
Deadshot sighed. "Dad always told me not to sleep with crazy," he muttered, "Hindsight's 20/20 I guess."
"You got it all wrong, baby!" Harley protested as she stood up, a sensual grin on her face, "I was using them to help you escape! Who else would I break into Arkham for? Nobody, that's who." She leaned in close to the Joker's ear. "It'll be just like old times," she whispered.
Joker's eyes were suddenly filled with hunger. He put his arm around Harley and they started to walk away together. Boomerang and Frost breathed sighs of relief. Jason quickly put on his helmet and reached for his guns, but Deadshot kicked them away. "Wait for it," he murmured.
Sure enough, Joker stopped and turned back. "You! New guy!" he shouted at Deadshot, "I don't like people touching my stuff. And I also don't like them stealing my good name." He leveled his gun at Deadshot and Jason.
Jason slowly frowned and walked forwards. He pressed his forehead against the end of the barrel and stared into Joker's cold, white eyes. "Do it!" he sneered, "His body shaking with rage, "You killed me once, so do it again!"
"It doesn't matter," said Deadshot from behind them, "He's out of bullets."
Joker scowled. "I am not!"
"Is that right?" Jason frown morphed into a smile, "Then let me tell you what's gonna happen, Joker. You're gonna pull the trigger and, when nothing happens, I'm gonna kill you. Slowly. With a vengeance." The tension in the air was palpable. Joker glanced back and forth between Jason's resolute face and his own gun.
"Hang on a sec," he said, "I know this thing's loaded." He took the gun off Jason's forehead and shot it into the ceiling. "There, see?" Jason decked him with a full body haymaker. His full weight sent Joker tumbling backwards into Harley. As he fell, Jason grabbed his sword out of Joker's hand. Before he could use it, Joker cackled and grabbed Harley and, together, they fell back into a laundry chute in the wall.
Jason roared in anger and jammed his sword into the wall besides the chute. "I'll kill you!" he shouted into the dark pit, "I will end you for what you did to me!"
"Mate," said Boomerang in awe, "You just out-crazied the Joker!"
Deadshot was also impressed, but for a different reason. "You knew I was bluffing?"
Jason took a deep, calming breath before turning back to the others. "Yeah," he said, "I'm a swordsman, but I know the difference between an empty gun and a gun with one in the chamber."
Deadshot nodded respectfully. "Let's get out of here," he said, motioning down the hallway. It led them to an open, multi-level room where dozens of armed officers were patrolling with flashlights and guns.
"This place is crawling with cops!" hissed Frost.
"I'm gonna kill Waller!" grunted Deadshot.
"Get in line!" Jason knelt down and observed the police's movements, "Frost, can you take care of this stupid buffer?" He raised his sword and Frost put her hand on the foam blunter. It froze over and she broke it with a flick. The ice chunks fell to the floor and Jason grinned at his sword's honed edge. It felt right again.
"Look!" said Boomerang, pointing to a clear spot where they could run through a pair of double doors. They ran behind railings and pillars to keep hidden and managed to make it into the next room, which was thankfully cop free.
Frost panted in exhaustion and leaned against the wall. "Why are we running?"
"We're sitting ducks out here," complained Deadshot grimly.
"And who's fault is that, fearless leader?" asked Boomerang sarcastically.
"Don't start with me, you one gimmick hack!" snarled Deadshot.
"Guys!" gasped Frost, "Batman!"
Jason looked up in time to see Batman swing down from the rafters of the room, landing in front of the group. "Joker!" he barked, "Where'd he go?"
"Don't owe you squat, Batman!" shouted Boomerang, reaching for his weapons.
Jason lazily swatted him hard in the back of the head, sending him spinning into a wall. "Joker and Harley escaped through the laundry chute," he said.
Batman fixed his eyes on Jason and paused for a moment before continuing. "Did they have anything with them?"
Jason thought for a moment. "Yeah, Harley's mallet."
"Then that's where he's hidden his dirty bomb," said Batman grimly.
Suddenly, the PA system in the asylum activated and Joker's cackle filled the room. "Testing, testing!" he laughed, "Attention Batman! I hope you brought protection, because I'm about to give Gotham a permanent case of tainted love! And it's really gonna burn! And just in case you thought you could stop me, I decided to invite a few friends to this little shindig!" There was a loud buzzing noise and a wailing alarm.
Hesitantly, Jason went over to the window. It overlooked the central courtyard of Arkham and the entranceway. As he watched, Arkham inmates began to run out of the buildings towards the police presence on the island. "He just opened all the cell," he realized, "Every Arkham inmate versus the GCPD? It's gonna be a war."
"They can contain it," said Batman, "I need to find Joker and stop that bomb."
"Good luck with that, mate," muttered Boomerang.
Jason rolled his eyes and turned to the Aussie. "Will you shut up. Batman, I'm helping you find-" He turned around, but Batman was already gone.
"We need to get out of range of the bomb," said Deadshot.
"And how exactly do you plan on doing that? Waller said that thin could take out half the city," Frost pointed out, "What'll take us far enough fast enough?" Her question was answered by the distinct whirling of blades. They looked out the window and watched as a military chopper gently touched down on the Arkham helipad outside.
"Well," said Deadshot, "Isn't that convenient."
Frost suddenly grinned and shoved Deadshot into Boomerang. They fell over with twin grunts as Jason looked on in confusion. "Every man for himself!" shouted Frost as she ran out of the room. Boomerang picked himself up first and dashed away after her.
"I was really hoping to avoid this," muttered Deadshot as he stood up, "But I guess it was inevitable after our bombs were defused."
Jason shouldered his sword. "So are we getting out of here or not?"
Deadshot blinked in surprise. "You're sticking around?"
"Might as well," said Jason with a shrug, "I can't kill Joker if I'm dead. Again." He blew out the window with his sword and climbed out onto the windowpane. "You coming?"
Deadshot slowly grinned. "Yeah, alright."
. . .
It was a full blown battle by the time the two of them reached the ground. Tear gas canisters were leaking out everywhere, making it hard to make out details, but a few shone through. Bane was throwing police cars like toy trucks, Poison Ivy had created a new jungle by the shoreline, Two-Face was fighting Frost with a pair of machine guns, it was general chaos.
Jason and Deadshot ignored the fight and ran straight for the helipad. "Oh no you don't!" shouted Boomerang as he delivered a drop kick to Jason's back. Jason rolled forwards and raised his sword to block the boomerangs sent his way. Deadshot jumped and spun in midair as he reached the helipad and shot at Boomerang, piercing his shoulder and sending the Aussie flying backwards. "I'll get you for this, Lawton!" he shouted as he disappeared into the tear gas.
"You didn't kill him," Jason noted as he ran up to the empty helicopter.
"You must be rubbing off on me," said Deadshot as he climbed into the pilot seat and Jason into the co-pilot seat.
"So, Lawton?" asked Jason as Deadshot lifted the helicopter gently into the air.
"Floyd Lawton," said Deadshot.
Jason smiled and offered him his hand. "Jason Todd."
Deadshot grinned and shook his hand. "Nice to meet you."
Jason returned to the controls. "So where you thinking we should go?"
"Star City," said Floyd immediately, "After all this, I want to see my kid. Maybe my ex-wife if I have to. Unless you got something better?"
"Nah," said Jason with a grin, "Star City works for me. But when you're done with your kid, come to these coordinates." He wrote in a latitude and longitude in the helicopter's log.
"What's there?"
"Infinity Island," Jason told him, "Akatsuki HQ. We could use a guy like you."
Floyd stared at him incredulously. "You really think I would fit in with you hero types?"
"You wouldn't be the first assassin in our ranks."
Floyd grunted and looked forwards. "Let me think about it, okay?"
'Take your time."
"Going my way, handsome?" asked an annoyingly persistent voice. Jason looked behind them to see Joker and Harley coming out of the helicopter's cargo hold, wielding a gun and a bomb-filled mallet respectively. Joker put the gun to Jason's head and smiled his sick, twisted smile. "Hey! Since you took my old name, maybe you'd like to take my old seat!"
Jason narrowed his eyes. "Lawton, mind taking the controls for a bit?"
"Not at all. Do you, man." Jason ducked to the side just as Joker pulled the trigger. He shoved Joker back and kicked Harley away before she could interfere. Joker laughed and drew a knife in addition to his gun.
Jason reached for his sword, but hit it against the ceiling when he tried to unsheathe it. He growled in annoyance and drew his two pistols instead. Joker charged him and slashed with his knife, but Jason leaned away from the attack. "Kid!" shouted Floyd, "Problems!" Jason shot wildly at Joker to keep him occupied while he glanced at the pilots' seats.
Harley had taken his place at the co-pilot seat and was doing everything she could to mess up Floyd's flying. They had reached the mainland and were careening wildly between the buildings of Gotham. Floyd growled angrily and swung his wrist gun at Harley, but she grabbed his hand and unceremoniously broke his arm with an armbar. Floyd grunted in pain and grabbed at his broken limb to set it as quickly as possible. While his hands were off the controls, Harley sent the helicopter into a spin. She laughed and crowed and Jason had had about enough. He raised one of his guns with practiced aim and shot a single bullet into Harley's arm.
She screamed and fell out of the chair, gripping her wound as blood spurted out of the bullet hole. "You shot me!" she cried, "You actually shot me!"
Jason smirked, but suddenly cried out in agony. He'd taken his attention off of Joker and the clown had capitalized, slicing at Jason's other hand with his knife. Jason dropped his gun and it slid out the open door of the helicopter. He glared angrily at the cut across the back of his hand. Joker raised his gun, but Jason threw his last gun at him like a boomerang. It hit Joker's arm and he dropped his own gun in surprise. Both weapons tumbled out over Gotham.
Joker cackled. "Not bad, kid!" he shouted, "I don't know who you are so I don't really remember killing you, but if you put up this much of a fight back then you might not have died!"
Jason snarled and was about to reply when he heard the tell-tale sounds of a jet engine approaching. "Oh c'mon!" he shouted as the batwing soared under the wild helicopter, "Not now!" Joker attacked and Jason blocked, but he kept one eye on the Batwing. As he watched, Batman shot out of the cockpit and used his grappling hook to fly up to the helicopter. Joker hadn't noticed, so Batman hit him from behind, sending him wheeling into Jason.
"Gotcha!" sneered Jason in Joker's ear as he put him in a painful hold.
"Hey boys!" shouted Harley. Jason turned to the pilot's seats and his eyes widened as he saw Harley with a gun to Floyd's head. He was desperately piloting between the buildings with one hand. Harley was bleeding heavily and her pale face was a ghostly white.
"Easy Harl!" shouted Floyd, "You kill me, we all die!"
Harley's eyes were wide and crazy, frantically looking for something concrete to grasp onto. A vain search. "Worth it!" she cried as she pulled the trigger.
"No!" screamed Jason, but it was too late. Floyd's body slumped over in the pilots seat and the helicopter suddenly went belly up, flying in circles and tumbling everyone inside like clothes in a washing machine.
The helicopter crashed into a building under construction, sending shards of glass and metal flying everywhere. Jason managed to jump out before it stopped and panted in pain and weariness as he watched it slid along the empty floor. After a moment, the blades stopped spinning and the helicopter lay still in the middle of the floor. Jason let a few seconds pass in silence before he slowly stood up.
There was a large shard of glass sticking out of his arm, but he almost didn't feel it. He ripped it out and watched as his wound began to bleed. He was sure there was some sort of ironic symbolism in his own blood spilling over his already cut up hands when he was innocent of any death, but he was too tired to make the connection and he really didn't care.
He started to walk towards the edge of the building, where the helicopter had crashed through the glass wall. "Stop me if you've heard this one," said a voice behind him. Jason scowled and slowly turned around. Joker was nowhere to be seen, but his voice seemed to come from everywhere at once. "A penguin tells a newborn robin that birds fly north for the winter." Jason drew his sword and walked back into the darkness of the unfinished building, his eyes scanning for any signs of movement. "The robin is new to the world, so he believes him and flies as far north as his little wings will take him." Jason stopped moving and cocked his head to the side, trying to hear the Joker's footsteps. "And when the little robin finally realizes that the penguin was just playing a little joke," Joker emerged from the beams above and jumped onto Jason's shoulders. He stumbled back in surprise and Joker swiped at his throat. Jason raised his sword to block it and swung it at Joker, but the clown ducked under his swing and shot back up to punch Jason in the face. "A clown kills the robin," Joker finished with a dark smile. He cocked his head to the side and his grin grew wider. "I can't believe it took me so long to remember you. But nobody takes a beating like you did, kid." He reached behind him and drew out a sharpened hook on a chain from a worktable behind him.
Jason backed behind a pillar as Joker threw his hook. Joker recoiled his weapon and ran forwards towards the load-bearer, but Jason was gone from his hiding place. Joker slowly backed away and swung his hook leisurely. Jason jumped soundlessly from a beam above, but Joker had played this game before. He threw his hook and it wrapped around Jason's neck. With a hard pull, Joker redirected Jason's attack and sent him tumbling painfully to the ground, but not before jabbing his knife deep into Jason's stomach as he slid by.
Jason grit his teeth against the searing pain. His body still hadn't recovered from being electrocuted twice and he was hypersensitive to the pain. Joker wrapped his chain around Jason's neck and pulled hard, crushing Jason's windpipe. In response, Jason swung his sword behind him and sliced the chain in two. Joker stepped back as Jason stood up and, with a pained grunt, ripped out the knife in his gut.
"Keep it!" offered the Joker, "I've got plenty!" He drew two more knives from his back pocket and twirled them in his hand.
Jason put a hand over his bleeding side and raised his sword. "You wanna know something, Joker?" he panted, "Harley was always funnier than you."
Joker's twisted expression tweaked to utter rage. "How dare you!" he cried, "I taught Harely everything she knows about comedy!"
"Then you're a worse teacher than you are a comedian," muttered Jason, lowering himself into a defensive pose. Joker roared and charge forwards, slashing with his knives wildly. Jason parried his attacks and spun around, swinging his sword wide. As he expected, Joker dodged under the swing once again, but Jason was ready this time. He took a step back as Joker tried to counterattack and grabbed the clown by the throat. He squeezed tightly, but Joker stabbed him multiple times in the collar bone. Jason cried out and dropped to one knee, letting go of the Joker.
"You know, for someone who's not Batman, you're becoming a real pain in my butt," sighed Joker, raising both his knives, "Deuces, Robin."
Jason's eyes widened and his pupils dilated in anger. "I'm not Robin anymore!" he gasped, charging forwards with his sword, "You took that from me!" He swung with power and Joker ducked away, letting Jason cleave straight through a pillar. "You took everything from me!" Jason unleashed a barrage of attacks that had the Joker slowly backing away, trying to use his thin knives to block against the massive Executioner's Blade. "And now, I'm gonna return the favor!" Jason spun and delivered a roundhouse kick to Joker's sternum, sending him stumbling back.
Before Joker could come back with an attack, Jason took a step back and dropped something from his belt. It exploded into a thick cloud of smoke that billowed out to fill the room. Joker snorted and juggled his knives as he casually moved forwards. "Oh please, kid," he sighed, "Batman's tried this on me more times than I can count."
"Not like this." Jason's voice came from right in front of Joker and he swiped at the area. His knives cut through the smoke, but nothing else. "Naruto himself taught me this move after he gave me my sword."
"What move?" demanded Joker, his smile slowly fading as he backed away into the fog, "Throwing down a gas grenade doesn't count as a new move, kid!"
Jason emerged silently from the fog behind Joker and raised his sword over his head. "Hidden Mist Jutsu! Silent Killing!" Before Joker could turn around, Jason swung his sword backwards, letting the dull side of his sword smack hard into Joker's back, sending the clown flying away with a sickening crack.
Joker slammed against a beam and cried out in pain, his body limp and twitching. After a few seconds, his cries of pain morphed into a cackling laugh. "N-not bad, kid!" he spat, blood leaking from the corner of his mouth, "Y-you definitely b-broke something there!"
Jason slowly walked forwards as the smoke began to filter out through the giant hole in the wall. As he moved, he took off his helmet and dropped it on the floor. He hefted his sword onto his shoulder and grit his teeth. A few yards away, Batman pushed himself out of the downed helicopter, a jagged piece of shrapnel piercing straight through his shoulder. "Jason," he breathed, his body slumping over as he fell over, "I defused the bomb, I-" He stopped and stared open mouthed at the scene before him.
Jason gently put the Executioner's Blade on Joker's shoulder and flipped it so the edge was playing over the clown's neck. "Tell me," he said softly, "How does it feel to be this close to death?"
"Funny!" cackled Joker, "I was about to ask you the same thing!" He grabbed a knife from the floor nearby and hurled it at Jason's head. Jason tilted his head to the side, but he wasn't fast enough. The blade sliced open his cheek at the corner of his mouth and he cried out in pain. Joker hooted as Jason took a step back and slapped a hand over his bleeding mouth. "Hey Bats!" he called, "I just gave your Robin a Mona Lisa smile!"
Jason roared and leapt into the air with a spin. "Jason! No!" shouted Batman.
The Executioner's Blade entered Joker's body at his shoulder and exited it at his waist before jamming deep into the floor. Joker's smile slowly faded as he looked down at the line of crimson that was slowly emerging from his torn clothes. "That's not f-funny," he said softly, "That's not…" He coughed up a large blob of blood that splattered over Jason's stoic and scared face. Joker looked up at Jason and his eyes glazed over. His body slumped to the side and fell apart, cloven in two by Jason's sword.
"Jason," breathed Batman, "Jason what have you done?"
Jason looked down at his hands, the hands that had killed the Joker. He had expected them to be shaking, overcome with the emotion of his act. But they were still, as stable as a surgeon's. He reached down and picked up his helmet. He was about to put it on when he saw his reflection in the viewer. Jason blinked at the sight of his blood-soaked face and lowered the helmet to his side. He didn't need a helmet to be the Red Hood that night.
There was a clink by the helicopter and Harley Quinn stumbled out, holding her wounded arm and groaning in pain. "Mistah J?" she murmured, "I got a wicked hangover but I don't remember the party. Did you gas me again or…" She looked up and gasped at Joker's body. She fell to her knees and suddenly burst into tears. "Y-you k-killed him!" she cried out, pointing accusingly at Jason.
"Yeah," said Jason. His cut mouth made it hurt to speak, but he was almost numb to it. "Your turn." He turned to Harley and took a threatening step forwards, but Batman stepped between them.
"You've done enough!" he growled, ripping out the shrapnel with a grunt.
Jason glared at him. "Really? You're going to defend her?" Batman stood his ground and Jason snarled, "Alright. I see how it is." He tucked his sword onto his back.
Harley stumbled to her feet. "I'll kill you!" she hissed, her eyes sunken into her face, "I'll eviscerate you!" She charged at Jason, but Batman spun around and punched her in the face. She cried out and sank to the floor unconscious. Jason sighed and looked back to the opening in the wall. The sun was starting to rise between the buildings.
"I have to take you in," said Batman, a sense of sadness in his voice, "You killed someone."
"I killed Joker," said Jason firmly, "Big difference."
"You took a life!" shouted Batman, walking briskly forwards and putting his hand on Jason's shoulder, "We don't do that."
Jason took a deep breath and suddenly spun in midair to deliver a solid roundhouse kick to Batman's head. The Dark Knight stumbled back and raised his hands to fight, but Jason made no more moves. "Tell me," he said, staring stoically at Batman, "Is he really worth fighting me over?"
"He was alive, Jason!" shouted Batman, "And he was away! He couldn't hurt anyone anymore!"
Jason cocked his head to the side in confusion, but his eyes widened in amazed realization. "You put Joker in Arkham," he said aloud, "And you didn't tell anyone. You knew where he's been all this time. Was it your idea not to let anyone know he was there?" Batman didn't say anything, but glowered at Jason from his cowl. Jason matched his glare with one equally as powerful. "That was your punishment for Joker for killing me?" he shouted, the cut on his mouth stretching and bleeding painfully, "He murdered me, Bruce. He took me away from you, from us! He killed me just to spite you and you did what you always did; shove him in a cell and pray he won't get out again!" Jason spat on the ground, blood mixing with the saliva. "Did you even mourn me, Bruce? I mean, at least you had the decency to wait a few years before replacing me, but what did you do to honor me? The time I spent as your ward? You threw a hologram of me in Mt. Justice and called it a day, didn't you?"
"That's not true and you know it," said Batman softly.
Jason paused and turned to walk away. "Yeah, I know."
"I still have to take you in."
Jason looked back at Batman and gave him a small, blood covered smile. "I'd like to see you try."
. . .
"That's quite a story," said Naruto, his glowing hand over Jason's cut face. He'd washed away the blood, leaving only the cut to deal with. "Think Bruce will come after you now?"
"Nah," sighed Jason, wincing slightly as his cut slowly stitched itself back together under Naruto's medical ninjutsu, "But he's not the concern. You resurrected me to be your executioner, but this is Akatsuki's first actual kill. The world knows how far we're willing to go now. It'll be interesting to see how the U.N. reacts to this."
"I wouldn't worried about it," said Naruto with a frown, "It was the Joker, one of the most universally hated men on the planet. No one will mourn him. In a way, he was the perfect first kill. All others will be judged based on him."
"I guess," said Jason, "You almost done?"
Naruto grimaced. "I…I'm not sure, Jason. I was never very good at this. I managed to stop the bleeding and close the wound, but…" His hand stopped glowing and he slowly retracted it. Jason sat up on the medical cot and grabbed a hand mirror from a nearby table.
"Huh," he grunted, gently touching the grinning scar across his cheek. It was half of a Glasgow grin that gave him a permanent, lopsided smile. "Well it's certainly a conversational piece," Jason muttered, putting down the mirror.
"I'm sorry, Jason."
"Whatever," sighed Jason, "At this point I'm so used to the Joker taking things from me that my good looks are just his final joke."
"Look at it this way;" said Naruto with a shrewd grin, "At least he made you laugh one last time." Jason fixed him with a glare and Naruto grimaced sheepishly. "Sorry." Jason stood up and grabbed his robes from besides the bed. "Pity about Deadshot," said Naruto, "He could have been useful, especially with all the new recruits we're bringing in." He looked out the window at the beach of Infinity Island where Hiruzen was running drill exercises.
"Couldn't be helped," sighed Jason, "There's one thing missing, though; Nigma. He's memorized all of Waller's dirtiest secrets. If we can get our hands on him, we can get a big hand up on the D.E.O."
"He escaped during the riot at Arkham," said Naruto grimly, "But we spent two months watching him. We can find him again."
"Great," said Jason, slipping his helmet over his head, "Let's get to work."
. . .
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