Blake landed silently on the concrete, feet first. Creeping between a pair of shipping containers, she leaned around a corner, spotting a relaxed Black Mask in his fold-out chair speaking to Torchwick. Just as she's about to make another move, a hand appears on her shoulder.
"Don't bother trying to stop me Sun." said Blake, "This guy can't stay out in society, preying on everyone else."
"Yeah, it's not like I don't agree 100%," said Sun, "but there's no way we can do this on our own. Bruce said to gather intel and get out."
"Do you think Bruce actually listened to his own advice?" asked Blake.
"I don't know! I just met him today!" said Sun, "I'm only here because someone's in trouble and I wouldn't feel good not doing anything."
"Sun," said Blake, "He's out in the open, he's not as guarded as he is usually from what I can tell. This might be our only chance."
Sun raised a finger to protest, but lowered it when he realized he didn't have much of a counter-argument, "Fine, but what do you suggest we do, because it's not exactly a good plan to waltz up there and beat him up with the armed guards nearby."
"Don't worry, I've got a plan," said Blake, looking back at the pair of criminals.
"So, how are things on your end?" asked Black Mask, cleaning his pistol with a wet rag, "You're still in contact with the others?"
"Yes, Cinder has elected to take a cautious approach." said Torchwick, "You can talk to her again in a few days."
"Yeah, I'm sure she will." said Black Mask, "She and I need a real heart to heart if you know what I mean."
Torchwick frowned, "Sionis, you're brutal, but these people are above both of us. You know what happened to Icarus."
"This plan of theirs, I'm all for it." said Black Mask, "But as much as I'm contributing, I don't think I've gotten a big enough slice of the pie."
"Sionis, don't do it." said Torchwick, "You'll get us both killed."
"Ah, don't worry about it," said Black Mask, "You won't be involved. Now, let's get back to work. There are other examples to be made."
"Yeah, you guys!"
Two figures leaped from the shadows, one putting Torchwick in a headlock with a staff while the other placed a blade against Black Mask's neck.
"What in-" blurted Torchwick before the pressure on his throat increased, cutting him off.
"Don't. Talk," said Sun.
"I don't know who the hell you kids are," said Black Mask, squirming under the blade, "but you're playing with fire, and now I can assure you you're not going to walk away with just a few burns."
"You're a monster," said Blake, "you brutalize this city, these people. I'm putting you away where you can't do it anymore."
"Ha, good luck with that!" said Black Mask, "Because the cavalry's here!"
A group of White Fang members round the corner, brandishing rifles and swords. They encircle Sun and Blake, their weapons aimed squarely at their targets. Blake, unfazed, pulls off her ribbon, revealing her cat ears.
"Brothers and sisters of the White Fang! Please listen to me!" shouted Blake, "Working with these humans won't help faunus, it only sets them back! You don't have to listen to them!"
The White Fang members look at each other for a moment before retaining their aim on Blake and Sun. Torchwick sniggers before breaking out into laughter.
"Ha, HAHAHAHAHA!" yowled Torchwick, "Was that really your plan? Appeal to their core values?"
"They're good people, they know I'm on their side!" said Blake.
"You don't get it little lady." said Torchwick, "Even if you are on their side, they won't buckle because they know what I'll do to them when you inevitably fail."
"They're brave, they know what's right and wrong," said Blake, looking around at the guards apprehensively.
"Oh, but that's the sad part." said Black Mask, "No matter how brave they are, they're not brave enough to fight against me."
The loud whirring of bullheads fills the air as a few descend from the sky, shining spotlights on Sun and Blake.
"You kids were very underprepared." said Black Mask, "Now, if you let me go and beg for mercy, I might just shoot you and be done with it."
"Blake?" said a nervous Sun, "What now?!"
Blake closed her eyes, sighing before opening them again.
"We fight!" said Blake before shoving Black Mask to the ground and launching herself at the White Fang members. Blake delivers a strike to the nearest member brandishing a sword with Gambol Shroud before leaping into the shadows. Sun, acting quickly, released Torchwick who fell face-first to the ground.
"I'm gonna make you pay you little-"
Sun silences Torchwick by smacking him upside the head with the staff, knocking him out. With surprising speed, Sun uses the staff to catapult himself into the shadows after Blake. Black Mask stumbles to his feet, brandishing an engraved .50 cal handgun.
"AFTER THEM!" shouted Black Mask, "I WANT THEM DEAD!"
Footsteps pounded against the chemical plant floor as 2 Red Hood gang members ran underneath at catwalk.
"We're right behind him!" shouted one.
The two members rounded a corner, finding nothing behind the chemical vat.
"Shit, where'd he go?!" said the other member.
"Double back! If we come up with nothing, the boss will kill us for sure!" said the first member, "Radio in at worst!"
The two gang members went back the way they came, failing to notice Bruce clinging to the underside of the catwalk.
They're gone.
Bruce let go, dropping to the ground.
I know where the girl is, so I could grab her and leave. I can't leave Clark though, I'll have to find a way to thin their numbers.
Bruce closed his eyes, using his ears to listen to the cacophony of footsteps.
Roughly 20 in the building, I can't take them all on at once.
Bruce snuck down the hall, finding a slightly ajar door. Pulling it open, Bruce is greeted by a room full of ice dust.
Hm, this should help.
*CLANG*
Bruce whips around, closing the door. He puts his ear to the door and listens as a pair of footsteps approach.
"You dumbass! You almost knocked one of the barrels over!" said one voice.
"Piss off, it was an accident. Besides, this place is abandoned, the Schnee Dust Company cleared the location out years ago." said another voice, "There's nothing here."
"Yeah, well Schnee is one cheap bastard because some of the mixing vats are still full of waste. Some rooms are still stocked with dust too." said the first voice.
"Really?!" said the second voice, "If we sell that shit right now, we'll make bank!"
The footsteps got closer, prompting Bruce to back away from the door.
"Hey, wasn't this door open before?" asked the first voice.
"Yeah," said the second voice, "I'm thinking we've got our intruder."
Bruce hears the chambering of bullets. Realizing they're about to break in, Bruce jumps behind the crates of dust.
*BAM*
A Red Hood gang member kicks the door open, shotgun ready, while the other gang member follows him in with a pistol.
"And he isn't even here." said The first Red Hood gang member.
"Maybe," said the second Red Hood gang member, "I'll check behind the-"
Before the gang member can finish, Bruce leaps out from behind the crates. The gang member, surprised, raises his pistol. Bruce grabs the slide of the pistol with his left hand, pushing it back and watching as the magazine falls to the floor and the chambered round spins upward and out of the gun. Making a fist, Bruce delivers a right hook, knocking the gang member out.
One to go!
Retaining his grip on the pistol, Bruce flings it at the other gang member before he can aim. The pistol collides with the gang members' forehead, causing him to fall backward onto the floor, unconscious. Bruce grabs the shotgun, unloading the weapon.
I've taken out a few, but not enough.
Bruce looks at the gang members, taking note of their uniforms. It was then that something clicked in Bruce's head.
That's it!
Three Red Hood gang members walk the catwalks.
"Where the hell is this guy?!" complained the first gang member brandishing an SMG, "This place isn't THAT big!"
"Stop complaining!" said the second gang member, "Red Hood One will pop a cap in your ass or worse!"
"Just find him!" shouted the third gang member.
Suddenly, the radios on the gang members all received audio at once.
"Red Hood gang." said the voice, "This is the vigilante. I'm currently contacting each and every one of you through one of your comrades' radios. I've already disposed of two of you, why not more? I'm in office 2 if you want some!"
"That little runt!" shouted the first gang member, "I want some alright!"
The gang members break out into a sprint, running towards the office. As they get closer, they pick up other footsteps, other weapons chambering rounds. Arriving at the office door, the gang members find that a crowd had gathered around the door, the largest of them bashing it with his shoulder to break it down.
"Jeez!" said one gang member, "There's no way he can take us all!"
"That's the point genius." said another gang member, "We gang up on him, beat him to shit, then drag his ass to Red Hood One!"
The gang member in charge of the door breaks it down, allowing the crowd to flood the room. Unfortunately, the gang didn't find Bruce. Instead, they found a few crates of ice dust and 2 unconscious gang members, one naked.
"The hell?!" shouted one gang member, "The bastard was just playing with us the whole time!"
*BEEP*
"What was that?!" said another nervous gang member.
*BEEP*
"It's coming from the dust." said a third gang member.
As the sea of thugs closes in on the dust, one notices a small blinking light. A small circular disk was attached to the crate.
"What the hell?" said the gang member, "What is tha-"
The gang member is cut off when the disk explodes, causing a dust explosion that instantly encases the entire room in ice. The gang members are frozen, their unchanging expressions of shock and surprise invisible to the red masks covering their heads.
Lawton's daughter sat in a corner, facing away from the rotting corpse locked in the room with her. The door to the room opened, causing her to flinch. Turning around, she finds a Red Hood gang member standing in the doorway.
"Please don't hurt anyone else!" said the girl, tears beginning to streak down her cheeks, "I'll do whatever you want, I promise!"
Instead of reprimanding her for speaking out, the gang member kneels down and pulls off his mask. It was Bruce, who had elected to ditch the suit while keeping his utility belt and tools.
"It's ok," said Bruce, "I'm not with them, I'm here to get you out of here."
The girl was surprised, wiping the tears off her cheeks, "Really?"
"Really!" said Bruce, pulling the mask back on, "But I need to get my other friend, he's hurt real bad. I've made sure that most of the gang can't get us, but there might be a few others. If we encounter them, play along with me."
"Ok!" said the girl, allowing Bruce to scoop her up in his arms.
Bruce leaves the room, making his way up the catwalks in order to get to Clark as fast as possible.
I don't understand, Clark's shrugged off stuff like this before. How can a mere bullet take him down?
Bruce thought back to the bullets in the revolver, remembering that they glowed.
The bullets aren't normal, they must be composed of something different than lead.
Making a turn, Bruce comes face to face with Red Hood One.
Shit.
"Number 2?" said Red Hood One, "Why's the girl out of her cage?"
"She escaped sir!" said Bruce, mimicking one of the Red Hood gang's accents, a southern drawl, "I was just taking her back!"
"Nevermind that!" said Red Hood One, "Follow me, I need to show you something."
Red Hood One grabs Bruce by the arm, yanking him up the catwalk. The two travel up a few metal steps before arriving at a spot over a chemical vat. The vat, still full of green waste, boiled as if the boilers underneath were still on.
"Sir?" said Bruce, "What's this about?"
Red Hood One smiled, pointing over the catwalk past the vat, "That."
Bruce looked where Red Hood One was pointing, his eyes widening.
It was Clark, his body sprawled among a mess of strewn about tools. Upon closer inspection, Bruce could see that Clark was still alive, groaning and clutching his side, which was stained with blood.
"I thought he died when he went out the window, or maybe when I shot him." said Red Hood One, "But you're friend survived, if not for much longer."
Bruce's head whirled to Red Hood One, who's revolver was aimed directly at Bruce's head. Footsteps became audible as four gang members made their way onto the catwalk, two on each end. They aimed their weapons at Bruce, fingers on the trigger.
Bruce stared Red Hood One down, "Is this everyone?"
Red Hood One chuckled, "Heh, I believe so."
Bruce remained tense, "How?"
"How what?" asked Red Hood One.
"How did you know?" asked Bruce.
"You're wearing Red Hood 18's uniform." said Red Hood One, "But when I addressed you as Red Hood 2, you answered back instantly. Oh, and Red Hood 2 doesn't sound like a redneck."
Bruce looked back and forth while holding the girl, aware that he was surrounded, "You said you won't kill me."
"Oh no, not now." said Red Hood One, "As I said before, I want this to last at least a little longer, so I won't kill you yet."
Red Hood One then drew an evil grin while aiming his revolver at Lawton's daughter, "Other people though…."
"NO!" shouted Bruce, turning his body around and shielding the girl.
*BANG*
"Agh!" grunted Bruce, his semblance protecting him as the bullet bounced off his back.
"Let's see how many bullets it takes to break the little vigilante's semblance everyone!" announced Red Hood One, "Let's see, we've gone through one, how about two?!"
*BANG*
"Argh!" grunted Bruce, clearly in more pain.
"THREE!"
*BANG*
"RAAGH" yelped Bruce, feeling the high caliber rounds.
"FOUR?!"
*BANG*
"AGH!" Bruce screamed in pain, welts beginning to form on his back.
"FIVE?!"
"AAARGH!" Bruce screamed again, his semblance breaking.
"SIX!"
*BANG*
Bruce gasps as the bullet passes directly through his back and out his front. Bruce collapses on the ground in pain, dropping the girl to put his hands over the wound. The girl scrambles to her feet and tries to run but is stopped by the gang members in front of her, who grabbed her arms.
"LET ME GO!" shouts the girl, crying hysterically.
"Now now now!" said Red Hood One, stepping over Bruce while loading a round into the revolver, "What did we say about crying?"
"Please, no!" said the girl.
"Please, yes!" said Red Hood One, aiming the revolver directly at her head.
Bruce looked up at Red Hood One, watching as he pulled the hammer back, "NO!"
That was the moment all hell broke loose.
A red laser blasts the catwalk, destroying its foundations. The blast knocks the girl off the catwalk onto a lower level catwalk while sending the gang members plummeting to ground level, the impact rendering them unconscious. A massive screeching can be head as the catwalk slides out of place due to the damage, causing it to fall into the vat. The four remaining people on the catwalk, Bruce, Red Hood One, and the other two gang members fall with it. The gang members collided with the side of the vat, one breaking his ribs from landing on his side while the other lands on his head. As the remaining gang members fall to the ground, unconscious, Bruce and Red Hood One begin to fall directly into the pit. Bruce, thinking quickly, pulls out his grapple gun and fire's it upward with one hand, grabbing Red Hood One with the other. The grapple hooks onto a bit of the catwalks foundation, suspending Bruce and Red Hood One a few meters above the chemicals inside the vat.
"I'll pull us up!" said Bruce, "But first, you have to give me everything you have on Black Mask!"
"No way, friend!" said Red Hood One, "I want you to discover that stuff for yourself, more fun watching you struggle!"
The grapple line tensed up, strained under the weight of the two men.
"Tell me now!" shouted Bruce, "Is he planning to tip the economy in his favor?!"
"HA!" laughed Red Hood One, "You're way off course, Black Mask isn't even all that important, a small fry in a big pond, and the big fish of that pond, they have big plans!"
The line began to unravel slightly, causing Red Hood One and Bruce to inch downward.
"What do you mean by that?!" demanded Bruce, "TELL ME!"
"I'll give you a hint," said Red Hood One, "These people, they're goal is chaos, it's death! They're my kind of people!"
The answer was vague, and Bruce was unable to wrap his head around it.
*SPRANG*
The grapple gun began to sputter, their descent beginning to become shaky.
"Damn you," said Bruce, "I'll pull us up."
"No."
Red Hood One's free hand launched upward, grabbing Bruce by the collar. Using this new grip, Red Hood One pulled himself up until he was face to face with a masked Bruce.
"Stop struggling damn it!" shouted Bruce, "We can make it out together!"
"No, we can't." said Red Hood One, "That line won't hold us both."
"It can!" said Bruce, "I'll pull you up and put some cuffs on you, you basta-"
Before Bruce can finish, Red Hood One abruptly plants his lips onto Bruce's cheek. As Red Hood One leans back grinning, Bruce only looks at him in confusion.
"Goodbye, my little vigilante."
Red Hood One lets go of Bruce entirely, dropping into the chemical vat below. The chemicals splash, their acids burning the soles of Bruce's feet.
"Damn," said Bruce, frustrated as he pulled himself up using the grapple line. As he reached over the top of the vat, clambering onto the edge, he spotted Lawton's daughter rubbing her head on a lower catwalk.
"Are you ok?" asked Bruce.
"My head hurts a little I guess." said the girl, "I think I'm ok."
"Good!" said Bruce, pulling out a small spherical blinking light and tossing it down to her, "Take this to the entrance, It'll guide the police to you."
The girl looked down at the sphere before looking back up, "Thank you so much!"
The girl ran off, allowing Bruce to clamber down to the ground floor. Ripping his mask off, Bruce remembered something else important.
Clark!
Clark clutched his side, trying to keep himself from losing too much blood. For some reason, he kept getting weaker and weaker, especially where he was shot.
Well, there's a first time for everything, including getting shot!
Clark heard footsteps moving towards him, as well as labored breath.
Clark tensed up, "Please be Bruce please be Bruce please be-"
"CLARK!"
Bruce stumbled to Clark's side, blood staining his shirt, "Let me see it."
"You got shot too?!" said Clark, using his x-ray vision, "The bullet went straight through Bruce, you're bleeding out!"
"So are you!" said Bruce, pulling a pair of tweezers and a lead box from his belt, "I need to treat you!"
"You first!" said Clark, "I don't think it's a good idea to operate on someone when you could die of blood loss at any moment."
Bruce, frustrated, groaned before placing the lead box and tweezers down, "I don't have enough bandages for both of us."
"I have laser eyes," said Clark, "Let me cauterize the wound. Trust me, I've done this before."
While Bruce was unable to come up with a scenario where Clark would have to cauterize a wound, he sighed, apparently accepting that there was no other choice. He lifted his shirt, showing the bullet wound, "Do it."
Clark's eyes grew red as a ray of heat traveled to the site of Bruce's wound. Bruce screamed in pain as the wound was cauterized, the flesh burning.
"Now the other side!" said Clark.
Without a word, Bruce turned around, allowing Clark to burn the other side of the wound. He screamed even louder this time, biting his tongue. Once the wounds were properly sealed, Clark ceased his heat vision, allowing Bruce to turn around and grab his tweezers and lead box again.
"Why the lead box?" asked Clark, lying on his back again, "Something you don't want me to see?"
"It's to protect you, or us from whatever the bullet might be made of." said Bruce, "Hopefully it isn't something fatal."
"You and me both pal!" said Clark.
Bruce dipped the tweezers into Clark's flesh, which was surprisingly malleable despite it's usually dense and unbreakable state before Clark was shot. Clark winced, his knuckles tightening as Bruce worked. After a few moments, Bruce extracted the bullet from Clark, placing it in the lead box and sealing it before putting both the box and the tweezers in his belt. Pulling out a bandage, Bruce wrapped it around Clark's wound, making sure it was airtight.
"The girl!" said Clark, sitting up, "Is she ok? We need to rescue her!"
"She's fine, the police are going to pick you two up soon," said Bruce.
Clark was relieved, the girl was safe, "Great, then we should meet up with Blake and Sun, discuss what happened."
Bruce was silent.
"This is bigger than you thought right?" said Clark, "So we might need more help!"
"No," said Bruce, "I'm not asking for more help."
"Bruce," said Clark, "if you want to take these people down, you need hel-"
"Damnit Clark, did you not hear me?!" shouted Bruce, "You're going to the police station with the girl."
"What, why?" asked Clark.
Bruce sighed, "Clark, do you know why I asked for your help in the first place."
"You said you couldn't do this alone," said Clark.
"No, I mean your help specifically," said Bruce.
Clark thought for a moment, "I was good at heart?"
"Clark, most people at Beacon are good at heart, even idiots like Jaune." said Bruce, "I asked for your help because I thought you were invincible."
Clark could only stare, shocked by the statement.
Bruce looked away, "When I realized I needed help, my primary concern was that the people other than me were risking their lives for my personal war. Experience was a factor, but it was mostly about lives. I didn't want to subject people to the dangers I face."
Bruce looked back at Clark, "Then I met you. You were the perfect loophole, someone who was never truly in danger. What made it special though, was your character. You are the most honest, good people I've ever met, and it was apparent who my first recruit was. I was unsure of recruiting more people, but you pushed me. I knew you had good intentions, so I obliged.."
A single tear ran down Bruce's cheek, "But then you got shot, and I have no idea how it happened, but it happened. It opened my eyes to the fact that no matter what, people who join my cause are ultimately putting themselves on the line for my own selfish mission."
"Bruce," said Clark, "I don't know how they hurt me, but you're smart! You can find a way to immunize me to this stuff, I can still help!"
"No, you can't, or more accurately you won't." said Bruce, "The team was a mistake, I'm disbanding it."
"Bruce, please!" said Clark.
"I've made up my mind Clark," said Bruce, "I'll inform Blake and Sun once they get back from-"
A massive explosion rocks the city, the sound coming from the east.
"The docks." gasped Clark, "Blake. Sun."
"No!" said Bruce, "I won't let them die for my selfish mission!"
Bruce pulled out his grapple gun, prompting Clark to try and get up. Before Clark can get on both feet, he feels a sharp pain in his side, forcing him onto one knee.
"Clark, don't bother trying to help." said Bruce, "The bullet weakened you, even you must see that. You can't fight."
"Neither can you." said Clark, "I only cauterized the wound, it hasn't healed fully! Even if you weren't practically fighting with one arm tied behind your back, you'd be facing down an army."
Clark tried to get up again, only to fall on his front. Looking up, Clark watched as Bruce fired the grapple into a nearby window.
"Please Bruce," said Clark, "This is suicide!"
Bruce looked down at Clark, "My war, my life."
Bruce reeled in the grapple, flying through the window and out of the chemical plant. Grappling from building to building, Bruce swung his way towards the docks, easily findable due to the massive cloud of smoke above it.
Heyo! I got the chapter out! This one hopefully doesn't fall flat, please tell me if it does!
Reviews:
DCDGojira: I like the OC ideas, but I don't know if they'll make it in. I did see the Wonder Woman trailer and it looks fantastic!
Thanks for the feedback!
Evinco: Sorry I haven't made those relationships clear. I'll have it explained better in story via dialogue after this fic moves past Volume 1.
Thanks for the feedback!
FinchFlyingAce: Thanks again for clarifying those things! I'm not good with smaller details. You're a lifesaver!
Thanks for the feedback!
Happy New Year!
Next Chapter: Dock Brawl.