Neal wasn't Neal, but a secret agent. It sounded like something out of a movie. Peter sat in his office chair as he absorbed this information. Hughes had heard rumours of the Bryce Larkin that Neal claimed to be and it fit. It was difficult to imagine Neal shooting people but easy to imagine him breaking into a CIA facility to steal something out of enemy hands.
But then, Chuck mentioned knowing Neal when he was young and there were no signs that their paths had crossed before Stanford. Not even in the few years where Chuck's life was listed as confidential.
There was a knock at his door. Peter perked up, hoping it was Neal and being disappointed when Diana walked in.
"How are you doing?" she asked, wondering if what Neal had said was true.
"I don't know if we'll be able to hold onto Neal after this. He could go back to the CIA."
"He could. And yet he's still here." Diana smiled as she sat down. "Maybe there's something to that?"
"You've already talked to Jones about this, huh?" Peter recognised Jones' particular brand of wisdom.
Diana faked being offended, grinning the whole time. "Here's my advice then, Neal's not going to come and ask you what you think. You'll have to approach him."
That wasn't as easy. Peter hadn't decided if he wanted to get involved with whatever was going on between Chuck and Neal. It looked like he might have to be, just to get answers to his remaining questions.
Damian glared at Chuck.
"That's a terrible plan."
"I like it."
"Of course you like it!" He huffed in Mar'i's direction. "Part of Chuck's plan involves you spying on your father!"
"How else are we supposed to track this criminal down?" Mar'i asked. "He could be arrested by now and we wouldn't know."
"I'm sure I could do something about that," Sarah said as she looked at the file Chuck and Damian had started.
Diana and Peter shared a look.
"Like what?" Mar'i challenged.
"I can set it up so we're informed if he's arrested."
"We can do that too," Diana pointed out.
"Is this going to become a big thing with your team vs my team too?" Damian asked Chuck.
Chuck shrugged. "That would make things more interesting, don't you think?"
"No. It's not."
"Come on, D, it would be funny to see our families outdone by law enforcement."
"It really wouldn't be. We should at least work together. It's one man."
"It's just one man, what does it matter if we split up?" Chuck asked with a grin on his face.
Damian stared back with a neutral expression. "Can we just arrest this guy and be done with it? I have an FBI to deal with."
"Fair enough."
"I take offence to the notion that Caffrey needs to deal with us," Diana interrupted. "It's the other way around."
"I don't doubt that," Mar'i and Chuck said in unison. The others stared at Damian, as if expecting an explanation.
"He used to be a pain in the behind," Chuck explained.
"Can we move on from my past and just-" Damian's hands made an indecipherable motion. "Catch the guy?"
"Right, who wants to be on the team to catch a wanted man from Gotham?" Chuck asked. As hands went up he frowned. "Okay, if you don't want to be on the team, please leave."
There was some discussion as people like Jones and Casey didn't want to be involved but also didn't want their team in danger outside of their reach.
"Leave now, thank you," Mar'i said, frustrated as discussion sounded around them. Her hand clenched and Damian breathed a sigh. At least it didn't light up with a starbolt. He didn't want to have to talk her down from threatening federal agents.
The team of Chuck, Damian and Mar'i was joined by Sarah, Casey and Peter. Peter told Diana and Jones to leave and they trusted their boss.
Finding the guy was as easy as asking Mozzie.
"You've got to be joking," Casey growled as Peter pulled up the FBI van outside of a warehouse.
"According to Moz, this is where he's holed up."
"It can't be that easy."
"It can. Criminals talk to other criminals. He might have kept anyone on our side from spilling but Mozzie has a reputation," Mar'i explained to Sarah.
"Mozzie wouldn't go to the cops," Damian informed them. "But he would go to us."
"No wonder we've become the ones the little guy goes to whenever he needs a little more lawful assistance," Peter grumbled as he climbed over the front seats into the back of the van. "What now?"
"Now we go in and arrest him. He's pretty much a white collar criminal anyway, what with the number of fraud cases against him."
"The number one rule amongst criminals should be 'don't hit Bruce Wayne'."
"Why's that?" Sarah asked Chuck.
"Uh, he has friends in high places."
"Like government?"
"Batman," Damian interrupted. "Bruce Wayne funds Batman. He also knows the law inside and out because of his army of lawyers. You go against him and he'll find the way you broke the law and hold it against you."
"Legally," Mar'i finished off with a sagely nod.
"This should be easy then." Casey readied his handgun. Mar'i, Chuck and Damian stared at him. "What?"
"Now that you've said it, something's bound to go wrong!" Mar'i huffed.
"Maybe you should stay in the van," Damian said to Peter.
"No way. I've come this far. And, whatever is happening with you aside, this man is wanted."
They split up. There were two known entrances into the warehouse, not counting the loading doors as the shutters were down. Chuck, Sarah and Casey were going in the back door. Damian, Peter and Mar'i were going in the front door.
Mar'i insisted she go first as she could fire off shots to protect them from bullets.
"We should have brought Chuck," Damian sighed. Unfortunately, Peter and Sarah had contested any plan that split their charges away from them.
"We needed to split up," Mar'i whispered back as she bounced into a float, moving ahead of them. Peter huffed, suppressing a sigh, as he pulled out his gun. Damian pulled out a staff, basically a long collapsible stick as he didn't want to bring out any swords in front of Peter.
They slipped through a small office room and huddled up at the door to the bigger warehouse. Looking through the gap, they could see that there was nothing on the floor.
"I feel like this is a trap," Damian whispered. "Where's Chuck's team?"
Mar'i slipped out the door and floated right up. Peter flinched but didn't make a sound. Damian tried to push past him but Peter moved forward with him, slipping out the door. Their footfalls sounded lightly as they tried to hide them.
The room lit up.
A scream sounded.
Peter cursed.
And one word rang out, almost vibrating in the empty air.
"SHAZAM!"
Lighting crackled and Damian could finally see what was going on. Chuck was standing in front of Sarah. He was holding back a glowing body.
Damian lamented the lack of sunglasses or eye covering as he rushed forward.
"Get away from our friend!" Mar'i called out from above, firing shots down.
The figure jumped away and Damian stopped next to Chuck.
"What happened?"
"He was waiting." Chuck's hands clenched into fists. Lightning crackled around him. "He tried to attack Sarah."
"I think something was missing from this guy's profile," Damian pointed out.
"Yeah," Chuck agreed as this guy was familiar. "Isn't that the guy you tackled at college?"
"I tackled a lot of idiots at college. But yes, he is that fool who tried to kill a professor."
"You went to college?" Peter questioned in surprise.
"That's what you find shocking about this?" Sarah squeaked. Chuck flinched at the sound.
A couple of starbolts fired above. "Are you really going to leave this to me?" Mar'i called out as he kept the criminal on his toes.
"Right. We need a plan."
"Or alternatively-" Damian pulled out a gun and shot the guy. Despite his now shining appearance, it seemed it didn't work on tranq bullets as he went down moments later.
"You have a gun?" Chuck squeaked.
"This? I grabbed it when I realised that it's easier to arrest an unconscious body. And I didn't want Casey to kill him."
Casey growled.
"Not a bad plan," Mar'i admitted as she landed next to the now unconscious, and surprisingly naked under the glow, body. "Does this mean we win?"