Hoo boy. Okay, so no real reason for the lateness of this chapter, I had about five million tests, participated in a Model UN and got a major role in a play my school's putting on. So, very busy but still. Anywho, we're introduced to two new characters in this chapter, who may prove important later down the line ;) It's a pretty short chapter, but hopefully the new faces make up for it! See you next time!
GOTHAM
August 19, 15:04 EST
I stepped out of the studio into the waiting area with a sigh, tucking my pointe shoes into my bag. Practice had been killing me lately, between the intensives we were doing and all the missions with the Team. I still loved every second of it though, savoring the feeling of flying across the gleaming hardwood.
I was surprised when a hand tapped me on the shoulder, turning to find a girl roughly my height. She was beautiful, with deeply tanned skin and hair the colour of cinnamon. She had big brown doe eyes, framed with thick, dark eyelashes. She wasn't wearing a uniform, so I assumed she was looking for a little brother or sister. I pointed down the hall, "the little kids dance down there, in Studio Three. They get out a little later than us, in about five minutes."
She laughed, deep and warm, "no, it's you I'm looking for actually. Are you Arabella Williams?"
I nodded, "that's me. What do you need?"
"I'm a musician, I go to the music school across the street? Anyway, we've been doing classical pieces for the summer session and every student needs at least one dancer to perform to their portfolio. I came over here, and your teacher recommended you."
I blinked, "why would they have dancers? Doesn't that just take away from the music?"
She shook her head, "it's not your typical school of music. We're taught for practical application, everyone who goes there wants to be either famous or a songwriter, not a composer or anything. The recital's on the thirty-first, if you're up for it."
"That's…" I trailed off, doing the mental math in my head, "less than two weeks. There's no way I can choreograph dances to multiple pieces and teach them to other dancers in less than two weeks."
Instead of seeming disappointed, she only got more excited, "okay. But here's the thing, we only need one dancer each, so you won't have to teach them to anyone. I wrote the pieces to be solos anyway, plus there's only three of them. It'd be a great opportunity for you too, any dancers who take part in the recital get like, a ridiculous amount of prestige. It'd be great for a resume or something, if you guys have those."
I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose. She had a point, "I'll need flexible hours, and if it comes down to it and everything goes to shit, don't blame me."
She threw her arms around me, "thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou! I know this is going to be perfect." She pulled back, "do you have time to listen to the pieces now?"
I glanced up at the clock, "I have a few hours yeah. Lead me to the nearest piano."
She grabbed my wrist, pulling me out the door as a small army of six-year-olds in tutus and leotards spilled from the hallway. A sense of clarity came over me as the cold air hit my face and I turned to this random girl, "what's your name by the way?"
She turned back with a wide smile, "Jessica Vasquez, but everyone calls me Jessi."
I nodded, "alright Jessi, feel free to call me anything but Bella. Now, show me your stuff."
MOUNT JUSTICE
August 19, 19:39 EDT
I sighed, rolling my shoulders to work out the tension as I made my way over to Artemis and M'gann. Between practice earlier and the several rounds I had fought against Superboy, I was convinced I was developing chronic back pain.
Artemis nodded toward the circle, "Kaldur's, uh, nice, don't you think?" She turned to M'gann, "handsome, commanding, you should totally ask him out."
I rolled my eyes as I cracked open a bottle of water, taking a swig. What Artemis was trying to do was hardly subtle, and it was no secret that the both of them were into Superboy.
M'gann shook her head gently, "he's like a big brother to me, but y'know who would make the cutest couple? You and Wally!" I snorted, so M'gann was neither oblivious nor a non-participant in this 'let's pretend we're not into the same guy and make subtle jabs and suggestions' game. "You're so full of passion, and he's so full of…"
"It?" Artemis suggested.
We all laughed, and I took another long drink from my bottle. Artemis turned to me, "what about you? Aren't you and Boy Wonder a thing?"
I choked on my water, doubling over as I desperately tried to intake air and speak at the same time, "what? No! Whatareyoutalkingaboutdefinitelynot."
Artemis smirked, "methinks the lady doth protest too much."
I grabbed her arm to steady myself as I hacked, the water burning my nose and my lungs burning as two too many hydrogen molecules entered them. The boys, thankfully sans Rob as he was off with Bats, apparently having finished with their match, all approached us, "everything okay over here?"
I sucked in a few lungfuls of air, "just peachy."
Red Tornado descended from the ceiling, where his living chambers were, and Wally zoomed over to him, "you have a mission for us?
"Mission assignments are The Batman's responsibility."
Wally shrugged, "yeah well, The Batman's with The Robin, doing the Dynamic Duo thing in Gotham. But you're headed somewhere right? Hot date? Or, uh, a mission?"
Kaldur glared at the back of Wally's head, "if we can be of help."
Red Tornado turned to the holo-computer, pulling up the image of a tall, old man with a cane and additional information popping up in windows next to him, "this is Kent Nelson. A friend. He is one-hundred and six years old."
"Guy doesn't look a day over ninety," Wally muttered.
"And he has been missing," RT continued, "for twenty-three days. Kent was a charter member of the Justice Society, the precursor to your mentor's Justice League."
"Of course," Kaldur said, with the air of someone who had just heard the answer to a trivia question he couldn't answer, "Nelson was Earth's sorcerer supreme. He was Doctor Fate!"
Wally leaned over to whisper to Artemis, scoffing, "more like Doctor Fake. Guy knows a little advanced science and Dumbledores it up to scare the bad guys and impress the babes."
I switched my attention to the pair of them, M'gann might have been onto something with those two, pissing contest or no.
Red Tornado turned from the screen, "Kent may simply be on one of his… walkabouts. But he is caretaker to the helmet of Fate, the source of the Doctor's mystic might. And it is unwise to leave such power unguarded."
"He's like the great sorcerer priests and priestesses of Mars," M'gann said with reverence, "I would be honored to help find him."
Wally's hand zoomed into the air, "me too! So honored, I can barely stand it." He held his fingers up in the rock on symbol, "magic… rocks."
I desperately wished Rob were here for me to make sarcastic eye contact with, instead, I turned to Artemis and rolled my eyes, and her expression showed that she echoed the sentiment.
"Take this," Red Tornado said, holding up an ancient-looking key, "it is the key to the Tower of Fate."
Kaldur took it from him, and Wally turned to M'gann, voice low in a desperate attempt to appear smooth and charming, "what are the chances we'd both so admire the mystic arts?"
I threw my hands up in the air, frustration boiling over in my stomach and Artemis offered me a sympathetic look, "is it always like this?"
I sighed, moving towards the hangar where the Bioship awaited, "almost always."
"So, Wally," Artemis said, voice dripping with sarcasm, "when did you first realize your… honest affinity for sorcery?"
I leaned back in my chair, ready to jump from 8000 feet. I had propped my feet on the empty chair in front of me, it sitting there like M'gann had forgotten there would only be six of us instead of the regular seven.
Wally turned his gaze to M'gann in the pilot's chair, "well, I don't like to brag, but uh, before I became Kid Flash," he tucked his arms behind his head in pose of casual arrogance, "I seriously considered becoming a wizard myself."
We all stared at him in pure, 'you have to be fucking kidding me' and then turned away. I faked a sneeze, coughing lightly, "sorry, I'm allergic to bullshit."
Wally glared at me, and Artemis snorted. I was growing to like this girl more and more every day, she was fiery and sarcastic, my two favorite attributes.
"We've reached Tornado's coordinates," M'gann announced, "but…"
"Nothing's there," Superboy finished.
We stared out into the Salem night, there was nothing but a dark, dirty parking lot. "Take us down," Kaldur requested, and M'gann landed the Bioship, still in camo-mode.
We piled out onto the ground, observing the empty. I pulled out my cat gear from the pocket of my jacket, popping a pill, slipping in my ear pieces and using the black of my phone screen to put in my contact lenses. I sighed, blinking to adjust to the improved senses. I never quite felt like myself until I had done all this.
"You see anything Arabella?" Kaldur asked, and I shook my head.
"Whatever happened to hide this tower, I can't see through it. But…" I stepped forward, walking in circles and then backing away, "this whole lot, the grass, the pavement, everything, it smells like a woman's perfume."
Wally ran about, testing for something. He came to a skidding stop in front of us, "nothing, this isn't a simple camouflage."
"So… what do you think?" Artemis asked, "adaptive micro-optical electronics combined with phase-shifting?"
"Absolutely!" Wally said, clearly mildly impressed with her sudden nerdage. M'gann approached, "not," he added quickly, "clearly mystic powers are at work here."
I pinched the bridge of my nose, muttering under my breath, "I am going to roll my eyes so hard they fall out."
Kaldur patted me on the shoulder, "people will make fools of themselves to impress those they care for."
"Not me," I announced, "they can either like me or they can fuck off, none of this pretending to like something for the sake of it bullshit. I can't stand it."
He looked down at the key, an apparent lightbulb going off in his head, "a test of faith." He stepped forward, "stand behind me." He paused a foot in front of us and stretched out his arm, seemingly inserting the key into empty air. There was the sound of a lock turning, and suddenly a huge, medieval-style tower appeared in front of us.
My jaw dropped, and Kaldur pushed the door open. It swung to reveal darkness, and we started walking forward, "nothing quite like wandering into creepy, randomly-appearing towers on a school night," I muttered as I followed Kaldur in.
The door slammed shut behind us, and I had the sudden feeling that I was in a horror movie. I turned, and there was only faded, dirty stone.
Superboy voiced my thoughts, "uh, where'd the door go?"
A hologram of Kent Nelson appeared in front of us, coloured in sepia tones. He appeared stern, "greetings. You have entered with a key, but the Tower does not recognize you. Please state your purpose and intent."
The message was akin to an automatic voicemail, but it was a lot more… human, coming from the mouth of a hundred-and-six year old man. Wally looked back at M'gann and then stepped forward, voice full of false reverence, "we are true believers, here to find Doctor Fate."
The hologram tilted its head slightly, eyes almost sad, and then disappeared. Then the floor exploded from beneath us. A scream tore from my throat as we plummeted down towards a pit of fucking lava, and I practically ripped my jacket pocket open in an attempt to get my gloves.
I slid them on and then dug my claws into the rock, Superboy apparently having the same idea. I thanked God for my height as his feet dipped into the lava and he let out an animalistic cry of pain. Yanking his feet out, his shoes were just completely gone and anywhere his pants had touched the magma had been burned away, leaving his pant legs tattered.
"Those," he said with a pant, "were my favorite boots. This Nelson guy better be worth it."
I looked up to see Artemis holding a grapple gun in one hand and Kaldur in the other, and M'gann floating above us with Wally in her arms. I turned back to Superboy, "consider yourself lucky that one-thousand degree molten rock is practically a dip in boiling water for you."
I eyed the pit beneath us, the brightness of it practically searing my retinas. Suddenly I noticed M'gann above me, and I realized she was descending, "everything okay up there?"
"Having trouble… maintaining altitude," she choked out, swiping at her forehead, "ugh, I'm so hot."
"You certainly are," Wally said.
"Wally!" Artemis snapped, grunting under Kaldur's weight.
"Hey!" He jabbed a thumb at himself, "inches above sizzling death, I'm entitled to speak my mind!"
"My physiology, and M'gann's, are susceptible to extreme heat. We must climb out quickly!" Kaldur said, clearly in distress.
"Hello Megan!" M'gann said, slapping herself on the forehead, "we never truly… answered the question." Her words were interspersed with pants, and she called upwards, "Red Tornado sent us! To see if Mr. Nelson, and the helmet, were safe!"
Suddenly two semicircles made of the same patchwork stone the Tower walls were slid over the lava. We all jumped down, the stone surprisingly cold. Kaldur crouched down, webbed hands splayed across it, "this platform… it should be red hot. But it is cool to the touch."
"Don't worry Megalicious," Wally said, wrapping his arm around M'gann, "I gotcha."
I was about to go off on him when Artemis did my job for me, "enough!" She grabbed Wally by the throat, pushing him back into the wall of the pit, "your little impress Megan at all costs game, nearly got us all barbecued!"
"When did this become my fault?" He defended.
"When you lied to that… whatever it was! And called yourself a true believer."
M'gann stepped forward, "Wally, you don't believe?"
He stared between the two of them, torn. Then he threw his hands in the air, "fine! Fine! I lied about believing in magic. But magic is the real lie, a major load."
"Wally," Kaldur said from the floor, "I studied for a year at the Conservatory of Sorcery in Atlantis. The mystic arts created the skin icons that power my water-bearers."
"Dude, did you ever hear of bioelectricity?" Wally asked, "hey, in primitive cultures, fire was once considered magical too. Today it's all just a bunch of tricks."
"You're pretty close minded for a guy who can break the sound barrier in his sneakers," Artemis retorted.
"That's. Science. I recreated Flash's laboratory experiment and here I am. Everything can be explained by science."
"You're missing the point dingus," I said, stalking forward, "whether this Tower is using magic or lie recognition technology, you lying to the hologram about our intent? Not smart, and it almost killed us. So instead of going on a pointless rant, how about you apologize to the people you almost got burned alive and to M'gann for deceiving her?"
"Excuse me?" He asked.
I grit my teeth. "You. Heard. Me. Now repeat after me, I'm sorry for lying."
He stared down at his sneakers, "I'm sorry for lying."
"And I'm sorry for making you think I believe in magic to earn your affections."
He turned to M'gann, "I'm sorry for making you think I believe in magic to earn your affections."
"And generally for hitting on you all the time resulting in everyone around me contemplating suicide."
"And generally-" he cut himself off, "hey!"
"Now that that's out of the way, why don't we test your theory Wally?" Kaldur asked, grabbing the handle of a trapdoor that materialized in the stone.
"Wait!" He called out in horror, "the backdraft from the lava will roast us alive!"
Kaldur opened it to reveal a snowy landscape, little flakes of the stuff blowing up into my face and hair. I sputtered, swiping at the air. Artemis ducked, "hey! Watch where you swing those things!"
I gave her an apologetic smile as M'gann stretched out to touch it, "it's snow!"
Artemis turned to Wally, "do you ever get tired of being wrong?"
We jumped through, and I tumbled down into the cold sideways. I winced as the snow hit my bare legs, standing up as quickly as possible. All around us there were mountains, and a cold wind whipped my ponytail and shirt. Artemis turned to Wally, "well?"
"Ever heard of string theory?" He said defensively, "we're in a pocket dimension."
"Ugh," she said with palatable disgust.
M'gann turned around, "what's that?"
I looked to where she was pointing to find a floating, ornately carved cane. Artemis stepped towards it, curiosity painted across her face. Wally rolled his eyes, "ooh, maybe it's Nelson's magic wand." He dashed forward, wrapping his hand around it at the same time Artemis did. They spoke in unison, "I got it!" It started to glow gold and they spoke at the same time again, "I can't let go!"
Suddenly they zoomed into the sky, pulled along by the cane and then disappearing in a golden flash like the portal here had. We looked at each other, and I buried my face in my hands, "idiots. They're both idiots."
We trudged onwards, and I marveled at how the snow stayed flat, not squishing around my converse to bite at my ankles the way regular snow would. M'gann turned to us, hair flapping in the wind, "I don't understand Wally. It's like he needs to believe the impossible can't happen."
"Wally uses his understanding of science to control what he cannot comprehend," Kaldur said. "Acknowledging the existence of magic would be to relinquish the last vestige of that control."
"Plus," I chimed in, "it's hard to explain and not my story to tell, but let's just say Wally put his last bet on science. It's practically a religion for him, so for it to prove fallible?" I shook my head, "he couldn't accept it."
Superboy caught my eye, and I inclined my head slightly. We both knew about Wally's dad, how he hated his son's fixation. Me, because I had almost killed him when I saw the bruises, and Superboy when he stayed there after we found him in Cadmus.
Suddenly there was a loud crunching sound as a piece of the sky opened up, leading somewhere that looked decidedly warmer than here. Superboy stalked forward, "well, what are we waiting for?"
As always, the transition was unpleasant. We fell to the floor, and I nursed a sore elbow as I stood. There was a giant golden bell… and Artemis and Wally with Kent Nelson? I blinked, "I see you guys found the old-timer." He was taller in real life, and carried himself well. He had the air of a mischievous grandfather, always with a laugh and a trick up his sleeve.
Looking around, there seemed to be an endless amount of staircases, all in different directions and distances, though each seemed to have it's own proper sense of gravity. It was all very Alice in Wonderland. "Okay, Hogwarts on steroids," I muttered, dusting myself off.
M'gann landed gracefully next to me, and Nelson turned to Artemis and Wally, "friends of yours?"
I walked forward towards Artemis, unbelievably happy to see her, "I thought you guys might've gotten lost."
She smiled slightly, "no, but we've got company. Abra-"
A beam of electricity flying at our heads cut her off. I turned to find Abracadabra and a dark haired kid who looked like the spawn of Satan. Said Satan-spawn was holding a cat, an orange tabby maybe. Except it didn't smell like a cat, it smelled like roadkill left to decompose. And the boy himself had an acrid scent that seared my nostrils and left me gagging.
"Friends of yours?" Wally asked as we ran for cover, bolts of energy hitting behind us.
Nelson hit the giant bell with his cane, and walked directly into it, Wally following behind him, and the Satan-spawn flew towards us, vanishing into the bell too. I ran towards it, only for my hands to meet smooth metal.
I whipped around to face the rest of the Team, eyes wide, and choked down a noise of pain as a bolt from Abracadabra's wand caught me in the shoulder. I rolled around the side of the bell and wished I had brought my whip with me. Or that Dick was here, with the utility belt he never left behind.
Superboy ran towards Abracadabra with a roar, and was met with a bolt from his wand. Instead of causing an electric shock, the bolt formed a strange sort of cage of electricity. Superboy cried out, and I had the sudden urge to claw Abracadabra's face off.
I stepped out from behind the bell, "didn't anyone tell you the whole open-at-the-neck white shirt deal is overdone? You look like the knock off version of one of those characters on the cover of a harlequin romance novel."
Abracadabra growled, "you're just as annoying as your bitch of a mother."
I took off towards him, seeing red. My need to see his blood covering the stone of the floor was cut off by Artemis yanking my arm, sending me flying back as a bolt hit where I had been standing. I was practically seeping with anger, trying to conceive a viable plan of action. I turned back to Artemis, "thank you."
"Hey, no prob- watch out!"
The warning came too late, and suddenly there was a cage of electricity surrounding me. It felt like a million little lightning bolts coursing through me wherever I touched it, and there was a distinct hum that filled my ears. I felt tears prick my eyes and tried to fight off the black at the edge of my vision. Desperate to know what was happening outside my cage, I peered out to see practically the whole team in the same position, Artemis getting caught up as she fired a bolt from her crossbow.
I couldn't hold back the noises of pain ripping from my throat. We were in way over our heads, we should have had the whole team, our suits and a plan of action. Now we were trapped by Abracadabra and a twelve-year-old of all fucking people inside a magical tower that also happened to be invisible.
I full-on screamed as Abracadabra shot me with another bolt of electricity, the pain searing each and every single one of my nerve endings. He seemed to go in a nonsensical order, zapping whomever he felt like.
Suddenly the pain stopped completely, the black fading out of my vision. I rose to my feet, a little shaky and out of breath. If I hadn't just been essentially electrocuted for the past five minutes, I might've laughed when I saw Abracadabra wearing nothing but underwear, looking very surprised with a golden, glowing ankh behind him.
"Shows over," Superboy said, blissfully sucker punching Abracadabra in the face.
He fell to the ground, fully unconscious and I peered down at him, "is it horrible to wish him some head trauma?"
"No," Artemis said, crossing her arms, "I'd say that's a fitting punishment."
M'gann walked up next to us, clutching her head, "where's Wally? And Mr. Nelson?"
On the Bioship, Wally broke down the story, how Klarion had killed Nelson, and Wally had eventually been forced to put on the helmet, letting Nabu take over his body. There was a heavy silence in the air once he was done, I could tell Nelson's death had done something to him, changed him in some fundamental way I couldn't put my finger on.
Eventually I broke the silence, "okay, so I'm officially proclaiming this the single most whack mission we've ever been on."
There was a chorus of agreements and then silence again, and then Kaldur spoke, "so those were his last words? 'Find yourself your own little spitfire'?"
"Yup," Wally replied, popping the p and staring dead out the window.
"I for one," I said with a smirk, "think that Mr. Nelson has granted you wonderful advice you should ruminate on."
M'gann caught my eye and smiled. We both knew she hadn't been entirely joking when she mentioned Artemis and Wally, they would be good for each other. She would let him know when he was being an idiot, and him with his downright dogged persistence? He would never give up on her, which, if my hunches were correct, she might need.
As for her and Superboy, that would never work out. There was a reason why I had been trying to set up him and M'gann ever since I figured out she was into him. He needed someone like her, warm, kind and forgiving. She would put up with his angst and general ridiculousness whereas someone like Artemis would only get frustrated. And he would be good for her, with his accepting nature and single-minded focus. Plus she seemed to be the only person he genuinely liked spending time with.
The Bioship landed smoothly as always, the hangar doors whirring shut behind us. We walked down the ramp with a distinct sense of guilt and somberness. We had brought Nelson's body back with us, draped in a white sheet someone had found in the back cabin, lying on the slab we kept there in case one of us needed immediate medical attention.
Batman and Robin were waiting for us in the mission room. We had radioed in to report before we got there, and so there were no questions, only silence as we filed into line with our heads down. Rob moved away from Bats, sliding into his usual place beside me. He laid his hand on my shoulder, a question. I flicked my eyes towards Wally, indicating that he was the one that needed comforting. He nodded, making his way to Wally's side.
Batman strode over to us, stopping about two feet ahead. I could almost see his expression beneath the cowl, somber and sincere, "missions will go wrong. Today was one of those days, and I assure you, there was nothing you could do to avoid it. There were forces at play you were unaware of and unprepared for, and that is partially the League's fault. There will be individual debriefings as always, and if any of you feel the need to speak with Black Canary, let me know and I will arrange it."
None of us stepped forward and he nodded, "you all did the best you could with the circumstances you were given. We will take precautions to make sure nothing like this happens again, but as it stands, good work."
We all piled into the living room to wait for the debriefings, and I flung myself onto the couch. Artemis flopped down next to me, M'gann on my other side. The boys all took various chairs, and there was a few seconds of awkward silence before I raised myself a little off the couch, "anyone wanna hear how I was convinced to choreograph three pieces for a girl I don't know in twelve days?"
Rob smiled, "this has got to be good."
GOTHAM
August 20, 18:34
"I'm coming with you," Dick said stubbornly.
I rolled my eyes, shrugging on my coat, "no. No you are not."
He made a small noise of frustration, "I just fail to see why you have to go alone."
"Because if I go with anyone, Tommy's going to spook. We've had this talk literally every time I go."
"You're failing to mention that the reason he'll spook is because he's a wanted criminal. You sit down at a table across from Abramo Rospera's son once a month."
I sighed, facing him and laying my hands on his shoulders, staring him straight in the eye, "Dick. I will be fine. I can take care of myself, I assure you Tommy Rospera is not a threat."
"Oh come on, you're overprotective twenty-four-seven. You practically have a coronary if I duck away for five seconds during a mission, let me have this."
I tossed the thought around for a minute and then sighed, dropping my arms, "fine. But you have to wear a mask, you take a separate taxi there and you enter five minutes after me and sit at a separate table."
"Deal."
Ten minutes later he was outfitted in tux and clutching a deep blue wolf mask, lined with silver detailing. Mine was cream coloured and shaped like a cat, with gilded edges, and Selina had put me in a little black dress with Louboutins and my hair pulled back in an updo.
I puffed a loose curl out of my eyes, "will you help me put this on?"
He laughed, "no problem." Grabbing the mask from my hand, he turned me by the shoulder and placed the mask around my face, tying the ribbon behind my head. I jumped a little as his fingers grazed the back of my neck on the way down, stepping forward to open the door.
"Okay. See you soon I guess?"
He nodded and I walked out to the waiting cab, giving the driver the address for the restaurant Tommy would be waiting for me at. The drive was rather silent, the cabbie sensing I wasn't in a chatting mood. Instead, I watched the scenery go past, the more rural-looking outskirts of Gotham where the Wayne Manor resided fading to dirty brick and concrete, lit by neon signs and street lamps. For better or for worse, I loved this city.
The cab pulled to the front entrance, and a valet guy stepped forward to help me out. I gave him a small, gracious smile and walked the rest of the way to the door alone, it being opened by the doorman, who took my coat. The restaurant was filled with people in masks like me, the Rosetta was known for this. All customers and servers were required to wear masks, making it a hotbed for criminal activity.
I strode to the hostess stand, "table for two, Rospera?"
She smiled, her cheeks causing the fox mask she wore to glint in the light. Behind them, I could just make out a pair of bright green eyes. She lead me towards the back, where I spotted Tommy waiting for me at a table for two a little too cozy for my liking. He was wearing a lion mask, the bright gold of it contrasting with the dark of his hair and suit. I settled down across from him, placing my clutch in my lap, "hello Tommy."
He grinned widely, "Catgirl! Always a pleasure. Such a shame I have no real name to call you by."
I rolled my eyes, "if you had an alias you went by, that's what I'd be calling you. Now, let's get down to business."
"Now now, they haven't even brought out the breadsticks yet. No shame in mixing business with a bit of pleasure, how've you been?"
"Fine, you?"
"Well, Nicolai is as insane as ever, and my father's in jail, leaving me to run his vast criminal empire. Does the word busy suffice?"
A bubbly blonde approached with menus and a notepad, her mask one of some kind of songbird, bright turquoise in colour, "what can I get for you to drink?"
I smiled up at her, "just water for me, thank you."
Tommy shook his head, "tsk tsk, live a little will you?" He turned to the waitress, flashing her a charming smile, "champagne for the both of us darling."
The mask didn't hide her blush and I had to roll my eyes again as she turned away, "you'll give the poor girl a coronary."
He laid his hand on his chest in mock offense, "are you insinuating that my devilishly good looks could in any way cause that woman harm?"
I scoffed, opening my menu. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed the fox hostess leading a young man with a silver and blue wolf mask to a table near ours, and had to suppress a smile. I looked back up, "that's enough stalling. Fill me in."
He shook his head, "that's not how this works, you cough up something I want to know first."
I sighed, gesturing for him to continue, "get on with it."
"Is it true the Justice League interfered on Santa Prisca about a month ago?"
I stifled the urge to whip my head up in surprise, instead lazily flicking my eyes up from my menu, "classified."
"So they did."
"Look, all I can tell you is that there was a small coup d'état and people with Justice League affiliations may or may not have looked into it."
The bubbly songbird was back, notepad whipped out and eyes shining behind her mask, "you guys know what you'd like?"
I folded my menu as a second server set down two glasses for us, pouring a small amount of the champagne into them. We both drank, and nodded and she filled them the rest of the way up, leaving the bottle. I laid a gentle hand on her arm, "water as well for me, if you don't mind?"
She nodded, cheeks turning red as she darted away. The blonde waitress turned to me with a broad grin, "what will you be having?"
"A steak please, medium-rare."
Tommy handed her our menus, "and I'll get the fettucine alfredo."
She nodded, leaving as bouncily as she came. Her more demure counterpart quickly dropped off the water, head ducked to avoid eye contact. I made a small show of sliding my glass of champagne over to him, "trying to get me drunk Tommy?"
"Never! Simply trying to enjoy a lovely evening with an even lovelier girl. Plus you never know, maybe if I loosed your lips you'll finally admit how desperately in love with me you are."
I turned making eye contact with Dick two tables down. He offered a sympathetic grin, gesturing as if to say 'you wanted this'. I turned back to Tommy, exasperated, "believe it or not, every single girl you meet won't fall to your feet and sing your praises."
"Not all, but most."
"Alright Casanova, now fill me in. I need my monthly dose of crime world gossip."
"What would you do without me? Anyway, Vladimir Vasiliev's been testing out new drugs…"
I sighed as Tommy handed me my coat, the meal had gotten more serious after talking about Vasiliev, a notorious Russian mob boss, and a sworn enemy of the Bratva. I'd been notified of new business ventures, murders, and marriages. Everything you needed to know about the criminal underground. That was the reason for these monthly sitdowns, and they were the reason for my vast knowledge of the people we fought against.
Tommy grinned at me, the dim lighting of the entryway glinting off his mask, "I don't suppose I can convince you to share a taxi?"
I snorted, "definitely not. Go home, Tommy."
He folded his coat over the crook of his elbow, "one of these days, I'll find out who you are. And then proceed to send you a million bouquets of flowers."
I shoved him gently towards the door, where I knew a car was waiting for him, "go."
He left then, taking with him the smell of cinnamon and some designer cologne. His scent was instantly replaced with that of sandalwood and cloves, and I turned with a weary smile already curving its way along my mouth.
Dick stood behind me, laughter dancing in his eyes, "if I knew this was just going to be two hours of you shooting him down over expensive food, I wouldn't have come."
I sighed, "welcome to my life. The word professionalism isn't a part of Tommy Rospera's vocabulary."
We stepped out of the restaurant, flagging down a cab. Dick placed a hand on the small of my back as we entered a piece of the sidewalk not lit, careful to walk streetside. Sometimes I wondered if he did that kind of thing on purpose, or if it was second-nature. He took off his mask, "I was surprised when he mentioned running his dad's criminal empire or whatever, he can't be much older than us."
I nodded, removing my mask as well and sighing as the cool air hit my face, "yeah. He's fifteen turning sixteen sometime in spring."
"He told you his birthday?"
"No, just that he's a Taurus which supposedly makes us very compatible."
He laughed, "he's ridiculous."
I nodded vehemently, "in absolutely all ways."
He opened the door as a cab pulled up to the curb, helping me in, "shitty romance movies and popcorn?"
"Sounds great. Pretty Woman first?"
He piled in next to me, and I relaxed into the comfortable feeling. Today had been a long day.
