Disclaimer: I do not own the copyrighted materials contained herein. They are the rightful property of their respective creators and associated companies. I make no profit off of this whatsoever and I have no intention of changing this in the future. I write because it's fun and because there are those who enjoy reading my work.
This is a big step for, Artemis, he thought as he waited at the café that her note had given him the directions to. Still, it's nice that she trusts me enough to let me see what she looks like without the mask.
It'd been a little over a week since their raid on Bobby Yen's operation and the newspapers were still talking about how the police were using the evidence and the arrests from that night to tear a big chunk out of the local illegal drug market. It turned out that Yen had quite a few illegal weapons in the building and when traced they led to a guy at the nearest army base who'd been selling inventory on the sly. Also, while Yen couldn't speak anymore on account of being dead, the other thugs that'd been rendered unconscious were proving to be more cooperative when the list of charges against them was named. They weren't completely stupid, mostly giving out low security stuff since they didn't want to 'commit suicide' in their jail cells or get shivved in the shower for blabbing about the wrong things. Still, following the bread crumbs was landing new arrests and new searches of property every other day so with a little luck by the time the trail ran cold the drug runners would have to do some serious damage control.
It'll let us ride the mellow for a few months and let Artemis get caught up with her schoolwork, he thought as he sipped the mocha latte he'd ordered. She might not've given me specifics but she told me enough to know that her mom's been getting on her case about her grades slipping.
It was one of the reasons why he'd tried to influence things so that they only had one major target per night, plus a few little spots worth checking before calling it a night. The only way Artemis would be able to continue fighting crime and dusting vamps was if her mother continued to give her the freedom to do so. If the grades dipped too low, the motherly instincts would kick in and that meant extra nagging about focusing on schoolwork and less free time to do whatever needed doing. A happy mom was a trusting mom.
Once she tells me her real name, I'll be able to find out where she lives and put a security cam close by so I can monitor things. He was already thinking of strategic points that needed to be covered. Just in case someone tries to make a play for her mother while she's out or someone figures out her civilian ID.
It was a possibility and one that needed to be prepared for in order to keep things from going right down the crapper.
Again.
"Xander!?" exclaimed a voice behind him, causing him to turn around.
He recognized it as belonging to Artemis and when he saw her, he had to admit he liked what he saw for many reasons. Dressed in a cropped leather jacket and T-shirt with belted jeans and sneakers, the outfit suited her. With her blonde hair done up in a ponytail he could see her face finally without the mask and… and for the first time since Bette he felt something. He didn't know what it was but seeing Artemis' face for the first time, he almost felt like just sitting there, looking at it for a while, wouldn't be such a bad thing. Of course when he eventually clued into her shocked expression, he knew that now was not the time to act like such a typical guy. Obviously she hadn't expected to see him but… how could that be when she left him the note at the warehouse?
"Yeah, it's me." He gestured to a seat next to the table he was at. "I'm guessing you're surprised to see me here?"
"Yeah! I-I mean, the note I found in my locker at school was from one of my friends wanting to hang out," Artemis said, eventually getting over her shock and sitting down. "What're you doing here?"
"I found this note in the warehouse after I came back from a snack run," he replied, handing her the note. "It told me you wanted to meet out of costume. That you were ready to let me know who you were behind the mask."
"This is my handwriting but I didn't write this note." She looked troubled by the implications.
"Obviously someone wanted us here and didn't think we'd show up if they'd sent out the invitations themselves." He looked around and tapped into his power a bit just in case things got violent.
Reaching out, he sought out every metal object within two blocks, watching closely for any metal shaped like a weapon, whether it be a gun or a blade. He immediately discounted anything he figured to be eating utensils or kitchen equipment and focused more on shapes that you wouldn't find anywhere but in the hand of a warrior. He hit pay dirt minutes into his search and whirled towards the entrance of the café as he picked up a mighty impressive sword just inside the building.
"Trouble!" he said as he seized every utensil within reach and prepared to use them all as bullets in his self-generated MAC gun.
"Be at ease, Alexander," came a cultured male voice with a Middle Eastern accent. "I arranged this meeting not to fight with you but to speak with you both."
Coming out of the store was a man who looked to be in his late forties or early fifties with graying black hair and green eyes, with an Oriental style mustache framing his mouth, dressed in an emerald green business suit. By his side in a dark suit and trench goat was one helluva big guy looking to be just shy of seven feet tall, with a bald head and a perpetual scowl on his face and, according to his powers, there was a sword hidden beneath the coat. The former had an expression of… approval on his face that made him think the guy liked the fact that he'd been able to sniff his bodyguard out so quickly. That pretty much clinched it that this was the guy behind the deceitful meeting and, while he might claim to be there only to talk, he kept his guard up just the same.
"Fine. Talk," he said with a slight tone of warning as he released most of the utensils from his grip while hiding four where the man wouldn't be able to see them.
"First allow me to introduce myself. My name is Ra's al Ghul and this is my bodyguard Ubu," Ra's said, indicating with a gesture the bald man to his right before sitting down. "I've spent quite a bit of time searching for you, Alexander."
"Searching for me? Why?" he asked, worried that someone considered him important enough to spend time on finding.
"First I regrettably must inform you that the woman you believe to be your mother, Jessica Harris, has passed away." Ra's replied with a bit of true regret on his face.
"What…?" he said, floored both by the news that his mother was dead and by this stranger's decision to convey the news to him.
"From what my sources were able to gather, the piece of filth known as Tony Harris grew increasingly violent after your departure from Sunnydale. It was only by chance that your friend, the Slayer, arrived in time to prevent the fatal blow from being struck," Ra's explained, his tone unchanged. "Nevertheless, death was inevitable. I came upon her in a Los Angeles hospital slowly fading away. I witnessed her final moments. She spoke of her regrets, chief among them the terrible treatment she let you suffer at Tony Harris' hands, but I do not blame her."
"So what? She asked you to find me?" he asked, coming out of his shock a bit.
"Indeed, but I was already looking for you before I found her," Ra's replied, growing serious. "You see there is a truth that has been kept from you. A truth I wish to now convey to you."
"If this is all about Xander then why'd you make sure I was here?" Artemis asked, speaking up for the first time.
"Given how much time you've been spending with Alexander, I thought you might be a calming influence on him," Ra's replied, looking towards the blonde teenager. "Besides that, depending on how the young man responds to what I have to say, you may need to rethink your… extra-curricular activities."
"You've obviously been watching us for a while and, seeing as how your bodyguard's packing a sword, would I be right in assuming those ninjas Artemis and I dealt with a couple nights ago were yours?" he asked with growing wariness in his mind.
"Indeed they were. They were a scout team that I'd dispatched to Paolo Alto to find you and observe your activities," Ra's replied, grinning a bit at the question and all that it implied. "However, once I was made aware of your decision to accompany your archer friend to assault Bobby Yen, I decided to… test you. You performed quite admirably despite my forces being equipped to counter your powers."
"Awful sharp and dangerous weapons for a 'test'," he pointed out, not pleased with the man at all.
"They were under orders to wound you only should your abilities prove less than satisfactory," Ra's said, unconcerned about how the test transpired. "Had either of you incurred serious harm you would've been brought to a private facility for treatment and all measures would be taken to ensure your identities remained secret."
"How considerate of you. Now you said you were looking for me before you found my mom… why?" he asked, deciding to get things back on track while keeping his awareness of his surroundings tight.
"First of all, while Jessica Harris might have carried you to term, she is not genetically your mother and neither is Tony Harris your biological father." Ra's replied seriously as though he did not want to be misunderstood. "Jessica's true name was Janan and she was in my employ as a companion for my daughter when she was younger. She spent many years in my employ but, as is usually the case with those who work closely with a powerful family such as mine, she became a target for those seeking to take all that I have. Oh, they knew that killing her would gain them nothing save retribution and holding her for ransom the same. They had another plan in mind.
"They knew that in an organization as large as mine, even if they were to manage a coup, most would not follow them since there had always been a Ghul ruling over them. So they decided to create an heir that could be their puppet." Ra's never once showing signs of anything other than complete belief in what he was saying. "They acquired a sample of my DNA as was required for their plan to work and a sample of DNA belonging to one whom they considered to be the closest thing to the perfect woman this world was ever likely going to see. Spliced together in a laboratory they produced a viable embryo but they learned, much to their concern, that I had become aware of their plans. Not in its entirety, of course, but enough to warrant action. They believed that I would terminate the embryo if I found it floating in a test tube so they selected a surrogate mother to carry it to term: Janan.
"They abducted her for that purpose but this only provided me a means to find them. All who directly serve my family are exposed to an odorless chemical so their movements can be monitored for signs of treacherous acts. My forces found their hidden base within hours and soon after an assault was carried out with the intent of rescuing Janan and punishing those who sought what did not belong to them." Ra's said before a tone of offended annoyance entered his words. "Sadly one of my subordinates, Ebeneezer Darrk, proved overzealous in his desire to punish the usurpers and bombarded the building where the lab was located with rocket fire. I had truly thought at the time that Janan had perished in the bombardment and punished Darrk accordingly for this, but as I found out in that Los Angeles hospital I should have conducted a thorough search of the area.
"Apparently in the confusion of battle Janan had managed to affect her own escape only to catch the edge of the explosions caused by the rocket bombardment. This resulted in a head injury that damaged her memories to the point where she knew not who she was, nor anything of specific concerning her past. She stumbled away until she reached Lost Angeles, where she had the misfortune of encountering a down on his luck Anthony Harris." Ra's snarled as the less pleasant part of the explanation began. "I can only deduce that he saw in the amnesiac young woman someone he could take advantage of and turn into his own personal slave. I'm fairly certain you can discern what happened after that."
"Sooo… you what? Wanted to pull a Darth Vader to my Luke Skywalker?" he asked, not believing the old man's story one bit.
"A bit overly dramatic but essentially correct," Ra's replied with a briefly raised eyebrow. "Regardless of how you came into being, you are my son. An independent paternity test using DNA acquired from the Gotham hospital you stayed at, as well as your warehouse here in Paolo Alto, confirmed it beyond any doubt. However it is not mere genetic connection that motivated my pursuit of you. No.
"I have also investigated the more… interesting aspects of your life, such as your nighttime activities in Sunnydale, your support of the superheroine Flamebird, the emergence of your magnetic abilities and more recently your efforts to aid Miss Crock here," Ra's said with an approving smile on his face. "On the one hand you realize that legal methods of combating the darkness are pointless and that a freer hand is required to overcome it. On the other hand, instead of choosing opponents more equal to your skill level, you choose to confront evil wherever it appears no matter how powerful it is. Some would consider such a person foolish. I, however, see it as a man's worth is judged by the enemies he chooses for himself, with the stronger the opponent implying a greater man. In short, you have proven through your activities that you are no ordinary person and THAT fact is what motivated me to find you. Genes, after all, only make up half of who we are. The rest is the will to act when we perceive that something needs to be done."
The man has resources, time and seems to prefer people willing to go above and beyond the normal to accomplish their goals. His wariness went up. AND he's apparently convinced I'm his long lost son. Bullshit. I know who my parents are.
"An interesting story, Mister Ghul, but I think the scientists behind that paternity test scammed you. Probably figured you'd only pay them if you got the results you wanted to hear," he said in a firm tone of voice. "I know who my parents are. Now, unless you have something else to add, I think me and Artemis will be leaving."
"You may go when the Master tells you that you may leave." Ubu said, putting a threatening hand beneath his jacket where the sword was sheathed.
"No. We leave when we wish to leave," he said as he brought the utensils he'd kept hidden quickly into view, zipping them into place at the throats of both Ubu and Ra's. "Feel up to catching a movie at the local multi-plex theatre, Artemis?"
"Sounds like a plan to me," Artemis replied, joining him in a glare at Ra's Al Ghul.
"I don't blame you for being skeptical, Alexander. Only a fool takes the word of a stranger as fact," Ra's said as he and Artemis rose to their feet. "However I am sure a young man of your intellect can make the appropriate inquiries to verify the authenticity of Jessica Harris' identity. A look at Anthony Harris' medical files might also prove… informative."
He tried to brush off the man's words, to treat them as the last desperate statement of a powerful old man, however even hours later when he and Artemis were sitting in a theatre with a popular movie on the big screen, he couldn't help but think about the two suggestions made.
By the time he and Artemis parted company, he decided to look into the matter if only to dispel its effects on his mind once and for all.
RING! RING!
"This is Kane," she said, putting the phone to her ear.
"Glad to see you're up, Miss Kane," a familiar voice spoke, causing her to give the discussion more of her attention. "I realize that this number was only to be used if something went awry with your work but I was wondering if you'd be open to a little investigative work."
"For the right price I might be willing to oblige you, Mister Lensherr," she said, remembering the young man who wanted a new ID back in Las Vegas. "What sort of work did you have in mind?"
"A man I encountered recently implied that some facts I thought were absolute might not be. I have no reason to trust this man but at the same time I can't stop thinking about the possibility that he might've been telling the truth," Mister Lensherr replied, being purposefully vague about what'd happened. "Given your ability to insert fake IDs into the system that'll pass official scrutiny, I was wondering if you'd be able to examine a specific record to see if it was real or fabricated."
Reaching to her right she picked up a pad of paper and a pen. "The name you want looked into?"
"Jessica Harris. She would've likely been inserted into the records about eighteen years or so ago, give or take a couple of months." Lensherr sounded quite serious with his words. "Also, if your people could get the complete medical file on an Anthony Harris, who Jessica is on record as being married to, I'll toss in a bonus."
"You want me to look into your 'relations'?" she asked, remembering what she'd dug up on the young man before creating his new identity.
"Yes. The man I spoke with implied that they… might not be as connected to me as I'd thought," he replied, sounding about as uncomfortable as most people would be with such a possibility.
Ah! The plot thickens! she thought as she grasped the situation before saying. "If I'm to verify the authenticity of Jessica Harris' file, I'll need some information. Specifically might have had it fabricated and who the man that suggested you look into it is."
"I don't know the specific person who did the job but it would've been someone willing to work cheap since Anthony Harris was the one paying to have it done. Make it someone affordable to the middle and lower middle class," Lensherr replied after a moment's thought. "As for the person who suggested the investigation, he said his name was Ra's Al Ghul."
This almost had her drop the case immediately because she knew who Ghul was all too well.
Thanks to her husband's chosen vocation she'd had more than a few run ins with the League of Shadows both before and after she'd divorced him. They were THE assassins' guild in the world, one with an impressive kill record to their name. With the exception of a few encounters with members of the Justice League they never failed to terminate their target. If Ra's Al Ghul, the Demon's Head, the man who ruled the League of Shadows was involved, she'd be operating dangerously close to the edge of her comfort zone. Still, she'd kept tabs on the young man's inventions and they were doing quite well from a sales and profit point of view. While not in Bruce Wayne's league, it still meant that Mister Lensherr had a sizeable amount of cash to throw around.
Perhaps to fund a long term disappearing act?
"Then it's gonna cost you significantly," she said in a no nonsense 'take it or leave it' tone. "One point five million. In advance."
"Any particular reason for the sizeable price tag?" Lensherr asked, sounding like he was surprised but not opposed.
"Ra's Al Ghul is the ruler of an organization of assassins called the League of Shadows. They've been around a long time and have earned their sizeable reputation," she replied, making sure to convey the seriousness of the situation. "If they're involved I'm going to need funds to disappear for a while."
"You really think he'd send someone to kill you just for looking up a few things for me?" he asked, sounding like he found it hard to believe.
"If Ra's Al Ghul has altered either Jessica Harris' files or Anthony Harris' medical files, then he might not take too kindly to someone uncovering his deception." She never lost the seriousness in her voice. "Considering the sort of people he employs, I doubt he'll let me off with a slap on the wrist or a stern lecture."
"I see your point. I agree to your terms," he said, sounding like it'd been a close thing but that it'd gone her way in the end. "How long do you need to check Jessica's file and get me Anthony's medical file?"
"One week. Maybe two, depending on how softly I have to tread in certain databases," she replied after doing a quick once through on what she'd be doing.
"Then I'll wait for your call," he said with mild anticipation. "Have a good evening, Miss Kane."
With a click the phone call was over, leaving her to wonder how many long nights of work she and her employees had ahead of them.
We'll be earning every cent of that one point five million if I have any say in it, she thought, deciding that if Lensherr was willing to pay the bill, they were obligated to earn the fee.
Getting up from behind her desk she began to make her way down to the operations room to get the ball rolling on the authentication of the Jessica Harris files.
"You sure you don't want to come out with me?" Artemis asked from her position half out the window.
"Not tonight. I have some bugs I need to work out of the warehouse's new security grid," he replied as he continued to operate the large computer set up he'd installed a couple of days ago. "There are still a few blind spots that need to be plugged if this place is going to be truly safe to operate out of."
"You're still bothered by what that Ghul guy said? It's been over a week!" Artemis said incredulously, as though she'd almost forgotten about it.
"I made the mistake of getting to lax with Flamebird's security and it cost her life. I'm not going to let it happen again."
He could see the look of sympathy on her face and with it she made the decision to leave him to his work, leaping from her window perch to the rooftop of the building next door. He knew he was acting a little obsessed but he couldn't stop thinking about how Bette might have lived if he'd taken warehouse security more seriously. Then there was the fact that Ra's knew both where the HQ was and supposedly had managed to get inside without setting off any of the security surprises he'd put into place. If this League of Shadows really was as dangerous as Miss Kane made them out to be, then he needed a way to provide Artemis with a safe place to stay either by herself or with her mother if things got that bad. So far he had cameras, both those not in the know were meant to see as well as hidden ones they weren't supposed to see, along with a mix of sonic/harmonic emitters evenly scattered five hundred yards in every direction. He'd also set up several motion and infrared sensors at what he'd determined were the most strategically sound angles of approach if someone wanted to assault the HQ visibly or covertly. He'd also cobbled together miniature turrets, half of which were armed with tranq darts filled with the most potent sedative that could be safely used on humans, and the other half armed with lasers capable of penetrating through an armored car.
The latter was put together using some of the more advanced designs he'd inherited from Magneto and, thankfully, had a little security function of its own that'd prevent anyone else from using them from another location; they'd either have to operate out of this warehouse or not at all.
The turrets were concealed to blend into their environment but could go from hiding to firing in two point five seconds.
The sea approach angle, though, was still a little bare but that was by reluctant necessity since there was plenty of civilian traffic passing through. The normal way to protect against assault from sea would be to mine area but that'd risk damaging legitimate civilian ships along with the enemy vessels, making it an automatic no go. Sure, he could try to make it so that they were offline until activated by the computer in the base but there were other ways of making things go boom. Maybe something cryonic in nature? It'd take care of any divers approaching from underwater and could possibly ice up the ships they came from, slowing them down if not stopping them. If a civilian ship got hit it might cause some damage but at least the crew wouldn't have far to swim to get out of the water if the vessel began to sink.
Something to consider, he thought as he continued to type away. First things first though: calibrating the motion and infrared sensors to only go off if human sized things go past them.
The computer than rang like an old telephone.
Looking up at the window that'd opened up on the computer screen, he saw that the caller ID had it as Miss Kane and that could only mean she'd finished her work. Even as the phone application he'd put into the computer set up rang again, he hesitated to answer it for fear of what the woman had found. Shaking his head, though, he pressed the connect button because unless he listened to what she had to say, he'd never get rid of the itch Ra's had put in the back of his brain.
"Hello, Miss Kane. I trust you bring me news of your efforts?"
"Yes. As a matter of fact I'm done," Miss Kane replied, sounding as professional as always.
"And the results?" he asked as he held his breath for her reply.
"The Jessica Harris files were indeed fabricated around the time in question and inserted into the system. Based on the quality of the job, I'd bet on the person responsible only having five or so years' experience creating false identities at best. I'm actually surprised that it's managed to last as long as it has in the system without someone smelling something fishy about it," Miss Kane replied with contempt for the fabricator. "I also checked to see if Ra's Al Ghul had it planted or altered to look this way to corroborate his story but found no trace of either possibility. Near as I can tell, Jessica Harris' files are exactly what you were told they were: fabrications put into the system less than a year before you were born. The only way it could be a set up that Ra's arranged is if he has someone even better than me on the payroll when it comes to making fiction a reality. Not impossible, I'm honest enough to say, but the number of people I know of who could produce work capable of fooling me completely don't work cheaply and are a little picky about the jobs they take on."
Jessica Harris isn't Jessica Harris. He thought as he digested that bit of news as best he could. Still doesn't mean that she isn't my mother though. Just means Tony fuckin' Harris took advantage of a poor woman and made it legal.
"What about Anthony Harris' medical file?" he asked, moving onto the second half of his request.
"I had a friend in both L.A. as well as Sunnydale pull the hard copy and the digital version as well from the hospitals at each location. They've been scanned into my computer and I can send them to you," Miss Kane said with the sound of keyboard typing in the background. "I just need an address to send them to."
He rattled off the IP address that would allow her to send the data to a secure server so that if there was anything hinky in the files the rest of the HQ's computer set up would be safe.
"Transfer complete. Well, I'd like to say it's been fun, Mister Lensherr, but I think it's time I take that undisclosed vacation you paid for. Goodbye," Miss Kane said before she hung up, leaving him to himself.
After putting up the best anti-virus protection he'd been able to get ahold of and modify, he opened a connection between the secure server and the HQs computer. Once the files were transferred he put them through every manner of examination he could think of to see if there were any programs hidden inside, regardless of whether they were benign or not. When they came up bone dry for hidden programs he clicked on the digital copy of his father's medical file first and he knew precisely what to look for. Ra's had likely pointed out Anthony Harris' medical file to further support his claim of genetic parentage and that meant either looking for info on a past paternity test Tony had done or signs that the man had been shooting blanks all his life. Since he wasn't particularly the patient sort when it came to Tony Harris, he initiated a word search on the file focusing on keywords related to the man's family jewels. It was disgusting beyond measure what he had to come up with but he'd wash his mind out with some Baywatch or something later. The search took only minutes but he found what he was looking for and, just like he'd suspected, the file showed that Anthony Harris had been medically incapable of helping with the baby making process ever since an accident in his teens. Judging from the date of the notation on the file, it happened a good five years before he was born so it would've been impossible for him to impregnate 'Jessica Harris'.
So we're batting two for two. Jessica Harris is just a fake ID cooked up around the time of my birth and Tony Harris couldn't possibly have impregnated her because he didn't have the juice. He moved his mind right past that last bit, leaving it behind. It lends some credibility to Ghul's story but it doesn't confirm him as being my father or someone other than Jessica Harris as being my biological mother. It just means that, gift of gifts, Tony isn't my dad, so big 'woohoo' to that and that my mother has a past that she wasn't aware of for almost two decades.
The only way to solidly lock in the man's claims would be to get a sample of his DNA and run the paternity test himself. Magneto had sufficient knowledge of genetics and science that, through those memories, he'd be competent enough to confirm or deny a connection. The only problem with that was that he didn't know where to find-
"If you require a sample of my blood to lay the last of your doubts to rest, then I offer it."
Whirling around while summoning every loose bit of metal large enough to be a viable weapon in his hands, he saw something that made improving HQ security even more important.
Ra's Al Ghul and his bodyguard, Ubu.
"Don't suppose you could honestly tell me that you had SOME difficulty making it past all my security measures, could you?" he asked even as he stood up from his chair.
"I will confess that it is quite well done given that you can allow no outward sign that such devices and measures are in place to be seen. However you should understand that my organization has existed for quite a long time and have defeated everything from the hidden stone trigger to an intricate net of laser tripwires the likes of which few have seen," Ra's replied with polite praise in his voice. "Now, shall we proceed with the dispensing of a blood sample. In anticipation of Miss Kane's findings corroborating my claims, I had a vial prepared should you still prove skeptical of my claims."
"One that could be specifically doctored by your organization to seal the deal on your claims? No thank you," he said as he reached out and summoned the metal First Aid Kit to his waiting hands. "I'll take a fresh sample, if you please."
With that he removed a syringe from the kit and waited for Ra's to either suspiciously refuse or honestly comply.
"An interesting trap. Refuse your fresh sample and I increase suspicion. Give you your free sample and provide you the means by which you could refute my story conclusively," Ra's said as though it was all an intellectual game. "However there's also the possibility that I am being entirely truthful in which case the results will leave you no other choice but to accept the truth. I will permit you to obtain your fresh sample."
With a nod he went about the usual steps to taking a blood sample like sterilizing the point of piercing before sticking the needle into the man's forearm and pulling out a full syringe of blood. He probably wouldn't need all of it to determine the validity of Ra's Al Ghul's claims but having extra never hurt.
"The test will take about two days to complete. Return on the third," he said once he had the sample appropriately stored away behind him. "Then we'll… talk… and see where things'll go from there."
"In three days then," Ra's said with a nod before walking right out the front door.
Now I just need to find facilities that'll let me run the test but couldn't have been tampered with by Ghul or his people, he thought before turning back to his computer setup. Right after I review the readings from the security system for the last hour or so. Finding out of Ra's is really my dad can wait. Making sure that the warehouse his secure cannot.
With that he began to scrutinize every log entry and every second of recorded video for clues and flaws.
"Forgive me if I speak out of turn, Master, but why are you being so accommodating your heir?" Ubu asked with the right amount of subservience. "Your own scientists have confirmed his royal lineage beyond any possible doubt."
"You would prefer I simply force him to accept my words?" he asked in a slightly chiding tone of voice. "I understand that force is your preferred method of resolving a problem, Ubu, but it will not work in this instance. Alexander possesses a power capable of demolishing city blocks and turning everything metallic in his environment into a weapon… including, I would wager, the iron in the human blood stream. While it would not be beyond the powers of the League of Shadows to defeat him, it would not make him receptive to our way of thinking."
Indeed it would not.
From all that his operatives had managed to uncover, Alexander was a strong supporter of free will and the right to choose one's own future. Any attempt to force the young man down a path not of his own choosing would only incite defiance and rebellion. Given the level of power his scientists projected his son possessed, it would be quite costly to force him into submission.
Instead he would play a more subtle strategy that would slowly reshape the young man's perception of the world over time until it matched his own or was close enough for his tastes. By providing the illusion of control to his son, he would be more accepting of the results of his inquiries and therefore look no deeper. He'd been notified the moment that Adeline Kane, the estranged wife of the mercenary Deathstroke, began to make inquiries regarding Anthony Harris and 'Jessica Harris'. Contrary to what Miss Kane feared he had no intention of taking hostile action towards her for her efforts on his son's behalf. Whether she knew it or not, she provided a valuable service to some of his lower level operatives and besides that, harming her would anger Deathstroke. Even with all that'd passed between them since their son Jericho was injured as a child, the man sometimes called the Terminator still loved his wife. Slade was far too valuable an operative both to the League of Shadows and his 'partners' to risk alienating by even attempting to harm his wife never mind succeeding.
In three nights when he met with his son to hear confirmation of the paternity test, he would disclose an… edited version of his world view and his plans for the future. He knew that most of the unenlightened would view the honest version as the sort of philosophy favored by fanatics and the mentally disturbed. While his son had a more flexible interpretation of society's rules and had even been shown to be willing to ignore those rules in order to accomplish his goals, it was clear he leaned more towards the heroic way of behaving. His edited version would need to be a mix of the truth and a tale to make himself and the League of Shadows appear to be less villainous and more like antiheroes. Once Alexander looked upon this favorably, he would invite his son to join in the struggle while subtly changing the young man's shade of grey to something more in keeping with the Shadows way of doing things. It would happen slowly, slow enough that even those Alexander called friend would not see the changes until it was too late, and once completed he would have the heir he desired.
"No. Better that he be changed without his realizing it," he said as they arrived at his limo with his driver waiting by an open door. "While it may seem contrary to my usual point of view, change forced to occur too quickly only breeds defiance whereas change managed over time has its roots go deeper."
"As always you are far wiser than me, Master." Ubu said with bowed head.
"Wisdom comes with time, my friend, and I have lived a very long time," he said as he entered the back seat of the limo. "Mark this day well, Ubu, for tonight is the beginning of my heir's ascendance to his rightful place at my side."
Indeed it would be a day of days when his son sat at his right side while his daughter sat at his left side.
That, of course, brought into question his daughter's future relationship with the Detective.
Since she had first encountered Batman during the course of one of her assignments, he had seen clear signs of attraction in his daughter's eyes. After he had investigated the Caped Crusader himself, both his civilian personae and his nighttime identity, he thought he had found an acceptable suitor for his only child. Bruce Wayne was a formidable warrior, possessing both intelligence as well as physical might, and, when added to the resources of his family fortune, not to mention his company, it made for a compelling package. In the years that followed he put the Detective through numerous tests in order to truly determine if he would make an acceptable heir to the League of Shadows. Before long he had been convinced that the man was qualified but, when he had officially declared his proposal, that the Dark Knight wed his daughter and become his heir, he had been rejected. Bruce Wayne's misguided sense of justice, of ethics, would not allow him to champion the cause that had been the League of Shadows' mandate for centuries. Indeed the Dark Knight had made it clear that he would oppose the League's activities whenever possible and not rest until he himself was behind bars.
Ra's found this amusing on several levels. As if any prison could hold the Demon's Head!
Amidst the struggles between himself and the Detective, his daughter Talia had been torn between her loyalty to him and her strong affections for Bruce Wayne. It had been hard for her, resulting in more than one instance in which she had chosen to render aid to her love, thus bringing about the thwarting of his latest plan to bring the world into balance. She had been properly contrite and remorseful later but he'd seen past her words to what lay beneath. While acting against his wishes did cause her considerable turmoil emotionally, he could tell that she would likely do the same thing should the object of her affections be placed in mortal danger. Only if he was present with her at all times would she be unable to act since her feelings of defiance only emerged when he was not around to remind her of her true loyalties. He had tolerated these acts of defiance both because he cared for his daughter and because the Detective remained the most suitable successor and son-in-law. Others might possess a moral compass more similar to his own but the Dark Knight had repeatedly proven his superiority over them.
Now, though… now it looked as though he no longer needed Bruce Wayne as a successor.
Though young Alexander had shown himself to possess a keen mind and, along with formidable power, he held the potential to surpass the Detective if properly educated. Indeed the possible futures that sprang to mind pleased him greatly with one future having Alexander achieving total victory where he himself had been unable to thus far.
Should I permit my daughter to continue her relationship with the Batman even though it is no longer necessary, or should I put an end to it once and for all? he thought as the scenery of Paolo Alto went by outside the window.
In the end he determined that the only way he could permit the relationship to continue would be to sever all ties between her and the League of Shadows. So long as she was a member she would be brought into conflict with the Dark Knight and, even if he did not charge her with the completion of any missions, she might attempt to use her access to aid her lover in foiling his plans. Only by cutting all connections would she be free to pursue her love without compromising the security of his operations.
I shall consider this possibility and should Alexander formally accept his position as my heir in every way, then I shall see her set free to pursue her own heart's desire, he thought with a rare, kind smile on his face.
Well, unless my paranoia level needs to be taken up a notch, then there's no denying the results of the test. He looked down at the printout he'd gained at the genetics lab he'd utilized 'after hours' to perform the needed paternity tests. Or tests in this case since I used up every last drop of the blood sample Ra's allowed me to take. I am the son of Ra's Al Ghul.
Every single test had come back positive for him being the genetic offspring of the ruler of the League of Shadows and he'd even done the paranoid thing and inspected every piece of equipment for signs of tampering. Neither the hardware of the machines he'd used nor the software had shown any signs that it'd been messed with so, short of bringing in an expert to take a look, he'd been forced to conclude that they were all clean. Every hour he'd been able to use the genetics lab unsupervised he'd focused on making sure that he did everything to the letter in order to ensure the accuracy of the results. Naturally he'd cleaned up after himself and, if something needed more time than he had, he arranged for the day shift to take over via an expertly forged order from their boss. If it'd taken more than two days he imagined he would've been found out but thankfully it hadn't so it was all good from his point of view.
With there being no doubt any longer, he had to wonder what the head honcho of the world's most infamous assassins' guild wanted with him. He hadn't been joking during the café meeting when he'd compared Ra's to Darth Vader and the comparison only got more fitting as time went on. As the Lord of his own little Empire of shadows, his bio-dad definitely fit the bill but he sincerely doubted that there'd be any last minute moments of redemption happening.
Still doesn't mean that he isn't going to try and 'lure me over to the Dark Side', he thought as he put the print out down on a nearby table. Well he can huff and puff all he likes but I'm not joining his little menagerie of murderers. I might not keep lethal force off the table like the heroes of the Justice League do but that doesn't mean I don't consider it a valid option under the right conditions.
BEEP!BEEP!
Right on time, he thought as he looked over at the computer set up to see a warning light for his new and IMRPOVED security system go off.
Walking over to his favorite chair, one he'd specifically put so it faced the front door, he sat down to watch with satisfaction as his dear old dad didn't catch him by surprise like he had last time. Then again… what if Ra's had tripped the security system on purpose to make it LOOK like the improvements to the warehouse's security system had done their job? No. That was reaching a level of paranoia that got you fitted for a straitjacket and booked a padded room at the local funny farm. According to the computer monitor the alarm to be tripped had been at the third security ring of five that he'd set up around the warehouse so, once this was all over with, he'd have to look over rings four and five after the discussion. If they'd merely disabled or defused his security measures he could make the necessary modifications to render them tamper proof or enable it so that if the devices WERE tampered with, it would set off the alarms. Sure, this opened the possibility of a lot of false alarms but he was pretty sure he could get the kinks out with enough time.
"Welcome back, Ra's Al Ghul," he said as the man with a thing for green walked in with his bodyguard. "Nice of you to be on time but then I guess punctuality is key in the assassin business."
"Patience and timing, as a matter of fact. You'll find that there are precious few things in life that cannot be gained with ample amounts of the former and a good grasp of the latter," Ra's said as he approached with a steady gait.
"True," he said agreeing with that statement.
"I trust you've had sufficient time to perform the required paternity tests?" Ra's asked as he came to a stop, with Ubu in prime bodyguard position.
"Yes, and they have conclusively proven our genetic familial link, Ra's, but do not think that that means we're automatically going to be all father-son with each other," he replied politely yet firmly. "Unlike some, I believe the title of 'father' must be earned instead of put on a man who genetically fits the description. So consider this day one of proving that you deserve to be called 'father'."
He could tell that Ubu was a little upset at the terms of his relationship with his bio-dad but the temper of the hired help didn't concern him. He meant every word he said: Ra's would have to EARN the privilege of being called father, not expect it simply because of a genetic link between the two of them.
"I find that a bit disappointing but not unexpected given your treatment at the hands of Anthony Harris. Very well, then I accept your terms," Ra's said with the bit of disappoint showing in his expression. "Though for clarifications sake, what precisely would you consider 'earning the title of father'?"
"Honesty, respect, a minimum of conduct that any son would ashamed to associate with a father figure and… oh, yeah, no attempts to force me into the assassin lifestyle," he replied with only a little humor at the end. "I might not be as squeamish about using lethal force as the members of the Justice League but that doesn't mean I take killing lightly either. Killing for profit is not acceptable in my book, so I don't want anything to do with 'the family business'."
"While assassination is one part of the activities the League of Shadows partakes in, my son, it is but a cog in the great machine that is the whole. As a futurist, a realist, I have had the luxury of having information dating back six hundred years with which to divine what is to come if the Earth continues on its present course," Ra's said not quite being condescending but definitely thinking he was the wiser of the two of them. "Look out a window, watch even a little television, and you can see that mankind is drowning in a sea of capitalism and consumerism, all but ignorant of the cost such activities force the planet to pay. Do you know how much toxic waste is produced per year? The radioactive waste alone numbers at two hundred thousand tons per year for this entire planet.
"The human race is poisoning the planet edging it ever closer to the point of no return. The records in the League of Shadows Archives shows that this has been the trend since it was founded," Ra's explained, continuing his summary of his organization's purpose. "I will concede that there are those who are struggling to create cheap and clean sources of energy so that the world can finally do away with its dependence on fossil fuels and nuclear energy but they are outmatched. The barons of oil and the providers of nuclear power already have a stranglehold on those in power. They will never willingly allow a viable source of clean energy to reach the public. THAT is where the League comes into the picture my son.
"Over the course of centuries we have made it our task to cut away the filth of corruption wherever it gains in strength so that those with the best interests of the planet at heart can thrive. Sometimes we do this by eliminating the corrupt outright through assassination but other times we merely use their immorality to our advantage to provide them incentive to change their ways." Ra's said, more passion coming into his voice. "Thus, like shadows, we have operated away from the spotlight to put mankind onto the right path where the wellbeing of the planet is prioritized over personal gain or creature comforts."
"I've done some research on your League of Shadows. Not an easy thing to do thanks to how good your people are at covering your tracks," he said, skeptical of the story his bio-dad had just fed him. "The fact that you apparently accept assassination contracts for large sums of money would seem to be… incompatible with your altruistic goals."
"Funding a global organization is costly, my son. Even with investments made over the course of centuries, there are times we need a financial boost in order to continue our efforts," Ra's said, making it all seem perfectly rational.
"And the fact that some of the contracts you took on were to kill people who could've greatly helped this world? I've already confirmed that the people did indeed die rather than someone faking their deaths 'to keep them safe'," he said, poking more holes in his bio-dad's story. "When added to the fact that the advances they were working on were either discredited entirely or 'discovered', albeit on a flawed level, by someone else, it makes me suspicious. Care to hear my theory?"
"Indeed I would. Educate me," Ra's replied, sounding like he was just playing a game.
"I believe you're serious about your desire to protect the planet and keep it from getting turned into one big polluted mess. However I also believe that you aren't as 'gentle' with your methods as you'd like me to believe," he said, never looking away from his bio-dad. "Indeed I'm more inclined to think that you believe that the ends justify the means. That it doesn't matter how many people die or suffer so long as you reach your goal of a greener and more harmonious Earth. Oh, I'm sure you'll feign the appropriate regret, the remorseful ruler routine, but that'll be poor compensation for those that die and those forced to deal with the pain of loss. But I'm sure you'll walk about thinking that they'll thank you one day once they 'see the light' or something like that. How am I doing?"
"An imaginative story, Alexander," Ra's replied with a bit of an edge to his tone. "A bit dark but imaginative. I will not deny that my organization is capable of being ruthless when the situation calls for it but it is all for the greater good. Currently the human race does not possess the technological means to leave this planet for another should the Earth become uninhabitable due to pollution or overpopulation. Even the Green Lanterns could not hope to evacuate all seven billion inhabitants, much less find a new world for the human race to inhabit. In short, this world is all we have and therefore we should do all that is necessary to protect it, even if it means sacrificing some of our own."
"Do you count yourself among those to be sacrificed?" he asked in counter to the man's statement. "Are you prepared to sacrifice your own life, permanently, in the name of your cause, even if it's for the sake of a single mission rather than the last one? Or do you consider yourself to be too important to die?"
He could tell right then that Ra's did consider himself far too important to his organization's overall mission to risk dying in a random battle. Either he didn't trust his followers to complete the goal in his absence or he had a strong enough fear of dying he preferred to let others do it instead of him. Not exactly what he'd call respectable behavior and that was taking into account the possibility of him actually condoning the entire mandate of the League of Shadows to begin with.
He didn't.
He'd be the first to say that the human race could be treating their planet a lot better than they were but he didn't think things were so bad that he'd condone global assassinations or arranged mass murder.
"It would seem that I have misjudged you, Alexander. You are more perceptive than I had thought," Ra's said with a scowl now on his face. "Just like there are certain pieces on a chessboard more valuable than the others, so too are certain people. An army, an organization, can suffer the loss of a few pawns but should its king be taken, then the game is over. In the case of the League of Shadows, until an acceptable heir to the throne appears, one physically and mentally fit for the job, I cannot permit myself to perish. Should you choose to accept the title of heir and successfully accomplish the training required then and only then would I consider myself expendable enough to risk life and limb for my cause."
"Then I'm sorry to disappoint you, Ra's, because based on your own words and what I've learned on my own, I have no intention of ever forming ties with the League of Shadows, much less become its future leader," he said, letting the tone of his voice show his resolve. "Any organization that can't survive the death of its leader can't be all that strong in the first place and a leader unwilling to do himself what he orders his subordinates to do doesn't deserve his position."
At this point in the discussion he pretty much expected Ra's to lose his temper or at least start making with the veiled threats, along with the not so veiled ones. After all it was pretty much a given that people in charge of large fanatic populated organizations tended to react poorly to criticism and even worse to the truth.
"Strong convictions, Alexander. Honorable, but not realistic," Ra's said with a glare and a cold tone of voice. "This is not a television show or a movie where events transpire consistently with mainstream concepts of right and wrong. This is the real world. Here those unwilling to sacrifice everything can never hope to change anything."
"I prefer to think that those willing to sacrifice everything to win don't really know the value of anything," he said in counter to the man's words. "Besides, reality can be damn depressing so I don't mind mixing a bit of optimistic dreaming into it. Now, unless you're feeling a sudden bout of repentance that'll have you shutting down the entire League of Shadows and liquidating the assets into a big donation to some charity, I don't think we have anything more to talk about."
"No… I don't suppose we do," Ra's said, sounding oddly neutral in his tone.
With that Ra's walked towards the front door but, just after he opened it, the old man turned back looking like he had a parting shot to fire.
"Optimism can be a two edged blade, my son," Ra's said with a tinge of warning. "It can allow a person to do great things or it can leave them open to attack when they least expect it. Then again, youth is for making mistakes and learning from them. Let us hope that you're able to do the same."
"I can take anything you can dish out," he said, making it clear that any attempt to attack him would end poorly.
"Yes… I'm sure you can." Ra's said with a smirk that he did NOT like.
Once the man had left he went to the HQ's computer and monitored his every movement to make sure his bio-dad went directly to his limo and didn't leave any surprises behind. He also kept an eye out for any suspicious people elsewhere about the warehouse's perimeter just in case Ra's decided to leave the dirty work to his underlings. With every variation of electronic eyes at his disposal, he kept watch looking for anything that hinted at Ra's or his forces being up to no good. Even after Ra's pulled away in his limo he kept a sharp eye out for anything out of the ordinary but, even after five minutes, nothing popped up. Had the old man really assumed that he'd just jump on board after parentage was confirmed?
No. The guy might be cocky and fanatically sure of his mission but even he'd plan for the possibility that I'd refuse to sign on with him. He put the security system on automatic rather than manual like he had a moment ago. But nothing's showing up anywhere around…here…
Yes…I'm sure you can.
"Artemis!" he exclaimed as sprung out of his chair and summoned his costume to himself.
With every bit of it having some kind of metal component in it, it flew towards him from the closet he stored it all in and with some on the fly getting dressed he was suited up. With speed born of his magnokinesis he flew out of the warehouse with a tracking device in hand set to pick up the transponder he'd installed in Artemis' quiver. Sure, she had a com-device she could use to call for help but he'd taken into account the possibility of someone getting the drop on her or something else preventing her from getting through to him. The second he had a lock on her position he accelerated as fast as he dared to get to her location before something terrible happened.
Ra's had planned for the possibility that he'd turn down the membership offer.
It just wasn't him that'd be the focus of the lesson on why that was a mistake.
O-kay! Something's not right here, she thought as she continued to work her way towards the building that was her destination. This is supposed to be a safe zone set up by the same people who employed Bobby Yen. That means there should be lookouts at least three to five blocks out and armed men the rest of the way in with progressively nastier guns the closer you get to the main building. Yet… nothing!
It couldn't be a trap because not only did the drug dealers not know she was coming tonight but they wouldn't have planned something so elaborate just for her. They would've just had some of their guys gun her down the second they thought they had her cornered. Criminals like them always chose quantity over quality both when it came to their members and how many bullets their guns spat out every second. Yet here she was essentially unchallenged by anyone or anything, even though she'd be the first to admit that she wasn't a pro yet at the whole 'approach the enemy without being seen' thing. She'd known going in that she'd be spotted eventually but had been banking on being far enough into the drug dealer's safe zone to make a dash for the main building. Once inside it she'd be able to use interior to her advantage to keep things from too hairy for her to handle. After all, you could only fit so many people into the width of a hallway to begin with and, if you wanted to be able to aim worth a damn, you had to go with one or two less people.
With all the arrows she had that'd work good on enemies clumped together, she'd be able to take down half of the opposition before they became a real threat.
Except there was no opposition yet or any reason to dash for the main building and it was causing a serious itch in the back of her mind.
Maybe everyone went on a coffee break or donut run. Still gotta confirm that the scum I'm after is in the main building or not. If they're there then I can do my job but if they're not then I need to check in with Xander to find out where the target's run off to.
If she retreated now only to find out she'd missed this golden opportunity to take down a major part of the Paolo Alto drug problem, she'd be kicking herself metaphorically for weeks.
It was about ten minutes later that she finally reached the alleyway across from the main building and, using the new mask/goggles Xander had made for her, she looked in all the usual places for patrol guards or cameras or anything else to suggest the place was occupied. Cameras were there and they looked operational. She could see guards on the roof but she couldn't tell if they were conscious or not but whatever they were, they weren't moving. If they were military she'd be suspicious because soldiers had more discipline than that but for common street thugs it was possible they were sleeping on the job. Considering the damage done to the drug trafficking in Paolo Alto after the death of Bobby Yen, his friends had to be seriously on their guard to keep things from getting any worse. So it was possible the bosses were pushing their men hard enough to make exhaustion and falling asleep on the job possible.
Instead of making her feel better, though, her theory just made the itch in the back of her mind worse.
Well, there's one quick way to get rid of it. She pulled a shock arrow from her quiver and notched it. I'm close enough to the building that even if the alarm sounds I can make it inside before they fill the air with too much lead. If I hit the guard on the roof and the alarm goes off then everything's good but if anything else happens, I back off and head back to the warehouse.
Taking careful aim with her bow, she waited until she was sure the arrow would hit and then, with a breath, released it to fly towards its target.
The shock arrow struck true but, aside from some convulsions that ended shortly after the charge in the arrow died out, nothing happened. No alarms, no cries to alert others that the place was under attack and definitely not the retaliation she should've gotten. The only thing that made sense was that it was indeed a trap but whether it was meant for her or the cops she didn't know. Either way traps were bad so long as you weren't the one springing said trap in the first place.
Turning around, she prepared to break into a sprint in order to get clear of whatever the effective radius of the trap was after which she'd begin making her way back to the warehouse.
"AAAHHHH!" she cried out as a spike of pain popped into existence in her left thigh.
Amidst the pain she was feeling she felt herself fall to the ground as her left leg gave out on her and it only got worse when she hit the pavement. When her head cleared her mind was awhirl with the usual questions like 'what happened' and 'why does my leg hurt so much' but, when she turned her head to get some answers, she was shocked at what she found. There was a hole in her left thigh. A HOLE in her left THIGH! Peripherally she noted that she couldn't see right through to the other side but she was a little more focused on the fact that she was bleeding quite a bit. The bleeding and the pain, actually, but at the moment they were pretty much dead even in terms of importance. The hole and the blood though were clues enough since, like many Americans, she'd seen enough movies to know a bullet wound when she saw one.
She'd been shot.
SHOT!
Adrenaline kicked in along with her fear but she had composure enough to dive for the nearest bit of cover she could find: a dumpster.
"Oh god! Ohgodohgodohgod!" she said as her mind practically vibrated on the fact that she'd been shot.
A hole was made in the metal side of the dumpster two inches from her head.
"Aaaaa!"
It did wonders for clearing up her mind though.
Pulling a smoke arrow from her quiver, she slammed the head onto the pavement, releasing its payload and hopefully obscuring her from the sniper's sight. Then, as quickly as she could, she got back to her feet and moved to the nearest corner in the alleyway that she HOPED would remove her from the shooter's line of sight. It wasn't easy because every time she tried to put the slightest bit of weight on her left leg, the pain she felt skyrocketed despite the adrenaline's effects. But when she finally made it around the corner and no further shots broke the silence, she took that to be a good sign that the sniper couldn't shoot at her now.
Leaning up against the brick wall, she tore off a part of her cape and began to bandage the wound to the best of her ability and that wasn't much since she barely remembered her First Aid classes. Still, it was a no brainer that she had to do her best to slow the blood loss so she could survive long enough to get to a hospital to get it treated for real.
A hospital… AH MAN! Mom is going to freak out when she finds out! she thought as she realized that there was no way that she was going to be able to hide getting shot.
Grimacing in pain and possibly coming close to passing out, she made sure the makeshift bandage was tied on tightly both to keep pressure on the wound as well as make sure it didn't fall off. She doubted that the shooter was going to give up. She was certain that whoever it was had shot to wound the first time on purpose and the second shot had been to prove that her cover was next to useless. She was being toyed with and given the circumstances it was likely that once her attacker got bored with her they'd kill her. She'd never faced anything like this before and that fact alone was reason enough for her to reach for her cell phone and press a speed dial number Xander had told her to put in.
It wouldn't connect to his cell phone or the warehouse phone but it would trigger a distress call program in the computer, alerting her friend that she needed help BIG TIME.
Putting her phone back into her pocket without turning it off, she knew she had to stay alive long enough for Xander to get to her and that meant going someplace where guns wouldn't be as helpful. Casting her eyes about for anything, ANYTHING, that fit that description, she spotted a manhole cover not too far away and bolted for it. If she got underground, got into the sewers, her attacker would have no choice but to follow her down there if he planned on continuing their little game. Down there in close quarters a sniper rifle would be next to useless except during the occasional long stretch of tunnel and that meant her foe would need to switch to something else.
Hopefully something that'd let her at least SEE who she was dealing with so she could figure out just how screwed she was.
Firing an explosive arrow rather than waste time trying to lift the heavy manhole cover off herself, she dropped down into the opening she made biting on her lip to keep the scream of pain in caused by the landing. Moving as quickly as she could with one impaired leg, she went deeper into the sewers, pausing only to use Xander's gift to her to see in the dark. For a moment she considered just hiding around the next corner and waiting for her attacker to jump down the hole she'd made but didn't like the odds. With no way of knowing just how good her foe was it could be either a waste of time or setting herself up for an attack. No, the best option for her was to keep moving, change directions at random, in order to use up as much time as possible so that Xander could find her. She was positive that once he got to her they could turn the tables on the person shooting at her and win.
Hurry Xander! HURRY! she thought even as her feet splashed through the sewer water.
"There's nothing HERE!" he growled as he looked about like a dog hyped on caffeine.
Looking back at the handheld device linked to the computer back at HQ, he confirmed that the transponder he put into Artemis' cellphone was right below him but all he was seeing was an empty street with nothing resembling the archer. Where? WHERE?!
Then it hit him.
Underground.
The sewers.
Disregarding the need for subtlety, he reached out with his magnetic powers and, after latching onto the metal below in a radius of fifteen feet around the transponder, he PULLED. Pavement shattered and metal screeched as everything between him and Artemis was ripped out of the ground below him and, once he was sure he had his opening, he tossed the unneeded debris to the side. In an instant he saw Artemis leaning up against the sewer wall looking up at him with surprise and relief but he only noticed her reaction as a side note. What really had his attention were the two bloody wounds, one in her left leg and the other in her right shoulder, and considering how much of her costume was stained, they'd been bleeding for some time now. His Magneto memories told him how such injuries could impair, if not eliminate, the abilities of an archer from the Master of Magnetism's encounters with Hawkeye. Whoever had attacked her had either gotten very lucky with his shots or had precisely aimed them to beat her without killing her. As for why pursuit hadn't been ended he could only presume that her attacker was toying with her.
That pissed him off!
A gunshot rang through the air.
Instinct and desire dominated him at that moment.
Good thing, too, since if he'd actually taken the time to think about doing what he did he'd probably have failed in his attempt. With reflexes that shouldn't have been possible he managed to grab a bullet out of mid-air with his powers, less than three inches before it would've hit Artemis. It was only a second later that his mind discerned where the bullet would've gone in if he hadn't caught it where he had: her head.
Within him a rage surged forth that hadn't seen daylight since the night Bette had died in front of him and, uncaring of the damage he was doing to the street, he ripped the pipes and the pavement up violently, exposing the sewers beneath to the open air. It took him less than a second to spot the late forties man dressed like a black ops soldier with a gun in hand that was just the right caliber to match the bullet he'd caught mid-air.
Good enough for guilty in his mind.
He wanted to tear the man apart, to make him HURT, but first he needed to know something.
With a gesture and an exertion of willpower he wrapped the man's own guns around his upper arms and wrists, transforming them into restraints before lifting the asshole up to his level. Looking at the man, he was surprised to find no fear or even a bit of anxiety in the various body language tells he could pick out. Instead the white haired man was remarkably calm and seemed to be testing the strength of his restraints with an expression that implied the gears were turning in his head.
"Don't bother trying to escape," he said in an ice cold tone as his power hummed within him. "Even if you did free yourself from your bonds, you're far too high up to survive the fall and you are currently positioned far away from any buildings you could've grabbed onto on the way down. Besides that, it would be simplicity itself for me to turn you into a metallic mummy with all the metal around here."
The man seemed to consider this for several moments before ceasing his efforts to get free. He still didn't look afraid or particularly intimidated but he could change that quickly enough if necessary.
"I have one question for you and how honestly you choose to answer it will determine if I simply drop you here or leave you restrained outside the local P.D precinct. Who ordered you to attack the blonde archer down there?"
"Why should I tell you AnnYYYAAAA!" the man replied snarkily right before the handgun that'd been restraining his wrists tightened enough to almost break the wrists.
"Because I have complete control over metal and that includes the iron in your blood," he replied, never raising his voice but managing to sound more menacing. "Because I have a VERY good imagination when it comes to hurting people and because I personally don't think the truth I want is something you're willing to die over."
"Point. Fine. The League of Shadows gave the order," the old soldier said, apparently deciding that the shit that he'd be hit with wasn't worth keeping quiet over. "Don't know who sent it down the pipe to me, though. Coulda been anyone from the Demons' Head himself all the way to some asshole in Problem Sanction division."
There. He had it. Even if he didn't have a specific name, the League of Shadows had ordered the attack on Artemis and, considering the timing, it was almost certainly Ra's.
That was a mistake.
Looking about, he spotted a flag pole sticking out of the side of a nearby building and, with sharpness indicative of his mood, he hung Artemis' attacker on it making sure the old fossil would stay there until someone cut him down.
"You said you were going to drop me off at a police station!" the old soldier exclaimed with irritation.
"This was closer and the public spectacle of it all will be humiliation enough to be payback for hurting Artemis," he said before descending towards Artemis, who was beginning to look a little wobbly.
"About time you got here," Artemis said, showing the beginning outward signs of significant blood loss.
"I'm sorry," he said and honestly it felt inadequate to how he felt at the moment.
Ra's had targeted her because of him and she was now hurt because of him.
"Well, seeing as how you stopped that bullet from paying my brain a visit, I guess I can forgive you this once…woah!" she said as she lost her balance to dizziness for a moment.
"You've lost a lot of blood. We need to get you to a hospital," he said as he picked her up bridal style before lifting once more into the air.
"What're we gonna tell'em?" she asked, looking down at her Artemis costume.
"Well, without your quiver and bow, we could just tell them you were on your way to a costume party when you got shot. What happened to your gear anyways?"
"Bow got shot in two and another to the quiver caused it to start smoking." She began looking a little dazed. "Didn't wanna take the chance it was gonna go boom on my back so I tossed it."
"Boom?" he asked, wondering if it actually had blown up.
"BIG boom," she replied, using her one good arm to exemplify this. "Not enough to make anyone topside clue in but definitely BIG."
"Well it'll make things at the hospital easier since there won't be any questions about why you have a real bow with weird arrows."
"Yeah. Worried 'bout my mom though. She's gonna freak."
"Don't worry. If all else fails, just blame me," he said as he began his descent towards the doors that had 'EMERGENCY' hanging over them. "I'm tough. I can take it."
He touched down a minute later and, immediately after he entered the hospital, the staff burst into action with a nurse wheeling a gurney over to him allowing him to set Artemis down.
"What've we got?" the doctor asked as he began to go over the wounds.
"Gunshots to arm and leg. High caliber rounds," he replied promptly, using his own best guess since Artemis looked like she would have trouble. "We were on our way to a costume party when it happened. Scared the shit out of us but fortunately some caped hero showed up and took care of the shooter."
"Thank God for the Justice League," the doctor muttered before finishing his examination. "She got a name? Doesn't look like we'll be able to get it from her until after a blood transfusion."
"Artemis Crock. Her mom's Paula Crock," he replied before rattling off the blonde's home address and phone number.
"Blood loss looks to be the most immediate problem, Mister…?" the doctor said, finally getting around to asking the other expected question.
"Lex Lensherr."
"Blood loss is the most immediate issue, Mister Lensherr. We'll know more about the bullet wounds themselves once we take a look. There's some paperwork for you to fill out and, since this is a gunshot incident, I expect the police will have questions of their own."
While he'd been expecting this, he was a bit wary of it just the same.
His anger still burned within him but it had cooled a bit now that Artemis was someplace she could get the medical help she required. However if anyone looked out a window or something and spotted him a couple of minutes ago, he'd be connected to the significant street damage. He could probably afford to pay for the repairs, or at least most of them, but he could wind up in legal trouble just the same. In the end he decided to see what he could get away with first and, if he really was up to his neck in it, he'd spill enough to get left alone and then split.
He had bigger fish to fry than placating the local P.D.