The Hunt

Star City

January 3, 2035

2:18:41 ETD

"Tsk!" Lian jumped crashed though the window as the glass shattered from her bedroom. She only had a few cuts from the glass shards. As Lian came closer to the ground, she lands by rolling after Prometheus broke into her room.

After Prometheus attacked her with a knife, Lian noticed a cut on her knees that came from his knife. "Damn it." She winced. She realized the growing veins were poison. "Well, played, Tommy. But you can't win this easily."

Lian then gets up. Despite the poison placed on her, she knew she had to keep going. The first thing she did was jumping over the fence. Then after she ran out on the streets, Lian picked up her phone while armed with her sword and bow.

She dialed her father's number. As she held it up to her ear.

When I was little. I heard of the story of Little Red Riding Hood. Young girls are seen as prey. Sometimes trust is a risk. People are not what they seem to be with a mask.

"Come on, Dad. Pick up!" Lian snarled while trying to call her father to tell him what's going on. No response as it kept ringing.

"Hello, you have reached the Harper residence. And I am not home right now, but please leave a message."

Lian speaks through voicemail to let her father know that their house was under attack. "Dad, I'm sorry our house is a mess right now! But you need to come-Ah!" Lian yelped as her phone was struck by an arrow. She looked up to see Prometheus on a rooftop.

He took the opportunity to shoot three arrows at her. But Lian took cover behind the side of a car as she Rose her head and fires back with her own arrows. But Prometheus dodged them.

"Too bad, Lian. Your father won't help you. I'll finish you both once we're done with our little game. Or you can come with me, and we'll make this world stronger against Metahumans. Together, just you and me." Prometheus offers, trying to tempt her into coming with him.

But Lian isn't stupid, she knew what he wants. But won't let him have it. "What do you have against Metahumans?! Oh, I know! I'm sorry if one of them killed your dad! But did you even forget he was a criminal?!" Lian retorted.

This angers Prometheus, as he shots back an explosive arrows at the car Lian was hiding behind. As it pierced through the door. Lian saw this as the lights were blinking for a count down and rolled out of the way as it exploded.

"Do not talk about my father! He was a man who made me stronger! I saw it now that the world is better off without aliens and metas!" Prometheus hid somewhere where Lian can't see him. Lian took out her katana as she looked around. Knowing Prometheus, or rather Tommy was a skilled swordsman since their days in the Order of the Phoenix.

"You were one of Nyssa's prized pupils. But she was always wrong about how the world evolved." Prometheus ignored the teachings of Nyssa Al Ghul who was deemed a traitor by her own sister, Talia.

"Why working with the 100 if you hate metas?" Lian interrogated. She tried to feel the movement Prometheus will take next. Her foot pressed to the floor to find some sort of vibration. Using her training to feel the enemy nearby. She closed her eyes, hearing the advise her master gave her.

"I work with them when I see fit." Prometheus replied.

Feel the enemy's movement, you wouldn't know when they will strike, close your eyes and use your senses.

Lian knew that people around her neighborhood would be out at risk if she stays here, but thought of the logical way to reduce damages. Or rather get risky without anyone harmed. Running to the main city, in the bridge where there is an open space.

Lian swings her katana to deflect the arrows he's fired. The Red Archer turned around and Prometheus' still isn't seen. "You can't hide from me, doll."

"Oh, shut up." Lian growled. "There." She quickly grabbed three arrows from her bag and fires at the tree Prometheus is hiding at. After the arrows from Lian were flying straight above. Causing Prometheus to act quickly by jumping out of the tree and land on his feet. Then he glared at Lian behind the mask.

"No, but I can get away. See ya never!" Lian then shot another arrow at Prometheus. Only for him to catch it with his palm. "Hah! Nice try!"

But got was too late for him to realized that it wasn't just an arrow, but it pops out smoke as it ticks time. Prometheus didn't cough because he was wearing the mask. "Hey!" He shouted. He looked around as the smoke clears out. Only to find Lian gone.

"Why that little-!"

"Enough talk, Prometheus." Prometheus looked up to the right corner to see Damian in a hood and uniform signifying the League of Shadows. He jumps down and lands near Prometheus. The dark Archer is not pleased to see the heir to the League of Shadows.

"Damian Al Ghul. Grandson of the not-so great demon to the shadows himself." Damian pretended to not feel offended at him for insulting his now-deceased grandfather, Ra's Al Ghul.

"You have gone too soft on the spawn after spending time with her for two years." Damian retorted.

Prometheus felt the vein ticking at Damian's comeback. While it was true he was too fond of Lian. He cannot take the feeling of losing to the high-ranked Phoenix. "I can take care of Lian myself!"

"No one cares about your petty revenge. Mother ordered you to stand down." Damian told him. "What?" Prometheus is at a loss for words as he paused the last minute. The thought of being looked down upon. He now knew that his fondness for someone is too strong. But with his desire to one-up Lian is another.

"If you can't take this assignment seriously, better you stand down. For your mother's sake, you can get your chance another time, but under the terms of the Shadow. I'm taking lead on this mission. And stay out of my way, Merlyn." Demanded Damian as he disappeared into the smoke.

Prometheus now has competition, not only with Lian, but also with Damian. Damian had been the youngest of the Shadows since the death of Ra's Al Ghul. Prometheus also found out that another Shadow had defected long ago and had a daughter with a man she was supposed to kill. And that daughter was Lian Nguyen-Harper. The spawn of the Cheshire Cat.

Well played, Lian. But this isn't over. Not yet it hasn't, my darling.

Prometheus then takes out a photograph of Lian after his expulsion from the Order of the Phoenix. Seeing the smile on her face just made him think she is pretty. But in her eyes, it showed her a personality of a wolf. Tommy knew there was a side of her no one else can see. The Hunt is on.

Meanwhile, in the alleyway near an apartment. Lian is seen limping because of the effects of poison. "Ugh...tsk..." She grunted as her leg becomes weak. But came all the way to the city. "I'm so tired...Can't get any sleep. Now I'm gonna die. But tonight is so worth it." Lian huffed.

With all the heavy breathing. Lian wasn't sure how much time is left. Those 17 years of life. Was it worth to live? Then her vision began to blur. Lian also wonders if she was getting delirious because of the poison.

Geez, now I am delirious. Oh, well. Least I get to fight with Green Arrow. Even if he did not want it.

"Lian?" A voice called her name.

Lian looked up, although her vision is fuzzy, she can recognize the voice. As the person gets closer, it was Joseph. He was taking out the trash outside in the alley until he heard he saw her.

"J...Joey?" Lian said, before passing out. Joseph catches her before she hits the ground. "Whoa, whoa! What happened?!" He asked. He lifts her up and carried her on his back. Lian rest her head on the back of his shoulder.

Joseph looked at Lian's leg, and had seen this symptom before. "Poison." He whispered. Knowing that it was anything but good.

"Long story short...Tonight's a living hell." Lian groaned. Wanting to get rest badly without getting killed in the night. The encounter with Prometheus had become a nightmare. As soon as Joseph and Lian entered his apartment, Joseph laid Lian on the couch.

Growing weaker at the moment. Joseph remembers where his mother has been keeping the military first aid equipment. It was a secret stash unlike the ones from the pharmacy stores.

Meanwhile at the Harper residence. Green Arrow, the Tornado Twins and Aqualad were inside the house to find the mysterious Red Rider. Only to find the house ransacked. "Whoa, what happened?" Due to the tracking device Green Arrow placed on Red Rider, they managed to figure out where she lived.

"It would appear that someone attacked here in this house." Aqualad deduced. "It could be another one of those League of Shadows members trying to make an assassination attempt." Said Aqualad.

"You seemed to know about the League of Shadows. How come?" Asked Tornado Boy.

"Must I admit. There were many assassination attempts on me as well. My father had been involved in the protections of Earth. And I had dedicated my life to become a defender since the Golden Age of my ancestors." Aqualad explains. "Especially by pirates."

"I think the League of Shadows know something more than we do. About the girl. At this rate, we'll never find her." Said Tornado Girl.

"Let's search around the house, see what we can find." Green Arrow ordered.

"Hey, who leave you in charge?" Tornado Boy complained, and if being bossed around by his sister wasn't enough to annoy him, anyone other than him being in charge.

"It doesn't matter who is in charge. We are all in this together. However, Green Arrow, since you know of Star City than anyone else, we'll allow you to take the lead for now." Aqualad suggested. He nodded in agreement.

Tornado Girl also agreed. Superboy also agreed as he smiled. Already he considered either Aqualad or Green Arrow as a leader. "Ditto!" He said. Causing Tornado Boy to fold his arms in disagreement. "First those two strangers chosen as leaders and it's embarrassing on how picky my sister was." He grumbled.

"When I look at you, I see the Story in your eyes. When we're dancing, the night begins to shine."

Then Superboy's phone began to ring the ringtone of the The Night Begins to Shine by Fall Out Boy. The group stared at Superboy as he awkwardly looks back. "Uh, sorry guys. I have to take this." Superboy then looks at the name of the contact to see it was his mother. He gasped, and then changed his mind. "Oh, false alarm. It's a scam call." He lied after throwing his phone out the window, out of fear he was gonna get an earful from his mother. As she must've found out he skipped school. And happened to stowaway to Star City.

"The night begins to shine, the night begins to shine..."

As they searched the house. Tornado Girl (Dawn) looked through the hallway to find Red Rider's bedroom. Then stumbled upon a spilt of blood. "Wow, I guess this house was under attack after all. Sword marks." She notices sword marks on the walls.

As she heard the sounds of cars honking, Dawn looked out the window to see damages in the streets outside, while the neighbors cannot figure out what happened, Tornado Girl assumed that this happened while Red Rider was fending off from an opponent.

Then she sees a family picture of a toddler girl, presumably the Red Rider as a child. Then a ginger-aired man and a raven-haired woman. Then she sees her room that was mostly destroyed. The walls punched, the room now full of stuffing and springs sticking out.

And there was blood on the floor. Being an enthusiast in forensics, Tornado Girl then saw a knife covered in a substance in a color of purple. As she takes a closef peek at the knife used for the attack, she then uses her device to scan the substance. "Belladonna poison. Blurrdd vision, fast heartbeat. The others need to see this." Said Dawn.

"Hey, Dawn. Check out those arrows, they're covered with something...I don't know what that was." Jonny said as he holds an afdkw covered in Belladonna poison. Tornado Girl then walks over to Jonny and takes the arrow tk have a look. "Whatever you do, Jonny. Don't inhale them." Tornado Girl told Superboy. "Um, why?" He asked.

"These are covered in Belladonna poison. But they are also known as Nightshade. It causes blurry vision, massive headaches, fast heartbeats and breathing problems." Torbado Girl explained as she extracts the samples of Nightshade with a cloth to wipe from the blades."

Green Arrow, Aqualad and Tornado Boy reamined in the first floor and continued their search for evidence. Green Arrow stumbled upon a photograph of a family of three, one of them wss a raven-haired woman he had seen before in another photo.

"Have you seen this woman?"

It was during the night the girl he met in the garage he owned. Green Arrow connected tbe dots. The girl who tried to help him fight the members of the 100 wasnthe same one he met. It was Lian herself. "Oh, no." He said. Placing his palm on his forehead with distraught.

"What is it?" Asked Aqualad. Green Arrow turned to the group after the search, and showed them the picture. "I think I know who we're looking for." He responded.

Joseph finished putting injections on Lian with the help of his mother's first aid kit. Being the son of the general, you are driven to help those around you. And he was proud of his own mother for her effort of raising him. He then cleaned the wounds Lian received during the shuffle with Prometheus.

"Can't imagine what it was like being the general's son. Hopefully your mom wouldn't mind if I'm here." Lian said, wanting to apologize to Joseph once more. He then uses rubbing alcohol, which gives off a little sting. "Mom will be gone for a couple of days. You can crash here in the meantime."

"Well, thank her for that equipment you got here. Must be really expensive to afford that stuff." Lian replied. "Great thing you got here, you would've been a goner if I wasn't around." As she and Joseph looked at each other, it was met with silence as neither were not sure what to say. But then they started to laugh.

"Seriously, what happened? How did you ended up with a couple of sword cuts? Where was that poison coming from?" Asked Joseph.

"Hm?" Lian looked at her wound again. Then sees her bow, arrows and sword on the desk in Joseph's room. With those weapons on sight, Lian knew there was no use in lying. "Oh, yeah. My ex tried to kill me."

"What?" Joseph gasped.

"Yeah it's true." Lian shrugged, trying to put up with a tough expression to not wanna seem timid on the inside. But Joseph wanted to point out the attack that includes an those weapons she had been holding. "And you've been fighting him with those...weapons?" He paused.

"There's no way your could've injured in a normal street fight."

"Alright, here me out. After I moved to Gotham to live with my grandma. I was invited to an organization in Japan by some old friend of hers that taught me marksmanship and swordsmanship. But it wasn't some ordinary organization, but it was also a group that uses swords and arrows to protect the weak. My teacher, she is great. Offering wisdom, strict, but also understanding. Don't tell my dad." Lian told him.

"Not a word." Joseph agreed. As he uses cottons to clean the blood on her arms. "I guess they don't call you Lian the Brawl for nothing." He said.

"They say my name is a term for a lotus, and a graceful willow. But I don't see myself like that. To me, my first name is too soft." Lian admits.

"I mean, it could mean something. I mean, your name is great. I don't see anything wrong with it." Joseph assured her. am this made Lian laughed a bit. "You're only trying to make me feel better."

"What? It's a compliment." He chuckled nervously. But stopped, deadpan. As they both felt lost into each other's eyes. Lian blinked as she and Joseph wasn't sure as they stared at each other. Their faces drew closer until a door opener to reveal a man with brown hair.

"Hey, Joseph. Sorry, I'm late. There was another brawl at the bar and..." The man stopped as he noticed Lian next to Joseph. The two teens glanced at the man who wore an eye patch. They then turned back to each other as they did not think someone else is going to come. The door then moved near the doorway as it closes on its own. There was silence.

"Oh..." He began.

"Huh?" Said Joseph and Lian. The man then smirked. "I see what's going on. Joe, why didn't you tell me you're bringing a girl over?" Didn't think I see the day." They then realized what he thought and they parted as they also found out what they almost did.

"I-it's not what it looks like!" Joseph denies. Held out his hands in defense. Lian also came to his defense. "Yeah, dude. He and I are just friends." Then the man figured that the friend Joseph was talking about was the one he was told about years ago.

"Oh, you're that girl Joseph told me about. I'm his brother, Grant." He introduced himself while smiling. "S'up?" In Lian's eyes, the smile was fake. She can tell with the features he presents. And the aura she reads, as part of her training, Grant Wilson's aura was dark blue, something darker underneath him. But Lian did not dare say another word.

"Well, sorry about that. I'll leave you two alone. I got things to do here. Have fun, lovebirds!" Grant teased.

"Grant!" Joseph yelled. Taken aback for what he just called them. He sighed, feeling guilty for letting Lian hear that. "Sorry, Li. My brother, it's complicated."

Li is Lian's nickname. Lian smiled at Joseph, not wanting to look like she was suspicious of Grant. Seeing aura is a sacred technique that her master had taught her. And for some reasons, she was born with that technique. "He seems nice." Lian assured Joseph.

Grant is in his bedroom. Looking back at his door. The sight of Lian somewhat irritated him. As if he had seen her before since Joseph's freshman year in high school. While putting up with a facade that their mother did not know about. The reason why Joseph was back in Star City was because of their mother's job in the military, and their father out of their lives for good. Grant invited his younger brother to live with him so that he can continue to go to school.

Grant picked up his phone and dialed a number after his first encounter with Lian. "It's me. Do you remember the target you mentioned? The girl, she is in my apartment. Do have her father?" He asked the individual he was contacting in regards of the target he was seeing. While looking back to make sure no one was listening.

"Good. I'll keep a close eye on her. Make sure she isn't getting away anytime soon." Grant said. "You got your clone back. You get the girl, I want my 16 grant." He said.