Disclaimer: I still don't own the characters, and I still don't have a job, so don't bother suing because you can't milk stone.
Warnings: Slash (Virgil/Richie, GL/Flash, others), Alternate Universe, Cross Over (same warnings for every chapter, people)
Author's Note:Combined three previously posted chapters into one monster chapter here, with edits. Thank you for noticing.
Ratings: M
Title: Like A Dream
Like A Dream
Chapter Nine
The cliché beginning to any horror story was that it began 'on a dark and stormy night', but as far as Talon was concerned, the horror story of her life began on a night like any other. But then, that really did depend upon what one was used to, didn't it? For some, gang violence was its own horror, but since she'd known it most of her life, she was used to it. There was a strange sense of comfort in that familiar, in that day-to-day fear.
Humans were adaptable creatures and the Breed even more so. Of course, they had to adapt to the changes in their lives, which never seemed to end. First came the change from human to something else. Something different. And then, if they were lucky, or unlucky as the case may be, they were able to get out of Dakota. Just like Hotstreak had done. With Hotstreak gone, there was a shift in the power dynamics, a shift in the living arrangements, a shift in the chores...
But even as things changed, things remained the same. Talon woke up every morning to the sight of feathers and talons, to the fact that if she let loose with the screams her nightmares begged from her, then there was the chance that the entire subway system would collapse around them. There was still the fact that few of them could go out in public without causing a scene. There were still rules governing who had to do what within the hierarchy of their little family.
There was still Dakota.
And there was still Static.
But he wasn't going to be there for long.
They'd heard on the news that the Defenders had gotten into a devastating tussle not too long ago. Two weeks. There had been the brief hope that Static had been taken care of, had been taken out in it. Unfortunately, two days later, one of their crew spotted him, flying high and grinning fit to split his face.
Well, here was hoping that they didn't split his skull as they captured him.
As Ebon said, a dead hero brought in very little revenue compared to the price of a living battery.
With a huff of annoyance, Talon found a good, out of the way perch.
Today was the day.
Today was the day that the Breed got the recognition it deserved.
Today was the day that they were going to take down the mighty Defender.
Today was a day of change.
It couldn't happen on a better day. The sky was clear now, after the rains of the early morning, and there wasn't even the hint of haze now. The noonday sun was high overhead, preventing it from getting in her way. And below, on street-level, the others were getting ready. She knew that down there, close to the alleyways one could almost taste the rotting of the city. Down where those who couldn't find shelter often slept, if they could sleep. Down where they passed the time, killing time until time killed them. She was just grateful that she had semi-fresh air at her perch. However, she didn't have time to truly appreciate the intricacies of her environment, as she had other concerns at the moment.
They had chosen an old gas station as their battlefield. There wasn't much in the way of scenery, which was good from a filmographer's point-of-view, but for just the people involved who were supposed to wait there until Static showed, it kind of sucked. Of course, the place was still as busted up as it had been since the Dakota Riots, but that was neither here nor there. The only important things were that it was out of the way and it gave the illusion of offering Static what he needed in a fight against them. It offered him the idea of resources.
A breeze came by, ruffling Talon's feathers. She was nervous, so nervous that she needed to use the bathroom. She knew she wasn't the only one, though. Shiv was practically dancing in place, unable to keep still in his hiding area. Onyx was repeatedly cracking his knuckles as he waited impatiently for the show to begin. Puff seemed unable to keep her solid form, floating around, making sure everything was just so.
And then came the crackle of the com-channel. It was time.
"Show time, people," Talon whispered, though she was the only one there to hear it.
The plan was, Puff was to go out and cause a little trouble, something big enough that Static would be forced to respond to. As soon as the Defender arrived, Carmen was to bound out as a distraction so that Puff could get free. Once she was far enough away, she would cause a little bit more of a disturbance, forcing Static to chose between stopping her and catching Carmen. Of course, knowing that this was the Defender's home turf, and he, like any other Defender, didn't like people messing up his home, it was easy to predict that Static would go after her. If he didn't, they had Onyx with them, who was more than able to capture Static's notice.
The three of them were supposed to herd the young electromagnetic hero towards them. If one of them were ever caught, Ebon was standing by to get them free. They were all hoping that it wasn't going to come to that, but it was always better to be safe than sorry. It was always best to have a back up plan.
Plans.
Everyone seemed to have them. Some people had more than one. And though she knew that right at that moment wasn't the best time to be thinking about such things, she really did wonder what, specifically, her plan was. Was she going to stay in Dakota the rest of her life, doing what she was doing at that moment? Could she really see herself there, in ten years, holding a video camera as she and someone else tracked down the last of the other Bang Babies? Or were Bang Babies a renewable resource? Was the air and water and ground so polluted with the toxin that they were never going to run out of Market material until they ran out of people?
As much as she loved Dakota, and hoped to stay there forever, she knew she had to become more practical. If nothing else, trying to capture Static alive had taught her that. She had to be practical if she wanted to live for any length of time, even more so if she wanted to live well. This family wasn't going to be around forever, and she was as afraid of being by herself as she was of the outside world.
So, that just begged the question, what was she going to do with herself? What were her ultimate goals?
"Stupid chica." She chided herself. "Your goal is to capture this moment on film. Everything else can wait."
-o0o-
Richie leaned over his latest piece, "collapsible coils in a can," though that was only the working title. He'd come up with something catchier later. Later, when he presented them to Virgil.
A smug smile spread across Richie's features as he thought about his Defender.
It had been two weeks since they started getting a bit more... intimate. Intimate was a good word. There was talking, which they'd already started doing way back when Richie first arrived, but there was more touching now. A lot more touching.
A LOT more touching.
And kissing.
Richie's grin spread enthusiastically as he thought about the amount of practice he had at that particular activity.
They hadn't managed anything more... rigorous than the kissing and the touching, but that was okay. For now.
The lab was uninhabited except for Richie, as Batman had yet to recover enough to make it to his work area. That did not mean that the Night Terror was slacking off on what he considered important duties. Instead, he delegated. For instance, Richie was on the lookout for strange communiqués from the Fortress to other parts of the globe, things that seemed out of the ordinary, things that might have to do with reporting weaknesses and liabilities.
Which were vague guidelines at best.
Still, Richie did his best. He had his mini-computer, which he had dubbed Backpack, 'listening out' for whatever transmissions came into or went out of the Fortress. There was also the police channel from Dakota rumbling on in the back ground, set at a higher volume than the low murmurs of the Fortress communications. If anyone came into the Lab, which was a slim chance to say the least, they'd hear only the dispatchers and police officers of the Dakota P.D, and not anything that could get him into trouble.
As the blond Chosen leaned forward, snapping another can closed, he had a sudden mental image of introducing Virgil to the new toys by throwing one at him, confining the darker male in a tight metallic embrace. But Richie dismissed the idea, because the coils were sure to make it impossible to do anything more than kiss the electric Defender, and really, if he had Virgil all tied up, he'd want to do more than just kiss.
A report on the Dakota channel caught the bespectacled youth momentarily, as another Meta-human incident was reported. Richie shook his head, knowing that Static was sure to answer the call. After that, his concentration went back to the tasks at hand.
-o0o-
Below Talon's hiding spot, hidden among the rubble and trash on the ground, Shiv waited for his opportunity. He had told her, almost dreamily, that morning, that he wished his hair were as long as hers. In his head, he could imagine rolling waist length hair up in a bun and positioning it with the poison tipped spikes, like he'd seen some of the girls do once in a while with chopsticks, and like he'd seen on a movie or three. Granted, there was poison at the tip of the sticks, but he figured it would still look kind of cool to do. She personally thought he was out of his mind.
Elsewhere in the city, Puff was causing mayhem, getting Static's attention. It took time for the three Breed members to finally drive Static into their little arena, but eventually, he was surrounded. The best part, though?
He didn't even know it.
On ground level, Shiv stayed as still as possible. He slowed his breathing, pretending to be one with the ground. He also did his best to ignore how cold and wet he was. Laying as he was, it was very difficult to ignore the fact that it had rained just that morning. Not to mention that Aquamaria was on this mission. The level of moisture was positively through the roof. He had one of the wooden spikes in his hand, though he was careful not to rub his finger over the poisonous tip of it. The others he hid on his body, making sure that he would not hurt himself in the inevitable fight.
Somewhere near-by, there came a loud roar, as if Onyx had been hurt. He hoped the big guy was okay, but knew that if he wasn't, things were still going to be all right. Puff would take care of the rocky male.
He wasn't sure, but he was betting that there was something going on between those two. Which was kind of gross if the thought about it for too long, which was something he really didn't want to do because… EW! A guy who was all rock below the belt and a girl who was made of mostly air. Talk about a genie in a bottle! No amount of rubbing was going to get her juices flowing. It required juices, ya know. There was also the fact that she was a bitch, but that went without saying. Though, if he was ever asked, he'd tell the truth.
But then…!
Then!
Static came into Shiv's line of sight, and the purple haired meta-human knew that it was almost time. His fist tightened on the spike in his hand, though not so tight as to pierce the skin. The electromagnetic Defender floated in the air, his head bobbing around as he looked for the other members of the Breed.
"All right, now. I know you guys are around here somewhere. Why don't you just come on out-"
"I'm sure you're expecting to give the regular speech about how we should just give up and come along quietly so no one gets hurt, but ya know what, Static? We've heard it a dozen times already, just today as you've been throwing bad pun after bad pun at us. It ain't gonna happen. And ya know what? We aint gonna give up." She grinned, as she settled comfortably on the ground, placing her balled up fists on her once-again formed hips. "In fact, I'm going to kick your sorry ass from here to Metropolis."
Shiv began climbing out of his hiding place, making sure to keep his form as concealed as possible. He held his breath, trying to stifle his gasps of pain and soreness from lying in wait for so long. The dark-skinned superhero was kept occupied by Puff's loud mouth and because he was looking around for his other attackers.
"Whatever." Static snorted. He hadn't expected his opponent to be so to-the-point. Truthfully, they rarely were. Static wasn't stupid, though, and they all knew that. He knew that there was still Carmen to deal with, and there was a high probability that there were others around. Something like a chill raced up his spine as he turned to look behind him, thinking that he'd spot Carmen. "Big talk from such small time thugs. I'm going to—"
"Put a shock to our system?" Shiv giggled. Instead of the expected beastial meta-human, what the Dakota Defender found was their ace.
"What the…" Static yelped as he felt a sharp jab of –something- bite to his thigh. It was almost enough to knock him off of his new disc.
"Jokes on you, man." Shiv smiled as he walked out of his hiding place.
Static growled as he tried to float higher in the air. He reached down to his leg where the wooden stick was protruding from, and knew that it went deep. Just barely brushing the grain sent jagged currents of pain through him. Angry at being hurt, he threw a careless bold of pure electricity towards the purple-haired meta-human. Strangely, the bolt missed.
Looking between his three visible attackers, Static became aware for the first time of the location and the situation in which he found himself.
"Damn, a trap," Virgil hissed to himself, realizing for the first time the pattern that had led him to be right there. All those little attacks had been herding him!
"Oh, wow, he really -is- a bright one," Puff snickered, using her powers to turn her lower half into a nimbus-like cloud and float towards him.
"Like a light bulb," Shiv nodded.
Lightning began to crackle in a tightly closed fist as Static fell into his fighting mode. However, before he could fire off the first blast, the world began to swim around him, heaving and twisting as if the natural laws of physics decided to break on their own. Instinctively, he moved closer to the ground. The closer he was to the ground, the less far he had to fall in case he –did- fall.
"Aw, does the lil' Defender feel sick? Does he want to lie down?" Shiv sneered.
With a low growl of annoyance, electric volts shot from the masked male's hand, blasting towards the general area where the purple haired Bang Baby was. Even as the bolt left Static's gloved hand, the world dimmed for a moment, and it was all the young Defender could do to remain conscious. Static gulped in air, desperate to not throw up in front of the enemy. Nothing said humiliation like losing one's lunch in the middle of a fight. "What..."
"What, what?" Shiv laughed.
"I think he wants to know what we're going to do to him once we've got the Big Bad Defender at our mercy." Puff crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Maybe he wants to know what you hit him with? Who knows? Who cares? When is he going to pass out already?"
Shiv giggled. Now that Static wasn't the one in control, they were, he found the situation to be hysterical. The funniest damn thing he had ever seen in fact.
"Shit…" Static gasped as he fell off of his disc, sending it skittering away.
Watching the guy who had followed and captured and fought all of them at one point or another crawling away was… thrilling. It was obvious to everyone that Static was in a great deal of pain, and the super hero wasn't using the leg with the stick protruding from it. But the further away he crawled, the more Shiv laughed.
Onyx, on the other hand, remained silent. He observed his brethren, and like the stone he seemed to now be made of he gave away none of his thoughts or emotions. Truth be told, after the paces they'd put the super hero through, it was amazing that Static hadn't lost his infamous temper and thrown a thunderbolt at them even before they'd managed to get him to the gas station. They had used all of their resources, skill, and wit to get to their destination with their prize in tow. It was one thing to heckle a performer. It was an entirely different thing to tease and tempt a guy who could power an entire city. That kind of power one doesn't want to piss off on a regular basis.
Even if they did do just that on a regular basis.
There was also the fact that Onyx preferred to think of himself as an honorable thief, if such a thing really existed. He had volunteered for this gig to keep Puff safe, and the others as well. If Static got too close to capturing one of them, he was to distract the supercharged male. It worked, too. Sometimes a little too well.
Maybe it was just as well that they were going to get rid of the troublesome Defender. Sure, the idea that there was an actual Defender who called Dakota home meant that more people were willing to move to their little urban jungle, usually the good kind of people who brought jobs and income and available markets to exploit, but Static could be more trouble than he was worth.
Especially when he lost his temper.
Fighting back an intense amount of nausea and pain, Static rolled to his side and staggered to his feet. He was somewhat surprised that he was being allowed the chance to stand up; after all, weren't they trying to take him down? However, standing up made him want to fall forward, and the way down looked to be a long, long, painful fall. Using the momentum of gravity and pride to put one foot painfully in front of the other, Static managed to limp a few feet away. Sounds seemed to bounce around in his head, twisting in a very 'Twilight Zone' kind of way, though it was with sounds rather than pictures. The world, on the other hand, seemed to warp with each step, as if he was looking at the area through funhouse mirror reflections.
His faltering steps splashed through one of the larger puddles, and suddenly, the world around him really did swim as a column of water surrounded him.
"Hey there, stranger," Aquamaria's voice bubbled in his ear as Virgil fought to get out of her liquid embrace. "You should watch your step. Never know whose toes you might step on."
Static struggled, desperate to not only get out of his water prison, but also to get a breath of air. With as drugged and as off-balance as the dark-skinned Defender was, it didn't take any time at all before he was limp and nearly lifeless. With careless disregard, Maria tossed the soaked body to the hard pavement and moved away. The rest of them looked at each other and then back at the unmoving figure.
"Is he dead?" Shiv asked, for once his smile was surprisingly gone.
"Check," Puff retorted.
"Why don't you?" Shiv asked angrily. He tried to stare the smaller female down, but knew that between the two of them, he was more likely to get his ass handed to him than the other way around. He might have been slightly crazy, but he wasn't stupid. It didn't pay to be stupid. Bending down cautiously, the purple-haired meta-human checked at the fallen hero's throat for a pulse. "Uh, he ain't breathing."
"Well, fix him!" Maria cried. She hadn't wanted to kill him, just make sure that he was helpless.
"He's not exactly a toaster, Maria." Shiv shot back. "I can't go get some tools and repair him. Maybe one of you…?"
"You're the only one here who breathes normally enough to give him CPR. I'd drown him again, Onyx could crush him accidentally, and Puff can melt metal if she isn't careful."
"Yeah, I know, but—"
"Do you know how to do CPR?"
"Well, yeah, but—"
"Then do it. We want him alive," Puff half-growled, her eyes narrowed dangerously.
Shiv wrinkled his nose as he rolled Static over, trying to get some of the liquid out of the other's lungs. When that didn't work, he knew it was going to take mouth-to-mouth. "Yeah, but... Dammit. I don't like kissing boys."
"If he dies, you can kiss me instead. It'll be a faster way to die than anything Ebon can come up with," Puff sighed, a small cloud of green air floating skyward.
Shiv glared at her a moment before turning back to his duty. He tilted Static's head back and bent forward, just to make sure that the other wasn't breathing and he really needed to do this. When he was sure that Static was indeed not breathing, he pinched the other's nose and covered darker, fuller lips with his own, all the while thinking, 'I'm glad Hotstreak isn't here to see this. I'd never live it down.' Then he forced air into still lungs until Static's chest moved. He did it once more, waiting for some sign of life. When there wasn't any sign of recovery, Shiv folded his hands and began the chest compressions, trying to jumpstart the Defender's heart again. "Yo, maybe we need jumper cables or something instead."
"Save your breath for saving his life," Aquamaria snapped.
Shiv bent down to repeat the mouth-to-mouth air breathing, his cheeks blushing furiously. He knew that Talon was somewhere nearby, catching this on tape. It took him three times giving mouth-to-mouth before Static decided to finally start breathing on his own. Still out of it, the dark-skinned superhero was turned to his side to cough up his lungful of liquid-female. Shiv scooted back and tilted his head to the side, a relieved grin plastered to his face.
And then, Static collapsed back to the ground, completely motionless.
Again, the three Meta-humans waited, looking at the still figure.
"He's breathing this time," Shiv noted.
There was another weighty pause before Puff began to smile. "We did it. We actually did it. We took down Static Shock."
Shiv began to giggle, high and breathy as the reality of the situation really hit him as well. They could do this. They could be someone! They had power!
Maria kept her eyes on the figure lying so still, so helpless, on the hard ground. Up close and personal, he looked... young. Younger than she had thought he should have looked. He looked like he was their age. He also looked like he'd been through hell, with his scorched clothes and bruises and scrapes, but that was okay. He was alive, and that was all that really mattered.
"And you did a beautiful job, too," came the quiet, calm voice from one of the nearby shadows. Swirling into view, Ebon walked towards them. "Now, grab him and let's go before the cops arrive and try to 'clean up' the scene."
"You got it boss." Onyx moved forward and gently, ever so gently, picked up the still figure. Now that the masked male wasn't throwing bolts of lightning, or magnetized metals at them, he seemed harmless, like any other punk kid that should know better than to mess with the big boys. However, just because Static appeared harmless didn't mean that the Defender really –was- harmless. If anything, living with the other members of the Breed had taught him –that- much.
Shiv watched as Puff and Aquamaria followed Onyx and Ebon to the alleyway. He turned to look up at where Talon was, but a glint of something shiny caught his eye. Nothing around them was clean enough to glisten, so something sparkly in the mess was more than enough to divert Shiv. The purple-haired male went immediately to investigate.
And what a find it was, too!
Pulling the flimsy disc from where it had landed amid the piles of trash laying around, Shiv giggled with girlish glee. Tucking the thin material against his chest, he scuttled into the dark, heading back home. Talon could find her own way back, and do it on her own time, too. He had a new toy to investigate!
-o0o-
Backpack beeped a slow, low tone, signaling that there was a new pirate satellite feed similar to one he'd picked up previously. Without waiting for any signal from its creator, the little machine instantly began to feed the images and sounds to one of the nearest monitors in the lab. The blond youth who sat hunched over a pair of flying skates, adjusting the thrusters after yet another test run, barely paid any attention. His mind was distinctly distracted.
Richie had never been much for worrying. After all, what was the point? Sure, Virgil had been late before, but not since they had started... And it was only a few hours late.
But none of the police reports had included any mention of Static for a while. A long while.
He hadn't even checked in after the last report of meta-human activity, which was uncommon. He usually sent at least a small signal saying that he was all right. There hadn't been a signal yet.
"All right, ladies and gentlemen," came a familiar voice, one that was as dark and smooth as oil, but made every hair on Richie's body stand on end. Jerking around, blue eyes immediately widened at the sight of Ebon, the biggest Bad Guy in Dakota of whom Richie knew. "Tonight, we have a very special package. This merchandise is so hot that it has got to go and has got to go fast."
To the Chosen's horror, the camera panned around to display a very beaten up, very unconscious Static Shock lying nigh lifeless in a tub of water.
"Backpack, record!" The little machine gave a soft beep even as Richie raced over to another terminal to find a way of tracing the signal. Half of the bespectacled youth's attention was on the keyboard and readouts in front of him, the other half was directed completely onto the screen where a small music video played, displaying his Defender's moves, tactics, and power. A small portion registered that the song choice was pretty decent, very current and upbeat, but for the most part, Richie was too busy to pay attention. Instead, he began to chant, "Oh, shit, oh, shit, oh, shit, oh, shit..."
"Code name: Static Shock. This young meta-human is the youngest Defender to claim a city of residence. His powers are electromagnetic in nature; however, the full range of his power has yet to be recorded," Ebon elaborated, after the small music video ended. "Like I said, this is one hot piece of merchandise, and what you do with him is your own business. Use him as a trophy or use him as a battery, I don't care. But bids will close tonight. Make sure you've got the cash, or don't bother bidding on the goods."
He knew that panicking wasn't going to solve any more than worrying did, and that he was going to have to do something. He just didn't know what he -could- do. However, there was one person who would know what to do.
Unfortunately, Batman was still in the Medical Center.
That left him finding someone equally as trustworthy and adequately intelligent.
"Think, Richie, think!" the blond murmured as he spun around to look at all the raw gear surrounding him. Before the young Chosen came up with a name, the message closed up with Ebon returning and starting bidding. Eyes wide, Richie turned to his small machine and said, "Backpack, trace any and all signals that are replying to that ad by locating where the feed originated from and all the sources of information going to that site using all available resources. Find out where they're coming from and tag them. Also, find out who's responding and record all messages."
The small machine gave another soft beep.
Taking care of that angle, the blue-eyed male grabbed a small two-way radio mike, which was interconnected to the small machine, and ran out the door. Looking around at the nearly deserted hallway, it took only a heartbeat for the young Chosen to figure out where he was going.
Richie didn't pay any attention to the people he ran past or the odd looks he gathered as he sped down the hallways and corridors. He was running full tilt, and it still wasn't fast enough, nearly breaking his ankles tripping over stairs and his neck tripping over his own feet. Finally, though, he reached Green Lantern's room.
There was a good chance that the former marine was staying in his room, but if he wasn't, then he was bound to be staying with The Flash. Standing outside of the older man's room, Richie took a moment to calm his rapid pulse and labored breathing. Reaching over, he pushed the button to ring the alarm, praying that the green-eyed Defender wouldn't be too upset at the intrusion. Strangely, there was no buzzing sound indicating the ringer was turned on. Frowning, Richie tried again. Again, nothing.
"Shit," Richie cursed, absently noting that he had cursed more tonight than he had since he'd arrived at the Fortress. The door buzzers were -always- on, and no door was ever completely locked, but it seemed that someone had been messing with Green Lantern's door because it was locked without a buzzer. Something was going on, and it couldn't be good. Not after the events of the last fight. Not after seeing Virgil captured and unconscious.
Blue eyes looked around blindly, finding that no one was anywhere down the hallways. And that he was still wearing his coveralls, which meant he was also wearing some of his tools. It took less than a second for Richie to formulate a plan, and a heartbeat for him to implement it.
As many times as he'd thought about dismantling the door mechanisms, he never thought it would be to break into a Defender's home. However, that was exactly what he was doing. Getting the panel off the wall was a simple matter that took little effort and only a minute in time. Finding the proper wires took even less. The doors opened as quietly as ever, allowing Richie to walk in.
Walking in from a well-lit hallway to the almost pitch darkness of Green Lantern's apartment forced the errant Chosen to take a moment to allow his eyes to adjust. During that moment, Richie noticed two things. One, all the lights were out except for a soft glow coming from the Defender's room, and second, there was a low thrum of music being played.
Unsure of what was going on and afraid of finding his friend and Virgil's mentor either hurt or dead, Richie walked carefully towards the open doorway. He stayed close to the wall, trying to be as invisible as possible in case there was trouble and the attacker was still there. As he neared the open doorway, though, the young blond was grateful for his discretion for an entirely different reason. It took a moment for the scene to make sense to the young Chosen, but once it did, Richie had to bite his tongue to keep from making any kind of noises.
Lantern was definitely -not- being attacked.
However, there was a lot of moaning going on, even without there being any injuries.
The sheets were as tangled as the two bodies that were writhing on the bed. One pale hand was holding the back of the former marine's head, keeping the two figures locked in a deep kiss. As much as Lantern's partner wanted to keep the kiss, something that the heavier male was doing caused him to throw his head back with a sharp cry of what could only be called pleasure.
Blue eyes opened impossibly wide as Richie realized who the other figure was.
Doing his best not to make a sound, the blond chosen made his way back to the door. He didn't even breathe as he padded softly out of the apartment. Shell-shocked, he replaced the cover to the door, making sure it was once again locked and that if anyone were to check on it they wouldn't find any kind of tampering. And then he spared a few more moments to simply stand there and stare at the closed doors.
"Well, that was unexpected," muttering to himself, Richie shook his head and headed towards the Medical Center as fast as he'd run to Lantern's apartment. Since Green Lantern -and- Flash were unavailable, there was only one other person that Richie knew and trusted, and he was in the Medical Center.
Martian Manhunter had been staying in the Medical Center for the past two weeks when he wasn't on duty. Truthfully, he was staying by Batman's—Bruce Wayne's side. There were some whispers and rumors going around, but no one had asked any questions outright, and Richie doubted anyone would. Sure, he knew some of the rumors about Batman, and sure the man was creepy enough for most of them to be right, but the Martian was a different character all together. J'onn would never do anything...worth whispering about. Would he?
The blond did not bother to ask why it was that only Martian Manhunter was permitted to sit with the Night Terror when Superman and Wonder Woman were both willing, though he did know that it had something to do with the fact that the Martian frequently entered Batman's mind and that it was slowly changing both of them. However, the only Defender with whom Richie had to concern himself was Virgil.
On the other hand, the image of what he'd just seen with Flash and Green Lantern was hard to dismiss, and it filled a good portion of his imagination as he raced towards the Medical Center.
The trip took very little time, which could have been due to how fast the young Chosen was running or because his thoughts were far from the path he traveled. Before he crossed over the threshold to the infirmary, Richie slowed his pace. There was no reason to raise an alarm or to get thrown out before he had a chance to see Batman and Manhunter.
Swallowing the taste of his pulse fluttering in his mouth, Richie tried to regulate his breathing. He smiled at many of the nurses who were more interested in their patients than him and greeted the few Defenders who waved at him. For the most part, though, the fair-skinned male made his way quietly to Batman's room.
One door he passed had Beast Boy, who was still laid up with burns, playing a 'quiet' game of checkers with Aqualad.
Another room had Green Arrow snoring as he slept, his leg held up in traction.
Finally, Richie reached Batman's room. Looking around, the blond found himself somewhat anxious and reluctant to knock on the door. What if Static had gotten himself out of trouble already? Maybe he was on his way back? On the other hand, what if he didn't report this and Virgil wound up dead?
There really wasn't any question to where Richie's priorities were. Biting his lower lip, the bespectacled youth knocked on the door. There was a moment's pause before the doors slid open and a deep, familiar voice called out, "Come in."
Shaking slightly, Richie entered the room, feeling the light gust of wind as the doors closed behind him. Without waiting for a greeting or for fear to completely rob him of his senses, the young Chosen blurted out, "Virgil's been captured, and The Breed are auctioning him off on a knock-off Home Shopping Network!"
"What?" Bruce asked sharply and then winced in pain at the sudden move.
As silent as shadows, J'onn moved to assist the still injured Defender, propping him up. It seemed that the major battle of a few weeks ago had re-opened other injuries the Night Terror had collected.
"What do you mean Virgil's been captured?" the dark-haired male repeated harshly, seeming to almost ignore the help.
Taken aback by the cold demeanor that his quasi-employer had taken on, Richie began to babble, hoping that what he was saying was making sense. "I was monitoring all the channels in and out of the Fortress like you told me to do as I was working on some of my pet projects, but I while I did that, I was also listening to the Dakota P.D., trying to see what was going on in my home town. Nothing out of the ordinary, ya know, and after a while it was getting pretty tiring--"
"Get to the point," Bruce cut in, irritation in his voice.
"They've got Static."
Bruce and J'onn both blinked at the out of breath teen for a moment, and then looked at each other. J'onn was the first to ask, "Who?"
"The Breed."
"The who?"
"They're the local meta-human gang who trouble Dakota," Bruce clarified for his green companion. "How do you know they have him?"
"I intercepted a pirate satellite feed where they were auctioning him off."
"Do you have proof?"
"Yeah, I got Backpack to record it, while he searched for any replies to the feed," Richie nodded.
"Backpack?" asked J'onn.
"A pet project," shrugged Richie.
"To go along with all your other pet projects?" Bruce almost smiled.
Shifting where he stood, the blond crossed his arms over his chest and frowned a bit. "Idle hands, ya know."
Getting back to business, the Night Terror inquired, "Did they say where they were holding Static, or where the exchange was going to be made?"
"No. But, I am trying to trace the signal, as well as all the signals replying to it."
"I want to see the recording."
After that, it was all a matter of routing the information securely to a computer in the room. Using their combined skills, it took very little time to triangulate from where the feed came. By the time the three males were able to understand the who, what, when, and where, many of the responding signals were tapering off, showing the bidding was nearing an end.
"He's been planning this for a while. Some of this footage is old," Bruce remarked, noticing small variations to Static's attire and fighting style throughout the small bit.
"If the leader of the Breed--," J'onn began.
Richie answered without looking up from the map of from where they thought the signal came. "Ebon."
"If Ebon is able, he will get rid of Static tonight."
"From what I remember of his file, Ebon manipulates shadows, including transportation through them," Bruce nodded. "He'll get Static off his hands as soon as he's sure the money has cleared."
"Oh, shit," Richie whimpered.
Blue eyes narrowed with concentration as Bruce began to formulate a plan. "First, how familiar are you with this area of Dakota?"
"Who? Me?" the Chosen asked. "I grew up not a block away from there, in a rat infested trailer. I'd say I know it pretty damn well."
"Including this address?"
"Sure, it's an old warehouse. Used to belong to a mega-corporation, but it went under soon after the Big Bang."
The two Defenders shared another look, and then Bruce reached over to a small controller on his bed. "Alfred, would you please come to the Medical Center. We have a development."
"Of course, sir," came the soft reply.
"Richard, how many of your 'pet projects' have you completed?"
"Well, there's Backpack, some coil-traps, some electric-grenades, a pair of booster-rocket skates that work fairly well, a bunch of other experimental grenades," the young inventor rattled off. "There's also the things I made for Virgil, but he's got those on him. Why?"
"Have you experimented with using any of your new gadgets?"
"Sure. There wasn't any one else around who was available. And I'm kind of into the 'instant gratification' when it comes to my experiments. I like to know as soon as they're done if they work or not."
"Are you any good at them?"
J'onn gasped. "You cannot be serious!"
"I am."
"Huh?" Richie asked, his mind missing the obvious connection. Instead, he answered the earlier question. "I can usually hit the targets I'm aiming for. Usually."
Bruce nodded, though the Martian looked distinctly displeased. Before anything more could be said, a new figure entered the room.
"Master Bruce, I got here as soon as I could," Alfred said, by way of greeting them all. "What seems to be the issue?"
"Alfred, I need you to take Richard and get him an outfit."
"An outfit, sir?"
"Yes. Tonight he's going to be going down to Dakota. Take him by the lab to gather all of his tools, and then take him to get some form of disguise that will allow him to use all of the gear he's going to be wearing."
"What!" Richie asked, his voice rising to a noticeable squeak. "But I'm a Chosen! Not a Defender!"
"Most of my Chosen have gone on to become Defenders. This is no different," Bruce informed him. "And you won't be going out alone. You'll need a team for this, but make no mistake, you'll be in charge of your team. You're the one with the most knowledge about the location, and potential threats, if not the fighting."
"But--"
"Go. You're wasting time," ordered Bruce. "And while you're getting ready, I'll gather your team."
Warily, Richie followed the other Chosen out of the room, an entirely new brand of fear creeping into his thoughts.
-oOo-
Talon walked in to the main room, still a little high on adrenaline, and noticed that the only one who seemed to not be in good spirits was Carmen. The bestial meta-human sat back in a chair, an ice pack over his head and one leg propped up. It seemed that he'd been injured in the fight with Static, and therefore hadn't been able to be there when the final takedown occurred.
The takedown... That one, brief, glorious moment. It lasted less than ten minutes, but...it was everything. It was their shining moment, their declaration to the world that they, The Breed, were a forced to be noticed and acknowledged.
The evidence of their victory was 'lounging' unconscious in the corner. Puff with her knockout-gas breath, and Maria with her near ritualistic baths, insured that Static remained unconscious for the usual celebration that happened any time there was an Auction. They had originally thought to put Static in the bathroom but had decided against it. Everyone wanted to see their captured trophy. Plus! In case the Defenders, by some miracle, thought to come after the powerless guardian, they would all be ready to make sure that they got their butts handed to them. Again.
Normally, she would be behind the turntables, enjoying the chance to show off skills that had nothing to do with any kind of mutation, but tonight, Kangorr was trying his hand. From out of nowhere, Shiv arrived, grabbing her hand and dragging her out onto the dance floor.
"Have you gone loco?" the yellow-feathered female asked as the purple-haired male spun with her into the mix of bodies.
"Gone loco?" Shiv laughed. "Babe, we're all a little mad here!"
"Ain't that the truth!" Talon smiled. They still had time before the final bid came in. But even after the transaction occurred, the feathered female knew that the celebration wasn't going to end. Shaking her head, Talon began to move with the music, dancing along side other members of her makeshift family, trying to shake away the responsible nature to which she usually clung.
-oOo-
J'onn crossed his arms as Bruce watched each individual in the room, assessing them in a calculative way that was as notorious as it was necessary. The plan was simple. There were going to be two teams: one for a stealth strike to retrieve Static and a back-up team in case the first team needed rescuing.
This was, after all, more than a rescue mission. It was also a test.
However, there were some in the room who were questioning Bruce's choices and ideas. Sadly, the reasons were entirely personal.
"Are you sure you want Richie in charge of us -just- because he knows the area?" Black Canary and Speedy regarded Nightwing with cautious curiosity as the dark-haired male bit out, "Sure it's not for some other reason?"
Raven, Cyborg, and Supergirl stepped as far away from Nightwing and Bruce as they could get while still being in the room, grateful that they were not on the first team with the former Chosen. They were on the second team, the smash-'n-grab team, with Flash and Green Lantern. Their team leader was Green Lantern, of course, so they were very comfortable with the set-up. Even so, they could understand some of Nightwing's hesitation.
Not only was Richie a completely untried Defender with no training and without even a clue as to where he really was, in a space station rather than a Fortress somewhere on Earth, but also, there were the rumors that Richie was also sleeping with Batman. If the rumors were true, then there were all kinds of complications.
If Bruce was sleeping with someone else's Chosen, without permission, then the great Night Terror would be in violation of rules. However, if said Chosen were to be killed and the other Defender were to die as well, then Batman would have nothing about which to worry.
On the other hand, Richie was ideally suited for this mission, knowing the location, potential problems, and the inherent danger that would be surrounding both teams.
"I want this done fast, and I want it done well," Bruce answered coldly. "If you have a problem with this assignment, you don't have to go. I'll get someone else."
"He's inexperienced."
"So were you."
"Yeah. So was I," Nightwing retorted, though it was obvious that there was something else being said in his answer.
Before anything else could be said, the young man in question entered the room, following Alfred.
Richie was wearing green and white, something that was obviously going to attract some attention. His helmet was a basic skating helmet with a green visor over it. On his back, he wore what looked to be a small metal dome. Spanning over his chest were two rows of cylinder-like grenades. There were white kneepads, elbow pads, and shin guards, as well as gloves. And on his feet, he was wearing his skates. All in all, he looked like he was going out to a skate park, rather than to rescue his friend. No one was going to say anything though, even if Supergirl and Speedy were quietly smirking at his attire. It wasn't the strangest garb, but it was still amusing.
"Are you ready?" asked Bruce the young blond.
"I've got all my gear," Richie replied before he looked around the room at the gathered Defenders. When his eyes came upon Flash and Green Lantern, standing together and off in a corner, the young man blushed scarlet and dropped his gaze, unable to even look at the two.
"All right. There are going to be two teams. The first is going to attempt retrieval using stealth. The second team is there in case the first team needs rescuing as well. You'll be in charge of the first team, which consists of Black Canary, Speedy, Nightwing, and J'onn." Bruce informed the young inventor. "Any questions?"
Richie opened his mouth, intending to ask why didn't one of the others lead the team, but then decided against it. If he had any questions, he knew he'd ask one of the others. That was for what they were there. A good leader listens to his people, after all. Instead, he merely asked, "Is that it? That's the plan? Just throw us out there and see what happens?"
"We don't have enough information for a more concrete plan," Green Lantern stated. He tilted his head to the side as Richie looked at him and then quickly looked away.
Knowing that the situation he was in was only going to get more uncomfortable the longer they delayed, Richie sighed. "All right then. When do we leave?"
"Now."
"If you'll follow me," Alfred motioned. The others filed out of the room, some with more enthusiasm than others.
J'onn was last to leave, reluctant for his own reasons. He'd spent a great deal of time over the past two weeks with Bruce, and he was unsure how to interpret this change in their...friendship. Bruce had always avoided him before, but the past two weeks had allowed them the opportunity to talk and to understand each other. But J'onn knew that as soon as he walked out the door, their relationship was going to change again.
Still, there was nothing he could do about it. Before he left the room, though, Bruce spoke up. "J'onn. Good luck."
The Martian looked over his shoulder at the bedridden male, locking eyes with him. He didn't try to read Bruce's mind, though there was a silent understanding between them that if he wanted to at that moment, he could. Instead, he merely nodded.
There never was any going back. Not for any one or anything. And especially not for any of them.
-oOo-
The problem with flying while trapped within enclosed spaces was that there was no wind to provide that extra bit of lift needed to get any kind of altitude. That did not stop Talon from spreading her wings and gliding around the metal catwalks and beams that laced through the upper levels of the warehouse.
Flapping her wings to brake, Talon came to rest on top of one of the central beams overlooking the storage facility.
Who would have suspected that such a rattrap held so many powerful beings, one of which was an ever-so important Defender?
Said hero was directly below her: chained up, unconscious, hog-tied, sopping wet, and gag tied in his mouth to prevent him from making his usual smart-ass comments should he awaken. Talon had volunteered to be the emergency alarm, just in case someone tried to sneak in. It wasn't like they were really expecting anyone, but they were still going to stand guard just in case anyone was tried to steal their precious cargo.
Off in the corner, near one of the exits, she could see Puff and Onyx were amusing themselves with some kind of game to which only those two knew the rules. Turning her head the other direction, she could see Shiv juggling small, glowing objects, which were probably knives or something similar.
It was just as well that it was just them. The more people there this late at night, the more attention they would have drawn to themselves. As it was, Ebon had to take an injured Carmendillo back to the tunnels, where he could get patched up. As soon as he found someone to drop Carmen off with, he was going to return to the warehouse. Granted, with everyone else partying, who knew if any of them were capable of providing first aid. 'Probably rowdier than midnight at Mardi Gras...' Talon thought, though she had neither been to Mardi Gras, nor had she known anyone who had. But she'd heard stories. One thing she knew for sure, there weren't going to be a lot of sober people in the morning.
A gurgling from below caught Talon's attention, and the golden feathered female looked down.
"Man, I don't see why we have to be here in this filthy place." Aquamaria groused. "I'd much prefer to be back in the tunnels."
"You do realize that the tunnels are part of the sewer system, right?" Talon asked rhetorically. She finished by fluffing her feathers. "They're cleaner than this place. This place is just less familiar."
"You can't tell me you're comfortable here."
"Then I won't." The avian meta-human retorted. "It's just that to me, walls are walls. They're all confining. And they all offer a place to hide from humans."
To that, the liquid female had nothing to say. They both knew that the real reason Maria didn't want to be there was because if she were back in the tunnels, she could be in her room, staring at pictures of her and Hotstreak.
"Who do you think is going to want to buy him?" Maria tilted her head quickly, indicated the curled up form of Static.
Talon grinned as she fluttered to a different beam. "I'm thinking either Alva or Lex Corp. They're both got a lot of money and a lot of muscle. They'll be able to keep him in line."
"I've got money riding on the North Koreans. They're in the market for cheap energy."
"Where'd you hear that?"
"The news."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah," Maria nodded, flinging an arm out to lash the still unconscious Defender with another stream of water. "I wanted to take my mind of my problems, so I started flipping through the channels. Ended up on one of those 24-hour news channels. Watched that for a while... It's something Hotstreak told me about. Bookies do it when they're going to lay odds for a game. Find out everything you can about the players. What they had for dinner the night before, how their relationships are going, when was the last time they were home. Personal stuff. That way, you know their state of mind going into a game. I figure, if you know the buyers, then you know who has more desire, resources, and overall ability to get."
"And so, your first guess is North Korea?"
"Yep," came the slightly bubbling response, "but, just in case, I've also got a spot of money riding on Alva."
"Hedging your bets?"
"Nah, just figure I'd put in something for Francis," Maria replied with a shrug. After another less than subtle pause, she continued, "Ya know what? Ebon says that he thinks Poison Ivy would like to employ me. And that for the most part, I wouldn't have to fight, just have to help her take care of her garden."
"Aren't Poison Ivy and Two Face ex-lovers?"
"Yeah... But it would get me out of Dakota."
"True. And there's always the chance that mortal enemies can work together for the greater purpose," Talon agreed, half-heartedly. "Like taking down the Defenders."
"Exactly." Maria smiled. "I mean, we've already taken one down."
-o0o-
Batman was a bastard. And apparently did some heavy drugs.
That was the only conclusion Richie could come up with as he and his band of less than merry Defenders moved through the darkened alleys, trying to find the one, specific storehouse where the Breed was hopefully still hiding Static. It seemed that the location of the transmission was not the actual location of the warehouse. Piracy at its best was piracy when no one knew.
"I thought you knew this area," Nightwing hissed as they crept through the shadows.
"I do," replied Richie, trying to bite back the urge to turn around and smack the other male. He had no idea what he had done to piss the former Robin off, but whatever it was, he wasn't as sorry as he was irritated. "But while I know the area, I don't know the layout of the inside of each of these warehouses to match with what was seen on the broadcast."
"How many of them are there around here?" Speedy asked, practically throwing himself into the conversation. The tension between the two former Chosen was thick enough to cut with a spoon.
"There are only fifteen in the area we need to search," Richie stated, giving an inward sigh, "seven of which we've already covered."
"We have?" Black Canary asked, somewhat surprised. As far as she had been aware, they'd only been walking by the large storehouses. Maybe there was more to the kid in front of her than she first assumed. Then again, maybe not. One brief glimpse of brilliance did not make a genius. One act of kindness did not make a saint. And one day of being a hero did not make one a Defender.
"I've been scanning them for heat signatures of any kind," the bespectacled youth grinned. "None of the dock workers around here work at night, at least not since the Big Bang. It's too dangerous. None of the worker's unions will allow for it, and they usually have the barest skeleton security crew working."
"And you know this because...?" Speedy pressed, curious.
"My dad is a dock-worker. Or was. Whatever," Richie stumbled as he tried to avoid going into too much detail about his life before becoming a Chosen. "Anyway, I know a bit about this area because of that."
"Do you have any idea who we might be going up against?" asked Nightwing, breaking into the conversation once again.
"Not right now, but I do know it's The Breed, and they are usually bad news," said Richie as he analyzed the readings on the next warehouse.
"Maybe, but I don't feel like overestimating a bunch of enhanced teenagers."
"Funny, I imagine there are quite a number of criminals that think the same thing about the Teen Titans and any number of Robins that there've been," Richie shot back calmly.
"Niiiice," Speedy hissed.
At that moment, J'onn materialized among them, his eyes glowing in the shadows between buildings. "I have just spoken with Supergirl and Green Lantern. They say that the area is secure for whenever we are ready to proceed."
"Now, all we need is a target," Black Canary smiled.
"Target acquired," answered Richie. "Two buildings ahead of us. Several heat signatures, but that doesn't mean anything."
"Then why have you been scanning for them?"
"Because there are very few Bang Babies that -don't- give off heat signatures, even cold spots, but they're -all- affiliated with The Breed. However, most of the Breed's highest officers, as well as the majority of their group, all give off heat signatures," Richie detailed as he glanced towards J'onn. "And they all have thought patterns."
The alien smirked slightly as he raised one hand to his forehead, bracing himself for what he was about to endure. Human minds, especially young, altered human, minds were often a bit...trying. "I detect...five people there, plus Static."
"You can sense Static?" Speedy asked, surprised.
"He is alive, but unconscious."
"All right then, we should--"
"Follow Richie," Nightwing broke in.
All eyes turned to look at the former bat-protégé, and then to Richie, who was blushing behind his green visor.
"Uh, okay, then. Stop me if you've heard this one before..."
-o0o-
As far as Shiv was concerned, dirt had a distinctive smell. He couldn't differentiate all the different types of dirt, like Carmen or Ferret, but he knew that dirt smelt different from metal shavings or sawdust. It smelled...colder. And it usually smelled either wet or dry, depending.
For instance, even though he sat in a warehouse, surrounded by all kinds of metal objects, packing material, oil, grime, and the bay not to far off, Shiv knew he could smell the scent of soil coming from one of the crates. Potting soil, to be precise. Wet, clumpy, and sticky potting soil. He hated that smell. He much preferred the stench of his home or the smell of spilt blood, as long as it wasn't his of course.
Be that as it may, Shiv did his best to ignore it, just as he did the more mundane sounds he heard from inside and outside of the warehouse. The waves crashing up against the docks. The freeway that ran close to the warehouse district. Some homeless family's loud and hungry infant. And the distilled sounds of conversation from the others.
Not that he was lonely or anything, but he kind of wished that someone would come over and talk with him, too. 'Kind of' in that way that some girls got 'kind of' pregnant or something.
To occupy himself while he waited for something to either happen or to be called back, Shiv began to play with a couple tennis balls that he brought with him, just in case. He still had Static's little shield thingy tucked away in an inside pocket, but he didn't bother pulling that out. Not yet at least. He wanted to make sure that he was going to have privacy and time when he finally got around to playing with it. The purple-haired meta-human began tossing the three yellow-ish balls into the air. He'd wanted time to practice his juggling skills, and this was as good as any.
As focused as he needed to be on that task, Shiv still found himself distracted.
Dismissing the sounds of cars passing on a near-by freeway, and the occasional plane flying overhead were no problem. However, the sound of something metal clattering to the ground inside the warehouse, when there weren't any other sounds from the general area was something else entirely. Looking around, Shiv tried to spot a golden feather or some other sign that Talon was fooling around with him. When he heard, rather than saw, the female still talking with Aquamaria, he figured it was going to be up to him to check it out.
Being as quiet as he could be, the meta-human slipped into the multitude of shadows between the boxes. The ladder to the upper level, as opposed to the stairs, wasn't too far away, and unless there was someone other than Talon already up on the catwalks and high beams, Shiv knew that no one would spot him getting to the higher level.
As he climbed the metal rungs, the young man realized that for him, speed and stealth were mutually exclusive ideas, and he had to choose one or the other. In this instance, he chose speed while trying to keep his racket as low-key as possible.
Which, it turned out, was a good thing.
From the top of the ladder, Shiv was able to spot three people whom he knew didn't belong there. One had a bow and arrow, one was a chick in heels, and the last was some long-haired guy. Taking a moment to study the intruders, Shiv felt his heart jump in tempo and location: from his chest to his throat.
How the hell had Speedy, Black Canary, and Nightwing found them? And how had Black Canary gotten up there in those heels without making any noise?
Knowing that to call out would mean detection without doing much good, Shiv figured the best course of action was to actually take action. Being very careful, the purple-haired male climbed up onto the higher level. He knew he'd have to make some kind of noise to alert the others what was going on, but he also knew that once he pounced on their intruders there was going to be more than enough noise to wake the neighborhood. At least he hoped so.
From where he stood, Shiv could see Speedy taking aim, and it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out for whom he was aiming. Talon! Without conscious thought, and frightened beyond belief, Shiv moved. His hands glowed faintly purple as they formed long blades of steel.
His name was Shiv. That's who he was and what he was: a shiv buried in the ribs of his enemies. And he hoped they choked on it.
Talon turned at the sound of a loud crashing noise just in time to feel the feathers of a passing arrow skim her face. Feathers fell to the ground as the avian female took flight in surprise. Below her, Maria was taking action as well, forming a puddle on the ground in the hopes of surprising anyone who might try to steal Static. The arrow continued on its path, unmolested, until it hit an unforgiving surface. Onyx felt the arrow tip explode into a fizzing gunk on his back, but it did nothing more than annoy him.
Even though he managed to distract Speedy and alert the others, Shiv did not beat his opponent. The archer's back-up, Nightwing, quickly took out the attacking male, though he did get a bloody scratch for his efforts. Purple light faded as Shiv's hands returned to normal, even as the meta-human fell from the scaffolding. Talon arrived just in time to catch the purple-haired Bang Baby in mid-fall and glide him to a safer landing.
If their intruders had a plan when they entered the building, Talon hoped that it wouldn't last. Street fights, their kind of fights, weren't like the fights on television or in the movies. There was no choreography to it, no sense. It was chaos, everyone reacting and trying to outlast and out-maneuver everyone else.
After taking out Shiv, Nightwing pulled out a grappling rope and threw out the hook. Swinging away from the catwalk, Nightwing had one target in mind: the big, rock-looking Bang Baby. Figuring that Onyx was the muscle of the group, and the one most in need of taking down, it was no wonder that the former protégé of the Night Terror focused on him.
From his vantage point, still hidden in the shadows of the second level beams and catwalks, Speedy was able to see exactly where Nightwing was headed, and the fact that it was going to take more than one of them to take the big guy down. He notched another arrow and took aim. It was no wonder then, that he was completely blind-sided by a strange mist that formed around him, smelling of sulfur and...something else.
Black Canary jumped from the high beam she was standing on to one of the crates below her. She had an idea where Static was, and that was her destination. Using the momentum of falling to spring her forward, the blond Defender moved as fluidly as an acrobat towards the center of the complex, moving far too fast to notice that some of the shadows did not react to her actions as they should have.
Aquamaria had no idea who was attacking, specifically, though she figured it had to be some of the other Defenders, and she had no idea how many people were involved. That didn't matter, though. What did matter was taking care of business. That was all that ever mattered. So, when Black Canary landed just inside the make-shift walls surrounding Static and herself, the liquid female knew she had to take her time and be cautious. They might have taken down one Defender, but they had known a lot more about him than about the others.
Black Canary checked the scene, using her eyes as well as her ears. The only sounds she heard were Static's labored breathing as he struggled to stay alive, fighting in the distance, and her heart beat bouncing around in her ears. From what Richie had said, these Bang Babies were tricky. Then again, this was coming from someone she suspected had a healthy fear of just about everyone kicking his ass. She knew that one of the ways to render Static impotent was to get him wet, so she figured that must be the reason for so much water on the ground. Taking a deep breath, the fishnet wearing Defender stepped forward, barely concerned with how wet the ground underfoot was.
From out of nowhere, a hard uppercut knocked the blond female off her feet and sent her flying back into the hard wood of a nearby crate. Blinking stars from her eyes, the blond female gathered her wits around her again. Standing before her, as much as a pillar of water could 'stand', was a young woman, looking none too pleased to see her. "Hola, Senora Canary."
Blue eyes widened as Aquamaria raised one hand and pointed at her adversary. Using her powers to send a stream of water out, the transfigured young woman wrapped her enlarged fist around the blond's head.
Drowning took time, but not that much time. Maybe a minute.
The liquid female had never taken delight in inflicting harm on others, but when it came to the Defenders, she couldn't help but feel that they deserved it somehow. She tried to remain detached as the blond woman struggled, trying to pry liquid fingers and hands away from her face. Such desperation. It was so strange to see one of the adult Defenders so...helpless.
As defenseless as Black Canary seemed, she was not without resources. Or, in this case, allies. An arrow flew down from the red-haired archer, an accidental shot that did a lot of good for his fellow hero, as the arrow was filled with a gelatin.
"What's a matter, ya wanna-be Robin Hood? Or you just wanna be Robin?" Puff sneered as she flew around the quick youth.
"Who says I want to be someone other than who I am?" Coughing, and trying to dodge what he suspected was a very toxic cloud of fumes, Speedy continued, "After all, I'm the best at what I do."
"Oh, please. You know, the problem with you Defender-types is that you guys take luck as a sign of being good. You're not."
"The same could be said for you, ya know," the red-head retorted as he shot off another arrow. He knew he was better than this, but it was hard to fight an opponent that didn't have a solid or even liquid form. He was much better suited to fight someone like the water-girl down below. After all, he hadn't sparred with Aqualad all those hours for nothing. As yet another arrow flew from his bow, the blasted thing melting as it passed through the girl, the young archer figured if he had any kind of luck on this night, it was all bad.
Onyx growled low as something sharp stung him, but he didn't pay it too much attention. Instead, he focused on trying to grab the little man in front of him who refused to stand still long enough for either of them to attempt to cause any kind of damage to the other.
Nightwing bounced from the floor to the wall of a crate. Using the firm wood as a spring board, the purely human male pushed off of that and tried to kick Onyx in the head. Instead of his foot connecting with facial features, it was caught in a bone-breaking grip that caused the long-haired male to yelp in sudden pain.
As far as plans went, the lone member of the Bat family had to admit that Richie's was simple and straightforward. Find out who they were up against, try to either neutralize them or avoid them if possible, and sneak Static out. Simple. Those with the best stealth and fighting abilities go in first. J'onn would sneak in from the front while Richie would climb in after the others and go find Static if they hadn't broadcasted the all-clear signal.
That way, the less experienced person stayed out of the fray, and the more experienced people could do what they did best.
Of course, there was a part of Nightwing that suspected that Richie knew what they were all up against, but due to his earlier comments, had kept it from them. It was cruel, but justifiable.
Nightwing was thrown down, hard, against the concrete floor, and took notice not only of the pain but that something broke inside of him. A lot of somethings in fact. There was a scream that ripped through the warehouse, and for a moment, he wondered if he'd been the cause.
Aquamaria howled as she was forcibly turning solid. It -hurt-! It actually -hurt-! So distracted by this almost forgotten sensation, the meta-human released her prey. Black Canary fell to the ground, choking out water. Her stomach rebelled as well, and she threw up everything in her stomach. Sopping wet strands of blond hair fell forward as she emptied her system, and in that moment, Black Canary realized something. She was afraid.
She'd almost died!
Raising her head, Black Canary set her sights on the slowly hardening figure in front of her, blond locks falling in her eyes. Turning her fear to anger was no problem. Controlling that anger could be. Using her sonic vocals, Black Canary screamed at the Bang Baby, "Bitch!"
The pieces of Maria's body that had become solid shattered, even as the rest of the girl seemed to explode like a busted water balloon.
The blond Defender smiled grimly. Maybe there was more to these kids than she'd first suspected, but she knew that there was no substitute for experience.
That was Black Canary's last thought as a much louder, much closer, much angrier sonic shriek from behind sent the high-heeled Defender forward at a bone crushing speed, straight into the unforgiving surface of a nearby support beam. As the blond woman fell to the ground, small trickles of blood came from both her ears, the first evidence of her busted eardrums.
For Talon, her smile was more like a baring of teeth than anything else. She waited for the blond to get up; if she'd learned nothing else from all the stories about the Defenders, she knew that they never stayed down for long. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw one of the shadows along the wall spiral towards her. Backing up a step, so that she was able to observe both the shadow and the fallen woman, Talon became even more wary.
Fortunately, it was only Ebon. "What the hell is going on?"
"Defenders found us," Talon replied, glancing over to the still huddled form of Static. Praise be to whatever was looking out for them tonight because that little problem child was still unconscious. "Shiv is down for the count, and Onyx is taking care of Nightwing. But I don't know for how long. These are Big Time Defenders. We gotta get outta here!"
Ebon nodded his shadowed head. "You get Static out of here. I'll fetch the others."
"Not so fast, Ebon!" a new voice called out. Ebon and Talon turned in unison towards the stranger.
Of all the sights that they expected, a skater punk was not on their list.
Talon took to the air as the boy in green and white threw a strange canister towards them. The avian female expected it to be a gas-grenade, and knew that she needed to get out of its way before it put her out. Strangely enough, gas did not expel from the canister. Instead, a dozen metal tentacles did, each one grabbing at Ebon, wrapping around him as if to encase him in a cocoon of metal limbs. The shadowed shape-shifter was having none of it, though, and slipped through the arms like water through a sieve. However adept he was at escaping the encapsulated tentacles, there was another threat on which he hadn't counted.
Talon called out in surprise as, rising out of the floor, a new figure joined the fray. Coming out of the woodwork took on an entirely new, frightening definition as the two Meta Breed members saw their newest opponent. The Martian Manhunter stood tall, his arms crossed, as he blocked Ebon's rush attack towards the young skater boy.
From her vantage point, above the fray of the two shape shifters, but below the level of the catwalks, Talon saw out of her peripheral vision a figure tumbling from the catwalks down to the ground floor. Turning quickly, she saw that it was only Speedy, having lost his battle with Puff. It was time to call for a retreat. "Puff, Onyx! Get Shiv and get out! More Defenders are arriving!"
Even though Puff was not fluent in Spanish, or any language other than English for that matter, she got the general impression. She gave a thumbs-up sign as she headed over to Shiv. On the other side of the warehouse, a loud crash caused the entire building to shake. Looking over in that direction, Talon could see a portion of the wall was gone, and Onyx was stepping out into the night.
Since the others were taken care of, or at least close to it, Talon knew it was her responsibility to get Static out of there as well.
Unfortunately, someone was trying to beat her to him.
Richie knelt down by Static, checking his throat for a pulse to see how badly damaged he was. 'Shitshitshit! This is not good. This is so not good.' He understood, probably better than just about everyone else, how dangerous a situation this was. Not only was Static out for the count, but he had heard Speedy go down as well, Black Canary wasn't moving, and there was no word from Nightwing. Not to mention Ebon was there, twisting and turning through air like a dragon made of liquid shadows, only kept in check by the equally disturbing draconian figure of J'onn.
And his hands were shaking, which wasn't helping him check Static's vitals at all.
The young man knew that there was a back-up team waiting for the signal. A part of him hated the idea of having to call for them. It hurt his pride. It was a sign that he couldn't handle himself, and that he was a failure. At the same time, things weren't looking good.
"He's alive, amigo. Which is more than I can say for you." Talon told him, her voice and demeanor hardened by what she'd already done and what she was going to do.
Richie looked up just in time to get hit full force by a sonic blast.
Pain wasn't a stranger to the blond youth, but each introduction to the element was always a reminder of why Richie tried to avoid it. And it was an interesting discovery to note that his body actually bounced off of wood. 'Yeah, so not good.' Raising two fingers to the side of his helmet, Richie made the call.
Then he stood up on shaking legs and tried to rejoin the fight. If nothing else, he was going to get Virgil out of there.