"We gotta go," Johnathan muttered.
It was so silent that Airen almost missed it.
"Yeah, of course, go." She said. He turned and looked at her. She smiled up at him encouragingly then pushed gently on his arm telling him to go. He had a job to do. He was needed.
"Go, go." She said moving aside so he could get through. There was no time for looking at each other far more tenderly than friends should.
He nodded at her knowing that she understood and took off. Airen glanced back and saw that Violet had also disappeared. Mason, thankfully, was too focused on the tv to notice.
Taking a deep breath Airen turned and refocused on the tv. She felt bad for not going herself, but if she showed up and someone recognized her powers….there would be questions. Lots of questions. And she didn't feel like getting grilled by Batman all night.
A caped figure swooped down from a building and snatched a gun out of one of the thugs' hands. Another figure ran up and apprehended the now emptied-handed thug on the tv. The crowd cheered.
A few minutes later a blackbird swooped down into the fray. It attacked one of the gang member's eyes then transformed into a monkey and crawled over the guy rapidly disarming him. When all of the guy's weapons were on the ground the monkey jumped to the ground, transformed into a donkey, and kicked the guy. The crowd once again cheered.
"Be careful," Airen whispered as she watched the black donkey once again transform, this time into Black Hawke.
A tall figure stood on a ledge of a building watching the chaos below. His black cape blew gently in the wind but he paid it no notice. He was far too focused on following the progress of destruction that the gang left in their wake.
Two figures dropped from the sky and landed on either side of him. The young man on his right crouched to get a better look at the scene below. The young woman on his left remained still and silent partially in the shadows.
"What can we do?" The young man asked.
Batman squinted at the streets below. "Get a debrief from Oracle. She'll tell you where to go from there." He ordered.
"Where will you be?" Black Hawke asked.
Down in the street below a man slipped through the chaos discreetly. He glanced around to make sure that no one was watching then slipped into a building. Batman's frown deepened.
"Following a lead." That was all he said before shooting his grappling hook and swinging away.
"It's not actually two gangs." Oracle began through the com.
"What?" Johnathan said breathlessly. He looked around the battleground to try and locate any of the thugs. He saw some shooting at each other about half a block away. He studied them carefully to see if there were any similarities in their clothing or fighting style that he could distinguish. There weren't.
"The S gang recently absorbed the Chi Street Fighters, and it looks like some of them aren't happy about it." Oracle continued.
After Batman had swung off, Johnathan had seen a thug about to shoot Red Robin in the back. He had flown down and disarmed and knocked out the guy before Oracle had had a chance to begin the debriefing. So now Johnathan stood in the middle of the battleground while Oracle tried to fill him in.
"The Chi Street Fighters huh? The S Gang is getting pretty big." Johnathan observed.
"Actually, they've been big for a while. They just kept their operations underground for the most part, off of the police's radar. They are just becoming bolder and bolder with every gang they absorb." Oracle clarified.
"Trust me, Howie's been on the police's radar," Johnathan grumbled.
"Even so, they haven't been able to catch him because he doesn't leave a paper trail. So far Batman's the only one who has been able to keep track of him."
"Sooo….we're supposed to believe that this whole thing is because some low-level cronies decided that they didn't like the new upper management?" Johnathan asked.
"Bullshit." A new voice came over the comlink.
"Nightwing!" Oracle sounded surprised. "I didn't know you-I thought you retired?" She said confused.
"Thought you might need some help." He sounded angry which probably meant that he didn't want to be there.
"Well, I-hold on." Oracle's end of the link went silent.
Johnathan saw a guy trying to put something under a car nearby. He shifted into a jaguar and ran over. He crept up next to the guy and growled. The guy slid out from under the car and went white when he came nose to nose with the black feline.
Johnathan snarled. The guy tried to sit up but hit his head on the car's undercarriage. After listening to the guy cuss for a minute Johnathan shifted back to himself and grabbed him. After tying the guy to a lamppost a few feet away, he went back to the car to see what he was doing.
Johnathan looked under the car and saw something weird attached to the bottom. Reaching underneath the car Johnathan detached it and pulled it out. In his hand, he held a couple of blocks of C-4 attached to a timer. Thankfully the timer hadn't been activated yet.
Johnathan located the nearest police blockade and handed the bomb off to them. He also informed them where they could find the guy who had been trying to set it off.
Oracle suddenly came back onto the comlink. "The fighting's moving down 6th. Most of the area has already been evacuated but there's a bar that they're having trouble getting people out of. Hawke, you're the closest one, can you…"
"On it." Johnathan started moving toward 6th Street. "Which bar is it?" He asked.
"Hallman's," Oracle said.
Johnathan's blood ran cold. He could already feel the low rumbling of the Beast. He began to run faster.
"Are you sure?" His voice was as hard as steel.
"Yeah, why?" Oracle said.
"Nothing." He replied. But he transformed into the fastest bird he could think of and flapped his wings with all his might. He had lied to Oracle.
Hallman's was the bar where he'd left Airen.
Batman squatted down on the rafter in the ceiling to get a better look at the warehouse below. He had followed the man who had slipped away quietly. The man had made his way through the streets of Gotham to the warehouse district downtown. He had gone to a warehouse on the edge of the district and entered.
Batman had followed the man in and perched himself up in the rafters to watch and see what unfolded. So far, the man had simply sat down in a chair and was waiting on something. Or someone.
"I thought you retired," Batman said quietly as he felt Nightwing approach.
"Babs called. Said you needed help." Nightwing said plainly. He was a lot less cocky and arrogant these days. Ever since she had died, he had changed. Raven had said it best, something inside of him died with her.
"And Melissa?"
"With the kids at a party. I doubt she's noticed that I'm gone."
Batman gave no outward indication of what he was thinking. He didn't like Melissa, something about her was off. But he didn't make his feelings known. Nightwing had made his choices and he was far too old for a lecture.
"What's that he's holding?" Nightwing nodded toward the man Batman had been following. The man clutched a briefcase closely and watched his surroundings nervously.
"Stock market statistics probably," Batman answered. Nightwing merely nodded. Batman clenched his teeth. Normally Nightwing would make a crack about "probably". Batman had said it on purpose just to bait him. But now instead of teasing Batman, Nightwing just sat there focused on the objective.
The guards stationed around the room began moving around and addressing each other. Batman adjusted his position while Nightwing pulled out his escrima sticks.
"Who are we waiting for exactly?" Nightwing asked.
"Howie." Was Batman's only response.
A door at the front of the warehouse opened. A posse of armed guards walked in heavily guarding a single man.
The man was young, in the late twenties probably. He was tall and wore a pair of jeans along with a black leather jacket and a dark t-shirt. He wore black boots and was heavily armed himself. He had brown hair and watery brown eyes.
"Mr. Cabo." The protected man greeted the man holding the briefcase. The man with the case stood and nodded.
"Mr. Noler."
Batman growled in frustration.
"What is it?" Oracle asked over the comlink.
"It's not him," Batman growled.
"Who is it?"
"Jimmy Noler, his enforcer," Batman said.
"Then where is he?"
"Question of the hour."
"Please, Mr. Cabo! Call me Jimmy." Jimmy Noler extended his hand for a handshake. When Cabo accepted Jimmy slapped him on the back and held him there. "Tell me, Mr. Cabo, do you have it?"
Cabo nodded. "Yes sir. I wouldn't have come back if I didn't." Cabo handed Jimmy the briefcase. Jimmy accepted it and handed it off to one of his men. The man took the case over to a nearby table and opened it. Once he checked the inside he turned and nodded to Jimmy.
Jimmy smiled and reached behind his back.
"You shouldn't have come back period Mr. Cabo."
Before Batman or Nightwing could react, Jimmy put a bullet through Cabo's head.
Black Hawke hit the ground running after transforming from a bird to human mid-air. Of course, in his haste and worry, he underestimated the distance between himself and the ground by several feet.
"Shit." He muttered under his breath just before he hit the ground. His landing was hard, the jolt rocketing through his ankles and knees as his momentum carried him forward. He barely missed hitting a police officer and dove into a summersault to avoid crashing into a police barrier. He rolled to a stop and laid on the ground for a moment assessing his injuries.
Several bruises, a few scratches, and definitely a jammed joint or two. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. His mom and Violet had told him time and time again not to do something so stupid, but he never listened. Now he was wishing he had. His whole body ached and groaned as he moved to stand up.
"You okay sir?" The officer he had narrowly missed body slamming moments ago was leaning over the barrier looking down at him.
Black Hawke raised a hand and gave him a thumbs up. "Yup." He muttered weakly.
Black Hawke slowly stood to make sure nothing was broken before giving the officer his full attention.
"What's the situation here officer, ah….."
"Crumpton." The officer said proudly as he stood up straighter and puffed his chest out.
"Crumpton." Black Hawke finished.
"Well sir, as far as we can tell the fighting will be here within the next few minutes. We've been trying to get the street evacuated and clear of people but it's proving difficult."
"How so?"
"Well, sir….ah….there's this problem…." Officer Crumpton looked away sheepishly and shuffled his feet.
Black Hawke put his hands on his hips and looked at Officer Crumpton critically.
"What kind of problem?"
"Well sir there are several drunk civilians in Hallaman's and they don't want to leave."
"They don't want to... then go in there and get them!" Black Hawke said exasperated.
"With all due respect sir, I'm the only one down here. We're very short-handed tonight and I'm the only one-and I couldn't-I don't…." Crumpton looked bewildered.
"Well, then who's in there getting the people out?" Black Hawke asked.
"I don't know sir. I figured that was what you were here for." Black Hawke nodded and patted the man on the shoulder.
"Just keep sending everyone home and make sure they get clear. I'll go in and pull the customers out."
Black Hawke ran into the building, checking the corners as he went to make sure no one was waiting to jump him. The building was quiet and was lit with only a few plain dim, blue-tinted lights. Very different from when he had left less than an hour ago.
The place seemed empty at first. The only evidence that people had been there recently was abandoned drinks on tables, and some knocked over stools.
Someone grunted from a dark corner on the other end of the room. Black Hawke relaxed a little that the sound was male. He made his way over to the source of the noise thanking Azar that Airen was long gone and probably home safe and sound.
When he had nearly reached where the grunt had come from, he heard a soft voice coming from the same area.
"It's okay. We're gonna get you out of here. Come on, let's get you up now." The voice was familiar, kind and smooth, and gentle with just a hint or undertone of an accent he hadn't noticed before.
His heart dropped and he stopped dead in his tracks his pulse racing.
'Airen.'
A moment later Airen emerged from the shadows bracing the weight of a very drunk middle-aged man. She had one of his arms slung over her shoulder and had one of her own arms wrapped around his waist.
Her feet were bare, probably from her kicking off her shoes to better help people. Wisps of blonde hair had come loose from her ponytail and were hanging loosely in her face. Her chocker was gone and her shirt was pulled to where one shoulder was bare, and a bra strap was exposed. Her face was flushed, and she looked tired.
She huffed trying to blow strands of hair out of her eyes and paused when she noticed him. Her eyes went wide, and her mouth formed a small "o" in surprise. They stood there for a moment just studying each other. It wasn't until the drunk and half-unconscious man she was holding grunted again and began falling on her that Black Hawke remembered himself.
He rushed over and lifted the man off of her and adjusted him so that he took the brunt of the man's weight. She took a step back and nodded toward him in thanks.
"Black Hawke, right?" She asked. Her voice sounded different, strained almost, as if she was holding back tears or some other strong emotional reaction. The hint of accent he had noticed earlier was there as well, although slightly stronger this time.
He nodded at her in response to her question. "Yes." He made his voice lower and deeper hoping she wouldn't recognize it. Remembering that she didn't know who he was, he glared at her. "Why are you here? You should have evacuated with the others earlier." He spoke gruffly making his voice sound harsh and stern.
She looked stunned as though he had slapped her in the face. She even took a step back. "I-I was trying to help…." She said quietly.
"You should have gotten yourself to safety. Leave rescuing to the professionals." He snapped. At first, she looked hurt. But then her expression changed into anger.
"Mr. Black Hawke sir?" Officer Crumpton ran in just as Airen was opening her mouth to say something.
"What is it, Crumpton?" Black Hawke snapped.
"Uhh….sorry to interrupt, but the fighting just came onto the street a block down. It'll be here any minute. We need to go now." Crumpton said looking back and forth between Black Hawke and Airen.
"Fine. Take him and get him out of here and to safety. I'll take care of her." Black Hawke ordered.
Crumpton ran over and took the man from Black Hawke and hurried him out the door. When they were gone Black Hawke turned to face Airen.
"Find your shoes. We need to leave." He commanded sternly. Airen glared at him but did as she was told. She turned to face the mess of the room and began scanning the piles of tables and chairs and personal belongings.
While she was doing that, Black Hawke did a full 180, slowly examining every inch of the room. He was looking for any way that the gang members might get in when they did make it this far and any potential exits in case he and Airen got caught in the crossfire.
Airen had just located her first shoe when loud popping noises came from the alley just outside the side door. Airen's head popped up from looking intently through the rubble while Black Hawke's head whipped toward the side door where the noises were coming from.
Shouting could be heard coming from the other side of the door along with more popping sounds. Airen shot him a wild look. Black Hawke began to run toward her when the door was torn apart by bullets. Rapid gunfire destroyed the door handle, including the lock, and the door was kicked open with a loud BOOM.
Black Hawke slide under a table to avoid getting nicked by any of the stray bullets. He looked desperately to where Airen had been standing seconds ago. She had dropped to her stomach on the floor and put her hands over her head.
Sighing in relief, Black Hawke looked back at the door to count the men coming in. About 12 goons stomped into the building, each heavily armed and looking nastier than the last. Black Hawke threw a glance Airen's way. She was staying still but she was still out in the open, exposed, and the men would soon notice her. Right now, they were laughing and joking with each other, but Black Hawke didn't know how long that would last.
"Well, well, well…..what do we have here?" One of them had made their way to the middle of the room and was looking down at Airen.
Not very long as it turned out.
Black Hawke cursed under his breath and shifted to get in a better position to leap out from under the table when there was an opening.
The goon who had noticed Airen slung his rifle over his shoulder and bent down to grab her. He grabbed her ponytail and pulled her up to her knees. Her hands flew up to her head and grabbed his hand. She tried to pry them off of her hair, but her small hands did nothing on his large beefy ones.
They shifted around to face the rest of the room and Black Hawke could see the Airen's face scrunched up in pain and anger. The Beast growled in his head and he had to bite his tongue to keep from snarling himself.
"Hey fellas! Come and lookie here!" The guy shouted to his buddies. He gave no indication that Airen's clawing at his hands bothered him. Black Hawke doubted he even noticed.
"Mighty fine prize you got yourself there Bobby." The others gathered around to look at Airen, effectively blocking Black Hawke's view.
"Mind sharing?" Another one chuckled.
"Only if you pay."
"I don't know about this guys…should we really be doing this? I mean this wasn't part of the plan. What if he finds out and-?"
"And what? Look around, do you see him here? How is he gonna find out?"
"But-"
"But nothing! Even if he was here, he wouldn't care! We got the job done and part of the payment of any job is allowing certain indulgences. This is one of those indulgences."
Black Hawke clenched his teeth. He needed an angle, a line of sight, something so he could attack. He just needed an opening.
"Think she'll be any good?"
"Oh, she'll definitely give the others a run for their money." They all laughed.
Black Hawke heard a commotion from where he'd last seen Airen and the guy holding her. Someone yelped then exclaimed, "Bitch!". A sharp sound filled the air and a sudden silence followed. The room seemed to hold its breath for several seconds waiting for something to happen. Black Hawke listened intently and a moment later a soft whimpering noise came to his ears.
"Screw openings. Kill. Now." The Beast roared in his mind. Black Hawke grabbed his head and winced.
'No! No killing. Apprehend, but do not kill.' Black Hawke argued.
The Beast growled. "You are weak. Allow me to take control. I will protect her in ways that you cannot.'
'NO! I am NOT weak! I will save her and I will protect her and I will do it all myself!' Black Hawke yelled back.
"If you are not weak then why is she not ours yet? Tell me, why is she not ours to save? Ours, to protect permanently? Ours, to provide for? Ours, to hold? Ours to mark? Tell me, if you are not weak then why is she not our mate? Why does she not bear our mark?" The Beast taunted him with the very questions he asked himself. Questions that had been keeping him up at night since that night at Lookout Point.
She had been vulnerable with him, opened up to him. She had even allowed him to comfort her, touch her in a much more personal way than any friend ever would. She had even suggested that she had begun to fall in love with him. So why wasn't she theirs'? Why wasn't she his?
'Because she doesn't want to be.' The answer felt like a punch in the gut and a slap to the face all in one. His heart sank and broke all over again as he remembered her panicked and stricken face as she told him she couldn't fall for him. He remembered her look of nervousness and fear as she told him that she didn't want to be anything more than friends. And her look of joy when he had agreed.
'She is not ours because she does not want to be, and we will respect that.' Black Hawke said firmly to the Beast. Even as he told the Beast, he himself had no desire to follow that rule, but he was a playboy, not a disgusting pervert like Charles.
"You are weak and idle-minded. I will take control and she will be ours and I will kill those who dare harm her, starting with those in this room." Black Hawke felt the Beast surge forward and try to take over his body. Black Hawke closed his eyes and fought the Beast back with everything he had in him.
'No! You will not take control and you will NOT force Airen into something that she doesn't want! I won't let you!'
A cry of pain filled the air and Black Hawke realized he'd wasted precious time arguing.
'We don't have time for this. You're not taking over, period!' With that Black Hawke slid himself out from under the table. He pulled out two escrima sticks from the nearly invisible utility belt he carried with him.
Never before had Black Hawke been so thankful for Batman's training. One of the conditions of allowing him and Violet to live/work in Gotham was that they trained with and associated as members of the Bat-Family. That included following the same rules as the Bat Kids when they were out on patrol. One of the many rules was to always carry a utility belt, along with escrima sticks, birdarangs, bo staff, or some other weapon of choice including a backup of some sort.
Black Hawke never used them, he could change into any animal on the planet and several from other planets. But now he was thankful that he carried them with him. The last thing he wanted to do was to shift and give the Beast an opportunity to force his way forward and take control.
As quickly as he could he brought the sticks down on the nearest guy's neck. As soon as the guy went down, he used the opening to jump into the middle of the circle. As he came down for a landing he reached into the belt and pulled out some smoke capsules. He tossed one at each guy and used the smoke and chaos to take out each guy.
He moved quickly and quietly, a jab here, and knock out blow there, and so on. His objective was to get Airen and get out. He needed to disable the goons first to buy them some time, but he was outnumbered and outgunned. He needed to take them out hard and quickly without too much of a fuss.
He slammed a stick into one guy's jaw and shoved a boot into another guy's junk. They both groaned and collapsed on the ground, one unconscious and the other in a ball whimpering for his mother.
The smoke began to clear alerting him that it was time to go. He turned toward the guy who had been holding Airen. Black Hawke had saved him for last, mostly because he wanted to take his time and relish punching his lights out.
The smoke cleared and standing there was the brute named Bobby holding Airen's arm with one hand and a gun with the other. Bobby held the gun in a shaking hand as he pointed it at Airen's head.
"Put down the sticks! Put 'em down or I shoot her!" Bobby's voice shook almost as much as his hand but his grip on Airen was firm. Black Hawke could tell by the wince on her face.
He tried to analyze the situation, look for another option, something other than disarming himself. Bobby seemed suddenly hysterical as if he'd seen a demon or something taking down his buddies instead of Black Hawke. While he was his mother's son, he didn't have her powers or abilities, including turning into a demon. No, he had been forced to battle his father's demons.
"Put 'em down!" Bobby screamed. Seeing no other option, Black Hawke complied.
"Alright, alright. I'm putting them down, see?" He slowly bent and set his sticks on the ground by his feet. He slowly stood back up with his hands raised.
"Kick them away," Bobby ordered.
Black Hawke did as he was told. Bobby seemed to relax just a little once the sticks were out of Black Hawke's reach. Bobby looked around Black Hawke to check on his buddies. To Black Hawke's great relief Bobby lowered the gun from Airen's head.
While Bobby was distracted Black Hawke examined Airen. Her hair was loose from its ponytail and had fallen down around her shoulders. She was on her feet and actively leaning away from Bobby. Her jeans were torn on one of the legs revealing a bloody gash. Blood dripped from the wound down her leg making a stained trail as it went down her ankle and onto the floor.
Black Hawke frowned. With that much blood, he should have smelled it way sooner. He moved his examination to her face to see what else had happened that he had not been aware of. A small trickle of blood dripped from the corner of her mouth and her cheek closest to Bobby was red.
He met her eyes to see if he could get her attention. She was already looking at him but when his eyes met hers she shifted uncomfortably. She didn't like him studying her if he read her body language correctly.
Her eyes shifted to something behind him and grew wide. Her warning was all he got before something suddenly landed on his side. He doubled over gasping for air when someone punched him from the other side. A knife flashed just before he felt the sting of its blade slash on his ribs. Someone slammed their knee into his nose. Someone else swept his legs out from under him.
He landed hard on his shoulder, groaning in pain as he felt it dislocate. A boot swung forward and hit his temple. His vision swam as he fought for consciousness. A sharp ringing in his ears drowned out Airen's scream. Another boot landed in his stomach. He coughed up blood. He squeezed his eyes shut trying to focus. He had to get up, had to get to Airen.
He tensed up expecting another boot to land somewhere on his body, but none did. He opened one eye to see what was going on. Airen had escaped her captor and was currently trying to scratch out the eyes of the guy in between them.
Black Hawke tried to move, to get up and help her, but another kick, this one to his spine, stilled him.
"Enough!" The command rang through the noise and the ringing in Black Hawke's ears.
The room stilled at the simple command, no one daring to move or breathe without permission. Well, except for one person. Small, soft hands gripped his arm. The grip was firm and strong, much stronger than what he would have given her credit for. He blinked his eyes open and tried to focus on the blonde angle before him.
A small soft hand moved from his arm to his face. It was cool and felt soothing. His vision cleared and he was met with beautiful green eyes that were filled with concern. He moved to stand and made it all the way to his feet before the room spun again. Black Hawke was fighting to keep his balance when something small gently pressed into his chest. Arms wrapped around his waist and he suddenly felt more stable.
The room stopped spinning and he looked down to see Airen snuggled into his chest. His heart raced and his chest filled with pride at the sight of her snuggling into his chest. He was suddenly filled with warmth and felt like he could take on the whole S gang by himself and win. She looked up at him and nodded solemnly.
"Are you okay?" She whispered.
"Yes." He whispered back. She slipped her arms out from behind him and stepped away slightly. She still stayed next to him, even put his arm over her shoulders, but still kept some space between them.
His heart fell and he tried not to look too disappointed. Of course, she had only done that to support him. She didn't even know who he was under the mask, to her Johnathan Logan and Black Hawke were two different people. If she was going to be snuggling into anyone's chest it should be Johnathan's. A wave of jealousy suddenly washed over him. She couldn't fall for Johnathan, but she could snuggle into Black Hawke's chest? How dare she!
Two seconds later it hit him. She'd only snuggled into his chest to help him stand and to support him while he was unstable on his feet. And she had done it in a way that looked like she was scared and looking for comfort. So that she didn't tip off the bad guys how badly injured he really was. She wasn't trying to lead Black Hawke on. She was a genius!
"What's going on?" A cool voice from the second-floor balcony said. Black Hawke had nearly forgotten about the person who had put an end to the chaos. Suddenly realizing that he was unaware of his surroundings, Black Hawke did a quick overview of the room.
All but two of the goons were on the floor silent and still, including Bobby. One of the two still standing had nail marks on his arms and face and was bleeding from several of them. One of his arms hung limply by his side already beginning to swell and turn blue. Black Hawke blinked trying to think of who could have done so much damage in so little time. He looked up to the balcony half expecting to see Batman.
Instead of Batman, Black Hawke saw a short, broad-shouldered man. He stood gripping the railing of the balcony. He was flanked by two beefy-looking bodyguards in black. The man himself wore a white suit with a matching fedora. In one hand he held a cane with a gold top and in his mouth was a lit cigar.
"Howie." Black Hawke growled.
The man puffed the cigar before taking it out to speak. "It's nice to see you too Black Hawke. Although I gotta say, you being so rough with my men really does put a damper on our relationship."
Black Hawke frowned. "We don't have a relationship, and hate to disappoint, but I didn't do this to your men."
It was Howie's turn to frown. "Then who….?"
"I did."
Everyone in the room looked at Airen in shock. She shifted seemingly uncomfortable with the new attention. She stepped closer to Black Hawke but raised her head in a challenge with a determined and serious look on her face.
"You did?" Black Hawke said surprised. Howie just frowned. "How?!" Black Hawke asked stunned. He looked around the room at the still bodies of Howie's goons. He'd had no idea she could do something like that.
Airen shrugged. "Adrenaline rush." She said it as if it was the most simple and obvious explanation in the world.
The one goon left untouched by Airen's "adrenaline rush" stepped forward, eyeing her cautiously. "Boss, what do you want us to do with them?"
Black Hawke looked back up at Howie, prepared to fight again if it was needed. Howie stood there silently studying them, particularly Airen. He studied her so intently that Airen shifted closer to Black Hawke to the point that she was pressed into his side.
Howie slowly raised his cigar to his mouth and dragged out a long puff of smoke, his eyes never leaving Airen.
Finally, he put down the cigar and spoke.
"Let them go." He said. Immediately his men began to protest.
"But boss…!"
"If we let them go…!"
Howie sent them each a sharp look that silenced them. Focusing back on Airen he continued. "We completed the job. It's done. They are of no interest to us. Plus, the last thing I need right now is a vengeance call from the Bat. So. Let. Them. Go." Howie said sternly.
His men exchanged uneasy looks with each other but didn't move.
"Do I need to repeat myself?" Howie's voice held an edge that Black Hawke didn't like.
"No boss!" Both of the men exclaimed in unison.
"Good, you know how I detest repeating myself." He tapped the end of the cigar against the railing. "Now clean this up."
The men scrambled to do as they were told. Howie looked at Black Hawke. "You may go now."
He didn't need to be told twice.
Airen passed out from blood loss halfway back to the apartment. Black Hawke counted it as a good thing because he needed healing too.
He arrived at her and Violet's apartment at 2 o'clock in the morning. He shifted his grip on Airen as he navigated the hallway. He carried her bridal style trying not to drop her as well as trying to stay upright.
He'd barely made it in front of their door when it suddenly flew open. Violet stood there in a skimpy-looking nightgown and a matching robe. Her hair was a mess and she hadn't put her holo ring back on yet.
"Where the hell…." She took one look at Airen and her words died in her throat.
"Can I come in or do I need an invitation?" He grunted. Violet snapped back to reality and stepped back to allow him in.
"Put her on the couch," Violet instructed as she closed and locked the door. He did as he was told, gently lowering Airen onto the couch. She looked so peaceful with her eyes closed and her chest slowly moving up and down to show that she was breathing.
"What happened?" Violet asked as she looked over Black Hawke's injuries.
"Vi, Vi!"
"What?"
"Robe, please?"
Violet huffed but pulled her robe closed and tied it. "You are such a prude."
"I do not want to see that on my sister, thank you very much."
"Who would you like to see it on?" Violet grinned and raised her eyebrows. He just frowned at her.
"Right, right, not the time. Sorry." She started moving toward him while eyeing his injuries. He stepped back.
"Her first." He commanded. Violet's face twisted into a frown.
"Your injuries are more serious." She said matter of factly.
"Her first or you don't heal me at all." He said sternly.
Violet sighed. "Fine." She sat on the couch next to Airen and began looking at her injuries. "What's with bossy pants tonight?" She teased.
"What bossy pants?"
"You! Usually, you're very calm and laid back but tonight you sweep in here and start barking orders."
"I wasn't barking."
"Were too."
"Was not!"
"You were too."
"Was not! Vi….!"
"Shhh! I need quiet." Violet closed her eyes, got into her meditation position and began to float.
"Of course, you do." Black Hawke grumbled.
"Shhhh!" She hissed. He stuck his tongue out at her and without opening an eye she stuck hers out right back.
"Azarath metrion zinthos….."
