AN: Hope you're all staying safe and healthy. Thank you all so much for your patience and your support. This chapter was a lot of fun to write and I hope you find it as fun a combination of action, anxiety and angst as I do.
This chapter is dedicated to Asilla, happy late birthday and I hope this is enough of a close call for you!
Dick Grayson
Mount Justice
Wednesday, December 29th, 2012
"Robin!" Miss Martian throws herself at me, launching herself through the doorway into my room. "Thank Mars you're still here! I've been trying to reach you for weeks! Why didn't you call me back?"
"I… it's…"
"It's okay." M'gann's eyes glow green and the door shuts itself, locking with a loud click. Without even pausing to take a breath, she says, "That doesn't matter. What's important is that you're here now. Listen, I was wrong. I know what you're planning to do, and you can't! You cannot give yourself up to him, he's a monster! And—"
"M'gann!" I interrupt her before she gets any more frantic. She stops.
"What?"
"It's okay." I hold up my hands, trying to get her to calm down. To show her that I'm calm and everything really is okay.
"What? What's okay?"
"Everything."
M'gann's mouth opens and closes. She shakes her head.
"I don't understand. What do you mean?"
"You were right about what I was planning. A few weeks ago, I said my goodbyes and went to the Haunt expecting that I wouldn't come out again. I confronted Slade. He wasn't expecting it. I caught him off guard so much that he was willing to negotiate. We made a new deal. He's never going to come after you again, or anybody that I care about."
M'gann freezes. The look on her face hardens.
"And what do you have to do?" She asks slowly.
"Nothing new. Renegade is his apprentice. But I get to pass secrets to the Justice League. I can make something good out of all of this."
M'gann stares at me, the look on her face is somewhere between dumbfounded and horrified.
"You can't be serious."
"What do you mean?"
"Dick, this has gone too far. It has to stop."
"It did stop. It's over, M'gann. He's never going to hurt any of you ever again." Before she can say anything, I add, "Or me."
There's a long pause.
"You can't possible believe that." M'gann whispers, disbelief coloring her voice.
"We made a deal."
"He's lying to you." She snaps, voice suddenly hard and tone sharp. I meet her eyes and shake my head.
"No, he's not."
"Do you hear yourself? That's all he's ever done! He's been hurting you and lying to you and using you ever since you met him! Everything he's done has hurt you! Or did you forget that he shot your best friend?!" She snaps. I flinch, but she keeps going. "He's just saying what you want to hear! He wants to turn you into his puppet! Dick, you can't let him! You cannot give in now!"
Blood roars in my ears. My heart pounds so fast that I hear the steady thud-thump in my ears like a drum beat. My face burns and I see red and the sudden swell of fury rises so fast it feels like being set on fire.
"I'm doing this for you!" I shout, throwing my arms out. "He almost killed you! And Wally, and Conner, and he shattered Artemis' knee! I'm doing what I have to so that he'll never hurt any of you again!"
"And you expect me to just sit back and watch him destroy you?! Dick, I have seen what he's done to you. I have stuck with you through everything; I've protected your secrets so many times! I protected you in the mindshare in Bialya, I covered for you when Wolf almost exposed your texts, I was there for you when you broke down because bringing the dimensions together meant bringing Slade back too, I even went to Europe with you to chase a lead could have been a trap for all we knew! You might not realize how much he's gotten inside your head, but I do! He could tell you the sky is brown and you'd find a way to convince yourself it was."
"You're wrong."
"I'm not going to let you do this."
My heart pounds like it's trying to break out of my chest. My mouth feels dry and my hands are trembling.
"People will get hurt if I don't."
"People have already been hurt. People are going to get hurt no matter what you do. You cannot do this. You know you can't."
"It's too late."
"I'm not going to stand by and watch this happen. Dick, enough is enough. Tell the League, or I will."
The world spins.
"You wouldn't." The words fall out of my mouth.
"I am not going to watch my friend be turned into a monster."
The words burn like shards of glass being shoved down my throat. I try to swallow, but I can't around the lump in my throat.
"No." I say, first quietly. Then louder. "No."
M'gann doesn't say anything. The lump in my throat grows when I realize I know how to stop her.
"If you do… I'll…"
"Don't. Dick, don't you dare say it. Not after everything we've been through."
"I'll…" She just watches me, face tightening with betrayal and an endless well of sadness. "I'll tell them you're a White Martian."
All the color drains out of M'gann's face. She shakes her head, but doesn't say anything. I can't make a sound either. She's standing a few inches away, but the distance between us is a chasm that widens with every second; she might as well be on the other side of a canyon. M'gann takes a tiny step back and it hits me what I've just done.
Oh god.
"M'gann, I… I didn't mean—"
"Get out of my way." M'gann's voice shakes, but there's steel behind it. I glance back at the door behind me and hold up my hands shaking my head frantically.
"I… I didn't, I'm sorry, M'gann, I'm sorry. Please, I didn't mean-"
"I said MOVE!" She screams, eyes burning green and the door throws itself open, slamming into the wall with a crash. Numbly, I step to the side and she pushes past me and disappears.
What have I done?
Wally West
Mount Justice
Wally threw up his hands as Megan nearly plowed into him.
His usual greeting of "Hey Megalicious!" died in his throat when he saw her. Her eyes were red and puffy, dried tear tracks lining her cheeks, and her fists were clenched so tightly that her fingers were pale and bloodless.
"What's wrong?" He asked instead. She opened her mouth and immediately burst into tears. Wally put his arms around her and she leaned in, tears soaking the front of his shirt. Wally looked around a little helplessly for any of their other teammates who were way better at comforting people. Kaldur, Zatanna, hell, even Artemis would know what to say, but none of them were here. "What happened?"
Megan didn't answer, she just kept crying.
"Did Conner do something?" He asked, trying to pat her back in a way that was even remotely comforting. "Because if he did, I'll kick his butt, I don't care that he's Kryptonian."
"No." Megan got out between sobs. "No, it's not that it's, I can't…"
Megan gasped suddenly, pulling back out of Wally's grip. She looked at him through blotchy eyes and stared like he was the answer to everything. The change was so sudden it made Wally's heart race; her whole demeanor had instantly changed and even the tears were gone.
"Uh… Meg?"
"You know." She breathed.
"What do I know?" Wally asked cautiously, tilting his head and raising an eyebrow.
"About Robin."
"What…" Wally trailed off, frozen in place. True, there were an infinite number of things she could have been talking about, but he had a horrible feeling sinking in his stomach that she was talking about the worst possible one. "What about him?"
Megan looked around the hall before slowly leaning in. She raised her hands around her mouth and Wally, heart beating so fast it hummed, turned toward her.
"Deathstroke." She breathed, so quietly he could almost convince himself he'd imagined it. Wally pulled back. His eyes were wide with panic and he shook his head.
"We can't talk about this here, Meg. It's not safe."
"Then where?"
"I have a thought." Wally said, tapping his temple in a signal.
'You think he has the cave bugged?!' Megan asked worriedly.
'There's no way to know, but better safe than sorry, right?' Wally shot her a really pathetic attempt at a grin. 'I know you're upset, but I have a plan I've been working on. If you want to hear it, there's an abandoned weigh station near exit twelve coming towards Happy Harbor. Meet me there tomorrow afternoon.'
'Why not now?'
'Because I don't want everyone to know I can run yet and I can't push off my meeting with Canary.'
'You can?!' Megan exclaimed, looking down at the boot on his foot.
"Canary's been trying to get me to talk about S.T.A.R. and she's not going to let me push it back again."Wally grimaced. "Especially after the Failsafe, she thinks I'm in denial or something."
"I forgot about the Failsafe." Megan winced, letting him change the topic. He felt terrible about reminding her of that old wound, but in his defense, they were both distracted.
"I know, right?" Wally managed a grin this time. "I'd kill for something as cut and dry as an alien invasion. No offense."
"None taken." Megan sniffed, rubbing her eyes.
'Tomorrow?' Wally asked over the mind link.
'I'll be there. Thank you.'
'Are you going to be okay until then?'
Megan gave a dry laugh, eyes brimming with tears.
'No. But I have to be.'
Dick Grayson
Wayne Manor
The Batcave is empty when I zeta in. I feel sick as I take off my uniform and trudge upstairs. The study is empty and the room feels impossibly big and imposing. Thomas and Martha Wayne stare down at me from their spot over the fireplace. Thomas' face is stern and I can feel his fury; "How dare you lie to my son? How dare you put my grandchildren in danger?"
Martha's eyes are following me like they always do, but there's sadness on her face. She knows I don't want to do any of this. She knows I don't have a choice.
Bruce and Alfred have told me stories about her. Martha Wayne was a force of nature and a brilliant, scary lady wrapped up in four-inch heels, a string of pearls and impeccable red lipstick. If she was here, maybe she could drag Slade by the ear and get rid of him once and for all.
I drag myself away from the painting and out of the study. Steph is reading a book in the living room, but she looks up when I pass through. All I wanted when I stumbled out of the zeta beam was a shower and my bed, but now even that is more than I can handle. I duck inside the library, staggering onto the couch I usually sit on to do homework. My chest hurts like someone reached in and pulled my heart out. I fucked up. I fucked up so bad.
How could I have said that?! M'gann has been there for me through everything. She's been putting herself in danger to help me for months. She trusted me with her deepest, darkest secret and I just threatened to blackmail her.
My stomach churns and bile rises in my throat. There's a water bottle on the table next to my history textbook and my school laptop. I gulp stale water down and force the nausea away, counting beats to get my heart rate to slow.
I had to.
M'gann wasn't listening to me. She was going to tell the League everything. I can't stop working for Slade; if I do, he'll go after everyone I care about. I hurt M'gann badly, but at least she's alive. At least now, she has to stop and think about how dangerous this is. I know she just wants me to be safe, but it's too late. She can either doom everyone by trying to save me, or she can help me keep everyone else safe. Besides, she's wrong. This new deal is good. I get to help the League and pass information. Just because M'gann thinks Slade is evil doesn't mean she's right about this. I can help the League this way.
Bruce still doesn't trust me about Selina.
The thought hits me like a punch in the gut and M'gann's words echo in my head.
He's been hurting you and lying to you and using you ever since you met him. Lying is all he's ever done. You might not know how much he's gotten inside your head, but I do.
No. She has to be wrong. Bruce just doesn't want to believe Selina could be the mole; he's just not willing to listen. That doesn't mean the intel Slade is giving me is bad or… or worthless.
The door to the library creaks open. I jump, whirling around as three faces blink back at me. Tim looks worried, Jason looks mad and Steph has a textbook "I didn't do it!" face.
"What do you guys want?" I mutter, sitting back on the couch.
"Steph said you looked sad." Tim answers. Steph whacks him on the arm and Jason rolls his eyes. "What? He wouldn't have bought your excuse!"
He's right.
"I'm fine."
"Bullshit." Jason calls. Steph giggles at the swear word Bruce definitely does not want us using around her, but her laugh sounds half-hearted. "We're here to bother you and we're not leaving."
"Guys, I'm okay."
"Did you hear something?" Jason asks Tim. Tim shakes his head.
"Nope! Steph, did you hear something?"
Steph throws herself into an armchair and pulls out her book. "I didn't either."
"Must be the wind." Jason agrees, settling into a couch with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I stare at him, mind spinning. I didn't realize he was already on the last one. What else haven't I noticed?
"You're serious?" I ask as Tim takes my spot on the couch, head already buried in his DS.
"There it is again!" Steph says.
"The wind is sure loud in here." Jason agrees. I sit on the couch, pushing Tim's legs out of the way. They're going to follow me if I go somewhere else, and honestly, I don't want them to leave. Just for a little while, I want to pretend that everything is normal. That everything is okay.
I never would have guessed how easy it is to get lost in an essay on Teddy Roosevelt's Square Deal. A long time ago, Aunt Diana told me about a temporal rift that sent half the Justice League back in time and they had to help Roosevelt stop an alien invasion of Omicronians. I'm not sure if it really happened, because none of the other Leaguers will admit that it happened. The closest I got to a response was Uncle Clark saying, "Nope!" in a very suspicious and unconvincing voice.
I totally lose track of time, because I'm on the fourth and final page of my essay when Alfred gently opens the library door.
"Dinner is ready. Please make sure that you all wash your hands."
"Thanks Alfred!"
"Be there in a sec!" Tim calls.
When the door closes, I take a breath. Jason is already out of his seat and Tim and Steph are hungry and ready for food.
"Wait." I say. They all stop and look at me. "I need you guys to promise me something."
"Sure." "What?" "Anything." They say at the same time. I take a deep breath.
"Promise me you won't trust Selina. Things are complicated but I just need to know you guys are being careful."
Tim and Steph look at each other and Jason frowns at me.
"Okay." He says for all three of them.
"Thank you."
My phone goes off in the middle of the night, waking me up from a miraculously dreamless sleep. Half-asleep, I feel around my bed table for my phone. I almost push it onto the ground, but manage to pick it up without getting out of bed.
"'lo?" I mumble.
"Do you have a way to get to Metropolis?" Slade asks. It takes all my willpower not to hang up and go back to sleep, to just pretend this is part of a bad dream.
"What?"
"Can you get to Metropolis in the next half hour?"
"What?" I blink, sitting up and rubbing my eyes as I squint at the clock perched next to the door. "Slade, it's two in the morning!"
"Do you or do you not have zeta beam access to Metropolis?" Slade's voice drops down into dangerously low territory, the kind that means he isn't playing around. My heart skips a beat.
"I… Yes, but Slade, I can't just zeta to Metropolis in the middle of the night!"
"Are you capable of tampering with the zeta logs or do you need me to do it?"
Holy shit, he's serious. Slade wants me to use Batman's zeta beam to go to Metropolis at two in the morning to help him commit a crime.
"No! I'm not doing it!"
"Your presence tonight is essential. Ra's al Ghul hired us to retrieve some stolen property of his. You need to be there."
"No!"
"Superboy is patrolling Metropolis tonight." Slade says.
"Stay away from him!" I snap, trying to pretend the fear in my voice is anger.
"I think you misunderstand. What I'm saying is that you will have an opportunity to speak with him about things that Robin cannot know." He's talking about Cadmus. Luthor and his plan to use Superboy to find the missing genomorphs. And Match, the other clone that's still in Luthor's clutches. Slade seizes my silence as an opening to keep talking. "It's a very simple job. A journalist uncovered the location of al Ghul's missing items but he won't divulge his source. We use the source to find it, and from there it's a simple retrieval. After it's been returned, you can orchestrate a run-in with Superboy and pass along anything you need to."
No. This is a bad idea. This is a terrible, horrible idea. Every time I've gone out as Renegade, I've been terrified of a repeat of Hizer, of running into one of my friends when I'm on the wrong side. To deliberately seek out Superboy? It's a horrible, unbelievably stupid idea.
But Slade is right; I've been trying to find a way to tell Superboy about Match for weeks and there's no way I should know anything about it. This could be the only way to save him and the genomorphs. To actually do something good with the information I've given up so much for. To prove M'gann is wrong and I did what I had to do to protect everyone.
"Fine. I'll handle the logs." Stay out of my computer system, I want to spit. Instead, I climb out of bed and head for the most nondescript workout gear I have in my closet.
"Get to Metropolis. I'll meet you with your gear. Do not get caught."
With that, Slade hangs up.
An hour later, I'm standing on the top floor of an empty parking garage in the full Renegade suit, watching Slade talk to the assassin lady who was waiting for us, and hating my life as hard as I can.
"Oh you've got to be kidding me." A man drops down from above, landing in the small circle between the three of us.
"You've got a problem?" The woman raises an eyebrow, crossing her arms over her chest. She doesn't look surprised to see him. She doesn't look particularly happy about it either. The man glares and pokes an accusing finger at her.
"Nope, I am not falling for that one again. I know you pinned that screwup in Dakar on me, don't pretend you want to be here now."
"So you think." She answers loftily, shifting in the moonlight so the knives hanging around her waist gleam. This might be the last place I could possibly want to be right now and I wish I had nothing good to say about any of this, but I can still admit that it's a power look.
"So you think." The man mimics her voice in an unflattering mockery. "Aside from the fact that you're a bitch and I hate you, what I meant was that this is compete overkill. Why are they sending four of us for one retrieval?"
Slade manages to shoot him with an unimpressed look despite wearing a full-face mask and body armor.
"How are you even stupider than I thought you were?" The woman shakes her head at him. "The Demon's Head wants this job done right. He doesn't trust any of us to do it on our own. He knows I hate you, so if you screw up, I'll rat you out. Same thing if I mess up."
"If you're so smart, then what about him?" The man demands, nodding at Slade. They're all ignoring me, and I truly have no problem with that. I'm still trying to figure out who they are. Must be low tier assassins if I'm having this much trouble recognizing their costumes. The woman is wearing all black combat gear, with white stripes wrapping around her forearms. Knives hang around the belt at her waist, fanning out when she moves like a string of very sharp beads. She's also got shoulder pads that stick out far enough to distract you from the fact that they're hiding two more knives apiece. She's not wearing a mask, but she has two thick stripes of black paint running up from her chin, over each eye, and wrapping all the way around her shaved head. Intimating? Definitely, but it's great costume design.
The League of Shadows doesn't have that many Black assassins, I really should be able to recognize her. While I'm thinking about it, minus a point to the evil assassin organization for the lack of diversity. The guy should be just as easy to place. He's wearing a purple bodysuit with orange eyepieces and a big spider on his face. Seriously, purple and orange. Maybe he kills people with his horrible fashion sense.
"Ra's doesn't trust me either. You two are looking to raise your standings, and he thinks I want his approval. You're both here to keep an eye on me." Slade answers.
"So what's stopping me from pushing you off a building?" Spider guy leers and the woman sneers back at him.
"If the mission fails, we all go down." She snaps. "As much as I'd love to cut your lines and watch you flail, it'll have to wait."
"Have you both decided to do your jobs or will I be making a solo report to the Demon's Head to explain the unfortunate tragedy that befell his assassins?" Slade asks, words dripping with derisive condescension. The woman whirls on him.
"I do not answer to you." The fire in her voice is enough to make me step back, but Slade just tilts head.
"Then act like it."
The woman stiffens with rage and it hits me that for the first time, I'm watching Slade manipulate someone who isn't me. I can tell exactly what he's doing too; the woman is clearly a competent agent, so for Slade to take charge, he needs to get her off balance. Make her want to prove herself. Before the woman can respond, Slade gestures a hand at me. "This is Renegade. Renegade, this is Onyx and Black Spider."
"Thought he'd be taller." Black Spider says. "He better not slow us down."
"You talk too much." I glower, trying to make my voice sound lower. Onyx snorts. Slade ignores me, which is as good a response as any I could ask for.
"Jones lives on the fifth floor. Every night at nine, he puts his kid to bed and passes by the north facing window. Perfect opening to grab him and pull him to the roof." Black Spider starts.
"Too messy. Doing it out in the open guarantees witnesses."
"You want to go in?" Onyx asks.
"Jones won't try to run if his kid's in the next room." Slade responds. My stomach tightens and I take a deep breath, reminding myself that they need Jones alive to find out his sources, and that Slade promised he and his daughter would survive the encounter. "The fuse box is in the utility shed on the building across the street. We need to cut the power and cell service, make sure he can't contact anyone."
"I'll handle it." Onyx says.
"Renegade will go with you."
"I don't need assistance." She snaps. I resist the urge to step away from her, because even though I want to stay far away from the angry assassin covered in knives, moving away is a sign of weakness.
"He goes with you." Slade repeats, voice sharp.
"Found the fuse box." I say. To centralize reconstruction efforts in the event that rampaging supervillains cause massive property damage, every building has multiple ways to regulate power, heat and water. It's convenient if your neighbor's fuse blows, or if you need to make sure first responders won't get electrocuted clearing out wreckage from Superman being smashed through a building by a giant robot. Metropolis can be a nightmare sometimes, and I'm saying that as a native Gothamite. Where everyone carries a spare gas mask in their car.
"Good. The apartment should be on its own circuit."
"I see it."
"Trip it on my mark."
"Wait, it's for the whole floor. Half of them have centralized power."
"It doesn't matter. Are you ready?"
I hesitate.
"You're not going to kill him, right?" I sound like a scared kid, but Slade promised. He said he wouldn't make me come on a contract.
"Correct. Ra's finds it very useful to have journalists in his debt. Jones is safe."
"And his daughter?"
"Her too." Slade continues, knowing by my silence that I'm not convinced. "This is a shakedown. Black Spider is a professional, as am I. No one will be hurt tonight."
"Fine. I'm in position."
"Cell service and wifi are blocked," Onyx reports as she joins me on the low roof. "You're ready?"
I nod. Onyx puts a hand to her comm link. "All the exits are clear. We're all set."
"Now." Slade says. I flip the breaker switch and watch the entire fifth floor of the building across the street go dark. I count to ninety and turn the power back on. That will have been more than long enough for Slade to move without doing damage to the rest of the people in the building.
I turn around in time to see a silver blade flash. I dive out of the way, just fast enough that the knife doesn't bury itself in my chest.
"What are you doing?!" I snap, pulling out my bo staff as Onyx sinks into a fighting stance, one gleaming knife in each hand.
"Cleaning up the loose ends." She snarls, a terrifying smile on her face.
Loose ends. She means me.
Ra's didn't hire Slade for this job because he needed him, he did it so his assassins could kill me. Us. I don't have enough time to figure it out before Onyx is moving again, blades hurtling through the air as she slashes and jabs. She's fast. Not as fast as Slade, but as much as Slade pushes, he's never actually tried to kill me. Onyx is aiming for weak spots. She gets in close and slices so deep that the blade tears through my gloves. At the same time, her other knife aims low and I drop my grip to defend against it.
In one motion, her knee snaps up between my body and the bo staff, allowing her to twist and step down, slamming my bo staff to the ground with her foot. She spins, grabbing me in a chokehold with a knife digging into the collar of my uniform, right over my jugular. I drop my weight, grab her wrists, and throw her off. She doesn't stay down for long. I snatch up my bo staff and spin back, activating the electricity mechanism. I watch her warily, staff raised to keep her at bay.
The bo staff doesn't do anything to stop the six inches of steel hurtling towards my head, but it is useful to bat it away. And the next one. Onyx is on top of me as soon as I deflect the second knife. I've been in some scrappy fights before, but this is totally different. She's a better fighter than me. It's obvious from the way she breaks down my attacks and constantly changes the rhythm of her movements to make it impossible to predict. But she's trying to kill me, so I'm not pulling any punches either. I'm fighting as dirty as I can, using everything I've ever learned to just keep myself alive and away from the deadly blades. I'm not the only one fighting dirty. She lands a punch under my left eye and I can feel the socket swell up while my head rings and the slash on my face starts oozing blood.
Slade isn't answering my frantic comm calls, and I can't get more than a few steps in any direction before Onyx is there, driving me back toward the unprotected center of the roof. The cuts over my body are starting to throb and my eye is so swollen that it's hard to see out of it. I've managed to get a few good hits on her too. We're both starting to slow down, but Onyx never lets up.
I duck under a wide slash and dive through her legs, rolling to my feet behind her and jabbing her in the back with my bo staff. Onyx shrieks, dropping her knives and staggering before her legs give out. I scramble for my comm, desperately hoping I'm not too late.
"Onyx just tried to kill me! It's a trap!" I practically shout into the com. Not that I care if the League of Shadows is trying to kill Slade, but they're trying to kill me too, and right now Slade is the only one who can get me out of this.
No response.
It must have been the exhaustion. That's the only explanation for how I could miss Onyx's legs snapping out to grapple me to the ground. She's on top of me, tossing my bo staff away before I can move. I struggle under the weight, but my right arm is trapped under me, digging into my back and her foot is pinning my left wrist to the ground. I have no leverage. Onyx digs her knee into my chest, knives crossed over my throat and pressing in hard against the collar of my uniform. Sweat drips down my face and I hold as still as I can. If I move, I'll cut my own throat.
The knives are right over my carotid artery and my jugular. All she has to do is swipe and I'll bleed out in less than thirty seconds. Slade isn't answering.
I'm dead.
And then the hardened battle mask slips off Onyx's face and she smiles. The promise of violence in her eyes evaporates in the same instant that the knives lift off my throat.
What?
"Not bad." Onyx smiles, stepping back and sheathing her knives at her waist. In one fluid motion, she grabs my arm and pulls me up. I flinch at the contact, but all the murderous intent is totally gone. The hostile mannerisms from before are gone too, and now she's almost being friendly. "He's trained you well."
What?
"That was a test?" I breathe, trying to hold my balance so I don't fall over. It's been a long time since I've fought someone trying that hard to kill me.
"You passed." She answers, a pleased gleam in her eyes. "I'll be honest, when I saw you, I wasn't sure you would."
"You were trying to kill me."
"Of course. It wouldn't have been much of a test if I went easy on you, now would it?"
"Ra's sent you here to test me?" I guess, hands still trembling from the shock.
"If it makes you feel better, Black Spider is giving Deathstroke a test of his own."
Slade must have known. Why else would he drag me out of bed at two in the morning with no warning? He wanted me to be off guard, otherwise I would've figured out something was wrong.
"What about the treasure? Or was that just a cover to get us out here?"
"Oh the treasure is real. Black Spider might be an incompetent moron, but he was right about one thing; it doesn't take four assassins to get one journalist in the midst of his midlife crisis to spill a source. Besides, the retrieval is the fun part."
"Status report."
I almost jump a foot into the air at Slade's voice over the com. In the panic of the last few terrifying seconds, I forgot that I have an earpiece in each ear.
"Status report?! Onyx just tried to kill me!" I hiss as I turn away, trying to keep my voice quiet enough she can't listen in. As much as it freaks me out to have my back to her, she had a chance to kill me and she didn't. So I'm probably safe around her for now.
"I see you survived. How long did you last?"
"How long… you knew she was going to try and kill me?!"
"Test you."
"Wait, you knew she would beat me?"
Slade lets out a huff of air that's his version of a laugh.
"Onyx has been one of the League's most effective assassins for the past twenty-four years. You're skilled, but she has three times the experience. Staying alive in battle against her is no small feat."
"And what if I hadn't passed?" I spit. "She would've killed me!"
"Which is exactly why your debut waited until I knew you were ready."
Onyx steps closer and I stiffen. She shoots a wry grin at me and taps her own earpiece.
"Torment your apprentice later, Deathstroke. We're on a time limit. Get the name and get out."
"Black Spider has that under control. I've located some choice documents I believe Ra's will be interested in."
"Good. Wrap it up, the wifi and cell service come back online in two minutes." Onyx reminds them, just as a soft roar cuts through the sounds of a city at night. We hear it at the same time and freeze. My stomach drops.
I know that sound. It's the Invisible Jet.
No. No, no, no, no, no this is bad. I had to fake Green Arrow with a grenade to escape at Hizer and that was bad enough. If Wonder Woman is really here… coming to stop us… that's bad. That's BAD.
Aunt Diana cannot see me here. It's not just that she's Wonder Woman, an immortal, invulnerable, Amazonian Princess with super strength, flight and a lasso that commands the truth…
Holy shit. The Lasso of Truth.
If she uses it on me, that's it. I'll confess everything; I literally won't be able to stop myself. Slade might understand if I'm magically compelled to admit that I've been working for him for four years and lying to my family and the entire Justice League the whole time. But chances are, he'll take it out on me anyway.
"What's wrong with you?" Onyx asks.
"Wonder Woman." I answer, squeezing my hands into fists so I have something to focus on besides the panic blooming in my chest.
"Ah. Yes, that is bad." Onyx agrees. I raise a hand to my comm link, the one in my left ear that only Slade can hear.
"Wonder Woman incoming."
"Where?"
"The jet just passed overhead."
"Are you sure it's her?"
"Yes." I hiss, anxious terror pounding in my chest. "There is no plane in the world that sounds like it."
"Where are you now?"
"With Onyx. We're on the next roof."
"Do you have the name?" Onyx demands over the other channel, bringing her and Black Spider back into the conversation.
"We've got it. Bernell put up a bit of a fight at first, but he's agreed to be reasonable."
"Good. What's the play?"
"We need a distraction. Wonder Woman isn't the type to walk away empty-handed." Slade says.
"Your time to shine, Spider."
"No. You are not fucking throwing me at the God Lady, no fucking way!" Black Spider protests.
"Either you do it, or you're the reason this mission goes down. The Demon's Head wants Jones alive; if Wonder Woman gets to him, she and all the rest of the League find out where our treasure is. We have to get there first. Now stop being a little bitch and let the Amazon beat the shit out of you." Onyx snaps over the line.
Black Spider spits out a few choice words and finally gives in.
"Fine. Fifteen seconds, on your mark."
"Stay with Onyx." Slade orders over the private channel. In the other ear, he tells us, "The source is Paolo Riviera. He works at the port, uncovered a shipment of jewels and switched the labels to get them stored away while he alerted the media. Jones didn't know the crate number, but the shipment was stored on Monday. Renegade can get into the system and find it. I'll meet you there."
"Understood." Onyx says, readjusting her wrist guards and looking at me to make sure I'm ready to move. I nod at her. Just before the chaos breaks loose, I tap the private comm with Slade.
"You'd better not have been lying about talking to Superboy." I hiss.
"You have my word. As soon as the shipment is retrieved and our friends are on their way, I will make sure you catch his attention. So long as you promise to take one precaution…"
"Now!" Onyx calls.
Conner Kent
Metropolis
"Superboy, come in."
"I'm here. How's Ghana?"
"Amazing, actually. Lois is not loving the heat, but I've haven't felt this good since the last time I flew around the sun." Clark said. Superboy grinned.
"Sounds nice."
"How are things back home?"
"Quiet so far. But I'll let you know if anything changes."
"I really appreciate you filling in."
"No problem." Superboy said, giving Sphere a pat.
"Has Diana called in yet?"
"Not yet. Is she sure it's happening tonight?"
"She was sure it's happening sometime this week." Clark answered.
"Can you remind me again what it is again? I couldn't really follow when she explained it."
"Bernell Jones works for the Planet. He's been working on a big story about an ancient treasure that resurfaced in the last week. Wonder Woman claims the treasure belonged to an ancient Amazonian warrior and it was stolen in the third century. She's been looking for it for hundreds of years and this is the first lead."
"Huh. Sounds like a big deal. I'll keep an eye out."
"Thank you, Superboy. Call me if you need anything."
"Got it. Have fun with Lois."
It was shaping up to be a quiet night patrolling Metropolis before Superboy's com link chirped at him.
"The power just went out in Jones' building." Wonder Woman reported in his ear. "They're moving now."
"I'm on the way." Superboy answered, ready to see some action after hours of bored pacing and short hops between roofs. Sphere shifted into super-cycle mode with a beep and seconds later they were in the air. Wonder Woman was ahead of him, so it wasn't much of a surprise to see her already on the roof of the building, sparring with a guy dressed in purple.
Superboy landed the cycle on the rooftop, a little harder than he meant to, but it was still a softer landing than if he'd jumped. The last thing he wanted to do right now was cave-in the roof of an apartment building with people inside.
"Get Jones to safety!" Wonder Woman said calmly, ducking under a line and using her lasso to catch the guy's leg and drag him off his feet. "I've got this handled."
Superboy turned around to see Bernell Jones, Clark's coworker at the Daily Planet, cowering behind an air duct.
"Come on!" Superboy said, holding out his hand to help him into the super-cycle.
"My daughter's downstairs! I'm not going anywhere without her!" Bernell jerked back, staring at Superboy with wide eyes.
"What floor?"
"Fifth floor. That side window!" Bernell pointed towards the side where Wonder Woman and the assassin were still fighting.
"Alright. Come on." Superboy half-dragged Bernell into the super-cycle, and flying them both to the fifth floor. Superboy leaned over and pushed the window up, making sure that the broken glass was cleared out. "I'll get her. Sphere, defense mode."
The super-cycle beeped as Sphere reconfigured to activate its weapons systems. Superboy climbed through the window into a little girl's bedroom. The lights were on and Superboy could see how hard the window had been smashed open from the pattern of broken glass littering the floor. The door was still intact, which meant the assassin had broken the window from the outside and dragged Jones through it and up onto the roof. What Superboy didn't see was a little girl. But when he concentrated, he could hear a frantic heartbeat and muffled sobs coming from inside the closet.
"It's safe to come out now." Superboy said calmly. "I'm Superboy, I'm here with Wonder Woman and your dad. I'm here to take you and your dad somewhere safe. Nobody's going to hurt you."
"Are they gone?" The little girl whimpered, still not moving from her hiding spot.
"It's just me in here. Wonder Woman is on the roof, she's catching the guy who took your dad."
"What about the scary guy?"
Superboy froze. There were two attackers?
He listened as hard as he could, but his enhanced hearing only picked up the neighbors complaining about the power outage. Infrared didn't show anyone else in the apartment either.
"They're gone. It's safe to come out, okay? I'm going to take you and your dad somewhere safe."
Finally, a tear-stained little girl emerged from the closet.
"You did a good job hiding," Superboy told her. "Can I pick you up? I don't want you to step on glass."
Sniffling, the girl nodded and Superboy hefted her up in one arm. He'd barely made it to the window when Bernell shouted, "Cissie! Oh, thank god!"
"Daddy!" Cissie cried, and as soon as Superboy had passed her through the open window, she latched onto her dad and buried her face in his coat. Sphere took off, taking them to the safe house and Superboy turned to Bernell. "What happened? Cissie said there were multiple people in your apartment."
Bernell's face lost all its color and he nodded. "They killed the power and broke in when I was in the living room. Cissie got scared at the dark and I told her to go hide. They wanted to know who my source was."
"For the treasure?"
Bernell nodded frantically, glassing slipping off his sweat-soaked face. "I… I had no choice, they were going to both of us if I didn't!"
"You did what you had to." Superboy stopped him.
"They knew you were coming. As soon as the jet flew in, the orange one scrammed and the purple guy pulled me out Cissie's window."
"The orange guy?" Superboy froze, dread sinking in his stomach. "Orange and black, one eye, lots of swords?"
Bernell nodded. "That's him!"
Oh no.
"Wonder Woman, there was more than one assassin. Deathstroke was here, he already got the name!"
"Zeus' bolt!" Wonder Woman swore, sounding more upset than he'd ever heard her. "Do you know where he's going?!"
"I told them my source works at the shipping yard! That's everything I knew!"
"The treasure must have come in by boat. They're heading to the shipping yard." Superboy relayed.
"Law enforcement isn't here yet!" Wonder Woman snapped, "I can't leave Black Spider unguarded!"
"You go. Sphere will get the Jones' out and I'll stay with the assassin."
"Thank you, Superboy!" Wonder Woman said. Superboy patted the super-cycle and said, "Get them to safety."
He turned to Bernell, who still had a death grip around Cissie, and nodded at him. "Sphere will take you to the safe house. Wait for Wonder Woman or Superman to tell you when it's safe."
With that, he jumped over the side of the super-cycle and plummeted down towards Metropolis' rooftops. He landed in the middle of a street with a tiny crater and jumped up into the air again, heading back for the Jones' apartment building. In the distance, he saw Wonder Woman zooming off towards the harbor to stop the assassins from getting away.
This was her fight. His job was making sure Black Spider didn't slip away too. Luckily, he was still unconscious and hogtied by the Lasso of Truth exactly where Wonder Woman had left him. All things considered, the building didn't look too bad.
Superboy found a spot on the roof to sit, keeping one eye on the assassin while he waited for the police to arrive. He was starting to wonder if the cops even knew to come when he finally heard the shrill wail of the sirens and saw the flashing lights in the distance. Superboy stood up and slung Black Spider over his shoulder before jumping off the roof. He landed in the street in front of the building about a minute before the police cars pulled to a stop.
The officers got out of the car and looked at Superboy.
"This him?"
"Yeah. He pulled one of the residents out a window. We think he was working with others, Wonder Woman is in pursuit now."
"Got it. We'll call him in." The lead officer gestured for one of the others to cuff Black Spider and put him in the back of the car. "You're Superboy, right?"
"That's me."
The officer held out his hand.
"Good to meet you. Superman said we might see you around."
Superboy beamed.
"We think the others may have gone to the shipping yard."
"Dispatch just sent some of our boys over there." The officer nodded.
"Good." Superboy said, suddenly unsure what else to say but fairly sure this was when he was supposed to leave. "Uh… good night."
With that, he turned and jumped into the air, vaulting over a skyscraper and landing on a roof where he could see the whole city.
"Black Spider's in custody. Should I come to you?" Superboy asked Wonder Woman over his comm.
"Yes, the trail's gone cold and I need another set of ey—"
She cut off as an explosion rocked the building Superboy was standing on. He heard shouts of alarm, but as soon as the noise and shaking started, they were over.
"What was that?" Wonder Woman asked.
"Explosion a few blocks away."
"Go check it out. Call me know if you need backup. And be careful, there's still no sign of Deathstroke."
"You don't have to tell me twice." Superboy said, stretching quickly before taking two steps and launching himself off the roof in the direction of the explosion.
Superboy followed the billowing plumes of smoke to a construction site nested between towering skyscrapers. He landed in the excavated pit underneath the frame of the new building, looking for the culprit. There was a flash of movement on the partially constructed third floor, so Superboy jumped up to get a closer look. The smell of smoke lingered in the air and in the darkness, his normal vision was mostly useless. The metal framework, cranes, and stacks of building materials left plenty of places to hide. The explosion had left the frame smoking and chunks of debris kept falling from up above.
Superboy heard a loud click and his head snapped up.
On the scaffold three stories up, a figure spun his staff in a whirling figure eight. Superboy picked up a sack of concrete aggregate and threw it, trying to knock him off balance before he jumped up to his level. But the guy knocked the bag away with his staff and kept his stance. Metahuman, then, if he could hit a forty-pound bag flying at top speed without budging.
Superboy dropped into a fighting stance across from the guy. Up close, Superboy could see that he was young, probably around fifteen or sixteen. He was wearing an orange and black suit, which made Superboy pause. Bernell had been attacked by someone in black and orange, so maybe Deathstroke hadn't been in Metropolis at all. Maybe this was the other assassin who'd gone after the treasure.
"What do you want?" Superboy asked. The kid didn't answer. He swung his bo staff again and charged. Superboy was instantly on the defense, just trying to keep up. The kid was seriously fast. And strong. When the staff made contact, it stung. But now that they had moved into the light, Superboy could see that the kid was hurt. His uniform was covered in cuts and the blood had dried and crusted over. His face was swollen around his eye and a bruise covered the entire right side of his face.
"Who are you?" Superboy demanded, blocking another hit while trying to get close enough to disarm him. "What do you want?"
The kid still didn't answer and kept attacking, the whole time staying just beyond Superboy's reach. Superboy felt himself getting frustrated, especially once he realized the kid was probably trying to keep him busy. Wonder Woman was still at the shipping yard, looking for the treasure. Superboy should have been there helping her, but instead he was here.
"Who are you working with?" Superboy demanded, trying to charge the kid and catch him off balance. The kid sidestepped and flipped up into the air, catching a bar of the scaffold with his hand and climbing up to the next floor of the building. Superboy was about to follow when another explosion rocked the building, this time destroying a support beam up above. With a loud rumble, the scaffold above them started to crumble apart. The kid froze, staring straight up at the rubble about to fall on him.
"Look out!" Superboy shouted, throwing himself into action. He flew into the air, tackled the kid and shoved both of them out of the way, making sure to shield the kid with his body. Debris rained down on them both and Superboy blocked it as best as he could, trying to keep the other boy safe.
When it stopped, Superboy pushed himself up and cleared away the chunks of metal, concrete and plaster.
"Are you okay?" Superboy demanded, looking down at the kid. His face was pale and he was bleeding, but just from the cuts that had reopened. He hadn't been hurt by the explosion.
"Tumesalvasteporque." The kid said in a rush, too fast for Superboy to follow.
"Uh…"
"Hablas español?" His voice was shaky and quiet, but he sounded determined.
"Uh… más despacio."
"Eres el Superboy?"
"Sí."
The kid nodded grimly, pushing himself back to his feet. He swayed a little when he stood, leaning on his staff for support. Superboy was impressed that he'd managed to hold onto it in the explosion.
"Lex Luthor quiere usarte para encontrar los chimorfos."
"The whats? Wait, do you mean Genomorphs?"
"Sí, esos. Cuídate. El clon es una trampa para ti, y tu eres una trampa para el Dublix."
"Dubbilex? What about him?"
"Los chi…genomorphos perdidos… lo hizo."
"The genomorphs are missing?"
The kid nodded.
"What do I do?"
"No sé pero… cuidado con el Matchstick. Cosas no son lo que parecen."
"What do you mean?"
"No confíes en Luthor. Buena suerte."
"Wait!" Superboy called, but it was too late. The kid had vanished, leaving Superboy with a million questions.
Onyx
Four miles from the Metropolis Penitentiary
The van thumped as something heavy landed on top of it. The guards tightened their grips on their weapons, aiming at the door.
Thunk. Thunk. The guards slumped over, dead before they had a chance to move. The woman pulled each of her knives out, wiping them on the guards' uniforms before stowing them in the belt at her waist.
"Good work." She said to the man cuffed to the van bench as she helped him out of the shackles.
"Mission successful?" He asked, rubbing his wrists. He looked around for the box containing his personal items and began pulling them on as soon as he found it.
"Everything was where Jones said. We got the crate on a boat and cleared out. It's on its way to Nada Parbat as we speak."
"Nice."
"Are you ready?" Onyx asked. Black Spider nodded, pulling his mask over his face to complete his uniform. As the two rode away from the fiery explosion that had once been a prisoner transfer van by balancing on top of a cargo train, Black Spider turned to his rescuer.
"Next time, you get to be the decoy."
"But you're so good at it."
"I'm the decoy every time!"
"Because you're good at it." Onyx repeated, grinning at him with none of the exaggerated malice they used in their act.
"How'd the kid do?" Black Spider asked curiously.
"He's good." Onyx answered. "Young. Wilson wasn't playing around; the kid packs a serious punch. He's going to be better than all of us soon."
"Please. No one's better than you." Black Spider shook his head.
"I'm serious. But I will say his survival instincts are messed up; the little fucker bit me to get out of a hold. Did whatever it took to stay alive. Ten minutes later, Wilson tells him to stick with me and he doesn't even blink."
"That's obvious, O. His survival instincts are, 'Do whatever the hell Wilson tells him.'"
"Poor kid." Onyx tsked.
"Yeah. That about covers it."
They dropped off the train as it rushed past a forest, rolling to disperse the momentum with the ease of a thousand repetitions. The woods were dark and loud, full of the sounds of nocturnal life. The two assassins moved quietly and quickly through the trees toward the hidden compound, emerging from the woods to a dozen swords pointed at them. Upon recognizing them, their fellow Shadows dropped their weapons and took up honor guard positions to accompany them to the building in the center of the compound. Within minutes, they were striding through the halls of the Great Demon and were granted permission to enter the throne room.
Onyx and Black Spider each dropped to a knee before the throne, heads bowed low.
"Demon's Head." They chorused together, before rising when Ra's al Ghul gestured for them to do so. Onyx nodded to the man standing behind him.
"Sensei."
"Lady Onyx."
"The news recently has been dreadful. I hope you have something good to report." Ra's said.
"I do. The mission was a success. The Hoard of the Seven Hands has been recovered and is on a ship headed for Nanda Parbat. In addition, the journalist Bernell Jones has agreed to act as a speaker for the great word of the Demon when it is requested of him." Onyx said.
"Excellent." Ra's said. "And the other matter?"
Onyx gestured for Black Spider to start.
"Deahtstroke called all the shots." He said. "I hate to say it, but everything worked exactly the way he said it would. He got us both in and knew exactly what to say to make Bernell talk. I was gonna throw him off the roof, but he just mentioned his ex-wife and had the guy singing. Told us everything we wanted to know and then some. We still would've found out if he hadn't been there, but not before the local authorities showed up."
"And locating the Hoard?"
"We called our crews to bring a ship in to port before we left the building. Once we got into the records, it was simple to find the correct crate, verify its contents and load it onto our vessel. It was done before Wonder Woman arrived on scene." Onyx said.
"And she did not suspect a trap when Black Spider was the only one at the journalist's home?" Ra's asked curiously.
"She thought I was just there to kill him. Superboy showed up to take care of Jones, otherwise she wouldn't have known to go to the shipping yard until for hours."
"Excellent work." Ra's said, visibly pleased. He turned to Onyx. "And the boy? I trust Wilson brought his student along."
"Renegade." Onyx nodded. "He's smart. Found the right power supply, perfect timing on Deathstroke's call."
"As I have heard nothing about his demise, I assume he survived trial by combat? Tell me, how long did he last?"
"Seven minutes and twelve seconds." Onyx smiled.
"Seven twelve?!" Black Spider choked. "Jesus, that's only fifteen seconds under Shiva's time!"
"That is most impressive." Sensei agreed, stroking his beard thoughtfully.
"I suspect it would've been longer in unarmed combat." Onyx added. Ra's still hadn't said anything. The Demon's Head was lost in thought.
"One capable agent is worth an army of hired men." He mused slowly before returning his attention to his assassins. "You both have done excellent work. Now leave me, I have much to think about."
AN: Hahaha yikes! Poor M'gann. Poor Dick. Honestly, poor everyone. I wonder what Superboy will find when he looks into this new information...
I hope you enjoyed! Please leave me a comment and let me know what you think! If you're enjoying this story, stay tuned, we're building toward something really big and I think the next three chapters are going to blow your socks off!
Rough Spanish Translation:
Tumesalvasteporque: "Yousavedme,why?"
Hablas español: "Do you speak Spanish?"
Uh... más despacio: "Uh ... talk slower."
Eres el Superboy: "Are you the Superboy?"
Sí: "Yes."
Lex Luthor quiere usarte para encontrar los chimorfos: "Lex Luthor wants to use you to find the chimorfos."
Sí, esos. Cuídate. El clon es una trampa para ti, y tu eres una trampa para el Dublix: "Yes, those. Be careful. The clone is a trap for you, and you are a trap for the Dublix."
Los chi…genomorphos perdidos… lo hizo: "The chi ... lost genomorphs ... he did it."
No sé pero… cuidado con el Matchstick. Cosas no son lo que parecen: "I don't know but ... watch out for the Matchstick. Things are not what they seem."
No confíes en Luthor. Buena suerte: "Don't trust Luthor. Good luck."