YJC Ch 10: Well that Escalated Quickly
| The HUB
| 2019 March 7th, 4:00 PM
"So, this is what you look like without your powers? I like it." With her luggage all squared away, Arsenal was now laying across her bed like he owned the place. He almost reminded Raven of a stray cat: Willing to make himself at home at any place and at any time so long as he approved of the company. "It's not much of a change, but I did always wonder how you went through life with grey skin. At best you could have said you only had an odd skin condition."
Raven peered at him over the confines of a laptop. It was purely for entertainment and personal emails. There was no way she was going to send in information over what was no doubt a monitored system. "When I operate as a hero, my unusual appearance functions as a disguise of sorts. Better than any mask."
Her civilian appearance was actually maintained by a combination of science and magic. If she didn't have access to a glamor charm, she would be sure to make use of a ring specifically made for the purpose of disguise. Something about optoelectronics with a pre-programmed variation matrix. Sometimes she even used both in tandem. But today's appearance was solely the result of a glamor spell she had been forced to perfect.
Arsenal was wearing a wide smile as he nodded in acknowledgement. "Well that certainly comes in handy." He took in her appearance with a newfound interest. He never knew where she lived, what her legal name was, who her guardian was, and so on. And now here they were, with Arsenal now bearing witness to a piece of Raven's life he could only ever wonder about.
He was used to seeing her with ashen gray skin, with a set of black hair and black eyes that would give off a purple sheen in a certain light. But now she was wearing Caucasian skin. While still considered pale by some standards, her skin had a healthy peachy tint with cheeks that was dusted in a blush and eyes that were just black. They did not give off a dark purple glint in any light, he noticed, and somehow it made her relative normalcy even more pronounced. If it wasn't for her choice in clothing and patented Raven demeanor, he might have had trouble recognizing her. But he had no doubt of who she was when she had walked through the zeta-tube.
Raven tried to busy herself with signing into various accounts. Email, Microsoft, Lex Web Security, etc. To make sure they were aware of this device and all that. But on the inside, she felt... sad. This appearance, this disguise that she constantly referred to as her 'real' self, could easily qualify as her greatest deception to date. It didn't matter how many official documents there were, Raven never considered her life as "Rachel Roth" to be anything more than a formality she had to go through to fit in with society.
They wanted her to have a 'normal' legal name, with a 'normal' home address, going to a 'normal' school, as the adopted daughter of a (not so) 'normal' citizen of the United States. Even as they gave her special training through Vigilante and Nightshade. She understood why she had to adopt these things, of course. But that didn't make it any less burdensome. It was really a glorified sham. A sham with a purpose, granted. But still...
Arsenal was practically buzzing with contained excitement, despite his laid-back demeanor. In his view, he had finally put a dent in the ineffable mystery that was Raven, and now he (along with Canary, but she didn't count in his eyes) was bequeathed with a myriad of secrets. Like where her civilian dwelling was located, and her actual name. "So, Rachel, how often are you going to stay at the HUB?"
Her response came out rushed, laced with a cutting edge. "I still want you to call me Raven."
The atmosphere turned tight then, and Raven felt the sting of hurt coming from Arsenal whose body suddenly became taut. Almost as if he had been yelled at. But he was more confused than anything else.
Raven swallowed thickly. "You can still call me Rae too... I'd honestly take that over you calling me Rachel. And I'm not sure how often I'll be staying."
Arsenal relaxed a bit, all of a sudden looking tired as he looked at her with a frustrated form of understanding. "Yeah. I got it. So do you just not like your civilian life or —"
"It's complicated.", Raven interrupted. "Listen. It's fine that you know about that side of my life, but there are reasons I try not to bring it up." That was an extreme understatement.
Arsenal looked like he wanted to press the matter further, but he quickly dismissed the idea. "Alright. I get it. Rae it is then. It sounds like a shorter version of both of your names anyway.", he reasoned. The spacious room was silent once again, with both occupants trying to think of a new topic to bring up.
"How's your family by the way? Are your brothers still trying to get you into the family business?", Raven asked.
"It's complicated.", Arsenal muttered.
It was actually less complicated than usual this time around. Things between him and Ollie were still strained, but he was more or less on good terms with everyone else. But things had taken an unexpected turn when Raven had entered the picture.
While his "family" had highly suspected he had a friend, they didn't know anything about her for the longest time. Now that Raven was here at his recommendation, the two clones were practically buzzing with curiosity and an eagerness to meet her. When he visited the Harper household they would always try to squeeze in a question about her, often under the mask of innocent conversation. Even Ollie was trying to get information about her, but he mostly tried to get his information from Dinah herself.
But it was not like Raven would know anything about that. Why would she? Just as he grew to respect her boundaries, she always respected his boundaries in turn. Even when they were mostly for show. She didn't even give a visible reaction to his statement, she just gave an understanding incline of her head before resuming her electronic activities.
She wasn't like him, who had to mentally train himself not to prod every time she gave a half-answer. She didn't pry when he signaled that a topic was off limits. She never did.
Sometimes he wished she would.
An alarm began to blare, the shrill sound causing Raven to almost damage her laptop as she immediately entered what Arsenal quickly identified as a fighting position. Her face, which was normally kept neutral at all times, was showing minute signs of worry as her eyes honed in toward the common area.
He knew she couldn't see through walls, but with the way she was staring he could understand if an onlooker thought so. "Easy Rae. That alarm just means that there is trouble and the Outsiders need to be called in. They aren't evacuating, they're just heading toward the scene of the crime. We don't have to do jack since you basically just got here."
Raven calmed considerably at this, slowly but steadily resuming her previous position cross-legged on the floor. But she still looked slightly put-off, and it all of a sudden occurred to him that Raven was not used to being called into action at a moment's notice. She probably planned her heroic excursions well ahead of time. "You will be hearing that a lot. Things are run like an emergency service here, with the Outsiders responding to any type of crisis at almost any time. Day, night, it doesn't matter."
"Don't they have school and other responsibilities?", Raven asked.
"Most of them do. But several of them take online classes so they have a more fluid schedule. Others, like Superboy, are already graduated and can do what they want when they want. The others go to school as normal and only come in when the school day is over. With different time zones and living situations at play, the HUB usually has at least a few Outsiders on call at any given time."
Raven looked thoughtful. "Well, Nightwing did say they could work with my schedule... and with the zeta tubes being so readily available, I can see what he was talking about."
Arsenal found a smirk emerging on his face at the mention of Nightwing, something Raven took notice of immediately. He felt way too amused at her words. "Did I say something weird?"
Arsenal raised a hand placatingly. "No, not at all. Just thought of something funny."
"Uh huh.", Raven responded, wholly sounding like she didn't believe him. "Since we're on the subject, what is your schooling situation like? You're graduating this year, right? Or was that last year?"
Arsenal rubbed the back of his neck, and Raven felt a surprising mixture of embarrassment and a dash of shame coming from him. "I actually... still have one more year to go. When I was unfrozen, I didn't exactly have school on my mind. I had a hard time dealing with things."
Raven sent him a sympathetic look. While the story of his capture and cryogenic stasis was initially hard to believe, the mental trauma stemming from that capture — or any capture — was real enough. It was how they met.
"You shouldn't worry about me, though.", Arsenal continued. "Instead, focus on the practice you will be doing tomorrow. Superboy and the rest will no doubt want to see what you can do."
| The HUB
| 2019 March 8th, 7:00 AM
If the Outsiders wanted to comment on her different appearance, they didn't voice it to her face. When Raven walked out her room with a ghostly complexion, the most it earned was a few double takes and a comment from a Kid Flash who described her as "haunty". Whatever that meant. Arsenal shrugged off the idea of training with the group, and instead decided to waste his day watching TV. To "keep an eye on the news" he said.
But the rest of the Outsiders as a whole was focused on their morning hand-to-hand combat training. With Raven in attendance, the session was a bit more tense than usual. Even though they expected her to be a novice, as those new to the job tended to be, Rachel was clearly better than that. She had already beat El Dorado and Static in her initial bout and was now squaring up against an unarmored Blue Beetle.
Superboy was leaning against a nearby wall, carefully watching the proceedings. It was not uncommon for him to be joined by multiple team members who were not engaged in their own mock fights. Such observers included the likes of Beast Boy and Cyborg. But the roster was constantly changing.
For right now, Cyborg was watching adamantly as Raven dodged each attack Blue Beetle gave. He was alternating between kicks and punches, using uppercuts and even an axe swing. But few were able to land a solid hit. With that being said, the small bruises on her person were proof enough that she was starting to get worn down. She might have been blocking several hits, but that didn't change the fact that she was technically on the losing side.
"She's a good defensive fighter.", Superboy observed.
Blue Beetle threw a few more hits, most of which were only hitting empty air. Then, be it due to tiredness or lack of attention, he left an opening on the right side of his face. Raven quickly capitalized on it, sending out a fist like lightning and slamming it into his jaw. It even made a noise, and Beast Boy cringed as the older teen was forced to take a few steps back. The move was made utilizing a textbook tactic found in defensive fighting: Don't make an opening for an attack, let the enemy do that for you. Despite the fact she rarely threw a punch, each and every single one of them landed on their intended target.
"Yeah, but I don't think that is a good thing.", Cyborg said. "If this was in real combat conditions, she would have been nailed by now."
It was true. The unspoken goal of this sort of training was to incapacitate or restrain their opponent as quickly as possible. That way they could get through their opponents quickly and focus on the mission. It also significantly reduced the chance of them being caught in a situation where they were fighting multiple enemies at once. If this had been in the field, there was little doubt that another combatant would have taken advantage of the situation and tried to land a hit on her.
Superboy nodded. "That is true. But there are some times where this fighting style is actually ideal. Like when you want to buy time for your teammates. Or by distracting a strong enemy combatant who the team cannot take on conventionally."
It also didn't help that the girl was wearing a cloak. It wasn't even a small cape like what Spoiler and Robin wear, but a cloak. It was bulky and slow, easily slowing down and almost tangling some of her kicks. Raven was fighting in it easily enough but... there was a reason even capes were falling out of fashion. And unlike any of the batkids who always lined their capes with protective microfibers, Raven's cloak just seemed like a massively impractical piece of clothing. Although given the girl's rumored proclivity for long trips and solitude, perhaps the cloak was kept as a form of covering while in the elements? Or perhaps this was the girl's way of compensating for the lack of a mask.
Raven received a firm kick to her stomach then, the force strong enough to slightly lift her feet off the ground. Every onlooker was confident that it would leave a bruise.
Seeing an opportunity to finally end this match, Jaime tried to follow it up with a kick that could slam her into the ground. While Raven was light on her feet, he was confident he could keep her pinned long enough to claim a win.
He quickly jabbed an elbow into her chest and the force had her hitting the ground with a loud thud. The bug-themed hero wasted no time in placing his foot squarely on her chest as he attempted to restrain her hands. But that didn't do anything about her legs. With impressive flexibility and momentum, Jaime found a leg hooking over his throat and giving a firm tug. It was enough to dislodge him slightly, but he made sure to back off a bit more. There was no way a seasoned fighter like him was going to get caught in a leg hold.
Raven made a quick move to get back up, but Beetle was not going to allow that. With his scarab egging him on, he called on a hidden reserve of strength to rush back toward her. He made sure to put all of his weight on her this time, and sure enough, Raven stopped struggling. There was no escaping this.
"Alright, that's enough.", Superboy called. "Blue Beetle is the winner. Raven, you did a good job."
The male hero gave a hefty sigh as he rose, absolutely drenched in sweat. He rubbed his jaw tentatively, still feeling the blow she hit him with. But he also knew there was a bruise near his left bicep too. He was absolutely spent. "Hey man, I need a break. Can you give me five?"
Superboy nodded. "Sure."
Raven looked absolutely winded. She had her own sheen of sweat on her skin, and was sporting a few bruises. But she was up on her feet quickly, looking expectedly at Superboy for what she assumed was going to be her next sparring partner.
He took a small glance at his stopwatch, gazing in mild amazement that her round had taken a full 4 minutes to complete. Her match with El Dorado had been significantly shorter, but Terra was floored several minutes in. All of these times were too long. "I think you have done enough with us. I think you should rest up a bit before we set you up with someone else. They should be coming in soon."
His super hearing honed in on Cassie's small 'hmph' in the background, who was fresh from her 6th sparring match. It was followed quickly by a more compassionate Forager. "Do not be mean to Rachel. She is -" click-clack. "New. She will improve in time. Forager did."
Superboy was silent for a bit, carefully looking Raven over. Kid Flash saw this from his own match, and sent a look of mild pity her way, taking the silence as disappointment. But his lack of attention allowed his new sparring partner, Cyborg, to lift him up and promptly slam him to the ground. He never even had the chance to get up.
"Match!", Beast Boy shouted.
"Booyah! That's win number 5, scrawny!", The metal man cheered.
But Superboy was anything but disappointed. It was true that Raven's results seemed unimpressive to any onlooker, but he was not really interested in them. The point of today's training was to see her fighting capabilities, and he now had a solid grasp on what those were — and they impressive in a certain way.
She had a total of 3 fights, which is a significant dip behind the 6 or more rounds that most team members went through. But where each of their fights were ended anywhere within 15-40 seconds, hers lasted several minutes.
He looked toward Blue Beetle, still heaving laborious breaths on the nearest bench. Taking a look at Raven herself, she seemed mostly calm as she leaned on the wall, with her breathing as even as ever. And while she sported her fair share of bruises and had even taken a few more severe hits in her last match, she gave no sign that they were hampering her in any way.
She might fight defensively and she might take longer in her fights, but her physical stamina was nothing to sneeze at, and it was clear she understood the basics of combat tactics. It said a lot that she was barely winded while Blue Beetle had to take a break. Especially since, like several other members in this room, he took a 2 minute break after every round.
Meanwhile Raven was here... fighting three rounds with little to no breaks in between, resulting in a grand total of 11 minuets of almost-continuous sparring. If she was put in a prolonged battle of attrition, he had no doubt she would outclass several people in this room.
Still, unless she learned how to quickly get rid of her enemies, that stamina would not do her any good on a perspective mission. Their enemies tended to travel in groups, and were just as, if not more, proficient in hand-to-hand combat as they were... But then again, they had yet to see how well she fought while able to use her abilities. It wouldn't be the first time they had a member who was a bit reliant on their powers. He thought about Zatanna. She was in the League and Superboy was pretty sure she couldn't perform a round house kick to save her life.
His super hearing picked up on the tell-tale sound of the zeta-tube whirring to life, and it was this sound that had him snapping out of his contemplation. He walked toward Raven, being sure to raise his palm in a harmless gesture. "Hey Raven. Your endurance is great, but with this next opponent I want you to focus on being more aggressive. Don't even focus on taking down the opponent, just try to get used to taking the initiative in combat."
Raven nodded noncommittally, squaring her shoulders. "Understood."
Superboy thought about telling her to loosen up, too, but decided against it. She probably needed a day or two before she started feeling comfortable. He was about to say a few more words, but Raven's head sharply turned when their guest finally decided to wander into the training room.
"So where is this new teammate?", Someone asked.
Artemis was in the lead, quickly followed by a slightly-more stoic group consisting of Robin, Arrowette, Spoiler, and Thirteen. Arsenal was trailing behind them, apparently content to just observe the proceedings. Probable so he could gauge their reactions.
The half-kryptonian gestured toward Raven. "She's right here."
Robin and Spoiler gave her a once-over, looking neither impressed or disappointed. Arrowette remained silent, but her naturally expressive face showed that she was a bit put off by her piercing gaze.
Thirteen on the other hand was completely unperturbed, and eagerly raised a hand in greeting. "Hi!"
Raven gave them a cordial nod. "Hey."
"So, my name's Traci, but everyone calls me Thirteen while on missions."
She didn't shift from her position. "Name's Raven."
Artemis met Superboy's gaze, and the two adults made their way to the far side of the room, presumably to discuss the performance of the dark teen. The youths, in turn, took this as an opportunity to pepper the girl with questions.
"So... what are your powers?", Arrowette asked.
Spoiler snorted from behind her purple mask. "If you want to know that, you should just ask Rob. He read up on her before he got here. She's listed as a psychic, by the way."
Robin rubbed the back of his neck, looking mildly uncomfortable. "Ah, Spoiler. I don't think it is a good idea to discuss -"
The blond girl put her hands on her hips. "Oh, come off it. I, for one, think the girl should be told that the bats are notorious for bugging, tracking and even downright stalking people."
The young man looked offended. "We don't stalk!"
"Yeah, yeah.", She dismissed. She then fixed Raven with a mildly apologetic stare. "So just in case you have not been informed yet, we are members of the Team who are not Outsiders. We don't do publicity or press conferences here. Just covert work. So, spoiler alert: We are going to be your primary teammates."
Raven gave a small nod, being sure to file away the bat's "stalking" habit away for consideration. That could become a problem later.
Robin nodded his head. "She's mostly right. But there is one other non-Outsider who will be working a lot with us. You may have already met her; her name is Halo."
In fact, Raven had not met her yet, not in person, anyway. But by deduction she had a feeling that he was referring to the dark-skinned girl who was current waiting on a bench located on the far side of the gymnasium. Raven remembered her because of how she occasionally oozed sadness, often directing it toward her bedroom door. "I have seen her around, but we haven't actually met."
Arrowette gave a forlorn look to the quiet girl, where Raven detected waves of sympathy and mild pity. "Yeah, she hasn't been herself lately. I can't say I know her too well myself but from what I heard she is usually one of the more kind-hearted people in this building."
Robin waved his hand. "She is, but that's not why we're here. We are just going to boom tube to the training location and we are going to have some standard exercises. Without mentioning you-know-who." He gave a meaningful look to Spoiler. "She clearly doesn't want to talk about it."
Raven looked at him quizzically. "Boom tube?"
Arrowette looked like she knew a secret. "It's a cool invention that allows us to go anywhere we need."
Artemis approached them then, hand comfortingly gripping the shoulder of Halo, who was firmly gripping her own hands together. "Alright. Looks like everyone's ready." The lightly armored woman looked toward Raven. "Name's Tigress. I am one of the Team's oldest members. I will also be one of your instructors. We will be heading toward an abandoned quarry to practice. Superboy says that you are fairly proficient in combat, so I am eager to see how well you use your abilities on your own or in a team setting."
Raven pursed her lips, not thrilled at the thought of going through a zeta-tube again. She knew it was necessary, but it always left her feeling weird, like she was bound in thick cotton, and her empathy always felt like it was being put through a shredder before hitting a wall of static. How the machine was able to induce these sensations she had no idea, but she was pretty sure it was because magic and technology were not meant to mix. "Joy."
A shrill alarm sounded off then, triggered by Cyborg whose hand was hovering over a holographic button. It was a sound that Raven was only barely getting used to, with the so called "troub-alert" able to be triggered at any time by seemingly any member.
Cyborg held a serious look to his face as he addressed the room. "We have a situation in Delta City*. The cops don't know how to handle it, but apparently, they going through some kind of miniature invasion."
"By who?", Beast Boy asked, with his voice losing all trace of his usual teen-star joviality.
"Some sort of replicating goo that can transform into a humanoid." Cyborg said. "It is currently just replicating Bobs."
"I'm sorry, what?", Wonder Girl remarked. "Bob? I thought that was just a meme that was going around. He's just a goofy business manager."
Cyborg nodded his head. "Yeah, well now he's a goofy business manager who is absorbing civilians into himself." He brought up a photo, and with a flick of his cybernetic hand the blue-tinted screen drifted over to the skeptical girl. It showed a stereotypical looking man, defined by his neat nametag and dorky glasses, absorbing a man as if he were some sort of slime. The top part of the poor civilian's head was sticking out, looking absolutely panicked. "I checked the reports too. They check out. But the League is too busy doing other things to deal with it right now."
"Then let's deal with it ourselves." Beast Boy declared. His proclamation was met with several people crowding around Cyborg. Raven found that odd. The last time this was triggered, they just ran to the zeta tube that was near the common area.
With a hollow ring reverberating in the air, Raven heard a distinct 'boom!' erupt as a giant hole appeared out of thin air. It felt like space itself was suddenly warped and stretched, the glowing orange-gold entryway pulsing like it was an abomination to all known laws of physics. Somehow, she felt like distance was being compressed down to the space of a few steps, being propelled and laid antecedent by some sort of light. It made her nauseous.
Raven found herself blinking rapidly, jarred at the how her delicate sense of the space around her was being thoroughly upturned, and how its arrival made her head pulse with a small migraine.
Arrowette looked jubilant, eagerly watching alongside Raven as the Outsiders walked into the glorified wormhole. "Cool right? A boom tube can get you almost anywhere."
Raven pursed her lips, suddenly feeling apprehensive about their mode of travel. "That is not the word I'd use." The boom tube closed then, and the shuddering reassertion of reality had her quickly intaking a breath to calm her senses.
While the air no longer felt stretched, the boom tube had still left its mark. The aura of the area throbbed as if it endured a minor trauma, swollen with an excess of invisible energy that it didn't know how to deal with.
Taking a steadying breath, Raven reacclimated herself as Tigress gestured for the meek-looking Quraci girl to move forward. "Go ahead, Halo."
Another loud noise imposed itself in the air as another boom tube appeared, this time sporting an indigo color. With another sensation of warping and contortion running through her senses, Raven now felt distinctly lightheaded. Even her vision was affected, with her mind's eye temporarily overtaking her physical sight as she was forced to look at a kaleidoscope of various expanses.
It may have lasted a moment. Less than a few milliseconds, even. She was too familiar with Earth's waft and vibration of time to not realize that. But the vision itself felt longer — like a solid three seconds — and that realization made her frown. As a being who strived for constant control, this seemingly small distortion of her perception of time was jarring. She made a mental note to spend more time meditating later. If the monks of Azarath could see her now, they would no doubt be chastising her for failing to maintain her attunement with the world.
She could feel her alignments sliding out of place, of previously contained energies beginning to seep out, and even her powers felt agitated. But none of this was apparent to an outside observer.
'Better add a cleansing ritual on top of meditating', Raven thought. While she doubted anyone here was magically talented enough to perceive these minute changes in the area, she really didn't want to raise anyone's suspicions just yet.
Arrowette looked at the stiffened girl, taking it as a sign of shocked amazement, and gave her a friendly pat on the back. "You'll get used to it." With that she walked into the blinding light, and Raven found herself standing before the glowing abyss apprehensively.
Tigress came up behind her. "I know it's a bit intimidating, but if you stick around, you will be seeing a lot of stuff like this." She didn't make a move to go in herself, apparently waiting for Raven to go through the portal first.
'Has to make sure her chicks are all in a row', Raven thought sardonically.
Arsenal called out to her, imitating a concerned parent. "Raven, be sure to play nice with the other kids."
Raven shot her an irritated look, saying nothing despite conveying everything Arsenal needed to know. Then she took a deep breath, starting to walk into the literal unknown, with each step surprisingly feeling just as solid as the Earth. The corridor felt like she was walking on a sleek surface, but the sensation that ran across her skin reminded her of walking through a sunny day, with light kissing her skin and warming anything it touched. If she could somehow get used to the almost nauseating feeling of space being twisted in on itself, she would almost call the mode of travel pleasant.
| Owings Mill
| 2019 March 8th, 10:28 AM
She heard Robin speaking first, his formerly casual tone replaced with a hushed whisper. "Uh. So, we always scan this location before we come in, right? Did the computer not pick up on any suspicious movements in the area?"
She heard Spoiler speaking second, her equally-quiet whisper one part suspicious and one part cautious. "The watchtower only scans for unusual energy signatures. If these guys approached as if they were civilians, that wouldn't be cause for suspicion."
Robin tensely responded, his low voice rising a pitch. "But the watchtower also does surveillance! It would have warned us if people were around!"
Spoiler's panicked whisper came out closer to a small squeal. "Yeah, well, it's not hard to fool satellite images nowadays! And the Shadows definitely have that technology!"
Raven opened her bleary eyes to find them surrounded. While they were all dressed in casual garb — one was even wearing a Hawaiian shirt - their trained stances and glinting weapons instantly told her that these were hostiles.
At least ten people were glaring at them, several of whom were wielding kunai, shuriken, or some other form of easily-concealable weapon. There was a bald male standing behind them, looking entirely surprised as he was left holding what looked like a mechanical slab of some sort, distinct in that it had one red dot on it had an orange coloration. It was scanning the ground, and at her arrival it rang with a deep hum, as if offended at their intrusion.
She might not be familiar with the Team's enemies, but she guessed that they were just as surprised at their arrival as they were.
"Attack!", the man yelled.
Every single one of them leapt into action, gracefully yet ferociously beginning their assault. Robin and Spoiler similarly catapulted themselves into the fray, each trying to divert the enemy away from the boom tube entry point.
"Halo, try to prepare another boom tube! Arrowette, stay by the new girl!", Artemis shouted. She was currently batting away several people who tried to rush them, easily deflecting attacks to her person as she brought out her crossbow.
Halo raised her hands, trying to do just that, but was interrupted when a set of projectiles came hurtling her way. Forcing up a red barrier, she blocked their left side while Arrowette began rapid-shooting her arrows toward their right.
The air was rife with a tension that only came with combat, and Raven was a bit ashamed to admit that this caught her off guard. As someone who usually dictated her own movements, being dropped into the fray in such a literal manner stunned her for a good few seconds.
But she was no defenseless child. Noticing that Arrowete's side was the most vulnerable, she cast her hands up, biding her power to grasp anything that came in front of them. A few men were caught in purplish force, being harmlessly lifted into the air alongside with several throwing knives that had been headed in their direction. A few iron-tipped arrows were also suspended, and Raven grimaced internally when she noticed that these arrows were pointed away from their little group.
Giving a cursory glance to her left, she found the arrow-themed hero looking shocked that her arrows were being rendered useless. But that shock was momentary, and before Raven even knew what was going on, she shot another arrow that hovered in her psionic field before detonating in an electric burst.
The bright light made her close her eyes in the blinding discharge, and Raven heard all of the hovering objects drop to the ground as her concentration was disrupted. By the time she opened her eyes, she found the unconscious figures on the ground looking slightly flamed, surrounded by discarded arrows and blades that she once held in her psychic grip.
There were a few onlookers with wide eyes who hesitated with approaching them once their allies landed with a thud on the ground, but it wasn't long before they separated and tried to approach from separate angles.
One of them gripped what Raven suspected was either a flash bomb or a smoke grenade. Perfect for obstructing her vision and preventing her from catching their attack in a psionic grip. With a surge traveling through her arm, she bade her mental strength to become manifest. A solid shield rose up, the glowing wall emitting a small veil that reminded her of ethereal purple water.
She heard the bomb go off the moment she called on her power, and by the time the shield was up she felt, rather than heard, two sharp blades spring harmlessly off her shield.
The smoke was thick and billowing, easily sliding off and around her barrier as it encased their entire section of the battlefield in a thick cloud. She couldn't see anyone in the thick vapors, but she felt a feeling of confidence rise up in what she assumed was a nearby enemy. So confident that this smoke would give them an edge that his hope for glory shone through the artificial darkness.
She couldn't keep this up forever though, shields like this always took their toll if given enough time, and she didn't want to put it down while the smoke remained. Teleporting wasn't an option either, since she wasn't willing to her abandon her allies.
Raven found herself mentally lifting a small rock, propelling it forward into the darkness at great speed using her empathy as a guide. Raven found herself giving into a small smile when she heard it make contact. A painful male grunt served as confirmation of a successful hit, with a feeling of pain and surprise filling the air. Raven immediately began peppering her forefront with thrown rocks, her shield still standing tall. Most of them missed, with the various 'clacks' and 'pings' emerging from the black mist all but broadcasting her missed shots. But she knew a few landed based of the few howls of pain that was beginning to echo across the battle field.
There was a quick spike of fear behind her, and Raven didn't even have the chance to turn her head when kunai swept past her head. It scraped on her shield, as all others did. But Raven wasn't thrilled to hear several clanging noises appearing less than a few feet behind her as Arrowette began getting swarmed. She was fighting two of them off decently enough with her bow, but it was clear she was more comfortable in long distance combat. If she didn't do something soon, they would get overwhelmed.
Slapping her hands together and gritting her teeth, Raven forced her shield to become wider. Large enough to shield her and Arrowette both and leave no side unprotected as she all but pushed their enemies aside like bugs on a window shield. She heard the sound of something metallic hitting something before a minor pain seared her upper arm, with her uniform giving a distinct ripping sound.
She knew a cut when she felt one, with the searing sting quickly followed by the sensation of her blood trickling down her arm. But what had her almost dropping her shield in shock was the fact that this injury came from an arrow.
She glared at her companion, almost accusatory. But all she got in return was a sheepish look as she rubbed the back of her head. "Sorry. Must have ricocheted off of... this thing."
Now looking properly at the makeshift dome, Arrowette found herself marveling at the construct as she finally found some time to breathe. Even with the plaid-shirt assassin beginning to kick and punch the barrier. "So, you do shields?"
"Yeah. Don't expect this to last forever though.", came her quipped reply. She was trying to focus. She could make this shield last for a decent while, but she wouldn't be able to do much while it was being maintained. No telekinesis, no empathic tracking, nothing. She had to dedicate her energy to just this shield. But with the way things were going, a shield is what they needed most right now. "Call your teammates. If we can't beat them then we need to leave."
It would be difficult teleporting with this many people, but she could at least get them away from the fighting. Then she could let the boom tube girl take them the rest of the way. But they needed to regroup. She had lost track of almost everyone a while ago. Even Halo.
The long-haired girl nodded. "Yeah yeah, I'm on that. God, do I really regret not having my darkwear contacts." She looked around, haplessly trying to locate a familiar face in the surrounding darkness. "We can try one of my flare arrows. How much light can be seen past this shield?"
"Not much. It actually diminishes most outgoing light." Not to mention the massive amount of smoke that was surrounding them...
She looked worried. "So, the flare is a no-go." She looked around again, nocking an arrow on her bow in preparation. "Arsenal said you can track people. Can you sense Tigress, Spoiler, or anyone through this smoke?"
In fact, she probably could. If she wasn't maintaining this field, she would have a general idea of where everyone was on the battlefield. But then again, she had no idea who belonged to any empathic signature. She had only just met these people, after all. "Not with any accuracy. I could just as easily lead us into one of our attackers. So, unless you want me to made a guess on where we should go, try to think of something else."
She heard another bomb go off in the distance, and the smoke in front of them was seemingly reinvigorated with a darker color. So, it was probably another smoke bomb.
Two more people arrived to wear down the shield, but Raven was pretty sure that there more just outside of their sight range, waiting in the thick fog. She didn't need her empathy for that either, that was just a guess based on the fact that these guys were clearly trained.
She closed her eyes and took a breath, weighing her options. Teleporting with Arrowette wouldn't be too much trouble. It wasn't like they were crossing an entire state or anything, so she could teleport several people without tiring. The problem arose with where she wanted to teleport them. Leaving Artemis and the rest wasn't an option. She doubted the Team and League would be fond of that.
But if they stayed here, Raven would run out of the mental stamina required for the shield and they would be overrun. She could try putting everything into offence, but she really wanted to avoid that. The probability of hitting a Team member by mistake was too high.
So, their best chance was to get them just outside of the quarry and hope they could salvage the situation somehow. She'd be running mostly blind, but in theory she could locate Team members and teleport them to the rendezvous point one by one. It would take several trips, but it could be done. With this smoke in the picture, she might even be able to avoid conflict.
Just as she was about to open her mouth, a resounding white light entered her peripheral vision. It rang with a hollow sound and was positively blinding. Even though she shut her eyes to maintain concentration, Raven was surprised that it was possible to create such a large light in this shrouded scenario.
"Halo!" The hope that Raven could feel off Arrowette was palpable. "Raven, can you take us to that light?"
She cracked an eye open, carefully trying to glance in the light's direction without looking directly at it. It was hard to determine the actual distance, but it couldn't be too far. She could try slowly walking the barrier in that direction, but that would take a long time, and their enemies — now glaring at them through the barrier — would no doubt follow them the whole way. "I can get us there if you let me carry you."
She looked flummoxed. "Carry me?"
"Yes.", She hissed, annoyed. She could fell the distinct burn of her mental abilities starting to wear out. When left drained, her mind always tended to feel sluggish. A dangerous mindset to be caught in on an active battle field. "I can fly and take you with me."
"Um, yeah. Sure. Just tell me -"
Shield dropped, Raven put everything she had into flying toward the light, roughly gripping Arrowette along the way. With her able to concentrate on her empathy, she locked onto whatever was near the blinding light as she careened her way through the billowing air.
At full speed, it turned out she needed only a few seconds to close the distance. Too bad it resulted in her slamming into an unknown figure. Raising a fist to slam it into the unknown person's face, Raven felt a flare of alarm course through her as her punch was stopped by a firm hand. "Hey, easy!"
She recognized the masked face of Tigress looking at her, surprise lacing her features. She scrambled off of her new superior, and Arrowette quickly followed suit. Halo had prepared herself for an attack, now being clad in a yellow color and looking like she was ready to blast anyone who stepped too close. Upon regaining themselves, Halo's face looked relieved as she changed her color again. It was a shade darker this time, and looked like a burnt orange as she brought up a red force field around them all with seemingly little effort. Spoiler was here too, fists brought up in a fighting position.
Tigress's hand drifted toward one of her lower holsters, scanning everyone in attendance. "All we're missing is Robin. Has anyone seen him?" While her tone was calm, it was clear she was on edge. Not only were they caught unaware, but the Team was separated. Probably in an effort to protect the 'new girl'.
"No. I lost track of him when the smoke came into the picture." Spoiler said.
Halo's thick accent quickly followed, sounding panicked. "I too have not seen him. He left almost as soon as the battle started."
Raven found her voice. "Which direction?"
A few sets of eyes looked at her, not quite knowing or expecting the 'new girl' to provide anything useful.
Feeling mildly irritated, Raven had to remind herself that she would be doing a lot of explaining later. "If I know the general direction he went, and I am able to detect feelings associated wither either conflict or injury, then we may be able to determine his location."
Arrowette looked frustrated. "I thought you said you couldn't track anyone!?"
Feeling annoyed, she shook her head. "I can't. But with everyone else being here, that drastically increases the probability of me finding him. I might be able to find him based on where I detect feelings like rage, determination, pain, and the like. But I could just as easily be detecting a set of enemies who got confused in the smoke and ended up attacking each other. Or I could be detecting an enemy who was injured earlier on by one of you guys."
She took a breath. "Understand? With every other ally out of the picture, I can make a good educated guess on where he is."
Arrowette didn't look confident, but thankfully Tigress stepped in. "Well, taking an educated guess is a better than standing here. Spoiler, you were with him last, right?"
The purple-clad girl nodded. "Yeah. He was heading in that direction." She pointed a finger. "He was heading to large cuts of rock and debris. He was probably trying to find cover early."
Raven nodded. "Alright. Try to make sure no one hits me." Fixing her gaze on where she pointed, Raven found herself looking at a useless mass of artificial smoke. But her mind's eye was blind to that. She felt traces of frustration, anger, and thrill — common residues from a recent battle. And other feelings like calm contemplation, the patience that comes from waiting, and caution from vigilance, still peppering her senses. All presumably coming from unseen enemies that were waiting for an opportune moment to attack or holding their positions.
But it wasn't what she was looking for, and it wasn't anything that indicated whether Robin was nearby. So, she searched farther out, trying to find any sign of a fight or a chase. Or of someone dealing with serious injuries.
She found almost none of that. She found one person in pain, but their complete lack of worry made it doubtful that this was Robin. Pushing her senses farther, just beyond the quarry, she sensed more people. Some were in mild pain, but nothing to indicate serious injury. Most were silently milling in a muted sense of accomplishment. Some had a distinct feeling of relief flowing through them. One had feelings so dull, muted and altogether unfocused that she could only assume they were rendered unconscious. It was probably a fallen comrade. But the group altogether felt like they had accomplished something.
She did a brief mental scan of the quarry again. Nothing indicated that there was active fight, and nothing indicated that anyone was severely injured. Was Robin hiding until everything settled down? It was honestly a good strategy. She wouldn't be able to pin down his location either. Not in a quarry filled with serious and patient enemies who were waiting for some sort of signal or another.
A huff escaped her lips, the sound causing Spoiler to look at her expectantly. "I have no idea where he is. All of the fighting seems to have died down and everyone is just waiting. He could be hiding."
A look of frustration erupted on their faces.
"However.", Raven continued. "There is a group of them just outside the quarry. They feel like they completed their objective and are now just waiting for extraction. One of them is unconscious. I don't know what they came for, but should we try to stop them? Or at least look to see who or what we are dealing with?"
She had some ideas. Scorpio, the Cult of Kobra, Shadowspire. There were many trained terrorist and mercenary groups to choose from. But she couldn't find any emblem on them, and they were not in uniform. It's not like she had personally encountered any of them either. But these guys were clearly trained, and moved with practiced accuracy.
Tigress shook her head. "We are most likely dealing with the League of Shadows. I don't know what they could possibly be looking for here. But it is clear our arrival interrupted their search. So, unless they found something in all of this chaos..." She looked thoughtful for a moment.
Raven found herself frowning. From what she researched, the Shadows were interested in power brokering, espionage, assassinations, and manipulations. What could they possibly be doing here?
Tigress lifted herself, suddenly looking in her direction. "Wait. Did you say that someone in that group was unconscious?"
Raven raised an eyebrow. "Uh, yeah. It's probably some guy who was knocked out. Why?"
A look was passed between everyone in attendance, and for the first time since she got here, Raven felt woefully out of the loop.
With her voice taking on an authoritative edge, Tigress brought out her crossbow once again. "Alright. We will head over to that group and see what exactly they have in their possession. This is purely recon. We won't engage them unless they have Robin."
Raven was confused. "Why would they have Robin? Wouldn't these guys just kill him?"
Arrowette waved her off. "Long story, but the gist is that the Shadows are not above kidnapping people for cloning or research purposes. Especially if it's one of us."
"And if we interrupted their primary mission, making off with Robin would be a great consolation prize.", Spoiler finished.
Cloning? She had never heard of the Shadows doing things like that. But that hardly mattered now that their course was set. "Since I know where they are, I can drop you guys off. If they are expecting anyone at all, they will expect them to come from the direction of the quarry. So, I'll drop you guys behind them so we can approach them from their backside. Not sure how long we'll remain hidden, though."
Tigress looked satisfied with her suggestion. "That's fine. Halo can give us camouflage."
Her quick adaptive planning was beginning to remind her of Arsenal. It almost never mattered what situation he was in; he could make an effective plan in less than five minutes with the material he had on hand. "Sounds good. Prepare yourselves for cold temperatures."
Taking a deep breath, she took an extra moment to attune her magics to the world around her. She wanted this teleportation to be as seamless as possible. When she raised her hands, black enveloped the feet beneath them, and Raven was impassive as two of her teammates gave a small yelp as they fell through.
Traveling along an ebon tide, it seemed like not even a few seconds have passed when she dropped them on a clear hillside. The fresh air was crisp in her lungs, and Raven found herself relieved to be looking at a clear sunny day. The view didn't last too long though, as her view was almost immediately obstructed by a neon green film.
Looking beside her, she noticed that Halo had changed colors yet again. She was now bright green, and holding out her hands to generated some sort of transparent field. Based on the slight shimmer and Tigress's earlier statements, she suspected some form of cloaking technology was being used.
She gave Halo a once over, taking care with trying to locate some sort of box or device that was hiding on her person. But her color-changing uniform was mostly tight-fitting, and Raven saw no signs of hidden weaponry or tools. Maybe she was using some form of head device? Or were her powers naturally this color coded and varied?
Spoiler's voice interrupted her thoughts. "I have a visual." She was standing straight, seemingly uncaring that they were standing in an open field. While there were a few trees dotting the landscape, the terrain was mostly filled with hills and clear grass. She was looking through a small pair of black binoculars, peering at a group of individuals in the far distance. "I only see a few of them. They are walking over the hill so I'll see the whole group soon."
Raven looked in the distance, trying to look at the figures herself. But aside from seeing their general shape, they mostly looked like dots in the distance. There were a few more moments of silence, and each second felt longer than it actually was. But it was eventually broken when Spoiler spoke up, with a potent form of anxiety coming from her pores. "I was right! They have him! It looks like they are waiting to take him somewhere."
Tigress looked at her. "You can lift things with your mind, right? Can you get us closer to them if we need to move? If we just run at them, they might hear our footsteps in the grass."
Raven found herself quickly re-assessing the distance, mentally calculating how much energy it would take to lift five people. "So long as you don't expect to travel quickly, I can get you guys within striking distance."
It would also be easier if she could just teleport them right on top of the group, but she'd rather conserve her magic. Just in case. They might be put in a position where Halo was forced to retreat with one part of the Team, while she had to retreat with whoever remained.
Tigress was not disappointed in her statement. "Slow and steady is fine. Arrowette, Spoiler, and I will handle the ambush. You stick by Halo and remain in reserve. Once we get Robin, help us hold them off long enough for Halo to get us out of here. Can you do that?"
Her response was instant. "Yes."
It did not escape Raven's notice that Tigress felt impressed at her answer, but it was quickly squashed as she focused on the task at hand. Focusing her mind again, she felt her eyes glow as she lifted her teammates with relative ease, which Tigress took as an opportunity to address the team. "They are likely waiting for whoever has the fatherbox, but I knocked him out a while ago. So, we're lucky on that count. But they have cars on the other side of the quarry, too, so don't be surprised if one comes speeding our way. Let's just grab Robin and get out of here."
Raven could see them clearly now, even being able to see the tacky logos and cargo pants some of them were wearing. With Halo's hologram still up, they didn't seem any wiser to their approach. One of the more lithe-looking ones was even on a phone, presumably trying to contact a superior. Robin was currently slung over the shoulder of a blonde-haired man who was equipped with a short sword. It was sleek, thin, and perfect for hiding behind pant legs in a holster.
Aiming her crossbow at the said man's weapon-wielding arm, Tigress poised her crossbow silently for a shot. Taking Robin would be made fairly easy if she could land the shot — which she would. The range was too close for her to miss. Following her lead, Spoiler brought out her batons to bring down a pair of men in loose T-shirts while Arrowette aimed her bow to take out a female who was on the group's outer fringes.
All in all, this ambush would be over in a few seconds if all went well. Literally strike, grab, and retreat.
When the arrow finally left Tigress's weapon, it was all a flurry of movement. The man holding Robin howled in pain as Tigress all but pummeled him to reach for her charge. Grunts and angry yells were heard when Spoiler assaulted the group, and Arrowette — who already shot her initial arrow — capped the whole thing off with a flash bomb. The yellow light was blinding, but it was quickly eclipsed when she saw shaded figures running towards her.
"Halo!", someone yelled.
A large boom rang through the air, and Raven didn't have to look to know there was a boom tube appearing just behind her. Arrowette rushed past her to get inside, with Spoiler following quickly. Halo followed immediately afterward, but was deliberately hanging by the entrance.
Raven, for her part, held her ground as psionic energy flowed into her hands. Everyone except Tigress and Robin were accounted for, and she was prepared to grab anyone or anything that would hamper her retreat. They quickly entered her line of vision, pursued by enemies who were several steps behind.
But she didn't run past her. Instead, Raven was incredulous as Tigress ran straight forward her and all but shoved her into the boom tube, with the shove in her sternum feeling more like a palm strike than a means to get her into a doorway.
She even felt like she was in the air for a solid second, with the boom tube's altered physics making her all but fly her way through backwards as Tigress continued her rapid retreat. One hand holding an unconscious Robin over her shoulder, the other pushing a newbie psychic.
From her vantage point, Raven watched Halo turn to run after them. Her face clearly displayed a feeling of bewilderment at her treatment, not even bothering to look back at the small group of pursuers that were futilely trying to reach for a quickly-closing boom tube.
| The HUB
| 2019 March 8th, 8:11 AM
With Spoiler and Arowette panting at various positions in the room, Raven found herself heaped unceremoniously onto the ground when they exited the boom tube. Feeling like she had been nailed with a bean bag gun, Raven grunted as she lifted herself into a standing position. Arsenal, whose eyes were widened in distinct shock, rushed over to help her.
Tigress was nearby, situating the still unconscious Robin onto a nearby couch as Superboy looked between the two. Figuring Tigress had the Robin matter handled, he ended up walking over to Raven. "That was quick. I take it the training had complications?"
"If by "complications", you mean "being ambushed". Then yeah, we had "complications".", Spoiler irritably growled.
Arrowette bit her lip. "I wouldn't exactly call it an ambush. We just sorta dropped in on them while they were doing... something. But if they had wanted to fight, they wouldn't be decked out in civilian clothes."
Halo approached them then, hands anxiously gripping each other. "They were using a fatherbox to search for something. I don't know what they could possibly want there, but perhaps they were trying to evaluate energies left there by me?"
A holo-screen emerged from thin air in front of them, the ease of which had Raven mentally marveling at the technology they had so readily available. Most bases could never hope to afford holo-technology, but here it was used as an everyday function.
Tigress was standing before the screen, and Raven noted curiously that her irises seemed to be glowing a bright yellow as the screen displayed footage that could have only been obtained while they were at the quarry. "It may not have just been energy signatures. They could have been looking for genetic material. Blood, hair — even Lobo's missing finger* would be a great find."
"Them and their genetic experiments. Don't the bad guys have enough?", Arsenal darkly muttered.
Superboy looked disturbed at the idea. "The fact they were even searching there at all shows us that they know we train there." He gave Tigress a knowing look, as if they had had a similar conversation at some point in the past. "You know when Nightwing hears about this he's going to say "I told you so". It's why he's been advocating that we -"
"Confine all training to the HUB or any secure League-affiliated facilities." Tigress looked defeated at the admission. "You know, I actually like being able to train in natural terrain every once in a while."
Superboy shrugged. "I know the feeling. Training in a simulation is one thing, but I always liked breathing in natural air. Still, if you feel that strongly about it, you can always plead your case to Nightwing when he gets here. He's coming up the elevator now, and I think this incident will all but cement his case."
Tigress didn't look pleased at that. As if looking for an excuse to not immediately talk to him, she turned her gaze to Raven. "We should probably head over to the infirmary. Your injuries look minor, but we need to make sure that cut doesn't get infected."
Raven didn't look pleased. In fact, she almost looked angry, with her face taking on an unnatural hardness that put them a bit on edge. "The cut is fine. I'm more concerned about the fact you gave me a palm strike to my chest. You should know that there are serious dangers if you hit me between heartbeats, right?"
Arsenal and Superboy shot Tigress a pair of stormy expressions, the latter of whom also looked ready to confront her unless she explained herself while the former mostly looked troubled that such a maneuver was used at all.
Tigress almost looked defensive. "Look, I wasn't trying to hurt you. You were frozen and not retreating with the others. So, I just pushed you away. It just... came out a palm strike." When she took her mask off, she almost looked sheepish. But mostly unapologetic. "My main goal was to make sure you were still with us by the time the boom tube closed. But I am sorry if the treatment was a bit rough. My other hand was kinda busy with carrying Robin."
"I wasn't frozen. I was waiting for you." Her posture was sure and her voice was plain, making the statement sound more like a fact than a lame excuse. "But I can see where you are coming from."
Tigress almost found herself retorting, but stopped herself. "Well, I guess we will have to get better at communication. But we should still head over to the infirmary." She lightly grabbed the affected arm, fingers gently probing the dried blood that was gumming up the edges of the cut fabric. But to her surprise, the skin was already closed. Once the drying blood was cast aside, there wasn't a wound to be seen.
"I heal quickly." Raven stated.
Instead of looking irritated that she didn't tell her sooner, Tigress just looked disappointed. "Well. So much for looking for an excuse to not talk to Nightwing."
"You don't want to talk to me? Why?"
While she didn't see him, Raven felt Arsenal's emotions do a 180. As if this was yet another moment that he eagerly wanted to see firsthand.
Looking to her side, Raven pinpointed the familiar voice of Nightwing to its source. She had only heard his voice once, but she made it a point to remember it. But when she found herself looking at a face, she almost choked on her own spit.
She could understand the Outsiders being open with their identity but Nightwing?! He was strolling in wearing a blue and black jacket and no mask to speak of, all but broadcasting his identity as Dick Grayson.
Dick. Motherfucking. Grayson. Bruce Wayne's famous ward and her one-time celebrity crush (it was a phase). 'And Arsenal fucking knew it', Raven thought, recalling his reaction every time she brought up Nightwing's name. If she wasn't so focused on the implications of his identity, she would have teleported herself away just to deal with her growing sense of mortification.
Looking to her friend's direction, Raven was immediately tempted to wipe the smug smirk off his face. He looked like the cat that caught the canary, eagerly wallowing in the succulent knowledge that he alone possessed. He was the only person alive who knew of her little prepubescent crush, and his look told her that he absolutely loved that fact. She could already envision the teasing.
But embarrassing secret aside, other things were taking precedence in her mind. Like how Batman was most likely Bruce Wayne, one of the richest men alive. Was Jason Todd a Robin? Was Dick Grayson? There was some debate on how many protégés the Dark Knight had had under the same alias. But if Batman was Bruce Wayne, it only made sense that Robin would be one of his wards.
She didn't even bother to hide her surprise, with her eyes going as wide as saucers as she looked at him. She had to. Otherwise, her powers would bust the nearest window. It almost felt like she was being compelled by the spies of ages past to point out his behavior. "Nightwing... you are not wearing a mask. At all."
He gave her a smile, the action almost making her flinch. "So, you recognize me, huh? It takes most people a few seconds at least. Some don't even realize until much later."
It was offensive to her sense of professionalism how recognizable he was. It was almost painful. Superboy and Tigress were one thing. One was already open with his identity to the world at large, and Tigress's unmasked face seemed to belong to no one special.
But Dick Grayson. It wasn't even funny how easy it was to identify him, and Nightwing was arguably one of the more mysterious vigilantes that the government wanted information on. Now she could practically serve it on a silver platter. And she hadn't even been trying, he had just strolled in without a care in the world of who saw him.
"And anyway, you're one to talk. You have no mask. And no — the hood doesn't count." He playfully jabbed back.
"I change my appearance when I operate as a hero. It serves the same purpose." She dumbly replied. She didn't know if Nightwing in particular knew what she looked like under 'normal' circumstances, but she was pretty sure he would soon. If he didn't already.
Nightwing gave a noncommittal shrug. "Sounds pretty cool, actually." He turned his gaze to Tigress. "Now what was that about not wanting to talk to me?"
The two began to talk, but Raven was hardly listening. The implications of this group's casual attitudes toward identities were still dawning on her, and the growing feeling of horror inside of her was steadily growing. She had thought — hoped even — that her reports would only be superficial. That she would only give observations on how they operated and the tech they used, not learn major identities. Why not give her a list of all zeta-tube locations while they were at it then? Or access to the Watchtower?
"Did you get that, Raven?", Superboy asked.
Raven cleared her head, refocusing her attention to the man who was speaking to her. "I'm sorry, what?"
He didn't look irritated that he had to repeat himself again. He was particularly patient. "I said you and other members of the Team will be heading to the Watchtower at 10 o' clock today. We have a mission briefing at 11, but we want to begin designing a new suit for you. Something with a bit more padding in key areas. The Watchtower has a textile laser array we can use to create one.
Raven just stared. It's like they were not even trying to keep secrets*.
Author's Note: Arsenal was 15 when he was captured and frozen so he was probably in 10th grade. In 2018 (Season 3), that would normally place him in 12th grade since he was biologically 17. But we all know his circumstances were far from normal. So it's easy to see him missing an additional school year.
Delta City is an oft-forgotten city in DC comics. Home of the hero known as Heckler who has the power of "annoying anybody" (yes, you read that right), it is a city known for its weirdness and eccentricities.
Raven being adversely affected by certain forms of energy has been displayed in the comics. Usually with characters such as Kilowatt and Solstice whose powers generate energy that doesn't mesh well with Raven for an unexplained reason.
As a reminder, Lobo did indeed lose a finger while fighting Halo. This severed finger eventually grew into a mini-Lobo, but it and the rest of the genetic material was destroyed by the end of Season 3.
It's probably showing how secret identities were "retro" in Bart's og timeline, but heroes are becoming more and more lax on maintaining secret identities. Public heroes like the Outsiders aside, Nightwing barely bothered to hide his identity around Halo and Brion, and even Batman was willing to openly show his face in the HUB by the time Season 3 was over. And League members like Canary and Zatanna barely bothered with concealing their identity at all.