They stepped out of the house, Albert slung over Damian's shoulder, to find Mammoth and Gizmo on the street, their hands bound behind them. The crimson archer had his boot on the dwarf's back, an arrow knocked, drawn, and pointed right at Mammoth's ear. Kneeling on the roof of a car as a green clad archer with blonde hair and goatee, his own arrow drawn back and aimed at the door they had just come out of.
"Well, fuck," Damian said. "Now there are two of them."
Raven's eyes glowed with black light for a moment, then returned to violet.
"There always were," she said. Damian scowled at that.
"Surrender," the green archer said. "I'm taking you in."
"Counter offer," Damain said. "You fuck off."
"This is the man who ordered the death of Oliver Queen," Raven said, indicating the bound Albert. "We're happy to let you have him. In exchange, we want you to let us go."
"And why the hell would we do that?" the crimson archer asked. "You tried to kill Oli-my boss. From the looks of it, you just killed a dozen people in that house."
"Your boss was a job," Damian said with a scowl. "One I failed, at that."
"We're getting out of the assassination business," Raven said. "What happened here was merely a matter of self defense. Mr. Albert here was going to kill us because Da-"
"Robin," Damian said, sternly.
"Because Robin here failed," Raven finished.
The two archers' eyes narrowed in tandem at the name Damian used, then exchanged a look.
"Look," Raven said. "We can fight, in which case no one here wins. If you beat us, we go to prison, in which case our only options is to keep living a life of crime. If we beat you, then you get hurt and we have to live on the run. Take Mr. Albert here and you get the man who wanted your boss dead and we can go and try and live better lives."
Speedy looked at the green archer as the silence dragged on.
"You can't be seriously thinking of taking them up on this?" the teen archer asked.
"We came here for Albert," the older man said, thoughtfully. "Hell, that's why he put out the hit on me. Plus, they're kids..."
"I can't believe you," Speedy said with a groan. Raven could tell he wanted to facepalm, but didn't dare risk taking his bow off Mammoth.
"Look," Raven said, letting some of how she was feeling show. "We...I...don't like killing. We did what we had to and I pray we never have to do it again. Let us go and we're out of that business. I promise."
Queen stared her from behind his mask. Then, slowly, he lowered his bow.
"Oh come on," Speedy protested.
"Let them up, Speeds," Queen said. He climbed down from the car with a wince and walked over to Damian. The young man glared up at the older man.
"You know, I've known some Robins in my time," Queen said, shouldering his bow and taking a grip on Albert. "You're not one of them. They won't like you tarnishing their good name."
"Maybe they shouldn't have stolen mine," Damian hissed angrily, shrugging Albert off his shoulder. Queen gave him a confused look, before grunting in pain at the unexpected weight.
Without another word, Damian shoved past him and marched over to where Speedy was reluctantly getting off Gizmo. Producing a blade from somewhere, the young man cut the dwarf free, followed by the giant.
"Thank you for this," Raven said, looking up at Queen. His eyes looked her over, liking what he saw, then paused as he realized what he'd done. Confusion flickered over his features, which wasn't helped as he finally got a good look at the mostly nude Blackfire as she stalked past.
"Yeah," Queen said absently, "you just do the right thing and stay out of trouble."
"No promises," Raven said impishly. She leaned up and kissed his cheek, pressing her breasts against his arm. She could use his confusion against him, buy them time and a chance. Queen stood there, stunned, as she floated over to join her companions. Speedy gave her a disgusted look, before going over to his boss and helping him cart away Albert.
"Well, that was humiliating," Gizmo grumbled as he dusted himself off. "Great plan, fearless leader."
"It worked, didn't it?" Damian said. "They're off our case, we don't have to deal with the cops, and now we don't have to deal with Albert."
"That's a bit optimistic," Gizmo said. "Just cause he's arrested doesn't mean Albert isn't still the boss. He'll order people after us, and even if he didn't, every two bit hood wanting to make a name and earn his favor will come after us."
"What you saying, boss?" Mammoth asked.
"I'm saying we're done here," Gizmo said grumpily. "Gizmo's Gimzos is gonna end up a fire bombed wreck if we stay here."
"Well, you're welcome to come with us," Raven said gently. "We could use your help trying to start a new life. With your tech and Mammoth's strength, we could get a lot farther in life. Isn't that right, Damian?"
"Yeah," Damian said, with a frown. He nodded his head, slowly, then turned to Gizmo and extend a hand. "What do you say. Partners?"
Gizmo looked at the hand, then the boy, then let out a disgruntled sigh and took it.
"Hell, not like we got options at the moment," the dwarf grumbled. "But we got to get out of the city and fast, and I'm not leaving my inventory behind."
"I think we could find a couple big trucks easy enough," Damian said. "If we hurry, we might be able to get a start-"
Raven turned to watch the sun rise. As far as omens went, she thought, that was a pretty good one. With the first rays of daylight, there was a terrible cry.
Agony washed over her body like blazing fire. One moment, she was floating in the air. The next she slammed into the pavement.
"Raven?" Damian's voice echoed somewhere above her. "Raven!"
Through the haze of pain, she stared up at the confused faces of her companions. As the cry faded, so did the pain, but it still felt like she'd stuck something metal in an electrical socket.
"W-what?" she asked, her tongue thick. Even asking that single word had been agony.
"Are you okay?" Damian asked.
"I-I don't..." Raven stuttered.
"Get her into the van," Damian ordered. Raven felt herself being picked up by Mammoth's giant hands, the big man cradling her like a babe. That same cry came again. Cock-a-doodle-do! It sent a wave pain through her that made her curl up into a ball.
Then the van door shut, sealing away that terrible sound. There was a shaking as they drove off, then blessed relief as the cry faded to nothing.
Damian's face appeared above hers again, concern in his green eyes, along with confusion.
"Wh-what was that?" Raven asked. "It was...it was terrible. It hurt so much."
"I don't know," Damian said, gently stroking her hair. The tenderness of it shocked her. "I don't know, but you'll be okay. I promise."
"Thank you," Raven said. She closed her eyes. If she never heard that horrible sound again, it would be too soon. "Thank you, Damian."
He stayed by her side as the others vanished, presumably to help Gizmo get his stuff squared away. Eventually the pain faded away and she was able to sit up and accept a small cup of coffee from him.
"The Arrow," Raven said as the first sips warmed her. "He said he'd met other Robins. He meant the adopted sons of Wayne, didn't he?"
Damian nodded.
"And you took their name and their costume as the price of them throwing you out?" Raven asked softly. Again, Damian nodded. She reached over and placed her hand over his. He froze for a moment, then grasped her hand in his. "Do you think they'll come after you?"
"I doubt it," Damian said. "They haven't bothered coming after me in four years. Why should they start now?"
"You know, a new start is a good time to pick a new name," Raven said gently. "It's what I did."
"You're telling me your name isn't Raven?" Damian asked dryly.
"It is now," Raven said, looking down. "It's a name I earned by losing everything and everyone I knew."
"What was it before?" Damian asked.
"Rachel," she said softly. "That's what my mother named me. Before she...left me."
"Oh," Damian said. He looked down at their joined hands. "Sorry."
"It's in the past," Raven said. "We should focus on the future. That's what's important."
"The League," Damian said. "And stopping your father."
Raven nodded.
There was a bang as the door to the back of the van opened. Gizmo looked up at them with a squint against the growing light.
"We're ready to go," the dwarf said, "but I don't trust Blackfire to drive the other van, so you're up Dams."
"I can fly spaceships," Blackfire's said sarcastically. "One of your earth vehicles should be no problem."
"We also need to know where we're going," Gizmo said, ignoring the alien. "Something tells me, that's up to you."
Damian looked thoughtful for a moment. Finally he seemed to come to a decision.
"You know, I heard there's a massive jewelry exhibit worth six million in Berlin," he said.