Chapter 27: Acquired

Taipei

September 7, 19:50 NST

"I still don't see why I'm not in there."

Back in uniform, I'm leaning up against a wall at the Taipei Police Department, outside of the interrogation between Roy and Cheshire. Waiting for Roy to either be done asking her questions or to call me in to question her myself. Most likely it'll be the former.

Roy doesn't get how deceptive and manipulative Cheshire can be, even if she's cornered. Hell, she might be more dangerous that way. If he gets his ass kicked by her somehow, he'll somewhat deserve it.

Look, I'm happy that Roy called me in on this. I am. But I feel like I'm nothing more than just backup, like I'm his sidekick. The irony in that. Even though we've known each other for years, Roy still doesn't give much thought to the Team, to my friends. He probably only acknowledges me because he knows my skill and that he cares about me. But Roy is too damn stubborn for his own good. It would take something pretty big for him to admit something's wrong for him. That'll be the day.

And if you ask me, I think he wants me out here, so I don't feel like a third wheel in there. I'm not saying that Roy has a type, but he does end up with more bad girls than he does with normal or good girls. And bad is rarely ever criminals or assassins. I just hope if I end up walking in there, I don't find her kissing him while behind bars. If that happens, I swear I'll—

The room behind me shakes. Siren alarms start to go off repeatedly. Should've known this night wasn't going to end well.

Before I can open the door, Roy comes bursting out. And by the look on his face, he's pissed.

Roy runs for the stairs, going up. I follow in pursuit. "What happened?"

"Cheshire escaped."

"How?"

"Someone blew a hole in the building, that's how!"

We make it to the roof of the building. Roy and I run over to the edge of the building. Looking to our north, we find Cheshire making her escape with… Sportsmaster? What does Sportsmaster have to do with any of this?

"Roy." I direct his view to the helicopter descending where they'll eventually meet it. Roy shoots a zipline arrow down towards a building a few blocks away. I slide down it first, with my bo staff, with Harper behind me. Looking to our rights, Cheshire pulls out a shuriken. Throwing it our way, I rearrange my feet onto the zipline and leap off it, while Roy drops before the shuriken snaps the line in two.

Landing on my feet, I pull out my white ribbon and lash it towards Sportsmaster. It wraps around his arm. He looks to me, those cold eyes behind that hockey mask. He grabs the ribbon and pulls on it, pulling me along with it. I take advantage of this and use the momentum I gather as he pulls me forward, leap into the air in a straight, flat form, and kick him in the chest. Like a dart hitting its bullseye.

The kick pushes him back against the helicopter. I bring my staff up to his neck, pushing tightly on it. "Have we met before, little girl?"

"Not formally, but I'm familiar with your work. Santa Prisca? Very messy. Sorry to hear about your sale going down the toilet."

"That's what you think, don't ya?" He headbutts me, grabs my staff and smacks me all over me until I lay on the ground. He drops the staff and gets into the copter with Cheshire, as I writhe in pain.

The copter takes off from the ground as Roy reaches to me. He stops shortly, checking on my wellbeing. "Go get them." And he listens.

Roy shoots one last zipline arrow onto the helicopter, with him going into the air as well. I get up and see no more than a minute Cheshire cutting it with her sai. Roy falls through the air, fast. Before he hits the ground, he shoots an arrow at the ground. Next thing I see is red foam coming from it, with Roy landing into it messily.

"Red Arrow, come in."

"Are you okay, Sara?"

"Yeah, I'll live. What about them? We gotta find them."

"Don't worry, Canary. I've got a lead on them."

Roy's tracker led us to a Taiwanese temple not too far from the docks. After some convincing from Roy, he let me come with him. Injured or not, he's not getting rid of me that easily. Plus, two assassins against one of him, no way. And if anything, my pride is hurt more, letting Sportsmaster use my own staff on me. Makes me wanna rip his mask off and shove it up his…

Anyways, all we see right now is Sportsmaster and Cheshire waiting for their client I assume. And the tension seems to be thick. Those two clearly have a history, and a bad one at that.

"The evening's agenda was to create strife between nations… not my assassins." From the temple's shadows comes a figure. A figure I remember all too well.

A woman. A young, caramel skinned woman. Cladded in black and red armor and silk robes. With a quiver and bow strapped to her back, and a sword to her side. Though her words could cut just as deeply. And those amber eyes, cold at times, and yet warm at others. Nyssa…

"Mistress", Cheshire says as she bows.

"And client", she answers back. "So, twice disappointed in your failure. Luthor has been a thorn in my father's side for too long. And peaceful countries rarely call upon the League of Shadows."

"Nyssa al Ghul?" Roy says. But honestly, I'm too distracted seeing her here to pay any other attention. Why is she here?

"So I expect a better outcome, and less interference from those two." She turns her stare onto both of us as see finishes her sentence. Cheshire and Sportsmaster turn soon after, looking to us as targets now.

"Perfect."

"You two, deal with the boy. Leave the girl to me", she says, looking right at me.

Roy pulls his arrow along his bowstring and releases it at Nyssa. Cheshire steps in front of her and deflects the shot. Both Sportsmaster and Cheshire come running towards us. Before Roy does anything else, he grabs a hold of me. "Go after her."

"What? But Roy, you can't fight them both off."

"I can and will. Get what you can out of al Ghul before she disappears. Now go!" Roy runs along the temple roofing, leaving me alone.

"It's been far too long since we've last crossed paths." Hearing her voice from up here, talking to me. It snaps me out of my daze, directing all my attention to her. Remember why you're here, Sara. Remember who you are now.

I jump down to the ground, landing on my feet. I pull out my bo staff, making sure if she comes at me, I'll be ready. "Not long enough if you ask me."

"You don't mean that now."

"I do." We begin to circle one another, never taking our eyes off the other.

"Oh, come now, Sara." Nyssa walks closer towards me. "Our time together wasn't all that bad now. I would have thought you enjoyed yourself." She places her hand on my left cheek, sending chills down my body. "I know I did."

I shake the feeling off me and remove her hand from my face with my staff. "What's past is past. Why come after Luthor, and now?"

"My father and Luthor have always had a… strained relationship. He wishes to cut that bond free now."

"With Luthor's head on a plate."

"You and I both now that this world would better off with Luthor gone."

"That may be true. But what will killing him get you? Will it truly end his plans? Will it tell his men and followers to go home and leave the world be? You kill him like this, it will make him a martyr for a greater cause than any of us now."

"Perhaps. But that is a risk the Shadows are willing to take."

"The Shadows will do whatever they believe to be right! They never see murder and death and genocide as monstrous as the world would see it as… as I see it now…"

"Oh, Sara", Nyssa says as her face is inches away from mine, "you truly believe me to be a monster?" Being this close to her, it's bringing back a lot of memories. As much as I dread my past with the Shadows, there are a few moments that I do cherish. The air around her… Intoxicating…

I back away before I do anything I know I'll regret. "Maybe. Maybe I'm the monster in this story. But someone very important to me has come into my life. This person taught me that hope is the most powerful weapon we have in our arsenal. And as stupid and cliché as this sounds, I still have hope for you, Nyssa. I believe that you are better than the Shadows, better than what they've made you to be. Better than your father."

"My father is a great man! One willing to do what it takes to save the world."

"And if sacrificing his own daughter was the price he would have to pay?"

That last remark takes her aback for a moment. "He may be vigilant, but he would never do that."

"You really believe that? Maybe you should ask Talia. She knows him better than you do." Once I saw that, her eyes become cold as steel. Like her father's.

"If I were you, I'd be more worried about your friend there."

I turn around and find Cheshire and Sportsmaster having cornered Roy, with no bow, at the edge of the temple. Damnit Roy, I knew you couldn't take them!

"Nyssa—" But before I can say anything, she's gone. Back to the Shadows with her. Until next time, I guess.

I climb up the temple roof just as Roy jumps off of it and dives into the water. But Sportsmaster throws a javelin towards him as he dives. Right after Roy hits the water, the javelin does as well. Next thing I see, an explosion making waves on the surface, and most definitely impacting anything under it. Roy!

With neither of them noticing me, I dive into the water myself to the side. Underwater, I see a lot of bubbles from the explosion. To my north, I find Roy somehow managing to swim away from the temple. I swim after him, catching up to him and grabbing a hold of him as we swim to shore.

I push him onto the stone ground first, resurfacing right after. We both take a few seconds to breath and think about what just happened.

I punch him in the shoulder, angry at him. "Idiot! I told you two against one was a bad idea. You should've waited for me. You can't do everything on your own." But Roy doesn't say anything to me. All he does is continue to breath heavily.

Roy turns on his comms piece in his ear. "It's me. I may… possibly be in over my head." Wow. Roy Harper admitting and asking for help. We're in so much trouble.

Coast City

September 7, 12:16 PDT

While everyone else in the school uses our lunch break to eat, I use it to feed my artistry instead. I sit at a table by myself, sketching out two teenagers at the carnival, under the starry sky. Holding hands and sharing cotton candy. Maybe, one day…

I lose my train of thought when someone slams down their food tray right in front of me. Shaken, I look up to see my overly protective friend, Jillian, presumably wanting to question me again.

"It is good to see you back in your artistic groove, Kyle", she says. Not what I was expecting right away. She takes a closer look at the page, more specifically, at the two teenagers. "So, I'm guessing this is supposed to be you and your model friend?" There it is.

I put my hand on my forehead, getting a bit of a migraine now. "She's not a model, professionally speaking. She's a friend who doesn't mind if I draw her from memory."

"From memory? You are back, Michelangelo! For all I know, you could draw her wearing anything you can think of, or even…" Without finishing that sentence, my face turns bright red most likely.

"For Christ's sake, Jill! I would never do that with anyone I draw! Who am I, Leo de Caprio from Titanic?"

"Sorry, eesh! Didn't mean to offend." After a minute of silence, as I continue working on my sketch, Jill looks up my way. "But really, who is she Kyle? To you, I mean?"

That last part of her question stops my pencil dead on. I stare at the two teens on their date, already imagining myself and Sara on that date. It seems silly to hope for someone as simple as that with our lives, but maybe it can happen. Even if she feels the same way about me. I look up to Jillian. As much as I keep my superhero life a secret from my friends, I can't keep everything from them.

I put down my sketchbook and pencil down, breath in and out slowly. "Her name is Sara. She really is a friend of mine. But, if I'm being honest, I wish we could be more than friends."

"Well who can blame you? With someone that drop dead gorgeous—"

"It's not even about how she looks. She's great in general. She's strong, fearless, a badass of a girl. And she has this big heart too, so much kindness, and a want—a need—to help this world in anyway she can. She's just… she's just amazing."

"Wow… I've never heard you talk about anyone like this so much… You must really like her, this Sara…", Jill says with a lower tone. She brings it back up to her normal range. "So what's stopping you then? Why don't you take her to the carnival?", as she points to my sketch.

"Because…" I try to think of a decent answer other than 'We're both on the same superhero team and that would throw off our balance!' "Because I'm not sure she'll like me as much as I do her."

Looking straight at Jillian, she has this look in her eyes. Fierce and unstoppable. "Kyle Rayner, that has got to be the biggest load of horseshit you've ever said to me."

"What?"

"Why wouldn't she like you? You're amazing! You're intelligent, kind, generous, warm, you're the best artist I've ever met."

"I'm the only artist you've ever met."

"Not my point. My point is, she would have to be crazy not to fall for a guy like you. Any girl would… Or else I'll rope them like cattle until they say yes." That last remark makes me chuckle.

"I appreciate the offer, but I think I'm good. Besides, I'm not sure you could 'rope' Sara up so easily."

"I'm willing to give it a shot."

"Ease up there, cowgirl", I say as we both laugh. It is nice to know I can talk to someone about my life that isn't on the Team. You know, some normalcy.

"So, are you gonna ask this Sara out then?"

"Maybe. Hopefully. I just gotta do it right."

"Well the sooner the better. Because the next thing you know, she'll be gone faster than my uncle's race horse running from the stables."

"I will take your word for it."

As I pick up my sketchbook and pencil, Jillian places her hand on my right. "But seriously Kyle, you've got nothing to worry about."

"I hope you're right."