Outlawed
Chapter Two: Rebirth
Author's Note: Thank you all so much for reading my story. I hope you enjoy it and please leave a review.
Queen Manor, Star City
December 18
12:16 PM PDT
Ashley winced at the loud sigh her grandmother exhaled. As much as Ashley wanted to ignore her grandmother, the older woman had obnoxious ways of being heard. With another heavy sigh, Dinah Drake-Lance sat beside her granddaughter at the kitchen island.
"I met your friend Dick," the elder hero revealed.
"He's not my friend," Ashley muttered as she stirred her coffee lazily.
"Really? He seemed to think so," Dinah Drake countered with a playful smirk.
"He called me a selfish bitch because I don't want to join his crusade," Ashley revealed before lifting the mug of coffee to her lips.
"You know, you've always been the spitting image of your mother," Dinah Drake chuckled, "but now you have her stubbornness too."
Ashley frowned, "I'm not being stubborn. This isn't my war to fight in."
"It was three years ago," Dinah Drake countered. Ashley's frown faltered as she tore her gaze away from her grandmother.
"You know, when my best friend Betty was killed, I gave up for a while, too. I thought her death was my fault," Dinah Drake admitted.
"But it wasn't," Ashley confirmed.
"And neither was Wally's," the older woman quickly added. Ashley frown returned as her grandmother continued.
"You lost someone very important to you, but think about everyone else who has lost someone too. You have friends sitting in cells rotting away if they haven't already. You have a chance to save them," Dinah said, cupping her granddaughter's hands in her own.
"We cannot change the truth, no matter how much we despise it. Betty, Marie, and Wally are gone. But you can save the people still here," Dinah concluded, squeezing her granddaughter's hands.
Star City
December 18
2:16 PM PDT
Artemis cursed as she crouched behind a minivan, barely dodging Novastar's fireball.
"Where is Blue?" Artemis questioned, scanning the bridge for her teammates.
Beast Boy and Hunter were attempting to take down Poseida, Task Force X's water manipulator, before the meteorite's arrival. Nightwing and Orphan were in the midst of an intense hand to hand fight that under any other circumstances Artemis would be impressed by.
"I don't know. Meteorite ETA is twelve minutes," Nightwing updated.
Impulse ran past Artemis, beelining through the dozens of abandoned cars towards Novastar.
"And why isn't Black Falcon attacking?" Bumblebee questioned from her post in the bio-ship.
Artemis craned her neck, glancing at Black Falcon. Bumblebee was right; Black Falcon stood on the hood of a delivery truck, arms crossed, watching each fight. Again, Artemis scanned the bridge, analyzing all the members of Task Force X's moves.
"None of them are attacking," Artemis realized, "They're trying to tire us out so we can't get to the meteorite."
"Meteorite ETA eight minutes," Bumblebee updated.
"Sorry I'm late," Blue Beetle apologized as he landed on the bridge. He aimed a sonic cannon at Black Falcon, firing instantly. Black Falcon was thrown back, slamming onto the ground. Artemis stood, shooting half a dozen arrows as she ran for cover behind an overturned ice cream truck. The arrows began exploding causing a massive cloud of black smoke.
Poseida attempted to put out the small fires caused by the explosions but Hunter and Beast Boy continued their offensive attacks. As the smoke began to clear, Novastar began firing fireballs faster than before.
"Impulse, take her down, now!" Nightwing shouted, pointing to Poseida. Impulse began running circles around Poseida, attempting to asphyxiate her while simultaneously avoiding her attacks.
"Artemis, watch—"
Black Falcon lunged through the remaining smoke, landing several feet away from Artemis. Artemis cursed, emerging from behind the ice cream truck, aiming an arrow at the assassin.
"Stand down, Artemis," Black Falcon paused, ''or die."
"Oh, shut the fuck up!" Artemis shouted as she shot several arrows at Black Falcon. Artemis quickly ran, beelining past several overturned cars.
Black Falcon grunted, lifting a car to shield her from the arrows. As the arrows lodged themselves into the metal roof of the small sedan, Black Falcon launched the car in the direction that Artemis had run just as the bombs in the arrows began detonating.
"Take them all down!" Black Falcon shouted.
Poseida collapsed onto the ground, unconscious as Impulse skidded to a halt. Artemis regrouped with Hunter, watching as Beast Boy transformed into a bull and attempted to ram into Novastar.
"They're switching to an aggressive attack mode," Hunter muttered as he attempted to control his breathing.
"Meteorite ETA is less than two minutes," Bumblebee informed them.
"Blue, get ready!" Nightwing shouted as he ran across one of the suspension lines. Orphan followed closely behind, throwing dozens of throwing stars.
"Nightwing, watch out!" Blue Beetle shouted as Black Falcon leaped upwards, successfully pushing Nightwing off the suspension line. Nightwing shot a grappling line; Orphan threw several more throwing stars, successfully slicing the line.
Artemis rose, quickly shooting a grappling arrow. Black Falcon leaped down, grabbing the arrow midair and breaking it before it could reach Nightwing. There was a brief moment of silence as the realization settled that Nightwing was going to plummet into the cold, rough waters of Star City below.
"Even if he survives the fall, the currents are too strong and the water is too cold. The priority is the meteorite and it's about to land," Hunter instructed, pointing to the sky.
"Blue, now!" Artemis shouted as the meteorite slammed into Star City Harbor. Blue Beetle easily flew overhead, diving into the water.
Impulse began running circles around Novastar, attempting to asphyxiate her as he did her sister. Beast Boy ran towards the edge of the bridge, transforming into a shark as he dove into the water.
Black Falcon scowled as she began running towards Artemis and Hunter.
"You ready?" Hunter asked, aiming his crossbow at the assassin.
"Born ready," Artemis answered, aiming her own bow and arrow. Before either Artemis or Hunter could attack, a massive red orb slammed into Black Falcon. The assassin was thrown several hundred feet away, slamming into the side of an overturned minivan.
"Was that… was that what I think it was?" Hunter questioned, unable to suppress the grin that was tugging at his lips.
"No fucking way," Artemis laughed as another massive orb carrying Nightwing floated upwards, landing in front of them. Slowly, the orb flickered away, revealing a soaked Nightwing.
"I guess I got through to her after all," Nightwing smirked, pointing upwards. Phoenix slowly descended, landing in front of the trio.
"You came," Artemis smiled, embracing Phoenix tightly. Phoenix chuckled dryly, nodding.
"Beast Boy and Blue Beetle are in the water as we speak. Novastar and Poseida are down, leaving only Orphan and Black Falcon," Hunter updated, pointing at Orphan who was in the process of climbing down from the suspension line.
"Our goal is to get whatever is inside that meteorite and leave," Nightwing explained.
"Phoenix!" Impulse shouted, skidding to a halt. "I've so missed you!"
"Hi Impulse," Phoenix greeted, allowing for the speedster to embrace her in a hug.
"Mind link established," Phoenix announced.
"Phoenix?" Beast Boy sputtered loudly.
"Easy Gar," Hunter groaned, rubbing his temple, "I know it's been awhile, but inside voices please."
"Bumblebee, get ready for extraction," Blue Beetle instructed.
"Copy that, Blue. Welcome back Phoenix," Bumblebee excitedly welcomed.
"It is as though my own eyes deceive me!" Black Falcon shouted as she walked down the bridge, "After almost three years, the daughter of Star City returns! Are you finally done hiding, coward?"
"Incoming helicopter," Hunter noted.
"One of theirs?" Nightwing questioned.
Hunter reached a small pair of binoculars he kept in his utility belt. He squinted as he brought the binoculars to his eyes. "No, looks like a news crew."
"You will acknowledge me when I speak to you!" Black Falcon shouted as she threw a car at Phoenix. Easily, Phoenix outstretched her hand, flinging the car back. Black Falcon leaped upwards, dodging the car.
"Blue, I'm right above the water. Whenever you're ready, I'll decamo," Bumblebee stated.
Black Falcon scowled, shouting, "I said—"
Phoenix's eyes glowed a bright red as she glared at Black Falcon. "Shut up!"
Black Falcon smirked, "Are you going to lose control again, Phoenix?"
"She's clearly trying to provoke you," Nightwing reasoned, placing a firm hand on Phoenix's shoulder.
Although Nightwing was nothing short of ecstatic to have Phoenix join their crusade, her emotions—or control of said emotions— were his only concern. Both Black Falcon and Renegade had been catalyst instigators for Ashley's anger over the past few years. Nightwing worried Phoenix would lose control and wreak havoc as she did in the Arctic after Wally's disappearance.
"Coming up now. Uh… you guys won't believe what was in the meteorite," Blue Beetle informed.
"Well, I'm provoked," Phoenix stated, glancing at her teammates, "Get behind me."
Phoenix inhaled deeply before bringing her palms together in a prayer pose. With a long exhale, Phoenix extended her hands as far as they could in front of her. A massive, red force wall generated; it flickered, continuing to grow to the left and right until it was as wide as the bridge itself.
Phoenix placed her hands firmly on the surface, grunting as she pushed with all her might. The force wall jerked forward before easily sliding towards Black Falcon and Orphan. Dozens of cars slammed against the force wall, piling up against it and successfully trapping the two assassins on the other side of the force wall.
"Woah," Impulse marveled.
"Get to the bio-ship," Nightwing instructed as he gestured to the edge of the bridge. Bumblebee decamouflaged the roof of the bio-ship and made an opening large enough to enter through.
Queen Manor, Star City
December 18
8:47 PM PDT
"So… she's really Superman's cousin?" Oliver questioned as he settled into a chair beside his adoptive daughter.
"DNA tests confirmed it," Ashley nodded before yawning. Since their arrival at Queen Manor, Dick and Ashley had immediately seized the conference table and drowned themselves in work. While Dick worked on hacking Amanda Waller's stolen laptop, Ashley attempted to sift through the files Dick had already decrypted. Jaime used the scarab's translating abilities to bring Kara up to speed.
"A small victory, but a victory nonetheless," Dick added.
"Small? This is huge!" Oliver countered, "You have a full blood Kryptonian on your side again. Everyday the tides shift more and more in your favor."
"We don't know if she's on our side yet," Dick paused, adding, "Jaime's been bringing her up to speed on things."
"I know it's hard but try to keep an open mind," Oliver urged, "You are still the same kids who took down the Light and saved the League's ass."
"We never took down the Light," Ashley corrected, "We just inconvenienced them."
"Ashley's right," Dick agreed.
"You did more than the League ever could. Even now... " Oliver trailed off, gazing down at his missing appendage.
"You're wrong, Ollie..." Ashley trailed off, rising to her full height to stretch, "We aren't those same kids who took down the Light. Like I said, we inconvenienced them. This time around, we have to take them down."
"We?" Dick repeated, raising an eyebrow at the brunette.
Ashley ignored Dick, continuing, "The main objective is to find those facilities and liberate everyone, and clear our names. The order in which that happens is irrelevant. What do we know thus far?"
"The facilities have to be somewhere in the States," Ollie stated, "Somewhere where civilians don't have access to, but Checkpoint can get to immediately if needed."
"Computer, cross reference any government facilities in use after 2017," Ashley commanded.
"They wouldn't be using government facilities if they want to be off the grid," Dick said.
"The government works like one big business, right?" Ashley questioned rhetorically, watching as the monitor of the Arrow Cave's super computer powered on, "The American people pay tax dollars for government funding. The money has to be directed somewhere legit, even if it's not used legit."
Oliver's eyes widened as he caught on, "There's always a paper trail."
"It's a start," Ashley sighed.
"Cross referencing began. Authorization: Phoenix, B-02," the Computer droned.
"You've been staring at her for almost thirty minutes," Artemis whispered, nudging Hunter slightly.
"I just… I don't know what to say. We haven't spoken in almost three years… again," Hunter retorted.
"Just apologize," Artemis suggested, "She's very reasonable… when she wants to be, at least."
Hunter glared at Artemis, frowning. Artemis shrugged, "What? It's true."
Hunter's frown only deepened as he found himself slowly approaching the conference table. Artemis trailed behind him, watching the scene unfold with curiosity.
"Blue just finished explaining to, uh, Kara what happened. She's pretty confused but she seems to trust us, so that's good…" Hunter trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck unsure.
"Good," Ashley curtly nodded as she continued to scroll through the files.
"I wanted to apologize," Hunter stated firmly.
Ashley glanced up from the holographic file, sighing. "There's no need to apologize. You were right—you all were."
"Still," Hunter emphasized, "I said some nasty things that I regret. I'm sorry Ash, really, for everything."
"I am, too," Dick added quietly.
"You are all forgiven," Ashley promised.
"So, does this mean you'll be joining us?" Artemis probed, taking a seat at the table. Ashley visibly hesitated; she knew the moment she put on the uniform again that she would have to say goodbye to the boring life she had grown to love. Yet, she would be lying if she said she didn't miss the thrill of this life.
"It's okay if you need some time," Dick said, pushing Amanda Waller's laptop away from his reach.
"I think I've taken enough time," Ashley retorted, "First, I want to apologize. The truth of the matter is that I am selfish. I've spent so long only thinking of what I've lost that I forgot to think about what everyone else has lost, too. I let you all down. I'm sorry for that. Second, I'm in. We're in this together. I'm done running and pretending like this matter doesn't concern me when in fact it does. This time we're not going to inconvenience the Light. We are going to take them down for good."