Chapter Warnings: This chapter is rated T for mild violence and profanity.
The Markings of a Hero
Chapter Nineteen: Enter the Wonder Girl
Hippolyta "Lyta" Trevor was a bright young girl of sixteen with thoughts of traveling the world once and then maybe, if possible, the universe. She loved seeing new people, trying new things, and of course, taking photos to add to her collection. Traveling and taking photos have been a hobby of hers since she was young and it was still something she enjoyed greatly.
But being the daughter of Wonder Woman meant that traveling in broad daylight was not necessarily a great thing. Also having a senior government agent for a father did not help either. They kept an eye on their adventurous daughter twenty-four seven which meant Lyta only took trips whenever her busy parents were free to take a family trip or she was shipped to Themyscira. Lyta could usually overcome the dejection of not being to travel elsewhere via books or shows which led her to her current obsession.
The internet had provided Lyta the chance to travel and pick up a few new fascinations. One of these new interests was the uncelebrated heroes around the world. Sure, seeing Superman or Batman was great (despite the latter and her mother dating at one point of time) but being able to witness others such as Nightwing and Rocket was exciting. Heroes that were typically just everyday people coming in and doing extraordinary things fed Lyta's newfound enthusiasm.
And thus, at this moment, she was currently attempting to stop her right foot from tapping with excitement as her three favorite things had been combined into one glorious day. For starters, she was in New Camford, a city she had never been before, and she had already taken a few pictures of the sights here. Secondly, she was accompanying Nightwing and Batgirl, two of the original sidekicks and heroes that she somewhat idolized.
Finally, she was going to meet him.
The Yellow Jacket (though Nightwing referred to him as "Hornet") was on his way to meet up with them! The guy who had arguably the fastest YouTube support group was about to stand before her and she, despite Nightwing's plea, was definitely getting a picture of him.
"You sure he's coming?" Batgirl asked from her seated spot on top of the restaurant Hornet had requested as a meeting point.
Nightwing was busy scouting the street below but still heard his longtime friend. "He'll be here."
Lyta's blue eyes landed on Nightwing's back. "So… Is he busy?"
"Is he…?" Nightwing chuckled before turning to Lyta. "Seriously, did you create his fan-club? He'll be here. I promise."
Lyta held Nightwing to it. She had made sure that her red and gold armor was thoroughly cleaned and prepped for this meeting, her red cape being articulately pressed prior to her departure. Her red boots shined from their recent polishing, almost as much as the golden bracelets on her hands and the golden belt around her waist. Her need to impress a guy that commanded so much respect (and fear) was obvious and had somewhat bothered Batgirl on their way in one of Batman's many planes.
"He's kind of a jerk," Batgirl commented. "So be prepared to be let down greatly."
"Didn't he just take out like seven gunmen with a bow and arrow?" Lyta asked, somewhat ignoring Batgirl's statement.
"Speedy could do the same thing. Not that impressive." Again, Lyta was not going to allow Batgirl's obvious objections about working with Hornet kill her buzz. Not now, anyways. "But he is pretty good, I'll give him that. He's crippled Killer Moth's operation. Coincidentally, by hurting Killer Moth, he's been pissing off Tobias Whale as well."
A loud clank caused Nightwing to smirk. "He's here."
Lyta held her breath as Hornet reeled himself up onto the building. The yellow jacket was the first thing she took into account. And then he removed the hood of his trademark jacket to reveal his masked face and black goggles.
"It's him…" Lyta quietly muttered, hoping her face did not match the same color of the red head piece that framed her face.
Nightwing turned to greet Hornet. "Glad you could make it."
"…" Lyta felt unnerved with Hornet staring at her. "Is she your new friend?"
"Yeah. Hornet, Wonder Girl. Wonder Girl, you've finally met Hornet." Nightwing introduced.
"Wonder Girl…?" Hornet repeated.
"Oh! Wonder Woman is my mom! She let me join you guys! I mean, not like I really needed her permission but she's-"
"What I think she's trying to say," Nightwing intervened for the blonde's sake. "Is that she's ready whenever you are."
"Right," Obviously Hornet was not impressed. Lyta felt embarrassed by Hornet's reaction. "You came up here for some meeting in Calvin City. Why?"
"While I was stopping a friendly meeting in Bludhaven, I was told about a certain meeting in Calvin City. Apparently there's some guy in New Camford that's been 'bugging' them." Nightwing explained.
"Don't." Hornet warned, apparently annoyed with the bug puns.
"We wanted to clear out New Camford and Ivy Town before heading to Dakota City," Batgirl spoke up as she walked to the Yellow Jacket. "That is, if you choose to come with us to Dakota City and you don't kill anyone until then."
"If we split into groups," Hornet told Nightwing. "You can keep your redhead."
This caused Lyta's eyes to light up. She completely missed what Nightwing had said afterwards but was brought back to the conversation when the robotic voice of Hornet registered in her ears.
"Those weapons that got to Dakota," Hornet stated. "Did you find out why Holocaust needed them?"
"I was hoping you found out." came the honest response of Nightwing.
"They're powered cop-killers." Hornet informed with his arms crossed. "The ones that I've used can completely penetrate the standard vest. My armor can't handle them and I doubt that yours can."
"You've used them?" piped in Batgirl.
"How else would I know what they do?" Batgirl gave Nightwing a firm leveled stare that had the Bludhaven Knight shaking his head. "I tested it on lifeless targets so calm down."
"Before you two continue," Nightwing interrupted. "We do need to get to Calvin City and take this guy down before it's too late." Nightwing put a hand on Batgirl's shoulder. "We have to learn how to work together, remember?"
"Fine," relented the redhead. "But I won't like this. Not at all."
Nightwing sighed heavily. "I know. But we need him. He knows this case just as well as we do, if not more. So he's helping whether any of us likes it or…" Nightwing paused and looked over at Wonder Girl. "Well, we know Wonder Girl's okay with it."
Lyta gasped at the sight of the other three looking at her. Nightwing's knowing smirk, Batgirl's look of disappointment, and Hornet's, well, look was enough to cause the Amazonian to feel embarrassed momentarily. However, Amazons did not train relentlessly to be defeated by embarrassment. She would-
"How were we getting there?" Hornet suddenly asked.
"I'm glad you asked," Nightwing stated with a new boastful voice. "You ready to take a quick flight?"
Lyta saw Hornet's expression communicate his confusion but said nothing. The blonde was sure that her first meeting with her internet hero did not go so well. And the vibe that radiated off of the guy was pure business all the time. Just from being next to him, she understood that he expected nothing shy of excellent execution every time he was on the field.
The sound of a large aircraft nearing the quartet made Lyta's heart race. The cloaked black jet crafted in a similar fashion that of Batman's signature plane.
"There're three seats," Hornet astutely noted aloud, his voice somehow carrying over the roar of the plane.
"She flies." Nightwing said, thumbing towards Lyta. "So, are you ready?"
There was a moment when Hornet looked at Lyta. She could feel him scanning her, possibly questioning his willingness to work with the blonde. Thankfully for her, he looked back at Nightwing and gave a solid nod.
"Let's go."
Lyta smiled. At least he somewhat liked her, right?
Calvin City was different from New Camford, way different. New Camford seemed to be the perfect hybrid of the old and the new, technological downtown area with peaceful grassy rural areas, and a fairground that has been going on for years, updating every summer or so.
Calvin City had none of this.
It was a quiet town, a far cry from its younger sibling city, and had not quite adopted all of the advancements that Ivy Town and New Camford had. Even the inner city area had lawns of green scenery and church bells could be heard from nearly every block in the city. Between the its two cousin cities down the highway (Ivy Town and New Camford), it has had the least amount of change throughout its lengthy existence, something that was rather impressive given the progressive nature of Ivy Town and the ideology of New Camford.
Wonder Girl expressed how great the city was, and Batgirl had mentioned how clean it looked compared to New Camford. Eli was neither as enthusiastic nor optimistic about the city.
Eli had always found Calvin City a bore and was not surprised when people seemingly ignored it when talking about the New Ivy Metro area. It was metaphorically the pious holier-than-thou older brother of the science and politically correct Ivy Town and the artsy yet rebellious New Camford. Even Leila had full out rejected Robert from moving up to the quiet city despite it not being that far (a little under two hours) outside of New Camford.
"Prepare for drop zone."
Nightwing's words caused Hornet to uncomfortably shift in his seat. The trip to Calvin City took around thirty minutes which killed Eli's thoughts of taking a quiet nap in the surprisingly comfortable seat. Now there was a chance that Eli was going to get dropped from this jet from an unknown height?
Hell no.
"Wonder Girl, are you ready?" asked Nightwing.
"Ready when you guys are!" Eli had no idea what the plan was. Maybe he had dozed off and had missed out on an entire explanation? Or maybe this was a part of the plan that they made prior to reaching New Camford?
"Alright, Hornet, see you down there." Eli sat up in his seat, unprepared for whatever it was that Nightwing had planned.
He would soon find out.
The glass above Eli opened before the boy was sent flying out of his seat. His heart raced faster than it did the first time Ben taught him how freerunning and Parkour on the rooftops of Cheshire Square. Yet he remembered Canary's words; never panic when you can think. His eyes searched around for a possible way to avoid hitting the ground or the trees quickly approaching him.
"Hornet!" The vigilante turned his head to see Wonder Girl zeroing in on his position. With nothing to lose, he held a gloved hand up as he descended, she catching his hand with hers. "Gotcha!"
Eli released a sigh that was thankfully muted by the jet's engines as Nightwing and Batgirl were ejected later, the plane camouflaging before it took off. The normally calm hero glared daggers at the glider-wearing Nightwing who floated to a grassy area unscathed with Batgirl, who made use of her cape to glide downwards safely. When in the hell was this ever part of the plan?
Wonder Girl carried Hornet to the designated spot where they regrouped on the ground with Nightwing and Batgirl. The Yellow Jacket quickly took in his surroundings, a sparse forest in the back of a high school. He could, from his current vantage point, spot the fence that separated the school's property from the wilderness which confused him.
"Alright," Nightwing said to the others. "Whale and Holocaust are meeting here tomorrow to talk about the sales that go through this school during the year. The guy that runs this spot for Whale, the assistant principal, is here now with some of his 'employees.' Since fighting Holocaust will be a headache by itself, I figured we could lower the numbers down a bit and let them get acquainted with us."
Hornet hummed deeply. "Hmm… And you think that Wonder Girl and Batgirl are ready for this?"
"Tch, did you forget I've been doing this longer than you have?" retorted Batgirl.
"No, you've been dealing with lesser guys," Hornet commented. "If Holocaust is there, we're either going to have to kill him or keep him down long enough to escape. That goes double for Whale."
The other three heroes looked amongst one another, no one outright debating Hornet's claim though all visibly not okay with it. They knew how dangerous Holocaust was as he was wanted for murder in several Ohioan cities. Tobias Whale had an unsurprisingly longer list of deaths on his hands with a weapons and drug empire that was stretching all over the northern states. Both men were ruthless with power to end them at any given time if a mistake was to be made.
Nightwing held up his right arm, a holographic display of the school projecting from the built-in computer interface.
"I don't know how many are in there so we're going to have to do this quick, quiet, and precise," said Nightwing as the others gathered around him. "Batgirl and I will find a way to turn off the cameras and communications. We don't need back-up being called."
"I can do that by myself, you know?" Batgirl stated, honestly wanting to end Hornet's doubt of her skills.
"Actually, I have to help just in case that any of them have the special light." At Nightwing's mentioning of this, Hornet groaned.
"I forgot about that shit." The teen muttered to himself, annoyed at his tired mind's lack of perception at the moment. "We're going to have to make sure that there aren't any witnesses able to leave."
"We're not killing-"
"I didn't say kill," Hornet ended Batgirl's rant then and there. "But if they shine that damn light, they'll know we're here."
Nightwing nodded. "Exactly. You set those goggles to see it?" Hornet answered with a nod. "Good. You and Wonder Girl search the grounds for drugs and weapons. Oh, and if you find a tall dark African-American, small afro, and an eighties mustache, that's our guy."
"Got it." Wonder Girl voiced, eager to do a mission with, not only the former Robin and current Batgirl, but the Killer Bee as well.
"Avoid cops," Hornet warned. "Connecticut is a lot tougher on vigilantism, even with TD Law."
Wonder Girl gave a frown. "The what?"
"The Terryl Darby Law stops our identities from being revealed if we are killed while on duty." Nightwing explained. "It also protects masked vigilantes as well, meaning if Hornet would have killed Firefly or Killer Moth in New Camford, their identities would not have been public information."
"Unless you have family that says otherwise," Hornet concluded. "With Pullman as senator, don't think that the courtesy any of us. He's sure to unmask and reveal us on TV the first chance he gets."
"We'll keep that in mind," Nightwing said.
"Also," continued Hornet. "If the senator's men are here, you'll have to avoid them head-on. Unless you're alright with everyone having video of you attacking a government official."
"Is that what happened to you?" Batgirl never got her answer as Hornet moved forward, creeping towards the school. The redhead turned a glare towards her longtime friend. "He's a team player you said. He'll be easy to deal with you said."
Nightwing only laughed quietly. "Honestly, I think he likes you. He's lost his partner since you've come around and only a woman can replace another woman."
"You're a pig." Batgirl commented before looking at Wonder Girl. "Please make sure that he doesn't get himself killed, or worse, kill half the city's population 'saving people' as he says."
Wonder Girl nodded her head. "I'm on it."
Wonder Girl flew after her temporary teammate, leaving the two Gothamites alone for the moment.
"Do you really think he'll work with her?" Batgirl asked, staring at Nighwting now.
Nightwing nodded. "Remember in Gotham? He let his goal go in order to save those people from Firefly. That, and neither of us told him not to kill Killer Moth or Firefly, he just let them live. Hornet's a good…"
"Good?" Batgirl echoed with suspicion.
"He's a good vigilante, and a decent hero," Nightwing clarified. "And Wonder Girl, for all her strengths, will need someone to be… Not as gentle as we would."
Batgirl sighed. "And the reason Batman couldn't do?"
"Because we promised to never get between him and Wonder Woman again, remember?" Of course Barbara recalled the ordeal. It was an agreement that the pair and Alfred had verbally consented to. "Not only that, but Hornet gives me a survivor vibe. He won't attack unless something provokes him to and he won't kill unless he feels the situation calls for it. Seemed like a good idea to pair a street-hardened guy with an Amazonian warrior."
Barbara smirked. "You're just putting Lyta with her crush."
"That too," Nightwing returned with a smirk of his own. "Come on. Can't let the newbies have all the fun, can we?"
"No. Let's go."
The gymnasium for Regional High School was currently being "borrowed" by employees of Tobias Whale. With Hornet and Nightwing destroying weapons caches in New Camford and Bludhaven respectively, they were forced to bring the weapons to Holocaust personally. Or rather, Holocaust was coming to pick them up. In exchange, the drugs that Whale and Holocaust has been trafficking were going to be distributed carefully around their respective territories.
The eight men currently patrolling the weapons in the gym were not amused at all by the early morning road trip. This bad feeling only doubled when Tobias verbally stated that neither he nor Holocaust would be there until tomorrow. So why were they there? To dodge the Black Canary and Yellow Jacket, that's why.
"This is bullshit." said one of the guards as he sat in the empty bleachers. "We're here guarding this shit and there's no one here to take them. Not the boss. Not that Bang Baby bitch."
"Quit your bitching. We could be in Gotham with the Bat or Metropolis with Superman." A second man voiced as he paced along the sidelines of the basketball court.
The first man snorted. "Those two fuckers? I heard Bane nearly killed Batman by himself and that Superman nearly died at the hands of Lex never-been-in-a-damn-fight Luthor."
"Yeah, well I ain't running into no damn Yellow Jacket for your dumb ass so shut the hell up." A third man spoke by the door.
"Shit, the Yellow Jacket ain't no one to be afraid of. He just got guns like us." The first man ranted. "Hell, give me a room with him and I'll beat the shit out of him. No doubt."
The room grew silent afterwards, none of them believing the boisterous talker. Truthfully, the thoughts of running into any hero right now were unfavorable. Whether it was the Yellow Jacket, Black Canary, or a reformed Condiment King, the last thing the group needed was for Tobias to be irritated due to the interference of a vigilante.
Minutes slowly ticked away with nothing worth noting. Boredom and anxiety began to mix into the atmosphere, causing those into the gym to grow tiresomely agitated. Heavy audible sighs and small taps on inanimate objects were periodically heard to fill the time but no permanent form of entertainment was created to past the time.
Boredom finally got the better of the first aggravated young man, he hopping off of the bleachers with purpose.
"Fuck this, I'm going out."
No one agreed or disagreed and the young man marched out of the gym, fishing into his pocket for his cell phone.
Seconds evolved into minutes with, once more, nothing happening. A morning being wasted guarding a shipment of weapons for a living walking flamethrower. Maybe there wasn't a point to this outside of instructions? Hell, was the pay even that good to carelessly waste time doing absolutely nothing?
"How long has he been out there?"
"I don't know. Maybe ten minutes?"
"That dumbass better not have done anything stupid- or worse, leave." The others agreed with the sentiment. "Someone go out there and get him back in here. And if you see Whale, say you're looking for a snitch and let Whale deal with him."
A dark and disloyal thought, maybe, but not one unfamiliar to anyone in the room. Tobias had a strict code in his ranks; any sign of incompetence and you were removed. Stupidity was surely an inconvenience that they were all better without than within.
Three more members exited the building to find their missing comrade. The four remaining men waited patiently. This sort of thing wasn't new, guys wandered off on the job from time to time when it got quiet like this. Normally it was the younger gangbangers who did this, finding excuse after excuse to dodge the lengthy lectures from the betas, or sometimes alphas, of the organization. Yet all men and women involved, whether they were gangbangers, mob-born hit-men, sleazy lawyers or politicians, or dirty cops listened to when Tobias Whale entered the room. So while wandering or lollygagging was somewhat acceptable, it was an unsaid rule to be there when the boss shows or else.
"Shit, what's taking them so long?"
"Should we go find them?"
Silence followed.
"Fuck! They left! I know they left! Why else would they be taking this long?!"
"Chill the fuck out. They probably went to get some breakfast or something. It's been a long morning and I'm hungry as hell. So maybe they are too."
"…You're a fucking dumbass for even thinking that."
The four young men continued their argument about what to do and what had occurred. Their attention had been split from, not just what they were supposed to be guarding, but the backdoor of the gymnasium. It wasn't until the large white doors to the front of the gym were pounded on heavily that their conversation stopped.
"Shit, who is that?"
"What it that?"
The door shook again from the heavy knocking, forcing them to draw their weapons and aim it at the front door. With two holding variant M16 rifles- the last of Killer Moth's batch of weapons- and the other two holding Moth's Colt Models, they were ready for anything that came through the door that didn't look like a friend.
After what felt like an eternity, one of the doors opened outwards and a body was seen crawling into the gym.
"Shit! What happened to you man?" One of the gunmen asked as he lowered his weapon.
"They… They're here! They're- agh!" A lasso wrapped itself around the man's body and pulled him out of the gym. "Help!"
"Damn it! Hold on!"
As two of the remaining four ran out for their wrangled comrade, the last two were left in the gym assumingly alone. The pair was nervous to say the least. They were pit against the unknown for weapons being shipped to a living, breathing, walking weapon who called himself Holocaust.
Again, time ticked by with an intense silence blanketing the area heavily. The two left alone had no idea what to do. To head out to face the unknown meant leaving the contraband that they were hired to guard, something Tobias would be angry about if something were to happen to the guns. Staying and doing nothing was considered cowardice and is frowned upon in the organization. Yet, there was no telling who or what was out there and-
Two gunshots echoed throughout the area, causing all to go still. Heartbeats grew rapid and loud, sweat building on their foreheads, and imagination ran wild. Was it Superman? Wonder Woman? Did the Flash show up from Central City? Did the Atom return? Or had Nightwing and/or the Yellow Jacket follow Tobias's trail to Calvin City?
"Shit man, I don't know about this," The taller of the two spoke, his rifle shaking in his hands. "I don't want to go jail or worse!"
"Quit whining like a bitch and just shoot the first motherfucker that comes through that door!" the young man barked, licking his lips nervously afterwards. "We got this. We got this."
"What if it's Superman? What can our guns do against him?"
The second man growled. "Then we blast the motherfucker until he stops moving."
"What? That shit don't make sense! It's-s-s-s-s-aah!"
The man collapsed to the ground, twitching due to the arrow that had stuck onto his back and sent an uncomfortable amount of electricity through his body. The pain was too much as he fainted within seconds of the near executing current.
His partnered turned his head slightly in time for his left cheek to catch the powerful fist of Wonder Girl. His senses were disoriented instantly, gun being dropped onto the hardwood floor, as he was knocked across the gym by the blow.
"Ah… Shit that hurt," The young man groaned as he lied on his back, eyes closed as the room seemingly spun around him. "What hit me?"
"Name's Wonder Girl." The young man opened his eyes to see Wonder Girl and Hornet standing in at his sides. Wonder Girl stood with her arms crossed while Hornet had a loaded bow pointed down at him. "I'm sure you know my partner. By the way, he's not in the mood for introductions."
"I'm going to count to ten." Hornet spoke through his voice changer. "By three, I should know your name. At five, why you're here. At seven, where's Tobias. And if I reach ten with none of that, you die like your friends. Understood?" The young man nodded his head rapidly, both to agree and shake off the effects of the punch. "One…"
"My name's Marcus. I'm from Atlanta. We're guarding the weapons. Tobias ain't here yet. That's it. That's all I know!"
There was no way to successfully explain the feeling Lyta felt seeing the interrogation. The best analogy would be meeting a treasured celebrity who is as cool in real life as they were in the movies or songs that they were known for. Or maybe this is the "Santa Claus is real" feeling? She didn't know. It just felt great.
Hornet slowly removed the bow and arrow from the questioned man's face, putting the arrow back into his quiver while collapsing his bow. Calmly the vigilante squatted in front of the dizzy criminal, removing the hood to his signature jacket off of his head to reveal his masked face.
"We met Marcus outside," Hornet's words alarmed the young man, who began to scoot backwards. "He also told us the same thing."
"Look, I'm sorry, but I'm no snitch! And when Tobias gets a hold of Marcus, he'll-"
Wonder Girl released a gasp when Hornet flicked his right hand forward, a dart flying out and embedding itself into the unnamed man's left shoulder. The man's eyes widened for a full five seconds before he slumped down unconscious.
"Wow," Wonder Girl remarked as the Hornet rose to retrieve his dart. "How do you do that? Is it like magic or something else?"
"…" Much to her chagrin, the Yellow Jacket lived to his antisocial expectations, if not surpassed them.
Wonder Girl shifted on her feet. "So, um, now that we have the weapons, should we call Nightwing and Batgirl?"
"…" Hornet walked by her without so much of a nod of acknowledgement, going for the crate. This somewhat killed her Yellow Jacket buzz if only for a moment.
"I'll just let you do your-"
"These guns are the same type from a shootout days ago," the Yellow Jacket interrupted her, holding a bullet in the air and examining it. "They're Killer Moth's."
Wonder Girl stepped towards Hornet. "The guy you and Nightwing chased down and put in jail?"
"Unfortunately." answered Hornet. "This is one of the lighter models. They can pierce armor but they aren't the big guns."
"I'm not going to like the 'big guns' am I?" Hornet shook his head.
"I wouldn't show you unless I knew I could trust you. And at the moment, I don't." Hornet's bluntness caused Wonder Girl to recoil a bit, slightly hurt by it. "Though, if I'm honest, you're easier to get along with than the other two."
"R-Really?" Wonder Girl stammered.
"Batgirl bitches too much. Nightwing talks… A lot." The statement was enough to gain a smile on Wonder Girl's face, not that New Camford's Killer Bee actually looked to see it. He was too busy studying the weapons. "None of these were loaded. Whale isn't stupid."
"That Marcus guy said that Tobias will be here soon. If he's as bad as you and Nightwing say, we should make a plan and-"
"I already have a few." The interrupting vigilante threw the weapon back into the crate carelessly, turning to face Wonder Girl. "And I assume Nightwing has a couple of them as well."
"Wow… Are you two like real close or…?" Wonder Girl paused when she saw Hornet pull out another rifle and a few clips from the crate as well. "Are you taking that?"
"Evening the playing field." said the masked vigilante. "Not everyone is born with super strength."
"Oh, no! I'm fine with it! I just…"
"You're not," the Hornet's words were punctuated with such firmness that it paralyzed Wonder Girl temporarily. The male strapped the rifle onto his body, fixing it so that it lied next to his quiver on his back. "Come on, we need to find a way to destroy these guns and search to see if there's more."
"Right, sorry. This is my first team-up and, well, I'm not used to things being done your way." Wonder Girl said. "Honestly, I'm not okay with killing, even if the Amazon way tells us to do so when there is no other choice. But we're not taught to use guns."
Hornet turned to Wonder Girl fully, which made her suck in a small breath. Most people online spoke about the hood of the hero's jacket shadowing his face near all times of the day. For this, there wasn't a consistent description of the mask that covered Hornet's face. Seeing it in broad daylight, along with those black goggles, made her understand exactly why there were so many insect-themed nicknames for him.
"Nightwing said that you'd be annoyed if I said anything like that while during the mission but I-"
"You took out four of those guys easily. If anything, you're making my job easier," Hornet interrupted. "Now, we have to destroy these guns."
"Right. Oh, and your plan. I might need to know it." Wonder Girl said. Hornet gave her a nod at her request, causing her to smile. "See? We can work well together!"
To Lyta's dismay, the Yellow Jacket walked by her without a word said, searching the bodies in the room. Her smile lessened though she was pleased to know that the Hornet had not outright called her annoying. Better, he hadn't shot at her, so she debunked that online theory.
"Remove all cell phones from their body, take the card out, destroy the phone." Hornet instructed. "We'll tie these guys up and destroy the weapons before moving out."
"I get destroying the weapons but why take the cards on their phone? Is it to learn more about their operation or something else?" Wonder Girl asked.
"Both. If Batgirl and Nightwing don't turn off the cameras, we'll be drawing attention running around the school. Give them some more time. They probably need it."
"Probably." Wonder Girl said with a smile.
Batgirl sighed as pulled out a flexible roll-up wireless keyboard, plugging a USB receiver for it into the computer on the desk in front of her.
"I really could've done this by myself," Batgirl whispered loud enough to Nightwing, who stood guard at the door. "You should make sure that your friend hasn't killed half the town by now."
"He's got Wonder Girl. She'll keep his focus." Nightwing said. He saw Batgirl stare over the computer for a moment and shook his head. "Not what I meant. He's a strategist but not big on communication. They'll keep each other quite busy for a while."
Batgirl went back disabling the security cameras. "Not that it matters, but what exactly do you have planned for Hornet? He strikes me as a guy that likes working alone."
"I…" Nightwing began but paused. "I want to use him on more sensitive missions. Missions where…"
"Where he kills someone? Are you listening to yourself! What happened in Bludhaven for you-"
"I'm not saying that. Not exactly." Nightwing interrupted. "But he can do things that you and I can't. He can make that call."
Barbara scoffed. "And when will anyone need to play God, hmm?"
"When the Joker has a gun against someone else's head." Richard's answer was straightforward, making Barbara fear that her ex had been thinking this for a while now. However, she knew that she could not engage in a shouting match. Not then and there. "I don't condone killing, or rather, senseless killing. Two-Face and Penguin? They deserve jail. They deserve justice. But guys like the Joker? Can you really say that you'd lose sleep if Hornet, a known killer, killed Joker to protect a family?"
"I… I'm not having this conversation." responded Batgirl, now decrypting a few files on the desktop on the principal's desk. "To think that you'd say that…"
Nightwing released a quiet sigh. "You're right… I've just been, I don't know. Bludhaven is different than Gotham City. It's worse. Guys would rather die than go to jail over corner store robberies. They say that dying and going to hell is a promotion in Bludhaven."
"Is it that bad?" questioned Barbara. Nightwing nodded solemnly. "Jesus, Nightwing. What the hell are you doing there then?"
"Being the only hope those kids have." Nightwing answered. "It's kind of the only thing I sympathize with Hornet. He does things because, to the kids in the streets, he's the hero that they've been waiting for. Someone who listens to them and does the things that cops just won't. He protects them as much as I want to protect Bludhaven. And for that, I respect him."
"Or 'he' is really a she and you already have her number." Nightwing sent the redhead a glare, one she did not look up from the computer screen to acknowledge. "Just saying, that's something you'd do. Surprise you haven't made a move for Wonder Girl."
"Are you kidding? I have a huge fan base. Why would I mess up Hornet's?" joked Nightwing with a quiet laugh.
"Narcissistic, aren't you?" Batgirl said before pausing in her typing. "Hmm, this is strange. Apparently there are a few pics on here showing the principal cheating on his wife with a student… A male student."
Nightwing whistled. "Ah, the fear of being judged and prosecuted by his friends. Now we know why he's allowing this to happen. So what about Joe Bishop?"
"Just a second," Batgirl took a moment to type the name into a search filter before sighing. "Nothing incriminating on here, obviously. Just that he's a longtime teacher turned into assistant principal. He's lived his entire life in Calvin City, even went to Calvin College."
"No connections with Whale or Holocaust?" asked Nightwing.
"Not in his files, no," Batgirl answered. "I'll send this to the Bat-computer so we can analyze it later." A groan from Nightwing caused Barbara to pause, catch her mistake, and restate. "I meant, I'll send you a copy of it to the computer in Bludhaven and we can collaborate later."
"Thanks."
Batgirl went back to dissecting the computer for as much information as she could. While her natural need to complete a task propelled her to finish, her distaste of having the Hornet one-up her made her do it at a faster rate. Just the thought of Hornet pointing out that she could not handle this sort of thing, despite her doing it plenty of times before now, burned her consciousness more than anything.
"Done," Batgirl said. The redhead typed in a few more commands before humming. "Alright, so your friend and Wonder Girl attacked the gym. We still have the library filled with guys, the cafeteria, and the auditorium. We could regroup or go in ourselves."
Nightwing shrugged once more. "Your choice."
"I…" Batgirl paused. "I think we should leave soon because your murderous insane partner just set a crate full of guns on fire in the parking lot."
"Damn, really?" Barbara nodded at the statement as Nightwing smirked. "That guy is mighty impressive, eh?"
"Save your man crush for later." said Batgirl as she pocketed her keyboard. "The cafeteria is near the gym so we'll go through there. We should take them out and then regroup with Wonder Girl and Hornet."
Nightwing gave a nod. "It's your call."
Hearing his somewhat submissive tone, Batgirl paused in her departure. "Are you testing me too?"
"Me? Test you? No." Nightwing sarcastically said. "But there are two that I am testing and I'm sort of responsible for one of them. And neither of us wants to piss off Wonder Woman."
Barbara's face dropped. "Noted."
"Aw man, this is bad. This is bad, bad, bad, bad."
He couldn't say anything else. The product, the very thing that they had come to protect, was burning in front of him. Tobias Whale was on his way here. Holocaust was on the way here. And what they were both coming for, the thing that they collectively wanted to make sure was alright for transaction, was currently burning in front of the man with some form of accelerate.
This wasn't just bad. This was the worst thing that could happen.
Taking out his cell phone, the young man began sending a text to those in the school, to warn them of whatever was here preventing this deal. He would never finish or send said text as a blunt hit to the back of the head was enough to send him dizzily into the concrete.
"Huh? What?" the young man looked up in time to see a boot closing in onto his face, knocking him out swiftly.
Sighing after issuing the knockout blow, Hornet turned and glanced at Wonder Girl.
"Are you ready to go in?" he asked her.
Wonder Girl nodded her head. "Yeah. Nightwing and Batgirl should be done. We'll be able to go around without being spotted." Wonder Girl looked up at the two story building, spotting an opened window. "We could enter from up top. Could be easier to get around."
Hornet agreed with Wonder Girl flying off to glance into the window ahead of them just rushing inside. The gunman had noticed that Wonder Girl had stopped being such a yes man- or a yes girl- in this case, and was becoming comfortable pitching her ideas. This was a relief. Hornet was used to Jade and Nightwing, two people who did not need instructions and had more plans than Eli did.
Not only that, but Wonder Girl was powerful. In the short span of time, Eli had witnessed the Amazon's strength in person and questioned how she avoided accidentally killing someone with said strength and speed. Wonder Girl brushed it off as training but Eli doubted that it was all training. Accidents, as Jade lamented, happened all the time.
Stepping towards the building, Hornet spotted Wonder Girl give him a thumb up. Holding his hand upwards, he fired a line from the gauntlet on his forearm. Hearing a clink and feeling the line tug, he reeled himself up and climbed into the window where Wonder Girl had already entered the school.
"In school during summer vacation? Seems like my mom got her wish after all," Wonder Girl joked quietly as she walked amongst the empty rows of desks. "I wonder if Batgirl and Nightwing searched the classrooms yet."
Hornet gave a small, unnoticeable, shrug of his shoulder as he walked towards the door. His brisk pace could have been seen as rude, and Lyta was sure that he didn't care if it was, but Wonder Girl was starting to understand that Hornet was zoned in on the job. After seeing the socially trending figure in action, Wonder Girl had a newfound respect to go with her earlier admiration. The Yellow Jacket was terrifyingly committed to the mission and could seemingly communicate with his body better than most guys could say "I love you" with the words.
Lyta paused at the analogy in her head as it brought up a moment in her past. It was such a shame Batman and her mother couldn't work…
The duo walked out of the classroom and crept down the halls with Hornet a pace ahead of Wonder Girl. His bow was now tightly in his left hand just in case something happened.
"Maybe we should contact Nightwing?" Wonder Girl quietly suggested with a whisper. Hornet waved the suggesting off, pushing towards a turn in the hall. "What if the cameras are still on?"
"The fire will keep them busy," Hornet responded in a low murmur. "Reconnaissance and Bishop. Those are our two goals."
"But it'd be easier with them." Wonder Girl pushed on. "Nightwing has been doing this longer than any of us. If anything he should-"
Lyta was silenced by a cold stare over the shoulder, the dark goggles of Hornet telling her quite bluntly that he didn't care. Or to be more precise, he didn't give a fuck as the body language seemed a little bit more on edge. It was the first time that the daughter of Wonder Woman thought that she had pissed off the gun-slinging vigilante from New Camford.
"If you want to go, go." Hornet stated. "If not, do the mission right."
Wonder Girl's lips thinned. "You don't have to do everything on your own, you know. Nightwing wants to help you. He thinks that you are probably the best hope for New Camford."
"Why are you here?" growled Hornet. Wonder Girl gave the hero a look of confusion with him turning his body to face her completely. "Why are you here?"
"I… I'm helping catch-"
"Why?" pressured the Yellow Jacket.
"Because I want to be here catching someone using kids to sell drugs." Wonder Girl stated with certainty, looking staring directly at Hornet. "That's why I'm here."
"No," Hornet stated. "Why are you dressed in that here with me? You can help kids in every other way- become a cop or a teacher or some shit like that. But you're here, using your powers, helping me. Why?"
It wasn't a real easy question to answer, Lyta figured. Amazons were naturally taught to fight against evil- or what they perceived as evil. Lyta was taught from a young age to do this very thing, fight for justice. So it just seemed to be a match made in heaven that she would become a heroine, right?
Yet, again, it wasn't that easy. Lyta had always been given the option to quit at any time, to spend time traveling or visiting her father. Diana had done her job as a mother to make sure that Lyta had the freedom and option to become her own person. Oddly, that person wanted to become Wonder Girl and, hopefully, the next Wonder Woman. But there was never really a reason why. It was just because it was her. It was who she was. It was who they were. Amazons. Warriors. Fighters.
"Why," Hornet was now speaking in a calmer tone with his bow, thankfully, now being held at his side. "Why are you here, Wonder Girl?"
Lyta stepped directly in front of Hornet. "I am Wonder Girl and I'm here because that's where Wonder Girl needs to be. Got it?"
It was a bluff. Lyta had no idea what to expect. The internet made the Yellow Jacket seem like one guy you did not want to test and his attitude earlier only proved it. The blonde was sure that Hornet would do something to her, something to reprimand her for her boldness, or just walk away and leave here there.
"You should pr-" The Yellow Jacket's words were cut off by a crashing sound. "Damn it."
New Camford's Killer Bee ran towards the noise without distress or hesitation, Wonder Girl flying behind him. Gunshots were heard afterwards which did alert the two that something had gone wrong. The duo came to a double-door entrance, Hornet twisting the knobs on the doors to find that they were locked.
"Damn it," Hornet cursed before another spray of bullets were heard. "This better not be Nightwing and Batgirl…"
"No time to guess." Hornet was moved aside before Wonder Girl kicked the doors opened before running in.
Eli followed, taking in that the doors were for the balcony area to the school's auditorium. Their noisy entrance had not been picked up on by whoever was inside which gave Eli the advantage for the time. He was able to get to the balcony railing quietly with Wonder Girl standing waiting for instructions.
"Look," Wonder Girl pointed to the aisles below, Batgirl's red hair easily noticeable as well as a guy a few rows over, obviously looking for the bat-themed vigilante hidden amongst the seats. "It's Batgirl. Where's Nightwing?"
The Yellow Jacket changed the vision on his goggles to scan the area beneath them. There were no other heat signatures in the room which meant that they were alone. This meant that he and Wonder Girl could move quickly without setting off any alarms.
"When I hit him," said Hornet quietly, getting a charged arrow from his quiver. "Make a move for Batgirl."
"Got it. On three?"
Jade wouldn't have asked such a question. She would have just leapt and Eli would have had the shot ready. Dinah would have also made the call. Wonder Girl was neither of those two and thus needed the signal. Thankfully, Ben had pressed the issue about being a team player regardless of the teammates. Eli had learned how to adapt to those around him; those that wanted to hurt him and help him alike.
Taking aim for his shot, Hornet took in a deep breath. "Three."
The arrow whistled through the air as it darted to its target. Eli was thankful that, even in his exhausted condition, he was still able to hit the man between his shoulder blades. Wonder Girl immediately flew down afterwards, crouching next to Batgirl as the gunman collapsed.
"Batgirl," Wonder Girl said quietly, gaining the redhead's attention. "Where's Nightwing?"
Seeing that Wonder Girl had come to her aid, Batgirl turned to give her answer. "Wonder Girl? We thought you guys were still around the gym."
"No, we left. Where's Nightwing?" Wonder Girl asked again.
"We split after we were spotted by Bishop. He's probably called Whale or Holocaust so we have to leave this place. The two guys that were after Nightwing were huge. I don't think…" Batgirl paused as a thought ran through her mind. "Where's Hornet?"
"Oh! He's up there. He's the one that…" Wonder Girl turned to where her hand the area in the balcony where Hornet should have been, only to find that it was empty. "Well… He was up there."
"Come on. Let's move." Batgirl said as she stood up. "By the way, I really didn't need saving. I was waiting until he had to reload. And he was close."
Wonder Girl conceded with a nod before sighing. "It's just hard working when all of you have these silent codes: Nightwing just acts, you're really patient, and Hornet has this weird countdown thing."
"What?" Batgirl found herself voicing before holding a hand up. "Later, alright? We have to stop Nightwing from being gunned-down and get out of here."
The two girls ran out of the auditorium, finding that Hornet had somehow knocked Batgirl's pursuers out without them knowing. For Lyta, this was somewhat exhilarating- just not the waiting in line at Disney World kind of exhilarating. She was seeing how these three different heroes work firsthand and had the ability to either join or wait on the sidelines, a call that her mother always made. Seeing how Nightwing was so confident or how smart Batgirl was or Hornet frighten the confession out of the man in the parking lot was something thrilling.
Yet she couldn't just focus on that. Nightwing was obviously in trouble and Hornet had either left to find him or was chasing a lead. The mission was highly important to Hornet but, on some level, Lyta felt as if Hornet at least appreciated Nightwing, though not as much as the former Robin praised the Yellow Jacket.
Exiting the auditorium, Batgirl signaled Wonder Girl to take a left, the redhead running ahead with a batarang in each hand. Wonder Girl flew with her fists balled as she tried to build up the rage Amazons were taught to fight with. Both girls were prepared for any type of fight that they would be pit up against.
However, positioned at the end of the hallway and next to the large doors that led outside, they found a reason why their assistance might not be needed. Bodies lied on either side of the doors.
"Damn it." Wonder Girl heard Batgirl mutter before a spray of bullets was heard. "We got to stop him…"
Wonder Girl wanted to say something on Hornet's behalf yet she didn't have the time to get a good look at the downed goons to see if they were dead or just knocked out. Obviously Batgirl had her suspicions but Wonder Girl had just witnessed the guy beat the hell out of a few grunts without killing. Sure, the guy had a bit of an edge to him, but he was not that malicious.
The pair burst through the doors and exited the building. The pathway that led between the main building and a secondary building used for the school's musical classes was currently being occupied by Whale's men and one vigilante attempting to defy them. However, this one vigilante was not the Yellow Jacket as Batgirl had assumed. It was Nightwing who stood in an uneasy fighting stance.
"Guess it wasn't Hornet…" Wonder Girl couldn't help but mutter the statement as guns were turned on the two girls.
"Batgirl, Wonder Girl," Nightwing said to them with his hands raised into the air. "Where's you-know?"
Batgirl sighed. "We thought he was here with you," Batgirl eyed the two men holding their rifles at herself and Wonder Girl. "I see we were wrong. What happened?"
"I took a few of them out, dodged a few shots, and now we were just talking." Nightwing casually stated. "These nice gentlemen were going to show me where Bishop had run off to, right guys?"
"Tch, do you hear this guy? He's still talking."
"Yeah, maybe we should shut him up before the boss gets here."
Batgirl was a little unnerved by the two men talking whilst the third remained quiet. Situations like these were better suited for Richard who had reflex training with Bruce from day one while she had only learned enough to get herself out of a jam. That being said, her mind was failing to come up with a foolproof plan that would get Lyta out of danger unharmed while also being able to get Richard out of trouble, if he needed it.
The redhead's eyes met with Nightwing's to convey a secret message. The dark-haired boy not only understood her move and okayed her solution, but he privately conveyed the answer to how to save Wonder Girl as well. He told her, without words of course, to go for the man to Barbara's left while he took care of the man in front of him and in front of Batgirl.
"Wonder Girl," Nightwing suddenly spoke up. "Where's the Yellow Jacket at?"
"What?" Lyta was unsure what Nightwing was going on about, especially considering the fact that he and Batgirl had avoided using Hornet's name earlier.
"Where is the Yellow Jacket at?" Batgirl asked, turning her head to face Wonder Girl. "You were with him before you joined me, right? Where'd he go?"
Before the blonde could respond the man holding the gun at her stepped closer to her.
"You know where the Yellow Jacket is?" he asked, his voice a low growl. "Where is he?"
"I don't know." Wonder Girl said.
"She's lying," The man in front of Batgirl stated. "Ask her again. Make her talk!"
Nightwing saw it happening as planned. The two men were obviously more worried about the one guy not there than the three in front of them. The articles and videos on the internet about how "ruthless" and "dangerous" Hornet helped make the distraction as well. Now all he had to do was slowly grab two batarangs, not to draw attention to the man in front of him. He had to wait for Barbara but could not be too far behind in his approach.
Batgirl suddenly made her move, one that drew attention from the two gunmen eying her. Thankfully her reflexes were faster and she was able to grab two batarangs and fling one at the hand at the man directly in front of her, the other whizzing towards the man in front of Nightwing. The two hit their marks, the man in front of Batgirl having to drop his gun while the man in front of Nightwing, after being hit in the back, turned to attack.
Wonder Girl, someone trained to see openings, saw the man in front of her drop his guard and chose that moment to attack. Moving his rifle aside, she gave the guy a strong punch to the gut, hearing the air leave his system as she buried her fist into him. Another strong hook dropped the man immediately.
"Huh, not bad," Nightwing said after landing a spinning hook kick that KO-ed his would-be captor. "I didn't even have to throw."
Wonder Girl smiled at the compliment. "Thanks Nightwing. I think I got your-" Another load of bullets were heard being fired from back inside of the school, causing Wonder Girl to gasp. "You don't think that was Hornet, do you?"
Nightwing sighed. "Unfortunately, I-" Another moment of shots occurred, interrupting his speech. "Unfortunately I'm sure that it is. I just hope that he doesn't…"
The doors that Barbara and Lyta had just used to exit the building opened. Out walked the Yellow Jacket, a few specks of red on his normally clean jacket. He held the rifle that he had gained earlier in his right hand with a black notebook in his left.
Wonder Girl took a small step towards the gunman. "Are you…? Are you okay? What happened?"
"Bishop was in one of the classes upstairs. He's called Whale and Holocaust to reschedule some sort of meeting for Dakota." the Yellow Jacket answered, his focal point on Nightwing. "Worse… He's dead now."
Batgirl scoffed. "Seriously? How are we-"
"I know," It was clear that Hornet was not at all pleased by killing Bishop, his distorted voice not at all hiding that fact. "One of his goons shot him before he could tell me everything."
"And you killed him, didn't you?" Hornet nodded at Nightwing's inquiry. "Great… What's the notebook?"
"People. Dates. Meetings. Sells. Even some Bang Babies that came through. Bishop kept two records, one on some computer and this. He was killed before I could get the details about his computer's whereabouts." Hornet spoke, handing the notebook out to Nightwing. "I didn't have time to search the rooms. Like I said, Whale knows we're here."
"Why don't we just take Whale and Holocaust down if we know he's most likely on his way here?" Wonder Girl questioned.
"Because Tobias won't come. He'll just send people out here to do his bidding." stated Nightwing. "And, no matter how much I hate him, I can't have Hornet get into a full-blown battle with them. Not just for Hornet's image, but our conscience as well."
Hornet turned to Wonder Girl. "That, and we don't know all that Holocaust can do or who he'll bring with him. This school could burn down with us in it. That's a risk we don't need to take."
"So let's go," Nightwing concluded. "Most of the weapons here are destroyed. We have some information. It's not what I wanted to happen but no plan survives contact with the enemy. Take what we can and try again."
Batgirl came next to Hornet. "And this," The redhead took the book out of Hornet's grasp. "Should be enough to get Whale? Legally, I mean."
"Don't know yet. I guess we'll have to read it together." Nightwing deduced. "Hornet, thanks for helping us."
Hornet crossed his arms. "There's something you can do for. Somewhere I have to be. Drop me off there and we're even."
"Uh, where is this 'somewhere else' that you need to be?" questioned Nightwing.
"Ivy Town."
Dinah was not surprised at the slightest by the fact that Eli had not gone home and rested as she instructed. Eli was as driven as Bronze Tiger had stated, if not more. His desire to help people was obvious to everyone but him and, at least in her and Oliver's opinion, his transformation to a full-blown hero was coming along just fine.
No, Eli's drive was nothing new to Dinah at all. His co-operation with Batman's two protégé and Wonder Woman's daughter, however, was something that Dinah never thought would happen.
"…And you came here?" Dinah asked as Eli lied on the couch, eyes closed.
Eli nodded his head. "Mm-hmm. I couldn't have them following me home." The teen had removed his mask, boots, gloves, gauntlets, jacket, and voice changer. His weapons lied on the table in front of him with his cell phone. "I think they're staying somewhere in New Camford. I don't need a lot of masked cops sniffing around my apartment."
"Like you?" teased Dinah as the boy got comfortable on the couch. "Eli, you should've just gone home and went to sleep. I doubt Nightwing or Batgirl would have followed you home without your knowledge."
"Shit I'm not leaving up to chance. Vigilantes like you and those two can sneak up on me without me knowing- let alone follow me around the city. I'm not risking it." Eli voiced. "Besides, now you know that I went to sleep. So two birds with one stone."
Dinah didn't argue with that soundproof logic. "You're right… But wouldn't you be more comfortable on one of the mats or the pull-out?"
"No. I'm comfortable right here."
That was all that was said for a moment with Dinah contemplating just how to go along with this. It was like dealing with Roy all over again except she was not trying to win her possible stepson's affection. The key difference between Roy and Eli had been their willingness to spend time with Dinah and, oddly, the emotionally distant Yellow Jacket gave the Black Canary more chances than the sarcastic Speedy ever did.
Still, there was a mother/big-sister warmth brewing inside of Dinah as she watched Eli doze off on the couch beneath the gym. His original disregards for vigilantes and making connections were slowly disappearing. He was still angry, and rightfully so for the most part, but he was beginning to open up about what made him pissed and why- his mom normally being a good place to start. It made Dinah feel accomplished that she could be to Eli what Ted was to her; a good human being during a time when her faith in humanity, and herself, had dropped considerably.
Minutes passed and by now it was clear that Eli was asleep. Silently, the Canary in t-shirt and shorts made her way to the floor where Eli had dumped most of his clothes and picked up his jacket. Her lips thinned at the sight of blood. Ben's tutelage on Eli had stuck. The boy was clearly not above making a dire call whenever he thought it was necessary. Sure, in a perfect world there would be little to no need for vigilantes, less for bloodshed. Yet neither was true for this reality and Eli was one of many that carried the burden of having blood on his hands. Never again to be a normal teenager, he would always have a part of him committed to this kind of work, to this cruel cycle.
Bzzt! Bzzt! Bzzt!
Eli's vibrating cell phone was desperate for attention, trying to get its owner to see whoever was calling. Dinah gazed downwards to see the word and picture on the screen, a smile forming on her previous sullen face.
"Can't get enough of him, can you?" she whispered quietly after seeing that it was Barbara calling Eli. "Kids…"
The Black Canary would go on to wash the blood out of the jacket as best as she could, not answering the phone in fear of revealing Eli's identity to Barbara who would ultimately recognize Dinah's voice.
Maybe Eli wouldn't have a normal teenage life but, much like Roy, the boy could adapt and make the best of the lemons he was handed. Then again, knowing just who Eli was, Dinah wouldn't be surprised if he made lemon custard out of lemons instead of just lemonade. He was her student after all.
Author's Notes: So here's the latest of Eli's adventures, now involving Lyta Trevor- Wonder Girl. I originally had a more gory side to this story (Eli's viewpoint during the shootings instead of Batgirl and Wonder Girl but went against it due to the next chapter. Next chapter, focuses more on Eli's life as Eli Jackson and Hornet. As for the future meeting between Static and Hornet, it's coming soon. Not next chapter, sadly, but soon. Review Corner next chapter, answering all questions from Chapter 12... I think... till post. So until then, if you have any thoughts, questions, or comments about the chapter, don't be afraid to leave a review or PM and I will respond next chapter. Till then, peace.