AN: Warning: This chapter is very T. Please don't complain about the language; you have been warned.

Little Bird's Vengeance Chapter 42 The Trouble with Illegal Narcotics

The NYPD squad ran up the staircase, not as quiet as they'd have liked, but their presence apparently unknown. It was vital the target did not know they were coming. If the information they had received was accurate, they were on the verge of a massive and exceedingly high profile drugs bust. When they reached the right floor, they paused at the door, hearing voices coming from within.

"Didn't it occur to you that the idea was fucking idiotic?!"

"Well, yeah, but-"

"Even a brain-dead, bisected amoeba could tell that was stupid!"

"I didn't expect him to actually do it!"

"Then why the hell did you suggest it?!"

"It's an excellent example of the long-term problems with short-term solutions! You do get that, right?"

"Problems?! Hell yes! What are we supposed do with this lot?!"

The captain nodded to his lieutenant and stood back as the door was kicked in. The men streamed through, pointing their rifles at the occupants. There was a cacophony of noise, and a girl's voice rose above it all. "Friendlies, stand down!" she yelled.

The captain blinked, trying to comprehend the scene before him. Iron Man and War Machine were just slotting into their armour. Captain America was in civvies, but with his shield at the ready. Black Widow, Hawkeye and Thor had weapons raised. Two black haired teen boys with domino masks were lowering a pair of handguns and a slender staff respectively. Three more teens, including the girl who'd shouted, were standing at the back unarmed. In the middle of the room was a large table, both ends covered in papers and the centre groaning beneath a mountain of powders and crystals.

The captain gulped. Crashing Tony Stark's penthouse had seemed a very different concept to charging into the Avengers' hang-out. "Drug bust?" he said weakly.

"What the fuck…" the masked young man with the guns said, staring from the cops to the piled up substances. The Avengers started lowering their weapons, and the boy with the staff collapsed it, tucking it into his belt.

"Names?" the lieutenant asked, regaining his composure somewhat.

"You'll know that lot…" the boy with the staff said, waving a hand at the Avengers. "I'm Red Robin, this is Red Hood, and they are Superboy, Wonder Girl and Kid Flash."

"We need your real names," the captain insisted, trying to reassert control over the situation.

"Go fuck yourself," Red Hood suggested.

"Hood," Red Robin sighed warningly.

"What? You weren't going to tell them either."

"Yes, but you don't have to be so rude. We like cops, remember?"

"Not bent cops."

"No. No-one likes bent cops."

"Stop it, you two" Stark snapped. "More importantly, what do you mean, drug bust?"

"You appear to have a massive quantity of illegal narcotics," the captain pointed out.

"You can't possibly try claiming that's for personal use," the lieutenant added.

"Mm. Yeah. But the thing is, I actually have no idea where that came from," Stark admitted. "C'mon, guys. 'Fess up. What's this about?"

Red Robin sighed. "Jarvis? You've got cameras in here? Can you show us what happened to result in that big pile of drugs?"

"Of course, sir," an unseen voice said. A large patch of air shimmered, and turned into a miniature replica of the room.

"My favourite target would be drug dealers," Red Hood was saying to Captain America. "T'other Red's probably got a favourite, too."

"Assassins," Red Robin said absently from the other end of the table, not looking up from his stack of papers.

"Yeah, right, so we have favourites and we all take on whatever happens to cross our paths and take time out for the Arkham psychos, but you don't have to worry about those," Red Hood continued, kicking his feet up on the table.

"What about the Titans?" Captain America asked.

"They go by different rules; dunno how it works," Red Hood shrugged. "See, they have issues with the more complex stuff. Street crimes are fine, but when it gets organised, they tend to have timing problems."

"I don't follow you," Captain America frowned.

"Where's Kid Flash?" Red Hood asked Red Robin, sitting upright.

The younger vigilante tapped his ear and muttered something. After a moment, the speedster appeared. "'Sup, Rob?" he asked.

"Give Hood a hand, will you?" Red Robin said, before looking up and glaring at Red Hood. "Now let me get on with this."

"Sure, yeah," Red Hood said dismissively. "So, can you go run round New York and take note of every crime happening?"

"No problem. Got a map?" Red Hood handed over a map and a pen. The meta vanished and reappeared a moment later. "Got it."

"Thanks," Red Hood muttered. "So, some of these crimes you can take out straight away, like these muggings, that car-jacking, the breaking and entering and the stick-ups," he lectured. "But the drug dealers are more complicated. These street dealers are a dime a dozen. You can knock 'em out, lock 'em up and take their drugs cash and guns, and their replacements will be on the street tomorrow. So you gotta be more cunning. Kid Flash could run around and bring as many drugs as he could find here-"

"Oh yeah, I can do that!" the speedster interrupted.

"Wait- no-" Red Hood said, but it was too late. Kid Flash had vanished, and there was already a pile of powders and crystals forming on the table.

"What the fuck, Hood?!" Red Robin yelled.

"I think that's enough now; thanks, Jarvis," Red Robin said, and the simulation froze. "Pretty much everything from then until you busting in here was us arguing," he explained to the police. "Feel free to take that lot, we probably would have brought it down to you anyway."

"Possession of these narcotics is a crime," the captain protested.

"Yeah? Well let's see your warrant," Stark demanded.

"Um," the captain said, shifting uncomfortably. "We can show you it down at the station."

"You don't have it with you?" Red Robin asked confused.

"We were told it would be ready by the time we arrived," the lieutenant said weakly.

"You…went on a drugs bust before the warrant was ready?" Red Robin sounded more than a little doubtful. "What even prompted the raid? We can't have had the drugs for more than about ten minutes."

"Anonymous phone call," the captain shrugged. "We were sent straight out while the boss sorted out the warrant."

"Legality of that's a bit iffy," Red Hood accused.

"When was this anonymous call placed?" Red Robin interrupted.

"11:04," the captain answered. "If I can check with the station about the warrant-"

"Jarvis, enlarge this section here," Red Robin interrupted again, pointing to part of the camera simulation. A small digital clock on the wall came into focus, also bearing the time 11:04. "So your phone call came in within a minute of Kid Flash getting the drugs. How did some anonymous tipper find that out so quickly?"

"And why would your boss take this tip so seriously he sent a team out before even securing the warrant?" Hawkeye frowned.

"There's dozens of reasons why he might," Red Hood said dismissively. "Susceptibility drugs, mind control, magic, could be a bunch of things."

"Or he could be bought," Red Robin mused.

"Have you chased that warrant up yet?" Stark snapped at the police.

"Um, yes," the captain said. "It was denied."

"Well then, take the drugs and skedaddle," Stark answered. "I'll consider whether or not to press charges."

"Of course, Mr Stark," the chastised captain replied. "Uh, can we have details of where all these drugs were found?"

"Here," Kid Flash said, handing him another map. "And Rob? Here's your copy."

"Thank you," the captain said stiffly. He gave directions to his men, and they retreated with the contraband, but with their tails firmly between their legs.

AN2: No explosions this week, but something dodgy's going on...

Also this week: Family Ties, where Jason is...well, go and check. Next week, Flashback and Black and Red. Please go check 'em out.

Also, I have decided that, starting from next week, I will increase to three weekly updates. I will start posting chapters for one of five of the stories on my profile listed under "upcoming". I will go around all five, posting one chapter a week. Next week there will be the prologue for a Harry Potter/Avengers crossover called Death's Avenger.

Last but not least, please review.

Be back soon,

Katara