Little Bird's Vengeance Chapter 43 Normal Procedure, Abnormal Circumstances

Tim frowned as he examined his notes. First, a number of ex HammerTech employees made an assassination attempt on Tony Stark. There were three strikes by mech suits or drones; first in New York, then intercepting the Quinjet on the way back from New Mexico, then in the Middle East. Finally, the NYPD had been sicced on them the moment they came into possession of illegal substances.

The pattern seemed to be exploiting moments of vulnerability. Tony without his suit. An electric death-trap targeting Tony's weakened heart. Tim himself without aerial backup. The desert; unfamiliar territory for most of the Avengers and a psychological stumbling block for Tony. Jason's blunder with the drugs.

The police raid was different from the others, though. It was more subtle. It wasn't aiming to take out anyone; it was simply to inconvenience them. Or possibly…distract.

"Kid Flash," Tim said, tapping his comm. Can you come here, please?"

The air flickered and the speedster appeared. "What is it, Rob?" Bart asked.

"When you were running around New York, did you see anything like one of Tony's suit?"

"No, I don't think so," Bart frowned. "I can take another look if you like."

"That would be useful; thank you," Tim nodded.

"Sure. And, um…sorry about the drugs."

"It's okay," Tim assured him. "No harm done. And in the long run, it may have given us a clue as to what's happening."

Bart grinned, and vanished.

It was nearly ten minutes before he reappeared. "There were several half assembled machines that might one day become suits," he reported. "Nothing else. Well, about a dozen street crimes, but I got that."

"Thanks, Bart," Tim said absently. "If you're going off to get food, could you bring me a coffee?"

"You know me too well," Bart grinned.

Tim smiled to himself as the speedster left and the drink appeared. The big question was whether the police raid was connected to the attacks or not. If they weren't, there were two wily foes to contend with. If they were, there was one very dangerous opponent.

Tony entered the study, a phone pressed to his ear. "Yeah, he's here," he said, before handing the phone over.

"Yes?" Tim said as he took it.

"Hey, Red," a semi familiar voice said. "It's me, Spiderman. Remember me? I, uh, if you don't mind, could we work together for a bit?"

"Of course," Tim replied. Taking a little time out to patrol with the other teen wouldn't exactly hurt the case, and might turn up some new clues or give his brain a chance to refresh itself. "Where are you?"

"Midtown High School. It's in Queens."

"I'll be there soon."

Tim tossed the phone back to Tony. "Do you have a motorbike I can borrow?" he asked. "Preferably one in red."

"Sure," Tony shrugged. "Who was that?"

"Spiderman," Tim answered. "I told him he could probably reach me here if he ever wanted to hang out and solve crime."

"Sounds fun. Jarvis'll help you with the bikes."

"Thanks." Tim filed away his papers as Tony wandered off, then made a stop-off before suiting up. Jason was in the training room practising one of his routines under Tasha's watchful eye. Tim approached him and whispered in his ear. "I'm going out for a bit of work. Kon'll keep watch if you like, and you can call me if you need to."

"I'll be fine. Stop mothering me," Jason grumbled.

"Just looking out for my father's son."

Red Robin zoomed between the traffic, Jarvis playing satnav in his ear. When he reached the school, he skidded to a halt, dismounted, and used a pair of his cuffs to secure the bike to the railings. A glance up showed the red and blue figure of the superhero crouched on the roof.

Red Robin grappled up to join him. "Something wrong?"

"No 'hello; how are you'?" Spiderman joked, but the amusement didn't quite match his solemn tone of voice.

"You're on top of a school on a weekday during the term," Red Robin pointed. "And there's no kids. The children have been sent home. You're here. Something bad has happened here."

"Well, yeah," Spiderman admitted. "C'mon."

He shot a stream of webbing and jumped towards a large section that looked like it was probably the gym. Red Robin followed. Spiderman crouched on the edge and hung down to look through the small windows lining the top of the walls. Red Robin flicked out his climbing hooks and joined him.

The gym was occupied by half a dozen cops in anti-contamination suits. Pinned to the wall was a black boy, around sixteen. He had been stripped, and nailed in a crucifixion pose. Blood was pooling at his feet and trickling down the walls. A star of David had been carved into his chest, and a quick check showed he was circumcised. Above him, painted in blood, was the legend: "As the first serpent drove Adam and Eve from Eden, so shall we drive all the impure from this land. So speak the Sons of the Serpent."

Red Robin pulled back onto the roof. "Is this your school?" he asked Spiderman.

"Uh," Spiderman said guiltily. "Yeah. Is it that obvious?"

"It was a hunch," Red Robin admitted. "What can you tell us about the victim?"

While speaking, he moved around and started planting listening devices to collect every scrap of data he could from the cops.

AN: Spidey has been absent for a while, so I decided to bring him back. The Sons of the Serpent appeared a few times in the sixties and seventies, and they're a relatively interesting bunch. More on this little bit of fun next week.

Also this week: In Flashback, Dick's a little depressed, and the first chapter of my new RotG/HP story Rise of Harry Potter.

Next week: More LBV and the start of the third of my new Harry Potter fics, crossing over with Doctor Who in Time, Space, Magic.

Please review. I love hearing from you.

Katara