"Fuck!" Jason shouted angrily, slamming his fists onto the console of the Batcomputer and jumping up out of the seat. The Broker's men had overwhelmed he and Roy with a combination of sheer numbers and military-precision teamwork; between just he and Roy, it was impossible for them to get through. They watched helplessly as Deathstroke boarded that plane with Barbara.
Forced to retreat, they came back to the cave to try and track where they were going, via the tracking bug he planted on Barbara just before they got away. It was pretty clever actually, and Roy's idea. Sort of. Like Roy's tracking arrow, he created a tracking projectile, and fired it from his gun, timed it so it would appear as if he'd nearly been hit and that the shot was a misfire. Unfortunately, the signal just…disappeared, right off the coast of Nova Scotia. He ground his teeth and slammed the console again, only to have Roy come up from behind him and wrap an arm around his shoulders.
"Hey, hey! Calm down Jaybird!" Roy said softly. Jason shoved him off angrily and snarled at him. Roy stumbled backward and raised his hands defensively, remaining calm as Jason blew up at him.
"Calm down? Calm down?! They took Barbara! And I couldn't stop them!" Jason snapped, pacing back and forth and raking his hands through his hair. Roy slowly approached him again and carefully placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Jay, listen; we did everything we could. You can't beat yourself up for that," Roy said in a soft, calming tone. Jason took a deep breath and slowly unclenched his fists from his hair, letting his arms fall by his sides.
"You're right. God dammit, this Broker is kicking the fuck out of us," Jason snarled again, turning back to Roy, he threw his arms up and added "the fucker is always five steps ahead of us! He's got a well trained mercenary group, tech to rival our own…"
"What's the situation?" Bruce asked, entering the cave and pulling off his cowl. Tim, Damian, and Dick followed behind him.
"Where's Barbara?!" Dick asked, pushing past Bruce. Jason's expression fell a bit, bowing his head.
"We tried…but they…they had every step planned out. I'm sorry Dickie," Jason answered softly, flashing an apologetic look. A look of disbelief flashed across his face. He paced across the cave and shook his head.
"No! Dammit!" he cursed.
"What do we do now?" Tim asked.
"We get her back. Find the Broker's men, and beat them black and blue until they tell us what we want to know," Damian said darkly. Jason snorted with amusement; were he younger, say his Robin years, he might've agreed with that plan.
"Good luck with that kid. The Broker's men aren't exactly easy to track down. We ran some of their identities through every database on the planet," Jason explained, turning toward the computer and bringing up some of the faces he'd seen. "Not a single one of them is registered on any database on the planet. It's like they don't even exist."
Bruce's brow furrowed at the revelation, but more so because he was thinking. He strode over toward the computer, past Jason, and sat down and brought up the tracking data.
"You said they took a plane to Nova Scotia, and then the trace just disappeared?" Bruce asked.
"Yeah, that's what I said," Jason replied, a little agitated as he rolled his eyes. He stared at the screen and considered the possibilities. He began to wonder if they continued by boat. If they disappeared just off the coast, it seemed like the most logical solution. The boat had to have some tech on it that scrambled tracking technology, cloaking the signal and stopping the trace.
"There's no choice. We'll have to fly out and investigate," Bruce said evenly. Dick turned and nodded in agreement, but he still had his reservations.
"I agree. But this could be a trap. In fact, it's most definitely a trap," Dick replied.
"We don't have a choice. Barbara is family. The Broker knows this. He's using it. He's counting on us to come to her rescue and bait us into a trap," Tim pointed out.
"But if anyone can pull of this rescue, it's the lot of you," came Alfred's voice, arm in a sling as he descended the stairs. "You are all more than capable of rescuing her. You have all endured worse before."
"Alfred, you should be resting," Bruce said softly. Alfred snorted.
"Master Bruce, before becoming the Wayne Family's Butler, I was British Intelligence Agent. I am quite fine, thank you," Alfred replied.
"Aren't you the one telling us to always take it ease?" Dick teased, lips curling into a smirk. Alfred glanced in his direction.
"Indeed. And how often have any of you ever listened to me?" Alfred countered.
"Touche," Dick answered.
"Well, then we have two choices; either we ignore Barbara-" Damian went on, interrupted by Roy.
"Not happening."
"-or," Damian continued, shooting Roy an annoyed glare "we can take the bait and flip his little game on its head. I vote for the latter. This 'Broker' underestimates his prey. I say we make him suffer for it."
"Kid, that sounds like the best idea I've heard all day," Jason put in. Damian snorted, but gave a nod nonetheless.
"Well, it's about time we agreed on something, Todd."
"I hate to say it, but I agree with Damian and Jason. The direct approach might be our best bet. If anything, we've already seen that stealth gets us nowhere," Tim put in.
"Right. I'm with these guys. We should just attack," Dick added.
"Well, may as well throw my lot in with you guys," Roy added with a shrug of his shoulders. He padded over to Dick and Jason and wrapped his arms around both their shoulders. Bruce frowned as, one-by-one, they all opted for a direct attack on the Broker. He got up from the chair at the Batcomputer and rubbed the back of his neck.
"Alright then. The direct approach it is."
Batman flew his plane out over the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Nova Scotia, carrying Batman, Robin, Red Robin, Nightwing, Arsenal and Red Hood. Unlike the Batwing, it was more of a troop transport vehicle, yet still far more advanced than most modern planes. From there, they headed north. They weren't sure if they were going that way, but they followed the trend, which was northward. They kept their eyes peeled for…well, they weren't entirely sure, but Batman seemed sure he'd be able to find them.
"Hey look," Red Hood called, looking out the window of the plane. Everyone else looked and there, on an iceberg floating through the Atlantic Ocean, they saw a figure.
"Hmm. I'm taking us down to investigate," Batman said evenly, lowering the plane. They hovered over the iceberg, allowing Nightwing, Arsenal, and Red Hood to go down and investigate. To their complete surprise, it was-
"Well, I was wondering when I'd run into you again. But then I promised we'd meet again, didn't I, Red?" Slade asked with a smirk, glancing up at Red Hood with his good eye. Jason pulled off his helmet and tucked it under his arm, glaring at the mercenary. He was silent for a moment, content to glare angrily at him, until he looked up to the plane.
"Damian, gimme your sword! Bullets aren't enough! I wanna stab him," he shouted. Moments later, Damian's sword dropped down from the plane and Jason caught it and unsheathed it.
"Jason, stop," Dick scolded. Jason mock pouted and leaned the sheathed blade over his shoulder.
"You really know how to ruin a guy's fun, don't you? I wasn't gonna kill him," Jason replied. "Maybe a little bit. But he woulda lived."
Kind of ironic, isn't is Slade?" Dick asked, arching an eyebrow. The grizzled old mercenary shifted his position a little and chuckled a bit in response.
"Yeah, I suppose it is. Though it wouldn't be the first time my employer tried to kill me. Probably the closest they ever got to succeeding though," he replied.
"How are you still alive?" Roy asked.
"Rage is a hell of an anesthetic."
"Preaching to the quire," Jason mused, earning a glare from Dick.
"So what say we make a deal? You get me off this chunk of ice, and I help you get your girl back," Slade offered.
"And what makes you think we need your help?" Dick asked. Slade made a face and shrugged his shoulders.
"This guy's been one step ahead of you all this time. Likely set a trap for you on that ship, too. I know where it and, and bonus, I'm willing to help. Broker won't be expecting that, now will he?"
The three vigilantes exchanged looks and thought about the proposition, before turning their attention back to Slade.
"I can't believe we brought this asshole," Damian huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. Slade completely ignored the teen, glancing out the window and spying the ship below.
"That'd be it. This is where I make my exit. Meet you on the deck," Slade explained, donning his mask and jumping out of the plane, down into the water below. Batman took the plane closer to the ship and he and the others jumped out, the plane going on autopilot. The six of them landed on the deck of the ship; it looked deserted, as if there had never been anyone on it in the first place.
"Be prepared for anything," Batman muttered as everyone wordlessly drew their weapons.
"$50 says they pop out like cockroaches and surround us," Jason bet.
"$50 says they wait until we get down below deck," Dick counter-bet, flashing Jason a grin. Moments later, mercenaries started pouring out of the woodwork; a trap door, well hidden behind them near the front of the ship, slid open with more mercenaries pouring out. Soon enough, the six of them found themselves surrounded.
"Called it. And that'd be $50," Jason called to Dick.
"Lucky guess," Dick shot back.
"We're going to have to cut your mission short. You've caused nothing but headaches for the Broker," came the mercenary leader's voice. He came up from the deck, armed with an assault rifle that looked like it had been plucked from the future. "You're good at preparing for every outcome, Batman. All of you are. But you're in over your heads. Even should you get past us here today, which you won't, the Broker will inevitably kill you."
"Not today," came Slade's voice. Throwing knives flew through the air and embedded into the throats of three men. Slade came flying over the railing of the ship, landing on two more, crushing one man's wind pipe with his knee, and snapping another's neck.
"What?! You're supposed to be dead!" the mercenary captain yelled. "Fire! Kill them all!"
"I told you; you should've killed me when you had me. I made you a promise, not a threat," Slade shot back. The mercenaries barely got a chance to raise their guns before Arsenal, Red Hood, Red Robin, and Batman joined the fray.
"Nightwing, Robin, go rescue Oracle!" Batman ordered.
"You don't need to tell me twice!" Nightwing called back, sliding underneath a mercenary, striking two in the knees with his escrima sticks, before jumping back to his feet. Robin followed after him, taking down the men that Nightwing had disabled with a few, rapid strikes.
"Do NOT let them at the girl! Lockdown, lockdown! They all die! Kill them!" the mercenary leader ordered.
"Slade no!" Batman shouted. The merc leader turned just in time to be grabbed by the throat by Slade.
"Still admire my work? Let me give you a demonstration," Slade hissed, throwing the man across the deck. The man skidded across the deck, toppling head over heels. Before he could recover, Slade was on him again, pulling out a side arm and kicking the assault rifle out of his hands. The merc quickly drew a dagger and stabbed at Slade, forcing him to back off.
"Slade, enough! There are enough dead already!" Batman barked, fighting through the mercs that seemed to keep coming endlessly.
"Not quite yet," Slade replied, he and the merc leader fighting hand-to-hand. "Not bad rookie. You were trained well," Slade complimented. The merc opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by a blow to the gut. As he doubled over, Slade jammed the gun in his mouth and pulled the trigger; the merc leader dropped to the ground, dead.
"Red Robin, we need a hand here! They're shutting us out, locking the place down! We need your hacking skills!" came Nightwing's voice over the comm link.
"And make it quick. We don't have all day," Damian put in.
"Go, we'll cover you," Batman called. Red Robin hunkered down and brought up a holographic display over his gauntlet. Arsenal and Red Hood rushed to his side, taking up a line of defense for him.
"I hate to echo the demon brat, but please be quick," Arsenal called over his shoulder, firing arrow after arrow at the mercs, while Jason showered them in non-lethal electric bullets.
"Yeah, the devil spawn is right; we need you to be quick," Red Hood added in.
"I know, I know! All of you rushing me is not helping," Red Robin snapped as he typed away furiously. He began running his hacking programs but was startled to see the level of security this place had. He employed every hack, program and bypass he knew of. "Come on, come on. Every system has a weakness," he muttered to himself. He drowned out the sounds of combat around him and focused solely on the task.
"Red Robin-" Nightwing called, followed by the sounds of combat over the comm link.
"Got it! Ha, the system is mine! Opening it all up!" Red Robin replied.
Nightwing and Robin fought their way through the mercs with Red Robin instructing them over the comm link.
"I've only got thirty seconds before the system corrects and repairs itself, so listen carefully; go down to the next deck, take a left, a right, a left, and she's in the third room on the right," Red Robin explained. Nightwing and Robin made their way through the ship, down to the next level, following Red Robin's instructions. Finally, they found the room and Nightwing kicked it open.
"It's about time. What took you guys so long?" Barbara asked with a bright smile, unbound from here chair. "I tried to save myself, but there was only so much I could do without a wheelchair," she explained. Nightwing laughed and lifted her up into his arms.
"What're you talking about? Chair or no, you're a bad ass," he replied.
"Flatterer and knight in shining armor. How sweet," she replied, pressing a kiss to his jaw.
"I think I'm going to puke," Robin said flatly, glaring at the two of them. As the three of them made their way up topside, the mercenaries who Slade hadn't killed, had been rounded up and tied up. Slade, or rather Deathstroke, now had all of his gear back.
"Are you alright?" Batman asked, stopping before the three of them and addressing Barbara.
"Just fine. Let's just nail this son of a bitch."
"I may be able to help with that," came The Question's voice over the comm link. "I think I know where The Broker is hiding."