Chapter Eight
The call had gone out at one a.m., two dead bodies in the bathroom of the Inferno Club, right in the heart of the Arts and Entertainment district. An overdose in Gotham City was as common as the sunrise, but when the victims were the mayor's nephew and his girlfriend, priorities change for the GCPD in the blink of an eye.
Christopher Garcia was a student at NYU, in town for the upcoming holidays. Early twenties, no history of drug or alcohol abuse. His girlfriend and Boston native Angela Adams much the same. The Inferno Club was one of the higher end bars in Gotham. Trendy DJ's, killer sound system, retro neon dance floors, everything two twenty-somethings would want or need to meet friends and blow off steam. Every night patrons would wait anxiously behind velvet ropes to get into the club, while people with connections, like say someone related to an elected official, could bypass the commoners and go directly into the VIP section. The club was used to hosting heavy hitters, and security inside was always polite but firm. Despite all of this, it's never a surprise when drugs appear on the inside, and the drug in question this night was something special.
Most heroin knockoffs need to be cooked and injected intravenously, but this new unnamed substance also came in pill form at a much higher price, perfect for first time inexperienced users. The high was beyond intense, almost tailored to the user's specific neural receptors and dealers were careful to limit the quantity sold to avoid situations like tonight.
The Gotham CSI Unit had surmised that alcohol and along with the impaired judgment that goes with it, combined with two individuals with no history or knowledge of what they were using, had caused them to take a second dose more quickly than instructed. Two people with no history of use, two people with their whole lives ahead of them, addicted at the first hit and dead three hours later.
Had they been found within the first hour or so, perhaps the two would have had a fighting chance; several promising new antibiotics had given doctors hope of stemming the tide of this new epidemic, but with the music thumping and the crowds in and out of the bathroom, no one even noticed the toilet stall had been locked and in use for hours. If not for their friends alerting security, they may not have even been found till morning.
There were very few street dealers with access to this new designer drug, and the cold reality is kids and adults alike are found dead in crack houses and back alleys every day, but this new drug had surfaced in high end clubs like Inferno, as well as on the campuses of the many universities that surrounded Gotham. The final straw for many was when it had been discovered at Gotham Academy by the headmaster. Several students had been found using it, and luckily there had been no fatalities. Five students had been placed into medical comas once the doctors observed the devastating detox this drug could cause, and then there were the severe infections that followed, more gruesome depending on how long a person had been using. Most antibiotics had proven ineffectual against its many side effects, but as fortune would have it, a new antibiotic had recently been approved by the FDA. It was expensive, most drugs coming from Kord Omniversal usually were, and it would be years before the licensing rights came up for generics to be created. Until then it would cost hospitals and patients a fortune to afford this hopeful cure, but what choice did they have? Desperate times call for desperate measures, and those with the means would be the ones most likely to survive and hopefully beat the addiction.
Renee Montoya carefully stepped over the crime scene tape and made her way into the cavernous restroom. The two bodies had been moved and laid prone on the cold ceramic floor. Their eyes remained open, their skin dry and scaly, decomposing off the body at a disturbingly accelerated rate. It was a gruesome sight to say the least, and the body count was just beginning.
The CSI staff nodded respectfully at the detective as she knelt down over Garcia. Until the bodies were transported to the coroner's office, the drug would continue to deform and disfigure the couple until the blood was completely drained from their corpses. The detective hoped the victim's parents were never allowed to see the bodies, relying on dental work and DNA to positively I.D. the victims as per police procedure.
"So what do we have?" the detective asked
The young blond investigator cleared her voice, held up her notepad and began.
"Security found the two collapsed in the stall a few hours ago. Both were non-responsive with no sign of a pulse. All attempts to revive them were unsuccessful and paramedics pronounced them dead a half hour later. Security cameras didn't catch anything suspicious and so far there are no traces of any substances in or around the body. We're about to take some blood samples to send them off to toxicology."
Montoya nodded, satisfied with the report. "Before you do that, I'd like you to do a UV sweep of the stall for any finger prints, see if anyone else might have been in there with them."
"But ma'am we just did…"
"Then do it again!" Montoya snapped. "The Mayor's on his way down; let's try to get this wrapped up as soon as possible, he doesn't need to see his nephew like this, any of this."
"Yes ma'am," the two junior officers replied, quickly going back to their work.
With gloves on Montoya carefully turned the chin of Garcia, watching as the skin literally tore open at even the gentlest of movements. With the CSI staff searching the stall for prints again, Montoya slipped the syringe out from under her jacket along with three clear vials, stealthily taking blood and tissue samples before quickly placing them back into her overcoat inside pocket. Montoya stood again and walked over to the stall where the two investigators crouched, scanning the area with the hand held ultraviolet light
"Anything?" she asked.
"No ma'm," the two responded.
Suddenly the detective turned her head, as if something had caught her attention, before buttoning her trench coat and turning towards the exit. "I'm going to get some coffee, I'll be back in a few," she announced as she hurriedly made her way out of the room.
Five minutes later the detective returned, wearing a slightly different outfit from the one she wore previously. Montoya followed the same steps again, kneeling down between the two victims and wincing.
"So what do we have?" she inquired.
The two investigators looked at each other quizzically as they once again began their report
xxx
The dark haired Latino detective walked out of the club towards the adjacent alleyway. When safely out of sight, the dark overcoat she wore began to shimmer and morphed into a long blue cape while the rest of her clothes formed a dark uniform with a red X forming across the chest. The last remnant of the tan pigment of her skin lost its shade, quickly replaced with a greenish hue.
Megan Morse turned one final time to make sure she was alone before opening the mind link she shared with the her unseen partner.
"I have it," she projected mentally, waiting for a response.
Two buildings over, she spotted the black uniform leaning over the edge.
Within seconds Nightwing scaled down the building and stood by his teammate's side.
"Piece of pie," she smiled proudly.
"Cake Megan," Dick corrected as the Martian rolled her eyes. Impersonating an officer she'd never even met and the sleight of hand tissue and blood sampling were not her forte, but she had pulled them off brilliantly and was not about to let Nightwing steal her thunder.
"Maybe on your world," she grinned, "so what now?"
"I'm taking these to Bruce. He has a meeting with Ray Palmer in the morning and will hand off the samples then."
"No Wally?"
Dick shook his head. "He's still at the hospital. He's not leaving the kid until he gets out of the ICU. Ray said he'd be happy to step in. This thing is spreading fast and it's going to be hard to tell if this is from sharing needles or if it's truly gone mainstream."
Megan yawned thankful her night was just about over, while Nightwing looked like his was just beginning.
"Go home get some sleep," Nightwing suggested to the weary Martian.
"Thanks," she replied yawning again. "You should too."
"I can't," he traded yawns, trying to deny his fatigue. "I've got a meeting with a potential new hire," he smiled cheekily; "I need to see if a certain archer is going to take me up on our offer."
"What are our chances?" Megan asked as her body began to levitate, ready to go home.
"If I were a gambler, I'd bet the house."
xxx
Wally's elbows rested on his knees as he rubbed his tired eyes. Marcus's surgery had been successful, but the next 48 hours would be the critical juncture. So far there were no signs of organ rejection, but they still had a long way to go. The doctors shared blood work with the speedster from time to time and so far his formula was working the way it designed, suppressing certain parts of Marcus's immune system while the organ's genetic structure began merging with the host body's DNA.
The boy's parents had left the family waiting room, finally giving into their stress and exhaustion. Gotham Memorial had fine housing for patient's families who would need long term care, courtesy of Bruce Wayne of course, and the Richardson's had been persuaded by the red head to get some sleep.
Wally closed his eyes just for a moment. He was low on fuel, and despite being sedentary for the last 48 hours or so, his metabolism still worked at light speed. He was in the twilight of REM sleep when he began dreaming a most glorious dream. The aroma of fire grilled hamburgers danced through his mind when suddenly he jolted awake when the bag landed on his lap.
Zatanna smiled, holding her coffee and placing Wally's carefully on the floor. She smiled warmly at the speedster excitement when he opened the bag to the sight of three Whoppers and fries.
He reached over and kissed the brunette's cheek. "You know you're my favorite sorceress right?"
Zatanna smiled and sat down next to the red head. "And you're like my third or fourth favorite speedster." she chuckled, reaching over and steeling a few of his fries. She turned and took a sip of her coffee for a moment and when she looked back two of the Whopper's were gone with the speedster unwrapping the third.
She'd known Wally West since he was in high school, one of a select group of protégés given the unique chance to form a team and go out on their own(under close supervision of course) and had long since grown accustomed to his unique eating habits, but what concerned her most this night were the dark circles under his eyes. He'd stretched himself too thin between his job, his commitment to his teammates, and his relationship with the family he was trying to create a miracle for. Now was not the time to scold him to slow down, now was the time for just being his friend.
"He's going to be fine Wally, you did it. You know that right?"
"God I hope so Zee, no one deserves it more than him. You know what he said to me before they took him away?"
"What?" she questioned.
Wally swallowed hard, trying to control his exhausted emotions. "He asked me if I knew the name of the donor. He wanted to remember it so when he went to heaven he could thank him."
"That's one of the most beautiful things I've ever heard," she sighed resting her head on his shoulder.
"Yeah, it really is," he smiled. Wally put his arm around the magician and squeezed her tight. "Thanks a lot for coming down, it really means a lot."
"You know Dick would have been here too," she stated.
"I know. He's got a lot on his plate. I understand."
Zatanna looked into the empty bag and slowly rose to her feet, reaching down and taking Wally's hand.
"Where are we going?" Wally asked confused.
"Finding you some desert," she smiled.
xxx
Nightwing watched as the burglar ran across the rooftop towards the fire exit. Normally this wouldn't faze him, but the only problem was the criminal was two hundred yards away and not looking back.
He remained patient, his fingers ticking the grappling gun on his belt, but still he held back. Finally the hero cleared his throat loudly, subtly trying to get someone's attention.
Artemis smiled and with one eye open looked down the shaft of the arrow one more time before releasing it. It flew through the sky like a bullet, the tip splitting apart mid-flight while the Taser prongs inside activated. God she loved the trick arrows that Arrow had included in her gift. A few seconds later the arrow landed at the fleeing man's feet, sending high voltage through his body without actually penetrating the skin. Despite now being unconscious, his momentum carried him a few more feet before slamming him into the steel fire door and collapsing in a heap.
Artemis smiled in satisfaction while Nightwing looked through his field glasses at her handiwork.
He put them away with a grin and looked over at the proud archer.
"Showing off?" he questioned.
"Maybe a little," she smiled. "Just wanted to make sure you knew I had the chops."
"I knew that before we ever met," he smiled back at her. "Arrow's seal of approval carries a lot of weight."
"How well do you know him?" she asked.
"Well enough. His first partner and I used to work together."
"Red Arrow was part of your team?" she questioned, still surprised their paths had never crossed.
"He was, but he's also one of my oldest friends. He was ready to move on, we were happy the way things were. It was the right move for both of us."
"So I'm his replacement?"
"No," Nightwing corrected. "We had an opening and you were recommended highly. It's that simple. It's just coincidence you were an archer, but that's not why you were chosen, you were ready and we could use the help."
"So what's our next move boss?" she laughed at the title, "want to go look for gangbangers, maybe some dealers?"
"Your next move is to go over, secure him, and call the cops. My next move is going home and crashing. It's been a really long day and we've got maybe three hours till dawn. I don't know about you, but my boss is kind of a dick," he smirked. They'd laugh about this one day.
Artemis never noticed the time; her adrenaline had her wide awake and raring for more.
"Spoilsport," she snickered. "Suit yourself."
She pulled out another arrow and shot it over to the adjacent building, preparing her bow to ride the cable over to the fallen criminal when Nightwing called back to her.
"Here," he spoke, tossing her the small silver disc.
Artemis caught it one handed and looked at it.
"It's a communicator. Keep this with you at all times. Your designation code is B-08. If you need me, hit the blue button, otherwise I'll be in touch soon."
"More training?" she asked hopefully.
"Nope, its time you met the rest of the team. We have an operation in play; I'll fill you in as it gets closer and what your part will be. Get ready Artemis. You're in the big leagues now."
Artemis nodded, her heart swelling with pride as she made her way across the roof tops.
xxx
Around ten o'clock that next morning Artemis was finally paying for the night before. Even the strongest cappuccino and sugar filled pastry from the Hello Muffin Cafe were having no effect. The upcoming negotiations with the Swiss company Wayne was trying to acquire was fast approaching, and Dick had asked Artemis to sit in and guide the new European interpreter the company had recently hired. Even though the blonde was fairly new at the position, she was still the senior translator in the newly formed division.
She leaned back in her chair and stretched. On her desk rested a travel mug she intended to fill to the brim with the tasteless break room coffee. Caffeine was still caffeine, but a cup of the Lotus Tea Wally had tried to bring her weeks ago would have really hit the spot right about now.
Wally, she frowned mentally, realizing she had not seen the ginger for days now. It was odd that her one time stalker was actually someone who now crept into her mind at the oddest of times. As much as she tried to deny it, she kind of missed his annoying presence. In a sometimes stressful job, his arrogant goofy demeanor could really be quite entertaining, especially when it backfired on himself which it usually did. It was a nice distraction sometimes. More importantly was the side of him that hid behind the facade. The caring side he'd shown her on more than one occasion. As much as she didn't want to admit it, she kind of missed him. Maybe a trip back to the café would give her chance to "accidentally bump into him."
God Artemis, What are you 13? she groaned.
xxx
It was 7:00 p.m. when Artemis finally logged off her computer and packed her bag. She looked out the large office window and stood mesmerized by the snowfall. It never snowed in Star City, and even though she knew she'd be sick of it one day, looking out at the flakes shimmering with the street lights made her feel young, like the kids she always envied, the kids from a normal household without and abusive and criminal father.
The Swiss negotiations were going to be a breeze compared to the Asian ones she had participated in. She doubted she'd have to sit in on them for more than a day, her new team member being more than capable. Dick Grayson had gone out and hired the best of the best, which made her feel good about her standing in the company as well.
She had a few reports Dick had asked for personally, and she'd planned on slipping them under his door on her way out when she noticed it cracked with voices coming from inside. Artemis lightly tapped and walked in, as per his open door policy, when out of nowhere Zatanna stepped in front of her, blocking her approach.
"Are those the European reports?" the brunette asked, her eyes bloodshot. Artemis could tell she'd been crying, and suddenly felt extremely uncomfortable. She had long surmised there might be something going on between her boss and his assistant, and her natural reaction would normally be to ignore the obvious and go about her business, but something strange had happened to her doing her few months at Wayne Industries. This was now her home; these people were now her family. She'd never had anything like this before, not really. Zatanna had shown her nothing but kindness since her first day. If it was none of her business why her supervisor was upset, she'd be told so fairly quickly and would know better the next time to keep her nose where it belonged.
"Yeah," the blonde replied. "Dick wanted a quick run through before I sent them down to legal."
"I'll take 'em, he's …um….kind of dealing with an emergency right now."
"Gotcha." she paused awkwardly, unsure how to ask. "Look Zee, I know it's not any of my business, but are you….ok?"
Zatanna nodded and smiled sadly. "I'm fine, thanks for asking. It's just a friend of ours…. is kind of hurting right now and we don't know what to do."
In the distance Artemis could hear Dick finishing up his conversation, aware now of the blonde's arrival.
"Yes ma'm I will. I promise. I'll call you as soon as I find him. Take care Mary."
Dick hung up the phone and pinched the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes for a few moments. He stared off into space trying to figure out his next move, when he saw the two women staring back at him.
"Dick, Artemis has the Swiss reports you asked for."
He shook of his despair and effortlessly shifted back into business mode. "Thanks Artemis." He looked down at his watch for a moment before staring back at the archer. "Artemis you didn't have to stay this late. Stuff like this can wait till morning; you need a life outside this building," he smiled half-heartedly.
"I know and I do, believe me," she grinned inside, "I was just trying to stay ahead."
"Gunning for my job huh?" he winked, and took the reports out of her hand. "God knows there's days where I would gladly give it to you. Now go home, don't make me get security to throw you out. You live in the greatest city in the world, go get yourself in trouble and have some fun."
"Yes sir," she smirked, appreciative more and more how lucky she was to have such a great boss, but as she walked out Zatanna' s tears still troubled her. She closed the door behind her, but stealthy kept an ear to the door to see if the couple were actually fighting. They spoke in low tones, but Artemis could begin to make out most of it.
"Is it bad?" Zee asked
"Yeah," Dick frowned. "Complete immune system shut down. He never had a chance."
"How's Wally?"
"No one knows. He called his mom and told her the news and then zoned out on her and hung up. His phone's off and of course his com unit is sitting on his desk downstairs. I've need to find him Zee. Do me a favor and look over Artemis's reports for me real quick and then go ahead forward them on to Legal. And then you go home too. I'll call you as soon as I hear anything."
"You better," she replied.
Footsteps got louder towards the door and the archer quietly moved off towards the shadows. She hated ease dropping, infuriated anytime someone did that to her, but she hated even more what she'd heard. Wally's patient had died. She went back to her desk and grabbed her back pack, before letting it loose and absorbing the entirety of the situation. Wally could joke, tease and flirt horribly with the best of them, but when it came to Marcus it was like flicking a switch, he was all business. It wasn't about patents or FDA approvals; it was about a teenager's life he so desperately wanted to change for the better. Marcus had been his sole focus for almost a year. He had to be crushed, miles past despair if his best friend was about to take off in one of the heaviest snowstorms Gotham had seen this year to search for him.
She stared transfixed on one point of light. There'd be no patrolling tonight, Mother Nature had seen to that, and even criminals stayed inside on nights like these. Artemis turned off her desk light and grabbed her bag as the city below came into even clearer view. Cabs weren't running so she'd have to hoof it to the subway a few blocks off.
When she reached the ground floor she exited the building and turned left towards the subway station when she caught site of a solitary figure entering the snow covered entrance of Gotham Central Park. The bright blanket of snow mixed with the park torches made it easy for her to make out the trench coated figure of Dick Grayson walking under the stone archway entrance.
Ok that's weird she thought to herself.
Artemis buttoned her wool coat and began the journey towards 5th and Broadway when she stopped dead in her tracks. She knew she shouldn't, she was absolutely sure of it. Dick Grayson was her boss and a really good one. He'd given her chances and opportunities no one else would even think of doing. She tried to tell herself she was doing it for his safety, that a rich boy CEO like him wouldn't even know what to do if faced with people she dealt with, people like her father, but deep down she was just too damn curious not to. She wouldn't go full vigilante tonight, but broke out her crossbow and cocked it, just in case.
xxx
Dick walked through the snow frosted tree line to the isolated bench that had become a home away from home for a stressed out geneticist. Nightwing was not the detective Batman was, but he was close. His razor sharp investigating skills weren't necessary this evening, he knew this is where the speedster would be.
Dick carefully approached the red head sitting on the park bench in his jeans and t-shirt only, head to the ground, soaking wet. Even in this cold, Wally metabolism easily melted the snow upon contact with his skin, almost forming a steam around him. Dick stood respectfully silent a few feet away.
"I'm fine," the red head announced sharply, never acknowledging the detective's presence.
The brunette disagreed. "No you're not, I've know you too long. Want to talk about it?"
"No," Wally replied, "if you're out here, you probably know everything anyway."
"I know enough, and I know you did everything and I mean everything to save that kid's life."
Wally ran his hands through his snow soaked hair. "I just don't get it. I factored in all the variables, this shouldn't have happened, not like this. There were always risks involved, but Dick his immune system was shredded. Destroyed because of me, because of something I missed. He never had a chance."
"You don't know that."
"What else could it be? You're a great detective Dick, the best as far as I'm concerned, but I know my formulas, my science. I missed something, something huge and his death is my fault…my fault," he murmured with tears in his eyes.
"Wally let's go. Your mom's worried sick, and you need some rest."
"I'm fine Dick, really."
"Ok, but I'm not leaving till you do, so scoot over," the brunette replied and proceeded to sit down next to his friend.
Wally sighed with a faint smile. He knew Dick meant every word, even if it meant catching pneumonia to prove it. He wouldn't put his best friend through that. He knew Dick's game, best friends always did.
Wally sighed and rose to his feet, pulling Dick up with him.
Dick put his arm around the speedster. "Alfred's got the limo around the block, crash at my place tonight and get a decent meal in you. We don't have to talk about it; we don't have to talk about anything, just do me a favor and don't argue for once."
Wally nodded and the two walked through the opposite tree line silently and headed to the street and the waiting car.
Artemis followed the fresh footprints in the snow a few yards when they abruptly took a hard right. She looked up ahead and saw no path, just a wooded tree line. Instinctively she detached the crossbow from her belt and slipped it under her jacket. She carefully made her way and squeezed through the wooded barrier when she came across the solitary park bench hidden in the woods, a private oasis that only people who knew to look for would ever even find. There was no sign of Dick Grayson or anyone else for that matter, that's when she noticed a most curious sight. All around the bench in almost a perfect circle the snow had melted, not a flake on the wooden planks or the ground, like it never even snowed.
What the hell?
xxx
Author's Note: This is the longest it has ever taken me to update and I am really sorry. Health Issues are all behind me, thanks for the nice words. I merged two chapters together to try and make up for the delay, so you get a little longer read this time around. The stage is set and some real action begins next chapter. Thanks for your patience. Red, review and enjoy. Thanks.
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