Chapter 4: Shadow Play
Supergirl, Arrow, Justice League and Young justice are properties of Warner Bros and CW. I claim credit for nothing.
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"How did you get off the island?" Thea demanded.
"Your brother got off Lian Yu twice, it's not that hard," Deathstroke answered. "The bounty for the device, as well as one dead kyptonian. That's double the pay."
"Not today!" Kara shouted as she shot a blast of heat vision at the plasma gun that caused it to explode.
"Argh!" Slade shouted as the hot gases splashed against his armour. Immediately he was upon Kara, lashing out with a crescent kick to her stomach that sent her back down. He thrust forward and managed to slash her flank.
"Supergirl!" Thea swung her bow, but Slade proved faster and parried hard. While Thea's smaller frame made her fast, the reality was that Slade was impossibly strong.
He's on mirakuru, she realized.
"Merlyn may have taught you well," Slade taunted. "I know both of your strengths – as well as your weaknesses."
"Both are fickle; better to be smart," a new voice, husky yet youthful said as Slade was knocked down to the ground by a kick from behind.
Thea couldn't believe it as she stared at the two figures that had arrived: the first was a young man in a black body-suit with blue trimmings wearing a domino mask. The second was a tall red-haired girl in charcoal armour with a navy-blue cape and cowl; on her chest was the emblem of a bat.
You've got to be kidding, Thea thought.
Kara managed to get back on her feet. "Are they with your people?" she whispered to Thea.
"I thought they were with you," Thea answered softly. "You're bleeding, by the way."
"You're a long way home from Gotham, little robin," Slade said to the young man.
"First of all, the name's 'Nightwing'," came the reply. "Secondly, me and Batgirl never go out without a chaperone."
A third figure appeared straight in front of Slade in a puff of smoke. His body-language that of a predator ready maul his prey.
"Holy God…" Kara gasped.
While 'Nightwing' and 'Batgirl' appeared youthful and lively, this other person was utterly frightening in appearance. But when he spoke, it was with a voice straight from the depths of hell.
"Slade!"
"You," Deathstroke snarled.
"You two are cute," Nightwing smiled at Thea and Kara. "Ever play World of Warcraft?"
They both got the hint.
"Covering fire!" Kara said as she and Thea unleashed a volley of arrows and heat vision while Batgirl and Nightwing threw batarangs, stun grenades. In the middle of it all, Batman and Deathstroke battled like two birds in a cockfight.
"Your methods and tactics are impressive… but inferior," Slade said as swung his katana at Batman who blocked it with his gauntlet.
Thea couldn't help but marvel at the way the Batman fought: he was slightly taller than Slade, yet was fast and precise. If Slade were super-human, then this guy was at least peak-level. Every move was strategic and deliberate. It all appeared… familiar. Under the influence of the mirakuru serum, any of Slade's attacks would crush if they connected, yet Batman managed to counter ever strike before unleashing a beatdown of his own.
Batman threw a bone-breaking hook, but Deathstroke ducked, using the hilt of his katana to uppercut Batman's jaw.
"Pathetic!" Slade said.
Batman lunged, lifting him off the ground and slamming him back down hard. The Dark Knight appeared to have him pinned down, when suddenly Deathstroke threw a kick at Batman's stomach before jumping back to his feet and continuing his attack.
"I can't keep this up forever!" Kara yelled as she continued to blast her heat vision to keep the fight from spilling away from the rooftop.
"I'm almost out!" Thea added.
"Keep going," Batgirl called. "We have to take him in alive!"
"Are you three nuts?" Thea shot back.
"Just keep at it, we're almost done," Nightwing encouraged.
In truth, Slade showed no sign of letting up. His blows were now a continuous stream while Batman's armour was becoming a tapestry of tears and nicks. Finally Slade raised the sword for an overhead cut. Batman brought up both of his hands – and locked the blade together in the scallops of his gauntlets.
"Now!" he yelled.
Nightwing leaped forward and from his back drew a taser batton which he swung hard at Slade's shoulders.
Zzzzzzzzt!
Slade's body convulsed as kilo-volts of electricity poured through his body until his remaining eye rolled back. As he began to stagger, Batman jumped up and brought both of his elbows down hard onto Slade's skull.
WHACK!
"Cuff him and contact Henshaw," Batman ordered.
"On it, boss," Batgirl answered.
"What about those two?" Nightwing cocked his head at Supergirl and Speedy.
Batman merely grunted in response.
"Wait a minute," Kara protested, "I want some answers from you-" she felt her knees go weak as a wave of nausea came over and she collapsed into Nightwing's arms.
"I got you," he said. "She's going into shock."
"The kryptonite," Batgirl said.
Batman turned to face Thea. "Help us."
"I-"
"Where's Oliver?"
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THE FOUNDRY, 9:50PM
"All of the security systems on the top three floors of Palmer Tech have been taken offline," Felicity said.
"Thea was supposed to check in almost an hour ago," Laurel answered. "she's not answering her radio."
"For all we know she could have been attacked and HIVE is raiding the labs," Diggle said. "Your call, Oliver."
"Suit up," Oliver replied. "Felicity, track Thea's last location-"
The elevator doors chimed and Thea stepped out.
"Thea!" Felicity cried. "Oh, God, we were all worried sick…" Felicity then saw who Thea brought with her.
"They didn't give me any choice," Thea said.
"And you brought an unconscious girl dressed in a superman costume who's been attacked-" Felicity stumbled, "please don't tell me that's actually her."
"She needs medical attention," Batman said.
"Clear the table!" Oliver instructed. "Who did this to her?"
"It was Slade," Thea answered. "And he's regained his mirakuru enhancements."
"That's impossible," Diggle said as he gestured for Kara to be laid on the table while he unpacked his first aid kit. "All of the mirakuru production labs were destroyed."
Kara stirred on the tabled. "…Where am I?"
"Stay still, you're safe," Laurel said. "How are we supposed to treat a kryptonian?"
"It's easier than it looks," Batman said.
"You've done this before?" Felicity asked.
"We have, on the big guy," Oliver said. "First we need to clean the wound."
"I've never seen a weapon leave burns like that," Diggle commented.
"An experimental plasma gun," Batgirl replied. "An isotope – in this case kryptonite – is charged up to one hundred watts, after which it turns into a plasma that it funnelled into a magnetic bottle."
"Perfect weapon against a target that could move faster than a speeding bullet," Nightwing said.
"And you know of this because…" Felicity raised her brow.
"The Oracle network," Batgirl replied.
"You're a hacker?"
"Better," Batgirl smiled. "I am Oracle."
Felicity's eyes widened. "No way!"
"I've cleaned the wound," Laurel said, "now what?"
"Normally we'd used sunlight. She needs raw UV energy," Batman answered.
"We have forensic lamps," Felicity offered.
"Good," Batman said. "Nightwing, give me your taser. I need the capacitor."
"That's fifty kilovolts," Nightwing said as he unscrewed the baton.
"It will do." He took the lamp and removed the bulb then plugged it into the capacitor.
"What are you doing?" Kara asked as she watched him hold the makeshift device over her wound.
"This will sting. You may all want to cover your eyes." The UV lamp lit up the whole room as Kara let out a piercing scream. Finally the light died down as Kara breathed heavily.
"How do you feel now?"
"I feel… fine!" She looked down as saw that the wound where she was cut had perfectly healed. Her strength was returning just as quickly. She slid off the table and faced everyone present.
"So Oliver Queen is the Green Arrow," she said. "Who does that make you?"
"I'll make this simple," Batman said. "Kara Danvers, Thea Queen, Laurel Lance, John Diggle, Barbara Gordon, Dick Grayson-" he pulled back his cowl "-Bruce Wayne."
"Son of a…" Thea muttered.
"Okay, Batman, Arrow and Superman working together I can get," Kara said. "But why?"
"And why did you purchase the Power Cell?" Felicity asked.
"Over the past year, all of the major US tech companies have experienced either thefts, computer hacks or executives being killed by high-ranking assassins. Just last week, Wayne Tech's patent archive was downloaded from our secure server. Around the same time, STAR labs received a bomb threat. Then Amanda Waller was killed."
"All targets developing next-generation technologies with military applications," Oliver added.
"Slade mentioned that killing me would double his pay," Kara said.
"That's scary," Dick commented. "Slade can operate on his own, but if someone can afford to hire him and arm him with anti-alien weaponry…"
"You think Max Lord could have hired him?" Diggle suggested. "He looked pretty pissed off at the presentation today."
"After the DEO keeping him imprisoned?" Bruce shook his head. "Possible, but he's smart enough to know better. At best he's just a fence for someone else."
They were interrupted as Oliver's cell phone rang. He looked down at the screen:
DET_LANCE.
"Detective," Oliver whispered.
"Oliver," Quentin Lance answered. "I just received the most interesting tip-off. Apparently the Feds just found Slade Wilson unconscious and hand-cuffed on the rooftop of the Palmer Tech building. We've also been getting phone calls from the office buildings next door saying that he was fighting off a giant bat and someone dressed as Supergirl?"
"I'll look into it," Oliver lied.
"Well, if you ever run into Batman, tell him to send my regards to Jim Gordon, he's an old buddy."
"Will keep you posted," Oliver hung up.
"We should get going," Bruce said as put his mask back on and gestured for Dick and Barbara.
Kara turned to Oliver and Felicity. "Look, Mr. Queen…"
"Call me Oliver," Oliver said.
"…Oliver," Kara continued, "the article I wrote, I said some things-"
"No apologies necessary, Kara," Oliver smiled. "Your cousin was critical of Bruce and I before we all met in person. If anything, the criticism helps plausible deniability; if someone told you yesterday that Bruce was Batman and I'm the Arrow, would you believe them?"
"Honestly, no," Kara replied.
"No more than the idea that the girl sitting front row centre in a press conference would help foil an attempted robbery on our most prized product," Felicity said as she reached forward to give Kara a hug.
Kara headed towards the elevator when Laurel and Thea fell in step next to her.
"Thought we might get some air," Laurel said.
The three of them joined Batgirl, Nightwing and Batman in a darkened alley behind the campaign office.
"So what happens now?" Kara asked.
"We all head home," Batman said as he unclipped his grappling gun. "In the mean time, I'm sure Director Henshaw and your sister have nearly finished processing your new 'friend'."
"I'll see you ladies later," Nightwing winked as he and Batman disappeared into the rooftops.
"So," Barbara started. "It's a relief to finally meet others. Girls in suits, I mean."
"Not many female vigilantes in Gotham?" Thea asked.
"What about the cat burglar?" Kara added.
"She's neutral, she doesn't count," Barbara replied. "One second she's stopping a homeless guy from getting mugged, the next she's trying to break into a museum – or Bruce's pants."
The other three girls burst into laughter.
"Speaking of clothing," Laurel said, looking at the Supergirl suit, "I hope you have a spare handy."
Kara sighed. Half of the cape was gone, the skirt was ripped while the top half had gone from dark blue to a molten black. "Winn's going to be pissed. It took him hours put it together."
"A guy made your outfit?" Thea deadpanned. "That's very sweet."
"You know, Kara," Laurel offered, "Thea and I have a friend in Central City who knows a thing or two about materials engineering…"
"He wouldn't happen to be a forensic scientist?" Kara said with a glimmer in her eye.
"And I'm sure Lucius Fox at Wayne-Tech R&D could lend us some 'unused prototypes,'" Barbara added.
"Look, I appreciate the help," Kara said, "but I just met you three-"
"And I think I speak for all of us when I say that we can all look forward to working together in the future," Laurel finished.
"Ditto," Thea said.
"Fine," Kara said. "So what do we call ourselves?"
"Let's see," Barbara said. "We got a bat, a canary, a red road runner and a flying girl scout. How about 'Birds of Prey'?"
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NEXT CHAPTER:
- Kara gets a new suit (picture a hybrid of her current SG costume and Barbara's black New52 batsuit)
- M'gann takes to the skies
- Bruce Wayne's shared past with Malcolm Merlyn (Arrow-style flashback)
Until then, please review, follow and fav!