"So tell me Q again what brings us here and is likely to make us be late for Queen's New Years' Eve Party especially after a memorable time of being stuck at Wayne Manor?" sighs Huntress.
"The why ought to be obvious by where we are standing Huntress," replies Question.
"GCPD already went over everything with a fine tooth comb, but something is bugging you."
"How does one break into an apartment when the only the access points have locks on them?"
She grapple hooks the water tower then lowers them to the balcony outside the deceased Ted Grant's apartment. The contents of the apartment were still bogged down in GCPD CSU as sorting through evidence takes time and even crime doesn't take much of a break during the holidays. The broken windows have been boarded over. The apartment complex super is strapped for cash so the windows will remain boarded until next month though it is unlikely to get a sell or a lease considering that somebody was beat and knocked off a balcony to their death.
"There are a couple ways that are quite obvious to you and to me."
"You were in the company of Dinah and Selina that night."
"Yes we got together for drinks before heading over to Ted's though when we saw the cars out front."
"You could tell something was wrong."
They kept almost finishing each other's sentences and thoughts lately. Huntress weakly smiles though one can't tell with Question's mask.
"None of the locks were broken, picked, or marked in anyway what-so-ever. Plus it would take tremendous force to shatter the balcony windows, like someone being thrown through them."
One could imagine Ted Grant in sweatpants, a short sleeve shirt, and a bathrobe. His corpse was found wearing exactly that on street level along with a pool of his own blood. There were also bits of glass from the broken windows all over the bathrobe and some in his hair. There was an ice cold cooked meal that was splattered onto the carpet as the coffee table in front of the couch was flipped over by Ted as his fingerprints were on it, but there were no other recognizable prints in the room. Ted Grant's corpse had almost no defensive wounds, as if he had little chance to defend himself from his killer.
"You are saying whoever killed Ted threw him through the balcony windows then off the balcony itself. "
"Likewise there were several objects missing from the sitting room when I rechecked before the CSU took everything out."
"Montoya described it as staged to look like a robbery gone wrong, but if none of the locks are broken or picked, then how could someone make it look a robbery?"
"Murder isn't murder when it doesn't look like a murder and the missing items didn't vanish until after we all left the area the night of the crime."
"Somebody stole stuff from his place after he was dead?"
The killer tried to make it look like a robbery that led to Grant's death, but Grant's death precedes the ransacking of the apartment. Nothing appears to be missing from any part of the apartment, but during another examination of the scene, Question notices things are out of place, things are missing. He independently got inside the new GCPD evidence warehouse. The missing items are not on the master list nor do records back up their existence. There are identical chemical traces on Grant's skin, the door to his apartment, and the furniture where he saw the missing items.
"No, the objects were never his in the first place. They weren't inanimate objects, they did look the part, but I found an all too familiar chemical signature that while odorless, still leaves behind minute traces of itself."
"Objects that aren't objects that leave chemical traces… I'm still not getting what you mean exactly."
"The reason why we can't account for an intruder is because the intruder is able shape shift into any appearance, configuration, and so forth imaginably. The person who killed Ted Grant was Matt Hagen aka Clayface."
"Clayface at least in the past never killed anyone. "
Almost a decade ago, the physically scarred actor Matt Hagen had developed a dependency on Daggett for a cream that could temporarily make him look unmarred and enable him to attempt to resume his career. In exchange for a continuous supply, Hagen using the drug would commit crimes for Daggett including covering up Daggett's attempt to seize Wayne Enterprises through insider trading by getting the evidence from Lucius Fox.
The failure to eliminate Fox after getting the evidence for Daggett prompts Daggett to halt giving Hagen the drug, but by now Hagen has gotten an addiction to it so he tries to steal it from Daggett except they were expecting him to try this. Daggett's henchmen pin Hagen down and dump an excess amount of the drug Renuyu down Hagen's throat. Hagen appears to die yet 'resurrects' as Clayface. At first the transformation brings elation, he can be anyone or anything, but no longer a man.
Bruce was arrested for the attempted murder of Lucius Fox, but of course Alfred bails him out. Both Batman and Clayface are after Daggett's henchman Germs, but not for the same reasons. Batman is after Germs for who impersonated Bruce Wayne the night Lucius Fox was assaulted and Clayface merely wants to find Daggett for revenge. Daggett is narrowly saved by Batman and Clayface faked his death by appearing to be electrocuted.
"He continued to commit crimes in the hopes of finding a way to reverse what the Renuyu did to his body."
The degeneration of his cellular structure led him to continue to steal in order to reverse what the Renuyu did to his body. Dr. Stella Bates presents Clayface with a way to stabilize his cellular degeneration and gain the look of Matt Hagen back. It would however require stealing a rare isotope to facilitate the process. Batman pursues him back to Bates' lab where she is attempting to infuse him with the stolen isotope except he shuts down the machine ending the attempt. The enraged Clayface attempts to kill Batman, but their fight staggers out into a rain storm, which appears to be the end of Clayface as the rain accelerates the degeneration.
"He doesn't resurface until Robin is helping an amnesiac girl except she is the result of Clayface's regeneration. He made her to be a scout, but she got 'lost' until found by Robin. Clayface comes looking for her and eventually reabsorbs her much to Robin's chagrin."
His powers had become intensified, sharper, and shape shifting no long appears a struggle for him yet the desire to become Matt Hagen again lingers except at some point he is divided again then in kept fake radioactive drums until sprung loose by a team by Grodd. Grodd at the time almost succeeded in breaking up the League via personal tensions between the seven except the seven pull together and defeat Grodd's team. Grodd drops out of sight except in reality he had been skimming villains long before sending them on missions for him, but of course he kept them on his side with financial gains and opportunities to personally humiliate heroes.
Of course it didn't always work out that way as Grodd had methods for keeping them from exposing his involvement with them. It was part of why it had proven so difficult to be certain and confirm that there was a villain counterpart to the expanded Justice League.
Clayface was apparently never approached or involved with Grodd since their first outing in the past. Someone however had gotten to him, probably leveraged a genuine 'cure' on him, and he is probably desperate to be human again except killing doesn't make him human, it takes him further from humanity than even becoming Clayface had done to him.
"So why did he kill Ted and who hired him to do it?"
"This is where, Clayface is what, but why and who are still unknown to me yet I will find out."
"This time don't leave me out of the loop, not that it wasn't a workout last time, but on an emotional level it was not a walk in the park."
"I have no intention of leaving you out or Canary out of the loop. We already agreed that everyone who had to be in the know would be kept in the know."
"Right, but now I intend to ring in the New Year feeling and looking more like a woman than a crime fighter babydoll."
"Can't argue with that so let's be on our way shall we?"
Elsewhere halfway across the country, Oliver Queen and Dinah Lance are hosting the start of a New Years' Eve celebration. They have another purpose to the party, but that is their secret for now. The guests won't be arriving for a few hours including two guests that they really did want to share certain news because of their growing friendship.
Zatanna and Jason arrive for the party by magically teleport to Oliver's penthouse.
Nelson and Inza come by magic portal from their Tower. Few have ever been inside it.
Shayera arrives alone and John lands on the penthouse's outdoor patio deck. Mari is absent due to being stuck in Montreal during a snow storm. She was there as a part of fashion show, but of course the show is on hold due to inclement weather yet it is recommended against traveling outside as the storm is expected to last a few days. It had already been a strange winter even on the East Coast, but here on the West they had seen a great of deal of rain at least near where Queen's California place is to be found. It is a light drizzle on this particular evening, which Oliver and Dinah are grateful for since they can only fit so many guests into the penthouse interior.
Bruce arrives with Diana and Clark naturally turns up with Lois. Lois has that look that she knows something is back on between Bruce and Diana even though they trying to look so aloof, but the expression written all over you, fits them tonight. After them Dick shows up with Barbara thus further stirring speculation that they were an item again. Wally enters the penthouse with Beatriz, Tora Olafsdotter, and Roy Harper.
Beatriz and Tora head over towards Shayera, Diana, and Dinah.
"You get the feeling that Beatriz is just flirting with you, but she is really more into Tora?"
"C'mon Roy, you can't be serious, sure the rumors are suggestive, but I don't believe rumors."
"Sure they both happen to ask us to take them to this party, Dinah did invite them or so Oliver told me."
"Let's just enjoy the night, we are all among friends and that's the point."
There's plenty of chatter coming from over there and Clark with super hearing could hear their attempts to whisper except Bruce elbows him as if knowing the look of him focusing on something the rest of them can't hear at all.
"There's something called privacy and something called eavesdropping Kent."
"Not like I hear these things on purpose, besides Dinah is refusing to tell them the surprise."
"Surprise? What could they possibly use as a surprise?" chirps Wally.
"It wouldn't be surprise then would it?" remarks John.
"He is right," says Clark.
"Is this going to turn into a regular thing? A League holiday or party every year?" asks Roy.
"Those who have secret identities can't exactly have typical social lives, so it's a work-family thing."
"Don't be so corny West."
"Sure thing Harper… so anything new with Cheshire?"
Roy glares at him then sips his drink that he got from the bar after they had come into the penthouse.
"What about you and that reporter Linda Park?"
Wally stays aloof then goes to get himself a drink.
"You two still poking fun at each other after all these years?" asks Oliver.
"Well if it isn't our host for the evening," chuckles Roy.
"Last time we fought anybody together was when Eiling got his Meta makeover."
"Right and he pasted both of us. Still we got good rep out of it especially because of Justin."
"Well Justin is proof that chivalry isn't dead, just beat up yet still reappearing now and again."
Jason got their attention with his last comment.
"And this is coming from a guy with a demonic alter ego."
"You may dress like a hero, but you certainly don't always act or sound like one."
"It wouldn't be the first time as some haven't been doing this as long as you have."
"Easy, not here, not now, so we agree to disagree?"
Roy sighs and Jason merely nods before going back to Zatanna.
"You really shouldn't be pushing buttons like that."
"I wasn't the only one."
"So how do you like being solo these days?"
"Well on days where I don't get comlink calls from Terrific… its nice to just roam the city."
"Helping the little guy?"
"That's usually what you did, but not so much since you have gone pro-League."
"I am reminded of something Batman said to me once…."
Bruce snorts remembering that moment.
"The villains that the League tangles with tend to step on the little guy in the process."
"Size is relative, but it is your operating style, not mine."
Oliver and Dinah meet up outside on the patio.
"You know for a guy who exudes impeccable timing…."
"… He is late, so she is, but you know them, they'll be here…"
"What makes you so sure?"
Vic and Helena materialize in front of them in the midst of Oliver asking that particular question.
"So what could be so important for you to be late Vic?"
"Time is relative, somewhere in the world I am earlier, elsewhere else I am late, but right here I am on time."
Helena giggles and kisses Vic on the cheek.
"He is usually funnier when he is not even trying in the least… or he gets bold like that."
Helena and Dinah walk back inside leaving Oliver and Vic outside with a drizzle of rain getting a bit heavier.
"So where were you before you two came here?"
"Let's just say I know who killed Ted Grant."
"So are you going to tell Dinah?"
"She looks so happy tonight, this will hurt her, can't avoid that, made a promise to tell."
"Maybe I should tell her in your place."
"No, I'll tell her… she deserves to hear it from me as I made the promise."
Helena and Dinah notice Oliver coming back inside.
"Vic has something to tell you Pretty Bird," sighs Oliver.
"About Ted isn't it?" suggests Dinah.
"He said he promised he would tell you whatever he discovered."
Helena hugs Dinah.
"You were with him when he had come to the conclusion, weren't you?" sniffles Dinah.
"Yes, I was, but still he is honoring his promise to you so get moving Blondie."
Dinah laughs lowly and walks outside towards Vic.
"So who did it Helena?" asks Oliver.
"Vic believes it was Clayface," whispers Helena.
Oliver's eyes widen slightly.
"Guess you know why I told Oliver to have you come out here by yourself."
Dinah wipes her eyes, knowing that her mascara is running just a little, and figures she will have time to touch before their surprise.
"Ollie had that look like he had been told something mood shattering."
If there is one thing Vic hates at times besides being right so frequently is being the bearer of this kind of news especially to someone as warm, friendly, and loving as Dinah Lance.
"I believe I identified Grant's killer…"
Dinah covers her mouth, she sobs, and Vic closes the distance. Oliver looks like he is about to come out, but Vic just gives him that look of telling him to hold off. Dinah cries on Vic's shirt and asks him to tell her the rest of it.
"None of the locks were broken, damaged, or picked. There were also unaccounted for items in the evidence warehouse that were taken from his apartment. The missing items were there after he was killed, but they were not the next time I examined the scene before all belongings were taken away."
Vic offers her his handkerchief and she blows into it.
"The missing items left behind minute chemical traces, which upon closer examination I found to be common to the cellular structure of one villain in particular. The villain… his killer…"
"Well out with it please," pleads Dinah.
"The killer was Clayface," murmurs Vic sadly.
"He must have shape shifted into something that could just flow into the room then return to his usual form and killed Ted," gulps Dinah.
"Afterward he ransacked the apartment to manufacture the robbery illusion then divided himself into several smaller items until everyone left the scene probably so he could reappear before departing the scene," finishes Vic.
Dinah wipes her eyes and offers back the handkerchief, he tells her to keep it and still try to enjoy tonight instead of letting the revelation sink in because above all else there had to be an anchor in her world lest she fall off into an emotional abyss. Dinah heads back inside then Helena goes with her to the penthouse's larger bathroom connected to the bedroom she had been sharing with Oliver.
"A world of hurt, a scar for pain, so why must I be messenger at a time like this?" grumbles Vic.
"You look like you could use a drink," says Oliver.
Vic takes the wine glass from Oliver and drinks some of it as if trying to block out telling Dinah what he told her.
"She'll bounce back, maybe this will give her some closure, give her something to help her move on for her own sake, and not just because of me," continues Oliver.
"In this moment, you being right would be one thing I'd like to come true when the clock strikes midnight," admits Vic.
Dinah reappears with fresh makeup on and pulls Oliver to his feet.
Helena sits down next to Vic and pecks him on the cheek.
"So Dinah, you are going to tell everyone your surprise before after ringing in the New Year?"
"I think so, and I want to end the year on a happier note Helena."
Oliver puts his arm around Dinah as they walk towards the center of the room. He starts tapping his wine glass with a spoon to get everyone's attention though they already had it from Vic and Helena.
"Dinah and I have an announcement to make to all of you here tonight," declares Oliver.
"Ollie and I are getting engaged so I thought we should tell you all first," continues Dinah.
Everyone stops chattering at the words "getting engaged" and so the women flock to Dinah.
"So where's the rock?" asks Zatanna.
Oliver reveals the ring cases and takes out Dinah's engagement ring. The women minus Helena are all looking on with interest. Oliver slips the ring onto the fourth finger of Dinah's left hand. Some men are now taking interest except for Bruce who is not going into the mix.
"How much did that cost?" murmurs Lois.
Dinah takes out the one for Oliver and slips onto his left hand. She arches up on her right foot and bends the left leg upward as she plants a rather long kiss on Oliver's lips. He holds her close to him and it certainly arouses a fair amount of smiling all around. Their lips part after a few minutes before Oliver elects to answer Lois's question.
"Put it this way I can afford it and besides you can't put a price on some things too," answers Oliver.
"Let me be the first to congratulate you two," says Zatanna.
"The other half of why I invited some of you was for bridesmaids," responds Dinah.
"You already picked a Maid of Honor?" guesses Lois.
"Yes I have… "
Dinah looks to Helena who covers her mouth before getting to her feet then walking over.
"I didn't think we were that close," remarks Helena.
"You picked Helena.... were any of us under consideration?" teases Barbara.
"I'd consider you too, but lately I have felt a stronger connection to Helena."
"Well you two certainly been through quite a bit together on and off," comments Diana.
"Yes, we have, but its been a learning experience for both of us."
"Sure we didn't exactly get along last year, but a lot can change in a year or less."
Oliver heads over to Bruce.
"So Helena's Maid of Honor… it would be rhetorical to say you picked Vic as Best Man."
"It was him, you, or Roy. He and I did clash personality wise yet he like me served some kind of purpose to be some kind of conscience for the League, that was why you brought me into wasn't it?" reminds Oliver
"Yes it was. However one could never truly anticipate the acts Vic would take in that role. I got over the fact that he jabbed me with the sedative I intended to use on him though he often leaves you with much to think about, forces you to look at things through the eyes of those who seem afraid of you."
"I heard about what he did, what Helena did to get him back, and sure it all sounds nuts yet none of us are the paragons of sanity anyway."
"No, not like I wanted the honor of being Best Man anyway. Last thing I need is more speculation about my dating tastes even though some of this publicity is necessary in some way to deflect away speculation about me as Batman."
"It is not like Cadmus would blow the whistle on us now."
"They are still on probation and so are we though plenty has given us chance to regaining our footing."
Vic comes towards them.
"So I have to guess you made me your Best Man," jests Vic.
"Yes I did Vic, so you in, because there are other candidates," replies Oliver.
"I am in… not like this is going to be public right," comments Vic.
"The word won't get out, we agreed to be private about this, but sure enough somehow it'll be found out that Oliver Queen, billionaire reclusive industrialist is marrying up."
"Besides having a bachelor billionaire like me around would only raise interest," interjects Bruce.
"You are still invited, whether or not you come is up to you, we're friends, but we'd understand."
"I'll consider it, but I have got reasons to be back in Gotham for including patrol. Batman is famous for relentlessness so have to maintain that too."
Oliver walks off to talk others leaving Vic alone with Bruce.
"I get the impression you told Dinah about who you believe to be Grant's killer."
"I don't break promises, I said I would tell her, so now she knows, but she has much to be happy about."
"You took a risk doing that, and some risks should never be taken."
"You risk your neck constantly for strangers, for allies, but you won't for one woman."
"I'm not getting into that subject."
"You brought up risks… so I'm just reminding you of your own judgments."
Both sip their drinks.
"You always manage to bring up the one topic I don't want to talk about… women."
"Yes, they are a mystery, but you enjoy a mystery as much as I do."
"What allows your relationship to work… wouldn't work for me."
"What would work for you is if you quit being a stubborn idiot, you might actually have fun."
"Now you are starting to sound like Alfred again."
"Quit dodging like I am aiming a weapon at you."
Bruce glares, sets down the glass, and considers leaving now perhaps.
"It's been a long day for all of us."
"Next thing I know you'll be on about the whole she chose me jaunt."
"It is true, but dating within the team doesn't always lead to disaster."
"Depends on one's definition of disaster."
The two decide to drop the subject, no point in bickering during an engagement party.
"Just tell them I had to leave early."
"You tell them you are 'needed' back in Gotham."
Bruce walks away to tell Oliver he has to go before midnight, but of course Diana follows him out. She probably got curious, but plenty of others stick around until midnight.
"Ten…"
Most eyes are drawn to the city's pick for the equivalent to Times' Square ball. Dinah leans against Oliver.
She appears to feel the safest with him, not that she is helpless, but with some no matter how much energy or will streams from their being, is still given a contrast further by their individual vulnerabilities.
"Nine…"
Beyond all the costumes worn both as symbols and as guises, there is still a man or in her case, a woman capable of much more than she appears yet still at times in need of things that she cannot always give herself.
"Eight…"
It is in those moments that someone else must step up though not always with acts, with words because sometimes silence really is golden. Those who simply stay have done more with a single motion then any could do with some ramble that tugs at neatness one expects from a movie, but life is never that neat.
"Seven…"
However our existence hinges on words, but not all words are spoken, some times the bodies must do the talking in the midst of verbal silence. As much as words count, I have long since seen the power of silence, the comfort of quiet, and the release of allowance.
"Six…"
Some things must be worn openly in front of others because otherwise all that weighs inside will drown us all and even then living remains a mystery to us all regardless of schedule or habits. There is motion and there is emotion, more of the former than the latter is visible though emotion only cracks through invisibility.
"Five…"
Words are weapons, words are power, words are poison, and even then I am often at loss as to how to use them instead of them using me or something else compels me to speak or not speak. There are rights and wrongs, virtues and sins, though as a whole there are notions of good and evil.
"Four…"
There isn't a right or wrong way to deliver bad news, but I always think I do it wrong. Honesty is both complimentary with a cost and hurting inside without leaving marks outside. It hardly strikes me as a virtue though at times it can feel like a sin.
"Three…"
There is no way that I can lie even if I had the nerve or the voice to do it, I wouldn't because that's not me. Honesty by design can flatter and hurt. It pangs the teller and wounds the recipient in ways unseen. I can hardly believe she'd still want me at her wedding, but then she needs affirmation that even where there is death, that there is still life, still hope yet most all still living for love. Love of another, love of friends, something to reassure, something that brings her to where she needs to go now.
"Two…"
Helena holds Vic tightly as does Dinah when pulling at Oliver's waist.
Oliver kisses Dinah's left hand, Dinah smiles weakly then she kisses him on the lips and holds there.
Helena goes to kiss Vic as the countdown is about to hit one.
"One…"
The penthouse is in something of an uproar.
Many look to the coming years with hope that the past is behind them. The past is never behind them, it is always with them, with me. We just have to learn to live with it without it getting to us. However it will get to us from time to time, so we look to others to help us forget what we remember and recall what must be forgotten when in their company.
"Happy New Years everyone!" shouts Oliver.
"Remember to R.S.V.P. the invites!" pips Dinah.
The crowd starts to disperse a few hours later. Oliver and Dinah are in the midst of farewells while Vic kicks back in one of the penthouse recliners.
Helena with her high heels off climbs onto to the recliner and sits on Vic's lap facing him.
"So looks like we both got important spots for a wedding," says Helena.
"Yes, I wouldn't have expected it, but guess I'm not the only one known for unexpected surprises," answers Vic.
Nelson, Inza, Zatanna, and Jason leave via magic portal since Inza had given an invite to the two to join her and Nelson at the Tower for the next few days. It is notable that things appear more serious between Zatanna and Jason then they were at the Solstice Ball.
Clark and Lois are going to visit the Kents since they are not needed back at work as structural repairs are still underway from the damages inflicted on the Daily Planet from Darkseid's last appearance. It is very logistical, but takes time though Superman did offer to help out.
John got a call from Mari in Montreal to tell him that there's been a break in the storm and that she hopes he'll join her before it possibly starts up again. Shayera knows he is probably on the phone with Mari and figures he'll probably be heading to wherever she is tonight, which by the time he gets there will be probably be this morning. Different time zones aren't that much of a headache going forward, but they can be going back. Either way one is bound to feel a compulsion to lie down and sleep it off.
Before John can speak to Shayera again he finds she took a teleport back to the Metro Tower to join the festivities that will be picking up there in a few hours time. He switches over to costume then calls for a teleport to get back East so he can sober up some before flying to Montreal. The storm affecting Canada's eastern coast line is abating for now so he could probably make it so long as the storm doesn't resume again.
Roy and Wally head for Central City for the city's New Years bash though neither Beatriz nor Tora goes with them as they say they wish to call it an early night. Neither asks why the women aren't tagging along as Wally remembers the appetite Beatriz worked up from dancing with him at the Solstice Ball and Roy makes no comment given his notion that the women are more than just friends. Wally sensing that Roy hadn't abandoned his earlier theory just shakes his head then calls for a teleport to Central.
Beatriz and Tora depart for Rio after saying farewells to Dinah and Oliver.
Barbara and Dick are the last couple leaving the penthouse more than half an hour later.
She presses the button to call for the elevator then turns to wave some more at Dinah and Oliver who remain in an embrace in the doorway to the penthouse.
The elevator doors part to reveal someone already in the car. Dick's eyes widen in panic seeing that the man in the elevator had a sizable weapon protruding in the place of where a hand should be usually. He rushes to push Barbara out of the way except she still takes a few hits to the back on the way to the floor. She cries out in pain. Dick tries to get up yet gets the man's elbow to his chest, which causes him to fall backwards.
Oliver charges out with his longbow and swings it at the masked assassin. The assassin is faster on the draw so Oliver goes backward into the wall with two rounds in his chest. Dinah furious goes after the assassin next by ducking into a slide except she gets shot in the leg then a second shot grazes her neck causing her to grip it to stem the bleeding.
Vic outpaces Helena in a run to the vestibule where three of four lie prone bleeding out.
Helena had broken the tips off her heels. She flicks one that lodges itself in the assassin's unaltered arm. There is a groan from him yet then he takes aim at Helena. Vic steps in front of her after he fires at her. The shots hit Vic in a haphazard fashion due to his move to step between her and the gun.
"No!" screams Helena.
She jump kicks the assassin back towards the other wall then jams the other heel tip into his weapon. It overloads because he is in the midst of trying to fire at her again after the first attempt hit Vic instead of her.
Dick is back on his feet as he goes over to Helena.
"We have to get them to a hospital or somewhere with medical facilities!" implores Dick.
"I know plus we can't risk moving Barbara with the way she was hit!" hisses Helena.
Oliver groans and jerks his arm to point towards the bedroom where their comlinks are hidden. Dick runs inside to get them.
Helena curses as she tears off part of her new dress to bandage Dinah's neck as well as her leg. She limps her way over to Oliver after getting the bandages on both her neck and her leg. Dick returns with their comlinks.
Vic bleeds from his mouth, his thigh, and his torso. Dick is busy patching him up as Helena checks Barbara over.
"Talk to me Barbara," orders Helena.
"God, this hurts," grunts Barbara.
She bandages Barbara's lower back using a tablecloth from a table in the vestibule.
"It looks like Dick's move saved your spine, but it still looks bad," continues Helena.
"He still trying to be Boy Wonder huh?" chuckles Barbara weakly.
Dick returns to Barbara's side.
"There are four of them and only three comlinks," murmurs Dick.
"I know… almost makes me wish I wasn't kicked out of the League about now!" snaps Helena.
Vic forces himself up.
"You really shouldn't be moving Vic, you have at least three bullets in you," says Oliver weakly.
"Help me over to Gordon now!" demands Vic.
"No sense in arguing with him," comments Dick.
Dick gets him over to Barbara then they are ready to teleport hopefully.
"Metro Tower, Nightwing, we have four cases of ballistic trauma, need an emergency teleport now!"
"Right away Nightwing, beaming now… need medical personnel on standby in the Hub!"
Helena drags the assassin over before the beam out starts, which means he is coming along for the ride. Columns of light surround them and the room shifts from the penthouse's elevator vestibule to the teleporter platform in the Metro Tower's nerve center.
Captain Atom is among the Leaguers in the nerve center as the seven including the assassin materialize on the platform. Red Tornado emits a controlled air burst to levitate Barbara and the medics rush a gurney over and then he lowers her to it. They are already on the move once she is in place. Similar gurneys are brought out for Oliver and Vic who took some pretty bad hits. Captain Atom carries Dinah who merely slumps in his arms between blood loss and shock. It is amazing she had been able to stay conscious at all.
Helena rushes off after the others going to the Metro Tower's Infirmary for immediate surgeries. Barbara's and Vic's injuries are the most critical though the ones to both Oliver and Dinah are just as lethal in their own ways.
The unconscious assassin is cuffed and put in a holding cell.
Batman arrives at the Metro Tower with Superman and Wonder Woman less than an hour later.
"Where is he?" snarls Batman.
"Holding cell," answers Terrific.
Batman heads that way with Superman heading off in the direction of the Infirmary.
"Where is Helena?" whispers Diana.
"She went to the infirmary, but cameras now show her already at the holding cells," murmurs Terrific.
"Hera!" gasps Diana.
She runs to the holding cells to find Batman holding Helena.
The assassin is still alive, albeit roughed up, but Helena is more of a mess.
"Wonder Woman, would you mind looking after Helena for awhile?" suggests Batman.
"Yes," answers Diana.
Helena wipes her eyes and walks towards Diana.
"Helena would you mind joining me in the commissary?" offers Diana.
"Not like there is anything else I can do here or there," sighs Helena.
Batman enters the cell and tilts the window setting to opaque. Nobody knows how he manages to get people to talk when they appear adamant to remain close mouthed, but then maybe people were better off not knowing. It is enough for Batman to have to live with those kinds of tactics, but fear is something all feel, just a matter of tapping then flooding it though that's a simplification.
"Been awhile hasn't it KGBeast?" taunts Batman.
"You got lucky last time Batman," reminds KG Beast.
"Just keep telling yourself that Knyazev."
Neither resumes speaking for a moment then Knyazev breaks the silence except he is talking in Russian.
"You think knowing my name gives you an advantage?" retorts Knyazev.
"The question is, do you think it does?" counters Batman.
"So the rumors be true that you are a polyglot, but knowledge of language does not get you an answer."
"I am and it will," replies Batman.
Anatoli Knyazev isn't the first or likely the last to experience the Dark Knight's interrogation style. Batman conceals a slight satisfaction in his demeanor while awaiting Knyazev to tell his story.
However Batman hears a cracking sound from the vicinity of Anatoli's mouth then tries to stop him, but of course he is too late. Anatoli's face contorts before his body shudders as it falls onto the table leaving a puddle of foam on the table surface, which starts dripping to the floor.
Anatoli Knyazev, an assassin who fatally shot four people on New Year's Day is now a dead man by some form of poison, probably a false tooth, and now back to square one.
Batman slumps back into the chair opposite the dead assassin.
"Another dead end and another dead body… no closer to figuring out who is behind this."
Superman enters with a look of surprise.
"Believe me I didn't do that. He was about to spill except something spilled him instead."
"He killed himself or someone killed him without his knowledge."
"Either way, it we are still in the dark as his intended victims are hanging by threads."
"Dick and Helena got them here in time."
"It counts for something, but right now it is up to the doctors to save them."
"I'm just as frustrated by this as you are."
"You sure about? You ever saw someone taken down by bullets?"
"No, but I have seen people vaporized by Omega Beams!"
The two stand there staring at each other then Wonder Woman enters with her arms crossed.
"You two want go at it? Do it somewhere else, we have badly hurt friends in the infirmary!"
Batman leaves first knowing Wonder Woman… Diana… is right.
Superman apologizes to Wonder Woman then heads back toward the infirmary.
"So much for New Years," sighs Diana.
A/N 1: Ted Grant's killer revealed to be Clayface. He only appears in JL episode Secret Society. His motives and who hired him are still a mystery. Flashback bits refer to his appearances in BtAS and TNBA.
A/N 2: Vic wrestles with personal implications of his role while Helena and Oliver in their own way try to reassure that he has done right. Vic's inner musings occur side by side with the countdown.
A/N 3: Barbara's injuries are a nod to Killing Joke.
A/N 4: Batman 'talks' to KGBeast in Russian, its a homage to Batman's 'chat' with the Kasnian Commando in Maid of Honor except for the end result. KGBeast's attempted killings are a nod to Adrian Veidt's staged assassination attempt as is the way KGBeast dies too.
A/N 5: "My brain's not a nice place to be." Batman, Only A Dream. Instead I'd say imagination designs grim scenes.
