I just wanted to apologise to everyone. I left a cliffhanger in the last chapter and then it took me this long to get this next chapter up. That was very bad of me and I am very sorry. All I can blame is writters block and holiday blues. Oh, and discovering new fandoms.
Spoiler warning (But its blink and you miss it, so I am not too worried. But you never know. Someone might complain.) This chapter makes reference to recent Young Justice comic The Demon Rises. Its a good short story and I highly recommend it.
Up above the group, the green girl gasp.
"Robin!" She called, lowering herself to the ground next to Kaldur. Kori, Jason was pleased to see, followed the girl, keeping close enough to jump into a fight at the first sign of trouble. But the green girl didn't seem to notice as she sent a warm smile at the hacker. A smile which Robin didn't return. Instead, the boy shook his head suddenly before looking directly at the girl.
"Get out of my head." He warned, his grip tightening on the weapon in his hand.
From his place on the ground, Jason raised an eyebrow, glad that his helmet hid everything from sight. Telepathic link maybe? Something was bugging his little brother and clearly the girl was the cause.
The girl looked hurt at Robin's comment, his face falling.
"But Robin?" She tried again. If kicked puppies could have a voice, Jason believed they would use the exact tone of voice the girl used as she looked his little brother up and down.
The younger hero just glared through the mask, a talent he had clearly picked up from his mentor. Seeing the warning for what it was, Kaldur rose to his feet and grabbed the girl's hand.
"M'gann, enough." He said in a low voice.
Jason remained silent, watching his surroundings. Kaldur and the girl, M'gann, seemed to have a silent conversation, staring into each other's eyes, heads and hands moving like they were having a silent argument. It also seemed that Roy and Kori were having a silent conversation. However, this one didn't have any telepathy involved. Instead, Roy had caught Kori's eye and was jerking his head to the side, indicating for the girl to move back. Slowly, the two did, stepping backwards away from the Young Justice members and back towards Robin until they were standing side by side with the 13 year old hero, ready to fight.
Neither of the Young Justice members seemed to notice the hostility in the movement, both turning to look as something green shot through the darkness. Despite the lack of light, Jason could make out the line connected to what looked like a green arrow.
In front of Jason, Dick nudged Roy, indicating towards the arrow. Roy nodded and raised his bow, pulling back on the drawstring. After a few seconds, a blond head appeared.
"Artemis." Kaldur called as the girl, dressed all in green, pulled herself over the edge with a grunt.
The girl climbed to her feet, muttering under her breath.
"Whoever decided climbing up a building like that was a good idea is an idiot." She stated, one hand rubbing her stomach where the material failed to protect her from the rough stone while the other readjusted the strap across her chest. She finally looked up and froze, staring at Roy who was aiming the arrow with deadly accuracy.
Jason looked her up and down. Her outfit said sidekick, her presence on the roof suggested she was one of the sidekicks attached to the little covert operations team. The bow and arrows slung across her back and Roy's reaction to her said she was Green Arrows newest find. But her body language said something completely different. Something dangerous. Jason didn't need years of training in the All Caste to recognise an assassin when he saw one.
"Are you serious?" The girl asked aloud. Slowly, the hand on her bare stomach moved to her lower back, clearly reaching for a concealed weapon hidden there. Jason felt his own hands move, dragging across the ground to his own concealed weapons. There was no way he was going to trust this one.
Like he was also sensing the movement, the Atlantean strode towards the girl and caught her wrist.
"Artemis, no." He warned.
He turned to once again look at the Outlaws. He held up his hands.
"It appears we have misjudged the situation." The Atlantean stated.
Easing the strain in his weapon, Roy lowered the bow, snorting softly.
"Wouldn't be the first time." The archer said, smirking slightly as Artemis glared at him. Not looking away, Roy elbowed Robin.
"Relax Rob." He muttered.
Robin did, sliding the metal staff into the back of his belt before turning, leaving his back to the group as he advanced on his fallen brother. He held out a gloved hand to Jason, grinning from ear to ear.
"You so got owned!" The teenager crowed. "It's totally whelming."
Jason growled under his breath as he accepted his little brothers hand, deliberately making Robin take his full weight as the kid pulled him to his feet.
"Butcher the English language one more time kid, and I will beat you to within an inch of your life." The older teenager warned as he brushed the dust of his jacket.
Ignoring the gasp of horror from the green girl as she overheard the statement, Jason carefully stretched, rolling his shoulders and stretching his neck. Damn, the Atlantean could hit hard.
Next to him (And about a foot below his head) Robin laughed, knowing Jason's threat for what it really was. Good natured teasing. Jason couldn't help it, he ran a gloved hand through Robin's hair, grinning secretly as the 13 year old tried to get away before his hair was messed up.
"Oh come on Red Hood!" The kid pouted.
Ignoring the kids soft grumbles as he tried to flatten the messy mop of dark hair, Jason looked the newcomers up and down.
"So, this is the Young Justice League." He said. Jason carefully avoided using the first word which came to mind. Underwhelming. It would take more time then Jason wanted to get to shut Dick up after using that one. Instead, he settled for pointed silence, crossing his arms over his chest.
"No." Robin piped up as he moved closer, his hair still in disarray. "SB and KF aren't here."
"The Speedster and the Kryptonian, right?" Jason asked as Kori reached over, wrapping an arm around Robin's shoulders. Like the rest of the Outlaws, she had relaxed her fighting stance and was now watching Robin and Red Hoods exchange with some amusement.
"They will turn up." This comment came from Roy. The Outlaws archer had pushed his arrow back into his quiver and slung his bow over his shoulder. Now he stood with the rest of his team, hands firmly at his side as he looked straight at Kaldur.
Kaldur, who was still looking bewildered as the scene before him trying to make sense of everything. Finally, he turned to face M'gann and Artemis, failing to see the shadows moving on the rooftops around them.
"It appears that we have been misinformed."
On a roof top on the other side of the city, a statue stood, frozen against the night sky. On closer inspection, onlookers might be able to believe that it wasn't a statue. The strange pointed ears and the shadows which moved around it like a soft material might be ignored, and the lump of darkness might take on the form of a man, resting in a crouch on the edge of the roof. Those people would be right.
Batman was on guard.
He had arrived in Taipei and immediately began his search. Jason was untrustworthy and had most likely already guessed that Dark Knight would come after him. The teenage vigilante would be lying low, if he hadn't left the city already, taking his brother with him.
And that in itself was a problem. What was Dick's mental state? The man under the Batman mask knew better than anyone that the 13 year old was struggling. The failed exercise and the breakout at Arkham would have left even an adult hero emotionally drained, and Dick was only 13 and still in training. He didn't have nearly enough experience to handle the emotional side of those incidents. Plus, although Batman hadn't said it aloud, it was clear Dick's team didn't believe they had supported him. Guilt had radiated off Wally West the moment Robin was reported missing and the rest of the team wasn't much better.
It hurt that Dick hadn't felt that he could talk to Bruce about his problems, that he couldn't share his troubles with his adopted father and mentor. But then again, that was most likely Batman's own fault. Although he would never admit it aloud, Bruce knew he put a lot of pressure on his children. He trained them to be tough, to follow orders without questions, to survive. Jason hadn't coped well. That was why he became rebellious, fighting everything that moved and failing to listen to simple orders. It was why Jason had gone after the Joker that night, despite Batman's attempts to call him back. It was why Jason had died.
But Dick, Dick wasn't like that. He had never been rebellious like Jason. The boy never answered back or questioned orders except that one time, defending Superboy and his friend's actions at Cadmus. Dick hadn't started life on Gotham's streets like Jason. He had grown up in a loving family. Dick was innocent in ways Jason had never been. And Bruce had protected that innocence with everything he had.
Certainly Dick had been exposed to some of the worst things Gotham could offer. He had faced down the Joker and Batman's other rogues. He had investigated murders and rapes. He had raced against the clock to save the world. But he had always held onto that innocence, that childish joy and Bruce had worked hard to help him. Even when it came to Jason, Bruce had guarded Dick, not letting the younger boy know the extent of Jason's crimes. Dick had no idea what Jason had done, what he was capable of doing, and what he was going to do. Dick didn't know how many people had lost their lives because of Jason's murderous whims, or how close the older teen came to claiming his little brother's life along with countless others. In Dick's mind, Jason was the adventurous older brother, rebelling against the father figure and making his own way in the world.
Bruce only hoped that Jason had the decency to keep that illusion alive, at least for a little while longer.
Shifting in his spot, Batman looked around. Shadows were moving across the rooftops. No, not shadows… figures. Figures running through the darkness. Slipping off his perch and into the shadows, Batman watched the movements, trying to identify the figures.
They weren't children. Despite not receiving any warnings from Mt Justice, Batman could already guess that the team had staged an escape and were on their way, if not already in Taipei. But these figures were not the team.
There were too many of them to be Red Hood and Robin, even if the rumours were true and Jason had created his own team of misfits to help him. The Dark Knights mind began to analyse, to look at his surroundings. Were there any local gangs operating in Taipei? Could they be thieves or runners? Who was the local Crime Lord?
What was the last major incident in Taipei?
There had been the Injustice Leagues plant terrorism. But no, that couldn't be it. That had been on a global scale. But there had been an incident before that hadn't there? An incident specific to this city?
Batman thought quickly. Then he remembered. Luthor.
Clark had been insufferable that week, when Lex Luthor had been chosen to host peace talks in this very city. When the League of Shadows had made several attempts on his life.
Studying the figures again, Batman looked closely at the movements. They were soft, fluid movements. Movements of trained assassins.
Ra's Al Ghul had fallen to his death at Cape Canaveral, his latest plan ruined because of Robin's actions. But the man was old and cunning. He watched everything. Batman had no doubts the Head of the League of Shadows would know if Robin wasn't in Batman's care. Would the man take his revenge in this way? Would he place a hit on a child? Did he intend to punish Batman and Robin? Or was there something else at work here?
Whatever it was, it was clear that the Dark Knight needed to stop it.
Moving silently, Batman dashed through the shadows, racing after the retreating figures.
The street was deserted as Superboy moved, walking slowly through the darkness, his blue eyes seeing things no one else could see. Artemis had long ago broken away from the group to join Kaldur and Megan in searching the rooftops, leaving Conner and Wally to carry out Kaldur's orders alone. Now, as Conner continued his slow search of ground level, Wally dashed to and from, checking out every little movement Conner noticed before reporting back.
They hadn't heard from the rest of the team in a while, but neither boy was worried. Megan was very good at contacting them in an emergency but as per Conner's request, she kept her link minimal when the job didn't require comms silence.
"So." Wally said, appearing behind Conner suddenly "I'm thinking ground level is a bust. You think we should call everyone?"
Conner shrugged, choosing silence as all his senses searched the darkness. Normally he trusted his hearing but today it seemed off. Every few seconds, the teenage clone thought he heard movement but every time he turned to look, to see what had made the noise, he saw nothing. He had commented to Wally but the speedster hadn't been helpful, suggesting that he was imagining things. Conner had decided not to comment again.
"Yo! Superboy!" Wally called, trying to gain Conner's attention. One hand was raised to his ear.
Conner turned, glaring.
"What?" he growled.
Under his mask, Wally blinked.
"I was just going to call the team." The speedster blurted out as an explanation.
The two stared at each other as something rattled in the gloom. Conner felt something hit his boot. The rattling stopped. Both young heroes looked down at the ground and the small metal sphere. Slowly, the looked up again.
"Oh crap!" Wally muttered before disappearing.
The metal sphere next to Conner's boot exploded.
I'm sorry, I'm leaving it at another cliffhanger. It was either that or no chapter tonight and a insanely long one in a few days time. And honestly, I think I have kept everyone waiting too long.