I am so sorry to everyone following this story. I just lost complete motivation to write. Every time I tried, it just didn't seem to work. Again, I am so sorry. I know a lot of people have been waiting for this next chapter.
Has anyone seen the latest DCnU Batman story? OMG! The Outlaws are going to meet the rest of the Batfamily! I am so happy!
Anyway, on with the story. Hope its not too terrible.
M'gann dropped Conner on the ledge, making sure her boyfriend landed safely before looking down at the scene below them. The street was in chaos, people running in every direction. The music pulsed louder and louder, making verbal communication impossible. Quickly, she linked with the three minds closest to her.
The Martain scanned the crowd, looking for her friends as behind her, Wally and Starfire appeared.
'Thanks for waiting.' Wally grumbled in his mind as he rubbed his arms, trying to regain circulation lost during the flight. Next to him, Starfire started. Clearly the other girl had been taken off guard by the sudden voices in her mind.
'You are in my head.' She commented, looking wide eyed at Wally.
'I sure am beautiful.' The speedster replied, winking as in front of her, Conner glanced at M'gann.
'I'm sorry.' M'gann thought quickly, feeling Conner's disapproval. 'I added you to make communication easier but I guess I forgot to tell you.'
Starfire smiled, a little uneasily.
'That is alright. Jason often says I shouldn't be surprised by anything humans do anymore. He says he isn't.'
M'gann wasn't sure whether she should be pleased that the other girl labelled her behaviour as human, or whether she should be insulted that someone had said such things about such an incredible race. Almost like he could feel her confliction, Conner reached over and took M'gann's hand.
Below in the street, something caught the girls eye.
Artemis and Robin were standing side by side, shadows circling them.
Reaching down mentally, M'gann added Artemis to the link, giving a slight tug to let the blond girl know the link was open. Artemis didn't even both replying. M'gann paused, unsure whether she should add Robin as well. Robin had been so angry when he was with the Red Hood and had forcibly rejected the link. Would he do that again? Would he push the team away again?
M'gann was woken from her musing suddenly as Robin moved, pushing Artemis off her feet before diving away. A green figure landed, dust flying everywhere.
M'gann felt the sudden jolt as Artemis landed, the archer unable to completely block the pain from the link.
'ARTEMIS!' M'gann screamed through the link. She felt her feet leave the ground. Conner reached up and grabbed her arm, holding M'gann in place.
'Wait!'
Suddenly, the clone moved, grabbing Wally as the speedster tried to duck past.
M'gann paused, watching the scene below them. The green figure had turned away from Artemis, ignoring her as he walked in the other direction.
'Why are we waiting?' She cried though the link, trying to break out of Conner's grasp. On the other side, Wally was pulling frantically in the Clones grip.
'I don't like it.' The clone hissed, scanning the scene below with wide blue eyes. 'Something is very wrong.'
'Don't like it?' Wally thought, sounding slightly hysterical. 'What's to like? Artemis and Rob are down there!' The speedster continued to twist in Conner's grip.
M'gann reached out with her mind, trying to do something. She needed to find another way to help her friends without lashing out at Conner. Suddenly she found some familiar minds. Kaldur and Roy.
Quickly, she pulled them into the link.
'Aqualad! Artemis and Robin are in trouble!' She called.
'We are on our way.' Aqualad replied. M'gann could almost hear as the two raced across the rooftops, trying to find the fastest way to the scene. A stray thought past through the group link.
'Dammit Jay, why the hell did you have to run off?' The voice muttered.
M'gann carefully ignored it. The whole team had learnt from previous experiences that Roy had difficulty keeping his thoughts to himself and tended to project anything and everything on his mind. Carefully blanking out Roy's dark mutters against Robin, the Bat and someone called Jason (Who she was sure Starfire had mentioned at least once), the martian girl turned back to scan the crowd. She gasped as abruptly, one of the links was cut.
Artemis was on the ground, Cheshire looming over her. It didn't take much effort to realise that she had been knocked out. Only feet away, Robin was being held off the ground by a giant green assassin, thrashing in his grip.
M'gann once again tried to break out of her super strong boyfriends grip but Conner wouldn't let go. The boy was still as a statue, like he was frozen. Behind them there was a flash of green light and Starfire gave a scream. Conner moved suddenly, pushing both M'gann and Wally to the side before he jumped, arms out to catch Star as she fell. Both hit the ground, Conner bending his knees to take the impact.
Before he could steady himself another flash of light shot out of the darkness, hitting them both. Conner rolled, trying to protect the unconscious alien in his arms as a wave of sickness rolled over him. The teen shook his head, trying to get rid of the feeling.
He carefully laid the girl on the ground before turning around, struggling to rise to his feet. Wally had moved first, running to where Conner had been standing moments before. The speedster paused, unable to pinpoint where the light had come from. M'gann flew above him, eyes glowing as she looked around. Her eyes settled on the darkness spreading across the rooftop. Another flash of green light shot out, catching her in the back. M'gann screamed in pain and dropped. Wally shot towards the light, prepared to fight.
Another light hit him, sending him sprawling.
Conner forced himself to his feet, taking a shaky step forward. Something green rolled out of the shadows and towards him, coming to rest at his feet. Conner looked down at it.
It looked like a green crystal, polished to a high shine. Light was radiating from its core.
Another wave of nausea rolled over the clone. He dropped to his knees, fighting the urge to heave.
Once, long ago, Superboy had overheard Robin and Batman talking about something called Kryptonite. The Boy Wonder had been asking if it would affect Superboy the way it affected Superman. Conner had pointedly ignored it at the time, the hurts the Man of Steel had inflicted on him still too raw. But now Conner couldn't help but wonder if this was what he was dealing with. If he had the same vulnerabilities as his DNA Donor.
Holding himself up by his shaking arms, Conner looked around, trying to find out who was hurting his friends. Something hard collided with his back. Pain shot through his body, almost clouding his mind.
Conner felt his vision start to fade. Slowly, his mind started to drift until all he saw was black.
The bullet smashed into Ubu's shoulder, knocking the man forward to almost crush the young hero at his feet. Under the mask, Jason swore and pulled the trigger again, hoping to kill the man, or at least knock him away from his little brother. There was a soft click and the barrel slid forward. Out of ammunition. Dammit.
Jason looked at the gun in surprise before growling, throwing the now useless weapon to the ground. He had never been in the habit of carrying spare rounds, and now he was paying for it. In front of him, the giant assassin turned, setting his sights on Jason. The man stared.
For a second, Jason contemplated reaching for another of his concealed guns. Then he remembered his other weapons. Reaching up, Jason found the catch for his helmet, letting the latches slid open. Gripping the helmet in both hands, Jason slid the red metal off his head and dropped it to the ground, kicking it towards the assassin. He slowly reached up and patted down his sweaty hair and adjusted his red mask, his covered eyes watching the giant before him. Ubu glared, clearly remembering Jason from their previous meeting.
The young vigilante reached into his leather jacket. There was a slight resistance before Jason felt the glide of metal moving past soft leather. The twin blades glittered in the faint light as Jason carefully weighted the twin blades in his hands.
He gave the assassin a smile and nodded as the helmet between them suddenly started to glow.
Ubu lunged.
The helmet exploded, catching the assassin on the chest. Sensing his chance, Jason ran forward to meet his opponent.
The assassin recovered quickly, catching Jason's wrist and kicking out. Jason dropped to his knees, the kick missing his head by inches as the former hero brought his free hand into play, burying the knife in Ubu's calf. The assassin gave a shout and pushed Jason away, the young vigilante losing his grip on the dagger buried in the assassins solid muscle. Jason landed on his back and rolled, landing in a crouch. He held his second knife up, watching for another attack. A shadow shot out, rushing towards him.
Jason reached out, catching Cheshire's arm as the woman attempted to grab him. A punch and a roll and Jason grinned in triumph, his weight holding Cheshire under him, the knife pressed to her throat. Cheshire growled and tried to knock Jason off, but Jason held on through the violent jolts.
The female assassin suddenly went limp under Jason's hands.
Under his mask, Jason blinked as the woman started laughing. Soft footprints drew close.
Jason dived to the side, rolling Cheshire on top of him as Ubu lashed out, the raised fist missing both assassin and vigilante on its downward swing.
Cheshire used the new position to her advantage, breaking Jason's grip and flipping herself off the hero. A hand grabbed Jason's ankle. Jason kicked out, hitting Ubu as the assassin pulled him closer.
The giant reached towards Jason's neck, but the younger man was quicker, lashing out with the second dagger. Ubu released Jason to avoid the sharp metal. Jason used those few seconds to his advantage, putting as much distance between himself and his attacker before preparing himself for the next round of attacks.
"Batman! There is a problem."
The Dark Knight growled softly as he jumped across the roof.
"Not now Clark!" He muttered into his communicator.
There was a moment of silence as the Man of Steel tried to collect himself. Batman slowed down, catching himself on the ledge. The detective looked down into the street. People were rushing back and forward in a panic, creating a chaotic scene. Quickly, Batman tried to find any sign of either of his boys. Gun shots echoed through the street, followed by screams of fear. Under his cowl, Batman's eyes narrowed as he caught sight of the red helmet.
In the middle of a rapidly growing circle, Jason was standing, his gun raised and several black clothed men on the ground around him.
Reaching into his belt, the Dark Knight pulled out a batarang, raising it high over his head.
"Batman, the team is gone!" Superman almost shouted into the comm, breaking the detective's concentration. Batman could hear the panic in the kryptonians voice. Batman fought back the sigh as below him, Jason lowered the gun. Batman mimicked his son, lowering the batarang.
"They are here Clark." He explained as below him, Jason took off his helmet. Only feet away from the teen, Robin lay in a crumpled heap. The young hero was out cold. However, people were stepping over him, ignoring the boy who, in such a state, was no longer a threat. For the moment the boy was safe.
Batman prepared to dive into the fight when something else caught his eye. The Shadows were leaving the street, disappearing into the darkness. Soon only two were left.
"Batman, we are on our way." Superman replied though the comm. Batman carefully ignored him as his eyes fell on Ubu, Ras Al Ghul's head Shadow. The assassin was charging towards Jason.
Jason's helmet exploded, dazing Ubu. Under the mask, Bruce winched. He had fallen for that trick before. Using all his willpower, Bruce stopped himself from jumping off the roof and diving into the fight, to stop Jason or help him, the detective wasn't sure. He and Jason may have been estranged, but he was still a father and couldn't stand the thought of one of his boys facing the assassin without him, especially when his other boy was in such a compromised position.
"What are you planning Ras?" He muttered to himself as below him, Jason leapt towards the stunned assassin.