Another chapter. I've been working on a lot of ficlets recently so I have been a little preoccupied but still, I finally got this done.
Picking himself off the ground, Sportsmaster smiled. The archer before him was a joke, a shadow of a hero. And only he knew it. Sure, his daughter had a little crush on the kid, but he didn't control her. And he didn't want to. No matter what Jade did, she would never disappoint him as much as Artemis had, even if she couldn't stop flirting with the 'hero'. After all, Jade wasn't stupid enough to let it go any further. She wasn't stupid enough to fall for a hero.
The archer stood before him, bow forgotten across his shoulder. His fists were raised in a fighting stance, inviting Sportsmaster to attack.
Sportsmaster lunged forward, his fist missing the hero by a hairs width as the younger man dodged. Red Arrow returned in kind, ducking down to balance his body, his foot kicking out and catching Sportsmaster on the knee. The villain jumped backwards, waiting for a few moments for Red Arrow to climb back to his feet and lunge forward again.
Sportsmaster once again side stepped, this time catching Red Arrow around his neck and pulling him off balance. The hero responded by driving his elbow into Sportsmasters stomach. The mercenary jerked his knee forward, digging it into the younger man's back before releasing the kid.
Red Arrow gave a cry of pain and stumbled to the ground. Sportsmaster advanced on him.
Reacting quickly, Red Arrow removed the bow from his shoulder and turned, swinging the weapon around to connect with his attackers head. The bow cracked, breaking apart in its owners hands and becoming nothing but a mess of red painted wood and string.
Sportsmaster blinked, shaking off the shock of the blow as Red Arrow fell back, trying to put some distance between the two of them.
Softly, Sportsmaster started to laugh.
"Well, look at you." He said.
Red Arrow lunged, fists raised. Sportsmaster reached out, catching Red Arrows wrists and pulling the archer close.
"Still just a broken arrow." The villain finished.
Red Arrow froze in the villain's grip, his face going blank. Releasing the hero, Sportsmaster stepped back, admiring his work. He stepped closer again, delivering two quick punches to the hero's stomach before lashing out, hitting the kid in the jaw. The archer dropped to the ground.
"Heads up!" A voice shouted from across the roof. Sportsmaster turned, ignoring the hero on the ground to find the voice. Cheshire crashed into him, her weight knocking Sportsmaster off his feet. A leather clad figure limped forward, grabbing Red Arrows arm and pulling him to his feet.
"What the hell arrow head!" The figure shouted, red masked eyes facing the archer as Red Arrow came to his senses and spat the blood out of his mouth, wiping away the red trail with the back of his hand. "Keep your head in the game!"
Red Arrow growled.
"Shut up." He muttered. The archer looked up at the sky for a moment before shaking his head. "Just shut the hell up." He added, relaxing his body as several sets of feet landed on the roof.
Cheshire was like a wild animal, lashing out every time Jason got close. The Red Hood could almost feel the anger rolling off her as she dived forward again, trying to hit the vigilante with everything she had.
Her attacks weren't smooth or strong like they had been. Instead, they were jolted and predictable; Jason easily able to dodge her advances, despite his injured leg. Clearly the assassin was no longer thinking straight, her emotions controlling her. Jason was slightly surprised. Didn't Shadows train to control their emotions?
Then again, who was he to judge? Letting his emotions get the better of him was what caused him to get his ass kicked by Batman after he was first brought back from the dead. Admittedly, he had been facing the Joker at the time, dealing with the murderous clown enough to make anyone insane with anger. But still, Cheshire didn't seem like the sort to let her feelings get in the way of a mission.
Still, Jason wasn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth. The teenage vigilante caught the assassins wrist as the woman once again lashed out at him, her one remaining knife swinging wide. A kick to the stomach sent Cheshire flying into one of the black clad Shadows which were swarming across the roof and leaving Jason with nothing but her black glove as the knife clattered to the ground.
The Shadow immediately jumped to his feet, preparing to lunge at Jason but Cheshire grabbing him, pulling him out of the fight. The woman gave another feral growl and dropped into a crouch, trying to kick out at Jason who was forced to jump backwards. Quickly, the teen dodged, punching a Shadow and kicking another in an attempt to put some distance between them.
Cheshire drew closer and closer. Behind her, Jason could see Roy fighting Sportsmaster, the archer not letting his lack of arrows stop his relentless attack. At least, that's what Jason thought was happening until Roy suddenly froze, Sportsmaster advancing on him.
Cheshire was close enough now to grab at Jason but the teenager was faster, grabbing her wrist in one hand and her neck with the other. In his grasp, Cheshire started to struggle, lashing out and scratching his face with her sharp nails.
Ignoring the blood on his face, Jason used his superior strength to push Cheshire towards Sportsmaster, the woman unable to fight him.
"Heads up!" he shouted towards Sportsmaster, trying to hide the smile as the assassin crashed into the mercenary. Running forward, Jason grabbed Roy's arm and pulled him back onto his feet.
"What the hell arrow head!" He shouted, ignoring the look of disgust as Roy spat blood. "Keep your head in the game!"
There was a growl. Jason found his eyes being drawn upwards.
"Shut up." Roy muttered beside him as the senior members of the Justice League descended on them. "Just shut the hell up."
Maybe it was his own injures and fatigue, maybe it was some sort of Shadow conspiracy. Either way, he wasn't certain how, but Robin was certain the fight was becoming faster and more dangerous by the second.
Dodging attacks was fast becoming a problem, the black clad ninjas working in tandem to drive the teen back. Kaldur was helping as much as he could, but the Shadows were easily forcing the two apart.
And Robin was close to giving up. He was tired, injured and fed up. He could feel his mind slowing down, starting succumb to fatigue and his recent head injury. Since arriving in Taipei, the Outlaws had been under almost constant attack.
A black arm wrapped around his neck, pulling the boy off balance. Robin tried to kick out, to wriggle out of the figures grip but another arm wrapped around his legs, pulling him completely off the ground. Robin thrashed between the two Shadows, trying to get enough room to punch at either attacker. A third Shadow ran forward, catching his flailing wrists as the three began to move towards the helicopter, dragging the struggling Boy Wonder between them. He gave a shout, trying to alert someone to his situation but the Shadow holding him by the neck quickly threw a hand over his mouth.
Then, just as suddenly as he had been lifted into the air, Robin was being dropped again, his head hitting the cold ground. The Boy Wonder gasped as his head started to spin, panicky voices filling the air. Above him, a black shape dived forward, dark cloth spreading out like giant wings. A single thought crossed the boys mind as he tried to make sense of the situation.
The cloth looked like a giant bat.
Cheshire was down, Sportsmaster gone and the Shadows retreating into the night. The Justice League members quickly taking charge and beating back the strugglers. The fight was….well, it was over. Now it was time for the clean-up.
Beside Jason, Roy slumped to the ground, kicking the remains of his bow out of the way. The archer rubbed a hand across his brow.
"That didn't go well." The archer muttered.
Jason snorted. "It really didn't."
The teenage vigilante glanced across the roof. Aqualad was still fighting the remaining Shadows, acting as backup for Batman as the Dark Knight drove the struggling assassins off the roof top. Several other Justice League members were securing the few Shadows who hadn't been able to get away while the Green Lantern had jumped into the helicopter, shutting the machine down. A small whimper came from a red and black figure. Jason looked at it.
"Crap." He muttered, limping towards the figure.
Robin was a mess, his costume torn in several places; his hair mattered with blood from his head injury. The kid was moving slowly, clearly stunned and whimpering softly.
"Hey kid." Jason said as he sank to his knees beside his little brother. "Don't lose consciousness. You won't like it if you do."
The Boy Wonder slowly turned his head to face Jason and the Red Hood could almost imagine the boys blue eyes focusing on him.
"Not feeling the aster." The kid muttered.
Jason sighed.
"I know you are injured but I will toss you off the roof like I promised if you insist on using made up words."
Robin gave a small grin and sighed, his face relaxing.
"Come on Dickie." Jason muttered, taking hold of one of Dick's arms and hooking it over his shoulder. The young hero responded, reaching up and wrapping his other arm around Jason's neck. Carefully, the Red Hood stood up, lifting Robin up until he was carrying the boy. Dick buried his face against Jason's neck, sighing softly.
"What did I just say?" Jason asked as he balanced his younger brother's weight against his chest.
"Don't make up words?" Dick replied, his voice muffled in Jason's jacket.
"And don't lose consciousness."
"Not whelmed." The kid said.
"Straight off the roof." Jason sighed.
It was possibly the strangest ending to a battle Superman had ever seen. Many of his fellow heroes were frozen, watching silently as the vigilante (villain?) code named Red Hood walked towards Batman, Robin clinging to his neck. The Red Hood was limping slightly and looked a lot worse for wear as he faced the Dark Knight.
Batman's face was unreadable as he watched Red Hood approach. Finally, the teenager was standing before the detective.
The two seemed to have a silent conversation, staring at each other from behind their respective masks. Finally the Dark Knight seemed to deflate.
"Take him back to Gotham, Jason." Batman said in a voice low enough for only the Red Hood and any kryptonians in the area could hear.
"I don't work for you anymore, remember?" The Red Hood shot back.
Superman could hear the bones in Bruce's hands crack as the Dark Knight made a fist.
"Jason. Take your brother home." He ordered softly.
There was a pause as Robin groaned slightly, tightening his arms around Red Hood's neck. The Red Hood sighed.
"Dammit." The teen muttered, rearranging his grip on the young hero in his arms.
So now for the bad news. This is the second last chapter of this story. I didn't mention it earlier because a.) I thought people might be mad at me and b.) I am in a little bit of shock about it right now. I can't believe it is ending. For a story which started off as a one shot based on an art fill, this has kind of gone off the rails a little.