Nightweaver popped his helmet off as the elevator to his hotel suite began to rise. Getting Raven to leave hadn't gone well, and he needed to talk to the others. He came out into the hallway as it stopped and popped his door open; Catgirl, Catwoman, Cyborg, and Robin were all waiting for him inside.
"Not you guys, too."
"Raven told us what you told her, and we're with you," Robin explained, and Simon buried his face in his hands.
"I don't want you guys to help. It's too dangerous. I don-"
"Simon, shut up. You can drop the tough guy act. You need help, we're helping," Kitrina interrupted. He was offput by her aggressiveness, but continued on.
"Look, I've already got plans for this. I'm going to get Red Hood, Deathstroke, and some other villains. Nobody will miss us if we go down."
"You're wrong," Cyborg said flatly.
"We would miss you," Selina stated, finishing his thought.
"Touching, really, but no."
"You can't get rid of me, no matter what you try to do," Catwoman added, solidifying her spot in his lineup. He had no leverage over her.
"The only person that could stop me is Batman, and he'd have to do that by force." Robin was staying.
"I'm with you, 'nuff said," Cyborg said, seeming more dark than usual.
"It's not like I haven't died for you before, Simon." He felt a pang of guilt, but pushed it aside.
"I don't want you hurting yourselves to save me. I brought myself into this. I either bring myself out, or I don't come out at all. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if you got hurt saving me. I can barely live with myself after what happened last time."
"I don't care. I'm staying in this."
"We'd have to work with Black Mask." All four of them immediately lost their momentum in the argument. "Look, just go. I'll think about it, but I don't want to hurt any of you." Three of them shuffled awkwardly out, but Catwoman stayed behind.
"You too, Selina. I need to be alone right now." She shook her head.
"No, you don't. From what I know about you, you do stupid things when you're left alone. I'm staying here. And I don't care what you do with the others, or if we have to work with that asshole, I'm behind you all the way."
"No." She slapped him, leaving a red mark across his face.
"I don't let Bruce tell me what to do, you aren't going to either." They eyed each other carefully for a moment, and he relented.
"Fine. Don't say I didn't try to stop you." She smiled awkwardly, even though he was still glaring at her.
"Sorry. I just get a little..."
"Passionate?"
"Sure."
"It's alright."
"Go change into some normal clothes. We're going out tonight."
"Where?"
"I'll take care of it. Just go."
Selina slid into her seat, Simon following, as they prepared to watch a movie.
"Any particular reason we're watching Les Miserables?" he asked almost angrily.
"Other than that it's in this specific theater, no."
"What's so special about this theater?" Somebody sat next to him, and he snapped to look at them. Red X was sitting next to him, out of costume.
"What are you doing here?"
"She asked me to come talk to you." He eyed Selina, who pouted and pointed him back in the other direction.
"Why?"
"I don't know, but I think we should stop being enemies. We were a good pair, back in the day. I'm not even going to ask for Kitrina back. I was thinking about what you said, and you were right. I'd been grasping at strings." Weaver stewed it over, then nodded.
"Fine. What do you have in mind?"
"What do you need me to do?"
"Give me your contact information, and I'll tell you when we need you." He pulled a card out and tossed it onto Weaver's lap.
"Talk to you then, I guess." He got up and left, leaving the two alone again. He looked at her, half irritated, half pleased.
"You really want to watch this? I don't like the French anyways," she asked.
"No, not really." They got up and left the theater, standing outside as it started to drizzle.
"It's always raining in this damned city." She sat down on the curb, and he sat next to her.
"You don't like Gotham?"
"It's hard to explain. I love Gotham, just because it's Gotham, but I hate so many things about it."
"Why do you still stay here?"
"Born and raised here. Hell, the city itself raised me anyways. I feel like it would be wrong. Like abandoning your parents in their time of need."
"I guess I can understand. I'm glad you stayed, to be honest," Weaver said, looking away out of embarrassment.
"What's this? Verbal affection?" She stood up and offered a hand, and the two walked hand-in-hand back to the hotel. They stood silently in the lobby, patiently waiting on the elevator to arrive.
"So, not that I'm being impatient, but have you made any plans regarding the manor?" she asked, leaning on him lightly.
"Soon. Let's just get upstairs first." The elevator opened, and as soon as he stepped in, she cornered him and kissed him. They embraced for what felt like an hour, and when she finally pulled away, he was almost out of breath. "What was that for?"
"Felt like you deserved it. Don't argue against it, idiot!" The door dinged as they reached their floor, and the couple walked back into the suite. Raven was lying on his couch, her thigh heavily bandaged, having seemingly passed out. He put a finger to his lips, telling Selina to be quiet and not wake her, and led her into the back room.
"You want to see what I've done?" he whispered very carefully. She lifted an eyebrow inquisitively, and he had to resist the urge to laugh. "Get suited up and we'll go." She seemed almost giddy as she rushed to change. He grabbed his armor suit out of his duffel bag and put it on quickly, then quietly left and waited for Catwoman. She was ready in seconds, and the two exited into the hall and climbed onto the roof.
"Where is it?" she asked excitedly.
"North of the main city. I think you're going to like it." He grabbed her by the waist and jumped off of the building, then shot out his grappling hook. They swung across the city, and when he reached the end of the towers and skyscrapers, he set her down gently and started walking.
"How far?"
"Not very. Just over this hill."
"Well come on, then!" She ran up the hill and he followed, hoping that the construction crew had gotten as much done as they'd said they did.
I almost don't want to say this but... do I love her? I shouldn't be jumping at this. If I overthink it, I'll ruin everything. But we're the same and opposites in so many ways. I've been able to open up to her, and that's a lot to me. Just focus on the moment. I'm happy that she seems to be happy. She'd reached the top of the hill by then and was just staring in awe. He approached her from behind and saw why she was so struck.
Kyle Manor was five stories tall; the first and second floors were complete, but the third, fourth, and fifth were still just skeletons of what they would be. It was replicated classic Gothamite architecture, complete with gargoyles and all. She didn't know what to say. An alarm on his HUD told him it was eleven thirty.
"Shit, we need to go. Meeting with Black Mask, Crime Alley."
"Oh, shit!" Raven appeared in front of them, and within seconds, they were both back in the hotel.
"Thanks for not telling me you were here," she quipped. Weaver couldn't tell if she was being serious or not, he was just worried about getting to Crime Alley.
"I'm supposed to have five people, but I'm not going to bring the other Titans. I can't risk it."
"Still coming," they both chimed in.
"That's two. I'll make some calls."
Twenty minutes later, the trio had arrived in Crime Alley, waiting on their three allies. Red Hood stalked up behind them, his steps silent.
"Great, that's three. Good to see you." He brushed some dust off of his leather jacket and cracked his neck in response. "Still moody. Perfect."
"Not happy we're working with this little shit. Just be glad I'm helping you."
"I am. Thanks. Seriously." Catwoman and Raven ignored him; they didn't seem to enjoy his presence very much, even if they were forced to work with him.
"Who are the last two?" he asked impatiently.
"They'll be here."
"Just answer the damn question, Weaver."
"They'll be here. Just wait." A plane went overhead, and Nightweaver smiled.
"Incoming." A parachute flared open, and a man landed on one knee, peeling the backpack off and dusting himself off. Deadshot cocked his wrist guns and extended a hand towards Nightweaver.
"Long time no see."
"Too long." They were interrupted by Black Mask's appearance; he had ten of his men following, each of them carrying a weapon of some sort. They walked up to Weaver's group as a pack, and Black Mask was eyeing each of them carefully.
"I said five. You've got four."
"Just wait," Nightweaver said, trying to keep his words short; just seeing Black Mask and not punching him was making him feel sick to his stomach, and it was all he could do to not throw up on the spot.
"Five, you little shithead. All you needed to do was get five people, and you couldn't even do that." Weaver stayed silent, desperately fighting the urge to hit him. Just before Black Mask could say anything else, a shadowy figure appeared on a rooftop behind Weaver's team.
"That your fifth, or did we all just get lured into a trap?" Weaver turned around and instantly recognized who it was, but said nothing. Black Mask's mean all pointed their guns up at the figure; Raven discreetly broke all of them, from bending the pins to dislodging the magazines slightly. He heard Catwoman's claws slip out of her gloves with a schlick, and he tensed his own muscles; he knew that the figure wasn't hostile, but he didn't know how Black Mask would react. He heard Red Hood crack his knuckles, and everything sat in silence for a moment. The silhouette finally moved, jumping off of the building and slamming into the ground in front of them in a low crouch, black cape covering his body.
Red X stood up, easing the tension.
"We're all here. We need to leave, now. This is literally asking for the White Death to come and kill us all," Nightweaver said, having already realized this was the perfect trap.
"He's right," Black Mask said, easing some of the tension. "Between all of us, we should be able to kill this thing, but we need to plan this first. I've got proof you're in this."
"I'll contact you in the morning." The words stung in his mouth, and he almost regretted saying them immediately. He shot a grappling hook at a building overhead and climbed to the top, coming face to face with the White Death.
"You were watching."
"Yes."
"And you aren't going to just kill me?"
"No. You have found the terms of my contract, but the contract still stands. Black Mask must die first."
"You know that I object to this, correct?"
"They always do, but it is necessary to my success in future contracts."
"No, no. That's not why. You're protecting something. I'm going to find out what it is." He walked past the assassin and shot another line out, leaving it confused and trying to figure out what it's next step would be.