Grayson and the Outlaws

The Mission: IV

Inside Enemy Building. Two Days Ago.

Grayson took cover behind a corner, tugging Starfire to his side. She gave him a lingering gaze, but in return he put a finger over what she figured were his lips. That face blur was greatly ignoring her. Starfire couldn't help but wonder why she felt so close to this stranger, yet so very far. It irked her to no ends. Just as she was about to further question the strange man, a beeping arrow zoomed pass the corner they hid behind. And then...

BOOM!

Grayson sighed and rubbed his temples, "Great... Just what I needed." He said sarcastically as he looked up towards the ceiling.

"Kori!" A voice yelled. "Kori?" It had gotten closer.

Starfire moved from behind the corner with Arsenal coming to a screeching halt before he collided with her. He took her arm, "Great, we've found you." He said as Red Hood made his way to the two. "Now why the heck did you leave us out there for? I almost died!"

"This person." The orange alien woman pointed beside her.

"What person?" Red Hood asked with a quizzical look behind his helmet. God he hoped she wasn't on drugs again...

Starfire realized she was pointing at thin air. Was her mysterious companion really with her? Had her mind played a trick on her, making her feel as if she'd found something she had lost? "No, I know what you're both thinking and I was NOT hallucinating!" She tugged her arm away from Arsenal who in turn gave her a quizzical expression.

"Let's just get what we came for and be done with this mess of a job." Red Hood said. The mission wasn't supposed to cause many problems. But with the clones and Starfire hallucinating, he just wanted to knock this mission out and collect the reward. "Now where are we headed Roy?"

Arsenal pointed down the hallway. "We're headed down that hallway, making the second right which should led to a lab and holding area." The archer in the trucker hat explained. He was excited to get his hands on this new tech they were hijacking. They never said he couldn't do his own quick examination of the thing.

Starfire crossed her arms as she looked up at the ceiling, convincing herself she wasn't crazy. She still felt his warm and welcoming aura that she was growing fund of. So easily... And then she saw it. The hint that proved she wasn't losing her mind. The damn ceiling panel was slightly out of place. She felt a tug to the side of her lips, a faint grin.

The trio then began to make their towards the destination, with a beaming Starfire leading the way. Arsenal was itching to know what changed her mood so quickly. He still wasn't sure if her kind had... that time of the month. But he dismissed it in order to stay focused on the task at hand. So focused he didn't notice the ominous orangish red puddle slowly creeping behind them.

...

Grayson had made it to the holding area just pass the lab. It was connected but sealed off by a opening titanium wall. Of course he made it pass the seemingly impenetrable wall; he wouldn't be a good super spy if he couldn't. Not to mention hacking Bat-computers in his spare time as a child helped in a big way.

He walked towards a pedestal holding a case on top of it. He tried radioing Helena, but all he got was a buzzing reply. He then proceeded to opening case and he found himself staring at a chip. "The Big Brother Chip... Hard to believe something like this could help create another Brother Eye." Just as the spy was about to make his exit he heard alarms ring.

The white lights grew dim until they shut off. Not even dark for five seconds, red lights flashed on and off as a voice could be heard over an intercom.

"Warning! Warning! Device Not Found! Device Not Found! Activating Protocol: Project Hybrid! Phase 1. Prototype."

Grayson tucked the chip away in his pocket. He was about to make a run for it when the exit sealed itself off. Leaving him in the lab alone, or so it seemed.

The spy could hear an eerie noise. Clanking, levers shifting, gears turning... He then heard some liquid swishing and after that some bubbling. The blue eyed spy looked behind himself, only to come face to face with a grey skinned creature woman. Fortunately it was in a cylinder chamber... That rose up from underneath the floor?

The humanoid woman(?) had frail long black hair, her ears looked more so like wing tips. Her face was bony, matter of fact her whole frame was thin as if it was malnourished. It was in a white skin tight suit initialed with the letters 'WH'. That was when it happened. The creature's pure black eyes shot open and Grayson took a step back.

"Just great... What is it this time?" He flatly said, slightly annoyed. The creature opened its mouth to yell, taking in the liquid it was in. That's when changes started to occur. The bony frame had gained so muscle to it. The body then became more feminine, but took a turn for the worst when wings sprouted from its back. The rapid spread of the wings broke the glass encasing the strange woman. "I don't think I can woo you with my charms, huh..." Agent 37 said under his breath.

"SCREECH!" The woman was crying out as it took flight, hovering above the spy.

The loud screeching noise could be heard outside the lab entrance, where a certain trio of outlaws had just approached. Starfire KNEW her mysterious friend was in there and what ever was with him didn't sound good. Instinctively she burst through the door to find her blurry face man being strangled by a winged woman. Quickly enraged she flew through the air, charging at the woman.

Grayson looked over at the flying orange and red blur as his eyes went wide. She slammed into the woman, pinning her to the wall with a star bolt in hand ready to burst. Grayson had landed on the ground, catching his breathe. Starfire always did fall victim to her emotions, for better or worse.

Unknowingly for the remaining two outlaws, a big orangish-red creature grabbed each in one hand. They each yelled from the pain of having their inner organs seemingly crushed at the strength of the abomination. "Damn it!" Red Hood yelled as his vision began to fade. His body growing cold.

Grayson looked over to his once protégé and heard the apparent gasping for air, "Jason!" He yelled, but Starfire was thrown into him.

The alien princess had also been distracted when her team was caught. It gave the winged woman an opening to rid herself of the tan warrior.

That was when everything all of a sudden went black. They're consciousness aware of nothing, mission failed... Grayson just allowed himself and outsiders to be caught and man handled. I there was nothing he could do about it...