2.
Batcave
August 21
19:27 UTC
With the sun almost out of view over Gotham City, Bruce Wayne was nearing the beginning of his nightly duties as Batman. Leaving earlier, Dick had headed back to Bludhaven for his nightly patrol with Barbara staying at the cave to finish her research of the current source of their problems, The Cult of Blood and finally taking a break by heading upstairs to make small talk with Alfred after dinner. As for Tim, he was late in getting back from his date earlier, leaving the others thinking he was having a good time for a change. Those close to him knew he needed to have some much needed downtime with two of his friends falling to the enemy.
Upstairs, Alfred was cleaning up after those who stayed for dinner and was currently in the kitchen tending to the dishwasher, which seemed to not be working properly along with the sprayer for the sink. As he checked the water pressure for the third time, making sure all was clear after cleaning out the spray jets, a small figure dressed in black watched him from afar from the second floor.
Seeing the butler keep himself busy, Damian slipped a black mask over his head and slung a small bag over his shoulders. Grabbing onto the banister, the boy hopped up on the railing then leapt to a nearby post to slide partway down. He then performed a backflip and landed on the backrest of a couch without so much as a sound or losing his balance. His blue eyes scanned the entrance to the dining and kitchen area to make sure he had not been detected before hopping off the couch and squat running to the first of several dens.
With quiet feet, the boy ninja made his way to the piano responsible for opening the entrance to the cave. Being the son of Batman meant he had access to the underground cave with the special piano keys programmed to recognize his prints. There was just the matter of not triggering the sound the instrument would make, which was no problem at all as he slowly pressed them down. The only sound came from an audible rumble from the ascending elevator and moving bookcase. Hurrying in, he rode the platform to the cave below and hopped out once it touched bottom.
With no one else in the Batcave, Damian hurried over to the computer and slipped his bag off. Retrieving a disk, he inserted it into the computer and went about reprogramming the cameras and tracker for the cave. Covering his tracks, by erasing all traces of him ever being down there, he took his mask off and headed for the weapons vault. Grabbing anything he could use, which were anything with sharp points, the dark haired youth stuffed his pack until it stretched the seams. With the weapons loaded up, he then headed for the exit the Batmobile took off from earlier when something caught his eye.
On the outskirts of town, a lone truck driver took a wide turn around a bin below Wayne Manor. Unknown to him, some thirty feet below him was the tunnel the Batmobile would travel down. Also unknown to him, a small figure waited in the thick foliage of the nearby forest with a set of eyes locked onto the trailer the man's truck pulled. Making sure his body was covered, the small figure readied itself for a timed leap to the back of the big rig. Heels dug into the rock it kneeled on with the balls of the feet ready to launch the figure's body forward. The moment the truck got within range, the figure took a running leap into the air and latched onto the back of the trailer, digging into the door with a pair of climbing claws as the truck driver continued on without any knowledge he had picked up a stowaway.
Happy Harbor
August 21
19:32 UTC
Entering the underground base for the black ops team, Kaldur quickly made his way to his day room before heading back to Atlantis. It had been a long day of staking out various criminal organizations, one thought to had been Blood Cult members but turned out to be wannabe demon worshipers. Seeking to relax with a shower, the Atlantean unholstered his water bearers as he closed in on the hallway leading to the locker room when Bart came speeding out with a churro in hand. Had he not have had super fast reflexes, he would have slammed into the team's leader. Instead, he swerved to avoid the collision and ended up behind the taller team member.
"Good to see ya, Kal my man," Bart said through a mouth full of Mexican pastry. "Crashed any modes lately?"
"Not now, Bart," Kaldur told him, a little irritated.
"What's wrong, amigo? Why are you-"
"No offense, Bart, but I just want to head back to Atlantis for the night."
"Oookay?"
Leaving the wide-eyed speedster, Kaldur took a few steps when he stopped and looked back. "Do me a favor, if Cassie comes through that zeta-"
Recognized, B, twenty one, Wonder girl. B, Twenty two, Blue Beetle.
"Cass, wait!" Running after his girlfriend, a partially de-armored Jaime could not catch up to her as the blonde flew up to the team leader.
"What was that?!" Cassie demanded as Kaldur continued on his course to the locker room. "Hey, Kaldur! I know you hear me!"
Grabbing his shoulder, Cassie forced the Atlantean to look at her. "I said what was that? What's wrong with you?"
"Stand down, Cassie," Kaldur commanded.
"Not until you tell me what that was about."
"Um, what happened?" Bart asked as he wiped his mouth clean of cinnamon.
"Leader man here went and broke a guy's arm trying to get information out of him when he knows my lasso will do the same thing." Jamming her finger in his chest, Cassie made sure to push him bask slightly to make her point. "I told you to let up. I told you my lasso will get the truth out of him and Jaime even told you his scarab could tell if he was lying. You crossed the line out there, especially when he was just going to a Dungeons and Dragons game in the park and decided to wear his stupid cloak on the bus!"
"What's Dungeons and Dragons?" Bart asked Jaime."
"Something geeks play, hermano," Jaime answered. "And Vin Desiel."
"I needed for him to understand the severity of the situation. Had he-"
Crossing her arms, Cassie narrowed her eyes. "You're just lucky we were in our civilian clothes and not mission attire. Had he known who we are and if Jaime didn't play hero when he did and got him to the hospital, we would be in big trouble. So I ask again, What has gotten into yo-"
"Everything!" Kaldur yelled in her face. "You want to know what has gotten to me? It is everything that has been happening. If you want a list, let us begin with Eddie. He is dead, killed by a cult seeking to raise some sort of god of theirs to bring about the end of the world. Then there is Fransisco, also killed by the same cult who are now closer to their goals with our two friends and Riddler accounting for three of their sacrifices. After that, our only real source of information, Lilith, refuses to cooperate with us, making me use drastic measures to get what I need from her."
Stepping up closer, Kaldur developed a stern look on his face, one he developed while working on his deep cover mission as his father's right hand man. "As I have stated before, my tactics are not to be questioned as they get the job done. However, I have decided to use more direct tactics to get what information I need. I have lost not only two teammates, but friends to this cult and I will not lose anymore. So if you do not approve of what I do, then take it up with Batman and perhaps you could take my place as team leader."
Spinning on his heel, Kaldur stomped down the corridor to the locker rooms and disappeared around the corner soon after.
"Cracking her knuckles, Cassie visibly shook from her anger. "Ooh. He needs a butt kicking for what he did. He crossed the line and wouldn't listen to anyone."
"Cass, calm down," Jaime told her. "Let him cool off. He's got a lot on his mind right now and needs time to wind down. Let him soak his head for a few minutes."
"Weren't you paying attention? He wasn't acting like the Kaldur we know. He's, he's, he's acting like he did when we fought against him. He just got through hurting someone we were supposed to protect and we're supposed to let that go because he's having a bad day?"
"We won't let it go, but we need to understand what he's going through. Put yourself in his shoes for a minute and see things from his perspective."
"Jaime," Cassie flatly said, "he hurt someone when he didn't have to. He had alternatives and chose to ignore them."
"I'm not saying what he did was right. We'll tell the League tomorrow but right now, I think the best thing for us to do is let him cool off before we bring this up again."
"I'll tell you one thing, I could lead this team better than he could."
"Well keep that in mind, chica. From how things look, he may not want to be leader anymore."
Letting out a huff, Cassie angrily shook her head and let her anger leave her. Making their way to the Zeta tubes to head home, Cassie and Jaime walked side by side, leaving Bart behind.
"Well," Bart said as he watched them leave, "glad they remembered I was still here."
Inside the showers, Kaldur leaned against the wall with only his shirt off. He didn't care if his windbreaker pants were getting wet, only that he was under a steady stream of cascading water to calm him down. He knew he messed up today. He knew there would be repercussions for what he did. But for the first time since becoming leader, he actually did not care. There were too many problems to take care of that were close to home. Two of his friends died in the span of months, adding more fallen team members to the tally since he was elected head of the team. He was now questioning his authoritative role as they were ultimately his responsibility to take care of as well as Lilith who was still at her apartment and was now more afraid of him since forcibly touching her bare arm to make her explain what she saw in greater detail. And then there was the answer to another piece of the riddle, one he felt someone was carefully protecting either knowingly or unknowingly.
Leaning against the wall with the water flowing down his body, Kaldur let out a long breath. He could feel himself failing as a leader and knew he had to step up his game. But first, he had to deal with what Lilith told him, and if there were only one thing left he was clear on, it was he would protect her by any means necessary.
Gotham City
August 21
19:51 UTC
Looking down on the city of Gotham, at least one part, a cloaked figure took stock of what was happening below the gargoyle he was perched on. Teenagers went about on dates while others hung out in alleyways either keeping to themselves or looking for trouble. Some were dressed for a night on the town to impress their significant others, while others were dressed to blend into the darkness. Some spoke quietly, others spoke brashly. None knew what was above them or seemed to care, not that it mattered to the figure.
Staying perfectly still, the cloaked individual let the increasing wind threaten to remove his covering as it shifted in direction. Unveiling a pair of dark green boots, the cloak swept back steadily and loosely flapped in the wind. Silver buttons on a utility belt reflected from the fading natural light as well as the artificial light from the city around him as his black pants blended in with the darkness almost perfectly. A dark red leather vest covered his torso with a black long sleeve shirt underneath, ending with matching green leather gloves. Standing slowly, the figure let the wind scoop his hood back, letting it fall as the cloak he once wore took on the form of a two toned cape, black on the outside and yellow on the inside.
With his head completely uncovered, Damian Wayne, son of Batman, looked out across the city from behind a green domino mask and narrowed his eyes.