Targets

Taipei Peace Summit, Taipei: 7:23pm, September 7th, 2010:

P.O.V: Jade Nguyen/Cheshire

Watching all these posh people...one of the only few things I hate about my job. Seeing people who have never fought for anything in life, and yet everything is handed to them on a silver platter. The food truck I'm in is not the best cave but it'll do for now. The arbitrator should be here soon. The mission will soon to be a go...if it wasn't for that Robin Hood wannabe. He thinks that a suit and some glasses will make you invisible, please. That's baby stuff. Not to mention the spikey red hair, making him stick out like a sore thumb. Sirens are wailing in the distance as a police escort shows up. The fancy white car pulls up to the summit as I smile. Time to go to work.

I get dressed into my gear while picking up the massive rocket launcher. While not really my style, he said to make it as outlandish and explosive as possible. Oh well, same result in the end. I aim the launcher and was about to pull the trigger, but the Robin Hood wannabe shoots an arrow into my hand, diverting the rocket up to the sky. I growl under my breath as I spot the archer, all the posh are running for their lives while the North and South Rhlesian guards protect their leaders. I jump off the food truck and bounce off someone's head as I land near the car. The guards try to take me, but I just batter them around, piss easy. I run to the car as a net is fired at me. I cut through it as the archer tackles me into the ground. I get on top of him as the rocket comes down and explodes on my food truck. Damn, I liked that truck. I glare down at the archer and ready my sai. When suddenly, I feel a cool metal wrap around my arm and body, the same is said for the archer. I look down and recognize the familiar chains. "Ah...shit." I say as both myself and the archer are pulled, roughly, along the ground. I look up and see Matthew's amused expression, guards all around us, pointing their weapons. "Havin' fun?" Matt asks sarcastically as I just drop the anger and raise my hands in surrender.

He pulls me up as he gestures to one of the guards for some handcuffs. He releases the chains and before I can even try to escape, he has cuffed me. I decided to tease him while he does. "I didn't know you were into this sort of thing." I say as he smirks. "Sure, whatever you say." He says in fake dryness, but I can see the amusement in his eyes as he pushes me to some cops, they place me in the back of the car, seeing no way that I can escape, not without drawing attention to myself, I subtly grab the small alert device in my pocket and send out a call for aid to the Master, hopefully he'll be merciful and send someone competent to assist...I only wish that he shows mercy for when I return to him.

I break from my thoughts and see out of the corner of my eye and notice Matthew staring at the mystery arbitrator...Lex Luthor? Hmm, a surprise...but a welcome one. Oh well. The more interesting...the better.

P.O.V Change: Matthew Spectre

Making eye contact with Luther, the arrogant bastard decides to smirk at me. I narrow my eyes and make my way over to Roy. The Taipei Police wanted to take him but I decided to intervene. I speak in Chinese Mandarin to the officers. "Leave him be. He's with me." I say as they look at me incredulously. "We have confirmation." I hear Luthor say as he walks up beside me. "This one is Green Arrow's pal, Speedy." He says as I feel Roy's frustration. "It's Red Arrow." He says as I mentally face palm. "He must be questioned." One of the officers says as I step in. "He will be. I didn't know that he was going to be here, but I promise you officer, I'll find out why." I say as Luthor and Roy look at both of us. The office turns back to the other cops and orders them to release Roy. "I don't need any favors from you, Rider." Roy says to me as I snarl and grab him by the scruff of his neck. I throw him away and out of sight from everyone. "Sorry about him. I'll make sure that he doesn't cause any trouble." I say as the officer nods. "Ghost Rider, a word?" Luthor asks as I reluctantly nod. He may be a criminal and an asshole, but he is the arbitrator, might as well get on his good side. Luthor, his assistant Mercy and I, all walk over to where Roy is. And he doesn't look too happy. "I didn't need your help." He says to me as Luthor chuckles. "Your friend is the only that vouched for you, young man. Or do you want to go with the young lady and be put behind some bars?" Luthor says as Roy moves past me and gets in his face. "You may have everyone here fooled Luthor, even him. But I know what you are." Roy says as I push him away. "You need to calm down." I say as he scoffs. "What are you? Luthor's new lap dog?" Roy says as I narrow my eyes at him. "I'm here for security, for the peace summit. The League wasn't available so Batman sent me. And now that you're here, I have to keep an eye on you and to make sure that the summit goes smoothly. And like it or not, Luthor is the arbitrator, so pull the fucking stick out of your ass and get with the program. Or you'll spend the rest of the summit in a Taipei prison cell." I say threateningly to him. I can feel that he wants to argue but I make my eyes glow, Roy finally backs down. "Good."

I turn back to Luthor who is really amused. "Now...what do you want to talk about?" I say as I walk away, Luthor follows close behind. "I thank you for defending me. It was much appreciated." He says cockily as I grab and force him into the wall. Mercy pull out a gun and points it at me. "I'm not here to be your errand boy Luther nor am I here to kiss your ass. You are here to make sure that a war doesn't break out. I'm here to make sure that you do." I say as I let him go and fix up his tie. "The assassin was Cheshire, a known operative of the Shadows. If the Shadows want you dead, then they will send another after you. You behave and be the good little puppy that you are and maybe...I'll make sure that you don't die." I say as I walk away. I can feel his anger at the insult. I might have to protect him, but that doesn't mean I won't annoy him.

I enter the lavish building, I glance behind and see Luthor and Roy enter as well. I make my way to the crowd as I scan around for any souls that could pose a threat. The news lady states that Luthor is the only hope for peace. I wish that wasn't true but yet, here we are. "Why should either side trust you?" Roy says to Luthor as I listen in on their conversation. "Because Lexcorp is a company founded on peaceful enterprise for all humanity." He says as I scoff. "Cut the act, Luthor. I got intel that connects Lexcorp to the sale of weapons in both Rhlesians." Roy says. "War profit is pocket change compared to the billions to be made investing in a peaceful, united Rhlesia. And isn't it better to have peace even if that scoundrel Lex Luthor profits from it?" He says arrogantly as I step in. "You might not survive long enough to make that profit. Like I said before, the Shadows will try again." I say as he looks at me. "Which begs the question? Who hired the Shadows?" He says as I laugh. "You have a lot of enemies. Both super and mundane. Got any ideas?" I ask sarcastically as he glares at me. "Is he really the target? Or is his death just a convenient way to sabotage the summit?" Roy asks as I scoff. "Possibly both. The Shadows never do anything halfway." I say as Luthor puts his hands on mine and Roy's shoulders. "Allow me to hire you both to find out?"

We turn to Luthor as Roy growls at him. "Your money has blood on it and I'm not here to make a buck." Roy says as I follow up. "I'm already here to ensure that the summit goes without a hitch. And I'm not a mercenary, so pass." I say as Luthor laughs. "So, you'll provide your services, but for free? I could live with that, heroes." He says mockingly as he walks off. "I'm no hero." I whisper under my breath. I turn to Roy and pull him out of the building. We walk over to a secluded spot. "That went well." I say as Roy scoffs. "You could have done something. I know that you don't follow a lot of rules. Killing people seems to be something your used too." Roy says as I glare at him. "Killing Luthor is what the Shadows want. And while I'm not afraid of killing, this summit can't have any interruptions. The peace of Rhlesia is more important. Especially more important than your pride." I say as Roy glare at me. "And what is that supposed to mean?" He asks as I chuckle, like when a child amuses you. "You let your pride and your hero arrogance get the better of you when you spoke to Luthor. Whether you like it or not, doesn't matter what he's done, he is the arbitrator here. His motives, we can figure out later. Right now, we need to get answers. You stay by Luthor and make sure that no one kills him. I'll speak to Cheshire." I say but Roy stops me. "No way, I'm letting you near the assassin." He says as I make my eyes glow and let Zarathos speak through me. "And you're going to stop me?" He says but Roy backs off. "Stick close to Luthor." I say as I approach a Taipei officer, putting him tense with unease. "Excuse me. Where was the assassin taken?" I ask him. "Station, just downtown." He says fearfully. Guess word of the Ghost Rider has reached this corner of the world. Makes my job easier.

Holding Cell, Police Station, Downtown Taipei

"Aren't you going to ask me anything?" Jade says as she does a kata slash ballerina dance. Keeping my eyes from wandering is proving to be exceptionally difficult. She knows that I'm watching, and just refuses to stand still, knowing that it is fucking with me. "You know what I'm after. Whether you tell me is up to you." I say. "Hmm, I do know what you want. But I won't tell you." She says as she raises her foot and leg to my eye line. "You know, I can force it out of you." I say as my eyes glow, but she turns around with a chuckle. "Ah, ah, handsome. My eyes are precious to me." She says teasingly. Damnit, is that how you want to play, huh? "Who hired you?" I ask as she smiles. "Shadows." That's helpful. "Who hired them?" I ask while crossing my arms. "I don't ask." She says while winking at me. "Come now, Jade. Surely, we can come to an agreement. You tell me who hired you and I'll let you go." I say as she gets close to the bars. "Oh baby, you know that is not how it works." I'm trying to be nice but for whatever reason, she is not letting me help, and it's starting to piss me off. "And the endgame? Who's the target? Luthor or the summit itself?" I ask as she makes a mock hand gun. "Two birds...one stone." She says while clicking her tongue.

"Where are your little sidekick friends? Are they doing well? They're always fun to play with. Especially, what's her name, Artemis? Yes, Artemis. I like her." She says as I feel Jade's hope at the 'are they doing well' question, especially pertaining to Artemis. I nod at the change in conversation and smile happily at her. "She is doing well. She is getting along with her teammates, she's happy." I feel her happiness at knowing that Artemis is going alright but also a slight loathing at herself, possibly due to the choices and decisions that led to where the two sisters are now. I know she wants to know more but I'm on a deadline, back to my questions. "What's the play here, Jade? Last time I'm going to ask." I say with a slight growl as she pulls me closer to the bars. "That's too bad. I like playing with you. Always...dangerous." She says seductively. She drops to the floor while holding the bars close. I look up and hearing a slight ticking. "Oh shit." The wall behind Jade explodes as I'm sent flying. I crash into the wall with such force that the stone ceiling crashes down onto me. I groan in pain and growl in anger. Letting down of Zarathos's power through I push the massive stone off and see Jade and Sportsmaster. The pair of them slide down the building as I contact Roy. "Roy, Cheshire escaped. Sportsmaster is here." I say to him. "Right, I'm coming." He says. "No, stay close to Luthor, they could be coming after him." I order back to him. "I don't take orders from you." He says as he turns off his earpiece. Goddamn it. I run to the blown out hole and look down, both Jade and Sportsmaster are running along the roof of thr building across the street. I jump down and across from the hole and land with a solid thud on the roof, luckily I held back some of my strength, or I would have gone through. I run at full speed at the two assassins, Hellfire fueling my muscles and reflexes. I see a helicopter in the distance as I pick up speed, I notice Jade and Sportsmaster jump and latch on another building across another street as I swing my chain and pull myself across, landing a few metres behind them. "I admire persistence but..." Jade says as she throws a shuriken but I catch it. I notice the little glowing light on it. "You fucking bit..." I don't finish the sentence as the shuriken explodes in my face, blasting half of my face to hell, exposing burnt muscles and charred bone. I shake off the blow as I continue running after them. They get in the chopper as it begins to ascend. I throw a chain at the wheel leg as it wraps around. Jade and Sportsmaster look at me as I let Zarathos take control.

P.O.V Change: Ghost Rider

Burning away the rest of Matthew's skin. I pull on the chain as the chopper gets closer. "Come here!" I scream at them as they are just a few metres from me. "You go nowhere." I growl out. Sportsmaster pulls a javelin and throws it at me, it explodes which sends me flying, the chain comes loose as the chopper flies away. I get to my feet and brush the debris and dust off of me. I look up and watch as the chopper flies away. I pull the chain back in and wrap it around my arm as I feel Roy close by. "That was embarrassing." He says while laughing. I walk over to him and pick him up by the neck, his feet dangle from the ground. "You didn't listen to Matthew and now no one is defending Luthor, you were supposed to stay behind!" I shot at him. "Ok, I get it, I messed up. But I did put a tracker on the chopper." He says in-between breaths as I loosen my hold but still keep him up. He pulls up a phone with the tracker, red dot showing that the chopper is stopping not far from where we are. I put him down but pull him close to my face. "If you ever disobey an order again...I'll make sure that you never walk again." I growl as I let him go. He backs off from me as we head in the direction of where the tracker is.

P.O.V Change: Matthew Spectre

We follow the tracker to an island temple on one of the cities canals. We climb to the roof for an advantage. Roy tried to get a closer look but I pull him back. "What was that for?" He whispers to me as I roll my eyes. "You stick out like a sore thumb...fucking redheads." I whisper that last bit as I take his binoculars and look down. I see Jade and Sportsmaster talking, judging by the feelings I'm getting, Jade is pissed but remaining calm. Sportsmaster is feeling nothing except annoyance and a tinge of malice for Jade. Damn. I see them look at the temple as I zoom the binoculars and see Ra's Al Ghul. I feel Zarathos get angry but I reel him in. "Remember what happened last time. Stay calm, stay in control." I say to Zarathos who grumbles but does eventually calm down. I see Ra's talk before he suddenly looks directly at me. "Great." I say sarcastically as all three of them look in my direction. "And there goes our cover." Roy says sarcastically as I push the binoculars into his chest with force. He groans in pain as I jump up onto my feet and throw my chains directly at Ra's. Sportsmaster intercepts and deflects the chains, for which I swing back into him. He is wrapped and thrown to the side as Jade runs up and finds her way to the roof. Jade and Roy engage in combat as I run to support him, only to find Sportsmaster pole vault in front of me. "I have some personal beef with you." He says as he pulls out a hammer fial. I grin and charge forward. He swings the hammer as I duck and land two strong blows to his diaphragm and his sternum. He groans in pain as he holds his gut. I'm on him again as he dodges my fists. I swing my chains out, lit with Hellfire as they swipe at his feet. He dodges by the skin of his teeth as the roof catches flame.

I feel the terror that he feels and I love it. I look over and see Roy having trouble with Jade as I jump down to the ground. Moving past Sportsmaster, I swing the chain to the roof as I pull myself up. I stand behind Jade, with Roy in front. She looks back at me and turns to Roy. Sportsmaster jumps up out of nowhere and engages Roy. Jade throws a smoke bomb in my direction which I ignore. However, the smoke is not smoke. I feel drowsy and tired. I can feel Zarathos purging the drug from my system as I see a blurry image of Sportsmaster and Jade standing before a still Roy. I crawl over to them as I get to my knees. "That...was...un...called for." I say as the last of the drug is purged from me. I throw my chains at Roy who seems to break from his...whatever it was. I grab him as I throw him off the roof. Sportsmaster and Jade look at me with wide eyes as I throw them the bird. "See ya, fuckers." I say as I fall backwards into the water.

I come up to surface as the surrounding water starts evaporating into steam. I swim over to the bank and see Roy coughing up water. "You alright?" I ask as I use Hellfire to dry me off. "Alright? You threw me off the roof! What the hell is wrong with you!?" He shouts at me as I pull him up. "You're fine. Get over it. You were outnumbered and...I don't know what you were doing but you become a liability, so I got you out of there." I say as I walk to the street. "A liability? I'm not a fucking liability." He says angrily as he tugs my arm. I turn and hold him up by his neck. He starts choking as I stare angrily at him. "You stood there, absolutely still. If I didn't pull you away, you would've been killed. You became a liability and because of that, you're done." I say as I drop him. He gets his breathing back as he looks at me. "What do you mean, 'done'?" He says. "I'm taking you off the mission. You don't listen, you insult the ones that we are supposed to defend, you try to do everything yourself, and when you got surrounded, you lost focus, opening up yourself to get killed. No wonder the League didn't let you join. You're a liability. And your pride is going to be the death of you." I say in anger as I walk away. My anger is nothing compared to Roy's. He charges me with a blind punch which I catch and flip him onto his back. "You are impulsive." I say as he kicks up and swings a kick at me. I catch it and throw him away. "You disobey orders." I continue as he swings again, I bob and weave away from his jabs, hooks and kicks, with a wild haymaker overreaching its mark, it leaves him open, and I throw a short punch to his gut. He bends over in pain as I lift him by his hair. "You cry when things don't go your way." I say before headbutting him and kicking him away. He lands on his back as he groans in pain. "You're a liability. And if you don't grow up then no one is going to take you seriously. I certainly don't. And neither does the League." I say as I walk off. Glad I got that off my chest. I reach up to my comm and contact Kaldur. "Matt? What's the issue?" He says as I sigh and look back at Roy. "Get to Taipei as soon as you can and call Green Arrow. Tell him to come and pick up his sidekick." I say as I turn off the comm.

Luthor's Quarters and Office:

I walk up to the doors of Luthor's residence for the summit and see two guard standing out front. I go to walk past them but one of them, the taller of the two, decided to get touchy. "Hey! The hell you think you're going?" He says a so look down at his hand and see a symbol, eight interlocking swords in a figure-eight. The symbol of Shadows. (1) I look at the man who gazes at me. I read his soul and I can tell that he is afraid, but remains calm nonetheless. "Let him in. I want to hear what he has to say." I hear Luthor say from within the office as the big man drops his hand. I walk past him and enter the office. When the doors close, I speak. "The League of Shadows went you dead." I say to him. His assistant is currently helping him with his tie as he looks at me with a raised eyebrow. "Doesn't every League?" He says sarcastically as I roll my eyes and lean on the window. "This isn't a joke, Luthor. It's not just Cheshire coming after you, Sportsmaster has also been hired. Soon enough, if not now, more will come. Ra's Al Ghul is very persistent on seeing your head on a pike." I tell him which he just chuckles. "Can't say I'm surprised. Ra's is something of a competitor of mine." He says as I look at him. "This 'competitor is sending two assassins to deliver him your head. If I were you, I would be taking this more seriously." I say. "Your worry is appreciated but the summit can't be held off any longer, we'll increase security. You coming?" He says as he goes to walk off. I step beside him and hold him back. He looks at me with a 'are you serious' look. "How well do you trust the men outside your door?" I ask him as he smirks. "In my line of work...I rarely trust anyone." He says while pulling Mercy closer to him. "Good...call them in." I say as he shrugs. "Weathers... O'Connell. Get in here." Luthor says as the two guards enter the office. "How can we be of service, Mr Luthor?" The smaller guard says. Luthor looks at me as I point to the big man. "What's your name?" I ask him, I see a little dribble of sweat fall down his temple. "Tyrone...Tyrone Weathers." He says as I gesture him forward. He walks up to me and Luthor as we stand to face each other, Luthor is standing off to the side, looking confused between both of us. I look at Weathers as he stares back. As fast as lightning...I reach up and snap his neck.

Mercy pulls out her gun as does O'Connell. Luthor looks bewildered as I step down to Weather's body and reveal the figure-eight tattoo on his wrist. "Seems the Shadows are closer than you think." I say to Luthor as I stare at O'Connell. His arms are shaking and sweat is dropping from his brow. I rush in front of him and grab the gun, it goes off into my hand as it burns through Hellfire. I grab him by the neck and force him to his knees, my eyes burning bright. "I didn't know, I swear! He only told me to look the other way when things go south." He says on a panic as I pull his face closer to my mine own, the glow of my eyes illuminating his entire face. "I only thought it was for the summit not anything else. Please don't kill me!" He says in terror as I relax Zarathos's power and drop him to the ground in front of Luthor. He looks at me as I stare back. "He's telling the truth." I say as the man breathes a sigh of relief. I light a chain and swing it at O'Connell's neck. He screams in agony for a split second before his body burns and his soul is sent to Hell, only a charred skeleton remains. Luthor looks at me with a raised eyebrow. "He liked touching little boys...some didn't make it home." I say as I wrap my chain around my arm and leave the office. Leaving a bewildered Luthor and a terrified Mercy.

I arrive at the meet area and see Kaldur and Roy standing there. Roy looks like, he has seen better days. I look around and see no Green Arrow. "Why is he still here? Where's Arrow?" I ask him as he shakes his head. "He got caught up with League business. I know that you don't like it, but three is better than two, we'll have more of a chance." Kaldur replies as I nod my head, reluctantly. "Fine...let's go. You. Stay here." I say to Kaldur and Roy respectively. "But I can help." He says as I shove him back, my eyes glowing with anger. "You stay here!" Zarathos says through me as he shoves Roy back on his ass. I regain control as glare down at him. "Keep your eyes open, I want to know when and how the Shadows get in, got it?" I order to Roy who gets up and nods, though with a scowl of his face. I nod as myself and Kaldur head to peace summit. "Did you have to be that aggressive?" Kaldur says as I sigh. "He doesn't listen to words nor advice. Violence and force are about the only things that he does understand." I say as I walk ahead.

We arrive at the meet as Kaldur fixes his civilian wear. "Stick close to the civilians, don't want to be caught with our backs turned." I say as he nods and integrates in the crowd. I walk over to where Luthor is as I feel a familiar presence. A short woman passes me as something enters my hand. I look back and see the woman gone as I open the paper. 'Get ready'. The note says as I recognised the handwriting. Jade. I look around and can't seem to find her. "Looking for someone?" Luthor says as I shake my head. "I thought I saw someone familiar. Haven't been getting enough sleep lately." I say as he chuckles. "And I have you protecting me...wonderful." He stares as I growl under my breath. I look around and catch a glimpse of Jade but her skills at blending with the crowd are far to great and I can't waste time with searching with Zarathos's power, got to keep my head in the game and focused. But I do grit my teeth of how Jade was able to get in without Roy spotting her. Either Jade is better then I assume or Roy is ignoring my order...both seem to be at play.

I stand behind Luthor as he delegates between the two Rhlesian leaders. "Unification is unthinkable!" The leader-general of North Rhlesia says as the Southern President follows up. "Our people have nothing in common anymore. To unify is bring disorder and chaos to the streets." Luthor is able to placate the two. "Gentlemen, this is all rhetoric. Despite your differences, you still share an appreciation for many things. Such as the exquisite art of the Rhlesian Tea Ceremony." Got to give Luthor credit, he may be a criminal and a major asshole...but he knows how to talk someone out of something. Wouldn't surprise me if he entered politics just for the talks rather than anything else. I look ahead of him and see a figure coming into the crowd. An elaborate dress up and some makeup, while also pushing a cart. While she can blend her body into the crowd, she can't hide her soul from me. "Aqualad, on your six." I say as I press the comm. Kaldur turns and points one of his water bearers at her. I can just see her face contort into a scowl. I move beside Luthor as I loosen my chains onto the table and the floor. She smirks and sends the cart towards Kaldur as I light my chains. Kaldur brings the water from the cups of the leaders and their politicians. He forms a shield as the bomb goes off. Jade is sent flying as the force of the bomb, blows out the window. Kaldur struggles against the shield but nonetheless is able to hold it.

I jump forward and stand by Kaldur as he rips the remaining tatters of his civilian wear. I see Jade get back to her feet as she looks at us. "It's over...surrender." I say as I make my eyes glow. "You would think so." She says cockily as she stands tall, a chopper hovers up behind her as Sportsmaster steps out, as well as more Shadows. "Can you take Sportsmaster?" I ask Kaldur as he nods. "Take him, capture him if you can." I say. I hear the Southern President speak as guard charge forward at the ninjas. Kaldur charges and flips over Jade before engaging Sportsmaster. I stare down Jade as we circle each other. My chains leaving a trail of molten fire along the ground. "So...you wanted me all to yourself. Should I be creeped out...or flattered?" She says teasingly as I twirl a chain. "Flattered...it might make me go easy on you." I say before swinging my chains at her, she dodges and moves closer to me, her sai's fluidly dance in a deadly game of death, I block and deflect the blades with ease before whipping a chain up, leaving scorch marks in the floor, she leans her body to the right as the chain misses her by an inch. "You're holding back, where is the flaming skull and all that?" She says as I smirk. "Wouldn't be a challenge...not like it is anyway." I say as our 'dance' plays again. Fiery chains arc over her as she expertly dodges and weaves between eh deadly chains, I dodge with little effort at he stand, slices and technical strikes. She throws a spinning wheel kick which I fuck under, only to look up and see her looking to slam both blades into my neck and back, I react with superhuman speed and wrap the chains around her arms and the sais, pulling her in close to me at the same time. "And besides...I don't want to have to put you back together like last time." I whisper quietly with a teasing smirk, I chuckle internally at seeing her snarling in anger at me. She breaks from the lock and kicks me away, giving her space to throws one of the sais at me. I deflect the weapon away with a flashy chain twirl. She changes at me as I whip the chains back around my arms, I deflect and block every strike that she throws, whether it's from the sai, or from her extensive knowledge of martial arts. She ducks and spins around my left backhand, turning the sai in reserve grip and goes to stab me in the knee but I react quickly and catch the blade. I stare at her as I light my hand with a tinge of Hellfire. She yelps in pain before backing away, leaving the sai in my hand. I melt the blade before throwing the molten steel to the ground. She pulls a collapsible sword out as she stands at the ready, sword and sai in hand. She swings the sword as I dodge out of the way, I grip her arm and spin her around, punching her in the stomach, doubling over in pain, but reels back for an elbow to my jaw. I reel back in shock as she goes to stab me but I deflect her away. I notice the other sword, strapped to her back as I rip it off. She turns in shock as the sword opens for me. "So...swordfight, huh?" I say as I control Hellfire to light the blade. No instead of flaming chains...a flaming sword will do. She backs up in slight fear as I hold the blade out. "Want it back?" I say teasingly as she feints a strike which I deflect. Her sword's blade, connecting with the Hellfire, starts to heat up and glow bright orange. I swing the sword as she dodges and swings back, I deflect the blow and throw a massive overhead strike. She stops my sword and holds the flat of her blade against it as the Hellfire starts to cut through her blade's steel. Her eyes widened in shock as she moved my blade away and rushed away from me. I twirl the blade in reserve grip and throw it like a spear at her. She ducks under as the sword sinks into the wall.

"Aqualad! Let's finish this!" I hear Roy shout as I look up and see him in the rafters, pointing his bow at the sprinklers. He fires an arrow at one, which explodes in contact. All of them start to go off as steam is coming off my body. I see that Kaldur is right at home with so much water. He raises his water bearers as all the water forms into a colossal sea serpent like creature. The water snake rams into the remaining ninjas, it's attention eventually turns to Sportsmaster. Jade jumps in front of him and puts her mask on. She throws a pellet into the ground as a massive cloud of smoke fills the hall. Roy jumps down beside us as they clear their throats of the smoke. I focus my eyes and reach my senses through the cloud and feel that Jade and Sportsmaster are long gone.

A remaining ninja jumps at Luthor but mercy stands in front of them as her arm opens into a cannon and fires at the ninja. The shot burns through the ninjas sternum, exposing his bones and burnt lungs and heart. Brutal, even for me. I turn back around and see that both Jade and Sportsmaster are gone. I lower my Hellfire levels as the battle had died down. Kaldur puts his water bearers away, Roy has holstered his bow across his back. We turn to see Mercy's arm close up, hiding the cannon from view. "Gives new meaning to the 'arms race', doesn't she?" Luthor says arrogantly as I roll my eyes. Of course, shoe off his new toy for the leaders. Invest in peaceful Rhlesia. Yeah...with weapons of mass destruction. Sounds like a great idea. We see the Rhlesian leaders admire the technology and thank Luthor for saving their lives. "Fucking greedy bastards." I say. "They own him their lives?" Roy says as I stare at him. His eyes widen as I walk up to him. "You disobeyed a direct order...again. While I'm not happy that you did it...thanks for the help." I say as I place a hand on his shoulder. "You showed courage, I'll give you that. But don't make it a recurring theme." I say, a little bit threateningly.

We walk out of the summit. The Rhlesian leaders decided on a treaty. Thank God for small mercies. "Can't believe we did a solid for Lex Luthor." Roy says. "Nothing we did was for Luthor. I couldn't have cared less if Luthor was killed tonight but the peace summit was more important." I say as Kaldur follows up. "Matt is right. Not the killing part. We did this for peace. Beyond that, Ra's and the Shadows wanted to break Rhlesian into all-out war. Now with the treaty, the contract is rendered moot." Kaldur says as I shake my head. "Men like Ra's don't stop at a contract being moot. If he wanted too, he could send an assassin to Luthor's residency, and we wouldn't know until his body is discovered. But...we can never be sure. Maybe it's just my paranoia slipping in...oh my god, I'm turning into Batman." I say as Kaldur and Roy laugh at my joke.

"But in all seriousness, is it over though?" Roy says as we both turn to him. "I heard what Sportsmaster said. Do you really think there is a mole on your team? Feeding him intel?" He says as I glance at Kaldur. A mole. "I can't rule out the possibility...we will investigate... quietly." He says as he glances at me. I nod my head in agreement. "Not tell them?" Roy asks incredulously. "I don't want to accuse them with baseless suspicions." Kaldur says as I follow up. "And if there is a mole, we don't want to tip them off." Roy throws a mock salute at us. "Good luck with that." He says as he walks off. I turn to Kaldur as he turns away from me. "You don't approve of my choice?" He says as I put my hand on his shoulder. "Your choice is the oy logical one. Sportsmaster dropped news on you. It could be a way to divide us...but if it's true...than we must act cautiously. The team will not like this when they find out, but I will back you up my friend." I say as he smiles at me. "Thank you, Matt. I appreciate that." He says as I nod. "Let's go home. I'm starving." I say as he laughs.

Luthor's Office, Taipei: No P.O.V

"That went well. Both Li and Tseng were quite impressed with Mercy's equipment." Lex Luthor says as he pouts two cups of a special brandy. "And are quite literally buying into the peace. Our plan to ensure the eventual reunification of Rhlesia, under Lex Corp's political and economic guidance was a...complete success." Luthor states as he passes a cup to his guest... Ra's Al Ghul. "And thus, another corner of the world...sees the Light." Ra's says as both men drink their cups. "You are unnerved about something. What is it?" Ra's asks as Luthor brings up the clip of Matthew killing both of his guards. "While the assassin being so close was uncalled for. The Ghost Rider showed me that he is a formidable adversary. He is cunning, ruthless and intimidating. I'll be one to admit, he scared the shit out of me." Luthor says as Ra's hums. "The Ghost Rider is formidable...which will make his turn to the Light the more satisfying...if not, we have ways of eliminating him, for good." Ra's says with an evil smile which Luthor matches.

A.N: (1): Picture the Verrat symbol from the TV show Grimm.