A.N. Here is Part 3 of the Anime Cinematic Universe! This story starts off around the same time as Sentinel: Odyssey starts, just for reference.

Let'sgetiton!


Disclaimer: OCMixmaster27 does not own any of the franchises represented in this story apart from original characters. This work is made for nonprofit entertainment purposes only.

"Hello there!": Speech.

'This is gonna be fun': Thoughts.

[All systems are go!]: Mechanical Speech

{The Master awaits you.}: Foreign Speech

"How Dare You!": Monster/Demon Speech, Special Technique


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Night Raid: Assassin's Ball

Chapter 1: Shadows of the Past


Location: Manhattan, New York City, abandoned warehouse

Date: June 12th, 2016

Night has fallen over the bustling city of New York, though that doesn't stop the flurry of activity that consumes the town on a regular basis. The city lights swallow up the stars above and illuminate the crews of people working around the clock to keep New York running smoothly and efficiently.

At least, that's the case for the legal businesses.

Tucked away in a dark corner of Manhattan sits a manufacturing warehouse abandoned long ago. However, several small lights shine inside the building, indicating some form of activity in the building. In front of one of the side doors stand two thuggish men carrying semi-automatic weapons, appearing to guard the building.

One of the guards turns to his comrade. "Hey."

"Hm?" answers the other guard.

"You ever wonder why we're here?" the first guard asks.

His friend adopts a thoughtful look. "It's one of life's great mysteries, isn't it? Why are we here? I mean, are we the product of some scientific coincidence, or is there really a God watching everything? You know, with a plan for us and stuff. I don't know, man, but it keeps me up at night."

As the guard finishes explaining his personal dilemma, he notices his friend giving him a confused look.

"…What?! No, I mean why are we standing outside of a warehouse in the dead of night like a couple of lemmings for hours on end?"

"Oh! Uh…yeah," says the second guard as he rubs his neck and turns away in embarrassment.

The first guard raises an eyebrow. "What was all that stuff about God?"

The second guard blushes and coughs. "Uh, nothing."

"You wanna talk about it?"

"Nope."

"You sure?"

"Yep."

An awkward silence falls on the duo.

"Seriously though, why are we out here?" the first guard asks. "We've been doing this guard shit for months now."

"That's because the product need protection," the second guard explains.

"Yeah, but the reason the boss chose this abandoned warehouse is because nobody in their damn minds would come snooping around an area like this, plus the pigs don't even patrol this part of town on a regular basis. That means that night after night, we're out here standing around doing absolutely nothing for the whole fricking night, when I could be spending that time sleeping, instead of trying to do so when the sun is blasting in my face. This is not what I signed up for, man!" the first guard rants.

"You know what? I agree with you," says the second guard. "I joined up with Black Mask's crew so I could acquire some fine bitches and even finer greens. Then, the boss and the whole damn crew get kicked out of Gotham, and now we're standing in this dark alley with nothing to shoot at but rats."

"Well, I guess now we don't have to worry about some fool in a costume trying to beat the shit out of us every night, so that's a plus," the first guard admits.

"I don't know, man. I heard about this guy with a bow and arrow taking out the boss' bases the past few months."

"You mean that Green Arrow knockoff in the black suit? That's just an urban legend."

The second guard gives his partner an incredulous look. "Really? Batman was an urban legend, and we all know what hap-PBPBPBPBPBPBPBP!"

The first guard flinches when he sees a bright projectile slam into his partner mid-sentence, causing the man to seize up as streams of energy surround his body. The first guard barely has time to lift up his weapon before a second projectile hits him as well, causing him to spasm and collapse to the ground along with his comrade.

A figure suddenly lands in front of them in a crouch. He's wearing an all-black tactical suit with a hood over his head. His face is concealed by a black balaclava with lenses covering his eyes. In his right hand is a bow with a beam of light acting as the bowstring. The light beam dissipates, and the bow collapses in on itself to create a small tube.

The figure clips the tube to his belt. He takes a moment to regard the two twitching thugs.

"Boring conversation, anyways," the figure murmurs as he steps past the guards and approaches the door. A quick picking of the lock and he's inside the warehouse.

Inside, a group of gangsters are busy unpacking a U-Haul truck full of large crates. They open up the crates, revealing packages full of illegal drugs and narcotics. The thugs prepare the packages for transport throughout the city.

They are unaware of the figure silently moving through the rafters of the warehouse.

The figure stops behind a vertical beam and analyzes the scene playing out underneath him, taking a head count of every thug in the building. He pulls out the tube, which expands back into a bow, light string included. He levels the bow in front of him and pulls back the string. As he pulls, a glowing arrow-shaped projectile materializes out of thin air and rests perfectly in the bow.

He aims the arrow at the inside of the truck. He takes a deep calming breath, then releases the string.

Fwip!

The light arrow shoots through the building, over the heads of the unsuspecting thugs, and straight into the half-emptied truck bed.

BOOM!

The thugs are blown away by the truck's sudden and violent explosion. After a few moments, they recover and raise themselves off the ground. They watch in horror as half of their precious cargo goes up in smoke. The group quickly looks around for the source of the explosion.

One of them notices the figure standing in the rafters and points at him. "Up there!"

The rest of the gang turn their heads and see the figure quickly move across the rafters, bow in hand.

"Shit! It's that hero! Waste him!" one of the thugs calls out. The rest of the group begins opening fire on the mysterious archer, who effortlessly avoids the hail of bullets as he zig-zags across the rafters.

The archer jumps off of a beam and pulls the glowing string of his bow. In a move that would stun most men, he fires off light arrows one after another in such a rapid succession, he easily releases four arrows in under two seconds. The arrows knock out the overhead lights in the warehouse, engulfing the building in darkness. The archer uses the covering darkness to hide behind a piece of old machinery.

He then pulls out a smartphone with a pair of earbuds attached to it and puts the earbuds into his ears. He scrolls through the dimly lit screen as if he's trying to choose something.

"Spread out! Find this fool!" The apparent leader of the group of thugs calls out, signaling the rest of the gang to venture throughout the building, searching for the hooded assailant. They check around every bit of machinery and every stack of crates in the area.

The leader feels fear course through him as the seconds tick by. He's heard rumors about this "Night Arrow" character attacking the boss' crews and ruining their business.

He decides to put a brave face on and taunt the hero. "Come on out, hero! Come out and play!"

"Keep your pants on! I'm trying to pick some music here!"

After recovering from the shock of hearing the hero's voice echo throughout the warehouse, the gangsters become confused at just what the hero said.

"What?!" the leader cries out in confusion.

"Music! You know, to kick your asses with!" the hero answers. "What do you guys think?! Should I pick something I can dance to, or maybe some rock?!"

The leader grits his teeth at the audacity of the man they're hunting. "How about you choose a funeral march?! You know, for when we turn your ass to grass!" he calls out as the gang moves deeper into the warehouse.

Unaware that the hooded hero known as Night Arrow is hiding right behind them.

"Rock it is," says the hero as he shrugs and makes a selection on his phone.

(Insert Music: The Damned – Neat Neat Neat)

His choice made, the hero knocks an arrow, turns the corner, and launches the arrow at the center of the group. The arrow explodes like a flashbang, blinding and disorienting the gang. Night Arrow takes the opportunity and fires off several more arrows, knocking out more of the gangsters. He then rushes forward and shoots the gun out of the leader's hand. The leader only has a moment to register the missing gun before he notices a figure approaching him. The leader throws a wild haymaker, but Night Arrow effortlessly dodges the strike and uses his bow as a staff and slams it into the gangster's gut, knocking the wind out of him. As the leader doubles over, Night Arrow sweeps the feet out from underneath him and sends him to the ground. Before the leader can fully register the fall, a light arrow sends him painfully into La-La-Land.

By the time that the rest of the gang recovers from the initial flashbang, half of their group is down, including their leader. They fire at the hero, who runs and dives behind a stack of crates. During the dive, he launches an arrow that hits another thug right in the knee.

Behind the stack, Night Arrow smirks underneath his balaclava at the sound of the thug collapsing in pain. "Sounds like your adventuring days are over, huh?"

The three remaining gangsters disregard their writhing comrade and surround the stack. They swing around the stack to fill the hero with lead.

But the hero is nowhere to be found.

"Hey, fellers!"

The three gangsters turn around and see the hooded hero upside down in the air with three light arrows nocked and loaded. Before they can fire their guns, the arrows hit their bodies, seizing them up and knocking them out while the hero gracefully lands in a crouch.

Night Arrow dusts himself off and admires his work. He is seemingly unaware of the injured gangster, who has somewhat recovered and is now approaching the hero with a bat in his hands. The gangster screams as he raises the bat above his head and swings it at the hero. Unfortunately for him, Night Arrow simply raises his bow above his head with the glowing bow string facing up.

The result is the bat descending down and being sliced in half by the seemingly delicate string.

The gangster stares dumbly at the short smoldering stick that was once his bat.

"Rule #1 for sneak attacks; don't yell," Night Arrow states in amusement before punching the thug square in the face and sending him into unconsciousness. "Thus endeth the lesson."

(End Music)

Clap! Clap! Clap!

Night Arrow turns and sees a man wearing a black skull-like mask and a white business suit standing at the other end of the warehouse, slowly clapping his hands. A dozen more gangsters armed with AR-15s stand behind their boss.

"Bravo, Night Arrow. Bravo," Black Mask says slowly with a smug look on his face. "I knew it was worth it to bring some backup on this particular delivery. You see, having grown up most of my life in Gotham City, I'm quite familiar with having to deal with freaks in costumes with weird powers and weapons. I mean, really, did you honestly expect me to just sit by and let you…ruin…my…"

Black Mask trails off of his speech as he notices the hero in front of him tapping his foot in a rhythmic pattern. The crime lord hears a faint music coming from Night Arrow's head, which is also nodding slightly to a beat.

"…Are you even listening to what I'm saying right now?" Black Mask asks the hero with no small amount of irritation his voice.

"Don't worry! I'm following along with your monologue! I can read your lips!" Night Arrow answers in an exaggerated loud voice.

Black Mask's eye twitches with barely contained rage. "Screw this. Will somebody just kill this–"

Fwip!

Black Mask and his crew just barely duck their heads to avoid the light arrow that shoots past them. The flash of light behind them is disregarded as the gangsters lift their heads back up and turn to shoot at the hero in front of them.

Only to find no trace of him in front of them.

"WHERE THE HELL DID HE GO?!" Black Mask shouts in anger.

"Peekaboo!" Fwip!

Black Mask turns to regard the voice behind him–

BOOM!

–only to be blown back by a bright explosion, along with his crew.

After a few moments, Black Mask's sight slowly returns, though there's a prevalent ringing in his ears. He groans as he groggily struggles to raise himself up to his feet. He looks around and sees almost all of his men down and unconscious. One of his henchmen tries to stand up as well, but a bright projectile hits the henchman and knocks him back down. The ringing in his ears clearing up and the reality of his situation settling in, Black Mask attempts to stand up–

–only to find the hooded hero aiming his bow and arrow right at his face.

Black Mask glares at Night Arrow. "Do you any idea of who you're dealing with, hero? Do you have any idea the amount of power and resources I have at my disposal?! I can make your life a living–"

"Bored now."

Fwip! "PBPBPBPBPBPBPBPBPBPB!"


Timeskip: 30 Minutes Later

Multiple police cruisers arrive at the seemingly abandoned warehouse with all sirens blazing. They received an anonymous tip earlier about gunfire and explosions, and they're not wasting any time with investigating a dangerous situation. Judging by the small plume of smoke on one end of the warehouse, something big went down here. The police storm into the building with their pistols in hand, searching high and low for whatever was causing the disturbance. They eventually reach the warehouse's loading zone and are stunned by what they see.

First, there's the burning destroyed U-Haul truck sitting underneath the loading bay doors. Then, there's the many stacks of crates full of illegal drugs, some of which have been opened already to be prepped for delivery. Next, there's the thuggish-looking men tied up and thrown into a heaping pile of unconscious bodies.

But the real treat is the man on top of the pile, glaring daggers at the police.

"No way!"

"Is that Black Mask?"

"Jackpot!"

Black Mask growls. "Celebrate all you want, pricks. You all are gonna be on the streets after I'm through with you!"

"The only one being ruined is you," a grizzled policeman wearing a sergeant's badge declares. "Roman Sionis, you are under arrest."

The crime lord's response is to scream his head off with rage. Apparently, he has a good pair of lungs in him, because his scream can be heard by the people all the way outside of the building.

One of those people is a certain hooded figure standing on a nearby rooftop.

"Music to my ears," Night Arrow says with no small amount of joy in his voice. He leaps off across the rooftops, heading home after a job well done.


Location: Downtown Manhattan, New York City

Date: June 26th, 2016

The hustle and bustle of New York intensifies during the daytime. The sun shines on the people of the Big Apple, who are mostly unaware of what transpired the night before in a shoddy old warehouse.

Out of an apartment complex and into the streets steps a young man with short blonde hair and a face that would make many women swoon. He wears a black leather jacket over a black shirt, blue jeans, and black boots.

He turns and notices a neighbor of his preparing to go out for the day. He waves at her and calls out, "Morning, Mrs. Davidson!"

"Good morning, Tai! Isn't this just a blessed day today?" the older woman greats the young man.

"Absolutely," Tai responds. "How's Muffy doing?"

"She's doing much better. She hasn't had a hairball in weeks."

"Well, that's certainly a blessing." Tai gives another wave to Mrs. Davidson. "You have a good one!"

"You have a fun day at work, Tai!" Mrs. Davidson responds as she heads out to take care of some business.

Tai begins his own morning routine by putting some earbuds into his ears. He then pulls out his phone which is attached to his earbuds and chooses a song to get himself moving and grooving.

(Insert Music: Pigeon John – The Bomb)

His choice made, Tai begins walking to his day job, his body bouncing side to side and his feet moving in rhythm with the music. He strolls through the streets, dancing around random people and taking in the sight of the citizens peacefully going about their business. He occasionally gets greeted by several people, including the local deli man, the cheerful lady that runs the cupcake store, and, of course, the street guitarist that calls a street corner his stage. Tai puts a couple of hundreds in the musician's tip box, which the musician accepts with a smile and a "Thanks, Tai!".

Eventually, Tai reaches Bianchi's Bar and Grill, his workplace. He walks through the main doorway–

"TAI NGUYEN!"

–and is immediately bombarded by the shout of an angry Italian elder.

(End Music)

Tai groans and gives a strained smile to his boss marching straight for him. "Hey, Mr. Bianchi."

"Don't you give a 'hey' to me, Nguyen!" Mr. Bianchi calls out, wagging his finger at the young blonde. "Where have you been? You were supposed to come in for work four hours ago!"

Tai blinks and looks at his watch. "But my shift starts at noon."

"You were supposed to come in at eight in the morning to serve the people coming in from church services! I sent you a text at six o'clock!" yells Mr. Bianchi as he pulls out his phone and shows the screen to Tai.

Tai looks at the screen, then gives a deadpan look to his boss. "Mr. Bianchi, when you want to send a text to somebody, you actually have to press 'send'."

Mr. Bianchi looks at his phone screen, then grumbles to himself. "Stupid modern technology. Smartphone, my foot."

"Besides, isn't Sunday morning kind of a bad time to try and serve people drinks?" Tai asks as he shrugs off his jacket.

"Nothing could be further from the truth! I remember in my youth leaving my local church after hearing the indomitable teachings of Almighty God and wanting nothing more than to drown my self in gallons of wine! Never underestimate the powerful connection between the Holy Spirit and the spirits of Man!" Mr. Bianchi declares, trying to impart his wisdom onto his employee.

Tai chuckles. "I'll be sure to remember that, Mr. Bianchi."

"You better, if you want to make it as a bartender. Now suit up! We've got a busy day ahead of us!" says Mr. Bianchi as he heads into the kitchen.

"Yessir," Tai replies as he puts on his uniform over his shirt and heads behind the bar counter, ready to start his daily grind.


Timeskip: Several Hours Later

Several hours into his shift, and Tai breathes a sigh of relief. He had just finished serving the last of a sizeable crowd of people in their Sunday Best. Apparently, there's some truth to Mr. Bianchi's words. Tai takes the time now to clean some glasses.

"Did I catch you at a bad time?"

Tai looks up and sees a grizzled policeman wearing a sergeant's badge smiling at him.

Tai gives a smile of his own. "It's never a bad time to serve New York's Finest." He clasps his hand with the sergeant's. "How's it going, Patty?"

"It's gonna go a lot better with some whiskey in me," Patty responds as he takes a seat at the bar.

"You've got it," says Tai as he prepares a drink.

In no time at all, he has the sergeant's whiskey poured and served to the man. Tai notices that Patty's attention is drawn to the TV above the bar. He turns around and sees a Breaking News bulletin being featured. He turns up the volume to hear what the reporter has to say.

[Bri Bailey here, live at the NYC Supreme Court, where just an hour ago, notorious crime boss Roman Sionis, aka the Black Mask, was arraigned for a multitude of heinous crimes, including murder, drug smuggling, human trafficking, and extortion. Roman Sionis has pled Not Guilty for all charges, and his bail is set at $2 million, which Sionis is expected to pay easily. The crime lord was arrested two weeks ago, along with a crew of henchman, at an abandoned warehouse containing a motherload of illegal drugs and narcotics. Since then, the prosecution has supplied an exorbitant amount of evidence which, they claim, will set the Black Mask behind bars for life. Some citizens of New York wonder whether that evidence was supplied to the prosecution by the mysterious Night Arrow, a vigilante hero who has been sighted fighting criminals for the past six months. Some sources say that Night Arrow was present at the warehouse the night that Roman Sionis was arrested and was even directly responsible for the crime lord's capture, though nothing has been confirmed as of yet. We'll have more details on Night Arrow at 11.]

"Well, well, looks like it's been a good time for the NYPD," Tai comments. "A little birdy told me that you were the one who slapped the cuffs on Black Mask."

"A little birdy, huh?" Patty gives the young bartender a knowing look, before chuckling and sipping his drink. "Yeah, I did, and it was absolutely beautiful. Although, I wouldn't have even come close to cuffing if it wasn't for a certain somebody gift-wrapping Sionis for us."

"You mean that 'Night Arrow' guy? I always thought he was a myth," Tai says in a faux-innocent tone. "I guess it's nice that there really is someone here in New York looking out for the little guy."

"Yeah, I'd love to have some drinks with the guy and thank him for his help," says Patty with similar false innocence as he downs the rest of his glass.

Tai smirks, "Well, I can get you something close." He turns and spots his boss walking around the restaurant. "Mr. Bianchi! You don't mind if I pay for Sergeant Shaw's next drink, do you?"

Mr. Bianchi looks at the two men at the bar and gives them both a penetrating stare. "That depends on whether Sergeant Shaw is going to be the only policeman visiting my restaurant today."

Patty rubs his chin in thought. "Well, I was going to invite my friends at the precinct for a celebratory dinner here tonight."

"Then what are you waiting for, Nguyen?! Load him up!" Mr. Bianchi declares with authority before heading back into the kitchen, causing both men at the bar to laugh at the command.

After the laughter dies down, Tai gives a shrug. "Well, he's the boss." He sets out to fix another drink for Patty, along with one for himself. As he's pouring the whiskey, he looks to Patty and asks, "By the way, how's that honorary nephew of yours doing?"

Patty's face lights up at the question. "Jack? He's doing great! He's actually heading out to Japan with his boxing team today."

Tai raises an eyebrow as he gives Patty his drink. "Japan?"

"Yeah, it's a prize for him being the State Boxing Champion three years in a row."

Jack smiles and holds up his drink. "Well then, here's to Jack."

"To Jack." The two men clink their glasses and enjoy the whiskey.

After about a half hour of more drinking and small talk about the weather and such, Patty looks at his watch.

"Ugh, I gotta head back to the office. Got some paperwork to take care of," says Patty.

"The good work never ends, does it?" Tai asks.

"You know it," Patty responds, handing Tai his payment for the drinks, along with an envelope. "I've got your usual tip in there. Don't spend it all at once."

Tai chuckles and nods. "I'll try not to. You take care of yourself, Sergeant."

"You too, sharpshooter," Patty replies, giving a small salute before leaving the restaurant.

Tai puts the money in the register before looking at the envelope in his hand. He looks to the kitchen. "I'm going on break!"

"Fifteen minutes!" Mr. Bianchi replies.

Immediately, Tai heads for the bathroom. He enters one of the stalls and pulls out the envelope. He opens it, revealing the paper inside.

Not money, but information.

Tai peruses through the documents provided to him by Sergeant Patrick Shaw. The pages contain information such as building locations, daily schedules, and even some possibly incriminating photos, all pertaining to one individual.

'Bernard Iokal. Stout frame, black hair with a purple streak, wears glasses. City councilman by day, serial rapist at night. Able to get access to and control innocent women using his status and influence, which he also uses to halt any attempts to investigate him. Apparently, the NYPD has been probing him for months, but so far has been unable to get anything concrete on him,' Tai muses to himself before smirking. 'Sounds like our boys in blue need a helping hand from yours truly. Brace yourself, Iokal. You just became my next target.'


Location: Penthouse Suite, Manhattan, New York City

Timeskip: Evening

Black Mask enters his office, having been released on bail a couple of hours ago. He's followed into the room by an attractive Asian woman carrying a clipboard and wearing glasses and a business suit. Black Mask takes in the sight of his pristine, orderly office, and the dozens of armed men in suits standing vigil around him. He breathes in the air of his sanctuary, which is much more preferable to the cesspool that he was just bailed out of.

"Home, sweet home," the crime lord mutters in relief, though his scowl is ever present on his masked face.

Black Mask walks over to the front of his desk and leans his hands on the expensive wood, his assistant following diligently behind him.

"Tell me, Ms. Li; how close was I to becoming the Kingpin of Gotham?" Black Mask asks his assistant as he glares out the window behind his desk, as if he could burn down the city beyond with his eyes.

"At the height of your power, you had approximately 87% of Gotham's criminal organizations absorbed into your fold, with the remaining 13%, Carmine Falcone's Family, being your only remaining competition," Ms. Li answers evenly while she diligently writes away on her clipboard.

"Eighty-seven fucking percent!" Black Mask confirms. "I practically had Gotham in the palm of my hands. I was so close. So close to becoming the undisputed ruler of Gotham City! And then, what happened?!"

"Batman happened," Ms. Li responds.

"Batman happened!" Black Mask repeats, slamming his fist onto the desk. "He just waltzes in with his fancy gadgets and his stupid costume, and he ruins everything! He and his sidekicks dismantle every nook and cranny of my operations and destroy my entire business! He doesn't just ruin me; he humiliates me! ME! BLACK FUCKING MASK! I had to leave my home, my kingdom, in shame! And now I'm here in this dump, trying to rebuild from the ground up, AND IT'S HAPPENNING ALL OVER AGAIN!"

Black Mask shoves and throws everything off of his desk in a fury, screaming and cursing the whole time. His assistant and his guards, who are all used to his hissy fits, stand quietly around him. Eventually, after Black Mask clears his desk and ends his tirade huffing and puffing, Ms. Li approaches him with a prescription bottle in her hand.

"Your heart medication, sir," says Ms. Li as she casually places the bottle next to her boss.

Black Mask quickly pops some pills into his mouth before addressing his assistant. "Put the word out. $1 million for Night Arrow's corpse. $2 million for his broken body so that I can turn him into a corpse myself! But first, we're going to pay the NYPD a little visit. We're gonna show them that working with superheroes is bad for your health, and that you should never mess with Roman fucking Sionis! I AM THE BLACK MASK! I WILL BE KING AGAIN, AND NOTHING IS GONNA STOP ME!"

"Understood, sir," Ms. Li states as he records her boss' declaration.

Suddenly, all the lights in the room go out, leaving everyone to stand in darkness. Immediately, Black Mask and his subordinates are on guard. The crime lord's security quickly surrounds him in a protective barrier, their guns and flashlights pointing out into the dark room.

"Night Arrow's here. This is gonna suck," one thug grumbles to himself.

"It's gonna suck a hell of a lot more for you if you don't do you job!" Black Mask growls at the thug, causing the subordinate to flinch. The crime lord then pulls out his pistol and calls out into the darkness, "You picked the wrong night to visit me, Night Arrow! I am in an especially bad mood, and only your stinking corpse is going to make me feel any better!"

Everyone is so busy looking out and around them, they don't notice a figure silently land inside the circle. The figure quickly pulls out a pair of Katar daggers and slashes right behind them. The blades cut cleanly through the necks of two thugs, beheading them with ease. As Black Mask and his crew turn to see what just happened, they find two detached heads being thrown their way.

"Holy shit!" one thug cries out as he unintentionally catches his comrade's head.

The overall shock allows the figure to slash several more times, downing four more guards, before going for the boss. Ms. Li quickly jumps on top of her boss to send him to the ground, allowing for the six remaining guards to get a clear shot at the intruder. The intruder weaves through the hailstorm of bullets and sends their daggers right into the chests of two more guards. The intruder then throws one body at two more thugs, sending all three crashing to the ground. The other corpse is used as a meat shield to absorb the fire from two other guards, allowing the intruder to get in close and slash the guards' necks. The figure jumps in the air and aims their knifes at the two remaining guards, who are busy pushing their dead comrade off of them. They don't notice the danger until it stabs into their necks.

At this point, Black Mask, who was busy watching his men be slaughtered, finally recovers and attempts to shoot the intruder. Unfortunately, a throwing knife tossed by the intruder knocks the pistol out of Black Mask's hand. The figure then rushes the crime lord, his Katars ready to strike.

Black Mask, in a move of self-preservation, pushes a surprised Ms. Li in front of him to act as a shield.

Squelch!

Black Mask is spared. Ms. Li, however, is now missing her head, which rolls away with a permanent look of betrayal on her twitching face.

The crime lord looks at the headless body in front of him in surprise. He then turns his attention to the killer in front of him, whose three eyes gaze upon the terrified masked criminal.

"Y-You're not the Arrow! Who are you?! What do you want?!" Black Mask cries out.

The figure's response is to give a psychopathic grin as he brandishes his blades. The figure keeps the manic smile as he charges the crime lord.

"NOOOO–" Squelch!


Location: Bianchi's Bar and Grill

Date: June 27th, 2016

It's just another day at work for Tai. The Monday afternoon is quite a bit slower than yesterday, but that doesn't mean the blonde can slack off. Heaven forbid he sit down to take a breather and get caught by Mr. Bianchi. The resulting loud "lectures" tend to last about ten minutes at a time. So, here he is, cleaning glasses while waiting for the next customer to come for a drink or two.

"Hey there, cutie! Care to give a lady something refreshing?" a female voice calls out to Tai.

Tai smirks at the obvious flirting and turns to address the customer. "Well, I suppo–"

Tai stops in shock at seeing just who the customer is.

She is a well-endowed young woman with golden eyes and short golden hair with two long tuffs framing her beautiful face. She wears a black tube top, white sleeves that are connected by golden cuffs, white pants, and a white scarf around her neck. Her rather revealing outfit and flirtatious smile are enough to make many men in the restaurant stare at her with blatant lust.

Tai, however, just gives her an annoyed deadpan look. "Coming up." The man robotically pours a glass of tequila for his customer. He sets the glass down in front of her, but he doesn't let go.

The woman chuckles as the drink is presented to her. "How'd you know I like the tough stuff, hot stuff?" She tries to take the glass, but Tai still won't let go.

"What are you doing here?" Tai asks with a glare.

"Having a drink. Duh!" Leone responds with a smirk.

Tai narrows his eyes, but releases the glass, allowing the blonde woman to practically guzzle down the tequila.

"If you just wanted drinks, you'd be suckering some old geezer in Cancun or Miami right now," Tai states as he leans in closer to the woman who has finished her drink in record time, "so I'll ask you again, Leone; what the hell are you doing in my city?"

The woman, Leone, gives Tai a cocky smirk. "I'm travelling with my friends. Or should I say, our friends."

Tai clenches his fists. "I swear to Christ, if you and the others even think of tearing up my town…"

"Hey, we're not that bad," Leone says with a pout.

"Oh, really?" Tai challenges his fellow blonde. "Remind me again of just who caused that massive explosion in Lebanon?"

Leone blinks for a moment, then taps her head and sticks her tongue out silly-like. "Tee-hee!"

"…" Tai is unamused.

"Oh, lighten up, Tai! We're the good guys, you know," says Leone.

Tai raises an eyebrow. "Oh really? Is that what you say to yourself to help you sleep at night?"

Leone scoffs at Tai's question, her beautiful face gaining a serious look. "No, Tai. What helps me sleep at night is knowing that I removed another scumbag off the face of the Earth."

"And yet, nothing changes," Tai states as he reloads Leone's glass. "No matter how many criminals you kill, there will always be more that crawl out of the woodwork and take control. The problem isn't the criminals. It's crime. And you can't solve crime with murder."

Leone narrows her eyes at the bartender and downs her drink. "And you think that being a goody-two-shoes superhero is better? When the hell are you gonna wake up, Tai?"

"I did. Years ago. I woke up and freed myself from the hellish nightmare I was forced to live in." Tai declares. "If only my friends did the same."

Leone smirks and leans herself over the bar, her sizable assets being presented to the barkeep.

"I don't know about you, but I've never been freer my whole life," Leone states as she gives Tai a sultry look.

Tai, unfazed, scoffs. "Whatever helps you sleep at night."

Leone pouts again as her charm fails.

"TAI NGUYEN!"

Both blondes wince at the sound of a yelling elder.

"Make sure you keep the customers off the counter! Do you have any idea how much it costs to repair countertops? Too much!" Mr. Bianchi yells, wagging a ladle at Tai. He then points the ladle at the female blonde. "And you! That outfit of yours is simply unacceptable! This is a wholesome restaurant where families dine in peace, and I will not allow your provocation to ruin my customers' experience."

"~Aw, that's not fair.~ I just came here to enjoy myself here at your nice restaurant," says Leone with a sultry tone as she bends down to Mr. Bianchi, giving the elderly man a seductive pose. "You wouldn't throw out a beautiful lady like me, would you?"

Whack!

"OWIE!" Leone cries out as she nurses the red mark on her forehead left by a rather sturdy ladle.

"You are no lady, and you are certainly not beautiful! You think that flaunting your breasts around town makes you beautiful? Bah! True beauty has elegance, grace, and sophistication, something you know nothing about," Mr. Bianchi declares, his words piercing the shocked woman's body like arrows. "Now pay for your drinks and get out of my restaurant!"

Leone gives a teary-eyed look of pleading to her fellow blonde.

Tai shrugs. "Don't look at me. He's my boss."

Leone pouts at the lack of support. She sighs, pulls some crumpled bills out of her tube top, and sets them on the counter. She turns to leave the restaurant.

"Pardon me, miss. My tip?" Tai asks with a smirk.

Leone stops and growls, before smirking. She approaches the bartender and pulls out another bill, presenting it to her fellow blonde. Tai reaches for it but ends up being pulled over the bar and close to Leone, allowing her mouth to hover over his ear.

"If you want to say hi to the old crew, you can meet us at Bigsby Manor outside of town," Leone whispers into Tai's ear. She then sensually licks the shell of his ear. "Later, Night Arrow."

With that, Leone releases Tai from her grasp and walks out with a smile, leaving a restaurant full of stunned citizens.

Mr. Bianchi turns to his employee, who is wiping his ear clean. "Heed my words, Nguyen; beware the demons that hide as women!"

"Trust me, Mr. Bianchi. I learned that lesson a long time ago," says Tai as his mind flashes back to a woman with blue hair.

As Tai turns to get back to work, he notices something on the TV above him. He quickly turns up the volume to listen to a news report.

[Bri Bailey here, live outside this apartment complex on 69th street, where a scene of utter carnage occurred last night. Several hours ago, police responded to a 911 call after a cleaning lady discovered the scene of mass murder. The victims of this heinous crime are the notorious crime boss Roman Sionis, aka the Black Mask, his assistant, Su Li, and a dozen armed men who appear to be Sionis' bodyguards. Sources say none of these individuals survived, and all of them appear to be missing their heads. Roman Sionis was arraigned just yesterday for his criminal activities as the Black Mask. Many are wondering if this is the work of a rival crime syndicate who wishes to take over New York City, while others believe that new vigilantes, possibly inspired by the work of Night Arrow, are taking crime-fighting to extreme levels. We'll have more on this groundbreaking story as it develops.]

Mr. Bianchi notices Tai staring at the TV, gritting his teeth and tightly clenching his fists.

"Tai, are you alright?" asks Mr. Bianchi, showing concern for his employee.

Tai takes a deep breath and calms himself down. "I'm alright, sir. I'm alright."

Inside, however, Tai is screaming. Months of covert operations and beating up criminals has been wasted! Black Mask will never face justice now!

Tai decides that he'll take up Leone's offer tonight. He needs to have a chat with his old friends.


Location: Bigsby Manor

Timeskip: Evening

Darkness surrounds and fills the Bigsby Manor, which rests just outside the limits of New York City. The manor was the home of William and Agatha Bigbsy, who lived with their daughter, Aria. This mansion used to be filled with life, with numerous servants maintaining the residence and its owners around the clock. However, neither the Bigsbys nor their servants have been seen for the past two weeks, and no one knows where they could have gone.

Though the hooded man sitting in a tree right next to the mansion has an idea of what happened to them.

Night Arrow leaps off of the tree and lands on the outer wall of the building. He steadily crawls on the wall until he reaches a window. The hero notices a tripwire trap set on the window and quickly disarms it, before entering the mansion.

Inside, Night Arrow navigates through the maze of hallways and staircases. Along the way, he idly disarms several other wire traps and security cameras lining the corridors, noting that the mansion's new residents are taking their security seriously.

Eventually, Night Arrow reaches the main foyer of the mansion while clinging onto the wall. The foyer is cloaked in darkness like the rest of the building and appears to be devoid of life. But the hero knows better. There are people here, and they're expecting him.

So, Night Arrow decides to forgo stealth and drops down from his perch on the wall. He lands in the middle of the hall in a crouch, then raises himself up and looks into the darkness.

"Hello there!" Night Arrow calls out.

Immediately, the lights turn on, revealing eight individuals standing at the other end of the hallway. One of them is easily recognized by the hero as Leone, who smirks at his arrival.

'Then there's Akame,' Tai notes as he looks at the figure to Leone's right giving him a stoic look. Akame is a young girl with crimson eyes and long black hair. She wears a black sleeveless dress with a red tie, black gloves with red gauntlets attached, and black boots with long black socks underneath. Attached to her hip is a katana with a red handle.

'Sheele.' Next to Akame is a young woman with purple eyes and long purple hair. She wears a lilac close-fitting dress with detached sleeves, white boots, and glasses. Sheele gives Tai a small warm smile, though her hands are firmly clenching the large pair of scissors in her hand.

'Bulat.' Tai sees the large man standing at the side with his arms crossed. Bulat has his black hair styled in a large pompadour. He wears a black leather jacket over a black shirt, white pants, and black boots. He's also smiling at the hooded hero in front of him.

'Lubbock.' Tai's eyes travel to the other side of Leone, where he sees a green haired, green eyed man giving him a cocky smirk. Lubbock wears a green hooded jacket over a white shirt, blue jeans, brown shoes, and a pair of red goggles on his head. His most striking accessories are his gloves with metal fingertips.

'Mine.' Next to Lubbock is a short girl giving Tai an annoyed look and drumming her fingers impatiently on her rather large, advanced-looking rifle. Nearly everything about her is pink, including her long twin-tailed hair, her eyes, and her outfit, which comprises of a shawl over a long-sleeve shirt, a long skirt, and pink shoes over black stockings.

'…some random guy.' Tai quirks an eyebrow at the rather plain-looking boy who is standing next to Mine and giving him a curious look. The boy has messy brown hair and green eyes. He wears a brown hoodie, black pants, and a pair of combat boots. Tai notes the short sword attached to the boy's hip, though it looks like it hasn't seen much use. 'Must be a rookie.'

'And last, but not least, Najenda.' Tai's attention is turned to the woman with short silver hair standing in front of the group. She wears a black suit that shows her cleavage and an eyepatch over where her purple right eye used to be. Her most distinguishing feature is her mechanical right arm, which she uses to hold her cigarette. She takes a puff from the cigarette as she gives Tai a nostalgic look.

'The gang's all here, and then some,' Tai muses to himself.

"General Kenobi! You are a bold one!" Lubbock calls out to Tai while flexing his gloves as if he were a movie villain, making the rest of the group sweatdrop.

"Hats off to you, Lubbock, for getting that reference," says Tai as he pulls down his hood and takes off his mask.

Najenda sighs and shakes her head, before giving the now unmasked blonde a smile. "Lubbock's foolishness aside, it's good to see you again, Tai."

"I'd say the same thing to you, Najenda," says Tai as he approaches the group, "but unfortunately, this isn't a social visit."

"Leone mentioned that you weren't exactly happy to see her earlier. Did you come for a fight?" Najenda asks as the rest of the group tenses slightly.

Tai stops a few feet from the group and gives each of them a critical look. "That depends; which one of you dipshits ghosted Black Mask?"

"What makes you think that we did that?" Mine demands with an annoyed look on her face.

"Because you're you, Shrimp-Puff," Tai responds without missing a beat.

Mine growls as a tic-mark forms on her forehead. "Cut it out with those nicknames! My name is Mine!"

"I know, but what is it?"

"It's M–" Mine stops herself as she realizes the trap she just walked into. As her face goes red with embarrassment, the brown-haired boy next to her tries and fails to stifle his laughter. Mine then turns her anger towards the boy. "Shut up, you hick!"

"Quite down. Both of you," Najenda commands, causing the both of them to compose themselves. She then turns to the archer. "Tai, none of us were involved with that massacre. We may be assassins, but Night Raid has standards. We wouldn't cause that much carnage and destruction."

"I beg to differ," Tai states as he crosses his arms. "Lubbock can handle being stealthy and surgical just fine." Lubbock gives a proud smile at this. "Akame can as well, just as long as there's not a barbecue restaurant nearby." Akame keeps her stoic face, but she begins to drool slightly at the thought of meat. "Bulat, however, is a walking tank even without his armor." Bulat rubs the back of his head in embarrassment. "Leone, when she's not getting wasted, has a habit of crushing people's skulls with her bare hands. Not exactly subtle." Leone doesn't have a hint of shame on her smiling face. "Sheele leaves chaos in her wake whenever she goes grocery shopping." Sheele is crestfallen. "Shrimp-Puff shoots at everything that annoys her…which is everything." Mine grinds her teeth as she raises her rifle in the air threateningly. "And then there's the rookie, who…I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name?"

The brown-haired boy is surprised at being put on the spotlight, but he composes himself and answers with a smile, "I-I'm Tatsumi! Nice to meet you!"

Tai gives Tatsumi a once-over before turning to Najenda. "I take it he's pretty new to the profession. His sword certainly looks new."

"Hey! I've made some pretty impressive kills! Just a few days ago, I assassinated Ogre!" Tatsumi boasts, trying to impress the archer.

Tai just raises an eyebrow. "…you mean, like Shrek?"

Tatsumi face-faults. He picks himself up and glares at Tai. "No! Ogre the assassin!"

"He was a member of the League of Shadows," Najenda clarifies.

Tai snaps his fingers in recognition. "Oh yeah. I remember him. Wasn't he Ra's al Ghul's…Number 23 Guy? I think that's two levels above the regular grunts." Tai gives Tatsumi a thumbs up. "Well done, though."

Tatsumi doesn't respond. He just curls up in a corner of the room and stares off into the distance with imaginary clouds over his head.

"That's actually the reason why we're here. We're hunting another member of the League of Shadows. We've tracked him here in New York City," Najenda explains.

"Which one?" Tai asks.

It's Akame who answers. "Zank."

Tai's eyes widen in shock at the name. His mind immediately flashes back to the gruesome massacre of Black Mask and his people.

"Zank the Beheader. Homicidal schizophrenic. Works as Ra's al Ghul's executioner." Tai groans. "Well, that explains what happened to Roman."

"Don't tell us you're sad that that crime lord is dead," Mine accuses.

"I would have preferred that he spend the rest of his life rotting away in prison."

"You know that a powerful crime lord like him wouldn't stay in prison for long. His money and influence would set him free. That's how it works for criminal scum like him," Sheele points out with a dark look on her face.

"Which is why I took the liberty of hacking into his bank accounts earlier this morning and liberating a good portion of his wealth. Without his money, his influence would crumble, and Black Mask would suddenly find himself alone and broke fighting a losing battle in court, after which he would swiftly become the prison bitch at Rikers Island. At least, that was the plan, anyway," Tai explains, growling to himself at the last part.

"I thought superheroes didn't steal from people," Lubbock playfully accuses Tai.

"Really? You're talking to me about thieving? I'm pretty sure the people that used to live here didn't just donate this place to you guys?" Tai fires back, taking a look around the mansion.

"We liberated the mansion from the monsters that lived here," Akame clarifies.

Tai notices that Tatsumi, who recovered from his sulking, has a haunted look on his face.

"I heard rumors that the Bigsby family had some skeletons in their closet. I take it that those rumors were true?" Tai asks.

"Try corpses in their shed!" Tatsumi yells out in rage. "They were kidnapping people off the streets and mutilating them! My friends Sayo and Ieyasu were tortured to death by their daughter! I took care of that bitch personally!"

"My condolences," says Tai, who gives Tatsumi a critical look. "Did her death satisfy you?"

"…No. It didn't." Tatsumi answers somberly.

Tai nods knowingly. "I figured as much." He then waves to the group. "Well, it's been nice catching up with you guys, but I've got a mass murderer to catch." Tai then turns around and begins walking away from the surprised group.

"Hold it! Zank is our prey!" Mine yells out.

"Yeah, well, there's been enough bloodshed going on around town lately, so I'm just going to go ahead and capture Zank myself without any unnecessary violence and murder, after which you guys will go ahead and leave my city," Tai declares as he continues walking, seemingly unaware of the black and red blur quickly approaching him.

"We've been tracking Zank for a month and have been hitting dead ends. Not to mention the fact that his schizophrenia makes him unstable and unpredictable." Najenda informs her former comrade. "How are you planning on finding him so quickly?"

"Easy; I'll get him to come to me," Tai simply says as he approaches the front door.

Tai reaches for the handle, but his hand is stopped by Akame's, who gives him an attempt at a pleading look, which for her is a slight shift of her usual deadpan.

"Tai. Come back to us," Akame asks the archer.

Tai sighs and shakes his head. "Akame…"

"She speaks for all of us," Najenda says, ignoring Mine's scoff as she approaches Tai. "We've had so much success in the past, when we were all part of the same team. Eliminating criminals, destroying syndicates, toppling corrupt governments–"

"I'm just gonna stop you right there," Tai interrupts. "You're speaking as if what we did was in any way 'noble' or 'good'. It wasn't. You said so yourself long ago; at the end of the day, we were murderers, plain and simple. Nothing but cold-blooded killers. And I didn't want to be that kind of person anymore. I didn't want to be one when we were part of the Shadows, and I didn't want to be one after we left. As long as Night Raid continues to leave blood in its wake, I want no part of it."

"Yeah, well just beating up bad guys and throwing them into cells doesn't really fix anything, either," Mine counters indignantly.

"How do you know? You've never tried it before," Tai responds, throwing Mine for a bit of a loop as he grabs the door handle and opens the front door.

As he steps through, he pauses and looks back at the rookie member of Night Raid.

"Tatsumi, was it?" Tai asks, startling the brown-haired boy.

"Y-Yeah?"

"Word of advice; don't pursue a career in assassination. It never works out well for anyone."

And with that, Tai walks out of the mansion, leaving his old acquaintances behind.

Tatsumi yelps as his ear is roughly pulled by an irate Mine.

"Don't even think of listening to that jerk!" Mine growls into Tatsumi's ear.

"Welp, that went about as well as expected," Leone states nonchalantly.

"He always was a 'lone wolf' kind of guy," Lubbock comments, shrugging his shoulders.

"A real shame. We could use his help now more than ever," Bulat states.

"What do we do now, Najenda?" Akame asks her leader.

Najenda lights up a cigarette and takes a long drag of the cancer stick. She turns to her team and exhales the smoke out of her lungs.

"We stick to the plan. We're taking Zank's head."

Mine ceases her torturing of Tatsumi and asks, "What about the jerk?"

Najenda smirks. "Tai? Tai's going to be helping us, whether he wants to or not."


Location: Abandoned factory rooftop, Manhattan

Date: June 28th, 2016, Evening

Tai, suited up and fully geared, stands on top of an abandoned factory, looking out at the illuminated city before him. His head bobs slightly as Southern Nights by Glen Campbell plays in his ears. Behind him, a concoction of materials burns in a barrel, creating thick purple smoke that billows up into the air.

His music is interrupted by a call on his phone. Tai quickly answers his phone.

"Talk to me…Oh, hey Patty…Yes, the smoke is me…I'm tracking down the guy who ghosted Sionis…Trust me, Patty, there's a method to my madness…" Tai chuckles, "Yeah, a lot of madness happens in this line of work. Look, just make sure that nobody comes snooping around here for a while…Don't worry, I won't cause too much chaos…That's right, just my normal amount…Thanks, Patty. Give your fellow boys in blue my regards…Alright, talk to you later. Bye."

With that, Tai hangs up his phone and continues jamming to his music.

At least, he would of, if a bit of movement behind him didn't catch his eye.

Quickly, Tai unfolds his bow, whips around, and draws a light arrow aimed at a figure in the shadows. "Come on out! Don't be shy!" Tai calls out to the darkness.

Slowly, the figure steps out of the shadows. Tai's eyes widen at who he sees standing in front of him.

"No way…it can't be…"

A good distance away from him stands a slender, middle-aged Vietnamese woman. Her black hair runs down to the nape of her neck, and her dark eyes are as warm as her smile.

"Hello, Tai," the woman greets the young man.

"M-Mom?!" Tai cries out, not once lowering his bow.

The woman nods. "Yes, Tai, it's me. I've missed you, my son. You've grown so m–"

Fwip!

"PBPBPBPBPBPBPBPBPBPB!"

The woman seizes up and collapses to the ground, having been suddenly been hit by a light arrow. Tai quickly sends more arrows into the body of his 'mother', whose twitching form shimmers and changes shape. The Vietnamese woman transforms into a Caucasian blond man with two long strands of hair standing up as horns. The large man wears a white shirt with a blue tie, and black pants. His most striking accessory is a metal device attached to his forehead that contains a green mechanical eye.

"Zank the Beheader. You made three mistakes," Tai states evenly as he approaches his convulsing target. "First; you accepted my invitation to join me this lovely evening. Second; my Teigu, Hyperion, launches arrows at a speed twenty times that of a speeding bullet. That's a speed that your Teigu, Spectator, can't anticipate in time. But your biggest mistake?" Tai reaches his quarry and uses his foot to flip the other man onto his back. "Using my mother as a weapon against me. Even if she was just an illusion. And a terrible one at that. My mother's been in a wheelchair for years, in case you've forgotten. I mean, really, I'd have thought that you would be a better illusionist."

"H-How c-could y-you? T-To att-ttack your own f-family like t-that," Zank stutters out, glaring daggers at the archer above him.

Tai chuckles as he crouches down next to Zank. "Clearly, you're not a member of the Nguyen Clan. Fighting each other is our favorite pastime."

Tai reaches out to grab the eye on Zank's forehead. Before he can claim it, however, he flips out of the way of several throwing knifes being thrown at him from his side. He lands in a crouch and sees eight figures in full-black stealth outfits standing protectively around Zank's figure.

"Well, it looks like you weren't a complete idiot," Tai comments.

"K-Kill him!" Zank calls out as he desperately tries to get his body moving again.

The eight Shadows draw their scimitars and quickly surround the archer.

Tai sighs and shakes his head. "Great. Now I'll never remember all of your names."

(Insert Music: Glen Campbell – Southern Nights)

Tai starts the fight by quickly firing an arrow right into an assassin's leg, causing the assassin's whole body to lock up. Another one lunges at Tai with a scimitar, but Tai ducks down and slams Hyperion right into the Shadow's gut, then kicks the other man away. Tai then uses his bow to block an overhead strike from the assassin right behind him. Tai elbows the man behind him in the gut, backfists the man's face, then ducks down and kicks the man's legs out from under him.

During his spin, Tai draws three arrows and launches them simultaneously, taking down three more assassins. He then rises from the ground just in time for two more Shadows to swing at him with their blades. Tai uses his bow as a staff to block the assassins' strikes, which cause him to be pushed back towards the edge of the building. Tai steadies himself at the edge, keeping himself from falling to his doom. Seeing his opponents both going for an overhead strike, he flips his bow around, making his light-energy string face the assassins. The two scimitars make contact with the string, causing both blades to be sliced off of their handles and fly off of the building. The few seconds that the two Shadows spend staring at their handles in shock is more than enough time for Tai to knock them out with a couple of arrows.

The last assassin rushes at Tai with a loud battle cry. Tai calmly pulls out a flashbang and slams it into the ground. The blinded and deafened Shadow has enough sense to stop his charge and raise his scimitar as a defense. However, he's unprepared for Tai kicking his blade out of his hands and into the air. As the Shadow tracks his midair weapon, Tai sends an arrow into the Shadow's gut, sending the man into blissful unconsciousness. Seeing his final opponent go down, Tai nonchalantly catches his opponent's scimitar out of the air.

(End Music)

Hearing some grunts of effort, Tai looks forward and sees Zank recovering from his paralysis and rising from the ground. Zank grins savagely and brandishes his Katars as eight more assassins flank him.

"You haven't been slouching at all since you abandoned the League, Al-Rami," Zank growls, his eyes and smile filled with bloodlust, the voices in his head calling for death. "Your head will make an excellent trophy on my wall!"

Tai smirks under his facemask as he readies his bow and scimitar. {Come at me, little rabbit,} he taunts in fluent Arabic.

Zank falls for Tai's taunt and charges at Tai. Tai prepares to intercept Zank's blades.

Only for a black and red blur to appear in between them.

Zank quickly raises his blades to block the sword aimed at his neck. He quickly jumps back and regards his new opponent.

"Well, well, well. Another traitor graces us with her presence," Zank says with derision.

Akame merely gives the large man a penetrating gaze and readies her sword for battle.

Tai gives a sigh of annoyance as he throws away the scimitar in his hand. "How did I know you'd show up?"

"You helped us find our target. Thank you, Tai," says Akame.

"I need him alive, Akame," Tai demands.

"I have my mission," Akame states evenly.

"And I have mine," Tai responds, drawing his bow.

Zank chuckles dangerously. "It doesn't matter. Both of your missions will end in bloody failure. Kill them both!"

With that order, the eight Shadows move in to engage. One of them, however, gets blindsided by another figure, who cuts the Shadow down with his sword. Everyone else turns to regard the brown-haired boy holding a now bloody sword.

"Hey! Mind if I crash this party?!" Tatsumi calls out with a smirk.

Tai facepalms. "Seriously?! The rookie?!"

"He needs experience," Akame states.

"Yeah, no kidding," Tai retorts.

Zank shakes his head in frustration. "You all are more annoying than the blasted voices in my head! Assassins! Kill them all!"

"Take care of the underlings, Tai. I will fight Zank," Akame orders the archer. She doesn't wait for a response as she charges straight for Zank.

"Hey! Don't order me…" Tai trails off as he sees Akame already engaging the Beheader, leaving him to deal with four assassins charging straight for him.

Tai curses under his breath as he runs towards the charging group. Right before they would collide, Tai crouches down and leaps high above the assassins. In the air, he pulls his bow back hard and aims a particularly bright light arrow at the four Shadows.

"Shooting Star," Tai mutters as he releases the arrow right at the feet of the group below.

KABOOM!

The resulting explosion sends the four assassins flying in all directions. Tai lands in a graceful crouch. He turns and sees the somewhat crispy, yet still breathing, Shadows lying behind him. He then looks forward and sees Tatsumi having a somewhat difficult time fighting the other three Shadows. Shaking his head, Tai draws his bow.

Meanwhile, Tatsumi struggles to block the three assassins attacking him. This is only his second official mission with Night Raid, and his first time being in a 1v3 situation, so he is somewhat unprepared for this situation. Nevertheless, he steels his nerves and holds his sword tightly. This is another opportunity to prove to Akame and the others that he belongs in Night–

"Tatsumi! Pull your socks up!"

Tatsumi only has a moment to be surprised by the shout before he quickly ducks down. He does so not a moment too soon, as three streaks of light zoom around him and impact the last three assassins.

Tatsumi looks around in shock at the twitching forms around him before standing up and pointing a finger at Tai. "Are you crazy?! You could have hit me!" he shouts with no small amount of fear in his voice.

Tai rolls his eyes behind his lenses and responds, "You're welcome!"

Both Tai and Tatsumi turn to the sounds of continued fighting and see Akame and Zank still engaged in mortal combat. Both of them are winded, and there are some small cuts on Akame's outfit.

"I've never seen Akame have this much trouble with an opponent before," Tatsumi says with concern in his voice.

"It's Zank's Teigu weapon, Spectator. One of its abilities is that it can read an opponent's movements." Tai pauses his explanation to give Tatsumi a look. "You do know about Teigu, right?"

"Of course, I do!" Tatsumi answers haughtily. "Najenda told me all about how the Teigu were created long ago by a society called the Brotherhood of the Forge in order to protect mankind. Half of them were destroyed in the past, while the other half was locked away by the Brotherhood, until they were stolen by Ra's al Ghul and his League of Shadows."

"Well, thank the gods you aren't completely clueless," Tai says as he and an irate Tatsumi resume spectating the fight in front of them.

"…Shouldn't we be helping Akame?" Tatsumi asks with concern in his voice.

"Are you kidding? It's Zank I'm worried about," Tai responds.

Tatsumi chuckles at that answer. "Yeah, Akame's quite the fighter, isn't she?"

"I meant it," Tai states seriously, getting a confused look from Tatsumi. "Whenever two Teigu wielders fights, one of them ends up dead, and I need Zank alive."

Meanwhile, the fight between Akame and Zank appears to be reaching its conclusion. Zank is lucky that all he has is torn clothing. If he were to be cut by Akame's cursed Murasame blade, he'd be a dead man in a minute. However, his strength and stamina, already weakened from the traitor Tai's light arrows, has drained immensely, and Akame, while sporting several small cuts on her body, is only slightly winded and more combat capable.

'I need to end this fight now!' Zank thinks to himself, one of the few rational thoughts that goes through his head. He smirks to himself as he faces his opponent. 'Let's see this traitorous bitch handle this!' Zank activates his Spectator, casting an illusion over himself.

As he's preparing his finisher, Akame catches her breath quickly and moves in for the kill.

Her charge stops, however, as shock appears on her face. She doesn't see Zank in front of her.

Instead, she sees a girl very similar to herself. The differences are that the other girl's hair is cut shorter than Akame's, her outfit is a black schoolgirl uniform, and her eyes are charcoal black.

"K-Kurome…" Akame stutters out, her body frozen in surprise.

Tai and Tatsumi both widen their eyes at the sudden shift in Akame's behavior. The latter is concerned for his partner's wellbeing, while the former knows what Zank is attempting to do to finish the fight.

And how badly that trick is going to fail.

Zank smiles wickedly at his opponent's frozen body and capitalizes on her shock. He rushes at the girl, his blades prepared to slice her head clean off.

"Die, looking at the illusion of the one you love, Akame!" Zank calls out, his voice speaking from the mouth of the illusory schoolgirl.

Zank is so assured of his victory, however, that he misses Akame's eyes narrow in deadly concentration. Faster than he can react, she swings her sword and slices cleanly through his neck, dispelling the illusion and sending him to the ground in a spray of blood.

"H-How…" Zank attempts to ask in disbelief as blood pours from his wound.

"I've been prepared to kill the one I love for years," Akame responds evenly.

"GODS DAMMIT, AKAME! I NEED HIM!" Tai shouts as he pushes past Akame and kneels down beside Zank. "Don't crap out on me, you bastard. Don't you dare crap out on me!"

"…The…the voices…they've stopped…"

Those are Zank's last words as he dies with content on his face, his mind finally at peace.

Tai lowers his head and grits his teeth in frustration. Behind him, Akame and Tatsumi hear some shuffling and groaning from their rear. They turn and see some of the Shadows recovering from their injuries and tending to their comrades.

One of them stares at the corpse of their superior. "Zank is dead. We must retreat."

At that command, he and several others through smoke bombs on the ground, covering the rooftop with thick smoke and obscuring the visions of the two members of Night Raid. When the smoke clears, not a single Shadow is left.

Tatsumi breathes a sigh of relief and turns to Akame. "Well, at least we got their boss," he states with positivity.

Akame turns to the boy and raises an eyebrow. "We?"

Tatsumi face-faults, before quickly composing himself. "Hey! I helped out quite a bit!" he defends himself.

Akame surprises him by placing a hand on his shoulder and replying, "I know you did. Well done, Tatsumi."

Tatsumi blinks at the sudden praise, before grinning ear to ear and rubbing the back of his head. "Aw shucks, Akame."

Both of them then turn towards Tai, who is busy removing Spectator from Zank's cooling body. Tatsumi approaches Tai, who rises up and pulls off his hood and mask, and then takes a deep breath. Akame, meanwhile, senses a dangerous aura emanating from Tai's form and wisely keeps her distance from the explosion that is about to occur.

Tatsumi has none of this wisdom as he says to Tai, "Hey, man! Good job tonight! We make a pretty good team, huh?"

Tai slowly turns his head and gives Tatsumi an enormous smile with his eyes firmly shut.

Tatsumi sees this and grins himself. 'Maybe we can convince him to join Night Raid after all,' he thinks to himself.

"Hey, Tatsumi, can I ask you something?"

Tatsumi blinks at Tai's request and responds, "Uh, yeah, sure."

"How many members of the League of Shadows are here in New York City currently, including the ones we just fought?"

Tatsumi blinks owlishly. "…I, uh…I don't know, uh…"

"You don't know, huh?" Tai states as his smiling face is now suddenly inches away from Tatsumi's surprised face.

Tatsumi's surprise changes to fear as he sees that despite Tai's smile, his forehead has a massive tic mark forming, and killing intent is seeping from every pore on his body.

'…oh crap.'

"Let's try something else, shall we?" Tai demands as he follows Tatsumi's backpedaling form step by step. "Why was Zank targeting Black Mask in the first place?"

Tatsumi stammers, "W-Well, obviously he had some issues, and–"

"Where was Zank's base of operations here in New York?"

"M-Maybe you could check–"

"Was Zank even part of the Shadows anymore?"

"Now j-just hold on a se–"

"Is Zank the only high-level member here? Why is the League of Shadows even here in New York? What kind of hair-brained scheme is Ra's al Ghul planning?! WHY AREN'T YOU ANSWERING MY QUESTIONS, TATSUMI?!" Tai demands with fury in his voice as he forces Tatsumi to the edge of the building, his face contorting with rage.

Tatsumi struggles to keep his balance as he teeters on the edge of the building. His face is white as a sheet as he stares at Tai's demonic-looking face. He swears he can see a large screeching eagle surrounded by lightning behind Tai, its talons poised to tear through poor Tatsumi.

Tatsumi panickily cries out, "What the hell are you pissed off for?! We killed the bad guy! Why are you–"

"I DIDN'T WANT ZANK DEAD!" Tai roars, causing Tatsumi to sway even more. Tai then explains, "I didn't even want him beaten! I was going to throw the match halfway through, escape the rooftop, and make him think that I ran away. I was then going to use a tracking beacon that I planted on Zank during our fight and follow him to his base. Once there, I would gather whatever information I could about him and the Shadows, and then I would beat and capture him!"

Tai grabs Tatsumi's shirt and throws him back onto the roof as his tirade continues. "You're nothing but an amateur murderer! A snarling dog waiting to bite whatever it can reach! You and the rest of your vigilante group! You guys honestly think that you can just slit a few throats, crush a few skulls, and fill people with lead, and that'll just magically make the world a better place?! Well, newsflash; that's not how it works! You have to dismantle the corrupted elements of the system piece by piece. That takes strategy, planning, and cooperation with the people you're trying to protect. Most of all, you have to give the people a symbol to strive for. You have to give them hope that a better future exists, one that doesn't involve rivers full of blood." He gestures to the burning drum emitting purple smoke and the dead body next to it. "This was supposed to be the start of me outsmarting and outmaneuvering whatever force brought Zank to my city. But now, thanks to you idiots, all my hard work has brought me nothing but a dead body and a broken Teigu!"

Akame glances at the eye in Tai's hand. "Spectator is intact," she states.

Tai huffs, before throwing the Teigu high into the air. Just as Akame and Tatsumi glance at Spectator in mid-air, a light arrow pierces the eye, shattering the weapon and scattering the pieces all across the rooftop.

Tai allows the parts to rain down around him before glaring at Akame. "You were saying?" he asks. He walks past Akame and says to her, "Next time you guys want to help me, do me a favor; don't help me."

With that, Tai leaps off the building and vanishes through the streets of New York.

Tatsumi rises from the ground and glares in Tai's direction. "Mine was right! That guy's a jerk!"

Akame, however, looks to the ground with her version of sadness. She can't decide whether tonight's venture could be considered a success. Sure, Night Raid had defeated and killed Zank, but now Tai is royally pissed off at them. No doubt that he will do everything he can to hinder their progress, even force them out of the city.

Akame will have to report all of this to Najenda so that they can strategize around this. The last thing Night Raid needs right now is to have Tai Nguyen as an enemy.

Especially when the real enemy is mobilizing in his city.


Location: Nearby rooftop

Tai lands on a rooftop a good distance away. He takes deep breaths to calm down his rage. Tonight was an absolute disaster! Not only was he unable to bring justice to Sionis, and therefore closure for the crime syndicate's downfall, but now he has no leads to help him investigate the League of Shadow's presence in New York.

Whatever Ra's al Ghul is planning can only mean death and destruction, and Tai is not going to let that happen. Not in his city!

'But how am I going to find a lead now?' Tai thinks to himself.

His musings are cut off when his cell phone rings. He groans, dreading the conversation that's about to occur. Nevertheless, he answers the call, saying, "Talk to me."

[Hey, my favorite crime-fighter! How did your crazy plan go?] Patty asks from the other side of the line.

Tai sighs and responds, "Not so good, my friend."

[What do you mean?]

"I found Black Mask's killer. His body is next to the purple smoke, in case you still need him."

[…In the quiet words of the Virgin Mary, "come again?"]

"His name was Zank, aka The Executioner. He's dead. Slit through the throat."

[Well, what the fuck happened?]

"Look, long story short, there's a group of assassins here in New York. They got to him before I could."

[Wait a minute. Are you telling me that some other assassins killed the assassin that killed Black Mask?]

"Exactly."

[Well, have they left yet?]

"No. They have their own mission. And so do the ones who sent Zank here."

[The ones who…] Patty sighs over the line. [Tai, please tell me that some bullshit isn't about to go down in my city.]

Tai gives a sigh of his own. "Patty, I hate to tell you this, but that bullshit has already begun."


Location: Infinity Island

An imposing fortress sits on an "uncharted" island in the Caribbean Sea. Numerous guards patrol the complex, all of them wearing the uniforms of the League of Shadows.

Inside, a middle-aged yet formidable-looking man sits in his office enjoying some evening wine. The man has black hair with gray streaks, a black mustache, and piercing green eyes. He wears a high-collared green cloak with gold buttons over a black vest, a white undershirt, and a golden sash. He also wears black pants and knee-high black boots.

His evening relaxation is cut off by a knocking on his door.

"Enter," he commands.

A man wearing simple robes enters the office and kneels before his master.

"My Lord Ra's al Ghul," says the robed man.

Ra's gestures to the man. "Report, my assistant."

The assistant rises and pulls out a notepad. "Great One, our operative Zank was just compromised in New York City. He has been slain by Night Raid."

Ra's sighs. "Yet another one of my assets has been eliminated by those traitors. They have cost me enough manpower already."

"There is more," the assistant continues. "Our soldiers reported that Night Raid was assisted by the vigilante of the city, Night Arrow, and…" The assistant pauses, trying to find the best way to say his next words.

Ra's raises an eyebrow at his assistant's hesitation. "Yes? Go on."

The assistant sighs and says, "Master, they say that the vigilante wields the Bow of Conquerors: Hyperion."

Ra's al Ghul's eyes widen at this information. Only one person he knows of is capable of wielding such a weapon.

The infamous deserter, Tai Nguyen.

Ra's rises from his seat and walks to the window, wine glass in hand.

"So, the rumors are true. The Archer has returned," the Head of the Demon muses to himself.

"What are your orders, Great One?" The assistant asks.

"Inform our operatives that we will be accelerating our plans for New York City," Ra's commands. "Also, inform Al-Liwa', The General, that I require her presence immediately."

"Your will be done, Great One." The assistant bows before leaving the room.

Now alone, Ra's al Ghul stares out of his window and contemplates recent events. Night Raid and The Archer by themselves are enough of a hindrance, but if they were united once again, they would be a more powerful and dangerous enemy than the likes of Batman and Green Arrow.

No matter. Ra's has more than enough assets to combat against these troublesome deserters. All he has to do is make some adjustments to his master plan.

"And so," Ra's mutters to himself, "the game begins."


A.N.: And cut! Sorry about the long wait. Family time, friends, the weather, and Covid-19 complicated things a bit for my writing schedule, but with focus, determination, and coffee, I was able to make some major progress with my projects.

Speaking of which, I bet quite a few of you are curious as to just what I have in store for the Anime Cinematic Universe. Well, here is what I have slated for the first Phase:

Phase 1:

Atlas: Titan Rising: a TigerXBunny/Young Justice crossover fic. In Sternbild City, heroes fight crime for fame, money, and glory. But an armored vigilante arrives to disrupt the powerbase in Sternbild City in a quest for justice, and make the people question what it means to be a hero.

Sentinel: Odyssey: a Naruto fic that technically exists in the Young Justice universe. A teenage boy from New York City is transported to a hidden land near Japan by a mysterious power. Using this power, he searches for a way back home, shattering the status-quo and finding love along the way.

Night Raid: Assassin's Ball: an Akame ga Kill/Young Justice crossover. Taking place at the same time as Sentinel: Odyssey, a former assassin has left his murdering ways behind and now uses his archery and stealth skills to protect his home city of New York. But when his former league threatens to purge the city, he enlists the help of a group of fellow deserters to save everyone.

Godspeed: A Young Justice/Tokyo Ghoul crossover with lots of other elements mixed in. A young man wakes up in Tokyo with amnesia and super speed. As he tries to piece together his past, he uses his superpower to defend Tokyo City with the help of other fellow outsiders, including a half-monster and an alien princess.

Supernatural Chronicles: A Highschool DXD/Blue Exorcist crossover that technically exists in the Young Justice universe. This story follows three individuals: An archangel's daughter from Los Angeles training to be an exorcist, a young man wielding blue flames forced to become a devil's servant, and a mega-pervert recruited by fallen angels. All three characters interact with one another, eventually culminating into a grand showdown for the fate of humanity.

There'll be another Phase of solo fics before it all culminates into the formation of the superhero team known as Final Justice. After that, apart from some side fics, the story will mainly focus on the Final Justice team, which consists of both OCs and established characters, all of which have powers so extraordinary that they will surpass the Justice League as defenders of Earth. Keep in mind that though this story takes place in the Young Justice universe, events will change from the Young Justice story in a very dramatic fashion.

Anyways, let's talk about what transpired in this chapter.

Firstly, the Bow of Conquerors: Hyperion is an OC Teigu based off of the Epirus Bow from the 2011 movie "Immortals". The movie was 'meh', but the Epirus Bow was a powerful weapon. Tai's Teigu will have more tricks and techniques to it, including its multi-arrows and its teleportation.

As for the Teigu themselves, there is no First Emperor who makes these weapons in this universe, so I had to make another entity to take care of their creation; the Brotherhood of the Forge. This ties in with my other fic, Sentinel: Odyssey, and is part of my world-building process.

Lastly, since there is no Empire, the League of Shadows is responsible for the origins of the heroes and villains of Akame Ga Kill in this universe. What better organization for these characters to be affiliated with in the DC Universe. I had the idea to make a Latveria-esque nation in Eastern Europe where the Empire could exist, but that was for the Anime Cinematic Universe without DC, which is officially scrapped.

With that out of the way, I hope you enjoyed this story so far, along with the other stories being written in Phase 1. Next update will be Iron Man: Titanic Adventures.

Dropareviewifyoucanflamerswillbeignored.