Sorry for missing last week, I've had a lot on my plate the last few weeks and I haven't had much time for writing. Anyway, hope you like the chapter, please review.
Mallory was working in the living room the next morning when she heard Alex stirring, going about his morning routine the same as he did every day. When he came out of the bedroom, though, he paused when he saw her, still sitting in the same spot she'd been in the night before when he got back from work.
"Did you get any sleep last night?" he asked, continuing on to the kitchen.
"No, I'm not tired anyway. There's a way in this thing, I know it. I just can't figure it out."
"Which is why you called Nightwing, and he'll be glad to help you as soon as he gets off work tonight. You shouldn't have spent the whole night on this, you still have a full day of work yourself."
"I'm–" he arched an eyebrow and she sighed, smiling as she changed her word from 'fine' to, "going to get some sleep tonight."
He nodded, satisfied if not completely convinced. "Good. Same goes for Dick when you see him. I have no idea how any of you are still alive, but I'm making it my mission to keep you that way."
He kissed the top of her head as he passed her on the way out the door and she rolled her eyes. "Right, but you don't want to make it official." He grinned over his shoulder, not answering the accusation, and she laughed to herself, shaking her head and stretching. She noticed that he'd left her a breakfast wrap on the counter, brightening her mood considerably. She pushed herself to her feet, shutting down her computer in favor of eating breakfast and grabbing a shower before work. Alex was right, she wasn't going to get anywhere with it without help, so why waste a perfectly good morning?
She went straight to the Watchtower after work and practically pushed Zatanna out of the way so she could start pulling up the contents of the hard drive, not wanting to waste a second once Nightwing got there. Even using the League's decoding software, though, she was blocked out. She was getting frustrated with the task when the computer popped up with a zeta tube authorization, a new addition to the Watchtower security since Red Hood's surprise attack so that whoever was on monitor duty could know exactly who was on the satellite at all times. Nightwing and a guest were announced, and a moment later their friend came through the doorway, a younger boy in a Robin suit in tow.
"Hey, sorry it took so long, I got tied up."
"Don't worry about it, you weren't the one who had to hear her arguing with the computer," Zatanna joked, her gaze flitting between her ex and his newest brother. "Hello, Damian."
"It's Robin," the kid snapped, then he rolled his eyes and shot a glare at Dick. "Of course you would spread my secret identity to everyone you come across. It is a miracle that Father's identity survived his years with you."
Mallory tilted her head, surprised at the child's very adult demeanor. "What's the newest bird doing here?" she asked, ignoring the kid.
"I believe you mean the last Robin," he said grandly.
Mallory and Zatanna exchanged an amused glance before snorting back laughter. "Yeah, sure, kid," Zatanna said, and Mallory added, "Have you met Bats? There'll be another one before you break you costume in, just like he did to Tim."
Damian shook his head, his glare one to rival any of the Bat family before him, but Dick put a hand on his shoulder, physically holding him back from doing anything to the girls. After a beat, Mallory asked again. "He's up here because...?"
"I can answer for myself," Robin said, stepping closer to her. He looked her up and down disdainfully and added, "though I do not usually address inferior beings."
The girls' eyebrows shot up, unsure whether they were more amused or annoyed by the mini assassin's comment. Dick rubbed the back of his neck. "Uh, why don't you go check out the simulation room? It's–"
"I know where it is." Robin gave each hero one more unimpressed look and turned on his heel, stalking out the room and on down the hall.
The friends were quiet for a moment, waiting for his to get out of earshot, then Zatanna arched an eyebrow. "Really, Dick?"
He sighed. "I know, but I didn't have a choice. There's…some stuff going down at the manor, too many people cooped up together, I think. Well, that and Bruce made Alfred take a vacation, and now there's no referee. Dami and Tim really don't get along, we can't leave them alone together. Besides, it'll be good for him to interact with the team a little. He's been raised as a fighter his whole life, he doesn't know how to relax and be a normal kid. All he needs is a little socialization and he'll be fine."
The magician rolled her eyes. "He's an assassin, Dick, not a dog. He needs a little more than playtime to change."
"Yeah, well, I'm working on it. A little at a time, ok?" He looked at Mallory, ready to move on. "So, what you got for me?"
She gestured to her screens. "Nothing, that's what. I've been working on it all night, but I don't have anything to show for it."
Their favorite hacker grinned and cracked his knuckles, ready for the challenge. "Ok, let's see what they didn't want us to find."
They'd been working nonstop for two hours when Mallory paused and stretched, ready for a break. "You want a snack?" she asked.
"Yeah, whatever you get," Dick replied, not looking away from the screen. She was almost out of the door when he added, "and check on Robin, will you? I don't trust it when he's this quiet."
She nodded and went to the kitchen, pulling out a large bag of pretzels and grabbing a soda for herself and two capri suns for Dick. She was just closing the fridge when she realized that Dick was right. It was too quiet. Most of the team should be up here by now, not to mention the League members, There hadn't been any movement since Red Tornado came to relieve Zatanna on monitor duty. She went to the lounge, but Ice was the only one in there. She moved on to the Bridge, then marched to the simulation room, very concerned now.
When the doors slid open, there was a full on fight in progress, but the machine was fully powered down. The team was battling Damian, animosity behind the attack. The boy had his sword out, and the team was struggling to get close enough to disarm him. She was so stunned, she froze, just watching the teenagers fighting the child, but when Jaime pulled out a cannon and she could only assume he was planning on shooting the blade out of his hand, she snapped out of her daze and strode into the fray. "Enough!" They all froze when they heard her voice, and she took the opportunity to step between Damian and the team, careful not to turn her back on Bruce's son. "What is going on in here?" she asked, holding her lecture for when she had the full story, though she could figure it out without much effort.
As an answer, Bart, who hadn't participated in the mindless fight, sped over from where he'd been leaning against the wall snacking on some freeze dried chicken whizzies, slinging an arm around her shoulder disarmingly. "Inferno! Hey, it's really nothing. How about you don't tell anyone about this and we just forget about trying to kill the child? Hey? What you you say? For old times sake?" She arched a stern eyebrow at his and he retrieved his arm, taking a step back. "That's a no," he told the others.
"Well, it's not like we weren't provoked," Cassie muttered.
Mallory almost laughed, but she caught herself at the last second. "He's six, you're all supposed to be adults, or at least close to it."
Robin smirked, scanning the group. "Father was right to withdraw his image from this pitiful League. There is not an adequate fighter among you."
Cassie gestured to the boy, as if proving her point would make attempting to beat up a child ok, but Mallory shook her head, signaling for them to stand down. "Dam–" she paused, wincing, and forced herself to use her friend's former title for the brat standing in front of her, "Robin is here to observe the team and benefit from it." The boy snorted, making his opinion on her statement every clear, but she ignored it and continued, "let's let him have the simulation room to train, you guys can go to the lounge or something."
"But we came up here to train," Jinx argued, not willing to lose. "Well, then…" Mallory started, trying to come up with a compromise that wouldn't include either party fighting back. Their comms went off, calling the team to report to the bridge for a mission, and she sighed in relief. "Good timing," she muttered as the team, herself included, hurried out the simulation room to change into the costumes and report for their mission.
Ten minutes later, everyone was assembled in a line, Megan in front of them with the mission specs on a screen behind her. A terrorist organization had taken several members of the UN hostage in a siege just minutes ago, and they had been flown out to a remote location in New York state until their demands were met.
"The hostages need to be kept safe at all costs," Megan was saying, showing the list of seven men and women that were taken, "but the terrorists need to be dealt with as well. They've threatened to kill the ambassadors if they even suspect that the League is being sent in, so it's up to us to handle it while the League stays in view of the public at all times. Tigress will lead Alpha, their job will be to get the hostages to safety, and Superboy will lead Beta, they will distract the perpetrators and take them down. Questions?" No one had any, so she nodded and started assigning squads. "Jinx, Static, Nautica, Inferno, you're Alpha, Blue Beetle, Icicle Jr, Wonder Girl, Kid Flash, Geoforce, you're Beta. You'll regroup once you complete your assignments. Move out."
They loaded onto the bishop and were through the zeta tube in under a minute. They were two minutes out from the target when someone cleared their throat from the back of the ship, making everyone turn and repress the same groan at the sight of the youngest bat standing there, one hand resting on the hilt of his sword.
"Robin, what are you doing?" Tigress asked, not even attempting to conceal her annoyance.
He wasn't phased. "Grayson told me to observe the team," he said simply, then smirked and added, "though what he thinks I can learn from you, I do not know."
"We get it," Virgil said, aggravated. "We're incompetent, you're superior in every way, we should just stop trying."
The boy narrowed his eyes, his visors not much more than slits, picking up on the sarcasm, but Conner put a stop to the fight before it could begin. He had the bioship make a seat for their friend's brother and told him to sit. When he did, the clone told him, "you can't come into the field with us." He didn't even look at the kid, just focused on maneuvering Bioship into the clearing so they could get the mission started.
The team got ready to file out, but the newest Robin wasn't going to just let things go. "I am well trained. If fighting is the issue, then it is these pretenders who should be held back. I was very close to taking them all down back at your base. If Father wasn't so against killing, I would have."
Cassie let out a quiet squeak at the declaration, but Conner didn't budge. "You're not trained to work as part of this team," he explained.
"Or any other one," Mallory muttered, earning a glare from both the assassin and the clone. She shrugged and scooted past them, making her way down the ramp. "Leave me out of it."
Tigress and the rest of Alpha followed her out, leaving Beta to deal with the Bat Brat alone.
It only took them two minutes to get into position and signal Beat to start their attack. They waited until they could hear the sounds of the fighting before taking their opportunity to slip into the building unnoticed.
They were halfway to the hostages when Inferno and Tigress paused, exchanging a glance. Something wasn't right. They both felt it. It was too quiet, even with the frontal attack, and their entrance hadn't tripped any alarms. Mallory looked around, switching her mask to inferred, and Jinx saw her staring at a spot on the ceiling and flung her hand at the spot. All of a sudden, the ceiling panel dropped, a small figure coming down with it and landing in a crouched position. Everyone on the squad groaned audibly when they realized who it was.
"Robin, you shouldn't be here," Tigress hissed, rolling her eyes and relaxing her stance.
"And you should have noticed me long before we reached the base. I certainly would have."
Mallory rolled her eyes, switching her visors back to normal. "Well, at least we know why this is going so smooth," she said. "Thanks for taking out the alarms, I guess."
He gave her a strange look. "I did not." Immediately, the team started moving again, not even needing to communicate why. Someone else was after the hostages, and they had to get there first.
Nautica reached the door and threw it open, a water shield ready for an attack. There were two men inside, and they opened fire on her before the squad could rush in. Her shark tattoos glowed brighter as she shifted her shield to one hand, creating a dozen spikes with the other, and aimed. She was about to release them when Virgil grabbed her arm, disrupting her aim.
"Hey, woah, wait a minute," he said urgently, then he walked in front of the shield, standing between Alpha squad and the two men. "Arsenal, man what are you doing here?"
The others stood down at the familiar name, and with the view clear of the watery haze, they recognized not only the original Roy Harper, but Red Hood as well, but standing in front of the hostages, two terrorists bleeding in the corner. Mallory decided to tell herself that they were alive for her own sanity's sake. "Same as you," Arsenal was saying, rolling his eyes behind his mask. He'd let his hair grow out a bit, and a baseball cap was pulled low over his forehead.
"Well, we haven't got all day," Damian said, striding past all of them to examine the window.
Jason's eyes widened, then narrowed, the only facial expression visible from under his helmet. "Oh, you have got to be kidding. You let the Demon Spawn in? Wow, you guys have gotten desperate."
"We didn't let him in," Jinx assured him, glaring at the interloper. "He didn't give us a choice."
"All right, come on, we can deal with this later," Tigress said, going to one of the ambassadors and helping him up. "Can we get out of the window?"
Damian nodded, pulling out a grappling hook, but Jason shook his head. "It's too far down, and there's no cover. If we're seen, it'll be a firefight to get out, and the hostages will be the first to drop."
"All right, back the way we came, then," Artemis was already leading the way, her crossbow in one hand, the other being used to prop their Britain ambassador up.
"We'll take point," Arsenal offered, pulling a fresh arrow out of his quiver. He and Jason went to the front of the group, their weapons ready.
"Hey," Artemis hissed, and when they looked at her expectantly, she narrowed her eyes. "No killing."
Roy rolled his eyes dramatically. "You take the fun out of everything," he complained, and Mallory shook her head, practically lifting the last ambassador, an older woman from Nigeria, to her feet. "Just move," she said.
For all the jokes in the hostage room, the Outlaws were all business as soon as they stepped into the hallway. The place was basically deserted, so they made good progress retracing their steps. Hood slowed at the fallen panel, checking for signs that there were more groups than just the two, but the team didn't even glance at it so he moved on. They had made it out of the building before they came across any terrorists, and the three that rounded the corner heading away from Beta's fight didn't even have time to raise their guns. Red Hood and Arsenal fired and they were down the next second, two with bullets in their knees and one with an arrow lodged deep in the joint between the arm and shoulder. Tigress glared at them, but Roy raised an eyebrow. "What? They're fine, look at them."
They were, in fact, screaming in pain and clutching their bloody, life crippling injuries, but to give the boys credit, they weren't dead. Artemis rolled her eyes. "Just keep moving."
It was a short trip through the woods to the Bioship, and they reached it before Beta. When Tigress asked if they needed backup, Conner refused the help, telling them to stay with the hostages while they wrapped things up. "Well, I guess we're done, then," the squad leader said. She looked at the Outlaws, who were hanging out on the ramp. "Thanks for the help. Do you need a ride?"
Jason shook his head. "Nah, we're good. We still have work to do."
"What work?" Jinx asked, but Roy shook his head.
"Better if you don't know. And, on a completely unrelated note, you wouldn't be willing to 'forget' to load up the terrorist leader, would you? As a professional courtesy?"
Mallory smiled a little. "Not a chance."
"Figures." They started down the ramp, and Virgil followed them to the opening.
"Hey, don't die," he called.
The Outlaws exchanged a smirk. "Been there, done that," Jason called back. "It's overrated." With that, they jogged to the edge of the clearing, the woods swallowing them up in seconds.
"So, how was it? Being back?" Mallory asked Brion as they walked from the hangar to the Bridge.
He grinned. "It…was good. I did not realize how much I missed it."
She nodded, following his gaze to Nautica, walking with Jinx a few paces in front of them. "You know," she said, trying to keep the smile subtle, "everyone missed you. In case you were wondering."
He rolled his eyes. "I am sure."
She chuckled. "Just thought you'd want to know." She saw Damian catching up to them and made her escape. "I have to go check in with Dick. I'll see you later." She was off the Bridge in seconds, not slowing down until she swung into the monitor room, where her friend had pulled up a chair and was just sitting, staring at the screen. "Your family is a hot mess," she informed him, smiling a greeting at Tornado and flaming up just enough to hover beside him, crossing her legs in the air.
He chuckled. "You don't know the half of it. How'd Robin do?"
She shrugged. "Ok, I guess. He's not ready to join the team, but he didn't kill anyone, and he's not the brother that stole a prisoner out from under Beta's nose."
He cackled, the sound bringing a smile to her own face. "Wow, the bar's so high," he said sarcastically.
"You're the one who set it. So, what did you come up with while we were gone?"
He looked back at the screen, his smile turning to one of satisfaction. "Well…" He spread his arms and the files spread out in front of them, all unlocked and organized by levels of importance. She looked around, impressed as always by his skills, and started reading some of the files from the first, the most important according the Nightwing, folder. There were multiple orders for Apokaliptic tech, receipts for meta teens, dates for deliveries and meetings, and all of it was connected with the same set of coordinates. Coordinates that Dick had pulled up and marked on a map, set in the northern part of Metropolis. "Looks like you were right about Intergang."
She nodded, her gaze locked on the little red arrow marking the Manheim Mansion. "Call Roy," she said, looking back to Dick. "Looks like the Quitters have some unfinished business."