In Gotham, Lynn was on patrol as the Red Sparrow, and this time, she was getting acquainted with another member of the Bat Family. Cassandra Cain, the Third Batgirl, or Black Bat now known as Orphan, was trained by her father to be a living weapon, she's been welcomed into the family to have a better life and become more of a person. And with Lynn as the Bat's next protege, Cassandra was next to help train her to become a vigilante.
The assignment they had to take up right now? Monitoring and detaining at least one of the members of the Legion of Doom's junior division. Since their operation at Dairyland blew up in their faces...literally, they retreated to Gotham, a place filled to the brim with crime that no one even noticed a bunch of kids doing it. At the moment, Sparrow and Orphan were on top of a building, overlooking a hideout that the Doom Kids were using. It turned out to be one of the places Riddler used for his sick games in the past.
"According to Starfire, the brains of the operations, Sphinx was the one to look up this location." Orphan explained. "Ever since they destroyed that amusement park, and neutralized two of the Titans, they have gone into hiding until Oracle traced their location around this area."
"Are the Titans okay?" Lynn had to ask, fearing for the safety of her former siblings. Ever since she turned over a new leaf, she wanted to express more concern for those she cared for.
"Everyone's okay." Orphan answered. "But...Lincoln and Lucy Kent are the ones in need of recovery. They were exposed to a heavy dose of red kryptonite and are now seemingly intoxicated until they can get it all out of their system.
Meanwhile, at the Titan's Tower, Lincoln and Lucy were in the Emergency Room, acting a little...off while recovering. Ronnie Anne came to check up on them.
"Lame-O? You good, buddy?" She asked.
But then she was met with a dazed-looking Lincoln, going "Ronnie Anne...did I ever tell you how beautiful you look?"
That got her blushing right away.
"And that suit...you pull it off nicely...I think you're the hottest pre-teen superhero in the world."
"...Okay, time to get you back to sleep." Ronnie Anne remarked as she shifted one of her hands into a mace...and sent it down on Lincoln's head.
(NO KRYPTONIANS WERE ACTUALLY HURT IN THE MAKING OF THIS CHAPTER.)
After hearing that, Lynn felt like this just became personal, and thus, was more determined now than ever to see these posers brought down.
"That's all I needed to hear." She said to Orphan." Let's do it then!"
And with that, she jumped from the building they were both at, Orphan tried to grab after her and stop her from doing something reckless.
"Wait! Hold on, Lynn!" She called out, before shaking her head and going after her.
The Building that the Doom Kids were held up in was dilapidated and a bit of a wreck with only Riddler's old death trap contraption left behind. Since Sphinx's Uncle had caused so much destruction and "renovating" around North and South Gotham, a lot of people had abandoned the buildings that he marked as his territory. But it would have to do for now until Chandler can back into contact with his father.
"From leaving our mark on that backwater town to being stuck in a firetrap like this." Chandler sighed as he was seeing if he could get what remained of his mech suit working again. Meanwhile, JJ and Rosy were nursing their wounds while Sphinx was working on some of the machinery her father left behind here.
"This team is going downhill!" JJ whined. "I wanna go home!"
"Me too!" Rosy added. "I miss my mommy!"
"Oh, don't you quit on me now, you two!" Chandler told back. "Once we get back to my father, we'll be able to think of an even better plan."
"What could be better than an army of robots taking over an amusement park?"
Rosy then said "Yeah! It was supposed to work! How could Sphinx lose to those super-doofuses?!"
"Hey!" The genius of the operation spoke up. "I'll have you know that those robots were working flawlessly. But they weren't designed to fight against highly powered superhumans with extraordinary abilities and walking arsenals! It's YOUR father who got us this equipment in the first place, McCann! Perhaps you could tell him have them upgraded to meet their standards when he has the chance."
"Believe me, Sphinx, he's been trying to do that for a while. It's not our fault that more and more so-called heroes keep showing up out of the blue."
Speaking of which, Orphan and R. Sparrow took this as their opportunity to make themselves known. Crashing through the skylight, they landing in the middle of the Doom Kids' only four members.
"Chandler..." Lynn growled under her breath. "I've waited along time to kick your butt."
"Aw crud! Rosy, Giggles, do something!"
"What do you want us to do?!" They said in unison before Lynn smacked them with the back of her fists.
"Oh great. Sphinx, whatever it is that your doing-?!"
"Got it!" She screamed out, managing to reset the power of the building and activate her Uncle's leftover deathtrap. Gears turned, lights buzzed and hummed, sparks flew and both Vigilantes knew that they had to get off the electric shock platforms that were set up on the floor. Taking their grapple guns, they shot themselves up to the ceiling. Sphinx, realizing that she was in the middle of the deathtrap which she had no way of controlling, quickly grabbed a neighboring chain and climbed up it as the entire floor became electrified.
All the while, Chandler managed to get his mech going and used it to make a quick escape himself. Putting it in overdrive, he blasted himself across the room they were in and through the building, grabbing JJ and Rosy along the way, but leaving Sphinx hanging where she was.
"You'll never take me alive, you freaks!" He yelled out as he made his escape with the clown children. And even gave out a mocking hardy laugh as R. Sparrow and Orphan glared at him.
But Sphinx was still hanging from the chain she was on as she yelled "HEY! CHANDLER! YOU FORGOT ME! YOU SONNUVA-"
"Hey! Watch the language, girly!" R. Sparrow yelled out as she and Orphan had Sphinx right where they wanted her. Realizing that she had no way out, she surrendered.
Sometime later, they returned to the Batcave, and brought along a prisoner. Sphinx was now in a holding cell, and after a couple of hours of interrogation, brought by the Dark Knight himself, Batman had everything he needed out of her.
He was now typing away at the batcomputer with Red Sparrow and Orphan right behind him.
"Has she said anything?" Orphan asked.
Batman answered. "Yes...to tell you the truth, she hadn't shut up. But I managed to get everything out of her, regarding the Legion of Doom's Junior Division."
"Yeah, I definitely did not see Chandler McCann being the son to another egotistical mad scientist billionaire," Lynn remarked. "No offense."
"Some taken, considering I don't really think myself 'mad'." Bruce replied. "There's another thing I found out about her, regarding her...origins and why she turned to a life of crime."
The two proteges of Batman stepped closely as he began to explain more about Sphinx.
"...And I am mostly to blame." He started to say. "Her real name is Heather Nelson, mother of Angelina Nelson...who, as it turns out, is the half-sister to Edward Nygma, the Riddler." The did know the part where she was the Riddler's Niece, but this was new information. "Her parents were engineers, working in robotics, systems for navigation, acceleration, and lots of contracts regarding making the next generation of deep space exploration."
That did sound impressive. With a job like that, Heather's parents would have been set for life. What happened to them...cost her everything.
"Except, one night, rivaling engineers sought to get rid of their competition, set fire to their lab, igniting their prototype engines...Heather was there w
There it was. The reason for Heather's turning to a life of crime. At the loss of her parents, even she would feel that only he could be held responsible for that."
"When she was put into foster care, I made the mistake of turning a blind eye to her." Bruce continued. "I looked into her heritage, and...could confirm that Riddler is, in fact, her biological uncle."
"And when she found that out herself, she decided to become Sphinx." Cassie concluded.
"The things she has done or helped do would be enough to lock her up for a long time. But I don't want that for her, not without knowing that I can still help her."
All this made Lynn think about how messed up her family can be at times. Sure, they were crazy, they were even destructive, but they were there for each other. Her parents even tried to do a good thing when they took in Lincoln and Lucy for Superman and Lois Lane. Maybe they could do some good like that again.
"We can help her." She said, stepping up to Batman. With a confident smile, she remarked. "...I might have an idea."
They headed over to Sphinx's cell, where the girl was looking pretty depressed at this point, sitting on a cot that was in there and looking down, not even bothering to face Batman and R. Sparrow when they entered.
"...If you're gonna take me to the police now, then get it over with." She muttered. "I doubt Chandler's gonna be coming back for me anytime soon."
"You're not gonna be taking you anywhere, Heather." Batman stated. "...We want to help you."
"Oh, help me? Huh? Just like the first time you helped? By putting me in foster care the second it was convenient for you?!"
"I know I couldn't be there for your parents. But I at least want to be there for you."
"No, you don't!" Heather retorted. "You just want to domesticate me! Thinking I'm crazy! Well, I have every right to be crazy! After what you failed to do! Being put here was not something I was asked for! It was just thrown in my face! It is thanks to you that my life is hell!"
"We can at least get you a better home." R. Sparrow said before deciding to remove her mask and show her identity to Heather, much to her shock and that Batman's "My folks are pretty good at taking care of crazy children. I think they could make room for someone like you."
"Why would I even consider something as stupid as that?"
Lynn answered "Because I know you, Heather. I used to be like you and it drove everyone I cared about away from me. I didn't want that for myself anymore. But I was given a second chance, and so are you. If I were you, I'd take it. Trust me. It'd be all the better for it."
It was something Heather thought long and hard over. Over the years of driving herself crazy like her Uncle, wanting her revenge, but never getting the chance to do so until Luthor confronted her. Even then, she would hardly consider it a privilege, since she was left as his son's little maintenance girl for his crazy plans. And now, that she was completely abandoned by them, she had nothing. If she didn't take it, she'd be locked away regardless.
A better life, one similar to the one she had before...maybe that's something she's been looking for all this time.
"...I need some time."
Nodding at that, Batman replied, "Take all that you need, Heather."
"I'll be sure to let my folks have a room open for you."
Heather nodded at that, thinking that this might be the start of a brand new life for her.
"I'm telling you, Dad! This whole team is a joke!" Chandler complained to Lex Luthor. "Two little whiners from a clown he keeps getting his butt handed to him! And a bratty little orphan with average tech skills who's now been taken by those costume-wearing freaks!"
"Sphinx getting captured is of your own doing, son." Luthor told back. "If you hadn't been so cowardly, you would've handled this operation better."
"Dad, we need more members if this stupid team of yours is gonna work!"
"I'm looking into that now, son. But, I've also taken the liberty of finding you all a proper mentor. One who could rival that of the Titans'. Someone who can truly make you all an adversary to be reckoned with."
And that is when a door opened to reveal someone who was seen as the dark and evil version of Starfire. It wasn't too far off from what, or who she really was, as it was Koriand'r's big evil twin, Komand'r, Blackfire.
"So...this is the little twerp of yours you want me to discipline?" She sneered. "He looks like nothing but a brat sitting in a big man's chair."
"Hey! Who are you to-!" But Chandler stopped himself from insulting her when she through a black flame near his head.
"Blackfire is going to be leading the Legion of Doom's Junior Division for now, son." Luthor stated so sternly. "You best get used to it. I'll look into getting more members for your operation."
"I can't wait to get started." Blackfire said with an evil smile on her face, and now Chandler was fearing for his life as it is.