A/N: I own nothing you recognize.
A new villain for Lark :)
Update (May 2023): so I changed Fireworks a little! It's not super major, and it doesn't change the trajectory of the story, but I think it gives a little more insight to the changes Lark is experiencing, and also I realized it didn't make sense that she would be electrocuted if Desmond wasn't originally planning on taking her DNA. Anyway, it's not necessary to reread, but if you are interested in seeing the new scene, it's the scene where Desmond is collecting their DNA.
(Also sorry, this will be going in the A/N for the chapters I have posted, just in case someone is in the middle of reading the posted chapters *sheepish smile*)
2.2 - Hack and You Shall Find/By Hook or By Web
Location: Infinity Island, Headquarters of the League of Shadows
Date: Wednesday, July 07, 2010
Time: 2322 ECT
"Great One, you are receiving a call."
A small frown graced the face of Rā's al Ghūl. "I was not expecting a call from the Light," he said. "Tell whoever is on the other line that it is late, and they will have to call back tomorrow."
"She says it is quite urgent," the Shadow said hesitantly. "And she also told me to tell you that if you did not pick up, she would not hesitate to storm the island and—"
"All right, that's enough," Rā's cut off tiredly. There was only one woman who had the means to carry out a threat against Infinity Island, and this was one woman whose good side he wished to stay on. He stood and swept out of the room, his emerald green cloak swishing softly after him.
He reached his office and after ensuring the door was locked and the room was secured from prying eyes and ears, raised the clear screen that allowed face-to-face contact with members of the Light.
"Great One." The woman on the other side of the glass offered him a short bow, the jade-tipped gold hair sticks holding her black hair in place glinting in the light as she did. When she straightened, he saw she was wearing her usual jade-green lace domino mask, which was more to obscure her identity rather than hide it completely. Her dark brown eyes sparkled as she smirked.
"Jade Emperor."
The regal figure facing him was one of the most feared people in Asia and had been for the past twenty years. At the age of twenty-five, she had been the youngest person to take on the Jade Emperor mantel and she had thrived in the position, nearly doubling the size of the ancient criminal organization that her family had run since even before Rā's al Ghūl's early days.
As had always been the case with the coveted mantel, whoever bore the title was shrouded in mystery, with only the inner circle—the Yuqi Guwen—privy to the Jade Emperor's identity and plans for the organization. When the need arose, a member of the Yuqi Guwen would play the role of Jade Emperor to protect their real identity.
"Do not greet me as though you did not threaten my island moments ago," Rā's went on stiffly and the woman just laughed as though they had just shared a funny joke. "What do you want that requires a late-night call?"
"A favor, actually."
"You threaten Infinity Island and then have the nerve to demand a favor?!" he snarled.
She just waved off his anger, which only served to infuriate him more, but he did his best to contain the worst of his wrath. "I promise you, Rā's, you have nothing to lose," she said.
"Why does that not reassure me?" he growled.
"My best in your employ, no strings attached."
Rā's' eyes narrowed. "You never make a move unless you think it can benefit you," he stated. "So, what's your endgame?"
"That is none of your concern," Jade Emperor sniffed, but Rā's could tell there was something more to this request than she was letting on.
It was Rā's' turn to smirk. "I will only agree to your request if you tell me why you are willing to let go of your best asset."
"I am not letting him go," she snapped. "He will be on loan, and I expect him to be returned." The ancient man before her remained silent, his eyes challenging. Jade Emperor's nose curled just slightly before she sniffed, "There is a potential asset in play that I would like to bring into the fold, and your people are in a better position to approach her."
After a beat, Rā's nodded. "Very well," he said. "As a matter of fact, there is a mission I am dispatching my Shadows on tomorrow. Have him at Infinity Island by the evening."
Jade Emperor bowed. "Thank you, Great One." Her screen went dark, leaving Rā's to contemplate what she had in mind.
"The Great One honors me with his presence."
Rā's al Ghūl's eyebrow quirked just slightly; this was who she was sending? "Well, when you are the child of one so esteemed as the Jade Emperor, certain courtesies are extended," he said to the young man that stepped out of the helicopter.
"I appreciate it nonetheless," he said with a polite bow. "I'm sure there is plenty I can learn by spending time with your esteemed Shadows."
"Let's get started, then."
Rā's turned and headed for the sanctuary, the young man a step behind. They walked through the halls, any Shadow they passed stopping to bow to the Demon's Head before going on their way.
They finally reached their destination and Rā's stepped aside so his guest could enter before him. He bowed again to the older mastermind and stepped inside.
"Master," Sensei bowed as the two seated Shadows scrambled from their seats to follow suit.
"Sensei," Rā's greeted. "You have one more for your mission tomorrow. Make sure he is well prepared."
"Of course, Master."
Rā's glanced around the room before nodding his head once and sweeping out. The Shadows bowed once more before taking their seats again, their newest arrival joining them.
The larger of the two looked down at the young man with a sneer. "You don't look like much," he taunted. "Who're you, anyway? You don't look at all familiar."
"The name's White Tiger," he said, unphased by the hulking figure in front of him.
"Another animal," the hook-handed man grumbled.
Sensei cleared his throat and silence fell. After a beat, he started.
"Our employers are…ending…their relationships with certain corporations they were previously doing business with," he said. "Cutting ties, so to speak, because of the…fiasco with Cadmus."
White Tiger knew all about that; his mother had seemed surprisingly okay with the mess that had resulted, and after a quick but intense study session on the Justice League and their sidekicks, she had informed him he would be working with the League of Shadows until further notice.
"They are being cautious," Sensei continued. "They do not want anything traced back to them. This is the reason we are called into action. We are the solution to the problem." He held up a photograph of their target. "We are the League of Shadows. Do not fail me."
Location: Wayne Manor, Gotham City
Date: Friday, July 09, 2010
Time: 0944 EDT
"Hey…hey…heeeeeeyyy…"
"…what?"
"Nomi, how's your arm?"
Naomi slowly peeled open an eye to glare at Dick for poking her awake. "S'fine," she slurred sleepily, her eyes already sliding shut again. "Alfred gave me the all-clear."
"Great!" Dick exclaimed loudly, and Naomi groaned as he began bouncing up and down on her bed in excitement.
"Whaat?" she whined as she buried her head under her pillows. "It's summer and we roam the streets until dawn. Let me sleeeeeep!"
"I found something!"
"Whaaaat?" Her voice was muffled under the pillows and blankets, but she was very clearly not happy with Dick.
"Just come down to the Batcave!"
"No!"
"Yes!"
"No!"
Dick sat back on his heels with a huff, thinking hard about how to get Naomi out of bed. An idea came to mind and he grinned wickedly, though that was missed by Naomi, and he scrambled out of the room.
When Dick left her room, Naomi peeked out from under her pillow and covers. Finding the coast clear, she sighed happily and closed her eyes again.
Naomi's reprieve was short lived, as a few minutes later, Dick came barging back into her room with one of the squirt bottles Alfred used to water some of the more delicate plants around the manor. He adjusted the nozzle so it went from spraying a mist to squirting a stream of water and got to work.
"Richard John Grayson!" she shrieked as Dick began spraying her with water. She sat up immediately and sent a dark glare his way, which went completely unnoticed as Dick just cackled and nailed Naomi between the eyes.
"Great, now you're up!" Dick said brightly. "Meet me in the Batcave!"
He scampered out of her room before she could retaliate, his laughter carrying after him.
Naomi muttered curses under her breath as she begrudgingly got out of bed and shuffled into her bathroom, running a tired hand through her hair.
She eventually made her way to the Batcave and found Dick in front of the Batcomputer.
"What was so damn important you had to wake me up before noon?" Naomi scowled, throwing herself into a chair beside Dick before pegging him in the side of the head with a grape.
"There's been a string of CEO deaths or disappearances," Dick said, ignoring her and not looking away from the screens.
"Okay, interesting…" Naomi admitted slowly, sitting up to properly read what Dick had pulled up on the many screens.
"And get this," Dick went on excitedly, "they've all had some sort of connection to Cadmus, or at least Cadmus corporate holdings."
"More interesting…"
"And I think I found their next target."
Naomi froze, pursing her lips as she asked hesitantly, "And what do you plan on doing with that information?" though she already had a feeling she knew what he had in mind.
"I'm thinking…a good training opportunity." Dick finally looked away from the computer to smirk at his sister, his blue eyes gleaming.
She gave him a deadpanned look. "You're kidding," she said flatly.
"Nope!" he said, popping the p. "You in?"
Naomi sighed heavily. "If only to keep an eye on you," she grumbled.
"Excellent!" Dick cheered, downloading the information to his and Naomi's watch holo-computers before contacting Aqualad and Kid Flash.
Location: Central City, Missouri
Date: Friday, July 09, 2010
Time: 1328 CDT
"So, why am I looking at a picture of…"
"Her name is Gonzalez. Selena Gonzalez," Robin informed the speedster.
"And we care why?" Kid Flash asked. "Other than the fact that she's a hottie?"
"And too old for you," Lark pointed out dryly, raising an eyebrow. "I didn't figure you as being into jail-birds."
"She's here in Central City and being targeted for a hit," Robin said, cutting off Kid Flash's reply. "There's a reason…I just don't know what it is yet, but I think I found something that might be related to her."
"Related how?" Aqualad asked.
"Looking through some of Batman's files I found that there have been a few targets," Robin explained. "Seemingly unrelated, but I've cross-referenced tons of data and I think I found a pattern."
"Looking through?" Kid Flash questioned, raising an eyebrow. "You mean hacked into Batman's files."
Lark scowled at Kid Flash as she subtly looked around the make sure no one had overheard his outburst.
"Anyway…" Robin said slowly, turning back to their small group, "I think this CEO might be next. All of the other 'hits' have been made to look like accidents, random muggings gone wrong, things like that. I figured we could look into this," he finished.
"And what brought this to your attention in the first place?" Aqualad asked.
"I've been looking into Cadmus the last couple of days—corporate holdings, who they do business with and such," Robin explained. "I noticed a few people they've done business with seem to meet with untimely accidents."
"You want us to look into this on a hunch that someone might have put out a hit on the CEO of this company?" Kid Flash asked incredulously. "Cool!" he said sarcastically.
Robin gave him a flat look.
"What about Superboy and Miss Martian?" Aqualad asked curiously.
"We don't want them in trouble before the Team even gets going, do we?" Robin asked. "Besides, if you think about it, we haven't even had a real outing as a team yet."
"Let's do it!" Kid Flash shrugged. "C'mon, Aqualad, this could be fun."
When Robin saw that wasn't enough to persuade Aqualad, he said, "Okay, think of it as a training session, then. We haven't even had one of those as a team yet."
"Then why are Superboy and Miss Martian not here?" Aqualad pushed. "They are part of the Team, are they not?"
"Yeah, but…we've been around longer than they have," Robin wheedled, gesturing between the four of them, "and we haven't even had much interaction with each other. We're always doing our own crime-fighting thing with our own partners. I figured it would be a chance for us to kind of clear the cobwebs before we get into full team mode."
"Cobwebs?" Kid Flash snorted. "You've been hanging out in dark caves way too much," he joked.
"I am not sure about this…" Aqualad said uncertainly.
"I am!" Kid Flash exclaimed. "Count me in! Besides, I think if Rob was able to convince Miss Rule-Following Lark to join us, you can relax a little too!"
"Hey, I'm just here to keep an eye on Robin," Lark finally said, holding her hands in defense. "I think K.F. can attest that I'm the only one who can make him see reason sometimes. If I think this even has a chance of going south, I'm pulling the plug," she said sternly, looking pointedly at Robin.
"Yeah, yeah, pull the plug, got it," Robin waved off, already pulling out his phone to look at the details.
"You think Selena likes younger guys?" Kid Flash asked.
"If she likes guys your age, then maybe she deserves to be a target," Lark snarked, scowling at the redhead.
"How do we know all of these random accidents and muggings are hits put out on people and why do you think they are all related?" Aqualad questioned.
"Who do you think is behind all this?" Kid Flash asked Robin.
"Behind it? Hard to tell," Robin admitted. "Could be Cadmus but none of the evidence points to them. But who do I think was hired to do the job on Selena Gonzalez? The League of Shadows."
"Whoa!" Kid Flash exclaimed. "Really?"
"Yeah," Robin nodded. "I think these 'accidents' were executed by them."
"Nice choice of words, Bird Brain," Lark muttered.
"Seems appropriate," Kid Flash shrugged.
"Wait," Aqualad interrupted. "Who is the 'League of Shadows'?"
Even Lark couldn't stop the dumbfounded look on her face. "What?" Kid Flash asked incredulously. "You've never heard of the League of Shadows? Have you been living in a cave or something?"
"More like underwater," Aqualad replied dryly.
"Oh, yeah…" Kid Flash trailed off.
"The League of Shadows is a deadly organization with their dirty hands stuck in a whole bunch of stuff all over the world," Robin explained.
"Killing is only one commodity they…provide," Lark added darkly.
"Allegedly," Kid Flash pointed out. "Nothing ever seems to get proven against those guys."
"Because they have agents installed all over the world who can act at a moment's notice," Lark said. "And also, they're just that good."
"So just to reiterate," Aqualad said slowly, "you want the four of us to look into what may or may not be a sanctioned assassination attempt on this CEO, carried out by a covert organization called the League of Shadows, without any of our teammates, and without authorization from Batman or the rest of the Justice League?"
"Yeah, pretty much," Robin said bluntly.
"What are we waiting for?" Kid Flash exclaimed brightly.
"You are way too excited about this," Lark said, raising an eyebrow. "And don't you dare say it's because you have a crush on our target. You're too young," she enunciated slowly.
"Okay, okay!" Kid Flash said, holding his hands up in surrender. "I won't say another word!"
Lark obviously didn't look convinced, but she let it go.
"Let's go," Robin said. He stood and dropped a hundred-dollar bill on the table, which was more than enough to cover the cost of lunch for four people.
Lark waved down a cab, and she, Robin, and Kid Flash crammed themselves into the backseat while Aqualad sat in the passenger's seat.
"Where to, kids?" the cab driver asked.
Lark gave the address of Selena Gonzalez's building. When they arrived, she tossed the driver a hundred dollars as she climbed out of the car.
Geez, the man thought. Where'd a girl her age get money like this? He didn't question the generous tip, though, and took off before she could ask for change.
"Now, to download the floor plans," Robin mumbled to himself.
"There's a café inside," Lark said, walking toward the entrance. "It's open to the public."
"That should work," her partner nodded.
"Great!" Kid Flash said happily. "'Cause I'm hungry!"
"But you just ate," Aqualad said, sounding confused.
"Can't help it," the redhead shrugged. "It's a speedster thing."
They proceeded to the café and when Kid Flash reached the cashier with a tray piled high with sandwiches, fruit cups, and pastries, he provided the distraction Robin needed to hack into the cash register's computer and download the files and schematics he needed.
They found a table in the corner and Robin proceeded to send the necessary information to the others' phones.
"Looks pretty standard," Lark said after she had skimmed through the files. "Her company is located on the top four floors, and of course, her office is on the top floor."
"We'll keep an eye on her from the building across the street," Robin said. "But we need a change of clothes first."
Location: Central City, Missouri
Date: Friday, July 09, 2010
Time: 1954 CDT
"Why is she still at work?" Kid Flash asked through a mouthful of chips. "Everyone else went home hours ago."
"Could you not chew so loud?" Robin requested, not looking away from the window he was peering through with his binoculars.
"At this point, I wish he could feed with a filter system much like a humpback whale would," Aqualad retorted, looking like he was trying (but failing) to not look disgusted at the speedster's eating habits. "It would not be as nauseating to watch."
"Unfortunately, you get used to it," Lark grumbled, giving Kid Flash a side eyed Batglare.
"Ha, ha," the eater said sarcastically before swallowing. "Very funny."
"Could you just keep it down?" Robin snapped.
"Which one? My voice or my chewing?"
"Both!" Lark hissed, turning her Batglare full force to Kid Flash.
"I can't help it," he whined. "I'm bored. And I need to eat! We've been sitting here for hours. Do you know how hard that is for me to do?" he exclaimed. "She's been in that building all day. All of the employees have gone home, she's all alone. If they were going after her, don't you think they would have done it by now?"
"No," Robin said grimly.
"How do you know that, Einstein?" Kid Flash snapped.
"Because it's happening right now," Lark finished, leaning forward a little from her position beside her partner.
Kid Flash stood from his seated spot on the air conditioning unit and walked to the edge of the roof. "I don't see anything—"
"There," Aqualad interrupted, his eyes focused on the side of the building. "Below the window…movement. We—"
Before Aqualad could finish, Kid Flash disappeared in a yellow blur. Lark exchanged glances with Robin, who nodded and drew out his grapple. Together, they swung off the roof, Robin just ahead of Lark, and they sailed through the air toward Gonzalez's building.
Half-way down, though, Lark cried out in surprise as a mass rammed into her, causing her to go off course. She crashed through a window and went tumbling through cubicles, finally rolling to a stop.
She groaned, wincing a little as she felt the healing wounds on her upper arm pull, and she silently prayed they didn't start bleeding; Alfred would never let her hear the end of it if they were.
Finally, she pushed herself to her feet and turned to face her opponent, a masculine figure dressed in a dark gray one-piece uniform. White stripes similar to tiger stripes decorated the suit, which was complete with a full mask of a tiger's face in matching dark gray and white.
"I don't know who you are, but I won't let you get to Gonzalez," Lark declared, ready to fight.
"The name's White Tiger," the man's garbled voice introduced, and based on his lean form and the pitch of his voice, Lark guessed he was young, maybe a few years older than her. "And that's quite unfortunate," he said. "For you."
Lark threw down a smoke bomb and her eyes widened when a beam of sparkling white light streaked with pale purple cut through the smoke, crashing through a cubicle wall that had been behind Lark before she had dodged out of the way.
She popped out from the maze of cubicles to throw exploding birdarangs, but a wall of white light materialized in front of White Tiger, deflecting the birdarangs and forcing Lark to dodge out of the way as they ricocheted her way. Matching white and purple light glowed from the mask's eyes as he turned his gaze to her.
He raised a hand and a flash appeared from his palm before Lark could turn her head, momentarily blinding her. When she managed to get some of her vision back, it was in time to see White Tiger had popped up in front of her and had drawn back his fist. She managed to fend off his attacks as her vision continued to clear.
"I must say," he said as he backed her toward the wall of windows, "I'm disappointed. I expected more from the great Batman's little sidekick."
Lark growled as she felt her heel run into the wall. "I'm not a sidekick!" she yelled angrily, ducking at the last second, causing White Tiger's fist to connect with the window, which cracked beneath his knuckles.
He snarled and whirled around, opening himself up to Lark's attack. He avoided her first punch aimed at his jaw, but couldn't sidestep her foot, which shot out to kick the inside of his knee, making his leg buckle with a pained grunt.
Lark landed two punches, one after the other, on White Tiger's mask before she brought her knee up into his solar plexus. His breath escaped his lungs as he doubled over and she stepped away from him.
"That's more like it," he laughed, even as his breath escaped his lips in wheezes. Once he had caught his breath, he lifted his head to reveal the mask's eyes were glowing again.
Before Lark could react, White Tiger raised his hand and a larger hand manifested itself around her torso, her arms trapped at her sides. She grunted as he shoved her through another row of cubicles, the only thing keeping her from becoming too banged up the same thing that was forcing her through the weak walls.
She finally came to a stop when she went crashing into a water cooler. The giant hand released her as the jug of water toppled off its holder and crashed down on her. Lark groaned as the half-full jug bounced off her exposed ribs, feeling lucky they didn't crack at the impact.
"As fun as that was," White Tiger said as he walked toward her, "I think my colleagues are almost done with your little friends."
Lark braced herself against the wall as she got to her feet, but it was no use. White Tiger strode toward her and before she knew it, her back was to his chest as his arm hooked around her throat.
"Don't worry," he said as she struggled against his arm. "I don't want to kill you; I just need you unconscious so you don't get in the way."
Lark cursed her foggy brain, knowing that if it weren't for that, she wouldn't be so sluggish against him. As it was, her feet flailed, trying to find any part of his legs to stomp or kick. Black dots began to dance in front of her eyes as she gasped for breath, and before she knew it, she was unconscious, her body going slack against White Tiger.
He slung Lark over his shoulder as he stepped toward the hole they had made when they had crashed through the window. He raised his hand and a solid platform appeared under his feet, which carried him out of the building and to the grass below, where he could see Hook take out Robin as Black Spider approached the brightly dressed speedster.
"Where'd you disappear to?" Hook asked White Tiger as the younger villain landed beside him.
White Tiger let Lark slip off his shoulder as the white platform disappeared from under his feet.
"Figured it would be easier to take her down if she was separated from her partner," he shrugged as Black Spider used his webs to start tying the young heroes together. "And look! It worked."
"Wait, where'd that CEO go?" Hook asked, looking around.
"On it," White Tiger shrugged. He jogged around the side of the building and found Selena Gonzalez stumbling toward the street. "Sorry, Sel," he called. "But you need to come with me." He lifted a hand and a white ribbon shot out and wrapped around Gonzalez's upper body and mouth. "Come, come," he said, turning and rejoining the Shadows.
"Here she is," he said lazily. "Now, let's go!"
Location: Central City, Missouri
Date: Friday, July 09, 2010
Time: 2204 CDT
When Lark came to, the first thing she registered was the pounding headache. The next thing she realized was she was upside down, and finally, that she was tied up.
"Great," she mumbled, closing her eyes again against the blood rush.
"Ah, look, she's up," Kid Flash said to her right. "Morning, sunshine," he grinned.
Lark rolled her eyes. "Not now, Kid," she sighed. "God, it feels like my eyes are about to explode," she muttered.
"What happened to 'you'd call Batman if we got in trouble'?" Robin snarked from her other side.
"Oh, don't get me started," Lark snapped, turning her head to glare at him, ignoring the sharp pain at her forehead that resulted from the sudden movement. "I was a little busy dealing with my own Shadow, thank you very much! Besides, you're the one who took it upon himself to protect Gonzalez!" She sighed and closed her eyes briefly before saying calmly, "We need to get out of this."
"Aqualad is still out, I think," Robin said, peering around Lark the best he could to the Atlantean.
Their bindings suddenly grew tighter as Aqualad regained consciousness, tensing as he looked around. "What?" he said groggily. "Where am I?"
"You're awake?" Kid Flash asked. "Good! But we have some bad news and even worse news."
Below them, Selena Gonzalez said weakly, "Please…let me go."
"So, you four junior-grade good guys thought you could stop us?" Black Spider scoffed as he kept Gonzalez trapped between his body and his arm, which was held at her throat.
"Yeah, what were you thinking?" Hook chimed in importantly. "This is Hook, the Black Spider, and White Tiger you got here! We're good at what we do. We're professionals."
"Yeah, professional hit men for the League of Shadows sent to kill an innocent woman!" Kid Flash exclaimed.
White Tiger smirked beneath his mask as he lazily inspected his glove. "If I were you, I'd be more careful about the names you throw around, Speedy."
Kid Flash grumbled angrily under his breath.
"Why are you after her?" Robin asked. "Why is Selena Gonzalez targeted?"
"You're not in any position to ask questions," Black Spider said. "But we are."
"Let's start with an easy one," White Tiger said, pushing off his leaning position against the wall to approach the tied-up heroes. "How did you know we'd be here?"
They remained silent and Hook stepped forward. He shoved his metal hook for a hand in Aqualad's face and said, "He asked you a question."
"Like you, we do not have to answer questions," the Atlantean replied evenly, and Lark was impressed with his cool tone in the face of a trained assassin.
"Yeah, but you're going to," Hook said, "'cause you screwed up and got caught! Face it, you guys never even had a chance against us."
"What? We came here to stop you from hurting her," Robin said. "We did that!"
Hook barked out a laugh. "Are you kidding me?" he asked. "You stopped us, yeah, for like five minutes! You see what's happening here, right? You lost!"
Robin smirked. "You didn't take my utility belt," he said smugly.
"Wait…your what now?" Hook asked dumbly.
"You never took my utility belt away," Robin repeated. "You know, the thing that lets us escape."
"What the hell is he talking about?"
White Tiger groaned and face palmed. "His utility belt, you moron!" he snapped, gesturing to the dark purple belt slung over his shoulder.
"There it is," Lark grumbled. "You just made my list, buddy!"
He raised his hand, light ribbons starting to curl out of his palm, but it was too late.
"Now!" Robin yelled as the Black Spider's webbing ripped, letting the young heroes free.
"Dude!" Kid Flash grinned as he sped away. "Have I ever told you I love that belt?"
"What can I say?" Robin cackled, kicking Hook across the jaw. "It's the one accessory that goes with everything!"
"Robin the Fashionista," Lark smirked with her eyes locked on White Tiger. "That'll strike fear in the hearts of Gotham's worst."
"They're free!" Black Spider exclaimed unhelpfully, aiming his webbing at the young heroes.
"Spider, come on!" White Tiger yelled. "We've wasted too much time anyway!"
"So let's put some space between us and them!" Hook said. He aimed his hook-hand at the wall, which crumbled as the hook crashed into it.
Lark took off after White Tiger after sharing a nod with Robin. White Tiger dashed for the door, forgoing the hole created by Hook.
"You have something of mine," Lark growled when she managed to cut him off. "I'd like it back."
"I'm afraid I quite like it," White Tiger shrugged, shifting it on his shoulder so it was slung across his chest like a Girl Scout sash. "It's like your little partner said: it goes with everything." With a flick of his wrist, Lark was blinded once again, enough for him to slip past her and rejoin the Shadows.
Lark growled under her breath as she quickly blinked the spots from her eyes and ran after him. She skidded around the corner in time to see Robin slide under Hook's swing, only to be caught in Black Spider's webbing.
She automatically reached for a birdarang only to curse when she remembered that her trusty utility belt was currently in White Tiger's possession. Before she could duck out of the way, she was shoved across the room by a white hand and pinned against the wall next to Robin.
"I'm getting really sick of you," Lark muttered with a glare.
"Nice of you to join us," Robin quipped as she struggled against the light manifestation holding her against the wall.
"That should take care of them!" Black Spider smirked.
"Then let's get out of here before the other one shows up," White Tiger suggested when he noticed there were only three captive sidekicks.
"Just a sec," Hook requested as he stood in front of the teens. "I want to leave them with a lasting impression."
"Do you have a plan to get us out of here?" Lark asked Robin softly. "Because in case you haven't noticed, I'm short a utility belt."
That was answered for her when the water cooler behind the villain began to shake before exploding all together. The water sloshed past Hook to Aqualad, who appeared in front of Lark, Robin, and Kid Flash. A shield formed in front of them, redirecting the hook and causing it to crash into the ceiling. The rubble forced the Shadows to duck and take cover, distracting them long enough so Aqualad to approach the others without interruption.
"We need to have a plan of attack if we want to save this woman," he said as he cut Robin and Kid Flash free. "One that involves all four of us," he added sternly.
"If you got one, call it!" Kid Flash said.
"Robin, we need a diversion," Aqualad instructed. "Kid Flash, the woman. I'll free Lark."
Robin threw down a smoke bomb, giving Kid Flash cover to zoom in and snatch Gonzalez from the Shadows. Aqualad redirected the water from the cooler to the three Shadows, catching even White Tiger off guard. Lark's eyes widened as the water suddenly became electrified, and she was freed as White Tiger's concentration broke.
"Take Gonzalez and go!" Aqualad yelled over his shoulder. "Get her to safety. She's the one they're after."
"Not gonna happen!" Kid Flash said. "We tried that when we first got here and tangled with these guys! They kicked our cans all the way down the street and back! We're in this together! I'm staying!"
"You guys done being all mushy with each other?" Hook asked sarcastically.
"Look out!" Robin warned before tackling Aqualad out of the way, just as a hook went sailing through the air.
"Thank you," the Atlantean said.
"Incoming!" Lark alerted as she leapt over Robin's back to kick Black Spider in the jaw, causing his webbing to miss its intended target. A beam of white light wrapped itself around her waist and yanked her back.
Lark was pulled against White Tiger's chest, one arm pined behind her back while the other clawed at the arm hooked around her neck.
"Sorry about this," White Tiger said, not sounding sorry at all. "But we don't fail our missions."
"We'll see about that," Lark rasped as the hand behind her back fumbled with the pouches of her utility belt. Finding the one she wanted, she stopped grasping at White Tiger's arm and passed the smoke pellet between hands. She popped the casing and shoved it blindly under White Tiger's chin while finding the release clip on her belt.
Just as she suspected, she managed to get the smoke pellet between his mask and his face. He began coughing and he let go of Lark to fumble with his mask. She took the opening and spun around, raising her elbow to ram it into the side of his head. White Tiger stumbled to the side, finally getting his mask off.
White Tiger chuckled as he straightened. "Clever," he admitted as he put on his mask again, though not before Lark caught a glimpse of his face. She frowned slightly; something about him seemed…familiar. "But I think that's the end of that," he said once his mask was securely over his face again.
A loud explosion rocked the floor and Aqualad suddenly came up next to Lark as she returned her belt to her hips, followed closely by Robin and Kid Flash with Gonzalez.
"This is getting us nowhere!" Robin exclaimed.
"Agreed," Aqualad said. "Perhaps we need to steal away—"
"I'm afraid that's not going to happen," Black Spider said, using his webbing to cover the only exit.
"You guys interfered in something that had nothing to do with you," Hook growled as he shot his hook, "and now you're going to pay for it."
"With your lives!" Black Spider added, aiding the hook's momentum with his webs.
"Uh…that's not good," Kid Flash said plainly as Gonzalez screamed and the hook came within inches of their faces.
"Take her," Aqualad told Kid Flash again. "Find another exit and meet us one floor below."
"But—"
"Go!" Robin interrupted. "We'll meet you down there!"
Aqualad created a mace with his water-bearers and Hulk-smashed the floor, causing him, Robin, and Lark, to fall to the floor below.
They landed as Kid Flash joined them. "I don't understand what's happening," he said. "Who are those people?!"
"Not important right now!" Lark panted.
"We need to find the quickest way out of the building!" Robin said.
"They will not stop coming after Ms. Gonzalez and they will be looking for us outside, easier to pick us off," Aqualad deduced. "We need to go stealth if we want to turn the tables on them and end this."
"What do you have in min—WHOA!" Kid Flash cut himself off when the hook came crashing through the ceiling.
"Disperse," Aqualad said. "Hide and wait for my signal."
They split up just as the Shadow assassins dropped through the ceiling.
"Come out, you snot-nosed kids!" Hook growled.
"The minute you get outside we'll know where you are!" Black Spider called out. "You can hide in here but only for so long."
From across the room, Lark silently agreed with Robin to rendezvous with Aqualad, who had taken refuge in a cubicle that had survived the carnage so far.
"How do you want to approach this?" Robin asked softly once he and Lark were with Aqualad.
"I can take Hook," he said. "But Black Spider and White Tiger are fast and able to strike multiple targets from a distance, Spider with his webbing and Tiger with his…light beams," he said for lack of better words. "Do you think you two and Kid Flash can take them out?"
"On it," Robin nodded
"Give us five seconds, then make your move," Lark said. They split from Aqualad, who counted to five before stepping out and drawing the attention of the three assassins. "Hold," he said, his eel tattoos lighting up.
"Get a load of the human glow stick," Hook drawled.
"End this now," Black Spider said. "Give us the girl!"
"We might even spare you," White Tiger offered.
"That will not happen," Aqualad said.
"What are you going to do?" Black Spider mocked. "I checked this floor. There aren't any water coolers around for you to pull your water tricks with."
"You are correct," Aqualad nodded. "However, we are standing directly over a bathroom."
The floor began to rumble and before Hook could react, he was thrown in the air via a geyser of water.
While Kid Flash and Robin dealt with Black Spider, Lark readied herself for an attack by White Tiger, but none came. She frowned as Black Spider's webbing cuff exploded and she joined the others.
"Dude…nice," Kid Flash panted.
"Where's the girl?" Robin asked.
"And White Tiger," Aqualad added.
"Don't know," Lark sighed. "He must have slipped away in the confusion of the bathroom geyser."
"Then we are not done," the Atlantean said solemnly. "Split up and maintain communications." With no other suggestion, they took off.
A bat through and through, Lark found the highest building in the vicinity and grappled to the top. She surveyed the surrounding area, trying to think like a scared CEO.
Well, I certainly wouldn't stay here, Lark thought. But I wouldn't go home, either. They could be waiting for me there, or even at any known relative or friend. Hotel it is.
Lark pulled up her holo-computer installed in her glove and started a basic search for hotels in the area. Then came the question: what kind of hotel would Gonzalez chose? Given her position and salary, a nicer hotel would make sense. But would that be the obvious choice? If so, then Lark would lean toward a seedier location. But a seedier location also meant a lower chance of having security cameras of any kind, which would leave Gonzalez vulnerable to being snatched away with no trace. The cameras would also be a good way to track her within the establishment, though...
She groaned and rubbed her forehead; she was just going in circles.
The comm-unit crackled in her ear just then, and Robin asked, "You thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?"
"Hotels?" Lark clarified, looking around for her partner. She spotted him on the rooftop catty-corner to her and she saw him give her a thumbs-up.
"How do you want to cover them?" he asked.
"I'll take the hotels north of here by five miles, you take the ones south?"
"Sounds good," Robin nodded. "Happy hunting."
Lark rolled her eyes. "Always one with the words," she said.
"I try," Robin smirked before he took off along the rooftops.
She was grateful for the setting sun, as she had felt quite strange being in her Lark uniform in broad daylight. She moved seamlessly with the shadows that started to form on the roofs, making her way toward the hotel closest to the Farano Enterprises' building.
It was nearly midnight by the time Aqualad called them to regroup. In the almost three hours of searching, the four young heroes had communicated off and on, telling the others where they were or where Gonzalez wasn't or where they were headed next.
"We will resume our search tomorrow," Aqualad said. "It might benefit us to meet at the Cave beforehand to get a better idea of who Ms. Gonzalez is. Hopefully, we will get a better idea of where she might have gone."
They agreed to meet at nine the next morning and they split up.
Lark was quiet as she and Robin made their way to the Zeta-Tube. The Batcave was empty, for which Naomi was grateful; she really wasn't in the mood to discuss the mission with Batman.
Alfred was absent as well, and Naomi quickly changed before checking her arm. Thankfully, the scabbing remained mostly intact, with only little bits of newly dried blood dotting her arm. She quickly wiped off the blood and applied antiseptic just in case before finally heading upstairs.
The next morning, they gathered in the Cave, all in civilian clothes, and they talked family and friends, acquaintances, subsidiary holdings that might provide Selena Gonzalez a place to hide. They split up the tasks, agreeing to check in every hour or so, and they set off.
Location: Mount Justice, Happy Harbor
Date: Saturday, July 10, 2010
Time: 2212 EDT
"We looked everywhere for her," Lark sighed, rubbing her eyes tiredly as she forced her eyes away from the holographic screen in the middle of the training room-slash-mission room.
"She was pretty scared," Kid Flash pointed out. "She probably just ran and is hiding out somewhere."
"We checked her premises, and those of her family and friends," Aqualad said.
"Yeah, plus every address her company is connected to," Lark added.
"She is nowhere to be found," Aqualad concluded grimly.
"Guys, listen," Robin interrupted, and he unmuted the news report that had been playing in the background.
Beside Cat Grant's face was a picture of Selena Gonzalez's as the anchor said, "Police say it is too early to tell if the disappearance of Farano Enterprises CEO Selena Gonzalez is in any way connected to what happened at their corporate headquarters last night, although it is a good possibility that the two men captured on the premises and allegedly responsible for all the property damage have themselves escaped custody as they were being transported to a maximum holding facility."
"How could I have not seen it?!" Robin suddenly yelled angrily.
"When we were back in that building, Black Spider said, 'The minute you get outside we'll know where you are,'" Aqualad remembered.
"They had others outside," Robin growled.
"They must have been the ones to tell White Tiger to drop back," Lark said.
"They're the League of Shadows!" Robin continued, still sounding furious. "Of course they had others outside! We just never saw them, but they were there!"
"So, you mean Selena is…" Kid Flash trailed off and the room grew silent.
Robin angrily stalked through the holo-screens as Lark sighed heavily and rubbed her forehead. She heard Kid Flash sniffle and she turned to him to see him blinking furiously to keep tears from falling.
Lark placed a hand on his shoulder and gave it a slight squeeze. The redhead turned to her and gave her a watery smile.
"I'm good," he assured, though they both knew that was a lie. Lark also knew that Wally wouldn't speak until he wanted to, so she gave him a small smile and looked to Aqualad.
He stood off to the side, his arms crossed tightly across his chest. Lark gave Kid Flash's shoulder one last squeeze before going over to the Atlantean.
"How're you?" she asked him softly, keeping a respectful distance between them. Despite the fact Lark knew pretty much everything there was to know about Aqualad, she didn't know him personally and didn't want to overstep.
"I am okay," he nodded slowly. "It's just…always hard when you cannot save everyone."
"I understand," Lark said. "Gotham isn't exactly known for being…merciful on her citizens."
"It must be difficult," Aqualad said, looking at Lark like he couldn't quite believe her. "You fight in such a dangerous city, yet you never give up hope that what you are doing will have a lasting effect."
"It is kinda hard," she admitted with a small dry chuckle. "But having partners certainly helps. It's very rare all three of us are having bad days at the same time, so if one of us is struggling, we have each other to lean on. Speaking of…"
She glanced down the hall she had seen Robin disappear down, and turning back to Aqualad, she said, "I'd better go check on him. I'll see you later."
Aqualad nodded and she gave him a small smile before jogging down the hall.
She found Robin leaning against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest and his gaze piercing the ground. She remained silent as she joined him against the wall, knowing he was in no mood to talk.
"Gahh, how could I have been so stupid?!" Robin finally snapped at no one in particular.
Lark took that as the go-ahead and slung an arm around Robin's shoulders and hugged him tightly. He protested weakly at first, but finally sighed and leaned into her embrace.
"It's a learning process," she said matter-of-factly. "This is only our second mission, not to mention we had no intelligence prior. You can't expect it to go smoothly, especially against the Shadows of all groups."
"I know," Robin grumbled. "Still frustrating."
"Of course it'll be frustrating," Lark agreed. "But it's in the past; there's nothing we can do to change it, no matter how much we might wish we could."
Her tone took a sad turn, and Robin knew she was thinking about her deceased adopted parents, just as he was thinking about his family when she had mentioned changing the past.
"Come on," she said. "I think there's still some of Penny-One's lemonade in the fridge."
That got Robin to perk up a little and he straightened and hurried down the hall toward the Zetas. Kid Flash and Aqualad were already gone, and Robin and Lark stepped into the Zeta-Tube and appeared in the Batcave a second later.
They made it through the Batcave and the manor without running into Bruce, and they settled in the kitchen around the island, Alfred appearing as if by magic and pouring them each a glass of lemonade.
"Where's Bruce?" Naomi asked Alfred as he replaced the glass pitcher in the refrigerator.
"He said he wished to stay late at Wayne Enterprises and discuss upgrades to the vehicles with Lucius," Alfred informed. "He also said he would be back in time for patrol."
Naomi and Dick shared glances, and though Alfred noticed, he remained silent. He turned and left the kitchen, and Dick began nervously tapping his glass.
"Should we tell him?" he asked, glancing at Naomi.
"I don't know," she winced. "I get the feeling he might already know."
"That's somehow worse," Dick grumbled.
Naomi nodded. "Tell me about it," she muttered.
They met Batman in the Batcave, dressed and ready to go and looking like they were doing their best not to appear nervous.
"We'll talk about it tonight," he said bluntly as he swept to the Batmobile. "Robin, you take Uptown, Lark, Downtown, and I'll cover Midtown."
"Uh, oh," Lark muttered as she and Robin walked to their bikes.
"You said it," was Robin's glum reply.
Patrol was uneventful, which gave Lark and Robin plenty of time to worry about what Bruce's punishment for them would be.
When they arrived back at the Batcave, the two birds waited anxiously as Batman got out of the Batmobile.
"You should have called," he said as soon as his feet were on the ground. "The Justice League might have been able to save that woman."
"It's my fault," Dick admitted, hanging his head a little. "I thought it would be a good idea to team up before our first official mission, you know, get an idea how each other works."
"And that obviously didn't work," Bruce said bluntly.
Dick winced a little as Bruce turned his steely gaze to Naomi. "I expected better from you," he said. "You've always been the voice of reason, and yet you followed Dick head-first into danger, completely disregarding any consequences!"
"We did what you've been training us to do," Naomi said hotly. "We can't win every mission. We won't save everyone."
"But it's your job," Bruce said sharply, taking a small step forward and gesticulating with his finger for emphasis. "Your job is to save lives, no matter the cost!"
"We did our best!" Naomi exploded with a glare, not realizing the numerous shadows around the Batcave were beginning to quiver in response to her bottled anger. "I know that's not what you want to hear, but sometimes it's just the reality of the situation!"
"Uh, Nomi?" Dick asked nervously, having spotted the shivering shadows.
"It's not like you have a leg to stand on in this conversation, either!" she went on, ignoring Dick and the shadows, which were now starting to slither their way toward her. "How many people have you lost while on patrol or while fighting one of your Rogues?!"
Bruce's eyes hardened, and Dick cowered between them, uncertain if the safest place was beside Naomi or Bruce.
"We'll continue this conversation tomorrow," Bruce finally ground out before he turned on his heel and swept away, his cape snapping behind him.
Naomi let out a loud, mirthless laugh and threw her hands in the air, the shadows mimicking her motion behind her. "Great!" she yelled to the bats. "Another silent treatment coming our way!" The fight left her almost immediately, though, and she sighed heavily and hung her head, her arms dropping to her sides and the shadows returning to their stationary positions.
Dick approached her timidly. She let out a shaky breath and shook her head a little and looked surprised to see Dick still in the Batcave.
"I'm sorry I got you in trouble," he mumbled, staring forlornly at his feet.
"Hey, it's not your fault," Naomi assured with a small smile, wrapping an arm around Dick's shoulder and dragging him with her as she headed toward the changing rooms. "I should have done more, been more proactive, something."
He hugged her tightly when they reached the top of the catwalk. "I'm still sorry," he said before he headed into one of the dressing rooms.
Once Naomi was showered and dressed herself, she headed up to the Manor and went straight to her room; she was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to sleep.
She rolled her eyes when she entered her room to find Dick sitting on top of her bed. "Dick, go to bed," she said, trudging to her bed and collapsing onto the mattress, maneuvering under the covers.
"Just wanted to say, 'I'm sorry' again," he said, and Naomi reached up to flick the side of his head.
"Stop apologizing," she scolded, her eyes already sliding shut. "If you promise to drop it, you can stay. If not, get out," she added, not unkindly.
"Consider it dropped," Dick grinned before his expression turned uncertain. "What happened back there?" he asked softly.
Naomi's eyes, which had closed, slowly peeled open again. She knew what he was talking about, and honestly, she wasn't certain either. She had never had a temper, especially when she was Lark, and that was one thing for which Batman had always praised her.
But these past few months…she had just felt herself become moodier. Maybe it was just puberty finally hitting and making her hormones go wild, but for some reason, Naomi didn't think it was that simple.
"I don't know," she muttered, turning on her back and rubbing her eyes tiredly. "Do you ever have days where you just feel…frustrated for no reason?"
"No," Dick shrugged, and Naomi chuckled.
"Must be an age thing," she joked before turning solemn again. "I should apologize tomorrow, shouldn't I." It wasn't a question, but Dick nodded all the same. "All right," Naomi nodded with a sigh, her eyes already dropping closed again.
"Good night, Nomi," Dick murmured as he watched his sister's face relax as sleep took hold.
"G'nigh," she mumbled back. "You can stay," she added in a slur, and Dick smiled before settled in on the other side of Naomi's bed.
Down in the Batcave, Bruce sat in his chair, his elbows braced on the rollie chair's armrests and his fingers laced beneath his chin. Naomi's words rolled around in his head as he stared up at the dark computer screen.
What she said wasn't entirely not true, but that wasn't what made Bruce brood. It was the way she had said it, the look in her eyes, the expression on her face, the way the shadows had shivered all throughout the Batcave.
He had noticed a change in her behavior the past few months, though it had been so subtle he hadn't even thought about it until now. But on patrol, she was becoming increasingly reckless and out of control, often sending their adversaries to the hospital before police holding. In training, she had been going harder and longer, often not stopping for hours.
This, though…this had been new: the outburst, the shadows, the poorly concealed fury in her eyes.
He woke the computer and opened the files on Naomi's powers. Since their manifestation, they had compiled everything they could about her powers and abilities, hoping to get an idea where they had come from.
Now, though, Bruce created a new encrypted file and tucked it deep within the data on her powers, titling it Hong, Naomi – ORIGIN. Within it, he added everything he knew about Naomi—her birth certificate, the small news clipping about the abandoned girl in Chinatown, her adoption papers, the Williamsons' obituaries, the documents naming her his ward.
"Computer," he said, "begin a search on Hong-comma-Marion."
"Searching…"
Bruce sat back as the computer began to run the search on Naomi's birth mother in the background, returning to his previous position with his elbows propped on the arms of the chair and his fingers laced beneath his chin.
By all appearances, Naomi was one hundred percent human. Nothing unusual had ever popped up on any of her physicals or medical checkups, not even after her powers had developed. There was no indication she had been subject to a freak accident like Barry Allen, or that she had been some sort of science experiment like the Superboy. So just where did her powers come from?
Perhaps if he did some digging on her birth parents, something from their past would answer his questions, or at least point him in the right direction to find the answers.
It was nearing dawn by the time the computer finished its search, and Alfred nudged Bruce awake.
"A late night, sir?" he asked dryly, a silver tray with a small capful of mouthwash and a large mug of hot black coffee balanced in his hand.
"Something like that," Bruce sighed as he rubbed his eyes and took the mouthwash.
"A search on Miss Naomi's mother?" Alfred's eyebrows rose to his hairline. "Whatever for, sir?"
After spitting out the mouthwash, he said, "She's changing, Alfred. By now, it's more than just her powers. It's something more."
"And you think digging into her past might shed some light on these…changes?"
"I never questioned her powers!" he exclaimed, sound frustrated at himself for not being more suspicious at the time.
"Yes, you did," he contradicted simply.
Bruce spared Alfred a glance and amended, "I didn't question her powers enough."
"So just what are you hoping to find, sir?" Alfred asked as Bruce began to sort through the data the computer had compiled.
He got silence in response, and Alfred knew that meant Bruce wasn't even sure.
"It's all here," Bruce muttered after skimming through all the files.
"You don't look pleased by that, sir," Alfred noted.
"It's perfect. Too perfect."
"What, sir?"
"Marion Hong's life. There's no record of who Naomi's father is, but that's the only blip in the data. Every bit of information on Marion Hong is perfectly curated to make her seem like your average Chinese immigrant."
"What's to say she wasn't just that?" Alfred countered.
"Because what average Chinese immigrant would abandon their daughter at the age of six."
"Well, to play devil's advocate, you can't know under what circumstances Naomi was abandoned."
"Yet take their nine-year-old son," Bruce finished, sounding almost stunned at the news. Naomi rarely talked about her life with the Williamsons, and never talked about her childhood in Chinatown. So much of her life before the Williamsons was an unknown that Bruce hadn't even realized she had an older brother.
There were very few mentions of said brother, Aidan Hong, just his birth certificate and hospital records for a respiratory infection that had been brief but intense. After that, nothing.
"Well, I must admit, that does seem a bit suspicious," Alfred said slowly, his own eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
"This is it, Alfred," Bruce said, sounding at least a little please. "If I can pull on this thread, perhaps I can unravel this whole mystery."
"What if there was a reason for what Mrs. Hong did?" Alfred spoke up, the furrow now portraying his worry. "What if there's a secret that is best left in the past?"
"I'll be the judge of that."
The old butler sighed, clearly in disagreement with the younger man, but said nothing. At this point, Alfred knew better than to try to come between Bruce and one of his—and he meant it in the nicest way possible—obsessions.
"Very well, sir," he said. "Shall you be eating breakfast down here, then?"
Bruce just grunted in response and Alfred took that as a yes. Shaking his head a little behind his employer's back, the faithful butler turned and started up the stairs, leaving Bruce alone with his thoughts.