Chapter 60: Prodigal Son

In a seedy warehouse in the middle of the city, a man in a black and silver suit with a silver mask that sported red eyes walked inside, looking around for any occupants.

"Anybody home?!" he called out.

He was met with just his own voice reverberating off the walls.

"Heh. gotta say I'm a little disappointed."

As he turned to leave, he heard a faint sound above him. He looked up, his hand darting to the hilt of the sword on his back. As he did so, a figure dropped down from the rafters, causing him to leap out of the way as he drew his sword. He looked his attacker over, noting that they were a man of clear african descent. They were armed with long claw blades, and wore a leather coat over a bare chest, one covered in tiger stripe tattoos.

"The infamous Bronze Tiger," the man mused. "Interesting. Didn't think this was your usual scene."

"If you think this is a surprise, just wait until I'm done with you."

Bronze Tiger leapt at the man, slashing his claws at him. The man quickly blocked the attack before swinging his own sword at him. Tiger blocked the sword and used his other claw to try and slash at him. The man grabbed the arm, the claw inches away from his face. He then kneed Tiger in the chest before tossing him aside. Bronze Tiger rolled on the ground before landing on his knees as the man ran up, ready to run him through. Tiger caught the blade in his claws, shooting his arms upwards to dislodge the sword from his hands. Tiger then got up and tried slashing at the man, but he quickly blocked the blow before punching him in the face. He then grabbed hold of the arm and twisted it, causing Tiger to cry out in pain before the man kicked him in the back of the leg, causing him to kneel down. The man then hooked the hilt of the sword under his foot, allowing him to kick it into the air so he could catch it and aimed it at Bronze Tiger's head.

"So… how close do you want your shave?"

"That's quite enough!" a new voice announced.

The lights then suddenly turned on, revealing a man in black and gold armor. No human features were shown through the armor, a hood shrouding them even more, and a pair of red lenses serving for eyes.

"I'll admit, we had our doubts about you," the man admitted, "but it seems the Ravager is just as good as advertised."

"Better," Ravager agreed, letting go of Bronze Tiger and sheathing his sword. "So, does this mean I have the job?"

"Yes. It is clear you will serve HIVE well. Personally, I'm just glad to know that there's at least one member of your family with some common sense."

"Sometimes we gotta do what we gotta do. So, what do you want me to do, Jackal?"

"There is a military transport passing through Bludhaven. HIVE wants the cargo."

"What's the cargo?"

"You'll know it when you see it. Be warned though, you will be met with less than regular opposition."

"I welcome the challenge," Ravager replied, smirking under his mask.

As the two conducted their business, they were unaware they were being watched by a young man in a black bodysuit with a blue bird logo gracing his chest and a black domino mask over his face. He watched the exchange through a pair of binoculars, his eyes narrowing before he disappeared into the darkness.

Sometime later in Gotham City, Oracle was at her work station in the Gotham Clocktower. She took a sip of coffee as she sifted through various databases and dark web sources. As she did so, she caught mention of something interesting.

"Wonder what this could be," she mused, setting her coffee down and looking at the file she came across.

As she looked further into it, she found several instances of HIVE throughout the file. As she dug further, she became more and more concerned about what she found.

"Oh no…"

In the Batcave, Bruce and Tim were in the midst of an intense training session, the two armed with staffs as they traded blows back and forth.

"Remember Tim," Bruce instructed. "In order to gain an advantage over your opponent, you have to think several moves ahead. It 's not enough to just be in the moment, you have to be aware of the fight as a whole. From beginning to end."

"So, know what's going to happen ahead of time?" Tim surmised. "Like… this!"

He tried sweeping at Bruce's feet, but Bruce quickly dodged. Tim then leapt up and tried bringing his staff down on him, but Bruce blocked it just in time.

"Exactly," Bruce resumed. "You have to be ready and anticipate everything."

"Noted."

Tim then jabbed forward, but Bruce managed to block it, prompting him to spin his staff around and knock Bruce's staff out of his hands. Tim then pointed the staff at Bruce in triumph.

"And I believe victory is mine."

"You think so?" Bruce replied, smirking.

Bruce grabbed hold of the staff and jammed the opposite end into Tim's chest, knocking him to the ground as he took hold of the weapon.

"Alright… got me on that one…" Tim conceded before quickly kicking Bruce's feet out from under him.

As Bruce fell to the ground, Tim quickly leapt on top of him and pinned him to the ground.

"But now, it's on you," Tim remarked.

Bruce just smirked as he kicked Tim off of him. As the two continued having at it, Alfred watched on with a sense of pride and remembrance…

In Wayne Manor's workout room, Bruce and a young Dick Grayson were in the midst of a playful fencing match.

"En guarde," Dick challenged, thrusting his rapier forward.

Bruce easily blocked it as the two traded blows.

"Remember, don't throw all your energy into your attacks," Bruce instructed.

"I've got this!"

Dick charged forward, but Bruce dodged, smacking him in the back and knocking him to the ground. Dick picked himself up as he turned towards Bruce.

"See?" Bruce replied. "It's finesse, not strength."

"Oh yeah?"

Dick then sprang forward and tackled Bruce by the legs, knocking him to the ground. The two shared a laugh as they tussled on the ground.

Alfred's flashback, as well as Bruce and Tim's training, were suddenly interrupted by an alert from the Batcomputer. Bruce quickly got up and went to the computer, seeing it was a communication from Oracle.

"Oracle, what is it?" Bruce asked, taking a seat.

"Hey, you know how you asked me to keep track of that HIVE group if they ever popped up again? Well, I found something."

"What did you find?"

"Some dark web chatter about a HIVE team heading towards Bludhaven. Apparently, ARGUS is moving some kind of convoy through the city."

"What's ARGUS?" Tim questioned.

"A secret government installation that deals with terrorist threats out of the public view," Bruce answered. "Whatever they're transporting has to be pretty important for HIVE to expose themselves like this."

"Whatever it is, it's moving tomorrow night. Might want to call in your Super Friends and get ahead of this."

The next night in Bludhaven, a large unmarked truck made its way through the streets. Numerous unmarked SUVs were accompanying it a couple yards ahead and behind to secure it's transport. From a rooftop a block away, Ravager was keeping tabs on them as they rounded a corner.

"Target is en route," he reported.

"Proceed," Jackal ordered.

"Roger," Ravager replied before switching signals. "Move in."

As he leapt to the next rooftops, four military jeeps pulled out, quickly moving to catch up with the convoy. The jeeps quickly caught up to the jeep, quickly surrounding it. The driver quickly took note of this and became concerned.

"We've got company," he called in.

The SUVs quickly pulled up, ready to engage the jeeps. Seeing this, Ravager quickly leapt down towards the truck, landing on the top before looking back towards the street. He took out a small device and tossed it towards one of the SUVs, causing it to connect with the hood. This caused the hood of the car to explode, making the SUV veer off into another SUV, causing them to crash. This allowed the rear jeeps to pull up, prompting the men in each passenger seat to open their doors and prepare to climb on. Just then, a large grappling hook shot out, embedding right into the passenger door of one of the jeeps. The line retracted, causing it to slam in the soldier's face and make him fall back into the jeep. The other guy looked back, seeing the Batmobile quickly approaching. He reached for his gun and began shooting, the bullets easily bouncing off the metal exterior of the car.

"These guys never learn, do they?" Robin remarked from the passenger seat.

Batman just wordlessly flipped a switch, causing a small cannon to rise from the hood of the Batmobile, which fired a batarang at the goon. It knocked the gun out of his hands, causing him to stumble and fall out of the jeep. He tumbled on the road, the Batmobile quickly veering around him as they maintained pursuit. Ravager saw this, a smirk emanating from under his mask.

"Perfect."

Ravager then leapt down to one of the jeeps and knocked on the passenger door. One of the men opened up, prompting Ravager to motion for something. The man then handed up a rocket launcher, which Ravager took and aimed it at the Batmobile. Batman and Robin both went wide eyed as he fired the rocket.

"How are you on the cycle?" Batman asked.

"I do alright," Robin admitted.

"Eject driver's side and engage Batpod!"

Just then, the top opened up, shooting Batman forward as Robin's seat moved to the center. A pair of handles then rose up, prompting Robin to take hold of them. The second the rocket hit the Batmobile, the front two tired shot out, aligning so they formed a bi-pedal motorcycle that shot forward. Batman meanwhile took out a grapnel and fired it at the truck, causing it to connect. He pulled forward, latching onto the truck as Ravager looked on.

"You're good," he conceded, taking out some climbing claws and slipping them on. He then leapt forward, latching onto the side of the truck, he pulled out a gun and prepared to shoot the driver, but Batman pulled out a batarang and tossed it, knocking it out of his hands.

As the convoy continued forward, the man in black watched on, getting him to rev his own motorcycle and pulling forward after them.

The front jeeps took note of the commotion, prompting one of the men inside to open the door and aim his gun at Batman. Suddenly, a golden lasso shot out, wrapping around the gun and yanking it out of his hands. He looked up to see Wonder Woman landing on the roof of the jeep. She then tore through the roof and grabbed hold of the steering wheel, yanking it out.

"The brakes still work," she informed before leaping off.

As Ravager climbed on top of the truck, he took note of Wonder Woman's presence.

"You brought friends?" he noted as Batman climbed up after him. "Good. The more the merrier."

Batman sprang forward as Ravager drew his sword. The two clashed, Batman deflecting and evading the sword strikes as quickly as he could. Ravager thrusted his sword forward, prompting Batman to catch it in the fins of his gloves. He quickly kicked Ravager in the chest, knocking him back as he rolled across the roof. Ravager came to a stop, scraping his sword across the roof as he prepared to fight again.

"What does HIVE want with this shipment?" Batman demanded.

"Not sure, but it got me face to face with you. That's all I want."

Batman and Ravager then clashed again, both keeping a tight pace with one another. As they went at it, a helicopter suddenly came overhead. The men inside looked down at the truck, preparing to lower down to intercept.

"Excuse me," the men in the copter looked up, seeing Superman in front of them. "You fellas lost?"

The men in the copter instantly opened fire on Superman, causing him to stagger back before taking off upwards, trying to stay ahead of the gunfire. He quickly veered around and used his heat vision on the copter's gun, slicing it in half.

Back on the ground, two of the jeeps veered off, much to Robin's surprise.

"Guys, we got some bogies breaking off from the group."

"They must be trying to flank us," Batman informed. "Head them off!"

"On it!" Robin declared, veering off after them.

From a fair enough distance, the man in black saw Robin's departure and quickly gave chase after him.

With Robin, he veered through the traffic as the jeeps made their way down the street. He pulled alongside one of the jeeps and pulled out some spiked balls from his belt, throwing them onto the road in front of the jeep. The jeep ran over them, causing its tires to blow out and making them swerve along the road before crashing into a dumpster. As Robin drove past in pursuit of the other jeep, the men inside the jeep got out and opened fire on him. Robin took note of this and quickly pulled alongside the second jeep, causing the bullets to collide with it instead. He quickly took out a birdarang and jammed it into one of the tires. This caused the tire to blow out and the jeep to swerve into a wall. Robin pulled the Batpod to a stop as the men got out. He flipped off the bike and drew his staff from his belt, extending it as the men began to surround him.

"Fair warning guys, it's been tried before."

The men all leveled their weapons, ready to fire. Before they could fire, several smoke bombs were thrown onto the ground, distorting their vision. Suddenly, the man in black sped in, pulling out a metal stick from his back and smacking one across the face, knocking him to the ground. The bike skidded to a stop, allowing him to leap off and onto another man, pinning him to the ground. As the remaining two opened fire, the man in black leapt out of the way before throwing three specially shaped shurikens at their weapons, knocking them out of their hands. The man in black then rushed forward and rammed right into one, knocking him into a wall. He then pulled out a second metal stick and quickly struck a second man in the gut before spin kicking him in the face. He quickly leapt up and brought his sticks down on the third man's head, knocking him out. Robin looked around at the downed men, letting out a whistle in response.

"Nice," he commended. "If I didn't know better, I'd say Batman tailed me."

"Hate to break it to you kid," the man commented, stepping into the light with his eyes narrowed. "But I'm not Batman."

"Right. Nightwing. Heard a lot about you."

"Thanks."

Robin immediately rushed towards the Batpod, quickly saddling onto it.

"Come on!" he called out as Nightwing got to his bike. "The bad guys are still moving on the convoy. We can still-"

Suddenly, several shurikens hit the tires of the Batpod, flattening them.

"Wha- hey!"

"Go home kid!" Nightwing called out, revving up his bike and driving off.

Back with the convoy, Batman continued his duel with Ravager. As the two clashed again, Ravager grabbed hold of Batman's wrist and flung him off the truck. Batman quickly shot a grappling line towards the truck, clinging to it as he pulled himself back. Ravager meanwhile climbed down to the back of the truck, taking his sword and slicing through the locks. He opened up the back, stepping inside to look at their ill gotten goods.

"My my," he let out, smiling. "You HIVE guys love to play dangerously."

Up in the air, Superman managed to avoid the shots from the second gun on the copter, much to their irritation. As Superman moved in close, the copter fired a missile at Superman, knocking him out of the air.

I have the package," Ravager reported. "Prepare for extraction."

The copter quickly veered down towards the truck, beginning to lower a cable towards the truck. Ravager saw it and leapt up to grab it. The copter kept pace as they turned a corner, driving alongside the river. Ravager leapt back inside and began hooking it up to the package. Just then, Aquaman rode up out of the river on a wave, landing right in front of the truck before lunging his trident forward, stabbing right into the front of it and bringing it to a stop. The copter continued forward, tugging hard on the cable and causing it to jerk to a stop. Ravager peeked out, gritting his teeth in frustration. He quickly got back inside and began pushing the package out of the back.

Outside, Batman slowly picked himself up as Wonder Woman and Aquaman caught up to him.

"You ok?" Aquaman asked.

"I'll live," Batman replied.

Finally, Ravager finished pushing the package out of the truck, revealing it to be a large crate. He leapt on top of it and gave the signal to the copter to pull them up. Before the heroes could go after him, Nightwing's cycle rounded the corner and drove towards a nearby loading ramp. He drove up it to gain enough altitude so he could leap off his bike and extend his arms out, revealing flaps underneath that allowed him to glide up towards Ravager. Once there, he grabbed hold of the cable and spun around it, kicking Ravager off before falling after him. Seeing an opening. Aquaman quickly leapt up towards the cable and used his trident to cut into it. This caused the package to fall, prompting Wonder Woman to speed under it so she could catch it. The copter then tried to fly away but Superman managed to recover before shooting off and grabbing hold of the copter by the tail. Down on the ground, Ravager shook his head as Nightwing fell towards him, preparing to kick him. Ravager rolled out of the way just as Nightwing touched down, planting his feet as he turned towards the new arrival.

"You're unexpected," Ravager commented, gripping his sword.

"And you're finished," Nightwing retorted, drawing his sticks.

Nightwing darted towards Ravager, swinging his sticks at Ravager as he batted them away with his sword. Ravager then swung his sword upwards, causing Nightwing to back away just before the blade hit. Nightwing then spun around before kneeling down and using his sticks to sweep Ravager off his feet. Ravager hit the ground hard as Nightwing tried to bring his sticks down on him. Ravager quickly rolled out of the way before propping himself up and kicking Nightwing in the chest. Ravager quickly flipped back to his feet and spun his blade in preparation to finish things. Before he could bring it down though, a batarang sailed through the air and knocked the sword out of his hands. He looked up to see Batman, Wonder Woman, and Aquaman staring him down.

"Friendly advice, make it easy on yourself," Aquaman insisted.

"Nothing worth doing was ever easy," Ravager commented.

Ravager quickly pulled something from his belt and threw it on the ground, causing a cloud of smoke to spring up. The heroes all covered their eyes as the smoke dissipated, revealing that Ravager was long gone.

"Damn…" Nightwing cursed. "Gone."

"We'll catch up to him," Batman reassured.

"We wouldn't have had to if you had stayed out of my way," Nightwing snapped, turning to face him.

"You could have coordinated with us. What are you even doing here? You're supposed to be in Jump City."

"I've been following the activity of the mercenary that was leading this attack. He calls himself Ravager. He's an up and coming assassin who's been selling his services to groups like HIVE to further his own reputation."

"If you know so much about this 'Ravager', then work with us," Wonder Woman insisted. "I am certain we can help each other-"

"Thanks, but I have this handled," Nightwing insisted, brushing past Batman as he walked over to his bike. "Just do me a favor and stay out of my way!"

Nightwing revved up his bike and drove off, leaving the heroes more than a little confused as Superman came to join them.

"So… who was the pretty boy in the unitard, and why did he just brush us aside like dirt?" Aquaman asked.

"His name is Nightwing," Batman explained. "He… was my partner. The first Robin."

"Seems like you two had a falling out," Superman noted. "What happened?"

"... things changed," Batman replied before turning towards the cargo. "Now let's find out what HIVE was so insistent on getting their hands on."

Superman went over to the crate and gave it an X-Ray once over.

"No good," he reported. "It's lead lined.

"Then it must be something extremely dangerous," Wonder Woman surmised.

"Or they knew we were looking in on their operations and took precautions," Superman suggested. "ARGUS wasn't exactly forthcoming last time we dealt with them."

"Then I suggest we try the direct approach," Aquaman suggested.

He then stabbed his trident into the side of the box, carefully prying it open to reveal the contents inside. The four heroes looked inside to see a large metal sphere with several connecting spheres on its sides. The front of it had some kind of display with all zeros flashing, giving the four of them a strong indication of its function.

"Please tell me this isn't some kind of bomb," Aquaman let out.

"I wish I could," Superman replied.

"Why would they be transporting something like this through a populated area?" Wonder Woman questioned.

"I don't know," Batman replied. "But we should find out."

Superman picked up the device as the four went off, unaware that they were being watched from a rooftop by a man in orange and black armor with twin swords on his back and an orange and black mask with tassels on the back and only one eye hole on the left side.

"What the hell have you gotten yourself into, kid?" he wondered before stepping away from the edge.

Sometime later, numerous ARGUS vehicles arrived at the scene, all of which were surrounding the bomb and the League, including Robin who had joined back up with them. As the vehicles came to a stop, numerous soldiers got out to secure the cargo. Among them was Agent Lyla Michaels, who quickly approached the League.

"Hello, Justice League," she greeted. "ARGUS is grateful for your efforts in securing our convoy."

"What exactly is ARGUS doing transporting a bomb through a civilian population?" Superman pressed.

"Not my idea, trust me. My superiors insisted that security would be enough, despite my numerous protests. Frankly, if I had my way, the thing would have been kept in deep storage.

"Perhaps we should have a word with your superiors," Batman suggested.

"Somehow, I doubt that would end well. They're not exactly your biggest fans."

"Continuing to transport the device this way is a mistake," Wonder Woman insisted. "HIVE will surely try and take it again."

"I don't doubt that. But, I have orders to get this thing to our new outpost outside of town. We're doubling security and have a transport boat waiting at the docks to carry it out of the city."

"And you honestly think that'll be enough?" Aquaman remarked.

"I can only hope."

Several miles away, perched on a rooftop, Nightwing was listening in on the League's conversation with Lyla, courtesy of the bug he had placed on Batman before he left.

"You five are welcome to stick around if that's what you want," Lyla continued. "But I warn you, you might not get the strongest reception."

"Never stopped me before," Nightwing remarked, firing a grappling line and leaping off the roof.

Meanwhile, at a seedy motel room in town, Ravager was on comms with Jackal, reporting on what happened.

"This is… disappointing to hear. I hired you because I thought you were the best."

"I am. I didn't expect to get it on the first try. I wanted to see what I was up against. Now that I know what to expect, their precious cargo will be yours in no time."

"I should hope so. HIVE does not have a high tolerance for failure."

"I'll bet," Ravager remarked, shutting off his comms. "Pompous fool."

"You're the fool if you think this will end well for you."

Ravager turned around, guns in hand, to see a figure standing in the window of the motel.

"Well, this is a surprise. I wasn't expecting you to show up…'Deathstroke'. What are you doing here?"

"Word on HIVE's activities has spread around, and some of it included you. What are you doing getting mixed up with these people?"

"Better question is why you care so much?"

"I care because these people are responsible for what happened to your brother."

Ravager snarled, leveling a glare with Deathstroke. "Don't act like you care. The only reason HIVE ever even came after him was because of you. He's mute because of you."

"You don't think I don't know that?! I've had to live with that guilt every day since. I don't want something like that to happen to you."

"Your concern is… touching, but I stopped needing your protection a long time ago. Besides, what happened to him is the reason I'm joining them in the first place."

That caused Deathstroke to perk up.

"This isn't just a job for you," he pieced together. "This is about Jackal."

"Jackal is a member of HIVE's inner circle. If I pull this job, that's my ticket in. I bide my time, take out Jackal for what he did to Joseph, and secure my place in one of the world's up and coming super powers. And if I just happen to take out a member of the Justice League or two along the way, all the better."

"Assuming you don't get yourself arrested by ARGUS or the League. Or worse, killed by Jackal. There's a reason they call him that, you know. Because when it comes to the kill… he's an animal… and takes a sick delight out of every bit."

Ravager remained silent for a moment, before spinning his guns and holstering them away.

"Like I said, the concern is touching, but unnecessary," Ravager then turned away and walked towards the door. "You can show yourself out."

"Damnit Grant!" Deathstroke stalked forward, ripping his mask off and revealing his face, as well as the eyepatch over his left eye. "I'm trying to save your life!"

Ravager's patience finally snapped, causing him to spin around and kick Deathstroke in the chest, knocking him back.

"It's Ravager!"

Something snapped in Deathstroke's eye, causing him to lash out. He grabbed Ravager's throat in one hand, lifting him off the ground before slamming him so hard into the wall that it cracked.

"There's the monster… I know all too well…" Ravager wheezed out.

Deathstroke stood there, seething for a moment before finally releasing Ravager, his hands shaking as he stepped back.

"Always wondered what happened to you on that island," Ravager remarked, getting back to his feet. "Must have been quite the transformation, huh… Father."

Deathstroke looked down at his shaking hand, closing it into a fist as he looked away.

"I never wanted to hurt you…" he insisted. "I never wanted to hurt any of you…"

"And yet, you ended up hurting everyone you claim to care about. Funny how that works, huh?"

With that, Ravager walked out the door, leaving Deathstroke alone in his frustrations and regrets.