Post by Deleted on Apr 3, 2015 3:59:21 GMT -5
Titans of Justice Classified Chapter 42 - Outsiders Pt. 3
Writer: White Wraith
Editor: Whirlpool & Power Guy
Two costumed heroes cast looming shadows over an empty alleyway, both of which intimidating the cowardly lot of thugs below. Each of the men, claiming to be tough and burly, held AK 47s in their hands, aiming up at the vigilantes above. From their point of view, the duo appeared to be angels of death, seeking out their first victims. The only noise that could be heard was the sound of teeth chattering and bones shaking as the opposing forces stared back at each other. Finally, the man and woman stood up.
“You said you had someone in mind that could help us. I wasn’t expecting this, but hey, if they can help us then bring it on,” Hunter whispered to his red-haired partner.
“Shut up, smart-@$$. I wasn’t expecting to run into these buffoons either,” Blackbird whispered back to the vengeful vigilante. “Let’s just kick their asses and get this over with so he doesn’t have to wait longer than he already has,” she added, still whispering. Before waiting for his response, Blackbird jumped from the roof and into the mosh-pit of thugs. Hunter rolled his eyes with a small smirk and followed her into the group of thugs, hoping to avoid the bullets of half a dozen guns. Amazingly, he was unharmed and planted a foot in the hands of a thug, slamming the gun from his hand.
“GAH!” a scream of agony pushed past the man’s lips, amusing Hunter even more. Adjacent to the purple-clad hero, Blackbird swung her elbow back, slamming it into an unsuspecting man’s nose. Blood gushed from his broken nose as he fell back onto the ground. A cool breeze brought goose-bumps to Blackbird’s skin and for a brief moment, she looked up and noticed a full moon hovering in the night sky, illuminating the sleeping Gotham City. Remembering the fight before her, she threw her left first towards a man’s face, but he was quicker than expected. The thug, having the tattoo of a snake on his bald head, grabbed her fist and turned it to the left in his attempt to break her wrist. Before much damage could be done, a small arrow pierced his temple and warm blood trickled out of the wound. His mouth gaped out, gasping for air before he fell to the ground, cold dead. Blackbird gasped and turned to see Hunter holding a crossbow pointed at the man.
“What? He was going to hurt you,” Hunter said with an innocent smile. Blackbird’s eyes slimmed as another sigh escaped her lips. Hunter swung his crossbow backwards, crushing one of the weaker thug’s skull. He fell to the ground, joining the previously killed man in death. The remaining goons, three men to be exact, backed into a circle and pressed up against the wall. Blackbird stood at Hunter’s side, both holding straight, empty, and unreadable faces. The men gripped their guns as if their lives depended on it while Hunter held his crossbow and Blackbird held nothing but a heavy conscious.
“Whadda ya say we do with em?” Blackbird asked, still looking at the men with disgust. Hunter smirked and within five minutes, each thug was hanging by his ankles from a tall lamppost on the sidewalk. Hunter, his arms crossed over his chest, looked up at them with a smile while Blackbird merely shook her head. She looked over at him, noticed the peculiar grin on his face.
“You sure have a strange fighting style. One minute, you’re hard-core vigilante, the next you’re a grinning buffoon,” Blackbird said.
“I try to make the best of what I have in life. I’m lemonade, if you will,” Hunter replied in a grim tone, that completely contradicted the look that was on his face not even thirty seconds ago. Blackbird merely looked at him with confusion and, after thirty seconds of silence, walked past him down the street. Without turning back, she called his name.
“We can’t keep him waiting much longer. He can help us,” Hunter turned and watched her walk but before her followed, he glanced up at the thugs once more. Hunter shook his head and jogged to catch up with her. He finally walked by her side, considering what she had said. Hunter looked out at the dark horizon.
“Who are we consulting with? I gathered it’s a man, but other than that, I’m lost.”
“He calls himself Dark Arrow, but your mother was good friends with his mother,” Blackbird replied quietly. She expected the question and had prepared the answer.
“Canary had a son?” Hunter asked, thinking about his mother. He still wished she hadn’t given her life to save that worthless thief, Catwoman.
“Twins, actually. Sonic Boom and Dark Arrow. Arrow took after his father, while Sonic Boom took after her mother. I’m surprised the three of you never met.”
“I don’t know many costumed heroes, aside from helping the Titans a while back. If this Sonic Boom was with them at the time, I didn’t interact with her much. Gotham is my town. I don’t travel much,” Hunter responded to Blackbird’s statement. Going from being alone in the superhero world, to helping form a team was a big step for him and he honestly wasn’t sure if he was ready. Hunter followed Blackbird onto the sidewalk. Up ahead was a gas station, much like the one containing Blackbird’s secret ‘lair’. They were most likely meeting there, knowing Blackbird.
“You really need to get out more,” Blackbird said with a chuckle. Her eyes were locked on the gas station ahead and as they neared towards it, the figure of a man was visible. “We’re meeting at the gas station,” Blackbird paused, but considered what she had said, “in case you didn’t figure that out already.”
“I did, but thanks anyway,” Hunter replied with a smile. They walked under the roof of the gas station and approached the brunette man. On his back was a quiver filled with arrows and on his body was a green and brown costume. A small green mask covered his face that protected his identity. Dark Arrow watched Hunter with wariness.
“So you’re the son of the second Huntress, huh? My mother would love to meet you, but that’s not why were here,” Dark Arrow said. He seemed to keep a wary eye on the man but kept his distance at the same time.
“I’m not as brutal as my mother,” Hunter said, “At least, not with people I’m friends with. You’re considered an ally, for now.” Hunter had to clarify, noticing Dark Arrows’s odd behavior around him. He glanced at him, almost taken by surprise.
“You don’t have to tell me. I could hold my own either way, thank you very much.” Dark Arrow said as he looked over at him. There was an odd tension between the two as their eyes locked for a split second. Robert looked back at Blackbird, trying to stick to business. “So, what’s up?”
“Hunter’s brother, an ally of yours, is gone. The Solution? He’s been kidnapped,” Blackbird explained, trying to stay neutral between her allies. Dark Arrows face straightened, taking on an empty state.
“So I heard. The Titans were beginning to look into it and Nucleus gave me this,” Dark Arrow said, handing Blackbird a folder marked “Confidential”. She grabbed the folder and handed it to Hunter, who restrained himself from opening it. A slow but steady rainfall broke loose on the cool, windy Gotham night as a silence fell over the group.
“Thank you,” Hunter finally said. Dark Arrow nodded, his brown hair blowing in the wind. Hunter’s cape and Blackbird’s hair joined in dancing with wind.
“The Titans have Scream Queen, Phobia, the new Riddler, and the Shade posed as suspects with Ivo and his Fantasto as the leading suspect,” Dark Arrow informed the duo with head lowered, looking at her feet. Hunter’s head turned quickly and looked at Dark Arrow.
“Fantasto? Three weeks ago, a few days before Solution had been kidnapped; a group of thugs had mentioned I should prepare for something ‘fantastic’. Is there a connection?” Hunter asked quickly. Dark Arrow looked up quickly and Blackbird’s head whipped towards Hunter.
“Why didn’t you tell me this earlier?!” Blackbird almost shouted.
“Nevermind that, what did the thugs look like? Did they have any markings?” Dark Arrow asked quickly.
“They had … robotic parts. Not prosthetics … something else,” Hunter reached for words as the images of the thugs flew through his mind.
“Oh my God,” Dark Arrow said quietly, “Fantasto! Its Fantasto!”
“We don’t stand a chance against him and you know that, Robert,” Blackbird said, trying hard not to panic
“What’s going on? Who is Fantasto?!” Hunter asked, he himself panicking at the sound of the girls’ voices.
“The protégé of Amazo, an old Justice League villain. He possesses the powers of each Titans of Justice member. Along with Hawkgirl’s mace, Green Lantern’s ring, Huntress’s crossbow, and Wonder Man’s lasso,” Dark Arrow explained while pulling out his ToJ Communicator.
“Why would he capture Solution?!” Hunter gasped.
“Calm down, Martino,” Blackbird scolded. Hunter fired a harsh look, causing Blackbird to take a step back.
“Titans of Justice come in, this is Dark Arrow. Please, come in,” he said into the communicator. There was a pause as the trio waited in the cold rain for a reply. After a minute, when all hope was lost, a buzz rang through the electronic device.
“This is Nightvision, Dark Arrow, what do you report?” a reply finally came. Blackbird slowly sighed, disappointed in the choice of hero. Dark Arrow fired a look, most likely meaning “don’t’ say anything”.
“Nightvision, I need you to meet me and a few others in Ivo’s lab. Fantasto kidnapped Solution and I’m positive on this,” Black Canary’s son said quickly. There was another, much shorter, pause on the other end of the line.
“I’m on my way, Robert. I trust you on this one. Over and out.”
Nightvision hung up and Dark Arrow slid his ToJ Communicator away. The three turned to take off and gasped when they saw the gang members, all either running or driving towards them. Hunter pulled out his crossbow, ready for a fight.
“Go guys. You need to save Solution. I’ll hold them back. Go!” Dark Arrow commanded. Blackbird nodded, Hunter joining her, and ran behind the emerald archer. The duo felt bad for leaving him but Solution’s life was hanging in the balance and that seemed to be more important at the time. As the herd of gunman neared closer, Dark Arrow fired off three electric arrows, holding them back while he struggled to think of an idea.
Meanwhile, Blackbird and Hunter jumped onto the roof of a building two blocks away. They stopped for a moment, each catching their breath. Hunter crossed his arms over his chest and looked over at Blackbird.
“I take it you know where this lab is?”
“Yes, but we need to find a quicker way to get there,” Blackbird replied. They both looked at each other for a moment, trying to think quickly of an idea. Hunter then remembered the package Nucleus had given Dark Arrow and quickly pulled it out. Blackbird watched him as he ripped folder open and pulled out two ToJ Communicators and a thin folder containing more information. Attached to the communicators was a small note.
‘Hope this helps.
-Nucleus’
Hunter handed Blackbird a communicator with quiet chuckle. Blackbird pressed the speaking button and radioed for the Hall of Justice to answer.
“Hall of Justice, this is Power Guy.”
“PeeGee, its Blackbird. I know I’m not a member of the team any more and I’ll explain later but I need you to beam us to Ivo’s Lab,” Blackbird replied quickly.
“Us?” Power Guy replied on the other end.
“No time to explain!” Blackbird snapped back. Hunter watched with his arms crossed over his chest.
“You owe the Titans an explanation. Over and out.” Blackbird hung up, shaking her head as she did. The second, the two were teleported to Professor Ivo’s lab via the Hall’s teleportation device. They both appeared outside the lab where Nightvision was waiting impatiently. He was shocked to see the two heroes that had arrived.
“Blackbird? What are you doing here? And who are you? Wait…you‘re Bertinelli‘s son.” Nightvision first asked Blackbird, then turned and acknowledged Hunter. Hunter’s jaw tightened, along with his fists. Blackbird glanced at Hunter, then back to Nightvision.
“Now’s not the time, Nightvision. Please,” she said, emphasizing the ‘please’. Nightvision looked over at Hunter and noticed the theme of his costume.
“Huntress’s son..." he said, thinking for a moment, "You’re Solution’s brother!” Nightvision finally deduced, not paying attention to Blackbird’s request. Hunter’s brother could be dying, and the trio was outside running a background check. The very thought pushed all of Hunter’s buttons. Finally, he pulled out his crossbow and aimed it at Nighvision’s head.
“Can we just save Solution and get the hell out of here!?” Hunter asked quite meanly. Nightvision and Blackbird gasped, though Blackbird was more prepared than Nightvision.
To Be Continued …
Writer: White Wraith
Editor: Whirlpool & Power Guy
Two costumed heroes cast looming shadows over an empty alleyway, both of which intimidating the cowardly lot of thugs below. Each of the men, claiming to be tough and burly, held AK 47s in their hands, aiming up at the vigilantes above. From their point of view, the duo appeared to be angels of death, seeking out their first victims. The only noise that could be heard was the sound of teeth chattering and bones shaking as the opposing forces stared back at each other. Finally, the man and woman stood up.
“You said you had someone in mind that could help us. I wasn’t expecting this, but hey, if they can help us then bring it on,” Hunter whispered to his red-haired partner.
“Shut up, smart-@$$. I wasn’t expecting to run into these buffoons either,” Blackbird whispered back to the vengeful vigilante. “Let’s just kick their asses and get this over with so he doesn’t have to wait longer than he already has,” she added, still whispering. Before waiting for his response, Blackbird jumped from the roof and into the mosh-pit of thugs. Hunter rolled his eyes with a small smirk and followed her into the group of thugs, hoping to avoid the bullets of half a dozen guns. Amazingly, he was unharmed and planted a foot in the hands of a thug, slamming the gun from his hand.
“GAH!” a scream of agony pushed past the man’s lips, amusing Hunter even more. Adjacent to the purple-clad hero, Blackbird swung her elbow back, slamming it into an unsuspecting man’s nose. Blood gushed from his broken nose as he fell back onto the ground. A cool breeze brought goose-bumps to Blackbird’s skin and for a brief moment, she looked up and noticed a full moon hovering in the night sky, illuminating the sleeping Gotham City. Remembering the fight before her, she threw her left first towards a man’s face, but he was quicker than expected. The thug, having the tattoo of a snake on his bald head, grabbed her fist and turned it to the left in his attempt to break her wrist. Before much damage could be done, a small arrow pierced his temple and warm blood trickled out of the wound. His mouth gaped out, gasping for air before he fell to the ground, cold dead. Blackbird gasped and turned to see Hunter holding a crossbow pointed at the man.
“What? He was going to hurt you,” Hunter said with an innocent smile. Blackbird’s eyes slimmed as another sigh escaped her lips. Hunter swung his crossbow backwards, crushing one of the weaker thug’s skull. He fell to the ground, joining the previously killed man in death. The remaining goons, three men to be exact, backed into a circle and pressed up against the wall. Blackbird stood at Hunter’s side, both holding straight, empty, and unreadable faces. The men gripped their guns as if their lives depended on it while Hunter held his crossbow and Blackbird held nothing but a heavy conscious.
“Whadda ya say we do with em?” Blackbird asked, still looking at the men with disgust. Hunter smirked and within five minutes, each thug was hanging by his ankles from a tall lamppost on the sidewalk. Hunter, his arms crossed over his chest, looked up at them with a smile while Blackbird merely shook her head. She looked over at him, noticed the peculiar grin on his face.
“You sure have a strange fighting style. One minute, you’re hard-core vigilante, the next you’re a grinning buffoon,” Blackbird said.
“I try to make the best of what I have in life. I’m lemonade, if you will,” Hunter replied in a grim tone, that completely contradicted the look that was on his face not even thirty seconds ago. Blackbird merely looked at him with confusion and, after thirty seconds of silence, walked past him down the street. Without turning back, she called his name.
“We can’t keep him waiting much longer. He can help us,” Hunter turned and watched her walk but before her followed, he glanced up at the thugs once more. Hunter shook his head and jogged to catch up with her. He finally walked by her side, considering what she had said. Hunter looked out at the dark horizon.
“Who are we consulting with? I gathered it’s a man, but other than that, I’m lost.”
“He calls himself Dark Arrow, but your mother was good friends with his mother,” Blackbird replied quietly. She expected the question and had prepared the answer.
“Canary had a son?” Hunter asked, thinking about his mother. He still wished she hadn’t given her life to save that worthless thief, Catwoman.
“Twins, actually. Sonic Boom and Dark Arrow. Arrow took after his father, while Sonic Boom took after her mother. I’m surprised the three of you never met.”
“I don’t know many costumed heroes, aside from helping the Titans a while back. If this Sonic Boom was with them at the time, I didn’t interact with her much. Gotham is my town. I don’t travel much,” Hunter responded to Blackbird’s statement. Going from being alone in the superhero world, to helping form a team was a big step for him and he honestly wasn’t sure if he was ready. Hunter followed Blackbird onto the sidewalk. Up ahead was a gas station, much like the one containing Blackbird’s secret ‘lair’. They were most likely meeting there, knowing Blackbird.
“You really need to get out more,” Blackbird said with a chuckle. Her eyes were locked on the gas station ahead and as they neared towards it, the figure of a man was visible. “We’re meeting at the gas station,” Blackbird paused, but considered what she had said, “in case you didn’t figure that out already.”
“I did, but thanks anyway,” Hunter replied with a smile. They walked under the roof of the gas station and approached the brunette man. On his back was a quiver filled with arrows and on his body was a green and brown costume. A small green mask covered his face that protected his identity. Dark Arrow watched Hunter with wariness.
“So you’re the son of the second Huntress, huh? My mother would love to meet you, but that’s not why were here,” Dark Arrow said. He seemed to keep a wary eye on the man but kept his distance at the same time.
“I’m not as brutal as my mother,” Hunter said, “At least, not with people I’m friends with. You’re considered an ally, for now.” Hunter had to clarify, noticing Dark Arrows’s odd behavior around him. He glanced at him, almost taken by surprise.
“You don’t have to tell me. I could hold my own either way, thank you very much.” Dark Arrow said as he looked over at him. There was an odd tension between the two as their eyes locked for a split second. Robert looked back at Blackbird, trying to stick to business. “So, what’s up?”
“Hunter’s brother, an ally of yours, is gone. The Solution? He’s been kidnapped,” Blackbird explained, trying to stay neutral between her allies. Dark Arrows face straightened, taking on an empty state.
“So I heard. The Titans were beginning to look into it and Nucleus gave me this,” Dark Arrow said, handing Blackbird a folder marked “Confidential”. She grabbed the folder and handed it to Hunter, who restrained himself from opening it. A slow but steady rainfall broke loose on the cool, windy Gotham night as a silence fell over the group.
“Thank you,” Hunter finally said. Dark Arrow nodded, his brown hair blowing in the wind. Hunter’s cape and Blackbird’s hair joined in dancing with wind.
“The Titans have Scream Queen, Phobia, the new Riddler, and the Shade posed as suspects with Ivo and his Fantasto as the leading suspect,” Dark Arrow informed the duo with head lowered, looking at her feet. Hunter’s head turned quickly and looked at Dark Arrow.
“Fantasto? Three weeks ago, a few days before Solution had been kidnapped; a group of thugs had mentioned I should prepare for something ‘fantastic’. Is there a connection?” Hunter asked quickly. Dark Arrow looked up quickly and Blackbird’s head whipped towards Hunter.
“Why didn’t you tell me this earlier?!” Blackbird almost shouted.
“Nevermind that, what did the thugs look like? Did they have any markings?” Dark Arrow asked quickly.
“They had … robotic parts. Not prosthetics … something else,” Hunter reached for words as the images of the thugs flew through his mind.
“Oh my God,” Dark Arrow said quietly, “Fantasto! Its Fantasto!”
“We don’t stand a chance against him and you know that, Robert,” Blackbird said, trying hard not to panic
“What’s going on? Who is Fantasto?!” Hunter asked, he himself panicking at the sound of the girls’ voices.
“The protégé of Amazo, an old Justice League villain. He possesses the powers of each Titans of Justice member. Along with Hawkgirl’s mace, Green Lantern’s ring, Huntress’s crossbow, and Wonder Man’s lasso,” Dark Arrow explained while pulling out his ToJ Communicator.
“Why would he capture Solution?!” Hunter gasped.
“Calm down, Martino,” Blackbird scolded. Hunter fired a harsh look, causing Blackbird to take a step back.
“Titans of Justice come in, this is Dark Arrow. Please, come in,” he said into the communicator. There was a pause as the trio waited in the cold rain for a reply. After a minute, when all hope was lost, a buzz rang through the electronic device.
“This is Nightvision, Dark Arrow, what do you report?” a reply finally came. Blackbird slowly sighed, disappointed in the choice of hero. Dark Arrow fired a look, most likely meaning “don’t’ say anything”.
“Nightvision, I need you to meet me and a few others in Ivo’s lab. Fantasto kidnapped Solution and I’m positive on this,” Black Canary’s son said quickly. There was another, much shorter, pause on the other end of the line.
“I’m on my way, Robert. I trust you on this one. Over and out.”
Nightvision hung up and Dark Arrow slid his ToJ Communicator away. The three turned to take off and gasped when they saw the gang members, all either running or driving towards them. Hunter pulled out his crossbow, ready for a fight.
“Go guys. You need to save Solution. I’ll hold them back. Go!” Dark Arrow commanded. Blackbird nodded, Hunter joining her, and ran behind the emerald archer. The duo felt bad for leaving him but Solution’s life was hanging in the balance and that seemed to be more important at the time. As the herd of gunman neared closer, Dark Arrow fired off three electric arrows, holding them back while he struggled to think of an idea.
Meanwhile, Blackbird and Hunter jumped onto the roof of a building two blocks away. They stopped for a moment, each catching their breath. Hunter crossed his arms over his chest and looked over at Blackbird.
“I take it you know where this lab is?”
“Yes, but we need to find a quicker way to get there,” Blackbird replied. They both looked at each other for a moment, trying to think quickly of an idea. Hunter then remembered the package Nucleus had given Dark Arrow and quickly pulled it out. Blackbird watched him as he ripped folder open and pulled out two ToJ Communicators and a thin folder containing more information. Attached to the communicators was a small note.
‘Hope this helps.
-Nucleus’
Hunter handed Blackbird a communicator with quiet chuckle. Blackbird pressed the speaking button and radioed for the Hall of Justice to answer.
“Hall of Justice, this is Power Guy.”
“PeeGee, its Blackbird. I know I’m not a member of the team any more and I’ll explain later but I need you to beam us to Ivo’s Lab,” Blackbird replied quickly.
“Us?” Power Guy replied on the other end.
“No time to explain!” Blackbird snapped back. Hunter watched with his arms crossed over his chest.
“You owe the Titans an explanation. Over and out.” Blackbird hung up, shaking her head as she did. The second, the two were teleported to Professor Ivo’s lab via the Hall’s teleportation device. They both appeared outside the lab where Nightvision was waiting impatiently. He was shocked to see the two heroes that had arrived.
“Blackbird? What are you doing here? And who are you? Wait…you‘re Bertinelli‘s son.” Nightvision first asked Blackbird, then turned and acknowledged Hunter. Hunter’s jaw tightened, along with his fists. Blackbird glanced at Hunter, then back to Nightvision.
“Now’s not the time, Nightvision. Please,” she said, emphasizing the ‘please’. Nightvision looked over at Hunter and noticed the theme of his costume.
“Huntress’s son..." he said, thinking for a moment, "You’re Solution’s brother!” Nightvision finally deduced, not paying attention to Blackbird’s request. Hunter’s brother could be dying, and the trio was outside running a background check. The very thought pushed all of Hunter’s buttons. Finally, he pulled out his crossbow and aimed it at Nighvision’s head.
“Can we just save Solution and get the hell out of here!?” Hunter asked quite meanly. Nightvision and Blackbird gasped, though Blackbird was more prepared than Nightvision.
To Be Continued …