Aqualad and I exchanged pleasantries and sparred, nothing more or less. He was deceptively dexterous, and without my technique shielding me, he tagged me a few times. But soon enough, I adapted to the pressure of the water and his magic. After that, I was blasting through his constructs, strafing around him—even while deliberately slowing myself down to keep the fights fair.
What I enjoyed most, though, was picking up new weapons. I'd taken a liking to the spear and shield. The former helped me with fine control, reach, and penetration power, and the latter was a great outlet for my extension technique.
I could go absurdly heavy and sturdy with my material of choice without much repercussion. And if my opponent shattered my technique, they'd still have a shield to deal with.
The fights with Superboy were the most enjoyable. Even with my recent boosts, I couldn't match his strength. But speed-wise? The gap between us kept widening.
Most of my time, though, went into a meta-ability stress test. Crushing wounds, burns, cuts, breaks—even amputations. All in the name of raising my vitality. I briefly considered asking Miss Martian to mess with my body and mind to toughen my resistance, but paranoia won out.
The meeting date I'd set with Dr. Strange, but before then, I had a chance to win back some trust with the team.
It started like any other day. The lair was mostly empty, with Miss Martian and Superboy off at high school, leaving me stuck training and waiting with Aqualad. Then the call came in from Red Arrow. After being cooped up for a week, I was itching for action.
Leaning against the far wall, I listened in on Aqualad's conversation with the prickly former sidekick. Red Arrow still hadn't been introduced to the League proper and had been operating solo since. He was the kind of guy I could respect, even if he was a grade-A asshole.
Though it took one to know one.
"She is five-foot-six and exceptionally dangerous," Aqualad relayed. "Do you require backup?"
"Please. The last thing I need is the Junior Justice League." Red Arrow's voice was smug enough to make me roll my eyes.
"Just our computer then," Aqualad said dryly. "Good luck, my friend. Aqualad out."
I stepped into the room, hands akimbo. "Where's he calling from?"
Aqualad fixed me with a guarded look. I raised a brow. "Oh, come on. I gave my word I wouldn't leave, didn't I?"
"You've broken it before," he said, referencing Gotham. Everyone had a long memory.
I huffed. "I've fought Cheshire before, as have you. In my experience, she doesn't usually work alone. Your buddy might need help."
"He'll ask if it comes to that."
"You sure about that?"
"Positive." He walked out, ending the discussion.
Didn't take me long to dig up what Red Arrow had been up to, anyway. All it took was turning on the local news. He'd been in Rhelasia trying to foil a League of Assassins hit—barely. Apparently, peace in the east went against the League of Shadow's interests. The missile missed Lex Luthor's car by a few dozen feet and hit a stand instead. Luckily, it was abandoned.
The fight footage of the fight had been sparse but telling. Cheshire was faster. Much faster than when I'd fought her. Red Arrow didn't stand a chance. If Rhelasia's security hadn't stepped in, he'd be dead.
Maybe she'd gotten her hands on Blockbuster, too. I hadn't expected the League to send one of their own after a business partner— they both had ties to the sorcerers--but maybe that connection was more fraught than I believed. No loyalty among thieves and all that.
Could also be that the formula had leaked.
Any merc with the right lab equipment might be whipping up their own cocktail. The League of Shadows certainly had the equipment for it. Or maybe it was all one massive conspiracy, and Luthor was trying to throw people off his scent.
Either way, it wasn't my problem. Not yet.
A few hours later, the call came, and Aqualad geared up to hop a jet across the world. To my surprise, he came to me.
"I need you," he said. "Red Arrow took nasty burns and has a sprained shoulder."
"And the peace talks can't exactly be rescheduled," I muttered. He nodded.
"What about Batman?"
"He'll understand. Hopefully."
"And you're not worried I'll kill someone?"
"I think you have more control than they give you credit for," Aqualad said. "You saved our lives during Cadmus and killed no Genomorphs. You've earned the benefit of the doubt."
"I'll try not to disappoint."
"For both our sakes."
We caught a military transport into Rhelasia, then parachuted into the capital under cover of darkness. Red Arrow was holed up in a penthouse at a LexCorp hotel. Being near a Lexcorp property made my skin crawl, but I wasn't here for him.
Red Arrow answered the door, hand wrapped in a cast, scowling the instant he saw me. I was in my Negative outfit: compression shirt, flowing pants, featureless mask.
"What's he doing here?" he snapped at Aqualad.
"Here to heal you, apparently," I said. "I usually charge for this."
"Write me a bill, then."
"You might regret that when you see the actual bill," I muttered, brushing past him, scanning the room with enhanced vision.
"Already swept for bugs," he grunted.
"Then you won't mind a second opinion." I circled the suite, then rejoined them as they discussed the threat.
"They're out for blood," Red Arrow said. "Faster than any human I've ever faced. I think they're enhanced."
"Tracks," I muttered. "They're likely doped up on something a doctor we ran into came up with. Makes them a bitch to put down."
I told them of my theory about the leaks.
"Desmond could've spoken in prison," Aqualad pointed out an angle I hadn't considered. "Or someone else could've stolen the formula from Lex's server."
I filled Red Arrow in on the painful details of our first round against Mark Desmond. Aqualad winced at the memory. If Red Arrow was afraid of the fight, he didn't show it.
Probably experience or sheer fucking stubbornness.
"All I'm hearing is that it can be done."
"You might change your mind after you see her transform, but yeah," I folded my arms. "If we're lucky, they're under orders to hide it or received some kind of inferior enhancement?
"Either way, we have a hell of a fight ahead of us," Arrow said. "You'd better start," he said, raising his injured shoulder.
It took me five minutes to heal him. The damage was extensive. He had second and third degree burns all around his shoulder and back, as well as some muscle and nerve damage. There was also a touch of internal bleeding.
An hour later, we were at the Rhelasian reception. Aqualad and I blended into the crowd, while Red Arrow stood out as bait.
It didn't take long for Cheshire to make her move. She was dressed in traditional Rhelasian attire with a face full of makeup and dark red lipstick.
Aqualad spotted her first. "Cheshire."
She frowned, then grinned—and shoved the cart forward. A red light flickered on the handle, speeding up like a countdown.
Two strides, and I was in front of it. I stopped it dead, then dumped it into my cursed inventory, where time stood still.
She blinked in surprise. I pulled my mask from nowhere and donned it. She barely had time to draw her sais before my knee smashed into her gut, launching her back. She slid across the floor, then stopped on a dime, controlled.
Yup. Enhanced.
"Fancy seeing you again," she quipped. "Heard you were on the side of the angels."
"I'm on the side that gets me what I want."
"Give up, Cheshire," Aqualad said, weapons drawn. Red Arrow already had his bow trained on her.
"It's over," he said firmly.
"You'd think so," she smiled.
The glass behind her shattered. A squad of shadows poured in, led by someone I hadn't seen in a while. Sportsmaster.
Cheshire and Artemis's Father.
More assassins swarmed through the entrance. We were surrounded. My smirk came unbidden.
Now this was my kind of mission.
Read up to Chapter 95 on Patreon.com/artandcreativewriting.