The Watchtower
December 31, 23:16 EST
"This feels like a suicide mission," I pointed out looking at the massive hole we drilled into the bottom of the Watchtower.
"It's not," Birdie told me. "Not if we stick to the plan."
Maybe I wouldn't have to run away after all. Maybe I would die trying to fight the Justice League.
"RT did it. Wirelessly bypassed security for us as soon as he arrived. Savage shouldn't know we're here."
"Move out."
Artemis and I grouped together first, spotting Plastic Man alone in a cargo hold. We gave each other an uneasy look, but carried on anyway. She snuck away to the left while I turned to the right. On my signal, she fired an arrow into the center of the room that emitted a foggy, green smoke. The coughs of Plastic Man followed shortly after as he tried to extend his head to the upper floor.
There he came face to face with me as I hit him across the face. His head collided with the steel floor and before he could recover I placed the antivirus on his neck.
"One down," Artemis told me.
"Yeah and about twenty more to go."
We left the room and split up to relocate. I rendezvoused with Boy Scout as planned while she met up with Wally. He put a finger to his mouth, before pointing out Hawkman who was pacing the floor just around the corner. I gave him a nod before escaping to higher ground.
When Hawkman finally turned the corner, his face was met with Boy Scouts fist, pushing him back just enough for me to land on his shoulders. The antivirus knocked him out cold and instantly he fell to the floor.
The mace in his hands caught my eye. "Do you think he'd mind?"
Birdie arrived next to Boy Scout. That was the plan, keep regrouping and keep moving in order to round up as many Leaguers as possible before Savage or anyone else could interfere. "Maybe try not to steal the League's weapons?"
"It's not like he's gonna use it," I argued.
By the time we rendezvoused with Rocket and M'gann, the only Leaguers left were the ones in the main room. We spread out to different corners watching carefully for who was standing guard. I had my sights on Green Lantern and was about to move in when it occurred to me that my cover had been blown.
Hawkwoman was standing right behind me.
I glanced down at the mace. "Heh. This isn't what it looks like."
If the Leaguers didn't know we were there, they certainly did now. The sound of me getting hit across the face and flying into the center of the room should have been warning enough.
I shook my head, trying to regain my senses as my view was obstructing by her flying overhead. Her great wings covered all the light from above as she swung her mace back. I rolled to the side just in time as the mace buried into the ground where my head just was.
I kicked her from the side, but her wings kept her upright. She swung her mace from above and I blocked it just in time with the mace I had stolen. I watched her grit her teeth as she pushed her mace down with more force. I tried to hold my own against her, but she brought me to my knees.
Instead of trying to overpower her, which I most certainly couldn't, I twisted out from under her letting her mace hit the floor as I swung up from the side. The mace hit the side of her face with a loud clang.
It pushed her back, but barely. In fact, she managed to look more pissed off than before.
"I'm sorry," I panted.
Just in time, Wolf ran up from behind, pinning her to the floor. I wasted no time getting the antivirus to her as a rope suddenly landed around my waist.
Not just any rope. Wonder Woman's lasso had fastened around my waist. With a single tug I was flying towards her as she drew her fist back angrily; but before I could make contact a blue bubble formed around her. Her fist met with the force field and so did I.
I landed back down on the floor, rubbing my head.
"Can she escape your force bubble?" Birdie asked Rocket.
"Not if she keeps punching it. The kinetic energy only makes it stronger, but I'm stuck here. Anything I do risks freeing her."
Like Batman who had leapt at Rocket from above. "Look out!" I cried, tackling him from the side before he could reach her.
We tumbled to the ground near Wonder Woman and instantly a foot met with the center of my stomach. It launched me backwards, but I managed to land on my feet next to Birdie.
The two of us looked up to see Bats watching us, cracking his knuckles.
"Oh that can't be a good sign," I grimaced.
"You know how I told you not to get too violent when you fight?"
"Yeah."
"Let's ignore that statement for now."
Hearing Birdie say that made me feel like a kid in a candy store. I disposed of the mace, trading it in for my bo staff instead as a smile grew on my face.
I charged without hesitation, but Bats was just as quick as I was. He deflected each swing in perfect timing. Even with the help of Birdie we were no match.
He dodged the swing of my staff again, locking it under his shoulder as he maneuvered it out of my grasp. Then my jaw was struck by an uppercut that threw me back into Birdie before we fell through the massive crater left in the floor by the Supers.
Boy Scout was already on the floor next us by the time we landed.
"We're not gonna beat them one on one," I pointed out, wiping the drop of blood falling from my nose and slamming my hand against the floor to pop my shoulder back into place.
"Plan B, then."
Boy Scout grabbed me by my arms, spinning to swing me through the air before launching me up at Bats and Superman who were heading out way.
My feet caught Bats by the chest, pushing him into the wall before we broke into a brawl midair. In our messy descent, I managed to place a cure on his neck and the boys were able to take advantage of Superman's distraction.
Bat's hit the floor first, already unconscious. Then I hit the floor next to him. I didn't get up right away. Instead I laid in my place, catching my breath.
I patted Bruce's limp hand. "Fair play, Bats," I panted.
"Kryptonite hurts," Boy Scout groaned.
"Which is why Batman keeps it in an overwhelmingly impenetrable vault at the Batcave."
"More like a whelmingly penetrable vault," I groaned getting back to my feet.
"You alright?" Boy Scout asked me.
"Yeah," I waved it off, though I was still holding my side, "I've had worse."
Wonder Woman was the last Leaguer, but M'gann managed to place her in a calm enough state for us to get a cure on her neck. By the time we arrived in the main room again, Tornado was the only one present.
"Congratulations, Team, you have won the day," he said, despite the fact that both his arms and legs had been ripped off.
Then the computer spoke up, "Happy New Year, Justice League."
"I should have done this a long time ago," Wally said picking Artemis up.
"No kidding."
I did my best not to audibly make my disgust known, but a low groan came out at the sight of their PDA, everyone's PDA actually. Artemis and Wally weren't the only ones. Boy Scout and M'gann were kissing now too. Geez, get a room.
"Human customs still elude me."
"You and me both, Red," I sighed as Birdie caught my attention.
"I never got to answer your question."
"I never asked you a question."
I flinched at first when he reached for my goggles, but then I let him pull them off. I let him creep closer and closer to me until his hands were wrapped around my waist. The tip of his nose grazed mine. "You're the good thing that happened to me," he whispered, before leaning in fully. He kissed me and held me one last time, and it was almost enough to convince me to stay.
Then he pulled away, "Come with me."
He led me by the hand to the garden area by the windows, where he sat me down to watch the view of the Earth below us. He gazed at the view, but my eyes were only on him.
Then, after a few minutes of silence he finally asked, "You're leaving aren't you?"
"Yeah," I admitted with a bit of difficulty.
"What do I have to do to convince you to stay?"
"I don't think you can."
"I know you feel like you don't belong here," he said sadly, "but there'll never be a group of people who love you more."
"I don't think it's about love, Birdie. If it was I'd stay for you."
He turned to me with his mouth parted. "Don't do that."
"What?"
"Tell me you love me and then leave."
"I do, though, for what it's worth."
He let out a heavy sigh as he came to terms with it. "I love you too."
Neither of us said anything more. We just sat comfortably in each others' silence, soaking in our last moments together, until Bats called for us to join some sort of emergency meeting.
He led us into a private meeting room where only Birdie, Kaldur, and Arrow sat with their mentors, along with Shazam, Canary, Tornado, and I.
"Everything I thought I knew about myself was a lie," Arrow said in disbelief, "I'm not a hero or a sidekick. I'm a traitor. A pawn."
"Roy, it'll be alri—"
"I'm not Roy. I don't know what I am. All I know is I need to find the real Roy. I need to rescue Speedy."
"Guardian is already searching Cadmus."
"And if you don't find him?" I asked, not to Bats, but to Arrow.
"I have to," was all he could say before he left with Canary and Green Arrow following him.
"Something else is wrong."
"The entire League was under Savage's spell for just over a day. We've accounted for most of that time but these six leaguers went missing for a full sixteen hours we can't account for."
"Sixteen hours. What did we do?"
"Perhaps we could—"
Kaldur was cut off when the images of the Leaguers on the center computer cut out. Instead it was replaced with some sort of surveillance footage.
"What is this?" I asked, stepping closer to the screen.
It seemed as thought time had stood still. Nobody in the room dared to speak or breathe at the sight of the footage.
"Batman," I shuddered. "What. Is. This?"