T A I P E I
September 7, 19:20 NST
When Red Arrow called her and asked Silverbird if she wanted to help him with a mission in Taipei, Reese couldn't find it in herself to say no.
As much as she loved being with the Team and fighting the bad guys with them, Roy would always be her brother, whether they were related by blood or not, and Reese loved the few missions they worked together when it was just the two of them.
At the moment, Reese was dressed in the same outfit she'd been wearing when the Team delivered AMAZO to STAR Labs, only this time she also had computerized sunglasses over her eyes, standing within the gathered crowd at the site where a peace summit between the warring countries of North and South Rhelasia had been stalled, so much so that an arbitrator had been called in to talk things through.
As it were, that was part of the reason she and Roy were in Taiwan in the first place, to try and stop an assassination attempt.
Through the crowd, Reese was able to study the two leaders, General Singh Manh Li, and Prime Minister Tseng, as they stood guarded by their own security forces.
"See anything?" Roy's voice came through Reese's earpiece, and for a moment, Reese glanced over towards where the older archer was stationed behind a column close to the entrance of the building where the summit was taking place.
Then, Reese looked around, but she didn't notice anything out of the ordinary, and she told Roy as much.
"No," she said softly, careful not to alert the people around her. "Sorry,"
"It's alright," Roy answered. "I got an idea,"
Then, Kaldur's voice came through her earpiece, and Reese assumed that Roy had called their Atlantean friend.
"Aqualad,"
"You got Red Arrow and Silverbird," Roy said after the brief greeting from Kaldur. "We need access to the Justice League database,"
"Along with the exact height of the League of Shadows assassin known as Cheshire," Reese added before she bit her lip.
When she had asked Robin to do a background check on Artemis after the blonde had first joined the team, both birds had discovered who Artemis's family was, including the fact that Cheshire, also known as Jade Nguyen, was Artemis's older sister.
Until now, Reese had kept her promise to Artemis in the fact that she hadn't told anyone who she really was, and it was unlikely that Dick would tell anybody. He wasn't really one to blurt out secrets, unlike a certain red-haired speedster she could mention.
But, now Reese also wondered if Jade--Cheshire--was really the assassin said to be the one targeting the summit, and whether or not she should tell Roy everything she knew before it was too late.
"Checking..." Aqualad's voice came through her earpiece again, and it brought the youngest archer out of her thoughts long enough to glance around at the people gathered to watch the arbitrator arrive at the summit. "Cheshire is 1.67 meters,"
"Um..." Roy trailed off, but luckily, Reese knew how to work the metric system.
"She's five-foot-six, Roy," she whispered.
"And exceptionally dangerous," Aqualad added. "Do the two of you require backup?"
"Please," Roy scoffed. "The last thing I need is the Junior Justice League,"
"Just our computer," Aqualad retorted, and Reese snickered at the Atlantean's sarcasm before she looked around again at the crowd gathered around the summit building, the sunglasses analyzing every person there until finally, there was a match.
"I got her," Reese whispered. "Far side of the entrance,"
"Good luck my friends," Kaldur said after a moment. "Aqualad out,"
Quickly, Reese crossed the promenade towards the booth where Jade--Cheshire--was currently hiding, slipping out her bow, which had been compacted with straps across her back.
As she moved, sirens sounded as a police escort drove towards the front of the summit building, a white car within the middle of them.
The arbitrator, Reese realized.
As the car stopped in front of the building, the movement of something from the corner of her eye made Reese turn in time to see Cheshire, in full League of Shadows garb, complete with a red-and-white cat mask over her face, climb up on top of the booth, holding a rocket launcher.
Before she was able to pull the trigger, Reese glanced towards Roy, who gave his sister a solid nod, and both archers shot a single arrow at the same time, knocking off Cheshire's aim enough that Jade wasn't able to assassinate the arbitrator.
But, as the missile flew through the air and panic spread throughout the crowd anyway, Reese began to get jostled as people ran into her at every turn in their haste to get to safety.
Finally, she managed to make it out into the open, only to see the rocket once again flying towards the summit building. Reese's eyes widened, but Roy leaped up anyway, shooting an arrow towards Cheshire.
The arrow let a net escape from it, but the assassin sliced through it with her sais as the rocket made a nearby newsstand explode.
Running forward, Reese threw her foot out in a high kick, but Cheshire caught it in one hand and used the momentum to throw the small brunette against the asphalt just as Roy tackled Jade to the ground.
When Reese brought her head up, it was to find a gun pointed straight at her face as the security guards that were supposed to be protecting the summit arrested her and Roy instead.
Well, they got Cheshire, so that was something.
As Reese held her hands up in surrender, just to make sure the Rhelasians didn't shoot her, the driver's door to the arbitrator's car opened, revealing a woman that Reese could've sworn she'd seen before, but she couldn't put her finger on it.
When four of Taipei's police department pulled Reese and Roy to their feet, both finally got a good look at the summit's arbitrator, and Reese swore her eyes almost bulged out of her head as both she and Roy gaped.
Lex Luthor.
➵➵➵
Later, as the police pushed Cheshire into a police car, while two others still held onto Roy and Reese, Luthor's chauffeur(?), Mercy got off the phone, giving a solid nod to her boss before Luthor turned to the police holding the two archers.
"We have confirmation," the businessman began. "These two are Green Arrow's pals, Speedy and Silverbird,"
"It's Red Arrow now," Roy cut in, while Reese stayed silent. So far, this mission had been going splendidly, note the sarcasm.
"They must be questioned," a police captain said to Luthor, who held up a hand.
"Lex Luthor vouches for them, Captain," the man said, and Reese quirked an eyebrow. If this ended by her owing a favor to Lex freaking Luthor... "Release the sidekicks,"
"Ex-sidekick," Roy growled as the two police officers unlocked the handcuffs of first him, then Reese. "And we don't need any favors from you,"
"Apologies," Luthor said, sounding eerily calm, given the situation. "I didn't realize you and your...sister here would like to join the other young lady behind bars,"
This time, Reese did speak up, walking up to Luthor and glaring at the man, even though he was at least twice her size, in both height and frame.
"You may have everyone else fooled here, Luthor," she said quietly. "But, we both know what you are,"
"Oh," Luthor said calmly again, lightly ruffling the top of Reese's hair before Roy yanked her back, out of his reach as Reese shook her head, trying to get the feeling of Lex Luthor touching her out of her mind. "I don't pretend to be an angel. It just so happens that this time, I'm on the side of the angels,"
With that, he began to walk inside the summit building, and Roy and Reese exchanged a dubious glance before they followed.
Inside, Cat Grant was with her cameraman from GBS, reporting on the story, and as they passed, Reese listened in.
"The violence outside," the reporter was saying. "Has not helped the peacemaking process,"
Then, Reese turned towards the grand staircase, where the general and prime minister had begun to argue with each other.
"Hiring assassins, Li?" Tseng shouted towards the general. "Have you no one among your own troops to do the North's dirty work?"
"I need no assassin, Tseng!" General Li retorted sharply, pointing a finger in the South Rhelasian Prime Minister's direction. "Such is the method of a Southern coward!"
As the two world leaders continued to argue in their native tongue, Reese found herself rolling her eyes, before she began to listen again to what Cat was currently telling the world through her reporting.
"Tensions are running high," the blonde woman was saying. "And troops are massing on the border between the two countries. Right now, Lex Luthor seems to be the best, or only, hope for peace,"
"Why should either side trust you?" Roy spoke up, scowling towards Luthor, but the businessman remained calm, and frankly, his calmness was what had been starting to freak Reese out.
"Because," Luthor answered. "LexCorp is a company founded on a peaceful enterprise for all humanity,"
"Oh, cut the act, Luthor," Reese scowled, her expression eerily mirroring Roy's, as she glanced up at the bald man again, crossing her arms. "We've got intel that links some of LexCorp's shell companies to the sale of weapons in both Rhelasia's,"
"You're profiting off this war," Roy added, pointing his forefinger towards Luthor. "So, what's your angle?"
Instead of answering, Luthor only walked forward until he was standing just in front of Roy and Reese, looking fairly smug, and it made Reese want to punch the offending expression right off him.
Man, she had been hanging out with Superboy too much.
"War income is pocket change compared to the billions to be made investing in a peaceful United Rhelasia," Luthor answered finally. "And isn't it better to have peace? Even if that scoundrel Lex Luthor profits from it?"
"That scoundrel," Roy shot back. "May not survive to profit,"
"Just because Cheshire failed," Reese began. "Doesn't mean that the League of Shadows will. Someone gave them a contract, and those assassins won't stop until that contract is fully completed,"
"Which does beg the question," Luthor said. "Who hired the League?"
"And whether or not you were really the target," Reese realized as her and Roy's eyes widened at the same time, both looking towards the staircase, where Tseng and Li were still arguing with each other. "Or was your death supposed to be a way to conveniently sabotage the summit?"
"I see all your time around Robin has paid off, Silverbird," Luthor spoke. "You are smart," Reese and Roy both glared at him as Reese crossed her arms over her chest.
"Don't patronize me, Luthor," she scowled, but once again, Lex Luthor was hardly phased.
Instead, he only ignored her.
"Allow me to hire you and Silverbird here to find out," he said to Roy, and Reese rolled her eyes again. As it were, Red Arrow wasn't looking for a payoff.
"Your money has blood on it," Roy grumbled, arms crossed. "And we're not here to make a buck,"
"So," Luthor chuckled, setting a hand on Roy's shoulder. "The two of you will provide your services...but for free?" he raised an eyebrow, looking almost amused. "I can live with that, young heroes,"
"Hardly," Reese muttered under her breath, but Luthor either didn't hear her, or he ignored her and spoke again as Roy gave him a look, likely mentally willing Luthor to take his hand off of his shoulder.
"Now, excuse me," Luthor continued. "I have a hemisphere to save,"
Then, Luthor walked towards the staircase, spreading his arms out in what Reese assumed was supposed to be some sort of grand gesture.
"Gentlemen, gentlemen," he said. "Shall we attempt some smiles for the cameras?"
"God, I hate him," Reese muttered, and Roy gave a small noise of agreement before Reese glanced again at her brother. "If this ends by us owing a favor to Lex Luthor--"
"I know, sestra," Roy cut her off, but his use of a Bulgarian word made Reese glance at him, to which the redhead just shrugged. "Google's very helpful,"
"I bet," Reese retorted, though she was smiling. "If you want me to teach you anything, I'd be happy to,"
"Can we worry about that after the mission?" Roy asked, and Reese turned back to where Luthor was trying to negotiate with Li and Tseng.
"Of course,"
➵➵➵
After a while, Roy and Reese changed fully into their hero costumes, and Red Arrow and Silverbird went to the Taipei police department, where they confronted Cheshire in her holding cell.
Remarkably, Jade Nguyen seemed calm, practicing Tai Chi within her cell even. When Silverbird had discovered who Artemis's sister was, this hadn't really been who she was expecting.
"Aren't you going to ask me...anything?" Jade asked as she moved fluidly through her motions within the cell.
"I think you know what we're after," Red Arrow said simply, cutting to the chase before any distractions could occur.
"I do, actually," Jade said simply, causing Reese to quirk an eyebrow. "Do you?"
"Who hired you?" Silverbird cut in, but Jade just continued her Tai Chi.
"Shadows," she answered, and Reese rolled her eyes as Roy spoke up.
"Who hired them?" he asked, but Jade only turned to face the two archers.
"I don't ask," she said, even sending a wink towards Red Arrow, the context of which made Silverbird gag. Ew.
Reese grimaced from where she was standing behind Roy, closer to the wall, and was content, the term used loosely, to just stand and watch as her brother interrogated the assassin.
"What's the endgame?" Arrow continued to question, and Cheshire continued to dodge him. "The peace summit? Or Luthor himself?"
Finally, Jade stopped with her smooth movements and instead turned to fully face Roy, pointing a finger-gun at him.
"Two birds," she began. "One stone," then, Cheshire's almond-shaped eyes landed on Silverbird, who was still standing behind her brother and Jade put her hands on her hips. "Hey, where are your little sidekick friends? They're always fun to play with. Especially Art--" she cut off abruptly, but Reese knew she was about to say Artemis. "--chery girl,"
In front of Silverbird, Red Arrow narrowed his eyes, because as far as he knew, Cheshire wasn't talking about Artemis, but rather his sister. And, as such, Roy shifted to the side, just so Reese was out of Jade's sightline.
"Not your brunette sister, Red," Cheshire said, sounding a bit contemptuous. "I meant the blonde one. I like her,"
"She--" Red Arrow paused for a moment before correcting himself. "They, aren't in my league,"
In the two months that it had been since that disastrous meeting at the Hall of Justice, Reese had realized that despite her being the only one who could really get through to Roy whenever he was in a mood, there were things that even she wasn't capable of.
And she was okay with that.
If Roy, as Red Arrow, wanted to strike out on his own, then she wasn't going to stand in the way of that. Just as long as Reese was able to still spend time with her brother when he wasn't off on his own, like now, for instance.
"And you think you're in mine?" Cheshire asked, walking forward and grabbing the front of Roy's uniform, yanking him towards her so they were face-to-face. "Where is Green Arrow when you really need him?"
"I don't," Red Arrow continued to claim, and as she watched the interaction going on in front of her, Silverbird grimaced. Ew.
"Sure about that?" Jade asked, tilting Roy's head down towards her, before dropping to a crouch.
"Get down!" Reese shouted, and Roy spun around, tackling her just as the opposite wall of Jade's cell exploded, bringing with it a cloud of smoke, dust, and broken rock.
When Red Arrow and Silverbird sat up, Cheshire was gone, and there was a massive jagged hole in the wall, which Reese presumed was the way Jade had escaped.
Roy ran over to the miraculously still-standing cell bars and clenched his hands around them, before giving an angry shout and running out of the room, Reese right on his heels.
The two archers made their way towards the roof, and from what Silverbird was able to see, Cheshire was running along the tops of nearby buildings with the same person who had broken her out of jail.
As Reese focused her eyes on the pair, enhanced vision zooming in on the two, she recognized Jade's companion. Sportsmaster, aka the father of both Cheshire and Artemis.
After Silverbird exchanged a glance with Red Arrow, who only gave her a single solid nod, both shot an arrow towards a building in front of Cheshire and Sportsmaster's current path, and once the anchor was secure, used their bows as a sort of zipline.
After a few minutes, Jade glanced over at the two, taking a throwing star from her pocket.
"I admire persistence," Cheshire began. "But--"
Cutting herself off, Jade threw the throwing star, but before it was able to slice through the line, Roy and Reese both dropped to a nearby roof, running towards the edge where Cheshire and Sportsmaster were just climbing into a helicopter.
As the chopper flew higher up into the air, Red Arrow shot another arrow at the base of the vehicle, before grabbing Silverbird and dragging her along.
The two of them were tugged along behind the helicopter, but after a moment, Jade leaned out again, and when Reese realized what was in the assassin's hand, her eyes widened a split second before the line was cut, causing both Silverbird and Red Arrow to begin the many foot drop to the ground below.
Luckily, since they were not complete novices at this particular line of work, Reese and Roy managed to each shoot an arrow at the roof they hurtling towards, causing twin piles of gooey foam to erupt and cushion their landing just in time.
When Silverbird sat up, she found herself covered head-to-toe in icky red goo, and she shook her sleeve, trying to get it off as if it were a bug. Luckily, Red Arrow had managed to stick a tracker on the helicopter in the arrowhead before Cheshire had sliced through the line, so the two of them had a means of following Sportsmaster and his daughter before they got away for good.
➵➵➵
The tracker led Reese and Roy to an old temple within a small inner-city lake, and the two perched behind an outcropping as Silverbird strained her hearing, listening as Jade and Sportsmaster conversed beneath them.
"Because I'm a professional," Cheshire was saying. "I won't kill you. At least not while we're on the job,"
"You wouldn't have this job if not for me," Sportsmaster responded. "Grow up already,"
"The evening's agenda was to create strife between nations," Another voice suddenly joined the conversation, and Reese's eyes widened as Ra's al Ghul himself suddenly stepped into the light. "Not my assassins,"
Cheshire had already knelt to one knee, showing submissiveness when faced with the leader of the League of Shadows.
"Master," Jade began, but Ra's only tilted his head to the side.
"And client," he added, and Reese quirked an eyebrow.
Ra's al Ghul was the one who had ordered the hit on the summit? She hadn't seen that one coming.
"So, twice disappointed in your failure," Ra's continued. "Luthor has been a thorn in my side for too long. Peaceful countries rarely call upon the League of Shadows,"
"Ra's al Ghul?" Roy muttered from beside Reese, and the younger girl glanced over at her brother before they both tuned back into what Ra's was saying.
"So, I expect a better outcome. Unless interference from those two--" Ra's suddenly turned towards where Red Arrow and Silverbird were hiding, and Reese grimaced again.
"Perfect," Roy muttered before he and Reese both stood to their shooting twin arrows towards Ra's al Ghul.
Unfortunately, Sportsmaster managed to hit both out of the way with his javelin, leaving the League of Shadows's leader miraculously unharmed.
As such, the al Ghul man stepped back into the shadows, and Red Arrow and Silverbird began to run along the shingles, with Cheshire and Sportsmaster dodging every arrow that was shot.
Jade eventually jumped up onto the roof in front of Roy and Reese, and she began to slice the arrows out of the air, steadily making her way closer to them.
After a few seconds, Cheshire got so close that Red Arrow and Silverbird needed to backflip away. Reese skidded back a few inches further than Roy, and as he began to fight Jade, she tried to keep one eye on Sportsmaster as the man used his javelin to pole-vault up onto the roof.
Cheshire leaped to the side as her father landed on the roof, throwing some sort of discus towards Roy, and as he held up his arms in a way to protect his face, the discus shattered his bow.
When she had been focusing on Sportsmaster, it, unfortunately, meant that Reese had taken her focus off of Cheshire, and in consequence, didn't see the small feathered dart that Jade had shot towards her before it was too late.
Silverbird slapped at her neck, knocking the small dart down towards the roof, but she already felt woozy and held a hand to her head as everything began to swim in front of her.
"I hear you go by Red Arrow now," Reese heard Sportsmaster's voice tell Roy through the haze in her mind. "More like...broken arrow,"
Then, Reese felt herself falling, as everything turned black before her eyes, the tranquilizer finally completing what it was supposed to do.
She didn't know how long she was unconscious, but it couldn't have been very long, considering that, when she finally blinked her eyes open, Cheshire and Sportsmaster were still standing in front of her and Roy at the temple.
Reese saw Jade give a small wave a split second before Roy had grabbed her upper arm, dragging Reese down into the water with him as Sportsmaster threw one of two javelins towards them, the staff exploding as it hit the shingles.
When they hit the water, Roy dragged both of them down deeper, just as the other javelin hit the small waves, giving an almost deafening explosion as well.
It also didn't help that since sound traveled 4.3 times faster underwater than in the air, and Reese's ears had already begun to ring.
Though Reese was sure that Cheshire and Sportsmaster probably expected them to perish within the double explosions, Red Arrow pulled his sister up to the shore several yards away from where they had first jumped in, Silverbird letting out a series of coughs as she expelled the water from her lungs.
Beside her, Roy lay on the cold cement for a moment before sitting up, breathing heavily as he tapped his commlink.
"It's me," he began. "Silverbird and I may...possibly...be in over our heads,"
➵➵➵
"The League of Shadows wants you dead," Red Arrow told Lex Luthor later, back at the building where the peace summit was being held, after he and Reese had dried off, and Roy had grabbed his 'back-up bow'.
"Doesn't every League?" Luthor asked in response and Silverbird scowled.
"It's not just Cheshire, Luthor," she told him. "It's Sportsmaster and Ra's al Ghul,"
"I can't say I'm surprised," Luthor responded as Mercy helped him put his suit jacket on. "Ra's is something of a--competitor of mine,"
"Then maybe we should stand aside and watch you take each other out," Red Arrow retorted, and Luthor glanced off to the side.
"Your stab at pragmatism is...well, adorable. But," Luthor added. "The summit and the peace are at stake, remember? We'll increase security," the businessman said finally. "Though, the Shadows think the two of you are dead. Maybe we can surprise them?"
"I got a better surprise," Red Arrow said firmly before all four of them walked back down to the summit floor, where the peace talks got off to a rocky start.
"The unification is unthinkable!" General Li exclaimed.
"Our peoples no longer have anything in common!" Prime Minister Tseng retorted sharply before finally, Luthor cut in from where he was sitting between them.
"Gentlemen," the bald man began. "This is mere rhetoric. Despite your differences, you still share an appreciation for many things. Such as the exquisite art of the Rhelasian tea ceremony?"
From her spot beside a newly-arrived Kaldur in the crowd, Reese turned her head slightly to the side as a tea-bearer dressed reminiscent of a Japanese geisha walked towards the table where the two world leaders were sitting.
Before the disguised Jade could get any further, both Aqualad and Silverbird turned around, their respective weapons held out in front of them, pointing towards the assassin.
"That is far enough," Kaldur said firmly. "Cheshire,"
The crowd around them gasped, and Reese saw Jade's eyes narrow, before she pushed a button on her cart, pushing it forward.
In the three seconds it would be before the explosive cart would be in range to assassinate Li, Tseng, and Luthor, Kaldur used his water-bearers to levitate every droplet of water from every glass in the room, making a protective shield around the people gathered, as Roy and Reese shot two separate arrows through the last opening, detonating the bomb before it was set to go off.
Luckily, though he strained under the pressure, Kaldur managed to maintain the water-wall, and the explosion instead flew in Cheshire's direction.
The two massive statues that stood on either side of the summit hall had fallen down, blocking the tables from the rest of the room, and when she clambered over, Silverbird saw Jade lying on the floor amongst shards of broken glass, unmoving.
But, the black-haired woman wearily sat up to her hands and knees as Kaldur and Roy joined Reese on the other side of the statues, with Aqualad tearing off the remnants of his jacket, revealing his primary hero attire underneath.
"It's over, Cheshire," Red Arrow said, jaw clenched, but to Silverbird's dismay, Jade only smirked.
"You would think so," she spoke simply, and Reese's eyes widened as a helicopter rose up in front of the broken window that had appeared after the explosion. How had she not heard the rotors beforehand?
Within the helicopter stood Sportsmaster, along with about a dozen regular Shadows. Behind the three heroes, Tseng shouted in Rhelasian, before the security forces of the two leaders ran forward, attempting to stop the assassins.
"You two take Sportsmaster!" Red Arrow shouted. "Cheshire's mine,"
"Mm, so territorial," Jade smirked. "And only our third date,"
"Ew," Silverbird muttered before she shot an arrow towards Cheshire who, unfortunately, sliced it out of the air with her sais.
Then, while Roy dealt with Artemis's older sister, Kaldur and Reese both flipped over Jade's head, landing on the other side and running in tandem towards Sportsmaster, who had taken down four security guards in the span of fifteen seconds.
Aqualad knocked Sportsmaster in the head with his water-bearers, which he had turned into a pair of glowing blue military flails. While he was doing that, Silverbird knocked down the Shadow goons that were encircling Kaldur and Sportsmaster in a loose circle.
Kaldur, suddenly distracted by something Cheshire had said, was hit in the throat by Sportsmaster's forearm, throwing the Atlantean down onto his stomach.
Then, Sportsmaster took out his own little ball-and-chain, and spun the weapon around a bit before throwing towards Kaldur.
Luckily, Reese moved faster than a normal girl her age, so she was to kick the ball off course enough for Aqualad to roll out of the way.
But then, as if he already wasn't living up to his moniker, Sportsmaster pulled out a fencing rapier and began jabbing at Kaldur and Reese with it.
Aqualad turned his two water-bearers into twin swords, while Silverbird abandoned her bow for the moment, pulling her bo staff out instead, snapping the staff in two above her knee, and making the single weapon into a pair of jagged eskrima sticks, like what Dick used, only more lethal.
Oliver was going to kill her for breaking that staff.
"Not bad, 'Lad," Sportsmaster said as he held the rapier in front of his face. "Better than your team did at Santa Prisca or Bialya,"
"How did you--" Kaldur trailed off, or rather, Sportsmaster cut him off, as Reese looked on in shock.
"Let's just say I have an inside source," Sportsmaster answered, before, through the eyeholes of his faceplate, his brown eyes narrowed. "Very inside,"
To be honest, Silverbird wasn't sure whether or not Sportsmaster was being completely honest with them. I mean, a mole within the Team? That was practically impossible.
But...she also couldn't ignore the fact that maybe Sportsmaster was being honest. That was something Reese could worry about later because, at the moment, the thing she was most worried about was whether or not anyone there was getting assassinated.
Suddenly, Silverbird heard Red Arrow's voice from where Roy was standing on top of one of the toppled statues.
"Aqualad, Silverbird," Roy said firmly, shooting an arrow towards the sprinkler system that was connected to the ceiling. "Let's end this,"
As the sprinklers sprayed water everywhere, Reese skittered back closer to the statue, and Kaldur's eel tattoos began to glow before the water from the sprinklers turned into a living blue sea serpent that weaved around the room, cutting off Shadows at every turn.
But, just as things were starting to look up, through the screen of water, Reese saw Jade slip on her Cheshire mask, before grabbing a smoke bomb and throwing it into the mouth of the serpent.
The water serpent disappeared into a regular old puddle as the choking gray smoke surrounded Silverbird, Aqualad, and Red Arrow, causing all three of them to cough.
Even with her enhanced vision, Reese wasn't able to see through the dark cloud, at least not soon enough to stop the Shadow from leaping into the air towards Tseng and General Li.
But, before any of them were able to act, Luthor's assistant/chauffeur of all people, after a signal from her boss, opened up her arm and shot a blue-white energy blast towards the assassin, causing them to fall to the ground.
"Gives new meaning to the 'arms race', doesn't she?" Luthor asked rhetorically, and Reese felt her mouth fall open before she, Roy, and Kaldur turned to where Jade and Sportsmaster had last been seen, but unfortunately, they were nowhere to be seen.
Turning around again, Silverbird scowled as she watched both of the Rhelasian leaders walk forward and begin to congratulate Luthor on the "technology" he had developed, along with saying they owed him their lives.
Roy, obviously, wasn't too pleased with that.
"They owe him their lives?" he asked, jerking a thumb over his shoulder, but neither Reese nor Kaldur could answer before Cat Grant started reporting again.
As it were, Reese didn't pay much attention to what the blonde woman was saying but instead opted to stand beside Kaldur and Roy as the Rhelasian leaders signed a treaty.
The three of them eventually walked out of the building, with Roy muttering as they went. "I can't believe we just did a solid for Lex Luthor,"
"Please don't remind me," Reese said quietly in response, pressing her fingertips to her forehead. "It's giving me a headache just thinking about it,"
"Not for Luthor," Aqualad corrected as they neared the exit door. "For peace. Beyond that," Kaldur continued once they were outside. "If Ra's and the League of Shadows wanted to sabotage the summit, the signing of the treaty renders their contract moot,"
"Yay for us," Reese muttered, pulling her hood down so it hung around her shoulders, running her hand over her hair as everything that had happened within the last twenty-four hours ran through her mind all over again.
"It is over," Kaldur said, looking down at the smaller archer for a moment before he turned to look at the fountain in front of the three of them.
"Is it?" Roy asked, glancing towards his friend. "I heard what Sportsmaster said. Do either of you really think there's a mole in the team, feeding him intel?"
"I...cannot rule out the possibility," Kaldur said reluctantly, but Reese only shrugged.
She didn't want to believe it, she never wanted to believe it, that one of her teammates, her friends, could possibly be giving crucial information over to the enemy, but Kaldur was right.
"Kaldur and I can investigate," she spoke softly, wrapping her arms around herself as Roy and Kaldur glanced towards her. "Quietly, I mean,"
"You're not going to tell them?" Roy asked, sounding surprised, but Kaldur shook his head.
"No, Silverbird is right," the Atlantean said. "It would be best if we don't let the unit unravel over baseless suspicion,"
"And if there really is a mole," Reese added. "It would probably be best if we don't tip them off,"
"You do realize that this means you can't tell Robin about this, right?" Roy asked, and Reese suddenly glanced down at her feet, scuffing the toe of her boot against the concrete.
"I know," she whispered. She and Dick had never kept secrets from each other before, at least, not truly, and Reese hated to lie in general, so she wasn't exactly looking forward to this.
"Well..." Roy trailed off for a moment before he set his hands on Reese's shoulders. "Good luck," he told her quietly.
But, when the red-haired archer began to walk away, Kaldur stopped him.
"One moment, my friend," Aqualad said firmly. "Tonight, either of you could've called Green Arrow for help. Or the Justice League. Instead, your first instinct was to call the cave,"
"To be fair," Reese held up her index finger. "Roy was the one who called. I was currently trying to get oxygen back into my lungs after almost drowning. But--" she cut herself off when both Roy and Kaldur turned to stare at her. "Nevermind," Reese added quickly. "Carry on,"
"You're right," Roy said towards Kaldur after a moment. "The Team deserves...has my respect. I'm still getting used to this solo act stuff. But if you need me, either of you," he glanced towards Reese for a moment, a rare soft smile appearing on his face. "I'll be there,"
With that, Roy and Kaldur gave each other a firm handshake, before Red Arrow then turned to Silverbird.
"Be careful," he said quietly. "Alright? Even if there isn't a mole--"
"I know," Reese cut him off. "And besides, when have I ever not been careful?" The dry look that Roy sent her way was enough of an answer, in Reese's book anyway.
"I'm serious," Roy told her, and Reese sent him a small smile.
"I know, Roy," she said. "And I promise, I'll be careful,"
Though, considering the information they had received tonight, with everything considering the potential mole, Reese wasn't sure she'd be able to keep that promise.
But, she'd sure as hell try her best.
-----
Okay, but like, I STAN big brother Roy (Will) Harper.
Also, I was planning out future chapters a few days ago, and I realized that Performance takes place over Reese's birthday. And because I want Dick to give her like a really cute present I got an idea, which I won't tell you about because *spoilers* but OH MY GOD it's adorable. And the Salvage chapter during Invasion...I got SOME STUFF planned!
I hope all of you are staying safe, washing your hands, and practicing social distancing. I haven't left my house since 13 of March! Which is fine, because I'm anti-social on a good day. I give myself anxiety just seeing classmates through video calls.
Next Up: Terrors
(Terror Twins? I think you mean Terror TRIPLETS. Get ready to meet Tamara Terror everybody. Also, foreshadowing to another OC who will show up during the INVASION arc as well. I realize now I'll have four *technically three* new OCs during the second part of this book.)