Kaldur sighed as he placed his helmet on the table. The stuffy air of the ship didn't feel as good as fresh air on-land and he severely missed it. he rubbed at his eyes as he sat down, Artemis taking the other seat.
"I've been researching Renegade," she said as a conversation opener.
"what?"
She shrugged, "what else did you want me to do?"
Kaldur blinked, "okay, sure, have you found anything out?"
Artemis sighed as she leaned back into the chair, "not much, just more evidence of what we already know. He's been in the game for about six years now, amazing record, highly trusted by Ra's and several other big-timers in the field."
"so nothing we can use against him?"
"see, that's the thing," she leaned forward, "he came out of nowhere way back when, the light didn't even really know who he was when he filed into their ranks three years ago."
"okay," Kaldur frowned, "and?"
"and so I dug into how he got into the league of assassins," she smirked, "his dad was Ra's last guard, disappeared off the map like, never heard from again, like, twenty-five years ago, then all of a sudden his kid shows up?"
Kaldur sighed, "yeah, that's strange, but I don't know how we can use it."
Artemis shrugged, "technically, we can't, yet," she leaned her head on her hand, "but my sister is in with the league, remember? She can ask some questions, if we play it well enough. She can't know I'm alive, it'll just be like a mission from some rando. But the league, they use names, remember? She can do some digging."
"quite possibly," Kaldur mused, "but we can't tip him off. He may have minimal contact with the league at the moment, but that's still enough to find out about people getting nosy about him."
"yeah," Artemis smirked, "which is why I did some recon in the tech department, unlike me, I know, but," she pulled out a device, "I know enough to gain access to his communications."
Kaldur eyed the device in her hands, "you want to spy on his personal conversations?"
"just the ones that are long-distance. They've got to be important."
Kaldur sighed and leaned back in his chair, "okay, but be careful about this."
"when am I ever not careful?"
"don't make me answer that."
Jade was staring at the tombstone with a look of fury.
In her arms was Lian, peacefully sleeping. She hadn't been able to get a sitter and she honestly didn't care, some small part of her told her to bring Lian along. Artemis deserved some of her family at her funeral.
"Manta will pay for this," she said, knowing her father had snuck up behind her.
"of course," he said, "and his twerp son, too. I didn't give him permission to kill my little girl, I can't look soft."
Jade had to fight a snarl, "because all you care about is your reputation," she hissed, "she was your daughter."
"don't flatter yourself Jade, this isn't the Brady Bunch."
Jade levelled a glare on him, "well, let's put it this way, you take Manta and I get Aqualad."
Her father's eyes gave away the smile on his face beneath the mask, "I can work with that."
Batgirl sighed as she took a step back from the holograms. As was expected the team had been in turmoil and anyone with some sense left had pushed to have a new leader instated before they were taken by surprise. And she was chosen.
Sure, Conner could help and Megan could help and there were others who could help. But also, she was tired. She was stressed. She was beyond okay.
But the team needed her, so a stiff upper lip it was.
"hey, BG," Mal greeted as he stepped up behind her, "working 'round the clock?"
"something like that," she sighed, "I've got a few ideas for missions, where is everyone?"
She needed to keep track, she needed to know where everyone was. At any moment Kaldur could come in, as was planned. Communications had been minimal since Artemis' 'death' but so far the plan was still for him to storm the mountain and use the chance to give her a tracker for L'Gann. She hoped she'd be able to remove any inhibitor collars. Theoretically she could, but she didn't have much practice.
Not for the first time, she missed Dick.
"they're in the grotto," Mal said, and she almost jumped at the words. She'd been lost in thought, she couldn't let that happen.
"right," she sighed, "of course."
Tim wasn't paying attention to Blue Beetle and Impulse and all the others, he was just staring at the hologram before him.
The only plaques in the grotto were the ones that stated the name of the hero and their birth and death dates. The team didn't even know that the second Robin had been Jason Todd.
Tim had stared at this hologram a lot of times. He didn't know what it was that forced his eyes to stay on the translucent features, but some small part of him was transfixed.
He wondered what it was like, to have only had one predecessor who had just suddenly taken off out of the blue. Had he worried that Richard Grayson would one day return? Had he worried that he could lose his position at any moment?
Had he worried that he was not good enough to be Robin?
Tim liked to imagine that he did. He didn't know why.
He also didn't know why the league refused to put up a hologram of Richard Grayson, the first Robin. It seemed ridiculous, it had been six years and no sign and yet they all had unanimously decided that he was still alive. There were no ifs, buts or maybes. He was still alive.
Which made Tim wonder what kind of person he was. To just leave and never come back, all without a word. They were in the middle of an invasion and he was still gone.
He didn't know of he should look up to someone like that.
"did you know him?"
If it weren't for his training he'd have jumped. Beside him was Impulse, Bart Allen. He was looking at the hologram with a strange expression.
"no," Tim answered, "I didn't."
Bart nodded, "cool, cool."
The strange expression was still there, as if Bart couldn't quite believe what he was seeing. Or as if he was keeping a secret. Either way he was deep in thought.
"are secret identities really not such big deals in your time?"
"hm?" he blinked and looked at Tim, "oh, yeah, no. pretty much everyone's names are common knowledge. The history books are extensive."
"and confusing, I'm sure."
Bart huffed a laugh, "oh yeah."
Tim studied his face, looking for every piece of emotion he could find.
"Barry's dead in your future, isn't he?"
He said it quietly, voice ever so tiny. Even still, Bart jumped.
"What? No! what made you think that? That's ridiculous, impossible," he smiled, watching Tim's face. He realised Tim couldn't be fooled and deflated, face going dark, "yeah, yeah he is."
Tim nodded, "I see."
"that's all you have to say? 'I see'?"
Tim nodded, "u-huh."
Bart blinked, "this is why the textbooks say you should have been batman, you know."
"they do not," Tim said with disbelief.
"okay, well, they say that you'd be good at it, and you were a better detective than Bruce," he corrected, "I had a friend who wrote an assignment on who would be best to inherit the cowl."
"no you didn't."
"no I didn't," Bart grumbled, "but she wanted to, shut up."
Tim snorted.
Bart sighed, "just..."
Tim looked at him once more, forcing his eyes away from the hologram of Jason Todd.
"keep an open mind, you know? And uh..." he rubbed at the back of his neck, "you know, uh, future stuff."
Tim raised an eyebrow, "okay?"
Bart's face turned slightly pink with embarrassment, and then he zoomed off to Blue Beetle's side.
"Okay bird-boy, what have you got?"
Jason was frowning on the other side of the screen.
"you've given me a stupid task." That was evident seeing as he'd put off giving a report for a week.
Dick snickered and crossed his arms, leaning back in the chair, "so, little success, then?"
Jason sighed, "I've searched for 'Tigress' literally everywhere, she doesn't exist. She's just... popped out of nowhere," he grumbled, moving his hands about in frustration, "like daisies."
"okay, but..." Dick said, raising his eyebrows, "surely there's more than that?"
Jason grumbled, "dude, it'd be easier to research a dead man who did nothing with his life than whoever this Tigress person is."
Dick sighed, "have you asked Alex for help?"
"see that's thing," Jason leaned forward, "when I say there's nothing, I mean, nothing. I didn't just stick her name in a few search bars, I asked around. Alex hasn't heard of her, Slade hasn't heard of her, there isn't a single person in Nanda Parbat who knows who Tigress is. And I took a photograph with me. There was one person who straight up told me it was just huntress in a slightly different costume."
Dick hummed, looking off into the distance in thought.
"but dude, Slade says he recognises this."
Dick looked up, Jason shared a video from his screen to Dick's. it was a playback of Tigress fighting that Dick had sent Jason. She moved in a way that was familiar to Dick, but it didn't seem overly personal to Tigress. It was as if she had been taught by someone so severely that she just adopted their fighting style instead of turning it into her own.
"he says it looks like Sportsmaster."
Dick looked at Jason with a raised eyebrow, "Sportsmaster?"
"he swears it, up and down, and you and I both know what he's like when it comes to his word."
"mmm."
Jason blinked as he watched his older brother, "what's with the face?"
Dick smirked, "nothing, just a ridiculous theory of mine that may prove true."
"care to share with the class?"
"no," he smiled, "it's past your bedtime anyway, Jay-bird, so unless you wanna pass the phone to Alex it's time to hang up."
Jason groaned, "I'm seventeen."
"you're fifteen, you were dead for two years."
"fuck you too, owl man."
"don't start with that."
Jason blew a raspberry and hung up.
Artemis clicked the button and the screen dissolved.
She didn't turn, didn't speak, didn't put the device in her hand down. She just stared at the empty space where the screen had been.
Kaldur sat behind her, eyes trailed exactly where hers were. The silence stretched. The sounds of creaking metal surrounding them as water brushed past the sides of the ship. Aside from that and the whir of technology and their breaths the loudest sound they registered was the ring in their ears.
"Jason..." Kaldur's voice was air, there was only the barest sound drifting to Artemis' ears.
She nodded, mute.
Artemis turned slowly, no grace left in her just the mechanic bare bones movement of someone paying no attention to anything but the emptiness int their heads. She placed the device on Kaldur's desk and paced slowly between it and the wall, slow steps. One, a breath. Two, an exhale. Three, a breath. Four, an exhale and a turn.
Kaldur leaned forward, head in his hands, elbows against his knees.
The ring in Artemis' ears expanded tenfold. She wanted a cacophony of breath, a pound of blood in her ears, a beat from her heart. Everything was quiet, she wanted the rush. Everything was quiet and it was driving her insane-
She turned and punched the wall.
The metal boomed, ringing and bouncing and echoing. The bones in her hand crunched and cracked and her arm spasmed as she coiled in on herself, hand cradled to her chest. She was winded, no air wanted to move in and out. She thought it was the injury but when hot tears spilled over her cheeks she realised it was because her throat was throbbing and clogged with emotion, hysteria. Nothing was getting past but the small sounds of sobs starting to bubble up.
Kaldur eyed the floor between his feet, mind running itself in circles from one thought to another.
"He's alive," Kaldur eventually said.
Artemis nodded mutely, "he's alive."
"and Ra's has him."
Artemis looked up, watching as Kaldur slowly unwound himself from the seat and stood, running his hand along his head.
Artemis started to stand and Kaldur held a hand out. She took a moment to realise he wasn't offering her help up and was instead telling her to stay down. He let his hand drop, hitting the side of his leg with a dull slap as he looked away, shaking his head.
Artemis settled into a cross-legged position, hand still cradled close to her chest. she stared into the distance, the metal of the ship settled, the echoes finally diminished and gone. Kaldur sat beside her, backwards so they were facing each other, with his legs in front of him and slouched so his elbows were against his legs.
Artemis was still, unmoving as she said, "he was fine, healthy," she blinked, "he was teasing Renegade. Helping him do research? He... Renegade called him Jay-bird?"
Tears slipped out again, running straight down her chin without any difficulty, following the path of the tears that had already run.
"he never let me call him jay-bird."
Kaldur swallowed, feeling tears threatening to spill, pricking at the corners of his eyes. He didn't know what to do, what to say. He should stand, he should clear his throat. He should say 'this is a security issue'. He should say 'Renegade is suspicious, we need to remove him'. he should be a leader.
But he couldn't. he couldn't, he couldn't, he couldn't.
Renegade and his assassin league, Ra's and Slade and...
They'd stolen Jason, ripped him from his coffin, thrown him in the Lazarus pits. They'd twisted him into someone who gave them trust and friendship. Hatred and loathing and rage bubbled up inside Kaldur, the face it was aimed at was Renegade's. the dark hair and the smirk and the flashy smile and the bright blue eyes...
And at the memory of his face, of his teasing expression, the hate crumbled. The expression he'd had when talking to Jason, the happiness, the lack of weight on his shoulders, made something in Kaldur ache. There was something that recognised the voice. Something that recognised the eyes. Something that recognised person.
He knew him. he knew Renegade, he had to, he had to, he had to.
He had to find a distraction. Now.
"who is Alex?"
Artemis was silent for a long time before she realised he was talking to her.
"she..." she blinked, shaking her head as if the motion would shake away the memory of Jason's smiling face, of his still morbid expression when he'd been laid in his coffin, "she's..." she cleared her throat, "a guard. Ra's Al Ghul's personal guard."
"so renegade would know her."
"reports suggests they're siblings. Alex is Thalia's daughter, unknown father."
Kaldur nodded, "okay."
He needed a new distraction.
"so Renegade is Richard Al Ghul?" that sounded wrong. Something about those two names together didn't fit.
Artemis shook her head, "no... no, they're half siblings. Same father, different mothers."
"who's Richard's?"
"not sure."
Kaldur nodded.
"I'm going to find out."
"what?"
Kaldur was still looking into the distance, "I'm going to find out," he said, "we need to check air traffic before we raid the mountain, I'll take him."
"Kal," Artemis sighed, "are you sure?"
"entirely."
"but-"
"I need to know who he is." Kaldur's voice was stony, impenetrable. Artemis knew that this must be something personal, or at least not entirely professional.
"I know him," Kaldur said, "I'm sure of it."
Artemis nodded, "he's... familiar."
Kaldur nodded.
Artemis eyed Kaldur, for the first time taking her eyes away from the nothing in front of her.
"be careful of him."
"I am."
"Kal," she said, "I see the way you look at him."
His head snapped to Artemis, "what?"
Artemis smiled sadly, "I don't judge, he's pretty good looking."
"Artemis-"
"Kaldur."
Kaldur clenched his jaw as he looked away.
"he's a snake," she said, "you think you've got a hold of him, but he's been coiling round you and he'll strangle you if you're not careful."
Kaldur nodded.
He still needed a distraction, he didn't want to stand yet. Instead he asked Artemis another question.
"do you know what the Court of Owls are?"
Her eyes blew wide, "why on earth would you ask me that."
"pretend I don't need a reason."
"they're... for lack of a better term, a cult," she said, "an old Gotham myth. Supposedly made up of powerful members of Gotham's aristocracy, ruling it in the shadows. They had an immortal army of assassins."
Kaldur swallowed, his gut turned cold.
"why?"
Kaldur looked up, where the screen had been.
"did they get along with the league of assassins?"
"they're a myth, Kal, and if they did exist you can't ask them for help."
"answer the question," Kaldur said, quiet, "please."
Artemis pursed her lips, "no. they did not."
Kaldur looked away again, frowning. He pulled his legs in and sat cross-legged.
"why are you asking me this?"
"Renegade," Kaldur said, "apparently... he said- when... he escaped the Court of Owls, with their... powers. Some kind of healing."
"electrum. They used it to revive corpses and turn them into emotionless killers that could regenerate from pretty much anything."
Kaldur nodded, "according to Richard, it doesn't go well with Lazarus."
"there is no way-"
"I saw it," Kaldur said, looking at Artemis, "his eyes were gold and he was pale and he wasn't in his right mind. He snapped out of it but..."
Artemis looked away, eyes wide, "Jesus."
"yeah."
"we're fucked," she said, "we're so fucked. you can't beat a Talon."
Kaldur blinked, "what?"
"that's what their assassins were called. Talons. Be careful with him," Artemis said, and if Kaldur didn't know her he'd say she was scared, "really careful."
"I heard you the first time."
"I mean it, Kal," she said, "be. Careful."
Kaldur nodded and stood.
"where are you going?"
Kaldur eyed the door, "I have a mission to Happy Harbour to plan."
Richard was not expecting the summons, but he couldn't be entirely unsurprised. If he was being honest, he was surprised it had taken this long.
Nevertheless, he pretended to be surprised when he made his way to the communications bay and took the call. Lex Luthor sat before him.
"to what do I owe the pleasure?" Richard asked.
"nothing personal, my boy, although it is a shame I have not been able to catch up with you since your visit to Bee's manor," Luthor said, smiling. Richard hated how easy it seemed to be for the millionaire to keep an easy expression, "alas, I speak with you as an ambassador from our fellow members."
"I see," Richard said, "well, I'd love to help our benevolent leaders, what can I do for you?"
Lex allowed amusement to dance across his face, momentarily. Then schooled his features and came back to the topic at hand.
"In the wake of recent events, the light has considered our current... enforcers. Although the assistance from Ra's Al Ghul is greatly needed, we still require the support of those such as Sportsmaster."
"I am aware of this."
"yes, I'm sure," Luthor said, "and I'm sure you're also well aware of what kind of person Sportsmaster is," he steepled his hands, "hence, the light has had some... considerations."
"you wish to change Sportsmaster's employment situation," Richard said, allowing the smallest of smiles to escape the professional standard, "understandable. He has been known to be... rash."
"mmm," Luthor hummed, "The Light has considered, seeing as Kaldur has more than proven himself, to promote you to Sportsmaster's current position."
Richard genuinely didn't know how to react to that.
"I see you are... overwhelmed?"
Why can't anyone ever be just whelmed?
"uh, that's one way to... put it."
Lex chuckled slightly, the way all rich white men chuckled, "you're interested?"
Richard blinked, took a breath and composed himself. He knew exactly what he had to say in this situation.
"I am thankful for the opportunity, however," Richard said, making sure he got the word in before Lex could interrupt, "I already have a full-time job and position as Thalia Al Ghul's personal guard. once The Light is happy to remove me from my temporary position alongside Kaldur'Ahm I will return to my place in Nanda Parbat."
Lex raised an eyebrow, "but, my boy, this would be a... noticeable promotion of power. As an enforcer of The Light-"
"I am not interested in promotions, Luthor," Richard said, "my place is with the Al Ghul family. Although," he said, and allowed a small smile, "I think you'll find Deathstroke is looking for something to take up extra time, since he stepped down as Ra's personal guard to allow Alex to take the position."
Richard seemed to have turned the table, if momentarily, because Lex looked to be without words.
"I..." Luthor leaned forward, "Renegade, you may wish to think about this."
"thought about it," he said, "pretty easy. Loyalty is a big thing of mine, the league's code is a part of that." He crossed his arms, "they and I share the sentiment of finding beauty from destruction."
Luthor's mouth was agape and Dick smirked.
"but, be free to bring your promotion to Deathstroke," Dick said with a smirk, "he could use something to fill his empty schedule."
Richard leaned forward to end the call.
"anything else, Luthor?" Luthor was still stuttering, "no? okay then, I'll see you next time."
The call disconnected and Dick turned on his heel.