Desperate Diseases, Desperate Remedies

[Black Canary]

Smell a Rat

Villainess: It was a quiet morning in New York City. Well as quiet as it gets in New York City. A large truck was pumping flour into the bagel shops basement entrance, sending dusty clouds all about. It caused all the neon lights on the shop fronts to gleam hazy, casting everything with a dream like glow. In a dark alley a swarm of rats sat watching the scene. A squeak was heard as an enormous rat made a sound behind them and they all turned. The large rat was as big as cat, as it ran off, the smaller rats followed after it. They went down back alleys and under garbage dumpsters. They look very organized and determined, as if they had some kind of purpose or mission guiding them. They stopped at the end of the alley and gazed across the street. It was the Themyscira Embassy. The big rat snuffed them all and then slipped into a sewer grate, the other rats followed quickly. all making their way towards the slumbering Embassy.

Wonder Woman: It was early morning, but Diana was already awake. There was business to be attended to, and calls that needed to be made to European nations. The fact that she was active during the day as an Ambassador but also at night as a hero gave Diana little room to do much else, though she had managed to get a few solid hours of uninterrupted sleep, and for that she was grateful to the Goddesses. While she didn't technically require sleep, it was never the less enjoyable, and it did make balancing her otherwise hectic life just that much easier. She had a scheduled meeting with a member of the UN's council on poverty at noon, a "power lunch," she heard it called at some point, thinking the name ridiculous. Never the less, she should be ready. Letting her dressing robe fall from her shoulders, Diana stepped into the shower, abandoning her lasso in the master bed room, tucked away with her other Wonder Woman paraphernalia.

Villainess: A slight metal grating sound was heard as the sewer drain in the basement was slid off and a swarm of rats slid through it. The large one just small and limber to get through it. The rats went up the stairs and one peeked about the corner and gave a soft squeak, it remained as the other rats worked they out of it. They stayed in the shadows, keepingto the darks, shadows within shadows. Leaving rats behind like sentrys, their large ears listening for the others. Two rats joined the large one into sneaked to the entrance of the Amazon Princess' room. They waited patiently. At the sound of water being ran, the rats ran into the room. one ran to the master bath and peeked through the crack watching the amazon. The other two went to the cabinet that contained the Wonder Woman outfit and weapons. The small rat scrambled up the cabinet, leaving minute scratches as it made work of the latch while the large rat ferreted it's nose into door's opening and scrambled with it's claws, it's strength easily opening the cabinet door. The large rat climbed up and rooted through the items and came up again with Lasso of Truth in it's mouth.

Wonder Woman: Gifted as she was by the Goddess Artemis, the Goddess of the Hunt, she could hear something, but it was not strong enough over the water to cause the Amazon any alarm. This was New York City, after all, always hustling and bustling, not the peaceful, laid back pace of Gateway by any stretch of the imagination. She let the sounds slip, rinsing her hair through and watching as the bubbles wound their way down the drain. She marveled, on occasion, at how many different ways mortals had found to scrub their forms, as if they were inherently dirty. Ways to scrape off skin, change their image, as if they were displeased by their very forms. Soaps were scented with any number of natural, and unnatural, fragrances, and given ridiculous names to sound alluring or exciting. She turned the water off, reaching for a soft towel hanging on a bar outside the tiled shower, Diana paused to see if the noise she had thought she heard with the water running was still audible.

Villainess: The rat at the master bath's door glanced over it's shoulder with it's beady eyes, looking towards the other two rats as they scrambled down cabinet, their claws scraping and digging, carrying their golden prize. The water shut off, the watching rat focused on the amazon again, it froze, she had paused listening. The large rat pushed the cabinet door closed with it's head, a soft sound and click as the door closed and latched. The rats scurried with their prize the watcher rat joining them, a hint of it's movement could possibly seen as it left it's post. The sound of something shuffeling and dragging softly could be heard by an amazon's gifted hearing.

Wonder Woman: There was definitely a sound; someone was in her rooms. Alarm bells went off in her head and Diana wrapped the towel around her breasts, leaping from the tub. Her blue eyes caught the movement of something beyond the door, but when she swung the door open all she could see were a sea of rats. "Ugh," she recoiled slightly, the disgust reading on her face plainly. She had never been fond of the little creatures, they were indiscriminate little opportunists, and while they had a place in Gaea, she would rather them not find that place in her bed room. The shimmer of her lasso disappeared out of her room with the large leader and her eyes widened. "What in the name of Hera...?" she marveled, immediately taking off after the rats.

Villainess: The smaller rats froze as the master bath's door whipped open the towel clad amazon pausing like them, not looking pleased at their presence. The Rat general didn't halt, it ran out of the room, soon followed by the rest of its swarm. the swam gaining members as they quickly fled down the hall and stairs. The rat squeaked and it's small army stopped at the top of the stairs waiting for the amazon. As neared they jumped at her, scrambling up her legs with their clammy cold feet.

Wonder Woman: She took chase, following the rodents out of her rooms and into the hallway. When they reached the top of the stairs the smaller ones stopped, allowing the larger, "lead," rat to go on with her Lasso. Their feet pressed against her bare skin, the texture and temperature of their pads seeming to suck the warmth from her freshly showered flesh. And still, even as the grotesque little creatures attacked her, Diana would find it hard to actually bring harm to the little minions. Rather than attack or crush them, she would merely try swatting them away with the back of her hand, the way one would try to encourage a fly to go elsewhere.

Villainess: The rat general was already at the bottom of the stairs and was rounding the staircase going down a hall toward the basement door. The rat's clutch with their sharp little claws into Princesses warm flesh. A couple managed to get into her damp hair, getting tangled it's curls. Several were clinging to her towel. Several got knocked off as she swatted at them. Quickly rushing over to rejoin their comrades in swarming Wonder Woman. They were curiously unafraid and were unrelentless.

Wonder Woman: Rather than risk falling down the stairs as she attempted to follow after the Rat General, Diana took to the air. She flew down to the stairs, trying to follow after the furry, fourlegged theif, still trying to rid herself of the many other little rodents who clung to her, her towel and wrenched themselves in her hair. She certainly was a sight to behold, which made her all the more happy that she hadn't opened the embassy up this morning for guests and sanctuary seekers. The basement door was left open but Diana was unable to get the larger rat before he disappeared, and with him the lasso. Suddenly those teenage drama shows where characters utter phrases like "My mother is going to kill me," made infinitely more sense. She had just lost one of the prize weapons of the Amazons; she might as well have lost the Girdle of Hera for Gaea's word. And on top of that, she was still covered with rats.

Villainess: The rats made small sounds of surprise as the Amazon took flight, but they didn't let go. Still stratching and starting to bite as she got closer to their General. A few were knocked off as she swatted at them and they made startled squeaks. They would quickly dash underneath her trying to catch up. The large rat had made it to the basement and dove over the edge of the the stair case to the floor witha loud grunt, a small cluster of rats swarming about him, they took the Lasso of truth from him, It took about 3 of them to pull the lasso. As they went to work the Rat General took position between the staircase and the sewer drain, muscles tense. Standing between the Amazon and the rats carrying the lasso down into the drain.

Wonder Woman: Her eyes went wide as she saw the lasso passed off. She tugged the rodents out of her hair, tossing them aside. "I do not know who sent you, but you have taken something from me and I am going to need it back," she spoke with a clear voice, her purpose and determination in her eyes. In her mind, she wondered if the rats would understand her, but passed the idea off. If she was already going so far as to fight a swarm of rodents who had stolen her magical rope, she might as well try communicating with them.

Villainess: The rats squirmed and fought as they were pulled out of the amazon's hair. Making startled sounds as they were flung away and hit the floor or wall. Wonder Woman had cleared most of the rats off her now and they had scampered to join the cluster behind their leader. The rat leader stepped forward at Diana's voice. It wasn't clear if the rat understood her words or the tone of her voice, but could swear it shaking it's head at her, 'no'. The rats with the lasso dropped down the drain with their prize. It was gone.

Wonder Woman: She was shocked as the rats with her lasso disappeared, eyes going wider still as they scurried away down the drain pipe. The General's head shake caused a narrowing of the Amazon's eyes, the blue irises reflecting coldly in the dim light of the basement. She hadn't turned the lights on in her hurry to chase down the rodents, and with the lasso gone down the pipe, the shimmering light which it had given off had gone with it. A lesser being may have lost sight of the rodents, but Diana's eyes were trained even for the darkness. And yet, she still could not bring herself to attack the creatures, thinking perhaps they were merely pawns in another's game, for really, what could rats want with gold, let alone a golden lasso.

Villainess: The rest of General's army started to flee down into the pipe, their bodies blocking the rest of the remaining glow of the golden lasso. The big rat slowly backed up to the opening of the drain, he was the last rat standing. He stared at the princesses with his beady eyes, his tense muscles relaxing for once. He seemed more at ease now that his rats were safe. He then did something strange. He bowed his head down, lowering his chin to the floor, as if paying some respect, gave a soft squeak and then started to take his turn down the pipe.

Wonder Woman: She was preturbed as the large rat lowered his chin, as if some sort of defference to the Amazon, letting out a little squeak before he headed down the pipe as well. She shook her head, flipping the grate closed with her toe as her finger and thumb pressed against either side of the bridge of her nose, trying to stem off the headache that was bound to surface from this incident. She had to wonder who was behind this; it certainly wasn't Cheetah, that much was clear. She would never sink to using rodents to do her bidding, they were barely even snacks to her. Circe? Perhaps, but again, the rodents stood out. Her enchantments usually involved snakes; making men crawl on the bellies as a misandrist commentary.

Villainess: A hooded figure, draped in a black velvet cloak stood in the shadows of the alley facing the Themyscira Embassy, waiting. The rats scrambled up out of the sewer grate. The figure jumped back a little, surprised and startled by the new arrivals. They pulled up the Lasso of Truth. A large rat came out of the grate and picked up the lasso and approached the figure, to lay it at their feet, it lowered it's head to the ground. The figure paused a moment staring at the rats and, obvious as to what they had done; then hooded person picked up the lasso. The figure said softly to no one. "I'm sorry Princess." as she blended back into the shadows of the alley, gone with the Lasso of Truth.

[Black Canary]

Cat's Whiskers

Catwoman: The light was warm against her back. Green eyes gazing upwards at the night sky in Gotham City, searching out any sign of stars through the haze she was more than relaxed as she lay out against a large, rounded metal light. It was odd for someone who was a wanted vigilante to be so at ease on the top of the Gotham PD but Catwoman was more than confident in her ability to slink her way out of any situation. “Mm…” The woman nearly purred as she stretched her arms out above her head, arching her back and vaguely wondered how long it would take Batman to answer the calling card of Commissioner Gordon. There was sure to be a lecture, but in her mind it was well worth it. After all, she deserved a little play time with how diligently she had been working to keep her side of Gotham problem free… mostly.

Villainess: A sound of feet hitting the police station's roof top would catch the feline's attention as a dark shadowy shape strode across roof. But it was sure to be a dissapointing sight. A woman in a long black velvet cloak strode into sight. The cloak's hood down covering her face, all that could be seen was a pair of crimson lips, making her chin and cheeks look pale on the dark night. A pair of long gloved hands slid out of the cloak. "Catwoman." said the figure. "I need you to come with me." the voice was sharp and to the point. The cloaked woman was here for Selina. The figure had been following selina for awhile doing as many tricks as the catwoman does to keep up and out of sight. But the light, the signal... it was too much, she had to take her before Batman came. "Now." she added, her voice no non-sense as the cloaked figure got into a fighting stance, obviously not a novice.

Catwoman: The sound most definitely caught the woman’s attention as she tipped herself back more, looking upside down at the shadow. “You’re la- hm…a little short to be who I‘m looking for.” Selina watched, not at all bothered as the woman came into view. If anything, she was simply curious as the demand was made and her own red painted lips twisted up in an almost lazy smile. “Cats aren’t fond of coming when they’re called.” Slipping backwards, her hand hit the rooftop and she smoothly flipped over onto her feet, shifting to face the other fully. ‘She had to have followed me here.’ The thought came as those jade eyes roamed over the cloak and the fighting stance. “Not going to say please?” She tsked lightly and even though she looked relaxed her muscles were tensing, a hand moving to rest on her waist, fingers lightly pressed against the leather of the base of her whip.

Villainess: The red lips made a slight face, the reason for it unrevealed. Was it the fact that cloaked woman was indeed quite short, especially compared to Batman? or was it that Selina was wating for him? Or was it the woman's own intentions, wanting the kitty to come with her and having to play games instead. A slight hissing of a frustrated sigh was heard at Selina's taunt about calling cats as she sliped and flipped backwards, creating distance between her and the woman. The cloak whipped gently in the wind of the rooftop, nothing stood out about this woman, she looked like a shadow made solid. her gloved hands balled into fists for a moment as she was chided and then relaxed. "I give you one warning. Come now. Or I will make you come." said the woman matter of factly, taking a step forward, the hood rising up just a little as the woman noted Selina's arm as she reached for the whip.

Catwoman: Her ears caught the sound of the hissing sound and behind her mask both of her brows rose slightly as she tipped her head to one side. “Now, now,” Black boots with dangerous looking serrated heels slid apart a bit as her stance shifted. No doubt the woman was prepared to fight, Catwoman mused, but her lack of armor from what little the feline fatale could see was to the dark haired woman’s advantage. “If you want to have girl chat so badly, you could at least tell me where we’re going.” A edge leaked into her voice that was now both playful but hinted at sliding to dangerous as her fingers closed around her whip and it snaked loose from her body, wrapping around her legs loosely like a ribbon. “It’s only polite.” She didn’t step back as the hooded woman stepped forward, the closer she got, the more her claws could dig in.

Villainess: The cloaked woman just stood there, her expression unseen, her lips a small crimson line. She knew Catwoman was sizing her up, thinking she had left herself open, fair game to feel the cat's claws. The cloaked figure just waited as the whip came free swirling about her legs, lie a lazy cat tail. She noted the edge of the voice, the changing of the stance, Catwoman was ready for a fight, practically egging the cloaked woman on. "I can't say." replied the woman, not giving the location as to where they are going, a slight frustrated tone in her voice again. "We'll be safe there." and then she went quiet again. The woman took another step forward and put out an arm beckoning Selina.

Catwoman: “I have this pesky little trust issue when it comes to bossy, cloaked figures. Safe is awful relative, isn’t it?” The frustration coming off of the other female was nearly palpable and Selina gave what could be considered a charming smile. “I’m afraid I’ll have to turn your invitation down. With regrets.” The beckoning hand would cause a laugh to bubble up from inside of the black clad woman, was this girl serious? “Alright, let’s play.” Selina took a step forward, the whip coming loose before she gave a wink to the other woman as she back flipped away a few times and moved around to the other side of the light. “Hide and seek is out of the question I’m assuming, but timed tag should be amusing.” Amusement was thick in her voice. “You -do- know why it’s timed, don’t you?”

Villainess: The woman didn't resond as Selina told her she didn't trust her, she could understand that. If she wasn't in the position she found herself in, she would never have agreed to go with no reasons from a questional person. But her hands clenched at that teasing, the mirth and amsuement of of the cat mocking her. What in the hell did Batman see in her? She braced herself ready for the whip, as the kitty moved it then flipped back to rest, smirking smuggly from the other side of the light. More games, she didn't have the time and now she didn't have the patience for this. For once she replied to selina's teasing "Because my time is running out." she growled and suddenly sprinted straight at the light. Her hands hit the light as she lifed up her legs coming up in the splits like an olympic gymnyst as she leapfrogged over the light. Her arm already swinging to give a punch toward that smug grin, that would make a heavy weight boxer proud.

Catwoman: “And that’s my problem, how?” Selina was much more prepared than she let on and was hardly surprised as the woman came vaulting over the light though it was a pretty impressive jump for someone her size. The punch thrown was impressive as well, and angry and the cat wasn’t about to be caught up in it. Ducking down quickly, she scowled as the hooded woman’s fist crashed against the goggles on her head, ripping off both the very expensive piece of equipment and the mask it was attached too as Selina turned her face away. The objects clattered to the ground and because of the other woman’s movement and Selina’s lack of getting knocked back she brought her own fist up, aimed for a gut shot that would use the hooded woman’s own movement against her. “Now that wasn’t very nice.” Anger leaked into her voice, dark hair settling around her unmasked face.

Villainess: The woman's feet came down as went over the light the swinging arm free as it came in firecly, but the damn cat was too quick as her fist connected and she knocked the goggles and mask off that smug head. Her momentum kept her goign and right into that quick gut shot, she let out a painful grunt as she kept going. Her other arm came up to grab the kitty by the scruff of her costume as she plowed into her, her knee rising to hit catwoman in her own stomach as she tried to knock her down, her arm coming back to try to pin her. "Neither are you." she retorted.

Catwoman: The costume pulled tight around her neck as it was grabbed and under the other woman’s weight and momentum she was knocked backwards, falling back as a grunt from the impact of her knee to her gut and her back hitting the roof. Both of her arms were free and she used it to her advantage. Grabbing the others’ arm as she tried to pin her, her claws dug in hard with clear intent to rip through the fabric of the glove and her other hand came up to wrap around the hooded woman’s throat as she twisted her weight to throw her off of herself. “Says the one trying to kidnap me.” Selina growled out the words, bringing her knee up as well to use it to shove the hooded one away.

Villainess: The slam onto the roof gave the hooded woman the chance she needed, it had knocked away the kitty's whip, which slid a bit across the roof. The hooded woman gave a grunt as she felt the claws dig into the long leather gloves, biting and piercing through it. Feeling the sharp tipped hand come about her throat. It was just enough to distract the cloaked figure that gave selina the chance to twist and make them land on their side. As the leg slid up The woman suddenly let go of catwoman, pushing up off her as the knee hit her kicking up, as the woman was pushed off her hands came up and grabbed the kitty's calf and ankle, twisting and pulling up as she scrmbled to her knees, trying to make a leg hold by quickly pushing in and turning the leg in again, to flip selina over and make that leg hurt. The cloaked woman putting her weight down, a hand coming to hold her back down, where the kitty couldn't reach, an improvised reverse pin.

Catwoman: “Shit.” Catwoman managed the snarl as her leg was caught and to avoid having anything twisted too badly she rolled with her leg being twisted, landing on her stomach. She knew what was coming, having been caught in a similar position more than once and she was more than prepared. No quip was made as the flexible woman shoved her palms against the rooftop and arched her back before the hooded woman could get her hand on her back. In that same moment her sharply heeled foot came up from her free leg to kick firmly against the other woman’s backside to knock her forward and to plant her face sharply against the back of Selina’s head in a sort of reversed head butt. It would have added more pressure to her leg, but it would have been well worth it to get a good solid hit to the bitch who’d attacked her. “You forgot to say tag.”

Villainess: The hooded woman's breath intaked sharply as Selina did a cat like back bend pulling that free leg back enough to kick her in the rear and offset her balance, making her face plant into the back of selina's up thrusting head, head butting her square in the mouth. she grunted in pain, her head rocking back the hood flying up, blonde hair spilling down about them. But the hooded woman didn't reel back like her body wanted to do, or roll off for a better chance of atack away from those sharp heels. Still seeing stars the woman dropped her weight full and heavy on selina, her legs coming to straddle Selina's waist, her arms coming down to pin her arms to her side. The left side feeling not as tight as the right as the woman grabbed at something under her cloak pulling something that seemed to glow golden out from it's hiding spot.

Catwoman: The impact would probably give her a headache, she decided, but it didn’t matter at the moment as she struggled to break free from the other woman. As her arms were pinned down Selina had little choice but to press back to the roof, but legs being so close to those claws wouldn’t come without repercussions. Bending her hands at the wrists she’d grab onto the legs by her pinned down arms and dig those sharp pieces of metal in as hard as she could to dig through any material in the way. “Get off of me.” Turning to snarl at her, blonde hair caught her attention and as she caught the woman’s face out of the corner of her eyes they widened, fingers automatically loosening their grip. “Canary?” Confusion colored her voice as the anger was pushed away by it. “What in the hell…?” It was then she saw a flash of gold, it looked like a rope and her dark brows furrowed downward. “What in the hell are you doing Canary?!”

Villainess: The unhooded woman grunted as she felt the claws dig into the back of her thighs, the cloak on top of her, unable to give any additional protection. Feeling the moment of surprise as the fingers loosened she gook advantage of the moment slung the loop of the lariot about Selina's ankles. pulling tight drawing them together. Selina would feel a twinge of energy go through her as the rope closed about her, a feeling of compuslion going through her, as if she had to speak honestly. Dinah make a quick loop with the rope, she sighed looking at the confused kitty. "I'm sorry. I... I can't say..." her voice choked as if she was trying to hold back a rush of emotion. "I really wish you would have just came with me." She slid back and grabbed Selina's wrist with one hand while putting the loop about the other, about to tie them together. She was hog-tying Catwoman with the lasso of truth.

Catwoman: The lasso of truth - Selina had been well aware of what that golden rope was, though there were only various rumors heard about the weapon supposedly given to Wonder Woman by the Gods; word tend to travel in the circle of underground miscreants. “Damn it.” The words were hissed out as she felt the energy flow through her body. It was a strange feeling, and one that made her grit her teeth as she tried uselessly to fight against it. “Well I’m not sorry for head butting you in the face.” No lie there. Underneath the blonde was one pissed off feline and she still wasn’t about to go down without a fight. As Canary grabbed her wrist, looping around the lasso Selina twisted her other arm back, as if to make it easier on Dinah before she grabbed onto the other woman’s hand, lacing their fingers and digging her claws into the back of the glove she used her other wrapped hand to loop the lasso around the two of their wrists. “Get the hell off of me, and tell me what this is about.” Well, the thief was hoping that if she was compelled, the blonde would be too and if nothing else, maybe she had stalled long enough. Something was very wrong here.

Villainess: Canary bit her tongue, not wanting to give into the angry feline's prodding. Her nose and face still hurt painfully, she was lucky her nose wasn't bleeding. Dinah was surprised that Selina twisted her other arm back, she didn't trust the cat at all especially since no cat liked being captured. But she didn't have a chance to react; the damn cat was too fast, their fingers were laced and the claws dug into her hand keeping it grabbed while the other hand, wrapped in the lasso's loop, wrapped it about Dinah's own. "NO!" she shouted feeling the lasso's power go about her as she was trying to pull back unable to get the kitty to let go, claws were going to tear the back of her hand open if she kept pulling. The blonde's face was terror stricken, an expression few had seen, not even Batman, she was scared. She came down hard on the kitty trying to knock the wind of out her to get her to let go. And as she did she felt herself being compelled to speak. "If I tell anyone what I am doing, Gotham will be dead by this time tomorrow." The canary shivered a bit, the compulsion to speak faded, but now that she had more control she gave another truth. "Catwoman... please don't ask me to reveal more... I have said too much as it is. Just come with me. For me. For Gotham." She froze a moment as if waiting for some kind of response or sign about her, but there was nothing.

Catwoman: Her grip tightened, painfully and angrily as Selina watched Dinah over her shoulder, her own teeth bared a bit to keep the pain off of her face from the awkward position she had put her arms in. The shout came as a surprise but not as big of a surprise as the look of terror that took over Canary’s face. Brows lowering downward she opened her mouth to speak but as the blond shoved herself down Selina grunted, the air being knocked from her lungs, making her eyes water but she refused to let go. There were very few reasons why anyone would take on Catwoman, less reasons why anyone would want to take her. “I don’t owe you anything.” Those red painted lips twisted into a slight smirk and Selina tried twisting at the hips, not letting go of Dinah’s hand still to try and toss the other woman to the side. “I don’t owe Gotham a damn thing either.” ‘You’re not going to use me to get to him.’ The thought echoed through her own head and she dug her claws in harder.

Villainess: Dinah gave a silent thank you in her head that Catwoman didn't press her to say more. But frowned at how stubborn she was, as stubborn as the bird was herself. Feeling the claws dig in so and how the kitty tried to buck her off, made the canary slam her hips down hard again. "I know." she said bitterly. thinking to herself, 'I hope someday you forgive me for this.' she knew of the kitty's criminal and heroic feats, she alone helped the East End so much from it's crime riddled streets. She suddenly let go of the rope with one hand, the loop selina tied about her own, kept her hand bound to hers. She lifted up her hand drawing it back to her cheek and gave Selina a pracitced hard blow, sweeping into the lower back of her head, a knock out blow.

Catwoman: Letting out a hiss of pain, or perhaps anger, the slam of Canary’s hips stopped her from being able to tip the woman on top of her over. “You better know what you’re doing, because when I get out of this little bird, I’m going to be coming for you if anything happens to him.” As if the woman knew what was coming next she forced herself to relax, and when the blow came and everything went black her cheek scrapped against the rooftop a bit but she didn’t suffer the extra impact of her head dropping. Fingers were forced to relax and the bird was finally released by the cat.

[Black Canary]

Disease to Please

Villainess: In the quietness that followed the wickedness of the carnival, the hectic day to day occurred. The good, the bad, and just the busy day to day things kept going. In the Watch Tower they would notice some strange things among thousands of hundred of thousands of reports that were sifted through.

In Paris France, the Institut de veille sanitaire was stepping in as an old German Immigrant, Dr Albert Bower, was found dead in his family planning and fertility clinic. The doctor had strangely contracted the bubonic plague, Leptospirosis, and Rabies all at the same time. His lymph glands swollen and pussing, his skin jaundiced. His office was quarantined.

Of the cost of Star City the coast guard was hailing a ship which was travelling at full tilt toward the city and not responding.

In Gotham City the Batsignal was alighting the night sky.

And closer to home, Black Canary had missed her entire shift in the Watch Tower and was not responding to hails.

Wonder Woman had reported that she wasn't available that she had some of her own issues she had to attend to.

A message was being intercepted by the Watch Tower, it was a radio frequency, but had their cypher codes in it.

In a dark corner of Gotham Catwoman would find herself waking up in a dungey basement, bound completly in a golden rope hanging from a hook in the middle of cement ringed bunker. From the looks of things the basement had been an underground dog fighting ring, kennels strewn about open, discarded and dirty. A hooded figure was sitting on a kennel, just sitting and waiting.

Batman: Streets of amber glows stand as beacons illuminating shelter for the predators and superstitious of the city. Homeless crowd around each other, the only family they know as they gather warmth by a fire pit of trash. They fool themselves into disregarding the crimes that happen around them, bodies being dropped off by criminal organizations, with the right persuasion they talk and occasionally become helpful to law enforcement or those who are vigilant. A rumble and soft purr traveled through the streets while crackling of glass and trash draws the attention to a tyrannical beast. The Bat Mobile; tumbler, a large vehicle with agility and durability and was known as the protective ‘tank’ that was used by the Dark Knight. Speeding past the underpass of a bridge the Dark Knight parked within an alley a few blocks away from the GCPD building. He would appear standing beside an antenna upon the rooftop where a radar ship and other electrical equipment resided. He was kneeling with his cape wrapped around his body as he looked for his summoner; whoever wanted him to arrive on this rooftop.

Catwoman: Consciousness came back to her slowly, the throbbing at the base of her head making her heart beat pound in her ears uncomfortably. “…hng…” The smell reached her first, moldy, damp and stunk of…what the hell was that, wet dog or something? Green eyes cracking open a bit her pupils shrunk against the light coming from around her body and she squinted against the golden glow. ‘Where am I…” Vaguely the thought passed through her head as she let her head roll backwards, only to bump against something and it caused her body to sway lightly. Arms bound downward against her body and hanging off the ground she took in a silent breath then looked forward. Gazing at the hooded figure sitting on the kennel, Selina bared her teeth, the tips of her claws digging into her thighs as she tested the rope, pushing her arms outward to no avail. “Son of a bitch…” The soft curse held fury, but remained fairly quiet. Her head was killing her.

Green Lantern: A series of beeps came from his pocket and Hal cursed. "Boy's I'll catch you on the flightline," he said then started backing up. "Jordan, you're ass is going to be in the fire if you miss another flight," one of the pilots that he had been walking with called back, "I know I know." *If you only knew.* Around a corner, Hal took the call, "What?" -Lantern, Watchtower. There's a ship that's not stopping heading for Star City harbor you- - "I'm on it," he interrupted and willed his ring to him. He never flew with it, but on ground it took only a second to reach his finger. A bright glow surrounded his body and he was off, uniformed, invisible to human eyes, breaking the sound barrier, until he had passed over Coast. In just a few seconds he arrived over Star and headed for the harbor.

Villainess: Batman would see nobody on the rooftop, the beacon of light looking a bit tilted more than usual. Not even the police had gotten to the rooftop yet. But his sharp eyes would catch some discarded items on the rooftop. A pair of goggles, a well cared for whip, and the mask of a cat. But nothing else, save a few scrapes of shoe A commotion would be heard from inside the GCPD Building, talk of the Batsignal prompting officers to check it out.

Villainess: The cloaked figure looked up hearing the slight bump of Catwoman's head. "I'm sure with the headache you are feeling, you will have wished you took my offer to come with me." as the figure spoke they guestured to their crimson lips and then toward where their ears would be under the cloak. A silent gesture and signal. "I hope you will be good and try to stay, although I'm sure that rope is making sure you will."

Villainess: The ship kept barreling toward Star City. It didn't have a person on board. But it did have life. Thousands and thousands of life signs, rats. hundereds of thousands of rats. Their waste everywhere. Deep in the cargo hold was There was a large if rather old looking submarine mine from WW2 in the cargo area of the ship. The mine was attached to an air tank with the bottom opening into the sea. It had several wires and sensors hooked up to it and to the ship.

Villainess: The signal to the watch tower would change once it got an acknowledgement. An older woman's voice could be heard. The static of old radio equipment could be heard "Justice Society? This is Black Canary." there was a pause. "Senior."

Barry Allen: Flash ran to the older equipment that had picked up a signal from Earth, Must have been some stuff they cleared out of the JSA’s Old hang out or something Barry wasn’t too sure. He answered the call and he said” I think you have the wrong group Black Canary. You’ve reached the Justice League.. This is The Flash, What can I do for you..Ma’am..” he really didn't know what to say to the older hero or how to respond to her, but he knew one thing. If she needed help he would offer his services.

Batman: Batman picked up the items and then shut off the Bat signal. Looking around once more to survey the area for any sign of someone watching. If there was none he would precede to the Bat Bunker to begin analyzing the equipment, he suspected they were in fact Catwoman’s gadgets. After short tests to prove who their owner was, Batman sat in his chair placing his chin into his palm while staring at the screen. Blue eyes stared at the screen, he knew what it was…but the ramifications and conditions were unknown at this time. He tapped a communication line to which Alfred spoke “Sir?” “Alfred…Someone has kidnapped Catwoman… I’m going to attempt tracking down her old partner, Pamela Sweigeld. Maybe she can give me a clue as to who is behind this.” “Erm… that would be the computer genius and hacker, Mouse, yes?” “Yes, Catwoman and her have an on and off relationship.”

Catwoman: “Cute.” The feline said the words a bit louder, just to make sure they reached her captor as she struggled more against her bindings. Turning her claws against the rope she worked at it for a moment as she kept her eyes on the hooded woman though she couldn’t feel the material giving way at all. “I’ll be sure to return the favor.” Bowing her head down a bit she rubbed her scratched cheek against her shoulder lightly to ease the burning. The signal made her sneer slightly, so someone was listening. For the moment, Selina tipped her head backwards, letting her eyes closed and breathed in and out deeply a few times to clear her head of the fog of pain. If only she could reach the small computer in her utility belt.

Green Lantern: There were creative means to solve the problem of the ship, but the Lantern went for the simple and effective. Flying forward he a beam of light shot from his ring and wrapped around the entire vessel before Hal shot forward up into the air and simply lifted it from the water. Hal kept it held aloft while to hands, inside the bubble, grasp the propellers and popped them off before he lowered the ship back into the ocean. "Now time to find the crew," he muttered to himself and made his way to the command deck.

Villainess: Batman looked over the equimpent, they were indeed Catwoman's gadgets. Even down to a piece of cat hair from her own feline being caught in the band of the goggles. There was also a strand of long blonde hair caught on the mask. Pamela Sweigeld would be easy to find, apparently doing IT work from her home. She hadn't seen the cat in over a month.

Villainess: The hooded figure said dryly, in her hands was selina's little computer, she waggled it, teasing. "I'm sure you will in full. Unfortunately you won't get much of a chance." The figure strode figure making as if they were checking Catwoman's bonds. "Still tight. I'm sure they wonder woman would be proud her rope is helping hold you at bay." as the figure stood back, Selina would feel that the figure had tucked the computer in the bonds by her hands. "Have fun hanging around I have some twins to play with." the figure said and slipped up the stairs of the old building and was gone.

Villainess: "Hello, Flash. I think I have the right group." said the older woman's voice, as if she was talking to a child over her aging radio equipment. "I have a message from my daughter. Black Canary has given me some of folders of an investigation she has been looking into. She said if she didn't call me back in 24 hours, to contact you all with her findings." the woman's voice paused, as if she was trying to control a flood of emotions. "It has been 24 hours... You can come collect the files, but I have already looked it over. When she had told me about her looking into missing viles of different strains of diseaes turning up missing at different research facilties, it reminded me of a case I had worked on during the cold war. It was very similar. So I gave her my old files. And what I see in her notes is one of my pictures, with a young woman with dark hair walking off in a lab coat. And in one of Canary's latest pictures from a security camera, it has the same woman and she hasn't aged a day! Her notes list several alias' for the woman, but in my files it is of a Russian woman who survived the concentration camps, a Nyssa Raatko. I don't know what is going on. But whoever this Nyssa is, she has caught some new strains of more resiliant strains of bubonic plague and leptospirosis. And from my notes, she was involved with some chimera virus development, ebola and influenca strains being married together. Nasty stuff. I hope this helps both you and Canary." she said, a tone of motherly worry in her voice.

Villainess: As the ship surrounded in a bubble of green light something seemed to click and change underneath in the hold of the ship. The old bomb was was attached to a tank the was full of air, the water pressure below keeping the tank full. The trapped pressurized air in the tank was keeping the firing mechanism of the bomb 'closed'. If the air in the tank was released, by either the ship being tilted the valve being released, the firing mechanism opens and the bomb goes off. It appeared that this unmanned vessle was designed to crash and detonate the bomb, releasing infected waste and it's ratty crew. Fortunately for Hal he had trapped the water an air inside the vessel, the bomb wouldn't go off that way. But to make matters worse, the valve release on the bomb was connected to a buoyancy level sensor and two a series of sensors which measured hull pressure. With the ship taken out of the water he had set off the sensors to trigger the valve release letting out that air and just set off the timer on the bomb. The ship was void of people, except for the skeletons of three men, all their personal affects had been eaten by the rats.

Barry Allen: “Oh uh sure, Send me the coordinates and I’ll come pick up the files.” He ran to prep the teleporter and back before she had time to speak, all he would have to do is punch in the coordinates and teleport to her. He waited for the Senior hero to give him the coordinates before teleporting down to her less than a second later.” Don’t worry we will take care of this.” He smiled to her then he took the folders and waited a moment. And he said” She’s tough, We will get her back safe.” He was gone in the blink of an eye, he pressed his cowl and he sent a message to the JLA members.” Hey guys anyone heard anything from Canary in the past 24 hours? She was working on a case, and I guess I just picked it up. Bats this is more your specialty, I could search every inch of the planet but that takes a bit of time.”

Batman: After finishing his tests it would reveal an interesting connection as the blonde hair found on Catwoman’s goggles was Black Canary’s. ‘Were they fighting?’ It would be soon that Batman tracked down Mouse and interrogated her with nothing helpful. ‘Selina was involved with something and Black Canary must’ve caught her in the act.’ He went to Selina’s Apartment and searched for any more clues but found nothing more than a few jewels and the keys to Bruce Wayne’s Ferrari. “Batman to the Wat--…” [Alias: The Flash. Identity: Unknown. Special Power: Speed Force. Vulnerability: Cyanoacrylates.] -- Would be the screen that appeared upon Batman’s heads up display . “Odd.” Batman replied immediately to Flash before any of the other members could. “Flash, I’m looking for Black Canary as well. What’s the situation?”

Catwoman: “I wouldn’t bet on that.” Selina answered the figure in a tight voice as she turned her attention back to them blowing strands of lightly tangled black hair from her face to keep the other in full view. “I doubt someone like me even exists on her radar, but it’s nice you think so highly of me.” The woman purred out the words, eyes narrowing on her most prized possession. As the hooded woman moved behind her, Selina bowed her head, lips twisting into a smirk. The other was close enough that if Selina curled her legs up she could kick backwards, and hopefully dig her dangerous serrated heels into the nearest body part of the woman at her back but lucky for her captor Selina felt the shifting of the rope by her wrists then felt it pull a bit tighter as if something was placed there. “Have a good time darling, I’ll be seeing you soon.” The anger was still laced in her voice, with a threatening promise and as the other disappeared Selina shifted her hands and grabbed onto the small electronic. It took some maneuvering but she flipped it open and flicked the switch to turn it on. Her goggles would have been helpful but the woman had memorized the layout of the buttons almost perfectly and was glad that it was linked to her phone. Holding a button down a beep sounded and Selina cleared her throat. “Call -him-.” She ordered, then cursed and had to repeat herself, speaking louder to reach the speaker behind her back it taking a moment to connect to Batman. Whether he’d answer or not she’d leave him a message. “Hey there handsome.” She paused as her head gave a throb, having to speak much louder than normal. “Had a bit of a run in with one of your girlfriends. I’ll be by to pick up my stuff later.” Keeping her voice playful she continued as if nothing was wrong. “She’s in some trouble it seems.” ‘Don’t come looking for me. If it’s a trap…’

Green Lantern: The field that protected the vessel cracked a bit at first, but the Lantern focused his will back into the filed quickly and the cracks sealed themselves up as the explosioned finished and the remains of the ship were burned by the explosion. Hal and the ship glowed the characteristic bright green. With the explosion happening the moment that he had lifted it from the water, all he could at the moment was contain the blaze. It'd be simple enough to use the ocean water, but not knowing what was actually in the ship, Hal chose to alter the field to suck all the oxygen out from within it while willing his ring to detect and keep trapped any toxins that might otherwise be released.

Villainess: The senior canary looked a bit shocked to have the Flash appear in her living room, while she was still at her radio equipment in her secret room. She handed him the files and nodded at his words. "I know she is. Good luck speedy." she teased, with a rather familiar smirk.

Villainess: The hooded figure was glad that catwoman stayed still while she 'checked her bonds' she could almost see the cunning feline thinking of stabbing her with those wicked heels. Sighing softly as she left the building. The hooded figure had taken several careful turns and leaving behind of vehicles. Having flown to Coast City on a stolen cessna. She peeked into the window looking into the dark house, seeing the two sleeping little children, hugging their stuffed animals. She made a face, her crimson lips in a tight unhappy smile. But she had to do this she had no choice. She slipped into Jason and Jennifer Jordan's bedroom.

Villainess: The explosion rocked the bubble of will power, the cutting off of the air putting out the fire, and killing all the rats. the burnt ashs of ship, rat and murky water was all that was left. The ring would notice in the water contained a cocktail of bacterium and toxins that could infect a city, all contained in the glowing green as it patched itself. The ring detecting this deadly cocktail with ease.

Barry Allen: Flash relays the information he got from Canary SNR to Batman.” I have files I can bring to you. Her mother gave them to me, Just let me know where to meet you.” He flips through the pages once he hits an open field.” This looks bad Bats, Diseases carried by rats, A big bad one that could take out a city..really bad stuff, makes cancer look friendly.. Chimera virus, If I had to do the math It would kill an entire city before the CDC could block off the area..speaking of which, cross check see if any Center for Disease control has been hit the past few weeks. Some of these things would have to come from one of them to even exist” Barry hit the welcome to Gotham City sign “ I’m in Gotham. Canary was looking into this, and some woman named Nyssa before she vanished.”

Batman: “Diseases from rats? Flash, I will need everything we have on it. We can meet on the watchtower. Everything I should need would be there...I could also use the Watchtower to locate Black Canary’s last known location. I’ll see you in the laboratory…Batman to Watchtower, transport me directly to the laboratory.” In a moment Batman would appear in the laboratory and make his way to the computer immediately searching for Black Canary’s communicator signal. “Catwoman’s goggles have traces of Black Canary’s hair on it. And someone placed Catwoman’s goggles whip on the rooftop of the GCPD building for me to find… Whoever is behind this wants me involved and wants me to know they got her…”

Batman: A communicator from Batman’s belt went off, he narrowed his gaze as it was from Selina. He immediately picked up. “Where are you?” His tone was firm, serious and slightly full of aggression a reaction to hide the concern that was built up despite the rocky relationship they’ve had she was still a primary suspect in this whole case. “Where is Black Canary and what happened?”

Catwoman: The aggressive tone made irritation run through her and if she could roll her shoulders she would to ease the tension there. Green eyes gazing around she narrowed them before taking in a breath. “I’m in a basement, maybe in Gotham, I don’t know.” Looking over the cages she was glad they were empty. “That song bird followed me to the GCPD, we fought and she tied me with,” Rolling her eyes upwards she wondered if he’d even believe her, it was so far fetched. “Wonder Woman’s lasso.” Holding her breath for a moment she considered how absurd this situation was. “She knocked me out, brought me here. Someone is pulling her strings though, she said Gotham is in danger, but couldn’t tell me why. I’m sure you can track her down, do your thing.” Her tone turned bored, dismissive. She had no idea how the hell she was going to get herself free or if someone was upstairs, waiting for her to do just that. “You’re welcome for the call.”

Green Lantern: Hal sent the information about the toxins to the Watchtower then, with his Ring, using it to incinerate the remains of the ship with thermal energy, leaving nothing remaining. *Time to get back. Maybe I can still make the flight.* With that he started back towards Coast City.

Villainess: Black Canary's communicator signal was reporting from inside her back room of her flower shop. That room was unharmed and a large map of Gotham had circles about the three tallest building in city; Wonder Tower, Wayne Tower, and Shreck Corp's main building. But her apartment wasn't so lucky it had been tossed, someone had been looking for her files which were never there.

In Paris, the Institut de veille sanitaire had found a group of homeless men in one of the city's catacombs all of them dead by the same diseases of bubonic plague, Leptospirosis, and Rabies.

The remains and disease was destroyed by the green lantern. Nothing was left of such a potential threat he averted.

The hooded figure slid into the sleeping children's rooms, looking over them sleeping and reached into their beds.

Barry Allen: Flash stopped running skiddign a bit on the pavement, and he said" Alright. meet you there." He pressed his cowl down and he said." A06 Transport to Watch Tower..."a zeta beam would transport him to the watch tower, and he would play the files down on the table. Waiting on Batman to enter.

Batman: “Standby, Catwoman. I’m going to attempt tracing your call.” Batman glanced at the Flash, a gaze indicating that Black Canary’s notes and files would have to wait as Catwoman was in danger and rescuing her was top priority. He would use the Watchtower to triangulate and locate Catwoman’s position using the cell phone towers that bounced her signal around until it reached Batman. Her sarcastic tone had fallen on deaf ears as he focused on manipulating the computer to find her. “Black Canary is… At home.” Batman would tell Flash and Catwoman is at…Gotham... At an apartment building where… I know where this is.” The location was that of a former dog fighting ring, Black Canary and Batman’s first case together was spent busting this ring. Batman looked at Flash and spoke. “Can you take over here? I may know who is behind this…Assassins are probably waiting for me. Ducain most likely brought someone with reputation… Deadshot or… maybe Shiva.” Batman’s eyes traced the floor as if searching his mind for possible assassins who could be waiting for him. Ducain should’ve been in prison but, why else would Selina be tied up. There was no time to think about the pieces of the puzzle, he knew he was going into a trap.

Catwoman: She knew he could trace it, it would have been simple for someone with the technology that he had, but she didn’t want him to. Heaving a silent sigh, she snapped the computer closed, cutting off the communication to him, no doubt his mind already being made up. Glancing towards the direction the hooded woman had gone Selina tucked the small computer back into the rope tied around her and waiting. This was one trap the cat couldn’t slip her way out of.

Barry Allen: He nodded and he said" Sure thing Bats, I'll try to figure all of this out, If you need help call me, you might need back up with the assassins." He ran to the computer and he began to look up all the diseases, with his split second timing he could research all of the diseases as fast as the computer could look them up. "And Bats keep a line open. So I can get through If I need to. " The forensic scientist began to do his best, he wasn't trained with diseases, but could learn temporarily enough to get by.

[Batman]

Wonder Woman: Diana had been busy trying to track down the person who stole her lasso. When she thought too hard about it, she still felt their cold, clamy little paws on her skin, their nails biting in, unable to break the surface but still clinging in like nasty little parasites. She shrugged off those thoughts, she had more important things to think about than rats, like who was controlling the rats, and why wasn't Dinah answering her calls or returning messages? The blonde woman was Diana's best friend in Man's World, even while she was developing closer friendships with the Green Lantern and an agent of ARGUS, Colonel Steve Trevor. Currently, Diana was stumped and had taken to what had become her place of peace in the wild, thunderous noise of New York City. The harbour was always a bustle, but just a mile off shore there was a small rocky out cropping, where the waves would lap up. She felt almost at home, there were rocky out cropings such as this. -c-

Wonder Woman: Taking a deep breath, Diana felt the saltiness of the Atlantic, as well as freshness of the autumn evening. As she stood on her rock, the Amazon pondered her problem, rolling it over in her mind. Who else would know about the properties of the lasso? She had no proof, but her gut instinct pointed in only one direction. The only one manipulative enough, with the knowledge of what the lasso was capable of. "Circe," she hissed under her breath. -e-

Arthur Curry: The Atlantean sat upon his throne, his long mane of hair floating almost peacefully in the ever-present currents of the sea. However, there was nothing peaceful about what was going on right now. A powerful relic of Atlantis, The Trident of Neptune, was stolen from the vault of the sea's treasure. Stolen! The very thought of such insolence caused him to tighten his grip on the throne, cracking the limestone of it. As of yet, there were no suspects, but the scent of magic was strong around the vault. However...such magic needed to break into the most secure spot in Atlantis....it had to be the work of something immensely powerful. Something almost god-like. But what? -e-

Villainess: As heroes searched through Black Canary's folder and potential links with the reports in the Watch Tower, they started finding correlations. The mysterious Nyssa Raatko that had been stealing or at least swapping different strains of diseases since the cold war was at it again, according to Dinah, and she hadn't aged a day in all that time. She has been collecting more resiliant strains of bubonic plague and leptospirosis, as well a Russian Chimera virus that combined Ebola and Influenza. (c)

Villainess: n reports from world disease centers, France's Institut de veille sanitaire had encountered two strange cases regarding these diseases. An old German Immigrant, Dr Albert Bower, was found dead in his family planning and fertility clinic. The doctor had strangely contracted the bubonic plague, Leptospirosis, and Rabies all at the same time. Soon after they discovered a group of homeless men in one of the city's catacombs all of them dead by the same diseases Doctor Bower. Digging into things further it turned out that Doctor Bower was Doctor Alber Bauer, a Nazi Scientist who experimented on people in Concentration Camps, mostly with fertility and infertility. Raatko was on one of those lists. (c)

Villainess: There was still no word from Black Canary, she was not returning any calls and her communicator signal was reporting from inside her back room of her flower shop. That room was was mostly bare except for a large map of Gotham had circles about the three tallest building in city; Wonder Tower, Wayne Tower, and Shreck Corp's main building. But her apartment wasn't so lucky it had been tossed, someone had been looking for her files which were never there. (c)

Villainess: Meanwhile in Coast City, outside the home of Jim Jordan, a hooded figure peeked into the window of the second floor, looking into the dark house; seeing his two sleeping little children, hugging their stuffed animals. She made a face, her crimson lips in a tight unhappy smile. But she had to do this she had no choice. She slipped into Jason and Jennifer Jordan's bedroom. Jim, heard something and looked in, seeing only shadow, but saw the window was open a crack. When he went outside he saw a shingle had fallen off the roof. He opened his cell phone and gave his brother a call, maybe he was being paranoid, but something seemed off. (c)

Villainess: At the old apartment complex that used to be a staging ground for illegal dog fights, A kitty was hanging high from a golden rope, dangling like bait. In the room beyond stood a large dark man, his senses honed, he would look familiar to some as Ubu, a trained asssaian and body guard. He stood in front of the door, the room filled with wooden boxes and crates discarded everywhere. (d)

Entering the old apartment building, Batman’s posture was smooth, allowing his cape to surround him and give him a slim form as he calmly entered the area, despite his size he made himself smaller by standing straight and with his cape wrapped around him. He saw Ubu and narrowed his eyes into a squint before looking around the area for any potential threats beside Ubu. The appearance of Ubu could only mean that Ra’s was nearby meant that something significant was going down. A moment of consideration, offering Flash to arrive as back up, but Batman opted out of calling for assistance. He tapped his cowl, which activated a recorder as he approached Ubu. “Where’s Ra’s.” Batman approached the larger man, his appearance very much smaller than Ubu’s, though their strengths were almost equally matched strangely enough.

Green Lantern: arrived due to Hal having to dress and clear his head while doing so. Hovering down beside the house, Hal quickly dimmed his aura to hide himself from view as he dropped, landed, and then his uniform disappeared to be replaced by his civilian clothes. "THEY'RE GONE JIM!' came the shout of a woman, filled with pain. *Sue!* He bolted through the grass around to the front door and charged through it, "Jim! Sue!" The crying came from upstairs and Hal ran up them, his heart pounding in his chest. *What the hell happened?* He thought to himself as he reached the top of the stairs and followed the sounds into his niece and nephew's room. Slowly, Hal stepped inside to see his sister in law breaking down on the floor and his brother holding her close. "Jim...?" he asked softly, walking forward to kneel down beside them. "Someone took them Hal... took our son and daughter..." He could see that, while Jim was trying his best to hold both himself together and comfort his wife, but his eyes-c

Green Lantern: nearly about to burst with tears. "Take Sue downstairs, Jim. Get her something to calm her down," Hal's eyes locked with his brother's and while he could see that he didn't want to move, he lifted up his wife and walked her downstairs. "Ring..." he whispered, his voice stern as his mind lost all fogginess, "Scan for any possible DNA not matching my own, brother's, or his own family. Link with all criminal databases, if DNA is found and search for possible matches. If none, expand search to include all databases across the planet Earth." -Search beginning.- His Power Ring began to glow and two thin expanses of light erupted out, runing over the entirety of the bedroom and all items withing.

Wonder Woman: A long sigh came from her lips as her eyes closed. She wished she had a way to know where Circe had drawn her crimes, for certainly the lasso was merely only a piece of the complex puzzle, before panic struck her heart. Dinah! There was a reason why the song bird hadn't been returning her calls, and if she had been the victim of Circe, then... Her eyes went wide and her first gut reaction was something that turned her stomach to ice. "Dinah..." she felt the panic grow sick and cold in her stomach, knowing her best bet, aside from Batman who always seemed to be busy with the dregs of Gotham, was Dinah senior. She needed clarity; she needed advise. She would seek advice from the Queen and her Generals. Rushing in headlong with out a plan might only risk Dinah's life more.

Arthur Curry: The King let out a sigh from his nostrils, sending a stream of bubbles to float through the water. There had to be some way to deal with this problem. Something that could help find who dared to steal his symbol of power. But who? And then....he felt it. The illuminating presence of one blessed by the Gods flying over his court, even despite being underneath the mighty waves....he could feel it. And he knew what it meant. He had heard the stories, of course he did...but he only knew her to exist from the tales of his scouts. But there was no doubt in his mind. A Champion of Olympus was near, his equal in strength. The Atlantean wasted no time in rocketing upwards, slicing through the water like a torpedo before the ocean surface exploded into a pillar of ice at least three-hundred meters from where Diana was. The Atlantean waited patiently upon that pillar, waiting to finally meet this Champion for himself. To meet the only person on Earth besides him that was blessed fully by the -

Arthur Curry: mighty Gods of Olympus and all their strengths. -e-

Villainess: Ubu tipped his head respectfully at the smaller man, using his master's term. "Detective. The Demon's Head is not here, but he asked me to step in see things through. Tonight is a night of tests. Much like the one you claimed as a victory but League of Shadow takes as a failure. It is a test for the Demon's Hand and the potential new Sensei." said Ubu solmenly. (c)

Villainess: Looking into the room, Hal might notice something. The children were gone but so were their stuffed animals. As he did a sweep of the room for DNA, a single blonde hair was found, illuminated by the ring. It's search would reaveal a match; Dinah Lance. (c)

Villainess: The hooded figure, sat in the basement with the two sleeping children. How could this have gone this far? Kidnapping, stealing, when would it stop? All in the name of trying to save Gotham or as some would say to cleanse it. she scowled in frustration. She heard a voice in her ear. "Little bird? Did you do my task? Time is ticking, unless you want me to press my lil button."The figure tapped her earpiece. "I am here... I have the children. We are in a neighbor's basement, apparently they are gone on vacation. Their home had all the signs. The children are still sleeping, thanks to the drug." she growled. "Can we be done with this now?" "Patience, patience. things are coming together nicely." "But the Green Lantern will be here soon." "That is your worry, take the children to the zoo as you were instructed. If you meet the Green Lantern, handle him. You know the consequences if you fail." and then the voice was gone. (c)

Villainess: The hooded figure, wrapped a blanket about the slumbering children and caressed one of their cheeks, then she slipped upstairs to the garage and started hot wiring the van inside, this was going to be a long night.

Villainess: The ring would detect a few blonde hairs of Dinah Lance in the children's rooms, some finger prints about the window, obviously where she had entered. There would be a trail going out onto the room, shed skin particles. It lead to the edge of the roof near the neighbors and then would pick up some on their roof and then one of their windows, which was open. It would detect dna of elderly couple that lived there, but the traces were old. In the room there would also be traces of animal hair, rats, mostly several different kinds, many from different countries. As well as some from Lions and Monkeys. Dinah had been in contact with these animals for some reason.(d)

Green Lantern: Hal narrowed his eyes as the Ring read off, into his mind, the data that it had gathered. *Dinah Lance... Canary.. why in the hell did she come here and take Howie and Jane? It doesn't make any sense.. The animal dna too.. Lions and monkies.. that'd be the zoo but... damn something doesn't feel right.* Walking over to the window, Hal's eyes narrowed. *Don't rush off Hal. Not yet..* Stepping back into the room, his Ring let out a soft, barely visible glow and formed his uniform around his body before Hal flew across the room and through the wall. *Ring, starting from the window scan and follow the trail of Dinah Lance's DNA and my niece and nephew. If the trail splits, inform immediately. Create trails and send knowledge directly into my mind for the moment.*

Wonder Woman: The ice shot up and distracted Diana from her trajectory. She shot up to avoid smashing right into the pillar of ice, sending it and Arthur back into the ocean, not that it would be of any harm to him. She came back down, ready for a fight, at first thinking it was an attack from Circe. Blue eyes narrowed as her fists balled, ready to defend herself, but pausing as she noticed it was not the curvaceous body of Circe, purple hair floating on the ocean wind, but rather a broad shouldered blonde man with eyes that matched the seas them self. It took a moment, but it clicked who this man was. In all likely hood he was the Champion of Poseidon, her opposite. She was the Champion of Olympus, gods of the earth, Poseidon ruled the sea. "Can I help you?" she said curtly. -e-

Arthur Curry: The Atlantean looked out towards Diana, and for a moment, he found himself stunned. It was as if Pallas Athena herself had come down from the heavens and merged with the mortal realm. Her ability to fly clearly showed she was a favored Champion, gifted by Zeus himself so that the skies were at her command, something that he could only do by commanding the water in the clouds. "The question could be applied to you as well. I am Orin Atlan-son, King of Atlantis. And of course, I feel it is only appropriate to know why a Amazon is flying over my city." He asked, his voice steady and commanding of authority, but his eyes showed a fascination with the Amazon.

Villainess: The ring would detcet and illuminate more dna, showning a much brighter and easy to see a path of mixed dna of Howie and Jane. It led across the roof, to the neighbors and into their window. the scan would then pick something else up, more traces of Dinah. Some scattered pieces which seemed to be approaching the house. the path that really divereged was a path from the house to the garage.The hooded figure struggled with hot wiring the van and suddenly it sparked to life, running a moment. She got it! she quickly stopped the connection. Hoping nobody heard it. and quietly went to the door pausing and waiting to go get the children. Looking to make sure the coast is clear. (d)

Green Lantern: The safety of his family came first and foremost to his mind. He wanted to know why Dinah's DNA was showing up, but that could wait. Quietly, he flew over to the house following the trailing of the kids, phasing through the wall and then quietly touching down on the floor. Hal lifted his ring hand up and slowly started walking forward, ready to react as he made his way through the house. He wanted to call out, signal to the kids that he was here, but that would also risk giving himself up and that was dangerous.

Wonder Woman: "A ... weapon of mine has been stolen," she said, her voice rather grim as her shoulders squared, her chin tipped up and cold blue eyes taking him in. "I am flying over your kingdom to my own. I have a theory as to who took it, but I seek the advice of the queen before further advancing. There is much at stake. I have no time to waste with you, Orin," she said. She used neither his honorific title, nor did she seem all too bothered by being rude to the Royal in front of her. She even looked impatient, something the Amazon rarely expressed.

Arthur Curry: The Atlantean narrowed his sea-blue eyes as he clenched his fist slightly, the waves of the ocean becoming choppy as a direct result. However, he quickly unclenched his fist, angered at his display of offense. He must focus on what she said, not on the insult. "Someone stole something from me too. Something very important to my kingdom. And I want answers. If you know who could've taken it, then tell me. There is much at stake that the item stolen from me is retrieved. If it is not.....the entirety of the Surface World is in danger." He spoke with a serious tone, letting there be no doubt that he was indeed speaking the truth. The Trident was a dangerous weapon, and it's powers were beyond even that of Orin, and he himself could not muster it's full power. Such a weapon would prove disastrous in the hands of someone who would ignore it's warnings. -e-

Villainess: The Green Lantern would find a trail of the children, it leading him across the second floor from that window. Down the hall and down the stairs, down a short hall toward the basement stairs. Not seeing anyone the hooded figure slipped back into the house, not knowing that she had company already. She walked down into the basement and checked the children, still sleeping. She lingered a moment bent over them, watching them sleep, looking very sad. she then started to scoop them up, glad they were light. (d)

Wonder Woman: "A mortal enemy of the Amazons, a sorceress by the name of Circe," she said very matter of factly. "I fear she has taken my lasso, forged from Gaea's own girdle. She has been known to steal the relics of others as well; it would not surprise me to learn she has taken your weapon," she said. She was at an impasse, it would be impossible for Arthur to accompany her to Themyscira for men were forbidden, but she did not wish to lose the potential ally against Circe.

Arthur Curry: The King listened to her explanation before giving a single nod. "Then we go to steal it back. I have heard the name of Circe. And although the island's location changes constantly, I know -exactly- where Aeaea is at any given moment. You and I could be there in a matter of moments. We should leave now and take the battle to the Sorceress, and let her know the punishment for stealing from both Olympus and Poseidon's court." He spoke calmly, but a danger lingered in his voice. Unlike Diana, Orin was not the sort to show mercy. -e-

Villainess: The cloaked woman scooped up the children and went up the stairs, she paused, she heard no foot steps and saw no one and started to go down the hall to exit out the back door. The children snoozing, her boots sounding loud on the wooden floor. This part was almost done. Just get to the van and get to the zoo, she would have to make this all up to Hal later. She wondered if that was still possible. She opened the back door, and started to leave.(c)

Villainess: As Aquaman and Wonder Woman conversed over the ocean lightening could be heard and purple lightening arched across the clouds there was a blinding flash of purple light and Circe herself appeared. She scowled at them both. "My how you mortals gossip. You seek me? Well you will never see me on Aeaea, I will never be there again. But you know that don't you darling?" she asked smiling at Diana. She then walked right though her, untanable, apparently this was just an illusion. "I'm glad you both think so highly of me. I wish I could take credit for the thefts of such tasty items, but I perfer to win them, I have some pride after all." she said sounding wounded. "The only reason I am even talking to you both is that something else threatens this world Diseases that make the dark ages look like a sunny day. I'm afraid that only the amazons and Atlantians would be the only to survive and I can't let that happen." she said in disgust. (c)

Villainess: "If you two were ever to breed, I would never get any rest." she looked at wonder woman. "Your magic yarn is being recovered by the man who craves to be a bat, tell him I will make his dream come true some day." she looked at aquaman. "You have a much different path. I hope you find the trident before I do." she grins. "But you both need to get to Paris. Your little ratty friends are filling that rotten city with their filth and are waiting for the right moment." (d)

Wonder Woman: "I doubt she is there," she said, noting the threat of violence that lingered in his voice. "And I fear she has someone who means very much to me," she said softly, patience in her voice. "I cannot risk simply attacking her..." she thought for a moment on this. The appearance of the very sorceress whom she was speaking about was simply... chilling. "Paris?" She said, glossing over the comment about sole survivorship belonging to the ancient races. The concept of breeding, period, was not one Diana thought of, she was the only "child" of the Amazons, Donna, her sister, a copy of herself. There was a conflict in her voice, not sure whether she should trust Circe and go to Paris, or whether she should double back and try to help Batman. The rats, however, sealed the deal. "If you aren't behind this," she said, pausing before she would turn. "Who is?"

Arthur Curry: The Atlantean swiftly turned, the water rising up and forming into sharp spears aimed directly at Circe, although the liquid shapes dissolved once he saw her as an illusion. He refrained from commenting on the breeding part. It didn't deserve his attention. "If you did not steal my trident, then who did? I know not of your "Paris." But I promise you, if I find out that you are behind this...there is not a corner in this Earth you can hide in from me. I will personally reach into your mind and turn you into a drooling vegetable." He narrowed his eyes, his voice cold and unforgiven.

Villainess: Circe rolled her eyes at the water moving up and softly chuckled as the atlantean dismissed them. Hearing Orin's words, she gave him a scorching look. "I would like to see you try tadpole. and for such a threat I won't say. You need to learn a little respect." she said bitterly. Circe smirked at Diana's question, it obvious to her what her decision was. She put up a finger. "Nuh uh. That would be telling. I will tell you this. It is by people as old as you darling, people who use the magic of elements and chemicals to keep them living for their cause. They are very good at what they do, they are the ones who made the plague the first time." she laughed at that and put her hands in the air and in a flash of purple light she was gone. (d)