Post by Batman on Mar 29, 2014 21:15:18 GMT -5
Justice League #11
Story By: Batman
Plot: To be announced...
Gotham City, a few years ago…The area was lit on fire, a building would explode as a swarm of Parademons flew from its walls while its structure collapsed sending debris and waves of smoke in various directions. Men, women, and children screamed and ran as large hulking beasts easily flailed them like they were balloons attached to a string. A group of people would take shelter behind a car as five parademons landed to surround them. It was in a moment that a flash of electricity sparked, the sound of time began to change, it fell into a void of disruption when all that was seen was a scarlet blurr that swiftly smashed into all five parademons and immediately dropped them off into a pile of unconsciousness. The scarlet masked man pointed towards the building on the corner. “Go! Get shelter!” They complied and ran, it was now that more of the hulking monsters appeared, sound changed once again but it forced the group of people to drop to their knees and clutch their ears as a scream forced the parademons to crash into a wall as their skin crackled and broke. A dark haired point sighed and waved them on, she would protect them. <C>
They continued their race as the family moved they took shelter and immediately a young man separated from the group, racing to the highest point of the building he stared out to see them, it was now his father came behind him. “What are you doing?” “Look, Dad…It’s amazing.” Flares of emerald energy, a hurricane of scarlet, a blur of blue and red, a whip made of gold and than a large portal opened revealing a…Titan? The fight raged on for minutes and the city sustained great damage. It was here the boy spoke. “What are they Dad?” a blast of energy shot into space taking the titan with them. “I don’t know son…All I do know…is that they are God’s among men.”……………………Present day, Coast City. A News station reported “A crippling case of the flu has been reported in the city….” Metropolis City, the words of a reporter at the Daily Planet left the man’s lips as he was talking to his co-worker. “An outbreak of the flu virus has killed 6 children in various parts of the city. We gotta get that doctor in for an interview for a piece on that story!“ “Did you hear about Olsen? He called in sick today, said he could barely get out of bed.” Gotham City, five men surrounded a group of homeless people. A leading individual grabbed the closest homeless man and placed a syringe into his arm. “We’re not asking you to help us, we’re telling you to…” The contents finished and the group of thugs smiled. “…to spread the word.” Shoving the homeless man the groups both parted ways.” <c>
On board the Justice League Watchtower Batman sitting behind the computer running a simulation of a disease spread control, a picture of Kirk Langstrom sat upon the side of the computer screen. Stroking his chin as the detective’s mind passed the time by preemptively looking to stop scenarios from happening. His black cape sprawled open about his seat and the polished floor plates made of metal beneath him.
Black Canary: The dark haired florist was trimming flowers, but hardly noticed them, cutting them perfectly, her attention on the news reports flipping across the television. She frowned not liking the report about the flu outbreaks, it hitting a little too close to home to some potential outbreaks she was forced to prevent. She trimmed the blossom off a carnation and cursed quietly to herself. She sighed, called her assistant angie to take over and slipped toward teh breakroom, taking a turn to slip into her secret backroom. she picked up an ear piece. "Hey Batman, looking into the flu outbreaks? I have spoken with my doctor friend at Gotham General and he is going to give me his report tonight."
Superman: Out of all the epidemics that Superman had faced, either alone in Metropolis or together with the League, a Flu Outbreak certainly was not one of them. The phrase alone was so mundane that no one would think that Superheroes would be involved, after all the Flu was as common as a cold and something humans had to deal with every year. Yet this was no mere common infection. One of many placed on the story, Clark Kent was out on the field. On his visit to one of many hospitals, of course at the top of that list was United General; one of the largest hospitals within the city. Clark stepped out of the third floor elevator with a cell phone in his hand, a wireless ear piece on the side of his head. “Yes, chief. I’m aware. I tried checking up on Jimmy but there was no answer.” Clark answered about his best friend and briefly former roommate. Ending the call with Perry White, Clark stepped out of the elevator. With his press pass clipped on the inseam of his coat, Clark passed the orderlies and made his way towards the labs. <c>
Superman: In the lab there was one lone doctor with several assistants running back and forth. Beside the computer a stack of print outs laid; results of various tests. “How fast is the outbreak spreading, Doctor?” Clark asked, of course now this situation had become a little personal for him. Hoping that the disease had not began to spread yet, worried that the infection and Jimmy’s sudden illness might be connected. “Unfortunately, we can’t calculate that at this time.” Clark knew a brush off when he heard one. Tilting his glasses down, he looked down at the stack of reports on the desk and looked through the hard leather-covered binder that lay on the top. Excusing himself, Clark moved outside the lab. <e>
Hal Jordan: Hal Jordan wasn't a scientist. He wasn't a doctor and, really, he knew only that which could keep people alive in the field until they got proper treatment that the body couldn't fight on its own. Solving diseases wasn't something he was in his area of expertise or operation when he had an entire space sector and a few billion lifeforms to worry about. What he DID have to worry about was the giant tentacled monster that he was fighting back to the sea with Diana off the coast of what was former Greek city-state of Sparta. "Why?!" he darted under a lashing strike, "Trying!" his right fist raised up and a bright beam of energy shot out, the end morphing into a large hand and griping another slimy apendage, "To!" using it to slap away another, "Keep!" the construct faded as Hal's aura glowed brightly around his body, the soft, singing sound of it calling out as he barreled forward, forming a Romana battering ram around his body and slamming into the side of the Kraken's head, "Keep!" flying backwards, he looked for another opening, "This thing!" a sudden movement caught his eye and, glancing to the left, he saw a multitude of the tentacles coming at him and he quickly formed a buble around his body, shielding himself from the attack, "Aliiiiiive"!" as it launched him backwards.
Batman tapped the keyboard flipping to another scenario of a green planet Earth, a picture of Gorilla Grodd sat alongside the screen now when Dinah’s message came to Batman. “Flu outbreak? That’s not really our kind of thing, Canary. We’re not doctors…I can have Dr. Midnite look into it, if you insist…” It was now Batman’s attention diverted as a news report popped up on television and the watchtower computer. “Breaking news, a Government building has been attacked by an unknown party; witnesses claim it was a shadowy creature.” Batman then spoke. “Are you still watching the news? Something that *is* up our alley happened in Washington. A break in at a Government facility.” It was something that the Justice League wouldn’t have been involved with unless it was absolutely out of hand, but from the video footage Batman could see Colonel Steve Trevor scraped and bruised while carrying an assault rifle. “Colonel Trevor is there…It must’ve been an ARGUS facility that was hit.” Tapping a few buttons Batman was capable of pin-pointing everyone in the League with their communicators. “Lantern and Wonder Woman are out on the ocean, Vixen is in Europe, Superman is in Metropolis, Flash is in Starling city.”
Black Canary: The woman pulled off her wig, letting her blonde hair free for a moment, relaxing a moment in her backroom. "No. I suppose it isn't your thing... It's just, after that incident with weaponized diseases... I just like to double check things. I can't help but see patterns..." She turned on the tv as Bruce talked about it. "I am now, what..." she frowned hearing about the shadowy creature. "Okay, I'll go tell my assistant I need to make some 'deliveries' and then suit up, want to give me a lift?" she smirked teasing.
Superman: Around the corner the door to the Record’s Room was cracked open, only flickers of light lit up the room. Fortunately the room was tucked in around the corner and away from the main hallway. Holding up his phone, the LCD display switched to a Justice League interface showing the positions of each of the active league members. Switching to a broadcast of the situation, Clark listened closely for a few seconds. A shadow creature was not very specific, was it alien or domestic, a being of science or magic? He questioned in his mind. Placing a hand on the center of his ear piece, Clark connected to the watch tower. “A.R.G.U.S., am I needed?” An unusual thing for Superman to say, normally he would have flown halfway there before he told everyone else he was on his way. Though he had no solid leads, Clark was determined to crack this case.
“I can, let me know when you’re ready.” Batman spoke to Dinah, when Superman’s voice came through. “I don’t know yet. Canary and I are about to investigate if you want to go with us.” While waiting for an answer Batman stood up to begin walking towards the teleporter room where he began typing into the computer to lock onto Canary’s signal and where he would relocate her. He set his own destination and spoke to Superman. “We’ll see you when we get down there.” Batman would then wait for Black Canary’s signal to teleport her onto the scene. They would appear outside the facility between two military trucks. Four ARGUS soldiers spotted them immediately and raised their weapons Batman and Black Canary. “Freeze! Don’t move! Hands where we can see them!” Batman’s expression wasn’t friendly as he held his hands out to comply. “We’re here to help…Where’s Colonel Trevor?”
Black Canary: she used the rear phone to get ahold of Angie. Then she turned into the black canary. She thought about that Colonel she saw all scraped and bruised running into the fight. She hoped he was okay, but she was also hoping this shadow thing was slenderman or something. She was itching for a fight. She sent Batman her signal. and the next thing she knew was at the scene, she was ready to charge into it when she saw the ARGUS soldiers. she smirked at them, she could probably disarm at least two before they knew what hit them, he put her hands up anyhow, her feet in a defensive stance. "Hey boys, lookin for some help? Just what are we facing here." she grinned.
The soldiers didn’t seem amused by Black Canary’s words and promptly five more soldiers came from behind them. Batman would growl at them. “We’re not the suspect; we’re wearing black, not shadowy.” It was now that Colonel Trevor showed up and waved the soldiers. “Stand down, everyone stand down. Geez, do you guys want Wonder Woman or Superman to clobber you….Batman, Black Canary. What are you doing here?” Batman’s hands slipped underneath his cape to conceal them. “We’re here to help. What happened?” Trevor bit down on his jaw and shook his head. “Someone -- some *thing* broke into and then out of this facility. As much as I trust you guys to let you in…” Batman lowered his head. “We’re not allowed. Tell your superior that time is of the essence, Colonel. The longer we wait, the colder the trail is going to get.”
Black Canary: She rolled her eyes at the men behind her, glad they hadn't gotten too close to her, she would have hated taking someone down for just doiing their job. She smiled as Trevor appeared, glad he was reasonable and that he trusted them. Dinah let out a little huff of air as she found out he wasn't going to let them help. "If someone went through all the effort to break into such a secure location, I'm sure what they were after was valuable and is just the tip of the iceberg. Usually gaining a small piece to help with their bigger goals. If you need us to help you contain something that wasn't supposed to get out, that's fine. If you want to take care of it, that's fine too. But you know we have resources to get to the bottom of this thing, before it gets out of control." she offered.
Trevor narrowed his eyes at Batman and Black Canary. “I’m sorry, but just because you save the world a few times, doesn’t mean the Government lost its touch in being able to do its job.” The Dark Knight clutched his fists and then calmed himself. “Your investigators aren’t on the scene yet, Trevor. Take her offer, Steve.” Batman’s expression was sober and judgmental forcing Steve to look between the two of them before he frowned and then nodded. “Alright. Follow me. I’m going to get shit for this, but I dealt with this thing…It was a man, at least at first he was a man. Then he transformed into some kind of demonic spawn.” Trevor led the heroes to the building where there was a large hole in the side of it covered by a black tarp. The size was large enough to fit a tractor Trailer through it. Debris and metal and plaster filled the floor of the building that was once relatively cleaned and polished. They would arrive inside a storage room where there were boxes and containers, some were broken while others were perfectly fine. There were boot prints and bullet shell casings all over the floor mixed with blood.
Black Canary: Dinah shrugged as Trevor said 'no', hey the offered. Then smiled and nodded and poilitely followed the Colonel into the building. She was glad he was putting his neck out for them, he was a good man. But she felt a little bad that it could end badly for him. "Well, if it makes it easier you could say we forced you. " she teased. As they walked along she looked at all the debris, noting the size of that hole. and hoping they weren't actually dealing with a demon. She looked about at the storage room, it reminding her a little of that warehouse from Indiana Jones with with where they put the Arc of the Covenent. She causally looked at some of the boxes to get a feel for the room and then traced a pattern about the room, noting the bullets and the blood. "So this creature... it didn't have a gun did it. It just changed and attacked like a wild animal?" she offered, bending to look at a box to note some bullet holes, looking over her shoudler gadging the tradjectory.
Steve stood to the side of the room and let his hands rest upon his gun that hung from his vest. “As far as we could tell…it was human and then it shape-shifted into a large beast. The blood you see is our people.” Batman approached a container and narrowed his eyes. “What’s in the containers?” Steve shook his head dismissively. “Nothing too important, just old relics.” Batman picked up a Helm of Doctor Fate and held it towards Trevor. “Nothing important? It’s a fake…It *is* made of Gold, though.” Batman placed the helmet down as Steve shrugged. “I didn’t put the inventory in here, my people were instructed to guard it and we did that. How the hell are we supposed to stop a shadow?” Batman glanced at Black Canary and mumbled. “-and it’s not like the Government to keep secrets.” Batman looked around and took note of gems, jewelry, and even a sword that was lying on the ground. Dinah would spot an obsidian colored staff with a red crystal in the center. The objects were rather unique and exquisite, but they were left behind in favor of something?
Black Canary: Dinah's eyes widened as she saw the helm come up and glanced as batman looked through the gems and jewelry. She looked carefully at the opened and broken crates, eyeing the staff for too long of a moment. "Even if some of these items are fakes, some of them might not be... regardless, our theif could easily have taken anything they wanted and chose just one item. They could have been rich with some of these items, or maybe powerful... Our creature was on a mission, look at the systemetic way they opened the crates. Obviously they wanted just this." she pointed at the smashed and empty box. "Do you know what it took yet?" she squared her shoulders a little, feeling her jaw clench. Their hunch was right, it was a piece of a much larger plan. Something hinging on this item, possibly.
Steve Trevor looked between the two and bit his tongue. “I don’t know what they took. Okay, clearly someone thinks this room has magical artifacts.” Batman’s eyes lit up before he sharply spoke. “Magical Artifacts…And you didn’t tell us?” Steve crossed his arms and leered at Batman. “Batman, I’m not in a mood for measuring who has the bigger stick here. You know the Government isn’t going to just hand over this kind of information to a potential threat. Regardless, this place isn’t meant to be known about. No one should know it even exists.” Batman was angry and wanted to retaliate with extreme aggression, he held back. “This kind of material can be tracked by beings FAR more powerful than the Justice League. By holding them all in one location you’ve opened your own firearms dealer with the price tag of free. These things were hidden for a reason, Trevor. Buried and lost in ancient tombs never to be found.” <c>
Steve shook his head. “Look, if you don’t have anything further to contribute, you have to leave now. Or else I’m going to have congress and every other politician looking to breathe down my neck.” Batman’s lips sealed together as his eyes narrowed. He pulled his cape to wrap around himself and he walked out of the room, making his way back to the teleporting point.
Elsewhere, 1 day ago…Calcium and cartilage crackled and fractured as a black hand was crushed by the chilling touch of a scaly hand that reeked of despair and anguish. Sharp teeth roared to life as the large gorilla spat blood mixed with his spit. A deep voice, scratchy and hissing spoke with the tongue of a demon. “…Tell me about The Flash and Green Lantern, I want to know *everything*…” Minutes later…”GAAAH-grgrl…” Edward Nigma choked and gagged upon his own spit as a scaly hand crushed his. “Tell me everything about Batman and Black Canary…” ‘It would be days later you would find them…kept from knowing where they were taken to. Such pain and anguish they felt. I waited patiently for this day to come. For the Justice League to be revealed for the falsehood that it is. I don’t let them live because I am merciful, I am merciful. I let them live because eventually your fate will be theirs. And we will all become one. To the people of Earth, mortals, fiends, extraterrestrials, monsters, elementals, God’s…You will be spared your pain and you will find happiness within the darkness, join me willingly or fight me.’ The pen wrote across a lined piece of notebook paper.
Black Canary: Black Canary looked over the broken box with the missing item, noting the numbers on it, sizing them up with other numbers on other boxes. making mental notes on all the items she saw. She sighed softly as batman argued with Trevor. He had done a big favor just letting them know about this. she smirked and patted Steve's shoulder as she passed him. "If you do figure things out let me know. and see if you can find some magic shielding stuff. You would hate for a wicked witch to go shopping here." she smirked and joined batman to the teleport point, they both were gone in a flash. She turned to Bruce. "Do we still have contact with any magic users? I know Zatana is currently off world or plane. I would like to see if they can weigh in on any magic disturbances. Meanwhile I'm going to write down some notes on the items I saw and see if we can work backwards as to where the government found them." (d)
Raven: Raven was walking down the streets of Gotham City. It was something that she hadn’t done for almost a year. She came back, looking around for a certain place. Purple flowers were in her hands. She was here to visit her mother. Looking up at the sky, she wondered if any superheroes were nearby. This was Batman’s city and she liked the atmosphere in it; even if there was mostly crime most of the time. There were good memories here and there, but something sparked her. As she kept walking, Raven turned lightly, sensing someone close-by. It felt familiar…the aura… staring down the street, she noticed that the aura was from a familiar person: Black Canary. Staring down at the flowers, she lightly dropped them and followed the other’s presence. Raven wondered what Black Canary was doing here and wanted to question her; perhaps spar a little. Maybe she would know where Batman was; Raven did want to have a decent conversation with him. She wanted to say a lot of things to him and maybe today would be her chance.
Batman walked along the Watchtower deck with his head tipped and his hands gently holding his cape between his gloved fingers to keep himself from tripping. “I’ll reach out and contact Zatanna…If I can’t get anything from her I’ll try to locate Doctor Fate, I haven’t seen him since that circus freak show in Gotham. He was strangely absent during Doctor Destiny’s takeover. Something might be going on and he’s not telling us.” Batman had built some trust in Doctor Fate, perhaps confidence would best describe it, but for the mystic to suddenly cut contact, it was strange and didn’t go unnoticed by the master detective. He looked at Black Canary as she explained her course of action, it was better than sitting around and doing nothing. “Alright…If you hit any dead ends, Oracle will be on standby. I’ll remain here and wait for Superman to catch up…I’ll get him up to speed with this. If I know Clark, he won’t be too happy about this whole ARGUS situation.” As Batman walked towards the observation glass Batman’s blue eyes stared down at Earth, a hardened stare came from his eyes as he looked down on his planet. “Shadow Thief. He stole the object. The ultimate thief, he ‘s just as skilled as Catwoman or myself.” Batman looked over his shoulder at Black Canary. “I’ll see about finding him.”
Black Canary: Canary nodded, her blonde hair swishing a little, she smirked as she heard Batman plan. It was certainly something, she was glad to see him collective again, more like his old self. She tilted her head as he mentioined contacting Zatanna, did he know her personally? how very curious. And Doctor Fate. He could help, she remembered when he helped halt Circe and got that 'anchor', as he called it, for Gotham from her. She gave a little smile as he talked about her ideas, she was glad that he also enjoyed investigating, he was great to bounce ideas off of. "Yeah, I have her number. We will see what we can dig up, perhaps, if we know where they got the items, we can trace it out to who else knows about these enchanted things." she gave a soft somber sigh, hearing about clark, he wouldn't like that Argus was keeping items like that all together. For all she knew they had the Ark of the Covenant in there somewhere. Her eyebrows lifted as Batman mentioned the theif, he knew him. She smirked as he mentioned good thieves. "Well happy hunting. You know how to get ahold of me if you need help." she went to the teleporter and changed the coordinates for her drop off point, she wanted to visit Oracle, and knew how she didn't like guests to just drop in. And how she didn't like anyone else to know where she was. Ending up in a back alley she started to walk towards the clock tower. She heard steps coming toward her, but kept walking, waiting for them to get close. She then spun around with a punch to knock them off their feet, when she gasped, it was raven! her fist stopped millimeters from her face. she gave a sheepish smile. "Hey Raven." she lowered her fist. "Sorry about that. You should know better than to rush up on a crime fighter." she teased. "What brings you to Gotham? I'm on a little errand, you can come with me. You might be able to help out." she smiled, guiding the younger heroine. (d)
Raven: As Raven got closer, she started being cautious. Her eyes didn’t widen when she saw the punch coming toward her and stop millimeters against her face. She was about to attack when her senses told her not to. “…” Staring at her, she kept her face calm and unmoving. She didn’t even flinch at the movement, staring at her. “…Black Canary.” Raven finally said, looking at her. However, when she said she had an errand, it got the spell caster curious. “…Alright.” She walked side by side next to Black Canary, thinking about the first question she asked. “…I’m here because I’m here to visit my mother. She’s still here in Gotham.” She did not say anything else, wondering what the “little errand” was. “Everything alright with you? What’s the errand that has your attention? If I can help, then I will.” She kept her gaze at the front, almost as if her eyes were searching for her mother. “I’m also wondering if I can meet the Dark Knight here, I want to speak to him about a few issues.”
Black Canary: Canary had to give Raven some credit, she didn't even flinch at the nearly missed punch. She had good reactions. She walked with spell caster who was just a smidge taller than her. Somedays she felt like the shortest in the Justice League. She smiled as Raven spoke about her mother, she never heard her talk about her before. She didn't comment just nod as Raven brought up other issues. "I'm fine, it's just there was a large amount of magical items being kept away from the public, by private groups..." she tried to keep things as politic as they were in public. she noted how Raven looked about as if expecting to see someone. "And one of these items is missing. I'm on my way to a friend to see if she can trace other items with me to get some new leads. Say, and please forgive my ignorance with magic, but is it possible for you to detect if some new or powerful magic item is being used?" they went down a couple of alleys and stopped at a dead end, a plain wall with some graffiti on it. (d)
Raven: As Black Canary spoke, Raven’s eyes slightly shifted here and there. She kept looking for her mother, wondering if she would be wandering the streets this early. However, after a few seconds, she gave up. She knew that she would sense her mother if she was close and that would be the one to give her the dead giveaway instead of using her eyes. Looking at Black Canary as she asked the question, she thought about it for a while. “…It depends. If it’s powerful magic that gives off enough energy, then yes, I would be able to sense it. However, if it’s a small quantity of magic, then it would be harder to sense, but I would still be able to sense it. It would depend on how close I am to the object or person.” She then turned her attention away from Black Canary to look at the wall with graffiti on it. “…We’re here, aren’t we?” Her monotone voice was present as she kept staring at the wall. She wondered what Black Canary would do, knowing that everyone had their secrets and everything. “…If this is about a magic item being stolen, perhaps I can help. I’ve read a bit of them and maybe I can tell you what it does.”
Black Canary: She smirked as Raven stared at the wall, it looked like just another graffiti scrawled wall in Gotham. "yes, we're here." She lifted her booted foot and tapped a brick. There was a grinding and the wall opened up, she led Raven inside to the dimly lit interior of the old clock tower, the wall closed behind them. Above could be heard the clicking and grinding of clockwork, they were surrounded by the weights and pulleys that helped the clock run. She nodded listening to Raven as she described about her magic sensiiing abilities. And gave a little laugh as she mentioned that she could help tell her about magic items. "Heh, you got to the heart of the matter. We'll make a detective of you yet." she grabbed one of the ropes tied to the weights and handed it to Raven. "Hang on to this." she grinned, wrapping the rope about her hand. "The problem is, we don't know which item was stolen yet. But we know what was about it." she grabbed a different rope and gave a tug, causing a clanking above her as she reset one of the weight mechanisims. "Hold on tight!" then the rope lifted up at rapid speed pulling the two women up toward the gears. "Okay, jump when I say so." grinned canary loving this too much. "Now." She jumped and landed on a platform, waiting for Raven to join her. (d)
Raven: Raven looked at the brick that was pressed, her memory memorizing the certain brick. As she took a few steps inside, her purple eyes looked around with mystery. She then stared as the clock was above them. The sounding of gears and other sounds that the old clock tower gave brought Raven memories of her and her mother. She looked over at Black Canary, wondering who she meant by “we” in the sentence. Staring at the rope that was given to her, she lightly grabbed it. However, when the other mention to hold on tightly onto it, she knew what was going to happen. Raven gripped it tightly with not only one hand, but both. As her body was quickly pulled up with speed, she waited for the signal. Her hands loosened as her body landed next to Black Canary’s, her face still wearing the same boring expression. However, her adrenalin was pumping through her veins now, but she would not show that to the other. “…Who do you mean by ‘we,’ Black Canary? Do you mean the person we’re going to meet or are others involved in this?” Raven was smart and caught on quickly. She kept staring at the female as she led the way, following her every move. She couldn’t help but admire the mechanisms they took for nobody could follow. “…What are you dragging me into, exactly?” Her sarcasm was covering her voice.
Black Canary: She smiled as Raven started to follow her down the platform, they could have taken the hidden elevator, but where was the fun in that? Her hips swished a little as she walked. she smirked as Raven asked about 'we'. "What kind of mentor would I be, if I didn't let you figure out that on your own?" she teased, avoiding the question. Watching as Raven stared at her and the clock gears moving about them. she laughed at Raven's sarcasm. "You sound just like Huntress when you say that." She led her toward the clock face where a massive computer was set up and the back of a woman in wheel chair could be seen. "Hey Canary," said the woman not turning around. "I see you brought a titan with you, are you going to show all the heroes where I am? Just because my inner sanctum isn't a bat infested cave..." she grumbled and teased at the same time. Dinah dropped a list on the woman's keyboard. "Argus has a bunch of 'magic' items, some are fakes, one is missing, and I have the number of the crate. Can you help me find out where some of them came from and what could be missing? Meanwhile my magic using friend can help me identify some of the known ones off the list. Canary whispered to Raven. "This is Oracle, she is good at hacking computers and getting data." The woman had a smirk in her voice. "I'm not good. I'm amazing. And this will cost you canary. You owe me a milk shake." dinah smirked she got let off easy. "... and a mission." she the blondes face grimmaced and turned into a smile. "I was wondering when you would say that. I think I owe you 12 missions." the woman smirked as her fingers danced over her keyboard and her screens flashed. "14 and a half."
Raven: Footstep after footstep was heard as Raven kept following Black Canary. A small frown appeared on her lips as she mentioned her to Huntress. Raven had met her before and she had a brief talk with her, but that was it. There was not much interaction after that. Noticing that there was a woman in front of them, Raven stayed quiet, watching Black Canary and her interact. Once she got that the name was Oracle, Raven stopped, looking at the woman in front of them. “…Oracle.” She repeated, looking over at Black Canary, then turned her attention back at her. “I know who she is. It’s an honor to meet you, Oracle.” As she stared at them talking, she looked over at Black Canary, wondering what type of relationship they had and how they met. “…” Staring at how her fingers moved, she looked up at the monitor. She had a feeling that this would turn more serious than Raven would think and that it would probably last more than a day; she would have to meet her mother another time, it seemed. “…Black Canary, are you usually this unfaithful?” Raven asked, her sarcasm right on her voice. “What a shame. Here I thought you had a bit of honor.” She teased, averting her eyes from Oracle to Black Canary. A very, very small smirk was barely visible on her lips.
Black Canary: Did... did raven just tease her? she smirked and rolled her eyes. "Oh no. I'm not letting you tease me too. It's not that I don't hold up my end of the baragin. It's just that her little missions take weeks and months and she hasn't cashed them all in yet." she gave Oracle a poke in the side and was batted by a suprsingly fast hand. "Heh, glad to see you still got your reaction time." she teased her. the woman looked at canary over her glasses, like librarians do when they are annoyed with you. "You keep pestering me and I will show you reaction time blondie. Now go chat with your friend and let me do your own work." she said with a smile teasing. Dinah led Raven to what looked to be a nice little apartment hidden up in the clock tower. Canary took a piece of paper and started to draw diagarams of the items she saw. One was a staff with a red gem in it. she explained each one to her. some raven would know, others she wouldn't. (d)
Raven: Raven stayed quiet as Black Canary mentioned the items and explained each one of them. She did know a few: Their history, origin, what they did, and some information that even Black Canary didn’t know herself. As Black Canary kept talking, she used a spell in her mind to try to locate anything odd in Gotham City; so far, there was nothing. Her search came up clean by the time Dinah was finished with her speech. Staring at the items, Raven’s head slowly started turning gears. She looked for any patterns, but couldn’t find any. “…This is difficult. I wonder which item it is. So far, I don’t have a clue. I just did a sweep of the city; it’s not here. I even did a scan for a weak signal; I got nothing in return.” Raven stared at the list, trying to solve the puzzle in her head. What was missing? She frowned slightly, but it was barely visible. Lately, she had been hiding her emotions and withdrawing from her friends more and more. Part of her was still thinking about the other incident she had with Circe. She couldn’t get the Goddess off her mind and part of her knew that it was her own evil side fighting with the good that was in her. “…Nothing is coming up in my mind. I don’t have a list to check it with either. I only know the items that are in my head and nothing more.” Raven stared at Black Canary before taking a seat on the couch that was before them. “…I would like to know who’s involved, if you don’t mind.” She wasn’t teasing anymore; she was back to her serious self. Raven’s curiosity was getting the better of her.
Batman sat upon the watchtower, standing before the computer itself to monitor and track anomalies across the world for any one in a billion chance of something to stand out as an indicator, but the vastness was too much for the detective to isolate any single instance. Tracking a thief that left no trail to follow was impossible. Batman’s attention fell upon Gotham news “Police say that a few strange men approached the homeless bunch of men and stabbed them with a needle injecting them with some kind of disease. Authorities and Disease control are investigating the issue but, so far there are no leads. The homeless people involved are all bed sick at Manchester Hospital where they are fighting a losing battle. Doctors describe the diseases as weakness in the joints, trouble breathing, and sudden pain in your nerves. If you are displaying symptoms call for help immediately.” Batman’s chin stiffened and pushed itself forward, it was a strange case that he would’ve taken on, but he was occupied with this case regarding Shadow Thief. He glanced at his communication sent out to Zatanna, attempting to connect, but there was no response from her. Additionally no response from Doctor Fate, either.
Minutes later in Elsewhere, he writes upon paper with a pen. ‘The Justice League is a council of God-like powers wielded by mere children. In my journey, I’ve learned that they are not as…”We the people” see them; they are not Gods. They are not heroes, they are glorified superstars of today, people love them; Write books, create games, trivia, and point and watch from afar. Somewhere between a petting zoo animal and a celebrity. I hope that with my journey the world will see the Justice League for what they really are and that they will understand that I am their ally. I want it noted here in my journal that I am happy with this decision and my direction. My family is with me and that is all I need. But I can’t go on knowing that all of you are at the mercy of the Justice League. They do not know suffering like us. They don’t know what pain truly is. I have seen GODS with more feelings of emotion than these self-righteous individuals.’ He placed the pen down and turned, allowing a black cape to flow behind him as he walked towards the chair. “Selina Kyle…I have a hunger for knowledge that you will provide me. Lets begin.” The screams echoed through the cavern as within sapphire corridors beams of white and skyflare flash through glacial tunnels.
Black Canary: she listened as Raven contributed and they talked about magic items. Canary even described and talked about the red gem she saw that dream guy, doctor destiny, carry. "It is difficult when you have to figure out what is missing... it's like finding finding a needle in a haystack made of needles. Thanks for trying." she smiled and gave raven a little squeeze of her shoulder. "and to be honest I'm glad you don't sense anything yet. We don't need trouble starting yet." she watched Raven sit on the couch and think. "Who? well Batman and I have been looking into this matter, after the league found out about Argus having some trouble keeping track of their items." she sighs a little. "Batman knew who stole the item was, Shadow Theif, apparently a master thief." she got up and started to do some stretches and stances, she was feeling a bit restless and was trying to work it out of her system as she waited for Barb to do her 'magic'.
Raven: The hand to her shoulder was something Raven didn’t push or away or unwelcome. She stared up at Dinah as she spoke. However, when she mentioned Batman, her eyes suddenly brightened up in a bit of amazement. It was gone as fast as it had come though, she had regained her composure, that was for sure. As the new information was registering in her head, she gave a small nod, thinking about it. Raven’s purple eyes wandered over to Black Canary and at how she stretched her joints. She wondered if she would do the same, but instead, just brought her feet together as her legs were opened in a diamond shape. “…Batman, huh?” Raven’s voice kept its monotone and cold hard appearance, but the question itself gave Black Canary the hint that the Titan was a bit interested in the Dark Knight.
Black Canary: Dinah looked over raven closely as she mentioned batman, did she see a little extra attention there? "Yeah, Batman. He's a good buddy of mine. We have solved some good cases together. As well as beat up some good thugs. You have met him, right?" she grinned as she went through some of her fighting practice routine with an imaginary opponent. then she heard a voice. "Hey, Canary I found something. And stop your practice. I can't afford to lose more lamps." Canary rolls her eyes and goes over to Barbara who had several reports open on her screen, most of them had mentions of security clearances, obviously she had been getting into some classified ARGUS files. "Looks like our friends figured out what went missing, a couple of hours ago. It was the Orb of Ra." Dinah looks at her friend. "Ra... as in the Egyptian Sun God?" Oracle shrugged her shoulders. "Yes, it would be that one. You don't think he took his orb back do you?' she smirked. Dinah gave her a look. "No... but Wonder woman knows a bunch of gods. so nothing surprises me anymore." she turns to raven. "Do you know anything about this orb?" (d)
Story By: Batman
Plot: To be announced...
Gotham City, a few years ago…The area was lit on fire, a building would explode as a swarm of Parademons flew from its walls while its structure collapsed sending debris and waves of smoke in various directions. Men, women, and children screamed and ran as large hulking beasts easily flailed them like they were balloons attached to a string. A group of people would take shelter behind a car as five parademons landed to surround them. It was in a moment that a flash of electricity sparked, the sound of time began to change, it fell into a void of disruption when all that was seen was a scarlet blurr that swiftly smashed into all five parademons and immediately dropped them off into a pile of unconsciousness. The scarlet masked man pointed towards the building on the corner. “Go! Get shelter!” They complied and ran, it was now that more of the hulking monsters appeared, sound changed once again but it forced the group of people to drop to their knees and clutch their ears as a scream forced the parademons to crash into a wall as their skin crackled and broke. A dark haired point sighed and waved them on, she would protect them. <C>
They continued their race as the family moved they took shelter and immediately a young man separated from the group, racing to the highest point of the building he stared out to see them, it was now his father came behind him. “What are you doing?” “Look, Dad…It’s amazing.” Flares of emerald energy, a hurricane of scarlet, a blur of blue and red, a whip made of gold and than a large portal opened revealing a…Titan? The fight raged on for minutes and the city sustained great damage. It was here the boy spoke. “What are they Dad?” a blast of energy shot into space taking the titan with them. “I don’t know son…All I do know…is that they are God’s among men.”……………………Present day, Coast City. A News station reported “A crippling case of the flu has been reported in the city….” Metropolis City, the words of a reporter at the Daily Planet left the man’s lips as he was talking to his co-worker. “An outbreak of the flu virus has killed 6 children in various parts of the city. We gotta get that doctor in for an interview for a piece on that story!“ “Did you hear about Olsen? He called in sick today, said he could barely get out of bed.” Gotham City, five men surrounded a group of homeless people. A leading individual grabbed the closest homeless man and placed a syringe into his arm. “We’re not asking you to help us, we’re telling you to…” The contents finished and the group of thugs smiled. “…to spread the word.” Shoving the homeless man the groups both parted ways.” <c>
On board the Justice League Watchtower Batman sitting behind the computer running a simulation of a disease spread control, a picture of Kirk Langstrom sat upon the side of the computer screen. Stroking his chin as the detective’s mind passed the time by preemptively looking to stop scenarios from happening. His black cape sprawled open about his seat and the polished floor plates made of metal beneath him.
Black Canary: The dark haired florist was trimming flowers, but hardly noticed them, cutting them perfectly, her attention on the news reports flipping across the television. She frowned not liking the report about the flu outbreaks, it hitting a little too close to home to some potential outbreaks she was forced to prevent. She trimmed the blossom off a carnation and cursed quietly to herself. She sighed, called her assistant angie to take over and slipped toward teh breakroom, taking a turn to slip into her secret backroom. she picked up an ear piece. "Hey Batman, looking into the flu outbreaks? I have spoken with my doctor friend at Gotham General and he is going to give me his report tonight."
Superman: Out of all the epidemics that Superman had faced, either alone in Metropolis or together with the League, a Flu Outbreak certainly was not one of them. The phrase alone was so mundane that no one would think that Superheroes would be involved, after all the Flu was as common as a cold and something humans had to deal with every year. Yet this was no mere common infection. One of many placed on the story, Clark Kent was out on the field. On his visit to one of many hospitals, of course at the top of that list was United General; one of the largest hospitals within the city. Clark stepped out of the third floor elevator with a cell phone in his hand, a wireless ear piece on the side of his head. “Yes, chief. I’m aware. I tried checking up on Jimmy but there was no answer.” Clark answered about his best friend and briefly former roommate. Ending the call with Perry White, Clark stepped out of the elevator. With his press pass clipped on the inseam of his coat, Clark passed the orderlies and made his way towards the labs. <c>
Superman: In the lab there was one lone doctor with several assistants running back and forth. Beside the computer a stack of print outs laid; results of various tests. “How fast is the outbreak spreading, Doctor?” Clark asked, of course now this situation had become a little personal for him. Hoping that the disease had not began to spread yet, worried that the infection and Jimmy’s sudden illness might be connected. “Unfortunately, we can’t calculate that at this time.” Clark knew a brush off when he heard one. Tilting his glasses down, he looked down at the stack of reports on the desk and looked through the hard leather-covered binder that lay on the top. Excusing himself, Clark moved outside the lab. <e>
Hal Jordan: Hal Jordan wasn't a scientist. He wasn't a doctor and, really, he knew only that which could keep people alive in the field until they got proper treatment that the body couldn't fight on its own. Solving diseases wasn't something he was in his area of expertise or operation when he had an entire space sector and a few billion lifeforms to worry about. What he DID have to worry about was the giant tentacled monster that he was fighting back to the sea with Diana off the coast of what was former Greek city-state of Sparta. "Why?!" he darted under a lashing strike, "Trying!" his right fist raised up and a bright beam of energy shot out, the end morphing into a large hand and griping another slimy apendage, "To!" using it to slap away another, "Keep!" the construct faded as Hal's aura glowed brightly around his body, the soft, singing sound of it calling out as he barreled forward, forming a Romana battering ram around his body and slamming into the side of the Kraken's head, "Keep!" flying backwards, he looked for another opening, "This thing!" a sudden movement caught his eye and, glancing to the left, he saw a multitude of the tentacles coming at him and he quickly formed a buble around his body, shielding himself from the attack, "Aliiiiiive"!" as it launched him backwards.
Batman tapped the keyboard flipping to another scenario of a green planet Earth, a picture of Gorilla Grodd sat alongside the screen now when Dinah’s message came to Batman. “Flu outbreak? That’s not really our kind of thing, Canary. We’re not doctors…I can have Dr. Midnite look into it, if you insist…” It was now Batman’s attention diverted as a news report popped up on television and the watchtower computer. “Breaking news, a Government building has been attacked by an unknown party; witnesses claim it was a shadowy creature.” Batman then spoke. “Are you still watching the news? Something that *is* up our alley happened in Washington. A break in at a Government facility.” It was something that the Justice League wouldn’t have been involved with unless it was absolutely out of hand, but from the video footage Batman could see Colonel Steve Trevor scraped and bruised while carrying an assault rifle. “Colonel Trevor is there…It must’ve been an ARGUS facility that was hit.” Tapping a few buttons Batman was capable of pin-pointing everyone in the League with their communicators. “Lantern and Wonder Woman are out on the ocean, Vixen is in Europe, Superman is in Metropolis, Flash is in Starling city.”
Black Canary: The woman pulled off her wig, letting her blonde hair free for a moment, relaxing a moment in her backroom. "No. I suppose it isn't your thing... It's just, after that incident with weaponized diseases... I just like to double check things. I can't help but see patterns..." She turned on the tv as Bruce talked about it. "I am now, what..." she frowned hearing about the shadowy creature. "Okay, I'll go tell my assistant I need to make some 'deliveries' and then suit up, want to give me a lift?" she smirked teasing.
Superman: Around the corner the door to the Record’s Room was cracked open, only flickers of light lit up the room. Fortunately the room was tucked in around the corner and away from the main hallway. Holding up his phone, the LCD display switched to a Justice League interface showing the positions of each of the active league members. Switching to a broadcast of the situation, Clark listened closely for a few seconds. A shadow creature was not very specific, was it alien or domestic, a being of science or magic? He questioned in his mind. Placing a hand on the center of his ear piece, Clark connected to the watch tower. “A.R.G.U.S., am I needed?” An unusual thing for Superman to say, normally he would have flown halfway there before he told everyone else he was on his way. Though he had no solid leads, Clark was determined to crack this case.
“I can, let me know when you’re ready.” Batman spoke to Dinah, when Superman’s voice came through. “I don’t know yet. Canary and I are about to investigate if you want to go with us.” While waiting for an answer Batman stood up to begin walking towards the teleporter room where he began typing into the computer to lock onto Canary’s signal and where he would relocate her. He set his own destination and spoke to Superman. “We’ll see you when we get down there.” Batman would then wait for Black Canary’s signal to teleport her onto the scene. They would appear outside the facility between two military trucks. Four ARGUS soldiers spotted them immediately and raised their weapons Batman and Black Canary. “Freeze! Don’t move! Hands where we can see them!” Batman’s expression wasn’t friendly as he held his hands out to comply. “We’re here to help…Where’s Colonel Trevor?”
Black Canary: she used the rear phone to get ahold of Angie. Then she turned into the black canary. She thought about that Colonel she saw all scraped and bruised running into the fight. She hoped he was okay, but she was also hoping this shadow thing was slenderman or something. She was itching for a fight. She sent Batman her signal. and the next thing she knew was at the scene, she was ready to charge into it when she saw the ARGUS soldiers. she smirked at them, she could probably disarm at least two before they knew what hit them, he put her hands up anyhow, her feet in a defensive stance. "Hey boys, lookin for some help? Just what are we facing here." she grinned.
The soldiers didn’t seem amused by Black Canary’s words and promptly five more soldiers came from behind them. Batman would growl at them. “We’re not the suspect; we’re wearing black, not shadowy.” It was now that Colonel Trevor showed up and waved the soldiers. “Stand down, everyone stand down. Geez, do you guys want Wonder Woman or Superman to clobber you….Batman, Black Canary. What are you doing here?” Batman’s hands slipped underneath his cape to conceal them. “We’re here to help. What happened?” Trevor bit down on his jaw and shook his head. “Someone -- some *thing* broke into and then out of this facility. As much as I trust you guys to let you in…” Batman lowered his head. “We’re not allowed. Tell your superior that time is of the essence, Colonel. The longer we wait, the colder the trail is going to get.”
Black Canary: She rolled her eyes at the men behind her, glad they hadn't gotten too close to her, she would have hated taking someone down for just doiing their job. She smiled as Trevor appeared, glad he was reasonable and that he trusted them. Dinah let out a little huff of air as she found out he wasn't going to let them help. "If someone went through all the effort to break into such a secure location, I'm sure what they were after was valuable and is just the tip of the iceberg. Usually gaining a small piece to help with their bigger goals. If you need us to help you contain something that wasn't supposed to get out, that's fine. If you want to take care of it, that's fine too. But you know we have resources to get to the bottom of this thing, before it gets out of control." she offered.
Trevor narrowed his eyes at Batman and Black Canary. “I’m sorry, but just because you save the world a few times, doesn’t mean the Government lost its touch in being able to do its job.” The Dark Knight clutched his fists and then calmed himself. “Your investigators aren’t on the scene yet, Trevor. Take her offer, Steve.” Batman’s expression was sober and judgmental forcing Steve to look between the two of them before he frowned and then nodded. “Alright. Follow me. I’m going to get shit for this, but I dealt with this thing…It was a man, at least at first he was a man. Then he transformed into some kind of demonic spawn.” Trevor led the heroes to the building where there was a large hole in the side of it covered by a black tarp. The size was large enough to fit a tractor Trailer through it. Debris and metal and plaster filled the floor of the building that was once relatively cleaned and polished. They would arrive inside a storage room where there were boxes and containers, some were broken while others were perfectly fine. There were boot prints and bullet shell casings all over the floor mixed with blood.
Black Canary: Dinah shrugged as Trevor said 'no', hey the offered. Then smiled and nodded and poilitely followed the Colonel into the building. She was glad he was putting his neck out for them, he was a good man. But she felt a little bad that it could end badly for him. "Well, if it makes it easier you could say we forced you. " she teased. As they walked along she looked at all the debris, noting the size of that hole. and hoping they weren't actually dealing with a demon. She looked about at the storage room, it reminding her a little of that warehouse from Indiana Jones with with where they put the Arc of the Covenent. She causally looked at some of the boxes to get a feel for the room and then traced a pattern about the room, noting the bullets and the blood. "So this creature... it didn't have a gun did it. It just changed and attacked like a wild animal?" she offered, bending to look at a box to note some bullet holes, looking over her shoudler gadging the tradjectory.
Steve stood to the side of the room and let his hands rest upon his gun that hung from his vest. “As far as we could tell…it was human and then it shape-shifted into a large beast. The blood you see is our people.” Batman approached a container and narrowed his eyes. “What’s in the containers?” Steve shook his head dismissively. “Nothing too important, just old relics.” Batman picked up a Helm of Doctor Fate and held it towards Trevor. “Nothing important? It’s a fake…It *is* made of Gold, though.” Batman placed the helmet down as Steve shrugged. “I didn’t put the inventory in here, my people were instructed to guard it and we did that. How the hell are we supposed to stop a shadow?” Batman glanced at Black Canary and mumbled. “-and it’s not like the Government to keep secrets.” Batman looked around and took note of gems, jewelry, and even a sword that was lying on the ground. Dinah would spot an obsidian colored staff with a red crystal in the center. The objects were rather unique and exquisite, but they were left behind in favor of something?
Black Canary: Dinah's eyes widened as she saw the helm come up and glanced as batman looked through the gems and jewelry. She looked carefully at the opened and broken crates, eyeing the staff for too long of a moment. "Even if some of these items are fakes, some of them might not be... regardless, our theif could easily have taken anything they wanted and chose just one item. They could have been rich with some of these items, or maybe powerful... Our creature was on a mission, look at the systemetic way they opened the crates. Obviously they wanted just this." she pointed at the smashed and empty box. "Do you know what it took yet?" she squared her shoulders a little, feeling her jaw clench. Their hunch was right, it was a piece of a much larger plan. Something hinging on this item, possibly.
Steve Trevor looked between the two and bit his tongue. “I don’t know what they took. Okay, clearly someone thinks this room has magical artifacts.” Batman’s eyes lit up before he sharply spoke. “Magical Artifacts…And you didn’t tell us?” Steve crossed his arms and leered at Batman. “Batman, I’m not in a mood for measuring who has the bigger stick here. You know the Government isn’t going to just hand over this kind of information to a potential threat. Regardless, this place isn’t meant to be known about. No one should know it even exists.” Batman was angry and wanted to retaliate with extreme aggression, he held back. “This kind of material can be tracked by beings FAR more powerful than the Justice League. By holding them all in one location you’ve opened your own firearms dealer with the price tag of free. These things were hidden for a reason, Trevor. Buried and lost in ancient tombs never to be found.” <c>
Steve shook his head. “Look, if you don’t have anything further to contribute, you have to leave now. Or else I’m going to have congress and every other politician looking to breathe down my neck.” Batman’s lips sealed together as his eyes narrowed. He pulled his cape to wrap around himself and he walked out of the room, making his way back to the teleporting point.
Elsewhere, 1 day ago…Calcium and cartilage crackled and fractured as a black hand was crushed by the chilling touch of a scaly hand that reeked of despair and anguish. Sharp teeth roared to life as the large gorilla spat blood mixed with his spit. A deep voice, scratchy and hissing spoke with the tongue of a demon. “…Tell me about The Flash and Green Lantern, I want to know *everything*…” Minutes later…”GAAAH-grgrl…” Edward Nigma choked and gagged upon his own spit as a scaly hand crushed his. “Tell me everything about Batman and Black Canary…” ‘It would be days later you would find them…kept from knowing where they were taken to. Such pain and anguish they felt. I waited patiently for this day to come. For the Justice League to be revealed for the falsehood that it is. I don’t let them live because I am merciful, I am merciful. I let them live because eventually your fate will be theirs. And we will all become one. To the people of Earth, mortals, fiends, extraterrestrials, monsters, elementals, God’s…You will be spared your pain and you will find happiness within the darkness, join me willingly or fight me.’ The pen wrote across a lined piece of notebook paper.
Black Canary: Black Canary looked over the broken box with the missing item, noting the numbers on it, sizing them up with other numbers on other boxes. making mental notes on all the items she saw. She sighed softly as batman argued with Trevor. He had done a big favor just letting them know about this. she smirked and patted Steve's shoulder as she passed him. "If you do figure things out let me know. and see if you can find some magic shielding stuff. You would hate for a wicked witch to go shopping here." she smirked and joined batman to the teleport point, they both were gone in a flash. She turned to Bruce. "Do we still have contact with any magic users? I know Zatana is currently off world or plane. I would like to see if they can weigh in on any magic disturbances. Meanwhile I'm going to write down some notes on the items I saw and see if we can work backwards as to where the government found them." (d)
Raven: Raven was walking down the streets of Gotham City. It was something that she hadn’t done for almost a year. She came back, looking around for a certain place. Purple flowers were in her hands. She was here to visit her mother. Looking up at the sky, she wondered if any superheroes were nearby. This was Batman’s city and she liked the atmosphere in it; even if there was mostly crime most of the time. There were good memories here and there, but something sparked her. As she kept walking, Raven turned lightly, sensing someone close-by. It felt familiar…the aura… staring down the street, she noticed that the aura was from a familiar person: Black Canary. Staring down at the flowers, she lightly dropped them and followed the other’s presence. Raven wondered what Black Canary was doing here and wanted to question her; perhaps spar a little. Maybe she would know where Batman was; Raven did want to have a decent conversation with him. She wanted to say a lot of things to him and maybe today would be her chance.
Batman walked along the Watchtower deck with his head tipped and his hands gently holding his cape between his gloved fingers to keep himself from tripping. “I’ll reach out and contact Zatanna…If I can’t get anything from her I’ll try to locate Doctor Fate, I haven’t seen him since that circus freak show in Gotham. He was strangely absent during Doctor Destiny’s takeover. Something might be going on and he’s not telling us.” Batman had built some trust in Doctor Fate, perhaps confidence would best describe it, but for the mystic to suddenly cut contact, it was strange and didn’t go unnoticed by the master detective. He looked at Black Canary as she explained her course of action, it was better than sitting around and doing nothing. “Alright…If you hit any dead ends, Oracle will be on standby. I’ll remain here and wait for Superman to catch up…I’ll get him up to speed with this. If I know Clark, he won’t be too happy about this whole ARGUS situation.” As Batman walked towards the observation glass Batman’s blue eyes stared down at Earth, a hardened stare came from his eyes as he looked down on his planet. “Shadow Thief. He stole the object. The ultimate thief, he ‘s just as skilled as Catwoman or myself.” Batman looked over his shoulder at Black Canary. “I’ll see about finding him.”
Black Canary: Canary nodded, her blonde hair swishing a little, she smirked as she heard Batman plan. It was certainly something, she was glad to see him collective again, more like his old self. She tilted her head as he mentioined contacting Zatanna, did he know her personally? how very curious. And Doctor Fate. He could help, she remembered when he helped halt Circe and got that 'anchor', as he called it, for Gotham from her. She gave a little smile as he talked about her ideas, she was glad that he also enjoyed investigating, he was great to bounce ideas off of. "Yeah, I have her number. We will see what we can dig up, perhaps, if we know where they got the items, we can trace it out to who else knows about these enchanted things." she gave a soft somber sigh, hearing about clark, he wouldn't like that Argus was keeping items like that all together. For all she knew they had the Ark of the Covenant in there somewhere. Her eyebrows lifted as Batman mentioned the theif, he knew him. She smirked as he mentioned good thieves. "Well happy hunting. You know how to get ahold of me if you need help." she went to the teleporter and changed the coordinates for her drop off point, she wanted to visit Oracle, and knew how she didn't like guests to just drop in. And how she didn't like anyone else to know where she was. Ending up in a back alley she started to walk towards the clock tower. She heard steps coming toward her, but kept walking, waiting for them to get close. She then spun around with a punch to knock them off their feet, when she gasped, it was raven! her fist stopped millimeters from her face. she gave a sheepish smile. "Hey Raven." she lowered her fist. "Sorry about that. You should know better than to rush up on a crime fighter." she teased. "What brings you to Gotham? I'm on a little errand, you can come with me. You might be able to help out." she smiled, guiding the younger heroine. (d)
Raven: As Raven got closer, she started being cautious. Her eyes didn’t widen when she saw the punch coming toward her and stop millimeters against her face. She was about to attack when her senses told her not to. “…” Staring at her, she kept her face calm and unmoving. She didn’t even flinch at the movement, staring at her. “…Black Canary.” Raven finally said, looking at her. However, when she said she had an errand, it got the spell caster curious. “…Alright.” She walked side by side next to Black Canary, thinking about the first question she asked. “…I’m here because I’m here to visit my mother. She’s still here in Gotham.” She did not say anything else, wondering what the “little errand” was. “Everything alright with you? What’s the errand that has your attention? If I can help, then I will.” She kept her gaze at the front, almost as if her eyes were searching for her mother. “I’m also wondering if I can meet the Dark Knight here, I want to speak to him about a few issues.”
Black Canary: Canary had to give Raven some credit, she didn't even flinch at the nearly missed punch. She had good reactions. She walked with spell caster who was just a smidge taller than her. Somedays she felt like the shortest in the Justice League. She smiled as Raven spoke about her mother, she never heard her talk about her before. She didn't comment just nod as Raven brought up other issues. "I'm fine, it's just there was a large amount of magical items being kept away from the public, by private groups..." she tried to keep things as politic as they were in public. she noted how Raven looked about as if expecting to see someone. "And one of these items is missing. I'm on my way to a friend to see if she can trace other items with me to get some new leads. Say, and please forgive my ignorance with magic, but is it possible for you to detect if some new or powerful magic item is being used?" they went down a couple of alleys and stopped at a dead end, a plain wall with some graffiti on it. (d)
Raven: As Black Canary spoke, Raven’s eyes slightly shifted here and there. She kept looking for her mother, wondering if she would be wandering the streets this early. However, after a few seconds, she gave up. She knew that she would sense her mother if she was close and that would be the one to give her the dead giveaway instead of using her eyes. Looking at Black Canary as she asked the question, she thought about it for a while. “…It depends. If it’s powerful magic that gives off enough energy, then yes, I would be able to sense it. However, if it’s a small quantity of magic, then it would be harder to sense, but I would still be able to sense it. It would depend on how close I am to the object or person.” She then turned her attention away from Black Canary to look at the wall with graffiti on it. “…We’re here, aren’t we?” Her monotone voice was present as she kept staring at the wall. She wondered what Black Canary would do, knowing that everyone had their secrets and everything. “…If this is about a magic item being stolen, perhaps I can help. I’ve read a bit of them and maybe I can tell you what it does.”
Black Canary: She smirked as Raven stared at the wall, it looked like just another graffiti scrawled wall in Gotham. "yes, we're here." She lifted her booted foot and tapped a brick. There was a grinding and the wall opened up, she led Raven inside to the dimly lit interior of the old clock tower, the wall closed behind them. Above could be heard the clicking and grinding of clockwork, they were surrounded by the weights and pulleys that helped the clock run. She nodded listening to Raven as she described about her magic sensiiing abilities. And gave a little laugh as she mentioned that she could help tell her about magic items. "Heh, you got to the heart of the matter. We'll make a detective of you yet." she grabbed one of the ropes tied to the weights and handed it to Raven. "Hang on to this." she grinned, wrapping the rope about her hand. "The problem is, we don't know which item was stolen yet. But we know what was about it." she grabbed a different rope and gave a tug, causing a clanking above her as she reset one of the weight mechanisims. "Hold on tight!" then the rope lifted up at rapid speed pulling the two women up toward the gears. "Okay, jump when I say so." grinned canary loving this too much. "Now." She jumped and landed on a platform, waiting for Raven to join her. (d)
Raven: Raven looked at the brick that was pressed, her memory memorizing the certain brick. As she took a few steps inside, her purple eyes looked around with mystery. She then stared as the clock was above them. The sounding of gears and other sounds that the old clock tower gave brought Raven memories of her and her mother. She looked over at Black Canary, wondering who she meant by “we” in the sentence. Staring at the rope that was given to her, she lightly grabbed it. However, when the other mention to hold on tightly onto it, she knew what was going to happen. Raven gripped it tightly with not only one hand, but both. As her body was quickly pulled up with speed, she waited for the signal. Her hands loosened as her body landed next to Black Canary’s, her face still wearing the same boring expression. However, her adrenalin was pumping through her veins now, but she would not show that to the other. “…Who do you mean by ‘we,’ Black Canary? Do you mean the person we’re going to meet or are others involved in this?” Raven was smart and caught on quickly. She kept staring at the female as she led the way, following her every move. She couldn’t help but admire the mechanisms they took for nobody could follow. “…What are you dragging me into, exactly?” Her sarcasm was covering her voice.
Black Canary: She smiled as Raven started to follow her down the platform, they could have taken the hidden elevator, but where was the fun in that? Her hips swished a little as she walked. she smirked as Raven asked about 'we'. "What kind of mentor would I be, if I didn't let you figure out that on your own?" she teased, avoiding the question. Watching as Raven stared at her and the clock gears moving about them. she laughed at Raven's sarcasm. "You sound just like Huntress when you say that." She led her toward the clock face where a massive computer was set up and the back of a woman in wheel chair could be seen. "Hey Canary," said the woman not turning around. "I see you brought a titan with you, are you going to show all the heroes where I am? Just because my inner sanctum isn't a bat infested cave..." she grumbled and teased at the same time. Dinah dropped a list on the woman's keyboard. "Argus has a bunch of 'magic' items, some are fakes, one is missing, and I have the number of the crate. Can you help me find out where some of them came from and what could be missing? Meanwhile my magic using friend can help me identify some of the known ones off the list. Canary whispered to Raven. "This is Oracle, she is good at hacking computers and getting data." The woman had a smirk in her voice. "I'm not good. I'm amazing. And this will cost you canary. You owe me a milk shake." dinah smirked she got let off easy. "... and a mission." she the blondes face grimmaced and turned into a smile. "I was wondering when you would say that. I think I owe you 12 missions." the woman smirked as her fingers danced over her keyboard and her screens flashed. "14 and a half."
Raven: Footstep after footstep was heard as Raven kept following Black Canary. A small frown appeared on her lips as she mentioned her to Huntress. Raven had met her before and she had a brief talk with her, but that was it. There was not much interaction after that. Noticing that there was a woman in front of them, Raven stayed quiet, watching Black Canary and her interact. Once she got that the name was Oracle, Raven stopped, looking at the woman in front of them. “…Oracle.” She repeated, looking over at Black Canary, then turned her attention back at her. “I know who she is. It’s an honor to meet you, Oracle.” As she stared at them talking, she looked over at Black Canary, wondering what type of relationship they had and how they met. “…” Staring at how her fingers moved, she looked up at the monitor. She had a feeling that this would turn more serious than Raven would think and that it would probably last more than a day; she would have to meet her mother another time, it seemed. “…Black Canary, are you usually this unfaithful?” Raven asked, her sarcasm right on her voice. “What a shame. Here I thought you had a bit of honor.” She teased, averting her eyes from Oracle to Black Canary. A very, very small smirk was barely visible on her lips.
Black Canary: Did... did raven just tease her? she smirked and rolled her eyes. "Oh no. I'm not letting you tease me too. It's not that I don't hold up my end of the baragin. It's just that her little missions take weeks and months and she hasn't cashed them all in yet." she gave Oracle a poke in the side and was batted by a suprsingly fast hand. "Heh, glad to see you still got your reaction time." she teased her. the woman looked at canary over her glasses, like librarians do when they are annoyed with you. "You keep pestering me and I will show you reaction time blondie. Now go chat with your friend and let me do your own work." she said with a smile teasing. Dinah led Raven to what looked to be a nice little apartment hidden up in the clock tower. Canary took a piece of paper and started to draw diagarams of the items she saw. One was a staff with a red gem in it. she explained each one to her. some raven would know, others she wouldn't. (d)
Raven: Raven stayed quiet as Black Canary mentioned the items and explained each one of them. She did know a few: Their history, origin, what they did, and some information that even Black Canary didn’t know herself. As Black Canary kept talking, she used a spell in her mind to try to locate anything odd in Gotham City; so far, there was nothing. Her search came up clean by the time Dinah was finished with her speech. Staring at the items, Raven’s head slowly started turning gears. She looked for any patterns, but couldn’t find any. “…This is difficult. I wonder which item it is. So far, I don’t have a clue. I just did a sweep of the city; it’s not here. I even did a scan for a weak signal; I got nothing in return.” Raven stared at the list, trying to solve the puzzle in her head. What was missing? She frowned slightly, but it was barely visible. Lately, she had been hiding her emotions and withdrawing from her friends more and more. Part of her was still thinking about the other incident she had with Circe. She couldn’t get the Goddess off her mind and part of her knew that it was her own evil side fighting with the good that was in her. “…Nothing is coming up in my mind. I don’t have a list to check it with either. I only know the items that are in my head and nothing more.” Raven stared at Black Canary before taking a seat on the couch that was before them. “…I would like to know who’s involved, if you don’t mind.” She wasn’t teasing anymore; she was back to her serious self. Raven’s curiosity was getting the better of her.
Batman sat upon the watchtower, standing before the computer itself to monitor and track anomalies across the world for any one in a billion chance of something to stand out as an indicator, but the vastness was too much for the detective to isolate any single instance. Tracking a thief that left no trail to follow was impossible. Batman’s attention fell upon Gotham news “Police say that a few strange men approached the homeless bunch of men and stabbed them with a needle injecting them with some kind of disease. Authorities and Disease control are investigating the issue but, so far there are no leads. The homeless people involved are all bed sick at Manchester Hospital where they are fighting a losing battle. Doctors describe the diseases as weakness in the joints, trouble breathing, and sudden pain in your nerves. If you are displaying symptoms call for help immediately.” Batman’s chin stiffened and pushed itself forward, it was a strange case that he would’ve taken on, but he was occupied with this case regarding Shadow Thief. He glanced at his communication sent out to Zatanna, attempting to connect, but there was no response from her. Additionally no response from Doctor Fate, either.
Minutes later in Elsewhere, he writes upon paper with a pen. ‘The Justice League is a council of God-like powers wielded by mere children. In my journey, I’ve learned that they are not as…”We the people” see them; they are not Gods. They are not heroes, they are glorified superstars of today, people love them; Write books, create games, trivia, and point and watch from afar. Somewhere between a petting zoo animal and a celebrity. I hope that with my journey the world will see the Justice League for what they really are and that they will understand that I am their ally. I want it noted here in my journal that I am happy with this decision and my direction. My family is with me and that is all I need. But I can’t go on knowing that all of you are at the mercy of the Justice League. They do not know suffering like us. They don’t know what pain truly is. I have seen GODS with more feelings of emotion than these self-righteous individuals.’ He placed the pen down and turned, allowing a black cape to flow behind him as he walked towards the chair. “Selina Kyle…I have a hunger for knowledge that you will provide me. Lets begin.” The screams echoed through the cavern as within sapphire corridors beams of white and skyflare flash through glacial tunnels.
Black Canary: she listened as Raven contributed and they talked about magic items. Canary even described and talked about the red gem she saw that dream guy, doctor destiny, carry. "It is difficult when you have to figure out what is missing... it's like finding finding a needle in a haystack made of needles. Thanks for trying." she smiled and gave raven a little squeeze of her shoulder. "and to be honest I'm glad you don't sense anything yet. We don't need trouble starting yet." she watched Raven sit on the couch and think. "Who? well Batman and I have been looking into this matter, after the league found out about Argus having some trouble keeping track of their items." she sighs a little. "Batman knew who stole the item was, Shadow Theif, apparently a master thief." she got up and started to do some stretches and stances, she was feeling a bit restless and was trying to work it out of her system as she waited for Barb to do her 'magic'.
Raven: The hand to her shoulder was something Raven didn’t push or away or unwelcome. She stared up at Dinah as she spoke. However, when she mentioned Batman, her eyes suddenly brightened up in a bit of amazement. It was gone as fast as it had come though, she had regained her composure, that was for sure. As the new information was registering in her head, she gave a small nod, thinking about it. Raven’s purple eyes wandered over to Black Canary and at how she stretched her joints. She wondered if she would do the same, but instead, just brought her feet together as her legs were opened in a diamond shape. “…Batman, huh?” Raven’s voice kept its monotone and cold hard appearance, but the question itself gave Black Canary the hint that the Titan was a bit interested in the Dark Knight.
Black Canary: Dinah looked over raven closely as she mentioned batman, did she see a little extra attention there? "Yeah, Batman. He's a good buddy of mine. We have solved some good cases together. As well as beat up some good thugs. You have met him, right?" she grinned as she went through some of her fighting practice routine with an imaginary opponent. then she heard a voice. "Hey, Canary I found something. And stop your practice. I can't afford to lose more lamps." Canary rolls her eyes and goes over to Barbara who had several reports open on her screen, most of them had mentions of security clearances, obviously she had been getting into some classified ARGUS files. "Looks like our friends figured out what went missing, a couple of hours ago. It was the Orb of Ra." Dinah looks at her friend. "Ra... as in the Egyptian Sun God?" Oracle shrugged her shoulders. "Yes, it would be that one. You don't think he took his orb back do you?' she smirked. Dinah gave her a look. "No... but Wonder woman knows a bunch of gods. so nothing surprises me anymore." she turns to raven. "Do you know anything about this orb?" (d)