Risk It All: Dangerous Game (ch. 24) (Patreon)

"Not to try and have the mission taken away from us, but why are we the ones transporting this to Star Labs?" I asked about twelve hours later, after getting my butt handed to me by Wonder Woman. We were in the briefing room, all lined up and in costume -- the Team on one side, while Batman and Red Tornado stood on the other, a hologram in between them displaying the mission specs.

I got a few dirty looks from a few of my teammates, but it was a genuine question, "This thing fought the League to a standstill for hours on end. I'm betting there will be a lot of people that want their hands on it. It seems like the kind of job you want the varsity team on," I continued.

Batman nodded, "There will be numerous interested parties, and this approach will not only tell us who they are, but it will identify any information leaks in Star Labs." That made sense. They were baiting the waters to see who bit. But, that didn't exactly address my concern. That was a good plan and all, but we were using live bait. He seemed to pick up that that didn't reassure me because he continued a second later, "Additionally, the Android has been fully disabled with several scientific and magical fail-safes to prevent activation."

That was more reassuring, "In that case, do you want Gluttony to eat it?" I asked, thinking that it would be a good safety measure. However, Red Tornado disagreed.

"We suspect that the creator will attempt to reclaim their Android. By allowing them to collect the defective pieces, they will lead you straight to them for apprehension," Red Tornado said, his voice having a synthetic twang to it. Almost like an accent. I nodded slowly, seeing the thread of logic there. It made sense.

It was a multifaceted plan. The Justice League was trying to hit as many birds as they could with a single stone. Test Star Labs’ trustworthiness, plug the leaks that were found, find who got hold of the leaked info and find the guy who built the machine that could go toe to toe with the Justice League for any amount of time. Not to mention bagging any bad guys that came our way.

And there was a safety net in case they succeeded, in that the Android was just a hunk of scrap.

Nice.

"If the worst-case scenario happens and the fail-safes fail, use your pocket dimension. It has a high chance of making you the target of whoever comes for the machine, but Wonder Woman has assured us that you're up to the task," Batman stated, and I tried not to shift happily at the praise. "If that's all, then get into position. Transportation will be provided at the designated location."

I nodded, sparing a glance at Kaldur. My second in command met my gaze, an unspoken message passing between us. This sounded like a clusterfuck waiting to happen, so we needed to prepare for the worst. I reached out and pet Gluttony on the head, knowing that he was going to be needed in all likelihood.

My gaze slid to Zatanna as I had Gluttony spit my mask out into my waiting hand. Our eyes met for the briefest of seconds before Zatanna looked away, smiling ever so slightly with a faint blush on her cheeks. I hid a smile of my own as I secured my mask, but I also didn't miss the small frown Robin sent my way. What he was frowning about, I really had no clue, but my mind leaped to the worst-case scenario. Which I shoved aside -- we were on a mission. I had more important things to think about.

We used the bioship to head to the designated location where we saw about a dozen heavily armored trucks. I also saw Superman standing guard as people waited for us to arrive. I spared a glance at Conner to see his expression tighten the moment his eyes landed on the Man of Steel. It certainly didn't help things when I noticed that Superman made a point not to look at Conner when we walked out of the bioship.

"Do you have any last-minute questions?" Superman asked me and Kaldur, though I did sense that the question was more directed at me than Kaldur. I couldn't tell if that was a good thing or not. Was he acknowledging my position as team leader, or did he want to make sure the rookie didn't screw this up?

I knew that about half of the Justice League didn't like me. Otherwise, the fake confession wouldn’t have been necessary. What I didn't know was which members of the League didn't like me. And, to be completely honest, I really hoped that Superman out of all of them wasn't one of them. If someone like Green Arrow didn't like me, then… well, I would still care, but not anywhere near as much as I would if Superman couldn't stand me.

"Which trucks are we following?" I asked, and Superman answered by gesturing at the two armored trucks that were no different than the others. So, we had four decoys running interference. And I imagined Superman would be keeping watch over them to ensure that those that attacked the wrong trucks would be taken down.

I took in a deep breath and nodded before turning around to face the team, "We'll split up into two teams. Superboy, Zatanna -- you're with me. Team two will be Aqualad, Robin, Kid Flash. Miss Martian, I need you in the Bioship overhead to give us an eye in the sky. Can you link us up telepathically?" I asked and I did feel a bit bad about the team compositions.

Kaldur needed to be on his own team as second in command, both in case something happened to me and so there would be two clear leaders on each team. I couldn't work with Robin since we just got in each other's way, and Wally didn't like me and would fight me every step of the way, but he was friends with Kaldur. So, that left Conner and Zatanna… but that was also a bad look, wasn't it? Should I maybe change Zatanna out for Wally?

No, then Zatanna and Robin would be on the same team. Maybe trade her out for Robin? Or would that hurt her feelings? I didn't want her thinking I was a hit it and quit it kind of guy, even though I hadn't exactly hit it. This was so much more difficult than I thought it would be. This was exactly the kind of thing I was worried about when it came to dating within the team.

Thankfully, Megan saved me by answering, "I think I can. The Bioship can boost my signal, so to speak, so I should be able to connect with both teams." She said, though there were more 'I think' and 'shoulds' in her response than I felt comfortable with. But it would have to do. I felt a knock at the door to my brain and I quickly went through the various locks to let Megan in.

A moment later, I felt a mental link to the team being established. 'The Android is the top priority. We can let both pieces slip through our hands, but let's assume the fail-safes won't work and not give Morrow the chance to reactivate it.'

'Yeah, yeah,' Wally responded mentally, while Kaldur nodded in agreement. 'Tell us something we don't know.'

'You thought that to the team,' I responded drily, and based on how his eyes widened, he hadn't known that. 'Let's move out.'

I hopped on one of the bikes that were available, and I was faintly surprised to feel Zatanna hop onto it as well. I spared a glance at her to see a coy smile on her face, "I don't know how to drive a motorbike," she pointed out, and that was a very valid reason. Her arms wrapped around my torso, while Connor-

"Then you should hide inside the truck. It's what Aqualad is doing," Conner said, pulling up next to me. Zatanna squeezed me a bit tighter, but…

I swallowed a sigh, "He's right," I unfortunately agreed. I was trying to be a leader right now, not a horny teenager. And based on my history, there wasn't a logic or reason strong enough to beat out horny as a decision philosophy. Zatanna frowned, clearly unhappy but she got off all the same. "Sorry."

Zatanna headed for the truck, "Your loss," she threw over her shoulder, before she opened the door. I agreed completely. But, as she got inside, I had Gluttony slip inside of the truck. Just in case he was needed. The door closed behind her, and I did a final check as the trucks began leaving the plot of land. I saw Superman looking in our general direction. At first, I thought it was because of Zatanna, but I noticed he was looking at Conner's back. But, as soon as I noticed that, he noticed me looking at him.

Superman offered me a nod before he flew into the air. With that, the mission officially began.

We took off, my team following one batch of decoys while the second team followed another batch. Beta team, I guess? The decoys broke off down different roads while my head stayed on a swivel. Megan was on overwatch, but that didn't mean I could be negligent on the ground. Though, I suppose that Conner would know if something was coming long before me.

Speaking of which, 'Getting anything, Conner?' I asked him, taking some of Megan's advice and pushing my thoughts to him rather than broadcasting through the connection.

Conner drove alongside me, not bothering to wear a helmet. Though, he probably had a better excuse than me, since his head was more likely to hurt whatever it bounced off of if he crashed than whatever he hit was to hurt him. The wind pushed my hood down, letting my hair fly free. He spared me a glance as he shook his head.

'Nothing so far,' He answered. 'The engines are too loud and too close. I'm… not that good at filtering out all the white noise, yet.' He admitted, and that was good to know.

'Oh. I wish I could help, but I'm stuck with human senses for now. Could… you ask Superman for help?' I tried and I got a dismissive scoff that I heard with both my ears and my brain. There was anger in it, and beneath that, frustration .

'I've tried going to him for training, he just blew me off. He won't even look at me,' Conner snapped, gripping his handlebars so tightly that they snapped in his hands. Instantly, his bike began to slow down, and I served closed. There was frustration and anger on Conner's face as he ignored the offer to hop onto my bike in favor of launching himself up to land on the truck instead.

Superboy's bike had a mishap. We're not under attack. Yet,' I pushed the thought to Zatanna as Conner landed.

'What kind of mishap?' She questioned, sounding curious.

'The super-strength-related kind,' I answered as I pulled up closer to the armored truck. I glanced over my shoulder to see the bike slow until the front wheel shifted without anyone to hold it steady, leading the bike off-road and into a ditch. 'You okay, Conner?'

'I'm fine,' Conner bit out. He looked to me, his lips thinned before he sharply looked away. 'If Superman won't teach me how to use my powers, then I'll just figure them out myself. I'm not just a defective clone.'

'You aren't. And if Superman won't teach you, then we can ask someone else in the League,' I offered. I really had no clue what was going on between Superman and Conner. Superman was… Superman. I had lost the rose-tinted glasses and a large chunk of the admiration I had with the League, but you couldn't deny that Superman was anything less than great. Both as a hero and as a person. Which is why it was so jarring to hear that he was blowing off Connor. 'You aren't just a clone of Superman, Conner. Maybe try to step out of his shadow and then ask him what his problem is as an equal.'

Conner scowled at me but said nothing. It was the best advice that I could give, but I don't think it was particularly helpful. It was up to Conner what he did with it. Then his head snapped to the side, 'I hear… monkeys?'

'We have movement! You're about to be attacked!' Megan warned a few seconds before our attackers emerged from the cornfield we were driving through. Of all the things I expected to attack us, robotic monkeys were not on that list. They were small, no larger than a foot and a half tall -- they were painted black, which made the neon green highlights stand out that much more.

There were dozens of them. I hopped up onto the seat of my bike after turning on the autopilot, before I reached back to the sword that rested on my back. It was a cheap temporary one that I was using until Wonder Woman delivered the new one she was having made for me. A Chinese broadsword -- about three feet of metal that had a gentle curve to the blade, but where it neared the point, it began to thicken, from the width of two fingers to three. I thought the extra weight would help me with my fighting style.

The monkeys giggled creepily, 'Make it look good.' I told the team before I flash stepped forward. I closed the distance between me and the closet monkey in an instant, planting a foot on it to stop my momentum as I drove my reinforced sword into it. The monkey sparked and before it exploded, I flash stepped to another. As I sailed through the air, I used double jump to change my trajectory, allowing me to slice through a second on my way to my target.

A monkey cackled as it gripped my leg from one of my blind spots as others rushed in to swarm me. More headed to Conner, who I heard shout at the top of his lungs as he started demolishing the robots. But, I quickly noticed that for each one that we destroyed, three more took their place. I pressed my lips into a thin line, lashing out with my blade -- destroying four monkeys in a single swing as I used Tsubame Gaeshi. Then I stabbed the sword into the head of the monkey that held on to my foot.

Kicking off of it's mutilated metal body, I doubled jumped while I flashed stepped, allowing me to land on my bike. Monkeys swarmed the truck, going for its tires. I know I said to make it look good, but at the rate the battle was going, I wasn't sure we would actually be able to stop the monkeys even if we wanted to. I tsked to myself as I flash stepped forward towards the truck, shifting my body as I did so.

In a display of finesse I never would have thought possible before, I used my momentum to run across the side of the truck, my blade smashing through monkeys as I went, their remains dropping to the ground in pieces. A half dozen of them fell before I used double jump to leap up off empty air, grabbing hold of the edge of the truck before I flipped myself onto it. I saw Conner was still being swarmed with monkeys, his hands clawing at them.

However, I also noticed that there were five of them with their tails aimed at the truck, lasers emitting from the ends as they cut a hole to the inside in an attempt to take our half of the Android. I darted over to them, my sword flashing out, taking two of them down with a single swing before I lashed out with a fist, delivering a soul-crushing strike to the monkey my attack put me next to, making it explode around my fist.

It wasn't just that I was stronger, faster, and more agile. My body was tougher too, I noticed, seeing only scratches that dribbled a few drops of blood instead of the mess my hand should have been. I probably should have thought that through better. I wasn't fighting flesh and blood opponents here. Regardless, I was too late to stop the other two monkeys, and was nearly hit in the face by the armored plating on the roof of the truck when they flipped it up. I fell back out of the strike zone, keeping an eye out for Conner-

Who wasn't on the truck, I noticed and I spotted him a second later in the sky, being carried up by a good dozen monkeys. Conner was unceremoniously dropped from a few hundred feet up. I'm pretty sure he could catch up, but I didn't have any time to make sure before I felt a monkey grab hold of my sword, while another tackled me. I punched the one that grabbed hold of me off while I slammed the one gripping my sword into the top of the truck, cutting it in half, my sword digging into the top of the truck.

The monkeys were made on the cheap side I discovered. Kicking the bisected monkey to the side, I saw that their armor was made of sheet metal. The drones were designed to be expendable and mass-produced. 'Zatanna, how are you doing?'

'I'm about to take a fall if that's okay,' Zatanna answered, sounding strained. I'm guessing that fall would be involuntary if it didn't happen now.

'Take it,' I ordered, and not a second later, the monkeys flew up through the hole carrying the top half of the Android. Unknown to them, I saw Gluttony hanging onto it. The demon looked to me as I gave it an order -- to consume the Android if it activated and return to me.

The Android and its retinue of monkeys flew off as Zatanna hopped up to the top of the armored truck, looking a little worse for wear. I spared her a glance to make sure that she was all good, and instead, my attention was drawn to something behind her. A female figure standing in the road, a straight sword in hand. She raised it up to the oncoming truck, and despite the distance, our eyes seemed to meet.

It was a girl around my age. Short black hair with a streak of hot pink through her bangs. She smirked ever so slightly at me, before bringing the sword down.

Every instinct that I had screamed at me to move. I grabbed Zatanna before I flash stepped to the side, and a split second later, an unseen force sliced through the armored truck as if it were made of tissue paper. It made the lasers of the monkeys seem paltry in comparison. I doubled jumped to break my momentum, watching in awe as the two halves of the truck split apart and hit the ground with an ear-piercing shriek of metal being torn apart by friction and inertia . I landed lightly on my feet, seeing one-half of the car flip upwards before spinning uncontrollably and landing in the cornfield. The driver side, thankfully, just skidded to a halt past the figure before landing in a ditch.

"Who’s that?!" Zatanna questioned in alarm as I set her down, the other girl looking directly at me as her smile seemed to grow.

"Doesn't matter," I decided. 'Superboy, Zatanna -- you go deal with the Android. It's the priority.' I reminded them as I reached back and took a hold of my scabbard and sheathed my blade. Not as a gesture of surrender or goodwill, but as a gesture of intent.

'...Fine.' I heard Conner agree, while Zatanna looked worried. But, she nodded all the same before planting a quick kiss on my cheek and taking off in the direction of my motorbike, which had come to a halt on its own. I wish I could have enjoyed the kiss, but it had been on my mask, and at the moment, I only had eyes on the girl that stood in the middle of the road with her sword drawn.

I walked forward, taking a position from across from her. "Looks like we were too to seize the target. Go fetch it, Shiva," the girl said, but I didn't see who she was talking to. When she spoke again, I realized she was talking into a microphone. "I'm going to play with my cousin for a little while."

I frowned at that as I took in the girls' appearance. She… "So, you're my cousin? The once in a trillion years prodigy from the family on the Mainland?" I asked her, making her smile widen.

"That would be me, Jin Song," she said as she leveled her jian at me. "Do lose the mask, cousin. I've waited ages to meet you."

It was annoying, but she already knew it was me. I reached up and took off the mask, tossing it to the side. "I'm guessing you didn't wait all that time just to talk. Uncle has been trying to kill me to toughen me up for you." I pointed out and I settled into my stance -- I held my sword out rather than letting it rest near my hip, one hand on the handle as my breathing adopted a familiar rhythm.

"Father really does give the best gifts," Jin responded. "When I learned about the disgraced branch hiding in America, I thought nothing of you. You were little better than a normal human, a cog in their society. Yet, in a few short months, here you are." Her smile grew as she spoke, adopting a stance of her own. "I've been looking forward to a challenge, cousin. Don't disappoint me by dying too quickly."

I responded to her with action rather than words.

Flash stepping to her, I drew my sword in a flash, reinforcing it as I did so. It was at an angle, a curve to avoid the backlash from the moon breathing. My sword slammed into her waiting jian, sparks flying up as the two swords met. The edge of gained a new nick, telling me that even reinforced, her sword was of better quality than mine. Even though I had picked a Damascus steel sword.

Darting back, I retreated just out of striking range, but Jin followed, refusing to give me any distance. She wasn't quite as fast as I was with the flash step. Meaning I had the edge in terms of speed. Her blade clashed against mine, allowing me to steal its momentum to spin sharply and deliver an overhead counter strike. Jin shifted her stance, blocking my attack, but my blade skidded off the flat of hers. When it skidded free of the edge, I found her sword racing to my throat.

Deflecting the attack, I caught the blade with my crossguard before pushing her blade away and jabbing out with a fist. I aimed it at her ribs, but she caught the blow with her free hand. Her eyes met mine and there was excitement in them. They shone with a pure joy that caught me off guard -- at that moment, Jin looked every bit as excitable as Megan had when we went to see movies with us and goof around at the arcade.

I flashed stepped to the side as Jin effortlessly recovered from the blow, her sword swinging out in a wide arc that forced me to sidestep again. As my breathing deepened, I felt myself slipping into the Black Heaven and Earth Technique. It strengthened me, allowing me to move even faster to increase the gap in our speeds. Pivoting, the night sky trailed behind my blade as I brought it down on Jin. Like before, she refused to offer a direct block, preventing me from reusing momentum as my blade would bounce off, and sidestepped the attack and the swirling crescent moons.

Sidestepping, I built up my speed, darting in and out of her range before I committed to the attack. Just as she did. Our offenses clashed, our swords striking together in a shower of sparks, but neither of us missed a beat as the blades crossed. I spun sharply, building my momentum to relentlessly attack, and everywhere I found myself striking, Jin's blade was there, not so much countering, but because our offensives kept butting heads.

Jin lashed out with her fist, and a whirlwind gathered at my hand as I went to counter it with my new skill. Her fist slammed into my palm and I moved to dislocate her wrist with a flick of mine, but as soon as I started, Jin flipped, moving with the momentum of my high-speed dislocator, while she dodged my slash. She dropped into a split before her legs spun out, trying to sweep my feet from underneath me.

I flashed stepped away and Jin jumped to her feet in an eloquent front handspring. "This is fun," Jin declared, leveling her sword at me.

"I'd rather be dealing with the monkeys. Why don't you go fight the other sects or something? I'm sure they have prodigies that come only once in a trillion years too," I remarked, sinking deeper into my style.

"Can't. The old blood won't let go of grudges, but they don't have the courage to act on them," Jin answered as she slowly approached, the tip of her blade aimed at my heart. "You're free game, though. Your father is a disgrace, but you've turned into someone interesting."

I narrowed my eyes at the insult to Dad. "You know, Dad really talked up the family in the Mainland. I never thought you'd be a bootlicker for Ra's Al Ghul." I shot back, and based on how her eyes narrowed in turn, my words struck a nerve.

"As if. That fool still draws breath at my discretion. We merely have common interests at the moment," Jin said, and I tried not to show my interest on my face. I knew my family had connections to the League of Shadows, but I had been under the impression that it was a 'favor owed' kind of situation. But Jin made it sound like it was more of a partnership.

I stood my ground as Jin slowly approached. To my surprise, she couldn't stop bad-mouthing Ra's. "Ra's Al Ghul has lived for near a thousand years and he has nothing to show for it. A handful of assassins, and fewer that have anything resembling talent. His skills are mediocre at best. The only thing remarkable about him is the Lazarus pit, and it's driven him half-mad."

"Sounds like you have issues with him. So why are you here doing his dirty work?" I questioned as Jin came to a stop a handful of feet away.

"For you, cousin. Father said you weren't ready yet, but… I've never been one for patience," Jin informed me, before her blade slashed out. Much like before, a near-invisible force was flung from her blade. It raced towards me, and I met it head on.

I wanted to beat her. I wanted to be faster, stronger, and have better techniques. Maybe it was because of my dad's past, or maybe it was wanting to beat the girl that my Uncle kept interfering with my life to prepare me for. One way or the other, as she swung her sword, I swung mine.

The night sky emerged from the edge of my blade, racing forth in a slash that met her own. The two attacks slammed against each other almost like two blades biting into one another. The attacks began to war, both trying to push through the other. After a few seconds, it was clear that there wasn't going to be a clear winner. Both attacks wrapped around each other, canceling the other out. I let out a breath before I slashed again, and this time Jin flipped out of the way as she flung a slash at me, forcing me to flash step to the side.

I dove in, not failing to note how Jin’s blade began to glow an ethereal white. I slashed at her side, and this time white and black sparks went up as we clashed again. We traded a flurry of blows, each of us trying to get a leg up against the other, but even as one of us found purchase, it was quickly taken away by the other. I had the edge in physical ability, but she had the edge in raw technique.

The difference between us became more clear the longer the bout lasted. I became more aware of her weaknesses as I became aware of my own. Outside of bending and a few counters, I didn't have much in a hand-to-hand combat style. There were gaps in my continuous offense that prevented it from being overwhelming.

At the start of the fight, Jin had seemed almost like air -- I could never land a solid blow against her. But, as the seconds ticked by, the edge of my sword got closer and closer. The near misses finer.

It was almost like we were two blades brushing against each other to sharpern ourselves and rid ourselves of imperfections.

"You're smiling," Jin told me as our blades met once again. Both of us had abandoned defense, but our offenses kept connecting.

"So are you," I pointed out, lashing out with a fist strike that Jin dodged, pivoting to kick me in the face, but that too was dodged. I flash stepped to the side, my blade poised to attack, only to have it be deflected with a controlled swipe of her jian. I backed off a half step, intent on slashing at her, but my concentration was broken and I nearly missed a step when a voice rang out in my ear.

"The failsafe didn't work! Amazo has been activated!" I heard Kaldur inform me, and that was about the worst-case scenario as far as I could tell.

Jin tilted her head, "Oh, worried about your girlfriend? She was cute," Jin remarked lightly, seemingly having received a similar report. In a move that surprised me, she paitently waited, gesturing for me to speak.

"Fall back until there's an opportunity. Zatanna, he doesn’t have your powers yet. Use that to your advantage," I ordered.

"What are you going to do?" Wally questioned sharply.

"Keep my distance. Amazo can't be allowed to get his hands on my powers," I said, not liking it, but also knowing that keeping my nose out of the fight was the best thing I could do.

"A wise idea," Kaldur agreed.

With that, the radio went silent. "Thanks," I said, settling back into my stance.

"Don't worry about it. It wouldn't be any fun if I killed you on accident because your head was in the clouds. When I kill you, it's going to be on purpose," Jin replied, settling into her own.

"How reassuring."

And with that, the duel continued.

...

In the original draft, Ren would have gone with the team to deal with Amazo, but when I was writing it out, it felt too much like a rehash of canon with a +1 attached. So, you get a family reunion instead.

Also, I think I'm going to start including whatever quests that generate in the AN's. Not only do I keep forgetting to put them in, but when I do, they feel like roadblocks in the narrative that exist solely to eat up word count and throw off the flow of the chapter.

Current Quest: Ensure the Amazo android reaches its destination.

Additional objectives: Defeat and arrest those that come for the android. Ensure that Amazo is not activated. Catch the creator of the android.

Reward: 25,000, Skill Gacha roll.

Rewards for bonus objectives: 5,000 prestige and Item gacha roll per additional objective.