Chapter Warnings: This chapter is rated T for Teen with violence, blood, and swearing.

The Markings of a Hero

Chapter Twenty-One: Showdown in Dakota Pt. I

It had always been weird waking up in a bed that wasn't his. It was this reason that Eli preferred sleeping in his apartment than his mother's house. But nothing had really compared to this.

Two days after the run-in with Richard and his friends, Eli found himself waking up in Dakota City, in a fancy hotel room that he shared with Richard. The other occupant had left to do some recon while Eli took a well-needed nap. Yet, even with the entirety of the luxurious two-bedded hotel room equipped with a kitchen to himself, Eli was uncomfortable.

He hadn't necessarily told Leila that he was leaving for Dakota City, which could be the start of his problems. After their awkward school shopping fiasco he had simply returned to his apartment, packed, and left with Nightwing. He could lie and say he was in Gotham but that would bring about another mess.

Eli then realized that it could be Barbara making his sleep as restless as it was. She was staying in the next room with Lyta. The current status of their relationship had been avoided as neither wanted to just outright admit that it was over. Why? Even Eli didn't know. It was over. That had been clear. But somehow, someway, he and Barbara were silently holding on to something that would make their summer time romance seem alive.

Even if it would cost them the mission.

Getting out of the bed, completely dressed sans shoes, the teen wandered towards the kitchen. There were some energy drinks stored in the refrigerator, which Eli immediately reached for.

It was weird. He had never been to Ohio- let alone Dakota City- and he had never thought that he would go to the state either. Yet somehow Eli could not enjoy the new scenery. He could not take advantage of the time in a different city in a different state. He couldn't even enjoy his last few days of summer vacation.

And what was the reason?

Eli huffed as he plopped onto the bed he was given to rest on. He didn't want to know the reason as to why he was unable to enjoy his summer break or get any sleep. The teen knew that once he had that answer, he would simply move on to the next problem in a never ending cycle to find things to solve, things to fight… People to beat… It was the curse that heroes, traditional heroes that is, faced.

But of course, Eli Jackson would never be a hero. Not in his eyes at least.

A soft knock came on the door, causing Eli's brown eyes to snap towards it.

"Um, Eli? Are you up?" It was Lyta. Eli hesitated to answer at first. He didn't know if Barbara was with Lyta or not and was in no condition to have a deep meaningful conversation. But against better judgment to rest, Eli stood up and made the walk to the door.

Unlocking and opening the door, the half-Bialyan stared at the Amazonian princess. He didn't speak, lifting his brows to ask his question for him. Thankfully, Lyta read said look correctly.

"Barbara and Dick left to do some recon. They said that they had to talk about something and, well, I got bored," Lyta honestly stated, her camera in her hand. "I was going to go around and take some pictures. Do you want to come with me? You know, to get out as us and not as, you know."

Again, Eli knew he was tired and required rest, but he nodded anyway.

"Let me get my shoes," His words lacked their normal weight, too tired to even attempt to imitate his empowering Hornet gimmick. "You can wait in here."

"Oh, sure," Lyta stepped in as Eli walked to where his shoes rested. "I'm sorry if I woke you."

Eli waved the blonde off. "I wasn't sleep. Not long anyways." The boy looked at the taller blonde with a curious glare. "You said that Dick and Barbara left earlier?"

"Yeah. Is that a problem?" asked Lyta.

"Depends. The last time they went out to do 'recon', they stopped me from getting the Hound. That ended up with Kelley being broken out and Firefly dying." Eli stated while putting on his shoes.

Lyta released a silent, "Oh," as she walked further into the room. "Have you gone after Officer Lincoln yet?"

"No. I need him for information." Eli answered, tying one shoe and moving to the other. "I also need some other information that you might know."

"Can't we just enjoy time off?" Lyta's question was said in a way that made Eli believe that he had offended the girl someway. He sat up straight on his bed and addressed the situation.

"Are you alright? With the mission, I mean." he said.

Lyta released an exasperated huff. "Yes and no. I know that this is serious and we're here for a reason. But that doesn't mean we can't enjoy Dakota City, right? This is Dakota! They played a big part during the Civil Rights Movement and the Harlem Renaissance! I just wish we could enjoy some of it."

"You sound as if you don't want to be Wonder Girl all the time." Eli pointed out astutely. "Are you thinking about quitting any time soon?"

"No, but I don't get much 'Lyta' time either. Believe it or not, but when your dad works at the Pentagon, it's really hard to find time when you're not surrounded by agents or your super heroine mom and her friends." Lyta voiced her annoyance. "I just like being able to enjoy time that I have as Lyta Trevor with no bad guys, no training, and no protocols. Just two people hanging out like-"

"Why just two?" Eli's question immediately hushed the blonde Amazon.

Lyta had no answer and Eli justly dropped his need to get one out of her. Instead, he opted to change the subject.

"Where did you want to go?" questioned Eli.

"I don't know. I just wanted to get some pictures for my collection." Lyta responded. "I can go by myself if you want to be alone. I just thought that you could use a moment when you're Eli and not the other guy."

Eli actually agreed with her. There hasn't been enough time to himself recently. Sadly, his most relaxing time was when he was working at Stagg Youth Home. Time at his apartment led to him being Hornet. Time at his mother's led him to leave to go to his apartment. And time with Dinah was spent training to go be Hornet.

The boy paused in his thoughts. It was weird to think that a year ago, he would have been at random house parties, hanging out with George or Hannah, or joining his cousin in Gotham. Now he couldn't take a nap without over thinking.

"I hear that there're murals all around here," Lyta offered. "We can go check them out. It'll be good for my scrapbook." Lyta gave Eli a curious stare. "Barbara never told us if you had a hobby or anything when you're not out there being you-know."

"Sports. Basketball mostly," Eli answered. "I don't play much now. Why?"

Lyta shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. It's weird. The way they write about you, it's almost as if you're inhuman. Tracking people, beating them, killing them. It's kind of hard to think that that guy is just some average guy from Cheshire Square."

"You shouldn't meet your idols. And I shouldn't be an idol anyway." Eli neutrally stated, moving towards the closet while speaking. The boy hesitated in his steps, a frown marring his face. "And just how many people read those blogs anyway? The ones about vigilantes."

Lyta released a thoughtful hum, blues eyes going to the ceiling. "I don't know… A few thousands maybe? More people click the videos and pictures. Most of the photos with you in it are a bit blurry, but some are really good." Lyta glanced at Eli's back with a small smile. "The cop body cam video in Gotham went pretty viral. You know, the one where you beat the cop and told his partner to deal with some thief you knocked out?"

"I remember," Eli was digging through a bag, not looking back at Lyta at all as he addressed her.

"Well, that's one of the more viewed videos. Everyone has their opinion on whether you were in the right or wrong." Eli put the leg holster for his combat knife on before sheathing the blade in it.

"Do you think I was right?" he asked.

Lyta held a timid hand in front of her, shaking it slightly. "Kind of… The cop definitely deserved to be taught a lesson. He was trying to sacrifice that woman for a petty theft. But you probably could have just said something. Deescalate the situation before outright beating the guy."

"Right. I'll think about that next time." Eli stated with dry sarcasm as he concealed his blade with his pants leg.

"You know," Lyta said while eying the spot where Eli's knife was. "You don't really need that."

Eli watched the blonde stand up. "And why is that?"

Lyta calmly walked over to Eli and gently placed her hands on his shoulders. Before the boy could react, Lyta turned and tossed him onto his bed- completely launching him over Richard's bed in the process. The girl smiled triumphantly as Eli landed on his back.

"We're not trained to solely rely on our strength and speed, but it comes in handy, don't you think?"

Eli sat up with a small grunt. "Yeah… I forgot you could do that."

"It happens more than you think." said Lyta with a smile. "So… Coming?"

"…"

It was just like Jade all over again. He was following a girl who could kill him with her bare hands and there was little to nothing he could do about it. Thankfully, Eli noted, Lyta was not as unpredictable or volatile as Jade was which helped his comfort level… But not by a lot.

The boy grabbed his card key before leaving with Lyta, the confident blonde leading him to the elevator. Eli noted that, with this slightly arrogant aura about her, she was actually more attractive.

Said attractiveness led him to study Lyta's presence silently. Did her attractiveness have anything to do with Richard's desire to put Wonder Girl on the team? It would make sense as Richard did seem like the type to have an eye for attractive girls. Of course, in saying that, Eli felt hypocritical as he was dating- though he was unsure about the actual status here- Richard's ex while pointing out Lyta's looks, again, someone who Richard had met first.

"Something wrong?" Lyta, curious about Eli's hardened look, asked.

"Trying to figure out why Dick asked you to come along." Eli gave his half-truthful answer. "Barbara makes sense, they're best friends and partners and all that. I'm the guy that just runs to the shit he doesn't want to deal with. You? I don't know yet."

Lyta's lips pursed momentarily before she looked away. "I've been thinking the same thing…"

He had offended her. Eli was not completely blind to people's feelings or sentiments; he just usually overlooked it when his personal goals were the ends to justify his means. Still, as he watched that confident aura slowly dissipate away from Lyta, he couldn't help but feel somewhat responsible.

"Why not ask?" inquired Eli, gaining a shoulder shrug from Lyta. "Or you could stop caring."

Offended blue eyes shot back at Eli. "Stop caring? Is that what you do? Stop caring?"

"No, not all the time," The conversation was stepping on a line that was better left alone, Eli figured. He had to somehow back out of it or cool the boiling tensions before it became too much. "But I'm not you. I can deal with my shit, you know? The rumors, the hate, all of it. People like you and Barbara, I can tell that you'd rather not hear it or ignore it. So I'm saying ignore it."

The blonde's lips thinned as she turned towards the elevator doors. "I'm sure you think you're making this better."

"I was trying." It was an honest statement and it gained him an incredulous look from Lyta. "I can't answer his questions but I can stop caring and just be glad you're here. Again, that's up to you."

He waited for her response now. If things went well, she'd drop the conversation and they would continue. If things went to hell, she would probably punch him through a wall and storm off, leaving him to explain this to hotel management, his mother, and Richard.

"He didn't want me going with him and Barbara earlier," Lyta said as the elevator doors opened, revealing an empty elevator car. "I can do recon. I practically do it for a hobby. But still…"

Eli got on the elevator with Lyta, snorting quietly. "They're like that. Hell, half the people from Gotham City are like that. You just have to deal with it, I guess."

"Yeah, I guess," Eli pressed the button for the lobby as Lyta leaned against the back wall of the elevator. "I just want to prove that I'm good. Like, not just a sidekick but as a teammate."

"You just kicked the Yellow Jacket's ass, something a team of grown men with guns couldn't do. Give yourself some credit." The joke earned him a smile, Lyta ducking her head once more as she did so. "So, where should we go first?"

"Um, I was just going to walk around. Get as many pictures as possible." She refused to look up which was a small annoyance to Eli but he let it go.

He had just avoided one possible conflict with the strongest girl he knew. He didn't want to create another one.

"At my job," Eli spoke, finally getting Lyta's full attention. "I work with kids. They'd love a picture of Static, if we can find him."

Lyta's face brightened with a smile. "I hope we meet him. I hear he's pretty cool."

Eli left it at that. The conflict had been avoided for the moment although his question remained. What was Richard's true reason for Wonder Girl? Was she a powerhouse? Someone to keep Hornet on a leash? Or maybe Barbara wanted another girl in the group?

Eli huffed silently as his mind latched onto his previously ignored thoughts about the absent redhead. They would have to talk about that night in his apartment sometime soon as neither was very good with just leaving conversations unfinished. Yet, Eli knew what would happen when they did. He would lose the one thing that he obtained this summer that was his and not Hornet's.

Of course, he could simply just walk away before it got too bad. They could at least salvage a friendship just like his parents…

Fuck… Maybe he was just like his mother?

The clock on the wall ticked noisily as if to mock the poor students for actually showing up for class. Every second they all heard the "tsk" sound that it made instead of the standard ticking sound. Virgil had half the mind to zap the damn taunting timepiece but that would do two things that he could live without.

First, and most importantly, it would reveal that he is Static to his class.

And secondly, and this is just as important, he would more than likely be put into detention which would mean more time in school.

The teen sighed.

Why did he have to be in school now? A week- two weeks tops- later would have been ideal. He could be out there with Richie and Raquel trying to take down Holocaust. Instead he was in his U.S History class trying to not look pissed at the world.

But it was getting harder and harder.

Virgil glanced out of the window to view the afternoon sky. At this moment, Tobias Whale and Holocaust were probably having their meeting and Static could have been there to stop them. He and his two partners-in-justice could have taken them down and made Dakota City a better place.

Yet, he was here, in school, bored.

Absolutely bored.

Absolutely, undeniably bored.

Absolutely-

Well, you got it. Virgil knew his wandering mind would lead him into some uncontrollable twitch of his body or statement- for some reason, deep daydreams always made him enact or react to his thoughts- but he could not stop it.

Holocaust was here. Virgil had to think up some form of strategy because Holocaust was here. No longer in New Camford or wherever he ran off to; here in Dakota City. If he botched the game plan for capturing Holocaust then this could go very, very wrong for him, Richie, and Raquel.

Virgil turned his attention away from the window and looked in front of him to another problem; Frieda Goren. In the time since Larry's death, Frieda had not spoken to Virgil much… More like, not at all. There were no pleasantries exchanged in the morning, there were no plans made to meet up at lunch or after school, and there definitely was no flirting, one-sided or otherwise. She just avoided him like a lightning-based plague, which he was more than sure did not exist.

A quiet sigh left him.

A part of him understood Frieda's anger. He was a hero and he had failed to save Larry despite having earlier warnings that the guy was in trouble. It was his duty to protect the people and he had failed. Worse, he had failed to protect someone close to him and Frieda.

Her anger, for the most part, was justified but it was just that; anger. It was an emotion that was built due to an incident outside of Virgil's/Static's control. If he could talk to her, show her, text her and get a response, he could prove it. But instead, her anger kept her out of reach and all moments of the day.

Quiet vibration signaled Virgil that one of his friends, not that he had many to list, was texting him at the moment. With the skills that most teenagers his age possessed, he snuck his phone out of his pocket, discreetly sat it on his lap. Pulling up the message, he read it to himself quietly.

"Holocaust is here…"

That caused Virgil's eyes to snap upwards to make sure that no one was paying attention to him. Thankfully he had not caught the interest of anyone in the class which gave him time to mull over the news.

He was going to finally face the man who was responsible for so many deaths in Dakota City.

"Virgil," Virgil's eyes shot up to the teacher, Mr. Avery, who was currently looking at the teen with a knowing gaze. "Phone away."

"Sorry. My sister's going to be late tonight and wanted me to order something." The lie fell short and Virgil knew it. However it did get the young teacher to look elsewhere. "Phew…"

Virgil then caught Frieda looking in his direction. For a brief moment, he thought about waving or saying something. Instead, he just sat there just as she just sat there looking. She would soon turn back around and he would go on to regret not saying anything to her again.

Sighing again, Virgil realized that it was going to be a long day ahead of him. He would have to talk to Frieda before and after searching for Holocaust and-

"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls," A familiar voice came over the intercom system, one that Virgil didn't need a lot of time to remember. "This is your former fellow student, F-Stop. And today, I'd like to propose a new type of fire drill. Give me Frieda Goren or this place goes down in flames!"

"Frieda…? What? Why?" It was one thing seeing the guy that bullied him for years not in juvenile detention and back at school. It was another thing when said bully had a fiery temper only matched by his pyrokinetic abilities. Though nothing could really be said when this pyro-maniacal bully was after the girl he held deep feelings for.

Francis Stone, also known as F-Stop and Hotstreak, continued, "Bring her to me in the next five minutes or we will burn this place down! Try me! Your principal is already fucked! Don't be next!"

As commotion spread throughout the school, Virgil's and Frieda's eyes met once more. He stared at her for a full minute, watching her lips mouth one pleading statement.

"Save me, please."

He failed Larry. He would not fail Frieda as well. Whether he revealed his secret identity or not was not even a question. He would not fail Frieda. He would save her and get her out of Hotstreak's reach.

Or he would die trying.

Richie Foley was not good at hiding things. The only reason he had yet to blab about his, Virgil's, and Raquel's secret identities was due to the lack of people in his social circle to tell the secret to. In fact, the aforementioned two plus Frieda practically made all of the people he considered friends.

Either way, Richie was not good at hiding things so when he got a text, he immediately asked to be excused to the restroom to read it without being caught checking his phone in class. It was there that he read that Holocaust was in town and also there when he heard of Hotstreak's threat.

The momentary lockdown gave the blond the time to go to his locker and retrieve his treasured mechanical partner, Back-Pack. Seconds later, Gear was present and ready to save the students of Ernest Hemingway High School from whatever Francis and his thugs were planning.

Exiting a janitor's closet where he had changed, Gear crept into the hall quietly. Normally the teen was confident in his abilities to save the day but that was not the case here. Whether he was a hero or not, Richie would always see the guy that stuffed him into lockers, punched him multiple times for little to no reason, and had bullied him for the better half of six years. Some wounds had not healed even with the newfound intelligence.

"Hey look boys, its Gear." Of course, sometimes one spoke their fear into existence and while Hotstreak was not present, his former friends filled the hallway. He knew that not all of those here were Bang Babies which meant that they were probably armed to the teeth.

"Aren't you all a little too old for high school? Seriously, doesn't No Child Left Behind prevent things like this?" Gear's joke did nothing but aggravate the group of five young male teens. "I mean, you could be doing a victory lap, right?"

"Let's get him before Static shows up!"

"Hell yeah! Let's rip this bitch-boy to shreds!"

Gear opened his mouth to say something but he failed to do so. Not because he did not have any quips to throw back at the group. No, he had more witty banters to throw at the more-than-likely ill-educated gangsters in front of him.

Instead, what happened was the easily recognized black-garbed hero fell from the ceiling. Oh, and the hero was not alone as another hero- no, heroine was the proper term- jumped down as well and the pair began to utterly dismantle the group.

Richie was stunned. Never in his life had he thought about seeing Batgirl and Nightwing in action- least of all, not in Dakota City, Ohio of all places. He thought that they were too busy protecting the celebrities and rich guys of Gotham City.

But here they were, fighting in perfect harmony, taking out the small group like it was nothing. It was mesmerizing, even to the point that Richie almost missed the alert popping up on his visor.

"What the-" Turning around, Gear was terrified at the sight of a girl his age holding the familiar armadillo-like meta-human up in her arms.

"Don't worry," Wonder Girl gritted as she held Carmen Dillo up. "We got this."

Gear could not answer. The sidekicks of Batman and Wonder Woman's daughter were currently saving his bacon from whatever the Paris Island Bloods had planned. He was thankful but also confused as to why the other heroes were here. Better, he was pleased to see their different fighting styles up close and personal.

Wonder Girl was clearly trained but her shots packed a lot of power. A brawler with the finesse of a ballerina, she was clearly outmatching her opponent with skill alone. The power was just extra emphasis of her superiority.

Then there was Nightwing- and oh, how Richie was happy to see the young man in action. Nightwing was by far the best fight of the three that entered and clearly the most acrobatic. Richie had never seen so many flips done with kicks added to them. It was mesmerizing to say the least.

Finally there was Batgirl who was not as acrobatic or lethal as Nightwing, but far more than Richie was. Batgirl was able to display a solid knowledge in martial arts as well as awareness that was scary. The words "Girl Power" did not seem to do Batgirl justice. Maybe the term "Badass" did?

The fight was over before it really got started with Wonder Girl jacking Carmen Dillo up against the locker like a schoolyard bully.

And then he entered.

The Yellow Jacket walked from around the corner. The black goggles were fixated on the large meta-human that Wonder Girl held up against the lockers as he stepped over the beaten men like… Well, the only word that properly described the Yellow Jacket's stride was "boss." New Camford's Killer Bee walked like an absolute boss.

"…" Richie opened his mouth to say something as the Yellow Jacket walked by but nothing came out.

It was almost discouraging as the Yellow Jacket moved to Carmen Dillo without paying any attention to Gear whatsoever.

"Your face isn't bulletproof." Hornet's voice was distinctive and frightening. The gun that he held to Carmen Dillo's head added to the fear factor. "Holocaust. Where is he?"

"I don't know! He called earlier! Said to find Static! That's all I know!"

Wow, Richie thought quietly, the Yellow Jacket's reputation preceded the hooded gunman. It would have taking Gear at least five minutes to get anything from the lackey. Yet an internet sensation walked in and did the job in ten seconds flat.

That was impressive.

Still, Richie couldn't help but feel a bit uneasy about seeing another gun at school considering the last time one was brought onto campus- that he knew of- it had been used on him accidentally. The "cool factor" that Hornet had on the internet slowly became a fear factor that made the blond male more nervous than he originally was.

"If I see you back in this school again, you'll end up a pair of fucking boots. Understood?" Carmen nodded his head furiously before Wonder Girl released him. "Go."

Gear was now confused. They were letting the Bang Baby go? For what? Maybe this was some sort of ploy that the big-shots utilized that he didn't know about?

"So you're Gear, huh? Nice to meet you." The blond could only nod and accept the outstretched hand from Nightwing, shaking it. "I'm Nightwing. This is Batgirl, Wonder Girl, and Hornet. We hear you have been after Holocaust for a while."

"Uh, erm, yeah! Yeah, I've been after him! I mean we! We've been chasing Holocaust for a while now!" Gear stammered.

"So who is Frieda and why would some flame-throwing Bang Baby want to hurt her?" Batgirl voiced.

"She's someone who has a connection to Static. I'm sure you've heard of him?" Gear asked hopefully.

"That's why we're here actually." Nightwing's words made this particular school day worthwhile. "We need his and Rocket's help with Holocaust and Whale. Figured we'd help out here before we go find the guy."

"You want to work with Static? Wow! I mean, you're, you know, Nightwing! And Batgirl! And you want to work with…" Gear's words died when he turned to see Wonder Girl and Hornet exchanging words. "With him?"

Nightwing chuckled. "Yeah, he's here too."

Gear watched as Hornet neared them with Wonder Girl. His initial reaction was to say what he wanted to earlier despite not knowing exactly what he was going to say in the first place. So he just stood there stunned as the dark goggles locked onto him first.

"Gear?" Gear nodded at Hornet's suspicion. "Static is…?"

"Not here. I mean, he's on his way!" Gear quickly responded. "Yeah! He had something to take care of somewhere else!"

"In the meantime," Nightwing spoke up. "We're going to do what we planned. You go after the armadillo guy and see where he leads you. Engage if you must but we'll be there after we finish here."

Hornet nodded. "I'll get your info."

"Be careful." Batgirl said gaining a nod from Hornet before the hooded vigilante left.

"Alright," Nightwing's voice regained Gear's attention for the moment. "We know that there's a flame-throwing meta holding the school up. Wonder Girl and I will deal with him. Batgirl, Gear seems to know his way around. Find Frieda and get her out of here."

Batgirl interjected before their departure, "And we'll meet Hornet…?"

"He'll radio us where. Unless you call him first… Again…" joked Nightwing. "Wonder G, let's go."

"Right! See you two soon!" Wonder Girl and Nightwing left afterwards, leaving Richie with the Batgirl.

"Alright," Batgirl said to the slightly star-struck hero. "You do know where Frieda is, right?"

Gear nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, this way!"

It seemed surreal. Nightwing, Batgirl, Hornet, and Wonder Girl were all in Dakota City and he, Richie Foley, was working with them. He was a part of an all-star young hero squad, or at the very minimal, a team of popular young heroes.

Excitement aside for a moment, Gear thought it best to address something from earlier.

"So do you know the Yellow Jacket? Like, who he is beneath the mask." Gear curiously stated.

Batgirl gave him a casual glance as they jogged down the hall but said nothing which signaled to the blond teen that he had cross some sort of boundary. Richie opted not to push the statement though Batgirl, after a minute of silence, responded quietly.

"Yes."

Nothing more was said though Gear was told a lot by the simple response. There was something there between Batgirl and Hornet, a more personal matter. While he wondered how anyone could get close to someone called "New Camford's Killer Bee." It just didn't seem likely but who was he to judge?

"Frieda's class is right down there," Richie stated. "Are you ready?"

Batgirl withdrew a batarang and nodded her head. "Ready when you are."

"Let's do this then."

And just like that, Gear's first co-op with the Bat-duo, Wonder Woman's daughter, and the Yellow Jacket. Boy, Virgil would be jealous of this!

Eli was not familiar with anything in Dakota City but he knew how people worked. As Ben pointed out, if one limited the options of their prey, the prey became more predictable. Carmen Dillo didn't have many options; he either told Holocaust that Hornet and Nightwing was in Dakota City or he ran for his life.

Eli quietly huffed as he raced across the rooftops, praying his shadow did not alert any look-outs on the streets below. While Eli thought himself to be in good shape, better now since his training with Ben, Dinah, Oliver, and Nick, the Bang Baby that he was shadowing was clearly faster of the two with a gas tank to match his thick shell. This was evident that due to the fact that the meta was still running- no longer rolling- for his life for at least ten minutes now with no signs of slowing down yet.

Thankfully, without his bow and quiver, the effort his body exuded to keep up with Carmen did not exceed its maximum levels in the Ohioan heat. And, despite popular belief, his signature Yellow Jacket did not cause as much heat as it appeared.

"…" Eli came to a stop when Carmen Dillo, shockingly, hopped over a chain-link fence and entered a boarded up building. "I doubt Tobias Whale would be in a place like this… Might want to check for others inside before I go over there though."

It was routine. Check for heat signatures, memorize where they were and, if possible, their patterns, and then make the best move to enter. Dinah would have him do it no other way.

There were four heat signatures he could see with two growing dimmer as the descended, apparently, underground. The teen switched the vision in his goggles as he concluded that whatever used to operate out of this building ran beneath the surface and was now occupied by Holocaust's gang.

The teen then scanned the area for any wandering guards. Anyone who was suspiciously strolling along the area, anyone who was just hanging out in one spot or another for too long, he had to find them and mark them in his head. If he missed one and lived, he'd never hear the end of it from Dinah and Oliver.

"Two guys circling the block. They're probably meta." Eli said to himself before backing away. "Should've brought my bow…"

With his bow, he figured, he could have restrained one and taken out the other without a death. Without his bow he was stuck with either shooting them for the kill or tossing a dart and praying he hit without drawing attention. His dart-throwing skills were good but he questioned his accuracy and succession speed at this range.

Still, the teen knew did not want to go back to school and deal with the meta-humans that may or may not give him more information on Holocaust. Not when he had a hideout in his face. He could get his information and avoid listening to Nightwing explain the "proper way" in interrogation.

He could also avoid Barbara too…

His possible ex-girlfriend was the cause of his uneasiness. His hesitance to just do what he knew what needed to be done was solely the results of her being here judging him. Eli knew the feeling. People, strangers he didn't know, judged him on the basketball court to make the right read and take the right shots. They only cared about the wins and losses. But Barbara was judging more about the how and why; she cared about the shots period. The fewer shots he took, the happier she'd be. He didn't know why he had to look good in her eyes but he knew that it would soon grow into a larger issue later on.

Eli's eyes zeroed in on the pair again of low-leveled grunts. He could do it. He could zip in there, knock one out, and then get the other to talk. He could shoot them both and just enter the hideout unimpeded by anyone or anything and just like whoever find the bodies later. But again, Barbara stopped him.

Grunting, the teen shook the girl out of his thoughts. He wouldn't let the redhead be his downfall. He wouldn't let Barbara become the reason his conviction breaks. He had to find out what was going on inside of that building and report it before anyone else entered.

No. Going into the building unprepared and on emotion would do nothing but reveal that he and his current partners knew where the hideout was. Worse, Eli had not done any reading up on the possible members of the gang and their specific abilities. He would be greatly under-prepared for a full out battle with them; not alone, at least. He would need some form of support this time.

So now he was frozen. Not just because Barbara was, once more, rummaging through his brain, but because his natural instincts were in a battle with his newly learned tactics. The Elias Jackson from Cheshire Square wouldn't hesitate to run in and punch someone in the face. Hornet, however, now knew better and had to sit on his anger a little while longer.

"Hornet? You there?" Now Eli was glad he hadn't gone in as Barbara's voice came over the communicator that Richard had given him in Gotham.

"What is it?" His voice was low. He had no idea how well the two patrolling Bang Babies could hear, or if they could. But he was not going to risk it and have an entire building of power-wielding metas on his tail.

Not without knowing that they weren't bulletproof first.

"We have Frieda, Hotstreak is down." Batgirl announced. "Did you… Did you find their hideout?"

Eli took a few steps away from the edge to answer. "Yeah, I did." A pause. "Is everything alright?"

"Small burn. It'll heal."

Eli realized that it was the first time that their cuts and bruises were actually brought up since the revealing of who he was. There were no more "work accidents" that involved kids, random book shelves, and the occasional training that went wrong. No, now there was a full knowing that she had put her life on the line for some random stranger and received a burn from a man who could literally breathe fire.

"What's your location?" Batgirl's voice hid any urgency that he was sure was there.

"Don't know. I'll check the street sign." Carefully he did just that, going to the edge of the building and using his goggles to zoom in to read carefully. "On the corner of Nineteenth and Randleman. There are guys patrolling Randleman, most likely Holocaust's men."

There was another pause before Barbara spoke, "I'll be there soon. Stay safe until then."

"'Stay safe?'" Eli echoed with a scoff.

"I mean… You know, don't just…" Batgirl sighed. "Maybe Wonder Girl should-"

"I'll be waiting for you on the building across from their hideout. Hornet out."

Somewhere he knew that Richard set this up. Hell, the pompous bastard was probably listening into the conversation and doing that annoying snicker. Maybe Lyta was on it as well? He didn't know or need to know if she did because this had Richard written all over it.

Eli found a spot to sit and rest while waiting for Batgirl to show. His mind actually going through all the possible ways he could enter the building across from him and get out alive. It was much easier with Jade or Dinah around as he simply had to do what was told. Now he had to, not only game-plan for himself, but make a plan that best suited their teamwork.

How did she work, Eli wondered. Batgirl was a lot like Nightwing- which Eli accredited to being in Batman's shadow- and did a lot of stealthy work. Sneaking through ventilation systems and hiding in the shadows were some of the things that she was good at.

Hacking. Eli remembered Nightwing commenting about how much better at hacking than he was on the way to Dakota City. And Eli had also noticed that Barbara could work a computer far greater than he or anyone else he knew could.

Fighting was another thing. Eli hadn't studied Batgirl's fighting or how it'd work side-by-side with his own. Fighting alongside Jade was second-nature as they were trained by the same guy as well as having the understanding that they had to cover each other's blind spots.

Dinah, and Oliver for that matter, worked differently. There were rules when fighting beside them that Eli had to follow or else. Support, diversion, Eli had several of roles when went out with the Black Canary. It was only with Dinah that Eli could clearly see the line between partner and sidekick as every job with the Canary she either gave him the opportunity to share his insight on a mission or simply told him to follow her lead with a plan already laid out.

Nightwing and Hornet had an understanding that they were neither partners nor sidekicks. They were two guys with a common goal that just helped each other while staying out of the other's way. Their ends were always the same, protecting Bludhaven/New Camford while putting their lives on the line, but their methods were greatly differed.

Batgirl had no such arrangement and could, if she wanted to, stop Hornet from being who he was. Worse, Barbara and Eli were not in a good place in their personal lives. There was really no reason for Batgirl to not interfere in his work.

Hell, he wouldn't be that upset if she did. Not with all the reasoning laid out in front of him that would validate her obstructions.

Time slowly went by and his mind continued to wander. By the time that Batgirl arrived, Eli had talked himself into doing this job with her despite all the pros that Nightwing and Wonder Girl brought.

"You were right," Batgirl said quietly as Hornet rose from his seated position. "There are guys patrolling the area. I counted five."

Disregarding that he had missed a few, the Yellow Jacket nodded his head. "And there're more inside. So how do you want to get inside?"

"From the top. There's a skylight we can enter through if we're careful." said Batgirl.

"Nightwing and Wonder Girl?"

Batgirl bristled. "They're getting information from Gear and Static. They'll be a bit late as they have to check in on something else. And I figured… I mean, you were out here by yourself so…"

She was rambling again which only pointed out her growing anxiety. They both caught onto it and Eli, for one reason or another, decided to end her misery for the moment.

"I'd prefer you for this," His statement didn't ease Barbara's nerves but it did get her to stop talking. "You're quick and quiet. Plus if there's information on computers, you're the best at it."

"Right. Um, are you ready?" Already with her grappling gun in hand, Batgirl responded quietly.

"Yeah."

The pair fired their lines towards the targeted building and zipped across silently. Once there, Batgirl went ahead and searched for a way in while Hornet scanned for any nearby cameras. The redhead did not even voice her success in breaking into the air vent, just slipping inside with Hornet wordlessly following her.

Silently Eli crawled after the redhead with his eyes betraying the mission for a brief second and sneaking a glance at the backside of Gotham's redheaded maiden. He wandered if this could even be considered inappropriate given their unknown status.

Batgirl suddenly stopped. "Down there."

Eli had no idea what she was referring to and had to change the vision in his goggles to see the heat signature below. There was one person beneath them. The person was stilled for whatever reason, easy for Hornet or Batgirl to drop down and knock them out. When she didn't move immediately, Eli signaled to her.

"Take them." Eli quietly instructed.

It was incredible to see Batgirl move effortlessly in such a tight space. She swiftly dropped from the hatch and effectively knocked the unsuspecting guy out. Hornet leapt down afterwards, checking the area for any other drifters.

"Looks like a rec center." Batgirl whispered as she crept onwards down the empty hallway.

"The building has an underground basement or something similar. Faint heat signatures are down there, some stronger than others." announced the just-as-quiet Hornet, who was walking backwards behind Batgirl. "How far down did you want to go?"

Batgirl thought for a moment. "Just far enough so that we know for sure what's going on."

Eli did not press on just how far that was but he did turn around so that they were both facing the end of the hallway where the stairs that led downwards were located. He focused on spotting a camera or two to avoid thinking about the awkwardness. Unfortunately, there were none to be found and all he could think of was that this was his girlfriend- sort of.

"Hey, I wanted to ask you something," Batgirl didn't look at him and Eli figured it was due to the severity of the question weighing down on her confidence. "That night… Would you have shot me if I wasn't, you know?"

Eli thought for a moment. Truthfully, he probably would. Hell, even after finding out who Batgirl was he debated it. Still, he knew what the difference between being right and giving the right answer.

"No."

"Oh. And what happened at the school? With Bishop."

"I cornered him and got him to tell me some information, including the hiding spot of his notebook. I didn't count on someone breaking into the room and firing." Eli explained. "Bishop was hit while I waited behind his desk and then, when they were reloading, I shot them. By then, Bishop was already dead."

Barbara's lips pressed together. "You didn't…?"

"You think that I had a reason to?"

The retort seemed to end their conversation for the moment as they descended down the stairs. The awkwardness had grown into heavy tension with both parties full aware about how the other felt at the moment.

"This is supposed to be easy." Batgirl murmured, just loud enough for Eli to hear. "We're… I mean, we can do this, right? Forget about all of that and move on. We're fine."

We're fine. That was a statement that neither believed. Eli questioned if she was saying this to make their current teamwork easier or if she was applying cosmetics to their ugly relationship. Either way, it was obvious by how her pace nervously quickened that she didn't believe her statement any more than he did.

The duo came to the large double-door entrance to an indoor basketball court. Batgirl crept in first with Hornet behind her. The court floor was surprisingly cleaned, as if someone or something had kept it in playing condition, though the hoops were missing from the goals and the bleachers were well-beyond dusty.

"Okay, not creepy at all." Batgirl commented quietly. "I wonder why the floors are so cleaned."

"We should probably worry about who is cleaning it." Eli responded.

It was a fair point. Floors did not clean themselves and this place was completely covered in dirt and dust, except for the shining, well-polished floors. Playing as many school and recreational basketball games as Eli has, he knew that the floors were readied for a game. Hell, maybe a tournament. And recently cleaned as well…

The male paused and looked upwards at the ceiling lights as Barbara walked on. There was something not right about this whole thing. He was expecting someone to have caught them as they were not being particularly crafty at the moment. One would think that a vibrant redhead walking with a guy wearing a yellow jacket in the middle of August would draw attention somehow. And if that didn't draw attention, then two vigilantes strolling through a gang's base surely should.

Eli's eyes narrowed behind his goggles. He was missing something and he hated it. His mother's obsession of knowing just how or why things were they were, was somehow inked into his DNA as a dominate trait. He had to know before…

"Crap! Hornet, hide!" Batgirl's command was almost as frantic as her subsequent movements, she firing a line up to the rafters.

Eli followed her lead and the pair was up and out of sight in time for three meta-humans to emerge from the door Barbara was previously at. Eli studied them quietly. If they were going to have to fight their way out, Eli knew that he had to learn everything he could with the short window of time that they had.

The first, and undeniably tallest and largest, practically marched across the floor. Eli was somewhat impressed that the floor itself did not dent or cave beneath the massive light-brown skinned male but did not convey his feelings to Barbara.

The next guy was tall, thin, and of a darker shade than the larger guy to his right. The large feet of the second guy were all that Eli could focus on. They were obviously augmented by some form of mutation and Eli was sure that one kick from the thin man would hospitalize him or anyone unfortunate enough to get kicked and/or stomped by him.

The third was a red-head male, shorter and scrawnier than his two cohorts, with a large noticeably large nose. Eli had an idea what this guy's ability could be- a nose that large must be hyper-sensitive, right?

"Can't believe Holocaust got scared out of Ivy Town." The largest said. "Wouldn't be me. Naw, I would've smashed that hell out of those punks!"

The tall thin man shrugged a bony shoulder. "Let it go, Hyde. Tobias never do with any favors leading those vee-gees down there."

The one called Hyde grunted. "I can't let it go, Kangor. That was money- our money! Whale may be some big money guy from Metropolis, but that ain't doing us shit."

"Me know what you mean, mon." Kangor responded, his Jamaican accent recognizable to the two watching from above. "Tobias have different ways doing things and Holocaust let with him do it. But me trust Holocaust to fry his ass if he screws up again."

The trio seemed unaware of Eli's and Barbara's existence until the redhead paused, seconds away from exiting the way Eli and Barbara had entered the gymnasium.

"Hey guys, do you smell that?" he asked.

"No Ferret, we don't smell shit but that stupid Pine-Sol Holocaust had us use to clean the gym." said Hyde.

"No, no, there's something else," Ferret was now sniffing the air openly. "It smells like leather, perfume, and…" Ferret paused as his eyes searching the empty rafters. "I guess I'm just hungry again."

"How the hell do you smell perfume when you're hungry?" the large Hyde questioned as the three exited. "Seriously fool, get your shit together."

As the three departed the way the two vigilantes entered, Batgirl and Hornet quietly crawled out of the ventilation, cobwebs stuck in Batgirl's hair and Hornet's hood.

"That was close." Barbara whispered as the she slowly repelled to the floor, Eli following her lead.

"I don't think that lying atop of each other is actually the best way to hide." He pointed out, the redhead blushing as she walked away from him.

"Come on. We still need to know what's down there."

Eli didn't push despite wanting to. If nothing else, he could get a rise out of the girl for her so-called quick thinking. They had entered the ventilation shaft hastily with Batgirl not waiting for Hornet to slide down the shaft and crawled atop of him. The close proximity had its effects on both of their teenage libidos; not that either would outright admit it.

Instead, Batgirl opted to push through with their job. It was embarrassing enough for her to be in that position and she really did not want to tell Eli that they could have just traversed through the ventilation system. No, it was a cheap feel on her part, being able to lie atop of Eli- scratch that, Hornet- like that and one she would never forget.

It wasn't long before they found the door the led to the underground section of the building. Unfortunately, it was there that they were met by some difficulty.

"Cameras," Barbara whispered to Eli. "Do you think anyone is watching them?"

"Possibly. If we're going on further, we should-"

"Hey, are you guys alright?" Nightwing's voice cut Batgirl off mid-sentence, she silently thanking the interruption.

"We're fine," Batgirl responded quietly. "We're in one of the bases getting information."

"Wonder Girl and I got information on Tobias. Making a plan with Static, Gear, and Rocket."

"Where?" Batgirl questioned.

"I'll send you the coordinates. How soon can you two get here?"

"Be there soon." Batgirl ended the communication and looked at Hornet. "We should meet up with the others and see what they've come up with."

Eli released a disagreeing grunt. "If we leave now, getting back in won't be easy and we won't know what information enters or leaves here. We should get something before we leave."

"It's two of us against who knows. The smart tactic is to regroup, plan, and come back." Barbara was not trying to argue especially in an enemy's base. "I won't force you to leave but-"

"But what?" The question didn't come from Eli. Instead, it came from behind the two, the large Hyde being the source of the question with Ferret and Kangor at his sides. "The bat-bitch and the yellow bitch. Who knew you two were fucking?"

"We're not," Eli heard Barbara's blush without looking at her and chose that moment to step between the redhead and the trio of Bang Babies.

"I don't care about what you're doing for Holocaust. We want Whale." It was a long shot but one worth taking. He had no idea what the three could do and was not trying to find out the hard way. "Give us Tobias."

"You hear that? My man said to give up the money!" Hyde chuckled.

Kangor shook his head. "You not know how badly you have messed up, do you? This a fi wi yard, seen? You dead!"

Eli strayed right, away from Batgirl and gaining Kangor's pursuit. He was hoping to draw them away from his not-really girlfriend and find a way to escape the area relatively unharmed. Those thoughts left him when he spotted Batgirl challenge Hyde- a decision he was questioning heavily in his mind. He was certain that Barbara had hand-to-hand skills but to take on the largest of them by herself was questionable.

His attention was turned towards the man who covered the distance between them in a single leap. Instinctively, Eli brought up his arms to protect his face from the punches thrown from Kangor. He tested the man's punching power- this was also to test the durability of his gauntlets against a meta's strength- while dancing away from any punch that would have been unchecked.

Kangor would surprise Eli with a twirling kick that landed against Eli's guard yet had enough strength to send the gun-wielding hero spiraling backwards across the gym. His body hit the ground and slid towards the wall beneath the hoop.

"Get up and fight, you waste-man. Too fraidy fraidy to fight by yourself, letting a gal fight for you!" Eli stood up with a grunt, not please with the comment. His arms were sore from absorbing one kick from the large-foot meta-human and his pride was in no better shape.

Still, there was one thing Eli picked up easily. This guy fought like the guys back in New Camford. No real training, just the everyday knowledge to throw a punch or kick. He most likely wouldn't need darts or guns to beat Kangor.

Focused with a game plan, Eli dashed towards Kangor. Kangor struck with average speed, a jab that Eli was able to duck beneath and throw two straight punches at Kangor's unguarded midsection. An uppercut completely the trifecta though Eli knew that he didn't possess the strength or natural precision to have that easy knock-out that Canary and Ben had. The best he could do was getting Kangor to take a step backwards.

Eli did not let Kangor recover fully. He rushed the Jamaican descent with a bombard of surgical strikes, using his memories of being beaten by Black Canary and Ben to dodge whatever pitiful attempt of a counter Kangor could muster up. It wasn't until the room shook did Eli stop. His eyes went over Kangor to where he saw Hyde's fist going through the wooden gym floor.

"…" His eyes met Batgirl's position, the redhead seeing this and waving him off.

"I got this." She was out of breath and holding a spot on her left side, assuring him of an injury of sorts. He hoped it was just the burn from earlier and it was not serious.

Kangor took the Yellow Jacket's distraction as the perfect opportunity to attack. The thin man jumped into the air and flipped, his right foot extended to execute a devastating axe kick. His opponent was able to roll right and Kangor's foot collided, and crushed, the ground beneath it, creating a fissure racing towards the opposite end of the court.

"Holocaust is going to kill us for ruining his court…" Eli barely picked up Ferret's words as he was forced to focus on Kangor once more.

Eli took steps backwards as he dodged the hungry punches from Kangor. In the teen's mind, he could hear Ben chastising Kangor for throwing all his weight into punches that were not likely to hit. The boy was not going to actually train his opponent now, or ever really, and just waited for the best time to throw the right he was preparing for.

When the moment presented itself, the Hornet planted his foot into the floor and shot forward with a powerful punch that got Kangor to actually stumble backwards. Eli held out his left arm pointed towards Kangor and fired his grappling hook. The spear shot into Kangor's right thigh before Eli ripped it out.

"Shit!" Kangor cursed as he stumbled forward, setting himself up for the running knee that landed flush on his chin.

This strike was actually strong enough to knock Kangor backwards onto his back. The Hornet mounted his foe, raining down punch after punch. Each strike was thrown with a different reason, a different angle, and landed flush with growing precision. But with that precision, came the tunnel vision that disallowed the gunman to see Ferret charging in with a tackle.

The tackle itself wasn't unbearably powerful or painful, Eli noted, but strong enough to knock an unsuspecting Eli off of Kangor. The teen stood up with growling anger, his goggle-covered eyes glaring at a frozen Ferret.

"W-w-wait," Ferret's voice stuttered in his chest as he stared down New Camford's Killer Bee. "I-I-I didn't m-mean to… I-I-I…"

Eli didn't care about the obvious fear in Ferret's eyes and voice. His goal now was to take out some of his frustration, which he was doing before Ferret's intervention, and leaving in one piece. And he'd be damned if he didn't do them both.

"Ferret! What you doing? Get out of here!" Kangor called from the floor.

Ferret swallowed a nervous gulp. He knew that Kangor and Hyde – Kangor more so than Hyde – were like his older brothers, they protected him. They were the ones who helped him get a seat in Holocaust's gang. He couldn't continue to live in cowardice while hoping Kangor and Hyde fought his battles. He would have to-

"No!" Kangor's shout was joined by Batgirl's as Hornet quickly withdrew a gun and shot Ferret in the upper thigh.

As Ferret sunk onto the ground, holding his leg in agony, the Yellow Jacket showed little mercy with the swift punting kick to the face that effectively knocked the meta-human out.

"…" Barbara, who had finally wrestled Hyde down with a bit of chloroform, stared silently as Eli stood over the knocked out teen. She wanted to believe that Eli would walk away, that he would somehow make this better, but she was not blind to the gun he still held in his hand.

Finally, Hornet stepped over Ferret's body and walked towards the door. Kangor, angered by the chain of events, pulled himself to Ferret's unconscious body leaving Batgirl the chance to silently make her escape. The two heroes said nothing as they retraced their steps to eventually leave the scene. Batgirl took the lead to guide Hornet to Nightwing's location while they both thought the same thing over and over in their minds.

They were definitely not fine.

Eli and Barbara were both a bit unexcited to know that they were going to be meeting at an abandoned gas station/car garage. The anti-climatic scenery for a co-op with the heroes of Dakota City seemingly added weight to their already sinking relationship. In all actuality, it was this fact, this undesired location that sparked some conversation between them before they arrived to their destination.

"You two took your time," Nightwing greeted them outside of the garage. "How'd things go? Did you get what you wanted?"

"We… Ran into trouble," Batgirl's answer was uneasy, rolling her left shoulder a bit. "Is there a place to heal this burn?"

"Yeah, inside. I need to talk to Hornet for a moment." Batgirl gave Hornet a glance from behind her cowl before walking by Nightwing and into the gas station. "We have a situation."

"…" Eli just released a groan of irritation, egging Richard to continue.

"I think there's a politician, or at the very least an activist, who is helping Tobias Whale here in Dakota." explained Nightwing. "And when I brought it up to Static and his friends, things got a little heated."

"Who's the guy?" questioned Eli.

"Her name is Thomasina Jefferson, the mayor of Dakota City." Nightwing said with an unusual carefulness. "She has helped bring in jobs for the city and do a lot for the schools and communities here. And, well, she's black- more than that, a big factor on the progression in Dakota."

Eli gave a single understanding nod. It was almost unlawful in New Camford to degrade a prominent African-American in front of another, he could only imagine that it was a stricter code in an African-American dominant city such as Dakota City, Ohio. Static was clearly African-American and so was Rocket. If Nightwing spoke ill of the woman in their presence in any shape or form then he'd better have some heavy proof- which Eli assumed Nightwing did- or be prepared for a verbal beat-down.

Though, Eli did have one question that was not so easily answered, "What do you want me to do that Batgirl couldn't?"

"Prove me wrong. Get information and prove me wrong." Nightwing stated. "Because if I'm right then we're not just walking into a trap, we're walking into something far bigger than a group of teenagers can handle."

Eli's brows creased beneath his mask. "Dealing with corrupt politicians and businessmen? Haven't you done that?"

"I have proof that Thomasina is the mother of Holocaust. I have proof that the number of gang-related arrests, particularly in Holocaust's gang, have dropped in the past two months." continued Nightwing, almost desperately. "She's done good, I know that from being here a few hours. But if she's helping her son… Helping Whale… I will debate if we can turn a blind eye and Batgirl would too. You? You'll see it as it is. Morality is perception with you, not a code."

"Do you want me to tell Batgirl?" Nightwing shook his head solemnly, something Eli, again, understood immediately. "We'll leave tonight then."

Nightwing put a hand on Eli's shoulder calmly. "Listen, I know things aren't the best between you two, so if you want to tell her, do so. I just know how she'll react and… I'd rather not."

"I get it." Hornet said. "What about Wonder Girl?"

Now Nightwing smirked. "You and I both know that she'd take something way differently from you than me. She's only a member of one of our fan club and-"

"Shut up." Eli cut off, brushing by the snickering teen as to enter the car garage.

Inside the abandoned gas station was different from what Eli had expected. It had, in a sense, reminded him of the abandoned gym he, through the Black Canary, used as his base. There weren't any punching bags or boxing rings inside, but the computers and the not-so-hidden cameras were clearly up-to-date and the stairwell that led down to what Eli assumed was the main area of the hideout was just like the one in the gym he used.

With no one upstairs except for himself and Richard, Eli found himself drifting to the steps where he heard the voices from downstairs.

"…and that's how I took down Hotstreak the first time." From the interview clips Eli had seen, he knew that this was Static's voice. When Eli finally descended to what could only be described as an arcade meets and office, he was able to lay eyes on Static talking to Batgirl.

"Hornet! You're back!" It was Wonder Girl who acknowledged his arrival, ignoring Nightwing's returned as well.

"Told you he was here!" Gear spoke in his green and white suit. The sleeveless top revealed the teen's thin arms, his face somewhat obscured by his white helmet's light teal visor that protected his face.

The girl in the brown leather jacket over her blue spandex suit spoke next. "So you're the infamous Yellow Jacket, huh? Nice to meet you. They call me Rocket."

"Name's Static," Finally, the other African-American male spoke, his black t-shirt sported a yellow lightning bolt emblem in the center that matched the same toned lightning pattern that traveled down the sides of his dark blue pants. "Heard a lot about you."

"Static and I-"

"Ahem," Rocket interrupted Nightwing's statement quickly and aggravated.

"Right, Rocket and I have been thinking of all the places Whale and Holocaust could meet," Nightwing resumed as he walked by Hornet, moving towards the computer station where Gear sat and Static stood behind his friend. "But we ran into dead-ends. I figured since you've been able to track most of their meets in New Camford, you could give us a hand."

Eli's attention had drifted away from the mission onto Batgirl being tended to by Rocket at, what could only be assumed as, the medical bay of the hideout. Truthfully, it was just a small metal dresser that had several medical supplies atop of it next to a portable hospital bed where Barbara sat. The redhead's top was up high enough for Eli to see the "just a small burn" that was being treated.

"…" Eli said nothing as Barbara's eyes met his, she turning away from his heavy gaze. "What do we know about their connections here?"

"Uh, well, not much," Gear spoke. "They're all just regular gangsters from small gangs that sell Whale's drugs. But that's been disappearing due to Holocaust's crew wiping them out."

"Why?" questioned Hornet, his eyes slowly pulling away from Barbara's bleeding wound.

"Holocaust runs the largest gang of Bang Babies in Dakota- if not, Ohio." stated Static. "They've been taking out every other gang that aren't Bang Babies. Crips, Bloods, even the MS-13."

Rocket backed away from Batgirl. "It gets worse. Whenever we get one of the big guys arrested, he normally walks on bail and then the judge is paid off."

"Sounds like a problem at the top." Hornet noted, stepping towards Batgirl. "Do you know any cops on Holocaust's payroll? Lawyers or judges maybe?"

"Only a few that we know for sure," Rocket answered. "And they don't have a lot of information about the top of Holocaust's organization. No hideouts, no identity of his plugs, nothing."

"And what about you two," Nightwing directed his comment towards Hornet and Batgirl. "What did you two find out?"

"We were sort of ambushed before we could get anything." Batgirl said. "I doubt that Holocaust doesn't know that we're here, especially after seeing his guys beaten like that. He'll be on high alert now."

"Not only that," Hornet continued. "But the base we were at connected to something underground. Most like a metro system or something. It's hard to say that we were at a base or just a front."

"I knew I should've gone further in the tunnels!" Static's outburst caused the others to look at him strangely. "When I was looking into Larry's murders, I should've…!"

"You can do anything. Not as Static, at least." Hornet's statement gained glaring brown eyes from the High Voltage Hero.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

Hornet stepped forward. "You're a hero, aren't you? What message would you send to the meta-humans who look up to you? The black kids with or without powers who see you as their hero? You'd be telling them that vengeance is alright if it's in the name of dark justice and that doesn't help any of us."

"Hypocrite much?" said Rocket. "You run around pointing your guns at the first person who looks like a dirty cop."

"I'm not a hero and I never claimed to be." The Yellow Jacket's words ended the conversation momentarily, seconds passing before he added, "You need to ask yourself an important question. What does your city fear more: a normal human with guns or a Bang Baby killing people for revenge?"

Static's glare lessened, his gaze going towards the ceiling. "…you're right…"

"We're not here to kill anyone," Nightwing interjected after seeing a moment to speak. "We're here to stop two men from destroying our cities. Hornet and I put aside our differences just for them. Can we count on you three to do the same and help us?"

It was at that moment that Eli understood just how opportunistic Richard was. The Yellow Jacket wasn't in Dakota City just to act as the dark knight- and he really didn't want that label to stick- who killed for in the name of justice. No, he was also here to provide as an example. Nightwing and Hornet's codes were different yet if they could work together, then they could bring others with similar yet different views in. Insert Static, Rocket, and Gear.

It was a play that Eli couldn't be angry with, though. He imagined that he would have done the same if he had anything to gain with joining up with the three heroes from Dakota. If anything, it made him respect Nightwing's intelligence more.

"We're in," Rocket answered. "So, what do you guys have planned?"

Hornet exchanged a glance with Nightwing, an unsaid understanding being translated between the two. They were here in Dakota City to catch Tobias Whale and put an end to his organization. Their methods of doing so were different but their endgame was the same, like a flip of a coin that could only spell disaster for Tobias Whale.

If it landed heads, then Tobias would be put in jail, most likely beaten to a pulp, and would never see the sunlight as a free man.

If it landed tails, Hornet would more than likely kill Whale. It wasn't the preferred method, to Richard at least, but it was the risk they took with flipping the coin.

"We're working out on a possible ending to our plans," Nightwing calmly stated. "But we'll let you in on what we know for sure."

"First, we need to destroy those guns. They're cop-killers, and worse." Hornet spoke.

"And the drugs," continued Nightwing. "They're using high school kids to sell their drugs. We need to end that as well."

"We need to get out all the dirty cops." Hornet added.

"But," Nightwing interjected. "And while we have different opinions on how it should happen, the one thing that must and will happen is,"

"Tobias Whale must be brought down." Hornet and Nightwing's in-synch words only strengthened their same-coin different-sides paradigm. It caused the other five present to understand that regardless of where they were from, how they were trained, and what morality codes they had adopted, there was only one ending that they would all accept.

Live or die, Tobias Whale must be stopped sooner or later. And if they had it their way, it would be much sooner than the man believed.

Author's Notes: Here we are, part one of the team-up with Static, Rocket, and Gear. I contemplated with just typing that Kangor had a Jamaican accent or typing the accent out so I apologized if I offended anyone of Jamaican or even Caribbean descent. Also, I originally had Eli killing Ferret but chose otherwise. The guy isn't heartless, you know? And on the subject of heart, his murky relationship with Barbara will become clearer in due time.

But before that happens, Nightwing and Hornet's plan to find out about Mayor Jefferson will have some seen and unforeseen backlash. Nothing the Bird and Bee duo can't handle, right?

Until then, you know what's next: Leave a review or drop a PM for any comments, questions, or thoughts that you would like to share and I'll respond in the next review corner. Until then, peace.