Chapter Four- "Behind the Scene"



Red Revenge hoped he wasn't as stupid as he looked. He was currently waiting for an assassin at a location and time she had determined. That just happened to be a dark alley at midnight.

Revenge folded his arms and glanced at the clock on his HUD. The time was 11:59. A few seconds later, it turned 12:00 and Holly jumped down from the fire escape.

"You're right on time." Revenge said. "If the appointment was at 11:24."

Holly frowned.

"You're not that good at hiding in shadows." Revenge said. "What did you call me here for?"

"To tell you that the setup on Grant is not a real threat." Holly said.

"It seems real enough." Revenge said.

"It supposed to." Holly said. "The real target is you."

"Big surprise." Revenge said, rolling his eyes beneath his mask.

"Here." Holly said, handing Revenge a USB drive.

Revenge looked at it and after a moment, crushed it in his hand.

Holly looked shocked.

"It was a virus." Revenge said. "And a good one too. Designed to infiltrate my computers, take data, and destroy my hard drives. I'm assuming you bought it from LexCorp?"

"How- How did you-?"

"I'm not stupid." Revenge said. "Now run along, kid. Before I think about taking you in."

Holly grinned and flipped backwards onto the fire escape. Her body moved fluidly in a single motion.

"Sure," she said, and was gone.

Revenge frowned and shot a grappling line, swinging away.

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The green-white domino mask lay on the table. Holly had slipped into some dark green jeans and a black shirt. She was leaning on the desk with one leg pushing on the piece of furniture at a 90 degree angle. She ran a hand through her blonde, silky hair and looked at her counter-part.

The Asian-American, black haired assassin was still dressed in her dark green garb. Her messy black hair fell across her face. She continued typing on the computer.

"We've got to think of something else." Holly finally spoke.

"I didn't think he would fall for it." Cheshire said. "But we tried your plan, now we try mine."

"No." Holly said, standing up. "I've voiced my opinions on doing that to our targets."

"I don't really care." Cheshire said. "If you don't want to do that, then I'll take him down myself."

"I can shoot perfectly straight!" Holly protested.

"Please, you can't hit a schoolyard. I've got to get to the target. You can take guard for once." Cheshire pulled on her mask and grinned. "Take good care of my sister, too."

Holly groaned and watched as Cheshire went to report to the Light.

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"This ought to be fun." Sam muttered, spotting a familiar blonde teen walking towards him.

It had been a week since their last encounter. Sam continued playing Batman's game. He actually found it amusing to mess with Artemis's head. Both as a vigilante and as a teen.

Luckily, the park was fairly empty. It wouldn't be good publicity for Samuel Grant to be seen with a random girl. Especially one that looked like a vigilante that belonged on the other side of the nation.

"Didn't expect to see you here." Sam said as a greeting.

Artemis shrugged as she fell in sync with his footsteps.

"Looking for more information this time?" Sam asked.

"No. I thought I would do a social call." Artemis replied.

Sam raised an eyebrow.

Before Artemis could speak again, something vibrated in Sam's pocket. He pulled out his phone and saw an alert. The Dealer had positioned himself downtown and was threatening to dump chemicals into the sewers.

"I'm sorry." Sam said, shoving the phone back in his pocket. "I've got to go home. Maybe I'll see you around?"

Artemis looked a little upset but nodded and put on a fake smile. "Sure."

Sam grinned and jogged off. North.

'Strange.' Artemis thought. Doesn't Grant live near the west side of New York?'

She waved it off. Her earpiece buzzed.

"Yes?" she asked.

"Your chance to get on Revenge's good side is here. One of his villains is threatening to poison the city. Get down to the Empire State Building. Now."

"On my way." Artemis said, slipping behind a building and sliding on her uniform.

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By the time the archer got downtown, Red Revenge was trading blows with the henchmen of the criminal. He was outnumbered. 10 to 1.

Artemis fired an arrow at three guys. Foam exploded and hardened around them, disabling their movements.

"Thought you could use a hand." Artemis said, leaping down beside the vigilante.

"Forget about me!" Revenge growled. "Get the Dealer!"

"That's it?" Artemis asked. "That's your name? The Dealer?"

The man ignored the teen and opened a vial, dumping it above the sewer opening.

Artemis shot two arrows. The first hit the rim of the sewer and exploded in foam, causing the liquid to be absorbed into the foam. The second was aimed at the Dealer. The arrow attached to his chest and gas hissed out. Dealer groaned and collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

Revenge knocked the last guy to the ground and turned to Artemis. "Do you always talk this much during missions?" he asked.

"Why so serious?" Artemis asked. "I like making fun of the villains before taking them down."

"I just want the job over and done with." Revenge said, firing a grappling hook and swinging off.

Artemis frowned and disappeared from the scene, slipping into the shadows.