Chapter 19: Chapter 18: Bow And Gun
A/n: Update, Dec 19... I was suppose to publish these chapters tommorrow... At dec 20
Under a tunnel, the mercenary's trembling voice filled the darkened room.
"We...we lost the materials, boss. Superman intercepted the aircraft, and..."
A loud crash echoed as Tony Li slammed his fist onto his desk, rattling the contents around him.
"Fools!" he bellowed. "You couldn't even complete a simple recovery task?!"
The mercenary winced, clutching the phone tighter. "Boss, the heroes are managing the lost materials now. There's no chance of retrieving them at this point."
Tony closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. His mind raced.
Though the setback was frustrating, he knew better than to dwell on failure.
Tony growled, his voice lowering. "Follow the next mission. Keep a low profile. And don't screw up again."
Before the mercenary could respond, a piercing whistle split the air.
An arrow lodged itself into his chest, delivering a jolt of electricity that sent him crashing to the floor.
"What the—?!"
Green Arrow stepped into view, his bow drawn, another arrow ready.
"Hey there," he quipped. "Sorry to crash the party, but you guys left your last meeting in a bit of a mess. Figured I'd clean up."
The remaining mercenaries scrambled for their weapons, but Green Arrow didn't give them the chance.
His arrows found their marks with precision, taking out one after another.
Two of the more experienced mercenaries managed to grab their guns.
"He's just one guy! Take him down!" the leader barked.
Bullets tore through the air, forcing Green Arrow to dive behind a pile of trash.
A loud thud echoed as a figure dropped behind the mercenaries.
Before they could react, Artemis struck with a devastating kick, sending one sprawling.
The largest mercenary swung his arm to Artemis, but she swiftly sidestepped, attaching an electric arrow to his thigh.
He convulsed as the shock immobilized him, collapsing to the floor.
"Looks like you're down to zero," Artemis said, brushing her hands off.
The leader, now the last man standing, hesitated, his weapon shaking.
Before he could pull the trigger, Green Arrow's arrow knocked the gun out of his hands.
"Better luck next time," Green Arrow said, approaching him.
With a swift motion, he struck the mercenary across the temple, rendering him unconscious.
Artemis picked up the communicator lying near one of the downed men.
She put it to her ear, but the call had already ended.
"Cut off," she said, tossing it to Green Arrow.
"Figures," Green Arrow muttered, examining the device.
Maybe they shouldn't have dived in too early.
In his office, Tony Li hurled his own communicator across the room, smashing it against the wall.
His rage simmered as he paced.
"No worries," he muttered to himself, regaining composure. "The plan doesn't end there."
He picked up a different phone and dialed another number.
"Send the chemicals," he ordered, his voice cold and precise. "Stay under detection. The heroes are onto us, we cannot afford another failure. Ensure the product reaches its destination."
A voice on the other end replied, "Understood, boss. We'll proceed immediately."
Tony leaned back in his chair, staring at the city skyline through his office window.
In the dimly lit alleyways of Gotham, a group of men moved with calculated precision, each carrying a black case.
Their demeanor was mechanical, their movements synchronized as if choreographed.
They walked without speaking, their expressions blank, following their leader's silent gestures.
They were like robots...
From the shadows, Jason Todd observed them, his crimson helmet blending into the darkness.
He had been tailing them for hours.
The group's path took them deeper into Gotham's underbelly.
Jason perched on a rooftop overlooking the meeting point, a desolate warehouse on the city's outskirts.
He adjusted his position, eyes narrowing as a sleek black car pulled up.
The doors opened, and a man in a dark trench coat stepped out, flanked by two armed guards.
The men with the cases stopped in their tracks, waiting as the man approached.
Jason watched as the cases were handed over, their locks undone.
The man in black opened one case, revealing rows of vials filled with an ominous blue green liquid.
"What are those?" Jason muttered to himself.
The man examined the vials, holding one up to the dim light. Satisfied, he nodded, and his guards transferred the contents into a duffel bag.
Jason's attention shifted to the unopened cases.
They weren't touched during the exchange.
"Decoys?" Jason mused.
Before the men could act, Jason dropped from his vantage point, landing silently behind the group.
He aimed his pistols at the nearest guards, his voice cutting through the tense air.
"Party's over," he said.
The group froze, their heads snapping toward him.
"Ah, the Red Hood," he said, his voice calm and mocking. "You've been a thorn in our side for some time now. But I'm afraid you're outnumbered."
Jason cocked his head, his tone dripping with confidence. "I've been outnumbered since I came back from the dead. Let's see how that worked out for your friends."
The guards raised their weapons, and chaos erupted.
Bullets whizzed through the air as Jason dove behind cover, returning fire with precision.
His shots were deliberate, disarming the guards without killing them, then he ran towards them if he gets the chance, knocking them down simultaneously.
The man in black made a break for the car, the duffel bag slung over his shoulder.
"Not so fast," Jason growled, firing a grappling hook that latched onto the bag. With a sharp tug, he yanked it from the man's grasp.
The man turned, his expression darkening as Jason caught the bag midair.
"Too bad," the man chuckles.
With a tick sound, jason quickly threw it out from a distance, fearing it's a bomb.
"Fool" the man muttered.
A drone quickly grabs the bag and flew away.
Realizing he was tricked, he quickly shoots at the escaping drone.
bang bang bang
Taking this chance, the man grabbed a rifle and pointing it at the hero, pulling the trigger, which rained a storm of bullets.
Jason was forced to dive down the docks for cover.
Then an explosion erupted from the remaining cases, sending a fiery shockwave through the alley, creating a smoke screen.
When the smoke cleared, the man in black and his guards were gone, even the car left with no sound and disappeared suddenly.
What just happened? He thought
Jason picked himself up, coughing as he assessed the damage.
The cases were obliterated, leaving nothing behind but scorched debris.
Those who he knocked down were dead, blood flowing out from their mouth.
They killed themselves.
"Great," he muttered, looking at the corpses.