Post by adrini on Dec 12, 2014 17:16:39 GMT -5
"Was that entirely necessary?" Kate heard behind her as she leaned over the ledge. Looking at the scene below, the remains of what had been an abusive asshole was being loaded into an ambulance. Considering what he had been trying to do when Kate arrived she was fine with how it turned out.
"You know, I think it was." She turned to see Batgirl, Barbara Gordan, walk over in the soft light. "Unless you have another way of dealing with traffickers."
"The police?" Barbra said but knew it was pointless. After months of looking for their lost friend Kate had hardened considerably. Kate didn't respond, instead looking over the ledge as the car drove off. "You said you had news."
"More of a rumor." Kate said as she stood up. "What do you know about Meta Brawls?"
"You havenites are always so cheerful." Babs said ryely. "Too much, why?"
"Don't be sure you want to know, fill me in." They walked to the trap door and jumped down to the waiting bikes. Babs followed her back to the hideout, by far the most brilliant HQ she had ever seen. Who thought anything of someone entering a parking garage?
After the one month anniversary the three of them had covered the scrawled message with a bright cotton tapestry, one their now missing friend would have loved. It was a promise that they would get her back, but also a painful reminder. Babs flinched as she saw it.
"Brawls, go." Kate said as she fell into a chair. "Don't leave anything out."
"Run by a woman called Roulette, she usually tries to get new metas, ones that are super freaked out. That or openly evil ones, those she gets with the pay. She can afford to pay really well. The brawls are to the blood or to the death, depending on her mood, and she loves pitting newbies against seasoned criminals." Babs took the love seat for herself. "There are a lot of fatalities, and abuse is rampant. Only about half the injuries in the files were from the fight, the rest are far worse. It took the first Black Canary months to knock her out of Gotham, and she had to run after. Roulette is always connected."
"Where does usually she set up?" Kate was carefully avoiding expression as she listened. "Any pattern?"
"Always some place nice, normally an older building that was suddenly spruced up again. And she has a cover, theatre, plaza, something that you don't think twice about." Babs was seriously wondering what this was about, but Kate wasn't dropping any clues. "The only tell is the clientele. She likes rich people, and I mean rich. You almost have to be a Queen or a Wayne to get the best seats. Now will you tell me why you want to know all this?"
"Di, aside from a Bird and our friend is a Meta, and an expertly trained one at that. There is a rumor going around the underground that the scream has shown up again." Kate sat up and grabbed her belt. "We need to find that arena, now."
The haven hadn't changed much in the years she had been gone, but it still gave Adrien the shivers to walk it's streets again. Under the guise, or so she had told Oliver, of a sudden business trip she had taken the week off to see what was happening on the ground. She needed to talk to her 'detective'.
"It has been sometime, Addy." Said a voice behind her, it sounded older, more tired. "Good to see you again. They have treated you well."
Jansen had aged considerably in the time since she left, he looked a good forty years older. Considering it had only been twenty-five it was telling of the life she had left she once again was grateful to have gotten out, even with the cost.
"What did you find?" She asked as the two walked familiar back allys and sidewalks. "Brawls?"
"Yes, but first something more pressing. I assume you brought the plane that your friends own, I have need of it." Jansen admitting to needing anything was rare, he despised asking for help. "Prompt need."
"So you're suggesting a trade, what is your offer?" He hadn't changed, but then she knew better then to think he would.
"There is a woman who is also looking for this girl, and I can direct you to her. However you must rescue another as well." She was relieved at the offer, it was one she could live with. "I must insist."
"There's room on the plane, who?" He paled somewhat and she felt her stomach drop. "No."
"After her return they have been doubting her loyalty, and want prove of it. But the means they have chosen, she will not survive." Jansen looked at her openly, and she nodded. "Help me save our daughter."
"There you are." Shiva said as she saw her daughter arrive, Jade only grinned briefly. The loss of the Lances had inspired both of them to try to make another go but the loss was heavy on her. She still felt she could have saved her friend.
"Checking in, not much going in right now." Jade said down, curling into the chair. Thomas was gone more with work and she was openly longing for company. Her mother couldn't help but notice that she looked pale.
"Are you sick?" She asked and the young woman only shrugged.
"Maybe, Kate and I keep thinking we have leads, but when we check them out-" She shrugged. "I won't give up, I can rest when I get her back."
"It's been six months, just stop for a minute and take a break." Jade had been splitting her time between looking and training for taking out the Talons she now hated. Whatever training holes had existed before were not there now.
"I can't, you know that." She stood up and got paler, but shook it off. "If I had been taken instead Di would move heaven and earth till I was safe again. If any one us had been she would, we keep going till she's ours again."
Sandra sighed, but knew it wasn't going to change. She had been avoiding her own search for fear of what she was almost certain she would find, personally she doubted the former student was even still alive. It was far more likely that she had joined her passed parents by now. However her daughter was going to keep killing herself until she found out one way or another.
"Let me look, see what I can find. I have connections you don't." She said and Jade thought for a moment and nodded, she knew it was true. "And get some rest, you getting sick won't help her."
--BOP--
Renee had learned in her time in New York that corrupt cops were annoying but useful. Firstly they tended to be rather arrogant, so sure about the security of their uniform that they honestly believed that they were untouchable. Sadly they were often right. Secondly they thought that as they has the working public fooled they, of course, had achieved the same for everyone else. In her far too large experience so long as you allowed them to continue to think so you could generally get them to give away almost everything. It was all in the game.
The missing persons file she had put together herself had been taken by internal affairs then denied out of any existence. This told her, within the first week of the abduction, that it went right to the top. People at the top were easily followed and tracked. Setting the area reporters and watch dog groups on the corrupt leaders in the department was not only effective - she had Di's likely location down to two city blocks by now - but rather satisfying. That they had no idea she was behind the leaks and had enlisted her as a ally against the rouge agent was almost too ironic. Sadly the investigation in finding herself was hitting a lot of snags, always regrettable.
The issue was that those were two very large blocks with over a dozen buildings between them. Also they were all owned by the top level of society. Two had belonged to the Kane's and were searched easily, but the rest were very hard to get into unless they knew what they were looking for. They needed one more focus to at least get the number down to no more then three, but she hadn't gotten that break. But she might that day.
The commissioner was almost certainly behind much of the corruption and she was convinced knew where to find her friend. That he had so carefully kept her away from any investigation about the disappearance was both frustrating and encouraging. Not knowing what was happening for six months was pure torture, but that she was being kept away meant Di was likely still alive. There was still hope.
The day before the man had gone on his weekly trip to the theatre. Based on Barbra's intel they had focused on that as the next plausible location. She knew the man hated the arts so the cover story had always seemed iffy, though at first she had chalked it up to his wife nagging him into going. However the entire department now knew his wife had left, not unreasonable after catching one's husband with a prostitute, and yet he was still going. She had replaced his tie clip with a miniature camera, thanks to their tech friendly friend, and now she had to retrieve the file. She only hoped it had caught something.
Very importantly putting a file together, traffic incidents, she stood up and walked to the office. She had seen him leave for the restroom but his secretary had no way of knowing that. As, by regulation, all files had to be put on the desk by hand she was buzzed in. After all, she was an ally so what was the harm?
The jacket was on the chair by the desk and it took no time to switch the camera out for the real clip again. Leaving the office it was hard to keep a straight face, she was ready for this to be over. She wanted to get her friend back.
Jansen held his daughter's hand in a vice like grip, while behind him Shado was pale. She had now seen first hand just how willing the family she had grown up with was to destroy her.
"They will know, we must hurry, they will know." She breathed, panicked. "How can we get out?"
It was reasonable concern, this was their town and the father and daughter should have left when her mother did. The lost years were gone, however, and they had to deal with their current flight. They had made it to the airfields, they were close.
"We have an ally even they do not know," He said and, seeing the plane land, pulled her even faster. She saw the plane herself and began to sprint. He could see her cry in relief.
"Right on time, folks. We'll have to be there and back, more passengers here in a day or two." Said a cheerful voice from the cockpit. Once inside they saw the man at the helm. He looked like an extra from a 50's sitcom. "Ms. Rivers sends her regrets but got an urgent message and was called away. No worries though, we're good to go and good folks are waitin' for you on the other side."
"I don't understand." Shado said as they settled into the seats. "Why is Ms. Rivers helping us again?"
"She's your mother, and very much alive." He said finally, free to tell the truth. He had not been permitted before. "I was never allowed to tell you, nor was she. I'm sorry"
In shock as the plane took off she tried to process the information, much of her past trials now making sense. Jansen pulled her close.
"We're out." He said softly. "And together again, just as soon as your mother takes care of the a few things. It's over."
"Babs, we have it, it's not opening." Kate said as they gathered around the computer in the Gym office. Ted, once he found out that they were finding leads, had insisted they set up tech shop at the gym. No one bothered to look at the place for high tech wifi when the shingles were falling off outside. She and Renee were at the machine with the file loaded into the computer, Babs paled.
"You'll destroy it, get away from the file, now." They backed up and she sat down instead and looked over the file, looking concerned. "Something is wrong, let me see the case."
"The files gone, that's it, I'm asking him myself." Kate moved to get up and interrogate' the corrupt official at Babs stricken face. It wasn't hard to guess that her questioning wouldn't be polite, she had been on edge for half a year and was past caring about niceties.
"Give her a chance." Renee pulled her mate to her, and Kate restrained herself from marching out the door. Only Renee got through anymore, something the others had learned the hard way. "This is what she does."
Babs focused on the case, the pin's shell was in good shape but the bonding plastic was warped, it wasn't the best cream but then they had needed to open the case again with minimal damage to the data inside. She had gone with a weaker bond, so it might have been damaged somehow but-
"It got wet." She said, the problem now obvious. "He got his tie wet, probably a drink from the event. Something fairly acidic, wine, cider, liqueur. That explains the damage. Maybe we got enough anyway."
"Let us hope." Ted said softly, sitting down. "Take your time, get what you can."
She went into rescue mode and tried to find whatever fragments were in descent shape, noting that there wasn't much. With any luck she didn't need much, just enough to verify what was going on and who was there. It took hacking a few back doors but she got a playable file.
"Okay, this is all we have." She said, a few minutes later. "Keep an eye out for signs."
The video was there at the beginning, and they saw the elevator leading to a subterranean level under the building. Once there he handed over a heavy chunk of change, more then his job would make, and walked into a large arena room where a large net covered the center and glass crossed with internal wires lined even that.
"Call me crazy but if I wanted to trap the canary I would have that glass." Jade said, her eyes wide. Ted had paled. "It's perfect."
Babs had to agree, it was fairly ideal. The video showed him motioning for a drink and as expected the video cut out shortly after. The four strained to listen to the audio, though even it was hard to listen to. Roulette had captured several young and terrified metas and while it was hard to be sure with even the sound breaking up now, it was clear that at least some of them had not survived their matches despite their pleading.
"One last part, we still want to do this?" Babs asked as she paused the track after a particularly terrible episode. "I can't promise it gets better."
Kate glared, annoyed, and hit the play button.
"I'm getting her back." She said simply.
The track moved to much louder music and the crowd chanting something that they couldn't quite make out, but whatever was happening they were excited. The voice that spoke over the crowd announced two old foes Kate and Jade known from the old days and from the sounds of it they had it out. The crowd was loving it.
They were at the tail end of the track when the same voice rang out again.
"Be sure to come back this friday, Ladies and Gentleman. When the returning champion, Black Canary, will be here to defend her title!"
The room was quiet, deathly still. Maybe, knowing how terrible the brawls were the four had actually hoped Di wasn't there. But now they knew she was, and each could only try not to think of what she had suffered. Barbra started crying first, quickly followed by shocked tears from Renee while Ted excused himself out of pride. Kate didn't cry, if any of the others had been looking they would have seen something quite different. Kate didn't want tears, she wanted revenge. With this new information she finally knew where to find it.
"Friday." She said, loud enough to be heard by the others. "Friday blood will run."
--BOP--
"The Spider, I always did wonder what became of you." Adrien heard a voice from the corner, from a still covered figure. "Never would have considered looking at high society."
"Are you Sandra?" Adrien asked, she knew she might be remembered but the name was still something she had hoped to forget.
"To some, but we can talk later. There isn't time." The woman came out of the shadows, and walked to the back of the ally, a brick wall. "Have that car I told you about?"
"In place, right around the corner. With the supplies." The wall wasn't going anywhere, just sitting there. "And a suite is reserved."
"You always were through, we're ready then, you still know how to sneak I hope." Sandra asked as Adrien nodded. She found a series of bricks and pushed them in, and a passageway opened. Adrien had forgotten how many little area like this the 'haven had.
The hallway went behind the wall of the building but was thin enough to hear the interior, and it chilled the former agent. There were cries and pleading, yelling, this had to be a den of hell. Sandra shook her head and nodded to a panel, putting her ear to a door. Two people, it sounded like young teens, were being forced down the hall and panicking. It turned Adrien's stomach that she couldn't help all of the people here but they were very out numbered and she had a feeling very powerful people were tied into this.
"Clear. Be fast." Sandra opened the door and they walked into an unfinished hall. It had been nice once but now was dark and fitting for what apparently went on here. Keeping to dark areas Sandra led her a good ways down the hall, Adrien noticed for the first time that she was carrying a blanket. Also for an Agent she was oddly emotional, it wasn't common to see.
They walked to the end of the hall, where a larger room took the corner space space behind a very solid door. Sandra took out an old style key she must have obtained somehow and started to open the door, but her hand shook. She wasn't able to.
"Please, if you wouldn't mind." She said, offering the key. She was crying, Adrien was happy to help but she was also shocked. League agents never cried.
"Of course." She took the key while Sandra got the blanket ready. Turning the lock she opened the door and looked inside.
The room was pitch black, and it took a few seconds to find the switch, when she turned it on she wished she hadn't. It was more remains then person on the floor, with blood splattering on most of the surfaces in the room. The girl wasn't wearing much, the remains of workout gear, and she was covered in cuts, bruises and lacerations. Blood pooled around her, and she seemed to still be bleeding as they watched. Sandra paled, Adrien knew she had also. The young Miss Lance wasn't remotely recognizable.
Sandra fell to the floor and gently turned the face, as cut and bruised as the rest, there was no effort to hide her tears. Gingerly she felt the pulse and closed her eyes, relieved. Adrien was mostly glad that Oliver wasn't here to see this.
"It's faint, but there's a pulse." Sandra brushed the hair from an open cut, and Adrien figured it out. This was a rescue more then a job.
"This isn't good, we need to hurry." Adrien moved to look at the girl, she wanted her out of here. "On three."
The two moved the unconscious form onto the blanket, incredibly Miss Lance was beginning to come around. Sandra went to the door and checked for anyone in the area, when she scowled.
"Just give me a minute." The woman said and ducked out of the room. There was the sound of heavy breathing from the hallway before the sound of a form falling to the ground. Adrien had a good idea what it meant.
"We're clear." Sandra came back and picked up one side of the blanket, starting the walk back. Adrien was careful to step over the corpse as she lifted the other end. It was a guard who had grabbed the young Meta's so she didn't feel bad. They made it to the false wall and the back hallway.
"Room on call?" Sandra asked, looking at the girl, Miss Lance was in and out. She had to be fighting several infections at least. The sooner she got medical care the better, Adrien was impressed she had even survived the wounds she saw.
"Staff on standby." Adrien added, agreeing. "Thank you for finding her, I swear she'll be taken care of from now on."
"And you have the money to make that stick, that I know. That's changed at least." Sandra nodded, understanding. She looked relieved. "One more thing, I know it's asking alot."
"Name it." Adrien nodded, they had made it to the alleyway and it was just getting to the car now.
"Her mother, she was a good woman. A kind woman, world would be a better place with her still in it. She'd want her little girl to be happy, loved, not just looked after. See she gets that to." They settled the young woman in the back seat and covered her with more blankets to protect her from the winter chill. "And let me know how things go, when she is well again. She'll be missed."
"That I promise." Adrien said, meaning it. The young woman already had a new family waiting for her. Sandra looked at the broken body one last time before closing the door. Adrien hurried to start the car and make record time to the hospital. When she looked at the curb, mere moments after driving off the woman was gone.
"You know, I think it was." She turned to see Batgirl, Barbara Gordan, walk over in the soft light. "Unless you have another way of dealing with traffickers."
"The police?" Barbra said but knew it was pointless. After months of looking for their lost friend Kate had hardened considerably. Kate didn't respond, instead looking over the ledge as the car drove off. "You said you had news."
"More of a rumor." Kate said as she stood up. "What do you know about Meta Brawls?"
"You havenites are always so cheerful." Babs said ryely. "Too much, why?"
"Don't be sure you want to know, fill me in." They walked to the trap door and jumped down to the waiting bikes. Babs followed her back to the hideout, by far the most brilliant HQ she had ever seen. Who thought anything of someone entering a parking garage?
After the one month anniversary the three of them had covered the scrawled message with a bright cotton tapestry, one their now missing friend would have loved. It was a promise that they would get her back, but also a painful reminder. Babs flinched as she saw it.
"Brawls, go." Kate said as she fell into a chair. "Don't leave anything out."
"Run by a woman called Roulette, she usually tries to get new metas, ones that are super freaked out. That or openly evil ones, those she gets with the pay. She can afford to pay really well. The brawls are to the blood or to the death, depending on her mood, and she loves pitting newbies against seasoned criminals." Babs took the love seat for herself. "There are a lot of fatalities, and abuse is rampant. Only about half the injuries in the files were from the fight, the rest are far worse. It took the first Black Canary months to knock her out of Gotham, and she had to run after. Roulette is always connected."
"Where does usually she set up?" Kate was carefully avoiding expression as she listened. "Any pattern?"
"Always some place nice, normally an older building that was suddenly spruced up again. And she has a cover, theatre, plaza, something that you don't think twice about." Babs was seriously wondering what this was about, but Kate wasn't dropping any clues. "The only tell is the clientele. She likes rich people, and I mean rich. You almost have to be a Queen or a Wayne to get the best seats. Now will you tell me why you want to know all this?"
"Di, aside from a Bird and our friend is a Meta, and an expertly trained one at that. There is a rumor going around the underground that the scream has shown up again." Kate sat up and grabbed her belt. "We need to find that arena, now."
--BOP--
The haven hadn't changed much in the years she had been gone, but it still gave Adrien the shivers to walk it's streets again. Under the guise, or so she had told Oliver, of a sudden business trip she had taken the week off to see what was happening on the ground. She needed to talk to her 'detective'.
"It has been sometime, Addy." Said a voice behind her, it sounded older, more tired. "Good to see you again. They have treated you well."
Jansen had aged considerably in the time since she left, he looked a good forty years older. Considering it had only been twenty-five it was telling of the life she had left she once again was grateful to have gotten out, even with the cost.
"What did you find?" She asked as the two walked familiar back allys and sidewalks. "Brawls?"
"Yes, but first something more pressing. I assume you brought the plane that your friends own, I have need of it." Jansen admitting to needing anything was rare, he despised asking for help. "Prompt need."
"So you're suggesting a trade, what is your offer?" He hadn't changed, but then she knew better then to think he would.
"There is a woman who is also looking for this girl, and I can direct you to her. However you must rescue another as well." She was relieved at the offer, it was one she could live with. "I must insist."
"There's room on the plane, who?" He paled somewhat and she felt her stomach drop. "No."
"After her return they have been doubting her loyalty, and want prove of it. But the means they have chosen, she will not survive." Jansen looked at her openly, and she nodded. "Help me save our daughter."
--BOP--
"There you are." Shiva said as she saw her daughter arrive, Jade only grinned briefly. The loss of the Lances had inspired both of them to try to make another go but the loss was heavy on her. She still felt she could have saved her friend.
"Checking in, not much going in right now." Jade said down, curling into the chair. Thomas was gone more with work and she was openly longing for company. Her mother couldn't help but notice that she looked pale.
"Are you sick?" She asked and the young woman only shrugged.
"Maybe, Kate and I keep thinking we have leads, but when we check them out-" She shrugged. "I won't give up, I can rest when I get her back."
"It's been six months, just stop for a minute and take a break." Jade had been splitting her time between looking and training for taking out the Talons she now hated. Whatever training holes had existed before were not there now.
"I can't, you know that." She stood up and got paler, but shook it off. "If I had been taken instead Di would move heaven and earth till I was safe again. If any one us had been she would, we keep going till she's ours again."
Sandra sighed, but knew it wasn't going to change. She had been avoiding her own search for fear of what she was almost certain she would find, personally she doubted the former student was even still alive. It was far more likely that she had joined her passed parents by now. However her daughter was going to keep killing herself until she found out one way or another.
"Let me look, see what I can find. I have connections you don't." She said and Jade thought for a moment and nodded, she knew it was true. "And get some rest, you getting sick won't help her."
--BOP--
Renee had learned in her time in New York that corrupt cops were annoying but useful. Firstly they tended to be rather arrogant, so sure about the security of their uniform that they honestly believed that they were untouchable. Sadly they were often right. Secondly they thought that as they has the working public fooled they, of course, had achieved the same for everyone else. In her far too large experience so long as you allowed them to continue to think so you could generally get them to give away almost everything. It was all in the game.
The missing persons file she had put together herself had been taken by internal affairs then denied out of any existence. This told her, within the first week of the abduction, that it went right to the top. People at the top were easily followed and tracked. Setting the area reporters and watch dog groups on the corrupt leaders in the department was not only effective - she had Di's likely location down to two city blocks by now - but rather satisfying. That they had no idea she was behind the leaks and had enlisted her as a ally against the rouge agent was almost too ironic. Sadly the investigation in finding herself was hitting a lot of snags, always regrettable.
The issue was that those were two very large blocks with over a dozen buildings between them. Also they were all owned by the top level of society. Two had belonged to the Kane's and were searched easily, but the rest were very hard to get into unless they knew what they were looking for. They needed one more focus to at least get the number down to no more then three, but she hadn't gotten that break. But she might that day.
The commissioner was almost certainly behind much of the corruption and she was convinced knew where to find her friend. That he had so carefully kept her away from any investigation about the disappearance was both frustrating and encouraging. Not knowing what was happening for six months was pure torture, but that she was being kept away meant Di was likely still alive. There was still hope.
The day before the man had gone on his weekly trip to the theatre. Based on Barbra's intel they had focused on that as the next plausible location. She knew the man hated the arts so the cover story had always seemed iffy, though at first she had chalked it up to his wife nagging him into going. However the entire department now knew his wife had left, not unreasonable after catching one's husband with a prostitute, and yet he was still going. She had replaced his tie clip with a miniature camera, thanks to their tech friendly friend, and now she had to retrieve the file. She only hoped it had caught something.
Very importantly putting a file together, traffic incidents, she stood up and walked to the office. She had seen him leave for the restroom but his secretary had no way of knowing that. As, by regulation, all files had to be put on the desk by hand she was buzzed in. After all, she was an ally so what was the harm?
The jacket was on the chair by the desk and it took no time to switch the camera out for the real clip again. Leaving the office it was hard to keep a straight face, she was ready for this to be over. She wanted to get her friend back.
--BOP--
Jansen held his daughter's hand in a vice like grip, while behind him Shado was pale. She had now seen first hand just how willing the family she had grown up with was to destroy her.
"They will know, we must hurry, they will know." She breathed, panicked. "How can we get out?"
It was reasonable concern, this was their town and the father and daughter should have left when her mother did. The lost years were gone, however, and they had to deal with their current flight. They had made it to the airfields, they were close.
"We have an ally even they do not know," He said and, seeing the plane land, pulled her even faster. She saw the plane herself and began to sprint. He could see her cry in relief.
"Right on time, folks. We'll have to be there and back, more passengers here in a day or two." Said a cheerful voice from the cockpit. Once inside they saw the man at the helm. He looked like an extra from a 50's sitcom. "Ms. Rivers sends her regrets but got an urgent message and was called away. No worries though, we're good to go and good folks are waitin' for you on the other side."
"I don't understand." Shado said as they settled into the seats. "Why is Ms. Rivers helping us again?"
"She's your mother, and very much alive." He said finally, free to tell the truth. He had not been permitted before. "I was never allowed to tell you, nor was she. I'm sorry"
In shock as the plane took off she tried to process the information, much of her past trials now making sense. Jansen pulled her close.
"We're out." He said softly. "And together again, just as soon as your mother takes care of the a few things. It's over."
--BOP--
"Babs, we have it, it's not opening." Kate said as they gathered around the computer in the Gym office. Ted, once he found out that they were finding leads, had insisted they set up tech shop at the gym. No one bothered to look at the place for high tech wifi when the shingles were falling off outside. She and Renee were at the machine with the file loaded into the computer, Babs paled.
"You'll destroy it, get away from the file, now." They backed up and she sat down instead and looked over the file, looking concerned. "Something is wrong, let me see the case."
"The files gone, that's it, I'm asking him myself." Kate moved to get up and interrogate' the corrupt official at Babs stricken face. It wasn't hard to guess that her questioning wouldn't be polite, she had been on edge for half a year and was past caring about niceties.
"Give her a chance." Renee pulled her mate to her, and Kate restrained herself from marching out the door. Only Renee got through anymore, something the others had learned the hard way. "This is what she does."
Babs focused on the case, the pin's shell was in good shape but the bonding plastic was warped, it wasn't the best cream but then they had needed to open the case again with minimal damage to the data inside. She had gone with a weaker bond, so it might have been damaged somehow but-
"It got wet." She said, the problem now obvious. "He got his tie wet, probably a drink from the event. Something fairly acidic, wine, cider, liqueur. That explains the damage. Maybe we got enough anyway."
"Let us hope." Ted said softly, sitting down. "Take your time, get what you can."
She went into rescue mode and tried to find whatever fragments were in descent shape, noting that there wasn't much. With any luck she didn't need much, just enough to verify what was going on and who was there. It took hacking a few back doors but she got a playable file.
"Okay, this is all we have." She said, a few minutes later. "Keep an eye out for signs."
The video was there at the beginning, and they saw the elevator leading to a subterranean level under the building. Once there he handed over a heavy chunk of change, more then his job would make, and walked into a large arena room where a large net covered the center and glass crossed with internal wires lined even that.
"Call me crazy but if I wanted to trap the canary I would have that glass." Jade said, her eyes wide. Ted had paled. "It's perfect."
Babs had to agree, it was fairly ideal. The video showed him motioning for a drink and as expected the video cut out shortly after. The four strained to listen to the audio, though even it was hard to listen to. Roulette had captured several young and terrified metas and while it was hard to be sure with even the sound breaking up now, it was clear that at least some of them had not survived their matches despite their pleading.
"One last part, we still want to do this?" Babs asked as she paused the track after a particularly terrible episode. "I can't promise it gets better."
Kate glared, annoyed, and hit the play button.
"I'm getting her back." She said simply.
The track moved to much louder music and the crowd chanting something that they couldn't quite make out, but whatever was happening they were excited. The voice that spoke over the crowd announced two old foes Kate and Jade known from the old days and from the sounds of it they had it out. The crowd was loving it.
They were at the tail end of the track when the same voice rang out again.
"Be sure to come back this friday, Ladies and Gentleman. When the returning champion, Black Canary, will be here to defend her title!"
The room was quiet, deathly still. Maybe, knowing how terrible the brawls were the four had actually hoped Di wasn't there. But now they knew she was, and each could only try not to think of what she had suffered. Barbra started crying first, quickly followed by shocked tears from Renee while Ted excused himself out of pride. Kate didn't cry, if any of the others had been looking they would have seen something quite different. Kate didn't want tears, she wanted revenge. With this new information she finally knew where to find it.
"Friday." She said, loud enough to be heard by the others. "Friday blood will run."
--BOP--
"The Spider, I always did wonder what became of you." Adrien heard a voice from the corner, from a still covered figure. "Never would have considered looking at high society."
"Are you Sandra?" Adrien asked, she knew she might be remembered but the name was still something she had hoped to forget.
"To some, but we can talk later. There isn't time." The woman came out of the shadows, and walked to the back of the ally, a brick wall. "Have that car I told you about?"
"In place, right around the corner. With the supplies." The wall wasn't going anywhere, just sitting there. "And a suite is reserved."
"You always were through, we're ready then, you still know how to sneak I hope." Sandra asked as Adrien nodded. She found a series of bricks and pushed them in, and a passageway opened. Adrien had forgotten how many little area like this the 'haven had.
The hallway went behind the wall of the building but was thin enough to hear the interior, and it chilled the former agent. There were cries and pleading, yelling, this had to be a den of hell. Sandra shook her head and nodded to a panel, putting her ear to a door. Two people, it sounded like young teens, were being forced down the hall and panicking. It turned Adrien's stomach that she couldn't help all of the people here but they were very out numbered and she had a feeling very powerful people were tied into this.
"Clear. Be fast." Sandra opened the door and they walked into an unfinished hall. It had been nice once but now was dark and fitting for what apparently went on here. Keeping to dark areas Sandra led her a good ways down the hall, Adrien noticed for the first time that she was carrying a blanket. Also for an Agent she was oddly emotional, it wasn't common to see.
They walked to the end of the hall, where a larger room took the corner space space behind a very solid door. Sandra took out an old style key she must have obtained somehow and started to open the door, but her hand shook. She wasn't able to.
"Please, if you wouldn't mind." She said, offering the key. She was crying, Adrien was happy to help but she was also shocked. League agents never cried.
"Of course." She took the key while Sandra got the blanket ready. Turning the lock she opened the door and looked inside.
The room was pitch black, and it took a few seconds to find the switch, when she turned it on she wished she hadn't. It was more remains then person on the floor, with blood splattering on most of the surfaces in the room. The girl wasn't wearing much, the remains of workout gear, and she was covered in cuts, bruises and lacerations. Blood pooled around her, and she seemed to still be bleeding as they watched. Sandra paled, Adrien knew she had also. The young Miss Lance wasn't remotely recognizable.
Sandra fell to the floor and gently turned the face, as cut and bruised as the rest, there was no effort to hide her tears. Gingerly she felt the pulse and closed her eyes, relieved. Adrien was mostly glad that Oliver wasn't here to see this.
"It's faint, but there's a pulse." Sandra brushed the hair from an open cut, and Adrien figured it out. This was a rescue more then a job.
"This isn't good, we need to hurry." Adrien moved to look at the girl, she wanted her out of here. "On three."
The two moved the unconscious form onto the blanket, incredibly Miss Lance was beginning to come around. Sandra went to the door and checked for anyone in the area, when she scowled.
"Just give me a minute." The woman said and ducked out of the room. There was the sound of heavy breathing from the hallway before the sound of a form falling to the ground. Adrien had a good idea what it meant.
"We're clear." Sandra came back and picked up one side of the blanket, starting the walk back. Adrien was careful to step over the corpse as she lifted the other end. It was a guard who had grabbed the young Meta's so she didn't feel bad. They made it to the false wall and the back hallway.
"Room on call?" Sandra asked, looking at the girl, Miss Lance was in and out. She had to be fighting several infections at least. The sooner she got medical care the better, Adrien was impressed she had even survived the wounds she saw.
"Staff on standby." Adrien added, agreeing. "Thank you for finding her, I swear she'll be taken care of from now on."
"And you have the money to make that stick, that I know. That's changed at least." Sandra nodded, understanding. She looked relieved. "One more thing, I know it's asking alot."
"Name it." Adrien nodded, they had made it to the alleyway and it was just getting to the car now.
"Her mother, she was a good woman. A kind woman, world would be a better place with her still in it. She'd want her little girl to be happy, loved, not just looked after. See she gets that to." They settled the young woman in the back seat and covered her with more blankets to protect her from the winter chill. "And let me know how things go, when she is well again. She'll be missed."
"That I promise." Adrien said, meaning it. The young woman already had a new family waiting for her. Sandra looked at the broken body one last time before closing the door. Adrien hurried to start the car and make record time to the hospital. When she looked at the curb, mere moments after driving off the woman was gone.