7 Chapter 7: From the Shadows...
(MC POV)
15 October 2010
Washington, Star City
10:14am
'Hitchhiking off the tops of moving vehicles is heaps of fun but not really safe'
When I left Bludhaven I went by bus up north towards New York but then quickly jumped off when the bus made a stop and made my way west, it was strange feeling I had like something bad was going to happen to me but I couldn't tell what so I decided to make random moves just in case.
I ended up in Star City and planned to travel further away even to another country depending on if I can hold myself onto a plane while it's flying in high altitude, of course that's a bad plan so I'd most likely have to take a boat.
Walking around I admired the large buildings around me, much like Gotham they all reached great heights but didn't have that oppressive feeling of dread lingering off them when you walked by them.
After hours of randomly roaming around I eventually found myself infront of an amusement park which I had to say was quite impressive, but I eventually got bored as I literally dominated each game in a way that made me question why I came.
Another few hours wasted as I sat down with an ice cream enjoying the sunset on the edge of the wharf as seagulls cried around me, making my way back into the city I decide to look for a hotel to sleep the night but I feel this strange sensation in the back of my head.
'Spider-sense? but who would want to hurt me here?'
"I know your there... You suck at hiding so might as well come out" I lied hoping my bluff would work, suddenly two shadows dropped in front of me but I could feel one more behind me.
"Impressive... you have so much potential, tell me what is it you desire power? money? respect? You could gain it all if you are willing to join us" one of the men spoke, I had an idea who these guys were and it was a good idea to learn under them before burning it down before they brain-wash me.
"Why would you help me? and why should I even join you?" I questioned.
"The leader of the 'League of Assassins', the Demon's head, Our master, Ra's Al Ghul... He is personally wishing to accept you as an apprentice, learning under him directly is a great honor which comes with many... Privileges" another said.
'Yep knew it, only he'd have his minons wear these pajamas in public. They need to learn from Batman and use 'weave Kevlar'. While tempting to learn from them I'm more likely to be brainwashed by these fools to become a useful slave so better not'
"Your proposal is tempting... But League of Assassins? that sounds like a stupid name a chuunibyou who wants to take over the world picked out, so yeah I refuse" I said knowing it insulted them, immediately I get the same tingling in my head and as I drop low a blade narrowly misses my head.
Within seconds I found myself in a three on one where I couldn't underestimate my opponents, 'Assassin' also means 'uses unfair means to win' and I can bet least one of them has something that could harm me if they knew my weaknesses.
(eg. Flash bangs or molotov)
Dodging blows while countering I quickly shift my clothes into a blackish-grey version of my Spider-Man suit as I continued to fight, they were weaker and slower than me but they were slippery as they somehow constantly dodged my blows.
"TITAN'S GO!"
Suddenly three spinning blades came flying towards the Assassins from behind and exploding on contact throwing them away for a moment, before a large green rhino comes through clapping one of them into a wall while the other two get taken out by a yellow blast and an arrow that turned into a Bola.
Looking at whoever helped me four people group up to a building in front of me which was concerning because I recognized them, a young man in a red-suit and black cape 'Robin', An African American girl dressed like a bee 'Bumblebee', A red version of green arrow 'Speedy' and a green kid in a strange suit 'Beast-boy'.
"Who are you guys supposed to be?" I asked despite knowing them individually I thought it was strange with these guys together, I knew Robin was a apart of the Teen titans but I thought that consisted himself, Cyborg, Star-fire, Raven and Beast-boy.
'Do they meet up later or this a universe they never meet up?'
"We're the Teen Titans" replied Robin and for a moment it looked like they were posing when he said that but I wasn't completely sure, suddenly the three men we weren't playing too much attention to quickly got up and disappeared while using a smoke bomb but I already didn't care.
With their disappearance a long silence emerged till the green kid in the weird suit started to walk upto me, "Heya Dyl how's about you come with us for some pizza?" he asked with a grin.
"Sorry I don't know you" I answered as I started to walk off, suddenly I felt a hand fall onto my shoulder yet my senses never went off.
"Look kid why don't you hear us out ok? and I'll introduce you to my team" said Robin with a soft smile as he tried to appear kind, I sighed for a moment because I didn't really want to get involved with any of the hero's but with the League of Assassins probably now after me and I could use some proper training.
"Alright fine I'll hear your side but your paying for dinner"
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Sitting in Big Belly Burger we all ate together as Robin introduced himself and his team who I was right about their identities being Speedy, Bumblebee and Beast-boy, before going on about wanting to recruit me after seeing what I did at Bludhaven Bank.
'Wait... Beast-boy AKA Garfield 'Gar' Logan... F*ck they've been onto me this whole time'
"You've been following me... Since before the Bludhaven bank incident, haven't you?" I asked seeing if Robin would lie and if he did I was gonna walk away, silence slurred for a moment before Robin sighed.
"Look, your right we were following you before... There's no use lying, I was informed what happened in Gotham and what you've been through and I just want to help. I was just waiting for the right opportunity to introduce myself without scaring you off" replied Robin as he looked at the table, I could hear his heart beat from where I sat and it seemed he was telling the truth.
"And me running into Ga- Beast-boy here?"
"That... yeah that wasn't supposed to happen, we didn't think you'd go to an arcade to be honest. When you did Beast-boy here wouldn't answer his comms" answered Robin again looking embarrassed so much I couldn't help but smirk.
"I just have one question" I said quickly drawing Robin's eyes back on me "What happened to the other kids at the orphanage after what happened?", Robin paused for a moment before looking away to pull a small comm device out and pressing a few buttons before sliding it over.
Suddenly a picture of the orphanage popped up but it looked slightly different a bit newer, as I read the information on the device my eyes grew wide for a moment, "Wayne Enterprises has taken full ownership of Gotham's Orphanage?" I said out-loud.
Robin smiled for a moment before nodding "Most of the money donated to the orphanage was from the Wayne foundation to keep it running but the Falcones swapped out the workers and started embezzling the money, Bruce Wayne was soon informed by the Police Comissioner so decided to buy the orphanage instead so it would be used as it was intended for" said Robin as he smiled quietly.
I was glad that the kids didn't suffer for what I had done and thought of seeing them again one day but focusing on reality I looked at a nervous Robin waiting for my answer, "Alright I'll join you" I answered.
Robin smiled as we both shook hands.
"Welcome to the team"
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(Robin POV)
Inviting Dylan to the team was great and he already bonded well with Beast-boy as they immediately got on talking about beating eachother at videogames, taking a moment to walk out of the Burger joint I quickly pull out my comm to make a call.
[Calling 'Bruce'. . .]
*What is it?*
"The League of Assassins is after the kid"
*...Explain*
"Well we monitored the kid like you said, it just seemed like he wanted to be left alone but then three members tried to recruit him.
Dylan refused becoming some guy called Ra's Al Ghul's Apprentice and proceeded to insulted their leader so they immediately tried to kill the kid instead, my team and I got involved right after"
*And what happened to the Assassin members?*
"Got away"
*... Are you still monitoring Dylan*
"I've recruited him to my team"
*. . .*
"Don't be like that Bruce, He's like me... If I didn't have you I could have turned out like him, let me do this."
*...Fine but I want a report if he has any changes. I need to go*
[End Call]
I leaned back for a moment to just sigh before looking back inside and seeing the whole team getting along really well as Dylan and Beast-boy randomly started a eating match.
'This is gonna empty the wallet...'
Ignoring my financial issues I quickly come in to try stop them before one of them chokes with how bad they were eating, but suddenly Beast-boy turned into a gorilla and starts eating faster.
"Heyy! that's cheating" Dylan said as he stopped eating before suddenly transforming himself taking a giant black form and consuming all the food on the table in one go, shifting back the team and I looked at him in shock before Dylan let out a horrible burp that shook the air around him.
"Oops, pardon me" he said jokingly as he scratched his head for a moment, then Wasp got annoyed at the burp while Beast-boy starting him multiple questions about his abilities as Dylan showed off a bit.
'He'll fit in well with the team'
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Word count:1744
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