synergetic | crossed the white cross

"Understood. Be ready."

It was a lucky break in the sideline investigations Manx had snuck some of her new subordinates into, an off-the-record mission with the aim of resolving it before it reached the new Persia's desk. Bottom line: they needed Omi back. Preferably still breathing. They managed to track his cell phone signal to the vicinity of the hotel and scoured the area. Then, as though by fate, someone spotted him at a window of the hotel, resting his head on the sill and watching the streets.

Hours later, here they were, poised to strike. They had a lock on their main target, but first, some insurance.

Anyone who dealt regularly with life or death fighting had to have a mind ready to spring into full alert at the slightest sign of trouble. They would use that. Better not to do anything that would draw too much attention either, lest it draw the eyes of more than their intended audience.

From the third floor, Aya slipped his hand out the window that sat over the door to the courtyard, and dropped a small ball. On impact, it created a small flash and exploded with a hiss into a cloud of white smoke, obscuring the view of the door.

Well, that was jarring, to say the least.

Robin sprang in that direction mostly on instinct, hands reaching for Birdarangs. His brain was reeling, gears switching from reflection over all the ways he could have messed up Batman's plans for Tsukiyono to trying to piece together what this could be about. He had just enough time to wonder if this was connected to Omi somehow before something wrapped around his ankle, right as he lifted it to step forward.

Edited 2016-02-20 07:40 (UTC)

That was his cue.

Ken remembered telling Omi once he was one of the action guys. If you asked him to solve a mystery or form a strategy, you were asking for disappointment. Quick reflexes and close combat, though, that he could do. He was waiting behind a hedge when the bomb exploded.

The target started running for it. Youji let his wire sail, and Ken was on the move from the rear, barely making a sound across the grass as he ran, leaped, and bodily tackled the boy just as he realized his leg wasn't following him.

In a way, he really hated this. For Omi, he reminded himself, as he held the boy's arms to his sides with one arm and covered his mouth with a thick leather-gloved hand.

Just another reason to hate surprises.

Dick could struggle -- he could struggle well -- but he was still a thin fourteen-year-old. This guy had a professional athlete's muscle mass and the grip to match. He had absolutely no leverage, which was frightening, in a way. Robin worked best when he had something, anything the enemy did not. Leverage, facts, flexibility, the knowledge that he was smarter and faster than them...

He closed his eyes. They had him gagged. So they were banking on him not yelling, not being able to call for help, so he reached back into his brain, fumbling for the psychic link.

Miss Martian! Someone, possibly more, is kidnapping me in the courtyard! They have me gagged, so they don't know I can call for help. Get Batman!

Ken moved quickly, getting Robin to a parked van and packing him in the back where Youji helped tie him up, then taking off with Youji driving and Ken supervising their new prisoner. After suffering such a glorious success in their plan, his already grim mood only seemed to be darkening.

He kept his eyes on Robin's hands, knowing that 99.9% of all escape attempts would have to involve using them. The kid was probably loaded with tricks and secrets, one reason they opted for a moving secret base. Among those tricks and secrets might well be a tracking device.

That was Aya's logic at least. Ken was just following along because he wanted Omi back. And maybe when you killed for a living, it was stupid to be bothered about kidnapping, but this wasn't a power figure abusing his position to destroy the lives of others. This was a kid. A capable, involved kid, but still a kid. And yet, in the end, wasn't it all the same? What you were committing was a necessary evil.

He barely flinched as the van hit a bump that bucked the floor.

"I don't expect you to relax, but for what it's worth, we aren't interested in hurting you."

Edited 2016-02-20 19:01 (UTC)

Batman told him that Japanese didn't actually have swear words, and he was gagged, but Robin still hoped he projected sufficient hostility to the kidnappers' muscle.

He had about a mile (what was that in kilometers?) before he was out of M'gann's range. He repeated his mental yell, and there was a tracking device in his League earpiece. Something was going down, and it was a little too close to Tsukiyono's capture for this to not be the other assassins. Hostage exchange?

Edited 2016-06-05 09:49 (UTC)

"We got him. Go."

"Understood."

Aya pocketed the cell phone and resumed his course up to the room where they had Omi. The path was surprisingly, disturbingly easy, and Aya was immediately suspicious of that fact. Why wasn't Omi under tighter security than this? It made no sense. Omi was too committed to Weiss to not run given the chance. What was keeping him in that room? Did he know something Aya didn't? Was this a set-up?

He couldn't dismiss either possibility, but it also didn't change anything. His job was to get Omi and get out: The End. He kept his senses alert and proceeded, ever mindful of nearby hiding places, various forms of attack, avenues of escape. He wouldn’t allow the appearance of a clear path to his goal to diminish the attention he paid to his environment.

And ever still, without a hitch, he found Omi’s room. Turned the knob. Opened the door...

“Aya-kun...!”

--

Omi couldn’t believe his eyes. Aya. How had he found him? How had he reached him?

“The hall is clear. Let’s move,” the man prompted. Omi started to—and then hesitated.

Before, he would have jumped at this. To go back to his team, his home, his work, that would have been the ideal. Some of what Batman and Robin had said to him still bothered him, though. Brainwashing. Do the right thing.... but there wasn’t any alternative for him! But what if going meant being followed back to their headquarters?

“Omi.”

He shook himself out of the daze of thought he’d fallen into, looking anew at Aya. Did he go?

“A.... Aya-kun. I don’t know about this.”

The redhead narrowed his eyes. Omi hoped he wasn’t making him mad.

“If you change your mind, you can go back much more easily than you can get another escape.”

That was true, wasn’t it. Maybe he should—

Aya didn’t wait for him to agree. Seeming to decide for both of them, he grabbed Omi by the wrist and strode for the door as his tow cried out in surprise.

Except the doorway was occupied.

Batman was an intimidating figure. It was part of the schtick. Broad shoulders and billowy cape and pointy ears made him look taller and bulkier than he was. The darkness of his color scheme monopolized the light.

As soon as M'gann sounded the alarm, he'd had a hunch. It was an eye for an eye; a child for a child. As much as it twisted something in his chest run away from where Dick was, Kid Flash, Miss Martian, and Zatanna stood a damn good chance of overpowering the other assassins. They were skilled and they were motivated. And not discounting Dick himself; Dick could take care of himself.

"What is this."

Damn.

Aya threw to a halt the instant he saw Batman in the doorway, his stare focused and displeased. Fighting Batman was highly undesirable for several reasons, most of them simple logistics. There was little maneuverability within the walls of the room. He was incredibly skilled at fighting and shouldn't be underestimated. It wasted valuable time.

Thankfully, this was why they'd prepared. Aya made no move towards the Batman, but kept his grip firm around Omi's wrist.

"We're leaving. I recommend standing back."

Batman lunged across the intervening space. He didn't have time to say "hell no," but the sentiment was surely felt. Batman used his cape to cover the fact that he was reaching for a bola to throw at the assassin's ankles.

"The Martian girl, the magician Zatara's daughter, and Kid Flash are already enough to overpower your accomplices," said Batman. (Assuming they made it in time, not said by Batman.)

He held the bola in hand, just out of sight, not wanting to alarm Omi. All that hard work...!

The reaction was swift and calculated. Aya jumped out of the lunge's way while drawing his sword. He tugged Omi in to stand in front of him. His hold shifted to a more comfortable one with the change of position. He set the blade against the blonde's throat.

It was a detestable move, and he especially hated to pull it using Omi. He wasn't sure if he hoped Omi would understand or not. He couldn't see the shock and confusion on the boy's face, but he could hear it in the quiver of his voice.

"Aya-kun..."

He didn't allow his expression to falter. If there was one thing he could match Batman on, it was his poker face. And from a known assassin, the threat should be real.

Edited 2016-06-26 06:55 (UTC)

Coward! But the sword is too close. Even if Batman attempted to restrain the assassin, he couldn't risk hurting the boy.

And the assassin probably had orders to the tune of "better dead than captured." With Omi's loyalty, that was probably lesson one.

His chest burned acid-hot. He couldn't risk Omi's life and he couldn't go after Dick.

"Leave these boys alone. Go quietly."

He wasn't promising to never pursue them again, but he was tempted, if it meant Dick's or Omi's lives.

It was not long ago that Omi had been desperate for this. Rescue, death, either of the two-- so long as he didn't endanger Weiss or its cause. Even so, he never could have predicted that Aya might turn his sword on him. He did not fear death, and yet the chill of the blade touching his throat sent a sensation much colder down to his stomach. He knew the name for it in his heart, but he didn't think he could recognize it for what it was, lest it break him.

"What are you doing...?" He whispered to Aya, but got no answer. Aya said nothing, simply responded to Batman's answer with backing towards the window with him. One step. Two step. Three steps...

And then, amidst the confusion of what Aya was doing then and there taking him hostage, he caught on to something Batman said. Such a subtle difference but such a meaningful one, too.

"Boys...?"

Omi couldn't see Aya's face, but what he wouldn't give to be able to right then. So instead, he looked to the only face he could see: Batman's. And hoped for an explanation.

Why the plural...?

"A hostage exchange usually involves a negotiation," said Batman, more for Omi's benefit than the assassin's-- and wonder at him that he was separating the two. "You lose all your leverage if you kill this one."

To say nothing of what Batman would lose. The anger building in him was getting difficult to quantify and even more difficult to contain. The desire to cause harm, to put an end to this was warring very hard with his conviction that permanent ends solve nothing, truly-- they simply cut away the problem, rather than curing it. He'd never convince Omi that the assassins were wrong if he resorted to their methods, and the other assassins would never have the chance to reform if he killed them.

But with Dick in danger, the things he knew reasonably seemed to pale in comparison. Still, he couldn't be concerned with just Dick. He had to think about Omi, too.

Exchange? This one? Omi felt a pit forming in his stomach. He didn't like the direction this conversation was taking.

"Aya-kun... what did you all do?"

When Aya spoke, it didn't sound like it was addressed to him, but it packed in the answer all the same.

"When our escape is confirmed, my comrades will release Robin, unharmed."

All the color drained from Omi's face. He wasn't sure, in that moment, if he was more shocked or angry about what he'd just learned.

"You took Robin?!" He cried, and while he still couldn't get a clear look at Aya's face, damned if he wasn't trying now.

"What were you thinking?! That's going too far! Aya-kun!" Omi's struggles to make eye contact with his teammate earned him a couple of accidental nicks at his throat. He didn't seem to notice.

"Omi. We'll talk later."

"What do you mean we'll talk later?! This isn't right!"

"Nothing we do is. You know that."

That. Stunned him into silence. Technically, it was true, but... it was so different. Wasn't it? Killing a threat to the city's innocents that couldn't be stopped any other way couldn't be likened to abducting an upstanding citizen to use as leverage. How could Aya equate them?

They were backed to the window now.

Edited 2016-06-26 19:30 (UTC)

Part of Batman was pleased by Omi's conviction there, but conviction wasn't doing much.

"It'd go easier for you if you let them both go," said Batman evenly. "You've risked exposure, you've made an enemy of the entire Justice League, and I wouldn't make light of Robin's enmity, either."

Ever since the team formed, Batman had less and less veto power over what cases or projects Robin pursued.

"The window's open for a reason. If the boy wanted to go with you, he would have already. Everything you've done up to now is pointless."

"We were an enemy of the Justice League before we knew you were here." The ambush at the mansion that resulted in Omi's capture was proof of that much. "Today's situation changes nothing but the status of Omi's custody."

Aya had a feeling there might be a little more to Omi's staying where he was than was evident in the moment. They would definitely need to talk later. And, if Omi did truly decide he wanted to go back, Aya wouldn't stop him. For now, though...

"Omi. Secure that grappling hook to the sill. We're taking it down."

The blonde hesitated, but did as he was told. And then, as Aya was preparing to fit them through the window, he called out again.

"He won't be hurt...! I won't defend this, but-- I know them. He'll be released... I promise it."

With a cold sense of dread, Batman had to admit he was outmaneuvered... in his own head, anyway; like hell was he giving the assassin that much satisfaction.

But his hands were tied. Omi's self-preservation had atrophied to the point he'd already hurt himself on the sword just by struggling; trying to impede the assassin's movements would probably shock Omi and worsen that. He also had a hunch that injuring the assassin would damage his credibility in Omi's eyes, and therefore...

If nothing else, he trusted Dick. He trusted Robin to get out of nearly any situation alive if he could at all help it, and if Omi was correct, the assassin's moral code meant he really was just a hostage. Robin could take care of himself.

Omi, he was less sure about.

Aya and Batman seemed to have reached... some kind of understanding, though Omi didn't think either one of them was very happy. The redhead told him to hold on to him, and, once he did, Aya scaled down the window with the grappling hook line.

"You should have just killed me if the rescue was too risky!" He hissed. At least that wouldn't have gotten them into so much hot water with the Justice League.

"We're not here on a mission, Omi. We came to get you before it became one."

Well that... Omi frowned tightly, because he didn't want to show how much that meant to him in that moment.

"What was with the sword at my throat then?"

For a moment, he felt a hitch in their descent. And then, without a single word of answer, Aya simply kept gliding down the line. Omi realized he wasn't going to get an answer, and with a huffed sigh let it go.

They touched bottom. Omi let go of his hold around him, marveling for a second at the feel of the ground-- not a building floor but actual ground-- under his feet again. He was actually out. And it was so strange, because he'd been afraid to go two minutes ago, and now that he was outside the building... well. As long as his team was here anyway, whether he stayed or left with them wouldn't change whether they were tracked. And he could go back if he really did change his mind.

"The car is this way," Aya said with a tip of his head. Omi nodded, but piped up just as Aya started to run.

"Aya-kun...!" The redhead looked over his shoulder. Omi wrestled for a moment. Finally, he looked him in the eyes and smiled in appreciation.

"Thank you."

They ran together for the car.

"Dawdle a little more, why don't you," muttered the getaway driver. "Our guest keeps fidgeting like he knows how to get out of his restraints."

He concentrates, too, judging by the way his head bows, but Youji doesn't say so. He speaks more quickly than usual-- he suspects the concentration is the kid trying to decipher what they're saying, and speaking quickly will disrupt someone who isn't fluent. And he's too young to be fluent.

"We need to be gone before Wonder Woman shows up," he added. "I wouldn't mind some time with the Lasso of Truth, but the rest of you aren't me."

"You shouldn't have put him in them in the first place!" Omi shot back in response. He was still angry they'd kidnap someone for his sake. "This isn't what we do...!"

"I'm sure he does know how," said Aya, with far more levelness, and picked the caped boy up. "Be ready to floor it."

Ken, meanwhile, didn't seem to care that Omi was angry. He was just glad to have him back, and threw his arms around the blonde in a big thank-god-you're-back hug. It seemed to have a tempering effect on Omi's ire.

"Ken-kun..."

Aya hopped down to the ground with Robin and set him on the grass by the curb, leaving the restraints on. He was confident the boy indeed could get out of them quickly on his own; they'd need the head start. He jumped back into the van, closed the back door, and barked "Go."

As Ken drew back, his brows wrinkled in concern. "Oi, Omi, what happened to your neck? It's bleeding a little!"

"Huh?" Omi felt at his throat, only then noticing that yes, it stung a bit, and yes, there was just a little nick or two that had drawn a couple of drops. "That must have been when Aya-kun had his katana--"

Ken was throwing a punch at the redhead before the boy could even finish.

"Seatbelts," Youji deadpanned, heavy on the gas already. Beyond that, Ken could tear into Aya as much as he dared, and Aya could retaliate likewise; mission accomplished and Ken needed a healthy outlet for his aggression. That it be Aya was indeed best for the sake of Youji's health, at least, and as that was Youji's primary concern, the matter ended there. He was willing to believe Aya had an explanation, if not a particularly good one, but as Ken beat him to the punch, as it were, the burden of explanations fell to the former captive.

Youji felt it best to earn Omi's explanation by offering a fair exchange, and beckoned him closer toward the driver's position.

"There was no other way to get you out," he said plainly, artlessly. "I'm many things, Omi, but a match for Wonder Woman is not one of them; I wouldn't even try to win, and leave you to the mercy of Kritiker or the League, whoever gets there first. The boy is unharmed, and so are his accomplices. He'll get himself back to his friends and you're here. If it works in the end, well..."

Words failed at that point.

Omi stumbled a little from the sudden acceleration, and took that along with Youji's invitation as a good cue to take a seat. He squeezed between the two front seats and slid into the passenger side next to Youji. The seat belt clicked into place.

He wasn't sure what he could say back to Youji. Sure, from a logical point of view, it made sense if that was what you were trying to accomplish. It just still seemed wrong. Abduction bothered him on a personal level, and even more so to discover he'd been the cause of one. But he also couldn't deny that it was meaningful to him that his teammates cared enough about him to stage a rescue, especially when it would have been so much easier and more practical to secure Kritiker's information by killing him.

"I appreciate all of you coming for me..." He admitted, partly because it needed to be said either way and partly because it gave him both a stall to decide on saying more and a softener to that saying-more if he did. Ultimately, he opted against it. Youji was sharp enough to catch the unsaid 'but' without souring the expression of gratitude with an official declaration of it.

Oh, he did, and mostly did not care. Mostly. Certainly there was a level of self-loathing for acting against a child, but there was also a sort of apathy because really, the kid had asked for it. Robin was a bit old to be learning "don't get involved with assassins, because that never ends well," but the sooner, the better.

Part of him wanted to justify it, too, by saying Omi was worth more than some stupid kid who hadn't outgrown playing dress-up, but that was a slippery slope to start sliding down, especially when one was already leaning dangerously over the precipice. The whole killing-for-hire thing required him already to assign value to this life over that one, and once begun, it was hard to stop. Kids younger than Omi were a new low, to be sure, but really, what other place to go was there, except down?

"Don't mention it."

Probably everyone would be happier that way.

crossed the white cross

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i suddenly want Dick to be a soccer fan who saw Ken in a magazine but that makes no sense so i won't

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lol gluhen icons... i didn't pay up my kapitel icons

you're fired

be careful, Pres. Trump is going to trademark that

he needs the royalties

MEANWHILE KEN AND AYA...

getting both Dramatic and Precious up in this guy's head