Negotiations Were Short

Using his strength, he broke free from the webs and disarmed Black Spider. Robin struck with the advantage on his side, punching Black Spider in the face. He grabbed Black Spider's gun and assumed a fighting stance, birdarangs at the ready.

Black Spider responded by drawing his wrist-mounted guns and firing a barrage of bullets at Robin. The vigilante's agility allowed him to dodge the bullets, and he then threw a birdarang at Black Spider to distract him. The weapon caught Black Spider off guard, and he could not dodge it, causing him to fly backward.

Eyes widened in surprise. His body slammed against the wall before attempting to soften his landing. It didn't work as well as he would have liked. Black spider groaned in mild pain. "My Back. Oh, my back." Slowly getting back up, he glared. "Oh, I'm so gonna put some dirt in your eye."

Robin quickly disabled Black Spider's web shooters and rushed toward him, determined to end the fight. Black Spider retaliated by shooting webs in all directions, but Robin's agility allowed him to dodge them. The fight was intense, and Robin knew he needed to end it soon before he became too exhausted.

The boy retrieved his former weapon with a few flips out of danger. He swung his Eskrima sticks with all his might, and one of the strikes caught Black Spider in the shoulder, causing him pain. Using the opportunity, Robin spun around and delivered a powerful kick to Black Spider's chest, sending him flying across the room.

When Black Spider got up, he heard a beep. He checked a notification on his phone, and he smirked. "You haven't seen the last of me today." Like someone else, he jumped out the nearest window, web line at the ready.

Robin looked for the man outside and found no trace. "Dammit."

East

Spidermonkey and Doctor Gonzalez swung to the ground floor and swiftly turned a corner. The alien hero's eyes darted around before landing on a particular object. He put down the woman and looked at her with concern. "I know this is gonna sound gross, but you gotta hide in the dumpster for now."

The woman cringed a bit at the smell but swallowed her pride. "Sitting in a dumpster for a while instead of getting stabbed? I'll take it."

Spidermonkey quietly closed the lid over her before darting to the opposite edge of the building. Making a big show of himself somewhere else should be enough distraction. When the alien was about to shoot another line, the microscopic hairs on his left limbs tingled. In reaction, he contorted and dodged a pair of sais embedded in a nearby wall.

From above, Cheshire landed with a pseudo zipline. Raising a dagger to the hero, the woman looked around for her target. "Where is she?"

"Safe." Spidermonkey lowered his center of gravity.

Cheshire took a combat stance. "I'll see about that."

Spidermonkey darted across the rooftop with spider-like precision. Cheshire flicked her wrist, sending a pair of shurikens whistling.

Spidermonkey dodged easily, flipping backward and latching onto the side of a nearby wall.

Cheshire lunged, her twin blades gleaming.

Spidermonkey met her head-on. Two limbs stopped the blades while the other two grappled her. They stopped inches from his face. Spidermonkey swung his tail, aiming to knock Cheshire off balance, but she dodged.

Spidermonkey scurried up a wall, launching webbing at Cheshire's feet. She leaped, narrowly avoiding the sticky trap, and retaliated with a flurry of kicks. Spidermonkey caught her leg with one hand, twisting her mid-air and crashing her to the ground. Cheshire rolled with the fall, springing back up instantly.

Cheshire's eyes narrowed as she unleashed a smoke bomb. Spidermonkey may have been blinded, but that wouldn't stop his natural instincts. A shift in the air was a split-second warning. He twisted just as Cheshire's blade sliced through the haze, grazing his side. Ignoring the pain, he countered with a web shot, pinning her arm to the wall.

Cheshire yanked her arm free with a growl, the wall cracking under her strength. She charged again, her strikes becoming a blur. Spidermonkey parried and weaved, using his limbs to deflect and counter. A sharp kick to Cheshire's midsection sent her stumbling back. Seizing the moment, Spidermonkey spun a web, capturing her legs.

Cheshire sliced through the webbing with a swift motion. She threw another smoke bomb at Spidermonkey's feet and then disappeared into the shadows.

Spidermonkey scanned the rooftop, his multiple eyes darting around. The hairs on his body stood to detect another shift. A sudden blur of motion from behind—a trap!

Cheshire's blade nicked his shoulder, but Spidermonkey whipped around, catching her off guard with a powerful punch. She staggered, but before she could recover, Spidermonkey bound her arms with his webbing and yanked her off her feet, slamming her into the rooftop.

Cheshire struggled, hampered by the sticky webs.

Spidermonkey raised his four arms triumphantly. He did a little dance as if to rub it in her face a bit. "Monke! Monke! Monke! Ooh! Ooh Aah! Aah!"

Cheshire attempted to reach for a blade to try and cut herself loose, only for it to be two inches away from her restrained fingertips. "Oh, shut up!"

Later

Following the detainment of one of the assassins, Ben contacted the others. No longer held up, Robin and Aqualad reached Spidermonkey's location. Robin raised a brow at the assassin wrapped in a cocoon. "Huh. You got one."

"Yup. A feisty one."

"Is the doctor safe?" asked Kaldur.

Spidermonkey turned to Chesire and felt her glare. "Safe. However, it seems we're missing someone."

The boy wonder face-palmed. "So… Kid Flash was kidnapped."

Ark crossed his arms at the teen. "And who's fault was that?"

Robin shrugged. "Frankly, it's all on him. He didn't follow the plan."

"And that plan was?" asked Kaldur. The Atlanteans didn't appreciate how their encounter started.

Robin gave both of them an exasperated look. "Follow my lead. It was obvious. Now we gotta save his butt."

Ark gave him a dry look. "Sure…"

Suddenly, they heard a ringing coming from their prisoner. Spidermonkey reached inside, followed the vibration, and moved aside some of the webs.

"Hey, watch where you're grabbing," complained the woman.

Spidermonkey rolled his eyes. "Don't flatter yourself." Soon, his fingers latched onto the object and pulled it out. "A burner phone?"

Robin nodded. "Pretty standard in this line of business."

The hero answered the call. "Hello?"

A grunting voice spoke. "Listen very carefully. We've kidnapped your friend. Do not bother calling the rest of the Justice League. By the time they do anything, it'll be too late. If you want to see him alive, you'll do exactly as I say. Is that understood?"

Spidermonkey frowned in confusion. "I'm sorry. Who is this?"

"God dammit." The person on the other line grew agitated. "Seriously. I practiced that line between improv sessions for just sort of occasion. I was flowing, and you go and kick the dramatic tension."

"Sorry?"

"No, you're not. Don't give me that."

Someone else on the other line yelled out. "Guys, you gotta help me!"

Robin clenched a fist. "KF!"

"Give me that!" The phone rustled. "This is Black Spider. We have Kid Flash, and I'm ninety-two percent sure you got our catgirl and Gonzalez.

The imprisoned Chesire groaned at the nickname.

"They can't be serious." Robin glared at the phone. "This is not a negotiation."

Kid Flash audibly gulped. "Please negotiate." A metallic hook was pressed against his neck. "Please... let me go."

"It would appear so," Kaldur added.

A higher pitch voice spoke up. "Yeah, what were you thinking? This is Hook and Black Spider you got here! We're good at what we do. We're professionals."

"Yeah, professional hitmen for the League of Shadows sent to kill an innocent woman," sassed Robin.

"I wouldn't go throwing around names of deadly groups like that if you know what's good for you, Kid," voiced hook.

"Oh, please. They have been harassing Batman for a long time."

Ark scratched his chin. "What are your demands?"

"Simple. You give us Gonzalez or your friend dies."

The heroes glanced back at Chesire, who looked insulted. "Is that all?"

"Yup."

Cheshire glared from her cocoon. "Seriously?"

"Sorry. Cheshire." Hook shrugged. "You know how it is. You got caught. If we complete the mission, we get your cut."

"Let's hurry this up and get our Million," cheered Ziggy.

Black Spider turned his head to them. "Wait. What? The Calculator's ad said three million."

Hook raised a brow. "Did you read the fine print?"

Black Spider went silent for a moment. "...Maybe."

"If you did, you would know about the penalties. One of which includes getting interrupted, let alone by heroes."

"Man, that's some bullshit."

"What's done is done. Gonna cry?"

Chesire closed her eyes to calm the aneurism growing. "I'm surrounded by idiots."

Robin took the phone and spoke. "Why is Selena Gonzalez targeted?"

Black Spider laughed. "You're not in any position to ask questions, but we are. How did you know we'd be here? "

"If that's how you're gonna be, then we do not have to answer any questions either."

"Yeah, but you're going to 'cause you screwed up and got caught! Face it, you guys never even had a chance against us."

"What? We came here to stop you from hurting her," countered Ark.

Ziggy spoke up with some dramatic flare. "In any case, here are our demands. You're going to get us a helicopter."

Robin frowned. "We can't get you a helicopter."

Hook shook his head. "You're watching too many movies."

"Wait. What? I thought that was standard."

"It's not, and do you even know how to fly one?" asked Black Spider.

"No. Do any of you?" No one raised a hand in the room.

On the other side, Cheshire deadpanned. "Yeah... me."

Ziggy just sighed for a moment. "Like, my whole worldview is just shattered right now. I'm gonna need to process this for a second. Why is it never like this in the movies?"

"Give me that! Anytime a Hollywood writer has a kidnapping that goes smoothly, you know that guy is totally full of shit." Black Spider took a breath. "Listen. We meet at the northwest courtyard. No funny business. You give us Gonzalez, and you get the Speedster." In the back of his head, he needed this to go through. He wouldn't want to paint a target on his head and get punched at lightspeed by the older hero if they mutilated Kid Flash.

Ark was silent for a moment before answering. "Okay. Seems simple enough."

"Oh, and if you don't show up in the next ten minutes, I'll blow up the building," continued Ziggy.

Black Spider blinked. "We are?"

The Alien hero paused at the escalation. "Well, shit."

"Yeah," answered the improv demolition villain. "It's only hearsay if all the physical evidence is destroyed.

"True."

"By the way, Your phone will self-destruct in five seconds..."

Robin's eyes widened at the burner phone in his hands. "Wait, what?!"

Kaldur quickly slapped the device to the ground as it fizzled and smoked like a small firework.

"So, what now?" sighed Robin. "We're not actually going to trade her, right?

Ark smirked. "We will. Sorta."

#

A/N: Special thanks to Jebest4781, Charles, vividlearner744, and Seana!

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