Chapter 19: Infiltrator

Word Count : 8184

"I still don't see why I have to stay here alone! What if the Shadows find me?" those were the rather loud protests of one doctor Serling Roquette regarding Krieg's plan to temporarily leave her alone at Happy Harbor high school.

"I can assure you doctor that the Shadows will not find you that quickly, and I will soon be returning with reinforcements to help protect you," he calmly assured her, even though he would rather just tape her mouth shut and get this over with.

"But why can't I come along?" she demanded to know.

"Protocol dictates that no civilian can be allowed into our headquarter without proper clearance, something we currently lack. Therefore, you must stay here while I report this to my superiors," he tried to patiently explain to her. Though in all honesty, this was not his area of expertise. Give him an enemy to beat into the dirt, and he would do it without a second thought. Place him in charge of protecting a mere civilian while trying to keep her calm, and we got a problem.

"But I…" whatever other protests she was planning on throwing out was halted as Krieg held up a hand to silence her.

"If you prefer, I can simply leave you to fend for yourself and not inform my superiors," he threatened. Of course, he would not do such a thing, but he was willing to say anything to make her shut up at this point. It worked like a charm, and so Krieg was able to leave the building and enter the nearest zeta tube.

"Recognized. Krieg, B04," the mechanical voice of the Justice League data system announced as Krieg materialized in a flash of light inside the Cave. He had of course expected to meet the team there, no matter how much he wished otherwise. What he had not expected was to find both Batman and Green Arrow present as well, along with a blonde teenaged girl dressed in a green costume and holding a bow.

"Am I interrupting something?" Krieg asked in confusion as he found all eyes were upon him.

"Who are you?" the girl asked suspiciously with narrowed eyes. Krieg intended to answer immediately, but hesitated for a short moment when he got a good look at the girl.

"Krieg, Justice League associate and member of the team," he finally answered, looking at her with suspicion. 'Why does it feel like I have seen her before?' he wondered to himself. "And who are you supposed to be?"

"Artemis, your new teammate," the girl, now identified as Artemis, answered. Looking between her and Green Arrow, Krieg did not need to be a genius to figure out who she served.

"New sidekick?" he rhetorically asked of Green Arrow before turning back to Artemis. "So I guess you are supposed to be Red Arrow's replacement," that comment earned him a look of outrage from Artemis, and a look of confusion from Green Arrow.

"Who?" he asked in puzzlement. It took a few seconds for Krieg to understand the confusion. 'Oh, right. They do not know that Speedy changed his name yet,'

"Your old sidekick Speedy. He has apparently decided to change his name," he answered dully. Green Arrow's eyes instantly lit up when he heard his words.

"Roy? You've actually seen him?" he asked hopefully, clearly still feeling attachments to the defector. A concept that Krieg neither understood nor condoned.

"Yes," he nevertheless answered.

"And for the record, I'm no one's replacement!" Artemis suddenly spoke up hotly with a glare directed at Krieg, who of course was completely unaffected.

"You are the new sidekick of Green Arrow, a position that used to be held by Red Arrow. Ergo, you have replaced him as a sidekick and has also filled in the spot of long range support on this team that had been reserved for him, making you his replacement," he explained slowly, like a teacher lecturing a dumb student. Artemis visibly bristled at his words, which made no sense to Krieg. What was so insulting about being called a replacement anyway?

"But you met Roy. Where is he, is he alright?" Green Arrow butted in again with his concerns for the defector.

"I left him in Miami, and I suspect he has woken up by now. At least I think so, I didn't hit him that hard after all," that last part was spoken more to himself than to Green Arrow, but that was the one part about the sentence that he hung up on.

"You hit him?" he asked for clarification, looking at Krieg like he had just grown a second head.

"Yes. He was proving to be a nuisance and a detriment to the success of my mission, so I acted accordingly and removed him from the equation," Krieg answered monotonously, oblivious to the fury he had just unknowingly raised.

"You what!?" Green Arrow roared in outrage, making Krieg raise a surprised eyebrow and Artemis to back off.

"I take it my actions have offended you in some manner," Krieg observed, receiving the mother of all death glares from Green Arrow.

"Damn right they have, kid. How could you do it?" he demanded to know with fury burning in his masked eyes.

"I grabbed the back of his head and slammed it into a tree," Krieg explained, completely misunderstanding the question. That only increased Green Arrow's fury, and it brought on multiple glares from his team as well.

"What I believe he was referring to is how could you attack his protégé, and our friend, like that," Aqualad added, voice strangely calm even though he was glaring daggers at Krieg. What was it with the sudden hostility?

"Like I said, he was proving to be a liability during the mission. I merely acted accordingly," he defended himself. Honestly, why were they so aggressive against him? He had been doing his duty. They could not possibly care that much for a traitor, right?

"Acting accordingly does not include attacking your allies, Krieg," Aqualad admonished harshly, receiving a frown from Krieg.

"Red Arrow is no ally. He willfully defected from the Justice League and is now a rogue vigilante. That makes him a traitor in my eyes, and traitors deserve no mercy," he coldly countered, his standpoint on the matter unshakable.

"Hey! Roy's no traitor! He's our friend!" Kid Flash loudly protested with anger in his eyes. Krieg met his burning eyes with a look of disinterest. Though he could not help but idly wonder why he was only wearing a pair of shorts and sandals while the rest were suited up in full gear.

"Then why is she here, and not your so-called friend?" he asked while pointing at Artemis, who had been quite content to stay on the sidelines in this argument. Kid Flash looked more than ready to continue the argument, but Batman stepped in.

"Enough," he ordered, shutting up all those involved. "Red Arrow's standing with the Justice League notwithstanding, you attacked a fellow hero and incapacitated him. That is not tolerated here, Krieg," his words brought out more of a reaction out of Krieg. For out of all heroes in existence, Batman's opinion was the only one that Krieg truly cared about. He was the sole hero whose thoughts and methods reminded him of home.

"He refused to leave when I ordered him to, I simply took action to remove him by any means necessary," he tried to explain, but Batman would have none of it.

"Regardless of whether he truly was a detriment or not, your violent actions are creating more enemies than we need. So I will only tell you this once; never attack another hero again unless you are attacked first. Understood?" once again, Krieg had that strange feeling to disobey a direct order. After all, he had done nothing wrong, it was Red Arrow who had refused to cooperate. Nevertheless, orders were orders.

"Yes, sir," he responded monotonously, absentmindedly noting that Kid Flash looked quite pleased for some reason, until he remembered that Artemis was still here, at which point he sent her a slight glare, one she easily reciprocated.

"Now, since I did not request your presence, I assume you came here for a reason," Batman deduced, receiving a nod from Krieg.

"Yes. It regards a certain doctor named Serling Roquette," he answered. Immediately after he said the name, Robin was at work typing away on his wrist mounted holo-computer.

"Nano-robotics genius and Claytonics expert at Royal University in Star City. Vanished two weeks ago," he announced. It made Krieg wonder. Was there anything that the Batman and his protégé did not know?

"Correction, she was abducted two weeks ago, by the League of Shadows," Krieg added. That, for some reason, created a sense of enthusiasm among some of the team members.

"Whoa, you want us to rescue her from the Shadows?" Robin asked.

"Hardcore!" Kid Flash added as he and Robin bumped fists.

"No need for that, I have already rescued her," Krieg was quick to burst their little bubble, though he did notice the glare he received from Batman. Not good.

"However, before I was able to rescue her, she had already completed work on a weapon that the Shadows had forced her to create. Doctor Roquette calls it the Fog, and it is comprised of millions of nanoscopic machines. These machines are capable of breaking down and disintegrating any and all substances they come into contact with at an alarming rate. However, their true purpose lies not with destruction, but theft. When attacking a computer system, they are able to download and store all the information stored in its databanks. This means that the Shadows have the means to steal whatever information they desire; weapon schematics, bank accounts, government files, cutting edge science,"

"Perfect for extortion, manipulation, power broking. Yeah, sounds just like the Shadows," Artemis commented, interrupting Krieg's explanation. Something he did not appreciate in the slightest.

"Like you know anything about the Shadows," Kid Flash challenged, only to receive a smirk from the archer. "Who are you?!"

"As I was saying before being interrupted," Krieg continued while throwing an accusing glare at Artemis, who at least had the decency the blush in embarrassment. "This weapon is too dangerous to be allowed to remain in the Shadows' hands, and so Roquette has agreed to begin work on a virus to render the Fog inert,"

"But if the Shadows know she can do that…" Robin realized with alarm.

"Then they will target her, now that her purpose for them has been served. For this reason I have kept her off the grid and hidden her away at the local high school computer lab while I retrieved reinforcements," Krieg continued to explain.

"You left her alone?" Green Arrow questioned in disbelief, clearly not comfortable with the idea that a woman marked for assassination was all by herself.

"The Shadows do not know her exact location yet, and I assumed I would be able to return with additional back-up before any assassins could track her down," Krieg patiently explained.

"Couldn't you have just brought her with you to the Cave?" Miss Martian, ever the naive and idiotic xeno, asked. She received a flat look from Krieg.

"Protocol dictates that no civilian can be brought here without proper authorization," he answered. That at least shut the Martian up, at least for now.

"You have your mission then. Aqualad, take your team and protect Roquette until she has finished the virus," Batman ordered, taking charge of the situation. Aqualad nodded his head in acknowledgement before leading the team towards the zeta tubes. Kid Flash gave Artemis another glare before he zipped away to retrieve his uniform, something that Artemis was relieved of. Krieg meanwhile was about to, reluctantly, join the team, when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Turning around in confusion, he found Batman standing behind him with what he guessed a stern look on his face.

"You are seriously overstepping your boundaries, Krieg. Dealing with criminals in Los Angeles by yourself is something we can live with, but running off alone to chase after the League of Shadows was both reckless and stupid of you. Not to mention attacking another hero. Do not let it be a recurring event," he ordered, voice leaving no room for argument.

"Understood. But I only did what I deemed to be the best course of action. The Shadows could have escaped had I aborted the chase, and Red Arrow got in my way," nevertheless, he tried one last time to argue his case. In the end, a wasted effort.

"Yes, but your ways will not always be the right way. And you are not alone in this fight, you are part of a team. Not everything can be solved by yourself, so it is high time that you learn to be a team player," Batman warned him before departing, leaving Krieg to his own thoughts.

Guard duty may sound boring at first, but Krieg knew better. In fact, he would have preferred it to be boring. Boring meant that no danger was present, that everything was going according to plan. Boring meant that it would be predictable, a routine. This mission was anything but boring. Perched atop the roof and overlooking the surrounding landscape, Krieg dearly wished that he was somewhere else at the moment. Sitting around and waiting for the enemy to come to you was not the Death Korps way. Attack was the best defense.

"Everyone online?" those two words nearly made Krieg leap into the air in surprise. That had not been his voice, nor had it been spoken out loud. It only took him a second to realize where that voice had come from. The xeno psyker was in his head again!

"Who gave you permission to invade my mind?" he snarled out in barely controlled rage, feeling how the filthy Martian reeled back in shock from his outburst.

"I-I'm sorry, but Aqualad…" she tried to explain, but Krieg would have none of that.

"I made you a promise on what I would do should you ever invade my mind again, now get out before I make that promise a reality," showing emotions often did not come easy for Krieg. But this time, he had no trouble whatsoever displaying his rage against the xeno.

"Stop it, Krieg. I told Miss Martian to link the team up telepathically," Aqualad suddenly 'spoke', if such a term could be applied to what they were doing at the moment.

"Whatever the reason, I do not want that psyker in my mind ever again. Emperor knows I have had my fill of psychic incursions to last a lifetime," that last bit had not been meant to be shared across the mind link, but Krieg had such little experience with how this link worked and so it was broadcasted for all to hear.

"Please, I didn't mean to bring up any bad memories," Miss Martian apologized profusely, only succeeding in further aggravating Krieg.

"I do not want your excuses or your pity, xeno, I only want you out of my head this instant," he ordered with fury in his voice.

"Look, I can understand that after the… accident, you may have doubts about this, but this is the best way for us to maintain communication without risking the Shadows intercepting it. So please, try to get used to it," Aqualad calmly told him. Krieg was sorely tempted to shove a grenade up the abhuman's ass just to give him an inkling of the amount of discomfort this psychic link was giving Krieg. But alas, Batman's orders from earlier came to the forefront again, so he swallowed his discomfort like a good soldier.

"Understood," he finally answered, holding back his bitterness.

"You've got some serious issues, Krieg. Not that I can blame you, this is really weird," Artemis suddenly joined in on the conversation.

"And distracting. Coding and distributing an algorithm virus on a kiddy computer with less RAM than a wristwatch is hard enough, now I have to hear teen think in my skull?" the good doctor Roquette suddenly burst out in annoyance.

"Lady, do you always complain when someone tries to help you?" the ever annoying Kid Flash asked. Honestly, did it really matter here? He should be focusing on guarding the doctor, not chatting with her.

"Pot, kettle. Have you met?" Artemis suddenly asked sarcastically.

"Hey, hey, I do not need attitude from the newbie who took Red Arrow's spot on the team," Kid Flash angrily countered. Krieg was starting to feel a headache building up.

"That's so not on me!" Artemis defended herself just as angrily. That headache of his just got worse.

"Fate of the world at stake!" Roquette reminded the bickering pair in irritation.

"She started it!" Kid Flash childishly complained. That proved to be the breaking point for Krieg in the matter.

"Enough, both of you," he ordered coldly. "If you two have issues, solve them after this mission is completed, not in the middle of it,"

"Who died and made you boss? And you probably drove Red Arrow off the team for good with that little stunt you pulled," apparently, Kid Flash was not that easy to verbally subdue. But if there was one thing Krieg could be when it really counted, it was persuasive.

"I truly hope that I have succeeded in that accord, because then I will not have to deal with that useless archer ever again. And before you begin another round of arguments, let me make this clear; if you two will not cease your pointless argument this instant, then I will come down there and rip both of your tongues out," he said those words with such ruthless conviction that both Artemis and Kid Flash paled in momentary fright.

"Krieg," Aqualad admonished him, clearly taking issues with his threat. Though to be honest, Krieg did not take Aqualad's displeasure to heart. After all, he could clearly hear the undertone of relief in his words. He too had grown weary of the two's bickering.

"How about I just help Miss Martian, Krieg and Superboy patrol the perimeter?" Artemis offered, clearly desiring to get out of the line of fire.

"Good idea," Aqualad answered.

"You might cut her some slack. It was her arrow that saved your butt against Amazo," Robin suddenly made his presence known in the discussion with that tidbit of information. Now that sounded intriguing to Krieg's ears. Intriguing enough that he forgot all about his threat from earlier.

"What? No! That was Speedy's… I mean Red Arrow's… arrow! Right?" Kid Flash asked quickly

"Not so much," Robin answered with a hugely knowing tone.

"Well, still not giving the satisfaction," Kid Flash bitterly announced.

"You know, I can still hear you," Artemis reminded him in annoyance, clearly not liking that others talked about her as if she could not hear them.

"So I guess then that you were the unknown figure who fled the scene when I arrived there," Krieg noted as his eyes continued to scan the surroundings in search of a possible enemy.

"Yeah, but… wait! You're the jerk who attacked me!" she suddenly accused angrily.

"You sound like you are taking issue with my actions on that night," Krieg observed dispassionately.

"Issue? You freaking shot me!" she exclaimed in indignation.

"Technically, I only shot at you. I never really hit you," Krieg explained, ignoring the faint snicker coming from Kid Flash. "Now, if you are done complaining about events in the past, I suggest you help us patrol this building. We are barely covering it with just the three of us," he could feel annoyance radiating from the archer, but she thankfully kept her thoughts to herself and went to do as instructed.

With that issue dealt with, Krieg resumed his vigilance. It was growing too dark to see effectively with regular eyes, so he activated a new feature that was recently installed into his gasmask. The eye lenses instantly gained a green tint as the night vision feature was activated. Much better in Krieg's opinion.

"Mmm, that boy," now if only his annoying teammates would just shut up and focus on the mission, then this mission would be a whole lot more bearable.

"He can hear you. We can all hear you," Miss Martian pointed out, sounding upset for a reason that Krieg could never fathom.

"Oh, I know," Artemis quipped back. Once again, Krieg felt a headache building up as he massaged his forehead.

"Miss Martian, if these suicidal imbeciles will not shut up, can you at least cut me out of this abomination you call a mind link? This endless chatter in my head is growing quite unbearable to me," he muttered grumpily.

"Hey, I'm neither suicidal nor an imbecile!" Artemis protested vehemently.

"I beg to differ, considering who you are currently provoking," Krieg countered while sending a clear mental picture of how he was about to load red rounds into his shotgun. Of course, Artemis had no idea what that signified, but the others did.

"Krieg, stand down. Maintain your position," Aqualad ordered sternly, knowing all too well just how volatile Krieg could become when provoked.

"Yes, sir," Krieg reluctantly answered as he put away the red rounds.

"And everyone, keep the chatter down, focus on the mission instead," Aqualad then ordered the whole team, the only sensible order he had issued the whole day in Krieg's opinion. Blessed silence then followed for a short moment before Aqualad's voice returned.

"Miss Martian, doctor Roquette has located the Fog. Reconfigure the Bioship so that Robin and Superboy can pursue," well, it seemed like they were finally making progress. Good, hopefully it meant that they would soon be done and that Krieg could finally go back home.

"You embarrassed Superboy," of course, the bloody xeno just have to keep on talking. If only there was an off switch on this Emperor forsaken mind link.

"Didn't hear him say that," Artemis answered smugly.

"Must you challenge everyone?" Miss Martian questioned.

"Where I come from, that's how you survive," Artemis answered gravelly.

"And where I come from, that is how you get yourself court marshalled and placed in front of a firing squad," Krieg suddenly announced. "Now I will only say this one last time; shut the fuck up before I give you a firsthand demonstration," the team was in too much of a shock from his outburst that they actually complied with his request. He never doubted that he would receive an earful for that later on, but for now he simply did not care.

At last, there was true silence, with no further chit chat. Krieg thanked the Emperor profusely for that, it had become far too much for him to handle. He made a note that once this mission was over, Krieg would petition for that mind link to be abolished, or at the very least prohibited from being used on him. He had hoped that this blessed silence would endure for the rest of this mission. But alas, that was not to be.

"M'gann, Kid, Artemis, Krieg! We are under attack at the computer lab!" Aqualad's distressed voice spoke in his mind. As if a light switch had been turned on, Krieg instantly went into search and destroy mode as he rushed back inside.

"On our way!" he heard Artemis state as he ran down the stairs, taking the steps two at a time. Unfortunately, he was on the far side of the building, he doubted he would get there in time. But as it turned out, he did not need to get to the computer lab. The assailant was kind enough to come running right at him. When they saw each other, they both froze up in surprise. Clearly, neither had expected to run into each other. In that short moment, Krieg made a quick analysis of his opponent.

Female, slim body, dressed in a short green kimono, twin Sais sheathed in her belt, a cat-themed mask hiding her identity, wild black hair sprouting like a bush from her head. From these facts, Krieg drew a rough sketch of what to expect; lightly armored, will rely on speed and flexibility over strength and endurance, Sais indicating a preference for close quarters, unless carrying hidden weapons. This inner analysis only lasted a few seconds, and then he was in motion again. Problem was, so was his opponent.

He brought up is shotgun and began pumping out rounds, all of which were avoided with a deadly grace. He soon ran out of ammunition, and the assassin gave him no chance to reload as she charged right at him. Seeing no other option, he dropped the shotgun and met her attack head-on.

She threw three shurikens at him, but Krieg did not even bother to dodge as they failed to go through his Kevlar. Obviously caught off guard, the assassin barely dodged a fist towards her. A second blow came at her face, and in a display of great flexibility, she bent backwards until her hands touched the floor before swinging her legs upwards and knocking Krieg back. He nearly fell over from the blow, and the assassin was already back on her feet and attacked. She landed a powerful swinging kick straight into his side like whip, but Krieg had endured worse.

Before she could withdraw her limb, he grabbed it with one arm whilst the other delivered a blow to her stomach. He let go of her leg to land an uppercut that slammed her into a wall. He drove an elbow towards her face, but she ducked and rolled clear before he could strike again.

"I must admit, you're quite good," the assassin suddenly said with a sultry toe. "But I don't think you're quite good enough," Krieg meanwhile remained silent as he attacked again, striking with a flurry blows that the assassin kept dodging.

"Not much of a talker, are you?" she asked as she backflipped to avoid a knee strike. "I guess it works, because then I won't have to hear you complain when I beat you," she suddenly had her Sais in her hands, twirling them around with practiced ease, right before she leaped at him again. He met her with a haymaker, but she merely glided right under it and came at him with a thrust to the back. It met unexpected resistance from his Kevlar, and so only made a flesh wound before Krieg spun around with an elbow strike to her head.

She stumbled back, head spinning from the blow, though she still managed to sidestep Krieg's next attack before striking back with a kick that nailed him in the side of his knee. He stumbled from the blow, and so the assassin attacked with her Sai again. Krieg barely managed to move his body to protect his vital spots, taking the Sai straight through his shoulder instead of through his throat.

"Ooh, that had to hurt," the assassin commented mockingly, but Krieg surprised her when he grabbed hold of the Sai still embedded in his shoulder while unsheathing his kukri. The assassin barely saw the blade coming at her, and so let go of her weapon and leaped back. She was not fast enough, and received a nasty wound across her stomach. At that moment, they both backed off slightly, nursing their respective wounds.

"You tell me," Krieg suddenly said coldly as he crouched into a fighting stance.

"Oh, so you can talk after all. Well, as fun as this is, I'll have to cut our little date short," the assassin announced teasingly before popping a smoke bomb on the ground. As expected, once the smoke cleared, she was gone. Krieg did not even bother with trying to track her down. If she was good enough to sneak in undetected, there was no way he would be able to stop her from sneaking out.

Besides, the mission was to protect Roquette, no go chasing after shadows. So with that in mind, he grudgingly allowed the assassin to escape while he made his way to the computer lab. He found the place to be a mess when he got there. Arrows, broken furniture and the occasional shuriken littered the place. Though it seemed like his teammates had escaped any serious harm at least. Krieg had a hard time deciding whether he should be pleased or not.

"Dude! What happened to you?" Kid Flash asked in alarm once he caught sight of the Sai still embedded in his shoulder. Matching looks of alarm and concern spread amongst the team when they saw the same thing. Krieg just waved their worries away.

"Ran into the assassin as she tried to escape. Nothing all too serious," he answered dismissively as he retrieved his first aid kit from his backpack before yanking the Sai out of his shoulder with a small grunt of pain.

"Here, let me help you," Aqualad offered as he stepped up to help. Krieg roughly shook him off.

"I can handle this myself," he answered as he set to work bandaging his wound. Aqualad wisely backed off on that point.

"In any case, this position has been compromised, and Robin and Superboy lost track of the Fog," Aqualad then announced. "Rescan for that Fog, find it. We're moving the doctor,"

Krieg had to admit, he did not expect the abhuman to be this crafty. While Krieg guarded Roquette in an internet café, the rest of the team pretended to guard a fake Roquette in a completely different location. Hopefully, the Shadows would take the bait and go after the fake one, giving the real one enough time to finish her work.

"Stop it, both of you," though he did seriously lament over the fact that he was still connected by Miss Martian's thrice accursed mind link. Honestly, why could they just not leave him out of it?

"What?" he heard both Artemis and Kid Flash asking.

"I can hear you glaring," from the sound of things, Aqualad was also growing quite tired of those two and their endless bickering. A few moments of waiting around followed before he received any news.

"It worked, the Shadows took the bait," Aqualad announced. It made Krieg ease some of the tension he had unknowingly built up in his muscles.

"Good, then we can final wrap this up," Krieg commented.

"Be on the lookout though, there are now three assassins on the field. There might be more lurking about," and those words brought all the tension back.

"Affirmative. You take care of those three assassins, I will deal with whatever comes for the doctor," Krieg assured Aqualad, who was not as confident as Krieg.

"You sure you are capable of fighting?" he asked in concern. It made Krieg rub his bandaged shoulder in contemplation, but he was still determined to see this through.

"You should know by now that it takes more than a needle poke to keep me down," he assured him with conviction. No further words were thankfully spoken, and it left Krieg in comfortable silence in his mind.

"How is it going with the virus?" Krieg asked of the doctor, desiring to know a timetable on the mission.

"Almost done," she answered absentmindedly, eyes glued to the computer screen.

"Hope you can make it fast. The Shadows took the bait, but there is no telling how long until they track you down again," Krieg cautioned her, turning his head slightly to look at her over his shoulder

"Well, this is a surprise," a third voice joined in humorously. Krieg instantly turned back to the door with his shotgun at the ready. There, standing nonchalantly at the door, was a man Krieg had never thought to see again.

"Deathstroke," he growled out. Said man had an air of nonchalance about him as his single eye drilled into Krieg.

"And here it thought this mission would be dull, and then I find you here, guarding my target," Deathstroke commented, casting a quick glance at Roquette who seemed to wither under his piercing look. Krieg gave him no chance to do anything else, as he opened fire with his shotgun. Deathstroke easily evaded the shots and closed the distance to knock the gun right out of his hands. Only three shots had been fired by then.

Krieg struck back with a fist against his face, but Deathstroke easily caught it and twisted it almost to the point of breaking it before driving his own fist straight into Krieg's stomach. He stumbled back while trying to draw in oxygen back into his lungs, right before he attacked again. He swung a leg at Deathstroke which was dodged, stepped back to avoid a vicious left hook and struck back with a leaping knee strike.

Sadly, Deathstroke was ready and so sidestepped before driving his own knee into Krieg's side. He buckled from the surprisingly powerful blow, but he bit back the pain and struck again with his right fist. Deathstroke once again caught it, at which point, Krieg activated the shock glove and amped up the power. The result was high voltages of electricity getting pumped straight into Deathstroke, who roared in pain. Deathstroke eventually let go of Krieg, but he stubbornly clung on and sent more electricity into his opponent.

That ended when Deathstroke came with an uppercut blow to Krieg's stomach that actually lifted him off the ground. Seconds after the first blow had landed, a second one sent him flying back and straight into a table. Disoriented from the blows, Krieg barely got out of the way of an axe kick from Deathstroke that split the table in half.

"Good work, Krieg. I never saw the danger until it was too late," Deathstroke commented as he flexed his muscles, trying to get them back under control after all that electricity. Even though his whole body hurt, Krieg saw an opportunity and attacked again. Deathstroke avoided the first blow aimed at him, but slight muscle spasms made that he could not avoid a kick that nailed him in the leg and sent him flat on his back. Krieg struck again by stomping his boot down against Deathstroke's head, but he surprisingly managed to catch it with both hands and threw him back, giving him enough time to get back up again.

Then Deathstroke was on the offensive again, attacking first by swinging his fist like a club at Krieg, who ducked under it but received Deathstroke's knee to the face instead. A roundhouse kick later slammed Krieg into a wall, yet still he got back up again and dodged another fist that left cracks in the wall. Rather than be off put by the obvious display of strength, Krieg attacked with a roundhouse kick.

But Deathstroke managed to catch it and dragged him off his feet before swinging him like a ragdoll straight into another table full of computers. He tried getting back up again, but only got as far as on all fours before Deathstroke landed a powerful kick into his stomach, sending him back to the floor.

"Last time we fought, you were unable to beat me, and I was holding back then. What makes you think that you stand a chance against me this time?" Deathstroke questioned mockingly as he stood above a wheezing Krieg. What Deathstroke failed to see was that Krieg was slowly drawing a knife from his belt, using his body to shield the motion.

"Improvisation," Krieg answered, right before he rolled over and drove the knife straight into Deathstroke's knee. Caught off guard, he shouted in pain as he gripped his knee. Krieg struck again by kicking the wounded leg, forcing Deathstroke down on one knee. Sadly, Deathstroke was not down for the count just yet, as while Krieg struggled to get back up, Deathstroke grabbed him and threw him back to the ground.

A hand then latched itself around Krieg's throat in a vice grip, slowly squeezing. Drawing in air grew all but impossible, and so Krieg started flaying about like a fish thrown onto dry ground. He tried punching Deathstroke in the face, but he seemed completely unaffected and countered with a blow to Krieg's face as well. He feverishly clawed at the hand choking him, but Deathstroke would not budge.

"Don't be afraid, Krieg," Deathstroke suddenly spoke. "You may be more ruthless than the rest of your team, but you're still just a child, and that's why you can't beat me,"

"Who said anything about beating you?" Krieg managed to force out of his constricted throat. That made Deathstroke realize that his target was still active, and he looked up just in time to watch the doctor complete her work.

"So you managed to finish the virus then. Thereby removing the reason for your elimination," Deathstroke commented before letting out a light chuckle. "Well done, boy. You managed to keep me distracted long enough for the doctor to finish her work," as he said this, he finally let go of Krieg's throat and stood back up. Krieg would have normally attacked again, but he was too busy greedily gulping down air to his lungs.

"Well then, I suppose my work here is done," Deathstroke commented as he yanked out the knife still embedded in his knee with a light grunt. With that, he dropped the knife to the ground and walked away. It left Krieg confused.

"Why... why aren't you killing me?" he asked with a raspy voice as he massaged his throat. Deathstroke momentarily stopped at the door and looked at Krieg over his shoulder.

"That's for me to know, and for you to guess," he answered before he vanished from sight. With him gone, Krieg finally managed to get back up again, though he was forced to lean heavily against a table for support. Roquette was instantly at his side.

"Here, let me help you. It's the least I can do for you after saving me," she said. Krieg tried to shove her aside, with little success.

"I do not require your aid," he stated. Of course, in contrast to his statement, he collapsed the moment he tried to stand on his own power. Luckily, Roquette stood ready and managed to catch him, nearly falling over herself from the weight.

"I don't think you're in any condition to refuse my assistance here," she commented humorously as she slung one of his arms over her shoulders and let him use her as a crutch. Krieg grumbled something undiscernible under his breath as Roquette helped him out of the café and out on the street. A few minutes of walking, and the met up with the rest of the team.

"Mission accomplished, sir. Roquette is safe, and the virus was completed," Krieg reported to Aqualad, oblivious to the astonished looks he was receiving from his teammates.

"Okay, what is it with you and getting all beat up on a mission tonight?" Kid Flash asked incredulously, receiving a frosty glare from Krieg.

"Who attacked you?" Aqualad asked in worry as he stepped forward and relieved Roquette of her burden.

"Deathstroke," Krieg answered, to the even greater astonishment of the team.

"Deathstroke? As in Deathstroke the Terminator? Arguably the deadliest assassin on the planet? And you beat him?" Artemis questioned in disbelief. Not that Krieg could really blame he skepticism on the matter.

"No. I merely held him at bay long enough for the virus to be completed, at which point he considered the mission a failure and withdrew," Krieg elaborated as he tried to stand on his own two legs again, not liking being in such close proximity to the abhuman.

"Nevertheless, the mission was a success, that's something we can all feel proud about," Aqualad stated, bringing out smiles from those team members present. But as Krieg looked at Artemis, he felt that same question from earlier at the Cave nagging in his head again.

"Artemis," he spoke, drawing her attention. "I was wondering, have we met before? You look familiar somehow," there were a myriad of reactions he expected from the blonde archer, none of them involved her tensing up for a few seconds before she forcibly relaxed again.

"Nah, don't think so. I'm sure I would have remembered meeting someone as distinct as you," she answered nonchalantly, but Krieg's suspicion had already been piqued. For some reason, that question had alarmed Artemis for a moment. He therefore made a mental note to keep a sharp eye on the team's newest addition.

Despite its status as a capital city, Washington DC actually had a surprisingly low amount of supervillains of any kind. Of course, this could easily be attributed to the fact that the Hall of Justice, the supposed headquarter of the Justice League, was located there. Kind of an effective detriment in many ways. Of course, this also meant that Washington was a surprisingly good place for a little villain get-together. Why? Because as most people believed, no villain would be stupid enough to carry out their business right under the League's nose.

"I don't like this, I don't like this at all," those were the words of a certain pale and lanky man wearing black and grey clothes with sunglasses and a top hat, clutching a cane in his hands. This man was currently entering a cinema. It was supposed to be closed this time of the night, but someone had left the door unlocked. He guessed it must be the work of the mystery man that contacted him.

He never like to be this close to the Justice League, not without back-up at least. but the invitation had stated that he must come alone or not at all. The promise of riches was all that made him respect this request. When he entered the movie theater, he expected to be met by someone, anyone, to explain what he was doing here. He met none, just hundreds of empty seats and a vacated stage. Cautiously, he walked around a bit, to try to find anyone who might be hiding. He found nothing.

"Okay, if this is someone's idea of a joke, I'm so not laughing," he grumbled to himself as he came to a stop right in front of the stage. But as it turned out, the place was not as empty as it had first appeared, something he became aware of when he nearly got nailed in the back by a beam of light. whoever fired it had terrible aiming however, and it simply sailed harmlessly overhead.

"Dammit! I thought I'd gotten better with aiming!" an angry voice cursed behind him. And as he spun around with his cane held at the ready, he found a middle-aged man with a goatee and wearing a white and yellow armored suit. Not waiting around for this new player to act, the lanky man thrust his can forward and sent forth a tidal wave of darkness that literally spewed out of his cane. With a frightened yelp, his opponent backed off as he let loose a blast of light that drove the darkness back.

"For a supposed assassin, you're quite easy to scare, the lanky man mocked, causing the goatee man to growl in anger at him.

"We'll see about that after I obliterate you. No one commands Doctor Light to do anything!" the goatee man, now identified as Doctor Light, snarled out before he fired another beam of light at his opponent. it only got about halfway to its target before it was engulfed and smothered by a cloud of darkness. The two of them then backed off, ready for another round of attacks. That was when a third opponent entered the fray as he barreled down the doors. This massive half man, half reptilian creature towered over the other two as saliva dripped from its huge jaws.

"Don't know who the hell you two are, but I don't like to be summoned like this, so I'll break your spines and eat you both," the creature growled out, reptilian eyes glaring at them like a predator that had just found its prey.

"Hey, don't take your issues out on me, I'm just here for the money that was promised," the lanky man protested. it earned him a confused look from Doctor Light.

"Wait, you mean that you're not the one that called me here?" he asked, lowering his glowing hands along the way.

"Of course not," the lanky man assured him. the reptilian one growled threateningly at them.

"I can't smell anyone here but us. so if either of you isn't behind this, then who is?" he demanded to know in anger, clearly desiring to kill something right abut now. the obvious hostility and distrust growing among them caused a form of Mexican stand-off to ensue between the three of them. But right as they were about to attack, multiple tendrils of multicolored energy burst out of the ground and wrapped around the three of them.

"Hey! What the hell is this?" Doctor Light screamed as he tried to blast whatever it was restraining him, with no luck whatsoever. They struggled with all their might to break free, but the bonds proved too strong for them.

"Now, now. No need for this violence here, gentlemen. Especially after all the trouble I went through to arrange this little gathering," a smooth and silky voice announced humorously as the tendrils finally evaporated. All three turned to the stage in shock, to find that someone had appeared there during their short scuffle. A giant of a man, he was dressed in dark red armor and a white robe, with a staff in his hands.

"And who are you then?" the darkness wielding one questioned cautiously, receiving a small chuckle from the unknown man.

"I'm Azkillon, servant of the great God Tzeentch," Azkillon spoke. "I am sure you all have more questions you desire to ask, am I right? The Shade, Doctor Light, and Killer Croc?"

"Chief among those is why did you call this meeting?" Doctor Light announced suspiciously.

"And let me warn you. If I do not like your answer, then I'll feast on your flesh," Killer Croc stated as more saliva dripped out of his mouth. If that was meant to intimidate Azkillon, it failed spectacularly as he just chuckled in amusement.

"Oh, I can assure you, you will not be disappointed in what I am about to tell you. Change is coming to this world, great change. But there are some people, like the arrogant Justice League, who would see it stopped, to preserve the world as it is. I cannot tolerate it, so I seek to gather allies to my side for the great times that lie ahead," Azkillon cryptically explained.

"What does that have to do with us?" Doctor Light asked, causing the Shade to slap his head in exasperation. it should have been obvious how it concerned them.

"I am offering you all a deal; join me, and you will all share in this glorious future," Azkillon explained. he could see that they were interested, but they were not quite ready to accept just yet.

"And what do we get out of it?" the Shade asked dubiously. He never did anything for free.

"Apart from playing a pivotal role in the downfall of the Justice League?" Azkillon asked rhetorically, right before the eye on his staff started glowing. Seconds later, a chest materialized out of nowhere in front of the trio. And with a wave of his staff, the chest was opened to reveal stacks of gold bricks. A good way to describe the looks on their faces at that moment would be that they looked like kids on Christmas.

"All of that and more will be yours, should you join," Azkillon tempted. The Shade ran a hand almost reverently over the gold before he turned back to Azkillon.

"I'm in," he declared without hesitation.

"So am I," Doctor Light stated as well, clearly just as eager for riches, but Killer Croc still seemed indecisive.

"I'll join as well, on one condition," he finally said while holding up a finger. "That when we fight the Justice League, I get to feast of Batman's corpse," both Shade and Doctor Light looked off put by his sick demand, but Azkillon was unaffected.

"Done," he answered without a second thought. "Now come with me, we have much work that needs to be done," with that said, he began leading the trio out of the cinema.

"You're not seriously planning on taking on the Justice League with just the four of us?" the Shade asked along the way in concern. He may have signed on for the money, but he did not plan to stick around if this guy was that stupid. A mirthless laugh that sent chills down their spines erupted from Azkillon.

"And who said that you three were the last of my recruits?" he asked rhetorically.