Bird of Prey

Flash:

"How did you get this," I say, looking all over. There are computer screens, buttons, and switches all over the dashboard of the batmobile. Bruce's actually batmobile, with a picture of a bat right on the steering wheel.

"Not important," the man replies, pulling from one of his pockets a piece of kryptonite. "Before you freak out, yes, this is kryptonite. No, it's not for Kara, but is for Superman."

The man pushes a button on the dashboard and a part of it flips out completely, revealing a small black box. Opening it, the man drops the kryptonite in before flipping back in.

"Lead box. It'll protect Kara from the radiation. Now, I'm sure you have questions for me. I on the other hand only have one question. I'll trade you my one question for ten of your."

"Ten of mine?"

"Your ten questions that I will or will not answer. Most likely will not."

"Okay," I say, "First question. Who the he--?"

Before I can finish, the man slaps me on the head.

"Don't swear," he says, shaking a fist at me. "No bad words."

"What?"

"No bad words," the man repeats. "Ask your ten questions but without any 'underworld', 'female dogs', or 'f-bomb'. Got it?"

"Fine," I say, rolling my eyes. "First question. Who are you? How did you get the batmobile? What was that smoke from before? Who are you? Why did you save me from Wonder Woman, Hawkgirl, and Killer Frost? What is Supergirl doing here? Isn't she supposed to be on Stryker's? Did you rescue her? Who are you?"

"You still have one question left."

"What?"

"I counted. That was only nine questions. You still have one left. By the way, you asked me who I am three times. I'm counting those as three separate questions."

"Who are you," I scream, "Why are you helping us? What do you get out of this?"

"Four separate questions," the man says, "And I ain't asking those last two. That's twelve in total and the deal was for ten only. Anyhow, to answer questions one, four, nine, and ten, who I am is not important. I got the batmobile after hacking into the batwave, Batman's personal radio frequently that he used for everything. That gas from before is a mixture of knock-out gas and tear gas. It'll knock out and blind anyone. Superman included. Lethal if every inhaled in large portions."

"Superman included," I repeat but the man ignores me.

"I saved you from the Three Stooges because as much as I hate you personally, you're still a vital part of the plan."

"Wait, what plan?"

Without warning, the man suddenly stomps on the brake and I launch forward. Hitting the windshield, I fall back when the man slams on the gas.

Kara is here because I rescued her from Stryker's," the man goes on. "Yes, I did rescue her. Now, for your part of the trade."

"My part?"

"Do you want me to slam on the brake again," the man asks, "Because I have no problem with that. Just give me the communicator Green Lantern gave you."

"The communicator," I repeat. "Wait, what? No way. How do you know about that? No one outside of the Insurgency should know about-."

"The communicator Hal Jordan gave you so that you can alert him about the upcoming invasion. Yes. I know about the communicator. Hal gave it to you just before leaving for Oa. It's modified to a specific frequency only you can reach by vibrating. I need it. Well, I need you to relay a message to Hal. Tell him that, oh crud!"

Turning the wheel and stomping on the brake, the batmobile skids to a stop. Looking out, I see a blockade of One Earth soldiers and tanks, all of them aiming at us, and hovering right in front of them is Raven, her purple cloak swaying with the wind.

"We're taking a detour," the man screams, launching forward. "They're blocking the way to Harleen's base. We can't lead them back there. Yes, I know where Harleen's base is. Barry, I am not sorry about this."

"Not sorry about this," I repeat. "What?"

Before I can stop him, the man grabs and slams my head against the dashboard.

"What are you doing," I scream, struggling to get out. While struggling, I feel a sharp pain in my right shoulder.

"Tracking chip," the man says, pulling me back into the passenger's seat. Once in, he shows me a small, black, bat-shaped device with a blinking light. "A few days ago, you were in Starlight City, meeting with Green Arrow to discuss plants to rescue Kara. Beat you by the way. While leaving, you ran into a trap set up by Batman."

"What trap? I didn't see anything."

"It wasn't a trap to capture you but instead for you to lead them to the Insurgency's base. While leaving, a powerful but silent gun placed near the city's exit shot you with this. Most likely, you didn't feel it because you were running. The tracker led them right to you, but luckily, not the base of any of the others. After your meet-up with Oliver Queen, you've been checking on missing supplies hidden all over Gotham. How do you think the three stooges found you."

"Is that how you and Supergirl found me," I ask, rubbing my shoulder.

"No. I'm actually the one that's been stealing your hidden supplies, hence how I knew where you would be. Don't worry, I still have them. I've been moving them to my hideout. You know, before any one of Superman's goonies can find them."

About to ask about the man's hideout, I forget about my question when trash cans smash right into us, forcing us onto the sidewalk before the man drives back onto the street.

"Speaking of goonies," the man says, "Here comes one now."

Pushing a button on the dashboard, a screen turns on and reveals an entire army of One Earth's trucks and tanks chasing us, with Raven flying above them. Raven's hands are glowing black in magic. She rips a lamppost from the ground and throws it at us. Swerving out of the way, we manage to drive underneath it.

"Barry," the man says, "I need you to take out Raven. Now!"

"What," I yell, "Wait, I can't fight Raven. I run fast. I don't fly."

"Yeah, well get creative. In case you've forgotten, Kara still isn't at full strength."

The man nudges his head and I see Supergirl still in the backseat. She twitching and moaning, and she looks like a ghost with her pale skin.

"All that time on Stryker's, and then with Bane's stupid chuck of kryptonite, Kara's body is taking longer to recharge than I thought. Listen, Barry, she needs our help. While you ground that bird, I take out the soldiers and tanks. I know I've done nothing to earn your trust, but Kara should always have it. Can she rely on you?"

"Always," I say, looking at Supergirl before looking at the man. Nodding my head, I open the door and jump out. Keeping up with the batmobile until coming to an intersection, I turn right. Raven follows after me while the soldiers go after the man and Supergirl.

"Flash," Raven screams, her voice sounding like nails against a chalkboard. "Surrender now. You cannot escape me."

Shooting out her hand, a large black outline of a raven appears in front of me and stops me. The outline takes a solid form and then lunges at me. Dodging to my right, it shoots past me. Once the bird's back is facing me, I punch it over and over, my hands turning into blurs. Magical feathers shoot up from it before they fall to the ground. In less than 20 seconds, the raven disappears completely.

"Flash," Raven says, flying in. Now hovering, she encases both her hands in magic. "You should have kept running. Once I capture you, there will be one less Insurgent."

"No," I say, bringing up my fists. "No. Raven, it's time to stop running."

The first to make a move, Raven latches onto me via magic. An eerie black glow wrapping around my feet, she picks me up before throwing me back onto the ground. Screaming as I hit the ground, my vision goes hazy. Vibrating fast, I shake off the hazy visions and the magic too. As I do, the magic around my legs disperses and Raven stumbles back.

Rolling over and getting up, I circle Raven and punch her in the back before running back in front and uppercutting her. Flying into the air, Raven regains her footing. This time, she blasts me in the chest and sent me flying. While on the ground, she grabs me once more and throws me over her.

"Speed is nothing compared to magic," Raven brags as she places her hands near each other. Very soon, a ball of magic floats in between them.

"Just a little out of practice," I say, getting up and wiping my mouth. "But don't worry. It's all coming back to me."

Raven, her eyes glowing purple, fires the ball of magic at me. Before it can hit me, however, I jump to my side and run toward Raven. Grabbing her by the shoulder, I pull her down and punch her in the stomach over and over and over again. Lighting in my eyes, I grab her shoulders and punch her across the face.

I watch in slow motion as splits fly out. Grabbing her by the cloak this time, I start to spin around. A twister forms as I spin, I let go of Raven and watch as she flies into a building, cracks appearing all over after hitting it. Leaving a huge dent in the wall as she drops, she slowly gets back up and aims her hand at me. Preparing for another round, my fists up and my feet on fire, Raven drops back onto the ground.

"Oh. Hmm."

I take a step but almost immediately drop to my knees and hands, panting as I fall.

"Oh man," I say, "Haven't had a fight like this in a while."

Swallowing a gulp of air, I push myself up.

"Okay. Now, how to find Kara and that guy in sunglasses, but where to start?'

Thinking of what I could try and do, a pair of bright-red beams shooting directly into the sky draw my attention.