( Chapter Two )
Jude's Attachment to a Flyswatter

On the ninth of July, Jude found herself sitting outside a cafe in Central City with her friends. She was still upset with having to be part of a team but Wally, Kaldur, and Dick were her friends so she was not going to blow them off. Not when Dick called her saying it was important and that he needed her help. Jude would rather be at home doodling mindlessly in one of her many notebooks but telling the young detective she was otherwise busy would not have gone over well. Especially when he knew all she'd be doing is sitting in her room daydreaming about their best friend.

  So she met up with them at Cafe Sugar where Wally was waiting with her matcha green tea, a pink straw already in the cup. She was seated between him and Kaldur while Dick sat in front of them with his sunglasses perched on his nose to mask his identity — as if sunglasses were enough. Jude and Wally already knew who he was beneath the mask due to their mentors friendship with Batman — Bruce Wayne. Well, Hal and Bruce had an odd and interesting connection compared to him and Barry. It was like they were friends but also disliked one another for any reason under the sun.

  Jude pulled at the long sleeves of her pastel green cardigan she layered over her light-pink cropped shirt. When she had gotten dressed that morning she thought the outfit was cute, she always felt more comfortable and put-together when her outfits matched. And combining the colors of her mentors had her smiling in the mirror. Unlike Saturday, she opted on a pair of flare jeans since there was a breeze in Central City, something her mother warned her about when she first tried walking out in a skirt. And as always, her hair was pushed back by a headband, leaving her bangs to rest against her forehead.

  Dick stood in front of them holding a picture of a young woman with long black hair and kind eyes. He snapped his fingers to get Jude's attention when she turned to look back at a group of laughing teens. That should be them right now but no, Dick just had to be all business. He could have waited till the whole team was together but instead he called each of them individually to the city which housed Wally and the Flash.

  "So why am I looking at a picture of this woman?" Wally asked from where he sat with one hand holding Jude's and the other wrapped around his purple coffee cup.

  "Her name is Gonzalez, Selena Gonzalez."

  Wally gave him a bored look and released Jude's hand to cross his arms over his chest, leaning back in his chair. "And we care why? Other than the fact she's a hottie?"

  Jude huffed while crossing her own arms, her cheeks turning pink and eyes narrowing on the boy. Her foot swiftly kicked his shin, causing the speedster to lean over and rub at the spot that had been hit. He furrowed his brows at her but she reached over and pinched his arm. Wally swatted at her, "knock it off! I'm not a punching bag!"

  "She's here in Central City and being targeted for a hit," Dick ignored the two who were currently having a pinching war while Kaldur was shaking his head disapprovingly. "I just don't know what it is yet, but I think I found something that might be related to her."

  Kaldur took a drink of his water, looking away from Jude and Wally to address Dick. "Related how?" he asked.

  "Looking through some of Batman's files I found that there have been a few targets. Seemingly unrelated, but I've cross referenced tons of data and I think I found a pattern." Dick told them. He had a hunch and needed answers, even if it got him into trouble. If a mystery presented itself, he needed to solve it, no matter the cost.

  Slapping Jude away one last time, Wally sat forward. His eyes widened as he asked in shock, "looking through? You mean you hacked into Batman's files."

  "This totally isn't the first or last time he does that." Jude laughed to herself while her hand soothed the sore spot at her side from Wally. He did little pinches that definitely hurt more than the ones she was giving him. "Wait, does Batman have a file on me? Does it have a cute picture? It better have my good side."

  Rolling his eyes, Dick said, "anyway." His hands came up to rest on his hips after readjusting his sunglasses that were sliding down his nose. "I think this CEO might be next. All of the other 'hits' have been made to look like accidents, random muggings gone wrong. Things like that." He sighed in disdain. "Anyway, I figured we could look into it."

  Kaldur looked between his friends with questions swarming his thoughts. "And what brought this to your attention in the first place?"

  "I've been looking into Cadmus the last couple of days — corporate holdings, who they do business with and they've done business with seem to meet with untimely accidents."

Wally raised an eyebrow at his best friend. "You want us to look into this on a hunch that someone might have put out a hit on the CEO of this company?" He leaned back while reaching beside him to sling his arm over Jude's shoulder while she moved her chair a little closer. "Cool!"

Dick gave him a deadpan look while the redhead tried looking away from him with an awkward frown. "What about Superboy and Miss Martian?" Kaldur asked, causing Jude to furrow her brows as if their absence just hit her. "Should we call them here?" She pulled out her phone, already receiving Miss Martian's number after she settled in — Jude was the first to offer it given she felt the girl could use a friend.

"I know why you want Supey here," Wally rolled his eyes. "Judy has a crush on the boy of steel."

Jude's cheeks tinted pink but she shook her head, not at all agreeing with what he said. She did not have a crush on Superboy. Sure, he was attractive and the whole cloning situation was interesting but he wasn't Wally. He didn't have the bright and playful vibe she loved so much. She wanted to be Superboy's friend of course, but nothing more. Elbowing him in the side, she huffed, "I do not!"

Ignoring the two, Robin continued while rolling his eyes, yet again. Seriously, Jude and Wally were going to give him a headache. "We don't want to get them in trouble before the team even gets going, do we?" He had a point. Batman would be strict with this team's involvement so it was better to keep the Kryptonian and Martian out of this plan for now. There would be other missions, well thought out ones. Well, decently thought out. "Besides, if you think about it we haven't even had a real outing as a team yet."

"Let's do it!" They turned to Kaldur who did not look convinced. He sat with his expression unreadable and shoulders relaxed. Not at all giving away how he was feeling about this mission. "C'mon Aqualad, this could be fun."

Still getting no response other than a slow blink, Robin grinned. He had an idea on how to get the older teen to agree with what he had planned — half planned. "Okay, think of it as a training session, then. We haven't even had one of those as a team yet."

"Then why are Superboy and Miss Martian not here?" Kaldur leveled him with a quizzical narrow of his eyes. His hands rest on the table, gently tapping at the metal. "They are part of the team, are they not?"

"Yeah, but we've been around longer than they have and we haven't had much interaction with each other — aside from Jude and Wally." Dick's words had the girl raising a brow in his direction. He was included too. Afterall, she knew his secret identity and has been to the manor countless times just to pester him or take up a few combat lessons from Bruce. It was more than anyone else on the team could say. "We're always doing our own crime-fighting thing with our own partners."

Dick shrugged while adding, "I figured it would be a chance for us to kind of clear the cobwebs before we get into full team mode."

"Cobwebs," Wally laughed while shaking his head. "You've been hanging out in dark caves way too much."

Kaldur gave the younger boy a frown, feeling hesitant about the mission. They had no real plan, weren't telling anyone so no back-up. They would be completely alone in this. "I am not sure about this."

Wally, however, was on board. He was the type to run into things without putting much thought in them. He was brave and kind, always wanting to save lives no matter the cost. It was what made Jude fall for him. His heart. "I am!" He pointed at himself with his thumb. "Count me in. You think Selena likes younger guys?"

Jude shrugged his arm off her shoulder and scooted away from him with her arms crossed. The speedster looked at her in confusion and went to grab her hand, not liking the loss of contact, but she slapped him away. He huffed out a sigh and turned away from her. This wasn't the first time she had pushed him away after he flirted with another girl or even made one of his cheeky comments, he should be used to it by now but it still left a bitter feeling behind.

Jude was not possessive over Wally nor was he of her, but both did have a jealousy issue. It was something their friends had noticed early on and ignored in favor of their sanity. Though Hal liked to tease the girl while Barry did the same to his nephew. Mutual jealousy of the other but neither would bring it up. At least Wally wouldn't. He believed his moments of jealousy were just because he didn't want to share Jude's attention, not that he liked her. Which he has denied whenever Barry brings it up.

"How do we know all of these random accidents and muggings are hits put out on people?" Kaldur asked the Boy Wonder with a skeptical look. "And why do you think they are all related?"

"Who do you think is behind all this?" Wally questioned his best friend.

"Behind it? Hard to tell. Could be Cadmus but none of the evidence points to them." Dick bit the inside of his cheek in thought, his hands coming up to scratch at the back of his neck. "But who do I think was hired to do the job on Selena Gonzalez? The League of Shadows."

The League of Shadows, an organization of assassins that Jude luckily has not faced before. Most of her missions were spent in space unless it was a team up between her mentors and other Justice League members. She knows about them to some degree, not nearly as well as Dick and Bruce, but enough to know to stay away. If they were behind this Jude didn't think she'd want to tag along. Though she also didn't want her friends going alone.

"Whoa!" Wally's eyes widened. "Really?"

"Yeah, I think these 'accidents' were executed by them."

Wally took in a sharp breath. "Executed?" His shoulders stiffened as he muttered, "that seems like an appropriate word."

Kaldur looked between the three, his brows pinched together in confusion. A feeling he was not comfortable with. "Wait, who is the League of Shadows?"

Wally turned to him with his eyes wide and bright. His lips twisted into a teasing grin while Jude sipped on her tea, choosing to remain silent since she didn't know too much about the organization. "What? You've never heard of the League of Shadows?" He leaned across the table to be looking directly at the Atlantean's eyes. "Have you been living in a cave or something?"

Kaldur gave him a deadpan expression as he said, "more like underwater."

"Oh, yeah." An awkward silence passed between the four. All that could be heard was the chatter and laughter of bystanders around them. Jude and Wally looked to Dick, encouraging — or more like begging, him to be the one to tell Kaldur about the Shadows.

"The League of Shadows is a deadly organization with their dirty hands stuck in a whole bunch of stuff all over the world. Killing is only part of their business."

Wally chimed in, "allegedly. Nothing ever seems to get proven against those guys."

Finishing off her tea, Jude pushed the cup away from her the same time Wally placed his coffee closer to her without looking. She accepted it with a smile and took a drink, it was still warm. The taste of hazelnut and caramel were welcomed as she hummed in delight. This was what often went down between them. Jude finished Wally's coffee because while he did like the sweetness of it, he also was not a fan of coffee as a whole. He preferred energy drinks, but the cafe didn't have any Red Bull refreshers on the menu so he had to settle for a latte.

"So just to reiterate, you want the three of us to look into what may or may not be a sanctioned assassination attempt on this CEO, carried out by a covert organization called the League of Shadows, without any of our teammates." Kaldur didn't look pleased with this at all but Jude knew he wouldn't have them do this alone. That's just the type of person he was. "And without authorization from Batman or the rest of the Justice League?"

Dick nodded with his arms crossing. "Yeah, pretty much."

Wally stood up from his chair, offering a hand to Jude who didn't hesitate to grab it now that she was over whatever spurt of jealousy she had been feeling moments prior. "What are we waiting for?"

Six hours later and the former sidekicks, plus Jude, are sitting atop a roof across from the window looking directly into Selena Gonzalez's office. The teens were dressed in their suits and uniforms, lounging against pipes and walls, waiting for anything to happen. They hadn't been there for more than an hour and half but it was long enough for Jude to get bored and make a construction of pink butterflies fly around her head to try and entertain herself.

Wally, dressed in his Kid Flash suit, was eating a party size bag of chips he stopped to grab on their way to the Farano Enterprises. He chewed loudly while stuffing more of the thinly sliced potatoes into his mouth. The boy swatted at one of the butterflies that were flying too close to him. "Why is she still at work?" He asked with his mouth full before swallowing only to shovel in another handful. "Everyone else went home hours ago."

  "Could you not chew so loud?" Robin spoke behind his binoculars, watching the building for any sign of the Shadows while his friends stood around being unproductive.

  Aqualad sighed. "At this point I wish he could feed with a filter system much like a humpback whale would." Jude laughed behind him but used her hand to cover it when the speedster nudged her side with his foot as he sat on the short wall. "It would not be as nauseating to watch."

  "Ha ha," he gulped down the food. "Very funny."

  "Could you just keep it down?" Robin huffed to the older boy.

  Jude made the butterflies disappear back into her ring and took a chip out of the bag. Popping it in her mouth she wiped the salt off her fingers and onto her friend's yellow suit, despite his grumble of annoyance. She leaned away from him when he went to reciprocate the act, slapping her hands around to keep him from touching her.

  "Which one? My voice or my chewing?" Kid Flash asked while putting his hand back in the bag, though his eyes kept shifting between the boy detective and blonde beauty beside him. If he wasn't touching her, he needed to be looking at her.

  "Both," Robin snapped.

  Kid threw his arms up, dropping the bag of chips — which Jude caught with a constructed hand and placed back on the wall beside him. "I can't help it. I'm bored and I need to eat! We've been sitting here for hours. Do you know how hard that is for me to do?" He held up a hand when the girl in pink went to correct him on how long they've actually been sitting there. "She's been in that building all day. All of the employees have gone home, she's all alone. If they were going after her, don't you think they would have done it by now?"

  "No."

  "How do you know that, Einstein?" Kid balked with wide eyes.

  "Because they're doing it right now." Robin responded while his friends came closer to the ledge to see what he meant. Jude was almost certain she was blind because she couldn't see anything but Selena sitting alone in her office typing away on her computer, living in blissful ignorance to her pending death.

  "I don't see anything." Kid furrowed his brows, seeing the same as Jude. Nothing involving a threat to Selena's life. Only boredom. He could not imagine having an office job in the future. He needed to be moving around and doing something with his hands, or even legs. His mind  and body needed constant stimulation.

  Aqualad narrowed his eyes on the building while saying, "there." He pointed to a figure climbing up the windows dressed in a solid purple suit. "Below the window...movement."

  Kid Flash winked at Jude before disappearing in a flash of orange, the breeze pushing blonde strands over her eyes. She huffed an irritated breath while brushing them away to clear her vision. She needed to invest in a hair tie or even a clip. That headband was not helping her any. Jennifer told her more times than not that she should get it cut so her vision wouldn't have blind spots but Jude refused at every turn.

  She thought it made her look more like Isabel. The two shared the same kind blue eyes, light blonde hair that Donald Hart would refer to as their haloes. Even their face shapes were similar. Jude had been her mother's counterpart, her mini-me. She didn't want to change that just because her hair got in the way of things. It would just be one more change in her life that would push her over the edge — no matter how small.

  Jude turned to Aqualad, giving him an impish grin and allowed the power of her ring to levitate her. She flew to the window where the man dressed in a purple full-bodysuit was climbing. Kid Flash was already running up the side of the building while yelling, "hey ninja dude!"

  Rolling her eyes Jude constructed a fly-swatter. She could get this done in a matter of seconds if the boys stayed out of the way. Maybe that was too cocky but it was true. She could admit her ring was a little over-powered compared to her friends but so would Kid Flash's speed if he wasn't so clumsy. It was like the universe needed to find a balance between heroes. Wally was a klutz, Kaldur couldn't withstand the heat from a fire or scorching days of the summer, Dick had a fear of heights despite the grappling across buildings and being raised on a tightrope, and then there was Jude who got distracted easily.

  Jude lazily swung the fly-swatter at the man, not putting her heart into the attack, causing the attempt to be weak. But it got the job done because he was flattened against the glass though not before he could shoot his webs at Kid's legs, binding them together as he sped further up the building. "My name's —" he grunted under the pressure, his voice muffled by the smooshing of his face. "Black Spider fast dude!" Jude decided he was around their age if he was throwing around the word 'dude'.

  Robin came swinging over, propping the soles of his combat boots on the windows beside the construction. "Sapphire," he warned as Kid Flash began to slip from the building. She needed to make a choice. Release the villain who is going to use his freedom to kill Selena or let her best friend plummet to his own death. It was an easy decision.

  The fly-swatter disappeared and in its place was a couch now hovering below the speedster to catch him. He landed with an 'oomph' but shot a thumbs up at Jude who had asked if he was alright. She turned back to Black Spider who was shooting his web fluid at Robin, the younger boy jumped to the side but the sticky material stuck to him. "Uh oh," his eyes widened as he was thrown towards Kid Flash, knocking him off the couch and falling to the grass below in a collision of limbs.

  Jude had to trust in their abilities to save themselves, she couldn't always come to their rescue, not when there was a mission like this. Selena Gonzalez is who she should be focusing on, her life was in Jude's hands and she would not fail her.

   Black Spider used his webbing to swing himself back in hopes of slamming into the glass to break it. That would have worked had Jude not rammed her fist into his face at full force, her teeth grinding together. He went to catch himself before he could fall but she beat him to it, grasping the fabric of his purple suit in a tight fist. She pulled him to be level with her face and headbutted him knowing it'll bruise by morning.

  "Watch the face!" He groaned while bringing a hand up to slap at Jude's hands holding him close. The blonde narrowed her eyes on him with the corners of her lips tugging into a grin that came off malicious — unusual for someone as gentle as Jude. Actually that's a lie. Jude Lucero was always ready to throw down with anyone and everyone over the slightest inconvenience. "Don't." Black Spider croaked. Jude released him, watching as he tried to catch himself using his web fluid.

  Using her ring to make a glass cutter she formed a circle in the window and pushed it out to land on Selena's desk, not bothering to acknowledge the woman's scream of surprise as she climbed through. "Who are you!?" Selena demanded while leaping from her chair and holding a stapler out in front of her like a weapon of defense.

  Jude looked down at the Star Sapphire symbol on her chest as if it should be obvious. "Uh a superhero?"

  "You look like a child," Selena's hands shook around the stapler as she took a step back. "What is going on?"

  Jude didn't get to explain herself before the office door was busted open by Kid Flash who looked between Jude and Selena with a cheeky smile that had the blonde teen wanting to either kiss him or slap him. "Hey, just in time!" He sped over to Selena while Jude crossed her arms over her chest. "By the way, are you busy Friday night?"

  "Just get her out of here." Jude pushed him towards the door by his shoulders the same time Black Spider came climbing through the window. Using the same hole Jude had made.

  Kid hesitated, not liking the idea of leaving his friend alone with an assassin. He knew she could handle herself, that she was not a damsel who needed saving, but he hated that he'd have to put her second. Despite the missions and patrols he'd gone on with her where his first thought needed to be saving the innocent, she came first. Her safety was always his first concern. But she was demanding him to protect the civilian. And part of him was willing to let Selena go if it meant he could protect Jude instead.

  "No way —" He tried to fight her on this but her eyes were close to slits as she glared at him, using her ring to form a wall between them and Black Spider. "You're really going to argue with me about saving someone? In front of the target mind you." Jude kept pushing at him. "Seriously, KF, I'll be right behind you." She tried sounding reassuring but it didn't do much to stop the anxiety bubbling in the pit of his stomach. With a heavy sigh through his nose he scooped Selena into his arms and ran out the door, chancing a look over his shoulder as Jude lowered the wall.

  Black Spider charged at her with webs flying but she flew above the line of fire, tauntingly wiggling her fingers in a wave. She heard him grumble something under his breath as she reformed her fly-swatter from earlier and swung it down at him, trying to flatten him like the insect he was. The boy was beginning to tire of her attempts, though he was convinced she was thinking of this like a game. Dodging the fly-swatter, he shot a web at her hands to bind them together. Making it impossible for her to form a construction made from the power of her ring.

  "Not so confident now, are you?" He taunted while using the webs to throw her harshly against the wall behind her. She groaned at the contact while trying to pull her hands from the sticky material. "Did you know spiders suffocate their prey before eating them?" The seventeen year old pondered while stepping close to her slouched figure. Crouching to be at her level, he gripped her chin with two of his fingers. "Then they suck the life from them only to leave behind their exoskeleton. It's an interesting process."

  Jude jerked her head away from him with her lips twisting into a disgusted scowl. "You bore me." She spat at him with a dangerous glint in her crystal blue eyes.

  Black Spider shook his head, "you should have left with your boyfriend." His hands came up to rest on her cheeks, holding her with gentle hands despite the violent thoughts he was currently experiencing. The gold of his eye-slots narrowed as he squeezed the bones of her cheeks and slammed her head against the wall till her eyes closed and her breathing went shallow.

"We need to get out of this." Was the first thing Jude heard when she finally came too. Her vision was blurry as she tried to make out her surroundings. Problem was, she was being held upside down by Black Spider's webs, squished between her friends who had been awake far longer than she had been. Aside from Aqualad who was blinking his eyes open to her right. "Aqualad is still out, I think." Robin sighed while trying to wiggle around.

  "Where am I?" Aqualad's voice croaked, the movement of his mouth causing his cheeks to feel sore where Hook had beaten him with his, well, hook.

  "You're awake?" Kid turned his head to look at him, getting a piece of Jude's hair in his face. "Good, but we have some bad news...and even worse news." The four looked to where Black Spider stood below them with Selena in his arms, keeping her in a headlock while Hook taunted them with his weaponized arm.

  Robin glared at the assassins while Jude tried to push power into her ring. "Sure." The detective huffed. "Let's hang out...have a few laughs!"

  Black Spider's golden eyes widened a fraction, giving the illusion he was smiling beneath the mask. Taunting, teasing, messing with the do-gooders. "So you four junior-grade good guys thought you could stop us?"

  Jude's head was aching as blood rushed to the forefront of her brain. She knew for a fact she was going to be nursing a migraine after this. She'd be needing Jennifer's Eletriptan once they get out of there, in one piece, hopefully. "Please," Selena begged in a small voice. "Let me go," she struggled in Black Spider's strong hold.

  The blonde couldn't blame Selena for begging for her life. If she were just a normal girl she would have been doing the same exact thing. But Jude was trained for this, if not for the worst. She wasn't going to cry and try to reason with the assassins. They had a job to do just like she did. Only her job was about saving people, not aiding in their deaths. Jude was going to get out of those bindings and when she does, she's going to make Black Spider go crying to his mother.

  "Yeah," Hook snickered while pointing between himself and his companion. "What were you thinking? This is Hook and the Black Spider you got here! We're good at what we do. We're professionals."

  "Yawn," Jude rolled her eyes while she continued to try and put her heart into forming any ounce of power into the ring around her finger. Kid Flash copied her gesture while throwing in his own two cents. "Yeah, professional hit men for the League of Shadows sent to kill an innocent woman!" Jude nodded along, feeling her ring heat up.

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

  Robin bit the inside of his cheek, unsure if he should ask his questions or not. Though he opted on speaking his mind anyways, his curiosity got the better of him. And it served as a good distraction while he felt around in his utility belt. "Why are you after her? Why is Selena Gonzalez targeted?"

  Hook pointed the tip of his barb at the youngest of the team. His jaw clenching and unclenching at tension built in his shoulders. "You're not in any position to ask questions...but we are." He circled the four, keeping a careful eye on Jude whose face was turning pink from being held upside down for too long. "How did you know we'd be here?"

  "Oh y'know, good 'ol stalking of the twenty-first century." Jude shrugged and got a slap to the cheek that had her spitting out blood. "Ooh big man mad."

  "He asked you a question," Black Spider interjected.

  Aqualad's eyes narrowed, his expression serious. Then again when was Kaldur not serious? "Like you, we do not have to answer any questions."

  Spider scoffed. "Yeah but you're going to 'cause you screwed up and got caught!" He let out a humorless laugh that had Jude wishing she did flatten him like a pesky fly. "Face it, you guys never even had a chance against us."

  Robin grinned mischievously, "what? We came here to stop you from hurting her. We did that!" He was the one laughing now. Trying to push their buttons, get them distracted by the flow of conversation as his hands wrapped around a bird-a-rang.

  "Are you kidding me?" Hook's brows furrowed in mock confusion. "You stopped us. Yeah, for like five minutes." He shook his head with his barb lowering to his side. "You see what's happening here, right?" Obviously he did not. "You lost!"

  "You didn't take my utility belt." Robin reminded them with a cheeky laugh that sounded more taunting than anything.

  "Wait, your what now?"

  Robin was smirking now, his head tilted to the side while looking between Hook and Black Spider. "You never took my utility belt away." He held his bird-a-rang against the sticky webbing, making sure to make his movements as subtle as he could. "Y'know, the thing that lets us escape." He cut through the webs keeping them prisoner, jumping down with a yell, "now!" His voice barked as the others followed in his suit of escape.

  Jude kept herself in the air while her friends ran at Hook. Her hand came to rub at the back of her head where she felt a small knot forming from when Black Spider slammed her head into the wall. She'd get him back for that. "Dude!" Kid grinned while zipping around Hook. "Have I ever told you how much I love that belt?"

  "What can I say?" Robin snickered while kicking Hook in the face. "It's the one accessory that goes with everything." Jude couldn't argue with that, and usually she hated belts that weren't designer or had sparkle but Robin's utility belt has saved everyone more times than she could count.

  Black Spider, still holding Selena close, shot his web fluid at Aqualad who came running at him full speed. He didn't even register Jude who had the fly-swatter yet again. She shrunk the size to paper thin, fitting it between him and Selena, going unnoticed. Willing as much strength as she could muster she used it to fling Spider into the wall and away from the woman. "Y'know," Jude dropped to the ground swinging the fly-swatter in her hand like a fan. "I think this might be the best weapon I've ever conjured."

  "Let's get out of here!" Hook hollered while wrapping a hand around Selena's wrist. "These kids have wasted too much of our time here anyway." He went to run but was stopped by Aqualad who used his waterbarers to form a battle hammer and swung at his head, which was dodged. Hook tossed Selena over to Black Spider who was standing once more, though a little disoriented. "So let's put some space between us and them!" He shot his barbed hand toward the wall to create a hole.

  Aqualad got in a combat ready position, "we need to —" his words were caught off by a maniacal cackle, one that came from Robin as he disappeared. Kid Flash went in the opposite direction while Jude bit at the inside of her cheek nervously. They were definitely going to fail this mission if they couldn't even work together to form a structured plan. "This is not a strategy that has worked before," he sighed.

  Kid rushed toward Hook, throwing his fists in every direction, landing hit after hit with his enhanced speed. "I'm gonna take care of you both faster than you can say —" He was stopped by Black Spider shooting his webs at his face, covering his mouth. "I don't think so, Kid!" The assassin smirked beneath his mask, "it's called anticipating your next move!"

  While the others were busy fighting with Hook and Spider, Jude opted on moving toward Selena who was struck in place by fear. She approached with silent steps and grabbed her hand in a gentle grasp. "We need to get you out of here." Jude whispered and began leading the woman through the door but a web shot out at the handle. "Not so fast, Sapphire." Spider's taunting voice had her on edge as she pushed Selena behind her.

  Standing in front of her, the assassin pointed at the CEO. "We need her." Jude scoffed while brandishing the fly-swatter once more. This time it was glowing brighter, warmth emitting off of it like a fragment of a burning star. "Your friends are all tied up, you're alone."

  "This sounds like a cliche hero movie," Jude rolled her eyes. She hit him with the full force of her ring's power till he slid across the ground with a grunt.

  Sparing a glance over her shoulder she saw Aqualad had released Robin and Kid from their confinement, brandishing his waterbarers as swords. Running over she stopped beside him as he began speaking. "We need to have a plan of attack if we want to save this woman. One that involves all four of us."

  "If you got one, call it." Kid Flash warily looked toward Hook who was making a hole in the ceiling while Black Spider got to his feet, keeping a hand on Selena who was too scared to move. No matter what Jude threw at the assassin, he always got back up. It was frustrating.

  "Robin, we need a diversion." Aqualad then turned to Kid Flash and Jude. "You two, the woman."

  While Robin was busy throwing down smoke bombs and kicking faces as he jumped, Kid scooped Selena into his arms and began running around the room with Jude following in flight. "Hey there!" He grinned down at Selena while Jude was staring daggers at her. "Didja miss me?"

  "Why are they doing this?" Selena asked, completely confused. "Why are they after me?"

  "Maybe they don't like the rich," Jude shrugged.

  "Take the girl and go!" Aqualad ordered. "Get her to safety. She's the one they're after."

  "Not gonna happen!" Kid's voice roared over the commotion of Black Spider and Hook barking orders that neither were listening to. "We tried that when we first got here and tangled with these guys!" He nodded his head in the direction of Jude beside him. "They kicked our cans all the way down the street and back." Like hell they did, Jude has the knot to prove it. "We're in this together, We're staying!"

  "You guys done being all mushy with each other?" Hook said from somewhere behind the smoke, throwing his barb in Aqualad's vicinity. And he would have gotten a hit in, had Robin not shoved him out of the way, jumping from wherever he disappeared to. Black Spider shot webs at the incoming Robin but who dodged the attack with a cackle, leaving Aqualad to fight with Hook while Jude moved to a corner with Selena to keep her out of harm's way. A violet dome surrounding them as extra protection.

  Aqualad grabbed the chain of the barb that zipped past his head and yanked on it with the strength of an Atlantean but the man anticipated his move. Hook flipped into the air, his legs pointed straight as he neared Aqualad's face. "Very clever, blondie. Like no one's ever tried that move before." His thick boots came hurtling down on the boy, knocking him to the ground, flat on his back.

  Hook went to add salt to the wound but Kid Flash appeared out of nowhere, ramming himself into the boulder of a man and shoving him into the wall. "Did you see that coming?"

  The speedster glanced over his shoulder to check on Jude and Selena, completely forgetting what he was meant to be doing before joining in on the fight. There, hanging from the ceiling, Black Spider crawled along the tiles. Nearing the two with his head tilted to the side and golden eyes narrowed menacingly. With his own eyes glaring at the boy in the ridiculous suit, Wally suddenly felt like he could take on the world with the way frustration pumped in his veins. This needed to end, and quickly.

  "Sapphire, get ready!" He shouted to his teammate who looked just as irritated as he felt. The boy sped over to the protective dome as the defenses lowered, he scooped Selena into his arms. "Forgot about you for a nanosecond," he told the woman while running a further distance from Black Spider. Selena's mouth fell open, trying to tell him something but Kid was not listening. "Please, no need to thank me."

  Hook was coming back for round two against the speedy boy but Robin came ready with his explosive bird-a-rangs and threw them at the man. The trio of superheroes watched as they went up in smoke and flames, blowing the two assassins away from them for the time being.

  "This is getting us nowhere!" Robin complained as they crowded together.

  "Agreed," Aqualad sighed. "Perhaps we need to steal away —" He glanced over at one of the exits that were now covered in the silk material of webs.

  "I'm getting tired of this guy." Jude huffed while powering her ring.

  Black Spider stuck to the wall while snickering at their failed efforts to escape. "I'm afraid that's not going to happen."

  "You guys interfered in something that had nothing to do with you," Hook aimed his barb to be level with the heads of the young heroes. "And now you're going to pay for it."

  "With your lives." Black Spider added while shooting his web at the barb and swinging it at the wall, past the group of heroes. On impact the wall crumbled, leaving a wide open space into the office. One of the inspirational posters could be seen from a distance. It was one of the many cat illustrated posters Jude would see in the back of bookstores, or even Jennifer's cubicle where she sells magazines. 'Just hang in there' was oddly enough just what Jude needed.

  "This is not good...not good at all." Kid let out a low whistle. "Is now a bad time to mention Captain Hook gives me the creeps?"

  "No." Jude moved to be in front of Selena and further from the flying barb. "I totally developed arachnophobia." Her lips pursed in disgust as Black Spider's attention fell on her once more, his hand waving.

  Using the watercooler as substance for his waterbarers, Aqualad formed double war hammers. Not taking his eyes off the assassins he addressed his team. "Take the woman, find another exit and meet one floor below."

  Kid balked, "but –"

  "Go!" The Boy Wonder shouted as Aqualad slammed the hammers down on the ground, shattering the wooden floor and continued the act of assault till there was a gaping hole. "We'll meet you down there!"

  Jude nudged Selena over to Wally before she went jumping through the hole. Using the violet light she made a construct of stairs for the others to walk down — or in Kid's case, run down. She waited for her friends with her foot impatiently tapping against the tile floor. "Always looking out," Wally grinned while stopping beside her.

  "I don't understand what's happening." Selena frowned from her place in the speedster's arms. "Who are those people?" The team ignored her.

  "We need to find the quickest way out of this building." Robin huffed a sigh while looking around the room, sparing a glance over his shoulder at the hole Jude was blocking with a construct of a flat surface.

  Aqualad squared his shoulders. "They will not stop coming after Miss Gonzalez and they will be looking for us outside, easier to pick us off." He was theorizing at this point, but he wasn't wrong. "We need to go stealth if we want to turn the tables on them and end this."

  "What do you have in min —" Kid Flash was cut off by Hook's barb breaking through a different section of the floor, or well, ceiling for the heroes on the level below. His eyes moved to Jude who was still blocking the hole Aqualad had made, her eyes widened and the ring's light dimmed.

  Jude dropped her blockade after getting a nod from Aqualad. The four backed away from the barb crashing through the tiles. "Disperse." The Atlantean ordered, his team easily following the command. Kid Flash and Jude went one way while Aqualad and Robin went another. "Hide and wait for my signal!"

  Following Kid with the speed that came from being a lantern — thanks to her ring of course — they stopped in the breakroom of the building. The speedster didn't waste a second before making his way to the refrigerator, going through its contents. "Should you really be concerned with food at a time like this?" Selena warily looked behind her, becoming paranoid that any sound they made would alert the assassins of their whereabouts.

  With his head still in the refrigerator, Wally rolled his eyes. "I didn't get to finish my sandwich — never mind it's a metabolism thing."

  The Lucero family was more than acquainted with his fast metabolism. Jennifer went to the grocery store three days a week whether it was after a visit from Wally or in preparation for him spending the day at the house. She didn't mind it since he was at least eating her cooking. Dante on the other hand likes to tease the boy for being able to eat as much as he does. It was a talent really, how much food Wally could put away in minutes.

  "Why are we just sitting here?" Selena's brows scrunched together as she questioned the two heroes. Not at all feeling safe while the assassins could catch them at any point, and Jude doesn't fault her concerns. "Shouldn't we be running or calling the police?"

  Jude jumped up to sit on the counter beside the refrigerator where Wally was still rummaging around. She leaned her head against the cabinet behind her while crossing her legs to sit 'properly' like the women do in the fashion magazines her adopted mother sells. "Aqualad has a plan." They had to have trust in their friend, and Jude did but she was also worried for Selena's life. They were sitting ducks.

  "We need to sit tight till he puts it into effect." A crash came from outside the breakroom's window. Jude knew from the way Selena pushed herself further against the wall that it was Black Spider and Hook. She was seriously hating these two and not just because they were murderers. These two assassins were getting on her nerves by just existing. And they were making her feel like she was in one of those spy movies she watches all the time. Mostly the one with Angelina Jolie since that was a comfort movie and one Wally always agreed to watch with her. But instead of them being the targets it was an innocent woman.

  "So really," Kid didn't look as concerned as he should be. "You have no idea why these guys targeted you?"

"I just run this company, why would they target me?"

"You ever heard of Cadmus?"

Selena narrowed her eyes, not liking where this was going. "The research facility?" More like a cloning facility. "We have a business interest, just as they do with a hundred other companies!" Now she was getting upset. "Are you saying Cadmus is trying to kill me for doing business with them?"

  "No." The boy had his speculations of who sent the assassins, the ones who whispered in the ears of the Shadows. Whoever it was wanted Selena gone for whatever reason, along with a long list of others who did business with Cadmus. "But someone doesn't like who Cadmus is doing business with and apparently you're one of them."

  Jude cast an apologetic look to the woman who was rooted in place against the wall. "I'm so sorry this is happening to you." And she was sorry that her possible last minutes were going to be spent in a stuffy room with a couple of teenagers who were in over their heads.

  Wally ignored the exchange in favor of snooping further into the cabinets in search of something to eat. He needed fuel if he was going to be running around again. It was draining being the fastest on the team — which Jude would argue they were evenly matched. His movements stopped when he came upon cases of Kapow energy drinks. "Jeez! What, do you own stock in this energy drink or something?"

  "Yes, we're a parent company. We own them." Selena didn't need to say much more before the ginger was opening one of the energy drinks and chugging it at a speed that had Jude wanting to scold him for not worrying about his heart. Which she did, in great length but Wally shrugged her off and drank another just to spite her.

  "You're lucky you're pretty." Jude gave him a mocking smile.

  "Thank you — hey!" He narrowed his eyes into a halfhearted glare. Wally would have given her a less than appreciated finger, the middle one, but he didn't think that was a kind gesture to do in front of a mature woman like Selena. Now when he goes to Jude's after this he's going to throw her and show off the middle finger however long he wants — as long as her parents aren't around because he does have an image to uphold in front of them. The sweet and loving friend who is at the end of Jude's mean and cruel lashes.

  Wally stared down at the energy drinks with the corner of his mouth tugged into a grin. "I might have an idea."

Turns out energy drinks make effective projectiles and a distraction for Robin to trap Black Spider in his own webs. They had been successful in imobilizing the assassins but they had failed the mission. Selena Gonzalez was forgotten in the chaos and disappeared before any of the young heroes could bat an eye. Now they stood at the core of Mount Justice with heavy hearts and deflated spirits.

Jude, dressed in her civilian clothing, a simple baby pink dress and matching wedges, stared at the screen in front of her. A picture of Selena Gonzalez on full display as the news caster's voice fell into the background as the teens dwelled in their self pity. "We looked everywhere for her." Wally's voice was small, as if he didn't want to be the one to point out their lack of success or that they may have cost a woman her life. "She was pretty scared, she probably just ran and is hiding out somewhere."

Neither of the team were that optimistic, not even Jude who liked to believe in the best of a situation. "We checked her premises, and those of her family." Aqualad frowned. "She is nowhere to be found." He placed a sympathetic hand on the Star Sapphire's fallen shoulder as her round eyes began to tear.

  Robin crossed his arms over his chest while nodding his head to the screen in front of them where the news lady was still talking. "Listen." He silenced them.

  "Police say it is too early to tell if the disappearance of Farano Enterprises CEO Selena Gonzalez is in any way connected to what happened at their corporate headquarters last night." Jude dropped her head in shame, already knowing where this was going. One of the first lives she was unable to save, no matter how hard she tried. The first but not the last. Her eyes moved to where Wally stood with his back too straight to be normal. "Although it is a good possibility as the two men captured on the premises and allegedly responsible for all the property damage have themselves escaped custody as they were being transported to a maximum holding facility."

  Robin slammed his hand down on the keyboard. His eyes in a sharp glare at his gloved fingers. "How could I have not seen it?!"

  "When we were back in that building Black Spider said the minute we got outside they would know we are." Aqualad sighed heavily. Neither of them thought much of what either assassin said during the fight but now they wish that they had.

  "They had others outside!" Robin was practically shouting while all Jude could do was mourn for the life they had let down. Just one more thing to tell her therapist, she inadvertently killed someone. She promised to protect Selena and she couldn't even do that. What kind of hero was she? "They're the League of Shadows! Of course they had others outside, we just never saw them. But they were there!"

  Wally, with the look of a kicked puppy, said "so you mean Selena is..."

  "She's dead." 



















NOTE!

and after 8676 words this chapter is finally done! it took more forever but it's here. i love Jude so much, she's just so pink!