Turdus (Young Justice Fanfiction)

Protection (w)

//S

My lungs were dying along with my dry throat. Glancing around the pitch black alley, I turned towards the heavy panting that I assumed belonged to none other than Catwoman.

I gasped in between words, "Let's. Wait. Here."

I leaned against the alley's grimy wall still gasping for precocious air. That was way too close. I knew the team of sidekicks were here when I felt a strange touch in my brain, the same feeling I had when Miss Martian tried to read my mind back at the mountain. 

As my breathing started to slow down back to normal, I heard an eerie laugh that bounced off the walls of the narrow opening between the tall buildings. As I stood up getting ready for the next attack, I couldn't find the source of the laugh. Catwoman pulled her goggles over her eyes and lit them up; this, at least, allowed me to see her face. 

I didn't have night vision goggles as Selina did, but I'd manage. I made a clicking noise with my mouth.  I closed my eyes and focused on the echo. Echolocation was mostly used by the blind or visually impaired, but I used it for seeing in the dark. Penguin taught me it, since he knew quite a bit on the subject, being a bird fanatic and all. I imagined my surroundings based on the bounce back of the sound waves.

I heard movement behind me and turned around grabbing my whip. I saw a blue glow form revealing Aqualad. He charged at me with a club made of water. I moved out of the way and ran for the closest trashcan. A flash bolted past me as I threw the can's lid like a frisbee. The bolt of lighting easily dodged my attack easily, or so he thought. The speedster didn't see it ricochet of the wall, so the metal made direct contact.

I heard a whizzing sound behind me and jumped to the right. An arrow clattered on the black pavement as I rolled to my feet. I heard grunts behind me and the sound of a whip. I hardened my grip on the revolver in my hand and shot at the movement next to me.

I heard more groans as I ran to the exit. Looking back, Catwoman was sprinting out behind me; behind her, I could see that one of the trashcans was lit on fire. She must've been fighting Miss Martain. Catwoman and I shared a solid and swift nod as we parted ways.

I ran right and she ran left; I kept going for a few more blocks. Climbing onto a building as I approached it, I finally had the chance to slump against a chimney and take in a breath of relief. I think I lost them, my heart was beating like crazy and my legs ached. I heard movement behind me and I aimed my gun in the direction of the noise. 

"Step into the light now, Boy Wonder!" I ordered.

I was not in the mood for this. Anger was pumping through my veins; my breathing was rough; I was still weak from my capture, but I wasn't going down without a fight. I clicked the safety off and steadied my hands. I took in a deep breath as silence swallowed the scene. A boy with raven black hair walked into the light with his hands raised surrender. He was wearing his usual red suit, yellow belt, black cape, and concealing mask over his eyes.

"Put your weapon down, I'm not here to hurt you," he explained.

I sneered and held my ground, "Yea, right."

He sighed, "I was listening in on your conversation. I know you need a place to stay; we can protect you. "

Was he offering me a safe place to stay? I just tried to kill him and his entourage; he clearly wasn't thinking straight. As I lowered my gun, looked at the boy in the dim light from the city. If he was choleric or fearful, he did a damn good job at hiding it. I recalled a quote I had heard in a black-and-white mafia film I had seen. "This sounds all too good to be true. What's the catch?"

"There is no catch. We just want you off the streets and in a safe environment. I know you were hurt before, but we can help you."

What did he know about pain and hurt? He didn't know me; I didn't know him. I was hoping to keep it that way.

"You know nothing about me. I don't want nor need your protection services, I can look out for myself," I spat.

I pulled the trigger on the gun and reached for my whip. Robin easily dodged the bullet by sliding to the right. He let out that eerie laugh and a smile broke out on his face. I brought my wrath down on the boy's head, a.k.a. my trusty whip.

He quickly grabbed it before it touched him and pulled. I was caught off guard as I was yanked toward him. He landed a punch on my nose like an arrow to a bullseye. Thankfully, my mask was mostly fabric so it didn't crack under the pressure. I landed flat on my back but quickly did a backflip that Catwoman taught me and somehow managed to clip his chin with my heel in the process. 

"Where's the rest of you sidekick team?" I mocked and wiped my dripping nose.

I put both my fists up and threw a few boxing punches that Jimmy had taught me. While Wonder Boy was distracted blocking my attacks, I swept my leg under his. This sent him crashing into the ground. He rolled over and popped back up; he reminded me of that red punching back from all those years ago.

"Where did you learn to fight like that?" he asked sidestepping my question just like he did to my most recent attack.

"Distracting your opponent is how you - " I kicked him in the stomach, "survive in a street fight."

I heard calls behind me; the rest of the team was here to retrieve their little bird. I could barely take on one, not an entire team. I was supposed to meet up with Catwoman at her house anyway. 

"Sorry, I gotta blast."

Slightly kicking myself from making that last cheesy comment, I walked to the side of the building and gave him a sloppy salute. I leaned back and pulled my whip out. I wrapped it around one of the drain pipes and swung to the next building's lower rooftop. I bolted across and jumped to the next. He just stood at the building we were fighting on and simply watched me get away. In the movies, the "bad guy" never got away; this time was gonna be different.