FicWad

XIX



They all awoke at about 11 AM, and there was a hearty breakfast awaiting them. They were quite hungry, and were surprised at how much they were able to wolf down. Ahiru commented, "I cannot believe how hungry I am!"

Wally, (the Flash,) spoke up, and said,"Believe me, doing what we do takes quite a bit of energy, and you will start to find your metabolisms increasing as you do this more. However, you need to work out that much more, to make sure that you don't set your systems into an imbalance, and actually get out of shape."

Billy then spoke up, and said, "We still have to practice, guys: we cannot let up on that. As soon as we're done, we need to get to it."

They finished their breakfast, and then went to what was essentially the dojo in the hall. Fortunately, there were mirrors and bars on the wall to work with, presumably to limber up. Yet, this day, they would have a dance purpose. This day, though, the heroes there joined them, with Bruce, Tim, and Diana lining up beside the six, and the others mirroring them. Once that was done, Ahiru asked, "Okay, I understand you three joining us, but why is everyone here?"

"A bit of camaraderie," said Diana, "We are a team right now, and we think you six can teach us, as we teach you."

"Well," said Rue, "We have to do our dancing as well, and that might take an hour. So, if you..."

However, the heroes all took positions along the bar, as Diana started the music. The six prepared to start, but Bruce took a position along the wall opposite, and began to call out ballet moves! The others joined in, but now they, (except for Billy,) were quite surprised to see this display. Even though Guy did not seem too thrilled about the whole thing, he went with it. When that was done, Mary just had to know, "Okay, now we are totally confused! You dance ballet?"

Bruce said, "I studied ballet for years, just to aim it towards the goal of crime fighting. Even Bruce Lee studied ballet for the high kicks and the fitness aspect of it. I could have gone to the Met, but I had other goals."

"You'd be surprised at how many people do this," said Wally, "Even wrestlers do this."

"I wasn't too keen on it," said Gardner,"and I am not sure that I am that keen now. However, I understand the benefits, so I go along with it."

"This was another reason I got into it,"said Billy, "because I was doing it with Bruce. He turned me onto it as much as my mentor did."

"It just sucks that you got a head start on us," said Wally.

"You dance so well, Raven," said Ahiru,"If you were not already graduated, I would ask you to come to Kinkan."

"Flattered," she said, "But please call me Rachel. It also seems odd for you to say that I am old enough, because, in fact, this is a teenage body you see. I've been made a teen again. It's a long story, but I am what I am. Perhaps I could go there, and stay close to you. The evil that was in me was purged from me, and I do want a fresh start."

"Are you saying you want to join the team?" asked Fakir.

"I don't know yet, but I would like to be there for you, if you had a need," said Rachel.

Bruce said, "We'll have to see what we can do, although your teachers would wonder why you are such a genius in your academics!"

"We can discuss this later," said Clark,"because we have a schedule to keep. Okay, on to fight training."

They all retreated to the edges of the room, and the wooden floor rolled back to reveal what would best be described as something a gymnast would use for a floor exercise. Bruce took center stage and said, "Today, for the benefit of our apprentices here, we are going to review the principle of Jeet Kun Do. How are you on your Cantonese, Rue?"

"I'm a little rough," she said, "But I do believe that it means 'Way of the Intercepting Fist, or Foot.'"

"Very good," said Bruce, "and I thought of it after last night. I think that this is something you two boys could use, and this is something that can be applied to any form of martial arts. Rue, you may already know this, because, though it is not called Jeet Kun Do, the principle is contained in Aikijutsu. This principle helps disguise a fighting style, and assists you in putting the fight on a ground of your choosing. Fakir, would you please come here."

He did as he was bidden, and Bruce said,"Now, extend a standing side kick."

He did this, and Bruce positioned himself about one inch away from Fakir's foot. Bruce then said, "Now, please stand as normal at that point."

He did, and Bruce then said, "Now, what you see here is my personal space. It is always one inch from the furthest distance someone could reach out and attack me."

Rue remembered this from the class Dr. Cranston gave back in October, and she shuddered at the memory to which this was attached. Bruce continued, "Now, it doesn't matter what kinds of threats he breaths at me, as long as I maintain that distance, he cannot hurt me, as long as he does not have a weapon. Now, slowly step towards me."

Fakir did so, and Bruce moved back, and off to the side, always facing Fakir. He said, "Notice how I always maintain that distance. I am not retreating, but keeping things in such a situation as to where I am in control of it. It should also send a message to him that Iam not going to let him dictate how the fight goes, if one happens at all. I hope that this sends a message that, if there is a fight, it is going to be on my terms. Now, rush me."

Fakir hesitated, and Bruce said, "Its okay, you won't be hurt."

Still not sure about the whole thing, he rushed forward, and Bruce quickly grabbed his wrist, pulled him off balance, and stopped him with his leg, remaining in that pose. He then said, "Now, let me explain what just happened. He moved in faster then Icould keep that distance. This tells me that he means to attack, so now I have justification to respond. With that distance, I had a split second of time to react. I then went after the first target he gave me, which was his hand. I pulled him off balance."

Turning his attention back to Fakir, he said, "Stand back up, and I will go further."

He did, and the second he did, Bruce pulled hard again, this time using his leg to flip him over. "From here, I can do pretty much what Iwant."

He released Fakir, and said, "Thank you, Fakir. Now, you only have a split second to react, so, whatever you commit to attacking, you have to stay with it. Sometimes it is good to feint towards one target, just to open up better the one you were aiming for. Keep this in mind. Once you keep in mind that personal space, you will almost always have the edge in a fight."

Rue had to admit that Aikijutsu did teach this in a sense, and that she did this almost instinctively. She was then further surprised when Bruce said, "Now, for a practical demonstration of the potential of Jeet Kun Do, Rue, would you please stand on one edge of the mat?"

She was not sure where this was going, but she did so, and then watched as Bruce said, "Okay, I'll need Guy, Wally, and...hmm...Tim, you too."

"If this is what I think," said Tim, "I was sore for two weeks after the last time!"

"Then remember what you learned," said Bruce, showing no sympathy, "and get ready! Wally, no super speed, got it?"

He snapped his fingers, acting as if he were disappointed. Bruce then said,"Now, stand on the other end, and attack her all at once. Don't hold back."

Rue was shocked at this for a moment, but then realized what Bruce was doing, and prepared for the defense against three attackers-a skill that all advanced Aikijutsu students learn. She readied herself as the three charged at once. Rue deftly stepped aside; knuckle locked with Tim, twisted his wrist, and sent him colliding with the other two. They all stumbled over as Tim sent them off balance. Tim was the first up with a flying kick, which Rue ducked, then grabbed the ankle of his non-kicking leg, diverted his path, and pushed his back, slamming him to the mat. He did a front break fall to keep himself from getting hurt, and she then hip tossed a now charging Guy Gardner. His legs knocked Wally back down, and she stepped to the center of the mat, getting some distance. Tim again was on the attack, but this time, he forgot the other two, and concentrated on his task. Rue was equal to his attacks, parrying them all off. Of the three, she was having the hardest time with him, considering that Bruce had to have trained him well. He was not to be taken lightly. However, to stop the onslaught, on the next parry, she pushed the back of his head, and gave an approaching Wally, who was moving a bit faster than he ought to have, (due to instinct,) an arm drag takedown, right into Tim, who was turning to resume the attack. She then grabbed an attacking Gardner, and spun him around into the other two, who were trying to regain themselves. She knew that she had to use the other two to mess up Tim, and keep him off her. He had the most skill of them, and she had every respect for that. The other two seemed out of it, but they were trying to regain their feet. Tim, however, was pulling himself out of the pile, ready for more. If it came down to it, Tim could beat her, although it would take some time. Bruce could see that it would gravitate to Tim and Rue, so he called a halt to the proceedings. Tim said, "Wow! That's the best challenge that I've had in a while! You're really good!"

With that, he bowed deeply, and Rue returned the gesture, feeling that he was the better fighter. She knew that he could win eventually, and it was only Bruce intervening before it got that far. The other two managed to regain their feet, and weakly bowed. Clarkthen said, "Okay everyone, get cleaned up, because we need to go to the next phase of the investigation. This is where you six are going to learn about forensics. We are going to take what we have learned, and prepare to finish this thing tonight. I believe that we have enough here to get the job done."



They all reported to the lab, and had all the information spread out before them. They began to speculate and brainstorm on where the main distribution point would be. Bruce also speculated that it could be possible that they might be trying to lay low if they got suspicious about how the league was going about things the night before. However, they were also awaiting some contacts to report. They settled on about three buildings in the stadium district that could have held enough products to distribute to the boroughs. However, they still needed to make a sure connection between the Bombers, and the Torricelli family. By five PM, when they were all sitting down to supper, the first call came in. Warren said that one of his "escorts" managed to get her partner drunk, and then weasel out of him that the Torricellis were indeed bankrolling the effort of the Bombers, and that there was a higher hand involved, but he did not know quite who that was, though he had his suspicions. He passed out in an alcoholic stupor before he could say anymore. That cinched it, but they still needed to find out where the distribution point was. Another call came in about a half hour later, and it was an "anonymous" caller with a tip, (though Clarkwas fairly certain who it was.) The tipster said that his connections were able to peg down the main distribution point, and that the Torricellis had indeed recruited the Joker to aid them in trying to stay afloat. In the process, they essentially lost control of the operation, and Joker was now essentially running the Torricellis. In fact, one could say that they were no more, and the move they made the day before with the van was a last ditch effort to try to say that they were still viable. However, where the manufacturing point sat was still not certain. They thanked the tipster, and went from there. They brought up the floor plan of the building, and brainstormed about the best way to take the building. However, Bruce suggested letting New York's Finest handle things. However, Ahiru, as she was wont to do, began putting the pieces together, as if it were a routine the Pas De Six were putting together, and said, "Could there be information in there that could tell us where Joker is?"

"Well, of course," said Bruce, "but the boys in blue could give us that."

"But you said we can't spook them," she retorted, "and if we wait, we may not have the chance to get Joker."

That stopped Bruce dead in his tracks. She indeed had a good head on her shoulders for one so young. Testing her, he then said, "What do you suggest?"

She screwed up her face, and then said,"While the police are doing their thing, we can send some in to the office here," pointing to the diagram, "and then see if we can't find something: atelephone number, note, letter, map, something."

Fakir then said, "What if they anticipate that?"

Mytho then said, "Then we send in adiversion, and let someone in that could find something out."

Rue then said, "Rachel and I could transport in."

"Then maybe Tim and Fakir could go in and cause the diversion, because they are the most inconspicuous. They may not be seen going in," added Mary.

The other heroes began to be amazed at the sight, and had trouble keeping up with them. For them, it was as if they were working out anumber to perform, and did what they would for that in this case. The heroes then just sat back, and let them go. Ahiru was already putting the game plan together. "Then this is what we do," she said, "Wait for the police to get them really busy, and then we send in Tim and Fakir to keep the office guards on the second floor busy, while Rachel and Rue go in and search the office."

Bruce then said, "Excellent! The only thing is that we do not know how many may be on that second floor, and we do not want the two of them to transport right into a trap. What do we do about that?"

Mytho said, "Clark: you have x-ray vision, right?"

"Yes," he answered.

"Then, you could scan the building, and see how many there are," said Fakir.

"Maybe if we give them about five minutes," said Rue, they can raise enough Cain for us to go in when they become busy with the other two."

"Or," said Ahiru, "Clarkcan tell us if either the coast is clear, or if they are trying to destroy documents. If it's the second one, then we move in right away. They wouldn't expect someone just popping in on them, and they could be easily taken."

"Sounds like a plan," said Bruce, "Then the attack begins once it is fully dark, and then we move in."



The team all sat there, watching New York's Finest do their magic. Though the gang had decided to lay low for afew, due to all the suspicious things taking place about them the night before, their pulling down things was not fast enough. They were completely caught off guard. There was total confusion on the part of the Bombers, and nothing but organization and clockwork from the police. The team watched intently, waiting for the right moment, which was no greater than two minutes. By that point, Black Knight and Robin had already reached the second story windows, and entered swiftly and forcibly. The few that were on the second floor were caught with their pants down, not able to give awarning that there was an assault on the second floor. If they had, those in the office trying get rid of incriminating evidence would have torched the office, making things difficult. Because Superman was able to see through the walls, he saw them dousing the room with gasoline, and decided that waiting the five minutes would not hold up. He told Raven and Claire to move in right then. Tutu wondered why, and Batman said, "Sometimes, the battle plan does not outlast the battle. You have to be able to adapt to any situation. What do you do when something goes wrong on stage?"

"Point taken," said Tutu. Batman wondered at her, and he was as amazed at her as he was at Billy, due to the radical change in both of their personalities when they put on the hero's guise. Raven and Claire materialized as the last can was emptied, and caught the two men flat footed. One went for a lighter, but a dart found its way into his hand. The other charged, but Raven projected her astral attack-essentially her spirit-right at him before he could react. It had the effect of a heavy tazer, and he hit the floor, gurgling, and laying in a fetal position. Claire then followed up with ajette, followed by a spinning kick square to the chin, sending the man flying. They then began to sift through the papers, trying to find anything that gave any indication of the drug factory. Finally, Claire found the top desk draw, and then ripped it open due to her enhanced strength. In there was a map of the islands around the harbor of New York City. One of them was marked clearly. She sifted again, and found a map of that island, showing certain entrance points about it, and showing something that seemed to be a loading point for a boat. Back on the other map, a point on the port was also marked. "I think we have what we want here," said Claire, waiving the maps.

"Then, let's get out of here!" said Raven. They stuck their heads out, and saw that the boys had finished off the last two guards. By this point, the police were cleaning up things, and they all returned to the rooftop where the others were waiting. They all gathered around the maps, and realized that the port that was marked was none other than the Torricelli owned port. It sat not too far from the docks where the thwarted attack had taken place. The island, however, was one that they all cringed over; because they knew this would be a very unpleasant place to go. An island serving as a city dump was where they were hiding the whole operation. It had been filled up, and was not used for that anymore, and the operation had been moved elsewhere. Once filled, no one ever went there. This then was the perfect place to hide the operation. They had to assume it was deep underground to prevent the seepage of the garbage to get to them and poisoning them. However, no matter how bad the stench was, they had to go, and they had to hurry. If word got out that, not only was the operation halted, but that they were not able to destroy the incriminating evidence, they would be, at that moment, trying to break up the operation there, and destroying any trace that anything had been going on. Gardnerused his ring to encase those that could not fly, and took off himself, as did those that could fly. Flash, on the other hand, merely ran on the water.



Everyone wretched as the approached the island, for the stench that came from there was legendary. Guy announced, "I think I'm gonna hurl!"

Batman had those who had them put on their gas masks, and handed out a few to those that did not. Indeed, there were a couple of boats being loaded up, while a couple of people were tossing things into the water. Wonder Woman, Superman, Flash, and the Marvels moved in quickly and put a stop to that. Gardnerset the others down, while Batman brought the Swan Sisters and the Knights with him. Gardnerand the Raven assisted in taking down any on the surface that may have tried to sound an alarm. Joker, in the meantime, was orchestrating the evacuation, frustrated that Bat brain had figured things out, and informed Laugh-Of-A-League about what was going on. He would set up elsewhere, maybe in a few months, to try to renew his efforts. However, his night was about to get very bad. He was about to ascend a catwalk when he saw on the balcony a strange sight. "Batsy!"he said, seemingly happy that his nemesis had arrived at last, "Good to see you again! I'm glad you finally made it...and you brought the Bolshoi Ballet with you! Very original of you, Batman: I never thought you that creative. However, what do you think they are going to do?"

"Shut your festering hole," said Claire through her gas mask, (in that none of them had time to remove them.) This was followed up by about eight darts, all hitting him squarely in the chest. He screamed in pain, now not feeling in a very funny mood. Before the gunmen could react, Batman gave the order, "CS pellets, three," and he, Robin, and the Knights all cast three each down at the gunmen. They immediately started coughing and chocking, screaming in agony. White Knight, to add to the mix, shouted,"Shield your eyes!" and threw down a magnesium flare pellet, now they were in agony, and they could not see. Everyone then began leaping down or descending into the fray. However, Batman stopped Tutu and said, "No, Ineed you here in case any slip by. Stop them here."

"What about the Joker?" she asked.

"You don't want to tangle with him," he told her, "If you are thinking about linking with him, I know you are strong in this, but you may be asking for more than you realize. He is also crafty: you may be dead before the thought may occur to you that this is the case. Just stay here."

He then leapt down into the fray. Indeed, it was not about fifteen seconds when a couple of gunmen started to escape. They were still chocking a bit, tears flowing down their eyes, and a bit bloodied from the fight. Tutu was not sure what to do, because she did not have any plants to work with. However, it was then she saw some colorless algae, looking this way being denied sunlight, but it was growing nonetheless in the damp parts of the drug factory. It was not much, but it was better than nothing. She did a quick cabriolet, and waived ahand. Before the two men knew it, they were tangled up in yellow, slimy algae. This was not a very good day for them! She then decided to aid the others below by entangling whoever came close enough to the algae. As she scanned the floor, she saw that the other heroes were joining in, showing that the topside was secure. However, in the confusion, the Joker took an opportunity to try to slip out another way and unnoticed. However, Tutu saw this, and tried to warn Batman, but he could not hear her in the confusion. She knew what Batman had said, but she had to do something. She caused more of the algae to grow and cover the stairs to the point where they were impassable, and did a jette off the balcony to the other where the Joker was fleeing. She caught up to him in a tunnel as he was extracting the last of Claire's darts. It was then, at the last moment, Batman noticed Tutu going after the Joker. He was mad enough at himself for letting the joker slip, but now he was more angered that Tutu had disobeyed him, and went after the Joker. He cursed under his breath and went after them.



Just as Joker was pulling the last feather out, he turned around in time to see Tutu giving chase. He thought, "Well, at least this one will be easy," and prepared to deal with the annoyance. However, she announced, "Mr. Joker, I cannot allow you to leave."

"Well," he squealed, "Mister Joker, is it? Such politeness: I thought that was lost on today's youth. No matter: it's just too bad that you won't be alive to spread these good manners to others, although some red on that white tutu you're wearing just might add the right color hue to your ensemble."

He was about to pull a gun, when Tutu said, "It is so sad that this will happen before I get just one more chance to dance..., and I was going to ask you to dance with me."

This caught Joker off guard. He was not sure what to say now. However, it would be an ironic thing-a good joke in reality-if he danced with her, making her think that things were okay, and then kill her. Tutu took the fifth position, gestured, and gave the invitation. Joker eased off his grip on his pistol, and said, "I would love to."

However, he was the one in for asurprise. When they made contact, he felt the warmth and peace associated with her mind links. He suddenly felt quite vulnerable. He began to realize that they were now communicating telepathically, and he realized that he was also dancing automatically. Of course, his was clownish, in a sense, being that this was the Joker after all. One thing he did know was that she was attempting to reach into his heart, and dredge up some things that he had buried. This he could not allow. He could not break the contact if he wanted to, but that did not mean that he could not take control of the situation. She was trying to get him to open up, so he had to do something to send her off the trail, and maybe even bend her mind to his will if it were possible. Since he lost Harley Quinn to the Amazons, and their version of the Secret Six, he was abit lonely. She was young and na