The Next Generation

"It's, uh... a long story," Rose said, scratching the back of her head a little at Eddie's question. She wasn't about to go into detail about the whole Amazo incident. After all, this wasn't quite the time or place for that. There were more important things to take care of right now. "Just a big of deja vu, is all, nothing to worry about." Her past experiences with the Question were odd, to say the least, especially considering that hey'd all been fake and in her own head, at the hands of Amazo's illusion. And even still, right now, she wasn't meeting the real Question either, at least not the Question from her world. Man, her life was really weird sometimes.

Blade blinked back over at the Question when he addressed her. She had no idea who this guy was, but the whole no face thing was seriously creeping her out. "I'm, uh... Rose's sister. You can call me Blade."

Eddie and Question merely glanced at one another as Rose mentioned that it wasn't that important, merely a case of Deja Vu. They were certain that there was more of a story to it, but odds are it wasn't important for what was going on at this moment. "Well Eddie explains to me that you're from another dimension. That would explain that whole you not being dead thing, it would also explain how you have a sister when there is no evidence of one" Question remarked as he looked over towards Blade.

"Blade, appropriate" Question said as he glanced down at the swords that both women wielded. "Well, come on in. If you don't work for the League you're welcome to stay with us," Question said before heading inside. Eddie soon followed. Once they went in they would see a tiny headquarters. It was nowhere near what they were used to, and it was clear that the heroes weren't well provisioned here. There was one large computer monitor, but other than that there supplies were mainly food and what appeared to be.......bolts?

"I see we have some new faces," Huntress said as she glanced up from the couch where she was currently laying down. Huntress quickly stood up and glanced over at Question who went on to explain the situation. "Well that's.........interesting," Huntress commented as she looked over at the two. "So you're Ravager? I heard that you used to be one of the best fighters out there. That still true?"

Well, it was certainly quite the interesting place they had here... plenty of food and crossbow bolts. And it was dark, and there was a computer. Reminded her a lot of the Batcave, actually, go figure. At least this place had solid walls, instead of rock... and it was a lot less damp. Okay, so it was a bit better than the Batcave, just you know, minus all the extra resources. Oh well. Glancing over at the couch, she noticed a semi-familiar face lying there. Semi-familiar in that they'd met all of once back in her own world, during the Abra Kadabra incident.

"That's me. Huntress, right?" Rose said, holding her hands to her hips. She then pursed her lips, raising an eyebrow. "Might be. Care to test it?"

"Mom..." Blade said, whispering to her mother. "Let's try not to be too confrontational."

Huntress just gained a small smile as she could hear the fight in Rose's voice. "You got guts I'll give you that one, we'll need people like you if we're going to pull off this rescue plan we got going," Huntress said before moving away and towards Question, a hand trailing across his back before resting on her shoulder. "What do you think? Think they'd be helpful on this next mission that you have planned?" she asks in a small whisper as her lips are right next to Question's ear.

That would probably freak out Rose more than anything else.

"I think they'd be immensely helpful, and our odds of success and survival would go up a great deal if they're as good as they claim," Question remarked before moving over to the computer. "Rose, you said that you needed several pieces of technology if you are to return home yes?" he asked as he began pressing several buttons on the keyboard. The blueprints of a particular building in lower San Francisco popped up.

"I believe that we can help each other"

Rose watched the two carefully, as Huntress went and walked over to the Question and... began running her hand along his backside. Wait, were they like... together? What, how the hell did that even work? He had no face! How did they kiss, and... and other stuff? Then again, how did he even breathe, for that matter? Of course, she had no idea about the actual nature of what gave him the no face appearance, so it was understandable how confused she was, given her ignorance.

"Uh, yeah, right," Rose said, walking over to the computer monitor and looking at the blueprints. "Whatever you got that can help, that would be great."

"I'm afraid that I don't have anything personally that would help fix a machine that would allow for dimensional rift opening," Question said plainly as the blueprints were enlarged on the screen. "However, in the past week I believe that I've discovered one of the safe houses that the League uses," Questions said as he turned towards Rose. "I thought I noticed some strange activity there before but now I'm certain that something major is in there," Question said before pulling up a picture of a woman.

"I saw her entering the building just a few days ago," Question said as the woman's information came up. "Her name is Lady Shiva, wanted for the murders and assassinations of several dozen political officials. She even killed New York's mayor a while back, allowed for some new asshole to take in. We believed him to be a League supporter, considering that their strength within the area grew significantly" Question added.

"I wanted to attack this place a few days back, but as you can see our numbers are rather short," Question said as he glanced over at Eddie and Huntress.

"So what do you think Rose, are you two in?" Eddie asked as he looked at her with a small smile.

Rose watched the screen carefully, as the Question showed her the footage of the supposed League of Assassins safe houses. When he revealed that the woman on the screen was Lady Shiva, she blinked in surprise and widened her eyes. "Did you say Lady Shiva?" she said, making sure to get a good look at her. She really did look like she was no older than 30... and okay, yeah, pretty hot. "That's the woman Neal was with before me... huh, no wonder he slept with her. Look at her."

Blade's eye twitched, her gaze slowly moving over to her mother. "I... really didn't need to know that one, Mo- uh... Sis."

Moving on to the actual proposition of the mission, Rose held a hand to her chin. "Well, I guess we don't really have much a choice, now do we? Count us in."

"Yes? Do you know her?" Question asked before he glanced over at Rose and hearing what she said. As the words came out Question only gained a look of confusion. "Neal? As in Fade?" he asked curiously. "Interesting, if they had a relationship perhaps she will be sympathetic to our cause in some form. With Fade dead perhaps she'd be willing to share information if she is captured" Question suggested.

He turned to Rose and Blade as they said that they were in. "She's one of the highest ranks of the League of Assassins, if you can capture her I'm certain that we can gleam some information out of her, even if she doesn't want to give it willingly," Question stated. "For now though, we should all get some rest. It's been a long day," Question said before turning off the computer screen. "We have spare beds lying around so help yourself.............I'll take first watch"

"I'll stay up with you, there's no sense for you to do it alone," Huntress said as she looked towards Question.

He merely shook his head. "Against the League of Assassins I won't be able to provide much in regards to strength. It's more important that the four of you get rested, tomorrow's attack will not be easy," he insisted.

Huntress just gazed at him for a moment. "Alright, when you come to bed though don't worry about waking me up. We can make the night go by faster," she said with a small wink before turning and heading down the hallway to her own room.

Eddie glanced over towards Blade and Rose. "Do you two need any food or water? We got quite a bit supplied down here if there's anything you need"

"Uh... well, yeah, that might be a good idea," Rose said, scratching her head, "except that happened in my world, not this one... for all we know, Neal never even met Shiva in your dimension. I guess it wouldn't hurt to ask, though. I mean... on the converse side, they could have been long time lovers here, I don't know." As Huntress said her last words to the Question before heading off to bed, Rose blinked and followed her with her eyes. Is this how other people felt when she and Neal acted like that? It was... really strange.

Blade glanced up at Eddie when he came over and offered them something to eat. "Uh... yeah, sure I suppose, I could go for something. Anything is fine." She wasn't about to expect a three course meal. She knew what it was like to ration limited supplies, and she wouldn't take anything more than she needed to dampen her hunger.

"Well, it's worth a shot I'd say," Question said as he glanced back at Rose. "And if nothing happened we still might be able to retrieve information from her. We'd just have to be more.....persuasive," Question admitted before turning back to the blank screen. "Eddie, make sure that you get some rest as well," Question added as he already heard Eddie offering the girls food.

"Yeah I will, right after I show Blade and Rose around. We won't be long," Eddie said before motioning for Blade and Rose to follow him. They walked down a hallway, past several rooms and down in to a small dining area. It was very small, it had only a stove, fridge, and microwave. "Hope you're okay with the basics, most of what we have is canned," Eddie said before opening up a door that lead to a large food storage area. "Feel free to help yourselves, we have enough to feed ourselves for the next few months"

"Please, I'm practically an expert at living off canned food," Blade assured, as Eddie led them to the tiny kitchen area. It honestly wasn't much different than what she'd been used to for years back in her own time period. Granted, she'd much prefer a big meal back at Titans Tower, but she wasn't going to complain. "Pass me the cream corn and peaches, those were some of the staples back at the camp."

Rose let out a small yawn and scratched her head. "And hopefully, we aren't here long enough to run through all this food. Tomorrow, we'll get you guys the information you need no problem. Besides, I've always wanted to test myself against someone like Lady Shiva. I mean, I've already kicked her daughter's ass once before, that was fun."

"Cream corn and peaches.........here ya go," Eddie said as he grabbed two of the cans that were closest to them before passing them over to Blade. "Eat up, we'll need our strength tomorrow. After our failed attack yesterday I'm sure that the League will be more prepared than usual, and that alone is enough to cause some concern," Eddie pointed out as he leaned up against the nearest wall.

"Well, I hope that we're able to find everything that you need tomorrow. If not we might have to research for weeks in order to find something useful for you," Eddie pointed out. "The League has controlled this area for months and this is one of the first serious safe houses that we've located. I just hope that it's enough" he said before pushing himself off of the wall. He felt the pain flare up beneath his wounds but he tried not to say anything. They still needed him tomorrow, and no matter what they insisted he wasn't going to sit it out.

"See you tomorrow, Eddie," Rose said, with a small wave, as he left the girls to eat their menial dinner. It might not be her Eddie, but he was pretty much the same person. At least he wasn't like some kind of bizarro Eddie and a complete dick or something. Leaning back in her seat, she glanced over at her daughter. "Alright, you heat up corn and whatever else you got there. We can share; not need to eat more than we have to."

"Right," Blade said, heading over to the stove and working to get the corn heated up. The peaches they could start eating right away, though. "So, not exactly what I was expecting for my first mission with the Titans."

Rose snorted out a laugh. "Yeah, tell me about it."

"Either way... I'm glad it's with my mom." She looked over at Rose and gave an appreciative smile.

"Hey, here we're sisters, remember?"

Blade chuckled. "Oh, right, of course."

"Everyone in position?" Question asked as he looked through his binoculars from a nearby building. They had moved out early that next day, wanting to get as big a jump on the League as they could. They were using old radios to speak with one another, it was some of the only technology that they still had which worked. The sooner that they acted the better. The longer that the League had to think, the more likely that they might move camp after that attack from yesterday. Thankfully it looked like they were still open for business.

"I'm in position, ready to go on your mark," Huntress said as she hid in a nearby alleyway. Her bolt was already aimed at one of the nearest League members that were standing patrol outside of the building that they were targeting. She would strike whenever she was needed, and she wouldn't relent. They were still heroes, but with this much chaos going on no one was going to care if one or two members of the League were killed.

"I'm ready as well," Eddie said from his own position as he spoke in to his own radio.

"Blade? Rose? You two ready to move in?"

Roes should have expected that she wouldn't have been able to get a good night's sleep. Not only had she found it difficult to find rest without Neal there to hold onto while she slept, but the fact that they had got such an early start to the day didn't help things at all. So, needless to say, she was a little groggy the next morning, yawning now and then as they waited to move in. Fortunately, she has Blade there to help make sure she pays attention. She'll need to be fully awake when they finally go into battle.

Blade lifted the radio up and clicked the button. "We're ready when you guys are," she said, watching the building carefully. She was no stranger to infiltration missions, and in fact had led most of them in her time. Of course, she wasn't the leader here, and she'd follow any orders given to the letter.

"Alright than, get ready to move on Huntress's signal. She'll be making our first move," Question said in to the radio. "Huntress, move whenever you're ready. Give them as little time to react as possible. I doubt that we'll really be able to sneak in on these guys, but I'd rather they not know that we were coming," Question said in to the radio before waiting for a response.

"You got it, just watch and learn," Huntress said as she pulled out a second crossbow and armed it. There were two of the dark-clothed members of the League in front. They were the first two, so stopping them was the first priority. She took aim for only a few moments before firing. The two bolts flew with deadly speed, striking each assassin directly in the knee. The bolt penetrated through the bone and skin before popping out the other end.

The members were down on their knees within a matter of moments. Huntress was already on the move, sprinting across the ground towards the two downed men. They tried to push themselves up and reach for their weapons, only to have Huntress's foot make contact with their faces. They were sent back and on the ground before being knocked unconscious a few moments later.

"First two down, the doorway's clear for the rest of you," Huntress said over her radio before raising an arm up and waving towards the rest of them.

"Nice work," Eddie said as he walked up and looked at the downed assassins. "Hot damn, I bet their legs will hurt like none other when they wake up," Eddie said as he looked at the bolts that were still sticking out of the men's knees.

"More than just their legs will hurt when they wake up," Huntress said with a smile.

"Alright, first part's taken care of," Question said as he walked out at his own casual pace. "Now we proceed inside," he said before turning to the group. "Remember people, this is the League of Assassin. They're not the types to take prisoners and they've already killed a great deal of our friends. If you kill any assassins, I'm certainly not going to look down on you," Question said seriously. "Now come on, we need to get in there before anyone realizes that something's wrong. They might have bombs in here for all we know"

Rose waited casually, continuing to yawn a little and nod off slightly. If not for her daughter continuously smacking her in the face (as requested), she'd be snoozing by now. Eventually, though, the action started to pick up and it was time to get moving. Now, she could focus. She watched carefully, as Huntress took aim and skewered a couple of the assassins with her crossbow bolts. She had to admit, she was liking this woman's style.

Phase one seemed to go by smoothly enough. She and Blade quickly followed through the clear path now, strolling along as if they owned the place. Rose was just hoping that she got to get in on the action soon. "Nice shooting, Tex," she said, taking another look at the unconscious guards.

"Where to now?" Blade asked, already waiting for the next order.

"Thank you," Huntress said before blowing on the tip of her next arrow as if it was a steaming gun. "I always enjoy impressing the new people," she said with a smile as she placed the bolt in place. She glanced over to Question as Blade asked about what was next.

"Well there aren't any side doors, so we're going to plow right through the front door," Questions said as he glanced up at the front doors. "We're basically abandoning stealth at this point. Shiva's inside and once we get in I doubt that she'll flee, she will stay and protect her master's property," he said with a tone of disdain. "Eddie, you'll open us a path. Blade and Rose I want you two to charge in once he's done, you'll be our........battering ram so to speak," Question said before glancing over at Eddie. "Light em up" he ordered.

Eddie just gained a small grin. "You got it," he said before quickly running up towards the front door. With a powerful kick he broke the lock that was placed on top of it before emitting a long stream of fire from his mouth. Rose and Blade didn't see exactly what had taken place, but the screams were enough to get an idea of what was going on.

Now that Eddie had made the initial attack it was time for the others to move in. They'd have to be quick though, now that the League knew they were under attack it was time to step some things up. Many of the assassins that survived the fire were reaching for firearms, quickly loading them and preparing to attack anyone that came through that door.

"Yup, we got it," Rose assured, letting out a small yawn, as she cracked her knuckles. If she didn't get some action soon, she was going to fall asleep from boredom. She was chomping at the bit to test her skills against these guys. Even just the time it took Eddie to clear the way with his fire breath felt like an eternity. Once the flames finally cleared, however, she was free to kick some ass. Rushing inside, she lunged at the nearby couple of goons, drawing swords and going hog wild on them, yet still remembering to be skillful. It felt good to be able to unload after waiting for so long, though she was still certain never to deliver a lethal blow. She'd left the killing life long behind her.

Right behind her was Blade, who leaped into the fray with the same ferocity. Even though she was quite accustomed to killing by no, she refrained from it as well. This might be a different universe, but if she was going to keep herself from killing in her world, she wasn't going to start up again in this one.

Rose and Blade were an effective team, there was no denying that fact. Once the flames cleared and they moved in, there was little that the League could do to stop them. They were both some of the greatest physical fighters of their time and being in another dimension didn't change that. The Assassins tried to fight back against them as they closed the distance, but Rose and Blade's physical prowess and mental ability were much higher. It was only moments between when Rose and Blade entered the hallway to when they cleared it.

"Effective, they didn't even land a shot on you," Question remarked as he looked at them when he entered. "If we keep this up we-" he stopped dead as he suddenly looked past where Blade and Rose were. At the very end of the hallway was a familiar figure. Lady Shiva was standing at the end of the hallway, only smiling as everyone else seemed to notice her. Without waiting for an invitation Huntress fired another bolt at the woman.

Shiva saw the attack coming and didn't seem to move for some time before suddenly extending her hand forward and grabbing the bolt right out of the air. She held it for only a second before letting go and allowing it to clatter to the floor. "Good try, but you'll have to do better if you're going to stop me," Shiva said before turning around and running through the next doorway.

Rose glanced over as the woman known as Lady Shiva made herself known. So, this was one they were after, huh? She certainly seemed skillful, but how strong was she exactly? Time to find out. The moment that Shiva started running in the other direction, Rose could only smirk. "Please, you're going to try and outrun me?" she said, sprinting after her. She could hit 35 miles per hour on foot, way faster than even an expertly trained assassin. She was through the door in an instant, coming to a stop when she realized that Shiva was actually just waiting for them in the next room.

"So, you're the milf that my husband slept with, huh?" Rose said, folding her arms and tapping her foot on the ground. "Well, I guess I can admit he has nice taste."

Blade hung her head. "Mom..." Was he mother seriously trying to have this conversation now?

As Rose and Blade entered in to the room, Shiva merely stood there and watched. She had two swords upon her back and a variety of knives. She also carried a pistol on her side. As Rose spoke Shiva could only raise an eyebrow in apparent confusion. "Your husband? I'm certain that I have done no such thing," Shiva said simply as she glanced over as Question, Huntress, and Eddie all entered in as well. "Five on one, I must admit that the odds aren't in my favor," Shiva remarked as she drew both of her swords.

"Come now Shiva, you couldn't win this fight even if I was out of here. We are far too skilled for you to handle on your own," Question said as he walked forward. "Surrender and no harm will come to you if you share with us your information"

"As enticing as that sounds, failure is inevitable for you. Our new leader, my husband will make sure that you will suffer greatly for whatever damage you might do here today," Shiva said as she drew both of her swords. "Whatever you think suffering is, you have no idea what you're about to face. You'll get to see a glimpse of the end of the world"

"Please, hun, I know you might be skilled, but you're way out of your league when it comes to dual blades," Rose said, a confident smirk forming on her face. She flipped her her swords around a couple times in her hands, holding them at the ready. Blade did the same, beginning to circle the woman. From what they did know about Shiva, she excelled in hand to hand combat over weapons anyway... at least in her world. Either way, double swords were both their specialties, and there was no way this woman was going to outclass them both at their own game.

"And while I'm sure your husband is very scary and the like, we're not here for him," she added, as she began charging Shiva. Blade was right behind her, coming in from the side. "We're here for you!"

Shiva watched as both Rose and Shiva both drew dual swords. The two looked so similar, it was obvious that they had to be family, and apparently they had been trained in similar fashions. Shiva had already watched some of their work when they had taken down the gun wielding members of the League of Assassins. They were talented, and she would make sure not to underestimate them. It was five against one anyway, and Shiva already recognized the faces of the other three. Question, Huntress, and Kid Devil.

"By attacking me you anger someone far more powerful," Shiva whispered as Rose and Blade moved in. She quickly leaped backwards, pulling out two smoke grenades from her back and dropping them. The smoke was emitted quickly, filling a large area of the room with smoke. Trying to take advantage of this, Shiva quickly moved in to send a slash right at Rose's neck.

Smoke or no smoke, Shiva wasn't going to get a sneak attack in. Rose saw it coming before it happened, flashing through her mind. By the time Shiva's blade came in, she was already raising her own to deflect the strike away. In the same motion, she brought her other weapon across aimed to try to cut and weaken one of her arms. After her attack, she pulled away and disengaged, allowing Blade to get a turn, who was already reading Shiva's thought process, anticipating very move that she made. No matter where her attacks went, Blade was a step ahead, lashing out with lightning quick strikes to parry the woman's blows and counter with her own.

And then, it was time to put together their pre planned strategy to try and end the fight quickly. Blade jumped back and sent out a mental wave of crippling pain at the woman. She only needed to throw Shiva off for a few seconds, to allow Rose an opportunity to come in from behind and cripple her with well placed strikes to the back of her legs. They'd love to see her try and get out of this one.