Snuffed (Equinox)

Steam rose through the grated floor as Dana moved carefully and quietly through the red-lit refinery. Pipes lined his path as his ears and eyes searched through the haze, trying to detect any slight movement which might betray his target's location. After two years of searching for the Hood, he wasn't about to let him slip away in an iron jungle.

Something fell not far away. Dana spun on the spot, bringing his fists up, ready for an attack. But the path behind him was clear. Only the hissing of steam and the tinkling of metal on metal reached his ears. Nothing but the cloudy masses of white mist rolling in the air moved, painted dark blacks and reds by the lighting of the old place. Dana turned slowly and continued on, keeping his eyes peeled.

As he reached the end of the hall, Dana found himself on a catwalk suspended over a deep pit. Many hundreds of pipes descended down the pit to the bottom where the chemical reactions would take place, creating the final products. It was more than a dozen stories below. Dana peered over the edge briefly as he stepped onto the catwalk. It was quite a fall.

Suddenly, something kicked him from behind. He reacted quickly, able to turn his fall into a roll which carried him back onto his feet. He spun around to find Hood standing there, grinning maliciously, his face largely shadowed.

He lunged at Dana. Constructing a short sword, Dana deflected the thrust of Hood's dagger. He'd danced this dance before. Kicking Hood back, he slashed at the man's chest, opening a bit of the Hood's armor, but otherwise causing no damage. The fight sped up. Dana deflected and countered with a speed and expertise he'd rarely seen. He was utterly determined to end this fight here and now.

Attack and defend. Counter and riposte. He moved fluidly, using the terrain of the narrow suspended walkway to his advantage. He saw an opening to take a shot at Hood and he did, firing a beam of green energy from his ring. It passed right through Hood like he wasn't even there. In fact... Hood's figure dissolved, leaving nothing to attack.

"A hologram?" Dana said in shock, staring at the place where Hood had been standing. "It had physical properties... that's impossible!"

"Nice toy, isn't it?" said a voice immediately behind him. Before he could turn, a firm hand grabbed his shoulder and threw him against the railing. A moment later, he and Hood were an inch apart as a roar of pain escaped Dana's lips. He could feel the dagger tearing through his skin and flesh, ripping open his side. Hood tore out the jagged blade and then thrust it back into Dana, a cruel smile twisting his lips as Dana cried out in agony once more. Then finally he tore it out again and held it up between their two faces. Dana saw the crimson of his own blood on Hood's blade.

"Courtesy of your friends, the Psions. They're sick of your interest in Vega. Personal message. Oh, and don't worry..." Hood said in a morbidly intimate whisper. "Your family and Rosie will join you soon, Lamp-boy. I always did enjoy turning out the lights."

Hood grabbed Dana by the neck and turned swiftly. With an almighty toss, he threw Dana into abyss...

"So what's this information you have for us?" Dana asked. He was standing in one of Nightwing's many hide-outs in Bludhaven. Nightwing was about making dinner for himself. Neither of them were in costume.

"Well, you said you wanted anything pertaining to Hood, right?" Dick said, looking up from his sizzling frying pan.

"Of course. You know how long Rose and I have been after him." Dana nodded. "Man always slips the noose."

"Well, I might be able to help you out with that one." Dick said. "Rumor has it Hood is in town on a conny from Blockbuster. It wouldn't surprise me, frankly. That's why I sent you an invite."

"So Hood's lending out his talents outside the R.B.I. family now... I suppose it was bound to happen sooner or later." Dana said slowly. "Although, I do have to admit that I would have thought it'd be sooner."

"Right." Dick nodded. "I have to say, I think it more likely that Blockbuster is now working with R.B.I. It might explain his sudden fascination in the mayoral elections. He's never been a political rigger before."

"It could be anything." Dana said, shaking his head. "Hood goes any way the wind blows. The fact he's stuck with War Raven this long is nothing short of amazing, frankly. But I think you're right... this does have a certain... decayed seafood and sulfur smell about it."

The doors of the hide-out suddenly clicked. The vault-like door swung inwards.

"Rose!" Dana said, smiling. "Good you made it. Dick was just telling me about a lead on Hood..."

Rose returned the smile with a wide grin as she walked casually into the hide out, removing her motorcycle gloves and shoving them into her back pocket."Hey Dana! Dick!" She said in her usual cheerful tone. "Sorry I wasn't here faster, even on a bike traffic these days is horriable." She chuckled, before her face went serious.

"So, a Lead on Hood? what info do we have on the nutcase?" She asked, Taking a seat on a near by table out of an old habit. Ever since Dana and Rose crossed paths with Hood, the murderous mutant, they had been hunting him. Two years had pasted since that frightening day when Derrick and his friend were shot infront of their every eyes.

Everytime they came close to nabbing him, the monster slipped away like the cunning serpent he was. Even though Hood didn't come across as a thinker, he always had a plan.

A plan to torment.

and a plan to kill.

Not necessarily in that order.

"Last time I heard he was in Florida, but he has a way of switching location faster then Blink." She said, rolling her eyes and unzipping her leather jacket. For some reason, Nightwing's hide outs where always either boiling hot, or freezing cold.

Rose didn't like how Hood had managed to stay with the war Raven so long, considering he was a creep who liked to work alone. Then again, he could just as easily be using the mob for some part of his sick little plan. They supplied him with weapons and authority.


"Have you even come close to catching the guy Rose?"

"A few times bu-"

"But what? Finding this moron is all you ever think about now!"

Rose was sitting with James on a park bench, the sun's light summer rays tickling her skin. Rose stared at the teleporter, frustrated...partly because he was right. James had done alot of growing in the past couple of years. Now just a few months of since turning 17, the boy was now growing into a man.

He had lost his boyish features and he had grown in height and in strength, now over taking Rose by a head. James sighed and slumped, turning and looking at her. "All I am saying is don't get to consumed by the whole thing, you need a life outside of being a super hero too."

Rose crossed her arms over her chest firmly. "I do have a life other then Equinox you know!" She said defensively.

Blink raised his eyebrow. "Alright...when was the last time you went out with a guy for a proper date? Or hung out with someone other then me or Dana?" He asked.

Rose's eyes widened. "Well...ah..." She began, but couldn't finish.

"My point exactly."

"Screw you."

"You wish."

"As I was telling Dana, Hood's on roll with Blockbuster. A local crime lord." Dick explained, carrying on with his cooking. "Up until now, Blockbuster has restricted himself to criminal activity and the administration thereof. There's a delicate balance in Bludhaven that keeps the place from descending into total chaos. So most criminals leave elected officials and police and the like alone. The also tend not to mess with the offices themselves. The Federal response to any apparent election rigging would bring the city and everyone in it to their knees.

"All that's an aside to the fact that Blockbuster is now making a play to install a sympathetic mayor. And for some reason I haven't been able to determine yet, Blockbuster is buying up all the hired muscle he can find. Your boy Hood was one of the first conscripts."

"It still doesn't make much sense." Dana muttered. "Who's Blockbuster backing for mayor?"

"Guy name Wesley Morthal." Dick said. "He's not involved with Hood, though. Morthal's a corrupt bureaucrat if there ever was one, but he's not personally mixed up in any of Blockbuster's dealings. At least not in any significant way. He's really just the guy who will make the cops back off completely. But Morthal's only doing that because he has a business of his own that isn't exactly on the up and up and he doesn't want the cops sniffing around any more."

"Cops?" Dana said slyly, a raised eyebrow.

"Okay, maybe I'm the only guy giving him a hard time. Point is, Morthal isn't that involved here. He has his own interests. They just happen to align with Blockbuster's. That's what's behind his involvement with the elections."

"Right. So why does he need a mercenary army?" Dana said, nodding. "And what's his connection to R.B.I.? War Raven doesn't exactly rent out its best mercs to just any old thug. There has to be more behind it."

"There's always more behind it all. It's finding out what the behind stuff is that's the problem." Dick said. "The best place for you guys to start would probably be Handley Shipping. They have a warehouse downtown."

"Sounds good." Dana nodded. "You coming with?"

"I'm afraid not. I've got dinner to eat and my own leads to track down. My interest isn't so much in Hood as it is in Blockbuster. I suppose we all have our nemeses."

"That we do."

"Alright then!" Rose siad, jumping off the table and clapping her hands together. "I guess it just the two of us then. I'll meet you that the warehouse in five...and don't get yourself into any trouble before I arrive." She said, raising one eyebrow at the lantern.

Rose said a quick good bye to Dick before heaving open the large door to the hide out and slid through, pulling her fingerless bike gloves on over the top as she went.


Rose had made it downtown to the warehouse in record time, using a few shortcuts and detours. Rose was now walking the up to the massive storage building, her harley parked a few blocks over in a trusted spot to aviod suspicion.

Rose took off her jacket to reveal her meta suit once she was hidden in the shadows of the eerie old warehouse. Nothing but the dull grey shade of concrete in sight. Slipping on her mask, Rose's green eyes flickered around her in serch for Dana, she wasn't going to enter the what appeared to be deserted building without him being there.

What Rose had heard back at the hide out still bothered her, everything didn't seem to...fit. Something was missing and her brain couldn't peice the puzzle together without it.

It was too out of it. Hood was not one to take orders, even if a hansome amount of money was involved. So why would he go and work for some lower down thug when he had all the toys he could ever what with the War Raven?

Rose sighed and slowly moved closer thae back of the over used warehouse, the smell of oil and rusting metal was preasant in the air.

Come on Dana, hurry up... She thought to herself, crossing her arms over her chest.

Something tapped Rose on the leg. It was a small, glowing green rose with cartoonish arms and legs. It waved up at her frantically, then trotted off around the edge of the warehouse, leading her. Eventually, it came up upon Dana who was crouched, enveloped in his Green Lantern uniform, behind some crates. When Rose arrived, he gestured to her to be very quiet and join him at the crates. He didn't speak until she did.

"There." he whispered, pointing. On the far side of the loading area, there stood a group of men. All of them seemed to be War Raven mercenaries judging by their uniforms. The leader amongst them was none other than Hood. They seemed to be talking about something. Dana constructed a parabolic microphone and directed the small satellite dish-looking device toward the group. He then constructed a pair of headsets connected to it, placing one on his head, and offering the other to Rose.

"When are we moving?" one of the mercs asked Hood.

"When we get the signal, of course, moron." Hood snapped. "Boss's orders are to help Blockbuster with anything he needs. So that's what we're doing. Any other stupid questions?"

There was a bit of grumbling in the group but they broke up after that, heading off to patrol the warehouse complex. Hood headed into the building they'd been standing in front of, closing the door behind him.

"Looks like we're going to have to take him in there if we want to get him." Dana whispered, the construct dissolving.

Rose looked down, feeling an odd tapping on her foot. Rose saw...well....A Rose flower, glowing green with little flimsey limbs. It was jumping up and down and did some sort of little jig, before scurrying off trotting off beind a corner, beconing Rose to follow.

Typical Dana... she thought, chuckling slightly as she rolled her eyes and followed the glowing dancing plant.

Moving passed a few crates, She saw Dana hiding behind a few of the wooden boxes. Rose silently joined him, following the lantern's gaze to see none other then Hood in the distance, ordering around a few cut throats.

After the quick exchange of words Hood and his workers broke off, the murderous moron hiding inside and firmly shutting his massive metal door behind him. Rose looked at Dana and nodded, stretching her hands a little.

"Alright, but how? We both know he has got as much tricks up his sleeves as the Joker, that building is going to be riddled with traps." She whispered back, her gaze returning to the large door, a image of Hood looming behind it planting itself in her head.

"We always run the risk of being the people who walk into the trap instead of being the people laying it, but there aren't a whole lot of options here." Dana said. "We get fewer and fewer of these opportunities these days."

Dana looked around. The guard was heavy. Patrols by War Raven mercenaries were scouring the place. Even the approach wasn't going to be easy.

"We need to create a distraction. Something big." Dana said. He was just thinking something up when a massive explosion plumed into the sky several blocks away. Within moments, the War Raven mercs were running past, charging toward the front gates. None of them took notice of the two heroes crouched behind the crates.

"..." Dana stared at the smoke cloud rising, lit by the fire beneath. "That works."

Dana hopped over the crate and took flight, soaring over the open yard. No moon meant no shadows on the ground. He quickly surveyed the area for any stubborn stragglers who weren't interested in a fireball so close to their operation, but no one presented themselves. It looks like everyone was off enjoying the fireworks display. Dana descended and landed next to Rose as she moved across the yard. The two of them went quickly. They didn't bother with the front door. They'd been dealing with Hood long enough to know that big metal door meant one of two things. 1: Unbreachable or 2: Giant door-shaped grenade. Instead, they headed around the corner to the south end of the building. There was a window, but they didn't bother with it.

Dana constructed a giant silenced drill with seven foot hole saw bit. The thing drilled into the wall. Within moments, the giant drill backed away and there was a huge circular hole in the wall big enough for them to waltz through. They both charged inside. The place was empty.

"... What the?" Dana muttered. "He's... gone." he looked around. "No other doors. Windows are sealed... there must be a trap door..."

Dana had the drill replace the panel of wall and then deconstructed the drill. The damage was nearly invisible. There was just one small hold drilled through the wall and a tiny gap. Anyone walking past outside would be hard-pressed to notice the damage.

"Let's have a look around."

Rose's eyes flickered over the room in confusion, having just see their target waltz in here. The room was barron, nothing for a trap door or other escape root to hide behind or under. The walls were made of cold concrete, and the same material made up the floor.

"I don't like this at all. Where the hell did the he go?" Rose muttered, running her hands softly over the dusty walls, her finger tips glowing ever so slightly. She was trying to pick up on any hidden cracks or buttons she might of missed, or anything that hinted where the mutant had escaped to.

Rose then croached down and moved her hand over the ground, eyes scanning the floor. Rose was about to stand up again when something rising from the ground faintly caught her eyes.

"Is that...is that steam?" Rose asked, looking at Dana. A tiny amount of steam rising from a small crack in the ground. "There is somethin under here," She got up and walked over slowly, attempting to get a closer look, or spot a possiable opening in the floor.

"What do you make of that glowstick?"

Dana walked over and examined the rising steam.

"That's where he went." Dana said, nodding. He examined the panels of wood making up the floor. There was an oddly placed short panel in on of the rows. He leaned down and passed his hand over it. As the pressure of his fingers drifted over the back end of the panel, it flipped, revealing a handle. With a sharp tug, he opened the trap door. A small cloud of steam escaped.

"Whoa!" Dana coughed. The door had opened up a path that seemed to lead into a sewer underneath the warehouse. The smell was incredible. "Well... I'm not going to stop smelling that any time soon."

He exchanged a quick look with Rose and then headed down the stairs.

The path through the sewers wound quite a few times. It split off in multiple directions, but they followed the immediate path. All the auxiliary paths led almost immediately to a dead end of one sort or other. Before long, they found themselves standing at what could only be described as an underground hanger bay. There was an unusual sort of helicopter on the pad and at one end of the place, a large control room was situated that opened up onto the hanger. Hood was there with a number of other mercs. Dana recognized every bit of the equipment.

"So Wings was right." he whispered as they watched from the shadows. He deactivated his uniform so its light wouldn't catch anyone's attention. "War Raven is working with Blockbuster. Or vice versa. This is definitely a War Raven field bunker."

Rose crindged and followed Dana down the stairs through the sewer, the repugnant stench almost choking her.

"I...I think I am scarred for life." She muttered, trying not to breath in the horrid smell. As they when further and further down the tunnel got bleeker and bleeker, but the disgusting scent seemed to be fading.

Fading, Or Rose was getting used to the smell.

Soon enough, the duo found themselves in what looked like a underground hanger. Interesting looking aircraft took up most of the space, although there was a large control base on the fair end of the bunker.

Rose slid back into the shadows, watching Hood was barking orders and the other cut throats scrambled around in fear. Rose nodded, her eyes flickering towards the helicopter.

"Weird, The War Raven doesn't usually like getting assistance from outside their inner circle." She whispered back, trying to peice the puzzle together.

"What are these guys up too?" She thought aloud.

The sound of feet slaming onto the concrete floor grew louder and louder as someone walked closer. Rose quietly sinked further into the darkness of the sewer, gently pulling Dana back by the hand also.

The two mercs were talking to eachother about something on the other end of the wall, but Rose couldn't make out any words...

The two guards lingered in the mouth of the tunnel, chatting.

"What happened?" said one of the voices as they came into range. They were standing between Rose and Dana and Hood. This was going to get a lot more difficult if they had to tip Hood to their presence before making their move.

"Some car exploded. Probably Joker." said the other. They definitely sounded the paramilitary sort. They had that Marine cadence with just a hint of psychotic murderer. "Boss isn't concerned. He wants us to keep an eye on the tunnels in case it was a distraction."

"Like anyone knows this place is here!" said the other. The pair moved off to the next tunnel.

"We'll have to move quickly." Dana muttered as he saw the guards moving off. "He'll slip away if we give him the slightest clue as to our presence. You deal with the outlying guards. I'll head straight for the command center and keep them occupied until you can assist, okay?"

Activating his uniform, Dana darted out of their hiding place like a bullet, rocketing directly for Hood. This was one of the worse plans he'd ever come up with, but if there was one thing he knew about Hood, it was that the man wasn't good at recovering from a surprise attack. With only a handful of mercenaries around to help him, Hood wouldn't be able to deal with this easy. Dana outstretched his fist and fired a ball of webbing from his ring. Parker had given him the idea. It hit Hood from behind and threw him forward across the control center, sticking him to the wall.

"GAH!" Hood grunted as he hit the cement wall. "Kill that son of a bitch!"

"Still not good in the sticky situations, huh?" Dana quipped. He turned his attention to the mercs who were jumping up out of their seats, grabbing their machine guns and turning them on Dana. He focused on dealing with them hand-to-hand because he didn't want to run the risk of loosing his concentration on the webbing construct. It was complex. He was able to disarm most of them quickly, but they were still good martial artists. It was difficult to hold all four of them off.

Rose nodded cracked her knuckles. "Got it." She whispered with a tiny smile, before Dana shot off straight for Hood. Rose took a quick breath before her hands were consumed by her golden light energy.

Of course, it stood out like a swore thumb in the darkness, causing the two gaurds from earlier to turn. "Hey, how'd you-get the bitch!" One yelled, and a few other gaurds in the tunnels abandoned their posts and open fired on the light manipulator.

She quickly formed an energy based shield infront of herself as she moved closer to the group of mercs. Rose swang a low lying blade of light at the armed morons, forcing them back and slamming them into the near by wall with a loud crash.

The noise made a another set of thugs turn from the hanger and rush over, before they were also blown back.

Rose slashed her way to the hanger, sending the odd ball of blazing light energy at a couple of cut throats trying their luck with Dana. Roses eyes widened in alarm as a large merc with a overzied gum lifted his weapon at Dana from behind.

"LANTERN, BEHIND YOU." She yelled, ducking and rolling to aviod another rain of bullets from a machine gun.

Dana constructed a large jack in the box which popped open and sent a massive, spring-loaded fist into the large mercenary's chest, throwing him backward. Each of the four fingers on the fist had one of the four letters of the word 'ACME' written on them. It dissolved a moment later. Dana caught the man's machine gun as it fell through the air toward him and brought it around, using the butt of the rifle to slam the fist of one of the mercenaries as he tried to punch him. The man staggered backward, shaking out his bruised fingers and groaning.

The other three men moved in. By some miracle, the webbing was still holding Hood, but Dana could sense the construct faltering after he created the jack in the box. He wouldn't be able to make another construct and still hold Hood. Thankfully, he now had what he needed to subdue this group. He poked one of the mercs in the eye with the pronged muzzle of the assault rifle and whacked another up side the head with the broad side of it. The third came from the side. Grabbing the charging handle of the weapon, he ripped it back, making it dispense its chambered round. The bullet flew out and hit the man in the face, stunning him very briefly. It was just enough time to let Dana rip the brick-like magazine of the gun out and throw it at the man's head, knocking him out. He directed the rifle at the knee of the second man, who'd recovered from his eye-poke and fired a round through the man's leg, finally emptying the weapon completely. He tossed the weapon itself into the air and kicked it right into the face of the man he'd broad-sided with the rifle, knocking him out as well.

With those three down, Dana turned to the man whose fist he slammed with the rifle a few moments ago and punched him in the face. Dana's punches were nothing to scoff at. He hit harder than anyone he knew who didn't have super-strength. So it was pretty impressive that the man took the hit without conking out right off. Despite his surprise, however, Dana just kicked the man's leg out from under him and caught him around the neck as he fell, executing a perfect choke hold on the man and subduing the last of the four. Well... technically, the last was the man with the bullet to the leg that Dana kicked unconscious a moment later...

"Rose?!" Dana said urgently, looking around. He spotted the machine gun emplacement that was raining bullets down on her from the mouth of one of the tunnels. Looking around, Dana stuck a foot under one of the discarded assault rifles on the ground and kicked it up into the air, catching it. He took aim and fired. The bullet hit the end of the machine gun and made it spin away from Rose. Another shot caught the gunner in the shoulder, making him disappear behind the sandbags he'd been using for cover and upon which the gun was mounted with a grunt.

Rose let out a small sigh of relief as the bullets ceased to bombard her, before her hands began to glow again. Rose felt a stinging pain on her lower arm, lifting it up she saw a bullet had skimmed past her suit, cutting it open and leaving a nasty graze on her skin.

Rose breathed in covered the wound with her hand, looking over at Dana she gave him a small nod. "Thanks...now what do we do?" She asked, her eyes roaming across the ground of the hanger and the tunnels that was littered with unconious mercs. Not one of the bodies made a noise except for a few groans of pain.

Rose's eyes turned to slits as a thug on the ground reached for his weapon. Rose held out her hand on her wounded arm, her other hand still resting on the graze, in the direction of the rifle, and blasted the gun into peices in a massive burst of blinding light for good measure.

Rose felt a tiny bit of her blood on her fingers, blowing a strand of her long auburn hair from her face. She wondered if any of the gaurds above them heard the gunfire. If so, they would be making there way down the tunnels, that is, if they even knew their boss had a hanger down here.

Rose knew for a fact that usually there was the group of people at the lowest rank, which did what they were told without question. Partly because if they did get curious and inquire there was a strong chance their heads would be blown off their necks.

Hood was most likely the one that pulled the trigger.

speaking of the devil, She thought as Rose turned to where she thought she saw Dana pin Hood to the wall.

Her eyes widened...

Dana emptied the rifle he was holding, dropping the mag and clearing the chamber before dropping the device itself on the ground unceremoniously. He had no love for guns, even if he could use one fairly well. He considered them to be a wholly uncivilized kind of weaponry. Killing should never be as easy as pulling a trigger...

As he was joined by Rose, he turned to the still restrained Hood. The man's face was pressed against the wall. He couldn't even see them standing behind him.

"I seem to remember him mentioning once that he had eyes in the back of his head." Dana said, folding his arms. "They might have worked, too, if you hadn't been wearing that stupid hood, Hood."

"Who needs eyes in the back of their head when you have an intellent gunship covering you?"

"What?" Dana said, looking around. The helicopter was hovering off the ground, facing them. He hadn't even heard it spin up. But then he noticed the prop wasn't rotating. Suddenly the already unusual aircraft dissolved and revealed an even more bizarre one. It had no wheels, no apparent propulsion device. It looked not unlike a more streamlined Apache gunship. The silver fuselage bore no marks accept the War Raven emblem on either side, just beneath the canopy of the two-seater cockpit.

312 blinked.

Without thinking, Dana instinctively reacted, constructing a glowing emerald bell around them. The thick walls started ringing with the familiar, rapid taps of thousands of bullets striking the constructed metal shell. He could sense it all happening through 312. The webbing construct failed and Hood was set free. Trapped inside the only thing saving them from the barrage of gunfire from the gunship, they were powerless to stop him from running past them to the gunship and climbing into the cockpit. Dana couldn't let down their guard until the vessel was already departing, turning where it floated. He let the bell dissolve and was able to take a few steps toward the gunship before it rocketed off down a huge tunnel. It was far too fast to catch at that point...

Dana came to a jogging stop and hung his head... they'd lost him again.

312 blinked.

Dana looked down at the rapidly blinking ring and then around at the danger it had sensed. Not ten feet away, a massive crate marked 'EXPLOSIVES' sat. On one side, a time counting down.

Without a moment's delay, Dana turned, grabbed Rose, and took flight, rocketing down a side passage. 312 sensed ahead, telling him what twists lay in wait. They weren't a hundred yards down the tunnel before the fireball of the explosion started chasing them. This way and that, they went. Then straight up a ladder shaft, Dana blasting a manhole cover out of the way as they rocketed up into the sky, leaving the explosion in the sewers. As they floated there, they could see the shockwave heading out in all directions, a rumbling wave of upset dust sweeping out. Thankfully, the blast itself didn't rip through the streets, just the sewers beneath. Soon enough, it dissipated.

"Seems War Raven has gotten some new toys..." Dana muttered. He descended, placing Rose on the ground. "And Hood gets away yet again..."

As soon as he feet touched the ground Rose began to pace around in frustration. In her anger she had completely forgotten her graze and the sudden explosion had no effect on her. Rose had learnt to save her fear and worry for the big things. She was no longer a person her dragged along her fear with her everywhere she went.

Sure, she was scared when the sewers were engolfed in flames and a big angry ball chased them to the surface...but...She was just to frustrated to care at this piont.

"Always...Always! We come this close! this close!" She hissed, holding up her fingers to show the tiny space between her thumb and her forefinger. "And he gets away! We have nothing start with again. The whole hanger is destroyed and all the people who possiably might have known where he would go next would have died in the explosion. We have nothing."

Rose stoped and stood still, looking up at Dana, taking a deep breath to calm herself down. "I'm going to head home, alright? I think Kai might want to hear about this. You can update Dick..." She said quietly.

Rose gave the lantern a small smile and stood on her tippy toes to ruffle his hair. "Ignore me, I'm being negitive. We'll get him one day....see ya' Dae." And with that, Rose turned and walked away to where she parked her bike.


There is nothing?

"Nothing! I might go check the damage out tomorrow, you never know if anything might have survived."

Rose sighed, sitting in the old apartment she once called home across from Kai. The mute had his eyes glued to a laptop screen, his fingers moving like lightening across the keyboard.

Kai had been trying all day and all night to track down a villian that went by the name Warlock. For some reason, the topic was sensitive for him, but he wouldn't tell Rose why. He looked up briefly and signed: I wouldn't worry to much on that, focus on thinking like him, what would he do next?

"Stab an innocent hooker in the neck?"

Sacrasim not appericated Rose.

"But we both know that is something he would do."

True.

Dana managed a small smile when she ruffled his hair. It had become a tradition for them over the years. Whatever she said about focusing on the negative, Dana knew her far too well. She was furious and trying to make him feel as though she wasn't as upset as she actually was. He didn't know if she blamed him per say, but he wouldn't blame her if she did. In more than one way, it was his fault that Hood had slipped their net yet again. As Rose walked away, he landed gently, feeling as though he was going to have to work very hard to recover from this line of blunders...

Dana sat in the hotel bar some hours later. He had no idea why Dick insisted on meeting in places like this. Nightwing had been running down his leads on Blockbuster when Dana called to set up a meet and had told him to wait exactly where he was sitting for him to show up. And 'exactly' was no overstatement. Third stool from the east end of the counter. Same seat every time. Thankfully, this was only the latest in a handful of such meetings.

Something moved in Dana's periphery. He looked over as Dick, wearing his police uniform, joined him. The Velcro flap on his bulletproof vest was flipped down, hiding his badge. Anyone from Bludhaven knew that meant he was off duty. Dick was still little more than a patrolman. Of course, at twenty, the fact he was a cop at all said something about the dire straits the B.M.P.D. was facing these days.

"So what's the news?" Dick said as he signaled the bartender. Like everywhere else in the country, the legal drinking age was 21. But no one in Blood City gave a crap about that. Within moments, both of them had glasses of whiskey in front of them. They weren't going to drink. It just made their little bar meetings look far less conspicuous if the both of them pretended to take a sip of hard liquor from time to time.

"Our collar slipped the net." Dana said with a sigh. "Shook up twenty square blocks in the process."

"I heard." Dick nodded, faking a sip. He was pretty convincing. "What's the plan?"

"We keep an eye out, I suppose." Dana hung his head and shook it. How could he get away again? They had him!

"What's up? You seem upset. And more than in just the 'our suspect got away' sort of way."

If their conversation sounded a little strange, there was a simple explanation. They couldn't very well meet in a public place and have conversations about hunting down supervillains. That would draw all the wrong sorts of attention. So they were forced to disguise all this as though they were two cops sharing a bit of work banter. It wasn't always necessary, of course. It was a hotel bar, after all. And it wasn't even a nice hotel, really. They had all the fancy stuff, but cities like Bludhaven could be paved with gold bricks and things would still be second rate.

Regardless, Dana looked up at Dick briefly before speaking.

"It was my fault." he said. "I ran out of 'ammunition' and the bastard took advantage of it. And he had a high-tech helper."

Dick stared at him for a moment without a word. Dana hung his head again, feeling the guilt surge through him.

"And you know what the worst of it is?" Dana said. "I can't for the life of me figure out what I could have done differently."

Dick continued to stare at him. After a moment, he shook his head.

"You know, D..." he said. "It is possible to make no mistakes and still fail. You shouldn't let this set-back wear you down. You'll get another shot at him."

Dick stood up and dropped a ten dollar bill on the counter.

"Unwind a bit, Dae. You've been hunting too long."

With that, he turned and headed off, disappearing out the door into the night. Dana watched him go, then in one gulp he downed his entire glass of whiskey for real. It stung like hell and he was happy of every moment of it.

"Well hello there."

Dana looked around. A young woman was standing there in a rather stunning red dress. Her flowing blonde hair and large green eyes gave her that gorgeous hue that was hard for any man to resist. Still, while Dana found her attractive, he wasn't quite sure what was going on.

"Can I help you?" he asked, his brow furrowing in confusion.

"I was waiting for your friend to leave." she said in a sultry sort of voice. "Mind if I join you?"

"Uh... if you... want." Dana said through a sort of stumped chuckle. This was highly unusual. The woman took a seat next to him.

"I hope this isn't too forward." she said. "But I kind of thought you looked interesting. This place can be so dull with pointless men."

Dana half smiled.

"I don't... mean to offend you, Miss..." he said slowly.

"Vanessa." she supplied.

"Vanessa." Dana nodded. "But I'm not in the market for a high brow hooker... or any other kind, for that matter."

"No offense taken." she smiled. "But I'm not a hooker. I'm just here on business for my family and I was bored. And you seem to be the only person here who looks like he could be any kind of fun."

Dana looked around. He had to admit she had a point. There were two other people in the bar. One was a forty-something businessman no doubt in town because he pissed off some higher-up in whatever company he worked for (Bludhaven was universally the corporate assignment equivalent to a military posting in Antarctica.) The other was a raggedy street bum who obviously had nowhere better to be. Neither looked like good company.

"So. What's your business?" Vanessa asked as a martini was placed on the counter before her. She played with the rim of the glass flirtatiously. Her eyes didn't leave Dana for a moment.

"I don't know if it's all that interesting." Dana said, shaking his head slightly.

"I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours."

Smiling with the slight shake of his head, Dana said: "I'm also here on business. My father asked me to look in on our corporate holdings here in town."

"Who's your father?" Vanessa asked, tilting her head curiously.

"Uh-heh... Jimmy Richter."

"Oh... You're Dana." Vanessa said slyly.

"How did you know that?"

"You didn't think you're the only one with a politically connected family, did you?" she said. "I've heard your name in passing."

"I'm surprised you remembered it." Dana said. Vanessa smiled. "What about you?"

"Oh, my family have a fairly involved participation in the oil industry." Vanessa said. "I'm here on behalf of my family to meet some scum-sucking fool wealthy enough to play the game. I don't mind telling you, I find this entire city to be beyond disgusting."

"I suppose we have that in common." Dana said. The bartender refilled his drink.

"To kindred spirits." Vanessa said, raising her martini.

"Kindred spirits." Dana nodded, raising his refilled whiskey. They tapped their glasses together lightly and downed their contents.

"So then Jimmy just... let the bat go!"

Quite some time had passed since Dana and Vanessa had started drinking together. The bar was empty accept for the two of them and it had been that way for well over an hour, but they weren't concerned with it. They'd started telling stories and it was kind of nice...

"No!" Vanessa said, an open-mouthed grin on her face. Dana nodded vigorously.

"Yep." he laughed. "The thing flew right through a plate glass window. Scared the hell out of my aunt's dog. My sister and I couldn't stop laughing."

"Oh! That is too funny." Vanessa laughed, shaking her head.

"Oi!" said the bartender, making both of them look around. "We're closing up for the night."

Dana nodded and put down a few hundred for the drinks. They'd really blasted through all that liquor. Dana'd never been this drunk before. As he stood up off his stool, he nearly toppled over backward, but he caught himself with the granite counter top.

"Oh... Man. That lantern fuel really kicks the shit outta ya..." Dana started laughing his ass off half way through that sentence. He knew his way around liquor slang (although liquor slang wasn't unique in that regard) and in this particular case, he found 'lantern fuel' to be one of the more hilarious options. If only Vanessa was in on the joke. She didn't seem too bothered by being out of the loop on this, though...

"Come on. We'll raid the mini-fridge in your room!" Vanessa said. Dana laughed.

"I don't have a room." he chuckled.

"Oh. Well, then. Let's raid mine."

Dana raised his eyebrows.

Beep.

The electronic lock clicked and the door burst open. Vanessa led them in, walking backwards as they kissed, vigorously undressing each other. Dana's jacket containing 312 was discarded in the doorway. The door closed of its own accord, sweeping the jacket out into the hall. By the time Vanessa fell backward onto the couch, all she was wearing was lingerie and all Dana had on were his pants (and what was beneath them) and his socks.

"You know..." he said, their faces a mere inch apart as he hovered over her, his hands planted on either side of her hips on the couch. "This is the first time I've done this..."

"Sex?" Vanessa said with a snort. "You didn't strike me as a virgin."

"Yeah, well I don't wind up drunk with a gorgeous woman in a hotel room very often." Dana laughed. "Doesn't make a difference, does it?"

"Mm... nah." she said in a teasing sort of way, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling herself up to whisper in his ear. "You're still cute."

At that instant, Dana felt something pierce the back of his neck. He jumped up, slapping a hand to spot and bringing it back around to look at it. There was a small smudge of blood on his index finger.

"W-what the..." He said, his speech slurring a bit as his vision blurred. His legs and arms felt as though every ounce of strength was being sapped out of them. He stumbled backward, landing in one of the chairs near the couch. He sat there, slumped, unable to move. Vanessa stood up off the couch slowly.

"Don't bother struggling." she said. She didn't bother turning off her feminine charm as she said it. "There are a lot of big words involved with what was in this." she brandished a syringe with a bloodied needle. "But as I understand it, it'll keep you from moving."

Dana's fingers twitched. It was the best he could do.

"What... do you... want?" he managed to say. He could barely speak.

"Oh, nothing you're just going to give me." she said, walking over to a room service cart sitting in the corner and wheeling it over. She pulled the metal lid off the plate sitting in the middle of the cart and revealed another syringe, a pair of scissors, and a large tablet of something. Vanessa picked up the tablet and sat down on Dana's lap, opening his mouth. She placed the white pill on his tongue and then forced his mouth closed again. It began to dissolve. She massaged his throat. He felt the strength returning to his jaw and neck as the pill dissolved. After a few moments, it became easier to breath as well.

"So what?" he said as she stood up again. "What was the point of the paralytic agent if you just give me the antidote right away?"

"Oh, that's not going to deal with it all. Most of you won't be able to so much as twitch for a few more hours. But the pill will let you talk and it'll keep your lungs and heart from shutting down. Kind of important."

"Who the hell are you?" Dana demanded.

"Well, I'm not Vanessa Silver." she said. "You can call me Callie."

"Ca--... Callie." Dana said, comprehension dawning. Even drunk, he could will his rational mind into action at this point. "So. How's Hood doing?"

"He sends his love." Callie said. "And something called Sodium Pentothal." she tapped the syringe on the plate. "I think he said there are other things in there, but like I said. Big words. But... first thing's first."

She picked up the scissors and snapped them open and closed once or twice, winking at him. She lowered herself to her knees in front of him and began cutting his pants off. After a few minutes, she placed the scissors down.

"Moment of truth." she said. "Does Dana Richter wear boxers or briefs?"

"And what if I go commando?" he said. Basically, the only way he had to fight at this point was with words.

"Mhm..." Callie grinned, straightening up and leaning forward, putting her face very near his. "You're not the type."

She bit her lip and looked down as she pulled off his shredded pants.

"Oh!" she said, looking up quickly, her eyebrows raised. "Boxers it is! See?" she looked down and up again quickly. "Tighty whities? That isn't good for your gents, you know."

"Thanks for the advice." Dana growled. "And they're gray, not white."

"Oh, don't be such a stick in the mud." Callie said, walking back over to the tray and picking up the syringe. She pushed the plunger a bit, sending a large, arcing stream of clear fluid through the air. "We'll get to the Q & A portion of our little get-together here soon enough."

She returned and placed the syringe down on the small table next to the chair and then started rolling up one of the legs of his boxers, pushing his legs apart. She was playing this seduction card a little too heavy-handedly.

"Now don't get excited." she said, looking up at him as she picked up the syringe again. "This isn't going to be that kind of fun."

She placed a hand on the inside of his thigh and then stuck the needle in where his leg met his torso. Then she pushed the plunger all the way. Dana blinked at the searing sensation of the drugs entering his system through his femoral artery. He wouldn't have thought Callie was capable of this sophisticated of an application of a truth serum cocktail. It seemed Hood was doing more with her than just using her as a puppet. This was the sort of thing War Raven mercenaries would do. Regardless, it didn't take long for a fuzzy sort of feeling to take hold. He found he wasn't able to think clearly. He couldn't see his own will through the fog he'd been injected with...

"Now then..." Callie said as she climbed back onto him, sitting in his lap. "Let's see how helpful you feel like being."

"G-go... to hell." Dana said, struggling to keep his eyes open. He felt very sleepy.

"You remember that story you told? The one about your little brother?" Callie said. "I wanna kill him. Where does he go to school."

NO! I won't tell! said a faraway voice in his head, the true Dana screaming through the fog.

"Dullis Elementary School." Dana said.

"Mm... that's a big school." Callie huffed. "I wanna find him faster. What's his homeroom?"

STOP! DON'T GIVE HER ANYTHING ELSE!!! the faraway voice shouted.

"Mrs. Korley's classroom. 317." Dana said.

"Good..." Callie said slowly. "But I don't really care about that. Let's see... Where is Rose?"

"Grm..." Dana ground his teeth. He was trying with all his might to resist this, but it was just so powerful. "Nagh!"

"Where is Rose, Dana?" Callie asked again.

"H-home." Dana said despite his best efforts. He couldn't summon the strength to resist this stuff.

“Ah, with Kai and James... Good ol' times.” Callie said, running a hand through Dana's hair like she was petting a puppy. “But I don't really think we need to invite them all to our little party. So. You're going to help me by giving me the tools to bring little Rosie out of hiding...”

”W-what?” he said.

Callie smiled and reached down, picking up his pants. She pulled his cell phone out of his pants pocket and began tapping on the phone's screen. She quickly found Rose's number in his directory under the letters 'RM'.

“You're going to give little Rosie a little call.” she said. “And you're going to tell little Rosie that you're drunk and you need her to come pick you up. Tell her to meet you in the alley behind the hotel. You'll do that for me, won't you?”

With every fiber of his being, Dana wanted to shake his head. He wanted to tell her no. He wanted to tell her to do her own dirty work, to see if she could stand up to Rose in a real fight. But in the end, his head tilted back and forth... then he nodded as, smiling, Callie hit the 'call' button and held the phone up to his ear while he did exactly as he was told...

"I can't BELIEVE it! I got that dragon AGAIN!"

Kai and Rose sat on the sofa laughing at Blink's reaction to getting Mrs. Vargas again. James sent the two a glare as he paced around the room, ranting on about how much she wanted James dead.

"Stop it! It isn't funny! She is EVIL. EVIL I SAY!"

Rose just burst into more laughter when James's face went red. Kai was trying to restrain himself, but eventually followed Rose's lead and continued to laugh too.

"Awww, Blinkee she just loves you! you are you favourite student!" Rose managed to say inbetween giggles.

"SHUT IT! THE WOMAN IS A MONSTER!" James hissed, his face now resembling a tomato. Rose rolled her eyes and smiled, finally calmed down. "Fine fine, Don't worry James, if you survived her for the past two years you can survive another one."

James grumbled and slumped onto the couch next to her and Kai, noticing her cell phone beeping. "Hey, Rose, your phone is going off." He said. Rose had forgotten it was on silent this whole time. Pulling it out, she saw the letters flashing 'new voice mail'.

From Dana.

Rose raised her eyebrow, he usually sent her text messages. "Excuse me for a sec..." she said, walking out of the living room and into the tiny kitchen. Putting the cell to her ear she listening to the message replay.


Now James was laughing.

"GLOWSTICK GOT DRUNK! AND HE IS ASKING YOU FOR A RIDE!!!???!!!" He snorted, his laugh sounding like a drowning cat. Rose rolled her eyes and punched him in the side, making him stop straight away.

Rose stood up and sighed, grabbing her keys and jacket. "He didn't sound right, he kind of sounded like he was trying not to sound like he was in pain. Maybe he got into a Bar fight? but he isn't one for violence..."

"Stop over thinking it Noxxie and pick the ginger up!" James said, opening the door for her. "Please remember to take pictures."

"You are such an arse James."

"I know I know....Now get going!"


Rose parked her bike outside the allyway Dana had told her to meet him, a sick feeling in her stomach. It was late and the place was dark and empty, she could hear a screeching cat in the distance. Rose took of her helmat and let her hair out, giving it a quick shake as her eyes moved across the darkness.

She didn't like this.

Not at all.

Then, out of no where, a sharp pain stabbed Rose in the back of the neck. She let out a yelp of pain as she collapsed on the ground, her hands shaking as she reached to grab what ever was sticking out of her skin.

Her vision began to blurr and her heart race. Her lungs burned like someone had poured oil over them and through in a match. Soon enough, Rose couldn't find the strength to keep her eyes open...

The sharp intake and then crack of a high-powered rifle filled the air. The sound echoed, sending people running in every direction. There weren't many people around at this time of night, but it was enough. Dick looked around wildly for the source. He was on duty by now, his badge clearly visible on his vest. He looked up at the rooftops for the shooter. He knew that sound. It was definitely a sniper at high elevation.

"You there!" he barked at a bum running past. "Which direction did that come from?"

"Down there, man! Down there!" the bum said quickly, pointing toward the towering shape of the very hotel Dick had met his Green Lantern friend in just a few hours ago. "Some girl got it in an alley!"

Dick didn't need to hear any more. The bums of Bludhaven might not have been well-off. No bum was, of course. But they'd learned to assess situations with a speed and clarity normally only found in trained soldiers. They didn't have that sort of ability to deal with the situation. But they could be counted on for accurate information. Rushing down the street, his equipment-laden belt making a range of noises as he went, Dick found his way to the vicinity of the hotel. It didn't take him long to find the alley the bum had mentioned.

"Rose!" he said, shocked, running over to her. She was barely moving. He pulled out the needle and flipped her over. Her eyes were fluttering. "Rose? Talk to me!"

He pulled out his flashlight and shined it on the syringe of the dart. A thin film of venomous green liquid remained inside. The rest had been injected.

"This is Officer 37532." he said, clicking his radio as he produced a materials analyzer from inside his vest. This wasn't police issue. It was a little something from his real job that he carried with him for situations exactly like this. He scanned the container. "Dispatch!"

"Dispatch here. What is it, 37532?"

"I need an ambulance in the first alley past 4th on Studemont! I have a poison victim here. Tell the EMTs to bring antidote for Venetricene!"

"Roger that, 37532. The ambulance is on its way."

Dick looked down. Rose's cell phone was on the ground. He picked it up and activated it, searching through the activity history. The last thing that the phone did was replay a message from Dana. Dick played the message back, holding the phone up to his ear.

"Geh-- Rose. I'm... drunk. I need a ride home. Come pick me up. I'll... mrh... I'll be in the alley behind the Studemont Grand Hotel in Bludhaven."

Dick lowered the phone.

That was definitely Dae's voice, but what was wrong with him? he thought, looking down at the phone. He sounded like he was trying not to say what he was saying. He didn't sound...

He looked up at the looming hotel.

Dana crawled along the floor, dragging his body behind him. His legs refused to work still. He could barely feel any sensation in them. He left a streak of blood in his wake. He was slowly bleeding out from the puncture wound to his femoral artery and whatever was in the Sodium Pentothal Callie had injected him with contained an anti-coagulant. He wouldn't stop bleeding. He tried willing 312 to him, but from the moment he felt his strength leave him after she'd stuck him with the paralytic, he'd been trying to do the very same thing. For some reason, 312 couldn't hear him...

With a single arm still weak from the effects of the paralytic, he'd pushed himself out of the chair and was now pulling himself along toward the door using the fibers of the carpet as his anchors. His mind was still foggy from the truth serum. His body was still weak. He could barely stay awake. His blood loss was nearing the critical point. And he was still a good ten feet from the door. Callie had left him for dead.

Inch by inch, he dragged himself along. Tears of pain welled up in his eyes. As the paralytic wore off, its more torturous side-effects kicked in. Every muscle that recovered from its influence was immediately hit by that pain that followed the awakening of a limb that fell asleep. Only this was worse. However, he didn't have the luxury of being able to rest. He needed 312. He needed it to cure him of this so he could go and stop Rose, save her from Hood.

Nine feet away.

Eight.

Seven.

Six.

Five. His other arm regained feeling.

Four, three. The pain was incredible.

Two, one. He was there. He pushed himself up with a shaky arm, reaching up for the door handle. He cried out in pain as his fingers played just millimeters from the cold metal of the handle. His fingers hooked over it and he pulled it open. There, on the other side, was just jacket. He dug into the pockets for 312 and found it quickly, sliding it onto his finger. He slumped onto his side, half in the room, half in the hall. His view down the hall as his vision blurred showed him elevators. The red up sign was alight over one of them. The last memory he had before passing out was the dinging of the elevator arriving, a singular figure silhouetted and dark against the brightly lit cab of the elevator running toward him...

Dana sat bolt upright in his hospital bed, looking around wildly. The beeping of the heart monitor sped up as he did so.

"Easy!" said a voice. He looked around as an elderly man in a lab coat moved in, gently urging him to lay down. "You lost a lot of blood, son. You need to rest."

"Rose!" Dana said urgently. "Where is she?!"

"Rose?" the doctor said slowly, shaking his head. "I don't know of any Rose off hand. She the one who did this to you?"

"What? No! No." Dana shook his head but stopped quickly because it hurt. "She's a friend. She was in the alley. What happened to her?"

"Son, you're not makin' a whole lotta sense." the doctor said, shaking his head. "Now just lay back and relax. I'll see if I can find out anything about this Rose for you, okay?"

Dana nodded slowly.

There was a knock at the open door.

"Oh, officer!" the doctor said.

"I had a few questions for Mr. Richter..." said the familiar voice of Dick Grayson. Dana couldn't see him because there was a curtain and a pudgy physician in the way.

"I understand, but can it wait till the morning. This man needs his rest."

"I'm afraid it can't. But I'll make it short."

"Doctor." Dana said, making the doc look around at him. "I'd like to speak to him."

"Oh... alright." the doctor said, shaking his head in disbelief. "But not a second more than five minutes. Understand?"

"Of course." Dick said as he walked into view, his officers' hat in his hands. He nodded to the doctor as the old man made his way out of the room. As soon as he was out of earshot, Dick turned around.

"Rose!" Dana insisted immediately.

"She's in intensive care." Dick said. "Touch and go. You would be too if it weren't for this guy.”

Dick brandished 312.

”Ring saved your life. I left it on as long as I could, but these days, the emblem is recognized. I removed it to protect your identity.”

”To hell with my identity.” Dana snapped. ”What happened to Rose?”

Dick didn't immediately answer. He placed 312 in a box and closed it, placing it on the bedside table.

”You called her to an alley behind the hotel. A sniper stuck a dart filled with Venetricene in the back of her neck from two thousand yards away. It's a--.”

”Compound neurotoxin.” Dana finished the explanation for him. ”So what you're telling me is... I almost certainly got Rose killed.”

”They're still not certain, Dana.” Dick said. ”She might still make it.”

”Don't bullshit me, Dick.” Dana said warningly. ”Just like I know what it is, I know there hasn't been a single person who survived Venetricene poisoning since it was invented twenty-five years ago. So don't try to make me feel better about this.”

”Dana. You almost bled out. And if they hadn't cleared out your system, all those drugs floating around in what was left of your blood would have killed you. Now they're doing everything they can for Rose and I've already sent a message to Batman. He has some friends at Wayne Enterprises who might have something that can help her. Like the doctor said. You need to take it easy for now.”

”What I need is find Hood.” Dana said. ”He was behind this entire thing. He took the shot.”

”Hood is no sniper, Dae. Certainly not this good. This is a nearly impossible shot with a weapon like this. The projectile is just so unpredictable.”

”It was him, Dick. And his girlfriend Callie is the one who opened up one of my arteries. She was the one who pumped me full of chemicals and made me betray one of my closest friends in the world! I need to track her down before she slips town.”

”I'll handle the investigation.” Dick said. ”Just do what the doctor says, Dae. You're possibly one of the most powerful allies the Titans have. They can't afford to lose you to some vendetta. I'm asking you to trust me.”

”Not this time, Dick.” Dana said, shaking his head. ”Not this time.”

Dick opened his mouth to say something, but the doctor cut him off.

“Alright, officer!” he said, bustling into the room. “I won't allow any more of this. My patient needs rest and I've stretched the boundaries of visiting hours quite enough for the police department for one day. Out with you!”

Dick gave Dana one last look of concern, then led the way out of the room, the doctor following. The moment they were out the door, Dick turned back to the doctor.

”Don't let him out of your sight for a minute.” he said. ”He wants revenge and he'll put his own life on the line to get it. Keep a vigil on him.”

“Now listen here, sonny! I don't need some upstart cop telling me how to do my job! You know how many years I've been the head of this recovery center? Twenty-six. Twenty-six years! So don't you come in here and tell me how to manage my patients like I was telling you how to cuff criminals, ya hear?”

Dick nodded slowly, then turned and left, putting on his cap as he went. The doctor turned, looking down at his clipboard with all of Dana's information on it as he re-entered the room. When he looked up, he found himself staring at an empty bed, an open window, and a curtain blowing about gently in the breeze.

“... Oh...” the doctor blinked.

Dick stood next to Rose's bed.

"Thanks for coming out here, Lucius." he said. Mr. Fox looked over at him.

"My pleasure, Mr. Grayson." Lucius Fox said, smiling. "This anti-toxin isn't something they've put into production and Mr. Wayne wanted me to see to it personally. Seeing as how it was I who created the stuff, it was a natural choice. This should clear it right up."

He pushed the plunger of the syringe and the liquid fed into Rose's I.V.

"I know I might be asking a lot considering how much you've already done, but I was wondering if I could bother you for another favor?"

"Of course." Mr. Fox nodded, his face serious.

"It's my understanding that the rings of the Green Lanterns give off a very peculiar form of radiant energy. I was hoping you'd be able to put together a way of pinpointing one's location."

"You lost one, sir?" Lucius said.

"In a manner of speaking." Dick said with a sigh. "Do you think you can do it?"

"I'll see what I can put together." Fox nodded. "But I'll have to return to my lab in Gotham to do it. The sort of facilities I'd need for something like that just don't exist here."

"Right." Dick nodded. "Keep me informed."

"Of course."

With that, Fox turned and left the hospital room, leaving Dick with Rose. He was off duty once more. He had the luxury of being able to do whatever he wished with his time now...

Rose's eyes fluttered open, her vision becoming slowly clearer. Black spots disapeared from the picture, revealing her location. No longer on the cold concrete, Rose felt the soft hospital bed blanket over her, and the annoying ichy feeling of a drip attached to her arm.

"Owww...what the..." She murmered, slowly sitting up in her bed. Looking down at herself, Rose flinched slightly, a few bruises here and there. Mouning, she looked around the room, briefly thinking she saw someone looming in the shadows.

Of course, that was just her eyes playing tricks on her.

The back of her neck burned like crazy, she quickly gave it a scratch and her eyes widened in realization.

"Where's Dana?" She said to herself, before swinging her legs over the side of the bed in a mad dash to try and leave.

"Who hell brought me here....and where the HELL is my bike?" She hissed angrily, kicking the blanket off, which brought to her attention she was wearing the typical hospital patient's cloth.

"Where are my CLOTHES?!?" She said out loud, before a sharp pang struck her temple. Rose doubled back onto the bed, gritting her teeth.

That strange feeling in the pit of her stomach appeared again, Rose knew something just wasn't right...

someone was in trouble...

and who was the living meaning of trouble?

Dana.

"Relax." Dick said, stepping out of the shadows. He'd been grabbing a few minutes of sleep as he sat there in the hospital room, waiting for Rose to awaken. He was shaken awake by her voice. "You're at Bludhaven General Hospital. Your bike is in the parking garage and your clothes are in the drawer. Dana's a different story."

He hesitated for a moment, checking that the door was closed and no one was coming around. The last thing they needed was some doctor walking in on a conversation about the escaped hospital patient and how he was really a Green Lantern hell-bent on the annihilation of a nemesis. He turned back once he was sure the coast was clear.

"Dana escaped from the hospital's recovery center almost seven hours ago. No one's seen nor heard from him since. He's going after Hood. I've had a computer program sweeping every security feed in the city for any sign of him, but nothing yet. I was waiting for you to recover so we could start tracking him down. I don't know the details about what you two were doing during your encounter with Hood."

Rose's eyes widened.

He couldn't have gone to hunt down hood.

Not alone.

That's suicide.

"The moron!" She hissed, slapping her own forehead. "He is going to get himself killed! Why the hell did he do something this impulsive anyway? It's not like Dae at ALL." She said, automatically going into her stress mode.

Rose scrambled out of bed and walked over to the draws, grabbing her clothes and stormed into the nearby patient bathroom, returning in a few momments dressed in tight jeans and a black shirt.

"How long do you think before your scan will pick up something?" She asked looking at Dick, her emerald eyes wide with unsaid worry. The more she thought about the situation, the more scared she became. It wasn't that Dana couldn't look after himself, because she certainly knew he put up a fight, but...She was still frightened for his life.

Dana was one of her best friends, and if anything happened to him...

Rose felt a pang in her heart just thinking about it.

She began to pace around the room feverishly, running her fingers through her hair as she does when she is nervous. "If we find him alive....I am going to kill him." She muttered.

"It could be any moment or never with the scan." Dick said. "The city-wide security system is in such an incredible state of disrepair that the only cameras operating are the ones I repaired. Bludhaven is a city of the criminal, not the crime-fighter. Nothing is easy when you're the underdog. And even in Gotham or New York, it would be difficult to pick up a Lantern. He'd have to be walking on the street. It isn't likely for obvious reasons."

Dick waited for her to finish changing before explaining further.

"We're going to have to track him down the old-fashioned way."

"If we find him alive... I am going to kill him."

"A bit counter-productive, but an understandable sentiment. I have a feeling he's going to try and track Hood down through a lead he referred to as 'Callie'. He said she was the one who inflicted his injuries at the hotel. She somehow forced him to send you that message on your phone. I checked out the room we found him in. It was booked by a woman named Vanessa Silver. I'm guessing this Callie woman is using that name as an alias.

"Whoever she is, she's like a ghost. Neither 'Callie' nor Ms. Silver seem to exist anywhere. Prints turned up nothing. DNA taken from a strand of blonde hair found at the scene was equally inconclusive. The hotel doesn't even have a security system so I don't even have an image of the woman to go off of. Maybe if I had her real last name, that'd be something, but I rarely run into people this well hidden and they're always a pain in the ass to track down. I don't suppose the name means anything to you?"

Rose snapped her neck around at the sound of the name 'Callie'. She paused for a minute, lost in her own memories before looking up at nightwing again. "It does, Her full name is Callie Harmony Keen, born to Amanda Keen and Fredrick Keen. She has no powers, unless you count her 'fenimine charms'." She said bitterly, puting air quotes in when she said fenimine charms.

"She should be around 21 now, she is Hood's girlfriend. She wouldn't do anything unless Hood told her to do it, she takes orders and doesn't give them. She...knew me when I was younger." She explained, her voice getting a tiny bit quieter.

"Dick, what did she do to him? If she foriced him to make that call...what she did must have been bad...what...?" She couldn't even finish the sentance. Her heart sunk like a rock thrown into a pound.

"Where do we start then, if we are going to do this the old fashioned way? the hotal? or do you have something else in mind?" She asked.