Waves (Percy Jackson & DC Crossover)

Facing the Past

Cheshire's POV

The mercenaries were not difficult for Cheshire to handle. Her sai flashed around her, cutting into one hired man after another. The fight became even easier for the assassin after Nico joined in. Around them, the shadows came alive, stretching out like elongated hands. The vaporous fingers wrapped around the mercenaries' legs before pulling them, screaming into the darkness of the night.

"Effective," Cheshire said as she basked in the sudden silence.

"And draining," the demigod muttered.

"You're tired?" Cheshire asked as she quickly turned towards her partner.

Nico raised his hands defensively as if to ward the assassin off. "Not you too. I already have Ivy and Harley mothering me."

"That's because they care."

"They've been demanding I wear a coat in the base," Nico deadpanned.

"It's cold out these days," the assassin said gesturing to the tiny flakes of snow falling from the heavens. They'd melt in mere minutes, but the fact that they were there meant it was getting late into the year.

"It's not even cold in the base. They've also been trying to get me to eat more," Nico grumbled as he slid his blade back into its sheath across his back.

The two of them moved to step over the green-suited body on the pavement and toward the crates that were loaded into the trucks.

"They're just worried about your health. Also, your body naturally run cold, they're probably afraid you'll get a cold," Cheshire finished with a slight smirk.

"I'm an immortal demigod," was Nico's reply as he tore open one of the crates. "I don't catch colds."

"Whatever you say. Just remember, they're only trying to take care of you."

Nico halfheartedly shrugged as he shifted through the packing material in the crate. "I know. I'm just not used to it."

"Being taken care of?"

Nico shrugged again. Cheshire was beginning to notice just how much the demigod seemed to favor the action.

"Having a decent parent figure, I suppose."

Cheshire could definitely relate to that. It wasn't until the Hero Syndicate had taken her under their wing that she had also gotten that. They weren't just a group of ex-villains trying to finally do something good, they were a family. A family with much stronger bonds than she had with her own blood.

Nico continued moving the packing material out of the way until he uncovered the actual content of the crates. Neither the assassin nor the demigod was surprised to find it was filled with carefully packaged drugs.

Nico stepped back, letting Cheshire get a closer look. The assassin pulled out a light to get a better view of the substance. Something in the back of her mind was ringing with familiarity as she examined the drugs, but she couldn't place it.

"I've never seen this before. Must have been produced in another city. Either way, we should inform Slade about it," she said as she reached up to turn her earpiece on, only to notice that her partner's focus was elsewhere. He was frozen, staring down one of the dimly lit alleyways.

"King," Cheshire called, trying to gain his attention.

Nico didn't turn, but his low voice reached the assassin. "There's something not quite human down there, too small."

"Dangerous?"

The demigod tilted his head slightly, using his control of the darkness to identify the beings. "No. It's the Karpoi."

"The gain spirits Slade ran into before?"

"Yeah, and more of a nuisance than anything. I'll take care of them, see if you can clean any of this up," Nico gestured to the bodies and trucks full of illegal substances before melting away into the shadows.

Suddenly by herself, Cheshire set to work stacking the crates and bodies into one of the vehicles. It would have been easier to leave them for the cops to clean up like she would have done back in her villain days, but she didn't want any kids to run across the gruesome sight and the drugs needed to be properly disposed of.

As she secured the last of the crates, Cheshire tapped her earpiece. "Slade, we've got some luggage coming back," The assassin's coms bussed with some sort of interference. "Slade?"

A glint in Cheshire's peripheral vision caused her to instinctively duct behind the nearest cover, the drug-filled truck. She could feel the object pass by her as it barely missed her head and thudded into one of the other vehicles. Her chest constricted when she glanced over and saw what the object was.

It was a long, black javelin that she easily recognized. She instantly dove behind another vehicle, desperately trying to put space between her and the weapon while still maintaining cover. A second later, the javelin ignited, causing both trucks to explode. The flames rose above the nearby buildings, fueled by the crates of drugs. Her mask eliminated any risk she might have been at of inhaling the illegal substance, but she did have to be wary of the falling debris.

"Jade," a voice called, and oh how Cheshire despised that voice. Her mind filled with old memories of pain and loneliness. Of starvation, and more recent memories of complying with that haunting voice. With a deep inhale, she gathered all of those memories up and released them as she exhaled. When she opened her eyes again, they shone with determination.

"Sportsmaster," She greeted, several shurikens resting in her palm as she pinpointed where the voice had come from. It all made sense. She knew the villain had been working on a catatonic drug, but had never seen the end result until now. He must have teamed up this the Riddler to transport it.

Without moving more than an inch out of cover, Cheshire threw her star-shaped blades into the darkness off to the side of where the voice had come from. She knew her father would not be in the same place, but she'd spent enough time with him to know how he moved. The sound of metal coming in contact with metal told her that her assumption was correct.

"You're going to have to do better than that," the villain's voice came again. She knew he was toying with her, underestimating her. He could throw his other exploding javelin and destroy her hiding place, but he didn't. Not that Cheshire was complaining, she'd take the advantages that gave her.