Out Of The Shadows (Connor)

[Black Canary]

Players: Black Canary, Connor Hawke, various NPCs
Location(s): First Star City, then the Himalayas, then the world!!
Plot Summary: When Sin is kidnapped by the League of Assassins, Black Canary and Connor Hawke work to track her down.
--

"Sin's missing and the monks are dead."

The words had been quick and sharp, like ripping off a band-aid. Dinah appreciated that much. The last thing she needed was Eddie Fyers taking an hour to explain the situation to her. Time was not on her side here and the faster she could get moving, the better. That didn't stop his words from repeating themselves over and over in his mind, and each time Dinah felt the desire to simply break down and panic multiply. There was a small part of her that would have been content to just sink down and not move, immobilized by the idea that once again there was a little girl out there whom she loved more than anything in the world and she wouldn't be able to protect her. Fortunately, there was a much larger part that was really looking forward to beating whoever had done this into a bloody pulp.

The scary part was that Dinah had a pretty good idea of who might be responsible for this, and if she was right, there was only one person she wanted to come with her to handle this. "Black Canary requesting transport to Star City, pass-code 377394," she said shortly into her JLA earpiece as she stood atop on of Gotham's many buildings. A moment later, the familiar sensation of being lighter than air overtook her, and then she was in Star City. It hadn't been too long since she was last here, and this time she didn't take the time to mentally prepare herself as she had last. Now wasn't the time to get nostalgic. "O, I need you to patch me through to Connor, now," she snapped again into her earpiece, this time to her red-haired best friend. "Sure... is everything okay?" Babs asked from the other end of the line. "No, but I really don't have time to explain," Dinah replied. The urgency in her tone must have been more severe than she had thought, because Oracle didn't respond again but instead immediately connected her to Connor's line.

As soon as she knew the line was open, she spoke up again. "Drop everything," said Dinah, her tone void of any of her typically upbeat attitude. "I need your help. Sin's missing." Connor, more than anyone, would be able to help her with this. She knew he was busy - having only himself and Mia looking after the city couldn't be easy - but Sin was family. Their family might not be in the greatest shape that it had ever been, but that didn't mean they still didn't look out for each other.

[Connor Hawke]

Connor and Dinah had more things in common than any member of the Arrow Family. If Roy took after Ollie than Connor definitely took after Dinah. Oddly enough he had never quite seen the woman as a mother figure. He already had a mother. The only missing piece in Connor’s life had been his father and Ollie had managed to fill that, at least haphazardly. When it came down to it Dinah was the older sister Connor had never had. The one he was always striving to outmatch and the one whose approval he always searched for. She was the one he was willing to do anything for. So when he had learned that Sin was missing he had dropped everything to help her. Connor and Dinah were both deeply loyal people. They just weren’t loyal to family and each other. They were also loyal to their ideals. This was why Connor had refused to speak to his father and that was why he didn’t blame Dinah for leaving.

They also had more superficial similarities. They were both the only people in the Arrow Family with powers. Connor had his healing factor and Dinah had her Canary Cry. They were both also the only members of the Arrow Family that didn’t rely on arrows to get the job done. They were both ranked amongst the best fighters in the planet and they were both blond. They had both had their run ins with the League of Assassins. Connor had faced so many recruitment offers that he was starting to think that he too had been created solely to be a member of the illuminati-esque team. He knew better than that but it was still a theory worth consider. Lastly they both shared a dislike for technology which would explain Connor’s relative discomfort of being trapped in the flying vehicle they were in now. Yet they needed to save Sin and if this was the only option then so be it.

Connor stood up from his cramped seat in the helicopter and made his way to the cockpit where Eddie Fryers sat. “Eddie! How long until the drop zone?!” The former CIA agent pulled down his headset. “We’re only five minutes out! Get your chutes ready. When you drop in I won’t be able to evac you until you find Sin and get to the other side of the mountain!” Connor nodded and stepped back into the belly of the helicopter. He was practically dressed like a ninja in his dark cloth and leather armor. He had to admit there was a certain thrill to being dressed like an assassin even if he found their way of life repulsive. While Connor understood that sometimes death was necessary to save human lives he found most acts of violence repulsive. He made his way towards Dinah who seemed to be having trouble with her chute. “You do mine, I do yours!” He offered as he adjusted the straps for her.

He then pulled on his own and turned towards Dinah in hopes that she could buckle on the straps he couldn’t reach. “We’re going to find her! Don’t worry!” The helicopter deftly maneuvered through the snowcapped mountains of the Himalayas before it passed a large mountain peppered with ancient buildings. Connor adjusted his chute so that he could pull out his longbow and arrow if need be. They were going to have to manipulate their stealth chutes so that they could land near a drain where the waist in the LoA temples were disposed of. From there they would scale to the nearest window and make their way through the temple until they found Sin. It was easier said than done but swift rescue attempts didn’t leave much room for careful planning.

[Black Canary]

She hadn't said a word for most of the flight. Instead, Dinah had stared out at the snow-covered landscape of the Himalayas, her face unusually expressionless and her body tense. It hadn't taken much work to figure out who was likely responsible for all of this - it wouldn't be the first time the League of Assassins had gone after Sin - but that was about the only simple part of this whole thing. No matter how she spun it in her mind, it was an unfortunate, irrefutable truth that Sin would be safe and those monks would be alive if Dinah had been able to protect the girl on her own. It made her sick to her stomach to know that her own failure as a mother was the catalyst for all of this. Ollie may have been the one to send her to stay with the monks in the first place, but that would have never been necessary if Dinah had been able to do her job.

The blonde shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Her trademark fishnets had been exchanged for a full bodysuit that extended to cover her legs, and her usual jacket had been replaced with a heavier one more suited for the mountains. She hated helicopters, though probably not as much as the young man accompanying her. Thank god for Connor. Dinah would rather have him there with her than anyone else. He was family - and this was certainly a family matter - and he was more than capable of helping her take on the League. Though he was admittedly a constant reminder of Ollie, he represented all of the good aspects of her estranged husband rather than the negatives. It almost made her want to grab her stepson and pull him into the biggest bear hug she could muster, the way he had been so willing to come to her aid. She would always be indebted to him for that for that.

At Eddie's instructions to prepare their chutes, Dinah too rose from her seat and joined Connor in the back of the helicopter. Only as she was adjusting her chute did she realize that her hands were trembling, and she mentally cursed. She couldn't allow anything except one hundred and ten percent for this. Sin deserved that and more. Fortunately, Connor was there once again to come to her rescue. God bless that kid. She drew in a deep breath as the young man adjusted her chute, then did the same for him (and double-checked it to make sure). At his words, her lips tightened into a small, bitter smile. "I'm not," Dinah replied. They would get Sin back. There was absolutely zero doubt in her mind about that. What concerned her was the lengths they may need to go to in order to accomplish that. Even if not by blood, Sin was her daughter, and her life was more important to Dinah than that of an assassin. No matter how they worked this, there was no way that this mission ended without getting their hands a little dirty.

[Connor Hawke]

He felt unusually tense. Connor was someone who tended to take everything in stride to the point where he could adapt to intense situations as they happened. He wasn't necessarily a relaxed person. He was just adaptable. Aikido style was all about adapting and using the situation to your advantage even if it seemed as if there was nothing to take advantage of. Yet this was different. This time around he wasn't so sure if they could turn this situation around. Even if they rescued Sin who knew what Shiva had done between her kidnapping and now? Sin was 8 years and old and impressionable. She had seen some bad things in her life but not quite on the scale of watching everyone in a monastery get massacred in front of her. Yet Connor kept his concerns to himself.

Connor nodded at Dinah and gave her a thumbs up before jumping out the helicopter. The wind howled in his ears and the cap that covered his blond hair was suddenly swept away. The sound of shrill whistling nearly distracted Connor from the steady counting in his head. The tips of his ears felt as if they were frozen and he was unable to see in front of him. All he saw was a glaring whiteness that threatened to blind him. It was the last thing he needed since he'd be relying on his eyesight for shooting his arrows. Yet he ignored that as well and once he hit a certain number in his head he pulled his chute. Connor's free fall through the air stalled and soon he found himself sliding across a slope of ice and snow. Connor came to a rough stop right outside a grate where heavily polluted water was running.

He grunted in discomfort as he distangled his parachute and threw it off the mountain. Moments later Dinah landed next to him. He nodded to her and was about to pull out his grapple gun when rapid chattering Arabic caught his attention. <Why must we drag the body all the way to the grate? Why can't we toss it like the rest of the waste?> One of them questioned. The other answered nearly immediately. < <Lady Shiva doesn't want a body to rot in the sewers. The sewers are much cleaner than the average city and she wishes to keep it that way.> The first man approached the grate and Connor glanced at Dinah as it opened. The man began to toss the body when the archer made his move.

He grasped the man by the neck and threw him off of the small cliff they were perched on. The man began to fall through the air along with the dead body. Connor trusted Dinah to take out the man's female companion as he raised a grapple arrow and fired it at the man's foot. The arrow thudded into the man's leg and Connor immediately attached the end of the line to his arrow against the rock before he slowly began to haul the man up. <If you don't want to die than you will tell us where Lady Shiva is!"> He yelled as he hoisted the man up the cliff. He then grabbed him by the neck and held him over the edge. <I'll only ask once."> He didn't like doing this but he was out of options and out of time.

Sin's future was at stake.

[Black Canary]

The wind was so fiercely cold that it felt like fire as it struck her face once she had jumped from the helicopter after Connor. Dinah's mind was too focused on the mission at hand to care much about the momentary discomfort. All that mattered was Sin. She released her chute, and as soon as she did, she almost wished they could have continued toward the mountainside at the same speed as their free fall. Slowly drifting down toward the ground was far more agonizing than the sharp wind. All she wanted was to get down there, get her daughter, and leave. It was a relief when they finally hit the ground, and Dinah quickly removed her chute before looking to Connor. She too heard the nearby voices, and she scowled.

Her Arabic was spotty enough that the majority of their words were a mystery to her, but Shiva's name was identifiable in any language. As soon as she heard it, her heart sank. Even with the League of Assassin's clear involvement, she had hoped - prayed even - that Shiva wasn't part of this. Now her worst fear had been confirmed. It made sense, though. Sin had been raised to be Shiva's eventual replacement. Shiva wasn't getting any younger, so perhaps she understood that such a replacement was necessary and had taken it upon herself to continue Sin's training.

Suddenly, her mind flashed back to her time in Sin's village. The bindings, the verbal abuse, some of the most brutal beatings Dinah had ever taken. That was what Sin had endured, and that was what they were going to do to her again. Now, after she had witnessed so much bloodshed. Now, after she thought she was safe. They were going to break that little girl in a way that could never be undone.

While Connor took care of the man with the body, Dinah's boots crunched against the snow as she lunged for the woman. She tackled the man's companion to the ground, then immediately drew her arm back in order to repeatedly slam her fist into the woman's face while her other hand pinned her to the ground by her throat. Attacking a member of the League so directly was usually unwise, but none of its highly skilled members would ever be demoted to body dumping duties. "Tell me where she is!" Dinah bellowed. "Where is Shiva?" Hell if she even knew if the woman spoke English, but just as Dinah had, she would recognize the name - and it wasn't unlikely that she would recognize Dinah herself. She would know exactly what it was that she wanted.

[Connor Hawke]

Connor had always been interested in learning new languages. During his time in the ashram he had spent virtually all of his time honing his mind and body to be a better public servant to society. Communication was the basis upon which society was founded upon. Which was why he had strived to learn some of the most common languages spoken on Earth. Arabic was a common language amongst the Middle East and common amongst the League of Asassins. Connor considered the League to be his personal enemy and as a result had been sure to learn what he could about them. Especially one of their primary languages. So when the man began to rattle off excuses so fast that Connor could barely register his words he realized that he wasn't going to get an answer out of him. When the man realized that Connor wasn't going to throw him off the cliff he began to taunt him.

Connor let out a grunt of frustration before he turned around and threw the man into the icy wall that surrounded the grate. The man bounced off and went for his weapon but Connor knocked him out with a five-finger strike to his chest. It was a blow that could have easily killed him but Connor had made it his business to learn nonlethal versions of dangerous attacks. The woman Black Canary was holding down didn't seem all that inclined to talk. Yet when she saw Connor's move of anger she decided it was time to talk. Connor hadn't been trying to intimidate anyone. He had just been using the man as an outlet of his anger. It was something he had to control. Even if he hadn't killed him. The woman quickly babbled in Arabic about Shiva being in the training room which was in the center of the facility. Connor and Dinah exchanged dark looks. Both of them knew why she was in the training center.


"No time." Connor grabbed an arrow from his quiver and began to sprint down the tunnel. He was forced to bend over so slightly and was nearly suffocated by the smell of sewage. He didn't even know the schematics of the building but he trusted his natural hunting instinct to guide him. The ice and rocks of the sewers made it difficult to sprint and Connor very nearly risked twisting his ankle several times but he perservered. Soon he saw an end to the light of the tunnel and another grate where water and sewage was pouring downwards. Connor aimed right above the grate and fired. The arrow sank into the granite and exploded. Connor covered his hands with his face as a piece of rock bounced off of his forearm. He then stepped in front of the gaping hole and hoisted himself into a dark room with water and trash up to his knees He glanced upwards and noticed a door where people must have dumped their sewage and trash so that it would leak down to the tunnels running underneath the building.

Fortunately the explosion hadn't attracted any attention. Connor glanced behind him to take note of Dinah. "Still with me?" He questioned as he looked around before noticing a ladder. He was guessing that was how the two LoA agents had gotten down to the sewers. He jumped up the ladder and hurriedly began to climb. Soon he found himself standing in a dimly lit hallway. He glanced to the right and to the left. There was no one here. He frowned and pursed his lips as he glanced down the hallway. Torches decorated the hall and the hallway passage to his left led to a massive window. That meant that turning right had to lead to Shiva's training center. If he strained his ears he could hear the sounds of wood clacking and people chanting as they performed katas. The building was designed so that sound traveled fairly easily. This would make it easier for them to find Sin. Then Connor frowned.

That would also make it easier for the LoA guards and assassins to hear an explosion. As if on cue a good dozen armed guards turned around the corner and Connor and Dinah found themselves staring down the sights of several weapons. He glanced at Dinah and smiled.

[Black Canary]

The woman wasn't talking. Dinah wasn't sure if she found that infuriating, or if she was just glad that somebody would sit still long enough for her to punch them. She had finally feeling like she had a good grasp on her life again, and then the League of Assassins decided to mess with her daughter. Needless to say, that didn't put her in a spectacularly good mood. After a moment, Dinah let up. As nice as it was to unleash a little frustration, finding out where Shiva was was more important. The woman quickly spilled after viewing what had happened to her companion, and Dinah's blue eyes slimmed further as she released the woman's throat and stood up. While she hadn't understood much of what the woman said, Connor would.

She quickly ran after her stepson as he headed into the tunnel, and she mentally cringed. Sewers. Always sewers. Not that Dinah wouldn't crawl through a pit of fire if it meant keeping Sin safe, but it would be nice if for once she could get to where she needed to be without having to drag her boots through somewhere horrible. Though, she acknowledged darkly, this wasn't the worst that could happen. "Connor," Dinah said sternly as they made their way through the tunnel. "Shiva's not going to let Sin go without a fight. If worse comes to worst, I need you to get her and run. Got it?" Connor was more than capable of going up against Shiva. Probably more capable than she, in fact, but that wasn't the issue. The issue was that Dinah was responsible for his well-being, whether or not he was an adult, and she wasn't about to let anything happen to him. She had brought him into this, but she refused to allow him to get hurt. Both Connor and Sin were going to leave here unscathed, and Dinah, well... she could hope the same for herself, but there was no guarantee that she would make it through this alive. There was always that risk when dealing with Shiva, no matter the level of mutual respect between the two women.

Dinah took a step back when Connor set off the explosion, then gave a brief nod at his question. Time to get her daughter back. She followed him up the ladder, then hoisted herself out the sewer. The fresh air was a relief, but that was about her only source of comfort at the moment, given that only moments after they had started making their way through the building they were already being confronted by members of the League. She glanced sideways at Connor's smile, but she didn't return it. While she was confident in her and Connor's abilities to take them out, that didn't mean she wanted to. If they were about to confront Shiva, they both needed to save as much energy as they could. Dinah stepped forward, her eyes narrowed threateningly and her jaw tight. Her Arabic might not be great, but her Mandarin was flawless, and it was just as popular among members of the League - at least the ones Shiva taught. Even if they didn't understand her, it was a safe bet that Shiva would hear her from the next room. <"Stand aside,"> she barked. <"I am Siu Jerk Jai and Shiva will meet with us."> Either that, or they were about to get a face full of Canary Cry, and she would really hate to expend her energy like that. At least Shiva would definitely hear that.

[Connor Hawke]

Connor had decided to ignore Dinah's request to take Sin and leave. That wasn't going to happen. He wasn't going to trade one life for another. That wasn't how he operated. There was always a way. If there was anyone who would be staying behind it'd be Connor. In his opinion he'd be would be able to survive imprisonment by LoA. Yet he wasn't even going to allow himself to think like that. He was certain that they'd escape. So when the storm of assassins, ninjas and mercenaries came storming around the corner all he could do was turn at Dinah and smile calmly. He saw this situation ending in two different ways. Them handily defeating this ninja fodder at the price of wasting time. Or Dinah pulling a few tricks out of her pockets to get them to right where she was wanted. Dinah's history with Ras Al Ghul and Shiva gave her certain benefits that most didn't have access to.

As Dinah spoke all the men in the hall stiffened and seemed to fall under some sort of spell. As if they were suddenly being ruled by their fears and not their objectives. Then one man stepped forward. He wore a brown trench coat over a clean suit. His salt and pepper hair was neatly combed and for all intents and purposes he looked like a businessman. Unlike his associates he didn't look remotely scared. Instead he looked somewhat bored as if he knew this was going to happen. Connor wasn't entirely sure who he was but it was clear he was the leader. "Siu Jerk Jai…" The man stroked his full beard before he turned and began to walk down the hallway. He gestured for Connor and Dinah to follow. The ninjas surrounding them abruptly stood to attention and it oddly reminded Connor of some type of military preceding. As if they were honored hosts.


It wasn't long before they were led into a massive room. Connor glanced around and quickly surmised that it was a training room. Men and women in training gear lined every wall. Connor almost felt overwhelmed with the sheer amount of enemies they were facing. He had a feeling that they wouldn't be able to escape alive unless something tipped the balance. Even as that thought crossed his mind two men approached him. One unhooked his quiver from his back and the other took his bow. Connor grimaced. He hadn't wanted the tips to scale in that direction. He wasn't entirely defenseless but he almost felt naked without his bow and arrow. Even though his skill with them had greatly diminished. As the men backed away Connor glanced upwards and was taken over by cold fury. Shiva and Sin were dueling. Right in the middle of the training room. Shiva bested Sin each and every time. She would give her a piece of advice before engaging her again. Sin could barely stand.

Connor swallowed hard as the bearded man approached Shiva and spoke to her. Shiva straightened, nodded and then turned to Dinah and Connor. Connor subconsciously gripped his hands into fists.

[Superman]

The young girl Sin was absolutely amazing. Lady Shiva had searched for many pupils the world over to become a sort of replacement or extension of her legendary legacy and often she was disappointed in what she found. Even her own daughter, Cassandra Cain, had turned out to be a disappointment - though a very skilled worried - a disappointment all the same. As Lady Shiva did battle with the child, or trained as some in the League were mistakenly calling it, she could so clearly see the spark and raw talent that would make Sin a better fighter and killer perhaps even than Shiva herself. Tirelessly they went round after round after round. Shiva engaged the girl in kendo, katana, and bare knuckle brawling. Sin was injured gravely and pushed beyond the state of exhaustion, all in her miniature eight year old stature; and still the girl continued on.

Shiva was proud and amazed all in the same breath. Besides Sin and her daughter Cassandra Shiva had also sought another to eventually become the new Lady Shiva of legend, "Siu Jerk Jai." who would also end up proving a disappointment when she declined Shiva's offer to train her. Shiva shooed the man who'd approached her away as her dark eyes cut thinly at Black Canary and the child of Green Arrow. She had faced the both of them on separate occasions. Connor Hawke was a great fighter but even he could not defeat Shiva, and she and Dinah had clashed many times. It was clear why the two of them had arrived and disrupted Shiva's exercise, but what did they truly hope to accomplish?

Lady Shiva pushed a raven colored lock of hair behind her ear and hopped down from the elevated platform she and Sin were using. Sin looked out with half open eyes toward the two heroes who'd come to save her as Shiva placed a hand on her hip. "I expected you sooner. Though I admit I expected you with the Birds instead." Perhaps this was too intimate a matter for the Birds of Prey, Lady Shiva wondered. "Ten minute intermission, Sin. Make yourself a cup of tea. Mommy will talk with our guests." Shiva was raising and teaching the young girl to grow and follow in her footsteps; those were certainly motherly actions. However Sin would not be allowed to fall and adopt the teachings of another like Cassandra had done.

Reluctantly Sin hobbled off of the training platform (assisted by two warriors) and traveled to the other end of the large room where a pot of tea was already brewed. The small child sat, folded her legs, and poured herself a cup as she watched the adults. "So Dinah, have you come to finally kill me?"

[Black Canary]

Oh thank god that had worked.

To be honest, Dinah hadn't been completely confident it would. Her reputation preceded her, and Shiva's interest in her demanded a certain respect from the members of the League of Assassins, but that didn't always mean they would allow them to enter without spilling blood. Between herself and Connor she was sure that they could defeat the mass of assassins crowding around them, but if they were going to have to challenge Shiva, Dinah knew not to waste any energy if at all possible. Her words seemed to be enough to cause the assassins to pause, but it was only when the bearded man stepped forward and motioned for her and the young man standing next to her to follow him did they completely move aside.

She had hoped that their response would be nonviolent, but she had to admit that the almost revered way she and Connor were treated was a bit unnerving. Shiva had trained many students before, though mostly as the assigned instructor for the League of Assassins, not because she had any personal investment in them. Dinah had been both flattered and, in a way, incredibly insulted when Shiva had first made it clear that she wanted the blonde to become her pupil: flattered that someone of Shiva's skill felt her worthy, and insulted that anyone would ever think that she would want to be like her. Dinah respected Shiva's abilities. She did not respect how she used them. It was the same feeling now. She felt honored to be welcomed by fighters of such undeniable skill, and disgusted that they would be thought of so highly by people who used their training to kill indiscriminately.

Dinah silently followed the man as he led them to what appeared to be the training room, based on the sounds of someone sparring growing louder. Upon stepping into the room, her blue eyes widened an instant before narrowing dangerously, her entire face taut with anger. It was all she could do not to scream so loud the building caved in. Sin was a brilliant martial artist for someone her age but she was by no means a match for Shiva, whom Dinah had seen take down men twice her size without barely lifting a finger. Sin was a child. She should be playing with her Pokemon cards and eating pancakes drenched in that maple syrup she would have probably tried to marry if it was legal, not sparring with one of the greatest assassins the world had ever known. If it could even be called sparring, anyway. Sparring suggested some kind of equality between the two participants. Sin was getting a beating.

Only when Shiva spoke was Dinah able to pull her attention from the girl she regarded as a daughter. Forget screaming; her willpower was too preoccupied with not rushing forward, grabbing Sin, and just making a run for it. Her eyes flashed furiously. Mommy. Shiva called herself Sin's mother. That was disturbing on a number of levels. For one, nothing about Shiva was motherly; two, it was another level of mental torture. Sin had always referred to Dinah as 'Sister' because the word 'mother' had always meant terrible things to her. Mother was the one who had begun Sin's training - and taken over Dinah's training during her time in the village - and, like Shiva, she didn't have a maternal bone in her body. Mother meant someone who would torture her and force her to endure the worst things this world had to offer.

Shiva addressed her again, and the blonde wondered how close she could get to wringing the woman's neck before Shiva ruptured one of her internal organs. "Don't tempt me," Dinah snarled, though she knew that if anyone was to lose their life today, it wasn't likely to be Shiva. Ordinarily she would treat the other woman with greater respect, but she had lost that right when she had interfered with Dinah's family. "Sin's coming with us. Right this damn second."