The Outsiders
Arsenal - Lian Harper, master marksman, Black Queen's Knight and team leader.
Elasti-Girl - Rachel Dibny, the new Stretchable Sleuth.
Tempest - Sarin of Atlantis, super strong son of Aquaman and master of water.
Cyclone - Maxine Hunkel, happy-go-lucky wind witch.
Animal Man - Warren McCabe-Shaw, inheritor of the Tantu-totem and master of the animal kingdom.
Cassandra Cain - The former Batgirl and the world's deadliest martial artist.
Gene Nigma - White Queen's Bishop and manager of the Outsiders.
Natasha Irons - Pilot of Checkmate Jet 206.
Eric Hamilton - Pilot of Checkmate Jet 414.
* * * * * *
The Royals
Fred Freeman - The World's Mightiest Mortal and Black King of Checkmate.
Tatsu Yamashiro - Former superhero Katana and Black Queen of Checkmate.
White King - ?
Caroline Kelly - One-time vigilante and White Queen of Checkmate.
* * * * * *
6 Months Ago…Kashi Fushahiro hastily rushed down a flight of stairs. He was pressed for time; between communications with the arms dealers in Hawaii and most of the Tsuruki yakuza family dealing with the recent attack from the League of Assassins, he did not want to attend to the minor needs and concerns of his underlings.
Arriving at the bottom of the steps, the Japanese man stepped down a dank and depressing hall, past a line of cell doors that held various captives. He came to the end of the hall, where two guards awaited him.
“{Mr. Fushahiro.}” One of the guards greeted him in Japanese, bowing in respect.
“{What is it, Mr. Gumo?}” Mr. Fushahiro asked, getting straight to the point. The guard rushed to open a slot on the door. He looked at his boss nervously. Annoyed, Mr. Fushahiro looked inside and saw a young girl with her wrists in shackles. She had a tense air about her; the girl’s face, her posture, her every slight motion incited feelings of nervousness, and even some fear, that Mr. Fushahiro didn’t like. He shuddered off his reaction as nothing and closed the slot.
“{Why did you bring me here?}” He asked the guard. “{Throw her in a brothel and be done with it!}”
“{Sir, it’s, well, it’s…}” Mr. Gumo began to explain but couldn’t find the right words. He yelled down the hall “{Jinno!}” Another guard approached them. “{Show our guest some hospitality.}”
Grinning, Jinno opened the door and stepped inside the cell, closing the door behind him. Mr. Gumo opened the slot and peeked inward, with Mr. Fushahiro confusedly following suit.
Jinno slowly approached the girl. She got her feet weakly, as if exhausted or malnourished. Jinno gave her a shove with one hand and she stumbled back, hitting the wall behind her and slumping to the ground. She got up again, breathing heavily.
Scoffing, Jinno prepared to give the girl another shove. As he shoved his open hand forward, the girl, as if it was second nature, stepped out of the way with surprising quickness. Dropping the weary façade, she stuck out her right leg and kicked her attacker twice in the gut. Jinno doubled over. The girl took advantage of this and grabbed his head with her shackled hands. In one swift moment, she forced his head down and knocked his head with her left knee. She shoved his body to the ground without a second thought.
Jinno looked up, blood and anger on his face. He charged the girl, but with smooth, graceful movements, she avoided his every attack and before any of them knew what was happening, she had her shackles around his neck and a look of madness in her eyes.
Mr. Gumo and his partner both rushed into the cell, their guns trained on her. “{Let him go!}” Mr. Gumo screamed. The girl’s eyes darted from him, to his partner, to his partner’s gun and finally to Jinno. Breathing heavily, she relaxed her grip and let him go. Jinno got away as quickly as possible and turned to the girl. Still seething with rage, he charged her again, fist raised. The girl caught it easily, but did no more. She didn’t need to agitate him any further.
Mr. Fushahiro slowly strode inside, inspecting the girl from head to toe. She was dressed very simply, in a white t-shirt and black sweat pants. Nearly all exposed skin she had had scars on it. Her eyes gave off a tense expression.
“{We found this on her.}” Mr. Gumo said, holding up a unique yellow belt covered in cloth pouches. “{It was full of smoke pellets, small explosives, bladed weapons, a communicator…}”
“{Who is this girl?}” Mr. Fushahiro interrupted him. Mr. Gumo slowly approached the girl, with the other guard’s guns still trained on her. He went behind her, turned her around and pulled down part of her shirt, revealing a unique tattoo on her back.
“{It’s the mark of David Cain.}” Mr. Gumo answered.
They all knew of David Cain. He was the most dangerous man alive; an efficient, ruthless killer who had a long list of victims from his tenure with the League of Assassins, and from some time after. Rumor had it that his offspring were better than him. One, in particular, was far more deadly than any of them could imagine.
“{So that means this is the fang that guards the head?}” Mr. Fushahiro said with some level of nervousness. They all nodded slowly. He stepped around to face the girl and looked into her eyes.
The girl’s dark eyes stared back at him. They were tense. They were focused. Wordlessly, they gave a stern warning that this girl was a deadly threat to all ofthem, and any action taken against her would be highly regrettable.
Mr. Fushahiro ignored the subtle warning and struck the girl across the face. “{Who sent you?!}” He demanded. She gave no response, but the same determined gaze. He struck the girl again. “{Was it the League of Assassins? What do they want?}” Again, she gave no response. One last time, he hit her and asked “{Can’t you speak?}”
This time, she smirked, and shook her head “no”.
Mr. Fushahiro snorted with dissatisfaction. He turned to Mr. Gumo and said “{Interrogate her properly. See what she knows.}”
The guards grabbed her and escorted her forcefully from the cell. Mr. Fushahari shuddered a bit as his experience with the girl ended.
As she walked down the hall, Cassandra Cain remembered what Tatsu Yamashiro had told her months ago:
What you need to do is to allow yourself to be victimized by them. It won’t be pleasant at all, but you need to give them delusions of power over you. Once that is done, once they believe they can control you, they will trust you.* * * * * *
Now…Checkmate Jet 206 took another of its infamous extended flights. The Outsiders were going to Japan again, but this time they didn’t know why beforehand. The screen in the cabin flickered on and Gene Nigma appeared before them.
“Good morning, angels.” He said with a smirk.
Maxine was the only one who indulged him. “Good morning, Char-”
“Don’t encourage him.” Rachel interjected.
Gene ignored these comments and said “Ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce to you the Black Queen of Checkmate, Tatsu Yamashiro.”
An aged Japanese woman appeared on the screen. Her demeanor and voice lacked the ease and familiarity Gene had, and replaced them with a stern, straightforward attitude. “For the past seven months, Cassandra Cain has been undercover in the Tsuruki Yakuza clan.”
“I wondered where she went.” Warren stated aloud. Lian shushed him immediately and Tatsu continued.
“We believe that the Tsuruki have been involved in the trade and transportation of mystical weaponry. In her time undercover, Cassandra has confirmed our suspicions, and has informed us that a major shipment of artifacts will be arriving in Tokyo in a few days; one that may have very powerful objects within it.”
“And we need to bust it up, correct?” Rachel asked. The Black Queen took a breath, almost as if trying to ignore Rachel’s interruption. “Yes, exactly.” She answered with forced temperance.
“Now we’ve gotten you each hotel rooms.” She continued. “We will inform you when the deal goes down. Until then, wait for further instructions.”
The screen turned black. “So we get a vacation in Japan?” Warren asked.
“Something’s up.” Rachel said. “Since when do we arrive early for missions?”
“I think you’re over-thinking this.” Maxine said.
“She over-thinks everything.” Warren commented. Rachel ignored them, and stared out the window, deep in thought.
* * * * * *
6 Months Ago…Cassandra Cain was silent and still. A man held the back of her head firmly, her face immersed in chillingly cold water. She didn’t move; she only waited.
Suddenly, the hand jerked her head out of the water. Cassandra gasped for air desperately, relieved that she was free, if only for the moment. She brushed dripping wet hair from her eyes and looked up to see Mr. Fushahiro look down at her.
“{Did the League of Assassins send you? What do they want?}” He asked. As she had done for the past week, Cassandra said nothing. The illusion of her muteness had to be maintained. Mr. Fushahiro struck her across the face in the same spot as before. The bruise from previous day’s strikes caused her intense pain, but she suppressed the urge to shriek, and an even greater urge to violently escape her bonds, nail her captors in the groin and call in for backup.
“{Speak!}” He demanded.
I can’t, you idiot. She thought, but merely shook her head.
Mr. Fushahiro paused for a moment and said “{We’re putting her to work.}”
“{What?!}” The voice behind her asked. “{But she could be working against us!}”
“{We’ve tortured her for a week without her revealing anything. No one is that strong.}” He answered. “{We’ll set her up on minor assignments; security detail. Jinno will watch her; make sure she doesn’t do anything wrong. She's very skilled and would make a valuable asset. And if she slips up at all, we'll put a bullet between her eyes.}”
Inside, Cassandra gave her thanks. Things were according to plan; they were beginning to trust her.
* * * * * *
Now…Rachel Dibny sat alone in her hotel room. Next to the telephone on the desk was pad of paper and a pen. On it, she had scribbled excessively a list of notes.
“It’s just not adding up…” She muttered aloud. “Just what exactly is going on here? Maybe…”
There was a knock at her door, startling her from her thoughts. Rachel went and opened it and was greeted by Lian Harper.
“Black Queen called.” She said. “The deal’s been moved to tonight.”
As they both went down the hallway to get the others, Rachel said “This isn’t right.”
“What?” Lian asked as she knocked on Sarin’s door.
“This isn’t right.” She repeated. “We show up early for a mission for the first time ever. Then, our assignment is pushed up to an hour after we land? Something’s going on.”
“You’re being paranoid.” Lian asked. The door opened and Sarin stood before them. “Suit up. The trade’s happening tonight.”
“I’m not being paranoid.” Rachel butted in. Sarin gave a quizzical look. Lian answered his confusion by saying, “It’s nothing. Suit up.”
As the door closed, Rachel said “It’s not nothing. Something is definitely out of place here.”
“Look,” Lian stopped and faced her teammate, speaking in her most serious tone. “This mission, this entire team, was organized by Tatsu Yamashiro. Everything we’ve done, every life we’ve saved and ever disaster we’ve averted is because of her. I would trust her with my life a thousand times and I expect you and everyone else here to do the same. So drop this investigation and get with the program or I’m benching you. Got it?”
Rachel paused before reluctantly muttering “Yeah.”
“Good.” Lian said. And they headed down the hall to get the rest of the team. But Rachel still knew, in the back of her mind, that something wasn’t right.
* * * * * *
6 months ago…Cassandra Cain and Jinno sat in a semi-truck, watching and waiting. A ship had arrived in the harbor, and members of the family were unloading cargo into a similar truck to theirs. The contents of it were unknown to them; their job was only to provide security.
Cassandra looked at her partner and saw the plaster cast over his nose. She couldn’t help but grin at her own handiwork. Jinno looked at her, saw her smile and looked back forward with an angry look on his face.
“{Understand this, little girl,}” He said. “{You have been given a great gift: your own life. You would do wise to appreciate it. Any mistakes you make will result in your death. Is that understood?}”
This threat only served to make Cassandra laugh silently. She had grown up around David Cain. She had a superhero career under the tutelage of the Batman. She had fought the likes of the Joker, the Scarecrow, Killer Croc, Mr. Zsasz and countless other monsters and psychopaths. But this man? He was nothing.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the shriek of police sirens. It was strange; she thought the sound meant assistance, assurance, or sometimes even salvation. But Jinno’s thought was clearly the opposite.
“{I thought we’d paid off the cops.}” He muttered, picking up his handgun and stepping out of the truck. “{These must be good ones. Stay here, I’ll handle this.}”
Cassandra watched as Jinno stepped out of the truck and stood in front of the police car, tucking his firearm behind him in his belt. The car stopped and two policemen stepped out. “{Evening, sir.}” The one on the driver’s side addressed him. “{We’ve gotten word of some illicit activity here. Mind if we look around?}”
“{Yes, I would.}” Jinno said. The policemen both stepped forward, exposing their holsters and placing ready hands on them.
“{Wait a minute,}” Jinno said, apparently oblivious to the weapons the newcomers were carrying. “{Who exactly gave you this word?}”
“{A white woman, with a lovely body and very deep pockets.}” The second policeman responded with a smirk.
“{She paid us quite handsomely for shutting down this operation.}” The first added. “{Now put your hands where I can see them; you’re under arrest.}”
Cassandra heard all of this, her mind both taking in the information and processing it.
The Tsuruki family has too much influence in Tokyo to just be targeted like this. This isn’t some new, amateur criminal or rival family moving in on their territory. This has to be the League.And at that point, Cassandra Cain knew exactly what she had to do. And she hated herself for having to do it.
Sneaking out of the car using a lifetime’s knowledge of stealth, she crept around the truck and behind the officers facing Jinno, with such silence and swiftness that her endangered comrade didn’t see her.
Taking action, she leapt out of the shadows and struck the second officer in the neck. Landing in a crouch before his surprised body hit the ground, she swept out her left leg and tripped the first officer. He squeezed the trigger of his gun in pure surprise. The bullet went wide, hitting no one but startling the nearby dock workers.
With a swift kick, Cassandra knocked out the first guard. She approached the body of the second and knelt down on him, digging her knee into his back. She then grabbed his right arm and twisted it. He shrieked in pain.
Jinno approached the conscious policeman and asked “{Who paid you?}”
“{I don’t know.}” He whimpered. “{She didn’t say – GAAH!!}” Cassandra twisted his arm further.
“{Who. Paid. You?}” Jinno stressed every word.
“{She didn’t say who she worked with! I don’t know!}” He said pleadingly. With a violent twist, they all heard a sickening crack. This time, the officer yelled, tears bursting from his eyes.
“{You don’t have many limbs left to break.}” Jinno said. He lifted the officer’s head and forced their eyes to meet. “{Tell me who exactly paid you.}”
He broke down. “{It…it was the League of Assassins. They just said they’d give the police force incredible bonuses if we were to help shut down the Tsuruki’s operations.}”
“{Good boy.}” Jinno said with a grin. Cassandra released the officer. She turned to go back to the truck, but was stopped.
“{That’s it?}” Her ally asked. “{This man interfered with our operations. We can’t have that.}”
She stopped in her tracks and prayed this wasn’t going where she thought it was.
Jinno picked up the first policeman’s gun and handed it to her. “{Finish the job.}”
She looked at the weapon in her hand. She remembered everything Bruce had ever taught her about firearms; they were criminal. They were the weapons of the enemy. She was taught to use an arsenal with finesse, with tactics; with non-lethal tactics.
“{Come now, Cain.}” She was snapped out of her thoughts by her ally’s voice. “{We’re waiting.}”
Indeed, the dock workers, all of whom were members of the family, were watching the scene unfold.
You’re willing to go any distance to earn their trust. Tatsu Yamashiro’s words echoed in her head. But how true were they?
Cassandra knew what she had to do. She just hated that she had to do it.
* * * * * *
Now…The Outsiders had arrived at the harbor the shipment was supposed to arrive in. They hid, waiting for something to arrive.
“Sarin,” Rachel whispered. “Do you think something’s wrong?”
“I’m outside my kingdom, performing services for reasons I don’t understand while surrounded by people I detest.” He responded. “Yes, something is wrong.”
“Except for Maxine, who you’re totally in love with.” She said.
Sarin glared at her. “What are you talking about?” He whispered harshly.
“I’m a detective. I notice things.” She answered.
Sarin turned to look at Maxine. She hadn’t heard a word of the conversation, thankfully. “She has…a strange way about her. An optimism. It’s difficult to explain…”
“You’re done.” Rachel interrupted him. “Don’t you think this is too much out of the ordinary?”
“When someone is in a position of authority, there is a reason for it.” Tempest answered. “They must have good judgment, and it’s important to follow that judgment.”
“Should’ve known better than to ask you.” She muttered.
“I see a ship coming in.” Arsenal said, her eyes behind a pair of binoculars. “Get ready to move in.”
The ship docked. Immediately, a crew went aboard and began to unload large crates from the ship. Arsenal descended, approaching the ship and holding up a badge.
“{I work for Checkmate.}” She said in what little Japanese she knew. “{May I inspect your things?}”
“{No.}” One of the dock workers responded harshly. “{And I suggest you leave now.}”
“{Sir…}” Lian struggled to find the correct words. “Screw it. Outsiders, this looks to be it.”
The Outsiders then descended, joining Arsenal where she stood. Then, they all saw dozens of Tsuruki surround them. Each had an automatic rifle trained on them and each was ready to fire.
“We walked right into a trap.” Animal Man said.
“I knew it! I knew something like this would happen!” Elasti-Girl proclaimed.
“Not now.” Arsenal said, a wary hand reaching for her gun. “The good news is that these are just guys with guns. Thugs with nothing special about them. We can handle this.”
A woman stepped out from the crowd on the ground with a katana in her right hand. She stared down the Outsiders and gave a cocky smile.
“Oh my god,” Warren said, staring with the same disbelief as the rest of the Outsiders were. “Cassandra?”
Cassandra Cain silently lifted her sword and pointed it at her former allies. And the Tsuruki opened fire.
* * * * * *
6 Months Ago…“{Do it.}” Jinno demanded. “{Now!}”
Cassandra marched past the whimpering, injured policeman and right in front of Jinno. She shoved the gun into his chest, which he took from her.
“{What is wrong with you?}” He asked. Before he realized it, Cassandra had snatched his belt from his pants. She stood over the body of the terrified officer, wrapped the belt around his throat and pulled, the grip becoming tight.
She watched the officer look up at her. She saw the pleading look in his bloodshot, sunken eyes. She put on a face of determination, of savageness. But inside, she only had one thought.
I’m sorry.* * * * * *
Now…The Outsiders had scattered. Each had taken cover from the Tsuruki’s forces. Animal Man, alone behind a wall, was a mess; a mixture of confusion and terror made coming up with plan almost impossible.
Warren jumped when he felt something tap his shoulder. He turned to see Cassandra, standing there with an innocent look on her face.
“Cass!” He said. “What the hell is going on here? What did you do? Did you lead them here?”
In one swift moment, Cassandra cut the Tantu totem wrapped around Warren’s neck. As he watched it clatter to the ground, he felt its power leave him. He was human again. He was unprotected.
“What are you doing?” Animal Man asked. Cassandra said nothing. With quick as lightning speed, she sliced Warren’s throat and silently watched him collapse to the ground.
