URBAN SENTINEL: No Surrender, No Retreat

                                                 Chapter 1 - 'Coup D'Etat'

                                                 He stood there like a weary sentinel, his gaze fixed on nothing in particular, his facial expression stoic to say the least. Any other man could find some solace in sitting behind a desk like a peon and getting paperwork done, but he was not like other men. No, The Scorpion was a man destined to lead and conquer, accomplishing great things and imposing his vision upon the world with the utmost dispatch, not wasting away in a room while overseeing an organization that had fallen from grace and lost most of it's influence along the way. An organization that once had the world by the neck, but had been taken down my a bunch of pathetic vigilantes who dared called themselves 'heroes'.
                                                The Syndicate was just a short time ago revelling in the sale of weapons, drugs, and even counterfeiting money as some of their main enterprises among many, rasing capital at fast rates to further the goal of world domination. Fast forward to now, as the Syndicate's numbers had dwindled, a once proud organization now playing second fiddle to other groups vying to be at the top of the food chain. Scorpion ran a hand through his shaggy black hair, trying to figure out where it all went wrong, and how he had underestimated the vigilantes and their resourcefullness and teamwork. He knew rebuilding the Syndicate and bringing it back to it's former glory was no easy task.
                                                 It was just the other day that he had sent word to General Cypher, now a mercenary for hire, an offer to return to the Syndicate and command most of it's forces, all while bringing his bunch of hired scum with him to swell the ranks and truly start a great army again. Scorpion knew the Syndicate didn't have a lot of capital left to work with, but knew that whatever was there had to go to bringing Cypher back into the fold, and hopefully some of the small splinter groups as well. Making the Syndicate great again wasn't going to happen overnight, but hopefully with the groundwork laid, it would turn around the fortunes of the organization in a short amount of time, and allow him what he needed to bring it out of the ashes, and back to the forefront of the criminal world where it should be.
                                                 Just he was in mid-contemplation, his comm system buzzed. Scorpion pressed the red button on his desk mounted comm unit. "What is it?" he asked with a hiss. The familiar voice of his second in command came back to reply. "Sir. General Cypher has agreed to your request for a meeting." he said. Scorpion smiled, the scars on his face bending slightly on his cheeks. "Excellent. Tell him we will convene here in the War Room at noon." he replied, happy at the news. "Yes sir." said his second in command, before the comm channel was closed. Scorpion turned his attention to the window behind him, and swiveled his chair to look outside and see the snow falling gently across the large white expanse, the pine trees now blanketed by the white layer of winter. "All is well." he muttered, managing a slight grin, happy at the news of a meeting with the General, and all that it entailed.

                                                 "I don't trust him, boss." said the upstart young Major, having reservations about the meeting that General Cypher would have with The Scorpion tomorrow up at the Syndicate's remote headquarters. The young, brown haired man looked uneasy at the news, unhappy with the prospect of going up there, and possibly walking into a trap. Cypher straightened his black beret and smiled at his younger counterpart. "Your instincts never cease to amaze me, but you may have a point." said Cypher, before picking up a large, clear glass bottle off the table and opening it, pouring some of it's brownish liquid into a glass up to the quarter mark. "But," he started. "We must as least hear him out." he said, before downing the drink in one gulp, and looking quite satisfied with it.
                                                  Cypher pondered the bottle of whiskey he had just tried, and smiled, it being very much to his liking. "I must commend you, however, on your choice of whiskey." he said, pouring another and holding the glass up to the Major. "I thank you." he mentioned, before downing that drink quickly as well. "Ahhh." he muttered, feeling refreshed. "We will proceed as planned." he said. "See that all the preparations are made. Dismissed." he finished, as the Major nodded, then saluted before turning and leaving the room. Cypher was now alone with his own thoughts and such, going over the dangerous plan he had hatched a while back, over and over again in his mind so as to not forget it.
                                                  He pulled down on his camouflage fatigue jacket to straighten it before sitting down at the head of the large conference table. Cypher had watched for some time as the Syndicate had splintered into smaller, less organized mercenary and/or terrorist groups, failing to achieve the potential they used to command as a whole. He harboured a resentment to the way the Scorpion had run things, never letting his top commanders have enough leeway to do things properly, always micro-managing operations that usually ended up in the same, bleak and defeated way. "One puny vigilante took down a whole division of mercenaries." he mumbled, referring to Lake City's masked defender, Blitzkrieg, who recently stopped a major terrorist plot singlehandedly due to the group's ineptitude.
                                                  "Still...." he muttered, having a degree of respect for the vigilante, even if his ideals were misguided. "A shame he won't survive the coming doom." he said aloud, planning to eliminate the young hero quickly and efficiently on his way to victory. But before he went and did that, Cypher needed to bring stability and power back to the Syndicate, and the only way to do that was to depose the Scorpion and consolidate all the splinter groups to make everything whole again. He grinned at the thought of this, just as there was a knock at the door. "Come in." he said, rising out of the chair and looking to the room's entrance. His young Major walked in and saluted, standing as straight as possible.
                                                  "We are ready to depart, sir!" he said emphatically. Cypher nodded. "Very well. I shall join you momentarily." he said, as the major nodded and left the room quickly. Cypher reached out for the bottle one last time and poured an amount less than a shot into the small glass, before holding up in an outstretched arm. "To the future." he muttered, before downing the drink fast and putting the glass back on the table, before straightening his fatigues once again and hurrying out the door, knowing that the chain of events was being put in motion, and no one could bring them to a halt now. No one.

                                                    The powdery layer of snow began to whip around and fly into the air as the large Chinook helicopter and it's two smaller Huey escorts landed on the wintry flats next to the Syndicate's northern base, looking like dirty stains on a white shirt before laundry. The base's exterior had white and grey camouflage painted in an irregular pattern, making it almost unnoticable unless you were right next to it. The large ramp of the Chinook lowered and met the ground with a crunchy thud, with General Cypher being the first one off with his young Major on his right, and an armed guard on his left, all of them still wearing their woodland green and brown camouflage fatigues as they normally would.
                                                    "General!" yelled the Scorpion, who stood between the landing pad and the base in a long black coat, with fur trim around the hood, his cape not present for a change. He was flanked by two of his own armed guards, dressed in black fatigues and masked, carrying impressive firepower in the form of assault rifles. "Welcome to the North." he finished, referring to the remote location of the base in a hard to access region of Canada, where most wouldn't dare go. Cypher motioned for his two aides to lower their weapons, as he walked up and stopped a metre before his old leader, nodding slightly. "Scorpion." he said calmly, addressing the Syndicate leader.
                                                     Scorpion nodded back, his own aides lowering their weapons in the process. "Shall we go inside?" he asked, not really wanting to spend any more time out in the snow, the temperatures not totally to his liking. Cypher nodded again. "Agreed. Let us go inside then." he mentioned, before motioning to his aides to follow, as all six men headed for the entrance to the base. A large reinforced metal door slowly slid open to the right upon approach, and once the opening was wide enough, all six of them entered the building, out of the cold for the time being. Scorpion stopped down a  hallway halfway and motioned to a closed door. "Let us talk in private, shall we?" said Scorpion.
                                                      Cypher looked to his aides. "Wait here. Take a few moments to yourselves." he stated, before looking back to Scorpion, who nodded once and opened the door, revealing a small conference room with no windows, some tactical displays, a planning board, and a rectangular table with six chairs and one at it's head. Scorpion walked over to a cabinet in the room and opened a door, revealing several bottles of liquor and a few glasses. "Before we get to business," he started, examining the bottles carefully. "I propose a toast to you, Cypher, for coming back into the fold." he said, not knowing that Cypher was stealthily approaching him, pulling a concealed hand gun out of his fatigues. "I know that you are a creature of habit, so I made sure to stock this room ahead of time." he finished.
                                                      By this time, Cypher had stopped and assumed his stance, pointing the gun at Scorpion, who had selected a bottle and turned around to see his former general's weapon trained on him. Scorpion's facial expression turned to one of anger and disgust. "All that I have done for you over the years, and this is how you repay me?" he asked. "Even as I invite you here to proclaim an allegiance? Fool. You'll never leave here alive." he finished. Cypher grinned. "I think I will. And.....you will soon know why, dear leader." he stated. Scorpion was about to retort, but Cypher pulled the trigger, sending a bullet into the man's shoulder, the bottle falling out of his hands and smashing on the floor as he slumped to the ground. "Such a waste." said Cypher, looking at the pool of whiskey.
                                                     Alarms went off in the base, as Cypher checked to make sure Scorpion was still alive before exiting the room to see the bodies of Scorpion's two guards on the floor of the hallway as he locked the door. "Excellent." he said. "Scorpion is alive, and will stay in there as long as need be." he said calmly. Suddenly, a dozen troops poured into the hallway and aimed their weapons at the three. Cypher laughed and pointed at them. "Really? A dozen men?" he said, chuckling. The soldiers looked confused for a moment. Without warning, the main entrance door slid open, with more than three dozen troops swarming in and outnumbering Scorpion's dozen easily. Cypher strode forward and addressed everyone. "The choice is simple.....follow me, or die." he started. "But know this: under my leadership, the Syndicate will know order, discipline, ......and victory!" he finished.

                                                    The dimly lit building was getting darker as he moved about, trying to make his way up a few more floors. "This place should be condemned." he remarked, wiping some sweat from his brow above the gold and black mask he wore. His quarterstaff in one hand, he bounded up several stairs at once, the odd flickering of flourescant lights making it an odd yet somewhat worrisore experience. The stairwell smelled of dampness and rot, pieces of timber used for window boarding strewn about the landings for no reason. Water dripped from various points on the walls, their concrete surfaces cracked beyond repair.
                                                    "Why did I have to come here of all places, dammit?" he asked under his breath, knowing there was no answer. After one more flight of the hellish stairs, he was at the twentieth floor of the old building, walking through the open portal where a door once stood. Carefully making his way along the dark corridor, Blitzkrieg noted the destruction on this floor was even worse than the others, a few dim lights that actually worked showing the caved in ceiling in places, as well as walls that had been smashed right through to the old office units they once contained. Left over furniture had long since been smashed, with pieces of light bulbs and glass strewn about the rubble as well.
                                                     Stopping to examine a stain on the nearest wall that resembled dried blood, he wasn't surprised to hear a familiar voice start to talk from the far end of the corrdior. "I didn't think you'd make it up here, what with the destruction and all." said a monotone voice that Blitzkrieg had become accustomed to over the years. He turned to ponder the man, dressed in a black suit he could barely see in the dim lights, wearing also a black short fedora, and covering his face with a black scarf. "A new hat I see." chuckled Blitzkrieg. "Good to know you people in the information business take this all so seriously." he chided, never taking his eyes off the man he knew only as 'The Informant.'
                                                     There was an awkward silence for a moment before the Informant spoke again. "I have called you here in a matter that is most urgent, so if you could refrain from the bad comedy....." he said calmly, voice trailing off. Blitzkrieg nodded. "Of course. My apologies. What do you have?" he asked, wondering why this meeting was taking place. The Informant sighed. "It not good news unfortunately. Your 'friend' General Cypher has pulled off a coup d'etat in the Syndicate. Scorpion has been deposed, and their forces are consolidating and expanding." he explained. Blitzkrieg shook his head. "Not good." he said. The Informant continued. "It gets worse. Splinter groups are rejoining the Syndicate, and are being organized into strike teams. One is rumoured to be heading here." he finished.
                                                      Blitzkrieg eye's widened. "What? When? How many of them?" he blurted out all at once, uneasy with this news. The Informant shook his head and shrugged. "I'm not sure. My source isn't sure how big these strike teams will be, nor does he know when they'll move out." he said. "You have been warned. I suggest you make a plan, quickly. I will bring you more information when I have it." he finished. Blitzkrieg thought about it all for a moment. "What's in it for you?" he asked of the man in black. The Informant laughed. "I'm no fan of the Syndicate. My job will be much easier without them around. That will be payment enough." he mentioned. Blitzkrieg nodded. "Indeed." he replied. "I thank you for this. We will be in touch." he said. The Informant nodded. "Yes......yes we will."

                                                     Chapter 2 - 'Gotham'

                                                      The doorbell of Wayne Manor rang out through the foyer, the openess of the front area and it's cavernous interior carrying the sound throughout. Alfred Pennyworth, the butler, was quick to respond and make his way to the door, opening it before the visitor had a chance to ring a second time and make further noise. The younger face that greeted him on the other side was a most welcome sight. "Master Grayson! Come in! It is good to see you after so long!" exclaimed Alfred, happy to see the young protege that had gone off and become his own hero under the moniker of Nightwing so long ago. Dick smiled, his white teeth an accent to his pastel face and short, black hair. 
                                                      "Good to see you too, Alfred." he replied. "You're looking well." he said, stepping into the mansion, his cloth travel bag over a shoulder. Alfred grinned for a moment, then held a hand out towards the young man. "Your bag, sir." he mentioned. Dick smiled. "Very well." he started, handing over the bag. "Where's Bruce at?" he asked, wondering where his former mentor and partner in crimefighting was right now, hoping to do some catching up. Alfred started heading towards the grand staircase in the middle of the foyer. "Master Wayne is in the library I believe. Go and see him, won't you? I'll get your room ready in the meantime." he replied, before hurrying up the stairs to the second floor.
                                                        Dick made his away through the massive mansion, eventually finding the library, taking a little longer than normal to find it because of being away for so long. He opened the door carefully and wandered inside catching a glimpse of a solitary figure sitting in the far corner of the large, wood finished room reading a hardcover book of some kind. "Just put the tray on the table, Alfred." said Bruce Wayne, thinking his butler had gotten him something to drink while he was idle. "Hi Bruce." said Dick, stopping and pondering his former mentor. The book suddenly closed and lowered, with Bruce looking to see Dick Grayson standing before him. "Dick. What a nice surprise. Come sit down." he replied warmly.
                                                        The younger man carefully walked around a small table with a stack of books on it, and sat down opposite Bruce, who put his own book aside and removed his reading glasses. Dick noticed that Bruce still looked the same after all this time. Short black hair, neat and tidy, and casual wear that would be dress wear to anyone less fortunate. "Alfred said you might pay a visit, but I thought you might be a little busy, being Nightwing now and all." he remarked, grinning a little. Dick chuckled. "I'm never too busy to pay a visit to Gotham." he replied. Bruce smiled. "Good. It's always nice to have you. Perhaps you might join me later tonight out on the streets, for old time's sake." he suggested.
                                                         Dick was about to reply, when he heard a knock near the door. Both men turned their attention to the room's portal, to see Alfred standing in the doorway and rapping on the frame with his knuckles. "Yes Alfred?" asked Bruce, wondering what was the matter. Alfred looked serious. "You have an incoming call down in the Bat Cave, sir." he started. "It's from your friend in Lake City. He says it's urgent." finished the butler. Bruce looked to Dick, who caught his gaze. "C'mon Dick, let's go see what's the matter." he said, before getting up and heading for the exit, with Dick in tow. Both  men hurried out of the room and made their way to the back of the main floor, to a non-descript room. Bruce pressed a hidden button on the wall, which slid open to reveal a secret entrance to the Bat Cave. The two of them made their way inside, as the wall closed behind them.

                                                         "What you have told me worries me greatly." said Bruce, his facial expression one of great concern. "Strike teams can only mean one thing - that this new, rejuvenated Syndicate is going to lash out, and will probably go after us first." he finished. Blitzkrieg raised an eyebrow on the screen. "How do you figure?" he asked, wondering how Bruce came to that conclusion. Bruce remained stoic. "It's exactly what I would do if my organization had an influx of manpower and weaponry. Go after what stands in it's way first, then conquer the rest." he explained. Blitzkrieg nodded. "Lake City is the closest to them. It looks like the battle will be fought here." he said, surmising.
                                                          Bruce nodded. "I agree. I'll wrap things up here, and come join you." he replied. Blitzkrieg acknowlegded his friend. "All right then. I'll contact Oliver in Star City, and see if he can be in on this." he finished, before cutting the comm channel, Bruce's screen going dark for the moment. Dick looked confused for a moment. "Syndicate?" he wondered aloud. Bruce looked to his former partner. "It's complicated. Needless to say, we thought we had stopped them a little while back. Now they are consolidating and growing stronger. Not good at all." he mentioned, going over some data on his computer.
                                                          Dick glanced over at the Batmobile as it sat motionless on it's circular parking space underneath the dark stalactites hanging all over the Bat Cave's interior. "Damn." he said, not knowing what else to say. Bruce turned on his chair to face Dick. "I'll need you to come with me to Lake City." he said. "This will take all of us to remedy." he finished, before turning his attention back to the computer. Dick raised an eyebrow and pondered for a moment. "Why do I have such a bad feeling about this all of a sudden?" he queried aloud. Bruce kept working at the computer, but managed a reply. "Because....this will very well end up being a lot bigger than what you're used to." he explained. "The Syndicate was a formidable opponent, and could be much worse this time." he finished.
                                                          Bruce took a quick moment to remember when he, Blitzkrieg, and The Arrow had their showdown and what they thought was the final conflict with the Syndicate. "We barely got out of there with our lives last time." he said, feeling a slight bit unnerved, but trying not to show it. Dick nodded. "I see. So basically, we're in tough is what you're saying?" he asked. Bruce nodded. "The odds are against us." he replied, still working away on the computer. Dick paced a little bit, taking this all in. "I came here to visit and relax, and instead, I'll be in the middle of a war." he mused. "Hoo boy." he finished, amused and dismayed at the same time, but trying to stay upbeat regardless. "That's about the size if it." replied Bruce. "C'mon. Let's go eat something before we suit up for the night." he said, rising out of the chair and motioning towards one of the Bat Cave's exits.

                                                         The lines of troops that stood before him was almost inspiring, to say the least. General Cypher paced the width of the base's indoor staging area, which was the size of a supermarket. It's grey, reinforced walls were usually lined with vehicles waiting to move out or be repaired, but he had decided to have them sent outside so he could review his new troops and such, happy with the way the Syndicate was starting to make strides in gaining it's former glory. All of the men that stood before him wore a newer kind of camouflage fatigues, similar to his woodland pattern, but coloured in red and black instead of green, brown, and ochre. Seeing everyone lined up in their outfits and topped with a black beret with the symbols of their divisions was even more satisfying.
                                                         Cypher stopped in the middle and decided to address his troops. "Today, we begin a new chapter in our organization's history." he started. "The bumbling leadership that brought defeat after defeat is no more. No longer will we waste time with petty criminal operations. From this time forward, we are strictly a paramilitary force, and we will stop at nothing to bring our version of order to the land! Victory will be OURS! This, I swear to you!" he exclaimed, as the staging area erupted into cheers as men raised their assault rifles into the air jubilantly. After the cheering subsided, he walked a bit further, straightening his own beret before speaking again. "Our first order of business, is to eliminate those who seek to oppose us, and who are the biggest threat to our plans." he sais, grinning evily.
                                                         "These so-called 'heroes' who hide behind masks, these.....vigilantes....." he explained. "MUST be dealt with, and they will. You will split into your divisions, and wipe out these misguided fools on their own turf! Once they are taken care of, we will seize the day, and impose our will on everyone else!" he explained, with all the troops present riveted to his speech. "MOVE OUT!" he ordered, as everyone turned on their heel and began marching towards the large bay doors, which slowly began to open, revealing the white snow that blanketed the area, and the vehicles waiting outside to accept them. Helicopters, jeeps, troop transports, and other modes of transportation were idling and ready to leave, the operation now fully underway. His young protege, the Major known as Stone, walked up to him quickly. "The prisoner has been moved to the brig." he mentioned.
                                                          Cypher grinned. "Good. I believe I should pay him a visit, Major. That will be all." he ordered, with Stone nodding before leaving him alone. The General turned and headed for the exit, and found himself happy at the fact that Scorpion had survived, and would be around long enough to see the Syndicate become something greater than it had been under the Scorpion. Cypher chuckled to himself before composing himself, walking a short distance down the corridor before arriving at the brig area. Two of his troops stood guard outside, motionless. He nodded at them to acknowledge them, before opening the door and walking into the brig. Two cells with metal bars stood against the back wall, with a solitary prisoner dwelling inside the cell to the left. "How the mighty have fallen." he said of the Syndicate's former leader, who sat on a bench, alone.
                                                           Upon seeing the General, the prisoner jumped to his feet, wearing black jumpsuit trousers and shoes only, his bare chest dominated by a large set of bandages that draped around his right shoulder, of which the bullet had hit him earlier. Scorpion grabbed the metal bars in anger and shook them. "You're a fool, Cypher!" he hissed. "We could have been partners, but instead you chose treason!" he yelled in anger. Cypher laughed. "You of all people should know how things occur in our line of work." he started. "But.....you never could get the job done, could you? Hence me taking over." he finished, turning his back on this prisoner. "Alls well that ends well, I suppose." he remarked. Scorpion became enraged. "When I get out of this cell, I'LL-" he was cut off abruptly by the General. "You'll what? No one is loyal to you anymore. You're power is gone." he said, heading for the door. "Good day." he finished, before leaving the brig and heading back out into the hall, done with Scorpion.

                                                           For once, the evening up to this point had been a quiet one, with it looking like crime might have actually taken a night off for a change. The Dark Knight sat perched on a rooftop, the calm, clear night much to his liking. Nightwing knelt next to him on his right, looking down at the city below with a grin, happy to be back even if it was just for a week. "Quiet tonight, eh?" he asked of Batman, who stroked his chin while contemplating something. "Yes, but I won't complain." he replied, happy to see a night go by in Gotham without any problems for a change. Nightwing nodded, and continued to watch cars drive past on the street below. "Me neither." he said back, calmly.
                                                           Batman got to his feet, and was going to suggest that they patrol one more area, when the sky lit up with fire a few kilometers in front of them. Fire and debris shot into the air, the crackling of the event loud and intense. Sirens started to ring out in the distance, as police and fire were probably heading over to evaulate the disturbance. "Damn." said Batman, knowing their quiet night was pretty much over. "Let's go." he ordered, as Nightwing just nodded as the two jumped over the side of the building, landing two stories below before making their way down the rest of the floors and back to street level, running to where their vehicles were parked and speeding off towards the maelstrom.
                                                          It only took a few minutes to arrive at the scene of the problem, and as both heroes jumped out of their vehicles and approached the fire on foot, did they see the true problem. Shots rang out as police officers were locked in a deadly shootout with heavily armed soldiers dressed in peculiar red and black camouflage gear. "Not good." said Batman, before looking to Nightwing. "You ready?" he asked, looking serious. Nightwing's eyes narrowed, looking only to the firefight. "Let's do this." he replied, before both men ran into the fracas, and took on the unknown attackers, hoping to draw them away from the police and take the brunt of the assault themselves, no matter what.
                                                         The Dark Knight sprinted into the closest group of the enemy troops, taking two out with the element of surprise, their lifeless forms crumpling to the ground, unconcious. Several other soldiers caught wind of the common and turned towards the caped crusader, aiming their weapons and opening fire. Batman rolled quickly out of the way in the nick of time, before jumping to his feet and letting loose a Batarang, one of his bat shaped boomerang gadgets, on the gunmen. It easily knocked the weapons out of the hands of the tree closest soldiers, letting Batman move in and knock them out of commission, landing a series of quick punches and kicks while they were stunned.
                                                          Not far away, Nightwing was locked in hand to hand combat with a number of the enemy troops, easily taking on seven or eight of them, and having the upper hand. He lashed out with fast punches, and furious counter-attacks, slowly taking them all out of the fight, as Gotham police started to make headway now with higher numbers, soldiers dropping dead and/or wounded around him. A large explosion nearby rocked the area, as Nightwing glaced over his shoulder to see a small building topple over and burn, the debris creating a large swath of rubble nearby. Turning his attention back to his assailants, he spun around and delivered a kick to the face of an advancing troop, leaving him bloodied and battered as he fell to the ground, flaming debris burning everywhere.
                                                         Within another half hour, the situation was under control, with both Batman and Nightwing having dispatched most of the enemy forces, with the police taking down the rest. The ones that were wounded or captured were slowly being led into waiting police vehicles, while several fire brigades worked to extinguish the flames. Nightwing surveyed some of the debris and raised an eyebrow at his findings. "They used heavy rocket launchers to bring the building down." he concluded. "They meant business, whoever they are." he finished, shaking his head at the mess. Batman was about to respond, when he saw one of the soldiers pass by, his fatigues ripped away to reveal a black undershirt with the logo of the Syndicate on it. "That explains it." he said, eyes narrowed. "Come on." he started to Nightwing. "We have to get to Lake City." he stated, before hurrying off to the Batmobile.

                                                     Chapter 3 - 'The Hood And The Restless'

                                                           "If I ever see you doing this again, you will pay a heavier price. Do you understand?" asked the gruff voice from beneath the green hood, his face covered by a mask, but his eyes showing his anger at the moment. Frustrated with himself for letting this criminal get off easy the last time he caught him robbing a corner store, Green Arrow wasn't about to make the same mistake twice. A siren now blaring from a police car closing in on his location, he took out an arrow from his quiver, and jammed it into the wall behind the perpetrator, catching enough of his clothing to keep him stuck until the cops arrived. "Remember what I said." remarked Green Arrow, before turning and walking off into the night, having done his fill of crime fighting for the night.
                                                            Making his way down a little used alleyway nearby, he jumped on his motorcycle that he had left there, the sleek black bike looking like it did the day he bought it, before all of his modifications and whatnot. Putting on his helmet, the Green Arrow revved the bike's engine and sped off into the shadows, making his trek back to what he called the 'Arrow Cave', his base of operations that he shared with a couple others that knew his secret identity, helping him maintain order amongst the chaos. It didn't take him that long to get back, and by the time he had gotten off the elevator and stepped into the Cave, he saw both John Diggle and Felicity Smoak huddled in front of one of the computer screens, watching or viewing something that looked relatively important.
                                                            "Everything all right?" he asked, having already flipped back his hood and removed his mask. Felicity turned to him, somewhat surprised, her long blonde ponytail flapping behind her as she straightened her glasses. Oliver always considered her to be one of the most beautiful women he had ever met, let alone been involved with. Her bright red lipstick and blushed cheeks just enhanced her beauty further. "Oh, Oliver!" she exclaimed with a smile. "We've got Blitzkrieg on the line. Something big is happening." she mentioned, before turning her attention back to the screen. "Yo, you better come see this." said John Diggle, his dark complexion and built upper body intimidating to the least, even to him after being friends and allies for as many years as they had.
                                                            Oliver temporarily abandoned his idea to change out of his suit and hang up his bow and quiver, walking up a couple of stairs to stop just to the left of Felicity, looking at the computer screen to see his friend from Lake City, Blitzkrieg on the other end. "Hi Oliver. You know I wouldn't bother you unless there was a really big problem." said Blitzkrieg. Oliver nodded. "I know." he replied. "What can I do for you?" he said. Blitzkrieg went over the news about the Syndicate being back in business in a big way, elaborating on the attack on Gotham city as well the night previous, and the information he had obtained from the Informant along the way. Oliver's brow furrowed a bit as he thought.
                                                            "This is huge." he said, contemplating a course of action. "John and I will head to your city and help out with the situation. We'll talk more then." he explained. Blitzkrieg nodded. "Understood. Thanks." he replied, before the comm link was closed and the screen went back to normal. "Soooo.....who's gonna take care of the city while you guys are gone?" asked Felicity in her usual guilt-tripping tone. Oliver grinned. "Roy is in town right now. Ask him on our behalf if he'd be able to reprise his old role of Arsenal for a few days or so." said Oliver, before turning to leave. Felicity got up of her swivel chair and called out. "Wait!" she said, with Oliver stopping to face her. He didn't get a chance to say anything before she wrapped her arms around him and embraced him tight. "Be careful...." she said, voice trailing off softly. Oliver kissed her head gently. "I will." he replied.

                                                             "So let me get this straight," started Diggle, clearly wanting more information in the matter at hand. "This 'Syndicate' is back and is now going on the offensive, targeting cities?" he asked aloud into his headset. "Man, this job gets crazy sometimes." he finished, shaking his head as he sat behind the wheel of the unmarked black van and drove on, wondering what lay ahead. Oliver quickly responded over the comm channel from a little ahead of the van, riding by himself on his motorcycle. "Not much crazier then normal, Digs." he replied in his gruff Green Arrow voice. "Besides, you mentioned how bored you've felt lately. Things are about to pick up!" he exclaimed with a chuckle.
                                                             Diggle laughed to himself before responding. "Me and my big mouth, huh?" he replied, happy to be out on the road headed for Lake City. He quickly took a sip from his drink he brought with him from the Cave, before sticking it back into the cupholder in the centre of the dashboard. "Roy is probably going to-" he didn't get the chance to finish his sentence, as Oliver cut him off inadvertantly. "Digs, something's going on up ahead. I'm stopping to investigate." he said calmly. Diggle nodded and sped up. "I'll be there in less than a minute, man." he replied, picking up speed in the van, wanting to be with his friend should something end up happening. "Could be nothing." he mumbled to himself in the meantime.
                                                             In just under a minute, Diggle came up on Oliver standing in the middle of the road with his bow drawn and aimed forward of his position. Bringing the van to a screeching halt, Diggle put on his special helmet and readied his pistol, jumping out of the van and standing next to Oilver, aiming his weapon in the same direction as well. "What is it man?" he asked, quickly glancing to Oliver and back, not seeing anything himself, the street lamps in the area not very bright. The Green Arrow didn't move a muscle. "Trouble." was his response, cool and calculated. Suddenly, voices could be heard from ahead, as well as many footfalls that sounded like boots hitting the ground. "I got a bad feeling about this....." mentioned Diggle, voice trailing off as the sound of footfalls grew nearer.
                                                             Out of darkness emerged a mass of men dressed in red and black camouflage fatigues and brandishing weapons of various sizes, of which Diggle counted assault rifles and submachineguns, just to name a few. "When I said I wanted some actioin, this is NOT what I meant!" yelled Diggle, as the enemy soldiers started to fire their weapons. The Green Arrow unleashed several of his arrows quickly, taking out a few of the leading edge of soldiers right away, before he and Diggle each rolled in opposite directions and took cover. The enemy troops started to advance, with Diggle popping up from behind the large boulder he had taken cover behind in the brush, firing off his own rounds.
                                                            More arrows also pierced the evening air, striking their targets quietly and efficiently, taking down several more soldiers who were caught off guard by the simple weapon. "Spartan!" yelled Green Arrow, making sure to use his friend's codename at this point. "We need a diversion!" he exclaimed, wanting to break from his cover behind a lone postal box, which wouldn't hold out forever. Spartan nodded. "I got this!" he said, reaching under his kevlar jacket to produce a grenade. Pulling the pin, he quickly looked over the large rock and tossed it at the mass of troops, pulling his head down just enough so he could watch. A few seconds later, the grenade exploded violently, wiping out a large chunk of the battalion. Green Arrow used this to jump out from his hiding spot and charging the stunned troops.
                                                           Spartan then joined his partner, firing off round after round, and reloading periodically. Bullet still whizzed past him as he dodged the fire, but began to die off as the Green Arrow picked off the troops one by one with his remaining arrows, engaging the last few soldiers in hand to hand combat as their numbers dwindled. Spartan joined in, letting loose some serious blows as men went sprawling to the ground in pain. The close quarter combat last another ten minutes, and after all was said and done, bodies of unconcious and fallen troops lay strewn about the road and ditches, with the sound of sirens not far off in the background. It was then, as Green Arrow and Spartan stood motionless amongst the carnage, did their earpieces come to life with a familiar voice.
                                                           "Um, guys.....there's a really large group of heavily armed men heading towards you and they might try to block you from getting any further away from--" Oliver cut Felicity off to let her know what had just transpired. "Yes, we just met them on the roadway. All of them." he said calmly. Felicity replied quickly and somewhat excitedly. "Oh my God.....I should have told you sooner but I had to get a coffee and when I got back everything was going crazy and--" Oliver had to cut her off again. "It's all right. We're fine. The same can't be said for them." he said, referring to the enemy. "We're not sure why this happened, but Spartan and I will continue on to Lake City. We'll talk again when we arrive." he finished.  Felicity breathed a sigh of relief. "Try not to get killed...." she said, before closing the comm link, as Oliver and Diggle walked back to their vehicles and left the area.

                                                          "How is it possible that I send two heavily armed strike teams to two cities, and they're BOTH defeated by vigilantes with little toys?" he yelled angrily, asking Major Stone about the recent turn of events. "HOW?!" he screamed, pounding a fist into the table he stood next to with a thud. Cypher took a moment to push a piece of his grey hair out of his face, before looking out the window with disgust. Stone shook his head quickly and shrugged. "I don't know what to tell you, sir." he started. "I sent some of our best troops on those missions and didn't expect that outcome. I am ready however, to take full responsibility for thos failures." he finished, crossing his arms behind his back and waiting for whatever punishment the General saw fit, knowing this was all on him.
                                                          Cypher turned to face his Major. "I like you, Stone. You aren't afraid to admit when you're wrong, and that tells me you're a bigger man than most." he stated. "I will not penalize you this time. The priority is to slow down these vigilantes enough to keep our own plans in motion." explained the General. "From what I've heard, many of them will be converging on Lake City. It's time we went to the source. Send a full battalion to that wretched city, and destroy Blitzkrieg. He is the key, and with him out of the way, our job will become much easier. The rest of them won't be as much of a threat." he finished, before turning and facing the window again. "Yes sir." replied Stone, before he left the room.
                                                          The snow continued to fall lightly outside, the winter conditions here never seeming to end. Cypher was playing a dangerous game out in the world and he knew it. As a man who did not enjoy harming innocents, he was coming very close in his assaults on two cities just to flush out and take down the heroes that represented said places. A lot of contemplation on his part had gone into this since his last encounter with Blitzkrieg in that church some time ago. He knew that Blitzkrieg was more dangerous to his plans that all the other vigilantes put together, and had to be dealt with. "Heroes. Fah." he sneered, before turning away from the window and walking over to a shelf on the wall, where a bottle sat next to a couple of small pieces of glassware, full of a brownish liquid.
                                                           Not one to waste time, Cypher grabbed the bottle and opened it, pouring an amount of the whiskey into one of the glasses. He quickly downed the drink, and poured another. "This world is mine for the taking." he said angrily. "Vigilantes be damned." he growled, before downing another drink. Capping the bottle, he put it back in it's place on the shelf and wandered back to the window, staring out at the white expanse that only grew, from his standpoint. "I will succeed where that idiot Scorpion failed." he mumbled to himself. "Fear alone is not what will win this, and is not what will deliver the world into my hands." he finished, eyes narrowing at the thought of failure at any point.

                                                          Glancing around at the collection of heroes that had arrived to meet and team up with him, Blitzkrieg couldn't help but feel a little overwhelmed, even if he had worked with some of them before. Standing in a semi-circle facing him and Serena were the four that had arrived. Green Arrow stood to the left, followed by Spartan, Batman, and Nightwing, the younger hero that he had just met for the first time. "Hi Bruce!" said Serena happily, breaking the silence in her own unique way. The Dark Knight grinned, and replied in his trademark rough voice. "Hi." he managed, as the others began to grin and smile as well. Jared chuckled and looked to her. "You just want a return visit to the Bat Cave!" he mentioned.
                                                          Serena blushed and moved back a little bit, embarrassed. She knew she'd rather be in the Bat Cave right now playing with all the tech that Bruce Wayne had crammed in there. Suddenly, Oliver cleared his throat, giving Jared reason to move things along. "Well....." he started. "We all know why we're here. The question is, what are we going to do about all this?" he asked aloud. The Syndicate has put us all in an unfortunate position. They must be stopped." he finished, hoping that their paths would all become clearer rather soon. Nightwing stepped forward and scratched the back of his head, and looked a little confused, like had gotten lost on a forest trail or something.
                                                           "You'll have to excuse me, as I don't know as much as you guys about this 'Syndicate'." he said. "Bruce has filled me in a little on our way here, but I'm still not understanding everything." he finished, blinking once. Jared nodded and decided to help the man out. "The Syndicate is a paramilitary terrorist organization that has tried - and failed - to impose their will on the world." he started. "They've dabbled in everything from counterfeiting to gun running to contraband. We shut them down some time ago.....or so we thought." he finished. Oliver nodded. "Yeah. You'd think destroying their main base of operations and ruining their influence would have ended them." he said. "We were wrong." he added.
                                                           Jared was going to continue on from there, when Bruce chimed in. "And it get's worse. General Cypher has staged a coup d'etat and taken over. The Scorpion could be dead for all we know." he said. Nightwing looked to him. "Scorpion?" he queried. Bruce nodded his acknowledgement. "The former leader, before Cypher deposed him." he replied. "It looks as if they are a lot more dangerous with Cypher running the show." he said. "This is not going to be easy. We might even need some more help before this is all over." finished the Dark Knight, going over everything in his head. Jared nodded. "I figured as much." he replied, before turning to an open doorway that led to his gadget room.
                                                            "I made a call earlier....." Jared said loudly, grinning as a familiar form to him stepped through the doorway and joined the rest of them. His white mask and suit-style costume with cape unmistakable, Knight could only smile as he stood with the others, happy to be part of the team. "I am Knight." he started, doffing his black fedora. "Blitzkrieg and I formed a partnership a little while back, and he had asked me yesterday if I could pitch in on this one." he finished. "Glad to have you aboard." said Oliver, outstretching a hand. Knight shook it before taking a few moments in getting acquainted with the rest of the team. The heroes had much to do if they were to take down the Syndicate once and for all.

                                                     Chapter 4 - 'Homefront'

                                                               The two grey transport trucks rolled down the six lane highway one after the other, making good time on their way to Lake City. Their speed stayed within the posted limits, apparently not in the biggest hurry to deliver their cargo. The drivers wore plain grey and blue trucking uniforms and blue baseball style caps, looking as normal as possible so as to not raise any suspicions. Unlike most vehicles of this size and configuration, they did not carry goods for supermarkets or department stores. These two heavy trucks were filled with Syndicate troops, loaded with weapons and explosives and such. Nothing good was to come of this special delivery, not one bit.
                                                               Inside the trailer of the first truck sat Major Stone in the middle at the front, his battalion troops lining the walls of the trailer on special benches and seats. They were all wearing the familiar black and red camouflage that was consistent with their organization, and looked all business, ready to commence their mission. Stone flipped the sleeve back on his left forearm and checked his watch. "Fifteen minutes until show time, people." he relayed, most of the troops just nodding or gripping their weapons tighter. 'Fifteen minutes until we unleash hell on that misguided Blitzkrieg.' he thought to himself.
                                                               Surveillance measures put on the heroes arriving from other cities had brought intelligence on the location of the Lake City vigilante's secret base, making this strike much easier than orginally thought. Soon it would be nothing more than smouldering ruins, and Blitzkrieg along with it, assuring of a fracture in the vigilante's plans to consolidate and attack the Syndicate directly. Stone knew this had to go according to plan, as General Cypher had put him in complete control of this mission. By taking out Blitzkrieg, the rest of the troops could pick off the other heroes one by one until they had been completely quelled, allowing the Syndicate to usher in a new era across the land.
                                                               Stone surveyed his troops again, and opened a comm to the second truck with his special radio. "All troops.....lock and load. Prepare for assault." he ordered, before putting the radio away and readying his own pistols, should he need them. Stone wasn't expected to take part in the action, but was ready to if the need arose. "Now entering the downtown core." said the voice of the driver over the trailer's fitted intercom speakers. 'What was that saying that Cypher mentioned?' wondered Stone, thinking of something that would fit the moment. Then it hit him. "Carpe diem!" he exclaimed. His troops started to look towards him, some with confusion on their faces. "It means....Seize the day!" he said to them. A resounding cheer went up, before silence returned to the trailer.

                                                               "The downtown core is quiet. I'm seeing a whole lot of nothing." said Nightwing over the comm channel, after pressing a button on his earpiece. The commuters and office workers had already left for the day, with rush hour now over as well. Cars and other vehicles still moved about, but they were few and far between. He left his perch ont the roof of a smaller building, and made his way back down to ground level. "Moving to rendezvous with Batman." he added, making his way down some alleyways. 
                                                                Receiving acknowledgement quickly from the others, he continued on to a prearranged set of coordinates amongst the skyscrapers, making sure to observe everything on his way there. The idea was for the team to fan out across the city and cover as much ground as they could while keeping an eye on the city, hoping to intercept the next wave of Syndicate forces before they could do anything. Strangely enough, there had been nothing up to this point, no sightings, nothing. "Am I the only one getting bored out here?" asked Nightwing into the comm. "I got a whole lot of nothing going on right now." he finished, stopping to take a quick breather behind a recycling dumpster at a loading dock.
                                                                Green Arrow crackled to life on the comm. "Boredom is not something you should be worrying about. Focus on the mission, Dick." he said, somewhat annoyed at the younger man's perception of current events. Nightwing chuckled to himself. "Whatever you say." he said back, amused. It took a couple of minutes before another checked in over the headset. "Oliver, I'm with the kid on this one. Whole lot of nothing is an understatement." said Spartan, somewhere in another part of the city doing his part. Just then, someone laughed over the air. "You guys are something else!" said Knight happily. "But.....if it means anything, it's quiet down by the docks as well." he relayed, having positioned himself alone the waterfront in case the Syndicate arrived by ship.
                                                                "Suburbs are dead too." chimed in Blitzkrieg, not having much luck where he was. "Maybe they got lost. Criminals aren't the smartest!" he said, chuckling. After his giddyness had subsided, Batman broke in over the headset. "Was it wise leaving Serena by herself back at your base?" he asked, bringing down the jovial mood a little. "Someone should have stayed behind, methinks." he stated, going over different scenarios in his mind while he talked. Blitzkrieg scowled, but then realized no one could see him. "That base is impossible to find. You guys needed me to meet you topside to take you to it. I'm not worried." he explained. Suddenly, the sound of a muffled explosion came across the comm line, all of them hearing it. There was a few moments of silence, then a scream that everyone recognized. "Help!!" yelled Serena, before her comm went dead.
                                                                "No.......NO!!!!" yelled Blitzkrieg, before he performed a quick u-turn on his motorcycle and went hurtling off towards downtown and his subway station base, which had now been compromised. He had to get to Serena, and fast. Nothing else mattered to him right now. Not the base itself, not the team, not anything. She was all that mattered, all that he had. Without her, he was nothing.

                                                                 The first explosion had caught her completely off-guard, having never expected anyone to find this place, let alone try to blow it up. The far tunnel wall breached and caved in, the power systems and conduits taking a direct hit. Electrical devices shorted out and burned, as her computer equipment and other devices fried as well, a shower of sparks raining down on her as she got herself back to her feel, having fallen off her chair when the blast happened. "Got to get out of here!" she yelled, fearful of what might yet happen to her down in the underground lair. Just as Serena made her way out of the computer room and into the main room, another explosion rocked the base.
                                                                  She was thrown into the nearby wall from the force of the blast, becoming trapped under some rubble that fell from the ceiling. She couldn't free her legs from under the debris, as a shelving unit collapsed and fell on her, knocking her unconcious before she could utter a cry for help, not that it would have helped. Lucky for her, the pile of debris and shelves she was under kept her hidden from the Syndicate troops that now entered the base from the breach in the tunnel wall, hopping over pieces of ceiling and other things as they secured the area, trying to find if anyone had survived the melee.
                                                                  After a few minutes, one of the dozen soldiers that had descended into the base reported to Major Stone, who stood in the remnants of the main room with his arms crossed, a neutral expression on his face. "Nothing sir." said the man. "We can't access two of the rooms due to the rubble from the explosion. If she's down here, she didn't make it out of there." he finished. Another soldier spoke up from behind, lowering his weapon. "Our forces outside have seen no one escape from here, sir." he reported, before looking around. Major Stone grinned. "Collateral damage. It's a killer." he said calmly. "Take up your positions we discussed earlier. The 'heroes' will be here soon, and I intend to be ready for them." said Stone. The two soldiers nodded before hurrying off.
                                                                 Stone surveyed the damage himself. "Not so secret base, after all." he remarked, grinning slightly over the destruction his men had caused. Broken equipment lay strewn about the debris, most noticably a quarterstaff not unlike the one Blitzkrieg used. It was snapped in half and jagged, probably from the explosive force of the blasts, the yield on the device high enough to do this kind of damage. "Child's play." he muttered, preferring assault rifles and grenades to that of a metallic bar, something he considered to be quite useless in combat as a whole. Not wanting to spend much more time in this mess Stone turned and left the way he came, on his way to take up a position and wait, ready to pounce on and pick off the other heroes, one by one if necessary.

                                                                  Smoke billowed from the ground all over the area, the secret entrance to his base now a mass of rubble and fire. As he brought his motorcycle to an abrupt halt at the gate, he could hear fire trucks starting to approach the scene from afar, their sirens wailing as they grew nearer. Blitzkrieg ripped off his helmet and started running towards what was left of the entrance. "Serena!" he yelled, hopping over pieces of concrete that once made up the walls leading down into the tunnel. Not giving a damn about his own safety, he sprinted down the old tracks and further in, trying to get to his love as quickly as possible. "I'm coming Serena!" he yelled frantically, running as fast as he could.
                                                                  He kept going over and over Batman's words in his head, saying how someone should have stayed behind, with his own arrogance responding that no one would ever find the base. Blitzkrieg's emotions were a mess, knowing that his own arrogance could very well be responsible for Serena's welfare at this time. There was no one to blame but himself, but even that started to not matter. All he wanted was to get to the base and find her, safe in some corner, hiding from whatever happened, waiting for him to rescue her. Suddenly, he heard clicking noises from somewhere ahead, and slowed down to a stalking pace to try to ascertain what was going on. It didn't take much.
                                                                  "Stop right there, hero." said an unfamiliar voice in the shadows ahead. "I'm to eliminate you, just like I eliminated your base." he finished. Blitzkrieg filled with anger as he readied his quarterstaff, and gripped it angrily. "Where's Serena?" he asked, not waiting for a response. "WHERE IS SHE?!?!" he screamed, starting to lose control. The voice laughed. "The girl? Probably buried under all that rubble." he replied. "You're too late." he finished before turning to the nearest troops. "Kill him." ordered Stone, before turning and walking away. Blitzkrieg started to breathe heavily, anger turning to rage, which quickly boiled over. "No......NOOOO!!! DAMN IT TO HELL!!!" he screamed in agony, before losing control and charging whatever lay before him, screaming battle cries like a madman.
                                                                  Syndicate troops rushed forward, but were unable to start firing off their assault rifles, Blitzkrieg having closed the gap extremely fast. He caught the first handful of soldiers off guard, easily knocking out three in a row with his quarterstaff, before connecting with some hard punches to send two more flying. Without warning, automatic weapons fire rang out in the tunnel, more troops trying to connect in the low light of the tunnel. As he advanced on their position, the gunfire started to die down almost as quickly as it started. Blitzkrieg ran into the ruins of the base to see the others there standing over downed Syndicate troops. "Serena!!" he again yelled, dropping his quarterstaff to the ground and starting to turn over rubble to find her. The others did the same, and after a ten minutes of digging, Green Arrow called out to Blitzkrieg. "Jared.....over here!" he yelled.
                                                                 Blitzkrieg darted over and helped Green Arrow lift large shelving unit off of her lifeless form. Oliver checked her pulse. "She's alive.....but we've got to get her out of here. Wracked with guilt and grief, Blitzkrieg shoved Oliver aside, and threw more rubble off his love, kneeling down to gently pick her up out of her predicament. She was bloodied and bruised, unconcious. Blitzkrieg was beside himself at this moment, and started to cry. "I'm sorry......I'm.....sorry....." he said, sobbing heavily. Batman walked up quickly with Nightwing, a look of great concern in their eyes. "We'll take her to the hospital, quickly." he said. Blitzkrieg continued to sob, but nodded his approval, gently handing her to the Dark Knight, who wisked her away to ground level, more than likely to the Batmobile.
                                                                Unable to keep himself together, Blitzkrieg dropped to his knees and pulled his mask off, throwing it aside. "I let her down....." he started, putting his face in his hands, feeling like he had failed the one thing in this world that meant a damn to him. Oliver de-masked and put a hand on his shoulder in support, unconcerned by the shove earlier. "She'll be fine. Bruce will make sure of it." he said softly. Spartan walked up and stood with his shaken colleague. "We'll get these sons of bitches man." he started. "We can't let them get away with this." he finished, resolute in what needed to be done. Knight said nothing, feeling sympathy for his friend and teacher, as everyone there now knew how far the Syndicate was willing to go to destroy them, and what they had to do to finish the Syndicate once and for all.

                                                Chapter 5 - 'Lightning Assault'

                                                                 A quick rapping of fingers on the door's glass insert told him someone was wanting in. Jared turned his attention away from the hospital bed for a moment and addressed the door. "Come in." he said softly. The door opened slowly, revealing one of his oldest friends and confidantes in the process. Greg Redmond, known affectionately as 'Gears' by his friends and staff, made his way into the room, closing the door carefully before walking over to Jared and patting him on the shoulder. "I heard what happened, and rushed over right away." he said, turning his attention to the hospital bed, where Serena lay. She was hooked up to a machine and an intravenous tube. Greg was saddened by how bruised and ragged she looked, never seeing her like this ever before.
                                                                He sat down beside Jared in an empty chair. "How is she?" he asked quietly. Jared looked to her, then frowned before looking at his feet. "She suffered a concussion, a broken leg, and a few broken ribs." he said. "Doctors said she needs to be kept sedated for a while and kept immobile." he finished. Greg frowned. "I know this is tough, but she'll be fine. She's a tough one." he said encouragingly. Jared looked to him. "I know, but this shouldn't have happened. I should have been with her....." he replied, voice trailing off. Greg shook his head. "You can't be everywhere at once." he reminded. "No one could have predicted those bastards finding your base. Besides, she wouldn't want you to be sitting here sulking. Take them down, and do it for her." he said, sternly.
                                                                 Jared reached out and put Serena's hand in his, her skin warm and soft. "You're right, of course." he said to his friend, while keeping his gaze on Serena, trying to will her to get better as soon as possible. Greg smiled. "Haven't I always been the ying to your yang?" he chuckled, happy to have gotten through to his friend. Jared managed a grin himself, looking to Greg. "Yeah, you have." he replied. "I'm glad you came here. It means a lot to me." he finished, turning his gaze back to Serena, the hum of the medical equipment somewhat soothing at this point. "I care about her too, Jared." he mentioned. "Friends stick together, right?" he asked rhetorically, as Jared looked back at him.
                                                                 "Yes. Yes they do." he replied. Greg got to his feet and took another quick look at Serena, then put a hand on Jared. "She's in good hands. Let me know when she gets better." he said. "I'll be at the shop." finished Greg, before heading to the door. He was about to leave the room, when he stopped and turned back to Jared, while holding the door to the room open. "Jared." he said. "When things get all sorted out, come see me at the shop. I got something you'll just love." he finished. Jared smiled at his friend. "Will do!" he said, as Greg nodded and left the room. Jared was alone with Serena again. After a few minutes of silence, with just the background humming of the medical machines, there was another rapping on the glass insert of the door. "Come in." said Jared.
                                                                  In walked Oliver Queen, with a determined, but upbeat look on his face, as if he knew something that Jared would want to hear. He closed the door behind him and sat down next to Jared in the empty chair. "How is she?" he asked out of concern, thinking how easily it could have been Felicity in that bed, and not Serena. Jared nodded. "She'll be okay." he replied. "What's on your mind?" he queried, knowing something was up. Oliver looked around the room suspiciously, then leaned in towards Jared and whispered. "Felicity has located the Syndicate headquarters." he relayed. "We know where they are." he finished, as Jared straightened up in his chair. He gently laid Serena's hand back down on her bed, and turned to face Oliver. "Get the others." was all he said back.

                                                                  Snow fell softly across the plains that were before them, standing at the edge of the treeline behind them. The six heroes knelt down amongst the firs and such, passing a pair of bincoluars back and forth to examine their target as best they could. It wasn't going to be easy to force their way into the Syndicate's fortress, but they had little choice. General Cypher's troops were getting deadier and bolder as every day passed. It was only a matter of time until more and more people got hurt or killed, and Blitzkrieg wasn't about to let that happen. Rage started to build inside him as he gazed through the binoculars at the base, his thoughts turning to Serena and what had happened to her.
                                                                  "We'' have to move fast." he started, before passing the binoculars to Batman. "The only way this will work is if we hit them fast, and hit them hard. Catching them off guard will be key." he finished, his eyes narrowing. Batman gazed through the magnifyers before replying. "I agree." he said in his gruff voice. "But to do that, we'll need a diversion." he mentioned. Blitzkrieg looked to the Bat. "I'm guessing you already have a plan?" he queried, wondering what Bruce was up to. Batman grinned. "My plan will be here in a few more minutes." he said amusingly. "When Nightwing and I set off for Lake City, I activated the Batplane remotely, and had it fly there and land on a rooftop." he said.
                                                                   "It's on the way here, isn't it?" asked Spartan from under his helmet-mask. "Damn. You rich guys and your toys!" he finished, shaking his head while taking a look through the binoculars handed to him. Oliver chuckled to himself at the comment, while Knight looked around, the image of a Batplane ripe in his mind now. Nightwing just grinned, and kept his eyes on the enemy base. Batman glanced over at Spartan. "This 'toy' is going to help us get into that base and stop the Syndicate." he started. "All we have to do is wait a few more minutes, and we'll have the diversion we need. Try to keep up, all right?" he said, a little annoyned. Spartan shot him a look as he lowered the magnifyers.
                                                                  "Don't worry, we got this." he said confidently, knowing what he had to do. He and Oliver had been in tougher spots than this back in Star City, and always come out on top. This would be no different. As five out of the six heroes started to go over their plan, Knight had walked a few paces away with the binoculars and was watching the guards at the front entrance. "Only four." he mumbled to himself. "Methinks they're a little overconfident." he finished. A few moments later, he started to hear a rumbling sound off in the distance somewhere. Looking about the enemy base with the magnifyers, he saw nothing going on of consequence to make such a noise. It did not go away, however. It started to get louder and louder, and Knight suddenly realized it was coming from behind! 
                                                                  Turning and looking to the sky, it wasn't long until he could put an image to the sound. "Um.....guys....." he said, voice starting to get lost in the sound. The Batplane suddenly shot past the tree line, banking right only to make a long arc back in towards the base. Batman got to his feet quickly, and motioned towards their vehicles parked nearby. "Let's move!" he said, taking off for their transportation, with everyone else falling in behind. Knight turned to look as he ran, watching with jubilation as the Batplane started to fire on the base as it streaked past, before heading out over the plains and turning back towards the enemy, again letting loose a barrage of weapons fire. It was go time.....

                                                                   The hallway seemed to shudder somewhat, as alarm klaxons rang out inside the base, signifying that they were under attack. The Scorpion sat up in his cell, watching intently as the two guards rushed to the door of the brig and peered out into the corridor to see other troops rushing past with their weapons in hand. "Not good." said the first guard to the other. "Yeah," replied the second guard. "Looks like trouble." he finished, voice trailing off as they kept an eye on the corridor and the calamity that was starting to unfold. Scorpion knew this was as good a time as ever to make an escape. The guards had foolishly left his hands untied after a quick meal, a little overconfident at their chances.
                                                                     Knowing there wasn't much time, he got up off the crude bed and looked one more time to the guards, before purposely falling to the floor with a crash, tipping over his food tray and utensils and such. The guards suddenly turned back towards the cell, seeing the fallen form of the Scorpion. "Damn!" said the first guard. "Go find the medic and get him here, fast!" he ordered, as the second guard ran out into the corridor and hastily ran off in search of some help. The first guard quickly took a key off his belt and unlocked the cell door, opening it and stepping in to see if he could render any aid. He knelt down over the lifeless form of the Scorpion, and reached out to check for a pulse.
                                                                     Scorpion struck quickly and efficiently, catching the guard by surprise as he wrenched the man's arm around, before sitting up and striking the man with a furious right to the face. The guard toppled over and tried to regain his wits, but was kicked in the side of the head for his troubles, knocked out by the now standing Scorpion. Not wasting any time, Scorpion grabbed the guard's pistol and shoved it under his belt, befoe grabbing the assault rifle and heading for the door. He peered out into the corridor carefully to see it was empty for the moment, klaxons still ringing out. "Cypher will pay!" he uttered angrily, before storming off down the corridor, heading for the main control room.
                                                                 Halfway to the control room, he turned down another corridor and headed for the far end, intending on taking the elevator up to where Cypher was. Scorpion hurried to the doors and pressed the up button, ready to board it, when a voice yelled from behind him, back down the corridor. He whirled around and aimed his assault rifle at Major Stone, who stood there, his pistol drawn and aimed as well. "So," started Stone in a monotone voice. "This is how you want it to be?" he queried, not expecting much of an answer. "I'm not sure how you got past the guards, but no matter. You won't get past me." he said sternly, waiting for the slightest twitch to fire his weapon. Scorpion pondered the younger man for a moment, then started to laugh, his weapon still trained on Stone.
                                                                 "You really think you can stop me?" he replied with defiance. "I started the Syndicate. No, I am the Syndicate. You obviously can't see what Cypher has done." he explained. "But, not to worry. First I deal with you, then I deal with him. I would say it was nice to know you, but it really wasn't." he finished, getting ready to pull the trigger. Scorpion knew he could get off a volley before Stone fired his pistol, and was happy to put the young, impatient ingrate out of commission - for good. Stone was nothing but a peon to him anways, and had little use for him. With one last grin, Scorpion started to squeeze the trigger of his weapon, knowing what the outcome of it would be - or so he thought.
                                                                  The elevator doors slid open with a swoosh, as three men opened fire with their weapons at point blank range. Scorpion didn't have enough time to whirl around to meet their attack or try to defend himself, falling to the floor of the corridor in a hail of bullets that ripped through him, leaving him to lie in a pool of his own blood. Stone walked up, re-holstering his pistol before looking down at the lifeless form of the Scorpion. "Overconfidence is a killer." he said, before looking back up at the troops. "I'm going up the command area. Go reinforce the troops heading out the rear! Now!" he ordered, as the three men in black and red camouflage only nodded and ran down the corridors. Stone entered the open elevator and smiled. "Cypher will be pleased." he muttered aloud.

                                                                A section of wall suddenly exploded outwards from the main structure, signifying that there was now a sizeable breach in the defences of the base. The Batplane had launched it's two missiles at different areas of the base, causing heavy damage before flying away from the area, Batman knowing it's job here was done. As the attack started from the air, the six heroes made a beeline to the front entrance in their vehicles, having caught the soldiers off-guard, dispatching them quickly before gaining entrance via a keycard that one of the fallen men had been carrying. Blitzkrieg and Batman went looking for Cypher, while the rest of them had the task of quelling the enemy soldiers and such.
                                                               "How's it going down there?" asked Blitzkrieg over the headset to the others. Green Arrow responded quickly. "Fine." he started in his rough voice. "Still pushing through the enemy forces." he said, as the fighting raged around him, and could be heard over the comm channel. "Ten four." replied Blitzkrieg, before turning to face Batman. "Weird how we haven't faced much oppo--" he was cut off by two sets of doors opening on either sides of the corridor, troops spilling out and attacking the two vigilantes almost immediately. Wasting no time, they joined the melee and engaged the enemy in brutal hand to hand combat, the corridor to tight for them to use their weapons.
                                                                Batman stunned two of his opponents with a flurry of quick punches, before whirling around and taking down another with a martial arts move that caught the soldier right in the chin, sending him crashing down onto the floor. Blitzkrieg was grappling with a couple of enemy soldiers further down the corridor, finally knocking one down and out before managing to use his quarterstaff on the second, the man crashing into a wall before slumping to the floor in pain. Blitzkrieg turned and ran back towards Batman, who was busy fighting off a few more troops. Unaware that the other hero was running in to assist, the soldier that Blitzkrieg tackled went down hard, getting kayoed as his head hit the hard surface of the floor, putting him out of action for the next little while. Batman finished dispatching the other two, and once again, the two vigilantes advanced down the corridor.
                                                                Encountering no further resistance on the way, they made it to an elevator that would take them to the command and control area. There was a large bloodstain on the floor in front of it, still relatively fresh, with evidence that the body the blood came from was dragged off through a closed doorway a few steps away. Blitzkrieg looked at it confusedly. Batman glanced at it, then towards Blitzkrieg. "Forget that." he said sternly. "Let's finish the job." he ordered, as he pressed the button to summon the elevator. It arrived quickly, and both men hurried in and activated the lift, slowly carrying them to their objective. "Get psyched....." said Blitzkrieg, readying himself and his quarterstaff for the onslaught that was sure to come once the elevator doors opened.

                                                     
                                                       Chapter 6 - 'Curtain Call'

                                                                "Overwatch, I'm a little busy right now...." mentioned the Green Arrow over his earpiece comm unit, referring to Felicity who was back in Star City behind her station in the Arrow Cave. She had broke in over the comm while he and the others were up to their necks in enemy troops, taking a bit of time to take them all down. The one thing he didn't have right now was time to chat. "Ookay, but just to let you know, some of those men you're fighting are peeling off and heading upstairs." she explained. "Looks like a control centre of some sort." she finished. Green Arrow quickly backhanded a soldier, before spinning around and knocking him senseless with his bow. "Must be where Cypher is." he replied in his gruff voice. "We'll head there as quickly as possible." he mentioned.
                                                                Felicity replied quickly. "Right. Well, I went and disabled the elevators and power to that command area. They are all locked in now." she said. Green Arrow nodded, even though she couldn't see it over the comm. "Thank you." he stated, before pressing a button on the side of the earpiece, closing the channel. Green Arrow then whirled around to go help Spartan, who was being bogged down by more troops. "They're like weeds man!" he exclaimed. "Come out of nowhere!" While helping his friend out, Green Arrow could see Nightwing and the still as unknown Knight battling it out with more soldiers, and getting the upper hand. He grinned ever so slightly befor  returning his full attention to the troops before him, managing to fire a couple of arrows that incapacitated some of them.
                                                                "Makes you feel alive, doesn't it?" yelled Nightwing to his older ally, a grin on his face as he beat up some enemy troops. Knight looked to him briefly, before landing an uppercut on the soldier he was grappling with. "A little too alive!" he yelled back, as both men finished off their adversaries before rendezvouing with Green Arrow and Spartan, who had quelled the last of the troops on this level. "Felicity said the command area has been shut down and sealed. We'll have to find another way in." he said, addressing the others who just nodded. Spartan reloaded his pistol. "Lead the way man." he said, ready to go. Tapping the button on his earpiece, Green Arrow opened a new channel.
                                                                "Overwatch, we need to know how to get to the command area, and quickly." he said into the comm. It wasn't long before Felicity's voice broke back in with some information. "Go back down that corridor and turn left at the rear entrance." she explained. "There's a small room at the first door to your right that should have a ladder in it. Climb up to the roof, obstruction free." she said happily. Green Arrow nodded. "Thanks. On our way." he said, as the four men quickly made their way down the corridor towards the rear entrance, where they turned and easily found the ladder access. "Going up!" said Nightwing, jumping onto the ladder and beginning the ascent, the others follwing suit not too long afterwards, making their way up to the roof of the facility.

                                                                With a shudder, the elevator stopped and the lights flickered, signifying that they weren't going to go any further. The doors had opened about an inch in the process. Batman put his face to the crack and peered through it. Beyond the doors was the command area! It was lit with what looked like emergency lighting, as soldiers moved back and forth trying to fix the situation that unfolded. "What do you mean the main power is out?!" yelled the unmistakable voice of General Cypher. "Get it back! NOW!!" he ordered, obviously very irate at this development. "Major Stone!" he excaimed. "Position some guards in the conference lounge and office, in case those fools try to enter this area via the windows!" he ordered. "Yes sir." said the voice of Major Stone, troops following him closely.
                                                               Batman watched silently for another few seconds, then turned to Blitzkrieg. "There are about a dozen soldiers in there, along with Cypher and Stone." he whispered. "We have a chance." he finished. Blitzkrieg peered through the crack, then looked to Batman. "All right. How are we gonna do this?" he whispered back. "As soon as we force the door, they shoot us." he replied, trying to figure out a way into the command area so as not to get killed. For some reason that he didn't understand, Batman started to grin, and pulled something small out of his utility belt. It was a sphere the size of a golf ball, dark grey in colour. Batman held it up to the little light they had. "Miniature flashbang." he whispered.
                                                                 Blitzkrieg smiled slightly. "Neat. You have a plan?" he queried in a low voice. Batman nodded. "Yes. Pull the door apart enough for me to toss this inside." he said, motioning to the door. Blitzkrieg nodded and started to slowly pry the doors apart with his gloved fingers. To his relief, the doors weren't very noisy, having been well maintained. The gap between them was about the width of a fist, more than enough to get the flashbang through. Both men stood to either side so as to not be detected, and after a few more seconds passed, Batman tossed the small sphere into the command area, then stepped back and readied himself. "Don't look that way for a few seconds." he said, moments before a bright flash of light and loud bang rang out, stunning everyone inside.
                                                                  Knowing it was go time, Blitzkrieg wrenched the doors apart fully, before charging into the control center with his quarterstaff swinging, taking down several soldiers completely disoriented by the grenade. Batman jumped into the fray and started taking down the enemy troops as well, knocking out three of them in quick succession. "Get them you idiots, GET THEM!!" yelled Cypher, ordering his soldiers to attack en masse.
The troops that weren't completely stunned came at the two heroes with knives and bladed weapons, the quarters too close to risk firearms. As the battle started to rage across the control area, Cypher slipped into the conference lounge and sent the troops waiting in there out into the fight, sitting down behind the large table and pulling something out of his fatigues.

                                                                  The situation was starting to become hopeless, and he didn't have any intention of sticking around to find out what was to come. Making sure the two vigilantes were busy with the remaining troops, Major Stone rushed off to the office, quicklu closing the door behind him. He had every intention of opening one of the office windows and climbing down the escape ladder stowed in a wall compartment. He was about to unlatch the door of the compartment, when the glass of the office's windows exploded inwards, four human forms smashing their way in with ferocity. Stone ducked to avoid the glass shards flying through the air before turning to face the new attackers.
                                                                 "That's far enough!" said Green Arrow in his rough voice, pointing a loaded bow at Stone while being flanked by Spartan, Knight, and Nightwing. "Hero scum!" barked Stone. "This day will NOT be yours!" he yelled, before turning and running out of the room and back into the control centre. His escape was short-lived as he skidded to a stop to see Blitzkrieg and Batman standing there, weapons drawn and waiting for him, with several small piles of his troops scattered about the floor. "No.....NO!" He yelled, as he yanked his knife out of it's holster and waved it at the heroes. Seconds later, the other four heroes walked up behind him and stood there, their weapons drawn as well.
                                                                 "There is no escape." started Blitzkrieg. "You will surrender and face justice, or you will know pain." he explained, his eyes burning with rage as he faced down the man that nearly killed his love back in the underground base. Stone laughed. "I will never yield!" he yelled, as everyone but Blitzkrieg stepped back a little, knowing it was Blitzkrieg's fight. Stone charged Blitzkrieg, but the vigilante was ready, meeting the knife attack with his quarterstaff, and knocking it out of Stone's hand, before spinning around and delivering a shot to Stone's ribs. The Major backed up a little and readied himself for another attack. Stone then lunged at Blitzkrieg, trying to land a flying punch of some sort.
                                                                   Again the vigilante met his attack with a counter of his own, sending the Major to the floor in a heap. Stone noticed he was right next to his knife, and picked it up quickly to strike again, jumping over a workstation to hopefully jam the blade into Blitzkrieg's neck. The vigilante dropped his quarterstaff and let loose with a surprise uppercut that connected with his jaw and sent him snapping backwards into the very table he had jumped over, crashing over it and onto the floor in a mess of twisted limbs. The knife flew far enough away to not worry about this time. Stone didn't get up this time, electing to stay down and grimace in pain. Blitzkrieg walked up to him and looked down at the beaten man. "It's over. You've lost." he said, before turning and walking away.
                                                                  The others started to disperse somewhat, sensing that the fight had concluded. Stone rolled his head back and forth, but stopped when to his left, his eyes found a pistol within arms reach. He quietly pciked up the pistol and brought it close, getting to his knees behind the workstation he had crashed over. Stone had a clear shot at the back of Blitzkrieg's head, and aimed the pistol. "DIE!!" he screamed, and was in the process of pulling the trigger, when an arrow zinged through the air and caught him in the back of the neck, causing him to slump over the table, dead. Blitzkrieg whirled around. "Thanks..." he said to the Green Arrow, who only nodded as he held his bow, happy to help a friend.
                                                                  Suddenly, the familiar gruff voice of Batman called out from within the conference room. "I found Cypher...." he said, voice trailing off. The others made their way into the large room, as they all stopped at the near end of the oval table, looking on as General Cypher just sat there at the other end, looking far from defeated. The Syndicate commander didn't say a word, instead picking up a small flask off the table and taking a gulp of whatever it contained. "Congratulations on your victory." he said. "It was well earned." The heroes had little to say at this, stunned by how calm and collected the General was. Blitzkrieg locked his eyes on Cypher and grinned. 'We did it!' he thought to himself.

                                                                   "It feels good to finally put the Syndicate to rest, once and for all." said Green Arrow, looking down at the damaged base from the ridge as Canadian soldiers secured the area, some of them surveying the base and the carnage that lay all around it. The heroes watched intently with binoculars as the form of General Cypher was led into a military vehicle in handcuffs and shackles, on his way to a military prison for a long period of time. Blitzkrieg took off his mask and turned to Green Arrow. "Thanks for that save back there." he said. "I really appreciate it." he mentioned. Green Arrow nodded. "Stone wasn't going to stop until you were dead." he replied. "I couldn't let that happen."
                                                                    Knight stood up on the ridge and observed all the goings on down below before turning to the others. "One hell of a mission, that's for sure!" he commented. "On the job training at it's finest!" he finished. Nightwing laughed and put a hand on his new ally's shoulder. "You did well." he started. "It's been an honour fighting along side you. Perhaps we'll do this again sometime." he said. Spartan walked up and took his helmet off. "Yeah, it was a hell of a fight," he started, grinning. "But if it's all the same to the rest of you guys, I want to go home." he finished, as everyone started to chuckle. "Soon Digs, soon." replied the Green Arrow, who smiled at his friend, but sympathized as well, wanting to get back to Star City to spend some time with his love, Felicity.
                                                                    "You all fought well." started Batman. "With the Syndicate finally destroyed, perhaps you'd all come spend some time in Gotham for happier reasons." he said in his gruff voice. Blitzkrieg looked around at everyone, a sense of pride that he felt from fighting along side such an amazing group of heroes. "I think I speak for everyone when I say that it's time to take a break from all this." he explained. "Remember when we only had our cities to protect?" he asked with a smile, before breaking into laughter. The others started to chuckle as well, even Batman. Soon they would all go their separate ways and head back to their home cities to serve them, and protect them from harm.

                                                                 Epilogue

                                                                       The hum of the medical equipment seemed less pronounced this time around, giving the room a more relaxed feel for a change. Serena lay still in her bed, her head and long blonde hair propped up by a pillow, sleeping softly and breathing normally. Jared watched her closely as he held her hand in his, having pulled his chair as close to the bed as he could, happy to be at her side. Just as he was pondering everything that had occurred in the last little while, he noticed a smile start to form on her face, her lips revealing some of her bright white teeth. Serena's eyelids fluttered for a moment, then slowly opened as she turned her head to look at her love. Jared started to smile happily, giving her hand a little squeeze as she awoke, letting her know that he was right at her side.
                                                                       "Hi." she said, using her elbows to help her sit up and gaze at Jared. "Hi." he said back, lovingly. Serena continued to grin as she kept her eyes on Jared, noticing a couple scrapes and a bruise near his hairline. "Looks like you were busy while I was taking this little vacation." she said, chuckling. Jared rolled his eyes upwards, knowing what she was referring to. "Busy is an understatement!" he said amusedly, before raising her hand to his lips and kissing it softly. "I've missed you.....so much." he said, starting to look a little down, remembering why she was here in the first place. Serena's expression turned from happiness to one of compassion. "Ohhh......" she started. "Don't go blaming yourself. I'm a big girl, you know. It wasn't your fault." she said reasurringly to him.
                                                                       Jared sighed. "So I've been told." he replied. Just as she was about to say something, there was a rapping of fingers on the glass insert of the door. Jared wasn't sure who it could be, but decided to find out. "Come in." he said, as the door  popped open, revealing a female hospital staffer in blue medical attire and such. She was freckled, and had her black hair tied up in a bun. "Are you Jared Ross?" she asked of him. Jared nodded. "Yes, that's me." he replied. She walked over and handed him an envelope. "This is for you. It was filed with reception a little while ago. Jared took the envelope in his hands and looked at it, only seeing his full name on the outside. "Thank you." he said, looking to the staffer. She smiled and nodded before leaving the room, and closing the door behind herself.
                                                                      "Who's it from?" asked Serena, before coughing a couple of time. "Ugh...." she mumbled, still in some pain from her injuries. "Don't strain yourself!" warned Jared. "You need to get better because I miss you too much!" he said with a chuckle, before opening the envelope. Inside was a piece of paper typed up on a computer. "It's from Greg." said Jared, reading the short paragraph. "He wants me to be at his shop when night falls." he remarked, putting down the paper. Serena smiled. "Well then," she started. "You'll have to pay him a visit." she said with a smile. Jared couldn't help but be happy around her, smiling as well. He slowly got out of his chair and leaned over her bed, kissing her softly on her lips. "I love you." he said. Serena smiled. "I love you too." she replied softly.

                                                                      His motorcycle dowshifted as he turned into the parking lot of Greg's motorcycle speed shop, slowing down to almost an idle as he came to a stop in front of the service entrance. Taking off his helmet, he was surprised to see that the building was closed, the lights all off. He knew that Greg usually stayed open until eight o'clock, and that was still an hour away. Out of the corner of his eye, Jared saw some movement from the far left, and watched as someone started to walk up towards him. There was still enough daylight to see that it was Greg, and he had a rather large smile on his face.
                                                                      "Hey! You made it!" his longtime friend said happily. "Glad you're here for this." he finished. Jared looked a little confused, looking around at the dark building again. "Don't tell me, let me guess." started Jared. "You bought some funky LED signage or something that you want me to help you light up?" he queried, wondering what exactly was going on. Greg laughed and patted his friend on the back. "LED lights? Really!" he said with a chuckle. "Nothing of the sort. Follow me, and you'll find out why I brought you here." he finished, motioning to follow him around the back of the building. Jared shrugged but followed his friend, heading around the back of the dealership.
                                                                       Greg stopped at a man door next to the rear shop doors, and inserted his key. Opening it, he walked into his shop with a confused Jared in tow and closed the door behind him. Walking over the the shop's main wall, Greg stopped at an area in a corner that looked as if it was a storage area of some sort. He used his right hand to slide a large door open, before stepping inside the dimly lit  room. Jared followed, and upon entering, watched Greg slide the door shut. The room was only a couple meters square, and didn't look all that important. "Greg," started Jared. "Why are we in an empty storage room?" he asked, getting a little impatient at the same time, wanting an answer.
                                                                       Without saying a word, Greg reached for a hanging control of some sort. It was a retangular box, and had three buttons, one red and two green. He pressed the lower green button, and suddenly, the floor descended with them on it! "Wha...." mumbled Jared in astonishment. It seemed they were riding on a specially designed lift, and it took them down for about ten seconds before coming to a halt. Jared turned and gasped at what he saw. Before him was an outfitted base of operation, complete with lifts for motorcycles, a computer area, and other goodies! Stepping off the lift, he looked to the left, and was immediately greeted by the sight of his vigilante friends. 
                                                                       "I told you he'd be speechless!" said Oliver Queen, arms crossed but grinning. John Diggle nodded at Jared. "Nice pad, huh?" he asked. Jared just nodded back. Dick Grayson pointed at Jared. "You're going to LOVE this stuff!" he said happily. Wade Wallace just smiled, while Bruce Wayne walked up to Jared. "Your friend Greg had started this a while back. He had put the finishing touches on it when your current base was destroyed." he finished. Jared whirled around to face his friend. "Is this true, Gears?" he asked of Greg. The other man nodded with a grin. "Yep, and it's all yours!" he said happily. My mechanics up top are all at your disposal as well." he explained. There is a secret entrance around the corner behind the factory. It's a blue shipping container. We can check it out later." he finished, as he motioned to join everyone for a tour of the new base.

                                                                       The low light of the prison cell didn't bother him as much as the fact that he had nothing to do. Alone with his own thoughts, Cypher paced somewhat before sitting back down on his cot, it's thin sheets smelling a bit musty. "I had it all going so smoothly, and yet everything fell apart." he muttered to himself, lamenting the fact that his Syndicate was strong and modern, more militarized than what Scorpion had run. "All ruined by vigilantes and such." he finished, talking to no one in particular. He knew he wasn't getting out of here anytime soon, and that the Syndicate, as anyone had known it, was now gone forever. The Scorpion dead, and Major Stone along with him, not to mention all of his troops rounded up and brought to justice. "Disgraceful." he mumbled aloud.
                                                                      With little else to do, Cypher laid down on his cot and closed his eyes, wondering where everything went wrong. Unfortunately, there were too many variables to narrow this down to one event. If anything, he was still bothered by the fact that Major Stone chose to involve Blitzkrieg's significant other.  "I told him a thousand times," he mumbled, referring to Stone. "You do not harm any of your pawns unless it is the last possible option." he said. "That alone gave the adversary something worth fighting for." he finished, knowing that Blitzkrieg was a very complex and resourceful individual, and had shown that by finding the northern base and attacking it with his friends. "Fortune favours the bold." he said softly. "And that man, that vigilante, became the bold......" he finished, voice trailing off as fatigue overcame him, drifting off to sleep amongst the concrete walls of his cell.

                                                              THE END