Alice (Young Justice)

Social Event

"We're here."

'Here' was a gas station in the middle of nowhere. The town around it seemed abandoned, rotting buildings and climbing ivy being proof enough that nobody had thought about this place in a long, long time.

"Alright. Let's do this."

The bathrooms were locked, probably by the owners when they skipped town, but a quick shove and the ladies' room was open to Alice. Cracked fake-tile sinks and toilet stalls without hinges but filled with graffiti made her grimace, but she pushed on as she heard her lover force open the door to the right. After spending a day tied to a chair in a warehouse in the middle of nowhere, California, Alice had been hoping to relax with a hot shower in Blüdhaven. So much for that. The one sink that still worked had one temperature, and that was cold. Not that she planned to wash her face in water the color of dirt anyways.

In the cracked mirror, she tried to get a good look at herself. The mask, featureless and plain, really made it impossible to get a good look at her blooming black eye. Best she could do was hope her skull wasn't cracked beneath the skin. She wouldn't lose much if she took the mask off, it's not like Nightwing didn't know who she was or what she looked like, he was a detective, it was in his blood, but in their business a little slip up like showing face to the wrong person was prone to kill. She afforded him the same courtesy, his domino mask staying firmly on.

Her trench, battered, torn, and dirty, was left tucked in the last stall that still had a door. In with it went her button-up, her vest, her slacks, gloves, and shoes, and in their place came a dress far too pretty to be dragged on the floor of a gas station bathroom that hadn't been touched in probably five years. It shone with gold flecks, real gold, she was sure, compliments of Wayne Enterprises, and brought attention to her fiery hair in a way that made her almost look like a phoenix, rising from the ashes of a city destroyed long ago.

Or maybe she was just being romantic.

The moment she left the rest stop, golden heels in hand, she was set upon by a fool in love with a dark suit and matching mask. Alice had to admit, he looked good. A hint of gold shimmered in his breast pocket, a rose made of metal wire worth more than her rent three times over. A sign of who he belonged to.

"Yes, you're very charming. Now come on, let's crash a social event."

A social event for the masochistic and grotesquely rich, that was more like it. Before the couple dared to step in they donned clay masks, his of a pale lady with plump red lips and hers of a demon, perhaps to match her hair. Alice clocked them immediately as real relics from Japan, maybe a thousand years old, obviously being used for the aesthetic and not the cultural significance. The guests all around the pair wore similar face coverings, all crammed into a theater in the town that seemed abandoned.

"This doesn't seem like a weapons showcase." Alice murmured to her partner, her grip on him growing tighter the more and more people came in. "I'm not seeing anyone here yet whose death wouldn't cause an international incident."

"You think it's an assasination?" He whispered back to her, eyeing a masked man he recognized immediately as a Biyalian high official. "Someone's trying to start World War 3?"

"No." Alice stated immediately. "This is too smart for someone planning to do something do something so dumb. I think we're looking at the genuine article. But still, this is a lot for just some weapons. Whatever they're selling..."

"It's big." Nightwing confirmed, narrowing his eyes under his mask as they found seats near the front. "Think we should call in the League?"

"And risk a Bat-glare? I'll pass. We can handle this ourselves."

As if by some unspoken word, guests began to pile into their seats. The old, faded spotlights of the theater began to glow, the main facility lights plunging all but the stage up front into darkness. Moth-eaten velvet curtains (to match the moth-eaten velvet seats) had been drawn tightly shut to hide whatever was behind them. The crowd seemed to lean forward in anticipation, the detective couple following suit.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" A voice from the rafters called, echoing through the packed theater. Alice felt the man to her left stiften.

"Deathstroke." He practically growled. "I'm calling the League."

Alice didn't stop him. She had her reservations about Batman and certain 'thoughts' about Superman's seemingly unlimited power and influence, all things that had gotten her in trouble with them in the past, but she knew when to duck out. But then again...

"You won't get signal." She breathed, placing a hand over his wristwatch to hide the glow of someone failing at calling for backup. "They've got this place on lockdown."

She was right, her boyfriend had to admit as the presentation began. The man in question jumped from somewhere above, the lighting deck, Alice guessed, to land in front of them on the creaky wooden stage. Alice hoped he was being paid well for the gig of a glorified vacuum salesman.

"I, along with the rest of the Light, are proud to present a new piece of technology, made in cooperation with REACH Research and Development-"

"Never heard of 'em." Alice commented under her breath. The curtains were drawn back, revealing in a flourish a sort of weapon that wouldn't look out of place in a StarTrek convention. Vaguely resembling a laser cannon, the thing was made of something slick and red and repulsively alive. Alice gritted her teeth.

"No wonder you haven't." Nightwing murmured. "That looks like the stuff the Bio-Ship's made of." Although having never been in it herself (and, quite frankly, not wanting to be), Alice knew what the statement meant.

"Alien."

"Yeah, no doubt."

"We need to get out. Neither of us can take Deathstroke alone on a good day." Alice was right about that, and Nightwing knew it. "Distraction?" She suggested.

"You know me so well."

As the words left his mouth the room was suddenly filled with smoke. Alice grabbed her partner's hand and pulled him from their seats, pushing past guests and guards to get to the exit in the back of the theater. Screams and shouts came from the blinded crowd, and Alice pulled down the fire alarm for good measure. Whatever guards were at the door were quickly dispatched as the pair broke through, racing out into the shadowy night.

"You got the pics?" Alice asked, murmuring her question as they watched expensive cars peel away from a nearby roof.

"Of course." The man leaned back, pulling off his porcelain face to reveal the classic black domino mask. "Sent them to Bats and the JL the moment we were out. Soon enough they'll have this place on lockdown."

"Still, though. Aliens? Seems a little iffy, especially for the Light. Not their usual M.O., working with another group so openly like this. There must be something I'm not seeing."

"There's always something you're not seeing." He insisted half-heartedly, leaning back into the crumbling bricks. "Meet you back at Blüdhaven?"

"Yeah." Alice murmured, leaning up to press a quick kiss to his jaw. "Yeah, I will. I've just got a little something to do first."