The Lone Knight (Under The Cowl Book #1)

CHAPTER 15

With the use of one arm, Daria felt her strength slowly return with each pull across the wet and rocky ground away from the baseball sized kryptonite beside her.

The blood boiling singe she felt under her skin turn numb. Feeling in both arms slowly returned after putting some distance between her and the green rock. And after a while feeling in her legs returned too.

"I thought a mere human wasn't too much for you to handle."

Daria froze at the sound of condescension and mockery at her expense. Still on her stomach, she lowered her head onto the ground the moment she recognized the voice she knew was speaking to her. "What the hell do you want?" she asked.

"To see you squirm of course. Looks like I came at just the right time."

Lifting herself up off the ground and crawling away from the kryptonite, Daria turned to face her fellow Collector dressed in the similar uniform as her.

From his red right eye down to his steel constructed legs, it was none other than Cyborg.

"What do you want Clay, come to rub my humiliation in my face?"

"I think you've got that covered. Was I not clear enough when I told you this would happen? Superheroes from the Bat-family are some of the most dangerous in our index. And because they are not alien or metahuman it means they have more to make up for."

"Stephanie Brown didn't do this to me."

"Of course she didn't." Cyborg reached down and grabbed Daria by the collar and lifted her up off the ground with ease.

"What are you-?"

Thrown back down before given the chance to push Cyborg away, Daria watched Cyborg hold up on a tiny little device no bigger than a fly he plucked from her collar. "It looks like she left you a little something, tracking device, radio," he crushed it between his index finger and thumb, "guess we'll never know."

Cutting across Daria in the blink of an eye was a white and orange streak of lighting stopping right beside Cyborg. He stood dressed in the Collector uniform with his velvet colored locks, rough and patchy scruff, and devilishly charming smile. Daria rolled her eyes and quickly avoided making eye contact with the speedster. "You brought him?"

"Alec was the one who found you before you leaped off into the air with our prisoner over your shoulder."

"I guess he wasn't fast enough to keep up with me."

"Hey, I got cut off," Alec chimed in "which we need to talk about, by the way."

"The Mask of Ruin, it's here in Gotham." Daria blurted out.

"Not our problem." Cyborg answered without any sort of explanation.

"I disagree."

"We are Collectors of the Fifty-Two. We go after criminals who violate the integrity of the Multiverse. Now we have three individuals who have done just that, Stephanie Brown and two others from this Earth. Leave Ruin to the Lantern Corp or the JLD, we have our own mission."

"Question?" Alec asked.

"That's who attacked me." Daria answered.

"No, I have a question."

"Ok, but that's who helped Stephanie escape."

"A questioned helped her escape?"

"No."

"Then ask your question?"

"What- no, that's not what I mean."

"Renee Montoya, aka Question." Cyborg cleared up. "Is that's who helped her?"

"Yes."

"Than she must be the one who escorted her to this Earth, we find Montoya we'll have our third offender, than we can go home."

"Clay." Daria reached over and grabbed by the arm. "We can't just ignore a mystical being wrecking havoc throughout Gotham."

Clay ripped his arm from Daria's grip. "I will not have this mission turn into your personal crusade for vengeance. Now like I said, we will leave Ruin to the Lantern Corp or the JLD. That's an order. Have I made myself clear?"

"Yes, sir." Daria replied with a defeated and lowered gaze, remembering her place among this team's ranking and what could very well happen to her if she were to disobey orders.