Caliburn: Agent of CHECKMATE

"What does Ra's al Ghul want, Sam?" I asked, keeping calm. No sense in panicking here. "Was it just me, or is Checkmate being compromised as we speak?"

Samantha sat beside me. She placed my left Gauntlet on her own hand and checked the functionality of the Mass Driver. Satisfied, she then ran her right hand up my inner thigh. "We could be so good together, Adam. But in answer to your question, it was just you. My master has plans for you and Ms. McCabe."

I glanced at the cockpit and Mari glanced at us with a worried look. Then something dawned on me, and once again I cursed myself under my breath. This wasn't Ra's al Ghul's doing. I chuckled. "Sam, its Talia, isn't it? It's not Ra's at all."

"Very good, Adam. You are as intelligent as advertised. My master likens you to her Detective in skill." She nodded at me in respect with a sultry smile on her beautiful face... Focus! Dick had told us about Bruce's son Damian being the new Robin, and his mother was Talia al Ghul.

"Batman would have seen it earlier." I shook my head and shrugged at her.

Before I could do anything, Samantha grabbed me and kissed me passionately. My lips opened automatically, and her tongue was in my mouth before I could say anything. I heard a hiss of anger from the cockpit, and Sam pushed me back, laughing. "Somebody's jealous." She smirked. I made a mental note to let Mari do whatever she wanted to Sam before this was all over. I had a very good feeling that Sam's lifespan was now measured in hours. Then I realized my toes had curled in my Nikes. Holy Jesus, she could kiss! I shook that thought out of my head, and Sam went up to the cockpit to take the co-pilot's seat.

She had my Mass Driver now trained on Mari, and I could barely make out their conversation as I started to slip the zip cuffs.

"He's a great kisser. Now I know what you see in him." Sam said to Mari conversationally.

"Just imagine if he was into it, Sam." Mari joked with her. "He's even better when he has some motivation behind it."

Good. Try to knock her off balance.

"Oh, I think he was getting into it until he heard you interrupt." Sam had a self-satisfied smirk on her face. Keep it together, Mari. Please. Dislocated thumbs now. Shit, that hurt! Sliding off the one side... got it. Now the second cuff... there! Pop thumbs back into place... ugh. GOD! Ok, better now.

"It's true, Sam." I said, getting her attention. "I wasn't really into it, but if you want, I could give it another try."

She looked back at me, and Mari shot me a glare that would have splattered me against the interior of the dropship if looks were really lethal.

Sam looked me up and down, and I smirked at her. That was her weakness. Me. Oh great. Now I had a complete psycho assassin stalker type!

"We can have some fun later after we meet with my master." She winked at me.

So we flew east until we landed someplace in the middle of a desert. It took a few hours to get there, but I didn't dare try anything while she was wearing the Gauntlet. If she fired a round, it would cause explosive depressurization if it breached the hull.

Once we were underground in the hidden hangar that had opened beneath us, it was time to see what was what. Sam came back and pulled me to my feet, and I disabled her with an arm bar and removed the Gauntlet from her hand. Mari grabbed her too, and we subdued her quickly. I slipped my Gauntlets back on, and Mari lowered the ramp to find the League of Assassins was there and waiting for us.

"Hey, guys." I grinned. "Where's the lady herself? We need to have a little chat."

"They will kill me to get to you!" Sam threatened me.

"Now why would they have you capture us and bring us all the way here just to kill us? I'm pretty sure Ms. al Ghul wants to at least talk with us a bit first." I pushed her forward as I walked with her and Mari brought up the rear. She was accessing her abilities again, so I was pretty sure she could hold her own if the shit hit the fan.

"I am here, Agent DeVries." And that would be Ms. Talia al Ghul, daughter of Ra's al Ghul. Very beautiful. Very deadly. Now I knew why Bruce fell for her in the first place!

"Cool. Here's your assassin." I shoved Sam forward none too gently. I may be a gentleman, but I have my limits when it comes to women trying to kill me.

"Thank you." She bowed her head slightly to me, then turned to Sam. "Leave and return to your chambers. Clean yourself up and prepare for your discipline.

"Yes, mistress." Sam bowed and shot me a baleful look before disappearing down a corridor to the left. Mari and I descended the boarding ramp to have a little talk with our hostess and find out why the hell she's interested in us now.

"Ok, Talia. We haven't formally met, but I was kind of a friend of Bruce's." I informed her. "Now, what do you want from us that you couldn't just come right out and ask for?"

"You are very direct, Agent DeVries. Very well. I need you to help me find my beloved." She looked completely calm, but her voice betrayed just a hint of love lost.

"Ummm, he's buried in Gotham City Cemetery. He's dead, Talia." I kept my voice even and shook my head slowly.

"No, Agent. He is not dead." She insisted.

"How do you know? Hell, we want him back too." I shrugged. I was willing to hear her out, at least.

"That, I can explain. Timothy Drake has been working for my father to find my Detective's whereabouts... or in this case, whenabouts." She beckoned for us to follow her.

I looked at Mari. "We might as well hear what she has to say." I shrugged.

"Fine, but if she tries anything..." She said, but shook her head as she trailed off.

"We'll burn that bridge if we get to it." I finished and gave her a smile.

We followed Talia into her briefing room where she showed us the evidence that Bruce was still alive.

"Are the dates on these correct?" I asked her. The pictures had approximate dates of when they were likely created. From cave drawings of the Bat symbol to journals in Bruce's handwriting.

"As far as we can tell, yes." Talia confirmed.

"Ok, all I've heard about his death is that Darkseid killed him. How? Do you know?" I asked her.

"From all reports, he was killed by Darkseid's Omega Beams. Why?" She looked perplexed.

"Talia, please trust me on this. I need to com my boss and find something out. Ok?" I said as I pulled out my cellphone.

She nodded. "Do what you must, if it brings my Beloved back to me." She looked worried, which is something you don't see too often from Talia al Ghul.

I called Holt.

"DeVries! Did you get away from her?" He asked.

"Negative, Mr. T. I need the file from Scott Free on the Omega Sanction sent to my phone immediately." I said.

"What?!?! That's TSCI ONLY!" He shouted.

"Sir, please just trust me on this! It has to do with Bruce!" I shouted back. "If it's what I think it is, I might be able to tell when he's going to be back!"

"How?" He asked, simply. Mike Holt might be the third smartest man in the world, but I'm the best with extrapolation theory and deduction. Taking Sherlock Holmes one step further.

"Just do it, sir. I need to do this." I said. I looked at Mari and Talia. Both were looking at me with concern.

"Fine. Sending you the file now." He said with an exasperated sigh.

"Thanks, sir. Talk to ya if we survive." I ended the secure call and opened the file as I received it.

I looked at the interview with Scott Free, greatest escape artist in the known multiverse. I compared his instructions on how to escape the Omega Beams with the photos and journalistic evidence of Bruce's trips through time. I extrapolated all possible outcomes and figured out the one most likely to succeed.

I squeezed my eyes shut. I HATE time travel. Everything from the Terminator movies left a bad taste in my mouth about self-perpetuating time loops and other bullshit.

"Are you ok, Agent DeVries?" Talia asked as Mari put her hand on my shoulder.

"Yeah. Time travel gives me a headache." I said as I reached up and squeezed Mari's hand gratefully. "Luckily, I know when he's going to show up in our time."

"When?!" She demanded, her eyes lighting up.

"As close as I can tell from the dates on these, not knowing if that's everything that exists, anywhere from three to six months from now, but it could be anywhere on Earth." I shrugged. "I'm sorry, Talia. That's the best I can do."

"I believe you, Agent DeVries. Thank you for your efforts." She smiled a bit.

"We all want him back, Talia. If you want him to love you again, stop with the world domination stuff, ok? Seriously, that's kind of a turn-off." I smiled at her. She glared at me. "Hey, just sayin'! Seriously, though, I hope you two can work something out when he gets back."

She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Fine. You have earned your freedom. I will... consider what you have said, Agent."

"Thanks, Talia. Hey. Don't give up hope." I told her as Mari and I headed back to the Checkmate dropship.

We boarded just as the roof split open above us. I closed the ramp as we entered, and Mari took the pilot's seat while I got in the other seat.

"That went better than expected." Mari said. I leaned my head back against the headrest and closed my eyes.

"Yeah, but I have a splitting headache now. Let's get outta here before my psycho hose beast stalker comes back." I chuckled. "Any aspirin aboard this tub?"

"You mean that psycho hose beast stalker that shoved her tongue down your throat earlier?" Mari growled.

"Yeah. Ugh, please don't, Mari. You know damn well and good that wasn't my fault!" I whimpered through the pain in my head and the thought that I was about to get reamed a new one for being the victim of an oral assault.

I felt her warm palm on my cheek as we shot forward into the sky. The next thing I knew, I was waking up as we landed on the street in Sacramento right behind the Civic.

"We're here, honey." Mari said quietly.

I stretched. "Thanks, sweetheart. You going back to Titans Tower to give Holt the dropship back? If so, I'll drive the Civic over there."

"Yeah, that works for me, baby." She leaned over and kissed me before I opened the door and got out.

I shut the door and watched her lift off. Then I threw my Gauntlets in the trunk of my car and fired her up.

The trip down the coast didn't take long, and I was at Titans Tower a couple hours later. I called Mari and let her know I was outside, and she came down with Vic beside her. I shook his hand. "Hey, Vic. Good to see ya, man."

"You too, Adam." He nodded. "Mr. Terrific is inside and waiting to debrief you."

"Great. Now is where I get drummed out of Checkmate... probably." I shrugged. I put my arm around Mari's waist and we went inside with our cybernetic friend.

We got to the conference room where Mr. Terrific was waiting and he got right to business. "Ok, DeVries. From the top. What the hell went on over the past couple of days?"

"Short version, Boss: I rescued Mari from an Intergang prison camp in Afghanistan, we made it back to find out my mom had a new boyfriend. That new boyfriend turned out to be a freelance agent for Talia al Ghul, and his fake daughter turned out to be a League assassin. She was so good at masking her thoughts that she even fooled Megan. Anyhow, we captured Salvador Dominguez in Sacramento, and you saw him when you picked us up. Fast-forward a bit, to when Sam got the drop on me, and she killed Mr. Dominguez after we lifted off. Since his body wasn't in the dropship when Talia let us go, chances are the League of Assassins removed his body. Oh, I extrapolated when Bruce is going to be back, within three to six months from now. But yeah, Talia let us go shortly after that and here we are. I picked up my car from Sacramento and drove down. Now, you might want to check the dropship for League listening or tracking devices." I finished and smiled.

Holt chuckled. "Adam, you are a piece of work, you know that? Amanda is calling for your head on a pike to be mounted in her office. Did you really have to leave her cuffed to her desk?"

"Yes I did, sir. It was vital to mission success to get Mari out alive." I nodded with a straight face.

"Very well, Pawn DeVries. You are hereby promoted to the rank of Rook. Congratulations." Holt said and scanned my ID Card. The hologram on it changed from the pawn to the castle piece.

"Umm, I thought you would just fire me." I admitted as my eyebrows shot upward.

"Why would I do that? Because Waller wants me to? You rescued a Checkmate Operative, spotted a freelance agent and his League Assassin handler, and found out what the League was doing to find Batman. You also got out of an enemy stronghold alive with no bloodshed. I'd say that warrants a promotion." When he put it THAT way...

"Thank you, sir." I smiled and shook his hand.

"And I would like to resume operations with Checkmate in a full-time capacity as Agent DeVries' partner, sir." Mari said with a smile.

"Done. You two work well together." Mr. Terrific nodded at both of us.

"Thanks again, sir." I said. I looked at Mari. "Shall we go, sweetheart?"

"Sounds good to me, baby. Megan is still at your mom's place." Mari reminded me. "Congratulations on the promotion, though." She put her arms around me and kissed me passionately.

Holt coughed. "Ok, then. I've already requisitioned the Imp for your personal use, and I'll call you when I have another mission for you both. Until then, enjoy some time off."

I broke the kiss and we looked at him. "Thanks, Boss Dude. Wow, the Imp! But that's still experimental!"

"Well, when you 'borrowed' it, thanks for the note by the way, you put it through its paces pretty well. I think you should get the first prototype while it goes into production." Mr. Terrific laughed when he saw my jaw hit the floor.

"Umm, ok. Thank you, sir!" I grinned, kissed Mari again, then she and I walked out with waves to our friends and boss.

We hit the freeway and were home in no time. We got into the house and Megan was watching soaps with mom. They were both crying over something.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"Roger is married to Jill, but Jill is pregnant with Nate's baby. Nate loves Gina, but Gina wants Roger. It's all so romantic!" Megan sobbed.

"Sounds like a hot mess to me. By the way, we're done with the op. Sal... Stanley won't be messing with us again." I shrugged. Megan jumped up and hugged both of us.

"Glad you two are safe." She said.

"Hey, thanks for keeping mom safe, Megan." I replied, hugging her back.

"Yeah, thank you, Megan. We'll let you get back to Titans Tower or your show, whichever you prefer. We're going upstairs to have a little fun." Mari chuckled.

Mom seemed to notice us for the first time and got up to hug us too. It seemed like they'd gone through half a box of Kleenex already!

"I'm so glad you're home!" Mom hugged us both really tight. "Did you resign from Checkmate yet?" She asked me.

"No, mom. I actually got promoted to Rook." I replied. The whine of the Imp landing in the back yard under auto-pilot briefly interrupted me. "Oh, and Director Holt gave me the Imp."

"And I rejoined as a full-time Agent." Mari said helpfully.

Mom rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Really, you two need to resign and get married so I can be a grandma!"

"Mom!" I exclaimed, just as exasperated.

"Your mom has a point there, stud." Megan giggled. "I think you two make a great couple, and your babies would be beautiful!"

"Megan. Not. Helping." Mari said, blushing.

"Tell you what, mom. Mari and I will go upstairs now and work on making you a grandma. Ok?" I heard Megan and Mari both giggle at that suggestion, but mom was scandalized.

"Oh my God!" It was all she could say as I pulled Mari upstairs with me while Megan, Bless her, pulled mom back down on the couch to finish watching their soap opera.

As we entered my room, I turned to Mari. "We need our own place, sweetheart. What would you recommend?"

"Well, I still have my penthouse in New York from my modeling days, or just get that apartment that you like downtown here." Mari winked back.

"Or that. Yeah, I would miss the west coast, and I have my own hyper fast transportation now." I realized I was babbling to avoid talking about what was on both of our minds.

"Mari, I..." I started. I love you, I wanted to say I love you to her. In four years together off and on, neither of us had said it before.

I was saved by my cellphone buzzing, but it was a blocked number. Being reprieved, even if momentarily, was better than nothing.

"It's your quarter." I said as I answered the phone.

"Ahh, Agent DeVries. So glad I caught you. I wanted to thank you again for your assistance, and to apologize for sending our agent and the freelancer to infiltrate your family." Talia said on the other end of the line.

"Yeah, well all you had to do was ask, you know." I said, then mouthed 'Talia' to Mari then put her on Speaker. "Then Sal would still be alive and your Assassin wouldn't be disciplined or whatever. Hell, you probably already killed Sam." I shrugged. I knew how evil world dominators could be.

"No, Samantha lives, and will continue to do so for now. I also wanted to thank you for not threatening me over my tactics with your family." Talia said, and I snorted a quick laugh.

"Talia, I believe you know exactly what would happen if you had harmed my mom or anyone else in my family. I didn't have to say a word." I replied in a completely even tone.

"Hmm, true. Very well, Agent. I wish you well, and I pray our paths never cross as enemies." Talia said.

"Same here, Talia. Remember what I said before. There are other things you could do with your time than cull the human race or try to take over the world." I smiled.

She laughed. "I will consider it, Agent. Farewell." She hung up.

"How the hell did she get my number?" I asked to nobody in particular.

The End