Arsenal

Mirage slowly backed away from the grinning demon that stood before her. Once she had believed that his name was Richard Grayson and he had been her lover. That was before he tried to murder her under the influence of the Trigon-controlled spirit of Raven.

"No," she whispered. "It can't be."

Deathwing smiled wider. "It is," he said as he took a step forward. "What's the matter, Sweetie? Aren't you happy to see me?"

"What do you want?" Mirage asked, her voice trembling.

"Easy. I want my child. After all, she deserves to be raised by one of her parents."

"She already is," Mirage said.

Deathwing grinned maniacally. "But in a few seconds, I'll be her only living relative!" Mirage fell to the floor as Deathwing dove at her and slammed into the wall.

Deathwing vaulted to his feet and looked around Donna Troy's living room. A snarl crossed his lip as he realized that Mirage was gone. "Listen to me, you little tramp," he said as he pulled a knife out of a scabbard on his leg. "Use your powers all you want to but you can't hide from me. All I want is what's mine. That child is her father's."

Mirage trembled with rage behind her illusion. As her terror began to subside, she started to think like she had been trained to do in a forgotten future. "Always look for a weapon," a grizzled voice said. "Yer enemy ain't invincible." Though her instructor's name and face had been erased when time had been reborn, his lessons lived on. Another lesson, one taught to her by Roy Harper, also came to mind. "A kitchen's a great place to start a fight," he'd said. With a smile, Mirage began to make her way for the kitchen.

Deathwing's knife slashed into Donna's couch, spraying the room with stuffing. "I guess that wasn't you," he said. "I'll find you eventually, though. You can't get out of here without my finding out. You'll screw up sooner or later. You're too stupid not to."

Mirage fought to keep his voice out of her head as she slowly slipped a knife out of Donna's butcher block and covered it with her illusion as well. She waited for the chance to make her move. Her eyes widened as Deathwing flipped over one of Donna's bookcases and jumped at him with the knife. Deathwing heard her coming and lunged back out of the way but the knife still tore into his upper arm. He retaliated with a stiff kick that caught her in the midsection. With the wind knocked out of her, Mirage fell to the ground. She didn't realize that she had also returned to visibility.

Deathwing advanced on her with a sadistic smile on his face and his knife held high. "At last," he said. "You don't know how long I've wanted to gut you like a fish."

"You'll have to keep waiting!" Mirage yelled as she drove a kick straight into Deathwing's knee. As his leg collapsed under him, Mirage ran for her dropped knife.

"Don't think so!" Deathwing yelled. Mirage looked up to see him holding Donna's television. She screamed and rolled as he threw it. It hit the ground where her head had been and exploded. Shards of plastic and glass sliced into Mirage as she tried to think of another strategy.

Donna Troy and Roy Harper walked out of the police station. "Well, that's got both of them locked up again*," Roy said.

(* He's referring to Harley Quinn and Harlequin from last issue - db)

"Do we need to get back?" Donna asked as she looked at her watch. "I don't want to put too much burden on Miri."

"Relax," Roy said with a smile. "The evening's young and the kids are asleep. She's probably just sitting on the couch eating popcorn and watching a Sally Field movie."

"You're probably right," Donna said. "Still, maybe I should call."

"And wake up the kids?" Roy asked. "Miri's a big girl. She can handle herself. Besides, if I thought there was any danger to Lian, I'd be there first."

"You're right," Donna said. "So, the usual sumptuous dinner?"

"Yep," Roy said with a smile. "Two foot longs with the works."

Mirage dove out of the way of the flying coffee table and felt it just barely graze the top of her leg. I'm slowing down, she thought. And I'm getting out of breath already. Not good. If I survive this, I really need to start training again.

"Looks like you're having problems," Deathwing said with an evil grin.

Mirage thought of another tactic that might buy her some time. "Wait," she said. "Can't we just… You know. One last time?"

Deathwing stepped back, startled. "Why not," he said as he stepped forward and grabbed her. "This'll just make it better," he whispered in her ear. "No commitment."

Mirage smiled as Deathwing mashed his lips against hers. She slowly ran her hands up his bared chest and hooked her fingers into his nipple rings, then jerked back.

Deathwing doubled over in pain as Mirage dropped the bloody rings to the floor. She grabbed the chain that ran between his nose and his ear. "I've been wanting to do this ever since you kidnapped me,*" she said.

(*New Titans 118-121 - db)

Deathwing screamed again as Mirage ripped the chain loose from both piercings and threw it to the floor. "You make me sick," she said. "I want you out of my life."

"And I want you dead!" Deathwing yelled as he threw a lamp. The lamp caught Mirage in the temple and she fell backward, staggered. Deathwing's gloves fastened around Mirage's throat. "Now you die," he said, smiling his insane grin.

With the last of her strength, she drove her leg up between his. Deathwing fell to the side, his hands trying to protect his wounded area. Mirage rolled onto her knees and fought to regain her breath as she crawled away. Deathwing's hand clamped onto her leg with a grip of steel. Mirage drove her foot back into his face, breaking his nose and splitting his lip. Deathwing let go as he spit out some teeth. Mirage ran for the kitchen, but Deathwing grabbed her ponytail and pulled her backward. "Bad girl," he said as he began raining punches down on her face.

"Great, wasn't it?" Roy asked.

"Swell," Donna replied unconvincingly.

"What're you looking for?" he asked as Donna started rummaging through her purse.

Tums, Rolaids, Pepto, stomach pump, the usual, she thought. Out loud she said, "Just looking for some Kleenex. That chili and those onions are really making my eyes water."

Roy smiled as he put his arm around her. "That was nothing," he said. "Did I ever tell you about Ollie's chili? That was so hot that once he served it to us in wooden bowls and they caught fire!" Donna smiled and fought the turmoil in her stomach as Roy continued his tale of the infamous Queen Family Chili.

Deathwing threw Mirage to the ground. She dragged herself across the carpet toward a large shard of glass. Deathwing's boot stepped on her outstretched hand and started putting more weight on it. Mirage screamed as the bones in her hand started cracking.

"Bad girl," Deathwing said, pulling her upright so he could look into her blood-covered face. He reached down and grabbed up his knife. "Time for your kiss goodbye." He licked the blood from her cheek as he placed the blade against her throat.

Deathwing dropped her as there was a banging on the door. "Miri? Are you okay? I heard somebody scream," Roy Harper's voice called. "Donna, hurry with the keys!"

"Time to go," Deathwing murmured. "Until next time." He ran and crashed through the patio door without opening it. A moment later he was gone. Miriam smiled and let her concentration lapse. A bookcase on the wall vanished, revealing a door that led to the children's bedroom.

Finally the door flew open and Donna and Roy hurried in. "Great Rhea!" Donna cried as she ran to Mirage's side. "What happened?"

"Deathwing," Miriam whispered. "He wanted Julienne."

Roy ran to the patio and scanned the skyline. "I don't see him. Are the children okay?"

"Yes," Miri replied. "Used my powers. He couldn't even see the door."

Donna gently laid Mirage's broken hand on her stomach. She quickly pulled open her blouse, revealing her Troia uniform underneath. "Roy, I've got to get her to a hospital."

Roy nodded. "All right, but don't change. Call an ambulance and take the kids with you."

"Where are you going?" Donna asked.

Roy's eyes were as hard as steel. "I'm going after him," he said.

"Roy, please," Miriam whispered as she grabbed at Roy's pant leg. "Kill him. I don't want him stopped. He'll just keep coming back. Kill him."

Roy knelt down and took Mirage's hand. "That'll be his decision," he said as he headed toward Donna's room, where he kept a spare uniform. Donna followed him.

She quietly closed the door behind them. "Roy, you can't kill him!"

Roy turned to Donna. "So I should let him walk. You saw what he did to her."

"Roy, we're heroes. We always have been. We can't just go around killing people!"

Roy quickly pulled his Arsenal shirt on, then turned to look at Donna. Tears were running down her face. Roy stepped over and gently took her face in one hand and wiped a tear away with the other. "I can't promise anything," Roy whispered so softly she could barely hear him. "I'm not going to try to kill him, if that's what you're worried about. I was trying to calm Miri down. But I can tell you one thing. If anybody ever did this to you, I would kill them. And I wouldn't lose one second's sleep over it." He gently kissed Donna on the forehead.

"Promise me," Donna said.

"All right," Roy said. "I promise that I'll do everything I possibly can to catch him alive."

Donna pulled a shocked Roy close. "Be careful," she whispered.

"Always," Roy said. The two kissed, and then Roy was changing to Arsenal while Donna called the paramedics.

Next Issue: It's Roy versus Deathwing! And Mirage gets a visitor at the hospital that only Donna can protect her from! But how does Lian figure into this?

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