Nightwing: The Cartel Contract #2: The New Terrible Trio

RANKED 1ST BY VOTERS IN CHARACTER CREATION CONTEST #154!

"I guess you're after the price on my head too?" I ask the mystery woman.

"I've heard about that," she says, "but you're much too pretty to kill."

"Told you," Barbara says over the comm.

"Then what do you want?" I ask her.

"Kind of pushy for a guy with a sword to his throat," she says, lightly scraping the blade against my neck.

"Just direct," I assure her.

She turns me slightly, still holding me close, and leans towards Cassowary. "My name is Shocking Pink Dragon. Miss Yen would like to see you."

Cassowary laughs. "Ha! You're on, bird. Let's go."

"Ta, love," says Shocking Pink Dragon, and a painful jolt of electricity is the last thing I feel before falling unconscious.

***

I wake up in Barbara's clock tower, Raven just pulling her hand from my chest.

"He's awake, Oracle," says Raven.

"I've told you that you can call me Barbara," she answers as she rolls over to the bed I'm laying on. She's always prepared. "Welcome back to the land of the living," she tells me.

"You sent Raven back to get me?" I ask her.

"I did," she says, brushing a finger along my cheek.

"The damage from Shocking Pink Dragon's sword took longer to heal than Cassowary's cuts," says Raven. "I'm glad I was able to reach you in time, Richard."

"Me too, Raven. Thank you again." Then, looking to Barbara, I ask, "Did you get anything on what Cassowary had to say?"

"She made it easy," she answers, handing me a tablet. "The Terrible Trio auction was brokered by the Calculator. It went to Cartel, who gave ownership of it to three of his mercenaries in exchange for them working off the auction price. They'll be working for him for years." She purses her lips for a moment, cocks her head to one side, and then adds, "Unless they fulfill the contract on your head. Then they'll be free-and-clear, and then some."

"How much is that contract?!" I ask, kind of worried.

Barbara looks at me with serious intent. "Three-hundred million."

I nod, letting that sink in. "So, this new Terrible Trio... they represent air, land, and sea, just like the originals. Only they've got powers?"

"Two of them do. Blue Shark is like a smaller, leaner version of King Shark. Black Eagle has winged flight, sharp talons on his fingertips, and boot knives like Cassowary's. Golden Jackal's an acrobatic brawler- like a combo of you and Wildcat. Might have super strength like Stallion. Either that, or he's in peak condition."

I nod again as I look at the tablet. "I'm going to need help."

"You're going to need help," agrees Babs.

I look up at Raven. "Can I get you to do one more thing?"

"Of course, Richard," she says with a slight smile.

***

A few days later, I'm in a fresh costume, and jumping rooftops out near the Bludhaven docks when Golden Jackal tackles me out of the air. We go crashing down an alley wall, and somehow I manage to make him catch a couple of fire escape railings before I break free and am able to leap and swing the rest of the way to the ground. He leaps to the ground, grabs a dumpster, and swings it in my direction as casually as he would a feather pillow in a pillowfight.

I dodge, and mumble into my comm, "So, super strength confirmed."

"The alley you're in leads to the waterfront," says Babs. "Head that way."

I do as I'm told, and as I exit the alleyway, Black Eagle stabs his talons into my side and shoulder, picking me up, flying, and throwing me towards a pier. It's a rough landing, the splintered pier boards and sand raking across my wounds.

As I roll to a stop, Blue Shark climbs up one of the pier ladders from the water, emerging just near me. "You're in trouble now," he says, a wide grin revealing his shark teeth. "Any last words?" he asks as Black Eagle and Golden Jackal close in.

"Yeah. It's good to have friends," I say with more of a grimace than a grin.

"Dude. You're giving us 'Eagles' a bad name!" calls out Golden Eagle just before he hammers Black Eagle with a mace that he must have gotten from Hawkman. "Home run!" he cheers, resting the mace on his shoulder.

Blue Shark's grin leaves his face as he sees Black Eagle fall. "Wha--?" is all he gets to say before a column of water raises out of the ocean, turns at a right angle, and plows into him, knocking him off of the pier before raising him out of the water again, encased in ice.

"What do you think, Nightwing? I'm considering calling that a 'Tempest toss.'"

I laugh, and immediately regret it as pain shoots through my side. I still manage to give Tempest a thumbs up, but I don't try to stand.

There's a crackle and puff as Raven appears behind Golden Jackal. As her soul self rises, its ethereal voice says, "You'd have done well to surrender," and then envelops him completely. Jackal screams, and is then dumped unceremoniously from Raven's soul self, landing in a heap on the pier.

As I watch the black, birdlike form settle back over Raven, and disappear, I grin, and slump flat on my back. "Thanks, guys," I say, feeling weak and tired. "Once a... Titan... alw--" and then I pass out.

***

I wake up in the clock tower again. Babs is in her wheelchair, sitting near the head of the bed. Raven is lowering herself weakly into a wing chair near the foot of the bed, on the other side. "Hi," I say to Barbara. With a grin to Raven, I say, "You're going to have to start charging me." Then I look around the room, and ask, "Where are Garth and Charlie?"

"They're keeping an eye on Bludhaven, cleaning out the rest of the Cartel spots on your list," says Babs. "The new Terrible Trio are now the newest three inmates of Bludhaven Penetentiary. And you, sir, are taking a break."

"Break? Raven got me all healed up, didn't she?"

"You still need to rest, Richard," Raven says warily. "You've been going strong for months. Take the break prescribed by Barbara."

"Did you pay her to say that?" I ask Barbara.

She smiles. "I should."

"If I am no longer needed, I shall take my leave," says Raven.

"I have other rooms, if you want to rest for a while," says Babs.

"No, my friend. I have to come to learn what it means to be a 'third wheel.' If you need me again, you need only call," and with that, a black cloud signals her departure.

Barbara looks at me and with wide eyes says, "I thought she'd never leave." Then she winks at me, and pulls herself out of the chair and onto the bed, brushing my forehead with her fingers again, then running her hand through my hair. "Well, you are going to rest, but what can I do to make sure you stay here?"

I pull her close, and she gives me a kiss. She lays next to me, and puts her head on my chest. "I'm in no hurry," I tell her.

"Good," she whispers.

I'm really not sure which of us fell asleep first.

Story, original characters and content are owned by Chris Bishop. Copyright Chris Bishop 2025

Nightwing: The Cartel Contract #2: The New Terrible Trio

Thanks for stopping in! :^D

Nightwing: The Cartel Contract #2: The New Terrible Trio

The Origins Behind the Origins (or how some of these characters got their names):

Between Tarantula and Road House, boot blades just seem like a cool villain weapon. So, I had to use them somewhere. Mimicking bird claws seems like a good use for them.

	I don't draw, so comparison to existing comic characters was the easiest way to get a visual across for these new characters. King Shark is a good approximation, but...
	...what I envisioned for the head was a little bit leaner, and slightly more elongated. More like the actual blue shark, as seen in Oddity Ark #4: .Blue Shark.

	Golden Jackal gets his name from the animal, which is why I requested it from Sundown89. Sun' featured it in Oddity Ark #54: .Golden Jackal.
	The Blackbacked Jackal is more what I usually envision when I think of jackals, so in my mind, the character's mask is more like this guy than the coyote-like golden jackal above.
	Comparison to Wildcat was a shorthand to establish his brawler and acrobatics level. Super strength like Stallion was just to up his threat level a little bit. Although I have to say: I didn't realize Stallion had super strength until the Tom Taylor run of Nightwing. I thought he was just an ex-cowboy brawler type. Kind of liked him better that way.

That's all for now! Thanks for reading. :^D