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Termite jumped out of the vent and went to the dresser. He pulled out several scraps of brown and blue material from the bottom drawer. Several weeks ago he had spent a whole night slipping into various stores and ‘borrowing’ a few things: some padded fabrics and an internal cooling system. Every now and then Aaron would work on putting them together to make himself a new costume. He was about three quarters finished and decided that things with the Brotherhood were getting to the point that he might be doing some fieldwork soon. It was important that he wear something comfortable and that could give him some decent protection, especially when it came to climbing and crawling. A thin, simple pair of coveralls just would not do on a mission. Since Deathstroke had assigned the remaining members to stay and watch the cameras, Aaron decided to take the time and finish up while checking the surveillance footage.

From a book he had read, he had learned of a certain type of suit that had an internal cooling system and a small drinking straw stored in the suit from which he could drink water. The suit itself had already been sewn together. All there was left to do was to implant the devices into it, sew it all up and break it in. Aaron could do all that in the meeting room. He packed the materials and a sewing kit into a sling-bag and climbed back into the vent.
((to base of operations))

For the predicament he had landed himself in, Aaron was feeling strangely confident about the confrontation with the Butcher. Over the months in the Brotherhood, he had gotten stronger, faster, and had some above-decent training in firearm and hand-to-hand combat. He hadn’t been on any field missions before the one earlier that day, but he had been practicing and exercising, and had even managed to survive a few grueling sessions in the training rooms. Not to mention all that time he had to himself in the Brotherhood. Aaron didn’t have to make any rounds to clean up any messes or look for a way to keep busy to avoid getting into trouble with his parents. Here he only had to occasionally check on some computers and surveillance cameras to make sure they were working properly and fix anything that looked like it needed fixing. Everything else he did like making a tunnel system and studying blueprints was done voluntarily. Other than that he had time to spend on tinkering and improving his equipment, and teaching himself more on engineering. Robby may have the ability to do virtually anything he wanted with his body, but Aaron was smarter. He had single-handedly taken on his parents, several workers, and some security on Watchtower II for months and “won”…..to a certain extent. And after that he had managed to live months behind enemy lines without being compromised. Aaron had his classic blonde moments, but he knew how to get things done.

His cover might even be kept intact despite this current situation. If confronted by Slade or anyone for this, Termite wouldn’t have to alter the story. He would just tell it as it was: Butcher wanted to kill an intruder, and Termite wanted to hold him for questioning. This resulted in a dispute and Aaron defended himself, knowing Robby could survive the attacks. It wasn’t a matter of betrayal—it was a matter of rising tensions between two totally different people, with totally different sets of morals. Sure, the Brotherhood probably wouldn’t mourn the death of a civilian, no matter what age, but Aaron was a mechanic, not a soldier. Not to mention he had joined the Brotherhood almost immediately after leaving the Justice League. He was still new to the whole villain thing. Could they really expect him to be like the others? Anyone could understand his grief over Hannah’s murder and his firm stance against killing. Surely this wouldn’t be mistaken for betrayal. So no matter what else might happen before this fight could end, Termite would be alright. That is if he were to survive today. Where was Slade anyway?

As he laid flat on his stomach, cramped in the air vent, he began to think that perhaps Butcher wouldn’t show. Maybe one of the villains had stopped him and had managed to calm him down—or at least restrain him. How long had it been since Aaron had revealed his location? Five minutes? Maybe more. It felt like forever since he had taunted the psychopath last. But then again, when you’re anticipating a fight, especially a fight to the death any amount of time feel much longer than it actually was.

Then it happened. Butcher had responded, and with a sick and twisted little song in which he had generously inserted Termite into the lyrics. Aaron’s confidence had been almost completely drained when he heard that little song. He was beginning to regret his trap that he had set up in his room. An explosive on a fire-extinguisher, and a stuffed costume placed behind a desk? That might outsmart your average thug, but could the same be said for the Butcher? Surely it wouldn’t kill him. Several rounds to the chest on the lethal setting had proven that. The traps were meant merely to buy Aaron some time to escape to another place in the mansion. But could it even do that? What if they didn’t even work? He had hinted that he would have traps in place for Robby, so the maniac might very well be expecting some tricks. He might not buy it, Aaron thought. If he does it might not buy me a lot of time. I should move right now. A strange sound could be faintly heard outside the room. It didn’t sound like footsteps. It sounded more like something pointy hitting the porcelain tiles in the hallway. And as it got closer it sounded like there was more than one of those pointy things. That’s never good. What the hell was going on out there? Aaron backed himself deeper into the air vent while still keeping a partial view of the room. If worse come to worse, he would detonate the explosive and climb up the vent like crazy. ”Come on, a*****e,” he murmured, his body trembling.

The confidence Aaron once had was not running dangerously low when he heard more tapping outside the door. He was unsure if it was the same tapping as before, because now it seemed to be from one place. It was the Butcher, obviously taunting him. Before the mechanic knew it the wall was obliterated with pieces of wood flying across the room. Through the dust he could see a large, inhuman figure lugging something over its shoulder. He couldn’t see Robby’s new look, but he could see his room get completely trashed and his traps foiled. He stayed where he was, hoping that Robby would get closer to the fire-extinguisher, but it didn’t look like it was going to happen. I should go now, he thought as he hugged the end of the air vent. I can slip out and he won’t hear me over all my crap he’s breaking.

Then the most terrifying thing that could happen at the moment did: Butcher stopped. He stood still, thinking about something. And you know it’s something awful if it requires the Butcher to stop and think. But what Aaron was more frightened of was Robby’s look. The praying mantis arms, his abnormally stretched body and the organs he had slung over his shoulder made the saboteur throw up a little in his mask. He sat deep in the air vent, now putting his detonator back in his belt in case he needed to make a quick escape. And a quick escape sounded like a good idea right now, especially now that his fear had been confirmed by Robby eyeing the crate to the air vent. It was time to go. Aaron couldn’t do anything fancy like throw smoke pellets to cover himself. It would fill the vent and he probably couldn’t out-climb that. Fleeing was the best—if not only option he had right now. The mechanic slowly put his feet underneath himself as quietly as he could and prepared to jump. That was when the worst had happened.

As Aaron began to rise, Butcher sped to the wall and stabbed his arms into the wall. Termite began to climb, but the wall being torn out shook the vent, causing him to fall back into his spot, staring at the Devil himself. The wannabe hero screamed as Robby hoisted himself into the vent and began swiping at him with what at first were stubs, but quickly became those claws of his. Aaron brought his knees to his chest to keep clear of the attacks and decided now was definitely the time to go. He would have to come back for his clothes later. Right now he had to lure this guy away from him.

Termite jumped up and shimmied up the vertical vent as fast as he could. It was as far as the vent went vertically since his room was on one of the higher levels of the mansion. There were two ways he could go now: left and right. The vent on the left went straight for a while before dropping diagonally. He would have to crawl for a while, but he would eventually find a shaft that went straight down to the basement. It was a quick path downward through the mansion and it was the path he favored to get to a number of places in the mansion from his room. If he could get to the meeting room without being gutted, perhaps one of the villains could break this fight up. Hell, maybe Slade was there. If anyone could stop a dispute it was him. But then again…..Aaron wasn’t a coward. He may not be the most skilled in the Brotherhood, but he wasn’t one to hide behind others. So he took the vent to his right.

Unlike the vent on his left, the one on the right went straight with turns at the end. But Aaron wasn’t going to make any turns. As soon as he pulled himself up into this vent he pulled out a flashbang and dropped it where it would get Robby as soon as he climbed up. Termite then went to the end of the vent, kicked open the crate and climbed out and over. Moving on the outside of the vent Aaron hurried to the opposite end, dropping an explosive disk on the spot he remembered where the vent went down to his room. He got to a safe distance and detonated it. The explosion caused the half of the vent Robby was in to break off and tilt. Now the Butcher was trapped in the vent that was doing a nosedive down a rather large space in the wall. It would crash, but the angle would make Robby would slide out and fall down the opening, later landing somewhere behind one of the walls deep in the room of the meeting room.

With the Butcher taken care of Aaron entered the other half of the vent and traveled to the meeting room, laughing as he did so. That fight went remarkably well for him! Upon arrival he kicked open the vent and jumped out. He walked to the center of the room where he stood there, seemingly meditating. He looked drunk, standing there in his boxer briefs and a tank-top with his eyes closed and his hands slowly waving in the air as if he were conducting a symphony. He was mentally going over the blueprints of the mansion he had drilled into his head and after a moment he had pin-pointed the exact location the Butcher would be in. Aaron went to the far end of the room, moved some monitors and other equipment out of the way and planted an explosive that blew a noticeably large hole in the wall, revealing Robby. Termite stood there with his arms folded across his chest. ”Congratulations. Now we both look ridiculous,” he said in a snarky tone. ”Are we done now?”