章 3: Chapter 3
"Well, that was a fucking thing…" Marcus muttered in irritation. He had a million-dollar bounty on his head. He wasn't particularly worried if everybody who came to collect were morons like that last guy. He was just annoyed that he wouldn't be able to go back to school before he got this whole mess straightened out.
'You could go and smite the girl? Maybe then the bounty will go away?' Big G suggested.
Marcus genuinely thought about it before he shook his head. He'd never killed a human before. He knew that he would have to one day, but he didn't want to start with a 15-year-old girl of all people. No matter how messed up in her head and soul she was…
'Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned…'
For now, Marcus needed to collect some things from his apartment before finding a place to lie low temporarily. Worst-case scenario, he could call his mom, and she would come sort this mess out for him. Although, if he did that…
'Gotham might not be left standing after someone put a bounty on her only son…'
'Your daughter is crazy…' He thought.
'That's your mother you're talking about.'
'Oh, I know.' Marcus thought as he hopped onto his apartment building rooftop. He could use the emergency fire exit to get into his apartment and–
BANG!
Marcus felt something slam into his leg at high speed. He grunted in pain. That was going to leave a bruise. He heard something bounce off the rooftop, and he looked down to see what had hit him. It was a bullet…
BANG!
Another gunshot echoed nearby, and this time he felt his head whip backward! "Ok, that one hurt." Marcus muttered in irritation. He might be bulletproof, but they could still bruise him! He wasn't powerful enough yet to completely shrug off bullets.
Marcus turned and glared at the direction the second shot came from. Standing on the rooftop across from him was a villain he actually did recognize from TV. The guy was actually pretty renowned across the world as an assassin after all. The shooter was wearing a black and orange trench coat along with a mask that had a built-in scope. It was Deadshot.
"Aren't you supposed to be in prison for life?" Marcus asked loudly. Batman had caught this guy only two months ago…
"I decided that I served long enough. I was in Gotham for business and I just happened to stumble across your bounty on the web an hour ago. Sucks to be you, kid!" Deadshot exclaimed as he pulled out a large revolver that was strapped to his waistband.
"You did just see I'm bulletproof, right?" Marcus asked calmly. He stood tall and pretended like those bullets didn't actually hurt as much as they did.
"No one's truly bulletproof! I just need the right bullet!" Deadshot exclaimed as he fired again, and a green bullet flew through the air towards him.
Marcus internally cursed as he circulated his magical power throughout his body to lessen the blow. He wasn't fast enough to be dodging bullets just yet. The bullet slammed into his torso this time, and he felt like he just got punched in the chest. He once again did his best not to show any pain though. If Deadshot thought his guns were useless, then he figured he might just leave.
This time the bullet that fell to the ground, after bouncing off him, was glowing bright green. Marcus reached down and picked it up. He wondered if he was holding a kryptonite bullet? He decided to slip it into his pocket. It could be useful later.
"That was a Kryptonite bullet! Those are expensive, you know! I'll need that back after I capture you!" Deadshot pulled the trigger again. This time the bullet sailing towards him was glowing orange.
Marcus actually felt a small level of danger from this one so he reinforced his body with magical power before holding his hand up to catch this shot. When the bullet impacted his hand, it exploded! He bit his lip in pain. He felt his hand was burned from that one.
"Ha! That one seemed to hurt you!" Deadshot exclaimed. "Too bad I only have a few of those explosive rounds. They're damn expensive…" The hitman muttered.
"Shit." Marcus cursed as he inspected his palm. It was blistered and burnt red. That was going to heal slowly even for him. He turned towards Deadshot, who was also staring at him. "Well…you asked for this man. I'm getting sick of being shot at!"
Marcus then did something he hadn't done since he'd come to Gotham. He let his wings out. A pair of brilliant Angel wings sprung free from his back! He felt the Light Energy that he'd been suppressing since he'd arrived in this city finally released itself as a golden aura shimmered around him. As a Nephilim, he had access to both Human Magical Energy and Angelic Light Energy reserves.
He didn't want to use the latter in Gotham so soon, though. It pretty much made him a beacon of power to anyone with magical senses. Even with only 2 wings, the Light Energy flowing through him was far more potent than his humanside's magical reserves. It dramatically boosted all of his abilities. Angel Wings were more than just aesthetic. They were the source of an Angel's–or Nephilim in his case–powers. More wings could also exponentially store more Light Energy.
BANG!
Another orange bullet flew towards him. This time Marcus could see it moving toward him in slow motion. He casually extended his hand and slapped the bullet towards the side! It ended up sailing past him and exploding against a wall. Marcus could hear the people in his own building and the neighboring ones all waking up and starting to panic at the sounds of back-to-back gunshots and explosions.
'You should finish him quickly. No doubt, the police have already been notified and will be on their way soon.'
"Yeah. I will." Marcus said out loud.
Deadshot tilted his head and looked around in paranoia. "Who are you talking to, kid!? And where did those wings come from!?"
Marcus laughed. "If you knew who I was talking to, you'd probably piss yourself in sheer terror. As for my wings? None of your business." He flapped his white wings hard and sped towards Deadshot at high speed!
"Fuck!" The assassin cursed. "This bounty isn't worth it!" He yelled as he fired a few more shots at his charging Angelic form.
He didn't even bother dodging the shots. With the Light Energy fully flowing through him, they now harmlessly bounced off of him as he flew forward. A second later, he was on top of Deadshot. He reeled back his fist and punched the assassin right in his covered face.
Deadshot's head whipped backward from the force of his blow. The assassin stumbled back and clutched his head in pain. His vision was blurred, and he knew he probably had a concussion. He was stumbling as he threw out a sloppy punch that he didn't even have to dodge. His arms sailed by his head on its own. "Fuck…" He muttered.
Marcus sprang forward to land another blow on Deadshot to knock him out. To his surprise, Deadshot managed to barely stumble out of the way, and Marcus flew past him a few feet. Macus hadn't quite mastered aerial combat yet and missed. "You have some good moves." Marcus noted as his feet touched back onto the roof.
"Of course I do! I'm the best Assassin in the world! No one is better than I am!" Deadshot said as he did his best not to collapse. The villain was swaying back and forth. His vision was becoming foggy. Deadshot knew he had a concussion.
"Hoh…Is that a challenge, marksman? The best assassin in the world? I personally think I'm a lot better." A woman's voice sounded out from the side.
Marcus did his best to not look startled. He had been so focused on putting down Deadshot that he didn't notice someone else had popped up next to them. Luckily, they didn't try to sneak attack him.
A woman had hopped over from the next roof. She landed almost silently and strode forward towards him. She had the eyes of a natural killer.
'Be careful. This woman is a master killer. I can feel that hundreds have died by her hands. Treat her with caution.'
"Yes, Grandfather." He said as he eyed the newcomer warily.
"Grandfather?" The woman asked him. She glanced around the surroundings. "I don't see anyone else here."
"The kid's crazy. He was talking to someone else earlier too. And what are you doing here, Lady Shiva? I didn't think you needed any money with your new employer and all." Deadshot said in annoyance. His back was slumped against a wall to steady himself.
Lady Shiva ignored Deadshot and turned back to Marcus. She glanced at his wings in curiosity. "You are far more interesting than the bounty led me to believe, Marcus Light. I originally just came here for some quick cash, but I'd argue the discovery of a metahuman of your caliber is far more valuable. I have a proposition for you."
Marcus glared at her. A proposition from a trained killer? "And what would that be?"
"I want you to come and join the group I work for." Lady Shiva offered.
Marcus frowned. That was pretty much what he expected she would ask. He had no intention of working with a bunch of killers and Assassins. Whatever group she was a part of, he immediately dismissed it. Besides… "Sorry, I'm afraid I'll have to refuse. I'm already a member of a faction, and it wouldn't be a stretch to say it's probably more powerful than yours." He said.
That was an understatement as well. The Heavenly Faction was the strongest in the whole world. The other pantheons, in the world, along with the Devils believed themselves to be stronger. They truly had no idea of the true might of Heaven and its archangels though…
'Nor could they ever comprehend it even if they tried…' A smug voice echoed in his head.
Lady Shiva scowled at his rejection of her invitation. "Is that your final decision, boy? Know that Lady Shiva does not ask twice." She said as she reached towards her legs and grabbed the pair of Sai that were holstered there.
He saw the woman reach for her weapons, and he conjured a golden Lightspear in his unburned hand. There was no point bringing out the True Longinus against a human. It was actually weaker than an ordinary Lightspear when fighting non-supernatural beings. It was designed to be Humanity's ultimate weapon against the supernatural after all.
Lady Shiva charged forward. She was incredibly fast, for a supposed ordinary human!
The fastest that Marcus had ever seen actually. He was still faster though. He swung his spear in a sweeping arc towards her. To his surprise, Lady Shiva easily slid underneath his fast blow and stabbed towards him with one of the Sai she was wielding.
Marcus let out a pained yelp as he felt the weapon actually breach his newly enhanced durability and wound him! He leapt backward to prevent the blade from going deeper than it had. He reached down and held his side where she stabbed him. He was bleeding quite a bit… She got him good there.
Lady Shiva inspected the drops of blood on her weapon before she flicked it off and gave him a smirk. "Not so invincible now, are you, Angel boy?" She asked him mockingly. "What a shame. You had interesting powers for a Metahuman and could have made a good tool for The Light."
"The Light?" He asked. 'So I'm in some kind of Young Justice AU after all.' He had never been quite sure. "You call yourselves The Light?"
Lady Shiva clicked her tongue. "I shouldn't have said that! The name of my organization was supposed to be a secret after all." She muttered loud enough for him to hear. Her knuckles turned white and she gripped her twin Sai tighter. She was about to attack him again.
Too bad she was in for a rude awakening.
"You think you know what LIGHT is?" Marcus asked tauntingly. "You have no idea. How about I show you?" He held up his hand and prepared to call forth his Sacred Gear after all. This woman had pissed him off and even stabbed him! He needed to end this fight now.
The regular True Longinus couldn't harm a human more than any other mundane spear… but he wasn't going to use its regular form.
He prepared to call out the words which would spell this woman's doom. "BALANCE BREAKER: SIT LUX AET–"
WOOSH!
CLANG!
Before he could finish, a black object flew through the air towards Lady Shiva. She raised her Sai and smacked it away before it hit her.
Marcus's eyes widened when he saw what it was. It was a batarang!
"Lady Shiva! You're going down!" A familiar voice called out. Robin, the boy wonder, flipped onto the rooftop and tried to kick Lady Shiva. She hopped backward to avoid him. And then she had to duck down quickly to avoid being sucker-punched by his mentor.
Batman himself had appeared on the rooftop behind her. He and Lady Shiva rapidly started to exchange blows. He with his fists, and her with her two Sai. It was clear who was the superior fighter. Lady Shiva couldn't put a scratch on Batman as he took her defense apart with apparent ease.
Marcus could admit he was jealous… He had never learned any martial arts even close to Batman's level. The guy was amazing! He was absolutely taking her apart with his bare hands.
"You're not getting away this time, Shiva." Batman declared. "Robin! Secure Deadshot. He looks to be unconscious but he could wake up at any time."
Marcus glanced down and noticed that Deadshot was face down on the rooftop. "I didn't accidentally kill him, did I?" He forgot to hold back earlier and hit him with his full strength. Even with only two wings, he still had the strength of multiple grown men…
"He's still breathing." Robin said as he checked Deadshot's pulse before tying him up. "I didn't even know this guy had escaped prison! What is going on over at Arkham!?" Robin spat out angrily
"Dammit!" Lady Shiva cursed from the side where she was getting taken apart by the Dark Knight. She was clearly bested. She stole one last vicious glance in Marcus's direction before she tossed a smoked bomb on the ground. The rooftop was immediately engulfed in a dense black smoke as she made her escape.
Marcus flapped his wings hard. A gust of air surged across the rooftop and blew away all of the smoke. He noticed that Lady Shiva had made her escape. With the danger gone for now, he retracted his Angel Wings so he would stop being a blatant supernatural beacon. Pain hit him a second later as he grimaced in pain and slumped downwards. "Fuck!" He cursed as he held his aching side. With his Light Energy no longer sustaining him as much, he could tell that he was hurt pretty bad. The woman's Sai must have stabbed him 3-4 inches deep. Thankfully, it missed anything vital.
"Oh crap! Marcus, are you ok!" Robin ran up to him in concern.
"She got me pretty good. I'm going to need a doctor or something. I don't know any healing magic yet, unfortunately." He said, still holding his side.
Batman did a double sweep of the rooftop to make sure Lady Shiva was truly gone before he walked over. He frowned when he saw the stab wound in his stomach. "Can you stand?" Batman asked him. "That wound needs to be treated immediately."
Marcus winced, as he did so, but managed it.
The police car sirens were getting much closer. Pretty soon, they'd be right on top of them all.
Batman begrudgingly told him to follow him and Robin. They hopped down the side of the building, and his eyes widened at what he saw below! It was the Batmobile!
"So cool…" Marcus said as he admired it. It wasn't the dumb Dark Knight version that looked like a tank, but the classic sleek one instead.
"Get in, let's go," Batman said as the Batmobile's roof slid open, and he hopped in the driver's seat. Robin and him hopped in the car as well. The seats were leather. Very nice.
Batman floored it and they sped away seconds before the police arrived.
…
"There you go, Master Marcus! You're all stitched up. Although I still recommend that Master Marcus goes to a proper hospital. I'm not a licensed doctor." Alfred Pennyworth said.
"Thanks, Alfred," Marcus said while holding his patched-up side and looking around the Batcave. There was a lot of cool stuff in there! Batman kept a lot of souvenir trophies. In one corner of the room, he could see Mr. Freeze's cryo gun. In another, he could see Black Mask's… mask.
"Alright then. Now, why don't you explain what you're doing in Gotham? And why were Deadshot and Lady Shiva after you? And how do you know who Dick and I are!?" Batman asked, irritated.
"What!? Marcus knows who we are!?" Dick asked in a panic. His head rapidly shifted between Marcus and Batman.
"I didn't even say anything. How did you know I knew?" Marcus asked.
Batman answered. "You were too calm when you met me and Robin. You were far too familiar with Robin, especially in the car ride over here. Like you've known him for a while." Batman explained.
Marcus nodded. "Well, to be fair. Robin's mask doesn't really cover that much of his face. Also, he sounds the exact same as Dick, so…" He lied convincingly. He wasn't going to tell Batman he knew about him from his past life.
Batman frowned but seemed to accept his answer. "We might have to get Robin a new mask and maybe a voice changer…" He muttered to himself.
"So why were those two villains attacking you, Marcus?" Robin asked him.
"Technically, it was three people who attacked me. Some crazy blond guy wearing Hockey Gear, and calling himself Sportsmaster, tried to attack me first. I laid him out easily, though. Didn't even have to use any of my powers besides my strength and reflexes." Marcus said.
"You beat Sportsmaster!?" Robin exclaimed. "He's supposed to be really tough and have a killer reputation!"
"Pffff." Marcus laughed. "Really tough? Oh, please. The guy was wearing hockey pads. As for his 'killer reputation,' some guy was live-streaming our encounter. By tomorrow, I'm sure thousands of people will see the recording of that failure of a villain getting his ass kicked."
Robin looked at him incredulously. Even Batman was having trouble holding back a smirk.
"You didn't use any powers on camera, did you?" Batman asked to confirm.
Marcus shook his head 'no.' He wasn't ready to expose himself or the supernatural to the world just yet. Especially since he was still a two-winged Nephilim.
'I apologize for that. My siphoning off of your Light Energy, to heal myself faster, has made you in turn grow slower.' Grandfather apologized to him.
'It's no big deal.' Marcus thought back. If it wasn't for Big G and his mother, he wouldn't even exist. Him being a bit of a late bloomer, when it came to his powers, was no big deal.
'Still, though. It's time for you to begin your trials to increase your powers. The multiverse isn't kind, and you will need all the power you can get to thrive in it.'
"You never answered my question." Batman said. "Why were those three after you?"
Marcus sighed. "I've got two words for you on that one. Alice Winston… She apparently placed a bounty on me after I snubbed her at her party earlier." He shifted uncomfortably. That girl was way crazier than he had anticipated.
"Her!?" Robin exclaimed. "I knew there was something seriously messed up with that girl? How does she even know how to put a bounty on someone? She's 15!"
"And you're 13, Robin," Batman said. "Never underestimate your enemies just because of their age. I taught you better than that."
"Sorry, sir…" Robin said.
"And you…" Batman turned back to Marcus. "The Winston family isn't someone you want to mess with even if you are decently powerful. You saw how Lady Shiva, a woman with no powers, almost killed you. The Winston family is rich enough to hire a dozen assassins like her. I suggest you get out of town. I can help you set up a new identity on the West Coast and–"
"Ah, that won't be necessary…" Marcus trailed off. "I realized that I might be in over my head, so I texted my mom." He said as he held up his phone for him to see.
Batman narrowed his eyes. Marcus simply sent out a message that said:
SOS. I'm hurt but okay for now. I need your help…
"And how exactly is your mom going to help?" Batman asked.
…
–???–
"I'm glad you asked." She called out behind the Dark Knight. Batman panicked and spun around rapidly! His hand was already going for one of his batarangs! He threw it towards the intruder, but she caught it easily and placed it on a nearby table.
He scowled at her and she giggled at his startled reaction. She always loved sneaking up on people. Their reactions were always fun. Batman rushed forward to fight her hand to hand…
"Hi mom." Marcus said calmly.
Batman stopped himself before he could throw out a punch. He spun around and glared at her son. "Mom!? You texted her less than 10 seconds ago? How is she already here!?" He asked in shock.
"Woah! You're Marcus's mom? I see where he gets his looks!" Robin said with a laugh. "I'm Robin! And you are?"
"I will always come immediately when my Son needs my help." She said warmly. "Nice to meet you all by the way. I am the Archangel Gabriel."
Gabriel had long flowing golden hair. Bright green eyes that sparkled like emeralds. And a perfect face and body that could never be found on a human woman. She smiled at everyone as she stepped forward to check on her son.
…
Both Batman and Robin were openly gaping at his mother. Any other son would have scowled at them, but Marcus was used to it. He knew my mom was incredibly beautiful and would always turn heads wherever she went. She did also just declare herself and Archangel and her twelve beautiful white wings were out behind her.
"Archangel…" Robin muttered.
She smiled at Marcus as she walked over. "Marcus…"
"Ooof!" Marcus grunted out in pain. Faster than his eyes could track, she zoomed across the room and tackled him to the floor in an embarrassing hug! "Ow, mom. I'm injured here." He complained. She was hugging him tightly and his stab wound was aching.
"Oh, my baby boy! I've missed you so much! Now I finally understand why Serafall is so clingy with her sister! Not being able to see you everyday is so sad!" Gabriel exclaimed as she hugged him tight and refused to let go! "And you're injured!? How did that happen!? Who did it!? I will make sure to smite them!"
"Smite them!?" Robin asked in trepidation.
"She's just kidding," Marcus called out from the floor. He knew that she was not kidding…
It took a few minutes for Marcus to finally get his mother to let go. She was being extra clingy. Far more than she had been in a while. "Ok, I'll tell you what happened. It all started like this…" He started my explanation. "It all started when I went on a date with my physics partner." Marcus said.
Her eyes lit up. "A date!?"
…
Gabriel listened intently. She was happy that her son was finally starting to socialize with girls his age! This Artemis girl also sounded like quite the catch. She could tell that her son liked her by the way he talked about her.
Everything was going well until he got to the part in his explanation about some other girl called Alice Winston.
Gabriel felt her anger growing upon hearing about the girl's possessive and stalkerish behavior towards her son. And then she went and actually put a bounty on his head!?
Gabriel would make sure that the girl suffered before she personally dumped the girl's black soul into one of the Hells! But before that could happen, Gabriel wanted to completely destroy the Winston family and the so-called Court of Owls they were members of. She didn't just want to blow them away, she wanted to ruin them. She wanted to tear down everything they'd built up and let them all live long enough for them to see it.
In order for that to happen, she figured that it was finally time to contact Marcus's father so that the man could help. He was incredibly rich and powerful in human society.
Although…She didn't want her son to leave her sight right now.
She couldn't go herself. She needed someone else to contact the man for her. But who to send in her place?
Gabriel had a brilliant idea! She'd send that silly church girl who was always chasing after her son in the Vatican. She'd use this as a test to see if that girl was worthy of joining her son's harem some day!
XXX
Thanks for reading!
Check out my other current work on my profile if you haven't read it yet! It's called The Fallen Gamer.
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