Chương 15: The Fearless
Tuesday 7th April 2009, 14:00.
New Jersey,
Gotham City,
East End.
Gotham, like always, was a dark and dingy place, but despite this, the city seemed to be lighter or the people were anyway. However, even by the standards of others, it looked and felt no different, just as dark and dingy, but to the people of Gotham, there was no denying the change. But the city of Gotham had changed after the death of Black Mask and the rise of Black Hood.
The people felt safer.
After all, despite Black Masks' death creating a power vacuum that the other crime lords capitalised on, it did not result in an all-out war like many had expected and prepared for. Whereas usually, crime lords would push in on the open territory, securing valuable areas and denying them as long as they possibly could from others, they would also target and destroy those very same valuable areas so that it would cost their rivals much more to get them back up and running again. The idea was that they would cost their rivals more money than it was worth to not only wage war but handle the aftermath as well.
As one would expect, these wars were not only destructive but chaotic.
Instead, things had been quiet.
Perhaps it was because the crime lords didn't want to incur the wrath of both Batman and Black Hood.
Or maybe it was for another reason.
Either way, things in Gotham had changed and while some thought it was for the better, many believed that this peace was currently the calm before the storm. The many denizens of Gotham were just waiting for the next spark to light the fuse, one that would bring about the deaths of many innocent lives before the fire was eventually put out.
It was this fear that caused many to start feeling more paranoid, just waiting for something bad to happen.
One didn't need to be a genius to see that despite all the good Batman had done for this city, the fight against crime was still ongoing and while victory seemed possible, it was a long way away from the present. Many feared that it would get far worse than it already was before it would get better, that it would be their children or their children's children that would live through the worst of it.
Even the smarter criminals could see this and even they were terrified.
They knew that their actions had brought about both Batman and now Black Hood.
If they continued, what other monsters would they create?
The thought terrified them all, most into hiding as they tried to figure out their next move.
Of course, not every criminal was afraid of the heroes and vigilantes of Gotham.
"Help! Pleuumgh…" A woman's screams for help quickly became muffled as a dirty piece of cloth was stuffed into her mouth to silence her.
Her struggles were fierce and violent as she tried to escape the grasp of her offenders as they laughed mockingly at her desperation. But their grip was too tight and she was dragged around helplessly, her kicks to fend them off doing little to stop them.
Instead, her resistance seemed to only excite them further.
"Shut the fuck up, bitch!" One of the men sneered as he held her hands behind her back, his two friends groping her clothed body as she was pushed against the wall. "Hurry up, dickheads. I can't wait to get a piece of this ass." He laughed cruelly, while the woman struggled, tears streaming down her face as she screamed into her gag.
Her eyes panned to the exit of the alleyway to see if she could find anyone that could help her, yet every time someone looked to see what the noise was, they quickly walked away, their heads quickly turning to the floor. As always, despite everything that had happened, the old rules still applied, even in situations like these. No one dared interfere with any crime they saw taking place, instead moving past as if they never witnessed it because if they did something, it could be them and their families that paid the price next.
It was an ingrained rule that everyone at Gotham had learned in order to survive, a rule they still followed to this day.
As the moments passed by, the sound of her clothes tearing as her assailants grew impatient, she realised that it was hopeless.
No one was coming to help her.
Just as she was beginning to give up hope, she heard the sound of something hitting the nearby bin with enough force to send it tumbling to the ground. She, just like her assailants froze in fear at being caught, all of them looking at the bin as the rats had been outside scurried away in fright, a large brick having dented the metal trashcan.
Then she looked around trying to find who had thrown it, only to see that there was no one nearby and her rising hopes crumbled. "Probably just one of the rats." One of her assailants reasoned, not the smartest of people before he grabbed her top and with one final tug, ripped it clean off her body, revealing her conservative bra. "Wooh, finally." He leered at her, a cruel grin on his face as he licked his lips slowly.
"Come on, boys." Another said, pushing her up against the wall and widening the rip on her skirt. "Let's have some fun."
While she and the men pinning her to the wall were unaware, in those few moments another figure had appeared.
Having used the distraction caused by the bin, he entered the alleyway out of sight and moved along, keeping to the shadows as best as he could, not needing to try hard with the situation unfolding before him. The woman was panicked and not seeing everything clearly, the men only focused on the woman before them and little else.
Then, keeping his footsteps quiet, grabbed the neck of the man closest to him, the very same man that had begun to undo his trousers and stabbed a knife into his neck. To keep him silent, before the man could even gurgle and grunt out in pain, a hand came around and clamped around his mouth, silencing his death as he fruitlessly tried to struggle.
In most cases, such a thing would never have gone unnoticed in such a tight space.
Yet, the other two thugs were too focused on the half-naked, struggling woman in front of them.
As a result, the figure lowered the would-be rapist to the ground and placed him down quietly so as not to make any unnecessary noise. He then rose up and saw that the man pinning the woman to the wall had nearly freed his manhood and so, stopped sticking to stealth and instead went for a surprise attack.
He pulled back his arm and threw the knife in his hand straight at the man, impaling him in the back of his knee.
A scream of pain escaped his lips as he dropped down onto one knee, looking back to see what had impaled him as the other man and the woman turned to look. However, the man looked to see the knife sticking out of the back of his knee, the blood pooling out as the figure rushed upon the second would-be rapist.
The front kick struck the man in the left knee, breaking it with a sickening crunch.
Continuing with the motion, the figure swung up and punched the man in the face, breaking his nose upon impact before walking to the guy with the knife now held in his hands. He was on his feet, pointing it towards him, but stood precariously and leaning heavily on his one good leg before swinging at the figure with a wild swing and a roar of anger.
However, with incredible ease, the figure parried the strike and slammed an elbow into his face, breaking the man's nose and sending his head whipping back. Yet, before the assailant could stumble back in a daze, the figure gripped the back of his head and repeatedly slammed his elbow into the man's face before letting him drop to the ground unconscious, jaw hanging loosely and teeth scattered on the floor.
Releasing a breath, the figure took the knife that had slipped from the thug's fingers and impaled the man's manhood while still on his knees, instantly waking the unconscious man as he screamed out in pain.
Leaving the thug to curl up in a ball sobbing, he then looked to see the final thug trying to crawl away and walked forwards.
As he neared, the thug turned over and looked up at the mysterious figure with tears in his eyes.
"Please, I beg you, let me go." He begged, his eyes wide and his hands interlocked, almost as if he was praying.
"You should have thought about that before trying to rape an innocent woman, asshole." He then stomped on the man's head with enough force that when it struck the ground it bounced off, only to be met with a second stomp that knocked the man out for good and simultaneously cracked his head open.
"T-thank you." Turning around, the figure saw the woman covering herself with the scraps of her clothes and gave a nod in her direction. She gave a small, teary-eyed smile noticing just how young the figure was. He was no older than a teenager with blonde hair and blue eyes, yet he saved her where none had.
"You're welcome." He said, offering her a hand that she gingerly took, allowing him to pull her to her feet. "Here." Unzipping his jacket, making sure to do it slowly noticing how she flinched at his sudden movement and passed it to her. "It'll cover you more than those."
Once again, she hesitantly took the offered article of clothing and after a few seconds of deliberation, put it on.
She was instantly feeling less vulnerable when not nearly fully naked before a man, even if he was her saviour.
"We should get out of the alleyway, the police will be nearly here." He informed her and she looked at him in confusion.
"Did you call them?" She asked and he shook his head.
"No, but I saw some people doing it." Despite this, the woman couldn't help but still feel bitter and angry at the people who had called the police. Here was a teenager, not even a man and he had jumped in to save her life where fully grown men had simply walked by, ignoring what had happened.
It made her wonder who her saviour was and why he saved her?
-X-
Wednesday 8th April 2009, 12:00.
New Jersey,
Gotham City
Gotham Heights.
Shaking his head with a smile on his face, Esau allowed Barbara to lead him through the busy streets of Gotham City. Things had cleared up between the two in the space of the two weeks since they had made up and in fact, it was even rarer to see the two separated.
It was like when they were kids again, always with one another and hardly apart.
Well, except for when Barbara was at school, Esau had not returned after his trip to the hospital when Black Mask had almost beaten him to death. Mostly because he quit spending his time training at local gyms and even practising his shooting having not done it since he was a kid with Jim and his father.
Both his father and Jim had been former marines in the US Military and while Jim had later gone on to be a cop in Chicago, Bill had returned home to Gotham to marry his childhood sweetheart, Joan. Esau didn't know much about what his dad did besides simply working odd jobs here and there, it seemed that his father hadn't been able to land a decent job at all. Jim on the other hand had been transferred from Chicago to Gotham soon after Bill and Joan's wedding with his niece, Barbara after his wife had left him. There, the two had spent a great deal of time getting together and while both were bogged down with work, Esau had on more than one occasion been brought to the shooting range with them.
Still, things were looking better for Barbara and Esau.
Whereas their friendship had become a little strained what with their difference in opinions about how Black Hood operated, they had decided to push that to one side and avoid bringing it up. It worked for the most part, especially with Esau deciding to put aside his double life as Black Hood seen as though his desire to get revenge against Black Mask was over.
Becoming Black Hood was never his intention, it was to kill Black Mask and leave it at that.
But, both before and during his crusade against Black Mask, he had considered continuing his war against the criminal element of Gotham.
That was until he realised just how unprepared he was.
He had done well against small groups of thugs, picking them off in smaller numbers or when they were on their own. Esau had never gone up against huge groups of them and his defeats at the hands of Robin and Deadshot made one thing very clear, he was nowhere near skilled enough to make a serious difference. Even more so when, after accepting the harsh truth of things, the only reason he succeeded in killing Black Mask was because of the Bat Family.
His attempted ambush of Black Mask on his journey from one safe house to another would have seen him more than likely killed had it not been for the Bat Family's arrival.
But even more so, during the fight at the warehouse, Esau had been soundly defeated by Deadshot leading to him being at Black Mask's mercy until Batman arrived to save him. It was his arrival that distracted the others enough for Esau to land the killing blow and escape, had Batman been a few seconds later, he didn't know what would have happened to him.
These things proved to Esau that if he was to continue this crusade against crime, he needed to be a hell of a lot stronger than he was right now.
But that would take time which from his time fighting against Black Mask, Esau knew was not a commodity he would have a lot of.
Being Black Hood required him to get stronger quickly, not slowly.
For now, Esau had decided to stop being Black Hood and at least train himself some more before making a decision, rather than risking his life as Black Hood. He had more than enough money anyway, generously 'provided' by Black Mask that enabled Esau to at least live comfortably for months without needing to work any jobs.
More importantly though, one thing Esau had discovered the hard way was that despite have being raised and lived in the criminal underworld, he didn't understand it fully. He had lived amongst it, but much like many, turned a blind eye away from a lot of the harsher and more dangerous things that surrounded him, instead listening to the restricted and biased media for information. But that proved to be one of many wrong choices he had made in his life because the media did not showcase everything.
Sometimes the context was removed, twisting things to suit their agenda.
Others showed the whole unrestricted truth.
But one thing was certain, what was shown to the people of Gotham and the world was nothing more than the tip of the iceberg. They did so in order to avoid mass panic and fear because Esau knew that if the people really knew what happened behind the scenes, they would be as afraid as he was.
It was why Esau had signed up at numerous martial arts clubs across Gotham to build up his repertoire while becoming a regular at a local gym. He was constantly training himself just as he had done since becoming Black Hood, constantly working to improve himself so that should he ever decide to become Black Hood once more, he was ready to face whatever came his way.
Though right now, Esau was being careful because of the number of injuries he was still recovering from having not let himself properly recover at many points. As a result, Black Hood had disappeared from the public eye, though was still the source of much online discussion as people speculated about what he was planning to do next.
But to be honest, Esau was unsure whether he should continue.
Death was very real and as he watched Barbara walk through the streets a smile on her face and her fingers interlocked with his, he couldn't help but wonder if Gotham needed his help.
It was safer than it had ever been.
The crime lords were keeping their heads down and while crime was still prevalent in Gotham, Esau stopped a few rapists and robbers that happened across his path. But for now, Esau wasn't really willing to do anything except keep his head down and avoid making bug waves as he had done in the past.
Not just yet anyway.
Black Mask had shown him how dangerous crime words could be when pushed into a corner and Esau didn't want to risk his life based only on luck as he had done before. Despite many acting like civil servants and even attempting to pass off as kindly individuals, when threatened they were animals that would tear apart anyone in their way.
He didn't want to experience the feeling of death again.
"Hey, Esau!" Blinking, Esau looked up and saw Barbara staring at him with one hand on her hip. "You've been quiet for the last few minutes, are you ignoring me?" She asked.
Esau gave her an apologetic smile and squeezed her hand. "Sorry, I didn't mean to get so distracted, what were you saying?" Barbara studied him for a bit longer before the two once again began to walk down the street.
"So what had you so distracted?" She asked and Esau looked at her with a smile.
"You."
It took a few moments for Barbara to register what he said and her face instantly turned a dark shade of red, shyly looking to one side a small smile on her face.
This made Esau chuckle lightly making her smack his arm in mock anger.
"Don't do that." She muttered.
"Do what?" Her asked.
Barbara looked at him exasperatedly. "You know exactly what I mean, don't come out with random stuff like that just to distract me." She explained making Esau smile this time.
"So it's you that's getting distracted this time, huh?" Shaking her head, Barbara didn't answer his question instead continuing to pull him through Gotham, it was a nice, warm day and he was glad that Barbara had asked him to come into Gotham. They had done it a few times here and there and they were always the highlights of his week.
"Shut up," Barbara replied, effectively shutting down his attempts at flustering her further.
To think that she could listen to her fellow students, thugs and even everyday civilians describe what they'd like to do to her, well Batgirl but that was still her and she could shrug it off without feeling flustered. Yet, Esau could make her blush like a schoolgirl like it was nothing and no one else could do that to her, it was honestly a wonder he hadn't figured out how she felt but then again, he had always been a little oblivious.
"Did you hear that?" Esau asked breaking Barbara out of her thoughts and bringing her back to reality.
She, like Esau, strained her hearing as they attempted to figure out what exactly Esau had heard and that's when they heard the bangs.
This wasn't just any bang like some firework or something along those lines, this was gunfire.
That's when the panic set in.
People ran screaming, rushing down the streets and even onto the road as more and more gunfire was heard from further down the street. They both watched as people clambered out of their cars to see what was going only to duck as if they were getting shot at when they heard gunfire and then join the horde of people.
"Esau…?" She went to speak as she felt him drag her towards a shop.
"Stay here. Don't come out, if you do you'll get caught in that crowd of people. Stay here and hide." With that said, Esau rushed out of the shop and instead of running left like the crowd of people, he instead fought against the flow and started moving right, pushing himself through the crowd of people and directly towards where the gunfire had been heard.
'Fuck! What the hell does he think he's doing?!' Barbara questioned, rushing out through the fire exit at the back of the shop and hiding behind the nearby dumpster. The smell was awful but she hadn't come here to hide and instead pulled out her Batgirl costume from her purse. 'What the hell are you doing, Esau?'
SUY NGHĨ CỦA NGƯỜI SÁNG TẠO 
Carrots123
Carrots123 So, here we are, another chapter is done and with it, Esau has been distancing himself from Black Hood and considering retiring. This is all because of the numerous close encounters with death and being completely overwhelmed by superior fighters. He has realised that this world is much more dangerous than he initially expected and as a result, he's unsure if he wants to continue down this path. But as one can expect, Gotham isn't the kind of place that just lets you do that easily. Once you start down this path, you can't just give up and that's what Esau is facing with everything now taking place. Anyway, hope you all enjoyed and if you have any questions or suggestions, please let me know.
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