Chương 82: Edge-Lording #82
Gotham City
Tricorner Island
"Another wave of crime and gang violence overtakes Gotham shortly after the last one as the local gangs take to the streets armed and ready for war, joined by criminal elements from the neighboring cities..."
Inside one of the most impressive properties in the neighborhood, the news anchor can be heard speaking, but no one paid heed as the only two people in the house were rather preoccupied.
"You won't do anything. I know your type, vigilante," said Gavin White, one of the GCPD's most high-ranking and connected officers in the internal affairs department.
He said those words while unflinchingly staring into the glowing red eyes of the helmet worn by the man who broke into his house and began threatening him.
The vigilante didn't reply, sensing Gavin had more to say, and sure enough.
"Making idle threats is all you people are good for; I'm not afraid of you, Wraith," he added, dismissively waving his hand to the side as he made his peace.
"I could stand here and tell you how wrong you are and how many ways I have of ruining your life, but what's the point?" Wraith blankly replied, rooted in his spot, and Gavin could only scoff derisively at those words.
"I know your type as well, officer. You think that you're invincible, that can get away with anything because of your connections..." the vigilante added in the same blank tone, but the ridicule wasn't lost on the internal affairs agent.
"People like you only fold when it's too late, but I don't have time to play games with you," Wraith remarked, taking a step forward, making Gavin step back in fear despite his earlier words.
"I'll do this instead..." Wraith said as he retrieved a smartphone from his pocket and threw it at the crooked cop, who caught it out of instinct more than anything else.
"Take a look," the vigilante said in a tone that brokered no argument, and Gavin could do nothing but oblige after a few seconds of hesitation as he pressed the power button, causing a video to appear on the phone's screen.
Gavin touched the phone's screen, and the video started playing. It showed a red convertible sports car speeding through an empty street at night, only to come to a screeching halt as it hit a woman and her child, sending them flying.
The car's driver's door opened, and a young man who held a striking resemblance to Gavin drunkenly walked out, almost tripping and falling as he did.
The young man slowly walked to the woman and her child, bloodied and possibly dead. He kneeled next to the woman and rummaged through her purse, taking out several dollar bills before wiping his front pumper clean and hopping back into his car, and driving away. The video ended.
"You..." Gavin remarked, slowly raising his head to peer into Wrath's speechless as his complexion rapidly paled. "How..." he added, his tone growing another degree of panic.
"The hows, whens, and whats don't matter. What matters is that this video will destroy your son's life if it gets out," Wraith said, cutting the man off before he could keep stuttering incoherently.
"And there will be nothing you can do to help him, even with your connections and power, especially with them," the vigilante added, his tone mocking as if taking pleasure in Gavin's helpless expression.
"The only thing you can do to salvage your piece of shit excuse of a son is to do as I say and do it precisely..." the vigilante explained, crossing his arms in front of his place, and Gavin understood he was merely stating facts.
"There will be no questions, no second thoughts, or delays. We won't be having this conversation a second time. Do you understand?" Wraith asked, and Gavin found himself instinctively nodding with no choice but to comply.
"Good. You will call detective Deborah Tiegel. You will apologize and ask to take a second look at the files she brought you two days ago," the vigilante remarked, continuing the one-sided conversation.
"And you will help her get her job back and act on every piece of evidence she gives you. Her number is on the phone you're holding," the Wraith concluded in a matter-of-fact tone, and Gavin's only response was to contact Deborah immediately.
He quickly found the detective's number and raised his head to inform the vigilante that he'll be calling her immediately, flinching as he found no trace of Wraith, the latter having already left.
...
Gotham midtown
'I wonder shat's all this is about...' I mused, frowning as I looked down at the street, seeing numerous armed thugs prowling the roads, seemingly patrolling in search of something.
I'd spent the past four days doing nothing other than digging dirt on the people responsible for Deborah's case, entirely focused on getting the detective her job back.
My encounter with good old Gavin was the latest result of my work, and let me tell you, acting like some jumped-up, vigilante edge lord was not easy. I had the urge to cringe, and start rolling on the ground several times while threatening the internal affairs officer.
I have a newfound respect for Batman for not breaching his edgy act whenever he's in costume. Edge-Lording like that takes a lot of effort, and you gotta respect that, you know?
In any case, I paid no heed to anything and everything outside of the mission and even visited Richard to tell him I'll be taking the next couple of days off from training to focus on a personal matter.
He seemed confused as I've never missed a single day of training and sometimes even showed up when he told me not to, but left it there without prying too deeply.
Gavin White was not the first person I've visited, as I'd done the same whenever Deborah faced an obstacle, but he's the only one I had to threaten so much and put my edge lord face on to get him to fold.
Most of the people who got in Deborah's way would only need an email or for me to show up in their houses before agreeing to do whatever I asked them to with no real fuss.
I've asked myself countless times whether what I'm doing was worth it or not, whether I should do it or not, but in the end, my insecurity was the deciding factor, and such doubts would disappear as soon as they appeared.
But no matter how I justified myself with my need to know the truth of my existence and free will and to ascertain my ability to affect the world, I knew I'd regret my actions once everything was said and done, regardless of the outcome. Sooner or later.
'I'll probably end freaking out even more if I didn't regret it later...' I mused, bitterly smiling as I began browsing the net for news about what was happening in Gotham.
'I should probably call Selina and ask. She should have an idea about what's going on...' I raised an eyebrow as I saw the several missed calls from no other than Selina herself.
'This shit can't possibly be about me, right?' I frowned as I pondered the possibility but shook my head, deciding not to think about it too much and to call the brunette to get a definitive answer.
"Hello, Selina," I greeted as Selina answered the phone, and she quickly did the same, though her tone was weird and hard to read, giving me a bad feeling.
"I wanted to call you to ask what was happening in the city..." I asked, getting straight to the point, but continued before the brunette could answer.
"But I saw you were trying to contact me... do you need something?" I remarked, my tone curious as I paused, waiting for her to reply, and she quickly did.
"Yeah... I was a bit busy with a personal project for the past few days. I didn't have the leeway to check my phone and keep up with the news..." I said after Selina inquired about why I didn't answer her calls.
"Hmm? You were calling me about what's happening in the city?" I asked, raising an eyebrow as Selina began explaining the reason behind the current mess in the city.
"Black Mask did what...?" I exclaimed, reflexively raising my voice after hearing Selina's explanation, hoping I'd misheard, only for Selina to repeat her words with an increasingly amused tone.
"A million dollars? Seriously...? Can I turn myself in?" I asked with a bitter smile, my eyes widening in astonishment, to which Selina chuckled but remained quiet otherwise.
"Thanks for the tip... no, it's okay; I don't need help... I'll take care of it myself... Yeah. I'll see you later, then," I concluded, ending the call with a sigh of exasperation.
'Now... what to do...?' I mused as I turned to look down on the streets, only to frown, my brain freezing at the sight of a man in a pink jacket and domino mask riding a similarly colored motorcycle.
The man cackled like a madman while shouting something about killing the Wraith and eating his face while swinging the pink whip he held in his hands at everyone he passed by.
If I was to describe that guy, I'd say he looked like Ghost Rider if he was the gayest of gays and extremely bipolar.
'I'll start with this guy...' I decided, my expression darkening at the thought of some ridiculously dressed maniac trying to eat my face as I retrieved my steel wire and swung my way after him.
...
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