章節 31: The Wind Begins To Gather
(Nathan POV)
Walking through the city of Gotham truly never changes, no matter the world, as even without the influence of Dr. Gotham, the city still reeks of many unidentifiable stenches. Every day, the people of Gotham wade through negative emotions and the lingering effects of various gases and smells from super villains.
And while Batman has done a decent job trying to keep this place somewhat clean with black light and, in addition to my own conditioning.
I can smell the individual particles of a latent fear of Toxin and Joker gas, and while it is way too small to actually affect people in a more serious manner, it does have an effect on their physical health.
But now, with no Joker and Harley, there is no one who knows the formula to make more Joker toxin, and if they do somehow have backups, I am going to take care of them. Even though it feels like years have passed, this body still remembers seeing some people loaded onto ambulances after being exposed to Joker Toxin.
It almost makes me afraid to even laugh at jokes. But I assume that the point of the Joker is that, unlike Scarecrow, he inspires fear because he believes himself to be the representation of human madness, but is really just a man who couldn't succeed, and his failures and choices drove him insane.
Walking towards a factory where the Joker Gang hides, I knock on the door after I change my form to look and sound like Quinn. The slot on the door opens as a man wearing a clown mask sees me and says, "Quinn, that you?"
"Of course, it's me, Joe. Now, let me. Mistah J should be getting out any second, and he's gonna need some backup in case Bat Freak shows up." He narrows his eyes at me as I stare him directly in the eyes.
"Something doesn't feel right about this. What is the password?" I then take out the NOKIA and throw it through the slot, beaming him in the forehead, and as it goes through the slot, I can hear him groan in pain.
"Yea…thats the password." He then falls unconscious as the others unlock the door while I strut in and see only five guys.
"Where's the rest of you?" The men then looked at me in confusion.
"Boss Lady, the others are at the Ha-Hacienda and the Fun House, but you might want to see this." As I pick up the NOKIA, I look at the screen, and it shows footage of Superman killing the Joker. I look away from the screen as his fist goes through the Joker's chest. I then use mechu deru to loop the cameras and any bugs.
The others see me shaking, with one even approaching me as he says, "Boss Lady, what do we do?" I still turned around and then stopped as I stood up straight, and using the force, I lifted up all five men, snapped their necks, and then absorbed them.
"Truly, all of you were amazing conversationalists. But I have what I need." I absorb the last guy and find my fists changing as the biomass gathers in my wrists and hands and forms large fists of condensed biomass, which puts a smile on my face.
As I returned them to normal, I headed over and scoured the warehouse for anything I could use, and while it was mostly empty, I did manage to find some guns and drugs I could use later.
After making sure that the cameras saw nothing, I then deleted the footage, left the warehouse, and began to head over to the Fun House as the Ha Hacienda was blown up with Metropolis, so the rest of them must be there. The dumbasses can't even remember that the Hacienda was in Metropolis because of the number of drugs the gang deals in.
You would think that the Joker would simply create his plots from nothing, but no, he has a system in place for funds in the form of having ends with various corrupt officials as well as being connected to the other gangs in some way via gun running or drug dealing the Joker never actually got into human trafficking himself as he found it boring and a waste of resources.
While he did kidnap people, it was mostly just to attract his lover; I mean Batman. I then exit the warehouse after changing back into the same cultist from before.
Walking to the Fun House, I look to see that Archer's template is steadily growing, which may be due to the fact that I am dealing with threats to humanity or simply because they're criminals, and Archer, even after everything he's been through, still desires to be a hero of Justice.
It makes me wonder what Archer(Emiya) would think of the Justice League.
Maybe one day, I will be able to ask him. For now, though, I look to the Clocktower, and I could sense Barbra Gordon in that room or at least a single signature through the force. You can truly tell who is favored by fate in this universe as through the force, I can almost sense the purity of the light and the depth of the darkness.
And while most people in Gotham are some shade of dark and some gray, most are simply entirely neutral, just living their lives unaware of how the world around them will change in a matter of a few years. Lanterns will fall, gods will strike, dimensions will be breached, and mistakes will definitely be made.
I considered taking the fast route of taking the rooftops, but that would be stupid, so I simply did the rational thing and hailed a taxi. As one stopped by the curb and looked at me, he smiled and said, "Got a place you need to be?" I nodded, and he opened the door.
As I gave him an address near the Fun House by a couple of miles, he simply nodded and started driving. The silence was nice until he started talking.
"Well, it's nice to see a new face, you know? My name is Roman. What is yours?" I feel a sense of deja vu about this, but I will play along as I can see his sincerity.
"Loid Mercer, I am visiting my cousin, but he had to move, so the taxi I took before had taken off before I could take a new route." He then smiles and says.
"Oh, you're visiting a cousin as well! My own cousin is coming in soon enough. He is just being held up with some business overseas. Is your cousin named Niko as well?" I shake my head, and he sighs in amusement.
"Well, I'm sorry about your previous Taxi, but Loid, you have to try the bowling alley near the theatre. It has the best chicken wings in the city. Oh, and have you visited any casinos? No, wait, you just got here. I recommend you stay away from the iceberg lounge that Cobblepot will take you for everything." The way he said that shows some history, but I nod.
"Well, I was going to help my cousin move in and then head back to Central City, and Roman, tell Niko that I said hi." Roman then grinned and kept talking about his life while I just smiled and listened.
I can't tell if I'm actually enjoying this or not, but it is a definite change in pace. He starts talking about how he wants to own a mansion once he makes it big as a taxi driver, and I do not believe in him for a second, but the enthusiasm is nice. After about half an hour, he drops me off, and as he stops, I take the cash for the ride out of my pocket.
As he takes it and verifies it, I then take out a hundred-dollar bill and hand it to him. As he sees it, his eyes widen. He begins to tear up as he tries to give me a hug, but I dodge him and say, "Good luck getting that mansion Roman, and keep watching out for yourself. But a word of advice: if your family does not want to go bowling, let them go, please. "
He seems confused by that but nods as he takes the hundred dollars and holds it like it is gold. But before he left, he gave me thanks, and I nodded back to him. He then drives off while I sigh to myself as that deja vu isn't going away, but tossing it aside, I begin walking towards the Fun House.
The building itself couldn't be more obvious, but its appearance was deceiving as I could see the multiple traps lining the place. As I approached the open mouth of the Joker, multiple bullets started firing, but they phased through me; rockets fired, and I simply waved them away. Gas, mines, and blades launched themselves at me, but they did nothing.
As I made it through the tunnel, there were dozens of men pointing guns at me, with the leader yelling, "I do know how you made it past the traps, but this isn't just any gang you're dealing with here! Light him up, boys!"
All of them then started firing, and I simply sighed to myself in disappointment, and as they continued to fire, I whispered, "Aera eht dnib dna srood lla esolc."
The field then went up, and as they continued to fire, I pulled out a ballistic shield of biomass and charged while pulling out the Suros Regime. As I fired from behind the shield, I manipulated all the bullets telekinetically to hit their targets, and as they felt by the droves that infinite ammo is infinite ammo, they were too juiced up to feel fear. But the leader was a different story.
I could sense his fear.
"Who are you?! Heroes don't kill! Everyone knows that!" I simply deadpanned the guy and pulled him to me through the force, and using a voice similar to Kylo Ren, I put my taskmaster costume back on and said, "Do I look like a hero to you? Your gang dies tonight."
As I stab him through the chest with a bone blade, he looks at me as he utters his final words, "Monster…" He is then absorbed, and as the others see this, they try to run away. I lift my right hand towards them, lighting arcing from each finger.
I then blast a group of them with Force lightning, and since my will and emotions direct this lightning, I can force it to move on from Target to Target, and as the lighting jumps from person to person, they all fall to the ground with their eyes exploded and their bodies burned on the inside.
Over fifty men died in a matter of minutes, and as I absorb them all, I can feel the virus sing in joy as multiple memories flood my mind and are compartmentalized immediately as my mind recognizes my desire to keep them separate and as the blacklight tendrils return to me my hands begin to morph and change as large gauntlets of flesh give way to large fingers of what seemed like bone and metal.
Yet, as I looked at the claws, I felt nothing of it. It was simply a step on the path and nothing more. Regret would be suicide now; acceptance is key, and moving forward is the only option.
I then took down the silencing field, keeping the noise from the Fun House away from the city so as not to alert the police, and headed inside.
The tendrils of Blacklight flowed around me, writhing in excitement.
(Batman (Injustice) POV)
Waking up from being knocked away by Clark, I see the Joker with a hole through his chest. Clark is nowhere to be seen, yet I see him flying around the city. I tried to contact him and asked him to come back.
He says nothing in return, and as I leave the body there, I head to the security room of the GCPD and, watch the footage and see Clark ramming his arm through the man. I don't even blink but simply feel disappointed.
Clark had killed a man, and now he did not accept arrest. This is going to set a precedent that is not going to end well. Clark's mind is now unstable and can be manipulated in any way, and I fear that his going silent means any possible worst-case scenario.
Gordon, looking at me, nods and says, "Find him, Batman. We can still make a case for temporary insanity for him and get him out on good behavior."
I don't even have the will to retort this possibility as I jump out of the hole made by Clark and enter the Bat jet. The ride back is utterly and completely silent. Luckily, Damien and the other Robins are out doing their own thing, but I am afraid of what will happen when Damian finds out about this.
Even after a couple of years, he's been a Robin. At this point, he still hasn't been able to let go of the teachings of the League of Assassins, and Clark, if he's embraced this new power of his, may be able to sway him. I can't allow my son to become a murderer.
As I returned to the Batcave, I received a transmission from dick talking about a new player in the game, an unknown figure saving three of the Titans from the blast.
The fact that this new figure appears right as a portal over Metropolis is opened can't be a coincidence, yet as I pull up the footage from the rooftops, I notice that Flash is holding no one.
He's invisible to cameras. This can't be good.
Yet what would he want? A way home? Or something more? There is not enough data to work with here.
According to Superboy, he was heading in the direction of Gotham, but without cameras and help, finding him would be difficult. Where would he go? Maybe investigating the Joker's old hideouts would help, as he may take advantage of the chaos.
Alfred walks in and says, "Sir, what has happened in Metropolis? How did the Joker get a nuke?" That is a question I will need to answer at a later date. There is no time to grieve. There is only the mission. Especially now as I see Clark return to the fortress from my cameras outside.
Before heading out, I see a photo of Clark, Lois, Selina, and I wearing each other's costumes, but I turn my head away. Lois wouldn't have wanted Clark to become a murderer, and while I can't stop that, I can stop him from becoming a monster.
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