Fire Bug
By Miss-DNL
Arkham Asylum, the dark grim prison for the criminally insane, or just the place they are put away between them getting thrown in and then subsequently break out of later. Despite the places security the villains within always find a way out, one way or another. However, recent upgrades and new security staff have made caused a bit of a break in the previous cycle. Leaving the city of Gotham with some breathing time. The city's dark guardian The Batman is however not holding his breath and keeping a vigilant watch. His crusade against crime continuing having recently thrown the Clown Prince of Crime the Joker back into the loony bin. Or what he'd probably consider his summer home that he visits all year round. The Joker off the streets the citizens of Gotham breathe easier and life continues, now safer with the maniac put away.
Within the walls of Arkham the staff do their best to rehabilitate the madmen housed in the compound. Whether some like the Joker could actually be helped was debatable, many lean towards 'no' but it doesn't stop some from trying to make a name for themselves. Some of the staff have come to believe that Arkham is just a place for the menaces to be put away. Others have hard time arguing with that, but they aren't paid to gripe and continue trying while trying their best to be careful and not end up getting killed by their so call patients.
One such high risk patient like other of the more dangerous inmates at the Asylum had a completely fire proof cell and a jumpsuit. The man's name was Garfield Lynns better known as the arsonist for hire Firefly. The man laid on his hard cot with a bored expression on his face, half of it severely burned. The arsonist wasn't really bothered per say by his recent change to his look. It had been caused by his obsession…fire. He took it as a sort of…affection from his love. That and he hadn't totally expected to live his life without getting a few burns as the saying goes,
Mess with fire you going to get burned.
It was how he got the burns that bothered him. Being a criminal in Gotham you're were bound to run into The Batman. He'd fought with the flying rodent before, but this time the bat fought him while the place he'd been hired to burn down was on fire! Garfield hated that he'd made himself a fire proof suit, it made it much harder for him. During the fight however the caped crusader gave him a right hook with enough force that his helmet had gotten knocked off. He also got knocked back landing him face first in flames. However, the bat had a 'no kill' clause so vigilante saved him from being roasted and tossed him in Arkham.
Garfield Lynns could take getting burns, he'd gotten scarred by fire times before but getting burns because of The Batman…that marred his feelings towards his new burns significantly.
He had been in Arkham for a few months now, and in that time he'd finally grown his hair back so that was something. The arsonist groaned hearing the walls of the asylum echo with Joker's laughter. It was so irritating to listen to that laugh constantly throughout the day and sometimes throughout the night.
Garfield looked around his cell, plain and dull as usual. It'd looks so much better set on fire. Then again the whole Asylum and all of Gotham would look better set ablaze. Of course, the flying rat and his wonder dummy sidekicks kept him from burning things. The arsonist growled to himself hearing Joker's laugh again, briefly he wondered if he'd be called a 'hero' for burning the Joker alive. He figured at least some praise would get thrown his way, but then he'd shortly after get tossed back in Arkham.
Looking up at the door of his cell Garfield grumbled to himself, "Odd the shrink is usually here by now to start my 'therapy'."
In all honesty the arsonist didn't really want to be 'cured' of his mental illness. He found the sessions boring. The lady would ask him questions. Try and find what caused his obsession with fire, blah, blah, blah, etc. The psychiatrist; however, was not boring to look at. Garfield chuckled, she wasn't his type but he loved messing with her. He'd rather burn her alive than have sex with her. Or he could do both, but neither option was very likely at the time being. So he resigned himself to just mess with her. As much of a hot head he was he knew his limits at the moment, though it did take a while for him to realize that. Not that he'd admit that.
Hearing someone walking over to his cell Garfield Lynns sat up waiting for his appealing psychiatrist to open the door. He furrowed his brows in confusion when a man opened the door. He had never seen the guy around before, then again he only got to see certain parts of the asylum when he was staying in it. People came and left as well.
"Mr. Lynns, it's time for your daily session." The psychiatrist said, clipboard in hand, the man was youngish. Late twenties at the most, Lynns figured he was a few years older than him. Had dusky brown hair, short, well kept. The arsonist figured the man had never even lit a fire on his own let alone gotten in a real fight. Dude looked like typical doctor type.
Behind him were two 'nurses', as Lynns mentally liked to call them, aka security guards. They looked much tougher than the doctor did. Each had plenty of tools designed to subdue the more dangerous inmates at the asylum, as well as the more common inmates.
Once Garfield Lynns pulled himself out of the bed the nurses moved in and handcuffed him for the doctor's safety. Garfield had never been stupid to actually try and make a run for it, well he hadn't been stupid enough to try it after the second time of getting his shit kicked in anyway. He liked to think of himself as a fast learner.
On his way to his psychiatric therapy room, which looked a lot like a police interrogation room, Garfield Lynns got to see a few other members of Batman's infamous rouges gallery. There was Oswald Cobblepot, aka the Penguin. The dorky looking Ventriloquist, Lynns didn't bother remembering his real name. Normal human criminals who were still very dangerous where kept in his wing. The less human ones like Man Bat, Killer Moth, and Killer Croc where kept on a lower level with a lot more security. The ones with powers like Poison Ivy where kept there as well. Sadly the Joker, was kept nearby just in a deeper more secure section. Hence why he could still hear that obnoxious laugh.
Coming into the dull, drab, session room Garfield Lynns was sat down on a tough metal chair while his apparent new doc sat across from him. Typically the nurses would sit behind him but strangely enough the doctor waved his hand at them.
"You may go." The doctor said, the two nurses looked at each other. The dusky brown haired man laced his fingers together and looked at them evenly, "Mr. Lynns is handcuffed, and I'm more able than you'd think I could handle him if anything happens. I took some defense classes before I applied here for such situations."
Garfield withheld an amused snort to avoid making the guards more hesitant to leave. The seemed more reassured by the doctor's statement and nodded. The taller of the two opened the door so his partner could leave, "If you insist Dr. Arkwright."
The doctor watched them leave with an indifferent expression on his face. When the door shut Dr. Arkwright looked to a folder resting on his clipboard before opening it up. While he was milling through the papers Garfield Lynns leaned back in his chair with a snide grin on his face, "So what happened to my old shrink? She get killed or quit?"
"She resigned," Dr. Arkwright answered normally as he continued to search through the file, "She couldn't handle working in Arkham. It wore on her too much in different ways."
"That's a shame," Lynns said in mock disappointment while looking at a painfully plain wall of the room, "She was the only good looking thing I got to see in this damn place on a regular basis."
"Yes, that's why you're not allowed to have female psychiatrists anymore," Dr. Arkwright commented as he continued through the papers. Lynns grunted flatly in response.
Finally coming to what he was looking for in the folder he pulled out a key and held it up for Garfield Lynns to see. The arsonist arched a brow wondering what the metal key was for. Putting the key on the table Arkwright slide it over to the criminal, saying nothing. Lynns picked the key up and looked at the doctor sitting across him trying to figure out what he was up to. Picking up nothing from his indifferent expression the arsonist gave the key a try on his handcuffs. To his surprise the key worked and unlocked the cuffs.
The handcuffs dropped with a metal clank and the arsonist rolled one of his wrists to loosen them. Eyeing the doctor across of him Lynns found himself unable to figure out what he was up to. So he voiced it, "What are you up to doc?" He chuckled getting an idea, "Trying to gain my trust so I'd cooperated with whatever method you're gonna use to 'fix' my head? Cause I can tell yah…"
He gave the doctor a serious look and leaned forward to emphasize his following words, "It isn't going to work. I don't want to be fixed."
Dr. Arkwright wasn't fazed by this attitude in the least, "That's good." His response caught Garfield Lynns by surprise, allowing the doctor to continue, "You see I did let you take your cuffs off to gain your trust, but not to let me treat you. I want to talk business with you."
Intrigued Garfield Lynns propped his feet up onto the table and crossed his arms behind his head, "Oh yeah?" He chuckled, "Tell me. What kind of 'doc' are you Arkwright. Are you even a shrink?"
"Well, I do have college degree in psychology so I am certified, but that's not where I really get most of my money." Dr. Arkwright said smoothly a slight smirk dancing on his lips, he leaned back a bit relaxing his proper posture, "My current employer has some connections and puts people where he needs them to be. He needed someone in Arkham I was qualified so he contacted me. I liked what he offered, so," He motioned to the room around them, "Here I am."
"Oh yeah?" Lynns said as he looked to the cameras in the room, the doctor was saying some pretty incriminating stuff. When the guard saw this he'd get locked up even longer.
"Don't worry about the cameras, they're not an issue for the moment" Dr. Arkwright said waving the issue away with his hand."
The arsonist relaxed again, "Heh, your boss must have a lot of people in here then."
"He does, enough to get me hired here, assigned to you, and more." Dr. Arkwright said before a small grin on his face appeared, "And enough to get you out of here sooner than expected without Batman hearing about it."
Now Garfield Lynns was really interested, he shifted his body and propped his elbows onto the table, "What does this boss of yours want from me, who is he anyway? Thorne, Two Face, Penguin?"
"None of the above," Dr. Arkwright answered with a smirk, "He's a new comer but he's gaining ground in the underworld real fast. He's already taken over Stromwell's old territory over at the train tracks."
"And his name?" Garfield Lynns asked, he was a tad impressed but he wasn't about to say that at least not yet.
"He likes to be called Black Mask." The doctor answered casually, it wasn't odd for Gotham criminals to give themselves strange names.
A chuckle escaped Garfield's mouth, it wasn't because he found the name to be funny-heck he was called Firefly, it was more because it was obvious the man wanted to sound intimidating. On the other hand if the guy had taken a territory and had power in Arkham Lynns decided that there was something to this Black Mask. Looking at the doctor he grinned, "Okay, so what does this Black Mask want with me?"
"Simple, he wants to hire you." Dr. Arkwright answered as he pulled a photo out of the folder and pushed it over to the arsonist.
Picking the photo up Garfield Lynns grinned wildly, it was a photo of a very nice looking flame thrower. Impressed he whistled before putting the photo back down, "Okay, now I'm really interested. This going to be my payment for whatever he wants me to do?"
"That's just the tip of the iceberg Mr. Lynns. He wants to hire you long term, meaning a payment for each job you complete. Black Mask wants you to be one of his top men, an enforcer if you will. The pay is good but he can also get you almost anything you want in terms of weapons and supplies to modify your suit."
The arsonist couldn't help but grin jaggedly at the deal, he was sold, "And all I have to do is say yes and this deal gets started?"
"That's correct Mr. Lynns. Payment will vary from job to job, but I'm sure they'll all be well paying." Dr. Arkwright explained, he shrugged lightly, "If you say no, you'll just wait out your term here."
"Alright, I'm sold. Not like I have reason to argue at the moment," Lynns leaned back in his chair again and pointed at the doctor, "This Black Mask gets me out sooner than I'm supposed to and I'll be on board with whatever he wants to do. Don't really care what, so long as I get to burn shit."
"Oh, I assure you there will be plenty of things for you to burn Mr. Lynns. Black Mask wants to take over the Gotham Underworld…and that will take quite a few 'messages' to be sent. If you catch my meaning." Dr. Arkwright said with a dark smirk on his face, hands clasped together.
"I hear you loud and clear doc, and I like what I hear." Garfield Lynns replied a chuckle rumbling in his throat, he looked off to the side, "So how long will it take for him to get me out?"
Doctor Arkwright took the photo back placing it in the folder before answering, "By the end of the month, you'll have to understand something like this needs to be done discreetly."
The arsonist sitting across from him shrugged, "Hell of a lot sooner than I would have gotten out anyway."
Once Garfield Lynn's session time was over the Nurses arrived right on the dot. The door was pulled open and one of the men looked inside. He appeared to be surprised that Dr. Arkwright was still in one piece. He let out a subtle "Huh" at the observation before going over and helping the arsonist out of his chair before leading him out of the room, Lynns giving a brief wave with his hands cuffed. The second Nurse creased a brow seeing a content expression on the criminal's face. He hummed for a moment before looking to the psychiatrist and gestured to the inmate with his thumb, "What's his deal?"
"I think he enjoyed the session," Dr. Arkwright said with a slight smile before tilting his head in a thoughtful manner, "I believe I gained enough of his trust to effectively begin treatment."
"Guess I underestimated you doc…" The guard half muttered as he headed out the doorway to help his partner lead the fire obsessed inmate back to his cell. If he can get through to this guy…then maybe it is possible to fix these lunatics…He thought to himself as they put Lynns back into his cell after removing his handcuffs.
Garfield Lynns laid back on his cot, arms crossed behind his head a grin on his face. He could already see the flames around him. Lynns chuckled faintly to himself he couldn't wait to get out of this damn place. Working for this Black Mask character sounded like it was going to be fun, and what could be better than a job one could enjoy?
Normally a month would seem to go on for a year inside a cell at Arkham Asylum. For Garfield Lynns though time seemed to pass faster as the arsonist planned what he'd do when he was free-what he'd burn when he was free. That and what this new boss of his, Black Mask, would be like. He figured if he was too much of a pain that he'd just spare Batman the trouble and burn the whole set up down. Lynns; however, had a feeling he'd like this new boss of his would be fun. Still he wasn't putting his hopes up yet, though, either way it was a win for him.
Currently he was lying on his cell be again, arms crossed behind his head, one leg propped on another as he tapped his foot in the air patiently waiting to be let out for lunch. He grumbled to himself, "It better not be beans floating in fucking piss poor water they call fucking soup again…nearly fucking choked on that shit…"
He turned his head as the door slid open to his cell room, there the two "nurses" from before were standing in the cell. Honestly he thought the two guys, which he found out names were Earl and Brenton, had lasted the longest out of all the security guys he'd known. Saying nothing he shifted himself to a sitting position, legs hanging off the side of the bed and arms outward. Brenton unceremoniously slapped a pair of hand cuffs on him and lead him out of his cell, Earl shutting the door before they walked down the hall. Nothing was said, they both knew that Garfield well knew what was going on. It took a while anyone could get used to the schedule of the asylum, even without a clock.
The sounds coming through the halls of the asylum were still ever present, but not frightening to Garfield Lynns who was long used to them. Neither did his nurses seemed to be effected by the wails, screaming and other various noises echoing through the halls. The arsonist did however, notice that Joker's laughter wasn't present. This could only mean he was already in the lunch hall, since he hadn't heard the erupting chaos of Joker escaping. That would always wake up every single inmate of the asylum, no matter how deep a sleeper someone was.
As they neared the mess hall the distinct roar of inmates gathered there became noticeable, hard not to notice really. The gates leading to the sectioned off mess hall came into view, Garfield watched as one inmate was let in through the steel door gate, his nurses walking off to go get another assigned to eat at this time. The metal bar fences lending up to the door made it look like a cattle corral, which in a sense it was just for the criminally insane.
The nurses lead Lynns up to the door, Earl went over to the other side of the barred fence and swiped a car. Lights on the door lit up green, seeing this Brenton opened the door, took of the arsonist cuffs. With an abrupt shove the nurse pushed Garfield Lynns inside the sectioned of cafeteria. Behind him the metal door slammed shut then a subtle click of it locking, Lynns huffed to himself before he joined the line of criminals waiting for their slop. How he couldn't wait to sink his teeth into real food, he'd settle for a greasy fast food burger over this.
After shuffling along with the line the arsonist eventually came to the part lunch line that actually had food. The lady behind this section looked like she should be in the prison not serving the food. She was a bit chunky but Lynns felt some of that was more muscle than fat. Her arms were decorated with tattoos, too many for him to focus on at the moment. A "thunk" noise made Lynns look at his plate, mushed beans had taken up a spot on his tray he'd picked up at the start of the line.
"Move on." The woman grunted.
Garfield gave her a look but seeing as there was a thick pane of bullet proof glass between them he begrudgingly move down the line. Once all of his various kinds of slop and water was gather he sat down at one of the tables available. He grimaced at his mediocre sad excuses for food. Reminding himself that he'd be out soon Lynns swallowed his disgust and ate what had been given to him.
The arsonist was mostly tuning out the noise that had been going on around him, instead imagine the wonderful sound of roaring fire instead when something plopped down next to him. Considering the occupants of Arkham Asylum the arsonist figured it be a good idea to check who had just joined his company. Turning his head he saw a plump, beak nosed man sitting next to him, already gorging himself on his food.
"What are you doing sitting with me Cobblepot?" Lynns questioned flatly, he'd worked with the Penguin once, and that was enough to not want to be near the fellow criminal again.
The red headed inmate shot him a look, "What? I can't sit where I want?" He squawked, the arsonist was about to say something when Cobblepot mumbled to himself, "Besides, Joker's out so I'm trying to stay out of sight…"
This reminded the blond inmate that he hadn't heard the sickening laughter of the deranged clown on his way here. He began to look around, no one honestly enjoyed Joker's company. Well there was his woman Harley Quinn but Lynns assumed she was just about as insane as Joker. Quickly he began to glance about for the damn Clown Prince of Crime.
"So where is he?" Garfield Lynns asked quietly, a mutual understanding formed between the two for the time being.
Oswald Cobblepot looked over to a more crowded area and pointed but he stopped, "Over-wait, where'd he go?"
On cue the topic of their brief exchange landed right on the table between them almost causing food to splatter everywhere. Garfield had lucky grabbed onto his food tray to keep most of it on the try. Cobblepot on the other hand got covered in the slop he had been eating, and looked very unamused by it. Joker on the other hand was laughing like a Hyena, before abruptly stopping and flipping back onto a seat.
"You know you really should clean up your act Cobblepot." Joker commented casually motioning to Oswald before busting out laughing manically again, "And you should start with your face!"
Still dripping in cafeteria food Cobblepot grumbled, "I hate you Joker." Hearing a chuckling the Penguin turned his head and snarled at Garfield, "Don't start Firefly." The arsonist merely shrugged with a smirk on his lips. The beak nosed criminal looked back to the white faced clown, "Go bother other people Joker. You've already made me lose my lunch both literally and not! So scram!"
Joker feigned looking hurt, a hand placed over his heart, "What? And I thought we were friends Oswald! After all we're all in this mad house together!"
"Hardly makes us friends…" Cobblepot muttered scrapping up what remained of his food on the tray. Garfield glanced at one super criminal to the other deciding to stay out of the conversation that would no doubt go south real soon.
"Really?" Joker tilted his head questioningly, his jester hat-like pointed hair falling of his shoulders. A dark look flashed in his red and yellow eyes, he growled and gripped the table, "That would explain why you keep trying to take my territory! Friends share you thieving vulture! I told you Gotham is mine for the taking not yours!"
The Penguin didn't looks as intimidated as others would have, however he did glance at the guards and growled back to the insane clown, "Keep your voice down Joker or you get us both thrown back in our cells. Unless this is part of one of your ever successful plans of escape."
Joker blinked before suddenly sitting back in his seat, "Nope." He admitted honestly before glowering at Penguin, "I just don't like you."
"Shocking." Cobblepot said flatly as he wiped his face off. Snorting he says, "Well, you won't have to deal with me for much longer," The penguin-like man pointed to himself grinning with his oddly sharp teeth, "because I get out in a few days." He glanced at Lynns, "What about you Lynns?"
He arched a brow when the arsonist started to chuckle, "Oh real soon." He turned his head to the Penguin themed villain, "Why do you want to know?"
Oswald Cobblepot grinned and quietly said, to avoid the guards overhearing, "Because I was wondering if you wouldn't mind taking up a job I have in mind."
"No can do." Garfield Lynns answered flippantly, scooping up gruel.
The Penguin squawked in surprise, getting a giggle from Joker. Penguin shot him a look only to get more giggles from the clown. Growling to himself Oswald forced himself to turn away from the clown and face Lynns, "Why not?"
"Because I already have a job." Garfield Lynns answered casually.
"With who?" The Penguin questioned, brow arched in intrigue.
"No one you know." Lynns replied with a smirk, he looked to Joker when the clown let out an exaggerated "Ooooh" sound.
"A new player, huh?" Joker guessed, chin resting on a bridge formed by his hands.
Garfield Lynns nodded, "That's right. He hired me up, I got myself a boss."
"I thought you were freelance." Penguin pointed out managing to scrape up more food from his plate.
"Just goes to show the pay I'll be getting," Lynns answered. He knew the pay would fluctuate depending on the job but the arsonist didn't really feel like working with Cobblepot again. Last time had almost gone well, until the fat bird's ego got in the way. He chuckled, "And I'll be getting some nice toys too."
"One can never have enough toys." Joker commented, smiling while he nodded along with what he said. Garfield Lynns nodded in agreement.
The Penguin frowned, "You're not going to say who he is, are you?"
Smirking Lynns shook his head, causing the crime penguin to grumble irately to himself saying, "Of course not."
"Garfield Lynns." A voice said, said arsonist looked up at a nearby intercom system. The guard most have seen him respond to the voice or he just continued talking, "you're being let out proceed to the exit gate."
The arsonist grinned and got up heading over to the previously mentioned gate. Waving uncaringly he says back to the two other Gotham criminals, "See yah." Before chuckling to himself as he left.
Oswald Cobblepot watched the burn scarred arsonist leave, briefly annoyed by his attitude before grinning he looked back to Lynn's left behind food. Normally he'd be more picky about what he ate but since his previous food had been splattered all over the table Cobblepot wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. Just as Oswald was about to snatch up the leftovers Joker stole the food away. Growling with his sharp teeth Penguin snarled as he shook in anger, "I hate you…"
"I know," Joker sneered smoothly as he sat cross legged on the table, watching Lynns get let out of the sectioned off cafeteria he frowned, "Something's up." He half muttered, scooping up some of the mashed beans.
"What makes you say that...?" Oswald grumbled, thinking about how his basically empty stomach was going to give him hell at night.
"He should be getting out yet." Joker stated as he kept his red and yellow eyes pinned on the arsonist as he was escorted away.
Oswald Cobblepot lifted his head up after hearing this, "Oh yeah? How do you know that?"
Joker grinned in a knowing yet maniacal manner, twirling his spoon in one hand, "Oh, after getting sent back here so many times you learn a few things. Zippo only got here a few months ago, he shouldn't have gotten out for at least a few years. That or by letting himself out."
The penguin themed criminal mulled that over in his head while looking where Garfield Lynns left towards. He rubbed his rounded chin thoughtfully, "That makes an awful lot of sense for you Joker." Oswald looked at the clown sitting on the table, "So what do you think is up in that twisted head of yours?"
"Well," Joker said drawing the work out for a bit, "Either someone whack job of a doctor thinks the fire lover is cured or," the clown looked around suspiciously at the guards, "someone on the inside pulled some strings…"
"Who could have that kind of-" Penguin was cut off when Joker slammed the tray into his face, splattering him with whatever was left on it. Slowly the tray slid down Oswald's face before falling onto the concrete floor. Joker naturally laughed his head off before bouncing off to some other part of the cafeteria. One eye twitching out of pent up aggravation the Penguin grounds out, "Someone needs to kill that clown…"
Outside Garfield Lynns strutted out of the front gates of Arkham Asylum no longer wearing the orange jumpsuit required by inmates to wear. Now he wore what he had been available for him, seeing as they wouldn't return his suit, and all he had on before was a pair of boxers underneath. So now he had a plain white short, blue jeans and a cheap pair of sneakers. It didn't bother him much, he'd grown up with worse having lived in the poorer side of Gotham for most of his life. The arsonist grinned slightly as he spotted a black van sitting at the curb in front of the steps. Lynns had expected this but he couldn't help but think, how fucking cliché can you get?
Shaking his head slightly he shrugged to himself and walked down towards the van. The side door swung open so he took a seat in the back. There were three other men in the car, two up front and one beside him. Considering the two up front weren't likely to talk to him he looked to the one next to him, he didn't look like a boss type. From his experience he was someone high up but still took orders. Still he had to be sure.
"Are you, or are you not Black Mask?" Garfield Lynns asked.
The man of Asian descent shook his head, looks like his thoughts had been right, "No I am Tupeng an assistant of Black Mask. He's glad you took his offer to join up with us Mr. Lynns."
"Considering he got me out early," Lynns leaned back in his chair and let out a relaxed sigh, "so am I." Resting his head against the seat he turned it to Tupeng, "So you going to take me to see the boss?"
"No." Tupeng answered readily with a shake of his head, the arsonist arched a brow to this.
"Then where the hell are we going?" Garfield questioned bluntly, glancing around at the windows to try and guess. He eyed Tupeng, he hadn't pissed off him before had he? No he didn't recall any guy that looked like him. Then again he could be the owner of a business he burned down. There was also the possibility he could be working for someone he pissed off. Was it Freeze? Yeah he'd defiantly pissed him off after the last time they teamed up ended up being and utter meltdown.
"Relax Mr. Lynns," Tupeng said calmly noticing the growing suspicion in the man's blue eyes and expression. The arsonist turned his eyes back to him, the man continued, voice hinted with an eastern accent, "We are merely taking you back to your home."
Lynns relaxed back against the seat again, "Alright, then when will I get to meet the boss of mine?"
Tupeng grinned, hands knitted together, this mind was starting to remind him of Arkwright, "When you've earned his respect."
"What?" The arsonist responded bluntly, what kind of bullshit did the man just spew at him?
"Black Mask's respect is earned, not free Mr. Lynns," Tupeng answered as he grabbed a large suite case from the floor. Lynns's eyes immediately darted to it as he inputted the code on the lock, "Further he wants to know if you're worth paying for Mr. Lynns, just think of it as an initiation. Black Mask wants to see if given the right supplies and funding you'll be a valuable member to his organization."
Garfield Lynns mulled it over in his mind, it made sense he guess. Lynns huffed dully, "I get it. I got to pass the entrance test just like in any other gang."
"Precisely, but our organization is more than just thugs off the street. We a have more disciplined order." Tupeng stated as he took a device of some sort out of the case.
"So you just don't give a street thug a gun and say "have at it?" Garfield joke, he looked at the device with a bit of intrigue, "That some sort of transmitter?" Tupeng looked surprised that he had guessed correctly, as he stared at him a moment. The arsonist grunted bluntly, "I made my own gear you know…" He took the transmitter from the man's hands and examined it closer, "This is higher end stuff than what I had before though."
Shaking off his surprise Tupeng went on with what he had to say, "Black Mask wants you to input that to your helmet he'll give you directions to your first assignment then."
Garfield Lynns continued to inspect the device as he turned it over in his hands. He held up two fingers, keeping his eye on the transmitter as he spoke, "Two things. One, it'll take me time to rebuild my helmet."
"No need," Lynns looked to the short black haired man, whom motioned to the trunk, "We have managed to procure one of the suits that belong to you in storage. It's a bit banged up but the helmet is fine."
"Good enough." Lynns answered as he flipped the coin shaped transmitter in his hand.
"And the second thing?" Tupeng reminded him, looking at the arsonist carefully.
"I'm still getting paid for these "trial run" jobs right?" Lynns's voice was smooth but the manner he leaned in towards Tupeng suggested he was giving the man a warning that was much more like a threat.
Looking back at him evenly Tupeng managed to keep his calm, he had experience dealing with these types. Though it worried him a little more than usual because the man he was dealing with loved fire. Reassuring himself inwardly that he could not possibly create a flame Tupeng answered Lynns, casually putting aside his threat, "Of course Mr. Lynns."
Once he said that the arsonist crossed his arms behind his head and closed his eyes, readying to enjoy the right, "Just checking." He said flatly.
That went over well, Tupeng thought to himself. Yeah he had gotten threatened but after dealing with criminals for most of one's life, and in Gotham that meant a lot were also insane, one comes to know what to expect. Learning to deal with it, and knowing what to expect, was part of the job.
The rest of the ride went by quietly as they drove through the dreary streets of Gotham City. Garfield Lynns noticed it had rained today, not an uncommon occurrence for this time of year. The streets were crowded still, people expected and were used to the rain by this point in the year, most armed with umbrellas or hooded jackets. Lynns glanced up, the sky was thick with dark clouds a storm was coming.
Lynns turned his head to Tupeng slightly, "Hope your boss knows there's a storm coming. As I'm sure you know, it's difficult to keep fires going in weather like this."
"Do not worry Mr. Lynns. Weather was taken into account." Tupeng answered calmly, he got a grunted "good" in response from the arsonist.
Coming to a particularly dirty part of the city in a part of the poor section of Gotham City the black van stopped. The person that had been sitting in the passenger seat up front got out of the car and opened the door next to the arsonist. The rain had start up again, but the hired goon didn't even seem to notice it. Though with how quickly he motioned for Lynns to go the arsonist guessed he wanted him to hurry up.
Pocketing the transmitter, Lynns looked back to Tupeng, "The stuff in the trunk?"
Tupeng gestured to the goon standing in the rain, "Clay there will help you with that."
Lynns grinned nodding, "Alright then."
Getting out of the car Lynns was showered on by the falling water droplets quickly leaving him wet. Ignoring it he walked around to the back of the car, Clay following behind him. Briefly Lynns thought he heard him grumble something but the arsonist couldn't be sure over the sound of the rainfall. Not caring either way he popped the trunk, seeing a pair of large orange duffle bags in the bag he grinned. Pulling it one out Garfield Lynns looked to Clay, jabbing his free thumb at the other bag, "You get that one." He instructed before walking away, "And hurry up! Don't want to stand in the damn rain waiting for you."
Clay watched him go before muttering to himself and grabbing the back, shutting the trunk and following after Garfield. A look of confusion appeared when they walked past the apartment to what looked like a warehouse. Shifting the duffle back he questioned Lynns, brows furrowed, "Didn't we just past your apartment?"
"Huh?" Lynns arched a brow, he hadn't been paying attention to him. Figuring out what he must have asked the arsonist chuckled, "Nah, that's not my place. That is." He pointed to the warehouse before chuckling, "The roads around here are messed up. Your buddy that was driving probably made a wrong turn, said fuck it, deciding he was close enough and just stopped where he did."
"Fucking Even…" Clay muttered to himself following Garfield Lynns up to the door. Feeling grateful when they were finally inside the warehouse. Much to his surprise the inside was like a mechanic's workshop. Wielding tools, wrenches, screws, nuts, bolts the works, all over the place. Panning his head to the side he spotted a small area that had been made into a makeshift bedroom/ living area/ kitchen. In another corner was a walled off closet looking thing that he guess was actually a bathroom.
"This is your house?" The goon sounded impressed as he looked around the area.
"Yeah, bought it after one of the few successful jobs I had. Luckily the bat busted me afterwards, managed to keep the place." Lynns answered, sounding a bit irate while mentioning the Batman. The blond man grunted as he tossed the wet orange duffle bag onto a nearby metal table. He then motioned to the now wet table, "just toss it there."
Without a single word Clay tossed the second bag onto the table, this one having more of a metallic clunk than the other. The Black Mask goon looked around a moment before heading back to the door, "My work is done." He stopped at the door, Lynns looked at him as he opened one of the bags, "Remember get the transmitter attached to your helmet so boss can give you your assignment."
"Yeah, yeah," Garfield Lynns huffed, the thug shrugged his shoulders and left the arsonist alone. Once the door shut, Lynns left the bags and locked the door. Soaking wet he changed his shirt, pants, boxers, everything. He hadn't realized how soaking wet he'd gotten. It didn't matter, once he started fixing his gear he'd dry off real fast.
Going back to the bag he pulled out his damaged yellow helmet. He turned it over in his hands, grumbling, "Going to build a whole new one soon…" It wasn't totally busted but the helmet did have cracks in it. It'd hold for now, but one good bash would be the end of it. Also a lens needed to be changed out.
"First change the transmitter," He told himself, he picked up the device he'd taking out of his other change of pants, it was dry mostly but he knew tricks to clean it up fast. Lynns grinned to himself, "This'll be easy," He looked around for his helmet schematic which was gone, "where is…" The arsonist stopped and growled to himself angrily, "Dammit! That's right, they're all gone! Taken by the cops or the damn bat!"
Tense out of anger Lynns stormed over to a table and took a piece of paper, and after finding a mechanical pencil began to draw up a plan to change up his helmet to suit the transmitter. He chuckled to himself roughly, "Oh well, time for a design change anyway."
A little over an hour later Lynns had the design plan finalized he moved the paper over to where the helmet and transmitter were then headed off in search for supplies. Some of his more clearly dangerous equipment had been confiscated but the basics were still available. He grunted to himself, "Won't stop me."
Heavy rock music playing Garfield Lynns set to work getting the adjustments and changes to his yellow helmet done. Welding helmet on Lynns started sealing the cracks then cut a space in the side where he'd attach the transmitter. A few more sparks flying in the air and the attachment was done. He smirked to himself behind the helmet, taking the helmet off for a moment he looked over the plans to refresh himself on what he needed to do. Mind refreshed he took out some more delicate tools for this part, but first he needed the helmet to cool off. Stretching his back out he headed to his "room" he rested there, ate some of the food he had that was still good, which wasn't much-but still better than prison food.
Another shot of working on the helmet and Garfield Lynns had the transmitter working on the helmet. He wasn't going to use it yet though. He still had to fix it up. Right now the helmet looked like something out of a futuristic Frankenstein movie. A bit of shaving down the welded parts so it was all smooth, nice yellow paint job, a pair of new lenses-might as well change both of them, and it was complete. He looked it over, it looked less stylized than before but he was fine with it for now. Once he got enough money and supplies he'd make a new model.
"Heh, that was easy." Lynns said to himself as he looked over the helmet, it almost looked new making him all the more please. Sticking the helmet back on felt great, soon Firefly would be back and something would burn because of it.
Turning on the transmitter he found out that it was already set on a working frequency. Must be Black Mask's frequency…Garfield figure, to test he talked, "Hey, anybody there?"
There was a moment pause when a smooth voice that almost had a metallic quality spoke, "Ah, Mr. Lynns or do you prefer Firefly?"
"Right now? Call me Firefly," Lynns decided before smoothly continuing on, "I'll take a guess and say your Black Mask."
"You'd be correct." Black Mask answered, "You got the transmitter ready faster than I expected Firefly. That's good because I don't want just anyone in my organization."
Firefly chucked amusedly, "Good to hear I made the cut, now what's my job." He grinned eagerly, all he needed was a target he didn't care what he just wanted to set something ablaze! "What do I need to burn to the ground?"
"Nothing." Came Black Mask's flat answer leaving a bewildered expression on the arsonist's face. It took a moment for him to even process what he had heard, or rather accept what he had heard. It couldn't be true. Why else would anyone hire him!
"What?" Firefly blurted out bluntly. Confusion turned to aggravation Firefly snarled through the transmitter attached to his helmet, "Why the hell did you hire me then!"
"Calm yourself Firefly, you'll get to burn things in due time. I'm sure that Tupeng told you that you were on a trail run."
This caused Firefly to stop a moment, he recalled that now but his voice was still stiff, "Yeah…he did."
"Further we can't make a scene just yet, the public isn't aware of your release just yet. Meaning the Batman isn't either. I've been keeping to the shadows so far and I want to keep it that way until the time is right. Understand? I don't want to put on a show beforehand."
Firefly took a moment for this to sink in, he didn't like having to wait but it made sense, "Yeah, I got yah, so what's the job."
"Good. Now, here's what I want you to do…"
It had taken time for Firefly to repair his gear but soon enough he was out zipping through the city skyline. Well, not exactly out in the city, he was following his new boss's orders to be discreet about how he traveled. Considering he had a jetpack walking was no option. After all, why walk when you have a freaking jetpack! Firefly was a bit surprised when his boss had been so lenient about his repair time, but he assumed he had an idea of the damage that had been done to his suit. Regardless he wasn't about to complain.
Currently he was heading towards one of Rupert Thorn's weapon's stashes. Black Mask wanted to cause trouble with the gangs by making them point fingers at each other. None of them would turn to the police or Batman, and the ruckus they caused with each other would attention from any activity Black Mask did.
Spotting the building he quietly landed on the roof. Quickly he hurried across the roof to a glass sunroof. Kneeling next to it he looked at the little latch on the window, he looked down at one of his laser blasters setting it to the lowest effective setting. Aiming carefully he cut through the latch. Firefly smirked to himself as he pulled the window pane up and slipped in, using his jet back he slowly lowered towards the ground. When he was close enough he shut it off and dropped down.
There wasn't anyone in the store that he knew of but the arsonist still checked around. There was a couple of guys and he noticed this by them yelling that they had spotted him. Firefly groaned to himself, stealth was not his thing. Readjusting his lasers to a higher setting he quickly shot the gun out of ones hands. The show was enough to make the two thugs stop and stare. Who they were attacking finally seemed to sink in.
"Oh shit…" One managed before swallowing fearfully.
"Yeah, not your brightest move." Firefly stated before blasting the both of them. Both thugs flew back, one slamming into a wall the other stumbling over some boxes. Firefly huffed, they'd live, need new shirts and hoodies but they'd live. It was irritating how careful he was having to be, but he made a huge fire the Batman would check to see what he was up to and if he did that he'd find out he wasn't in Arkham at the moment.
Firefly didn't down there were more guards outside so he moved quickly. Coming over to where the garage doors were he pressed the button to open them up. While they were opening-the sound no doubt attracting attention he flew back up to the roof to avoid detection. Standing up on the roof he turned on his communicator, "Hey, it's Firefly. The loading docks are open."
"Good job, we'll take it from here." Said Tupeng said from the other end of the line, "Your payment will be delivered to your home. Boss will contact you when your next job is ready."
"Alright, see yah." Firefly answered, he had expected this, So long as I get paid good, I'll put up with this nonsense.
A while had passed and Firefly was contently sitting in his small warehouse home, leaning back on a metal chair a cigarette in his mouth. Taking it out Lynns blew the smoke out from his mouth with a relaxed sigh. Working for Black Mask was really paying off, in a very literal sense. Today his new suit would be finished. This one more aimed for a combat sense than his stylish last one. He just needed to finish the thruster wings today. Still he'd always like the old design, maybe one day he'd make one just to have as a backup.
Garfield Lynns still hadn't met this boss of his but Firefly had a feeling it'd be soon. He grinned seeing the new combat flamethrower he'd received from his boss. Oh yes, he liked working for this guy. Lynns hadn't gotten to burn something into a smoldering heap but if he requested something-it'd get taken out of his payment but-he'd get it. A nice little perk Firefly got for being a special member of the organization.
He took another puff of his cigarette before getting up from his chair. Time to finish his thrusters. Garfield move over to his radio which was hooked up to his phone and turned up the volume. Music blaring Lynns set to work. Sparks flew, clanking of metal sounded, and Firefly lost track of time as he completed his new jetpack. It looked like fore wing-like shapes, each with thrusters on them. Two larger ones for speed, two smaller ones for maneuvering and stability.
Now to check if it worked properly.
Carefully he started the ignition process. The thrusters sputtered then burst into life, roaring like a jet plane. If it wasn't for the fact the jetpack was mounted down Firefly was sure it would have rocketed right into the wall, ruining his work, and his wall. Thankfully he had thought of that. Switching the jetpack off Firefly heard a noise coming from his new remolded helmet. This one was a gunmetal grey and looked more insectoid. There was also two antenna like protrusions on the side, both were communicators.
Putting the helmet on Firefly already knew what to expect, "Hey boss, what do you need me to do?"
"Have you finished your new suit Firefly?"
Lynns blinked at his directness, then chuckled, "Actually I just finished it. Testing went well, I'd say it was time to take it out of a test run."
"Excellent, and I believe it's time we met Firefly. Come by the old Janus factory over by the old railroads. You can't miss it."
"Sure thing boss." Firefly answered already getting up to get the suit on, the line cut off indicating Black Mask was done talking. Taking the helmet off, mentally making a note to make adjustments to the communicators so they could come off and on when he wanted. Grabbing a flame retardant suit resembling a pilots he pulled it on, along with gloves and boots. Just in case he'd get sent out he picked up his weapon, flamethrower, flare gun, grenades of various kinds, a new pair of weapons he had made fire sword and dagger-much similar to the lasers he had used.
Once the jet back was strapped on Garfield Lynns put on his helmet, and headed outside. Eager he took off, a new Firefly had taken to the sky, and it felt great.
With the jetpack speeding him across the sky Firefly arrived at the Janus factory in less than ten minutes. He pause a moment seeing what the faded billboard said, a rundown makeup factory? Firefly dismissed the odd location choice, whatever works.
Landing the "wings" on his back folded inward to keep out of the way, looking like metallic backpack or shield. Firefly looked around he couldn't see any activity but from what Lynns had learned about his boss. He was very careful, so it was to be expected. Walking around the area he came across a door, which had Tupeng waiting in front. The Asian man walked up to the arsonist, wearing a grey tux with a black shirt. Arms at his side he greeted the super villain, "Welcome Firefly. The boss is having me escort you to him, follow me."
Firefly walked behind Tupeng, went through the door, a man standing guard on the other side locked it behind them. The arsonist was surprised how well equipped he was, looking like some sort of special ops person! In fact most of the people he saw looked like that. These hardly looked like members of some street gang.
They stopped when they came across a pair of double doors, with armed guards standing on each side. Tupeng walked past the guards and opened one of the wooden doors, Firefly walked in and was saw a very nice looking office inside, much different from the old warn halls of the rest of the building. On the other side of a dark wooden desk sat one who could only be Black Mask, a black skull mask was affixed to his face as the name suggested. It was a metallic looking mask that almost appeared wooden, whether it was made of wood or metal Lynns couldn't tell. He wore a nice black, white pin striped suit and black gloves. What was strange where his eyes; only white showed giving him an almost supernatural quality.
Behind the arsonist Tupeng shut the door and remained standing by it. The door shut, the room was dark. A small desk lamp was the only source of light. The shadows of the room made it harder to tell the mask apart from the darkness. Only the front features of the mask were illuminated.
"Nice to finally meet boss." Firefly stated his mask making his voice sound like he was speaking through a walkie-talkie.
"I couldn't agree more," Black Mask answered coolly, the metallic quality to his voice was still present despite not speaking over at transmitter. Lynns was sure that was the mask's doing. Probably done to further hide his identity by altering his voice.
Firefly looked around the office briefly before looking to his boss, "So, what's this little meeting for? Or are we just having a nice little meet up?"
Black Mask got up from his desk and walked to the side of it, making it harder to see him but this didn't bother the arsonist much. The man waved his hand to the side, "There is a point to this meeting of course. For one to formally welcome you into this organization of my. As I'm sure you've seen this is no mere gang."
"Considering everyone's armed like a black ops team? Yeah, I got that idea." Firefly replied gesturing to the door. A slight chuckle came from Tupeng.
The masked man nodded, "My goal is to take over Gotham's underworld. If that is done, one can control the city itself. With the underworld under my control money will be an issue of the past. For me and for you," He turned his head to Firefly, white eyes looking at him expectantly. The masked man couldn't see the other villain's face but he didn't need to in order to know he was pleased with his words.
"In order to take control of the underworld, I need to take other gang's territories. Conquer their territories and with conquest comes war. And in war the man with the best toys wins." Black Mask gestured to the flamethrower before looking back up to his insectoid mask, "Despite looking like a street punk, you've got brains having built your previous suits on your own Lynns. That and your talent with fire. Given the right funds and supplies you're an asset to me, so long as you keep up the work."
"I'm sure you won't be disappointed. I've got no plans on losing this gig. So long as it stays sweet as it is." Firefly answered sounding slightly amused, though there was a hinted warning at the end. It didn't go unnoticed by Black Mask but such was common in their work.
"This go as planned and this will be the sweetest gig in all of Gotham Lynns," Black Mask responded as he leaned on the front of his desk. "Speaking of which, it's almost time to announce our presence. I've sent some men out to recruit Killer Croc. He'll be of value to us. You are to go out if things take too long or if winged trouble shows up, if he agrees then you'll act as Tupeng, keeping tabs on him till I say he's in. Understood?"
Firefly took up his flamethrower, holding the barrel, "So if the bat shows and I leave him up in smoke?"
There was a grin in Black Mask's voice, "You'll be set for the rest of your life Lynns."
"All I needed to hear boss."
This story was spurned from a discontinued rp between me and my friend Renagade Rex Sphinx. In it Firefly was working for Black Mask and after we discontinued the rp the idea of how kept pestering me. So I decided to write it down in my spare time. In this it's a mix of BTAS and The Batman just for fun as we both liked ideas from each one. I don't see myself continuing writing anything based off this AU but it's here at the least.
Please Review. I enjoy input.