[Chapter 3]
[Next Day]
Edward woke up shortly before 9 AM and after enjoying breakfast with the family headed over to CatCo to see if Cat needed more information. Turned out that Cat was pleased with what she had and, for her, nicely declined. Kara merely shrugged her shoulders in the meanwhile.
"Sorry," she said.
Edward waved it off, "It's all right. I do not mind this at all. It gives me time to explore National City a bit."
"I wish I could come with you," Kara said, "Being Cat's assistant..."
"Means you can show your new friend around town, Keira," Cat said from her office, "Chop chop."
Kara raised her eyes and smiled, "Thank you, Ms. Grant!"
Cat did wave Edward into her office and said, "Don't keep Kara gone too long."
Edward smiled, "I will return with her soon. Thank you."
"Don't thank me just yet," Cat said, "She would have given me a bogus reason to catch up to you. If she wants to be a reporter, she's going to have to out there and work for it. She told me this morning what she wanted to do."
She pulled out Kara's resume and in big red letters, she had written "REPORTER" on it.
"Good call, Cat," Edward said, "Did you realize all this when she first wanted to work here?"
"Of course I did," Cat said, "I have a knack of knowing where prospective employees should be. Kara's no different. Now, get her out of here for a bit. She needs to be able to find and work sources."
"Outside of Supergirl and a dragon," Edward replied smirking, "We'll be back soon."
"When you return, lettuce wrap from Noonan's, please?" Cat requested, "With a salad drizzled with ranch dressing."
"I will assume that Kara knows what you prefer, so, if that's all right, I'll defer to her," Edward said, "You do not need repay me. The article you wrote is worth this old Dragon's money, and then some. This time, I respectfully insist."
Cat smirked, "Glad you liked it...Wait a moment! I haven't published it, yet."
"I know how well you write, Cat," Edward said thinking quickly, "So, I know that your article will be above even your own high standards."
Kara was ready to take off, in more ways than one, though. Edward noticed that and said, "I best leave for now, lest Kara blow her cover dragging me."
Cat actually laughed picturing Kara using her super strength to drag Edward out of the building.
"Have fun," Cat said.
Edward passed Cat's new assistant and noted that the girl looked depressed.
"Are you OK?" He asked.
"I'm fine," she said, "Just trying to figure how to make her happy."
"If you mean Ms. Grant," Edward said, "Time and patience. Learn what she likes when it comes to her lunch, for example. Learn to anticipate what she wants. If there's a deadline, for example, that you know is a weekly or monthly thing or even daily and know that she may want to review layouts, make sure to collect them ahead of time if possible."
It's not just that," the woman said, "She's downright mean."
"I know how you feel," Kara said, "It took me a long time to confront her without getting fired. We ended up getting some cocktails instead."
"So," she said, "Just grin and bear it? I'll probably end up resigning or fired anyway. You were the longest to last as her assistant."
"Let Kara mentor you," Edward recommended.
Before anyone could reply, Edward's link fired up.
[Sweetheart,] Raven said, [There's something odd going on. I'm getting a spike in, well, violent emotions from nearby. I wouldn't normally say anything, but, this reminds me of a bloodthirsty crowd at a UFC match.]
[And at this time of day? That, in itself is worth looking into,] Edward replied.
"Kara," Edward asked, "Are there any sanctioned MMA bouts today?"
She shook her head, "Not that I know of. Why?"
"Something's going on," he replied, "Raven is sensing a spike in, well, bloodlust nearby."
While they were talking, Alex had received a phone call and was requested to meet Detective Sawyer at an alley. As soon as Alex got there, she understood why. There was a deceased alien in the trunk of a car.
A phone call later resulted in Supergirl and Edward's arrival on the scene.
Edward looked at the body and saw the cause of death. It was pretty obvious as there was some sort of horn impaling the body.
"What in the world happened here?" He asked.
"Not sure," Sawyer asked, "Who are you?"
"Edward Barnes, of the Titans," he replied.
Her jaw dropped for a moment, "The dragon on their team, right?"
"Yes, Detective," Edward replied, "I'm not here to contaminate the scene, however, I am curious."
"Just be careful," Sawyer said.
Edward pulled his communicator out and phoned home to the AI.
"Ralph, activate the communicator's scanner," he requested, "We have a dead alien body here."
"All right," the AI said, "Scanner active."
He ran the device slowly over the victim several times before Ralph said, "Most interesting. I do not have this species in my databanks, nor the weapon used to kill him. The tusk has some properties that have an Earthlike quality to it, namely calcium and similar to a wild boar tusk. Without any other information on the skel's species, I am afraid that I am of little use."
"That's all right," Edward said, "Keep what you've got in memory regardless."
"No problem," Ralph replied.
"It was worth a shot," Edward said.
Alex and others snapped some pictures of their victim before everyone headed off to work on the investigation.
Alex, Kara and Edward headed towards the DEO and Edward got a surprise when he was introduced to Hank Henshaw.
[J'onn?] Edward asked telepathically [I know your vibe anywhere!]
[Small planet, huh?] he replied.
Edward smiled as he shook Hank's hand.
"You know one another?" Alex asked.
"I've known Hank here by another name, but, yes, we are good friends," Edward replied.
"Very true," Hank replied, lowering his voice to a whisper, "Before I became Hank, Edward already knew me as J'onn. I couldn't hide my vibes from him, even before he married Raven. He knew I meant no harm.
"Edward, I will need you to sign a few NDAs. Part of the protocol."
"Oh, that's fine," Edward replied. Hank took Edward to his office and pulled out a stack of papers. Edward's jaw dropped.
"Geez," he griped, "Am I signing away my wife and children's lives as well?"
Hank chuckled, "Nope. We don't ask for that, yet."
Edward borrowed a pen and after giving the forms a quick read to see what he was allowed to say and what he was not allowed to say, started signing. It took a while, though.
"OK, Hank," Edward said, "Is there anything I can do to help out?"
Hank shook his head, "Honestly, not right now. I've got a good team of agents here, but, if you want to observe, I have no problem with that."
"Would you mind if I had the Titan's AI download a copy of your alien database?" Edward asked, "I can encrypt it to my voiceprint and retinal scan. I do not need to know individual names, just basic information."
Hank replied, "How secure in your AI?"
"Extremely secure," Edward said, "Hackers quickly find out that to try to breach Ralph's firewalls means that the hackers need new machines as Ralph inserts a very destructive virus to fry the attacker's CPU, memory and their storage devices. It's hard to get data off a machine when the system catches fire. Most hackers aren't stupid enough to take the machine to a repair shop where compromising data might be on a hard drive. A SSD, though, can be silently wiped with a DoD level wipe."
Hank raised an eyebrow, "That's extreme, but, necessary."
"Too many people got in before, so, Cyborg finally had enough and programmed Ralph to destroy invading computers," Edward said, "Ralph will try to warn the hacker away before sending the kill program. Most hackers figured it out and withdrew. Some others tried to continue only to smell their computer starting to overheat."
Winn Schott asked, "May I give it a shot?"
Edward glared, "Absolutely not. Ralph would see your attempt as an attack and would send that code. When it's sent out, it automatically runs and once that happens, even if the machine is unplugged...soon as power is restored, it runs from the computer BIOS silently. The hacker would hear the BIOS and CPU chips exploding. It's a silent but deadly drive-by download."
"I see," Winn said, "It would do a number on the computers here?"
"The DEO would be shut down for weeks, if not longer," Edward explained, "Every machine that is online would go down, and, the virus would spread to the other computers hooked into the network."
"It sounds like a virus I developed a while ago," Winn said, "Nasty little beast."
Meanwhile, Alex was working some leads and piped up, "We may have something."
Edward raised an eyebrow as she explained, "One of my sources says there's an underground fight club and has an address."
Hank said, "Check it out, Agent Danvers. You, too, Edward, if you want."
Edward smirked and said, "Let's go."
"You may want another form," Hank suggested, "You're recognizable."
Edward's form shimmered for a moment before settling on a middle aged man in his late 40s with blond hair.
"Not bad," Alex commented.
"Thanks," he said, "Call me Linus for now. I used this name a few hundred years ago."
"Works for me," Alex said as she walked to the exit, Edward in tow.
They went to Alex's car and Edward got in. Kara had already left to go to her day job, though. Even though Cat was still her ultimate boss, she had reassigned Kara to a guy named Snapper Carr and he was a stickler for the rules.
It took Alex a while to get to the location Sawyer had provided and she looked at Edward and said, "Nice disguise."
Edward glared for a moment, but, decided not to say anything. Sawyer got them into the makeshift arena where the crowd looked like they were high rollers.
Maggie pointed out several people locally famous as the emcee was announcing the first fight. It promised to be a nasty fight, though. An alien named Dragga was fighting someone who was a lot smaller.
In fact, the fight lasted all of a minute as Dragga overpowered the opponent easily.
"Damn," Edward said, "This guy is quite strong and for his size, agile enough."
Edward was taken aback when the hostess asked if there was anyone who could go 5 minutes with Dragga. If they survived, there was a cash prize involved.
"None here would last a minute, let alone five," Alex said.
"No one mortal," Edward smirked, "I'm up to a challenge."
He headed towards the cage and nodded, "I will challenge this brute."
The hostess laughed in Edward's face, "You wouldn't last 30 seconds. But, it's your funeral. What's your name?"
"Linus van Pelt," Edward stated, "Yes, I know, my namesake is a comic strip character. Big whoop."
The hostess made a big introduction and announced that bets were now open.
Edward entered the cage and the door was closed.
The hostess yelled, "FIGHT!"
Dragga rushed Edward, intent on ending the fight with a single punch. Only problem is that Edward was ready and ducked out of the way. Edward countered with a punch that staggered Dragga for a moment, getting a reaction out of the crowd.
Edward followed up with several more hard punches to keep Dragga on the defensive.
However, Dragga landed a powerful hit of his own into Edward's rib cage, causing him to fly towards the far side of the ring, until Edward morphed into his battle form, causing the crowd to go silent.
Edward landed and rubbed his ribs, "Helluva punch you got there, laddie."
Dragga snarled something Edward couldn't translate in his head and as Dragga charged, Edward took to the air.
Or, tried to. Dragga reached up and grabbed a surprised Edward and slammed him into the cement, cracking it.
Edward shook his head to clear it in time to catch Dragga trying to stomp him into the cement.
Edward caught the foot and shoved upward, forcing Dragga to the cement as well.
Edward morphed again, retracting his wings and hardening his scales. His ridges started glowing white, indicating that he was about to fire his lightning. Dragga somehow realized that his opponent was about to do something and charged into Edward, disrupting his attack totally. The lightning struck the cage instead and arced through the metal.
The crowd saw Edward start to glow as his Blessing of Light activated. Edward decided to use that for defense only as Dragga had not really angered him.
That was until Kara arrived and Dragga turned to her instead and manhandled her. She was slammed into the concrete, creating a crater as well before he successfully stomped on her.
Seeing Kara being beaten up triggered his inner Darkness and his scales darkened as a result. Dragga looked at the transformation and a hint of fear entered his eyes as Edward snarled, "That was your last mistake."
His spine glowed purple and his hands started glowing purple as well. He fired off a volley of starbolts that forced Dragga back into the cage.
"Azarath metrion ZINTHOS!" He roared and the cage was covered in black before it was wrapped tightly around Dragga. Rendering him motionless before the lightning spewed forth again, this time, with enough power to leave Dragga with sear marks and howling in pain.
Edward wasn't done and moved in for the kill before he heard in his head, [Sweetheart, STOP! That's enough. He's defeated.]
[Dad! Please calm down,] Callisto said. She had recently been able to access the link as well, [This violence will solve nothing. Supergirl is going to be fine.]
Edward's scales returned to bronze as his anger cooled off and he stood down.
He glared at Dragga and said, "Be glad my wife and daughter intervened. Get. Off. This. Planet!
"And...to whoever runs this show or supports it...This is the last one. I catch you starting this in any other location anywhere on this world, I will shut it down. Fund this and I will have your accounts...ALL of them frozen. They will be as frozen as the planet Neptune."
"You cannot shut this down!" The emcee objected, "These aliens have no rights..."
"They have rights in my eyes!" Edward roared, "From here on out, as long as they are law abiding, they are under my protection. Do not cross me on this one." His eyes were still glowing red and he gave the woman a withering glare.
"I have friends," she objected, "Who will not hesitate to stop you."
Edward scoffed, "It's their financial ruin, then. Tell them what I just said and that Edward Barnes keeps his promises They try anything and my wrath shall rain on them. They will wish Godzilla had attacked instead."
He turned to Kara who was just starting to move, "Anyone get the number of that train?"
"Relax, Supergirl," Edward said gently, "I'll get you over to where you can recover."
Alex and Maggie came into the ring as well, seeing that Edward would not attack them. In fact, he waved them over.
"Get her to the DEO," he whispered to Alex, "Maggie, please get me names and addresses of all those who were here. If you run into resistance, call me." He gave Maggie his number.
"What can you do?" Maggie asked.
"Best you do not know, Detective," Edward said, "Let's just say that I know a few methods to get information that is technically outside the law."
Maggie said, "You're probably right. Not that a jail cell would hold you, though. If that display was any indication of your true power...damn."
"Detective," Edward said, "That was child's play to me. Even if I had to give Dragga a taste of my true power, others have had it in full measure."
Edward realized that the crowd had high-tailed out after hearing Edward's warning.
"Just how powerful are you?" Alex asked.
"Seeing how Supergirl is still seeing stars should tell you," Edward said smirking, "Dragga managed several powerful shots that as you saw staggered me. I will admit that he's a very capable fighter."
Speaking of Supergirl, she was oddly enough, still woozy from those hits and Edward made a judgment call.
"Cover your eyes, ladies," he said, "I do not like how Supergirl is looking and without solar radiation, she's not going to heal as fast."
He reactivated his Blessing of Light and ramped it up to as high as he dared without hurting Alex and Maggie.
With the added light, Supergirl was able to recover faster and within a few minutes, she was levitating and smiling.
"Thanks!" She said cheerfully, "You can turn that off, if you'd like."
Edward's glow faded. He looked at her and said, "You all right?"
"Nothing that some additional sunlight won't cure," she said and looked at Dragga who was trying to escape.
Edward lit up his ridges and said, "Do not even try. I won't hesitate to zap you with a much stronger blast. You'd wake up in a cell at the DEO."
Dragga struggled more and Edward carried out his threat as a powerful lightning blast hit Dragga, eliciting a roar of pain that lasted several long moments before Edward stopped the attack.
Dragga was dragged out by Edward as the brute was out cold. As soon as they exited, the hostess realized that her champion was about to be taken away and pulled out a semi-automatic machine gun.
"You're not taking Dragga away from me!" She yelled.
She didn't get a chance to fire as Supergirl hit the gun with her heat vision, forcing her to drop the weapon.
Edward's eyes glowed red, "You foolish bitch! I should allow my Darkness to deal with you." He started towards her and smirked.
Before the woman could react, Edward blew smoke into her face, leaving her coughing and gasping for fresh air.
Maggie laughed and said, "Good one." She puts the cuffs on the hostess and said, "You're under arrest for possession of an illegal weapon and attempted murder."
"You can't arrest me!" The woman yelled, "I have friends in high places."
"So do I," Edward said, "And, probably in a much higher pay grade. So, I strongly suggest that you listen closely: You have the right to remain silent. If you give up that right, anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney and to have an attorney present during questioning. If you so desire and cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you at no cost. You have the right to end questioning at any time Do you understand these rights?"
She nodded, "Yes."
Edward asked, "Do you wish to give up the right to remain silent? I strongly recommend that you say 'No.'"
"Of course, I refuse to give up that right!" She snarled.
"She's all your, Detective," Edward said, "If you get any flak from her 'Friends in Low Places', I want you to contact me or Agent Danvers."
Little did anyone know: Someone had seen the bust and called the emcee's "friends" and before Maggie could even get her to the car, the smartphone rang.
"Sawyer," Maggie said. The voice on the other end merely said, "You are ordered to release the suspect."
"Captain?" Maggie said.
"You heard me, Detective! That woman is not to be arrested," her captain said, "This comes from 1 PP."
The captain didn't realize that both Kara and Edward could hear the entire conversation.
Edward motioned for the phone. Maggie silently handed the phone over.
"Captain," he said, "This is Edward Barnes of the Titans. The suspect shall remain in custody, or do I call the Attorney General of the United States as well as the Attorney General of this state and the governor? Trust me...If I make those calls, I will initiate an investigation by the Department of Justice, the FBI and the State Police for public corruption."
"You're out of your jurisdiction!" The captain protested.
"Check the law, Captain," Edward said, "and not state law...Federal law. I most certainly have jurisdiction when I see federal offenses committed. I usually do not have to claim this, but, seeing how you obviously do not wish to stand down, I am invoking federal jurisdiction and placing this woman into federal custody."
"You'd protect aliens who have no rights?" The captain demanded to know.
"Captain," Edward said coldly, "Not only are they under my protection as long as they obey the laws of this country as well as the state in which they live in, they are also under protection of the Titans. Captain, quite while you're behind. 2000 or so years ago, I took down slave traders without any remorse. If you are protecting people who are treating alien life forms as property; that makes you a conspirator, even if you are just following orders.
"I will tell you the same thing I just told Roulette: Push me on this and I will start to have assets frozen so cold that Neptune would be warmer. You let your superiors know that. Also, remember your oath of office, Captain, please. I do not want to have to arrest any officers for obstruction of justice." He didn't bother listening to the captain stammering and hung up.
He handed the phone to Maggie and said, "Let the jail warden know that there is a federal detainer on Roulette, authorized by Edward Barnes under 18 USC Section 68. I really do not invoke that much, but, to keep this POS behind bars, looks like I'm going to have to."
Supergirl nodded, "Sounds like a plan to me. Too bad we can't lock Roulette up at the DEO."
"We probably could," Alex realized, "I'd have to clear it with Hank, though."
"Hold that thought," Edward said.
[J'onn? What's the protocol for holding a human prisoner? We just broke up an alien fight club and Supergirl said we couldn't lock her up there. In case you're wondering, the local PD got orders to release her. I'm holding this person on a federal detainer as a result,] Edward asked telepathically.
[Considering we had Max Lord and Livewire for a while,] Hank replied, [Take your prisoner to the DEO facility in the desert. Kara or Alex can escort you.]
"It's taken care of," Edward said aloud, "Detective, I'm requesting that you release the prisoner into my custody."
"Probably will solve a lot of problems," Maggie replied, "My captain's going to be livid as is."
"That's his problem," Edward said, "Not yours."
Maggie smiled, "True. The prisoner is in your custody."
With that, Edward picked up Dragga and Kara picked up the still complaining Roulette, who was certain to be released regardless.
"Trade me, please," Edward requested, "Dragga's not going to give you any trouble, Roulette needs to realize something."
Kara shrugged and traded prisoners.
"Alex, Hop on," Edward said and lowered a wing. Alex got on and after getting Edward's standard safety instructions, teleported to above the building and waited for Kara to join him.
"After you, Supergirl," Edward said, "I've not been to where you and Alex work in the desert."
Supergirl nodded as she got the hint.
She took off at a leisurely pace, with Edward following.
"Now, Roulette," Edward said as they flew, "If you're wondering how I knew your alias, I'm a telepath and an empath. Meaning, I can read your mind and your feelings. I already scanned your true identity and other vital information. By the end of the day, your finances will not only be frozen, but, the IRS and Treasury Departments will be most curious as to your income, as well as your clients."
"You can't do that!" She objected.
"All I am doing is giving federal agencies a tipoff, nothing more," Edward said, "What they choose to do with that information, is up to them. But, lady, I can and am about to freeze your assets regardless, and, I think a federal court will uphold that."
"Not if I call my attorneys!" Roulette said with a smirk.
"Where you're going, you don't get a phone call," Alex said, "As far as the world knows, you disappeared without a trace. You'll be allowed to leave for court dates, and, if you are convicted, then, you'll be transferred to the Federal Pen."
"And, Roulette?" Edward said, "When that happens, I will make sure that you are assigned to the SuperMax facility. I'll throw you into a hole, and throw away the hole."
"Good luck with that," Roulette snarled.
"Planning on witness intimidation?" Edward said as they flew, "You can't intimidate a dragon, dearie. And, guess what? There will be plenty of people turning states against you in exchange for far more lenient treatment. If I'm not intimidated by a dragon millions of years older than I am, you are no threat to me."
"I'll escape somehow!" Roulette said.
"Good luck with that," Alex said, "It's a long walk to civilization and, you'd likely not get too far."
"Roulette," Edward said, tiring of the woman, "You have a right to remain silent...I strongly suggest that you use it!"
The sudden icy tone in Edward's voice was finally enough to shut her up for a while.
They flew for about 30 more minutes and finally Supergirl headed towards several buildings in the middle of nowhere and landed.
After Edward landed, he said, "I'll wait out here. No sense in you exposing me to everything that you'd prefer that I not see."
"It's OK," Alex said, "Hank sent me a text and said that you're allowed to see things here."
Edward morphed back to human and shrugged his shoulders.
"Lead the way, Alex," Edward said as he escorted Roulette into the building.
It did not take long to get the prisoners secured, and, Alex frisked Roulette to make sure that she couldn't call for any illegal assistance. And, after what Edward witnessed, he was more than happy to be rid of the woman.
As they left, Edward did ask, "Out of curiosity, how are prisoners' basic needs handled?"
"Classified," Alex replied. Edward nodded, "That's OK. Even if I have clearance, I'm not so curious as to invoke it."
"Edward," Alex said, "This entire agency is highly classified, and, it's off the books. Only a very few are allowed to know that the DEO exists. Hank trusts you, so, that's good enough for me."
With the prisoners secured, though, it was time to leave for the day. Kara needed to get back to her day job, and Alex needed to get back to her home base in the city.
So, Kara took off under her own power and Edward gave Alex a lift back to the city.
