I guess I'm still not used to writing in just six thousand word chapters because I always expect to get so much written in each chapter but I hit the limit so quickly. Not a whole lot happens this chapter but it is an important one. The plot starts moving forward, finally, and a few other things get set up for later chapters.

"Uhh," Peter started brilliantly, suddenly becoming very conscious of his ragged appearance. "Hey, I'm Peter Parker and...thanks?" He said though it came out as a question. This guy...no one should look that good. It just wasn't fair. He gets messed up spider DNA and this guy, Dick, gets genes that were handcrafted by the gods? Where was the justice?

"You're a pretty skilled juggler," he observed, and Peter started to flush on reflex. Compliments weren't something he had a lot of experience with, either as Spider-man, especially as Spider-man or as Peter. If Dick noticed, he didn't care because he just piled them on.

"I haven't seen juggling like that in years," Dick said with a smile that Peter could only describe as wistful. "How long have you been doing it?" He asked and Peter mentally back peddled. Answering that he did it once for a few hours didn't exactly seem like an intelligent thing to do.

"About two years? Give or take a month or two," Peter said with a shrug. Just like before, twisting the truth was where he thrived, and Dick seemed to have bought it because he smiled, showing off perfectly white teeth. Dude, seriously, this wasn't fair. Peter wasn't gay, but he was about to swoon, that's how unreasonably handsome this guy was. Whereas everyone else in the world got hit with the ugly stick, Dick Grayson was nearly beaten to death with the pretty one.

"Seriously? That's some serious talent," he said with seemingly genuine excitement, "It wasn't until, ah, a couple of years ago that I got any good at it, more of an acrobat myself. I'm still stuck at rubber balls, though," he explained, and Peter guessed that was why someone like Dick was talking to someone like him. An odd passion for juggling balls. Whatever, not even the weirdest thing he's seen in the past couple of hours.

"Uh, cool?" Peter said, social awkwardness returning full force. His face must have shown it because Dick let out a laugh that sounded downright musical. Seriously, puberty just wasn't fair.

"Ah, sorry, I just realized that this is kinda weird," he said with a chuckle. "But I grew in the circus, so I got a little excited to see a really good street performer. You don't see them all that often in Gotham since..." Dick trailed off, and Peter nodded, knowing what he was going to say. A good street performer could make a decent amount of money; some thug could do the same by taking the tip jar and running for it.

"Yeah it's not exactly safe in this part of town," there was a small lapse in the conversation and Peter quickly caved. "I guess that you're still not in it?" Peter ventured, gesturing to his clothing. He was wearing a gray V-neck, despite it being winter, a black cardigan jacket thing, and matching black pants along with a pair of dress shoes. Not exactly dressed to impress, but as a fellow heterosexual male, probably, but Peter had to admit he looked nice. And expensive. And ineffective since it was snowing! Looking nice wasn't worth freezing, Peter learned that lesson well when he picked up that orange monstrosity.

"No, I, uh, left when I was a kid but..." Dick paused, searching for a way to put his thoughts into words but Peter held up a hand. Right. Of course. Why would he be able to make some small talk without making things horribly awkward? Who did he think he was...ah...that one billionaire...ah! Bruce Wayne?

"You're good. I might be a train wreck when it comes to social stuff, but I know that pausing like that doesn't mean anything good. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," Peter said, thinking it would have been a little odd to have Dick spell out his entire life story withing five seconds of meeting him. As he expected, Dick immediately looked relieved and nodded his head in thanks.

"Thanks, well, long story short, I left, but I still love the circus. So, yeah, do you do this as a job or just a way to make some extra money?" He asked, steering the conversation away from the topic and Peter thought he seemed genuinely curious. Clearly, there was a story there, but Dick seemed happy just to chat about juggling stuff.

Now that he mentioned it, "No, it's my first time doing it in public. That little girl," he gestured in general direction the little girl left, "was about to start crying and I'm not good with girls in general but crying girls...? Yeah, no. So I just distracted her until her mom realized she was short a daughter." He explained with a shrug, brushing his hair out of his eyes and became very aware how nasty it was. And he was pretty sure he made it look weird but he couldn't fix it. That would just draw more attention to the fact that he was all kinds of gross.

Then he glanced at cup full of coffee stained dollar bills. Zoey had taken her cut, but there was still plenty of money left over. He more than made up his cost for his food and it only took him about ten minutes or so.

"Just realized you could make some serious money this way?" Dick asked, getting his attention again. He looked a little smug but Peter didn't mind because what he said was true. It was less stable than photography, but there wasn't any reason why Peter couldn't do both. All he had to do was juggle a few things for a couple of hours, and he'd make some serious cash.

It was an honest question of why he hadn't thought of it before, and the answer was just too quick to jump out at him. He had to keep his image of being 'Puny-Parker.' He had to cower when Flash stalked the halls, hand over his lunch money and held himself in check when Flash and his friends played a prank on him. Like throwing balloons filled with piss at him or breaking into his locker and stealing his assignments. He had to keep his head down so he wouldn't draw any attention to himself. A single slip up, a single mistake or standing up for himself would draw attention from his classmates. The best and easiest way to protect his secret identity, to protect aunt May and Mary Jane was to make Peter Parker the exact opposite of who Spider-man was.

It would have also raised a couple of question on why he was suddenly such a talented juggler, none of which he looked forward to answering.

Scooping up the cup of money, Peter realized that he hadn't answered Dick, so he quickly nodded, "Yeah, I just...I just never considered it before." He admitted freely, making Dick's smile grow.

"Most don't. It's not one of those things that just jump out at you, but it's an excellent way to make money if you have a skill people are willing to pay to see. There's also the circus, it's a lot more reliable in the way of consistent, if a bit smaller, pay. As a street performer, you're kinda reliant on how much you can get in tips. You can have a couple of great days in a row, or you can go," Dick let out a whistle while his hand made a diving motion. Apparently, his finances hit rock bottom because Dick made an explosion noise. Peter gave it a seven out of ten.

"Mmhmm," Peter acknowledged, Dick answering just about every question that he could think of off the top of his head. He was now considering joining the circus. Life threw some curve balls at you. First, he gets super powers, and now the circus was an appealing option.

"I can't join the circus," Peter said with some disappointment, thoroughly enjoying the mental image, though. "But I think I'm going to give the street performer thing a shot," he said, figuring out how he was going to do it.

He didn't go to school, which...hold up one second.

Peter's brow furrowed in thought, missing Dick's puzzled look. He...what was his name...Flash? No, a superhero didn't bully him...well, not in high school at least, but he could remember that jerk that made him miserable for years. However, the thing was, in those memories, Peter could swear he was in a school. It fit the bill; hundreds of hormonal teenagers, the ever present smell of BO and there weren't many places that had lockers large enough for him to fit inside. He had been in a school, he had been bullied, tormented for years, but...

Then...why...why...why...?

Peter blinked as he felt whatever he had been thinking about fade from his mind like fog. It was right there; he could feel it, but every time Peter tried to recall what he had been thinking about, the thoughts just slipped through his fingers like smoke.

"Sweet," Dick said, breaking him from his thoughts, seemingly pleased with his decision. No, he seemed like he was actually happy that there was another street performer in the world. He must really love the circus, or in this case, the next best thing. "Well, I recommend starting out in the central park. Lots of foot traffic there even though it's freezing."

'You lost your right to say that when you decided to wear a V-neck,' Peter thought, still not over that. However, he nodded along as Dick continued.

"There's also downtown, I guess, around noon. If you go just before or after the lunch rush, then you should make some cash. Not sure if it's worth staying more than a couple of hours, though," he added before he looked like he was struck by a thought. "Are, uh, you in school?" He asked, unsure how to approach the subject.

Peter shook his head, feeling a tad embarrassed, "no, but I'm getting my GED." He said, feeling a blush creeping up his neck despite his efforts to beat it off. Dick gave a polite smile and Peter honestly couldn't tell if he understood or if he was being judged hardcore.

Dick didn't seem like the kind of guy that would care. He was talking to him despite looking like he did and Dick was offering some precious advice, so he seemed like a pretty decent guy despite having poor choices in clothing. However, people were so rarely who they made themselves appear to be. He knew that from experience.

"Hey, you're good man," he reassured with a disarming smile and Peter felt a little less self-conscious. "I'm sure you have your reasons. Anyway, since you don't have school, aim for the after lunch crowd. I know it seems a little backward, but people are more willing to tip after the bought their own food or whatever. Plus, they'll be in a better mood, since food and a break from the daily grind." He explained with a shrug and Peter nodded along, committing every word to memory. It made sense, in its own way and Dick sounded like he knew what he was talking about.

"Thank you," Peter said honestly, sticking his hand back out. Dick just grinned away as he shook it. "But...why are you helping me? I mean, thank you, a lot, but...?" He trailed off, and Dick shrugged before letting go of his hand.

"Because I saw what you did for Zoey," Dick said before pausing to get his thoughts in order. "In Gotham, no good deed goes unpunished, so people stopped doing good. Well, most people. I just..." Dick shrugged again, "I don't know, I just figured I couldn't complain how bad the city is when the good guys get dumped on when the worst kind of scum lives it up like kings."

With that, Peter found himself smiling. Yeah, Dick Grayson was bumped up from an alright dude to a good guy. Even if he was unreasonably good looking and didn't dress appropriately for the season.

"Well, it was nice meeting you Peter, but I have to meet up with my little brother," Dick said with a lopsided grin that didn't look nearly as awkward as when he did it. Then he dug in his pocket for a moment and held out a card to Peter, which he took.

'He has business cards,' Peter thought, looking at the words Dick Grayson in fancy lettering and neon blue ink. Right below it was a phone number. Very minimalist. It could barely be called a business card. Odds were he left it on nightstands of girls that were well out of his league, but easily within reach of Dick's. 'I want business cards...'

Maybe something classy for Spider-man. Like a calling card or something.

"If you have any more questions, just give me a call. Or, if something changes and you can join a circus, I can put in a good word for you at Haley's Circus. They're the best," Dick added, giving Peter the impression that he might be a little bias. It seemed that him leaving the circus hadn't been on bad terms.

Put it in his pocket, right next to his money and gave Dick one last grin. "I kinda feel like a broken record, but thank you. I mean it," he said, and Dick stuck his hand out again, and Peter shook it firmly. With that, he began walking away, though, he did give one last wave over his shoulder.

Peter looked at him for a couple of seconds, going over their conversation before he began walking in the opposite direction. One thing stood out, over the fact he might have just met the only decent person in Gotham and his potential new source of income. It was something subtle that he hadn't even thought about until he was walking away.

'He seems familiar,' Peter thought with a mental shrug before he crossed a street and began heading to the home of those kids.

"Kara," Barbara Gordon said before she rubbed her eyes with the palms of her hands, a headache incoming, "Bruce is going to be pissed when he finds out that you're here." She said as she swiveled around in her chair just in time to see the cheeky grin as one of the most powerful beings on Earth floated down.

The red shielded S stood out on her chest, marking her out as one of the few Kryptonians left. It matched her red cape that fluttered lightly as she descended, which extended up her neck as an informal collar and her bright red mini skirt. Her thighs were mostly exposed until similarly, red boots started just above her knee, though they were left exposed. The rest of her costume was a skin-tight royal blue color that covered her torso and arms.

Barbara, however, noticed none of that and instead noticed that her friend had gotten a haircut because it barely brushed her shoulders now. Which begged the question where she found scissors tough enough to cut Kryptonian hair because it was almost as indestructible as they were.

"Gasp," Kara said, a grin in her voice, actually saying the word gasp, "you mean Bruce doesn't already know? Here I thought that he knew everything. Ever," she added, touching the ground and Barbara managed a light smile at that. Rumors of Bruce's omnipotence was greatly exaggerated. Most of the time.

"I'm not complaining, but why are you risking Bruce's wrath? He doesn't have a reputation for being forgiving," Barbara asked as she swiveled back around in her chair to look back up at the Batcomputer. Doing so made her light headed and she rubbed her eyes to clear the haze from her vision. She needed sleep, and she needed it badly, but there was just too much work that needed to be done.

"Because you and Dick broke up. Again," she added as she hovered over her, placing her elbows on the headrest as if she needed to. Barbara's smile fell a fraction at that, but Kara continued before she could offer up a defense. "And you haven't been able to cry into my shoulder yet as we eat unnecessary amounts of ice cream," she pressed forward, worry clear in her tone to Barbara even though Kara tried to keep it hidden.

Barbara opened her mouth to say that she was fine, but a knowing look cut her off before she began. Instead, she looked at the batcomputer pointedly and tried to ignore the fact that Kara was right. Awkward didn't even begin to cover how downright painful it was to be around Dick right now.

He was trying, he was trying so hard, to make it easier for her. He didn't talk to her, obeying her wish to be left alone. When it was necessary for work that they communicate, he was brief and professional. When he got calls from Kory, or as most knew her as Starfire, he would leave the room so she wouldn't have to overhear that stupid voice sound so freakin excited to talk to her..! It almost made it worse, in its own way

Barbara let out a sigh when she realized her hands were clenched into fists and she was glaring at the batcomuter. Wordlessly, she felt Kara wrap her arms around her, even though it was somewhat difficult since she was still sitting in her chair. Barbara appreciated the gesture, though, enough that she stood up and threw her arms around Kara's neck.

There was a brief stint of silence before Barbara let out a breath in the form of a sigh, "he's with Kory again." She muttered into Kara's blonde hair and felt her nod.

"I know."

"I want to hate her," Barbara added, and Kara let out a breath.

"I know. You can't though."

"She's just so...nice," Barbara made the word sound like an insult. Nice described Kory perfectly. Nice and bubbly. Barbara wanted to hate her, but Kory just made it so damn hard. Getting mad at her, hating her, was a lot like hating a puppy that wanted nothing more in the world to be your friend...She was just so...ugh.

To add insult to injury, she had hair Barbara would maim for, and her boobs were freakin huge. Barbara wished she got back pain but Kory wouldn't because she also had super strength. And could fly. And could shoot laser beams out her eyes...ugh, life just wasn't fair.

It sure as hell didn't help her self-esteem. When she was alone, when she was about to fall asleep after Barbara most certainly didn't cry her eyes out, she would compare herself to the alien princess. She fell short on so many points that it was so easy to see why Dick would choose Kory over her. She was an alright looking red head that grew up with him. Kory was an exotic alien princess that outclassed her physically in every possible way.

All she had going for her in that race was her mind and...well...Dick proved more than once that didn't mean much in the grand scheme of things.

"I'm so done with him," Barbara said into Kara's shoulder. The words just slipped out of her mouth, making her blink in surprise but she realized that she meant them. Kara stiffened, her muffled voice still clearly heard thanks to superhuman hearing.

"I'm done with Dick," she repeated, making a vow. Slowly, Kara pushed her back so she could look at her. Barbara saw a look of cautious happiness, which she admitted she deserved. It wasn't the first time she said something of the nature but this time she meant it.

"Really...?" Kara ventured carefully like she would change her mind if she pressed too hard. Barbara resisted the urge to roll her eyes and nodded firmly instead.

"Yeah. I'm done. I'm done with this back and forth between Kory and me. I'm sick and tired of it. I'm so done getting heart broken every couple of months or worrying if he's going to cheat on me every time I take my eyes off him. I'm done. Kory can keep him," Barbara said with utter certainty.

She meant every word, and it was like a weight had been lifted off her chest that she hadn't even been aware of until it was gone. She was done with him. She was moving on to bigger and better things!

"Perfect," Supergirl exclaimed before she jumped back and started pressing buttons on the super-computer before Batgirl could even think about stopping her. "I found your rebound guy; Mr. Spider-butt!" She commanded and pulled up a photo of Spider-man during his fight with Ravager. Which she then zoomed in on his namesake. Then Kara turned around and gestured to him like he was the main attraction at an art exhibit. Odds were, for Kara, that's exactly what it was.

Barbara couldn't help herself. She laughed.

"That might be a little hard since we don't know an-"

"What? What do you mean you don't know anything," Kara interrupted her, sounding genuinely confused. "Wait, you 're saying he's not an honorary member of the bat family?" She continued, drawing her eyebrows together as she tried to wrap her head around that fact when Barbara shook her head.

"What? No, Dick's the only one that's met him so far, and he likes him, but he's not on the team yet," she said with a shrug. "Why?"

"Because everyone just assumed he was...so, wait, Spider-man is working without Bruce's blessing? For, like three days now?" Kara asked, eyebrows slowly creeping higher. Her expression was a mix of surprise and being impressed.

"Yeah? He has been a little busy, you know," she defended her mentor with a frown. It seemed like this was getting made out to be bigger than it actually was.

"That excuse would work for anyone else," Kara deflected, her eyes darting over to Spider-man's most attractive feature. That Kara knew about at the moment. "Huh, that's a juicy bit of gossip. Well, what do you know about him then? A lot of people are curious since everyone knows that Gotham is Batman's turf. Except for Spider-butt, apparently," she added, looking very interested.

"Not a whole lot. The only thing we really have on him is the video and Dick's opinion," Barbara explained, tapping on the batcomputer a few times and bringing up what they knew about the hero. "He's around our age, though, give or take a year, and the only power we can confirm are his enhanced reflexes. We also know that he likes to banter from the video and Dick. Bruce thinks it's a coping mechanism since he's still new at this. His webbings can't be bought on any market, so we think he either made it himself or he has a backer that did. We also don't know what his webbing is made of since the sample we got dissolved before we got there. The scan we got off it though leads us to believe it's a love child between steel and elastic."

All in all, that was about it. Just about everything else was unknown or was based off guess work. Spider-man's secret identity was unknown, his motivations and even what he could do. The video and Dick's thoughts gave them something to work with, but there were just too many 'maybes' for it to be relied on.

"Buuuttt," Barbara said, drawing out the word and Kara perked up before she sent her a curious glance. "He's smart. Bruce was going to ambush him at the end of the night yesterday, but he managed to dupe him. Dick put a bug and a tracker on him, but Spider-man used an old beat up radio to mimic the frequency to trick him. Instead of ambushing Bruce, though, Spider-man left a note and a root beer." She said, her smile growing as Kara's eyebrows rose higher and higher.

"He tricked Batman," she asked before blinking, "and bought him a root beer?" She added, sounding more than a little confused and amused at the mental image.

"Yeah," Barbara said, grabbing the note that was next to the unopened can of root beer and passed it to Kara. The blonde Kryptonian read through the note in a blink of an eye before she let out a snort of laughter. Then she chuckled. Then she laughed.

Barbara watched her friend clutch her stomach as she howled in laughter, drifting through the air from the force of it. She smiled, just as amused but she got all her giggles out a few hours ago.

"He-He tricked Batman?! Oh, man, I was not expecting that. Kal-El is going to love this," she said in between giggles. Barbara thought much the same. Though, as much as she enjoyed the mental image of Bruce getting teased by his peers, she let out a sigh.

"Could you keep on the down low, though? Bruce is bad enough as it is without all the extra attention," she said with some disappointment before a thought struck her. "Speaking of the League, where are they?" She asked, crossing her arms over her chest and it was Kara's turn to sigh.

"Bruce is keeping them out," she pressed forward when Barbara was about to demand why. "I don't know why. All I know is that he and the League had a behind closed doors meeting and when they came out, orders were to stay out of Gotham. It wasn't a unanimous decision if the fact that Kal-El and Bruce are having a lovers spat is anything to go by," she added, and Barbara felt herself frown.

There wasn't one good reason she could think of why Bruce was keeping the League out of Gotham. No matter how much she racked her brain, she couldn't think of anything that would justify turning away help when they needed it now. If Spider-man was who he acted as then, they were lucky to have him because they were already stretched too thin as it was.

"Why?" Barbara blurted before she could stop herself. Batman was her mentor, but she could never claim to know what went on in his head, but this just didn't make any sense. Bruce loved Gotham more than words could ever describe, and Gotham needed all the help in can get right now, so why was he turning it away?

"I don't know," Kara repeated with a sigh and a shrug. "Kal-El won't tell me anything. The only detail that I got was from Diana, and she was vague enough to do Bruce proud. What I think she meant, though, was the League stepping in could make things worse." Kara had explained before she held up her hands in a 'calm down' gesture. Barbara opened her mouth to demand an explanation, but she took a breath to follow Kara's suggestion instead. A few seconds ticked by and Barbara's mind raced while Kara patiently let her think through it.

Only for seconds to turn into minutes and Barbara was hitting a wall. The very existence of the Justice Leauge was to help others when they needed it. Even when they didn't think they did. That was their directive. However, Bruce's reason was enough to convince them to ignore it, if temporarily. This was because Bruce convinced them that their presence would be a detriment to Gotham if Kara interpreted Wonder Woman correctly. That...that was where things made absolutely no sense because she couldn't think of Bruce's reason.

"'Tell Nightwing I think he's a dick?'" Kara said, purposely breaking her out of her thoughts. Kara knew her well enough to know she'd think herself into a migraine if she let her. Barabra let out a small huff, the cogs slowing down. She could antagonize over it later. Her friend was here now.

"It's unlikely that Spider-man knows who he is. Catwoman's vouching for him, for what it's worth, but she wouldn't if she thought Spider-man was playing the long con." She said with a small shrug of her shoulders, forcefully pushing the thoughts out of her head. It also helped that Dick was willing to vouch for him too since it was a dickish thing to do, in his own words. Barbara also hadn't failed to notice that he glanced at Bruce when he said that.

"Mmhmm," Kara hummed as she tapped on her chin, re-reading the note. "He sounds like a good guy...why is Bruce letting him operate in Gotham? I get that it's been, uh, busy in Gotham but he doesn't let anyone do it without his stamp of approval," she said, her eyes drifting back towards the screen.

"I don't know," Barbara admitted. "But Bruce marked him as a lower priority and, after last night, only to engage if necessary or if there's an opportunity. I thought it was because we could use some help but," She gestured to Kara and Kara made another noise of acknowledgment and Barbara took that as a sign to X out of the Spider-man files, making the paused video go back to the largest screen.

Just in time for her to hear a cough, making Barbara go rigid before slowly turning around and saw Alfred standing there, a silver platter with two cups of coffee on it. However, she was more preoccupied with keeping the mortification off her face.

"While I am most overjoyed that you've moved on from master Dick, please keep things of this nature away from the super-computer. Master Bruce would be most upset," Alfred said in his dry English accent as he handed both her and Kara a cup of coffee, already mixed to their personal tastes perfectly.

Kara just grinned, not looking embarrassed in the slightest, "Thanks, Al," she said before taking a sip. Kara let out a sigh of contentment. It was moments like these that she wished Bruce would adopt her; so that Alfred would be at her beck and call. The man knew his way around coffee like no other.

"My pleasure Master Kara," Alfred said, bowing slightly, before walking away. Barbra groaned into her hand before sending a glare through her fingers.

"You knew he was coming," she accused, and the crooked grin that she received as a response did nothing to argue it. Alfred must have been paying attention to all the lessons as Bruce trained her and the Robins because she hadn't heard him coming at all.

Pushing her embarrassment to the side, she gave her friend a small smile. "Thanks for checking in on me, but I'm fine. I have to go back home before my dad checks in on me but schools canceled for the next week, maybe longer, so tomorrow?" She asked and Kara nodded before giving her a hug. "Are you going back to Smallville?" She questioned, trying to get an idea of when they would meet up.

"Nah, I already told everyone I was staying over in Gotham. So, I'm going to see the sights. I don't think I've ever seen anything of Gotham not counting your house and the Batcave." She said thoughtfully and caught the look Barbra was giving her. "No powers; I'll be good, scouts honor." She said, holding her hand up while the other made an X over her heart.

Barbra stopped a sigh, but she nodded. Bruce wouldn't be happy about it, but if Kara was in Gotham and not Supergirl, then he couldn't complain.

As Kara gave her one final wave before she began floating towards the exit, coffee still in hand, Barbara got her attention.

"Your haircut looks cute," she said, waving bye. Kara flashed her a smile, looking thoroughly pleased before she left the Batcave with a blast of wind.

Whisper looked down at the city as she nursed her wine. Roman hadn't known a damn thing about a good drink, but he sure could pick a view. From up here, from this angle, it made everything below her seem so minuscule while letting her see just how large Gotham was. It made her feel like she was a giant looking down at ants. Like she was above it all.

Smiling at the thought, she took another sip and a content sigh escaped her. Few things were better than a well-aged wine. The medieval ages had been a hellish time, mostly because everyone and everything had was covered in shit, but they knew how to make wine. Maybe it just needed to be aged for a couple of hundred years, but the wines of the modern era just couldn't compare.

Whisper chuckled to herself as a thought struck her. Could this even be called the modern era anymore? A mere fifty years ago, things like space aliens or magic were things of fantasy. A hundred years ago or more, it was almost unthinkable. Go back even further, and even the lesser heroes and villains would be worshiped as Demi-gods or gods themselves.

It was amusing when she thought just how far humans had come. Watching them grow from shit covered apes that beat each other with sticks to being able to build a city like this...and knowing that they could go so much further made a soft smile tug at her lips.

However, it was quick to fall when she recalled what must be done for the human race to reach its next plateau. Sometimes, it seemed that their goal was so far away with insurmountable obstacles in the way. Sometimes it felt like it was nothing but set back, after set back after set back because of incompetent minions or the Justice League or just plain bad luck.

Whisper honestly couldn't even remember how long she had been fighting this battle. Ra's al Ghul had been the one to recruit her into this fight but so much time had passed since she was that naive little girl in a backwater village. Days blurred together; months went by in a blink of an eye and years just stacked on top of each other until, before she knew it, another century ticked by.

Whisper was broken out of her thoughts she heard a sharp knock at the door. With a soft sigh, she tightened her silk robe before she called out, "Enter."

A moment later, the hulking mass that went by Kyle Abbot walked through her door into her office. Once upon a time, he had been so handsome, it was for that reason she allowed him to follow her through the centuries. Now, however, around his eye was an angry, splotchy red while his eye itself was a glazed over blue. A mistake, Whisper reflected. No matter what had angered her, it couldn't have been worth ruining one of his baby blue eyes.

"Ma'am, I have the latest report," he said in that deep voice that she just adored. Whisper gestured for him to continue with a wave of her hand as she made herself comfortable in her chair.

"Things on the legal side are progressing as expected. The housing market is beginning to collapse, especially in the inner city. In places like Crime Alley, a couple of hundred bucks can buy a building and the diamond quarter is also getting hit. Bruce Wayne's estimated worth for his mansion dipped a couple hundred thousand dollars if that's anything to go by." Whisper nodded, twirling her wine lightly.

"The small time businesses are starting to feel the effects as well. Several have closed down either to being looted, or they were already in the red when the gang was kicked off. More should shut down in the coming week as we block insurance claims. As we expected, Wayne Enterprises is stepping in and snatching up the property for pennies on the dollar and bailing them out, but things are still well within an acceptable margin," Kyle recited, and Whisper hummed in response, sipping her wine.

"And on the other side of the coin?" She asked, cupping her cheek and resting her elbow on the desk. Her eyes roamed the length of Kyle, but if he noticed, he didn't show it. Or he had finally gotten used to it.

Whisper smiled lightly as distant memories of a too big teenager that blushed and stammered every time she approached the subject of when he was going to take her finally. How long had that been...? Three hundred years? Four?

'It's been too long since I've made him blush,' Whisper decided as Kyle continued, oblivious to her thoughts.

"The major players have risen, and alliances have been made. A lot of new players entered the city; they have a lesser presence, but they're worth keeping an eye on. Going from the top of Gotham downwards; the ASP is in charge of the Narrows, Crime Alley is contested, East End is run by the Irish, somehow," he added more to himself and shifted when whisper let out an amused huff.

Clearing his throat, he continued, "Gotham Proper is run by Two-Face, China Town by an offshoot of Triads from Bludhaven, Tricorner by a ghost. We're looking into it now, ma'am," Kyle quickly added and Whisper nodded, knowing that before he spoke. Instead, she took in a deep breath, her breast rising and falling as she tugged at the string holding her robe together.

Kyle didn't blink as he continued, "Little Italy by a newcomer named Al Capone. Midtown and Downtown are contested at the moment, so we can pick out victor if you choose, and Old Gotham is...nonexistent at this time?" He finished, and Whisper frowned in response.

"Spider-man," she deduced, knowing that there were reports of his activity in that part of the city.

"Yes, ma'am. Spider-man's proving to be a bigger threat than anticipated. He cleared Old Gotham out last night, and the other gangs are hesitant to re-enter in case the same happens to them, for now at least. I have a file you can review at your leisure on what we know, but I can sum it up with 'not much.'" Kyle said and Whisper's frown deepened.

"Yes. Defeating the Joker could have been a fluke but he's proven himself with Ravager," Whisper said, curling her hand into a fist. Most thought it was to intimidate whoever was in the room, but it was to stop an old habit of biting her nails when she needed to think.

It didn't take her long to come to a conclusion.

"Take him out and begin phase two of the plan."