Author's Notes: It is the month of November which means ALDS, Sunday Night Football, and, of course, the return of Gotham! Oh, and Arkham Rising. But of course, before this chapter begins, I will be answering/responding to reviews as this does start a new arc (the final one before Arkham City!) and it is well time for another review corner. As always I will be dropping a spoiler or two here and there while explaining just what this crazy story is setting up to. Of course, if you just want to read the story, hit and hold the CTRL button on your keyboard and lightly tap the "F" button. Type in the word "Prologue" and it should take you to where the story actually begins. Other than that, let's get down to it.
Coldblue: I want to start by saying thanks for your support on all three series that I'm doing. It does mean a lot to me. Your comments about Raven and Jake are pretty close to what it actually is. I won't say much about Jake and Raven other then, you are right, there is a rather primal attraction between the two that goes far beyond Jake's emotions for Artemis, Jade, etc. And while Jake does have a near mastery of his emotions (there will be times when he doesn't), his immunity to Raven's brothers' influences is only because he is, in a sense, Raven's medium as Pride. Wrath, Gluttony, Lust, Greed, Envy, and Sloth cannot "influence" him as he is forever marked by Pride (Raven). That mark will eventually have huge side effects that has been shown but not really highlighted in the NW Arc and of course giving him the birth of Venom. That being said, witnessing the deaths of both Adeline (his mother) and Lian (his daughter) will have a major play on just who or what Jake will become by the end of this story and its sequel. I won't go as far and call it a "darker" side to him as Jake has been shown to beat people close to death before, even going as far as blowing Gizmo up in his laboratory before having the seal placed onto him in the previous story. Venom, in this universe, was created by the side effects of Jake's spider suits, his own inner emotions, and finalized with the seal that Raven put onto him. The Black/Scarlet spider suit enhances one's emotions, empowering them especially with bursts of rage or fear as seen with Mia unable to control her tentacles during the first time she used it or staying camouflaged when agitated. The seal that Raven gave him somewhat manifests onto the suit instead of just Jake's person and thus, instead of transforming into the Black Spider, he becomes Venom. More of that will be seen later on. Onto your comment about Jake having a kid with Artemis, Jade, Starfire, and Raven... I might do a one-shot where that happens but it won't happen in the story, sorry. Finally, Jake's blood isn't a key to immortality per se. Jake is essentially the only person to have had the Deathstroke serum inside of him (he actually produces it naturally), has had his soul "touched by a demon" (via Raven's seal) and be embedded in the Lazarus Pit (when he revived Rose) without any mental side effects. His body can naturally use the positive that each gives him such as speed, strength, life, or rejuvenation without causing him to go insane. An example would be Dick, who also was just in the pit long enough to revive Jason, was easier to be influenced by Wrath and maintaining that anger days later until Raven removed it. The Joker, who is clinically not insane, merely wants it to avoid any, if not all, side effects of the Lazarus Pit. Thanks again for reading and reviewing and hopefully this arc will answer questions better while delivering many, many more in a good way.
FoxFan88: Jake's battle with the Justice League actually had to be cut down as it was tipping the forty-page mark and I just didn't want to post all of that in one go, but I'm glad you liked it. One thing that surprised me is that no one remarked on was Jake's reaction to Wonder Woman nearly going unshackled for a moment or the near draw he had with Batman. Oh well. As for Wally, Jake will get his revenge later but Artemis and Wally will somehow make it through... For now... As for the Justice League, their involvement with Arkham City will be more than punishment and, even though Jake won't be the reason for what happens, he won't necessarily help them either. Well, not without a price of course. Again, thanks for reading.
JimmyHall24: Hello there and welcome to the party! Again I will mention, the Justice League will pay for their unknowing involvement in Lian's death- Batman especially considering it was the Joker and Nyssa who did it. As you will see in this chapter and following ones, the decision to throw Lian into the pit or not has already been decided by her parents. Unfortunately, you won't be able to hit the next chapter button until the 20th but I will have new showcases up before then. Thanks for commenting.
Cool: This is quite cool, isn't it? Thank you for the review.
jjx12 on Shattered Persona: Jake Cross will be a favorite character of mine to do only because it honestly started as a debate between me and a friend and now it is over a thousand pages long. I hope you had a great vacation (something I periodically take!) and hopefully you enjoy the next few chapters coming out. Thanks!
True Rule of Cool on Shattered Persona: Hola amigo! This AU is a combination of the YJ/TT/JLU series as well as some comics and movies. That being said, both Deathstroke and Sportsmaster will be neglectful to their children to a fault. The grand underlining is that they believe that their children have a purpose and if they purpose isn't met, then said child is without a reason to live. Though, they still care for them quite much as Sportsmaster demanded Jake not to release Artemis into space and Deathstroke wanted to kill the Team for Jake's "death". Given that that entire story was about duo personalities or dual personas (wink wink), the who Jade/Cheshire and Jake/Red X thing was practically detrimental to the entire story. And not just those two and their relationship. Artemis/Artemis Crock and Dick/Robin were also relationships that I wanted to highlight with Jake to show that while Jake could be in love with Artemis Crock and be at least on speaking terms with Dick Grayson, Red X was an enemy to both Artemis and Robin. And you are absolutely correct about heroes/heroines/villains/villainesses not being to reveal their entire selves to any one person or another which makes Jake's relationship with Raven something extra special as, while he tends to lie to her quite a bit, they do become "bonded" and she will be able to see more than most without trying. Though, Jake is, in my honest opinion, better suited for Jade and it does show for the most part. Again, thank you for reading and the reviews!
Okay, that's that. In the meantime, sit back, relax, and enjoy. See you at the end with some small, kind-of-important, spoilers.
Arkham Rising
Zero Hour Crisis Arc
Prologue: Return
Where was she? How long had she been there? These were questions that Talia no longer asked herself. They were irrelevant to the situation at hand. What was important at this particular moment was that Hugo Strange and her sister be stopped before all that once stood for crumbled. Her pride would not let her lose like this, not without a proper fight.
Green eyes peered through a curtain of dark sandy blonde tresses, gazing at the bars that separated her from freedom. Her arms and legs were chained to the stone wall. The smell of her clothes were lost on her as she had been left to rot in this cell by her sister; kept barely alive just so Nyssa could reveal the grand finale that is Arkham City. She pondered if any of her loyal assassins were even still loyal to her, and if they were, if they were alive.
"Shit!"
"I'm sorry! I didn't know! I didn't know!"
"Aah! No, no, no… Aah!"
Talia ignored the sounds as this was nothing new. People were brought to this place on Nyssa's behest to be interrogated and murdered. Normally they were brought in bulks which made three different shouts of pain nothing new to her.
"M-Master Jake, we didn't have a choice!" Talia now looked up with wide eyes. That was definitely new. "P-Please! Have mercy! Have… Ungh!"
There was silence. Strongholds like this did not have loud alarms to stop any local authorities from finding their location during a breach. So if this was Jake coming to her rescue then the assassins guarding Talia had to be diligent, more so than Jake. They would never hear him coming. They would never see him coming. Hell, they couldn't stop him if they did see and hear him.
Then again, if he was coming to kill Talia, he would be that much more determined to reach her.
Talia flinched, a small scream escaping her, as a body hit the bars to her cell hard. She was not expecting him to find her so soon, if at all. Then again, why would he? The only real reason for Jake to find Talia was to kill her.
And then he was there. The Black Spider in all his terrifying glory. Talia's eyes were fixated on him, not sure if she should be happy that he had actually came for her or afraid that he actually came for her. With quick movements of his hands, the bars were diced by his stingers before he stepped inside. Talia closed her eyes.
Her father had chosen not to find her. Batman had either failed to find her or put the problems of Gotham City above her absence. And Nyssa had only visited to taunt Talia over being captured. Yet here was the Heir of the Demon, approaching here with two blades poking from his forearms, glowing green with killing desire.
Talia felt her breath hitch when he stopped in front of her. Slowly he raised a hand, tracing her face with one of his signature blades. She was starved and beaten and the warm blade against her face only reminded her of how closed to death she actually was.
"…" she mustered up the courage, and voice, to actually talk. "Are you here to kill me?"
He answered her by slicing the chains the held her wrists up. Unfortunately, Talia was neither prepared nor strong enough to catch her weight and the woman crashed against his chest. The Spider growled before moving her away so he could destroy the chains around her ankles. Before Talia could stand, she was hoisted over the man's shoulder.
"Hold on." Those were his first words to her.
"I can fight." Talia argued weakly. It was a long shot but she was not going to be carried out like a damsel in distress. She was not Vickie Vale.
"There's no one to fight."
Talia stopped her wiggling and looked around. Groans and moans were heard around her and she saw the dispatched ninja on the ground, webbed on the walls and ceilings, and those quivering in a ball. But there were no one left to challenge him.
"Where are you taking me?" Talia asked. Jake remained silent. "Jake, answer me. Where are you taking me?"
"Don't worry about it. You'll live." came his response. "Where's is your sword?"
"I don't know. She took it off of me before I was locked away." Jake stopped before changing directions. "Where are you going?"
"Getting your sword." Talia rolled her eyes.
"Can I at least walk?"
"No."
Talia took in a breath before closing her eyes and accepting her fate.
"Jake, thank you."
"…" He did not answer her before she drifted into a realm of unconsciousness. Though, he did answer her. "Don't mention it…"
When Talia woke up hours later, she immediately noted the comfortable mattress beneath her body. She checked herself. White tank top and shorts. No bra and… No panties. He had bathed her. He had seen her. That perverted thief had undressed her and touched her without her consent or awareness. If Talia was not indebted to the man, she would have surely neutered him for doing so.
Talia moved out of bed, finding her balance, before heading out of the room. Immediately she knew where she was; Jake's condo. She had been there enough times to know. And so she easily found Jake in the kitchen. The man's normally kempt dark hair was now rather shaggy and hung close to covering his eyes. He also had stubble on his face instead of being cleanly shaven.
And he was shirtless.
Talia knew that Jake did his best to keep his seal hidden from her, even after she found out about it. The fact that he was carefree about it now was unsettling, but she was given the moment to study it. It looked almost like a sinister tattoo that he had gotten done by a highly regarded specialist. Yet, the more Talia stared, the more obvious that it became that the seal was indeed Trigon's signature forged by his daughter.
"Ra's paid quite the amount to have you found. I ignored the favoritism but I have to say, I can see why Nyssa wants to kill him." Even without turning to her, he spoke as if he knew she was staring. "So what's your next move?"
"What move can I make?" Talia replied. "Bruce does not want the League. You do not want the League. And I cannot defeat Nyssa, Strange, and Slade on my own, especially with Joker-"
A loud bang came from his hand slamming against the countertop. Talia expected him to round on her with anger before the man groaned.
"Damn fly," Then he turned at her with a confused look. "What's wrong with you? You look lost."
Talia was quiet as the man washed his hands, obviously ridding himself of the fly he had just squashed. She was nervous about being here with him. She did not know what he had planned for her. Yet, she would learn soon.
"Lian is dead," Jake said calmly. "Which means that your deal with me is over. And I know what you're going to say, but Jade and I aren't putting our daughter in the pit. It isn't fair to her to not even rest in peace. So don't think that you can dangle her life over my head again."
Talia's lips thinned. "You and I both know that Sophie was more loyal to you than me. Our deal has long been over."
"I never said that." Jake responded, his voice sounding too much like his father's. "The contract is still there. You did your best to keep Lian safe so I have to do my best to kill Ra's. I do, however, ask for one little favor."
Talia raised her brows. "Oh? And what's that?"
"Nyssa is yours to do whatever. And I'm sure your precious beloved would stop me from killing Strange." Jake said. "But the Joker dies. You make that happen and I'll cut your dad's head right off of his shoulders and hand you the League of Assassins on a silver platter."
"And what about Cheshire? Doesn't she want the Joker's blood spilled?" Jake actually laughed at the statement.
"Does she? I had to beat her ass just to keep her from finding him before it was time." The man chuckled. "But her plans are her plans, not mine. She wants to continue killing people for pay. That's not what I want."
Taking a timid step forward, Talia gave the man a firm stare.
"And you want to do this? Just for the Joker's death?" Jake shrugged his shoulders at Talia's question. "You do know that the League will never accept me if you do all of the work."
"Then we'll rule it." Jake said stepping away from the sink. "Every Ra's has her Ubu."
"Yes… But I doubt you'd make an acceptable Ubu. You hardly take commands and you are quite talkative." Talia retaliated. "Then again, if you kill my father, then you will not be my guard. You will be my husband. You do know that right?"
Once more, Jake shrugged. "I could think of worst wives in the world, Talia."
"Are…" Talia began, taking another step towards him. "Are you alright?"
"You think that I want to kill you, don't you?" Talia gave him a short nod of her head, gaining a short burst of laughter from the man. "No. No, I don't want to kill you, Talia. I haven't since Lian died."
"Then… What do you want with me?" questioned Talia.
It was then that the man's calm demeanor vanished, but only for a few seconds. Talia then felt her fatigue returning to her as Jake approached her. She admitted to herself that even if she was completely armed and healthy, he could beat her. He could kill her. But he needed her for something.
His right hand traced the side of her face before cupping her chin gently.
"The League has cost me everything from my mom, sister, and daughter to my relationships with both Artemis and Jade. All because some woman approached me walking down the street and oh-so-kindly offered me a job with the League of Assassins." Jake's words made Talia revisit the day she had approached a younger Jake Cross in Gotham City. "I don't have anything to lose, Talia. So think. What could I want from a woman who has been bested by her younger sister?"
Talia stared into his brown eyes. Despite the fact that Lian was dead, there was something dangerously addictive about the man now, something Talia could not quite press at the moment. And then, just as soon as she was beginning to understand what it was, he turned away and began to walk for the hall.
"Eat and get some rest. We're returning to the office tomorrow." Jake told her. "Just don't forget what the plan was."
Talia wrapped her arms around herself. "What was the plan?"
"We win. Together."
Talia took a moment to let those words register in her brain. Originally, she thought- or rather she knew- that Jake was going to betray her. Maybe he would actually kill Ra's and then have the League of Assassins get rid of her and Nyssa? Maybe he was actually going to give her an heir before offing her himself? She did not know how or when or why but she knew he would betray her.
Now? Now she wasn't so sure. The truth of the matter is, only Bane has made Talia a promise that involved her being married and having the League of Assassins. Back then, it was clear that Bane had an agenda and he wanted to prove himself- and to Ra's- that he, Bane, was better than Batman.
Jake had no such wants. He could care less what others thought about him. He did not necessarily care for big flashy weddings… Or a wedding at all. Yet there had to be something here that he wanted, right?
"Yes," Talia said quietly at his retreating figure. "We will win…" Once his figure was no longer in sight, Talia released a quiet breath. "Together."
Author's Notes: Well, well, well. It seems that Jake has a plan or two up his sleeve and Talia has a role in it. I will say that Jade's original assessment of Jake is very true; Jake is in no rush to settle down and if he is, his true intentions will always be Artemis. This arc will set up, not only Arkham City but as well as the next and final story. There will be a significant death in this arc as well as the answer to the question, "Who mother's the Joker's child?" Also in this arc will be a chapter I have been waiting for as the Black Spider will actually team up with Manta to go 2v2 against Lady Shiva and David Cain (the original Jake and Jade!) in the great city of Jump City. More fights, more Black Spider thieving, and the well-deserved revenge from one Jake Cross to one Wally West. Of course, if you have any thoughts, questions, or comments leave a PM or a review and I will respond at a later time. Next chapter coming out on October 20. Peace.