On the way home, I spent time examining the cards. On closer inspection revealed symbols and other things bordering their images. Ancient Elf: Yami has 'Spellcaster' while Lesser Dragon had, oddly enough, 'Dragon' as its species. I think they were either classifications or jobs, but it was hard to know off the bat.
Returning them to wherever I pulled my power from, I saw Ancient Elf was now back to full form unlike before when he was Mystical Elf and on the verge of vanishing. I didn't know why monsters or the other cards vanished.
I had a lot of questions and it turned out that while Lesser Dragon was chatty, he didn't speak English.
I returned home to find my Mom in a distressed state, whispering furiously over the phone while gripping a letter. I didn't hesitate before I walked up and took it from her. Her eyes were wide and... afraid.
The letter was one of those official ones the landlord issues to make sure he was covered by the law by giving warning.
"Dear Mrs Klein... regret to inform you of a rent increase?" I read, my stomach dropping into the center of the planet.
Our rent was going up by $300.
"This can't be legal," I said as Mom put the phone down.
"It is... I just got off the phone with the city council. The build is privately owned... it's the landowner's right to change the rent as long as he gives proper warning," she said, voice defeated. I read the letter, seething at the heartless 'two weeks generous' warning the letter said.
I put the letter down and went over to my Mom, pulling her in. Seventeen and I was already much taller than my Mom.
"We'll figure something out," I promised, trying to be confident and strong for her. Inside, I thought about what downgrading from this apartment meant. A potentially worse school for the twins, a much rougher neighbourhood...
Or worse, homeless.
You did not want to be homeless in Gotham.
It was basically asking to die.
"We might need to take a loan or sell some of your father's war medals," she said, pulling away and her words were like a punch to my gut. My Dad was a hero and he died one... all we had to remember him were old pictures and those medals.
My power rose and I just blindly picked Metal Raiders to make it go away, getting some winged aerobics instructor lady in return.
"Mom, you can't!" I began but she turned, face serious.
"Roger, your father would sell them in a heartbeat if he thought it kept us safe. Memories aren't worth losing what we have now," she lectured before taking a deep breath.
"I'll try asking for raises, but you might... Oh Roger, I'm sorry, but you might need a second job," she said and I could see it killing her that she had to ask.
Not evening moving out would save Mom cash. I already gave all but a small amount of my earnings to her.
"We'll figure something out," I repeated the words, like they were some sort of magic spell I knew didn't work.
At night, I laid in my bed, turning things over.
I had power, but what did this mean?
Could I offer my services as some thug? A mercenary with no actual combat experience? My monsters weren't 'real'. Even if I was utterly depraved and tried to sell their organs or something, they didn't have insides.
It was like I made hard-light illusions and the monster's soul took them over.
I looked over my cards and each of them had an opinion on my problem. Ancient Elf suggested that there were always more options to any given problem than first seemed. Lesser Dragon suggested I tear the landlord's head off and take the building for myself... but it was the new monster that was offering the most interesting idea.
Her name was Harpy Lady and she said that the best way to make one respect her hunting ground was to instill fear. Fear kept the mice at bay when the hawk was away.
Fear was a tireless worker.
It took some time to convert her 'predator' wisdom into usable advice. If the landlord abruptly saw the error of his ways, the rent wouldn't go up.
It didn't sound heroic, but just like working a shady fish market job, a high horse didn't put meat on the table. I turned on my side to face the window across the room. I mused that it had to be great to be so well-off you could be a good person and still have three meals and a warm bed at the end of the night.
I asked my monsters if I was an evil person for using my powers this way.
The elf, dragon, and bird-lady all shared a look.
The overall answer seemed to be that if you asked an angel? They said the landlord was using greed. If you asked a demon? They would laugh and ask if an evil person would even care.
Well, Lesser Dragon mostly just growled dismissively.
He was a dragon, good and evil were mostly just snack flavours to him.
-
"Is something wrong?" Gabby asked as we ate breakfast. Mom was already gone, which was a bad sign. She always tried to make time to eat with the twins between work shifts.
I hesitated and Liam pointed to my single slice of toast.
"Mom looks sick and you're trying to save on food. It's money," he accused as if revealing the criminal would put them away.
"Maybe skipping breakfast is the new cool thing?" I said with a smile and Gabby leaned in.
"So, if I wanted to not eat my cereal before a long day of education..." she mused and I shot her a look, unamused.
"I'll chase you down the street until you finish every drop," I admitted before deciding to come a little clean.
"Money's tight, but that's for us to worry about," I said and they shared a look.
"We could like get cheap bread and we can just get black pens, not the coloured ones," Gabby offered. I gave her a warm look, wincing inside that she had to care about these things when she should be getting candy, stupid gizmos, and toys, enjoying her childhood along with Liam.
"We'll watch less TV! We could save the channels for when we're together!" Liam added. I didn't have the heart to tell him that the tv company didn't care if the TV was on or off. I thought about canceling it entirely, but we needed a way to know if some street was blown up or if a service was running.
I didn't want to walk into a field of Joker Gas because I didn't get the city warning. I'd look into a radio or something.
"It's fine, now eat. You're going to be late," I insisted, the twins shared a look, but wolfed down the food with serious expressions. When I was alone, I got ready and left the apartment behind. I didn't have work until later so I was going to be spending time figuring out who owned my building.
Then I'd pay them a visit.
As I left the apartment, my power flared again, giving me a choice of booster packs, but I saw a new one appeared. I nearly missed the steps outside the building, catching myself before I landed face first on the concrete.
The new one was called 'Spell Ruler' and the monster on the front looked monstrous but like the others was shrouded in darkness, except the glowing weird eye symbol on its 'head' that glowed green.
I was beginning to think I may soon be overwhelmed with choices if new boosters appeared every few days...I walked on, trying to think which booster I wanted for now. I tried the new booster, simply to see what might come of it and the results were...
Was that a nuclear explosion?!
I stared at the card 'Final Destiny' with some horror before I swallowed and moved on. I was slightly drawn to the spell card, Magical Labyrinth. It said it needed another card, but Ancient Elf said that only applied in a 'duel'.
Most cards were far less restrictive when unchallenged by 'rules'. I eyed the ghostly form of Ancient Elf, wondering why he was so much chattier than the Mystical Elf.
'She...I... was more in tune with the souls. Since consuming power, I have become more self-absorbed. The sound of my voice is pleasing,' he smirked, twirling his staff.
"She had humility," I muttered and he vanished with a scoff.
'Humility for an elf? Perish the thought.'
I had asked him last night about my powers, but he danced around every question like it was a game. It was... annoying.
I went to the city's records, looking for the official record of ownership that covered my building. I had done something similar when I needed to find my birth certificate for my job. The difference here was the exact system was like if a drunk monkey threw files any which way.
The assistant merely wished me luck as I dived into the public records of landlords and holding companies that worked on behalf of a landlord.
By the time I had one system down, a new financial year began and the system jumbled itself as workers over the year dumped files 'vaguely' close to where they should be.
"Should be damn computerized by now," I grunted as I moved another folder over.
The only good news between paper cuts and dust so thick it was grimy was that my power flared again. There weren't any new boosters so I moved past holdings for a Mr Jack White. The guy owned a dozen or so random buildings, it was insane I never heard of his company.
I went spell ruler again and saw my selection was a bit intense. I had a way to draw a card by paying lifeforce to my enemy? I had enemies?
The other was Gravekeeper's servant which I picked. Curiously, I played it after ensuring I was alone.
A small dark shadow floated about me, the sound of metal being grinded against stone filling the air before it went quiet.
I could feel the magic around me, but I couldn't see it. I shivered, but the magic said it would cost an attacker to lose something to make it land. I wonder what that meant exactly?
I was distracted as my address came up under a company's name. I pulled the folder out of the drawer and into the light. The name was 'Little Bell Holdings'. The name meant nothing, but I got their address down in my old flip phone, making a note of it before I left the building.
I had a strange feeling things wouldn't be so simple.
-
I stared at the parking lot where the company should be. I noticed there was a selection of mail slots nearby in a nook. A bunch of PO boxes really. I ran my finger over the little boxes until I found one for Little Bell.
'Deception is for those with something to hide,' Ancient said.
"Your wisdom is hard to argue with," I muttered, looking around and wondering if I could bust it open and get a peek inside.
'Perhaps if you had a powerful sorcerer with over a thousand years of experience to cast a simple unlocking cantrip for you... this might go smoother,' Ancient added dryly.
"You're a bit obnoxious," I pointed out to the spirit.
'More importantly, I'm not wrong,' he countered.
I summoned him inside the nook, mostly concealing him from the street. His card dimmed and I sensed I could use him a few more times, a little less than Mystical elf. I wonder if that had something to do with those orange stars on their card?
He snapped his fingers and the box popped open without a sound.
"Don't suppose you could bless me with immortality or eternal youth?" I asked, joking. He considered it, making me blink.
"How do you feel about being a tree or a jellyfish?" he said finally.
"Pass, but thanks," I muttered. I fished in the mail, sending Ancient back to 'inactive' where he floated about as a ghost. The slot was full, mostly with complaint letters from tenants over the rent rise. Little Bell owned about four apartment buildings like the one I lived in and it was clear they were increasing the rent across the board. Two letters were more interesting.
One was a bank statement for the business, and the other was a letter approving the yearly rental of a storage building downtown.
I took both of them and shut the box where the magic wore off and the lock snapped shut again.
It was almost criminal how easy that was...
-
I was on my break when I found a quiet corner of the warehouse to read them. I stank of fish and sweat, but I was too into this to be distracted. The bank statement was pretty straightforward. Every month, a really big amount of money came in from the renters and the next day it was set up to autopay into another account.
The other account was just a number so it didn't help me too much, but there was almost no deviation from the monthly payments. The money going into the buildings was laughable at what came out.
The rental space was more telling. It was a two floor complex that the letter listed as 'company supplies'. It didn't make sense, but who'd look into this stuff unless it personally affected them?
If I could get evidence this company was a sham then all I had to do was take it to some official or splash it over some magazine and let the cogs do the work. Gotham was corrupt, but it didn't like its corruption being so visible.
"Something as at that rental space," I mused and Lesser Dragon huffed like a dog. His mood came off as 'burn it to the ground'.
I had a slightly better idea.
-
"My talents are wasted," Ancient sighed as he made the lock pop open. I shot him a long look as I made sure my hood was pulled up.
The rental space wasn't deeply hard to get into. I think being unassuming was one of it's appeals so having tons of security and lights kind of defeated the purpose. I slipped inside, intending to get any dirt to throw the business into chaos.
Chaos meant I could stall for time on the rent increase or if everything went to shit, I'd just invite some other asshole who'd do the same thing to take over.
Inside was a sparse hallway and my initial thought was panic that perhaps I had been led on a wild goose chase, but as I headed in, I saw there was more to the place than could be seen outside.
The bottom floor was mostly empty offices with signs of people spending time there; discarded soda cans, fast-food containers, and small portable tvs. As I headed deeper, Ancient Elf muttered something and my footsteps went quieter. I shot him a curious look as I felt it took a little of his energy to do so.
"I can return, we monsters have many means of returning, but you are likely going to stay dead. It's in my self-interest," he said simply and I wasn't sure if I liked it if my powers had 'self-interests'.
I might summon one that had desires that clashed against every decent human moral. The dark and cold hallway was dull and uninteresting and I could see why it was rented out. Trying to actually use this place as a workplace would drive its employees to insanity faster than an accident visit to Arkham.
Finding the stairwell, a smell hit my nostrils as I began to climb, my steps muffled by magic of all things.
It smelled like unwashed bodies and something had gone ripe. Ancient Elf wrinkled his nose, but kept silent as we moved up to the next floor. There was a low light peeking through the open door of the second floor. I peered through, trying to see if I could see where the rotten corpse I was smelling was without actually walking in.
I nearly jumped when my power began to hum. I pulled back for a moment, choosing Blue-Eyes quickly. I was looking over my options which involved a mermaid, a golem, and some moon?
I shook my head and I looked at King Fog, a monster that seemed interesting.
I heard voices suddenly as a door opened somewhere deeper in the building. I pressed my back against the concrete wall of the stairwell, pulling Ancient with me in case he thought stealth was 'beneath' him.
"-place stinks. Some of these people are fucking animals," a man grunted, his voice low like he smoked too much.
"They might as well be. They're locked up and get fed when we remember. I always remember, but Vince is a real psycho, I think he likes making them suffer," the other guy sighed as their voices drew closer before veering off to talk about the Gotham Knights. Like any true fan, they were betting on how much the team would lose the next match.
"Did they say they have people locked up here?" I asked quietly to the Ancient Elf who nodded in return.
"The strong can suppress the weak until they are mere cattle. It happens whenever too many people gather. Someone will eventually be murdered, someone will eventually be robbed, and someone will eventually be collared," the elf said without any emotion as if well aware of the faults of sentient beings.
I swallowed.
"Batman... he hasn't stopped this?" I asked, despite knowing full well how the man either stopped five major crimes a night or was off being in the Justice League. But... even then, what about Huntress or the other heroes?
Could I really be the only one to notice this?
"I only knew because it affected me," I said slowly and looked between the two paths open to me, the stairs back down or the door leading onwards.
I closed my eyes before I thought of my mother... then I imagined her in a cell, starving and begging to see her kids.
Hesitation turned to resolve.
-
Lenny wasn't happy about being on 'property watch', he detested the job. It was bad enough that he was a modern slave warden, but he was also paid shit cash for it. Still, if he didn't want to join the people in one of the guest rooms, he'd keep his complaints to himself.
"Another round?" ask Jeff as he pulled out a cold one and handed another to Lenny. Lenny glared at the well-used deck of cards.
"I'd rather gnaw my hand off than play one more game of poker or go-fish," he said sourly and Jeff sat down, grunting at the terrible metal chairs. The 'hotel' as it was called around other people didn't have anything comfortable in it.
It was designed to be set up and dismantled within the hour if need be.
He was reaching for the small portable TV when he noticed something a little odd.
"Are you smoking here?" Lenny turned to glare at Jeff, the other man's slightly overweight form hunched over a magazine about celebrity gossip. He looked up, beard thick and eyes dark.
"I want to, but no," he grunted back at Lenny.
That... was weird since there was a low curling of white smoke travelling along the floor.
"Jeff, the fuck is that?" he said, pulling his gun from the waist of his pants. Jeff went from lumbering idiot to dangerous gunman in an instant, eyes trained on the only door in.
"A fire?" Jeff asked quickly and Lenny hesitated.
"No heat, I don't smell burning stuff either," he pointed out and now the mist was in the room, moving around their ankles.
It felt cold and curling, but even as they kicked the mist away, it just drifted lazily back around to normal.
"This feels freakish," Jeff warned, the slang for a super making Lenny groan. At least it wasn't Batman, they'd be laying down unconscious by now.
The TV nearby began to flicker, squealing and turning to static before the channel abruptly changed. Cheerfully and obnoxious music began to play as a strange scene caught their eyes.
"Once, there was a beautiful kingdom where everyone lived happily!" a child announced and the TV seemed to make the rest of the room dark.
"What the hell..." Lenny muttered, still aiming his gun around carefully.
"If this Joker, I'm bailing. I don't want to die with a grin on my face," Jeff warned as he neared the door.
"One day, however, the king got very sick and was scared he would die. He used all the medicine and all the magic, but he remained very sick," the child went on, strange puppets appearing to show a sickly king with a red and gold crown in bed.
"One day, a small spark from his fireplace spoke up and said he could make the king all better, but he would have to give up everything in return. The king agreed, because he was the most important person in the kingdom," the show went on to show a grinning face in the fire then the TV began to smoke.
"The fire burned down everything... all the people... all the homes... all the light. In the end, the king inhaled their ashes... and became healthy. He decided it was not enough and went on to burn another town then another... and then finally, he came here... to burn you!" the child giggled before the sound transformed into a ghastly laugh.
A demonic face appeared out of the smoke and rushed forward, slamming both men into the wall. Lenny fired off round after round, but the face kept moving and dancing.
"You'll make such good kindling," the demon promised and rushed at them.
Lenny screamed, praying for the first time in his life.
-
"He's... um dramatic," I said as I lingered outside. Ancient Elf snorted, twirling his staff.
"Fiends are either dumb as a door nail, sadastic as viper, or both. Very few Fiends tend to wander out of that niche," he said.
I gingerly eyed the King Fog card I summoned. It seemed to be a weaker monster than Ancient, but where Ancient was physical and obvious... King Fog had the ability to be immaterial and even interfere with electronics it seemed.
"Did he really burn towns?" I asked after a moment.
"I wouldn't know. King Fog barely makes an appearance outside of weather decks and that's only to fill out the theme," Ancient Elf said easily as the screaming stopped.
Decks... like a whole set of monsters? My power was seriously weirding me out. King Fog emerged back under the door, grinning.
"They'll need therapy," he announced in his dark and echoey voice. King Fog was basically a sentient cloud of smoke with glowing eyes. I assumed there was a physical form inside, but I didn't know what it looked like or why he kept it obscured.
"Thanks, keep yourself hidden and warn me if anyone moves about," I said and the Fiend sank down onto the floor and began to spread out, shifting around corners and under doors.
I went inside to find both men trembling and avoiding their eyes from looking at anything. I took their guns to be safe and eyed the slashed walls and floor, wondering where Fog got swords...
The next thing was a set of keys which I went about using on any door I could find. My hood kept my face obscured and when I thought it wasn't enough, some of Fog's smoke curled up around my form, making me shadowy to the scared prisoners.
"Why are you here?" I asked one of the men who looked to be in his early 50's and one of the more recent people to be moved here.
"We refused to move... they took me when I was out shopping and told me my wife would get me back when she was out of Gotham. Damn monsters," the man spat before eyeing me with wary caution.
"You some hero or something?" he asked and his clothes looked stained and dirty.
"Or something," I agreed and threw him the keys.
"Get everyone else out. Sticking around is a bad idea," I warned and left the hallway to get out of the building ASAP. I used one of the crook's phones to dial the police and gave the address to the man who answered.
"Sir, we don't appreciate prank calls," the dispatcher said with a sigh. I narrowed my eyes and fired a warning shot into the nearby TV, making it explode in shards. The recoil nearly shot the pistol back into my nose with the recoil.
I had never fired a gun before... they made it look so easy in the movies.
"Sir! Was that a gunshot?" the man asked in alarm and I put the phone down near the still terrified men, their mumbles and moans the perfect background to make them take this seriously.
I was back home within the hour, heart pounding.
I kind of wished I stuck around to see what happened, but that was just asking to be spotted or caught.
I had changed the city... just a little tonight.
I didn't expect that to be so exciting.
-
Batman moved through the crime scene as the police left. Most of the vitla evidence was muddled by a few dozen escaped prisoners and inept police work in securing the scene. The only solid lead was the testimony of the two crooks belonging to Cobblepot.
Their words made his heart pause for a moment.
They were attacked by someone using smoke and fog with leering demonic features... the wall was cut up with thin needle-like scrapes.
Batman didn't jump to conclusions, but he looked about the rundown building that was her MO.
"Andrea... are you back?" he whispered aloud before he turned, cape fluttering, to leave as well.
There was only bad memories and ideas here now.