Chapter 119: Beginning of the End

Tobias Church was a simple man.

Not a dumb man. You don't get to becoming the most powerful crime lord on the west coast by being a dumb man. Not Tobias Church, who had Hub City, the decades-long title holder for the title of worst city in America, under his thumb for the past seven or so years.

No, a simple man. As in, a man with simple desires. Things like booze, drugs, women. The basic desires of the typical civilized male. Tobias had decided he wanted those things a very long time ago, and had made it his life's goal to get as much of each as he possibly could before someone inevitably capped him off. Of course, Tobias didn't want to be capped off, but when you lived the life he lived, it was sort of an inevitability.

Of course, to achieve that, he needed money. And Tobias, well, Tobias might be every bit as an arrogant sonuvabitch as the bastards that came before him and all those that would come after, but even he could admit that he wasn't above those green pieces of fabric paper that made the world go round and round. So, that was probably why he went with that stupid plan offered up by that moron in Starli—sorry, Star City in hopes of a large payday.

It wasn't like Tobias had been hurting for money at the time. He was far from desperate. But, the potential payout was simply too much to ignore. A thousand kids, four million a pop — even parsing out all the ones who couldn't pay up, they stood to earn at least a billion green ones. Money like that would've been enough for him to go national — maybe even worldwide. He couldn't ignore an offer like that.

Except that he should have, because the plan took place in the then-Starling City, and landed him on the radar of the blasted Justice League. After things went pear-shaped, Tobias had tried to cut any and all ties he had to Brickwell. It wasn't hard; even after the fall of the Bertinellis and the Triad and most of the organized crime in Star, Tobias had been careful to keep minimal ties to the city due to the presence of Supergirl and Green Arrow, fearing the possibility of landing on their radars. Brick had been his only agent there.

But it wasn't enough. The JL had gotten wind of his involvement, and about a month after Brick's downfall, Martian Manhunter had shown up at his door. Church had turned himself in without a fight, and then used his extensive connections to get out before he could get convicted and then ditched most of his operations in Hub. He had prepared for an eventuality like this, but the loss in resources and status had still stung.

He had been careful since then. So careful. He had fled half-way across the country to Bludhaven, setting up shop there and slowly taking over the already-preexisting operations. It hadn't been hard; Blud was corrupt, but for years it had been a cesspit of competing factions. There hadn't been anyone strong enough to unify them all until Tobias arrived. With the serious lack of competition and a police force easily bought off, Tobias had managed to bring the city under his control within the year.

Even so, he had lived in fear of the Justice League busting down his door and taking him down for several months. He had only begun to relax with the arrival of the Dominators and then the appearance of Zoom. With threats like that, a relatively low-level crime lord like him was obviously low on the priority list. If not forgotten altogether.

It's nice how life worked out like that, Tobias thought to himself as he entered his new penthouse, discarding his sunglasses onto the side table. Good things really do come to those who're patient.

"Hello, Tobias."

"Mark!" Tobias exclaimed joyfully as a skinny man with light brunette hair stood up from his seat on the couch.

Mark Desmond. His new second-in-command since his arrival to Bludhaven. Tobias had been forced to leave his original one, a man named Sean Sonus, behind to take the brunt of the heat for his crimes in Hub. The head of a low-tier racketing operation, Mark had been quick to offer both a huge cut and his services as an adviser. Tobias had quickly accepted, and their partnership immediately bore fruit. The self-proclaimed Charon would fully admit that he would've never brought Blud under his heel if not for him.

Which reminded him. He needed to have Scimitar off Desmond soon. Couldn't have him getting any ideas. Tobias wasn't stupid enough to believe that Mark had offered up his help without some ulterior motives. Better to cut him loose before he could start making his move. Thankfully, Tobias had been careful to place his own agents in key positions of Mark's various ongoing operations. Very little would suffer from his loss.

"What are you doing here? I thought you still had to take care of some troublemakers down south."

Mark tilted his head. "I did. They're all gone now. I just came here because I had some unfinished business with you."

"Oh? Did something happen?" Tobias asked, fingering the switchblade he had hidden beneath his sleeve. Had Mark caught on to his plans?

"You could say that," Mark replied as he began to approach his boss. Sensing something was wrong, Tobias immediately drew the switchblade and tossed it towards his underling, aiming directly for the forehead.

He froze when he saw the knife phase directly through Mark instead.

"Come now, Tobias…" Tobias watched in horror as Mark began to grow and morph into a familiar green alien. "… it doesn't do well to be so rude to your guests," J'onn finished, his scarlet eyes glowing.

Tobias backed away shakily. "SCIMITAR!" He screamed through the door.

J'onn stopped and waited. Suddenly, a burst of wind spilled into the room as the balcony doors of Tobias' penthouse flared open. Tobias stared as the Flash sped into view, holding the unconscious form of the crime lord's top enforcer. The speedster spun a knife in one hand as he dropped the assassin onto the floor with the other, and one could just feel the smirk beneath his mask.

Tobias screamed.

"Well, that's Church finally out of the way," Flash commented as Manhunter and him breached back into the Hall of Justice. Throwing a wave to Fire and Ice, two new members of the Justice League who had joined a couple of months back, Barry and J'onn quickly changed back into their civilian identities and headed over to the lockers to pick up their stuff. "And now begins our days off."

"I must admit, the idea of not being constantly on call for Justice League missions anymore sound both daunting and appealing," J'onn commented as they picked up their breach devices from another section of the locker room. Based off of Cisco's powers and developed by both the man himself and their ally Harrison Wells of Earth-2 (now dubbed Harry), they were pre-programmed to create portals to the respective bases of each member of the Justice League and back to the Hall of Justice. They were relatively pricey, but the increased budget of the League in the wake of Zoom's invasion none months prior, in combination with the unprecedented success of the newly-reopened S.T.A.R. Labs, they could afford to make a fair few for their personal use until the design could be streamlined for more commercial use.

Barry gave him a confused look. "Daunting?"

"I have never had so much free time before," J'onn pointed out, shrugging. "The last time was before I joined the League, after you and your siblings rescued me. And even then, my days were occupied by learning as much Earth culture as possible. Now, with the new rotational roster, we've returned to that, and yet I find myself at a loss at what to do."

"Get a job," Barry suggested, "Or maybe go back to school, like I did. Not everything you do has to have some ulterior purpose. There are things you can do that are just for, you know, you."

J'onn hummed. "An interesting proposition. I shall have to think on it more." He then opened a breach, revealing the insides of his apartment in Hub. "Till we meet again, my friend," he said, bidding a farewell to Barry.

"Later, J'onn," Barry bid back, watching as the Martian disappeared into the portal. He then opened his own breach and left as well.

Oliver sighed as he packed up his briefcase, closing down the latches with an audible click!. He said goodbye to his PA, then headed to the nearest elevator and clicked on the bottom floor button. Along the way, he made similar greetings to the other employees, before exiting the building and heading towards the direction of a familiar mop of long, blond hair.

He smiled as his little sister came into view, leaning against her car with her phone in hand. Kara sensed him immediately, smiling brightly at him. "Hey. How was your day?"

"Tiring, but not… overly so," Oliver explained. He walked around to the other side of the car and opened the door to the passenger seat, reaching out to set down his briefcase into the backseat. "I imagine that will change when Dad starts handing off more responsibilities."

"What is the point of training you up to be CEO now anyway?" Kara asked. "I thought that Thea had that locked on when she graduates from college. She literally has been training for it since you supposedly died on that boat."

Oliver shrugged. "She still does, but Thea still has several more years of college left. After all, she's going for a Masters. And since Dad isn't getting any younger, I guess Mom and him want to hedge their bets. Either way, as soon as she's ready I'm going to hand it off to her. I don't want the company." He eyed her closely. "What about you? How's the mall going?"

"Great. Things have been smooth sailing since you've been gone," Kara claimed. At Oliver's look, she nodded vigorously. "I'm serious. Things are going great. We're in the black, our customer base is getting larger every day, and the effects are already starting to show in the Glades. There are less and less people living on the streets every day."

"Kara. What's the problem?"

The Kryptonian paused for a moment before sighing, turning on the ignition of the car. As she began to back away out of the parking space and into the lot, she began to speak again. "That obvious, am I?"

"I'm your older brother, Kara," Oliver reminded her. "Only one other person in the world knows you as well as I do, and we're about to meet him for lunch at the Palm."

"Why the Palm, again?" Kara wondered out loud. "This is supposed to be a friendly meal, not a status statement."

"I want steak, you want steak, Barry wants steak," Oliver automatically replied. "Nowhere else in the city has better steak than the Palm. It's simple math, Kara."

"And how are you supposed to sate Barry's appetite?"

The archer gave her a flat look. "I'm a Queen. Anyway, enough with the deflecting. What's the problem, Kara?"

Kara bit the corner of her lip. "It's dumb. I mean, it's been a couple of weeks, and I knew it was coming—"

"You're sad about Kal starting high school," Oliver instantly deduced.

Kara nodded slowly. "He's growing up, Oliver," she said, sadness and pride emanating from her as one. "I remember when he was just a wee old baby, carrying him to every stretch on Lian Yu. And now he's on the last leg of his journey to adulthood."

"You're afraid he won't need you anymore," Oliver concluded. "You're afraid he won't need any of us."

"Aren't you?"

Oliver hummed. "You know, I felt the same when you and Barry started growing up. When you started mastering your powers, when Barry got a handle of his knives — when you didn't need me to protect you anymore. It made me wonder if you needed me at all." His expression then turned sly. "And then Barry asked me for help when we started seduction lessons and just like that, I realized you would always need me. Maybe not as much as you did before, but often enough."

Kara blinked, before giggling. Oliver chuckled alongside her as they continued out of the lot and into the side streets of Star. "He really was bad at that, wasn't he?"

"Still is," Olive noted, leaning back into his seat. "It's not the end of the world, Kara. Yes, Kal is growing up, and soon he won't need to rely on us anymore. But he'll still need you, even if it's for something as simple as advice. You should be proud you raised him so well."

"I am," Kara admitted. "It's just… I've raised him for so long. Everything I've ever done, he's always been first on my mind, with Barry and you second. And now that he's growing up, I don't know what to do with myself anymore. There's Supergirl, but…"

"It's not the same. I know." Oliver sighed. "Kara, you've lived all your life for him. But your parents, your uncle and aunt, they didn't send you here just because they wanted you to protect him. They sent you here because they wanted to save you too. And now that he doesn't need so much protecting anymore, maybe it's time you start trying to live your own life, like Barry and I. I've got QC, Laurel, and Nyssa. Barry's attending school, doing his own experiments—"

"—and pining after Iris."

"And pining after Iris," Oliver finished without missing a beat. "And considering how Iris is pining after him back, it won't be long until they finally take the plunge. But you? You run the mall because it's our cover for the Foundry. Sam might be your best friend, but you only met her because she's the mother of Ruby, Kal's best friend. I think it's time you start doing stuff for yourself for once. Go back to school like Barry, start up a new business, date…"

Kara gripped the wheel tighter.

"We're not living on an island anymore, Kara. We're no longer trying to survive." Oliver's gaze was far away. "We're trying to live. And sometimes, I think we forget that. Maybe this is the reminder we all need."

Central City General Hospital was one of the buildings prioritized in the rebuilding of Central City in the wake of Zoom's invasion. Thankfully, the damage hadn't been too extensive, and thus it had also been one of the first buildings completed. That was the best anyone could even ask for, because even now, nine months later, people were still trying to recover from injuries sustained during the attack.

One person in particular was a handsome young detective in the coma ward. He had been sent flying during the initial explosion that preceded the invasion, landing his head against a filing cabinet and subsequently going under. He had resided at the hospital ever since, receiving visitors from his precinct. This included his old partner, and his partner's daughter, another cop who had used to date him. Occasionally, another handsome young man accompanied them, though he often had very little to say compared to his companions.

What made him so interesting wasn't his good looks, though they were certainly a bonus. No, it was the lack of atrophy. His muscles remained as defined and firm as the day when he was first admitted. Of course, that didn't necessarily mean anything, but it was something to note. Some even expressed the belief he had an activated metagene, though it was few and far in-between. After all, even with more general acceptance of metahumans, there was always the fear of a backlash due to Zoom's actions. The man was a victim of Zoom; he didn't deserve to suffer the fallout of that monster's crimes.

So, the chatter died down and no matter metahuman talk came up. Instead, the doctors and nurses contented themselves admiring the good-looking stranger and his equally good-looking friends. As the months passed by the visits became less frequent, but did not cease, and soon the opportunity of treating the handsome patient became something of a privilege. A shift that was traded for favors and perks. As shameful as it was that the man might never wake up, a few were secretly and guiltily felt pleased by the idea. It meant more opportunities to snatch up one of his many attractive acquaintances.

One such nurse, Claire Wyndham, was particularly excited. She had managed to snag the full shift for this week and was looking forward to it. She had been eying one of the younger companions as a potential date, either the man or the woman. They were both beautiful, and she had been working up the courage to ask one of them out.

"I don't understand how you let a girl as pretty as her go," Claire muttered to her unconscious charge. "She's, like, so beautiful. It was like love at first sight, you know? She's just—"

He sat up.

She screamed.

The handsome patient panted repeatedly, glancing around the room and blinking his dark blue eyes. He finally spotted the nurse, who had a hand to her chest and was trying to get her own breathing back under control. He stared at her.

"What the hell is going on?" Eddie Thawne asked raspingly.

Well, my plan to write this arc for NaNoWriMo got slightly derailed. I lost time at around 20,000 words and ended up writing the remaining 30,000 for another story (and yes, you can do that). About half of it was for the plotting the other half for actual chapters. Don't expect that story to come out any time soon, by the way. I'm still kind of formulating the details.

But anyway, I did manage seven chapters! I don't know how frequently I'll be dropping them - they needed to be edited after all - but I am dropping them relatively soon. I might start the next chapter soon, but I figure I need to get out all the steam for this new story first. I won't hint at what it's about, other than it's in the Batman fandom again.

As for this story, I will say this: this arc is going to start kind of slowly at first, and there's not going to be a lot of fighting in the beginning. That's partly why I lost steam on it. I will complete it, however, but it will just take time and concentration. Just a warning for those of you who are looking forward to more chaotic shenanigans like the last arc.

Moving on: as you might have noticed upon re-reading this story, we finally have art! My dear friend greensirencanary from the Lauriver Discord created three collage posters for me at my request, free of charge. Technically, I only requested one, but she had a real creative streak going. She said I could use any one I wanted, but I decided I liked all of them, so I used all of them. One of them is currently the banner for the Tumblr blog, another has been posted on the first chapter of the AO3 version, and the last one has been made the thumbnail of the FFN version. I hope you like it!

Well, that's it for now! Don't be afraid to review (though flames, as always, will be deleted and ignored) and please do update the TV Tropes page!