"Were you out of your goddamn mind!?" Aunt Caryl screamed.
Aunt Caryl had a first aid kit by her side as she examined Kim's condition. She applied a gauze pad onto the cut on Kim's arm with the blood turning the gauze its infamous red color. Her crop top was torn and her arms shared two tertiary colors of red & blue. Her shins pulsated and her face had a small red handprint from Batman forcing her head down onto the helipad. Though to Kim, these all only fueled the fire that was her anger. Ron could see it a mile away as he kneeled next to Kim with a worried expression painted on his face. Rufus looked at Kim chirping in a manner as if he were asking if Kim was alright. Detective Bullock had run back to where Johnny was while Captain Gordon was smoking a cigarette. Though the nicotine was in no way relaxing him. Bullock would soon return outside and out of breath.
"Sneaky bastard got his bat-boomerang thing back. We also just got word that the interrogation room Loose Lips was in got broken into. Both he and the officer on duty are out cold… He must have been here a lot longer than we thought." Bullock said.
"Shit, and that's the least of our worries," Gordon commented. Rubbing the bridge of his nose.
"Well, with Loeb dead the chain of command falls to you. We had no assistant commissioner, no major, not even a damn colonel! Goes to show just how interested Loeb really was in keeping his authority." Bullock stated. There was a pause in the air as Gordon's cigarette continued to burn. Bullock turned to the (technically) newly appointed Commissioner.
"What do you think we should do about this shit show?" He asked. There was an uncomfortable pause before Gordon spoke.
"I'm not sure if we should let the public know about this," Gordon sighed.
"Okay, so let's pretend I don't know why," Ron commented, jumping in.
"We can't let Gotham descend into a panic knowing that the Batman is now a killer and still on the loose, plus the headlines would eat up that he beat Kim Possible," Gordon said.
Kim understood why, not only will people panic, but now the whole world will know that there is a being out there that can stop her, and he is a cold-blooded killer. Panic wouldn't just be in Gotham, but pockets of pandemonium would arise all over the world. She also secretly appreciated that Gordon was willing to keep this kind of secret from the public.
"Gordon, we have to tell the public that Loeb is dead. We can't just keep that kind of secret from his family." Caryl said as she was finished attending to Kim's most dire wounds.
"We don't have to, he doesn't have any family in Gotham," Bullock said. Caryl had forgotten that Loeb's wife divorced him nearly 2 years ago. A smart move.
Kim held her tongue, she and Ron could handle the bits of panic around the world. Gordon and Bullock should be able to handle what could happen in Gotham. While she had some idea that some officers in the GCPD were corrupt, panic and chaos are not suitable for anyone. Kim thought hard of a way to stop Batman, but nothing came up. His fighting technique was flawless, his armor provided extra defense, yet he still was nimble, agile, and surprisingly strong. The only thing she saw out of his belt was his batarangs, and there must have been more than just 4 of the batarangs in that belt. The arguing continued as she kept thinking.
"No Caryl, we can't allow people to panic over Batman, we already have criminals scared of their own shadows, now we have to worry about the innocent?" Gordon argued.
"Okay Gordon, do you plan to keep Loeb's 'disappearance' a secret? What about the officers who were knocked out by Batman? You think they will keep that kind of secret?" Caryl fired back.
"Those officers we will deal with later, right now we have a bigger picture to focus on!" Gordon screamed. Kim's fist clenched hard, her teeth grinding against each other like the tectonic plates.
"Give me 3 days," Kim said.
Both Gordon and Caryl were pulled from their arguing, Ron looked at Kim wide-eyed as she started to stand. Kim's body ached as she stood. Her fighting spirit emerged once again.
"W-what?" Ron asked.
"Give me 3 days to stop him," Kim repeated.
"Over my dead body! Look at what he did to you! How the hell am I going to explain this to your mother!?" Caryl screamed.
"This is normal stuff for me, Aunt Caryl! Freaks in all sorts of costumes have been trying to hurt me ever since I started this save the world gig nearly two years ago! Batman could be just the start of freaks that I have to fight off in the next few years! So what if he's an A-grade fighter, maybe I just need more training or some new gadgets to even the playing field!"
"Maybe we say it wasn't Batman and hunt him down in secret. You know just a teeny tiny white lie?" Ron chimed in nervously. The group turned to Ron almost in sync, staring at him. He tried to play off the awkward scene with a smile. Rufus even gave a light palm to his forehead.
"Okay… maybe that was a bad-"
"Not exactly the worst idea but it might be our only option," Bullock said.
"What?" Aunt Caryl asked. Kim looked at Ron with disbelief. Ron had very few moments where he would have strokes of strategic genius, but when he had them they changed everything.
"Ron might be onto something," Kim said. Aunt Caryl sighed and rolled her eyes as she walked towards her niece.
"Kim, you can't expect us to lie to nearly 8 million people. It's absurd! I haven't even thought of what I'm going to tell your mother about what happened." Caryl protested. Her hands running through her short brown hair almost cursing herself to let Kim come along with her.
"Batman somehow knows the in's and out's of this building. He was able to briefly escape my pursuit by crawling through the ventilation shaft. Even making spare time to place the grille back into place to try and trick me. How could he get ahold of those blueprints? My friend Wade could, but he is a hacker & a super-genius so he easily got ahold of those." Kim pointed out.
Gordon exhaled another puff of his cigarette and took a brief moment to contemplate. Batman should have no access to the blueprints of Blackgate. That is confidential intel that only a few people have the authority to look at, and even less are wanting to. So how did Batman know exactly which office was Commissioner Loeb's? How did he know which vent to crawl through to get to the helipad?
If what Kim said was accurate, Batman must have had this data for some time to memorize not just the layout of Blackgate, but where ventilation shafts led to, and where all the office's bathrooms, even interrogation rooms were. Gordon didn't want to believe it but Batman had done his homework.
"He's played us right from the start. Which begs the question, what else does this guy know?" Gordon asked.
The question had chills running up everyone's spine. He knew Kim's full name and hometown. There was a good chance that he knew everything he needed to know about her Aunt, Cpt. Gordon, and Bullock, maybe even Ron & Rufus. Kim looked up to see her Aunt pacing back and forth.
"I can't believe this, and just how are you going to pull this off?" Caryl asked frustrated towards the group. The question was sound. Kim thought long and hard. Trying to ignore the pulsating of her body she ran through idea after idea. Keeping the security officers quiet would be a waste of time if they are corrupt in any way shape or form. Lying about everything that happened last night, like saying Loeb went home sick would raise even more questions, and his 'disappearance' wouldn't go unnoticed for long, maybe not even a day.
Gordon and Bullock both looked towards Gotham City, they could see the rainfall blanketing the skyline as it quickly approached Blackgate. As if it were a timer rushing them to think of something and quick, but neither had anything to say. Until Kim's eyes lit up.
"We have to tell the guards that saw Batman what happened," she said.
"Wait, why Kim? What about the lie?" Ron asked with the curiosity of the rest of the group backing him up.
"Think about it, only about 6 guards were attacked by Batman, and the rest who know are standing right here. This means only 6 other people can confirm he was in the building. We tell them the truth and get them to cooperate by staying quiet while we form some elaborate lie." Kim explained.
Bullock looked at Gordon who rubbed his chin and finished his cigarette snuffing it out under his shoe. While Caryl and Ron just stood and looked at Kim with a puzzled look. The plan was rather ambitious, but she sold it to the most valued client amongst this pool of buyers.
"She's right," Gordon said.
"Oh, you have got to be kidding me..." Aunt Caryl shrugged.
"Think about it, Caryl. If those 6 cops are corrupt like Loeb was, then we have some certainties. Money talks to these guys so we will double, or even triple their salary if it gets them to be quiet. On top of that now with Loeb dead by Batman's hand, they then will perceive themselves as a possible target. They will be so scared out of their minds that they will have to cooperate plus start doing some good to stay out of Batman's sight, on top of that they get paid way more than the other cops here." Gordon added.
Kim looked towards Caryl and tried to keep herself from smiling as Caryl's facial expression was just priceless as she stared at Gordon. She sighed and rubbed the temples on her head. Bullock was thinking to himself when he looked towards Kim and Gordon.
"That just might work," Bullock stated.
Caryl couldn't believe it. However, the plan seemed sound and cops already were starting to be afraid of Batman without the fear of death hanging over them. She took a deep breath and swallowed her pride begrudgingly.
"Alright fine, but we have to get the story straight. So 6 other officers get told the truth, bribe them to be quiet and we secretly launch a B.O.L.O against Batman. All hands on deck." (Be On Look Out) "but the public needs to be told something different, the best lies have a big chunk of the truth embedded into them… it's gotta be almost irrefutable,". Caryl explained.
Everyone had to think for a second. They all agreed that a story about Loeb 'disappearing' wouldn't work. So death was inevitable, though they would have to do the one they do to solve murders, cover it up. Ideas were exchanged by the adults as Kim & Ron both looked at each other. They had nothing and watched, the idea would actually come from the Mole Rat.
Rufus tugged on Ron's suit jacket and made his hand into the classic shape of the 'finger gun' and pointed it into his open mouth. Pretending to pull the trigger and whipped his head back, then gestured to the adults. Ron's eyes shot out and nodded and told Kim.
"Kim… it's suicide." He told Kim
"Ron I need to you be a bit more positive-"
"No-no the answer! The answer tells the public it was suicide, that Loeb killed himself." Ron exclaimed. It took a second but Kim got the idea, and disturbingly enough it was perfect. Bullock even overheard.
"Shit, kids right, suicide would be our best bet. No note, just a sudden gunshot, and Loeb dead in his office. The stress of work and life got too much for him to handle. It would even be easy to fake the scene."
Gordon and Caryl didn't want to admit it but it was the best choice. They looked towards the teens and nodded.
"So we're all in agreement then?" Gordon asked, waiting for a rejection response. Only silence and thunder were heard.
"Alright. I will round up the 6 officers. Caryl, you will arrange for Loeb's body to be retrieved after Bullock makes a few adjustments to the crime scene, please wear plastic gloves so you're not somehow caught in the middle of it in case there is a full investigation. Kim, Ron if anyone asks, you two just got here after Caryl asked for some insight about crime-fighting… Are we clear?" Gordon asked, his stare was unyielding.
Kim and Ron looked at each other and responded at the same time.
"Crystal."
Roman Sionis had no time to wait for the rest of his crew to get off the chopper. He practically jumped from it when it wasn't even on the ground yet. It landed quickly within Gotham Harbor and almost took off after Roman gave the pilot a hand signal to get out of dodge. Branden and the rest of his team of 4 that defected were keeping pace behind him. A concerned yet focused growl was on his face, though only his signature mask was visible. Plus it was pouring cats & dogs, that suit of his is hard to dry clean.
Thugs that shared the same mask with a more simple design with Romans, were armed with standard AK-47's met him outside a warehouse door and opened it for him. The main room was empty, shipping containers were everywhere along with the tools and equipment to safely move them like forklifts and cranes. A few lights were on but not very bright so it could give off the illusion that no one was home. More thugs watched as he and the several cops walked towards another door at the end of the room. Some kept their rifles pointed towards Branden and his crew.
"These guys of yours do know that we are on the same side right?" He asked, trying to calm down his men.
"Don't let them bother you, if you were real cops you'd have bullets in ya already." Black Mask growled.
He approached a large metal door that was locked. It had a keypad and an eye sensor above it with green glass over it. Black Mask began to type in a code. It was long and complicated but complicated meant good security measures. He leaned forward and the green glass lit up and scanned his right retina. Beeping twice it unlocked the door, he swung it open with a loud creaking noise. Branden and his men were about to enter after Black Mask until two armed men with M4 carbines stepped between them with one of them having a hand extended out.
"Phones, pagers, anything that can contact the outside. Now." He said with a thick hood accent.
Branden looked towards Black Mask with a curved brow. The crime lord nodded. Branden then ordered his men to give up anything that was on the list to the thugs. 4 phones were given up, Branden showed them his phone but dropped it to the ground, which was soon met by the swift crushing blow of his booted heel, cracking the device in half. The man looked towards Branden with a confused look?
"I don't need it back." He stated. The man just shrugged and let Branden and his team through.
They continued down a metal flight of stairs that went through 3 levels. Branden watched as Black Mask kept moving along mumbling to himself. He didn't care, he wanted the cash he was promised, the ride out Gotham, and the new life he so desperately wanted. He could see himself on the beaches of Mexico, sipping a cold margarita with a gorgeous blonde sitting in his lap. His fantasy was interrupted by something one of his other officers pointed out.
"They didn't even take our guns? How stupid is that." The other officer said.
"Then where we are going is probably heavily armed, so unless you want to get us all killed don't do anything stupid," Branden warned.
Black Masked opened up the door that met them at the bottom of the stairs. Inside was a large wooden table of oak with many other thugs associated with Black Mask sitting at the table. Like his main lieutenants, muscle, and other gangsters. Black Mask of course sat at the head with a much larger, more comfortable chair. The room had LED lights on at the ceiling that showed a chair for Branden to sit in but none of his men. Branden noticed 2 things.
The first was a massive screen that stretched to both sides of the table at the opposite side of Black Masks chair. It was next to a series of computers that all seemed to be flashing colors. The screen was filled with the words "Signal standing by…" A fat man was sitting at the computer. Hi's short curly hair and pale skin suggest he didn't go out much and his glasses seemed to not fit. He had candy bar wrappings all around his workspace along with a crushed can of soda, and one freshly opened. He seemed anxious about whatever he was working on. He reminded Branden of a certain character in a 'B' movie he saw, where the actor was portrayed getting attacked by a small alien that spat acid in his face.
The next was a young woman in her mid 30's with a clipboard who had approached Black Mask. Her glasses helped magnify her green eyes and her black hair was in a professional bun. Her suit hid her figure but Branden knew she must have had a body in her. Her pen and tie suggested a high level of professional ethic to her. It was all work and no play to this woman and Branden didn't want to think of that. She even spoke professionally. Ms. Li liked to keep everything that way when working with Black Mask.
"Good Morning Sir, I'm sorry that the storm has got to you as well. We are having one or two technical difficulties but we have been assured by Miles Dedry to have them fixed here shortly." Ms. Li had informed. Roman growled beneath his mask.
"God damn it, Dedry you fat sack of shit I told you that you were supposed to have everything ready when I got here!" The fat man turned around in his chair showing off his gut underneath his white polo and yellow rain parka and khakis. Branden couldn't even look at him.
"You called the meeting at 12:00 and you're 30 minutes late, we had a signal before the storm hit and I'm trying to get it back," Miles argued. Branden had to admit the fat man had some guts to talk back to Roman that way. Though he knew that anyone who was tech-savvy was always someone mildly important.
"You know if I wanted to watch a type 2 diabetic bitch all night long I'd watch 600-lb sisters, but Instead I get you who shoves candy bars in that second asshole of yours you call a mouth all day long instead of doing what he is told! Now get the signal back up or the next candy bar I force-feed your fat ass is gonna taste like lead!" Roman screamed back slamming his fist into the table with his other hand reaching for that iconic 1911 of his.
"Alright alright! Just give me a few more seconds," Miles typed away quickly, a beat of sweat rolling down his forehead as he deployed a small radar dish that extended out from the roof of the warehouse. It was cleverly hidden as a smokestack as it opened up and started to search for the desired signal. Miles took a minute to fine-tune it and secured the external signal source. The computer read "Signal Connected."
"Okay, we're on," Miles said with a relaxing sigh.
"Call him," Roman commanded. Within moments Miles pressed the enter key on his keyboard and the screen began to connect the video feed. After a few brief moments and audio of a phone line ringing the video call connected. Everyone watched and Branden was taken back a second.
A man in his mid 40's appeared with black hair spiked backward along with a small ponytail that could constitute a mullet. His thick unibrow was present and sat above his dark eyes, with his left eye sporting a noticeable scar underneath that curved in the same direction. His ears were out wider than others and wore a dark blue double-breasted coat with a black collar that embossed a green center button. But his most notable feature was not his scar or unibrow, but his light blue-tinted skin.
"My apologies for being a bit late Dr. Drakken. I had a 'loose end' to take care of." Black Masked said calmly, eyeing Branden who nodded back.
"Good morning Roman, And that is alright. I assumed you would be a bit late with the weather. I trust we will continue the agreement as previously discussed?" Dr. Drakken asked, leading the conversation.
"Yes of course Doc. You and I have discussed this more but we have a few newbies to the table. If you would just briefly describe what we wish to accomplish."
"Gladly!" Dr. Drakken said with excitement. His smile was that of a mad scientist. He cleared his throat as he rubbed his black-gloved hands together. To which Branden noticed that they were a bit small.
"Gentlemen. Black Mask here reached out to me with a request. A request to create a so-called get out of jail free, and forever card. And being the brilliant genius that I am, I have invented a device to help him and all of you do it with ease! No more life without regulation from this world's governments, or more rules, or looking over your shoulders all the time! Or-," Dr. Drakken began to struggle with finding the words to continue his sentence. Blurting out gibberish that caused the rest of the table to look around with the same confused and awkward expression. Black Mask got him back on track.
"Uh, Doc? We don't need to do the theatrics…" Black Mask said. Dr. Drakken got a bit embarrassed and got right to the point.
"Oh right, *ahem* I have invented a device that will completely rewrite or even delete all of your personal information in the world!" Dr. Drakken waited for a series of ecstatic responses from the gangsters but only got talking amongst each other. Dr. Drakken's eyes darted left and right and grew frustrated. Miles' hand went up, with a chocolate bar already in hand.
"Yes, what is it?" The mad scientist asked.
"I'm sorry but anyone can change that information if you have good enough hacking skills, I mean I can go into anyone's public FacePage account and change their personal information," Miles rejected. The rest of the gangsters had begun to talk more but Dr. Drakken expected such a response.
"That is correct, any hacker can alter any easily obtained personal info. But what about changing your social security number with a press of a button? What about your birth certificate, or tax information, banking routing numbers, or even any photographs of you that you may not want out there?" Dr. Drakken's pitch was now beginning to sink in. Everything like that can be changed but it would take months, maybe even years to do so. But with a push of a button seemed outlandish.
"Go on," Branden said his interest now peaked.
"Gentleman I give you… The Drak-Eraser 2.0!" Dr. Drakken then pressed a button and a sudden compartment had opened up in front of Black Mask. It revealed a small handheld device that looked almost similar to a tablet. It was thick on its exterior with smooth bluish-gray color. The screen's resolution was crisp and clear and came to life with touch capabilities. Black Mask took the device and played with it. The screen lit up and asked a single question.
-Please type in your full name below-
"Well, who's gonna be the guinea pig for our blue friend here?" Black Mask asked. The gangsters at the table began looking at each other wondering who would take the gamble first. A few of them tried to convince others to take the plunge but all suffered cold feet. Except for Branden, this was exactly what he wanted, and if it worked it was his.
"I'll do it." He said with eagerness behind him. Black Mask nodded and handed the device to him. He noted the weight it held and looked towards the screen typing in his full name. 'Howard Scott Branden' he then pressed the enter key below. A loading screen then quickly came up with the classic bar filling up to the end. It chimed at Branden.
-All Personal, Public, Financial, and Legal data have been collected on 'Howard Scott Branden'. Please select an action-
View
Alter
Erase (Two-Step Verification)
Erase All (Two-way Authentication Required.)
Branden read carefully, he wanted to try but didn't honestly think it would have gotten this far so quickly. He seemed overwhelmed on what to do. He looked towards Black Mask and the crime lord gave him an idea.
"You wanted to ditch that wife of yours Branden. With that, you can do so without so much a court order." Black Masked encouraged.
Branden then looked at the button "Erase" and pressed it to view everything. Bank accounts, personal records from the IRS, even check deposits from The GCPD. He then found his certificate of marriage to his wife. And selected it the screen asked for confirmation, Branden then pressed it again. The tablet now asked if he was certain and then pressed it. Within seconds the job was done
-All Selected Files have been Erased.-
"And just like that, you are a free man, Officer Branden." Dr. Drakken congratulated. Black Mask nudged his head towards Miles. He didn't need to say anything as Miles began doing what he could to look for the data that Branden had just deleted. He tried everything.
"I-I can't find it anywhere. Branden, it's like you never got married in the first place. It's even deleted any files tying you to your wife." Miles said with astonishment. The gangsters all started to get excited asking Branden if it could change anything else like the money in his bank account or alter any criminal records. Of course, it did. Black Mask had to get control of the room. Now that Dr. Drakken's device worked; it was just now down to cleaning a few things up. Then goodbye Gotham, hello world.
"Alright, alright settle down!" Black Mask commanded as he stood up with both hands waving the men back into their seats. The rest of the gangsters obliged, he tucked his suit jacket downward by its collar before setting down.
"Doctor I must say I'm impressed, it would have taken my guys hours to look for that specific document, and you made it history before I could even blink. You got yourself a deal." Black Mask said, leaning forward with both hands on the table.
The signature large smile of Dr. Drakken appears as he lets out a short laugh. He knew it would work. Unbeknownst to Black Mask, he had used it on himself to remove all criminal data on the planet. Only the things he wanted out there remain. Like a small international bank account.
"Ah-ha! Excellent! You won't regret this Roman, now as to the matter of payment. As agreed, Half now,"
"Half at the end of the transaction." Black Mask said. He snapped his fingertips, and on cue, Ms. Li approached him with an aluminum security briefcase. Black Mask opened it and began to type into its built-in Laptop. An officer on Branden's side had leaned towards him and Ms. Li pulled a Glock 43X towards the officer
"Eyes where they need to be…" she hissed. The officers instantly sat down in his seat with his back straight eyes to the left not making eye contact. Black Mask paid no attention.
"Okay, I'm wiring you the 25 now," Black Mask said. Ms. Li's eyes looked towards Roman. She detected a hint of pressure under his voice as if he wasn't sure about what he was now doing. She then asked the question.
"25 what sir?" He just stared at her briefly as a chime was heard in Dr. Drakken's side.
A single henchman in the red and black outfit that is standard of Dr. Drakken's goons had approached. His black goggles and red jumpsuit protected his identity. He held a small pad and digital pen in his hand.
"Dr. Drakken sir, $25 Million has been transferred to your external account."
Ms. Li's heart skipped a beat. That was only half?
"Sir, you are spending $50 million on this?" She asked with genuine disbelief. Even Branden looked at him surprised. The crime lord did have deep pockets, but $50 million was definitely going to leave a mark that he may struggle to regain. Black Mask knew it too and almost backed out of the deal with Dr. Drakken's offer, but things were getting rotten in Gotham for him. The gang wars that occurred a year prior left a huge mark on Gotham's underworld, Batman was just the final straw that broke the camel's back.
He was winning in a way too. The Penguin was more about white-collar crime and never got his fishy-smelling hands too deep in the crime ring. The Falcones did though, and Black Mask was about to push them to the breaking point after a certain 'Car accident' killed their son Mario Falcone. That was until Batman started paying closer attention and turned the entire war table upside down.
The Falcones had regained whatever ground they had lost to Black Mask and played a more subtle strategy of letting certain thugs be captured by Batman. Who knew intel of Black Mask hideouts and letting Batman raid the spots for them. But the bat was relentless. He single-handedly stopped the gang war and turned it into a game of survival, forcing all 3 wading parties to think about each thing they did very carefully, and the grand prize of Gotham was not really worth it. After all, the best revenge in life is success, and what better way to do that than send a postcard to an imprisoned Carmine Falcone from an island beach.
"Yep." Black Mask said.
"Perfect, now when can I expect the next half?" Dr. Drakken asked. Black Mask stood from his chair and began to gather his things. Ms. Li took the aluminum briefcase from him and put it down in a spare corner to his right away from everyone. She then waved her hand and one of the thugs had walked with a red jerrycan. The smell of gas was looming. It caught Branden's eyes along with the rest of his guards.
"I will fly out to you and personally hand you the rest in cold hard cash. It will be with you in 3 days. I just need to take care of one last thing."
"Yes, you said you planned to secretly sell the Steel Mill you owned. To this eh, Cobblebutt or something." Dr. Drakken said with his small hands scratching his head.
"Heh, Cobblebutt. I'm keeping that one. Yes, I have one last meeting with 'The Penguin' before I hop on a boat and head to your island. Share with me the coordinates when I ask for them." He nodded to Ms. Li, on command she nodded to the thug holding the jerry can. He began to pour the gasoline onto the briefcase. The smell began to slowly bleed throughout the room.
"Branden, tell everyone we're done here, and…" he paused to take out a Mont Blanc pen with blue ink and a piece of paper. Writing something and handing the note to Branden. Branden looked around to see if anyone else was watching. To no one's surprise, they were using the Drak-Eraser 2.0 to alter their own life's for the better. If Black Mask was handing you a note it was a personal mission he was sending you on. He opened the note and it had a single sentence.
"You Win. Meet me at my Steel mill tonight at 7:00 P.M. it's yours for a good price."
~Roman S.
"Give it to The Penguin, in person. Alright, everyone out!" He ordered. Everyone began to leave. He snatched the DrakErauser from a thug's hands so he could hold it for safekeeping. He promised that everyone would get their turn eventually.
Branden nodded. Oswald Cobblepot was a notorious man, but he was damn good at keeping hands clean crime-wise. He wasn't caught by authorities just yet, but Batman had proven many crimes against him. It would only be the crime lords fighting each other that was his saving grace. Forced more attention from the GCPD to be focused on them instead and it made the Penguin a bit paranoid. However, it was a bit backward because it was easy to find him in public more so than being a crime lord.
If you want to find the Penguin, all you really have to do is request an audience with him at The Iceberg Lounge. It was a popular luxury nightclub that was located in downtown Gotham. Really anyone couldn't miss it. Getting there would be tricky, he would need to take a cab there tomorrow afternoon at least the club opened at 5:00 and Black Mask also had the meeting go down an hour and a half before dusk. Batman should be nowhere then.
"Okay, I'll give it to him. I'll need a place to crash for now. Not going back home to my wi-, ex-wife to be." Branden acknowledged.
"You can stay on the couch for now in my office. Do me a favor and ditch your uniform, you won't be needing that anymore." Black Mask said.
Branden acknowledged he ordered the other officers that were with him to do the same; he noticed Black Mask nudge his head to the now gasoline-soaked briefcase. The message was clear, he told his officers the same. They all got undressed down to their shoes, and undergarments and threw it with the briefcase.
"There should be a change of clothes in the closet over there, you boys get changed." He said. Branden and his team obeyed as they walked back to a closet behind the computers. It was cold and embarrassing to be half-naked in front of everyone.
Black Mask noticed a thug began to light a cigarette and take a few puffs. He walked up to the man who then immediately stood up straight as if he was a private in the military with a platoon sergeant present. Black Mask then snatched the cigarette from his mouth, and walked back to the pile of gasoline-soaked clothes and briefcase, and tossed the cigarette into the pile. The pile was engulfed in flames quickly, its amber warm light bathed him as he watched the smoke fill the room. The sprinklers would turn on, eventually frying the computers in here as well.
Branden and his men then were all changed into casual clothes and a few harbor outfits with yellow raincoats and walked back up the stairs. By then everyone but Ms. Li and himself was in the room watching the pile burn. Dr. Drakken had yet to end the call on his end and couldn't help but watch the fire himself.
"Sir, we should leave." Ms. Li suggested.
"We're done here. Dr. Drakken, I look forward to completing our business in person," he stated.
"Oh I look forward to it as well, I'm sure you will be most impressed Black Mask." Dr. Drakken's voice lowered with confidence as his grin was wide and his brow was arched. His hand rubbing against each other. Black Mask was walking back towards the stairs but stopped right before Dr. Drakken ended the call.
"Oh. Last time we talked, you also said you had an agent coming in to help with the Steel Mill, yeah?"
"She should be there any moment. Meet her at the nearby helipad." Dr. Drakken assured him before he ended the transmission.
It was that moment when the sprinklers activated on the ceiling attempting to put out the fire. It would take a bit for them to do so. All the electronics in the room began to fizzle and spark, catching a few of themselves on fire as the water fried their circuits. Black Mask just watched for a second before closing the door behind Ms. Li and himself. Tomorrow will be a busy day.
Off the shores of Gotham, a small black helicopter was making its way through the storm. It had a large curved windshield and could only seat 4 people including the pilot. The airframe had small wings on either side and each wing held a small turbine engine below at their center. It also had two lime green glass protrusions that were domed-shaped below its two binary crimson red blades. The same color was on two stripes which were far back towards the tail of the aircraft, and two silver landing struts were built to the bottom like a standard military UH-1 Iroquois 'Huey' aircraft.
The helicopter went for a small landing pad at the harbor. Parked by was a running white 1988 Lincoln Town Limo with pitch-black tinting. Branden Stood with an umbrella trying his best to keep himself dry with the yellow raincoat over his casual outfit. Though the winds of the storm and the pouring rain made that difficult. His jeans and boots were starting to get soaked and it didn't help that the helicopter landing had spread even more water around. The blades then started to slowly come to a stop as they wouldn't allow the cockpit to open. Only a single pilot and one passenger were aboard. The pilot wore the same red and black henchmen-themed uniform as the rest of Dr. Drakken's men had. She on the other hand did not.
Branden ran to the woman who was slowly getting out. He caught her thumb gesturing the pilot back out to sea who nodded in response. The glass of the cockpit began to lower and the blades spun once more. The woman walked towards Branden quickly to get out of the pouring rain and under the umbrella he had.
"You the one Dr. Drakken sent?!" He yelled over the raindrops hitting the helipad.
"Yep." She said coldly.
The woman walked almost past Branden and led the pace back to the Limo. Branden scoffed at the action, already making predetermined judgments about who she was as a person. Completely missing the fact that the umbrella was about to be blown away by the winds made from the helicopter taking off and heading out to sea. Branden clumsily regained the umbrella right when the woman got to the limo and opened the door letting herself in.
The interior of the vehicle had walnut wood paneling along its sides. The black Nappa leather was illuminated by a line of L.E.D lights. There were crystal-cut glasses of scotch and bottles of wine on the right side where Ms. Li sat where an empty seat lay next to. Black Mask sat adjacent to Ms. Li where Branden then rushed in and sat next to after placing the umbrella on the floor. Once all doors closed, Black Mask then knocked on the glass where the driver was and they started to drive off from Gotham Harbor. Black Mask then turned to the new addition to their team and introduced himself.
"Welcome to Gotham, Dr. Drakken spoke highly of your skills, I'm Black Mask, to your right is my assistant Ms. Li, next to me is Used-to-be Officer Howard Branden; And what should I call you?"
The woman removed the pilot helmet that was a light green hue with a yellow-greenish visor attached by sand-colored bands that matched the chin straps. She wore an exclusive Club Banana leather phthalo green jacket with the collar popped out and a matching strap around her waist. She adjusted her jet black hair that was waist long with a series of bangs nearly covering the right of her two piercing emerald eyes. In fact, her entire outfit revolved around green and black. Her light green and black catsuit was tight on her athletic yet curvaceous body. It had an asymmetrical harlequin-dazzle pattern, with one glove and one boot of each color, and a green utility pouch strapped to her lower left leg that seals along the flap of the pouch. Even her skin was a light olive color as if a compliment to Dr. Drakken's blue skin. Her beauty was immense but her scowl meant business, something Black Mask admired
"Shego." She replied.
