Lady Elaine waited practically alone in the worn-down building she'd been sent to plunder by The Society, her patient and silent "assistant", Two-Face, being her only company. The mysterious woman she'd fought earlier had gone to flag down their incoming backup, her helmet's communicator being damaged in their previous fight by one of Elaine's wild swings that had somehow connected with her head.
The knowledge that her loss, even while blind, was due to the other's unfair advantage had made Lady Vic smirk at the time, but since the black and red "Paladin" had left, she'd slowly grown to feel the withering gaze of the ex-district attorney standing opposite her, both eyes and a gun trained her as she worked.
She thought he was pissed that she'd harmed his friend. In truth, while both of them had grown some affinity for Jeremiah, the thing stopping Harv from just moving on was the coin flip from earlier. They'd flipped their coin; destiny had chosen this woman for death. And yet, Harvey didn't see it that way. In Harvey's mind, they'd flipped over whether or not to help Buck over Jeremiah mid fight. The fight was over, so the flip no longer held water. And even if it did, the only way to help Buck now was to do as she had asked before hesitantly leaving to get help, and not go through with Harv's plan of killing their enemy-turned captive.
They argued this over this reality with one another again and again like the old married couple they practically were, until the woman whose life they'd been debating over finally spoke up.
"Why are you staring at me like that."
"I'm trying to kill you. I'm trying to stop him."
"Uh...why?", Vic replied, still bandaging Arkham's wounds, and suddenly acutely aware of her inability to run or effectively fight back should this thing opposite her actually decide on shooting.
"Coin flip. You lost. No she-"
"Why not two out of three?", she interjected, thinking on her feet and deciding that a 25% chance was better than the 5% max she stood trying to rush over the table at her captor.
"...what?"
"If...one of you, I guess, wants to kill me because I lost a coin toss that you think means destiny is out to get me, then going two out of three shouldn't be an issue."
"...It is fair...Fine.", they said, getting out their coin. Keeping the gun and his eyes trained on her, he flipped it. Heads. Again. Heads.
Two-Face put the gun and coin away, as Elaine breathed out a sigh of relief. Balance, fragile as it always was with people like "them", had been restored. Fate had made her decision.
"Okay...my death averted...", she said as she finished the bandage part of the job, before holding out her hand, "...we cool?"
They took it in their own, replying, "If he lives."
"He will if I can help it.", a new voice said from the still open doorway.
They both reflexively looked over, to see the missing Dr. Victor Fries, freeze gun in his hand. Two-Face barely recognized their old frenemy from Arkham, now that he was out of his trademark armor and back in a more casual "Mad Scientist" getup, lab coat and all.
Two-Face passed him, letting the man get to work examining Jeremiah, while two red-masked men also swooped in behind Victor, putting...whoever they'd been guarding back in cuffs. They stepped out, again getting out of the way as those same men marched her out and away. Looking around, they saw at least a dozen men in red masks, knights they believed, patrolling the site, making sure it was secure. What drew their attention the most was The Red Hood, who was walking straight towards them alongside Buck. They marched to meet him, and then fell in behind him, opposite Buck, as they continued back into the small room where Jeremiah was being treated by Fries. He stopped opposite Victor, looking down and examining the unconscious man through his helmet.
"What's it look like, Victor?"
"It looks like, somehow, that woman managed to save his life. He may have some minor brain damage, but he's more than safe to move back to the boat for a more thorough inspection."
"Good. Boys!", A few men came into the room, two carrying a small stretcher, "Get him back to Es Securus, now. Go with them Victor, make sure there are no complications."
Fries nodded, and soon enough, it was just the four of them. The Red Hood turned back to Buck.
"So...disobeying direct orders, you risked getting yourselves and Jeremiah killed, all in an attempt to...?"
"They did it to prove they were trustworthy. I did it to make sure neither of them got killed."
"Hm. And in this attempt, you failed.". Two-Face began to interject, but before their mouth was open, The Hood held up a finger, continuing. "But, you failed because of outside variables which couldn't be predicted or planned for, and possibly avoided a catastrophe by dealing with it yourselves. And, managed to kill two sworn enemies of our organization, as well as capture us a potential ally and an entire site on your own...all at the expense of, luckily, a few scrapes and bruises. Am I missing anything?"
"...No, sir."
"Good. Then let me say, Nice work."
"Thank-"
"But, let me also say, try not to do this again. Because next time, unless you have at least a little more reason than your own feelings of doubt in the trust I place in your abilities, I will not be so forgiving."
"...Yes, sir.", Buck replied as Two-Face begrudgingly nodded their head.
"Good. Let's get out of this shithole, then. I have guests waiting on me to return. Along the way, you can tell me all about your new friend."
Back onboard, Ivy, Croc and Grundy waited for Jason to return, and were shocked when he reappeared with Harvey Dent in tow. The two-faced man laughed when he saw her, stepping off the smaller boat and back onto the main ship's lower deck.
"How you been Red? Been a while."
"Not long enough, boys. I've been fine."
"Good, good. What about you two?"
"Grundy's...Grundy."
"I been better."
"Hm. They joined up with us too?", he said, turning back to The Red Hood, who was already gone. He'd walked to a few boats down, where the one toting a few more red-helmeted soldiers along with another three newcomers was being hoisted up. One of them was a woman in cuffs Ivy didn't recognize, one was a man on a gurney wearing tattered armor and several layers of bandages, while the other...
"Freeze?", she said in shock when she finally got close enough to recognize him.
"Fries, now.", The Hood corrected her.
As guards marched the woman off the boat and further into the ship, presumably to a brig, Fries and a couple more got the injured man back on deck. Fries paused for a moment, watching as the two he'd been helping took his patient to a proper infirmary. Jason sent Buck and Two-Face with them while Ivy and Croc just stared in amazement at Fries's condition.
"How is this possible?"
"If there's one thing I've learned in the past few years, Ivy, it's that anything is possible.", Fries said before turning to Jason, "You haven't shown them yet, have you?"
"We're headed there now."
"Headed where?"
"Downstairs."
"To show us what?"
"Proof that in spit of today, I can get shit done. And that I can help you, so long as you keep helping me."
Croc and Ivy looked to each other, shrugging their shoulders. Ivy then turned back to him.
"Okay, show us."
"But this better not be a trap, Little Bird."
Jason bristled at that, but started walking regardless, leading them on the same path taken by the men who'd been escorting the prisoner from earlier.
It had been hours and hours, and still no one had come with food, nor had The Red Hood returned with his explanation. Tim had been thinking the entire time, sitting on his small bed as he looked around his cell for any sort of definable weakness that could be exploited for him to escape.
Nothing. Second greatest detective in the world and I've got nothing.
The Family and their allies had largely remained silent, no one having any ideas. So, it was easy to hear the door to their cell block open. He immediately got up, walking over to his cell's "door" to try and see what was going on.
"So...you do know who he is, right?", The Red Hood asked someone Tim couldn't yet see.
"I mean...I've known since "The No Man's Land Incident", or whatever people are calling it now."
Poison Ivy? I thought she was dead?
"Yeah, not his best moment. Croc?"
"No. I never really gave a damn.", a lumbering voice replied as the group came into his view. Solomon Grundy, Killer Croc, and Poison Ivy were all following The Hood through the small brig.
And now they know about...great.
"Hm. I can respect that.", The Hood said as he and Tim locked eyes. Tim couldn't tell from his body language like Cass probably would've been able too, but he had a feeling the face on the other side of that mask had a shit-eating grin on it as he passed him by. In truth, though, Jason hated doing this. But, it was the quickest and safest way to prove to Ivy and her new "friends" that he was serious and that he could be trusted, so it's what he went with, regardless of his own personal feelings on it.
And hey, if any of them betray me or try and use what they learn here for profit, I'll just kill them.
Croc quickly caught on to who they were looking at in these cells, while Ivy was more focused on the way these people looked at them, specifically The Hood.
They don't know who he is yet, do they?, she asked herself as they walked.
Grundy was just happy to see the bats and birds were all okay, even if they were mean to him sometimes.
Jason continued leading them down the hall, straight to the door. It had already confirmed his identity via his unique biometric signature and his helmet, and opened wide as they approached. Walking up to the armor-clad behemothic android before them, they stopped only two feet from it.
"Warden, move to observatory view."
The orange giant rose and turned so that they could see the load placed upon it's back, and, through the glass, the man inside.
"...You really got him, didn't you?", Ivy said after a gasp and a short pause, somehow both melancholy and amazed.
"He got in my way. Like I said, I get shit done. Warden, move back to rest.", as the android turned back, returning to it's kneeling posture from before, Jason continued.
"Now do you understand? If I can do that, help Fries fix himself, accomplish all that you've seen just in the past hour, I can do more for you than just fix a couple curses. Imagine a world where The Green and Mankind could co-exist as equals, where conditions like EHK are things of the past, where vengeful spirits are all allowed to rest instead of being left to walk the earth in torment. Stick with me, really stick with me, and you won't just get rewarded, you'll help to achieve a world just like that."
Ivy and Croc looked at one another, obviously tempted by the offer.
"In the best of circumstances, I'd give you a few days, maybe a week to mull it over, but we're on a tight schedule and I need an answer, now. With no takebacks. You say no to the offer, we'll get you back to the shore, but from that point onwards, should you prove a threat to us or our goals for this world, you will be dealt with. You say yes, then, tomorrow, you're members of the team, your pasts are erased, and any problems you have will become our problems...So...what's it going to be?"
Grundy barely understood what Jason was saying, but, from what he could understand, it sounded like a good idea to keep helping him.
"Grundy not know...What Grundy's friends think?"
Croc quickly replied, "Ah... Fuck it, if it means I'm cured, I'm in. Ivy?"
"...Before I say yes, I need to know something."
"You only have to ask.", kind of anticipating what was coming.
"You do know the government is going to sic Waller and her little Suicide Squad on you eventually, right?"
"Of course."
"What are you planning to do with them?"
"Whatever's necessary."
"Really?"
"Why's that so difficult to believe? None of Waller's people exactly choose to work for her, they're practically slaves."
"Even Harley Quinn?"
"...She had nothing to do with what happened to me. I have to admit, it's not all water under the bridge, but I've forgiven people for a lot worse than getting brainwashed. Besides, we've already been reacquainted with one another since my...return."
"Really? How did-"
"That's a long story. And sensitive information that I can't afford to give to a...civilian. So, my offer?"
"...I'm in."
"Then Grundy "in", too."
"Fantastic., he said as he started back the way they'd come, leading the three back into the hallway where Fries now stood, "In most cases like these, we'd have a big ceremony for you, but...I get the feeling none of you are really the type for that. So, I'm gonna hand you off to Victor, he'll answer any more questions you have, and show you where you can rest up."
It wasn't lost on Tim, or anyone paying attention, really, that The Hood had stopped in front of his cell as he'd been explaining to the three that he was pawning them off to Fries.
"Fine...But you still owe me that story.", Ivy said to Jason as they went with Fries.
Jason chuckled. "Yeah, yeah.", he almost whispered in response, watching them until they'd gone. He then held up a hand to the comms button on his helmet.
"Everything ready?"
"Yes, sir.", the ship's head chef replied.
"Thank you, Niccolò."
"Nessun problema, sir."
Taking his hand away from his helmet, he hit a few buttons on his gauntlet's holographic computer, a marvel that Tim REALLY wanted to take apart and put back together again over and over until he understood how it worked, and, boom, all the red hardlight in the room shut off, and they were free. Not a word, Jason started walking back to the main hallway.
Tim stepped out cautiously, as did a few others, while some stayed in their cells and a small few felt so bold as to almost attack the man as he went by, most obviously Black Canary, but, thankfully, none did so. Tim was the first to start following him, followed by Dick, and shortly thereafter, by everyone else. Once in the hall, they continued as a detachment of guards joined, surrounding them. They followed him, only a whisper here or there between them through unfamiliar hallway after hallway, for what felt like five minutes, before Tim even asked where they were going.
"Dinner."
"Seriously."
"What? Did you expect me to have you starved?"
"I mean...honestly, I hadn't thought about it.", Tim replied, causing his host to laugh a bit, almost nostalgically.
"Yeah, I get that. Failure doesn't exactly do wonders for the appetite, and you haven't been here long enough for the mind to start wondering. I hope that one of you is hungry, though, I had my men prepare their best."
"Some of us are...", Ramsay half-whispered before his mother could stop him. Where a handful still assumed he'd get angry at the interruption in the usual supervillain fashion, the masked man let out the first real laugh any of them had heard all day.
"Good, I'd hate to have wasted their time."
Silence resumed for a few more minutes, before a smell like heaven consumed the small crowd, and each of them realized how hungry they'd gotten. Even Jason, just now realizing he hadn't eaten anything since yesterday's lunch, felt his stomach growl.
Through one door, he led them to a relatively massive dining room fitted with an equally large wooden table, with guards stationed behind every chair, with two for the one at the table's head. As they took their seats, Tim was about to sit in the chair to the side of the one at the table's head, the one which had obviously been reserved for the still-standing Red Hood, but was stopped by their host.
"Woah, hold up, Shortstack. The two of us aren't staying, just them.", he then turned to the man standing directly behind him. "Alexi.", he said, shaking his hand and nodding, as if to say good luck, before motioning for Tim to follow him as he made his way back into the hallway.
A couple of the small crowd, particularly Dick, tried to make a move to stop him, not wanting the two to be alone together, but Tim simply held up his hand in a simple stop gesture, and walked back out.
As the two walked, Tim asked where they were now headed.
"Like I said, dinner. Just not here."
"Why not?"
"Because I'm not one for public monologuing. And, since I can't tell you a lot of the specifics I know you'll want to know, about my forces and our many plans for this city, I figure I could at least show you a bit of their intended results. A taste of the bigger picture. "
"...You're not going to flip me, if that's your plan."
Tim could feel the smirk in his words as he responded, "I know. That's why it's not."
It was just past sundown in Gotham City, and Francine Langstrom was getting worried they'd been there too long.
Scratch that, she knew they had.
It had been hell just getting into town, due to the patrols of cops on every street and behelmeted goons on what seemed like every rooftop. If not for their experience sneaking around in the dark, they and their children would've been caught by now.
But, we've come this far...might as well get what we came for.
For months they'd been running from Luthor, from the mysterious Red Hood's forces, from The Bats and a dozen different federal agencies, the works. They'd had to transform so many times it was starting to run dry the "lifetime supply" of their perfected chiropteran transformation formula they'd made before they'd left Gotham "for good" with Aaron and Becky, when The Joker and Black Mask laid claim to the entire town and anyone who resided in it.
What with their high-profile (infamous) names, hyper-specific and unusual (illegal) backgrounds, and lack of the kind of training it took to maintain anonymity in the modern world (knowledge on anything beyond their research and old movies), the abilities that serum gave the two had been the only thing allowing their family to stay dangerous enough for the mafiosos and kingpins of the world to be forced to ignore them while they passed through their territory, letting them stay safe, if not hidden.
It had been their only meal ticket, and letting their reserves of it run dry was, for that reason, unacceptable.
And so, they'd made the treacherous journey here, to a run-down hotel a block away from The GCPD's Evidence Lockup in Tricorner. She stayed with the children, trying to keep Becky's mind on the cartoons they watched in the main room while Aaron slept in their cramped bedroom, as Kirk surveilled the location.
She wished she could've been there, hated being in the background, but it was her turn. In the past, she would've loved to if it meant spending time with her daughter, but Becky...the past few months had been rough on her. She seen things...no child should. Hell, her whole life had been that way, really. Now, even while watching what was once her favorite cartoon, all she did was stare ahead, almost as if she could see something...beyond the small box television before her.
As if she could still see and hear all the things she had that her parents had never meant for her to, even in the well-lit, safe, hotel room. Just being around that as a mother, and being unable to do anything about it...it ate Francine up inside.
It didn't help things when a breaking news segment came over the screen, horror replacing yet another bit of what should've been Becky's childhood. Francine tried to flip back and forth, but quickly found that it was interrupting the broadcasting across every channel.
From the perspective of a news chopper, the feed was showing a building in that everyone in the city knew in some way, Solomon-Wayne Courthouse, completely ablaze, smoke from the fire rising out each window of the massive and beautiful structure in massive black pillars of ash. While her mother focused on trying to get the big picture, Becky merely caught small blips of what the reporter on-screen was saying, too focused on what she was seeing.
Confirmed arson. Eleven suspects. Brown owl masks. Two arrested. Committed suicide. Rest at large. Fifteen confirmed casualties. Suspect further-
When she realized that no channel was safe from the infectious report on the destruction of one of Gotham's most beautiful works of art, Francine shut off the TV in frustration, half-throwing the remote onto her chair as she stood in a huff, heading for the fridge.
"Do you want something while I'm up?", she said when she looked back and saw Becky looking at her out of the corners of her eyes, her arms now wrapped around her own legs as she sat on the crumpled couch.
She shook her head and looked away.
Damnit.
Blocks away, Kirk stuck to the shadows of taller buildings, as a bit of the quickly fading sunlight still faintly illuminated the sky. It'd been a risk, coming out in this form before at least ten, but he wanted to get this over and done with. It wouldn't take long before their enemies found them, and Kirk hadn't made his children live the lives of vagabonds just to let The Black Mask or whoever's eyes he could feel on his back get them now.
With darkness settling in and again consuming the city, Kirk dove to a lower elevation before opening his wings, still staying far above, but also getting a closer view.
The building itself looked like little more than your average warehouse, only it had permanent sentries in the form of a cavalcade of police officers, armed and armored as well as they could possibly be under New Jersey law. At the start of Gotham's reconstruction, this facility had taken constructed by WayneTech alongside the new, now-all-but-empty asylum on Arkham Island.
Much like it, this place was state of the art.
Much like it, this place was still vulnerable if you had a brain, regardless of its design. No puzzle was that tough, no labyrinth too complicated, to truly overcome the human mind. Batman had proven that to the two preeminent members of his enormous "rouges gallery", The Riddler and The Joker, time and time again.
Now that he took a second look, though, he doubted that statement.
The main compound itself was built on the small peninsula east of Tricorner Park, which their hotel room's balcony overlooked. Electric fence on all sides. Automated turrets aimed upward, ready to lock-on and blast any flying target with either ballistic rounds, or two massively long taser cables. No easy access into the warehouse itself in any way except for a single door in and out on the side or the tall hangar door up front used for receiving larger shipments, both of which had a biometric security lock.
At least a couple dozen of the armed sentries outside alone, including eight snipers in towers surrounding the small compound. No buildings even close to it. Two different security booths along the gated road in. Floodlights whose path he was barely managing to avoid.
All in all, it was a miracle he hadn't already been detected and set off an alarm as he flew, encircling it as he observed, trying to find some kind of weakpoint.
Finally, he spotted his in: on the roof lay a small ventilation shaft big enough for his human form to worm through, covered by a grate he could easily remove in his bat form.
Luckily, the armor Francine had designed for their bat forms included quick-change mechanism which simply required them to refill a small tank filled with his formula after every few transformations.
Gliding to the roof, avoiding lasers from turrets and any sources of light, Kirk quickly wrenched the cover from the vent, wondering how such a design flaw made it passed the early planning stage of the compound's construction, before switching back into his human self.
The pain of every nervous system in one's body freaking the fuck out to an unnatural degree wasn't something he had grown used to, but Kirk did manage to bite his lip and not let out more than a whimper as The Manbat melted away, Dr. Langstrom reforming in the armored rig, which only covered his torso, waist, and upper legs.
Not exactly made for this, but I don't have any other options, he thought with a shrug as he climbed into the airway, limply propping up the vent cover behind him as he went.
Besides, there was no way they wouldn't have figured out it was me.
Still really slow going, I know. Had covid. Trying to stop taking a month with each update, lol. Remember, any criticisms are more than welcome.