It has been three weeks since Itachi had revealed his past to the League and his friends. He left after the decision was made to suspend him and had been going it alone ever since. Itachi didn't need a team to strike the fear of God within Gotham's criminals. Just last night Itachi was on the prowl as the Crow. He stopped a big shipment of automatic assault rifles from being sold between two gangs in East Gotham. In Itachi's honest opinion he detested guns. To him they are a coward's weapon. He got some satisfaction in incinerating all of them.
Now, though, he was at work with Carson. She's really gotten the hang of working at the Mask Shop and he could tell that she enjoyed working here. When Itachi saw her the day after being suspended, he told her that he was going to be working alone for a while. When Carson asked why that was the case, Itachi gave her the vague, silent answer that she hated with a passion. Itachi didn't feel comfortable telling her about his past.
"Hey Itachi, are you going out later?" She asked. Itachi knew what she really meant was whether or not he'd go out as the Crow tonight. He's been out every night since the split from the League so he could reestablish his grip on Gotham, "No, why?"
"Oh…I was just wondering if you wanted to come over tonight…" Carson said slyly. Itachi showed no outward reaction to her, "You know I can't."
"But it's been three whole weeks Itachi. Gotham can survive one night without you out in the dark of the night…doing what you're doing. It'll just be for one night. I just really want to spend time with you." She said while trying to reason with him.
Itachi saw how sad she looked and felt bad. He hasn't been spending time with her outside of work and could tell that she was feeling neglected and worried. Itachi never intended for that to happen. Even Ms. Yumi was beginning to worry about Itachi's workload. He knew that in order to quell their worries, he'd have to compromise.
"…if I do this for tonight, will you stop being so worried about me?" Itachi said while trying to put her mind at ease. Her face brightened up into a smile and she gave her friend a hug. Itachi was surprised by how happy this made her.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you! I promise you won't regret it." Carson said joyfully. She let go and held both of his hands in hers, which made Itachi feel awkward. She had a way of making him feel like he was back at the Ninja Academy again. Ms. Yumi gave a knowing cough which made Carson quickly realize what she was doing and back away feeling just as bit as awkward as Itachi was, except now she was also blushing.
"Now Itachi, I wouldn't have thought that I had to reprimand you for fraternizing while on the job." The old woman said jokingly. Itachi shook his head and went back to the front of the shop as Carson feverously tried to explain the situation.
Itachi went out and saw that it had begun raining. It was about time to close the shop for the night. For some reason, Itachi had a bad feeling about tonight and wondered why that was. Between Batman, Robin, and himself, Gotham was as protected as any city in the world. Ms. Yumi joined him in the front no long afterwards.
"My child, you look like you have a lot on your mind. Is everything alright?" She asked in a concerning tone.
"It's the rain. It's unlike anything I've ever felt before." Itachi answered. Ms. Yumi cocked her head to the side as she looked on. To her it felt like a normal night of rain to her. They could both see thunderbolts in the sky and the loud cannon like sounds that followed. Itachi was about to turn around and let Carson know that he was going to go out, but Ms. Yumi stopped him.
"You promised that girl that you'd spend time with her and I won't allow you to renege on her like that." She said while scolding him. Itachi was about to protest, but she wasn't having any of it, "A little rain won't harm this city. Itachi you can't do everything. Go with Carson and enjoy the night off. The city won't burn if you decide to have one night of fun for yourself. I'll take care of closing up the shop…so go."
Itachi knew that there was no point in arguing with the older woman. Sure he could just send a clone or a crow, but she'd definitely find out and scold him for it. So he decided to just do as she said and went back for Carson. She was busy counting the cash from her register when she noticed Itachi walk up to her.
"Get ready to go. Ms. Yumi says that she'll finish up closing for us." Itachi informed her.
"Is she sure? I still haven't counted all of the masks in stock yet. I don't want her to do all of this by herself." She replied out of concern for her boss.
"She's tougher than she looks. Plus, she's really adamant on me spending time with you tonight and wants to make sure that I don't break my promise to you." Itachi revealed.
"Is there something going on tonight?" Carson asked in concern. Itachi shook his head, "No, but I got a bad feeling from the rain."
Carson shook her head and wanted to laugh at her friend for his paranoia, "You can't be serious. Itachi, it rains a lot in Gotham. I know you've been here long enough to figure that out."
Itachi stayed silent for a while. In his head thoughts ran wild, 'That's why it worries me. I've been here for all of this time, but it's not until tonight that I got this feeling. It's so raw that it's indescribable.'
"Look…if it worries you this much then-" Carson was about to let Itachi off of the hook, but he stopped her, "No, it's alright. Gotham can wait for night. Come on, if I remember correctly your favorite show comes on tonight. What was it again…Officers of Sword?"
"Agents of Shield you dork." She could tell by his sly smile that he already knew that. Itachi and Carson then headed out back to Carla's place. Carson was still staying there and she figured Carla wouldn't mind having company over. Ms. Yumi watched on as they left the shop. All she wanted was for Itachi to be happy and she knew that Carson made Itachi happy. She smiled as the storm raged on.
Wrath stared at the pictures that were in the envelope left to him by the Masked Stranger. He was standing on the Gotham Cathedral. It was the tallest building in Gotham's skyline and was the spiritual center of Gotham, especially after being renovated by Wayne Enterprises. People from all over the world visit the Gotham Cathedral for prayer and spiritual healing. Wrath could hear the congregation of at least 2,000 people heap praise to their deity as the thunder crashed all around the city.
"They just might be louder than the thunder. It's too bad I'm not just thunder…I'm the whole goddamn storm." Wrath said as he leapt from the top of the church. Tonight will be a night that Gotham never forgets.
Wrath landed on a building nearby and dashed on to get his debut started. Waller and Argus had no idea what he was doing. When they asked he replied by saying that he was going to remove some of the filth that the city was infested with. They reluctantly let him go and that's what he's been doing this entire week; setting up for tonight.
The storm around him intensified as he traveled onward. The clone soon found himself across the street from the target of his ire; the Dollmaker. The monster's real name is Barton Mathis. He is a deranged surgeon who kidnaps little children, molests them, murders them, and finally harvests their organs to sell on the black market. Once he was done, Mathis would use their empty husks to create life-sized dolls for the police to find. Wrath was here to deliver justice to Dollmaker for his crimes.
A car drove off from the driveway of his house. It had the man's wife and two sons in it. They were on their way to Gotham Cathedral. As ironic as it is, the man and his family happen to be one of faith. They went to the cathedral every Wednesday and Sunday. This Sunday was particularly special because it was the cathedral's ten year anniversary. It was why over 2,000 people were in attendance tonight. With it being late Saturday night, they wanted to praise and give thanks all the way till midnight.
The Mathis resident now only held two people; Barton Mathis and his adopted daughter Cassandra Cain. As it would turn out, Cassandra has lived a life filled with pain and suffering. Gotham had no records of her origins, but the Argus mainframe did. She is the daughter of David Cain and the legendary Lady Shiva. She was created and raised to be a top bodyguard of Ra's al Ghul.
Her mother gave Cassandra up at birth to her father, David. David is a member of the League of Shadows and trained his daughter to follow in his footsteps. She was deprived of the basic needs of a child. Things like love, security, and education were excluded from her. When she was eight years old, he took her for her first mission; to kill a businessman. She killed him like as was expected of her, but she didn't revel in it like how her father did. It scarred her emotionally because even at a young age she knew that murder was wrong. She also knew her father was evil for using his own daughter to commit such a dark crime.
Cassandra ran away after that. She ran as far as possible until she found herself in Gotham. It wasn't long before child services got a hold of her. They kept her in their care until she was adopted by a loving family in need of a daughter. That family was the Mathis family and it turned out to be Cassandra's worst nightmare. Barton, her foster-father, was a monster just like her own father.
Her very first night in her new home, she was struck by her foster-father. Cassandra didn't fight back because she knew that she'd kill him if she did, and she didn't want to kill anyone ever again. Cassandra also didn't run away because she knew that he'd just adopt another little girl and abuse her instead. Cassandra did the only thing she could to prevent that from happening; she took it. It was better to suffer in silence and take the pain yourself rather than pass the hurt onto others. For years, Cassandra was beaten, molested, experimented on, and broken for her step-father's sick obsession.
Cassandra just kept moving forward despite the pain because she knew that in a twisted way, this was her punishment for murdering that man. The Dollmaker was what he made her call him during their "play sessions".
One day, after years of abuse and torture, she had had enough and went to anyone who'd listen about her foster-father. Cassandra told her foster-brothers and foster-mother, but they did nothing to help. They figured that as long as it was happening to Cassandra, it couldn't happen to any of them. Cassandra's next move was to tell the GCPD. She provided DNA and was willing to testify, but her case was thrown out. They said that they weren't going to go after one of Gotham's top surgeons based off of the shaky testimony of a mentally depraved little girl. Her last hope was the Cathedral Pastor. Cassandra went to him and revealed everything that had happened to her since being adopted by her foster family. Being unable to speak made it hard but she pushed herself to try. His reaction hurt her the most. He pulled her in front of the entire congregation and declared her a lying witch who needed to repent. The entire church cheered on as she was rebuked and chastised. Cassandra came home to a beating just like every other time she tried to report her foster-father. She'd given up after that and abandoned any hope of being free of him and his evil ways.
Wrath decided to make his move and went to the Dollmaker's home. He kicked the door open much to the surprise of Barton.
"Barton Mathis, or I should say Dollmaker, you're time has come. Death is here for you." Wrath declared as he threw shuriken at the criminal. Dollmaker found himself pinned to the wall and unable to move. Wrath smiled as his target was helpless to defend himself.
"How does it feel? Being helpless and alone…how does it feel?" Wrath asked as he slowly got closer and closer to the scared surgeon. Barton gulped and started sweating out of fear, "It's terrifying."
"Oh really? So why do make your daughter feel that way then? You beat her, molest her, and cut her open to practice with your black market organ business. You're a monster who needs to die. The world is a better place without you in it." Wrath said as he brought out a kunai knife.
"Please, have mercy. T-Turn me in to the GCPD and I'll confess to everything. Don't kill me! I have a family!" The man begged. Wrath smiled and pressed his knife onto Barton's neck.
Cassandra had walked down the stairs and could see a stranger that was in her home. He held a knife to her foster-father's neck and looked like he was about to kill him. She got into a defensive fighting position because she thought that he was sent by her father to take her back, but Wrath put her at ease when he lightly tossed the kunai so that it landed by her feet.
"I'm not here to kill Barton and I'm not here to take you anywhere. Cassandra, My name is Wrath. I know what you've been through. You've lived such a hard life." Wrath started with a sad, sympathetic look on his face.
Cassandra gasped at hearing this. For the longest time that she could remember no one would believe her about the monster she lived with. They all either passed the buck or just shot her down. It almost gave her hope that this nightmare of a life might end. But the more pressing matter was wondering why this man had her foster-father pinned to the wall.
Wrath saw the question in her eyes and decided to answer her, "I didn't come here to kill him. In fact, you have my word that I won't even attempt to touch him from this moment onward. My true reason for coming here is you. This is all about you Cassandra and what you want."
She stood there with a shocked look on her face. She couldn't speak because she was deprived of education while growing up. Training was more important to her father then raising a normal daughter. Wrath knew of her inability to speak and used his Sharingan to bridge the gap.
"You're confused. For as long as you can remember it's felt like the entire world has been against you. You're wondering how and why a stranger like me would be interested in you. The answer is simple; we're cut from the same cloth. Like you, I was created to be a weapon of murder and evil. That's why like me, you can overcome it and be better than what you were created for." He started.
"S-Same….c-cloth…" she said slowly trying to grasp what he was saying. Her foster-father interrupted and tried to get her to help, "What are you waiting for?! Kill him! I know you have the ability so do it now!"
Wrath gave him a chilling look, but it quickly turned into a smile, "This man has caused you so much pain. He is a monster…but so am I. I don't want you to make up any false images of me. I, too, am a monster. I'm the bad guy."
"Why….you….here?" Cassandra asked. Wrath gave her an understanding look before answering, "To show you a different path. I want you to see what I see, hear what I hear, feel what I feel, save how I save, and judge as I judge. This man will be the first step in that. I want to change the world so that men like him don't exist in it anymore."
"You….evil?" She asked him. Wrath merely shrugged his shoulders, "Like I said before, I am the bad guy."
"No….not bad….you…evil? There's…difference." She said with great struggle. He smiled that she was able to differentiate the difference between bad and evil, "I want you to answer that for me at the end of the night. After all of this is done, tell me if you think I am evil or not."
"Evil…always…in world." She said despondently. Wrath knelt down from where he was so that they were at eye level, "That's only because of people like you. You thought it was better to feel pain yourself rather than inflict it on others. When you killed that man, it scarred you to the point where you didn't want to do anything anymore. But doing nothing is the same as endorsing evil."
"My…fault?" She asked. Wrath nodded his head, "Yes, it's your fault. Your unwillingness to use your gifts is the reason why you and so many others live in Hell. It's better to feel pain yourself rather than inflict it on others…what a lie. Are you sure that's the way because all I see in this house is pain."
"What…I…do…then?" She asked with doubt.
"Kill him," Wrath said. She and Barton looked up with fear in their eyes, "Become what you were meant to be and kill him. You are so much greater than some bodyguard for an old man. You can be a true hero. But what you're doing now, there's nothing heroic about it. It's just sad and pathetic."
"I…can't. Killing…wrong." She said through tears. Wrath shook his head, "Is it so wrong? You don't know, do you? You're noble sacrifice for the safety of others is futile."
She gave him a confused look as he headed towards the basement. Wrath motioned for her to follow him, but Barton protested. He started thrashing and yelling at her to not go down there with that man. Cassandra normally would have obeyed her foster-father's demands, but for some reason her legs moved on their own and she wound up going to the basement. She was never allowed out of her room after she tried to report her foster-father so she was seeing all of this for the first time. She fell to her knees and cried when she saw what was in the basement.
"All of the drawbacks and detriments in this world stem from a lack of individual ability and willpower to do what is necessary. This scene is a perfect example of that. I bet you had no idea the Dollmaker had all of these little children here chained away in the darkness. This is what your noble sacrifice for the good of others has amounted to."
In the basement were dozens of chained children, some of whom were dead. Cassandra could see by some of the scars on their bodies that they too were cut open and operated on, only they had their organs taken for real. They all scurried back in fear.
"I…no…understand…" She said as Wrath turned the lights on so that she could see the full scope of this atrocity. It reeked of blood and corpses as she saw some of the dead children were modified into plastic dolls by having their organs taken out and filled with polymer wax. Wrath took his sword out from his sheathe.
"All of this started when you first tried to report your foster-father. He got scared and wanted to kill you. You technically don't exist so it's not like Gotham would miss you. But his wife convinced him to spare you. Don't get your hopes up. She only did it because if you had died that meant that he'd just start abusing her next. She's a coward and is just as guilty as he is. She gave him the idea to start taking other homeless children to work on. He'd kidnap them and bring them here. After he was done abusing you, he'd come down here and start doing it to them. The walls are soundproof so you never heard their screaming from your room upstairs."
She couldn't believe any of this. All of these children were like this because of her. Wrath eased the children of their fear and started breaking all of their chains to set them free. They all nervously got up as Wrath turned to address Cassandra.
"Look over there. That little mattress isn't for them to sleep on. Barton would bring vile men to do to those children what he would do to you. He figured there was just as much money in child trafficking as there was in organ selling," Cassandra looked at the aforementioned mattress. It was covered in blood. The children saw the mattress and recoiled in fear. Wrath put them at ease when he burned it to the ground, "Don't worry. That man won't ever hurt you again. No one ever will again, I promise."
"I….weak…" Cassandra said with tears. She saw all of the boys and girls and the condition she was in. Wrath shook his head, "Yes, you are. You had every tool you needed to kill this man, but you chose to take the moral highroad and suffer. These children paid the price for your inability to act. Killing isn't evil…letting someone else suffer because your decisions is evil. You failed these children just like you failed that man you murdered that day."
Cassandra looked up at Wrath with a look of desperation for him to stop, "You should have killed your old man on the spot after he made you do what you did. He's not going to stop. Your father is just going to birth another kid in this world and ruin their life as well. You have no right to play the victim, Cassandra. You chose this path. You did this to them."
The children looked at Cassandra in confusion as she started shouted in pain and denial, "Why are you crying? This is your doing. You chose to feel pain rather than inflict it on others. You trying to be the hero caused all of this. You enabled this monster instead of putting him down along with the rest of his kind. You chose to be neutral and play both sides. Cassandra, you even tried to pass the buck to others and let them deal with your problems. The world can't change unless you are bold enough to do it with your own hands. You have the ability to change this dark world into something bright and beautiful, like roses."
"How…" She asked of Wrath. He pointed upwards, "You know how. Sometimes in order to change one thing, that means having the resolve to burn away something else. You suffering in silence didn't make you kind, it made you weak. Be the hero you were meant to be and save these children. Don't suffer any more for this cruel world. Create the world you want to live in."
"You…not…evil. The….world….evil." She said as she stood with conviction for the first time in years. She walked to him and took his sword from his hands. Wrath smiled before heading back up the stair to confront Barton once again.
Wrath walked up the stairs and saw that Barton was still pinned to the wall. He walked up to him and started to remove the shuriken that held him captive, "Stop squirming. You'll make me cut you on accident. I'm a man of my word. I won't kill you tonight."
"Thank you! I-I promise that I'll turn over a new leaf and never-" Wrath glared at him with the most intense look of hatred Barton had ever seen. Wrath turn towards the basement as the both of them heard small footsteps ascending from them, "You didn't let me finish. I won't kill you, but I'm still a man of my word. Death has come for you tonight."
Wrath then saw all of the children Barton had captive along with Cassandra. They all held knives in their hands and had looks on their faces that could kill. Wrath gave Barton a kunai and stepped to the side, "You're gonna need this."
Cassandra stalked her foster-father slowly as he begged her for his life. She glared at him and was visibly shaking with rage. He saw this and tried to thrust his kunai through her stomach, but she easily deflected it with Wrath's sword and knocked the kunai out of his hands. Dollmaker tried to run after that but saw that he was surrounded by the other children that he was holding captive. He knew that he was trapped and tried one last desperate plea.
"Cassie, please don't do this. I know I may not have been the best father to you, but at least I didn't abandon you like your real parents. I gave you a home, fed you, clothed you, and loved you the best way I could. That has to count for something." He said pitifully with scared tears in his eyes.
She smiled at him before thrusting her sword into his stomach. He had a shocked look on his face as the blood poured out, "It….means….nothing. You…die…here…alone…in…darkness. You...evil…and world….better off…without…you!"
She then pulled the sword out so that she could stab him again. The other children joined in and started to savagely stab the man to death. Blood squirted everywhere as the man's scream in pain rang like music to Wrath's ears. When it was all done, Wrath knelt down and hugged Cassandra to calm her intense rage, "It's okay. You did it. You just made the world a better place and I thank you for it."
She and the other children got up and hugged him in return, "Thank you…for saving us." One of the children said. He shook his head in response, "You all saved yourselves. You could have stayed in that basement and let someone else kill him, but you rose up and did it for yourselves. You all changed the world because of it."
"What…now? Will…we…go…jail?" Cassandra asked. Wrath shook his head, "No, you're free for the first time in your lives. When they see the basement along with all of the horrors that it holds, they'll figure out how and why this happened. Hey, follow me outside."
They all went outside. He pointed the children to the Gotham Cathedral that towered over the city. Wrath brought out a paper-bomb and gave it to Cassandra. She looked at it strangely and asked what it was.
"This is the key that will open the door to the new world. I made it so that only you can use it. It is coded with your DNA. I got it from the sample you provided that the GCPD threw away. It's worthless to me; just a sheet of paper. But to you, this will change history." Wrath answered.
"What…it…do? And…why…me?" She asked. Wrath pointed towards the Cathedral, "It will burn away everyone who allowed that monster to roam freely. The reason why the pastor did nothing when you came to him is because he was profiting from Dollmaker. All of these children came from that corrupt man who threw them out on the streets when they had nowhere else to go. He along with the corrupt Detective Bullocks all were in on it. This one little sheet of paper will fix all of it and bring us one step closer to the new world. Will you forsake their sins as they have forsaken you, or will you deliver true justice and help change the world?"
Cassandra she knew that this piece of paper could kill a lot of people, but the words of Wrath made her honestly believe that it was necessary. The world is evil and cannot be allowed to go on as is. She looked at Wrath one last time before answering, "You…may…be…bad guy, but…you…not…evil. I…want…join…you."
She then placed her hand on top of the paper, and so did the other children. Cassandra was shocked, "We want to join you too." One of them said. The kanji on the paper vanished and almost instantly, a loud explosion was heard.
The children all turned to see that the entire Cathedral was engulfed in flames. Wrath had spent the entire week planting countless paper-bombs in that Cathedral. But he didn't want to be the one who pulled the trigger. Wrath wanted to see if his crusade would draw in others liked how he hoped it would. He was more than pleased when Cassandra and the other children sided with him and his stance against the world.
They all looked on in awe of the great fire. Out of 2,000 people in attendance, Wrath predicted that not one person should be able to survive. Not even the children deserved mercy. Everyone was just as guilty as that pastor for letting Cassandra and the other children suffer since they elected him as their leader. They all deserved to die in his eyes.
"Thank you for believing in me. I won't let any of you down." Wrath swore. The children went to hug him, which he returned.
"What…next?" Cassandra asked. Wrath let go and looked as the building began to fall to pieces. "This will put me on the Justice League's radar. They will try to hunt me down for this and I'll be waiting. I just killed a lot of people. Even women and children just lost their lives. There's no coming back from this for me. I want you all to live full, happy lives. That means I have to tear down this cruel world brick by brick, body by body."
"What…about…us?" Cassandra asked sadly. Wrath returned her sad look with one of his own. He truly cared for the safety and future of these children, "This has to only be me. I will take on the hatred of this world all on my own. You…all of you must live on. That's how you beat this world; by living. I will beat this world by killing. So go. I've already arranged for all of you to go to good homes that will treat you with the love that you deserve. The police should be here in a few minutes because of the call I made from your house phone."
"But…I…want…fight…with…you." Cassandra said with a determined look on her face. This man just saved not only her, but all of these children. She believed in his words and his will and wanted to fight with him.
"You finally get a fresh chance at life. You killed Dollmaker and the explosion killed the rest of your foster family. Don't ruin that chance by associating yourself with me. Just knowing that you believe in me is all that I need to keep pushing forward. You said that I wasn't evil…did you mean that?" Wrath asked sincerely.
"I…did." Cassandra answered. Wrath smiled, "Good, so listen to me and live your life. One day we will meet again and I will be honored to call you my friend and partner. Is that a deal?"
Sirens from fire trucks and ambulances could be heard in the distance, "What…you…do…next?" Cassandra asked. Wrath looked as the fire raged on, "I will make sure that the true evil gets the message."
Wrath then leapt away into the darkness. The children stood there as police arrived at the Mathis resident. When they asked what had happened, the children responded by saying that Wrath came for the Dollmaker and saved them all. The police had a confused look and went on with the investigation as they found what horrors were inside of the house. Cassandra looked on and sent a silent prayer that she may one day meet her friend again.
Itachi and Carson were both in Carla's home watching television. Itachi could say that he was actually enjoying himself and the time he was spending with Carson. She was truly happy having him around which made him happy. Even Carla joined in on the relaxing evening. That all changed when a giant explosion was felt and an emergency broadcast interrupted what they were watching not long afterwards. They all looked on in horror as the Gotham Cathedral, the city's spiritual center of hope and faith, was engulfed in raging flames.
Carson and Carla openly wept at the sight of it. Out of the fire came helpless people who tried to escape the flames, but they all died and succumbed to the searing heat of the flames. Even the charred corpses of young children could be seen in the broadcast. Charred body parts and organs were everywhere. It was a living nightmare that was being seen on television. Itachi felt intense rage when Vicki Vale reported that over 2,000 people were inside when the Cathedral went up in flames. It was easily the worst terrorist attack in Gotham's history.
'How could I let this happen? All of those people are dead. I'm so sorry,' Itachi thought with so much regret. Itachi went up to leave only for Carson to pull him back down. He looked at her and saw that she didn't want him to leave, "I went to church there. I had friends who were there tonight. They're all dead…"
Itachi understood and didn't resist the hug she gave him. She needed to be comforted. Even more explosion front he Cathedral was caught on camera as the building started to come crashing down. The debris killed a lot of the rescue personnel and reporters that were by the scene. It was truly an awful sight.
The camera's saw from the smoke emitting from the fire, that a message was being formed. Itachi saw that the smoke from the fire formed a word and that word read, "Wrath."
Carson looked up when Itachi said that and saw what he saw. It was probably what everyone in the world was seeing too.
"The person who did this...their name is Wrath." Itachi glared and swore that he wouldn't stop until he brought Wrath to justice for this heinous act against Gotham.
Wrath looked at his work from a nearby building. He grinned at everyone squirming inside that was grasping for any hope of life. He had just made one giant step into creating his new world. Wrath was looking at the smoke that spelled his name and contemplated on what this really meant, 'Itachi, you don't know about me. But I know you. You're going to come after me now and try to bring me down. I'll be waiting for you.'
Wrath got up to leave and return to Argus. As he turned around he was met by a woman wearing a Cheshire Cat mask. She had her head cocked to the side as she looked at Wrath. She took her mask off and smiled, "Thanks for allowing us to gain custody of Cassandra Cain. A girl of her skill will be quite useful to the League of Shadows."
"She is precious to me. The only reason I'm allowing this is so that she can grow strong enough to be the hero she was meant to be. She will get strong enough to kill her father and then Cassandra will leave the League and seek me out again." Wrath predicted.
"Are you sure about that? If Ra's wants her to stay, she will-" Wrath cut her off. He activated his Mangekyo Sharingan and leered at her, "She will leave whenever she wants to. The new world I create will ensure that. She is the future. Old relics like Ra's, you, and I will burn away so that people like her can grow from the ashes."
"How poetic. You just killed a lot of people tonight. Good innocent people died because of you. You may think of yourself as a great liberator or usurper, but all I see is a crazy serial killer." Jade said plainly.
"I wouldn't characterize any of them as good or innocent. Nobody in this world is. They'd let little children be raped and mutilated just so that it wouldn't happen to them. They all deserved death. I refuse to sit back and watch as this corrupt world ruins anymore lives while I have the ability to stop it." Wrath countered.
"But 2,000 people? Did you really have to kill all of those people?" Jade asked curiously. Wrath walked up to her, "Yes, I did. I'll end up killing a lot more people by the end of this too. I won't stop until the wrath of the dead has been felt and true change occurs."
"I see. Why not join the League of Shadows? You remind me of our leader. He can help you achieve your goals in a cleaner way." She inquired.
"Because I want to change the world, not rule it. There is no clean way of going about doing that." Wrath responded. Jade chuckled before putting her mask on, "Suit yourself. So what's next?"
Wrath was about to speak when another explosion rang through Gotham. This time the explosion took place within the GCPD Headquarters. The building was still standing, but the left wing of the building was completely destroyed. Jade laughed again, "I take it that was you're doing."
"Yes and no. I may have dropped the bomb off, but like with the Cathedral, someone else pulled the trigger." Wrath answered as he unsheathed his sword.
"And who is the one responsible for pulling the trigger to this bomb?" Cheshire asked. Wrath turned to show the assassin that the nape of his neck was bleeding, "Amanda Waller. I take it she found out that I was the one who is responsible for the Gotham Cathedral being blown to Hell. Waller activated the bomb she had implanted in me when I was sedated but instead of my head being blown off, she just killed a good amount of Gotham City's finest. Now I'm heading off to the Argus so that I can get rid of them and make them pay for their atrocities too. I hope you don't have any friends there because I don't plan on leaving any survivors."
"Nope, kill as many of them as you want." She said offhandedly as Wrath began walking away. He turned and gave her a sincere look, "Please keep Cassandra safe and happy. The girl has been through enough already in her short life."
Wrath then disappeared as Cheshire Cat looked on. She returned the sad look Wrath gave her as it had reminded her that he wasn't evil. He just felt that this was the only way to truly bring about change. She shook her head before looking on at all of the chaos that was caused tonight.
"Yeah, I'll look after her for you." She said quietly to herself as she disappeared into the night. The sounds of sirens, fire, and wails of sadness filled the night that would change Gotham forever. It was the night that announced that Wrath had arrived and he came looking for blood.
That's it for this chapter! I know it's not much in terms of action, but I wanted to use this chapter to establish Wrath and develop his character for the story going forward. I want you all to see into his psychology and had a lot of fun writing this. There is nothing scarier than a villain who does wrong, but believes that they are right. And as you read, Wrath is also starting to get others to believe in him too. Now the whole world knows about him and I can't wait to write what the response will be, especially from Itachi and Batman since it happened in their city. Also what did you guys think of the rework of Cassandra Cain's origin story? She will definitely be a key player later on in the story once time has passed. As always let me know what you think by reviewing it or sending me a PM. I wanna thank each and every one of you who viewed, favorite, or followed the last chapters I uploaded. Until next time guys and gals!