Chapter Warnings: This chapter is rated T for Teen for violence and swearing.
The Markings of a Hero
Chapter Thirteen: Insecticide Pt. II
Jim Gordon was getting old, far too old to be dealing with the rabbit hat that was Gotham City's crime scenes. Just today he had arrested one villain who used condiments- yes ketchup and mustard- as an offensive attack, had to round of Polka Dot Man, and was dealing with the possibility of another cop publicly prosecuted by Two-Face. The aging commissioner had no time to just sit around his office and deal with paperwork. His men, as seemingly always, were stretched thin to do their duties so he was on the field again.
But the Gotham Narrows was not a place for the police commissioner.
The men, women, and children that were present gave him death glares. They wanted his head on a platter and would probably roast the rest of him. It was the mentality of the citizens in, not just the Narrows, but all of Gotham City really; the police were against them. It did no matter the good the GCPD actually did or could do; the men and women present had already put it in their minds that the cops were the bad guys. Period.
Those thoughts were only intensified when three vigilantes were actually present with the cops.
The first was the guy from Bludhaven- Nightwing was his name. The guy stood in his blue on black outfit that looked like it was made of some highly dense material that Jim probably could not even spell, let alone pronounce. But what stood out the most was Nightwing's short messy hair that was identical to Robin's. Apparently the kid got tired of being in the Bat's shadow.
Next was the redhead Batgirl, one of Batman's sidekicks. The golden bat emblem on her chest was in the same position as Batman's, though the shape and size were slightly different. And unlike her mentor, Batgirl seemed to be fine with the other officers around. In fact, she and Nightwing appeared to be completely comfortable, even if they were out in daylight.
The third guy not so much. Then again, it was the first time that the Yellow Jacket's "face" was seen. Most of the shots that the news outlets had of him were taken with his hood covering his face. Now they could all see the mask that covered his entire head and neck. The fact that the guy was wearing black goggles also seemed odd.
Then again, Jim assumed, there was really nothing that seemed odd to him anymore.
"Commissioner Gordon." Nightwing acknowledged him first with Batgirl at his side, Hornet behind them with his eyes on the crowd around them.
The old man huffed calmly. "So, what do we have here?"
"Firefly did this. We don't know what his endgame was but we think it was to throw off Hornet." Nightwing explained.
"You don't say…" Jim's eyes drifted to the quiet Yellow Jacket as he spoke. "I saw Officer Marx, by the way. He's requesting for anyone on the force to put a bullet through your head." Hornet simply gazed at the man from behind his goggles and then looked back at the crowd. "Not a talker, is he?"
"He's alright. I can vouch for him." said Nightwing.
"Can you also vouch for the murders that I have committed by him?" The question was enough to draw a sound of disapproval from Batgirl who frequently gave Hornet cruel glares.
Jim watched as Batgirl and Nightwing give each other code glances, nothing unfamiliar to a guy who's been around Batman for years now. They were apparently having some sort of conversation about the out-of-towner.
"He's wanted for murders, not just in Gotham, but New Camford as well." Jim continued. "Believe me, I don't want to take in someone who is helping you two- or Batman, but the fact is Batman doesn't kill."
"Batman allowed Bookworm to escape to New Camford. Lives were lost as a result. Batman killed them indirectly." Hornet finally voiced, his distorted voice washing over the group. "I'm not here to protect your city and I'm leaving as soon as I get the man responsible for a death in my city. Your officer was about to shoot a woman in order to kill a thief carrying less than a thousand dollars. I did you a favor."
"By giving him a concussion?" asked Jim.
"By cleaning up your department." said Hornet, this time with a little bit more force in his voice. "The people in this city know that your cops are dirty. Officer Jensen's body camera will show that."
"I could still have you arrested." Jim stated.
"Wait," Nightwing butted in. "I still need him. We're working a case trying to take down Tobias Whale."
Jim scoffed."Tobias Whale? Good luck."
That seemed to be the wrong thing to say as Hornet and Nightwing casted a darkened glance Jim's way. The aged commissioner was used to receiving a few death glares and threats during his tenure. He was used to being on the side of the unpopular vote or opinion. But there was something about this Hornet guy- or whatever the hell his name actually was- that kept Jim on edge. It wasn't just how the criminals responded to his presence, oh no, it was the cops' reactions as well.
The guy was bad news.
"We need to keep moving. Firefly is still loose." Hornet commented.
"Hornet's right," Batgirl finally spoke up. "We need to make sure that no else is targeted by Firefly."
Jim looked at them individually. Truth be told, vigilantism was still illegal in Gotham City and its surrounding metro area. Hell, it was illegal in most- if not all- parts of the United States of America. But throughout the years, a group of several selected individuals made it possible for vigilantes to run about and help the good fight. And after making the assumption that Nightwing and Robin were one in the same, Jim figured that these three seemed to personify those guys in a nutshell: the redhead who was the typical fighter of righteousness (especially women's rights), the dark-haired boy who saw the best in people, and the guy in yellow who was the rule-breaking bad-boy.
Redhead Wonder Woman, black and blue Superman, and yellow gun-slinging Batman.
"Before that," Jim said before eying the guys that Hornet had apparently "assaulted" before chasing them out of the building. "Those guys apparently want to press charges on the guy that came in and, 'beat the hell out of them for no reason'."
Batgirl and Nightwing glanced at Hornet, who was too busy glaring at the three being escorted into the car to give a damn. Or so they thought.
"Two of them ran. The last one stayed and fought. They were trying to hide the marijuana I'm sure none of your officers found or smelled on them, did they?" Hornet returned.
"No. No I didn't get that in the report." Jim answered honestly.
"You want to clean your department," Hornet told Jim. "I'll help with that."
Nightwing chuckled quietly. "Yeah, he's real good at scaring the hell out of cops."
"You don't say." Jim voiced, unsure if the Hornet was being honest or not. "I'm going to let you guys go but if any of my officers are harmed in anyway… I'll check the footage first."
Hornet gave a nod before the trio left, parting the crowd as they walked away and each raising a hand. Jim watched as they all shot those fancy zip-lines up at a standing unaffected apartment building and reeled themselves up there with ease. He knew that if he had sent someone up there that those three would probably be long gone. Jim had no idea how they do it. He just knew that they did it.
"Hey Jim," Of course, this visit to the Narrows would be nothing without his former partner Detective Harvey Bullock. As the plump man walked to him, Jim slowly got the urge to smoke. "You goin' to arrest that guy or not? He attacked one of us."
Jim exhaled heavily through his nostrils. "No- not today at least. If Nightwing and Batgirl trust him, then that means he's in with you-know-who. We'd all think twice about crossing him."
"So what, some nut in a bat-suit run things now? Huh? He attacked a cop! One of your cops!" Harvey proclaimed.
"And at this moment my daughter is probably running off with her new boyfriend and I can't do my fatherly duties and make sure that my little girl is still my little girl."
"Barbara is fine. What really matters is-"
"That Firefly is caught." Jim said before looking at the other officers. "We apparently have a bug problem right now with the Yellow Jacket, Firefly, and Killer Moth- who is rumored to be back in town. If you catch all three of them committing a crime, bring them in alive. If not, then get me Firefly and/or Killer Moth. Understood."
"Yes sir!" the others replied.
Jim eyed Harvey. "Then let's move out."
Jim was not surprised that his one-time friend was against this decision but walked back to his car. Firefly and Killer Moth was one thing, he did not need some newbie hero beating every cop who broke the law. Not that the commissioner was actually opposed to that, hell he'd beat a few guys if he could, but it was bad publicity. The Commissioner of the Gotham City Police Department could not authorize a vigilante to go around and monitor the policemen and policewomen of Gotham City.
But if Hornet just did it on his own? Well, then Jim's day just got cut in half and now he could check in on Barbara and this Eli character. Sarah may think the kid was alright, but Jim was still in deliberation on that.
Hey, a father had the right to question didn't he?
Gotham City was a strange place. That was the city's unofficial motto, "It's a strange place". But this had to be the strangest thing that the man of forty had ever experienced in his life, in Gotham or anywhere else.
Steven Kelley, alias the Hound, was enjoying an afternoon beer at a local bar in the Gotham Narrows as he always did. Also, as norm, he asked the bartender for any "job offers" that may or may not have come for him. He had two for the Mozgov Family. It seemed like a normal day until Killer Moth walked in.
Killer Moth had expressed his "mutual interest" in this new Yellow Jacket character and had offered to pay the Hound a great deal of money if he would take care of this problem. Of course, at the time, the Hound had no idea that the Yellow Jacket was on the move to find him and, presumably, kill him.
Now Steven was currently at a location known as the Moth Cave along with Killer Moth and Firefly, two guys he never necessarily cared to meet.
"An old guy with a shitty comb-over? This is the Hound?" Firefly said with a scoff. "He could've burned with the others for all I care."
Killer Moth, who was diligently at his "Moth Computer," only waved a dismissive hand over his shoulder.
"We need him for the moment to draw out the Yellow Jacket." Killer Moth stated as he went back to work. "The Yellow Jacket and Nightwing will clear up business in Bludhaven and New Camford. We need them both."
"You want me to kill them?" Now it was the Hound who asked.
Killer Moth returned the question with silence. Truth be told, he was using the Hound as bait to lead the Yellow Jacket out into the opening. From there, one of two things would happen. The Yellow Jacket would join up with Killer Moth and kill Nightwing or Killer Moth would kill them both. There was no middle ground on the decision. Yellow Jacket either played his role or died like those who got into Killer Moth's way…
Well, those he had succeeded in removing that is. Of course, referring to himself as "Killer Moth" did not necessarily strike fear into people. Hell, for the most part he was considered a B-tier villain. However he was improving on that list. With Firefly, and hopefully the Yellow Jacket, to aid him, he would run this city with his own personal swarm. And those people that evaded him or completely laughed at his threats before he escaped Blackgate would regret it.
"So is that a yes or a no on the kill them thing?" Steven questioned.
"It's a 'be quiet'. I need to work." Killer Moth returned.
There was silence afterwards which allowed Killer Moth to think. Even if he did solve his problems with Nightwing (for tailing him across the eastern coast) and the Yellow Jacket (for stealing his weapons), he still had other people to think about. Batman, for instance, would forever be a nuisance. He could team up with more Batman-hating villains but that meant that the pie grew smaller and smaller with each new mouth to feed. Firefly was in it for the destruction, mostly, but guys like Two-Face and Penguin would never join if the payout was not good enough. And this was, of course, the problem after Nightwing and the Yellow Jacket had been dealt with.
"Who is Catman…?" Killer Moth asked himself quietly as he read the screen. He shook his head and pushed away. "It doesn't matter. I need to deal with the problem at hand first. Nightwing. Yellow Jacket. And then Holocaust."
The Hound shoved his hands into the front pockets of his jeans. "And why am I here again?"
Now Killer Moth rounded on him. "For bait, of course."
"What…?" Steven asked.
"Oh, don't worry," Killer Moth said standing out of the chair. "I'll make sure that you don't die, for a price of course. Unless you think you can handle the Killer Bee by yourself. He's quite the pest."
Steven scoffed. "You think I'm scared by one of them costume freaks? It's my job to hunt them down!"
"Fine. Go out there and find him." Killer Moth offered as he waved his hand towards the exit. "Just remember that, when he finds you, statistics predict that you will go to the hospital, most likely dead."
"I can handle him." Steven said as he walked towards the large cave doors. "Just give me my revolver. I'll put him down like the others… For free!"
Firefly was confused as Killer Moth allowed the man to go free. They had gone through all the trouble in doing several petty crimes to get the attention of everyone while the Hound was allowed to escape and now, Killer Moth let Steven to walk out into the impending doom they were trying to avoid.
"Now," Killer Moth spoke. "I know where the Yellow Jacket will be."
"What are you talking about?" Firefly questioned.
"Flowers attract bees," explained Moth. "But for the Yellow Jacket, you simply need a poor sap with a target on his head."
Firefly snorted. "So that's how you'll use him, eh? Seems a little underhanded."
"Well, I'm not Gotham's Most Improved Villain for nothing!" Killer Moth lightheartedly joked.
Killer Moth cackled with Firefly. Pride would most likely kill Steven with the Yellow Jacket's assistance, no less. And as long as the Yellow Jacket believed that Killer Moth gave him the Hound as a means to extend an olive branch, then maybe the gunman would join Killer Moth.
If not, then he'd just kill him too.
Barbara Gordon was supposed to take the day off. Today was supposed to be the day that she initiated contact with Eli Jackson instead of waiting on him to call or stop by and go out. Her stepmom (step-aunt actually) had gone through the trouble of lining up many things that Barbara and Eli could for today while promising that she would keep James (both father and son) away from the couple.
However, she spent nearly two hours searching for Firefly and another with Nightwing debating on how they were going to work with a known murderer without Batman finding out. Hornet had abandoned them to search on his own, something Nightwing was alright with. Batgirl, however, bit back the fact that the cops were after the Yellow Jacket and that he could very well encounter them before finding Firefly, Killer Moth, or the Hound. Then again, no one could say for sure what would happen if Hornet actually did find their targets before Nightwing and/or Batgirl arrived on scene.
It could be worse than what would happen if the cops attempted to stop him.
Hornet was not the only problem though. There was the fact that Firefly was still out and possibly planning another attack. He had been an annoying pest for the past month or so, though Batman's attention had been mostly on whatever Penguin had cooked up. Barbara had attempted to catch the pyromaniacal insect though other problems seemed to always pop up and divert her attention momentarily.
Stepping out of the cab that had driven her from Wayne Manor, where she dropped her suit off for the time being, Barbara was surprised to see that Eli was stepping off of her porch. She quickly paid the cab driver before meeting him in the driveway.
"Hey, I was just about to call." Barbara said, flashing her cell phone to add to her tale. To be fair, she had thought about calling Eli, though that was hours ago.
Eli gave her a curious look. "Your mom said that you went out to find me."
"Side-tracked. One of my friends had a boyfriend emergency." Eli gave a silent "oh" and seemingly dropped the interrogation. Barbara sighed and smiled at him. "So… What did you stop by for? I mean, you don't need a reason. Well you do, it's just… I'm rambling, aren't I?"
"You are," chuckled Eli. Barbara laughed quietly with him, her eyes going slowly drifting to the paved driveway. "I stopped by 'cause my cousin and I were arguing and I just needed time away from her."
"Oh… Is everything alright?"
Eli nodded. "Yeah, we're cool. I mean, we were close growing up, like siblings. We're always arguing over something." Eli released a heavy breath. "So I left and was just wandering around before I decided to come here."
"Did you want to talk about it?" asked Barbara. Though she questioned this, she was more than alright with him not discussing his family issues. It wouldn't be the first boyfriend she had that kept secrets from her.
"You wanna walk around?" Eli suggested. Barbara agreed, understanding what the walk was really about and stepped with him to the sidewalk where he began his tale. "My cousin, and aunt for that matter, thinks that my mom is… I don't know. The greatest. I'm not saying she's the worst parent but…"
His uneasiness explaining this made Barbara believe that this had been troubling him all day. The redhead was actually pleased that he had come to her with this. Eli did not seem like the most open guy in the world and probably kept a lot of his issues to himself for the most part. Yet, he had somehow gotten close to her enough to be open about his problems with his mother. For a girl who had not dated in months, the fact that he did tell her made Barbara feel quite good about the blossoming relationship.
Eli, on the other hand, felt bad about this. The boy needed a solid alibi when he returned to his aunt's apartment and knew that using Nightwing or Jade was out of the question. Being with Barbara, for any part of the day, made coming back easier. It gave him someone to excuse his absence while keeping his adventures as Hornet hush. Sadly, he felt that Barbara was really trying to help his relationship with his mother, a relationship he had no real want to fix.
Leila had made that bed years ago. Eli was just lying in it alone.
The couple had shifted from talking about Leila to talking about, oddly, sports. Barbara was a Dakota City native, and thus, a big Cleveland Browns fan. Eli was, as many residents of New Camford were, a New England Patriots fan. The small trivia about the two brought about small banters such as Eli claiming that the Browns were a joke and Barbara commented on how the Patriots team was built around Tom Brady, deflated balls, and trusted referees.
Their playfulness ended with her actually taking a jovial swing at him for commenting about her terrible "girly throw" at an operating booth at the Amusement Mile. This ended in a playful chase that ended up with Barbara being wrapped by the stronger Eli. Both ignored those that they blew by on the sidewalk as they chased and flirted. To them, it was once more just the two of them in the big Gotham jungle.
It was thirty minutes after their joking began that Barbara suggested going to a small café for a small impromptu date. Eli had agreed only because she had actually diverted his attention from his actual problems. It was as if finding a flame-wielding pyromaniac and a hit-man was not of importance.
"So, I have a question and you have to answer," Barbara began as they walked inside of the establishment. "As a librarian, I hear the nerdy battles and you have to decide which side you're on. Star Wars or Star Trek."
Eli scoffed lightly at the question. Hannah would never have asked him this question and he doubts any of the cheerleaders that he had flirted with post-Hannah even knew that the two were separate franchises. But he gave an answer anyway.
"Star Wars," Barbara raised her brows at his answer, obviously wanting an explanation. "Yoda beats Spock. Simple."
Now it was Barbara who rolled her eyes. "Of course," Her blue eyes then landed onto the teen girl working behind the counter. "Ahem."
Eli noticed the blonde behind the counter look up from the cash register at the two before her green eyes lit. He did not have to be psychic to know that the girl behind the counter and Barbara were at least on civil terms with one another.
"Babs!" the cashier squealed. "Is this him?" Eli raised a brow when Barbara meekly nodded, obviously a bit uncomfortable with the outburst. "When you said he was hot, I thought in a geeky librarian way. Not this!"
"Colleen," Barbara's voice was hardly above a whisper, a tone Eli recognized as how Hannah spoke to her parents whenever his ex was embarrassed by them in public. "You're making a scene, at work. Can you just, take our order please?"
"Aren't you going to introduce me?" Colleen returned, her gaze going back and forth between Barbara and Eli.
Eli was sure that Barbara was humiliated. He found it amusing to say the least. With Barbara's cheeks growing a shade that could match her hair he realized that he had found something to tease her with on their way back to her place.
"Eli," Barbara was unable to face him at the moment. She wanted to introduce him to Colleen but she was not expecting this reaction from her friend. "This is Colleen. Colleen, Eli."
"So," Colleen leaned against the counter, her lashes batted towards Eli. "You're the new boyfriend, huh? You don't look like you go to the library much."
"I don't." Eli answered. "Not during the summer, at least."
Colleen nodded as she stood up. "What can I get you two before I am undoubtedly fired?"
"Sweet tea and a blueberry muffin," Barbara said before glancing at Eli.
"Sweet tea but," he took a moment to read the menu on display behind Colleen. "Banana nut-bread instead."
"Ooh, my favorite," Colleen said as she rang the items up. "That'll be nine fifty."
Eli paid for the small snack while Colleen kept giving him and Barbara obvious wags of her thin brows. Barbara only put a hand up as if she was attempting to discretely hide her face from someone who might recognize her. Colleen chortled quietly at Barbara's reaction before going to get their order.
"Friend of yours?" Eli asked.
"I'm starting to debate that," Barbara responded quietly. "I'm sorry about that. Colleen was one of the people telling me that I should get out more and thought I made you up to avoid her."
"She's better than my friends." Eli commented, thinking about how different this would be in Cheshire Square with George and the Saints Row Children. He doubts Barbara would ever return to New Camford if she met his so-called friends.
"Here you two go," Colleen placed their order in front of her, Barbara quickly reaching for her muffin and cup. "Have fun!"
Barbara cut her friend a warning glare while leading Eli to a table in the small café. With only three other customers present, the place held the perfect ambience for Barbara to get a one-on-one with Eli while also proving to Colleen that Eli did exist.
Now if she could find a way to work with Hornet later on and capture Firefly, Killer Moth, and the Hound would this day be nearly perfect.
"I…" Barbara was about to speak until she saw Colleen actually coming towards them. "Oh great…"
"I have just one teeny-weeny question," Colleen said to Eli. "You're from New Camford right?" Eli nodded his head. "So have you seen him yet?"
"Who?" Eli knew exactly who Colleen was talking about. Eli had spoken about "him" to just about everyone else in this city.
"The Killer Bee, that's who!" Despite not showing it, Eli was considering getting up and going on a manhunt to find whoever issues out vigilante codenames. He understood that he wore a yellow jacket so being referred to as the Yellow Jacket was alright. But the Killer Bee? That was almost insulting.
"Eli doesn't know who he is Colleen. I doubt anyone does." Barbara spoke up. "If you were with my dad earlier, you could've seen him, Nightwing, and Batgirl."
"The hottie from Bludhaven too? Your dad meets all the right guys!" Colleen said.
Barbara exhaled noisily. "How do you know that either of them is hot? They wear masks Colleen."
Colleen waved Barbara off with a dismissive wave. "You're just mad that you weren't smart enough to ask your dad to get you in contact with them. I'm pretty sure that beneath their masks, there is some tattooed bad boy from New Camford and a nice sophisticated guy from Bludhaven."
Barbara huffed in defeat. While she believed that Hornet could be a tattooed bad boy from the wrong neighborhood in a hero-less city, Richard was not a "sophisticated guy" from Bludhaven. It was only amusing to Barbara that Colleen had actually met Richard on multiple occasions and had similar reactions to the one she gave Eli.
Eli was also entertained by the statement. He had no idea how Nightwing looked outside costume other than the guy had blue eyes and dark hair but he did not have tattoos and he was not necessary a labeled bad boy. Sure he got into trouble from time to time but what teenager didn't?
"Colleen," Barbara said rising from her chair. "How about we have a small talk for a sec?"
"Oh, okay," Colleen responded before giving Eli a smile. "Seems as if your girlfriend is a little testy today, right?"
"Uh-huh…" Eli answered. Of course after the first date, neither had really spoken about labeling themselves as boyfriend and girlfriend. Trivial things such as that was a bit awkward considering the limited face-to-face time that they had.
Barbara casted an apologetic look Eli's way. "I'm sorry about this." And with that, she walked off with Colleen in tow.
Eli took in a breath and began to snack on the bakery he had purchased. Today had not gone the way he had planned. For starters, he was still avoiding his aunt and cousin. They were supposed to be his alibi if his mother called and now that was fully blown. Having the Hound slip through his fingers due to Firefly thoroughly pissed him off as well but he had kept his temper intact while speaking to Barbara. But just the thought of having the guy that killed his father so close and then having to let him go for some stupid fire…
"Ahem," a familiar voice had Eli looking up at the person that cleared her throat, gaining his attention. "My phone died. Do you have the time?"
Eli glanced at his phone before eying Barbara.
"Time for you to get out of here Jade." Eli mumbled angrily as Jade softly tapped the table, leaving a note where her hand met.
"Sure thing. Thanks." Jade said before walking out of the café.
Eli slowly covered the paper with his cell phone and slowly brought it to his lap to avoid drawing attention. He was slightly ticked that he had not recognized Jade- if she was here prior to him and Barbara that is. Ben and Nick had nitpicked and enhanced his skills in observation which helped him a lot in and out of costume. How he missed Jade in a small place like this was beyond him.
After checking to see that Barbara was still busy with Colleen, Eli ducked his head to unfold the note and read it. His eyes narrowed at the two words that were on the small slip of paper.
The Narrows.
"What's wrong?" Eli looked up, Barbara now returning to their table.
"Nothing. My mom just texting me." Eli lied before stealthily working the paper into his pocket. "So Colleen won't be joining us, huh?"
"Fortunately no." Barbara answered as she sat. "Why?"
Eli smirked. "I thought she was going to give me embarrassing stories about you." Barbara gave him a playful glare for the comment, her lips forming a smile. "I guess I'll just have to ask your parents then…"
"Like hell!" Barbara laughed.
Eli chuckled. He had forgotten what dates were like, mainly because his dad was the go-to before them. Those awkward talks about sex and love were things that Eli would never experience again. Sitting here with Barbara made him realize that those things would never happen again. He could not go to Robert about this and he doubted that Nick and Ben would even care about.
"Eli," Barbara gained his focus once more. "Are you alright? You looked like you zoned out."
"I'm fine I just…" Eli paused. "I just thought about my dad. It wasn't anything bad just a thought." There was a moment of silence before Eli added to it. "You know, he used to give me tips before every date. What to say, what to do, not to go too far. I was just thinking about what he would say about you."
"He'd probably say that I'm smart and really pretty and I have a beautiful smile." Barbara joked, hoping that she had not crossed any line. It was hard to tell just how far people went with their closest deceased ones.
Thankfully Eli laughed. "No. I don't think my dad would've said that. Not after he found out that you were a Cleveland Browns' fan. Ugh."
"Brady bandwagon!"
The retort brought another laugh from Eli. Moments like these made it easier for him to actually be alive. It was as if the things that were wrong were not major at all, just small problems that didn't stop him from living. It made being the Hornet seemed like volition and not coercion bred by vengeance. If only moments like this could last forever.
It was well after sundown when Richard reunited with his mortified friend. Even as Batgirl, Richard could see whenever Barbara was flustered by something. He found her blush as cute as always but said no such thing here. Mostly because now she could roundhouse kick him into the next millennium if he was too busy mocking her.
At the moment, Batgirl had just joined Nightwing after a nice time off with her new boyfriend. The embarrassment that was evident on Barbara's face came from her dad finally catching his daughter and her boyfriend making out. It was quite hilarious for Richard to have seen this from his spot across the street. Eli, Barbara's new boyfriend, had promptly left Barbara to deal with the commissioner alone and Sarah, Barbara's stepmother, could not stop laughing to scold her husband for his reaction.
All in all, Richard had a pretty good laugh himself and was now trying his hardest not to let it be heard.
"Not another word Grayson," Batgirl threatened. Nightwing held his hands up as Batgirl stepped near the ledge of the building. "So he's in there?"
Nightwing cleared his throat quietly. "Yeah. I saw him head in not too long ago." Richard took in a deep breath. "It's going to be tough though. I've counted twenty other guys in there, plus the two working the bar."
"And Hornet?" Batgirl questioned while scouting the bar.
"I haven't seen him. Figured he went after Killer Moth or Firefly." Nightwing's answer made Batgirl hum with skepticism. "My thoughts exactly. He isn't an idiot. He's either here and we don't see him or he's on his way. From what I've learned about him, he doesn't miss his target. Not by much anyway."
"So how long do we have until he gets here?" Batgirl's query was an important one. Their window of opportunity had little to do with the men and women inside of the bar but the one that was coming.
"I don't know. So are you ready?" Batgirl gave a solid nod. "…"
The motion to move was a silent one that neither needed to hear. Quietly they traversed to the bar, this one on the outskirts of the Gotham Narrows. The pair snuck around to the back, seeing a group of men in the back talking.
"I don't like this plan. Trying to trap the Yellow Jacket? Aw man, that's like stirring a hornet's nest that shoots bullets." One of the counted seven men spoke in the warm night air. "Swear if he shows up, I'm getting out of here before he puts a bullet in my head like those guys up in Connecticut."
The back of the bar resembled a miniature junkyard. It was fenced in with a graveled parking lot. There were two wheel-less vehicles perched on cinderblocks in the far left hand corner, a column of used tires between the two old cars. There were patches of weeds sprouting up through the gravel, some being covered by scattered tools or buckets that were closest to the back chain-linked fence. Next to the building and closest to the opening of the fence on the side of the building were two parked vehicles, a white van and a black pick-up truck. Finally, there was a light pole that stood approximately in the center of the yard that illuminated the seven men below it.
All in all, Nightwing had already picked out his chose of entrance. He had also figured Hornet's point of entry if the gunslinger came through the back entrance like he and Batgirl.
Speaking of which, Batgirl gave Nightwing a small tap before leaving hi side. The redhead stealthily leapt from the building and onto the ground below, crouching silently. Richard let his friend do what they were trained while he carefully counted the guys and made his plan.
He could attempt to get them to scatter and pick them off one at a time.
He could create a scene and get them to go to one particular spot and just sneak into the bar.
Or he could do his favorite; Surprise and Conquer.
For the seven on the gravel, they knew that they were waiting for the Yellow Jacket to appear. They were affiliates to the Mozgov Family; albeit the kind of affiliate that did not want to affiliate with the Russian family. But that was how things worked in Gotham City- if not the world. Smaller gangs had to join forces with larger ones in order to survive turf wars and in return, when crazy vigilantes came shooting everything in sight, they were the ones on the front lines.
Though to be fair, the Yellow Jacket was not doing a crusade like Batman. The vigilante was only here for one person and not to shut down the whole organization or kill everyone as it appeared. His only true target was Steven Kelley, alias the Hound. Had it been any other member of the crime syndicate, the New Camford's new Killer Bee would have had Steven gift wrapped with a bottle of champagne from one of the Mozgov brothers. But it was a valuable member of the organization and thus they were there now, waiting…
And waiting…
And waiting…
Five small spheres hit the ground like tin marbles. They did not bounce much on the gravel and they were not big enough to roll much over the small pebbles and rocks. They did get the men's attention before exploding with blinding flashes.
"He's here!"
Getting a running start, Nightwing fired a line towards the lamppost and swung towards the flock of men. His momentum was enough to kick one man into another, the two blindly tumbling away. Nightwing was quick to flip onto his feet after the maneuver was landed, sweeping the legs out from beneath a third guy. Nightwing was quick to grab two of his modified batarangs and slung them at guy four and five. He hit them both square on their foreheads, knocking them flat onto their backs.
By now, the effects of the flash grenades were wearing off and the sixth and seventh guys were regaining their vision. Nightwing was fast to respond though. His right hand quickly grabbed two discs from their rightful pouch and flung them at the two men reaching for their firearms. The discs stuck to the men, one for each, and sent a shock through their bodies that forced them to collapse moments afterwards.
"What- Ugh!" The third man attempted to get up before Nightwing landed flush punch that stopped whatever he was saying, and thinking, immediately.
Nightwing looked at the back of the tavern to see Batgirl kneeling by the door. She was using a small device. He recognized it as the device she used for most of her hacking and assume she was either disrupting the security feed or disabling the alarm system.
Or both.
"Come on," Batgirl whispered.
For two people who worked alongside Batman, it was sometimes weird using the door. But the two slipped into the backdoor of the club as quietly as they could with the mission on their minds.
The back room was oddly emptied, something that did not go unnoticed by the pair. There was a round table used for poker cleared of everything but two bottles of beer and a deck of cards on it. There were two doors present to them; one to the left of their position and one in front of them.
"Cameras are disabled," whispered Batgirl. "We should be clear."
There was one thing to note when sneaking into a place filled with hostiles. Nothing was a certainty. Disabling cameras did not mean that they were clear. It had been a mistake that the pair made nearly two years ago when infiltrating one of Black Mask's places. Batman had rescued them then but neither of them was willing to bet that he was coming tonight.
Batgirl crept to the wooden door on the left-most wall while Nightwing moved for the door on the wall opposite of the door that they entered. The white door that Nightwing neared offered voices behind it, small conversations that caused him to wave Batgirl over. The redhead shook her head, pointing to a vent overhead.
Nightwing clicked his tongue. Of course. Another night where someone from the Bat Family ended up creeping through the air ducts of some building.
"You ready?" Batgirl asked.
Nightwing smirked. "Always."
The Batgirl and Nightwing duo was not the only pair scoping the bar out. A block away from the bar was Jade and Eli, both suited for combat. Jade, garbed in her green outfit, knelt behind a high-powered rifle that the pair had looted off of one of Killer Moth's caches in New Camford.
"Your friends went to the back, probably through the backdoor," Jade stated to Hornet, who was using his goggles to zoom in on the place. "Are you sure that waiting is the best plan?"
Hornet nodded. "I have a bad feeling about this."
"Why is that?" questioned Jade.
"Everyone knows that I'm going after Kelley," explained Eli. "Nightwing and Batgirl went after him to make sure I didn't kill him. Do you really think that Killer Moth is dumber than a guy he's been dodging for months now?"
Jade was actually impressed. Ben had noted that, for all of Eli's intelligence, the boy sometimes had a bad case of tunnel-vision and grew a little rash. It was what made sparring against him so easy for Jade. The fact that Eli was using what people (correctly) assumed about him against them was impressive. He was using their trap for him against them.
"So who are we aiming for; Moth or Kelley?" Jade saw Eli twisting the dial around the right lens of his goggles, possibly changing or correcting his vision.
"Neither," Eli answered. "I'm going to go there myself. I don't think that Killer Moth needs Kelley but Nightwing needs Killer Moth alive so he can continue to track down Whale." Eli's hands twisted the dials on the lens of his goggles, returning them to their normal mode and focal point. "Firefly, on the other hand, I don't care. But we can't kill Nightwing and Batgirl."
"Batman, I know." Jade responded before sighing. "Alright, I have movement in the bar. Apparently your new friends engaged the place into a fist fight- they're winning by the way. How long do you think Killer Moth will take to show up?"
Eli stepped away from the ledge and sat on the roof.
"I'll give him three minutes." Eli answered.
"And then we do the job." Jade voiced, already aiming for her first shot.
"Then we do the job."
Jade heard his resolve which contradicted his true feelings. Eli was not as okay with killing as the news made him to be. Then again, no one in their sane mind truly was. Even Ben had a strict code about when lethal force became deadly force or vice versa. Jade had adopted these rules as well and, to a degree, so had Eli. However, Eli was much more conscience about it than Jade was.
Tires screeching to a halt cause Jade to regain her focus on the job. She moved the scope around until she found five newcomers outside of the bar, each with a firearm in hand. Worse, landing in front of them, were Killer Moth and Firefly.
"Your plan actually worked. Moth, Firefly, and five guys just showed up." Jade commented as she aimed at Killer Moth. "So are you going to be the inevitable hero that saves the day?"
"Like I said," Eli retorted. "I'm not a hero."
"Well, look at it like this," said Jade. "If you go down there and kill every Mozgov in sight, you've done this shitty city justice. If you go down there and kill Killer Moth or Firefly, same thing. Hell, if you decide to go down there and beat the hell out of that Nightwing guy and Bat-bitch, you'll be a hero to someone. But we both know that you're not just going to sit up here and wait."
Eli realized how the collective definitions of the word "heroic" would set the paradigm for his next course of action. He was looking to avenge his father by getting rid of the Mozgov Family. That would ultimately do Gotham City a favor. Disregarding the likely bloodshed, he would most likely be considered a hero for eliminating one of the crime families that haunted the eastern United States. People would herald him for as long as any internet trend lasted, if not more.
But he was no hero.
Sighing, Eli pulled the hood of his jacket over his masked head and rose to his feet. His father sought to protect the country from outside forces. Eli found that idea to be noble, but foolish. There was no way that Malcolm, or the U.S for that matter, could end the hostilities towards the country no matter how many so-called terrorists they killed. Hornet, however, had the chance to end one problem now and never look back.
"Going to play hero?" Jade openly mocked, the taunt in her voice not missed at all. Hornet did not answer as he fired a line from one of his gauntlets and zipped away. Jade smiled beneath her mask. "Not a hero my ass."
As for Eli, he was currently loathing the fact that as soon as he acted, he would most likely lose one or the other. Truthfully, he only wanted Firefly for as long as it would take him to beat the hell out of the guy for making him miss Steven earlier. Other than that, his true goals were Killer Moth and the Hound. One (Moth) was just for questioning while the other (Hound) was a more personal reason.
A loud gunshot echoed throughout the area and Eli could already assume that there was one thug lying on the pavement dead from Jade's shot. He picked his pace up, still a little uncomfortable about running from one rough to another. He took his eyes off of the space in front of him for a second to see if he could spot his target.
Another gunshot roared and this time Eli could see the poor bastard drop to the ground after his head splattered from impact. Jade had once commented that Eli had the better aim between them. Eli was now calling her bluff.
"I found ya!" Hornet came to a screeching halt before leaping, tucking, and rolling to his left as Firefly appeared in front of him, spraying flames with his flamethrower.
Eli's heart pounded. This was not how this was supposed to go but he'd be damned if he got this close to his father's killer again and lost his chance. The Yellow Jacket made a quick move for the fire escape of the building he was on. Weeks of chasing Jade around Cheshire Square had Eli more than capable of his descent with a flame-wielding lunatic chasing after him.
But now it was time for a little stage magic.
"Stay still!" Firefly cackled as he flew after Eli.
The teenager was quick to drop one of his smoke screens onto the escape, making sure not to accidentally throw the sphere through the bars onto the ground. The flash blinded Firefly and the following smoke billowed enough for Eli to make his silent escape.
Firefly growled when his vision returned. His prey was nowhere to be found and Killer Moth was paying him to bring in the up-and-coming Yellow Jacket. Though, it was safe to say that Firefly was more than likely going to kill the homicidal insect the moment he got the chance.
A whizzing sound was heard from Firefly before an astronomical amount of pain shot from his left arm through his entire body. He turned to see that a grappling hook about the size of a large spider had buried its hooks inside of arm, just above the elbow. Before Firefly had the time to turn to see who had fired the cursed thing, the line began to reel the pyromaniac downwards.
Eli grunted when the jetpack (which he was curious about) on Firefly's back began to let out more flames, thrusting harder to counter Hornet's pull. Eli had debated on whether he should waste a bullet on Firefly or not and had decided against it. He would need them for the Mozgov members later. That meant that he would have to get to Firefly and beat him without the use of weapons.
But that was beginning to become a problem.
"You'll have to do better than that you fucking wasp!" Firefly shouted, the insect insult not missed.
Hornet raised his right arm at Firefly and fired his second grappling hook from his gauntlet, this one pinning Firefly in his left shoulder. Again Hornet began to pull the criminal downwards while Firefly continued to pull away. The Yellow Jacket could feel his feet slipping on the pavement, unable to out-muscle the power of a jetpack. So with no other choice, Hornet leapt into the air and allowed his grappling hooks to pull him towards his target.
Firefly felt the pull on him lessen and looked over his shoulder, regretting his decision. The Yellow Jacket was closing in on him and fast- too fast for him to do anything about it. The New Camford hero was zipping towards him and a reckless speed.
"Gah!" Firefly groaned out when Hornet tackled him from behind, the two flipping and twirling towards the ground.
Falling, Eli thought, was a vital key to his training with Ben. Ben had the belief that if one knew how to fall then they knew how to pick themselves up. The statement was not as nearly philosophical as it was literal.
At the opportune moment, Hornet pushed away from Firefly to tumble safely out of the alley onto the sidewalk while Firefly smacked into a closed dumpster. The maneuvered hurt as it should but Eli was able to stand up afterwards with relative ease. And by "relative ease" he meant faster than he once was.
Firefly was also able to get to his feet in time to see the apparent psychotic Yellow Jacket approaching him. Firefly threw an unsuccessful punch that was met by the Hornet's left forearm which was protected by the gauntlet that fired his zip-lines.
"Fuck!" Firefly hollered in pain before the Hornet grabbed the man and kneed him in his stomach.
Hornet grabbed the back of the man's suit and hurled him back into the dumpster again. He was slightly satisfied to see Firefly sink into a seated position as he glared down at Firefly.
"Killer Moth helped the Hound escape," To Firefly, it was like speaking to a cybernetic Satan. The deep distorted voice was as disturbing as the survivors said it was, if not more. "Tell me why!"
"You'll burn before I do that!" Firefly shot back.
Eli was not in the mood. His foot was raised before he repeatedly kneed Firefly in the man's chest. Every shot seemed like a page out of his recent personal life however. The first was for his mom's in-laws. The next was because of the fight that Sam (and admittedly George) caused. The third and fourth was because of his lack of information on his father's outings.
Hornet paused and saw Firefly slump over to his side. The Yellow Jacket shook his head and rolled Firefly onto his back before mounting him. Punch and punch rained down from the irate Hornet like a madman defending his children from the pyromaniac.
Eli stopped and looked at the man encased in the dark green costume with red eye lens. He had a limited time to catch the Hound and Killer Moth and said time was running out due to the tight-lipped psycho he had beaten to the ground, literally!
Pushed for time, Hornet grabbed Killer Moth's flamethrower and pressed it against the wound in the man's right arm. Firefly howled out in pain, and pleasure, from the burning sensation of his own weapon being dug into his skin.
"Tell me or I swear I will light your arm up like a cheap cigarette!" threatened Hornet.
Firefly cackled. "Do it! Light me up baby!"
Hornet was going to do just that until he heard the whooshing of Killer Moth zooming towards him. Thinking quickly, the Yellow Jacket pointed the flamethrower in front of him and pulled the trigger. The flames altered Killer Moth's trajectory, given Hornet enough time to get up.
Killer Moth circled around, his Moth-gun in his hands.
"You won't ruin my reign!" Killer Moth declared as he fired for the Yellow Jacket's position.
Eli was able to move out of the way as the liquid hit the ground, a sizzling hiss catching Eli's attention.
"Acid…" New Camford's Killer Bee deduced quietly seconds before he watched Killer Moth circle around in the sky. "I need to get that gun out of his hand fast."
Killer Moth was unimpressed with the fact that Hornet was actually running away. He chased after the vigilante, determined to melt him into the ground. Firefly would catch up later- if the poor bastard got his bearings straight- and his newly minted Moth Men (former members of the local gangs) would find him and dismember the Yellow Jacket.
"A wasp that can't fly," Killer Moth spat as he chased after his target. "What a useless insect you are!"
Killer Moth flew out of the alleyway, intent on finding Hornet. He was no longer looking to work with the Yellow Jacket, oh no. That ship sank the moment he realized that the bastard could not even go after the Hound like he was supposed to! Instead, Killer Moth found Nightwing with Batgirl of all people! That was not how his plan was supposed to go!
"You can't hide from me Yellow Jacket!" Killer Moth proclaimed as he landed on the road. His eyes scanned the streets from behind his full face helmet. "You aren't even a real hero! Just a crappy cop wearing a mask!"
Killer Moth was livid. This should have been a real simple transaction. The Yellow Jacket would show up to kill the Hound. Killer Moth would reveal that he had let Kelley go for the gunman and start a negotiation. If, and only if, the Yellow Jacket refused Killer Moth's would Killer Moth kill both Hornet and Hound in one fatal swoop.
But no, oh no, that is not what happened!
That annoying Batgirl had to interfere with Nightwing of all people. The decoys at the bar were enough to at least survive an onslaught from Hornet, but not the combined forces of Nightwing and Batgirl. But it did not stop there. Not only did the duo beat the men in the bar but they had taken the Hound while the damn Yellow Jacket shot his back-up from afar!
Killer Moth used his left hand to press a button near the temple of his mask, changing his vision to infrared sight. He was going to find the Yellow Jacket if it was the last thing he did tonight.
The purest forms of silence came afterwards. It brought Drury Walker back to his days of being alone in his cell, reading clippings about Batman. That silence was the very foundation and main ingredient to Drury's studying how to become a better, more successful Killer Moth.
This silence, however, soon grew heavier than what Killer Moth was comfortable with. In the silence and solitude of him walking down a lifeless street, he realized that he was now being stalked by the Yellow Jacket. The thoughts that a bullet could come zipping to him and put an end to his miserable crime life- and life in general= was distressing to say the least. The beat down to Firefly was considered a mercy beating when the Yellow Jacket was considered.
A quiet thump caused Killer Moth to whip his body around quickly and scan the area as thoroughly as his panicked mind would allow him. He was debating his entire plan now. Just how would killing the Yellow Jacket put him on the same level as Batman? If anything, it just proved that he was only capable of defeating minor league heroes.
Worse… What if the Yellow Jacket won? What if some gun-slinging badass from the hero-less city of New Camford proved to be the superior bug between the two of them? This would probably be the last time he would be involved in a high-end takeover like Whale's. And the respect he had recently gained amongst the citizens of Bludhaven and Gotham City would be over in a heartbeat.
Almost as if it never existed in the first place…
A small sting resonated from the back of Killer Moth's left shoulder. The man turned to see what had caused the minor discomfort and gasped at the sight of a dart lodged into his skin. He turned his head further to see the Yellow Jacket walking towards him.
"No… I…" Killer Moth felt the drug take its effect, his arms growing heavy first and then his legs. "I… I should win! I'm… Killer Mo-"
Hornet would never let the man finished, a front thrust kick to the kneeling man's face ending the sentence before its completion. Eli removed the dart from Killer Moth's shoulder and looked back towards the alleyway he had left Firefly in.
"It can't be that easy," Hornet muttered to himself. Hearing mumbling from the alley, Eli grabbed his two handguns. "I didn't think so…"
To his surprise, Nightwing stepped out of the shadows into the light from the streetlamps. Batgirl followed behind Nightwing though Eli's main concern was his temporary ally. Holstering his weapons, Hornet cautiously walked towards Nightwing.
"Firefly and Moth are alive," Hornet stated. "Where is Kelley?"
Nightwing held a hand up. "He's tied up, ready to be sent to Blackgate. And before you go there and find him, there's something you should know." Hornet took in a deep breath, his chest rising with contempt. "There is someone else involved with Army Ant's death. Someone who had something to do with other deaths as well. A 'gamer' or something. Kelley confirmed this with me which means that you're looking for the wrong person."
"I'll find out myself," Hornet was stopped when Nightwing grabbed his wrist. "Let go."
"There are three guys dead due to a bullet wound from a rifle and Firefly most likely has a concussion," Nightwing voiced. "If this was anyone else, we'd take them right now. But I think I can trust you. Don't make me wrong about you."
Eli was pissed. Who was this guy to deny him of finally putting a bullet through the Hound's head? Not only that, but Eli had just wasted twenty minutes battling Firefly and Killer Moth, two inconveniences that should have been locked up had it not been for Nightwing and Batman letting them escape.
But… Eli then realized that he must have missed something for Nightwing to have this information. Interviews or police reports that the boy had either skipped through or skipped over completely. That, plus he still had to get back to his aunt's with a pretty bad scrape on his left elbow. He just did not have the energy to combat against Nightwing, Batgirl, and the GCPD to get Kelley.
Kelley would live tonight.
"Fine," grunted the Yellow Jacket.
"Good," Nightwing released Eli's wrist and dug into one the compartments of his utility belt. He pulled out a small device and handed it to Eli. "With Moth down, we can start destroying his caches one by one. I'm going back to Bludhaven tonight to do my end. You can reach me with that."
Eli looked at the small device. It looked like a toy walkie-talkie with its small antennae and dial to turn on and change channels.
"If you use this to find me," Hornet said as he pocketed the communicator. "I will kill your ass with one shot." Hornet then glanced at the downed Killer Moth. "But… I'll find the rest of his stashes in New Camford. Meantime, you should find out what Whale has in store."
"Will do," Nightwing answered as the hero in yellow pulled his hood up and raised his right arm up. "Hey, stay safe. With people knowing that you're going after random mobsters and criminals- not to mention the cops hating you as well- there'll be a lot of people after you."
"Yeah," Batgirl added. "If you need help, we're here."
Hornet gave a noticeable scoff before firing his grappling hook and reeling away. Richard looked to see Barbara now crossing her arms, glaring at the retreating figure with anger in her eyes.
"I take it that he hates me." Nightwing chuckled at Batgirl's comment while walking towards the downed Killer Moth.
"He's just like that. He'll come around when he gets to know you," the teen male paused. "Then again… It's not like I know everything about the guy."
Batgirl sighed. "At least we got Firefly and Killer Moth. I'm actually surprised that he could take them out by himself. You said that he hasn't been doing this for long."
"I learned a long time ago that Killer Moth has a glass jaw," said Nightwing as he zip-tied Killer Moth's wrists together. The sound of growing sirens caused former Boy Wonder to exhale. "Besides, it's his job to stop those that does wrong. That's his entire MO."
"Are you profiling him for some futuristic team of yours?" teased Barbara, knowing Richard's dream years ago of having a team of heroes too "young and inexperienced" for the Justice League.
Nightwing shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe. I won't find that out until I return to New Camford and we put an end to Tobias Whale's organization. And then we'll see how much of a team player he is."
"You guys can have the whole 'birds and bees' puns going." Batgirl mused.
"The Bird and the Bee? Kind of catchy." Nightwing joked. "Think a certain redhead bat would join us?"
A cop car came to a screeching halt yards in front of the pair.
"Let's deal with this first," Batgirl commented.
"Ditto."
Returning to his aunt's apartment had been the last thing Eli wanted to do. As soon as he returned to Jade's hotel room, he had called Mallory to find out that his cousin was not okay with his absence. He had explained that he needed time to cool down, which Mallory agreed, but he was not ready to come back just yet. Mallory had threatened to search for him which is when Eli ended the call abruptly.
Now, after slipping out of his heroic costume and back into his civilian clothes, Eli lied on the spare bed in Jade's room with his laptop perched next to him. He lied on his left side, his back to the bathroom just incase Jade wanted to continue her "harmless teasing".
"So," Jade departed from the bathroom in black basketball shorts and a white sports bra. "Impressed that I hit two guys with one shot?"
Eli eyed her over his laptop. "Impressed that you didn't hit me."
"Well," Jade practically skipped to her bed and hopped onto it. "Now that we have that done, tomorrow night we can actually have some real fun." Eli groaned. "Oh don't be like that. I'm sure you'll find time to squeeze in your little girlfriend."
"I'm sure." Eli said as he continued to search for police reports of his dad's death.
He was casually scrolling through articles until he heard Jade let out a groan that sounded very close to a sexual moan. Curious, he gazed to see the girl sprawled on her bed. Eli cursed his newfound need to scan everything, seeing how her stomach muscles were accented by her arching her body slightly off of the bed as she stretched.
Grunting, Eli snapped his gaze back to his screen. "You're doing that on purpose."
Unable to help it, Jade laughs at being caught. Again, Eli was pretty damn smart. Teasing him was still a rather pleasing way to wind down from a job well done. It was only hilarious to see how hard Eli tried to stay faithful to Barbara. It was chivalrous to say the least but too easy to pick on for Jade.
"Seriously," Jade told Eli with a smile on her face. "I need you to be focused tomorrow. These guys won't be easy, even for one of your plans… And you do have a plan, right?"
"Yes," said Eli. "And who said that we're going to find the Ghost Dragons?"
Jade was now confused. Eli had found information on who had Carolyn. He knew exactly where they were located too. So why not go to the Ghost Dragons to find Carolyn? It only made sense that they did, right?
Sensing her confusion, Eli looked up at Jade. "When I said that I knew when Carolyn got arrested, I wasn't talking about the people she was arrested with."
"Then who are we going after?"
Eli answered her by typing something onto his laptop, seconds before turning to reveal the screen to Jade.
"Officer Mo Anderson."
Jade actually licked her lip at the plan. It was dangerous and ingenious, two things that secretly riled the teen up in the wrong ways. Her eyes gazed up to see Eli's confident look and she smirked.
She chose right with this one.
Hours later, Steven Kelley sat in a holding cell at the GCPD. Killer Moth had already been transferred to Blackgate Penitentiary while Firefly was in another holding cell waiting for his ride to Arkham Asylum. His public defender had done a shitty job trying to "defend" him earlier and Commissioner Gordon had already released a public statement about how they were going to throw the book at the Hound.
There were four others in the cell with Kelley, two apparently drunk beyond measures and passed out, a tall thin man clutched onto the bars with desperate eyes, and finally a short man sat uncomfortably close to the urinal as if he was protecting it from the others. None of them were threats to the Hound. Hell, none even knew that he was the Hound.
Ironic considered the thin man was the son of one of the Hound's pursuits.
But to them, Steven Kelley was what he appeared to be; a balding middle aged white male with beady brown eyes and a bad comb-over. He was average built due to his years of always chasing after his next prey although he admits that he was out of his prime. His arms were covered in dark auburn hair, the same color of hair that once covered his head completely. He was not an intimidating figure but he surely appeared to have problems like anyone else born in Bludhaven and raised in the Gotham Narrows.
"Who are you?" the loud question broke Steven's concentration for the moment. He knew that voice. It was Firefly's. "Wait… Wait what are you… Help!"
The Hound was now a little rattled. Had the Yellow Jacket actually come for them? Could he be worse than the rumors? The chances were small but… But there was a possibility right?
Footsteps approached the cell before Steven was able to see three figures; two cops and one being a man who he met earlier.
"So," The blond-haired man said with a posh voice. "You inevitably are apprehended by Nightwing and Batgirl, hmm? I can't have my lower level bosses being defeated that easily."
"N-No, it wasn't like that," Steven stammered as one of the officers opened the cell, the thin man previously at the bars making a retreat to the far back wall. "It was Killer Moth and Firefly! They set me up!"
The man sighed. "You know that I don't share my toys, Kelley. You are supposed to eliminate the heroes before they reach level two. And do you know what just happened? The Yellow Jacket has reached level two."
"I can fix it. I can kill him! Just give me a chance and-"
"Oh, you will undoubtedly get your opportunity. But if he reaches the next boss," the blond spoke. "Then it is game over."
Steven took in a deep breath. He did not know the blond man's name. He did not know where the man even came from. But he did know that this blond young man was solely responsible for most of the vigilante deaths in New Camford alone. The man orchestrated them and thought of it as some game being played by the heroes to save their doomed city. No one had surpassed level two to this date.
And for the Hound's sake, no one ever would.
Author's Notes: So here is the second part to Insecticide. For those wondering, yes the man in the end will eventually become akin to Eli's Lex Luthor in this story. Who is he and what he truly wants will be explained later. Next chapter will be Eli's last day in Gotham which will unveil Bronze Tiger's purpose in New Camford. As always, if you have any questions, thoughts, or comments leave a PM or review and I'll respond as soon as possible. Au revoir.