Gotham Park July 14th 2010 7:00 AM EDT

I had skipped school again today. Not that anyone was aware, I'd hacked into their servers and changed my attendance records along with switching a few missed assignments to A's. It wasn't like I needed the lessons, I'd already memorized the books anyway. I glanced around the park at the grass and trees and couldn't help but remember my picnic here with Annabel. My phone rang, I reached down and pulled it out glancing at the caller ID before sending it to voicemail. I'd been dodging Zee's messages and screening her calls the last few days. I wasn't even sure why. I just didn't feel like talking.

We'd headed home from Blood's place after our meeting and Jim had gone out on his own to try to track down alternate sources of Ladon's venom while he waited to hear back from Circe. Apparently the goddess (because she was a literal fucking diety) was somewhat elusive most of the time, so he'd put word out to his sources that he wanted to get in touch. In the meantime he was working with Kitrina on some of the same things he'd trained us in, and Reggie and Artemis were both in school today.

I came to this park to think, it had been only ten days since my picnic here with Annabel but it felt like an eternity. I was wearing a hoodie and had used my ninja skills to evade any detection leaving the tower so no one would be able to find me, but I'd mainly come here to decide what my next move should be. I'd decided to pick my next power. I was up to fifty five points now, which should be enough to get something decent, but I was having trouble deciding what my next ability should be.

I'd considered something flexible first, I had several ritual magic emails. Most of them were specialized things like defense or sex magic, but because they were so specific they had a lower cost. The more comprehensive magic mastery emails had much higher point values so I'd have to put them on hold until after I got something decent to tide me over through all this nonsense. Magic seemed like a solid option because it had so many variations, and with my perfect memory I should be able to learn to make some amazing rituals.

The second option was something a bit more direct. Reid Richter's Reflex Elixir, another snake oil super power drug from the people who promoted Dr. Destro's Dehumanization Draft. The stuff promised to triple my reaction time. Combined with aura sight and my sensory abilities it was a massive game changer. I'd looked into Flash style super speed but the cost was in the quadruple digits, up there with a serum to make people Kryptonian in terms of raw cost. Still with my current skill set enhanced reaction time would be incredibly useful in protecting myself and my friends and mentor.

The third and final option was something a bit more...esoteric. A set of antique tarot cards from a supernatural wholesale site that I'd signed up for that sent emails about their newest deals. It was basically the magic equivalent of those sites where people buy cheap knives that have fancy designs but are basically pot metal. The cards claimed to have belonged to Aleister Crowley himself and had absorbed some of his mysterious abilities making them able to predict a completely accurate future every month on the full moon.

There were plenty of other emails of course, but those were the ones that seemed most effective based on my current points. Despite the utility of actual prophecy it was eleven days until the full moon, and I could always use that one closer to when it would be useful. Rituals were damn useful but I was leaning toward the reflex elixir out of all the possibilities because it built on the skills I already had. I didn't want to spread myself too thin when I could be compounding my advantages.

My martial arts were mostly for assassination with a bit of pressure point stuff, but with enhanced reflexes even my pressure strikes would be a force to be reckoned with. At the very least with my perfect balance and ninja speed I would be able to maneuver around blows from even the Talon's. Mix in my ability to walk on walls and maneuver myself with water walking I would be a force to be reckoned with in combat. Especially when considering my perfect aim with my shuriken.

I pulled out my phone and opened up my email app. The new Lexphone Ten was one of my better purchases, Lexcorp had released a new Seven G mobile network only a few months ago (rumor said it was based on alien tech) and it was the fastest internet connection you could find on a mobile device. I'd heard the WayneNet mobile carrier was more consistent in terms of connection but I had bought this thing for the regular email access so that didn't mean too much to me. In point of fact worse bars might be a benefit to me given what had been going on in my life.

Speaking of benefiting from worse bars, my phone rang as soon as I pulled up the email I wanted. Covering the screen with a cute picture of Zee winking she'd texted me a few weeks ago. I really shouldn't keep putting this off. I hit the answer button "Yeah." My voice sounded hollow and morose even to me, and I winced at the somber tone. I knew she would pick up on it, Zee was very sensitive to other people's moods. It was without a doubt her most endearing and simultaneously annoying character trait.

Her response was a bit delayed. "Random?" Her voice sounded...tentative, soft, and maybe a little hurt. I felt my stomach twist a bit. Great, I was hurting another friend. Fantastic. "I'm sorry I keep calling but I just...I had a bad feeling when I couldn't get in touch with you. Are you ok? I've been really worried. I thought maybe you decided it was too dangerous for us to talk or something. I'm glad to hear from you." She sounded so vulnerable when she said that it kind of broke my heart.

It was a good excuse to cut things off, I should have taken it. She didn't need to get dragged into the Court's bullshit. But Zee was probably one of the only people who I didn't need to worry about. The Court were bastards but they weren't stupid. No way in hell would they willingly pick a fight with the Justice League. The Court were badasses locally, but on worldwide scale they were nothing special. Only their secrecy and their close ties to local politics kept them safe at the moment, but if they offed the beloved daughter of the League's magic user all bet's would be off.

I cleared my throat, trying to get my voice back to normal. "Yeah, sorry Zee. I lost someone close to me so I haven't really been talking to anyone. I'd never just bail on you for no reason like that. Sorry to worry you. How have things been on your end? You guys just got back from your show in Santa Fe right? I saw video of it online." Zatanna traveled pretty often with her old man for magic shows so she was home schooled, but their act was pretty famous so I tried to keep up with the videos when people posted them.

Unfortunately my distraction technique failed, she skipped right over the show and focused on the one thing I really wished she wouldn't "Jesus Rand, that's terrible I'm so sorry. And I've been bugging you for days and being a needy bitch when you were dealing with a loss. I don't even know what to say, is there anything I can do?" I could almost recite a mental check list by this point. Those were the questions everyone asked. It was nice to know people cared but I think they were all aware deep down that there wasn't anything you could do fix something like that.

I just smiled softly "No. I'm getting by, for the moment I'd really love to not think about it. So like I said, I saw your show in Sante Fe. I was pretty impressed, how did you do the trick with the doors? If I didn't know better I'd say you used real magic, but I'm well aware of your stance on sorcery in your stage act." I purposefully put her onto talking about magic, hoping to just listen to her lecture for a while. Her voice was pretty and it was nice to get wrapped in her energy when she got excited.

Zee was a huge magic nerd, both stage and real, and would go on for hours about either or both. Once she got started it was tough to get her to shut up about it. She paused for a bit before she started talking uncertainly "Uhm. Sure, I can do that. That one with the door is called The Transported Man. Basically it involves a pair of trap doors and a spring board under the stage. The hardest part to get down is the timing. You have to make sure to bounce the ball just right. Too hard and you overshoot the door, too soft and it doesn't get there." As she spoke she seemed to gain some confidence and got more into the discussion.

She talked like that for a few hours. Going on about her new ideas for tricks and discussing magical theory with me. Zee loved to bounce ideas off me for new ward combinations since I'd done such thorough reading on that subject. We were the same age and with my perfect memory and speed reading we were at about the same level of expertise in that one discipline. It felt good, like I was draining a wound I didn't realize I had. She was such a sunny and engaging person, talking to her was just...joyful. She was easily my most optimistic friend, and her curiosity about the most inconsequential things was refreshing.

The more she talked the more I thought about what might have happened if I never picked up. Thought about losing her like I lost Annabel. Just the idea of it was heartbreaking to me. Zee was special to me. I thought about Annabel and how she'd abused my trust and how much damage she did to me and I couldn't ever see Zee doing something like that, but then I hadn't seen it in Annabel either. Finally I came to a decision. "Hey Zee?" I cut her off mid sentence and she paused to adjust before responding.

She sounded a bit soft when she responded, and I realized she hadn't gotten as lost in the magic talk as I'd thought, she was just trying to help me take my mind off things. "Yeah Rand?" I guess my voice must have been severe, because she sounded a bit nervous about what I was going to say. Which was fair because I was sweating bullets over it, so at least we were both on the same page here. I took a deep breath to try to steady myself before I spoke, trying to frame my question in the most casual way possible.

Despite all the effort my voice shook a bit "Do you...want to hang out tomorrow? I'll be wearing my mask to start, if that's cool. But I could use some time with a friend. I'd love to go to a movie or a walk in the park or anything that sounds good to you." I swallowed thickly after I got all that out, having basically spat it all in a single breath. I was worried the mask thing would offend her, but while I really needed some non thief company after Annabel's betrayal I couldn't trust someone with my face so soon.

I would do extensive checks with my aura vision when we were together, ask a bunch of probing questions and see how she reacted emotionally and then once I had a solid basis for trusting her I would reveal my face. Worst case scenario I could just find some kind of face changing email with my powers. Her voice sounded as shaky as mine when she answered, sounding a bit shy. "I'd...I'd really like that. Daddy will be out on League business tomorrow anyway so I was just going to be home alone. That sounds like a nice way to spend the day." And without saying another word she hung up. Despite everything that had happened recently I had to say, it felt damn good to smile.

The Clock Tower July 15th 8:00 AM EDT

I adjusted my jacket again and looked in the mirror. I'd chosen one of my world class tailored suits. Then changed into a shirt and jeans. Then changed back into the suit because my mask looked fucking stupid with knock around clothes. Then I switched to standing in front of my mirror trying to iron out all the flaws in my outfit before I had to go meet Zee and worried that I might be dressing too fancy for whatever we were going to do. Then I spent about fifteen minutes panicking because I had no clue what we should do today.

Finally I'd settled all my worries and I was ready to go. I'd decided we would do breakfast and even scoured some forums to find the best place. I turned away from the mirror and pulled my phone from my pocket, confirming the email I'd found yesterday for Reid Richter's Reflex Elixir. There was a knock at the door to my room and when I opened it I wasn't at all surprised to find a small wooden box. I picked the thing up and carried it inside before anyone came out and saw it. I closed my eyes and saw a burning number ten in my vision.

I was still figuring out the reasons behind different costs but there seemed to be multiple factors. Not just strength but widespread impact, versatility, and even side effects or lack thereof. The reflex elixir was fifty five points presumably because while it was small scale in effect, it didn't require active power use to function. From scanning through my emails passive effects seemed to be a bit pricier, which made perfect sense. I moved my mask aside and downed the vial, which tasted like a weird mix of blueberry and apple, before waiting.

I felt a shudder wrack my whole body, and in the wake of the movement I felt...changed. My motions seemed incredibly smooth and precise and it took me a few minutes messing around to figure out why. The lag time between my thoughts and actions had shortened massively. In order to improve my reflexes the elixir had somehow sped up the impulses that traveled from my brain to my muscles. Thinking and doing weren't one and the same but they were so close it was nearly impossible to notice.

I still had some time before I had to leave so I did some searching on the computer, marveling at how fast I could type now, and learned some interesting things. Apparently the fastest possible reaction time for a person was point one five seconds, but most people were around point two seconds. With my perfectly sculpted body and ninja training I was running at peak reflexes, but after drinking the elixir the gap between my thoughts and motion was about point zero five seconds. And that was just conscious action, unconscious reflexes were more than twice as fast.

Combined with my enhanced muscles I could move fast enough to keep up with people with even minor levels of super strength or speed. I'd noticed the Talon's seemed to move a bit faster and more gracefully than almost any normal human I'd seen aside from the woman at Wayne Manor, but I was pretty sure I could dodge most of their blows now, just like I'd thought. I had the intense urge to throw some of my shuriken but I was in my own house and I'd have to use my tracelessness skill to fix the damage which would burn points.

I couldn't wait to do some sparring with Artemis next time I was home. Our lessons had gotten substantially more productive after I got my perfect memory, and after a month I was actually getting close to keeping up. With this new ability I would be able to finally beat her, I was sure of it. I left the clock tower silently out the back, trusting Jim's wards to keep me from being spotted but using my non power sapping ninja skills to avoid detection just in case. Paranoia was a good habit to get into in my line of work.

The one good thing about living in Gotham was that walking around in a suit and carved hematite theater mask was a bit odd but not a matter for concern. People in Gotham were used to weird and crazy guys dressed in odd costumes. As long as you weren't in the process of actively robbing them they genuinely gave no fucks. There were exceptions of course, but I wasn't the Joker or Killer Croc so I was mostly ignored. Just to be safe I walked for a good twenty minutes before I slipped out my phone and dialed Zee's number. "Hey, I'm on the corner of Cameron and Schnapp, near the Upper West side. Where are you, I can come meet you?"

The voice on the other end responded "tropeleT" Before I heard a soft giggle behind me. "What a coincidence, I'm right by there." I rolled my eyes and turned around to find Zee right behind me wearing a purple spaghetti strap top and white capris. When she saw me she whistled. "Ok I admit I was skeptical about the mask in public, but you wear the hell out of that suit. You look even more jacked than the last time I saw you, and the fit is perfect." She winked and then glanced down at herself "Though I suddenly feel underdressed. Didn't you say you wanted to see a movie?"

I cursed internally because I knew it would be too formal but I shook it off and just shrugged. "I actually figured we could do breakfast first, but don't worry I just wore this because it works with the mask. It looks really stupid with jeans and a T-shirt." That got another giggle. "Anyway I was looking at the perfect place to eat if you're up for a short walk." I offered her my arm formally and she gave a silly curtsy with an invisible dress and then looped her elbow in mine. "So what time do I have you til' just so I know what I should be planning for the day."

Zatanna put on an exaggerated contemplative expression. "I'm not sure I should say. What if you're boring? Then I can just conveniently say my time is up and bow out gracefully. If I commit to a time then I'm stuck with you until I actually have to leave." Her voice was playful and i didn't take any offense. She pretended to deliberate for a minute before huffing out a put upon sigh "Fine. Daddy will be home at eight tonight so I'm free all day. But you better not make me regret admitting it. I'll have you know I'm very high maintenance, so you're gonna have to work pretty hard to keep me entertained."

We strolled lightly across a crosswalk and I slapped the hand of a man in a patchy overcoat as he tried to pick my pocket, my ninja perception and my new reflexes making it an almost instinctive thing. He didn't trouble us and I didn't say anything, both of us just continuing on our way. "I can buy that. You strike me as a bit of a princess. Pretty little rich girl and all that." She gasped dramatically and put a hand to her chest in offense and I just laughed it off " Oh come on, it's not an insult. I think the whole upper class thing cute. It's like I'm hanging out with actual nobility."

She smacked me on the shoulder with an eye roll "Says the apprentice master thief wearing a suit that probably cost more than most of the cars we're passing." She put on a fake air of nobility "But noble ladies such as myself have no need to argue with the common riffraff. Now peasant, direct me to the feast you've prepared in my honor. Don't you know delicate creatures like me are easily famished. If I don't eat soon I might get the vapors." She fanned herself dramatically like a southern belle.

I found myself laughing again for the fifth time or something and I had to admit, it felt good. I'd been so down since Annabel died, but it was impossible not to be happy around Zee. She was like walking sunshine on prozac, just so larger than life and fun. I'd needed this. She reached over and poked me in the ribs when I didn't speak. "Hey, earth to Random, you in there? I was kidding about the peasant stuff, I didn't mean to offend you or anything." She chewed her bottom lip in worry and her brow furrowed in genuine concern. My aura sight actually backed up that read, she was genuinely worried she'd hurt my feelings.

I waved it off as we arrived at the small diner on the river. "I'm fine, sorry. I just kind of spaced out, I've been doing that a lot lately." Her aura pulsed with sadness and she quieted down as we were seated at one of the red vinyl booths. The waitress came over and we both ordered. I was going to have to eat through the mouth hole where my mask's comedy grin was, and I just prayed my perfect balance and reflexes would somehow prevent me from looking like a massive idiot shoving french toast through a hole in a stone mask. Zee sat uncomfortably for a minute "You sure you don't want to talk about it?"

My chuckle at that was less bitter than any of the times I'd laughed at that question in the last few days, which I took as progress. "Yeah, I'm more than sure. It's sweet of you to ask, but I just want to get my mind off it. Don't worry I'm not deflecting or repressing or any of those therapy words that mean ignoring my issues, I've been talking to some friends about it and honestly I'm just sick of being sad. I want today to be a happy day. So what's on the agenda princess? We still doing the movie or am I buying you a champion racehorse or something? Who knows what you rich girls do to get your kicks."

Despite the obvious subject change she just went with it, melting into another of those silvery laughs "Well I've never actually been horseback riding, though I guess I'm wearing the pants for it. I think those jockey pants have padding in the butt though." I resisted the urge to point out the ample padding her butt was naturally equipped with and was pretty proud of myself for my self control. "Regardless I don't think I could find a place to stash a thoroughbred without daddy finding out and he won't even let me get a cat. Something about conforming to gender specific magical stereotypes."

The food came and we spent the next half hour or so eating and laughing. Zee was hilarious and passionate and just a genuinely fun person, and my sides actual hurt from laughing so hard by the time breakfast was over. I paid for everything with cash, since using my card would somewhat defeat the purpose of coming in my secret identity, and then we headed out for a walk. We decided to do a later movie and go down to carousel in the park nearby. We talked as we walked, mostly her, I think she could tell I needed to fill the silence. She talked about her dad and his rules and how much it hurt to see other people out with friends when she barely knew anyone, and how I was the only friend she'd ever really had.

She talked about wanting to go to school and go to the prom and go to the mall with girlfriends but not being able to do any of it because she had to look over her shoulder all the time. We got to the carousel and just sat on the horses and she poured her heart out to me until she was tearing up a little bit. And as I listened to her talk and got to know her even better than I already did, I decided she was the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen, and I couldn't wait to spend the rest of the day with her. And the nice thing was, I barely even felt guilty about it. Or that was what I tried to tell myself.

Gotham City July 15th 2010 8:00 PM EDT

I felt pretty amazing. I'd spent the whole day with Zee, having fun and being stupid. We went to the movies, to an amusement park, to eat lunch, we went to Haly's Circus, which was in town, and just generally had fun and made fools of ourselves. I hadn't smiled this much...well ever. Even with Annabel I didn't have as much fun. I was practically whistling as I walked back to the clock tower,and even though I kind of felt guilty I clamped down on that. Missing Annabel was fine, but I was allowed to have fun with other girls, especially since she tried to brainwash and or murder me.

I was enjoying the feeling of lightness in my steps and just general contentment when I picked up on something a bit strange. I wasn't sure how I noticed it, maybe a reflection in a car window, maybe a pigeon who got scared at the wrong time, but I was perfectly aware that someone was following me. It wasn't Nathaniel, I could feel that, their style of movement was different. I tried staking out some of the places he would have used to stalk me out of the corner of my eye and got nothing.

I put my hands in my pockets casually, palming a few of my shuriken as I walked and really wishing I could figure out a way to conceal my tanto under regular clothes. I should have brought the damn thing anyway but I didn't want to scare Zee on our first day hanging out. I started taking wrong turns, not vanishing from sight, not yet, but just leading the stalker down a few well lit streets where it would be easier to catch sight of them. I curved further and further away from clock tower, making sure I wasn't going in the opposite direction in case they decided to double back.

The biggest aspect of stealth, contrary to what most people think, is not control of your body, it's control over your environment. Complete situational awareness is the key to master level sneaking. You can't evade detection if you're stepping on twigs or bumping into shit in the dark, you cant walk silently over creaky stairs if you don't know which stairs creak. Control over one's environment was a must for any ninja, and if you can control your environment to make yourself invisible, you can control it to make your enemy appear.

It took less than fifteen minutes for me to lead the stalker through a series of twists and turns that utterly destroyed the rhythm of their stealth and exposed them to me in an obvious way. As I had suspected, it was a Talon, though this one was smaller and more compact. They were also a bit less skilled at stealth, though something about the carriage of the body made me fairly sure they weren't a pushover in combat. Sizing up opponents martial skills was a key factor in assassination so I was trusting my read on that.

Once I deconstructed their path and had a solid grasp on their movement I led them down a side street when I knew I could find a few buildings whose heights were varied enough to break their flow of movement, and as soon as I had them in a vulnerable position, I struck. The new reflexes were perfect for surprise attacks and I had my shuriken out and flying so fast a normal human being wouldn't have been able register it before the metal star buried itself in their throat. Unfortunately Talon's aren't normal and are only nominally human beings and combined with the long travel distance the bastard was able to draw and deflect it.

I had to give it to the Court. They trained their assassins pretty well. You have to be a pro not to freeze up when someone goes from casually walking to attacking you too fast for most sentient creatures to track, but the new Talon deflected the star without missing a beat. Of course it probably helped that the bastard had fucking actual metal talons on his fists he could use to intercept. I wasn't sure what metal that was but my shuriken could bite through steel so it definitely wasn't that.

The Talon vanished behind the roof, but I wasn't stupid enough to think he would let me go now that he had me in his sights. I calmed my breathing and relaxed all my muscles as best as I could. One of the benefits of my reflexes was the fact that the force muscles generated came from contraction. The more relaxed a muscle was the more force it could exert when it suddenly clenched up, not to mention the fact that lax muscles absorbed impacts much better. For most people though, this wasn't as relevant as it was for me, since they needed their muscles in a state or readiness to be able to react at top speed.

Because of my nearly instantaneous thought to movement transition I could take advantage of this handy little trick, which had both offensive and defensive benefits. It was so effective defensively in fact, that the relaxation caused by alcohol is thought to be the main reason drunk drivers survive car crashes. The fact that I could do this was of course, the only thing that saved my life. I felt a slight disruption in my environment and dove sideways faster than should have been humanly possible.

About fifteen blades passed right through where my body had just been, each one slicing through the air in a place that would have been a lethal blow if it had landed on my suit clad form. The Talon stepped out from behind a car, and I suddenly realized why he had been so sub par at following me. This guy wasn't a stalker, he was a stone cold killer. If Uncle Nate was a jack of all trades this guy was pure combat with just a little stealth. That wasn't really great for me. I glared at the other man "I didn't kill her you know. It was Nathaniel."

I had pretty much assumed my secret identity was compromised since I'd created it to be used during a heist I'd pulled for the Court, but it was disappointing to know for sure. I expected him to be all doom and gloom like Nathaniel but he just chuckled, the sound distorted through his mask. "Oh we know. Nathaniel is too unstable to stage a proper crime scene. But you were there, and you're blood of his blood. We can't have people getting the idea that they can just kill of the children of members of the Court."

He started walking towards me casually, and I decided to let him. My reflexes would show the most up close, and I could use my pressure point strikes to trip him up without running into too much of an issue. Still I had to comment, even despite being in fight or flight mode. "Wait, seriously? You assholes are going to off me just because you need a fall guy to make yourselves feel better?" I was actually kind of offended to be hunted down for assassination just because I'd violated some rich guy's pride.

He stopped about three feet from me and shrugged. "Not entirely. We just don't see the need to play nice with Falcone anymore. Gotham doesn't need so many masters, it's time the Court took it's rightful place. Your death serves many purposes, but mostly it's a shot across the bow. We want Falcone nice and enraged when he starts everything. Make sure to really poke the bee hive so we don't have any pesky leftover insects." And with that, he attacked.

Now I'd like to say that I could see him moving in slow motion, or that he looked like he was underwater, but the fact was that motherfucker was pretty quick. Not as quick as me, but way quicker than he should have been. I dodged around all his attacks...not easily, but without too much difficulty and slammed my fingers into his pressure points and joints and every nerve cluster I knew. My masterful use of disabling art got me absolutely zero reaction from the masked bastard so i decided to change the game up.

Shuriken aren't great for close quarters, but luckily this guy had a fuck ton of blades on him and I was fast enough to get one of them out of it's sheath. As soon as I had a weapon I got in close and started slamming it into every vital area I could find. My assassin training didn't get much use because I wasn't a murdering psycho, but this guy was way too tough to let go so I went full ninja death machine on him. I stabbed him in the heart, both lungs, the kidney, the throat, and I tried for an eye but he got one of those stupid gauntlet blades in the way.

All of this accomplished...nothing. He backed off a few feet and touched one the wounds, pulling back fingers stained with...what looked like fucking red mercury. Not the myhical substance supposedly produced by alchemists and scientists but like mercury colored red. Like someone had mixed it into blood. That chuckle came out again, a bit gurgling this time. "Wow. That was quite brutal, boy. Seriously I am not easy to impress but if I was normal person I'd have been dead eleven times over just then. I can see why the girl valued you so much. Guess that O'Malley blood really does tell doesn't it. I suppose I'll bring your corpse back to be made into a Talon after all. You can replace your uncle."

I blinked. "Wait. THATS how you make Talons? You guys are fucking dead? How is that even fair?" I glared at his wounds "Did you already heal from those attacks? Jesus that's so broken. You guys are fucking monsters." I was beginning to panic slightly. I didn't have anything for killing metal blooded undead ninjas. I hadn't even known that was a thing. You think someone would mention the whole zombie murder machine thing when they talked about the Court, but I guessed with the masks it was hard to tell. This was really not great. I had to get the fuck out of here.

The talkative Talon laughed again "Aww, you'll hurt my feelings boy. Now just stand still and I can make this quick, trust me, the process is so much easier if you had a fast death." I of course, did not do that. I turned and ran right up the fucking wall of the closest building. I was faster than this asshole and I moved before he could register and was a few feet away before he could start after me. I was halfway up the building within thirty seconds, smirking at the Talon's cursing as I made my escape.

Of course I wasn't an idiot so I didn't wait to be found again, I shifted to shadow form and started making my way back to the clock tower at my best speed. This was going to burn most of my points from today and leave me back around ten but I needed to talk to Jim. If he didn't know about this he needed to and if he did I was going to kick his ass. As I made my way away from the site of my confrontation, stopping for a moment to use my tracelessness power to retrieve my shuriken I thought back to what the Talon had said.

They were counting on the Falcone's to go all out, probably planning to use their undead army and their new magic gear to cleanse them from Gotham once and for all. Thing's were going to get fucking bloody soon if we didn't take care of these assholes. We desperately needed to hear back from Circe and get that venom, I had a feeling we would need Madame Xanadu before this was over. The worst part was we still didn't know what Morgana actually wanted, I just hoped by the time we found out it wasn't too late.

The Clock Tower July 16th 2010 8:00 PM EDT

I had been confined to the tower since the incident with the crazy Talon. Jim forbade me from leaving and honestly I was mostly with him, until I though about how much fun I'd had with Zee yesterday and started feeling a bit of cabin fever. Luckily Jim had finally got in touch with Circe and arranged for her to meet us here tonight so hopefully this nonsense would be over soon. In the meantime I had been texting Zee more than usual today.

Artemis noticed my small smile and matched it with a smirk of her own "Well someone seems chipper today. Good to see you so upbeat, might I ask what, or possibly who has you in such a chipper mood?" I noted she went out of her way to avoid mentioning Annabel which I appreciated. I'd actually debated using my power to get some kind of therapy video to get you over grief but something about that seemed wrong. Still having something else to focus on besides my possible impending death was a big help.

I couldn't help but flush a bit at my best friend's gentle teasing. "I uh...was just talking to a friend. I met her a month or so ago and we've been texting ever since." That was technically correct (the best kind of correct) but didn't give away who Zatanna was. Not that I worried about Artemis but I wasn't sure Jim would approve and letting the truth about our friendship get out with so much going on seemed like a bad call anyway. "So how is Wally? He must be bummed about you being in lockdown."

Her expression fell and she groaned "Don't remind me. We were supposed to go to the pool this weekend. He lives in Central City but he has an uncle in town so he spends weekends down here all the time. His school is year round like Gotham Academy, but they're on two week break right now. I got a new bikini for our day out an everything and now I'm stuck in this drafty old tower with you and Reggie instead of ogling my track star boyfriend wet and shirtless." She was actively pouting now and it was hard not to laugh, but I managed.

A loud throat clearing came from across the table where Kit was balancing on two chair legs reading. "Hey, what am I, chopped liver? But seriously my condolences. Got any pictures of your guy? He sounds cute." A cane swung down and smacked the table from out of nowhere and she squeaked and fell over smacking into the ground with a groan. She sat up, glaring at the now visible Jim "Ow! Bitch! Was that necessary? I've been studying for like seven hours and it's a Friday night. If I can't go out at least give me a ten minute break to look at cute boys with the only other girl here." She rubbed her head as she stood up, righting her chair.

Jim just huffed "Oh fine. Circe will be here in a few minutes in any case so I doubt any more studying will get done in any case. The woman is a hopeless show off and always needs to be the center of attention." He subtly adjusted his tie and I had to hide a smirk at his obvious attempts to clean himself up"In any case you should all prepare yourselves for a whole lot of dramatic nonsense." Despite his words, his tone was fond, and he seemed excited to see her. Jim seemed to be quite the ladies man, which made me a bit worried about how much attention he paid my mom.

Reggie came in with a bag of food and dropped it on the table. "Dinner. Don't ask me what's in it I have no clue other than knowing it's Mexican food. I was able to use some binoculars to extend my range a bit and translocate that bag of food off the counter of a taco stand when someone turned around. It looked pretty full so I thought it would be enough. I swapped it for Artemis's hair dryer." As soon as he said that I felt a shift in the world around me and then I was sitting where he'd just sat down, and Artemis was lunging at me.

Luckily for me, my reflexes made the likelihood of her catching me even after teleportation incredibly slim, and I shifted into shadow form as she sailed over my head. Reggie started laughing as I reappeared back in the chair glaring at him. He just shrugged "What? She said not to use my powers on her, she didn't mention her stuff. Besides I was hungry, and I owed her one for that swirly, so you, know, two birds." His grin was pretty smug for someone who had just opened Pandora's Box.

However, it wasn't my business if Reggie was stupid enough to think this would end so easily. Artemis was going to make him suffer, but she wouldn't actually hurt him. Not badly at least. I wasn't worried in any case. With my reflexes I should be able to avoid getting caught by any of their pranks by accident. I was honestly kind of looking forward to this whole thing, it would be a nice break in the monotony.

Jim stood abruptly, drawing all of our attention with the quick movement. "Ready yourselves, she's here. My wards were just breached, and not many can do that so casually. Before she arrives, a few rules. Be respectful, no need to fawn but politeness is mandatory. Be direct, she hates beating around the bush. And most important of all do not allow her to get a hold of any pieces of your hair or clothing. Even moreso than most magic users Circe is dangerous when she has an anchor to affect you with, her ability with curses is unmatched."

A low, bass chuckle rumbled through the room, almost shaking the floorboards with its sensual purr "You always did say the sweetest things James dear." With literally no warning a column of fucking purple flame erupted from in front of us, bathing us all in a rush of heat and light and the smell of...lavender? Then the leg stepped through. I say the leg because it was a slow movement, she started with her leg and took a long, rolling step into the room. I couldn't help but admit Jim had been dead on with his drama comment.

He'd also undersold how gorgeous she was. I mean sure she was a goddess, it was to be expected, but the level of hot I'd seen in my life did not prepare me for this woman at all. It wasn't exactly one thing. I mean sure, her tits were huge and very perky, her hips were curved and her stomach was flat and slightly muscled, and from my view of her from the side I could see she was rocking an ass that would make most men weep. Her face was heart stoppingly beautiful and her eyes burned with purple light set off by the cascade of violet curls tumbling down around her shoulders.

All these things were amazing in their own right, but it didn't make her what she was. The whole was so much more than the sum of her parts, she was just...bigger than her body. There was this oppressive sense of more when I looked at her. Like I could keep looking and finding new amazing things to adore about her and never run out. It was a jarring experience, though not an entirely unpleasant one, and judging from the reactions of everyone else possibly not a natural one.

Jim tipped his hat in a circle in a way we always somehow knew meant he was rolling his eyes. "Really Circe, must you always be such a show off? You're ravishing as always love, you don't need to crush the poor little ones with your godly presence." He rapped his cane once on the floor. The crack of the cane making contact echoed weirdly in the room, bouncing off the walls like it was coming from a long way off, and a chill rolled through our bodies, chasing away the heat of Circe's beauty.

She flipped her hair, still gorgeous but no longer suffocatingly so, and giggled. "Oh, you're no fun. Fine, I suppose I can play nice with your kiddies. Now I heard you've been putting the word out hard on the streets, what could the great Gentleman Ghost need little old me for? Unless this is a more...personal call, but then I suspect you wouldn't have brought the rugrats." She bit her lip as she said that last part, making it clear she wouldn't have minded if that had been his intention.

Jim shook his head "Sadly not, love. I do wish this was under better circumstances, and perhaps we might carve out some time in the near future, but for the moment I was hoping to get in touch with you. I need something from you. A vial of venom from Ladon, the dragon who guards the garden of the hesperides. I'm willing to pay a fair price, but the need is urgent, would you be able to supply me with the goods?" He kept his voice carefully professional, clearly trying to give the impression this was all about business.

Circe looked halfway torn between amusement and disdain. "Please. As if every fool in the magical world hasn't heard about what happened to your precious Nimue. I'm not a fool James. I know what you want the venom for. But fear not, I won't make things too difficult for you. It just so happens someone in this room has something I want as well. If you can get it for me I'll give you the venom. No muss, no fuss." She gave us all a cheerful smile that somehow did not make me feel any better about the situation.

Jim grunted in surprise but seemed pleased. "I must admit I expected more resistance, I know the two of you aren't on the best of terms. Still I do appreciate the help, if your task is something we can accomplish I'm sure a bit of quid pro quo won't be a problem at all. So, what is it you want me to get you?" He put on a charming voice but I could hear in his tone he was as worried about this unexpected development as I was. This didn't really match up with what we had been told to expect and that was almost never a good thing when dealing with supervillains.

Circe smiled, the expression slow and vulpine as she tutted, shaking her finger at Jim. "Oh no James, I don't need anything from you. I want something from him." She pointed at me, and giggled at my surprised look. "Oh you should see your faces. But yes, you Morgan O'Malley. You see I need to find something, a book of mine that contains some of my most valuable spells. It's in the city and you can get it. Well yourself or your cousin, but I suspect you'll have a better chance."

I raised an eyebrow "Ok, what book do you want that I can get but Jim can't? I can't imagine there's anywhere around here I would be able to break into if he's locked out." I wasn't being modest either, powers or no, Jim was to thievery what Mozart was to music. He was the fucking Dalai Lama of taking other people's shit from them, if he couldn't steal it it couldn't be stolen.

Circe giggled and grinned at me even more fiercely. "Oh you don't need to steal anything. Se my book went to auction a few years ago and was bought up by a man named Luigi Maroni." I heard a gasp from behind me and Circe laughed as someone figured something out. "Oh yes, my book was last seen in the possession of the man who killed the founder of the Maroni crime family, the most terrifying and prolific killer in Gotham's history. The Holiday Killer knows where my grimoire is. So what do you say Morgan? Up for a little visit with a fellow black sheep of the Falcone family? I have a feeling he'd love to talk to you."

Arkham Asylum July 17th 2010 11:00 AM EDT

In the papers and on TV they make Arkham out to be this terrible creepy place where all hope goes to die. They paint pictures of madness and despair and the breaking of the human spirit and talk about the place like the devil spends his summers there. I always thought those stories were exaggerations and hyperbole, it was just an asylum after all. It couldn't possible be as miserable as everyone made it out to be. As I stepped out of the cab and took in the drab grey building on the hilltop I reflected that I had been right. It wasn't as bad as people said. It was worse.

There was an almost toxic miasma of evil and misery roiling off the place, and I didn't even have my aura sight active. I could just tell in the same way that I can tell it's going to rain before it does that this was a place where terrible things took place, and would continue to take place until someone burned it down and salted the ashes. This impression further reinforced my absolute lack of any desire to be in the same zip code as this dumpster fire of a building, but unfortunately I didn't have much choice.

I was responsible for Madame Xanadu's current condition, and if I could fix her by talking to my Uncle then I would do it. I'd been curious why Circe hadn't asked Kitrina, but Kitrina herself had answered that one. Uncle Alberto hated the Family and everyone associated with it. He saw them as his tormenters, his persecutors, and though he hadn't actually murdered any Falcones even his own daughter wasn't spared his disdain. I on the other hand was a black sheep who turned down the family name, not only was I like him, an outcast, but I had chosen to be that way. He would be intrigued.

I didn't ask how he would know anything about me from inside an asylum, everyone seemed sure he would and I was pretty sure I didn't want to know any more. The giant intimidating black iron gate in front of the asylum was of course as the top of the hill, so after the cabbie dropped me off I had to climb up the hill on foot to get to it. When I arrived I saw the cleverly disguised gatehouse, and a portly yet gaunt guard came out to greet me. "No visitors without an appointment. Do you have an appointment?"

His voice was flat and bored, with almost no interest or any sign of enthusiasm at all. To be fair I would probably sound that way too if I had to spend all day in this toxic cesspit. I handed over the envelope of papers Grandpa had dropped off this morning after I called him last night. The guard rifled through them, reading the papers and subtly pocketing a few hundreds before nodding dully and heading back into the gatehouse. He picked up a phone and called up the asylum before hitting a buzzer and waving me through.

The path to the asylum from the gate was just as long as the one up to the gate from the bottom of the hill and by the time I got to the entrance, another guard was waiting there for me to escort me in. This one was tall and thin with a balding head and a hooked nose. His eyes were beady and his skin was sallow and as he saw me he waved me inside. He didn't speak as we walked into the building, and the only sound I could hear was his footsteps, since mine were soundless. The silence was oppressive to the point of being suffocating.

The inside of the asylum was, if anything, creepier than the outside. The hallways were thin and cramped, with absurdly high vaulted ceilings so far up that they faded into shadow. The darkness gave the unnerving impression that I was a rat in a maze being looked down on by a giant unknowable figure. I wasn't actually sure how big this place was but it must be huge. The building had seemed smaller than this from the outside, but I suspected it was built along the slope of the hill in such a way as to hide the dimensions.

There was a small lobby area followed by a complex of branching hallways the guard led me down one of the halls and finally spoke, his voice was high and reedy and deeply unpleasant, like I was listening to the bad guy from an old seventies cartoon. "We will bring you to the visiting room and you will sit in the chair and wait. You will be searched before you enter and upon leaving, and you will remain seated on the opposite end of the table for the entire duration of the visit starting before entry and ending after exit. Is that understood?"

I gulped audibly but nodded. I could imagine the kinds of things people had tried to make them adopt procedures that strict, and I had the terrifying suspicion that my Uncle could kill me with the slightest opening. You don't become the most terrifying killer in the history of a place as awful as Gotham City and rain terror down on the town that made even the Joker seem like a chump without having some serious capabilities.

The guard led me into a bare concrete room with a steel table set into the floor perpendicular to the door. The table had steel chairs bolted into the ground at the thin ends of the table and one of the chairs had restraints built in. I naturally picked the other chair, and upon seeing me sit the guard nodded and left the room. There was fluorescent lighting set in recessed alcoves in the high ceiling and walls were bare concrete like the floors. The only color in the room was a red line painted around the chairs which I assumed denoted a normal persons reach.

After about ten minutes the door opened, and the guard came back in escorting a mild looking man with sharp eyes and
a pair of rimless glasses. Alberto Falcone was a scholarly looking man, with a thin mustache and a receding hairline. He looked at ease with his environment as he walked in, as if he was out for a morning stroll instead of in an insane asylum. I'd expected the guard to be rough or insistent but he seemed to shy away from my Uncle, proving that even here, people feared Holiday.

Alberto smiled urbanely at me as the guard strapped him into the chair tightly. "Well, hello nephew. It's good to finally meet you. I've been hoping for a visit since I heard you turned down the old man's offer to take the family name. I have a lot of respect for the desire to build your own legacy." He chucked his head at the room around us "Clearly. But it has been quite some time, so somehow I doubt your visit is in regards to our shared desire to blaze our own trail. What can I do for a fellow black sheep of the Falcone family."

I cleared my throat, unsettled by the intensity of the mans gaze. I got the unnerving feeling everything I did was something he'd already been expecting and I didn't like it one bit. Being in a room with him was like eating lunch with a tiger in a suit. It might be dressed like a person, but there was a wild animal across the table from me. "I've run into some trouble with a rather...intimidating group of people." I looked at the guard but figured they wanted to kill me already so what the hell. "Have you heard of the...Court of Owls?"

Alberto burst out laughing. It took him almost a full minute to get himself under control "Heard of them? Dear boy, I was auditioning for them. The Long Halloween was my screen test so to speak." He clicked his tongue, a dissatisfied expression on his face. "Not a good enough one though, it would seem. Pretentious twats, skulking in the shadows like jackals, sneering at real visionaries. They're fossils, stuck in their glory days, desperate to stay relevant." He grinned at me "You do me proud, nephew, challenging such a lofty foe at such an age. Come, tell Uncle Alberto about your problems."

I debated lying or holding back but honestly, it seemed like he actually wanted to help. Maybe for crazy reasons, but what was he going to do, tell the Court about all the stuff I didn't actually do? They already knew the deal. I filled him in on the bare bones stuff, our interactions with the Court, and my run in with the Talon. He snorted when I mentioned the man "Alexander Staunton. Odious man. They woke him up to take a shot at me too. They don't like to use him. He's a bit of a mad dog and relies more on brute force than they would like, but even rabid animals have their uses I suppose."

I filled him in on the very basic information about Madame Xanadu, saying I'd gotten someone hurt and that I found someone who could fix my mistake in exchange for something he'd taken from Luigi Maroni. "So I was hoping you might tell me where the book is, then I could get it and trade it to...the interested party so they can help the person I got hurt." I realized halfway through my little speech that he had no reason to help me and I had zero leverage over him, but to my surprise he smiled genially.

He seemed thrilled to have a chance to help me out "Of course! I'm happy to help my favorite nephew. I remember the book well. You see I took a trophy from each of my victims, I just made sure to take things that were important and secret so the police never found out. The things I stole were all hidden, account books and stolen art and such. Nothing impressive. But I kept a...museum of sorts in the city to go back to and tour when time permitted. I'd be happy to share the location, but I'd like you to do me a favor."

That sounded really ominous, but I figured I might as well ask what he wanted. I'd come to this shit hole already how much worse could it be. "I might be open to that depending on what it is. I'm not going to break you out or help you kill someone or anything, but I could passage a message to Kitrina or someone else if you'd like." I honestly hoped he'd accept that. Kit could use a bit of good news in her life and a message from her serial killer dad may not be on her list of things she most wanted but I thought it would be good for her.

His eyes darkened a bit at the mention of his daughter, but they resumed their sharp gleam almost immediately after. I wasn't sure what that meant exactly. Despite the minor slip in his demeanor his smile never faltered "Nothing like that. you see, when I was out and about I had a personal armament. A custom weapon designed just for me that I treasured. When not pursuing my prey I left it in that museum I mentioned. I'll tell you where the museum is, if you promise to retrieve my weapon and carry it with you at all times."

I hadn't been expecting that. It was a bit weird, but I wouldn't be using it to shoot anyone so I just shrugged and agreed. If that was the price for helping Madame Xanadu I would pay it gladly. My Uncle's smile bloomed into a full on grin "Excellent. Then we have an accord. Listen closely now because reaching my hidden cache won't be easy. Your journey begins in Gotham Cemetary, in the Falcone mausoleum." I already didn't like where this was headed.

The Holiday Killer ladies and gentlemen. One of the most feared murderers in the history of Gotham. A man so notorious he made the Joker jealous. Clearly interested in our boy, which probably doesn't bode well. Meanwhile in the advance chapters the battle with Morgana and her crew heats up pat-reon has the five advance chapters of two thousand words each if anyone wants to check them out at that site /malcolmtent. Hope you enjoy and let me know what you think.