AN: I don't own The Darkness, DC/Young Justice, or any other property
Chapter Two: Meeting the Darkness and the Family
Jason entered his base in New York City (idk, some abandoned warehouse). He made sure he wasn't followed and unloaded his gear onto a table before sitting on his bed to contemplate what happened earlier that night.
What was up with the creepy voice and the tentacle shit, Jason knew it couldn't have been from the Lazarus or anything he learned from his teachers. It was like...
[DaRkNeSs ItSeLf, the voice says in his head, [ThAt Is WhAt I Am, WhAt We ArE].
"Shit!", Jason says, startled by the voice speaking again.
He breathed before asking, "what are you exactly?".
"An AnCiEnT EnTiTy FrOm LoNg AgO, WhEn ThE UnIvErSe WaS JuSt A VoId, BeFoRe LiGhT FiRsT ApPeArEd. AnD DeSpItE BeInG ThE EmBoDiMeNt Of ChAoS, EvIl, DiSoRdEr, AnD DaRkNeSs; I Am ThE ReAsOn HuMaNs HaVe A SoUl (AN: seriously, search the Darkness wiki.), The Darkness informs Jason.
Jason listened to what it said but became apprehensive at the whole "embodiment of evil" part.
[NoW, I UsEd To EnCoUrAgE My HoSt DoWn EvIl PaThS, BuT ReCeNtLy I DeCiDeD To JuSt HeLp YoU, WhIcH SeEmS To Be To KiLl EvIl IrRedEeMaBlE MeN, LiKe ThE JoKeR., The Darkness continued.
Jason couldn't trust the voice but decided to hear it out, with the enemies he'll gain, he might need it's help, "anything else I need to know? People after you or something?"
[GoD, HeAvEn, AnD ThE VaTiCaN, it informs, [My ArChEnEmY, ThE AnGeLuS, ThEy AlL WaNt Me, AnD NoW YoU, DeAd. AnD ThOsE ThAt WaNt My PoWeR FoR ThEmSeLvEs, LiKe ThE BrOtHeRhOoD.]
"Great, just great", Jason says, rubbing his head in frustration at that before realizing something, "Wait, what's the Angelus?".
[ThE EmBoDiMeNt Of LiGhT AnD OrDeR, ShE WiShEs ThE WoRlD UnDeR HeR ToTaLiTaRiAn OrDeR. ShE FeArS BeInG CoNtRoLlEd AnD HeR HoStS ArE NoThInG MoRe ThAn PuPpEtS, The Darkness answers.
"Ugh, that's it, I need sleep", Jason says, now down with the massive weight of knowledge he learned and lies down in bed.
'God and his followers, the embodiment of light and order, some crazy cults, and maybe more are now after my head, just great', were Jason's last thoughts before sleep claimed him.
Later, Morning, After Dawn
".. we now take you to a massacre in a cemetery that happened last night. We can't show anything due to the brutality of the scene and the authorities haven't said much about it, but it was compared to a similar incident almost 15 years ago", the newscaster says on TV.
"Vinnie, you seeing this?", an elderly man, maybe in his 80s, wearing a pinstripe suit with a fedora and walking with a cane asked.
"Yeah Jimmy, I'm seeing it", Vinnie responded. He wore a dark grey suit and had a receding hairline which was died brown to hide his greying hairs. "But Jackie's dead dead. So who's this?", Vinnie asked Jimmy.
Jimmy the Grape brought his free hand to his chin, "Well, our research showed that this power has been a part of the Estacado bloodline for generations".
"So the new guy may be related to Jackie?", Vinnie asked.
"Wait a second", Jimmy says before moving to a safe. Opening, he pulled out a book before flipping through it. "Ah, in Jackie's journal, he mentions how Jenny got pregnant in their early teens and they were unable to take care of him, so an older friend named Willis Todd took in his son, Jason, before moving away so Paulie wouldn't get him.", Jimmy explains as he read the journal.
"So he could be his kid? Jason Estacado?", Vinnie states.
"Yeah, and according to my math, his 21st birthday, the day this power manifests, was just last night", Jimmy continues.
"Should we look for him?", Vinnie asks, a little hope in his voice.
"For Jackie's sake. Maybe he can even take his place at the head of the family", Jimmy states. The Franchetti Family were being jointly led by Vinnie and Jimmy the Grape since Jackie's passing, but Jimmy was getting old and Vinnie wasn't much of a Boss Man as he was a Right-Hand. No one else wanted the role, believing they couldn't handle Jackie's legacy.
Near Noon
Jason had woken up and was looking for someplace to eat in Manhattan. He was looking around for what felt like an hour before the smell of cooking meat drew his attention. He looked over to see a big bearded man grilling burgers on the sidewalk in front of a butcher shop.
Going over, Jason also saw some pulled pork, ham, bacon, and more cooking.
"Lot of meat", Jason states to the cook.
The bearded man looked to him and said, "well i am a butcher, this is just something I do a couple times a day for passersby".
Jason noticed a look in his eye, like he recognized something, "So, how much for a burger?"
"Depends on what you want on it", he replied.
Jason's burger ended up having two patties of different meats, bacon, pulled pork, brisket slices, fried ham, and ketchup in between two bun slices. Jason paid him and then smashed the burger some and took a bite.
"Oh yeah, just what I needed", Jason mutters. He looked to the butcher behind his burger, "I'm Jason by the way", introducing himself.
"Zanipolo Joyce", he replies, "but everyone calls me Butcher Joyce".
The two began shooting the breeze while Jason ate his burger and Joyce served others out.
Joyce began to clean up to get back into the shop for his main job while Jason was going to leave, but not before doing something.
"Hey Joyce", Jason says with the butcher looking to him, "early, you looked at me as if you recognized me".
"Oh, well you look a lot like a friend of mine that passed away many years ago. His name was Jackie", Joyce responds, his voice going a little distant.
"Sorry for your loss then", Jason consoled.
"Ah, it's fine, it has been over a decade now", Butcher Joyce dismissed.
Jason turned to leave when an old man approached, " excuse me, are you Jason Todd?"
Jason tensed, "What do you mean?"
"I'm Jimmy the Grape, I know about what happened last night", he responded.
Jason began for his gun but Joyce shows himself, "Easy kid, Jimmy's one of the good ones".
[ThEy ArE FrIeNdLiEs, the Darkness tells Jason.
Jason eased up but was cautious.
Jason and Jimmy are soon sitting at a table in the back room of the butcher shop.
Jimmy bagan to explain what he knew. How the Darkness has been hereditary for generations and that his real parents were Jackie Estacado and Jenny Romano. How his father was the boss of The Franchetti Family before his passing and the things he's done, remaking the family into a community.
"So what do you want with me?", Jason asked.
"We haven't had true leadership since Jackie, others are fighting for territory and hurting innocents. From what I seen, you could take his place, help where others can't", Jimmy says.
Jason wasn't sure he wanted to lead this family and it would ruin his plans in Gotham, but it could be useful to have help and men for the future.
"And how do we go about that?", Jason inquired.
"We will inform our people that you are Jackie's and Jenny's long lost son, but they will need proof that you can do it", Jimmy states
"So I take out one of the enemies", Jason tries, "show off to them".
"Annihilate them, just like Jackie did, and the boys can't deny it", Jimmy finishes.
Later
Jason and Jimmy are now being driven in the back of a car after the sun went down to the homebase of an annoying gang that was causing havoc.
A ringing went off in Jason's pocket and he answered the phone, "Talia?"
"Jason, you alright?", she asked
"Yeah, took care of it", he responded, "You know why they attacked me?"
"From what we've found, Deathstroke sent them to test you for some unknown reason, he was pleasantly surprised you succeeded", Talia informed.
Jason sighed, "Well something else needs my attention now, we'll talk later".
"Later", she says before they both hang up.
Jimmy looked to him and asked, "was that about the bodies found this morning?".
"Yeah, nothing to worry about right now though", Jason replies.
Jimmy nods, "Alright", he looks out the window and looks back to Jason, "We're almost there".
Chapter End
AN: There will be crossovers with the Witchblade (obviously), Lucifer, Hellsing, and maybe more.
