"Maj. Steiner, a word?" Barbara left the squabbling politicians to resume city governance.
"Commissioner?" Ace of Blades was surprised to be known to Gordon, "My identity isn't public knowledge. Nor is my past."
"I have an in with Killer Frost," Gordon shared, "I helped clear her outstanding warrants in Gotham when she joined the Justice League. She shared some of your group's history."
"Louise must trust you then," Ace of Blades realized, "I shall as well then."
"The sign of true love," Gordon replied, "I was married once and my husband kept secrets and I learned not to trust him. So our relationship fell apart."
"Back when you were Batgirl, ja?" Ace of Blades asked.
"How did you…?" Barbara froze.
"I have the confidence of the Phantasm as well," Ace of Blades told her, "We work well together."
Considering the sword strapped across Ace of Blades' back, Gordon assumed she'd work well with Andrea Beaumont.
"She speaks highly of you," Ace of Blades told her, "She regrets your divorcing Bruce Wayne. She did not say but I assume he was the Batman."
Gordon refused to reply.
"I see I am correct," Ace of Blades' English still relied on heavy formality as a second language she'd taken up to better communicate with Killer Frost just as Lincoln had taken German classes to fill in the gaps. Faye Morgana had the rooftop. Killer Frost waited by the car. Blur stood by inside to get Perez to the car in seconds. Maximum held the lobby while Ace of Blades controlled the outer corridor.
Faye's spell of protection kept projectiles and explosives from entering her sphere of power just as it blocked portal magic and teleportation abilities. But she couldn't seal off foot traffic because of the city's need to conduct business. So Jenny Elsewhere portalled Intergang's enforcers just outside the protective spell. Where they could walk the rest of the way through into City Hall.
"You!" Jenny Anywhere shouted as she portalled in as well. The near proximity of Jennies shorted out their powers, lending Jenny Anywhere's firepower the advantage to her.
"Oh shit!" Jenny Elsewhere took cover and tried to gain distance from her rival Jenny
Robbed of her distortion field, Jenny Anywhere now appeared to be Chinese with rainbow colored hair. Her true appearance that she'd hidden behind a mask of Black womanhood. Jenny Anywhere's dragnet of time-space had finally snared Jenny Elsewhere. Elsewhere having grown complacent and dependent upon her powers.
She scrambled for distance as the Heroes for Hire scrambled to respond to Intergang's arrival.
Swarm's gift was to transform herself into a literal swarm of her insect sized selves. Blue Damsel Fly had similar insect themed powers but remained fully human-sized. Silhouette was invisible except for a literal silhouette. They fought the reformed but still occasionally ruthless Killer Frost. Frost hadn't changed her name simply to remind people of who she was and what she could do to them. What she would do if seriously annoyed and she found Swarm and Blue Damsel Fly extremely annoying.
That was when Silhouette struck. Killer Frost layered the area with a veneer of ice and spotted the otherwise nearly-invisible Silhouette. She made a throwing motion and froze the moisture in the air current and impaled Silhouette with ice daggers. Killer Frost saw he was wounded but would live so she was uncertain as to why Swarm and Blue Damsel Fly, who were obviously trying to kill her, got upset.
"Puh-leeze," Killer Frost dropped the temperature around Swarm so drastically all of her minute bodies fell like dead flies, seemingly frozen to death. Yet Frost knew she'd survive with a mild cases of frostbite.
"Monster!" Blue Damsel Fly screamed and cut loose with her "stinger" power. Killer Frost froze the air around her opponent so that Blue Damsel Fly's power reflected back upon her and she stunned herself.
"Damn, I'm good," Killer Frost gloated as GCPD units began rolling up. The black and white's summoned the SRU and Montoya and Bard vouched for Killer Frost's credentials. They just the others to worry about now.
As the Puzzler, Valerie van Haaften had the ability to disconnect into "puzzle pieces" with razor sharp edges and fly about. Alias X was a League of Assassins mole within Intergang. Together they fought Maximum. The youthful Alias X had originally been intended to infiltrate Young Justice but the Justice Society wouldn't approve his credentialing without knowing his identity and background. Two things he was forbidden from giving out. Even his "legend" failed to impress then sufficiently. Intergang had been far loose choosy. his demonstrable ability to kill mid-level would-be meta heroes earned him his place with them.
Maximum was an unknown. No one considered hat he could be Baron Blitzkrieg the younger. Who expected a Black Colombian. to be a white supremacist? But Baron Blitzkrieg the elder had been desperate to cultivate his meta gifts. So with Hitler's blessing, he sullied the gene pool with "inferiors" to breed superior descendants
Blur and Maximum being the only ones to inherit a portion of his total gifts. He got the super strength while she got the speed and they shared the ability to become super durable.
Like the original, their powers were psionic in nature so the wear and tear fatigue of using their gifts was mental rather than physical. Baron Blitzkrieg displayed a wider range of powers but he could use two at a time. Blur and Maximum, only having two could use them both simultaneously. So the Puzzler found herself unable to harm Maximum but Alias X struck at universal human vulnerabilities. But it only took one solid blow to take the teenager down. Puzzler retreated and reassembled rather than face his wrath any longer now that he wasn't distracted by Alias X. Maximum was just as happy to let the SRU take her while he wrapped Alias X up in metal bench outside city hall intending to conduct an interrogation. Montoya put an abrupt end to that plan while Bard led a team into the building.
"You're not remotely human," Faye Morgana quipped as the Martian Mentalist confronted her. In reality, the Mentalist was a White Martian deserter pretending to be a human psychic. Working for Intergang just paid for the extras. The Martian Mentalist panicked as Faye's translation spell telepathically thoughtcast her message in Martian to the Mentalist. She flew away and didn't return. The SRU team that stormed the roof was surprised to find Morgana alone.
The Archer named Diane called herself the second Huntress after killing her abusive fiance. Boomerang was an expert with said weapon and her girlfriend was a second archer called Diana. Boomerang and Diana were just in to for the thrill of it all. Huntress was out for blood. Together with Vince Harley, the Yellowjacket, they faced Blur. Who beat them senseless within seconds and the collected their thrown boomerangs and fired arrows as well dismantled Yellowjacket's shock gun. She despised handing them off to the police but the arrangement she and her "cousin" had made with Claire Montgomery to join the team. They were all to take prisoners and hand them to law enforcement whenever possible.
"Why Commissioner Gordon, what an unexpected delight," Brains told her as she and the Gang approached the city hall chambers.
"Freeze!" Gordon had her pistol drawn.
"I can't hold her. Her mind is too strong," Ms. Mesmer warned her lifelong friend,
"Kong and Bulldozer, deal with Ace of Blades." Brains decided. They charged. Bulldozer's nearly unstoppable kinetic buildups when he charged headfirst were coupled with Kong's super strength. They all went sailing out of the building into the street below.
Bard arrived and Ms. Mesmer snared him and the SRU's units' minds. Bard shot Gordon, whose tactical vest stopped the round but put her flat on her back. The SRU officers swarmed the Aldermans' chambers and opened fire on Perez. Blood took a bullet trying to "defend" her. He would appear to be the hero in the evening news.
Ace of Blades reappeared toting unconscious Gang members, "Lose these?"
"I'm afraid you failed in your mission," Brains told her, "And now we'll be surrendering to the GCPD."
Montoya and reinforcements were up the stairs to arrest Brains and Ms. Mesmer as well take Kong and Bulldozer off of Ace of Blades' literal hands.
"Nein!" Ace of Blades gasped as the recovering SRU team joined Bard in the horror of what they'd done. In front of a room full of witnesses nonetheless. Montoya was grieved to have to arrest her own officers and Bard for shooting Perez and Gordon
emboldened by Perez's death and Blood's wound, Grange decided to forgo dropping out of the race.
Just as Brains had predicted to Knightfall. Even her loss margins came within shaving distance of Brains' estimates. Blood handily won 78% of the primary vote two days later. Making a general election for mayor a moot point. The Gang walked out of Central Holding without an ounce of resistance. Mouthpiece and Assoc. would get the others released.
Jenny Elsewhere found relief as the black and whites arrived on the scene and the officers arrested Jenny Anywhere. Elsewhere portalled away, leaving Anywhere free to do the same and escape police custody. So their cat and mouse resumed. Jenny Elsewhere was quick to retrieve the Intergang enforcers released on bail or out of the hospital. Jenny Anywhere once again on target but too late.
A fleet of Batmobile worthy Porsches parked at the Church of St. Hildegard of Bingen-on-the-Rhine's parking lot to disgorge the outlaws.
"I can't believe you let me drive. My Jason never let me drive," Red Hood enthused.
"Not to be a dick but your Arkham Knight sounded like one," he replied.
"He had his moments," Red Hood said ruefully. If she didn't know much Jason and Oracle loved one another, she'd still be making play for him. Li Harper had seen her parents navigate the post-Apocalyptic Gotham Bruce Alan and Selina Wayne abandoned after Helena was born. They'd died defending its citizens.
Arkham Knight had taken her in and made her his Red Hood. He himself having abandoned the identity when Batman and Catwoman left town. Holly Robinson on Earth-4 didn't take up the Catwoman legacy. Dick Grayson tried becoming Batman but fell short of his own expectations and also abandoned Gotham for Bludhaven. Barbara Gordon had been paralyzed by the Joker and became that Earth's Oracle. She left Gotham with Dick. Dick and Babs moved Wayne Enterprises corporate hub to Bludhaven. They left Jason Todd Wayne Manor, the Batcave, and an immense slush fund for expenses. Tim Drake left Gotham to lead the Titans from San Francisco as Robin, the no longer Boy Wonder.
Arkham Knight responded to the war zone Gotham had devolved into with greater violence. Red Hood bought into that martial philosophy in the legacy of her parents, Arsenal and Cheshire. But she and Arkham Knight were sex partners but not lovers. Jason and Oracle were both. Li respected that and would fight to protect it and them.
"I can't believe you wouldn't let me drive!" Protector loudly complained to Pagan.
"You're fifteen. You're not even old enough to get a learner's permit," Pagan was tired of the argument already.
"That doesn't stop me in Chicago or Los Angeles before that," Protector lamented. He looked a good four years older.
"I am not getting my ass thrown in jail because you get pulled over," Pagan had the last word.
"They're waiting for you inside," Little Boy Blue and the Blue Boys and their allies, Tomboy and Little Miss Redhead, told them as they approached the church.
"They're expecting us?" Arkham Knight was surprised Thug and his crew got here before them or thought to use a phone rather than ride straight to the church. Dez had been practically holding them hostage painting the disguised Batmobiles. The riders approached while Protector compared note s regarding underage superheroing with Little Boy Blue and his crew.
"Batman told them you were coming," Butch Candon shared. The blue haired teenage girl was hardly older than Protector but ran the Newsboy Legion Network throughout North and South America with Internet affiliations across the world's major cities. Butch was a master intelligence gatherer from streetwise teens from across the world.
The Blue Boys were her guests to the confab. She'd kept the resistance flush with intelligence from wandering teen volunteers patrolling Gotham during the recent Occupations.
"Batman was here? In the flesh?" Arkham Knight was amazed.
"Wore a black and red suit like you do only it was like body paint around the mask. He seemed to be able to fly too," Butch told him.
"Confirms what we heard about the new Batsuit before he retired," Squire admitted.
"If he stayed retired," Ravager pointed out, "He hasn't been seen since just after the Near-Apocalypse and now he shows up warning everyone we're coming?"
"I don't think it was a warning," Arrow pointed out Catwoman, Catgirl, and Claire Voyant approaching them.
"You're cute. You gotta name?" Catgirl asked Protector.
"I don't like being expected," Wild Dog was getting edgy. Street Avenger was feeding off of the vibe. Sparrow, Pagan, and Black Bison looked uncertain as well.
"Let's just get this over with," Crimson Avenger offered support.
"Before our teammates faint from worry," Shieldmaiden oozed confidence. But then again, Hildur Goransdottir rarely flinched in the face of any danger.
"I say we do this," Starling backed Shieldmaiden as Eve Crawford always did.
Red Arrow had the final word, "We came all this way for this meeting to happen."
"Told you," Claire gloated.
"You're psychic. You cheat," Catwoman complained.
Inside, Sister Lilhy dealt with Thug and his crew and their litany of complaints. She dismissed them and the KnightsQuest from this gathering called by Father M'Buttu. The spiritual leader of the Order of St. Batman having received his orders from Batman himself. Azrael and Batwing deemed it necessary to attend as well.
Ravager was still getting used to having two eyes again. I-Ching had restored her vitality after an Order of St. Dumas poisoning had accelerated her aging. Unlike her father, who'd completely lost his eye, Rose's had been stabbed through but left in its socket. Therefore it healed up when I-Ching worked his biochemical magic.
He did it as a member of the ruling Shadow Seven that followed Ra's al Ghul in commanding the League of Shadows and its enforcement arm, the League of Assassins.
Nyssa had pleaded Rose's case to Dinah and the Black Canary responded with mercy.
I-Ching did to for the science and the opportunity to show off his skills to the rest of the Shadow Cabinet that oversaw Stormwatch and assisted Dark Justice. For Dark Justice it was lesson in the power of his alchemy versus Dr. Fu Manchu's. Between Deathstroke and Ravager, I-Ching seemed to be winning the rivalry while the "Immortal" Fu Manchu was aging once again. His immortality process seeming to be as limited in eventual scope as the Lazarus Pit.
But the previous Ra's al Ghul's mental transfer seemed a potential side step to avoid death or at least delay it further. With the Lazarus Pit able to rejuvenate a fresh body. I-Ching just regretted Talia al Ghul had to be sacrificed to save her father's mind. But Talia was a broken woman by then. Perhaps she saw her own mental destruction as a mercy. Only Nyssa's compassion for Talia's physical body spared her father the death he'd earned by failing her to meet her challenge. Knowing the Shadow Seven would never embrace her as Ra's al Ghul, she propped up Black Canary as the Leagues' ruler.
Dinah truly ruled by her own conscience. The war with the Court of Owls being proof of that.
But after marrying Nyssa, she allowed Nyssa to persuade her into joining the Light while keeping the other Five of the Shadow Seven out of it at Vandal Savage's behest. the Old Ra's had been a member and Nyssa didn't want the Leagues to lose prominence. Nyssa received Dinah's support in keeping her Injustice League intact and expanding its roster as well as her continued tacit patronage of the Outlaws. But the Leagues no longer overtly supported Arkham Knight's mission. But selling them safe houses and other League property was seen as a sublime endorsement of Jason Todd's vision.
A vision both Dinah and Nyssa had helped sculpt each in their turn. Sin's challenge for Queen Consolidated was merely a push to liberate Red Arrow from the burdens of the company. She'd retain the largest minority share but Thea Queen would side with Derek Powers to push Emiko out of corporate chairmanship. Thus freeing her to pursue being Red Arrow full time.
Sin had no interest in the Queen Consolidated as a birthright. Ra's al Ghul and Nyssa both knowing Oliver Queen's true origins on Earth-27 and knowing that he would never press any claims on the company liberated them to act as they did. Pushing Thea to legally contest for her rights to the company. She just wanted the shares Mia Deardon had ceded to Conner Hawke despite Oliver Queen's will. Thus breaking up her majority in the company and opening the door to Sin's legal gambit.
Mia and Conner didn't have much longer to live. They'd each contracted pneumonia and the AIDS virus ravaging their immune systems insured that they would be dead before Emiko returned to Seattle. She'd protested accompanying the Outlaws in this mission. But the couple had urged her and Oliver to go. They wanted to die unseen by worried relatives, together until the end.
Emiko already had a buyer for Queen Manor after the couple passed. Too many ghosts haunted the place for Emiko to ever feel at home there. She and Oliver shared a high penthouse, each with their own floor. Which made Felicity's frequent overnights less awkward. Though DNA testing had proven Ollie was an exact genetic match for her father, Emiko and Oliver considered each other siblings. So Felicity was a non-issue between them.
Emiko was happy to see her "big brother" involved with such a capable woman as Felicity Smoak and Overwatch assisted Oracle in helping the Outlaws eliminate criminal threats and run searches for rising threats and background information on potential targets. The irony was that Smoak had parlayed her IT experience with Queen Consolidated to land a major role in Palmer Tech before acquiring her own startup. Powers had swallowed or was swallowing Palmer Tech and now Queen Consolidated. Wayne-Powers had been dozens of other companies before Powers took them over. Cale Tech, Kord Industries, Dagget Industrial, Wayne Enterprises, and Magnus Robotics to name just a few.
But Powers had his eyes on other targets that were far less vulnerable. Felicity still held a 51% share majority in Smoak Tech, STAR Labs was thriving, Mercury Labs and Max Cord Industries were resisting, LuthorCorp and its subsidiary L Corp were beyond reach, Ryder Corp was privately held as was Starrware, MARS Corp had absorbed Caulfield Arms and was pioneering new markets. Lena Luthor and MARS Corp had purchased the nation state of Bailya outright from its tribal leaders. Bialya, the Queen Bee's neighboring country, forged alliances with the corporate nation in order to continue resisting Iran's territorial ambitions. The Crimson Queen having signed off on the corporate acquisition rather than foment a revolution. They had enough problems with domestic insurgency.
Religious leaders that wanted to consolidate with the Islamic Republic received covert support from Iran and fought LuthorCorp and MARS Corp's presences there. Lena supplied Team Luthor support while MARS Corp stationed rotating members of their Wetworks teams there as well. Mother One being in overt tactical control. Arvell Hauser had died leaving MARS Corp and LuthorCorp divvying up the spoils that were Hauser Arms.
ARMS Control was shuttered as a collaborative effort with Bailya proving the common ground between companies and they carved up Hauser Arms. The Zither Security Group also had private military contractors in play in Bailya and Bialya. Candace Zither assuming Hauser's responsibilities in the Legion of Doom.
Vandal Savage had everyone focused on teen meta-human identification, capture, activation, and sales. Ivana Baiul having perfected, along with John Lynch, the activation of meta-genes was now researching the ability to generate and control artificial meta-gene splicing. Dr. Ernest Smalley had proven that Daxamite DNA could successfully be transferred to a human host. Baiul's Earth-2 counterpart having done the same with Kryptonian DNA, as Lois Lane and Lana Linda Lang proved out. Now they needed Dr. Caitlin Fairchild's meta-gene suppression research to complete Smalley's final project before his untimely death.
Smalley had just come to work for the Everyman Project at its captured Dominator base beneath Dangerfield, Arizona before his death. But his experimental gene suppression serum worked for temporary amounts of time. As both Lois and Lana Linda had proven out. These factors were equally at play in Gotham that day despite no one knowing it.
Bill Dunn, the second Superman, spied on the Secret Society for Dr. Fu Manchu and kept tabs on their activities and recruiting for the Legion of Doom. Dunn one of the few Legionnaires whose first loyalty was to Fu Manchu and not Lex Luthor.
Luthor had reclaimed the throne at the Hall of Doom, enraging Fu Manchu and stymieing his ambitions. Fu Manchu's failure at keeping the proxy Legion of Annoyance loyal heavily weighing against him. His secret researches into a life prolonging potion to replace the one that was wearing off went on under the protection of the South Seas Girl.
Alani, Queen of the Vanishing Isles, had invested considerable time and resources into Fu Manchu's ambitions and would not allow Luthor's imminent domain return threaten her own goals. So she sheltered Fu Manchu's researches using trafficked humans supplied by Dr. Doom. The smuggler bringing in live cargo every two weeks. Fu Manchu had begin intaking gen latents as well as supplied by Baron Winters in direct defiance of Vandal Savage's preference for Baron Bedlam's services.
"What's with the feathers?" Butch candidly asked Sparrow. The Outlaw tied feathers into her hair rather than wear an overtly bird themed costume to establish her identity
"I'm Sparrow. Would you rather I wear two feather boas tied together?" Laurel asked.
"I get it. Just curious," Butch told her.
"You're a brave one," Sparrow noted, "I understand you're the resident spymaster."
"I just organize. The Newsboy Legion does the real work," Butch replied.
"I respect modesty but don't overdo it. These futzers would be lost without you," Sparrow warned Butch.
"But I age out in a few years and then I have to figure out adulting," Butch complained.
"I don't think that'll be an issue once you figure out your path," Sparrow advised her, "Have you told everyone you're not a 'she' but a 'they' yet?"
"How did you…?" the cisgender teen wondered.
"You come off very non-binary. I was just curious how well you'd accepted that fact, 'Butch'," Sparrow told them.
"I haven't told anyone my truth or my preferred pronouns. It seemed inconsequential at the time," Butch told her.
"Nazis are a great excuse but only an excuse," Sparrow warned them, "I think you simply held yourself back because you weren't ready to present yourself to the world. But I can help present Butch Candon to their world and their friends."
"No, I need to this," Butch said resolutely, "I just needed a good kick in my ass to get me to do it."
"I'm always happy to kick ass," Sparrow told them.
"You wouldn't happen to be…?" Butch asked.
"Female and proud of it but I went through a spell where I wasn't quite sure," Sparrow confided in them.
"So, you train with Nightwing or something?" Butch asked.
"Why would you think that?" Sparrow wondered.
"Bird theme, escrima sticks, you know…the usual," Butch told her.
"I never trained with either Nightwing but I've fought one of them," Sparrow confided in them again, "She actually wasn't much older than you."
"Are you the same Sparrow that rode in the Southwest for a while?" Butch asked.
"The one and only," Sparrow congratulated them on their insight.
"My Newsboys in the area said you might be a former cop gone rogue," Butch told her.
"Could be true," Sparrow was done revealing herself.
"That's not a denial," Butch handedly pointed out.
"Nor is it a confirmation," Sparrow winked, "Enjoy life's mysteries. C'mon, let's go introduce Butch to their friends."
Little Boy Blue, Little Miss Redhead, and Tomboy were eagerly supportive of Butch's revelation. Toughie was less enthusiastic and Tubby just seemed confused. Both boys had been crushing on Butch and wondered where that left them.
Sister Lilhy was reserved but Father M'Buttu embraced Butch's truth. He'd be placed in a greater bind if she'd come out as bisexual, which he strongly suspected, since the Roman Catholic Church held that homosexual actions were immoral. Being homosexual was sin free but acting upon that sexuality was evil before God's eyes. Azrael was indifferent but Batwing was supportive as well. That covered Butch's usual waltzing partners
The Outlaws seemed supportive if bewildered why it was being brought up but Sparrow clamped down on any dissenters. Starling understood all too well. She herself identified as female but bisexual. So she understood what to took to come out to your friends. Shieldmaiden also understood since she was also bisexual and involved with Eve. Hildur and Eve had been liberated to pursue one another by Beryl Hutchinson openly courting Rose Wilson-Worth.
Now Squire and Ravager were in a civil union waiting for whatever state they were living in to recognize gay marriage. Several states had by May, 2011 but never one the couple dwelt in. Slade had disowned Rose for her choice of life partners and threatened to kill her when they next met. Ravager was glad to have her eye back.
It took some adjusting her fighting style but she needed to be at the top of her game if she were to fight her rejuvenated father again. I-Ching's process had reinvested Slade's eye as well but Deathstroke cut it out since his fighting style depended on having a single eye. He didn't want to invest the time in retraining himself. Rose had only recently lost her eye so her muscle memory was still largely geared towards having both of them.
Jason had confronted Nyssa on the Shadow Seven's decision to allow the Order of St, Dumas' strike. In order to preserve the unity of the Seven, she didn't reveal that Dazaar and Lady Zina had acted independently of Ra's al Ghul's denial. I-Ching had definitely benefited from it. Prof. Hugo Strange would support any action that furthered science. So Nyssa and Dinah had simply been outvoted and the sitting Ra's ignored for the first time in a thousand years.
Nyssa hadn't said any of that but to was implied by her cagey answers to his inquiries. The Outlaws were now in the Shadow Seven's majority crosshairs. Oracle was the most resourceful woman he knew. So he didn't fear for her during his absences. but Roy Harper, Jade Nguyen, and Lian Harper were League targets because Cheshire's leaving the League of Assassins to go independent and then join her husband in the Outlaws. Lian was a target simply because of who her parents were. Lian turned six today which made Li twenty.
Jason had a surprise waiting for her when they had chance to step out this evening. Oracle had gotten them prized reservations and fudged the accounting to make it seem their meal was comped. Six months ago, Oracle wouldn't have been so sanguine about having Li and Jason share a potentially romantic evening together. But Li had proven herself to Oracle and to Jason that she could be trusted not to make a desperate play for him or to harm Oracle in an attempt to "win" him over.
"I do not require 'protection'," Azrael said coldly.
"Good, because we weren't providing any. We're here for the Secret Society and the Annoyances. Knightfall is the one that cares what happens to you. You want us gone, take to up with her," Arkham Knight refused to be intimidated by the giant of a man.
"Hrrm," Azrael grated.
"it's an opportunity to rid the world of a great evil," Sister Lilhy interjected, "Surely the Azrael can see that?"
"The Batman ordered us to cooperate. Surely you don't want to piss off your patron saint?" Batwing asked.
"Hrrm," Azrael grated even more forcefully.
"The Batman spoke of cooperation and restraint," Father M'Buttu stated, "For all sides."
"Tell it to the bad guys, Father," Arkham Knight retorted.
"So Batsy really was here," Hellequin shoved Toughie and Tubby inside. They'd been the lookouts outside the door. Red Alice and the Wonderland Gang similarly released Little Boy Blue, Little Miss Redhead, and Tomboy who'd stood watch in the vespers.
"Why are you here?" Azrael growled.
"A little bird down at the GCPD told the Jokerz that you'd all be here now, right at this minute. What? You think they didn't watch Gotham City Motors since your crowd began running there? Fortunately Neo Joker has loyalists inside the Crows and GCPD. She told me and here I am. Mad Hatter brain whammied the cops so we can speak privately," Hellequin explained, "My proposal is a simple one. We want in. Not for any financial rewards Knightfall may be offering but because it does our collective hearts good to have the Order of St. Batman and those gathered here today running amok in Gotham making life miserable for the GCPD and the Crows. Also, the Crows know so it's only a matter of time before Bat-Man and his tribe show up."
"Batman's retired," Little Boy Blue scoffed.
"Listen to me stress the syllables. Bat-Man not Batman. Now shut up or you lose the tongue. Your girlfriend there would sorely miss it I'm sure."
Little Miss Redhead blushed while Little Boy Blue was flustered.
"Kids these days. Really," Hellequin sighed, "So what do you say to a team up of Biblical proportions? Old Testament meets Apocrypha meets New Testament? We can always sort out who is what later on."
"I'll behead the lot of you before you leave here," Azrael promised.
"He's definitely the Apocrypha," Hellequin snickered.
"I'm surprised you found time to read a Catholic Bible," Father M'Buttu confessed.
"Went to Catholic school, baptized at birth, got confirmed, the whole nines," Hellequin shared, "But I may be a wee lapsed."
"You're a murderer," Batwing accused.
"A loooot lapsed," Hellequin amended, "And did I mention now that my girlfriend is back in the timeline I'm guilty as hell of the sin of bisexuality?"
"I see two of you know what I'm talking about," Hellequin snickered.
"So do I, Bat Boy and Red Hoodie," Red Alice laughed, "Nice of you to telegraph that secret knowing anyhoo."
Everyone stared at Arkham Knight and Red Hood.
"Now is not the time," he told the Outlaws and Order.
"Which means it never will be," Protector explained for the masses at large.
"Trust me, kid. You're better off not knowing," Red Alice sighed theatrically, "Holly Robinson and Kitrina Falcone, the Cat flavors of the week. You can stop trying to sneak up on us now."
Catwoman and Catgirl emerged from the shadows.
"I told you," Claire Voyant hissed as she too emerged from cover.
"You can't always be right," Catwoman said gruffly.
"Try me," Claire grumbled.
"You didn't know this was going to happen," Catwoman accused.
"I told Catgirl. She said she told you," Claire clarified.
"You and me, if we live through this," Catwoman warned Catgirl.
"Ree-lax, we'd splash the place with Uzis if we wanted to kill you. I just want in on the action `cause those Bats owe me. Todd knows what I'm talking about," Hellequin told them.
"No Jokerz," Arkham Knight stipulated, "Not even Neo Joker."
"I swear on the Joker's grave that Christina Bell and the rest of the Jokerz will be miles away while we go after the Bat Clan," Hellequin vowed.
"That's as close to holy orders as she'll ever take," Red Hood assessed.
"Wait! The Joker's dead?" Pagan was surprised.
"Wake up and smell rotting flesh, m'dear," Red Alice told her, "Jim Gordon put the Joker in an unmarked grave years ago."
"But not before he infected Neo Joker with a mind altering virus that turned her into him. With boobs," Hellequin practically swooned, "And she's all mine again. The virus just took longer to take hold on this Earth."
"There's more than one Earth?" Starling yelped.
"Try and keep up with the class," Red Alice told her.
"Alternate Earths are a statistical improbability," Squire replied.
"They are now but we're getting off track," Hellequin chided her, "So we're in?"
"On our side at least," Arkham Knight told her.
"I'm not down with it," Batwing warned them all.
"I will never work with criminals," Azrael declared.
"Who said anything about working together?" Red Alice inquired, "You're just the bait."
"Excuse me?" Azrael was startled by that revelation.
"I see their plans. You draw in the Secret Society by doing your normal routines and the Society draws in the Bat Clan. The Outlaws and the Wonderland Gang will respond accordingly," Sister Lilhy told him.
"And when I respond?" Azrael asked.
"You don't," Father M'Buttu told him, "The Batman was very clear on that point."
"I'm definitely not cool with this plan," Batwing told them all.
"So don't participate," Arkham Knight said gruffly, "You aren't needed anyway."
"Actually, he is," Hellequin clarified, "The Secret Society and Annoyances are gunning for him too."
"Fine. Just stay out of the way," Arkham Knight conceded.
"Not happening," Batwing replied, "I'm not leaving my life in the hands of thugs and gangsters."
"I am not a gangster," Hellequin pouted.
"We are," Red Alice gloated. The Wonderlanders shared her glee. At least, the Mad Hatter did. Anna Wilson was brilliant whereas the Tweedles were dimwits. Door Mouse was reluctant to throw in one way or the other and the March Hare was too crazy to get to. The rest of the gang was babysitting the stupefied cops.
"So let's talk shop," Arkham Knight suggested.
"We both know Ms. Mesmer hypnotized your officers into shooting our client," Ace of Blades lectured Barbara inside Gordon's office.
"That may be true but there are still procedures to follow," the Commissioner sighed.
"Scheiße your procedures!" Ace of Blades shouted, "Perez is dead!"
Barb looked to Killer Frost who mouthed the English word. It matched up with what Gordon had assumed was the case, "I couldn't do that if I tried."
Killer Frost snickered at the double entendre.
"Commissioner, the Gang has escaped custody. They simply walked out of your jail despite damping collars because Brains and Ms. Mesmer have real skills to back up their powers. It is obvious Intergang paid your guards to look the other way. We can make them confess," Ace of Blades offered.
"Actually Intergang paid the officers in charge of affixing and activating the collars to keep them deactivated," Gordon told her, "But that's all beside the point. The point now is that we have DEO agents tracking them back to Intergang's headquarters in Metropolis so that we can finally learn where that is. The Justice Society is prepping a strike package to arrest them all for real."
"Mutterficker, this was all for show?" Ace of Blades couldn't believe Gordon was that ruthless.
"It's the worst case scenario," Babs shared, "Put into place should we all fail to protect Alderwoman Perez."
"I bet Blood's in on it," Killer Frost stated.
"Sebastian Blood took two rounds trying to protect the Alderwoman," Gordon replied.
"He should be dead," Frost insisted.
"He wasn't the target," Gordon reminded her, "Your client was. We all underestimated the Gang and their resources."
"You underestimated," Ace of Blades said coldly, "I wanted to seal off the building."
"Security footage proved the Gang was already in the building before Alderwoman Perez arrived and Ms. Morgana cast her spell. It wouldn't have stopped them," Barb revealed. That shut the German gen active up.
"Hopefully the JSA can bring them in for real this time," Killer Frost offered, "At least we have the rest of them."
"They still need to be arraigned but they'll continue to be held in Blackgate's meta-wing," Gordon promised, "DA Reynolds is seeking to deny bail. With Jenny Elsewhere still free they're still flight risks."
"Who the hell was that shooting at her anyhoo?" Killer Frost asked.
"Who knows? I doubt she has a shortage of enemies, inside and outside of Intergang," Barbara said.
"She has new ones after today," Ace of Blades promised.
"She doesn't take losing well," Killer Frost added unnecessarily.
"Who does?" Barbara asked with a knowing smile.
"I like you despite your badge," Ace of Blades admitted.
"She's not the only one," Killer Frost quickly added.
"Your people were released without being arrested or charged," Gordon clarified, "Your licenses were reviewed I'm sending a positive review of your conduct to Claire Montgomery. I already posted a positive review on your corporate website. Your people didn't fail. The system did. We followed Alderwoman's Perez's wishes and she got herself killed."
"That official?" Killer Frost asked.
"I wish," Gordon grumbled, "Don't take this personally but get out of Gotham ASAP. Her followers will turn on you egged on by Commander Kane. He's already begun at a press conference an hour ago blaming hiring external security from NYC."
"Meaning it wasn't the Crows," Killer Frost understood.
"Precisely," Gordon complained, "Kane monopolized Perez's death into a PR victory."
"Verdammter Scheißkerl," Ace of Blades snarled.
"I agree and I don't need a translation," Barbara chuckled, "One of Perez's platforms was expanding the GCPD and expanding the Crows' police powers. So you can imagine that Kane has a lot to gain by Blood's seemingly assured victory or even a Grange revival."
"Yet the Crows fought to arrest the sniper," Killer Frost pointed out.
"Yet protected Bat-Man and his fake Bat Clan," the Commissioner snorted.
"No strong feelin's there, Commish," Bullock chuckled as he walked in unasked.
"You ever thought about knocking, Harv?" Barb asked.
"An' have ya say 'stay out'?" Bullock chortled.
"You do make it tempting," Barbara sighed, "I suppose there's a real reason for the interruption."
"Those undercovers we sent inta Tricorner are failin' ta respond," Bullock told her.
"Call it into Montoya. She's prepped for this," Gordon replied.
"Yah, Gotham's learnin' not ta piss off a certain Puerto Rican lesbian," Bullock guffawed on his way out.
"Renee Montoya?" Frost inquired.
"You know her?" Ace of Blades asked.
"We dated in college before I transferred and met Dr. Frost. She arrested me once after my conversion," Killer Frost told her girlfriend.
"You and your women," Ace of Blades laughed.
"What about you and yours?" Killer Frost planted her fists akimbo.
"As entertaining as this is guaranteed it become, take to elsewhere. Outside of Gotham. My men will escort you back to Alderwoman Perez's residence where you can gather your belongings and arrange return travel to New York," Barbara told them both.
"And don't forget my men," Ace of Blades poked the bear as she strode out.
"Damn bi's," Killer Frost muttered as she made to rejoin the waiting Heroes for Hire and the officers assigned to them. Gordon worried for her detectives in Tricorner. Putting cops out of commission wasn't the Outlaws or the Order of St. Batman's style.
Montoya and her SRU team arrived to find the detectives slumbering in their unmarked care. They groggily recalled being approached by the Mad Hatter and crooks in animal masks.
"Shit!" Montoya found the church deserted except for a nun. Father M'Buttu was out from even the rectory. The nun was there to assist the all-volunteer janitorial staff.
An unexpected volunteer was a Wonderlander left behind to observe Montoya's frustration.
The Order had friends in the Narrows and relocated the meeting there. Neo Joker made an appearance as well bereft of her Court of Fools. Punchline, Card Queen, Dee Dee, and J-Man keeping the Jokerz occupied terrorizing Gotham. They met in a Triad owned and operated casino/"restaurant". The Triads wanted payback for Pops' death. They blamed Bat-Man, Bat-Woman, and Bat-Girl for hindering Hellequin's avenging him. Neo Joker was there to represent the Jokerz' underlying interests in destabilizing the Crows.
Agent Sophie Moore and a Crows Security convoy had been the only law enforcement to dare invade Devil's Square in twenty years' time. That and she knew how much Pops had meant to Hellequin despite his frequent and inevitable betrayals. Pops was the only man in town that knew there were two Marian Drews. One facing federal embezzlement charges and the wrath of the cartels she'd been stealing from jointly accused by DNA and fingerprint analysis of being Hellequin.
For the real Hellequin to make a public appearance to avenge Pops had broken the chain of evidence convicting the New Earth Marian Drews of being her. Now the GCPD and Crows knew a second Marian Drews existed. Identical down to their shared DNA. Only the other Marian had never met much less dated the Joker. The same Joker she herself had killed alongside Harley Quinn for their "going sane" and joining the Justice Lords' campaign to control Arkham Asylum. They'd been the trustees in direct control of the inmates. Quinn was even their psychiatrist.
They'd done so happily and willingly while Hellequin joined the former Lord Batman's rebellion against the Justice Lords. The Monitor had travelled to Earth-2 as waves of antimatter self destructed it. Bruce negotiated the salvation of the Kent Family to gain Lois and Lana Linda's compliance with moving to Earth Prime to make a last stand against the Anti Monitor. Hellequin and the Heckler were part of the deal. The Monitor needed Hellequin to gather the evil Paragons that would face the Anti Monitor in final combat.
She'd helped Master Terrific betray the Paragons of Virtue and Vice and the Prime Universe along with the Antimatter Universe destroyed one another. Zero Hour then erased the Multiverse's history. But Glorith, with the Heckler's assistance, harnessed Dr. Manhattan's dying embers of power to recreate a New Universe. A single universe where once there had been an infinite number of combinations and variables
with selected madmen and women chosen to remember the Multiverse that was alongside the New Universe that currently was.
Saturn Queen's memory revivals being an anomaly rather than the norm. Saturn Queen's mission in the past had been to recruit Vandal Savage and the Light into preventing Glorith and M'Onel's rise to power in the 31st Century. Rather, he'd chosen Glorith over Saturn Queen's Blue Flame of Chaos driven apocalyptic vision of universal destruction. Glorith wanted to be an overseer but knew the value of delegation. Vandal Savage and the Light would receive the United Planets and Confederacy of Worlds territories to rule while Glorith oversaw the rest of the universe through proxies. It was a deal Savage could use to his advantage.
Not that the Time Witch wouldn't anticipate him. Which just made the chase more intoxicating. After all, she'd corrupted the most inspirational hero in history, transforming Valor into M'Onel. Splintering off a separate pocket universe to create the heroes known as Superboy and Insect Queen from Clark Kent and Lana Lang of that universe. Making them members of the Legion of Superheroes when she doomed that Pocket Universe.
Supergirl, the Matrix version, also stemmed from that universe but condemned Glorith's efforts. So she was relegated to the past, now fused into Linda Danvers. Alex Danvers hadn't risen to the Directorship of the DEO by being blind to the changes in her sister
but she, like their parents, embraced Linda's newfound optimism even if her memory was fuzzy on the details. Alex knew it was a side effect of her fused psyche. The Matrix side of Supergirl was dominant. But the deceased Linda lived on in their newfound memories.
Montoya herself was unaware of her Earth-5 origins since the Prime Montoya had been KIA after her breakup with her long suffering girlfriend and the beginning of her drinking problem. Before Rebirth finalized, Gordon and Bullock had been aware of Montoya's true past. Now they, like trillions throughout the galaxy were blithely unaware.
Neo Joker shared Marian's memories of being dead. But Glorith had revived Christina Bell into the New Universe and she too had been infected by the Joker Virus. The only surviving infectee and a completely changed woman. The mousy accountant was now the flamboyant Neo Joker. She shared an imperfect copy of the Joker's psyche.
Tim Drake would be discovered as holding the perfected copy through digital means and DNA splices. But it would require decades for the Joker persona to manifest. He would face a new Batman. One that didn't laugh at his jokes as so long desired but would laugh at him. Which overloaded the Joker's usual "restraint". But that would be twenty-five years in the future. for now, Tim was dormant and Neo Joker the apparent success.
Outside the restaurant, the Bonez Gang patrolled the streets to keep the Triads informed of any increasing police presence. The Narrows and East End were controlled by the Bonez and not the Triad-Yakuza Alliance that controlled Chinatown and Millers Harbor
but they had reached an accommodation since the Triad business predated the Bonez' dominion. For a minor kickback, the Triads enjoyed the Bonez' protection rather than have to supply their own district-wide protective forces. They were allowed an interior security force. One that had been trained up by the White Tiger before her defection to Intergang.
The young White Tiger tired of waiting for her loyalty to be rewarded with control of Macao. So she accepted the Mandarin's offer to oversee Intergang operations in the autonomous region of China and join the ranks of Intergang's 100. Finding herself ranked amongst the 100 most powerful crime lords in Intergang had been reward enough
for now. Little did the Triad boss of the operation realize his men were still loyal to White Tiger and reported the operation's every move to Intergang.
A cabal of fences also worked from the casino making Holly a regular face amongst the patrons both as herself and as Catwoman. It was Catgirl's first visit and Kitrina was intrigued. But not in any way that would assist Catwoman's ongoing criminal enterprises.
"This place does not exist to you, got it?" Catwoman hissed at Catgirl.
"Yeah, yeah," Catgirl sullenly agreed.
Lyn Hall, as Claire Voyant, knew Catgirl would be making her own visits to the fences' gallerias. Much to Holly's future chagrin and consternation. But that was still a few years away. Claire didn't mind Catgirl burning the place to the ground so she kept quiet about the future's end.
Lyn Hall had had visions of the Batman to come. So she knew that Gotham would eventually have its iconic defender restored to it. A Batman Beyond who would join a Justice League Unlimited Beyond. That era would close the Age of Heroes until the 29th Century when Barry Allen took the Flash legacy into the future. The Kent Family legacy would live on as would an ongoing Justice Society but drastically scaled down in size and purpose. The Justice League would fade into myth and legend to be reborn as the Justice League Infinite in the Confederacy of Worlds. Alternately called the Justice League 3000. The future would belong to corporate gen actives like the Young All Stars, the Heroes for Hire, Batman, Inc. and the Outlaws.
The Light, of course, would continue to thrive. But the League of Shadows would disband the League of Assassins after Dinah Lance refused to partake of the Lazarus Pit again and Nyssa disbanded the organization. As Talia recreated Leviathan, Nyssa would create Red Scimitar. Taking the disaffected members of terrorist cells worldwide and uniting them under a political banner that most of the former League would rally behind.
She'd even disband the Injustice League and incorporate its willing members into Red Scimitar. Darkwing would be her chief enforcer. Keeping the title and legacy alive for members to strive to become the bearer of it. Expanding it to include both genders would double her resources.
Squire and Ravager and Starling and Shieldmaiden were just happy they didn't have to keep the PDA to a minimum in the face of Neo Joker and Hellequin's obvious infatuation with one another. They didn't know, like Red Alice, that the couple had been separated by Neo Joker's death prior to Rebirth's finalization. Which Earth the other Christina came from was unknown to Hellequin or Red Alice but it seemed the current Neo Joker was a gift from Glorith for making certain the heroes and villains failed to stop the Anti Monitor so that Glorith's dreams of reconstructing her perfect 31st Century could come true.
This time without having to sacrifice he r own still beating heart to the darkest powers that enabled her to beat Mordru in the Prime Universe. Now Mordru would never threaten her reign. He was dead by M'Onel's hands. Casting him out of the Legion of Superheroes and finally into Glorith's waiting arms. Even Shadow Lass rejected Lar Gand and they'd been lovers for years by that point. It was the moment Glorith had waited for since the 21st Century when she approached him as the semi-hapless Lori. He forgave her for casting him into the Phantom Zone for a 1000 years and she took him into her bed and they sealed their pact with a night of rough sex.
The roughest he'd ever been able to have since most mortals were fragile compared to his Daxamite body. But Glorith was made of sterner stuff and could use her temporal magic to heal whatever wounds he did manage to inflict. It was the beginning of nights of completely unrestrained debauchery.
The kind of debauchery on Eve Crawford's mind. Rose was a little more restrained but just barely. Beryl was as prim and proper as ever as was the sometimes riotous Hildur. They seemed to realize their partners' sexual restraint depended on them right now.
"We should crush these people," Azrael haughtily declared.
"Some of these are personal friends," Catwoman grated, "The others are professional associates."
'What she said!" Hellequin threw a well-aimed wan ton into Azrael's face plate.
He daubed off the sweet and sour sauce with a bloodied kerchief, "This was stained by the last man to treat me so poorly."
"We're here as potential allies, so let's act accordingly," Father M'Buttu intervened to quell Jean-Paul Valley's growing rage and impatience.
"You're the target, which means we let you do your thing and then we pounce on the bad guys trying to punch your ticket," Arkham Knight had his helmet off but his backup domino mask hid his features. But revealed him as the would-be second Robin to those with longer memories of Gotham.
"I thought you were dead," Catwoman admitted.
'I was. I got over it," Arkham Knight cryptically replied. They weren't much different in age. Jason had been forced to cancel the reservation but treated Li to dinner. Arrow noted the deferential treatment she received from him on that evening and wondered why.
"It's her birthday," Red Arrow would explain later.
"Are you unhappy that you came here rather than spend the last hours with Mia and Conner?" he asked her in return.
"They said their goodbyes and demanded we go on the mission," Emiko replied, "Do you regret it?"
"Every damn minute," Ollie would confess. For now, they ate their meals and waited for the meeting to get to its expressed point. Protector gave up on chopsticks and used his fork.
"They don't have Chinese takeout where you're from?" Catgirl was fishing and he knew it.
"Practically invented it. I just never learned how to manage chopsticks," Dylan admitted.
"Like this, idiot," she laced them in his hand and made him practice picking things up.
"Thanks," he said gratefully.
"It's my calling in life," Catgirl ruefully chuckled.
'I guess it can be mine too from now on," Protector told her.
"Puh-leeze!" Red Alice down the table, "Book a room already."
The embarrassed teens fell into a mutually sullen silence. Beth Kane had had her fun. Red Alice knew Door Mouse didn't approve of Gotham. But they had unlimited access here and she could torment her family. What better fun could she have?
This was exactly why the Wonderland Army had fallen apart when the Red Claw holdouts defected to join other terror cells. Her loyalists were in it for the thrill kills and fast money. Which they didn't see coming out chasing down the Bat-Man, the Bat-Woman, and the Bat-Girl as profitable. After the meeting she'd gather them together to explain how extortion worked and how Commander Kane would pay dearly to keep his affiliations with the trio a secret. That and keep Kate and Mary safer.
She'd already demonstrated her lethal resolve in removing Mary's mother, Beth's stepmother. But Red Alice didn't see that causal connection. She saw it as a means to an end to provoke Kane into doing something stupid. Thereby leaving himself vulnerable. Kate got something of a pass. She'd survive the holocaust of Red Alice killing their father and stepsister.
"One thing is manifest destiny," Sister Lilhy told Azrael loudly enough to be overheard by all, "You must not engage the enemy. For the Order of St. Batman to thrive neither its Avenging Angel or it's allies can take part in the coming battle."
"Good. More for us to kill," Red Alice hooted.
"The Newsboy Legion is just the eyes and ears of the operation anyway," Butch snatched themselves some coconut shrimp and put it on their plate.
"They're right. We can't be part of this," Little Boy Blue agreed, "We barely got our parents to sign off on this field trip after being stuck here during the Occupation."
"And we're supposed to under curfew with the school group right now," Janie backed up Tommy Rodgers.
"Christ, how old are you lot anyway?" Crimson Avenger asked.
"Too young to be a part of it," Rene Ramirez recognized they were his own daughter Zoe's age. Oracle was looking after Zoe right now. He'd kill her if she tried to follow with his Wild Dog footsteps. Street Avenger was shuttling bags of food off to a homeless encampment they'd spotted on their way in. He was paying for it all so no one could object.
Only the Little Boys Blue, Little Miss Redhead, Tomboy, Catgirl, and Butch ate for free. Catwoman fed Catgirl. Protector paid for the others' meals. The beauty of being a tech tycoon as well as a contract vigilante.
Red Alice made her crew pay for themselves...including Door Mouse who found that insulting. She'd seemed determined to rub his Red Claw past in his face since she'd taken over. Furthermore, she flaunted the fact that she still had family while he did not. Door Mouse had been her most trusted friend growing up but now he viewed himself as a liability she was eager to shed.
Mad Hatter was now the number two. Anna Wilson was Jervis Tetch's last Alice and he'd broken her. Her revenge was to become the new Mad Hatter after his death. Red Alice could embrace that destiny and encourage Anna into being the most terrifying Mad Hatter yet.
The new Mad Hatter's nanotech was ever so much more efficient than Tetch's cards. She'd just had to torture it out of TO Morrow and kill him when she finished with him. He'd perfected her initial designs and stolen Claire Connelly's copyrights. Between the two women's genius, the new Mad Hatter tech was born. As the slumbering detectives outside the church had discovered. No one but Mad Hatter could release them from their sleep. or so she thought.
Dr. Connelly was called in to consult on the cases by Commissioner Gordon. Claire immediately recognized elements of her handiwork combined with Morrow's and Wilson's. So the GCPD shared their suspect list with the Crows and now every cop and agent was looking for Anna Wilson. Who'd seemed to have gone missing after leaving Arkham. And had cured her induced heterochromia and she had a pair of blue eyes again.
Door Mouse loathed Mad Hatter. But not as much as he hated Hellequin. Finally having to compensate for her vision loss, Marian chose blue contact lenses to differentiate herself from her green eyed doppelganger. Also furthering the conspiracy theory that she was a second Hellequin and therefore not responsible for the crimes the other Marian Drews was charged with.
Hellequin had become the sister Kate could never be to Red Alice. Door Mouse had been a sixteen-year old recruit to Red Claw and already scarred when Beth Kane was adopted by Red Claw herself after kidnapping the twelve-year old Beth. When Beth finally accepted that she was never leaving because newspaper and television reports showed the world thought she was dead and that even her father had stopped trying to avenge her and instead remarried.
That was the day Beth surrendered her mind to the Alice and Wonderland copy she was allowed to keep to read and became Red Alice, Red Claw's daughter. Within a year, Red Alice had begun committing acts of terrorism on Red Claw's behalf. Unwittingly, her father and Delta Force now hunted Beth.
Door Mouse was given his nickname from her love of Lewis Carroll's characters and her friendship with him. Her adoptive brother was called Mouse and he too followed Red Alice until she killed him. Door Mouse actively served her needs so he was guaranteed to stay alive. But he hated that she'd forced him to remove his mouse mask to eat the meal. He didn't appreciate the teens staring at his burn scars. Even some of the Wonderlanders still stared even after knowing him for this long. Door Mouse loved Red Alice like a sister but he was secretly plotting to kill her and Mad Hatter to take over the gang.
Dinner progressed and business was finally conducted. Azrael would resume his nightly patrols the next evening. The Outlaws would be staged along various checkpoints and converge when called upon. Sister Lilhy guaranteeing the KnightsQuest would call upon the help when the time came.
The next night, Azrael deployed on a preset patrol through the Narrows and East End, particularly through Crime Alley. He made certain to be seen by criminals, cops, and Crows alike. The KnightsQuest and Newsboy Legion covered every street corner while Butch and the Little Blue Boys covered receiving and calling in reports.
As the Secret Society converged on Azrael, so too did the Outlaws, Hellequin, and the Wonderland Gang. Hellequin's arrangement was to hold off until the Bat Clan appeared and then engage them and them alone.
Neo Joker had received word from Emperor Blackgate that an attempt by Nancy Morgan and Plastic Woman would be made to liberate Black Siren. Christina wanted to deliver Laurel Drake to her lover. Then Marian's impulse for vengeance could be satisfied.
The entertainment factor for the Jokerz would be at a record high so they went along with Neo Joker's request.
Punchline was her general and J-Man her inspirational speaker. But neither ever lost sight of the fact that Neo Joker herself contained the actual Joker's DNA and mental encoding. Insuring her the top slot in what passed for a chain of command. Hellequin's independence worried Dee Dee and Card Queen but the Jokerz as a whole simply saw Hellequin as Neo Joker's Harley Quinn. Just as smart if not smarter and a helluva lot more vindictive. The Jokerz could relate to her mental picture of Gotham so they gave her free rein. So did Neo Joker.
To restrain Hellequin was to lose her and Neo Joker couldn't imagine a world without her. Unlike the Joker, this was real love and neither would squander it. After the Joker, Hellequin had decided she was done with serving men's pleasures. So the fact that the Neo Joker happened to be a woman sidestepped that self-imposed prohibition. But she still refused to serve.
Hellequin and Neo Joker met as equals. As Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn did. Marian and Regina Swann had attended the couple's bachelorette party. Hellequin then met them in the Amazon jungle to warn them they'd been selected as two of the Monitor's Paragons but their daughter would be safe while they served the mission. Lucy Quinzel remained safe...until the Prime Universe was annihilated by the Antimatter Universe at the end of Final Crisis. But Glorith restored that history so the trio lived on coastal New Jersey away from Gotham.
Dr. Harleen Quinzel worked as a psychiatrist and owned an amusement park. Dr. Pamela Isley owned a bio-engineering facility dedicated to plant based green products to save the planet's environment. Lucy had just finished teething. A major accomplishment according to her moms.
Tomas Payne had been a young teen when Harvey Dent became Two-Face. Tomas became obsessed with Two-Face. Even daring to date Duela Dent as she was transforming into Card Queen. Tomas himself became a biochemist in order to scar half of his face ala Two=Face style after Harvey's death. The difference was the new Half-Face replicated VENOM and began using it to pursue his criminal career in Pittsburgh and eventually draw Major Disaster's attention and earn an invitation into the Secret Society. So the Bane-level Half-Face was the first to engage Azrael. The converging Secret Society, Annoyances, Outlaws, and Titans came into conflict as they met.
As Half-Face found himself disbelievingly struggling to stay alive against Azrael alone, he was relieved when Dr. Ava Hyde drank her potion and transformed into Ms. Jillian Jekyl. Ms. Jekyl joined in the fight beside Madame Muscle. Madame Muscle had been subjected to a steroidal compound similar to Blockbuster formula. It permanently altered her physiology but also increased her dopamine addiction. She needed near constant action to stay sane.
Azrael had been briefed on the latter members of the Secret Society by Sister Lilhy the morning of. Jekyl's weakness was she burned through her formula dosage the more she employed her tremendous strength and reflexes. Mere ambiguous moral compass became purely evil. So Ms. Jekyl wouldn't hesitate to kill him where Dr. Hyde would flinch.
They were all strong and inhumanely fast. But Azrael's reflexes and endurance conditioning matched their own. His fighting acumen far exceeded theirs. So he used their great strength and speed against them. Pitting one Societor against another while he landed blows against the third. As expected, tempers frayed and soon his enemies fought each other on their own accord, freeing Azrael up to deliver what would be crippling blows against lesser opponents.
Vengeance sought the wrong man. Bane's mind had been broken by Batman and VENOM addiction but it was Azrael that broke his body. He'd broken Bane's back, paralyzing him from the waist down. Deprived of mobility and VENOM, Bane went mad.
By the time they rallied together once again, Half-Face and Madame Muscle were barely able to move and Ms. Jekyl reverted back to being Dr, Hyde. He'd systematically destroyed her backup vials of potion so she was rendered completely human and easily knocked out. Even fighting the impaired duo together, Azrael left them alive only to sate Father M'Buttu's call for mercy. Ms. Jekyl and Madame Muscle had been expected foes. Half-Face was an unknown variable.
He wasn't a detective but Azrael knew a lost soul when he spotted one. Anyone so desperate enough for identity as to repeat Harvey Dent's disfigurement upon themselves in addition to an apparent VENOM delivery system was desperately in need of assistance beyond what the Order of St. Batman could render. Save, perhaps, for death itself. But Azrael had sworn an oath to follow Father M'Buttu's dictates on this. Oaths were not taken lightly by Avenging Angels either of the Order of St. Dumas or Batman. So Half-Face would be spared to face his inner demons. God alone could help him in that perhaps through Father M'Buttu's charity calls upon Arkham's inmates.
"Puh-leeze, bring me the real Catwoman," Catman mocked Holly.
"Where do you want my boot shoved up?" Catwoman replied with a question all her own. Catman didn't like being embarrassed in front of Kitten. Even if her recent choice in lovers were all battery operated since she'd divorced him at age of seventeen while he was in prison. He'd adopted her at thirteen, immediately became sexually active with her and married her at age fifteen to hide her pregnancy. He'd gone to jail and she'd aborted the baby and filed proceedings.
There weren't many grounds he could contest on without revealing his own statutory rapes of her. So he'd surrendered. But he'd left the Legion of Doom to join the Secret Society to be near her again. Katie Conn wanted nothing to do with Thomas Blake
but they were an effective fighting team. But were they as effective, with their mutual dislike, coordinated enough to combat Catwoman and Catgirl?
Holly was Selina Kyle's prized protege and only choice to succeed her as Catwoman. Catgirl was the best in her Young Justice classes at unarmed fighting. But she wasn't unarmed. She'd been mastering nun-chucks at Young Justice so she brought a pair of them. Holly had her bullwhip. Catman and Kitten had clawed gloves. Which they had to close the range to use. Giving Catwoman and Catgirl every advantage.
Eventually Catman caught the whip's stinger and Holly closed the distance to engage him. She'd slowed him enough with the whip that she felt free to go hand to hand with him. Catgirl simply brained Kitten as the older girl tried to surprise Catgirl. Kitrina made certain she was still alive before settling in to watch Catwoman nut Catman and then relentlessly beat him to a pulp. She whistled to get Holly's attention.
"Ahem. We're leaving them alive today," Catgirl called her off.
"Misogynistic bastard is damn lucky you were here," Catwoman caught her breath from her exertions and the adrenaline let off.
"That's why Selina pays me the big bucks," Catgirl joked.
"She still doesn't fully trust me," Holly sighed, "Not since the Maven incident."
"You killed her boyfriend for accidentally hitting her," Kitrina recalled.
"You don't 'accidentally' hit people," Holly complained.
"But you overreacted because you were crushing on Maven even though you know she's strictly hetero," Catgirl reminded Catwoman.
"True," Catwoman sighed, "Thanks."
"I got your back, Holls," Kitrina promised.
"I know. And I've got yours," Holly promised back.
"God help the first guy that breaks my heart," Catgirl grimly chuckled.
Claire Voyant was in a Peyton Riley quandary. The new Ventriloquist was a hard read
unlike Scarface's old owner, Peyton wasn't tortured by the dual psyche. She thrived on it. Lyn Hall couldn't get a psychic reading off of the pair of them to predict their actions. They were individuals and a gestalt all at once. Which confused the hell out of her psychic senses.
Unfortunately, Scarface's "toy" tommy gun shot .22 caliber bullets and Ventriloquist carried a snub nose .38. Claire was weaponless since she could usually predict a foe's actions well in advance and circumvent them before they actually occurred. This served to confuse her enemies as well as demoralize them. Only this time, Claire was the demoralized one.
Unable to get a lock on her opponents' next actions, she went with sheer brute force panic and attacked Ventriloquist and Scarface with a garbage can lid as a cudgel. Beating Peyton Riley senseless and cracking Scarface's "skull", she panted after her rage subsided. Physical fighting was such sweaty work. Which was why Claire strove to avoid it.
Four Societors chose to confront Arkham Knight. Actually, three chose and one just tagged along. Major Disaster led Angle Man and Black Puma. Big Sir just went wherever Major Disaster did. Black Puma was the latest of a minor legacy of costumed vigilantes. This Black Puma was actually Black unlike his Neo-Nazi predecessor. The last Black Puma had been a member of the Fourth Reich before the Masked Leader purged the ranks. Black Puma didn't have any particular gen factor. But he was a highly trained fighter in several disciplines.
Angle Man's angle iron created spatial portals. Major Disaster was a one man natural disaster. Big Sir was...Big Sir. A man-mountain with a child's mind. His gen factor was super strength and durability.
Major Disaster could create any calamity regardless of local conditions. He was the apex predator Arkham Knight had to deal with first. Unfortunately, taking Major Disaster out would spur Big Sir into an infantile rage.
"For my first trick, I'll...ugh!" Major Disaster never had a chance to finish as Arkham Knight closed the distance and struck him down with a knee strike to the jaw. A sweeping kick to the head put him down for good.
"Major Man!" Big Sir raged, "You's is dead!"
"Easy, land mass," Arkham Knight drew his pistol. He wondered which continental shelves had collided to breed this one.
Angle Man portalled a fist through an angled field to punch Arkham Knight', "Dammit!"
He'd broken his hand with a hastily prepared punch to Jason's helmet.
"I got this!" Black Puma declared as Big Sir began throwing a tantrum that was eating up real estate. Black Puma used razor clawed brass knuckles like Bronze Tiger. So Arkham Knight holstered his gun and drew his specialized fighting knife. One sharp enough to cut a Bat cable. Arkham Knight took the knife in a reverse hold and blocked the first swipe of claws. He threw another knee strike to back Black Puma off. A backspin kick furthered the field even more as he quick drew his pistol and shot Angle Man.
"Angel Man!" Big Sir raged even further.
"I should leave you to him but he gets the leftovers," Black Puma decided. Arkham Knight ducked under a round kick to try and stab Black Puma's sidekick but the man had his razor claws blocking the blow.
"You need two, former Red Hood," Black Puma laughed.
Arkham Knight reholstered his pistol and drew his second knife, "Like this one?"
"Now that ain't fair," Black Puma complained.
"Seemed to be when you thought it was just to your advantage," Arkham Knight noted.
"Ah hell," Black Puma ducked and so did Arkham Knight as a car came flying by overhead,
"You hurt Major Man and killded Angel Man!" Big Sir roared.
"Excuse me," Arkham Knight sheathed a knife and drew his pistol and shot Big Sir between the eyes. The hippopotamus land mass fell back onto his haunches and began to cry.
"How'd you know that wouldn't kill him?" Black Puma inquired.
"I didn't," Arkham Knight traded weapons again.
"Cold, man," Black Puma came at him once again. They parried and slashed at one another. Arkham Knight held one knife in a reverse grip and the other in a fore grip so he could project a threat no matter how he spun. Wearing Black Puma down, he managed to stab the man's left wrist, causing him to drop the razor claw gripped by that hand.
"I give up," Black Puma dropped the other claw, "You can't kill me because I surrendered.
"What kind of twisted logic is that?" Arkham Knight asked as he pistol whipped Black Puma into submission.
"You're just lucky the contract was downgraded," Arkham Knight told the unconscious Black Puma and then he went to console Big Sir.
"No one's dead or dying, Big guy," he offered.
"Big Sir. I'm Big Sir," he sniffled.
"You friend might need porcelain caps but he'll live. Angle Man is wounded but not bleeding out," Arkham Knight assured him, "I even left the knife guy alive."
"Black Puma," Big Sir's sniffles slowed.
"Sure, him too," Arkham Knight wondered how the hell to subdue Big Sir should one of those predictions ring false. The SRU was en route as per Knightfall's arrangement with Barbara Gordon regarding the case. She'd come to the last minute arrangement while the planning session was underway so everyone was apprised before today's event. somehow it still seemed too easy.