Hey everybody! I'm going to keep it brief up here, but make sure to check the bottom for a lengthier A/N. Without further ado, lets jump right into it.
GOTHAM CITY – SORBEN INSTITUTE
June 10th, 2008. 1315(1:15 PM) EST.
Dr. Eli Selig's POV:
Sweat was profusely pouring down his forehead as he bustled about the lab gathering up his things.
'I Can't go along with this any longer. It looks like the time has come. I'll have to disappear.' Selig thought as he proceeded to make his way into the supply closet for the lab…where the main breaker for not only the floor; but the joint connection for the entire building was.
Eli had been uncomfortable for quite some time as more and more requests had been made along with addendums to the previously set agreements for the work that he was doing for the Z-8 unit, but a week prior; things had finally reached a crescendo for him.
He'd been working on the hard coding for the chip that would allow a constant satellite uplink, one that would allow the Z-8 unit to traverse the globe without having to manually hook up to a guidance device, when he'd discovered a backdoor within one of his own lines of code.
After finding it, and setting to find out exactly where it came from, Selig found himself entrenched in his colleague's personal terminal; as the origin data lead him there.
Apparently his partner, Dr. Tannor had cut a separate deal with the CIA, siting that he believed Eli was holding back on delivering the Synthoid to the agency within their allotted timeframe.
'Which of course he was correct. Let it not be said that Donald is a complete moron. Though how he can be considered a genius when he forgot to delete the automatic recordings of his video calls I'll never know.' Eli thought as he prepped his two prong plan of attack.
Finding Tannor's betrayal had just been the tip of the proverbial iceberg, and after some more digging; the evidence of what the Agency had planned for the Z-8 was damning.
Though Eli liked to try and remain as humble a man as possible, he was quite aware that he was in fact a bit of a genius.
'And it doesn't take a genius to realize what's going to happen once the Z-8 is "complete". Not only will the Agency follow through with its plans, but more than likely Donald and I will both "mysteriously" disappear; as they'll only need the first unit as a means to re-engineer an entire battalion... or more.'
A list of pre-planned assassinations, insertion plans across the globe, and sabotage plots had been uncovered through a slew of the recorded calls Eli had stumbled across.
'And while it may be surprising to some that these grown men, some of whom who have not only served in the military but now in the higher echelons of the government made such a mistake like openly speaking of all of these things, completely shattering any kind of OPSEC protocol they were supposed to be utilizing; their loss is now quite fortunately everyone else's gain.'
Eli had taken that first night after all of the terrible revelations to get slightly piss drunk…as foolish and uncommon for him as the event may have been.
Every hour after that had been spent making plans, and even plans within plans while beginning to make quiet but expedited moves to facilitate the most important things he could think of.
His escape, but more importantly the Z-8's- Zeta's disappearance.
Eli arranged for new clean passports and identity papers with a lovely woman that he'd found right there in Gotham that tended to help those of a… slightly seedier disposition.
'Fortunately her workload hadn't been too large, and I had the money for the rush job. Quite the lovely woman, that Ms. Coburn is. I shall have to send her a gift basket if the opportunity presents itself.'
Eli had also secured himself a small stash of private funds, not only from the already existing pool of cash that he had had access too, but by selling some information.
'In for a penny, in for a pound as they say. They'll already likely brand me a traitor and enemy of the state, what's one more nail in the proverbial coffin?' He had thought as he'd sold what he'd been able to glean from Donald's recorded video chats with the three different Agency representatives; their possible future and soon to be worthless plans giving Eli hope that with the leak of said information the Agency would be too busy putting out the resulting fires to fully commit to chasing him.
'For a time anyway.'
After having secured himself the papers, the funds, and even his plan for getting out of the country, Eli turned his thoughts to the Z-8, his child.
Eli had never had any biological children, as he'd never seen the point considering the amount of time he'd wound up spending entrenched in his work and research.
'No woman would have ever been willing to put up with it.'
But Z-8…had been his chance.
Not a child in the traditional sense, but still, a child of his own all the same.
The Z-8 was built upon a neurelnet processor, a revolutionized breakthrough in artificial intelligence. A learning computer with an unbelievable bank of storage within the general housing of the Synthoid unit. It was a marvel of technological engineering, and coupled with the miniaturized nuclear battery at its core; the Z-8 was projected to be capable of continuing at optimal efficiency for at least the next one hundred and fifty years.
'And that's not even taking into account any maintenance that can occur to extend that projected lifetime.'
Effectively, Eli's genius had given birth to what the Agency considered to be the perfect assassin/soldier.
With the added capability to remove and store data, the Z-8 would undoubtedly be able to record lifetimes worth of experience and knowledge as long as the unit maintained its full integrity.
The Z-8 had begun as any blank canvas does; along the lines of how every newborn infant does.
The chip and the rest of the components that would make up Z-8's brain may be housed inside a body that was meant to replicate most any adult, and the unit may very well have the ability to link up to the internet giving it a seemingly endless supply of information; but the basis for how the chip acclimated and adapted to its surroundings was very much human.
Eli had taken great joy in forming the building blocks for Z-8's budding personality, beginning with what he considered to be the basic information that anyone should know before pushing forward into a mid-grade academic life. English, Mathematics, History, nothing had been left off the table when beginning the process of the Z-8's education.
And Eli had truly reveled in the blossoming intelligence that seemed to be springing forth over the time he spent with his creation.
If he had to put a label upon it, Z-8's personality was very much like that of a happy eight-year-old child at the moment.
'Inquisitive, Hopeful, Studious, and all of that is wrapped around that small and blooming bit of Cleverness.'
The Agency had wanted a Snythoid that was designed to infiltrate…to supplant…to kill.
'One would think that they could simply be happy with the original combat chassis design that I'd given them, it's certainly dangerous enough… but alas they keep demanding more. And I will Not let them get at my child.'
There was no doubt that if Eli had handled things differently from the inception, the Z-8 would have revolutionized Guerilla warfare and the world of espionage. It would have tilted the scales of national power.
The United States would have wound up either reestablishing itself as a True superpower in the world, or the entire situation would have kicked off WW3 with the discovery of the level of treachery that was being spouted about quietly amongst certain influential members of the US government.
'But the people that want this…they are, despicable. And I'll have no part of it.' Eli thought as he pulled himself out of his deeply concerned thoughts back to the task at hand.
One of the major perks of his overall situation was that only he and Donald had access to this main lab, that… and Donald's utter lack of general and self-awareness.
Those two things had combined to give Eli a chance. A very slim one, but a chance all the same.
Donald was undoubtedly good at the things he did…what few things they were.
'But he's never been as smart as he likes to think that he is, and he's unbelievably lazy. A braggart and a showboat if there ever was one.'
Eli and Donald had only had to ensure that their reports for what they did during the day reflected some kind of return upon the work they were doing, and as such they didn't truly have set hours.
The both of them were free to come and go as they individually pleased.
Eli had thrown himself into his work at all hours of the day and the night, and the returns of all of that work were self-evident.
Donald on the other hand…
Eli had often had to subject himself to listening to the younger man's rants when he'd actually deigned to be present in the lab, as he'd spout off about his misadventures out in Gotham proper when they finally had the rare and slim hours in which they shared said lab together.
Eli could hardly find it within himself to blame Donald.
Donald's work primarily consisted of the metallurgy and the actual machining of the parts that were required before placing them into the Genesis Cradle.
'The man is just slightly beyond the prime of his youth, and he's not the best looking fellow. I know that I have never been some kind of prize but…well… either way it matters nil at this juncture.' Eli thought as he set up the bucket that would ignite within just a few moments; which would help to leave an appropriate level of mess to worry over.
Sneaking some more volatile chemical compounds into this closet would have normally been noticed, either by Donald; or by the so called hidden security cameras that Eli was sure his observes believed him unaware of.
But Eli had already proven that he was a more than competent hacker himself.
'They should have been more vigilant, tighter in their work. Had they been...' Eli thought briefly, before shaking his head out of the possible worry spiral as he finished setting things up for the bucket.
With Donald's lack of presence or mindfulness, everything Eli needed had been put into position, and it was time to put his plans into action.
A small set of tools to help facilitate a short from the breaker that would trip the connector that allowed flow of power to the entire building had also joined the chemical compounds, and in that the process began.
Eli in that moment took a brief second to thank the foolish although necessary design flaw that was now going to allow him his chance for escape, before setting forth.
The plan, a simple one.
Eli would simultaneously set up his, for lack of better descriptor 'Bomb Bucket', and then quickly jury rig the assembly that he'd made.
The purpose of the assembly was to first knock out the breaker. Redundancy switches existed that would trip to keep this floor running on reserve power for at least 30 minutes, and that power would be fed to all of the majorly sensitive equipment; including the Genesis Cradle and the lynch pin for all of Eli's plans. The emergency high speed elevator.
Unbeknownst to any other than himself, the Z-8 was actually already fully assembled within the cradle; he simply needed to be woken up as he was currently in standby mode once again.
'One would think that Donald would be in the know about this considering all the actual work I've had him do, but again, completely absent minded that one.'
Eli quickly rigged the breaker and hustled his way out of the closet as he hastily slammed the door behind him, trekking over to the Genesis Cradle.
Upon alighting at the terminal for it, the power briefly cut out, before a small blast went off, the small wisps of smoke beginning to trail out from underneath the closet door indicating Eli now had little time.
'Mustn't dawdle as I don't have long.' Eli thought as he brought up the screen, simultaneously initiating a reboot sequence for Z-8; while composing his final video message for the internal logs for his son.
"Z-8. I'm…I'm so sorry. So truly sorry my dear boy. I wish that I had more time, that we had more time. I wish that I could be there for you, as is a parent's job. I unfortunately cannot. Do not look for me, son. We must stay apart from one another. For if the Agency were to have either one of us it would be bad enough, but for them to have the both of us; it would be nothing short of a catastrophe. You are the culmination of all of my accomplishments in life son. You have the tools necessary. Survive. Be more than what they wanted of you. You can do it. My only regret is that I will not be able to stand beside you, to watch you finish evolving into what I had planned for you. I was only able to secure a small cache of necessary tools and spare parts, along with a few… special upgrades for you. I have spirited them away from here, and they are being kept in storage out of sight. Only attempt to retrieve these things when you are absolutely sure that you are safe to make a move for them. You will know how to find them if you look inwards. I leave you now, to live life as you will my boy. Know that no matter what happens, I will always be proud. Bringing you into this world, it has been my greatest honor. …I…goodbye. Goodbye, my Zeta."
Eli quickly pulled off his glasses to wipe the slowly gathering tears from his eyes as he closed the video window before gently placing his right hand atop the cradle one last time in a show of affection, as the acrid smell of the burning from the closet began to spill outwards into the lab proper as the fire began to slowly start to consume the walls beside the closet as alarms began to sound out; before placing his glasses firmly back upon his nose.
Walking swiftly so as to not only avoid the spreading fire, or the meager security Bennet had installed that was sure to be on their way, but his son's imminent emergence from the cradle; Eli dashed past his personal desk stopping only to spill out what was once supposed to be his celebratory bottle of Aristocrat vodka. The highly proofed alcohol spilled across his desk and his terminal as Eli picked up his brown leather messenger bag from the back of his chair.
"Well as they say, Viva la revolution!" Eli said before quickly pulling out a lighter and dropping it on the vodka soaked terminal igniting the whole thing, before briskly turning and making his way to the hidden high speed emergency elevator at the back southern wall of the room.
The doctor glanced forlornly at the Genesis Cradle before the elevator began to shepard him down and away from the lab, and as that process took place Eli pulled out his smart phone; quickly dialing Donald.
At the third ring, the line picked up.
"What could you possibly want right now Eli? I'm getting ready to- "
"As thrilling as I'm sure your plans for the afternoon are Donald, you should shut up and listen to me. I Know, Donald. I know about your correspondence with the Agency, and I've retained the proof. I've also taken steps. If I were you, I'd either call one of your contacts…or flee the country. If you haven't figured it out yet, we are very small fish swimming in a tank full of hungry tiger sharks. I for one, will not be made a meal of; nor will I hand anyone the means to enslave the world. I don't care if they are promising protection, promising stability, putting a knife to the world's throat to force compliance is not the way to go about giving genuine safety. Turning over anything like the Z-8 would do just that. It'll lead to war, and I'll be damned before I'm made an accessory to that." Eli said, his voice rising a bit as his passion against what he'd found out would happen spurring him on.
The line remained quiet for a moment before Donald tried to rally.
"You…I…You can't just…Eli- "
Eli cut across him again, finally finished with dealing with the man.
"As eloquent as your being, I'm tired. I also have far more important things to concern myself with, like survival. If I were you, I'd start prioritizing the same."
Eli heard Donald screech a bit in frustration like a tantruming child before his voice came back over the line.
"Parson's was due to come Tomorrow! She'll tell Bennett, and he'll find you and Crucify You!"
Eli let a slightly dark smirk settle upon his features as the elevator deposited him at the ground floor of the building.
"He'll have to catch me first. Considering that my son is now free, and he has you probably doddering around? I doubt he'll be focused on a tired old man like me. But, who knows."
Another jumble of confused and frustrated noises reached Eli's ear as he pushed through the double set doors onto the sidewalk from the Institute, before Eli decided he'd had enough.
"Accept my advice or don't Donald, I honestly couldn't care less at this point. I'd say it's been a pleasure, but that would be a lie. Best of luck to you."
"El- "
CLICK
Eli dropped the phone to the concrete and stomped on it, a few of the passing people staring at him in confusion as he did so, before he walked to the curb and flagged down a taxi.
Getting into it, Eli felt a sense of calm settle upon him.
He had made his decision, and regardless of the outcome he knew he could live with it.
'Like it or not it's time to go on a little trip. Funny, I always said I'd take a vacation, see the world a little.'
"Where to my friend?" the cabbie's voice sounded out to Eli as the vehicle pressed forward and away from the Sorben Institute.
"I need to make two stops. I'm headed for Gotham National, but first I need you to stop at 177 Bleecker St. in the Financial District."
"You got it man."
The cab smelt of stale leather, and whatever the strange musty cologne was that the driver was wearing.
Eli took a slow shallow breath to settle his heart, as anxiety began to build at his thoughts of pressing on.
'The game is afoot my boy. I've made my first move, and now it's time for you to make yours. Good luck, my son. I can only hope that you don't become disillusioned too quickly with the world I've brought you into.' Eli thought as the cab took him towards what would hopefully be destination nowhere.
Back at the Sorben Institute moments after Dr. Selig's departure:
The security team couldn't even get into the lab, as the fire had started to spread quickly along the walls, and even parts of the floor.
The amount of smoke present, was absolutely tremendous.
The team would have to report however, that there was no sign of the good Dr. within the confines of the lab.
They would also have to report that it looked as though something had broken out of one of the windows from the floor, which was an odd state of affairs considering how high up the floor was.
On the street level next to the institute, few if any people saw what looked to be a silver humanoid looking robot running into a nearby alleyway.
With so few witnesses, and the lack of properly working traffic cameras in Gotham, the remarks about the sighting would go on to be forgotten; the only reminder of said sighting being the slightly cracked pavement from where the robot had landed after falling from the large building behind it.
GOTHAM CITY – HELENA'S APARTMENT
June 10th, 2008. 1320(1:20 PM) EST.
Helena's POV:
Helena finished pushing her new load of laundry into her stack dryer before going back over all that she needed to have on her, before getting ready to head back to Ted's.
'Didn't mean to be away this long. Living on your own is hard.'
The funeral had been a draining affair.
Not specifically because she had known Richard Tyler… because she hadn't.
It wasn't even tiring because of Helena's closeness with Wesley, though that did play its own part in her feelings over everything.
'How could I not feel bad for Wes? It's horrible.' Helena thought, as she considered how terrible it was to lose loved ones.
The truth of the matter though, was that Helena herself felt overly drained and emotionally out of place, because she'd attended the funeral at all.
'After all… that was the first I've been to since…'
The same prickling and burning sensation threatened to overwhelm Helena again as it already had a few times today, but she closed her eyes hard; and took a deep breath before centering herself.
How many years it had been didn't matter…
Her parents murder was still ever presently fresh in her mind, and the funeral had only drawn focus to her typical feelings over it.
Anger, Sadness, Frustration, Helplessness…
Rage.
Helena shook herself as she planned to start gathering her gear and her bag so that she could begin the trek over to Ted's, but was pulled from activity as the window to her fire escape began to slide open.
Shock and indignation filled her, and she spun towards said window bringing her four-inch folding knife up from her lower back sheath, the blade flicking rigidly into place as she began to take aim to throw it at the intruder.
She found herself halting as she got a better look at her unexpected guest.
A pair of long slender arms reached into the air, a slightly freckled and young looking face that held a bright pair of blue eyes underneath a pixie cut mane of wind swept blond hair peered up at her.
"Woah! Woah! Jesus Helena! It's Ro! What the hell?! Is this how you greet all your visitors?"
Helena took a moment to death stare at the closest thing she could say she'd had to a friend while living at the group home, before flicking her knife back into a locked position and putting it away.
"Ro! I Almost killed you! How about a little warning next time before you decide to commit a breaking and entering huh?"
'Ro', short for Rosaline Rowan, was a petite little thing for a 14-year-old.
Standing at 5'1, the girl probably weighed barely a hundred pounds soaking wet.
Her heart shaped face had a slight nose set in it, and the light dashing of freckles and the light blue eyes gave her the look of someone with an overabundance of youth, and the appearance of innocence.
The girl was wearing her traditional black wife beater that was stylized with white circuitry looking lines across it at intervals, a pair of slim fit blue jeans that clung to her frame, and a pair of blacked out cross trainers.
The slight lilt to her voice and glimmer in her eyes told Helena that she was barely taking her seriously.
"Yeah, yeah, keep your pants on. Look, I haven't heard from you in while. I figured I'd drop by; see how you're doing ok?"
Under normal circumstances, and had it been anyone else, Helena would have probably believed that.
But Helena had spent enough time with Ro to know her tells, to be able to pick up when she was lying.
Crossing her arms under her bust Helena gave Ro her most unimpressed stare, waiting for the younger and smaller girl to crack.
Ro, like Helena, came from a broken home.
Her mom had apparently abandoned her and her younger brother Casey when they were younger, no knowable reason in sight.
Ro's grandparents had apparently happily stepped in to care for them for a time, but unfortunately both had been in poor health.
Said bad health had led to car accident.
The state stepped in after that.
Normally siblings were kept together on principal, as was protocol.
But not in Ro and Casey's particular case.
The family that had come and adopted Casey, only wanted a young boy.
Ro admittedly already had a rambunctious and defiant personality, and had had such since she had been a younger child; gaining her the nickname 'Little Bulldozer' from her grandfather.
Said nickname still applied, as Ro was one of the most willful girls that Helena had ever met, even for one as slight as Ro was.
Helena had known Ro for over five years now, and much like Helena, Ro was more than happy to stand up to anyone that crossed her.
Besides being willful however, Ro was considered a troublemaker.
Said reputation was made evident when a foster family had attempted to take her in shortly after her brother's relocation…
It hadn't ended well.
Ro had apparently taken up the habit of being a pickpocket and shoplifting while in the family's care.
Eventually, she wound up right back in the group home with Helena.
The two of them got on well enough because neither of them liked taking crap from anyone, though in Helena's personal opinion, she wouldn't necessarily call them close.
Helena's own fear of becoming too close to someone for the fear or losing them like she had her parents, on top of the knowledge that Ro tended to be a bit of a troublemaker had kept them from being as close as they could have been overall.
However, both of them had still time and again stuck up for one another on more than one occasion in a show of solidarity.
After all, within the home, the two of them in particular were considered outsiders.
In the spirit of that, Helena had started to pass on some of what she'd learned from Ted for self-defense over time, and in return, Ro had helped Helena with anything and everything tech related when she needed it.
'Damn girl is a genius after all.'
While Ro had many qualities that made Helena believe that she may run afoul of the girl while she was in her Huntress persona one of these days, the one thing that Helena couldn't take away from Ro was her apparent intelligence.
Ro out of all the kids at the group home should have been the one to have gotten a sponsorship to Gotham Academy.
Helena knew that she was considered smart.
She applied herself to her work, and would doggedly pursue things to their completion.
But Ro?
Ro as far as Helena knew, barely had to study to get even a decent mark; hell she'd listened to the girl brag that apparently she had to try and get bad mark when it came to schoolwork.
The girls natural understanding of things, and ability to pick things up via sheer seeming osmosis was astounding.
And when it came to Computers? Programming? Technology in general?
Helena actually hated talking to the girl about anything related to any of that, because it made her feel inadequate.
Helena had to fight to keep herself focused on staring at the girl while she reflected over what she knew of the girl, because sentimentality was really not something that the girl seemed to hold in high regard.
'Which means there's a reason for her being here, and it's not to be all "buddy-buddy" with me.'
…
A few silent moments passed, and finally after what felt like an age the younger girl gave it up.
"Okay! Quit it with the disappointed parental stare you've got goin on. I'm here because I needed to get away from the home for a bit before shit got outta hand okay? I punched Teresa in the face, okay? I need to lay low for a bit. See if I can figure something out. Can I crash with you for a bit?"
Helena almost winced, knowing what that situation could lead to.
Teresa was a girl of Spanish descent, and had an attitude a mile wide.
She was proud, vain, and quite simply; a bitch.
She had always made it a habit of putting down the other girls in the home, even the ones who considered themselves her 'friends'.
Helena had had issues with the girl plenty of times before, as had Ro…
But a very simple rule in the group home was that you were meant to keep your hands to yourself. That had been hard for Helena, but she had managed it.
The rule itself was strictly enforced, and though it was in fact a group home and by definition not a great place to live in general, the Lexington Ave group home was considered one of the better homes in the city.
There had in fact been instances of violence in the group home, but every single instance had resulted in a transfer of said perpetrator.
Transfer meant being sent to a place that had lesser resources, or worse.
After all, Gotham was a big city.
Said city had multiple people of great affluence living there, and many of said affluent people 'owned' branches of said group homes throughout the city. Whether it was out of pity, or was some way to stroke their own ego, a lot of big names were behind backing the vast number of group homes and programs set up throughout Gotham.
The group home on Lexington was owned and operated by the Wayne Foundation.
A spot in any of the many Wayne Foundation homes was coveted, almost religiously from kids who'd ever been on the street.
'After all, can't think about the name Wayne without hearing those dollar signs in the background.'
Places that were funded by the Wayne Foundation, not only had plentiful resources for the people that lived there, but for the staff as well.
The staff were well compensated, but more importantly than that they were also well vetted.
Which when one pays attention means that it's understood that if you were at one of the Wayne Foundation shelters, you were relatively safe.
Helena had met kids that were on the street, ones that had been at homes not sponsored by the Wayne Foundation.
The stories inspired nothing but dread, and the typical response to if given the choice, said people telling the stories would choose the streets over the lesser homes.
Stories of theft, of beatings, of organized gangs within the homes, of rape…
And apparently some of those said things were not only allowed to happen by the staff of the homes but encouraged…even joined in on.
All of these things were apparently quite commonplace in the other available group homes, and the thought of it made Helena absolutely sick to her stomach.
'So to hear that Ro actually lost it and hit Teresa?' Helena thought as a slow pit of worry began to build in her gut for the girl, as Teresa could easily see her removed if she reported it.
Giving Ro 'Sanctuary' would cause complications, she knew.
Outright and being completely honest about it, Helena was still tempted to say no, even with their...connection.
She couldn't trust to leave the girl here in her flat alone, she just couldn't.
Ro had a reputation for snooping, even though no one had ever been able to prove that she'd actually stolen anything; stories ran rampant.
That alone made leaving her in the apartment unsupervised untenable.
If she snooped long enough and hard enough, Helena's identity as the Huntress would be out; and that would be disastrous.
'But…'
Helena took a breath and held up her right index finger to Ro before pulling out her phone.
: Hey! I'm sorry to do this, but I've gotta hang back. Something's come up, and it might take a bit to handle.:
After a few moments her phone registered an incoming text from Jack.
Jack: Everything Ok? You need anything?:
Helena felt herself feel just a bit lighter at his seeming worry for her, and then replied.
: Nah, I'm okay. Just gotta help a friend with something. This might be for a bit, since she needs a place to crash. Don't want to leave anything to chance, if you get my meaning?:
Another few seconds went by before Jack responded.
Jack: Understood. If you need me, you know where I am. Just give me a shout. Stay out of trouble.:
Again, a small bit of warmth flooded Helena, before she ended the conversation.
: Will do. You too, ya hear? Don't do anything stupid till I get back.:
She had expected things to end there, but she got one more ping as she tried to look up at Ro.
Jack: How can I? You're taking all the stupid with you? ;):
Helena felt slight indignation rise up in her, even as she grinned at his response.
: Your gonna pay for that crack in a subtle way sometime soon, you know that?:
A second trailed by and again, Jack came back.
Jack: I got a feeling it's not gonna be that subtle. Lol. Stay safe Hel's Bell's.:
Helena left it there with Jack to look up and face Ro, only to see a Cheshire grin spread across the slight blondes face.
"Now that, is a look I've never seen on your face. Spill it, who's the guy?"
Helena barely stopped herself from face palming openly.
Barely.
GOTHAM CITY – GRANT'S GYM
June 10th, 2008. 1935(7:35 PM) EST.
Jack's POV:
After closing the modified vent grate door and coming to a stop, Jack throttled down and parked his bike; but remained sitting on it for a minute to reflect.
A sense of weariness seeped into him, and it felt as if it went all the way down to his bones.
Things had seemingly been going nonstop as of late, and with the funeral for Richard Tyler having just taken place earlier in the day; Jack could honestly say he was off kilter.
Jack had thought for a moment after waking up from his impromptu sensory overload nap, that things would slide into a lower gear.
'Boy had I been wrong about that.'
Upon waking up the first thing Jack had done was freak out a bit.
Yes, He had been exposed to a ridiculous amount of radiation, so much so that he should have Rightfully died at Chong Mai; the Fourth user's words playing back in his mind as he remembered the incident.
But after a moment of thought after having fully woken up, Jack realized that Everyone needed to be checked and decontaminated.
Thankfully, between the three magicians amongst their ranks, Jacks worry proved to be unfounded.
Eva, being the pragmatic and common-sense driven person that she was, had apparently remarked immediately upon entering the House of Mysteries that they all needed a 'good cleanse'; and had seen to ensuring that the group was radiation free magically.
After having his mind put to ease about that, Jack had approached Wes.
He offered his condolences, his apologies… everything he could think to offer.
The older man had simply waived him off and thanked him again for helping him bring his godson home where he belonged.
Once things had been fully considered 'over' for the mission, including what had been considered a 'Hero's memorial', things moved in the obvious direction.
Everyone had scattered to go back to their own lives until the funeral arrangements had been pushed through.
Before today, Jack had kept himself plenty busy.
Most of the things were of his own doing.
One, and a very glaring thing that had wound up on his docket, was decidedly Not of his own doing; and he Still didn't know how to feel about it even now after the fact.
The first thing Jack had done was dig his spare suit out while setting the one from the mission aside to be fixed…
'After Wes has had the proper amount of time to grieve and rest. I'm just glad that the damage isn't Absolutely catastrophic, and that I didn't bring the special gloves. If those had been destroyed, I'd have been in the lurch for a while. Hell, I'm glad that Wes made me the spare to begin with. Gonna have to look into a few more, just in case.'
Once Jack was sure that he was set as far as his uniform went, then came his basic check of the rest of his gear, and the planning phase to make some adjustments, as well as some backups; including a few bug out bags.
'Just in case.'
All of that had occurred in the first few hours of wakefulness after the mission.
Things should have slipped into business as usual from there…
But then Ted had dropped a small proverbial bomb on him the day after they'd returned.
FLASHBACK
"Excuse Me?! Can you say that Again for me?"
Ted's countenance was unrepentant as he held Jack's gaze.
"Listen to me Jack. I spoke to a confidant of mine. You Know that my hero persona is basically public knowledge even though Most people don't remember, or at least seemingly don't Care to. Outside of that I Have been in the spotlight for a Long time now, so I've needed to cover my bases. Silvia Myers is a consummate professional, and a crack lawyer and businesswoman. I talked with her about this for You. She wants to meet with you, As All Might."
Jack found himself floundering.
"Ted…Are you nuts?! Please tell me she does Not know who I am?! I don't even Know this woman!"
At Jacks clear and mounting distress, Ted put both of his hands up in a placating manner.
"Of Course Not! Listen to me, okay? She knows that I Know All Might. She Knows that I'm Wildcat, as Many people do. Silvia is one half of the subsidiary company that contractually Owns the Intellectual Property rights to Wildcat. She's literally the second half of the reason why people Can't just sell Wildcat merchandise. Don't you see? I set this up for you, to Protect you. I Know for a fact that you don't just want any Tom, Dick, or Harry running around trying to make money off of your good name. Now? Now you don't need to worry about that. So long as we make a move, and Quick. Just take the meeting Jack. As All Might. Silvia and I already discussed how to set up another company to cover Your intellectual property rights, so that We can get the jumpstart on selling All Might Merchandise in Your name. This can Only help you."
…
At parsing the words Jack felt slight indignation rise up in his chest.
"Ted I'm Not doing this to get famous! I'm not trying to make Money off of being All Might! I'm doing this because it's the right thing! Anyone with the kind of power that I have Should be doing this!"
At Jack's rebuttal Ted clenched his fists in apparent frustration.
"Don't you think I know that?! Jack, do you See any Wildcat merchandise floating around? Do you see me selling it in the gym? No. Ya know why? Because I'm not trying to cash in on being Wildcat either. But let me Again point a few things out to you. One. If you Don't do this, in time Someone Else may; and then you're gonna be kicking yourself over the fact. Two. You don't Have to make any money off of this if you don't Want too, that's 100% Optional. But here's a caveat for that point. Jack, don't you Wanna have more to your name than the meager bit that you're making right now? Yeah sure, you're living Here, and eating here, and saving almost every dime you've got unless it's for necessary stuff. And I'm sure as hell just as Happy to keep putting you up forever…but what happens when the day comes that you want More? A car? A house of your own? Things that are for You, outside of the hero life. This is a good way to work towards that."
Jack was listening to everything that Ted said but was still annoyed; and used what he felt was his last rebuttal.
"Ted I'm hoping to not even Be here long enough to have to think about that stuff! Rich is trying to find a way for me to go home! He may come back with that answer Any day now! He could come to me with it tomorrow! Today even!"
Ted's whip quick return felt like a gut punch.
"And what if you Can't? What if you Can't go home?"
Jack once again found himself floundering as an array of nasty feelings assaulted him, and This time he couldn't even form the words to respond; and Ted pressed his advantage in that moment.
"I'm sorry. I'm Not trying to upset you, Jack. I'm Really not. I Want that for you, I really do. But I care about you, so I'm looking out for you the Best way that I know how. You're a smart guy Jack. You Know that this is the best thing overall for you. Say what you said is true, and Rich came through today or tomorrow? Then no big deal about it either way. I can get you in to see Silvia today, and you can set it up that if you don't check in yourself after a certain point; then Any and All proceeds made from Anything regarding All Might could go to a good cause if the money's ending placement is what your worried about. But Jack…say you Can't go home? Wouldn't it be nice to be able to say you have a steady source of income for Yourself? Or at the very least that no one can turn a profit on Your good name? You barely work at the gym anymore, and I fully support that! You need your cover. But again, the meager amount that I'm paying you monthly? Your gonna hit a wall you can't overcome with your finances as they are as time goes on. You're not getting any younger. This will help you overcome that possible future obstacle, and more than that it's all gonna be done Your way, on Your terms. I Know that that matters to you."
…
Jack thought about it in silence for a while, long enough that he could tell that Ted was becoming uncomfortable with his lack of response.
Raising up his right hand and pointing lightly at Ted, Jack finally spoke.
"It feels like you went behind my back a bit, and I don't care for it. Not at all."
At his words, Jack watched Ted nod slightly with an apologetic look on his face.
After another few moments of silence Jack released a small sigh.
"The next time you think of something like this? Talk to me about it. It's My life. I understand and appreciate you looking out for me Ted. I always have, and Always will. But I Also know what it feels like to be Forced into making a choice, and I can't lie; logical move or not This is what that feels like."
Ted looked ready to rebuttal Jack's words, but Jack raised his left hand up, stalling his mentor in his tracks.
"I Know that that's not what you intended, and I'll get over it. Just… talk to me next time. Okay?"
At Jacks question, Ted nodded, and at his own acquiescence to Jack's request Jack cracked a small grin, eliciting the same from Ted.
"Set up the meeting. Let me get the measure of this woman for myself. Then I'll decide what to do. Who knows? Maybe it'll be good to have her on retainer? Knock on wood so nothing bad happens though, right?
FLASHBACK END
It only took a few hours, but Jack had actually suited up That day and gone with Ted to meet Sylvia Myers.
That meeting had only taken about two hours, as the woman had been Incredibly thorough, and had already had papers drawn up.
She had explained that If he accepted the way that things were set up, He would be one half of a dummy company that would be taking possession of the Intellectual Property rights to the title name of All Might; and all that it entailed.
Jack had gone on to iron out a few other details with Miss Myers while he'd been in the office, surprising both the woman herself; and Ted.
Jack named Ted his proxy, so that he could handle any and all business-related decisions if he was for any reason unavailable.
Jack had also gone on to actually request to have Miss Myers on retainer, which Ted remarked that he'd thought that he'd been joking about it.
'But I sure as hell wasn't, and with her track record, that's a woman I'd rather have sitting next to me in the box if it ever comes down to me being in the legal arena.'
The woman had been over the moon and had almost nixed what would have been his retainer fee, by just adding him in to Ted's contract under an umbrella clause.
After that, things had kind of finally slipped back into business as usual.
Jack had hit the streets a bit, punched a few small-time bad guys out, him and Helena had honestly made a day of it; even grabbing some Big Belly Burger at one point.
'Though I get the feeling that Helena wants to talk, considering the way she'd been side eyeing me while we'd been on patrol.' Jack thought as he secured everything he needed to before finally starting to make his way up towards the apartment.
As Jack made his way into the back stairwell to go up, he pulled his phone to check and see if there were any new texts from Helena.
He'd been quite surprised earlier when Helena had begged off of going out for patrol today, as the girl was normally voracious in her desire to be on the street fighting.
'But if I'm getting that subtext right, she needs this time. Maybe it'll be good for her. Hell, maybe I should take a break. That mission was no joke,' Jack thought as he alighted on the final step before the apartment, seeing that there were no new texts from Helena.
'I hope she's having fun.'
Jacks' burner vibrating drew his vision back down and stopped him from going into the apartment.
YIN: Might. I hate to bother you if your busy, but I need to put the feeler out. The Mayor was wondering if you wanted meet soon? He'd Really like to get a meeting on the books.:
Jack took a minute to think and then shot a text back to the detective.
: Hey. Sorry that I haven't really been around. Tell the Mayor that I'd like to make that happen, but that I've kind of got a full plate at the moment. Gonna have to keep that on the TBD list for the time being.:
A moment past and another text came through.
YIN: Everything Ok? You need help with anything?:
Jack smiled at the seeming concern before replying.
: No, I'm alright. Nothing I can't handle, just some personal stuff. You know how it is.:
YIN: I Do know how it is. I'll pass the word along. Duty calls.
Jack smirked and considered the conversation over, so he walked into the apartment…
Said walking in gave him the shock of his life as the coffee table was overturned, and a mess of what had been on the table was strewn about the apartment floor.
Jack would have immediately amped up to fight if he didn't see Ted standing in front of the flat screen with his arms crossed, glaring across the way at Richard, who had his head downcast.
Jack quietly closed and locked the door to the apartment, before carefully removing his helm and setting it and his shield on the main island counter, before slowly walking forward to stand only a few feet away from the two men but on the same side of the couch as Richard.
"Hey. Is everything alright?"
Ted's voice was whip quick, cold and stern as the grave.
"Tell him. Or I will."
At Ted's words Jack felt nervousness pool in his gut.
'What the…'
Jack went to voice his confusion, but Richard upturning his head to look at Jack stalled him in his tracks.
Richards right eye was almost completely swollen shut, his nose was clearly broken, and the bottom left of his lip was decently split open, while a deep set of black and blue bruising was already showing along and under the same side of his jaw.
Jack immediately wheeled on Ted.
"Ted what the hell?!"
Ted remained stone faced and didn't even bat an eye in Jack's direction at the question.
Occult's voice drew Jacks attention back.
"Jackson…it's alright. I deserved what happened…and I'll deserve what comes next."
The words shocked and confused Jack in a way that he hadn't felt many times in his life, and he found himself having to count to five mentally to try and focus himself.
"Rich…what do you- "
"You Can't go home Jackson. Your home is Gone. I'm sorry."
…
Jack at first felt like he'd been slapped in the face.
Then suddenly it became decidedly hard to breathe.
It took all of his focus to turn himself around and face away from the two men that had helped him get this far, just so that he could try and compose himself.
Seconds dragged by, and Jacks eyes began to burn, and he shut them tightly while trying to control his breathing in an effort not to lose it.
His wife…
His son…
His family…
His friends…
The Life he'd lived...
All of it. Gone. Just…Gone.
Deep heaving breaths racked Jacks frame as he tried to remain in control, and Jack vaguely felt a strong large hand settle onto his right shoulder.
He couldn't say how long he stood there like that…
But eventually her turned and saw Ted looking at him with sympathy…
And yet there was a level of steel to the look that Jack couldn't yet place.
After taking a deep sniff, Jack turned back around to face Rich, now with Ted standing on his left side.
"O…Okay. So…so it's gone. Okay. Thank you, Rich. For telling me. Did you Just find out? And why does your face look like that? Ted, I get that this is…Not great, but at least he told me, right?"
Jack wanted to try and figure this out, play mediator. While he fully appreciated the apparent care Ted had for him, finding out that his home universe was gone did Not warrant what he'd clearly done to Richard.
'Don't shoot the messenger and all that right? Or am I missing something?' Jack thought, trying to be optimistic even over his still lingering confusion as he turned his gaze upon his mentor.
What Jack saw turned his insides to lead before the words even registered, because Ted's face had reverted back to the dark one he'd been wearing when Jack had first entered the apartment.
"Tell him god damn you. You don't get off easy here. I meant what I said. You tell him, or I will."
The words caused Jack to slowly turn his head and look at Occult with trepidation.
"Ri…Rich?"
Occult, who had again turned his gaze to the floor, turned his slightly mangled face up to look at Jack.
After a few uncomfortable moments of silence, Richard spoke.
"I…I'm…. I'm Sorry, Jackson. Your world isn't just gone. It's been gone. I knew it the first time I went looking for it."
…
A slow, almost high-pitched keening sound started to build up in between Jacks ears and he could vaguely feel his body taking a half step forward, before he also barely registered a hand settling onto his left shoulder.
That set him off.
His left hand came up minutely as he Amped himself up in an instant, and as Ted was air bound and thrown bodily into the wall beside the TV Jack's right hand whipped up; and a glowing and Smokey tendril of Black-Whip lashed and wrapped tightly around Occult's neck.
The magician began to panic and tried to claw at his neck for a brief second before attempting to reach for his trench coat pockets.
Jack's left hand twitched, and a second tendril sprouted up and out of it, before splitting into two smaller lines that wrapped around each of Occults hands.
The man had been in the process of sinking to his knees from lack of oxygen, but quickly found himself hoisted from his falling state, and pulled bodily towards Jack to be suspended before him like a living marionette.
...
Voices.
Voices echoing in his head, and from Ted's rising form.
All of them begging him to stop, to calm down.
Red had already been bleeding into his vision, and Jack found himself morbidly thinking for a moment that he was quite surprised that Occult's neck hadn't snapped like a bunch of dry kindling.
"You…how could…how could you…"
Hands clasped upon his face, trying to turn his head to force him to look…at Ted.
His mentor's voice started to break through the absolute haze of anger and grief.
"Jack! Let him go! Come on! Come back! Don't do this. You don't want to do this. Please"
Jack's head didn't even budge, but he could still hear the man's words.
And all they did was fuel the fire in his gut.
'I….'
BUMP-BUMP
Jack felt it then…he felt himself teetering. Like what if feels like to fall.
And then suddenly…he felt warm.
Someone was holding him.
That's when he realized it.
He wasn't in the conscious world anymore…he was inside 'One for All'.
And a pair of firm yet slender arms were wrapped around his partially formed torso from behind him.
"I'm Here 9. I'm Here. We're All here. It's Okay. Let him go, Please. Please let him go Jack."
'Na…. Nana…'
Her voice was soothing in that moment, soft yet firm.
Projecting understanding at his loss, projecting care for him, but begging him to gain control of himself before he did something he couldn't undo.
Jack blinked… and found himself back in the flat, Ted now sounding desperate in his pleas to him as Richard looked white as a sheet.
In an instant Richard was summarily let go, while also shoved a couple of feet away by Black-Whip to land on his back in a heap.
Ted attempted to wrap an arm around Jack, while Richard coughed and sputtered for breath on the floor, but Jack rebuffed the attempt.
"Don't."
Jack didn't look at Ted…couldn't bring himself too, though he heard the worry in the man's voice.
"Jack…. I."
Jack just slightly raised his left hand, and the motion silenced the man.
Jack tried to keep his breathing even, and simply watched.
Watched and waited for someone that he'd sworn was worthy of his confidence, while the man wheezed in an attempt to get himself together.
Minutes had to have trekked by, and finally the battered magician found his way back to his feet.
A black and blue mark like that of a noose had already formed around Richard's neck…
…
Jack couldn't bring himself to care.
When his voice finally came out, it was ragged, fighting against the grief and the betrayal that even now stung and made his stomach feel like it was liquid fire.
"Why?"
Richard's battered face looked at him, and for a moment Jack knew that he was considering a lie…and that caused Jack to tilt his head just ever so slightly, the action stalling Occult in his tracks.
"If I had…told you, right from the start; you wouldn't have tried." Richard said, while gingerly rubbing at his throat.
Jack's anger flared alongside 'One for All' and his voice felt as though it would shake the flat apart.
"YOU DON'T KNOW THAT!"
…
The magician flinched, as though Jack had struck him again, and it was taking everything he had not to do it.
Another few moments went by in silence, before Occult spoke again.
"The world needs heroes Jackson. In the short time that you've been one, you of all people should understand."
Again, a flare of rage…
"OF COURSE I KNOW THAT! BUT THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH IT!"
Jack once again found a multitude of voices trying to calm him, and he hated to admit that it did help, if only a little.
'But he's gonna answer for this.'
Taking a solid breath, Jack did his best to modulate his volume.
"You had NO right. Keeping this from me was NOT your decision to make! I don't care what you think you know, or feel, it Wasn't your decision; and it was Wrong. Period."
Jack studied the man's face, and because of the damage he couldn't tell if he felt repentant or not…and truthfully, he wasn't sure if it would ever matter.
Occult attempted to say something else, but Jack cut across him.
"Get out."
There's a saying, that True silence can be louder than any noise.
In that moment the silence was oppressive.
Richard's visage was locked between pain and shock, and Jack didn't know whether it was from using his face while it was that damaged or what; but it didn't matter.
When he attempted to rally, Jack was more than happy to smack him down.
"Jackson, please."
"I Said GET Out. Get out, and Don't come back. If you do…"
Jack purposefully left the statement open ended while he stood shaking, because he truthfully didn't know what he'd say; or do.
Richard looked like he wanted to say something, but Ted seemingly rallied, placing his right hand back on Jack's left shoulder.
"You heard him Occult. Get Out."
Once again, an oppressive silence settled upon the flat, before the magician picked up his hat and placed it back on his head from where it had been on the couch.
A lowly mumbled incantation caused the bathroom door to change pallets, much like Jack had heard Eva do before.
Richard stepped towards the door but stopped before stepping through it.
"I Am sorry Jackson. Know that I will always be here, should you have need of me."
...
Jack contemplated hitting the man at 100%...but ultimately just stared in silence until the man finally took his que and left; the bathroom door shifting back to what it originally was.
Another moment went by, and then finally Ted spoke.
"Jack, I…"
The dam finally broke.
Jack collapsed to his knees and screamed in mingling rage and grief as tears streamed down his face.
Jack felt Ted join him on the floor and wrap him in a hug, rocking back and forth as Jack let out the pain, and the frustration, and even the hope for his home world.
This…was the true starting line, and there would be no going back.
GOTHAM CITY – DIAMOND DISTRICT: PLAZA MANOR
June 10th, 2008. 2000(9:00 PM) EST
Sofia Falcone's POV:
A little over a month.
A little over a month she'd been the new de-facto head of the Falcone crime family.
Sofia couldn't say she was upset any longer.
Her grief had hardened like quick-Crete.
Now? Now, she was razor focused.
Getting her brother's service taken care of had taken time, and expenses; but she'd made the showing of it that she knew was expected.
The pigs had denied her father leave to come to the service due to his 'High Profile", but everyone knew what that really meant.
The police were afraid an escape attempt would be staged to spirit 'The Roman' away to a non-extradition country or all points nowhere.
'Fucking Cops.' Sofia thought bitterly as she stood before the replaced window that her nephew had thrown her brother through, slowly sipping a glass of bourbon.
There was a lot of blame to go around for everything that had happened, but Sofia had always been good at compartmentalizing.
After handling her brother's affairs, she'd put people on the street the first chance she had.
Her nephew was in his new Grundy suit, and still had yet to turn up.
'If he ever will at this point.' Sofia thought as she finished the last of her drink, thinking on her new position.
Her family had faced embarrassment, after embarrassment, and this last one was the final straw for her.
'Time to change up the game. Flip the board.' Sofia thought as she pulled out her phone and hit speed dial.
A moment went by, and then her father answered.
"Hey kiddo. What do ya need?"
"Daddy. I've got a plan, but I'm gonna need to dip into some funds."
A beat of silence went by, before her father sighed deeply and answered.
"Sigh. You're the Capo now sweetheart. If you need to see something done, then see it done. Just…just be careful. Promise me."
Sofia felt a small smile stretch across her red glossy lips at the sound of the concern in her father's voice.
"I promise Daddy. Wish me luck."
CLICK
'Your time's coming All Might. Just you watch.'
Annnnd FIN. Well, that was our latest installment of YJ: Legends Are Made. Did you like it? Did you hate it? Inquiring minds wanna know. Jackson finally knows that he Can't go home. That's gotta be a kick to the nards am I right? You'll just have to wait and see how that starts to shake out going forward. To all the people that leave the nasty Guest reviews, I can only say Grow Up and get off my profile. I'm quite tired of having to check that inbox. If you can't be bothered to have a name to show your spine, then disappear. Now, onto more important things. I hope you've stayed this long because this is important. The next few chapters may be something that you disagree with, but what's coming is vital to this story. It has to happen, and I hope that those of you that have bothered to hop on this train with me are willing to stick it out. Keep in Mind: THIS is Not a CRACK fic. I am attempting to tell a well-balanced, well-paced, and interesting story utilizing Existing elements. If you are here waiting for the moment that Jackson just goes off and uses 100% with impunity, I'm gonna have to disappoint you by saying that it's going to be a while before you see consistent acts like that. Will that happen? Absolutely. I Want to deliver crazy over the top, and exciting fights. But and this is a serious one, "I" need to believe that it makes sense. If it doesn't, the words won't hit the page. Period. I have a lot of interesting stuff planned for this story overall, and once again if you have enjoyed the journey, I hope you continue to do so with me. I have even developed some possible "Side" stories that may kick off in time. My Main focus right now, will be trying, and I Stress Trying; to get this story to canon. There's still a lot of ground to cover, and I pray you all enjoy it. When the time comes, I'll drop the info here in the A/N about the up-and-coming stories. The Two that are solid ideas that I would like to pursue which both can be considered Canon to LAM, are my Eva Kramer focused side story, and a possible Villain centric side story that will focus upon things that Are part of this story but that I Couldn't fit into the chapters here. If you've read this far, please let me know what you think of these possible ideas. I hope that all of you have been doing well. Summer is literally on the doorstep. I'm gonna try and get another chapter out relatively soon, but I won't promise for fear of breaking it. Until next time ya'll, I hope that you all stay safe, happy, and healthy! This has been Sojiro, signing off. Laters Gators!