Hey everyone! Finally, back with another installment. I'm sorry for the wait but things have been crazy, and I've been super busy. I don't wanna hold anyone up so be sure to check the bottom for more, and as always please if you haven't Fave, Follow, and even more so leave a Comment. I truly appreciate all the love Ya'll have shown, and I will do my best to try and keep the story as one that you can enjoy.

GOTHAM CITY – ST. CARDIA's CATHEDRAL

APRIL 27th, 2008 (0335 AM) EST

Jack's POV:

The area inside of the dilapidated church was wrecked, the numerous pews broken down to almost kindling while the raised dias was crumbled into broken blocks of what it had once been. The dust and debris could be seen scattered about as multiple people tried to gain their bearings as two veritable Titans clashed in the center of the room. What little light that there was could be seen streaming in through the multiple broken stained-glass windows, giving the open room an ethereal feel.

The small silence that had built up from the previous clash was shattered by the two main combatants.

"GRUNDY GONNA SMASH SMALL SMOKEY SHIELD BOY!" Grundy Shouted as he brought himself up to his full height to run at Jack.

"THE ONLY ONE GETTING SMASHED IS YOU!" Jack shouted back as the lightning coalesced around his body, the smoke churning around his neck and face, concealing his identity in place of his helm.

'How the hell did I get here again?' Jack thought to himself as he cocked his right hand back to throw his next swing.

GOTHAM CITY – UPPER EAST SIDE

April 26, 2008 (1700/5:00 PM) EST

Jack's POV:

Jack veered in and out of the present traffic, doing his best to keep the fleeing perps' vehicle within at least a car and half's length worth of distance from his bike as he chased them from the scene of the shootout.

Besides the gunfire and monitoring the traffic, Jack also had to deal with the constant commentary from his passenger.

"THE FUCK ARE YE DOIN?! YOU GOTTA BE CAREFUL YA BATSHIT MORON!"

Eva had her arms wrapped tightly around his middle, almost making it uncomfortable for him to breathe as he pushed forward with the chase.

After being given a more in-depth analysis of just why Sara Bailey had come to Gotham, Jack stated he'd be back as quickly as possible after dealing with the existing glaring issues happening out in the city proper.

Constantine had quickly offered up to Jack that he and Occult would do their best to divine just where Sara had gone to utilize the amulet while he was away, leaving only her capture to be handled upon his return from dealing with the gangster problem.

Unfortunately, after getting out into the city it became clear that things would be anything and everything but simple.

Not only was the situation much worse than Ted had initially advertised, but he also had his hanger on to now worry about.

Jack had quickly mounted his bike, planning to hit the closest shootout to back up the GCPD and then go from there.

Before he was able to clear the gate, he had been joined by Eva Kramer hopping on with him claiming that she was coming to help.

"The bodach don't need me hanging around. Him and Occult can handle that shite. In the meantime, how's about you show a girl the big bad city?"

The tone with which she had spoken, combined with the way that she had dropped on the bike to ride second showed that she wasn't gonna be going anywhere other than with him. Jack knew that he didn't have the time to argue so simply let her grab ahold of him and took off with only one remark.

"Best hold onto your hat then Miss."

He heard her snort and knew she'd be attempting to make a smart-ass retort, but he cut her off by gunning it right out of the back lot of the gym; causing her to let out a startled squeal as the bike peeled off.

They had made it to the first scene quickly enough with Jack and Eva having dismounted around the corner from the shootout, and Jack had taken down eight gangsters within a matter of moments. A perfectly timed shield throw took down the first two goons as it bounced between both of their skulls with a dull clang, setting up the following flying combo takedown that followed; where he locked his ankles around one goon's neck while he hooked both of his arms around the necks of two others.

Using his flying momentum and his 15% amped state, Jack jerked at the hips while rolling his left shoulder. His locked feet took the man being held by his legs off his feet, while the one the one that was being held in his left grip followed suit.

Jack found himself rolling to the ground bodily over the man locked in his right grip pinning him underneath himself in a lock as he came down from his twist, from there Jack seeing that the one that had been held by his feet was tossed into the side of the hood of one of the parked cars that the gangsters all arrived in.

Meanwhile the man that had been locked in his left grip did the same exact thing while causing a massive dent in the driver's door, leaving both of those two now laying in groaning heaps on the concrete completely incapacitated.

Jack without wasting a beat punched the one locked under his right pit in the temple rendering him unconscious, before kipping up and then turning and booking it at the next three who were attempting to level sub machine guns at him; finally, having come out of their stupor at his brazen intervention.

Throwing his left hand out to the side Jack had summoned his shield to his hands and brought it up, just in time to intercept the beginning of the automatic gunfire. Using his 15% amped state, Jack blitzed in between the three perps in a flash of green sparks and the blurred colors of his uniform and shield.

The first got taken off his feet and landed in a heap as Jack completed his shield charge into the middle of their ranks, the force of the blow having knocked his machine gun out of his hands to the cold concrete. Jack quickly looked to his right, and as the man attempted to bring his gun to bear Jack checked it with his shield knocking it out of the man's hand, stumbling the man back a few steps with his followed up teep kick.

The final gunman attempted to shoot Jack in the back but found his weapon and arms up to his elbows encased in a block of ice; and without his primary weapon he was left wide open to have Jacks shield slammed into his upper chest taking him off of his feet and out of the fight.

The final man standing blinked and began to back away in fear, but quickly found Jack's shield coming straight at him causing him to flinch. When the perp felt no impact, he opened his eyes up and found the front of the shield directly next to his face.

Shortly thereafter, a literal second later the man found himself rendered unconscious, as Jack punched the inside of his shield rattling the metal off of the man's skull making him fall to the ground like a puppet that had had its strings cut.

Jack spun to look at the perp that had ice around his arms as he groaned and rolled over on the ground, the weight of the block too heavy for the very skinny man to make his lame attempt to stand.

Jack speed walked to the man's side and punt kicked the man in the side of causing him to wheeze and curl into a ball effectively taking him out of the fight.

With the danger seemingly passed Jack glanced back and saw Eva lower her hand as she shook it out, a small blue glow fading off of her hand.

Seeing his curious look she smirked and gave him an explanation, clearing the questioning air he had around him.

"The Signet Ring of Seiryu. Gives the wearer the ability to fire concentrated icy blasts. Problem with it being, you use it too much or for too long, you'll wind up losing a hand." Eva said as she turned her hand up to give Jack a better look at the ring since he'd crossed the few feet between them and was now standing in front of her.

It was a relatively simple looking gold band, though the large nugget of a sapphire with the intricate Chinese Dragon motif on the face was extremely eye catching.

Two GCPD cruisers were in the midst of pulling up when Danger Sense flared up, and Jack's ears caught the sound of screeching tires.

Jack lunged Forward wrapping an arm around the small of Eva's back as he pulled her close and told her to duck her head as he brought his shield up.

The sound of automatic gunfire filled the street and then shortly after began to fade away, as a large black SUV tore off down the street headed towards where the highway off ramp would be.

Jack quickly signaled to the officers pointing at the downed perps, and all they had done was saluted an affirmative letting him know that they would wrap up the scene.

Which had led to where he and Eva were right now…chasing after the fleeing opposing gangsters.

This group clearly worked for Black Mask, as denoted by the fact that the two that were shooting at them had their own mask motifs that matched their boss's instead of the typical ski mask motif like the other half of the group he'd just downed.

The wind buffeted them as his bike tore down the pavement, Jack doing his best to contemplate their situation.

There was only about ten or so blocks left before the chase would become infinitely more difficult, as the highway was always overcrowded, even during the early hours of the morning.

"Can you ride?" Jack asked over his shoulder doing his best to keep the bike straight.

"Yeah, I know how to ride. Why?" Eva shouted over the wind.

"Switch up with me."

"What?!"

"I said switch with me. I'm getting off."

There was only a moment's hesitation, but Jack felt Eva grip his left shoulder twice to let him know that she was ready to swap out.

The bike had almost lost traction for a moment as Eva boosted herself up and almost sat in Jack's lap to make the switch, and Jack wouldn't lie he had thought he'd have to grab Eva and bail off as the bike shook violently for a moment but thankfully, Eva was able to slip into it quick enough and then hammered down on the throttle and shifted gears to go faster.

Jack placed his hand on Eva's right shoulder to get her attention, reaching slightly over her head to take his shield off of the magna plate that Ted had installed on the front that hooked it in place right over the main headlight.

"I'm gonna count down from three, and then I'm lifting off. You're gonna have to compensate for the bounce. Don't wreck my bike." Jack said as he used Eva's shoulder for a bit of leverage so that he could push himself into a half-crouched position on the back seat of the bike.

"Wait a sec! The fuck do you mean lifting off?!" Eva shouted at him.

"It means I'm going up up and over onto their car."

Not giving Eva a chance to retort he quickly counted down, amped up to 25%, and pushed off into the air.

On the upward push he pulled his line launcher out and shot it directly into the roof of the SUV.

He had brought his shield down and hooked his right foot into one of the arm straps, using it to land on the street and skate along; sparks shooting out as the hardened metal ground on top of the pavement.

Jack then started to steadily pull himself up along the line, closing the distance between him and the fleeing vehicle.

One of Black Masks goons stuck his head out of one of the rear passenger windows with a sub-machine gun and took aim at Jack as he was about four feet back from the trucks rear. Thankfully, a beam of blue flew passed Jack causing a wave of cold to wash over him as he watched the gun get knocked from the perp's hand only to fall to the street in a block of ice.

Jack pulled twice more and then mounted the back of the truck slamming one of his knives into the door for grip, and then while standing on the upper part of the bumper he dislodged his shield from his right foot to put it back on his back; before releasing the wire on his launcher and stowing it back on his belt.

Jacks right fist turned the back windshield into glass shrapnel as he punched it in, before queuing up his right gauntlet and dispersing little blasts of air pressure into the passengers that were drawing their weapons, knocking them about in their seats.

Jack glanced back briefly to catch Eva's attention and gestured at her to pull back some, which fortunately she understood as she pulled to the left lane to fall back a bit to let him do what he needed to.

Jack used his enhanced state to pull himself up into the trunk as the gangsters tried to get their bearing's, before kicking the back gate so hard that the gears buckled, and the door was half pushed open into a crumpled mess.

Jack raised his hands up and touched the roof and brought them together interlocking his fingers, before smirking at the perps that were looking at him.

"Ya might wanna hang onto something fellas."

The hammer blow he struck buckled the back of the SUV, causing it to lift off the ground from the force that was outputted on the shocks before the whole thing came crashing back down. Upon coming back to the ground, the back tires and their housings failed and wound up turned at a slight angle making it impossible for the truck to go any further.

The truck wound up skidding down the pavement a good two and half car lengths before coming to a full and complete stop, right before passing into the upcoming four-way intersection.

'Okay. As far as plans go, not the worst idea I've ever had, but... gonna have to remember to not do that again.' Jack thought as he shook his head trying to ignore the whiplash from the jostling. He rolled out of the small trunk of the downed SUV and when he was sure that the area was secure, he moved.

Jack could hear the groans coming from inside the SUV and proceeded carefully forward as he placed his shield on his back. He made his way quickly around the left-hand side from the back and opened the driver's door with a little more force than necessary, breaking one half of the hinges that held the door on.

Fortunately, all of the men seemed to be completely out of it and none of the four tried to take any action as Jack undid the driver's belt and pulled him out; all of them clearly not dealing with the whiplash he'd enforced as well as he had.

"Talk. What the hell were you people doing back there? Who does the other group back there work for?" Jack asked as he lifted the man up off the ground a bit to slam him back first into the side of the truck's front half.

The man let out an oomph, before taking a few ragged breathes and looking at Jack through his own mask with hate filled eyes.

"I ain't got nothing to say to you ya freak! Go screw!"

Jack let go of the man's jacket briefly as he heard Eva pull up on his bike and park behind him, before grabbing the back of the man's neck more towards his back with his left and hitting him in the gut with a solid uppercut with his right, dropping the man to his knees.

The gangster hugged onto his middle with both of his arms as he groaned, before Jack pulled him back to an upright position and forced his gaze level with his own.

Jack went to speak again but got cut off as Eva shoved in between the two of them and did something neither of them expected.

She forcefully grabbed the perp by the nuts.

"Listen up ya twat waffle! We ain't got time for twenty questions. So, either start talking or you're gonna find yourself having the worst case of blue balls you've ever had!" Eva said as a literal sheen of white-blue frost began to form on the front of the man's pants.

The man let out a strangled yelp before raising both hands up towards his face, palms facing out.

"Okay, Okay, Chill out! I'll talk!" the man said

While Eva dealt with the driver Jack walked around the car and one by one pulled the other three out of the vehicle, and then proceeded to sit the three other criminals on the passenger's side together before popping two of his glue capsules to hold them all together for the time being.

Making his way back around to the driver's side of the truck, Jack spotted an unmarked police car pulling up with its lights on; and once it stopped, he and Eva were joined by detectives Bennett and Yin.

Jack waved to the two detectives as he came to stand next to Eva before giving his full attention to the caught perp, listening as he detailed what he knew about what was going on and why.

What he said only inspired feelings of dread in Jack.

The Falcone crime family was making their move. He had thought from all the intel that he'd gathered previously that he'd have more time, as they had seemed content to linger in the shadows to do some serious prep work before a gang war actually broke out.

'Clearly that was too much to hope for.'

Mario Falcone had grown tired of waiting and was working on a power play against Black Mask. Sionis had successfully killed his only son and heir five years prior and with Carmine "The Roman" Falcone still locked in Blackgate serving a life sentence, the family's affairs fell to the only male representative.

Knowing that the Falcone operation was being backed by a smaller mobster organization only made things more difficult as their numbers would swell, not to mention that it added to the tangled knots of the power structure that Jack would have to pull apart to even have a shot at trying to bring Gotham a shred of peace.

Eva let the driver fall to his knees, and Jack turned to face the detectives as they finally reached the wreck on foot.

"Nice going Might. It's good to see you. Bats and Robin are dealing with a hostage situation over at Gotham National. Lucky, we got you here now too, otherwise these bozos' might have got away. Who's your friend?" Bennett said with a small smile on his face as he placed a pair of cuffs on the driver, maneuvering around Eva to do so.

"Screw you pig!"

The man caught a smack to the back of his bear head as Bennett had been in the process of pulling the man's mask off.

"Can It. You have the right to remain silent so why don't you do us all a favor and exercise it." Yin said as she looked at the gangster.

Before Jack could speak more on the situation his phone vibrated, leading to his comm crackling to life picking up the bandwidth marker from back at the basement.

"Hey! Can you read me?" Ted's voice called into the comm.

Jack put his hand up while backing away from the detectives and Eva, the girl seemingly striking up an amiable conversation with the two detectives.

"Go ahead Ted." Jack said as he took five steps back.

"Rich and John have got a read on where the amulet may have been or is currently in use. You gotta get back here so you guys can move out." Ted said with a sense of urgency.

"Rodger that. Over and Out."

Jack turned back and with a few brisk strides walked while waving to Eva to follow him as he mounted his shield back up and then straddled his bike.

"Detectives I'm leaving things to you. I've gotta move. I've got a lead to track down. Let's roll." Jack said as Eva approached the bike.

"Yeah, Yeah, keep your pants on Uncle Sam." Eva said as she swung her leg over and mounted the bike behind Jack.

Turning the engine over Jack got ready to leave but was stopped by Bennett.

"Wait, Might! We're gonna need a little more than that. And what lead are you chasing down? We can get a couple of cruisers here to pick these guys up and then follow you."

Jack shook his head minutely at Bennett before giving his response.

"I've got a Witch to chase down, it's better if you guys are far away from anything like that. I'll call you once I'm back on the hook to deal with these goons. What I can tell you is that it's looking like the last remnants of the Falcone crime family are ready to deal with Black Mask." Jack said as he got ready to take off.

Bennett and Yin shared a look of incredulity before Ethan waved Jack and Eva off.

"Okay Might. Stay safe and give one of us a buzz when you're ready. You know we'll bring the cavalry."

Jack smiled at the detectives as he revved the throttle.

"I know. Stay safe detectives."

The bike lurched forward down the highway, as the two detectives watched on for a moment. The silence that had built was then shattered by Yin speaking up.

"Witches? And supposedly dead crime families coming back into the mix? Gotham sure is something else partner. Never had quite anything like that to deal with in Metropolis." Yin said as she glanced at Ethan.

"Crime families is one thing, but Witches? Nun Un. Never had to deal with that one before. Sure hope Might can handle it." Bennett said as he turned to face back from the way they came as extra approaching squad cars pulled up.

"Something tells me it's all connected." Yin said lowly, though not lowly enough for Ethan not to hear.

"What makes you say that El?"

"…Just a hunch." Yin said before turning back and guiding the one perp to the others so that she could read them their rights.

Ethan took a deep breath while looking north towards where All Might and his friend had gone, praying that she was wrong…Gotham had enough weird going on in it. They didn't need Witches and magic of all things starting up.

GOTHAM CITY – DIAMOND DISTRICT: PLAZA MANOR

APRIL 26th, 2008 (17:45/5:45 PM) EST

Mario Falcone's POV:

Standing out on the concrete balcony Mario took a deep drag of a cigar as he contemplated how things had been happening for his business as of late, the state of his business... his family's business made him want to reach out and throttle someone.

At thirty-six years old Mario still had a full head of black slicked back hair, though it was clear to any that looked at it that it was thinning. His thin black mustache was neatly trimmed and maintained, and the rest of his face was clean shaven. His 5'10 stature was slightly stunted making him seem more around 5'8, as the last run in that the family had had with the Batman had led to him sustaining a compacted spinal injury as well as a bum right leg; forcing him to walk with the assistance of a cane.

His light gray pinstriped suit clung tightly to his thin physique, his posture belaying the tiredness he felt from the constant talks he'd been having over the past couple days to orchestrate all the operations that were meant to be carried out this very day.

He exhaled a final puff of smoke before putting out the stub of his cigar in the crystal ashtray sitting on the ledge of the balcony, turning back to go inside.

As he turned the glass pained iron barred doors that led inside opened, and he found himself joined by his sister... Sofia.

Sofia at the age of thirty-four stood at 5'10 with a full head of auburn hair that parted to the sides at the front removing the possibility of noticeable bangs, while the rest hung down to and around her shoulders like a curtain.

She was surprisingly of a more masculine build looking much like their father, standing relatively broad of shoulder for a woman, though it was unsurprising when once considered her general size. Sofia was not by any means fat, though if one were asked to describe her then Mario's response would be that she was thick. The majority of her body was proportioned quite evenly overall, removing the general look of having any womanly curves and putting her into what some would consider bulky territory.

She was wearing a long red cocktail style dress, with a black mink coat over top of it, a pair of jet-black heels on her feet. Sofia tended to dress in a minimalistic style, not overcrowding herself with an overabundance of jewelry even though she had an already impressive collection and more than enough money to buy more.

On her neck she wore a simple and slight gold chain, which ran down to just about an inch below her neckline where a simple black pearl sat in a golden housing surrounded by a trio of diamonds and sapphires respectively. A simple small golden watch adorned her right wrist, and she had in a conservatively sized pair of golden hoop earrings.

She took three steps onto the terrace with him before crossing her arms across her chest, her face set into a slight scowl: her eyes holding a challenging edge.

"Mario, we need to talk about this."

Her tone was hard, her posture reflecting the stance she was taking. Had she been anyone else he'd have her killed for speaking out of turn like this, but that wasn't really an option.

She was family and like it or not she always would be.

But the fact stood that he was in charge, and yet she always seemed to be on a path to cut him off at the knees. He knew where they stood, and he wished it was different.

His father had wanted to leave her as the one in charge of the family's affairs, but the fact stood that most of if not all of the underboss's would have thrown a mutiny and cut their family out if his father had left Sofia in charge.

The majority of the old-time families that were still active and connected with theirs were hardline traditionalists and would never follow a woman's lead.

Regardless of whether or not she was well suited for the position.

"I've said all that needs to be said about this. It's time for Sionis to pay, and he's gonna pay in blood by the time I'm through. We've got three separate ground crews causing mass confusion across three parts of the city, and six other groups making the rounds to pull everyone that's undecided onside with Us. Before the week is out we'll have most of the muscle of this city under our boot, and then we're gonna rout that scarred freak outta this city…For Good." Mario said as he tried to keep his tone relatively relaxed.

Sofia's face shifted deeper into the scowl as he spoke, showing that she wasn't gonna just back down.

"Dammit Mario what you're doing is reckless! Just because we have the men right now and the means to keep them out of prison, doesn't mean you should be having them this active! The Bat and his little bird boy sidekick aren't the only problem anymore! That new super freak is running around, and he's made some serious waves at the street level. He's a serious threat! He took Rough Cut down almost all on his own from what I've heard, and that son of a bitch isn't a pushover! Not to mention that he took that Psycho Zsasz down! The god damn Mayor even endorsed him on Live Television for Christ's sake! You're gonna bring too much heat down on us. The Bat and that shield slinging soldier boy are gonna come for us at this rate! I know that your angry, and that your hurting…but doing this isn't gonna bring Tony back!" Sofia said, her voice steadily rising until by the end of her little tirade she was practically shouting.

Mario took a deep breath, trying to contain the fire that had erupted in his gut. Of all the things his sister could have brought up in regard to the turf war she had to go and bring up the biggest sore spot that he had over it... his son.

His useless, ungrateful, weak willed, son. He could remember when the boy had been younger, how he had had such promise and how he couldn't have been prouder to have him as his heir. It wouldn't happen overnight but eventually Tony would have taken over as the head of the family, leaving it so that Mario could retire to one of the family's many villas or estates and live out the rest of his days in comfort away from this god's forsaken city.

But as time had gone by, the more the boy had shown his true colors. The boy was a coward, as evidenced by the fact that he shied away from almost any and all conflict. He didn't have the mentality necessary to face up to the people that would be gunning to unseat their family from the throne that they had built.

Once Tony had come back from college some hope had returned to Mario's heart, because his son had shown an outstanding business acumen. He had brought a great amount of money to the family's coffers and it had made his heart swell with pride. His boy may have been a craven little punk, but he was as sharp as a tack.

But it was all for naught.

Even in that he had turned into a disappointment. Tony had started to talk about going straight, changing their family's interests. That on top of the boy's unwillingness to look to the families that supported them for his bride made it very clear…he'd never be the heir that Mario needed let alone wanted.

Those particular thoughts had mingled with the grief he'd felt over his son's death, because for all the ways that Mario was disappointed in him Tony had been his son. His baby boy, his only child.

…And Roman Sionis had taken him away.

After a few moments of the tense silence Mario spoke.

"This isn't just about what happened to my boy. I loved my son, but the fact is there's no way in hell that I would have allowed him to remain my heir. Why do you think I'm still looking for a suitable bride huh? I need a new son." Mario said, his voice coming out stony and the ending of it drawing a gasp from his sister.

"I'm doing this because like it or not Roman Sionis is a threat. That freak has been trying to whittle away at our resources and influence for years, trying to usurp our place. Well, I'll be damned if I let that scum sucking piece of shit take the throne that our father built! Is it risky to be overt with our move's? Yes. But at this point what more is there to do? That deformed freak has got his little goons and his errand boy Barrett running around, trying to consolidate what's left of the independent parties here in the city. So…it's time to clean house. Get a hold of the necessary blackmail and the necessary leverage before he does. If I get to see the son of a bitch in the ground? Then it's just as well that I solidify our family's position while getting revenge for Tony. It's a win-win." Mario said as he stared his sister down.

Sofia's face shifted between her scowl and being soft at parts of his little speech, before settling back into a scowl while she lifted her arms to gesture at him.

"The least you could have done then is involve more of the family with your plans! I mean Vitti is one of our family and yet you haven't moved him into a better position than what's essentially a grunt! He's smart, and he's got his fingers on the pulse of the street! If you wanna bring more people into the fold, then you should've used your best resources. God dammit Mario you couldn't even be bothered to talk to me?!"

It took everything Mario had not to scoff openly in Sofia's face at the mention of his nephew, let alone the can of shit he'd open up if they talked about his choice to not involve her.

"Vitti's a coward Sofia. That's why he's never moved up. That's why no one in the family has ever respected him. Our Father wouldn't give him any kind of real power, and I sure as hell ain't about to do it either." Mario said, his voice hardening a little more as he talked about it.

Sofia took a half step toward him and looked ready to say something, but the both of them were pulled up short from the terrace shaking abruptly beneath them.

Both of them stopped for a moment and then felt a second tremor, followed by a third. After the third most pronounced one Mario could hear shouting coming from the floor below him, followed by gunfire.

Sofia looked to him and then both of them moved their way into the living room of the penthouse, closing the glass doors and moving their way over to a large dark cherry wood wardrobe.

Once they got it open, they pulled aside the front panel that concealed a metal locker which Mario opened to reveal a small assortment of rifles, shotguns, handguns, and even hand grenades.

Mario pulled out an assault shotgun and loaded a drum magazine into it before using his cane to maneuver to behind the large dark brown leather couch in the middle of the room, before being joined by Sofia who helped him turn it over to use for cover.

The lighting in the room was dim, as Mario had been enjoying a relatively quiet night before stepping onto the balcony. Now the prospect of returning to that was dashed, as the sound of more yelling from his guards mingled with extended gunfire, which only wound up being followed up with muffled screams and then oppressive silence.

The large thudding sound was all that remained after a few moments, said sound ringing closer to the large dark colored oak double doors that would bring whatever threat there was into their midst.

...

BOOM

...

The double doors were knocked from their housings and hinges, taking a portion of the molding that had held the whole structure of the doors together. The entire mess clattered to the floor in the small atrium that it had sat in, looking for all that it was as nothing more than kindling now.

The visage standing before them both left Mario balking just as much as he knew Sofia was while standing just to his right side with a M16 in hand.

Solomon Grundy was back.

And apparently the big bastard had decided to wage war on them.

'Is Sionis behind this?'

Mario bit back a snarl as he raised his shotgun so that he could try and cut the zombie freak down where he stood but was pulled up short when their trespasser spoke as another stepped out from behind him.

"I knew that I wouldn't get the warmest of welcome's home, but I wasn't expecting anything like this... Pops." Solomon Grundy said to him with his impossibly deep and gravelly voice.

The statement brought him up short, leaving him feeling confused for a moment before all his rage simmered back to the surface. The freak had not only broken into his home, attacked his family and business, but was insulting his intelligence on top of it.

He went to bring his shotgun back to bear when he and Sofia realized who was standing with Grundy. He voiced his incredulity and anger at the traitor in their midst without any preamble.

"Vitti you piece of shit! What? Got tired of being the lapdog you are and figured you'd just try and take what you want?! Well guess what…I'll die before I let you and your puppet zombie freak take this family's empire!" Mario said as he pointed the shotgun at Vitti and pulled the trigger, the shotgun bucking against him as it lit off multiple shots.

The zombie was faster than he expected, as he'd placed his large form between Vitti and his shots; the bullets hitting the massive monster but doing seemingly nothing to him.

Sofia was screaming at him to stop and had placed her gun down, probably hoping to make sense of the madness that had been brought into their home. His sister valued family above all, but seemingly to a degree that made her blind in his eyes if she thought he was gonna be blindsided by this ridiculous crap and the fucking traitor standing not even ten feet in front of him.

"Uncle Mario I swear to God it's true! This is Tony! That crazy Witch broad Sara brought him back and put him in Grundy's body! We can take it into Sionis's teeth now! He doesn't have the kind of muscle to fight someone like Tony. We'll massacre him!"

He had heard the words being shouted at him, even over the sound of the gunfire. None of the words that came out of his half-wit nephew's mouth made him feel any better, and he couldn't find it in himself to believe any of it.

'Fuckin retard is really trying to sell this.'

The drum finally ran dry, but even then... he kept his finger on the trigger his overwhelming rage overriding his reason. He wouldn't let any of this stand, and he was planning on crushing Vitti's head under his feet before it was all said and done.

'At the very least I'm gonna kill the little bastard before the freak gets me.' Mario thought sardonically as he considered ambling for a grenade or two, now regretting that he hadn't grabbed any from the get-go.

As Mario was contemplating that though, something happened. Something he would have never believed if it was told to him second hand.

Grundy had started singing, the timber of his voice shaking him just as much as the tune itself.

Because Grundy hadn't started singing just anything. He had started singing Ba Ba Black Sheep.

Mario's relationship with his son hadn't always been strained and distant, and even with it being that way he would always love his son. He had been a massive disappointment as time had gone on and he had grown, but that didn't ruin the good memories that remained.

Mario and his long dead wife Carlotta had always sung Tony to sleep when he was just a boy, and Ba Ba Black Sheep had been their song.

Mario could only gape at the zombie standing before him, completely flabbergasted at the prospect that his son might actually alive again.

"Hey pops."

He shook himself out of his stupor to come around the tipped over couch, bringing himself closer to Grundy who was now supposedly his son Tony.

He couldn't wrap his head around any of it at first, but then finally as he stood there looking at his son's new body, he understood exactly what was going on. When Tony had been alive last, he had been with that crazy wiccan broad, something that he had vehemently disagreed with for many reasons.

Yet it seemed that particular relationship had actually bore some fruit if the current situation was anything to go by.

He wished he could be happy, wished he could be grateful for the opportunity that was now before him.

But this was wrong. So… so very wrong.

The fruit that this particular tree had borne... was rotten.

Tony's POV:

The drive over from the eastern warehouse district hadn't taken long, before once again he found himself standing in his family home. Room upon room in the stunningly tall skyscraper before him housed people from his literal family, and his extended family as well.

Upon walking through the front doors, the doorman George who had worked at this building since before he had been born, had lost his mind with fear upon seeing him and ran to an intercom on the back wall and called down a veritable army worth of security.

At first upon having over a dozen men gunning at him Tony had lashed out in anger and agitation, as they wouldn't even listen to him as he tried to explain who he was or how it was that he'd come back.

He had moved forward and had to deal with each and every man physically, knocking them all around with contemptuous ease.

After making his way to the 45th floor and then having had to fight his way up the next 5 flights on foot, it dawned on him that it had now become fun for him.

Let it not be said that Tony had been in terrible shape in his previous life, because he hadn't been.

But Tony had never been the most physically imposing or even the most physically inclined individual around, especially when compared to much of the hired muscle that his family had on retainer.

Now however…it almost felt like a waste of time dealing with them.

Not only couldn't they hurt him, but even the largest of the force that came at him were dwarfed in size and strength by him now.

When his soul had been languishing in the ether waiting to be brought back, Sara had detailed her plan to him. She had wanted to get him into someone important, someone powerful that could give them a leg up when taking to making Gotham city theirs.

'Well… Mine.' Tony thought as he looked over his Pops as he walked around the couch slowly to stand closer to him.

When Sara had finally explained that he'd need real power and had spoken on the direction she thought they should go…he had been more than skeptical.

He hadn't liked her initial idea, had even outright rejected it at first due to the fact that Grundy was a monster. He didn't have any interest in having the people around him view him as a monster.

But over time and after having had to listen to the argument over multiple sessions of the discussion he had finally opened up, and then finally acknowledged what a brilliant plan it really was.

Solomon Grundy was a powerhouse and taking an empty husk of a body would be far easier for Sara to facilitate then trying to oust another out of their own body.

Had Tony pushed for that option Sara had claimed that he risked having his soul destroyed in the attempt, and that was not an option.

After having run through all the pros of taking the zombies body up for his own use even if it was to be for only a short amount of time; Tony realized that having super strength, ridiculous stamina, some resistance to offensive magic, and a ridiculous amount of durability with an added-on healing factor was a perfectly fine tradeoff for the nasty looks he'd be sporting and receiving.

After working his way all the way up here and looking at his Pops, he thought he'd be feeling…more.

Yet all he felt now looking at the man was relative indifference. It was strange to think that seeing his father didn't evoke any real happy thoughts or feelings.

'But then again, is it really so strange?'

Tony decided to try for a bit of levity, hoping to get the ball rolling in a favorable direction.

"So…the prodigal son returns. It's good to be back. Now that I'm back we can talk about how we're gonna take back this city." Tony said, hoping that the said prospect would have his father in an agreeable mood.

His Father didn't move an inch and that's when he saw his Aunt Sofia looking at him. Even standing eight feet or so away he could see the tears building at the edges of her eyes, and it filled him with nostalgic happiness.

"Hey Kiddo."

"Aunt Sofe." Tony said as he turned his eyes to her.

His Aunt had always been kindest to him after his mother's passing, she had been the tender shoulder for him to go to in moments where he couldn't handle being around his father. His mother's passing had pushed his already difficult father toward a sterner side that turned into outright hostility when things didn't go as he wanted.

A vivid memory of the day he had told his father he was gonna elope with Sara, jumped quickly to the forefront of his mind; forcing him to almost have to physically shake to banish it.

He turned his gaze slowly back to his father after that and went to speak again but found himself cut off.

"If your mother could see you now…sigh…"

The open-ended statement alone would have been enough but having involved the memory of his mother lit the proverbial fire in his gut.

"What?" Tony asked, his voice dropping an octave in pitch.

"Your mother wouldn't be able to look at you if she could see what you've done to yourself. You're a freak. What's dead is supposed to stay dead, and you being here... it ain't right. I told you that the girl was unnatural... and she went and infected you with that unnaturalness." His father said looking at him, the same judgmental look on his face from days past when he'd been in his own body and a young man.

The action wasn't necessary in this particular body, but Tony took a deep breath to try and focus himself. He wanted to do this the right way, and to do that it would take being in control of his emotions.

Though talking to his father was never not on some level emotional.

"It doesn't matter how I got here. What matters is that I'm stronger now, stronger than I ever was! The things I can do with this body tip the scales. We can finally take this city back! Back from the cops, back from the Bat, and most of all back from Black Mask! I already had Vitti reach out to a bunch of the street guys that he knows. The ones that came through are getting their shit together. We take this fight right to Sionis's door, and then we push that scumbag out… for good!" Tony said as he started to pace back and forth, gesturing with his now much larger arms.

His father just shook his head as he took a couple of steps, putting him closer to Tony.

"Don't let the fact that you're in that freakazoid body go to your head boy. I'm in charge of this operation. I'm the head of the family. It doesn't matter if you've got some super strength now, because you've always been weak where it counts Tony. You don't have the spine to do what's necessary. You've never gotten your hands dirty, and I sincerely doubt this new body is gonna make a lick of difference. Your all talk…just like you were before. I'll decide how were gonna move forward."

'The words are the same. Always the same.' Tony thought as he felt a growl building at the back of his throat.

His Aunt wasn't idle, coming immediately to his defense once his father had stopped speaking.

"Tony! Hear the kid out! He's right about this. We've got that new Supe to deal with, and now we've got the perfect way to counter him!"

His father turned his head and pinned his aunt with a furious stare as he yelled at her.

"You think I give a shit about that?! No. I don't. Let me say it again, in case you idiots are deaf. I'm in charge of this family. Me! I've got plans in motion right now to set that fuckin freak back. The last thing I need is people going around talkin about Tony being back and Lookin like this! I'm not gonna have an heir that looks like this! I'm not gonna have an heir that can't do shit for himself! You've got all this supposed power now, but what's the first thing you did huh?! You called on others, people outside the family. Just like before. Always looking elsewhere. You had responsibilities, you shirked em, and that's how you got yourself dead in the first place! Now what... you think you get to come back here and call shots? The hell you do. You'll do what I tell you boy."

Tony felt it then. The same cold detachment as he'd felt when he'd snapped Sara's neck.

So, he did the only thing that he could make sense of in his own head.

He cleared the four feet between them in one long stride and seized his father by the neck, lifting him off his feet.

His father dropped his cane and the shotgun he'd had slung over his shoulder to the floor as both of his hands came up to beat uselessly against his hand as it started to squeeze.

"Ya know…you always complained about me not getting my hands dirty. How's Parricide sound for me getting my hands dirty pops?" Tony asked.

His cousin made a strangled noise behind him as he looked on, though his Aunt wasn't quite so quiet.

"TONY! Put Him DOWN!"

His Aunt was a tall woman, and definitely on the more solid side…but it didn't matter.

She had run at him to try and get him to stop but he backhand he threw with his left hand knocked her off her feet and a good fifteen feet across the room, over a loveseat, and into the wall caving in the plaster destroying a painting that he didn't recognize.

His father continued to claw at his hand, rasping out breaths as he tried to talk or even attempt to take in air while his own hand acted like a vice around his frail neck.

"You always said how you were disappointed in me. Well guess what? You weren't the only one that was disappointed. But don't worry, because you'll be able to be proud of me in the afterlife when I kick Black Mask off his high horse, bury the Bat, and take this city to task. Everyone is gonna remember that the Falcone family is in charge. It all changes, tonight. Too bad you won't be around to see it…Pops."

Tony reeled back and threw his father; causing his cousin to let out another small uncomfortable noise, while his Aunt who was just trying to get to her feet screamed out seeing her brother headed for the window that was next to the terrace doors.

The sound of the glass shattering into thousands tiny pieces was music to his ears, a balm for the laundry list of hurts his father had caused him throughout his life.

From the moment he'd let him out of his grasp his father had begun to scream, and only when he found himself having to struggle to hear the noise of it did Tony turn his gaze to his Aunt.

"I'm sorry I hit you Aunt Sofe, I really am. But that needed to happen, and you know it." Tony said taking in his Aunt's slightly slumped form.

He saw that she was beginning to break down a bit, but his Aunt was always a strong woman and even with tears beginning to gather at the edges of her eyes she forced herself to meet his gaze head on.

She was quiet for a moment, and he let the silence stretch out. His father was a bastard in every sense of the word, but Tony understood; because while Mario Falcone had been and always would be his father the same thing could be said in the sense that he was and always would be Sofia's brother.

She had grown with the man, and though they had on and off again treated each other like crap…they were family.

'In that alone I can respect her tears.'

His Aunt Sofe kept staring at him, and he was beginning to wonder how long it would take her to get her head together and what she would do when she did.

He didn't have to wait long.

A moment later she walked forward slowly, deliberately, and took his right hand into both of hers before bringing it up and kissing the back of it.

"You're the Capo now."

He felt the surprise pass quickly into elation and did his best to keep his face schooled. He appreciated her loyalty and would make sure that she had only the finest things life had to offer from here on out.

He cleared his throat and turned sideways so that he could have his Aunt, and his cousin within his line of site.

"First things first. Vitti, go get all the boys from in the building rounded up for a meeting. While you're at that, make sure to have them clean up the mess downstairs. After that make sure that you see to all of our incoming guests personally. Aunt Sofe make sure you're ready to deal with the cops when they show up. More than likely someone will have already said something about Pops', and they'll be on their way anytime now. I'm gonna make myself scarce for a bit. In the meantime, keep em outta here whatever you gotta say or do to make that happen is fine by me. If we have any contacts in the precinct, use em."

Vitti assented to what he asked and quickly turned and almost ran from the room to see what he wanted done, leaving him with his Aunt.

"What are we gonna do after this Tony?"

He looked at her and felt a rictus grin spread across his cracked lips.

"We're gonna do as I said we're gonna do. Black Mask is dead. I'm gonna see to that little problem, personally. But before that Imma need something to wear, can't have our guests meet the new boss while he looks like he's dressed like a schlub."

His Aunt's face took on a slightly strained smile before she nodded and turned to walk towards the kitchen and where their landline was set up.

"I'll call Josepi and get him to come up to measure you for a suit."

He nodded his thanks to her and watched her walk towards the kitchen before a thought caught in his brain of something that she had said earlier, causing him to call out to her in his curiosity.

"Aunt Sofe…"

"Yeah Tony?"

"What did you mean when you were talkin to Pop's about a new Supe?"

And FIN. Well, everyone that's it for this chapter. The gang war is moving right along. I know that this chapter was a little slow maybe for ya'lls liking and that was actually a part of why this took so long to get out. I'm still not sure how long this ark itself will be. I can tell you now that there is going to be some more build up but as you can tell we're gonna Tarantino this mother and eventually find ourselves at the big clash, so I hope you are interested enough to try and stick around to get to the first truly big villain fight of the story. Please if you can in the comments spare me a moment to let me know what Ya'll think of Omakes. Would that be good for this story? What would you like to see if they were to become common place? Should they be more geared towards hypothetical stuff, or canonical stuff. I know I may have addressed this before but now that I'm at 15 chapters I feel like its something I need to be a little clearer on. I hope everyone is staying safe, happy, and healthy. I can't say when I'll have the next update out considering the holiday is coming but I will do my best with what free time I can find. Until Next time Ya'll! Sojiro Signing Off.