A Darker Knight

Chapter 1

A figure walked down the dark city streets looking around at the various sights around him. His personal opinion was that they entire city was a lost cause, but then most people thought that about Gotham City if they didn't live there. Of course they also thought that about various other cities around the world, and the figure would fully admit he had seen far worse. Some of the slums in the third world countries he had visited were far worse economically, but morally Gotham made them all look like slices of heaven. A man's life wasn't worth spit in Gotham and self preservation was the rule of the day here. Just since his arrival in town he had been the victim of twelve different attempted muggings. He smirked when he remembered the looks on their faces when he fought back, the damage he had done was pretty shocking to them as well.

Gotham had not been his first choice of destinations on this journey, he would have rather stayed in the neighboring city of Metropolis, but you don't always get what you want. If he had what he wanted he would still be at home with his family and friends, not walking down a Gotham street trying not to remember what had brought him here in the first place. No, life wasn't fair and fate a casino dealer who played with a loaded deck. More to the point, he was an idiot for thinking he could win the game when everyone knew that the house always wins. Sure, he knew the rules of the wager when this all started and had chosen to play anyway, but damned if he hadn't thought fate would play fair. Now he was stuck playing a role in a story not of his making until fate saw fit to release him.

Checking the map he had liberated from the train station when he arrived, he looked up at the street signs and smiled. He was close to his destination and would finally be able to get a bit more information. In fact as he rounded the corner he could see the hotel he was looking for at the next intersection. The Continental Hotel existed in every major city he had ever been to, always located on the corner of a Y shaped intersection. Gold was the currency of choice at the Continental, which was lucky as he had a great deal of it, so always had a place to stay when he needed. Here he would be safe and protected, even though the guests of the hotel were for the most part the worst killers on the planet. Sure, sometimes you got other types who stayed here, but it was a rare thing as that type tended to rub the regular crowd wrong.

Stepping inside he looked around and smiled, every Continental looked the same, like a throwback to the fifties. He rather liked the place and much appreciated the anonymity the place allowed him. Looking at the main desk in the lobby he had to smile, some things were always the same at the Continental. Whatever changes there might be from branch to branch, there was always a tall and refined looking black man at the desk. In fact, the fellow was currently staring at him with a look of curiosity and wariness. It was to be expected as this was his first visit to this particular Continental and unknowns were always something you kept an eye on. That being the case he stepped up the the desk and slowly reached into the pocket of his jacket, the black fellow sliding his hand beneath the desk as he did. Just as slowly he pulled out his hand and placed a roll of thirty gold coins on the counter.

"I need a new members packet," he said soft as the black man pulled the coins towards himself and started counting them while discretely testing to make sure they were real gold. "I will also need a Welcome to Gotham package and an outfitter as I've lost the majority of my belongings. Do you have the penthouse available currently?"

Finished counting and testing, the black fellow smiled at him and nodded. "We do indeed, sir. What name shall I put on the room?"
He thought about it for a moment, it would be easy enough to give him a fake name, but dealing in bad faith at the Continental tended to come back to bite you, so real name it was. "Lord Harry James Potter-Black of the Houses Potter and Black."

The man stopped, trying his best not to show surprise, then nodded and jotted the name down on an old hotel register. "Welcome to the Continental, Lord Potter-Black. I assume you are familiar with the rules of the house?"

Harry nodded, then smiled at the fellow. "I wouldn't be here if I wasn't. Tell me, is the manager in residence?"

"He's always in residence, sir," replied the man with a smirk.

"Good to know," Harry said with a smirk of his own as he took the key the man slid across the counter to him.

"Your membership package, welcome package, and outfitter will be waiting for you in your room, sir," the man stated with a smile. "Is there anything else you need at the moment?"

"Scotch, several well aged bottles," Harry stated, pulling out several more gold coins and sliding them across the counter.

"Right away, sir."

Harry smiled, he always loved staying at the Continental when he visited someplace new. The service was better here than any light sided hotel he had ever stayed in, probably because the tips were in pure gold. Stepping into the elevator and hitting the button for the penthouse he relaxed for the first time since his arrival in Gotham, feeling truly safe. Just before the door closed a hand stopped it and Harry watched as a dark haired fellow in tattered blood speckled clothing stepped in. The gentleman looked as if he had a bad night and Harry actually felt bad for the man, he had a few nights like that as well. The man, about Harry's height with short cropped black hair and a neatly trimmed beard glanced over at him for a moment.

"New here?" Harry nodded. "New member. Bad night?"

"Batman showed up," the man replied with a scowl. "Simple job turned into a fiasco because some guy in tights decided to play hero. If you're looking for work here, watch out for him. Damned white lighter seems to think it's his job to mess up our jobs."

"Actually, just transferred here," Harry stated with a shrug. "Can't say I've heard of this Batman fellow however. He any good?"

"How can you not have heard about Batman?" asked the man looking at Harry as if he was a fool.

"It's complicated," answered Harry with a blank look. "I'm new to the area and not had access to the local chatter before."

"Well, that would explain it." The elevator stopped and the doors opened to let the man out, but not before he gave Harry another look.

"Take some advice, if the Batman sticks his nose in your business, better to call it a bad job and walk away. He won't kill you, but there's a lot you can live through and wish you hadn't."

"I'll remember that, thanks!"

The doors slid closed and Harry frowned as it continued up several more floors. He had no idea who this Batman fellow was, he was imagining a self-transfiguration attempt gone very badly with a name like that. That image was suddenly replaced with an image of Severus Snape as a light sided hero mucking about where he wasn't needed or wanted. It was not a very pleasant image and Harry shuddered as he got off the elevator and walked down the short hallway to the penthouse door. Unlocking it he found two large packages waiting for him along with a man setting up a small fitting area in the center of the large penthouse lounge area. The packages Harry would open later, but right now he needed the outfitter to get his work done quickly.

"Ah, Lord Potter-Black," the older man, the epitome of a high end tailor. "I understand you'll be needing a few things from me today?"

Harry nodded taking off his rumpled jacket and setting it down over the back of an armchair. "Yes, I'm going to need four charcoal grey suits with matching vest and another four in black. I need to see your selection of ties while I'm thinking of it. I also need an even dozen dress shirts in white, black, grey, and green, three each. Socks, boxers, and good leather accessories." As he was saying all this the tailor was taking his measurements while noting everything on a pad of paper next to him. "Let's say four pair of denim jeans, eight pair of leather dress shoes, half black and the other brown. Two pair of running shoes, one black and the other grey. Four sets of exercise clothing comprised of shorts, sweats, hoodies, and t-shirts all in black and or grey."

"So, a full wardrobe?"

"Pretty much," Harry admitted with a sigh. "Anything else you can think of would be appreciated. Oh, and any accessories should be in either silver or gold with emeralds or rubies. All tasteful and nothing gaudy or too flashy so to avoid the wrong sort of notice."

"Understood, sir," replied the tailor with a knowing smile. "And does sir require any special items?"

"Full identification paperwork, bank accounts, and credit cards in my name," Harry stated as the tailor took notes. "I'm twenty-one currently, born on July 31st in London. Orphaned before second birthday and raised by distant relatives. Found out I inherited money and a title at sixteen and wasted most of it by eighteen, at which time I decided to attend college and travel afterwards. Education should be average up to college, with good marks in college, but not too good."

"You have the money to put in the accounts?" asked the tailor with a look of worry.

"More than enough to backup the story," Harry stated with a smirk. "When you have the account numbers I'll get you the money."

"Understood," the man replied, turning back to his notes. "Anything else?"

"I'll want to see a selection of guns, swords, daggers, and body armor," Harry said as he poured two fingers of scotch into a glass and sat down. "Traditional leather holsters and the like, well oiled and soft. I would also like a leather coat, mid-calf in length, and black. Oh, I'll need a car and a motorcycle. Aston Martin for the car, whatever the latest DB series is in black with the standard armor upgrades. As for the motorcycle, Ducati Monster series, top of the line and in black."

The tailor nodded, repeating back the list to which Harry nodded. "I can have most of this to you by tomorrow morning, including the account numbers and identity paperwork. The personal history will be available to you by tomorrow afternoon along with the corresponding foreign paperwork. As for the rest, give me a day or two on the car and motorcycle as they will require some work. I'll send up a girl later with at least enough for you to wear tomorrow until I can get you the rest, if that's acceptable?"

"That's perfect," Harry replied with a smile, pulling several gold coins out of his jacket and handing them to the man. "I'm going to have something sent up to eat then get cleaned up, so if she could be here within, say, three hours?"

It didn't take the tailor long to clear out and when he was gone Harry opened the two packages he had ordered. The new member package was actually a small book containing the rules of the hotel and a map of the safe houses in the area, not to mention the price sheet for hotel services. The Welcome to Gotham package was a current who's who of the Gotham underground, a surprising thick folder for that one. It also contained numbers for independent services offered, like body clean up and who to bribe if you needed out of a sticky situation. Most importantly was a folder containing information on the local light siders, primarily Batman and his assortment of accomplices. The warning on the folder stated the Batman did not respect the rules of the Continental or it's status as a neutral territory. That was a bit worrying to Harry as it meant he would not be as safe here as he would have liked. It made him wonder how the hotel management viewed the man.

"How is this guy still breathing?" Harry asked himself as he reached into his jacket and pulled out a handful of shrunken trunks before picking out a red one and putting the others back. "He's either paying the penalty each time, or the owner and he have a deal they're not telling anyone about."

Unshrinking the red trunk, this was the one he put his traveling money in, he opened it and pulled out several pouches of gold coins. Normally, when he had the chance, he exchanged gold for cash, but for now the gold would work better as he needed to buy a reputation. Nothing bought respect faster than gold at the Continental as the only way to actually earn it was to be a major player. Buying several rounds of drinks in the bar would show he was a legitimate player, not to mention it would get him into the hotel's training area. He shuddered when he thought about how much that was going to cost him, then pulled out two more pouches of gold. Access to the training area was so expensive because you were not only paying to get in, but also paying for absolute privacy and any damages you might do. Thankfully his trunk was expanded to hold far more than it should, otherwise he might be in trouble.
Three hours later after a hot bath, a good meal, and a nap the girl the tailor had told him about brought his things. She also took several photos of him for his identity paperwork, a generous tip of four gold coins had her practically skipping out of the room. Harry slipped into his new clothes, the tailor had done a wonderful job, before he locked up the room and headed towards the bar. The hotel bar actually in the hotel was just for show and the only people ever in it were actually paid security drinking colored water or fruit juices. The real hotel bar was located under the hotel and only accessible via a guarded door that required a gold coin to even get them to let you ask to enter. It took ten minutes just to get to it from the lobby and another two to get approval to enter since he was a new member. Still, the place was identical to all the other versions of it Harry had ever been in and three extra coins saw him heading back to the owners private booth at the back.

"Harry! Lovely to see you again," the older man said with a cultured voice and smile.

"Winston," Harry replied with a nod before taking the offered seat. "Someday I hope you'll explain how you are always at whatever version of the Continental I visit?"

Winston chuckled softly while gesturing to a barmaid to bring them drinks. "Harry, my dear fellow, I'm always at the Continental. You would miss me if I wasn't."

"Sadly, that's true," Harry admitted as the barmaid delivered their drinks. "Since this little journey of mine began, you've been the closest thing to a friend I've had."

Winston smiled, tipping his glass towards Harry. "Knowing your history as I do, I take that as a great compliment. So, what brings you here this time, business or pleasure?"

Harry took a sip of his drink, top shelf scotch. "Not sure yet. Just got into town a little while ago and I've yet to receive my marching orders. If I had to guess, given the nature of this city, probably business."

Winston nodded, then nodded to a security guard who headed into the back room for some reason. "Harry, normally I wouldn't do this, but I'm opening the training facility to you free of charge. I feel you are right and this is going to be a working tour of Gotham."

The waiter returned a moment later carrying a briefcase which he set down next to Harry before stepping away. "Inside that you'll find all the information we have on the current dark element of Gotham. It also contains as much as we've been able to gather regarding the Batman and his associates."

"Yeah, what's up with this Batman fellow?" Harry asked, sipping his drink. "I was told he doesn't respect the rules here."

Winston shrugged with a sigh. "He respects them in his own way. Every time he violates the rules he pays the fines required, depending on the violation he pays double. This keeps him in my good graces, though it has earned him a few enemies among our crowd. It is a very fine line he walks with the Continental, but so far it is a line he has not crossed. I allow it only because he does not kill or try to remove any of our clients from the hotel and he is fully aware that should he do so, we will take action against him."

"A very fine line," Harry agreed, knowing exactly how hefty the fines could be for violating the sanctity of the Continental's neutrality.

"I'm guessing once we leave hotel he has been known to act?"
Winston nodded with another shrug. "Hence the reason he's made enemies. However, for now you can save your gold, I've already spread the word that you are a special client of the Continental, so you won't have to pay for respect this visit."

"Thanks, Winston."

"Oh, there is a rather fetching young lady coming this way," Winston stated as he looked over Harry's shoulder. "I think she's looking for you."

Harry glanced over his shoulder and saw a gorgeous blonde walking his way. Turning back to Winston the man was already exiting the club via the back door. Harry finished his drink and waited for his guest to arrive, motioning to the barmaid for a refill as the blonde took Winston's place with a smile that could melt a man's heart. "Hello, Harry," the blonde said as the barmaid brought him another drink.

"Hello, Chloe," Harry replied as he gestured for the barmaid to bring the woman a drink as well. "I guess you're here to give me my marching orders?"

Chloe nodded and smiled at the barmaid who had brought her a scotch like Harry's. "Seeing as how you threatened both my sisters the last time they tried to talk to you, it made sense for me to be the one to visit you this time."

"Of the three of you, you're the only one that didn't put me in this position," Harry stated with a frown. "They treat me like a tool, while you at least talk to me rather than just giving me orders."

Chloe sighed, nodding as she did so. "You asked a great favor of us and I personally saw no problem in granting it based on your previous actions. My sisters, they saw it as an affront to the work they had been doing. Yes, a price needed to be paid for the deed, but what they demanded was overkill and I would not have blamed you for turning them down."

"The lives of my friends were on the line," stated Harry with a shrug. "I already had my second lease on life, why shouldn't they?"

"I fully agree," Chloe agreed, "and like you I dislike the price they demanded of you."

"A favor to Fate for each life saved," Harry said with a frown.
Chloe nodded saying, "It should have been only a handful of lives and matching favors had my sisters not cheated."

"Tom Riddle, a still-birth," Harry continued. "Thousands of lives saved, including my parents and many others, but a timeline so changed that I was never born."

"A hero, possibly the greatest hero your world had ever known, erased from the timeline," Chloe said with a frown. "Cut loose from your world, free to act as the Hand of Fate in all other worlds. Cursed to travel until the debt is repaid for all the lives saved."

It was an old story by now, Harry had learned to deal with it long ago, but that didn't mean he had to like it or the two sisters that had screwed him over so badly. "Why this world? What here needs my attention?"

"Yes, this world is out of balance," Chloe said with a frown, recognizing that Harry didn't want to talk about his curse any longer. "The light and the dark have become extremes and the grey has nearly vanished. Balance is almost destroyed and every day it grows worse. As it stands right now this world is at a tipping point, soon to fall into the darkness or to be blinded by the light. Neither of those outcomes is good as it leads only to ruin. No matter how the world ends up, countless lives will be lost and it will just get worse from there."

"So, I'm here to save the world?" Harry asked with a look of disbelief. "Hardly," Chloe replied. "As you know, the worlds you visit are each different. Sometimes we require you to save a life, other's to take one. In this world you will be doing a bit of both. In this world you represent the Grey as the Light and the Dark have become far too polarized."

"There is no black and white solution," Harry said, thinking back to his original world. "Some must die that others might live, is that what you're saying."

Chloe nodded, then gestured over to the bar where a rather out of place young man was sitting. He wore what looked like an old fashioned doctors surgical coat with a large pair of goggles on his head. The fact none of the regulars would go near him was a clear indication that he was either extremely dangerous, or a complete waste of their time. Harry examined the young man closer, seeing three empty glasses in front of him with a fourth full one in his hand. His expression was of self loathing and a sense of complete loss hung over him like a cloud. All in all, he reminded Harry of him self after he survived killing Voldemort.

"That's Billy Gordman," Chloe said with a sad smile. "An incredibly brilliant young man who only wanted to make the world a better place when he was young. Unfortunately for him, he was bullied for most of his life and in a desire to make the world a better place he decided the path of the super villain was the better course for his life. He fell in with a rather bad crowd, aspiring to join their ranks without realizing they were just like the bullies he had dealt with as a child. The one shining light in his life was a young woman he had fallen in love with. Sadly, through a chain of events that my sisters found quite amusing, she fell in love with the worst type of hero and was fatally injured during one of their confrontations. Billy has not forgiven himself for his part in her death and currently stands at the crossroads, tonight he will either give in completely to the foulest depths of the Dark, or commit suicide."

"Let me guess, you want me to give him a third option?" asked Harry as he finished off his drink. "It's starting to sound like you are looking to rebel against your sisters, Chloe."

Chloe nodded, "Maybe I am, would you blame me?" Finishing her own drink she slid out of the booth and walked over to kiss Harry on the cheek. "I want you to do what you do best, Harry. I want you to change the world just by being you."
Harry watched Chloe walk out of the bar, partly because he was surprised she had kissed him, but mostly because she had a fabulous arse.

"Better get to work."

Harry slid out of the booth, grabbing the briefcase Winston had given him and then walked over to take a seat next to the young man.

"The first time I remember seeing someone die I was eleven," Harry said without preamble while ordering another drink for himself and Billy. "It was also the first time I killed anyone. Granted at the time it was kill or be killed and I rather liked the idea of living, so I doubt anyone would blame me."

"So?" asked Billy, finishing off the drink in his hand before accepting the fresh one. "I suppose you'll tell me I should just forget about it and move on, like everyone else has?"

Harry snorted, shaking his head. "Hell no! You never forget something like that and anyone that tells you to put it behind you or forget about it is out of their fucking mind. Death is not something you just forget. It leaves a mark on you to varying degrees depending on the circumstances. The death of a loved one, your fault or not, it tears at your heart and soul. You blame yourself, hate yourself, and even barter with Fate to reverse it. What's important is that you learn from it and try your best not to let it happen again."

"You lost someone you love?"

Harry nodded, sipping his drink. "More than one and too many to mention. Family, friends, and mentors all caught in the crossfire of a battle between myself and a snake obsessed lunatic. Everyone told me it wasn't my fault, but fuck them. They didn't know how it felt to survive when so many others died. Then when it was all over, nothing really changed. The 'bad guy' was dead and I was the 'hero.' Funny thing about being a hero, if you live long enough you end up being called a villain by the people you've tried to save."

Billy was looking at Harry with a hint of shock. "You were a hero? What are you doing here?"

"You said it yourself, I was a hero," Harry admitted with a sad smile. "I won my war, but eventually got told my methods were too slow or too violent, though I had only killed two men. Time passed and I found myself isolated from friends and family and I tried to find a way to undo my mistakes. I found a means, but the price ended up being rather higher than I expected. Now I work as something of a freelancer, traveling from place to place solving problems. Sometimes that means I kill a man who would go on to kill hundreds of others. Occasionally I have become the great evil the people need in order to join together. Then there are the times I act as the people's defender, the hero they need. Once I just saved a cat for a little girl. It all just depends on the need at the time."

"That works?" Billy asked desperately.

"Not all changes require overly dramatic actions be taken," Harry said with a smile. "Nor do they always have to be overly polarized, meaning they don't have to be grand works of Light or the Darkest deeds. I've saved worlds with just one word at the right time, same goes for destroying them."

"Worlds?!" squeaked Billy as he looked at Harry in wonder.

"Some of us just have bigger missions in life than others," Harry said with a smile as he stood up and tossed a handful of coins on the bar. "His drinks are on me. Take care of yourself, Billy."

As he walked away he heard Billy ask the bartender, "How did he know my name?"

"That there was Lord Potter-Black," replied the bartender with a smile. "Not much that man doesn't know if he wants and if he's giving you advise, you best take it to heart."

The next morning when Harry woke up he turned on the radio just in time to hear the news anchor give their headline news for the previous night. "And once again the Batman stopped the bank robbery with no loss of life. In other news GCPD announced this morning that the entire membership of the Evil League of Evil, a Tier 5 criminal organization, was wiped out last night. According to early findings the members had all gathered at a local bar for a few drinks and were actually innocent bystanders when the Joker attacked the bar. Witnesses outside stated the Joker seemed rather amused when he left the crime scene telling anyone within ear shot, 'little shit actually pranked me.' Who the individual responsible for the 'prank' was is currently unknown. The only member of the Evil League of Evil not present at the time was Dr Horrible who was evidently recording one of his infamous blogs at the time. It is unknown at this time if Batman will investigate the crime because it involved a Tier 5 group of criminals. As you know Joker is considered one of a handful of Tier 1 criminals in Gotham and Batman generally leave anything below a Tier 3 to the GCPD."
Harry couldn't help but laugh when he heard the news."

"Good for you, Billy."

Gotham Criminal Tiers

Tier 0: These are the villains that even Batman thinks long and hard about confronting without backup. These individuals could wipe out the entire planet and not bat an eye. Civilians should just run as fast as they can and pray they escape the devastation zone because they don't stand a chance otherwise.

Known Tier 0: Ras Al'Gul

Tier 1: Villains that Batman will take on head to head, but the confrontation could end up with a large loss of life, including his own. Individuals in this category have no regard for human life and think nothing of killing large groups of people to get what they want. This tier also contains several organizations that collectively pose a threat to the world. Civilians could possibly get in a luck hit, but escape is still the best plan of action.

Known Tier 1: Joker. Riddler. Scarecrow. The League of Shadows. The Assassin's Guild.

Tier 2: Villains Batman takes seriously, but rarely has any real difficulty with. Tier 2 villains have little regard for human life, but tend to focus more on some agenda only they know. Known Tier 2: Harley Quinn. Bane. Poison Ivy. Tier 3: In general this tier is made up of villains that focus more on money. They still have little regard for human life, but will avoid killing if it keeps them out of Batman's sights.

Know Tier 3: Penguin.

Tier 4: This tier is composed mainly of individuals that were once a higher tier but have either retired from the life of crime, or occasionally act as a hero themselves. This tier does not kill and more often than not will avoid any activity that puts a human life in danger.

Known Tier 4: Catwoman.

Tier 5: Batman doesn't even bother with this tier as a civilian could easily deal with them. This group are normally considered bullies and posers, with little or no real skill. Generally they are just street thugs who put on a costume and some makeup to impress someone else. Most often they are former henchmen that are trying to move up the ladder, but failing.

Known Tier 5: The Evil League of Evil (Defunct).

(Written prior to the sequels for John Wick. I wanted to write a badass Harry is a dark hero story, but so many others had alread done it and done it better than I could.)