HOLY BEJESUS! I Made it Ya'll! Double Digits for Chapters Woot! So Happy that the Muse is still going strong! Thank you so much for taking this Journey with me! I don't wanna dawdle so on with the chapter! Check out the bottom for more!

Chapter 10

GOTHAM CITY – THE NARROWS

MARCH 20th 1930 EST

The Building was hot, almost unbearably so. Jack Moved as quickly as he could, doing his best to be careful due to the fact that the building's integrity was already compromised because of the fire. He couldn't even put into words how grateful he was for the re-breather.

It had been just over two weeks since his encounter with not only another one of Batman's rouges, but also the 4th wielder of 'One for All' Hikage Shinomori. It hadn't been a very long conversation, hell it had most definitely been a one sided conversation as Jack couldn't talk. But the fact of the matter is Jack had been happy to have it happen.

Since that night Jack had constantly found himself reminiscing over it, trying to make sense of how things would play out for him as time went on.

He could and would say this much about the whole thing, the encounter had given him the opportunity to utilize the new power he'd been given. Jack was quite thankful for it, because since he'd entered the blazing inferno 'Danger Sense' had kept him from being crushed by falling flaming debris on three separate occasions already.

Hikage had imparted at least that one useful bit of information in their meeting in regards to how his new ability worked and it was now paying dividends for him.

FLASHBACK:

INSIDE OF JACK'S DREAMSCAPE

Jack found he didn't really know what to say even though he wouldn't have been able too anyway.

Jack knew that he was in the exact same predicament that Izuku had found himself in at the end of season 4 of My Hero Academia, being that right now he was inside of his dreamscape with the previous wielder standing before him. Jack unfortunately much like Izuku didn't have access to his mouth for this exchange, so he would have to wait for his observer to speak.

The man standing before him had yet to do so since his initial welcome that he had given, and the moments of silence gave Jack the chance to take the man's physical appearance in.

The man stood just slightly taller than Jack himself putting him at probably around 5'8 or 5'9. His white hair was parted in the middle of his forehead, sweeping to the sides of his face the overall length reaching to cover past his ears at the sides and almost touch his shoulders at the back. The large dark lightning bolt like scars were the only thing detracting from his looks as the man appeared to have a healthy sheen to his skin, and though Jack was sure he was a full-fledged adult he had a relatively young looking appearance. His eyes were slightly slanted in nature, and Jack could swear his irises were almost purple.

His attire was kind of odd to Jack as the first thing he noticed was that the guy didn't have shoes on. He had on Black Baggy pants with an odd belt that was beige and very coarse looking in the middle, and because of the separated sleeve of his Lilac top Jack could clearly see that he had on a black undershirt that matched his pants. The Lilac top was ruffled and had a relatively high collar, the oddest thing about it being that even though the one sleeve was no longer attached it was still part of the ensemble. The man also had what looked like minor silver greaves on his shins that looked as though they doubled for knee protection as well.

The previous user was still looking at Jack, and the prolonged silence was beginning to make Jack anxious. The reason for this meeting still alluded Jack, though he was then pulled from his musings as the previous holder briefly cleared his throat to begin speaking.

"Hello Young One. It is nice to finally get the chance to meet you. I am Hikage Shinomori, and I am the fourth wielder of 'One for All'." The man said, as a chair appeared behind him allowing him to sit down.

"I imagine you have many questions but our time is limited at the moment. Please listen closely. I know that you have been through much, and unfortunately it is only beginning. The others and I have seen your memories…All of your memories. It has been quite the jarring experience, though we would like to do our best to aid you you must understand that we have much to discuss and understand ourselves. It is quite the place and time we have found ourselves in. I wish I could say that you unlocked my quirk through your efforts, and while they have been impressive that was not the reason for my own intervention. You will need all the help you can get, and as such I have given you access to 'My' quirk…Danger Sense." Hikage said as he cupped the right side of his face with his right hand while he continued to observe Jack.

The air seemed to shift and shake as Jack listened to Shinomori, and now Jack could tell that the man's voice was starting to fade away.

"My quirk is very useful, and has many facets to it. Now that you have access to it in a way it will always be active, but you can also focus your power to enhance it. It will cause you some pain, but in time that will fade and you will be able to use it freely. It will enhance your reflexes to a greater degree and will help you sense and avoid danger to your person as well as others. There is some more that I wish I could impart to you but it seems that our time for now is up. Know This. We are here for you. We believe in you. And we will be waiting and watching. Be safe…Hero." Hikage said as he gave Jack the first brief smile he'd seen from the man.

FLASHBACK END:

Jack had woken immediately after the encounter, and after shaking the cobwebs of sleep off he had gone to his desk and opened the center drawer to remove his notebook where he logged his own progress with his strength, speed, and workout's. He'd now be recording the other facets of his quirk in here.

Jack had been doing this for some time and placed the book back before returning to bed.

Jack forcefully shook himself from the thoughts of that night and brought his focus back to the moment.

Jack was very thankful not just to his quirk at the moment but also again to Wesley Dodd's. He had taken the time and successfully upgraded his belt pouches with Wes's instruction and now each one held 12 capsules a piece, giving him an extended bit of usage out of his utility tools that he carried into the field on his person. At this moment he was extremely grateful for the freezing capsules that Wes had helped him develop. The liquid nitrogen inside each capsule while harmful if it landed on a person's skin, or breathed in as they passed through the minor vapor cloud created at the drop would be nothing compared to dying in a raging inferno.

Jack had already been on Patrol when the call had come out over the bandwidth, and he had quickly made his way to the west side of The Narrows. The building was already half on fire and Jack wasted no time. He had dropped the first capsule inside the main atrium of the large complex building, and had then worked his way up dropping capsules as he went clearing out areas to help him get the civilians out.

He had made his twelfth trip having helped evacuate over three dozen people when he realized he only had three capsules left, though it seemed the fire department was now on scene and set up in the attempt to quell the inferno. Many of those Jack had saved were all at a safe distance from the building holding each other praying that the few who were still inside would make it out.

A team of the firemen were already using their trucks ladders to evacuate the last of the civilians who had went to their windows and called out for help, allowing Jack to sigh in relief as he removed his portable rebreather from his mouth and checked the gauge seeing that he'd have to refill it back at the shop as it was close to empty. After checking with the lead Fireman on scene, Jack was glad to hear that the building was officially cleared out and started his trek back to the flat.

The past two weeks had been quiet and yet not. The crime and its movement seemingly fluctuated in Gotham; Jack came to find that there was always something going on, he just needed to hear about when and where because it was not always as obvious as seeing it on the news or catching word over the radio. In that respect, Jack had been happy that he had gotten the equipment from Wes as it gave him the ability to surveil things from a far.

Jack had gone ahead and 'Botched' a few encounters he had with some common street muscle that he ran into on patrol, allowing him to plant some bugs on them so that he could expand his knowledge using the transceiver and a recorder that he had gotten in the recon package that Wes had developed for him.

It was a gamble, but one Jack felt would be worthwhile in the end.

Jack now had two separate boards in the basement workshop that he was using to track two separate sets of goons, one tracking a group that seemingly worked for Black Mask while the other worked for Salvatore Valestra.

Different forms of the mob had always had their roots embedded in Gotham's infrastructure, but Jack was hopeful that through the minor bugs he'd planted he'd be able to discern some dirt so that he could take the fight directly to the forces working against the city's peace.

Since his starting of his plan Jack had actually been able to foil four smuggling operations, three of them involving drugs and the fourth being a trafficking ring. The last one had left Jack incensed and Jack had sent an entire eight man crew to the hospital after he had finished with them. He thought that he'd wind up facing some kind of reprisal for his slightly overboard physical treatment of the perps, but in the end had once again simply received thanks and praise.

The one big gain that had come from that particular encounter besides the obvious benefits of stopping the operation was that he had earned Detective Bennett's personal respect, and his phone number as once again the Detective duo had shown up to the scene.

Bennett had thanked Jack and had helped him open the three shipping containers that contained over a dozen young women, among them being four young girls between the ages of seven and ten.

Both men had been disgusted but quickly composed themselves and allowed Yin and a few other female officers on scene to handle taking care of the traumatized captives.

Bennett had then given Jack his direct line and told him that if he ever needed anything that he and Yin would be there. Jack could tell during the whole discussion that Yin was distinctly uncomfortable in his presence, though he wasn't quite sure why and decided not to comment on it.

'If I were a betting man I'd say that she isn't talking to me because she got reamed out over our last run in.' Jack thought as he took his leave from the scene to head back to the apartment.

Though Jack didn't know the specifics, his thoughts on the matter were right on the nose. He just hoped that she hadn't gotten into to much trouble.

GOTHAM CITY- GCPD HEADQUARTERS

MARCH 20th 2000 EST

Yin had been having a rough couple of weeks.

Since the incident with Killer Moth things had ramped up back up at the department much like they had when she had disparaged the Batman to the Deputy Commissioner, only this time things were actually worse as many of the other officers that she interacted with were now holding her opinion against her.

The Patrolmen that had been on the scene had obviously gossiped, and while she didn't mind the gossip as she was proud to have her own opinion it made the workplace tense for her and Ethan, and she never wanted her own views and issues to bring trouble his way.

Ethan was a good partner and a valued friend, and though many in the department had often said they believed her and Ethan were together it was not like that at all. Ethan was in many ways Yin's rock, but not in the way that a lover is for the other.

Ethan was Yin's brother in every sense of the word other than blood, he had been one of the only people to welcome her when she had transferred from Metropolis. Many of the other officers at the precinct had already labeled her a 'glory hound', upon her transfer since she had come from a cushy placement like Metropolis. Many believed that she was too young to be a full-fledged detective, and the ones that didn't have that sentiment in mind thought her odd since she left the city that had Superman as its personal guardian.

Between both partners Yin and Ethan were both single and it made the possible connection between them a viable one, but of that same token it was only recently that it had become that way. Ethan had actually ended a nine year relationship only two weeks before Yin's return to active field duty.

The stressors of being involved with an officer, especially one that worked in Gotham had taken its toll on Ethan's relationship and he had been forced to choose. Unfortunately for both involved (in Yin's opinion) Ethan had chosen the job, and walked away from someone that actually made him happy.

So now Yin found herself not only feeling guilty about bringing Ethan trouble with their fellow officers because of her own zeal, but she also found herself preoccupied with the thoughts of the meeting she had just had with the Mayor the other day.

FLASHBACK:

Yin had been called up to the Commissioner's office, and if she was being honest she had expected it. She already had a feeling she knew what it was about, and she had already prepared her counter argument. She had a great deal of respect for Jim Gordon and obviously he was the police commissioner, but the fact was that he openly endorsed someone like the Batman and she could not and would not just allow these so called 'Heroes' to parade around going above the people who made the real sacrifices.

Normal police officers worked against the crime polluting Gotham on the daily, and it infuriated Yin to no end that 1.) Others were so content to throw their own work to the way side in favor of someone like the Batman or 2.) Were a part of the same rot that was poisoning the city helping to cover up and or support other illegal activities.

Yin had been in Gotham long enough to know that there were many on the force that were most probably on the take, working for some scumbag or the other collecting money on the side though you would be hard pressed to prove it.

In a city this large with as much crime that occurred one would think it would be hard to pin something like that down, but Yin had been studying the patterns and found it easy to see when certain things were left to the way side.

But again proving it was another matter entirely, and all it did was make the job harder for the decent cops.

Yin had taken the time and even thoroughly observed as high as the Commissioner himself, and to her own shame had found that the man was truly on the up and up even though she hadn't thought so when she first came to Gotham city.

Yin had no delusions that the following conversation would be pleasant by any means, but she deeply hoped to be able to explain why the city should be relying on the police force and not the vigilantes that were running around.

Yin had the wind knocked out of her sails as she knocked on the Commissioners closed door and was bid to enter, where she then came face to face with not only Jim Gordon but the Mayor of Gotham.

The Mayor was actually sitting in front of Gordon's desk in one of the two available hard wood chairs, his black pea coat draped across the back as he sat with his arm wrapped around the back of the chair so that he could be properly turned to face her as she entered the office.

"Close the door please Detective." The Mayor said as he gestured at the slightly ajar door.

That small sentence should not have inspired so much dread, and yet with those five words the Mayor had actually caused Yin concern. She now understood how dire the situation before her might be, and it honestly scared her. If the Mayor was sitting here it could only mean that not only had the gossip of what Yin had said made the rounds here at the precinct, but that it and more specifically the wording of what she had said had made the trip to city hall.

More specifically the Mayor's office.

Yin now understood that she may be facing true disciplinary action, as this was now the second time that she would have been called on about speaking out against an official or their own standing.

Yin took a steadying breath and resolved herself, she would not fold here. If it meant that she'd be facing true disciplinary action then so be it, but she would not change her opinion on the Hero's involvement so easily. If need be she would put in for a new transfer and find another city to work in. If they didn't relieve her of her badge first anyway.

Had All Might actually saved her? Yes.

Had he been instrumental in bringing Killer Moth down? Yes.

Would she and Ethan have been able to bring the so called 'Super' criminal in? They'd never know for sure, but Yin would state emphatically that Yes they in fact could have.

The fact of the matter stood that All Might much like the Batman was not a hired public servant, he could be classified as nothing but a Vigilante in Yin's mind.

Like it or not, powers or not, the young man was in fact breaking the law doing as he did. Having the words of the Mayor to extend a hand of friendship did not change the written word of the law and though he had done nothing but help, technically All Might had already broken quite a few laws while Heroing in Gotham.

Yin took the empty chair and kept her gaze resolute as she panned looking between Commissioner Gordon, and the Mayor of Gotham.

The silence didn't stretch for long, for as Yin took another breath to begin speaking on her own behalf the Mayor himself actually spoke out cutting off anything she or even the Commissioner could say.

"Do you know why you're here Detective?" The Mayor said as he gazed directly into Yin's eyes.

Yin attempted to answer but was immediately cut off.

"That was a rhetorical question detective. I'm sure you know exactly why you're here. I'm going to make this a very short, simple, and quite frankly very one sided discussion. I don't know how you did things in Metropolis, but this Gotham. Gotham City. Did you know that the typical American news networks all over the globe call Gotham 'The Crime Capitol of the World'? Even over Detroit, and THAT'S saying something. I would think that you of all people know that since you asked to be transferred here." The Mayor said as he reached out to the desk and took a sip from his glass of water sitting before him.

He took a moment before he spoke again, and Yin was sure that he was taking this moment to compose himself as his voice had been rising steadily throughout the prior bit.

"I didn't give that very open, very Public press conference to have my offer of friendship and cooperation be derailed by your own prejudices Detective. I understand your personal feelings on this matter… I really do. But here's something that you really need to think about here. Blackgate Penitentiary is one of two facilities…Two, that are used to house the criminal element that plague this city. Make no mistake the Commissioner and I are well aware of the kind of message that press conference sent, and in the effort to be completely candid with you I'm praying that it wasn't all thrown away by your clearly stupid actions on the aforementioned night." The Mayor said as he held Yins gaze.

"This City, the one you've come to work and live in…do you love it? And when I ask that I mean do you truly love it? Could you see yourself spending the rest of your life here? Being buried here when the time comes? Because Yin I have to tell you I'm not sure if you know this but I'm from here originally. I Love this city. It's the reason why I wanted to take office in the first place. I saw that things were bad, and I wanted to change it. It hasn't been easy, I've had people out to get me from the moment I took office. But make no mistake, my first and foremost responsibility is too this city. That's the reason for what I did with that press conference, reaching out to All Might. I want and Need to bolster our forces Yin, because we're losing. We're losing the battle for our city. Every year the crime rate percentile grows, and every year Blackgate gains more prisoners to be held; we're running out of room Yin." The Mayor said as his visage took on a more somber feel.

Yin could only sit and take all this in as the Mayor explained just how dire the situation was.

"Blackgate is teetering at 90% capacity as we speak. The city has been in constant talks with the state for more funding to build another site, not just for Blackgate but for Arkham Asylum as well. The fact of the matter is that Gotham truly can't handle much more, we're being forced to give early parole to less violent offenders to try and keep the more hardened criminals behind bars. The politics behind all this is staggering, and meanwhile I have pseudo-enemies and true enemies on every side. There-in is what brings us to this meeting. Are you an enemy Yin? Because what am I supposed to make of your behavior and treatment of a possible ally? How can I take that as anything other than the enemy action that it feels like?" The Mayor said as his countenance shifted from conflicted, to frustrated, and to then borderline hostile as he spoke.

Yin felt completely flat footed and found herself gaping, unable to express her disbelief at the accusation that had just been leveled at her, by the Mayor of the city no less.

Though in hindsight after the meeting she would come to admit that if she had been in his shoes, she would have felt the exact same way.

"I'm going to make this very simple Detective. The Commissioner and I have already talked this through, any further disturbance from you in regards to either All Might or The Batman will result in suspension without pay on the first offense, and an official review panel with possibility of firing if it occurs a second time. Ellen. You're a good cop. This City needs good cops. I'm hoping that going forward you understand where I personally stand on this. I have to say as my closing remark that I'm surprised, as it is I hear that All Might did in fact save your life. Hopefully you can remember that going forward." The Mayor said as he began to rise from his chair to depart.

FLASHBACK END:

Yin could now be found sitting at her desk in the precinct, the air wafting due to the rotary fans pushing and pulling the different mix of smells about.

She was attempting to concentrate on her computer screen as she typed up another report from a local bust she and Ethan had collared just that day, meanwhile trying to stake out any possible lead to the attack that had cost one correctional officer his life while leaving the other hospitalized.

The smell of coffee, stale air, ink, and paperwork was driving her nuts while her mind zeroed in on all the sounds going on around her.

The footsteps of her fellow officers as they moved around the office, the hushed whispers intermingling and being drowned out by the normal decibel of conversation happening with the intermingled shout, and all of this being covered up by the constant sound of her own typing on her keyboard and the loud ringing of the phones constantly going off in the office.

Yin took her hands off the jet black keyboard and rolled herself slightly back in her brown leather computer chair, giving her a moment to crack her knuckles and roll her shoulders as she tried to focus her thoughts again on anything other than the dressing down she had received.

But while trying to take her mind off of said thing she wound up going back to the cause of said issue, the new hero All Might. She and Ethan had run into said Hero again, twice since the night of meeting Killer Moth each time the young Hero proving just how invaluable he could be. The first incident, being the take down of the prostitution ring which was bringing smuggled women in and out of Gotham using Dixon Dock. The second being a minor car chase that had ended rather uneventfully.

All Might had seemed incensed to her at the raid and she had seen the state he had left many of the perpetrators in, and in that case if she was being honest with herself…she had inwardly applauded him. The so called 'men' who were making a profit off of others suffering deserving every hurt All Might had visited upon them in her mind, and yet said thoughts brought forth her own self-doubt.

Hadn't she been the one to threaten the same Hero with imprisonment?

Hadn't she been the one to openly state that Gotham city didn't need the likes of someone like him?

The fact that she was now calling herself out for being a hypocrite being one of the main sources for the migraine that she was currently battling with, left her feeling ever so slightly bitter.

It was a hard pill for her to swallow, coming to the realization that she may have been wrong. The fact of the matter was that between his take down of the likes of Zsasz and Moth, the breakdown of the human trafficking ring, and the fact that he'd saved her personally on that first outing all threatened to make her head pulse even harder than it already had been for the past hour since beginning to look into what evidence existed for this new cold case.

Yin shook her head clearing her mind of those thoughts, knowing that dwelling on the issue would bring her nothing but more headaches. She had more than enough of those to deal with because of the damn bombing of their correctional bus.

The living guard had very little to say, claiming he didn't get a very good look at the assailant that had caused the whole fiasco. The department had been left with a flaming bus, one dead guard, and seven dead inmates.

The funny thing about that... being that the docket for the transport that night had listed eight inmates being transported, leaving the question of where the eighth one was. Forensics unfortunately had no new leads due to the damage done to all the bodies, so that left them in the wind.

With so little information being provided by the 'traumatized' officer (As if Yin was buying his scared deer act) and all the pertinent files now seemingly having vanished from the archive, Yin was close to her breaking point with the amount of frustration she felt.

'Meanwhile IAB is absolutely useless.' Yin thought Bitterly.

To top it all off 'Someone' though she couldn't hazard a guess as to who, had removed the electronic record of the transfer. While in this day and age they still had hard copies for things like that, the fact of the matter was someone had gone to a great deal of trouble to cover something up. All of this had Yin turning her head in circles, hoping to find something she may have missed.

It was the pondering over that something that was in the wind that was driving Yin, and by extension Ethan up the proverbial wall. On top of their general work and attempting to bring in new info to use to lay a strike against the organized crime in Gotham, they now had to deal with what obviously appeared to be subterfuge from within their department.

Every free moment that she and Ethan had, was currently dedicated to staking out Senior Patrolmen Franklin Short.

Neither of the two of them believed that he had sustained his injuries or even survived the ordeal by the virtue of luck, kindness, or even the need for a quick getaway. The man had been chosen, and so far the two had minor evidence to prove said theory. He had been very cagey and uncooperative during the beginning stages of the investigation, and his behavior had not changed since. While the situation had in fact been a terrible and very trying one, Yin and Ethan both believed that the man was now being paid for his silence.

Who he was being paid by, was the answer the two found themselves doggedly looking for.

Gotham had quite a few criminal organizations working in it, and that left quite a few possible options when it came down to who was possibly paying off Short now.

Yin was rubbing slow circles into her temples, when her partner took his seat at his desk opposite hers with a decidedly annoying smile on his face.

"Let me guess…All Might saves the day again?" Yin said as she affixed Ethan with an unimpressed look as his smile widened by a fraction when the name passed her lips.

"You better believe it! Fire at an apartment complex in the Narrows. He pulled close to four dozen people out, and that's not counting that the boys on the Engine crew said he must have had something to deal with the fires because the building wasn't as bad off as they thought it would be. Gave them more time to get the other unlucky souls out, word came back… no fatalities. Can you believe that?" Ethan said as he placed a bag of Big Belly Burger on her desk before he dropped his own on his desk.

Yin had to fight to suppress the smile that wanted to break out on her face, but knowing that everyone had made it out safe won out in the end though.

Regardless of her thoughts on Heroes at large the fact stood, All Might had been doing good work since his debut and the results were speaking for themselves. He was consistently stopping at least three visible crimes a day, and that was only what they had seen.

'Maybe this city does need him.'

Yin shook herself from that line of thought and stood up taking her bag of Big Belly burger as she started to walk towards the exit door.

"Yin! Where you goin? I just got back let's eat." Ethan said as he reached into his bag to grab part of his meal.

He was quickly cut off by Yin who looked back over her right shoulder to address him.

"Pack it up and bring it with ya partner. It's that time of the day again, and I for one am curious what Short is gonna be up to with his evening." Yin said as she turned back forward and walked out of the office.

Bennett took a brief sip of his root beer and allowed the cold beverage to go down, before he stood back up grabbed his meal and put his suit jacket back on before following after his partner.

"Ya know one of these days Imma be able to sit and actually enjoy my dinner. You know they have IAB for this kinda thing right?!" Ethan said out loud as he chased after Yin to go to their stakeout.

Neither of them had noticed that they had an observer who quickly picked up the phone as they departed the office.

"Hey. It's me. Bennett and Yin just left the office. Yeah. I'll keep you posted." The man said as he sat down at his desk dropping his badge upon the surface revealing the word Detective.

GOTHAM CITY- PERELLO'S ITALIAN RESTAURANT

MARCH 20th 2000 EST

The restaurant was small, Intimate. Black and white tile floor, closed off booths with plush red leather seating for those who liked to have room to stretch out. The red wood tables and chairs were lined up perfectly down the center of the building, each one holding a white table cloth and a single candle display that made it easy to give you a very romantic feel for the setting.

The eggshell colored walls above the dark brown colored wallboards were lined with pictures, celebrities and all types of important figures had come to this restaurant to either unwind…or conduct business.

Right now, the restaurant was relatively empty and that was honestly a good thing; because of the type of business that was about to be conducted.

Turk Barret wasn't normally the type of guy who liked being involved in this kind of thing especially in a place like this, but ever since his retrieval from police custody things had been very different for him.

He was now sitting at one of the fancier booths wearing a crimson red Armani pinstripe suit, with a black dress shirt, white gold cufflinks, and white gold wristwatch with gleaming black dress shoes completing his ensemble.

Of all the ways he had expected things to go after being picked up, Turk hadn't expected them to go this way that was for sure.

Though it would seem he was doing well and had found success (and in a way had), success comes with cost.

Turk hd learned that all too well the very night of his liberation.

FLASHBACK:

The SUV had been moving for quite some time and Turk was still absolutely terrified.

He had no idea where he was going, he was covered in piss, and he had a feeling he'd be getting a bullet to the head sooner rather than later.

The trip finally ended and he heard and felt the back open and began to plead hoping that it would buy him just a few extra moments.

"Listen man you ain't …" was as far as Turk got before he found a fist buried into his gut bringing him to his knees.

"Shut your Gob. Let's make this real simple. Imma take the bag off your head. If you spit on me, scream, or try to run, Imma make good on the promise I made to that pig with you. You Understand?" the man asked as he dragged a wheezing Turk back to his feet.

All Turk could do was nod his compliance as he was hauled to his feet, while he did his best to recover his breath from the hit he'd taken.

The light even in the dead of night as low as it was here, was harsh on his eyes as he was finally given a view of the open world again. They were at a section of the docks that much was clear from the lines of shipping containers and the numerous boats that were in the water, though Turk didn't get long to ponder that as he was grabbed by the right shoulder and shoved forward to move to behind a section of said shipping containers.

'So this is it huh?' Turk thought as his masked liberator moved him forward towards what he assumed was about to be his execution.

Turk as it turned out was quite wrong, as he wound up being very surprised when they cleared the line of shipping containers he laid his eyes on a white limo that was running waiting for them.

Turk was once again handled bodily as he was turned around to face the man that liberated him, who proceeded to unlock his cuffs and then pulled him to the side and handed him some basic jeans, shirt and shoes to change into.

"Get dressed, you smell like piss."

After Turk ditched his prison issued garb and came back to the front where the blacked out mercenary stood, he was then sprayed with some body spray and handed a stick of gum.

"This is very simple. You get in, you listen to what is said, don't speak unless directly asked a question, and most importantly…don't stare. If you value your shitty little life that is. Maybe I'll see you around some time Barret." The Merc said as he pushed Turk toward the back of the limo on the right hand side where the door was now open.

Turk took slow tentative steps as he approached the door, thinking that he was going to eat a bullet the second he was seen. But he made it to the door and could see two pairs of legs, one decidedly female from the obvious low hanging business skirt that was on display and thus far he hadn't eaten a bullet.

"Please get in Mr. Barret."

The voice that had spoken was cultured and direct, and most probably came from the woman sitting in the car.

Turk slowly leaned in and closed the door as he got into the back of the limo.

The inside of the limo was very swanky, obviously expensive from the black leather seating, to the dark shag rug on the floor. There was a mini bar stationed in the middle of the area, and there were mini screens at each of the four corners of the back each displaying something ranging from the news, to stock info, and even the current Gotham Knights game if his eyes were right.

Turk now found himself sitting with his back to the privacy window that would lead up to where the driver was, and he then started to take stock of the two other passengers with him.

The first was a clearly beautiful Asian woman, the one who had invited him to get in the limo in the first place. Her long dark lustrous hair was tied into an elegant braid hanging down the side draping over onto her chest. Her skin had a wonderful sheen and had a more brownish tinge to it, denoting that she spent a great deal of time in the sun (or just tanning). Her hazel eyes were sharp and focused though not unkind, hidden behind the lenses of her oval shaped, black rimmed glasses.

She had plain golden hoop earrings in the bottom of her earlobes, and the only other piece of jewelry that Turk noticed on her was a golden chain that bore a relatively large ruby or garnet that was shaped into an oval that was about an inch and a half wide and long dangling right above her modest cleavage.

Her light blue suit was clearly tailor made and clung perfectly to her, her white dress shirt and dark low heels not detracting at all from her beauty or the suit itself.

The woman was very well put together and had immaculate posture, overall projecting a very proper and business like attitude.

It was after he caught himself staring at the woman for what might have been too long that he realized who was sitting next to her.

'Sweet baby Jesus.' Turk thought to himself as he took the man's appearance in, the words of the Merc echoing at the back of his mind.

'…don't stare. If you value your shitty little life that is.' Turk could finally understand why he had heard so many stories about Black Mask killing people for looking at him wrong.

The rumor had gone out long ago that Roman Sionis now known firmly by the criminal underworld as Black Mask had run afoul with the Batman, and that said run in had left him scarred and deformed.

Seeing him now Turk could confirm that the rumors were in fact true.

His head looked like a giant charred black skull, the visage of what had been a mask that he had made out of his own fathers coffin to inspire fear in others. The tussle with the Bat had led to a fire, and said fire had resulted in the mask being fused to Romans head. As far as anyone was concerned, Black Mask was who Roman Sionis was now.

Doing his best to get his eyes to travel down Turk could clearly tell that Mask kept himself in shape, clearly having broad shoulders and slightly large looking arms underneath his sleeves.

Thinking of the man's sleeves forced Turk to really pay attention to what Mask was wearing, and if Turk was being honest he himself had never worn anything like it in his life. It musta been expensive.

Again his gaze settled upon a perfectly tailored suit, a mix of the black and white pallet that played well on the eyes. His jacket, tie, and pants being white with black pinstripes leaving him with a black dress shirt and immaculately white dress shoes. Mask only had on three pieces of jewelry himself, a rather thick looking golden chain with no ornaments could be seen slightly draped behind his shirt, a golden band with a red ruby on his right ring finger, and a very expensive looking golden Rolex with a large face that had at least a dozen small diamonds in it was on his left wrist.

Turk was pulled from any further musings as the woman spoke directly to him.

"Thank you for joining us Mr. Barret. I apologize on behalf of our contractor, but it was necessary to move you quickly. We didn't have a very large window and I hope that you weren't placed under too high of a level of duress." The woman said as she poured three glasses of what looked like champagne. She proceeded to pass one to him and then attempted to pass one to Mask who simply waved her off.

The conversation took a surprisingly different turn in Turks mind as Mask took over the conversation… Turk honestly hadn't expected him to talk this early if he was even going to talk at all. Word had gotten round about Black Mask and it was said he rarely met with anyone directly outside of the tower he owned, and that most of the time he didn't speak much to anyone at all.

The rumors were up in the air about it from him not being able to because of the incident, or just outright not wanting to as he saw himself above everyone else.

You can imagine Turks surprise when the man spoke, and he heard the deep and gravelly voice that came out. Masks voice was so deep it made a few of the meager hairs on the back of Turks neck stand up.

"So…Turk Barret. We finally meet face to face. I gotta say, I was expecting you to be a bit bigger. You're a scrawny lookin thing for someone on the wrong side of the law, especially one in the gun smuggling business if I'm being honest." Mask said while Turk nursed small sips of the champagne trying hard not to make a face as the flavor of the alcohol mixed with the gum that was still in his mouth since he had no where to put it.

Turk sat further back and decided to take the Merc's previous advice and not speak unless asked a question, and it seemed to pay off because Mask struck him as someone who like to hear himself talk... and it showed.

"Ya know how they say there are certain countries that are too small to give a real shit about, but there on the way to everywhere and that's why they get mentioned? Well Turk I gotta tell ya…that's you my friend in a nutshell. You're not the biggest fish out there, but you sure as hell have dealt with just about everyone there is to deal with." Mask said as he leaned back in his seat and draped his right arm behind his female companion who relaxed back slightly as he did so.

"When I wanted to put together that stinking bank job that you rube's so completely botched, I asked Ms. Li here to get me someone that she believed could lead a team of amateurs to what was supposed to be a grand slam of a heist. It was easy to pay off Croc to get him to be a distraction for The Bat, and having my boys that work in the department handle the side work is always easy enough. Now on the one hand I'm very glad with the results, because since you botched that job I don't have to lay out that money. And if I'm being honest there's always more than one way to skin a cat. But on that opposite hand…I'm thoroughly pissed." Mask said as he stared down Turk.

The air in the limo felt thin, and Turk could swear that it was because of how angry the Mask was, and even though he hadn't raised his voice it was the tone that sold just how aggravated the man was. Turk felt he was a hairs breath away from death, but at the very least he'd die in clean clothes if it happened now.

Turk was pulled back when Mask started talking again after a brief lull.

"That job was meant to set up some big moves for me. Ya see what I'm sure you don't know Mr. Barret, is that what was inside those safe deposit boxes would have given me a leg up on a few of my competitors here in this city. You see... I have a Vision for Gotham. She's gonna be the crown fuckin Jewel again. Screw Metropolis and their big blue boy scout. Gotham is where shit gets done. I'm gonna turn this city back into what it was always meant to be…a Hub for all the crime in the world. I'm gonna be the new Kingpin of crime in America, and my reign is starting again right here…with you." Mask said as he finally reached across and picked up the previously denied glass of champagne.

He proceeded to down the whole thing in three gulps and then set the glass back down allowing a small ring to call out showing that the glasses were genuine crystal, once again drawing attention to the fact that the man sitting in front of Turk had genuine wealth.

"Going back to what I said at the beginning Turk. You're not too big in the crime game. But fuck me sideways if there isn't a single outfit you haven't done business with in this God's forsaken city; and that impresses me. Hell the way I hear it you even supplied for the Joker once." Mask said as he continued to look Turk in the eyes.

Thinking of that meeting drew a small shiver out of Turk as he could almost here the clown's laughter before he was brought back to the present by Mask's voice.

"You see I'm a man with Vision. I have an idea. Believe it or not I think you did too, ya just didn't follow through right Turk. But that's why we're here now. I'm offering you a job Mr. Barret. You're going to work for me and be my… well... let's call it my envoy. You're gonna be my go between to deliver my terms to the other 'so called' bosses and underbosses, and in return for these services; I'm gonna make you richer than you've ever thought you could be." Roman said as he poured himself another glass.

'Oh hell no.' Turk thought as he tried to formulate something to say. He knew it felt to good to be true, and he was right. He was getting pulled deeper in, and there would be no way out unless he spoke up now and tried to find a way. He was cut off at that moment as Mask drew a very large looking handgun from inside the breast of his suit jacket.

'The man's carrying a damn Desert Eagle around.' Turk thought with trepidation.

"Now before you go and get any ideas of trying to grow a brain, let me remind you that you botched a job for me. Screw this new shield slinging scumbag because he's not the one who was working for me… he's not the one who cost me my prize... You were. The agreement was that you'd bring me those boxes and in return you'd get a nice little retirement fund. Well, we all know how that turned out. The way I see it…you owe me now. And I aim to collect. But don't worry, you'll be thoroughly compensated for the work I'll be having you do." Mask said as he glanced lazily at Turk the gun now sitting on his lap but still in his left hand.

Turk decided that if there was gonna be a time it would be now, so he went for it.

"…."

BANG. BANG.

Turk clamped his hands onto his ears, and curled into himself as the two shots rang out.

After waiting for a few solid seconds for the ringing to die down Turk lifted his head and glanced at the sides of the seat he was sitting on, seeing that a single bullet hole was on either side right next to where his head had been.

Mask's voice brought his attention back forward.

"Now I'm sure that the next words that were gonna come out of your mouth were 'Yes sir Mr. Sionis I understand, and I will happily work off my debt that I owe you.', That is what you were gonna say right? Because if it isn't already clear let me spell it out for you, you small time scumbag. Your ass is mine. If I even think you're thinking of running or going to the cops, your gonna wake up as your being taken apart piece by piece to be put in Gotham harbor. Make no mistake Turk, you're in the big boys now; and you're on My team. I don't lose. I come out on top in the end, that's just how it is. Ya know why? That's a rhetorical question. Here's why. Because I'm the Badest of the bad. I've done it all. This city doesn't belong to the people, or the pigs, or Mr. Money Bags Wayne, or even the god damn Batman. Gotham is Mine. When I'm done... there won't be a single game in this stinking city that doesn't pay up to me you got that? Now, you can either play ball…or we can start shopping for a nice brick coffin for ya. What do ya say?" Mask said as he lounged back against his seat.

Turk sat for all of a few seconds and then made the only choice he could make.

"Sounds good boss."

For the first time since getting into the limo the Mask smiled, his lips or at least the parody of them pulling back in a rictus of a half sneer that honestly scared Turk more than the gun in his lap ever could.

"Atta Boy." Mask said as he raised his glass again, before he proceeded to drink the whole thing down again.

"Ms. Li will get ya set up with some new duds. You'll get a small bank roll, and we'll even get you some decent wheels. Oh! I almost forgot. In my infinite generosity and with my excellent judge of character in mind, I reached out to a contact of mine in the department. Your electronic record has been expunged, and give it another week and that hard copy will be gone. It's almost like you never committed a crime before. But don't worry, I know that you'll pay this generous gift forward and get me the results I'm lookin for. After all, Gotham's been without a ruler for far too long. It's time to crown the new King. We're gonna start folding in all these wannabe morons and show em' what real success looks like. So you better put on a fresh pair of big boy panties Mr. Barret…you're with the sharks now. Hahahaha." Mask said as he gestured for Turk to get out of the limo.

FLASHBACK END:

Since that meeting Turk had had three separate meetings all with Ms. Li, who he had to be honest was something else. She spoke briskly and factually one hundred percent of the time, and she also came off as someone who didn't like the use of flowery words or any type of by play. With her it was all up front, and Turk was just fine with that.

Each meeting saw him being given something new. The first with a new wardrobe that was bought and paid for by Black Mask, and then the following saw him receive a new car while the final gave him the hard copy of his own criminal file.

He happily burned it in the back yard behind his grad mama's house the same night he got it.

Since then he had already visited a few separate sects of small time gangsters, triggermen, bookies, and pimps. Each and every one of them had already started to kick up their contributions to the new crime king.

The only small to mid tier time one that had refused to meet with him so far had been Cyrus DiMaggio better known as Rough Cut. The man was known for smuggling all types of things but lately had gotten back into smuggling Diamonds again.

Turk had already passed that tid bit along, and been told they'd handle it another day. What had brought him to Perello's tonight, was the meeting that had been set up for him with none other than Sal Valestra.

Black Mask had stated that in no uncertain terms Turk was to make the old man understand that if he didn't fold in, he'd be cut out…permanently.

The old man had already joined him at the table, and it gave Turk a chance to size him up. He was old, the balding had clearly set in and what little hair the man had was gray and white and terribly thin. All in all Turk was quite surprised that the man had much hair at all.

His dark brown eyes were unfocused, probably due to the fact that he had an oxygen tank on wheels sitting next to him. Apparently Sal had always been a heavy smoker and it had caught up with him now in his old age. The man wasn't just tired or out of breath, he was dying you could almost smell it on him.

His dark blue suit had many wrinkles in it, almost as many as his pockmarked forehead did. His white shirt looked relatively pressed and the black tie he wore was plain but fit well enough with the suit. His blue dress hat had a slightly wide brim and the black tie around the center looked worn, as if it had been moved from one hat to another.

The man took a gasping breath from his oxygen mask and then fixed his gaze on Turk. He seemed to take Turk's measure and though his gaze and voice showed he felt inconvenienced, he was still here to listen and Turk was counting on being able to sway the old man.

"Well. What do you want, Spit it out. I don't have all night." The man said with a slight wheeze at the beginning as his oily voice washed over Turk.

Turk wagered in his own head that once upon a time the man sitting before him had been big time, a real smooth operator. But times were changing, and he would either change with them or get left to rot.

"The Black Mask has a proposition for you, Mr. Valestra." Turk said as he flagged down a waiter to order some food.

The Mask was footing the bill for this meeting, and Turk decided that he was hungry and was gonna get something out of this night for himself; maybe some cannoli's.

GOTHAM CITY- 3 BLOCKS FROM GRANTS GYM

MARCH 20th 2200 EST

Jack was hopping from rooftop to rooftop making his way back to the flat. The night had been relatively calm as opposed to most nights since he had started his Heroing career, though he'd be a liar if he said that the fire hadn't shaken him up a bit.

He had meant to have already been back to the flat to resupply, but wound up getting sidetracked in dealing with another B&E and two muggings.

People were becoming very vocal about him being involved, one of the people he saved even talking down to the perps who had tried to mug her after he had subdued them.

"Gotham's got a new Guardian assholes! Don't drop the soap when you get dropped off. Thanks All Might You're the Best!" She had said as she walked off with one of the police officers that had shown up so she could give her statement.

Jack had considered calling Ethan to pass along a small bit of Intel he had picked up from one of the bugs he'd planted, apparently there were some big moves being made in the criminal underworld. He'd really need to sit down soon and go over everything he'd collected.

Unfortunately that realization reminded him that it all looked like it was gonna head to one place, Black Mask.

Jack wanted to bring the big fish down but had no reservations in saying that taking Sionis down was gonna be hard, the man was a serious menace.

Jack was pulled from his thoughts as he vaulted over another alleyway but quickly found himself having to back track.

"HELP ME!" sounded out from down in the ally as Jack could hear a man running as he called out for help.

'Never a dull moment I swear.' Jack thought as he shook his head and jumped over and bounced from wall to wall as he came down into the ally and saw the man cowering behind a nearby dumpster.

Jack had his shield affixed to his back, so he raised both hands palms facing out and lowered his output of One for All so as not to scare the guy.

"Sir what seems to be the problem? Are you alright?" Jack asked as he approached the downed man. As he got closer he could see blood on the ground, and once he was standing within two feet he could see why.

The guy looked like he had arrows sticking out of him.

"…please. You gotta help me! The Bitch is crazy!" The man started to shout as he realized just who was talking to him.

If Jack had needed any more proof on what he thought was going to happen this man would have been enough, but the quick sting that formed behind his eyes added to it as Danger Sense flared up.

Jack heard the clink and had already attempted a half turn to look over his shoulder, but wound up having to swing back fully forward to allow his shield to knock the crossbow bolt off course causing it to lodge into the dumpster next to the downed man.

Jack spun around and in the process had removed the shield from his back and now had it held up in his left hand as he faced the front of the alley towards the street.

He didn't need to look long or hard to know who he was looking at now.

"Huntress."

That's The Chapter Ya'll! I really hope you enjoyed it, and please don't forget to pass it on to your friends if you think they'd like it! Also please leave a review if you have any questions, or comments! I have to really thank you guys for all the support you've given so far, it makes it a lot easier to push forward with my progress. Question? Do you think it would be prudent to start a Discord where I would talk about my ideas for this story as well as some others I have on the backburner? Please let me know! I hope to have the next one out soon! Also just as an FYI if you decide to leave a comment please let me know if you think the chapters are okay at the length they are at now, or if they could stand to be a little bit longer. Omakes will eventually become a thing and I promise they will all be Canon to this story unless specifically stated otherwise. Hope you are all safe, happy, and healthy! Until Next time!