A/N:
" " : Dialogue,
' ' : Thought,
"Italicized text" : Telepathy,
[ ] : System.
Discord invite link: https://discord.gg/V35WgeqBT
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June 16th, 2010
Omniscient POV
In one of the warehouses that was under the Falcone Crime Family's ownership, a scene that would shake the entirety of Gotham City's criminal world was underway. The leaders from all the Crime Families, the Triads, the Russian Mafia, the multiple drug cartels and gangs, had all gathered, and surprisingly, no bullets were flying.
"I didn't know we were dealing with small fry." Mickey Sullivan, the leader of The Irish, a crime family that worked under the Falcone Crime Family, said, looking at the leaders of the smaller gangs with disdain. "No time for small talk, Mickey. We're all here for… more important business." Mario Falcone said, looking to the other crime family heads.
"It's been a while since we've had to gather like this. The last time I remember something similar happening was when Batman started out." Johnny Sabatino said, taking a drag of his cigar, then puffing out smoke. "And now, we're in the same position again." He said, his voice low, belying his anger at the situation that Nolan had pushed them into.
"We know how it turned out when Batman did his thing, until the crazies started taking his attention. We can't allow that to happen again." He said, clenching his hands angrily, then let out another smoke-filled breath. "I've called in a few guns. It's already pretty clear that simply getting some toys isn't gonna be enough to take out these bastards." He said, then pulled out a cell phone from his jacket's inner pocket.
"And just who are these guns that you brought over here?" Vasily Kosov of the Odessa Mob asked, his heavy Russki accent bleeding into his English. "Just a few guys from out of town. They've got something of a reputation." As Johnny responded, a quiet thud sounded out behind him and his lieutenant, and to the surprise of most of the people in the room, the lieutenant and the other Sabatino soldiers moved aside for the person that had seemingly landed in their midst.
A man dressed in a purple and black full-body spandex suit, with a pair of gray bracelets on his wrists and a black spider emblem on the forehead portion of the suit. As he walked forward, a second dissonant pair of steps were heard, these steps much heavier than the first man's. These steps belonged to a larger man, who was dressed in a deep, dark blue, sleeveless combat suit that had three large stripes across the torso, and red markings around the eyes of the suit's mask.
But the most eye-catching detail of the man was his missing left forearm, which had been replaced with a powerful machinegun. Shortly after he walked forward, another man came forward, this one wearing a red and black bodysuit that was decked out with gear all over his torso. He wore a belt that had several pouches, and a pair of handguns holstered on either side, and wore a black trench coat over his suit. His most eye-catching feature was the silver mask over his head, that had a single red scope over his right eye.
"Gentlemen, meet Black Spider, …" Johnny said, pointing to the first man, "KGBeast, …" then the second, "and Deadshot." And finally, the third. "Hiring them cost me and my newest associates quite a pretty penny, but their track record gives us confidence that they can get rid of our… little problem." He said with a grin. The other crime bosses and gang leaders looked at the three mercs skeptically, but said nothing to allude to it.
As far as they were concerned, the mercs' success or failure didn't cause them any major losses. If they killed the Night Wardens, it meant that they'd go back to business as usual, only worrying about Batman and Robin. If they failed to kill them, then it'd mean that the Sabatino family and Intergang had wasted their money, putting themselves in an even tighter spot in Gotham's criminal underworld.
"When they've taken care of our pest problem, I only ask that you all stay out of Sabatino territory. I know I'm not the only one who got hit hard by them, otherwise, we won't be having this little meet-up tonight." He said, and despite the animosity the heads all held for one another, they agreed. The thoughts of having a turf war, with how heavy a blow they all had received from Nolan, were far away from their minds. Given the state of the criminal underworld, Johnny Sabatino's request seemed entirely reasonable to them, benevolent even.
"It's good to see that we're all in agreement." He said, then clapped his hands. A pair of women dressed in pantsuits then came into the room with carts that had multiple bottles of alcohol. Bottles of whiskey, cognac, schnapps, brandy, and 50+ year old wine populated the lower levels of the carts, with multiple glasses on top.
"Drink up, gentlemen. By this time next week, we'll be rid of the Night Wardens." He said, and soon, the sounds of clinking glasses and drunken entertainment filled the night.
…
June 18th, 2010
Nolan POV
In the three days that have passed since I handed over Firefly to the cops, and I'd been able to get both Day and Tetch. Jervis was the easier of the pair to find and subdue, but that's mainly because he can't control himself when someone makes fun of his height, and one of the last three Cards I'd pulled over the past three days gave me what I needed to face him with no danger to myself.
The three Cards I'd pulled were a Character Card and two Ability Cards. So far, I think my luck's been working pretty well, seeing as the Cards I drew were Uncommon and above.
[Character Card: Emma Frost (Marvel Future Fight)] – Legendary:
[Emma Frost is many things; an Omega-level mutant with telepathy and diamond mimicry, the White Queen of the Hellfire Club, the CEO of Frost International, the chancellor of the Massachusetts Academy, a prominent fashionista and socialite, and a once-leader of the X-Men. A woman as accomplished as her is a rarity, even in the wider Marvel universe.]
[Skills:
Finance Mastery,
Psionic Mastery,
Combat Mastery,
Language Mastery.]
[Abilities:
Telepathy,
Psionic Energy Control,
Organic Diamond Form.]
Yeah, it's crazy. I was tempted to summon her, but decided to instead assimilate her, and despite the fact that the system summarized her psionic abilities as simple telepathy, the layers of psionic abilities I got from her Card proved that she wasn't given that Omega-level threat classification for no reason.
Thanks to her mastery over her telepathy, I was able to easily protect my mind from Jervis' mind control tech. I was also able to find Julian by reading the minds of the people around me, and taking him down was a cakewalk, but the benefits didn't stop there.
I dove into my mind and reorganized every single one of my memories from this life and my previous one, giving me full access to one of the greatest resources I had, knowledge and techniques.
Back on my Earth, after decades of genetic modification and cybernetic augmentation, 99% of humanity at least had an eidetic memory, me included. That unfortunately didn't carry over to this life for me. In just two weeks that I've been on this Earth, some of my earliest memories had already become faint. The only saving grace for me was that I frequently consumed media from this century, otherwise I'd have forgotten a lot of things I needed to know.
Assimilating her eliminated that issue, as I now had the ability to interact with my own mind in ways that most of humanity can't. And while the next Card I got wasn't as highly rated, it was still pretty good.
[Ability Card: Skill – Ripple (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: All Star Battle R)] – Uncommon:
[Using a form of self-controlled respiration, the user produces energy that is identical in nature to the Sun, which manifests as ripples and electricity-like sparks.
Weakness(es):
• Conscious controlled breathing is required.
• A strong internal blood flow is required.
• Blood loss can severely weaken, or even negate effects.]
Was the Ripple groundbreaking when compared to the different abilities I'd gotten since my arrival in the DC Multiverse? No. But it was pretty damn useful. Since it affected one's lifeforce, it gave my Nen, and by extension, my Electrokinesis, a pretty good boost. Its identical nature to the Sun greatly boosted my firebending, increasing its power and intensity.
Speaking about my firebending, my flames are blue. Well, that and I've unlocked lightning generation. But with my electricity-based powers, that was only a matter of how quickly I'd do it. Combine all of that with Killua's prodigious talent in combat, the manipulation of lifeforce energies, and my superhuman perception, and it makes sense how my flames are blue.
As for the other Ability Card, it was one that made me feel like I was fated to have electric powers.
[Ability Card: Kinetic-Electro Conversion Physiology (Invincible VS)] – Unique:
[The User gains the ability to absorb kinetic energy from physical impacts, and convert said energy into electrical energy. The durability and strength of the User is also enhanced by the energy produced.
Weakness(es):
• User may lose charge over time without receiving any more kinetic energy.
• Sound, laser, chemical, and biological attacks do not provide energy. Strangulation also has a similar effect.]
Yeah… I got the abilities of fucking Powerplex. Thankfully, it's only his abilities I got, and not his Character Card. Presence knows I won't be dealing with someone that mentally screwed being a part of myself. Granted, I could probably summon him and clear his trauma with my telepathy, but who cares.
In other news, I and my clones have got a bounty on our heads. Or at the very least, someone's hired mercs to come for our heads. Thinking about it now, I'm surprised it hadn't happened sooner. As for how I know, Gotham's goons don't exactly have much in the whole psychic shield department. I don't know who exactly is after my head now, but I'll be remaining cautious… for now.
…
Omniscient POV
The streets of Gotham were loud with shouts for justice, as the people had risen up with fervor upon getting deeper knowledge of the involvement of multiple leadership figures in the harm done to people and the city. The front of Gotham's City Hall was packed with people shouting as they held signs, and policemen at the entrance that were hoping that things wouldn't get violent, or that a villain wouldn't use this as an opportunity to attack.
On the roof of a nearby building, Nolan sat at its edge, with his legs pressed against the building's side, as if ready to jump into action at the slightest bit of violence. However, his mind was busier than his body, as he swept through the cacophony of the surface thoughts of the people that had gathered at City Hall, looking out for anyone that may have been planted amongst the crowd to cause chaos.
"You gonna jump?" A young voice asked from behind him. "Not yet, Robin. And hopefully, I won't have to." He replied to Gotham's Boy Wonder. Just as he replied, he caught the thoughts of a woman who wanted to pull out a knife and stab a man that tried to sexually harass her. Using his telepathy, he stopped her from doing that, and momentarily plunged the man into a nightmare, where he experienced his body being torn, slashed, and ripped apart, before pulling him back out. That took less than three seconds.
Of course, with how crowded the streets were, the interaction went by unseen.
"You know, compared to how Gotham usually is, things are pretty peaceful." Robin said, looking down at the crowd of protesters. "It's the calm before the storm, Robin." Nolan replied. "The crime families, the gangs, and basically every criminal group have taken themselves off the streets. And with the info I've gotten from the guys I've taken out, it's not cause they're feeling like stopping crime soon." He said.
"What info's that?" Robin asked. "They were saying something about guys coming for me and my colleagues' heads. Except this time, rather than talking about more thugs, it sounded more like they were talking about… specialists. We weren't able to get out who exactly is coming, but I'm keeping my guard up for now." Nolan replied. "And I take it that you haven't been able to… I don't know, track their digital transactions?" Robin asked.
"While that would let me know where their money could have gone, it doesn't tell me who it would have gone to. Burners and all that. And while most of their weapons would be ineffective against us, we're still being cautious." Nolan replied, and shortly after, looked to a seemingly unoccupied corner. "Do you enjoy sneaking up on people, Batman?" He said, revealing that he knew of the Batman's presence, which he was trying to hide.
"Listen, you might be able to hide from most people, but unlike them I can detect you in ways that tech can't hide. So your theatrics are wasted here." A few seconds later, Batman walked out of his hiding spot. "You know, for a guy as big as yourself, you move really silently." Nolan said, remembering part of the reason why the Batman was so feared in his earlier days. "I could say the same about you." Batman responded, and Nolan smiled behind his mask.
"So you noticed." Nolan said, his voice clearly amused. "Yes." Batman replied, looking over the crowd in the streets. "I never thought I'd see the day that they'd all be so… orderly." He said, seeing that no fights had broken out yet, not knowing of Nolan's efforts to keep the protest peaceful.
However, as they looked over the crowd, Nolan received a telepathic message from one of his clones. He had spread the eight Shadow Clones around the city, connecting to them via telepathy, allowing him to receive real-time information from a much wider range than his Pulse could cover.
"Hey, original. We've found out who's after us." The clone told him. "Oh, and who was stupid enough to try taking down someone that's been said to be Batman as a meta?" He asked the clone. "Deadshot, KGBeast, Black Spider, and the Electrocutioner. However, only Lawton, Anatoly, and Needham were directly hired. Lester came for the bounty." The clone said, transmitting the locations of each of the mercs through their telepathic network.
"Well, at least we know who's coming for me." Nolan said, then turned his eyes back to the crowd. "Intergang and the Sabatinos hired them. Turns out that Intergang were the ones that blew up the wall at Arkham that allowed Zsasz, Firefly, Mad Hatter, and Calendar Man to escape. They wanted to have their arrival cause a big commotion, but it looks like you stole their thunder… pun intended." The clone said, and the sound of the other clones letting out amused chuckles spread through the network.
"Alright, then. Just stay out of their sight for now. I'm still busy over here." Nolan told the clones. ""Got it, Boss."" They all replied in unison. Their entire conversation happened in the span of a second. Since their brains were used to accelerated perception, they could also apply this to their telepathy, allowing them to work far faster psionically.
And so, for the next four hours, Nolan watched the protest, making sure that even with the crowd's vehement demand for justice, they wouldn't go overboard. All the while, his clones continued feeding him real-time information of what was happening in other parts of Gotham. Eventually, the mayor and the DA caved under the pressure of the people, and announced that any and all of the officials and people with connections to the crime families that had been arrested would have their trials over the next week.
Nolan smiled at that announcement, as he had already, much to the chagrin of the DA and the city's court, publicized the evidence against them. So, if even a single one of them got a light sentence, the people would go ballistic, and Gotham would very likely be caught up in a violent revolution.
…
In the two days that had passed since they were introduced to the leaders of Gotham's criminal underworld, KGBeast, Black Spider, and Deadshot had met up a few times to discuss their plans to take down the Night Wardens. They had gone over public reports of the abilities that each of them used, and been working on plans to get around those abilities. As time passed, they came to what they believed would be most effective: ambushing each of the Night Wardens when they're alone and assassinating them.
And tonight, in the darkness of Gotham's night sky, they found one that was alone. Due to the fact that the Night Wardens wore identical outfits, and seemed to also have identical physiques, it was difficult to tell them apart. Whether it was the one with ice powers, the one that had that beast transformation, the one that had electricity powers, the one that had fire powers, the one that was seemingly invulnerable, the one with superspeed, the one that could heal others, or the one that seemed to be able to stick on walls, the only way they could tell which one of the Night Wardens they were about to ambush would to confront them.
Deadshot took out his sniper rifle, aiming at the cloaked figure on a roof a mile away. Black Spider surreptitiously crawled up the side of the building on whose roof the Night Warden was standing on. KGBeast quietly climbed up the stairs in the building, the gun on his arm ready to fire at a moment's notice. Their ambush was ready to go.
"Fire." KGBeast whispered into his commlink, and Deadshot pulled the trigger. A silenced shot sent a bullet flying at the Night Warden's head, and it hit him dead-on, but the bullet flattened and fell to the ground. "It's the invulnerable one. Prepare to stun him." Deadshot said, and switched out his ballistic rifle for the plasma rifle he had received from Intergang. KGBeast readied a sonic grenade that he would use to stun the Night Warden, and Black Spider simply crawled closer to the ledge, while staying as stealthy as he possibly could.
"Go." Deadshot said calmly, as he set his sights on the Night Warden, ready to shoot at any given opportunity. But as he looked at him, his body trembled, as he felt a pair of eyes lock onto him. But before the Night Warden could move, KGBeast threw his grenade at him, and a loud explosion went off at his head, momentarily disorienting him. Before he could right himself, Black Spider rushed up the ledge, then flipped onto the Night Warden's neck, and tried to twist it in an attempt to break his neck.
To their shock, Black Spider's arms remained unable to move. "Eric Needham." The Black Spider flinched after hearing his actual name called. "Anatoly Knyazev." The Night Warden, which was the original Nolan, said, and KGBeast also shook just a bit behind the rooftop door, as he hadn't expected that the person they were hunting knew of them to such an extent. "And Floyd Lawton." Nolan said, turning to look directly at Deadshot.
Seeing Nolan leisurely turn to look at him, even with Black Spider on his neck, made Deadshot realize that they had underestimated the Night Wardens. But before he could make any movements, he felt a hand grip the back of his neck. Upon feeling the grip, he immediately tried to move, only to feel an extreme resistance. From the information they had received, only the one with invulnerability had superstrength, so the resistance he was feeling made no sense unless… the information they received was inaccurate.
Thanks to Nolan's Shadow Clone who was holding his neck down, he was still seeing through the scope, and he saw Nolan swiftly raise both his hands. What he saw next sent a shiver up his spine. The swift raise of hands that Nolan had done had in fact been an attack on Black Spider, as he sliced through both of his legs with his bare hands, cutting them off. The purple-and-black-clad assassin from the League of Shadows fell to the rooftop, screaming in pain at the loss of his legs.
"One of you guys come and take Eric away. Pull out whatever info you can about the Light, and when you're done, dispose of him." Nolan told one of the clones he kept relatively close, and a second later, the clone appeared on the roof with a flash of electricity from seemingly out of nowhere, carried Black Spider, and disappeared as quickly as it had appeared.
KGBeast, still thinking that he was facing distinct individuals, tried running down the stairs, hoping to put distance between himself and Nolan, only to find his body tightly wrapped in the wire of Nolan's grapple. With a tug, KGBeast was violently pulled up the stairs, breaking the door, and was unceremoniously thrown onto the rooftop.
"Damn it! Fire at him already, Deadshot!" He screamed into his commlink, while quickly shuffling his arms, so that he could shoot at Nolan. Nolan watched him squirm, almost amused, then walked up to him and lifted his foot… and like the homunculus that he assimilated, stomped on the Russian assassin's head. Anatoly's head exploded in a splatter of blood, flesh, bone, brain matter, and mangled cybernetics.
Floyd saw this and felt his heart sink. He had been in dangerous situations multiple times since he became an assassin, but having someone who he couldn't harm but could kill him in an instant holding his neck gave him a deep sense of fear he had never experienced before. For once, he truly felt that he wouldn't survive the night.
"Oh, don't worry, Floyd. I'm not gonna kill you. I'm just gonna make sure that you don't ever come back to Gotham." Nolan's clone said, then knocked out Deadshot. Once he went unconscious, the clone reached into his mind and altered his memories of tonight, then planted instructions into his subconscious that would keep him from ever involving himself with Gotham again.
Back with the original Nolan, he had set KGBeast's corpse ablaze, letting his blue flames consume it. He had also gotten the information on who exactly hired them, and he laughed to himself. He then decided that he'd reciprocate the sentiment that Johnny Sabatino had towards him. Since he and the Intergang members that had infiltrated Gotham felt that a week would be all that'd be needed to take him out, he would go all out on destroying them in a week.
Right as he made that decision, he received a telepathic message from one of the three clones that were further away. "Lester's fried. Took his suit before burning him." The clone said. A message came from another clone that was similarly further away from him. "Just crashed an Intergang hideout with Batman and Robin. Snagged a few good pieces of tech." The clone said, and Nolan told them to make sure that they put the loot into the inventory. He found out that since they existed as extensions of himself, his clones also had access to the system.
After taking count of his gains from tonight, Nolan decided that he'd do a 10x pull for the next three days. For tonight, however, he'd settle for just taking down some more criminals.
Chapter End.
Word Count: 3,953
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