Everything had been going perfectly; until it wasn't.
He had infiltrated the False Face Society, gathered allies in the Penguin, and laid the groundwork that would allow him to become the most powerful crimelord in all of Gotham. With the False Face Society under his direct command as well as a majority share of the Iceberg Lounge, the Ventriloquist was nothing more than a puppet, he would control two of the most powerful enterprises in all of Gotham.
Not even the likes of Carmine Falcone would be able to challenge him. Everyone would bow before him as he ruled Gotham's criminal underworld, something that would prove to the world that he was more than a thief who had lost his edge, lost his partner.
Things had been going well initially, his nerves dissipating as the Steet Demonz continued to hit high-value targets with precision. All the while, he continued to undermine the new Black Masks authority, recruiting a few of the lieutenants to his side with the help of the Penguin. Except, things started to change when a third party got involved, someone who was also attempting to take over the False Face Society.
White Mask had no idea who it was, where they operated or how much influence they had. All he knew was that he was not the only one trying to take over the False Face Society, he had competition and they were good.
Nonetheless though, White Mask had been confident in his continued success. Penguin had no idea of his alliance with Ventriloquist, the Street Demonz were wanting to break free from Penguin's command and set out on their own. He had all the pieces in place until one of them was taken off the board in a single swoop.
White Rabbit had gathered some information on a potential alliance that Black Mask was working on with the Cosa Nostra. A meeting ground and barracks that Black Mask was using in their territory to act as a new staging ground for retaliation against the Falcone Crime Family. The Street Demonz were sent to try and find it, and if they could, take it out, only for them to walk right into a trap.
Ambushed and all but annihilated, the survivors now in hiding.
In one single act, White Mask had lost his main source of muscle, the only group of soldiers he had that he felt comfortable using to strike out at the False Face Society. He had his own soldiers of course, as a lieutenant he had men that followed his commands, but White Mask knew there would be spies amongst them. It was why he had avoided using them, not wanting to spill his secrets to potential spies and reveal them to Black Mask or the mysterious third party.
Now he was left reeling, but not everything was unsalvageable.
White Rabbit was good at what she did, luring people into traps and gathering information. "You're certain?" White Mask questioned, looking towards the sensually dressed white-haired woman, looking like something out of a porn magazine.
She looked at him in annoyance. "Yes, I'm sure. Black Mask has a favoured servant holed up at the old False Face Society HQ. Its defences are relatively light and in need of repair, Black Mask isn't aware that we know of his weakness." White Mask smiled beneath his mask. "Take him out, you'll cripple Black Mask."
"Good." Getting to his feet, he turned to White Rabbit fully. "Get in contact with Dallas, tell him if he wants revenge for Skorps death to head to that location. We'll use him as a distraction as me and you head inside and get the Strategist."
"I'm not a fighter." White Rabbit pointed out.
She didn't have much skill when it came to fighting, much more of a spy than anything else. Her skills lay in deception and espionage, it was why her services were in high demand. She was the perfect bait to lure lustful men into traps and gather information from them in moments of weakness. It was why she was pivotal in nearly defeating Batman in her first outing as White Rabbit, she was good at what she did.
That's because she knew her capabilities and her limits.
Fighting was not one of them.
However, she knew that she couldn't deny White Mask, she had ordered after all and if she wanted to keep her anonymity, she'd have to follow instructions. Though in high demand, many of the very people who wanted to hire, would like nothing more than to see her dead. She had damaged them just as many times as she had helped them. Gotham was a dangerous place, after all, allies were temporary, just a potential enemy in the making.
-X- Line Break -X-
As gunfire rained outside, explosions erupting as bikes revved, White Mask followed White Rabbit in through a side entrance, his earlier career as a thief helping him massively in this endeavour. A hatch opened, the two sneaking into the building, pausing as they watched a group of men rush to provide back up to the defences outside.
The Street Demonz was the main force attacking this building, firing widely as they rode on their backs. Never standing still and making themselves as much of a nuisance as possible while creating the perfect distraction. They wouldn't last long though, they didn't have the firepower or the numbers to break through the defences. But they would last long enough for them to get the job done, White Mask reaching into his jacket and pulling out a gun as they rushed across to the stairs and up.
Making their way up a few floors, they came into one of the middle sections of the building, White Mask continuing to follow White Rabbit, keeping her in his sights and watching her carefully. He didn't trust her, he didn't trust anyone, the last time he had, he ended up in jail, penniless and left for dead.
"Over here." White Rabbit muttered, heading towards one of the far walls, hands tracing over it carefully.
"A false wall." White Mask muttered, recognising the tactic easily.
White Rabbit nodded her head. "I asked Penguin for the schematics of the building, the dimensions don't match up. This room is too small," she then found it, a slight press on the wall opening up the entrance. "The lack of security around it is pathetic, guess Black Mask really didn't expect anyone to look here."
White Mask grunted in agreement, the two making their way down the winding stairs, passing through a few floors of what looked to be laboratories. The machines were working autonomously, mass-producing certain parts for machinery, it was hardly revolutionary but impressive. It was limited however by the lack of space, it all very cramped.
It's then they came onto a door at the bottom, White Rabbit taking her time to carefully study it for any traps. There were a few, but after dismantling them, the two entered inside to find three glass cages waiting for them, surgical beds laid out inside them and on the far wall, three suits put upon display.
The first is an exoskeleton similar to that of a human.
The second, possesses a metal frame, around it, resembling a human body with a sleek metal design possessing a few scuffs and dents.
The third, was brand new, bulkier than the second but possessing no marks or mars. Its arm was thicker also, bulging out around the forearms and its eyes a little disproportionate to the rest of the body. Unlike the second one, it wasn't as pretty to look at, looking like a deformed human, but still human-like.
"Impressive, aren't they." Lights switched on, temporarily blinding the two as they looked around, squinting heavily. "I have to admit, they are something I'm very proud of." There, the two looked to see that in what looked like a copy of a police investigation surveillance room, possessing a simple plain mask, no distinguishable feature to it, not even designed like a human skull or animal. Just a plain ordinary mask and simple overalls that had seen better days.
"They are." White Mask muttered, moving into a better position. "Though you have them quite exposed, anyone could steal them.
The man shrugged. "True. Very true." White Mask could tell he was smiling by the change of his tone. "But I admit, I can be quite vain in certain ways, not so much in how I look, but in admiring my work. I could have broken down the prototype and rebuilt it better for the second suit. Instead, I decided to work from scratch and build an entirely new exoskeleton for my next suit, same with the third. I like to see where I came from, a reminder that I didn't get to where I am without first having to dirty my hands with grunt work. While I have machines upstairs building the individual parts necessary for the suits, I personally put it all together like a jigsaw puzzle and I intend to keep doing so."
"A man who came from nothing then, just like me." White Mask muttered. "You should work for me, a shame to kill such a hard-working figure. Especially when your talents are wasted on a fool like Black Mask. His times up, the era of a Black Masks rule over the False Face Society has come to an end. It's time for someone else, a new age of the False Face Society, one ruled by a White Mask."
The man laughed openly, a mocking taunting laugh. "You must think you sound so charismatic and inspirational when you say something like that, don't you?" White Mask grit his teeth, grip on his gun tightening. "But I'm afraid David Franco-"
As soon as his name was uttered, White Mask rose his gun, aimed and fired. Each bullet struck against the glass that separated the two, but they didn't so much as leave a mark. Each bounced off with deafening sounds echoing throughout the room. Whatever that glass was made out of it, was definitely not any ordinary bulletproof glass, at least bullets made a noticeable mark when striking against it.
That glass though just brushed the bullets away like it was nothing.
"You have overstepped your bounds." Jacob finished, tilting his head to one side in amusement.
In that instant, David felt a foot smack into the backs of his knees, and he dropped to the ground with a shout of pain. White Rabbit grabs his hair and rags him to one side, directly into the trajectory of her knee. It smashed into his jaw, dislocating it as he fell back with a cry, White Rabbit took the empty gun and threw it to one side.
For good measure, she took a few steps back, turning to watch David grabbing his dislocated jaw in pain as he glared up at her, hatred clear in his eyes. But that hatred turned to fear quickly when the entrance to the room opened, and a group of men entered inside.
He had walked right into a trap.
Betrayed once again.
This time though, David knew that jail would not be the outcome.