- We don't want any more excuses, Fury! He kidnapped two people and simply disappeared - we can't leave him unchecked any longer!
- He arrested two criminals who frequently escaped from prison. - Nick Fury replied calmly, facing one of his superiors without flinching.
- It doesn't matter! Criminals or not, they still have to be tried, that's the fucking LAW!!!
- ... - Nick just remained silent in the face of the outburst from one of his superiors as if he didn't care, even though deep down she was already insulting them severely.
The meeting continued for a few more minutes where Fury ended up being forced to compromise on several demands that if it hadn't been for one of his superiors softening the blow, Alexander Pierce, would have been very hard on Shield and greatly reduced its independence, which didn't happen only at the insistence of Pierce who seemed to agree with him that it wasn't a good idea to spread the hard-won influence.
- Fury, I know you're doing your best, but we need something on this kid as soon as possible. "Super" as it became popularized after today could be dangerous if he's totally out of control, and as we saw today, he's not a big fan of following the rules...
- I know. - Fury honestly agreed with Pierce on finding the boy and preparing contingencies for him but disagreed on binding him to various laws as the other members seemed to want, he preferred to bring him in as the face of his initiative; whatever happened in the future he knew he had to find the boy first.
- Well, we have another meeting waiting for its results in three days, so I think it's best to let you get to work, so long Fury.
Staring at his monitor for a few moments and imagining all the work and paperwork he had to finish, he couldn't help but use one of his favorite words. - Son of a bitch... - After simply muttering an insult, Fury felt much more relaxed and began to concentrate on his work again.
- Hill, in my office now! - After calling his secretary, Fury, who was about to go back to his monitor, decided to call one of his best field agents, who was coincidentally available at the moment. - Coulson, bring everything you've got on the flying boy in blue now!
[In a minute, sir!]
- Ring! Ring!
- Come in!
- Good morning, Mr. Fury.
- Good morning, Agent Hill. - Fury paused after greeting her and noticed that she didn't seem to have slept properly and remembering that since yesterday she had also been in charge of finding information on the boy, he decided not to comment on her appearance, he wouldn't really be surprised if Coulson had the same countenance when he walked through the door.
- Let's wait for Agent Coulson, he was in charge of looking for the same boy so hopefully he'll have something new.
- All right... - Hill was exhausted, both from spending the night looking for the boy who looked strangely like her "son" and from trying to talk to Eduard about his possible girlfriend Barbara had mentioned; honestly, she would rather not have had that conversation, which turned out to be awkward even by her standards.
- Ring! Ring!
- Come in! - While Hill continued to think about his conversation with Eduard where she ended up embarrassing him, Coulson came into the office with a briefcase.
- Good morning, sir, Hill. - Coulson greeted everyone in the room before sitting down, taking out his briefcase and handing it to Fury. - Unfortunately, we don't have anything concrete sir, all we've got are reports from some people that he showed up several hours before the incident at a bar and took a criminal with an even worse record than the Joker, and I believe more dangerous too. - After saying this, Coulson paused as he remembered something he intended to report even if he wasn't called by Fury. - Sir, I think you should know that both people's memories and the cameras in the bar area seem to have been tampered with, so we have nothing but testimonies of how he acted, but apart from that we have nothing, not even what clothes he was wearing at the time... - Coulson then opened the folder where the event was explained and highlighted everyone's testimonies as proof before returning to talk about the criminal who was "kidnapped" before Joker. - The man's name is Kevin Thompson, after carefully investigating him, we discovered his involvement in hundreds of cases from petty theft to murder and other crimes just as serious if not worse... - Looking at some of the reports Coulson ended up frowning before continuing, after all, even for an agent like him some of the things written there or that he didn't even bring were disturbing. - What's more, with the information we have so far, we can assume that he has skills related to the mind control of his victims. - After saying this, Coulson went on to show the cases that corroborated this conclusion over the next few minutes and the more he spoke, the worse Fury's expression became.
- Redouble your efforts to find the boy, put teams on this son of a bitch's trail too, I want to know everything he's ever done, and I want to confirm his abilities, and I want that before we even find the boy, is that clear?
- Yes, sir! - Both Coulson and Hill answered in unison.
- While you're searching for all traces of this man, help his victims too and try to determine whether his abilities are like Charles' or different, and if they are different, look for alternatives like we did for him.
- Yes, sir! - They both answered in unison again.
After receiving the answers from both Fury dismissed them and continued reading the report for a few minutes, and when he finally finished all he could infer was that the boy was probably a resident of New York or at least lived near the location; that may not be much, but compared to searching the whole country it's a start, and with such a sparse location it shouldn't be a problem to hand it over to the council and buy time to find the boy and negotiate with him personally and if possible get him on your side.
- If he doesn't want to work with us, it will be even more difficult to placate the council... - Fury sighed and looked at the footage where the boy ignored the weapons as if they were nothing and just walked up and knocked out all of Joker's men. As he looked at the boy's actions, especially his speed and durability, he couldn't help but look at his Pager. - After I find him, I'll know if I need to call her or we can deal with this... - Fury sighed and leaned back, trying to ignore the mounting problems for a few minutes.
- Any news Pierce?
- None for the moment, but we have SHIELD doing everything possible to find him so even if his identity isn't made public it should be discovered in a few days.
- Great, after that find some weakness, even if it's just an emotional one; a weapon like him is exactly what we need right now.
- Understood.
- Hail hydra!
- Hail hydra!
On top of a metropolis building, a balding man in his early twenties looked down at the cityscape with an expression of disgust, as he remembered the positive comments and support for the supposed "hero" who had appeared and put on a show in Gotham; that freak had appeared and judged crimes without respecting a single law like a fucking God, and what's worse? Thousands of stupid sheep were extolling the bastard on the internet and television as if this false God was going to bring us salvation.
- You can fool them, but I'm going to unmask you and prove that you're a fraud! - Lex Luthor just punched the glass as he said this and looked at the city for a few moments before simply preparing to face this threat, after all, fraud or not, it was true that without preparation he wouldn't stand a chance against this aberration.
Looking at Bruce, who had barely woken up and was already at work, Alfred could only sigh before looking at what he was so desperately searching for; looking at the monitor of his laptop he saw the face of the young man who had handled the situation with Joker while Batman was unavailable, looking more closely he realized that it was a report showing all his achievements of the day as well as his "Trial" for Joker and Harlequin.
- Master Bruce, you need to rest.
- What I need now is to find he! - Bruce said firmly as he continued to concentrate on the screen with a grimace.
- Even if you do find him, what do you expect to do in your current state?
Bruce, hearing Alfred's words, frowned and leaned back on the bed with a distant and clearly contemplative look on his face as he watched the news report showing the Joker's "trial" and as he watched, he became more irritated with the situation; no matter what excuse the young man gave, the truth was that he had ignored the law and used his power to detain someone with total disregard for those law of the state, he just hadn't put him on the list of those who needed to be taken to Arkham either due to the fact that he hadn't killed so far, at least not that he knew of.
- You win Alfred, I'm going to get some rest; leave the computer on while he runs some reconnaissance tests and wake me up in a couple of hours.
- Right, Master Bruce.
- Idiot! - Barbara angrily threw her cell phone at the wall after hearing the mayor of Gotham call her brother a freak and say that he repudiated his behavior.
- Vita! Let's find everything that bastard wants to hide! - Barbara angrily began hacking into the mayor's accounts to help her brother, and what she would find would leave her completely disgusted in the future, so disgusted that she would even forget about helping her brother for a few days and just concentrate on digging deeper; as she dug deeper she found something she never looked for because she thought it was just a legend as a child, she found negotiations, bribes among other things related to the owl court, and after finding this as well as some names she just kept looking for everything about it while getting more disgusted by the second and could only thank her brother for having insisted on leaving this place in the past.
- This is... Horrible... - After just a few hours of intense research and hacking into Gotham's key figures, Barbara was traumatized by the amount of damaging information she uncovered. This dirt could not only help her brother but also ruin the lives of thousands in Gotham and beyond. Realizing the potential consequences, she felt she would die before it could truly harm anyone. Fortunately, she managed to avoid detection with her makeshift equipment. However, she couldn't consider her only notebook as proper gear; she had been improvising all along, and now she knew it was impossible to continue. - I think I need to talk to my brother... - Barbara sighed and slumped down in her chair, ignoring everything around her. - Vita finish everything, for now I just want to rest...
[As you wish]
- What's the best way to tell my brother that I know his secret, and that I've broken dozens of laws in recent years?
- Just explain everything from the beginning. - Barbara listened to his voice and nodded, knowing that he would want her to explain everything without hiding anything.
- You're right Ed... - After saying this Barbara fell silent and slowly turned her head towards the door where she saw her brother with his arms crossed staring at her with a smile.
- You really surprised me Barbara, if it wasn't for you forgetting to reset the cameras while researching Gotham's filth I would never have found out, after all, I respect your privacy. - Eduard said as he entered his sister's room and sat down on her bed, still looking at her with an amused smile.
- You respect my privacy? So how did you notice the change in the cameras? - Barbara arched her eyebrows and asked her brother with a forced smile.
- Since you know about my "secret" activities it should be obvious to you that I monitor the house all the time; if Maria comes home early, I need to prepare a good excuse since it's better not to leave a video running of me in the bedroom when she's home... - Eduard replied with a shrug.
Barbara looked at her brother and sighed, she knew he was telling the truth since she herself monitored the cameras not just in the apartment, but throughout the building to avoid mishaps. - All right, let's ignore that this time... In return I want your help!
- You know you don't have to make a trade with me, just tell me what you need, but before that I want you to explain everything to me from the beginning.
- All right... - Barbara just sighed and began to explain everything to her brother, from how Maria taught her to defend herself, to how she taught her to look at her surroundings and be able to break through security blocks in case she needed to one day, she also explained how she enjoyed these lessons and continued to improve herself until one day she realized that she had outgrown Maria and was forced to continue on her own; she explained how she discovered that of all the people she knew, he was the only one she couldn't hack or spy on through the network so she was forced to build drones from a network exclusively for her and also put up her own cameras until finally her curiosity was satisfied.
- So, because you couldn't hack me you became a crazy stalker, Barbara? - Eduard asked with a provocative smile on his face that grew when he saw his sister's reaction; Barbara's ears and cheeks were completely pink at the moment, and she was looking around as if she were searching for something. Observing Barbara's behavior, he couldn't help but let the mischievous smile on his face become more pronounced as he thought about teasing his sister.
- Don't start ED! - Barbara knew her brother very well and just one look at that obnoxious grin was enough for her to know that she shouldn't let him talk about whatever he was thinking.
- All right! - Eduard held up his hands and pretended to be hurt before returning to a relatively serious expression. - Now that you've explained how you became my Stalker, what exactly do you need help with? - Eduard smiled as he realized that his sister was holding him back from attacking him at the moment.
- Sigh... - Barbara just gave up and decided to let her brother keep teasing her about it until he got tired of it or found something more interesting as usual. - I found some disturbing things and I wanted your help to deal with them...
Eduard noticed how his sister's heart raced, and her breathing also went out of rhythm for a single instant when she mentioned that she had found some "disturbing things", and after realizing that whatever she had found had really upset her, he decided to come closer and hug her. - Of course I'll help... As long as you don't ask me to do the dishes or the bathroom, I'll always be there for you, okay?
- Thank you! - Barbara hugged her brother and hearing his lousy attempt to cheer her up, she felt much better and relaxed dramatically.
- You're welcome! - A smile adorned Eduard's lips before he let go of his sister and dragged a stool to the side of Barbara's chair. - Why don't you show me what's bothering you so much?
- Vita, show my brother everything we have on Gotham, please?
[Displaying the data...]
Arthur raised an eyebrow at the sight of a real artificial intelligence, since Cortana who had always been with him was definitely beyond one; this could well be the first time he had seen a working artificial intelligence, and even though he knew Stark had JARVIS he was still surprised at his sister doing something like this with her makeshift notebook and hidden from everyone.
[List of organized information, just click or issue a voice command to release the relevant information].
- ... - Eduard was silent for several minutes after seeing only the highlighted topics, and the more he read the angrier he got, if it hadn't been for his years of practice his eyes would definitely be glowing red from his anger at the moment. Eduard read topic by topic in a few minutes, and closed his eyes, he knew that ignoring Gotham could leave a bitter taste in his mouth, he was sure of it, but he never imagined it would be so bad; he didn't blame himself for what was happening or think he should prevent all the tragedies in the world or anything, but it was still unpleasant to see all those people who had suffered something worse than simply being murdered and knowing that it was simple for you to prevent it, and even knowing that he couldn't and wouldn't save everyone in the future, even knowing that and choosing to accept it, the bitter taste that the images on the screen were giving him still didn't improve anything.
'Maybe by dealing with it this annoying feeling will pass...'
[Just accept Ed, help those you want to, but don't take on responsibilities you know you can't fulfill...]
- ... - Eduard closed his eyes after reading everything and listening to Cortana; it took him a few seconds to adjust his state of mind, but then he just sighed and accepted that this was just one of the countless consequences of his choice not to be a guardian to everyone and only act when he wants to or see the problem directly.
- I'll take care of it Barbara! - Eduard said with determination only to almost fall off his stool when he heard his sister.
- No! You're not going to take care of anything!
Eduard looked at Barbara a little confused, not knowing exactly how he should react to his sister's reaction since she had just asked for his help and when he agreed he simply refused.
Barbara, who knew her brother and knew what he must be thinking at the moment, completed her reasoning before her brother came up with a thousand excuses for his simple desire to help. - You're not going to take care of anything yourself, this time I want to help!
- Don't even think about it! - Eduard rejected this idea immediately; isn't taking Barbara to fight Gotham's crime the same thing as creating Batgirl himself? He wouldn't put his sister in that shitty world of superheroes, even if he had to use magic to erase her mind from the last few hours which he really hopes he won't have to do, but better that than her working against armed criminal groups on a daily basis, at least until he can create powers for her, in fact he should start looking into ways of doing that more seriously now.
Looking at her brother's protective gaze, Barbara was both pleased and annoyed by his refusal, but for the moment, knowing the reason for his refusal, she just smiled amusedly at him. - You idiot! I want to help with that! - She pointed at the computer and then at Eduard. - As for the fieldwork, you can have that and enjoy yourself. - Barbara said with a bright smile that left Eduard perplexed for a few moments before he nodded and began to agree with her what they would do and when, since he didn't plan to just go and kill everyone.
Note: I'm unsure if I'll release the chapter tomorrow or Sunday, but if it doesn't happen, I'll post it on Monday. I'm considering using Patreon, which is causing delays as I reorganize a more detailed script due to the complexity of DC skills.
In my other story I had a problem with the final paragraphs so as a precaution I will post this at the end of all the chapters.