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See No Evil: The Game (ch. 54)
🕑 Added 2021-08-25 14:54:14 +0000 UTCI had never experienced an earthquake before. I knew Hollywood made them out to be hugely dramatic events, but I had heard that most earthquakes were subtle things. Most of the time, you wouldn't even realize that there had been one. The more powerful variety were little trembles that threatened your balance, but the only real danger came from things falling off shelves.
What I felt at that moment was not that. I fell face forward, and the only thing that saved me from face planting into the floor was 2B sprinting to me and catching me. The ground shook violently and it felt like I was in the spin-cycle of a washing machine or the most violent rollercoaster of my entire life. I heard the terrible sound of screaming and, above it, I heard the sound of concrete breaking. The concrete that I had reinforced until it was C-Rank.
Another thing I didn't expect was how long the quake would last. It felt like the world shook for hours, even if it was only minutes. The intensity came and went like the tide, like waves crashing over the city as it struggled to endure the powerful blows as its foundations were shaken. I also didn't expect the earthquake to make noise, much less be as loud as it was -- a low rumbling that thundered in the tunnels of Lowtown.
As 2B held me, using her body as a shield in case the ceiling collapsed, I used my contacts. The hard light that I had used to make the stage went to cover the crowd of panicking people. I looked up and saw that there were terrible cracks in the cement that made Lowtown, but nothing was falling. Yet. I turned my attention to Tifa, Cassandra, and Revy, who were all grouped up.
They were okay. As were Bruce Wayne and the Batfamily. All three of them looked grim as they endured the quakes… and lastly, my gaze turned to Lex Luthor.
Who, despite the world-shaking underneath us, appeared absolutely furious.
It took minutes for the shaking to die down, and the earthquake seemed to take every attempt to stand as a personal insult because after-quakes happened constantly for minutes after. We stayed on the ground for the better part of half an hour, waiting for it all to stop. And, very slowly, I was the first one on my feet after 2B helped me up.
"Needless to say, that wasn't part of the demonstration," I said, once again projecting my voice. Clark Kent and the Bat-family were the first ones up. "Everyone, take a moment to gather your bearings but do not leave Lowtown. It was constructed with earthquakes in mind, so it is currently the safest part of the city. Remain calm and as soon as we are able, we will arrange escorts for you all to return home," I said as I blinked away dozens of alert messages.
I had absolutely no fucking clue what just happened. Half of my cameras in Gotham were either disabled, or they were seeing only darkness or rubble. The network link had suffered some damage. The only place where my viewing wasn't impacted was in Lowtown itself.
Lowtown had weathered the earthquake, but it hadn't been perfect. There were reports of injuries, some tunnels suffered damage as did a few buildings, but nothing had collapsed. That, I'm guessing, was because of the root that we were housed in just as much as it was the building materials I made Lowtown with. We had weathered the earthquake rather well, but that was the least of my worries.
I didn't have eyes on the Joker. Or the Stairway bar. The cameras were seeing nothing, and the few I had left up top…
Gotham had been devastated. I saw fire. I saw broken streets. I saw buildings that had collapsed and spilled over the roads and alleys. I saw people wandering, covered in dust and blood, looking shell-shocked if they weren't panicking. My view had been diminished greatly, but the sample size that I did have was hell on earth. And I had to assume the parts that I couldn't see were worse.
I took in a deep breath as my mind went back to a comic that best fitted this situation. A comic that was lambasted for having such a stupid premise to allow what admittedly was an interesting storyline. No Man's Land.
Only difference was that I don't think that the Joker coming back to life empowered by a Lord of Chaos had caused the quake in the comics. Meaning that… that this was, from a certain point of view, completely my fault. That thought wasn't born out of guilt. Rather, it was fueled by resolve.
Because if I made this mess, then I was going to clean it up. And this time, when I killed the Joker, he was going to stay dead.
"Again, please remain in Lowtown. For those that are interested in evacuation efforts, then please follow me," I said, striding forward as I tossed off my jacket and began rolling up my sleeves. My smirk had fallen from my face and had been replaced by a grim, thin line -- I felt everyone's eyes on me as, for some reason, I was allowed to take charge of the entire situation. But, better me than someone like Lex Luthor.
2B took my coat as I began issuing orders through my contacts, grabbing the disaster by the horns, "Miranda -- we need to make space for the injured and gather up what medical supplies that we can. Send runners to coordinate with Dr. Thompkins and the major hospitals. Power is going to become an issue if it already isn’t," I spoke as I walked, heading to the door.
People were following me, "I also want an eye on the sea -- after a quake like that, I'm worried about a flash flood. Activate all T-models and designate them to relief efforts." I wish I had made more. If I had known that something like this would have happened… "Expect a huge influx of people."
Relief efforts came first, I thought as I spotted an empty golf cart. I slid into the driver's seat, but I was very surprised by who decided to slide into the passenger seat.
"It does pay to be prepared," Lex Luthor remarked to me, idly grabbing onto the handrail above as he spared me a glance. That was…
I wanted to clock him in the mouth. I hadn't forgotten that look. He had looked angry where everyone else appeared scared and confused. The earthquake was caused by Klarion as much as it was caused by the Joker. And I wasn't an idiot -- it was all too easy to guess what was going on.
This was a move by the Light. Perhaps Klarion had gone overboard given the anger that Luthor had displayed, but this was a move by the Light. Against me.
But I swallowed the anger down. Superman was taking off and the Batfamily had simply disappeared as everyone headed to the surface. With my heart pounding like a jackhammer, I could lie like a mother fucker without Superman or anyone being able to tell. So, at least there was that.
"That it does. Speaking of which, 2B -- I'm expecting some guests to visit the Expo despite the disaster. If anyone tries to enter, then please stop and disable them," I requested, speaking as much to Luthor as I did 2B. He gave no obvious reaction beyond a mildly approving look while 2B's gaze flickered to him before she nodded. "Thank you. Look after the others for me," I added before I drove away.
"Is there a reason you got on my cart, Mr. Luthor?" I asked, taking a moment to speak with the richest man on the planet. Miranda was organizing the relief efforts. On my HUD, I saw that the Androids -- some that had been guards while others were recently activated, were moving about throughout Lowtown to hit the priority marks that my cameras had flagged. Tifa would join her. Cassandra and Revy, however, would be in the thick of it.
"Simply curious, I'm afraid. My talents don't lend well to disaster relief, so I will be leaving shortly," Lex Luthor said without a hint of shame. "Did you expect someone to steal your inventions prior to the earthquake?"
What a prick. Words rested heavily on my tongue -- a list of names that I knew would make him shit bricks, but…
I had overestimated myself. Klarion, the Light, had just brought the Joker back from the dead and caused a massive earthquake. I'm sure some of that was Klarion interpreting orders in his own way, but the disparity of power was humbling. In simple terms, I was not on that level. As satisfying as it would be to give Lex Luthor a tongue lashing to let him know that I knew…
I got this far because of my enemies underestimating me and the knowledge that I had. Throwing that advantage away for a moment of satisfaction… would be stupid.
"Of course," I answered shortly, like I didn't know that he was the one trying to steal my shit, and caused a fucking earthquake on top of bringing back the Joker to steal said shit. It was the smart play, even if it wasn't the satisfying one. "I know of about a dozen, and I'm betting that there's another dozen I don't. The earthquake will scare off some, but chaos is an opportunity that I know they'll like to exploit."
Lex Luthor chuckled, and to prove my point, I saw three people -- Chesire, Sportsmaster, and a knock-off Spiderman entering Lowtown. Spider-Guy was heading to my office while Cheshire and Sport Master headed for the expo. I flagged them to 2B, who would be able to capture them. And, as a backup measure, I flagged down Cass since 2B had yet to fight a human before.
"The higher you are, the more people want to tear you down. And you, Saint Vergil, have made a habit of making enemies," Lex Luthor remarked as I swerved into another lane to continue to the closest exit of Lowtown. We still had power, the streets and buildings were still solid. There weren't any warnings about a potential collapse.
"Enemies tend to be more useful than friends," I responded. "When you know who they are, and you know how they'll act against you, it becomes pretty easy to predict what they'll do. And when I knew what you are going to do… well, it’s easy to get leverage. After all, if I can’t tell you to go to hell, then I’m in no position to negotiate with you."
To my surprise, Luthor offered a laugh. I doubt I would be able to tell the difference, but it sounded genuine. "I can't imagine making an enemy of the world would be any more productive than making friends," he pointed out.
"Maybe not more productive, but it's not less," I returned the point. "My advantage is that I know everyone hates me. They play by their rulebook -- trading favors, back-scratching, and brown-nosing, and because of it, I know their next move. But they don't know mine because we aren't playing with the same rulebook."
Luthor made a noise of acknowledgment as we drove on the curb for a bit to get around some traffic caused by people just leaving their golf carts in the middle of the road. "You can't cut yourself a corner of the market, so you're going to force the creation of a new one? Where everyone is forced to play by your rules." He said, seeing through my strategy with ease. Not that I expected anything less.
I offered a thin smile, "Sainthood Enterprises will become the standard that everyone else has to meet to compete. And those that have the capacity to… well, they were at the Expo, but I only really have to worry about you and Bruce Wayne. And perhaps Ted Kord if he feels like being bullish on the market."
Luthor nodded in agreement, "Your Elixir will force my hand, as you understand. My timeline for automotive development will have to be thrown out the window," he said, taking a moment to look out at Lowtown as we drove by it. "You strike me as a rather intelligent young man, St. Jude. Which does make me wonder why you're being so candid with this information."
I came to a stop in front of the entrance that would take me to Stairway. The building wasn't collapsed based on the fact that a flood of people were streaming down the steps. That told me all I needed to know about the state of the city above, if they were fleeing further underground instead of spilling out into the streets. I spared Luthor a glance, my smile back in full force despite the situation.
"Because you're smarter than me. So much smarter that it's a waste of time to try to out-think you," I told him as I got out of the cart. "You would have figured it all out even if I hadn't said a word. But," I continued as he looked bemused with the flattery, "Just because I can't out-think you doesn't mean I can't beat you."
"I don't suppose you would be willing to tell me how you plan to beat me?" He questioned, and I could hear it in his voice. He didn't think that was possible. It was a quiet confidence that just seemed to ooze out of every pore -- this was a man that could stare down Superman and not bat an eye. It was no wonder at all that he thought that I wasn't a threat.
My smile grew, "I'm afraid that I already have," I told him. I didn't elaborate on the point, but continued with, "Go to hell, Mr. Luthor and I hope you have a nice day."
With that, I headed towards the Staircase. There were so many people coming down -- people covered in dust and blood, all of them pushing to get into Lowtown to the point that I had to push to get up. With my contacts, I watched as Cass and 2B engaged Cheshire and Sportsmaster.
I didn't know either character well beyond the fact they were the recurring villains for the first two seasons of the show. When the Light was doing something, they were there to do the dirty work. I already knew who was behind this, but this just confirmed it. The Light was after my tech.
Instead, they lost two agents. Cheshire, for all of her talent, wasn't a match for Cassandra, who simply demolished her in combat. Cass had been trained since birth, and her at her worse was still better than Cheshire at her best.
2B, on the other hand, after a quick struggle where she was on the defensive due to her reluctance, pretty much instantly won the moment that she went offensive. Comics liked to hype up what 'Peek Humans' could do in combat against powerful metahumans, but this wasn't a comic where the fight had to go back and forth between enemies to build up tension.
2B could juggle upwards to a ton of mass like it was nothing. Peek human or not, you aren't going to win that fight, and Sportsmaster didn't. The two were instantly disabled while Pod did his job as head of cybersecurity. The backdoor that Spider-Guy was installing into my computer was being hooked into false data.
The fucking Light wanted to steal my shit? Sure, no problem. As soon as they linked their backdoor, I wanted to own their servers.
"Jack! Jack!" I shouted as I pushed through the stream of people, my stomach dropping the moment I saw the bar. I knew I lost the cameras, but given that people were able to head through, I had hoped that everything was fine, but that wasn't the case.
Half of the building had collapsed, spilling out into the street across. People ran in over the rubble after sifting through the wreckage of other buildings. Already, people were digging through the rubble in search of survivors, but I saw no sign of Jack. The bar was an absolute wreck -- the ceiling had given out, crushing half of the building, while the other half was either buried in rubble or dust. We were lucky that the building fell forward, otherwise, the entrance would have been sealed off.
"Jack!" I shouted, eyeing the various people that were setting up a coordinated relief effort. "Jack!" I shouted again, searching for him. Yet, my eyes were drawn to a spot. The spot where the Joker had stood. I walked over and saw that the area was mostly clear -- the only rubble there was bits and pieces that had fallen into the small gap as survivors came and went. It…
"That fucker," I cursed to myself, looking back at the building to see that half of it was still standing tall. That, I'm guessing, was because of the renovations we did after we burnt the building down to knock a few million off the price tag. Looking back at the hole, it looked like the Joker had just weathered the building falling on him before he went on his merry way. "Fuck."
As if to agree with me, I was getting hit with a barrage of messages. Progress reports from Miranda, messages from William Holden, who was messaging me on behalf of the Two-Face Mob, asking Knight for insight. Samantha Vanaver was reaching out to me, as well as trying to get in contact with Rook. Most pressing of all was that Batman had sent a reply to me.
'Who are you?'
I took in a deep breath, filling my lungs with dust and smoke, and let it out. This was not how I wanted this day to go, but this was what I was dealing with.
I had to have about six conversations at once and I couldn't afford to mess any of them up. All the while, I had to worry about that clown in the city. None of this was good. I had spent countless hours wondering what a worst-case scenario would look like and while this might not be it, it was damn close.
"Miranda, Narrows," I told Miranda, intent on using her connections to secure that part of the city. All the while I began to compile responses even as I shakily made my way to the top of what had once been my building. Looking down the street, I saw what could only be described as total devastation.
With what was left of my cameras, I searched for either Klarion or the Joker. There was no sign of the latter, but I only had to look up to see the former. He stood on thin air, and now that I wasn't viewing him through a shaky camera, I got a much better look at him.
Klarion was bone thin, almost to the point of being skeletal, dressed in a form-fitting black suit with a white dress shirt. His black hair was styled to look like devil horns protruding from his skull, and his eyes were jet black. Idly, he scratched behind the ears of an orange cat in his arms while a pleased smile tugged at his lips.
Klarion looked down at me the moment I looked up at him, our eyes meeting despite the hundred yards worth of distance between us. I felt my skin crawl, every hair on my body standing on end as a deep pit opened up in my stomach. My body recoiled instinctively out of fear as it dawned on me what I was looking at. As it clicked into place.
I was looking at a Lord of Chaos. One of the most fundamental and powerful forces that created this universe.
For months, I had feared Batman. The Penguin. The Court of Owls.
Now, the moment our eyes met, I caught a glimpse of just how big the ocean was.
Despite it all, I leaned into the most important lesson that Cobblepot ever taught me. To hide my emotions, by displaying a single one. So, I smiled at Klarion -- a small smirk that made the edges of my lips curl before I summoned a card to my hand and unsealed it. A card that, no matter how cluttered my deck became, I never trusted to leave it unsealed.
"Klarion the Witch Boy," I said, leveling Murder Weapon at him, the malicious and bloodstained bat light in my hand, "I wanna have some words with you," I told him, and Klarion met my smirk with one of his own.
However, before he could answer, I heard a crack of thunder before I was hit with a wall of wind. Dust was kicked up in a great swirl, and I only saw what happened next because I was already looking up at Klarion. I caught a glimpse of a red blur that slammed into Klarion, tackling him into the ground. They carved a line through the street, making the ground shake underfoot as rubble began to rain down from the already half-collapsed buildings.
My hands flicked out, sending a half dozen cards of concrete foam to catch the falling rubble and to reinforce what was left of my building. The people below huddled, trying to shield one another from the bricks that slipped through, only to have the bricks caught by an invisible force in midair. Behind me, I heard a voice speak up, "It is not safe here, please find cover."
The voice belonged to Martian Manhunter, I saw when I looked over my shoulder. His skin was lime green, which made his red eyes stand out that much more. A large X-shaped harness was over his chest, a deep blue cloak fluttering behind him. Behind him, I saw the Justice League. Well, most of it. There was a blur moving and in its wake was cleared rubble. Green Lanterns flew above as they performed search and rescue.
I forced myself to focus and guard my thoughts, shaking off what could only be described as awe. In the months that I had stayed in Gotham, Batman had been the only hero I had any real interaction with. And, not to disparage him in any way, but he was just a man in the same way that I was just a man. And, now, I stood before those that were more than just men and women. They were superhuman or alien.
"That's not going to happen," I declared, my brain was pinpoint focused on the task at hand. For the moment, all other thoughts were shoved to the side. The plates that I had to juggle were left in free fall as I focused solely on the problem in front of me. "Klarion brought the Joker to life and gave him enough juice to cause this earthquake. He's either going to be gunning for Batman, Revy, or me." That was the theory. The Joker was always portrayed to be hyper-focused on Batman, but Revy killed him and it was public knowledge that I gave the order.
"I'm bait," I decided, leaving no time for argument. Martin Manhunt looked at me, and I wondered if he was trying to read my mind. Never before did telepathy seem so terrifying. My thoughts were my sanctuary, and, suddenly, that sanctuary was threatened.
If the League was going to argue, they lost their chance when Klarion appeared before me. I looked to him just in time to see oily blackness wash over me -- I felt myself sink into the darkness, but then I rose from the ground. I was surrounded by grass and trees, telling me that I was in central park. Klarion withdrew his hand, a wide smile on his face that bared a hint of teeth, his gaze sharper than any dagger.
Right. Teleportation.
“You smell like divinity!” Klarion said, a demented chuckle in his words, and, for the briefest of seconds, I had absolutely no clue what he could possibly mean by that. Did he mean the fact that I had come to another world? Was I somehow considered divine because I came from another universe?
However, the answer was much simpler.
“Ah, that. I happen to be the Deliverer for the God of Cocaine,” I informed, slightly hoping that would be a deterrent. “It’s a bit of a long story, and I doubt I have time to explain it,” I said, taking stock of my situation. I had my suit, minus the jacket. I had my cards, and I had Murder Weapon in hand. It was just a question of what I was going to do here.
“Expecting the heeeros to save you?” He asked me, not really reacting to the fact that I was the Deliverer for a god. Which was a little worrying, I could admit. I would have liked a little divine protection. Not only that, but he also seemed rather unconcerned about the Justice League.
“I did say I wanted words with you,” I pointed out, forcing my smile to remain in place. My heart thundered in my chest at a steady pace, blood surging in my veins. This was a dangerous conversation simply because Klarion was the physical embodiment of Chaos. But… despite that, I wasn’t clueless. When you embody chaos, it stands to reason that every action would inherently be chaotic.
Klarion stroked his cat, “Ah, but it would seem someone wants to talk to you first." He said, making a cold chill race down my spine. I heard the sound of demented laughter in the distance, but it sounded off. Too booming and loud. My gaze slid to the source and instead of seeing the man, I saw a billboard of the Joker down the road. An electric one -- and not just there. Down the street, I saw the same face grinning into the camera and I heard his voice echoing all around me, seeming to permeate from every screen and speaker in the city.
"Death… gotta say, death really makes a man think about his life. His choices and his decisions," The Joker began, stepping back from the camera. Though, he was still so close that you could easily make out the black veins in his eyes and the grotesque black mass that seemed to beat like a heart. "I never thought I had any regrets, but low and behold, I did! As I stared the end down, I gained a little… perspective," he said, trailing off with a giggle.
"You see, I regret that I died in Africa of all places. By some nobody! With no one around… I realized at the end, that was my fault! Because of the choices I made, I couldn't live out the life I wanted," the Joker continued, and the black tendrils that erupted from his chest seemed to grow as he spoke. "But, 'ol Joker has some tricks up his sleeve! I won't make the same mistake twice!"
The Joker leaned in, "Gotham is off-limits to meddlesome heroes. This is between me and Batsy! Gotham is a No Man's Land. If you disagree…" The video suddenly cut to a feed to what looked like London. For a moment, there was nothing wrong.
Then the buildings began to quiver and Big Ben collapsed in on itself. A plume of dust and smoke went up, washing over cars and buildings, almost masking the fact that others were starting to collapse and break apart.
I swallowed thickly at the sight, realizing what had just happened. The same earthquake that hit Gotham had just hit London.
"The UN, out. The Justice League, out. The kiddy team, out!" The Joker said with a feral snarl in his voice that his smile didn't betray, but made that much more sinister. "You stay out until Vergil St. Jude is dead. Until Revy Two-Hands is dead. Until Batman is dead," he spoke, and there was a cut to the video of me, of Revy, and of Batman. The same screens that we used to watch the show was being used to broadcast our appearance.
What a fucking lunatic. He was threatening the world to settle up with me, Revy, and Batman.
"Or," I said, leveling my bat at the screen, "until you're dead," I said, and I heard my voice echo through the various screens. So, I was also being broadcast too.I could work with that.
"I shouldn't have bothered turning your corpse over to the government. Revy didn't even get a holiday out of it," I said, forcing myself to sound calm when I felt anything but. However, I knew what to do. I knew how to turn this entire situation around. I knew how to take control. "You're like a bad joke that keeps making the rounds -- you weren't funny the first time, and the second you aren't even worth a pity laugh."
My smile grew as I glared at the screen above, glaring at the undead clown behind it. "If you want to be entertaining, then how about we make this a game -- you made your three rules; No UN, no Justice League, no kiddie team. Here are mine -- No final fuck yous after you die. You have to stay in Gotham for the duration of this game. The next time someone tries to bring you back to life, you refuse. This is it, Joker. Your farewell letter. After I bash your fucking skull open, this will be the last anyone ever hears of you."
Instead of glaring up at the screen, I shifted my attention to Klarion, whose smile widened as our eyes met. "And, how about a wish for whoever wins the game?" I pressed, angling for something. Any wish granted by Klarion would be a monkey's paw. However, it would give the game stakes. Stakes which would make Klarion interested in the game itself. Possibly enough to enforce the rules, however unlikely that might be.
He stroked his cat for a moment, "Oh, this is going to be so much fun!" He exclaimed before he snapped his fingers, and I felt a wave of something travel through me. His smile grew to impossible, inhuman proportions that was filled with nothing but teeth.
"Let the game begin!"
Comments
acaBeast
Eyyyyy. Badass chapter
ShadowPillow
That was a hell of a chapter. I wasn't sure where the story was going to go the last chapters, when everything seemed to be disconcertingly going so well -- but this is definitely it. The Joker back in the action, from the very beginning. Klarion -- well, this is going to be interesting.
Enjou
Oh, this'll be fun. Also "Peek Human" should be "Peak Human".
