Chapter 58: Chill Your Guts
Flightless Man
Versed in the lewd.
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Chapter 58: Chill Your Guts
Gotham City
November 12, 10:43 PM EST
Batman doesn't bring us back to the Batcave with him, to my eternal disappointment. Instead he drops us off at Artemis' school and leaves us on the street outside Artemis' place.
The knights seem conflicted about how to feel about the revivals I provided. Most of them believe it was done from the kindness of my heart, or for the loyalty of service. But Sir de Mille is convinced it just means I'll never let any of them see Heaven.
"Can you ask him why an innocent knight full of virtue..." I trail off and give the shifty looking man and his pencil thin moustache an intrigued look. "Would ever need to fear the fires of Hell?"
"Uh..." Tommy blinks a few times and frowns. "I don't know enough of those words yet Boss."
Unable to be even slightly annoyed considering I'm still on the second page of my intro to French book, I try to think of something else that will work on the knights. "Tu es a moi." The armoured men shift uncomfortably at that and exchange nervous glances. "Froid pas chaud."
"Just get them back to the museum once we finish with the Cains." Oswald is giving me a discount on his security services for the night. "I'll check on the Cains once I hand over Jade to her sister." But it's still a ridiculous amount and I would prefer not to get charged for another whole hour.
Jade isn't growling at anything that moves anymore and is finally functioning above Gnarrk's level when the door swings open before us. Artemis is not impressed at her sister's condition and glares at me with crossed arms.
"Mom called and told me what happened." Her voice is barely holding back the worry. "It's really over now?"
"Some clean up while your mom takes over. But yeah, no more getting ordered around by a super villain for me or Jade." The elder sister perks up at her name and follows my pointed finger inside once Artemis steps aside.
Relief floods the youngest Crock's face as she lets the news finally sink in. "Dad's going to be pissed."
"His ex wife is his new boss and he doesn't know about the change in the Shadows' tactics." I smirk back at my shorter friend. "Lawrence is probably already restocking his toilet paper."
"What are you talking abo-" Artemis stops herself as she realizes I mean her dad will be shitting bricks. "Oh."
"I got one more thing to do tonight before I can crash." Knowing it's better if I don't give David a chance to try subverting the Gotham cell, I'm relieved when the taxis start arriving. "Jade might try giving you trouble at first. Just show her you're the boss and she'll calm down again."
Amusement fills Artemis' face and laughter pours out of her mouth. "I heard about the non consensual hand holding."
"Don't make me freeze the utensils before breakfast." Glaring down at the blonde who seems to have figured out how to retract her armour fully, I gleefully imagine the cursing that would come from it.
"That's a really good idea Khaji." She smiles wide as the alien machine whispers something. "We should assimilate some flame throwers."
Trying not to let the idea of a homicidal AI get to me, I flash a snarky grin back in response. "Ask Danette for the specs and you might actually have a chance."
"Khaji! That's rude," Artemis admonishes the voice in her head, a massive grin growing on her face. "Glenn's my friend. Don't call him names when you list all the ways you have to beat him."
A crash inside makes her dash off with a quick goodbye, her armour snapping back in place. Leaving me and the knights our assignment, I join them on the sidewalk. "Let's get this over with fast. I do want to sleep tonight."
It ends up being a pretty quiet walk, the French men still uncomfortable with how much power I seem to play with daily. All of them are very relieved to only watch the Cain residence from the outside.
Knowing those opinions will only change with time and exposure, I manage to shrug off most of the annoyance it brings. The neighborhood is middle class and nothing about the house screams assassin.
"Twenty minutes and you storm the place." When I give the order, Tommy doesn't even consider arguing.
"You got it." He nods with confidence. "Nobody will disturb you and Mister Cain."
My approach to the door starts of stiff and awkward. But it quickly turns into a determined march, my fist slamming down hard on the door.
It takes a few minutes for the light behind the door to flicker on and is soon followed by a gruff voice from behind the peephole. "What the hell do you want?"
"Lady Shiva sent me to do an inspection to make sure you're keeping up your side of the bargain." My response is growled out and is more than loud enough for David to hear me on the other side of his door. "And the Great One agreed. You know, since I'm taking over the Gotham cell."
The door swings open to reveal a muscular man in his forties, with dirty blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail. "I assume you have proof of this?"
He has at least a dozen visible weapons strapped to him and a rather larger hunting knife in one hand. Honestly, it's almost big enough to call the thing a short sword.
"Of course." Paula made sure to give me a recording and I hand over the disc. It's a little terrifying how Khaji was able to do recreate the voice of Ra's, with only the brief encounter in the cavern as a vocal sample.
"She's in the basement." David points to a door with more locks than my cell at Arkham had. "You will have nothing to complain about to her mother over. Everything is exactly as she instructed."
That sounds ominous and I hope I keep any reaction from my eyes. "Good. Join us when you are convinced of the Great One's words."
He tosses me the ring of keys and no further instruction. Making me waste even more time matching each one to the correct lock.
The door creaks open and I can see a dim light illuminating the room. Old wooden stairs are cracked in enough places that I'm worried about falling through them.
"Inspection!" David bellows before I have a chance to enter and gives me a nod. "She probably isn't going to try killing you now."
"Thanks..." My muttered response only draws a wry chuckle from the father I am rapidly growing to hate.
At the bottom of the stairs, I find the eight year old girl. She reminds me a lot of Jade actually and I have to blink a few times.
The long black hair and half Asian features bring me right back to Cameron's childhood and it's only the silence that shakes me out of it. "How are you Sandra?"
She doesn't respond to my attempt at forming a connection and only stares up at me. Her eyes shine with intelligence and watch me for the slightest movement. But none of my questions get more than her head shaking yes or no.
"Didn't Shiva tell you what the training entails?" David snorts, surprising me at how he was able to descend the stairs so silently. "Cassandra can't talk. It only got in the way of making her the deadliest women on Earth."
"The Great One no longer requires your services." Searing rage ignites inside me and I don't even try to control my response.
"What ar-" He doesn't finish his question, the words getting cut off when a spear of ice emerges from his chest.
"I will finish her training." I thought the Crocks and Cameron had shitty childhoods.
Cassandra isn't even being raised as a pet. She's a tool to kill Lady Shiva one day and nothing more.
"Do you have anything you want to bring?" If that's all Shiva wants... I'll give it to her myself.
The girl didn't react when I killed her father. She still stands at attention, waiting for her orders with perfect poise.
She observes me, her eyes taking in more about me than a hundred would with the same time. As the anxiety of her reacting poorly churns, I can feel my desire to help her grow.
I hold out my hand and treat her like a child for what I assume is the first time in her life. "My name is Glenn and I want to finish your training."
I'm not letting Shiva get her hands on you and Batman would probably try turning you into a sidekick. I'm going to have to handle this myself and I can already tell this means exposure to my greatest fear.
Twenty minutes have passed and the windows upstairs shatter, the knights charging to my rescue. The mute girl actually reacts to the sound and dashes past me. The stairs not creaking until I manage to give chase.
"Wait!" I try to let her know the knights work for me, only to manage the feat after she's got a pen pressed against Tommy's ear.
She saw he was the only one without a helmet and went straight for the apparent leader. Making me explain the situation as fast as I can. Her eyes are locked on my body the whole time and she only lets go of Tommy when she's convinced by something she sees.
"Thanks Boss." Tommy rubs at the blue spot on his face and watches Cassandra with terror in his eyes. "I guess this is the girl?"
"Yeah and I'm-" The girl takes the hand I had offered earlier and I try not to let how startled I am show. "... Bringing her home with me." Megan is the best person to get actual answers and Artemis can have her here in the morning.
"You uh..." Tommy points at my chest. "Got some blood on you Boss."
Oh yeah. "Thanks for the reminder. I need to call the Commissioner and tell him this was self defence." Considering how many weapons the body has on it, I'm really hoping it gets believed.
Notes: Tu es a moi = You are mine.
Fraud pas chaud. = Cold not hot.
November 12, 10:43 PM EST
Batman doesn't bring us back to the Batcave with him, to my eternal disappointment. Instead he drops us off at Artemis' school and leaves us on the street outside Artemis' place.
The knights seem conflicted about how to feel about the revivals I provided. Most of them believe it was done from the kindness of my heart, or for the loyalty of service. But Sir de Mille is convinced it just means I'll never let any of them see Heaven.
"Can you ask him why an innocent knight full of virtue..." I trail off and give the shifty looking man and his pencil thin moustache an intrigued look. "Would ever need to fear the fires of Hell?"
"Uh..." Tommy blinks a few times and frowns. "I don't know enough of those words yet Boss."
Unable to be even slightly annoyed considering I'm still on the second page of my intro to French book, I try to think of something else that will work on the knights. "Tu es a moi." The armoured men shift uncomfortably at that and exchange nervous glances. "Froid pas chaud."
"Just get them back to the museum once we finish with the Cains." Oswald is giving me a discount on his security services for the night. "I'll check on the Cains once I hand over Jade to her sister." But it's still a ridiculous amount and I would prefer not to get charged for another whole hour.
Jade isn't growling at anything that moves anymore and is finally functioning above Gnarrk's level when the door swings open before us. Artemis is not impressed at her sister's condition and glares at me with crossed arms.
"Mom called and told me what happened." Her voice is barely holding back the worry. "It's really over now?"
"Some clean up while your mom takes over. But yeah, no more getting ordered around by a super villain for me or Jade." The elder sister perks up at her name and follows my pointed finger inside once Artemis steps aside.
Relief floods the youngest Crock's face as she lets the news finally sink in. "Dad's going to be pissed."
"His ex wife is his new boss and he doesn't know about the change in the Shadows' tactics." I smirk back at my shorter friend. "Lawrence is probably already restocking his toilet paper."
"What are you talking abo-" Artemis stops herself as she realizes I mean her dad will be shitting bricks. "Oh."
"I got one more thing to do tonight before I can crash." Knowing it's better if I don't give David a chance to try subverting the Gotham cell, I'm relieved when the taxis start arriving. "Jade might try giving you trouble at first. Just show her you're the boss and she'll calm down again."
Amusement fills Artemis' face and laughter pours out of her mouth. "I heard about the non consensual hand holding."
"Don't make me freeze the utensils before breakfast." Glaring down at the blonde who seems to have figured out how to retract her armour fully, I gleefully imagine the cursing that would come from it.
"That's a really good idea Khaji." She smiles wide as the alien machine whispers something. "We should assimilate some flame throwers."
Trying not to let the idea of a homicidal AI get to me, I flash a snarky grin back in response. "Ask Danette for the specs and you might actually have a chance."
"Khaji! That's rude," Artemis admonishes the voice in her head, a massive grin growing on her face. "Glenn's my friend. Don't call him names when you list all the ways you have to beat him."
A crash inside makes her dash off with a quick goodbye, her armour snapping back in place. Leaving me and the knights our assignment, I join them on the sidewalk. "Let's get this over with fast. I do want to sleep tonight."
It ends up being a pretty quiet walk, the French men still uncomfortable with how much power I seem to play with daily. All of them are very relieved to only watch the Cain residence from the outside.
Knowing those opinions will only change with time and exposure, I manage to shrug off most of the annoyance it brings. The neighborhood is middle class and nothing about the house screams assassin.
"Twenty minutes and you storm the place." When I give the order, Tommy doesn't even consider arguing.
"You got it." He nods with confidence. "Nobody will disturb you and Mister Cain."
My approach to the door starts of stiff and awkward. But it quickly turns into a determined march, my fist slamming down hard on the door.
It takes a few minutes for the light behind the door to flicker on and is soon followed by a gruff voice from behind the peephole. "What the hell do you want?"
"Lady Shiva sent me to do an inspection to make sure you're keeping up your side of the bargain." My response is growled out and is more than loud enough for David to hear me on the other side of his door. "And the Great One agreed. You know, since I'm taking over the Gotham cell."
The door swings open to reveal a muscular man in his forties, with dirty blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail. "I assume you have proof of this?"
He has at least a dozen visible weapons strapped to him and a rather larger hunting knife in one hand. Honestly, it's almost big enough to call the thing a short sword.
"Of course." Paula made sure to give me a recording and I hand over the disc. It's a little terrifying how Khaji was able to do recreate the voice of Ra's, with only the brief encounter in the cavern as a vocal sample.
"She's in the basement." David points to a door with more locks than my cell at Arkham had. "You will have nothing to complain about to her mother over. Everything is exactly as she instructed."
That sounds ominous and I hope I keep any reaction from my eyes. "Good. Join us when you are convinced of the Great One's words."
He tosses me the ring of keys and no further instruction. Making me waste even more time matching each one to the correct lock.
The door creaks open and I can see a dim light illuminating the room. Old wooden stairs are cracked in enough places that I'm worried about falling through them.
"Inspection!" David bellows before I have a chance to enter and gives me a nod. "She probably isn't going to try killing you now."
"Thanks..." My muttered response only draws a wry chuckle from the father I am rapidly growing to hate.
At the bottom of the stairs, I find the eight year old girl. She reminds me a lot of Jade actually and I have to blink a few times.
The long black hair and half Asian features bring me right back to Cameron's childhood and it's only the silence that shakes me out of it. "How are you Sandra?"
She doesn't respond to my attempt at forming a connection and only stares up at me. Her eyes shine with intelligence and watch me for the slightest movement. But none of my questions get more than her head shaking yes or no.
"Didn't Shiva tell you what the training entails?" David snorts, surprising me at how he was able to descend the stairs so silently. "Cassandra can't talk. It only got in the way of making her the deadliest women on Earth."
"The Great One no longer requires your services." Searing rage ignites inside me and I don't even try to control my response.
"What ar-" He doesn't finish his question, the words getting cut off when a spear of ice emerges from his chest.
"I will finish her training." I thought the Crocks and Cameron had shitty childhoods.
Cassandra isn't even being raised as a pet. She's a tool to kill Lady Shiva one day and nothing more.
"Do you have anything you want to bring?" If that's all Shiva wants... I'll give it to her myself.
The girl didn't react when I killed her father. She still stands at attention, waiting for her orders with perfect poise.
She observes me, her eyes taking in more about me than a hundred would with the same time. As the anxiety of her reacting poorly churns, I can feel my desire to help her grow.
I hold out my hand and treat her like a child for what I assume is the first time in her life. "My name is Glenn and I want to finish your training."
I'm not letting Shiva get her hands on you and Batman would probably try turning you into a sidekick. I'm going to have to handle this myself and I can already tell this means exposure to my greatest fear.
Twenty minutes have passed and the windows upstairs shatter, the knights charging to my rescue. The mute girl actually reacts to the sound and dashes past me. The stairs not creaking until I manage to give chase.
"Wait!" I try to let her know the knights work for me, only to manage the feat after she's got a pen pressed against Tommy's ear.
She saw he was the only one without a helmet and went straight for the apparent leader. Making me explain the situation as fast as I can. Her eyes are locked on my body the whole time and she only lets go of Tommy when she's convinced by something she sees.
"Thanks Boss." Tommy rubs at the blue spot on his face and watches Cassandra with terror in his eyes. "I guess this is the girl?"
"Yeah and I'm-" The girl takes the hand I had offered earlier and I try not to let how startled I am show. "... Bringing her home with me." Megan is the best person to get actual answers and Artemis can have her here in the morning.
"You uh..." Tommy points at my chest. "Got some blood on you Boss."
Oh yeah. "Thanks for the reminder. I need to call the Commissioner and tell him this was self defence." Considering how many weapons the body has on it, I'm really hoping it gets believed.
Notes: Tu es a moi = You are mine.
Fraud pas chaud. = Cold not hot.
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