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CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE: BLOOD IN THE WATER
🕑 Added 2025-03-14 12:40:56 +0000 UTCThe city bled.
Taylor made sure of it.
She moved through the Narrows like her alias, striking fast, brutal, and without mercy. Unseen until it was too late.
The first man barely had time to scream before she slammed his head against the alley wall. Bone cracked beneath her palm, and he collapsed, gasping, blood pooling between his fingers.
“Where’s the Calculator?”
“I—I don’t—”
She pressed her boot into his ribs and leaned in. “Wrong answer.”
No hesitation. No restraint. She was done holding back.
The others thought they could fight back—until she broke their arms, their legs, left them writhing in the gutter, clutching shattered limbs and spitting blood.
Then they learned.
The second she entered a room, they talked. Rumors spread fast—Gotham’s newest vigilante wasn’t just disrupting operations anymore. She was dismantling them. Safehouses burned, supply lines were severed, and anyone caught working for those allied with the Calculator ended up broken in the streets. The same men who once laughed at the idea of a lone vigilante taking on Gotham’s worst weren’t laughing anymore.
She didn’t warn. She didn’t negotiate.
She didn’t care.
She tore through the Calculator’s network like a predator tracking wounded prey—hunting Penguin’s informants, Black Mask’s couriers, and enforcers with even the faintest connection to him. And if you were in the way, God help you.
Yet, it wasn’t enough.
So she hit them harder.
A warehouse storing stolen weapons? Gone. A drug den doubling as a front for smuggling? Reduced to wreckage, every enforcer left bloody and beaten in the aftermath. Every lead she followed, each name she pried from terrified lips brought her one step closer.
And every step, Spoiler was there.
She wasn’t fast enough to stop the first beating. Or the second. But she was fast enough to see the aftermath.
And it scared her.
She had seen brutality before. Gotham had taught her what violence looked like, what cruelty could do to people. She had seen it in Black Mask’s torturers, in Joker’s victims, in the casual, almost thoughtless way the city’s worst treated life like something disposable.
But this—this was different.
Taylor wasn’t reckless. She wasn’t sadistic. But there was something terrifying in the precision of it—the cold, methodical way she worked. Despite her motive, she didn’t lash out in rage. She didn’t lose control. Every strike was calculated, every break intentional. A message, written in bruises and broken bones.
This wasn’t some rookie going too far. This wasn’t someone lashing out blindly.
Taylor knew exactly what she was doing.
And she wasn't stopping.
Spoiler followed, trying to contain the damage, trying to step in before it got worse. But Gotham was watching now. The underworld whispered her name in fear.
And every time Taylor left another shattered informant in the dirt, Spoiler knew they were getting closer to the point of no return.
The line was right in front of Taylor.
And she was going to cross it.
. . . . .
A man was sobbing into the pavement when Spoiler caught up.
“You’re late,” Taylor said, wiping the blood from her knuckles.
Spoiler didn’t answer. She looked at the man curled in the alley, shaking, his hand bent the wrong way. Then she looked at Taylor.
“This has to stop.”
Taylor scoffed. “Then stop me.”
A muscle in Spoiler’s jaw twitched. “You think this is helping?”
“The only way to stop him is to tear out everything he’s built.” Taylor turned away, stepping over the man’s trembling form. “This is necessary.”
“No,” Spoiler snapped, stepping in front of her. “You’re crossing lines you can’t uncross.”
Taylor stilled.
Spoiler exhaled sharply, her shoulders tight. “You think you’re helping, but you’re not. You’re just—”
“Just what?” Taylor’s voice was quiet. Cold.
Spoiler hesitated, then forced the words out. “You’re making things worse.”
For a moment, something in Taylor’s expression flickered—just a second of something unreadable. Then she shoved past her.
“Stay out of my way.”
Spoiler watched her go, fists clenched.
This was getting worse. And she wasn’t sure how much longer she could contain it alone.
Comments
OnAHiatus
Yeah, she's out of her depth when it comes to a lot of DC—especially Gotham—mechanics. But, if she wants to thrive, she will learn.
Disorder
No kidding, Coil was the closest Worm had fir an evil mastermind, but even he showed his incompetence now and then. Like how he showed off Dinah, his secret weapon, despite the fact that such a trump card should've remained a secret. You know, when one of Gothams villains brings Taylor down, I honestly expect them to give a speech to Taylor on how she really doesn't know what she's doing. They'll probably bring up Batman and ask her why she thinks she could do better than him and his family despite all the years he's been operating in Gotham and taking down crime. Why they're still around despite the losses they've taken, and that despite her research into Gothams underworld, she's only bothered with the surface level details, not looking at the big picture.
OnAHiatus
Yeah. No offense to Wildbow, but Worm villains aren’t exactly masterminds. Taylor’s never had to go up against someone truly intelligent—someone who can read her, anticipate her moves, and outmaneuver her. I just hope to do Gotham villains justice.
Disorder
I see. Guess this will all be explained when Taylor faces the consequences of her actions. Can't wait.
OnAHiatus
I didn't explain myself well. There's a reason there's little pushback from the major villains—yunno, the ones that are being hampered by her actions. And the sad thing is that, regardless of how focused and determined Taylor is, she has become tunnel-visioned.
Disorder
Trying to make herself known. Trying to make people think twice about hurting people because if they do she'll come after them. If that's part of the reason then, again, it won't work. She's not the first violent vigilante to come to Gotham and use violence beyond Batman to try and get the city under control. She won't be the last.
OnAHiatus
I don't want to go into spoilers, but there's a reason she's destroying all these places and gaining info
Disorder
I'm not sure how Taylor is destroying these places given how she's only one person with limited supplies. Setting the place on fire after she's done I think. Need more of an explanation there on whether or not she's wrecking the place permanently. Anyway, Taylor is on the move and she's just screwed herself over. Batman can get away with this kind of thing when he's angry because he can afford it. Taylor can't as she's allies with no one. Also, this kind of move won't affect her enemies as much as she thinks it will because, again, they're used to a certain bat and his birds coming after them like a hurricane. As of this moment, the major players have already begun enacting certain measures to limit the damage Taylor is causing them so that it's just a short term loss. Let's see how long it takes Taylor to realize that she's done nothing permanent to her enemies despite using everything she has to crush them. Probably after she's dead tired and has to deal with more men than she can handle.
