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Chapter 18 - Back to Gotham
🕑 Added 2025-06-17 06:36:42 +0000 UTCVega System
Claire whistled, really impressed and more than a bit scared.
Citadel Homeworld was surrounded by a ring of asteroids that had been turned into fortresses, offering an impressive amount of defense for the planet.
Larfleeze had smashed through everything, turning the fortresses and the ships into wrecks floating freely in the vacuum, and the planet was burning right now.
Hro and Shayera were monitoring Larfleeze through the sensors and long-range visuals. They watched as he summoned hundreds of energy constructs of the dead Orange Lanterns, sweeping the Citadelians’ defenses aside like they were nothing, and no amount of weapons, which were familiar to the Thanagarians as the Gordonians used them as well, seemed to deter Agent Orange at all.
The Citadelians fought and died in droves, and Hro Talak could imagine the same thing happening to the Gordonians.
Perhaps he had judged the human too harshly.
Overall, the attack was short but extremely brutal, and Larfleeze once more blasted off into space, heading to confront the Gordonians.
“Shayera, you will take the humans back to their planet while I monitor the situation with the Gordonians. If the situation changes, I will contact you.” This could be the end of their long war, and Hro would not miss it for anything.
His promise nodded, and Hro left for the prison ship.
—
Earth
“Will you tell the Justice League about Thanagar’s plans?” Shayera still had her mission, and unless the Gordonians were destroyed, it would proceed, though she would stand against Thanagar if victory came at the cost of innocent lives.
“There is no reason to, for now.” There was still time for Thanagar’s invasion, but none of that mattered with Larfleeze out there, fighting the Gordonians.
“Then let’s hope your plan succeeds.”
“It will.”
—
Miles wasn’t idle while waiting to hear from Hro Talak. Talking with Claire regarding her parents, testing more of what Zalika could do with her powers, and helping Baraka find out what he was good at.
What he didn’t expect was to get a call from one Roman Sionis.
Black Mask, one of Gotham’s most notorious gangsters.
“Am I speaking to Miles Beckett?” A voice he did not recognize came, which he expected to happen sooner or later, as this number could be accessed easily through public channels.
“Depends on who you are?”
“Roman Sionis. I have a business pro…” Miles ended the call, wrote down the number, and snapped the phone and the SIM card before pulling out another phone.
“Zalika, see if you can track every call this number has made.” He handed the paper to her, and Zalika nodded, starting her first official business for Miles.
She had made great strides getting used to her powers in a short amount of time, and this job should be simple for her.
“This number is only used once, but I am tracking other calls made from the same location.” Her eyes were glowing blue now as her powers gave Zalika unmatched power and speed on the web.
“Check any numbers registered to Roman Sionis and calls made from his company.” She nodded before more tabs began to pop up, showing phones registered to his company, though
“Got it.” She began to inspect the numbers. “There are a lot,” and most of them were for the legal front of his business.
“Any calls with someone from Metropolis Gold Exchange or its branches?” It was either them, or the FBI had a leak, but Miles had his bet on the former one.
Where there was money, there was a way.
“Found one. It’s a call made last week by Charles Lopez, a mid-level executive at the Metropolis Gold Exchange.” So, Roman had informants to keep an eye on wealthy individuals.
Miles could appreciate the idea, though not when he was the target.
“Well done. Claire, let’s pay a visit to dear Charles.”
—
Metropolis Gold Exchange
Autopark
Charles unlocked his car and got in, ready to go home. He cracked his neck and put his key in to turn on the ignition.
Just like every other day, he had been working in this company for the last ten years.
“Neck troubles, Charles? Sitting too long, hunched before a computer could do that. You should be more physically active.” A distinguished voice came from the backseat, startling Charles.
“What the fuck!” Charles jumped on his seat before the passenger’s door opened and a red-haired young woman sat down.
“Who are you people, and what do you want?” He scrambled to open the door before the woman held him by the collar, and her hand burst into flames, a clear warning to him.
“Sit down, Charles.” The man in the hat warned him, and Charles took a good look at him from the rearview mirror.
“Shit, you’re that Miles guy.” Charles had seen the photos and didn’t think he was more than just another rich boy but obviously was mistaken.
“Yes, and you seem to have a second job, working for Roman Sionis. Doesn’t the company have rules against that?” He said playfully, though Charles guessed it was just a front.
“It’s nothing personal, I swear. Roman Sionis isn’t the type of person you can say no to.” He pleaded. Black Mask had made some very real threats he wouldn’t hesitate to carry out, and coupled with
“I know; that’s why you are alive. But we can’t have you going around telling people about my wealth now, can we?” The men held out a gun, though it looked nothing like any weapon he had seen before. Charles didn’t think the man would just wave a toy to scare him.
“I swear I’ll keep my mouth shut.”
“Not enough.” The man shook his head, and Charles could feel dread pooling in his stomach. “Tell me, Charles, how long have you been working for Metropolis Gold Exchange?” Charles gulped, realizing what the man was going to want.
“Ten years, going on eleven.”
“Any ambition for higher places?” The woman next to him lowered her hands, though she still kept an eye on him just in case.
“I wish. Too much corporate politics for that.” He attempted to be a branch manager several times, but it didn’t work, and he stopped trying.
“Maybe we can reach a mutually beneficial agreement where you won’t have to worry about Black Mask anymore.” Miles offered, and Charles knew he was in dangerous waters now.
Refusing Miles could see him dead at worst, or the man could oust his deal with Black Mask, and he would be in a heap of legal trouble, not to mention Black Mask wouldn’t just let him live long enough to testify.
On the other hand, if Black Mask were gone, working with Miles could offer him better prospects.
A man as wealthy as Miles could definitely have Charles rise in the ranks of the corporation.
“I am listening.”
—
“You think that’s going to work? What if he just runs to Black Mask?” Claire asked as she and Miles were sitting at the back while Baraka drove, as he was the only one besides Miles who knew how to drive.
“Charles will either sink with the ship or change ships; there is no alternative. I have a feeling he isn’t the type to go down with it.” The man was practical, and when Miles got rid of Black Mask, that would leave him in a position to have Charles work for him.
“Is that so?” Miles was observant, and Claire would take his word for it, though not without doubts.
“I also bugged him.” Miles pulled out his phone, giving it a little shake.
“That’s more like you. What now?" Claire chuckled at the admission.
"I should probably take out Black Mask. He is too unhinged to accept my refusal.” Considering the man had burned down a mansion with his parents inside, Roman Sionis didn’t take kindly to no.
“Take out as in?” Claire knew about his no-kill rule, but there was more than one way of taking out someone.
“You’ll see.”
—
Miles set up a higher-end computer for Zalika and had the teen try tracking Black Mask’s operations, accounts, calls, and everything else she could, down to hacking his company’s security system to access the cameras and servers.
Sionis was smart enough to not keep any record of his illegal dealings on computers, but money still could be tracked.
His offshore accounts, as well as the accounts of his shell companies, couldn’t escape Zalika, who, with each dive into cyberspace, was getting better.
The problem was to get evidence to put Sionis behind bars permanently.
Without operators on the ground to trail and gather evidence, Zalika’s efforts would not be enough.
It was time for him to start building his network, starting with Gotham.
—
Gotham
His first step was the library, not for any business reason, but he did set up a computer for sabotage, and with how busy the library was, someone must have burned the computer when they plugged it in.
As he entered through the door and showed his ID card, something on the noticeboard caught his eye.
A photo of a blond preteen with dark grey eyes was pinned under the banned section of the library.
Artemis Lian Crock.
“Oh dear, what did Artemis do to be banned from the library?” He asked the librarian, who took her eyes off the computer to look at him.
“Spilled water on one of the computers. You know her?” She sounded irritated, either at his interruption or at remembering the destroyed computer.
“Why yes, I actually knew her mother. Would it be possible to rescind her ban if I were to donate computers? I mean, I used them once, and they are too outdated to be used in any library.” He wasn’t joking about the computers being outdated, as it was a miracle he even managed to hack GCPD with them.
“Well, sure. How many are you going to donate?” The librarian stood up, smiling now that the library was getting donations.
“How many do you have?”
—
Contacting a local computer shop, he had all the old library computers changed for brand new ones in a couple of hours, paying extra for fast delivery and installation.
“Thank you so much. We’ll give her a call and return Miss Crock’s library card.” The librarian shook his hand vigorously.
“I am heading to her home right now; would it be possible for me to deliver it?”
“I mean…” It was official business, and handing it over to someone, even if it was a donor, was against the regulations.
“Please, I insist. You are already busy enough; let me take this off your shoulders.” Miles smiled charmingly, bending his knees a bit to look the aging woman in the eyes.
“Alright, but she’ll have to sign some papers when she returns.” She blushed a bit, handing him the library card.
“I’ll be sure to let her know.”
—
“Who is Artemis Crock, and why are you so interested in her?” Claire asked as they stood before the entrance to the apartment.
“Her father is Sportsmaster, and her mother is a former criminal named Huntress. She hates her father and has the makings of a hero if carefully guided.” Miles hadn’t intended to seek any of the future members of Young Justice, but one had been affected by his actions and sought to remedy it.
“Planning to recruit a sidekick?” Claire asked humorously as Miles told her to wait outside.
“No. Just helping an aspiring hero to be.”
Miles unlocked the door of the apartment building entrance and walked up to the indicated address. He was about to leave the laptop and the library card on the door before going down and ringing the bell from outside, but to his luck, Artemis herself opened the door, ready to go out.
“Are you Artemis Lian Crock?” He asked, pulling his phone out to check the information, posing as cargo delivery now that she had seen him.
“Who are you?” She nodded, half ready to shut the door, suspicious of him.
“Special delivery from one Miles Beckett to you.” He held out the package, waiting for her to take it, though Artemis did not even reach out to accept it.
“I don’t know who that is.” She shook her head. Perhaps it was someone her mother knew?
“It has already been paid for, and there is a note for you, as well as a library card, I believe.” Artemis finally took the bag, confused about who the man was and why he would send her anything.
“Have a good day, miss.” Miles walked back down to the entrance without looking back.
—
“Wait a minute.” Artemis muttered to herself, thinking this might just be something from her father, and ripped the package apart, finding the mentioned note inside and her library card.
“My apologies for the little mishap at the library. Don’t worry, this has nothing to do with your father. Say hi to your mother and enjoy.” There was nothing else on the note, besides a smiley face at the end.
She gently pried open the box, finding a brand-new laptop inside, and whistled.
“Mom, you need to see this.”
Comments
orcun demir
He poured water inside the case of a computer in the Gotham Library after pulling the plug, so when the next person who came in after him plugged the computer, it would fry. It just so happens Artemis was the unlucky person.
IceAir
Wait what did he do to the computers that affected Artemis
