SDC 47
I left the hideout armed with live Berettas, several assault rifles, all the grenades I could carry, and a fatter Cursed Energy reserve.
Class: Sorcerer – Level 9 (3rd Grade)
Titles: Touched by the Sparks of Black
Techniques: Inverse Lv 3
Health: 530/530
Cursed Energy: 580/580
Stamina: 510/510
Stats:
STR: 43+1
AGI: 48+1
PER: 54
VIT: 53+5
END: 51+3
CP: 58+2+8
Skills:
Cursed Inventory Lv 4
Hand-to-Hand Combat Lv 4
Cursed Energy Reinforcement Lv 4
Cursed Energy Manipulation Lv 4
Stealth Lv 5
Curtain Lv 3+1
Gun Mastery Lv 5
Acrobatics Lv 4
Swordsmanship Lv 3
Meta Ability: Enhanced Regeneration
Free Points: 0
I revved the motorcycle I stole and floored it, shattering every traffic law this corrupt city still bothered to enforce. I cut corners, blitzed through alleys, blew past red and yellow lights, and might've caused a car bump or two along the way.
When the police gave chase, I ditched the bike and vanished behind a Curtain, making the rest of the way on foot with five minutes to spare.
The air at the scene buzzed with tension and noise.
Eager Gothamites pressed against police barriers with phones, protest signs, and screams. Helicopters circled overhead. FBI agents and GCPD brass huddled under a tent, trying to talk down the masked man with a loudspeaker.
"You've got to ask for something else," Jim Gordon urged. "Samaritan was burned within an inch of his life. You saw it on the news. He's probably still recovering. He can't be here, not in the timeframe you're demanding."
"He'll come," the masked man said, unwavering. "His mushy teenage heart can't afford another tragedy."
He looked straight into one of the spotlight cameras and screamed, "Come here and face me like a man—or all their blood will be on your hands!" He jabbed the detonator toward the hostage bus. "Time's running out, hero!"
I scanned the rooftops and found Batman. Solo, as expected. Robin was probably in school. He just stood there, staring at the scene.
Time was short, but I still switched on my burner and made the call.
"You've been difficult to reach," Bruce said.
"That was the point of keeping the burner off," I replied. "Please tell me you've got a better plan than standing there like a gargoyle."
"You need to stay out of this," he said. "The situation's far more delicate than you realize."
"Convince me," I said.
Batman glanced at his wrist, then looked directly at and through me. Curtain kept me hidden.
"Whoever that is under the mask is a world-class professional," he said. "He's got four snipers on surrounding rooftops, possible plants on the bus, a family member to guarantee your involvement, and a failsafe on the deadman switch in his hand. If we try to jam the signal or disrupt the radio link between the detonator and the bombs, they go off. If his thumb leaves the switch? Same result. I'd bet he's rigged his snipers the same way. Any attempt to take even one out, and the whole thing unravels."
"The only real recourse," he added, "is another League member—someone fast or strong enough to rescue every hostage before the whole situation unravels."
I swallowed. It was worse than I imagined. Black Mask was pulling out all the stops.
"We're less than three minutes out," I said. "Aren't they cutting it a little close?"
"Flash is wrapping up a robbery in Central City. Martian Manhunter is en route. Superman's tied up halfway around the world. Help's coming. You just have to be patient."
I chewed the inside of my cheek. "Don't you have an EMP bomb in that ridiculous belt?"
A pause. "As a matter of fact, I do. But there's no way to deliver it silently. Not without tipping him off."
"I can do it," I said instantly.
"Your disappearing trick," Batman said.
"No one sees me unless I want them to."
"That's convenient," he admitted. "And it just might work."
"So, are you giving me the bomb, or am I storming that bus without it?"
"Threats and blackmail will only take you so far, Julius," he said. "One of these days, you'll have to trust someone."
"I'll look into counseling after I rescue my aunt."
Batman sighed and suddenly sprang forward, leaping off the building. He fired his grappling hook mid-air to cushion his landing.
I stepped out of Curtain and loomed over me, a wall of muscle and armor. On paper, I could take him, but the pressure he gave off left me breathless.
He reached into his cloak and handed me the grenade.
I went to grab it, but he spoke first.
"I know it's tempting to make a beeline for her, but she's not the only one counting on you. That fire changed you. Or maybe it revealed something that was always there."
"Poor impulse control?"
"A genuine desire to help people. Don't lose sight of it when you're in there."
I gave him a stiff nod, took the EMP, and turned away.
One minute, forty-five seconds left.
"Thanks," I found myself saying. "You know… for the help."
"Don't make me regret it."
I closed my eyes and shaped the most complex Curtain I'd ever formed. A narrow corridor that shrank the closer it got to the bus. The barrier pressed flush against the side and stopped just below the windows.
With a burst of Overdrive, I shot forward, disappearing into Curtain.
It took four seconds to reach the bus's rear. I slid into position, activated the bomb, and rolled it underneath.
Another Curtain snapped up before the explosion, cutting the bus from the rest of the world.
I rose, grabbed the roof, and kicked through the glass.
The blast startled the culprits, and they rose. Five of them, among thirty-five passengers.
I flirted with the idea of the Berettas but settled on tranq guns. The men barked at each other, grabbed throats, and screamed, while the passengers resisted, bucked, and screamed.
My fingers blurred—neck shot, cheek shot, rib shot. In my haste, I even accidentally hit a woman.
The four plants went down easy.
The fifth didn't.
He had a knife at Denise's throat and a grenade with the pin pulled. His thumb rested on the spoon.
"Step the fuck back, freak!" He hit the transponder. "The kid is in here! Can you hear me? The kid is in here!"
Static.
"Fuck me."
The shivering crowd parted for me as I advanced, tranq gun steady.
"Knife or grenade won't save you, you know."
"I've come too far to lose to the likes of you!" He pressed the blade deeper into Denise's skin.
She locked eyes with me, and I saw something that surprised me. Not recognition. No. Faith.
"I need a clear path," I said softly. "Can you find me one?"
"What the hell are you yammering—"
Denise stomped on his foot.
He flinched. That was all I needed. Two tranqs to the shoulder.
He still managed to nick Denise's neck as he fell—but it was the grenade that grabbed my attention.
It tumbled from his hand.
Four seconds. That was how long it took for a grenade to detonate.
I crossed the distance in the first second; grabbed the grenade in the second; chucked it out the window in the third; and regretted my choice in the fourth.
The explosion went off outside the protective bubble of my Curtain, alerting the cops... and my killers… that I was here.
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