Maybe I should stay away from magical brews in the future. Relying on Volition to maintain my decision-making might've made me a… touch arrogant about how much alcohol I could handle.
I would admit switching it off for Call Thunder had been a bit of a tactical mistake.
The memory of my rather dramatic escape from the bar last night flashed through my mind.
I groaned into my pillow as my whole body cringed.
Ugh, I really hoped Bruce didn't get weirded out.
Still, as much as I wanted to laze around and try not to remember last night, time was short.
It was long overdue, but it was time to show the rest of Gotham that the Goonion meant business.
A clipboard slapped into my back, followed by a discordant song hitting my ears.
I rolled out of my soft bed and glared at Simmy. "Can't you be a bit nicer to your boss?"
A phone floated right in front of me, the notes app already open.
Work. Lazy. Bitch!
With the song equivalent of a scoff, Simmy flew away to do whatever Simmy did these days.
I kind of just gave her carte blanche to do whatever she wanted. Was that why she was getting more and more snarky lately?
"Tsk… kids these days!" I shook my fist in the air. "A few years ago, I would've killed for a boss like me!"
A clipboard smacked right into my nose, catching me completely off guard as I fell back onto the bed.
Several pens floated menacingly over me.
Ah… fuck, she heard me.
"…Working! Totally working!" I grabbed the clipboard.
The pens slowly floated back down.
"No respect…" I sighed as I looked over the clipboard.
I flipped through the pages and couldn't help but whistle in amazement. Profile after profile stared back at me, each one packed with notes. Dozens of pages covered suspected Court of Owls members alone, while the rest were dedicated to major members of the crime families.
Even with all the snark, Simmy did good work.
I drummed my fingers against the clipboard.
Both were a pain in my ass, and as much as I wanted to put both of them to the sword…
"The Court of Owls is gonna have to wait." I clicked my tongue as I tossed the clipboard aside.
Even with Simmy's literal precognitive investigation, there were still too many moving parts. Fortune was quite literally on my side, but the sheer size of it meant this was going to take a while even if everything went well. Dozens of offshore bank accounts, shell companies, patsy real estate ownerships, and that was just the beginning.
If I wanted to sweep them clean, it was going to take some serious prep. Even with all my manpower, there was a distinct lack of financial and legal experts in the Goonion. I'd need to enlist Harvey, Cobblepot's own men, and any crook with a head for numbers who was willing to be hired.
Or maybe Bruce would be interested? Wayne Industries would have much more experience with the legal and financial minutiae.
I'd pin the idea for later, after I dealt with the low-hanging fruit.
It was time to make some calls and gather my boys.
The Mob had spent long enough pretending Gotham belonged to them.
—
Jason was miffed.
How could he not be when he had missed perhaps one of the rarest opportunities in human history?
The chance to shit-talk Bruce to his face.
"Ughhhhhh." Jason leaned back against the wall and slid down until he hit the floor, staring at Barbara with open betrayal. "How could you not call me? Do you know how much I could've dunked on him if I had the chance?"
Barbara snorted as she continued typing away on the Batcomputer. "You basically answered yourself. Do you really think you could've maintained your cover while Bruce was dealing with Jean?"
"…Maybe."
Barbara stopped typing and stared at him with a raised eyebrow. "Really? If the chance to dunk on Bruce came up, you honestly think you would've been able to hold yourself back?"
Jason imagined Bruce's face. The anguish. The despair. The sheer suffering of not being able to break cover while Jason verbally beat him over the head with every bit of ammo he had gathered over the years.
There was only one answer to that.
"Nah. I would've done it in a heartbeat."
"See?" Barbara rolled her eyes. "Weep that you weren't there to see it."
"Dammit." Jason rubbed his brow. "You didn't record it?"
"I wish." Barbara sighed wistfully. "But Bruce thought there was too high of a chance his luck might screw with any recording devices we planted. Although, in hindsight, he probably would've preferred it messing with the cameras over what actually happened."
"Maybe…" Jason stroked his chin. " I should step in and set up a playdate between Bruce Wayne and his new best friend."
"Bruce would probably have a stroke." Barbara snorted. "I'm like ninety-nine percent sure he dived into this whole Owlman thing because he didn't want to think about it."
"Of course." Jason chuckled darkly. "Going to another universe or dealing with his feelings? Batman has only one answer."
The two of them giggled at Bruce's expense before Barbara shook her head and turned back to the Batcomputer.
"How's that whole other-universe thing going, by the way?" Jason strode over and leaned over Barbara's shoulder as the screen continued shifting through files, images, and analysis windows.
"Inconclusive for now," Barbara said. "They're scouting out the other side, with some Leaguers staying here to guard the portal."
"They haven't tried closing it?" Jason frowned.
"Atom and Mr. Terrific are analyzing it, but whatever method Owlman used essentially ripped a hole between their Gotham and ours, then burned the edges together."
"One Gotham is enough for me." Jason wrinkled his nose. "Should I call some of my friends?"
"…The League has it handled." Barbara winced. "But… it probably wouldn't hurt."
Left unsaid was how often shit like this escalated like no tomorrow, despite the League doing its best. Gotham thankfully didn't have to deal with the kind of crazy that hit Metropolis or Central City all the time, at least not usually.
"I'll give Artemis and Arsenal a call—"
His phone rang twice, cutting him off.
Jason looked down at the text message.
Then he blinked.
Jean, you goddamn madman…
***
Comments and Thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Likes are like a drug to me and boost my creative juices.
I have advanced chapters on Pa tre on/daisyberry if you wanna read ahead.
Just a heads up, there will be no chapter updates next week. Family members getting married so I'll be taking a brief break as I travel for the wedding. Regularly scheduled chapters will begin again the week after.