I groaned as my Vitality worked through the last of the Hemlock poison still in my system. The stuff wasn't potent enough to kill , but micro-dosing before a workout made every rep hellish—which was better for in the long run.
Slowly, I began the agonizing process of undoing the straps on my weighted vest, checking on my recovering stats as I did. Vitality was over the 70% mark, and Endurance sat just above 50%.
Going to the gym—or anywhere, really—ca with the risk of an assassination. Apparently, Black Mask had upped my bounty to a clean million. That drew in both the crazies and the professionals.
The city had truly turned against , and I couldn't stay in a motel for more than forty-eight hours. Batman and Shade had both offered protection, but I wasn't inclined to accept help from either. It was for largely the sa reason—they wanted every hour of every day.
If I wasn't scouting a location for Shade, I was feeding intel to Bruce and keeping tabs on Penguin's operation. I even had a mission lined up with Robin to break into the Iceberg Lounge and snag so information after hours.
I didn't want to tip the fragile balance I'd established as a go-between. A few more weeks of this, and I could finally go on the offensive.
I had already arranged for soone to work on the IDs for Mom and Sasha. So private investigator Marj knew—she was handling the transaction. I paid her a fat chunk of cash to buy her silence.
I knew she was loyal—but not that loyal. And I didn't mind paying.
Between the jobs, I had close to seven million stashed in my inventory—a sum I was still surprised Penguin let keep. No doubt Shade was his way of stiffing , but the alternative had been the five grand he originally planned to pay .
I was just about to slip on a clean shirt after a shower when it happened.
The pressure in the room dropped like soone had lit a match in a sealed space. My skin prickled. I slled sothing—burned copper and lted plastic. Faint, but rising.
Flaring cursed energy, I pushed off the carpeted floor, dashing across the room in a blink. I flipped the bed—fra and all—with one powerful movent and braced with Inverse just as the explosion hit.
The window blew inward, flas roaring into the room like a dragon's breath. The curtains lit up like tissue paper. The heat surged fast—too fast.
The second explosion ripped the door off its hinges and slamd the bed into . I endured it, even as flas licked at my side.
Inverse did its job, turning what should've flash-fried into a mild singe.
With a grunt, I shoved the bed aside and launched myself through the shattered window into the parking lot.
Screams filled the air. Desperate overnight guests poured out of their rooms in a panic. I looked up—and there he was.
Firefly.
His jetpack humd behind him, wings keeping him aloft. He wore a green and yellow fla-retardant suit, a low, sinister chuckle bubbling from behind his mask. He cocked his fla gun.
"Co on, kid. You're worth a million. Don't just stand there and gawk—make work for it."
I didn't answer. I fired four tranq shots straight at his neck—what should've been the weakest part of his suit. They bounced off.
Fuck.
His gun hissed and flared, spitting a stream of fire that licked my side as I dodged, spinning and vaulting over a car. Curtain swallowed on the dismount, and I navigated the lot, putting vehicles between us.
The first car exploded seconds after he started torching it. The second followed.
I dove into the bushes before he could catch , dispelling and reapplying Curtain, circling the motel. I grabbed a fire extinguisher and an axe, scaling the roof.
Half the building was already on fire, and a group of ten guests found themselves stuck between a flaming car and the walls. Firefly cackled the whole ti.
I slipped my mask on. Still shirtless, just pants on, axe and extinguisher in hand, I crept to the edge of the roof, hidden beneath Curtain.
My grip tightened around the extinguisher. Just as I was about to call out, Firefly raised his voice, leveling the gun at the hostages.
"Heard you were running with Batman. You wouldn't let these innocents fry, would you?"
He slowly pushed on the trigger. "That bastard locked up for five years. Five fucking years. The cash is just icing now."
I filled the axe with cursed energy and let it fly. It sliced through the air with a sharp whoosh, knocking his gun aside. I threw the extinguisher to the guests and leapt from the roof, Curtain dropping as I landed, gun drawn.
The bullets punctured his wings, sending him spiraling. I could've shot his fuel tank and ended it. But I rembered what I was working toward.
My freedom. Revenge. My family's safety.
And the hostages. They wouldn't survive the blast.
But that didn't an I wouldn't take Firefly apart.
I shot off before Firefly recovered, and he grabbed his gun. The nozzle of the weapon sputtered wide from where the axe had hit it, but it was still deadly.
The fire ca screaming at , but I juked left, flared Inverse, and fired my tranq gun at his visor.
He flinched. I sped up with Overdrive. By the ti he reacted, I was already on top of him.
My punch sent him spinning—but he didn't fall. His jetpack kicked back to life, stabilizing him. He cranked his gun again and let loose.
A wide, searing stream of fla. It was the biggest one yet.
It would've roasted the hostages who hadn't escaped. It could've overpowered my Inverse. Fire dealt incrental damage to my technique, but concentrated heat at this level was like taking a bomb to the face.
The smart move would've been to retreat, let him burn out his accelerant.
But I didn't.
"Run!" I found myself screaming at the hostages while I charged the fire, arm spread wide to take as much of the fla as I could, while I leaned on my technique.
Inverse held until I was inches from the gun. I ripped it out of his hand with a flying kick and drove him into the dirt with another to the solar plexus.
The pain hit all at once. Half my upper body was gone—twisted, red, and burned raw.
It hurt worse than acid.
Firefly scrambled for his weapon, but I stomped on his hand with Overdrive, snapping bone. I shattered his visor with a punch. Another dislocated his jaw.
A third would've crushed his throat—if a hand hadn't caught mine mid-swing. Cold. Strong.
It barely stopped .
Batman.
There was a flicker of surprise in his eyes as he looked at —but I didn't care. My gaze returned to Firefly, and he looked at with sothing akin to fear.
"Are you--" Bruce began, but I cut him off.
"I'll be fine," I said.
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