The funny thing about working for Alfred, and by extension Bruce, was that she was sent out on errand runs fairly often. Despite Alfred keeping a well stocked kitchen.
And yes, she could use her catalog to skip the issue entirely, but she didn't want to be stuck as a hermit in Wayne Manor. Even if it'd be a very comfortable job. She'd need to explain the catalog, and Bruce would probably slip into the Bat out of paranoia or something, knowing her luck.
Still, as she shuffled her ass out of the supermarket with everything she needed to pick up, chemicals in one bag, food in the other, she blinked in surprise at the couple standing next to her bike. That was… "Mister Fries?"
He turned, staring at her, and he smiled. Actually smiled, and nodded his head. "Miss Mordred. I wanted to apologize for my behavior the first time we met. Please, meet my wife."
"Nora Fries. It's nice to meet you." Nora said with a smile, looking very blue. Blinking, Mordred cleared her throat when the woman held out a hand, and quickly shuffled over to her saddlebags. "O-oh, right. Sorry."
"No, no. It's fine. Just, gotta put my stuff away before I can shake your hand." She said, kicking open the first saddlebag and putting in the chemicals and clears in it. She trusted them to not break on her way back, and quickly put the food in the other set. Once that was done, she leaned over her bike and held her hand out with a smile. "Mordred Pendragon. It's nice to meet you too… Doctor?"
"I am still certified, yes." She chuckled softly, and her hand was like ice. Not so cold that it hurt, but cold enough she'd be concerned if she didn't know better. "I'm told that I have you to thank for Victor managing to finally cure me?"
"Uh, yeah." She nodded, scratching the back of her neck. "I just offered some blood and a couple of suggestions. I wouldn't have been able to fix your heart with the powers I had on hand, so I pointed him Missus Mahkent's way. Figure she had something from Doctor Morrow or something, considering how old Senior is."
"She did, in fact." Mister Fries nodded. "Her heart was an isolated cryogenic engine. That she survived it was apparently down to luck. I refused to chance it, which is why I used an infusion of your blood in the process."
"Oh, and that worked?" She asked, and the both of them nodded, before Missus Fries pulled her sweater back, showing the mildly glowing veins in her arm. "Neat. Usually I have to put a solid chunk of vitality into my blood for it to look like that."
"I'll admit, I'm not entirely comfortable with the way things have been going on since I was put under, and having a dead woman's replacement heart is definitely something that I'll be adjusting to for a very long time… but I would likely do the same in Victor's shoes." Nora admitted freely with a smile. "So, thank you. And thank you for pointing Victor Cameron's way, as well."
"Cameron?" She blinked, before her eyes raised up. "Wait, Cameron Mahkent? Icicle Junior?"
"Mhmm." Nora nodded with a smile. "I've heard stories about Senior, that he's a brute, a legbreaker, all sorts of things, and I thought to myself 'that boy deserves better'. When Victor brought him home to help me, well, I decided that he was my son from that point on."
"Oh." Mordred almost numbly said in surprise. "Congratulations, I guess. How's that working out?"
"Quite well, actually." Victor said with a small haze of breath. "Cameron has not had many opportunities to grow under Senior's teachings, but he's a deft hand with the art of Cryokinesis, and seems to be a budding physics expert."
"Oh. Oh wow." She blinked in surprise, before shaking her head. "Uh… shit. Victor? How long was Nora frozen?"
"Seven years now. Why?" He asked curiously, but Mordred fished out her pill bottle with a frown on her face. "What's this?"
Moving a hand to indicate him closer, the man leaned in and she leaned over, putting a hand over her mouth. "One pill takes away one year. Do you need them?"
"One year takes- yes! Ahem." He cleared his throat, before nodding. "Yes, I would. That would be most helpful. Seven, yes?"
"Yup. I'd give some to your wife, but they're the magic kind of 'lose a year of age'. So-"
"Ah. So the transplant would vanish." He nodded with a frown, before holding his hand out, while she handed over seven pills. "Where did you get these?"
"Helped a knight, found the bottle afterwards." She said, not even lying, before stuffing the bottle back into her 'pack' while Victor put the pills in one of his chest compartments. "Uh, speaking of, did either of you find a ticket?"
"A ticket?" Nora asked, and then nodded. "Cameron mentioned he found a platinum ticket when he and Victor did my transplant actually. Hold on, I'll call him." She smiled, and then pulled out a flipphone.
Mordred had honestly forgotten that smartphones weren't a casual thing yet. Wouldn't be too much longer, she supposed.
"Cameron? W- no you're not in trouble. No, honey, you're fine. You remember that ticket you found, with Victor? Yes, that one. Can you bring it here? We found who it belonged to. Yes I know we could just keep it but she's the reason we met you. Okay. Alright. Yup. I love you too. See you shortly." She said, before hanging up the phone and turning around with a smile. "He's such a nice boy."
Tapping the handlebar of her bike, Mordred tried to think of something to fill the air, but thankfully Nora and Victor knew how to exist near people as well without needing to speak. It was nice, actually, and instead she just leaned back on her bike, and did her absolute best to not jump in shock when an old milky white van slammed into the parking space next to her bike, out of which popped a very exuberant young guy with blue skin and pointed ears.
"I'm here now!"
[End.]
I mentioned Mordy'd get the ticket for becoming a butler officially after she had something, and that something was a suit.
"So, let me get this right." Cameron started as he sat on the side of the bed he had bolted in the back of his van. "You get super powers for doing good deeds?"
"I get tickets that I can cash in for superpowers, or other stuff like training, in exchange for helping people and other things, yes." She nodded, not quite sarcastically, but a bit curtly.
"And you got this really sweet bike out of it, and you want this one because it's a higher level than the stuff you usually get." He held up the platinum ticket, and she nodded again. "Cool. Can I see what you get?"
"Sure." She shrugged, as Mister and Missus Fries made their way into the van, Nora sitting in the front seat, and Victor moving onto the bed. "Pass it over."
"Alright. What's your name, anyway?" Cameron asked as he handed it over, and she did her best to not snatch it.
But Platinum tickets were rare right now.
"Mordred Pendragon." She huffed, cashing the ticket, and then blinked at the triple roll she got.
Shadow Travel, lets her sink through shadows and travel with them, hit by sunlight, it burns.
Eh? It was alright.
Next up, Tinker - Robotics level 2. Would let her make robots that in another world would be the absolute pinnacle, but here would be little more than fodder.
Meh.
And last up, Kakuja. Wasn't that the thing from Tokyo Ghoul?
… Eh, good enough. Cashing it, she blinked as her body was encased in armor, clenching her hands as she felt it form. She could feel it like it was a piece of her body, solidifying in place and making her feel strong. Feel powerful!
Feel like she could eat a- actually hold on there. Huh. Mild cannibalistic overtone, but not demanding she do it? Did she just get a fairly sizable upgrade from the cannibalism world with no real downside?
Bitchin!
Now how did she look?
"Man, that is some awesome armor!" Cameron said, shocking her back to awareness as she looked at him. "I mean, I thought I made some pretty cool ice armor a few times, but this! This is so cool! You look like a knight!"
Opening her mouth, she paused as she felt like something was missing. And then it occurred to her. A cape! She focused on the base of her neck, letting it form and shift before it billowed out, and she put her hands on her hips and nodded. "Hell yeah I do!" Her voice echoed out, mildly distorted.
Still, after a moment she focused, forcing it back under her skin and letting the small urge to bite a person fade away to the back of her mind, while Cameron leaned in close and looked at her. "Your eyes were black. That normal?"
"Uh, yeah, kinda. That power comes from this weird world where there's kind of super powers, but it's through cannibalism." She said with a hum, before shrugging. "Maybe it'll get written here too, it was called Tokyo Ghoul."
"But you're not trying to eat anyone?" He asked, and she shook her head. "Alright then. Still, that was cool!"
"Thanks. So, what are you doing now, anyway?" She asked, tilting her head. "I mean, you were a crook before, but so was Mister Fries, so…?"
"Oh, uh. We're trying to figure that out. Victor's trying to figure out if he can get hold of Mister Wayne, actually." Cameron said, and Mordred rubbed her chin before pulling out the smartphone she got for working at the manor. "What're you doing?"
"Calling my boss. He can probably help." She said with a shrug, before dialing Alfred. Hearing a click, she smiled. "Uh, Alfred. Y'know how you told me that Mister Wayne still visits Mister Dent in the hospital and such?"
"Yes, I did. I thought it prudent after your run in with him, as a matter of fact. Why?" Alfred asked, and she shifted on her bike, doing her best to ignore the surprise on all three of the Fries' faces.
"Well, y'know how Mister Fries was mostly just trying to figure out a way to save his wife? I ended up helping him find that, and I'm trying to figure out if we'd be able to like… do something for them?" Mordred asked, a bit hesitantly. "I mean, I know that Victor and Cameron have done wrong-"
"I'm sorry, Cameron?" Alfred interrupted her, and she blinked before clearing her throat.
"R-right, uh… so, I pointed Mister Fries in the direction of Icicle Junior, I figured his mum had something in her that allowed for Cryokinesis, and that was why he came out blue, y'know? And uh, turned out I was right. But, when Missus Fries was restored, she decided that because Icicle Senior was a…" She worked her jaw to avoid saying he was a complete piece of shit in front of Cameron, but heard Alfred's amused chuckle. "Y-yeah. Anyway, so they adopted him. So uh, yeah."
"Hmm." Alfred hummed. "One moment, please, Miss Pendragon. I shall speak with Master Bruce."
Blinking, she shifted on her bike, bringing her phone down and resting her arm on her leg as she looked at Cameron. "He's talking to Bruce."
"You work for Bruce Wayne!?" Cameron hissed, and she nodded. "How?!"
"I don't actually have any real idea. I'm on a grocery run at the moment, actually." She grinned. She doubted that the crap she had to pick up would be a problem without her rushing back to the manor, as well. She hadn't picked up anything frozen.
"Hello?" Bruce, with a much more flat tone so he was probably 'working', answered. "What's wrong, Miss Pendragon?"
"Uh, nothing's wrong, specifically." Mordred blinked. "I uh, I helped Mister Fries heal his wife, and the two of them ended up adopting Icicle Junior, and I was wondering if there was anything you could do to help them? Well, specifically Mister Fries was wondering, but uh… yeah."
Bruce was silent, and Mordred wondered if she'd fucked up, before the man sighed. "Give Victor your phone."
"Okay." She nodded slowly, holding the phone out. "Give the phone to Victor, please."
"You got it." Cameron grinned, taking it with his not-giant hand and passing it over.
And now she waited.
So, getting the Kakuja made her a bit more aware of the presence of humans. Not enough that she'd go into a feeding frenzy near a group, but enough that she was perfectly aware how many people were near her at any one point.
It was neat, actually. It was also, apparently, noticeable to Waylon, who nearly ambushed her when he surfaced.
Seeing a crocodile man look at her in surprise was actually pretty funny. "Waylon."
"Crazy girl." He said back, looking at her with a tilt to the head. "Have you been sampling the other white meat?"
"No." She shook her head, putting a finger in her cheek and pushing it out for a second. "Y'know my helping people thing? Get tickets for doing it, get stuff off those tickets?"
"I'm aware." He nodded, and she folded her arms and leaned against one of the support pillars in the storm drain.
She did it with the pipes once. Only once.
"Well, one of the rewards I got came from a world where the super powers were primarily focused under cannibalism. Had these human offshoots called Ghouls. They dressed it up in science and crap, but it was basically magical cannibalism powers." Mordred idly waved a hand, and then rubbed her face. "How's the camp?"
"Doing better now, what with all the help you gave." He huffed, walking past her. "I say this as one predator to the other. Don't give me a reason."
"I won't." She softly replied, shaking her head. "I don't have a need to eat people like they do. I can still get nourishment from food. So it's a tiny urge I barely notice, most of the time."
"Hmm. Small mercies." He said softly. "What can it do?"
"Well…" She trailed off, before manifesting her armor, cape included, and walking ahead of him without really noticing. "I got this. Makes me a hell of a lot stronger. Can probably break a building if I need to. If I started indulging, or had a way to modify myself, it'd become even stronger." Stopping at the barricade, she leaned down, and found herself surprised at how easily she lifted it. She barely noticed. "The strength increase is pretty noticeable."
"Like you were taking venom." He nodded, going under the barricade and holding it up for her. She'd mention that was unnecessary, but she appreciated it, letting the armor slink off of her body. Which was still seen by a large chunk of the camp, as Jason came running up to her.
"Cool!" He grinned up at her, and despite herself Mordred grinned back, hands on her hips. "I didn't know you were an actual knight!"
"It's one of my many skills, Jason." She 'humbly' said, shaking her head and leaning down to give him a piggyback ride. Without her Kakuja manifested, he was still heavy, but she was pretty sure the presence of RC cells in her body was making her stronger, because she didn't notice him anywhere near as much. "How's the fort going? Everyone okay?"
"Yup!" Jason nodded. "Greg, Mister Tock, said he got a job top side. He makes fancy watches now, real nice ones. And, and-"
As Jason chattered away, Mordred let the sounds of the camp wash over her, happy that the first major, tangible difference she'd made in Gotham was really paying off.
She owed these people. They took her at her worst, when she didn't have a real way to contribute outside of her catalog, and made her feel at home. So paying that back however she could was important.
Now she just needed to figure out how to get Jason adopted by Bruce without his mother dying.
Difficult time, that one.
"Were you good, Jason?" She asked, and felt Jason nod his head. "Really?"
"Mhmm." He cheerfully sad. "Mom and Mynah said I've been a huge help keeping the soup going."
"Well that's good. I've got a bit more money now, so I can help out more there." She said, not elaborating that her average pay as one of Bruce Wayne's butlers was a stupid amount of money for the average person, let alone a homeless person. She could buy her own house within a few months if she wanted to. "Let's get some soup going."
"Yeah!" Jason cheered, and Mordred smiled softly. Walking up to Mynah, she waved, but the woman gave her a look that told her she wasn't happy.
Uh oh.
"And what's this? You finally slink back after leaving us worried you were getting disappeared?" Mynah said unhappily, but Mordred just smiled softly. "Don't look at me with your goofy smile, girl! I was worried sick!"
"I know, Mynah." She said softly, before pulling out the catalog and buying some essentials. She noticed they'd set up a hot water boiler while she was gone. "But, I have a job and a place to stay now."
"And you still came down here?" Mynah looked at her like she was an idiot, and Mordred would put a hand on her chest if her other hand wasn't holding up Jason. "Fool girl, you got out. Why're you wasting time down here? People're gonna take your bleeding heart right out of your chest if you let them."
"Yeah, well, I got invested with you guys. I hear Greg got a job making clocks. Or watches." She smiled, and Mynah nodded, and soon Mordred was regaled with all of the camp's gossip while she'd been getting busy working at Wayne Manor.
She wasn't the best cook in the world, but forever soup was simple enough. Just whatever she felt like making, kept from burning by eager eyes and active hands.
And, a half hour before she left, Mordred found herself talking to missus Todd, Catherine, who was looking at her and gently rubbing Jason's head while he slept. "Mordred. I need you to do me a favor."
"What's the favor, missus Todd?" She asked softly, not wanting to wake him up. Jason wasn't a heavy sleeper by any means, but he slept deeper than most homeless kids.
"I want you to get Jason out of poverty." She said softly, staring at her son with a complicated expression. "The people you work for, they're good people?"
"Some of the best." She nodded softly. "You want me to get him adopted by Mister Wayne?"
"I want you to try. Please." She asked, and Mordred felt conflicted.
"You know it'll hurt him?" Catherine nodded, and she sighed. "It'll tear him up inside."
"He can hate me forever if it means he's alive to do it. If it means he's successful enough to do it." She gently said, and Mordred understood.
Licking her lips, she rubbed her forehead. "I'll try. But I don't have a guarantee that Bruce'll say yes."
"That's all I ask."
"You don't ask small." She shot back gently, but that managed to make Catherine chuckle, and Mordred laughed alongside her.
What did she say to Bruce? 'Hi, this is Jason, could you adopt him pretty please'?
… The worst part is, that might actually work.
Ugh.
[End.]
The worst part of an addiction is that the mental aspect'll stick around long after the body doesn't need it anymore. For opioids I've heard that's especially so.
If y'all remember Wingman's backstory this'll become a bit more clear as to what happened to his father.
Anyway no tickets aside from the Kakuja, if you're wondering it was a Triple Advantage roll, which exists in the FaQ of CG. It's kind of neat, actually, but I won't use it too often.
Have a happy daynight, byeee.
Rubbing her face as she did her best to not stress out over her current situation, Mordred breathed through her nose.
Thankfully, Catherine hadn't done anything extreme, yet her mind traitorously supplied, but that left Mordred to try and figure out how to broach the topic.
Bruce was at work, so it was just her and Alfred today. Which made it easier, and harder. Easier, because she had to keep up her usual level of respect for the man instead of being unable to speak casually with her employer, but harder, because Alfred…
Alfred understood. And that made it harder to find the words.
Still, there they were, cleaning the foyer. Mordred was tempted to take advantage of that Pixie Power she picked up to clean the rafters, but she hadn't mentioned it to the man yet. Alfred likely suspected something, because she wasn't typically this quiet, either.
"Miss Pendragon?" He started, and Mordred blinked. "You've been cleaning that spot on the wall for the last five minutes. I don't believe it will be coming out with what we have on hand."
"Oh." She dumbly said, shaking her head as she put her towel back in the small cart that she was lugging around. "Sorry."
"Something on your mind?" He asked, and she frowned, before sighing. "Oh dear, is it bad?"
"How do you… How do you deal with someone that trusts you, someone you've helped get out of the lowest point in their life, wanting you to take something precious to them in hopes that you can find something better for them?"
She didn't really ask, but it wasn't desperate enough to be called pleading, but Alfred looked at her, eyebrows raised, before clearing his throat. "I see. One of those questions. I'll need more information, I believe."
"Yeah… Sorry." She shook her head, and dropped down against the wall as she tried to get her thoughts in order. "I… the homeless camp I stayed in for a while, before you and Mister Wayne gave me a place here. I helped the people there. Helped them kick off drugs and stuff. Don't know how permanent it is, but none of them have relapsed yet. But I think that's kind of the problem as well?"
Alfred, after a moment, slowly sat down beside her, putting a hand on her shoulder, and she smiled at the man. "Take your time, Miss Pendragon. These subjects are difficult to speak of in the best of conditions."
Nodding, Mordred rubbed her face. It was hard to talk about this, shockingly. Hah… "One of them, her name's Catherine. She was addicted to pills, I think. Maybe pain meds, or opioids. She has a son. His name's Jason. Very kind boy. Smart, too. And she… she asked me…"
The hand on her shoulder squeezed down reassuringly, and she smiled up at Alfred. He understood. But she needed to get it all out. "She wanted me to get Jason a better life, before she relapsed. Before she screwed up the one bright spot she had left. I wanted to say 'that wouldn't happen', but I know how addiction works. That even if you get rid of the physical symptoms, the mental ones never really fade. And opioids make it worse, because they're a comfortable numbness most of the time. So she asked me to try and find a better life for him, maybe see if Bruce would take him in. That even if Jason hated her guts, she didn't care. So…"
She hung her head, not quite glaring at the floor but wanting to, but Alfred just softly sighed, and pulled her into a side hug. "These are the hard questions. If you had gone to Master Bruce, he likely would be furious. Not at Catherine, but at himself for not being able to make Gotham a place where that wouldn't happen. But let me ask you, do you think Jason would be happy here?"
"… Yeah." She nodded, speaking softly. "I think… I think he'd probably bond with Bruce. It'd be rough, at first, but they'd just…" She held up her index and middle finger, before putting them together like scissors. "They'd click."
"You think so?" Alfred asked, and she nodded her head. "Why?"
"Mister Wayne… Mister Wayne wants to help people. However he can." She started, scratching the side of her face as she tried to find the right words. "He's got a very strong sense of justice, of what's right and what's fair. Jason, despite everything he's gone through, also has that. Has thoughts and ideas on what should be, instead of what is. I think they'd get along well, probably end up on the same wavelength within a month or two. But, I don't know if I have the right to ask him. Catherine… Catherine seems like she's getting her affairs in order."
"You think she might do something she couldn't take back." He asked, and she nodded again. "I see. And I doubt professional help would actually make a difference?"
"She's stubborn. Stupidly so. I think something might have happened to her husband. He was in prison, a petty thief actually." Scrunching up her face as she fought the urge to try and rip her own hair out, she slowly pushed herself up, and then leaned over to help up Alfred. "So, yeah. I think she wants Jason somewhere safe and secure, where he won't be forced to steal car tires for money, before she does something."
"I see." Alfred said softly as she helped him stand up, before the two of them went back to work. "I shall speak with Master Bruce. You're sure he'd be happy here?"
Licking her lips as she thought of the future of one Jason Todd, Mordred nodded. "Yeah. Yeah I am."
"Then, I shall see about making arrangements. Now, we have work to complete, Miss Pendragon."
Right.
As he returned from his self claimed mission, spying Dick slowly falling asleep in the passenger seat, Bruce pressed the button that would alert Alfred to the Batcave.
His mind had been busy when Alfred relayed the request made to Mordred, to help Jason Todd find stability. And, Alfred's observation that he would be angry at himself for the thoughts the boy's mother harbored were correct. But, he wouldn't neglect Dick either. He was a growing boy, and needed help.
Still, as he pulled into the Batcave, something felt… different.
The metal was well shined, when Alfred used an understated polish. As the Batmobile pulled to a stop, he exited it and picked up Dick as he did, carrying the boy over to a small cot he had prepared in case of emergency, or just a needed place to rest.
And that gave him time to observe the Batcave.
Someone had cleaned it thoroughly, even the small alcoves higher than most people could safely reach. Alfred wouldn't usually do that, instead simply making sure that things like rust and mold didn't develop, and otherwise using a polish that didn't make the metal shine so well.
Not to say he liked sitting in a dirty cave, he didn't need to develop Miner's Lung and neither did Alfred, or godforbid Dick. But, Alfred didn't do this.
The penny he confiscated from the late Penny Plunderer's first, and unfortunately only, heist was also shined. Not a hint of dirt on the metal. His suit cabinets were polished near to perfection, the spare suits he had well cleaned.
"Master Bruce?" Alfred's voice had him blink, and slowly turn to the man. "Is something the matter?"
"Did you deep clean the Batcave, Alfred?" He asked curiously, fighting the urge to tilt his head like he would have when he was younger. He'd never been this flummoxed since those days, of course. "Everything's shining."
Looking around, Alfred frowned slowly and shook his head. "No, I cannot say I did."
"So, Mordred found the Batcave." He said quietly, and then felt a bit confused as he looked around again. "And cleaned everything down here?"
"I'd be thankful that she still performed her duties." Alfred commented, before looking over at Dick. "Is Master Richard alright?"
"He's just tired." Bruce said softly, picking up his ward and carrying him to the elevator. "Do you think she's going to say anything?"
"Mordred?" Alfred asked, and he nodded. "No, I don't think so. She's either come to her own conclusions, or she's got your measure. Either way, I don't think she'll jeopardize the job she has for some fabled 'larger payday' or some such."
"You're sure?" He asked, his paranoia flaring up in an irritating way. But, someone had discovered the Batcave, and only entered to clean it.
It was something he never predicted would happen.
"Very, Master Bruce. And if she was going to hold it over you, I sincerely doubt she would have cleaned the entire cave, by herself, in the span of a few short hours after I went to bed." Alfred pointed out, before pausing just as he stepped out of the elevator. "Actually the fact she succeeded is more questionable to me, now."
Bruce frowned even as he carefully moved so he wouldn't accidentally hit Dick's head on the elevator door. "That… is surprising, actually. I wonder how she did it?"
"We have camera footage we can go over once Master Richard is in a fresh pair of pajamas and sleeping." Alfred said with authority, as they walked to his ward's room. "Still, I wonder where Mordred is right now?"
"Was she not in her room?" Bruce asked, and Alfred shook his head. A small inkling of worry was crawling up his back, but he did his best to quell his paranoia.
"No. I believe she was still working, as a matter of fact." Alfred commented, before pausing as he turned a corner. Frowning, Bruce felt his speed pick up, only to blink in surprise at Mordred, laying over one of the many small desks with a half polished candle set on the floor beside her, sleeping like the dead. "Ah. I see."
"Why did she work until she fell asleep? How long has she been awake today?" He asked curiously, only for Alfred to frown. "You don't know?"
"No, I can't rightly say that I do." Alfred shook his head, before clearing his throat. "Let us take Master Richard to his room, and then we can return Mordred to hers."
"Right." Bruce nodded, stepping past the sleeping form of his second butler and into Richard's room. "Do you think it had something to do with the boy? Jason?"
Alfred frowned as he removed the Robin uniform from Dick, but nodded. "I believe so. She's a new worker, already asking you something extreme. Perhaps that was why she went through the effort of cleaning as much of the Batcave as possible, as a matter of fact."
"So that I'd be more likely to actually say yes, or at least not… I don't know. What would someone else do?" He asked his father figure, who hummed.
"Most likely they'd fire the worker for the disrespect. Intended or otherwise." Alfred said flatly, and Bruce grimaced. If that was her thought process, he could understand why she worked so hard. "Still, for now, we have some footage to go over, and you have some sleep to catch, Master Bruce. We will be able to speak to her tomorrow."
"Right." Bruce nodded, and turned around back into the hallway. Staring at Miss Pendragon, he sighed. She'd discovered the cave within a few short weeks of working, and did nothing with that information.
No blackmail, or attempted extortion, or anything. Just did the job expected of her, applied to an area almost as large as the manor itself. He was also a bit surprised that her suit wasn't dirty in the slightest, despite the small smudges on her face.
Maybe that was a manifestation of her ability as well. That strange, gambling focused one. Still, now that she knew, what did he do?
Go about without saying anything? Without saying he knew that she knew about the Batcave? Did he demand she never went in there? He'd be within his rights to, it was, at the end of the day, his private area.
Despite himself, Bruce chuckled. It was almost similar to the situation with Jim's daughter, stumbling over things she shouldn't have. She'd found one of his stashes out in Gotham, and decided to try and fix herself an outfit to try and fight crime.
He didn't doubt she'd have it finished sometime in the next year or so, but did he forbid her from doing it with the same hypocritical tone he tried to use on Dick? Or did he guide her instead?
At least with Mordred it was simple. She was his employee. Whatever boundary he set, she'd follow. She hadn't tried anything yet, so he could at least give her the benefit of the doubt.
He just hoped that it didn't bite him further down the line.
Perhaps he'd have Dick approach Barbara about what she found. That sounded like it'd work, at least.
Still, once Alfred walked out, he carefully picked up Mordred, surprised at how light she was despite everything, before they once again walked through the manor in silence.
And once she was in her room, and the two of them were back in the Batcave…
"I see why she didn't tell us about this one." He flatly said, staring at Mordred, the size of an actual fairy flying around the Batcave to clean hard to reach spots.
"Yes. And I believe my hypothesis is correct. A lot of the abilities she's gained have to do with the Knights of the Round Table." Alfred commented. Bringing up Mordred's danger profile, he hummed, before getting to work.
It was always something in Gotham.
[End.]
Mordred did get tickets for this. I couldn't figure out a good space to put them in either this chapter or the next, so I'll just put them here.
Spoiler:
Tickets
[Sartorial Savant] - Discover the Batcave. Silver Ticket.
|Common Trait|
Your clothes are, for some reason, always clean and tidy, even your wardrobe, and small damages seem to even mend themselves.
[Building] - Clean the Batcave entirely. Gold Ticket.
|Uncommon Ability|
You are able to perform transmutation on a macro scale, while you cannot build complex constructs or small applications you could turn the ground into a proper building in less than an hour. This ability does not move particularly fast, so its combat applications are limited.
I'm going to avoid 'offscreening' too many tickets, but these two were a big enough thing that it would be odd if she didn't get tickets for them, y'know?
Anyway, not much else to say, I'm happy at the attention this is getting, and have a happy daynight, and a good Ween. Byee.
"Scuse me, Miss Pendragon?" Bruce spoke up as she walked through the dining hall to grab some of Richard's crap. She stopped and turned, and was about to raise her eyebrow before blinking.
"Yes, Master Wayne?" She asked politely, and tried not to smile at the beam of pride that Alfred made.
Training paid off apparently.
"I just wanted to let you know that if you had any questions you were more than free to ask." Bruce said, and Mordred blinked.
Questions? What questions?
Oh, wait, that was probably about Jason. "Uh, yeah actually. How have things been going while you've been talking to Missus Todd?"
Bruce opened his mouth, before slowly shutting it as his geniality turned into a sad frown. "They've… been going. Catherine's determined to have Jason grow up in a better place then the camp you look after, and after that… Well, I'm tentatively willing to foster Jason until she's in a better place mentally. Just have to bring it up with him."
"I can tell him when I visit next time?" She offered, and Bruce nodded at her. Smiling, she turned and got back to doing her job.
Richard forgot his homework in the rush to get to school, so she'd go drop them off.
Still, it was nice that Bruce was following up on Jason's situation with her. Made her feel like she was actually making a difference.
But apparently that wasn't the right question, cause it happened again.
"Miss Pendragon?" Bruce's voice rang out, and she turned to look at him with a nod. "I've been trying to figure out all of Alfred's hideaways, and I was wondering if you could help?"
"Oh, uh… Right." She nodded, before pressing open the wall in front of her. "Medical kit stash here, gun stash in the second pillar down the hallway, emergency medical kit in the floor, jewelry safe labeled… something embarrassing," she said instead of saying 'in case of a randy catwoman', "hidden beside the bathroom door, and I think there's a small hidden safe room in the bathroom itself where you need to twist the toilet flusher three ways back around and then flush it properly to open?"
Bruce blinked at her, and then slowly frowned. "I thought I told him no guns…"
"I think Alfred would say that you don't like guns, but his job is to keep you safe because outside of me and him, you don't really have bodyguards?" She said, back firm as she replaced the hidden medical closet. "There's a few others I'm aware of? At the base of the stairs is a small armory that I can't open, and I think that there's a few hidden weapons that can be put together in case of an emergency scattered through some of the fine china cabinets?"
"I'm aware of the last one, actually." Bruce nodded, clearing his throat. "On my travels around the world, I ended up meeting a woman. Her father was… very antiquated in what he believed a man should be able to do."
"He taught you swordfighting." She said, not flatly, but Bruce nodded. Still… "I mean, it's a handy skill. Especially these days. Sometimes you can't just beat someone with a gun. They have some way of shrugging it off or something. And then you need higher and higher powered guns to deal with them. Meanwhile, with swords you get all sorts of things. Monomolecular edges, or made out of some kind of fancy metal that just ignores exotic defenses… Honestly a lot safer to have."
"You may have a point there." Bruce nodded, before walking off, and she hummed. Odd.
Why did it feel like she'd missed something?
And the third time, she felt that someone was playing a joke on her.
"Miss Pendragon!" Bruce said with a cheerful smile as she made her way down the stairwell, and she smiled at him. "Have you been having any trouble? I'm sure Alfred's memorized the routes, but the outer grounds can be a problem. I've heard there might be some animals?"
Now, normally, Mordred might try and figure out what that meant. However, there was a small forest near Wayne Manor. Still, she shook her head. "No, no animal trouble. I figured there might be some wolves or something but if they're there, they're generally quiet. I did catch a family of nesting bats up in the attic, but Alfred told me to leave them? Uh, oh, and I marked the path to the little memorial and cleaned it up, but I'll need to pick up stone polish."
"St- stone polish?" He blinked, before his smile became a bit more real. "Oh. Thank you, Miss Pendragon. I hadn't thought… God, it's been a while since I went out there, actually."
"It's part of the healing process. It's never gone, but you think about it less." She shrugged, reaching up and patting his arm. "I'll pick up that polish and when it's done I'll let you know, see if you want any work done on the grave markers."
"I'd like that, actually. I'll tell Alfred. And… maybe I should ask Dick if he'd like markers for his parents as well." Bruce mused, and Mordred hummed.
That sounded like a good idea. Even if it'd been a few years, it'd definitely help.
Hell, she'd been here a few months now and barely thought of Cam-... Of home.
That was a weird one. "Miss Pendragon?"
Blinking, she looked at Bruce and wiped the frown off of her face, metaphorically speaking. "Oh, nothing. Just thinking about my old home."
"Oh, of course. Well, I'll go speak with Dick. See how he feels about those markers." Bruce smiled, giving her a finger gun before he walked off, and she wryly shook her head.
She really did feel like she was missing something, but at least she was getting plenty of work done. Silver linings, at least.
Slinking through the manor, Selina smiled to herself as she did. If she really wanted to, she could put up the whole game of cat and mouse between her and Bruce, really live here.
It'd be everything she ever dreamed of as a little girl. And even with his crazy crusade, and apparently now trying to…
She was a little unclear on the details, only that the new butler he'd picked up had apparently found the Batcave and then never said anything about it, even when Bruce asked her about it?
Then again, Bruce could be so vague when he asked questions, she figured the girl just didn't get it.
Still… She didn't really get how her 'breaking in', really using her spare key to get in and then going through the effort of making it look like she did break in, was going to lead to Miss Pendragon to fess up that she knew about the Batcave.
She found it tough to believe that the girl actually had Excalibur stashed somewhere in the house, but it wasn't the most extreme thing to ever learn.
But what exactly did she do to try and get the girl to admit it? Did she ask? Did she make up some bogus plot about incriminating Bruce? Did she get into a chase with the girl after stealing something and escape through it?
That last one sounded like it could work, actually.
Skipped the entire issue of her needing to confess she knew where the Batcave was too.
She knew this was one of Bruce's plans, because Alfred would've just asked her directly. But, Bruce promised her a date night, and she was perfectly fine doing something silly in exchange.
Selina just had to make sure she wasn't too convincing with the theft, otherwise she might get ran down by a woman at least as strong as Bane when she put on that armor set she picked up.
At least she didn't have to worry about little Dickie trying to swing at her with that pipe of his. But, she was here for one thing, and one thing only. Take something expensive, something out in the open she couldn't just slink out of a window to escape with, and do it where the butler lady can see her.
Simple.
The foyer had a nice necklace on a stone statue, and so she decided to make that her target. It was fairly close to the entrance to the Batcave, and she was fairly sure Miss Pendragon frequented the area. So, climbing up onto one of the supports, she sat there, and she waited.
And she didn't need to wait long, as Miss Pendragon walked through the room, looking at the statue for a second before… pausing?
And sniffing the air?
… Uh oh.
Changing her spot just before the other woman turned and looked exactly where she was just a moment ago, Selina changed her threat assessment of Miss Pendragon. Worse than Bane. Like Bane and Croc were fused together, maybe.
Dangerous.
Still, she had her part to play, and quickly dropped down just as the woman found her second spot, landing behind her and snatching the necklace.
She had to quickly scrabble out of the way when that armor formed around her, and then had to do a rolling jump over her when Miss Pendragon nearly planted her into the wall!
This was a mistake, and she was going to be yelling at Bruce for such a stupid plan, instead of him just manning up and asking his employee directly! This was dangerous! He put her up against some kind of super meta!
She nearly fumbled her whip, and had to duck under a swipe that would've probably taken her head off, instead taking advantage of it to quickly whip the elevator lever open, feeling mildly thankful that it didn't take long to call, and practically molded herself inside of it to escape the scary lady, quickly slamming the floor button with her foot as she went down!
She was thankful Bruce didn't decide on something stupid like firepoles either, otherwise her escape would've probably been… a hell of a lot worse.
Still, panting hard, she put a hand on her chest as she stumbled out of the elevator, and shot a very angry glance at Bruce. "What the fuck was that!?"
"I didn't actually know she could do that." Bruce admitted softly as Alfred walked over and put a steadying hand on her shoulder, and Selina realized she was probably in the beginnings of a panic attack. "I'm sorry."
"Just-" She clenched a fist, before holding out the necklace. "Just talk to her! I don't care what you have to say, just talk to her! Please, Bruce. That was scarier than the idea of Croc trying Venom!"
"I'll go calm her down." Alfred said softly as he stepped past her and up into the elevator, and Bruce took his place with a steady arm.
Selina wanted to be mad at him. She should be mad at him. But instead she just wrapped her arms around him, and let him pull her into a hug. "I can't believe I'm more shocked over you apologizing compared to you having some kind of super monster working for you."
"I'm stubborn and bullheaded, apologies are reserved for when I make bad mistakes. This was one of those times." He softly said, and she nodded. "I'll make it up to you."
"I want more than just one date… That, that, was terrifying! I felt like she was going to eat me, Bruce! I don't know what I want in return, but it's going to take a hell of a lot more than just us going out on the town!" If it weren't for the hellish experience she just went through in that mad scramble to get down here, she might find herself a bit pathetic for the tone of her voice.
However, she did go through a hellish experience, and Bruce had money, and made her feel safe. He could make it up to her, no trouble.
"Wait, so she was here for the sex dungeon?" Selina snorted immediately as she heard that come through the speakers. "Why go through the effort of- ooooh wait, that's a fetish thing. Right… Not my business."
"No, Miss Pendragon." Alfred started, before pausing. "Well actually, maybe. However, not the current point. You're aware of Master Bruce's nightlife? I'm sure you saw the suits?"
"Yeah, what about them?" Miss Pendragon asked, and Selina took the opportunity to punch Bruce in the side.
Asshole. Of course she fucking knew the whole time and just didn't say anything!
"Next time, Bruce? Just fucking talk to her." Selina hissed angrily. Of all the things she nearly got brained for…
She hated that she loved this man.
[End.]
Spoiler: Tickets
A ticket Mordred will literally never use, for terrifying a Gotham native 'Supervillain'. Felt like it made sense to me, and the people I was writing with.
Anyhow, not much to say this chapter, Catwoman's gonna become a reoccurring character but she won't always be here. Bruce now knows, and Mordred will be expected to assist in both the manor and the cave. Part of it is Bruce's paranoia, the other part is him wanting to trust her, considering he realized she literally would've never said anything by her reaction to Alfred's question.
Anyhow, again, wordy dialogue section over, hope you enjoyed, have a happy daynight. Byeeee.
On one hand, Mordred felt a bit bad that she'd terrified Catwoman badly enough that the woman didn't want to be in the same room as her without someone else there.
On the other hand, she felt pretty good about the fact she could still scare a true Gotham native.
Still, now that the cat was out of the bag and Bruce finally realized he could talk to her like a normal person instead of concocting a scheme to do something or other about it, she was in the Batcave.
Specifically, she was asked to be Richard's sparring partner, with and without her Kagune. Right now, without, which left her holding Knight Killer, and being careful to not do more than nick his fingers during their little spar. "Stop trying to clash with me." She ordered, bringing an arm up to block a swing that probably would've dislocated it earlier, and then lashing out with a kick to his midsection that caused him to pull back. "You're using a staff. Regardless of how you think it will go, I can slide my knife down your weapon."
"I know that!" He shouted back hotly, but still ran in with the exact same approach. Clicking her tongue, she shifted, waiting for the feint, only to be pleasantly surprised when he swung it at her like a baseball bat. Her hand lashed out to grab it, and she felt her eye twitch at the rebound.
"Better." She nodded, letting go and shaking her hand. "Right now, you're still a kid. You're not going to have arms as long as you need them, or as much strength as you want. I know you can break stone, and that's not the point." She said when it looked like he was going to protest. "You're still growing, and that means you can't fight someone on their terms. You need to set the terms."
"Set the terms…" He parroted with a frown, before slowly nodding. "So I have to keep an opponent on the defensive?"
"Or on the attack if that's more beneficial. Once your enemy has your measure, they're going to be harder to face. Like now, for instance." She shifted Knight Killer in her palm, and then cracked her neck. "Keep in mind, I'm nowhere near as skilled as I want to be. I could be freely called a novice right now, and I am still keeping up with you, because we're at similar levels of strength. That shouldn't be happening."
"Because I should still be more skilled than you." He nodded, before sighing and shifting to lean on his staff. "Maybe that's why Batman keeps saying 'later' when I ask to join the Justice League."
"Actually it probably has more to do with the fact that you're thirteen." Her intended addition of 'dumbass' was kept an internal thought, but Richard looked at her like she'd grown a second head. "What? They're a worldwide government organization. Of course they're not letting someone under the legal majority age join. Not without a really good reason, at least. Though, I guess you do have a proven track record… Maybe an off the books team?" She hedged, and the irritation on his face slowly smoothed out.
"That'd make sense, actually." He hummed, before bouncing his staff. "How do you keep getting new gear?"
"The tickets I pick up." She admitted without hesitation. She'd already told Waylon, and the Fries family, and Bruce probably knew as well. "I do stuff, I get tickets. Nominally, I help people. I could do other things for power, but I don't want to. I also got a ticket for finding the Batcave as well."
"So… noticeable events give you these Tickets." He put together quickly, and she nodded. "Interesting. If you got anything nice, you'd share with me, right?"
"Well… I do have a stealth suit I've been using for bike gear." She tapped her chin, before pulling out the Hei Gui Stealth Armor. "Want to give it a look?"
"Hell yeah I do!" He quickly said, rushing over and staring at it, before blinking. "Oh, this is a woman's set."
"It is." She said with mildly raised eyebrows, causing Richard to sheepishly chuckle. "Still, it's well armored, and the stealth equipment is a small field around the body. So instead of reflecting everything in front of it, it instead blends in with the environment. Not perfectly without the helmet, but well enough it'd be difficult to see somebody wearing it."
"Could probably get Bruce to reverse engineer it. The stealth tech's pretty interesting." Richard commented, and she bent the leg to activate it. "Oh wow. It really does look like there's nothing there. Just a small wave in the air."
"The distortion isn't perfect, but yeah." She nodded her head. "You want to take a crack at it, or do I just hand it to Bruce?"
"You don't mind? Isn't this your biking suit?" He asked, but Mordred just chuckled.
"Nah, I bought some road leathers. Wearing an advanced piece of tech while I went around on my bike felt like it wasn't the greatest idea." She admitted, a bit sheepishly. "I mean even just going around with my bike has me nervous, but at the same time a lot of the old heads have probably watched Akira."
"I'd believe it." He nodded, before gently taking the stealth suit and bringing it over to a workbench. "So, is it proprietary?"
"Shouldn't be. Just be careful." She huffed, before taking a towel and wiping off the back of her neck, and then her forehead. She might be able to keep up with him without her Kakuja, but damn if it wasn't a workout.
He was strong. Stupidly so. She could only really keep up because of a combination of Lifeblood, the RC cells, and whatever the hell Rocks-Calibur was doing to her. "Peak human my ass."
"You say something?" He looked up from the table, but she just shook her head. "Alright. Anyway, I think Bruce'll be able to get something working from this pretty quick. Should have proper stealth tech soon enough."
"Have fun with that, Richard. I'm-" she's cut off by a text, Bruce asking her to sub in for Alfred at a meeting, and nodded her head, "I'm playing Chauffeur for the next four hours."
"Good luck! Try not to cut the heads off of any of the executives, only some of them have a brain!" He cheerfully called, and Mordred rolled her eyes as she went back up to the main section of the house and cleaned herself up as best as she could.
Thankfully Sartorial Savant meant she didn't have to worry about sweat soaking into her clothing. Now she just had to drive Bruce around and attend to him during meetings. How hard could it be?
Now, normally, Mordred would question just why the fuck she'd be in the boardroom with Bruce, and Mister Fox. However, during the car ride, Bruce made it very clear that, as part of his 'businessman' persona, he had Alfred with him as an advisor.
So she stood there, behind Bruce, and did her best to be respectful, even as the boardroom meeting dragged on for what felt like several hours.
She probably would've fallen over without Lifeblood pumping vitality into her legs and spine.
Still, she did her best to memorize everyone in the room. Lucius Fox ran WayneTech, first subsidiary of WayneCorp. She didn't actually know the names of the other ones, and she figured 'WayneMed' or "WayneMedical' would be a bit silly. Then again, this was Gotham.
She'd learn the other company names when necessary. Right now, her job was to stand just behind Bruce, and interject occasionally.
Usually on ideas that would lose the company money.
Unsurprisingly, there were a good few of them.
"Why don't we increase the price range of our medical care? Where else would they go, Metropolis?" If she hadn't gone through training, her eyebrow might have twitched in irritation at the thought.
Still, she looked at Bruce, who tilted his head minorly, and cleared her throat. "If you wish for the company to lose money, there are very few faster ways."
"What?" The idiot said, what was his name, Kane? She ignored the part of her mind trying to figure out if that was Philip Kane, and instead shifted minorly. "What would you know about business?"
"I know about brand trust. Wayne's medical divisions are the most trusted in the country, primarily because one doesn't need to jump through the hoops of the insurance companies to get it. Increasing the price would damage the trust people have in the brand, and we'd lose money, alongside the fact that people will already go without medical care without that trust." She had enough disdain in her tone that missing the 'you fucking idiot' would be impossible, and mister Kane clenched his fist. "But, if you have any other ideas that will cost WayneCorp several billion dollars, feel free to share them."
She shifted when Bruce held up a finger under the table, and shifted her tie once more, as he stepped in. "I'm afraid my butler is correct, Mister Kane. We'd lose much more than just money from that venture. Do you have any other suggestions? Preferably ones that can turn a profit without impacting our customer base?"
Clicking his tongue, Mister Kane glared at the table, before humming. "Yes, actually. WayneBiotech's been synthesizing a few new compounds that look to be helping in cell growth and physical health. I've heard one of the tests removed an addiction from a man. The physical side, at least."
Shit.
"Oh?" Bruce leaned forward with an interested hum. "That sounds quite promising, actually."
"Well, it's on your end, Mark, you tell him." Mister Kane turned to another man, Mark Anthony, who quickly gathered up some papers.
"Uh, yes, um… Well, I met a fellow out on the street, I thought he was a ju- having troubles of a drug based nature, but the man looked healthy, actually. Incredibly so! And I asked him, how are you so healthy? And he told me that this nice lady carrying a sword stuck in a stone gave him some kind of miracle cure, and all of his teeth grew back!"
Shit. That would be… Parker.
"And he had some on him?" Bruce asked, and Mister Anthony quickly nodded. "What was it?"
"Blood." The man said without any preamble, but quickly held up a hand when Lucius grimaced, and Mordred did her best to not clench her hand. "B-but I know how that sounds! Just, hear me out! The compounds in the blood lend themselves to health, to- to fixing problems in the body. I was able to synthesize a weaker bit from this person's blood, actually, and while it's not as extreme, it's still incredibly diverse as both a blood replenisher, and also fixes intrinsic problems in the body. N-not to a great extent like replacing organs, of course, but if I got another few samples, I might actually be able to get us there!"
"Well… despite the grisly nature, that does sound beneficial, actually." Bruce nodded, rubbing his chin. "I'll see if I can find more samples for you. If you can reverse engineer it, that'd be a medical boom. Probably one of the greatest in the century, actually."
"Thank you, Mister Wayne." Mister Anthony nodded his head, and Bruce shifted in his seat before leaning back and looking at her.
"Mordred, how about you go pick me up some dinner. I'll call the catering company for everyone else, but I'd like something greasy." He asked, and she nodded her head before striding out of the room, very much resisting the urge to wring Parker's neck as she did.
She got it, she really did. It was human nature to want to talk about someone helping you, just as much as it was to want to drag someone down, or help others just to feel good about it. But she really wished Parker could've shut his fucking mouth.
As she got to the ground floor, she practically dropped into the Limo, and let out a soft sigh. And she'd need to give Bruce a few samples of her blood charged with Vitality, now.
"Fuck."
[End.]
Pay attention to this one, all. It might not come up for a little while, but it'll come up.
Tickets[Blood Tax] - Be betrayed by someone you trust.
|Rare Ability|
Whenever someone injures you, they lose a portion of their energy or stamina to you, allowing you to recover your energy and stamina even as you are getting damaged.
[Lycanthrope] - Have your blood stolen by a mad scientist.
|Elite Trait|
Race Change - You are a Lycanthrope, a half wolf who can change into their Werewolf form at will. Depending on the amount you tap into your transformations by, your physical stats are augmented, and so are your instincts, including the animalistic ones. But as a regular lycanthrope, you cannot spread your lycanthropy. You are also able to communicate better with Beasts and have a greater affinity towards Changer powers, increasing their potency and efficiency.
Well, she got a ticket for being betrayed by someone she trusted, even accidentally, and for getting her blood stolen by a mad scientist.
How nice. Cashing them, she blinked.
And then felt a bit of hilarity at the fact she gained Marrok's ability to transform into a werewolf. Ser Marrok.
Ser Marrok the Werewolf.
Because she'd gained Lycanthropy.
Technically speaking even at its weakest it was a very strong buff to her physical abilities before factoring in her Kakuja. Her strength with it active was doubled even at the weakest, and she would be able to keep up with Robin, and surpass him, that much easier now.
Pushing out a bit more, enough to manifest sharper teeth, claws, and the beginning of wolf ears and a tail, was enough to send her over into the 'very firmly superhuman' category. Or the buff already had her at Superhuman and pushing further sent her over into 'freak' territory.
She could flip a car with minimal effort just through her RC cells now, mixed with Lycanthrope being active. Which meant she had to be careful with her strength level when performing as Bruce's butler.
'Performing'. It was still her job. She was pretty happy here, actually. And Bruce was going through things to finalize bringing Jason over, which would give her more work.
She just hoped he recovered from Catherine's plan quickly.
Still, right now, she had to deal with things other than her newfound case of being a werewolf. She had to deal with- "Richard, get off of the chandelier! It could fall, and you'd get shredded by all that glass!"
She didn't know if the chandelier was built to handle a human's weight, but Richard lounging up there was making her anxious.
"Re-lax, Mordy!" Her eye twitched at the nickname. "I'm perfectly fine up here! Besides, today's the day!"
"Richard!" She warned once more, and saw him negligently wave a hand. Sucking in a breath, she was thankful that Alfred had taught her the way to deal with a young little shit. "RICHARD JOHN GRAYSON WAYNE GET DOWN HERE NOW OR SO HELP ME-"
"ALRIGHT!" He shouted, quickly vacating the chandelier and standing in front of her with a sheepish smile. Squinting at that smile, she pointed at him once before shaking her head. "J-jeez, Mordred. I thought only Alfred knew how to talk like that."
"He gave me pointers." She admitted entirely without shame, fixing her suit after a moment. "Now, c'mon. You need to get suited up for your appearance. There's been two villain attacks by ice themed villains, but I think I accidentally stopped whatever plot was there by preventing Doctor Fries and Cameron from getting involved?"
"You accidentally foiled a villain's plans?" Dick asked with a quirked smile, before humming. "Actually that sounds pretty likely. If it was an accident there'd be no way to plan around it."
"Mhmm." She nodded as the both of them stepped into the elevator, going down to the Batcave. "There's nothing on tonight, you can have the day off tomorrow if you need to catch some sleep, cause half of your class won't be showing up. Do you have everything you need?"
"Got my batarangs, my bolas, lockpicks, a knife if i need it, smoke pellets, a rebreather, and a taser." He nodded, shucking off his casual clothes for the Robin suit. "Anything else I need?"
"I can't give you field advice unless you really need it, but if you have to work with anyone aside from Bruce, remember that they're not going to pick up on immediately vanishing like you're used to." She gently reminded him, pressing on his forehead for added measure as she put his mask on his face. "And also remember, a domino mask only works because humans in this world evolved to have less of an ability to recognize faces, not a zero percent chance. Don't let your mask off, and try to figure out if you can disguise yourself more freely."
"Right." He nodded firmly, and straightened out his cape. "Anything else?"
"If you need backup, call me. I'll come running." She immediately said, and he blinked at her before smiling and nodding. "I'll be showing up at the hall 'in costume'. I don't have a code name, so Bruce will tell you one, and you stick to it, and I'll act like it's always been my costume name, alright?"
"Right." He repeated, clearing his throat as Bruce came down. He couldn't quite help puffing his chest out in pride at the small smile Bruce gave him. "Hey, Batman."
"Robin." Bruce nodded back. "We'll be going to the Hall of Justice today. Aquaman and Aqualad are going to be running late, and Flash and Kid Flash are dealing with Captain Cold."
"Then what are we waiting for, let's go!" Robin cheered, walking off, and Mordred hummed before she went to activate the Zeta-Tube in the Batcave, stepping out at the Hall of Justice with her Kakuja fully formed before she'd even stepped out.
She chuckled when the cameras went off, and even offered up a small wave as she walked through the crowds, making her way into the building and waiting. Something was twigging her brain.
Green Arrow? No, his protege. Speedy? Red Arrow?
Something Arrow. It was lingering in her brain.
Still, she did her best to stand around and wait while listening to the crowds trying to figure out who she was and if they'd seen her before, all the while waiting for Batman and Robin to arrive.
And it didn't take long as the two of them plus Aquaman, Green Arrow, and the Flash popped up, and saw her. She wondered if a fight would've broken out if Batman hadn't spoken quietly. Still, giving a small wave, she stood at attention, and kind of lamented the fact she didn't have a sword right now.
A sword she could actually use anyway.
"Red Knight." Batman greeted, and she nodded. "It's good to see you."
Smirking even if it couldn't be seen, she huffed. "Likewise, Dark Knight." A small bit of fun at Bruce's expense, but the man took it in good humor with a nod. "You called me here?"
"I did." He said, stepping past her, and she fell into line beside Green Arrow, while Bruce didn't elaborate.
Naturally, the others were curious about her. "So… what's with the getup?" Flash asked first, and she avoided snorting, and was once again thankful her face was covered. "You some kind of historical knight?"
"Some kind." She mildly deflected, voice warbling through the Kakuja and actually forming a very effective voice changer. She didn't sound male or female. "I no longer serve a crown, if that is what you ask."
Shit, she was meant to say 'did not' serve a crown. Whatever, roll with it. Flash hummed, and then looked at his associates. "Well?"
"You were a knight, I'm gonna guess. Did you know any archers?" Green Arrow asked, and she nodded. Tristain was-...
"Yes." She started simply. "Many, actually. One of my fellows was incredibly skilled with the bow, as a matter of fact."
She shouldn't know that about Tristain. Whatever.
She'd go over her thoughts when she had the time.
"Oh, well he sounds like a stand up guy." Green Arrow smiled, and she saw the exact moment that Speedy paled when she turned around.
"Actually he lusted after his uncle's wife and made a complete fool of himself, eventually culminating in his banishment, and then later death."
"Ser Tristain." Speedy said with a grimace, and she nodded. "Wow. So you're one of The Knights."
"I am that I am." She shrugged, before the nine of them stopped in front of Martian Manhunter. Who was specifically looking at her. Projecting a 'shh, it's Batman's plan' in her brain, the man hummed, before nodding.
"You did not mention you were bringing a guest, Batman." Martian Manhunter gently rebuked, and Bruce hmmed. "You could have mentioned, and I would have placed them in the computer beforehand."
"I was rushed." Batman said, before they filed into one of the display rooms. And then the room behind it, this one sans the viewing platform. "Welcome to the inner sanctum."
"Wait what?" Kid Flash said in surprise. "I thought we were joining the Justice League?"
Looking at Bruce, the man nodded at her, so Mordred sighed. "Young man? Your age, perchance?"
"Wh- oh, uh… Sixteen, why?" He asked, cluelessly, and Mordred shook her head.
Kids.
"Your Justice League's charter makes specific mention that you'd need to be over the age of eighteen to officially join the roster, no?" She asked curiously, and saw the four of them jolt. "The closest to that age would be the archer."
Roy stared at her, before slowly nodding. "Y-yeah. I'm eighteen next month."
"Then you know why we can't just let you join the League right now." Green Arrow gently said, and while Roy looked like he was going to blow up, he sighed. "Speedy…"
"Red Arrow." Speedy firmly said, but angrily sat down. Still, she decided a speck of wisdom was in order.
"Mind your temper, lest you litter the field with Broken Arrows." Wait was that the code phra- shiiiit.
"What are your orders?" Roy blankly said, and she looked at the adult leaguers. And then back at Roy, and then back at Bruce specifically.
"What just happened?" Wallace asked in distress, before Bruce could speak, and Roy turned to him. "Speedy?"
"I have been activated to receive my orders." Roy said vacantly.
Still, she cleared her throat. "What were your previous orders?"
"Infiltrate the Justice League until I was allowed among their number, getting more agitated as time went on if I failed. Once on the League, wait for further orders." He dully said, and Mordred grimaced. Shit.
"When were you mind controlled?" Green Arrow, Oliver, asked, and Roy turned to him.
"I was 'mind controlled' in two thousand and seven, when I was created from the cells of the original Roy Harper by Cadmus." The sleeper agent once again answered, and Mordred frowned before turning to Martian Manhunter.
"He likely has several command phrases locked in his mind. You may need to remove them, or find someone else with the ability." She said, and Martian Manhunter nodded.
"This is something we will need to fix, in time." Someone else said, and Mordred nearly flinched before registering the smell of metal. Red Tornado?
She couldn't see him. Hmm, so small weakness of the Kakuja armor, the sensory organ she had translating her 'sight' didn't work for robots. Probably because they didn't have any amount of flesh.
Something to keep an eye on. Or she needed to figure out how to grow an eye on her Kakuja.
Static sounded, and she assumed that meant the computer activated. "Superman to Justice League. Project Cadmus is on fire, repeat! Project Cadmus is on fire!"
"That gives us ample reason to investigate the situation with Red Arrow." Mordred commented, getting agreeing nods, before another alert popped up.
"Zatara to Justice League! The Sorcerer Wotan is attempting to use the Amulet of Aten to blot out the sun! Requesting Full League Response!" She saw Batman turn, and assumed he was looking at Superman.
"It's a small fire. Local Authorities have it under control." Superman said, and Mordred hummed. Feeling eyes on her, she turned.
"If necessary, I could lead your squires in investigating Project Cadmus?" She offered. "T'would behoove us to investigate quickly, before we lose our trail."
"Red Knight's correct." Batman nodded, and they all tried to ignore Kid Flash pumping his fist. "Go to Cadmus. It's not far from here. Keep them safe."
"They'll be as safe as I can make them." She promised, before turning. "Red Arrow should be placed somewhere safe until such a time that you can treat him. If we find his donor, we will introduce the two of them once he has recovered from his ordeal. But do not blame the young man for the machinations placed on him."
"Of course." Oliver's voice echoed from behind her. "Good luck, you four. Try to find the other Speedy!"
"You got it, GA!" Kid Flash called with a stilted laugh, much more rattled then he was willing to show, while Kaldur and Robin fell into step behind her. "Let's go find Speedy." He said quietly, and she put a hand on his shoulder.
"We will. But do not rush ahead without a plan, lest we follow him toward whatever that is." She gently said, and the boy glared before nodding harshly. "Keep your anger for the deserving, and do not let on that we know more than we should."
"Right."
Now, on to Project Cadmus.
She might actually find the Original Speedy before he was moved. What did she do about Superboy, or Match?
Would they still be down there?
She supposed she'd find out.
[End.]
So The ticket mordy got was a Legendary ticket, because preventing Roy from being taken over kind of butterflies the primary plots of seasons 1-4 unless another alien invasion happens. As for what that ticket is, you might get a kick out of it.
Spoiler: Tickets[Dragon Core] - Legendary Ticket (Prevent the controlling of the Justice League).
|Mythical Trait|
Instead of ordinary energy reserves, your energy core is that of a dragon. If the average mage has a generator, you have a power plant in your heart.
I think at the time I wrote this I was trying to figure out how high the ticket level would be before deciding on legendary, because technically speaking it's 'just' preventing the controlling of the league, instead of truly butterflying away everything.
The next few chapters will reward some higher level rolls, and they're genuinely kind of hilarious for what she got out of them. Anyhow, have a happy daynight, byeee.