Chapter 9: Gotham Clash
Gotham's rooftops were a jagged labyrinth of gargoyles and shadows, the air thick with oil fumes, wet asphalt, and the metallic tang of distant rain. Jax perched on a crumbling gothic gargoyle, its chipped stone digging into his palm, his tactical jacket pulled tight against the whipping wind. His knife twirled in his fingers, a nervous habit that steadied his racing pulse as he scanned the shipyard below, where smugglers moved Butterfly tech crates under flickering sodium lamps. The faint vibration from one crate—Vought-adjacent tech—sent a chill through him, the dossier's rift graffiti echoing in his mind. The Peacemaker team's comms crackled in his ear, Harcourt's voice clipped and professional.
"Anything good, Jax?"
"Just the usual Gotham vibe check, Harcourt," he muttered, his breath fogging in the chilly night. "Three unmarked cargo containers—smells like a bad cosplay of The Wire. But… I'm picking up a faint vibration anomaly off the third container. Something Vought-adjacent, I bet. Cheap, but nasty."
Adebayo's voice cut in, laced with concern.
"Be careful. Gotham means Batman. We've seen a spike in Butterfly tech trying to move through this sector. They're getting desperate."
Jax smirked, adjusting his posture on the gargoyle's back.
"Right, the Cape. Don't worry, if he shows, I'll just remind him that sarcasm beats capes any day."
[SYSTEM: QUEST ALERT.]
[DISRUPT BUTTERFLY TECH SMUGGLING.]
[CUMULATE SUMMONS: 2.]
[OBJECTIVE: SCOUT AND PLAN SUMMON.]
Four smugglers in dark tactical gear emerged, one holding a pulsing blue device—Butterfly tech, likely a comms jammer. Jax whispered into his comms, urgency stripping his sarcasm.
"Okay, change of plans. Visual confirmation on four targets, active Butterfly-grade tech. It's too risky for a solo bust. Peacemaker, give me the go on a remote-bound support summon. Command: Disarm and distract."
[SYSTEM: CUMULATE AT 2.]
[SUMMON PROTOCOL CONFIRMED.]
[DANGER LEVEL: MODERATE.]
"Stand by, Jax," Harcourt said. "But you know the risks. If you draw him out, you're on your own."
Jax tore into a snack bar, the foil crinkling as he chewed, the wind whipping crumbs away. "Snack wind gripes are the worst," he thought, scanning the perimeter. A deep thump echoed, and a sodium lamp vanished, plunging the area into darkness. "That's not the smugglers. That's the Cape."
The darkness was oppressive, the air now laced with ozone and expensive leather. A gruff voice vibrated through the night, amplified and chilling.
"Drop the tech, and step away from the edge, civilian."
Batman materialized from the shadow of a ventilation unit, a solid wall of black Kevlar, his cowl casting his face in shadow, his presence a brooding intensity that made Jax's skin prickle.
Jax turned slowly, raising an eyebrow.
"Oh, hey, big guy. Nice of you to finally show up. We were just about to clean up your town for you. See, these guys? Butterfly-adjacent. They're our problem. So, brood much?"
Batman stepped forward, his armored boot scuffing the gravel.
"The technology is in Gotham. That makes it my problem. And you're an anomaly," he stated, his white lenses locking on Jax's gear and the system's faint glow. "Explain your presence and that device in your ear."
"Danger! Run!" Jax's pragmatic core screamed, but his thrill-seeking shield held firm.
"Look, I'm the guy who handles the messy, interdimensional crap while you stick to punching masked guys who look like riddles. Call me… Chaos Janitor."
[SYSTEM: SUMMONING INITIATED.]
[TARGET: CATE DUNLAP (WILLPOWER ECHO).]
[COMMAND: MIND-PUSH THE SMUGGLERS TO DROP THE TECH AND RUN.]
A green light flared, and Cate Dunlap appeared, her blonde hair tied back, her eyes cold and defiant. She extended a hand toward the smugglers, but her gaze flicked to Jax, a rogue spark flaring.
"You will Crush recruiters for the next two minutes," Jax commanded, adapting the binding to a general anti-Vought order.
Cate flinched, her mouth twitching.
[SYSTEM: CATE DUNLAP WILLPOWER BREAK CHANCE: 55%.]
[WILLPOWER RESISTANCE DETECTED.]
A whisper echoed in Jax's mind, cold and intrusive.
"I won't be used to clean up your mess, Jax Reed. Not for The Recruiters."
[SYSTEM: CATE DUNLAP (SUMMONED) HAS RESISTED DIRECT COMMAND.]
[ROGUE ACTION: MINOR PSYCHIC DRAIN ON HOST'S WILLPOWER.]
Jax winced, rubbing his temple as a metallic headache bloomed. The smugglers dropped the tech and fled, spooked by the light show. Batman staggered, shaking off the psychic push, and glared at Jax.
"That was a new one, even for Gotham," Jax said, flexing his hands, feeling a subtle hardening of his mental defenses.
[SYSTEM: SUMMON ECHO ABSORPTION SUCCESS: CATE DUNLAP.]
[WILLPOWER +1.]
[CURRENT STATS: STRENGTH 2, AGILITY 4, CONSTITUTION 2, WILLPOWER 2.]
[REWARD: HIGH-DANGER CLASH (BATMAN). +15 SP.]
[CURRENT SP: 105.]
Batman moved toward the containers, but Jax seized the dropped comms gadget, its red pulse heavy in his hand. The team's comms crackled with Peacemaker's calm voice.
"Go, go, go! Level three jump across the gap, Jax!"
Jax launched across a six-foot gap, landing hard on a gravel roof, rolling to absorb the impact. Batman stood on the first building, watching, not chasing. "Complex tactical decision or just giving up?" Jax thought, jogging along the team's route.
Harcourt sighed over the comms.
"He's likely accessing the data logs on that device you mentioned. You took the bait. Now escape with team cover."
Jax navigated vents and water tanks, stumbling over a loose antenna wire, cursing as he adjusted his jacket. "I'm the guy who brings lunatics to fight parasites. He thinks a batarang solves everything," he thought, the mental echo of Cate's whisper clouding his mind. "Mind your thoughts, Jax Reed."
Adebayo's voice cut through.
"Clean exit now, Jax. The Bat-signal just flashed over the docks. He's gone."
Jax gripped a railing, his breath easing as he quipped,
"Well, that was a bust. I hate being judged by a billionaire dressed as a rodent. Cape vs. sarcasm, I think sarcasm won the round."
[SYSTEM: CUMULATE RESET SUCCESSFUL.]
[CURRENT CUMULATE: 0.]
[ARC 2 RIVALRY GROWTH: BATMAN DOSSIER STOLEN.]
Jax dropped down a fire escape into an alley, the gadget pulsing red—a beacon for a solo hunt. The system whispered a cryptic warning.
[SYSTEM: RANDOM FLAVOR: ORIGIN SHADOWS DETECTED.]
Jax twirled his knife, the blade catching the moonlight, and slipped into the shadows, the thrill of Gotham's chaos pulling him toward the next fight.
To supporting Me in Pateron .
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