No Rest For The Wicked #189

"That will do..." I muttered, sighing as I opened my eyes, deactivating my personal computer power. I retrieved a parchment and began writing the information I had gathered.

Nightshade was, ironically enough, staying with the Penguin of all people. They likely had a bargain of some sort going on since the mob boss wasn't the type to care much for sob stories.

'Talk about not learning her lesson...' I mused as I shook my head in exasperation before I moved on to the next person.

Enchantress wasn't doing any better, and she was staying with Poison Ivy, though I had no clue why. Unlike Nightshade, she wasn't a wanted criminal, so there's likely something going on between her and the botanist.

'That complicates things...' I scratched my head, feeling the urge to facepalm as I finished writing the two heroines' whereabouts and where to find them in the near future.

If I had to guess, Penguin was likely using Nightshade's powers to move his product around Gotham in exchange for sheltering her or something along those lines.

I don't think the mob boss be thrilled at the idea of letting her go anytime soon.

As for Ivy, I had no idea what she would want from Enchantress simply because there was almost nothing a powerful magic user like the latter couldn't do.

Magical, human-eating plants? Giant bean-sprout? Turn Gotham into a rainforest? All of the above? Very likely.

I might be able to reason with the Penguin as he was more of a businessman than anything else, meaning I could strike a bargain with him in exchange for letting go of Nightshade.

In the worst-case scenario, I'd only have to kick his ass and get her out of there. However, I couldn't say the same for Ivy, as she was simply and utterly crazy, not to mention very powerful.

"I'll cross that bridge when I get to it..." I muttered, delegating the headache to my future self as I had several of my own for now.

I also located Billy Batson, or as most people know him, Captain Marvel, as I needed to ask him for some Marvelium. I knew he lived in an apartment with his uncle in Fawcet city, but I needed to find the exact address.

I won't be able to walk into his home and ask him for that shit since he was just a kid, as that would probably freak out his uncle and won't give the best first impression.

I'll have to wait for an opportunity to approach him while he's patrolling as Captain Marvel or out on duty, which would come in time. Either way, It'll have to wait until Waller's drama is over, so I'm not too worried about it.

"I still have some time..." I muttered to no one in particular as I checked the clock. "Might as well work on my drones..." I concluded, shrugging my shoulders as I retrieved one of my machines and started working.

...

Amusement Miles

"Damn it..." Nightwing cursed as he finally tracked down the Joker and found him standing over a woman in a tight black suit, knife in hand, as he prepared to stab her to death.

He quickly acted, retrieving a wing-ding from his utility belt, which he threw at the Joker's hand, forcing him to let go of the knife. The clown turned to him and smirked before turning tail and running deeper into the mirror house.

Nightwing clicked his tongue before shaking his head and approaching Batwoman. "Are you alright...?" he asked as he offered his hand to the heroine, offering to help her up.

"You and Batman deal with this lunatic every day...?" Batwoman said, grunting as she took Nightwing's hand without hesitation and got to her feet with his help.

"Not every day... but sometimes it feels like it..." Nightwing replied with a sigh, shaking his head in annoyance as he let go of Batwoman's hand and gave her time to gather her bearings.

"Don't get me wrong. I see my fair share of lunatics dealing with the religion of crime..." Batwoman said as she dusted her costume, giving Nightwing an odd look.

"But that guy..." she added as she turned to the direction the Joker disappeared into while cackling. "He's something special, alright..." she went on, shaking her head.

"Don't I know it..." Nightwing said with a bitter chuckle. "Come on. Let's catch that waste of air before he causes any more damage..." he added as he turned away from the heroine and started chasing behind the clown.

...

Gotham

The Bowery

As he stood on the balcony of a local hotel's room, The Question leisurely stomped on his cigarette before turning to the three men in fancy black suits tied up on the ground.

His gaze settled on the nearest of the trio, causing the man to flinch, but it didn't stop The Question. "It's a long way down... don't you think?" he asked as he picked up the man and forced him to look down the sixth floor's balcony.

"There's a common misconception that you would instantly die if you fall from this height..." He added as he pulled the man and forcefully turned him to look into his eyes.

"But that would only happen if you get lucky and fall on your head..." The Question said, chuckling in amusement. "No, you're more likely to fall on your back or stomach..." he added, causing the man to gulp.

"Do you know what would happen then...?" The Question asked, and the man could only nervously shake his head. "You would break every bone in your body, and half your organs will turn mush..." he added, his blank tone alongside his blank mask, giving the man chills.

"After that, you'll slowly suffer for about 30 minutes, and only then will you die..." The Question went on. "Not the prettiest way to go, is it?" he asked, and the man could only shake his head again.

"Well... if you don't start talking soon. That's exactly how you'll go..." The Question calmly stated, his tone growing colder with every word he spoke, much to the man's horror.

"So tell me, what is the religion up to...?" The Question concluded, going quiet as he gave the man time to think and choose his words. However, he didn't choose wisely.

"Look, I really don't know what--" That was all the man could say before The Question pushed him off the balcony, unfazed by his screams as he turned to the next in line.

Before the man could speak, The Question picked him up and threw him off the balcony without bothering to interrogate him even. The vigilante turned to the last man, and the latter caved in without hesitation.

"Katherine Kane! We're looking for a woman called Katherine Kane...!" the third man hurriedly exclaimed, fear written all over his face as he tried to crawl away from The Question.

"Mother Alice is working with Ugly Manheim. They want her to perform a ritual...!" The man said, his panic growing with every second as The Question blankly stared him down through the hollow mask. "That's all I know, I swear...! Please don't kill me...!" he urgingly begged, his tone and body shivering as he broke into sobs.

"That wasn't so hard now, was it...?" The Question blankly asked, not expecting a reply as he approached the man and kneeled next to him to get on the same eye level.

The last thing the man saw before he lost consciousness was the Question's fist flying toward his face.

...

Gray's Hideout

"Hmm... not bad..." I muttered, pausing to inspect the two Sentry Spiders I'd finished modifying. I adjusted the mechanical limbs to give them more speed and worked on the inner components to make it easier for them to fuse.

The Sentry Titan, as I hurriedly called it while fighting Brimstone, was too awesome for it to be a one-time use prop, not to mention very useful in certain situations.

Naturally, I had plans to perfect it, and this was only the first step in doing just that. I also drew up a basic design for a Batmobile rip-off since I still had time, but it was a low priority for me right now, so I won't get to work on it anytime soon.

Overall, it was a fun, productive little session, but you know what they say; no rest for the wicked, especially if they don't need any, even more so if they happened to be me with all the shit on I have to do.

My day was just getting started, and let me tell you. I was not looking forward to it.