49 CHAPTER 48: Part 2 "Wrath Of An Titan"

*Detective Rene Montoya, GCPD Major Crimes HQ

BANG BANG BANG BANG...

Rene kept pulling the trigger of her firearm in quick succession towards the attacker. Each flash of the muzzle of her gun helped illuminate the silhouette who had just killed two detectives and probably several more GCPD officers.

Unfortunately for her, each bullet sent got half a foot away from the cloaked figure only to bounce off an invisible shield. Several rounds flung themselves into the floor, ceiling, and desks.

BANG BANG BANG click click click

She lowered her pistol in frustration, 'Shit!'

The cloaked figure curiously tilted its head looking at her. With a twitch and twist of their hand, her gun was ripped away and flung deep into the office. Another hand twist saw a desk near her lift off the ground and shove into her. The force was strong enough to push her against the stairwell door and pin her.

Walking up to her the figure's face remained hidden but she felt a pair of eyes staring intensely from within the hood.

"Detective Rene Montoya I presume?"

A deep voice... a familiar voice sounded from the figure.

Rene felt her eyes widened.

"Krios," she half whispered half growled.

Surprise gave way to shock, shock gave into confusion, and confusion quickly became a rage as she fought to push the table pinning her to the wall away.

Krios looked her up and down, he seemed a little taller from the last time she had seen him. Certainly looked a little fitter based on what little she could glean from his cloak and outfit.

Rage filled her as she stared at the man who killed her brother. It had almost been a year since his death and the pain never abated. Ever since then, she has been dreaming and obsessed with the idea of confronting Krios. 

A few months ago when he was at the mall she thought her one-on-one confrontation would finally happen. Only to be bitterly disappointed with Krios taking a large chunk of the GCPD hostage to escape.

Now she was here with him, but it was not quite what she imagined.

"I need you to delete all files from the GCPD mainframe of your investigation, your investigation into me," Krios spoke softly though she could hear a slight edge to his tone.

"Doing this will not secure your life... that has been forfeited... but the lives of those closest to the late Benjamin Montoya..." His voice trailed off, but his meaning was clear.

Rene only felt fury at the threat against her niece and nephew.

"You wouldn't dare!" She spat.

Krios took one step closer to her, his hood nearly touching her forehead. So close up she could see he had wrapped his face with a cloth with only his eyes being shown. 

After so many years of working at the GCPD, Rene felt she had seen just about every type of deranged madman that Gotham could offer. But looking into the dark, black eyes of Krios that burned with hate and rage she realized this was something very different. What he had said right then was not a threat, it was an ultimatum.

Her eyes widened at that realization that Krios though a murderer would be willing to step into killing children. A step that very few of Gotham's criminals would do, the Clown and Zsasz being some of the few.

As if to emphasize the point, he reached into his robes and pulled out a paper with a picture on it. Showing it to Rene it depicted her apartment on the outside, the window of the living room clearly shown with both kids watching TV.

She decided to change her approach, "Please don't do this, they are just children."

Krios blinked at that before taking a step back. He seemed to be considering her words before shaking his head.

"They are the only leverage I have on you," He said quietly.

"I thought about just threatening you but soon realized you are someone after revenge and not the type to give up just because of a threat. Then it was maybe killing a few of your fellow cops but that would only bring more heat on me from the whole GCPD and possibly motivate you further. Perhaps your parents I thought. But they have passed away. Friends? Nope, all are cops, and for the same reasons, it would not work as mentioned before. Tortured? Unreliable."

Taking a breath he said, "Finally there was your niece and nephew left by your deceased brother. Not exactly very moral of me but alas you already crossed the line when you involved my family."

"Wait your family..." Rene said before pausing as she realized what Krios had just implied.

Spluttering she said, "Are you admitting your relation to Jane Coulson... but that would mean..."

Her mind wandered to the relations of both suspects, her mind focusing on the odd family picture she saw of Jane with her two children and adopted son.

Krios waved his hand lazily disrupting her thoughts, "Yes, yes. Even if you don't know exactly who I am or you have just put it together, you visiting Jane and later Crystal was proof it was only a matter of time before you figured it out."

"Might as well nip this in the bud ahead of time rather than wait for the inevitable. At least that is what my recent teacher has taught me." He shrugged.

"Either way, my associate who took this photo is eagerly waiting to hear back from me if you agree to this proposal. Not doing so will see yet another tragic tale of a house break-in that turned deadly."

Millions of thoughts were going through Rene's head at what Krios was saying. He at first had come off cold, then analytical and matter of fact, now he sounded almost not caring. It made it difficult for the seasoned detective to figure out what was going on in his head. All she knew for sure was that she couldn't risk the kids.

'Maybe I don't have to do either,' she thought as her eyes glanced over at her personal laptop and physical files.

She kept most of what she gathered off the main frame to avoid being suspended. Perhaps a little trickery mixed in with honesty will convince Krios.

Looking back at Krios she hung her head low in defeat.

"Alright," she made her voice sound frustrated, "Just promise me you will keep your side of the deal?"

Krios stood up straight and waved his arm releasing Rene from the trapped desk. He gestured to a computer right next to them.

"Do what I say and I promise, no harm will befall your niece and nephew," he said.

Rene stiffly walked over to the computer he indicated and logged into her account. Normally most officers would not have the ability to delete files directly from the database. However, due to the needs of some of the head detectives, clearances had been raised with a caveat that direct access was only available inside Major Crimes, it was deemed a risk worth having. How Krios was aware of this Rene did not know, she was relying on the fact that she had some of the files on her hard drive.

She walked over carefully to the computer he gestured to and began typing in her password to log in, after the screen confirmed her credentials she began pulling up the GCPD database which slowly booted up.

Krios meanwhile stood a foot away watching over her shoulder, to her surprise he was humming a tune that while familiar she could not pin down.

They both stayed that way in silence while the database loaded, if Krios showed any discomfort at such he didn't show it. Merely watching and humming a tune with an occasional glance to the clock.

'Makes sense, he is on a time limit.' Rene thought as the database finally opened on the computer.

Slowing her pace down in hopes of backup showing up she began to type in the case files involving Krios.

"Please pick up the pace detective," Krios had stopped humming. She could feel his eyes boring into the back of her head.

"I threw an oil tanker into this building on purpose. Emergency crews will delay any police action due to the safety of dealing with the volatile chemicals. But waste enough time and I will probably have to cut down firemen and more police officers tonight to escape. I would rather avoid additional bloodshed."

Rene was annoyed her ploy was easily discovered. However, she did increase the speed of deleting the Krios/Hound files from the database.

"I find it hard to imagine a murderer like you caring about some more killing," she growled.

Krios hummed in consideration, "Believe what you want, but killing has never been a comfortable thing for me. Rather, it has become a necessity and a useful means to get what I want."

Krios then moved to lean against the desk facing towards her with his back to the computer.

"I want you to know," he said hesitantly, "Killing your brother was never personal. It was never planned or intended. I panicked when he tried to arrest me, and truthfully freaked out when he started shooting."

Rene looked up into his eyes, they still retained a blackness that seemed consuming, but there was an honest hint of sadness behind them.

"For a while," he continued, "It messed me up killing an innocent. Killing someone who according to most was a pretty stand-up guy. Eventually, I was able to come to terms with what I am, and what I am willing to do. But for what little it means, I am sorry about what happened to him."

In her mind, she could only feel her anger grow. Sorry? Did he think sorry would justify what he did and the orphans he created!?

As if reading her mind he said, "I know you won't forgive me, but my current teacher said doing stuff like this supposedly helps with mental health."

The computer beeped as she had finally gotten past the firewall protecting files from deletion. A small pop-up screen appeared asking for confirmation before deleting the related files.

Rene clicked it with little fanfare as a symbol appeared showing the progress of deletion. It went fast as the computer gave a final beep and a window confirming the deletion of the files.

Sighing both to convince Krios of his success and her submission she was ready to wrap up this negotiation until he stopped her with another request.

"Good, glad to see how that works. I needed to see what you did to confirm that you will do the same for the next file."

Moving away from facing her he stood behind her, a chill went down her spine.

"Now for the last thing. I want you to start deleting all files related to Oswald Cobblepot."

"WHAT!" Rene screamed.

She spun around to face him, "You are out of your mind! There is no way I will let Peng..."

"I think," Krios said firmly, "You forget that the choice you make will affect the lives closest to you."

Yet again, he brought out the photo of her apartment and placed it on the table near the computer.

"One last little thing and we are done. Besides, Penguin will get out of prison eventually, his lawyers are too good. All you will be doing is expediting the process."

His words while firm came out softly as if he was trying to convince her to let Penguin off a speeding ticket.

"Fine, but then we are done." She muttered.

What she was about to do would irrevocably damage the case against Penguin. His lawyers will jump on any inconsistency and GCPD losing its records of him will be a glaring inconsistency. At the very least it would cause problems that could lead to a mistrial or worst case scenario a full dismissal.

Yet despite the pain and suffering, despite the many people she knew would die with Penguin's release, she began the process. To her surprise, Krios was right. Her life, torture, threatening fellow officers. None of that would have worked on her. But threaten Benjamin's kids? Luiz and Sydney were more precious to her than she realized.

Typing away she reached the familiar screen of confirming a large permanent delete of files when a strange whoosh sound followed by heat erupted on the other side of their floor.

Krios looked surprised and momentarily turned his gaze to watch the billowing and growing flames.

"Shit, the tanker caught on fire," he muttered.

Time seemed too slow for Rene as she saw an opportunity. It was risky, stupidly dangerous, but she felt confident it would work.

With Krios distracted Rene acted. Grabbing a picture frame on the desk with a smiling family and a random detective she swung it against his head. Glass shattered and Krios tumbled to one knee.

Rene kept her attack up by slamming her knee into his head forcing him to the ground. Taking a moment to curb-stomp him twice she looked around for the fallen detective's firearm near the elevator. It was still in the holster as she rushed over to grab it.

Feeling the adrenaline pumping she quickly yanked it out and pointed it at the dazed and surprised Krios who had gotten back up on his feet.

BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG

The first 4 bullets were reflected like before, but the last two seemed to have snuck past his defense with one hitting him center mass and the other in the gut.

Krios jerked back into the desk with the computer scattering a few miscellaneous items to the ground.

Rene kept the gun trained on him, she should have kept shooting.

Standing against the desk Krios raised his hand causing Rene to flinch, but instead hover it over his wounds. A small growl sounded from him as she saw a small metallic spinning object being removed from his wound, the bullet. First his chest then his gut he used his powers to rip out the bullets, the last one saw him panting. Whether in pain or exhaustion, she did not know.

"You... know," he said panting, "That f^&king hurt... Slade is going to kick my ass for getting snuck up on."

With a groan, he turned his back towards her and paused for a second before reaching over to the computer keyboard.

Rene realizing that the Penguin files were set to delete with a single keystroke began firing again.

This time though Krios was not taking any chances. Every bullet was stopped in mid-air from hitting his back. They all remained hovering with Rene expending every last bullet in the gun attempting to stop him.

She heard the familiar click of the keyboard followed by the confirmation beep.

Krios turned around to face her, his darker robes and cloak displayed a surprising amount of blood, yet he was still standing.

Straightening up, she could not see his expression underneath his hood. Raising his hand he gave a slight motion.

"AHHH," Rene screamed as one of the hovering bullets was sent back to her penetrating her left knee trap.

Krios made the motion again and another stabbing pain erupted at her uninjured kneecap. Again and again, he made the motion with the bullets hitting elbows, joints, hands, feet, and even a rib for the last remaining one.

Rene collapsed to the ground with blood leaking from the multiple 'bullet' wounds he had thrown at her.

Krios hobbled before muttering something under his breath before returning to a slow walk towards her. Kneeling he watched her as she tried not to make any moves. Any twitch felt agonizing from the shattered bones and bullet holes he had inflicted on her.

"This probably feels pretty awful," he remarked.

Leaning down to her ear he then whispered in a cold and wrathful voice.

"I was bluffing about the kids... for the most part. I am not sure what I would have done if you hadn't helped. But you... you should never have bothered Jane..."

All around her body, she felt the bullets embedded begin to turn and grind against bone and innards causing her to scream. Never had she ever felt such agony in her life, to have so many pains all around her body.

The pain stopped as he spoke, "You harassed a dying woman... you hurt my Aunt Crystal..."

The grinding recommended bringing forth more screaming.

"You dare hurt my family!" he practically shouted in her ear as the pain began again.

This time she couldn't even scream as she let out an almost voiceless wail of pain. Between the agonizing torture and the blood loss, Rene could feel the darkness creeping around the corners of her eyes. The grinding of the bullets had stopped but it still felt like every inch of her had a stabbing pain.

"But it is done now."

Krios stood up, she was not sure, but it looked like he was moving even better than he had before.

"Wait..." Rene spat out a glob of blood from her mouth.

To his credit, he paused and looked down at her. As if granting her last wish.

"Fffffff... ffuuuu... fffff&&$*(#*k you!" 

Rene smiled as she finally drifted off into the darkness awaiting her.

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*James (KRIOS), GCPD Major Crimes HQ

'Of course,' he thought as he watched the dying detective.

Sighing he lifted his arm only to wince at the pain in his chest and gut. Luck had been on his side as the bullets did not hit anything vital. His healing had grown by leaps and bounds, not so he could shrug off a serious wound. But enough to be able to take at least one or two gunshot wounds.

But that is what he gets for breaking into Major Crimes and setting it on fire. That same fire had grown to no longer need the accelerant from the tanker. The building's north side where he had crashed was fully on fire, with the rest to join it fairly soon considering he could not see any firefighters yet on the scene.

"Burned baby burn, disco inferno...," he hummed as he lifted the desk and its computer he had just used to hover over Detective Montoya.

He was not going to take any chances of her surviving by some miracle. She knew or at least was way too close to learning about his identity. Hopefully with her death and the files deleted that should be enough to bury the lead. Getting Penguin's files deleted was admittedly a last-second decision one in the long run he felt would be fruitful. After all, cutting your old mob boss's prison sentence will earn a few favors. Favors like protecting Jane and Crystal when he left Gotham for good.

Montoya's investigation had not only angered him but also made him realize that he could not return to Gotham anymore. Batman, GCPD, hell after today maybe even the Justice League will be on his tail. It was no longer safe for him or his family by association to him.

Luckily Jane was leaving, and Crystal... Crystal would not be with them much longer if Freeze was to be believed.

Sirens started sounding, firetrucks he assumed. It took them much longer than he thought to get here, but also probably meant that he had wasted enough time as is. He could already hear Freeze's voice berating him for wasting time. He had after all advised him on the GCPD database and using the soon-to-be late Montoya to access it. Her being a senior detective would let him bypass the firewalls preventing what he did tonight. After that is was just paying a street snitch to get him a picture of her apartment and stealing a truck from the highway.

'Funny how easier things have become over time,' he mused.

Raising the table higher to be deadly, he let it fall and made his way to the stairwell.

He heard the swoosh as it came down but then... no bang of it hitting.

"What the hell," he said as he turned around only to get hit by that same table.

Knocking him to the ground and it rolled over him clearing the view so he could see a peculiar sight.

Standing over the woman was a person, or at least in the shape of one. Green-skinned, red eyes and a blue cloak, partially hovering over the woman. Anyone and everyone in the world would recognize him.

The Martian Manhunter was staring directly at James, no emotions present on his face.

For the first time in a while, James felt general fear. This was not one of Batman's sidekicks, this was not one of the Justice League's junior members. This was a bona fide founding member, a powerhouse in terms of power and legendary skills.

One of which if he remembered was mind reading. A very familiar feeling came over him, it was the same feeling he had when the Martian girl had tried to lobotomize him or something. It seemed subtle at first but the feeling was growing as the Martian narrowed his eyes at James.

So in response he did the first thing that came to his mind and instincts, he flung a massive concussive blast at him.

SWOOSH BOOM!

The blast blew away tables, chairs, and the north side of their floor out into the streets. The already weakened building from the fire began to crumble on that side with flames and rumble throwing up smoke and dust.

James had already scrambled to his feet not looking to see if he hit the Martian. Right now his chances of winning a fight against a League member were looking pretty bad. So he rushed to the stairs ripping the door open and made his way down.

He planned to reach the parking lot area where there was a connection to the sewers and flee that way. And so far things looked great for his escape as he traveled down multiple flights of stairs, the running occasionally causing flashes of pain in his gut and chest.

Reaching the bottom of the stairs he swung the door open to see the underground parking lot, empty and with emergency lights on.

Sighing in relief he walked into the lot and immediately threw up his left arm to block a punch from a black armored fist. He had lucked out with keeping his telekinesis sense going out of fear the Martian would sneak up on him. If he hadn't he would not have noticed this new attacker who seemed to appear out of nowhere.

The next few moments felt like a blur as his instincts kicked in and he went on the defensive. Not like he had any choice. Whirling around to block another blow he saw the familiar black cowl and cape, it seemed like Martian Manhunter was not the only League member here.