203 Kane With a K #203

I slowly opened my eyes as I felt w eight climbing over my face, and saw a black ball of fluff nestled on my neck with its head resting on my chin and smiled.

I reached for Little Soot and picked him up by the nape as I sat straight, raising him to my eye level. He opened his little mouth and yawned contently, stretching his paws as he slowly blinked.

I chuckled as I put him in my lap and started scratching behind his ears, causing him to purr. The little guy was a menace and a demon, but he had his moments at times like this.

I had almost forgotten how good it felt to wake up after a good night's sleep. Once I was back in my hideout, I didn't feel like doing anything, and my bed looked very tempting.

I gave in to the temptation, and as soon as my head hit the bellow, I quickly fell asleep, feeling absolutely no guilt, remorse, or regret over my actions.

Yes, you heard right. I killed a man, not on accident, not in self-defense. I murdered and tortured The Riddler in cold blood. I was fully aware of my actions. I did it merely for my satisfaction, and I slept like one satisfied fucking baby.

I couldn't have been more sober as I even had the clarity to read The Riddler's mind to find out more about the evidence he mentioned. And now I had even more ammunition to use against Waller.

Still, I had no intention of going ballistic, killing and torturing everyone who happened to piss me off. I don't think I'd even do the same to Waller if I had the chance.

Waller was a bitch, but she had her reasons. It wouldn't stop me from taking her down, nor do I particularly sympathize with her or think her actions are justified. But ultimately, Waller does what she does because she believes it's the right thing.

However, The Riddler did what he did to get a kick out of it, nothing more, nothing less, and I simply couldn't accept it.

Mark was a good man, one of the best people I've met since I came here. The idea that he died because The Riddler wanted to play with Batman made me snap, but I digress.

The riddler got what was coming for him. That's all there was to it.

Now, I can focus on bringing down Waller. And speaking of which, I need to contact Nightshade and discuss her testimony and the finer details of the trial. The same goes for Enchantress, but I'll have to wait for word from Ivy first.

"How about some breakfast first...?" I said, smiling as I looked down at the ball of fluff comfortably stretching in my lap. Little Soot merely meowed in response, to which I picked him up and headed for the kitchen, humming as I did.

"Whoa, we're halfway there...♪ Whoa, living on a prayer...♪"

...

Later

"That's right... I've got some extra backup..." I said, sitting on my couch as I held the phone close to my ear. "Yeah... no need to worry..." I added, shaking my head.

"Yup... I'll send you the details... just stick to the script during the trial, and it'll be fine..." I continued as I quickly checked the time while listening to Nightshade's reply.

"Alright... I'll see you later then," I concluded, ending the call as I put my phone away. 'Now I just need confirmation from Ivy, and I'll be ready to take Waller down...' I mused, contently sighing as I leaned into the couch.

'And I still had a few days to spare before the trial, to boot..' I smiled, feeling immense satisfaction at my hard work paying off. Still, I didn't intend to waste the extra time idling.

Even with Waller gone, there would be other threats, like Intergang and The Religion. I intended to use the free time preparing to take them down since fixing Richard's arm might hinge on robbing Ugly Manheim.

I'd kept tabs on my fellow student to see where he would strike next. He hadn't made a move yet but was currently inside a breakfast restaurant, seemingly waiting for someone, which might be the hint I needed.

"Let's see what you're up to..." I muttered, closing my eyes as I activated my Personal Computer power.

...

"Thanks, sweetheart..." Victor Sage said with a smile as he nodded at the waitress, who returned the gesture before putting his coffee on the table and leaving to tend to other customers.

He raised the cup to his lips, blowing a breath on the hot coffee to cool it before taking a sip and putting it down as he turned to his wristwatch to check the time.

He seemed impatient as he looked at his watch, but his impatience was unnecessary as a loud ringing sounded and the coffeeshops door opened, a redheaded woman in casual street clothes walking through it.

The woman stopped at the entrance and scanned the area. Her eyes met Victor's, and she smiled as she headed for his table. "Hello, Victor..." The redhead, Kate Kane, greeted as she sat opposite him.

Victor returned the gesture and began exchanging small talk with her as he waited for the waitress to write and get her order. After all, he didn't want anyone to overhear their conversation.

Of course, Victor was unaware of the little pigeon nested on the traffic lights across the streets, its beady eyes glinting as they reflected his and Kate's figure as they spoke, but that was neither here nor there.

"It's about time we get to business..." Victor said as he watched the waitress leave after setting Kate's order, a steaming cup of black coffee, on the table, to which the redhead nodded.

"The Religion is back, and it's after you..." Victor said, crossing his arms as he watched Kate take a sip of her coffee, only to freeze, barely resisting the urge to spray it in his face at what she heard.

"Again with that twice named daughter of Kane nonsense...?" Kate remarked, her frustration visible in her expression as she sighed in exasperation and put down the coffee in her hand.

"Yup. The religion's thirteen covens have united under the leadership of one Mother Alice..." Victor said, leisurely sipping at his second cup of coffee as he nodded.

"And that's not all..." Victor went on, trailing at the end of his sentence as he lit a cigarette and took in a cloud of smoke, much to the redhead's impatience, causing her to frown.

"Intergang is in on it too. Other than that, it's the usual crap, what with sacrificing you and burning down Gotham..." Victor calmly explained with a careless expression, almost as if he was talking about someone's weekend plans.

"I honestly don't understand The Religion's obsession with burning down Gotham..." Victor said, shaking his head as he extinguished the cigarette in the ashtray, causing Kate to raise an eyebrow.

"Have you seen the city? It'll probably smell like burnt dog shit..." Victor concluded, scrunching his eyebrows and nose as he put on an expression of absolute disgust.

"That's evil cults for you... evidently, sacrificing a young, beautiful woman and burning down an entire city isn't enough..." Kate jokingly replied as she flicked her hair and chuckled in amusement. "Might as well stink up the entire country..." She concluded, shaking her head, to which Victor copied her gesture and smiled.

"All jokes aside... we need to find this so-called Mother Alice and stop her before she finds you..." Victor said in a solemn tone after a slight pause, which he used to finish his coffee.

"Thirteen covens of The Religion will be too much for us to deal with on our own..." He went on, shaking his head with a sigh. "I have some leads..." He went on and began discussing their plan of action with the redhead.

...

"So it's Kane with a K..." I muttered, barely resisting the urge to facepalm at the revelation. When Abbot told me they were after the twice-named daughter of Kane, I assumed he was talking about Cassandra.

My false assumption is why I burst out and almost attacked him then and there, but oh well. The guy is a furry. He had it coming either way.

I'd always find myself wishing I'd dug up my inner nerd and read the entirety of DC comics in my past life at times like these. But the revelation didn't change what I needed to do, so there was no point brooding about it.

The religion intended to burn down Gotham, and I needed to stop them either this way, only this time, it's won't be personal.

...

Want more chapters? Then consider subscribing to my patrēon. You can read ahead for as little as $1 and it helps me a lot!

-> (patrēon..com / wicked132)

You can also always come and say hi on my discord server

-> (disc ord..gg / sEtqmRs5y7)- or hit me up at - Wicked132#5511 - and I'll add you myself)