7 Sneaky Cat
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A few months had passed ever since the day I saved Bruce Wayne. Several things of note had happened over this period of time.
I finally managed to move out of that apartment complex as well as quit my job in that restaurant.
I now had my own business going.
I ended up opening an online store after I had gathered enough capital. The delivery was handled by a shipping company and the products themselves were purchased from overseas and sold in the local market at higher prices.
Most of my initial captial came from selling junk I bought from the Junkyard. I would buy old broken down cars, motorcycles, kitchen appliances and even electronics.
And, after a quick use of the Horse talisman I would return their condition to brand new. I would then sell them online or to different pawn shops scattered around the city.
I even had a couple of lucky breaks where I managed to find a few collectible items in poor condition and restored them and sold them for quite the price. Items such as pokemon cards, comics and even vintage games were all restored to mint condition.
I even thought about getting into the art business and restoring old paintings or artifacts, but decided to shelf that idea since I would need to have contacts and a reputation to even attempt such a thing.
I used my modest coding skills to make a website and made sure I had a suitable marketing strategy by using targeted ads to make sure my products popped up before its target audience. I also had my website optimized so it was easily found on a search engine or whenever someone was looking to buy some of the stuff I had previously mentioned.
I had essentially started a dropshipping buisness, before it became a thing in this world and was making a shit ton of money.
In other news I officially became an adult. It took me a few months to get approvel for my application, so I could legally be considered one. It made several things easier, like purchasing a trading license.
I also managed to build a reputation for my alter ego.
Thankfully the name Zodiac didn't belong to serial-killer in this universe. So, my moniker was accepted quite easily.
I would mostly go on patrol every few days and on the weekends. I would give a visit to those who were terminally ill and needed healing, after all nobody could understand what they were going through more than I. Being sick and knowing you're going to die no matter what you did was truly awful.
To this day I was still amazed by how strong and healthy my body felt compared to what I had to suffer in my previous life, so this was my own way of giving back and using the gift I have been given.
I also took some time to make connections by trading in favors and information for food and money.
It was amazing what you could learn for a few meals and some cash. It took time to establish and get the word out, but I managed to get a few guys to work as my informants.
Things were touch and go for a while. It was hard to get people to trust you in Gotham and only the fact that I didn't ask for anything too important is what let them put their guard down.
My main contact was Vinny, a 50-year-old veteran who lost his house after a nasty divorce settlement. In exchange for money, healing his bad knee, and some food every now and then he would give me information.
It wasn't anything too important, usually, he would tell me about what criminal hot-spots people usually got robbed or killed in, or what territories to avoid and which belonged to which family. And, surprisingly he would occasionally tell me if there were any sightings of the bat.
Apparently, small-time criminals knew anything related to Batman meant more trouble than it was worth so whenever when the word got out that the bat was making a move somewhere or doing patrols they would go into hiding or avoid being seen for a while.
Only the dumb ones or the ones who had the backing of a crime family would somewhat ignore this unwritten rule, of course, this didn't include the crazies. It sort of balanced things out, small timers won't risk Batman without a good reason and the big names came whenever they had something big planned.
Even with that I still had a few close calls and almost ran into Batman and occasionally even Robin. It started to happen quite frequently these past few weeks and undoubtedly they were almost on to me. After all, the duo could definitely move unseen if they liked.
The only reason I escaped every time was because of my shape-shifting, which allowed me to get away just before they closed in on my location. I suspected they were tracking me somehow and even after shaking them off multiple times, they still kept coming.
If anything, they were quite persistent and frankly a bit annoying.
I was up late trying to determine if the tiger talisman had any particular uses other than splitting a person into an evil and good versions of themselves when I suddenly froze.
" So, you finally found me. Took you long enough." I spoke up.
Without turning around I got up from the floor and walked over to the kitchen counter and poured myself some coffee.
" I would offer you something to drink, but then again you weren't exactly invited. " I said.
I finally turn around," Hello, Batman."
(Batman's POV)
I took a moment to observe the person I've been tracking for the last few months.
I finally managed to do it after he slipped up and used his powers near his house. Giovanni Zatara had confirmed that the person who saved me used magical abilities to restore my wound. And, after performing a spell on the bullet which happened to have some remnants of his magic left. Giovanni created a compass that would always point towards where he last used his healing magic.
From there It was only a matter of time before I found him.
The compass although helpful wasn't that accurate, and it took me a while to triangulate his position, based on the location of the outings he had.
The tracking spell would activate every time he used his healing ability. Strangely enough, most of the time it would be near a junkyard or some kind of medical facility.
As I examined him closely I noted a few things, mainly his relaxed posture.
A reaction present in those who believed themselves ineffable to harm or at the very least confident in their ability to escape. His stance and his body's movement told me he was untrained, and he was clearly quite young.
He seemed intelligent if a bit unattentive to his surroundings. After all I've been observing him for quite some time, before I decided to reveal myself.
" Jason Blackwood. Age 16. Emancipated. Parents were killed in a car crash at the age of 11. Moved out of the Metropolis orphanage 6 months ago only to go to Gotham and purchase an apartment and start a business. Goes by the moniker of Zodiac and has displayed the following powers, super strength, super speed, invisibility, telekinesis, flight, healing, and more to be observed. So far you have stopped 43 robberies, 14 attempted sexual assaults, and 7 attempted murders. Suspected of using his healing ability to save over a few dozen cases of terminally ill patients. Saved the life of Billionaire Bruce Wayne after an attempted assassination, but as to why he was present there remains to be answered. " I said.
Usually, this tactic of listing their information and deeds and learning they were being watched would cause the person in question to exhibit some kind of reaction, strangely I could only observe anticipation and some amusement.
"I'm impressed with what you have managed to gather so far and to answer your last statement. I was following a woman I happened upon the night before. She was being assaulted by some thug and I had decided to follow her for a few days, just to make sure she didn't get herself into any more trouble. Imagine my surprise though, when I saw her walking out of an apartment in the rich part of town with a different hair color, and attending a charity event hosted by Bruce Wayne. From there, you can guess what happened. "He shrugged." Tell me, is she the one who told you about my powers? I've been very careful about not showing them to anyone, and can't think of anyone else but her that knows about them. " He asked.
" How I know is not important. Your goals and intentions on the other hand are entirely different things. Although you mean well, It's obvious you are untrained and lack experience and thus could potentially be a danger to yourself and others. Your activities so far have already garnered attention and some of Falcone's men are already looking for you. " I said.
He raised an eyebrow in surprise," Really? He's looking for me? What did I ever do to him?" He asked.
"There's been a rumor going around that Zodiac has been targeting his operation. My own investigation of those claims proved to be untrue but in the end. It doesn't matter." I said.
He groaned in frustration, " For fuck's sake. I only go around and help a few people and now Gotham's largest crime family is looking for me. So much for keeping it under the radar."He muttered that last part.
" Falcone already has a few agents posted at several hospitals as lookouts and ordered his men to cause trouble around the parts you're usually spotted to try and draw you out." I said.
That seemed to irritate him even more and I could see his previously nonchalant attitude evaporate as he started pacing." Are you telling me, people are getting hurt because of me?"
" Yes. " I answered simply.
His frustration and anger seemed to be building so I took this chance to ask him about something while he was off-kilter.
"While on the subject do you mind explaining what do these do?" I said while holding up a bag filled with about a dozen stones with animals carved on them.
He suddenly froze and his eyes darted quickly towards where he had hidden the objects under the floorboard. Visible anxiety appeared on his face," They're just some family heirlooms. My parents left me those after they died, they're all I've got left of them."
'Hmm. Interesting.. Selena mentioned seeing some type of stone object used when he healed me. Still. He has been sitting there meditating for hours with one of them. Are they some type of focus for his powers? They seem to hold something more than just sentimental value. ' I thought.
"It seems kind of strange they would leave you something like this? " I said.
He stayed silent, but I could see him eyeing the bag nervously.
" If they're just heirlooms as you say, you wouldn't mind if I get an expert's opinion on them would you?" I said.
(Jason's POV)
'Fuck! He has the talismans, this is bad. This is really bad. He must have seen me when I took the tiger talisman out of the bag.'
" Just as I suspected, these stones are somehow related to your powers." He said, as his hand went inside the bag.
I was about to tell him to stop when I suddenly saw him freeze. He lunged to the ground, just before the sound of a loud crash and glass breaking.
*Crash! *
A lithe figure came crashing into my apartment and sent a well-aimed kick into my solar plexus, causing me to double over in pain. I fell down to the floor and before she could hit me again, Batman intercepted her next strike and engaged her in hand-to-hand combat. They were moving too fast for me to follow so I focused on getting my breath back and getting to my talismans.
Batman had dropped the bag next to the kitchen counter and I could see the talismans half spilled out of it a few feet from me.
Trying not to draw too much attention to myself I crawled right up to the bag.
I extended my hand towards them, with my hand instantly going towards the talisman that would be most useful in this situation.
The Rabbit Talisman.
Instantly after I grabbed on to it though, everything suddenly came to a halt.
The sound of fighting was instantly drowned out and out of the corner of my eyes I could see the tip of a whip inching forward towards the bag lying in front of me on the floor.
I turned my head to the right and I could see Catwoman holding out a whip with her eyes set on the talismans with a victorious grin on her face.
The whip had barely managed to get a grip on the bag, when I simply moved and collected all 12 talismans and hid them safely inside my pockets before anyone could notice.
I then returned to my earlier position, and next thing I know, time sped up again.
The whip grabbed onto the bag and pulled it towards the cat-themed spandex-clad figure who was fighting Batman.
" Sorry handsome but a girl has gotta eat." She said, before jumping out of the window and disappearing into the night.
Batman turned to me and said, " We need to talk. "
(Chapter End)
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For 10+ advanced chapters of Zodiac (DC)
Check out my pat-reon/AnubisCreationz
