Fifth World Problems (DC, YJ)

[PrognosticHannya]

PoV: Argyra

I run a hand through my hair.

That… That… I can't even- What the- Who the fuck does she think she even-

Did she just seriously chastise- She was fucking hiding from me- Going out to get herself killed- Like I don't even matter to her in the-

I slam a fist into the wall next to me, trying to silence the thoughts running through my head.

Fuck.

I slam my fist into the wall.

Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck.

I scream incoherently into the rain.



























Fuck it.

Fuck it, fuck it, fuck it, fuck it.

I need to… not, right now.

…

Looks like I'll be attending Brent's party after all.

---

Spoiler: Theme Song

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJtbSixXGgM

"WHOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Fuck this shit, fuck Artemis, who even cares about her! I am having a great time!

I snort another line of coke off of Mrs. North's no-doubt extremelt expensive end table. Why have I never done this before?

"I AM A FUCKING DEMIGOOOODDDD"

The crowd cheers at that.

The music is thumping, the bodies in the mansion's living room are packed close together, and I am living.

I find myself dancing next to an Indian guy I don't recognize, practically molding my body against him.

I went extremely thicc on the body, and made sure to change into an extra slutty outfit once I took off my costume.

"Hey!" he says, and I can barely hear him over the music, "I'm Ian!"

"Just shut the fuck up and dance!"

He shrugs, and starts grinding against me to the thrum of the bass.

About a minute later, he starts trying to paw at my top, and I push him away.

God, men.

[heyyYyo! loOks like yur hAvin' fun! wHo's mr. hUnk?]

Oh, fuck, dad! How are you doing, man! You having fun?

[diD joHn quincy aDams secretly have tWo dicks? hEll yeah, baby!!!!!! lEt's go MacAauuu!]

Whoo, Macau!!!!!!

Wait I thought you were still in Europe? I know you can't teleport, how'd you end up in fucking China?

[dunno kiD, just kinna haPpened. y'know it his, one minnit yer p- *hurk* surry]

[Ugh, feela lil' better now. but yea i'uz plain' a river kami in majong, n'i bet… I bet sumn I shuldna bet. n'then i lost, so i fuckin' wenna Macau.]

Right, I heard the Chinese gods are still pissed at the Kami for World War Two.

[AN IT WUZ THE GREATESHT DECISION I'EVER MADE INMY LIIIIFE MACAU'S THE BESHT!!!!]

I laugh. You know Dad, I think I'm starting to finally understand you. Sometimes you just gotta say fuck it. Fuck the haters, fuck the judgemental bitches, and fuck everyone telling you what to do! Let's go Macau!

[LESH GO MACAUUUUU!]

I immerse myself into the dance floor, shaking my hips like a woman possessed.

I slide up next to a cute-looking blonde in a-

I move away, sliding up to a hot redhead, who is far more attractive than that other girl.

I can hear the beat thump in my bone marrow, my entire body vibrating.

That… might be the cocaine, actually.

Bah, same difference.

A minute later, someone passes me a rolling-paper full of something unidentifiable. I take a gigantic toke, and-








































































Huh?

Oh shit, right dancing.

Ohhhhhhhh yeah, that's the stuff.

I cycle through the floor for about twenty minutes, dancing and grinding and gyrating with an endless series of peop- mortals, only half of whom I recognize beneath the DIY-installed neon lights.

I take at least two more hits of whatever's being passed around, and end up downing at least three cans of beer — Holy shit, is this fucking Miller Lite? How cheap are these people? — and crushing it against my head.

"CHUG CHUG, CHUG!"

And uh… apparently at some point, I've migrated over to the keg, and am doing my best to win a kegstand contest. God, this is disgusting, but like hell if I'm losing to… uh.. whoever that guy is.

[THAT'S MY GIRL! CHUG CHUG CHUG CHUG]

You said it, dad!

A few times, I think I see a flash of golden hair on the edge of my vision, but I go back into the dance floor to lose myself in the sea of bodies until the pangs inside me go away.

But no matter how many strangers I rub myself against, and how many unreasonably cheap beers I swill down, I know that it won't help me when my heart feels like fucking ash, and my oli psikhi, entire whole soul has gone and left m-

Fuck, I think I need another bump of coke, I'm starting to come down.

I make my way over to the edge of the party, covered in sweat and what are probably a few other fluids I'd rather not think about.

Okay, table table… There we go!

"HEY, WHO HAS THE FUCKING COKE!"

A minute later, and I'm snorting another line off of a copy of an Almanac, bending over the coffee table next to the obviously-spiked punch bowl.

Ooh, actually…

I grab a solo cup and plunge that motherfucker in there like I'm spear-fishing, before slamming it to my mouth.

Ew, what's this weak shit?

"That's whiskey, Argyra" I hear from next to me.

Shit, did I say that out loud?

"Yes, you did."

"Well, it'S uh… bad, one… uh… not… uh… fUck… there should be more."

Oh hey, I know that face!

"Ayyy, Bri-bri! How.. how'y doin? D'the Norths have a… whadjacallit, a ghost- a licker cabinet somewhere?"

Bri-Bri looks a little taken aback. "I… Do you mean a liquor cabinet? I don't think so?"

I giggle. "Yeah, dashit. Y'know ghosts, spirits, licker… whatever…"

"I don't think they do, but even if they did, one of Brent's rules was-"

"Fuck you. I am fuckin' through followin' stupid damn mortal rules, damn morality. Fuck allAt shit."

I take a swig of the vodka-and-punch.

"From nowwon, I'm doin' wha' I wanna t'do, no annoyin' fucking Artie naggin' me alla time."

"I… what? How drunk are you?"

"Oooh, lookat me, I'm lil' mizz perfect, jumping aroUnd with m'fuckin arrows n' shit. Mizz fuckin' hero, Mizz impal- imp- throwerself on a fuckin' shpear to save some fuckin' nutcase…"

Shit, a bit too close to letting things slip, there, dial it back a notch.

Brianna puts a hand on my shoulder. "Argyra, did something happen between you and Artemis? She called me sobbing a few hours ago, hung up, and no one's been able to reach her since. And seriously, how much have you had?"

I give out a jolly, full-throated, very extremely normal laugh, gently brushing her hand off my shoulder. "Pssht, pleazhe. Nothin' happen'. Because apparently, NOTHIN' is what I fucking know about her, really! And what I fuckin' AM t'her! Becuz fuckin' APPAREN'LY-"

I only realize I'm angrily screaming and waving my arms when Brianna starts backing away.

"Aw, shit, 'msorry Bri-Bri! C'mon baaaack. I promise i'un get angry again!"

I give my best pout.

"Pweeeeaaase?"

Brianna snatches the cup from my hand. "Argyra, I think you've had enough. I'm not comfortable with letti-"

Oh no, this bitch did not fucking say-

"O-OH SO YUR NOT COMFERBLE wif me? You think yur SOOOOO GREAT, HUH? You think yur SOOOOOO mush better than Evil fuckin Eri, huh? 'Cause Well I gotsum fuckin' NEWS for you, y'cold-hearted fuckin' BITSH! YER notso fuckin' great!!"

I slam a hand onto the table, cracking the wood.

"OOOOOH, you got yer fancy fuckin' SHIT, goin' out like yer BIG DICK FUCKING RICKY ALLL over town! Well wen you ennup DEAD! In a fuckin' DITCH! Don' cum crying t'me!"

I ignore how my heart seizes at the thought.

I crush my cup in my hand. "But yer SOOOO perfect though! So you probably wunn'nt even lemme do a fuckin' SEANCE, because ur SOOO moral, an I'M such a FUCKIN' LYING HEARTLESS ARRUHGANT MONSTER, so OBVIOUSLY-"

It's at that point, Brent puts a hand on my shoulder.

"Alright, friend. I think you're more than a little plastered, and-"

"DONTCHU FUCKIN'… TELL ME WHAT TO DO! M'FUCKIN' FINE!"

I take a wild swing at his face, which he manages to dodge out of the way from.

"Ok, way fucking out of line! Out, now!"

He steps up, all 6'4" of him staring me down, pointing towards the door.

Pssht, I can take him.

Three of his fellow football players step up behind him, giving me angry looks.

…Fine. I can tell when I'm not wanted.

"Oh FUCK you! Fuck alla you! I'm too fuckin' good for thish fuckin' party!"

I storm out, slamming the door behind me.

I wonder if Mischa's Pub still doesn't card…

Artie, I'm sorry.

---

AN: Question: if Rose was going to have a metahuman power, what would it be? Not saying she'll get one, it may or may not be for a character with a similar personality and profession.
As always, discussion keeps me motivated, so please let me know what you think.

 

[PrognosticHannya]

PoV: Artemis

I storm my way down the road to my mom's apartment, hands clenched into tight fists.

Before E- before she interrupted me, I was working on dismantling the Penguin's gun-smuggling operations. It's important work, and needs to be done, so why not do it now?

After all, it's not like something's wrong.

It's not like I'm upset.

It's not like my best fucking friend has been living a secret double-life, acting as some sort of-

I growl, fingers digging into my palm. Focus. Always forward, never back: I can't think about…

How my cục bạc, my lovely piece of silver, has left me forever.

About…

Oh gods, how was I so wrong about Eri? Who even is she? Is everything about her a lie?

Was she just using me this entire time?

And that's not even mentioning- I mean, he was practically unconscious, not a threat at all, and she fucking executed him! No hesitation. And then she didn't even seem to understand what was wrong with that!

How many fucking times has she killed that she doesn't even twitch when-

Focus.

Somehow, I find myself standing in front of the cheap motorcycle I store in the alley next to mom's apartment. I slam myself down on the seat and take off to Penguin territory.

No helmet, because I'm not some fucking delicate little-

Focus.

I want to say time passed during my ride, which took about twenty minutes, but if you asked I wouldn't be able to recall a single moment of it.

I leap from rooftop to rooftop, making my way towards where the last of the stash-houses I've spent all week busting is located.

Penguin's been getting more and more pissed off lately, putting larger squads of goons on each house. Since he doesn't have to split his forces, he might even have a cape at this one.

I smirk. Doesn't matter how many capes he throws at me, I can take them. Because I've taken capes before, fucking metas, and done it without a fucking scratch. But no, apparently, I'm too delicate and fragile to evvvver actually fight, unlike her of course, with her magic fucking-

Not now. I'm here to bust the stash house.

I look around, realizing that I'm on the top floor of the apartment building next to the stash house.

There are about two dozen goons milling about the entrance of the building next door, doing an incredibly poor job of looking inconspicuous. Unfortunately, unlike most of the others, the surrounding buildings are all too tall to make sniping a reasonable strategy. I could hit them, don't get me wrong, even from this distance, but lining up the shots would take far too much effort.

I smile. But distance goes two ways, and the stash house being this far from the ground also means that they won't be able to hear what happens inside.

I glance across to building across from me. It looks like there's only one figure inside: a large, bulky man in a cowboy costume, sitting casually at a table while staring off into space.

Spoiler: Image

That's got to be Stallion, one of Penguin's chief enforces. He has super strength, but only a minor increase in durability and speed.

Should be a piece of cake.

I'm sure that some people might be able to float a platform across the building, or walk on air, or something ridiculous like that, but I'm just ordinary, so I have to make do with making something myself, with my own two hands.

With a quick swipe, I pull out a specially-made arrow from a pouch behind me. It took me a while to figure out how to make an actual working grappling arrow, but I've been enough engineering classes thanks to Er- I've been in enough engineering classes that I picked up a thing or two.

I'll show you what us normal people can do, you haughty fucking bitch. You think-

Focus.

I shoot the arrow across the gap between the buildings, guiding it with the meager telekinetic spell E- she taught me.

Which apparently, is only a tiny fraction of what she can do, because I just wasn't important enough to her to bother-

I growl, and make sure the zipline has a solid lodging into the concrete of the other building.

I take in a deep breath, and slide down the specially-made rappelling cord, slamming feet-first against the window of the top floor apartment.

As the glass shatters around me, I duck and roll, coming to a stop with by bow raised.

I see a large, bulky man inside, dressed in a cowboy costume, half a sandwich hanging out of his mouth.

His eyes are wide, and he moves for a cell phone on the counter, do doubt to call in reinforcements from the goons downstairs. A quick shot from me pierces it through.

Perfect, just you and me.

To his credit, Stallion recovers quickly, splintering his wooden chair as he leaps into a combat stance.

"So you're the one that's been busting up our stashes?"

"That's right." I say, eyes hard. "And I'm looking to make tonight five for five."

The cowboy-themed cape laughs, cracking his knuckles. "And here I thought you'd be the Bat's new little boy-toy. You're gonna find me a damn harder fight than those little kids down there."

My eyes narrow. "You should wish I was Robin, asshole."

He snorts. "What's your name, darlin'? Chrissie, right? The Little Golden Archer."

I growl, despite knowing he's only doing this to get a rise out of me. "It's Chryssa, asshole. And I'm your worst fucking nightmare."

Chryssa, the Golden Archer, the bane of villains all across Gotham. Unbeatable, unbreakable, unstoppable.

Untrustable, unlovable.

I snarl. Shut the fuck up brain, no one asked you. Now I just have to take this idiot out, and I'll have all of the Penguin's gun-smuggling hideouts in this neighborhood taken down. And then everything will be fine, because I'm fine, and just won a major victory, which makes me happy.

I launch an arrow at the enforcer.

The Cowboy growls, jumping to the side to dodge. "Now that was rather rude, missy."

I snarl at the condescending asshole. "I'll show you rude!"

I launch two arrows quickly in a row. He twists to dodge one, and in the process puts himself in the path of the second, which slams into his right arm, lodging in the flesh.

He curses, breaking off the shaft, but still manages to let out a snort. "If a little sting like that's all you got, little girl, you might as well just go home now."

I snarl. "Don't underestimate me, you arrogant fucking bi- prick!"

I rush him, drawing my knife.

He smirks, and I only barely manage to avoid having my head crushed to a pulp my leaping to dodge his straight jab.

Stupid Artemis, you know to keep super-strong enemies at a range! It's like rule number one of fighting them, you learned this when you were fucking 9!

I shake my head. Focus, head in the game. You're up close now, might as well make the best of it.

I dodge the next blow more cleanly, spinning to the side in a textbook Aikido redirect.

Rule number two of fighting super-strong opponents is to redirect their energy.

Stallion makes a few more punches, which I dodge more easily, using his over-extension to plunge my knife into his arm a few times.

He gives a scream of anger, and leaps forward.

I step to the side, grappling his arm and using his own momentum to send him slamming into the ground.

"Fuck, that fucking hurt you little bitch!"

I smirk. Looks like you're not as fucking special as you though, huh, you smug motherfucker? All that talk of excellence, and you're getting your ass beaten by someone normal.

As he slams himself back to his feet, I take the opportunity to jump back, re-drawing my bow. Before he can get his bearings, I send an arrow straight at his left kneecap.

A bit more brutal than I'd prefer, but it's not like he doesn't deserve it.

Thanks to his disorientation, the arrow strikes home, and he lets out a bellow of pain. "YOU FUCKING CUNT, I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU."

As he thrashes, his good arm swings up, scraping the ceiling and setting off the fire sprinklers.

No problem, I can aim in the rain.

"Oh?" I say smugly, as water begins to shower down around me. "You angry a delicate little girl's kicking your ass?"

"I DON'T CARE WHO THE FUCK YOU ARE, YOU SHOT MY FUCKING KNEECAP, OUT YOU'RE GOING TO FUCKING DIE."

He uses his one good leg to send himself hurling at me, attempting a full-body tackle. My eyes widen, and I only barely manage a backflip up onto the table.

I prepare my electric spell, the one I normally use to knock opponents out, but then I pause.

No, fuck that, and fuck the lying, arrogant bitch that taught it to me. I don't need shit from her. I can do fine, better than fine, all on my own.

I pull out my dagger, jumping down into a gravity-assisted stab towards where Stallion lies on the floor, disoriented.

It's at the last moment that I realize I've been aiming at the back of his head, and shift my dagger to the right to land directly into the meat of his shoulder.

The fake-cowboy lets out a pained scream, and I find a vicious smile curled on my face.

I flip up, slamming a foot into his body with a classic Muay Thai strike, flipping him over.

He reaches up, trying to grab my leg, but I nimbly dodge out of the way of his giant, slow-moving, meaty hand.

Looks like there are some advantages to being a "delicate little girl" after all, huh?

I launch a punch directly at his head, aiming to knock him out.

Unfortunately, it seems like the "mildly" bit of "mildly enhanced durability" is putting the work in, and he just rears back with a groan.

I snarl, jabbing again, breaking his nose.

He yells. "FUBK YEW, YEW LIDDL HOAR!"

I slam my fist into his face again, and again. "WHY. WON'T. YOU. FUCKING. JUST. STAY. DOWN!"

He snarls through his broken nose. "YUR FBUNCKIN' NUFFIN! FUNCK YEW!"

I scream in anger, slamming my fist back into his broken nose.

Who's fucking nothing now, you arrogant, condescending bitch!

I only realize I'm yelling that out loud when Stallion growls.

He spits in my face, blood and saliva mixing into the sprinkler-water raining down around us. "FUCNK YEW, LIDDL GURL!"

"I'LL SHOW YOU WHO'S A LITTLE FUCKING GIRL!" I scream, slamming another fist into his head. "I'LL SHOW YOU WHO'S FUCKING INCAPABLE"

I grab his hair, slamming his head into my knee. "I JUST TOOK YOU FUCKING DOWN! I TOOK DOWN THE PENGUIN'S SECOND-BEST FUCKING CAPE! YOU DON'T GET TO FUCKING LOOK DOWN ON ME!"

He tries to headbutt me.

I let out a shriek of incoherent rage, grabbing his hair and slamming his face through the table.

"FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! YOU LYING, TWO-TIMING PIECE OF SHIT! YOU'RE THE ONE WHO'S FUCKING NOTHING, NOT-"

It's on the sixth slam that I finally feel him go limp, and I drop his body.

I stare at his limp form, head buried in the destroyed wooden table, my chest heaving.

It's… it's over.

I did it.

I beat him.

I won.

I look at his body, oozing bright red blood from over a dozen wounds, face beaten into a pulp.

I lean over, vomiting.

O-Oh god…

I collapse to the ground, hands clasped around my knees, great sobs wracking my chest.

Eri, what am I doing?

---

AN: The summary of the past two chapters can be "turns out Artemis and Argyra are a whole lot more like their parents than either of them would like to admit." There might have been an error w/ SV's threadmark system, so please make sure you've read "White Noise", the other chapter I've posted today.

As always, discussion keeps me motivated, so please let me know what you think.

 

[PrognosticHannya]

Hey, changed a bit in 1.5, 1.11, and 1.12, wanted to let everyone know bc it'll come up later. These gal pals now have pet names for one another! What good friends!

She hands me a box, covered in hearts, with a pink bow around it. "For you, psikhi mu."

Right. Valentines day was yesterday, so this stuff must be super cheap in the stores.

I open it, reverently, and see a necklace sitting inside

"Oh, cục bạc, it's beautiful" I say, looking up at her with what I can only imagine is the world's dopiest grin. "I don't even know how to thank you."

Click to shrink...

But no matter how many strangers I rub myself against, and how many unreasonably cheap beers I swill down, I know that it won't help me when my heart feels like fucking ash, and my oli psikhi, entire whole soul has gone and left m-

Click to shrink...

I growl, fingers digging into my palm. Focus. Always forward, never back: I can't think about…

How my cục bạc, my lovely piece of silver, has left me forever.

About…

Click to shrink...

 

[PrognosticHannya]

The Fall Semester starts this week for me, so I'm going to be moving to weekly updates instead of biweekly. There's a poll at the top, if you have an opinion, please select when you'd prefer for a weekly update, if you have a preference. If you really want a particular day for some specific reason, please let me know in the thread and I'll see what I can do.

 

[PrognosticHannya]

ARC 2 / THE MONTH OF BLOOD​

PoV: Sofia Falcone

I walk up to the exterior of the bar, and cringe.

Eugh, how does Daddy's territory even have a place like this?

The exterior is crumbling, vines growing through the cracks in the brick. Two of the windows are boarded up with plywood, and they, along with every other square inch, is graffitied with Falcone gang tags.

Even the sign looks dilapidated, the plastic of several letters of the "Mooney's" cracked, and the apostrophe entirely missing, making it more "Muoııevs" than anything.

I push open the door, cringing as my fingers touch the soggy wood.

Spoiler: Theme Song

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4cJv6s_Yjw

Oh God, the inside is somehow worse than the outside: chairs with three legs, half the surfaces covered in vomit, and a single, solitary pool table in the corner with half the balls missing.

At the end of the bar, though, I spy the target of my search, nursing a beer. I let out a breath of relief. Finally.

Argyra Morgan is incredibly hard to track down when she wants to be.

I walk into the establishment, brushing past a man who looks and smells like he's spent the past three nights bathing in whatever fluid comes out of a dumpster on a hot July day.

Jesus, this place is a dump. How the hell can Yra stand to actually touch the tables? She's normally so anal about cleanliness.

I make my way up to the bar. The bartender offers me a drink, but I just look down my nose as him until he shrugs and turns away.

I slide up next to my former American History tutor, the girl I'd suspected of being some sort of cape for several months now… Holy fuck, she looks rough.

Her skin is dry and cracked, and her hair looks greasier than I've ever seen it, like she hasn't washed it in days. I almost thought she was one of those new Bertinelli suldati, with how red her eyes are, although of that might just be the contrast with the dark circles under them.

"Sofia" she says, voice low, scratchy. "Can't say I expected to see a Falcone in a place like this."

I raise my eyebrows, sitting down next to her.

"I didn't exactly expect to find you here either, Yra."

She snorts. "Wasn't my first choice. I've gotten kicked out of every other bar on this block."

"You've been missing for over three days. People at school are wondering where you are."

She takes a swig of her beer. "Well 'people' can go fuck themselves. Only one I actually care about knowing I'm alive is Lonnie, and I already texted him to fuck off."

She doesn't talk after that, and I just sit there, watching her drink.

Eventually, she sighs. "Just spit it out already, you look like a constipated beaver."

I shoot her a glare, and she ignores me.

I swallow. Right Sofia, here you go. First recruitment, don't mess this up!

"I… wanted to talk to you about something."

She snorts. "Is it about how you tricked me into revealing that I'm a mage, and I was too stupid and distracted to see it?"

I blanch. "You…"

"Yeah, I figured it out about five bars ago."

Also, magic? Damn, my money was on a metahuman.

Oh well, at least Jinx will finally have someone to talk to about all her weirdness.

She lets out a rueful chuckle, raising her drink to me. "It was real well-done too. Juuuuust enough info that I would have been lost if I didn't have powers, but enough so that if I did have powers, I wouldn't be able to resist the prize. And not enough to give me enough reason to hold myself back"

She nods at me. "Carmine's territory will be in good hands."

I sit down, eyeing her warily.

"Honestly, I didn't expect it to work. But when I heard about some sort of super-fight in a warehouse on the corner of Belmont and Leigh…"

Her lip twitches down. "Well, guess it's just your lucky day, isn't it?"

"You know" she says, taking a swig of her drink, "if I was a less agreeable mage, I'd kill you for trying to fuck with me like that."

She sighs. "Especially after… well, things didn't exactly go well after, to say the least."

Right. That. "…I heard."

She swallows, staring into the mirror above the bar.

"You and Artemis… I don't know what the term would be, broke up? As friends?"

Her chuckle sounds like broken glass scraping over concrete. "That's one way to put it, I suppose. She no longer wants a damn thing to do with me."

She sighs. "Hells, I don't even blame her. I don't want a damn thing to do with me. I'm a huge piece'a shit."

She sighs. "Fated to be one, I think. It runs in the family."

Yra trails off, seemingly not even acknowledging the awkward silence between us.

…

…

Right before I'm about to interrupt her, she speaks.

"Did you know" she says abruptly, "that Teddy Roosevelt kept a meticulous diary?"

"I… did not."

"Mhm. He did, every single day he filled that thing out. All except for one."

She takes a swig. "When his mother and wife both died, within hours of one another."

"On that day, the only thing he put was a giant black 'x'."

She stares up at the mirror. "'The light has gone out of my life.' …that's what he wrote above it. Because he has something beautiful, and radiant, and then…"

She snaps.

"In an instant, it was gone. Forever."

She takes another drink of her beer.

"There's an American History fact for you. Consider it the last of your tutoring."

She sits there, staring at the wall, for the next few minutes.

"You know" I say carefully, "several people warned me not to go looking for you, when I was asking around. They said you had some sort of crazy angry meltdown at Brent's party and attacked a bunch of people."

She smiles wanly. "Yeah, sounds about right."

"So…"

"So, why am I sitting in a bar at the ass-end of the ass-end of the neighborhood? Or why am I not screaming at you inside of it blaming you for what happened?"

I shrug. "Both, honestly."

She sighs. "I got all my rage out days ago. Now I'm just…"

She waves her hand around. "Empty, on a Tuesday evening. Like this bar."

She raises a hand, and the barkeep slides her another beer. "I don't, you know."

I turn. "What?"

"I don't blame you."

"If I were a worse person" she says giving a mirthless chuckle "or well… at least a stupider one. If I were, I'd blame you for causing all of it, get real worked up into a steaming fit."

She closes her eyes, sighing, eyes wet. "But I can't. Because the curse of loving Truth is that you can't lie to yourself, even when you want to."

She waves her hand in the air. "All of this? It was…"

She swallows. "Well, those three bitches had their plans. It was weaved into the Loom already, because of everything I'd already done, and I was just too fucking blind and stupid to realize it."

"That's how it works, you know. Fate. No one's pulling the strings, puppetting you around."

"It's just… things happen, because they're the only thing that can happen. Like me and Artie: we were too… too different, deep down.

She sighs wetly. "There was nothing we could have done but come apart."

"It might even have been for the best that it happened like it did" Her voice is tight, and I can feel how much she desperately both wants to and doesn't want to believe what she's saying.

"If it was inevitable… better to have it burn up now than sizzle down to nothing. At leas then… at least then you can know it was real. That it had weight to it. Even if you only know because that weight is crushing your ribs."

She takes another swig, going quiet.

"There were…" she eventually continues "there were two normal human beings who had a normal human relationship. It was Eri and Artie, against the world…"

She sighs. "But those two people never existed. And two fake people can't have a real relationship."

"Turns out it was always Silver Sorceress and Chryssa…" she says with a chuckle "And those two apparently fuckin' hate each other."

I widen my eyes. "Wait, are you saying Artemis is-"

She snorts, cutting me off. "Oh, don't act like you don't already know."

She rolls her eyes. "I'm not an idiot, despite what you must be thinking with how easily you tricked me."

I pause, but eventually sigh. "Fine. I had my suspicions, but nothing confirmed. Then I heard of your breakup, and the fact that two figures were seen leaving the warehouse."

We both politely agree to ignore my attempted manipulation.

Shame, too, I could really worked the whole "revealed my ex-whatever's closely-hidden secret, what can I do to make you forget I said anything and not tell her?" angle.

She takes another drink. "You told your daddy yet?"

I grimace. "I…"

Look, I'm not betraying him.

I just want to… control the narrative, let's call it. I don't want him doing anything rash, that might force a response he's not ready for.

Besides, Chryssa doesn't operate in our territory all that often, so it's not like she's actually all that much of a threat.

I shake my head.

"Good" she eventually says. "It's better he isn't tempted."

"What?"

She shrugs, staring at the bar wall. "I mean, it's better Carmine isn't tempted to do something. He's not the worst guy in the world, so I'd hate to have to kill him."

I choke.

Her tone sounds like she's commenting on the weather. "Wouldn't even be that hard, honestly. I checked out the wards on his office, they're shit. I'd just disable them, sneak in, and then…"

She mimes a stabbing motion.

"Bye-bye Carmine."

She hasn't looked at me throughout her entire monologue.

She… she just threatened to kill one of the most powerful mob bosses in the entire city, in the heart of his territory, directly to his heir's face.

Does she even care about-

I swallow as I realize the truth. She doesn't.

I shudder.

Daddy always said that there's nothing more dangerous than someone half-clever with nothing left to lose.

"Oh, stop giving me that look" she says with a snort, "it's not like Carmine hasn't done worse, hundreds of times. I mean, if I was really doing something karmic, I'd keep him alive and kill you."

I scowl, irritation breaking through the wariness. "Don't. Daddy would do a lot of things, but never that."

I bite my lip. "He may be… he may not be perfect, but he has a code: no wives, no kids, no one uninvolved."

She snorts. "Whatever you say, Princess."

"So," she says, cutting me off before I can respond, "I assume you're here to recruit me, or something? Set me up on a meeting with the big man?"

I nod.

She scrunches up her mouth, thinking.

Eventually, she nods. "…You know what? Fuck it, alright. I'll do it. Give me a day to prepare some, and you'll have your meeting."

She gives me a smile totally devoid of mirth. "Looks like it's time for this predator to return to her natural habitat."

---

AN: So, three day's post-breakup, and Eri's doing great. Don't worry though, only one more sad-sack chapter (showing Artemis's reaction) before things begin to get a little better.

The poll has a mix of weekend and weekday votes, so I'm splitting the difference and doing Friday.

I'm planning on writing a series of interludes showing Eri and Artie before the breakup. Something like 1.2 or 1.5. Any thoughts on what they should be doing and/or discussing? Something like how in 1.5 they discussed Artemis's father, and gave Valentines gifts.

As always, discussion keeps me motivated, so please let me know what you think. I also talk about story stuff and get writing feedback on my channel in the Gaylor Convention Center.

 

[PrognosticHannya]

PoV: Robin

Batman and I have been following our current target for the past five minutes. He turns to me from where we're lodged on the side of a building, and nods.

We a grunt, we both leap off, landing on the rooftop next to a figure in a golden costume, a bow strapped to her back.

She jumps, startled.

Hmm… sloppy. The Chryssa I know would have heard us coming at least ten seconds earlier.

I frown.

I've never seen her like this before. Normally when we patrol together she's very "I am a serious vigilante doing serious work tee-em". Honestly, she reminds me a lot of Batman in that way.

Now though…

I look at her. Her hair is stringy and disheveled, practically falling out of the ponytail she keeps it in in-costume. She has dark circles under her eyes, and I if I look closely, I can see her limbs trembling with exhaustion.

"B-Batman! I'm, uh- I didn't- I mean, what are you do- um…"

To both her and our relief, Batman cuts her off before she can fully shove her foot into her mouth. "Chryssa, good evening."

"I- uh- good evening to you a-as well, sir!"

"Hey, Chryssa" I cut in, sliding in front of my… let's call him taciturn mentor, "it's good to see you again!"

She smiles at me, shakily. "H-Hey, Robin. It's been what, two months?"

I nod. "Let's see… last time we worked together was that fight with the Sons of Khosrow, so yeah, a little under that. How've you been?"

Shit, stupid Grayson. She clearly's been feeling like shit.

She lets out a half-hysterical giggle. "I… not great, actually!"

She draws in a breath. "B-But I'll be fine. It's personal stuff, I-I'll- I'll get over it."

Her voice like brittle, like iron cooled too fast. "I… I think it's going to be good for me, in the end. I don't have anything holding me back from truly dedicating myself to heroing now. I can- Maybe I'm overdoing it a bit, but… but this is my life now. I'm all-in, every night, all night. No distractions."

Batman just stares at her, expression flat, and I have to stop myself from frowning.

What the hell happened between those two?

Yes, of course I know who Chryssa is under the mask, and what exactly her ex-whatever-the-hell-Argyra-was-to-her does on her nights off.

The Batcave's files are very comprehensive.

What, do you think I partnered up with Argyra in chemistry at random? She's nice enough normally, but pretty much everyone that's ever taken a science class with her knows about her micromanaging and perfectionism in the lab. I think Rachel might have actually cried in relief when I volunteered to work with her.

By now, everyone at school's heard about the long-running lesbian will-they-won't-they having a hard fallout, but I honestly didn't expect it to be this bad. Our files had them both placed in a warehouse in Falcone territory, where some sort of cape fight happened, but I can't possibly imagine what could have happened there to do this to Artemis.

Batman clearly decides he can't or doesn't prefer want to get involved in girl-drama — smart choice! — and moves on. Apparently, Chryssa's obvious emotional distress isn't enough to dissuade him from going through with what we came here to do.

No, I'm not bitter at all, why do you ask?

Batman frowns. "Be careful, you're no good as a hero if you are exhausted and sloppy. This is the 22nd consecutive hour you have patrolling."

"I… yes? Wow, has it really been… Uh yes, it has been."

He gives her a sympathetic look. "What we do is important, but taking care of ourselves is equally as important. Our bodies are out weapons. "

She jolts upright from her slouch. "I-I'm sorry sir! I'll do my best to fix that!"

I sigh. We could really use a little less Batman right now, and a little more Bruce.

"Chryssa" Batman says, "I have been following your work since you've been active, especially in your collaborations with Robin, and I am impressed."

She looks pole-axed, her back practically snapping upright to stand at attention.

"You are hard-working, you are clever, and you are a highly competent fighter. But more than that, you have you have excellent judgement, and a strong commitment to heroism."

"T-Thank you sir! Y-You have no idea what an honor-"

He cuts her off. "As you have no doubt noticed, superhuman crime in Gotham is only getting worse. Particularly metahuman crime."

She nods. "Y-Yeah. From what everyone says, it's been like that for a decade. More and more people year after year."

"That is not an inaccurate summation. Because of this, it has become clear to me that Robin and I alone are no longer enough to protect the city alone."

"Which" he says, "is why I am coming to you with an offer."

She looks at him, wide-eyed.

"I want to mentor you."

Her mouth is hanging open. "I… S-Sir… I d-don't…"

"You would no longer be able to go on independent patrols, and have to coordinate all your activities through me. In exchange, you would receive access to some of our resources, and extensive training from both myself and Green Arrow, in addition to-"

She cuts him off. "Ye- Wait how do you- of course you do, you're Batman, yes, of course I want to! Yes, yes, yes!"

I have to stop myself from grinding my teeth. I'm against this, Batman knows I'm against this, but he's going forward with it anyways. We're fine, we're doing fine on our own. If we need to work more closely with other heroes, we can just just collaborate like we do with Huntress or Tomcat what we were doing with Chryssa, not… not bring them into the fold. What's next, inviting her up to Mount Justice to watch Wally cringily flirt with M'gann?

Her previous exhaustion is gone, and she practically has stars in her eyes. "It… It would be the greatest honor of my entire life to work under you sir, you have no idea."

She blushes. "You… you two were my inspiration, actually, for becoming a hero. Someone who can actually make a difference, save people."

My fists unclench a bit.

…Dangit, it's hard to stay angry in the face of that type of earnestness.

She bites her lip. "There, um… there is one thing you should know, before, uh…"

She reaches up to her mask, and I can tell it's the hardest thing she's ever done. "I… My family are-"

"Sportsmaster and Huntress, yes, we are aware."

She drops her hands in shock.

"Chryss- no, Artemis" Batman says, voice even more intense than usual, "Your parents actions are not your own, they do not define you. Your commitment to justice is even more admirable in light of their lack of it, not less."

Seriously, does he practice that in front of a mirror or something? Seriously, for a guy infamous for how "grr, I am justice, I am the darkness" he is, he can be crazy inspiring.

"I… thank you sir. " She swallows, eyes wet. "I… I r-really needed to hear that today. Thank you."

I sigh. I mean, what can I say, in the face of that?

---

AN: Do you guys think "Argyra Morgan" or "Argyra Argos" works better? I'm torn, so I'm curious to hear y'all's thoughts.

Also, I'm having some trouble figuring out what exactly I want Zatanna's character arc to be, and how I want her to do it. I think "wanting to live up to her family's legacy, but also separate herself from it and step out of her father's shadow as her own person/hero" is pretty understandable, but I'm having trouble figuring out how to actually get her to do that. Or hell, maybe she doesn't want to be a hero, and has a totally different motivation? I'd love your ideas.

There's an almost-Greek level of irony in the worst and best days in Artemis's life (so far!) happening within the same week. That she only gets what she's wanted more than anything else right after losing the one thing she can't live without.

All of Batman's lines should be mentally read in Kevin Conroy's voice.

As always, discussion keeps me motivated, so please let me know what you think. If you want inside scoops, I talk about story stuff and get writing feedback on my channel in the Gaylor Convention Center.

 

[PrognosticHannya]

CW: This is from the perspective of Carmine Falcone, a highly conservative middle-aged Sicilian mob boss, and has a lot of the social views you'd expect from such a man. Nothing too bad, but he drops the t-slur once (although he regrets it), and is highly racially insensitive.

---

PoV: Carmine Falcone

Despite what my lovely daughter says about me sometimes, I'm not a cruel man. Not any more than necessary, at least. Yes, I may sometimes have to take a… harsh line when someone steps out of line, but those are the unfortunate realities of the family. Sometimes, you have to be harsh, to punish those who try to destroy it. Even if its from threats from the inside.

I do my best to keep a frown off my face. Damn you, Carlo Lota. You were my fucking friend, you son of a bitch, and you sold me out to the Bertinellis to a god damn pay raise? I invited you to my daughter's christening, we were family.

I shake off the dark thoughts. Carlo, Camilla, and their boy Vito are six, no, seven feet under. It's done with. He's just lucky little Maria was a baby, or else the picciotta would be right there with her family instead of in an orphanage across town.

That's the key, that's the balance, that's what separates the men from the monsters: a code. Bane or Mannheim or Two-Face or Kosov, their violence is uncontrolled, unfocused, like a wildfire. It burns and burns, just for the sake of burning. That's strong, sure, but eventually, it'll end up burning down something you care about. Dangerous to your friends just as much as your enemies.

No, the way to rule isn't by loading up kids with dope at 12, or shooting up playgrounds to kill your enemies kids, or giving out debtors wives to your made men for them to have fun with. The Fiorentinu said it best: it may be better to be feared than loved, but if you can, be both.

I've had to understand that, been forced to understand that, my entire life. Strong men making tough decisions, and taking hatred on the back: it's an art with Siciliani have had to perfect.

Back in the Old Country, the government never cared about us. The North was the one who got the money, and the attention, and the love. We got left to the wolves, to become wolves.

So, we had to start taking care of ourselves, otherwise, we'd be nothing but wolves eating each other.

Families helping families, communities defending communities, and soon enough, a few strong, tough men had built kingdoms where they used to be a waste. But those men never forgot where they came from, who they were, and that's why we've lasted longer than any dozen Irish, or Mexicans, or Indians, or Slavs, or anybody. Others fight and scrap at one another, tearing each other apart. Surdàti against surdàti, underboss against underboss, Family against Family. But we Siciliani, we know the meaning of loyalty, of community, of respect and dignity. When we say we're a family, we mean it, and our territory is our home.

Who doesn't want to make their home as beautiful as possible?

And that's why I've stayed on top all this time. Of course, everyone knows not to cross me — just ask the Bratva what I did to Steel Wolf with my own two hands after that lightning girl I hired got done with him — but they also know that when the wolves, steel or not, come scratching at the door, the Falcones are there to defend them.

And if we collect a small fee for doing so… well, what do you think taxes are? If the government does it, it can't be illegal.

When the Japs sent that maniac Toxic to collect protection from Crown Place, who drove him away? The Family. When Freeze tried to rob the bank on Palmetto, who sent out Mirage and Killer Moth to send him packing? The Family. And, most of all, whenever those sons of fucking bitches the Bertinellis send in their people to fuck shit up here, who sends them home in a box? The Family.

I frown. That's been growing harder and harder recently. If I'm being honest with myself (which I always am, as a personal rule), we've been getting pressed hard the past few months to our west, and I'm worried we'll break soon. We've only barely been able to hold that off since they got that fucking glowing skeleton last year, even Mammoth can only stand against that shit-sucker for a few minutes before having to bow out. I've had to bring him on full-time to deal with that freak, and he is fucking expensive. But now? They do a little finger-painting with blood, and suddenly they have a dozen surdàti who can punch through bricks and take ten bullets to put down?

We're losing streets faster than a Mexican popping out kids.

And that's a dozen guys minimum. My people in his family are telling me more and more people are getting interested in what those freaky voodoo priests are saying by the day.

I shudder. I may not be the most pious man, but demon-worship is a fucking line. I knew that little abortu Franco was a twisted motherfucker, but I had no idea how much.

That's why I've called this recent find up to my office. My brilliant little daughter managed to figure out they're some sort of witch, like Jinx. The exact type of person I need to help fight this new… cult business.

Madonna, I'm proud of her. This one wasn't even on my radar, and she managed to figure "her" out just like that, when "she" was trying to hide.

I mean, I'd always known about what the "little genius" from St. Vitus's orphanage decide to do once he got to high school, but Sofia, hah! Girl had no idea, learning that one of her classmates was a… well…

Ah, no Carmine, don't be like that. You don't have no problem with Drury's girl, do you? And it ain't exactly a secret that she didn't used to be Kitty Walker. Sofia already chewed my ear off about this one, apparently she likes her, so be respectful! You're here dealing with a lovely young woman, and that's that.

Couldn't catch me doing that shit with a gun to my head though, heh.

I still can't believe my girl caught the witch thing, but not that.

I'm so proud of her, though, really. She's got a mind sharp as a whip, Sofia, sharper than mine. She was the only one who figured out where that "Executioner" creep was hiding, and she told me right to my face! "You're letting this guy run circles around you, because you're too damn focused on the damn Pulentuni!" I think the underbosses must have shit their fucking pants, seeing someone talk to me like that!

But she was right. And I was too proud and stubborn to listen to her, even when I was trying to bring her more into the business.

If only…

I sigh.

I love all my children, I really do, but Alberto… what am I going to do with that boy?

He started off so well: he followed after his older brother like a puppy, did everything that was asked of him. But as he grew up, I began to see it. The short temper, the recklessness, the screaming and raging, the downright stupidity that only grew as he got older. He might be the only man I know that got dumber as he aged.

If he were anyone but my own flesh and blood, I would have had him out of a Family years ago… but I was blinded by sentiment. Now, he's got a whole club of hot-headed young dumbasses just like him, ready to bite off so much so fast we'll end up choking on it, and bring the whole family down with them. I've got them quarantined away from anything important, but he's too influential now to kick out entirely.

I have to hide my weary sigh. Oh, Mario, why did you have to be the son to die?

You were the golden boy, the favorite son, the perfect heir… and then that son of a bitch Franco Bertinelli had to get you on a job nobody thought was dangerous.

I lean back in my chair, closing my eyes For some reason, that hot pit of fire isn't there anymore. It's just cold, and empty, like one of the caves underneath the city.

Maybe I should have listened to Sofia, and seen a shrink.

I manage to last a whole second before I burst out chuckling.

Yeah, sure.

That girl's got a naïve streak in her. It's my fault, really: I listened to her mother too much, didn't let her anywhere near the Family. "It isn't fit for a young girl" I thought… Now look at me. Left with a son who will drive the family into a ground, because he's got no head, and a daughter who'd lift us up to new heights, if only she could get her head down from the clouds.

I'm hoping to use this whole Bertinelli situation to really bring her into the process, to show her how to do what's necessary. She can be a worthy heir, despite the… setbacks she'll have earning respect as a woman, I know it. She's smart, she's bold, she's cold and calculating, and she's got that killer instinct that just can't be taught. She just needs some honing, and she'll cut the Family's enemies more sharply than I ever could.

I press a button on my desk, sending a buzz to my secretary, Lenny Moskowitz. Time to see just what kind of fish she's hooked for me.

As I wait for them to come in, I think about what a good find Lenny was. Say what you will about the Ebbrei, but damn if they man can't organize a schedule like nobody's business. Honestly, I was skeptical when Frankie said I should start bringing the them the family. But hey, that's just me: I don't like nobody that's not Sicilianu, and maybe some Calabrisi if it's a good day.

I'm a man willing to admit when he's wrong, though, and I was. We'd been angling to take Amsterdam Heights for ages, and when the Odessans took it over, I got my chance. Those borscht-eaters are famous for looking at even the Polacks funny, so I knew they'd be freezing out a whole different tribe. I made sure that certain angry, well-liked, and newly-out-of-work young Jewish men knew the door was open, and after a few moths of no work and synagogues getting trashed by drunk gopniks yelling about international Judeo-Bolshevik plots, they jumped ship, and I gained a whole bunch of angry young picciotti ready to be loyal to someone loyal to them.

The soldiers are good, and the ordinary folk too. Quiet, hard-working, keep to themselves, and they work on Sundays. I use them to count my money now, because damn if they can't do it better than anyone else.

Hey, I'm not judging! We get a good tenth of our money from collecting vigs and shylocking, it's not like we're so innocent.

They also gave us an in with Murder Inc. across town, giving me one of my strongest alliances next to the Ghost Dragons and the Persians. And the Sullivans, of course, but they're practically cousins at this point.

The doors to my office open, and I look at the young girl walking through next to my girl and her Jinx, after receiving a pat-down from my longtime bodyguard Luigi.

Hmm…

Nah, you know, I can't see it. Normally, you can tell with a lot of her type, but damn, I need to get the number of whatever doctor she's got!

Actually, come to think of it, she probably did some sort of magic. I wonder if she changed the whole situation down there?

I shudder. Eugh.

Hmm… not the fittest, but that doesn't matter as much with women as it does with men. But once she joins, I should still probably put Short Tony on, he's good at that type of thing. Real friendly too, to build some comradery that'll pay off down the line when I have her do her first wetworks mission. That natural silver hair has got to make her a man-eater though. I knew a guy with the exact same hair back in my twenties, ate up and spit out more broads than the Red Light District.

It shouldn't be too hard to convince her really. Sofia tells me she's the type of gal that gets along with everybody, but not many real friends.

Poor kid. I learned the hard way that there are a million tiny ways people like that show each other that they're in the club, and someone born here ain't gonna know any. They'll smile as much as they like, but you'll never really be one of them.

The timing is perfect, really. My girl tells me she just had a falling out with her only real close friend. And wouldn't y'know it, look who's here to move in on that prime emotional real estate!

It's for the best, really. She'll be better off with me than he would as some… well, whatever wizards do for work.

Jinx says that even thought she isn't really involved in that wizard scene, she's heard of the girl distantly as a real bright rising star among the local ones, so that's definitely someone I want on-side.

"Welcome, welcome!" I say, putting on my most genial voice. "Please, sit down, make yourself comfortable."

She nods, a wide smile of her own on her face. "Please, Don Carmine, the pleasure is all mine! It truly is an honor to meet an august personage such as yourself!"

Damn, you can't even tell with the voice? She's gotta have used magic.

I gesture over to my liquor cabinet. "Can I get you anything? I'm a brandy man, myself."

She smiles politely. "I'm partial to ouzo: it's the Greek in me, I'm afraid. But if not that, then wine would be excellent."

Good, at least the girl didn't refuse. Although, picking a liquor she knows I wouldn't have in a million years? Hmm…

I snap. "Lenny, get the m- girl some wine! I think we have a Cheval Blanc?"

"Actually" she says, reaching a hand into her robes, "I'm afraid I'll have to pre-empt you a bit there."

Lenny and Luigi have reached into their holsters, and I gesture for them to stand down. I want to see where this is going.

She somehow manages to pull out an entire bottle from inside some inner pocket, made of what looks like… jade? There are these glowing lines all over it, and I can't stop myself from leaning forward, interested.

"You see, and this is terribly rude of me to not announce beforehand, but I've brought you a bit of a gift."

I raise an eyebrow.

"A gesture of respect, from someone who can only stand here today thanks to the careful… stewardship, let's call it, of this territory at your hand. I shudder to think at what would have become of St. Vitus's under the rule of some brute like Bane."

I let myself lean forward slightly, my mind shifting as I outwardly broadcast curiosity. Well isn't this interesting…

She pulls out four glasses from wherever the hell it was she got the bottle from, setting them down on my desk with a flourish.

Ooh, that's a good touch. I've seen men three times her age forget to bring their own glasses when they gift a bottle of liquor. Just that little touch turns a gift from a "here's my tribute, sir" to a "let's share this together, as equals."

I glance at the other two occupants of the room. Jinx looks mildly interested, mostly waiting for the actual meat of the conversation, but Sofia looks absolutely floored. Her face is perfectly composed and gracious of course, I'd expect nothing less, but I can tell she's practically got her jaw hanging open.

This time, I don't stop my lip from quirking upward. Looks like this girl's a bit better at the game than you told me, eh, daughter?

He pops off the cork. "This is, well… the word in Átahsaia is sulnakh, but I prefer to call it Giant's Blood. It's hard to get a hold of, the Átahsaia are more likely to eat a merchant than sell something that will be drunk by 'mortals'."

Good word choice there. Leave it nice and ambiguous whether she's including herself in the "mortal" category, or if it's just us.

I like this kid.

She pours the wine into the glasses, making sure to serve herself first, then me, brushing up on the edge of brat-ery, and then settles back in his chair.

"So" she says, seizing the initiative before I can speak, "has Sofia informed you as to why I requested this meeting?"

I can't help but feel my mouth twitch. Oh the balls on this fucking girl…

Wait, "balls", hah! Didn't even mean to make that pun.

I lean back. "Yes. She told me you said you think you could do good work for me, with your magic? And, of course, to report on what exactly happened with this… Executioner, I heard he called himself?"

Work for, not work with, and report, not discuss. If you treat someone like they already work for you, and just don't know it yet, it's more likely to end up true.

"Of course" she says, "But there's also another matter that I believe you should be aware of, afterwards. And believe me, you'll want to know."

I simply gesture generously, "please, take your time. And don't leave anything out."

I lean forward, narrowing my eyes in that way I know makes my glare "piercing" (well, that's what Louisa calls it, at least). "This carogna killed my people, in my territory. I want to make sure he's so dead the devil'll have to dig him up."

She simply gives a half bow, the smile on her face never changing.

I lean back as she begins her story, raising up my glass to my mouth for a sip.

I have to hide a chuckle as she visibly starts, failing to hide her surprise.

Heh, weren't expecting me to actually drink it, were you, ya little shit? Trying to make me look rude for being careful of poison. That's the only reason people bring drinks as a gift, after all. Not even Jinx has taken any yet.

Amused, I take an actual drink of the… whatever it was she called it, now that I know it doesn't have some sort of freaky potion in it.

Mmm, this is good. And of course, I'll have to go through her to get any more of it, or ask her to tell Jinx where she got it from. Clever.

---

About thirty minutes later, with some occasional questions and comments from Sofia, and she's finished. It sounds relatively normal, for a big magic fight: she came in, found the bastard doing magic shit, and killed him. Bing bang boom.

Jinx had some questions about the spells she used, but she managed to deflect gracefully enough I don't think the pink-haired girl realized she'd been had.

"Well" I say, "thank you. That was most informative."

She nods, still wearing that smile. "I do aim to please."

Outwardly submissive, but with a slight edge of sarcasm that undermines it in a way that's deniable.

"Jinx" I ask "Is there anything you'd like to ask our guest that you think we haven't covered already?"

Establishing that I value the input of my subordinates, trying to sell her on being one and therefore implying that her swearing to me is a legitimate possibility. Also, framing it as a favor to Jinx and using haven't covered instead of didn't ask, to minimize my own ignorance. Also, the slightly patronizing tone I use will act as a reprimand to Jinx for daydreaming during the earlier bits with the wine-gifting, which I can tell she was doing.

If you want to be my daughter's #2, you've gotta know your shit, girl.

The purple-haired witch frowns. "A few, yeah, but it's mainly specific really tiny stuff I can ask her later."

The silver-haired witch nods. "I'll endeavor to answer any questions you may have, as long as it doesn't infringe on anything confidential or personal."

I nod, simply sitting back, finishing the last sip of my (delicious) magic wine, not moving a muscle at the silence that's descended over the room.

Who's going to break first? You clearly want me to know about the "extra thing" you wanted to talk about, but do you want it enough to put yourself on the back foot?

Eventually, she gives in. "Well, there is another matter. And it's a far more serious one, I'm afraid."

I raise an eyebrow. Huh, so this is important.

Sofia's brow furrows and then un-tenses, a nervous tell I can only catch because I raised her. "More serious than a serial killer, Yra?"

"Also" Sofia says, "you are going to have to get us some more of this… whatever you called it for my…" — she briefly glances at me — "small get-together next week."

C'mon, honey. Who do you think pays the maids to clean vomit out of the carpet? I know all about those "little get-togethers" you throw.

I still don't know where she's getting the coke and hash though, must be from someone else's organization so I can't cut her off.

I have to hold back a sniffle. She really is a chip off the old block.

The witch nods. "Of course, consider it done."

She leans forward, eyes turning more serious. "I assume you're aware of the… new abilities displayed by some members of the Bertinelli family?"

I don't stop myself from snorting. "You mean how they have guys who can punch through a man's chest like cardboard all of a sudden thanks to some weird cult? Nah, I hadn't noticed, 'cause I'm fuckin' blind."

Sometimes, blunt sarcasm can be a weapon, if you've spent the whole conversation dancing around things.

"Well" she says, clearly thrown a bit off her game — hah, never fails! — "I managed to track down one of the cult members yesterday, and I recognized the type of enhancement he was using. I know who's behind this."

She pauses, clearly waiting for me to ask.

I just raise an eyebrow.

She almost rolls her eyes, but then clearly thinks better of it. She reaches into her robe again, and pulls out a sheet of paper with a mass of sketched lines on the on it.

"These are some of the runes from one of the amulets a Bertinelli cultist was wearing."

She pushes it over to Jinx. "Are you familiar at all with runic enchantment?"

I can tell from the upward curve of her mouth tell she clearly knew the answer is "no" before she even asked, she's trying to get some of the power back by establishing how much I need her. This is gonna be funny.

"Ah… no. My expertise is mainly in Fortune Magic, and we don't use… those types of things. What is it that you specialize it, again?"

"A little bit of this, a little bit of that, a lot of runework" she says, failing to conceal a flinch at Jinx's furious glare. "That… ah, that makes sense, though. I imagine you don't need many runes for Fortune Magic."

Hah, and Jinx didn't disappoint. Silver girl didn't think that one through, did she? Yeah, scoring points is important, but you can't piss off the people you'll be working with to do it. She tried to make it sound non-patronizing, and paper it over after, but I think that just made it worse.

She's lucky the pink-haired girl is pragmatic enough to understand the value of alliances. That girl's gonna be to Sofia what Drury and Benny are to me, mark my words. And she'll be better at it than that either of those two ever were.

"Regardless" she says, recovering admirably. "These runes suggest that one particular group is behind this."

"It's name" she says, voice grave, "is the Church of Blood. Also called the Cult of Skath."

Jinx lets out a soft gasp.

Oh shit, this is really serious.

"What is this… Skath organization?

"They're less of an organization and more of an ideology" she says. "One that's considered an infestation across the known universe."

I have to hold back a choke. Universe? What the fuck did Franco get his people into?

"Their ideology varies from location to location, but generally, it revolves around the righteousness of the strong dominating the weak, and their utter devotion to one particular being."

She slides me a piece of paper, with a name written on it.

"Trigo-"

"Don't say his name" she cuts me off quickly. "The Lord of Zinthos is powerful, exceptionally so, and beings that powerful can know when you speak of them. It's not much of a risk just like this, but still, better safe than sorry."

After Sofia reads it, she takes the paper back, and snaps her fingers. A circle of runes briefly flashes into existence over them, so quick I almost miss it, and the paper burns.

"If I'm being honest" she says, "no one truly knows much about him. All we know is that he was once a god on a planet far from here, Zinthos. Over the centuries, he managed to defeat and consume every other god, taking their power."

"But when entities get powerful enough, they can no longer maintain their presence in our dimension, the physical universe. So eventually, he fully retreated into his own god-plane, acting upon the world only through his proxies."

"That's where his cult comes in. The Lord of Zinthos can offer worshipers magic, powerful magic. And he'll offer it to almost anyone, too, he practically invites people in to experience his miracles."

I frown. I've been in this business long enough to know how this story goes…

She quirks her lip. "You get it. The first hit's free, but after that… one of the reasons his cult is able to offer gifts so freely is because they're the worst sort of drug, a poisoned chalice: the more you use them, the more they hollow you out inside, until eventually you're nothing but hate, rage, cruelty, and desire to slavishly serve."

"That's what the Bertinellis have been getting involved with. Even some of their own suldati are getting uncomfortable with how their friends have been changing."

Eventually, my daughter breaks the silence. "Wait," she says, "if these guys worship a dude named… well, you know what, from a planet called 'Zinthos'… why are they called the cult of Skath?"

The witch nods. "Good question actually, Sofia. That's due to another tenet they tend to all share: the belief in a messianic figure of the same name. They're supposedly a child of the Lord of Zinthos, who will come to the world and herald in a new age, one where their Lord's unholy light bathes all of the Earth, and the Skathites rule over with an iron fist at his right hand."

"And that's…"

She frowns. "Semi-accurate, as far as I can tell. At least, the 'end of the world' part. There have been several Skaths over the centuries, on several planets. I wasn't able to get a clear handle on what exactly happened, no one I spoke to seemed to know, but essentially, they acted as some sort of… anchor for him, and for his power. It let him bring his dimension closer to ours."

She waves her hand. "After that, it's reports of unholy infinite armies, yadda yadda yadda."

I let out a breath as the tension in the room breaks. I'll give that girl one thing, she knows how to tell a fucking story.

"Honestly, I think I really oversold the danger, here, with all that talk of interdimensional gods, and what not. Children of Zinthos are rare, incredibly rare, I've never even heard of one being sighted."

She shrugs. "Without one — and trust me, we'd know if there was one — their threat level is highly limited. Most cults could theoretically bring about the end of the world if they had the right tools, after all, so these schmucks aren't even something most mages would even get out of bed to stop. Skath cults pop up constantly, at least two a year, and they all eventually burn out. The magic they use doesn't exactly lend itself to cooperation and long-term planning, after all."

She chuckles. "Yes, they're a group of incredibly annoying and dangerous mages that like to sacrifice others to fuel their spells, but do you know how many of those there are in the world?"

Sofia laughs, and even Jinx is cracking a smile.

"Well" I say, breathing out heavily, "I knew Franco was a stupid piece of shit, but not that stupid."

"Stupid and dangerous. So stupid that he's dangerous."

I chuckle darkly. "Oh no, he's always been that."

"Well" I say, slapping my hands on the table, "that cinches it. I want to make you an offer, Ms. Morgan. I'm putting together a bit of a… troubleshooting squad" I say, leaning back. "Not an official part of the Family, outside consultants brought in to help me deal with this… infestation."

I practically sneer that last word.

I slide an envelope across the table. "You'd get paid a significant consulting fee, of course, as is the usual. And you'd have full access to all of my resources."

She opens it, and I smile as her eyes widen. "You'll find I'm very generous to my friends."

I lean forward, eyes hard.

"Because I don't care what the fuck it takes, what you need to use, who you need to kill: I want these freaks dead. I've tolerated Franco Bertinelli's existence for far too long, and it's time I wiped out his little hive of insects permanently."

The girl- no, Silver Sorceress smiles, wide and toothy. "Oh, Don Carmine" she practically coos, "it would be my absolute pleasure."

I grin. "I'm glad we're on the same page."

Abruptly, I turn back to my paperwork. One last power-play. "If that's all" I say, "Lenny will show you out."

"Don't bother, sir." she says, standing up. "I can see out myself."

I raise an eyebrow. "And by the way, Jinx" she says, turning her head to the pink-haired witch, "in answer to your previous question about what my specialty is."

She turns to face me, staring me directly in the eye with a toothy smirk. "It's everything."

She glows, collapsing into a series of purple and silver lines before vanishing.

…

…

…

I can't stop the bark of laughter that jumps out from my chest.

Now that's how you make an exit! And she even left the bottle behind, like it's a favor!

"Sofia, Jinx" I say, letting the smirk show on my face, "you do whatever you can to keep that girl favorable towards us."

My daughter smiles, but I can see her surprise. Jinx just huffs, annoyed.

I wave. "Dismissed, everyone."

"Oh and daughter…" I say.

I let my genuine pride shine through in a warm smile. "You really helped me out, finding her. Good job, kid. I have some news for you, later."

She smiles back, eyes slightly wet.

I wait until everyone's out of the office (except my faithful bodyguard, obviously) before throwing a glass at the wall.

"What the fuck, Luigi!"

I slam a hand into my desk, denting the wood.

"Cultists? Interdimensional demons? The hell did that rancid, dickless, cowardly little faggot Franco bring to my fucking doorstep!"

I grab the bottle of wine he got me and break it against the far wall.

"And now I have to rely on some smirking little tranny Sofia found at school to deal with this? Because my own fucking wizard apparently isn't up to the task?"

With a roar of anger, I punch clean through the generic painting of a hilly Regalbuto landscape on my wall, dissolving into Sicilian cursing, as I try to shake it off my arm.

Eventually, I wear myself out, dropping back into my chair with a sigh. I open up my drawer, pulling out a cigar. Cuban, and not one of the fake ones they sell to tourists. Louisa says the things will kill me, but sometimes there's just nothing else that will calm me down.

"Fuck Luigi… What am I gonna do."

He stays silent. Good man.

"I like the girl, you know, I wasn't lying to Sofia. And… I probably shouldn't'a called her… y'know, that."

I lean back. "I'm just pissed we can't have her for the family."

It's only from my two decades of knowing him that I can detect Luigi's curiosity.

I shake my head with a chuckle, puffing on my cigar. "Girl like that? She's not built to serve. She'll never join willingly, and if I tried to force her in, she'd only hate me for it. And who knows why type of voodoo shit she can pull if I really pissed her off, you saw how she left."

"I just don't know what to do with this magic shit. Should I get Father Tommaso on hand? One of those Rabbis with the big hats from the Heights, or those Muslim priests? Can any of them even do anything?"

I take another puff.

"Fuck it all, Luigi. Fuck it all."

After another five minutes of smoking, I put out the cigar.

"Well, time to get to work, then."

---

AN: Woah, this ended up being way longer than I thought! Carmine (at least my version) is such an interesting character to write for, I kind of got sucked in. Please, let me know what you think of him! He's a really complex character, and I'm torn between loving to hate him and hating to love him.

I love the idea of extremely-bad-but-trying trans ally Carmine, solely because he has the positive influence of Killer Moth threatening to murder the shit out of anyone who misgenders his precious Kitten. Also yes, if you didn't catch her in 1.4, this is that Kitten (real name Kitty), from Teen Titans. She acts exactly the same there, the only difference is that she's an incredible spoiled trans girl.

I hope you guys loved my alternate take on Trigon! By the way, there's actually way more hidden lore beneath the surface you aren't seeing, although I'd be absolutely shocked if anyone managed to guess it.

Yes I'm aware that canonically, the Bertinellis are actually the more Sicilain gang, while the Falcones are more general Italian (although it would still be mostly Southern Italians, based on historical immigration patterns that would require giant historical changes to be different). But it's too late to change now, so the switched gangs are just another AU element I guess.

And yes, I'm fully aware that historically in NYC, there were multiple Sicilian gangs, but, well, I'm not actually writing a mob novel, and this is simpler. Benefits of writing not!NYC instead of actual NYC, you can fudge things a bit.

Halfway through the whole "conversational dueling" thing, I realized that I'd been inspired by that episode of 30 Rock where Liz uses Jack's coaching tapes to negotiate with him.

Btw before you ask, no, this is not YJ's Mammoth, he's closer to his Teen Titans incarnation. If you haven't noticed yet, I treat canon as a suggestion, at best, lol.

As always, discussion keeps me motivated, so please let me know what you think. I also talk about story stuff and get writing feedback on my channel in the Gaylor Convention Center.

 

[PrognosticHannya]

Question: which Eri character picture/story header do you guys like better? I'd like your feedback. Please ignore image quality/jpeg artifacts/etc., because I can clean that up with some editing.

Spoiler: Option 1 (Previous one modified to be purple)

Spoiler: Option 2

 

[PrognosticHannya]

PoV: Argyra

I sigh as I wait, sitting in the back room of a Butcher's shop at Carmine's request. The first chapter of our collaboration on how to take down the Skathites, apparently.

I'm honestly glad this is happening the day after he made his offer, because holy shit was that meeting nerve-wracking. I was a mess afterwards, and it took everything I had to not teleport right back to Mooney's to drown myself in booze again.

I… Yeah.

I let out a sharp breath.

I honestly scared myself, with how I got after the-

I swallow.

Well, after.

The drugs, the booze, the partying… I mean fuck, I basically used to be a teetotaler, and in a single night, I became my dad. I was practically weeping on Sofia at that bar, talking about my life was worthless without… her, how I was worthless without her. A wretched, horrible monster.

I scowl. Fuck that. I am strong, I am worth something, I'm not a monster.

If she can't see that? Fine, her fucking loss. I'm not going to let her hangups drag me down with them. I am never going to let her hangups dictate my life ever again.

Never.

Never again to losing control like that, never again to going on a cocaine binge and trying to fight the world, never again to spiraling out into a self-destructive, depressive arc afterwards when I come down from my mania.

Never again to letting someone else have such a hold on my, on my heart, that she can do that to me when she leaves.

Control is the name of the game from here on out. Of my environment, of my life, of myself.

Artemis made her choice. She had the opportunity to accept me for who I was, who I am, and she chose to spit in my fucking face. Calling me a monster, a liar, a cheat, and acting like she's so perfect when her secrets were so much worse than mine, well she can just stick her self-righteous little-

I take in a deep breath, staggering it out. Control, Eri.

I can't focus on her anymore. She doesn't want to be a part of my life, my world?

Fine.

New Eri will just have to show her how high she's capable of flying without annoying, moralistic little busybodies dragging her down.

I've moved on, moved past her, gotten better. I have a new job, which lets me do some fantastic research and tackle enemies of humanity at the same time, something she could only dream of. I even moved my Sanctum to leave the last vestiges of her behind: I found a nice place outside down, big and spacious, that I feel I can really grow into.

My plans, my operations, my whole thing has to go: no more passive, bookish Eri, just waiting for the world to come to her. No, this Eri is going to go out into the world, find what she wants, and take it.

And this, the room I'm in right now, is the first step. The first joint meeting Carmine's anti-Bertinelli task force has together, where we're going to plan out the next week of operations.

I feel a buzz in my pocket, and flip open my phone to check it.

From: Lonsters of Our Own Making

fr ur scaring me whats goin on plz call me its been days

I grimace, putting it away.

Seriously dude, can you take a fucking hint? I'd be more than happy to talk to you, about normal stuff. But he just keeps trying to natter on about feelings and how I'm doing and stuff I do not have the time for right now. She and I stopped talking, I'm better for it, end of fucking story.

The only good thing that's come from talking with him was learning that, for some reason, the bitch has refrained from outing me to everyone at school. I have no idea why, it would be just like her, with how-

Stop. Control, need to have control.

Forcing myself to stop contemplating dark topics, I look next to me, hoping to find something to lighten my mood.

Instead, I see Jinx, very pointedly not looking in my direction as we wait for Carmine to arrive.

Spoiler: Jinx

I have to suppress a groan. Come on, I said I was sorry. I didn't mean to insult her competence (cough cough even if it was totally deserved cough cough), and I just know she's going to be uptight about this for however long we work together.

There are three other figures, and honestly, I'm a bit shocked to see all of them in one place. Apparently Carmine is pulling out all the stops for this, as every cape in his employ is currently sitting with us.

There's Killer Moth, his longtime enforcer and number two. No powers that I know of, but scarily competent at all sorts of armed and unarmed combat.

Spoiler: Killer Moth

He'd still probably lose a hand-to-hand fight with Batman, but he'd take long enough to go down that it'd still be legitimately impressive.

Also, I'm pretty sure Kitty from my History class is his daughter?

Next is Mammoth. He was formerly working independent, like most villains in the city, contracting himself out to whatever group paid the most for any given job. But ever since the Bertinellis brought on Doctor Phosphorus, Carmine's spent an extraordinary amount of money to have Mammoth on retainer to deal with him.

Spoiler: Mammoth

He's got enhanced strength, speed, and durability enough to go toe-to-toe with most of the heavy-hitters in the city, with a surprisingly cunning mind behind the muscle.

I really need to figure out what the polite way is to ask for a sample of flesh to study.

Besides him is Mirage. I don't know much about her, only that she likes arson, has some meta power which lets her cast illusions, and has an intense rivalry with Atom-Master, who has tech that lets him do the same thing. When he took a contract with the Bertinellis, she came to Carmine, offering her services.

Spoiler: Mirage

Right as I finish my analysis, the door opens, and Sofia, not Carmine, walks though.

"You're all here, good" the girl says. "Daddy's delegated responsibility over this new threat to me, so I'll be the person you're working with."

She looks around the room challengingly. "Any problems?"

Hmm… On the one hand, it's irritating to know that Carmine isn't taking this as seriously as he should, and using it as some sort of test for his heir, but on the other hand, it's probably a good thing I'll be working under someone that I have a pre-existing relationship with.

"You're gonna do great, kid" Killer Moth says, with an oddly paternal tone. I guess he would have been a major presence in her life growing up.

Mammoth and Mirage just nod, and eventually after a moment of consideration, I join them.

"You're gonna kill it, Soph" Jinx says, shooting her friend a supportive smile.

Sofia smiles, looking like a weight's been lifted off her shoulders. "Excellent! I look forward to all of us working together."

"First" she says, "I'd like to introduce the new face in the room. Sorceress would you like to…"

I nod, looking around the room to make brief eye contact with everyone. "Silver Sorceress, pleasure to meet all of you. I'm a freelance mage, with expertise in just about everything and anything. "

Jinx rolls her eyes, and I can practically see her making the jerking-off motion inside her head.

Yeah, yeah, screw you too, bitch.

"I trust you know everyone" Sofia asks.

I nod. "I grew up here, so I'm pretty familiar."

"Excellent!" she says with a smile. "In that case, let's move forward."

She snaps her fingers, and a man in a suit walks in, and begins to hand a manilla folder to each of us.

"This is all the information we have on the Bertinellis' relations with the Cult of Skath. Storehouses, possible ritual sites, number of enhanced suldati, et cetera. Credit goes to Sorceress, she's been extremely helpful in tracking them."

I leaf through the file, looking for information on the places I've tracked down. Huh. This is… surprisingly professional-looking, for a gang.

I don't know, I guess I was expecting blood-stained pages of notebook paper, or something?

Jinx apparently sees my surprise and shoots me a smirk. "What? High and mighty Sorceress didn't think us lowly illiterate gangbangers could read?"

I roll my eyes, and she huffs.

Sofia's phone rings, and she glances down.

"Oh, excellent! Sorry guys, but we actually do have one new member of the squad that I'd like to introduce. She's a contractor that's occasionally worked with us before, very capable, and so Daddy brought her on as some extra muscle for this mission."

Dang, Carmine's really pulling out all the stops.

"You likely already know of her father, but trust me when I say that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree."

Wait.

"Don't think her age discounts her, either. She's already racked up over two-dozen kills on her own, and not on easy targets."

No.

"She was actually the one that took out that meth lab over on Byron Street that was competing with ours."

No fucking way.

There is no fucking way I've pissed off Tyche that much.

The door opens, and Rose motherfucking Wilson walks through, wearing scale mail armor and an orange and black half-mask.

Spoiler: Ravager

"Hello hello everyone, pleased to make… your…"

She trails off as her eyes land on me, and for the first time since I've known her I see genuine surprise on her face.

A moment passes.

She grins.

Slowly, that grin begins to grow, until a moment later she's standing there looking at me like every single Christmas of her life has just come early, and I'm the collected pile of presents.

Gods fucking above what did I do to deserve this?

"Ravager, meet the rest of the squad. I know your schedule is busy, so thanks for showing up outside working hours."

Rose leans forward, grin blinding. "Oh, don't worry Sofia. I'm very glad I came."

Fuck my life.

---

After around ten more minutes of introductions and debriefings, Sofia finally, thankfully dismisses the meeting, and everyone begins to file out of the room.

I stay put, as does Rose.

Sofia is the last to head out, eyes shooting between us, but I shake my head at her.

She looks at me strangely, but nods, leaving the room.

The minute the door to the back room closes, I turn to face the only remaining occupant.

"Rose" I say, voice carefully neutral.

She gets up, moving to the seat next to mine, and plops down in it like a lazy cat. "Oh, relax Yra. I already knew your secret. Hers too!"

Of fucking course she did.

"How did you- no, doesn't matter. What are you doing here?" I say with a growl.

She frowns. "What if I said I was just lonely, and wanted to see you?"

I glare at her. "Rose. What the fuck are you doing here."

Her eyes widen, tearing up. "A-Are you serious right now? I came all this way, and did all this stuff, just to be here for you, and you're-"

I stand up, sending my chair screeching backwards and stalking over towards her. "Fuck off. Last time, Rose. What are you doing here. I'm not playing games."

She lets the impression of a spurned lover hold for a moment, but eventually scoffs, rolling her eyes.

"Fine" she says with a pout. "Ruin my fun, why don't you. My father wants me to start taking more solo missions, and thought this would be a good test of my capabilities."

"C'mon!" she says cheerfully, "I thought you'd be happy to see me! You could certainly use a friendly face, the way that Jinx girl was glaring at you."

My eyes narrow. "Pull the other one. I can't imagine Deathstroke-"

"Oh good, so you do know about that."

"Deathstroke doesn't know exactly how dangerous a group of Skathites can be. "

"He does" she says. "He was actually contracted to to root out a nest of them back in the eighties."

Eighties? He doesn't look a day over- No, not important right now.

"My father expects a lot from me" she says with a grin, "I thought you'd be used to it, but… well, I suppose Sportsmaster just has lower standards."

"Speaking of her" she says, "I'm very sad I missed the fireworks, by the way, I've been waiting on this day for a year. If I'd known I was going to miss everything finally blowing up, I would have told Daddy to find someone else to take to Bialya."

"Honestly Yra" she says, faking a grimace but not bothering to conceal the cruel amusement dancing behind her eyes "not the best idea to not talk about the whole magic thing to your little… ex-girlfriend was it, now? I always told you that communication is important…"

I spin, grabbing her costume and slamming her against the wall. "You shut the fuck up about things you don't know shit about."

I feel a tingle in my danger sense, and my eyes flick down to her hand, which is holding a gun pointed directly at my heart. She raises her eyebrows, eyes hard.

I scowl, but take in a deep breath, and let her go.

I take in a deep breath.

Control, Eri. Control.

I sigh. "I do not fucking need this shit, Rose. I'm already working my ass off trying to track these idiots, I can't deal with your… you-ness."

"What a flattering description" she says drolly.

I growl. "Don't play dumb, it doesn't suit you. Skathites are not a joke, I don't need you pulling one of your schemes and getting us all killed."

She scoffs. "Please, Yra. I'm a professional. Messing with you at school is just for fun, this is actual work. I'll be good."

I look at her skeptically.

She rolls her eyes. "If you don't believe anything else, believe that Slade Wilson didn't raise an incompetent."

She sneers out the word with enough acid to make Timothy Leary jealous.

"C'mon" she says, smile widening. "Don't lie, having someone with my skills around it going to make things easier. Killer Moth's good, but he's not a Wilson. I bet he couldn't hunt down a puppy if it was pissing on his leg."

Despite myself, I let out a huff of air at the joke.

I tilt my head up, taking in a deep breath, and slowly letting it out in staggered increments.

"Fine" I eventually say. "Just… fine, whatever."

I run a hand down my face. "I suppose you can't really make things worse."

She chuckles, sauntering up to me. "Oh, please. I'll have your little cultist problem dealt with in a month, tops."

I raise an eyebrow. "We'll be home by Christmas, then?"

She laughs. "You know, I actually have missed you, anxious self-hatred and all. No one in Bialya was even half as fun to play with."

I roll my eyes. "How dreadfully awful for you."

"But really" she says, "you should look at this as a good thing! You're finally free, Yra! No more Artemis" — she smirks as I flinch — "holding you back, no more stupid self-hatred, no more… you-ness, I believe the term you used was? Once you get over her, you're finally going to start being really interesting."

I can practically hear the hunger in her tone at the last words.

She throws an arm around my shoulders.

"Actually" she says, tilting her head so I have a view down the front of her shirt. "if you want to get a head start on forgetting about her…"

My hand clenches at my side.

"Come on, Yra. You seemed stressed, why don't you let me help you relax?"

No.

Damnit, I'm not doing this again.

I'm not going to…

Wait…

…

Why not, exactly?

…

I mean, she's a mean bitch, sure, but… I can handle that. I'm twice as fucking scary as she could ever be, why the hell was I ever afraid of her in the first place?

Slowly I smile.

Fuck it, Let's go New Eri.

"My place, or yours?"

---

Two hours later, we're laid out on my bed, in my dorm, utterly spent.

Eventually, Rose sits up, rummaging around in one of the pouches on her costume to pull out a carton of cigarettes.

"Want one?"

I shake my head. Nicotine is only technically a drug, but still. Best not to.

Rose shrugs. "More for me, then."

She reaches for a lighter, but I just snap my fingers, conjuring a flame with a brief runic circle.

Rose hums in thanks. "Damn useful."

I chuckle.

"Okay, level with me" I eventually say. "Why are you really here? Why this job specifically."

She rolls her eyes. "Believe it or not, lovergirl, I wasn't actually lying to you. My father has very high expectations, and wants me to learn how to track down and kill mages. Also, it never hurts to brush-up on my skills against super-strong people."

"Hunting down mages, huh? Should I be worried?"

I don't miss the brief assessing look in her eyes. It's gone quickly though, and she just waves between us. "Nah. You're too pretty to kill, I think."

I chuckle.

"But yeah" Rose says, "that's really all there is too it. Princess isn't the only one being tested by her Daddy."

I giggle. "I can't believe no one's said anything, it is so fucking weird she calls him that."

Rose smirks. "If she ever needs a cape name, I'm pretty sure there isn't a famous 'Electra' around."

I let out a long laugh, and we eventually fall into a comfortable silence.

"By the way" she says, "I heard you slept with Mary Kong yesterday."

She smirks at me. "Seducing her, after you broke her heart? Genius. I'm proud I've rubbed off on you."

I roll my eyes. "Phrasing, and don't put that shit on me. She knows what I was looking for. If she wants something more… that's her problem, not mine."

She laughs. "I think I like this new you, Yra. Less whiny, less hero-y. Guess Archery Girl really was your worse half"

I smirk, ignoring the thump in my chest at hearing her name.

"You know?" I say. "All this time, you've been right… she was the thing holding me back."

Lie.

I smirk. "I think I'm starting to like the me without her."

Lie.

Rose hums. "You know, I expected you to be…"

I laugh. "What, trying to drown myself in a pool of my own tears?"

Rose shrugs. "I mean, you said it…"

"Well," I say with a smile that's just a little bit shaky "sorry to say, you're a few days too late. I had a big, weepy meltdown, went totally crazy. You would have loved it."

She sighs. "Damnit, I miss all the fun."

I laugh incredulously. "You really mean that, don't you? You legitimately regret missing out an opportunity to prod at me during my lowest hour."

She sighs, grumpily.

"Well, you're out of luck" I say. "I got that all out of my system, and now I'm back. Better than back."

She chuckles. "Sure you are."

"I mean it" I say, eyes intent. "When I was at the bottom of a bottle, you know what I realized? I don't need her. I'm a badass, genius sorceress, and I'm going to fucking thrive on my own."

"Right" she says, cruel bemused lurking in her tone. "That's definitely how it works. You're not upset at all."

I frown. "I'm fine. More than fine."

"One month, max. Then… I'll be waiting." Her grin is harsh and mean.

I growl. Right, this is why we don't sleep with Rose, Eri. You fucking moron.

"You'll be waiting a long fucking time then. I've moved on, I'm doing better without her."

"Of course, of course" Rose says, smirking. "That's exactly what a person who's moved on sounds like. Can you even say her name?"

I turn clench my jaw. "Fuck off Rose."

"Oh, calm down" she says, rolling her eyes. "I'm just fucking with you. Don't go all Mary on me, now."

She puts on a shockingly good example of the girl I slept with two night ago. "Oh Argie, my tender heart is weeping! Without you, my world is grey, instead of shining silver!"

I something that's in between a growl and a laugh as I sit up. "Gods, I forgot how much of a bitch you are, you know that?"

She turns to face me fully as I throw the sheet off, the moonlight draping itself over her nude body. "Oh don't lie, you love me."

I pause, looking her over.

"Trust me," I say with a snort, "love has nothing to do with what's between us. Your understanding of that is one of your only good qualities. Otherwise, 100% bitch."

"So you're telling me you don't want to try to seduce Sofia together?"

I bite my lip.

"C'mon, it'll be great! I mean, have you seen her ass?"

I hum. I feel like this definitely has the potential to backfire, but honestly, I don't have it in me to care right at this moment. "…Alright, put a pin in that for later."

"But as for now" I say, leaning over her "you up for another round? I don't have anywhere to be tomorrow morning."

She nods, putting out her cigarette on my nightstand.

So inconsiderate.

---

AN: The last time Mary Kong was mentioned was in 1.4, I highly recommend you go back and ctrl+f. It should prove illustrative.

Also, google the chapter title, I'm proud of how clever I was on this one. The title references Eri's growing isolation, her silver hair color, her poor mental state, cocaine use, and making out with someone named "Rose"? Sometimes I really impress myself.

Alright I need some help. I'm trying to workshop ideas, and I need a big villainous operation that Eri can get hired by a League of Shadows member to do research and/or security and/or oversight for. Like, think Brain's animal research project or the metahuman trafficking ring in YJ show canon (although nothing as openly evil as human trafficking, she won't ever get that far gone). Something with at least a dozen normal henchmen, a big operation that will take the Team at few days to actually infiltrate/take down/dismantle. Right now, I'm thinking drug farming/smuggling, but I'm open to suggestions. If you have ideas for smaller missions she can clash with the Team on, I'd be interested to hear those too.

As always, discussion keeps me motivated, so please let me know what you think. I also talk about story stuff and get writing feedback on my channel in the Gaylor Convention Center.

 

[PrognosticHannya]

PoV: Artemis

As I leap across the rooftops with Robin, I think back on the past week and a half.

Life since becoming an official associate of Batman's has been… indescribable.

The sheer amount of planning, resources, and information the Justice League Member has makes me feel like I was operating with a 90% handicap this entire time, just bumbling around in gang areas trying my best to find leads.

Before, it'd take me a month of effort and chasing leads to track down a series of supply houses, but now? I just need to radio in, and I'll get the answer back in under a minute.

And the best part of it is that I don't have to deal with any more of her bullshit. No fucking moral ambiguity, no hidden demigods, no betrayals: just plain good and evil.

None of… none of what happened the night after the Executioner.

I swallow.

I took down Stallion, that was a good thing, unambiguously. It let the GCPD take far more aggressive action against Penguin's assets. But the way I did it…

The rage, the hatred, the sheer brutality of it. The way I wasn't even fighting him at the end, I was fighting her, just superimposed on his body. The stabbing, the bloodiness, the joy I took in absolutely eviscerating him.

It would have made Dad proud.

I sigh. I can't be like that again. Can't ever be like that again. I need to focus, to stop letting her have such a hold on me, to look forward, always. That's what got me through the toughest times before Er- Argyra was there, and it's what'll get me through this.

I just need to keep looking forward, and never, ever look back. Because looking back is how you stumble, how you fall, how you become someone you're not. When you let the chains of the past bind you, they drag you down, to her level.

She thinks she's so great, huh? That she's some radiant being, too fucking good to slum it with us mortals? Beyond good and evil, beyond me?

That's fine! That's completely fine. I'm fine with it! I'll just have to show her, show her what the fuck she gave up on, the type of shit this puny mortal can do. And when I lock her up in Blackgate and throw away the key, maybe then she'll understand I'm fucking worth something, I'm not some-

I growl angrily. Forward, Artemis. You can't keep focusing on her. Heroing is the future. Batman is the future.

I can't stop my lips from twitching upwards. Because man, what a future it is.

I used to think I was experienced. A skilled investigator, an excellent fighter, and an all-around good-quality hero.

But one day of training with Batman proved to me how wrong I was.

Apparently I've been wrong about a lot of things.

That man is so skilled, so incredibly, impossibly competent at literally everything, it makes me doubt he's actually human. He broke down every single aspect of my fighting style, movement by movement, and has been helping me rebuild it into something better, from the ground up. He's had me go through simulation after stimulation of various types of hero work, ruthlessly critiquing my actions at every turn, and showing me the tricks and strategies he's learned from long years of service.

It's absolutely exhausting, but the good type of exhausting, the type that leaves me stumbling home to crash in my bed at the end of the day, unable to even think about anything else.

Or anyone else.

In comparison, training with Green Arrow is… decent?

I get the feeling that he really would prefer not to be doing this, but feels duty-bound to do the best job he can.

My money's on it having something to do with Speedy- sorry Red Arrow. Publicly, nothing's wrong, of course, and it was an amicable split, but I can't imagine that people change their name and move halfway across the country because their relationship with their former mentor is particularly good.

Batman has been providing me with access to the same type of trick arrows the older hero uses — infinitely better than my two kludged-together models — and, to his credit, Green Arrow has really been helping me figure out how to use them. He's even helped me perfect some general aspects of fighting with a bow, although honestly, I wasn't exactly shabby there to begin with.

I mean c'mon, I was trained by Malcom fucking Merlyn, a man I once saw shoot the wings off a fly from 200 feet away. I'm not anywhere near his level — yet — but I'm not exactly an amateur.

"So…" I say to my partner in this mission, "you seem to really have it out for this guy, huh?"

"I've been chasing down this asshole for a month" Robin says, voice practically a growl. "He's been… he's been teasing me, leaving clues for his next crimes, practically mocking me to my face."

"Batman hasn't gotten involved?"

He shakes his head. "No, this is my case to solve. I can't hide behind him forever, and he knows that."

"Besides" he says with a frown, "he doesn't think Red X is a 'priority'. Says that there are much bigger threats I should be focusing on."

"But that doesn't matter" Robin says, smiling "because I've finally figured out how to catch this annoying bastard. Tonight, I'm ahead of him. I've tracked his patterns, used his clues to construct a psychological profile, analyzed his past crimes, and so I know he's going to be here."

I grit my teeth. "Speaking of, you haven't actually told me where 'here' is…"

Again.

"Right, sorry. It's a STAR Labs's temporary artifact storage facility. A new experimental phasing device has just been shipped in, and is going to be stored overnight before being shipped off to their main labs in the morning."

"And he wants that because…"

"Because he's a scavenger" Robin says. "He's stolen dozens of pieces of advanced tech so far, and done who knows what with them. We think he might be integrating them into his gear, because after he stole some of Dr. Light's drones, he was suddenly able to shoot these lasers from his wrists.

"But tonight is different. Compared to actual, working phase-shifting everything else he's stolen is chump change. Who knows what he could do to advance his plans."

Quietly, with the utmost stealth, we make out way onto the roof of a building near the warehouse. Sure enough, there's a dark figure kneeling by the door, fiddling with the security system.

I look at the villain, and for a second I feel like I've been punched in the stomach.

That…

That hair…

Abruptly, I fully take them in, and I feel the ground reassert itself under me.

Oh. The silver on the figure's head is scuff marks on their helmet, not…

I swallow, almost fumbling the arrow I'm drawing. I mean, why would-

No. Chryssa, this is a mission, working with Batman's protégé. You cannot let yourself be distracted.

I take in a deep breath, and let it out in staggered increments.

Always forward, never look back.

I string my bow, and if my fingers are a little shaky, neither of us comment on it.

"Okay" Robin says. "Here's the plan: I'll get up close and fight Red X as a distraction, while you sneak inside remove the phasing tech to a safe location. By the time he even realizes what's going on, it'll be too late!"

"I don't know, isn't there a lot of security inside? I don't have the equipment with me to break through it, and-"

I turn around, and he's already gone.

I have to stifle a scream of frustration.

He's always been bad whenever we patrolled together, but ever since Batman decided to take me on — something I still have to pinch myself to make sure is real sometimes — he's been absolutely insufferable. We barely coordinate, barely even talk; he barely even seems to acknowledge that I'm here most of the time when we're making plans. And when he does, it's just to chastise me: like he's Lex Luthor, and I'm the incompetent, ditzy secretary who can't even make photocopies right.

Ok, maybe not that bad, but it isn't far off either.

"Red X!" Robin yells, dropping down behind the crouching villain in a way that makes me cringe. "I tracked you down, unraveled your clues. This ends now."

"Oh?" the villain says, voice modulated through his mask, "did you? Or did you merely do what I wanted you to do?"

Robin tenses.

Red X raises his arms. "While you're wasting time fighting me, one of my associates is breaking into the servers of another medical insurance company, uploading a virus."

He laughs. "Within the hour, two billion dollars worth of medical debt will disappear."

Wait what?

This is his evil plan?

I turn to look at Robin incredulously from where I'm hiding in the shadows.

"It's not that simple, Red." Robin says. "The last time you did this, the company ended up shutting its doors, leaving three hundred people out of work. The economic ripples cost two thousand more their jobs, when hospitals had to make cutbacks because of increased insurance rates."

Red X scoffs. "I'm not the one who decided to build an entire industry's economy in the most evil and stupid manner available."

Robin gestures at me angrily.

Shit, right, sneaking inside.

The fifteen-year-old hero growls. "You may not have built it, but it's still your responsibility to deal with it. Because if you don't, you just end up hurting people. Or are all those parents who can't put food on the table just acceptable losses? The people that die because hospitals have to reduce capacity?"

I slink away from where I've been standing, coming up to the back entrance of the warehouse.

"What of the hundreds of thousands who can now afford to put food on the table, afford to provide for their children, and live their lives? Who can afford to see the doctor again? Where was this fire and righteousness when they were suffering? Those are your acceptable casualties."

He shakes his head. "This is a war, Robin, to tear down the factory of infinite misery that is the current capitalist system. Even righteous wars are never clean."

Robin scoffs. "Oh yes, you're such a noble warrior. What's your ultimate plan, here, besides just causing chaos? Just keep bankrupting insurance companies until what, the medical system collapses? I'm sure everyone will be very grateful, then."

"You fail to see the vision. By heightening the contr-"

They fade into mumbles as I make my way around the back of the warehouse. Alright, let's see what we've got here…

Gods- God fucking damnit, of course. I fucking knew it, of course the Fates wouldn't be kind to me.

I grimace. No, those three bitches apparently favor someone else in my life, who's been-

I shake my head. Focus.

Always forward, never back.

I breathe in. Right. Apparently STAR's shoveled out the big bucks for this one, and gone with WayneTech Security. They're pretty much the gold, no platinum standard, and this looks like one of the more expensive packages.

Guess this is what it looks like when Metropolis money starts spending in Gotham.

Oh hey, judging by the sounds from out front, the two of them have finally stopped swinging their dicks around, and are actually fighting.

Seriously though, fuck tonight. This shit would take my dad at least ten minutes to get through, and that's with specialized tools.

I spend the next five minutes carefully searching around the rest of the building, looking to see if I'm lucky enough to have someone leave a door open, or a vent loose, or something…

Apparently, the Fates really do hate "mortals" like me, because there's fucking nothing. Of all the warehouses in Gotham with an actually competent staff, it had to be this one.

I guess I could always try to blow through the concrete walls with my explosive arrows, but that would defeat the point of covertly exfiltrating the asset, now wouldn't it?

I mentally curse, and begin to make my way back around to a high vantage point with a view of the fight.

Fucking hell, I can't get through this! I tried to tell him, I don't have any lock-picking tools with me advanced enough to get through this, and even if I did, it could take half an hour!

Well, at least I can probably help out Robin in fighting the villain, that's got to count for something.

Hmm, is "villain" really accurate? "Vigilante"? "Anti-hero"?

Honestly, I don't know. I'm starting to get the feeling that if it weren't for whatever weird personal rivalry Robin has going on with this guy, I wouldn't be here tonight. Batman doesn't seem all that concerned with him, saving the profits of medical insurance companies apparently isn't very high on his priority list.

I take my position on my perch to find that the two capes are fighting hand-to-hand. Their sparing is very intense. Very personal.

Red X has Robin in a headlock, taking advantage of his superior height to hold the hero off the ground, pinned to his own body. "Don't you get it, Bird Boy? You've fallen right into the setup I spent so long preparing for you: I've got you right where I want you. The virus should almost be done uploading by now."

He slowly moves a hand down the hero's side, grabbing a boomerang from his utility belt and stuffing it on his own.

"Fight as long and hard as you want, Robin, all you're doing is helping me work off my frustration. Every minute you spend here is another family's future being saved."

Robin smiles, eyes wide, face flushed with exertion, his breathing heavy, "Oh you think that, don't you? That you've managed to get me laid out flat under you. You think you've pinned me…"

He performs a classic Judo grip-break, and reverses the hold, so that he's the one pinning the villain's arms. "…but I've pinned you! The entire time we've been fighting, my assistant Chryssa has been grabbing the phase generator from inside the warehouse! She's blocks away by now!"

I'm sorry his what?

Red X curses, breaking out of Robin's hold. He raises his arms, red lasers on his wrists beginning to glow, and whirls around to the warehouse…

The very clearly locked, undisturbed warehouse, with an activated security system.

He turns back to Robin, and I can practically see his smirk underneath his mask.

"Oh?" he drawls. "Looks like not everyone you work with shares your level of intelligence, darling."

Robin frowns.

"Don't you know?" the villain says. "That's a WayneTech security system. The most secure in the business, there's no way to bypass it without shutting down the ancillary nodes."

He points. "That LED right there? That means your little assistant never even made it inside, the security was just too tough for her. Ironic."

Robin almost screams in frustration, back-flipping away and dropping one of his smoke bombs.

It's at that moment of distraction, with the two separated for the first time the entire fight, that I launch one of my new net arrows at the villain, trying to trip him up.

Unfortunately, something in his helmet must let him see through the smoke, because he jumps away, cutting it out of the air with a beam of red energy from his wrist-cannons.

Robin whirls around to face me. "What are you doing!" he yells. "Why did you abandon the phase generator?!"

I glare at him. "I tried to tell you I wouldn't be able to get past the security!"

The hero just growls, turning back to his opponent. "Fine. But stay out of this fight, X is mine."

My hand is probably going to bruise tomorrow from how hard I'm clenching my bow. So what, am I just supposed to sit here?

"Oh?" Red X says, rushing Robin "I'm yours, am I?"

The villain chuckles throatily. "Look at me, four months and I already have a nemesis of my own. I'll have to tell a friend, she was so insistent that it that was an unlucky number."

"Well" he says under his breath, sounding frustrated, "if she'd actually fucking talk to me."

"I'm not your nemesis, X." Robin says, grin wide, ignoring his muttered comment. "You're a speed bump in my path, and one of these days, I'm going to grind you down to nothing like the-"

I frown. "Wait, if it's been four months since you've been active, and Robin's been chasing you a month, wouldn't that make it three months since you got a nemesis? And that's a lucky number, so-"

"Stay out of this!" they both yell.

I have to suppress a scream of frustration. This is going to be a long night.

---

The next day at school, I have to physically stop myself from digging my fingers into the table.

That… that dick! I can't believe he just said "here's the plan" and then ran off! Like what, are my thoughts not good enough to even hear from, your highness? I guess my year and a half of on-the-job experience means nothing!

In the end, the battle went poorly. Red X managed to get away, mostly because Robin refused to actually coordinate with me, and we ended up going home angry after just another hour of patrolling. At least neither of us ended up going home with the phase generator, it got shipped off to Metropolis a few hours ago.

And what does that asshole do? He blames me!

I should have "found a way inside", apparently. Not "given up so easily and ruined the mission."

What, found a way inside a WayneTech premium system? With only a set of ordinary lockpicks?

Suddenly, I hear a voice from the hall that sends my heart racing. "I'm telling you Lonnie, I'm great! I'm thriving, living, growing, all that great stuff!"

Her voice sounds smug, lilting, like she's verbally dancing around her conversational partner.

"Look Yra, with all due respect, that's bullshit. You've been avoiding me for a week now. You can't even talk about her. What. Happened."

"Nothing happened! Really, I don't see why you're being so strange about this."

"Are you seriously trying to tell me that-"

"Lonnie, I'm telling you, everything's fine. Oh, look! I'm here. Good talk buddy, see you next period."

Just like every time I've seen her since… then, it feels like my eyes are glued to the doorway before she walks in.

After a few seconds longer than it should take, I see her saunter through, smoothing down her hair.

She walks over to my desk, and I feel each step of her pound in my head like a war-drum.

"Heyyyy Artemis."

I ignore how my heart jumps at the sound.

"Argyra." I say, voice hard, glaring at my former best friend.

She smirks, lazily. "And how are you doing this fine morning?"

"Well" I say, turning back to my work.

"Well I'm doing fine" she says, leaning over my desk, "better than fine actually. Everything feels so… light and free, now that I'm no longer weighed down by unfortunate baggage."

"I suppose it is easy to float when you're full of hot air" I say, flatly.

I have to hold back a smirk at how her eyes narrow.

It only lasts a moment though, and the next instant, she's back to her lazy smirk. "Clever. There's that sharp, cutting judgement that everyone loves so much."

"One of these days" I say, glaring. "One of these days someone's going to puncture that gigantic fucking ego of yours, and bring you down to earth. I just hope you don't hurt too many people before it happens."

"Self-righteous and delusional as ever, I see."

"Oh? So was it just my imagination that Mary Kong missed the last cheerleading competition, the one where that all the talent scouts were, because she was too busy crying her eyes out in her dorm over how you used her up and threw her aside?"

I see something flicker in her eyes that might just be regret, but it only lasts for a moment. "Mary knew what she was getting into" she says, eyes hard. "I told her what she was getting into. It's not my fault if she caught feelings along the way."

"No, but it's your fault for stringing her along. Of keeping her wanting something you knew you wouldn't be able to give her."

She growls, leaning forward.

"Oh fuck you" she says. "You of all people don't get to say that."

I turn away from her. "If you're not going to go and try to fix the hurt you're causing, if you don't even care about the hurt you're causing, then we have nothing to say to one another."

She snorts, standing back up. "Well then. See you never, I suppose."

Fortunately for me, she decides to end the conversation there, strolling over to her desk and plopping down into the seat.

Unfortunately for me, after a minute or so, she leans over to her deskmate and runs a finger down his shoulder.

"Hey there hot stuff, how you doing this lovely morning?"

The black-haired boy turns, and gives her a flirtatious smile. "Better now that you're here, beautiful."

Er- Argyra shoots me a wink over her shoulder, and then tilts her head back and laughs, in a way I know is fake.

I have to stop myself from growling. Of course she starts flirting with him.

Chet Quaid is a notorious sleazebag, a fuckboy who'll sleep with any girl with a pulse, and probably a few without it. He must have hit on E- Argyra a dozen times by now, he likes how "exotic" her hair his, but this is the first time she's given him the time of day. She's explicitly told me she doesn't find him attractive in the slightest!

Well, fine, then.

I purposefully turn my head away from where she's staring at me.

I just hope she enjoys all the venereal diseases that asshole is no doubt carrying with him, if that's the caliber of person she's reduced herself to.

…Fuck, she probably has some magic way of stopping those, doesn't she?

"You're such a charmer!" she says, bumping a shoulder into his. "And I do appreciate someone who can recognize my… assets."

She flicks her eyes over to me at that last part, smirking. I feel my nails scratch lines into the wood of my desk.

"So" she says, leaning over the boy's desk, and giving that shithead a look straight at her… you-know-whats, "have you finished that assignment for Mr. Dashington on Soviet History?"

"Nah, not yet. Don't really see the point, not like I'll ever use it."

I can see confusion and disdain momentarily flash on her face, before her eyes flick over to me, and the sultry smirk returns. "Well, you should. A big, strong man like you would get snapped up into the army, so it would behoove you to know more about America's number one rival."

I wouldn't be surprised if they can hear my teeth grinding across the classroom.

She lays a hand on her chest, purposefully placed to emphasize her bust. "I chose the influence of Romani figures on state-building after WWII, writing about the obvious example. Very interesting to see how a strong man can grab the political order and just force it under him. And that metal mask of his, mh!"

My pencil snaps in my grip.

The sleazy piece of shit just smiles. "Oh, I'm very familiar with that sort of thing. Trust me, I have a lot of experience."

I have never wanted to wring a man's neck more in my entire life than I do now.

As the silver-haired girl tilts her head back in another fake laugh, I have to stop myself from growling. How the fuck is this my life?

---

AN: I hope you enjoy Red X, I set him up a while back, and I'm glad to finally have it pay off. It shouldn't be too hard to guess who he is.

Question: I'm thinking of writing something (maybe main story, maybe an alternate timeline, maybe a one-shot, who knows) where Artemis goes to Gotham U, and Eri manages to finangle a spot as a TA for one of her intro classes (she got the college to basically let her do an undergrad and masters at the same time by walking in to the math department and handing them a Nobel-worthy finished paper debunking some long-standing hypothesis in predictive statistics). Anyone have any fun plot ideas for that type of setting? Superhero-related or just college related.

And if you feel like you need a shower after watching Eri and Chet flirt, good! That means I did my job well.

Discussion is the thing that keeps the fire of motivation burning inside me, of if you read the chapter and liked it, please make sure to comment. I read every single one, and each of them brightens my day.

If you want inside scoops, I talk about story stuff and get writing feedback on my channel in the Gaylor Convention Center