Chapter 44: Died on a Saturday

"The realm that we're in has many different names, depending on who you asked," Morgaine explained to Harrison as the two of the made their way into this realm. "Some individuals call it The Otherplace, some the NeverNever, others the Ways, and the Between. It honestly depends on the culture."

Harrison smiled and nodded, as he allowed her to explain. Given that she had the knowledge and became familiar with this realm. Sure enough, she was not done enlightening him on what he had to deal with.

"The Between seems to be the most accurate of them, considering we rest between all realities."

Harrison understood what she meant as well, as he looked around. His eyes focused as there were shadows combing around the area, in harsh whispers, that indicated that they were out for blood.

"And you can see the shadows of the creatures."

"Yes," Harrison answered gruffly, he could see the shadows. Some of them looked rather horrendous, like they were capable of some vile and nasty intentions if they were given half of the chance. It was not something that was for the weak of heart. "They look like different creatures, people…..they actually resemble what the Phantom Zone Wraiths look like."

"Similar principles exist, yes," Morgaine confirmed, pleased to see that he was getting the message. "That's why we tread lightly. They may not even attack us if we don't present a threat but at the same time, I wouldn't be too confident in that fact."

"Right," Harrison said, nodding. He also saw some of the creatures resemble the shadow creatures that Harry encountered in the land of the dead. They could have been considered a bit more twisted but never the less, the same general principles applied.

Was what he heard the wind or were they the cold chilling voices of hounds of hell? Either way, Harrison could feel a sense of foreboding shoot down his spine. The more he looked at them, the nastier then seemed. That proved to be extremely foreboding in its own way, but Harrison was not about to succumb to that torment if he could help it.

A little bit of a magical shield was put up to prevent the chilling effects but it wouldn't be a good idea to utilize too much magic in this realm.

"I doubt that I need any further explanation," Morgaine commented and Harrison gave a swift nod, the significant nod that he followed that up with indicated that he got the message loud and clear. "Okay, that's good, which brings us to our next point….the real problem that we might encounter in here."

Harrison was hit by it immediately.

"That being the Sidhe."

"Yes," Morgaine said as she drew breath into her body, about ready to give an extremely long and drawn out explanation. "Now whilst the Sidhe cannot tell a direct lie, they are masters in twisting their words to convey falsehoods. Technically it could be considered the truth to an extent. They are concerned more with the wording, rather than intent and thus they will place loopholes in agreements which they can exploit."

Harrison understood that and Morgaine concluded her explanation.

"It goes without saying that any mortal who makes a deal with the Sidhe will get the short end of the stick, without fail."

"So, it's wise to beware of what they say, because it's not what they mean," Harrison concluded, knowing by now that many kinds of magical creatures dealt with falsehoods. Human wand wavers being the highest on the list sometimes.

"Yes, but thankfully, given that I'm here, you should have some protection," Morgaine commented and Harrison smiled. "And obviously, you are fairly equipped to handling yourself in these high pressure situations."

High pressure, that put things mildly, but that was what he had to deal with. He was riding a wave of confidence, that he could pull things together on his own, without the looming specter of his other half there. His confidence, some might say arrogance and recklessness, was at an all time high.

The help that was offered was appreciated, but Harrison had to do this on his own. The further he got away from being divided from the prime copy, the more independent that he wished to be. That could be chalked up to having different life experiences.

Did that make him reckless at times? Well, one could say that, but he preferred that he was ambitious, and he was cut from the same cloth as Prime was.

"We're here."

Morgaine and Harrison arrived a magnificent castle. It was a silver looking castle, with golden gates, and an awe inspiring architecture. There looked to be numerous rooms and it was so large.

It made Hogwarts look like an outhouse by comparison.

"Don't you dare give any of them any quarter!" Zucco bellowed, as the shots continued to fire around them, pushing the homeless further on. Zucco was out for blood and he didn't care whose he had to spill.

The target was anything that looked remotely like a homeless person. One could assume that Zucco had gone completely and utterly mad and they would be right with that assumption.

The mob led the charge into Ghost Town, firing pretty much at everything that moved or looked homeless. It was the sense of someone who had lost their mind due to recent misfortunes. It didn't matter if they were innocent or guilty, Zucco would have them sorted out later, much later as it turned out.

Then there was Eddie Skeevers, with determination on his face. For Zucco this was mostly business, but for Eddie, it was personal. Which was something that suited Zucco's business very, very, well, he had to admit.

"What do you want, we didn't….."

BANG! One of them dropped down onto the ground. A group of men huddled together, and one of the goons smiled.

"Just like shooting ducks in a gallery, isn't it?" one of the mobsters asked.

"Thought it was like pigeons in a barrel?" the other mobster asked, not caring really if he hit. Making some piece of trash shit his pants was his own reward for this lovely little game. The smile on his face got wider, and more sinister.

"Well whatever it is….should be fun," the first mobster said, cracking his knuckles and getting ready for action.

"Focus, boys, we're not quite done yet."

The men got the orders from Zucco from the top and they were rounding up the homeless like the rats that they were. Some fled but they didn't get very far. And if they weren't targeted, then they would have been.

"Don't know why some of the boys got any shit, look at them," Zucco said as he viewed them. He smiled as he could have had a cigar to celebrate what happened. "Look at them run….Eddie, I think we can sit this one out the rest of the night, our boys have got it together."

"Sure thing," Eddie said, and it was just beginning, they would flush out the weasel that did this his brother and made him pay.

They sat in the back of the limo, now that they didn't need to personally oversee what was happening. Zucco reached into his wine cabinet and pulled out some of his finest, about ready to pop a cork in celebration and why shouldn't he be celebrating? Why shouldn't he be smiling? Life seemed pretty fucking great right about now, didn't it?

"Here's a toast to revenge…."

THUMP!

That caused both of the mobsters to jolt up as they heard something on the roof.

"What's that?" his driver asked.

The Dark Knight crashed through the roof and grabbed the driver around the throat, before slamming him hard into the windshield.

"Let's get the fuck out of here," Zucco growled, slamming his way through the limo. The Bat would have to get involved but perhaps it was just him, but he seemed a bit different. Then again, his men gave him so many different accounts of him that he wasn't sure if it was not one person.

A blunt force blow to the back of the head caused Zucco to land hard on his ass on the ground.

Eddie Skeevers crashed head long into a set of trash can and scrambled away. Suddenly a group of the homeless marched forward.

"What the fuck….."

"Get out of there you idiots!"

Molotov cocktails flew in the air and explosions went off. The gangsters were thrown off about this sudden act of aggression, this was not the homeless that they breezed through and had taken down.

"Take those sinners down."

They began to return fire with the guns that Manheim had given them. It was a chaotic scene, as more explosions and gunfire than one could account for came off.

"Oh, you think that we're sinners, well you're going to be sent straight to whoever your god is….in pieces!"

Two large hands grabbed one of the mobsters and dragged him into the shadows.

The smoke slowly dissipated and Batman lurked into the shadows. He had been told to help where the fighting was the worst. The Deacon insisted that he should not stick to one spot for too long.

There was further fighting and Batman slumped out into the night, not saying a thing. The equipment he received was useful and while it wouldn't work as well as the equipment he lost, he would make it work.

The sounds of fighting lured him further on; there was still much work to be done.

The sounds of gunfire took higher priority than anything else for Black Canary and Nightwing. The two of them were on their way to the Church where Deacon had made his base of operations. It was run down for a time, and then restored, best they could tell.

'So what do you expect?' Kara asked, deciding to cut to the chase.

'He might be able to shed some light on who bombed the GPCD precinct,' Harry thought.

"I don't necessary thing he is guilty," Nightwing confirmed to Oracle but there was an obvious but hanging in the air. "That being said, he could know something or at least be able to identify the man in the picture."

"Plus he might know some more information about the increase gang violence against the homeless," Black Canary said and she drew breath before she asked her friend the question. "What do we know about Blackfire?"

Oracle whistled when she brought the information that they needed up. "Well…..I'm not sure if this is actually reassuring."

"Well, we must hear it then," Nightwing said and Oracle collected her bearings before she laid it down upon them.

"His father wasn't exactly the most savory of people, a gambler to the highest caliber and a drunk, even though he was a self-styled preacher and also owned a shrimp boat," Oracle said. "His mother….was a tailor in her day job but at night, she had a more unsavory profession, she was a prostitute. His grandfather was a well-respected rancher who got busted for counterfeiting and set up the river. His grandmother was a VooDoo Queen. Not sure about any other family, but that was the most interesting thing that popped out."

"Continue," Nightwing said, things were getting interesting, but perhaps not in a good way.

"His father, in a fit of drunken rage, bit his mother to death," Oracle whispered somberly. "Blackfire retaliated, sinking him to the bottom of the sea in his own shrimp boat…..not sure if he intended to make it look like an accident or not. But when he was put before the judge, he was unrepentant."

"There's more, isn't there?" Black Canary asked.

Oracle had no humor in her voice as she responded. "There always is, isn't there….anyway Deacon Blackfire was on the Prison Bus on the way to Smallville when the meteor shower hit. The bus was caught in the middle."

Nightwing let out a breath from his body. Perhaps he was jumping to the world's biggest conclusion but he doubted so very much.

"And after that, he found religion in a big way, said he was saved on that night," Oracle commented idly, in a neutral voice. It was almost like she was trying to determine how big of a BS fest this little being saved explanation was. "And he convinced the parole board to let him off the hook early."

"I bet he did," Nightwing said, but their attention was first and foremost kept on the smoke and the gunshots.

They had to be getting closer, actually scratch that, they were there, in the house, and…..well that was an interesting sight if he had to say so himself. The two of them stared at each other, and they saw it.

It was chaos first of all, more than anyone of sane mind could keep track. The Mob and Homeless were running at each other.

So much bloodshed, so much carnage, it was completely and utterly insane to the tenth degree. Harry opened his mouth, watching it.

On the one hand, it looked like the mob had the fire power on their side but on the other hand, the homeless were determined.

At first he thought that they were determined to protect all that they had, to keep themselves from losing it once again. But there was something else that they were doing; he couldn't put his finger on it.

"And that seems to be the worst of it," Black Canary said, and it went without saying that the worst of it could be pretty bad.

There were bodies strewn across the ground of the mobsters and the homeless alike, plenty of bloodshed, and smoke continued to fill the air, choking anyone who dared get close enough.

'It's going to get worse before it gets better,' Faora grimly commented and some of the other girls nodded in confirmation.

Meanwhile Nightwing stood at the edge of the chaos, devising a way to temper the situation.

The GCPD put themselves on high alert after the latest bombing. If it happened there, it could potentially happen to them, but they wanted to know why someone would do this. When they did a direct attack like this, it got pretty personal and when something got pretty personal, that's when things got extremely ugly.

Gordon paced around, with the other members of the Major Crimes Unit equally as tense. They had a lot of work to do in the short time that they had gotten together. This entire situation dropped down right on their heads. His eyes averted briefly to a bulletin board with all of the potential cases that they had to deal with.

Identities of several of Gotham's most infamous were trying to be figured. Batman and Nightwing sat as a very high priority, along with the Penguin who was up there. The Ex-President Gang member who escaped during the Vale hostage crisis was also at large and a looming threat. Then there was the nutcase who killed the nine mothers on Labor Day.

Then there was the Bombing, which Gordon and the MCU agreed without hesitation was the key to this all.

"Some sicko is playing games," Bullock grunted, taking one of the donuts from the box and eating it. He took many of the donuts from the box actually during this meeting.

"Could be one of the potentials…."

Eyes averted to the black board, one of the people they were investigating could be on there.

"Doesn't fit the MO of any of them though," Sarah reminded them, but to be honest, she didn't really have any idea or close to one really.

Yeah, the entire case, it really had her baffled beyond all comprehension, period, end of story.

"Can't be the mob, they know where their bread is buttered," she continued. "A disgruntled former mobster who got kicked out…"

"A possibility," John agreed in a stoic voice.

"But not exactly the most likely one," Gordon said, but he was completely baffled, not something that he liked.

They could not discount the homeless angle but that didn't make any sense. Or did it?

"If we could ID the perp that was scene outside of the police station just moments before it went off, then we could figure out a motive," Gordon said and he sighed. "The problem is, we only have vague details and not a clear shot of his face."

"Do you think that he might be…well someone who worked with explosives before?"

"I don't know, he knew where and when to plant the bomb, without getting himself blown up," Gordon commented. "He either got instructions so simple that a five year old could carry them out or he knew what he was doing."

That seemed to be another likely avenue to take but all they were doing was going around in circles, trying to figure out who was behind this latest set of attacks.

"So, potential demolition expert, but if he was homeless, he would have flown under the radar, it wasn't like he was filing for income tax," Sarah said and there were nods. "But someone had to stir him up."

"Yeah, wouldn't surprise me anyway," Bullock said, reclining back on the chair and suddenly, something cackled to life.

An All Points Bulletin kicked on over the radio and the MCU leaned in, seeing what they had to say.

"Call all police in the area, there is a riot in progress."

"Another one," Bullock grumbled; they were still reeling from the last one they had in Gotham City. The rest of the MCU shushed him, and there were more details.

"There is a riot in progress; I repeat there is a riot in progress. The homeless population of Gotham City has been attacked by the mob, believing to be working for Salvatore Maroni. We need back up."

Things got interesting and business just about picked up. Gordon didn't really need to say anything more, the look that he gave the men and women there was more than enough to tell them that they had to get moving.

Kara continued to hang out on Vicki's apartment, going through various things. The sleepover was nice, even though there wasn't too much sleeping. Something that Kara had to grin about the more that she thought about.

They had a few of the more high profile stories that she was working on.

"Some of these….well they don't age well," Vicki said and she almost grimaced at the thought of that. A police scanner sat on the table, perched and ready to bring them news.

"So, how do you find stories?" Kara asked.

"Well, sometimes they're lucky enough to fall in your lap," Vicki said, and she was kind of referring to her own recent abduction at the hands of the Ex-President gang. Although one would really not consider what happened to be entirely lucky. "But other times you have to be more proactive. You have to go into avenues before they're common knowledge."

"You snooze, you lose, right?" Kara asked and Vicki smiled and nodded.

"Yes, and you don't really want to get stuck with the fluffy gossip, although those do balance out things, because you don't want the people who watch the news to stop watching because they get too depressed," Vicki said with a sigh. "But you don't want to go too much down that road, because you get typecast and stuck in that role for years."

"Yeah, don't think that I would want to be in something like that," Kara said, her long term plans called for something else entirely.

"This police scanner is well worth its weight I think, with the investment that I put into it," Vicki said. "It tends to get me to the stories faster, even though the grapevine can really be slow here in Gotham City. You have to lead the pack or it will run you over."

"Oh, that makes sense," Kara commented, her head nodding up and down eagerly. "But a lot of the more interesting stories around this city, have a lot of gossipy elements?"

"Yes, and Harry seems to be the center of that, but then again he's one of the Gotham City elite," Vicki said. "But someone who has been connected to several attractive women, they're always going to wonder."

"Yeah, they are," Kara agreed with a smile. But this kind of press for Har-Zod was not a bad thing, it's a good thing.

"So one day you could report on the latest new invention from one of the top companies in Gotham City, and the next day, it could be some kind of chaotic gangwar," Vicki replied as she leaned back in her chair, with a thoughtful gaze off. "It can go from zero to insane in a moment."

"Especially in Gotham City."

"Gotham City is the greatest extreme for this, that's why you need to be ready to throw yourself in the thick of things at a moment's notice," Vicki commented eagerly. So far there was just the normal police chatter. "A lot of these tapes are…..well you can tell that they are well watched. You want to get copies of some of your stories, but don't get too obsessed by them. Otherwise you find yourself forever going back trying to nitpick what you did wrong, what you did right, and everything along those lines."

Vicki forget that stupid haircut that she for a short time. Sadly, she never did hear the end of it from certain people.

"Never quite lived that one down."

Kara was trying not to look too entirely amused by what she saw on the screen but the fact was that it was hard not to really look amused.

"It's okay, I laugh at it, although I didn't find it funny at the time," Vicki said, placing her hand on Kara's.

The police scanner started to crackle to life and the attention of both females turned towards it, interest flashing through their eyes.

"There is a riot in progress, I repeat there is a riot in progress. The homeless population of Gotham City has been attacked by the mob, believing to be working for Salvatore Maroni. We need back up."

"Maroni?" Kara thought and Vicki looked at her. "I thought that he was….."

"He might have been, but his men weren't," Vicki said as she could feel the hot scoop just coming at her. The woman prepared to get her things and she would be off to see what was happening.

'Well you can't fault her for ambition,' Donna chimed in.

'Even if it's the type that could get her killed,' Zatanna added with a brief wince.

'Yeah, that's for sure, but….'

Kara sighed, there were sometimes where she had to be the responsible one, as much as she hated it and that was one of these times. She got up, facing Vicki and stopped her from leaving.

"Kara, I've got to….."

"No, you really don't," Kara said, firmly staring down at her, her jaw completely set.

"It's a chance to hit something big, I told you that opportunities like this don't knock very often," Vicki said, and it was obvious that there was no force on Heaven or Earth that could stop Vicki Vale from getting her story.

Vicki was in her bedroom even quicker than Kara could blink. That really caught her off guard and really impressed her. She pulled a coat on and had a large case underneath her arm.

Kara placed her hand on her hip, staring her down, and the blonde's glowing eyes looked at her.

"You know that I'm going stir crazy in here," Vicki told her, challenging her to respond to her. Kara bit down on her lip and shook her head.

"Well, I guess that I'm going to have to give you that," Kara conceded grudgingly, someone like Vicki wouldn't stay cooped up for too long. The blonde clapped her hands to her side, frowning, biting down on her lip, everything else.

"Yeah, but don't worry…..if you want to come along with me, be my guest."

Kara had to, because Harry requested for her to keep an eye on Vicki. And she was going to take that seriously.

Deacon Blackfire could see this scene coming together, just like he envisioned.

"The corrupt, they have arrived, claimed that they have come here to protect us, but all they bring us, not a blanket to shield us from cold, but a blanket full of lies," The Deacon said, surveying the scene around them. "They are going to interfere with the faithful's attempt to interfere with what happened to those who have sinned."

The Deacon stepped back and forth, the Church was essentially a ghost town at least the moment. Everyone had their part to play and he watched. He would be stepping out into the line of battle, his holy war momentarily.

"The lord's work is taking place, the guidance he gave me….I'm finally carrying it out, and I do not care whether I fall within the fire, as long as I bring the corrupt and the sinners down with me," The Deacon said, approaching his two Acolytes who stood at the edge, their arms crossed with each other. They were not wearing their holy garb, rather normal street clothes. They might be able to blend in the crowd, but their massive size allowed them to stand out. They would be the type that would be noticed walking through an airport.

"They're here," the dark haired Acolyte said, pointing a gnarled figure out the window, at Black Canary and Nightwing, who were standing on a building across from the church.

"Yes, yes, I see, I see my brothers," the Deacon said, but he did not get apprehensive. "They say he fights for virtue, they say he fights for the people in Gotham City, but he is nothing but a demon, who does not belong in this world, man."

The Deacon stepped forward, using his immense strength to remove a manhole cover, allowing himself passage downwards. He dropped to the ground with a sickening grunt and continued to step forward.

There was Grundy standing there before him, and the Deacon smiled. The zombie was waiting for his instructions and the Deacon leaned forward, dripping blood in his face.

Grundy's eyes snapped as the Deacon muttered underneath his breath in a strangled tongue, the full attention of the Swamp Zombie on him.

"I request of you another task, my brother," The Deacon whispered underneath his breath and Grundy nodded his head slowly, looking rather transfixed. He was underneath the spell of the man.

He always had a way with words, ever since the incident that he was saved when those who had been obliterated by the fire from the sky, the so called meteor shower, while he was spared.

"I wish for you to obliterate the dragon in human flesh. This devil…..he ruins my plans, and you cannot….allow him to do so. I can sense it, he is not at the power that he should be. Finish the job that others have started."

Deacon Blackfire stood so he was nose to nose with the monster and the swamp monster's eyes flashed with fury, as he gave a low rumbling growl.

"Died on a Saturday."

Grundy ambled off to do the Lord's work and the Deacon's wide grin went from ear to ear. He walked off and made his way back into the Church.

There was a guest who had arrived sometime after he sent Grundy off to do the Lord's work. It was the fabled Bat Man, down on one knee.

"Rise," the Deacon ordered and Batman rose to his feet, robotic motions in him as he was on his feet. The Deacon sauntered forward, closing the distance, so he was face to face with Batman. "Steady yourself my brother, as we have guests ready for key. It would be a shame if we didn't give them the proper hospitality, would it?"

The Deacons low laughter went out in a rumble and Batman inclined his head with a slow nod.

"No, I thought not, remember, time is not on their side, it is on my side."

Batman was in the shadows, ready and the Deacon checked his watch, the time of reckoning was coming down. He had preparations to make.

Black Canary and Nightwing split in half, not out of any desire to split in half but because it was a necessity for them to do so. The anarchy had spread throughout Gotham City. Flames, choking fire, everything, with the riots getting far worse. So they needed to put out all of the fires but it was an increasingly violent situation.

"If we get the Church, we should get some answers," Nightwing said, after taking care of a pair of the homeless. It was becoming clearer that the homeless were more violent than the mob was in this situation. He made sure to gently render them unconscious, but they were being stirred up like a nest of angry hornets.

"If….."

"We will get to the Church," Black Canary said but her voce was garbled. She could see something in the distance. "Gordon and his crew are in, but it seems like both sides are muddled."

An obvious mobster made his way out of the shadows, but Harry, not wasting any time whatsoever, grabbed him around the head, and essentially punted him off of the wall. Harry pulled his hand away, with a long sigh.

The mobster was knocked down to the ground, a running knee cracking him in the back of the head. Two more made their way down the alleyway.

Harry hovered in the shadows, waiting, and the moment they turned around, he reached up. Grabbing them by their hair, he cracked their skulls together, causing them to hit the ground with a solid double thump.

Nightwing was about ready to go forward but he got a call on his cell phone. It was his number for emergencies, so he couldn't exactly ignore this one.

Moving off a bit to the side, trying to shield the gunshots, Harry whipped out the phone.

"Hello," Harry said, trying not to seem out of breath or too frustrated.

"Harry, are you busy?" Tamara asked and Harry paused but she wasn't done. "It's just that you gave me this number in case of an emergency and this would be an emergency, wouldn't it? You know it's about Bruce….Bruce Wayne."

"Yes," Harry said as she remained calm.

"The Board has a meeting, first thing in the morning," Tamara said and Harry could see a group of gangsters coming up.

He sent a blast of heat vision forward, and caused a tarp with paint cans to fall, knocking out the mobsters.

"First thing in the morning," Harry said, switching to the headset, diving into the air, and taking out the mobsters with swift precision, without alerting Tamera to what he was doing. "Who was the one who called it…."

"My father, and he's concerned that something bad has happened, I mean Wayne is a playboy, but he's not a flake," Tamara said and Harry once again took out one of the mobsters. He used his sleeve to block the smoke that was coming close to blinding his face. "There are these protocols in place in case someone high ranking goes MIA. For Wayne, for my father, for you….."

"Yes," Harry agreed, slamming the mobster onto the ground. "I'll be there."

"I know you will, just relaying the message," Tamara said, disconnecting the call and allowing Harry to catch his breath.

He was still a bit sore, and likely shouldn't have been out here, but he hand no choice. He was about ready to move forward.

Two things impeded his movement. The first one was the sound of a crash behind him. The wall crumbled behind him.

Before he could properly turn around, a pair of large arms grabbed him, and forcefully yanked him into the shadows.