Recruitment and Consequences

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my original characters and works, if you recognise it from somewhere else, surprise it isn't mine.

Betad by morde24, Atrius, Hermes, Priapus, Marethyu, Old man of the mountain, SkyCaptain502, and TheDonFluffles

The Guild of Gamers: The Nightmare

Chapter 05: Recruitment and Consequences

— Barbara Gordon —

Waking up, she couldn't stop the scream as she opened her eyes to see a pair of empty sockets staring back at her, quickly recognising it as the officer who was supposed to be watching over her as she flailed around in bed, falling with a painful thud.

Picking herself up and into her wheelchair, she looked around desperately before she froze, seeing Legion's grinning face painted on her bedroom wall in blood.

It was then that she noticed that while the head had been on her pillow, the rest of the body was missing.

Her father came running in, gun drawn before he froze as he saw the grisly sight on display, but her eyes were drawn to her bedside table.

Wheeling over to it, she opened the large brown envelope and watched as several old fashioned Polaroid pictures fell out of it, her heart racing as she picked the first one up.

Seeing herself in the picture, she moved to the next one, her blood running cold at the sight of Legion with an arm around her shoulder, holding up a v sign with her slumped against his shoulder, fast asleep.

The others continued in the same way, with him laying beside her in the bed in a mockingly relaxed stance, hands behind his head with her cuddling against him.

The pictures kept going, showing the torment and death of the officer, in graphic detail, and it was thenm that she realised two things.

One, she was now naked, and she'd gone to sleep in a nightie, and two… he'd taken her camera. She liked that camera.

Looking down at herself, she growled seeing 'Legion was here' written on her lower stomach with a marker pen.

Several other graffiti was also present upon closer inspection, including Legion's trademark grinning face drawn on her buttocks and 'Bab's Babs' written on her breasts. Hilarious.

Why was he targeting her again? Wait… had he tracked the attempts to hack his site back to her?

Still, as embarrassing as it was, he might have made a mistake, because now she had samples of his handwriting, even written in marker pen.

And she'd take anything

"Barbara, are you-"

"I'm fine, he didn't hurt me, I'm pretty sure he didn't do anything to me," Barbara said, covering her body as her father nodded, looking around the room again, as if Legion was going to jump out of her closet.

"I'll call for a squad… he was here, while I was sleeping in the next room," her father said, her voice breaking slightly.

"Legion probably drugged us, I would have woken up while he was… vandalising my body otherwise," Barbara replied, not wanting him to blame himself.

"I should have stayed awake-" James started, making her shake her head.

"Officer Doyle did, if you were awake he'd probably have killed you too," Barbara said logically, making him sigh deeply.

Looking through the pictures, she was relieved that Legion's clothes stayed on, she didn't want to think about what she'd have felt if she found a picture of him violating her sleeping body.

But he seemed to leave her honour intact, if nothing else. Legion deeply confused her, and she didn't like it.

"I'll take the day off, I don't want to leave you-"

"That's not necessary, I have university anyway. I won't let this maniac interfere with my life. He doesn't seem to strike in public anyway," Barbara reasoned, making her father sigh again.

Why did he target her again? He must have realised she was one of the people who tried to hack him, using her home computer for that was a mistake but she'd not had a chance to go back to the Clocktower yet, with her father and the officers hovering over her.

Leaving her to get dressed, she tried to ignore the severed head behind her as she went to her drawers, wanting to get out of this room as soon as possible.

…where was her underwear? Or any of her clothes for that matter.

Rummaging through her drawers and closet, she wasn't thrilled to realise that the only thing he'd left was a skirt that she'd grown out of in High-school and a very tight shirt.

He'd left her a jacket, but it also had a big green Legion face spray painted onto it, so she wasn't particularly interested in wearing it.

God, she hated Legion. What did he get out of fucking with her like this? He could have kidnapped or killed her, yet here she was…

— Markus Gray —

Finding the officer protecting Barbara asleep was a fucking win, a massive stroke of luck.

I want James Gordon thinking about anything but this interview. When his home was broken into again, while he was there? Yeah, he's not thinking about Markus Gray right now.

"You have… very good grades, and it looks like you just got back to Gotham a few months ago, what brought you back?" James Gordon asks, his mind obviously elsewhere.

"I was born here, and while my parents wanted to send me to a university in a city less… volatile, Gotham is my home, I always planned to return. Unfortunately my parents passed away, caught up in a shoot-out, so I came back a little sooner than expected. I've been busy dealing with the funeral arrangements and selling my old house, getting settled back in," I explain, making him nod, giving me a sympathetic look. He obviously already knows how my 'parents' died.

I'm hoping that will help my application. Someone who lost his family to the gangs isn't likely to be a plant or to take bribes from them.

It's even true, as that's what 'Marcus Gray' was doing before I arrived. Plus it's been long enough that it's understandable that I'm not distraught by it.

The interview continues but much like I expected, he's not focused on me. Legion is all that's on his mind, and it's clear he wants to get through this.

So with such good qualifications, reasons, and the police force being so damn desperate thanks to being eternally and hilariously outnumbered, it's not long before I'm shaking his hand, accepting my new job as a junior Forensic Analyst.

"Feel free to look around the station, meet your new colleagues, I'd love to give you the tour myself but-" James starts, making me chuckle.

"I understand Commissioner, I can only imagine just how busy you are," I say with a smile, making him give a dark chuckle.

"That's one way to put it. It was a pleasure to meet you, Mr Gray," James Gordon, my new boss, says, making me smile.

"Just Markus is fine… but not Mark," I say, with a momentary frown. I always thought Mark was too simple, but Markus is a good strong name.

"Ha, been there. Then it's James when we're not on a job, not Jimmy," James jokes, making me smile.

We part ways quickly enough, with him telling me he'll sort the paperwork out and make my new position official, my lanyard marking me as authorised to wander the building, learning the layout and introducing myself to just about everyone.

I make sure to remember everyone's names, because being popular helps a lot to divert suspicion. Everyone likes to blame the people they don't like when things go wrong, so when you're actually probably the cause of whatever is going wrong you should make sure that people do like you.

"Heh, here's hoping you do better than the last guy," a large slightly overweight man says, a cigarette in his mouth.

"Harvey," an attractive woman with short blonde hair says warningly, making him chuckle.

"Chill, Sawyer. I'm just saying, the last forensic guy we had turned into a supervillain," Harvey Bullock says bluntly.

"…I'll do my best not to become a supervillain," I promise, making him snort.

The woman sighs, shaking her head in amusement.

"That would be appreciated. We don't need another Riddler," Maggie Sawyer says, she's the Commander of the Major Crimes Unit, so a good person to befriend.

"The Riddler was my predecessor? I've been looking up the various gangs and villains of Gotham but it's… an endeavour," I say, making both of them snort dryly at the understatement.

"Edward Nygma was one of our old Forensics Analysts, unfortunately he also went mad and killed most of the Forensics division," Maggie admits. "I'm not surprised you were hired so quickly, we've needed the replacements for the last year."

"He was always mad," Harvey mutters, making me blink.

"Riddler's real name is.. E.Nygma?" I ask, making them nod, Harvey snorting again. "Huh, he might have just been cursed from the start."

"He was batshit from the start, always talked in riddles and threw a fit anytime anyone disrespected his 'genius," Harvey scoffs.

"Ah, well it seems like this job is going to be interesting if nothing else," I admit, making Maggie smile and pat me on the shoulder.

I'm barely out of my teens, so I look extremely young compared to the middle aged woman and Harvey, a chain smoker with a bad diet. Plus, I've always been told I have a 'baby face'. It's one of the reasons I insist on Markus, it just feels more mature than 'Mark'.

"That's the spirit," Maggie says.

"Huh, wonder if Eddie will try and kill his replacement?" Harvey asks, making me blink again as Maggie sighs and gives him a dirty look.

"It's possible he could try, but he's locked up in Arkham anyway," Maggie says, giving Harvey a warning look.

A smarter man would see that look and shut up, Harvey Bullock is either not a smart man, or he simply doesn't care.

"Yeah, cause Arkham has a great rep for keeping its patients in, the creepy bastard has already broken out twice," Harvey chuckles darkly, making Maggie look at me, probably to try and convince me not to run for the hills.

"Don't worry, I knew the score when I applied to join the GCPD," I say simply, making her sigh and give me a small smile.

"Harvey, have you finished that report from the raid on Penguin's warehouse?" Maggie asks, almost sweetly, making him blink.

"I've started it-"

"Then you won't mind having it on my desk before you leave today, will you?" Maggie asks, making him splutter briefly, before he snorts and walks off, taking a seat at a desk with his name on it, grumbling all the while. "Sorry about Harvey, he's not actually as bad as he seems."

"It's fine. Like I said I didn't apply for this job blind, I know the risks," I say seriously, making her smile.

I've been told I'm 'too cute' to pull off serious, and with the age difference it only amplifies that. I don't mind using that to worm my way into her defences.

Her team are the ones who'll be looking into my crimes, after all.

"Come on, I'll give you the full tour since James is busy," Maggie offers, making me smile gratefully.

Maggie doesn't know it, but she's actually helping ensure she doesn't get brutally murdered in her sleep, because if she likes and trusts me I have no reason to remove her from her position.

As she shows me around, I pause mid-step as I hear something incredibly familiar.

On the biggest tv in the room where most of the desks are, is me. In my Legion outfit of course, playing it up as I explain the rules of my game.

It's interesting seeing Recordless at work from this side, my voice is downright unrecognisable. I can't pick up any real features from him, from me, beyond 'male'.

Maggie obviously can't either, unaware that the voice on the tv belongs to the man she is talking to.

"Have you been following our newest psychopath?" Maggie asks, seeing my attention drawn to the tv that has half a dozen detectives watching it.

"Bits and pieces, I heard about the 'stream' but I didn't actually watch it myself. I was apartment hunting, missed the entire thing," I admit, making her nod.

Also partially true, my shitty apartment is too far away from the GCPD building so I'm looking for something nicer that's close by. I've got the money thanks to selling 'my' family house so I can afford a nicer apartment.

"I'd almost call you lucky, as it was rather gruesome, but I imagine you'll see plenty of Legion's handiwork firsthand," Maggie says, making me nod.

"I'm not squeamish- wouldn't be applying for this role if I was," I say calmly, making her nod in acknowledgment. "But from what I heard, I doubt it'll be the last stream."

"Unfortunately true, unless we get a break soon," Maggie says with a deep sigh. "Legion has been unpleasantly good at not leaving evidence despite his near non-stop actions, and I'm sure it's only a matter of time before he strikes again."

Oh, you can count on that.

Having Maggie introduce me helps allay some minor suspicion and derision my young age would have otherwise caused, but…

For some reason, I get the feeling that Maggie isn't exactly as respected as I'd have expected from such a high ranking member of the force. Especially from the older male members who're under her.

Trouble amongst the ranks? Maggie is obviously not letting it get to her, but I can see the dirty looks and sense the tension.

A potential cause becomes apparent soon after as Maggie visibly brightens up as she spots an athletic woman with short red hair in the waiting area.

"Kate, I won't be long," Maggie says, sounding happier than I have seen her.

'Kate' glances at me, with a far more intense look than I'd expect from a civilian, even if it only lasts for a moment.

"New hire?" Kate asks, making Maggie nod.

"Our new forensics analyst. Markus this is my girlfriend, Katherine Kane, Kate, this is Markus Gray," Maggie says, looking at me intensely for a moment.

Ah.

"Ah, a pleasure to meet you Miss Kane," I say easily, offering her my hand, which she takes. She's got a strong grip, but of course Batwoman would have such a powerful handshake.

Well, well… I can use this.

Maggie's almost challenging stare softens seeing me accept her sexuality without even a raised eyebrow.

The police force is almost entirely male, and older men at that. They got passed up for a younger woman, who also turns out to be a lesbian? Suddenly I understand the tension.

Maggie admitted she transferred here from Metropolis only a year or so ago, but she's already in a much higher position than the more experienced men who have been put under her command.

"If you have a prior meeting, I'm sure I can finish the rest of the tour myself," I offer, making her smile softly at me.

"Thank you," Maggie says, Kate smiling ever so slightly. "In that case, it was a pleasure to meet you and I look forward to working with you."

"Likewise, Detective Sawyer," I say, making her smile.

"Just Maggie is fine," Maggie replies, as we part ways, I notice Kate glancing back at me as I head deeper into the station but I haven't done anything to make her suspicious.

"It's a damn shame, but by god I'd pay my annual salary to see what those two get up to," Harvey says crassly, making me blink.

Hell of a way to start a conversation.

"I can't disagree, they're both highly attractive," I admit, making him chuckle.

"They're fine pieces of ass but 'highly attractive' works too, shame they prefer clam to a good sausage," Harvey says.

…so, we just don't have a Human Resources Department? Eh, works for me.

"I'm sure their lives are both emptier for having not… tasted your sausage," I deadpan, making him snort.

— Bruce Wayne (Batman) —

He didn't like leaving Gotham, for anything. Especially not when Gotham was in such an unstable state but when was Gotham not unstable.

Even if the budding gang war was stopped, something else would plunge Gotham into chaos and he'd be needed again.

"What can you tell us about this 'Legion'?" Clark asked, making Batman frown from his seat.

Only the original members of the League were in this meeting, along with Zatanna who had information to share, but he could see the anger in their faces.

Aquaman wasn't here, but that was expected. Atlantis was caught up in something of civil war at the moment with a sect that wanted Atlantis to go back to being hidden.

Even Clark wasn't unaffected by the torture and death of Roy, but it was always unpleasant when a villain went for a sidekick, even if Arsenal had technically been solo.

The last was Jason, and the Joker was already a known major threat. A newcomer showing up and blatantly murdering a sidekick, then boasting about it to the world was virtually unheard of.

He knew Clark was thinking about Kara, and Diana about Cassie. They'd set up 'the Team' to give their sidekicks some more serious training and let them get out of their shadows for a bit, but Legion clearly didn't mind travelling beyond Gotham.

"Very little you don't already know," Bruce admitted, sounding more irritable than usual as he admitted that. "I have theories, Zatanna has worked out a lot more, but I can't confirm anything."

"Zatanna? Is Legion a magic-user?" Diana asked, making Zatanna step forwards. Zatanna hid it well but she was clearly nervous.

"It's more than that, I attempted to scry for the kidnapped woman when he first started kidnapping people, but my spells all failed. At first, I thought they were using some kind of warding magic, but I collaborated with some other magic users to try and break through it. We still couldn't track down their locations but we were able to find out why it is so difficult to find Legion's lair," Zatanna started, making his frown deepen. He already knew all this and it infuriated him, he hated feeling so damn helpless when someone was abducting the people of Gotham. "The hostages weren't in this plane of existence, and I examined them after they were released. They had traces of extra-dimensional energy on them."

"Are you saying Legion is an extra-dimensional entity? Like Mxyzptlk?" Clark asked, leaning forwards.

"I can't say for sure, but it's quite possible that yes, he's not even human," Zatanna admitted.

The council went quiet for a moment, before Diana spoke again.

"What could he want? Mxyzptlk just causes chaos, and it's true that Legion doesn't seem to care about the consequences of his actions or even who the victims of his games are, could he be a crueller being of the same type?" Diana asked, making Zatanna pause.

"Zatanna had a theory on that," Bruce spoke up, supporting his old childhood friend. "It's completely theoretical at the moment, but some of these extra-dimensional beings feed on specific emotions, and there's one thing Legion seems to revel in. Fear."

"It's possible that's why they were attracted to Gotham in the first place," Clark said, before pausing. "Sorry, Bruce."

He didn't respond, he knew Gotham better than anyone and he couldn't deny the point. A being that fed on fear would feast well in Gotham.

"I'll see if the other Green Lanterns know of any beings that feed on fear, sounds like something the Yellow Lanterns would love," Jon said with a serious frown.

"I watched the… stream, there are at least two Legions, should we assume there are more?" Barry asked, an unpleasant frown on his face as he thought about the sick video.

Aside from the Legion people first saw, another female one with a pink and white colour scheme had taken part in the torture and hunt for Roy, wearing a very similar mask.

"I always assume the worst," Batman said bluntly. "They kidnapped people from Star City and Gotham in the same night and while I'm convinced they can teleport, it's possible all four kidnappings were done by different members of 'Legion'. Until we find out more, we should assume Legion is a group, possibly a large one, rather than a single person or duo."

"Then how should we proceed? Extra-dimensional origins aside, they seem to prefer Gotham," Shayera said, trailing off.

People often asked why heroes stuck to their own cities, but while people weren't wrong to assume he didn't like outsiders working in Gotham it wasn't just because of his pride.

Just about every hero had their own 'territory' and duties, and when the cats were away the mice would play. If he left Gotham, the criminals grew bolder.

That was true for all heroes. Even Superman couldn't leave Metropolis that often with the alien warlords, giant sci-fi robots and other threats that showed up there on a weekly basis.

Nobody could be everywhere, not even Clark.

"I'll fly by when I can, Gotham isn't too far away and I might be able to spot him in action," Clark offered, making Bruce nod calmly.

He could see their surprise at his easy acceptance, but he didn't want a repeat of Jason. He didn't know why Legion was so focused on Barbara, but if they had worked out that she was Oracle…

Legion was constantly escalating his actions, and he feared what would happen if Legion was left to their devices for any longer.

"The lead in all the buildings will mess with your vision," Bruce reminded Clark, making him nod.

"I know, but hopefully I'll be able to see or hear something. We just need them to slip up once, and they're not shy about their actions," Clark agreed.

"Green Arrow and Black Canary are planning on going to Gotham, Oliver is understandably furious," J'onn warned, making him frown.

That, he didn't need, Green Arrow going on a rampage through Gotham wouldn't help anyone.

"Dinah worries that Oliver is outright murderous, she's staying with him to make sure he doesn't go too far in his search for Legion," Diana said, making him nod.

That sounded like Black Canary, hopefully she could keep him from getting himself killed by the villains of Gotham who wouldn't be happy at an increased hero presence.

"I'll keep that in mind, but we should increase surveillance on the sidekicks… and our loved ones," Bruce said seriously, making them all nod.

"They won't like that, the whole point of making the team was so they could get out from under our gaze," Barry said, making them nod.

"Do it subtly, even if they find out… they all knew Roy," Bruce said bluntly.

"Indeed, Red Tornado has reported that they've been subdued, even afraid. I think the reality of this life has set in, Jason was before most of their time, but they all either knew or knew of Roy," J'onn said calmly, making them pause for a moment.

"There's another issue. The technology Legion uses for their 'stream'. It is frankly horrifically advanced, beyond anything I've seen before," Bruce said. "And utterly alien, despite interfacing perfectly with our technology."

"Could it be the technology of another dimension?" Clark asked.

"Perhaps, another potential theory is that a member of 'Legion' has a technology-based power. We've seen that they have some kind of power that makes them incredibly hard to track, and interferes with attempts to learn anything about them. I've watched the video a dozen times and yet I couldn't tell you what he sounds like beyond that he's probably 'male'. The female member didn't have that power," Bruce said, making them pause in thought. "In addition, Roy was attacked by rats, from what Green Arrow shared of the scene. A sewer worker reported seeing hundreds of rats headed towards where Roy was staying."

"You think they have different members with different powers?" Diana asked.

"It's a theory, but all I have so far is theories. I know that whatever sedative they're using is too effective, and the bottles left behind have no traces of liquid, which implies it's an aerosol, but no air-based sedative I know of should work that fast or leave no traces at all, so again it's possible they are either using something from their dimension or they have someone who has a power which is allowing them to do this," Bruce continued.

"Zatanna, is there any way to track whatever method they are using to enter this dimension?" Diana asked.

"I've been working on it, but it leaves worryingly few traces in the area they are presumably entering and exiting. I couldn't find a single trace at the homes of any of the kidnapped people," Zatanna admitted.

"Could we find this dimension, strike Legion at their home?" Shayera asked, making Zatanna shake her head.

"That would be impossible unless we get more to work with. It's more likely we'd lose ourselves in the void between dimensions without more to guide us," Zatanna admitted.

"Plus, if there's two there could be more. We have no idea how many of them there really are, or how powerful they are," Jon pointed out, making Bruce nod.

"They could be the only ones, or they could be the scouts before a full invasion," Bruce said seriously. "Or it could just be someone from our world who found a way to hide himself in a pocket dimension. We just don't know enough about them."

"An annoying thought, given how much they seem to enjoy the spotlight," Shayera said with a deep scowl.

"Unless anyone has anything else," Clark asked, looking around. "Then for now we'll make sure to increase surveillance around our members, especially the unpowered ones. Legion seems to prefer those targets but we've seen how fast they're escalating things, so we should assume that everyone and anyone is a potential target."

Clark was annoyingly optimistic at times, but there was a reason Bruce liked him. He saw the importance of security at times like that.

"Legion seems to excel at slipping under surveillance, and they seem to be able to disrupt any technology that would record them, but I'll work on a plan to try and counter them," Bruce said, rising and heading out.

Legion needed to be stopped, who knows how far they'd escalate matters if they weren't captured.

— Barbara Gordon (Oracle) —

She should she skipped today, she should have just gone shopping to replace her stolen clothes.

She was a stubborn girl, the idea that Legion has inconvenienced her felt like a kind of defeat to her, and right now she was wishing she just took the loss.

Wearing a very short skirt in a wheelchair had some obvious issues in hindsight, because she was always sat down which meant people could always see directly up her skirt no matter how many times she pushed it down between her legs, and her tight shirt was almost see-through which had undoubtedly given her a very different reputation.

She'd probably flashed a dozen people today already, her obvious lack of underwear drawing an uncomfortable amount of attention.

Fucking Legion.

— Markus Gray —

…That's a zombie.

Watching the formerly dead body bash against the safety glass of the lab that my new power came with, I scratch my chin.

Smashing its head against the glass, it leaves a bloody stain on it as it tries to claw through it and get to me.

Yup, that's definitely a zombie.

Huh.

Blight Lord is fun, and by fun I mean fun for me and horrifying for everyone else, which is actually rather a theme with my powers.

I love my job.

Okay yes, making a zombie virus was a questionable idea but…

Hmm, what if I give it a limited lifespan? I don't want to destroy the entire world just yet because I kinda live there.

Well, I don't, but my playthings do, so if I make it so I can limit how far any outbreak would spread, maybe even with a counter virus that causes a fatal reaction in those infected?

Oh god, the ideas that I have flowing through my head. I can do so much with my new power, I already have ideas for a silent killer that could infect thousands before suddenly activating and causing sudden complete organ failure.

Maybe later, because zombies are cooler.

Okay, I've been told I start work next Monday and it's Wednesday today. I can design a proper zombie virus before the weekend, right?

Plus a cure and counter-virus just in case. If nothing else it's gonna make for a hilarious stream when I unleash the zombies on someone.

Oh, even better… I make an entire city map, fill it with zombies and then grab a dozen survivors and make it into a streamed survival game.

The audience can vote to give them supplies or make things harder for the survivors. If they can survive some randomly decided amount of time, they get freed, otherwise they get eaten.

…I'm going to need a lot of bodies but it'll be absolutely hilarious if I pull it off. The greatest reality tv show in history, no script, no actors, just people dying in the moment.

Still, now that Neo is gone I feel kinda lonely. I need a new assistant, maybe make the 'Legion' persona live up to the name.

Going back to the police records I stole, I go over them carefully as I consider just who I want to bring into the fold.

I need someone with morals as flexible as my own, which is to say on the level of an Olympian Gymnast, but I don't want just any lunatic.

Gotham certainly has enough of those, and I plan to make some of them the antagonists in my games, whether they're willing or not.

No, what I want is someone to join the game staff, someone to work behind the scenes with me.

Reading through prisoner files, I frown at how incomplete they are. I'll have to pay a visit to Arkham and Blackgate to steal their files soon to complete my growing database.

Still, they had some patient files from Arkham Asylum. As I shift through them, I find a gem among them.

A sadistic sociopath with a kill count bigger than mine, but the report says she isn't completely unreasonable.

Let's see her rap sheet, mass murder and organ trafficking? Hm, well I do end up with a lot of bodies. It's almost an insult to my victims to not make the most of their corpses.

That's how you honour your kill, right?

Ooh, 'shows signs of nymphomania but may be using it as bait to lure in potential victims'. Doesn't that sound familiar?

Claims to be a medical professional despite having no formal training, I could use a medical staff on base.

Looking at the picture, a hot blonde with intense green eyes (which do look slightly psychotic) stares back at the camera, biting her lip. She's also got a large horizontal cut across her nose and cheeks.

Yeah, she's probably kinda batshit but aren't I equally fucked up?

Plus, she's just a regular human at her base, and not even that well trained by the sounds of it. She's an ambush predator like me, and with my chains I think I can take her if things go south.

There's just one teeny tiny problem, she's currently locked up in Arkham Asylum on account of all the murder and organ harvesting.

I always planned to stage a mass breakout, so I'm down for a practice run.

— Later —

Slight problem.

There is a fucking massive vision cone moving around Gotham at terrifying speeds, and from my spot inside the shadow realm, I can only guess who is doing it.

I worked out quickly that while it seemed to go through walls and damn near everything else, it can't seem to see through lead.

It also seems to be coming from far, far above Gotham.

Putting this all together, I can only say…

Oh shit, Superman is looking for me. Of course he is, I brutally murdered the sidekick of a member of the Justice League. It was foolish to assume that only Batman and the Gotham heroes would search for me while I was operating in Gotham.

Any smart man would flee in terror but honestly?

Challenge accepted.

Using the blindspots, I slowly make my way towards Arkham Asylum, before I pause. I've reached the bridge to Arkham, but I will have to come out for a while to plant my letter to my hopeful new recruit.

So I need a distraction.

— Carmine Falcone —

"What the fuck do you mean you're being attacked by rats, again?! Wait, how many fronts are being hit?" Carmine shouted.

"F-five, boss! Rats are swarming four of our fronts and uhh… well, Superman showed up?" The goon said.

"…get out before I shoot you," Carmine said with a cold tone, watching him run.

Why the fuck wouldn't he start with 'Superman is at our highly illegal front.'

That was it, he was putting a bounty out on Ratcatcher's daughter. Just as soon as Superman had gone away, because until the Man of Steel was gone, he was a good Catholic boy who said his prayers three times before bed.

Sending out a note to all his men to not piss off the invulnerable superhero, he groaned and reached for the bottle of his best whiskey.

As he grabbed it, he yelped and dropped it as a sharp pain shot through him, the extremely expensive whiskey spilling all over the floor.

Jumping back as he lifted the foot he felt the pain in, he stared down as the biggest rat he'd ever seen glared back at him balefully.

Snorting in an almost derisive way, it turned around and ran for the door as he grabbed his gun, immediately forgetting that he was a good Catholic boy as he desperately shot at the little furry bastard, emptying the clip as every shot missed the surprisingly agile rodent.

This was a threat, telling them that the rat bastard could get him even in his home.

Looking around desperately, he reloaded as he stared at every corner, checked under every surface for any more of the bastards.

They were coming for him, he just knew it.

— Mathilda Mathis (Dollhouse) —

Waking up, she froze as she felt something inside her Arkham jumpsuit, making her sit up and stretch, acting as normal as possible as one of the guards glanced into her cell.

She was in the lowest security level thanks to her lack of powers and infamy, but there were still a lot of guards that patrolled.

Making sure she was facing away, she unzipped the jumpsuit and carefully pulled the small note out from where it had been slid into her plain bra.

Making sure no one was watching, she opened it up and started reading.

'Hello, Miss Mathis.

As a fan of yours and your father's work, seeing you waste away in Arkham is a true shame. Fortunately I'm in a position to do something about that injustice. As it happens, I could use a talented surgeon with morals as questionable as my own, and I'd be happy to free you from your current predicament so we can discuss any collaborative efforts.

If you're interested, please draw a small smiley face in the journal the staff gave you as part of your 'therapy' before you go to bed tonight, and you'll wake up a free woman.

Yours hopefully, Legion.'

She actually had some very limited internet access for an hour every few days, and she knew that name.

She'd seen Legion's work with the arrow brat, and his stream had been some of the better entertainment she'd had in a while.

Mostly because she enjoyed picturing Batman with that big angry scowl on his face as he was forced to watch as residents of his beloved Gotham were killed for the entertainment of the masses.

She didn't particularly relish becoming his next show, but she didn't plan to waste away in Arkham either…

Putting the letter back, she carefully disposed of it as she went to the toilet later, flushing the torn scraps and as she went to sleep that night, she doodled a surprisingly well drawn copy of Legion's infamous mask at the bottom of one of the pages.

— Markus Gray —

Breaking someone out of Arkham isn't actually as hard as I expected.

That's to say, it wasn't difficult at all. It's actually basically identical to how I kidnapped everyone else, some drugs to keep her asleep, making a communication blackout zone to stop the cameras over the entire Asylum, and by the time they get to checking the cell of someone as unimportant as Dollhouse, we're both already gone.

I needed another distraction of course, but Supes is easily distracted evidentially. All I had to do to distract him this time was blow up a bar.

C4 is fun, and I should thank the Penguin for having so much of it.

I'm sure he'll work out that I'm distracting him after people realise Dollhouse is missing, the timing is too obvious, but I don't mind.

I actually find it funnier that way, because he has a choice. Investigate the obvious distraction where people are definitely dying or keep looking for me in which case I just don't show up.

And if Superman never goes home? Well, Metropolis is a much shorter journey than Star City.

You know, I always thought Lois was pretty hot, and I'm sure she'd love to get to experience such a hot story firsthand when I add her to the participants list of my next show.

I'm not gonna let them scare me into not acting, if anything I'm just going to double down. Any hero who comes to Gotham looking for me is going to have Legion visit their cities, if they don't give up their sidekicks will be the next Roy.

I don't care who the Justice League sends, I'm not paying for my crimes and I'm certainly not slowing down.

The challenge of having to work around more and more powerful heroes just makes my victories all the more thrilling.

— Bruce Wayne (Batman) —

Legion knew Superman was here, even with Clark staying miles above Gotham.

It was the only thing that made sense, because while the rat swarms attacking Falcone's men weren't overly suspicious since they'd done it before…

The bombing was seemingly utterly random, the bar was that blown up wasn't a front, and Superman couldn't bring himself to ignore the chaos.

At the exact same time, Arkham had a communications blackout, and while it only lasted a few minutes, when they did a headcount afterwards they found themselves one short.

Mathilda Mathis, otherwise known as Dollhouse, a serial killer and organ trafficker was found missing, along with her outfit from storage.

He was immediately suspicious of Legion, even before he heard that Legion had once again spray painted his 'face' on the wall of her cell. Legion took pride in his crimes, he wanted them to know it was him.

They'd even found that Mathilda had drawn the same face in her notebook much earlier, implying she knew Legion was coming for her.

He could see two possibilities.

Legion wanted to play with Dollhouse, or Legion was recruiting. For the briefest moment, he truly wished it was the first and Dollhouse was going to end up as a Legion victim, because the idea of Legion recruiting other villains to join his games worried him greatly.

He knew countless psychopaths that would thrive in his games, hiding away in a different dimension where they could kill without consequences.

Whenever villains teamed up, it tended to be for a common cause, to take down a particular hero or pull off a difficult crime…

But if their sole purpose was to just kill, they'd be far harder to counter. Legion had shown he could move cities easily and if they started grabbing people from different cities at random they'd have no real way to counter it.

To make things worse, copy-cats had already started to spring up. So far it was purely the criminals of Gotham's trying to make Legion take the fall for their crimes, but they were only increasing Legion's reputation and infamy.

It wouldn't be long before Legion had a true following.

— Alexis Kaye —

Sitting at her computer, wearing a pair of panties and a white tank top she'd painted Legion's face onto, she scoured MHO for more information on Legion.

The police had asked her countless questions, like she actually knew anything useful. Legion wasn't so sloppy that he'd let her live if she actually knew something that could be used against him.

Some of her classmates found it funny to share the pictures and videos of her naked and afraid, or ask to see her scars, but she didn't care.

Well she did, but she knew how to deal with them. They had actually made her decision easier, because she knew she needed to get Legion's attention again, and how better than to emulate him?

She didn't have his tricks, but she was a very good chemistry student and she was sure he wouldn't mind her taking her own twist on his acts.

Watching people argue about Legion's streams, she scoffed. She saw the votes, they could try and hold the moral high ground but Legion had shown how cruel humans could be when there were no consequences.

People wanted her to suffer, to be disgraced, for their entertainment and pleasure. Legion simply gave the people what they wanted, what they would never admit to desiring.

They went about their day, acting so high and mighty, and then voted for a random girl to be tortured for their entertainment.

She'd almsot been raped, it had very nearly won one of the votes and she'd watched the chat as torture with knives had won out, people had been disappointed.

Some people had tried to claim Legion had rigged the votes, but the live chat had proven them so very wrong.

Thousands of people, all commenting and enjoying the 'show', gleeful as she was forcibly stripped on camera, cheering Legion on as he hunted her and disappointed that they wouldn't get to watch her be raped.

Legion had exposed the darkness and hypocrisy in the common man, and they either loved or hated him for it.

— Mathilda Mathis (Dollhouse) —

Waking up in a very comfy bed, she almost didn't want to rise after a year or so in a cell, but rising from the bed, she looked around and felt a smirk growing as she spotted the admittedly sexy nurse outfit she wore as Dollhouse, along with her mask.

She was still in her jumpsuit but quickly stripped out of it, finding another note on top of her outfit.

'Feel free to sleep in or take a long bath. I'll be downstairs when you're ready to talk, Legion.'

…She'd only had showers, usually cold, for the past year, and despite wanting to know what Legion wanted, she found herself unable to resist as she found the luxurious en-suite, running herself a bath and soaking in it as she enjoyed her first taste of 'freedom.'

She wasn't foolish enough to think that she wasn't going to have to pay for her freedom, but she would enjoy what luxuries she was offered.

She shampooed her hair a dozen times. Arkham gave them a communal shower and some soap, so the vast array of cleaning products on display made her very happy as she took care of herself properly for the first time in months.

She didn't want to leave the bath, but she decided to stop putting it off as she got out, dried herself off and dressed in her old outfit, not bothering with her mask as she headed downstairs.

She might have grown a little while she was in Arkham, because while her white nurse dress had always been short, now it barely covered her ass, leaving her long legs on display, with a considerable amount of cleavage on display. She didn't mind, she knew she was sexy.

The mansion she was in was obviously- very luxurious- she probably couldn't have afforded it even with all the money she made selling organs.

And she made a lot of money.

Following the smell of food, she paused as she spotted Legion sitting at a table, watching some action movie as he ate a full English breakfast, wearing a version of his mask that had the lower half cut out.

A second plate was made up, just across from him and her stomach was already rumbling from the smell, which got his attention and made him chuckle.

"Eat up, we can talk afterwards," Legion said calmly, making her nod as she put on a confident, sultry smile.

"I imagine we've a lot to discuss," she said, taking a seat as he chuckled.

"Less than you'd think. I have an offer for you, but if you aren't interested then I can drop you off somewhere else to continue your work," Legion said, making her blink as she paused in her eating.

"You'll just let me go if I don't accept?" Mathilda asked in disbelief.

"I assure you, this is a win-win situation for me," Legion replied easily.

"Then what's the offer?" she asked, making him smile.

"I'd like you to join me, to help with my 'show'. I could use someone with your medical expertise," Legion said simply. "If you'd like to join the games and hunt the survivors yourself, I'm more than fine with that. In addition, you'll be given a place to continue your work, and more bodies than you'll ever need. It's not like I need the organs for anything once I'm done with my lucky participants," Legion explained, making her eyes narrow thoughtfully.

"And if I say no, we just part ways?" she asked, making him nod.

"I'd be disappointed, but I meant it when I said I was a fan of your work. I'd rather you be continuing your work alone than locked up, either here or in Gotham," Legion said, making her smirk.

"Then let me go, I don't work for anyone but my father," she said simply, making his smile slip slightly.

"I see, disappointing but not entirely unexpected. Once I've finished my breakfast I'll drop you off somewhere in Gotham," Legion said, not trying to convince her otherwise as he went back to watching his movie.

Finishing her own food, she followed him as he rose, her eyes widening as he opened a portal, a familiar city in the distance.

"This will take you to just outside of Gotham, but you might want to change because Superman is currently flying around above Gotham looking for me," Legion advised, making her eyes widen.

That was a very casual way of telling her he was a much bigger deal than she was. Moving closer, she stuck her head through the portal before pulling it back.

"Well then… Why don't you show me where I'll be working, Boss?" Mathilda said, making him pause before he chuckled.

"Ah, a test? I'm sure you won't regret this decision, Miss Mathias. As for your workplace, I decided to wait to see if you were going to join before I created it, so you could take part in its design," Legion said, making her pause. "Don't worry, it won't take more than a few hours to actually create."

Legion was definitely a bigger deal than she was, but going solo didn't go particularly well for her and she wasn't too proud to work for someone else.

"Just call me Doll," Mathilda said, making him smile.

"Well then, Doll. I'm sure this is going to be the start of a long and fruitful relationship," Legion said with a smirk.

Oh, she certainly hoped so. It was certainly a step up from Arkham, if nothing else.

Plus, she'd missed her work, it had been a year since she'd even held a scalpel.

— Later —

Looking around her 'operating theatre', she grinned maniacally as her poor patient struggled against the straps holding him down.

She didn't know who he was, and apparently neither did Legion, just some schmuck he'd grabbed from Star City to help her shake off the rust.

He hadn't just built her an operating theatre, he'd built her an entire hospital of horrors, making sure she was very well equipped to do her work.

She even had plenty of cells where she could nurse the sick and weary patients back to full health, healthy organs were worth much more after all.

"Don't struggle so much, I'm going to make you beautiful," Dollhouse said, her grin under her mask becoming increasingly maniacal as she got to work, ignoring the screams.

Ah, if only they'd met Legion when she was still working with her father, the things they could have achieved, but oh well~

— Markus Gray —

Watching my new surgeon work, I smile to myself.

She seems to like her hospital, plus it gives me another 'map' to use for my games, which she's already expressed an interest in joining.

As she bends over slightly to work on her lucky patient, I can't stop my eyes from lingering on her exposed ass, her complete lack of underwear (despite me having offered to get her some) giving me a clear view of her pussy.

Turning around to look at me, I can't see her face under her mask but somehow I know she's giving me a smirk, before she gets back to work, bending over just a little more this time as she thrusts her ass out towards me, shaking it slightly.

Yes, I think she'll be a wonderful first addition to my team.

— Bonus Scene — Ra's Al Ghul

It was rare that his plans would be set back in a way that amused him so greatly but the loss of the clone of Roy Harper was worth it to see Lex so annoyed at his well laid plan being so utterly ruined on the whims of this new killer.

The Light disliked Legion's unknowing interference in their plans, but some of them saw the potential.

Legion was a 'loose cannon', killing with seemingly no rhyme or reason, but for an amateur, he was surprisingly effective at it.

And he was an amateur, Ra's had looked into his kills, the GCPD records might as well be posted online for all to see with how confidential they truly were.

He had a talent for killing, undisciplined and undirected but undeniably talented if he was giving Bruce so much trouble.

Perhaps that talent should be nurtured, either as a test for his unwilling heir or as a future tool for the League.