Time #270

"Well... that was productive..." I muttered, sighing as I cracked my neck and began wiping the ritual circle with my foot.

I couldn't think of many people who would cause future catastrophes and were vulnerable to magic other than Maxwell Lord. But who was this Lord guy, you might ask?

He was a civilian Justice League consultant who hated superheroes more than Ronald Regan hated drugs. The only reason he worked for the league was to infiltrate and divide the superhero community, and he succeeded, though at the cost of his life.

Not only did he mind-control Super Man, he also took control of Batman's Brother Eye project, alongside the OMAc virus and used it to create an army of mind-controlled enhanced humans on cosmic steroids who hunted down anyone with a superpower under his command.

Eventually, Wonder Woman had to kill him to stop his plans, which ruined her reputation, created a massive rift in the superhero community and caused various repercussions and ripples that came back later to bite everyone in the rear.

With Batman retired, he probably wouldn't get an AI and an army of super grunts, but it didn't stop me from casting a dozen curses on him, including but not limited to; horrible luck, vulnerability to sickness, and having an aura that inspired mistrust and an urge to punch him in the face without reason.

Yeah, the Dark Arts skill is fun like that.

Though I couldn't think of anyone else who would cause as much damage as Maxwell Lord and was vulenrable to magic, I still went with the safe route and cursed a bunch of people like the Reverse Flash, Lex Luthor, and Vandal Savage as they are bound to be a pain in my ass sooner or later.

You get a curse! And you get a curse! Free curses for everyone!

My poor Obrah impression aside, it was fun giving those assholes what they deserved, and imagining their reactions was even more so.

Though it's a shame that the Dark Arts won't work on people like Darkseid; otherwise, it would have been the most broken skill I've ever received from the system, but that's just me being greedy.

"With that out the way... I might as well do something productive with my time..." I muttered, chuckling at my silly line of thought as I approached my work table.

Gotham was considerably a better place than when I first got here, but it still has a long way to go before it becomes anywhere decent or remotely tolerable.

Most of the change came from the GCPD slowly turning into an actual cohesive law enforcement unit, so that's what I planned to start working on for now.

With Deborah's competent leadership and the gadgets I'll soon be able to supply the police officers with, once I get on the government's good side, we'll turn the GCPD into a force of nature.

...

Gotham

Blackgate

Katherine Spencer couldn't help but frown as she stood behind Floyd Lawton, watching as the CIA agent who requested to meet him sat down and leaned into his chair.

Her work was going as smoothly as it could go. Katherine estimated she could get the three former villains on parole in another month or so of work, thanks to Grayson's influence and the fact he publicly vouched for them.

Still, she was understandably surprised when a government spook suddenly asked to meet all three of her clients. She had no idea what he wanted with them, but she guessed it had something to do with Grayson, prompting her to greenlight the meetings after consulting the three former villains.

"Mr. Lawton, Mrs. Spencer..." The agent said as he shifted his posture, trying and failing to find a comfortable position on the metallic chair. "I won't beat around the bush," He added as he gave up and sat straight.

"I'm here because a friend of yours, one Grayson Whitlock, made a very peculiar offer to my superiors..." The agent blankly said, alternating his gaze between Katherine and her client.

"The kind of offer they couldn't ignore," He added, awkwardly clearing his throat. "And I'm here to see if you, Mr. Lawton, are on board..." He concluded, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm a mercenary... I don't care where the money comes from as long as there's food on the table and my bills get paid..." Deadshot instantly replied, his tone blank as he shrugged.

"If I don't have to worry about government spooks hunting me down after every damn job, that's a bonus..." Deadshot concluded, much to Katherine's surprise, as she connected the dots and realized what was happening.

"Then you will be happy to know that my superiors are willing to aid in getting you an early release..." The agent said, trailing off. "Granted, you'd be willing to participate in an upcoming operation that will test your skills and that of your associates..." He went on.

"Please note that our mutual friend had already volunteered you for the operation and insisted that you receive the proper compensation should the operation succeed..." He concluded.

"I'm fully aware of the details..." Deadshot replied, causing Katherine to frown as she was the only one in the room who didn't seem to know about the details.

"Where do I sign...?"

...

Gray's hideout

"Now let's see what you can do..." I muttered, watching the dormant Sentry Drone come to life as I applied a simple band-aid-like patch to my shoulder.

I willed the drone into action, and it immediately scanned the area before locking on to the ticking bomb I'd placed in the middle of my work room and heading towards it.

It paused for a second as it scanned the bomb before brandishing several tools out of its mechanical limps and going to work, defusing the bomb in a matter of seconds, much to my satisfaction.

"Looking Good..." I muttered as I removed the patch from my shoulder, and the drone's mechanical limbs instantly retracted as it reverted to its dormant state.

Now that I've had the means to create neuro-links to achieve telepathic control over machines, I only needed to customize and implement the technology into my Sentry Drones to make them accessible to the general populace, who didn't have my particular set of skills and abilities.

Naturally, the drone couldn't operate without guidance, and I needed to add several protocols into its system, such as defusing a bomb, subduing suspects, etc.

It was a far cry from the fully functional, independent law-enforcement machine I was working towards, but that will have to wait until I figure out a way to create a safe artificial intelligence that wouldn't go Skynet on my ass, so I'll settle for this for now.

In any case, the remotely controlled drones were only the first of many toys I planned to add to the GCPD's arsenal, alongside tactical combat suits that came equipped with a shit ton of tools for every situation.

"Now let's see how you do in a combat situation..." I muttered to no one in particular as I picked up the drone and moved to the improvised shooting range I'd recently created to test my new toys.

I was ready to start the tests when my phone rang, causing me to sigh as I took it out of my pocket. "Katherine Spencer, eh...?" I smiled as I picked up the call.

"Hell, Mrs. Spencer, what can I do for you today...?" I said, barely holding back a chuckle as Katherine began complaining about how I kept her in the dark about the deal with the CIA, her tone audibly upset.

"I understand your frustration, but I wasn't sure they'd take the deal, so I didn't want to waste your time..." I calmly replied. "Besides, I already told you everything I was comfortable withh sharing already..." I added, going on before she could speak.

"As I've said, if you want in on the plans, you have to be in the plans," I concluded, to which she replied by counting every single scenario where my actions could have affected her work.

"Getting Harley and the others the freedom they deserve is crucial to my long-term plans..." I said after waiting for Katherine to say what she had to say. "I've accounted for the risks before acting. I assure you, I won't shoot myself in the foot like that..." I concluded.

"Fair enough...I'll be sure to fill you in on any future plans that might affect your work..." I added with a smile. "Of course, have a good day..." I concluded as I hung up the call.

'It looks like I just secured my lawyer...' I mused as I put away the phone and turned back to the drone to resume work.

I could tell Katherin was interested in being a part of my plans now that it became clear that they were feasible. She probably wanted to wait until she finished her job before committing out of some sense of pride or something along those lines, but that won't be a problem.

I could wait. I had nothing but time, after all.

...

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