Boss Battle

Scarecrow was a tricky opponent.

He wasn't an opponent whom I could defeat in one strike, even if I could, I just didn't know how. He was tricky, mostly because he never fought with his fists.

While I had information circling around my head about possible ways to use my ability, risks had to be calculated before making a move.

Scarecrow was heavily dependent on his fear toxins and if anyone was immune to them, he was pretty much useless. 

"You were at the bank." He deduced, remembering the scene of the robbery, "What did I take from you?"

He asked, quite amused at me walking into his turf with pretty much no backup. 

"A watch."

He looked at me like I was insane, curiosity and confusion shining through his masked eyes.

A mask that was stitched into his face.

"You came with your life on the line... for a watch?" He was baffled, but I noticed him putting his hands behind his back, possibly preparing a toxin bomb. "Emotional value?"

I shrugged, "Monetary."

He was even more surprised upon hearing this.

"Even the most expensive watch is not worth sacrificing your life for, yet here you are." He sighed, "And your confidence comes from being a metahuman, I presume? Otherwise, it is impossible for a normal human to take out so many…" He looked at his goons who were on the ground, dismembered, "of them…"

I didn't comment, at which he asked.

"But then why did you not stop us when we entered the bank?"

That is a very good question.

"Because the innocents might have gotten hurt?" He assumed, almost making me chuckle.

"Nothing that grand," I said honestly, "I am no hero, I couldn't care less about people that I haven't even seen once in my life previously."

"Then why?" He was honestly surprised, "Why come here for a watch when you can use your power to earn far more… if money is all you want?"

"The answer is simple, if taken by surprise, you  can even defeat Batman," I said, "I was taken in by the shock factor if I am being honest and besides… I am not here just because I want the money."

I gave the honest answer, not that it was going to matter in a bit.

He raised an eyebrow, "So?"

"I am here because I never let go of things that belong to me," I said and walked forward, "And I never forgive people that steal from me."

The moment I said this, The Scarecrow threw a smoke grenade towards me.

It did not take the grenade even a second to explode into a mist of blue and green toxic fog.

He grinned in joy and victory, "Even Superman can't handle my toxins. You made a mistake coming here without doing your research."

The maniacal laughter followed his words as he presumed I was inflicted by his toxins.

Unfortunately for him, I was prepared.

"Was this… supposed to do something?"

I asked, turning the property of my skin into gold and the air around me into just the right purity of oxygen so that the toxins could neither affect my sense of smell nor my body.

And that was enough to have him frozen in fear and confusion.

"H-How?"

…

…

Kate was stunned.

'H-How?'

She had countless questions circling her head.

How was the man able to shrug off the toxins when they clearly touched him, and he was breathing just fine even inside that mist of toxins?

No hallucinations, no cries of help, no look of fear in his eyes…

How was that possible?

Does his ability make him immune to Scarecrow?

But then what exactly was his ability?

Kate had a million questions.

"If that is all that the Scarecrow is capable of, then I am greatly disappointed. Especially at the heroes that had so much difficulty in defeating you."

That was a stab to the heart, especially to her ego.

But he wasn't exactly wrong either.

They did have trouble facing the Scarecrow.

Scarecrow stumbled back, quite certainly in fear by the display.

"How did you do that!" He demanded to know, fearful at his ability not working on him.

The man smiled, didn't answer and instead picked up a piece of metallic pipe from the rubble.

"I do not believe that I have a reason to answer that,"

He smiled, quite a sadistic look if she was being honest.

"But if you are that curious… I can show you."

That was most probably cue for Kate to intervene, but due to the lack of experience she was unable to react on time.

While she had worked under Batman for a while, she still lacked actual combat experience.

Somehow, he had managed to gain a speed boost. And before either her or Scarecrow was able to process, his hand rested on Scarecrow's chest.

"This… is to make you understand never to steal from me."

He hissed and as Kate prepared to jump, Scarecrow coughed out blood.

"Gahh! W-What did you do!"

Kate jumped down, trying to prevent the man from killing the Crow. No matter whether they were a hero or a vigilante, killing was not allowed in Gotham.

A rule set by Batman and the Justice League.

Heroes don't kill.

"You do not have to worry about that."

And just as he was about to make another move, She was finally able to get to him.

"Stop!"

Shooting out her immobilizing rope at him, she tried to confine him.

The rope made contact but to her surprise, as she tried to pull it, it turned to powder.

"Who!" He immediately turned around, trying to figure out who threw the rope at him and as he saw Kate, he raised an eyebrow.

"Stop," She said again, "If you kill him, you will be no different than a villain."

She did not know if he heard her properly given the look of surprise that he gave her.

"You are… related to Batman?" He asked, trying to figure out.

It is understandable given her choice of costume and name.

"That I am," she said, "I go by Batwoman."

"Oh."

Merely an 'Oh' as a reply as he stared at her while holding the struggling Scarecrow.

"A part of the bat family, I see." He mumbled before calming himself, "But I am afraid that I am not a hero to begin with."

"No hero considers themselves heroes, it is their actions that define them. If you stop here after defeating the Scarecrow, you will be no different than a hero."

She wasn't sure if he was taking any of her words into consideration, but there was one thing for sure and that was that he softened his grip on the Scarecrow and the initial killing intent that he had was also lowering.

"How can I be certain that any of you heroes won't be after me if I let him go? And same with him, what if he plots his revenge?"

He was certainly not wrong with his worries. 

After this display, a lot of the heroes will be wary of him and as for the Scarecrow, he will definitely try to plot his revenge.

But she knew that she could guarantee his safety.

"Don't worry, as the protectors of Gotham, the Bat Family will make sure that you are not targeted by the heroes or by Scarecrow."

This surprisingly made him laugh instead, "That is quite a bold claim that you are making."

And it was indeed but the Bat Family did have quite the influence.

"I assure you, you do not have to worry."

He looked at Scarecrow and said, "Well, I did get back what I came here for and there isn't a reason to over complicate things."

'Finally!'

He smiled at Scarecrow, "Be glad that I am not a villain."

But for some weird reason, he had a smile on his face and with the same smile, he muttered something into Scarecrow's ears as he place his hand over the villain's chest.

This action, or probably whatever he muttered, shook the Scarecrow to the core.

But as the masked man was about to say something, he landed a clean chop on the neck making the Scarecrow lose consciousness.

"Here," Saying this, he threw the man towards her, "I believe this is enough for you to put him behind bars…" He shook his head, "Till he escapes again."

This instinctively made Kate frown, "I assure you, that rarely happens."

He raised an eyebrow as a smirk was hanging on the corner of his mouth, "You sure about that."

"I am."

He closed his eyes for a second and smiled, "Very well then. I will believe you."

Surprising, but it is also understandable because of the Bat Family's reputation.

"Don't you have other places to be?" He asked, "Considering this issue has been handled, or so I believe?"

He wasn't wrong, there were indeed places that she had to be but there was also the fact that she couldn't just leave him without any information on him.

"That I have," She said, "But before I leave, I want to know your name or your moniker… considering you have powers."

He laughed, "Just because someone has powers doesn't mean that they must have a moniker. What I have is a name though, and that is Jasper."

Jasper…

'He isn't hiding his identity, or I hope he isn't.' She thought, 'But with the confidence that he has… I think it is indeed his name.'

"If that was all, I would like to be going back now." He smiled, "And don't worry, it won't be the last time you will see me."

Hopefully not to fight.

She nodded as she did not have another reason to keep him there and with that, he turned around and walked out… Leaving the mess that was caused from the fight behind.

…

…

Kate, I believe that was the name of Batwoman. But my memory is hazy as to me she was never an interesting character.

She was a druggie, an alcoholic whoring herself around and when shit hit the fan, she regretted everything and ended up as Batwoman.

But that is not the issue.

The issue is that now I know it won't be just Batman and Robin in Gotham, but the entire Bat Family. That is a little troubling but oh well, I will find a way to deal with them.

This small interaction with her told me a lot of things about her.

Firstly, she is quite proud of her identity, especially as part of the Bat Family.

Secondly, her morals are not the best as even after seeing me demolishing those goons she didn't care much, which if it was Batman or Grayson would have been an entirely different case.

And lastly, she isn't as smart as the rest of the Bat Family.

Which doesn't mean much as the other members of the Bat Family are simply monsters.

But well, at least with her promise I can be assured that the heroes won't be after my ass.

As for her promise about Scarecrow?

She cannot keep it. If heroes are bad at something, that is keeping villains behind bars.

I can bet that the Scarecrow would be out in a week or two…

Or that would have been the case if I didn't already take care of the said issue.

After all, it's not like he is going to survive for more than a day.

But none of that matters now.

After all, there is another issue that I have to deal with.

"Where the fuck do I sleep?"

…

…

"You chose an interesting man," 

Beyond the holds of the Presence, there sat two men, each enjoying a fine glass of wine.

"It is always nice to have someone with a brain for these things," The one to say this was none other than Marcellus Hanley, the very man who bestowed powers upon Jasper.

"Mayhaps," The other man hummed, swirling the wine inside the glass.

He was rather handsome, almost clashing with the level of looks that Marcellus shared, with one single difference.

While Marcellus' appearance could be defined as a more rugged handsomeness, the other man's was much more soft.

He had sharp eyes, a pale face and an overall pretty face.

He was what many would define as pretty instead of the classical handsome man.

But contrary to his safe features, he was the second most powerful being in existence –falling short to Marcellus only because of a certain rule.

"But he is good," He smiled, "That was not a simple tap to the chest that he did on Scarecrow. I don't believe I was this ruthless when I started."

"You seem to have forgotten that he used to be a part of the underworld, Kento."

Kento Yamazaki, the Plunderer known for robbing the gods of their divine powers, demons of their abyssal abilities and dragons of their feral skills, paused at his own ignorance.

"Understandable," He chuckled.

"But you are nor wrong, he does not seem to forgive those that go against him. That tap was not just a warning but him giving a death sentence," Marcellus said as he emptied the glass, only for it to magically refill.

Kento nodded, "A timed enchantment. Causing the heart to turn to stone after a few hours and revert back to normal after the death of the person, quite cruel."

"And smart," Marcellus laughed, "To others it will seem like a heart attack all while he will be walking free without any proof of his involvement."

"I like him," Kento smirked, "I might give him a visit sometime, and possibly a gift."

"Hopefully not as a reward for completing some trail?" Marcellus smirked at which Kento looked at him, recalling their first interaction.

"While I appreciate you giving me a chance to take my revenge… It did take a toll on my emotional health. I hope he doesn't go through that," He shook his head, "So, it will depend if he is willing or not."

"Fair," Marcellus said, "Well let's just enjoy what he has to show for now."

Kento nodded, "He does seem interesting enough to keep me entertained."

That made Marcellus laugh, "As it should."

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