Chapter 5

-[Gotham]-

In a club, in the less pleasant side of Gotham, a brown haired youth in his late teens sat at the bar, slowly gulping down a drink.

Despite his relaxed appearance, he was on full alert, tensing as a blonde woman took the seat beside him.

"Give me a margarita, extra ice." She ordered the bartender who immediately got to work.

The youth beside her chuckled. "I didn't think you'd show up."

"Well I'm a man of my word, or in this case, a woman." She said as the bartender brought her drink. "Do you remember what I told you about last time?"

The youth nodded his head. "Yep I remember. You went into the details…a lot of details."

The woman nodded as she took a sip of the drink. "So, are you in?"

Her companions shook his head in amusement before nodding. "I'm in."

"Great." She immediately downed the drink as she got up. "Let's go."

As they made their way to the exit, the youth sighed. "You know you're not old enough to drink, right?"

"Hasn't stopped me before, Lucas." She said as they left the club.

They navigated through the streets of Gotham, moving into a deserted alleyway as Lucas turned to face the woman.

He seemed to be holding back a laugh.

"What?" The woman asked upon seeing that.

That was the last straw as Lucas burst into laughter. "I'm sorry! I just…can't take you seriously with that look." He managed to say between laughs.

The woman gave him a dry look as she fiddled with the bracelet on her wrist. "Really? Can't you be mature? Just once?"

As she said that, a holographic light shimmered over her body, revealing a boy with long dark hair and amber eyes.

He gave the laughing youth a dry look as Lucas attempted to control his laughter.

"I'm sorry. I just couldn't help it." Lucas said, finally calming down. "It's good to see you Evan."

Evan finally smirked. "The feeling's mutual, brother."

Reincarnation or not, growing up in an orphanage in Gotham of all places was not easy. Especially not when there was barely enough food to go around to keep them alive.

Lucas was one of the older kids in the orphanage who took care of him when he was still a scrawny underweight kid. From sneaking him extra portions of food so that he could 'add some meat to his bones' to stopping the other kids from picking on him.

There wasn't much one could do in that situation. Past life or not, he could still feel pain.

His last name, Taylor, was one Lucas gave him. It was also Lucas' last name, making them brothers in all but blood.

To Evan, it was a debt he couldn't pay back, knowing how many times he would have been close to starving to death if not for Lucas.

"I don't need to remind you that there's a bounty on your head." Lucas told him as they leaned on the wall.

"They're looking for Zero, I'm safe." His work wasn't without risk as there were always idiots who bit off more than they could chew.

A few people who had their businesses or plans ruined due to his clients had put out a bounty for whoever could catch 'Zero'.

"Besides, I've got you watching my back." Evan added.

After becoming Zero, he had helped Lucas get out of the orphanage and stand on his feet. During the time they were separated, the older teen had gotten somewhat involved in the darker side of Gotham.

His records were clean, he made sure of it. He was also the one person that Evan could call on when he needed something done.

"So about this team up." Lucas started. "You're really serious about it."

"Of course. I'm putting together a group and I want you to be a part of it." Evan said.

"I already told you I'm in. Brothers stick together…even if one brother is an underage nerd." Lucas joked, getting a laugh from Evan. "So this group, what do we do?"

"Well, just about anything. Corporate espionage, intelligence gathering, technology research and development. Plus a little bit of odd jobs." He explained.

"Sounds like what you usually do on your own. What changed your mind?" Lucas asked.

"The world is changing and we need to be prepared. Plus I'm not exactly known for getting physical with work." Evan joked.

"Well I already told you I'm in so leave the physical part to me while you play Tetris on your computer. While we're on the subject, I know someone who would be a great fit in our group. The only thing is that they're not in Gotham." Lucas said confidently.

"Are they trustworthy?" Evan asked skeptically, causing Lucas to smirk.

"You're the tech wizard, aren't you?"

Evan shook his head at that. "I'll look into it. In the meantime, there is one thing we need to take care of."

-[Later]-

They made their way to the apartment complex where Evan stayed, packing some supplies and enough clothes to last a week.

Knocking on the door to where Artemis lived, he only had to wait a few moments before she came to answer the door.

"Hey, what's going on?" She asked, noticing the bag slung around him.

"I'm going out of town to visit someone. I should be back in about a week or so." He answered.

Artemis looked confused. "That's a bit sudden. Who's your friend?"

Turning to Lucas who stood behind him, he sighed as the older teen walked forward.

"Who's the hottie?" Lucas asked Evan in a not so quiet tone.

"Hands off." He said in an exasperated manner, causing Lucas to raise his hands in mock surrender.

"He's a friend of mine. Ignore him. Can you take care of Ace while I'm gone?" He asked as said dog rushed forward to Artemis.

"Um…sure. So where are you going?" She asked, petting Ace.

"Star city." Before either of them could say anything, a voice called out from behind Artemis.

"Artemis! Who was at the door?" Her mother, Paula, asked as she rolled up behind her.

Looking behind Artemis, he saw the woman freeze for a second as she met his gaze before acting normal.

"I didn't mean to disturb you." He turned his attention back to Artemis. "I'll bring you back a souvenir." He said as they said their goodbyes.

As he and Lucas exited the apartment building, he gave the older teen an exasperated look. "What is it?"

Lucas had a sly grin on his face. "I didn't know you had a girlfriend."

"Oh shut up. We've got work to do." He said as they entered a car…Lucas' car.

"You didn't deny it." Lucas sang as he took the driver's seat.

"Just drive!"

•••

They drove to a private hospital where they had an appointment to take care of before they began the journey to star city.

"So what exactly are we doing here?" Lucas asked as they entered a surgery room.

Evan pulled out a small item that looked like a chip. "This is an implantable bio-stimulant that I made. We're here for the surgery to put it in me."

"Are you insane?" Lucas asked in disbelief.

"Probably."

After looking for a solution that would allow him to properly and effectively be able to use the velocity belt, he finally got an answer.

A high tech bio-stimulant that would increase perception and cognitive functions.

The problem with the belt was that everything was happening too fast for him but with this, that problem would be gone…if it worked.

He was about 95% sure it would work.

He used his resources to find a qualified doctor/surgeon who could perform the surgery and keep their mouth shut.

"And what if this guy doesn't know what he's doing and decides to fuck up your insides?" Lucas asked as Evan handed him a slip of paper.

"That's what the instructions are for. The second part is where you come in." He said, tossing him a gun as the doctor walked in.