Tech #265

The Theatre

"So you're telling me some global assassin group is making a move on Gotham...?" Crush said, her expression a mixture of amusement and confusion as she crossed her arms.

"Yes... with Batman gone, the League turned its attention to Gotham as it was the capital of crime in America..." Alpha said, nodding as he looked at Crush without shying away from her gaze.

"However, we have underestimated the local gangs. David Cane..." Alpha added as he turned to Cassandra. "Suggested we get help from someone who is familiar with Gotham and the ways of its underbelly, his daughter Cassandra Cain to be specific..." He went on, his expression turning bitter.

"He knew Cassandra wouldn't help, and that's why he sent me here..." He said, slowly turning to Patrick. "To gain leverage..." He calmly concluded in a serene tone, clearly unbothered by his failure.

"I already told you this guy's ugly mug didn't look friendly to me," Crush said with a scowl. "You should have just let me bash it in..." She concluded as she glanced at Alpha with a dirty look that promised pain.

"It's not too late, you know..." Crush concluded as she raised her fist and rotated her shoulders, only for Cassandra to lunge at her in an attempt to stop the former from doing anything violent. "I get it already. I won't break the fucker's face..." Crush said, rolling her eyes as she gently lowered her fist, causing Cassandra to smile and let go of her arm.

"The question is, what are we gonna do about those shadow humpers, or whatever you call'em," Crush asked, frowning as she turned away from Alpha and looked at Patrick.

"Maybe we should contact Gray...?" Patrick suggested after a brief pause as he gathered his thoughts. "He'd know what to do in this situation..." He added, scratching his head.

"Nah. The pretty boy probably already knows what's happening..." Crush said, shaking her head. "I've seen the toys he'd hidden around the place to keep it safe..." She added with a chuckle.

"I'm no gearhead, but I'm pretty sure no one could get in or out of here without him knowing about it..." Crush said. Although she wasn't particularly technically inclined, her chain was an advanced sentient weapon with advanced features, one of which was the ability to scan and identify electronics.

"If he's not here, he either doesn't wanna be here for whatever reason or simply can't..." Cruhs added, trailing off at the end of her sentence. "Either way, we're on our own, old timer..." She concluded.

...

Gray's hideout

I frowned in concentration as I cut my shoulder with an energy blade and quickly attached the neuro-link's wires to the wound before it closed, taking a deep breath as I added the final touches to the device's programming.

I paused for a second before moving my fingers and immediately smiled as I watched the prosthetic arm's digits copy their movements, albeit with a negligible delay.

With how much my physique and brain had evolved, it was ridiculous to expect some machine to copy my reflexes and how fast my brain signaled my fingers to move, so I was not concerned with the delay.

However, the movements were not perfect, likely due to a programming error. It was nothing a couple of hours of work wouldn't fix, and it could wait after I finished the remaining arm components, so that's one more step out of the way.

"Now I only need to incorporate the neuro-link into the arm's interior before getting to the fun part..." I muttered to no one in particular as I ripped the wires off my shoulder and resumed work.

...

Crime Alley

The League of Assasins' temporary headquarters

"Master, we have lost contact with Alpha, and two men are hunting down our brothers all over Crime Alley..." Said a man as he emerged from the shadows, promptly kneeling before the Sensei without bothering to give David Cane another glance.

"We identified the individuals as Bronze Tiger and Richard dragon. They are heading this way as we speak..." The man concluded, trailing at the end of his sentence as he waited for instructions.

"So Benjamin thinks he can stand up to the League now that he recovered his memories..." The Sensei said with a snort of derision. "Call our warriors back here, and let him come..." He added after a brief pause as he weighed his options, to which the man nodded and retreated into the shadows and disappeared.

"Looks like we won't be needing the services of your daughter after all..." The Sensei said as he turned to David Cane, causing the latter to frown in response.

"Bronze Tiger was one of the finest specimens I had the pleasure to mold into a weapon for the League..." The Sensei explained without waiting for David Cane to ask as he smiled.

"He'll serve better than your unpolished whelp..."

...

Somewhere nearby

"The League sure works fast... they already made themselves at home," Benjamin said as he leaned over a roof ledge overlooking a sizable house with a large courtyard adorned with eastern plants and decorations.

"I suppose they didn't account for the possibility of failure..." Richard interjected as he stepped forward to inspect the building. "Still, it's too quiet down there..." He added, putting on a strange smile.

"Oh, it's definitely a trap. The League's Sensei is many things, but a fool is not one of them..." Benjamin said with a scoff, shaking his head. "I'd bet your good arm that he's already expecting us..." He added, giving his friend a side glance.

"Sticks and stones, old friend, sticks and stones..." Richard said with a smile, unoffended by Benjamin's snide remark. "In any case, let's not keep them waiting..." He concluded as he jumped down the ledge without waiting for a reply.

Benjamin merely chuckled before he jumped after Richard.

...

Gray's hideout

"Quick hack tool check..." I muttered as I removed the wire from the laptop and put it back into its socket inside the prosthetic arm's skeleton after it quickly cracked the password.

"Vibro-bullet launcher for thick-skinned bastards..." I intoned as I picked up the arm's skeleton and strapped it to a mount in front of several reinforced metal sheets I stacked behind one another capable of tanking armor-piercing rounds.

"Check..." I nodded as I activated the firing mechanism and watched the vibrating bullet instantly shred through the sheet metals, implanting itself into the wall.

"Solar beam torch..." I picked up the prosthetic arm and walked towards the nearest metal target, raising its index finger and pointing it around the bullet hole before activating the torch.

"Check..." I let out a sigh of relief as I watched the small torch melt the reinforced metal, creating a circle around the bullet hole that instantly detached and fell off to the ground.

Was I going too far with the upgrades? Possibly. I knew powerful meta-humans who'd willingly cut their own arms to get something like the prosthetic I was building as it was currently, even without the outer shell.

But I was building it for my teacher, the guy who'd sacrificed his arm to snap me out of it. I'd be damned if I held back, even if I had to create a weapon capable of giving a Kryptonian for his money, which the prosthetic arm would, even without utilizing the Kryptonite core.

In any case, I was already giving it my all, so it's too late to reconsider now. I just had to finish the damned thing and give it to Richard, so I could finally look him in the eye without feeling like a jack-ass.

I hadn't seen my teacher since our last meeting when I promised to create a better replacement for his arm, and it's not because I was too busy.

In fact, I've been avoiding him like the plague because I'm too much of a pussy to even look at his missing arm, even if he said he didn't care, but that's neither here nor there.

Now I only needed to create the outer shell.

...

Crime Alley

"So this is the place, huh...?" Crush said, frowning as she stared at the large house before turning towards Alpha. "Not too subtle for a group of assassins, is it...?" She added, gesturing to the twin dragons adorning the courtyard's entrance.

"The League of Assasins works in the shadows, but they never feared the light..." Alpha Calmly explained. "In fact, the League's existence is somewhat of an open secret amongst the elites..." He concluded with a shrug.

"Whatever..." Crush said with a grunt. "Let's move. It looks like someone beat us to the punch," She added as she approached the courtyard's entrance, Cassandra and Alpha following behind her.

"Do anything funny, and I'll make you wish I'd killed you back in the theatre..."