Chapter 37: Oracle Of....Part Five

The thug in the red hoodie staggered after the last battle, dragging his feet behind him. He has seen better days, one could say that much. His heart sped up as he tried to push himself forward but he nearly collapsed.

Just barely, he missed being grabbed by the SWAT on their way out. It was just barely, he knew that for a fact. They got the other members of the gang, but they did not get him. It was a nice ride, they had some laughs, many laughs, but it was over.

'Bastards got me though in another way,' he thought, very humorlessly.

He held his arm to his body, grimacing as he continued to stagger forward. The blood dripped from his arm and he could barely hold it together.

"Fuck," he grumbled, nearly collapsing from the blood loss. He did not want to attract any attention now. At least not until he got patched up, but the blood dripping from him was a heavy amount.

What the thug needed to do was get to a place that wouldn't ask too many questions. That's what he needed now more than anything.

The hood came down and he removed the hoodie, knowing that the SWAT would identify him with it. Face still submerged in the shadows, he crept, moving from alleyway, to alleyway. He stepped over a limp cat and ambled forward.

The SWAT thought they were pretty tough, well the last laugh would be his. He started giggling at what happened.

His giggling descended to full blown laughter at the thought of what happened. It was kind of funny, actually it was pretty hilarious.

The man knew that there was a place around here that wouldn't ask any questions, that would patch up his injuries. Then it would be off to the races once again. He cradled his bleeding arm very closely to his chest.

He had a mental list of things that he would need to do but he needed medical attention. Thankfully this was Gotham City, people got shot all of the time, especially in the area of Park Row, where he managed to find his way.

'Crime Alley, home sweet home,' the man stated, his bloody arm dripping, the gash opened on it really spilling blood from him.

Destination, it was there, and his laughter finally subsided. Just in the nick of time because he needed to be conspicuous.

A sign that said "Leslie Thompkins Medical Clinic" told him exactly where he needed to go. He slipped inside, barely keeping his head up.

No questions asked, no questions asked, that was the way he liked it.

Harry Potter had far better days but as he reminded himself, he sustained a lot worse.

'Still glad that the armor has held, really,' Faora said and Karen chimed in over the link, as Kara and Diana were on their way to meet him in the physical world.

'Yeah, sometimes, I think that it's easy to forget that you have that watch on, and you have a few limitations,' Karen said but then she sighed before adding thoughtfully. 'Thankfully you've never been someone who had relied on his powers as a crutch.'

'Yes, well that's a good thing, and not a bad thing, and this might be an interesting tool in the long run,' Harry said and Kara and Diana arrived, they looked subdued.

"So, how are you feeling?" Kara asked and Harry smiled.

"Sore, but bending, thankfully the bullet didn't strike me hard," Harry whispered so only Kara could hear him. Gordon was down the hallway he could see, so he had to play it casual and calm.

"Most like the armor hit most of the attack," Kara said and Harry wrapped his arm around her tightly. "So how's Vicki doing?"

"I'm sure that she's doing…..well better than could be expected, she went through a horrible, dreadful ordeal in there, you know," Harry told Kara and the blonde waved off these words, she had no need to be reminded, for sure knew. "But she'll be on the mend and everything will be great."

"Yeah, I hope so too, I really hope so," Kara said and she could hear James Gordon approaching.

'So truthfully, how are you feeling?' Lily asked, as the door opened.

'Like I took a sledgehammer to the ribs, but time to put my game face on,' Harry thought as he saw Gordon approach.

"Oh, Harry, hello," Gordon said and he stopped, surveying Harry quite curiously. "What are you doing here?"

"I am here to see Vicki, I heard what happened," Harry said and Gordon once again surveyed him calmly. "She doesn't have any family here nearby in Gotham City, and I figured that I would see how she was doing, after what happened."

"How did you….."

"Barbara told me or rather gave me a general idea of the situation," Harry said and Gordon relaxed his line of questioning. "Exactly what happened out there?"

"Your usual gang of thugs, it was those guys….well they've been in the news, they were wearing the masks of ex-Presidents," Gordon said and Harry looked for more of an explanation. Gordon was about to give it to them. "Well, they decided to snatch Vale…..I think that it was spur of the moment, because it doesn't fit their motive. She just happened to be there….."

"And they seized the opportunity," Harry said, and he was trying to play like he didn't know anything. How much Gordon believed, he could not really say. That being said, Harry would have liked to think that he was becoming an extremely convincing liar. "So, the GCPD took them in?"

"With considerable help," Gordon said and Harry, Kara, and Diana feigned curiosity. "Nothing that we can prove but this person is pretty adept at not being side."

"I'd figure as much, yes," Harry commented to him. "If we're talking about the same guy, he's got a price on his head, because he's technically a vigilante."

'Yeah, and Branden would love nothing better to ring his neck, along with half of the force for making them look bad,' Gordon said, but never the less he tried not to smile.

"I think we are, but….better not talk about it too much, but I'm sure Vale could tell you something," Gordon said. "Or would, if she wasn't in too much shock, she said that it all happened so fast that she couldn't really process what happened."

'Not really too strange, she was through an ordeal,' Kara thought, keeping close to Harry. She marveled the fact that he was able to keep so calm and stoic despite his injuries. Despite the handicap of not being able to sustain as much damage thanks to the solar filtering radiation watch.

"Yeah, I figured about as much," Harry said. "But I don't know that much, and it's not like it hasn't hit the media….."

"No, but I'm sure it will, because the media got involved," Gordon said to Harry and he decided to cut to the chase. "She's in Room 3, down the hall. I'm going to get a cup of coffee, it's been a long night. Holler if you need anything."

"Thanks," Harry said as he moved forward. The moment that Gordon was gone, he allowed the pain that he was feeling to show on his face.

'You are a lot stronger than I would be,' Rose commented.

'Well, given that you're a big baby when you stub your toe, I should think so,' Lily said, and Rose crossed her arms and pouted.

'Oh, that's adorable,' Nym cooed over the bond link as Harry, Diana, and Kara made their way there.

'Yes, because you're a joy when you're ill, Nymphadora,' Andromeda said, which shut Tonks up straight away. 'Seriously, she's really not all that much of a joy, she's…."

"MUM!" Nym whined at the top of her lungs.

'Don't worry, Nym, Amanda is worse,' Emily said, with a wicked grin on her face and in response, her sister gave her a dirty look. 'I only speak the truth, you know.'

'You are a little brat, you know that,' Amanda said and Lily decided to interject before things could get a bit uglier. Her daughters could act extremely spirited.

Harry smiled as he half heard his mother's reprimand. He was half distracted by another source, as Vicki bounced up to her feet, with a bright eyed expression.

The good news was that Harry was only going to mostly brace himself from what was coming. His ribs did take a nice pounding from her glomp hug, but even with the few seconds of agitation that flashed through his eyes, he remained rather calm.

"Harry….oh….it's so good to see you," Vicki said, she wasn't letting go, and Kara and Diana looked kind of amused as they lingered off by Harry's side, waiting to be introduced properly.

'I have to say, you have an iron will that most won't have in your situation,' Kara said, and she could sense that Harry was holding in pain.

'Believe me, I have a lot of experience hiding my emotions, because of what I do,' Harry said with a smile, as Vicki relaxed her grip oh so slightly.

"So, this is Kara Kent," Harry said, pointing out to Kara and Kara smiled.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Vale," Kara said with a smile on her face, greeting the reporter energetically.

"Please, Vicki, any….friend of Harry's, is a friend of mine," Vicki said with a smile and Harry looked at the Amazon who was standing in the shadows. She was an imposing presence, one could really see that if she guarded someone's body, it would be guarded quite nicely.

"And this is Diana Prince."

"A pleasure to meet you," Diana said, said shaking hands with Vicki. "Sorry to hear about the ordeal that you went through tonight…"

"Well, I'll be honest, kind of comes with the territory," Vicki said, letting a deep breath out of her body. "I've been so close to getting shot at more times than I care to count. I was in the middle of that stand off with the SWAT and the GCPD a while back."

"I think we all recall that," Harry said, wondering if Vicki knew how close she came to getting sniped a while back by the SWAT in retaliation.

"Yeah, well, this Dead Presidents, Ex-Presidents gang, the ring leader sounds like he has a few screws loose, someone like that has to have a past," Vicki commented, looking at the trio. "And that past is rather….messed up, wouldn't you think?"

"Oh, I would think that, Vicki," Harry said and she was guided into a chair. Harry pulled out two chairs for Diana and Kara, and they sat down.

"I thought the SWAT would just come in there firing, but….guess he came in there and saved me, just like that," Vicki said, clapping her hands together. "I barely had time to register it, and next thing I knew, I was safely out of there and they were mostly apprehended."

"Mostly," Harry said, trying to keep himself calm. He figured that one or two might slip through the cracks, his prime motive was getting Vicki out of there.

"Well, I think I saw someone running, he did get clipped, so…" Vicki said with a long sigh.

'Maybe he'll turn up dead,' Dinah thought but somehow she doubted it.

'That easily, hardly,' Zatanna thought to herself, and there were murmurings of agreement throughout the bond network.

"So, I have to say that I admire what you do out there," Kara said to Vicki.

"It isn't easy," Vicki said to her and Kara smiled.

"So, I noticed," Kara said, placing her hand up to her cheek and staring down the redhead reporter, "I'm studying Media Relations and there's a lot of work going into it."

"Well there's a lot that goes into this field that they can't even teach you in school," Vicki said and she sighed. "Three years of my life studying, and no amount of theory can prepare you with Gotham City. You either swim with the sharks or get eaten by them."

'An interestingly accurate assessment,' Penelope said, something that she figured out to be true in Gotham City.

"Tonight was the epitome of that…"

"I'd say," Diana said, she had experienced every moment. Harry still stood there, a stoic look on his face, not acting like the injuries he suffered bothered him. Vicki was still hanging onto him, but she didn't really notice anything that was wrong. "Guess it's an interesting story if you live long enough to tell it."

"Well you lived long enough tonight," Harry told her and Vicki smiled. "Lucky to do so."

"Yes, hopefully my luck will hold out," Vicki said in response.

At the Gotham City library, Hermione carefully balanced a stack of antique books. The Gotham City Central library had one of the biggest and most prolific collections in all of Gotham City. She closed her eyes as she nearly took half of a step back but stopped and stared, holding the books.

She wore her hair clipped back, along with a pair of glasses that rested on the top of her nose. It was more about the look than anything. She wore a white blouse that was buttoned up, along with a skirt that modestly stretched down past her knees, and high heel shoes.

'Okay, keep it calm, you don't want to blow this,' Hermione thought, the chatterbox brigade was silent in her mind. That was moments that she cherished. She owed Harry everything, up to and including her life. But that didn't mean that silence was not really golden and Hermione enjoyed that whole heartedly.

Hermione made her way to the Head Librarian, someone who was well respected through the Gotham City community and the fact that he was respected for all of the right reasons, instead of all of the wrong reasons like a lot of people in Gotham City was. He was a man by the name of Anthony Roderick McDowell. He had his hair parted back in a neat cut, and he wore a pair of glasses over his face. He was middle age, dressed in a neat suit.

The brunette bookworm saw a man that she recognized as the esteemed Deacon Blackfire.

'When you join us, you have the whole world in your hands,' Hermione thought, noticing that he was having a subdued conversation with the good Deacon. She didn't really listen into what they were saying and hoped that she would be noticed. The brunette waited a few minutes.

McDowell turned his head forwards and looked at Hermione with a smile on his face. "Miss Granger, sorry for making you wait."

"No, it's okay, sir," Hermione said in a respectful voice, surveying the two older men nervously. "I didn't….I didn't want to interfere."

"No need to be bothered, my child, I'm just leaving," The Deacon said in a soft voice. "May the good lord be with you."

"Yes," Hermione said, respectfully, even though given some really bad experiences with religion when she was younger, she was rather soured about it. And that was not counting how her paternal grandparents acted when she was discovered to be a witch. They were extremely religious.

"I'll see our friend out, and I'll be with you in a moment, Miss Granger," McDowell said in a soft spoken voice and he saw Deacon Blackfire out the door.

Hermione allowed herself to drop down into one of the comfortable chairs, a smile on her face. Then again, there was something about being surrounded by so much exotic literature that was just arousing. She shook her head, the brunette bookworm sighed.

'Better not get used to this too much, remember, you're on probation for a good reason,' Hermione thought, and her master's lecture burned into her head.

Hermione suddenly saw an open book up the desk; it must have been something that the two gentlemen discussed. She knew that she shouldn't snoop, because snooping was something that lead down the road to trouble. That being said, she shushed that mental voice in the back of her head. It was a book that she had never seen before her entire life, so naturally, she was going to be rather interested by it.

"There have been many origins regarding Solomon Grundy but the most common one is that of a wealthy merchant known as Cyrus Gold. Much like many of those who had been afflicted by the disease that swept through Gotham City, Gold had gone greedy and he had been seduced by a life of crime. This ill-fated career choice had got Gold many enemies. Legend states that he was shot and dumped in the harsh area that is known as Slaughter Swamp. And legend further straights, that Grundy will rise again to seek revenge on those who have allowed for to be buried in such a matter."

There was more, but Hermione was brought out of the state by someone clearing her brought. She nearly jumped halfway off of her seat but she managed to become focused, even if it was a focused front.

"That's a very rare tome, very few are in existence," McDowell told her. "I was fortunate enough to acquire one of the only intact copies for my personal collection and it's quite a fascinating legend."

"But a swamp zombie…."

"There are many legends that might consider to be outlandish, Miss Granger," McDowell warned her. "But all legends start with some basis in reality. Gotham does have its own urban legend as of now after all. Whether it's real or a tale concocted by the GCPD to spook the Gotham City underworld, that's up for much conjecture."

Hermione nodded, she figured she was speaking of one of two legends but it was best to keep her mouth shut. She was on extremely thin ice with the Alpha council to begin with. They left her to her business today, likely because they were discussing something extremely important that did not concern her.

"But I'm not here to discuss old Gotham City legends, Miss Granger," McDowell said and the brunette bookworm's eyes were on him. "My research assistant has taken notice; she has gotten an amazing opportunity on the other side of the country. And whilst it would be a shame to let her go, it would also be selfish to allow this opportunity to slip by. The opening filled up and I was wondering whether or not you would consent to filling it."

Hermione smiled, without hesitation, thinking that it would be better to ask for forgiveness than permission anyway answered. "Yes, I'd do it."

"Excellent, I have a feeling that this will be a very fruitful relationship."

"So, another night," Diana muttered, as she re-taped Harry's ribs. "You should be good to go in a couple of days."

"The armor took most of it, and I'm glad," Harry concluded.

"With the watch, you still have those limitations for another….five years, isn't it?" Diana asked and Harry smiled.

"Yes, and I'm counting down the days as much as the next person."

'Again, no one could really know what the Hallows could do to a person's CORE, they are untapped, untested magic,' Karen thought, and she knew that Harry, despite the situation, was extremely adaptable. He would have to be in Gotham City.

'If we could improve the armor anymore….' Donna suggested but then she sighed. 'But we would have to decrease mobility as well and that's important.'

'We've got the best happy medium possible, I think,' Kara thought, she was about ready to head off to sleep for the night. She had a big day tomorrow at school, an important project was due, so she needed to be in the soundest mind possible. 'Good night everyone.'

'Sleep well, Kara,' Harry said, as Diana double checked the ribs that she taped. With a smile on her face, the Amazon Princess looked at them.

"I'll be glad when I can safely get this watch off in some ways, but in other ways, I think I'm much stronger for it," Harry said as he reclined back on the bed, with Diana wrapping her arm around him, pulling her husband in tightly. "Now that Vicki is safe, I think we have some room to breathe."

"Until the next crisis brings itself forward," Diana said, she knew that there were going to be more issues than they can shake a stick at.

"And I wish the SWAT wouldn't come out of this smelling like a rose," Harry added, closing his eyes with a grimace. There were some things that he guessed couldn't be helped, no matter how much could be tried. "Branden does get some hero points, even though we did the heavy lifting."

'He'll get his soon enough,' Dinah thought and there was no questioning the determination that was in her voice when she said that. She was scary determined and that was something that they could take to the bank.

"Well I'm convinced," Harry said, there was really no more to be said other than that, as he leaned back, his head resting on Diana's clothes covered breasts.

Suddenly, as it had been forgotten in the night's festivities, Diana had remembered something. "Harry, if it's not too much trouble, I want to ask a favor of you…"

"Of course," Harry said promptly without any hesitation whatsoever. His wife smiled as she began to describe what she wanted from him.

"Well, Doctor Sandsmark, I'm meeting her tomorrow, and I want to know if you'd like to come along to meet her. I'm sure it would make her day if you met her, given your accomplishments."

"Of course Diana, of course," Harry said with a smile, as the Amazon Princess slowly stroked his head. "I've got a pretty clear schedule tomorrow but if I didn't, you know I'd find a way to make time."

"I knew you would," Diana said beaming. "It's just that the work at the museum is getting really interesting and I figured that you'd want to meet her. I think that she'd be….."

"You did make your point rather well," Harry said, as he could see that Diana was getting flustered, something that was extremely rare from the likes of her. "But I'd enjoy the meeting."

"Great, great," Diana said, without even missing a beat and she smiled. "So, how are you feeling?"

"Sore," Harry said with a smile. "But mending."

"Well that's good, so…" Diana said and Harry could sense what she was trying to say a mile a way. He liked to think that he could read all of his wives that well, especially his Alphas.

"If you want….."

"I do want," Diana replied to him and she smiled once more at him. "But only if you want to….I know that you're not up for anything too rough, but…..there will be plenty of time to do that in the future."

"Well not all of me is out of commission," Harry told her and Diana smirked, as she placed her hand on the bulge of his pants, rubbing in gently. Her smile got even wider as she touched him, her eyes widening as she could feel the pleasure pulse in her hand.

"Yes, I can see that," Diana said and she looked at him. "You know, you're pretty much half naked anyway…..so we don't have that far to go."

Diana slowly removed the tank top that she was wearing and Harry could see that she was wearing absolutely nothing underneath it.

'I think it's safe to say that the lady was planning on getting some tonight,' Amanda said, and the twins snickered, as they watched Diana undress, pulling her leather pants off to reveal the bottom half of her nude body. There was much drooling from the female members in the bond link.

'Well that much is obvious, very obvious,' Hippolyta said, but then again, she had her own Harry duplicate on the island, so it was not obvious.

"I think that you do have some residual swelling from tonight," Diana said, pulling down Harry's pants. "And you might need to improve the circulation just a little bit."

"Well you know best, Diana….oooh."

Diana's hot lips wrapped around his tool and she looked at him, with wide eyes, as she brought herself up and down on his rod. She brought the hardness deep into her throat, careful not to go too fast, drawing out the pleasure as she made him get harder.

With a smile, she felt Harry's hands on the back of her hair, stroking her locks, as he encouraged her. She briefly sucked him, her lips wrapped around him. Her salvia lubricated his member and she pulled back.

"I think that it's time to return the favor," Diana whispered, leaning back and pushing her finger back, exposing her hot box to Harry.

"Oh, I think that I'd have to agree," Harry commented, pushing his finger into her and slowly giving her pleasure.

A tiny bit of magic was channeled through her and he added a second finger, followed by a third finger, pumping him into her body. The woman pumped her hips up and Harry pushed her lips back and placed his tongue into her.

Diana closed her eyes and arched her back, allowing his tongue to lubricate her. After he performed his oral talents on her, Harry pushed up and smiled.

His hands roamed over his body, as he kissed the side of her neck and then peppered her entire body with kisses. The Amazon Princess felt everything get heated up, as Harry touched her body. She returned fire, exploring his muscular body, treating him gently when she reached close to the area around the ribs.

His lips lingered on her right nipple and she whined, as Harry flicked his tongue around her. He had her back against the bed and her hot slit was exposed

"Take me, oh that feels good, make love for to me Har," Diana begged him and she could feel his throbbing manhood against her entrance. It taunted her, teased her, made her hotter and caused her nipples to grow stiffer.

"At once, my lady," Harry grunted and he placed his hands on her hips.

Harry slipped his large prick into her tight center and the Amazon's center stretched to accommodate his trip into her center. The Amazon arched her back up and Harry pushed into her body, working himself into her body. The Amazon continued to pump her way up towards him.

"That's it, that's it," Diana breathed, placing her hands gently on the back of Harry and encouraging him to push into her. Her wet center hugged his manhood as it buried it deeply into her.

Harry pushed himself into her and he slowly kissed her body, licking her nipples and sucking on the side of the neck. This caused Diana's moans to escalate. She was wet and Harry could bury himself into her completely.

Her legs kicked up and Harry ran his hands over her legs, cupping her ass as she bridged up to meet his incoming thrusts into her.

Diana could not believe it, her man pushed into her and her husband was really bringing her pleasure to another degree. The Amazon continued to pump her hips up and Harry cupped her from behind, working his hands all over her.

"Still there," Harry whispered as he could see the pleasure flood through Diana's eyes.

"Always, always for you," Diana panted, her walls closed around him, with Harry pumping his length deep into her tight body.

The dance was passionate but not nearly as intense as it would have been. Harry's adrenaline kicked up and Diana continued to bring her hips up towards him.

The tip of his member was at the edge of her smoldering hot entrance and Diana whined, as Harry teased her. He brushed against her smoldering woman hood and once again, drew it in, after kissing all the way down the side of the neck once again.

Her fit body underneath him caused his balls to throb. The Amazon's hips pumped up to meet him and Harry continued to pick up the pace.

"Oooooh, yes," Diana whined at the top of her lungs, with Harry pushing his length deep into her quim. The Amazon thought that Har-Zod never ceased to amaze her, with nothing really feeling this good. But he was always full of surprises.

He filled her completely and Diana's sweaty body was explored by Harry's hands. Returning fire, the dance got about as intense it would have, considering the circumstances.

Harry slowed down, allowing Diana to savor the moment of her latest climax. His rod was in her.

"Continue, please."

Harry continued alright and he continued to pump into her, hanging onto the Amazon's hips.

The dance continued as Diana leaned up and kissed Harry's lips. He allowed her to reverse the position.

Diana placed her hands gently on Harry's chest, running her hands gently all over him.

"Let me know if it hurts," Diana whispered, kissing the side of his neck, as her hips rotated down onto his pole.

"Oh it's fine, it's fine, it's really good," Harry grunted with Diana's slick walls closing in on her and she bounced a tiny bit harder.

Diana had a good idea of what Harry's current limits were because of the messages he was sending from his mind. The dance of love continued, with Harry reaching up and cupping her ample breast one more.

Diana smiled as Harry played with her hips and the next orgasm left the path open for Harry to inject his hot seed into her.

She grinded herself down onto him, and his balls shot its hot load into her. Diana came once again as Harry injected his fluids into her.

She moaned and squeezed him, milking his orgasm with a few more tugs. The Amazon embraced Harry.

"Oh, that feels good, but I think I'm ready for more," Diana said, getting on her hands and knees and Harry smiled.

"With an invitation like that, I don't think I can say no," Harry said and he teased his wife for a few seconds, and then explored a different position as the love making continued.

Diana moaned, they didn't go on for too much longer but it was a respectable time.

The esteemed Deacon Blackfire, along with his two disciples were standing next two of his homeless friends.

"All God's children have a story," Blackfire said to the two homeless individuals. His voice was low, but at the same time, powerful. Like one would regret it if they did not speak up. "Do feel free to open up my brothers and tell me why you have been forsaken so. You were not always like this, but you have been broken from the herd. The chain has been annihilated, for you have lost your way."

"We weren't always this way, Deacon Blackfire," the more vocal of the two homeless men stated. "Back in the 1980s, we were part of the Gotham City smuggling ring."

"Yeah, but eventually, we got caught," the other homeless man said, as he broke in with a few words of his own, and they stood in the middle of a graveyard, the dark haired disciple holding a lantern in his hand to illuminate the path. "You see, we got sent up the river to Blackgate, a lot of the small time outfits were getting busted. The big guns didn't want us muscling in on their racket."

"Yeah, that son of a bitch Falcone, he had the ear of the cops, and he sent us up the river, by the time we got out, the GCPD seized our assets, and the assets of a lot of other people," the more vocal homeless man said and the Deacon nodded, motioning for him to continue. "We had no where to go. A lot of us moved on, some of us were never seen today."

"Yet, you are here now," Deacon said as he looked up with a wicked smile on his face. "The Lord's plan tried you through adversity, my brothers. You could have been swallowed up by a corrupt system like so many others have, destroying your lives. Annihilation, my brothers, that is what Gotham City brings to you."

He motioned for them to follow him forward.

"Back a long time ago, my granddaddy was indicted by the government. These weasels print out paper like it's water and then hoard it from the lambs of society. But despite the fact that my granddaddy did the same thing that they did, he was considered the villain. The world has been wrought with corruption and we see them both in the light and in the darkness."

The Deacon smiled widely as he motioned for the larger of his two disciples to remove the gate from where they were.

"Are you sure it's…"

"All of these poor little lambs have been rounded up and then directed back into society, once their herd has long since been left. The shepherd has returned to protect you. They have picked many of your brothers and sisters off, and they will not stop. It's always the big dogs, the one's with the loudest bark, that try and go after the straggling lambs. They know that if they go after the big herd, they will be backed off. It's strength, strength my brothers, strength in numbers."

They walked into an area that was a swamp and there was a sign that was ahead of them but not completely in view.

"But you see, we see, an honest man can be turned into a monster because he has been separated from the herd. Just like my granddaddy was."

"Is this…..why are we here?"

"Patience, my brother, patience, we will get to the point," Blackfire said as the lantern was held in his hand. "I have seen the future and I have seen the fear in the eyes of those who have tried to pick off the straggling little lambs. There are those who believe in their own hype, believe that they are the guardians of Gotham City. But the only thing they guard is the entitled and the rich, those who believe in their own hubris and delusions."

Deacon Blackfire looked into the distance and the entire group got a good look at Slaughter Swamp. There was no life.

"See that, it is the epitome of the disease in Gotham City, the epitome of the corruption, the disdain that all will feel," Blackfire said, waving his hand around and his mouth curled wide toothy grin. "You see this….you see this don't you?"

The two homeless men nodded up and down. The trees were rendered completely dead, from what little light they were allowed, the grass was lifeless, brown. Nothing could live in this Swamp.

"So, creatures of the night, they hide beneath a mask, but they are no different than the liars who have led to the corruption infecting this city," the Deacon said in a low voice. His voice was captivating and all who listened hung on every world, almost like they were underneath some kind of trance. "For I've seen it, and I've seen how much they fear these marauders. But they hold no power over me, do not fear them. I do not fear what goes bump in the night, because the good lord and all of his children are on my side."

The Deacon ramped up the anticipation and dropped his voice a tiny bit lower, but it was no less captivating.

"I've seen meteors rain from the sign and was spared, while others perished, it is a sign that I have been touched, I have been blessed. And the crusaders of the night have not seen what I have seen, felt what I have felt."

The four men with him had begun to dig into the ground at the spot that had been marked. The Deacon returned with fire.

"They don't have the power over me, that they have with powers. They don't have the power of fear that they have over me…give me your hand, my brother."

A hand stuck out, barely illuminated by the lantern light.

"You see, those wicked, those wild sinners, they thought that they had me, but I see it, I feel it, and soon they will experience someone worthy of their fear. The big bad monster who has been unleashed on them, created by Gotham City!"

Blood splashed on the grave site and Deacon Blackfire looked on, with a wide grin on his face.

"Soon the demons will be purged and the righteous will be spared."

The group stepped back.

"Give him some room, give him some room, let him roam free. You are free my brother, rise up, and return."

SMASH.

SMASH.

SMASH.

SMASH.

He blew out the lantern and seconds later, the party heard a low gravelly voice.

"Solomon Grundy, born on a Monday."