Risk It All: Cards Down (ch. 7) (Patreon)

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...

"Huh?" I blurted, thoroughly caught off guard by the revelation. My mind raced, the inside hamster sprinting in his wheel to figure what exactly was going on -- setting aside that my mysterious uncle who I had never known about until recently was suddenly in front of me… how did he know it was me? My face was covered, I had contacts in, I had changed after leaving the apartment building… the only way he could know it was me was if he had followed me from the apartment building.

Meaning he had kept up with Flash Step, avoided my drones, and appeared from thin air right after I had acted.

"We should talk elsewhere." My… Uncle remarked, gesturing down to the fallen men and the attention they earned from those inside the restaurant. I looked down at them, barely for a split second, and in that moment my uncle seemed to appear next to me, winking into existence, before I felt a hand on my shoulder and a sense of vertigo.

The sense of vertigo passed and I realized that we were suddenly standing on a rooftop.

"What the fuck?" I swore, backpedaling away from my uncle, who looked pleased with himself. My eyes darted around -- I could distantly hear screaming, so we weren't too far away. The rooftop itself was mostly unidentifiable -- an air conditioning unit, some trash, and a seat set up in a corner, while the taller buildings displayed Chinese in neon. We were still in Chinatown.

My gaze slid back to my uncle, who clasped his hands together, watching me watch him. "I see you're unfamiliar with the technique," he remarked, his tone curious.

"Technique?" I questioned, feeling anxiety prickle at my skin, but I tried to steel my nerves. My uncle tilted his head, seemingly just as puzzled as I was. Technique… did he mean… like, my skills?

My uncle made a noise of acknowledgment, "It seems my brother was telling the truth -- he has hidden the truth from you," he remarked, making my stomach clench. Questions gnawed at my mind, swelling in number until I had too many to count. I wanted to ask them all and I wanted answers, but I almost didn't know where to start. Without any warning, I was tossed headfirst into the deep end of… whatever this was.

"What truth did he hide?" I asked, earning a small smile from my Uncle before he stepped forward. I took one back in response, knowing deep in my gut that it wouldn't matter, but even if I was so in over my head I couldn't see the sun, I wasn't going to go down easily. The guy might be my uncle, but that didn't make him trustworthy by default.

He didn't take another step, "Hm… it would be poor of me to undercut my brother's parenting, but if things have progressed like this…" he muttered, seemingly thinking to himself. He came to a decision, “The truth of the family that he left."

I knew Dad had lied at least a little. That was first exposed with the existence of some uncle that I had never known about. The story I had grown up believing was that Dad was an orphan and an only child that grew up in rural China, who met Mom when she was studying abroad, then came back with her to America. But the more layers that were revealed, the more I learned just how little I actually knew.

"I'm sure you have many questions, Ren," My Uncle guessed correctly, "But many of them are best reserved for your father. It is not my place to reveal his secrets when he can't explain his reasoning." He said, but his actions didn't exactly line up with that. He was baiting the water, making my curiosity skyrocket so I would be forced to ask Dad what in the hell was going on.

I almost asked the questions anyway -- what did he mean 'the truth of our family', or why my Dad lied about them, and so on. But he was also right. I should ask Dad that. Even if my Uncle gave me the answers, I wouldn't trust them simply because I didn't know him and I had no way to know how many lies he was slipping into the truth.

"Okay… but… why are you here?" I questioned, finding this little reveal off. It had been nearly a month since I woke up from my coma, and I hadn't heard a word from him. I hadn't seen him. If the police hadn't mentioned him, then I wouldn't have known he existed.

In response, my Uncle held out a hand, "Before I answer, may I take your pulse?" He asked, the sudden request catching me off guard. I blinked, glancing down at his hand, and mulled it over. My first instinct was to refuse… but at the same time, I was curious. And despite my mistrust, my Uncle hadn't exactly done anything to really deserve it. Not yet, at least.

Offering a curt nod, I offered a hand and pulled up my suit to expose my wrist. My Uncle reached out, taking hold of my hand before he pressed two fingers to the inside of my wrist. He held it there for a moment, then his lips twitched down into a frown. My eyes narrowed, "Is something wrong?"

"That would entirely depend on how you would use the word wrong," My Uncle deflected. "Your Qi flow has strengthened significantly, abnormally quickly.

"Qi?" I questioned, looking down at my wrist. Qi? Like… like Ki? Like Dragonball? Could I throw around Kamehamehas now?

My Uncle made a noise of acknowledgment, "You are ignorant of even that? It's what saved your life after you were shot," he informed. "Whether you trained it or not, it laid dormant within you. Then when your life was nearly extinguished, it awakened. It sustained you until you were able to reach a hospital. Combined with a few medical herbs, your Qi is why you are able to stand before me instead of eternally asleep in a coma."

And just like that, the pieces clicked into place. How I survived not one shot to the head, but two. The origin of my ability. Even why neither Dad nor Mom were worried about Black Mask.

"It is growing in strength as well. Beyond my expectations. It's normal for those that first awaken their Qi to experience explosive growth spiritually and physically, but given your previous condition, your Qi is strengthening your body faster than predicted," My Uncle continued, and a question started nagging at the back of my mind. He gave me an important piece of the puzzle, but it didn't quite line up perfectly. "Your techniques… you created them, did you not? They're rudimentary but exemplary given that you're a novice."

And there it was. Qi was just a piece of the puzzle, not the final piece. My ability to buy things from the market, gambling for skills, the prestige needed to progress… As far as I knew, Qi couldn't explain that. Especially when I was learning skills rather than creating them. The Qi strengthening my body? That was me increasing my stats. The little I knew about Ki or Qi or whatever painted it as a spiritual energy.

I never felt that. When I tried to pull on that energy that I used for Soul Crushing Strike, there was nothing there. Was that because I didn’t know how to do it or because I couldn’t? How could Qi allow me to instantly learn skills instead of discovering them or creating them? Why did I have some kind of system instead of a free-flowing mysticism-type energy inside of me?

"So, what does all that mean?" I asked, withdrawing my wrist from his hand. Where was this conversation leading to?

My Uncle looked at me for a moment, seeming to mull it over himself. "Ideally, I would like to bring you to China," he informed. "You hold immense potential that has yet to be cultivated."

China, huh? Honestly, I never really felt any attachment to the country despite it being my nationality. I spoke Chinese, and adopted Chinese mannerisms when the situation called for it, but I never considered myself anything but an American on account of China being half a world away.

But… being half a world away would certainly help with Black Mask.

"And my parents?" I questioned, and the wince that my Uncle gave me was all the answer I needed.

"My older brother… burnt some bridges when he left for America with your mother. Our family will kill him if he ever returns. Even I'm taking a risk being in contact with him."

Yeah, fuck that. "I'm not going anywhere without my family," I stated, digging in my heels. It didn't even matter what Dad did, the lies he told or anything – he was still my Dad. I'm not fucking off to China with an Uncle I just met to a family of assholes. I knew my Dad – if he cut ties with them, if he went as far as to tell me that his parents were dead and lied about my Uncles existance, then there was probably a good reason for it.

My Uncle appeared unsurprised by the refusal, "Then answer me this, Nephew. Why are you out here? Why do you seek strength?" He asked me, his dark eyes hardening, a gaze as sharp as obsidian cutting right through me.

That was a question I had been asking myself. The clear answer was revenge, but the word tasted like a lie. Was I pissed about getting shot in the head? Yeah, plenty, but not pissed enough I felt the need to hunt the guy down. Revenge for Alice… I felt bad… I felt terrible about her death… but, at the same time, I had only known her for a week. I didn't really know her.

To protect my family? That was closer to the truth, but I had my doubts for a while now that they needed to be protected. Black Mask tried to have me assassinated, and they didn't feel the need to leave the city. Hell, or even to stop me going out for a run. They didn't fear Black Mask and after this little talk with my Uncle, maybe they didn't have any reason to.

Something like Justice? Honor? They were nice ideals, but neither really appealed to me. So, why was I out here? What really pushed me to go out at night, get into fights and take on a Mob? I wanted to get stronger? That was partly it, but was that it? Such a stupid and shallow reason to risk my life for? What did I want to get stronger for?

I...

"I don't want anyone to die," I told him, my voice small. That was my reason. A pretty dumb reason, but it was my pretty dumb reason. Black Mask… wrong place, wrong time. That's all it took. Life was something so easy to snuff out, but death always felt like a faraway possibility. Even doing this, going out to fight criminals… I didn't really think I'd die.

And those people in the restaurant below us? The ones that had just wanted a late-night meal? They had nearly been murdered for it by getting caught in the middle of a brewing gang war. They would have been if I wasn't here. Alice had been standing on the other side of the door, wanting to offer one last piece of fortune cookie encouragement. If she hadn't, then I would have died and she would still be alive.

Wrong place, wrong time.

That's all it took.

"I know I can't stop everyone from dying. I'm not god," I continued, putting a feeling that had been brewing in me since I woke up from the coma into words. "I just… I don't want it to be because I didn't do everything I could to stop it. And I want to stop assholes like Black Mask who think you can just kill a bunch of people and get away with it." I didn't care about Justice. Hell, I don't even think everyone deserved to live.

But a life had some inherent value. It wasn't something you should snuff out so lightly.

My Uncle smiled, "Maybe my brother had a point after all." He said, earning a blink from me.

"Huh-?" I started, only to cut myself off when I felt something poke me in the forehead. My vision grew blurry, my vision swam.

Then everything went dark.

…

I opened my eyes to a familiar ceiling. My ceiling. I took in a deep breath, blinking a few times before pushing myself up while rubbing the sleep from my eyes. Blinking away some foggy vision, I looked around my room to find it the same as ever. Days later, and I still hadn't really settled in.

Standing up, I ran a hand through my hair, pushing it back out of my eyes before securing it with a hair clip Mom gave me since she seemed to think I was keeping the long hair. The action brought my attention to the drones that were hidden in a box -- their return position for when they reached the end of their recording capacity. Cracking my neck, I took a seat at my desk to review the footage.

I went with the drone that was set to follow me and…

"Oh," I muttered, leaning back into my chair as I fast forwarded the video -- I saw myself fighting those three men. Then I saw my Uncle blur into position, not once but twice before taking me to the rooftop. It had taken a bit for the drone to find me, but I caught the tail end of the conversation when my Uncle knocked me out by tapping me on the forehead. "That wasn't a dream?"

I needed to talk to Dad. I paused the video, standing up and marching out of my bedroom, uncaring that I still wore the outfit that I had gone out in. He wasn't in the kitchen, but Mom was. "Mom? Where's Dad?" I asked, causing her to look over her shoulder.

"He had an early meeting. Breakfast is almost done," Mom said, returning to her work. That sounded normal, but the timing… yeah, I didn't buy that for a second. Was Dad avoiding me? Did he know I came in contact with Uncle? He had all but confirmed it when I went out that he knew what I was doing.

I hovered by the kitchen for a moment, uncertain what I should do. "Did he say what time he's coming back?" I asked, earning another look from Mom.

"In the afternoon," She answered. "Did you need to talk to him about something?" Was that a genuine question or was she hinting at something?

I had no clue how much Mom knew… and I wanted to hear the truth from Dad. About everything. If he was coming back in the afternoon? Then… I would just wait and see what he had to say. I knew my Dad. At least, I think I did. If he was avoiding me, then he was probably trying to prepare himself for explaining everything now that I knew the truth. A part of it, at least.

"Nothing that can't wait," I answered, hesitating for a moment more before I retreated back to my room. Okay. That conversation was going to have to wait for a bit. Right now, I needed a distraction. Luckily, I had hours worth of footage to shift through.

Taking a seat at my desk, I picked out one of the flies that I had track a lieutenant, put some headphones in, and grabbed my evidence notepad.

From the sounds of it, I had managed to shake the tree a fair bit. Black Mask had been furious, chewing into the Lieutenant for not managing to shoot up a store properly. The men that I had fought were currently in lock-up, pleading the fifth. I made notes to references, addresses, and people that were mentioned in the brief two-hour recording.

However, at the tail end of it, Black Mask's tone had changed.

A meeting was called between the heads of the Black Mask mob and the Snake-Flower Triad to meet on neutral ground about… well, me. The Triad continued to claim that they had nothing to do with me and they were upholding the conditions of the truce. They were also pushing back, stating that Black Mask was using me as an excuse to break the truce. So, a meeting was called to talk things out.

I had no clue if it was a trap or not, but it didn't really matter. If it wasn't a trap… then Black Mask would be there. If it was? Then I could prevent a slaughter.

I had a time and a place. The docks, twelve o'clock. Today.

Glancing at the clock proved that I had a few hours. Should I just call the police? Or would that just tip Black Mask off and make things worse? I stared a hole through my laptop, considering my options.

This was a chance to stop Black Mask. I hadn't fully mapped out his organization so I wouldn't be able to rip it out root and stem… should I wait? Place a bug on Black Mask, gather more information, then hit him when I was ready? It was tempting. Very tempting. Especially when it meant I could grow stronger in the meantime as the video continued to circulate. I could even post the clip of me fighting those three for more Prestige.

The only issue was the tension between the Triad and Black Mask was escalating. The Triad was trying to slip their leash, Black Mask was trying to remind them that his boot was on their neck… at the rate things were going, it would be a gang war. One that I had inadvertently started.

In the end, I really didn't have a choice.

Black Mask had to fall. Today. I'll cut off his mob’s head, along with the right and left hands. I could keep track of how they thrashed, which would expose more of their unseen body, and break it down piece by piece. And after that…

After that…

Another gang would move in. Possibly the Triad. And… the song and dance would begin again.

I stood up from my desk -- this wasn't going to end with Black Mask. It wouldn't end until Gotham ran out of gangs and the day that happened… well… Batman had been at it for close to a decade now. If he hadn't given up, then I had no excuse with just one mob… and maybe… maybe, with the three of us -- Me, Batman, and Robin… Gotham could change. It could change into something other than a gang-infested, corrupt dumpster fire of a city.

It was a stupid thought, but it brought a smile to my face as I prepared for the battle to come.

…

I broke out all the stops as I perched over a skylight built into the rooftop of a warehouse, the sun directly overhead. My drones were circling around the docks area, waiting for Black Mask and the Triad to show themselves. My flies were in the empty warehouse, ready to record what was said and to give me a broader view than what the window offered.

Above all else, I had bought two rolls of the five available to me for my current Rank. Each two-fifty a piece.

Barista

T3R1

Your skills as a barista are unmatched -- coffee in any form you make is peerless.

Rank Up: 3000

Sell: 5000

Reinforcement

T2R1

By imbuing your energy into an object, it becomes more resilient and effective.

Rank Up: 2000

Sell: 3000

It was tempting to sell Barista, but I held off. After all, in theory, I could turn it into a way to earn Prestige. Posting videos of me fighting earned the clicks, but it was also dangerous. I didn’t think anyone had any way to track me down with the videos posted, but I also didn’t know for certain that they couldn’t. Cooking videos were popular -- the high-quality ones earned possibly millions of views apiece. Setting up a channel where I could post videos of myself making different kinds of coffee… it might not be a winner, but it could earn me some Prestige. Maybe do it with my face out of shot and with my shirt off might help.

Reinforcement was more useful for combat, which is why I found myself wielding my old little league baseball bat. About a pound of aluminum, covered in sleek black paint except where it chipped from age or from being dropped on concrete.

Regardless, that was a possibility for tomorrow. Today, I ended a gang.

As if to agree with me, cars began to pull into the docks. Four cars in total, but they were practically identical except for the models -- black paint jobs with tinted windows. Two on each side, approaching from different angles. I guess they arrived at twelve on the dot to avoid risking an ambush or cries of foul play. My drones watched them approach while I retreated from the skylight after cracking it open.

The cars came to a stop almost in unison, before people began to get out. There were fewer than I expected -- three men in each car for a grand total of twelve. It was easy enough to tell who was Triad and who was Mob when they got out of the car. My heart started to hammer in anticipation as the drivers to the cars walked back to open the back doors.

For the second time in my life, I saw Black Mask in the flesh. His face was the same leathery black, his teeth so white in comparison it reminded me of a bone bleached by sunlight. He wore a white and black suit… only one thing had changed.

A hook poked out of his right sleeve rather than a hand. It was shaped like a robotic pincher -- nothing high-tech, just enough to grab hold of something. At some point after shooting me in the head… Black Mask had lost his right hand. Possibly more.

Another piece of the puzzle clicked into place, a suspicion rising in my gut.

With what my Uncle had said… and my Dad's lack of fear…

Did my Dad take Black Mask's hand? It seemed insane to even think about, but not as insane as some things I've heard today. When could it have happened…? It had to have happened after the assassination attempt. Mom went from camping out at my bedside to being unconcerned about the mob boss that wanted me dead. It wouldn’t make sense if it happened before.

I didn't have time to dwell on the question for long before the leader of the Triad left his car. An elderly man wearing a traditional Chinese garment made out of red and yellow cloth -- the Triad's colors. His hair was stark white, a few wrinkles gathering around his eyes and mouth, but they were the only hints of his age. He was fairly short, but he stood tall, his bodyguards and a Lieutenant standing next to him, while Black Mask and his bodyguards and his own Lieutenant stood next to him.

They stared at each other for a long moment, waiting for the other group to make a move.

Then Black Mask made a sweeping gesture to the entrance of the warehouse. "You're the one that asked for this little shindig," he said, his voice just as raspy and rough as I remember. "If you want a promise for me to not lock you inside and burn the place down… well, would you really think I wouldn't be crossing my fingers?"

I took in a deep breath. None of them were wearing eye protection, I noted. And I was so very glad that I had saved my points because they were about to come very in handy.

"I would not, you honorless creature," The leader of the Triad responded, but he strode forward all the same. "But the Shé Huā Triad can endure your petty tricks," he said, his tone scathing. Black Mask just chuckled.

"Always a pleasure, Mao. Can't wait for you to kick the bucket and that pissant son of yours to step up. Nepotism is pretty great until your heir is a moron, huh?" Black Mask returned, and I could see Mao's anger grow as his bodyguards entered the building first, sweeping it as they stepped inside. It was almost entirely empty and just barely illuminated thanks to the skylight.

That sounded like a story, but it didn't matter. The Triad stepped inside, followed by Black Mask. There seemed to be some set of rules for these kinds of things because Black Mask was standing by the exit. It seemed they both expected a trap.

"Now, a month ago, you told me you had no connection to that ninja fucker who cut off my hand. And you know what? I believed you. Gave you the benefit of the doubt. I mean, I had just finished burning down that lovely house of yours and the war was over -- it’d be pretty weird to keep a trump card like that in your back pocket," Black Mask began. "But that ninja fucker has returned. Conveniently when you started gathering your strength."

Mao narrowed his eyes, "Do not hoist your failures onto me, Black Mask. I said that I had no connection to the one that took your hand, or crippled your men. If I did, I'd offer them my heartfelt gratitude, even if they crippled one of my own."

The tension in the room swelled -- the two gang leaders weren't playing nice and were trading barbs. Everyone in the room expected shots to be fired.

What they didn't expect was for a couple of flash-bangs to be dropped from the skylight, freshly purchased from the market for a hundred points apiece.

Flashbangs were loud, I realized. They flashed brightly, filling the warehouse with smoke, disorienting everyone within with the loud noise. The moment they went off, I leaped through the skylight. A sense of vertigo swelled in my stomach as I fell a good thirty feet, but my veins flooded with adrenaline to take the edge off the fear.

Just past the halfway point during the fall, I tilted in midair, bringing my knees up until they touched my chest before thrusting them out. Double Jump activated, and it felt like I had just kicked off a wall, my momentum shifting as I sailed towards Black Mask's group. They were disoriented from the flashbangs, but not enough that they couldn't fire blindly. Bullets sailed underneath me, towards the Triad, who dove for cover.

I landed in a roll to my feet, bringing me into swinging distance of one of Black Mask's bodyguards. Gritting my teeth, I swung at his shoulder -- it would cripple him, but the fight needed to end before the flashbangs wore off. Before someone got killed. His shoulder blade shattered under a Soul-Crushing Strike, forcing him to drop his gun. As he fell to the ground, I raced forward -- two of the bodyguards were trying to protect the Black Mask and his Lieutenant. Meaning that there was just one trying to fight while the other four sought the exit.

Flash Stepping to him, I slammed my fist to the back of his arm, shattering his humerus bone before I swept his legs from underneath him. He hit the ground hard, gasping in agony. Kicking his gun away, I Flashed Stepped towards the exit that Black Mask had just raced through.

His bodyguards covered his exit, blind firing some more. My heartbeat thundered in my ears, almost blocking out the sound of gunfire as I sprinted towards the door. My instincts were sharpened to a razor's edge -- my body never felt more powerful. My stats were all at least double what an average person has. So, that put me at… what, Olympic level? I hadn't really believed it before, but as I leaped forward, skidding over the ground to avoid gunfire, I believed it now.

The distance between me and the last two of the bodyguards closed. Holding tight onto my bat, I imbued it with my energy -- my Qi. I didn't really know if it did anything since there weren't any physical changes, but when I thrust the tip of the bat into one of the mens' stomach, he folded over. Reaching out and grabbing his tie, I brought him down, forcing him to faceplant into the concrete while I sailed between his legs.

Rolling to my feet, the others seemed to take notice of me, their vision returning ever so slightly. I rolled to my feet, my grip tightening on my bat before I flung it at one and Flash Stepped out of the way of danger when the other opened fire on my previous position. Blinded enemies and Flash Step was a good combination, I decided, closing the distance between me and the one that had shot at me. It was possible to follow my movements and react to a Flash Step -- a gangster before nearly managed to. But when they were half-blind?

My bat slammed into the face of the first bodyguard, while I broke the arm of the second.

That left only two. The lieutenant stood his ground, and he suffered for it with a broken shoulder. Black Mask sprinted away, far less disoriented than the others.

This was it, I thought to myself. The moment was here when I confronted Black Mask for trying to kill me. Twice. For killing Alice.

I thought I would be more excited about this. Anticipate it more. Maybe I would if the guy wasn't running. Black Mask was surprisingly fast, but he wasn't a match for a Flash Step -- forty feet was traveled in an instant, bringing me right next to him. Reaching out, I grabbed hold of the back of Black Mask's suit. Yanking back with all of my strength, I slammed Black Mask into the ground, knocking the air from his lungs.

"You fucking Triad piece of…!" Black Mask shouted, twisting to rise to his feet. "I knew this was a fucking trap. Chinatown's going to burn for this, you fucking chink."

I looked down at Black Mask, sorting out my feelings in an instant. I hated the man. I really did. But that sense of triumph I expected for kicking his ass wasn't there.

"I'm not with the Triad," I told him, wanting to make that clear.

That seemed to catch him off guard, but he recovered, crouching low, his arms ready to take a swing. "You're a vigilante?" He sounded ecstatic at the news. "Batman your role model? Heh. I guess that explains why you never killed anyone... Then slap on those cuffs and get me out of here. I have a date in a couple of hours," he said, straightening up as he presented his hands to me, ready to be cuffed. There wasn't a single doubt in his mind that he would be out by dinner. The sheer arrogance was nauseating.

And there wasn't a doubt in my mind either. This wasn't some crusade for Justice and I had no faith in the system.

Should I kill him? I could still do it. I just had to aim for the head. A single Soul-Crushing Strike and Black Mask would be no more. The world would be better off and I wouldn't ever have to worry about him again. I'd even go so far as to say that he deserved it.

My hands curled into fists, my gaze meeting Black Mask's, who was giving me a mockery of a smile.

I didn't want anyone to die, but that didn't mean all life was sacred.

But…

I took a step forward, Black Mask's guard was completely down. It was for that reason he didn't react until I slammed my fist into his diaphragm with all of my strength. His sternum and ribs shattered to pieces, and his lungs ruptured, but I didn't pull back. As Black Mask was lifted off the ground from the force of the blow, little more than a few inches, I followed the punch up. His body offered no resistance, reduced to a sack of meat and bone shards in the shape of a man, my fist reached his spine and I reduced it to nothing.

Black Mask hit the ground, blood erupting from his mouth as he gasped for air, his lungs filling with blood as his body twitched, his spine reduced to bone shards. My stomach clenched at the sight, uncertainty churning in my gut. I knew it was going to be brutal, but I hadn't expected just how brutal. Black Mask sputtered and coughed, gagging and whimpering -- his wounds were deadly. He should be dead.

But he couldn't die.

A fate worse than death. If I was in his position, I’d hope that someone would just put me out of my misery. And I inflicted that fate on him.

Thou Shall Not Kill had never seemed so terrifying before.

"You won't die from this," I told him. "But you won't harm anyone else again. I'm making sure of it," I told him, uncertain if he could even hear me. I swallowed bile and shook my head. I… I needed to deal with the Triad too, didn't I? I needed to make sure that they didn't finish anyone off. And I needed to call the cops.

Turning around, I nearly bumped into something. Someone.

My eyes landed on the bat symbol displayed across his chest that I was about eye level with. I wasn't particularly short, but the man was particularly tall. I stumbled a step back, my gaze meeting his whited-out eyes, a protective measure that was a part of a cowl marked with two pointed ears.

Batman.

Double the luck of an average person my fucking ass.

...

This was a fun chapter to write. The revelation that Ren's Dad is an ex-cultivator that more or less went 'Fuck this. Fuck you. I'm fucking out. Peace' is one that I'm sure no one saw coming even though I've been dropping hints -- like it's why his Dad was perfectly okay with Ren going out to hunt down a mob. That's downright tame for cultivators.

Him having Triad connections was a red herring. The confidence came from knowing he could kill Black Mask whenever he felt like it. The Uncle is the one that had the connections to pull some strings with the hospital, which he did on Ren’s dad’s request, on account of being a member of a millennias old family. The triad thinking Ren was on his side? Ren just saved his life and went straight for the Black Mask Mob, and because Ren's Dad had cut off BM's hand, he was under the impression that they were the same person.

I think this is the first time I've pulled off a twist that no one seemed to see coming.

And wrapping up Black Mask, while introducing Batman was a nice little bow on top. Despite two of my stories being in DC comics, and one actually being in Gotham, I haven't interacted much with heroes like the Bat-family or the Justice League or the Team. I’m looking forward to it.

Hope you all enjoyed!