Risk It All: Stacking the Deck (ch. 40) (Patreon)

Finding John Constantine was a lot easier said than done, I discovered, because after two weeks, there was nothing from Zatanna about him. We didn't even know if he was still alive or not, and if he was, then the impression that I got was that he didn't want to be found. Still, Zatanna seemed determined to find him. One way or the other.

I did my own digging on the guy, careful to avoid using the Justice League database because that would tip off the League that we aren't letting sleeping dogs lie. All I really found out about him was that he was apparently a wizard and either disaster followed him or he had a knack for winding up at the center of them. Jury was out on which was which until I actually met him. But, those two weeks weren't dedicated solely to finding John Constantine. In the end, there was far, far too much to do.

The entire world was still fucked and every time I heard about a new disaster, there was a whisper in my ear that it was my fault. I'm not sure if it was or wasn't. I just knew I didn't have it in me to sell a kid into eternal servitude to Dr. Fate - because it would be eternal. You don't get your hands on reality warping powers and just set them to the side when the job was done. Power existed to be used.

Something I knew well enough at this point.

"Oi, that's cheating," I remarked, not at all surprised to see my car on a holographic screen suddenly slow down despite my thumb on the gas button. A split second later, another car shot past me before the limiter on my speedometer suddenly vanished. Next to me, Timothy giggled madly as he took the lead with exactly zero shame or remorse. When he crossed the finish line a few seconds later, he just about brained me with the controller when he thrusted it to the sky in triumph. "Ever heard that cheaters never prosper?"

"Then why does my screen say winner?" Timothy questioned, far too smug for his own good. The kid was thoroughly pleased with himself, not at all ashamed to use literal reality-warping magic to win a game of Need For Speed.

In two weeks, Timothy had settled in with his parents on the Watchtower, but he was a frequent visitor. And, fair enough -- if I was ten years old and someone gave me an option of hanging out with my favorite superheroes, I'd jump right on it too. Instead, I had just been learning how to rip off the guess three guys at the park for some extra pocket money. The League set up wards around the base specifically for Timothy, as well as gifting him an enchanted necklace, but even with it, the Team base was the only other place he was allowed to go. For his own safety.

He was a good kid. Good in the kind of way that I wasn't really worried about him growing up with reality-bending powers. It was kinda hard to have regrets about not enslaving him to a higher power after getting to know him.

"Wanna play again?" Timothy asked me, his face glowing with excitement as I cocked an eyebrow at him.

"Is there a chance I can win?" I asked, already going to select another race. The gremlin let out a demented giggle, so I took that as a no. However, before I could press the start button, I heard the Zeta Tube going off. Leaning my head back, even before the Zeta Tube rattled off her number, I saw Wonder Woman stepping inside of the base. Her expression could best be described as tired and I saw evidence of a few bruises forming on her cheek, thigh, and arms.

"Sorry, Tim, but I gotta deal with hero stuff. I'm sure Wally will play with you," I said, tussling his hair as I got off the couch. Timothy's brief disappointment vanished at the prospect of playing with Wally, and I don't think it would ever not be annoying that Wally was his clear favorite. Even after getting to know him. He quickly darted off to wake Wally while I approached Wonder Woman. "Everything okay on your end?" I asked, leading her into the kitchen area so she could take a seat.

I heard her swallow a sigh, "Nothing worth complaining about. The Green and Red have proven… resistant to human recolonization," she voiced. I wasn't really shocked about that, to be honest. Humans had been killing the planet and wiping out species since the industrial revolution. It was hardly a leap to think that they would like things far more when we were contained to less than one percent of the planet while they had the run of the place. "Regardless, Atlanta has been recovered thanks to Superman's technology."

Reclaiming cities was another means of dealing with the overpopulation in the cities. Using folding space, either through magical or technological means, was helping a great deal. It just wasn't fast enough. Efforts to retake cities were happening across the globe with most nations confined to a capital city or in a handful of major ones. Thus far, much to my annoyance, China had had the most success reclaiming lost ground thanks to my family.

"What did you want to discuss, Ren?" Wonder Woman questioned, giving me her attention.

I cut right to the chase. "My family is winning," I told her outright, making her expression tighten ever so slightly, telling me the words struck home, and she knew it too. "Part of that is because they started this whole mess, so they were prepared, but they're pulling ahead because we don't have our shit together." I voiced, doubling down.

It was the truth. My family of blowhards made sure the world knew that there were thousands of people kneeling before their doorstep, fucking dying of dehydration after blowing for days on end, for the chance to join their Sect. To learn their martial arts. They were rapidly recruiting talent and focusing it in a way that the rest of the world hadn't managed yet. Sure, there were volunteers that responded to the call of the Justice League, but they were relatively few in comparison to those that used their power to carve out a small kingdom of a few blocks.

My family attracted them because they promised power. Respect. Wealth. And so on and so on.

"They're winning," I voiced, my tone frank and unhappy. "And they're going to keep winning until something changes," I continued, crossing my arms over my chest, "Which is why I think the Team should go public."

Wonder Woman quirked an eyebrow at that, clearly surprised by the way the conversation was going and giving me the time I needed to explain. Or giving me enough rope so I could hang myself. Either or. All the same, I took it and ran with it. "For over a month now, we haven't acted in a covert manner. We've been disaster relief. People have seen us together in some form or another. I say we bite the bullet, go public with the team, and make it a place for kids like Timothy to come to learn how to control their powers."

It was something that I had been putting an increasing amount of thought into. It started as a scheme to get more prestige -- Dr. Fate showed me exactly how dangerous it could be going into a situation without a nest egg. I burnt through the bulk of my savings to train the rest of the Team in breathing styles to various degrees of success. Dr. Fate had been playing with gloves on and we beat him before he could take them off. More than that, I needed to get stronger. A lot stronger. Especially to do what we had planned.

My normal methods weren't working anymore. No one was interested in learning another language or how to play the guitar when they were struggling to make ends meet or wondering where they were going to get a meal. Same with the photos -- all around, there was a huge drop in interest as well as a trickle of consistent prestige. Going public with Koi and the Team wasn't just a way to earn prestige though.

The Justice League was recruiting. I had no idea who, since no official announcements were made, but their call had been answered by others. Some went to the Justice League, others were going to the tatters of the US government or from across the world. However, there were a lot of kids like Timothy that had developed powers because of the disaster, and as of now, they didn't have anywhere to go.

"I'm not sure what we'll call ourselves, or where we'll be based, but I think it would be best that we spill the secret before it's spilled for us. At this point, only the general public doesn't know about the Team. We could still do a covert team with kids with powers that don't want to be in the spotlight. It might be better that way. I have no clue how people haven't connected the dots about Superboy yet," I remarked, thinking about the very identifiable Shielded S.

"It sounds," Wonder Woman began, "That you have given this a great deal of thought, Ren." Her tone was neutral.

I nodded, "Something needs to change. I get why we aren't going after my family. It's not the time to rock the boat, but at the rate things are going, it's never going to be time." I understood why everyone was being cautious about my family. I did. It was just hard to see them growing in power with their dickish press releases that jerked off how totally awesome they were and how everyone should thank them for the opportunity to lick their boots.

Wonder Woman looked at me for a long moment before she slowly inclined her head towards me. "There have been talks amongst the League about the role of the Team. Some members never liked the idea of a black ops unit in the first place, but I suspect they will like the idea of a public team even less. It will put targets on you."

"There are already targets on us," I shot back. "The only ones without anyone gunning for them because of a mentor are Conner and Megan."

"Because most don't know that they exist," Wonder Woman challenged. It didn't seem that she necessarily disagreed, but she was determined to make sure that I had answers for tough questions. "Does the rest of the team feel this way?"

"Generally, yeah," I nodded. The only one really attached to the idea of a black ops team was Robin, on account of the fact that black ops was where he thrived. "Conner doesn't care, Wally loves the spotlight, Kaldur thinks that we could do more as a public team, Zatanna thinks going public would be good and so does Megan. Robin isn't against the idea, but shadow ops are his specialty."

"I can take your opinions to the League," Wonder Woman decided, offering me a small nod, "But I suggest that you do two things -- first, have answers to questions like where you would be based, and secondly, you should speak to your father before progressing too far." The first one, I expected. The second, less so.

"My dad?" I echoed, blinking in surprise. Wonder Woman offered me a tired smile.

"Your concerns are valid, Ren and you are not the only one to have them. The League is taking action and your father is at the heart of those actions. I… thought you knew that. Forgive me if I overstepped," Wonder Woman said, seeing my expression. I scratched at my cheek, not quite sure what to say.

"I knew Dad was working with you, but that was about it," I admitted. It almost felt like how things were -- back before I got shot. Dad constantly gone because he was working, and when he did come home, he was either asleep or I was at school. The only difference from then was the fact that I was either working or asleep too.

Wonder Woman nodded at me, “Speak to him first before you come to any course of action. I think you will likely find the conversation… enlightening.” That was foreboding.

“Alright, if you say so,” I agreed, wondering exactly what would be so enlightening about the conversation. Wonder Woman reached out and gave my shoulder a small squeeze as she gave me a tired smile. Despite her best efforts, I caught a glimpse of how exhausted she was. The kind of exhaustion that meant she could close her eyes and sleep for a thousand years and still wake up tired.

“I do say so. It has not escaped me that we have not been able to train together in some time. In that regard, I have been a poor mentor,” she informed, holding up a hand when I went to respond. “The same could be said for the rest of the League. Things have been busy, but that is no excuse to neglect your training. You have my promise that when the worst is behind us… that will be remedied.”

She seemed to be taking it kind of hard. I don’t think she was exactly wrong there -- in terms of training, things had been pretty light, but, at the same time, I knew I could go to her about advice. That seemed more important than the training, to be honest. When I could pull powers out of my ass, well… traditional training seemed a little unnecessary. So long as I could properly use what I had.

"I look forward to it?" I responded, more uncertain than excited. That seemed to make her sad, just ever so slightly. She gave my shoulder another small squeeze before she began to walk back to the Zeta Tube. She vanished in a flash of light, leaving me scratching at my head, not quite sure what to make of that last exchange. But, luckily, I could get a second opinion. "What do you think, Robin? That seemed like it went well, right?"

There was a brief pause before Robin dropped down from the second story, looking faintly annoyed. "I hate your feet vision," he decided, crossing his arms. I imagine so. Made sneaking up on me a lot harder when I had the skill active. Wearing shoes did muffle it a bit, but not enough so that Robin could sneak up on me when I was actively paying attention. "And it went as well as it could have. Sounds like changes were already coming."

"But?" I questioned, making Robin shrug.

"But I still think we need a covert team. For a bunch of reasons. With how many meta humans or magic users there are now? No matter how careful we are, we're going to recruit a spy. Eventually. It's just bound to happen. A covert team will go where other teams can't -- like the League or whatever the public team will be," he voiced his opinion.

He was probably right. We would need to have some way of screening potential teammates. Having Megan search their minds for evidence that they were a spy or something would help, but I don't think our enemies would be so easily deterred. Sleeper agents, memory editing -- I don't think there was such a thing as a perfect solution for anything.

The closest thing, in all likelihood, was to put spies in the enemy's camps, but that came with a lot of dangers. If we found a spy in our midst, we wouldn't murder them. The same couldn't be said of my family.

"What are you thinking?" I asked Robin, and he seemed faintly surprised by the question. I wasn't exactly sure when it happened, but the old, stale, bad blood between us had been flushed out. There just wasn't room for it anymore. At least, that's how I felt.

Robin's lips thinned in thought, "I think we should recruit a dozen teams and keep them all ignorant of each other. We create false identities, like your Beifong, to lead each team and to teach them. They would work with various degrees of closeness with the League or us, scaling from knowing they're a black ops team for heroes to giving them the impression that they're independent contractors."

That was a little bit… more than I was expecting. Very black ops-y. I don't think the Justice League would go for it, though. "I'll run it up to Batman," I decided. We hadn't seen him in weeks, but he was still technically the keeper of the Team. I couldn't see Superman greenlighting a dozen black ops teams and compartmentalizing the information that thoroughly. Batman? I'd be shocked if he didn't already have a similar set up in development.

"Really? Uh, right. Thanks," Robin said, nodding at me. "You going to go talk to your dad now?" He questioned, seemingly standing a little taller because he saw I was taking his suggestion seriously.

I had better. I needed to figure out what exactly was going on that could change things so drastically before moving forward. No matter what, the Team would be changing. It was just a question of how. "Yeah, I will. You coming with?" I decided, having Gluttony spit out my mask. I wasn't wearing my normal costume, but I still had on a hoodie. At this point, my costume had suffered greatly and repairs to it weren't easy to make.

Robin didn't hesitate to nod, similarly curious about what my dad was doing with the League. The fact that he didn't know either made me feel a little better about not knowing myself. Robin didn't bother changing, simply swapping out his ever present sunglasses with a domino mask. Just in case and to patrol while we were out and about.

Heading through the Zeta Tube, we were teleported to a secret base in one of the Haven cities. The base looked sparse and in dire need of supply, but either no one managed to get around to it or what it needed was in short supply. Heading out of the false wall in a broom closet, we stepped into the hallway of a run down building. The hallway itself was filled with people, some sleeping in cots, while others slept on piles of blankets.

It was always hard to leave the base -- when I got to sleep in my own bed,  got to have a decent meal, and after I spent an hour or two playing video games. It felt negligent. Based on the heavy expression that Robin wore, he felt the same. However, I heard the arguments that the League gave us -- you can only go full throttle for so long before you end up in a downward spiral that leaves you unable to help anyone.

Easy to hear. Harder to accept.

Heading up to the roof, I saw that it was similarly covered in tents and people. Fewer, though. No one wanted to be stuck in the summer heat in Gotham City by choice.

The skyline had changed a bit, I thought to myself as I stepped onto the ledge of the building. Gotham had been hit hard during the disaster. Rats had already been the size of dogs, and when they got that venom in them, the smallest of them was the size of a house. Buildings had been toppled and flattened, the street was busted up and out… Gotham City had been on the borderline of being abandoned despite the fact that it was a major city.

The Wayne Enterprises building was one of the few still standing and I saw a dozen different skyscrapers that were being built to deal with the huge influx of people. The other changes were smaller -- like that there weren’t any cars on the roads anymore. They took up too much space. Instead, a ramshackle mix of tents and the 3D printed shacks that Wayne Enterprises were giving out as temporary housing filled the streets.

Those covered the streets, while the sidewalks more or less became the roads for foot traffic or the odd bike. Drones floated in the air that broadcasted messages and news -- that Wayne Enterprises was offering work for great pay at the Wayne building, that Lex Corp was implementing folding space apartments for leasing, news that settlements were starting to crop up outside of the havens, and that the first ship given to us by the Guardians had made a round trip to the asteroid belt and back.

Looking at it all -- it was a radical change from what I knew growing up. Gotham had already been a shit city to begin with, but it got a whole lot worse now. Worse still was the fact that Gotham was a city of sharks. From the homeless, to the thugs, to the gangsters -- Gotham City was so spectacularly shit for so long that our homeless and thugs were naturally tougher than the new blood that found itself in our fair city. Meaning that they ran rings around the people that had their entire lives destroyed by the disaster, taking advantage of their experience and the people that didn’t know better.

Swallowing a sigh, I flash-stepped to another building while Robin took in a deep breath and leapt forward. I watched him sail through the air, flipping to carry himself a little further before he landed on the ledge that I stood on. Mist Breathing suited Robin well, I decided. All the breathing styles made the body physically stronger, but it seemed to make him light as a feather when combined with his own enhanced strength.

He gave me a smirk and nod before we continued on, leaping between buildings as we headed to where I knew my dad was. There were a few shouts of surprise as we made our way through the city, soaking in the sights of my changed home. While many buildings had been demolished, after nearly two months, most of the rubble had been cleared out and more buildings were going up to make more room for people.

The building that was our destination was a low squat one at a corner. It was made out of the crystal that Superman provided, which grew on its own without any need for a construction crew. Landing in front of it, Robin and I stepped through the front door and immediately saw that the interior didn’t match the exterior at all. The lobby was large, easily five times larger than what the outside of the building would suggest, and it too was filled with people.

The walls were lined with doors, three separate floors of them. Some led to stores, others gave a list of places that could be found within. I approached one, opening it up to find another hallway, each door marked with the name of a bar or something. Striding through the long hallway, I found another door, which led to another hallway, which led to another room, which led to another hallway.

And so on and so on and so on. The path was deliberately a labyrinth, but I did spare a worry for some unassuming person getting lost in the folded space. Because it was very easy to get lost. Wasn’t like a ‘you are here’ sign would work with several dimensions tossed into the equation.

Eventually, we arrived at our destination, the people in the halls were thinned out until there was no one, the path so obscure that it hadn’t been found. The hallway itself was completely bare, except for the single door that marked its end. Striding through it, I saw a large open room that was nearly the size of a football stadium. Inside of it were people. They wore robes that reminded me of Shaolin monks, going through a series of katas that were very familiar to me. There were hundreds of them of all races and sizes, some clearly inhuman.

At the head of them all was Dad, his expression stern as he led the class through a series of motions.

“Right…” I muttered, not really sure how to process what I was seeing. When I heard that Dad was working with the League, I assumed it was more of a supplementary role. Basically, I thought he was teaching the League our families ways so we could fuck them over at a later date. I certainly didn't expect to see my Dad at the head of a rather large class, going through what I recognized as White Tiger Fist katas.

Robin, the git, wandered off to the side. Going to inspect a table that had pills on them. If anyone noticed our presence, then they didn’t show it. Robin picked one up, scanning it with his glove, and he frowned at what he saw. He didn’t share what he found as I leaned against the wall, watching Dad, and it was minutes later that he called the lesson to an end.

“Take one each. Only one,” Dad instructed, “These will strengthen your qi to ensure that your… ‘gains’ from today's efforts are maximized,” he added, looking like the idea of calling cultivation 'gains' physically pained him. When I heard someone remark that the pills were basically just a protein shake, I thought he was about to start coughing up blood. His gaze flickered to me, smiling ever so slightly as he nodded, showing that he knew I was here.

Robin stepped away when the disciples began to take pills. There weren’t any real noticeable effects, but I did notice that those that were looking sluggish and tired seemed a little more refreshed. Upon taking the pill, the disciples returned to the floor, crossing their legs, and began to meditate.

It was then that Dad approached me, pulling Robin and I to the side, “What are you doing here?” Dad asked me, clearly surprised by my sudden arrival.

“I was supposed to talk to you about something? Wonder Woman said I should. That whatever we were supposed to talk about will impact our decision for making the Team public?” I questioned, starting to get an idea of what that thing might be. In response, Dad’s gaze flickered to Robin, and the unspoken question in his eyes got a shrug from me. “He’s cool,” I answered, letting him know that he could say whatever he was about to say in front of Robin.

“Your… Sect,” Dad said, unable to even say the name of it, “gave the League and I ideas. As of now, the balance of power is completely skewed towards meta-humans or magi. Normal people, as things are, have a diminishing place in the world. More so than ever with my brother's actions.”

“Your brother?” Robin questioned, earning a nod from Dad.

“My brother used science to create the false spirit beasts. Though I doubt this is what he imagined the result would be. I suspect that is the doing of our father and grandfather. Regardless of whose fault it is, cultivation has left an era of drought to enter an era of a flood. Even thousands of years ago, when cultivation was at its height, spirit beasts were not so plentiful.” Dad explained before he looked to me, “Our family’s sect is growing in power rapidly, but I do not think it will be long before it implodes.”

He would know better than me, but he made it sound like it wasn’t a good thing even though it kinda sounded like it was. “Too many people getting too strong too quickly?” I hazard a guess, earning an approving nod.

“Precisely. Factions will form within the White Tiger Fist Sect. Already, I suspect a faction between my brother and parents has been established. Soon, possibly within a few years, there will be a divide between them. However, before then, I have decided to establish a Sect of my own. I… will not be using your name,” Dad stated, giving me a mild look, much to my disappointment.

Ah. “So… we’re… going to cash in on the Song Family name?” I questioned, earning a sound of surprise from Robin.

“It will be for the best. The Song Family is very powerful now. More so than it has ever been before. In the near future, I will announce my Sect once I believe that we are secure enough to withstand the reprisals our family will launch. In doing so, we will divide the powerbase of the Song Family, establish a foundation of cultivation for the western world, and attract our families many, many enemies.”

I could see why Wonder Woman thought that this would change things for me. The team going public wasn’t really the issue, but Dad going public with the Sect would more or less put my face and name out there. Having a public identity on top of a secret hero one? Yeah, I could see how that would change things.

It was just a question on how to approach it. Should I not be on the public team? Should I make a new hero identity? What would this mean for prestige?

I had no clue. What I did know was this…

One way or the other, prestige was going to be a concern of the past.