Chapter 57: 57: Build me a Bridge!

It was mid afternoon when the clouds finally cleared from the sky. A nice spring time rain to wash away the filth found in Gotham. Though many would argue that Gotham would need a power wash more than anything. 30% of Gotham had been brought to its knees during the attack. Leaving hollowed out husks of buildings, businesses, and homes. Lash created a few places to sit down for everyone made from recycled wood and steel. Everyone sat around each other looking off in a daze. As the adrenaline wore off their exhausted bodies screamed at them to either eat food and sleep or just sleep.

Lash created several projected windows and started to message several people. Specifically the Warden information agency, that he had a confession from Joker for what it was worth. Along with a family token of Valenthia of house Sex'Ilia. He uploaded about 80% of his entire experience during the Siege after some editing. The League watched him work for a few minutes before logistical and auxiliary units from the 'UNWS', Military, and GCPD showed up on their location.

The military and GCPD had tried to arrest them until the UNWS told them all to stop being fucking idiots. Aside from Diana and Wraith every one else in the League was technically an illegal vigilante. Even though the GCPD and Military personnel had fought side by side next to them only half a day ago. A debacle was slowly unfolding as more people with authority started to show up.

“Lantern, can you make a construct and fly everyone home, or at least out of the city?” Lash asked John. GL smiled and gathered all the 'vigilantes' up and created a green jet plane.

-I'll send invites to the dinner and drinks later. Lash sent a telepathic message to them. As there was now to many people near by.

They all said their goodbyes and flew off into the afternoon sun. Batman, Robin, and Barbara all fit into the Bat-Wing jet and flew off into the distance. Wonder Woman, and Dia Nyx stayed next to Lash as the Amazon unit kept the idiots at bay. Lash stood up and smoothed out his Wraith disguise though he stopped half way through after realizing he hadn't done anything. Nyx laughed at him then hid behind Diana when he looked at her. Diana just smiled at her then smiled at Lash.

“Let's get to work...” Lash said softly.

Wonder Woman had diplomatic immunity and didn't have to answer a single question that she didn't want to. Nyx was sheltered under her as the mundanes all assumed she was with the Amazons. Wraith however was under the full scrutiny of the GCPD and Military. They demanded a full explanation and Lash gave them vague details about what happened. They all knew he was dancing around the subject but they couldn't nail him down. Why, because Lash wasn't sure what he was allowed to say and not say. He told them as much, they tossed security clearance and validation left and right at him but he kept his mouth shut. A one star general even tried to arrest him, which only made Lash laugh hysterically as he cast Invisibility on himself.

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“What do you mean he disappeared!?” One star general Fargo, screamed at his subordinate.

“General Sir, the moment we tried to hand cuff him he laughed at us then faded from sight. Literally, like a ghost he just faded from sight. We haven't been able to find him since.” His subordinate replied.

“What a surprise! General Fargo you tried to arrest an American hero and he gives you the middle finger.” A cold feminine voice sounded from the corner of the office.

“Save it, Waller! I don't have time for your shit!” General Fargo screamed at Amanda Waller. Waller sat on a folding chair wearing a suave business dress suit. Her legs were crossed as she had a electronic pen in hand working on an tablet.

“You mean you don't have time to deal with the fact the Black Mask was using advance military hardware that you sold to him?” Waller said with an amused tone, as she signed another E-Document. Not bothering to look up at General Fargo.

“I did no such thing! I am a patriot I would never sell under the table you bitch!” General Fargo screamed at her as he stood up from his command desk. General Fargo was 5'9” with a sturdy build, salt and peppered brown hair and a bushy mustache. His winkled face was red with fury that Waller would even accuse him of such a thing.

Then the Generals tablet beeped at him...As did Wallers...So did the every phone, tablet, and computer in the military camp. A notification email with read immediately priority, everyone who could read it did so. Inside was the bank account information of General Fargo along with several hundreds of millions of dollars transactions to Swiss and Cayman islands banks. Along with what he sold. The gear, weapons, tools, vehicles, along with the shipments and scheduling. No word about the ammunition as that had come from some one else. General Fargo went purple with rage as he pulled his side arm and pointed it at Waller, assuming she was the one that sent the email.

“Fucking bitch! I kill you!” Fargo shouted at Waller. Waller however just sat there and watched the 'General' as his subordinate now had their sidearm out but had it pointed at their former general.

“Sir! Put it down! Put it down now!” Fargo's former subordinate yelled. Several other MP's rushed into the command tent and tried to position themselves to take him down alive.

“I have served my country for decades! I have done hundreds of things I am not proud of! I deserve the money that they paid me! Now! Now I'll have nothing! Now you will have nothing!” Fargo screamed and squeezed the trigger.... But nothing happened...He tried several times only on the fifth try did MP's tackle him.

The former general screamed and cursed at Waller for ruining his life as he was dragged out of the room. Waller now the commanding officer in the field told everyone to leave the tent. She stood up and walked over to the command desk and took the former general's seat. She took several deep breaths to try and calm her racing her heart. Despite her appearance, Waller had no idea who had sent the information. Neither did she understand why she didn't feel the need to defend herself. Waller glanced at corner in the tent for a brief moment then a smile tugged on her lips.

“It's been a while...Agent Wraith.” Waller said softly, as a ghost materialized in the tent with her.

“Hello Miss Waller. May I sit down?” Wraiths reptilian and animalistic voice sent a chill down Waller's spine.

“Please do...” Waller replied...

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“How did you know about General Fargo?” Waller asked Lash.

“The hardware all had destroyed US military grade serial codes and stamps that most human science wouldn't have been able to track. But once I had them, it was easy to back trace the where, when, how, and who.” Lash made a dismissive gesture and Waller's phone got an email.

Waller looked through information and licked her lips more then once. Her manicured eye brows went a notch higher with every passing minute. A smile grew on her mask of indifference as she read more and more. She uncrossed and recrossed her legs more then once then planted her feet in the end so she could read her phone better. After she finished she leaned back in the command chair like a cat who drank an entire saucer of milk.

“Commander Waller! City officials have arrived, may we come in?” A soldier called outside the tent. Waller took a moment to adjust her seating. Wraith hadn't disappeared and Waller made no move to tell him to do so.

“Enter!” Waller called out.

A soldier walked in first and saw Wraith sitting in the room with Waller. The soldier went from surprised, to aggressive, to understanding, to cold and indifferent. Both Waller and Lash noticed the change and made a note of his name. Good soldier. Next came Gotham City Mayor, Misses Edwin, Captain Gordon of GCPD Major Crimes Unit, Lucius Fox from Wayne Enterprises, and Torloth Shi'Word of Shield and Sword Law Firm. Lash created several well crafted pieces of furniture for them all to sit down on.

Mayor Edwin was a late thirties early forties beauty, with blond hair and blue eyes who wore a pale blue pencil skirt business suit with a silk buttoned up blouse, suit jacket, with her hair done up in a bun. She got a pale oak chair, with brown leather seats, and a golden plaque with her name on it. The Mayor looked at the chair that simply materialized out of thin hair then back at Wraith. Then sat down in the very comfortable chair.

Captain Gordon looked much the same, with his bushy mustache, salt and peppered gray hair. US army special forces built body, with a MCU Swat gear on. He got a minimalist cherry wood, and leather cushion seat with a golden plaque written with Gordon. Gordon bit his tongue to keep himself from shouting then took his seat.

Lucius Fox wore a expensive tailored suit with dark browns, white shirt, and a bow tie. He looked a little dashing with his manicured mustache, and old man hair. He smiled wide his pure metallic chair with white leather, a cell phone and battery port. With a holographic name of Fox glowing above it. Mr. Fox tipped an invisible hat towards Agent Wraith, who nodded back.

Mr. Shi'Word got a huge mountain ash wooden throne, with red velvet seats, intricate designs of a dragon stomping entire armies of knights. Torloth had a casual business attire which looked comfortable but Lash was sure still costed thousands of dollars to wear. Torloth smiled at the throne like chair that was closest to Lash. He nodded gratefully at Agent Wraith.

“Would you like your own chair, Miss Waller?” Lash asked, his voice made Mayor Edwin jump in surprise. Waller took a moment to look at the different chairs, she stood up and pushed the desk chair aside. She looked at Lash with expectation...She wanted to see what kind of chair she would get.

Lash crafted a chair with reinforced steel for the frame, but soft snow skin fur for the cushion. The arm rest had several phone, tablet, battery ports like Fox's chair. Carved into the foot of the chair were depictions of hell rising up to fight a host of angels that were carved into the top. The design on the back rest was a woman knight split down the middle one side being an angel, the other side being a demon. Waller looked at the chair, back at Lash. Then sat down, Waller couldn't help but admit that it was incredibly comfortable.

Now Lash? He just sat in a reinforced metal fold out chair. Had room for his tail, could take his weight, and he honestly didn't care for anything else. Lash created coffee or tea for anyone that wanted some including the soldier that stood on standby. Corporal Williams who took a cub of black coffee after he got permission from Waller. The atmosphere in the command tent was a little odd. They had come to discuss blame, responsibility, and damage on a first come basis. But ended up with a pleasant atmosphere thanks to a lizard wraith creature.

“Alright that is enough... Shall we begin?” Waller said to them. She had used the respite as a means to gain an awareness of everyone, and made a note to thank a certain alien later.

“Aside from General Fargo do we know who is responsible for this attack?” Mayor Edwin asked.

“The mercenaries worked directly for Black Mask, we still haven't found him. As for the rest...Its a coordinated effort of Gotham's worst of the worst criminals, convicts, and Arkhams all stars. Where they got the man power, resources, and money is unclear. Though hardware came from Fargo but only Black Mask's men used that. Everything else was supplied by another source.” Captain Gordon said.

Lash created an illusion of a computer keyboard and monitor in front of him. But in truth all he used was Virtual Intelligence, and Connectivity. The room paused to watch him for a bit, except Torloth who was on his tablet looking up information as well. When it was clear Lash wasn't going to share anything they continued on. Though Mr. Fox continued to glance at Lash as he worked on his 'computer'.

“Who among the criminal elite would have the ability to pull something like this off? I personally heard 'The Riddlers' voice during the first few minutes of the attack. Have we found him yet?” Mr. Fox asked...Before any of them could reply.

“Edward Nygma is dead. He was pulled apart by the joker zombies inside of the carnival. I have a video file here. Be warned he is pulled apart limb by limb.” Lash interrupted and created a 'screen' for everyone to watch. It even had sound!

Mayor Edwin turned green and had to swallow her vomit several times. Everyone else in the room simply watched with a careful eye as Batman tried to save Nygma but was in the end he was to late and had to retreat to save himself or he would have been killed next. Lash collapsed the screen and sent the video to who ever needed it.

“What about the Joker? I don't suppose he is dead to?” Gordon asked with both accusation and a bit of hope that sicko was dead.

“Yes he is dead as well. I have a video of that too. Want to see it?” Lash asked.

The whole room nodded even Mayor Edwin. Lash created a edited version of the scene. It was first person perspective who the person was clear when they saw the scaled hand go straight into Joker's chest and pull something out... A stone idol. Torloth who had stayed indifferent the whole time flinched at the sight of the idol. Something that only Waller and Lash noticed. The video didn't include the Kalima joke, or the coin being flipped. Just the Joker laughing at his own demise, and crumbling like burnt paper.

“What about that statue, where is that?” Torloth asked, his interest was again noted by Waller.

“The statue broke into pieces about a minute of it being outside of Joker's body.” Lash replied, but sent a telepathic message to Torloth. -Talk to you later about it. Torloth looked disappointed at the destruction of the idol and leaned back in his chair.

“Any other KIA's you would like to admit to?” Gordon ground his teeth. Mayor Edwin whispered to him in an attempt to mollify him.

“Do you want a list? Or do you want me to name them? It will be a few minutes if I name them.” Lash said nonchalantly. Waller's lips tugged up just a bit, while Gordon fumed in anger.

“We can discuss Agent Wraith's kill count at another time. Do we know how Joker created the bubble around the East Gotham Carnival grounds?” Mr. Fox asked a very important question.

One of Waller's eye brows arched at the mention. Something that could keep Superman out was an important asset to claim. Beep...Beep. Both Waller and Fox got an email from Wraith. Two words, Project Cadmus that answered a question but brought up so many more. Fox nodded and kept his mouth shut. While Waller looked at Wraith expecting more information, it was at that moment that Lash realized she didn't know what Cadmus was. -I'll tell you later about it. Lash said into her mind. Waller's eyes went wide for a brief moment before she regained her calm.

“So...Do we know how?” Mayor Edwin asked. The whole answering the question and replying only took a few seconds. She had seen that both Waller and Fox received an email but Mr. Shi'Word, Gordon, and herself didn't.

“Kinetic absorption barrier, the more kinetic force applied to the barrier the stronger the barrier becomes. I'll send you the full description....” Lash said, the barrier along with Project Cadmus was a complete lie. But only Torloth and Lash knew that. After a moment everyone in the room got an email about the Kinetic barrier. Though Fox and Waller got the mathematical equation for it.

“Thank you Agent Wraith. It is nice to see that the rumors of you being honest are true. How did Joker get the barrier?” Mayor Edwin asked Lash directly.

“That I am still looking into. However, when I receive the answer I'll send a report to you straight away. I hope that is sa....wait.” Lash stopped at the end as he received a bullet point report from his Virtual Intelligence.

“Lord Technologies had been researching Kinetic barriers. A few months ago their latest engine was stolen from their R&D labs. Here is the updated information, we still don't have confirmation if the tech was used in this situation.” Lash sent another information file to everyone present including Torloth.

Waller's face went cold at not having any idea about Lord Technologies using Kinetic barriers. Especially the fact that Lash knew about it ahead of her. When Lash sent the packet everyone in the room stopped to read the bullet point brief on the barrier, the engine, what it could do, and how big. The engine used would only allow for something the size of a car to create a barrier. Not a fifteen mile radius dome. Everyone looked up and saw that several of the computer 'screens' Lash had created were looking through the web with the key words Kinetic Barrier. Several new pages of information had been found and were being sent to them. After the third update Mayor Edwin was happy with Lash's honesty.

“Agent Wraith may the Gotham people assume you will be helping with the reconstruction of our home?” Mayor Edwin asked.

“As long as I am not pulled away by something. I plan to help rebuild our home. That is if I am allowed to help? Politics, jurisdiction, and contractors that would rather squabble about the lowest bidder then rebuild peoples homes.” Lash replied, the Mayor no longer flinched at his voice.

“Captain Gordon, has GCPD been able to arrest all of the escaped convicts from Black Gate, and Arkham?” Lash asked.

“We've accounted for about 30% of the total inmate population. The rest have escaped into Gotham. As horrible as it sounds the bridges being destroyed have kept them inside the city limits.” Gordon replied as he read through his report.

“Before we continue...Agent Wraith can you make it a priority to repair and rebuild the bridges? Or is that to much?” Mayor Edwin asked.

“Before you answer, Shield and Sword have already contacted the different companies that will take part in the Gotham reconstruction. It's been agreed that any reconstruction on your part will not be pulled down by politics, and jurisdiction. So do as much as you can for as long as you can, Agent Wraith.” Torloth cut in. Mayor Edwin smiled wide at that.

“In that case do any of you have any specific questions for me? Otherwise I'll leave now to rebuild the bridges.” Lash asked the room.

They talked for a few more minutes, then as Lash left the room he asked everyone if they wanted they could keep chairs. Gordon said no flat out, everyone else said yes. Even Torloth admitted the chair was comfortable. Lash ran into Diana, Nyx, and the Amazons. They were headed back to Themyscira. Nyx was admitted to the first year of Amazon training. She hugged Lash and kissed his cheek, she blushed red after the kiss and hid behind the Amazons who laughed at her. Lash gave a warrior hand shake to Diana and the Amazons then said goodbye to his 'Sisters'.

Lash dropped to all four, his Adaptation adjusted his form and he sped off. He went from zero to sixty in less then a few seconds. His claws propelled him forward as the field base faded from sight quickly. He quickly cast Nature's Passage, and Chameleon on himself, though the battle was over that didn't stop assassins from trying to end him. Gotham city was in pieces as he ran. Sometime he ran through a city intersection that was still put together, other times entire sky scrapers had fallen over. He would have to swim through the gravel or climb over the debris. But he would always check for life along the way.

Lash made it to L-train, and road way bridge. More then half of the bridge had fallen into the river below and the debris could even be seen sticking out of the water. Thousands of cars were stuck in bumper to bumper traffic as they attempted to leave the bridge. Though now nearly every car was empty of its passengers except for a few who had stubbornly stayed behind. A lot of the cars looked wrecked with broken windshields, crushed trunks, ripped open trunks, and flat tires. Lash slowed down and stood up straight, his bones and muscles adjusted for the change.

Lash reached out with his Intermediate Energy Manipulation, and Machine Control. Then one by one he activated a car, drove it backwards and off to the side. Then he cast Renew on the cars returning them to near perfect condition. One by one by one until his Machine Control leveled up and he could control two machines, then three, then four.

A few people watched this whole process at the start. They had no idea why the cars started up, moved out of the way, then suddenly like magic put themselves back together. Over a thousand cars in a pile of chaos soon found themselves neat and organized. After a few hours as the sun slowly began to set in the sky someone saw a flicker of light and there stood a seven foot tall lizard man with a nazgul shroud wrapped around him.

Lash continued the long process of moving, repairing, and settling the cars. As the sun set Lash created several floating orbs of Daylight that glowed above the city. The main power to the city was still off, so no street lights. But people soon showed up with flash lights and came over to the cars that were still stuck. They called out the condition of the cars, and what was wrong with them. Tiny blue 'robot's came over then fixed the cars and started them up. The people didn't actually do anything, but Lash wasn't going to tell them that. A couple of hours later a red and yellow lighting streak ran across the river and appeared in front of Wraith.

“Hello Flash, everything alright in Central City?” Lash asked.

“Yes it's fine! I just went back for some food and rest. Now I'm here to work! What are you doing?” Flash asked, Barry Allen was about six foot even with a pure red suit that looked like a cross between spandex and armor. Only the bottom half of his mouth was exposed so you could see his healthy pink skin, and flashing smile.

“I need to repair the bridge, and the L-Train. One way or another the cars will need to be moved. I would prefer the cars be in one piece and not trashed by a tank as they come over. If you are looking to help go to this address. I'll tell them you are coming.” Lash replied. Flash nodded and sped off towards a Warden control center who was notified that 'The Flash' was headed over.

Lash continued to till about eleven in the evening. At last there was enough room for two lanes. He used Manifestation to create two Saurus Warrior's to ensure the bridge on this part stayed cleared. He ran up the bridge to the very end and double checked to see if any cars remained. Then he jumped off the bridge and dove into the water below. He performed a perfect swan dive and dove straight in only to go down about three feet before he went BAM! Straight into a ruined part of the bridge. Thankfully his head was thick so he broke through, but he had a sever head ache for the next hour.

Lash swam under the Gotham river and used Recycle, and Decomposition on the different parts of the bridge that had fallen into the water. The ambient magical energy in the water went up several times, he absorbed a portion of that energy. After a few more hours he had cleared out the debris so he swam to the other side of the bridge. On this side of the bridge there was no huge pile up of cars. Just a police line of barricades that kept people away. Lash cast Manifestation for two guards on this side then he picked up a ten pound of concrete and made more Nth metal.

Lash spent the next hour looking up the bridges architecture, diagram, and designs for modern bridges. Material Shaping, Artist, Intermediate Enchanting, Machine Control, Superhuman Intellect, Intermediate Energy Manipulation, Minor Science, Trickery: Bending, Transmutation: Fabrication, Synthesis: Renew, Immaculate, Technomancy: Alteration, Compression Transformation, Nature: Essence Imbuement, and Growth. All got huge amounts of experience and levels as he started to alter and build the bridge, and L-Train.

Because of limited time and the fact that the L-Train had to be connected he couldn't go crazy on the aesthetic design. So he made it a polish chrome color that would constantly keep it self clean and pretty. The chrome would not be glaring if the sun hit it, but it would be noticeable. When a train would go over the sound would be dampened, when the wind blew across it a wind chime noise would come over it. Hundreds of solar panels were attached to the sides to ensure even in a black out or an EMP electricity would still work on the bridge, it would also collect energy for the city. Lash sprinkled just a bit of Nth metal into the construction which reduced the whole bridges weight by about 5%. But it used up all two of his ingots in the process. Then as the sun rose once more over Gotham a brand new bridge was born.

Lash sat on an observation deck that he had built onto the bridges main suspension towers. He sent a message to the Warden's about the bridge. They told the military and GCPD, Lash recalled his manifested Saurus Warriors and decided to take break. One by one tanks, APC's, armored trucks drove over the newly crafted bridge. Something that should have taken up to a year or more was done in a single night. A flare of lighting zipped across the bridge and ran up the bridges deck to the observatory. Flash appeared next to Lash, who had a cup of coffee waiting. Flash smiled and took a seat next to him, and had a long pull on the coffee.

“Hmmmm! Wow that is tasty! This is amazing Wraith! Even if I had all the pieces next to me I couldn't have made this bridge in one night! I don't suppose you build homes for a friendly speedster?” Flash asked as he had another cup of coffee.

“Sure, I'll make sure to add a baby room for you and Iris.” Lash said with a smile. Flash spit out his coffee and began to cough.

“Wo!...Co...Wow! Me...and I...I mean! Iris...Wait!? How do you even know about Iris? She's like my sister! We grew up together! I...I mean...Wait! Oh that's right we met at Oliver's bunker. But...” Barry was flabbergasted at the turn of events.

“Is Iris a Web Blogger or a cop? I can never remember?” Lash asked, he could look it up but he was testing a theory. Barry seem to pause....In that brief moment Lash noticed the Dream seem to slow down by a faction of a second. It was deciding on a characters back ground....Interesting.

“She is a journalist! Or...She is trying to be... Oh hay! I know you do interviews with Lois Lane. Feel like coming to Central City and talking to her?” Barry asked, after the brief moment in the world sped back up to normalcy.

“I don't mind, but we'd have to come up with a plausible reason why the United Nations World Security Agent Wraith came to speak to a brand new journalist. It may draw unwanted and dangerous attention to her. Unless she is aware you are The Flash?” Lash asked, genuinely interested in the answer. Barry scratched the back of his neck.

You are reading story Dream Engine: Beta Tester…. D.C. Comics at novel35.com

“That would be a no... I mean. Joe does... I...He's like my adopted Dad...Oh wait! How did you get my Dad out of prison!?” Barry asked, he was a little absent minded it seemed in this version of the Dream. Maybe that would change in the future.

“I didn't break the law if that is what you are asking. I just went over the original case file with a better understanding. Superman has the ability to pull down the moon! A yellow blur doesn't seem that far fetched now.” Lash told Barry what he wanted to hear. Though he had completely broken the law to get Henry Allen out of jail. His Acting skill got experience and Barry nodded his head with a smile on his face.

“Do you know who....” Barry let the question hang in the air.

“I don't. I can tell you that the one who did it was a speedster just like you. Or, was able to create an illusion of moving fast. But evidence points to a speedster.” Lash said honestly. Barry nodded his head as he thought about the words.

“I know you were born on Earth, but do they have Meta-Gene people on your home planet?” Barry asked.

“Yes, the Meta-Evolution era is normal growth for most advanced civilizations. Just as I said in that report I gave you. Though it normally happens through natural growth and not through a particle accelerator explosion.” Lash replied, Beep! Beep! A communication came through Flash's head piece.

“Go home Barry, thank you for the help.” Lash said to him. Barry smiled, drained his cup of coffee and zipped off. A trail of red and yellow lighting in his wake.

Lash finished his coffee, then went down the stairs from the observatory. At the door to the observatory staircase was humvee with soldiers. They opened the door for Lash as he stepped in with a thank you. They started up the car and drove across the new bridge towards City Hall. The Mayor had requested that he rebuild it after the bridge. The ride over was quiet the soldiers in the humvee didn't talk and Lash didn't speak. About ten minutes from the construction site they radioed that he was coming. They were let through the security check point with out stopping, a few soldiers saluted as he drove by.

City hall was wrecked! It looked like several high powered explosions had been set off from the inside. Lash continued to have his Transformation and Wraith disguise on as he walked over the wreckage. He pulled the original designs of the building from the web, fixed a few errors, added a few things. He spread his arms out and created the illusion of millions of tiny robots that came from his body. Then the giant mass of rubble, steel, and broken glass moved as if someone had hit the rewind button. For a good ten minutes every person in view of the wrecked city hall stopped to watch the scene. Pillars reconnected, shattered glass reformed, plumping, wires, and lights sprung back into place.

After about an hour the outside was complete, Lash then told everyone to stay put as he walked in and finished the internal layout. Another hour passed and City Hall was complete, with a upgrades such as solar glass windows, heat conductive electricity, and wind turbines. Lash sat on the stone steps of City Hall basking in the morning sun. He didn't move even though his shroud continued to dance and flicker around like a pile of writhing snakes. Hundreds of people walked up and down the stairs next to him but no one bothered him. He just oozed exhaustion. He had spent three days at Veterans Hospital at Metropolis, then another day with Lena Luthor, that ended with him fighting in Gotham and Joker's Carnival. So he had been wide awake for five days straight.

“You look tired...” A familiar feminine voice called out to him. Lash looked up saw Lady Kali standing about fifteen feet from him. She had stayed there waiting for him to allow her closer. Lash stood up, and preformed the Warden etiquette bow to her. She smiled at him and returned the gesture. Lash retook his seat on the stone steps after he noticed a simple obstruction glamour around them.

Lady Kali wore an ankle length loose red skirt with thick fabric. She had a petite spring black coat, with soft cotton gloves on. Her black hair was tied back, and kept under a pink shawl with rose print on it. When she stepped closer she had three inch black heels on, her hour glass figure was evident even with the coat on, as the coat had the zipper half open as any one could see ample cleavage.

“We are tired, Lady Kali of House Aamond. But if you are in need of this Warden, we will help you if we can.” Lash said as he tried to keep some form of formality as he lay across the stone steps. Kali laughed at him, she politely covered her mouth while doing so.

“I did not come here to see the Warden, but to see Lash. Is he available?” Kali asked, as she put her hand down. She stood about five feet from him now.

“We are available, though you may find us not the best conversation partners at the moment.” Lash replied, he created a simple wooden chair so Kali wouldn't have to sit down on the stone steps. She accepted gratefully, and took a seat.

“Valenthia is dead... A divine flame from the God Loki burned her alive, body and soul.” Kali said after a few minutes. She didn't have any emotion in her voice when she spoke, is if the whole situation didn't involve her.

“Good...” Lash said one word, but Kali still flinched when she heard it.

“The super-natural council had an emergency conference. As the discussion for the super-natural world coming out of the shadow draws closer every year. they find that we need to make new laws, and standards for us. The Blood-Kindred houses have been placed under an 'Oversight'. Certain houses that have a clean slate have less oversight. While others are practically under convict probation.” Kali said that last part in barely a whisper.

“Lady Kali I thought you came to speak to me, not the Warden?” Lash asked as he looked over at her.

“I came to talk to you, in hoping that you can give house Aamond a recommendation.” Kali said the last word softly. She looked down and became the shining example of a damsel in distress. That most men and women would fall for in a minute. But any one who knew anything about her would only laugh or turn away in disgust.

“Lady Kali, if you can go under a rune of truth tell the Council that you and your entire house knew nothing about Valenthia's plot. I will do so... But, you and I both know that you can't. I had though that after the last Kindred meeting I took a part in you and I had come to an understanding.” Lash's voice and grown cold and Kali dropped her damsel in distress look. She actually felt a little foolish she had even tried it on Lash.

“We did Lash... But this...This is to much. The Oversight will practically strangle us!” Kali said with a bitter tone. Her face as become a ice cold mask.

“So let me get this straight.... The Blood-Kindred houses of the entire world! Will get this Oversight. The houses that are already legitimate like House Kuldr will see little to no change. Because house Kuldr doesn't break the law. While houses like Aamond will feel like they've been castrated? Because the council will have the ability to look through your entire lives with a fine tooth comb. But if I give a recommendation to house Aamon the council will be a little more lenient to the house in Gotham specifically?” Lash asked as he looked at her. Kali realized now that coming to ask Lash for a favor was stupid.

“Politics, influence, money, and power, all of it crumbles down around the Kindred. The pressure has been building for centuries. For centuries the Blood-Kindred had gotten away with so much! If other super-natural's did half the things the Kindred did they would be executed or be forced into slavery for life. But not the Kindred! Then in the end what is the spark that set's it all aflame? An unhinged house master that organized the destruction of a city! A house master that also gave a stolen divine spark of the God Loki to a criminally insane clown! No, Lady Kali. The Blood-Kindred are getting exactly what they deserve....But.” Lash said his entire monologue with a straight face. Until he took out a single ingot of Orichalcum and put it in Kali's lap. Kali sat completely frozen as she stared at the magical ingot.

“But, we are friends. I will not give your house a recommendation. But I will give my friend, Lady Kali something that may help her. But this is not the Warden, but Lash doing so. Is that understood?” Lash pegged Kali with a stare. Kali grabbed the ingot and put it away in her mobile pocket space. She stood up walked over to Lash and went to her knees. She folded her hands in her lap, bowed her head and whispered to him.

“I understand, this is more then enough. You have kept your vow Lash. You didn't pick a faction or side. But helped a friend in need. Thank you!” Kali leaned in through the shroud and kissed Lash on his reptilian snout.

“Maybe one day you'll let me...Thank you personally.” Kali's voice dropped low and seductive as she gave Lash a coquettish glance.

“I'll look forward to it...” Lash replied in a casual tone, as he leaned up against the stone steps once more. Kali smiled brilliantly for a moment then got to her feet. She brushed off her skirt and bowed from her waist, far lower than a city master should. Lash made no move to bow back and Kali didn't mind.

“Goodbye my friend...” Kali said and left soon after.

Lash dismissed the wooden chair and continued to sun bath for a few more hours. Then he stood up cast Sooth, Nature's Supplement, and Immaculate on himself. He walked down the steps of City Hall found a logistics soldier and got transportation to the next ruined Gotham City bridge. Then he started to do the same thing he did before. Found, moved, and repaired hundreds of cars, cleaned the debris around the river bed, created his ten pounds of Nth metal for the day. The sun was setting when a sonic boom flew over head, a red and blue blur flew down from the skies. Superman floated in the air near Lash as he Fabricated materials into existence and made a seamless connection.

“Hello Kal from the house of El. Is Metropolis ok?” Lash said to him as he took a small break standing on a T-beam. Superman looked amused at hearing his kryptonian name.

“Yes, Metropolis is fine. I came by to see if you needed any help?” Kal asked.

Lash gave the same address as he did for Flash. The Warden's would put him to actual work with out any political bullshit. Kal soon flew off to be of use and Lash sat down on the T-beam. Under the pale crescent moon light he watched hundreds of magical spirits, beings, and creatures fly threw the air, swim through the water, and climb on the partially constructed bridge. No one aside himself and his manifested warriors were on the bridge. They primarily just kept people off it, and swam through the water as guards.

“Hay there!” A man's voice sounded off next to him.

Lash turned to see a 5'9” tall man with black skin, dazzlingly green eyes, black hair dreads that went to his shoulders but were tied back in a loose tail. He wore black leather biker boots, black cargo pants, white t-shirt with a black velvet vest, a long rich leather trench coat. He had a silver cane in one hand, and a top hat in the other. He smiled wide and both of his incisors were gold, he wore several gold and silver rings on his fingers, as well as earrings.

“Hello....” Lash stayed seated but he had planted his feet flat on the beam so if he needed to he could push off.

“Names Calder! You would be the famous Warden Lash! Were-Breed, Saurian is your partner! Heard a lot about you sir!” The bow bowed from his waist in a flurry of showmanship.

“I'm not giving you Loki's spark.” Lash said in a cold tone. Calder flinched as he had been found out already.

“I....May I ask why?” Calder replied with a bemused expression.

“Because I promised him I would find a suitable host for the spark. Suitable does not mean just any one who aligns with chaos, trickery, and entertainment. Despite all the fan fare, Loki is a God who has lofty ambitions. Tell me Calder...What are your life long ambitions?” Lash said, as he did so the Loki tattoo glowed as the God himself took notice.

“I.....Want....to..... Make those that have....wronged me....Kneel before me!” Calder spit out the words bit by bit as he was compelled to answer the question. His face went pale, and he took huge mouthfuls of air.

“That's it? A petty revenge scheme? Loki isn't interested in granting you his divine spark. But if you are willing to make a temple in his name and serve as his priest maybe in a decade or so he may be inclined to hear from you again.” Lash said, his eyes had a divine light in them. Calder shrunk his neck in and looked away.

“I...I understand....T...Thank you for your time...sir....” Calder tapped his cane on the ground three times and disappeared into a puff of smoke.

“This is going to be a regular thing isn't? Some will come to try and ask for it, others will come and try and take it. It will be my job to protect it?” Lash asked softly. He didn't hear Loki reply other then feel a simple confirmation....

Lash rolled his eyes and got back to work on the bridge. As he worked he sent an email to Torloth as well as the Warden's about the Loki Idol and the deal that was made. A few minutes later his Warden email was filled with questions, and applications to meet him. The Deities of the world had always been incredibly vague about who could obtain their spark. Now here was LAsh with a spark and would be the leading factor on who obtained it? Lash more or less ignored the hundreds of application emails. But he knew it was more important than he assumed when Torloth the dragon himself showed up on the unfinished bridge.

“That bad?” Lash said as he stood up and bowed to the dragon. Torloth smiled and nodded his head in confirmation.

“It's not that it's bad, Lash. It's great! Lash you are a God-Kin, its been confirmed. But which Deity you belong to is a mystery. But the fact that other Deities are willing to work with your Deity is a feat in it self. I swear Lash, for all the bad luck you have you have an equal or greater amount of good luck. Nice bridge by the way.” Torloth finished speaking as he pointed at the finished bridge across the river.

“Thank you... How's Juliana?” Lash asked softly. Torloth turned around with a huge grin on his face!

“She is great! Healthy, happy, and wants to kill me for being a pestering father! She's tried to claw my eyes out on more then one occasion! Her mother flew in from her territory to smother her which is driving her absolutely insane! All of her sisters are seething in jealousy which makes her incredibly happy! By the way all of my daughters would love to... 'talk' to you. But of course its your choice!” Torloth smiled as he talked about his family.

“I'll keep that in mind... Any other woman become mothers since the fertility charm was 'released'?” Lash asked as he sat down.

“Yes! One ancient Sidhe family that we are friends with are pregnant. On the first try as well! Their family hasn't seen a new born in nearly five hundred years!” Torloth smiled.

“I'm happy the charm I made is being put to good use.” Lash said to him. Torloth entire body froze when he heard Lash.

“You mean the charm you found in Tartarus....” Torloth said as his eyes narrowed.

“Oh...Ya! That is what I told everyone, isn't it?...” Lash let those words hang in the air. There was a long pause on the bridge as Torloth looked at Lash, and Lash looked at Torloth.

“Well! I should get back to work! Thank you for the visit, Torloth...” Lash said suddenly. He bowed from his waist and got back to work.

Torloth didn't leave right away, he processed the words that Lash had said and ran the possibilities through his mind. Lash wasn't an idiot, he wouldn't just say something out of context like that. Especially something as important as a fertility charm. Torloth had a master enchanter come and inspect the charm to see if they could reverse engineer it. But in the end the master said two things. One; they would have to destroy the charm to even get a chance to understand it. Two; who ever made this charm either made it incredibly crude to prevent it from being reversed engineered....Or it was made by a intermediate enchanter. But who would ever give an intermediate enchanter orichalcum to practice enchanting!? So the Master assumed the charm was made by another master. But was that true?

Lash continued to work on the bridge as he ignored Torloth as the dragon processed what he had said. Lash finished the entire skeleton structure of the bridge before Torloth walked over to him. The dragon in the shape of a man opened and closed his mouth several times like a gold fish. But in the end he didn't say anything, he just stared at Lash like he was some kind of monster from another world. Which was kinda true. Who uses orichalcum to practice enchanting!? Lash uses orichalcum to practice enchanting. But that also meant that Lash knew how to craft a fertility charm with zero side effects.

Lash looked at Torloth and the dragon looked back at him. They stood that way for several minutes before Lash turned around and went back to work. Torloth eventually left the bridge in a stupor, his mind in chaos. Was it really a waste of material if he could make something no one else could? Lash continued to work on the bridge and just like last time the sun rose across Gotham City and a new bridge was born. Much like the last one with several new bells and whistles, Lash sat on another observation deck as he watched the sun rise. Superman soon flew over and came to relax with him over a cup of coffee.

“I haven't slept in nearly seven days.... I think I'll go home after this cup.” Lash said to Kal.

“Yep, that sounds like a good plan..” Kal said to him, he sat down next to him and sipped on his coffee. Despite the long night of hard work Superman looked clean and fresh as if he had just woken up.

“Have you learned Kryptonian yet?” Lash asked.

“Still working on it. J'onn said he can be an emergency translator if it comes down to it. Still I would rather be able to talk to Kara in our native tongue.” Kal said in return.

“Well shoot off some words and give me the translation. Sometimes teaching can help you understand what you didn't see...” Lash suggested, Kal shrugged and started to speak the Kryptonian alphabet at Lash. Language Smith activated.

About twenty minutes in Kal took out a small holo emitter of the entire language from an inner pocket in his cap. The emitter created the entire alphabet, and basic words. Soon Lash was teaching Kal-El the language after two hours had passed Lash knew the entire spoken language and most of the basic written language. His Skill Trainer: Language kept prompting him with experience as he taught him.

“Thank you for the help, Lash.” Kal said in kryptonian.

“You are welcome, Kal-El.” Lash replied, also in kryptonian.

With that Superman flew home, and Lash informed the soldiers stationed near by that he was going home. The soldiers offered to give him a lift home but soon looked around confused as Agent Wraith had faded from sight. There was a quiet attempt at trying to track him down with drones equipped with thermal imaging. But all the drones that tried went haywire, their GPS stop working, their camera feed was cut. But a single message was on the feed, in bold letters. 'Fuck off!' After the tenth drone they stopped trying. Unfortunately they didn't get the drones back.

Lash walked towards his building from the underground sewer access. The near invisible door slid to the side, he walked through ensuring it closed and locked behind him. He took the service elevator up taking off his Wraith disguise and Transformation. He put on a simple glamour of him wearing casual cloths. But no one was in the halls of his building. He walked into his home as his security system said no one had visited. He found a note from Dottie and brownie spirits thanking him for the lovely gifts. He peeled off his armor, took a long shower then crawled into bed naked. He activated the security shutters and closed his eyes.

Lash ducked behind cover and pulled out his mag-rail pistol. He activated his pistols on board camera and stuck his hand around to sight line the soldiers on the other side. The Chicago PD took up positions and began to unload with their sub-machine guns towards him. Lash marked each target's position and brought his hand back around. With his back to cover he pointed his gun straight out behind him and fired repeatedly! His bullets zipped forward turned, and flew towards their intended targets. Auto shot is amazing! All five of the Chicago PD died in a hail of bullets.

Lash stood up and looked over at the carnage he had created. He lite up a cigarette and held it to his lips. He inhaled the sweet taste of synthetic nicotine into his lungs. He walked over and started to look through the cops pockets, it wouldn't be long before more showed up. He snagged a few credits, found some ammo and a titanium combat knife that was clearly not standard issue and left the scene. After a few turns, down an alleyways he was mixed into the urban crowd and was gone from sight. Twin sun glass shades popped from his implants over his eyes, he flicked his trench coat and made sure his sleeves covered his augmented arms. Time to head into the office.

Lash opened his eyes in his bedroom, he looked over and saw his clock said 4:30 am the next day. He slowly sat up and remembered his dream, several design plans had been implanted into his memory for augmented, artificial limbs and organs. Minor Science evolved into Basic Science, and his Advanced Crafting got several prompts of experience. Lash got out of his bed and went to his bathroom.

He cleaned up and looked at the different details of his tattoo's and his new Trickery Domain tattoo. His bald head now was covered in tattoo's, along with his shoulders, biceps, back, and chest. Intricate designs that were reminiscent of Celtic, tribal African, and Tribal Native American. Except for Technomancy which looked like a blue circuit board. While Synthesis was a mix between a circuit board and a green leaf vein. His eyes now had a yellow and green color and his iris looked reptilian. Not so much that people would notice, but if they stared long enough they would assume that was not a normal human eye. He'd have to adjust when ever he went out with the mundanes. He was still 6'4” with zero body fat, well earned muscles that were carved from stone. He had no body hair except for his eyebrows, and eyelashes. Around his neck was the dragon necklace that was his Familiar in passive form. He tapped on it gently as he walked out of his bathroom.

Dawn the baby mystic dragon yawned, and flew about the room as Lash got dressed in some casual pj's. He didn't intend on going anywhere today but that may change later. He walked out of his bedroom, the security shutters receded and revealed a still dark morning of a ruined Gotham City. No one was on the balcony though several Gargoyles were still stationed along the rooftop. The Griaks in their tree house were asleep. Lash made some fruit for Dawn who chewed on them happily as he went into his workshop. He created his Nth metal ingot for the day and started to do some enchanting work melding orichalcum and Nth metal together.

Lash made dozens of little trinkets and pieces. Then disenchanted each piece to get back a bit of the used materials. His Intermediate Enchanting kept leveling but it seemed it would not evolve for a while. Dawn flew over to him and wrapped around his neck and returned to being a necklace. Which was a little odd, Lash cleaned up his workshop and came out to the main area. There on the balcony was Soluna.

Soluna stood on the balcony in black combat boots, form fitting black cargo pants that emphasized her athletic figure. She had a thigh length leather coat, with a tight black t-shirt. Her hair was cut short to her shoulders, while her bangs were cut above her yellow snake eyes. Her skin was still a healthy tan. She tapped her left foot with impatience as Lash walked over to let her in. When he unlocked the door she blew it open and stomped into house in a huff.

“I thought you would have called! Maybe you would have but you are just a fucking bad luck magnet you know that! You spend days healing the Mundanes, then you spend days building bridges! You come home, sleep all day then when you wake up...Nothing! So I got tired of it and came over myself! So! Why didn't you call me!?” Soluna screamed at Lash. Lash just looked at her for a bit after he had closed and locked the door behind her.

Lash walked over to her with gradual steps she pegged with him with a glare that had zero effect on him. He reached out with his massive arms and swallowed Soluna in a hug. She tried to push him away at first, she yelped in surprise because she was weak as a kitten to him. He was gentle as he held her close and rested his head against hers. She struggled for a bit more then eventually settled when Lash established the Pack Bond with her. Despite her clearly angry attitude, Soluna had simply missed him. She was upset that he didn't contact her but understood why he didn't.

“I'm sorry... I had hoped to take it easy for the next little while. See all of my pack, and my friends. But as you said, I have bad luck...” Lash said to her.

“Fucking bad luck!” Soluna said muffled into his chest. She tucked her arms together and nestled into his embrace.

“Fucking bad luck... Would you like some food?” Lash asked.

“.... Yes...Jessabell says your an amazing cook.” Soluna said in return.

In little less then an hour Lash had made a several course breakfast meal that they ended up sharing with the Griaks because Soluna couldn't eat it all. The Griaks fluttered around the kitchen eating up every delectable treat they could find. Soluna didn't talk much during breakfast as she was busying stuffing her face. She eventually crawled her way to the living room and lay across a coach trying to not groan in both pleasure and agony at having a full stomach. The Griaks soon had their fill, or rather they ran out of food to eat. Lash closed and locked the door behind them and then came over to Soluna. He sat down, and Soluna propped her head on his lap as a pillow.

Lash pulled out an Orichalcum necklace for her that had the same enchantments as Jessabell's. The piece was a snake swallowing a sun and a moon in an eclipse. The snakes body was the chain as it had been segmented. Soluna's eyes were wide as Lash put it around her neck, she felt the enchantments settled over her. Soluna turned around and buried her face into Lash's stomach to hide the blush that crawled up her face.

“What the fuck am I suppose to do with you, Lash? Do you have any idea how much this is worth?” Soluna said softly as she had curled up on the coach to be closer to him. The tomboyish Soluna was being oddly girly in the moment.

“If you have to ask then it isn't a gift.” Lash said to her as he began to comb through her hair.

“Idiot....” Soluna said with a smile.

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