*Chapter 28: When You're Out and About, Your Reputation Comes From What You Kill*

"Magic and miracles? They ain't free."

—by the legendary survivor, John Constantine.

Whoops, my bad, pretty sure famous person actually said that.

If that consecrated exorcism back there had been a magic spell instead of an item, Cody wouldn't have dared use it directly. See, in this world, power from magic usually belongs to someone. Every kind of power has its source.

Learning magic isn't about getting power yourself, it's about figuring out how to borrow it from the source. And sadly, the demon gods or higher beings who control those sources aren't exactly philanthropists. They usually demand a price from whoever uses their magic. It could be a day's good luck, or maybe even someone's fate or soul.

The power packed into that single-use consecrated item? It's tied to the guy upstairs, just happened to be perfect for demon-slaying. Since it was a direct match and he just used the item, Cody didn't have to pay a price.

He wouldn't risk messing with magic stuff otherwise. Not because he's afraid he'd abuse it and rack up debts, but because he's scared it might connect him to certain... types. After all, teammates are one of the prices a mage can sacrifice, and some mages are real used to doing that.

Cody's mind just drifted off, thinking about all this random stuff. He drove, grabbed some groceries on the way, and headed straight home.

Crunch

He pulled up to the curb outside the small apartment building where the Drakes lived, got out, and locked the car. He'd blown a buck of his asset points on the system map looking for a parking spot, and it just said anywhere nearby was fine. Weird, but the system hadn't screwed him over yet.

"Holy moly, you're actually okay!"

Drake stepped out of a taxi nearby, looking totally curious. "This car doesn't seem as jinxed as the boss said."

"Damn it, couple of stupid idiots," the taxi driver muttered under his breath, quickly started the car, and peeled out of there like his tail was on fire.

He'd followed the car the whole way, like Drake asked, and only now got a good look at the details. No license plate yet, and the paint was totally redone gray, but he still recognized this car – famous on Gotham's accident list as the Death Car.

Seriously, who's the sucker crazy enough to drive this thing? Don't they have a death wish?

Cody saw the cabbie bail so fast and turned to Drake. "What's up with him?"

"Dunno, maybe bummed he lost the fare to Gotham General, so he's rushing for the next one," Drake shrugged. "Who cares?"

"Yeah, thanks a million."

...

"...Yesterday, the Gotham City Police Department once again arrested a large number of gang members. According to Commissioner Gordon, this operation received assistance from Gotham City's masked vigilante—Batman."

"As of now, Batman has helped the GCPD arrest dozens, if not hundreds, of Gotham gang members. This leaves me extremely puzzled: does the Gotham City Police Department require the help of a masked outlaw to perform its normal functions? Must we rely on a masked individual who uses violence to violate the law to help us enforce the law?"

"While Commissioner Gordon has repeatedly claimed Batman is harmless, so far, not a single broken arm, leg bone, or rib among those arrested thugs and criminals was self-inflicted. No one has ever made it into the police station in one piece after an encounter with this violent vigilante."

"Gotham's District Attorney, Mr. Harvey Dent, also maintains an ambiguous stance towards Batman. Has justice in Gotham been completely influenced, or even controlled, by a hidden, illegal vigilante? None of us know..."

Mrs. Camilla sat by a small table, watching the TV news with rapt attention.

"We all know that news outlet is Falcone Family property," Drake scoffed as he walked in.

"Listening to them is like hearing a rat lecture about rat poison. They talk about fairness, justice, respecting life, independence, and equality, but really they're just dogs begging for scraps of profit. Any decent cop or DA Gotham's had in the last ten years, these guys have hounded 'em relentlessly."

"I'll assume you're still talking about the news outlet," Cody said, hanging his jacket by the door. "So, you support Batman?"

"Even the truth sounds twisted when it comes out of their mouths. Anyway, I don't support these guys," Drake shook his head. "Not like my opinion matters much, I'm not from Gotham, and I'm not sticking around."

"That's for sure. Once you guys are gone, I'm renewing the lease on this place."

"Renew the lease? You've got fifty grand, plus your job. You could get a small place in parts of Otisburg on installment."

"Hold up, no way. The day I can get a job in another city, I'm bouncing immediately. Buying property in Gotham is just throwing money away. Living here for a year is more soul-crushing than ten years anywhere else combined."

Drake paused, realizing he couldn't argue with that at all.

Everyone knew Gotham's daily life wasn't exactly a picture of thriving growth; at best, you could call it smoky and bullet-riddled. Any building here could get wiped out anytime by a bomb, a missile, or a huge fire. So, the real estate players in Gotham weren't exactly simple folks, and the people buying houses here were mostly the ones who couldn't leave.

Mrs. Camilla chimed in then, "Cody, where'd you get that cross necklace?"

"Oh, we bought a car today, got it from inside there. Liked it, so I put it on."

"It's so beautiful..." Camilla instinctively stared at the shimmering necklace. As a devout Christian who'd been sick for a long time, she was truly pious. Looking at the necklace Cody wore, she felt a strange sense of warmth.

Cody saw where this was going and quickly deflected. "Drake, why don't you get Mrs. Camilla a cross necklace?"

"Don't talk nonsense, the church already gave her a blessed one," Drake grumbled. "She just likes shiny, pretty jewelry."

Camilla raised an eyebrow. "Got a problem with that?"

"Nope," Drake immediately pledged his loyalty. "I'll go buy you one this afternoon."

"Here, borrow the key," Cody handed over the original car key. "Take it easy on the road, you'll be fine."

Drake looked at the key, thought for a long time, but still didn't dare take it.

...

Later that night.

Several sneaky figures lurked in the streets and alleys of the slums. One of them spotted a car parked brazenly by the side of the road and his eyes lit up.

"Leon, hey, look at that car over there, we're in luck today!"

Leon heard that, glanced at the car, and immediately turned around and walked away.

"Luck my butt! Didn't you recognize the Death Car? The Driver just put the word out today, Falcone's damn killing machine car finally sold! You wanna try and steal it back for him?"

"Let's go! Idiot! That car can stay parked on this corner forever for all I care."

When you're out and about, your reputation comes from what you kill.