VQuintessence

Four More To Go

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Chapter 43: Four More To Go

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'Holy crap it's creepy in here, Ian is fucking insane.' Barney somehow found himself within the facility, all through legal means, very legal means.

He was escorted by a security guard inside. The area was tightly guarded, so sneaking in is incredibly hard, you'd find it better to use force.

Barney appeared quite fit, attired with a black formal suit. He also had glasses on and a simple haircut...

Hmm, Why?

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Chapter 42: Hmm, Why?

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Carmine Falcone never trusted Ian or the Rose family. He considered them to be a temporary addition, a family to get rid of once an opportunity arises.

Ian considered his addition to the crime lords temporarily, and he never once had he thought of trusting any one of them, especially someone as smart and wise as Carmine.

Ian also didn't trust Batman, not in the least. It seemed that the latter recipr...

What That Means Is

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Chapter 41: What That Means Is

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Her face flinched due to his question as she weakly responded, "Well... because It's too much I think? I am absorbing way too much of your life force which somehow led to me feeling weak and... Just weak."

Ian looked at her strangely and asked, "So what you're basically saying is that you're sucking my life force?" To which she nodded.

"And what that means is that when I come in contact with...

Answers

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Chapter 40: Answers

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"Ahh, ok. But why?" Ian was utterly confused. It was as if the plants had noticed something he haven't.

However, they were plants after all, and despite how conscious they may look, they only work on instinct, so they understood nothing of what he said.

Their only action after that was to tighten the two's embrace and make sure every part of her skin is in contact with his.

Unfortunately, Ian was...

But Why?

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Chapter 39: But Why?

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"The Joker huh," Ian muttered.

"Yeah, he's a very successful new criminal. He doesn't seem to be much but he seems to like stealing from the crime families, probably a crazy person. 

There were even rumors that he was once in Arkham Asylum, but he just escaped. There was someone like him who was operating in Gotham but was caught by batman I think? I am not really sure. It shouldn't be hard to fi...

It Was Never A Riddle

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Chapter 38: It Was Never A Riddle

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The officer next to them remained seated there with his eyes closed as one of the medics muttered, "The Riddler I believe?"

The patient was still a bit dazed, so he just muttered, "W-what?"

The medic lifted his hand and just slapped the patient without a second thought, basically baffling him and fully waking him up.

"You're the Riddler I believe?" The medic asked again.

The R...

A Riddle To Be Solved

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Chapter 37: A Riddle To Be Solved

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The sound of footsteps reverberated in the surroundings, many steps 

The walking people came to a halt following their leader's example. Before them were a bunch of refrigerator units... They were in the morgue.

The leader was attired in a green suit, complemented by a green hat. He had a golden cane in his hands which seems to be useless because he seems to be able to walk just fine...

The Blood Message

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Chapter 36: The Blood Message

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Ian could swear he saw every muscle of every face in the room flinch.

"You're really not afraid of dying, are you?" Carmine remarked, a bit baffled by Ian's behavior.

"You're pushing it!" The Ibanescu head shouted while hitting the table in anger.

Carmine however signal to him to sit down again as he spoke, "Your family is quite successful, almost too successful. A lot of things happene...

The Crime Lords

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Chapter 35: The Crime Lords

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"There is definitely something supernatural about him. It's almost as if he's too lucky, and I fear sending him to jail would be a bit mistake.

I just have this feeling that jail or even Arkham Asylum would be heaven for him, and just somehow, he would able to make it out of there and cause chaos like never before."

Those were the murmurs of the Bat. He was speaking to himself in darkness with ...

Who Might You Be?

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Chapter 34: Who Might You Be?

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Ian waited until she calmed down, then held her hand and started leading her to the collection chamber, but not before sending a message for Ralf to meet him there.

"As your new boss, we have a few things to talk about, a lot of things actually, and what better place to do so than in the luxury of my collection." He tried to lighten the mood, and he succeeded to a certain extent in taking her mind off th...

About Time Or Is It?

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Chapter 33: About Time Or Is It?

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He made his way to the roof where he was caught off guard by a tight hug from the cat herself, she spoke with a soft tone, "I am glad you're back."

Ian hugged her back, "So am I. This was a welcomed welcome I guess?"

"Why did the job so long?" She asked, getting a bit too comfortable in his embrace.

"It's complicated, but I was basically stuck in a tomb for a few days," Ian responded casua...

Home Sweet Home

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Chapter 32: Home Sweet Home

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"My payment before I go?" Ian asked. However, he received no response as Batman just stared at him for a few seconds, "What? I don't swing that way, and I thought you two were together?"

Batman shook his head in exasperation and handed Ian a bunch of documents, "Here is your new ID with the same name, fully legal, and your friend's ID. Now that I gave you this, I'm to a certain extent responsible for your ...

The Weakness

"Now be a dear and tell me what these words mean."
"Trigon???"
"Say what now?"
Her face was that of horror and fear, one that soon turned into anger. Her rage blinded her as she screamed and hissed, "You're one of his Dogs!! I will kill you!!!"
However, try as she might, she couldn't lift her hand for they were destroyed. She was struck, unable to move despite her overwhelming desire to.
Someone once worshiped as a god was in such a state. The answer is quite simple, "You're no...

The Words! What Do They Mean?

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Chapter 30: The Words! What Do They Mean?

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However, there was one room that is different, the only chamber that had a wooden bed in it... Among other things, "What the actual fuck."

Scattered throughout the room were what seemed to be the remains of the dead, ugly old hair and old dry flesh or skin, yet there were no signs of worms and bones anywhere in the room.

'I smell like nothing? Just old things.' Ian noted. The smell supp...

The Tomb

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Chapter 29: The Tomb

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Ian wasn't able to remember the last time that stopped him from doing what he wishes, in fact, bad news was the sweet candy of his day. 

"And who might you be?"

"Oh, excuse my rudeness, I am Talia, an associate of Batman." She responded with a smile, "How do you like the private jet?"

"Oh, it's yours?" Ian of course understood their little scheme, but he chose to go along with it. He wouldn't wan...

The Batman

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Chapter 28: The Batman

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Ian put a black sweater on, followed by black pants and a pale brown coat going well with his brown eyes. He already had gloves on as usual.

He then put on a belt and made sure it was as tight as possible before putting a few guns on, hidden under his coat.

He walked down to the coffee, noticing quite a lot of people around. Gotham has been relatively peaceful for the past week, so people could at least l...

The Collection

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Chapter 27: The Collection

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"It took three months to complete, and I spent basically all the money I can spend on it. It houses my babies after all." 

Ian spoke as he opened the door to the room. Not just any room and no just any door. The security of the small compartment almost rivals those of bank vaults.

The door not only requires a code but also facial recognition and fingerprints.

The metallic chamber lies deep ...

Absolute Menace

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Chapter 26: Absolute Menace

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"Y-you didn't sleep?" Selina questioned, seeing Ian sitting right where she left him though he doesn't seem to be exhausted.

"Hm? Ah, I was busy, I will sleep later." Ian casually responded, his focus was still on the scroll.

Selina walked up to him, made him look into her eyes, "I rarely ask you to do anything, so please listen to me, gather all of your stuff, and take the plane back to Gotham lest ...

Dead Hell Scroll

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Chapter 25: Dead Hell Scroll

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'Hmm, nothing is happening... Perhaps it takes time. I will leave it to later th...' He halted his thought process for before him, the red kryptonite disintegrated into dust then into nothingness, "But Why??????"

Ian stood up and took off his upper clothes, taking a closer at his body, 'I feel the same, nothing changed... Could it be?'

"Babe, did you do this? You fucking bitch." His tone was calm, b...

Kryptonites

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Chapter 24: Kryptonites

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"I-I was just joking," Selina somewhat believed him as she should... Then she got to work and acquired the seemingly useless pieces of paper in the case.

The movement of the rope allowed her to reach the pillar to which the case is attached, she clutched to it with two of her fingers and started her work.

Her claws were that of a cat, small but sharp. Somehow they were able to cut through the three-inch ...

The Stones

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Chapter 23: The Stones

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'I can only hope superman doesn't show up out of nowhere. The guy can see through buildings and even hear the distinct voices of the entire city for christ's sake. 

I on other hand am just a normal harmless guy, a bullet can kill me, so death, grace me with your blessing and keep your gates closed... and luck, continue to be the bitch of death... Hmm, not a bad prayer.'

Ian had his eyes closed as he ...

The Rose Family

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Chapter 22: The Rose Family

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The circumstances of Gotham have been quite strange for the next two months. Many could feel the tension in its streets.

The rest felt the tension due to the massive increase in violence. Gunshots and explosions were a weekly occurrence, daily even.

That wouldn't have been too strange if not for its massive scale. An ongoing war was happening in the shadows of the city.

The heroes of the city k...

Triangle Of War

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Chapter 21: Triangle Of War

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"Someone actually dared to go after us... Not only that, their goal seems to be a takeover of the city." A middle-aged man spoke with his raspy voice, his tone was filled with anger yet he kept his rational side.

His hair was almost entirely white, a symbol of his old age. He had an exquisite black suit on, Italian style.

He was looking out of the windows as he spoke and behind him were about 11 peop...

The Mind Of The Deathless

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Chapter 20: The Mind Of The Deathless

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"Why?" Ian asked confused, his left cheek was kind of red as if he had just been slapped.

Before him stood the seemingly angry Selina who seemed to be getting madder by the second, "Why you say?! I am the one who should be asking that question! So tell me why?"

Ian raised his brows, "Could it be that you're talking about what happened yesterday? I was just curious, so I did what I did,"

The Words

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Chapter 19: The Words

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Ian started observing his surroundings, noticing a peculiar thing not far away, 'Hm? That's...'

Not that far away was the train tack that passes through central Gotham, a train was passing by at an alarming speed, its destination seemed to be the Wayne corp building.

Ian could see two dark figures that seemed to be fighting, the speed of the train was no obstacle for them. They were but a dark spot in his ...

The Mess

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Chapter 18: The Mess

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Something grand was happening. Strange things were happening throughout the city all at the same time.

The Gotham City police found themselves confused on what to do, too many crimes were happening on the same day.

The new Gotham police commissioner however was quite capable. He's extremely experienced and has been in the force for decades though he only recently attained his current position.

It's co...

The Mix Of Colors

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Chapter 17: The Mix Of Colors

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"Oh? That sounds kind of dangerous... I'm in." That's how easy it's to get him to do anything. The sound of danger and the possibility of witnessing his power in action is something he will never say no to.

Ian kept his eyes on her as she started running to the edge and jumped to the nearby building's roof like a feather. The distance between the buildings was only about two meters, so it looked l...

Progress

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Chapter 16: Progress

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Ian walked down the stairs from the roof. He went to the building's first floor, the coffee shop. It was late at night at this point, so the workers were already preparing to close it.

He found the trio of his group already waiting for him around a table. He took a seat with them and asked, "Any trouble today?"

Ralf shook his head as he signaled for one of the workers to bring them coffee, "No, as yo...

I Lost

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Chapter 15: I Lost

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"I envy you... You've come so far from when we first met, and things seem to always work out for you." Selina softly said.

She was seated on the roof of a building, a nice looking two-story building, an exquisite sign was at its front spelling 'Cat's Rest.'

That was the name of Ian and the group's coffee, and in contrast to what one might assume, the group came up with the name just to make Barney mad,...

We've Finally Made It

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Chapter 14: We've Finally Made It

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"What have we got here. Boys, we've made it." Ian said with a smile, excitement was apparent on his pale face.

He reciprocated the high five he got from Barney as the latter shouted, "Hell yaa we did!!"

Everyone in the apartment was happy, excited even. Barney was jumping everywhere like a kid which seemed to light the fire of youth in Mike as he followed suit.

Ralf on other hand w...