dryskies_btb

Gotham's Dead End Bar INTERLUDE 5

[Night City 2076, Top of Arasaka Tower]

“Look, Mom… I’m here. Very top of Arasaka Tower.”

David knew he was gone at this point. A lost cause. He was riding the edge. So thrilling, so terrifying. Nothing could bring him back. Not really. But he still had one thing left to do before he let himself fade away to legend.

The view was brilliant from up here. Peaceful… Breathtaking… The whole city spread out before his flickering ey...

Gotham's Dead End Bar INTERLUDE 4

In a specifically prepared showroom attached to the Dead End, one of a jester girl’s dreams was coming true. That’s right, baby~! Harley Quinn had her own show now~! She was going to be FAMOUS famous~!

The set was only sparsely decorated for now but that was fine. It was their first show after all. Harley was confident that she and Ivy would improve with time. They had plenty of funding to draw from. Just not enough time to set up anything truly spectacular because Harley was...

Gotham's Dead End Bar Ch.36

“-So I was drunk as a skunk at this point. Just completely wasted. The only thing that kept me from blacking out was the fact that cultivators are BULLSHIT. So instead of poisoning myself and utterly destroying my liver, the Thousand Venom Snake Whiskey was only making me more powerful. It was literally being refined into my very soul and allowing me to make a breakthrough.”

Savage listened as his new friend spun a gripping tale. A tale of an alien world where power beyond im...

Gotham's Dead End Bar Ch.35

Clark Kent didn’t quite know how to feel about one Sean Caine. The man was… vexing. As frustrating as he was likable. And just an utter walking enigma. He didn’t go against EVERYTHING Clark thought he knew about the world. But he did turn more than a few of Clark’s preconceived notions on their head.

A reincarnator? Fine. Sure. Clark supposed he had seen much stranger. A serial reincarnator? Now, that started getting a bit iffy. Clark could comprehend someone getting reincarnate...

Gotham's Dead End Bar Ch.34

‘Prepare, Sean Caine, Eternal Barkeeper! I have declared my interest in your legend! I intend to visit your establishment! We shall drink and fight and break bread and tell tales! A grand friendship starts with this letter! Do not resist!’

It all started when I received a note. A message. Sent by an actual messenger raven. A very, very curious sight in the modern age.

The note itself was written with a practiced and elegant hand, and signed by one ‘Vandal Savage, Immortal Fi...

Gotham's Dead End Bar INTERLUDE 3 (Smut)

Sean gazed deeply into Kara’s eyes. Wide baby blues met stormy grays. Shock, disbelief, delight, and something akin to flustered panic shined from behind her eyes.

Sean’s hands held hers tenderly. Delicate fingers intertwined with his larger, slightly more rugged ones. Palm against palm and warmth against warmth.

Kara’s mind was audibly blue-screening at the scene she’d found herself caught up in, “Awawawawawawawawa~…!”

It was plain to tell she was practically ...

Gotham's Dead End Bar Ch.33

The girls and I followed the Kents into their dining room. There we were greeted by the rest of the family. Three people — a woman and two younger boys. Oh, and a dog. Can’t forget the dog. Krypto the Superpup barked happily in greeting.

The woman stood, coming over to greet us. She was relatively unassuming but still beautiful. With short hair and slightly tanned skin, she carried herself in a way that said she meant business. Even during a casual affair like this dinner.

She...

Gotham's Dead End Bar Ch.32

Kara hummed to herself, flying high above her city in costume. National City was a big place. Not quite as big as Metropolis or Gotham but close. And while it wasn’t nearly as eventful as those two cities, it held a special place in Kara’s heart. It was hers.

She kept her ears open, listening to practically everything within the city limits. Her mind worked at deciphering and filtering the things she heard, casually processing the stimuli as well as any Earth-made supercomputer. She...

Gotham's Dead End Bar INTERLUDE 2

Weeeee~!

Mew was enjoying itself. It had never regretted coming with the trainer that finally ‘tamed’ it. Though it would protest against that specific wording. Mew wasn’t tamed. It was quite free to do whatever it so wished. And what it so wished was to go on adventures through the multiverse in its partner’s soul.

There had been a slight hiccup this time. Mew’s partner had forgotten to let Mew out of its ball. The ball was comfy but Mew liked to be free! Free to fly an...

Gotham's Dead End Bar Ch.31

Ciri laughed at the top of her lungs, thoroughly enjoying herself for the first time in recent memory. Nothing loomed over her head anymore. She was free from the Hunt, free from her constant flight between worlds. All because she’d heard a song that shouldn’t have been familiar but WAS in her fear and panic.

The world she’d landed in was a strange one. Perhaps one of the strangest she’d ever been to. And all she’d seen of it so far was this bar, this Dead End…

Gotham's Dead End Bar Ch.30

“We’re about ready, Mr. Barkeep,” Black Canary said

She came back up to the bar to tell me that. At the same time, she looked like she would rather be anywhere else. I clearly wasn’t making her my biggest fan in any sense of the word. She didn’t seem to deal with the Dead End’s — and by extension, my — specific brand of insanity very well.

It was a shame but not something I would overly concern myself with. I knew I couldn’t win them all. And she at least seemed ...

Gotham's Dead End Bar Ch.29

I’ll admit to a bit of excitement. It was happening. And it couldn’t have picked a better night. Entertainment was written in the cards tonight, and for once, it didn’t have my stories’ name on it. Live music at the Dead End, featuring Black Canary, John Constantine, and LUCIFER MORNINGSTAR!

Okay, Lucifer hadn’t agreed to anything just yet. But he was a being with a known association with music. And from the way his eyes lit up (literally) when Constantine’s name was mention...

Gotham's Dead End Bar Ch.28

A great darkness clouded the land. Cruel. Menacing. Terrifying. And utterly adorable. Cass had turned to the dark side. To evil. She threatened everything we held dear! Who, oh, who would stop her?!

I had no choice but to step up to the plate. I was the only one who stood between the rest of the world and voluntary mute chaos. I stood steadfast against her wicked ways. And so, Cass’ reign of terror was averted. It took a sacrifice on my part, but it was a sacrifice I was willing to ma...

Gotham's Dead End Ch.27

Contrary to the usual norm, the Dead End didn’t wake with the rising sun. Instead, we stirred when it began to fall below the horizon. The ultimate effect was still the same, especially when it came to Harley.

She groaned, “Uuuuuuugggghhhhh~… Stupid fuckin’ sunset… Stupid fuckin’ job… Stupid fuckin’ five to nine…”

“You know it’s not actually a five to nine, right? We don’t officially open our doors until about eight o’clock,” I replied in amusement. 2024-02-26 00:45:41 +0000 UTC View Post

Gotham's Dead End Bar INTERLUDE 1

A lone woman stood before seven screens, arranged in a semi-circle around her. Each screen projected a silhouette, obscured entirely by light. And though the expressions of the people on the other side of the screens were impossible to make out, it was clear that the majority of them were… currently unpleasant.

Amanda Waller’s expression — the lone woman — was much the same. She was a hard woman. Both in demeanor and in how she dealt with the issues her role presented her with. ...

Gotham's Dead End Bar Ch.26

Kara was having the time of her life. She knew she was being slightly naughty at the moment. Breaking the Watchtower’s rules and all that. But there was something about flying around the station’s halls that had her tingling with excitement and giddy giggles.

When was the last time she was able to simply throw caution to the wind? Especially when flying with someone who didn’t share her species’ gifts. Kal wasn’t nearly this fun. He was always so serious. He definitely wouldn�...

Gotham's Dead End Bar Ch.25

“Barbara. Just file your own damn report already,” Batman growled.

Barbara rolled her eyes for the umpteenth time since she came up to the Watchtower to visit Kara and put herself in Bruce’s range of nagging, “Flash filed one. Isn’t that enough?”

“For something like this? No. I need a report from someone who doesn’t run on pure, unadulterated ADHD,” Batman deadpanned.

“You trust Tim’s reports well enough,” Barbara grumbled.

His tone took on a wa...

Gotham's Dead End Bar Ch.24

The expressions in the Dead End wouldn’t have looked out of place on soldiers returning from WWI. Nearly everyone was practically shell-shocked. Flash. Captain Cold. Riddler. Catwoman. The Bat Family. Countless mooks and goons. Even I didn’t escape unscathed. The Rabbit of Caerbannog was just as bad as I remembered.

There were a few notable exceptions to the collective trauma the beast left in its wake. Didi was largely unaffected. She just tutted lightly and began putting the warto...

Gotham's Dead End Bar Ch.23

The staring match of the century took place in the Dead End — Bat Mom vs. The Flash. The kids were just thankful for the respite from their familial embarrassment via group hugs. Well, except for Damian. He was a good kid and seemed to genuinely enjoy the show of affection from his mother.

Alice was just as glad for the interruption as Barbara and Jason were though. Harley and I had to break the hug as we descended into near-hysterical laughter at the situation. Didi’s laughter was ...

Gotham's Dead End Bar Ch.22

“Sean Caine. Designation: Mr. Barkeep. Alignment: Neutral. Threat Level: Cosmic,” Batman said somberly.

Flash snorted, “You’ve got a Cosmic threat running around in your city and you haven’t done anything about it?”

“Yes,” Batman simply replied.

“You have to admit, that doesn’t sound like you, Bruce,” Wonder Woman commented.

“He’s been remarkably reasonable for someone with his power.”

“If he’s been so reasonable, why are we having...

Gotham's Dead End Bar Ch.21

Kara’s visit got me thinking. It was successful. Kara was, and I think always would be, a delight. It was nearly impossible to hate her. She was just so positive and wholesome.

Barbara called her ‘farm-girl’. As in the female equivalent of ‘farm-boy’. It fit. I knew she didn’t grow up on the Kent Farm like Clark — Kal as she called him. She had a whole life — up until 15 or 16 — she remembered from Krypton. Despite being Barbara’s age, she was chronologically and tec...

Gotham's Dead End Bar Ch.20

Kara thought she knew what she was getting into.

“-And-! And-! He’s such a bastard! A sexy, stupid, sexy, insufferable, sexy bastard!” Barbara raved. “He’s made more work for me in a few months than Dick has all year! And you know what Dick is like! Don’t even get me started on that Goddamn stupid sexy smirk of his!”

Kara thought wrong. She was almost at a loss for words. Something Barbara didn’t even seem to notice, too caught up with how she was venting about thi...

Gotham's Dead End Bar Ch.19

On an otherwise routine night, the Dead End received two visitors. They were unexpected. And they required special attention from me. Mostly because I had them banned on a technicality before they showed up.

Thankfully, the two mystery guests weren’t on the permanent ban list. They weren’t big names who I’d banned for good reason like the Bat-Who-Laughed or Barbatos. They’d just been caught in the crossfire when I first set up the ban list.

I’d set up the ban list with a...

Gotham's Dead End Bar Ch.18

Two-Face was fuming mad. Everyone in the Dead End could tell. So mad he wasn’t even flipping his trademark coin. He was just glaring at Catwoman with a rage to match the sun.

“Oh, calm down, Two-Face,” Catwoman said, rolling her eyes. “It was just a silly little gem. It wasn’t even cut yet. My fence only gave me 10 grand for it.”

“I know,” Two-Face forced out through gritted teeth.

“It’s not like me stealing from you is anything new. I don’t understand ...

Gotham's Dead End Bar Ch.17

“I accept,” Black Alice intoned gravely.

She probably put more gravitas into her acceptance than I did for my formal offer of sanctuary. But this was magic and there were certain rituals to be observed. Strangely, I didn’t think Alice actually knew that. I think she was just a closet drama queen.

A proper theatre kid, even if she would likely deny it until she died. The hallmarks were there if you knew where to look. Especially with the way she came out and declared herself ...

Gotham's Dead End Bar Ch.16

The Dead End was empty. It was closing time, about 5:30 in the morning. The sun would be coming up in an hour or so. What passed for sunshine in Gotham, at least. I kept the bar open late — or early, more accurately — to cater to my prime clientele but even that had limits. Mostly because Harley and Ivy still needed sleep and rest.

I didn’t need to sleep, per se, but I did still enjoy the activity. Didi was in the same boat nowadays. I brought her around by showing her how much be...

Gotham's Dead End Bar Ch.15

With a grin on my face and a song in my heart, I surveyed my kingdom. Oh, that was a thought. Maybe I should see about getting live music for the bar.

Maybe I could get Black Canary to sing here. Or get John Constantine to resurrect the punk band of his youth. I think even some of the Bat Family dabbled in music. It’d be a treat to see some of them perform here.

I knew Lucifer did something similar with his bar. Though he was more one to perform himself than let others have the ...

Gotham's Dead End Bar Ch.14

[AN: You can skip the second half of this chapter if you want to avoid smut (for whatever reason)

Also, credit to Roy Marax on my Patreon for the mirror idea. I really like how it turned out.]

IIIII

“Oh, no you don’t. You aren’t going anywhere, clown,” Sean said, grabbing a firm hold of Joker’s soul as it tried to leave his body. “Didi! You wanna come take a look at this?”

Didi joined him at his side, sta...

Gotham's Dead End Bar Ch.13

The Dead End, Black Mask decided, didn’t seem like anything special. From the outside, it looked positively plain. Not quite a dive but certainly not anything fancy and elevated either. Mask had trouble believing this was the den of someone powerful enough to stay neutral in Gotham of all places and even powerful enough to extend that neutrality to others.

He had a hard time believing this place was responsible for all the changes he’d come across in Gotham since his escape from Ark...

Gotham's Dead End Bar Ch.12

“This is bullshit,” Harley growled.

She’d been testy for a couple of days now. To the point that not even kinky cuckquean-y sex could cheer her up. I couldn’t say I blamed her. Especially not with how things had turned out.

The Joker and his threatening promise loomed over our heads. I wasn’t scared. None of us were. Not Ivy, Harley, Didi, Freeze, or Nora. Harley would rather kill herself than go back to giving Joker even a modicum of influence over her and Ivy was right...