Batman continued, "I'm sure you also had a hand in ousting the ex-mayor Wallace Cole. Then there's your statewide surveillance—illegal, a massive violation of privacy and consent, and a dangerous precedent of authority without oversight.
"Your methods in Chicago are nearly identical to those used by the Two-Face Gang in Gotham. They follow the same three rules—no hard drugs, no trafficking, no civilian casualties. They are poised to become the dominant gang in Gotham. Leading me to believe you are connected to Bullseye and the Two-Face Gang.
"And finally, the child under your custody—Cassandra Tian, or rather, Cassandra Wu-San, daughter of Lady Shiva, a fact I confirmed through DNA testing. How and why you took her in should be called into question. Regardless, you're young and shouldn't be raising a child while living the way you do. You're ever growing set of powers makes you dangerous. Someone has to be prepared to stop you if you go too far."
Batman wasn't called the world's greatest detective for nothing, but even he was just another piece on a board Joseph had already studied.
He'd been caught for being too perfect. But he didn't regret anything. His only regret was that he couldn't save everyone and had to restrain himself to avoid creating more situations like this. There was simply too much filth that needed cleansing.
"So you're scared of me for being way better than you at your job in a fraction of the time? I'm sorry I'm not insane like you. I can't be bothered doing the catch‑and‑release dance over and over expecting a different outcome. That's why the Joker is still loose after killing countless civilians and U.N. officials at their own headquarters. You, me, and everyone in the League have the blood of innocents on our hands because we have the power to stop it but don't."
"That is the job of the legal system. We are not judge, jury, or executioner. That is a slippery slope—"
"I don't care about the legal system and neither do you. I care about people. I'm sure the people I SAVED appreciate me saving them instead of watching someone moral‑grandstand while picking and choosing which laws to break to feel better about himself. I shouldn't have listened to you after you lectured me for beating up Firefly when he burned down buildings full of innocent civilians because it was 'your city,' like I didn't grow up in East End."
"You don't understand Gotham like I do. Someone with your mentality would eventually burn the city down from chaos. Gotham needs a hero who reminds them that killing is not the only option—proof that even in despair, the law can still be upheld."
"But you don't fully uphold the law. Without the Justice League being a U.N. charter organization, you're just another vigilante enforcing your own brand of justice. And your version hasn't changed Gotham much. Maybe it's time a different type of hero—one who leashes the rot of the city—has a turn."
"You admit your collusion with Carla Viti and Two-Face?"
"I certainly made a deal with Carla to keep crime in their world and minimize suffering which has proven to work. And I know who Bullseye is.
I was also aware of the killings of corrupt officials in Chicago. I could've stopped them but didn't. If the system fails, it's up to individuals in the community to fix it—that's what they decided, just like you decided to become Batman.
But your existence and theatrical methods, if not creating, at least exacerbated Gotham's super‑villain problem. Joker and others are a direct reaction to the 'Bat,' forcing criminals to become more theatrical, extreme, and dangerous to compete. As Batman, you only provide a band‑aid solution—treating symptoms instead of root causes—and the cycle continues with more innocent civilians suffering.
My solution is simple: let criminals sort out the worst offenders among themselves. Let some win. Or they can all suffer at my hands and everyone loses."
"I'm disappointed in you. I hoped you would be better than this ever since your days as Flux," Batman said.
"Spare me the condescension. You never grew up in the worst parts of Gotham. And you don't have the right to talk to me about legality, privacy violations, and slippery slopes. I know your methods. Your Batcomputer has access to even more than what you're accusing me of.
I'd rather let vile villains and corrupt officials die than innocents. I was never in this to be a hero. I put on a suit to avenge my mom and stop others from suffering like I did—and my methods worked and continue to work. I get shit done.
If I had been Gotham's protector, Intergang would've never dared show up and attack others in the open. If I had been its protector, my mom would still be alive.
My only fault is caring too much. But it seems you don't care enough."
Joseph opened a boom tube home behind Batman and brushed past him causing the man to stumble. Childish, sure—but satisfying.
"This isn't over. I'll be watching you closely, and I will stop you, Bullseye, and the Two-Face Gang if you cross the line and harm innocents. I'll get help from the entire League if I have to, Joseph," Batman said.
Joseph paused at the threshold and turned. "Will the League still help you once they learn about your contingencies for them—how you exploited their trust to catalog their weaknesses, Bruce?" That finally earned a slight reaction from Batman.
"In any case, I truly hope you manage to stop me in the unlikely scenario that I ever cross that line. And one last thing—don't EVER approach Cassandra again. She's suffered enough. I want her to grow up normal, not a child soldier like you made Robin."
As Joseph turned back toward the boom tube, he froze as a powerful wave of magic washed over him.
'Nova, anything notable in the last five seconds?'
//There was a power outage in Manhattan.//
Then Klarion spoke up: [It's her,] he said, terrified.
Fuck.
Joseph willed his clothes to morph into his Nova suit and faced Batman.
"Child is here," he said simply. Batman nodded, their previous conversation forgotten as they shifted into professionals.
Joseph had Nova change the boom tube's coordinates to the Tower of Fate while Batman made calls to the Justice League.
**
| Roanoke Island - October 16
After a dozen millennia of insipid antics, Klarion lost favor with the other Chaos Lords, and so Child was sent to the mortal plane to reinvigorate their cause and dispose of the Witch Boy once and for all.
Her emergence sent a pulse likely felt by magic users worldwide. Making haste, the neophyte Lord of Chaos searched for the perfect anchor and soon chose a large gemstone with a deep flaw at its center inside a jewelry boutique.
With her anchor secured, she corporealized as a young schoolgirl. The new flesh fascinated her so much that, after creatively naming her anchor and carving a crude face on it, she had Flaw kill a security guard so she could dissect and examine human anatomy.
Then she ate his brain to obtain his memories.
Child and Flaw teleported to a wooded area on an island strong in magic. There, Child conjured a pentagram and broadcast a frequency to summon Klarion. She waited several minutes, yet he never arrived—as if the work was blocked. Interesting. She was sure she would see him eventually, and then she would torture him for eternity.
But for now, she began her task: cause chaos.
She crafted an intricate pentagram.
First, she would visit major population centers and create pillars of fire and natural disasters—giving people false hope that the Justice League would eventually save them—only for her to shatter that hope by splitting the dimension in two between adults and children using the pentagram. Fitting, given her name.
The island she was on was the optimal place to perform the spell; the missing Roanoke Colony had vanished here, according to the guard's memories.
Normally, such a spell required multiple sorcerers and a magical gem as a conduit. But with the power of all the Chaos Lords within her, Child used the entire island as her conduit, making the spell even harder to disrupt.
She cackled maniacally, reveling in the pain, agony, and chaos she was about to unleash.