DC: Fifth World Order - Nightwing - Part 1

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PrinceIMC

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#1  Edited By PrinceIMC

THE CHARACTERS IN THIS STORY ARE BASED OFF CHARACTERS AND SETTINGS THAT ARE THE PROPERTY OF DC COMICS AND THEIR RESPECTIVE AFFILIATES. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, I THOUGHT OF THE STORY BUT THE WORLD IS THEIRS.   
 
New Gotham Arena

It has been a busy week preparing the arena for the new games so I indulged in having a few visitors. Three woman and one man get dressed and leave together. They aren't slaves at least not any more than the rest of us are; they are just fans who I liked the look of and invited to my bed. Hedonism is expected of any Arena Master, specially the youngest, and I strive to maintain appearances. As for their varied sexes it is very old fashioned to think purely in terms of gay or straight. After all which is stranger; to have sex with a man of your own species or a 'female' of an alien species? Though I do tend to enjoy the company of women more often.

Running an Arena isn't a simple matter of putting two opponents together and having them kill each other. There are Arenas that do that but I've managed to turn the New Gotham Arena into something special for the Overlords by doing things differently. Sure there is the occasional bloodsport between physical powerhouses, but most often we base the arena challenges off situations similar to ancient reality television. After all the people tend to like seeing their favorite challengers survive from week to week so they can follow their progress and wager on them. Sure the situations can be lethal, the Overlords aren't satisfied unless it is life or death but the ones that die tend to be the worst criminals.

It is very difficult to ensure that the vigilantes and freedom fighters survive while the murderers and rapists don't. I don't actually design the arena challenges, for the most part I create the theme and suggest ideas to the challenge architects who build them. Once the arena is ready my task is to choose which ones to use, in what order we run the challenges and who takes part in which challenge. Stacking the odds in favor of the challengers I believe are good people is difficult considering my choices are supposed to be random. Luckily though I have a 12th level intellect secretly digging in to each challenger and advising me. The trick is doing it without the Overlords noticing. After someone has survived enough games they can be bought as slaves, that is how I became the ward of the previous Arena Master. Those that aren't suited for the games I try to get them auctioned off as slaves to good owners who will take good care of them. If they are too popular in the arena they will be stuck there until they die, so on occasion I have to arrange a breakout. I pretend to be enraged at each escape even when I've been the one secretly engineering them.

A few years ago it became clear to me that I couldn't do it all from the Arena Master's office. I needed someone out there thwarting me on a regular basis, preventing vigilantes and freedom fighters from even being captured and brought to the Arena in the first place. That is when I developed the secret identity of Nightwing based off a vigilante in Ancient Gotham two-thousand years ago. As Nightwing I could intercept the collection teams and help get the good people to safety. Conversely I can find the real bad guys and make sure they do get caught by the interception teams.

Now that the Arena challenges are ready it is time to see what Oracle has on the challengers. The first person I saved as Nightwing has become my greatest ally, a Coluan by the name of Tor Dox who was stranded on Earth. Being an alien on Earth is dangerous, they're rounded up just like the vigilantes and political dissidents. Sure he would easily have survived the intellectual challenges of the Arena but the first time he faced a much more physically superior opponent he would have been killed. Luckily though human fashion and culture has changed enough that his green skin isn't that far outside of the norm anymore. I teleport to his safehouse, as I'm the only person who knows it's location it is as safe as we can make it.

I try to sneak up on him as he is clearly engrossed in the dozen monitors taking in the information displayed faster than any human ever could. Without turning around he speaks.

"Good evening Nightwing."

I slump disappointed.

"How did you know I was here? I'm invisible even to your electronic sensors when I want to be."

"I am a 12th level intellect."

That is his usual response, as if it explains everything. I guess even though he couldn't possibly have detected my arrival his intellect allowed him to predict when I would arrive.

"So what have you got for me Oracle?"

I ask stepping up behind him. I try to read what is being displayed on one screen but it is going by too quickly for me to read. Tor is reading all twelve screens simultaneously.

"You didn't have to come here, I could have forwarded the information to you electronically." Oracle says.

"Yes you could have but if I don't show up occasionally you would never see another living being, even if I am a lowly human." I respond.

"I have told you before you are not human, clearly you are a member of the Homo Magi race." He says again without taking his eyes off the bank of monitors.

"Lets not get into the circular discussion of whether Homo Magi are human or not....what have you got for me?"

Sometimes I think he just likes to argue with me because with his intellect he always wins. I just need some information.

Oracle sighs. "The strengths and weaknesses of your arena's next challengers I have just downloaded to you. There are a few other things you should be made aware of however."

Oracle pauses, I think for dramatic effect, but more likely it's he doesn't like having to slow down his mental processes to actually talk with me. It would be easier for him if he could just download all the information to me electronically. Through our interactions though he's learned that I like to get my information verbally if it's something new.

"There has been a temporal anomaly detected. I believe we have had an incursion by at least ten time travelers."

One of his screens shows a line graph with a huge spike in the middle. There are nearly a dozen smaller spikes tapering off from it.

"Well I hope whoever it is likes the Overlords Time-Lock because they're going to be here for a while. Any idea who it is?" I ask.

"I am still compiling data. Sirex Hammond of Fenris Pharmaceuticals was also killed by what appears to be a red masked vigilante."

Another screen shows some really grainy holographic footage of the suspect in question. It is just a brief second replaying over and over again.

"Well it couldn't have happened to a nicer guy actually. Is this the only footage available?"

The alien glances to the screen. "Yes, and that is having run it through my filters and corrupting the original source file. The authorities will have no visual record of the individual."

"Keep an eye out for him, he could be an ally, or just enjoy murder in which case more bodies will pile up and we may just have to face off. Anything else?"

I ask while standing beside his chair. I really do need to get another chair brought in here, I've always got to stand while Oracle gives me my briefings.

"Just one more thing. There have been a number of strange poisonings throughout the city. The odd thing is the poisons seem to come from plant species that are long extinct. Perhaps something you should look in to. The list of victims has already been sent to you."

My wrist holo-computer pings. I've received all the files he sent me. I move to the 'window' of his safehouse and look out over the city as I glance at the files. The window isn't a real window, that woudld be a security weak-point. It's just a hologram of what the real city skyline looks like at this moment. The sun is going down though the city never does look right in the daylight, this is when New Gotham comes into it's own.

"Well now that the night is here I guess it's time for Nightwing to go play."

(To be continued)

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joshmightbe

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#2  Edited By joshmightbe

Great chapter, I'm interested to see how Nightwing being Homo Magi plays into the story

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#3  Edited By Time_Phantom

Red Hood and Night Wing should meet up at some point. Interested in where this is going.

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batkevin74

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#4  Edited By batkevin74

@PrinceIMC: That's a damn good read! I love that he's a bad guy but trying to do the right thing with what he's got. Nice linking with Red Hood