Chapter 244: Unseen Trigger
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The restaurant was a ruin now, shards of glass still tinkling down from a broken chandelier, guests scrambling to escape, the air filled with the tension that came only after violence.
Arthur moved forward through the chaos, steps were calm, unhurried. His violet eyes glowed faintly, and the hush that seemed to follow him was more unnerving than the gunfire had been.
"Black Mask," Arthur said, voice carrying like a blade across the dining hall. "Normally, I wouldn’t give a damn about small fries like you. That’s why I left Gotham in the hands of Shadow Joker. Well done to you, I suppose. You managed to keep your head above water."
Raven, still seated at her table, her disguise barely hiding the way her eyes narrowed, muttered under her breath, almost involuntarily. "Shadow Joker...?" Her tone carried both recognition and unease.
Sionis, still masked and flanked by his terrified men, stiffened. His voice cracked with a mixture of fury and disbelief. "That thing... that monster running around in my city... it’s yours
?"Arthur only smiled. The glow in his eyes brightened, and he didn’t bother to answer with words. Instead, he raised his hand lazily, as if brushing dust from a sleeve.
Sionis’s body jolted an invisible grip locked around his throat and hauled him into the air. His legs kicked, his hands clawing desperately at something that wasn’t there, muffled choking spilling from beneath the carved mask. Ruler’s authority grabbed hold of him.
Didi smiled softly into her glass, as though enjoying a private joke.
Kara, tense from the moment the guns were drawn, stepped forward in alarm. "Arthur, it’s okay now, we will turn them in." Her voice cracked with urgency.
But Arthur didn’t need her intervention. He released the grip as suddenly as he had conjured it. Sionis collapsed onto the ground in a heap, coughing and wheezing, clawing at his throat as if to reassure himself air still belonged to him.
"You’re... you’re that shadow man," Sionis rasped, voice torn raw.
Arthur tilted his head, his smile sharp. "More or less."
He shifted his gaze to Kara, who still hovered between outrage and restraint, and said evenly, "Take them. Him, his dogs, and the good Judge too. You heard it all, didn’t you? Might as well make it worth something. Maybe we’ll even be doing the system a favor." He chuckled under his breath, as if the whole mess was no more serious than a card game gone wrong.
Sionis coughed again, dragging himself halfway upright. His voice came out ragged, soaked in venom and despair. "No... no! What rotten luck is this, and you heard my conversation? Supergirl and this freak... Just kill me already!"
Arthur crouched slightly, enough to level his glowing eyes with the crime boss, his smile fading into something colder. "As much as I’d love to grant that wish, you being alive is more useful. Not because I care about your pathetic empire or your dirty money. But this city... might just breathe a little easier if you’re properly caged for once."
His words struck with finality.
Kara stepped in, her jaw tight, and seized Sionis by the arm, locking his wrists in a makeshift restraint with metal from the wrecked table. She didn’t look at Arthur, her eyes stayed fixed on the struggling Roman, as though not meeting Arthur’s gaze would keep her focus from faltering.
Arthur caught the gesture, and his smile returned, this one lighter, more amused. "Don’t be embarrassed, Supergirl. I knew all along you were here. Same for Raven over there." His voice lifted, without turning toward her. "But don’t look. Let her sit. After all, no ordinary diner would stay so calm in all this commotion. Not even pretending to panic... she isn’t trying very hard." He laughed quietly, like a man indulging in his own private joke.
Kara snapped, cheeks burning hotter than her eyes. "Alright alright! just stop talking about it!" She tightened her grip on Sionis, glaring at Arthur for even a heartbeat before looking away again. Roman groaned in pain from that "God! Careful!"
Raven, for her part, sat perfectly still, a faint flush at her ears as she kept her head turned toward her untouched glass.
Arthur’s violet eyes dimming again as he said with mock innocence, "As you wish Supergirl."
An echo of Didi’s voice haunted his head.
"It’s not over."
Her tone was calm, almost casual and that made his blood run colder than any laugh. Arthur’s gaze slid toward the front windows, and sure enough, shadows moved against the light of the streetlamps. Dozens of them. The glint of muzzles.
Arthur’s lips twisted into a grim smile. "Figures," he muttered, lowering his body, ducking slightly just as the first volley screamed through the glass. "Bullets again? Really?"
Shards exploded across the restaurant floor. everyone escaped already except for them. Arthur, already crouched, narrowed his eyes at the flickering light from outside. His enhanced sight caught it..one weapon glowing an unnatural red.
"Wait... is that.." he didn’t finish.
The storm came. Gunfire rattled like thunder, cutting into tables, chairs, walls anything in its path.
Kara let go of Roman, as he sprawled against the floor, began to laugh, a harsh rasp between coughs. "You think I didn’t prepare for something like this? Hah! You don’t survive Gotham by luck, Shadow Man. I always bring insurance... in case I run into Batman, or even.. that blue boy scout!"
Arthur’s jaw clenched. He whipped his head toward Kara, urgency spilling into his tone. "Kara...dodge!"
But she didn’t.
One of the thugs outside steadied the strange rifle. A streak of crimson light cut through the restaurant and slammed straight into Kara’s chest. Her sharp gasp echoed louder than the gunfire. The impact threw her back into a table, splintering it to pieces.
"Kara!" Arthur’s voice cracked. He blurred forward with speed step, instinct driving him, putting his body between her and the spray of bullets. Sparks hissed as slugs bounced off his back and shoulders, bending, clattering to the floor.
Kara’s hand pressed weakly against her chest, her breaths shallow, her voice trembling. "What... what just hit me?"
Arthur knelt, shielding her with his frame as more rounds ricocheted. His eyes glowed violet, rage simmering. "That was a red sun radiation gun. You should’ve dodged. Their bullets... they would’ve torn you apart when normally they shouldn’t even scratch you."
Her lips curled into the faintest smile, even as her face stayed pale with strain. "And you covered me... thanks."
"Don’t thank me yet," Arthur muttered, easing her back against a wall, propping her up carefully. His tone softened a fraction. "You’ll recover soon enough. Your cells will soak the energy back up. Just stay put."
His head snapped up at the sound of incantation. Raven, finally stepping from her shadowed corner, her hood falling back just enough to show her pale, determined face. She stretched out her hands, voice cutting sharp and commanding.
"Azarath... Metrion... Zinthos!"
Dark energy burst like a shockwave, crashing through the front of the restaurant. Gunmen screamed as their weapons were crushed like toys, shadows enveloping them before tossing their broken bodies into the street. Silence followed.
Arthur exhaled and turned, scanning the place, the judge slumped over, riddled with holes. Blood pooling across the marble floor. No shield, no chance. Dead.
Behind him, Roman was still alive, but his hollow masked eyes were wide with something between fear and sick amusement. "If I could’ve killed Supergirl right here," he wheezed out, laughing through his pain, "I’d have been satisfied. Heh... what a prize that would’ve been."
Arthur’s expression hardened and smacked roman with a punch to the face. His eyes glowed brighter, a dangerous violet storm beneath his brow. "Too bad for you," he said flatly, his voice heavy with restrained anger.
The air shifted. Raven, who usually cloaked herself in cold indifference, now looked stricken. Paler than her normal pale, her lips trembling slightly as she turned her face toward something or rather someone.
Her voice was a whisper, but it carried enough weight to freeze even Arthur in place as well. "Arthur... look."
His gut twisted at her tone. Slowly, he turned. His eyes widened, the glow fading just a fraction. For once, even he didn’t believe what he just saw.
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If you Like this story! Check out my other stories! Solo leveling in Westeros.
&
If you wish to read more or simply support me than check out my patreon at
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You can Get Access to 3 More Chapters OR 7 More Chapters if you want