Chapter 17

After the whole Ivy Debacle, Jackie spent the rest of the evening hanging with Steph, Tim, and Steph's potential new boyfriend, Sebastian. Guy was sorta a huge nerd, but that ain't a bad thing. Jackie figured there could be a lotta worse guys for his adopted Kid Sister to date. Guys like him, just as an example. It helped the Guy was sharp like Jackie knew he said that he ain't stupid, despite appearances, but Sebastian made him look like he was in comparison. Guy had a brain on him the size of New Jersey. Figured a Guy like that'd hang with Tim Drake.

As they made their way back to Yuen Manor, Jackie spoke with Steph in the car. She seemed more anxious than usual, and that ain't a good thing. Jackie figured it was a good idea to just go full steam ahead and get down to brass tacks here. As they were stopped at a red light, Jackie turned to Steph to say something.

"So, this Sebastian Guy. He's a good kid, you could do a lot worse." Began Jackie.

"So you like him?" Questioned Steph.

"Yeah, but he lays one finger on you in a way you don't want him to and I can make him disappear, just say the word." Offered Jackie.

"Aww, I think it's sweet you're trying to do the whole overprotective big brother thing." Giggled Steph.

"Yeah well, don't make a thing outta it or nothing." Grumbled Jackie.

"Well, now I have to make a thing out of it. You know the rules." Teased Steph.

"The fuck did all that anxiety from a minute ago go?" Queried Jackie.

"Seriously, though. I'm glad you like him." Mused Steph as the light turned green.

As Jackie Stepped on the gas, he nodded absently and said, "Yeah. He's a huge nerd, but he's sharp."

"You don't know the half of it. He outscored Tim in school." Grinned Steph.

"Huh. Well, if he's that kinda smart, he's got options. A guy like that is going places. If this city don't eat him alive first." Remarked Jackie.

"Yeah. You don't know the half of it." Agreed Steph.

They hit the highway shortly afterward and soon were cruising along the Kane Memorial Bridge toward Bristol Township. Steph took the opportunity presented by Bridge and Tunnel Traffic to let Jackie in on what'd gone down with her while he'd been fucking about on Olympus. Apparently, she'd taken to using that purple outfit she'd put on against the Intergang Cell they'd fought last year to help Tim patrol without Bruce around, with Sebastian acting as their tech guy.

They'd recently run up against a Guy going by the name Anarky, some asshole who read one too many philosophy books and decided that the City needed to revert to a state of total anarchy or some shit in order to unfuck itself. Like that ain't just a recipe for going full mask-off and just letting the crazies and gangs run the place. Anyway, he'd pulled some sorta opening scheme that'd involved trying to bomb the Gotham Commodities Exchange as a cover for hacking financial records from the Gotham Board of Trade next door.

"Sebastian was the one who figured it out. Apparently, Anarky whipped up some kind of computer virus that he had one of his goons try to use while he played bait with the bombs. Honestly, I was too hung up on the mask and the weird red robes the guy had on. Like seriously, Spanish Inquisition Much?" Snarked Steph.

"So how'd it work out?" Asked Jackie.

"Tim disarmed the bombs, I took down Anarky, and Sebastian managed to purge the Virus from the Board of Trade's Servers remotely using a gadget he cooked up that let him tap the phone lines to talk one of the Board of Trade Employees through it." Summed up Steph.

"Sounds like you joined a decent team." Nodded Jackie.

"Yeah. I'm not sure how they managed to do that stuff, I just punched Anarky in his stupid face. Get this, the idiot actually had on some kind of harness to make himself look taller under those robes." Smirked Steph.

"No way, I don't believe it. Ain't nobody that lame." Refuted Jackie.

"Yes way. Anarky is absolutely that lame." Giggled Steph.

"Well, just take care of yourself out there, yeah?" Pressed Jackie.

"I will. What about you? You just got done fighting literal Gods and now you're going after an immortal Voodoo Guy in New York City? Because Constantine wanted a favor? You remember what happened the last time you tried to do him a solid, right?" Questioned Steph.

"Yeah, we wound up scattered across half a dozen teleport traps 'cause Constantine didn't bother checking to see if Intergang had tech that could stop us from just teleporting in with magic. This time ain't gonna be like that." Promised Jackie.

"Yeah, how do you know?" Queried Steph.

"'Cause I ain't letting Constantine plan this one." Shrugged Jackie.

"Fine, but if you get turned into a Newt, I reserve the right to say I told you so." Pointed out Steph.

"If I do, I'll get better before you gotta bail me out. Promise." Chuckled Jackie.

"Yeah, you'd better." Sniffed Steph.

The rest of the trip back to Yuen Manor was done in Silence. Fifteen minutes later, they were in Bristol Township, and five minutes after that, Jackie was pulling his Camaro up the driveway. He'd crash there tonight, stopping only briefly in the Kitchen for some leftover noodles outta the fridge.

"Heard you were heading to New York City to go after Papa Midnite." Came the Voice of Jackie's Uncle Li.

"Yeah, Unc. Constantine's bribing me with an Archmage-level Abjuration Grimoire." Nodded Jackie.

"You're still working with that asshole, huh? You know that's gonna bite you in the ass sooner or later, right?" Asked Jackie's Uncle.

"I dunno if I'd say I'm working with him so much as he occasionally drops in on me and won't leave till I listen to him." Muttered Jackie.

"Still, you think he's on the level?" Pressed Jackie's Uncle.

"I do. Least so long as Fate's holding his leash. Once we beat back Apokalips, then all bets are off." Shrugged Jackie.

"Just be careful, yeah? Midnite's been around longer than even the Old Man has. He's got more than a few tricks up his sleeve. You could find yourself sent to the Pit or forced out of your body, or something just as easy as you could get in a normal duel with him." Cautioned Jackie's Uncle.

"I've prepped for that sorta shit." Huffed Jackie, reaching into his shirt and pulling out the Dragonbone Heart Charm.

"Huh. Well, that ought to do it. You know, one of these days you're gonna have to let me know what went on to get you those dragon parts." Huffed Jackie's Uncle.

"When I get back from New York, we'll talk." Offered Jackie.

"Good. Speaking of which, the Old Man's coming to town to check on your progress personally. He's bringing your Ma with him." Informed Jackie's Uncle.

"Oh yeah? How's Ma been doing? I try to talk every now and again, but long-distance calls to Taiwan are a bit of a crapshoot." Questioned Jackie.

"She finished her associate's at NTNU and is working toward a Bachelor's in Photography. She'll be graduating around the same time Apokalips is supposed to invade. It's unfortunate, but it is what it is." Explained Jackie's Uncle.

"I'm just glad she's happy." Mused Jackie.

"Don't get taken out by Midnite before you can see her." Warned Jackie's Uncle.

"I ain't gonna." Promised Jackie.

And like that, the conversation ended as abruptly as it started. Jackie's Uncle left the kitchen and Jackie sat eating a big-ass bowl of noodles. By the time he finished that, he headed for his bedroom. He ain't been here in a while, normally staying at one of his apartments in the City, but it was still just the way he'd left it. He changed into a pair of pajama pants and got into bed. Then he hit the lights and went to bed.

The next morning, Jackie woke up, showered, dressed, and headed for New York City via the Garden State Parkway, leaving Gotham behind for the moment. . .

XXXX

New York City it turned out, ain't like Gotham or Metropolis, the two cities that most folks called New York's Sister Cities. Whereas Gotham was all Faded Art Deco Glamour and Brooding Gothic Stone, and Metropolis was all futuristic lines and modern glass and steel, New York City was a mix of the two. Art Deco was prevalent on some buildings, like the Empire State Building, while the Modernist Architecture of places like the Galaxy Communications Building seemed to look ahead rather than behind.

Jackie'd never been here before, well he had, but only to the underground Intergang Base or the Sewers it'd been housed in. He ain't seen the skyline like he was seeing now as he drove on over the George Washington Bridge. As he drove into Manhattan, Jackie could appreciate the sorta history a Town like this had. Especially as he drove past the JSA Headquarters.

Sure it hadn't been their original headquarters from the thirties, which had been in what'd then been Civic City but was now part of Philadelphia. It wasn't even their Wartime Headquarters, which was in Virginia, close to Washington DC. This was their Post-War Headquarters, the Old Dodds Mansion they'd taken to using back in the late forties to early fifties before the McCarthy Hearings forced them all into retirement in fifty-four. It was still a piece of history that Jackie'd love to visit sometime.

Fortunately, he'd prepped for this sorta trip. Jackie had safehouses in New York City, Metropolis, Gotham, Star City, Coast City, Chicago, and a few other places where he could crash and collect a stash of gear and stuff. He'd invested in them as part of his planning for the Apokaliptan Invasion. He figured if the New Gods of Apokalips were gonna hit everywhere all at once, then being concentrated in one or two spots was just asking for trouble.

His current safehouse in New York City was a converted warehouse in Manhattan's Meatpacking District. Apparently, like a month after he'd started renovations, a buncha other folks had bought property in the area. Jackie was gonna bet the neighborhood was about to start being gentrified in the next couple years, which honestly, he figured would only make property acquisitions in the area more profitable going forward. He'd look into buying a few businesses in the area while he was in town.

For now, though, he pulled up to his converted warehouse, mystic radar pinging as he passed the Wards in his Camaro, and started to get settled in. Jackie'd spared no expense for his safehouses. They didn't just have state-of-the-art security systems, cameras, magnetic locks, and shit like that, but were also warded to high-hell and back.

It ain't Magitech or anything like that, Jackie ain't a New God or that Sivana Guy out in Faucett City, but Jackie liked to think it was close enough. Of course, it couldn't do nothing that tech or magic couldn't do on their own, but by sandwiching technological defenses between ward layers, it created a fairly rough approximation of a Magitech defense system.

Shit was keyed into his mystical signature, though he could give folks a code to enter if they needed to show without him. Each Code'd only work once, though, just in case. For repeat visits, folks'd have to talk to him again. Bruce's Paranoia seemed to be rubbing off on him. Jackie'd haveta watch out for that in the future.

Regardless, he entered his safehouse and got settled in. He wouldn't be hitting up the Blue Bayou Jazz Club in Harlem till tonight and it was still around noon right now. Clubs don't open so early, after all. For now, Jackie contented himself by putting out feelers for folks who might wanna sell their businesses to a silent partner so he could get a bit of extra income outta New York City.

By the time he hadta get ready to head out, he had a couple takers. A Pawn Shop, an Electronics Repair Shop, An Auto Mechanic, and a Bar were looking to sell. Apparently, times were tough for the little guy, what with big-ass Corporations looking to buy up whatever they could for as little as they could. Jackie's offers included folks staying at their posts and keeping their jobs and salaries, plus a decent chunk of change for ownership stakes, which was more than the corporations were offering. He'd inked those deals over the course of the day, using a bit of Mystical Glamour to hide his age.

Then, once night fell, he suited up as Black Tiger and headed for the Blue Bayou, looking for Papa Midnite. . .

XXXX

AN: All right, Jackie is now in New York City looking into Papa Midnite for Constantine. There was a bit of stuff that folks have asked for here, namely more character interactions, business expansion, an update on Jackie's Mom, and 'Magitech'. For a given value of Magitech, anyway.

Now Jackie is going to have to go up against Papa Midnite, who effectively traded his Sister's Soul for power and immortality back in the Seventeenth Century. He hopes he can reason with the guy and try and make him see that they need Constantine for the Apokaliptan Invasion. Of course, this being DC Comics, things aren't going to be that simple, doubly so because Constantine is involved.

At any rate, the next chapter will involve the Blue Bayou Jazz Club and our first look at Papa Midnite's Organization.

Stay tuned. . .