...

Chapter 86: The Way Of Blood IV

...

"Now, back to the way of blood!"

In the lab, before Ian were several test tubes and a few other objects. If anyone with a brain comes to know about them, they'll go further and beyond to acquire them to the point of desperation.

One of the test tubes had Constantine's blood, and Ian knows that his blood is quite special as it's partially a demon's blood, a very important demon.

One of the other test tubes also has blood though this time it was an angel's blood, Imogen's.

Right next to it is a larger test tube with several pieces of flesh in them, also Imogen's. The same was for another tube though this one contains the surviving pieces of her heart.

Then there is one with a few black feathers within. It was surprisingly easy to take them off as he heard that angels' wings hold a significant portion of their power. She's dead though, so perhaps the wings lost their powers?

Further to the right was a very special test tube because it contains Raven's blood, very little blood, but that was enough for him. All it took him to get it was being bombarded by a few hundred questions.

Lastly, there is a small piece of flesh and blood spread in the last two tubes. They were Selina's. Ian of course wouldn't forget what he promised her, let alone the potential in studying it.

"Let's see, I should start with Imogen's blood and flesh first... I should also focus on her wings. They're of utmost importance." Ian nodded to himself, prioritizing what was best for his plans.

Thus his research started which consisted of mostly using a microscope to study the cellular level of the angel's blood and flesh.

What came next was testing how other materials and elements interact with the Angel's blood.

He tested it not only with most of the elements of the periodic table, but he also tested how light reacts to it, from simple white light to all of the other lights, every wavelength of the visible spectrum. Hell, he even went as far as testing it with the invisible spectrum.

Thankfully, Imogen was gracious enough to provide him with every speck of his blood and flesh.

Ian also spared nothing more than everything to construct one of the best labs possible with his level of influence and made sure to fill every cabinet with its corresponding element or material whilst making sure they were stored at an appropriate temperature and humidity level.

The conclusion of his research? Well, "Unresponsive to everything. Strange, very strange. Despite detecting a collection of a strange energy in her every cell, I don't seem to be able to do anything with it... Unless I don't have the full picture in mind?"

It was time for contemplation, something Ian knows how to do best. Soon his life force found itself enveloping a drop of blood while observing that same drop with a microscope.

"It... This is interesting, but I guess it makes sense. That's how the Staff of all things work after all." The angel's energy not only reacted but also seemed quite active and even slowly multiplying, at a snail's pace but multiplying nonetheless.

The staff of all things works on the same concept. The staff absorbs certain energies and comprehends their mechanisms with his life force as fuel. He also uses his life force as fuel to basically use the said energies infinitely.

What that means is that the Green and Red clusters of energies can never run out as long as he constantly feeds the staff his life force.

"Yeah, very interesting. Perhaps I can do it, it will just take time." Ian then went on to literally turned the Angel's remains into juice, mostly fluid with a few pieces of flesh and bones around.

It's safe to say that it took quite the machine to achieve such a feat. Ian again found himself surprised at his manners, even he had never done something like this, so feeling nothing was certainly a surprise for him... He was even more sure of one of the possibilities of what he is.

The way of blood led him to his next research subject, Constantine's blood. This one however was different as he had very little of it in contrast to the plentiful amount of blood of the Angel.

He just observed it at a microscopic level, trying to detect any strange energy within. He further sought to study its DNA sequence though the process is much more troublesome and time consuming.

Time he had a lot of, so he took it upon himself to study even the genetic makeup of Imogen, and researched basically everything he prepared for his plans.

That took the majority of the time in his day, but he still spent time with Selina, Ivy, and Raven. He likewise tended to his responsibilities as the head of Roses.

His lowering need for sleep helped a lot in that, allowing his research to go further, and his mind to open to walls beyond the third one, He came to suspect something, 'Perhaps what I call my life force isn't actually life force but something more... So much more.'

He came to that conclusion due to a recent discovery. He made a breakthrough in his control of his life force, allowing him to stop releasing his life force if he so wish. It's like a light switch, he can turn it on and turn it off.

He came up with a discovery due to that. When the switch is off, he found that he suddenly fails to see things. He still had his normal vision, but what changed is his inability to see different kinds of abstract energies, such as the Angel's energy, and the energy in Constantine's blood.

That however didn't seem to apply to the clusters of energies within the vessels of his staff. The same was for energies released by magical blasts and energies that anyone can see.

He thus concluded that his life force allows him to see energies and possibly entities that very few others can see, at least as clearly as he does. Those abstract energies, lying within the depths of cells and souls, to be specific.

Two months passed in the blink of an eye, ones of pure focus on research. Ian found it to be quite fun, more entertaining than ever.

His goal has always been to find answers. He wants to figure out what he is, and where did his power come from. Curiosity and doubts were killing him. That was not something he ever felt in his last world because he never felt like he had a chance back then.

Now, however, there is a chance. There is bound to be a way to find answers, and god sometimes he found himself giddy in anticipation... Other times, doubts surface in his mind. Can he handle the truth?

"It's done," Ian murmured, standing behind Selina. The latter was naked, giving a view of the infection area, surprisingly, it stopped expanding. It was all due to the staff of all things and his life force though, so he had to find another solution, and he just did.

Ian traced his fingers along his neck before helping her put on a certain necklace, quite the special jewelry it was. It was made of silver, and it had what looked like a green gem, looking quite exquisite.

"Will it really work?" Selina wondered, somewhat unsure, "It just looks like a normal gem despite being a Kryptonite stone. How would it affect the infection? How would it reach it."

Her worries weren't unfounded, "It's Green Kryptonite. It's different from the Red one. The latter needs touch to have an effect, but this one releases radiation. They're not dangerous, but I tweaked the gem to have the intended effect."

After days of research and putting more focus on Selina's infection, specifically, the parts of the infection he has in his labs, he found that normal Green Kryptonite radiation has very little effect on The red infection.

He thus continued to research until he found a certain frequency of radiation able to affect the Red infection in the way he intends. He was able to easily do that with his staff because of his control over it, so he used it regularly on Selina's infection.

That continued until he found another solution, tweaking one of the Green Kryptonites to release the much needed radiation.

It was surprisingly not difficult for Ian. He found it quite similar to biology. It's basically just an assemblage of observations and testing as well as requiring the needed equipment which he has.

Ian then looked closely at the infection for a second, "I think it's receding, but very slowly, but don't worry, I'm developing something else to basically cheat the infection..."

Indeed, what he was developing was so much more of a cheat than what anyone might think to the point he wondered why none of the brilliant minds of this world ever thought about it.

...

Chapter 87: The Way Of Blood V

...

Indeed, what he was developing was so much more of a cheat than what anyone might think to the point he wondered why none of the brilliant minds of this world ever thought about it.

'The problem is that the requirement for life force seems to be much higher than what he's currently capable of.'

That was a problem only time can solve. The amount of life force he can release in a second is limited, but it's constantly rising. Even when doing nothing, it's increasing to very slowly, but when in intimate training sessions with Selina, it increases a lot.

In fact, it goes wild for a short while before stabilizing though a percentage of that increase remains.

"Do you have a way? To make me more useful to you?" Finally, Selina asked the question that has been bugging her for so long.

"I do. I thought it might take longer, but it should be ready soon, less than a year. I need to do more tests to get rid of some of the risks." Ian was honest. The project he's working on is extremely dangerous, and it has many variables that he needs to eliminate.

A sigh of relief escaped Selina's mouth. A huge burden was lifted off her shoulders as she finally released a smile, her usual smile as she got her usual self.

She moved around like a snake, finding herself hugging Ian from behind, and leaving kisses on his neck. Her voice was playful and enticing.

"I have a goal in mind. Wouldn't you be a dear and help me acquire it? I was already planning on rewarding you, but I'll go further and beyond... You'll love it."

"Hahahaha," Ian was amused, to say the least, "You're part of the team, and it's the duty of the team members to help each other... Never mind all of that, sho..."

"You slipped hahahaa!" Yeah, it was all too late for Ian to take it back as he looked distraught, "But don't worry, I'll make you happy... I want a diamond, a gorgeous diamond. It's called the Hope diamond necklace... A beautiful little thing."

"Oh? Reaching out so high?"

"You don't think I can do it?"

Their intimate banter soon came to an end as Selina noticed something, "What is this?"

"What?"

"It looks like a black dot," Selina noted while touching a spot on his upper back, "And it's not a mole, it feels more like a tattoo, but it's just a dot?" Selina stated with confusion. After all, a tattoo of a dot is quite strange.

"Oh, that... I don't know. Don't mind it for now." That was the furthest Ian said about it, ignoring the topic altogether.

His destination for the day was also the underground tier of the mansion though this time a different room.

"The room of charity..." Ian remarked as he entered the room with amusement, "It's really been a long time since I received charity, but well, nothing I can do... I had run out of mediums."

But now he has a medium, a vial already prepared in a magical circle in the room. The chamber, like always was dark and depressing. There were several candles at every edge of the ritual circle though they haven't been lit just yet.

He went ahead and did that, took off most of his clothes, leaving only his pants, and sat in the circle. Ian picked up the vial, eyeing the few drops of blood within, "Thank you, Constantine."

Indeed, the vial contains Constantine's blood which is partially a demon's blood. It holds the blood of a very important demon, the one he's going to summon right now, and those specks of blood are the medium to do that.

A skull was placed before him, a human skull. Different demons have different preferences on the mediums, and the demon he wants to summon requires these.

This act of charity though was very different than the previous times. There is just something about this ritual that wasn't right.

It started with Ian speaking the usual summoning incantations, followed by a bizarre event. As soon as the incantation was finished, Ian let the drops of blood in the vial drop on the skull, initiating a strange event.

Instantly, every candle in the room got extinguished, and crimson swirling energy manifested itself before enveloping the skull.

The twisting energy soon turned into red flesh, forming skin around the skull. The end result was a red-skinned, bald head. It was hideous with its mouth cracked in two, a long snake-like tongue falling from the crack.

"Khekhekhekeh, you have maa blood..." His screeching voice halted for a second, "No! you have the pig's blood!"

His hissing screamed of hate and contempt for who he considers to be the pig.

"I've already written all the terms on this piece of paper. There are no negotiations, I know how y... Agree or you can leave," It seemed like Ian's tongue slipped, leading the demon's poisonous yellow eyes to flicker with a light of understanding.

The demon still said nothing, but just looked at the paper for only a few seconds before letting out a grotesque laugh, "I see I see. Did he think he can deceive me? Only he'd know I have something like that... somehow. A dangerous game you're playing you pig."

His venomous words didn't seem to be pointed at Ian, but at the pig, yet Ian didn't respond. He just emotionlessly stared at the demon.

He didn't flinch even as the demon started his whispers of desires, seducing Ian into changing the terms. From words of enticement to ones of anger, trying to get a reaction out of Ian, yet failing to do so.

Eventually, the demon's face morphed into an emotionless look, "I see. He must've taught you well... Dealing with demons always comes with consequences. It doesn't matter how careful you are, your soul will still find itself in my hands in the end."

Yet Ian didn't react. He appeared frigid and unresponsive. His eyes seemed frozen, barely blinking.

The demon continued speaking nonetheless. He was speaking in what is known as the way of the devil. Words of temptation, seduction, and promises of wishes and desires.

Ian remained undisturbed until the demon finally had enough, "I see... Khehekehehee... You don't understand. Even you don't seem to understand yourself, but the pig must've seen it which is why he was so sure I'll agree.

Even his friends or tools I should say aren't safe from his calculations, and that'll come to bite him back in the end. You also doubt him, don't you? Otherwise, you wouldn't have stated the second wish."

The demon remained silent for a while as if he was preparing to say something or he was preparing something, "You still don't wish to respond huh? Very well, then remember my name as the demon of Hell Nergal. We shall meet soon, and then you'll realize how fatal of a mistake you've made..."

Ian remained just as silent as he read through the contract that has manifested before him, and only then did he sign it by dropping a single drop of blood on it.

"Hehehehekekehehehe, very well, then by my name as a hell lord, Nergal! I declare the contract in effect and bound to our very souls! Now human, let me give you a piece of advice or a piece of knowledge I should say... Death is not the end. It is only the beginning, and I will be waiting for you at the starting line..."

The demon's head then evaporated, leaving a vial and a piece of paper in its place.

Ian finally let out a sigh of relief, "Constantine was right. He's a bit of a dumbass."

He then picked up the paper first and read through it with a frown surfacing on his pale face, 'Interesting. Very interesting. It's different than Neron's words, I guess it's not so easy to get what I want from hell lords.'

Ian once asked the demon Neron what's so special about his soul. He asked that same question to Nergal, and what do you know, their answers are different.

'I don't know how exactly they deceived me, but I guess that should be expected from such evil beings that walk amongst the fires of hell for ages. This is why my next words are necessary...'

Ian was certainly acting strange. Not his usual self, and he seemed much more reckless against a demon, especially when considering how lax the contract he just made was.

"Lucifer's blood, his true blood," Ian picked up the vial like it was the most precious thing his hand ever came upon, "I wonder what Constantine wants to do with it?"

He started contemplating things with a thoughtful look, his whispers barely heard by a very obscure wisp of energy somewhere in the room, "Should I keep it? No, I can not handle Constantine, and I need the material."

His words were faintly obscure, not telling much, but he firmly believes everything is going well. The last step was Ian letting out a sigh while shaking his head before cleaning up the ritual circle. The moment that happened, that wisp of energy vanished as if its connection to the world of the living was cut off... Poor Constantine.

...

Chapter 88: The Way Of Blood VI

...

Ian then made his way to another chamber at the far end of the hallway. Within that specific chamber was a shower room, and a shower he took, cleaning himself up from the ghastly ritual.

Ian being a bit more cautious than necessary walked up to another chamber where he found another circle, though this one is a magical circle, a spirit ward of protection to be exact. He stayed in it for a while just to make sure no means of peeping remain.

His next destination was his lab. It had gone through a comprehensive transformation with the most catchy things within being two large glass containers.

Within those containers were two different types of energy, one overwhelmingly white to the point of blindness while the other was somewhat purple-ish.

"The energy is already condensed to such a degree that anyone can see it, yet it's still not enough? I don't get it. Why was the staff able to absorb the Kryptonite stones and assimilate them, but not these two energies?"

The gears in his mind started turning, frying his brain for possibilities, "It couldn't be because the Kryptonites were in the form of stones? That wouldn't make much sense because those stones are still just condensed energy... Wait!"

Ian's eyes shone with brilliance before annoyance surfaced in his mind, "I may have underestimated how much energy the Kryptonite stones had. It must be enormous."

He didn't question himself for long. Instead, he started his experimentation right away. He not only had a few more Kryptonite stones from long ago, but Selina also acquired a few more. In total, Ian has five Green kryptonite and three Red Kryptonites.

Energy is force integrated over distance. You can measure force, and you can measure distance. Energy is one-half mass times the square of velocity, but Ian knows it's not that easy to measure the Kryptonites.

He knows that what he has to do is to measure the amount of radiation it releases at any moment, and how much energy it loses at that same moment.

To do that, he first measured a specific Kryptonite's weight at a point in time and made a note of that. He waited for about an hour before measuring its weight again in a different environment.

It's important to note that the device he used to detect its weight is extremely accurate, and it can in theory measure the weight with an infinite amount of precise decimals. He of course only writes the number until they reach a set of numbers representing repeating decimals.

The results were surprising but not so at the same time, especially with the accuracy of the weight device, 'It's the same number. It was either a negligible number that ended up being represented as repeating decimals, or nothing changed.'

That didn't hinder him. If something like this can impede scientists, nothing would've been discovered. Verifications of such intricate things require thousands of tests.

He changed his methods to figure out how to make the Kryptonite release more radiation or lose more energy. So he decided to take a risky method that may distort the results. He used his staff to devour a very small portion of the green Kryptonite.

He then measured the weight again and finally noticed a difference. This time while letting the staff devour the Kryptonite, he used a certain device to detect how much energy is released per second, specifically, The Geiger-Mueller.

Due to all of that, he figured out several values. The amount of energy released per second. The amount of weight lost per second.

He used those to calculate how much energy each gram of Kryptonite contains.

He measured the weight of that specific Kryptonite again, converted the number into grams, and multiplied it by the number of the amount of energy in each gram.

The process was a bit complex and susceptible to errors and mistakes, so he repeated the process several times on different Kryptonites until he came up with a final result.

"At least the energy of Kryptonite can be measured in Joules not some unknown abstract energy, but what the fuck is with this number? Like... Fuck off!"

His annoyance was understandable. He really didn't expect to come upon such a ludicrous number, 'If the Green Kryptonite's radiation was harmful to humans then... A catastrophe. I guess it makes more sense for the Kryptonite to have such a disastrous effect on Superman.'

He eyed the number again, coming to a simple conclusion, I can not fill the staff vessels the way I'm trying to do it now. The angel's energy is countless times more bountiful than the magical one, but it should still be far... I guess I have to look for other alternatives.

Since this project of his was rendered useless due to the previous information, Ian turned his attention to the things he can do right now.

His steps led him to what could only be described as a unique work table. All it had on it was an expansive blueprint of sorts, and most interestingly, framed on a glass showcase were a pair of marvelous black wings.

Yet Ian ignored the wings and focused on the blueprint. He concentrated on finishing it, painting the few final touches to it before he can make use of Lucifer's blood.

A yawn left Ian's dry mouth as he walked out of the underground tier. "Been a while since I visited the Cat's rest huh? I'm thirsty anyway."

While he was at it, Ian instructed Ralf and Layla to meet up with him at a private table in the coffee.

Ian took a sip of delicious cold orange juice before questioning, "So basically we got nothing? Either our information network is subpar, or they're just that hard to find and track."

"I think it's a little bit of both. There is a limit to our information network, especially against a force such as them, and supernatural forces like the other target." Ralf calmly voiced his opinion before taking a sip of coffee.

"How about using more extreme methods?" Layla's words drove a chill down Ralf's spine. He thought he knew her, but some of her recent actions truly made him scared. He knows very well what those extreme methods may be.

"Nah, it's not worth it. I'm looking for the long-term benefits," Ian denied her proposal, "I think it comes down to us having very little influence in other cities."

"You mean?"

"The league of shadows is most likely out of the city by now... I didn't expect that." Ian couldn't help but frown. It was the best decision he could do at the time, but at least he figured out something.

"Someone definitely informed them because I think they were gonna take Deathstroke to our target, but they changed their minds midway." Ralf pointed out.

"Hm, yeah... We may not know where the Lazarus pit is, but we at least know the approximate location... Yet, we still can not find anything."

"Hah, we even used Ground penetrating radar (GPR), but we still found nothing. There must be something strange about the target."

"Just continue with the manual search, and we will expand The Roses of Salvation's funding, especially in other cities." Thus business started, mostly concentrating on the Roses' charity foundation.

"There is something else..." Layla spoke as calmly as ever, "Someone special just joined the Roses."

"Oh, who may that be?" That sparked curiosity in Ian's eyes. After all, this is Layla talking, someone special must really be extremely special.

"I saw value in her, someone who can replace me with a bit of training, but of course, I had to investigate her just to make sure... It turned out she was a psychiatrist in Arkham Asylum.

I dug even deeper and found out she was the Joker's doctor, and she became a bit of a lunatic while assessing him. Her real name is Harleen Frances Quinzel, but she refers to herself as Harley Quinn..."

"Oh?"

...

Chapter 89: The Way Of Blood VII

...

"Oh?"

She refers to herself as Harley Quinn?

"Harley Quinn, huh? Would it be worth it? Spending any amount of time training her? You did say she's a lunatic after all."

"Normally not, but I was kind of like her, so I can pretty much predict her actions. I think she can easily be tamed. You'll easily make her obedient with a few techniques."

The most terrifying thing about their conversation was their calmness while speaking about a human as if she were nothing but livestock.

"Hmm, I'm not really interested in her now. You can do what you see fit. If she's a spy from Joker, then feed her the information we want him to know. That may actually be advantageous to us."

Layla nodded in understanding as Ian added, "Wait..." He contemplated something for a while, "She could be useful. Teach her the workings of the Roses and some of the things that go in the dark, especially the bloody side. I'll be taking her with me soon on an adventure."

"Huh? Again? Well, the last time you went away, you brought with you some crazy magical nonsense, so why not?"

Ralf was, in actuality, quite excited as Ian thoroughly made use of all the magical knowledge he acquired, instructing Raven to lay down some protection wards around most of the Roses' bases.

Raven wasn't necessarily experienced in that field, but Ian was though he had little to no magical energy.

Ian's life simply consisted of spending time with his team, mostly Selina and Ivy. Raven mostly stayed in her room, just studying magic, and only sometimes joined Ian to study it with him. She was understandably working hard to learn more about magic, dark magic, and sealing arts to be specific.

Rarely does Ian have to personally take care of problems for the Rose family. Usually, the henchmen are more than enough to get rid of any annoyances, but there are special cases.

After all, Gotham is still not entirely peaceful. The crime rate may have gone down significantly, but Ian knows that treating the disease that is the darkness of Gotham will take a long time.

A lot of people still die daily. New criminals still give committing crimes a shoot in hope of riches or similar things. Crime still hopes to run amock, alas, the Roses are way too strong.

And now there was trouble that the Roses couldn't take care of themselves. In fact, this new problem was an enemy of Batman as Ian got the word they fought before.

It's harder not to be found out by the Roses in Gotham. It's hard to stay discreet when any of the people walking past you could be one of them. They are the receptionist in shops, wandering people in the streets, and the old man lying beside the trash. They're everywhere, and they're watching.

So when the target heard Ian's approaching footsteps, it wasn't much of a surprise. The target was tall, incredibly tall far above Ian, and that says a lot considering Ian is 6.4 feet tall.

However, that was still not the oddest thing about the target because none can look at him and think him nothing but a monster. Standing at around 7.7 feet tall with scaly skin, a grey-ish stony skin that looks incredible was a villain known as Killer Croc.

Ian gazed into the monster's eyes, undisturbed by the smell all around. He was in the slums after all, amidst the trash.

"Too bad. If you had even a sliver of reason in you, I would gladly take you in, and perhaps even treat you to the best of my abilities... Unfortunately."

Ian shook his head in disappointment as the monster started growling, his saliva dripping on the dirty water of the slums like an acid, evaporating what it touches.

Killer Croc jumped to his feet and started approaching Ian with a roar. Those approaching steps soon turned into running, shaking the earth beneath him.

"Hmm?" Just as Ian's staff and sword appeared in his hands, something strange happened. He sensed danger coming, not in his way but directly at the monster.

An ivy beam passed right by him, directly hitting the monster in a matter of seconds, giving a bit of brightness to the dark slums.

Even a Bahamut as big and strong as Killer Croc failed to react and resist, ending up being nothing but a scripture of ice, tumbling backward.

From the darkness of the slums walked a bizarre figure, a man adorned in what looked like a white-ish suit. An anti-bullet vest was worn on top of the suit.

His head was protected by a glass helmet, showing his bald head, and dark orange glasses, masking his eyes.

The first thing Ian did after that was walking towards the frozen body, sending off his staff to his dimension and leaving only the Kryptonian sword.

He held the silver-ish sword with both hands before bringing it down on the body with enough force that it stabbed through it like butter, making the strange man flinch in a bit of terror, yet even more determination surfaced on his face. Only then did Ian gaze at the uninvited guest.

He expected a staring contest against the uninvited danger or fun he could argue. Against his expectations though, the man performed a full bow, his expression strained and somewhat nervous, "I'm Victor. Some call me Mr. Freeze. P... Please help me, and I'll do anything you want no matter what it is."

"Oh... Ok, follow me." Ian being Ian just looked at the man strangely for a second before instructing him to follow.

A brief conversation on the way made it clear why the man sought help. All Mr. Freeze cares about is saving his sick wife, Nora.

After the gifted scientist's wife contracts a rare terminal illness, he put her into cryostasis. However, Interference from his company's corrupt owner leads to Victor Fries being transformed by his own technology, becoming what he is today.

"Hmm, I see. I'll have to do some investigation first before making any decision. You should understand my concerns, right?" Ian sat on the seat of his car, the backseat to be specific. Victor sat beside him while the driver drove back home.

Seeing Victor nodding repeatedly and even letting a sigh of relief, Ian continued, "But well, if you actually created those weapons, and you're as smart as you claim to be, then I don't see why not... I have to wonder though, how did you know that I may have the means to cure her?"

Victor's mouth opened and closed, seemingly hesitant, but in the end, he chose to be honest, "I deduced it. The phenomenon of the breath of salvation followed directly by organized moves and actions to take over Gotham gave me a few clues... Among other things that made my deduction firmer."

"Hm, I see. I guess it's easy to deduce as we didn't really hide our traces. Then again, why would I? Anyway, bring your wife to the main base, the Cat's rest.

I have something that could possibly cure just about anything, but you'll need to study it. I will fund all of your research, the cure one, and the projects you'll work on in the future... If the results of the investigation were to my satisfaction of course."

The man just nodded, seemingly not having much reaction though Ian could faintly detect a few tears slipping down his face. Not even his tight glasses could stop them from showing his overwhelming emotions. His lips were trembling, making him unable to say anything.

'Well, that's an unexpected surprise.' Ian looked through his phone, finding a message he's been expecting for so long, a very simple message stating, 'The information has been decoded. The owner and the location were found.'

He waited for those words for a while. He knows the Roses' influence in other cities is not high, so finding what he desires would be hard, so instead, he accepted charity from a very distinguished organization.

In fact, Selina personally took it upon herself to retrieve that charitable donation while she was stealing Kryptonites.

The donation of information was of course not stolen, there is a reason why the word donation is written here. That piece of information was just copied... Copied I must stress.

Ian must say that this piece of information was the most important thing he acquired to date. It does state the location of something desired by even the gods after all, if they can make use of it of course.

Well, what is it? It's The...!

...

Chapter 90: Her Wings? Your Wings? No, My Wings! I

...

"I wanted to get it right now," Selina murmured with a pout. She was arm in arm with Ian, both walking elegantly out of the airport.

"It's too valuable. It will surely be hard to borrow. Who knows if someone or something supernatural is protecting it?"

"Ah? Something supernatural? What is it?!" Oh right, a new member has joined them, an odd cheerful one.

"Harley, don't be rude. Remember that you don't have many chances left." Indeed it was Harley Quinn. The moment she had met Ian, she acted as if she knew him for years. Thankfully, Layla was also there to reprimand her.

"It's okay, just let her act how she wants... We're talking about a piece of interesting jewelry made of black diamond. It's said that every man that ever had his hands on it ended up dead not long after.

I did my investigation, and it appears that that's true though whether it's a coincidence or something else is still unknown."

"Then can I have it? It sounds cool?!" Without any shame, Harley Quinn spoke, making Selina's face twitch, veins popping on her head.

"God, why did you bring her here? I'd much rather have Ivy with us than this glob of insanity?"

"Hahaha, it's amusing?" Ian was certainly having fun at everyone else's expense. His words didn't make Selina mad, but what did was Harley sticking her tongue out at her with a childless behavior, almost expressing her contempt.

She was really a unique glob of insanity as she danced and jumped around amidst the passing people without care for anything in the world.

Thankfully, she didn't have her clown makeup on, it took Layla ages to convince her to take it off.

A limousine was already waiting for them at the front. It took them directly to a villa Ian already rented.

'It's unfortunate that Raven isn't here though I'm looking forward to what she's working on. Will she succeed in stopping Trigon without my help?'

A Staff manifested itself in Ian's hands as he waited for Selina to change her clothes, they have business to attend to.

"I gave you my life, and in return, I acquired your everything. Gorgeous colorless lines branching out throughout your graceful being, a sign of our consensual exchange... Isn't that, right?"

Something made Ian a bit poetic as his eyes carefully observed every detail of the staff of all things, his greatest creation. The staff does look exceptionally different though.

The colorless lines that started appearing due to feeding it his life force only went on to grow, making the staff look... Unique, almost like an ancient priceless relic.

'It's been five months of constant, almost unending transfer of life force, yet I still don't feel like this is the end. The give and take process has yet to be completed... I can feel however the staff getting stronger day by day. I wonder, will its weakness be completely negated by the end?'

Indeed, he was even more sure that the energy he calls life force may not be just that. It's still life force, but it's also much more at the same time.

'Moreover, the thing on my back... Another dot appeared. I already know that my life force is constantly going through some kind of transformation.

I remember that I had many scars on my body, and no amount of intimate contact could get rid of them, but at some point in time, that changed. The day Ivy took care of me, my scars disappeared. There are many possibilities as to why, but for now, they remain possibilities...'

He set his doubts aside as he heard the sound of footsteps coming behind him. The staff vanished as he stood up, ready to head to his destination.

"The plan will be a multi distraction scheme." He spoke as he eyed the two beauties before him.

The naughty one of them teased, "When is it not?"

"Hmm? I'm sure that at some point in my life, I implemented a plan that... That doesn't include distractions... Right?" Ian was unsure, getting a laugh of amusement out of Selina.

"Well, you know what they say. If it works, then why change it?"

"I know! because it can be changed to something better!" That was the point where Harley chose to butt in, "Like! Like for example, why don't we just break in and break everyone's head! I have a bat, I can do it! it's super effective!"

And just when Ian thought she said something kind of smart, she went on to make him speechless though it's understandable considering she doesn't know who they'll be facing in a little while.

He stared at her strangely, seeing question marks floating around her somehow before saying, "Harley... Just be you. Selina, observe."

Their destination was S.T.A.R labs, quite an interesting place, "Do you know that I've never left Gotham? I'm looking forward to breaking some sk... Oops hehehe."

Only then did Ian realize just how amusing can the clown be. She was like a chatterbox and can be annoying, yet you never want to turn it off... For Ian at least. Selina had another perspective on the matter.

It seemed that the labs were already expecting them. How could they not? Ian made an appointment after all. He knows what happens when an appointment isn't made, it's common sense really.

"Mr. Ian? I'm Dr. Caitlin snow. I will be showing you the way." Welcoming them was a blonde lady, seeming to be in her twenties, quite beautiful and youthful.

"Ian Rose, it's pleasure to meet you," Ian returned the greeting, "And these are Selina and Harley. You wouldn't mind going inside with me, would you?"

"No, not at all," Caitlin hurriedly shook her head, knowing just how important such a client could be for the labs.

Strangely, Harley remained silent for way too long, for like twenty seconds, then as if a light bulb lit up in her mind, her eyes shone and her mouth wandered in the lands of nonsense.

"You want her? You have a lot of beauty around her, so if I help you get her, will I score a high mark? Hmm, how about I be the brain of the family? I can be quite convincing after all?" And said all of that out loud.

Selina just facepalmed in exasperation. Caitlin was speechless, her mouth agape before she murmured in embarrassment, "I have a husband..."

"And I have a girlfriend," Ian shook his head with a sigh, "Just ignore her antics, she's a bit special."

A light of understanding surfaced in Caitlin's eyes as she gazed at Harley still murmuring to herself like a crazy person, "Ah, I see... T-then please follow me."

"I don't but it at all. Is it because her assets are not that big? Don't act like I didn't see you do naughty stuff with her, very naughty." She emphasized.

"Hm? I did?"

"Yup, you two touched hands."

"..."

"..."

"..."

Ian could swear she wasn't this unhinged when Layla is around. She was much more well behaved, a saint even.

"Ahem, we're here... I'll intr..." Caitlin was interrupted.

"No need. I of course investigated the facility and I know every one of you, so I'd much rather get to business right away." Ian was actually quite in a hurry. After all, wings can fly, and they might just fly away from his vision.

There were three people in the room beside Caitlin, Harley, and Selina. Seated in a wheelchair was Dr. Harrison Wells, the team leader. Beside him stood Cisco Ramon, a mechanical engineering genius. Then there is Caitlin's husband, a structural engineer named Ronald Raymond.

In front of everyone's eyes, a large paper appeared in Ian's hand, much to their shock, but Ian didn't care. He never did anything to hide any of his powers, much less his personal dimension.

Moreover, the group was not strange to such things, the flash in a part of the group after all though he was nowhere to be seen.

Ian spread the paper on a table, "This is a blueprint of a certain device I'm designing, but this is not my specialty, so I couldn't complete it.

I will provide the materials and everything necessary, all you have to do is to perfect it and build it. I have already discussed the price with Dr. Harrison, so you all can take a look at it and tell me if you can do it."

"How did you do that?"

"Don't mind it and just take a look." Ian ignored Cisco's question and instructed though he could faintly see a sliver of cautiousness surface on Harrison's face. What? Did he think someone who took over Gotham in about a year would be normal?

Their reactions weren't that intense as expected because they were used to such supernatural stuff by now.

Cisco and Caitlin approached the blueprint first, studying it for just about a minute before the former spoke, "Why do you want something so useless? I don't see how it would work at all, just a piece of metal lying around?"

"Huh? Are you saying the boss is stupid? Boss! Give me my bat! I have to educate them on how skulls are brok... Ahem... I mean, Oops?"