The Greedy Frog
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DC: The Enchater Chapter 75
🕑 Added 2023-10-06 17:56:16 +0000 UTCChapter 75: A Fallen Arrow (3/3)
"What the fuck is happening out there, Mayor James!"
The council was furious; the scene unfolding before them was neither a simple crime nor a protest.
The public display was a failure of both the justice system and the heroes.
"It is hilarious to think about, isn't it?"
They all heard the voice echoing from the massive monitor.
"How heroes get away with almost anything?"
There was a sense of amusement in his voice.
"No matter how much property is destroyed or how many innocents are harmed..."
"Stop the live stream now!" The Mayor of Gotham City shouted at his secretary.
"W-We are trying sir!" The scared woman replied, "But t-the stream is being protected by some unknown internet group!"
"That is something that you need to solve, James." The council said and Mayor James could only nod.
He had no power in front of them.
He felt as if he was being judged –as if he was in a court.
"I assure you," He gulped, nervousness visible on his face. "I will handle it."
The people, no, their holograms stared at him.
"Do not disappoint us, James."
He felt their stares.
The stares that looked at him like he was merely a bug.
They were like owls, ready to pounce and devour him.
"This is your only warning."
With that statement, the holograms vanished –leaving a sweat covered Aubery James on his own.
"Who…" He gritted his teeth, "Who are the fuckers that are protecting this stream!"
He did not want to stand in front of those eyes again.
And for that, he had to stop the stream.
At any cost.
…
…
"It is always the civilians, the innocents that suffer at the end –isn't it?"
The voice reached every ear, whether those present in the vicinity or those comfortably situated within the protection of their four walls.
There was not a soul that did not witness the scene.
But how was that possible?
The government was never going to allow anyone to cast the heroes and their supporters, in this case, 'them,' in a negative light.
Yet they were unable to stop the stream.
And it was all because of two individuals.
"There are at least twelve attacks on us, Rose."
Jason Todd, the most covert supporter of Jasper since the death of the Joker, and the black card, which was Jasper's prized weapon against the heroes.
Jason was the one keeping the live stream going.
"Do you think he predicted this from the start?" Rose mused.
Rose Wilson has been the only person that stood with Jason from the start and even now, she was there to support him.
"Do you think that Hughes knew that this whole event would be broadcasted?"
A good plan is often not something pre-planned, but at times, it can be entirely unplanned. It is up to the people to seize that unexpected opportunity as quickly as possible.
Subsequently, that opportunity can be transformed into a plan.
"I do not know." Jason said as he fended off against the cyber attacks.
And in all honesty he did not know.
But he wanted to believe that Jasper was intelligent enough to orchestrate such an event. He was aware of Jasper's intelligence and considered it within the realm of possibility that he had planned the event.
They had met before, following the event with Joker, and he had promised Jasper that he would assist him in any way he could, as long as it was for the benefit of the people.
And that meant even going against the heroes.
"Maybe not that girl, but someone or the other would have definitely done it once the fight started. So…" He furrowed his eyebrows, "I do think he already knew this would happen."
As he said that, he went back to protecting the livestream. He was not going to let anyone interrupt.
He was going to allow the audience to witness that truth.
"Not all heroes are good.
And heroes are not always right."
He immersed himself in keeping the stream going –all while keeping an ear out for Jasper's words.
"You cannot hide your bloodstained hands, Arrow." Jasper said, "The blood that you spelled in the Purgatory island?"
"SHUT UP!"
They all witnessed the hero filling the sky with arrows, causing them to rain down.
"That is not something a human can do…" Rose gasped as she saw the scene. "How did he multiply them?"
Jason frowned but did not utter a word.
All he did was listen intently.
"Back then in Lian Yu, you took something that did not belong to you… that was never meant for you." Jason sighed, "You commited sins just as heinous as any villain.”
This was a tale of Oliver that remained hidden from the public. No, it was not merely a tale; it was a dark past that he was determined to conceal at any possible cost.
Rose looked at Jason, curious about what past the owner of Serenora was talking about.
But truth be told, even Jason was not aware of the full story.
“All I know is that Oliver’s ship had an accident once and that led to a series of unfortunate events.” Jason recalled, “I do not recall the entire story but I do remember that Oliver did say that it was a past that he regretted.”
“Regrettable enough to have his character ruined in front of everyone?”
At Rose’s Question, Jason went silent.
He was not stupid. He could see it just as well as Rose as to what Jasper was trying to achieve.
“Maybe.” With that, Jason went back to his work.
Silent yet listening intently.
"People change," Jasper scoffed. "Batman said that to me about Joker. And though Joker didn't change, perhaps Batman's words did hold a bit of truth."
Rose stared at the screen, watching Jasper effortlessly evade Oliver's arrows. None of them were aware that his arrows were infused with magic, and none of them realized how rapidly Jasper was adapting to this magic.
"You did change." He laughed, "You changed from a cold blooded murderer to a hypocrite that preaches others of justice."
Even before Rose could ask, Jason shook his head. "I am not aware of this story."
In truth, he was.
At least to a certain point, but he wanted to hear the unfiltered version from someone who knew the full story.
"And when your hypocrisy was brought to light, when you were embarrassed in front of thousands –you went back to your previous self."
"To being someone who doesn't care about the lives of others, someone who doesn't care if they get hurt or not."
Jasper smiled, an empty void of a smile.
"Once again, you have become the Hood."
And that was the final fuse.
As with that sentence, the entirety of Serenora began to tremble.
After all, Oliver's consciousness vanished entirely.
…
…
"W-What!"
Even Batman felt the chill, the tremble from the explosion of magical energy.
"Oh boy," Constantine chuckled, "Crazy motherfucker did it, didn't he?"
Most of the League members were on the ground, unconscious or almost with a broken mind.
Even Batman wasn't without injury.
There were cuts around his suit and a trail of blood was trickling down his lip.
"What is this, John?" Batman asked honestly, "Why are you taking the side of someone clearly out there to destroy the image of the heroes?"
Nightwing had already informed him about the chaos of the stream. But Batman had no way to stop it –not without getting to Jasper first.
"Unlike you, I am not a Hero." John said, "My job is to make sure that this world is not destroyed by the demons and the supernaturals. Beyond that… nothing is my responsibility."
And it was true.
Politics, quarrels between heroes and villains…
None of that mattered to him.
"As I said, I am simply fulfilling the part of the deal that I made with Jasper Hughes." He sighed, "And that deal ensures that humanity is not harmed. As for the hows and whens? That doesn't matter."
John was a person deeply involved in the occult, a fact Batman was aware of. Despite not being a practitioner of magic himself, he couldn't deny that magic was on par with the most potent and remarkable of scientific achievements.
"I must say though," John was amused, "Not a demigod, not an alien and not even someone gifted with the emotion spectrum could land a hit on me." He smiled. "But you… a human sure did."
"You may be gifted in magic, John." Batman countered, "But you are also a human."
And he wasn't wrong. Despite almost selling his soul a hundred times to different demons –he was still a human.
John chuckled again, "Jasper was right, you are quite the talker. And he was also right that you will be the one to witness this."
"Witness what?" Batman frowned, at which John pointed straight.
The barrier that had kept Serenora isolated from the rest of Gotham and prevented the heroes from entering slowly disappeared. With its disappearance came a force that felt demonic and undeniably evil, enveloping the two and making Batman extremely uncomfortable.
"Witness that heroes are not always the good guys, Batman."
And that is when Batman saw something that he never wanted to see.
"Witness… the fall of a hero."
…
…
Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
So, am I corrupt?
I certainly am.
Just not corrupt on the level of Oliver.
He was oozing purple mist from his mouth, nose, ears, and even his eyes.
His mind was shattered, and he convulsed violently in the sky.
It was corruption.
But there are different stages of corruption. Different levels of corruption.
Corruption, in the form of greed purely for one's profit, without causing significant harm to the innocent.
Corruption in the form of gluttony that ultimately devours the dreams, hopes, and lives of the innocent for one's personal pleasure.
Corruption in the form of pride, where one believes they are superior to others, always convinced of being right, even when their actions have been less than admirable.
Many call them sins, many call them crime.
But they were all forms of corruption.
Oliver is a prime example of such corruption.
"I WILL FUCKING KILL YOU, JASPER HUGHES!!!"
He shouted, his mind broken as he spat only the venom of his heart.
His corruption was in the form of pride and envy. A horrendous mixture that ultimately led to this moment.
"I WILL KILL EVERYONE AND EVERYTHING THAT YOU CARE FOR!"
He was influenced by magic, Klarion did an impeccable job at destroying someone and starting chaos without anyone suspecting him.
He was the one that should be destroyed above all else.
But does that mean Oliver should be spared?
No.
The only reason Klarion was able to get into Oliver's mind was because Oliver was already corrupted.
Almost all heroes were.
And while I did not believe Klarion's influence in this scenario at first –this is clearly the proof.
Constantine was right and thus, I will be keeping my part of the deal as well.
I looked around, the people were trembling in fear.
Ivy and Zatanna had mostly evacuated everyone –but there were still people.
And I could particularly see a certain girl recording the entire scene.
It was expected, after all...
A lot of people's first instinct is to record and post an accident or a tragedy rather than attempting to remedy the situation.
In this case, it was working in my favor.
"JASPERRRRR!"
It was a hail of magic and magical arrows –each imbued with a different form of magic.
Each destructive enough to kill a hundred.
And magic was a weakness of mine.
But…
Here it was not.
"I apologize… But I will not drag it much longer, Oliver."
I prevented the arrows from harming anyone by creating a protective barrier around us and redirecting the arrows back at Oliver.
"YOU WILL FUCKING PAY!"
It was… something.
Despite being in a fight, my mind was fixated at something else.
Especially in trying to understand Oliver.
"DIE! DIE! DIE!!! FUCKING DIE!"
Arrows rained down upon me, and I swiftly dodged them.
But why was I so fixated on this?
The answer was simple.
I understood that no matter how many new weapons or powers someone is given, they can't easily abandon their original power or weapon. Instead of giving it up, they often attempt to integrate the new power with their existing one.
And that was what Oliver did.
Oliver was nowhere close to Klarion but he had enough magic to use countless different magical spells and techniques.
Yet he stuck to the same old bow and arrow.
"Oliver!!!"
My attention was drawn to the corner, instantly making me curl up my lip.
"Stop this at once, Oliver!"
Batman.
So, John finally allowed him to come in.
And well, it is the perfect time.
"Welcome Batman." I said, erasing my smile and not showing a single emotion on my face. "I told you, next time a hero crosses the line –that hero will be ruined."
I pointed at Oliver whose eyes were all black and his body had started to turn purple from the overloading of magical energy.
"And this is the result."
Batman gritted his teeth, I knew he wanted to say a lot but there was not much he could say.
There was a camera recording everything and a single slipup from him would ruin everything for them.
Well it already was, but it could also go worse.
"You did this…" Batman said, almost hissing.
I laughed, "Oh, I did not. Everyone here is proof of it. I merely came here to stop his madness. It is you heroes that have shown such a disgraceful sighed and failed to do the only thing you were supposed to do."
Batman wanted to counter.
But with what? There was barely anything that he could use.
"Green Arrow, a hero that was supposed to protect the weak has now become someone that hurts the weak." I said, "And why is he still a hero? Every single one of you has a past and story on the same level as him, if not worse."
The whole world was hearing my words.
And I was going to fucking make sure that it would leave an impression on them.
As for Oliver, he was trembling in the sky –unable to comprehend anything that was taking place below.
"What is stopping you all from turning into another Arrow?" I said and pointed at the convulsing Oliver, "He cannot even think straight now. That is how much his mind has broken."
"Why?" I asked, "All because he could not win against a villain. That hurt his ego so badly that he stopped caring if innocents die as long as he can prove his might and have his revenge?"
"Not all heroes are like that." He said.
"As if!" I spat at his words, "Then why are all villains deemed as evil? Because they do not fit your moral code or your beliefs? No… It is because the ones at the top have already established a view where anyone that goes against them gets automatically turned into a villain while the ones that support them are deemed heroes."
It didn't matter if my words held any truth or not. As long as my words could persuade the listener to agree with them, it was the truth.
"What was Ivy's fault? What was Zatanna's fault?" I asked, "Are their crimes greater than the countless murders that Arrow committed? Or the countless men that were tortured and killed by Wonder Woman and her tribe?"
Batman clenched his fists, not saying anything.
He knew that whatever he might say could be used against him.
"J-J-JAS-PER!!!"
Arrow's mind was beyond broken, Klarion's magic had consumed him fully and thus…
His magic erupted violently and shot towards every direction.
Even towards Batman.
"One single fuse going off…" I said, deflecting the arrows, "And all of you heroes will explode like this… taking the lives of the countless innocents in the process."
Batman was able to dodge as well, and I saw a smiling Constantine helping the girl with the camera.
It wasn't a big camera, it was tiny that she could hide in her socks.
But it did the job.
I could see the people of Serenora that were still here looking at the scene with great pain and anger.
"So, tell me, Batman." I asked, "Are you all heroes or villains?"
A promise.
A promise I made a long time ago.
And a promise I was fucking going to fulfill.
"Because to me… You all are no less than any villain I have seen."
I was going to turn these heroes… into villains.
…
…
"Don't worry, kiddo." A deep unfazed voice echoed behind her ear. "Keep recording, I won't let you die."
Violet wasn't sure if she should be glad or nervous at a random man teleporting behind her and assuring her of her safety.
But she was too engrossed in the scene.
She could not move her eyes away from Oliver and Jasper.
'No matter how smart I think I am… smartness just cannot outshine such displays of strength…'
She trembled as she saw the sheer demonic aura that Oliver was radiating, and the unmoving aura of Jasper that didn't even flinch despite such exposure.
'Some are… just monsters.' Her breathing became hurried, 'Monsters of an unfathomable level.'
"Ask yourself, Batman." She focused on Jasper, "Who are the heroes and who are the villains in this scenario."
"Whoever it is…" He said, calming himself. "the world shall decide. After all, I cannot let this madness continue."
"I cannot let innocents suffer."
With that, she saw him levitating towards the semi-conscious Oliver.
"It's time we put an end to this."
And with that she saw him moving past the rays of magical energy floating around.
"With this…" He showed a sad smile, "Maybe the hero Green Arrow will forever be gone."
"Stop!" Batman yelled, but it was to no avail.
"JAS–"
A quick yet potent punch landed on Oliver –shattering the purple aura around him and making the hero fall towards the ground.
"Kid," She heard the same man's voice from behind her.
"This is not the end," He said, "This is just the start of something grander. After all, Arrow was just a pawn."
She did not understand anything that he said, but she knew…
She knew that whatever was to follow, was not something that anyone was prepared for.
However…
For now.
The Arrow had fallen.
The hero Green Arrow –was no more a hero.
______________________________________________________________________________
[[A/N: Is this the end of Green Arrow? It is.
But is it the end of Oliver Queen? Of course not.
He will have to suffer a little, won't he? Of course, he has to!
When?
In the next chapter: The Shattered Arrow.
And this is what I meant by 'different than the time with Joker.'
Arrow was not an enemy that mattered to Jasper. It was the Justice League as a whole. And with this live stream and his acting, he has left quite an impression on the public. As for how it will affect the heroes and their standing, we will see in the next episode.
P.S. sorry for so many scene breaks, but I had to include those.
And I had to write and delete this chapter a lot of times because my mind was freezing in between… So, it took so long to publish.
P.P.S. WTF happened to Patreon? Why is the logo so bad? And what are all these new features??? ]]
Comments
God_Theo
Even for me, I had to look around for my previous posts to edit them.
xerxes33311
Patreon just became awful, navigating the site is the worst.
