Ascension Code: Reborn in the DC Universe - Chapter 99

The abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of Gotham smelled of rust, old oil, and accumulated rainwater. The structure was a corroded metal skeleton, its partially collapsed roof letting in silvery beams of the full moon. Stacked shipping containers formed dark corridors, long shadows stretching like the fingers of a sleeping giant. The cold autumn wind seeped through the cracks, carrying the distant sound of city sirens and the constant dripping of water in puddles on the cracked concrete floor. It was the kind of place where secrets died and deals were made—perfect for someone like Erick Smith.

He was leaning against a large container, his arms crossed over his bare chest beneath the partial Cloak suit. His helmet was retracted, leaving his face exposed, his skin with that subtly greenish hue that the Martian blood was still adjusting to. The shadows of the warehouse embraced him like a living cloak, hiding the veins that pulsed with a faint, almost imperceptible glow. The humid air clung to his skin, but Erick didn’t feel cold. He only felt the calculated anticipation, the weight of each decision that had brought him there. From the day he reincarnated as a baby in that Gotham hospital, he had sworn never to be a victim again. Project Cloak wasn’t just about survival—it was about domination. And Jade Nguyen, the Cheshire, was the next piece he needed to fit.

He closed his eyes for a second, breathing slowly. His mind, now honed by training with Megan, stretched like an invisible web. It wasn’t just human senses or the suit’s scanners anymore. It was something new, psychic, a perception that caught the glimmer of nearby consciousnesses like lanterns in the fog. He could feel her mind approaching—a cold, sharp fire, laden with caution and contained fury. It wasn’t like training with Megan, where everything was ethereal and controlled. Here, in the real world, the ability was still raw, but functional. He had tested it on Robin and Black Canary days before and noticed the limitation: trained minds, perhaps protected by discipline or artifacts, escaped his perception. Something to unravel another day, when he had time. Now, the important thing was that Jade didn’t know. An assassin of the League of Shadows, she didn’t expect anyone to be able to sense her before she decided to be seen. This gave Erick the advantage.

Her mental presence grew. Strong. Suspicious. Two options, he thought: either she couldn’t hide it, or she simply didn’t know he had that ability and therefore didn’t need to try. He was betting on the second. Jade was too professional to leave mental traces by accident.

Then her shadow appeared in the corner of the warehouse. Silent as smoke. She moved between the containers with the lethal grace of someone who had danced with death since childhood. Light, almost inaudible steps, her body poised for an instant strike. Until she stopped exactly under the broken skylight. The moonlight fell upon her like a divine spotlight, illuminating every detail that Erick had already memorized in reports and recordings—but seeing it live was different.

Jade looked magnificent. The green kimono wasn’t the traditional one he’d seen in old images of Zatanna or Asian temples. It was a combat garment, fitted to her body like a second skin: reinforced fabric at the joints, tight sleeves so as not to hinder movement, side slits that revealed her toned thighs and golden skin. At her waist, two sais hung in crossed sheaths, ready to be drawn in the blink of an eye. The feline mask covered the upper half of her face, leaving only her eyes—cold, calculating, the eyes of an assassin who had seen more blood than most soldiers in a lifetime. Her voluminous black hair cascaded wildly over her shoulders, framing her sharp chin and dark red painted lips. She was beauty and danger fused into one form. Erick felt a subtle warmth rise in his chest—not just elemental fire, but something more primal, the instinct of the harem he was slowly building. Artemis was the center, raw and intense love. Jade would be the sharp complement, the blade that cut where the arrow could not reach.

They stared at each other for minutes that felt like hours. No movement. Only the wind howling outside and the dripping of water. Erick was the first to break the silence, his voice low, controlled, laden with that cold confidence he had cultivated since he was five years old in the basement.

“I’m glad you came. This is the first step toward you accepting my deal.”

Jade tilted her head slightly, her eyes narrowed behind her mask. Her voice came out hoarse, amused, but with a steely edge.

“Hold on a second, handsome. I came here only to hear the proposal. And to see if you can actually deliver on it.”

Erick smiled in the shadows. The whiteness of his teeth gleamed for a moment, predatory.

“Jade, Jade, Jade… I’m a genius. There are few things that people like me can’t offer you.”

He saw her eyes close through the gap in her mask—an almost imperceptible tic, but one that his mental perception captured like a flash. Her mind was a whirlwind: suspicion, old pain, contained anger. It wasn’t an invasion—he didn’t enter her head like Megan did. It was just the surface, emotions leaking like steam from a boiling pot. Doubt. Pain. Impotence. All there, exposed for anyone who knew how to read it.

He continued, his voice as smooth as silk on a blade.

“Your mother’s recovery is already on its way. I don’t know if you remember, but your sister is still dating me. And her happiness is mine too.”

He saw the shock in her eyes. Genuine surprise. His smile widened, becoming more prominent, almost cruel in its satisfaction.

“They promised, didn’t they? Your mother’s cure. I was never going to come, and you know that. You accepted this deal, you accepted this leash. But… you thought it was the only possibility, poor thing. They would never give you what you wanted. And look, they could have given it to you. On the first day, they could have given you what you were looking for, but they preferred to lie, they preferred to deceive you.”

Each word was an arrow. Erick saw—and felt—the impact. His mind contracted like a bruised muscle. Pain. Impotence. His psychic perception captured everything: the tightness in his chest, the lump in his throat, the anger rising and being swallowed. He didn’t need to read deep thoughts. The raw emotion was enough.

“Jade… I’m offering you a chance at salvation. Accept my hand.”

He extended his right hand, which had been hidden in the shadows. It stepped into the moonlight, pale and steady, its greenish veins pulsing slightly.

Jade didn’t move immediately. Her voice came out low, almost a whisper.

“How are you going to keep me and my family safe?”

Erick gave a slow smile.

“There are no other options.”

He realized that wasn’t the answer she wanted. Jade needed more. Certainty. Power.

“Jade, if you want your freedom, I’m the only one who can offer it. If you want to know how I can set you free, it’s simple. The only people who are free in this universe are the strong. And that’s what I offer you: power.”

From the palm of his hand, flames began to rise. It was controlled, precise, an orange aura that illuminated the entire shed for an instant. His face became fully visible—cold eyes, greenish skin, old scars from training and battles. The glow of the flames reflected in her eyes, making them even more feline.

“Jade, if you’re with me, if you’re working for me, I’ll give you power. And nothing and no one will be able to persecute or threaten you again.”

He saw her memories flash across the surface of his mind—captured by psychic perception as echoes. The nights she considered fleeing the League. The failed attempts. The whole world against her: Lex Luthor with his corporate armies, Ra’s al Ghul with his network of assassins, the Light who saw traitors as insects to be crushed. To them, Jade was disposable. A tool. An inconvenience. The powerlessness she carried was deep, ancient, mixed with fear for the daughter she carried in her womb—a secret few knew, but which Erick had discovered through Artemis and his own contacts.

Jade lowered her head for a second. The shadow of the mask covered her eyes. Erick felt the avalanche of emotions: the terror of imagining his own death, Artemis devastated by the loss of her sister, his mother weeping over a grave, the worst sin a mother could commit—burying her daughter.

He let the fire die down slowly, plunging them back into the shadows, only his hand still illuminated by the moon.

“Jade, you’re hanging by a thread. Accept it.”

She took the first step. Then another. The skirts at her waist jingled slightly. Erick didn’t move. He just waited, his cold smile intact.

“That’s right. They’re going to deceive you. I promise you your freedom.”

She stopped a meter from him, close enough for him to smell her—sweat, metal, and something floral, almost wild.

“If I accept this, there’s no going back. He’ll go into the shadows. He’ll come after us.”

Erick smiled, his eyes shining.

“Let them come. I’m one step away from surpassing them. Minor spoiler. I’m currently working on an experimental serum that will catapult my forces to a new level, as well as those of my servants.”

He let the phrase hang in the air. Her mind grasped the promise: real power. Not empty promises from the League. Power that could protect her daughter, her mother, Artemis. Freedom.

Jade looked at his outstretched hand on the moon. At the broken Artemis. At her mother. At the leash that had choked her since childhood. And she swore, deep in her soul, that she would escape those shackles.

She reached out and accepted his hand. Their fingers closed tightly, warmly. She led him into the deepest shadows of the shed, where the moon didn’t reach, where the agreement was sealed in the darkness.

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