(much shorter chapter)
Northwest Beach — After Nomu Test
The restaurant had been a modest place, the kind that existed at the edge of the harbor specifically to serve dockworkers and fishermen. Its owners at the start of the chaos had been lucky and were currently out of the city.
Roman Sionis and Edward Nygma were inside it now after their long swim the day earlier.
Nygma had produced an old, battered phone from somewhere and had made it functional how he Roman had no idea. The Riddler's fingers had moved with theatrical flair across the device, humming to himself the entire time.
Roman took the phone and dialed the number he had memorized long ago.
In the helicopter high above the bay, Crane's phone rang. He looked at the unknown number for a moment, then answered.
"How did you get this number?" Crane asked.
"It's me," Roman said, voice flat. "I'm out of Arkham and on the northwest beach I need a pickup."
A loud, exaggerated cough came from the background.
Crane's expression didn't change, but his tone shifted slightly. "Who's with you?"
"Edward Nygma is also here," Roman replied, the irritation clear in his voice, "and he would apparently like a ride aswell."
Crane exhaled slowly looking at his two subordinates.
"He could be useful," William said.
"His capabilities are undeniable," Jaina added.
"Both of you stop," Crane said.
There was a brief pause on the line.
"Nygma," Crane said directly.
"Yes?" Nygma's voice came through, alert and already pleased with himself.
"You owe me for this."
"Done," Nygma replied immediately.
Crane closed his eyes for half a second. "Northwest beach huh… you're lucky we are flying right now we can be there in around fifteen minutes."
Fifteen minutes later, the helicopter touched down on the dark, empty beach beside the abandoned restaurant. The rotors kicked up sand and salt spray as Roman stepped out first, while Nygma followed behind him, green jumpsuit somehow still mostly intact.
They climbed into the helicopter.
Only after they were inside did they see the Nomu sitting motionless in the back.
Nygma took two full steps backward and caught himself just before falling out of the aircraft. Roman stopped moving entirely, staring at the creature.
"You took it out?" Roman asked.
"Our first test," William replied from his seat, sounding genuinely proud. "After seeing how effective it can be I plan on making more."
The helicopter lifted from the beach, rotors cutting through the night air as they banked south toward the heart of the burning city. Below them, Gotham continued to tear itself apart with smoke rising in thick columns, fires visible in multiple districts, the war spreading exactly as planned.
Southern Gotham — Waterfront — Next Morning
On the 3rd day of fighting, Southern Gotham had exploded into one of the war's major battlegrounds.
Massive shipping freighters had been sunk in the harbor overnight, millions of dollars in Falcone goods lost with each vessel. The Southside Skulls, a ruthless gang operating under Maroni, had executed the attacks with precision, using fast boats and jetskis to board, loot, and scuttle the ships before they could reach the docks.
Now the Skulls vessels were turning their attention directly to the Falcone skyscraper base on the southern waterfront. Three of their larger armed boats had positioned themselves offshore and opened sustained fire on the lower floors of the building. The three Falcone captains inside had been making the same grim assessment for the past twenty minutes: the boats needed to be dealt with before anything else was possible.
Killer Moth came in from the east at high altitude, far enough above where the boat crews were paying attention, he had a sniper rifle and began to fire below targeting the jetskis first picking them off one by one.
Langstrom came in from the north at tremendous speed. The Man-Bat's massive wingspan was visible against the morning sky for only a few seconds before he was already at the vessels altitude and dropping the explosives he carried. Two of the three boats took direct hits at waterline level and began sinking rapidly.
The third vessel turned to run.
Cameron's silk shot out in a long, strong line that found the vessel's stern and held fast. The silk under full tension had the properties of steel cables. The boat slowed, fought against it, and then the men aboard found the oxygen being rapidly depleted as Cameron wrapped the silk around the entire vessel.
The boat drifted helplessly out to sea with men unable to move, unless they got lucky they would drown, starve, or die of thirst.
Langstrom came back around and finished the last pockets of resistance on the water before the southern waterfront went quiet.
Inside the base, one of the captains looked out the window at the now-calm harbor and then at his phone, which was ringing with an unrecognized number.
He answered and put it on speaker.
"This is Sophia Falcone."
The three captains exchanged surprised glances.
"The men in the air that just cleared your harbor," she continued, "are allied with me. I'm reaching out to you showing I can back up what I'm proposing. My father's leadership produced what you are suffering now."
The captain who had answered looked at the other two.
"I'm now calling for the complete rebellion of my father. His time has passed and mine has come," Sophia said. "I have the eastern captains and we want you to join next."
Outside the window, the harbor remained quiet. The remaining Southside Skulls vessels were visible on the horizon, retreating or sinking with many bodies and wreckage.
The three captains, exhausted and furious at how unprepared Carmine had left them and how much money and territory they had lost, ultimately agreed.