Chapter 161

Oswald sits alone at a table in Bamonte's, sitting back in his chair and looking generally pleased with himself. After all, as far as he knew, his Trixie was safe in his pocket. She'd never even dream of doing anything that might endanger her dear friends, so having his men keep tabs on them was the best strategy he could have ever thought of. It was almost too simple, really. And now with Fish Mooney gone, his career is also on the rise. It's a good day to be Oswald.

Maroni, carrying a bottle of champagne, sits down as he pops it open.

"You're sure now? Fish Mooney is done?"

"Well, she tried to bring down Falcone," Oswald's pleased smirk only grows wider, "she failed. Last time I saw her Victor Zsasz had her cornered. We can assume she's either dead or...extremely unwell."

Maroni smiles, as he raises his glass for a toast, "Well then, salud."

He and Oswald clink their glasses, as Maroni continues, "You know, this creates some intriguing opportunities. Falcone will struggle to hold onto her territories, if we move quickly-"

"My thinking exactly," Oswald interrupts, his tone still triumphant, if a little more serious, "in fact, I took the liberty of claiming her nightclub...in your name of course!"

Maroni seems genuinely surprised at this, "You did, huh?" he pauses for several seconds, and Oswald's veneer slowly drops until Maroni completes his thought, "...good thinking."

Oswald laughs, his full smile revealing his sharp, protruding canines, larger and more pronounced than most.

"A bird in the hand is nine-tenths of the law, right?" Maroni jokes, as a server comes up from behind him.

"Yeah!" Oswald agrees, as he sips his champagne, watching Maroni with a wary eye as the server sets a phone on their table.

Maroni jovially picks up the phone, "Speak!"

Oswald puts down his glass, as Maroni's expression rapidly changes, "Hey…", he nods, "as good as...huh...is that right?" Maroni smiles.

Assuming it's good news, Oswald raises his now empty glass.

"You understand why I might be skeptical considering it's you telling me this?" Maroni continues to the unknown person on the phone.

Meanwhile, Oswald picks up the knife beside his plate. You can tell Bamonte's got the silverware cheap, just from how dull and pitiful the knives are. And even then, only a few appreciate the true craftsmanship that goes into such fine weaponry. And what is that…?

Oswald gestures for a waiter to come over.

"Si, signore?"

"It's right there, a smudge," Oswald points out, putting his finger on the knife with alarming familiarity, "don't let it happen again."

He hands the knife to the waiter with a grotesque smile, as Maroni observes him from the other side of the table.

"Maybe a couple of times…" he tells the person on the phone.

He soon hangs up the phone as Oswald has poured himself another glass of champagne, "Not bad news, I hope?"

"Nah, I gotta go upstate...see a guy about a thing. Come with me, we can talk about opportunities," Maroni offers.

Oswald flinches for a second, but his smile is soon back, "Sure! Just let me run home and-"

Before Oswald can stand Maroni is already on his feet, "Uhm, we gotta go now! Right now."

Oswald's grin is growing wider, but is beginning to be stretched thin, "Super!" he chuckles, "I love a road trip. Yay!"

Maroni smiles, but his tone is determined, "Yay."

Green Lantern and I are up in the sky when an explosion rocks the ground below.

"Down there!" Green Lantern points towards the explosion.

I gasp as I realize where that is, "It's Gotham High! Lantern, there could be kids down there, we've gotta get there fast!"

Green Lantern picks up the pace, sending him and I through the air, jetting as fast as possible towards the scene. As we approach the ground Green Lantern's energy bubble disappears and I land on the concrete street. Approaching the front gate of the school, I know the exact spot in the fence to squeeze through to get in. The science wing of the school is ablaze, and students are running away from the building as fast as they can. In the distance, a yellow-clad figure can be seen hovering over the school. He aims his hand towards the science wing and fires a beam of bright golden energy. The energy hits the structure, causing another explosion. Full chunks of plaster and concrete erupt from the building, raining down onto the students below.

I race towards the chaos, "Lantern, throw up a shield!"

Green Lantern aims his ring, and a bubble of green energy begins to form around the grounds of the school. When concrete hits the shield, it crumbles and disintegrates, turning into sand that sprinkles to the ground. However, the shield isn't expanding fast enough, and a large chunk is missed. A student can't run fast enough as the piece of concrete comes crashing down.

"Hang on!" I shout, as I pick up my pace.

Leaping forward the last few inches, I tackle the student, throwing the two of us out of the way right as the concrete hits the ground, rupturing the ground below it. I throw myself onto my back, lightening the fall for the teenager. The student immediately gets up and runs towards safety, but I struggle to get on my feet.

"Good work," Green Lantern's triumphant voice rings out among the chaos, as he extends a hand out to me.

I take it, getting up as I survey the situation around me. By now most of the students have evacuated away from the school, but the looming figure still remains, sending beams of light that crush the far corner of the school.

"I need you to get me in close," I tell Green Lantern, pointing to the Yellow Lantern Ed.

"I can't fight the ring-wearer and protect you within the shield at the same time, but I'll get you as close as I can," he promises, before using his ring to form a sphere of energy around me.

I'm hoisted up into the air, as Green Lantern flies towards our target. The Yellow Lantern spots us quickly, and aims a beam of energy right at us. Green Lantern dodges the beam, flying ever faster towards him. The Yellow Lantern scowls, before raising his hand. Several circles of yellow energy transform into sharp crystals that come hurling towards us. Green Lantern swerves past the first few, but several others hit him, throwing him off-balance. His energy shield around me petters out, and I'm cast into freefall.

Taking out my grappling gun, I aim it at the wall of the science building and the hook catches on to a window ledge. The line pulls me out of freefall and I'm able to zip up to the building.

Climbing inside, I discover the school has become wrecked by the power and destruction of the Yellow Lantern. Large chunks of concrete floor and ceiling have been uprooted or hang by a thread, halfway detached from the rest of the floor. Books and papers have been strewn everywhere, lockers have been smashed in, and water is gushing from where drinking fountains once stood.

I look out the window to find Green Lantern and Yellow Lantern locked in battle above me, the both of them using their surreal space powers to full effect. Green Lantern is clearly the more skilled and experienced one out of the two, changing his energy into wild and different shapes to serve his needs. However, the Yellow Lantern appears angier, more aggressive in his moves, as he takes a much more wild and offensive approach.

As they fight, I try to find a way to get closer, searching for access to stairs to the roof. I finally find a flight of stairs marked "Rooftop Access" that's been half smashed in with a large gap in the middle. Leaping over the gap, I climb over and make my way onto the roof. I get to the edge just in time to spot Yellow Lantern, holding an energy-constructed spear stab Green Lantern in the shoulder. He collapses down onto the floor, becoming a small green speck in the rubble.

"Ed!" I shout from the rooftop, the wind picking up dust as I shield my face.

The Yellow Lantern turns towards me, "Another masked figure wishing to oppose me?!" he aims his ring at me and a beam flies out instantly.

I leap out of the way, as the beam of light decimates that part of the roof, caving it in.

"I don't want to hurt you, Ed! Your real name is Edward Nygma, you're a forensic scientist for the Gotham City Police Department, remember? You use to go to this school, why are you destroying it?"

The Yellow Lantern lowers his arm, standing tall before he begins to hover closer to the rooftop, "Oh, I remember, I remember everything. I remember the humiliation, the absolute torment that the denizens of this school put me through. And now…"

Yellow energy charges in his hand, "...now I can have my revenge!"

I leap out of the way as Ed fires a massive beam of energy, collapsing a large section of the roof. I scramble over to the other side, as Ed watches me from the sky.

Regaining my composure, I look up at him, "I'm not going to hurt you, Ed!"

"Oh, such as shame. I was looking forward to a challenge!" using his Yellow Lantern powers, Ed constructs a large hammer, and sends it smashing down towards me.

I jump out of the way, but the hammer's force sends the rest of the roof tumbling down, and the concrete below my feet gives out on me. As I slip downward, I grab onto a hanging piece of the roof.

"Snap out of it, Ed! This isn't you!"

The piece I'm hanging onto snaps free, and as I fall into the rubble below, I take out my grappling hook, firing it right at Ed. It just skims his ankles, the wire wrapping around them. This catches him by surprise as the wire yanks him towards the ground. His back hits the concrete rubble, as the grappling hook unwraps itself and pulls back deeper into the rubble.

Getting up, Ed walks over towards the wreckage of the roof. Charging up his Yellow Lantern ring, Ed prepares an attack as he approaches a body lying motionless near the rubble. However, the charge dies, and Ed lowers his arm as he takes a closer look at the vigilante, her mask having been torn off during the collapse.

"Natalie…" he mumbles aloud, taking a step back at his own discovery.

The ground begins to shake as the rooftop begins collapsing around them. Ed rushes, scooping up Natalie before flying her to safety. Landing in a secluded spot just outside the school, he places her on the ground, careful to rest her head, before flying off into the distance.

She's still only half conscious when Green Lantern finds her, "Trickstress, are you alright?"

Blinking her eyes open, Natalie begins glancing around, "How...how did I get here?"

"The wielder of the Yellow Lantern...he saved you...I didn't think it was possible…"

Even in her incapacitated state, Natalie is still able to crack a smile, "Ed...he's still there...I knew he'd be…"