Chapter Six

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(A/N just really quickly, thank you guys so much for giving this story so much love. I really poured my heart and soul into this fic, and I'm just so glad that it was worth it.)

“Wait,” you shouted, following him to the safehouse he was leading you to. He stopped, giving you some time to catch up. “What’s up?” “Can I get your name? If I’m gonna be staying at your place for a while and all, I’d at least want your name.” Not that you actually needed it, but better to ask rather than slip up and call him by his name before you were supposed to.

He held his hand out to you, “Jason.” You took his hand shaking it, “[Name].” “I know.” “Uh-what?” “They call henchmen by name. I know your name because Black Mask has said it before.” You nodded and he set off running again, with you following closely behind. 

He opened the front door when you landed behind him. “Well, come on in,” tilted his head towards the entrance. “Thanks again, Jason,” you said, turning to face him as he closed the door behind you. “You ruin the lives of Gotham’s villains and get paid for it. That’s pretty impressive. You make my life easier, so it’s the least I could do.”

“Well, I did. I was. I can’t really do that anymore on account of getting caught and almost killed on two separate occasions. Not sure where I’m really going to go from here.” “You could always just become an actual vigilante.” “What? No, I’m not even trained in any sort of combat. Whatsoever.” “I could train you. Besides, in the meantime, you could help me out. A sidekick kind of deal until you can go off on your own.” 

“How?”

 “You know how to disarm bombs, right?”

Shit.

“You’re being quiet. You don’t, do you?” “Not exactly.” “But you do know how to disable traps and pick locks, right? You have to at least know how to do that.” “Well..” You couldn’t lie, if he asked you to do those things during a mission, it would ultimately end in tragedy. Because you simply didn’t know how to actually do it.

“So, how have you been pulling this off then? You’re not making sense.” “So…here’s the thing. I um, well…oh God how do I say this?” You groan at your own babbling. ‘Just get this over with [Name]. You don’t have to tell him everything.’ “Okay, I can curse people.” “What?” “Yeah, basically, I can pick somebody and then curse them. This curse gives them bad luck.”

“...You fuckin’ with me right now?”

“I swear to you, I am not. When I do curse people, it lasts about 48 hours max, I know through observation. Some rogues get away, but the next day the curse is still on them, and they get caught anyway.  Sometimes, I don’t even get to decide who the curse hits, it has an ambient effect on some people.”

“Only some?” 

“Mhm.”

“How do you know?” 

“Previous friendships. Before I separated myself from everyone and cut them off, I noticed that some people in my friend group would be fine, while others would get the same ol’ bad luck. That’s part of why I left, that, and I started my whole thing with the rogues. They were just in too much trouble with me around.”

“Is there anything you can do about the ambient effect? At all?” 

“I can take the bad luck back, but then it transfers to me. In the worst way possible.” “As in..” “As in if I go outside or look at anything the wrong way, it could kill me.” “What did you do about that?” “Normally, I just stay in bed for the day. When I do take it back, that kind of bad luck only lasts 24 hours.”

“Mhm, and what exactly does that mean for the people cursed in the first place?” “It makes them immune to my curse, hence why I never did that for the rogues.” “So you’re a metahuman. Alright, we could always use more of those on our side.” “We? Our?” “Vigilantes in general. You never know when you’ll stumble upon teammates. I mean..”

He gestures his hand to you. “Fair enough.” “Yeah, just one more question though.” “Yeah?” “Do you know where this power came from?” “Honestly, I have no idea. Like I said, I lost my parents, but I lost them before I was old enough to learn family history like that. There’s nobody to tell me.”

He nodded, finally taking off the helmet, a sheen of sweat on his forehead. “There’s good news for you though, [Name]. This little curse of yours has proven to be effective and useful, based on how it treated everyone you put on. Though, this does mean I have to train you in more than just combat. Now, do you have an idea of what you want to use as your hero identity?”

“I’ve actually toyed with that concept before.” That part was true. "Let me hear it then." "I would like to go with a subtle uniform, nothing flashy. No capes, or cowls, or I guess helmets." "Did you have a name in mind?" "Vex." "I like it. As for your costume, we can handle those requirements, but you have to at least wear a domino. I'd like to get a better handle on what kind of combat and strategy you'd be good at before going much further though."

"Fine by me." "Great. We can get a start on your training tomorrow. Follow me." You did as requested, letting him lead you down the hall until you were stopped at a door. He opened it, revealing a room with sparse decor. "This is my spare bedroom. You can stay here until you're back on your feet and we handle your whole 'rogues knowing your identity' thing." 

He was walking to what you assumed his bedroom was, until you realised something. "Wait a minute, what about my clothing situation? This," you point out your nightwear, "is kind of all I'm stuck with now." "Oh. Well, I suppose we'll take care of that before your training tomorrow." "Cool. So, uh, goodnight?" "Goodnight." "Thanks again for helping me, by the way." "No problem, [Name]."

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