here had always been an order to how things worked in this city, the corny heroes in capes and tights focused on the cliché supervillains bent on world domination, and the police handled the organized crime. That was the city’s food chain, and it had always worked. So when Oliver was invited to a meeting where the city’s crime organizations wanted to discuss taking down Aegis, he felt disappointed. He couldn’t understand why these dopes wanted to get themselves involved in the world of capes and tights. Their job was to let the freaks fight each other and make millions under the radar, simple. These idiots were about to swing above their weight class and fuck up the system by attracting hero attention to organized crime. That kind of attention would obviously fuck with Oliver’s profit margins, So as the head of the Belmont crime family, Oliver felt obligated to attend the meeting and stop this foolishness.

He sat impatiently in the backseat of his matte black G wagon, contemplating the absurdity of the meeting he was about to attend. Oliver was usually pretty laid back and would usually have deep conversations with his driver while they were on the road, but today he sat silently in the backseat, drowning in thought as his driver navigated the city. His father had always taught him that the secret to running an illegal empire was misdirection and discretion. It seemed as though criminals these days didn’t quite understand that, and it would have to be rectified. Suddenly, Oliver’s driver put on some music to snap him out of his contemplative state before he spoke ” I must admit, you’re better company when you’re drunk sir. All that brooding back there isn’t befitting”


Oliver smirked at his drivers comment, ” you’ve got a point Rob, by the way. Make sure three cars with reinforcements are on their way. I have a feeling this meeting might not go smoothly” Oliver spoke while retrieving a box of Marlboros and a lighter from his pocket, in one fluid motion he pulled a cigarette out of the box, place it between his lips and lit it. For some reason, the first and last drags of a cigarette were always the best, so he took his time to savor the first drag of this cigarette and relaxed while enjoying the rest of the ride to the meeting. In a matter of minutes, he had arrived to the venue of the meeting. Oliver stepped out of the car with half a cigarette in hand, and nonchalantly strolled into the venue. Everyone knew that the Belmont crime family was one of the biggest criminal organizations in the city, so his entrance had a visible effect on the surrounding criminals as the room fell silent.

Oliver locked eyes with the Italian mobster who had arranged this meeting for a moment or two while taking another drag from his cigarette, then he took his seat at the table. ” I’m not one for mincing words, so I will make things quick. You idiots are punching above your weight class. And you’ll most likely fuck things up for all our bank accounts if you mess with the heroes. So, there will be no antagonizing Aegis. Does anyone object?” his voice was calm and smooth, immediately after speaking he took another drag from his cigarette as the room began to darken ever so slightly and the shadows around them began to make subtle but menacing movements. His black eyes took in the facial expressions of everyone at the table in order to look for any signs of retaliation.

liver sat calmly in his chair and attentively listened as the older mobster explained his reason for such a drastic move against Aegis. As expected, the reasons were quite sensible. These men felt as though they were being backed into a corner by one particular hero who seemed hell bent on interfering with their business. So, it was only natural for them to try pushing back, and this “Count” guy looked like a good way to push back against the hero that was doing this to them. Oliver took one final drag from his cigarette before putting it out and flicking the cigarette butt toward a nearby bin. Sadly, the cigarette butt didn’t quite go into the bin and simply bounced off the rim before hitting the ground. Oliver then sat quietly and watched as the Italian mobster addressed the rest of the table and asked who else was in.

At first the room was silent, but immediately after the leader of the Clover gang joined up, the rest of the criminals in the room began to murmur amongst themselves like teenage girls. It was at that point that Oliver raised his hand for a moment, in order to silence the room. Then his gaze focused on the Italian mobster. ” Every once in a while, a hero loses their way and finds themselves entangled in the sticky web of the underworld. This hero that’s bothering you isn’t the first and he won’t be the last. I’ll handle it the same way my family always has.” he paused for a second to let his words sink in ”I’ll Pull some strings for information , then make the hero disappear. Quietly. There is no need to start a war over one guy. ” Despite being one of the youngest people here, Oliver usually found himself being the voice of reason among hot headed gangsters twice his age. And if reason didn’t work, he was more than happy to get his point across in a more brutal way if needed.

”As for the Count…I decline his offer. Villains are psychotic egomaniacs, and My people will not become cannon fodder for some freak in tights. I’ve seen what they do to the people who work for them..its not pretty.” his dark gaze drifted over to the large Irishman who had loudly proclaimed that he was joining the Count, ”I wouldn’t be surprised if he killed you and turned all your men into his henchman the moment he lays eyes on you. And What would stop him… you?” while Oliver spoke, a tentacle composed entirely of the Irishman’s shadow wrapped itself around the Irishman’s neck, with each second it tightened its grip more and more until the man’s face began changing color. Oliver’s expression remained cold and nonchalant as the Irishman made a futile attempt to gasp for some air and cling to life just a few moments longer.

Then suddenly, the tentacle disappeared from the man’s neck and went back to being a regular shadow just as the Irishman’s face had turned blue. ”That was just to give you an idea of how villains play. If I were a villain, you’d be dead right now and your men would work for me… you people have no place in the world of capes and tights. Stay out of it. End of discussion. ” Oliver wanted them to know he wasn’t giving them a choice in the matter. He could kill most of them with their own shadows if he wanted to, but he decided to wait and give them a chance to comply willingly. In case they tried to shoot him, he began collecting shadows under the table, in order to incase himself in shadow armor the moment someone tried to pull a gun out.

espite the fact that Oliver had made his point, he still didn’t disperse the shadows he had collected under the table. He decided to keep them right where they were, as a hidden insurance policy; in case someone was dumb enough to try and pull a gun on him. Oliver hadn’t gotten this far in life by trusting people that weren’t sworn to him and He especially had to keep his guard up now, since he had assaulted the leader of the Clover gang. Oliver was sure the Irishman would plot some kind of petty scheme to get back at him for the embarrassing display that had taken place a few seconds ago, but Oliver didn’t really care in the slightest. His cold glare scanned the room for any other signs of resistance from the crime bosses, and when he was satisfied that there were no others, he turned his attention back to the Italian mobster on the other end of the table.

Oliver was a bit more comfortable with the Italian since he was an old family friend, but that didn’t mean it was a reason to let his guard down. When Bobby was told to offer Oliver a glass of wine, he accepted the glass with a nod and placed it on the table beside him. The young Belmont was hesitant to take a sip until the Mobster that had offered him the wine drank it first. Then when Oliver was satisfied that it was safe, he took a large swig from the glass. ”you weren’t lying, this is some good stuff” he spoke while placing the glass on the table and directing his attention to the map. As he listened to the mobster explain what he’d be dealing with, Oliver found himself more interested in the matter.

Usually heroes were very well-known public figures, they had catchy names and fan clubs that knew all about their powers. Dealing with heroes like that was usually very easy because there was no shortage of public information that Oliver could use against them. But with this particular hero, all he had to work with was a pair of cat ears and a black suit. No one even knew what this hero could do, which was a surprisingly smart way of doing the hero thing. This guy was not like the rest of the hero folk who publicized their abilities and denied themselves the element of surprise. ”no one knows his hero name or his power huh? So basically, I’m going into this fight blind… That’s alright, after this meeting I’d like to speak privately with all the men who survived an encounter with this human cat. I want to hear a detailed description of their encounter. The devil is in the details. ”


When the Italian mobster spoke about giving Oliver a deadline of one week, the young Belmont arched an eyebrow for a moment, then finished the rest of his wine in one big swig. A nonchalant smirk made its way onto his face before he spoke ”I’ve already given all of you my word that the situation will be handled. But I will not be rushed by grown men who fear a cat in a suit… This is not a negotiation or a voting poll. No one is going through with the plan against Aegis. That is final. I will handle the cat and the Count.” Oliver paused for a moment to pull out his cigarette box from his suit pocket, before he continued speaking. ”Now, unless any of you have a problem with that, you can all fuck off, meeting adjourned. Oliver spoke in his usual calm and nonchalant tone, while pulling a cigarette out from the box and lighting it. He began smoking his second cigarette while waiting for the crime bosses to either scurry back into their rat holes or defy him if they had a problem with it.