This DCverse is Maddening

It was safe to say that Albert in fact did not take the matron up on her offer. After pulling himself off the ground, he had stumbled off into the night. Only continuing to do when he found an alleyway that wouldn't just cause him to expel the food in his stomach. Sitting down behind a garbage bin, he completely disregarded the stomach curdling scent.

'Spoiled milk...'

'If they found out where I stay then it's also safe to assume that they now know of all my most frequented spots..'

Meaning no more cheap nights at motels, delicious coffee or library visits. Atleast not easily..

'Status'

[Albert Nelson

HP: 20/20

MP: 9/9

SAN: 37/45

LCK: 45/45

IP: 1

Skills:

- Appraise: 25%

- Art/Craft (Photography): 55%

- Disguise: 20%

- Fire Arms (Handgun): 60%

- Library Use: 60%

- Listen: 31%

- Navigate: 20%

- Occult: 35%

- Psychology: 50%

- Spot Hidden: 60%

- Stealth: 42%

Talents:

- Resourceful

- Lucky

Cthulhu Mythos: 0%]

His inner eye scanned across the available skills, taking in every bit of information that be squeezed out. Slumping further against the uneven wall, he tried to ease his beating heart. It had been beating rapidly ever since reading that note.

'I hate rats the most.'

Instead of the normal heat that came from that, it only scent icy thorns of dread coursing through his body. Caressing his fallen stomach, constricting around lungs and beating against his psyche. Threatening to make him fall into panic. Wild and hysterical.

Taking a few deep breathes, ignoring the pungent stench, he tried his best to push aside that rising panic and think about everything logically.

'I can't afford the luxury to panic.' He told himself, drawing upon words that an old friend once tried to give him,' Don't try to solve it all at once. Break it up and solve the little things first.'

'First, what is the problem?'

'Black Mask's men have found out where I am and most likely my daily routine.'

'Why is that a bad thing?'

'I have no idea if or when that manic will deems my continued existence to be a thorn in his side and just eliminate me.'

'Won't that happen anyway? If not Black Mask, some other big shot who felt slighted or threaten by my existence. It wouldn't be hard to see how my continued investigations won't just lead to clashes with increasingly dangerous foes. People who wouldn't see fit to give away their hostile intentions like the crime boss did.'

That sudden thought made him take in a deep lungful of foul air at the truth being laid out before him. It was true, this kind of threat was always going to come eventually. This one just came a lot sooner that expected. Maybe his reaction wouldn't have been so panic stricken if he had time to set up defenses or some kind. Like a bunker to hide out in, weapons, allies to rely on etc. Hell if Albert was prepared enough, he might even brazenly dare someone to make such a threat.

But currently he had none of those, so scurrying away like a rat was the only option.

'Next, what can I do in this situation?'

'Nothing really. Except if I was willing to go on a crusade against Black Mask's organization..'

'I'm not John Wick, so that option isn't plausible in the slightest.'

'Go into hiding?'

'My level in Disguise would allow for slight alterations to my appearance, useless by itself but maybe with enough changes it could make me seem like an entirely different person.'

'Good, a plan has been drummed up. What is needed?'

'I need a make up kit. Doesn't have to be expensive or anything, just enough to fit my current needs. New clothes of course…'

Pulling his trench coat apart, he glanced down at the t-shirt and sweatpants both of which had a rather familiar name sewn into its fabric.

'Restful Haven.' (A/N: At first I wasn't sure if I wanted to give the shelter a name, as it was only suppose to be used in the very beginning of Albert's journey. But after some thought, its for the best in this situation.)

'Yeah,' He thought while tightening the beige coat back over the rather damning label,' New clothes are a must.'

'Do I need to get rid of the trench coat?'

'No.' The youth shook his head in denial,' There are plenty of people who wear trench coats, plus it's barely been a day since getting it. Not enough time to associate me with this style.'

While the coat wasn't anything to write home about, it just felt right to wear. That heavy feeling laying on his shoulders had become rather comforting during this last day or two, doing away with it while it was hot would be a must but for now? It would be a stalwart companion for the cold nights to come.

'After disguise myself, what needs to be done?'

'Protection. That is the primary issue here. Now that I'm out of the shelter, it shouldn't be a problem to get a handgun of some sort. And if I go while under a disguise, no one can connect me to it if I actually need to use it.'

'New problem. There are no legal establishment who will sell a firearm to a minor. Meaning going to the black market is a must. But knowing the kind of city Gotham is, it most assuredly has a lot of them. But where can I find them?'

'The Iceberg Lounge is instantly out. At least for now anyway, that's where all the big shots go. Only trouble would be in my future if I went there without proper preparations.'

'Where else? The docks? I have the feeling I wouldn't even make it through whatever checkpoint without getting robbed..'

'Maybe…'

Inspiration rung through his bedraggled soul, filling him with a much needed dose of hope.

'I could contact Madame Clements for this…'

While he didn't really want to deal with the sour woman again, he also knew she wouldn't let anything spill for the right amount. And from the feeling he got, neither would any of her girls.

'Not really ideal, but it'll do.'

'Next. After acquiring protection, what's next?'

'I need to find a place to stay.' Already feeling the upcoming blow to his finances,' Spending every night at motels will be an expensive pursuit. And it's not like I can go back to my usual places, so cheap rooms won't be a thing for awhile.'

'But landlords won't rent out anything to me.'

'I'll just have to keep on looking, there has to be someone desperate enough to outright sell it too me. I don't like the idea of anyone just having the right to kick me out. Not again anyway.'

'Then what?'

'Then? Hopefully I can start up my detective agency and acquire another layer of protection with that Talent Voucher.'

'With that, I'm guessing no more cases will be taken up?'

'Correct.'

It wasn't easy to come to that conclusion, not only were solving cases something he thoroughly enjoyed but they were also the source of his accelerated growth. Without IP, his skill development will drop to a snails pace.

'Since it came up, how will future visits to the library work out?'

'I'll have to restrict my future visits to maybe once a week and even then, in order to not make my visits predictable I'll have to go on differing days. My own safety is worth slower growth.'

'What's next? I have a plan to go to ground, acquire some of protection and get in contact with some possible information brokers. What else do I need to do?'

Albert's frantic breathing had slowed and he could feel his own heart beats fade further into background noise. Aware but no longer overpowering his attention. He guessed that advice had actually worked. Who would've guessed?

With his mind now calm and focused, he stood back on his feet. Straightening his back and patted away the dust that clung to his trench coat. Those brown eyes held steely resolve as the path before him came into view.

'Let's see how well this rat can hide…'

***********************************************************************************

"Are you sure this all you want?"

A husky, female voice asked. Seeming completely out of sorts with the series of rather odd requests. The woman wore a skimpy black dress that hugged and teased at her rather impressive curves, brown braided hair hung down low on her exposed back. Deep chocolate skin seemingly glistened beautifuly under the attention from the flickering overhead streetlights. Soft brown eyes looking down at the shorter youth walking in tandem.

In simplest terms, she was an incredibly striking woman. But alas, like all beautiful roses in this world, she had thorns. Well, it was more accurate to say 'thorn'. Out for all to see, a large handgun laid flushed against her dress. And judging by how she carried herself, just within range to put a hole in anyone foolish enough to challenge her.

"Yes I am sure Ms. Willow."

Albert replied, while internally rolling his eyes. It was probably the third time this 'Willow' had asked him that exact same question. But it's not like he could blame her. After all it wasn't strange for a client to ask for a strange request.

Like maybe have them bring someone who has certain connections, awhile delivering a brand new make up kit. See not too strange, for some that'll just be another Tuesday.

Willow had been in this job for awhile now, and she's seen some rather bizarre things. Hell just this week someone wanted her to bake a pie and feed it to a morbidly obese man in a baby bib. Get introduced to enough strangeness and nothing will faze you again. When she had heard the request, she assume that they wanted her to either put make up on them or vice versa. Not even the weirdest thing that day.

Having been warned of her clients age before hand, she hadn't completely lost her shit when seeing the youth in a trench coat. After some pleasantries, Willow had handed him the make up kit and just watched the teen clumsily user almost everything completely wrong.

She guessed if his purpose was to be completely unrecognizable, she assumed at least that was accomplished. In all honesty, the boy looked like a hot mess. Too much eye shadow, not enough foundation. It took all the self control the woman could muster up not to just snatch the kit away from this child before fixing it her damn self.

Afterwards the boy, Lovecraft, had begun to grill her for information on nearby 'trustworthy' black markets and only then did the strangeness all make sense. She had been paid to be a goddamned bodyguard!

"Don't call me that." Willow chided, reaching out to pitch at the youth's cheek. Completely ignoring how after her fingers crinkled the thick mask of product. It's not like anything she did could make that monstrosity any worst than it already. Honestly, the teen would've been better off just wearing an actual mask. "It makes me sound old."

"If that is your wish." Albert shrugged, its the least he could do. And its not like he would lose anything by acquiescing to her request, especially not after putting her through all this weirdness.

"Good." She side stepped a nearby groaning man as he reached out to her," There are some rules you need to be made aware of."

"I'm listening." The youth waited on baited breathe, acquiring knowledge from books was nice and all but he's been lacking severely in street logic. The dos and don'ts for living without too much hassle in Gotham. Call him naive but until today, he honestly hadn't expected to need such information anytime soon.

"First rule," She chirped, completely ignoring the rather scary looking men who looked like they wanted to devour her entirely," 'Black markets' as you call them, are never stationed in the same place consistently. At least not the unaffiliated ones. Those backed by powerful families don't have to worry about such a thing which sounds like an upside, right?"

"...I'm hearing a but."

"You're right," Willow nodded, continuing her rather long strides as Albert tried his damnedest to keep within the safe invisible safety bubble," Don't go to any of those, well if I had my way it would be for you not to have anything to do with the markets, but especially those with such backing. They'll try to press you for personal information and you'll have to worry about a tail if you spend too much. Hell depending on how much you plan spend tonight, we might be followed out."

"Okay I understand," Internally, he was glad that he hadn't gone to some of the more well known markets. With her warning, the certainty of his rather dark end was made readily apparent. Whether that be from being robbed just out the market or just disappearing deep into the underground. Neither sounded too promising to say the least. "What else should I be made aware of?"

"The second rule," She held up 2 digits for him to see," When going to markets, be sure of what you want before getting within sight. It's not a place to window shop. Everyone there is pretty jumpy to begin with, seeing someone scanning their wares without buying anything is enough for them to believe you're some kind of cop or rival."

"Then how am I suppose to find what I'm looking for?"

"Simple," Willow rubbed her fingers together in the familiar universal sign," There's a catalog of sorts that you can rent out at the entrance, but they cost a good chunk of change. It's better than getting shot while trying to find whatever you're looking for."

"Wait." He felt a bit dazed at her words," You mean I have to pay money to 'rent' a catalog? And I'm assuming by rent, you mean they'll require it back before I leave?!"

"Exactly," She chuckled," Places like these enjoy their secrecy and if any random schmuck could get their hands on such information, they would've been shut down a long time ago."

'It feels like I'm in a fucking Ubisoft game…'

"Okay, get a catalog for convenience and just bite the cost. Got it."

"Wait a moment," Willow announced, snapping her head to the side like some kind of bird of prey," Move along fellas, he's with me."

Albert turned in tandem and saw a group of five men who looked as though they had bitten into a lemon. They wore thick overcoats and baggy jeans, and had the general run down appearance everyone seem to have after living in such harsh conditions. Just the look in their eye made him want to curl up in a ball somewhere. He didn't need Psychology to tell him that if Willow hadn't been here, his thoroughly gutted corpse would've been placed in this city's endless dumpsters.

"And what if we don't give a damn?" One man stepped forward, the snarl on his face exposing teeth rotten to their core. The youth had noticed how after Willow's warning, that everyone besides this man seem to be thoroughly quelled. Apparently, whoever this man was he wouldn't be swayed by such words alone.

'Or maybe it's a pride thing?' Albert furrowed his brow in thought, trying to figure out the stupidity of the man before them. Unless he had a bigger and better gun than Willow's, then the teen just couldn't see what gave him such confidence.

"You're either dumb ass as hell," The woman in question sneered at the madman," Or just too fucking high to listen to your eyes."

"My eyes are just fine!" The man spluttered, face darkening in fury," Now empty your pockets and no one gets hurt!"

"Listen Lovecraft." Willow said softly, eyes never leaving the man's deranged visage," Third rule,"

Quick as lightning, her hands snapped up with a heavy looking metal object pointed in the fools' direction. A shiver like none other curled up Albert's spine, throat feeling a bit parched at sight before him. Sure, he got the feeling this lady knew her way around a firearm. But not to this extent. Honestly, a skewed cowboy hat wouldn't be out of place on her.

The man froze, eyes going wide like a deer in headlights and his friends? They scattered into the nearby ally like roaches, dispersing into the dimly lit urban jungle.

"Don't let anyone try to punk you," She said lazily, a small smirk on her plump lips," But don't be stupid about it, also know when to back down."

"What do we do with him now?"

Albert felt like he had to know, while knowing for sure the man wouldn't have blinked when butchering him like a pig but that didn't mean he was ready to do the same.

"I don't know." She hummed thoughtfully," I really hate leaving enemies to my back.."

"I swear-"

The man tried to plead only to be cut off harshly.

"Shut up." Willow ordered coldly," I know you won't be bothering us. One way or another."

He whimpered under the steel in the statuesque woman tone. Silently staring down at the cracked concrete before him, no longer daring to keep eye contact with this figure of impending death.

"Drop your knife." She demanded, and noticing the man's confused expression, continued," Don't play dumb with me. What's more valuable, your knife or your life?"

"Fine."

The man slowly reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a palm sized switch blade. After giving it a pained look, placed it down on the ground before him.

"I'm not stupid." Willow said, fingers itching to just pull the trigger," Kick it over."

Albert noticed the flash of annoyance across the man's face as he did as bid, certain he would have tried something if either of them got within arms reach of him.

"Good boy." She purred, before cocking the gun to the side," Run along, I'll be informing Madame Clements of our little interaction. Get out of town while you still can."

If it was possible the man's face grew even paler at somewhat casual name drop, fury and desperation filled his voice.

"You tricked me!" He shouted, inching backwards in a slow retreat," If you had just said her name then none of this would've happened!"

"So what?" She shrugged callously," You made your bed, now lie in it."

With a scowl and glare thrown in Albert's direction, the man flew down the ally. Disappearing into the night. After making sure the man was truly gone, Willow let out a breathe before securing her gun back on the side. Judging from her somewhat shaking fingers, she wasn't completely unaffected by the encounter.

"Are you alright?"

He asked quietly, well aware of the eyes on them after that. Call him a simp, but he was more glad that he wasn't roaming around with a maniac that could do something like that without even blinking.

"I'll be fine." Willow smiled and reached over to pinch the boy's other cheek, evening out the horrendous looking mask. "Pick up that switch blade and come along, I'm guessing that isn't the only thing you wanted tonight."