dc with power of digimon

Chapter 44: Fear of the Beast

POV: Falcone's Guard – Human Trafficking Warehouse (3:47 AM)

The air inside the warehouse was stale, thick with the stench of sweat and fear. The captives sat huddled in their cages—a mix of women, children, and unlucky workers, their eyes hollow, their voices barely a whisper.

For Frankie DeLuca, a veteran enforcer of Carmine Falcone, it was just another night. Another batch of human cargo waiting to be shipped out.

"Hey, DeLuca," one of the other guards—Mikey—nudged him. "You hear about what's been goin' down tonight?"

Frankie glanced at him, frowning. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Mikey shifted uncomfortably, lowering his voice.

"Somebody's been tearing through Falcone's operations. Warehouse at the docks? Gone. The money-laundering joint? Burned to the ground. Arms cache? Boom. I heard he even hit the dirty cops' safe house."

Frankie scoffed, taking a drag from his cigarette. "So what? Some gang war?"

Mikey shook his head, his hands twitching. "No, man. It ain't a gang. People are saying it's some... some monster."

Frankie chuckled. "A monster? What, like some freak in a mask?"

Mikey swallowed hard. "No. Worse. The guys who survived say it's... a creature. Big. Fast. Covered in armor. Like a goddamn demon dog from hell."

A shiver ran down Frankie's spine, but he brushed it off. "You've been watching too many horror flicks, Mikey."

Then—

A noise.

A deep, guttural growl echoed through the warehouse.

The caged captives tensed, their eyes wide with terror.

Mikey froze. "Did you hear that?"

Frankie grabbed his gun, scanning the dimly lit warehouse. "Yeah. Probably just a damn stray dog."

Then—something moved in the shadows.

A pair of glowing blue eyes appeared in the darkness.

Mikey let out a choked sound. "Oh God..."

Then—

CRASH!

A massive dark shape exploded from the shadows, moving faster than anything human.

Mikey barely had time to scream before a clawed hand slammed into his chest, throwing him across the room. He crashed into a crate, bones snapping on impact.

Frankie fired his gun, but the beast vanished into the darkness.

The other guards opened fire—bullets ricocheting off metal walls, sparks flying.

Then—a blur.

Frankie turned just in time to see a flash of silver fur, jaws snapping—

"AGGHHHH!"

A guard was dragged into the shadows, his screams cut off in a wet gurgle.

The monster was playing with them. Hunting them.

Frankie ran for the exit, his breath ragged, hands shaking.

The door was right there—

Then, a shadow loomed over him.

Frankie spun around—

And saw Garurumon X.

It wasn't just a creature.

It was a nightmare made real.

Massive, armored, its blue fur gleaming under the dim lights. Its glowing eyes locked onto him, its jaws slightly parted, revealing razor-sharp teeth.

Frankie pissed himself.

Garurumon X's voice was cold, deep, and inhuman.

"I know Falcone put a bounty on me."

Then—a blinding flash of blue fire.

Flames roared to life, consuming the warehouse, the cages, the guards.

Frankie barely escaped, running into the night, screaming.

The last thing he heard was the sound of chains breaking, and the captives' cries turning into cheers as they fled into the darkness.

---

POV: Carmine Falcone – Falcone's Penthouse (5:00 AM)

Carmine Falcone sat at his mahogany desk, a glass of whiskey in his hand.

He was not a man who scared easily.

But tonight...

Tonight, his empire was falling apart.

A reporter from GCPD had just informed him of the destruction.

One by one, his strongholds had been burned, shattered, annihilated.

The drug warehouse? Destroyed.

The money laundering operation? Gone.

The weapons cache? Reduced to rubble.

The human trafficking ring? Obliterated, the captives freed.

The corrupt cops? Beaten and exposed.

It had all happened in one night.

Not by the police. Not by a rival gang.

By one entity.

Falcone took a slow sip of his whiskey, his hands barely steady.

The Batman had been bad enough.

But now…

Now he had a monster hunting him.

There was a knock at the door.

Falcone's most trusted enforcer, Sal Maroni, entered, his face pale.

"We got survivors," Maroni said, voice tight. "One of them—Frankie DeLuca—just came in. He's rattled, boss. Says he saw it."

Falcone exhaled. "Bring him in."

The doors opened.

Frankie stumbled in, his face ghost-white, his hands trembling. His clothes were singed, his left arm wrapped in a bloody rag.

Falcone narrowed his eyes. "Talk."

Frankie opened his mouth—but no words came out. He just stood there, eyes darting around the room, haunted.

Maroni slapped him. "Snap outta it, you coward! What the hell happened?!"

Frankie took a shuddering breath.

"It… it wasn't human," he whispered. "Big… fast… eyes glowed blue… it—it just ripped through us like we were nothing."

Falcone's fingers tightened around his whiskey glass. "And?"

Frankie swallowed hard.

"It knows, boss. It knows you put the bounty on its head."

The room went dead silent.

Falcone's pulse slowed.

The monster knew.

It wasn't just fighting random crime.

It was hunting him.

Falcone forced himself to keep calm. He leaned back in his chair, swirling the whiskey in his glass.

"I want every bounty hunter in this city on it," he said slowly. "Double the price. No—triple."

Maroni nodded stiffly, but he looked shaken. "Boss… if bullets ain't working on this thing—"

Falcone cut him off with a cold stare. "Then we find what does."

He stood, walking toward the massive window of his penthouse.

Far in the distance, Gotham burned.

His empire, his legacy—up in smoke.

And somewhere out there, the monster was waiting.

Watching.

Hunting.

Falcone tightened his grip on his glass, his jaw clenched.

This wasn't over.

Not by a long shot.

---

End of course

Chapter 45: The Mystery of Joshua

POV: Barbara Gordon – Gotham Academy

The midday sun cast long shadows across Gotham Academy's courtyard, where students gathered in clusters, chatting and laughing. Some were busy with their phones, others cramming for upcoming exams. But Barbara Gordon wasn't paying attention to any of them.

Her focus was locked onto one person.

Joshua.

He sat at one of the courtyard tables, as relaxed as ever, leaning back in his chair with his arms behind his head. His posture exuded effortless confidence, the kind that wasn't forced but completely natural.

There was something about him that didn't add up.

Not in an obvious way—Joshua wasn't some troublemaker. He didn't pick fights, didn't cause chaos, didn't act out of place.

But he also wasn't normal.

And that made him a puzzle.

---

A Mind That Never Breaks

Barbara had been observing him for a week now. The more she watched, the more she realized he wasn't like the others.

Joshua never seemed out of control.

The way he carried himself, the way he talked—everything was measured, calculated.

Even when the school buzzed with excitement about Gotham's mysterious new monster crimefighter, Joshua remained eerily unaffected.

No fake surprise.

No stupid jokes.

No unnecessary questions.

Just that knowing smirk.

It was as if he was in on something no one else was.

Barbara prided herself on being able to read people.

But Joshua?

Joshua was unreadable.

And that bothered her.

---

The Trickster's Face

But what stood out the most—more than his intelligence, his calm demeanor, or his confidence—was his appearance.

Barbara had seen attractive guys before.

But Joshua?

He was different.

There was something unnatural about him.

His platinum blond hair looked effortlessly styled, wild yet precise, as if every strand was placed exactly where it needed to be. His golden eyes were sharp and observant, always carrying an amused glint, like he was playing a game that no one else knew the rules to.

And his skin…

Flawless.

No scars, no imperfections, no signs of stress or fatigue.

It was almost as if he wasn't affected by the world the same way everyone else was.

Barbara had seen people with strong presences before—charismatic, confident, the kind of people who demanded attention when they walked into a room.

But Joshua's presence was something else entirely.

It was like he knew something no one else did.

And that made him dangerous.

---

The Weight of a Secret

Barbara's father, Commissioner Gordon, always told her not to dig too deep.

"Some answers aren't worth knowing, Barbara."

She understood what he meant.

Some things, once uncovered, couldn't be ignored.

But Joshua was too tempting of a mystery to leave unsolved.

She had been paying close attention, waiting for a clue—something, anything that would help her figure out what was off about him.

Yet every time she thought she had an answer, he surprised her again.

Barbara had her theories.

Maybe he was involved in something big.

Maybe he had a secret no one could even begin to guess.

Maybe… just maybe, he had a connection to Gotham's new monstrous crimefighter.

Coincidence?

No.

Barbara didn't believe in coincidences.

And Joshua?

He was the biggest coincidence of all.

Now, she just had to figure out what he was hiding.

End of Chapter