Chapter Six:

Into the Great Below

Barbara's disguise involved a large pair of sunglasses that she thought were ridiculously gaudy. She wore a red coat like Carmen Sandiego a pair of black gloves, and a very tacky scarf. Red hair would've gone well with the ensemble, but it would've been too easy to connect her to Green Lantern then, so she wore a wig with red hair and black roots, so anybody who noticed would have thought she'd dyed her hair. The entire ensemble was bedecked by gaudy bling.

"Isn't a disguise supposed to not draw attention to yourself?" Sinestro asked. He was wearing a pinstriped suit, very popular with the gangs nowadays. He wore a hat to hide his enlarged head as well as a domino mask.

"Not in Gotham underground." She said. "The goal is to draw as much attention to yourself as possible. Just don't use your rings and you'll be fine."

"I like it." Jack smiled, flexing the metal glove Barbara gave him from one of the suits of armor hanging around the police station to hide his ring. His outfit was otherwise unchanged.

Barbara took a deep breath and plunged herself into her alternate personality. It was difficult to create an alter ego, her father had taught her. You had to be able to withdraw yourself from it at any time. It has to be a completely different person, yet not willing to cross the lines you would be uncomfortable crossing.

It was also difficult to break into criminal rackets with a false identity. Even if you had all of your paperwork in order, you had to be a friend of one of them, or have a friend who's a friend. In a world where there's no honor among thieves, they at least have to know each other and understand that the other person isn't a cop in disguise.

Barbara's persona was named Carmen Siskine. There were a group of criminals in Gotham called the Specialists; They were lead by the Crime Doctor, a man who failed medical school because his girlfriend stole his notes and was kicked out of the army for drug abuse. He found a place in the world of criminals, patching them up when they couldn't go to a hospital, due to wounds that would implicate them in crimes. The police only know about him because of the revenge he took on his ex-girlfriend; Martha Wayne.

But they couldn't find him without first finding the Bartender. The Bartender was the man who headquarters the Specialists. He tended to a bar at ground level of their headquarters, which was very popular with high-end criminals. And he somehow had access to any bar in Gotham. He could go anywhere, overhear secrets people only give away when they're drunk, and for the right price either give or withhold the information.

The third member of the Specialists was the Getaway Genius. The man was exactly what he claimed to be. He could make it rain yellow to clear the skies of Green Lanterns. He could fill a car with more gadgets than James Bond and he had every escape route in the city memorized.

Other members of the Specialists included Mole; a man who could make an elaborate tunnel anywhere where there wasn't a week before, and the Booker: who found abandoned factories and other thematic locales for the more colorful villains to put their feet up and plot. The Specialists garanteed any crime they came in contact with was a success.

And nobody could find them when they didn't want to be found.

Then Carmen Siskine took the scene. She introduced herself to Gotham's criminal residents by breaking three prominent gang leaders out of Blackgate prison. Of course, they were all returned in under a week by Green Lantern. When asked about her motives, she simply said she was a thrill seeking Russian, who'd heard that Gotham was the most dangerous city in the world and wanted in on the excitement.

She soon gained a reputation for being an expert thief, being able to get into and out of anywhere. She was hired for all manner of work, each job she undertook being undone as soon as possible without drawing attention. She even spoke Russian (thanks to the ring's translating power) to complete the effect.

The Specialists took notice of her and allowed her entrance into their team as a master of breaking people out of jail. Once there, she could monitor each of them, and counter every crime they committed. For every move they made, the police would show up and put an end to it. They actually became so much of a hindrance to the criminal underworld, that when the time came to arrest the Specialist, the police only arrested the Getaway Genius, the Booker, and the Mole when the time came. And with the complexity of the Specialist's minds, none of them even considered the fact that their troubles started when Carmen joined the team when compared to far grander coincidences and conspiracies.

And why was Green Lantern always showing up and undoing what Carmen did? Why, Carmen is her arch nemesis of course! She was the only person Green Lantern has never caught, and she explained that Green Lantern was a little bit obsessed with her. Carmen even dropped a few hints that she was 'into red-heads' to complete the effect.

She highly recommended being your own arch nemesis to every superhero. Once, she was even asked to join a 'Legion of Doom' composed of some of her enemies. That was the funniest job she'd ever been on. Of course, there were also complications. Like the time one of her contacts kidnapped Carmen and tried to give he to Green Lantern for clemency. Or the time when somebody actually thought that Green Lantern was in some sort of romance with Carmen and tried to play the King Kong card with her. Both situations were a fair amount of trouble getting out of.

She'd even accidentally convinced Killer Moth, the Kingpin of Crime in Gotham that she was his daughter. He was 'sure I got made out with some red-headed dame named Siskine' in College. This, naturally, made Barbara want to take down Killer Moth even more. But while she declined any relation to him, he still kept believing, and they kept in touch.

All in all, her secret identity was just about as useful as her ring. Maybe even more so.

"Are you boys ready?" She asked, now with a light and realistic Russian accent.

"You still haven't told us what Gotham Underground is." Sinestro said.

Carmen started strutting forward. "It's a place where only the most dangerous people can go, because only the most dangerous people can survive."

"Gotham is built on a fault line, and naturally earthquakes have happened. There's a stretch of land under Gotham where the buildings have sunken beneath the earth and Gotham was built over it. The section of lands is only the main part of Gotham underground of course. There are whole series of bat-filled caves and the sewer system is actually quite clean and wide enough to live in unless there's a flood. The underground has been taken over as a neutral land by so-called 'freaks'. And since birds of a feather flock together, it's become a trading post for illegal aliens as well."

"That's disgusting." Sinestro said. "Why have you not demolished the place yet?"

"Demolished?" Barbara scoffed. "I've put one of my enemies in charge of the place."

"What!" Sinestro asked. "Why?" He was baffled at the idiocy of this.

"Because." Barbara said. "Some of the 'freaks' down there are only down there to avoid persecution up here. And Gotham Underground is the first outpost for aliens, no matter how illegal. This could be the first step in Terran Alien relations, which in turn would lead to the unionization of earth."

"You expect a den of squalor and scum to be useful in the future?" Sinstro asked.

"Everything is useful." Carmen explained. "It's why I go to university. Correction; went to university." She lowered her sunglasses and fixed Sinestro with a glare.

"It was for your own good." Sinestro said. "Likewise, I doubt this 'Gotham Underground' is a good idea either. Especially with a criminal heading the operation."

"She was only a criminal because she wanted to be noticed and taken seriously. Now she is. Besides, it's a place where aliens gather for convenience. You two are looking for aliens. If it weren't for Gotham Underground, we wouldn't know where to look, and the Mayor and Sheriff are friends. At the moment, it seems pretty useful."

The three of them went into an alley and approached a beefy looking man with a glaring face. "Hey Carmen." The man said. Sinestro was slightly taken aback that the man's lips didn't move.

"Hey Jojo. I got something for my favorite gorilla." Carmen pulled a pair of banana's out of her pocket.

The beefy man pulled his mask off, revealing the face of a gorilla. "Awe, that's sweet of you Carmen." He shifted his hand out of his show and used it to lift up the sewer grate. "Go right on down, and stay outta trouble."

Carmen looked back at the other two with a wink, before jumping straight down the hole. Sinestro peered down the edge and sniffed. "This is the sewer? Where people dispose of their waste? And we're going down?"

"Yep." Jack gave him a small shove, and listened happily to Sinestro's yell. "Nice meeting you Jojo." He said, before jumping down himself.

Sinestro had to focus not to use his ring to fly down. Doubtless there would be a guard at the bottom too, and he could not blow his cover. He twisted around in midair and tried to grab onto something.

His efforts proved unnecessary. There was a crude gramowheel at the bottom of the shaft. A child's plaything on the planet of Caramar, their equivalent of a trampoline. It slowed him to a stop at the bottom and gently shifted him to the side where Green Lantern Barbara was adjusting her scarf.

"Why didn't you warn us!" He roared.

Carmen smirked and nodded her head towards Sinestro. "First time." She said. The midget sitting on top of the gattling gun to the side laughed.

Sinestro realized that Barbara felt she had to maintain her cover. And her cover was the type of person who would let her companions fall without knowing how to land just for 'kicks'.

He gritted his teeth as Jack landed behind him. "Carmen." He said dangerously. "I hope you plan on warning us the next time something unexpected is about to happen."

Carmen sidled up to him and patted him on the head. "Things are about to get strange." She said, sarcastically sweet.

The tunnels were decorated with neons lights and posters advertising various attractions in Gotham Underground. As they emerged from the tunnel, the neon light of the underground lit them up and Jack's smiled went wide.

"Now remember." Sinestro said. "We are looking for three criminals. First priority to Atrocitus. Then, Reverend Good, then Clay –" He stopped. Both Jack and Barbara were gone.

Sinestro sighed. It was times like these when he wondered why Abin Sur had chosen a human. She was so concerned with little, inconsequential things. She was more concerned with her home city than her home sector. She scurried around like a grabble, trying to fix every problem she could before she ran out of sleeping time.

She was so busy fixing each problem, individually, by hand, that she hadn't even considered the possibility of fixing them all at once in one fell swoop.

He looked at this den of squalor. A shelter for refugees of the universe. If he had the universe in his grasp, then this wouldn't be a problem. There would be no refugees. It would be a peaceful utopia.

But then…

She had taken steps to improve it. Instead of wiping this miserable mud stain off the map, she had place a leader on the throne so she could control its movements. Her methods were unorthodox… but perhaps Abin Sur saw this? Perhaps his replacement was selected because he knew what Sinestro was planning, and he wanted somebody willing to utilize alternate methods of protecting?

Well, he'd better find his comrades.

He found Jack T. Chance looking at the guns on sale. Barbara was at a nearby auction, bidding on a giant suit of mechanical armor, forged by somebody called Hephaestus. She didn't need to explain to him that it was essential to take the armor off the market, but she did need to explain why she was smoking.

"These are Thanagarian cigarettes." She said. "I've had the science behind them carefully looked at. They're not harmful to humans, and not even addicting. I only smoke them undercover."

Sinestro was uneasy about it, but he let her continue and she managed to out-bid her opponent; a man dressed in some strange grab.

"Well, I suppose it should come as no surprise." The man said. "That Ms. Siskine is the one who stole this priceless magical artifact away from me."

"Not me, I'm just working for another client." Carmen smiled sardonically.

"Well, I'm afraid you're going to have to disappoint him." Sinestro was shoved out of the way, and a large reptilian man laid a hand on her.

Barbara looked up and saw Killer Croc hissing at her. She smiled. She'd always had fun beating on Croc, ever since her first team up with Blackbird where Blackbird gave him that scar before he mutated protective scales.

"You know, you'd think you'd know better." She said with a smile.

A green blur came out of nowhere, and for a moment Sinestro thought that Carmen had used her ring and blown her cover. The Killer Croc collapsed, and a young woman wearing a green Kimono retrieved her basket from where she dropped it in order to defeat Killer Croc in one blow.

"Thank you Sakura." Barabara bowed to the woman, then turned back to the man she out-bid. "I have friends everywhere Felix. And they would be displeased if a second rate sorcerer thought he could get the better of me."

Felix gritted his teeth, then something else caught his eye. "This isn't over." He said, and resumed auctioning, this time for a silver bell.

The woman who rescued her brushed her hair back and adjusted a lily. "Are you well Carmen?"

"I could have handled myself on my own, but much thanks Sakura." Barbara bowed. "Is Sensei well?"

"He is well enough to receive you." Sakura said, and she left. Barbara followed, guiding Sinestro and Jack through the streets.

"Sensei is the sheriff of Gotham Underground." Barbara said. "He will know if there have been any newcomers. And he knows about my disguise, so you can relax around him."

The undergound's police headquarters was a shamble of a building. It looked like it was held up by duct tape and sheer willpower. Compared to Oa where the Guardians managed to direct the safety of the universe… well, he supposed it took a hole in the ground to police a hole in the ground.

They went in through the back door, and went up the rickety stairs to the dojo. It was a well built place, despite its look on the outside. The dojo was well furbished, with carpets and training equipment. The Sensei was sitting at the front of the room, legs folded in meditation. Sinestro had assumed that Sensei would be different, like the other occupants of Gotham Underground, but he had not expected a tired looking old man who was missing his arms.

"Ah, welcome back to my Dojo, Ms. Gordon." The old man stood, and the pair bowed to each other.

"Sensei, allow me to introduce my companions." She gestured to Sinestro and Jack. "This is Green Lantern Sinestro, and Green Lantern Chance. Fellow Lanterns, this is Sensei Shien. The Armless Master."

Shien bowed. Jack returned the bow, albeit somewhat sarcastically. But Sinestro did not. He was not in the habit of bowing to those he did not deem worthy. Although, he knew Barbara deemed him so because she had deigned to reveal their identities.

Sakura hissed her disapproval, but silenced herself at some invisible signal from Shien. "What brings you and your company to my dojo?"

"We are looking for three criminals." Barbara said, displaying the three on her ring.

The Armless Master observed them. "Clayface, is not hiding down here. I would know if he was. I know the reverend however. He is most unsavory. His cult is bringing innocents under his thrall. And the big one… there is rumor of an alien with his qualities aligning himself with the Intergang."

Barbara looked crestfallen. Sinestro looked determined. "Very well. The three of us shall go immediately and apprehend him."

"I too shall go." The Armless Master said.

"No." Sinestro said. "You'll only slow us down."

"I am the sheriff." Shien replied. "And this is my city. I shall accompany you."

"No." Sinestro said. "We have higher authority, and we have the greater firepower. You would be a hindrance more than a help."

"Do you think we should get popcorn?" Jack whispered to Barbara. Barbara would have spoken up to defend him, but she knew Sensei could take care of himself.

"Tell me." The Sensei said. "What can your ring do, that I cannot do?"

Sinestro immediately created a sword and sliced one of the bricks in the room. "For starters, that."

"Ah, but that I can also do." The Armless Master leaped forward, and brought his heel down. The brick fell neatly in two.

"Can you travel across the galaxies?"

"I do not need to. But if I did, I could always steal your ring."

"Hah!" Sinestro laughed. "I am the greatest Green Lantern..."

The Armless Master merely extended his leg. In the palm of his foot, a Green Lantern ring rested.

Jack roared with laughter as Sinestro wildly scrambled to feel his finger.

"Those with great power, must always beware not to lose it." Sensei tossed the ring back at Sinestro. "Save for those whose power lies in knowledge. And I know. More than you do, I begin to suspect. Now, let us be off."

"Uniforms on." Barbara said, activating her ring to store her disguise in pocket space and bring out her costume. The other two Green Lanterns followed suit.

"I know one thing this ring can do that you can't." Sinestro said, uncomfortable with the idea of losing. "I can use it to fly."

The Armless Master simply smiled. "You can fly, but can you soar?" And he leaped out of the window.