108 Chapter 108: Ending Madness
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"To capture a criminal, they have to be crushed completely and thoroughly. They must fear me and realize there is no second chance."
- Jail Murdoch, (Plunderer)
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<(Omniscient POV)>
Just as the man was going to plunge his blade into the young girl's neck, something weird happened. There was a sharp whistling sound in the air like a blade cutting through the wind. However, the seemingly mentally imbalanced man was enjoying the moment too much to care about that sound and didn't slow down at all. But that turned out to be one of the biggest mistakes in his life because the very next moment, all the fingers of his right hand, which was holding the sharp blade were missing, cleanly cut out from his hand by something extremely fast and sharp.
"Huh, what?" The man was at first confused about what had just happened. He didn't understand why the girl who was supposed to die by a single slash of his blade was still alive, while he was the one who was feeling like he wasn't going to make it. But he didn't have time to further ponder the reason for this because the pain of losing his fingers suddenly hit him like a freaking freight train. "AAAAAHHHHHH! FUCK! AHHHH. My HAND, MY GODDAMN FINGERS. Fuck. Fuck. FUUUUUUCK." The man continued yelling while looking around in search of his missing digits as moisture slowly gathered in his eyes due to the immense pain he was currently feeling.
"How the hell did my fingers get cut off so fast?" He somehow groaned aloud in pain after trying to forcefully calm himself down a little, but he understood the reason for this the very next moment when he noticed his freshly cut-off finders which were still leaking red blood lying on the ground along with a bat-shaped blade sticking out from the concrete beside them. "The Dark Knight!" He gasped in surprise as he recognized the cursed symbol that most criminals of Gotham had started to dread after what happened to his last boss, the Penguin as well as the biggest crime lord of Gotham, Carmine Falcone.
"W-where are you? Show yourself, you coward." The man yelled as he quickly closed his 'wound' with a scarf that he had in his pocket after which he took out two handguns that he had hidden in his jacket.
However internally, Zsasz was still hesitating. He was no stranger to danger, but the Bat was different. The rumored vigilante demon of Gotham was not someone any criminal could just go ahead and antagonize without expecting any sort of punishment.
"Victor Zsasz," A deep voice was suddenly heard speaking with a low growl, "It is time for you to finally face the retributions for the crimes you have done till now." It informed as the voice seemed to come closer and closer.
Instantly, a black-clad figure swiftly dropped from the rooftop, landing silently behind Zsasz like a trained ninja. And, unfortunately for Victor, it really was Batman, the Dark Knight of Gotham. His cape billowed, as his helmet concealed his features, leaving only the unnatural monstrous appearance of his armor's face plate visible for the criminal to see.
However, instead of being afraid, Victor's lips twisted into a manic twisted grin. "Ah, the Bat. You are just as terrifying as advertised, just as good. But you won't stop me. You see, I am the chosen one, this is my fate just like dying and becoming free is that girl's. She's already marked. Now, it's my responsibility to relieve her of the terrible boredom that she calls her life and as a result, free her of her mortal binds."
Even after listening to his words, Batman, however, didn't flinch. "You won't hurt anyone else anymore Victor Zsasz," Batman's voice was cold, unyielding. "At least, not on my watch," He uttered as he stepped forward, his presence commanding with each of his words seeming more like an order than a request.
Zsasz didn't waste more time and lunged forward in an attempt to take on the vigilante in a surprise attack, desperation fueling his aggression. But Batman was faster. He dodged Victor's wild swings, even though each blow thrown by Zsasz was calculated and efficient. He however didn't even try to stop Victor at all and let the psycho's left fist hit him on his armor with full strength which only served to break the unfortunate psycho's hand as he crumpled to the ground in pain. "Gaah, that's so hard. What the hell are you fucking wearing, reinforced steel?"
Batman ignoring his remark, took this opportunity and began to rain multiple hits on Zsasz's body, to hurt the guy as much as possible. After breaking a couple of ribs on his chest, he stopped and loomed over Zsasz's broken form while the killer weakly groaned, blood pooling from the wound around his missing finders through the handkerchief that was now painted completely red.
"You... how dare you? *Pant Pant* Do you have any idea just how many people I *Pant* I have helped, how many people I have freed till now?" Zsasz screamed in anger while huffing. "You see this mark? This one I made on my neck after liberating a blind seventeen-year-old from her colorless life on her birthday after I freed her parents in front of her... although in hindsight, she had a really boring personality since she didn't even get afraid when I had my blade just in front of her... But my point is that this is my responsibility as the chosen one. This is what I truly stand for. WHO THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU ARE TO STOP ME?" Zsasz uttered with pride in his voice.
His words were not just cruel, they were absolutely terrifying and clearly showed just how much broken he was in his mind. Even the young psychologist who was doing her best to hide behind a trashcan in fear felt disgust at the man. For a brief moment, she felt so angry at him that she just wanted to take a bat and bash the psycho's head in.
She had heard from some of her associates and colleagues that Batman had never killed any of his victims yet, but she really wished that the vigilante of vengeance would make an exception this time for disgusting filth like him because she knew just how easy it would be for the man to prove himself mentally imbalanced in front of the court and avoid punishment with just a few years treatments in Arkham Asylum which never seemed to work and a light slap on his arm In fact, there was even a high chance that he would probably escape MUCH before his release date in prison break or something. At least, most criminals did.
"... You're a disease," Batman responded after a few seconds of silence, his voice suspiciously low. "And I'm the cure." He concluded in an apathetic voice.
Bruce had always hated it when criminals like Victor Zsasz who truly deserved the punishment of death got to live. He always thought that such mentally sick people should be awarded death, but today, he realized that he was wrong.
Guys like the Joker and the Riddler deserved death because at least they owned up to their crimes. They admitted that they had killed. But criminals like Zsasz didn't even own up to it. They don't just lie to their unfortunate victims and others but even to themselves. They are the real cowards and yet, they have the gall to take pride in their work.
"Death is not enough," Batman muttered aloud, barely veiled disgust lacing his voice. "You deserve worse... so much worse. Death would be the easy way out for you." He whispered in nearly an inaudible voice. It was so low that even the young woman behind him was unable to clearly hear his words.
"What do you mean? What are you going to...?" Victor wasn't able to complete his words as a heavy punch from Bruce instantly dislocated his jaw stopping him from saying anything anymore.
"AAAHH" Zsasz screamed in pain as he struggled to move or speak but that was not the end of the punishment Bruce had planned for him. It was just the beginning.
"You should go back to your home now ma'am... And don't worry, he will never annoy you again. He won't be able to." The caped vigilante ordered in a stoic voice as he slightly turned his head to look at the blonde woman shivering behind the trashcan. She was probably really afraid, maybe even mentally scarred for the rest of her life. He felt really bad for her but there was nothing he could do. The only thing he could offer was his apology for not arriving sooner.
"Th-thanks." The woman mumbled with a gulp as she got up and quickly left after giving him a thankful nod.
After he watched her leave the alley, he focused his attention back on Victor who was trying his best to get up. "You let her leave? No worries, I will get her back. Now, I know where she lives. HAHAHA. Fine, take me to the cops. I guess, I can use some rest, I heard the asylum even got renovated recently. Some of my friends said that the beds are much better now." Zsasz mocked with a painful laugh. He was pretty confident that Batman couldn't do more than break a few of his bones and take him to the cops since the vigilante placed his faith in the justice system of Gotham... especially after that woman had already seen them together.
"You took so many lives," Batman growled, his voice a low, menacing rumble. "You destroyed so many futures. You deserve this."
With surgical precision, Batman took out a bat-shaped Swiss blade-sized knife from his utility blade, its gleaming blade catching the dim light of the warehouse. In a swift motion, he sliced away Zsasz's eyes, rendering him blind to the world around him.
Next came his tongue, the instrument of Zsasz's twisted maniacal lies and manipulation, severed from his mouth with a cold detachment. Then the nose, the source of his insatiable thirst for blood, was removed with a sift and calculated swipe of the black blade.
"Wait, what are you doing? Don't please, DON'T AAAAAHHHHHH" The blood-curdling screams of Victor Zsasz resonated throughout the alley as he lost all his sensory organs one by one.
But the Dark Knight still wasn't finished. Taking out the Bat-tool from his utility belt, he switched on the sonic pulse gun mode and unleashed a deafening blast of sound at the psychotic killer, shattering Zsasz's eardrums and silencing his screams forever.
And finally, as Zsasz lay broken and helpless before him, blood dribbling from his various orifices, the vigilante delivered the coup de grace. With a swift strike, he broke Zsasz's backbone and spinal cord before severing a few of the nerves that connected his body to his brain, ensuring that he would spend the rest of his days as a quadriplegic, forever confined to a wheelchair, unable to harm another soul.
Bruce had done so much damage to his body in a calculative manner that although Zsasz wouldn't die, he definitely could never be cured by anyone or brought back to his full health. He would forever be limited to the very boring and colorless life he dreaded with no hope of ever escaping it.
'This would undoubtedly hurt my public image a little, but it was definitely worth it... I guess Vicki would have to put in some extra work to make me the hero in this incident and turn the story into something that would make me seem less cruel and more... heroic,' Bruce murmured to himself as he looked at his handiwork.
'Now, to disappear before the cops arrive. I really don't want to be here to explain to them why I did what I did...' He thought to himself as he turned on the thrusters in his suit. "Also, you should go back home now, the night is getting darker. You don't want another psycho to come after you, do you?" He warned the young woman who still hadn't left and was observing him while hiding in a corner outside the alley.
He had sensed from the very start that the girl had never gone home. She had been waiting and observing their exchange. At first, Bruce had thought that she was an ally of Zsasz but soon, he realized that she didn't have anything to do with him. Either she was really curious, part of the media trying to sniff out some attractive news, or just wanted to see her perpetrator suffer. But whatever the reason was, Bruce just didn't care. Whatever statement she would give to the cops, would hardly affect him since he could always turn it around by using the news and social media platforms to influence the public perception.
Plus, he was a vigilante, not a hero. His reputation hardly mattered to him as long as the government wasn't actively trying to arrest him and bring him to 'justice' or something.
Anyway, he had done his duty by rescuing and warning her. He didn't think he had to do more than that.
After warning her, Bruce didn't feel the need to say anything further and just blasted away from the scene. However, what he failed to notice at that time was that the young girl wasn't there looking at Victor Zsasz who had already lost consciousness, nor was she recording the event in any manner. No, she was in fact looking directly at him with eyes that spoke of pure curiosity and expectation. It was like she had just discovered a forbidden pleasure that she had only thought existed in her imagination.
However, somewhere within her eyes, there was something else as well, something that was quite compulsive, like an unhealthy... obsession.
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