35 The Hunt for a Bat II
I take no responsibility for the mistakes in Italian. I used deepl for that part.
___________________________________________________
(3rd Person POV)
In the Sneider Building, Carmine "The Roman" Falcone is sitting behind his desk and watching the live feed of Crime Alley. He has his other 'accomplices' on the line right now, as they also watch the feed. He has a serious face on right now. He doesn't like the situation he is in right now. Having to resort to such 'tricks' is just not his style. But he made sure to gather more like-minded people and set this up.
.
.
(Falcone POV)
Damiano, my butler informs me that it has started.
"È iniziato, Maestro Falcone." (It has begun, Master Falcone)
"Grazie, Damiano. Fammi vedere sul grande schermo." (Thank you, Damiano. Show it to me on the big screen.)
"Come desidera." (As you wish.)
.
The TV was turned on and I began to see the live feed of one of our spies who was filming everything that happened in Crime Alley. We chose that place, as it was the least likely location for the GCPD to turn up because there was almost no one who would call them. There I saw Victor Zsasz with a few muslcles beat up and kill passersby at random. Their goal was to gather a few up and use them as hostages.
Victor was one crazy mofo. His delusions would help here. It was hard to find someone in Gotham who would take the job otherwise. Apart from the professional assassins that is. But they were expensive enough to take the risks. They didn't know Batman like we did yet. We prepared enough to ensure that he would die. Maybe not tonight or tomorrow. But he will be dead by the end of this or the next week for sure.
We had to spend close to 1 billion dollars for everything. I wouldn't allow Batman to continue to ruin my business. The last stunt he pulled was the last nail in the coffin. So together with the Sionis brat and other Crime Families, we created the plan and hired them.
.
I looked as Victor began his maiming spree. His maniac grin and bald head made for a gruesome sight as he cut the people up. Now the stage was set, we only needed to wait for the Batman.
- < 1 minute later -
I didn't even have to wait long. Not even a minute has passed since Victor began to kill and he was already here. That is an unbelievable response time. How is he this fast? That wasn't what we planned for. I can only watch as the Bat blitzes through the thugs and knocks them all out with a single hit. Every part of this man's body seems to be a weapon. He uses his fingers and people drop, he uses his fists and they are knocked out, he uses his kicks and they scream and then fall unconscious.
I ball my fists as I see Batman stand in front of Victor. Victor is a master at hand-to-hand combat and his use of knives is famous. But I don't think that he has a chance at-
Yeah, that's what I thought. Batman blocks Victor's strikes and then punches him into his solar plexus. He follows that up with an uppercut and a right and left hook. Victor just drops to the ground like a sack of potatoes. I am interested in what he will do now. Batman just stands over Victor's body. He looks around at the people and then suddenly turns around and looks directly into the camera!!!
Just what is he?
.
.
(Batman POV)
I look at the man holding the camera. They think they're smarter than me. I walk towards the man holding the camera. He tries to act like nothing is wrong but begins to sweat when I approach him. Before he can run away I fire an electrical charge at him that shocks him. He drops to the ground and I pick up the camera. I connect the camera with my utility belt hacking tool.
"ALFRED find me the signals of everyone who was watching a moment ago."
[As you wish, sir.]
I check for other cameras but find none. I walk over to the people who have bad cuts and wounds. I take my healing gel and begin applying it to their wounds. They are scared of me but don't say anything. That's something at least. After a few minutes, I get the message from ALFRED.
[Signal found. North side of Gotham City. An abandoned warehouse. Possibility of it being a trap: 98%]
"I agree with that. The question is now, who would do that? Falcone seems to be the obvious answer and Sionis as well. But they aren't connected to the call anymore. Instead, it's someone else. ALFRED, send me the coordinates and try to find the last entries to the live feed."
[As you wish, sir.]
.
I leave the scene as soon as I hear the GCPD sirens coming. I leave everyone here, except Victor Zsasz. He has had his chance at life. It is time to show why I am a different Batman again. I throw a Pokeball at him and then store the ball in the Batmobile. I created this technology after my little fight with Dr. Hurt AKA Dr. Tomas Wayne. What better way to catch 'em all?
I disappear from Crime Alley and make my way through the streets until I reach the place where the Batmobile has turned invisible. I enter and then tell BOB to open a portal to the coordinates I sent him.
"Take us a couple of streets away from the place. I don't want to meet whoever is waiting for me there, just yet."
[Ok.]
I fire up the engine and shoot off from there. I enter a dead-end street and drive straight into a wall. But BOB opens a portal at the last moment and sends us to another part of Gotham. I don't want others to know that I can teleport just yet. That is a massive advantage and should stay a secret for now.
I arrive at Gotham Harbour. It's the place where tons of containers are located. There are many empty buildings here and I have to find the place the signal came from. I have the exact coordinates, but I want to scout the place first.
.
.
(3rd Person POV)
Gotham Harbour is a foreboding and ominous area at night in the heart of Gotham City, reflecting the dark and ominous nature that Batman calls home. As darkness comes upon the city, the harbour is shrouded in an eerie mist, with dimly lit lampposts casting long shadows. The air is thick with an unsettling stillness. Tension is in the air as the silence speaks volumes for the events that will take place.
The harbour is lined with rows of towering, industrial shipping containers of different colours. The containers are stacked randomly, creating a gutter-like environment that adds to the sense of depression and mystery, which defines Gotham. Faint, flickering lights struggle to penetrate the darkness, as no care or money goes into their construction.
[Picture]
In the heart of this desolate landscape stands an abandoned building, a warehouse with broken windows and crumbling walls. The structure stands there holding people that are in hiding at the moment, as if waiting for someone or ... something.
As Batman silently navigates through the maze of containers, his dark figure blends seamlessly with the shadows. He has long mastered the art of 'becoming' one with the darkness, just like he learned in the temple of the dark Hsien-Tan. His cape blows in the slight breeze, and his eyes pierce through the darkness thanks to his helmet. The sound of his footsteps is nonexistent, as he approaches the entrance of the abandoned building.
Inside, the space is littered with discarded machinery, broken crates, and trash. A few lights have been turned on by three thugs wearing masks and holding semi-automatic guns. The air is tense, as they are waiting for something or someone who is supposed to come after they deliver the crate. They don't know anything else.
[Picture]
Batman moves with purpose through the building, his instincts and tech guiding him through the place. With a flick, the light turns off in the building and drowns everything in darkness with only the moon giving faint light. One of the thugs looks around. He curses silently and moves to the electrical fuse, to turn the light back on. He opens the small metallic door and tries to make sense of what he sees.
*Bang*
A hand grips his head and slams it into the wall, knocking him out. The criminal's flashlight is turned off and he just lies on the ground. The sound is heard by the other two guys and they motion to the direction of the sound with their heads. Silently, they begin to make their way towards the area where the sound came from. The one in front has his gun aimed in front of him. As he walks over a wooden floor though, two black hands break through the ground and grab his legs.
The thug falls to the ground and gets pulled into the hole.
"Aaaah...", he tries to scream but then his voice suddenly stops. The other approaches the hole in the floor and begins to empty his magazine.
*Ratatatatatat*
His heart rate rose rapidly and he began to walk backwards slowly. He got a bad feeling however and turned around, only to be met with the scariest-looking figure he had ever seen. The Batsuit was made to instil fear ... and look cool. But mostly to instil fear into the criminals. The thug pulls the trigger but his hand is yanked by Batman and twisted in the wrong way.
*Crack*
"Argh!", he screams but a fist meets his face and knocks him out. Batman drops the man like trash and then approaches the box that is lying on the ground. He kicks it open and sees the timer inside activating and counting down.
[Picture]
.
Ten minutes after the shooting happened, an explosion erupted within the building, blowing windows and the door away. A violent expulsion of energy tears through the building and destroys windows, the door and more. Debris and shattered glass rained down in the aftermath. The fire inside the building shows the silhouette of a figure walking out of the building.
[Picture]
Batman walks out of the burning building and looks up where a man stands on the containers. The man wearing a form-fitting costume that combines orange and black colours. The costume includes a mask that covers the majority of his face, leaving only one eye visible. While this looks cool and would be scary, it isn't really in front of Batman.
[Picture]
"Looks like you got my invitation. It's nice to meet you ... ~Batman~"
"Slade Wilson AKA Deathstroke."
"Oh, you know me. Good, then you know why I'm here."
"..."
"Just you and me. COME ON!!", Deathstroke seems fired up after that rather short introduction and gets moving. He starts to run along the containers as he manages to dodge a few Batarangs. Batman also gets moving and shoots his grappling hook at one of the constructions to get close to Deathstroke. The hook hits and pulls Batman up. Deathstroke is in the middle of a jump when Batman comes flying towards him and tries to tackle him.
[Picture]
But this is a different kind of enemy. The kind that is also very skilled in martial arts. Deathstroke grabs a bo-staff from his back and turns in the air. As he finishes his 360° turn, he hits Batman with his staff and sends him flying into a container. The force of the hit carries him off the first container and then to the one below, where he uses his momentum to push himself off with his hands and land on his feet.
Deathstroke jumps down and tries to hit Batman with his staff, but misses. Deathstroke twirls the staff around and hits Batman's left side, but Batman blocks with metallic blades on the sides of his forearms that weren't there a moment ago. Deathstroke hits him with the staff on the left, the right and then the left again, but Batman blocks them all.
Deathstroke turns and strikes that way only to kick Batman. But Batman is ready for it all and when the boot hits his stomach, he grabs it and twists as he slides backwards.
"Uff"
This stops the fight for a moment as both figures look at each other.
____________________________________
I am beyond excited honestly. A hunt for Batman has begun and I get to write quite a few fight scenes. This means that there won't be as much preparation involved as usual. But he is already prepared for these people. And we will also meet someone interesting who's fate will change in this Arc.
