Legacy of the Bat
Chapter 1
The Future
The wind whipped through the buildings almost penetrating the thin tri-polymer reinforced black armored exoskeleton, a cowl and a long black cape. I know it's not your normal attire for standing on the ledge of a building, but in this line of work, the clothes make the man.
They call me Batman. A name from the past that still has the desired effect.
A car approaches the twentieth floor landing pad. With the visual enhancements in the cowl, I can see that's an Osprey. Classy, I'm impressed. Vinnie must do pretty well to afford that kind of car.
The Osprey is a versatile vehicle. It's capable of both ground transport and flight along the city's sky net. Only the wealthiest people can afford this year's model. Vinnie must be doing very well indeed.
The front passenger door opened and a large thick-necked man got out. He looked around nervously with his right hand under the European style suit coat. He's probably carrying a firearm. He's reaching for the back door. Now, its time for an appearance. I leap off the building. The wind screams in my ears as I plummet. My stomach took a trip also, into my throat, a nervous habit of my stomach. I guess it's still not used to this mode of transportation.
The sensation passes as I land flat-footed on the Osprey's roof flexing my knees to absorb the shock. The roof collapsed under my weight, lucky for me, my family heritage saved my legs from shattering as well. My impact sent the reinforced windshield and side ports into all different directions. Ol' Thick Neck was thrown a few feet away. Vinnie, who just happened to exit the vehicle, had fallen to the platform, and looked as if he just wet his pants. Sometimes I love this job.
"You lied to me Vinnie. You said you wouldn't be back in town." I said in my best voice. It came out more like a harsh whisper. Vinnie's eyes were as wide as dinner plates. He looked as if he wanted to say something, but his mouth didn't want to cooperate. A red blip flashed across the left eyepiece. Thick neck must have recovered. Yep, he was up and moving toward me. As calmly as I could and with practiced a hand I drew a batarang from its holster and flung it at him. It hit him in the forehead, knocking him down and unconscious. Another blip flashed across my eyepiece showing movement from behind me. The driver had gotten out. His face was bloody, and he didn't look happy. A quick boot to the face silenced him.
Vinnie must have recovered, in his hand he held the biggest handgun I'd seen in at least two days. I took it from him with a swipe of my hand, and tossed it away.
"Oh Vinnie, that's a big gun. You know what they say about men with big guns don't you?" Vinnie didn't look happy. Actually he had looked ridiculous with that huge weapon in his little hand.
"You're supposed to be dead." He managed to say.
"So they tell me." Two days ago one of the corporations on the boulevard sent a hired gun after me. We got into it and one of us didn't walk away, he had to be wheeled away on an ambulance gurney. The other (that would be me) barely walked away. Not to be seen for two days. "The reports of my death are highly exaggerated." I rasped. "I told you that if you came back that I would not be pleased." I grabbed Vinnie by his expensive overcoat collar and easily hoisted him into the air, and pulled him close. "So I brought a few friends."
And as if on cue, the wail of police sirens filled the air. As Vinnie looked towards the headlights that were filling the alley, I dropped him and disappeared into the shadows. It took me a few minutes to find a new perch. From here I had a good view of Vinnie being loaded into the back of a police van. Vinnie should have known that the police had warrants on him from years back. Like I said, sometimes I love this job.
Hours later, I entered the Cave (once dubbed The Batcave many years ago by Richard Grayson, the original Robin) from one of the many secret entrances. My nightly patrol had gone well, aside from turning Vinnie over to the police, I had stopped three robberies and one attempted rape. Calvin was waiting for me with a towel and I accepted the towel with a smile and began removing the chest armor and cowl. Once bare I wiped my upper body down with. Lucky there was no need for Calvin's medical services.
"Sir, a message was left for you while you were out." Calvin said hanging up the discarded pieces of my costume. I walked over to where the computer was.
"Computer," I called out, activating the voice recognition program. "display message."
On the screen a man's face appeared, it was old and withered. It was a face that had not been in the public since the time of my grandfather. Kal El, or Superman to most. I wondered how he knew where to send the message too.
"We need to talk." That was unusual. Kal El was never seen and rarely came out of his Fortress of Solitude in the artic. Not since Lois Lane had been killed. "Be here tomorrow at noon, that shouldn't be a problem for you." Very strange indeed, he had included coordinates to the entrance to the Fortress, not that I needed them, having accessed Bruce's files while the message played. I'll have to go to bed now, to get enough sleep for the flight north. I cancelled a few meetings and headed for the bed.
