This is half of the story. If people seem to dig it, I'll post the other
half. Let me know what you think. zreticulan@aol.com
Buffy / Batman Virtue
This story takes place during Buffy The Vampire Slayer's Third Season
There are slow nights, and then there are SLOW nights. This particular evening fell under the latter. She had been on patrol for almost two hours, and Buffy Anne Summers hadn't slain a single vampire. Maybe this was a "universal balancing out" thing. The night before her and Faith were kept busy for the majority of their patrol; between the two of them they had killed 12 vampires and a 3 Kre-al Demons. All in all a full night. Which perhaps is the reason that Faith decided she had earned this night to relax. She was probably at The Bronze right now, with the gang.
So why wasn't this young, pretty, energy filled girl hanging out with them? Why was she spending her night strolling through a cemetery for what seemed like the millionth time? Simple. She had a job to do.
On the plus side she had a lot to think about, and these quiet nights gave her that opportunity. What with Faith showing up in town, Angel's return and of course the daily chats with mom. As if an over-protective mother wasn't bad enough, it doesn't really help when she finds out her only daughter fights monsters for a living. One more sweep and then I'm SO going home and going straight to bed. FLASH!
Suddenly an intense white light filled the entire graveyard. It only lasted a moment, but the after effects of temporary blindness and an overall sense of confusion were enough to send a warrior into defensive mode. If something were going to attack, she would be ready. The soldier took her stance, readying for battle. Stake in hand, legs bent, senses focused. Her vision returned gradually.nothing seemed to be approaching her. A few more seconds passed. Still nothing. The light had seemed to originate from the east. Buffy glanced in that direction, and decided to investigate. About 30 feet away was a crypt, "Lewis" was the family name carved at the top. She slowly crept up behind the stone structure, and peaked around the corner.
The creature stood about 7 feet tall, it's skin was solid gold. He was bald except for a black ponytail, which reached down to the bottom of his neck. A black silk robe covered its massive frame and blew softly in the evening wind. On his attire there seemed to be red designs, snakelike. Possibly dragons. She was not able to make out any more, since he had his back to her. Well, time to change that.
"Excuse me Mr. Monster," Buffy said. "Was that your flash photography?" The creature turned with a loud growl to face its new threat. Its eyes were small black slits. It's huge mouth opened to reveal two rows of sharp silver teeth.
"Whoa.." Buffy remarked as she put up her fists.
The demon, in response, raised his own weapon. A large spear with a "U" at the end, a strange type of pitchfork. The thing lunged at the girl, aiming the pitchfork straight at her heart. Buffy quickly side stepped to her right, grabbed the spear with her left hand, and delivered a powerful kick to her foe's midsection. The weapon dropped out of his hands, and the creature fell to one knee. Seeing her chance, Buffy raised her stake and brought it down with lightning quick speed towards the top of her opponent's head. The wooden instrument shattered on impact. A stunned Buffy dropped the splintered remains and stumbled back a step.
"Whoa again." she muttered.
The demon picked up his weapon, and rose to his feet. The Slayer readied for another attack. Instead, the creature grabbed the pitchfork with both hands, and made a vertical SLASH motion in the air.
"Umm.that was a little off, I'm over here." Buffy said.
Suddenly a brilliant white light appeared where the demon had made an invisible "cut" in the air. Before she could react, the creature jumped into the light and disappeared.
After she got home, Buffy had a decision to make. She could call Giles now and tell him what had happened, but he was probably asleep at this hour. Or she could get to school a little early tomorrow morning, and talk to him before classes started. The notion of "sleeping in" won. Buffy picked up the phone, and dialed.
"Uhh..Ummm..H-Hello?" Gile's half asleep British voice answered.
Some kids go to the cafeteria on their lunch break, others leave school and don't come back. Buffy Summers goes to the library.
"A Yong Demon," Giles said as Buffy entered the double doors.
"'Yawn?" Buffy asked with raised eyebrows.
"No, 'Yong'. Why, Oh, En, Gee. It's a demon that was first seen on Earth back in Ancient China. I've been researching since last night. Thank you for the wake up call by the way. I so rarely get a full night's sleep, why start now."
"No problem"
"Yes.Yes well in one of the texts it claims that this creature was summoned by Emperor Qin Shi Huang in 230 B.C. Apparently this particular demon has the ability to..to somehow create "rips" in space and time. The text says that the Emperor took advantage of this, and was able to use its powers for teleportation. He would "warp"
from location to location in a matter of seconds, confusing his enemies. There were even tales that the creature could travel between alternate universes. It actually makes sense, history has always questioned how Huang was able to vanquish his enemies so quickly. He defeated the Zhao, Wei, Chu, Yan, Qui-."
"Giles!" Buffy exclaimed. "I'm failing history. Why is it here? And how do I kill it?"
"Oh..yes.right." Giles focused his attention back to the matter at hand. "Sorry.umm, I believe that this is why he is here."
The librarian walked to his desk and brought back a newspaper.
"This article is from three days ago," he explained. "Here."
The Sunnydale Times Ancient Artifact Comes to California A few months ago an international archaeological team announced the discovery of an ancient wooden staff believed to be thousands of years old. It was found in an area that experts believe to have been a central location in Ancient China. The most interesting aspect of the discovery is the designs carved into the wood. The find will be on display at the Sunnydale Historical Museum for the next week.
"So it want's a cane?" Buffy asked as she put down the paper. "Why doesn't he just go to the mall?"
"Because," Giles began. "This staff-"
"-is a mystical magical filled goodie that will give this Yong guy funky powers..right?" Buffy asked.
"Yes, and don't interrupt me."
"And I bet it even has a special name..right?"
"Yes, as a matter of fact it does." Giles said now visibly annoyed. "The Staff of Zee"
"Ok," Buffy said. "So why doesn't he just grab 'Zee' staff and go? What's he doing hanging out in cemeteries."
"I think he was hunting," Giles answered as he paced. "Or rather, feeding. From what I've read Yong demons feed on the life energy of human beings. That spear you saw him with.."
"Yeah, the farmer pitchfork thingee."
"It's actually called a Tiger Fork. It was a popular weapon in Ancient China. The Yong impale their prey with the three ends, and siphon it's life force through the spear, into them."
"So he was trying to eat me?" Buffy asked.
"Essentially yes," Giles answered.
"I have another question," she asked.
"I thought you might."
"What does this staff do?"
Giles paused. "I'm afraid I don't know."
Buffy grabbed her books and began to walk towards the exit. "I think I'll hang out at the museum tonight," she said
"Off so soon," Giles asked with curiosity.
"I have...things to do," Buffy said showing slight discomfort.
"May I ask what type of things?" Giles asked with more curiosity.
Sure, I have to nurse Angel back to health. You remember Angel right? The vampire that snapped your girlfriend's neck, well he's back from Hell.
"Just stuff," she said. "See ya."
The museum was dead, as it should be. It was after all 10:30 p.m. on a Wednesday night. She had wanted to get here sooner, but it was not one of Angel's better days.
There was one guard inside the museum, hopefully he wouldn't be an issue. Buffy had found a place to hide near the front entrance of the building. After surveying the area she determined the bushes near the entrance doors would be the best place to spring an ambush.
When he show up for his ancient cane..wait.staff? Whatever. When he gets here I kill him. Simple Enough.
An hour and eleven minutes passed.
Ok, I should have taken this into consideration. What if he doesn't show tonight? What if he still needs more energy? What if-
"AAAHHHH!"
A terrified scream came from inside the building and broke her concentration. Buffy busted through the double doors and ran into the dark. The Yong Demon stood in the center of the room, with the museum guard cowering on the floor a few feet in front of him. The monster was holding an object in each of its hands. In his right was the tiger fork, glowing with a white energy. In his left, a wooden staff.
"The Staff of Zee," Buffy said under her breath.
She readied herself for battle but first went to check on the guard.
"How did he get in here? I was watching the building!" she exclaimed.
"Who are-.uuuhhhh." the guard strained. "Th-The back entrance.."
"Well that's just-"
The demon had had enough of the two humans and decided to do something about it. He raised the tiger fork and pointed it towards them. The glow intensified.
"Get out of here," Buffy shouted at the weakened guard. "Run!"
He did. The Slayer just managed to avoid the oncoming energy blast by doing a back flip onto a ravaged display case. Broken glass was everywhere. This must have been where the staff was being kept, until the Yong got to it. There was a significantly large shard close to her left foot. She grabbed it.
"What's wrong?" Buffy mockingly asked the creature. "Can't shoot straight"
The Yong Demon let out a furious roar, pointed his weapon, and fired again. This is gonna be tricky, The Slayer thought to herself. The bolt was headed for her left leg. Buffy quickly crouched down and held the glass shard in the path of the white light. Bullseye. What happened next happened in no more than 2 seconds. The blast bounced off the glass, and back to its source. Only a little to the left, towards the wooden staff in the monster's other hand. The two warriors barely even saw the blast make contact with the Staff of Zee, and then there was only white.
She was now outside, that much she knew. No longer in the warm interior of the museum, but in the cold exterior of the street. An alley to be more precise. The concrete was hard and jagged, her form was laying face down in the street.
What happened? Where am I?
The Slayer rose slowly to her feet, disoriented. She was still dizzy, and was now seeing white spots.
Blast from the Yong Demon's tiger fork reflected off the glass, hit the Staff of Zee. Flash of blinding white light.
While she was composing herself, Buffy failed to see what was approaching her from behind. A dark figure, standing a good 13 inches over the girl, blending into the shadows as it crept forward. She heard the sounds of it approaching and turned...
It was a black figure with long, sharp ears. It had what appeared to be claws, which reached for something around its waist.
Buffy attacked.
What was a girl (a small girl) doing out HERE at this time of night? And why is she dressed like that in the dead of winter?
This is what the Batman thought to himself as he approached the shivering young woman who seemingly just appeared out of thin air. He had just scanned this alley 43 seconds ago, and was on his way north. That's when he saw the light.
Doubling back, he now saw a confused blond girl where before there had been nothing. He didn't have time for this, it had been a busy week. A few days ago Mr. Freeze & The Mad Hatter formed a temporary alliance to break out of Arkham Asylum. They were both caught a few hours ago, but only after Freeze had betrayed his business-partner and left him for dead. After Batman located a somewhat frosty Hatter, it wasn't long before Freeze was caught as well.
Unfortunately another rogue saw the opportunity to take advantage of a vulnerable city, while the Dark Knight was distracted hunting the two escapees. And this third villain required the caped crusader's undivided attention.
THUMP!
The girl nailed her new threat square in the jaw, sending him reeling. Small girl, no threat. Let guard down, stupid. He quickly got his footing back and tried to talk to the girl.
"Wai-.."
He was interrupted by a flurry of punches aimed for his head and neck. Bobbing and ducking out of the way, he tried to think of a way to end this without hurting her. He managed to grab her left wrist, and slowly forced her down. Her right fist came towards his face with lightning quick speed, he grabbed it
"Now," Batman said. "Wha-"
She used the fact that he was holding her arms for leverage, pulled herself up, and drove both her legs forcefully into his chest. He fell to the ground, but again was quickly back on his feet. The girl took a step towards him. Without hesitation, he reached into belt and hurled a Batarang towards his threat. It shot like a bullet past Buffy's face, she could feel the wind. It impacted with a loud CHING, and was embedded in the stone wall.
"Stop," he ordered with a chilling voice.
"What are you?" Buffy asked.
He stood there, silent.
"Answer me," she said. "Or we can go again."
After a few seconds, he spoke. "Go home, get off the streets. It's not safe here."
"Especially with you throwing knives at my head"
"It wasn't a knife," he replied. "And I missed on purpose."
She didn't say anything.
"The Joker is at large, and he's been seen around this area" Batman said. "Go home."
With that he turned around, and with a leap, was gone.
The streets were dark, cold, and quiet. She had only traveled a few blocks from her point of origin, and had only seen a few souls since then. Two homeless men, and young couple. The man and the woman were holding each other closely as they walked. They were obviously in a rush to get home. The atmosphere in the night gave the impression that snow was approaching. The smell, the clouds. Buffy continued walking.
After a few more blocks, the scene had only gotten worse. The buildings were filthy and falling apart. Manholes had lost their covers and spewed forth perpetual steam. The lost slayer soon came upon a run down movie theatre. It had obviously been abandoned for years. Only 2 letters remained hanging upon the dilapidated marquee, "RO". There was no one anyone near this part of the neighborhood. The only noises were the howl of the wind and the lingering sounds of far off traffic. Until..
"hehhehhehhehhahahahaha.."
A voice slowly traveled through the frigid air towards Buffy. It was coming from another alley, ahead of her. She carefully back upped against the adjacent brick wall, and approached the source.
She prepared for anything and then stepped quickly into the alley. What she saw was simply a man walking away from her, towards the other end of the alley. It was hard to see in the shadows, luckily Buffy had somewhat enhanced night vision. (after years of hunting) The man was tall, skinny, and had wild hair. He wore a trench coat, which blew softly through the cold night air. Buffy took another step. The man paused, and turned.
"Now who could that be at this time of night, in this type of neighborhood, stalking little ol' me?" the man said with a smile as he turned.
"Please tell me where I am," Buffy pleaded with the shadowy figure. "I just need to know where I am, and how I got here."
The man took a step forward. "You're not him," he said with almost a sense of disappointment in his voice.
"I'm not who? Look, I just need to-"
"You're not HIM, but look at who YOU are! Wowza, you know.I am currently in the need an employee. How do you think you would look in a red and white clown suit? Hehhehhehhehhehheh."
He took another step forward, out of the shadows. Buffy gasped. She had seen a lot in her life, and was seldom shocked. Yet the sight of her new acquaintance sent chills down her spine. His brown trench coat covered a purple suit. Under the suit jacket was an orange vest, over a green shirt and tie. His hands, which were hidden in purple gloves, brushed through his green hair and disheveled it more that it had been before. But it was the face that would give her nightmares for years to come. It was a pure chalk white, his neck as well. A huge smile with bright red lips exposed his teeth and gums, while scrunching together his cheeks on either side.
"Are you lost little girl?" HA! HA! HA! HA!
Buffy / Batman Virtue
This story takes place during Buffy The Vampire Slayer's Third Season
There are slow nights, and then there are SLOW nights. This particular evening fell under the latter. She had been on patrol for almost two hours, and Buffy Anne Summers hadn't slain a single vampire. Maybe this was a "universal balancing out" thing. The night before her and Faith were kept busy for the majority of their patrol; between the two of them they had killed 12 vampires and a 3 Kre-al Demons. All in all a full night. Which perhaps is the reason that Faith decided she had earned this night to relax. She was probably at The Bronze right now, with the gang.
So why wasn't this young, pretty, energy filled girl hanging out with them? Why was she spending her night strolling through a cemetery for what seemed like the millionth time? Simple. She had a job to do.
On the plus side she had a lot to think about, and these quiet nights gave her that opportunity. What with Faith showing up in town, Angel's return and of course the daily chats with mom. As if an over-protective mother wasn't bad enough, it doesn't really help when she finds out her only daughter fights monsters for a living. One more sweep and then I'm SO going home and going straight to bed. FLASH!
Suddenly an intense white light filled the entire graveyard. It only lasted a moment, but the after effects of temporary blindness and an overall sense of confusion were enough to send a warrior into defensive mode. If something were going to attack, she would be ready. The soldier took her stance, readying for battle. Stake in hand, legs bent, senses focused. Her vision returned gradually.nothing seemed to be approaching her. A few more seconds passed. Still nothing. The light had seemed to originate from the east. Buffy glanced in that direction, and decided to investigate. About 30 feet away was a crypt, "Lewis" was the family name carved at the top. She slowly crept up behind the stone structure, and peaked around the corner.
The creature stood about 7 feet tall, it's skin was solid gold. He was bald except for a black ponytail, which reached down to the bottom of his neck. A black silk robe covered its massive frame and blew softly in the evening wind. On his attire there seemed to be red designs, snakelike. Possibly dragons. She was not able to make out any more, since he had his back to her. Well, time to change that.
"Excuse me Mr. Monster," Buffy said. "Was that your flash photography?" The creature turned with a loud growl to face its new threat. Its eyes were small black slits. It's huge mouth opened to reveal two rows of sharp silver teeth.
"Whoa.." Buffy remarked as she put up her fists.
The demon, in response, raised his own weapon. A large spear with a "U" at the end, a strange type of pitchfork. The thing lunged at the girl, aiming the pitchfork straight at her heart. Buffy quickly side stepped to her right, grabbed the spear with her left hand, and delivered a powerful kick to her foe's midsection. The weapon dropped out of his hands, and the creature fell to one knee. Seeing her chance, Buffy raised her stake and brought it down with lightning quick speed towards the top of her opponent's head. The wooden instrument shattered on impact. A stunned Buffy dropped the splintered remains and stumbled back a step.
"Whoa again." she muttered.
The demon picked up his weapon, and rose to his feet. The Slayer readied for another attack. Instead, the creature grabbed the pitchfork with both hands, and made a vertical SLASH motion in the air.
"Umm.that was a little off, I'm over here." Buffy said.
Suddenly a brilliant white light appeared where the demon had made an invisible "cut" in the air. Before she could react, the creature jumped into the light and disappeared.
After she got home, Buffy had a decision to make. She could call Giles now and tell him what had happened, but he was probably asleep at this hour. Or she could get to school a little early tomorrow morning, and talk to him before classes started. The notion of "sleeping in" won. Buffy picked up the phone, and dialed.
"Uhh..Ummm..H-Hello?" Gile's half asleep British voice answered.
Some kids go to the cafeteria on their lunch break, others leave school and don't come back. Buffy Summers goes to the library.
"A Yong Demon," Giles said as Buffy entered the double doors.
"'Yawn?" Buffy asked with raised eyebrows.
"No, 'Yong'. Why, Oh, En, Gee. It's a demon that was first seen on Earth back in Ancient China. I've been researching since last night. Thank you for the wake up call by the way. I so rarely get a full night's sleep, why start now."
"No problem"
"Yes.Yes well in one of the texts it claims that this creature was summoned by Emperor Qin Shi Huang in 230 B.C. Apparently this particular demon has the ability to..to somehow create "rips" in space and time. The text says that the Emperor took advantage of this, and was able to use its powers for teleportation. He would "warp"
from location to location in a matter of seconds, confusing his enemies. There were even tales that the creature could travel between alternate universes. It actually makes sense, history has always questioned how Huang was able to vanquish his enemies so quickly. He defeated the Zhao, Wei, Chu, Yan, Qui-."
"Giles!" Buffy exclaimed. "I'm failing history. Why is it here? And how do I kill it?"
"Oh..yes.right." Giles focused his attention back to the matter at hand. "Sorry.umm, I believe that this is why he is here."
The librarian walked to his desk and brought back a newspaper.
"This article is from three days ago," he explained. "Here."
The Sunnydale Times Ancient Artifact Comes to California A few months ago an international archaeological team announced the discovery of an ancient wooden staff believed to be thousands of years old. It was found in an area that experts believe to have been a central location in Ancient China. The most interesting aspect of the discovery is the designs carved into the wood. The find will be on display at the Sunnydale Historical Museum for the next week.
"So it want's a cane?" Buffy asked as she put down the paper. "Why doesn't he just go to the mall?"
"Because," Giles began. "This staff-"
"-is a mystical magical filled goodie that will give this Yong guy funky powers..right?" Buffy asked.
"Yes, and don't interrupt me."
"And I bet it even has a special name..right?"
"Yes, as a matter of fact it does." Giles said now visibly annoyed. "The Staff of Zee"
"Ok," Buffy said. "So why doesn't he just grab 'Zee' staff and go? What's he doing hanging out in cemeteries."
"I think he was hunting," Giles answered as he paced. "Or rather, feeding. From what I've read Yong demons feed on the life energy of human beings. That spear you saw him with.."
"Yeah, the farmer pitchfork thingee."
"It's actually called a Tiger Fork. It was a popular weapon in Ancient China. The Yong impale their prey with the three ends, and siphon it's life force through the spear, into them."
"So he was trying to eat me?" Buffy asked.
"Essentially yes," Giles answered.
"I have another question," she asked.
"I thought you might."
"What does this staff do?"
Giles paused. "I'm afraid I don't know."
Buffy grabbed her books and began to walk towards the exit. "I think I'll hang out at the museum tonight," she said
"Off so soon," Giles asked with curiosity.
"I have...things to do," Buffy said showing slight discomfort.
"May I ask what type of things?" Giles asked with more curiosity.
Sure, I have to nurse Angel back to health. You remember Angel right? The vampire that snapped your girlfriend's neck, well he's back from Hell.
"Just stuff," she said. "See ya."
The museum was dead, as it should be. It was after all 10:30 p.m. on a Wednesday night. She had wanted to get here sooner, but it was not one of Angel's better days.
There was one guard inside the museum, hopefully he wouldn't be an issue. Buffy had found a place to hide near the front entrance of the building. After surveying the area she determined the bushes near the entrance doors would be the best place to spring an ambush.
When he show up for his ancient cane..wait.staff? Whatever. When he gets here I kill him. Simple Enough.
An hour and eleven minutes passed.
Ok, I should have taken this into consideration. What if he doesn't show tonight? What if he still needs more energy? What if-
"AAAHHHH!"
A terrified scream came from inside the building and broke her concentration. Buffy busted through the double doors and ran into the dark. The Yong Demon stood in the center of the room, with the museum guard cowering on the floor a few feet in front of him. The monster was holding an object in each of its hands. In his right was the tiger fork, glowing with a white energy. In his left, a wooden staff.
"The Staff of Zee," Buffy said under her breath.
She readied herself for battle but first went to check on the guard.
"How did he get in here? I was watching the building!" she exclaimed.
"Who are-.uuuhhhh." the guard strained. "Th-The back entrance.."
"Well that's just-"
The demon had had enough of the two humans and decided to do something about it. He raised the tiger fork and pointed it towards them. The glow intensified.
"Get out of here," Buffy shouted at the weakened guard. "Run!"
He did. The Slayer just managed to avoid the oncoming energy blast by doing a back flip onto a ravaged display case. Broken glass was everywhere. This must have been where the staff was being kept, until the Yong got to it. There was a significantly large shard close to her left foot. She grabbed it.
"What's wrong?" Buffy mockingly asked the creature. "Can't shoot straight"
The Yong Demon let out a furious roar, pointed his weapon, and fired again. This is gonna be tricky, The Slayer thought to herself. The bolt was headed for her left leg. Buffy quickly crouched down and held the glass shard in the path of the white light. Bullseye. What happened next happened in no more than 2 seconds. The blast bounced off the glass, and back to its source. Only a little to the left, towards the wooden staff in the monster's other hand. The two warriors barely even saw the blast make contact with the Staff of Zee, and then there was only white.
She was now outside, that much she knew. No longer in the warm interior of the museum, but in the cold exterior of the street. An alley to be more precise. The concrete was hard and jagged, her form was laying face down in the street.
What happened? Where am I?
The Slayer rose slowly to her feet, disoriented. She was still dizzy, and was now seeing white spots.
Blast from the Yong Demon's tiger fork reflected off the glass, hit the Staff of Zee. Flash of blinding white light.
While she was composing herself, Buffy failed to see what was approaching her from behind. A dark figure, standing a good 13 inches over the girl, blending into the shadows as it crept forward. She heard the sounds of it approaching and turned...
It was a black figure with long, sharp ears. It had what appeared to be claws, which reached for something around its waist.
Buffy attacked.
What was a girl (a small girl) doing out HERE at this time of night? And why is she dressed like that in the dead of winter?
This is what the Batman thought to himself as he approached the shivering young woman who seemingly just appeared out of thin air. He had just scanned this alley 43 seconds ago, and was on his way north. That's when he saw the light.
Doubling back, he now saw a confused blond girl where before there had been nothing. He didn't have time for this, it had been a busy week. A few days ago Mr. Freeze & The Mad Hatter formed a temporary alliance to break out of Arkham Asylum. They were both caught a few hours ago, but only after Freeze had betrayed his business-partner and left him for dead. After Batman located a somewhat frosty Hatter, it wasn't long before Freeze was caught as well.
Unfortunately another rogue saw the opportunity to take advantage of a vulnerable city, while the Dark Knight was distracted hunting the two escapees. And this third villain required the caped crusader's undivided attention.
THUMP!
The girl nailed her new threat square in the jaw, sending him reeling. Small girl, no threat. Let guard down, stupid. He quickly got his footing back and tried to talk to the girl.
"Wai-.."
He was interrupted by a flurry of punches aimed for his head and neck. Bobbing and ducking out of the way, he tried to think of a way to end this without hurting her. He managed to grab her left wrist, and slowly forced her down. Her right fist came towards his face with lightning quick speed, he grabbed it
"Now," Batman said. "Wha-"
She used the fact that he was holding her arms for leverage, pulled herself up, and drove both her legs forcefully into his chest. He fell to the ground, but again was quickly back on his feet. The girl took a step towards him. Without hesitation, he reached into belt and hurled a Batarang towards his threat. It shot like a bullet past Buffy's face, she could feel the wind. It impacted with a loud CHING, and was embedded in the stone wall.
"Stop," he ordered with a chilling voice.
"What are you?" Buffy asked.
He stood there, silent.
"Answer me," she said. "Or we can go again."
After a few seconds, he spoke. "Go home, get off the streets. It's not safe here."
"Especially with you throwing knives at my head"
"It wasn't a knife," he replied. "And I missed on purpose."
She didn't say anything.
"The Joker is at large, and he's been seen around this area" Batman said. "Go home."
With that he turned around, and with a leap, was gone.
The streets were dark, cold, and quiet. She had only traveled a few blocks from her point of origin, and had only seen a few souls since then. Two homeless men, and young couple. The man and the woman were holding each other closely as they walked. They were obviously in a rush to get home. The atmosphere in the night gave the impression that snow was approaching. The smell, the clouds. Buffy continued walking.
After a few more blocks, the scene had only gotten worse. The buildings were filthy and falling apart. Manholes had lost their covers and spewed forth perpetual steam. The lost slayer soon came upon a run down movie theatre. It had obviously been abandoned for years. Only 2 letters remained hanging upon the dilapidated marquee, "RO". There was no one anyone near this part of the neighborhood. The only noises were the howl of the wind and the lingering sounds of far off traffic. Until..
"hehhehhehhehhahahahaha.."
A voice slowly traveled through the frigid air towards Buffy. It was coming from another alley, ahead of her. She carefully back upped against the adjacent brick wall, and approached the source.
She prepared for anything and then stepped quickly into the alley. What she saw was simply a man walking away from her, towards the other end of the alley. It was hard to see in the shadows, luckily Buffy had somewhat enhanced night vision. (after years of hunting) The man was tall, skinny, and had wild hair. He wore a trench coat, which blew softly through the cold night air. Buffy took another step. The man paused, and turned.
"Now who could that be at this time of night, in this type of neighborhood, stalking little ol' me?" the man said with a smile as he turned.
"Please tell me where I am," Buffy pleaded with the shadowy figure. "I just need to know where I am, and how I got here."
The man took a step forward. "You're not him," he said with almost a sense of disappointment in his voice.
"I'm not who? Look, I just need to-"
"You're not HIM, but look at who YOU are! Wowza, you know.I am currently in the need an employee. How do you think you would look in a red and white clown suit? Hehhehhehhehhehheh."
He took another step forward, out of the shadows. Buffy gasped. She had seen a lot in her life, and was seldom shocked. Yet the sight of her new acquaintance sent chills down her spine. His brown trench coat covered a purple suit. Under the suit jacket was an orange vest, over a green shirt and tie. His hands, which were hidden in purple gloves, brushed through his green hair and disheveled it more that it had been before. But it was the face that would give her nightmares for years to come. It was a pure chalk white, his neck as well. A huge smile with bright red lips exposed his teeth and gums, while scrunching together his cheeks on either side.
"Are you lost little girl?" HA! HA! HA! HA!