The sounds of a battle were nearby, and curious, she sauntered over, still munching on the herb-roasted chicken leg she held. Her talons were already licked clear, and this time her hair remained spotless. Dayher could be such a nuisance, screaming over every little blood smear. She was more careful this time. Around the block was where the battle took place.
An odd, white man with grass-green hair and a purple suit laughed maniacally as he systematically destroyed a figure in the shadows. She found herself giggling with the maniac, the laughter infectious. The shadow leapt to life, seemingly unharmed by the peppering of loud bullets. She frowned, missing the smell of blood. The metal-like aroma was the best after a night of fun. The laughing man wasn't laughing anymore, but looking around quickly. He caught sight of her in the shadows and motioned at her.
Out of no where a man-thing grabbed her, one arm around the waist, the other around her mouth.
"Ha, ha! See, Bat-breath? I am a conventional at heart. So, while you save the damsel in distress I shall make a fond farewell and-" The laughing man stopped laughing when she was brought into the dim light. His mouth dropped and his eyes widened.
Growling low in her throat, she easily snapped the wrist holding her mouth and kicked right up, over her shoulder the slam the soft white-tan boot into the man-thing's face. A satisfying crunch sounded, and she wrapped an ankle around his. With a jump she had him flat on his back with a crack and her sprinting past the Laughing man, the Bat-thing, and into an alley.
Stupid man-thing! She ranted in her head. If Dayher found out about this, she would not be pleased, no, not at all. Dayher hated lying, especially when she didn't even know the truth.
Without warning, a strong hand clasped about her waist, lifting her, up, and up and up. She, who was extremely afraid of heights, clutched what turned out to be the Bat-Thing. Her panic subsided, even though they were flying from wire to wire, when she caught scent of him. Leather and darkness, she decided a moment, later. He smelled of Leather and darkness. Rubber, muscle, sweat, soap, chemicals from the exploding wire-toys he used to help him fly. Odd, she thought, that a bat needed wire-toys to help him fly. Maybe his wings were broken. Or maybe, he never used the wings, so they weren't strong enough. Unable to help herself she took a deep breath at his neck, closing her eyes in bliss.
This was a suitable mate.
Then she shook those thoughts out of her head. Dayher would not be pleased. So she growled instead of humming in pleasure, and began squirming against his iron hold.
"Stay still or I'll drop you." His voice was soft, but held steel and she immediately stopped, remembering their height. After a moment of false-flying, the Bat-thing set them on a sky-building top. Hissing deep in her throat she scuttled away from him.
After putting a great deal of distance between them, she studied him. Black, rubber and leather armor, with a belt that held a great many surprises. He talked softly into a wrist thing a moment, before turning to her.
"So, another cat-lady?" He asked, and she imagined the question was filled with disdain. She narrowed her eyes and mutinously stayed silent. Cat? She knew of no such cat-lady. Cats were arrogant animals, always primping. Superior only to humans and those fawning stupid canines. Her hips hit the ledge and she looked over. Many tree-distances high. She began thinking quickly.
With a determination that characterized her, she turned to leap down. She'd barely went two feet when one wire-thing wrapped about her legs and tugged her to an abrupt stop. Wriggling, as if foiled, she expertly undid the knot. When Bat-thing scaled down beside her, she glared at him, before quickly wrapping the wire around his torso and latching onto his wire. Thus incapacitated she gave the Bat-thing a grin.
"My name's Hyena." She allowed voice husky and sensual. The she pressed the release on the wire-thing and slid the rest of the way down, before taking off into the night.
It was another glorious night, Hyena thought easily, and then sighed in pleasure. Dayher was getting used to the change, even coming along, if only in her dreams. She was sprawled on top of a cemetery gate post, satiated and calmed after rabbit-hunt-chase-and-eat, her favorite pastime. She'd avoided the main part of the city, mainly to stop Dayher from saying she was crazy and also avoid the Bat-thing. So far, so good.
A scream interrupted her siesta, and Hyena frowned.
She trailed the sound to the cemetery where a man-thing was trying to mate with a woman-thing. The woman-thing cried and screamed and tried to get away. Hyena then noticed the woman-thing was a cub. Growling low in her throat, she narrowed her eyes. With a yipping cry she charged, sending the man-thing flying. He knocked his head on a stone and stopped moving. The girl-cub was sobbing, metallic blood seeping from between her thighs. Also, from the wounds on her shoulders from the sharp metal that the man-thing hit her with. Fake claws, she thought, like the Bat-things fake-flying.
She knew this because the metal claw was sticking out of her arm. Blood pooled around the wound, which stung like a bite. Snarling she ripped the fake claw out and, ignoring her pain, kneeled beside the girl-cub. To calm her she purred deeply in her throat, stroking her long hair. The girl-cub quieted.
Hospital. We need to get her to a hospital
Dayher! Dayher was talking inside her.
No, Hyena answered No city. City ask question. Girl-cub not make it.
You've got to find someone to help! Dayher insisted. Hyena nodded, agreeing. Then she took off, speeding out of the cemetery and through the city.
Find battle, find Bat, Hyena figured. And here was battle. Or the remains anyway. The Bat-thing was talking into his wrist. Hyena closed the distance between them. Without warning a sharp Bat-toy flew out and slammed into her cheek with enough force to bruise on impact. Yipping under her breath Hyena cradled her injured cheek.
"Fine thanks Bat-Thing. Hyena show girl-cub. Man-thing mated, and too young. Cemetery." Hyena insisted. Human language was a bit beyond her. Bat-thing frowned.
"What?" He asked. Hyena snarled in annoyance.
"Girl-cub. Girl-cub, too young to mate. Taken, mated by bad man-thing. Fake metal claws bit deep. Much blood. Come help." She explained again.
"A girl was… raped?" He translated in a husky dark voice. Hyena cocked her head.
Raped. Yes she was raped. Dayher revealed. Hyena nodded.
"Come, come Bat-thing. Girl-cub weak." Hyena began trotting quickly, leaving Batman to follow her. She got it back to the cemetery in less time, around twenty minutes since she left. Hyena kneeled beside the girl-cub. Still living.
"You did this?" Bat-thing was checking the pulse of the man-thing.
"Not him Bat-thing. Girl-cub need help. Yes, Hyena knocked him off girl-cub. He hurt her. Bleeding. Blood. Weak." Hyena motioned to the girl-cub with a black taloned hand. Bat-thing came over, kneeling. He flipped a black box open.
"Gordon. I need an ambulance at the Crawford cemetery immediately. A young girl was raped. She's in bad shape." Bat-thing said. Hyena cocked her head and watched him.
"And the perp?" Gordon asked after sending the nearest ambulance.
"Dead. Knocked against the headstone." Bat-thing paused. "She most
likely kicked him off."
"Good for her. It'll be there momentarily. Gordon out."
Bat-thing stood a rippled movement of black cloak. He studied the Hyena girl who seemed to be absorbed in picking off the dried blood from her skin.
"Are you helping me, or against me?" He finally asked. She looked up at him, cocked her head as if listening to something, and then shrugged.
"Hyena not understand human-things. Evil, some of them. Not evil others. All very confusing and Hyena merely wants to… be. To hunt rabbit and lie under the moon and please Dayher. To be… Hyena. If bad man-things hurt girl-cubs, Hyena will help. But, why look for battle that is not Hyena's? Human-things need to fight, or they'll get weak. That's just life." Hyena shrugged again.
Bat-thing looked her over as if she were not right, and then turned away.
~_*_~
Bruce watched the video record of Hyena, as she explained her stance on good and evil for the fifth time.
"Master Wayne, who is Dayer?" Alfred asked from beside him. Bruce frowned.
"What if its not Dayer, but Dayher like two entities?" He asked. Alfred nodded.
"Yes, and Hyena is a primitive side." Alfred finished. "But what could have driven a person to split their personalities so?"
"I'm not so sure. Look, her entire body was changed, not just her temperament. Believe me, those claws are real." Bruce denied freezing the screen on a full-body image.
"What about Joker's attack on the city a month ago? Master Wayne that was when he let his hyenas attack the populace. If they bite someone and they had disease on their mouths…" Alfred trailed off.
"So, my negligence has created another super-villain." Bruce brooded. Alfred snorted, and he looked up, shocked.
"Horse shit. Beg your pardon, Master Bruce, but it's not your fault that her blood reacted, nor is it your fault that Joker attacked. You were there five minutes after it started. All this brooding and blaming can only lead to self-destruction." Alfred reminded him, before taking the tray and leaving. Bruce turned back to the monitor.