Crimes of Passion
Disclaimer: All familiar characters belong to DC or Marvel. I own Farrah/Persiana and Lance/Diablos.
Chapter 2: Not Revenge; Punishment!
A man in a green derby hat, a green and purple suit, and, wearing a green tie with a purple question mark, was ordering several men in black,
"Come now, gentlemen. Time is of the essence."
He was the Riddler, formerly Edward Nigma. Several men were robbing the bank, while he was concocting up some riddle to confuse his nemesis Batman. As he was thinking of some new clues, he heard the sounds of his men coming toward him. He smiled,
"Ah, green; the universal color of money."
Suddenly, all the men that had robbed the bank were shot down. Riddler was surprised and looked up to see a man walking toward him. The man was dressed in all black and had a white skull on his chest. In his hands was an intimidating assault weapon.
The puzzle-using villain gasped,
"Who are you? Batman doesn't kill people!"
The man with the skull glared,
"I'm not the Bat. I'm here to stop you."
One of the surviving goons pleaded,
"Take the money! Just let me live!"
The man in the skull shook his head,
"Not gonna happen."
He fired, obliterating the goon's face off his body. Riddler swallowed nervously,
"What do you want?"
"Want? I want punishment!"
The sound of the last blast echoed for miles.
One hour later…
A graying man with a gray mustache was looking at the body of the Riddler. It had been riddled with bullets. No one could tell this used to be the face of one of Batman's rogues.
A heavy man in a suit came up to him,
"There are more bodies like this, Commish. What happened here?"
The Commish was Commissioner James Gordon, head of Gotham Police. He was a long time friend of Batman, and had seen his share of grizzly crimes. This, however, took the cake,
"I don't know, Harvey. It's not like Batman to kill people."
"I'm glad you see it that way, Jim."
The two turned and saw Batman exit the shadows, along with his protégé Robin. Instantly, the Boy Wonder covered his mouth,
"I think I'm gonna be sick."
Batman surveyed the bodies, trying not to show any emotion as he did, but, deep down, he was horrified. It brought him back to his parents' murders, and how horrible it must have been for him to experience it.
Quickly surveying the bodies, and noticed something. Feeling the pulse, he said,
"This one's still alive."
Commissioner Gordon ordered,
"Get him to a hospital now!"
Aboard the Watchtower…
Persiana was in the League's training room. She had configured it to create a balance beam and was busy tumbling across it. It had been a while, but the were-lioness was easily able to execute all her old stunts, and throw in some new ones as well. Being a were-feline had meant she had almost perfect balance, so she did not worry about falling.
Raising her arms as high as she could, she easily flipped to the other end of the beam, somersaulting and twisting in the air with almost other-worldly and playful grace. She then dismounted, smiling to herself.
Her ears twitched as she heard someone behind her. Turning, she noticed a raven haired woman in red with silver stars and a lasso on her. She was Donna Troy, the heroine known as Wonder Girl, and also Farrah's best friend. Donna applauded,
"Amazing. I do not believe there are many on Themysciria that can do what you can do."
Farrah shrugged,
"It's not anything special. I was just remembering my old self."
She sighed,
"It just seemed too easy."
Donna smiled,
"Well, you have been trained well."
Farrah sipped some water,
"It's not what I meant, although that plays into it. I mean, being a cat makes moving easier. I mean, I did this same routine when I was twelve, and I always seemed to nail everything right. Now, it's more apparent, but then, I thought I was just good."
Wonder Girl nodded,
"I believe I know what you are saying."
Just then, the were-lioness got a call. She answered,
"Hello?"
Batman answered,
"It's me. Meet me in Gotham. You might want to hear this."
Farrah nodded,
"Something wrong?"
"Just get down here."
Farrah turned off her communicator and shuddered,
"I wonder what Bats wants."
She looked at Donna,
"What does your sister see in him?"
Donna shook her head,
"I do not know. I will have to ask her. Anyway, I like my Roy just the way he is."
A shrill scream came from outside the training room. The two heroines looked out and saw a red-headed young man in a black eye mask and a blonde man in a green archer costume running for their lives. The heroes were Oliver Queen and Roy Harper, the heroes Green Arrow and Speedy, respectively. The two were being chased by a very angry blonde woman with a black eye mask and in a one piece. She was the heroine known as Miss Marvel. She shouted,
"Give me back that camera! I'm gonna rip you to shreds for this!"
Speedy hid behind Donna,
"She's nuts! Help me!"
The emerald archer still kept running with Miss Marvel hot on his heels. He shouted back,
"Oh, yeah. Great goin', Roy!"
Farrah asked,
"Is there something you want to tell us?"
Roy shook his head quickly,
"Nope. Nothing. Nada."
Donna placed her hands on her hips, starting to admonish him,
"Roy."
Persiana shook her head,
"I don't have time for this. I have to see Batman."
With that, she left.
In Gotham…
The robber the Dynamic Duo had found alive was in a hospital bed. Robin shuddered,
"So, any idea on who did this?"
Batman looked at his sidekick,
"Still working on it."
Just then, Persiana tapped on the window,
"Well, are ya gonna let me in out of the cold or what?"
Tim Drake opened it and the were-lioness somersaulted in the room, landing on all fours. She stood up and rubbed her hands,
"Cold night."
Batman remained stoic,
"About an hour ago, someone shot up the Riddler's gang. One person survived."
Farrah stretched her arms high,
"As much as I like getting the bad guys off the street, why call me?"
Batman pulled the curtain back and the unconscious criminal lay there. He was soundly sleeping. The Dark Knight said,
"I was waiting for you. I think he should tell us what he saw."
Farrah grinned,
"Let's get to work."
Disabling the nurse call button, Farrah casually started breathing warmly into the criminal's ear. The criminal smiled and looked up. Immediately, his face dropped and his eyes shot open in shock,
"Please, don't kill me."
Persiana playfully remarked,
"Now, where would you ever get such an idea like that, handsome?"
She gently traced her claws over his bald head. The heart rate monitors were starting to beep faster. The were-lioness giggled,
"Now, here's how this works; you can tell me who shot you, or the big, scary Bat over their gets to play hospital surgeon with your digestive system. Now, what do you prefer?"
She leaned closer, growling,
"And don't think about screaming. My claws are directly near your jugular vein. One decibel higher than a stage whisper, and I slice it. Got it?"
The criminal nodded fearfully and said,
"P-P-P-Punisher."
Instantly, Farrah was stunned. She removed her claws and asked,
"You're certain it was the Punisher?"
Batman asked,
"Do you know that name?"
Farrah nodded,
"Yeah, but, it can't be possible. He-."
She looked at the criminal. With one chop, she knocked him unconscious. She continued,
"Sorry. Punisher is a hero in my world, but he kills criminals."
Robin swallowed nervously,
"Some hero."
Farrah nodded,
"Tell me about it. When I was in Cap's resistance, some criminals wanted to join up. Punisher shot them in front of all of us. And if half the stories I heard about him are true, then you're dealing with someone that is totally unwilling to reason."
Robin thought for a moment,
"If he kills criminals, then he should not be that difficult to spot. Right?"
Batman looked at Persiana, to which she continued,
"When I mean criminal, I mean everyone, from mobsters, all the way to jaywalkers. He's not afraid to enforce the law, in his own little sick world."
Batman asked,
"Why does he do it?"
Farrah explained,
"The Punisher's family was the target of a mob hit. Turns out, the mob hit the wrong target. He's been after them since then. His real name is Frank Castle. He was in the Marines, Black Ops. This guy is dangerous, Batman. I mean it; do not underestimate him at all."
Suddenly, there were several explosions coming from the building several blocks away. Gunfire could be also heard. Tim Drake shook his head,
"Well, looks like the Punisher's at it again."
Farrah opened the window,
"We have to stop him."
Next Chapter:
Batman, Robin, and Persiana vs. The Punisher.