Okay dokey here we go. This chapter gave me the willies simply from writing it! You have been warned. Here we go R&R!!!
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Disclaimer: I do not own the JL but the story I do.
The Shadows Live chapter 7: Bats and Memories
The darkness faded bit by bit as they made their way through the narrow passageway. Mists began to roll in gradually and more bats began to flutter about overhead. As the team made their way through this new room the mists began to thicken and form bony hands and pale tortured faces. The heard antagonized wails as the ghostly hands clawed at them but never hurting. Everyone stared into the swirling mists that had formed these ghosts and they were thrown out of their thoughts when J'onn's voice broke through the darkness.
"All of the people he's failed to save." He whispered. Explaining to everyone what they saw.
So many faces in the mist were children. There were police in uniform, a lawyer, and…Jason.
Jason, unlike all the others, stood in full living color. Followed the mists but seemed separate from it altogether. He remained motionless, simply staring. He did not claw or cry out as the others did. He simply stood and stared. Looking exactly the way he did when Joker killed him.
Upon sighting Jason Dick let out a frightened gasp and winced as he beheld the bloody sight. The side of his face was still caved in from Joker's beating. Jason lifted a twisted bloody finger and pointed towards a flock of bats perched upon the ceiling. Or what appeared to be the ceiling. The bats varied in color and size. There were black bats, white bats, and grey bats, big and small bats. There seemed to be hundred perhaps thousands of them clinging to the roof.
After pointing his mangled finger towards the flock of bats Jason smiled and sank into the mists as they rolled away.
The group wandered over towards the flock of bats.
"Memories. The bigger the bat the bigger the impact on his life." J'onn whispered again as his eyes began to glow.
A white one opened its bright pink eyes and stared at them. It let out a light chirp and the large white bat alighted on Wally's shoulder.
Instantly everything around them changed. The bats disappeared and the darkness faded replaced by the casual walls of an Italian restaurant.
Bruce and Diana sat at a table in the far back a blue bandana was tied around her raven black hair. Suddenly two Thanagarians burst through the door and threw quick glances around the room. As this happened Diana grabbed Bruce and brought him into a lengthy kiss which he returned.
"Did a man and a woman run through here?" The Thanagarian questioned the manager.
"No." The manager responded.
"What about those two?" He pointed towards Bruce and Diana.
"Oh. The lovebirds? They've been here for hours."
"Hmmmm."
The Thanagarian left and Diana pulled away.
"Sorry." She apologized.
"Don't be." Bruce smiled.
After a few moments the scene faded back to the gloomy blackness in Bruce's mind. The quiet fluttering of the white bat's wings echoed through the room as it joined the other bats.
A large black bat suddenly threw open its eyes to reveal blood red irises. It screeched as it swooped down and dug its claws into Clark's shoulder.
But this time it was different. Instead of a bright restaurant it changed to a dark run down apartment.
Bruce, dressed in full Batman uniform, was searching the room.
"There's got to be something you can use to find her. Anything! You're just not looking hard enough!" He thought to himself.
He searched and searched and searched then his gaze lingered on the furnace.
He opened the small steel door and dug through the ashes. His hand hit something, something soft and he grabbed a hold of it. What he pulled out and the realization of what it was almost made him cry. He pulled out a small pink blouse.
"No!" He thought.
The barking and baying of dogs brought his attention to the window. He went numb with anger as he beheld the sight the window had in store fro him. He had found her. The three dogs fought, bit, and clawed over a single human arm.
It hit him like a smack in the face. Just as the anger began to boil inside him the sound of shattering glass reached his ears. He turned back towards the window and saw that one of the dogs had broken its chain and smashed its way through the window.
It released a feral snarl, foam dripping from its mouth as it settled back on its haunches. Bruce threw a small pellet at the dog. As it leapt it ran headlong into the pellet as it flew through the air. It exploded on contact blowing the dog's head apart sending bits of flesh and brain flying, splattering on the walls and floor. Batman kicked away an eye as the front door opened revealing a man.
He wasn't built up. In fact he looked more like a couch potato but in an instant Bruce knew this was the man he was looking for. Batman ducked into the shadows.
As the man walked past Bruce he slammed into him knocking the man against the open furnace door. He glared upon the frightened man in a dead silence.
"Why are you here?! I didn't do anything!" The man shouted.
Batman neared him and pulled out the picture of a small six year old girl. He held it to the man's face.
"What? Her? I don't know her. Never seen her in my life. I haven't done anything and there isn't anything you can do that'll make me confess to something I didn't do."
Bruce took the flashlight he was holding and trained it on the dog's gruesome form and stared at him not saying a word.
"Yeah. Fine. I did it." He said with a smile. "I'm a sick old man."
"This bastard's not going to learn if I just haul him off to prison. Probably been there before. It'd be nothing more than a vacation to him"
Bruce's anger finally hit him full force when the man smiled. Fuming he walked over to a nearby cabinet and opened it to reveal rows of knives. He reached in and pulled out a large meat cleaver, weighing it in his hands.
"Did you hear what I said!? I confessed take me to prison!"
Bruce approached the man, blade in his strong grip.
"Her name was Marsha." He growled as he leaned down.
"You can't." The man whispered.
"You're right I can't. You need to live." He said as he hauled the man upright. "But I don't think you need these." Batman growled as he set both the man's hands on a cutting block tying them there with a piece of sturdy wire.
"No please don't!" The man screamed at Bruce.
"I wonder how many pleas you heard from Marsha," He said as he raised the blade high above his head. "and ignored." He brought it down.
A loud scream pierced the air as the man fell to the ground. Blood sprayed and spattered against the uncovered part of his face and black mask. He stood for a second, hands quivering with anger. Then he screamed with rage slamming the blade down, splitting the cutting block and embedding the knife in the table. The scene faded.
The group stood in a stunned silence. Jaws hung open like dead fish.
"I guess that's why he tries not to lose his temper." John whispered shakily.
"Think happy thought. Think happy thoughts." Flash mumbled as he rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet. "There are no happy thoughts! Somebody grab a white bat!"
But instead a tiny grey one fluttered down.
"Please don't be bad." Wally whimpered.
It landed on Dick's shoulder and once again the scene changed.
This time it was outside the United Nations plaza. He walked with a look of pure anger in his eyes when someone called his name.
"Batman!" He turned to the sound of the voice.
"Superman?! What are you doing here?"
"The state department asked me to stop by."
"Why?"
"Because they guessed you'd be here."
"How Did they know that?"
"The Iranian Government informed them that you might show up to cause trouble."
"Superman what's going on here?"
"This is not going to be easy to explain Batman. I'm sure I understand how it all came about myself. Iran has a new ambassador to the U.N showing up today. The state department checked. It's all legitimate and by the book. So it seems this man has complete diplomatic immunity. That means no one can arrest him for any crimes in this country. The police can't touch him. Neither can you. This immunity also covers any violations of the law he might have committed before being appointed to the post. I'm sorry Batman that's the way it works. We have to go along with this madness. Diplomatic immunity is a two-way street. If we don't honor Iran's rights in this matter there's no reason for them to respect ours."
"I didn't know they ever did. Or did you just forget how they took over our embassy a few years back?" Batman stated as he turned away.
"If you try anything Batman it could start an international incident. I'm here to talk sense into you but I that doesn't work…"
"Who's the ambassador?" Bruce growled as he whirled around to face Clark. "Who?"
"Why don't you just go home?"
"Who?"
"There's nothing you can do."
"WHO?!" As he screamed this he laid one solid punch to Superman's jaw sending him spinning to the side.
"Feel better now?" Clark asked as he stood up straight.
"I think I broke a couple of knuckles…" He groaned holding his hand.
"No. But they're badly bruised. You're lucky I rolled with that punch. You could have crippled yourself." He said as he examined Bruce's hand.
Bruce yanked his hand away from Clark and began to walk away.
"I can't believe you actually did that Batman. What's eating you?"
The scene slowly faded back into the pitch darkness.
"Whoa dude! He decked you?" Tim shouted.
"He was pretty mad."
The group made their way further into the flock of bats until they laid eyes upon a giant black bat. It yawned revealing rows of long blood streaked fags and a necklace of pearls stuck between two of them. It stretched out its huge wings nicking Shayera and sounds penetrated the darkness. Quiet but audible and all knew what horrid memory this black bat symbolized.
A loud bang rang through the room followed by shouts and cries.
"Mommy!? Daddy!? Wake up! You can't leave me! Mommy Please! Get up!"
Tears formed in Clark's eyes which he hurriedly brushed away. He needed to focus.
"There." John pointed to a small beam of light illuminating the path to another room in the dark maze.
As they headed towards it one of the larger bats swooped down and began terrorizing them.
"Where do you think you're going? Who said you could leave?" It squealed as it clawed at them leaving bloodied marks.
Clark reached out, grabbed the bat, and slung it into the wall. It hopped up and began shouting to the others.
"What are you doing you fools?! They aren't dead! Get them!!"
All at once a battle started behind them. The black bats against the white ones the grey remained impassive still rooted to the ceiling. But finally the black began to break through for they far outnumbered the white. A wave of black bats swarmed towards the group.
"RUN!!" J'onn shouted.
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Whoo! What a workout huh? Lotsa typing did all this in one sitting. Ya I have nothing better to do than write for this site. Hope you liked!
