Chapter V: The Blind Knight Part 2
Gotham City, NJ. 2006.
Jason Castle was summing this up to be the second worst day of his life. One of his kneecaps was nearly shattered, his left arm was broken, his vision was blurred from his black eye, and the Slaughter was standing right above him, holding a crowbar.
"Wow, that looked like it hurt." The madman said with mock sympathy before hitting the blunt of the crowbar against Jason's chin. The teen groaned and coughed up a pint of blood. "No, wait, that looked like it hurt a lot more…" Slaughter's twisted smile grew wider, revealing his sharpened teeth.
Jason craned his head to face the psychotic villain. He tried to speak but his vocal chords had suffered severe damage. Slaughter knelt down, grabbed him by the hair, and pulled his head back so they'd be face-to-face. "A little louder, lamb chop. I think you may have a collapsed lung." Jason sneered and spat onto Slaughter's face. The red-skinned villain angrily slammed Jason's head into the cold floor.
"Now that was rude." He said as he pulled a white handkerchief out of his coat pocket to wipe away the blood. "The first Boy Blunder had manners." Jason turned himself over to reveal his own blood-stained smile. "I suppose I'll have to teach you some so that you can better follow in his example." Slaughter paused before he smiled again. "Nah, I'm just gonna keep beating you with this crowbar." He planted his foot on the side of Jason's head and laughed maniacally as he looked into the teen's fear-filled eyes.
Meanwhile, Gargoyle was driving his specially made automobile in a desperate rush to find his young ward. The vehicles engine was designed to vibrate at a specific frequency that would allow his sonar-vision to 'see' where he was going. When his on-board computer finally led him to an abandoned warehouse, he didn't hesitate to leap out of the vehicle and rush to his partner's aid.
But before he could get within three yards of the entrance, the explosion knocked him backwards onto the vehicle's windshield. Despite the ringing in his ears, and his sonar-vision being barely functional, he pressed on. He was determined not to fail one of the most loyal people he had ever known. Desperately shifting through the rubble, Gargoyle's skin began to blister until he finally found what he was looking for.
"No…" Gargoyle whimpered as he picked up the body. "Jason…" He had failed again, but this time, the cost was higher. His son was dead.
Gotham City, NJ. Present day.
Despite the horrifying circumstances, Tim Lopez was summing this up to be the best day of his life. Just a moment ago, he was teaching ASL to deaf students, and now he was watching a Russian mercenary called the Soviet being beaten up by the Gargoyle. As in, the most badass superhero in the entire world.
Tim had been a fan of the Dark Daredevil ever since he was a little kid. He had seen him on the news bulletins, read about him in the papers, and even made several attempts to try and deduce his secret identity. Now Tim had finally gotten the chance to see his idol in action. And, even though everyone else had evacuated the premises, he stayed behind to watch the fight.
Gargoyle, however, was not very amused. He was supposed to call Director Fury to discuss the terms and conditions of his admission to the Justice Legion of Avengers. But instead, he was now fighting a Russian mercenary in an abandoned worksite next to a high school. He knew he needed to end this quickly before anyone got seriously injured, or worse.
As Gargoyle parried each blow the Soviet advanced with, his strategic mind was studying his fight pattern. He knocked his enemy's arm to the side, and with a powerful thrust, he severely damaged the custom arm-weapon. But the Soviet was still well-equipped, and was more than a match for Gargoyle's physical prowess. As Matt continued to block the advancing blows, as well as put in a few good jabs himself, Jarvis communicated with him through an ear-piece.
"Mister Wayne, don't let him get too close to you! He's in his prime; he has speed on his side!"
"Yes, thank you for the commentary, Jarvis. It's not distracting me at all." Gargoyle replied, sarcastically. But Jarvis wasn't wrong; the Soviet was, at least, twenty years younger than him. That gave his opponent a slight advantage, which he demonstrated with a quick blow to Gargoyle's jaw.
Matt staggered back, trying not to let his enemy get the upper hand. Once he was able to shift his focus back onto the Soviet, Matt jumped into the air and kicked him in the ribcage. The Soviet buckled in pain, leaving himself open to another right jab into the chin. Matt felt his chances were beginning to improve, until his opponent caught his fist. Matt was pulled down and received a devastating head-clap from the Soviet.
It hadn't killed him, but everything blurred. Matt's sonar-vision began to go haywire. He couldn't tell what was happening. Unfortunately, the Soviet advanced with another powerful blow to his chest. Then, he sent Matt flying through the air with a strong uppercut blow. Tim was shocked as he saw the protector of his city go down. He wanted to help, but he didn't know how. But when he looked down and saw something glistening on the ground, Tim realized what he needed to do. He picked up the glistening object, tore off a piece of his sweatshirt, wrapped it around his face, and rushed into the worksite.
The Soviet wrapped his hand around Gargoyle's throat, and began to slam his fist into the hero's face. Each blow made Gargoyle's sonar-vision worse; he was more blind than he ever had been. The Soviet took off his mask and leaned in closer. ("I guess this is good bye.") He reached behind his back and held a pistol to the hero's head. ("And when we say good bye… we die a little inside.")
But before he could pull the trigger, something had knocked him down. He fired off two shots in self defense before he stood back up. His eyes darted from side-to-side, surveying the construction site to find what had hit him. If he had looked up, he would have seen a young Latino boy in a make-shift mask, an over-sized safety vest, and swinging from a suspension bar.
"Gymnastics, don't fail me now." Tim dropped down behind the Soviet and kicked the back of his knee. Then, he quickly jumped over him so that he could look him in the eye. "Stop me if you've heard this one…" He said before punching the Russian thug in the face and cart wheeling out of sight. "Two guys walk into a bar…" The Soviet quickly stood up, only to be knocked down again by a steel pipe. "You'd think the second guy would've ducked!" Tim laughed as he back-flipped to a safe distance.
Meanwhile, Matt was trying to get up. His sonar was still disrupted, but it was slowly getting better. As he tried to get up, pain rippled throughout his body. He deduced that he had several broken bones in his left arm, as well as a fractured tibia in his left leg, possibly even some internal bleeding. Nevertheless, he forced himself up onto his feet, trying to figure out what had happened to the Soviet. As he propped himself up against a wall, he heard some kind of struggle going on about twenty feet in front of him.
At last, his sonar had fully recovered, allowing him to get an idea of what was going on. His sonar showed the Soviet was fighting someone else. The sounds made from the weight of their footsteps indicated they were a little over five feet tall, their heartbeat was going at a pace similar to a person in their early adolescence, and Matt could have sworn he heard a flapping noise similar to the sound of the loose ties of a mask.
"Dare…? J-Jason…?" He muttered to himself.
As much as Tim was enjoying himself, he needed to end this fight quickly. But the Soviet refused to go down. It wasn't long before he finally knocked the pipe out of the young boy's hands, and grabbed him by the neck.
"Normally, killing children is beneath me. But for you, I shall make an exception."
"O-oh… so, you c-can speak English…" Tim choked.
"And after I've killed the Gargoyle, victory shall be mine!"
"Oh, yeah? Well, I hope you can enjoy your victory with one, freakin' eye!" In a blur of motion, Tim grasped the shuriken he had found earlier, and jammed it into the Soviet's left eye. Despite the searing pain, the Soviet tightened his grip around Tim's neck.
Matt felt fear rush through his entire being. His body was still in pain, but his spirit prevented him from letting the Soviet take another life. As he fumbled with his utility belt, he could hear the boy's breaths begin to shorten; soon they would stop altogether.
Finally, he found what he was searching for, and with his last ounce of strength, threw it directly at the Soviet. The pellet struck the villain's cheek, and a thick, sticky substance covered his mouth and nostrils. On instinct, he dropped the boy, and tried to peel the sticky substance off of himself. He fell to his knees, his head felt dizzy, and he finally collapsed to the ground, struggling and twitching until he suffocated.
Matt also collapsed; his energy fully drained. The last thing his sonar showed him, before blacking out, was a young boy running towards him. As he began to slip into unconsciousness, he thought about Jason, and how much he had missed him.
"Please, don't be dead! Please, don't be dead! Please, don't be dead!" Tim skidded over to Gargoyle and pressed two fingers against his wrist. "Oh, thank God…" Tim sighed with relief. "Now, get up!" Tim noticed Gargoyle was reaching for a small black remote with a red button on it. Tim picked it up, pressed the button, and in a flash of light, a strange vehicle was sitting before them.
Tim gathered up all of his strength, and lifted Gargoyle into the vehicle. "Well done, young man. Now, please, run along." An elderly man's voice came from the radio, but Tim ignored it and climbed into the passenger seat before the vehicle took off. Tim was amazed by the incredible technology in the vehicle, but a cough from Gargoyle drew his attention.
"Who are you?" Gargoyle stammered. "What's your name?"
"T-Tim… Tim Lopez." He stuttered. But as he brushed his hand against his mask, he felt a rush of courage in his heart. He looked back at his hero and spoke confidently. "Dare."
For a while, Gargoyle said nothing. Then, he took off his own mask, revealing his pale eyes to the young boy. "Mine's… Matt."
"Sir, you are delirious!" the old man's voice came again. "I suggest you keep quiet until I can properly pilot you to a hospital."
"No, Jarvis! No hospital, take me to the cave."
"But, sir!"
"The cave!" Gargoyle coughed violently, prompting Tim to hold him down so he wouldn't hurt himself. "And… Dare… comes with us…"
Tim felt his excitement increase exponentially. He was going to see the Gargoyle's secret hide-out. As they rushed through the streets of Gotham at an incredible speed, Tim was trying to keep Matt awake. "Hey, c'mon, man. Stay with me! Talk about something! Like, uh, what do you call this car?"
"… Dick… called it… the Gargomobile… something a… a kid would say."
"I like it." When they arrived at the cave, Jarvis wasted no time in getting Matt onto a gurney and racing to the medical portion of the cave. In the meantime, Tim was ordered to stay at the Gargomobile until he was told otherwise. While he waited, he decided to make a quick phone call.
("Hi, mom. Yes, I'm fine, we, uh, got evacuated when Gargoyle showed up to help. Aw, man, you should've seen it, it was so awesome… Yes, I am in the city right now… yes, I will get home as soon as I can… okay… okay, love you, too. Bye.")
He hung up and waited patiently before Jarvis emerged from the shadows. "Is he gonna be okay?"
"He'll pull through. He's much too stubborn to die. I have been ordered to take you home. And I beg you not to tell anyone about this."
"Yes, sir." The drive back to Tim's neighborhood didn't take very long. Soon, Tim was in the arms of his worried mother, assuring her that he was okay. After a quick dinner, Tim kissed his mother goodnight and headed upstairs to his room. When he took off his coat, something fell out of the pocket. It was a remote similar to the one he'd seen earlier with a note taped to it.
I'd like to offer you a job. If you're interested, press the button, and we'll stay in contact.
Three Weeks Later
"I am pleased that you've chosen to accept Director Fury's offer, Mister Wayne." Jarvis began as he finished ironing out Gargoyle's cape. But are you sure about bringing the boy into all of this?"
"Of course, Jarvis." Matt replied as he rotated his arm, trying to ease the still-tender area. "He must have some degree of skill if he was able to hold his own against the Soviet. And there's a program at S.H.I.E.L.D. that'll help train him."
"Very well, I didn't want to bring this up, but you've forced my hand…" Jarvis took a deep breath and went on. "Have you forgotten what happened to Master Castle?"
For a moment, Matt stood motionless, contemplating on previous years. At last, he turned around and took the cape from Jarvis. "I'll never forget what happened to Jason. He was a good partner, and not a day goes by that I don't blame myself for not being able to save him… but the mission isn't over yet."
Gargoyle stood atop the roof of Wayne Industries, valiantly watching over his city. At last Tim arrived, dressed in a tight, red and yellow suit, with a yellow mask over his face. Gargoyle stood up and addressed his new partner.
"Dare, this is what's going to happen…" Dare listened carefully as Gargoyle went on. "We are going to join the Justice Legion of Avengers. But we will still have our own mission to protect this city. If you disobey my orders, or deviate from any of my plans… you're fired."
Dare's grin grew wider than it ever could have.
To Be Continued!
Watch out for the upcoming three-part story of… THE JUSTICE LEGION OF AVENGERS!