FYI, I updated this story recently a few days ago so make sure you haven't skipped any chapters. I also know this arc isn't as popular as the rest but do encourage to at least not skim the first part because there is some important information on what is to come.
Lastly I want to take the opportunity to thank Skillganon the Damned otherwise known as Phantom Stranger for his continuous support of this story.
"You fellas gonna be out there all night?" the sheriff asked, standing from the doorway. It was already night, almost midnight. Hex and Wayne had been standing guard patrolling around the jail. So far no action came except for the occasional random citizen walking buy to thank them.
"We're just tryin' to make sure he's locked up tight…" Hex remarked.
"Well, ya guys have been working too hard. I gotta fill out a lot of paperwork so I'll be up. Only one of you should need to stand guard. No point of wearing everyone out."
Wayne looked at Hex.
"We'll take shifts then. I'll go first."
"Thanks. I'll be in the church. I need a nap…" Hex complained and headed to the direction of the church. Wayne sighed and sat down. Things were going good. For once there seemed to be no major catastrophes or accidents. And no one died. This adventure had been quiet and uneventful, just what he hoped for.
He had been sitting by himself on guard for about forty minutes thinking to himself when he heard a noise. Looking up he saw someone stagger out of the sheriff's office. It was Bill. From the looks of things, the sheriff had let him out of his cell. Wayne couldn't help but be slightly amused by the fact Bill seemed worse off as sober rather than drunk.
"You got 'em eh, Mistah Wayne?" Bill teased.
"Yep, we sure did. Go get some sleep Bill…"
"Sure…after just one drink…" Bill remarked and staggered away, leaving Wayne to himself.
For awhile, Wayne sat by, occasionally looking up to make sure no one was coming or suspiciously watching. It was just a quiet night. That gave the American plenty of time to reflect. Would he be able to eventually stop these time jumps? If there was any indication, maybe he would end up somewhere in the future where time travel was possible. Or maybe even get his memory back. He was tired of suddenly remembering things with no explanation.
It made his life seem disjointed and unbalanced. The only constants he had in his life were Savage, Batmite, and Hades.
And that got Wayne to think even more. Who was this mysterious other person or being that Hades alluded to? Whoever it was Batmite seemed to be working for them. But that didn't make sense because Batmite was supposedly part of his imagination. But then again Hades was still latched into his mind…
Wayne shook his head. It was very, extremely likely possible he was just insane. That would explain a lot of things. Maybe jumping through time addled his brains. Yet if Batmite wasn't real, how could he explain the other things? Getting new armor and equipment, surviving a big fall, the music…
There was a possibility he was really just insane completely and all of this was in his head. But for some reason whether out of ego or instinct, Wayne couldn't accept the fact he was insane. Everything he experienced not only seemed, but felt real.
The pain he felt when Savage's cannibals attacked him. The sorrow in his heart as the blood spilled on his hands while a dying Helena gave him her first and last kiss. The mound of dirt he dug for Bart's grave and the comfort he found in Gwen. How she reminded him of the woman…
Diana…
Immediately he felt a flash of pain in his head and a blinding light hit him. He heard voices. They sounded muffled but they were familiar. They were arguing.
"He's alive Diana! Can't you see it? It's all right here!"
"He's not alive Clark! He's dead!"
"Why are you so determined to deny the truth?"
"Why is it so hard for you to accept it? He died! You saw it happened yourself! Everyone including me has moved on, except you!"
"He never would give up on me, and I'm not going to give up on him!"
"Clark! Do you realize if you do this you will not only put yourself through more pain but others as well? You're opening old wounds!"
"He's not gone…"
"Get out…"
"Diana…"
"YARGH!" Wayne grunted as he found himself back in the real world. His breathing was erratic and sweat was pouring down his back. He saw or felt something. Something big. The woman Diana, she was distraught, upset. She was angry, fighting with someone.
"You alright, Mister Wayne?" a seductive voice asked. Wayne turned to see Madame Lorraine standing in front of him. She had on a coat instead of her uniform. She was eyeing him hungrily.
"I'm fine," Wayne assured. He didn't like being perceived weak.
"Hmm," Madame Lorraine hummed. "You seem lonely out here, mind if I give you company?"
She then began to lean into him. Wayne tried to back away but for some reason he was paralyzed once again with her. She began to massage his neck.
"You're so tense, you need to relax…" she muttered.
Wayne couldn't help but let out a moan of pleasure. It did feel good…
"Hmmm…" he muttered through gritted teeth in spite of himself.
"That's better…" she said amused.
For awhile Wayne let her massage him until he remembered his mission and quickly got back up.
"That's…that's enough…" he stated. "I have work to do. I can't be distracted."
"Understood dear, you got work to do…" Madame Lorraine said while pulling him by the back of his head and pulling him in for a kiss. Except Wayne never made any contact with her lips. Instead he felt a prick in his neck.
"Whatda…" he slurred confused before blacking out. He fell in front of Madame Lorraine who was looking down at him.
"Sorry darling…" she said as Wayne passed out. She then looked up and out of the shadows stepped six men. The one in front was a big man in a bushy moustache with a scar.
"That Cletus was right after all…" the man mused to himself as he saw the passed out American in black.
"I filled my part of the bargain…" Madame Lorraine demanded, extended her hand out. The man placed a bag of money in it.
"For a whore you're not cheap…" the man muttered.
Madame Lorraine ignored him and walked away before looking back.
"And what are you gonna do with Mister Wayne?" she asked.
"We'll leave that to the judge…" the man barked. "What's it to ya?"
"No reason…" Madame Lorraine said before turning around and walking away.
The man looked at his men and kicked open the door, guns pointed in.
"Jesus what the hell?" the sheriff called and reached for his gun.
"I wouldn't do that sheriff," the man warned as the sheriff reached for his rifle.
The sheriff growled reluctantly and let go. He was outgunned.
"About time you showed up Mr. Turnbull," Judge Savage grinned from his jail cell.
"Hard to find the place," Turnbull retorted back. "Would've gotten lost without running into some of your men…"
"What have you done with Wayne?" the sheriff demanded angrily.
"Let's just say he has a soft spot for the whores…" Turnbull joked.
Judge Savage let out a laugh.
"So Cletus actually pays attention to me. Knew he had a chink in his armor…"
"Shut up!" the sheriff snapped.
"That's no way to talk to a Judge, let alone a mayor, sheriff," Judge Savage warned.
"Now sheriff," Mr. Turnbull spoke still pointing his gun at him. "You seem like a smart man. We can do this the easy way or the hard way…"
"Over my dead body!" the sheriff snapped. "I took an oath to uphold the law and I won't be intimidated by a bunch of thugs!"
Turnbull sighed as two of his men walked out behind him and towards the sheriff.
"Have it your way…" Trumbull warned.
The sheriff glared at the two thugs in defiance, showing no fear and stood up. He threw a punch at one which was easily dodged. The other one took the opportunity to punch him in the gut.
"OOOMPH!" the sheriff muttered and fell back. One thug grabbed the sheriff's arms and held them behind his back. The other took the opportunity to start hitting the sheriff some more.
"OOMPH! UNGH! NNGH!" the sheriff moaned and grunted as the thug repeatedly hit him in the face or the gut. Blood began to trickle down his face like sweat. Bruises were forming on his wrinkled skin. His voice kept getting weaker and fainter with each punch to the gut. The middle aged man began coughing.
"Excuse the boys, Judge," Mr. Turnbull explained with no remorse. "They like to work off a little steam…"
"I have no complaints," the Judge said with wicked amusement as the sheriff slowly loss consciousness. "Let me out though."
Mr. Turnbull, ignoring the sheriff's cries of pain and the sounds of his thugs hitting him grabbed the keys on the desk and tossed it to another one of his men who walked to the jail cell. The man began to unlock it as Judge Savage calmly waited. When the iron doors swung open he stepped out and stretched before looking back at the sheriff. His face was barely recognizable now from the beating. It looked like he would never recover. Judge Savage laughed and bent down slightly so he was eye level to the sheriff.
"Now what did I tell you about operating outside my authority in my town…"
"Sooorrrrryyyy too burst in Sherrrifff…" slurred a drunken voice as someone barged into the office. "I ferrgottt my hatt…"
Turnbull, his men, Savage, and even the sheriff turned to the intruder to see it was Bill the drunk who had just stumbled in, smelling of brandy while looking confused.
"Heeyyyy…" Bill pointed a finger before one of Turnbull's men knocked him down and pointed his pistol at him.
"What do ya want us to do with him Judge?" the man asked pointing his pistol at Bill who slightly cowered in fear.
The Judge laughed.
"Ignore him, he's harmless…" he joked before nodding to the rest of Turnbull's men and encouraging them to keep beating the sheriff. The man pointing his gun at Bill then turned around to ignore him.
"Heeyyy. Thhhatt'sss my friend yarrr beatin'…" Bill complained and clumsily got to his feet and charged at the nearest thug, knocking him over.
"ARGH!" the thug cried annoyed as he found Bill wildly and drunkenly punching him.
"Noooo onnne hurrrts my sheriff…" he called out angrily.
The thug pushed the drunk off and got to his feet. He pointed his pistol and shot.
BANG!
One bullet pierced through the drunk's heart, forcing him to fall back to the ground. He was already dead before he hit the ground.
"NNNNOOOO!" the sheriff cried angrily and with a second wind managed to fight his arms free. He aimed a good punch at Judge Savage's face, taking the man by surprise and knocking him to the ground.
BANG!
The sheriff collapsed on his knees wheezing, clutching his stomach. Turnbull stood calmly, still holding up his pistol which was smoking from the bullet he just fired. He then lowered it to the groaning sheriff's head.
"I warned ya sheriff…" he said coldly before firing again.
BANG!
000000
Hex woke up from the pew violently. He thought he heard the sound of a gunshot. At first though he thought it was just a dream, or a nightmare. He realized he was in the church still and nothing was going on there. But then he could hear the faint murmuring outside. Even though it was about midnight, there seemed to be a lot of people who were still up in the town who heard the gunshot.
BANG!
There was no mistake now. Something was going down. Quickly picking up his belt and putting on his hat, he got out of the pew and began running out of the church. Peter came running out of the Reverend's office.
"What's going on Mr. Hex?"
"Stay inside Peter!" Hex barked and ran outside pulling his pistol when he heard the third gun shot.
BANG!
By now it seemed the whole town was up because the murmurings got louder and there was even some screaming. Hex could see already a large crowd was forming around the sheriff's office. He sprinted like a madman calling people to get out of the way while waving one of his pistols.
"Outta the way dammnit!" he ordered and shoved people aside. He kept running until he finally reached the steps of the office only to find a body collapsed there.
No…
Hex immediately ran up to the lifeless body of Wayne. He quickly felt along the neck. There was still a pulse, a weak one. Good. He was still alive…
"Why if it ain't the great Jonah Hex…" mocked a familiar voice.
Hex looked up in shock to see a face he didn't expect. There was Quentin Turnbull; the thick moustache, unevenly shaven face, and scar along the eye and nose were unforgettable. He was wearing a brown hat and coat and pointing a pistol at Hex.
"You!" Hex cried angrily.
"Don't even think about it!" Turnbull warned as the men behind them pulled out their guns as well. Many of the citizens screamed and backed away, creating a further distance between the standoff. Hex with his good eye glared angrily.
"Why don'tcha come out and fight me face to face…" Hex warned.
"You would like that, wouldn't you Jonah. But sadly I got bigger things to worry about than you."
Turnbull then turned around to look at his men.
"You all remember our former leader Jonah Hex?"
The men all laughed wickedly.
"Seems he's harder to kill than a desert fox…" Turnbull mused. "Guess we got to do the job ourselves…"
Turnbull put his finger in the trigger well before a voice spoke.
"That won't be necessary, Quentin," Judge Savage ordered and stepped outside, dusting his white suit off. Many of the citizens of Desert Star gasped.
"Hello my people," Judge Savage spoke sarcastically. "Due to the untimely death of Sheriff O'Hara…"
"You basturd!" Hex shouted while spitting to the ground.
"…I've sought fit to add a new sheriff quickly. Please welcome our new Sheriff, Quentin Turnbull."
Turnbull grinned while flashing his teeth. Three of them were gold plated and shone brightly even in the dark.
"He has also added with him five deputies. They have promised together to clean up Desert Star from corruption."
Hex was trying to find an opportunity and pull out his pistol and shoot Judge Savage and Turnbull cold. Unfortunately the other thugs were watching him like a hawk. Hex knew even with his reflexes he would be dead before he got one bullet out.
"Furthermore, tomorrow at noon about thirty five more of his deputies will arrive in attempt to reassert order to town. I will call the federal marshal and district government, let them no they will not need to come here. I will handle this myself. I have given an order to any outlaws and criminals…"
Judge Savage made sure to eye Wayne and Hex.
"To leave town before noon. Failure to do so will be perceived as hostile action and Sheriff Turnbull and his deputies will have to take 'appropriate measures.' Anyone who dares to aid such outlaws or helps them will also face swift punishment!"
The murmurings grew louder on the crowd.
"You've been warned. I am a merciful judge. Tomorrow at noon will mark a new beginning for our beloved town!"
Laughing Judge Savage put on his white coat and turned to leave. Turnbull looked at Hex before putting is gun away, his men following suit.
"See ya 'round…" Turnbull threatened before turning his back.
Enraged Hex pulled his gun out. Many of the civilians gasped. Judge Savage seemed to not notice or didn't care and kept walking away. Turnbull and his men stopped but didn't bother turning around.
"Turn around damn ya!" Hex muttered.
Turnbull laughed.
"You can't shoot me in the back Hex. You're too much of a man of honor to do that. That's why we got tired of your running the game…"
And with that Turnbull continued to walk away with his men, not even bothering to look back at Hex. Hex's face grew red in anger and his hand began to shake. He would show that basturd…
But he couldn't. Turnbull was right. He couldn't shoot a man with his pistol holstered and his back turned. Even as someone as despicable as Turnbull.
"Damn him…" Hex muttered and ran up inside the office.
What he saw was a massacre. There was blood splattered all over the floor. Near to the door laid a small body that reeked of alcohol…
"Bill," Hex muttered and looked down at the drunk, his eyes half open in death. Hex sighed and closed the poor man's eyes. He then looked ahead and saw the sheriff. He was a mess. It looked like he got beaten up pretty bad before they killed him. He had two bullet holes in him. One in the stomach that was still oozing blood. The other was one directly in his head, spilling his brains all over the floor.
Hex bowed his head and saw drenched in blood, lying on the floor was the badge. It must've come off in the fight.
Without really thinking Hex put it in his pocket and got up to leave. He exited outside to find most of the crowd had gone away. However there was a newcomer. A young boy looking over the still unconscious body of Wayne…
"Peter!" Hex croaked. "I told ya to stay inside!"
"What happened to him?" Peter demanded angrily. "Where's Sheriff O'Hara?"
"We need to take him to a doctor!" Hex barked, ignoring the question. "Is there one 'round?"
"Yeah, Dr. Hayes, just up the street…"
"Then let's go!" Hex barked and bent to pick up Wayne. "Help me out here!"
00000
He was walking down an alleyway in a big city. Lost. Uncertain. A man and a woman stepped into the light. They were walking happily, unnoticing the danger that lied ahead of them. He reached out to try to warn them but they couldn't hear…
BANG!
One gunshot…
BANG!
Another.
The couple collapsed to the ground and he hurried over. He slipped over the rapidly forming blood only to find something else. There wasn't just two bodies, but a lot more. He recognized one as Helena, her beautiful face a pale white. There was Bart, a sword sticking out of his chest. Azrael, his hands folded across his arms like he was ready to be buried. Then he realized there was a child among the bodies…
Three children.
J.J., Polly, William Jefferson all lifeless, their parents Jimmie and Anna lied above them trying to protect them. There were other bodies among them that looked familiar but were in strange clothes. A woman with red hair and large wings. A young girl also with red hair clutching the hand of a lifeless young man with black hair. A big man with a red cape and blue suit lying lifeless next to a tall green man. An African man was nearby as well, a glowing green ring slipping off his finger. Lastly was a woman. A woman in a uniform that looked familiar.
It was her…
Diana….
A sound of footsteps was heard. He turned around to see a man wearing a heavy overcoat and a cap.
"Say goodnight…Mister Wayne…" the man said in a distorted voice and shot the gun. Wayne clutched his gut and collapsed to the floor. The man laugh as he began to shift.
There was Vandal Savage in his white suit, laughing evilly.
"This is my town now!" Savage yelled while laughing wickedly.
Savage then morphed into a strange image. A clown in a purple suit with a high pitch laugh.
"They're all dead! All of them, Batsy! You left me and now you pay the price…"
The clown disappeared and in his place stood the god of death, looking triumphant and wickedly as the world began to go black.
"Time to go home…" Hades threatened as the darkness overcame him.
"AARRGGHH!" Wayne cried and jolted awake.
"Calm down sir, please…" a timid voice begged. Wayne looked to see a very thin man with balding hair was trying to get him to lie back down. Wayne could see nearby were some labeled chemicals near a bag.
"Good you're awake," snapped an annoyed voice. "Try not to scare the doctor."
"How long I've been out?" Wayne asked trying to find the voice.
"Probably only an hour. Still dark outside…"
Wayne looked over to see Hex stepping into the light. Wayne began to calm down. He then began to try to remember what happened to him. He remembered standing guard and then Bill came by and he had heard the voices and then…
"Where is she?" Wayne demanded angrily.
"Sir, you must rest…"
"Where is she?" Wayne demanded angrily.
"Who?" Hex asked.
"Madame Lorraine," Wayne demanded. He was angry with himself. He let his guard down and now he was paying the price for it.
"So that's how ya got drugged…" Hex muttered angrily.
"Drugged?" Wayne asked.
"You had some 'erb the Injuns use put in ya. Knocks people right out, even kill them in some cases. Luckily ya only had a little in ya and the doc here had the antidote."
Wayne sighed before remembering what he was doing outside the jail.
"Where's Savage?" he demanded angrily.
"Ya need some rest Wayne…"
"Where is he?" he demanded and despite the protests of the doctor, Wayne got out of bed and walked to Hex. Hex didn't bother to turn around.
"He's out…"
"He's fled?"
"No. He's still in town, just not in jail anymore…"
Hex sighed and then turned around to look Wayne in the eyes.
"Apparently Judge Savage managed to hire more help to protect 'em before we arrested 'em. Big gang of bandits, run by Quentin Turnbull. Probably one of the toughest sons of bitches the whole lot are. Must've cost Savage a fortune to hire 'em."
"How do you know so much about them?" Wayne asked suspiciously. It almost felt like he couldn't trust anyone in this town.
"'Cause I used to run with them! Hell I ran it! Okay?" Hex responded a little angrily. "The freakin' basturds kicked me out though. Said I was too soft. No respect I tell ya. None of them understand what it means to be a gunslinger…"
"Where's Reverend Stiles?" Wayne demanded. If he acted quickly maybe he could bring the posse together again.
"He's droppin' off Peter at his folk's home. Decided it was too dangerous for him to be in town for now…"
"Hex, where's the sheriff…"
"Ya need to get some rest Wayne…"
"Hex!" Wayne shouted, glaring Hex right in his good eye. "Where is the sheriff?"
Hex sighed.
"Dead…" the outlaw said calmly.
The words had sunk Wayne so hard he sat back in the hospital bed. For a second the whole world seemed to zoom out of him. Like he was detached, cut off. Sheriff O'Hara, an honest man trying to uphold the law. Dead. Killed. And all because of him. All his fault…
"He didn't go down easily I'll tell ya. He was gunned down and beat up pretty bad. Looked like he refused to let Savage go and must'd put up a fight. Oh and Bill's body was there as well. Looked like he must've stumbled in when it was goin' down…"
Wayne wasn't really paying attention. He was at a loss. Unsure, even scared. Two people, killed, no murdered, needlessly. Trying to do the right thing and they were gunned down like animals. And all because of Savage…
Wayne felt a surge of anger boil up inside him. Enough was enough. How many more would he have to let die because of that mad man? How dare he still walk around town after two people were murdered because of him?
Feeling a surge of anger, Wayne got back up and began to dress himself.
"Where ya goin'?" Hex demanded. The doctor meanwhile had seemed to have given up trying to keep Wayne in bed.
"Savage needs to be stopped…"
"Ya can't!" Hex complained. "The sheriff's dead. He just approved Turnbull to be the new sheriff…"
"Whatever that man does is illegal. We got to stop him before anymore get hurt…"
"Ya don't understand! I know Turnbull and his crew! They aren't yar average hired guns. They're the best of the best or the worst of the worst. I spent two years with them after the War! I know what they're capable of!"
"And you know what I'm capable of…" Wayne shot back and began to walk out.
"Yeah, I know yar don't kill or shoot and Savage knows that. Savage has already put a threat out for ya…"
Wayne continued to walk out of the building with Hex running after him.
"I'm serious Wayne. If we don't leave town by noon, there'll be hell to pay. The rest of the gang's coming by then. We can't fight off forty of them!"
"If we can get the town to help…"
"They won't help! Savage has already ordered them not to help or they'll be killed as well. Face it Wayne, it's over…"
Wayne ignored him and kept stomping across the center of the town, towards Savage's office. It was still dark out and a lot more deserted than it was earlier. But Wayne didn't pay attention. He only had one thing on his mind.
Justice…
He walked to the office of Savage. There were two men who were standing guard. Neither lifted up their guns at him. They weren't afraid of him. In fact they had taunting looks on their faces, challenging him.
"The Judge has been expectin' ya…" one of them teased and opened the door. Wayne stomped in and headed to the room he had visited about two weeks earlier.
He kicked open the door and stomped in. One tried to pull a gun out but Wayne quickly responded without hesitation, grabbing the goon's hand and twisting it.
The goon backed away crying in pain. Wayne punched two more who tried to run up to him and snapped his whip out at another who was drawing his gun. He then looked at the middle to see Savage sitting in his chair with a big man with whiskers all over his face and a dark bushy moustache and scar.
"Well now I seem to understand why ya don't use guns…" the big man said amused. "Ya don't need 'em."
Wayne glared.
"I'm taking you down!" he threatened Savage.
Savage let out an arrogant laugh.
"Think again Wayne."
The four other goons in the room had recovered and had their guns all pointed at him.
"Let's not make this messier than we need to," Savage warned. "Allow me to introduce our new sheriff, Mr. Turnbull…"
Wayne glared.
"You aren't the sheriff of this town," Wayne responded coldly.
"Things change..." Savage responded cryptically. "Don't look so sore. I told you to stay out of my way. I warned you and now look, you reap what you sow, Mr. Wayne."
Wayne glared at him.
"Why don't we just kill 'em?" one thug complained.
"The Judge gets to decide," Turnbull snapped.
"Precisely, Sheriff," Savage said with smug arrogance. "And no, I don't want him killed yet. I want him to learn his lesson in trying to interfere with things he should stay out of. I'm giving you a chance Wayne. Leave by noon, or you will suffer the consequences."
Wayne glared at him and stomped out.
"This isn't over!" he shouted as he left.
"It is, Mister Wayne. It is. You're just one man Wayne! And I am the law and order of this town! I am the government! One man can't stand against the government!"
Wayne ignored him and slam the door behind him.
"Aren't you worried he might try to rally the town against you?" Turnbull asked.
Savage laughed.
"They're just like cattle. They're easy to keep in line. They would forfeit their entire freedom if it gave the smallest guarantee of security. They rather live on their knees than die on their feet."
00000
Wayne angrily stomped outside. He needed to go somewhere else. He needed to finish some personal business. In the distance he saw the saloon. Angrily he stomped over there before he heard a lot of noise. It seemed despite it being long before sunrise, the saloon was packed. The crappy piano playing was heard. There was a lot of chattering and muttering going about.
Wayne opened the saloon doors and immediately all chatter stopped. Even the piano player stopped to look around. Everyone was eyeing Wayne curiously or angrily. The bartender himself almost dropped a glass he was cleaning. Wayne looked around. It seemed half the town was in the saloon. And not just the sketchy people. It seemed everyone came here to gossip or discuss what just happened.
Wayne ignored the stares and tried to look for one person in the crowd. She wasn't there.
"Where's Madame Lorraine?" he demanded angrily.
"Uh, she's not here…"
Wayne snapped his whip loudly causing many people to flinch.
"Two people have died already. I'm not playing around…" he threatened.
The bartender sweating pointed above and Wayne saw a set of stairs. He quickly ran up it and found himself on the second floor of the saloon. The second floor was filled with a bunch of rooms. All ranked of musk and sex from the previous occupants. They were all open. No business tonight apparently.
One room in the corner was open and there was a light pouring out of it. Wayne quickly walked up to it. He leaned against the wall and could hear a lot of rustling. Whoever was in there was moving fast. He kicked open the door and heard a shriek.
"What are you doing? Get out!" Madam Lorraine yelled as she dropped the clothes she was trying to stuff in a suitcase.
Wayne glared at her and walked close to her face. Now it was her turn to get uncomfortable by the close distance between them. Wayne had a glare of wild anger and betrayal; it looked like he was ready to kill.
Roughly Wayne grabbed her by the shoulders and pinned her arms down.
"What did you do?" he demanded.
"You know what I did!" Madame Lorraine hissed at him, finding her voice again. "Don't patronize me, Mister Wayne!"
Wayne growled at her before looking at loss what to say.
"Why?" he demanded. "Why?"
Madame Lorraine looked at him.
"I owe no loyalty to you. Don't act all betrayed. The only person I'm loyal to is myself. I've done what I can my entire life to survive. Don't act like you're expecting more form me!"
"How could you do this?"
"I don't have my head in the clouds like ya, Wayne! This is the West, the real world. You have to do what ya can to survive! Sometimes ya gotta get yar hands dirty and even screw over some handsome men…"
Wayne violently pushed her back.
"Two men are dead because of you!" he accused.
"Look, I didn't know they were gonna do that!" Madame Lorraine protested, her face still flushed with anger, but tears were starting to form down her eyes.
"What did you know then?" Wayne retorted back.
"Savage saw me and ya together outside the saloon a couple days ago. He figured maybe he could use me to get to ya. He promised to pay me…"
"How much?" Wayne demanded. "How much that was worth to kill two men?"
"I told ya I had nothing to do with that! They told me they just were going to break him out."
"How much?" Wayne demanded again. He needed a reason. Any reason.
"Enough to get out of town!" Madame Lorraine snapped. "I've lived here for too long, suffered too much. All I wanted was a fresh start but I didn't have the fortune to leave this town!"
Wayne in spite of himself began to feel pity for her. What she had done wasn't with malicious intent. She was just trying to help herself.
Madame Lorraine took a breath before speaking again.
"Cletus came by with those men earlier tonight. Guess Savage told 'em about you and me. Cletus got those men willin' to pay me the amount Savage promised if I helped distracted ya so they could get in and free 'em. I swear, they told me no one was goin' to get killed."
Wayne turned away. He was getting nothing out of this. No satisfaction, no closure. Just more mixture of guilt and anger. Look what Savage had done, to cause a town to become so depraved and desperate. Deciding he had done enough, he began to leave.
"Mister Wayne!" Madame Lorraine called to him. Wayne turned around.
"I'm…I'm sorry…" she choked out. She was serious.
"I am too," Wayne muttered a little angrily and stomped away. He headed back down the stairs to the main saloon. Once again the buzzing chatter had stopped and all eyes were on him as the saloon went deathly quiet. Wayne sighed and cleared his throat.
"I guess you all heard about what's happened to the sheriff…"
"No thanks to you!" someone angrily heckled. There were a lot of murmurs of agreement. Wayne sighed.
"Look I know you're all scared, but that's what Savage wants you all to feel…"
"We were doin' just fine before yer showed up!" another cried angrily.
There were a lot more louder agreements.
"I understand how you all feel!" Wayne shouted. "But tomorrow, Savage is gonna bring a whole gang and try to take over this town for good! He needs to be stopped…"
"If we leave him alone, he'll leave us alone!"
Many people began standing up and shouting in agreement.
"People please!" Wayne cried angrily. He didn't feel comfortable giving speeches. "Savage will never leave you alone! I know him! We need to take a stand right now! I can't fight forty men by myself! If we all band together…"
"If you just leave, things will be alright!" another person shouted.
This time the cheers and boos were louder. Everyone in the saloon was standing up and shouting. Some began to even throw food at Wayne. Wayne was feeling angry at the moment. Five minutes ago they were all supporting him and the first sign of trouble they were cowering in fear. But he understood. They were reacting badly out of fear. It wasn't their fault. They didn't choose to have this life forced upon them. Reluctantly Wayne exited the saloon. It seemed no one really notice. The shouting was still loud in there.
Wayne looked to see the church across the town. Surely Reverend Stiles would've been back dropping off Peter by now. Wayne quickly hurried to the church. He needed to talk to someone. Perhaps the reverend would know what to do. He ran up to open the doors to find them locked. A church locked?
Wayne began banging on the doors.
"Reverend!" he shouted. There was no answer.
"REVEREND!" he shouted and bang louder. Still no answer. There was no one in there, or possibly no one wanted to answer.
Angrily Wayne turned around. There had to be some people who could help. Anyone. If he could just get at least twenty men there would be a chance. Quickly he ran to the nearest house and knocked on the door. He knew someone was there. The light was on but it went out after he started knocking. After two minutes of knocking, he went to the next building. The tailor's house and place of business. He knocked again. No answer, although he thought he heard a faint "go away" be called form the closed door.
The third building he went to, the door opened before he even knocked. It was answered by a man he saw walking around town before.
"Leave me alone mistah!" the man complained.
"Look I need to put together a team…" Wayne pleaded, he was getting desperate.
"I got kids to feed sir! I can't go riskin' my life!" And with that, the door shut, leaving Wayne outside.
For the last hour Wayne scrambled across town, frantically knocking on doors to houses and buildings. Two thirds of the time, no one answered. And those who did usually slammed the door in his face within thirty seconds. There were three people who seemed interested but quickly went back inside upon learning so far no one had signed up. He then realized he forgot about Hex and headed back to the doctor's office only to find the doctor had locked the door. After banging for five minutes, the doctor opened a blind to tell Wayne Hex had left to the stables.
Wayne hurried over, like a man running from death. He hated to feel like this. It wasn't the alienation or the sense of loneliness that was bothering him, it was the helplessness. He hated to feel powerless, like a rat caught in a trap while the cat slowly walking toward it smiling. Luckily he saw that Hex was in the stable still.
"Where are you going?" Wayne demanded.
Hex sighed.
"What's it look like? I'm gettin' the hell outta here!"
"You can't just leave! We had a deal!"
"Thin's changed Wayne! The sheriff's dead!"
"So that' show it's going to be? You're just going to walk away? I thought you hated Trumbull."
"I do! But I'm not stupid enough to let my pride goad me into a fight I can't win!"
"I've been in fights when the odds were against me before…"
Hex turned around angrily.
"You're gonna try to get in a fight with a gang with forty men who are the meanest gunfighters in the West and yer won't use a gun or kill! I'm sorry that's a fight ya can't win!"
"If we get more people we can beat them…"
"And how's that workin' out for yer?" Hex shot back.
Wayne didn't answer.
Hex sighed and went in the stable to pull out a horse. Wayne recognized it as Sheriff O'Hara's own horse.
"Figure she needs an owner and I need to get outta here," Hex justified.
"Jonah," Wayne said a little desperately. "I would never, ever ask for your help or ask you to put yourself on the line for me unless I absolutely needed you. I can't do this alone."
Hex paused.
"Look, grab yerself a horse and get the hell outta here too. No one would judge yer too hard. Yer pride's not worth yer life…"
"Is that what you think this means? That I'm too proud to give up?"
"Hell yeah!" Hex snapped. "Ya had a bone to pick with Savage since I got 'ere!"
"This isn't about me!" Wayne shouted back.
"Well that's the difference between yer and me then Wayne. I do what's best for me, not for others. Why should I or ya help a town that turned their back on ya and spat at ya face after everythin' ya done for them?"
No answer from Wayne. Hex began to put the saddle on the horse.
He was angry at Hex. Angry at him the most out of anyone. Wayne wasn't sure if even Hex deserved that much anger but right now Wayne needed an outlet.
"I guess I shouldn't expect much from you," Wayne muttered angrily. "Should've known you would run at the first sign of trouble."
Hex turned around insulted by that.
"Don't call me a coward…"
"You're just bitter because you have nowhere else to go. That's why you can just pick up and leave. You have no ties or loyalties to anyone. No one can be there to remind you for every selfish decision you ever made…"
POW!
Hex in angered turned around and punched Wayne in the face. Wayne was taken by surprise and fell to the ground.
"Don't yer dare talk like ya know me!" Hex shouted.
Wayne crossed his legs and tripped Hex who fell on the ground with a thud. Hex quickly sprang up and tackled Wayne. Wayne clenched his hands and brought them down on Hex's back. Hex grunted but his momentum was already full swing and knocked Wayne over again. The two began to wrestle on the floor, the sound of their fight scaring the horses. Wayne was on top of Hex and began to punch him in the face angrily. He had lost control. He was exploding rage. Hex meanwhile was like an old wild animal that had been poked too many times and was clawing back.
The two probably would've gone a lot longer if Wayne hadn't collapsed to his feet and began clutching his chest and coughing. It was happening again. His body was on fire. Every nerve and pore felt like an open wound times ten. Sweat poured out quickly from all over his body. His heart beating faster and faster. He closed his eyes as the pain soared through his head.
"AARRRGHHH!" he shouted as he cowered on his knees.
Hex quickly got to his feet worried.
"Wayne…" Hex said, ignoring the bloody lip and bruise on his own chin. "Yer alright…"
"I'm fine," Wayne muttered and struggled but managed to get to his feet. His skin was flushed red. However his temper had cooled down, same with Hex as it appeared. Neither were fighting anymore and just catching their breath.
"Yer sick still from that poison…" Hex reasoned. "Yer in no shape to fight."
"I'm fine," Wayne snapped. "Thank you for your concern."
He then picked up his black hat and dusted it off and began to walk away.
"Wait Wayne!" Hex called after him. Wayne reluctantly turned around. Hex had pulled out one of his pistols and was gesturing it to Wayne.
"Take this…" Hex implored. "Even if yer go down fightin' at least yer can take some with ya…"
Wayne looked Hex in the eyes, the icy blue mixed with anger, sorrow, regret, insult, remorse, and disappointment. That even unsettled Hex for a second.
"No thank you," Wayne said coldly. "Goodbye Hex."
And before Hex could say anything Wayne began to walk back to town. The sun would be rising soon. Hex sighed and got on the horse.
"Farewell Mistah Wayne," Hex muttered darkly. "The bravest or dumbest man I ever met. My only friend."
And with that, the outlaw spurned the horse on and rode away, leaving Desert Falls and not daring to look back.
00000
Wayne walked around the town. The sun would be rising in an hour or more. Still plenty of darkness to cover the town. He had no direction and was just walking aimlessly around. He didn't know what to do. He was angry, mad, confused, and unsure. He was helpless, all alone. But the worst feeling was anger. He wasn't angry with Savage and his evil deeds, nor was he angry with the townspeople and their cowardice. He wasn't even angry at Hex and the reverend for abandoning him or Lorraine for stabbing him in the back. He was angry at himself.
This was his entire fault. Everything that happened was his fault to blame. The people in the saloon were right. Things went worse because of him. And all because it was his stupid pride! No it wasn't that. Even he couldn't blame himself that much. He knew in his heart he was trying to do the right thing. But he had become arrogant. Taking on gods, assassins, demons, and immortal lords had made him forget he wasn't unstoppable.
He got too comfortable and confident. He failed to realize that this seemingly small town could be the downfall of him. There was still a chance he could leave but he knew he wouldn't. He just couldn't live with himself if he left.
"Feeling lonely?" someone taunted. Wayne turned around to find Savage standing behind him in his white suit and hat, with a matching white cane.
Wayne glared at him.
"You know I'm giving you a chance to walk free from this…" Savage offered, trying to sound reasonable.
"Don't lie to me," Wayne hissed.
"Alright," Savage chuckled. "I'll admit I gave you a timeline because I would enjoy watching you squirm and torture yourself trying to find help from these sheep…"
"They're people," Wayne snapped threateningly. "That's the difference between you and me. People to you are expendable. They aren't to me…"
"Says the man who got betrayed by the very people he tried to protect. You should've known, this is America. The biggest lie in history! A country that promotes itself as a land of freedom but in reality is made up of cowards and cattle who will give up everything for just the possibility of a little security! They are meant to be ruled as serfs! The only difference is they delude themselves by pretending to be free! This is a country where only those who have the will to be the shepherd rule! A country of opportunity, to rule over others!"
Wayne glared and turned around.
"Don't try to get so high and mighty with me Wayne."
Wayne kept walking away.
"You think that I can' touch you? You're wrong!"
Wayne continued to ignore him.
"Even those you think you've kept safe from me are not out of reach!" Savage said with malicious hate.
Wayne froze before turning around. Savage grinned, he got his attention.
"What did you do?" Wayne threatened.
"Now don't impugn my honor Wayne. Like you, I've given them plenty of opportunity to walk away and live!"
Wayne charged up to Savage and threw him on the ground. Savage grunted in surprise before laughing. Wayne picked him up by the collar.
"What did you do?" Wayne demanded.
"Well poor Cletus told me he and a few of his men were upset what happened at the stagecoach. I just gave them the go ahead to 'evict' the Saunders off that pathetic farm of theirs…"
"NNRRGH!" Wayne said angrily and threw Savage to the ground. Savage laughed wickedly.
"Don't die just yet Wayne!" Savage called as Wayne frantically ran to find a horse to speed to the Saunders farm. "We have a date at noon!"
At the sound of the commotion Turnbull and a few of his men had come running out guns ready.
"What's goin' on?" Turnbull demanded before seeing Wayne running to a stable near the saloon and breaking free a horse which he mounted on.
"He's leavin'?" one of the thugs asked confused.
Savage laughed.
"No. He'll be back."
"What makes you so sure?"
"Because I know him!"
00000
"Burn in hell Saunders!" Cletus shouted gleefully and threw his torch in the window. They could hear the screams form the small children and the cry from Mrs. Saunders as they scrambled to put out the fire in the living room. The dogs were inside, barking and whining in fear. Cletus laughed and pulled out his pistol and began shooting at the windows.
"Get down damnit!" Jimmie shouted and put J.J.'s little head down. After the barrage had stopped, Jimmie had popped up out of the window aiming a shot gun.
"Get the hell off my farm!" Jimmie shouted and shot. The shot missed, landing next to one of Cletus's men who fell off his feet in surprise. Cletus and his men responded by shooting more bullets. Jimmied ducked down.
"Peter! Take J.J. and yerself to the uppah window! Try to see if yer can blow dem damn brains out!" Jimmie ordered.
Cletus laughed wickedly.
"Light another torch!" he ordered.
"Hey Cletus!" one of his men shouted looking behind them. "Look!"
Cletus and his five men turned around. It was still dark outside and the moon was exceptionally large as it began to sink on the horizon. And illuminated by the moon was a figure riding a horse that was on its hind legs, neighing wildly. A figure that was snapping a whip.
"Well I'll be damned," Cletus said excitedly. "Look whose back!"
The six men then charged in towards the rider, shooting at it. The gunshots seemed to scare the horse wild and bucked the rider off. He disappeared in the stalks of the field. Cletus howled with laughter.
"It's not even noon yet and that fucker's gonna die!"
Meanwhile in the Saunders house, the family had noticed right away that the attack had stopped. Something got the gang's attention. There was a sound coming down the stairs. Peter came running holding a rifle with J.J. in tow.
"It's Mister Wayne Pa! He's come back!" he said excitedly.
"Well I'll be damned!" Jimmie shouted.
Peter then ran outside.
"Where ya goin'?" Jimmie asked.
Peter ignored him and kept running.
"James, get him!" Anna shrieked; her hair a mess and her skin pale. Her apron was torn and burnt during her attempts to put out the fire.
"I will, I will!" Jimmie shouted and put on his hat before taking off. J.J. made to follow his father but Jimmie turned around.
"Stay with yar mother!" he ordered loudly, which caused J.J. to almost fall down in shock.
000000
Cletus was with Abner, one of his big goons. They went in pairs and were scavenging the field. The Saunders farm may've been small, but it was filled with plenty of crops that were high and made visibility difficult.
"Where did he go?" Abner asked confused.
"He's around here somewhere!" Cletus yelled in frustration. "Spread out! Look for that fucker!"
The two on the east side of the field began to spread out even more. The one on the left was about to push through a thick area of crops when he heard a rustling sound. Nervously he turned around and pointed his gun.
"Who's there?" he said nervously. Somehow it still being dark sent chills down him. The man cautiously approached the area to find something on the ground. He bent down and realized it was a whip…
"Nnggh!" the man suddenly grunted as something popped around behind him and wrapped their arms around his neck and choked him out. The man struggled but felt something push into a pressure point on his neck and he went out cold.
"Rayland?" his partner asked and turned around. He thought he heard a noise only to find his partner had seemingly disappeared. Moving with high caution, he tiptoed to an area. His rifle cocked, ready to fire.
He almost tripped over something heavy and that's when he realized it was something large.
"Oh my Go-aack!" he gagged as something pulled him by the neck. His eyes began to go dark but not before he managed to shoot off a few rounds in the air…
BANG! BANG! BANG!
The four remaining men of Cletus's squad began to fire wildly into the dark in response. Some were yelling.
"Hold yer fire yer idiots!" Cletus shouted. "We're gonna shoot each other!"
BANG! BANG!
"Get off my family's farm!" a young voice complained. Cletus and Abner shot back in the direction of Peter.
BANG!
A loud shot was heard.
"Goddamnit! I missed!" the voice of Jimmie Saunders complained.
Cletus and Abner angrily began running to the source of the voices.
Meanwhile the other pair were standing back to back.
"What's going on…?"
"I don't know. I don't think that was Wayne."
"What then?"
"A ghost man, I'm telling ya…"
KNOCK!
Both men had their heads smashed together by something that had popped out of the bushes. They collided with a loud noise that caused Cletus and Abner to turn around.
"What the hell is goin' on here?!" Cletus demanded with his voice in full panic.
BANG! BANG!
Peter had shot two more shots at them.
"I'm gonna get that brat!" Cletus shouted as the second whizzed barely passed him and charged in the direction it came from.
"Wait Cletus!" Abner called. Unfortunately he didn't realize someone had snuck up behind him. He was knocked out in less than five seconds.
Cletus angrily ran through the crops until he heard some movement. Smiling he shot at the direction.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Three bullets had whizzed past Peter, barely missing him.
"Stay away from my son!" Jimmie shouted appearing and taking another shot.
BANG!
Again the shot went wide and Cletus responded with shooting back.
BANG!
The bullet hit its target.
"Goddamn sonnabitch!" Jimmie yelled as he hit the floor clutching his arm.
"Pa!" Peter yelled, popping up and forgetting he just revealed his position.
Cletus smiled wickedly.
"Say good night kid-ARGH!"
Wayne had appeared behind him and put his arm around Cletus's neck. The fiend struggled and tried to breathe but the grip was too strong. Within seconds, he was out cold, along with the rest of his men. The only sound being Jimmie's constant cursing about the wound in his arm. Wayne sighed. These men were idiots, none of Turnbull's men that had been guarding Savage. And more of those were to come tomorrow.
00000
Metron sat in the chair, his hands folded as usual. He had on his lap his book on the Omega Sanction which he had been making notes on recently. However he wasn't paying attention to that. He was observing something else, something more important. He was curious at Batman.
From what he observed about Batman, he was always calm, cool, and confident. To see him, in almost despair and feeling a general sense of hopelessness, it was a little disheartening. But then again how many people had been a situation like Batman. But that was not the chief reason why Metron was worried.
The timestream seemed even in greater jeopardy now. Batman seemed lost and reckless. He was going to go fight against forty men who were all armed. Even for a man who defeated Hades that was impossible. And they were so close too. So close. Batman would be jumping soon. If he could just convince Batman to not fight he would feel better, well at least about Batman being in this time. The next jump had a whole new set of problems Metron would need to worry about. But they were still close.
Just one more jump and a few weeks and Batman would be the ultimate weapon.
"That was awesome!" Batmite cheered as they had just watched Batman on pure stealth take out the six men attacking the Saunders farm. Batman was currently helping lead the owner and his son into the house.
"Yes, it was impressive," Metron muttered coldly without paying attention.
"Hey, why does he seem to have those spasms sometimes? You know the one he got when he fought Hex a few moments ago?"
"No idea," Metron lied coldly. Batmite still had no clue of his plan to use Batman as the human bomb. And he didn't plan on telling him either. However he still needed Batmite.
"You need to convince him to not fight Savage and Turnbull's men," he ordered.
"Why?" Batmite asked in an upset tone. "We're about to see Batman do the ultimate cowboy shootout! It can't get any cooler than that!"
"Because his chances are slim and I don't want to risk the timestream change! Do you want him to die?"
"No…"
"Then convince him not to fight. He'll be jumping soon and the world will not care that he didn't help fight Savage's men. There is nothing significant about this town or any life that lives or dies except Batman."
"That's kinda mean…"
"Just do it!" Metron snapped. He was starting to get like Batman as well, more prone to emotional outbursts. It was just the stress. So many factors were outside his control.
"Alright fine," Batmite said disappointed.
000000
"So Savage has told yer to get outta 'ere by noon?" Jimmie asked. He had a bandage around his arm and they were sitting at the table. The sun had long ago come up. It was about ten in the morning.
"Yep," Wayne said grimly.
"Christ, that's in two hours!" Jimmie stated, pointing out the obvious again.
"Yep," Wayne responded.
Peter entered the room.
"How's Ma?" Jimmie asked.
"She woke up now. She's a lot calmer. She says she wants me to apologize to Wayne for her outburst earlier…"
When Wayne had helped Peter escort his father back into the house, Anna had yelled at Wayne and told him to get out and that it was all his fault, despite Jimmie and Peter's protests. She then had fainted on the floor and Peter had to carry her to her bed so she could lie down.
"She doesn't need to apologize, she's right…"
"It's not your fault!" Peter complained. "You were tying to fight…"
"I brought this on your family, and for that I'm sorry. I got selfish, didn't realize the full consequences of my actions…"
"If it's anyone to blame it's him!" Peter shouted angrily back, pointing at Jimmie.
"What?" Jimmie asked confused.
"This is all your fault Pa…"
"Pete…" Jimmie warned, his tone getting darker. Wayne held his breath. He knew Jimmie had a temper.
"Oh so you're going to yell at me again?" Peter asked. "This all your fault! You all bitch and yell at Savage for what he does yet you do nothing about it. When someone like Wayne finally comes and tries to do something, you don't help him but pat him on the back when he succeeds. And at the first sign of trouble you duck your head and blame him for everything. You know we may have the same last name, but you are not my father!"
The atmosphere in the room went deadly silent. Even Polly and William Jefferson who had been playing on the floor stopped and looked at Peter and Jimmie, waiting to see what would happen next. Jimmie looked like he had been run over by the horse. He seemed to have cowered and crumpled at that remark.
"Let me know when you're going down!" Peter said to Wayne. "You can count on me to help you!"
And with that Peter stomped out of the living room upstairs to his own room. Polly began to cry.
"Come here…" Jimmie said almost in a completely different voice and beckoned his daughter to come to him and she cried in his shoulder. He looked like, he was about to cry too.
"I'm, I'm sorry…" Wayne began. His actions not only almost led to this family getting killed, but it was tearing them apart.
"No, he's right. I've been a yellow coward. Let me go talk to him…"
Wayne sighed as Jimmie gently pushed Polly out of his lap and went to go upstairs. That left Wayne alone with the three little children who were staring at him curiously.
"Excuse me," Wayne said uncomfortably and got up. He quickly headed to where he knew Anna and Jimmie's room was. He already made a decision but he felt like she was the person he needed to apologize out of everyone else. He found the door cracked and opened it slowly.
"Anna…?" he asked unsure.
"Come in Mistah Wayne…" she said in a tired voice.
Wayne slowly entered. She looked a lot better than he last saw her. She had a lot more color in her face and seemed less angry.
"I heard Peter shouting…"
"Everything's alright…" Wayne assured. "Jimmie's talking with him."
"Good. Those two stubborn males need it…"
Wayne sighed.
"I'm sorry…" he said.
"For what?" Anna asked.
"For everything. I put your whole family at risk. I was being self-centered. And now you're family's fighting all because of me. I didn't mean for this to happen but I should've seen this coming. It's all my fault…"
Anna sat up in her bed and squeezed his hands.
"If anyone should be apologizing it's me. I'm sorry."
"You have no…"
"I do. You saved my family's life and I yelled at you. I don't want to think what would've happened to Polly, J.J., William, or Peter if you hadn't showed up…"
"They came after you because of me. You were right…"
"This would've eventually happened anyways. All you've done is make Savage act sooner. I just wanted to blame someone else. Try to fool myself my life would've been better off. I guess we all just don't want to admit we're responsible for Savage being what he is today. We all let him take charge and walk over us…"
"Too many people already died because of me…" Wayne said sadly. "No one else is going to die for me, not this time."
"What are you doing?"
"Doing what I must. I have to face him…"
"Ya can't! Ya'll be killed!" Anna cried.
"If I don't' show up, I'm afraid what he'll do to all of you in retaliation…"
"We'll be fine. Trust us, we'll be more prepared. I already am sendin' a message to Martha's husband to come over and help us move. We'll get outta here just fine…"
Wayne sighed.
"I still can't just walk away. I don't know why but I can't…"
"Yar a funny man, John," Anna said. "But nonetheless a brave one."
Wayne sighed.
"Jimmie's still talking to Peter. I got to get going. Can you tell him goodbye for me and tell him that I said thanks for everything?"
"I will," Anna promised. "I'll pray for ya."
Wayne sighed and got up, leaving the room. He saw Peter and Jimmie were not back up yet. They were probably still talking. However the three children were all staring at him.
"Uh…" Wayne said, feeling uncomfortable. Polly began to walk over to him. She was crying again, but for once wasn't blushing or hiding away from him.
"Thanks for keepin' us safe Mistah Wayne…" she cried as she hugged his leg tightly.
Wayne at that moment almost broke down. A child's innocence was broken, probably because of him. Even the little children knew what was happening. She finally let go and Wayne managed to kneel so he would be at her eye level.
"Take care of your mother and your oldest brother for me," Wayne whispered to her as she managed to hold back tears.
"I promise…" she said. Wayne then looked over to William Jefferson who walked over and began to hug him along the shoulders. Wayne patted him on the back.
"Be strong for your Pa. He's going to need you all," Wayne said as he patted William Jefferson on the back. Finally he got up again and began to walk out of the house when he heard someone following him. Turning around he saw that J.J. was behind him. This time he didn't have the usual look of distrust on his face. Instead he looked scared with big innocent eyes, questioning Wayne.
He was still clutching his rifle which he just loaded. Wayne knew that look. J.J. always had it whenever he wanted to go do something with his Pa.
Wayne put a hand on J.J.'s shoulder.
"I'm sorry J.J…." Wayne whispered with sincerity. Leave it to be, the only person who wanted to help him was a child. "I have to go alone…"
J.J. looked hurt by that remark and then extended his rifle to Wayne. Wayne looked puzzled but then realized what the little kid was doing. The child was giving him his prized rifle that he almost never let go or out of his sight.
"J.J. I don't use guns. I can't…"
But the pleading look in his eyes stopped Wayne dead in his tracks.
He put on smile and grabbed the rifle even though a part of him was revolted by what he was doing because it was squashed by the simple love of J.J.'s gesture.
"Thanks J.J.," he said. "I'll be safer with this."
He then turned around and left the Saunders front door turning to head to the barn where he could drop off the rifle before heading to town to face his death.
000000
"Pete…" Jimmie asked as he rapped on the door.
Still no answer. Jimmie sighed.
"Peter Gregory Saunders, will you please open the door?"
There was a shuffle and the door opened. Peter was looking at his father angrily.
"You know it wasn't locked."
"I know, but I felt like ya had the right to listen to what I have to say on yar own free will…" Jimmie said as he entered the room. He then noticed the window and shut it. Peter seem to pay no notice.
"Nothing you can say will make me change my mind," Peter asserted. "I'm not going to abandon John Wayne like you and Desert Star did."
"No, I'm not 'ere to talk to ya 'bout that…" Jimmie sighed before sitting down.
"Then what?" Peter demanded.
Jimmie sighed and buried his hands in his face.
"Do ya remember ya grandpa?" Jimmie asked.
"Of course I do, he lived with us before he died…"
Jimmie sighed.
"Before ya pappy died, he had a talk with me. Ya remember how he and his pa worked hard to provide us money to buy a farm?"
"Yeah, you tell that all the time."
"Well, my Pa told me he didn't do all that work for the money nor the farm itself. He told me he did it fer one reason."
"What?" Peter asked curiously.
"Love…" Jimmie whispered softly. "My pa loved me so much just like how his pa did and he was motivated to work 'ard because he wanted to give me a bettah life than he had. Before he died, he told me what would make 'em the happiest man in the world would be to see me 'ave my own farm to work on."
Peter had softened his glare at his father.
"And that's why I sent ya to Reverend Stiles and whatnot. I wanted ya to 'ave a bettah life than me just like my pa and grandpa did with me. That's why they came to America."
Peter was now feeling mad at himself. His father did love him but he was too stubborn.
"So when trouble was comin' 'round, I'll admit I was scared. Scared not of losin' my life, but ya guys. I didn't want ya or yar siblin's to be in trouble. I wanted ya to be safe, have a bettah life than me…"
Jimmie by now was in tears. Peter couldn't help it; tears began to fall down his face as well.
"I love you Pa," Peter said and held his father tight,
"I love ya too Peter…" Jimmie said, holding really tight, he wanted to savor every moment. "And yar were right…"
"What?" Peter asked confused.
"Sometimes thin's get so bad standin' by and doin' nothin' makes it worse off. Well now I'm doin' somethin'. I'm gonna take a stand with Wayne; let Savage know not everyone's afraid of 'em…"
"Pa ya don't need to do this…"
But Jimmie already got up and began to walk out.
"I love ya son…" Jimmie said sadly before shutting the door.
"Pa wait!" Peter shouted and ran to the door, only to find it locked. His father had locked him in.
"Pa!" Peter shouted, banging on the door. He then looked to see his window was locked. Pa had completely locked him in.
00000
Wayne was in the barn. He found two of the dogs were already there, wagging their tails at him curiously.
"Goodbye boys…" Wayne said sadly as he leaned J.J.'s rifle against the barn wall.
"You don't have to do this…" a squeaky voice said reluctantly.
Wayne turned to see Batmite still in his gaudy cowboy costume.
"I was wondering when you would show up again," Wayne muttered darkly.
"Sorry. But I'm here to tell you, you don't have to do this…"
"I don't care," Wayne snapped.
"But you can die. You'll be jumping further to the future soon anyways. You don't need to throw your life away…"
"I'm not throwing my life away!" Wayne snapped back. "Throwing my life would be me doing nothing!"
"But…"
"You're going to have to stop me if you want to…" Wayne threatened.
"Well I can't, at least directly. Me being created from your imagination and what not, I cannot directly stop you doing something against your will…"
"Then leave me alone…" Wayne said and made to walk out of the barn.
"But…"
"If you're only here because whoever you're working for told you to, tell him he's going to have to physically stop me himself then and come out of the shadows. Otherwise I'm going down there to face Savage, not caring if I live or die."
"But I really don't want you to die…"
"Why does it matter to you?" Wayne demanded.
"Because you're my hero?" Batmite said a little nervously. Wayne felt a sense of guilt for a second but just shook his head. "I'm not a hero…"
He then turned to find that Batmite had disappeared on him. Good he was all alone. He was about to exit the barn when someone came in.
"Good, ya haven't left yet!" Jimmie said as he began to grab and examine a few rifles hanging in the barn.
"What are you doing?" Wayne asked confused.
"I just talked with Pete. He's right. It's mighty hypocritical of me to abandon ya. I told him I was gonna help ya and locked him in his room. Someone from the Saunders family needs to stand up and it'll be me!"
"I can't ask you to do this Jimmie…" Wayne began.
"Look I know I'm a crappy shot and got an injured arm but at least ya should have someone with a gun. Ya shouldn't be goin' down and facin' them yarself. It ain't right."
"But Jimmie…"
"I'm sorry Johnny, but I've made my decisions…" Jimmie said as he began to pick up a rifle, his back to Wayne.
"I'm sorry too…" Wayne said before putting his arm around Jimmie's neck.
Jimmie gasped and tired to pry the arm off but it was too tight. He struggled and kicked.
"Don't fight it Jimmie," Wayne whispered sadly. "It's for your own good."
Within a few more seconds Jimmie had passed out. Wayne sighed and lowered him gently to the ground.
"I'm sorry Jimmie, but you have a family to take care of. I don't have anyone…"
And with that, he exited the barn.
00000
Metron sat there feeling tense. Batmite had failed to convince Batman to back off. A part of Metron wanted to incinerate the imp to oblivion but he was too worried about other things. Batman had challenged him. Challenged him to come and reveal himself and directly interfere. A part of Metron felt insulted by that. How dare Batman challenge him, a god?
Just like Hades…
Metron shook his head. He must not get ahead of himself. That was what led to this mess in the first place. He looked at his computer. He could look at it right now and have it tell him what would happen if he didn't step in. But for the millionth time he fought the temptation. He had too many experiences where his attempts made things worse.
He now had two options. He could try to directly interfere and either help or stop Batman from his doomed quest. But that would make him break a vow he had tried hard to keep his entire life. That would give Hades the satisfaction. The god of death would use this as proof there was no such thing as fate and that everything was directly caused by his own manipulations.
But on the other hand Metron had seen despite all odds, Batman not only survive many things but the fact his actions, mostly by his own choice, did not change the timestream. Was it possible this would happen a fourth time?
Metron watched as Batman continued to walk down the road. A lifetime ago he probably would've directly interfered but now, he was curious.
He relented. He would let things play out for his own. See if Batman could pull it off again.
00000
Wayne walked along the road; he was about a mile out of Desert Star. He already passed the tree he had tied up Cletus and his gang. He hoped someone in the Saunders family would remember to let them go. He passed Hades who was leaning against the tree casually. Wayne kept pretending he didn't notice him even though he saw Hades a mile away.
"No hello?" Hades asked. "I'm insulted.
Wayne ignored him.
Hades began to walk side by side with Wayne.
"Figured you can use some company as you walk to your own grave. How appropriate it's from me as well…" Hades chuckled with sadistic amusement.
Still Wayne ignored him.
"You know believe it or not, I'm applauding your actions. I'm in full support. No matter how stupid I think they are, at least your defying fate and others. You're showing the puppet master that life is determined by your choices…"
Again Wayne didn't say anything.
"Although the funny thing about this is this doesn't really matter anyway. I mean look at you. You chose to try to help this town and what did that get you? Two dead friends and a whole town loving and hating you in less than one day. The irony is amusing."
Wayne began to enter the outskirts of the town. Hades began to fade away.
"Nothing really matters. All lives you try to save delay the inevitable or are exchanged for others that end sooner than they should have. I do hope before you die you do realize what you've done here doesn't matter at all…"
And with that, the god of death was gone. Wayne didn't care though. Hades was wrong. Every life was significant and mattered. Even if he wouldn't succeed, at least his actions would matter, to him at least.
A ringing church bell got his attention and he looked to see the church was ringing, signaling the end of Sunday services. He forgot it was Sunday. Sighing Wayne decided that if he was going to die he might as well try talking to God for the first time in a while, or at least someone who believed in God.
Up next, the climax of the Western Arc. Batman, alone and abandoned, faces Savage, Turnbull, and forty armed men all by himself with no gun or willingness to kill in an attempt which will probably cost him his life.