Wings of an Elfin Warrior
Chapter 8
Step into darkness
Batman stood within the great halls of the museum. Even after the security breech weeks ago, he had little to no difficulty getting in. He looked up at he newly replaced chandelier and skylight ceiling. He still wasn't sure how Dick survived after hitting the chandelier like he had. He replayed the scene over and over in his head, just as he had played that part of the tape in moments spent alone in the Batcave. He nearly lost another one. God, he nearly caused the death of yet another son. The reports said that the only things taken were some crystals … crystals which had been found in various parts of the world. Single crystals of various sizes, shapes and colors. The only thing they had in common was their unknown origins and configurations.
He hadn't realized how much all this chaos had affected him until the security officer had managed to walk up on him without him even noticing.
"Batman," the old man smiled. "I know you probably don't remember me. My name is Tony. You got me this job. I heard what happened to your son, Night-something or 'nother. I hope he's ok. I know too well what's it like to lose a son."
"He's fine, Tony," Batman informed him. "Were you here that night?"
"No, sir," Tony mumbled, taking his uniform hat from his head. "Both the men who where here that night are missing, presumed dead. I was off that night. The cops said the film makes it look like they never saw it coming. Bob had a family."
"I am sorry," Batman whispered. "Can you show me the locations of the rocks that were taken?"
"Yeah, I guess so," the older man agreed. "At least I'll feel like I did something to help catch those killers." He led Batman to a closeted room behind the displays of different types of rocks and crystals. There, they found a lab and many boxes of more rocks and stones of every shape and size imaginable. In the back corner next to a lab table were three empty boxes that were labeled "Unknown." Batman spent ten minutes looking around. It had been three weeks since the crystals had been stolen. It would now be like finding a needle in a haystack. Any clues that the cops did not have were probably swept away when the scientists returned to work.
"The place was a wreck," Tony announced. "Boxes were thrown everywhere. These guys literally left no stone unturned," he laughed. "They even went through the displays. If it was a stone, they handled it."
"That
would explain the amount of people they used for this heist," Batman growled.
"I guess it would be too difficult to pick up the track so late in the game, huh, Batman?" No reply was given. Instead, the Dark Knight continued to rummage through the piles of rocks and pebbles.
"Who are the scientists doing research in here?" Batman growled. "Where can I find them?"
"Dana March and Theo Johnson. They're the museum's geologists. They were both on one of the expeditions that found two of the crystals." He showed him pictures on the wall. One was of a handsome black gentleman with a broad smile that showed his pride in the discovery that they had made. The other was of a middle-aged white woman who looked like she had been drawn into the picture kicking and screaming. The other pictures were much the same. However, in the last one, the woman held a crystal. It was as large as her hand with an almost metallic luster, yet is also seemed to maintain a crystal-like transparency.
"The science teams usually get here between 0900 and 1700, sir. And now that the crystals are gone, they don't really hang out past that. They're planning to join another excavation team in Russia sometime soon."
"Have they found another crystal?" Batman inquired.
"Naw, they weren't looking for crystals when they found them. They were part of a paleontology excavation. They were looking for dinosaurs. Dana says they use geologists to date rocks so they can date the dinos."
"Were all the crystals found at dinosaur excavations?"
"Not sure."
"Are there any other pictures of the missing or existing crystals that you know of?"
**"No.
Wait . . . there was one found in India, but someone said it was stolen a while
ago," the elder man mumbled, reaching in his pocket as if looking for
something "but, um, yea, here it is . .
. " With that, he pulled out a medallion on a gold chain, a wedge of
broken crystal wrapped in beautiful golden wire.
"Dana's crystal broke only a short time before it was stolen. I found this shard of it a few days after it broke. I found it on the floor and was going to give it to Dana as a gift. I have no idea how it got broken. It was kinda funny 'cause it broke the diamond drill bit I was using originally. I had to settle for wrapping it in wire to hang it from the chain. I found it on the floor and was going to give it to Dana as a gift. But if you think it will help, you go for it."
Batman cradled the medallion in his gauntlet. It felt heavy for a piece of crystal approximately the size of a nickel. Suddenly the room seemed to swim and grow dark. Then a vast black void opened up in the middle of the room with such force that Batman was slammed into the wall on the other side.
He saw a man step out of the void, a large man in robes of black and gray not unlike the knight's mantle that S`lea wore. The man laughed as the Dark Knight struggled to get his footing and stand again. But it was not to be. And then darkness claimed the Batman.
For Bruce, consciousness seemed to come and go. Visions of his dark past flashed before his eyes. Death was all around him, and darkness claimed him once again.
***
When Dick awoke, he found himself alone. He got up and worked his way around the bedroom. Even in the darkness, he could tell he was not in his own room. The warmth from the midday sun beat through the drapes, and the bed was much too big. He heard the door open on the other side of the room.
"Good morning, Dick," Leslie whispered. "You'll find your change of clothes in the bathroom."
"Leslie? How is S`lea?" Dick asked, still trying to feel his way around the massive room.
"I am fine, Sire," the Meric knight announced as she stepped in the room. Neither of them sounded fine. They sound both tired and worried, he decided that it was just the end of a long couple of weeks for everyone. Leslie had probably stayed up all night to watch over S`lea. But after a moment of reassurance, he gave into Leslie's suggestion that he take a shower.
He stumbled into the shower hoping the water would wash away the dark feeling that hovered around him. The hot water pounded relentlessly against his back and shoulders, but still something didn't feel right. Over and over, he replayed the last couple of days' events in his head, but nothing registered. He stepped out of the shower and quickly shaved and dressed. Then he realized exactly where he was and where he had spent the night.
"If I slept in the master bedroom, where did Bruce sleep? Or is he still ranting downstairs?" No one answered. Even a blind man could tell there was something wrong.
"S`lea? Is something wrong?"
Still no answer.
"I know you're there, S`lea. Answer me!"
he growled. "Is Bruce OK?"
