Chapter 3
It is the spirit and not the form of law that keeps justice alive.--Earl Warren
"So give me the details," said Batman into his communicator as he ran from rooftop to rooftop, heading for the scene.
"This was a sick one, he called himself the Soul Eater. He's been wanted in the mutilation and murder of seven kids from here to Metropolis," said Wayne, showing no emotion as usual,
"Witnesses heard screams from an alley, and one ran in to see what was going on. He found the man with his throat cut up into confetti, and claims he saw Batman running away from the scene."
"Oh, Christ, not cool," said Batman as he landed above the scene. He switched on his cloaking device, then quietly crawled down the wall, keeping his grip by powerful magnets that were attached to his palms and heels of his costume. He extended a finger, listening in on a pair of cops with the sound-boosting microphones.
"God, this is sick. What could have done it?" asked the first one as he took a few shots of the scene with a camera.
"I don't know, but you see these slashes in the brick right here?" asked the second, pointing with a finger, "The perp missed his first attack or two, then he got him good."
"What could have done it though? Those slashes are deep, and those bricks are cut pretty clean."
"Good question, maybe forensics found something here. Now come on, we got to finish checking the path that Batman took to escape."
"Oh God, this is crazy," said Terry as he descended lower, still hidden in his cloaked form. He was almost to the ground, when he saw something in quite literally in front of his nose. It was a dark gray residue. Terry thought for a second, then nabbed a sample and stuck it in his utility belt. Chances were good it was just some old motor oil or something, but it was better to check it out. He then moved back up the wall, and then hopped onto the roof, and began to look for a place to take off.
"Hands up!" came a command from behind him suddenly. As he began to turn, he was met with a crack across the back of his head, making stars explode in front of his eyes. He staggered around, turning to see where the attack had come from, but was met with another sharp blow, this one to the stomach. Thankfully the suit was better protected there, but the shot still did damage. Looking up through the flashes of light, he saw two policeman standing there, each one holding a stun stick.
The stun stick was the latest in non-deadly weaponry. It worked by blasting the target with a blast of concentrated Alpha particles, which bounced off of the human body rather than pass through them as so many other sub-nuclear pieces did. The handheld weapon was of great use to police.
"Hey, what's going on? I'm the good guy remember?" grunted Batman as he rubbed his stomach.
"Batman, or whoever you are under that mask," began one of the cops, his stun stick aimed at his face, "Under article 7, section 3 subsection A, paragraphs 4 and 6, I am detaining you for questioning concerning the murders of Jean Taos, and Donovan York Quixley, known as the Sin Eater."
"Right," said Batman and then dove to the side, avoiding the reflexive blasts from the stun sticks.
"Come peacefully Batman, we don't want to use force!" commanded the other officer, as he aimed for a shot at the same time.
"I didn't do anything," shot back Batman angrily as he fired a Batarang at the police, knocking the stun sticks out of their hands, "Now leave me alone!"
"This is unit five, requesting back-up, suspect is resisting detainment," called one of the officers into his radio as he pulled his nightstick out and charged the masked hero.
"I don't have time for this," said Terry as he leaped up into the air and fired up his jets. The cop who had charged still swung wildly with the large stick, missing completely. His partner though was smarter, and had grabbed his stun stick back and fired off a blast which whizzed right between Batman's pointy ears.
"Time to leave," said Terry and flew off.
Terry landed on the ledge of a sky scraper ten minutes later. He had flown low around town, doubling back, flying in circles, and in general trying to cover his path. Three times he had heard police cruisers coming by, and three times he managed to escape detection.
"Terry, why in the hell did you think it was a good idea to assault two police officers?" asked Wayne, obviously irritated.
"Like you wouldn't have? I need to find this guy, I'm getting sick of this," responded Terry angrily,
"Then find him already," shot back Bruce Wayne as he shut off the radio.
"Damn, its not exactly I'm going to just run into the guy," muttered Batman as he landed on the roof of a factory. He looked down the alley way below him, and was shocked to see a Joker mounted on a girl. She looked to be no more than fourteen or fifteen, and was sobbing through her blackened eyes. Even from high above, he could see the growing bruises on her body, spots where this animal had punched and kicked her.
In his heart, he felt a dark rage swell up, threatening to overtake the rational part of his mind. Without a thought, he leaped down, giving a scream of rage. Just as the Joker looked up, Batman connected with a vicious right hook, sending the creep down the alley. He looked to the girl, and said simply, "Run, I'll handle this."
The girl simply lay there, legs still spread, just staring at him with terror. He growled, then turned to find the rapist struggling to pull up his pants. He rushed forward, and delivered a spinning kick to the Joker's face, hitting with the heel of his foot against the jaw, and was satisfied by the wet crack that was emitted. Coming around, Batman dropped down and fired a hard uppercut right to the solar plexus, lifting the air out of his opponent. Still not done, Batman grabbed the now battered Joker, and tossed him up into the air. As the Joker hit his zenith, Terry leaped up, grabbed his back, and slammed him face-first into the concrete.
The Joker rolled over, his face mashed up, blood leaking out, and moaned, "Shit man, when I get up, I'm so going to beat the living crap out of you."
"If I were you, I wouldn't bother getting up, unless of course, you want me to kick your ass again," growled Batman angrily.
Turning around, he signaled the police to pick up the rapist, and went to check on the girl. She had pulled herself against the wall, and was huddled up with her knees tucked in underneath her chin and arms clamped tightly around them.
"It's okay, it's over, the cops will be here any moment," said Terry in a soothing voice, his hand going out to touch her shoulder.
"Please, don't hurt me," sobbed the girl as she dropped her face into her knees and shied away from his touch.
"Don't worry, I won't, I'm here to protect you," said Batman quietly, pulling his hand away. He heard the sirens, took one more look to make sure the girl was okay, then fired up his jets and flew off.
As he looked on from far above, Terry couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt. True, he was supposed to stop the bad guys, without killing them, but how close to the line could he tread?
"Why didn't you finish him?" a voice whispered quietly into his ear, sounding both evil, and at the same time seductive, "Think about it, just another street punk, going out, ruining other people's lives. Who would care about such a piece of crap?"
"Why not?" the voice continued, "After all, what are they are going to do? Arrest you? You could claim self-defense, or just plain old psychosis. After all, why else are you running around in that ridiculous get-up."
"Whose there?" called out Terry, whirling around, "I know someone's here, show yourself."
"Maybe you're, going stir-crazy?" teased the voice, appearing to come from behind Terry's right shoulder. He spun around quickly, firing off a batarang which merely disappeared into the quickly thickening steam.
"Wait a minute, there isn't a duct there," thought Terry, "Who are you? Show yourself!" he commanded.
"As you wish," came the same echoing voice. From the smoke, a figure began to materialize, and as it came fully into view, Batman did something he had never done before: he took a step back. The figure was even height with him, but appeared more muscular. He wore a pure black jumpsuit, that covered his entire body. His shoes were slate gray boots, which flared at the tops. His hands were encased in gloves of the same color and material, complete with flares. However, what shocked Batman the most was the face. It was the face of a demon, narrowed eyes, a black hole for a nose, and three slits where the mouth should have been. Like the Batman suit of old, it wore a cloak this one was gray like the boots and appeared ragged, draping almost sloppily over the chest and covering the top of the face completely.
"What are you?" gasped Terry.
"I am the Angel of Death," replied the stranger in a deep and foreboding voice.
"You, you are the one who attacked those two men," gasped Terry.
"I was merely dispensing the orders of Justice. They deserved what they got."
"Like hell, just because we wear a mask doesn't give us the right to kill!" screamed Terry angrily.
"You foolish person, with people like that, death is their final resting place," said the stranger in the same seemingly dead voice, then with a touch of cynicism, added, "I just get them faster."
"That's it, I'm bringing you in," said Terry, running forward. He came forward with a right hook, but with a rushing of cape and smoke, the figure side-stepped effortlessly, letting the attack sail pass. Turning, Batman struck out with a kick to the mid-section, catching his foe by surprise, but still only getting the edge of his cloak. He leaped up, kicking with his back foot, aiming for the head, but his opponent ducked, grabbed his leg, and swung him up and over, and slamming him face first into the ground.
"You are foolish, you lack focus and proper training. This isn't even a challenge," the creature remarked, folding his arms to show his contempt.
"Sure, I bet you say that to everyone," growled Terry dropping into a crouch and sweeping at his opponent's legs. He connected, and watched as his adversary, began to fall, but smoke suddenly burst out from underneath him, engulfing him as he fell. Batman jumped up, but it was too late, this strange new player had disappeared.
"Until we meet again Batman, meditate on what I have said," came the voice from seemingly everywhere.
"Damn it!" yelled Batman to no one as he slammed his fist into the ground.
It is the spirit and not the form of law that keeps justice alive.--Earl Warren
"So give me the details," said Batman into his communicator as he ran from rooftop to rooftop, heading for the scene.
"This was a sick one, he called himself the Soul Eater. He's been wanted in the mutilation and murder of seven kids from here to Metropolis," said Wayne, showing no emotion as usual,
"Witnesses heard screams from an alley, and one ran in to see what was going on. He found the man with his throat cut up into confetti, and claims he saw Batman running away from the scene."
"Oh, Christ, not cool," said Batman as he landed above the scene. He switched on his cloaking device, then quietly crawled down the wall, keeping his grip by powerful magnets that were attached to his palms and heels of his costume. He extended a finger, listening in on a pair of cops with the sound-boosting microphones.
"God, this is sick. What could have done it?" asked the first one as he took a few shots of the scene with a camera.
"I don't know, but you see these slashes in the brick right here?" asked the second, pointing with a finger, "The perp missed his first attack or two, then he got him good."
"What could have done it though? Those slashes are deep, and those bricks are cut pretty clean."
"Good question, maybe forensics found something here. Now come on, we got to finish checking the path that Batman took to escape."
"Oh God, this is crazy," said Terry as he descended lower, still hidden in his cloaked form. He was almost to the ground, when he saw something in quite literally in front of his nose. It was a dark gray residue. Terry thought for a second, then nabbed a sample and stuck it in his utility belt. Chances were good it was just some old motor oil or something, but it was better to check it out. He then moved back up the wall, and then hopped onto the roof, and began to look for a place to take off.
"Hands up!" came a command from behind him suddenly. As he began to turn, he was met with a crack across the back of his head, making stars explode in front of his eyes. He staggered around, turning to see where the attack had come from, but was met with another sharp blow, this one to the stomach. Thankfully the suit was better protected there, but the shot still did damage. Looking up through the flashes of light, he saw two policeman standing there, each one holding a stun stick.
The stun stick was the latest in non-deadly weaponry. It worked by blasting the target with a blast of concentrated Alpha particles, which bounced off of the human body rather than pass through them as so many other sub-nuclear pieces did. The handheld weapon was of great use to police.
"Hey, what's going on? I'm the good guy remember?" grunted Batman as he rubbed his stomach.
"Batman, or whoever you are under that mask," began one of the cops, his stun stick aimed at his face, "Under article 7, section 3 subsection A, paragraphs 4 and 6, I am detaining you for questioning concerning the murders of Jean Taos, and Donovan York Quixley, known as the Sin Eater."
"Right," said Batman and then dove to the side, avoiding the reflexive blasts from the stun sticks.
"Come peacefully Batman, we don't want to use force!" commanded the other officer, as he aimed for a shot at the same time.
"I didn't do anything," shot back Batman angrily as he fired a Batarang at the police, knocking the stun sticks out of their hands, "Now leave me alone!"
"This is unit five, requesting back-up, suspect is resisting detainment," called one of the officers into his radio as he pulled his nightstick out and charged the masked hero.
"I don't have time for this," said Terry as he leaped up into the air and fired up his jets. The cop who had charged still swung wildly with the large stick, missing completely. His partner though was smarter, and had grabbed his stun stick back and fired off a blast which whizzed right between Batman's pointy ears.
"Time to leave," said Terry and flew off.
Terry landed on the ledge of a sky scraper ten minutes later. He had flown low around town, doubling back, flying in circles, and in general trying to cover his path. Three times he had heard police cruisers coming by, and three times he managed to escape detection.
"Terry, why in the hell did you think it was a good idea to assault two police officers?" asked Wayne, obviously irritated.
"Like you wouldn't have? I need to find this guy, I'm getting sick of this," responded Terry angrily,
"Then find him already," shot back Bruce Wayne as he shut off the radio.
"Damn, its not exactly I'm going to just run into the guy," muttered Batman as he landed on the roof of a factory. He looked down the alley way below him, and was shocked to see a Joker mounted on a girl. She looked to be no more than fourteen or fifteen, and was sobbing through her blackened eyes. Even from high above, he could see the growing bruises on her body, spots where this animal had punched and kicked her.
In his heart, he felt a dark rage swell up, threatening to overtake the rational part of his mind. Without a thought, he leaped down, giving a scream of rage. Just as the Joker looked up, Batman connected with a vicious right hook, sending the creep down the alley. He looked to the girl, and said simply, "Run, I'll handle this."
The girl simply lay there, legs still spread, just staring at him with terror. He growled, then turned to find the rapist struggling to pull up his pants. He rushed forward, and delivered a spinning kick to the Joker's face, hitting with the heel of his foot against the jaw, and was satisfied by the wet crack that was emitted. Coming around, Batman dropped down and fired a hard uppercut right to the solar plexus, lifting the air out of his opponent. Still not done, Batman grabbed the now battered Joker, and tossed him up into the air. As the Joker hit his zenith, Terry leaped up, grabbed his back, and slammed him face-first into the concrete.
The Joker rolled over, his face mashed up, blood leaking out, and moaned, "Shit man, when I get up, I'm so going to beat the living crap out of you."
"If I were you, I wouldn't bother getting up, unless of course, you want me to kick your ass again," growled Batman angrily.
Turning around, he signaled the police to pick up the rapist, and went to check on the girl. She had pulled herself against the wall, and was huddled up with her knees tucked in underneath her chin and arms clamped tightly around them.
"It's okay, it's over, the cops will be here any moment," said Terry in a soothing voice, his hand going out to touch her shoulder.
"Please, don't hurt me," sobbed the girl as she dropped her face into her knees and shied away from his touch.
"Don't worry, I won't, I'm here to protect you," said Batman quietly, pulling his hand away. He heard the sirens, took one more look to make sure the girl was okay, then fired up his jets and flew off.
As he looked on from far above, Terry couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt. True, he was supposed to stop the bad guys, without killing them, but how close to the line could he tread?
"Why didn't you finish him?" a voice whispered quietly into his ear, sounding both evil, and at the same time seductive, "Think about it, just another street punk, going out, ruining other people's lives. Who would care about such a piece of crap?"
"Why not?" the voice continued, "After all, what are they are going to do? Arrest you? You could claim self-defense, or just plain old psychosis. After all, why else are you running around in that ridiculous get-up."
"Whose there?" called out Terry, whirling around, "I know someone's here, show yourself."
"Maybe you're, going stir-crazy?" teased the voice, appearing to come from behind Terry's right shoulder. He spun around quickly, firing off a batarang which merely disappeared into the quickly thickening steam.
"Wait a minute, there isn't a duct there," thought Terry, "Who are you? Show yourself!" he commanded.
"As you wish," came the same echoing voice. From the smoke, a figure began to materialize, and as it came fully into view, Batman did something he had never done before: he took a step back. The figure was even height with him, but appeared more muscular. He wore a pure black jumpsuit, that covered his entire body. His shoes were slate gray boots, which flared at the tops. His hands were encased in gloves of the same color and material, complete with flares. However, what shocked Batman the most was the face. It was the face of a demon, narrowed eyes, a black hole for a nose, and three slits where the mouth should have been. Like the Batman suit of old, it wore a cloak this one was gray like the boots and appeared ragged, draping almost sloppily over the chest and covering the top of the face completely.
"What are you?" gasped Terry.
"I am the Angel of Death," replied the stranger in a deep and foreboding voice.
"You, you are the one who attacked those two men," gasped Terry.
"I was merely dispensing the orders of Justice. They deserved what they got."
"Like hell, just because we wear a mask doesn't give us the right to kill!" screamed Terry angrily.
"You foolish person, with people like that, death is their final resting place," said the stranger in the same seemingly dead voice, then with a touch of cynicism, added, "I just get them faster."
"That's it, I'm bringing you in," said Terry, running forward. He came forward with a right hook, but with a rushing of cape and smoke, the figure side-stepped effortlessly, letting the attack sail pass. Turning, Batman struck out with a kick to the mid-section, catching his foe by surprise, but still only getting the edge of his cloak. He leaped up, kicking with his back foot, aiming for the head, but his opponent ducked, grabbed his leg, and swung him up and over, and slamming him face first into the ground.
"You are foolish, you lack focus and proper training. This isn't even a challenge," the creature remarked, folding his arms to show his contempt.
"Sure, I bet you say that to everyone," growled Terry dropping into a crouch and sweeping at his opponent's legs. He connected, and watched as his adversary, began to fall, but smoke suddenly burst out from underneath him, engulfing him as he fell. Batman jumped up, but it was too late, this strange new player had disappeared.
"Until we meet again Batman, meditate on what I have said," came the voice from seemingly everywhere.
"Damn it!" yelled Batman to no one as he slammed his fist into the ground.