15. Interview With the Bat

Batman towered over her.

Dora's eyes were level with the bat symbol emblazoned across his huge chest. He was easily a foot and a half taller than her and twice her weight, and all of it was muscle. The heavy black and gray armor plates on his suit hid none of that muscle tone. A scowl was molded into the brow of his mask, but Dora could clearly tell he was also scowling underneath because his mouth and chin were exposed. His eyes were hidden behind glowing white lenses, but his glare was nonetheless withering.

Dora was keenly aware that she was backed into a corner and could not run away.

"We need to talk," said Batman. His voice was rough and deep, like crashing thunder.

All of sudden, Dora was transported back to high school. She felt like a teenager again, being scolded by the principal for cutting class. Everyone knew the GCPD might as well have been a joke. In Gotham, Batman was the law.

And you don't fuck with the goddamn Batman.

She didn't have to ask him what they needed to talk about. She knew.

"Red Hood?" she whimpered.

The muscles around Batman's mouth tightened in affirmation.

Dora heard rumors about how Batman interrogated people and she didn't want to find out firsthand. "He's not here. I haven't seen him in weeks."

"I know," Batman said. "The last time Red Hood was here, he stayed for over four hours." Batman turned away from her and gave her space. However, he placed himself between Dora and the door to the stairs. The gravel did not crunch under his feet.

The space didn't make Dora feel better, instead she felt a cold pang. This whole time she had been paranoid about the GCPD staking her out, not realizing that Batman could be watching too. What else did he know? Was he interrogating her or accusing her?

Dora swallowed, choosing her words carefully. "He came over to, uh... talk about his protection money."

"He's extorting you."

Dora shrugged. "Kinda. He says that I owe him 15% off my books for protection—for security—but he hasn't collected. In fact, he took some cocaine..." Dora hesitated. She didn't want to mention her sister was a drug dealer. "He, uh, seized some drugs a few gangsters brought through here, said the bust would cover my dues for a while, until I was up and running again."

Batman grunted. "That negotiation did not take four hours. What else happened?"

Dammit. People said Batman had no superpowers, but he was pretty keen at detecting bullshit. Dora took a breath, trying to calm her nerves. "Those narcos that came through, they fucked up my bar... Red Hood fucked up my bar more by getting 'rid' of them. Then the city's crime scene cleaners fucked it up even more by stripping it down. So, um, Red Hood stayed for a bit to help me fix up the place."

"Odd that he bothered," Batman noticed.

"Is it? Maybe he's just a nice guy." Dora hoped that was enough reason for Batman.

Batman turned to face her again. His gaze was scalding. "Don't be fooled. He's a criminal. You've seen firsthand how dangerous he is."

"You're dangerous," Dora snapped without thinking. "He's a vigilante like you."

She immediately regretted it. Batman bared his teeth and clenched his fists. Dora pressed herself into the wall.

"I am dangerous," he said. "But I don't kill people."

"No, listen, please. He wants to control crime in Gotham instead of getting rid of it. Vice is human nature. As long as people desire money, drugs, sex, power... there will always be crime, and they will never stop wanting those things. You can't cure crime, but you can treat it. Run it in a way so people don't get so hurt. So that it even benefits everyone, not just the people at the top."

"He told you that, didn't he?" Batman sneered.

Dora faltered. "He... did. Yeah."

"He told you his manifesto. You must be special."

"I'm... not," she denied. In truth, she didn't actually know. Was she special to Red Hood?

Batman stepped toward her. "Enough. Who is he?"

"What?"

"Don't mess around. Who is Red Hood?" He closed in.

There was no space to move back, Dora's back was to the wall of the shed. "I don't know."

"You can't fool me, Dora Silva. He goes out of his way to protect you. He extorts everyone in this neighborhood but you. He spends inordinate amounts of time with you. He waxes poetic about his ideals." His voice rumbled. "With. You."

"What—" Then Dora screamed.

Batman lunged forward.

She tried to duck away, but he grabbed her by the collar of her jacket. With almost no visible effort, he picked her up, lifting her so her feet dangled above the ground and her eyes were level with his.

"Who is Red Hood?" he growled. The glowing white lenses in his glare were searing, penetrating.

"I don't know."

Batman shook Dora and she screamed again. "Who is he? Tell me his name!"

"I don't know!" Dora sobbed. She was so scared she began to cry.

"You're lying!"

"No! Please!" Dora cried. "I swear, I don't know who he is!"

"THE TRUTH! NOW!" he barked, shaking her so hard the seams of her jacket started to tear.

Dora was certain he would not kill her, but she did not want to bungee jump off the edge of her roof. She had to give him something. "I don't know his name, I swear! He took off his helmet in front of me, but he had another mask underneath it!"

"Why would he do that?"

"Because we were talking!"

"What happened that night?"

Dora was crying all out now. She struggled to catch her breath between sobs. "H-he t-t-took off his helmet b-buh-because we were drinking! We t-talked and then... then..."

"What happened?" Batman shouted.

"We kissed!" Dora admitted.

Batman snarled and dropped her. She hit the gravel on the roof flat on her ass. Batman kneeled in front of her. "What did he look like? Did you recognize him?" He didn't yell this time, but his voice was still firm.

Dora wiped the tears from her eyes. "No, but he's white, I think. Black hair. The mask hid his eyes. Kinda looks like Nightwing."

Batman growled and stood. "This is your warning, Dora Silva. Do not get involved with Red Hood. I'm watching you."

Just then, the door to the roof slammed open. Dora turned to see Holly and Carla rushing out. "What's going on? What's with all the yelling?"

Dora turned back around, but the Dark Knight had disappeared. "Where'd he go?"

"Where did who go?" Carla asked. "We heard someone yelling at you from downstairs. Who was it?"

Dora stared wide-eyed around the rooftop. He had vanished like a ghost. "It was... Batman."

Holly gawked. "Holy shit, Batman was here?"

Carla helped Dora up, wiping the tears off her cheeks. "What did he do to you? You're shaking!"

Dora swallowed, her throat was dry. She locked eyes with Holly.

"He knows, doesn't he?" Holly asked.

Dora nodded wearily. "Yeah. And he doesn't like it."

Notes

I've been waiting FOREVER to write this chapter. Tell you what, it was super fun writing Batman. I've always wanted to sit behind the wheel and steer the Dark Knight, but I never did until now because I wanted to do it right.

Tell you something else, I shouldn't have waited. Oddly enough, for this appearance of Batman, I drew inspiration from probably the WORST Batman comic ever written, All Star Batman & Robin. Don't get me wrong, I loved reading it, but mostly because the artwork was top notch. Jim Lee is one of my favorite comic book artists, but wow… Frank Miller's writing is fucking terrible. Usually Miller is a great writer, but All Star Batman & Robin has no discernible plot, Batman is a psychotic asshole who finds pleasure killing people while physically and emotionally abusing Robin. Like he literally slaps the kid around and bullies him, it's disgusting. It's so bad they cancelled the series, despite the great artwork.

Anyway, I chose that version of Batman mostly because a friend argued that Frank Miller's portrayal of him is probably what most criminals and civilians in Gotham view him as. Given their one-sided point-of-view: not knowing his true identity, back story, and motivations like we do, he comes across as a deranged sociopath that cripples criminals for life instead of killing them not just because it's justice, it's punishment. You can't be a criminal if you can't walk, see, or hear, right? Fear, gravitas, and general "oh shit, it's fucking Batman!" factor was what I was going for in this appearance, and I hope I got it across. Hence, the small "goddman Batman" remark, made infamous by Frank Miller.

P.S. Yes, the title is a reference to Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire.

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