A/N: Here's the next chapter, where we will be introduced to other members of the Gotham Knights. Before we begin, I'd like to state that Madarame's arc will take longer than Kamoshida's, not too much, but still more than two chapters. Cause we gotta introduce the villain, the new Knight, then the final battle, so it will most likely be three chapters.
I do not own Batman Beyond or Persona 5. They are works of Warner Brothers Animation and Atlus respectively.
Now let's begin.
"AHHHHHH!"
"Wilhelm!" A mobster called to his companion as he was sent flying. He then aimed his gun at the thrower, only for them to grab it and use it to knock him out.
Batman then pulled out three Batarangs and threw them toward other mobsters, raising their guns at him, disarming them. Robin then dropped down in front of them, extending his staff and tripping the three up. He then brought his staff on his shoulder as he looked at Batman with a cocky smirk.
Red Hood shot Batarangs from his guns before seeking cover behind stacks of crates. He then took a small peak outside his hiding place, looking for anything he could use. He noticed a light hanging above the gunmen who had him pinned down. A devious smirk formed on his face.
As soon as the thugs stopped to reload, Red Hood sprang into action. Taking quick aim, he fired off a Batarang that cut the chain holding the light. The light fell on one of the guman's heads, knocking him out and leaving his companion stunned. Taking advantage of the confusion, Red Hood switched his gun's to grapple mode and fired.
A claw with a line attached to it went flying to the gunner and latched onto him. Red Hood then went flying as he delivered a zip kick that sent the thug crashing into a stack of crates, knocking him out.
The remaining three mobsters got back to back to avoid any strikes from behind. However, they left too much space for someone to drop in behind them.
"Hello boys!" The three all turned and looked in shock to see Catwoman. They were too slow to fire as Catwoman pulled out her whip and spun around. The swinging whip knocked the three down to the ground. The other Knights walked up to her. "We get them all?" She asked.
Before anyone could answer, they all heard loud footsteps. They turned to the source to see a large man, one who could put the most heavyweight sumo warriors to shame. And in his hands, was a large minigun!
"Ah slaggit!" Batman said.
The large man chuckled madly as he opened fire. Acting quickly, Batman grabbed Robin under the arms and flew up to the scaffolding above with Red Hood following behind as he fired a grapple line to the ceiling and held onto Catwoman to pull her up. The man continued laughing as he aimed his gun toward the ceiling to try and hit them.
"Great, how are we gonna take this dreg down?" Red Hood asked.
Batman took a moment to take in the situation around them. Attacking head on was suicide, and there was no way he could take that gunner down in one attack, not by himself. He then noticed a narrow walkway between large stacks of crates, which would make it hard for him to turn around quickly enough for a counter attack. A plan soon formed in his mind.
"Red Hood, Catwoman, you two work to lure him over to that walkway between the stacks of crates." Batman ordered the two as they nodded. He then turned to his partner. "Robin, you wait somewhere hidden while I get behind him. We'll take him down faster if we work together."
"When do I join in?" Robin asked, excited.
"You'll know when you see it." Batman assured as they all moved to get into position.
The brute stopped firing as he noticed no bodies falling from the ceiling. He must've missed.
"Hey! Big, fat, and ugly! Over here!" The brute turned to see Red Hood waving at him. "You can't catch me! Nanananana!" The action caused his blood to boil as he raised his gun and opened fire. Red Hood dodged out of the way and began to make his way over to the crates for the plan.
The man stopped firing as he then chased after Red Hood. He turned the corner where the vigilante ran to and lost him.
"Hey big boy, I have a question for you!" He turned to then see Catwoman standing on a stack of crates looking down on him. "Is that muscle or is it fat? Because either way it's gross to a girl like me."
The man got further enraged as he aimed his gun and fired. Catwoman then leap off of the crates and landed on her feet, just like a cat should. She then turned and went further into the maze of crates.
The brute chased after her and soon found himself in the narrow walkway they had planned to trap him in. The man began walking down the narrow passageway. "Come on out Bat freaks!" He demanded.
Due to the narrow passageway, he couldn't turn to check his back to see if anyone was behind him. And that left him open for Batman to drop down behind him and approach him quietly, crouching down to help keep him from being spotted. He then looked up and spotted Robin on the scaffolding above them. The two nodded to each other.
"What? Did I scare you freaks away?!" He taunted.
He then felt someone pull him back by tugging the large backpack he was wearing. He glanced behind him and looked in wide eyes to see Batman, whose eyes narrowed at him. "Not even close."
"Heads up fatty!"
The Brute looked up at the source of the insult to see Robin flying toward him, staff extended. The Boy Wonder struck the brute across the face, causing him to turn his body. He was then struck in the face again by one of Batman's fists before Robin hit the back of his knee, bringing him down. Batman finished it off, by jumping in the air, grabbing him by the head, then slamming him down on the ground, hard, knocking him out cold.
"You sure took your time back there." Robin pointed out as he walked up to Batman.
"I was testing your self control." Batman said.
"Did I pass?" The kid asked.
Batman had a small smirk on his face as he ruffled the kid's hair. "You need practice." He told
Robin in a playful tone the boy didn't appreciate much as he shoved Batman's hand off his head. "Come on, let's see what's in these crates."
The whole reason the Knights were at this warehouse was to thanks to a tip given to them by Iwai. While Bruce wasn't happy they were using a former Yakuza as an information broker, even less that the man knew Ren's identity, even he couldn't argue with the results they were getting because of it. Thanks to Iwai's informats and old contacts, they were able to intercept a number of shipments and take them down before any of the goods hit the streets.
This specific warehouse seemed to have some goods stored for Shido. Iwai was able to give them the crate numbers of the things related to Shido and the group got to work.
"I found a butt load of cash here!" Red Hood called in excitement from a crate he opened.
Batman pried open the one he was in front of. "Found a whole bunch of drugs in this one!"
Catwoman quickly picked the lock on a crate she was in front of and opened it. She then gasped in horror at what she saw. People, all female, mostly young girls. "Human trafficking." She muttered as she clenched her fists in anger, remembering all the pain Shiho suffered. She would make sure these dregs paid.
Robin stood in front of the container he picked, excited to find what was behind it. Maybe some super secret weapon, or gold bars! He was tingling with excitement just thinking about it. He then opened the crate…
...and frowned.
"Huh?!"
"What's up?" Batman said as he and Red Hood helped Catwoman get the young woman out of the crate.
"There's only a bunch of paintings in here!" Robin cried in disbelief.
"What? That dreg Shido's into art?" Red Hood asked, not believing it.
"See if you can find anything inside the paintings with your scanner?" Batman told Robin. Robin did so and activated detective mode on his mask. After a minute of scanning, he found nothing.
"There's nothing!" Robin said as he walked over to them, clearly upset that his find was the least significant of the four. "No drugs! No money! Nothing!"
"Did you get the wrong container?" Red Hood asked. Robin took a moment to look at the container label, G17. He looked at a slip of paper he carried with him that had all the container numbers. It had the same label as the one he circled.
"No I didn't! Did Iwai get the labels wrong?" Robin suggested.
"He hasn't been wrong about any of this stuff before." Batman said.
"Well, there's a first time for everything." Catwoman said as she helped the last of the women out of the crate. She then looked outside to see a large number of police cars gathering outside. "Looks like that's our cue to disappear."
"Seems like it." Batman frowned. Having to leave now meant leaving all this evidence in the hands of the cops. And while that's what they would normally do, they didn't know how many of them were in Shido's pockets, meaning all this could be handed back over to him. It would help if they had someone in the police department they could trust. But that wasn't an option anymore.
Consequently, shortly after Ren had appeared as Batman, Commissioner Barbra Gordan was fired from her position. She and Bruce had a history, according to him he didn't go into any details, so she could be trusted. The public reason was because she had failed in her duty to keep the city safe that another cosplayer decided it was up to them to clean it up themselves. It was a lie, obviously to those in the know.
Shido had used his various connections and network to get her fired and replaced with a corrupt and greedy commissioner, much like how it was in the days before Batman. But even if Gordan was still the commissioner, Ren still wasn't all that comfortable leaving this matter to the police. After all, the police didn't believe him when he pleaded he was innocent when he was arrested.
Batman shook those thoughts out of his head as he turned to the others. "Let's get out of here."
And with that, the Gotham Knights disappeared as if they weren't even there.
The Batcave
"Impressive work tonight." Bruce complemented, for once, as the Knights arrived back to the cave. "You were able to stop that shipment, and deal with all the gangsters efficiently. Much better than you were at the beginning."
"Thanks, I guess." Ren said as he finished changing into normal clothes, but then looked down in disappointment. "Still wish we were able to stay there a bit longer, to at least find some way to connect all this to Shido."
"Then make sure you do better next time." Bruce said.
"Sure thing Gramps." Ryuji said as he gave a loud yawn. "Well, we're off! Have a great rest of the night." He bid farewell as he, Ann, and Ren made their way up to the entrance of the manor.
"Where do you think you're doing?" Bruce asked coldly, causing all three of them to stop in their tracks and look back at him nervously.
"Going home to study and sleep. We start exams tomorrow." Ann answered. Bruce's eyes narrowed.
Before he could shut them down, Ren spoke up. "Think of it this way. We have to keep our personas as students intact so no one suspects that we are the Gotham Knights, right? If we flunk our exams due to poor sleep and lack of study, people may get suspicious. And in my case, performing well in school is a condition of my probation. If I flunk my exams, I could get sent to prison."
Ren hoped his reason would be enough to convince Bruce to let them go. Finally, after a long moment of silence, Bruce sighed. "Fine. But be sure to work extra hard when you're done with your exams." The three sighed in relief as they left the cave. Morgana soon followed after them as he went up to his room to catch some sleep.
Bruce patted Ace, the loyal hound resting by his chair as he turned back to the Batcomputer's main screen, which was currently broadcasting a live press conference of Shido's campaign. Bruce turned up the volume to listen.
"What are your goals if you become Mayor?"
"I seek to create a city where the youth of tomorrow can thrive and improve each and every day. A place free from crime where children can play in the streets and not have to worry about the scum or the rich and powerful from ruining their lives if they merely take too big of a step." Shido said.
Bruce narrowed his eyes. He had to give Shido credit, he was a master at creating a public facade, much more than even Bruce was in his golden years. A regular citizen could easily be fooled by his words. But Bruce wasn't ordinary. If Shido meant what he said, he wouldn't have ruined a young boy like Ren's life with false charges.
"What are your thoughts on the new Batman?"
Shido paused for a moment before answering. "I think that while the person who takes on this responsibility must be brave and noble, he should leave these matters in more capable hands, like our police force."
"But crime statistics show that criminal activity has decreased by 20 percent for the first time in over two decades since he made his appearance. Surely you must admit that this is a good thing?"
"While I admit that crime has dropped, how do we know it is due to him and not the change in command in the police department? Batman is an individual that always has, and always will draw the most wild and sadistic criminals from the deepest shadows in Nippon-Gotham, threatening its people. And not only that, it seems this most recent Batman has dragged in followers. Charging into the darkest parts of this city by himself is one thing, but dragging innocent civilians along with him is something I cannot stand for! As such, I believe it would be the best for this city and its citizens if the Batman disappeared. For good! Thank you for your questions ladies and gentleman! We're out of time at the moment, better to save your questions for my next speech."
And with that, Shido began to make his way off stage and as cameras flashed and more shouts from reporters.
Bruce narrowed his eyes further. Shido knew they were on to him, so he was trying to turn the people of Nippon-Gotham against them to buy himself some time to complete… whatever it was he was planning.
Leblanc
The bell chimed as the door to the hidden coffee shop opened and Ren stepped in.
"Ah, you're back early." Sojiro said as he took a sip from his coffee.
"Yeah. Mr. Wayne let me go home early because I got exams starting tomorrow. So I'll need to study." Ren explained as he moved upstairs.
"Now hold on." Sojiro stopped him. "We don't have much time now with you working for the great Bruce Wayne. This is a perfect chance for you to practice your coffee and curry making."
Ren sighed as he quickly changed out of his school uniform and into Leblanc's work uniform. "Hey, you were the one who wanted to know how to make my special curry." Sojiro pointed out with a smug smile. "Don't expect me to share my secret recipe for nothing you know. See, there's an expression I live my life by: 'Those who don't put in the work are those who don't get to eat'."
The door jingled as it opened again, signifying customers. A woman in her mid twenties entered the room. She had a familiar pair of blood-red eyes and long silver hair. Behind her was a boy about Ren's age, who looked very familiar, dressed in a fine tan suit jacket with a matching tie.
"Huh? So I guess this can be considered a regular spot for you, huh Niijama-san." The boy said as they took their seats as the counter.
"I wouldn't exactly call her a regular." Sojiro told the kid, before he turned to the woman. "And to what do we owe the pleasure. Are you on another date with this young man?"
The woman merely glared at Sojiro, which caused Ren to freeze as he saw that familiar gaze. But Sojiro, amazingly, looked unfazed. "I would appreciate it if you don't make such ridiculous comments, else I should take you to court for insulting a prosecutor."
"Sheesh. It was a joke." Sojiro said as he scratched the back of his head. "You could learn to lighten up. Anyway, what will it be, the usually?" He asked.
"Sure." The woman said as she went back to typing on her phone.
Ren meanwhile looked in shock at the woman. If the last name wasn't any indication, then that terrifying glare certainly confirmed it. This woman was Makoto's sister. And it seemed like she had some sort of high position in the law. Ren sighed internally. 'Well there goes any chance I had of dating Makoto.'
The boy then took his seat in front of Ren. He eyed the spectacle wearing boy curiously for a moment. Ren noticed this and turned to face him. The boy then put on an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry for staring, but have we met before?"
Ren continued to gaze at the boy in front of him for a moment. The boy did indeed feel familiar, but where did he. His eyes then widened in realization. "I don't think you've had the pleasure of knowing me, but I certainly wouldn't recognize a young celebrity like you, Goro Akechi, the young ace detective."
Akechi smiled as he gave a small chuckle. "Well, I do have a famous reputation as such. But the truth is, I don't consider myself as such." Ren raised a curious eyebrow as Akechi began flipping through his book. "When you think about it, a detective is someone ambiguous and uncertain. You agree with me, right?"
"I… suppose so?" Ren answered, uncertain as to what point Akechi was trying to make.
"By themselves, there's no guarantee even the greatest detective will be useful to society." Akechi began explaining. "There are a couple of things needed to prove their value. A tough case in which only they can solve. And the existence of a worthy rival to make such a case."
Ren continued to stare at Akechi, his expression neutral. Akechi was silent for a few more moments before he spoke up again. "Sorry, I'm not boring you with all this, am I?" He asked.
"No. No." Ren assured him. "In fact, I now have a question related to what you said." Akechi motioned for him to go on as he took a sip from the coffee Ren handed him, prepared by Sojiro himself. "You said even the greatest detective on their own wouldn't be able to contribute to society. But surely there must be exceptions to that rule, like say… Batman."
Akechi all of a sudden stopped drinking his coffee and placed the cup down. "What makes you bring up that particular detective?" Akechi asked, the look in his eyes subtly changing.
"Well, consider it a dedicated fan asking in defense for his childhood hero." Ren said.
Akechi continued to glare at Ren before answering. "Well I believe that Batman is the perfect example to my statement." Akechi began explaining. "Batman was once considered the world's greatest detective, but could he have earned such a title if it wasn't for the number of cunning and devious adversaries he had that created all the cases he ended up solving."
"Well one could argue that he could've made such changes to society without the appearance of such rouges." Ren stated.
"I suppose you have a point. But as the old saying goes, 'A hero is only as good as his villains'." Akechi pointed out. "Do you believe that Batman could have created such a reputation if he didn't have the likes of Joker, or the Riddler to act as his adversaries."
"You make it sound like Batman himself would be useless if he didn't have those monsters as his enemies." Ren said as he clenched his fist in anger under the table. "Well what about the new Batman. So far he hasn't come across any worthy adversaries and he's making a large enough contribution to society."
"He's not Batman."
Ren blinked in surprise at the cold and icy tone Akechi just used. "What?"
"I said that this delusional dreg flying around Nippon-Gotham dressed as a rodent is not Batman." Akechi clarified.
"How can you be so sure?" Ren asked. "A lot of people are thinking he's the real deal."
"Those people are fools!" Akechi spat out. "This so-called 'Batman' doesn't have the intelligence to be half the detective the original was. And I should know, I've seen the crime scenes he's left behind. "He's just a thrill seeker looking to add a bit of excitement into his life."
That comment struck a chord with Ren. He almost lashed out in anger, wanting to scream that Akechi was wrong in his assumptions about him. But he kept his cool, knowing that doing so would be a big red flag for him.
"Well maybe he is a thrill seeker." Ren said, even though it pained him slightly to say it. "But he still seems to be making some sort of difference."
"I wouldn't count on it lasting." Akechi said as his tone returned to normal. "Sooner or later, this pretender will wake up and stop trying to play hero."
Not another word was said between them.
The Next Day
MISHIMA: Hey check this out?!
MISHIMA: Someone on the site totally thanked you for taking care of those loan sharks that were bothering her family!
REN: Why are you telling me this?
MISHIMA: Right, right, I forgot! It's totally got nothing to do with you.
MISHIMA: We got midterms today. Did you study?
Ren didn't bother answering Mishima as he closed his phone.
"Mishima's a bit… intense." Ryuji said as he and Ann read over the text messages while looking over Ren's shoulders. Currently, the three of them were descending down an escalator into the station to take the train that would take them to school. "You think he's a fan of the Gotham Knights?"
"I might say he's a bit more of a stalker." Ren grumbled as he put the phone in his pocket. He honestly wasn't sure what to do about that kid. He appreciated his support, and his willingness to help, but sometimes he can go a bit overboard.
Ann then took a moment to look around her. "Speaking of… I feel as if someone's been following me around too." That caused both boys to look at her in concern.
"You think it's that Akechi guy you mentioned the other day?" Ryuji said as he pulled out his phone and used it to search the web for photos of Akechi. "If you ask me, he doesn't exactly seem like the type to be a detective."
"Well we don't seem like the type to dress up and go beat up mobsters at night do we?" Ren counter. "We should be careful, while we've been lucky so far that the people who do know have our back, we can't assume that to be the case for everyone." The others nodded in agreement.
Soon, Ann emerged from the terminal after riding the train alone, beginning to make her way toward Shujin. And just like she thought, someone was following after her. They kept a certain distance but slowly began to pick up pace. He then reached out his hands toward her.
Suddenly, Ren and Ryuji came up beside Ann and stared down the stalker, ready for a fight. "Hey you-" Ryuji began but stopped when he got a clear look at the stalker.
He was a young man, about their age, with dark blue hair and grey eyes. He was tall and skinny, almost frighteningly so. He had slightly pale skin. He didn't look like your usual stalker, but he definitely seemed far from normal.
"Okay man, who are you? And why are you following us?" Ryuji asked. The tall boy didn't seem to be paying attention as he gaze was solely fixed on Ann.
"Beautiful." He said.
"Huh?" Ann said in confusion.
"Hey just answer the question pal!" Ryuji demanded impatiently.
"I'm Yusuke Kitagawa, second year at Kiosa High, fine arts division." The stranger introduced himself in a polite manner. "Currently I reside with and am the pupil of Ichiryusai Madarame, a master painter. I strive to become a great artist."
"An artist?" Ryuji said in confusion, not expecting Ann's stalker to be an artist. Maybe a photographer, but not an artist.
"For the last few days, ever since I've laid eyes on you, I've been unable to avert my gaze. She has stolen my heart." His comment caused Ann to blush, causing Ryuji to be irritated for some reason and Ren to feel uncomfortable. If Morgana was here, he'd probably kill this artist kid.
"You are the woman I have been searching for all this time!" Yusuke declared as he took a step forward. "You radiate a passion that I've never felt from anyone before!" He then brought his hand over his heart. "Please be my…"
"Seriously?" Ryuji said in disbelief. He couldn't believe this guy had the balls to confess to someone out of the blue.
Ann was so flustered that she took a step back and stuttered. "Uhh-Wait, I-What do you want from me?!"
"I want…" Yusuke began as he clutched his chest tightly before swinging his arm out wide and proudly declared, "You to be the next model in my art piece!"
"...Huh?"
Later - Shujin Academy
Ryuji popped open a can of fizz and took a long sip. He let out a satisfying sigh, content with the drink. "That's good stuff! Finally no more tests! Hahahaha!" He exclaimed in excitement and joy. "I feel like I've just been freed from prison!" He then turned to the others. "So how do you guys want to celebrate? Maybe go bust up some drug dealers!"
"Have you already forgotten about Akechi?" Ren asked, causing Ryuji to stop. "We have to be careful not to draw any suspicion towards us. Because as much as I hate to admit it, he's a pretty good detective."
"Yeah I know, I was just saying. Besides, Gramps will probably make us work harder like he said." Ryuji then groaned.
"Anyway," Ann spoke up, looking to change the subject. "What do we do about these?" She said as she tapped on three tickets to an upcoming art gala.
"Oh yeah, that creep." Ryuji spat out.
Flashback
"Madarame-sensi's art exhibition starts this weekend. And I'll be assisting him on the first day." Yusuke told them as he handed them the tickets. "I can give you more details then."
Flashback end
"An art exhibition. That sounds lame! I'm not going." Ryuji said immediately. Art wasn't his thing. He just didn't know what was cool about looking at something some old geezer made with paint.
"Well maybe I should go." Ann said, much to the boys' surprise.
"Are you serious?" Ryuji said.
"Don't tell me you've fallen for that Yusuke kid at first sight Ann." Ren said with a teasing smirk. "Morgana sure would be disappointed if he found out."
"Oh come on! It's not like that!" Ann assured them as she brought a finger to her chin. "But those tickets were free, and an art exhibit sounds like it could be a lot of fun. Those tickets even included a plus one. Maybe we could invite Morgana and Mr. Wayne to come with us?"
"You really think Gramps and the pipsqueak will be down to go see an art exhibit?" Ryuji said skeptically.
"I have to agree with Ryuji on this." Ren stated. "While Morgana may come for the chance to spend time with Ann, I really can't see Bruce going to the exhibit."
"Well maybe it would be good for him." Ann suggested. "I mean, if he took some time to get out of that mansion, or cave to be exact, it would be good for his health, and it could mellow him out a little. Maybe even let him be a little easy on us."
"From what I've seen so far, it doesn't seem like he'll ever mellow out." Ryuji stated.
"You don't even know that half of it." Ren said, having spent the longest time with the original Batman.
"Well besides, even if they don't agree to come, Ichirayusai Madarame is totally famous." Ann then stated. "Just yesterday he was a guest on good morning Nippon-Gotham. And it so happens that I like art."
"Pozer!"
"Shut up!"
Ren ignored them as his mind was lost in thought, think back to what Akechi said last night. Was he making a difference in this city?
"What are you doing up here?" A familiar voice pulled him out of his thoughts as he looked up to see Makoto Niijmia at the entrance to the roof.
"Oh, what do you want?" Ryuji asked, clearly annoyed.
"You three make an interesting pair." Makoto stated as she walked up to them. "The troublemaker, the girl of gossip, and the infamous transfer student. You all have a history with Mr. Kamoshida, don't you?"
"Yeah and so does half the student body." Ren pointed out.
"What do you want?!" Ryuji asked.
"To leave." Makoto said bluntly. "I'm sorry to inform you but the roof is now off limits. Those are the rules. Understand?"
Ryuji scoffed. "Yeah, whatever." He said as he got up and moved to the exit, Ann and Ren trailing behind him.
Ren stopped for a moment after he passed her. "I have to save. This whole ice queen persona you got going on." He spoke in a low whisper, smirking. "It's kinda hot."
That caused Makoto to widen her eyes and blush adorably as Ren kept walking and made his way down the stairs. All the while admonishing himself. 'Dang it Ren! What the slag are you doing?! You can't flirt with a prosecutor's sister! You'd go to jail for sure!'
The Weekend
Somehow the three had managed to convince Bruce to come to the exhibition. When they mentioned that getting out could help him live longer, and that it would be held during the day, Bruce agreed. Morgana came simply because Ann said she was going, and he wanted to see for himself just who this Yusuke guy was.
"Wow, there's a lot of people." Ann muttered in awe as she saw how packed the place was, even on the first day.
"I thought you weren't coming Ryuji?" Morgana teased as he looked up at the blonde.
"You guys told me I had to come." Ryuji said with raised shoulders.
Ren and Bruce ignored the exchange as they heard commotion coming from the side and saw that Madamare was giving a TV interview.
"Tell us, where does all your inspiration come from?" A news reporter asked as she held the mic close to him.
Madarame chuckled. "It's not something I can really put into words, but I'll try my best." He said as he began explaining. "For me, inspiration naturally wells up from within my heart, like bubbles rising up to the surface in the spring season. What's most important is distancing oneself from worldly desires like fame and fortune. My humble shack may not be much in terms of comfort, but it's more than enough for me to pursue my passion."
"A shack?" Ren muttered in disbelief. Sure he could probably understand it from an artist point of view, but why choose a shack?
"I see." The reporter said as if she realized something. "The act of emptying one's mind in pursuit of true beauty. Impressive as always, Master Madarame."
Madarame laughed. "The word master has always baffled me." He said in a humble tone. "All I ask is for people to feel something when they see my work. So please, look around and hopefully you'll find something here you'll enjoy."
"Wow!" Ann muttered in awe. "Did you see that? He has a totally different perspective, I could see myself becoming a fan!"
"I'm happy for you." Ryuji muttered in obvious sarcasm.
Ren then paid a glance to Bruce, who had a suspicious look in his eyes as he glared at Madarame. "Everything okay?" He asked.
Bruce didn't look at him. "Something's off about this whole picture." He said. That caused Ren to humm in thought.
"Takamaki-san!" The group then looked to the source to see Yusuke walking toward them, excitement on his face. "I'm so glad you came!"
"H-He-Hello." Ann stuttered.
Yusuke then turned to Ren and Ryuji. "I see you two came as well." He said, seemingly not pleased.
"Yeah, so?" Ryuji asked, annoyed.
Yusuke sighed. "Just make sure you don't get in the way of the other guests." He warned them before looking at Ann again with excitement. "Takamaki-san, let me show you around. And I'll tell you more about the piece I want to do."
Ann was about to agree when Morgana stepped defensively in front of her. "I'll come too!" He declared, not willing to let his precious Lady Ann go anywhere with this creep.
"And who is this midget?" Yusuke asked.
"Midget?!" Morgana hollered in anger and was about to charge him but Ren held him back.
"Don't worry Morgana, I'll be fine." She then turned to the others. "See you guys later." She then left with Yusuke.
"So what do you guys want to do? Look around?" Ryuji asked.
Before anyone could say anything else, the female reporter shouted in shock. "Oh my goodness! Bruce Wayne!"
All of a sudden, any attention that had been focused on Madarame shifted onto the reclusive billionaire who rarely ever came out of his mansion. Bruce was then suddenly surrounded by multiple people asking questions or taking pictures. The three boys that were with them tried to fight their way through the crowd, but ended up separated from each other.
Somewhere else in the Exhibition
"Wow!" Ann muttered in awe. "There are so many different styles of art, even foreign styles."
"An artist usually focuses on one style." Yusuke stated. "Sensi, however, created all this himself. Sensi is a unique man." He was beaming with pride in his teacher.
Ann began looking around before her eyes widened. "Ah! There it is! This is the painting I wanted to see!" She said as she quickly moved along to the painting off to the side.
"You wanted… to see that one?" Yusuke muttered in disbelief.
"Yeah, I saw it on TV and I couldn't stop thinking about it." Ann said excitedly as she looked at the painting, completely missing the pained expression on Yusuke's face. "I think it represents the painter's anger." Ann said, trying to come up with an explanation. "I don't know what it is but I get the feeling of frustration every time I see it. Which was estranged because Madarame seemed so happy and composed in interviews. To think he created a piece like this."
Yusuke gritted his teeth and clenched his fist in frustration, but Ann failed to notice. "Madarame has better pieces than this one." He managed to say, hiding his displeasure. He then turned and walked to the side. "Come, this way." Ann looked at him with a concerned glance before following after him.
"Would you please care to tell our viewers what brings the reclusive Bruce Wayne out of his castle?" The reporter asked as she held the mic to his face.
Bruce merely easily slipped into his facade of billionaire playboy like it was nothing. "I've been a fan of Madarame since he first debuted years ago, even purchased some of his artworks. When I heard he was hosting an exhibition in the city, I just had to come visit and see his new artwork."
"And it's a pleasure to have you come visit us Mr. Wayne." Madarame said as he walked up to the billionaire and extended his hand. The moment Bruce shook his hand, the photographers went crazy as they took as many pictures as they could of the monumental handshake.
Ren had somehow found himself on the upper floor of the exhibition and looked down at the commotion, an impressed smile on his face. "Now I understand how he was able to keep his identity a secret for so long." Ren admitted, noting to try and take a page from Bruce's playbook as he went back to try and admire the art.
In another part of the exhibit, Morgana was walking around, trying to find any sign of the other two boys and Lady Ann, but he was clearly lost. Deciding to give up on trying to find anyone, he decided to take a moment to just enjoy the paintings.
As he looked at all the different works of art, Morgana couldn't help but think back to his amnesia. Did he ever like this sort of thing before losing his memory? And if he did, what sort of art style was his favorite?
Asking these sort of questions to himself caused him to feel a sense of sadness and depression. He didn't know who he was at all, and that thought always terrified him. He tried to mask that fear as best he could through anger at Ryuji, or admiration for Ann, or the joy he got from being Robin.
But sooner or later, that fear would always come back, and it usually happened when he was alone, much like he was now. Morgana quickly shook his head to get this fear out of his mind as he turned to another painting. But as he looked closely at the painting, he froze.
It was a woman, holding an expression he couldn't quite decipher. It would be easier if he could see what she was looking at, but that image was covered up by a thick painted fog, obscuring the object she was looking down at from view.
But the look on the woman's face wasn't what caused Morgana to freeze. It was the painting itself. It was familiar, very familiar. He then turned around and ran away from the painting to try and find Ren, Lady Ann, Bruce, or even Ryuji!
He had to show them what he found.
Ren stood in front of a painting and compared it to one that was hanging right beside it. While no art expert himself, he could tell just how different these styles were from each other. And Madarame was supposedly the master of all these styles. It was impressive he had to admit.
"Hey! Frizzy hair!"
At the familiar nickname, Ren turned to see Morgana running toward him. When the boy reached him, he hunched over and took deep heaves of breath.
"What's wrong? Did something happen to Ann that made you overreact?" He asked, not all concerned. But then he saw how pale the kid's face was. "What happened? You look like you've seen a ghost?"
"I'll explain later! Come with me now! I need to show you something!" Morgana didn't even wait for Ren to respond as he grabbed him by the arm and pulled him along. Not wanting to make a bigger scene than they already did, Ren just agreed to let Morgana pull him along.
Soon enough, the two stood in front of the painting that Morgana was looking at previously. Ren looked at the information plate on the side.
"The Sayuri." Ren read as the memory came to him. "Oh yeah. I remember reading about this online. Apparently this is supposed to be his most famous piece of work." He then turned to Morgana and asked. "Did you bring me here to show me this because you also knew it was a famous work?"
"What? No! Why would I do that?! That's something a kid would do!" Morgan said as he crossed his arms.
"You are a kid?" Ren deadpanned.
Morgana was close to blowing a fuse, but managed to keep his temper in check. "Look, remember that night when I was disappointed because all I saw in my container was paintings?" Ren nodded. "Well, this was the painting I saw in there, and not just one, dozens of them."
Ren's eyes widened in shock. "Are you sure?"
"Positive."
Ren then looked back over to where Bruce and Madarame were conversing. If what Morgana was saying was true, then maybe it could be possible that Madarame wasn't this humble artist that he made himself out to be.
Ren then pulled out his phone. "I'll get everyone together so we can leave and discuss this further." He then typed and sent his message.
Bruce and Madarame were embroiled in a conversation when Bruce's phone vibrated. "Excuse me for a moment Master Madarame. I have to take this." He said as he pulled out his phone.
"No problem Mr. Wayne." Madarame assured as Bruce checked his messages. It was the group chat that they all formed to keep in contact with each other.
REN: We need to meet up. Something's up with Madarame.
'Figured it out, huh?' Bruce thought as he raised an impressed eyebrow and looked over to where Ren was standing with Morgana. 'I have to admit, the kid's getting better.'
"Apologize Madarame, something urgent came up and I must return home." Bruce said in a polite tone. His words had an immediate effect as the crowd of people slumped their shoulders.
Madarame didn't seem to mind much. "Well, I'm sure it must be important if it requires you to leave in such a hurry. It's no problem. The exhibition will be held for a few more days, you can come take a look at more paintings in the meantime."
"I'll try to make it. Now excuse me." Bruce bowed as he moved his way through the sea of people, who chased after him to ask more questions, all of them missing the displeasure plastered on Madarame's supposedly humble face.
"You sure you saw a bunch of that old dude's most famous painting in that container?" Ryuji asked.
"There's no doubt. I was so disappointed that I burned that painting's image into my eyes! So that if I ever saw it again, I would tear it apart in frustration!" Morgana shouted in anger just thinking about how humiliating it was to stumble across those paintings.
Currently, the five of them were seated in Bruce's limo, cruising down the road on their way back to the manor. Ren sat in the driver's seat with Bruce in the passengers beside him. Ryuji, Morgana, and Ann were sitting in the back. All of them were currently discussing what Morgana found.
"Could it just be that Shido is just trying to make money by having professionals sell fakes of the art. It could be possible Madarame doesn't know what's happening." Ann suggested, unable to believe a sweet old man like him could do that.
"You're naive Takamaki." Bruce said bluntly. Before anyone could offer any protest, he continued. "People who come across like that are more likely to have a dark secret or two they want to hide."
Ann looked down slightly. "And it's staring you in the face." Bruce continued. "There's no way for one person to be able to create masterpieces with such a variety of styles. Usually an artist can only be able to focus on one style."
"But doesn't the dude claim to be a master of all?" Ryuji said, not really caring, but tried to make some sort of defence for Ann's argument.
"That's all the more reason why it's suspicious." Bruce explained. "I've met thousands of artists over the years and witnessed them create a number of different works, but all of those works still followed the same style the artist devoted to. Never have I met anyone who could master two different styles of art, let alone the number Madarame claims to know. Plus there's his hands."
"His hands?" Ren asked as he turned on the exit leading to the mansion.
"Yes, his hands." Bruce continued. "Artists will usually develop hand pains or carpal tunnel syndrome due to the amount of time they spend painting. And with the number of different styles and works Madarame has produced, his hands should be filled with all the signs and more. But when I shook his hand, they felt like they had never picked up a paint brush in years."
"So you think that maybe he's forcing his students to paint for him?" Ann asked, saddened that another person she ended up admiring started to sound more and more fake like Alice was.
"Most likely, and there's also this." Bruce said as he brought out his phone and opened up the webpage for the Bat-Site. He scrolled down before he handed the phone towards Ann. "Read the post."
Ann hesitated for a moment before she did so. "'A known master of arts is currently plagiarizing his pupils' work'." She gasped at the implications as she looked to Bruce, who nodded for her to continue. "'He forces his students to live in a shack while he teaches them nothing. He just bosses them around and just treats them like slaves. He treats them inhumanly as if he was training dogs'."
"Is that why you agreed to come? Because you saw that post?" Ren asked, finding it suspicious why Bruce would agree to come to an art exhibition.
"Yes. What of it?"
Ren smirked slightly. "Oh nothing. I just remember someone once saying that relying on a website made by an overzealous fan wouldn't lead to any real criminals."
Bruce looked away. "I admit that even things like this have a purpose once in a while. It doesn't mean that we should be over reliant on them though."
"So, what do we do?" Ann asked, her tone still full of sadness. "Will we arrest Madarame?"
"No." Bruce's answer shocked everyone.
"We won't! Then what was the point of you telling us all that stuff if we aren't even gonna take him down?!" Ryuji asked in disbelief.
"I never said he was guilty, I'm saying he's highly suspicious of being so." Bruce clarified. "You never want to just act on your gut with things like this. You need to be 100 percent sure that you've got your guy."
"Okay, then how do we do that?" Morgana asked.
"Well we already have a way to get close to him, don't we?" Bruce pointed out as everyone looked toward Ann, who sighed as she pulled out her phone.
The Next Day
Ren, Ryuji, and Ann had gone to see Yusuke at Madarme's shack. They tried to ask him about all the rumors they heard on the web about Madarame. He strongly denied any such rumors. Eventually, Madarame came out and talked to them. His words seemed so charming and favorable that it almost convinced them that the rumors were indeed false.
Almost.
While the three were talking with Yusuke and Madarame, Morgana, dressed as Robin, made his way into the shack to try and find anything that could point to Madarame abusing his students.
Walking through the shack, Robin had to plug his nose. How could anyone find inspiration in this kind of stench?
He did his best to ignore the smell as he walked through the broken down shack. He looked in rooms and saw numerous broken or unfinished paintings. While this could be evidence that
Madarame could be taking others' works, one could make the argument that he wasn't satisfied with paintings he created.
Eventually, Robin came face to face with something that shouldn't belong in an old run-down shack like this.
Later - Batcave
"A high security door with voice activation?" Bruce asked as everyone reconvened in the Batcave.
"Yeah. and the security on it is pretty intense." Morgana explained. "I tried hacking through the voice activation, but the firewalls on the system are way too high for me to get through."
"You think whatever he's hiding could be behind that door?" Ryuji asked.
"Maybe. I mean, why else would he need such a high level door in a shack?" Ren asked rhetorically.
"Well even if what he's hiding is behind that door, how are we even gonna get in?" Ann asked. "I remember Yusuke saying that only Madarame has access to that door."
"I got something." Bruce said as he moved over to the work bench and picked up a device. "This is the Voice Synthesizer. It can use recordings from people and use them to either open security doors which require voices, or issue commands to confuse gangsters." Bruce then handed the device to Ren. "With this, you should be able to get through that door after you get a live sample of Madarame's voice."
"Okay. I'll head back to the shack tonight and get a recording of Madarame's voice. Then we can see what he's hiding behind that door of his." Ren declared.
"Do you think it's a good idea for you to go alone?" Ryuji asked. Ann's expression made it seem like she was thinking the same thing.
"It'll be fine." Ren assured them. "My suit has a clocking device and audio receptors. I'll be able to listen and record Madarame's voice for the Voice Synthesizer without him even noticing me. Besides, more people would risk letting Madarame know we're onto him."
Ryuji sighed. "I guess you have a point when you put it like that." He then paid a concerned glance to his friend. "Just be careful. Alright man."
Ren smirked. "You know that's my line. We all know who's the more reckless one out of us." Everyone, except Bruce, laughed.
Madarame's Shack - Night
Once he used detective vision to confirm no one was close to his point of entry, Batman entered the shack as quietly as he possibly could. After he did so, he then activated his suit's cloaking system and his body became invisible to the naked eye. He then quietly made his way across the house.
While the suit kept him invisible, he wasn't exactly completely silent and could still be heard, especially with this shack's creaky wooden floors. So he had to move slowly through the house.
He then began to hear faint shouting and activated the audio enhancers on his suit. Soon the faint shouting became clear as he began to hear Madarame's voice. He quickly activated the recorder on the Voice Synthesizer and began listening to the conversation.
"You worthless piece of twig! You almost got me into trouble today by inviting that girl and her friends over!" Madarame's furious voice came into his ears.
"But Sensei, I had to!" Yusuke's voice now came through, his voice trembling in fear. "When I saw her, I knew she would be the perfect model for a nude painting!"
Batman's eyes went wide in shock when he heard that! Nude?! Ann certainly wasn't gonna be happy when she found out.
"I don't care what you think! Your only purpose is to make paintings for me! You understand Yusuke!" Madarame's words caused Batman's teeth to grit in anger.
"But Sensei, you promised me one day that I would have the chance to show forth my work to others. I believe that day is now here." Batman could hear the passion and pleading in Yusuke's voice. He wanted to show his paintings to others, more than anything.
"You remember how I found you Yusuke. When your mother died, I took it upon myself to raise you and provide for you, I gave you your life. It's only fitting that you use that life in service to me. Understand Yusuke?" Batman's anger continued to rise as he heard more and more. Madarame used the pathetic argument of giving Yusuke life, which made it seem like he thereby had the right to do with it as he pleases. That made Batman sick.
"I understand Sensei. I'll work hard for you to repay the kindness you've shown me."
Batman could almost see the smug smile on the old man's face. "Good! Now get to work! You won't be eating anything until you produce another masterpiece!"
"Yes Sensei."
The Voice Synthesizer then chimed as it notified Batman that it received enough of Madarame's voice to create a sentence to open the door. But Batman didn't care at the moment. All he could think about was how those rumors about Madarame treating his pupils as inhuman weren't doing him justice. He was denying Yusuke basic human needs and emotionally abusing him for the sake of increasing his fame.
He wanted nothing more than to burst down there and beat the living crap out of the old man, he didn't even care if he would get slandered for assaulting the elderly.
Hearing Madarame's words reminded him too much of one of the first foster homes he went to after his parents died. That family shouldn't even deserve any kids, biological or foster. They were abusive, angry, and greedy. They would come home at night drunk and beat Ren for the littlest things. He was only with them for a couple months before he moved to the next family, who was much nicer, but they left their scars. Not as deep as the ones from his parents' death or his false arrest, but there were scars deep enough that he never felt comfortable in any foster family ever since.
He took several deep breaths to calm himself down, trying to avoid a panic attack. He was shaking with both rage and fear as the memories of his time with that family came bubbling to the surface of his mind. He couldn't afford to get angry. He had to remember what he came here for, to see what Madarame was up to behind that door. And then, he would take him down.
He quickly but quietly followed the path Morgana told him and arrived at the door. Seeing the control pad that required Madarame's voice, Batman pulled out the Voice Synthesizer and began to calibrate the synthesizer to Madarame's voice pattern. It took several tries and failures before he was able to get the correct pattern.
"Ichiryusai Madarame. Open." At the voice coming from the synthesizer the door chimed and began to slide open and Batman peered inside. He gasped at what he saw.
Dozens upon dozens of works of the Sayuri and other paintings, looking like they were ready to be shipped off on a moment's notice. Batman then contacted the others. "Looks like you were spot on with the paintings, Morgana. Madarame seems to be in the business of art forgery."
"Hah! I knew those paintings had more meaning to them!" Morgana boasted from the other end, clearly forgetting that he was the one who deemed them worthless and unimportant when he first saw them at the docks.
"Good work, Ren." Bruce praised. "Now come on back so we can begin building a case."
"You got it. Just let me see if there's anything else here we can use against him." Ren said as he closed down the call and activated his scanner to see if there were any other things they could use against Madarame. He personally really wanted to see the 'artist' suffer for his treatment of Yusuke and probably dozens of others.
Despite using the scanner, he didn't see anything more out of the ordinary, except for an absurdly large amount of ink particles in the room, which wouldn't be uncommon in a room full of art forgeries. He then looked over at one of the paintings and frowned.
From what he could see with his scanner, there was something hidden inside the painting, but he couldn't tell what. It was thin, much like paper, so it could be money, which means he was probably involved in smuggling. And it could be the reason why Shido had his paintings in the docks, a way to secretly collect money.
He then began to hear faint footsteps approaching the room. Acting quickly, he then moved toward the shadows and activated his cloaking.
Staying hidden, he caught sight of Madarame at the entrance to the room, a look of anger and displeasure marked on his face. "Yusuke, did you happen to open the door I specifically told you never to open?!" He called his student.
"No Sensei! I have done my best to steer clear of the door, just as you've asked me to do!" Yusuke's voice came from further down the hall.
Madarame then let out a sigh. "I must've left the door open." He muttered to himself. "How careless of me. It seems I must be getting senial in my old age." He then walked up to a forgery of the Sayuri and smirked.
"It was all thanks to that woman's dying work that I am where I am today." He muttered to himself as he brushed his hand against the painting. "And when her son creates a masterpiece as marvelous as this, my name will go down in the art industry for years." He then laughed maniacally.
CREEK
He stopped laughing immediately when he turned to the source of the noise. He saw no one. But he knew he heard someone stepping on one of the loose floor boards that lead into the room. They usually helped let him know if someone was coming, but now they apparently revealed that someone was leaving the room.
No matter. Whoever this individual now knew his secret, 'he' would take care of him for Madarame. Making sure no one was around, Madarame took a deep breath.
Then suddenly, darkness began to stain him, his skin had become paper, and ink ran through his veins.
"So the Sayuri was painted by Yusuke's mother." Batman said to himself as he sat against a neon sign to rest for a moment. He was so shocked when he heard the truth that he nearly exposed himself when he left the room. And besides, he needed to take a minute to calm down from his near panic attack.
"That would explain why Madarame took Yusuke in." Batman muttered as the pieces began to come together. "He's trying to get him to create another masterpiece for him." Batman's fist clenched tightly in anger. "He profited off a mother's dying work and is now using her son to become even more famous. I swear I'm gonna make sure that old man pays for what he's done!"
His ranting was interrupted however when whizzed through the air and stuck into the ground. Batman didn't have much time to think as the object started beeping rapidly.
BOOM!
An explosion of purple smoke erupted, destroying the neon sign. Batman flew high into the air, his suit and quick reflexes saving him from getting caught up in the explosion. He quickly looked around for the culprit and looked in surprise at the identity. It was a figure dressed in a dark pink outfit resembling that of the phoenix rangers. He read the files and was quickly able to deduce who it was.
"Saico-Tek?!" He gasped in shock as the now revealed attack began to run across the rooftops with Batman in pursuit.
From what he read on the files in his spare time, Saico-Tek was a new thief that appeared in Nippon-Gotham. He had some incredible reflexes and gymnastic skills, even putting the most famous acrobats ever like the Flying Graysons to shame. And he was even equipped with advanced technology, like that bomb he just threw at Batman.
This was Batman's first encounter with the thief. He mostly preferred to stay below the radar, mostly robbing and small cases of B&E. The Gotham Knights did try to track him several times, but the trail always went cold whenever they did.
But now Saico-Tek was attacking Batman in the open, which was completely against his usual MO. And he did it coincidently after Batman left Madarame's shack. The New Dark Knight used these facts to deduce that Saico-Tek must most likely be working for Madarame. Meaning he would have more answers as to the crimes he committed.
Sacio-Tek fired off his jetpack to try and flee, but Batman quickly pulled out a Batarang and threw it at the jetpack. The jetpack short circuited as Sacio-Tek stopped mid air and began to fall to the ground.
THUD!
He crashed on the roof of a building hard, leaving a small crater, but he didn't seem all that injured. He then looked upward to see Batman coming down from the sky and landing on him, creating an even bigger crater.
When the dust cleared, Batman had Saico-Tek pinned down by crossing his arms behind his back. "I want answers! What's your connection to Madarame?!" He asked.
Saico-Tek refused to answer as surprisingly, with the sounds of bones cracking, he was able to change his whole body structure so that he was laying on his back instead of his stomach. Batman was so shocked by the impossible action that Saico-Tek was able to wrap his legs around Batman's torso and bring him down before flipping up to his feet.
Batman quickly moved to counterattack with a series of flying kicks and punches, all of which Saico-Tek either dodged or blocked. He ducked under a punch and pulled Batman back before delivering a kick to his chest.
Batman took advantage and grabbed Saico-Tek's foot and kept him from moving. But once again, Saico-Tek seemed to move his body in such an inhuman way that allowed him to spin on his foot without having to move it and deliver a kick straight to Batman's face.
Free from the Dark Knight's grapes, Saico-Tek continued his escape. Batman, now with a pink almost foot shaped stain on the right side of his mask, continued to give chase.
Saico-Tek then entered easily into the supports used to hold up a neon sign as Batman had to stop his chase, not being quite nimble enough to fit through. Saico-Tek continued to flip backwards further into a web of metal supports as Batman decided to go around and cut him off.
Saico-Tek seemed to be in the clear when Batman tackled him from the side. The two crashed onto the ground, a clicking sound being heard as Batman flipped off Saico-Tek and smirked as he faced him.
Saico-Tek tried to stand up, but he stopped when he noticed his hands were handcuffed behind his back. It most likely happened when Batman tackled him. It didn't hinder him for long as he then moved his arms over his head, like it was the easiest thing in the world.
Batman's smirk of victory was quickly replaced with his mouth hanging open in shock. That should have been impossible. No normal person should be able to have that degree of flexibility. And that fact caused Batman's eyes to narrow as he glared at Saico-Tek.
"Who… What are you?" He asked. Saico-Tek didn't answer as he then pulled himself out of the cuffs and threw them down on the ground. Batman gritted his teeth in anger as he charged the inhuman thief. Saico-Tek reached behind his back and pulled out two pink spheres that somehow morphed into a sharp pair of sais.
Batman then slid to try and trip Saico-Tek up, but the thief jumped into the air and swiped one of his sais, cutting the Batsuit over the bat symbol. Batman got back to his feet and extended his claws and moved to attack.
The two slashed viciously against each other, but Saico-Tek seemed to have the upper hand as he was able to block and counter all of Batman's attacks. After striking Batman across the face, he then quickly began swinging his swords around at blinding speeds. When he was finished, cut marks then appeared on Batman's chest, his hands, and over his right eye. The action only caused Batman to be further enraged.
Saico-Tek began to flip backwards to try and escape, but Batman had enough of these games and the silent treatment. Pulling out an explosive Batarang, he threw it towards the billboard where Saico-Tek was flipping.
BOOM
The explosion sent Saico-Tek into the air and crashed down on the ground before he quickly got back to his feet and continued running to escape. Not willing to let him get away, Batman threw more explosive Batarangs in front of Saico-Tek.
They exploded, sending him flying backward, but Batman quickly tackled him and slammed him into the billboard. The metal supports, which were weakened when Batman threw the explosive Batarangs, completely broke as the billboard fell forward and began free falling to the street. Citizens screamed as they saw the falling object and quickly moved out of the way.
CRASH!
The billboard landed on the ground hard, causing the cars nearby to jump slightly. As the dust began to clear, the citizens caught a good look at what appeared to be Batman pummeling a man dressed like a Phoenix Ranger, with the billboards neon lights flickering on and off to the side of him. And he showed no signs of stopping.
Batman continued to strike Saico-Tek violently across the face, completely oblivious to his surroundings, only focused on making sure Saico-Tek would stay down. His anger being fully unleashed as the memories of his parents' dead bodies, his time in the abusive foster home, and his false arrest came up in his mind all at once.
He laid one final hard strike down on Saico-Tek, causing the circle on his chest to break apart. Batman was breathing heavily as he looked down at Saico-Tek's motionless body. Looks like he finally went down. Batman then stood up as he continued breathing heavily and stared down at Saico-Tek's bloody body, the adrenaline leaving his system.
He then turned to the side and saw a large crowd of Nippon-Gotham citizens looking at him in horror and fear. Some were clinging to each other tightly as others held out their phones and recorded everything.
It was then that it dawned on Batman what happened. He looked at his gloved hands, stained with what appeared to be blood. He then kneeled down in front of Saico-Tek and checked for a pulse on his arms and neck.
He found none.
He then held his head over the fallen man's chest for a heartbeat of some kind.
It was silent.
He then activated the scanner in his mask and tried to see if it could pick up a heart rate.
It was flatlined.
"No." Batman muttered under his breath as he looked toward his bloody hands, the hands that had the blood of Saico-Tek on them, as they were shaking. He was so angry and frustrated over Saico-Tek being able to counter his every move, that he wanted for the ninja to stop moving.
And he got what he wanted, but never like this.
'Did… Did I just…?'
He didn't get to finish his thoughts as all of a sudden, a bright light shined on him from a helicopter above. He looked to the side to see N.G.P.D. squad cars pulled up and their weapons aimed at him.
"Hands up Batman!" The captain ordered over a megaphone. "You are hereby arrested for murder! We've got you surrounded! Don't try any funny business!"
Batman looked in shock at just how fast the police had acted. His mind was currently a mess, unable to think or speak properly at the moment. But he knew he couldn't be caught by the cops. Never again!
He quickly reached into his belt and threw down a smoke bomb.
"Move in!" The captain ordered, not willing to risk shooting with civilians in the line of fire. Officers complied immediately as they approached the smokescreen, only to find that Batman had vanished, leaving only the cold lifeless body of Saico-Tek behind.
He didn't know how far he ran, or where he was, he just kept running until he didn't have the strength anymore. He caught a glimpse of the street or alley he entered. Crime Alley. But he wasn't focused on that right now, nor the rain that began pouring, nor the danger he could bring to himself by pulling off his mask in an area like this without checking to see if it was inhabited.
All he could think about was Saico-Tek's bloody and lifeless corpse. The corpse that he made that way. He was so angry and frustrated that he just couldn't help himself. He knelt down to the ground and used his hands to brace himself from falling over. He was able to see a clear reflection of himself in the pond made by the rain water.
He looked away from himself in a reflection to his hands that were still shaking. The rain falling from above had cleaned them and his suit of blood splattered on it, the liquid flowing down on the ground and into the sewers nearby. But he knew that he could never wash them clean, not really. That no amount of soap, water, or anything else would wipe away the blood on his hands.
"I… I killed him…" Ren confessed to himself as tears began to fall from his eyes as he brought his hands to his face to cover it. "What have I done?" He muttered in a low voice.
He then gripped and pulled on his hair violently before he looked up to the sky, a bolt of lightning and thunder cracking as he shouted at the top of his lungs.
"WHAT HAVE I DONE?!"
A/N: Yeah, cliffhanger ending, I know.
Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and that I did a good job of introducing Madarame into the story. Again, stuff that I didn't include in the story but touched on, presume that it happened the same way it did in canon Persona 5.
And anyway, on to Ren's backstory. So yeah, I made him live in an abusive foster home. I said this story would be much darker compared to my other stories, and that includes those characters. I wanted to kind of explore more of Ren's broken psyche, which isn't as broken as Bruce's is, but still fairly scared. Mainly I wanted to have him live in an abusive foster home to explain why he never stayed in one family for long. It was mainly because after that family, Ren just couldn't bring himself to trust the people he's come to live with over the years, and why he's always felt the need to change foster homes. Those kinds of scares got buried over time and with his arrest overlapping that trauma, but Yusuke's abuse at Madarame's hands just brought it back to the surface for Ren. Which was part of the reason why he was more vicious with Saico-Tek than he usually is with other criminals.
And speaking of Saico-Tek, since I'm introducing him, you probably know what villain I'll have Madarame become. But I won't confirm or deny your suspicions, just share them in the reviews.
And here's a preview for the next chapter.
Wings of the Night:
As Ren deals with the fallout of Saico-Tek's death, the Knights work to try and expose Madarame to Yusuke in order to save him from his tormentors grasp.