A/N: Here is another chapter, featuring a villain from Persona 5 Strikers.
I do not own Batman Beyond or Persona 5. Both are works of Warner Brothers Animation and Atlus.
The last bell for the day rang, signifying the end of classes at Kosei High. Packing his books, Yusuke swung his bag over his shoulders as he stood up to make his way down to the art room to practice his painting. He had a few hours before he had to report to the cave for the Knights patrol, so he took that time to draw upon any inspiration that came to him.
He was about to leave the classroom when he was stopped when he overheard the conversation of some fellow students.
"Hey, did you make it all the way to chapter 15?"
"Nah man, I kept rereading chapter 12 cause it's so good!"
"12?! I'm still hyped rereading the beginning over and over again!"
Yusuke spied a trio of boys, all with an ecstatic look on their faces, the same one Yusuke made when he was struck with inspiration for a painting. Curious as to why they were acting like it, he walked over.
"Greetings." He said politely. "What are you all discussing?"
The trio turned to him. "Oh Kitagawa! What chapter is your favorite?" One asked him.
"Pardon?" Asked Yusuke, confused.
"What chapter is your favorite?" The student asked again.
"To what are we referring to?" Yusuke asked.
The trio of students looked at each other in shocked disbelief. "Seriously!" One of the students cried, loud enough that everyone would have turned their heads if the classroom was still full. "You haven't read Prince of Nightmares?!"
"Prince of Nightmares?" Yusuke repeated the name, as if the title was foreign to him.
"It's only the best book ever!" Another student said, taking his own copy out of his bag and shoving it into Yusuke's face. "It's such an original tale of monsters, demons, and heroes. I've never seen anything like it before!"
"It's a masterpiece! A true work of art!" A student said.
"While I do admit the cover does seem interesting, I wouldn't go as far as to call it a 'masterpiece'." Yusuke said observing the cover of the book, completely missing the point.
"If you don't think so, you should read it, Kitagawa." A student suggested. "You can keep that copy, I was planning on buying another one anyway."
"Why would you plan on buying another one if you have your own copy?" Yusuke asked, confused once again.
"Because!" Was all the student said, and it would appear he wasn't gonna get anymore out of him.
So Yusuke just took the book and walked out of the classroom. As he walked down the hall toward the art room, he opened the book and decided to flip through it, to at least get a sense of it. He was facing an art slump, so maybe reading this book might give him some inspiration.
"'Prince of Nightmares. By Ango Natsume.'" He read aloud. "'Before reading, please partake of the substance located in the front of the book for the full Prince of Nightmares experience.'" Yusuke then checked the front, but found nothing. The classmate who gave him the book must've already taken it.
"Oh well, I don't need any substance to enjoy a book. And besides, if this book is as good as those three said, then there shouldn't be any need for whatever it was asking me to eat." He told himself as he began reading. "'Chapter One…'"
Later - The Batcave
"We have a new drug dealer in town." Bruce said as all the Gotham Knights gathered around and listened intently, except Yusuke who was still reading Prince of Nightmares. "Over the past weeks, they've been expanding their network covering almost all of the east side of the city."
"If it's that bad, how come the police aren't doing anything?" Ann asked.
"Yeah, I mean, I know those guys are pretty much useless and all. But even they should be doing stuff." Ryuji pointed out.
"Ever since Commissioner Barbara Gordon was fired from the force, the police have descended back to the corrupt filth they were back when I first started." Bruce explained with a hint of regret in his voice. "But it's not just that. Despite having such a large network, the police can't find anything retaining to their identity, or what kind of drugs they specialize in, they only know that their victims are youth and young adults between the ages of 14 and 28. And an alias they use: Demon King."
"Demon King?" Morgana scoffed at the name. "Inferiority complex much. Hahaha!"
"So how do we plan to track this guy down if we don't even know their real name and that their drug ring surrounds half the city? That's too large an area to look around." Ren pointed out.
"Iwai managed to intercept a tip that a drug shipment was coming in at a warehouse located in the area where the drug usage is highest. He couldn't confirm if it's the Demon King's, but it's a place to start." Bruce revealed. He then eyed Yusuke and glared. "Is that book you're reading so important for you to ignore our discussion, Kitagawa?"
Yusuke jumped slightly when Bruce addressed him. He was uncomfortable when everyone began looking at him. "Sorry." Yusuke stammered slightly. "I was listening."
"Ah huh." Bruce said, not convinced as he turned back to the batcomputer. "Suit up and get ready to move out."
And with that, the Knights moved to get changed into their suits. As they began suiting up, Ren asked. "What are you reading anyway?"
"Prince of Nightmares." Yusuke answered. "My classmates told me it was a masterpiece, so I decided to read it."
"Is it that good?"
"Quite the opposite." At Ren's raised eyebrow, Yusuke explained. "They all talked about it like it was a wondrous thing no one has read before, but I haven't found even one thing that's original in this book. It was so boring and bland."
"Then why are you still reading it, and in a meeting?" Asked Ren.
"I figured there had to be something about it that my classmates loved, so I persisted and continued reading hoping to find the secret as to why this book was so holy to them. Also with this slump I've found myself in, I don't have anything better to do." Yusuke explained as they finished suiting up. "Maybe I needed to partake of that substance after all for me to see it. Now I just feel like it was a colossal waste of time."
"Well, maybe punching some drug dealers and keeping drugs off the street will make you feel better." Ren suggested as they all moved to get into the Batmobile.
Ren was right. Punching drug dealers did make Yusuke feel better.
As he knocked a junkie off a catwalk with his escrima sticks, he couldn't help but feel inspiration bubbling to the surface of his mind. He always found wondrous new and exciting things everytime he became Nightwing. Maybe this should be his new source of inspiration.
"Don't move birdie!" A junkie called as he raised his rifle at Nightwing. The vigilante turned his head around to glance at the man. "Throw the sticks away!" The junkie ordered, which caused Nightwing to smirk.
Big mistake.
"As you wish." He said as he then threw his sticks at the walls one after the other. The sticks ricochet off the walls before the first one knocked the gun out of the junkie's hand. The second one then hit the man in the head, knocking him out cold.
Nightwing moved to stand over the man and picked up his sticks. "What, you did say to throw them." He joked, only to realize no one was around to hear his pun. He then decided to check on the others.
When he arrived at where the others were, he saw that they quickly took care of their own set of criminals. Deciding to use what he was seeing for inspiration, he then formed a picture frame with his hands.
Robin finished his two criminals off by extending his staff right in the crown jewels of the two of them (Nightwing had to wince at the action), before the boy wonder swung his staff to knock their heads off.
Catwoman leapt between two of them and wrapped her legs and arms around both of their necks before twisting her body midair to bring them to the ground.
Red Hood saw two guys coming up at him, he ducked beneath their punches, hit them in the face with the nozzle of his guns before performing a somersault and in midair, hitting them in the face with his guns, knocking them out.
As for Batman, he had three guys ganging up on him, backing him into a wall. Believing they had him cornered, all three tried to throw a punch at him. Batman countered two of the junkies before grabbing the hand of the third with both hands. Using his strength, Batman then spun the thug 360 degrees, having his feet send the other two flying before he threw the man he was holding into the wall, leaving a crack.
The four Knights breathed heavily, their sense alert in case there were any more surprises. They jumped when they heard the sound of someone clapping, weapons out as they turned to see who it was.
"Marvelous! Absolutely incredible!" Nightwing cheered as he stopped clapping and once again formed a picture frame with his fingers. "I must see it again! Could we do it one more time?!"
The others groaned as they put away their weapons. They should have guessed it was Yusuke being Yusuke. Ever since he joined them, there were many times where the artist in him stopped and took a moment to try and capture the image of what they were doing. Sometimes even in the middle of a fight. They knew he never meant anything bad by it. But it would be helpful if Yusuke remembered to stay focused at times.
"Alright. Let's see what we got." Batman said, deciding to get back on task. He moved over to a nearby crate and opened to see what this so-called Demon King traded in.
What he got was not what he was expecting?
"Is that a book?" Robin asked the obvious question as Batman reached in and indeed, pulled out a book. The same one Yusuke had been reading before they set out: Prince of Nightmares.
"Maybe this shipment got mixed in with the one belonging to the Demon King." Catwoman suggested as she and the other Knights went to check the other crates. However, all those crates held the same thing.
"Okay, did Iwai seriously point us in the direction of a bunch of book thieves?!" Red Hood cried as he took a book from one of the crates. "What even is this junk?!" He cried as he threw the book on the ground and began to stomp on it!
"Could Iwai have gotten the warehouse wrong?" Asked Catwoman.
"Maybe, but he's usually very accurate in terms of information. I don't want to believe he screwed up this badly." Batman said as he picked up a book, stroking his chin as he observed it.
Meanwhile, Nightwing just looked at the book in greater confusion. If these junkies were indeed here for the book, that would mean they also found it appealing, enough to apparently steal it. But no matter how many pages Yusuke flipped through, he couldn't find one ounce of interest that set his creative mind firing.
"Uhh guys, looks like were gonna have to call it a night." Robin said as he pointed outside, where they saw the lights of police cars flashing through the window. Batman sighed. This was a bust. He would have to tell Iwai to look more closely next time they spoke.
"Let's go!" He ordered as the all proceeded to disappear into the shadows, but not before Nightwing paid one last glance to the crate of books.
'Prince of Nightmares.' He thought to himself. 'What secrets do you hold that captivate your readers?'
The Next Day - Kosei High
As Yusuke walked through the halls, he held the book Prince of Nightmares in his bag. After he had finished the book last night, he found nothing that gave the book the reputation it apparently held, so he decided to return it to its original owner. Hopefully he could give the book back before the student wasted his money on another copy.
As he entered his homeroom, hee spotted the boy among his two friends, though this time he had a larger crowd with him, and from their conversation, they all seemed to be talking about the Prince of Nightmares.
The student noticed Yusuke. "Oh! Kitagawa!" He spoke up as he stood from his desk and walked over to Yusuke, an excited grin on his face. "What'd you think?!Was it amazing!? What was your favorite part?!" Realizing that he was talking about Prince of Nightmares, the others all gathered around as they waited for Yusuke's answer.
"Well…" Yusuke began, uncomfortable from all the stares that were suddenly on him. "If I'm being honest… The book was mediocre at best." The crowd of students seemed to break at his words, but Yusuke kept going. "I'm no professional critic of literature, but I recognized some of the lines and dialogue from some of those anime my friends forced me to watch, so I can't really say this book is something original. And the plot line is so bland and common that I can already guess the outcome of the store. There's no real depth with the characters, and the scenes are so poorly described that I can't create an accurate picture of it in my mind. If anything, I would compare this book to an amatures attempt at a complex fanfiction crossover. The only way I was able to finish the book was because I was so determined to find what you all loved about it so much! But I still can't see what's appealing about it."
He would have continued his opinion, but the student whose book he borrowed shut him up by grabbing him viciously by the collar of his school uniform. "You listen here weirdo! Prince of Nightmares is a masterpiece that deserves to be named the Number 1 book for all time! We, devotees of the book, will not allow you to slander this work of art, or the creator! You-"
He would have continued his threat, but Yusuke grabbed his hands and twisted it so that he held his arm behind his back and slammed his head onto his desk. The fast and strong action from the scrawny artist caused the crowd of students to back away in fear.
"No you listen here," Yusuke said, his usual politeness gone from his tone. "All I did was give my honest opinion on how I felt about this book! I was in no way demeaning the author with my opinion. There was no reason for you to grab me by the collar and threaten me just because I didn't like the book!"
He held the student there for several moments before he released his grip on his classmate. He then took out the book from his bag and placed it on the desk. "If you love the book so much, you can have yours back! You don't have to waste time and money on getting another one!"
The student began to laugh, which began to disturb Yusuke. "Oh you can keep the book Kitagawa. I already got myself another copy!" He declared as he pulled out a brand new copy of the book. Some of the students with him looked at the book as if they just saw the Holy Grail. "And this copy is much better than that old one!"
Immediately, the students gathered around trying to get a hand on the newest copy. Meanwhile, Yusuke just stared, suspicious as to why so many people would make a big deal out of such a piece of trash book.
"You noticed it too." Yusuke turned to the source of the voice to see his classmate and pro-Shogi player Hifumi Togo, reading a book on strategies. "How people are overreacting to this book, even though it's mediocre at best."
"Yes. It is indeed strange." Yusuke said as he began to stroke his chin in thought. "What would you suggest to be done then?"
"I wasn't suggesting anything." Hifumi said as she went back to her book. "You do what you feel you have to do."
And do that, he shall. Yusuke then pulled out his phone and pulled up the group chat he shared with the other Knights.
Yusuke: We need to meet. Something strange is happening with that book.
Meeting in the Shibuya train station, standing on the second floor overlooking Shibuya Square, Yusuke recounted to his fellow Knights what happened at school. Morgana had joined them when he heard they were meeting up someplace other than the cave.
"Dang! You totally went all Nightwing on that kid, huh?" Ryuji said before Ann elbowed him in the stomach.
"That's not the point Ryuji!" Ann chastised. "The point is those kids were acting abnormal, especially if it was over a book. I mean, they grabbed and threatened Yusuke in public. That's going too far!"
"And Kosei High isn't the only place where that's been seen." Ren reported. "I've caught glimpses of students going crazy because of the book, even buying copy after copy for themselves. I even saw a couple students shoving each other because of a disagreement over it."
"Yeah, I saw that too." Ryuji confirmed. "But what's the big deal about it? Even those junkies in the warehouse went crazy trying to protect those books."
"I double-checked with Iwai to see if he might've gotten the wrong warehouse. But he swore that it was the right one. He even tripled and quadrupled checked his sources, and they all said the same thing." Ren reported.
"What happened to those books after the police arrived?" Ann asked Morgana.
"Well, Mr. Wayne said that after the police checked the books for evidence, they then handed them over to the author, Ango Natsume." Morgana recalled what Bruce told him when he himself asked. "Since there was nothing suspicious about the books, they didn't think it was required to hold them as evidence."
"Speaking of the author, I did a little research on him after what happened at school today." Yusuke spoke up as he pulled up an article he saved on his phone. "Apparently Ango Natsume is the grandson of Sougo Natsume, a famous author who has won many literary awards. I did some small digging and found other books he did. According to reviews, they were given such low ratings, that it seems the only way Natsume survived was on his grandfather's name. That is until Prince of Nightmares, which apparently became his best seller. He's been profiting off the novel immensely. Look at how much he makes."
When they saw the amount of money he earned from that one book, all of them whistled.
"Wow!" Was all Ryuji could say when he saw the figures.
"I don't really know how much a writer can make from their books, but isn't that a bit too much, especially for one book." Ann said, astonished at how much Natsume earned.
"He could buy 10 lifetime supplies of fatty tuna with that money." Morgana said, drooling over the idea of how much seafood he could eat with all that money.
"Something's not right." Ren said as his eyes narrowed. "An author who's barely been able to make ends meet with his money suddenly gets the big bucks with the book he has now. It doesn't add up."
"You think he might have some connection with the Demon King since his books were in his warehouse?" Morgana asked. When he heard that name, Yusuke's eyes widened.
"Demon King?" He muttered as he pulled out his book and began to flip through it, much to the confusion of his fellow Knights.
"Uhh, what are you doing man? Don't tell me you're all excited about this book now?" Ryuji groaned.
"No it's not that!" Yusuke assured as he finally stopped flipping through the book. "I just realized something. The protagonist of the book gets transported to another world, becoming the Demon King there. And the heroes are the villains in the story."
"Okay, but what all does that have to do with this?" Ryuji asked, missing the point.
"The protagonist is called the Demon King, the same alias our mysterious drug dealer uses. Do you see the connection?" It took several seconds for them to realize what Yusuke meant by connection.
"Wait, so you think that this drug dealer is such a fanboy for that Natsume dude's novel that he calls himself the Demon King?" Ryuji asked.
"Maybe, or maybe Natsume himself is the Demon King." Yusuke shared his theory.
"That seems a bit far fetched." Ann said skeptically.
"Is it?" Said Ren as he thought about it. "The sudden increase of his income could be explained if he was dealing with drugs. And if he was doing so through his book, it would explain why it was selling so well despite how bad it is."
"But the police didn't find anything suspicious with the books in that warehouse, nor did we when we briefly searched them." Morgana pointed out.
"Which could mean that at some point before he sells them, he plants the drug in the book." Yusuke's eyes then widened as he remembered something. "In fact, I do remember at the beginning of the book, it asks the reader to partake of a substance to make the experience of reading it more immersive. But since I was borrowing other students, that substance could have been taken by him before he began reading the book."
"And since drugs are addictive, it makes sense as to why they would keep buying more, if each new copy has a drug in it." Ryuji said, catching on.
"But how are we gonna confirm this theory?" Ann asked. "Even if he's a fraud, he's still a famous author in the public's eye. So how are four high school students and a kid gonna meet with him to confirm it?"
"We won't need to set a meeting." Yusuke said as he showed them a news article on his phone. "He already has."
"'Award winning author of bestseller Prince of Nightmares, Ango Natsume, is holding a private book signing event for a select number of fans who have received the "proof" found in a select number of his books.'" Ren read the contents of the article. "That's our in!"
"Yeah, but how are we gonna get in?" Morgana said, looking at the requirements to attend. "It's a private event, and only those with some 'proof' can enter."
Despite the small hiccup, Ren smirked. "Well, that's when working for the most powerful and influential person in the city has its benefits."
The venue for the book signing was held in the ballroom of the luxurious hotel that Natsume was currently staying in. The room was decorated with posters of the cover of Prince of Nightmares. Security guards were placed along the exits to make sure no one disrupted the event, and kept any overzealous fans out.
"Isn't this a bit much?" Ren said as he and Yusuke stood alongside Bruce as they waited in line to enter the ballroom. "I know he's supposed to be a famous author, but this is a bit too much security."
"The guilty are always overly cautious." Bruce said. When the group had come and told Bruce of their hypothesis, they were surprised when they heard he was willing to go along with them. He explained that he too thought it was suspicious as to why some no-name author suddenly hit the big time. And that his books were at the warehouse was no coincidence. He had managed to use his influence to receive an invitation to the book signing, and was able to bring two of the group along. Both Ren and Yusuke volunteered.
"Then does that make you guilty as well?" Yusuke asked, noting Bruce's overly paranoid actions. The glare from the retired vigilante caused him to gulp nervously.
Soon enough they arrived at the entrance. The head guard came up to stop them. "I'm sorry gentlemen, but to enter the book signing, you need to have a gold…" He trailed off as he got a look at the elder man before him. He took off his shades to make sure he wasn't seeing anything as his mouth fell open.
Bruce gave off a fake smile. "Now that you recognize me, I'm sure you could let me and my companions in without any need for a golden key." He said as he walked past the guard, patting him on the shoulder slightly as Ren and Yusuke followed him into the venue.
The two teenagers looked back at the guard and snickered. Using Bruce's influence sure was fun.
After a long moment of waiting, the book signing officially began. The trio kept a close eye on Natsume as they waited in line. So far, it didn't seem like he was doing anything suspicious, but as Bruce said, people like him who were overly cautious were smart. Soon enough, they came to the front of the line.
"Name?" Natsume said as he had his pen ready to write the next name.
"I don't believe I need any introductions." At the voice of the newcomer, Natsume scowled. Did this person think they were so arrogant, to take that tone with him. He looked up in annoyance only for his jaw to drop in shock.
"Br-Bruce Wayne?!" His shout caused the whole room to burst into conversation.
"Bruce Wayne?! What's he doing here?"
"Is he a fan of Natsume's work as well?"
"I thought more of a younger generation would be enthralled by his books. I didn't think Bruce Wayne would enjoy them as well."
Natsume was still in shock before he quickly composed himself. "Sorry for my shout earlier." Natsume said, his voice flustered as he stood up and held out a hand to Billionaire. "I assumed you wanted to remain incognito while visiting a book signing."
"While I would have preferred it as such, it's no trouble." Bruce said in a friendly tone as he shook his hand. It always surprised Ren how he was able to slip in and out of that public persona he gave off. "I've read some of your grandfather's works. They were amazing stories. It's good to see his son follow in his footsteps."
Natsume's brow twitched slightly at the mention of his grandfather, but he maintained a calm face. "Well I'm honored to have you here today." He said with a bow as he took his seat and began to write Bruce's name.
"Oh no, you seem to be mistaken." Bruce's words stopped Natsume before he could begin writing. "I'm not here for me. Rather, two of my assistants just love your book and begged me to help them get a signed copy."
Bruce then stepped to the side as Ren and Yusuke walked up to him, both holding faces of pure excitement, even though it was fake.
"Hello Mr. Natsume." Ren bowed, his tone giving off a shy impression. "I just have to say I loved Prince of Nightmares. That scene where the Demon King transformed into a dragon to fight the heroes was spectacular!"
Before coming to the event, Yusuke had given Ren a summary of the book so he could play the role of an excited fanboy more believably.
"Truly! The way you describe each and every scene was so detailed and beautiful." Yusuke said in his own fake excited tone, even though hours earlier he said it was anything but. "I couldn't take my eyes off it."
Natsume smirked. 'Looks like I hooked a couple of more fish, and this time they're attached to a shark!' He thought to himself. He then pulled out two copies and asked for their names.
"Akira Kurusu." Ren said. Before arriving, the three already agreed not to give out their real names, in any case Natsume would seek them out for revenge.
"Richard Todd." Yusuke said, using the name from a couple of Bruce's old proteges.
Natsume signed the books and handed them back to the boys, who bowed, supposedly grateful to the author.
Soon the book signing event came to an end. They would have left sooner, but people came up to try and talk with the famous Bruce Wayne. It took awhile, but they managed to shake off the paparazzi and made their way to the exit when they caught sight of Natsume speaking with his editor.
"Congratulations, Mr. Natsume. Truly." The editor said.
"It's all thanks to everyone working so hard to push sales. All I did was write." He said in a humbled bragging tone.
"You're being too modest." The editor waved off.
"It really is impressive how well you've done, especially considering the amount of competition there is these days." A stout editor complimented. "I know we tried to promote you early on as the grandson of renowned writer, Sougo Natsume, but I never would have expected you to perform this well."
"The praise you received is due to entirely your talent Mr. Natsume." His main editor praised. "You're a shining star to readers and authors alike."
"My talent you say?" He appeared embarrassed as he gave a small laugh. "Haha, well now, I wouldn't go as far as to say that. The words on the page matter little. If there's something worth talking about, the people will always flock to it. From there all one needs is to craft a little story into it, and voila. For instance, take that story of how I started writing when that poor girl ended up in the hospital."
"Pardon me for asking Mr. Natsume, but is that story really true?" His editor asked.
"I'm afraid that's my little secret." Natsume laughed as if he knew something they didn't. "Truth, fiction… Does anyone really care? You might recall Ichiryusei Madarame's arrest on TV not too long ago. Surely you remember."
At the mention of his former teacher and abuser, Yusuke decided to listen in more closely to the conversation.
"His signature piece, uh… what was it again?" Natsume asked aloud.
"Oh, you mean the Sayuri?"
"Ah yes, that one." Natsume said as remembered the name. "That piece was certainly lauded as the pinnacle of beauty at the time, but if you ask me, the only place it belongs now is the trash."
At that statement, Yusuke's world, which was usually full of all sorts of colors he needed to create art, was now only seeing red. Natsume has no idea what his mother put into that painting. She drew it with her dying breath! Yusuke's hand clenched with anger, anger that Ren and Bruce noticed.
"Yusuke." Ren asked cautiously as he placed a hand on his friend's shoulder.
Yusuke seemed to calm as he took a deep breath. "I'm alright." He told them, but they doubted it. "If you both would excuse me for a moment." He said as he walked over to Natsume and his editors. Ren tried to stop him but Bruce held him back, shaking his head.
"This is something he has to deal with on his own." Bruce told his successor.
"Excuse me. Mr. Natsume." Said author and editors all looked to see the familiar boy from the signing.
"Oh, its you, one of the boys with Mr. Wayne." Natsume said as he recognized the boy. "Umm… What was your name again?"
"Richard Todd, Mr. Natsume." Yusuke greeted with his fake name. "Apologize for interrupting but I happened to overhear you and your entourage mention the Sayuri earlier. If I'm not mistaken, you said it should be thrown into the trash, as if it were some cheap attempt."
"Ah, so you heard that, did you? Is that what I said? Well, I take it, does anyone of your taste agree with me?" Natsume asked with a cheerful smile, having no idea what his words were doing to the boy in front of him. "In the end, that painting only held value because of whose name was attached to it. Madarame had–"
"The Sayuri was actually painted by my mother." Yusuke declared, interrupting him. Natsume looked speechless and shocked by what Yusuke said, allowing the boy to continue. "This may be unprofessional of me, but professionalism can take a hike." He then took a deep breath.
"My mother painted the Sayuri at the cost of her own life. It is her final masterpiece." He declared with such strength and boldness. "That painting was crafted with a love that simply cannot be found anywhere else. Don't you dare lump it in with that soulless drivel you cobbled together from authors far more talented than you!"
Natsume was left speechless by his words, so much that he stuttered to find his words.
"H-Hey, you can't…!" Natsume's editor tried to rebut him.
"I merely spoke the truth." Yusuke declared as he turned his back to them. "Now, if you'll excuse me." He then walked over to Bruce and Ren.
"You okay?" He asked.
"We got what we came for." Yusuke said not answering the question. "Let's go." He then began to make his way to the exit, with Ren and Bruce following after him.
As he watched the boy who just insulted him walk away, Natsume began seething with anger. "Soulless drivel?!" He spit out. "That little… What does he know?!" Blinded by rage, Natsume then stomped over to the boy and reached out his hand to grab him by the throat–
Only for another hand to stop him before he did so. He looked to the source and his eyes widened in fear.
"I tend to agree with my assistance statement regarding your book Mr. Natsume." Bruce said as he glared at the author. "I was being polite earlier when I complimented your work, but now that you've thrown away professional courtesy, I don't see a reason for me to give you any. I think that book is the most boring and baseless story I've ever had the displeasure of reading. It was a complete waste of my time. I might even be tempted to buy a time machine to go back and stop myself from ever reading it in the first place just to save some precious hours from my life."
Natsume wanted to say something, but the words died in his throat at the glare Bruce was giving him. He was almost threatening to wet his pants as his legs trembled. How could an old man be so terrifying?! He tried to get away from the older man, but the grip he had on his wrist was stronger than iron.
"Word of advice." Bruce continued, leaning into his ear in a small whisper. "You shouldn't insult other works of art until you create something that can be even considered close to the Sayuri."
He then backed away and released his grip on the author. The second he did, Natsume backed away as far as he could without making too much of a scene, massaging his painful wrist. Sadly though, it appears there already was one. He gritted his teeth as he glared at Bruce.
The old man didn't even seem fazed as he turned and made his way to the exit. "Let's go." He told his two teenage companions.
As the two rode the elevator down to the bottom floor, Yusuke took this chance to speak up. "My apologies." Yusuke said as he bowed to Ren and Bruce. "I couldn't hold myself back. I suppose I still have a lot to learn…"
Ren was about to offer words of comfort, but Bruce cut him off. "Yes, you do have a lot to learn." Bruce said, his tone harsh. "That was arrogant and reckless of you. You risked breaking our cover. Don't pull that stunt again, especially not without running it by any of us."
Yusuke looked down in shame. "I understand."
Ren was about to tell Bruce off when the older man continued. "Still, what Natsume said wasn't right." His words caused Yusuke to look back up at him. "No matter who he thinks he is, no one has the right to insult a mother's love and get away with it. No one."
His words shocked Yusuke, who then smiled in appreciation. Ren just looked at Bruce. There were times where he couldn't understand Bruce. Most of the time it seemed like he was lecturing them and blaming them for the things that went wrong. But in instances like this, he somehow managed to praise them for standing up for what they believed in. Well, everyone except Ren that is.
Now that his mood had improved, Yusuke then opened the signed copy of his book. "Now, let's see what secrets this book truly holds." He said as he opened the novel to the page, where it mentioned they had to partake of that special substance.
There, taped directly below the instruction was a pouch with a green question mark painted on it. Removing the pouch Ren observed it for a long moment before asking, "What is this?"
The Batcave
"It's Heroine" Bruce revealed as he sat at the Batcomputer, the ripped open puch sitting on an analyzer off to the side. "But I've never seen this level of pureness in Heroine before. And I've seen a lot of samples in my life."
"I don't doubt that." Ryuji said as they all surrounded Bruce.
"So this is how he does it?" Ann asked.
"Yes. He tapes a packet of Heroine in the pages of the book sometime before they hit the shelf. The reader takes a whiff of the heroine before reading, and they're hooked on it for life. Is that right?" Ren asked Bruce.
"Yes. Though it's more the heroine they're addicted to than the book itself." Bruce clarified. "And with this level of pureness, the more addictive it will be."
"Alright! Now we know for sure what this guy is selling, let's go take him down!" Ryuji declared, cracking his knuckles in excitement.
"Except we don't know where he is?" Morgana pointed out.
"Actually we do." Bruce said as he pulled up a map of Nippon-Gotham. A bright red blinking dot appeared somewhere in the city.
The others looked in shock. "A tracker, when did you…?" Ren began, but then his mind flashed back to when Bruce leaned in close to Natsume. He first thought it was for intimidation, but he must've also placed a tracker on his clothes.
Bruce saw the expression Ren made, knowing he figured out how he did it. "Not bad, Amamiya. Keep it up and you'll make a decent Batman in a few decades."
Despite the jab Bruce gave him, Ren focused on the task at hand. "Alright! Gotham Knights, suit up! We got a king to dethrone!"
"You got it!" They all said as they moved to suit up.
"One more thing." Yusuke asked as he raised his hand. They all turned to see what he had to say.
"I would like to request that you leave Natsume to me." He said. "After hearing what he said about the Sayuri, I was frustrated that I wasn't able to let him see the full effect that his words had on me. Now that we know what it is he's truly doing," He paused as he clenched his fists tight in anger. "I would like to show him the full weight of my anger."
The other Knights smirked. They had all been told of what Natsume said regarding the Sayuri. And they all agreed that if anyone deserved to beat Natsume for what he said, it was the son of the woman who painted it.
"He's all yours!"
The tracker Bruce placed on Natsume led the Gotham Knights to an abandoned factory in the Narrows. Stealthy, the Knights made their way into the building and looked at the operation Natsume had set up for himself.
There were many people, all dressed in hazmat suits who were working on the main assembly line, placing small traces of heroin in packets, before handing them off to another group that took the packets and placed them in the book Prince of Nightmares.
"We need to ramp up production!" Came the sound of Natsume's voice. The Knights looked from their hiding place and saw Natsume discussing with his four editors. So they were in on this too.
"Mr. Natsume. We hear what you're saying, but we have to be cautious." One of his editors warned. "Any more increased drug activity on the street will certainly draw attention."
"The cops on the force are as crooked as they were back in the old days. As long as they get a cut, they won't dare move in on us!" Natsume argued. "Our sales are rising, and if they continue to rise, then that means our customers will demand more! And if we can't provide them, then they'll go somewhere else!"
"We weren't talking about the cops, Mr. Natsume." Said the only female editor.
Natsume's eyes narrowed in disbelief. "What? You mean Batman and his costumed gang?" At the looks his editors gave him, he scoffed. "Those freaks have bigger things to worry about than me. Besides, there's no way they can tie the drugs back to me."
"You think!" Shouted an unfamiliar voice.
Suddenly, a bat shaped object was thrown through the air and hit the assembly line's main control board. The whole line creaked before shutting down. Then emerging from the shadows the Gotham Knights landed on the metal line, scaring the workers as they began running away for dear life.
"Batman!?" Natsume yelled in shock as he and his editors looked in surprise and fear at the appearance of the legendary vigilante. "What are you doing here?! How did you find this place?!"
"Well, your highness," Batman mocked, "When you use a book as a way to distribute drugs, try writing a better story so it makes it more believable."
Natsume gritted his teeth in anger. "Oh you want a better story?! Then how about this one?!" Natsume cried as he pulled out a high-tech looking gun. The Knights prepared to dodge, but to their shock and horror, Natsume turned the gun and fired at all four of his editors.
"What are you doing?!" Catwoman cried as a hand went to her mouth in shock and horror. Did Natsume just kill his editors?!
"Oh relax." He said, his tone being anything but a person who just gunned down four people. "They're not dead. I assume you five heard of the new trend known as Splicing right? Some of you may have even done it to yourselves!" He said with a chuckle.
"Where's this going, dreg!?" Red hood yelled as he had his gun pointed at Natsume, ready to fire a batarang to knock the so-called 'author' on his butt. His grip faltered slightly when he and the others heard painful groans coming from the four editors.
"As I said, if you were unsatisfied with my book, how about I add a little change in there." Natsume said with a sick smirk. The editors' bodies began to either grow in muscle and fur, some clothes even ripping as their bodies got too big. One's legs even disappeared as they began a long tail full of scales. One in fact had more legs added to them.
"Instead of chosen heroes facing off against the Fearsome Four, maybe I change it to bats instead!" As he said the declaration, the four editors finished their transformation into human-animal hybrids. [1]
"I give you the Fearsome Four: Meet Doma!" Natsume introduced. Doma, as he was now named, was a bull, able to stand on his two legs. He huffed through his large nostrils.
"Next I give you Ante!" The woman who was transformed had the lower body of a snake and her upper body was human. Her snake-like tongue stuck out as she hissed.
"Then we have Kuga!" What appeared was a werewolf, much like the ones you see in those old black and white movies.
"And last, but certainly not least, Betero!" The old editor had become a centaur, a man with the lower body of a horse.
"Slag it! More of that Splicer crap!" Robin complained as he pulled out his staff and twirled it in his hands before getting into a stance. The other Knights followed his actions as they too drew their weapons and prepared for battle.
"You think we can stop us…" Batman began almost dramatically, bringing his arms close to his chest before throwing them out to the side dramatically. "You're no match for the chosen!" [2]
His declaration caused his companions to look at him with raised eyebrows.
"Man, you are really into this…" Red Hood commented.
"Shut up and let me have this!" Batman told him with a sharp glare, which promptly shut Ryuji up.
"Get them!" Natsume ordered. The so-called fearsome four charged as the Gotham Knights did the same. Batman's foot collided with Kuga's face, knocking the wolf man down. Robin rolled and leaped to avoid Ante's tail swings, the snake woman hissing furiously at him. Catwoman rolled to the right to avoid the galloping Betero. And Red Hood…
"Why did I get stuck with the bull?!" He complained as he ran away with the bull-man Doma charging in his direction.
"Well bulls have been known to hate the color red." Nightwing said aloud, as he found himself without an opponent. "You are called Red Hood. And your costume is mostly red."
"So is bird boy's!" Red Hood complained as he kept running, barely keeping ahead of the rampaging Doma.
"What?! You want him to come after me?!" Robin cried in shock as he held up his staff to block a bite from Ante.
"I'm willing to trade to fight the snake-chick!" Red Hood cried. At the moment, the offer was tempting to Robin.
"Knock it off you two! Ugh, boys!" Catwoman groaned as she dodged another attack from Betero.
"Hey, boss, we could use some help!" Batman called into the comms as he wrestled with his furry opponent. "We're dealing with some guys who've become spliced!" He then fell back and used his momentum to send the werewolf flying over him.
"I saw through the suits' cameras." Bruce said. "I've already come up with an antidote for the mutation since the Alice Hiiragi incident. I'm sending them over in the Batmobile now!"
"Well you better have it going full throttle!" Batman said as Kuga leapt on him, trying to bite on his head as Batman held him back with his hands.
Nightwing, who again had no opponent to fight, looked around. "Where's Natsume?!" The surprise of the editor's transformations made him briefly forget their primary target.
"Over there!" Robin cried, pointing to the side before getting hit by Ante's tail. Nightwing looked over to see Natsume escaping down a flight of stairs.
"Go after him!" Batman ordered, kicking the manwolf Kuga away. "We'll take care of things here!" He was interrupted as he dodged another lunge from Kuga.
Nightwing wanted to stay and help his fellow Knights, but he trusted them to take care of themselves. And besides, he wanted to be the one to take down Natsume anyway. So he dashed off in pursuit.
Natsume frantically packed a bag full of money, drugs, and copies of his book as he could fit in it. As he did, he finally began to let the panic of what was happening fill him.
With Batman and his Gotham Knights on his trail, he would need to leave the city. Tonight! He didn't know if that was a solution, but Batman was known to never really venture out of his own city, so he should be safe. As for his editors, he should be able to find more. After all, with the amount of money he was making, anyone would be a fool to say no.
All he had to do was get a few of some of the drugs and money he stashed here in the basement then quickly leave out the back door before those costumed freaks took down his mutated editors.
"Leaving so soon?"
Natsume jumped at the voice. Fearing the worst, he turned around to see, to his slight relief that it was not Batman who cornered him, but someone just as terrible, if the glare he sent Natsume's way meant anything.
"But we haven't even been able to exchange creative ideas." Nightwing mocked in false disappointment, when he was anything but disappointed. In a rush, Natsume pulled out a handgun, different from the one he used to shoot his editors, and fired at Nightwing.
The vigilante avoided the gunshots with both grace and elegance in his movements, flipping around with ease. He then pulled out an escrima stick and threw it at Natsume, disarming the author.
"Maybe you should stick to using a pen instead of a gun." Nightwing commented as the stick returned to his hands and he hoisted the weapon. "Not that you were much better with it if your book is anything to go on."
"What do you know?!" Natsume cried in anger at his insult. "Do you know the kind of pain and struggle I went through to get where I am?!"
"What struggle can come from stealing the works of others?" Nightwing asked, his anger boiling at the man insinuating that he did any kind of hard work. "What pain, except the pain of others, comes from using your book as a way to smuggle drugs to innocent children."
"You know nothing!" Natsume cried. Despite his anger, it seemed he managed to captivate Nightwing's attention. He just needed to stall for a few more moments as his hands subtly searched for something in his bag. "You think I just decided to do this out of the blue?! You think I didn't try to write a book people would enjoy and just went straight to drugs!"
"What are you talking about?" Nightwing asked, genuinely intrigued.
"I tried to write a book that people would love." Natsume said earnestly, tears gathering in his eyes. "I put everything I had into making that book, and when I heard I won that competition, you couldn't imagine the joy I felt." His expression then turned rageful. "But then I overheard the editors mock me! Claiming my book was a piece of trash! That I only won that competition based on my grandfather's reputation! Do you have any idea what that's like?!"
As much as Nightwing wanted to say otherwise, he did know what that felt like. Not being acknowledged for the work you've done, the credit being given to someone else. After all, that's what Madarame did to him for years.
"So then I decided," Natsume continued, "If no one is buy my books to enjoy them, maybe I should add a little something to… spice things up! I found a nifty chemical formula hidden in my apartment, probably left by a previous tenant. I added a little bit to have people craving more, so they would have no choice but to keep buying my books to get it! So what do you have to say to that, Mr. Righteous"
Nightwing was silent for a long moment. "I honestly can say I understand the pain you go through." His statement caused the man to look in shock. "The pain of not being acknowledged for your own work, even after everything you've put into it. Only getting by because of someone else's reputation. I know that pain well."
"However," Nightwing then drew his escrima sticks, "That doesn't give you the right to resort to such methods. To insult all forms of art, whether literature or paint, using them as a way to hurt innocent people, all for profit. I swear as a fellow artist, I will stop you!"
Natsume began laughing madly. "'As a fellow artist'?" He laughed as he repeated the words. "The only art you know is freakish costume designing. And besides," His face then turned deadly serious. "You're too late!"
He then removed his hand from his bag, revealing a handful of flasks with a familiar orange serum. Before Nightwing could stop him, Natsume injected the liquid into his body.
His eyes widened as he dropped the empty flasks, causing them to shatter. His body began twitching violently as a pair of bat-like wings sprang from his back. His hands and feet turned into claws as his body got bigger and bigger.
As he continued to grow and change, Nightwing's form was soon enveloped by Natsume's ever growing shadow. As he continued to watch Natsume transform, he took a page from Ryuji's vocabulary, and muttered a curse.
"Oh sl-"
"-AG IT! When is that old geezer gonna send the antidote! I can't keep running from this bull forever!" Red Hood complained as he kept running away from the human-bull hybrid that was Doma.
"Learn to respect your elders, Red Hood." Bruce's voice came through the comm, causing the boy to gulp nervously. "Oh, and to answer your question, the package is delivered."
As if on cue, the Batmobile pulled over the factory, above the skyline, before descending and crashing through the roof of glass. All the occupants stopped fighting as they moved to shield themselves from the falling debris.
The hood then opened up, and a familiar sound came from the driver's seat.
"ARF! ARF!"
"Ace!?" Robin cried in shock as he looked at the loyal bat-hound.
"Whoa! Since when could Ace drive the Batmobile?!" Red Hood yelled in amazement.
"He can't. The Batmoblie was on autopilot." Bruce clarified.
"Oh." Red Hood said, his shoulders slouched in disappointment.
Ace then jumped from the Batmobile, a metal container strapped on his body, as he made his way to Red Hood. "The container holds the antidote for the splicer gene. There should be more than enough to cure the mutated." Bruce explained.
Red Hood's mood took an instant 180 at the news. "Aww I love this dog!" He cried as he gave Ace a well deserved chin scratch.
He was interrupted when he heard the snarl of a bull. He turned around to see Doma, letting out a breath as he charged Red Hood. The vigilante yelled in fright as he then pointed his gun, now loaded with the antidote and began emptying the clip into the charging bull.
The vials made contact with the bull, causing him to slow down, but Doma kept charging. Fearing the worst, Red Hood braced himself.
But when the impact didn't come, he opened his eyes, and saw that Doma had reverted back to a human form, causing Red Hood to smirk. "Don't like the color red, huh?" He asked before he delivered a right hook that instantly knocked the now normal editor out. "Well you're gonna hate it when you wake up."
Robin had found himself in a tight situation. Ante's tail had wrapped itself around him and began to squeeze the life out of him. When everything began to go black, he heard the familiar sound of a dog barking.
Ante yelled in agony as she looked to the side and saw that Ace was now biting her with his teeth. The shock and pain from the surprise attack caused her to loosen her grip on Robin. Her attention now diverted, she sent the dog flying with a flick of her hands. "Dirty mut!" She said, her tongue slithering with each word.
She was about to attack the dog with her tail, but Robin came up from behind and injected two of the antidote into her tail, some of which had fallen from Ace's backpack when she sent the dog flying.
Ante looked in shock before she suddenly began to feel dizzy and her form shinked. Her scales turned back into normal skin and her tail began two feet once more as she then collapsed.
Robin walked over and gave Ace a scratch behind the ear. "Good bad dog!" He said.
As Catwoman stood before the Centaur Betero, she was slightly conflicted. Despite the fact that he had the lower body of a horse, he was still an elderly man that she was hesitant to hurt.
"Oho… ohohoho…" Betero muled as he gazed over Catwoman's body with lustful eyes.
The action caused Catwoman to cover herself slightly as she took a step back. "W-What…?" She stuttered under his gaze.
"My, you're a curvy little thing, aren't you?" The man said as he licked his lips. "Ahh, you're a real sight for these tired old eyes!" He finished with a wicked laugh.
Any sympathy or hesitation she had for the old man was gone in an instant as Catwoman growled. "All right, you're going down." She said in a low voice as she cracked her whip.
She then charged the Centaur, avoiding a strike as she then maneuvered herself to be on his horseback. She then swung her whip around his neck and began to pull, strangling the old centaur.
"Ack! Gk!" Betero struggled to breath with the whip at his neck. He then went wild and began jumping around like a wild stallion to try and shake her off, but Catwoman held firm.
"Hey! Lady Catwoman!" Catwoman looked to the side to see Robin waving at her. "Catch!" He then threw a vial of the antidote and Catwoman caught it. Without even taking a breathe, she injected the serum into Betero, causing him to stop jumping and collapse as his four legs went back to two.
"Perverted old man!" Catwoman growled as she kicked the man several times despite him being unconscious before walking over to Robin and Ace.
"No need to thank me, Lady Catwoman." Robin began, his tone and posture smug. "I was just doing my job. But if you feel the need to reward me, i certainly won't say-"
"Ahh, who's a good boy?! You are!" Catwoman said in a cutesy voice as she hugged the bat-hound close to her chest, completely ignoring Robin and Red Hood. "Who saved us from the big bad animal men?! You did! Yes you did!" She cried as she hugged harder.
All the while, Red Hood and Robin watched with twitching eyebrows as a dog got to the one area that they only dreamed of reaching. "Stupid dog." Both of them muttered under their breath.
Batman gritted his teeth as he tried his best to keep the werewolf from biting his face off. The werewolf took another large bite at his head, which he dodged, but that left him open for the wolfman to bite down on his shoulder. Thankfully, thanks to the suit's material, the teeth didn't penetrate the suit, doesn't mean it hurt any less though.
A loud barking came from the side and the werewolf was knocked off Batman by Ace as the bat-hound tackled Kuga. Both canines growled at each other, ready to claw each other's face off at any moment.
Eventually, Kuga managed to throw Ace off of him and held the dog by the throat, ready to claw out its heart. But before it could do so, Batman stopped him. "Don't touch our dog!" He said before delivering a roundhouse kick that sent Kuga back.
The wolfman growled as he then charged both Batman and hound. But before he could pounce, Batman came up and injected two antidote serums into Kuga's neck. The wolfman tried to bite Batman's head off, but soon, his long nose and teeth shrank as his fur retracted to normal human body hair, before once again before a normal person.
"Now be a good boy, and go to sleep." Batman said before bringing the man down and kneeing him in the face, knocking him out cold.
"Did we get them all?" Robin asked as the four Knights and dog looked around to see all there were no more enemies in sight.
"Looks like it." Red Hood said, about to whip sweat from his brow, only to remember he was wearing a helmet.
"What about Natsume?" Catwoman asked.
"Nightwing should be on it." Batman said as he opened a comm channel. "Nightwing, status report. Did you catch Natsume?"
Only static came back. The four Knights began to worry.
"Nightwing come in! Did you apprehend Natsume?!" He asked, his tone more worried now.
They then heard a large crash come from the other end, followed by painful grunts belonging to Nightwing. Their eyes widened in worry.
"Nightwing's in trouble! Bruce, can you find him?!" Batman asked urgently.
"Already did. He's in the basement."
"Then let's go!" Without another word, the four vigilantes and their dog rushed down to the basement to assist their friend and teammate.
When they made it, they were given an unbelievable sight.
"WHY THE SLAG IS THERE A DRAGON?!" Red Hood yelled in utter shock.
Despite how unbelievable it was, there was indeed a dragon, complete with a large tail, long neck, scally body, and bat-like wings. Thankfully the only thing missing is that fact that it wasn't currently breathing fire. And right now, it was after Nightwing.
Nightwing flipped over much of its attacks and tried to get his own in. But with a quick reaction, the dragon swung its tail and hit Nighting hard enough that he would have broken his neck upon colliding with the wall had Batman not caught him in time.
"Thanks." He said honestly, whipping a trail of blood flowing down his mouth.
"No problem. Now you mind explaining what the slag is going one?!" Batman asked, just as shocked as to why there was a real life dragon before them.
"It's Natsume." Nightwing revealed, much to the other Knights' shock. "He injected himself with numerous splicer serum when I was distracted. And it turned him into that!"
"Well if that's the case. Then step aside and let me handle this." Red Hood said as he charged the dragon, yelling as he did so.
"That idiot! Get back here!" Catwoman cried in worry.
But Red Hood didn't hear her as he pulled out his guns and emptied the clip of the antidote at the dragon. "Eat this limp-winged worm!"[3] However, Natsume merely brought up his wings to shield himself, the vials of antidote bouncing off the protective scales on the wings.
Eventually, Red Hood ran out of ammo and stopped charging. Seeing that none of his shots managed to do anything, he chuckled nervously. "Did I say limp-winged worm? I meant to say majestic beast of legend." That didn't save him from Natsume swatting him away with his wings, sending him flying.
"I already tried that." Nightwing said as Batman and Catwoman finished helping him to his feet. "His scales are too thick, there was no way I could penetrate them." Before Nightwing could continue further, Natsume swung his dragon tail at the Knights. Most of them ducked under while Batman took to the skies.
Pulling out an explosive Batarang, he threw it towards Natsume, who curled up like a turtle as the Batarang made contact and exploded. When the smoke cleared, Natsume remained unharmed, and angry.
"Not even explosives did any damage." Batman gritted his teeth in frustration as he dodged Natsume trying to bite him with his dragon head.
"How do we stop this thing?!" Catwoman yelled as she leapt over a tail swipe. "What kind of weakness do dragons have?!"
"What is this?! Dungeons and Dragons?!" Red Hood cried as he fired off some ice bullets at Natsume's feet to try and keep him from moving. But the dragon easily broke out of the ice. "Dragons aren't even real?! Right?!"
"Perhaps we should ask Mr. Wayne." Nightwing suggested as he opened the comms while dodging more attacks from Natsume. "Mr. Wayne, in your exploits as the Batman, did you ever come across any dragons? If so, how did you defeat them?"
"What makes you think I have?" Was Bruce's response.
"So is that a no?"
"... Admittedly I did ride on a Joker Dragon once.[4]" Bruce admitted. "Though I never really defeated it. I just punched the head and started riding on it."
"As cool as that sounds, that doesn't really help so much!" Batman said as he again tried to dodge another bite from Natsume. "We need a way to pierce it's scales so we can administer the antidote!"
"Wait! I have an idea!" Robin said as he ducked under a swipe from the dragon's wing. "I saw it in one of those old movies that Mr. Wayne has. What was it titled again? Goblet? Midget? Anyway, it doesn't matter. The point is, in the movie, they managed to kill the dragon by attacking its underbelly![5]"
"But that was a movie! How do we know it will work in real life?!" Catwoman argued before rushing to catch Ace as he was thrown off from Natsume's tail after biting down on it.
"It's better than nothing!" Batman stated, and no one could argue with him. "Red Hood, when you see an opening, take it and unload as much of the antidote into his belly as you can!"
"WHY ME?!" Red Hood cried, anime tears appearing on his mask.
"You're the one who wanted to take him on in the first place." Batman reminded me. "Here's your chance to make up for it!"
Red Hood muttered something under his breath before sighing. "Fine! But you so owe me ramen after this!" He yelled as he got ready and waited till he had an opening.
And waited…
And waited…
Until finally…
"NOW!" The others yelled. And without another word, Red Hood sprinited harder than he's ever done before, even in his days of track, and made a beeline for the exposed underbelly.
Seeing the new threat, Natsume leaned down to try and bite him, but Red Hood dropped to the ground and slid underneath him, unloading the cure onto the dragon's underbelly. Coming out the other side, he sprung to his feet and quickly moved to avoid any follow up attacks.
"Please tell me that worked!" Red Hood begged as the Knights regrouped. They waited for a long moment, waiting to see Natsume return to human form. But he didn't. "Dang it! I almost peed my pants for nothing!"
"I knew relying on a movie was a bad idea." Catwoman moaned.
"Maybe not. Look more closely." Nightwing said, pointing at the dragon's head. Despite it still being pretty vicious, a closer look saw that the horns and snout began to shrink, along with the neck.
"It's working!" Batman shouted. "It must've been because he took more than one vial that he's not completely changing back. Which means we got to hit him with some more!"
"Yeah I knew my idea would work!" Robin cheered as he shot a fist to the ceiling.
"Well now that we know, you guys can go cure him. I'm not doing that again!" Red Hood said before anyone could volunteer him. He really didn't want to pee his pants, not in this costume.
Now having a plan, the Knights followed a strategy where most of them would distract Natsume while one would sneak up and inject the cure in his underbelly. It was slow, but soon enough, Natsume's dragon form began to shrink and got more vulnerable, even to the point where they didn't even need to keep targeting the underbelly. However, as he became more and more human, Natsume seemed to realize what their plan was, and took efforts to try and destroy the cure before it came into contact with him.
"Almost there! One more batch should do it!" Batman shouted.
"Let's hope so, cause this is the last of the cure." Robin said as he pulled a handful of vials out of Ace's backpack after digging around for them. Batman was about to grab them, but Nightwing got them first.
"Remember. You said you'd leave this to me." Nightwing reminded him. Batman nodded in acknowledgement. Nightwing then turned to face the dragon and charged it head on.
Seeing the vigilante charge him with a handful of the substance that was depowering him, Natsume went into a frenzy and began to move around like a wild animal to try and keep Nightwing away. The vigilante dodged and weaved around all of Natsume's attacks, trying to find an opening. But now that he knew his weak spot, Natsume was devoted to guarding it at all cost.
Suddenly, an idea came to mind, and Nightwing charged, sliding under the dragon. He wasn't able to get a shot at the underbelly because Natsume was actively protecting it, but that wasn't his objective. He quickly got back to his feet and began running up Natsume's back, reaching back with his left hand to grab hold of one of his escrima sticks.
When he made it to the head, he flipped over the dragon. Seeing his target, Natsume tried to bite down on him, only for Nightwing to place his escrima stick in his mouth to keep it from closing. He then swung downward, colliding with the lower chest, then injecting the handful of cures into the dragon's chest.
Natsume roared in anger as he felt his strength and power fading. Removing the escrima stick, Nightwing then jumped off his chest and landed on the ground, hoisting the escrima stick on his back as the others ran up to him.
"Dude that was so schway!" Red Hood cried in excitement.
"Schway! I'd say crazy! I totally thought you would have lost your arm there for a moment." Catwoman said, relieved.
"I have to say, I'm jealous. But I'll let you have it." Robin said, folding his arms.
"Arf!" Ace barked.
Nightwing then looked over to Batman, who gave him a congratulatory nod, which he returned.
The sound of moaning then caught all their attention as they turned to see Natsume, completely depowered and in his underwear, completely out cold.
"Well, so much for the Demon King." Robin said with a laugh. He still found that name ridiculous.
"You should all go." Bruce said. "I've sent an anonymous report to the police. They should be arriving soon."
"Well now that that's taken care of, you all now owe me ramen from before!" Red Hood reminded everyone, pointing to each of them before he moved to the exit.
Catwoman sighed as she and Robin followed after them. "It's always ramen with you. Can't we go someplace that doesn't just sell ramen for a change."
"I agree with Lady Ann!" Robin said enthusiastically.
"Well next time we fight a dragon, you can be the only to almost wet your pants, then you can choose." Red Hood fired back.
Catwoman blushed in embarrassment.
Batman laughed at the group's antics as Robin began to try and defend Catwoman. He was about to follow after them when he turned back to see Nightwing still overlooking Natsume's body.
"Nightwing?" He called, snapping said vigilante out of whatever daze he was in. "You okay?"
"I'm fine Batman." His tone indicated otherwise. He almost seemed haunted, like he'd seen a ghost. He quickly shook off the expression and smiled. "Let's go, I'm in the mood for some curry rice!"
The Next Day
Eventually, after a day of arguing about it, the group decided on a compromise. They decided to go eat at some high class fancy place and Ryuji could order the most expensive ramen they had and he wouldn't have to pay a cent. A decision they were currently regretting.
"Huh?" Ryuji said as he took a bite of the ramen. "Not as good as the ones down in that-OW!" He was interrupted when Ann dug her heel into his foot. "What was that for?!"
"Keep your voice down!" Ann warned him. "You don't say stuff like that outloud. It's rude!"
"Yeah. I agree with Lady Ann!" Was what everyone thought Morgana said, it was hard to tell as the young boy was stuffing his mouth with as much seafood as he could.
"Man, you're really going at it on the seafood." Ren said as he then paid a glance over to Yusuke. "Almost as much as Yusuke is on the curry rice." And indeed Yusuke was scoffing down multiple amounts of food into his mouth, almost as much as Morgana. How he managed to eat that much and still stay skinny, they had no idea.
"Hey guys look! They're talking about us!" Ryuji said as he pointed to the TV. They all turned their heads and began to pay attention. It looked like news of Natsume's arrest had gone public, and they began listening closely, Yusuke and Morgana even stopped eating.
"Breaking news! Ango Natsume, grandson of accomplished writer Sougo Natsume, has been arrested on charges of drug trafficking, plagiarism, and possession and use of the illegal genetic modification known as Splicing. It was revealed that he used his latest book, Prince of Nightmares, to smuggle drugs to numerous young adults who would buy the book. It was also revealed that much of the book Prince of Knightmares stole much from other works of literature. Natsume was arrested last night when he and his editors were found unconscious and tied up in an abandoned factory located in the Narrows. While there is no confirmation, this anchorman can only theorize that it was the Batman and his Gotham Knights who closed the book on Natsume's drug trafficking! Well keep you more informed as we gain more information!"
"Ah yeah!" Ryuji cried. "That's what I'm talking about!" Again, Ann dug her heels into his feet. "OW! Would you cut it out already!"
"Keep your voice down, we don't want the whole restaurant to suspect us!" Ann said in a hushed whisper, gesturing to all the other people who began to look in on them. Most of the occupants already thought it was strange that a group of four teenagers and a kid who looked dirt poor could afford to eat in a place like this. They didn't need to draw any more attention to themselves.
Ryuji just grumbled. "Stupid secret identities." Morgana just laughed at the blonde boy getting lectured, which only served to enrage him further. "Oh you want to go pipsqueak!"
Ren sighed. Looks like he would need to keep another fight from breaking out, but before he could move, Yusuke then rose from his seat suddenly, causing everyone else to freeze and look at him.
"Yusuke, are you okay?" Ann asked.
His dark blue hair masked his eyes, making him slightly difficult to read. "I need some air." And with that, he turned and walked away to the balcony.
Worried for his friend, Ren stood up as well. "I'll check up on him." He told the others before looking at Ryuji and Morgana specifically. "Try not to make a scene." He warned as he went to the balcony. Before he exited, he faintly heard Ryuji and Morgana arguing over who he meant.
As he gazed out upon the lights of the city he called home, Yusuke felt rather empty. On any normal occasion, when he was granted with such an amazing opportunity, he would form a picture frame with his hands and try to capture the image with his mind to paint later. But right now, he didn't feel like it.
Confronting Natsume had brought up some thoughts he had been suppressing for a while now. And he was struggling to push them back under.
"Hey."
Acting instinctively, he swung his hand to strike his attacker, only to have it caught with ease.
"Not bad." Ren admitted before smirking slightly. "But, like Bruce would say, 'it needs some work'." He said, doing his best to imitate Bruce's voice.
Yusuke laughed slightly. It always amused him and the others when Ren tried to emulate Bruce in an over exaggerated way. "What are you doing out here?" He then asked.
"Oh nothing!" Ren began sarcastically as he looked out over the city with his hands on the railing. "Just admiring the view of this cesspool we call a city. Might even think of making a painting of it." He then turned his body so that his back was leaning against the railing. "But the real question is, why are you out here if you aren't trying to make a painting?"
The joy from the joke left Yusuke as he asked the serious question. "It's nothing." He tried to deny it. "I just needed some air."
"Yusuke." The boy looked at Ren in his eyes, and the glare he gave the young artist was powerful, almost overwhelming. He sweared, everytime Ren put on that mask, he was becoming more and more like Batman. So finally, he sighed.
"I was just thinking about Natsume." Yusuke began as he placed his hands on the railing, looking out to the city as Ren watched him and listened. "Before he turned himself into that dragon, he claimed that before he started his drug trafficking, he truly loved being a writer. He told me that the book he submitted to a literature contest won, but not due to his own work, but because of the name of his grandfather. When he found out, he was absolutely crushed. He put everything he had into writing that book, and yet it wasn't enough. He only won because of his grandfather's name. It's like he spent so much on making a beautiful painting, only for someone else to claim credit because he was more well known."
"Kinda like Madarame taking credit for Sayuri and your works before he went to prison?" Ren asked for clarification, to which Yusuke nodded.
"Yes." He said. "I admit, at that moment, I sympathized with him. Thinking if I never found out the truth about Madarame, I could very well be where he is today. Hiding in the shadows, using art as a way to shamefully make money."
Ren looked at his friend for a long moment, thinking about what he said. In all honesty, Ren could also sympathize with Natsume as well. After all, he only had the reputation and effect he had on criminals as Batman because of the history Bruce and others established long before he was born. There were times when it felt like it wasn't even him that was making a difference or doing anything for the city, but instead it was Bruce.
Finally, after a long moment, Ren spoke up. "I know what you're thinking, but you're not Natsume. Nor are you Madarame." Yusuke then looked at him in surprise. "You're your own person. There's no way you could have gone down the same path as Natsume, or even Madarame. You have a good heart, and a genuine love of art. And besides, even if your paths are exactly the same, just remember this: You're not alone." He finished as he placed a comforting hand on Yusuke's shoulder as he gestured with his head to look inside.
Yusuke turned to see the people he had grown to call his friends. Currently, Ryuji and Morgana were bickering with each other, and Ann was trying to mediate between the two with little to no success. The action caused Yusuke to laugh.
Yes, despite the similarities they shared, there was one clear cut difference between Yusuke and Natsume. The latter was alone, while the former never would be. He then turned back to Ren.
"Thank you, Ren. For reminding me of such an important truth." Yusuke said as he straightened then bowed. "And don't forget that also applies to you too?"
"Huh?" Ren said with a raised eyebrow.
"Remember that you yourself are not alone either. Should you ever stumble, should you ever fall, our hands will be there to lift you up. I swear!" Yusuke said with a strong determination in his eyes.
Ren smiled. Yusuke was also right. It was good to know he wasn't alone either. That he had friends he could rely upon to help him in tough situations. And knowing that made him feel better concerning his own problems. Sure, he may be living in Bruce's shadow for now, but someday, he was sure, he was gonna make Batman his own.
But not tonight. Tonight, all he wanted to do was celebrate with his friends.
"Come on. Let's hurry before those three eat the rest of the food." Ren said as he tried to pull Yusuke back inside with him.
"Wait a moment! I need to capture this image perfectly! Inspiration suddenly came into my mind!" Yusuke cried as he formed a picture frame with his hands and aimed it at the city.
"Well inspirations gonna have to wait. I'm hungry and I really don't want to eat cold chicken." Ren said as he used more than a little force to drag Yusuke inside.
Inside a penthouse located in one of the most luxury hotels in the city, the lights were currently out, but the TV was one and playing the most recent news story.
"While the idea of Batman going after seems strange, I think this further strengthens the idea that this new Batman is no mere copycat. What do you think, Kim?"
"I'd have to agree with Jack. It looks like after so long, we finally have the real Batman back in action-"
Her voice was cut off as a sharp object was thrown into the TV, destroying it. The thrower was trembling with red hot anger at her words.
"'Real Batman'?" They spat out those words before scoffing. "Those so-called reporters don't know anything!" They then took several deep breaths to calm themselves down before they came to a decision.
"Screw the plan." They said as they moved to take the object they threw out of the TV. Within the light provided by the moon, one could see it was a Batarang, much like the ones used by the current Batman. But unlike the blood red color on the sides, it was silver.
"It's time to show that pretender, nay, this whole city, who the true Batman is!"
A/N: And that's a wrap! How'd you all like it.
I honestly had so much trouble writing this chapter, because I had to think of a legitimate reason as to why Batman would target an author. I bounced around a few ideas before settling on drug trafficking with a book. Hope you all enjoyed that.
Well I got bad news for everybody. I am sad to say I am going on Hiatus soon. Not now, but it shouldn't be too far away from now. But don't worry. Before I go on hiatus, I'm gonna try to get the next two chapters of my story out before that happens. Because I really want to touch on those chapters before I go.
[1] Yeah, I tried to make the editors seem like the monsters they turned into in Strikers, except for Doma, who I turned into a bullman, which is also in Batman Beyond TV Series.
[2] I just had to do it. In the Strikes game, it gives you this dialogue option in Natsume's Prison. I just liked that cause it showed that for all the swagger and coolness Joker has, he's got a bit of a geek side to him. So I wanted to bring that up here.
[3] I found that by looking up on the internet
[4] Batman has actually rode a Joker Dragon in The DC Event Dark Nights: Metal. I don't know if he ever fought any real dragons, but I wanted to bring that up.
[5] Yeah I referenced those movies/books. Also when I literally did research on Dragon weaknesses, that was the best I got.
Anyway, here's a preview of the next chapter, which is a two-parter!
Copy-Bat (Part 1):
When someone begins to frame Batman for the murder of numerous gangs, the Knights investigate, only to find that this copycat, is anything but.