Batman stared out the canopy of the batwing as it hovered over LexCorp Headquarters. No guards on the rooftop. He gazed at the other nearby buildings. All had a patchwork of light and dark windows, mostly dark. At two a.m., most of Metropolis slept. Those who didn't likely wouldn't see his ink black plane against the night sky.
He set the batwing to hovermode and slipped on a bulky pack beneath his cape. It would slow his movements to an extent, but it couldn't be helped. He sure as hell would not carry a radioactive element like Kryptonite with his bare hands.
Batman flicked a switch on the console. The deck beneath the cockpit slid open. He unfastened his straps and slipped through it. Cape extended, he glided to the roof below, his booted feet thumping on the surface. He hurried to the roof door, trying to suppress his worry. Nightwing had given him a lot of details on the security at LexCorp. What his former partner did not have was the location for the Kryptonite. He had ways to find out, but knowing the exact location would have made this quicker. And with a small army guarding this building, getting in and out fast was paramount.
His lips curled. He wondered if he should have brought Oracle in on this. She could have hacked the LexCorp security network, keep him abreast on the locations of the guards, and probably find the location of the Kryptonite. But like Nightwing and Alfred, they didn't view Superman as a threat. From here on out, he had to handle this himself.
Batman checked the roof door for alarms and found none. He tried the knob. Locked. A laser torch burned through it easily.
Now came the difficult part. Nightwing told him, in his words, "They have security cameras out the ass." That included the stairwells.
Digging out a handful of smoke grenades with his right hand, Batman pushed the door halfway open with his left. He chucked in the small bombs. Seconds later, bangs and hisses echoed in the stairwell.
He pushed open the door the rest of the way and fired a grappling hook into the ceiling. Leaping over the railing, he lowered himself through the smoky air, passing one floor after another. His best guess was Luthor would keep something that valuable on the middle floors, that way would-be thieves would have to go a long way to reach it, and a long way to exit the building, giving security plenty of time to catch them.
The door to the thirty-seventh floor opened. Two gray-clad men in ballcaps stepped into the landing. LexCorp security.
Batman slid past them.
"Holy shit!" one blurted, going for his sidearm.
Batman kicked his legs back, then swung forward. He let go of his grapple gun just as the first shot exploded through the stairwell. The round clipped the edge of his cape as he flew over a railing and planted his feet on the landing of the thirty-fifth floor. He kicked open the door and tossed in another handful of smoke grenades. That would foul up any security cameras in the hallway.
"Intruder on the thirty-fifth floor," one of the guards shouted as heavy footfalls pounded down the stairs. "Repeat, thirty-fifth floor."
Batman grunted. The guard had to be radioing for reinforcements. Well, he never thought he'd get out of here without throwing a good amount of punches and kicks.
The guard's radio also gave him an idea.
Batman entered the hallway, then slid to the left. He stood against the wall, shrouded in smoke. Listening. Waiting.
The footfalls grew louder. The door flew open with a loud bang! One of the guards had kicked it in. Batman saw the silhouette of arms through the smoke, pistol extended. A human shape moved into the hallway, and coughed. The second guard followed.
Batman threw a right cross into the first guard's cheek. The man stumbled and nearly lost his balance. Batman then pivoted on his side and kicked the second guard in the stomach. He slammed into the wall and collapsed to the floor.
The first guard straightened. Batman kicked him behind the knees, dropping him to the floor. An elbow to the face knocked him out.
Batman patted down the guard until he found his radio. He grabbed it and inserted the earpiece.
"All access points locked down . . . Yes, Mister Luthor's been alerted . . . This is Sutherland. We just reached the thirty-fifth floor."
Batman grinned. He now had access to LexCorps security communications. Hopefully that would lead him to his target.
He stalked down the hallway, throwing more smoke grenades. Feet pounded around the corner. Three pairs. The guards were sacrificing speed for stealth. That worked in his favor.
The first guard rounded the corner . . . and into a clothesline by Batman. The two guards behind him stopped in shock. It cost them. A kick to the stomach and a forearm to the face put them both down.
Batman threw more smoke grenades into the stairwell, then followed a few seconds later. He descended the stairs, all the while listening to the radio.
"Sutherland? Sutherland, are you there? . . . The smoke's messing up the cameras. I can't get a good look at the intruder . . . Get more men to the thirtieth floor. If anything happens to that rock Luthor'll have our asses."
"Thank you." Batman smiled. He attached a grapple to the railing, jumped over, and lowered himself to the thirtieth floor. He propelled himself onto the landing, chucked some smoke grenades through the door, and entered. He moved down the hallway along the wall, checking the Geiger Counter on his right wrist. Just slightly above normal background radiation.
Batman stopped at an intersection and peeked around the corner. Eight men stood at the end of the hallway, in front of a steel door. Two clutched M4 rifles, the other a Mossberg shotgun. Overkill for one room. The Kryptonite had to be behind that door.
He pulled two flash/bang grenades from his utility belt and threw them around the corner.
"What the hell?" someone shouted.
A pistol cracked. A rifle chattered. Batman pressed his back against the wall as rounds flew past.
Two loud, bass drum explosions rocked the air. Men cried out in pain. Batman whirled into the corner and flung a bat-o-rang. It struck one guard in the face. He crumpled to the floor.
Batman hurled two more bat-o-rangs, never breaking stride. Two more guards fell. One tried to bring up his shotgun. Batman grabbed it out of his hands and rammed the butt into the man's face. He tossed away the shotgun. An elbow strike dropped the fifth guard. Three more left.
One man in gray straightened, face scrunched, trying to fight off the effects from the flash/bangs. Batman grabbed his arm and threw him into another guard. Both crashed against the steel door and sagged to the floor.
The last guard threw a punch. Batman easily avoided it, kicked him twice in the ribs, then punched him in the face. The man joined his fellow guards in a heap on the floor.
Batman pressed C4 along the edges of the steel door, shoved in the blasting caps, and took several steps back. He fingered the remote on his utility belt. Dull thuds erupted from the plastic explosives. The door fell forward.
Staring through the wisps of smoke, Batman saw the stand in the middle of the room, and the green rock encased in glass. He checked his wrist-mounted Geiger Counter, brow furrowed. The radiation level was that of three microwave ovens operating side-by-side. He walked over the fallen door and into the room, eyes flickering between the rock and the Geiger Counter. The reading only went up a few ticks.
"Interesting." He figured something that deadly would have a much higher rad reading.
Deadly to aliens. This thing originated from another planet. Who knew what its exact properties were?
Bottom line, he could have carried the rock out of here with his bare hands and not worry about starting chemotherapy a month from now.
Still, he'd brought the pack with him. Might as well use it.
Batman slipped the large pack from his back, unzipped it, and pulled out a square metal case. He then examined the glass case. The lock was conventional, requiring a simple key. He picked it in less than ten seconds.
Placing the Kryptonite into the case, Batman hurried out of the room and past the moaning guards. He checked around the corner. No guards in sight, though according to the radio, more were on the way.
He dashed down the hall, glanced at a door on his left, and kicked it in. He entered an office with three desks and a floor-to-ceiling tinted window. Keeping out prying eyes, I imagine.
Batman pressed a wad of C4 onto the window, activated a remote on his belt, and stepped back.
The banging of a door echoed from down the hallway. Several people were running, their footfalls growing closer.
More guards.
Batman set off the charge. The window exploded into hundreds of shards. A sleek, black shape descended into view. The batwing.
He leapt over the desk, ran for the window, and jumped through it. Batman landed in the cockpit, spun around, and dropped into the ejection seat. He hit a button on the console. The canopy began to lower.
Guards appeared in the office's doorway. Batman tensed as two of them raised their pistols. He glanced at the canopy. Faster. Faster.
The guards fired.
Sparks leapt off the bullet-resistant glass as the canopy slid closed. Batman yanked the control stick left and soared away from LexCorp Headquarters.
He let out a breath, looking at the case containing the Kryptonite. He squared his shoulders. Finally, he had something to put him on even footing with the alien. Finally, humanity had a fighting chance.
Batman pointed the nose of the small jet toward Gotham City. Now he had to get back to the Batcave, figure out the best way to weaponize the Kryptonite, and . . .
His hand tightened on the control stick. Was that the best option? Alfred could not be convinced that Superman was the enemy. The same with Dick and Barbara. Now that he had the Kryptonite, stopping the alien moved out of the realm of talk and speculation. It had become reality.
Would they try to stop him from doing what needed to be done?
He rocketed over Gotham, over his mansion on the outskirts of the city, and kept going.
XXXXX
Luthor clasped his hands behind his back, jaw tight, as he and Mercy exited the elevator onto the thirtieth floor. He had some of the best security in the world, and some caped freak just waltzed in and waltzed out of the place.
His place.
"We have to keep the police out of this." He glanced at Mercy. "If they start investigating, it could jeopardize everything."
"Our PR people have told the police it was a security exercise that went wrong. No criminal activity took place, and aside from some concussions and broken ribs, no one was seriously hurt."
Luthor raised an eyebrow. "The Bat went easy on our guards."
"Yes he did." Mercy nodded.
Luthor grunted and looked down at the floor as they kept walking. "But I won't. I want every guard who was on duty tonight fired."
"Yes, Mister Luthor."
"And lean on our friends at city hall. Make sure they dissuade the police if they want to look into this matter further."
"Yes, Mister Luthor."
They halted in front of the stand, supporting a now empty glass case. Luthor drew a slow, angry breath. He thought the Bat's attack on Knyazev's convoy coincidence, that he pursued the so-called KGBeast simply because the man was a criminal. But what if he'd known about the Kryptonite this whole time? After his fight with Superman the other week . . .
Luthor shifted his weight from one foot to the other. His muscles relaxed. A smile creased his face. "The Dark Knight versus the Man of Steel."
"Sir?" Mercy gave him a quizzical look.
"I think the Bat knows exactly what Kryptonite can do, which means we have to upgrade all our security procedures to prevent such breeches in the future."
"Do you think he's actually going to fight Superman?" asked Mercy.
"Why else would he steal the Kryptonite?"
"What if Batman actually beats him. Won't that jeopardize Project Doomsday? Superman would have been the ultimate test subject."
Luthor grinned. "Even if Batman does win, the Pentagon will still want Project Doomsday. Superman isn't the only powerful threat facing this world."
XXXXX
Diana entered her hotel room and strode to the window. It was well after three in the morning, but she didn't feel the least bit tired. Such was the benefit of her superhuman stamina.
That, and Luthor's activity between his headquarters and the crashed Kryptonian ship had increased over the past week. Ever since the bombing of the U.S. Capitol, she noted. During her surveillance, Diana noticed several dark-suited government-looking men and women filing in and out of LexCorp Headquarters and the ship. Could they be working on a way to stop Superman? Maybe target all costumed heroes and meta-humans, including her?
She pulled back the curtain on her window, staring across the street at LexCorp Headquarters. Should she make her move now? No. Rushing into a situation was what she had done during in her younger days. She wanted more information on Luthor's activities before confronting him.
Her gaze settled on the middle floors, where all the windows had been blacked out. Except one that had been shattered. What happened there?
Diana sat at the desk and powered up her laptop. She clicked the icon for the security cameras she'd placed around the hotel to observe LexCorp Headquarters. She checked over the past hour, before Luthor and his assistant left the ship in one hell of a hurry.
She sat back, eyes wide, watching a sleek little jet hover in front of the shattered window. She swore the aircraft looked like . . . a bat.
Could it be . . .
A man in a dark costume and a cape jumped out of the window and into the jet, which flew off.
"Well, this is interesting." She rewound the footage, focusing on the case Batman carried.
What did Lex Luthor have that was so important the Dark Knight wanted to steal it?
TO BE CONTINUED