Chapter 1. The Hunted
The lights of Gotham illuminated the city as the sound of police sirens echoed through the streets. It had been five months since the defeat of Brainiac,yet life in the city began to show signs of normalcy. Tonight was a night of celebration for many as Batman and the Circle of Trust managed to recover and restore the cities Brainiac had absorbed. The clubs and bars were full of party goers and well wishers while the streets saw an increase in police officers to maintain the peace. Even the gridlock of traffic in the streets wasn't enough to damper the spirits of citizens that night.
Inside one club the music shook the walls and the lights flickered as patrons crowded the dance floor or the bar. Some men tried their luck with the women while others tried their luck holding down their liquor with mixed results. A man, his skin pale with thin, brown hair in a black trench coat sat in a dark corner away from the festivities. His dark green eyes darting between his watch and the dancing, drinking people before him. He took a long draw from his cigarette before quickly extinguishing it in an ashtray. He checked his watch one last time, then quickly rose from the table and headed out the back door into an alley.
As he headed further down the alley he froze when he saw a shadow quickly appear and disappear above him. He quickly turned around while reaching into his coat and scanned the rooftops for signs of the figure. Once he, and his heart, calmed down he continued down the alley and turned left coming to a dead end. He looked around, checked his watch, and looked around again.
"Were you followed?" A voice called out from the darkness.
"Nah. This alley is deserted." The man answered.
An golden armored man emerged from the shadows of the alley. His skin was the color of roasted umber with a bald head and a black beard peppered with gray that stopped in a ponytail at the top of his chest. His face had the lines of a man late in his years with gold colored eyes that seemed to peer into the man's very soul when he looked upon them. His golden armor consisted of a cuirass with faulds, pauldrons, greaves, gauntlets, and sabatons. In the middle of the cuirass was emblem with a golden border in the shape of a diamond. A golden line bisected the diamond with an X in the middle and a red background. Any exposed body part was covered in dark blue under armor. Over this attire the man wore a black cloak with a medallion containing the same emblem holding the two ends of the cloak together.
"What information do you have for me John?" he demanded. His voice was deep, and every word shook John to his core.
"Before I tell ya anything, where's the dough?" John answered, hiding his hands in his pockets so no one could see them shaking.
The man swept his cloak back with his left hand revealing a purple sack about the size of his hand. He tossed the sack to John, who upon opening it fought to contain an avaricious grin.
"The precious jewels within that sack should fetch you quite a bit of 'dough'" The man said disdainfully.
"So what I've been hearing is that there's a guy going round askin folks if they want to serve some lady. He mostly goes after the hobos n' wackos wandering the dark corners of the city, but I've been seein him in the shady bars and clubs trying to talk some of the drunks into it too."
"Has anyone taken him up on that offer? Did you overhear a location where he meets them?"
"Yeah. These college kids at one the titty bars over there decided to give it a shot. The guy said the meeting would be in that old factory down the way tonight in about an hour."
"Was there anything else he mentioned to them? Did he say whether this lady would be there too?"
"See, that information will cost you extra."
Not long after John said that did the man have him by the collar and pinned to the wall.
"Talk cretin!" He snarled, those golden eyes now bright with anger.
"No! He didn't say nothin bout no lady being there! He said there would be others and it would be some kind of initiation thing or whatever those cult wackos do! That's all I know I swear!" John whimpered.
"Thank you for the information." The man replied letting go of his collar and walking off, adding,"I suggest you don't flaunt those jewels around town."
"Yeah whatever." John retorted, fixing his coat and the quiver in his voice.
The armored man headed towards the factory, disappointed that his target would not be present, but compelled to save the soon to be victims. As he approached the factory, he could make out a faint light within the foreboding factory. Upon discovering a lookout posted at the door, he became certain the location was correct. Not long after he arrived, a small group drunken teenagers stumbled upon the scene. His fears of who they were was confirmed when one of them said something to lookout and he motioned them to come in. As soon as they all entered, the man made his way towards the a shattered window on the other end of the factory. As he crossed the street he saw something in the corner of his eye move, but reasoned it was possibly a stray cat as the neighborhood was deserted.
No sooner did he enter the factory did he hear a bloodcurdling scream and hastened to the door. Upon slowly opening the door he saw one of teenagers, a girl, tied to the ground over a symbol he assumed was drawn in blood. The others, three males and another female, lay hog tied off to the side. There were seven men, each in black, hooded robes surrounding the girl in the center while two more hooded men stood off to the side near the other four. Six of the seven stood there chanting while the seventh approached the bound girl with a dagger in his hand. She looked up at him in horror, her mouth now gagged to muffle her screams. As he raised his dagger the armored man prepared to charge through the door before the dagger was knocked from the cultist's hand.
Batman dropped down on the cultist who had the dagger, instantly knocking him out. The other six stopped their chants and pulled out their own daggers along with the two guarding the other teens. Batman wasted no time in taking down the first six before going after the last two. One of them muttered something in a language Batman didn't recognize and an ethereal hand sprung from the ground and grabbed him. As the other prepared to throw his dagger the armored man burst from the door and pushed his hand out. The two cultists were flung across the room causing the ethereal hand to release Batman. Five of the seven men from earlier got back up to attack, each one now muttering the same thing and throwing balls of fire at the duo. The sixth man was determined to finish what the seventh couldn't before he was incapacitated. He quickly grabbed the dagger and moved to impale the girl. The armored man stomped his foot on the ground, causing pillars of earth to rise up and form a protective dome around the young girl. This drew the attention of the cultists away long enough for Batman to throw a smoke pellet at their feet. In the chaos that followed Batman was able to knock out the rest of the men while the armored man freed the teenagers.
"You kids need to find a better way to have fun besides meeting strangers in creepy factories." Batman reprimanded them.
As the teenagers left the room the armored man helped Batman tie up the cultists for the police before grabbing the one holding the dagger first as he started to regain consciousness. Upon seeing the armored man's face the cultist laughed.
"My Lady warned us you would find us. She is never wrong." he mused.
"I've no interest in hearing her predictions of your incompetence," he growled,"Where is she and why is she here?"
"You think I would just betray my Lady because you caught me?" he asked incredulously,"I fear the punishment of my Lady more than your torture Grandmaster."
The armored man put a hand on the cultist's head. Soon after the cultist's hands curled in pain as he screamed.
"Enough!" Batman yelled grabbing the armored man's shoulder.
"He'll live," the man said, glaring at the cultist,"Besides, all I've done was rip the information from his mind. I've no more need for him."
"Then leave him for the police."
"Are you certain? These men are sorcerers, and I doubt your police force has the necessary means to contain them."
"Killing them is out of the question."
"Very well then, Batman."
The armored man released the cultist and pressed his hand against his chest. As the cultists recoiled in pain there was a flash of light with a symbol burned into the spot where his hand had been.
"What did you do?" Batman demanded.
"Using a rune of nullification to seal their magic. At least now, they'll be no threat to your officers and even weakened for a time." he answered, proceeding to brand the rest.
"Before you continue, who are you and what's your business here?" Batman demanded.
"I am Oren, Grandmaster of the Runic Knights. I hunt a witch responsible for the destruction of my colleagues and many other atrocities. As you can see, she has taken refuge in your city." Oren declared.
"How do I know you aren't a danger as well?"
"You are welcome to join me in my search if your suspicions are that serious. I merely wish to stop her before she harms more innocents."
"Are you the only one here?"
"No, three others accompany me. If you'll come along we'll meet at the rendezvous point to share what we've all uncovered."
"Then let's go. If this witch threatens Gotham I don't want to waste any time bringing her down. We're still recovering from Brainiac; we don't need something like this right now."
Unbeknownst to them, two pairs of eyes, one red and the other green, glared at them from the shadows.
"Send word to our Lady," the red pair hissed at the green one,"tell her the Grandmaster has a new ally."