Chapter 7 – The Body Count Rises
The noisiness of the city was offset only by the complete darkness of the Gotham skyline, as Robin and Nightwing leapt from rooftop to rooftop. They moved hastily , prowling like hunters in search of a great treasure. Coming upon a lone rooftop, they stopped to rest for a brief moment.
"It's midnight," Robin informed, checking the digital clock on the inside of his glove.
"We've been at this for hours. Axis was empty, maybe we could check again," Nightwing offered.
"Where could he be? I'm betting if we find Lucci, Zsasz won't be far off."
"Let's keep searching Robin. Hey look," Nightwing gasped in surprise at a nearby alley just below them.
As the pair looked beyond the rooftop, they noticed a dark figure apparently attempting to mug a helpless old lady, who was on her way home but had gotten lost. Robin effortlessly leapt off the roof, soaring down in a mad rush. Nightwing followed and as they arrived to the scene, they instantly recognized the mugger. It was Mr. Zsasz, the fiend that they had been looking for all night. The alley was wide, and the woman was alone, feeble and scared.
"A little far from home, huh Zsasz?" Robin remarked pulling a batarang from his belt.
"Evening gentlemen, what brings you out tonight?" the madman inquired.
"Mugging old ladies? Geez, you have gotten desperate," Nightwing countered as he and Zsasz began circling each other while Robin and the poor woman looked on.
"It's been a while since I've killed, Nightbird. I was simply out for kicks."
"Robin, get the lady out of here," Nightwing demanded, for the lady's safety.
"I don't think so," Zsasz defied by swiftly moving in and grabbing the lady.
Robin moved in for close quarters combat, but it was too late. Zsasz cut the lady's throat with his trademark knife.
"Instant tracheotomy," Zsasz laughed to himself. "Oh the thrill," he continued.
"No," Nightwing screamed in horror at what had just happened.
"That's it," Robin uttered. "You haven't been out very long and that's the second person you've killed."
"Correction birdboy, that was number five. I love it. It's as if I grow stronger with each life I take."
"It ends here, before it gets worse," Nightwing threatened.
"I thought we were going to work together gentlemen, to find this menace man. What happened?"
"That was Batman's idea. Nightwing and I are taking you back to Arkham."
"It's been fun, but not today I'm afraid. How can anyone be civil to men who wear masks? No, you're not taking me anywhere. I'm outta here," Zsasz informed before racing out of the alley.
"It's showtime," Robin remarked, as he and Nightwing gave chase, leaving the body of the woman behind, if only for a moment.
As they turned the corner, they noticed the madman slithering up a drainpipe to a nearby rooftop. The pair raced after him, but as they got to the top of the roof, Zsasz was nowhere to be found. The mystery of his business with the Lucci gang was eating at everyone like a festering sore. They had to stay on him, because it was apparent now that he would lead them to Mr. Menace.
The next afternoon was gray and dreary as a dense fog seemed to permeate across the city. Bruce sat in his office at Wayne Tower. He was locked into a news broadcast that a frail blonde woman was reporting:
The body count of escaped serial killer Victor Zsasz continues to rise, as just last night police uncovered the body of an elderly woman. The police say they know it was Zsasz because there were witnesses, whom wish to remain anonymous at this time. The search for career criminals the Joker and the Riddler continues as well, as the police still have no clues to their whereabouts. In other news…
Bruce turned off the closed-circuit TV. that was built into the wall. He couldn't believe that Robin and Nightwing let Zsasz get away. He was upset and considered their behavior the night before to be amateurish. His thoughts were quickly interrupted by the Bat-Signal. The afternoon was quite young and Bruce wondered what Gordon would want this early in the day. The Bat-Signal only flashed this early if there was a dire emergency. Was Gordon in trouble? Bruce couldn't be sure.
As he stood in thought, his eyes peered toward the grand, monolithic architecture that helped make up this dark city.
He abruptly notified his secretary to cancel all of his appointments for the day, including the game of cricket he had scheduled for this afternoon with some important colleagues. Snatching his coat and hat from the fine, Italian leather chair across the room, he immediately exited his office.
Riding the elevator down, he wondered if Dick and Tim would meet him at police headquarters. Knowing them, they were already there, but being late was a trait that Bruce Wayne knew all too well and the Batman tried to shy away from. Departing from the elevator, he exited Wayne Tower altogether. Reaching his blue Alfa Romeo parked directly outside the office, he sped away.
Arriving atop the GCPD headquarters, Batman immediately recognized his two partners and was not phased by the brightness of the Bat-Signal. Glancing around, he noticed the solemn moods of his peers.
"What is it Jim?" Batman immediately questioned.
"Batman, brace yourself. Well, I'll get right to the point. We just found out that Joel Lucci is dead," Gordon informed, sighing.
"Dead? Who? How?" the Dark Knight said, surprised.
"We don't know," Bullock offered. "My Menace task force was monitoring Axis last night and near dawn this morning we found his body hung in one of the plant's boardrooms."
"Where was his gang?" Batman wondered, knowing that mobsters usually kept bodyguards on hand at all times.
"That's just it," Bullock continued. "We'd been monitoring the plant for nearly forty-eight hours and the place was empty. All of a sudden he shows up, hanging from an old-fashioned type noose."
"No evidence left at the scene?" Batman wondered.
"They looked for fingerprints and the coroner has determined strangulation," Robin spoke up.
"Yeah, Robin and I immediately expected Zsasz," Nightwing chimed in.
"It would make sense," Batman agreed. "He has tried to assassinate mobsters before, but was never successful. Lucci was up and coming. He hadn't achieved the notoriety that Falcone or Maroni had."
"It's ironic isn't it," Gordon offered. "Joel Lucci was nowhere near as successful as his predecessors, but still we couldn't get him. The department had file after file on Lucci and we still couldn't convict him of a thing."
"My God, I just had a thought. What's Gotham's reaction going to be? He was one of the most important men in the city's financial future."
"We don't know how we're going to break the news. It should have already hit the papers today. Our boys are good at keeping secrets. When they wanna be," Bullock remarked.
"Alright Jim, you work on releasing this news to the public. Robin, Nightwing and I will find Zsasz," the Dark Knight uttered, turning to leave.
"But Batman, do you think you can find him?"
"I don't know Jim. He probably knows he's a suspect. He may prove harder to find than Mr. Menace. But when we find him, we'll stay on him until we this find Mr. Menace. And don't worry, he won't kill anymore." With that Batman hurled himself off of the roof.
"As always Commissioner, we'll be in touch. Later Bullock," Robin affirmed as he and Nightwing followed.
That night, at a desolate cottage on the outskirts of the city, screams radiated throughout the premises. Mr. Menace was in the basement, making final preparations for his experiment. The Joker and the Riddler were screaming as loudly as they could, but by now Mr. Menace was able to tune them out. He neglected them, the way a parent might neglect a child, only giving them food and water when they required it. The impish man was so focused on his experiment, that the needs of the Joker and Riddler didn't really interest him.
"Oh my God man. I'm going crazy," the Joker uttered from his cell.
Mr. Menace stopped, turned and walked to the cell. "Ah ah, Mr. Joker Sir. You already are crazy. No, you can't be sane, or this experiment has no purpose," he said returning to his work.
"I can't be sane?" the Joker wandered. "I'm not the one kidnapping people."
"You fool," Mr. Menace screamed, running back to the cell, then pointing a small pistol at the man inside. "I am not crazy. I've been told that all of my adult life. Is it crazy that I want to help the world by discovering a cure for death and mental illness? I once reanimated a body. Did you know that Joker? The only drawback was that it attacked me, so I dismembered it and returned it to the grave from which I found it. No, you are crazy. You've killed people, you've killed children and you've destroyed enough government property to build a large city. You are insane Sir. Don't ever, ever call me crazy again," the Menace stated heatedly, shaking the gun in his hand, as he walked back to a control panel on the wall to finish some work.
The Joker was stunned. Most people who pointed a gun at him either ended up getting fried, burned alive or shot to death. He was actually feeling fear. This was a somewhat rare emotion, because even the Batman didn't scare him. The Riddler fumed like a little child, as he had heard the Joker getting the Menace's attention.
"Oh Mr. Menace, could you come over here please? I have to go to the bathroom," Nigma informed.
"You've got a bedpan you idiot, use it."
"But it's full of piss," Nigma continued.
"Open the hatch at the bottom of your cell door and pass it through. I'll clean it out, then you mad fools must leave me to my work. Don't worry little kiddies, soon the both of you will become a new man," Mr. Menace said as he took a small steel bedpan from the cell.
He hurried to a nearby sink, dumped the waste, gave a quick rinse and returned it to the Riddler.
"Enjoy your bathroom privileges while they last Nigma," the Menace said sarcastically, staring with beady eyes into the Riddler's cell. "For a storm is coming."
Author's note- Stay tuned for the conclusion to this mystery. All will be revealed about Mr. Menace as well as a what happens to the Joker & the Riddler and Mr. Zsasz.
STAY TUNED Bat-fans!