The Cowl in the Stone
6th century Gotham City
The King of Gotham, Bruce Wayne has passed. The kingdom no longer has a ruler and now, the criminal element has slowly begun to creek back into the lives of its people. With no heir of his own, there is only one way to choose a king suitable to rule the once thriving city. One man, one man alone must pass a test. A test not of strength, but of heart.
Who so ever pulls the cowl from the stone,
Is rightly the one and only king born of the Kingdom of Gotham.
None succeed in removing the cowl and it is soon forgotten. The Kingdom of Gotham as such, has been left to the dark ages.
Many years later…
While on a hunting trip with his elder brother, a teenager donned in red and green clothing, by the name of Richard hastily searched for an arrow he was responsible for making his brother, Sir Conalot lose after he made him miss shooting a deer. Given the direction the wind blew and the distance Conalot drew his bow back, Richard estimated it flew approximately one hundred and twenty five yards into the woods. The darkest part of the woods that is, where an old shack stood.
Wanting to pass it by, but knowing this area could be where his brother's arrow landed, Richard hesitantly knocked on the door when he heard an explosion occur inside.
"Confound it!" came a voice from the other side. "Dark ages indeed! No plumbing, no electricity. Oh hang it all, hang it all. Who's that at the door? WHAT?"
Bursting the door open, a red haired man in a yellow wizard's cloak looked down on the young boy. His eyes widened as if he were an old friend.
"Oh, it's you, my dear lad. Come in, come in, you're rather late."
"Um, what?" Richard asked.
"You're late. You were supposed to be here an hour ago, now come right on in."
"Whoa, you seem be mistaking me for someone else. I don't know who you are and I'm pretty sure I've never met you before."
"That's right, you haven't. Well then, My name is Walin, the greatest of all scientific wizards. And you are my student, Richard of the Grayson's. Now that we have all that out of the way, on with your training."
"Training for what?" Richard asked. A quick look around him saw the small shack full of books, chemicals, and papers full of mad scribbling that made absolutely no sense whatsoever to him as they were so poorly written by such notorious handwriting.
"Why, to be king of course," Walin said as if it were painfully obvious.
"King? I'm not a king. I'm not even a prince. I'm a squire for my brother who's a knight and I need to-"
"Find his arrow?" Walin held up the special hunting arrow Sir Conalot shot and waived it around.
"How did you-"
"Come with me and I'll show you. Kalimedes, come along now."
Emerging from a high mounted bird house, a blue and red flying fish flew down and joined the two. "You called?"
"He can talk?" Richard asked, astonished.
"Of course he can talk, he's magic. Now off we go!" Pulling out a hand full of dust, Walin threw it on the ground before him. "BAZINGA!" The three vanished with a bright flash.
An instant later, the trio appeared in the court of Sir Pennyworth, Richard's foster father.
"My goodness, what's this now? Young Richard of the Grayson's? Is that you?" Sir Pennyworth asked.
"Now, now, now, we haven't much time to waste," Walin said. "I am Walin, the most powerful scientific wizard in all the land and I am here to train your boy not in magics, but in education."
"I dare say, you've got him under a spell. Well it will not work I need him here to help run the castle. A boy needs strict rules to adhere to and I will make sure he-"
"Oh rules, shmules," Kalimedes said from his perch on Walin's shoulder. "Rules were meant to be broken if they are for the greater good."
"A flying fish that talks?" Sir Pennyworth exclaimed. "A real honest to goodness talking flying fish?"
"Not only can he speak, but he is highly educated," Walin pointed out. "He graduated from M.I.T."
"Please Sir Pennyworth?" Richard asked with a puppy pout face and his hands clamped under his chin. "Can you let him teach me like he teaches his flying fish? No doubt I'll be smarter than Kalimedes because I'm not a fish with a bird brain."
"Hey!" the owl snapped. "Not funny."
"Oh, all right, Just have him back by tomorrow, we're going to see your brother wed Lady Megavire and go onto compete in the tournament to see who is worthy of ruling the kingdom of Gotham."
"Don't worry about a thing, I'll take good care of your boy. And as a parting gift…" With a wave of a small, hand held wand, a bolt of lightning flashed out of its end and proceeded to wrap itself around Sir Pennyworth before floating above the court and forming into a large bat. "This will be the symbol of the king. Keep an eye out for it and you will know who truly rules the land."
An instant later, after Walin yelled 'BAZINGA', he, Richard, and Kalimedes were gone.
Appearing in the castle moat, Richard found himself underwater. The first thought that goes through his mind is not being able to breathe. He begins to panic and tries to swim to the surface but is too far underwater to reach it in time.
"Air! Air! I'm drowning! Drain the moat I'm drowning!"
"Excuse me, but why are you in a panic?" Walin asked as he swam above him.
"Because I'm drowning!"
"Take a look at your arms, or fins I should say."
Looking down at his fins, Richard was taken aback by the sight of fins taking the place of his hands. He continued to look himself over and saw a tail in place of his legs.
"I'm…I'm a fish?"
"That's right, you're a fish. Now, if you'll pay attention, I'll show you why I did this for you."
The two swam a ways until Walin came to a sudden stop. Richard on the other hand continued to float forwards despite ceasing to swim anymore. "Hey, how can you stop and I can't?"
"You are in between two worlds, my lad. The surface and the floor. In between lies an area where it is easy to see an objects path. You see, anything with movement continues to move forward until it collides with another object. Or is drained of its momentum by friction. You just experienced both."
"But what does this have to do with my training?"
"Glad you asked, dear boy. Wait right here and pay attention."
Swimming down to the floor of the moat, the fish Walin summoned a rock to rise before him and gave it a hard smack with his tail. The small stone shot forward, leaving a near invisible trail behind it until it came in contact with a stick and forced it to topple over.
"See, even an object as small as that rock can topple something large. Remember, brawn is not always as important as brains are."
"But you used brawn by hitting the stick with the rock."
"Yes I did, but look where I hit it."
Doing as he said, Richard looked carefully at the fallen stick and saw where the rock had struck it. There was a dent in the upper part of it where its weakest point was. A thin line, evident of it being broken could be seen clearly.
"You hit it in its weak spot."
"Precisely. Everything and everyone had a weakness and sometimes the smallest things can make a difference in success, or failure. You must learn to identify when to use brawn over brains and how to recognize a weakness."
"Uh, can you tell me something, Walin?" Richard asked while backing up slightly.
"Of course, what is it lad?"
"What's the weakness for a crocodile?"
"A what now?"
Looking behind him, Walin saw a large green crocodile bare its teeth before dashing after him. With a yelp, the two fish swam as fast as they could to escape the hungry mouth of the predatory reptile.
"Jumping Jehoshaphat!" Walin yelled as he and Richard looked for a place to hide.
"I think I have an idea!" Richard yelled as he took off in a separate direction.
"Where are you going, lad?!"
"To use my brains!"
Seeing the smaller of the two fish break off, the crocodile changed course and followed the one it believed to be the weakest. Richard swam around a support beam used for supporting the draw bridge when it was down and found what he was looking for. On the moat's floor sat an old shield and spear he had dropped several months ago and never picked up. He was glad he hadn't done so as the broken spearhead gave him an idea.
Grabbing the fragmented weapon with his mouth, he charged the crocodile and managed to lodge it in its jagged toothed mouth. The predator jerked its head back and forth in an effort to dislodge it but had a great difficulty in doing so.
"Ha ha! That's really using your brain, boy! Do you get the point of the lesson now?"
"Sure do, now he does too. He should really try to stay whelmed."
"What's that now?"
"Nothing. Is the lesson over yet?"
"It is now hang on, we're getting out of-"
Before Walin could answer, the crocodile returned after breaking the spear tip and smashed into both he and Richard. Walin shot out of the water and crashed on the shore, returning to his human form as Richard tried his best to come to a stop in the water. He immediately gave that up when he saw the crocodile rushing towards him with its mouth wide open.
"Walin!" he cried as he broke the surface. "Walin, help! Kalimedes! Help me! Please!"
Waking up from a nap, Kalimedes smacked his fishy lips a few times as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes when he notices Richard as a fish. Acting without hesitation, he takes off at full flight and snatches the little fish from the impending jaws of the crocodile.
"Kalimedes! You're…you're…"
Looking down, he could see the water pass below them and Kalimedes skimming the surface.
"I call it 'surfing'. It's gonna be - AAAGGGGHHHHHHH!" Before he could finish his sentence, the crocodile leapt out of the water a few feet before the two and forced the flying fish to slide to a stop inches from the waiting teeth primed to snap shut on him and Richard.
"KALIMEDES!" Richard screamed just as the jaws snapped shut.
The flying fish had managed to move a split second before they were made into a meal and got back on dry land. Skidding to a stop, the two were now covered in mud and loose grass when another flash over took them with the words 'BAZINGA!" being yelled. The next second, they were in a tree with Richard in the guise of a red furred squirrel.
"What…what's going on? Why are we in a tree? And why am I a squirrel?"
Appearing behind him, an orange furred Walin skittered out of a hole in the trunk of the tree and ran over to the small red squirrel. "What's going on is a lesson in gravity. The reason we're in a tree is to help teach you about gravity. And the reason you're a squirrel is, well, how else will you learn about gravity unless you're one of the creatures who defy it on a daily basis?"
It took some getting used to, but eventually Richard learned how to maneuver on four legs. He was soon leaping from tree branch to tree branch with Walin following behind. He learned quickly about judging his jumps and look before he leaps. Richard was even instructed on how to use gravity to his advantage and not be a victim of it.
Everything was going smoothly until an unwanted visitor happened along. A small red female squirrel happened by the duo and took an immediate liking to the younger of the two. What started as a small annoyance, turned into a major distraction as she refused to let up chasing him around.
"Walin, why won't she leave me alone?" Richard yelled as he fled from the adamant she-squirrel.
"Well it's the most peculiar thing," Walin said as he sat back and watched the two scuttle back and forth at a fast rate. "It seems she likes you, dear boy."
"Likes me? But I'm a boy, not a squirrel!" He was forced to come to a stop as the female squirrel popped in front of him and gave him a peck on the nose. "Stop that! Leave me alone. Walin, turn me back!"
"Oh, just enjoy it, boy. As long as you remember what I told you about gravity, you should manage to stay one step ahead of her at all times."
The two squirrels continued running through the limbs with Kalimedes and Walin laughing their heads off.
"She's gaining on you, Richie!" Kalimedes said from his place in the tree.
"There's no sensible explanation, for this co-boom-eration, its the most un-logical, most illogical, most confuseley, most bamboozleley, most bemutling, most mind fuddling thing." As Walin continued his mocking, he didn't notice a white and green animal keeping his eyes on the activity in the tree.
Landing on an old, dead branch, Richard was taken by surprise as it cracked under his weight and crashed to the ground. Pinning his tail underneath, the branch was keeping him in place and refused to let him go. As he struggled to get free, the stalking animal made himself known and jumped from its hiding spot in the bushes.
"(Gasp) Walin! Help! It's a Joker Jackal!" Renewing his struggle to get free was pointless as the Joker Jackal held the branch down with a mighty paw and licked its lips at the sight of the meal before him.
At the sight of the young male squirrel in trouble, the female squirrel charged down from the tree and attacked the Joker Jackal's leg. Using her sharp teeth, she bit down hard several times, forcing the predatory animal to relinquish its prey and chase after its female attacker. It didn't count on her being so agile and smart as she led it to the edge of a cliff and dodged its attack at just the right moment, causing the Joker Jackal to plummet over the edge and into several large boulders and fallen logs before landing in the river below. To add insult to injury, one of the fallen logs fell on the jackal and encased it in a way where it couldn't get free. The Joker Jackal had no choice but to float downstream and eventually fall over the high waterfall at its end.
"Stop squirming, my boy and give me a second," the now human Walin said. "We really should get you a hook with a rope attached to it in case this happens again." With a wave of his hand, and another 'BAZINGA!', Richard returned to his true form.
"Oh, thank you, Walin. Tha-" Looking behind where his wizard friend stood, Richard saw the red female squirrel looking back at him. Even though he was human now, he felt as if she knew who he was. Especially when her lip quivered and she ran up the nearest tree into a hollowed out section of it.
"I shouldn't have let this go on as far as it did. I was trying to turn you back after you fell to the ground but needed to turn myself back as well. There was something else I wanted you to learn involving that little squirrel. What she felt for you was extremely powerful. She proved that by risking her life for yours."
"But she didn't know me. She just liked me, she…oh." Taking one last look at where the female squirrel vanished to, Richard got back to his feet and dusted himself off. "So, that thing you wanted me to learn, it's more powerful than gravity?"
"Yes. In fact, it's the most powerful force in the universe. It can be between people who do not know one another and are only there to help, or it can be strengthened when it's between two people who truly feel that way about each other."
The next day Richard woke early to continue his training with Walin. After a quick visit to see his elder brother, Sir Conalot and promising him he'll be back in time for his wedding, he joined the wizard and Kalimedes on the wall of the castle's courtyard.
"Today's lesson will be taught to you by Kalimedes here. After all, in order to succeed in life, one must learn to fly," Walin explained as he walked ahead of him.
"Fly?" Richard asked. "But I can't-"
"Oh of course you can. BAZINGA!" A puff of smoke engulfed Richard of the Grayson's and once cleared, revealed him to be a red robin.
"Oh, goody, you made him a bird fit for flying. Well I'm a fish fit for gliding," Kalimedes told the wizard.
"Just teach him, please."
"(Sigh) Very well. Come, boy. Let the lesson begin."
Leading the transformed lad to the edge of the wall, Kalimedes explained how birds fly by showing Richard how to spread his wings properly before attempting to glide. It took only once for him to actually do so and soon the two were flying and gliding through the countryside. Both lost track of time as well as their way and soon found themselves being chased by a hawk. Looking for a safe place to hide, Richard flew into a forest while Kalimedes took refuge in a lake deep enough to hide from the airborne attacker. While not paying attention to where he was going, Richard crashed through a window and into a cottage where a young man lived.
"Why, who do we have here?" the young man in a blue cloak asked the small bird. "You're a strange one, aren't you?"
"Richard tried to speak to him but all that came out was a chirp. His eyes widened when he realized the only ones who could understand him were Walin the Wizard and Kalimedes.
"I have to say, I don't get many visitors my way." Nonchalauntly, the man stood and made his way over to the window the bird flew in through. "Part of that is because I have certain…tastes, you might say." He licked his lips hungrily. "Another part of it is…" He then morphed into an orange and black cat with red eyes. "The forest animals know better than to come around here!"
With a hiss, the transformed man pounced on the robin and narrowly missed him. Again and again he tried to capture him in his claws but the bird was proving to be too nimble for him. The bird kept his distance from the cat by using what he had learned from Walin. Brains kept him from becoming a meal as he lured the hungry animal into various objects in the house. Gravity came into play as he used the cat's momentum to send it tumbling end over end when it got too eager and didn't watch its step as it pounced on a delicately balanced cupboard and went crashing to the floor. It was a relief when Walin came bursting in the cottage and put an end to the whole mess.
"Richard? Ri- there you…YOU!" Walin said as he stopped dead in his tracks and eyed the cat. "Klarion. So this is where you were banished to."
Turning back into his human form, the young man known as Klarion stomped over to Walin. "Walin? You are the one responsible for my being here. How dare you step foot in my dwelling."
"I'm responsible? You were the one who tried to take over Starfish City. I merely suggested the banishment."
"And now, you will die for it!"
Faster than Walin could prepare, the evil Klarion tackled him out the door. The two wrestled as Richard flew outside to see the scuffle. He was greeted by a sight that scared him to his core. With one strong shove, Klarion kicked Walin away and sent him tumbling on his backside. A purple mist then surrounded the banished wizard and he transformed into a large orange sea dragon complete with horns and a spiked tail.
"Come on, kid, we gotta get outta here!" Shaking him out of his fright, Kalimedes drug him away from the battle.
"But, but-" Richard tried to say.
"No 'but's, we gotta go. Walin's fighting a dragon and he knows how to get rid of them. So trust me, we do not want to be anywhere near when he takes Klarion out."
Rearing his head back, the dragonfied Klarion unleashed a torrent of fire on his foe. It was so incredibly hot that it was able to singe the feathers of the fleeing birds. Thinking quickly, Walin reached for his wand and took a swipe at the fire from the bottom up. A large wave of water shot out of it and formed a wall to put out the fire. A large blanket of steam exploded from the two elements colliding, so much so that they couldn't tell who was where.
Acting first, Klarion cleared out the steam with a mighty breath and grabbed the wizard before he could defend himself.
"Hoo, hoo, hoo, I win, I win!" Klarion called out as he mashed his hands together to grind Walin into nothing.
"Walin!" Richard yelled. "I'll peck his eyes out!"
"Wait, it's not over yet," Kalimedes said while dragging him back.
Opening his hands to see the smeared stain known as Walin the wizard, Klarion was taken by surprise when he found nothing in his hands. "Wha…what is this?"
"You wanted to catch me? Well my congratulations, you did just that." Walin said, seemingly from everywhere but was only heard by Klarion.
"Where are you?!"
"Inside your body of course. You see, I'm a germ. A particularly nasty one at that, which is very deadly to dragons called, Bazingalitaloptereosis."
"What? Get out of me!"
"Too late."
Instantly, Klarion began to break out in spots over his entire body. A sensation of hot followed by cold came next with uncontrollable sneezing afterward.
"No! This can't be happening!" Klarion yelled.
"You want the cure?" Walin asked. "Then turn back into your normal self and it won't kill you."
Klarion did as Walin told him and was spared from his deadly fate. Walin in the meantime had turned back into his normal form and dusted himself off.
"You'll be fine in a few weeks. However, you still carry the Bazingalitaloptereosis disease in you. You can never turn into a dragon again without killing yourself."
"I'll get even with you," Klarion shouted as went back to his cottage. "I'll get even with you yet!"
"Oh stuff it in your butt, witch boy." Walin retorted.
"Walin, that was amazing!" Richard shouted as he flew up to the wizard. He was then turned back into his youthful self once again.
"Great thinking," Kalimedes added.
"Thank you, my friends," Walin said. "I think training is complete for today. We should be getting back to the castle to-"
"The castle," Richard said with a start. "My brother's wedding. The tournament, I missed it!" He began to run in the direction he thought the castle was in.
"Richard, come back. I can teleport us all to the castle in an instant"
"They won't be at the castle. They're in London by now!"
"Then to London we shall go. BAZINGA!" The three vanished into a cloud of mist once again.
After arriving in London, Richard took off as fast as he could down the streets. He bounded over any obstacle in his path, not realizing he was incorporating all the lessons Walin had taught him. He reached the church first but found it empty. He next tried the square where the tournament was being held and it was there where he found his brother preparing himself by donning his red and black armor with his wife, Lady Megavire in her white and red dress, helping him out.
"Conalot, I-"
"Richard?" Conalot asked as he ran up to his younger brother. "Where have you been. You missed the wedding and the tournament is about to start."
"I'm sorry but I-"
"Did you at least bring my helmet?"
"I…no. No. I forgot."
"I trusted you," Sir Conalot said disappointed. "I trusted you and you let me down. You were supposed to be there for me like I have been there for you."
"Conalot?" Lady Megavire asked. "What will you do now?"
"I forfeit. I have to forfeit. My brother and squire was supposed to keep my helmet for me and he forgot it. The Green Knight will now become the ruler of Gotham, not that I wanted the job anyways."
"What do you mean?"
"I'm not a leader, Megavire. I'm a fighter. I was just doing this because it was the right thing to do."
"No, no, you will. I, I, I, I, I'll get you a sword, just, just stall them for a minute." Running back outside, Richard was now determined to make amends with his brother and new sister-in-law.
"Richard? Where are you going in such a hurry, lad?" Walin asked as the youth ran by.
"A helmet," he answered. "I need a helmet."
"There's one over there," Kalimedes pointed out. "It looks as if someone left it in that garden."
Heading off to where the flying fish indicated, Richard found the helmet. It had two spikes on either side of its top and covered all but the eyes and mouth. He pulled it out quite easily from the weeds and…
Legend has it that young Richard of the Grayson's was adorned in a bright light as if from heaven. A crowd gathered around him with the wizard Walin, his flying fish, Sir Conalot and his wife, as well as the Green Knight among the first. Despite the Green Knight revealing herself to be a young woman with long blonde hair, everyone was focused on the sight before them.
A dark shape formed on his chest, the shape of a bat, and when that happened, everyone knew who the true king of Gotham was. Sir Conalot, with a grin of relief, was the first to bow with his wife by his side. Sir Pennyworth stepped forward and swore his allegiance to his adopted son before bowing. One by one, the people of Gotham genuflected to their new leader. One that would rule the night and be justice personified. He would become the stuff of legends. He shall be forever known as the new…
BATMAN
Taking a deep breath as he woke up, young Dick Grayson rubbed his thumb and index finger on his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. Blood rushed out of his head as he assumed a sitting position and looked around to see Wally, Artemis, M'gann, and Conner sleeping soundly.
"Cool, dream."
He stood and silently made his way to the spare rooms as a cackle emanated behind him.