Life ain't easy being a high-ranking cop in Sin City. First of all, I have to keep certain people happy. That includes turning my back at times or taking a little on the side. Don't even try to judge me until you been in my shoes. I'm a Lieutenant. I had to work my ass off to get where I am and I got mouths to feed on top of that. Secondly, I'm supposed to establish some kind of law and order in the worst frigg'n city in the world. That just ain't gonna happen. For instance, not too long after Batman showed up to take down some of his old pals, I had a manhunt for Dwight McCarthy. Then, there came a report that Bats had finally gone, well, batshit insane. It was bad enough that we all knew we'd be screwed if he nosed around the department too much but then we start hearing that he lost it.
Turns out, some dame was walking home late one night. A mugger yanked her into an alley and flicked a switchblade in her face. As you'd expect, the Batman dropped down and did his thing. The thing of it was, he didn't just stop at giving the mugger a few punches. He unloaded on the guy according to the woman. Beat him mercilessly until the man's face was swollen and purple. When he stopped, the mugger was broken and bleeding on the ground, begging for his life. That was when Batman reportedly reached behind his cape and pulled out a can of gasoline. The woman was too scared to run and the guy was in no shape to do much of anything. He poured it on the poor sonuvabitch and tossed the can aside. After that, he smiled, lit a match, and dropped it. Bats came to the department not too long after he got here because of some creep calling himself the Riddler. I didn't like dealing with him and even sent some of my boys to keep tabs on him in the Projects. He didn't seem that far gone but he still made me nervous as Hell even then. I had no idea what to expect so we had a manhunt on our hands soon after the mugging incident.
Then one night, I'm in my office and the security alarm goes off. About the same time, I start hearing gunshots coming from the floor below me. I snagged my model 649 Snub Nose and slid some .38 rounds into the cylinder, giving it a spin before snaping it into frame. I made my way to the stairs, meeting a few of my boys, Manson and Bundy, along the way. They already had their riot gear and M4 automatics. As we ran down the stairs, we could hear the gunfire escalate along with the screams of our men and women. We ran to the main area, seeing a pile of dead bodies and spent shells. They had mostly been killed by physical trauma as most as we could tell. It was an unholy mess. We turned the corner just in time to see an officer get flung into the wall, leaving a bloody smear before going ragdoll.
There he was: the Batman.
Or at least it looked like him.
We realized pretty quick that it wasn't the real deal. A black rag had been tied around his face in a bandana with two eye holes poked out and some wiring to prop it up a little like bat ears. His cape was a bunch of trash bags and black shreds of clothing stitched together. His uniform was the kicker. He was wearing a cop uniform, complete with a kevlar vest that had a crude bat symbol spray painted on the front. This was apparently the psycho that killed the mugger.
He picked up one of the cadets and broke his spine over his knee like a twig. Detective Rafferty popped up from behind a desk with a pump action shotgun. The kevlar had already been shot to Hell by gunfire before we got there apparently, and the 22-gauge was the last straw. When it went off, it blasted the cape in half and the kevlar was peeled away in a big chunk along with a gallon of blood. He spun around and fell to his knees, giving me an opportunity. The Snub Nose is pretty useless at a distance, but up close, it works wonders. I pumped five more slugs into his back, thinking it would bring him down. Instead, he stood right up, giving me a look like I was next so I backed away real quick. He jumped into the air, clearing the length of the room pretty easily. Manson and Bundy unloaded on him with their automatics. What was left of the kevlar was tossed across the room and he spun around like a top, leaving several trails of blood as each bullet put a hole straight through him until he hit the opposite wall and slumped down.
I tore off the mask and saw Officer Kenneth Anderson staring up at me. He used to be a SWAT member but was bumped down to beat cop when some of us at the station didn't like the way he kept his nose clean. We didn't want another John Hartigan so we took him down a few pegs. That way, he couldn't cause any problems. He had disappeared a few days earlier. I hated to admit it but I knew this would be something Batman needed to know about. If anything, bringing him in close to this one case might put him off any scents he got around town that might've led to us. One of the spotlights had been stolen off the roof but we still had a few more, so we fired them up.
"What do you want, Liebotwitz?," was the first thing he said.
"I got a guy in the morgue that needs your attention," I told him, "Don't rush, though. I don't think he's going anywhere."
I sat by quietly as Bats studied Anderson. He had apparently been pretty interested in the case. Guess he reads the papers. He deduced that he was injected by some kind of serum that was similar to the drug, Venom. It increased a person's strength and agression but also triggered the part of the brain where a person stores their moral impulses. Basically, someone made a steroid-freak superhero and dressed him up like Bats. Sick joke.
"This man was an officer?," he asked, "He wouldn't have a reason to have strong moral feelings toward the precinct, would he?"
"Screw you!," I told him, "You got what you needed!"
The guy just stared at me. Thought he was gonna paste me one. Instead, he turns around and leaves the morgue. Don't know who the Hell he thought he was! It's like I said. You just can't judge me unless you been in my shoes. Anyway, I know he'll be out of the city soon. I just saw a big billboard close to the station with all these question marks and stuff. Had some kind of riddle on it. Probably the work of that Riddler creep. After him, the only one left is the Joker. Then Batman will leave town and good riddence, I say.