One Year Later
Disclaimer: All familiar characters belong to DC or Marvel.
Chapter 5: Confronting the Killer
The intruder fired his gun, and, as he took aim Batman dove for cover, throwing some Bat-arangs in his direction. The killer shot through several of them and then went to reload. That was the opportunity Batman wanted, and dashed from his hiding spot, kicking him in the face. The killer stumbled back down, his gun disappearing into the darkness. He kicked back up with surprising agility and pulled out his knife.
Batman braced himself as he tried to disarm the knife from the assailant. The assailant came at the Dark Knight, attempting to mince him with the sharp knife. He was surprisingly fast, and managed to cut a few holes in Batman's cape. Batman managed to dodge the attacks and landed an uppercut, flipping the assailant over. The assailant was in the air, but used the momentum and somersaulted to his feet.
Batman threw another Bat-arang, hoping to disarm him. And, that was when Batman saw something that should be next to impossible to do. The assailant lifted his mask just enough to see his mouth and he bit the Bat-arang.
Batman could not believe it. No one should have been able to do that. Yet, this mysterious assailant did. The assailant then lowered his mask, almost like he was smirking underneath it. He then disappeared into the darkness.
Batman kept his guard up. He began navigating the cave, looking for the assailant. Bruce could not believe it. This killer got into the Batcave. His Batcave. He was going to find out who the killer was, and make him pay dearly.
Batman kept moving about, skulking the shadows. This mysterious killer was operating much like he did; almost ninja like, staying to the shadows. Even Batman did not hear him when he arrived. The detective shook his head; he had to remain focused.
Meanwhile, Nightwing was struggling to get up. He checked his leg and, though the bullet did not hit bone, it was still burning with pain. He sighed angrily and braced himself on the table for support, in an attempt to steady himself. The former circus acrobat was breathing heavily, gritting his teeth to block out the pain.
Just then, he felt a cold tip on the base of his neck. The killer had found him. He said,
"Snap."
The killer was about to do just that when, suddenly, Batman tackled him from behind and began wrestling the knife away from the killer. The killer struggled for a few moments before using the knife and slicing into Batman's palm. He then kicked out and went over the edge of the cliff in the Batcave, down a steep ravine. As Batman looked down, he saw no one. It was as if he simply disappeared.
The Dark Knight quickly ran to the computer and began a security sweep of the cave, attempting to pinpoint any trace of the assailant. The sensors and alarms all were triggered, but, by the time they did their sweeps, there was no trace of the assailant.
He was gone.
Later…
Nightwing was recovering at Titans Tower in Jump City, explaining everything that had happened. K'oriandr, the heroine Starfire, was at his side, shaking her head,
"Dick, are you sure you are all right?"
Nightwing chuckled,
"I won't be doing backflips for a while, but I'm still in one piece."
He shook his head,
"It's weird, like the guy could move in and out like that without being detected. He even managed to find the Batcave. That's what's even more frightening."
Starfire held onto her boyfriend,
"I am glad you are safe, darling."
Barbara Gordon, the former Batgirl and now Oracle, was wheeling her way in Titans Tower. She had seen the two embrace and a part of her got jealous. She had Nightwing had something a long time ago, but she had to move past it.
Barbara wheeled herself in,
"I'm glad you're all right, Dick. But, I need to tell you something."
Nightwing and Starfire looked at the red-headed computer expert. Oracle continued,
"When I was working for the Suicide Squad, I got to look at a record about an experiment called Onomatopoeia. It was supposed to be development of a super-assassin, capable of the impossible, without super powers."
Both the Titans were surprised. Dick asked,
"Does Batman know about this?"
Oracle shook her head,
"Not yet, but I plan to tell him. Dick, this project was successful, but he escaped. Somehow, he's been conditioned to the point where he only talks by the grammatical onomatopoeia."
Starfire was confused,
"What is an onmat-utopia, or whatever it is you said?"
Oracle said slowly,
"Onomatopoeia. It means words that sound like sounds, like pop or bang-."
Dick then realized,
"Or crack."
He shook his head,
"What was the purpose of this killer?"
Oracle shook her head,
"I have no idea. Even Amanda Waller was kept in the dark about it."
The red-head shuddered,
"If he's loose, than that means we're all in danger, and there is no telling when, where, or how he'll strike next."
Meanwhile…
Gorilla Grodd, the simian telepath and Flash Rogue, was sitting in a secret base he had built beneath the swamp. He shook his head, listening into the projection screen showing the action at Titans Tower. He rubbed his chin in thought,
"Interesting. A very useful development indeed."
He turned around and shut off the screen,
"It appears I will have more time with organizing my Legion of Doom than I had anticipated."
He activated another screen and began looking through the names and powers of every known villain, metahuman or otherwise, that was not incarcerated or deceased. He nodded slowly,
"Excellent. This is truly excellent. Now, all I have to do is bring them together."
Next Chapter:
Batman apprises the situation of the mysterious Onomatopoeia, and Grood recruits his Legion of Doom. Who's in it? Stay tuned, fellow readers!