Trailer 2

Axman Begins

oxoxoxo

A black pickup truck with a hardtop pulled up to the Vale City docks at dusk, parking right by a large, Schnee company freighter. The passenger door opened and a man in a black suit with a red tie, red glasses and a black fedora stepped out. Taking a quick look around the docks, he turned back to the truck and gave a nod, five other men following him out, each one drawing either a pistol or a sword. "Alright boys," the passenger said. "We don't know how much dust has already been moved offsite, but whatever's left, Torchwick wants it. If that's not getting through your skulls, that means WE want it. Find whatever you can and report back here."

There was a chorus of "Yes sir" before all six of the men went off in different directions. Unbeknownst to them, a pair of eyes observed them from the shadows, silently watching as the men went off on their own, making a mental note of which ones had guns, which ones had swords and which ones' suits were wrinkled, the answer to the last one being two of them. The owner of the eyes smirked as he watched those two walk off in opposite directions. I guess those two will be first.

In a matter of minutes, the six men began returning. "Any of you witless idiot's find anything?" Their leader asked.

The three other men shook their heads and the boss planted his face in his hand. "Damn – wait, weren't there more of you morons?" The men looked around their group to see that, indeed, there were only four of them now as opposed to the six that had gone in. The man in charge sighed. "Alright, we'd better find them. Split into groups of two and we'll check their sections of the docks."

Two of the men nodded and set off in the direction of their comrade's patrol. It wasn't long before they found his unconscious form, his hat knocked off and a large bruise on the back of his head. "Boss isn't gonna like this." One man muttered.

The other man nodded in agreement as he looked around the area, eyes open for anything that could have done this. His eyes suddenly went wide, but he didn't even have time to scream, instead grunting in pain as a shadowy shape slammed into him, knocking him to the ground. His comrade turned at the sound, looking to him just in time for his comrade's face to be slammed into his, knocking them both out.

Meanwhile, the boss and his last man returned to the still running truck, both of them climbing in, the boss turning to the driver with an order of "Forget the other guys, we're leaving." He had seen the condition of his other man, and he was in no mood to have that happen to him. Let Torchwick get his own dust, he wasn't risking his neck on a supply that might not even be there.

The driver didn't question it, simply applying pressure to the gas pedal and starting the drive out of the lot. Seconds felt like hours as they drove, not a single one breathing a word for fear that whatever got the others might hear them.

It was all proven to be in vain, however, as something soon slammed into the roof of the truck, a startled cry being drawn from the mouths of the men as it smashed a massive dent into the frame. The cry became a full on scream as the head of an axe was buried in the roof, the blade stopping only inches from one man's head.

The boss in response drew his pistol and aimed at the roof, firing off three shots at where he knew the axe's handle was. It did no good for him though, as a figure smashed through the back seat window, feet first, boots slamming into his last man and smashing his head against the other window. Before either of the men could react, the dark figure grabbed the driver by the back of his head and slammed it into the steering wheel once, twice, again, finally knocking him out before scrambling back onto the roof and ripping his axe out of the truck, leaping off as he did.

The boss desperately struggled for control over the truck, finally bringing it to a screeching halt, kicking open his door and storming out, pistol raised as he looked around the darkened shipyard. "Where are you..." he muttered, casting his eyes and his aim around the area. "WHERE ARE YOU!?" he screamed, his grip on the gun shaking in rage and fear.

"Here I am!" a cheery voice responded from behind him.

The boss spun around only for a familiar axe blade to embed itself in his gun, knocking the piece out of his hands. It was only then that he got a good look at the man who attacked his men. He was tall, about six feet, and completely covered in black, dressed in a long, black trenchcoat, a black fedora sitting atop his head and a black mask covering his eyes, the only part of his face that was visible was his crazed smile. The nightmarish image was made complete by what appeared to be a woodsman's axe clutched in his right hand. "Who... Who are you?" the man stammered.

In the blink of an eye, the assailant slammed the butt of his axe into the man's face, sending him stumbling back before he swept his legs out from under him with the blunt end of the weapon. The man was finally knocked out when the attacker's boot smashed his face into the ground. He looked down to his latest victim and smirked. "You can call me the Axman." He chuckled before pulling out a scroll and dialling a number.

"Hello?" said the voice on the other end, a man's voice with an Irish accent.

"You were right, they did decide to come back for the dust." The Axman said.

"I had a feeling they would, lad, that's why I told you." The voice replied. "How many were there?"

"Seven men, six thugs and a driver." The Axman explained.

"No sign of any higher ups?"

"Were you expecting them to show up?"

"Nay, lad, more of hoping. It doesn't matter, get out of there before the authorities show up."

"You called them again?"

"Aye. Why do you ask?"

There was a sigh from the vigilante. "No reason." He said. "I guess this just makes the trip out a bit more complicated." He grinned once again. "Oh well, it's more fun this way."

oxoxoxo

More credit is due for this chapter.

The Axman was created by author Undaed15 who generously let me borrow a few of his characters, including the Axman and the two snakes from the end of "Beacon's Fading Light." Check out his story "Eight New Faces" if you have the chance.

Until then, please review and let me know what you think.