Kim Possible and all related characters are the property of Disney Productions
Batman and all related characters are the property of DC Comics and Warner Brothers Entertainment
The Unstoppable Batman
Issue 6: A New Path pt. 6
Ron bit his lower lip as he placed the finishing touches on his designs. Ron set the pen he had been using down on his desk and took a moment to admire his work. A small smile spread across the teens face as he turned in his chair toward his bed.
"Hey Rufus." Ron called. Loudly enough to rouse the sleeping mole rat but quiet enough not to wake his parents. Rufus turned over on the pillow he had been napping on and stretched his body out before wiping the sleep from his small eyes.
"Hnk. Wha happen?" Rufus looked around the room a moment before settling his gaze on Ron. Ron smiled and gestured for his friend to come over to the desk. Rufus, only somewhat reluctantly, leaped from the bed onto the desk and sat in front of the teen. Ron smiled while gesturing to the paper in his hand.
"Okay, so I've been kicking around some ideas now that we have our symbol. Keeping in mind the theatricality and more than a man advice from Sensei. And this is what I've come up with." Ron then set the paper down on the desk and Rufus scampered over to get a proper look at it. Rufus whistled looking at Ron's design. Ron then began pointing to different parts of his design as he began to explain them.
"The suit itself is all black and covers head toe. The mask covers my entire head and those horns coming off the head have radio tech in them. The utility belt is built right into the suit, and is filled with everything that I could need in any situation. There's a pair of retractable wings that I can use to glide around. And a pair of jets built into the boots for some extra speed. The mask has eye lenses that let me seen in infrared, x-ray and night vision. There are launchers on the wrists to send shuriken flying at targets. There's circuitry in the suit itself that amplifies my strength. And I even thought of a camouflage mode that would make me nearly invisible. And to top it all off a large crimson bat symbol on the chest."
Ron leaned back in his chair looking over his work. Rufus looked over the plans for the new suit and then excitedly nodded up at the teen in approval. "Good. Hnk."
Ron's smile beamed for a moment looking at the schematics. Then as quickly as it appeared it vanished as Ron began rubbing the back of his neck and let out a sigh. "The problem is that… there's no way that I could ever make something like that."
Rufus deadpanned at Ron for a moment before looking back over the plans. Then returning his gaze to the teen. "Huh?"
Ron chuckled sheepishly. "I just got to working on the idea and... I guess I kind of let my mind get ahead of my budget. A suit like this is a little, well, BEYOND my skill set right now."
Rufus looked back at the paper and nodded at Ron's words in understanding. "Hnk. Later?"
Ron nodded picking up the paper and placing it in one of the desk drawers. "Yeah, maybe in the future."
Ron looked over at the radio alarm on his side table. The time flashed 12:43 A.M. Ron sighed leaning back in his chair for a moment and closed his eyes. Ron would have to be up in less than six hours to begin getting ready for the first day of his senior year.
Ron sighed. "We should probably head to bed bud. Big day ahead. How much you wanna bet that we get homework on the first day huh."
Rufus shook his little head. "Hnk, No bet."
Ron laughed. "Yeah. But it'll be nice to see Felix and Mon again. Wonder what they've been up to all summer."
Rufus chimmed in. "Kim?"
Ron was quiet for a moment before answering. "Yeah. Kim too. Am I wrong to be worried about how that conversation might go?"
Rufus hopped from the desk over to Ron shoulder and gently patted the teen on the cheek. "Be okay. Hnk."
"Thanks pal." Ron leaned forward and Rufus hopped back down on to the desk. Ron thought about crawling into bed and getting some sleep but decided against it. The thought of seeing Kim tomorrow had his mind running through every possible scenario that could happen. From things going well to things going horribly. After a moment Ron pulled a fresh sheet of paper from the desk and grabbed his pencil. "Might as well get a few more ideas on paper while I'm up."
Rufus gestured to the clock. "I know bud. I just need to clear my head a bit before turning in."
Rufus didn't seem to like the idea but scooted over to see what his master was planning. Ron thought for a moment. "Okay so that last one was too advanced so how about this one we go a little more basic."
Rufus nodded at the idea and Ron began drawing and making notes. After a moment he stopped and seemed lost in thought for a moment before turning to the mole rat. "Hey, what do you think about capes?"
Kim Possible walked through the doors of Middleton High School for the first time since the events of Diablo night. The cool air of the school was a relief from the sweltering heat wave that had come over Triton last night. As Kim made her way through the crowded halls, filled with her fellow classmates milling about and chatting, Kim felt incredibly self-conscious. She felt as if every eye in the school was on her as she made her way toward her locker. She thought that she could almost hear them all talking under their breath about her, about how badly she had screwed up a few months ago. She shook her head in an attempt to banish the thoughts from her mind. Her mood improved slightly seeing a familiar form waiting by her locker.
"Hey Monique." Kim called out.
"Hey girl." The fashionista flashed her friend a grin as she stepped away from the redhead's locker. Kim slipped past her and quickly turned the combination lock a few times before popping her locker open and putting her bag inside. Kim was momentarily saddened at the empty locker, the school and Global Justice having removed the equipment that was a direct link to Wade. Another reminder of how bad she had messed up.
"So how you feeling today, Kim?" Kim turned and smiled at Monique.
"Pretty good. Hoping that maybe we can make it through the first day without getting any homework." Kim paused noticing a skeptical look on her friend's face. "You're right. Barkin will probably have the teachers load us up with work since we missed the last couple weeks of school."
"That's not what I mean. And you know it." Monique raised an eyebrow at Kim. "You know who's going to be back today right."
Kim felt a rush of anxiety surge through her momentarily. Kim tried not to let it show on her face but failed miserably. "I know. But first day back and everyone's so busy I don't know if we'll get much of a chance to talk to each other."
Monique opened her mouth to reply but stopped suddenly her eyes growing slightly in surprise. "Uh, Kim."
"Hey girls." Kim felt her body tense up so tight that it hurt slightly. She quickly recovered enough to spin on her heels and turn to see Ron standing a few feet away from her and Monique rubbing the back of his neck nervously. The air around the teens was tense for several seconds before Monique stepped past the redhead and gave the blonde teen a hug.
"Hey there Ron." Ron was surprised by the hug but quickly recovered his senses and hugged the girl back. "WTHIWWY?"
Ron blinked for a moment at Monique's question. "Huh?"
"What the heck is wrong with you? It's been like four months and you couldn't have picked up a phone and given anyone a call. Wade, Felix, Me." Ron blinked for a moment before going back to rubbing his neck.
"Yeah… I guess I could have dropped a line or something to one of you guys just to check in. But I was pretty busy. You know classes, wandering the woods, getting my head on straight." Ron noticed that Monique was still giving the blonde teen a hard look. He gulped nervously before continuing. "But yeah, totally, I could have called."
"Give him a break Mon he needed a break." Kim cut in sounding quieter and more timid than was normal for the redhead. Ron and Monique both noticed the tone of her voice. Monique's eyes darted back and forth between her two friends for a moment before clearing her throat.
"Well, it's good to see ya Ron, but I gotta get going. We'll catch up at lunch kay. Have a good day you two." Monique quickly turned and power walked away leaving the Ron and Kim standing together.
Kim and Ron looked at each other for a moment before both turning away. Ron finding the row of lockers fascinating suddenly and Kim taking an interest in the floor tiles. The two stood in an awkward silence for several minutes as the crowds of students around them slowly began to thin out as they headed to their first classes of the day. Ron finally looked back at the redhead and spoke.
"So… we need to talk." Kim looked up from the floor. Her emerald eyes locking with his brown ones for a moment before Kim sighed.
"Yeah, we do." Before either teen could say another word suddenly the bell sounded causing the two teens to jump slightly. Kim looked at Ron once more after catching her breath "…Later?"
Ron nodded his head and gave Kim a slight smile. "Yeah, we can chat later."
The redhead nodded before grabbing her books, closing her locker and heading off to her first class of the day. Ron stood there for a moment watching Kim disappear around a corner before he sighed and turned to open his own locker. He stored his bag and pulled out his supplies for his first class and started walking toward his class though his mind was on the conversation that he knew was hours away. He was barely halfway to his class when the late bell rang. Suddenly Ron was stopped by a loud booming voice coming from behind him.
"First day of senior year and already tardy, huh, Stoppable." Ron's shoulders dropped for a moment before he turned to see the imposing form of Steve Barkin. Ron let out a sigh and muttered under his breath.
"Well, it's good to know somethings are still the same around here."
Kim looked around the lunchroom nervously for any sign of her oldest friend. Monique was sitting next to the redhead and was talking about her classes that morning, but Monique was also keeping an eye scanning around the room for their blonde friend.
"So, what were your classes like today, Kim." The redhead turned her attention fully to the fashionista.
"It was okay. Physics, Trig, and civics. Teachers introduced themselves. The usual first day stuff." Monique nodded at her.
"Yeah, not much variety on the first day." Monique took a sip of her water as Kim did the same.
"Yeah, that's about how my day went too." At the sound of Ron's voice both Kim and Monique nearly spit out their drinks in surprise. The blonde teen was sitting down with a tray of food right next to Kim.
Monique was the first to find her voice. "How did you get over here and sit down without either of us seeing you. I'm pretty sure that we were both looking for you."
Ron shrugged sheepishly as he picked up his fork. "Guess you ladies were just so caught up in your conversation that I slipped right in."
Kim and Monique looked at each other before turning their gaze back to Ron. Before either could speak, they were interrupted.
"Hey Ron. Good to see you again man." The three teens at the table turned to see Felix Renton wheeling his way over to their table. Ron got up and high fived his friend before moving a chair out of the way so that Felix could sit next to him. "Hey Kim, Mon. How's it going."
"NBAA Felix." Monique replied giving a warm smile to their friend.
"Things are…" Kim paused for a brief second and locked eyes with Ron. She quickly averted her eyes and looked back to Felix. "…Good."
"Cool. So, what you been up to all summer Ron?" Felix turned his attention to the blonde teen. "I haven't heard anything from you in months."
Ron shrugged. "Not much. Just hung out with some friends in Japan. Played some jrpgs. Nothing to crazy."
"Guess with no more missions to go on you get a lot of free time on your hands, huh." Felix said. Ron caught Kim grimacing for a moment out of the corner of his eye. Ron was about to respond to Felix's question when a familiar voice cut into the conversation.
"Well, this is a surprise." The teens turned to find Bonnie and Tara walking up to their table. The brunette with her usual look of smugness plastered on her face. Tara on the other hand already had an apologetic look on her face.
"What's the surprise Bonnie?" Kim asked annoyed. Bonnie looked at Kim while pointing at Ron.
"Seeing you and Stoppable at the same table. After what happened at Prom I figured that he would be avoiding you like the plague." Kim's gripped the edge of the table harder.
"Bonnie maybe now isn't the best time to be doing this." Tara interjected while trying to politely get her best friend moving from the table.
"Oh, come on Tara. I think it really shows how big a man that Stoppable really is that he can find it in his heart to forgive Kimmie here for…" Before she could finish Kim was pushing her chair back to confront the queen bee. Fortunately for Bonnie at that point another familiar figure walked up to the table.
"Hey Stoppable." Ron turned to see Brick Flagg standing next to him and Felix.
"Oh, hey Brick what's up?" Ron said nonchalantly. As Felix and Ron exchanged hellos with Brick. The other teens all seemed surprised to see the hulking blonde there.
"Huh, hi Brick." Brick turned when he heard Moniques voice.
"Hey girls. How you doin'." Brick gave a friendly wave before trying to turn his attention back to Ron. But Bonnie didn't give him the chance.
"Uhh, I'm sorry Brick weren't you supposed to actually graduate last year. Or did you get held back again." Bonnie couldn't help add a little emphasis to the word again.
Before Brick could respond Ron answered her. "Brick got a job as an assistant for the P.E. coaches."
Felix then chimed in. "Yeah, Ron and I had P.E. second period so we already got introduced to Mr. Flagg."
Brick shook his head. "I told you guys you could keep calling me Brick. I decided I wanna try and get a teaching certificate and be a coach. So Barkin got me a part time gig helping the staff."
Monique and Kim both nodded in understanding hearing the explanation. Bonnie seemed annoyed that her Ex-boyfriend was still going to be around. Tara nodded with a smile and added. "That's pretty cool Brick. I still have no idea what I want to do with my life after high school."
"Well, you got plenty of time Tara." Brick smiled responding to the blonde girl before turning back to Ron. "Anyway, Ron I actually wanted to talk to you for a second."
"Sure, thing part-time coach what's up?" Ron asked taking a munching on his French fries.
"Well, the football team is looking for new players and they asked if there was anyone I would recommend for the team. So, I was wondering if you were interested in trying out." As Brick finished there was a chorus of laughs from all of the girls at the table. Ron raised an eyebrow at Kim, Mon, Bonnie and Tara.
"What's so funny about that?" Ron inquired. Bonnie of course was the first to reply.
"Come on Stoppable. You? On the football team?" Ron took a breath and slowly exhaled. Before he could respond Felix beat him to it.
"Why is that so funny? Ron spent how many years running around the world with Kim fighting supervillains and henchmen so big that they probably make most linebackers look like kittens. And with all the running and dodging that would entail he's probably faster and more agile than most of the other guys on the team." Felix ended his defense of Ron and Brick concurred.
"Actually yeah. That's about what I was thinking." Hearing this caused the girls to think a little more and realize that they were right Ron certainly wasn't the worst candidate for any sport. After a moment Kim spoke up.
"You're right Brick. Ron definitely has all the skills he would need to be a great football player. Guess that's another thing we underestimated about him." Ron turned and locked eyes with Kim for a moment, then turned back to Brick with a grin.
"Thanks for that man I really appreciate the vote of confidence but I'm gonna have to pass on the offer." Ron's decision seemed to surprise everyone. Brick and Felix's argument had convinced the girls that Ron probably would be a good choice for the team. Apparently, Ron felt differently.
"You sure?" Brick asked.
"Yeah. Don't get me wrong I'm flattered to be asked and all but I think I'm gonna be too busy this year to make time for the team." Ron explained. Ron went to take a sip of his water when Bonnie caught him off guard.
"What are you going to be too busy doing Stoppable?" Ron coughed as the water went down the wrong pipe. And then told them he was okay. He then quickly racked his brain for something to tell them other than his real plans.
"Well, I figured that, it being senior year and all, if I want to get into a decent school that it was about time to buckle down and focus on getting my grades up you know." Ron rubbed the back of his head hoping that this would satisfy them.
"Good for you man." Brick spoke slapping Ron on the back. "Maybe you'll get out of here in four years. And not have to put in six like I did."
This brought some small laughter from the group. "Thanks again Brick but I'm good."
Brick nodded in understanding before beginning to head off. He stopped briefly for a moment before turning back to Ron. "Oh, and I like the new ink you got over the summer."
Ron froze with a fry midway to his mouth. 'Aw, crap.'
"What's he talking about Ron? Ink like a tattoo?" Kim asked.
"Yeah, he's got one on his back. We all saw it when we were changing for gym." Felix added.
'And here it comes.' Ron thought just before the questions came.
"Wait you got a tattoo Ron seriously! Does your mother know about this?"
"Wow Stoppable didn't know that you had it in you."
"Wait you got inked and didn't get any input from YTMGs"
"That's sounds cool Ron. What's it of?"
Ron held his hands up to try and calm everyone's questions. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Calm down. Okay I, maybe, got a little something done while I was in Japan. No biggie."
"Seriously Ron. What are your parents going to say about that." Kim asked.
"Heh, what did you get? 'LOSER LIFE' across your shoulders." Ron rolled his eyes at Bonnie's comment.
'Good to know somethings never seem to change' Ron thought before he suddenly felt the back of his shirt being lifted up.
"Actually, it's some kind of Chinese letters." Brick mentioned as he lifted Ron's shirt up exposing his back and his tattoo to the group.
Kim, Monique, Bonnie and Tara saw that the tattoo was three kanji characters running vertically down the Rons back. None of the girls, or Felix and Brick, knew what the characters meant but they did appear to be expertly done. Also, the four girls also couldn't help but take notice that it seemed as if Ron's back muscles were particularly toned.
Ron flailed his arms and managed to get his shirt back down before turning to the former quarterback with annoyance. "Okay first not cool dude. That might fly when you were a student but you might wanna reconsider just lifting up a student's shirt like that if you wanna be a coach. Second, they're Japanese not Chinese."
"Uh, yeah. Sorry about that." Brick quickly blurted out. He had forgotten that he wasn't just another student like the others anymore.
"They look pretty spankin' Ron." Tara chimed in. "What do they mean?"
Ron turned to the blonde cheerleader. "Uh, they mean, Strength, Courage and Wisdom."
"hmm, honestly they don't look all that bad." Monique said.
"Thanks Mon." Ron smiled at his friend. 'Good they all seem to have bought that.'
Suddenly the bell rang. And all the students in the cafeteria began picking up their trays, tossing their garbage and heading out of the cafeteria to head to class. Ron looked puzzled for a moment before grabbing his tray and heading toward the garbage. "Wow. It doesn't seem like we've been here all that long."
"Yeah, guess time flies on the first day." Kim added as she dumped her trash and put her tray up.
"Is that a saying?" Ron asked stacking his tray on top of hers.
Kim shook her head. "I don't know. Just the only thing I could think to say to you."
Ron and Kim exited the cafeteria and into the hall. They looked around and noticed that their friends had all headed off toward their lockers to grab their things for class already. Ron and Kim nervously looked around the hallway, not making eye contact with each other.
"So… We should probably get to class." Kim finally said and started heading off in the direction of her locker. She was stopped by the sudden feel of Ron's hand clasping hers.
"Hold up K.P." Kim turned and for the first time in months the two teens looked each other in the eyes and didn't immediately look away. Ron let out a sigh. "We do need to talk. Like really talk."
Kim nodded her head as she sighed. "I know we do."
The two were quiet for a moment before Kim spoke. "How bout we walk home together. Like we used to."
Ron thought for a moment before nodding and giving her a small smile. "Yeah, I'd like that."
Kim gave him a small smile in return. Then the two parted ways.
Kim leaned back against one of the oak trees in near the schools parking lot. Kim felt the heat of the sun beating down on her as she watched as more and more students came out of the school and made their way to their cars or their bus. She waved a goodbye to Monique and Felix when she saw them leaving. Kim's eyes kept scanning the crowd for the sight of Ron. She thought she saw him a few times but she had been mistaken. Kim tried her best to calm her nerves as she waited.
"Been waiting long K.P." Kim nearly jumped out of her skin hearing Ron's voice. She whirled herself around coming face to face with the blonde teen. She noticed that he had a slight grin on his face, seemingly amused at his ability to surprise the redhead.
"Ron!? How did you get out here. I've been watching the doors since I got out here." Kim asked quickly calming herself down. She leaned down and picked up her backpack and slipped it on as Ron's grin widened to a genuine smile.
"I got out a few minutes before you. I was actually watching you for a while." Kim cocked an eyebrow upon hearing Ron's explanation.
"Really? You couldn't have just walked up and gotten me sooner?" Kim saw the smile vanish from Ron's face at the question. Ron turned away from her and rubbed the back of his neck nervously.
"I… Uhh…" Ron seemed at a loss for words for a moment before he turned back to look at Kim. "To be honest K.P. I was building up the nerve to come over. You know."
Kim bit her lower lip before closing her eyes and nodding in understanding. "Yeah, I do."
Both teens stood in silence for a few moments, neither sure where to begin. Finally, Kim broke the silence, and gestured toward the road. "Ready to do this?"
Ron gave a small forced smile. "Sure."
And with that the two teens proceeded to head toward the road before turning on the sidewalk and heading toward home. Neither said anything to the other for the first few blocks of the journey, the teens simply looked around at their surroundings. Walking past houses and building that they had passed hundreds, if not thousands, of times over the years but somehow it seemed so different to them now.
And they both knew why.
"So how were your classes today?" Ron finally spoke up. Kim turned her head to look at him.
"Really? We're gonna do the strangers in an elevator small talk?" Kim gave a small grin to him as she responded. Ron gave her a small smile of his own.
"We could you know." Ron sighed. "But I guess we should probably get to the important stuff huh."
"Probably a good idea." Kim agreed. She noticed a small park with a bench a few dozen yards ahead of them. She gestured toward the bench. "Wanna grab a seat."
"Sure." Ron and Kim made their way across the grass and sat down on the wooden seat. The two sat there in a silence that somehow wasn't comfortable but also wasn't uncomfortable. After a minute or so of the silence Ron finally spoke again. "So… How should we do this."
"Well, if it's okay with you I'll go first." Kim asked. Ron nodded. "But I… have a lot that I'd like to tell you so, you know, sorry in advance if I start to rant a little."
Ron placed a hand gently on her shoulder. "Don't worry about it. Just say what you need to K.P."
Kim took a deep breath and turned so that she was looking Ron and began. "So first, and I know I've already said this, I am so sorry for what happened Ron."
"I… I've spent the last few months thinking about that night. Going over everything that happened over and over. Thinking about what I could have… no, should have done differently that night. I kept asking myself why I didn't believe you. Why I choose to stay there with… Eric." Kim spit out the name like it was poison on her tongue.
"I came up with a few reasons. I wanted to be a normal girl for one night. The Diablo's being evil robots was, well, nuts. You'd been acting strange the few weeks before and I just thought that you were, I don't know, exaggerating to… I don't know. But none of those are an excuse. I really hadn't been much of a normal girl for a few years. Making a bunch of toys into killer robots is nuts, but it really is that much of a stretch with what Drakkens done before. And even though you have been a little eccentric over the years you've never done anything that would make me think you would lie to me. About anything. And one call to Wade would have sorted it all out"
Kim felt tears begin to well up in her eyes and she looked down at the bench. "The truth is Ron I was being selfish. I didn't want to believe you. I wanted to stay at Prom with a hottie on my arm and everyone in that gym staring at us. I was a selfish bitch and a really shitty friend."
As Kim felt a tear begin to slide down her cheek, she heard a snort of laughter and looked up. Ron was covering his mouth with his hand but his eyes were wide in surprise and, she thought, mirth. Ron quickly held up his other hand. "I'm sorry. I'm not laughing at you, I swear. I just… fifteen years of friendship and I don't think I've ever heard you say a single curse word before."
Ron let a small chuckle escape his lips as he explained. Kim was stunned for a moment before her temper flared up for a second. "REALLY RON?!"
Ron raised both his hands in mock defense of himself. "Sorry K.P. it's the tension and just never hearing you say that before. I'm not mocking you I swear."
Kim sighed and wiped the tear from her face. Before thinking for a moment and letting out a chuckle of her own. "Actually yeah. That was the first time I think I've ever cussed."
"And you got two in one sentence. Way to go for it." Ron grinned at her getting a chuckle from the redhead. Which got a chuckle from the blonde and in a few seconds the two teens were genuinely laughing. After a minute or so their laughter died down and the two looked at each other with a genuine smile.
And then Kim broke down. She put her head in her hands and began openly crying in front of Ron. And Ron had no idea what to do at that moment. Kim was barely able to get words out between her sobs.
"So sorry Ron… I was a horrible friend… if you hate me, I understand… I… I just… I'm so sorry." Kim kept crying into her hand but then felt Ron pull her into a hug. She continued to sob into his shoulder for several minutes as Ron rubbed her back. Finally, she regained some composure and pushed herself away from Ron and wiped her eyes.
"Sorry Ron I…"
"My turn now." Ron cut her off. Kim hesitated for a moment before nodding. Though she was terrified of what Ron might say.
"Okay. So, I've been thinking about what happened that night a lot too. And honestly, I was angry at you. Like really angry K.P. But Sensei helped me with that. I'll be honest I'm still upset about it. And looking back I do get how I was acting and why you might be suspicious of me. I do. I get it. But you said it yourself, one call to Wade and you could have known for sure. After everything we've been through, after every time that I had your back over the years, you should have at least given me the benefit of that call. And yeah. I agree with what you said you were being selfish that night."
Kim felt as if a knife had been plunged into her chest. She knew that this was coming. She knew what she had done. And now she had to deal with the consequences of her actions. She closed her eyes and waited for what she knew was coming.
"But I also think that fifteen years of friendship deserves a second chance."
Kim's eyes shot open upon hearing that and she looked up and locked eyes with the blonde. "Huh?"
Ron closed his eyes and nodded. "Yeah. I'm still upset but not like I was. And it's gonna take more time before I'm completely at the forgiving stage. But I think we can be good again Kim. Just with you know time."
For a moment Kim was frozen in place then she rushed forward and hugged Ron again. Ron hugged her back and rested his chin on her head. After a moment Kim whispered softly. "Thank you."
"It'll be okay K.P. Eventually." They finally pulled apart. And after a moment Ron stood up grabbing his bag. Then he offered Kim his hand and helped pull her to her feet. She grabbed her bag off the ground and then gestured back toward the sidewalk.
"Ready to head home." She asked.
"Sure." Ron nodded and the two walked back to the sidewalk and headed back home.
Ron pulled back the blackout curtain ever so slightly and looked out the window of the treehouse. He took note that his home as well as the Possible household and surrounding homes were almost completely dark. With the heat wave still beating down on Triton it seemed like very few people in Middleton wanted to be out and about this Friday night.
Ron's eyes landed on the Possible household for a moment and his mind replayed the events of the week. After the first day of school and the long-awaited talk between he and Kim things had gone fairly well overall. Classes had been the same dull monotony that he had grown used to over the years. He had spent plenty of time catching up with Felix and Monique.
And while his friendship with Kim was still somewhat rocky and the two had been giving each other some space, they were doing much better. They would sit and talk to each other at lunch with Monique and Felix as buffers and after school the two would walk back to their homes together. And while the walks were done mostly in silence it was much less tense. There was still a long way to go to get back to where they were but Ron felt that it was a good first few steps in the right direction.
He let go of the curtain and it fell back into place as he walked over a folding table that he had dragged up there earlier in the week. Ron looked down at a map of Triton laid out on the table and began plotting out the route he would be taking that night. Ron ran several routes through in his head before settling on one.
"Okay Rufus here's what I'm thinking." Ron spoke up and the naked mole rat scampered over from the couch and up onto the table. Ron traced his finger along the map showing his friend the route that he was planning on running that night. "What do you think?"
"Mmmh. Good." Ron gave a small smile before rolling up the map and setting it to the side. He then bent down and picked up a duffel bag that was stored under the table and placed it on top. Ron looked inside and smiled to himself with a sense of pride. After deciding on the symbol, he would be using he had come up with a suit design that he was happy with and that he could put together with the crafting skills that he had picked up over the years. Ron had spent three to four hours a night since he come up with the design putting it together in secret at night.
Ron looked over at Rufus who at this point had returned to his seat on the couch. He then took a quick look around the old treehouse before speaking. "You know our next order of business should be to find a better hideout. That's assuming I make it back tonight."
"No joke! Hnk." Rufus chastised as Ron looked at him with an apologetic smile.
"Sorry pal. Opening night jitters I guess." Ron took another long look into the bag before taking a deep breath. "Here we go."
Ron reached into the bag and pulled out a gray body suit. Ron had found the suit while browsing the internet, it was made of a durable fabric to prevent tearing but was also flexible enough that it wouldn't hamper the teens movements. Ron had also taken the liberty of adding hardened black pads to the knees and elbows of the suit to give added protection and striking power. The last thing Ron had done to the suit, just last night in fact, was pain a large black bat symbol across the chest. Ron quickly stripped naked and then slipped the suit on and, even though he had tried it on twice before while customizing it, he was still surprised at just how well it seemed to suit him.
Next Ron pulled out a pair of black leather military combat boots. He had picked up the boots at a military surplus store on Tuesday. The boots went up to his mid-calf, were steel toed and laced up in the front. Ron slipped the boots on and laced them tight; the boots were surprisingly light and flexible.
Ron then pulled a new utility belt that he had created out of the bag. The new belt was very similar to his old one except that the belt and pouches were black instead of the dark tan color that they were before. Ron quickly opened all the pouches and checked then double checked that the belt was stocked with everything that he predicted he might need. Rope, multitool, shuriken, smoke bombs, lock picks, dog whistle, first aid kit, protein bar and some cash. Finding that it was all there Ron clicked the belt into place around his waist.
Then he pulled out his old grappling gun from the bag. He'd given it a black paint job. He proceeded to go over the gun and make sure that it was oiled and working properly. After making sure that it seemed to be functioning, he slipped it into a black leather holster, then proceeded to attach the holster to his right thigh.
Ron then proceeded to slip a pair of leather gloves on over his hands. The gloves were short only covering his hands but they did go up far enough over the suit sleeve that none of his wrist was exposed. When Ron picked up the gloves he had thought that they were black, however after looking at them in better light he realized that they were actually a very dark, purple.
Ron reached into the bag and pulled out a long leather cloak that he had created. Ron held it up in front of him for a moment admiring the work that he had put in. The cloak would run down from his neck to just above his ankles. Ron had also scalloped the bottom edges of the leather so that when it was fully extended it would give the appearance of giant wings. With a flourish Ron proceed to flip the leather fabric in the air around him, letting the cloak settle down across his shoulders and down his back. He then quickly attached the claps of the cloak around his neck.
Finally, Ron reached into the bag and pulled out the finishing touch. Out of the bag in his gloved hands came a cowl. Ron had spent the most time working on it. It was made from black leather that Ron had worked, similar to the way luchador's make their masks. The cowl also had two ears protruding from the sides of the head and going up. The cowl also had several pieces of padding sewn into certain areas of the cowl, to give it more structure and to help conceal Ron's identity better. The cowl covered his entire head and neck except for his mouth and chin. And Ron had found a special type of one-way lens to go in the eye holes that would hide his eyes.
Ron turned the cowl over in his hands and looked at it for a moment. There was a brief moment of hesitation on the blonde teens part, as if there was a voice at the very back of his mind telling him that if he put that mask on then there was no going back. Somehow, the voice was telling him, nothing would ever truly be the same again.
And for a second, that felt like an eternity, there was a deafening silence that hung in the air.
And then Ron turned the cowl over, raised it up and slipped it over his head.
Rufus had been watching Ron don the suit from the couch. Watching his friends back as he suited up. When the cowl slipped down over the boy's head something happened. Rufus noticed that Ron seemed to stand just a little taller, his shoulders seemed to square more and it almost seemed as if there was a more menacing aura that seemed to fill the small space.
"Ron?" Rufus squeaked out trying to get the boys attention. But when the figure turned around the mole rat actually flinched back in fear. Ron walked to the trapdoor of the treehouse and dropped down to the ground with the door closing behind him. Rufus quickly scampered down off the couch over to the trap door, opened it slightly and looked down through the opening.
But Ron was nowhere in sight.
The screech of brakes shattered the quiet of a grungy alley in Lowerton as a four-door sedan came to a stop. The driver side door swung open and out stepped a man in jeans and an old leather jacket. Officer Arnold Flass looked from one side of the alley to the other making sure that no one was in sight. The off-duty officer then proceeded to the back of his car and popped open the trunk.
As soon as the trunk opened the sounds of muffled whimpering and pleading began to fill the air. Flass reached into the trunk and violently yanked a woman that was bound and gagged out of the vehicle. Flass proceeded to slam the trunk closed as he shoved the woman to the ground next to a couple of old wood pallets and garbage cans. Flass then towered over the woman as she continued to attempt to plead with him.
Flass then reached down and proceeded to yank the cloth that he had used as a gag out of her mouth. "What was that, Jeannie? I couldn't hear you."
"Flass please, you don't have to do this." Jeannie was silenced as Flass proceeded to kick her in the stomach.
"Yeah, I don't have to." Flass agreed. He then held up his hand and showed her a long scar running from between his middle and ring finger to a few inches down his hand. "The asshole in the mask. The one who did this. Who was it?"
Jeannie answered shakily. "I don't know he just showed up out of nowhere. I never seen him before."
Flass leaned down right in to the terrified woman's face so close that she could smell the cheap whiskey and stale dinner on his breath. "So, what you're telling me that some guy who you've never met before just happened to find you in that alley. That some rando was willing to fuck with one of Triton's finest for piece of street trash like you. That's really the story that you're gonna try and feed me."
"It's true I swear." Jeannie began before Flass's fist connected with her mouth. The force of the hit from the overweight man caused her to crumple to the ground.
"Bull!" He exclaimed reaching behind him and removing a small revolver from the waistband of his jeans. He then leveled the barrel at Jeannie. "One more chance before I get really nasty about it."
Jeannie looked up from the ground and right down the barrel of the gun. The small revolver's barrel looked like it was a tank turret to the terrified woman. "No please. I swear to God I don't know."
There was a brief moment where Flass seemed to consider her words before he proceeded to cock back the hammer on the gun. "Mmh, call me crazy but I believe ya. Not that that changes anything. You tried cheating me, then you took off while some freak fucked me up, then you spend the last few months ducking me. I'll give you credit for lasting this long by the way."
"Fl… Flass please." Jeannie tried pleading through tears one last time. "My daughter… I'm all she has... Please."
Flass just shrugged his shoulder. "She'll get over it."
Time seemed to slow for a moment as Flass's finger tightened around the trigger. Jeannie futilely raised her arm up in an attempt to shield herself from the bullet that was about to be sent violently into her. Then there was a glint of light off metal and suddenly Flass felt a shooting pain in his hand holding the revolver and his hand was forced to the side. Flass let out a scream of pain as the gun fired wide missing Jeannie, who let out a scream of fear as the bullet slammed into the building next to her.
Flass dropped the gun and looked at his hand. His eyes widened in realization as he saw a sharp piece of metal imbedded into the back of his hand. Just like what had happened months ago. Before Flass could react to the realization suddenly the lights illuminating the alley began to shatter one by one. The glass rained down on the ground and Flass began looking around in a panic, Jeannie was doing the same from her position on the ground. The only light in the alley now was coming from a few windows in the buildings on either side and the lights of passing cars on the road a dozen or so yards away. The alley was silent for a few seconds the only sounds filling it were the breathing of Flass and Jeannie.
"Tell me something…" Suddenly a low growl seemed to echo all around the alley. Flass instantly bent down to the ground and began searching in the dark for the revolver. Flass then heard the sound of metal falling to the ground next to him. Flass jumped back for a moment before moving closer and feeling around on the ground. He realized that what he had heard was the gun dropping to the ground next to him. And it was now in pieces.
"What kind of a man takes an oath to protect and serve…" The voice came again, echoing around the alley as if it were coming from multiple places at once. "To watch out for the defenseless and keep them safe, and then uses his position of power to abuse the very people he swore an oath to protect?"
Flass kept turning in a circle, squinting his eyes at the darkest shadows in the alley trying to find the source of the voice. Suddenly the idea of running back to his car occurred to him but as he reached into the pocket of his jacket, he realized that somehow the keys were no longer in his pocket. Then his blood turned to ice as the voice spoke again, this time right behind him.
"The kind that's time of ruling these streets is coming to an end." Flass spun around throwing a wild haymaker and finding nothing there. His momentum carried him around and caused him to fall to the ground. Flass quickly rightened himself and began looking all around the alley.
"DO YOU KNOW WHO THE HELL I AM?" Flass's scream filled the alley causing Jeannie to wince as she was curled into a ball against the wall hoping that whatever was happening would be over soon. Flass tried to sound sure and angry, but there was no hiding the terror that was in his voice as he screamed still searching for the voice. "DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW BAD I CAN FUCK YOUR LIFE UP? DO YOU KNOW WHAT KIND OF CONNECTIONS I HAVE? DO YOU?!"
There was a brief moment of silence again in the alley before the voice returned again. "You're scared."
It was a statement not a question. Flass felt his breath getting harder to catch and his chest tightening more and more with each passing second. He still could not tell where the voice was coming from. And then the voice spoke one final time, and this time both Flass and Jeanie could tell where it was coming from.
Directly above them.
"You should be."
Flass and Jeannie looked up toward the sky for the first time since the lights shattered. They saw a dark shadow with what appeared to be horns perched upon a fire escape and then the shadow appeared to leap of the scaffolding and into the air. Then to the horror of Flass and Jeannie there was the sound of leather rustling and the creature seemed to sprout batwings from nowhere
All Flass could do was let out a scream of absolute terror as it descended on him.
Will Due stepped out of the unmarked black SUV that he had been riding in and looked around the street. There were several police cruisers, a fire rescue truck and two ambulances blocking the street, and several uniformed officers were cordoning off the entrance to a dark alley with police tape. Due noted that there was a woman who seemed to be in severe distress sitting in the back of one of the ambulances with a blanket around her and seemed to be giving a statement to an officer.
Due walked over toward the cruisers and one of the officers made a move to stop him. Due pulled his Global Justice badge and ID from his pocket and held them up for the officer to see and the officer backed off. Due was in street clothes and not in his official G.J. uniform that night. He had been about to turn in for the night when an alert came in from the Lowerton fifth precinct telling him that something had occurred that he might be interested in.
Due made his way over to the officer that seemed to be giving orders to the other. "Are you in charge here?"
The officer turned and gave Due an appraising look up and down. "Yeah. Who are you?"
Due showed his credentials to the officer. "Global Justice. I was informed that something here was worth my attention."
The officer nodded his head in realization. "Yeah, you guys put out a memo that you were supposed to be looped in if anything about that masked vigilante were to come up right."
Due nodded before turning to look at the woman in the back of the ambulance. "Correct. This is the same individual from the warehouse robbery I take it."
The officer scratched the back of his neck. "Maybe. The description this time is different."
"Different how?" Due asked turning his attention back to the officer.
"Well, at the warehouse they said that it was some guy in a mask right." Due nodded. "Well, this was… You might wanna hear for yourself."
The officer gestured toward the alley. Due walked past him and into the alley. Due noted that there was shattered glass all over the ground underneath the lamps that should have been illuminating the alley. The only lights illuminating it now were from the police lights and a few work lights that had been dragged into the alley by the police and rescue crew.
Due paused in surprise when he saw what the crew were doing. There were two officers waiting on the ground while two rescue crew members were up ladders working to free and large man who seemed to be bound and had been hung by his ankles upside down from an outcropping on the side of one of the buildings. Due finally noticed that the man was screaming at them as they tried to free his squirming form and get him back to the ground.
"…BAT! IT WAS A GIANT MONSTER BAT! YOU GOTTA GET ME THE HELL OUT OF HERE BEFORE IT COMES BACK! HURRY IT U…" Due turned his attention away from the screaming man and headed back out of the alley to speak with the commanding officer again.
"Care to explain." Due asked. The officer pulled out his notebook and began.
"Roughly twenty or twenty-five minutes ago we got a call about gunshots and screams coming from this alley. When responding officers arrived, they found the alley dark and but they could hear screams coming from in there. They went in with their flashlights and guns drawn and found the woman in the ambulance curled up on the ground too scared to move and Officer Flass hanging in the air screaming about a monster. Once it was deemed that there was no threat to the officers in the alley anymore, they called in for rescue and EMS." The officer concluded.
Due was quiet for a moment taking in the information. He then nodded his head toward the ambulance. "What has she said."
"Not much. She seems to still be in shock just talking about how he was gonna kill her and that it had horns and wings."
"Who was going to kill her." Due asked. "The police officer hanging in the air."
The officer shrugged in response. "We don't know. Like I said she's in shock and not saying much and Flass has just been screaming about this 'Bat' thing."
Due considered the situation. Due was aware of the reputation of the Lowerton police force and he wouldn't necessarily put it past a police officer to be crooked. Due was deep in thought for a moment before he was interrupted by the commanding officer.
"Anyway, not sure if this is the same guy as the warehouse with a new motif. Or if this is some kind of monster instead of a vigilante. Either way figure it qualified as something you might want to see." Due nodded at the officer.
"You were correct. I'll be heading the hospital with the woman. I'll take a statement from her when she is able to give one." Due then turned back to the alley and took in the sight of the crew still struggling to free Flass. "I'll question him when I'm done with her."
The officer nodded and headed off toward the alley as Due began heading over to the ambulance. Due had been expecting to hear about a mugging stopped by the vigilante, not a crooked cop trying to kill a woman who was attacked by a bat monster. Due stopped in his tracks as he heard one of the officer's, who was standing nearby, radio go off.
"Calling any units in the vicinity of the Bowery. Reports of a large bat like creature being sighted in the area."
Due rubbed his temples for a moment while exhaling slowly. He had feeling that his simple vigilante case had just gotten more complicated.
Ron took in the sight of Lowerton around him, as well as Middleton and Upperton off in the distance, as he was perched on the edge of a clocktower. His cloak fluttered slightly in the wind as he cracked a small grin. He replayed the events of the night so far in his mind and was pleased with himself. Ron felt like he was now, finally, truly going to make a difference in his city.
His musings were cut short as a scream pierced the night air. Ron's eyes narrowed behind his mask and the grin vanished from his face as he stood up to his full height and quickly removed his grappling gun from its holster and took aim. With a small bang the line was fired and quickly caught on to another building. Ron then took a quick breath and leaped off the edge of clocktower and swung off into the night toward one of so many people in this city who need help.
And from this night forward the Batman would be there to answer their cries.
Author's Notes:
Finally got this issue done and uploaded. Sorry for taking so long. Things have been pretty hectic and I just had a hard time finding time to sit down and write. I'm still going to try and aim for at least one issue a month, I'm not going to promise that for sure.
But here we are issue six and Ron's first night as Batman. I hope this issue was worth the wait for you guys.
As for Ron's first batsuit its actually inspired by two different comic book versions of the suit. The first is the Zero Year suit from Scott Snyder's Zero Year storyline and the second was the suit that was show in the story Batman: Year 100 written and drawn by the tremendously talented Paul Pope. The zero Year suit is a nice modernization of the original Batman suit from 1939 and I figured at least in terms of how it looked Ron's crafting skills could be up to making one. And the Year 100 suit look more makeshift or off the rack, as Kim likes, and I thought for Ron's first suit that might be cool. I was actually going to give Ron one or the other of those suits but then decided on the fusion of the two.
As for the utility belt since he is just starting out, I wanted it to have items in it that Ron might think he may need out on the street.
Also, the tattoo that he got in Japan is more than just a simple tattoo, but that will be revealed later.
Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed issue 6 of The Unstoppable Batman. Next issue Ron will find out that being Batman isn't going to be as easy as he might have expected in 'LEARNING CURVE PT. 1'
See you next update everyone. Same Bat-fic. Same Bat-site.