Chapter 5
Something New And Mysterious
Before December arrived, Batman had noticed a pattern of murders happening around the holidays in the first few months of his tenure., hemanaged to gather clues until reaching the serial killer;Julian Gregory Day; his victims had no pattern, but rather the theme of the holidays in question that are used to murder the victims; intelligent and inventive, the man suffers from a psychotic obsession with holidays; the media was already calling him the Calendar Man and checking the evidence found by the police and seeing the inventor's signature on his inventions is how Batman tracks him down and arrests him on Independence Day; somehow the justice system advances his trial by sentencing him to death,ignoring his insanity and puts him first in line on death row to be executed on Christmas Eve, the irony of things, but, he had to investigate what led to this; what powerful people would gain from it.
Christmas had arrived, Gotham was taken over by festivities in the days leading up to it, families rushing to do last-minute shopping, planning trips to visit relatives and taking advantage of the snowy days, of course Bruce didn't stop working, the company's projections for this year were being achieved and with a joyful spirit the employeesget the year-end bonus and have the necessary time offto enjoy Christmas and New Year, but, Batman was still alert to anything that could happen and that's how he entered the Batcave with the sound of bats flying around, a noise that Bruce was used to and that meant that the cave was alive, he reached the central area where the batcomputer was checking today's news, the voice of the newscast's meteorologist was heard:
- "Police and emergency services are asking Gotham residents to stay off the streets tonight due to a winter storm warning!" said the meteorologist, and that was when Bruce approached and changed the channel:
- "No man is an island, Bruce, you've been back for almost a year now and you don't expect me to believe that Gotham's most eligible bachelor is going to spend Christmas alone!" – said Vicki Vale:
- "Your time is up!" – Bruce's voice responded to Vicki Vale's question and frankly, this was a question of jealousy mixed with need; Bruce doesn't have to remind Vicki that she was the one who left him and he isn't obliged once again to serve as simple company to momentarily cure her loneliness; Bruce changed the channel once again:
- "…. knowing that tonight, we will put an end to one of Gotham's worst killers: Julian Gregory Day"! – said Commissioner Loeb:
- "Commissioner Loeb, do you have any comment on the rumors that it wasn't the police who captured Calendar Man?" – asked a reporter on duty; here Bruce had to pay more attention, after all he had captured Julian Day and would see justice being served in his death sentence, with that he was sure that the world would be better off without him; it was at that moment that the commissioner left the platform and Captain Gordon came up:
- "There is no Batman!" said Captain Gordon:
- "Captain Gordon; Captain Gordon!" – he continued to call out to the reporters as Gordon and Loeb walked away:
- "No more questions! No more questions!" said the police press officer; that was when Bruce changed the channel once more, now looking at the police banner and it was at that moment that Alfred and Leslie approached:
- "All units, code 10 at Blackgate Prison. No communication; possible 211!" – the police frequency reported:
- "Delta 6-4, on its way"! – was the reply:
- "Central 5-9; confirm code 10, was it a leak?" – asked another unit:
- "Suspect identified as Black Mask. I repeat: Suspect code 10 is Black Mask!" – responded Dispatch – "All units to Blackgate. Code 6. Code 6. Commissioner Loeb is being held hostage."!
Bruce stepped away to get dressed and ready for tonight; Black Mask, his real name is Roman Sionis, is a straight-laced businessman by day and a criminal boss by night with his own gang. He had been acting for some time and had the power to become untouchable by justice and was always smart to make sure that names were never linked. At that moment, Bruce had a big job ahead of him in exposing Roman to justice, but tonight he had to find out the reason for breaking into Blackgate Prison and taking the commissioner hostage. Dressed and ready, he walked over to the batjet and activated it with the mini computer built into the right handle; the engines started and the jet was gliding, causing strong winds that swayed its cape:
- Did you realize it's Christmas Eve, sir? - asked Alfred as Bruce enters the jet and maneuvers to leave the Batcave at full speed towards Blackgate Prison, while on autopilot, Batman was going through the prison's files to find out everything about it:
- Base, pass the prison plans! – said Batman:
-"Only the old ones, sir, the current ones are sealed and prevented from public access."!– said Base:
- A reminder to get those blueprints at a later date! – said Batman:
-"Are you planning to raid the public archives, sir?"?– asked Base:
- There are other ways, but now we're going in blind! - said Batman, taking control of the jet and accelerating towards the prison. He was getting closer and at the exact moment he was on top of the prison, he jumped, falling straight down and at the height of the buildings, he opened his cape and glided to land comfortably on the ground with one knee on the ground. He stood up and saw the damage caused, the outer gates were destroyed and the inner gates had collapsed; Batman knew he had to follow the trail of destruction to find Black Mask.
The prison sirens were very loud when Batman crouched to pass through the rubble and enter the prison among the rubble were bodies of guards crushed by the stones, walking down the corridor he began to hear voices:
- He said he would leave my family alone if I did what he asked! – shouted a voice:
- Well, I hope he keeps his promise. Sorry director, but you won't live to see this, Black Mask doesn't leave loose ends! - said another voice.
Batman passed under a collapsed pipe:
- What are you waiting for, end this now! - shouted an angry voice, but Batman could still hear the fear mixed in, two shadows moved - No! Please, again….
But what was heard next was a scream of pain as the man was hit in the head with a baseball bat:
- I'm going to kill you! But, I'm going to make sure that until then, that eye isn't the only thing missing! - said the bandit holding the bat; Batman approached calmly, letting his shadow grow over the two of them, the fallen man was looking directly at him:
- What is that? Behind you! – said the man:
- Ah! What's up? Do you think I'm falling for that? Try something new, you...! - said the bandit who didn't finish when he saw Batman's shadow projected over him, he immediately turned around and, surprised, struck him with the bat - Get out of here, monster!
Batman reacted quickly by parrying the blow with his right arm and with his left hand he struck a blow, taking the enemy's weapon and quickly elbowing the thug in the face; throwing the bat aside, Batman grabbed the thug's neck, crushing it until the man was short of breath and passed out; Batman let him fall to the ground and turned to the man:
-"Identified by voice as Director Joseph"!– said Base:
- No! Get away from me, don't hurt me! - Director Joseph shouted desperately, dragging himself until he was trapped by the bars:
- I won't hurt you! – said Batman:
- I heard the legends, but I thought they weren't real! – said Director Joseph:
- Who destroyed this place? – asked Batman; then an animalistic roar was heard:
- I don't know what it is! – replied Director Joseph:
- Where is Black Mask? – Batman asked once more:
- I don't know! – replied Director Joseph – I only know that he took Loeb; maybe your men know!
- And your family? – asked Batman to see the director turn pale:
- I hope Black Mask keeps his deal, I'll tell the truth when this is all over, but I want to know if my family is safe! – said Director Joseph. Batman turned around and started walking into the prison, passing through the automatic steel door and coming face to face with the cells. He started going down the stairs and seeing two Black Mask criminals. One is enough. Batman entered the wing when the bandits saw him and one of them ran to the controls. Batman quickly grabbed two Batarangs and threw them, hitting the two bandits. However, he couldn't stop one of them from opening some of the cells and the bandits from coming out and immediately heading towards him. First, Batman hit the bandit in the face with the back of his right hand and with his left fist he struck another bandit in the groin and punched the third bandit in the face with his right fist. Then he kicked the fourth bandit in the chest with the sole of his boot. Then he grabbed the fifth bandit's ankle and threw him into the air, knocking him to the ground. Then he kicked his head, knocking him out, and then he turned around and kicked the first bandit. then dodge a punch by ducking and applying a left punch to the stomach on the third bandit and then grab him and apply a knee to his face and turn to the second prisoner and apply a tripping blow knocking him to the ground and then finish with a right punch. Batman turns and walks towards one of the Black Mask bandits and grabs him by the neck at which point he wakes up:
- Where is Black Mask? – asks Batman:
- Screw you! – said the bandit.
Batman then throws him against the wall and punches him in the stomach and he doubles over in pain for Batman to grab his head and slam it against the wall:
- Where? – Batman shouts:
- Going to the execution chamber! - replies the bandit, somewhat disoriented; that's what Batman wants and then hits his head against the wall once again, knocking him out.
Batman continued walking past the electronic gate and at the same time he saw a drone, curious and started following it. He knew that the drone was not from the prison, it belonged to someone else and there was only one reason for it to be there and he had to find out who it was and why he was interested in watching Black Mask's steps. Passing through another gate he saw on the other side of the room a man covered in scales, more animalistic than human, throwing one of the guards against the wall with extreme force as if he were a simple rag doll. The crocodile man went through the gate to the next room and Batman followed him. It seemed that all the henchmen that Black Mask had brought were with him.
Surprised for a moment, Batman recovers and starts walking again; in the next room you can see that the steel walkway on the second level had collapsed, blocking the gate on the first level and most of the path, but you can still access the stairs going to the second level and entering the next room; this time a triage room where Batman noticed that the gate had suffered some damage, but using his detective vision he saw that there were bandits and they were beating one of the guards while there were civilians trapped in the cell:
- Let me go, do you know who I am? – demanded a woman's voice, but even from a distance Bruce could recognize it:
- This is Vicki Vale speaking live from Mike's underwear! - said one of the bandits and that seemed to shut Vicki up.
Using the cryptographic sequencer and accessing the computer, he managed to open a crack in the door, enough for Batman to get the bandit's attention; Batman ran and slid through the crack, hitting the legs of one of the bandits who fell, hitting his head on the gate. Batman immediately got up, stretching out his right arm, hitting the second bandit who spun in the air and fell to the ground. He punched the third bandit with his left hand and then grabbed the fourth bandit's head, kneeing him in the face. Then he jumped, spinning horizontally and kicking the third bandit, knocking him out. Batman looked around and saw Vicki with her cell phone recording everything while the others were talking to each other. The police officer entered the room next door and seemed fine. Batman went ahead, pressing the button and opening the gate. He saw that the elevator was on the upper floors and that he could fall and land and enter a corridor with a glass window. He noticed movement, slowly approaching it to see what was on the other side.
Black Mask was present with several trapped bandits and henchmen surrounding him as he walks among them, the scaled man was holding Loeb by the neck:
- They say crime doesn't pay, but someone should take a closer look at the kind police commissioner's pockets; they're full of my money! - Black Mask said, shouting the last part - And what did I get in return? Oh? My own men in jail? Not anymore. No! Tonight we're going to make some changes!
Most of the group went through the door, the smallest part stayed; Batman turned around and saw a grate and then he tore it off and entered the prison ducts, activating detective mode and passing through the criminals who remained to then reach the end, kicking another grate and entering a room with several doors; Batman took the cryptographic sequencer and tried to open the door that leads to the execution chamber, but he realized that it was stuck, Batman was able to open another door and entered the medical wing, seeing a grate and then taking the Batclaw and throwing it to hook it on the grate, Batman pulled hard, freeing the entrance to the air duct, with a push he jumped and entered, following the duct until he saw an opening where the execution chamber could be seen:
-…. part of me just wants to press that button. But, it's Christmas Eve and he's the Calendar Man! – Black Mask said laughing – This is too perfect to ignore! You'll owe me a favor Julian and this could come in handy!
Batman continued walking through the duct until he fell and landed in the witness room, reinforced glass that reflects on the side of the execution chamber, the scaled man knocks Loeb to the ground and he gets up facing Black Mask:
- What are you doing, Sionis? – asks Commissioner Loeb indignantly – I have always fulfilled my duties!
- Maybe so, Gillian! – said Sionis in agreement – But things have changed! We are starting from scratch and you are out!
- What are you talking about? – Loeb asked indignantly and angrily now – I'm out? After everything I've done for you?
Black Mask's henchmen dragged Loeb away and locked him in the execution chamber:
- You can't do that! - Loeb shouted - I'm the police commissioner! You bastard!
Loeb begins to punch the glass desperately while Black Mask turns and presses the button, sending gas and slowly killing the commissioner:
- The show is over, boys, let's go! - said Black Mask, leaving through another gate, followed by his henchmen; Batman watched all this without being able to do anything, he could have blown up the glass, but he couldn't do anything when Loeb was locked in that chamber; Black Mask did what he did to prevent Loeb from reporting him, possibly; Loeb is too much of a coward to become a snitch, especially since Black Mask isn't the only powerful villain who rules this city; start over; it could be the real reason.
Batman took out a tubular explosive and stuck it to the glass and stepped away and the bomb detonated and he was able to enter the execution room and see Loeb's body surrounded by gas. Batman would not cry for someone like Loeb, he divided his soul into several parts and sold them to the criminals and mobsters of this city, but without him, command of the police would be fought over like animals fighting over prey and Batman feared that whoever entered could be worse than Loeb. At that moment when the gate opens and three bandits enter, Batman acts quickly and turns around throwing two Batarangs hitting two bandits in the head who fall to the ground, only the third one remains standing, but he has body armor and Batman uses his cape to disorientate him by spinning him around and kicking him in the head knocking him to the ground.
Batman ran through the gate and down the hallway; he went through another gate, turning right, and continued until he lost his balance with a tremor. When he went through the gate, he saw that a good part of the stairs had collapsed:
- I said I wanted the memory card! Not blowing everything up! – Black Mask shouted:
- At least the drone is destroyed! – said one of the bandits:
- It better be or I'll feed you all to Croc! - Black Mask shouted:
- Yeah! - shouted the so-called Croc in what seemed like joy; Batman approached the Drone and rummaging through it, took the memory card and put it away, then took the grappling hook and threw it up and then began to climb, reaching the highest point. He had passed through the door that leads to the terrace, but even so, he managed to pass through a trapdoor and be at the highest part of the top of the prison that gives access to the antennas. Outside it was windy with snow and a helicopter that Black Mask got into and left and a second helicopter came and Croc was going to get into it, but it stopped and signaled for him to go. Batman was up high looking at all this; Batman jumped towards Croc, but he was faster, grabbing Batman and throwing him to the other side. Batman fell to the ground, rolling until he hit the fence; groaning in pain and getting up and facing Croc:
- I thought I smelled you! – said Croc – I guarantee you, I'll never forget that smell!
- Who are you? – asked Batman:
- Killer Croc, but you can just call me Croc! – replied Killer Croc – And you're a snack!
- Just for the record, I smelled you from far away! – said Batman.
Both were staring at each other, ready to make the first move, it seemed that Croc had no patience and advanced, delivering the first blow with his claws, Batman moved away, dodging and approached, throwing a punch, a right hook to his face and then applying a punch to Croc's liver, but, with his left claw Croc applied a blow throwing Batman backwards, falling and dragging himself along, but, rolling Batman got up and saw that in the stomach area there was a scratch from Croc's claw:
- This is the first of many! - said Croc; Batman took the combat stance; Croc advances first once again and strikes with his right claws, Batman dodges to the side and strikes with his left to Croc's face and then a knee that bends Croc in pain and then he reacts by grabbing Batman in the stomach and dragging him roaring; with his teeth clenched, Batman uses both fists to hit Croc's back and he moves away, striking with his left; Batman defended with his right arm, but Croc strikes with his right and Batman ducks and strikes several punches in Croc's stomach who tries some knees, but Batman puts his arms up to defend, then Croc grabs him and throws him away, Batman spins in the air in disarray until he falls to the ground, he gets up and sees Croc advancing:
- I'm going to eat you! – shouts Croc.
Croc applies a right blow that Batman defends and then a left that Batman also defends with his arms and then a knee that Batman also defends and then Batman applies a right hook and several punches to Croc's chest that disorients him and Batman advances, but Croc recovers and grabs Batman, knocking him down and advances with his mouth open with the intention of eating him, Batman quickly grabs Croc's head, stopping him; Batman puts all his strength to prevent Croc from continuing to advance and then he applies a headbutt that pushes him away for a moment, but, enough for several right punches to his head that pushes him away completely and then Batman applies a kick with both feet together that makes Croc take several steps back, gets up and runs towards Croc and jumps, spinning and applying a powerful kick that throws Croc against the fence that falls and he gets caught in one of his arms; the grate supports him, preventing him from falling onto the rocks that the icy sea was hitting against them and he would fall if he didn't let go, but Batman advances and grabs Croc's other arm with his foot and delivers several punches to Croc's face:
- Where is your boss going? – Batman shouts, throwing another punch:
- My only boss; it's me! – replied Croc.
Batman punches him again:
- You want teeth? I want answers! – Batman shouts:
- Wait until Black Mask's assassins finish you off! – said Croc:
- What murderers? - Batman shouts, punching Croc once more and he just laughs as if he enjoys everything that is happening:
- Whoever wins will become famous and rich! - replied Croc and Batman punched him once more, knocking him out:
- At least it won't be ugly! - said Batman, then he took an applicator and reversed it, fitting it into Croc's open wound and began to draw his blood, satisfied he took him off the grid and placed him safe and then the grid fell and then the lights came on above him and he turned around covering his face, but he saw many weapons pointed at him:
- Stop! – shouted a voice:
- Not one more step! – shouted Captain Gordon; by that time Batman had already accessed the gauntlet's mini computer and called the Batjet:
- We're arresting you! – Lieutenant Bullock shouted. Batman started walking backwards:
- Not today! - said Batman and he jumped, the incredulous police officers approached to then hear and then see a jet taking off and Batman getting on it and then flying away at high speed disappearing into the darkness:
- There is no Batman! – Bullock said. Gordon just kept quiet.
Batman is in his jet flying over the city:
- Base; get Director Joseph's address! – Batman ordered:
-"On a curiosity level, why"?– he :
- Director Joseph facilitated Black Mask's entry into prison by holding his family hostage and guaranteeing his release after his mission was completed! - Batman replied - I want the satellite with heat and X-ray readings to ensure that Black Mask fulfilled his part!
-"Providing"!– said Base and after a few moments –"Sending address now"!
Batman saw the address on the computer screen:
- Show me the thermal image! – said Batman.
The screen changed to show the heat concentration of seven bodies in Principal Joseph's house:
- X-ray now! – said Batman and now the screen changed showing the x-ray of the house showing four clearly armed bodies:
- Three people standing still and four armed! – said Batman – I'm going to head to Joseph's address; Base will keep an eye out to see if the bandits will leave and leave Director Joseph's family alone!
-"We are watching and waiting for your arrival"!– said Base:
- Activating silent mode! - said Batman pressing the button and the turbines went silent and Batman continued his journey until he jumped and silently opened his cape and glided until he landed on the street behind the house - Base, I'm here; I'm going in!
Batman walked towards the house in silence, he knew he had to get the bandits out of the house or surprise them one by one, but most importantly, he had to get away from the hostages, so he approached the main power switch and turned it off, turning off the power to the house. The bandits inside were surprised when the power suddenly went out:
- What? – asked one of the bandits:
- Shit! – said another bandit:
- It must be the fuses! – said Mrs. Joseph – They are outside; behind the house!
- Go check! - said the bandit who is certainly the leader; the other bandit nodded and left the room heading outside; he went to the back of the house in the darkness of the night on the threshold of the door when Batman hung down in front of the bandit, surprised he did not see his neck being squeezed suffocating his vocal cords that could not scream, after a while suffocated, he fainted and Batman calmly placed the body and waited in the darkness; another bandit came:
- Charles? – asked the bandit leaving the house – We need light!
The bandit turned around and saw the body of his fallen companion and was about to scream, but Batman stopped him. He appeared from the darkness and hit the back of the knee, which the bandit bent over. At the same time, Batman covered his mouth and applied a tie, suffocating him until he passed out. Batman calmly laid him down and entered the house silently. The two bandits began to find their colleagues' absence strange:
- What's going on? – asked the leader:
- I don't know! – replied the other bandit, clearly nervous, and this made the family nervous too:
- Go check! – ordered the leader.
The other bandit clearly didn't want to go, but, taking the flashlight he left the room becoming more and more afraid and then the family and the bandit who remained began to hear screams from the bandit who left; shots and screams of despair and this began to despair the leader who was looking everywhere waiting for whoever it was to jump at any moment; everyone inside the room could feel the almost palpable tension and the leader approached the window turning his back when suddenly the window burst making the family scream in fear and hands appear grabbing the bandit's arm putting his shotgun to the side and another hand grabbing the bandit's head and slamming it hard against the wall knocking the criminal out; Batman looked at Mrs. Joseph who was huddled in a corner hugging her children tightly:
- Hide and call the police! - said Batman and then he went behind the house where he went to the street calling the batjet, it arrived silently; Batman took off the grappling hook and activated it going up and getting into the jet, taking control he flew away:
- Director Joseph's family is safe! - said Batman – I'm going back to the Batcave, I have some things I collected from Blackgate Prison!
-"Sir"!- said Base –"While saving the Joseph Family, police communicators reported a robbery at Queen Consolidated.".
- What did they steal? - asked Batman:
-"The police did not say, but they are still chasing the bandits towards the shipyards region."!- Base replied:
- I'm on my way! - said Batman.
The winds and snow were punishing Gotham tonight and it was no different in the shipyard area in a warehouse,when a black pickup truck with its headlights on skidded in the snow, the driver doing everything he could to keep the car stable, he stopped at the warehouse door and three bandits got out, two took a box from the open trunk and the third closed the trunk door by hitting the glass:
- Go! Hurry! - shouted the bandit as the police sirens could be heard approaching, the driver took off as the bandits entered the warehouse, safe inside, they could walk calmly - Leave the box in the corner!
That was the leader saying and he took off his mask leaving it on the table; the same mask that Black Mask's henchmen use, he turned on the lights, they turned on, but immediately died:
- Ah! Come on! Damn shit! – said the leader looking up and turned to one of the bandits and said softly – Frank; go check the fuses!
Frank nodded and handed the gun to his companion and with a flashlight went to the fuses; Frank approached the power box and began to examine it, hoping to fix it and have light in the building, so he didn't notice the approach and forcefully grabbed his head and slammed it against the fuse box, screaming in pain, the box exploded in his face and the bandit fell to the ground unconscious; the other bandits looked at each other suspiciously and one of them went ahead to check what had happened and the leader stayed behind paying attention, the bandit advanced cautiously and then the floor exploded at his feet and he fell with a cry of surprise, the leader advanced and began to shoot, unloading his clip, the ammunition ran out and he moved away reloading and when he turned around his right hand was grabbed and twisted, making it impossible for him to use his gun and he could see the crazy guy in a bat costume suffocating him with one hand, choking he received a headbutt and passed out.
Batman dropped it on the ground and turned towards the Queen Consolidated box that was stolen, he opened it and surprised saw rocks and C4; a lot of C4 connected to a detonator activated with a timer, Batman quickly turned and ran and jumping past the wooden gate at the same time that the energy beam from the explosion caught him throwing him away, Batman fell to the ground dragged with his face in the snow groaning in pain as the warehouse collapsed in the middle of a ball of fire; Batman got up to see the damage:
- I see you received my invitation! – said a voice carried by the winter winds and Batman looked up at the containers illuminated by the scattered streetlights – Just you and me! Come!
The man started running and Batman throws three Batarangs towards the man and starts running too, the man passes quickly and the Batarangs hit the container, sticking to it and the man puts his foot on top of a container and jumps, spinning in the air and going over another container in front of him and starts running again, Batman activates his grappling hook and fires it and with that he is pulled up towards the man, in the air he collects the grappling hook and prepares to grab the man; but, the man jumps in the air, spinning, releasing a retractable baton and hits him, throwing him against a container and falling on top of another, dragging himself until he falls into another container below; for a moment he is stunned, but Batman recovers and looks up to see the man appearing, jumping and spinning in the air, striking with his baton; Batman with momentum spins backwards at the same moment the man hits the baton where he was.
Batman quickly blocks a blow from the baton with his right gauntlet and blocks another coming from the left; Batman ducks, dodging another blow and protects himself with both gauntlets from the baton's blow, but then the man spins, applying a kick and throwing Batman against another container with force and quickly grabs and throws a batrang that he ducks to dodge. Batman advances quickly, jumps, spins and applies a kick, with his feet together, throwing the man out. Batman looks down, but then he is met by a kick, with his feet together from the man who throws him back and falls into another container, the man approaches without the baton; Batman can conclude that he used the baton to save himself and gain momentum to return by applying that kick; both look at each other; Batman sees that the man is dressed for combat, he recognizes two swords that he is carrying, as well as pistols in two holsters, a lot of ammunition and grenades; a black outfit with dark blue and dark orange armor, including his mask that only on the dark orange side showed his eye.
No words are spoken and the man advances and draws his sword and lunges and with his left arm Batman dodges to the side, he applies a blow to the right side which is defended once more; Batman ducks dodging another blow and defends to the right and left, retreating with each step, he defends to the left and manages to hook the sword in the blades of the gauntlet and place it to the left and with his left rear palm hits a blow to the man's head; with his left hand the man pushes Batman and thus freeing his blade, he tries to apply a blow coming from the right and Batman defends with his left and applies a punch to the man's chest in which he applies a blow to the left which is defended and then applies a blow from above in which Batman uses both arms defending the blow and with one movement breaks the man's blade; Batman tries to apply an elbow that the man defends with one arm and the man tries to apply a blow with the broken blade, but Batman leans back and then defends himself from another blow and applies a punch to the man's ribs, stepping back to dodge a punch from the man and then Batman grabs his head and slams it against the container, but the man recovers and applies a headbutt grabbing his head, bringing it back and placing the blade in his neck; Batman resists and then gains momentum on the container in front of him and spins in the air, freeing himself from the blade, grabbing the man's arm and throwing him backwards.
The man stands up and takes out his second sword and to the surprise of both the sword breaks in half and then breaks the half that could still be used which he was holding leaving nothing for the man to work with, the man looks back; Batman sees him looking at the bridge and then has to look up when he hears a sound of something large cutting through the air, a hanging container was falling and Batman jumps back escaping being crushed; Batman opens his cape gliding for a short time until landing, the containers were scattered and Batman had to move away, what broke that sword were shots; very accurate and the man was looking at the bridge and has to go there to find any clues about the shooter. Batman was on top of the point of the bridge where the shooter positioned himself leaving a bullet casing which he had picked up and would take for analysis; something was happening and it was time to find the answers.
The Batjet returned to the cave, completely trimming, gliding, maneuvering, opening the landing gear and landing at the base, Batman got out and began walking to the central area, taking off his mask:
- Boss Bruce, what happened? – asked Alfred, quite worried:
- A crocodile in human form, a mercenary and a murderer! – replied Batman, heading towards the work area in front of thebatcomputer taking out the memory card and putting it in the slot to connect to the computer – This human crocodile told me that Black Mask hired assassins to kill me!
- Assassins, sir? More than one? – asked Alfred in surprise:
- Exactly! – replied Batman:
- And you heard that from the mouth of a crocodile man? – Leslie asked in disbelief:
- His name is Killer Croc! – said Batman and the screen began to show images of Croc acting, especially in prison – He's already arrested!
- I feel sorry for your cellmate! – said Alfred:
- Don't be! - Bruce said and his profile appeared on the screen - He's been around for a while, his birth name is Waylon Jones, accused of kidnapping, murder and cannibalism, he managed to be a gang leader for a while getting involved in drug trafficking until he lost everything when the FBI got enough evidence and started hunting him with all the power they have!
- He certainly has a rare genetic disease that makes his skin covered in scales! – said Leslie:
- Increased strength, accelerated healing, heightened senses! – said Batman handing a vial containing blood to Leslie – Got some blood from your wound before it healed quickly!
- Let's see what else is on that memory card! – said Batman, continuing to watch the recording:
- "Each of them gets one of these envelopes! I need it delivered tonight!" – Black Mask said in the recording to his henchmen handing out black envelopes while pointing to the faces on a screen:
- Hitmen! – said Batman – The best there is; Black Mask is not joking!
Batman sighed; his computerdid the analysis dthe images on the screen in which the killers appeared:
- The man who lured me with a fake robbery at Queen Consolidated; Slade Wilson; AKA Deathstroke! – said Batman – Appeared a few years before me; former ASIS (Australian Secret Intelligence Service) agent, expert in combat, guerrilla warfare, with firearms, batons, katanas and personal combat, expert in interrogation including torture; explosives expert, exemplary tactician; there are also rumors that he underwent military experimentation that granted him increased strength, enhanced senses, accelerated healing, endurance, apparently he can ignore pain and continue walking even with his body riddled with bullets; they say the experiment was considered a failure!
- A failure, you say? – asked Alfred:
- Bridgit "Bridgy" Pike; AKA Firefly; sister of the arsonists; The Pike Brothers; forced into the service of the brothers; had ninety percent of her body burned; became a child of Indian Hill where she got her new name; the Indian Hill Program gave her skin resistance to fire and high temperatures to the point where she could walk naked on lava; never tested; the higher the temperature, the shorter the resistance time; is obsessed with fire and this could be her end! – said Batman:
- Unlike anyone I know! – said Alfred.
Now the computer was going through the files trying to find the name and face combination:
- That's a face that's hard to recognize! – said Batman – Copperhead! These reports refer to a man, not a woman!
- Given the records, it appears to be a title rather than a name, several men and women use it! – said Dr. Leslie
- We have a name! - Bruce said - Larissa Diaz; according to Interpol data, Copperhead is a gang that operates in Central and South America and is expanding to North America, a gang of hired killers that according to reports have their headquarters in Guatemala; somehow they all undergo a specific mutation, contortionist capabilities beyond the normal, yellow reptilian eyes, master escapist, master seductress, poison expert, poisonous claws, combat expert!
- If those poisonous claws get you Bruce, you're going to be in a lot of trouble! – said Leslie; Bruce continued going through the files:
- Floyd Lawton; AKA Deadshot; Marines, Special Forces, elite sniper, the best the military has ever had; many medals of honor, honorably discharged; later became an elite killer; never missed a shot; ex-wife and a daughter; suspect in several murders! – said Batman and then handed a bullet casing to Alfred – He was the one who broke Deathstroke's katana into three pieces and managed to knock down a container, making me end the fight against Deathstroke, the capsule was what he left behind, some analysis will be useful to know more about him!
- I agree sir! – said Alfred:
- A street tough; Lester Buchinsky; AKA; Electrocutioner! – said Batman seeing images of him firing electric shocks from his gloves – Murder, assault, extortion, trafficking and now a hitman!
- Electrifying! – said Alfred:
- Shiva! – said Bruce – Lady Shiva, as she is revered, one of the greatest experts in the most diverse martial arts in the world; two masters I had during my training and they all said they had doubts whether they would be able to defeat her or not; an assassin of the highest caliber, her body is her weapon; her expertise; no one has yet come tobe an equal!
The next image made Bruce's eyes narrow and his face harden:
- Bane! – said Bruce – Born in Santa Prisca,in Peña Dura Prison; that's what he's known as in the files, he escaped from prison and runs a gang that traffics in many things that make money, many of the trafficking schemes that I destroyed from the mafia, almost a third had the name Bane as a supplier and now he's accepted a job as a hitman and is in Gotham! Why did he decide to accept money as a hitman?
- You said it yourself Bruce! – said Leslie – You ruined a lot of this guy's business and surely now he's come to solve the problem and also recover some of the lost profits!
- Peña Dura Prison is said to have been the scene of experiments to enhance strength! – said Bruce – This makes Bane with above-normal strength, a master in hand-to-hand combat and highly intelligent, a tactical master in combat and guerrilla warfare!
- Eight assassins after your head! What are you going to do, sir? - asked Alfred, worried:
- I have to find out who was operating the drone! - Bruce replied, taking out his cryptographic sequencer and inserting it into the input - I used the cryptographic sequencer in the prison that was picking up a signal that I ignored, but I think it was the drone transmitting, now I can find out who was controlling it and force him to tell what he knows! Then find Black Mask and put an end to this!
The computer was beginning to track the signal:
- Sir; I may state the obvious, but since only the people present here know about your double life, I think the bandits will fail in their objectives if you stay here! – said Alfred:
- They're going to use innocent lives to lure me out, I have to confront them first before that happens! - said Batman. The computer started beeping indicating that it had finished its job:
- The signal was tracked on the Final Offer ship and is owned by Oswald Cobblepot, better known as the Penguin! - said Bruce - Of course, he has access to several cutting-edge technologies, he is always interested in the latest news, including weapons! I have to find out why he is spying on Black Mask!
- Sir, the ship's information indicates that you will be able to enter through a special card and voice recognition, you will have to get it from one of your henchmen! - said Alfred:
- There will be a meeting point for the henchmen at Jezebel Plaza; there is a second point where the signal was sent by the drone! – said Bruce – I will make them talk!
It's not the best night for Jim Gordon, when he wanted more than ever to be with his daughter and celebrate Christmas; he was in Blackgate Prison watching the damage and trying to establish some semblance of control before Black Mask came and ended everything, this blizzard is not helping; it's even disrupting the cell phone signal, only now he received a call about something important; hanging up the phone he addressed Warden Joseph who was in the execution chamber looking at it even after Loeb's body had been moved to the prison morgue:
- Joseph! – called Gordon:
- Yes, Captain! – replied Director Joseph:
- Patrols arrived at your house, your family is safe and the bandits are arrested! - said Gordon and he watched the director feel relieved as if the weight of the world was taken off his shoulders - They claim to have been saved by Batman!
Director Joseph looked at Gordon:
- Captain; I'll tell you everything! – said Director Joseph.