by Cat
Note: This story won't make much sense unless you read the Change of Face Saga, and Destiny's Flame – Prologue first. By the way, when I change perspective, it'll be marked by the person's name, and POV (point of view). You have been warned, now, on with the story.
Rating: PG-13 for violence
The ball of green flame disappeared, leaving Brooklyn, Shade, and myself standing on the roof of a very beat up looking factory. We were definitely not in New York anymore.
"Where are we?" I asked.
"I dunno," Brooklyn replied. "But wherever it is, it isn't New York. There's nothing familiar, no Twin towers, no Statue of Liberty, and more important, no Eyrie Building." He gave me a lost look, "What happened?"
I held up the object Owen had thrown at me only moments before. It was some type of pendant with a silver dragon in flight being depicted upon a jade background. "Owen threw this at me, and poof we were here." I looked around. "Wherever here is."
"Can I see that?" Brooklyn pointed to the pendant.
I had a sudden, overwhelming urge to put the chain around my neck and never part with it. I looked at it again, and slipped the chain over my head.
"Um...I wanna hang on to it for now." I told Brooklyn, "if you don't mind."
"Okay..." his response was long and drawn out, as if he wasn't sure if he should leave it with me. He looked at the dragon pendant around my neck. "You know," he said, "it looks almost like the Phoenix Gate."
"Phoenix Gate?" I'd never heard of such a thing.
"Yeah," Brooklyn responded, "it was this magical artifact, it allowed the person holding it to travel through time, in a ball of orange flame."
To travel to other places a fragment of a dream floated to the surface of my mind.
"Other places?" Apparently I had spoken aloud, as Brooklyn was now questioning my words.
"What if," I began, "this thing," I held up the medallion, "is a sort of gate, like the Phoenix Gate, but, instead of traveling through time, it travels to different dimensions?"
Before Brooklyn could respond to my theory, there were sounds of gunfire from nearby, and the gargoyle's urge to protect kicked in.
"Duty calls." Brooklyn said, as he leapt from the edge of the building.
"Hey! Wait up!" I felt a similar urge to right this wrong, as I grabbed Shade and dove off the side of the building after him.
The sounds of gunfire grew as we glided over a jewelry store. There, on the street in front, was the source. Some poor beat-cop had come across a robbery in progress, and had tried to stop it, only to be pinned down behind a severely bullet-ridden car by superior firepower.
As we glided over a clear area in the street, Shade sent [Drop me, NOW!] The command was so loud in my mind, I dropped her out of reflex. Down she went, some fifty or so feet to the pavement, landing silently on padded feet, and racing off into the shadows. [Thanks.]
I joined Brooklyn on the roof across from the store, directly above the cop. There I got a clear look at the three of the strangest, would-be robbers I have ever seen. They looked like the three stooges, if the three stooges had been on steroids, and signed up for work as gun-toting mimes.
These three guys were enormous, like football players on steroids, huge. They were dressed in large black unitards and each had a face positively plastered with white paint. It would have been funny, if they hadn't been armed with equally massive guns.
Brooklyn turned to me. "Shall we crash the clowns' party?" he grinned at his own joke.
[I'm ready,] Shade sent from somewhere below. [I'll take the one to your right.]
"Shade'll take the one on the right, I'll take the one in the middle." I told Brooklyn.
He peered down at the clowns below. "That leaves me with Moe." his eyes began to light up. "Let's go."
We jumped off the building, into the street below. My clown, the one in the middle who looked like Curly, happened to glance up and spot me, a dark winged shape with glowing white eyes.
He pointed and screamed "Batman!", then all three thugs gave up firing on the cop in favor of a more aerial target, namely, me.
Shade came barreling out of nowhere, ramming into Larry clown. She knocked the gun from his hand, and pinned him to the ground.
One clown down, two to go. Unfortunately for me, these two seemed completely fixated on filling me with bullet holes. Of course this left Brooklyn completely free and clear to slam into Moe, without suffering any bullet holes. I came down in front of Curly and, my attention riveted to him, began to fight.
Brooklyn slammed Moe into the brick wall, hoping the weight of him would be enough to knock the clown out. This clown seemed to be made of some sterner stuff, as he pulled himself off the wall, and prepared to slam Brooklyn into a pile of bloody goo. The thug's gun struck from his hand when Brooklyn had knocked him into the wall, he now rushed towards Brooklyn with nothing but his fists. Brooklyn, seeing him coming from a mile away, ducked under his attack, and tripped the flailing clown with his tail. The clown staggered, and turned, right into Brooklyn's flying fist. Brooklyn's fist connected with a loud 'Crack!'.
A few feet away, Cat was attacking Curly with her bo stick. She knocked his gun out of his hands, and tried to sweep his feet out from under him, only to have him slam one of his big, meaty feet down on top of it, and knock it from her grasp.
"That's just great." Cat panted, as the clown picked up her stick, and tossed it away. Cat looked up at his grinning face. "Now what, wise guy?"
Curly began advancing on Cat, arms wide open, ready to grip her in an unbreakable bear hug. Cat backed-up a few steps, then spread her wings wide, eyes lighting up, making her appear much larger and more menacing. The clown backed up a few steps, stopping only when he connected with the wall.
He never saw Shade as she hit him from the side, smashing his head into the pavement, and knocking him into tomorrow.
Brooklyn walked over and wrapped the thug up in a piece of metal he had found in the alley next to the store. He then carried the three wrapped goons over to a lamp post and, using the rest of the metal, affixed them to the lamp pole.
A shrill voice sounded from inside the jewelry store, "Larry! Curly! Moe! What are you idiots doing out there?!" a slim figure walked out of the store. Dressed in a purple suit, with a white face, dark green, almost-but-not-quite black hair and wearing a big grin. In one hand he held a bag, full of stolen jewelry, in the other, a semi-automatic assault weapon. He looked over to where Brooklyn was wrapping his hired muscle around a pole. "You!" he shouted. "What do you think you're doing?!" he pointed the gun towards Brooklyn, and opened fire.
I watched, horrified, as time slowed to a crawl. The gun came up. The trigger was pulled. A flash. A bullet flying. Brooklyn turning, too late. Seeing the bullet rip through his wing, go through his shoulder. The look of pain and surprise as his eyes lit up.
Then anger. I raised my hands towards this...this....joker who would dare hurt my friend. My rage burned, white hot, and then there was a ball of pure electricity, racing towards the fool who had hurt Brooklyn.
I watched as, at the last second, he turned, and saw his fate. I watched as the lightening struck him full in the chest. I watched as it propelled him backwards, through a window, and into a counter filled with jewelry. And I watched as he slumped into unconsciousness. Then I watched no more.
Brooklyn roared in agony as the bullet tore through him. Then watched in amazement as Cat shot a ball of electricity at his assailant, exactly like those used by Talon and the other mutates, then collapsed.
The sounds of sirens could be heard now, in the distance, but getting closer by the minute. Obviously the cop they had come to save had called for back-up. Ignoring the shooting pain from his shoulder and wing, Brooklyn ran over to Cat, scooped her up, and carried her over his good shoulder, disappearing into the night, with Shade following silently behind.
Red and blue lights filled the street, casting eerie shadows. Four police vehicles, and one ambulance were parked on the stretch of road in front of the jewelry store. Sergeant Harvey Bullock was going over the crime scene, yelling out orders to unfortunate cops, who were, in his opinion, working too slow.
An emergency medical technician was loading the body of the super-villain known as the Joker onto a stretcher. By the pole out front, two police men with blow torches were attempting to cut the Joker's three stooges free from the metal bands which held them firmly to the pole.
Across the street, next to a dark alley, stood Police Commissioner James Gordon. If one looked closely enough, they might, perhaps, see a dark figure, standing just off to the side of the Commissioner.
James Gordon watched at the EMT loaded the comatose form of the Joker into the ambulance, and drive off. "Your work?" he addressed the dark figure, eyes never leaving the scene before him.
"Not mine." Batman stood in shadows, concealed from the police on the street, watching as the thugs were dragged away, babbling.
"I guess it was too much to hope for." the Commissioner sighed.
"What happened?" Batman motioned towards the crime scene.
"One of the beat-cops stumbled upon the Joker and his clowns robbing Stoker's Jewelry Store. He called in for back-up, but one of the clowns spotted him. They had him trapped under heavy fire. The officer reports that the gun fire suddenly ceased, and he heard signs of a struggle. He only came out from behind the car he'd taken shelter behind when we showed up. He didn't see anything, although he reports hearing things which sounded like wild animals roaring." here Gordon paused. "The Joker's goons say they were attacked by flying monsters, the EMT says the Joker won't be waking up anytime soon." he stopped, and looked at Batman. "Whatever hit 'em, it hit 'em hard."
Batman continued to stare impassively towards the ruins of Stoker's Jewelry store. Commissioner Gordon turned briefly, to look as the last of the police officers left the scene, he looked back, only to find that Batman was gone.
If any of the police officers had bothered to check the roof of Stoker's Jewelry, they would have found their "monsters". Brooklyn sat, with Cat cradled in his lap. Shade sat a few feet away, staring pensively out at the skyline. Brooklyn held Cat, oblivious to the wound in his shoulder, still slowly trickling blood down his chest and back.
"Cat, come on, wake up." he whispered, stroking her hair.
[What...] Shade started, but, oddly, with Cat unconscious, no one heard what she had to say. Had someone heard, they would have heard her inquire as to the presence of a dark shape which seemed to be flying through the night sky, shaped like a large bat.
Far in the east, the sky began to lighten, the sun came up, and Brooklyn turned to stone, and, for the first time in her life, so did Cat.
While Shade slept the day away in the presence of two statues, across town, Bruce Wayne spent a much less peaceful day. During his board meetings, and paperwork, and other boring aspects of running a multi-billion dollar company, thoughts of his other life kept intruding. Thoughts about the damage he had seen last night, in his guise of the Batman. All day, thoughts of these new "monsters" ran through his mind. What were they? Where did they come from? And, more importantly, how could he stop them from harming the innocents in Gotham City.
Soaring upon the wings of fright, across the planes of fate, over the river of sorrows, a great darkness came.
It was a great evil. It was a destroyer of nations, worlds, galaxies, realities. It knew many things. But now it knew something it had never known before, Fear. Fear that this was the one, the one he was searching for, the one who would destroy him.
He was Darius, the dark one, he was the destroyer of order, born of Chaos and the Darkness, he was the one fated to bring Chaos to the Order. But not if he was destroyed first...
Darkness fell, plunging Gotham City into another crime-filled night. In a lesser known district of the city, a gargoyle's awakening roar echoed, only to be replaced by a scream of anguish.
"Noooo!!" Brooklyn had awoken from stone sleep, only to find Cat still encased in stone. "No." It was barely a whisper. Brooklyn imagined that this must have been how Goliath felt, when the Magus had changed them all to stone, leaving only Goliath awake.
Shade stood off to the side, seemingly unconcerned with Brooklyn's outburst. She appeared to be staring intently at Cat.
Cat
I was flying over a field of green. It was quiet and peaceful.
Come on Cat
Something was wrong.
Wake up
Wasn't I awake? I must be awake. I'm flying over a lovely field, and look, there's a bunny!
You're upsetting Brooklyn
Brooklyn? That's what's wrong! Brooklyn wasn't gliding with me. No one was with me. I was all alone. Alone...
You're not alone, just asleep, Wake Up!
Brooklyn cradled Cat's stone form, afraid to let go, lest she get chipped or damaged. Slowly, quietly, small, minute cracks began appearing in Cat's stone form. For an instant, there was a dark green light, then stone shards were flying.
"What the..."
"...hell?!" I was awake. I think.
"What was that?" I felt surprisingly good, considering I had no idea what had happened. Well, almost no idea...
"You...you turned to stone." Brooklyn stammered.
[Soon as the sun came up.] Shade added helpfully. [Just like Brooklyn.] If I hadn't known better, I'd have thought she was smiling.
"If this is what happens when I pass out," I gave a small, shaky smile, "I'll have to avoid doing it too often." I was trying to lighten the mood, Brooklyn looked like he might pass out.
"Brooklyn," he looked at me, mouth agape. "Remember to breathe."
He broke into a big grin, probably trying to help me feel better about the whole thing. I was NOT going to let him see how much this had really scared me.
I sighed, and watched the moon and stars light up the night.
Bruce Wayne walked down the long and winding steps which led from the clock in his library, to the large cavern below his house. The Bat Cave.
He had twenty minutes before sunset. Time enough to check his super computer to see what he could learn of these monsters which had attacked the Joker and his goons last night.
Bruce Wayne suited up for his nightly activities while the Bat Computer ran a search, looking for possible criminal matches, as well as checking the day's events for more reports of the monsters.
The computer beeped when its search finished, and Batman came out to check the results. Only one newspaper article had come up in his monster search. It was a report on his first night as the Batman, telling how the criminals thought they were being attacked by 'a flying monster'. Batman almost smiled at the memory. Almost.
He looked at the day's events. Two foiled muggings, and a robbery which was botched when the thief left without his collected cash. Slow day, and no mention of any flying monsters. Perhaps, like him, they used the night to help disguise them. No matter.
Batman left a message for Batgirl to join him in patrol, leapt into the Batmobile, and sped off into the night.
There! She's in that reality!
In the distance of the planes of fate, he saw the unique light that he had been searching for. He headed towards it, going as fast as his powers would allow. He couldn't let her live, his future depended upon it.
Brooklyn and Cat were gliding over Gotham, Shade was leaping from rooftop to rooftop below. The night seemed quiet, peaceful, unlike last night.
Just a few blocks away, Batman was stopping a robbery at an electronics plant. A few punches, a couple of kicks, some rope, and the hoodlums were trussed up like Christmas turkey, just waiting for the cops to come take them away.
As Batman was preparing to leave, something caused a brief shadow, something overhead. Batman looked up just in time to catch a brief glimpse of something flying overhead. Something with a tail...
Brooklyn and I landed on the roof of an electronics building, a brief rest before we resumed patrol over this new city. I heard a brief rustling noise, coming from the opposite side of the building.
"Did you hear that?" I asked Brooklyn.
"Hear what?" he looked around, eyes searching for hidden danger.
"Kind of a rustling noise, like when you settle your wings, except it came from over there." I pointed to the opposite side of the building. A shadow seemed to move.
[What are we looking at?] Shade had finally caught up with us and had landed silently behind me.
I swear, I jumped three feet straight up. "Don't do that!" I yelled at her.
She looked shamefaced at the ground. [Sorry.] She didn't sound the least bit sorry to me.
A deep chuckling filled the roof top, it seemed to come from everywhere at once. Brooklyn's eyes lit up, Shade crouched down, ready to pounce when the danger showed itself. The chuckling eventually died down.
I addressed the darkness at large, "Well, I'm glad my almost suffering a heart attack amuses you." I looked around the roof top, trying to find the source of the laugh. "Who are you?"
"I am Batman." Why did that sound so familiar?. The voice still seemed to come from no specific place. "Are you the ones who stopped the Joker and his clown squad last night?"
I saw no harm in answering his question, since he had answered mine. "You mean that twit in the purple suit and his mimes? He shot at my friend," I gestured to Brooklyn. "That didn't go over well with me. So, yeah, I stopped him."
A shadow detached itself from the night, not five feet to my left. If Shade hadn't already scared me, I probably would've leapt off the building in fright. As it was, my heart pumped a lot faster.
The figure spoke. "The police are looking for you. They have a few questions they want to ask."
"The police. Right...I'll just waltz down the street, scaring people to death as I go, present myself to the cops, and either get shot on sight, or end up someone's science experiment. Thanks, but no thanks." I turned my back on the figure, and prepared to leave.
A faint rustling noise was my only warning as a fist shot out, intent on hitting me. I spun around, catching the arm, and earned a very startled look from Batman.
"What did you think? That this was some sort of costume?" I yelled at him, still holding his arm. I was losing my patience, and my temper. "Did you think I could just take off some mask and wham! I'm human? This is me! I'm not human! I'm a genetic freak! I don't even have a species anymore!" Tears were running down my face, I paid them no notice, I was too worked up. An electric charge was beginning to build up again, my fur was starting to stand on end. "Why can't people just leave me alone?!"
"Cat..." Brooklyn was calling me, but he was interrupted.
"Let him go!" a loud, feminine voice commanded, as a small, dark shape dropped to the roof top.
So, I let him go, and I let him have it -- a nice, big ball of electricity. It sent him to the edge of the roof, twenty feet away. By some miracle, he managed to grab the small ledge to prevent himself from going over the side. I was amazed he was still conscious.
A rope came out of nowhere, wrapping around me, and pinning my arms down and wings to my back. It also caused me to lose my balance. I guess when I had zapped Batman, he wasn't the only one pushed back, because I now found myself falling off the edge of the building. The ledge hit me below the knees, they buckled, and I found myself facing the sky. Reflexively, I tried to open my wings, only to feel the ropes cut into them.
"Brooklyn..." my last word as I fell off the building, and plunged down fifteen stories. I heard police sirens, I felt the wind whistling past.
Then I felt the sudden stop as bones snapped, I heard screeching brakes and bending metal. I saw the darkness coming for me, and I thought I hit a cop car. Then there was peace...
"Brooklyn..."
I turned from the two masked people, and saw Cat as she fell over the side of the building, unable to spread her wings. I opened my wings, preparing to dive off the side after her, when something wrapped around my legs, causing me to fall on my face. I connected with the gravel on the roof, and my beak snapped shut with a crack!.
"Shade!" I really didn't know what I expected her to do, she couldn't glide, couldn't stop Cat from plunging to her death. A dark shape ran past my field of vision. Not Shade. The strangely dressed man...Batman. He leapt off the side of the building.
I heard a crash, glass shattering, metal bending, tires squealing. Too late, Cat had fallen, obviously landing on a car. Shade ran past, took a flying leap off the building and fell down to the street.
I managed to roll myself over, and tear the rope off my feet. The smaller figure was gone, I was alone on the roof. And below, on street level, Cat was most likely dead, Shade having leapt to her doom shortly after. I couldn't bring myself to look, to go down and verify that they were dead. But I had to go...
I watched as the force behind Batgirl's bola knocked the creature the remaining space towards the edge, then watched as she fell over that edge. Batgirl wrapped the other's legs in rope, effectively preventing it from saving its friend. I watched as Batgirl sealed the creature's fate.
The red creature called something out, and a large cat launched itself from the shadows, straight towards Batgirl.
No time now for pain. I shook off the effects of the electrical blast and ran for the spot where the cat creature had gone over. Only after I had leapt, did I hear the tearing metal and shattering glass that told me I was too late.
I pulled out my grappler, a small blast, and I was hanging from the building. A black blur shot past me, on its way to the ground. It fell some fifteen stories, and managed to landed on all fours, next to the accident. In the glare of the streetlights I saw it clearly. It had to be a panther, but it was huge, and built more for speed (like a cheetah) than power.
It leapt atop the damaged car, and hovered protectively over the cat-thing's body. Detective Bullock got out of his ruined police car, only to get a face full of very angry cat. I don't think I've ever seen him back up so fast.
I slowly lowered myself down to street level. The moment my feet touched the ground I was walking towards the scene of the accident. The panther seemed to ignore me as I checked its master for a pulse.
I hovered protectively over Cat. When the fat man stepped from his crushed vehicle, I threatened him. I wasn't really going to hurt him, but he didn't need to know that. Anyway, he moved pretty fast for a fat guy.
The dark man, Batman as he called himself, came towards us. I pretended to ignore him, hoping he would help Cat. He put a hand to her wrist, his face momentarily full of pain, the expression gone so fast I thought I'd imagined it.
Brooklyn finally got his butt down to ground level with the rest of us. He saw Cat's broken form lying atop the mangled car.
Batman turned to Brooklyn, and in a clear, emotionless voice stated, "She's dead."
Brooklyn screamed into the night. He poured all his helplessness, frustration, anger and sorrow into a scream that ripped my heart in half. As his tortured scream ended, I heard sirens approaching in the distance.
[Brooklyn, we need to get out of here.] I knew it was a bad time, but I didn't need him getting captured for experimentation.
Silently Brooklyn walked over and picked up Cat's limp body. I hopped from the car and followed.
A voice from behind stopped us both. "Where are you going?" Batman wanted to know. Honestly, so did I.
Brooklyn answered him without turning around. "Away from here." His voice was cold, dead.
I was keeping an eye on Batman, so I saw him pull a small box with a red button from his belt. He pushed the button, and suddenly a dark plane was hovering over us. Batman seemed to be struggling with himself, as though trying to reach a decision on something. Finally he spoke. "Come with me, I can keep you safe."
The plane came down in a clear area in the middle of the street, the glass slid back, and Batman jumped into the pilot's chair. "Get in."
Brooklyn looked to me. "What do you think?"
I thought it over. [Take Cat and go with him. I'll join up with you later, just in case.] Brooklyn nodded and carefully climbed in behind Batman, gently holding on to Cat's battered corpse.
Once they were safely in the Bat-jet, it took off, on a course for the Batcave.
"Ha! Some champion, not even a week into the job, and she gets herself killed falling off a building."
Deep in the middle of nowhere, they were watching Cat's plight, just as they had been watching since the moment she found Destiny's Gate. Now, one was laughing, for he was a servant of Chaos, and it appeared that his side might win the war.
"We shall see, we shall most definitely see." A deep, mysterious masculine voice replied, "we shall see..."
Deep below Wayne Manor, in the Batcave, Brooklyn placed Cat's body on a medical bed. Batman was busy making sure that Brooklyn wouldn't find out his secret. Brooklyn couldn't have cared less. He just stood and stared at Cat. She didn't look as bad lying here. Nothing twisted at an unnatural angle, and there was surprisingly little blood.
For the rest of the night, Brooklyn stood beside Cat's bed, until dawn, when he turned to stone. But, just before Brooklyn turned to stone, he heard something...a deep, shuddering breath.
Cat stood on a cliff, overlooking a field. It was filled with gargoyles, and humans, and many other strange and wondrous beings. All were happy, they were friends, working in peace. All were dead. Souls who had been devastated in life, in death found peace and harmony. Cat wanted to join them.
She went to step off the cliff, to join those on the field below. Something stopped her. Some sort of invisible shield prevented her from going forward.
"It is not yet your time." A man with the head of a jackal, or was it a jackal with the body of a man? He had spoken. "Your friends still need you. Go now."
Cat looked longingly at the field below, but she was already returning to the waking world. Her form was slowly dissolving from the ground up. "But....When?" She was gone.
I gave a deep, shuddering breath. It felt good, like I'd been holding my breath for ages. I heard the sound of Brooklyn turning to stone, and knew two things: it was sunrise; and wherever I was, it was safe.
I took another deep breath, and knew something else, I hurt. Every single part of me hurt, I felt like someone had dropped a car on me. Oh damn, now I remember. No one had dropped a car on me, I'd dropped on a car.
"Ungh..." Okay, so I wasn't quite ready to make conversation yet, and I definitely wasn't ready to go dancing, but I was alive, which was probably more than I should have been.
A dark shape appeared at my side. "Computer, report."
An emotionless, electronic female voice replied. "Subject is alive. Injuries: bruised ribs, left ankle - sprained, right wrist - broken, jaw - bruised. Status: non-critical. Comparison with last scan: Error! Subject should be deceased. Conclusion: Error!" The computer stopped, apparently stumped for answers.
I tried to lift my head off the table. Bright light flashed before my eyes and it felt like someone had hit me with a sledge hammer. I let my head drop back down. "Oh, ouch. That hurt."
The dark figure...Batman, Batman, Batman, where do I know that from? leaned over me, probably to get a better look, or fiddle with some computer control.
"You know," I started, "You could just ask me how I feel, instead of your computer."
He gave me a strange look from underneath his mask, as if he wasn't sure whether he should smile or frown. Or maybe he wasn't sure how to smile. Then again, he could just be thinking he was going nuts and talking to a corpse.
"I've got the damndest feeling I should know you from somewhere." I pointed an accusing finger at him, and caused a jolt of pain to run up my arm. "Oh," I hissed "right, broken wrist, ouch."
This time, he definitely smiled, just the barest flicker of a smile, only there for a second, but definitely a smile. "Here," he handed me a cup, and helped me sit up. "Drink this."
I sniffed the cup cautiously. "Chicken soup?"
He nodded, "Made fresh, it'll help you get your strength back."
I sniffed it again, and smelled something else, besides the chicken and noodles, but I couldn't place it, so I drank it up. I figured it was just some spice or some secret ingredient. He took the cup away and laid me back down. I yawned, felling drowsy.
I gave Batman an evil look. "You drugged..." That was all I got out before I fell asleep.
"Yes, I did." Batman gave the strange creature, no, Cat. He gave Cat one last look before heading out to change for his day job, secure in the knowledge that the sedative should keep her unconscious until he returned later that evening.
I awoke sometime later to a silent cave, and a computer flashing the time. 8:30 a.m.. I guessed I'd been asleep for about two hours or so. Guess it wasn't a very strong sedative. I sat up and looked around. Brooklyn was a few feet away, still a statue. I yawned, there seemed to be no one at all around.
I decided if Batman could do it, so could I, I'd try to access his computer.
"Computer?"
I heard an odd noise, like air pressure being released, then, "One moment, processing." The voice was wrong, it wasn't the emotionless electronic voice I'd been expecting. Heck, it wasn't even female. Instead of the voice I'd heard before, I got a voice full of warmth, feeling, and...it was male.
"Hello, I am D.A.C.S. (pronounced Dax). That's Digiotronic, Artificial Intelligence, Complex computer, System." The voice was familiar somehow, like the voice you expect your dream man would have, the voice from some far off dream. "How can I help you today, Cat?"
This definitely wasn't Batman's computer. "Um..." I wasn't quite sure what to say. "What...where are you?" This was most confusing.
"This unit is located in your left gauntlet." I think the computer was laughing at me. I lifted my left arm into my lap, sure enough, my gauntlet now resembled a small laptop computer. A small screen, no more than three inches high and five wide, had popped up, revealing a strange keypad set into my gauntlet. The screen was black, having nothing to display, while the keypad was lit up with a green glow, presumably so I could type commands.
"Well, lets try the basics." I addressed the small computer. "D.A.C.S., status report." Basic commands and functions seemed to pop into my mind the longer I thought about it.
"Unit fully charged, holo-projector status: offline; weapons status: stand-by mode; force shield: offline; dimensional archive information: stand-by mode. All systems operational." The humor had disappeared from the voice, it was all business now.
"Holo-projector? Archive?" I wasn't sure what half these things meant. "Dacs, full explanation on holo-projector."
The computer started spouting technical jargon. I interrupted, for sanity's sake. "Whoa, wait, stop. Just...just tell me what it does."
"Confirmed. The holo-projector was created to be used in an infiltration capacity." An image appeared on the small screen, a wire model, obviously of me, complete with wings and tail. It was surrounded by a line of red light. "The holo-projector, when engaged, projects a series of force-fields and light patterns, displaying a false image to those not contained within the shielded area. All images are designed to fool most recording devices, as well as projecting false health readings to medical equipment." The computer trailed off, waiting for further instructions.
"This has definite possibilities." I paused, trying to remember the other things which Dacs had listed. "Dacs, what does the archive contain?" I queried the computer, wondering how this could help me.
"The archive is a complete reference manual on all known dimensions with in the multiverse, complied from different sources-"
"Computer," I interrupted "Where does the information come from?"
"I was coming to that," it actually managed to sound peevish. "Each dimension has its own collection of fiction and fantasy, most of these writings are simply the writers' ability to glimpse into another plane of reality. With each new dimension we travel to, new information is added."
"Really?" This was definitely helpful. "So, then you could tell me why it is that Batman seems so familiar?"
"Affirmative." Now Dacs was being all computer, he was going to make me ask.
I've know this computer for all of five minutes, and I'm already thinking of it like it's a person. "Well? Tell me about Batman."
"Based on previous data, and data I've collected since we arrived here, I have discovered that Batman is a crime fighter, a vigilante bent on stopping crime in Gotham City. He - "
I cut Dacs off. "He started fighting crime when his parents were killed. They were coming out of a theater, someone tried to mug them, his parents were shot, right in front of him. It changed his life, caused him to vow to stop the suffering of innocents." I paused, looking up at the Batcave, all the equipment, the Batmobile. "Bruce Wayne is Batman."
"Correct." After that, the silence was deafening.
I'd found a mirror in, what was obviously, the Batcave change room. I was practising using my holograms. I discovered that I could use my holograms as a disguise, but only to a certain extent. No matter how I made myself look, young, old, male, female, I was always the same height. Also, if I moved something that didn't belong on a human, like my wings, there would be a faint rippling effect, where anyone looking directly at me would briefly see the general outline of my wings.
After practising for an hour, I figured that, while disguised, it would be best if I kept my wings cloaked, and my tail wrapped around my waist or leg. I found a hologram I really liked, a teenage girl, around eighteen or nineteen, red hair pulled back in a ponytail, and eyes nearly the same green as mine. Outfits of course could be anything and everything.
I decided it was time to go out. But how the heck would I get out of the Batcave, and what if Brooklyn woke up before I got back? Well, it was only about ten in the morning, so I figured I should be back long before sunset, so that just left how to get out of the Batcave.
In my earlier wanderings, I had passed some stairs. I now went back and quietly made my way up those stairs. Halfway up the stairs I realized I should probably activate my hologram. I pushed a button on Dacs, and was cloaked in the image of the red haired girl, wearing a grey t-shirt, black jeans, and some cheap black runners.
At the top of the stairs I stopped, and put my ear to the door. As I was leaning against the door, it suddenly swung open, spilling me onto a plush carpet. Pulling up my head, I was confronted with a pair of brightly polished black shoes.
Uh, oh. I'm in trouble. I slowly lifted myself off the floor, taking in the person before me. He was dressed in a black suit, which appeared to be some type of uniform. What hair he had left was white, and cut short, ringing the sides, but leaving the top bare.
He was giving me a look which clearly said 'Who are you, and what are you doing here?', not at all the type of reception I would expect after falling out of the Batcave.
My heart was pounding hard in my chest, obviously trying to break free from my rib cage and start its own solo career. I gave the man a small, hesitant smile, as if to say 'I got caught with my hand in the cookie jar, now I'm in trouble, aren't I?', and started to pick myself up.
As I began propping myself up off the floor, the man offered me a helping hand in getting up. However, given my recent aversion to handshaking, I politely shook my head 'no thank you' and continued to get up under my own power.
I stood there, brushing off all the fictional dirt, waiting in an awkward silence. I had, after all, just fallen out of the secret door to the equally secret Batcave.
The gentleman cleared his throat, "May I inquire as to what you were doing in..." he paused briefly as this eyes flicked ever so slightly to the Batcave entrance. "...the basement?" he finished, perhaps in an attempt to make me think there was nothing unusual about having a supercomputer and ten tons of Batman stuff sitting under a house.
"I...um...was looking for the bathroom?" I tried in a lame attempt at humor. I could tell two things from the look he gave me: one, he didn't buy into that explanation, and two, he wasn't the least bit amused.
"Okay..." I decided to use an edited version of the truth. "I fell off a building and Batman found me and brought me to the Batcave to recover and I woke up a little while ago and I really do need to use the bathroom and is Bruce still here?" my explanation came out in one big breath. I was hoping he'd ignore the first part of what I was saying, and maybe just escort me out, or to the bathroom.
As what I'd said sunk in, his expression changed to one of shock. "Oh my."
He suddenly looked far too pale, I started to worry that maybe I'd given him a heart attack. He did seem a bit old.
"Um...would you like to sit down?" I asked in an apprehensive tone. The last thing I needed was for him to topple over or drop dead.
He looked at me as though he was shocked that I was still there, as if he expected me to have disappeared. Maybe he was hoping I was a figment of his imagination.
"I'll tell you what," I tried to get Alfred's attention, having finally remembered why he looked familiar, and who he was, "why don't you point me in the general direction of the bathroom, then I'll be gone, and you can chalk this up to a hallucination, bad dream, whatever."
I adjusted a few things on my holographic disguise, by pushing buttons on Dacs which only I could see. My disguise went from being a perfectly normal human, to being a slightly transparent human. Since it was part of the disguise, however, the gargoyle me didn't show through the now ghost-like red-head.
I waved a hand in front of Alfred's eyes. "See, I'm not really here, I'm just something your mind made up because you are far too overworked." I smiled, maybe I could pull this off.
Alfred's eyes focused on me again. "That must be it." he was talking more to himself than to me, hopefully convinced I wasn't really there. "I am overdue for some vacation." he was smiling now, obviously convinced I wasn't real.
He got up, still talking to himself. "Honestly, how likely is it that a woman would just fall out of the Batcave..."
I didn't really want to draw attention back to myself, but... "Excuse me, the bathroom?"
Alfred turned back. "Of course," he pointed "it's down that hall, third door on the left. Good-bye now."
I practically flew down the hall.
Moments later, I was outside, on my way to Wayne Enterprises headquarters, Gotham City.
The intercom buzzed annoyingly. "Mr. Wayne," The voice of Brenda, Bruce Wayne's secretary, came over the line, breaking the morning silence. "There's a young lady out here who claims to know you, and...Hey! You can't go in there!" The intercom cut out, just as the door to his office flew open, admitting the young lady in question, Brenda trailing not far behind.
The strange young woman in the doorway had bright red hair, pulled back in a pony tail, and green-grey eyes which seemed a bit...off, empty. They just didn't look right. He could see, however, why Brenda had not wanted to admit this person to his office, she was dressed far too casually for the office. While everyone in the building, from Bruce himself to the lowest mail-boy, was dressed in some type of business suit, this girl was dressed in a grey t-shirt, black denim jeans and sneakers. She couldn't have been a day over nineteen, if that.
Bruce had no idea who this was. He stood up, walked around his desk, and approached the strange girl. He never forgot a face, and he was sure he'd never seen this girl before, yet there was something about the way she stood, her presence was familiar.
He extended a hand in greeting, "Hello, Miss..?" he paused, obviously waiting for her to fill in the blank.
She ignored his outstretched hand, "Kirk, Miss Catherine Kirk." The name, like the face, was unfamiliar. Still ignoring his attempt to shake hands, she continued. "We met last night. At the jewelry store? I was with my friend, the one with the white hair?" She was obviously trying to give him clues, without giving anything away to his secretary.
Brenda was looking worried, obviously debating whether to stay, or leave to call security. "It's all right Brenda, you can go...and hold all my calls." Brenda backed slowly out the door, not wanting to turn her back on this strange visitor.
As the door clicked shut, the girl raised her left arm, and began slowly sweeping it across the room, as though she was going to point at something, but wasn't quite sure where it was.
"Who-?" Bruce began, only to be cut off as the girl stuck her other arm up, one finger up, in the gesture saying 'just-one-minute'. When she'd swept her arm across the room twice, a small beep sounded, and the girl put her arm down, relaxing considerably.
"Room's clean." she gave a sigh of relief.
"Who are you?" He was starting to get annoyed. "What do you want?"
"You know," the red-haired girl turned on him, traces of anger and annoyance in her voice. "If you're going to knock a person off a building, you could at least remember her name. Granted, I look different, but how many people did you meet at a jewelry store last night?"
The proverbial light went on in his head. Catherine, Cat, the cat-creature he'd taken back to the Batcave, the one who'd woken up after being dead for most of the night. But this girl was human and he'd given that creature enough tranquillizer to keep it out until he returned home, if not later.
"But...you're human." Bruce stated what he felt was obvious, and immediately felt annoyed for doing so.
The girl snorted. "If I'm human, you're the Riddler...and I know you're not." her voice dropped a few levels on the last part, and she spoke barely above a whisper. "You're Batman." She smiled, revealing white teeth...and fangs. "And I'm Cat." Cat dropped her illusion for a moment, allowing Batman to see her, wings, tail, and all, before she was once again replaced by the red-haired girl.
Bruce gaped.
"What?" Cat pouted. "You don't like my surprise? I'm hurt." Cat was starting to have fun. "Oh, do me a favor? If you see Barbara Gordon before I do, tell her there's no hard feelings, 'k?"
Bruce collected himself, hiding his feelings and putting on his 'Batman face'. "How did you get out of the cave?"
"Oh, um..." Cat looked sheepish. "Well, um, through the clock in the library." Cat was looking at her feet, and fidgeting nervously.
Bruce raised an eyebrow. "What aren't you telling me?" there was a trace of humor in his voice. After raising Dick through most of his childhood, he knew how to make people give up information.
"I, um, kinda, well." Cat took a deep breath. "Alfred opened the clock door and I fell out and we nearly gave each other a heart attack." Her words came out in one big rush, and she smiled nervously.
Bruce started coughing, choking on suppressed laughter. Cat walked over to the water cooler in the corner of the room, by the doors, intending to get him a drink, while Bruce tried to stop coughing.
A loud commotion from outside the door interrupted Bruce's coughing, just as Cat was about to tell him it wasn't that funny. It sounded as though people were screaming and running around.
The door burst open, almost hitting Cat, and in marched a very angry looking clown. It was a girl, dressed in a skin-tight outfit, half black, half red. Her face was painted completely white, except for the black mask around her eyes, and her black lipstick. Her hair was tucked up into a ridiculous hat which broke of into two sides, like she had pony tails on and decided she needed a separate place to store each one. She was carrying a very large gun.
She slammed the doors behind her. "Sheesh, some people just can't take a joke." she exclaimed in a light tone, her attempt at humor completely destroyed by the look of anger in her eyes. The clown spotted Bruce, who was trying to get to the security button on his desk. "Nuh-uh, Brucey." She fired her gun towards the desk, causing Bruce to back away from it, towards the window.
Bruce's eyes narrowed as he spoke. "Harley Quinn. What do you want?" he asked in his, 'I'm Bruce Wayne, millionaire - not Batman' voice.
Harley gave a big grin. "Did ya miss me, Brucey?" She was practically bouncing off the walls with perkiness.
"The last time I saw you, you were teamed with Ivy, and you tried to kill me...and max out my credit cards."
Harley's smile just dropped off her face. "Yeah, well." she sounded angry now. "Now you're my hostage. I'm going to hold onto you until I get what I want." The deranged clown girl pointed her gun at Bruce.
"What is it you want?" Bruce asked her in a calm voice.
"Batman."
The moment Harley Quinn entered the room, Cat disappeared, literally. One moment she was standing next to the water cooler, the next, there was just the water cooler.
Cat, upon seeing an enemy enter, had used her hologram to make it appear that she had never been there. No one would have seen her, even if they'd been staring right at her, so long as she stood still. When she moved, a faint outline could be seen, but only if you were looking for it. Harley Quinn didn't even glance in her direction, her eyes were locked on Bruce, trying to make sure he wasn't going to pull anything.
Cat was more or less ignoring the conversation, trying to form some sort of plan that didn't involve anyone getting shot. Then, one word penetrated her consciousness, "Batman."
Cat's head shot up, and she began to take closer note of the way the conversation was going.
"I want Batman!" Harley was starting to sound like a petulant child, throwing a tantrum because someone had told her "No."
Bruce was truly baffled. "Why?"
"Because," Harley sounded annoyed again, and she was starting to whine, "he hurt my Mr. J!"
She changes moods faster than I do. Cat thought with wry humor. Ah, well, I suppose now would be as good a time as any to do something. Especially since Batman can't exactly come and save the day.
"Batman didn't hurt Mr...the Joker." An eerie voice echoed through the office. Harley jumped a few inches, and gave a pathetic "eep."
"Who...who said that? Where are you? How do you know who hurt my Pudding?" Harley was trying to put on a brave face, but her voice was trembling. It wasn't every day that a disembodied voice made announcements...then again...
"Batman didn't hurt the Joker." the voice repeated. "I know, because I did it." Cat stepped forward, gradually dropping her hologram, giving the effect that she was appearing from thin air. Her eyes were glowing white in anger.
Harley whipped the gun around, bringing it to bear on Cat. "You hurt Mr. J," her voice was filled with anger and hate. "Now I'm gonna hurt you!"
The clown gave an evil smile as she pulled the trigger. The bullet flew swiftly between the intervening space from Harley to Cat. The bullet hit Cat in the upper left arm, and lodged there with a wet smacking noise. Cat grunted as blood began flowing down her arm, but she kept moving forward.
BANG! A bullet hit in the lower right leg.
BANG! A bullet hit her chest, crumpled and fell to the floor.
BANG! A bullet punched a hole in her left wing membrane.
BANG! A bullet hit her clothing again, and fell to the floor.
CRUNCH! Cat had reached Harley finally, and grabbing her gun, had crushed it with her bare hands. Granted, it took her both hands, where as Brooklyn could've done it in one, but it was still impressive.
Harley barely had time for her small, pathetic, "eep!" before Cat's fist connected with her face, sending her into oblivion.
Cat stood there, panting, her arm and leg bleeding, and her wing throbbing with pain. She looked over to Bruce, who had been trying to sneak up on Harley while Cat was drawing her fire.
She smiled a small, pain-filled smile. "You'd've thought she'd at least been a little phased by the wings."
Bruce just gave a half smile and walked back over to his desk. There, he unlocked the bottom drawer and pulled out a first aid kit. "I keep this here for emergencies. I think this qualifies."
Cat's smile grew. "What, don't appreciate me bleeding all over your carpet?" She looked down, but there was surprisingly little blood. Already the hole in her wing had closed and her leg had stopped bleeding
"By now someone outside should've called the police. We should fix you up before they get here." Bruce gave a low whistle of appreciation when he turned back to Cat, and noticed her new condition. "You certainly heal fast. Why don't you come sit down over here so I can remove those bullets, before you heal right over them."
Cat obligingly trudged over to his black leather office chair, and flopped down barely avoiding sitting on her tail in the process. Bruce pulled some instruments from the kit, and set to work.
Thirty minutes later Bruce was standing with a slightly battered Cat, once again disguised as a red-head, watching the police load a still unconscious Harley Quinn into an ambulance to be carted of to Arkham.
After Bruce had removed the bullets, Cat had started healing at a remarkable rate. To top things off, all the blood on the carpet and chair had completely disappeared. It had gradually turned from a large puddle to a small stain, into nothing at all as Cat healed. Now, almost completely healed all traces of blood were gone.
Commissioner Jim Gordon came over to Mr. Wayne. "You're a very lucky man Mr. Wayne, she could've killed you."
"Lucky for us Batman showed up." Bruce and Cat had decided to keep her involvement secret, it would be easier to just chalk this up to another save by Batman. "If you'll excuse us now Commissioner, this has been a trying day, and I'd like to head home with my...guest, now."
"Of course Mr. Wayne, we'll call you if we require anything further."
"Good day Commissioner." Mr. Wayne turned to head for his limo, which had just pulled up, Alfred at the wheel. Cat nodded briefly towards the Commissioner and followed after Mr. Wayne.
They both got into the car, and Alfred drove off, to Wayne Manor.
At around three in the afternoon, after a leisurely lunch (healing had given me quite an appetite), the limo carrying Bruce Wayne and myself pulled up outside the gates to Wayne manor. Stopping briefly outside the gate to punch in security codes, the limo then proceeded up the drive to stop at the front door, where we stepped out, while Alfred drove off to park the car in the garage.
"You know," I broke the silence hanging about us, "I have no idea where Shade went, I haven't seen her since I fell off that building."
Bruce looked puzzled. "Shade? That panther? It ran off right before Brooklyn brought you here."
[I didn't run off, I was exploring] Shade's mind voice sounded hurt.
"Shade?" I looked around. "Where are you?"
"Why are you calling it? It's not around here. It's a wild animal, it probably ran off looking for woods or a forest." Bruce was starting to look at me as though he thought that maybe I belonged in Arkham, with the rest of the crazies.
I gave Bruce a funny look. "You can't hear her?"
[He can't hear me, only you can hear me, and sometimes Brooklyn. I like Brooklyn.] Shade answered my question, just as Bruce asked, "Hear what?"
I just sighed and shook my head. "Never mind." I told Bruce, then a little louder, "Shade, get your furry, no good, flea-ridden carcass over here, Now!"
The front door was located under a type of overhang, not much of one, just enough to cast half the front entry into shadow. Shade stepped out of this shadow. One moment she was nowhere to be seen, the next there was half a big cat sticking out of a closed front door.
Shade stepped the rest of the way out of the shadow, looked over at me and Bruce, giving us a big grin. [Neat trick, huh?]
Bruce looked absolutely flabbergasted. He couldn't have looked more shocked if I'd just turned into the Joker and pulled a gun on him. The expression on his face was priceless. I broke out laughing, it was just too funny. Here was a guy, who on a good day, you might be able to get a very small grin from, with his chin practically hitting the ground.
It took me awhile to calm down. When I finally caught my breath, I looked up at Bruce, he was giving me this incredibly evil look. If looks could kill, I'd've been a small puddle on the ground. I couldn't help myself, I started laughing again.
By the time Alfred had parked the car, and come to the front door, wondering why we hadn't come in yet, I'd calmed down....almost. I was making odd whimpering noises in an effort to stop laughing and catch my breath. Bruce was just standing there, waiting for me to stop, and Shade meanwhile was running around the front lawn, trying to catch a very terrified squirrel.
I took a deep breath, another, counted to ten. I had to repeat this procedure a few more times before I felt able to speak calmly. I looked Bruce in the eye, and in my steadiest, most serious voice, said "I'm done now."
Bruce looked at me and raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure?"
I took a few more deep breaths for good measure. "I hope so." I grinned "My sides were starting to hurt."
I called Shade back to the door with a thought, and we followed Bruce back into Wayne Manor, secret home of Batman.
We spent the next few hours downstairs in the Batcave, waiting for sunset and discussing the best way to take out an enemy with the least amount of force and damage. I found myself really warming to the topic, even mentioning a few things I didn't know that I knew.
Sometime later I was throughly enjoying myself, searching through the vast archive of information on the Bat computer when a loud roar, followed by a cry of despair, broke the relative silence of the Batcave.
"Cat!"
Brooklyn had woken up, and discovered my body missing. Of course I'd almost completely forgotten he'd gone to sleep thinking me dead, and I was so engrossed in what I was doing, I just absently called out to him. "I'm over here!"
For the five seconds it took him to reach me, the cave was completely silent, until I was pounced upon from behind. Brooklyn snatched me straight out of my chair and began crushing me in a huge hug.
"You're alive!" he practically screamed in my ear, then began reciting it slowly, still squeezing me in his grip.
"Not if you keep squashing me like this." I wasn't sure if he could hear me, my face crushed up against his shoulder as it was. I struggled to get my face free, only for a few seconds. "Can't...breath."
Brooklyn dropped me so fast, I fell on my butt, unable to regain my balance in time. I got up quickly and dusted myself off. "Good to see you too." I was grinning like a mad woman, I couldn't help it, his good mood was infectious. He was practically bouncing with contained joy.
Shade walked silently up behind him. [What's up?]
Brooklyn pointed at me, still too stunned to be frightened by Shade's abrupt appearance. "She's alive." he sounded like he still didn't believe it.
[Yeah? So?] this was old news to Shade, she walked up behind me and laid down on the floor, in the perfect position to trip me should I try to take a step backwards.
I gave her a disgusted look. "You're such an overgrown kitten." Of course what could I expect, she was an overgrown kitten. She didn't bother to dignify my statement with a response.
Brooklyn was still staring at me, pointing, beak agape. "Brooklyn," I used a disgustingly sweet voice. "Hun. Close your mouth before one of the bats in here decides to use it as a new roost."
His beak snapped shut with an audible click.
"But...but... How?"
I shrugged my shoulders. "I dunno, I just woke up around dawn. Maybe I was dead, maybe I was just in a coma or something." I figured it didn't matter that I was alive, what mattered was what we were going to do now.
"Look," I told Brooklyn. "We've got to face a few facts. One," I pointed to the silver and green dragon pendant around my neck, "we don't know how this thing works, or even if it'll work again. Two," I made a motion indicating the world in general. "We know next to nothing about this world. We may be the only gargoyles here. And three," I held up three of my five fingers, "if we are stuck here, we have nowhere to stay."
Shade decided to add her two cents. [Lighten up, you're too depressing.]
Before I could tell her off, Bruce came out of a back room, dressed as the Batman once again. "You're welcome to come patrolling with me. In this city there's plenty of crimes that need stopping." He walked the short distance to the Bat computer, and held something out to me.
"Here, take these, they might come in handy." he opened a gloved hand, revealing what looked like five black marbles.
I picked one up. "What are they?"
"Smoke bombs. For concealment."
I carefully put the small, black explosive back down in his hand with the others. "Um...thanks."
Now where can I put... Before I could even finish the thought, I had an answer, my backpack. I just had this feeling that they would be perfectly safe to store in my backpack, even though the rational part of my mind was telling me they would surely roll around and most likely go off.
"Brooklyn," I turned so my back was to him. "Would you just drop those in my bag, one at a time please?" I saw Batman giving me a look which clearly expressed his belief that I was taking my life into my hands. "Don't worry, it's perfectly safe, provided you don't drop more than one at a time."
I waited patiently while Brooklyn carefully dropped all five of the bombs into my bag, then turned around, reflecting that they didn't seem to have added any weight.
I was preparing to take Batman up on his offer, when my pendant began sparking...in green.
"What the...?" Brooklyn had noticed its odd behavior as well.
"I think it's time for us to be going." I addressed Batman. "You'd better stand back, unless you want to come with."
Batman stepped back, until a good ten feet separated us. There was a non-noise, more a feeling of a whooshing, and green flames surrounded Brooklyn, Shade and myself. Just before the flames obscured my vision, I could have sworn I saw a shape forming from the darkness, behind Batman.
Batman watched as a ball of green flame sprang up from nowhere, surrounding Brooklyn, Cat and Shade, then disappearing, taking them with it.
"Where are they!?" a new voice filled the cave. Batman turned, finding a man, eerily pale, with dark black hair, and clothes black as pitch. "Where are they?! The travelers!? I know they were here! What have you done with them!?"
Batman eyed the stranger. "Are you a friend of theirs?" he seriously doubted any friend of Cat or Brooklyn would act in such a hostile and.....hateful manner, but he decided to give this person the benefit of the doubt.
"Yes! Now where have they gone?!" The stranger practically screamed at Batman, he had been so close! Shadows twisted and danced around his form, in an unnatural pattern, quite nauseating if one were to focus on them for too long.
"I'm not sure. This ball of fire swallowed them up, not ten seconds ago." Batman shrugged, like he couldn't care less where they had gone.
The stranger gave a shriek of anger and frustration, and disappeared, the shadows rearranging themselves into a normal order.
Batman shuddered under his mask. "Wherever they went, I hope he doesn't find them."
The dark green flames parted, leaving me wondering where we'd be this time. I looked around. A barn!?
End.