DCU Batman #1- "Batcatcher"

====Gotham General====

 

Can't keep it up. He's twice my size, and he's not holding anything back. If I can counter his strikes, use his size against him, just maybe I can end this-

There. He's pinned down, but not for long, have to think fast- *Uhn* ribs are cracked, and I'm alone.

Cops are still outside, providing security. Could be minutes before they get here. Can't keep relying on them to bail me out, not if Batman is to succeed.

 

"The gunman spoke highly of you. I know better, your costume doesn't change what you are. A coward. This... Is a killer's world. And, you lack a killer instinct"

 

*Now* he starts to brag... Nothing I do seems to hurt him, he's wearing armour all over, some kind of iron. Wait... That's it.

I grab a nearby defibrillator, set it to 1000 volts, the armour's sure to be conductive enough. Just need him to swing, and- Down. He's down. I take a pair of batcuffs out of my belt, those'll hold him until Montoya arrives, and I wipe the blood from my mouth.

 

"You think these *ack* you think these will hold me?"

 

"They'll do you until you arrive at GCPD. Now, you'll answer *my* questions."

 

"Madre de Dios! Batman!"

 

Right on time.

 

Batman- Detectives Montoya, Bullock. Lock this one up, secu-uhn-rely.

 

I clutch my side.

 

Montoya- You're hurt, we should really get you to a- Well, get you some help. Doctor-

 

Batman- N-no. I've had worse. Just take me to the crime scene.

 

...

 

Montoya- You heard him, Harv. You two, take our new friend to lockup.

 

Bullock makes a lewd comment about Metalhead and leather as he walks us to the children's wing, leaving two GCPD officers to take him away. A broken rib and I've learned nothing. Let's not make this a habit.

 

Bullock- Same as all the others. Entered through the window here, grabbed the kid, and left the same way. Cleaners left their scaffolding outside, so there's no mystery how they got the kid back down... Hey, Doc, come over here.

 

Montoya- Batman, this is Doctor Wilson, she was in the staff room two doors down when our perp entered.

 

"A pleasure"

 

She's nervous, offering me a shaking hand. I accept it, and nod.

 

Doctor- Sorry, I just... Just didn't think you were real.

 

"That's the idea," I reply. I've activated my Infrared scanner, drawing me to a corner just under the window. Teeth marks...

 

Montoya- Find anything?

 

Batman- Over here. There's something strange about all this. Look at this, the silent alarm was cut, looks as though something chewed through the wires. And there, on the windowsill-

 

Montoya- Rat droppings?

 

Doctor- That's... not possible. We have cleaning crews, exterminators, in 7-8pm, every day. We don't have rat problems. Ever.

 

Bullock- Well, maybe you should consider cutting their salaries, because that's shit, clear as day.

 

"Hmm."

I put a sample into a bag, then slip it into a compartment on my belt. Montoya's in the middle of calming Bullock down.

 

Bullock- -all we know is he likes rats and he steals kids! Do I need to send a warrant to the Pied Piper of Hamilton? Bats?

 

=====The Batcave=====

 

"Analysis complete. 95% Rat Feces."

 

Bruce- Only 95%? What's the other five percent?

 

"Sample contains traces of sewage water."

 

Well, that's not surprising... Alfred looks up from his med kit, and muses to himself.

 

Alfred- You know, Master Bruce, when I suggested taking up a hobby, I meant fishing, not scatology.

 

I turn around from the Batcomputer, to catch his eye.

 

Bruce- A means to an end, a means to an end...

 

I resume my research, there's got to be something on a Pied Piper. Crazy as it sounds, there's something familiar about all this...

Bingo. "Ratcatcher Netted"

 

Bruce- Alfred, I've been looking into city records, trying to figure out what our kidnapper's after... Does the name Otis Flannegan mean anything to you?

 

Alfred- Funnily enough... It does. You would have been a toddler yourself when the news got out. He was a mob hitman for Carmine Falcone, the tabloids, well, they called him the Ratcatcher. He started out as a pest exterminator, the premiere exterminator if you can call it that. Highly recommended by Mayor Hill, and Commissioner Loeb. No one knows *how* he did it, but it was as though he could *control* the rats, like a real life pied piper. It's rather ghastly, but Falcone brought him into his inner circle, using his talents to eliminate the competition. He was operating for years until... until the bones were discovered. The rats, were eating the bodies. Everyone knew Falcone hired Flannegan, but of course, no one spoke up. He was written off as a lunatic, imprisoned in Blackgate for years until-

 

Bruce- Until Punch let him out. Dammit. Did Flannegan ever target children?

 

Alfred- No, never. Falcone would never allow it. He's always prided himself on some *base* level of honour.

 

It's *not* Falcone... Someone new. Another in a long line of puppeteers... I look at the cabinets, Blackfire, Punch, Zodiac. When does it end?

 

Batman- Send these files to Dent, tell him to put out an APB on Flannegan.

 

Alfred- You know you *could* send them to Commissioner Gordon yourself. You can't blame him forever.

 

...

 

Batman- Dent's a good man, Al, and he's got the connections to get it done

 

Alfred- And where will *you* be going, sir?

 

Batman- The sewers. And Flannegan better *pray* the GCPD get there first.

 

===GCPD, Outside===

 

"Ok, move it, Ugly"

 

They think he's incapacitated, that mere handcuffs can hold him. They think they've done a great job, that they're safe to deride and mock him. They're wrong.

Metalhead clicks his heel, and a blade retracts from his boot, tearing open the first officer's leg. Still shackled, he grabs the cop by his tie, and headbutts him, impaling his face upon his spiked crown. The second cop fires, but Metalhead kicks the gun from his hand, and, pulling him close, throttles him with his hand cuffs. Satisfied, he shrugs off his chains and disappears into the night. Soon, Batman, soon.

Done