Post by liquidsword34 on Jul 12, 2012 13:13:35 GMT -5
Before the soldiers surrounding them realized that Prometheus had deployed a smoke bomb, the five warriors were in motion. Catwoman leaped on top of a desk and dove over a cubicle wall, getting her away from the armed attackers swiftly and silently. Tommy Monaghan opened fire with his handgun while sliding into a storeroom, dodging a shotgun pellet launched at his gut by a hair before slamming the wooden door closed behind him. Lady Shiva kept calm and collected, using the smoke as camouflage through which she flanked her attackers. Bane and Prometheus took a more direct approach, taking on her opponents head on. Bane collided with two soldiers, launching them off their feet like rag dolls in a hurricane, while Prometheus lunged his sword towards Massacres chest.
Peering from under the desk she was hidden beneath, Catwoman spotted a three pairs of feet. "She can't 'ave got out the room, just stick as a group and she won't be able to pick us off" one of the soldiers told the others. In one smooth motion, Selina slid out from her hiding place and wrapped her hands around the neck of the guard who had just spoken. Using her captive like a launch pad, Catwoman swung around him and kicked the other two square in the head. While not a fighter, Selina knew two things: Gymnastics, and that the easiest time to take somebody by surprise is mid-sentence. As she attempted to dismount, however, Catwoman realized she made a mistake: her launch platform was stronger than her. The soldier she had grabbed a hold of twisted, slamming Selina down onto her head hard enough to crack her goggles. "Stay down kitten" he sneered at her.
Another shotgun shell was fired towards Tommy's makeshift bunker, this time ripping through a stack of paper after flying through the door. Tommy looked around the room for inspiration, trying to think of an escape route, when one of the masked men booted the door off its hinges. The room was only about five by ten feet, letting Tommy get his hands on his attacker. Tommy gripped his mask with both hands and tried to throw his assailant to the floor, but received the butt of the man's shotgun to his jaw for his trouble. As he fell onto his back Tommy emptied out the remaining bullet in his gun in desperation, aiming wildly at the brute stood above him. After the deafening sound of the gun shot there was a soft zip as hot metal travelled through a thin layer of rubber on the guards mask, before entering his head. After a few seconds the guard dropped to the ground, blood trickling out of his skull into the back of his face mask. It took Tommy a few moments to count the number of times he'd pulled the trigger and number of shots he'd heard, in which time the wound on his shoulder had started gushing blood onto his jacket. "Oh for the love of".
Bane grabbed a printer from a desk and launched it across the office, hitting a soldier square in his chest hard enough to crack a rib or two. The soldiers ally who stood next to him could have killed Bane, but in the darkness and with hearts racing fumbled the shot, leaving Bane enough time to sprint the distance between them and knock his would-be killer out with a hard right hook. A strange feeling washed over Bane, like it'd been too easy. Bane looked down just in time to see the knife plunged into his gut by the man he just punched. "Cl...clever little fascist" he murmured before slumping backwards, clutching his stomach.
Prometheus ignored the gun fire around him, instead focusing on a sword duel with Massacre. The two men stepped to-and-fro, their blades clashing as neither gave up an inch. Massacre pushed forward, ducking a slash at his head and stabbing towards Prometheus's knee. Massacres sword cut through the pants Prometheus wore and the skin just beneath it, and the punch aimed at his opponents throat which followed it dropped Prometheus to one knee. "I'm not one of these grunts, Prometheus". Massacre booted his fallen foe in the chest, knocking Prometheus onto his back. "I am the blade which slices your Achilles heel".
Lady Shiva wasted no time in striking, first disabling an attacker with a low kick to the back of his knee and then a punch to his head. Her strikes made dull thuds as they landed, followed by the sound of over two-hundred pounds of soldier and equipment falling onto the office floor. Turning away, Lady Shiva came face to face with a second guard who was slowly raising his gun. It took her less then a second to neutralize him through a palm to his elbow, but it took her victim at least five to realize she had broken his bones. Smoke continued to rise from Prometheus's bomb as Shiva stalked her prey. As she spun around, winding up her next kick, a dart hit Lady Shiva in the side of her neck, dropping her down onto the floor.
Massacre threw the tranquillizer gun down to the ground and sighed. "Guns are so simple, but situations create needs". Massacre takes a small radio from his pocket, "Nigma, I have the intruders secured...five of them". A loud yelling come out the receiver as Massacre pulls it away from his head. "There were only five of them in here...OK sir". Massacre grabbed lady Shiva by her throat and turned to the soldiers who still stood. "Nigma wants to finish them all off himself the crazy fool".
---
"You were really that audacious?"
Edward Nigma strutted around behind his desk, a loaded pistol in his hand. His rat like features were contorted into a menacing grin, a fire dancing in his eyes. On the other side of the desk sat Lady Shiva, Cawoman, Bane, Prometheus and Tommy Monaghan, each handcuffed to a chair in various states, from Lady Shiva being at most dazed to Bane bleeding profoundly from his gut. Behind them stood Massacre, along with two armed guards. "You thought you could attack me, Edward fucking Nigma, and get away with it?". Nigma cackled. "Your rag tag squad of failures, against ME?"
"Mr Nigma" Massacre interrupted, "I've heard this same speech at least twenty times since I started working for you, and while it remains inspiring, if you have no further use for me..."
"Yes yes get out you moron" Nigma yelled at Massacre. "You shall find you have received your payment in full in your account".
"Good" Massacre mumbled as he turned to the door. "I'm going to put as much distance between myself and this cess pool as possible".
"And now that that's over with" Nigma continued, "I'll give you cretins a piece of advice to take to the grave: You never had a chance. Monaghan, you were at best a two bit thug. Bane, you became one of Gotham's top criminals and then lost your nerve like a ten year old at a piano recital before going to fight in war torn countries for nothing. Catwoman...well, we know you were never built for this. You're a girl in a mans game. I mean look at you!" Nigma waved his gun at Selina, who was looking down at her feet, her eyes closed and her lips quivering. "In fact, Lady Shiva is the only member of this pathetic unit worth the measly amount I under-paid you!"
"Damn right yah cheap bastard!" Tommy yelled at Nigma.
Edward cocked his gun. "Well looks like we have a volunteer for "first one to get their face shot into pieces", thanks for that Tommy". Nigma raised his gun and aimed it at Tommys head. "I cannot say it has been a pleasure, you have all been bitter disappointments to me and I assume your friends and family. You failed".
A pane of glass flew off the window behind Nigma, hitting him in the back of the head with enough force to launch him over the desk. The two guards at the back of the room raised their weapons, but no sooner had they put their fingers to their triggers they were knocked unconscious by a pair of boomerang style projectiles. On the window ledge stood a costumed figure recognizable as Bat-Wing, albeit with more bandages and scars then he usually sported and a small hang-glider style object strapped to his back. Nigma pulled himself up and shot, his bullet grazing Bat-Wings shoulder. David threw himself over the desk in one swift move, kicking Nigma in the head and sending him flying across the office.
"Cut that a bit close didn't you?" In one swift move Bane ripped the cuffs which restrained him in half, freeing himself.
"I'll take that as a thank-you" David replied while lifting Nigma off the ground, bringing the two face to face. "Nigma, you killed my family. You used corruption to gain control over my country and used her people like chess pieces." David pulled a pair of handcuffs from his utility belt and used them to restrain Nigma's hands. "We finally beat you you bastard".
"YOU DIDN'T BEAT ME" Nigma yelled out, trying to shake himself free. "YOU CAN'T OUTSMART ME YOU FOOL, THIS IS WHAT I WANT!" he continued screaming, manically smirking, his eyes shaking erraticaly. "NOBODY DEFEATS EDWARD NIGMA!"
---
Two days later
Prometheus, Bane, Tommy and Catwoman looked on from a distance as David Zamvimbi laid down flowers on a trio of graves. The quartet had been given casual clothes to wear, Prometheus and Bane's being too small and Selina's too large, and each carried a small bag with their other clothes and equipment. Behind them was a rough dirt road, the nearest settlement at least ten miles away. Davids family had been buried in a remote location just outside of Tinasha in unmarked graves, his reasoning being that loyalists of the former government would be liable to defacing the graves if they were discovered. Next to David stood a priest, reading from a bible, with a small run down car sat around a hundred meters away. The two stood motionless in the sand, looking at the ground where the bodies had been buried.
"So where's the good lady gone?" Tommy asked while lighting a cigarette.
"First plane out of here I believe" Bane replied while looking at David out of the corner of his eye. "What about you? Back to Gotham?"
"Yeah, me and Selina might move in together or something. Nothing brings people closer together than almost gettin' killed or something, yah know?"
Bane and Prometheus chuckled, while Selina managed a smile. "It's only because I'm laying low, Tommy".
"Keep tellin' yourself that".
"What about you two?" Selina asked Bane and Prometheus.
"Well, the big guy here's still after his dad, and I'll most likely go back to the same old stuff".
"Robbery? Murder?" David interrupted, making his way over to the others as the priest drove away back towards the nearest town.
"Of course"
"Can't say I approve"
Prometheus chuckled as Selina reached into her bag, pulling out a small rectangular box. "I found this in Nigma's desk." Selina opened the box, revealing five red stones. Each one was cleaned to perfection and completely smooth. "I'm not sure if they're real, but they look nice, and either way I'm sure they could be sold for something". The stones were interlocked together to make a sphere, albeit with one piece missing. "If there's a sixth stone, I have no idea where it is. Lucky for us Shiva couldn't wait to leave otherwise one of us might miss out". Selina and the others each took one of the stones, which were deceptively heavy and cold. "Wait at least six weeks to sell them, helps avoid attention".
"Selina, these stones will have been mined under Nigma's rule. I can't in good consciousness profit from that." David weighed the stone in his hand. "I can't stop you from selling yours, but I just think you should remember where it came from".
"Agreed" Bane muttered while pocketing his stone. "I'll hang on to this, stop it falling into the wrong hands".
"Spoil sports" Selina sighed. "Well, I guess I'd best be leaving" Selina turned and started walking down the road while stashing her stone in her bag. "Long way back to Tinasha".
---
One month later, 17th of December 2011, 11:50 PM
"...And this just in, a bank-robber is believed to be on the loose in downtown Gotham. Our listeners are warned to be careful and not approach the criminal, who is armed and da..."
The radio in the vintage black sedan died along with the engine as the car rolled over to the side of the road, just in front of a convenience store.
"Damnit, you buy classic and the piece of junk can't even go three blocks" the driver growled to himself. Snow drifted down, coating everything in its path under a sea of white. As the driver stepped out of the car Prometheus jumped on the hood, a bag slung over his shoulder and pistol in hand.
"HEY, I JUST BOUGHT THIS!" the driver yelled out at Prometheus, who in one swift move leaped from the car and grabbed a fire escape above him. Prometheus' helmet hid his face as he clambered up the fire escape to the roof five stories above street level.
As Prometheus knelt down to find the loose roof panel, he heard the soft sound of somebody landing on the roof. He spun around firing, but found himself staring out into the darkness of the night.
An object swerved in, cracking Prometheus' visor and dropping him to the floor. The heel of a thick boot followed, knocking the helmet from his head. Prometheus rolled onto his back and found himself looking up at a man dressed in a black mask, cowl and cape.
"I thought you were just an urban legend?" Prometheus tried to roll to his feet but a second kick stopped him.
"I don't have time for this. Not tonight" Batman retorted while pulling Prometheus to his feet, grabbing the criminal's pistol and sliding it away. A line of cable wrapped around Prometheus' legs, keeping them locked together. "I've got more important places to be Prometheus".
The Batman launched Prometheus from the rooftop while pegging his end of the cable to the roof, stopping Prometheus meters from the street. The driver of the sedan dropped his jumper cables in surprise as Prometheus dropped down above him, lightly hitting the wall as his momentum stopped.
The Batman sprinted away across Gotham's rooftops as police cars closed in on the area, disappearing almost as quickly as he'd arrived.
"Well I'll be damned" Prometheus whispered, watching as The Batman slipped into the night.
---
Catoman sat on the balcony of a penthouse apartment, looking down at Gotham city. She swished her martini in her gloved hand while admiring her haul for the night: a pearl necklace, a set of gentleman's cufflinks and a small bag of diamonds, most likely intended to be made into jewellery. The owner of the apartment was an actor who at that moment was starring in an adaptation of Fyodor Dostoyevsky's Demons, a marathon play set to finish just after mid night in Metropolis. Having found out that tickets to the show were obscenely expensive, Selina decided to make the most of the opportunity and burglarize the man's home. Selina put her feet up on the table in front of her next to her loot while leaning back in her chair, looking down over Gotham. Hundreds of lights shone bright even through the thick snowstorm, the Christmas tree in the city centre in particular being visible from many of the city's tall buildings. Selina sat for hours, her leather thieves gear keeping the cold at bay, admiring the skyline.
---
"I tells yah, two huge guys mate, big feckin blokes came tah take mah feckin 'ouse"
"'Sure they did Conor" Tommy sighed as he carried his cousin down the street, getting a few stares as they went on account for Conor being swung over Tommys shoulder like a rucksack.
"Yah don't belive me do yah?"
"Not in the slightest. When you off home?"
"Wadda yah mean? I bin askin' yah to drop me off at tah airport for last few days and yah just say lets crack open the drink"
"Yeah well, you know, it's not often I get to drink with another Irish man"
"Yer not Irish Tommy. Our grand daddy was, but my gran's a good Irish woman. Yours is some yank slag"
"I'm Irish" Tommy muttered as he carried Conor through the front door of his apartment building.
"Really?" Conor cackled as the door to the apartment swung back and hit him in the head. "''Cus yah sound like a feckin yank"
Tommy sighed while carrying Conor upstairs, the floor beneath them creaking as though close to collapse with each step. "You can sleep on the couch." Tommy threw open the door to his apartment, revealing a mess of fast food packaging, empty bottles, magazines and clothes piled on top of each other.
"So what 'appened with that Selina lass you were telling me 'bout on the phone other week?"
Tommy threw his jacket onto the floor before stumbling towards his room. "Nothing much. Saw her the other week, had a conversation about some stuff, that's about it. Doubt it'll go anywhere." Tommy took off his shoes before collapsing onto his bed, asleep before his head hit the pillow.
---
"I've found him!" Bane roared in delight, slamming a book about major criminals of the 21st Century down onto the desk in the centre of his barren apartment. In his eureka moment Bane knocked over his wine glass, staining his rugby top and spilling the red liquid across the floor. "Sir Edmund Dorrance? What does that make me? Bane Dorrance? Edmund jr?" Bane shrugged before continuing to read the book. "Now, where are you hiding? London? Santa Prisca? Hmmmm."
---
Sir Edmund Dorrance stepped out of his small private jet onto a runway in rural Hong Kong while sliding on his red blazer. Edmund's long blonde hair was wrapped in a ponytail, matched in elegance only by his traditional dress wear similar to that of a nobleman. To his left a young boy with a buzz cut and monks robes held an umbrella protecting Edmund from the harsh sun and to his right the boys twin led Edmund along, compensating for Edmund's lack of sight.
"Cho, please put in a call to Albrecht Krieger. Inform him of my arrival and that I have located five of the six stones of Mixcoatl"
"Yes sir" the boy with the umbrella replied as Edmund strode towards the terminal, carrying a duffel bag under his arm.
Peering from under the desk she was hidden beneath, Catwoman spotted a three pairs of feet. "She can't 'ave got out the room, just stick as a group and she won't be able to pick us off" one of the soldiers told the others. In one smooth motion, Selina slid out from her hiding place and wrapped her hands around the neck of the guard who had just spoken. Using her captive like a launch pad, Catwoman swung around him and kicked the other two square in the head. While not a fighter, Selina knew two things: Gymnastics, and that the easiest time to take somebody by surprise is mid-sentence. As she attempted to dismount, however, Catwoman realized she made a mistake: her launch platform was stronger than her. The soldier she had grabbed a hold of twisted, slamming Selina down onto her head hard enough to crack her goggles. "Stay down kitten" he sneered at her.
Another shotgun shell was fired towards Tommy's makeshift bunker, this time ripping through a stack of paper after flying through the door. Tommy looked around the room for inspiration, trying to think of an escape route, when one of the masked men booted the door off its hinges. The room was only about five by ten feet, letting Tommy get his hands on his attacker. Tommy gripped his mask with both hands and tried to throw his assailant to the floor, but received the butt of the man's shotgun to his jaw for his trouble. As he fell onto his back Tommy emptied out the remaining bullet in his gun in desperation, aiming wildly at the brute stood above him. After the deafening sound of the gun shot there was a soft zip as hot metal travelled through a thin layer of rubber on the guards mask, before entering his head. After a few seconds the guard dropped to the ground, blood trickling out of his skull into the back of his face mask. It took Tommy a few moments to count the number of times he'd pulled the trigger and number of shots he'd heard, in which time the wound on his shoulder had started gushing blood onto his jacket. "Oh for the love of".
Bane grabbed a printer from a desk and launched it across the office, hitting a soldier square in his chest hard enough to crack a rib or two. The soldiers ally who stood next to him could have killed Bane, but in the darkness and with hearts racing fumbled the shot, leaving Bane enough time to sprint the distance between them and knock his would-be killer out with a hard right hook. A strange feeling washed over Bane, like it'd been too easy. Bane looked down just in time to see the knife plunged into his gut by the man he just punched. "Cl...clever little fascist" he murmured before slumping backwards, clutching his stomach.
Prometheus ignored the gun fire around him, instead focusing on a sword duel with Massacre. The two men stepped to-and-fro, their blades clashing as neither gave up an inch. Massacre pushed forward, ducking a slash at his head and stabbing towards Prometheus's knee. Massacres sword cut through the pants Prometheus wore and the skin just beneath it, and the punch aimed at his opponents throat which followed it dropped Prometheus to one knee. "I'm not one of these grunts, Prometheus". Massacre booted his fallen foe in the chest, knocking Prometheus onto his back. "I am the blade which slices your Achilles heel".
Lady Shiva wasted no time in striking, first disabling an attacker with a low kick to the back of his knee and then a punch to his head. Her strikes made dull thuds as they landed, followed by the sound of over two-hundred pounds of soldier and equipment falling onto the office floor. Turning away, Lady Shiva came face to face with a second guard who was slowly raising his gun. It took her less then a second to neutralize him through a palm to his elbow, but it took her victim at least five to realize she had broken his bones. Smoke continued to rise from Prometheus's bomb as Shiva stalked her prey. As she spun around, winding up her next kick, a dart hit Lady Shiva in the side of her neck, dropping her down onto the floor.
Massacre threw the tranquillizer gun down to the ground and sighed. "Guns are so simple, but situations create needs". Massacre takes a small radio from his pocket, "Nigma, I have the intruders secured...five of them". A loud yelling come out the receiver as Massacre pulls it away from his head. "There were only five of them in here...OK sir". Massacre grabbed lady Shiva by her throat and turned to the soldiers who still stood. "Nigma wants to finish them all off himself the crazy fool".
---
"You were really that audacious?"
Edward Nigma strutted around behind his desk, a loaded pistol in his hand. His rat like features were contorted into a menacing grin, a fire dancing in his eyes. On the other side of the desk sat Lady Shiva, Cawoman, Bane, Prometheus and Tommy Monaghan, each handcuffed to a chair in various states, from Lady Shiva being at most dazed to Bane bleeding profoundly from his gut. Behind them stood Massacre, along with two armed guards. "You thought you could attack me, Edward fucking Nigma, and get away with it?". Nigma cackled. "Your rag tag squad of failures, against ME?"
"Mr Nigma" Massacre interrupted, "I've heard this same speech at least twenty times since I started working for you, and while it remains inspiring, if you have no further use for me..."
"Yes yes get out you moron" Nigma yelled at Massacre. "You shall find you have received your payment in full in your account".
"Good" Massacre mumbled as he turned to the door. "I'm going to put as much distance between myself and this cess pool as possible".
"And now that that's over with" Nigma continued, "I'll give you cretins a piece of advice to take to the grave: You never had a chance. Monaghan, you were at best a two bit thug. Bane, you became one of Gotham's top criminals and then lost your nerve like a ten year old at a piano recital before going to fight in war torn countries for nothing. Catwoman...well, we know you were never built for this. You're a girl in a mans game. I mean look at you!" Nigma waved his gun at Selina, who was looking down at her feet, her eyes closed and her lips quivering. "In fact, Lady Shiva is the only member of this pathetic unit worth the measly amount I under-paid you!"
"Damn right yah cheap bastard!" Tommy yelled at Nigma.
Edward cocked his gun. "Well looks like we have a volunteer for "first one to get their face shot into pieces", thanks for that Tommy". Nigma raised his gun and aimed it at Tommys head. "I cannot say it has been a pleasure, you have all been bitter disappointments to me and I assume your friends and family. You failed".
A pane of glass flew off the window behind Nigma, hitting him in the back of the head with enough force to launch him over the desk. The two guards at the back of the room raised their weapons, but no sooner had they put their fingers to their triggers they were knocked unconscious by a pair of boomerang style projectiles. On the window ledge stood a costumed figure recognizable as Bat-Wing, albeit with more bandages and scars then he usually sported and a small hang-glider style object strapped to his back. Nigma pulled himself up and shot, his bullet grazing Bat-Wings shoulder. David threw himself over the desk in one swift move, kicking Nigma in the head and sending him flying across the office.
"Cut that a bit close didn't you?" In one swift move Bane ripped the cuffs which restrained him in half, freeing himself.
"I'll take that as a thank-you" David replied while lifting Nigma off the ground, bringing the two face to face. "Nigma, you killed my family. You used corruption to gain control over my country and used her people like chess pieces." David pulled a pair of handcuffs from his utility belt and used them to restrain Nigma's hands. "We finally beat you you bastard".
"YOU DIDN'T BEAT ME" Nigma yelled out, trying to shake himself free. "YOU CAN'T OUTSMART ME YOU FOOL, THIS IS WHAT I WANT!" he continued screaming, manically smirking, his eyes shaking erraticaly. "NOBODY DEFEATS EDWARD NIGMA!"
---
Two days later
Prometheus, Bane, Tommy and Catwoman looked on from a distance as David Zamvimbi laid down flowers on a trio of graves. The quartet had been given casual clothes to wear, Prometheus and Bane's being too small and Selina's too large, and each carried a small bag with their other clothes and equipment. Behind them was a rough dirt road, the nearest settlement at least ten miles away. Davids family had been buried in a remote location just outside of Tinasha in unmarked graves, his reasoning being that loyalists of the former government would be liable to defacing the graves if they were discovered. Next to David stood a priest, reading from a bible, with a small run down car sat around a hundred meters away. The two stood motionless in the sand, looking at the ground where the bodies had been buried.
"So where's the good lady gone?" Tommy asked while lighting a cigarette.
"First plane out of here I believe" Bane replied while looking at David out of the corner of his eye. "What about you? Back to Gotham?"
"Yeah, me and Selina might move in together or something. Nothing brings people closer together than almost gettin' killed or something, yah know?"
Bane and Prometheus chuckled, while Selina managed a smile. "It's only because I'm laying low, Tommy".
"Keep tellin' yourself that".
"What about you two?" Selina asked Bane and Prometheus.
"Well, the big guy here's still after his dad, and I'll most likely go back to the same old stuff".
"Robbery? Murder?" David interrupted, making his way over to the others as the priest drove away back towards the nearest town.
"Of course"
"Can't say I approve"
Prometheus chuckled as Selina reached into her bag, pulling out a small rectangular box. "I found this in Nigma's desk." Selina opened the box, revealing five red stones. Each one was cleaned to perfection and completely smooth. "I'm not sure if they're real, but they look nice, and either way I'm sure they could be sold for something". The stones were interlocked together to make a sphere, albeit with one piece missing. "If there's a sixth stone, I have no idea where it is. Lucky for us Shiva couldn't wait to leave otherwise one of us might miss out". Selina and the others each took one of the stones, which were deceptively heavy and cold. "Wait at least six weeks to sell them, helps avoid attention".
"Selina, these stones will have been mined under Nigma's rule. I can't in good consciousness profit from that." David weighed the stone in his hand. "I can't stop you from selling yours, but I just think you should remember where it came from".
"Agreed" Bane muttered while pocketing his stone. "I'll hang on to this, stop it falling into the wrong hands".
"Spoil sports" Selina sighed. "Well, I guess I'd best be leaving" Selina turned and started walking down the road while stashing her stone in her bag. "Long way back to Tinasha".
---
One month later, 17th of December 2011, 11:50 PM
"...And this just in, a bank-robber is believed to be on the loose in downtown Gotham. Our listeners are warned to be careful and not approach the criminal, who is armed and da..."
The radio in the vintage black sedan died along with the engine as the car rolled over to the side of the road, just in front of a convenience store.
"Damnit, you buy classic and the piece of junk can't even go three blocks" the driver growled to himself. Snow drifted down, coating everything in its path under a sea of white. As the driver stepped out of the car Prometheus jumped on the hood, a bag slung over his shoulder and pistol in hand.
"HEY, I JUST BOUGHT THIS!" the driver yelled out at Prometheus, who in one swift move leaped from the car and grabbed a fire escape above him. Prometheus' helmet hid his face as he clambered up the fire escape to the roof five stories above street level.
As Prometheus knelt down to find the loose roof panel, he heard the soft sound of somebody landing on the roof. He spun around firing, but found himself staring out into the darkness of the night.
An object swerved in, cracking Prometheus' visor and dropping him to the floor. The heel of a thick boot followed, knocking the helmet from his head. Prometheus rolled onto his back and found himself looking up at a man dressed in a black mask, cowl and cape.
"I thought you were just an urban legend?" Prometheus tried to roll to his feet but a second kick stopped him.
"I don't have time for this. Not tonight" Batman retorted while pulling Prometheus to his feet, grabbing the criminal's pistol and sliding it away. A line of cable wrapped around Prometheus' legs, keeping them locked together. "I've got more important places to be Prometheus".
The Batman launched Prometheus from the rooftop while pegging his end of the cable to the roof, stopping Prometheus meters from the street. The driver of the sedan dropped his jumper cables in surprise as Prometheus dropped down above him, lightly hitting the wall as his momentum stopped.
The Batman sprinted away across Gotham's rooftops as police cars closed in on the area, disappearing almost as quickly as he'd arrived.
"Well I'll be damned" Prometheus whispered, watching as The Batman slipped into the night.
---
Catoman sat on the balcony of a penthouse apartment, looking down at Gotham city. She swished her martini in her gloved hand while admiring her haul for the night: a pearl necklace, a set of gentleman's cufflinks and a small bag of diamonds, most likely intended to be made into jewellery. The owner of the apartment was an actor who at that moment was starring in an adaptation of Fyodor Dostoyevsky's Demons, a marathon play set to finish just after mid night in Metropolis. Having found out that tickets to the show were obscenely expensive, Selina decided to make the most of the opportunity and burglarize the man's home. Selina put her feet up on the table in front of her next to her loot while leaning back in her chair, looking down over Gotham. Hundreds of lights shone bright even through the thick snowstorm, the Christmas tree in the city centre in particular being visible from many of the city's tall buildings. Selina sat for hours, her leather thieves gear keeping the cold at bay, admiring the skyline.
---
"I tells yah, two huge guys mate, big feckin blokes came tah take mah feckin 'ouse"
"'Sure they did Conor" Tommy sighed as he carried his cousin down the street, getting a few stares as they went on account for Conor being swung over Tommys shoulder like a rucksack.
"Yah don't belive me do yah?"
"Not in the slightest. When you off home?"
"Wadda yah mean? I bin askin' yah to drop me off at tah airport for last few days and yah just say lets crack open the drink"
"Yeah well, you know, it's not often I get to drink with another Irish man"
"Yer not Irish Tommy. Our grand daddy was, but my gran's a good Irish woman. Yours is some yank slag"
"I'm Irish" Tommy muttered as he carried Conor through the front door of his apartment building.
"Really?" Conor cackled as the door to the apartment swung back and hit him in the head. "''Cus yah sound like a feckin yank"
Tommy sighed while carrying Conor upstairs, the floor beneath them creaking as though close to collapse with each step. "You can sleep on the couch." Tommy threw open the door to his apartment, revealing a mess of fast food packaging, empty bottles, magazines and clothes piled on top of each other.
"So what 'appened with that Selina lass you were telling me 'bout on the phone other week?"
Tommy threw his jacket onto the floor before stumbling towards his room. "Nothing much. Saw her the other week, had a conversation about some stuff, that's about it. Doubt it'll go anywhere." Tommy took off his shoes before collapsing onto his bed, asleep before his head hit the pillow.
---
"I've found him!" Bane roared in delight, slamming a book about major criminals of the 21st Century down onto the desk in the centre of his barren apartment. In his eureka moment Bane knocked over his wine glass, staining his rugby top and spilling the red liquid across the floor. "Sir Edmund Dorrance? What does that make me? Bane Dorrance? Edmund jr?" Bane shrugged before continuing to read the book. "Now, where are you hiding? London? Santa Prisca? Hmmmm."
---
Sir Edmund Dorrance stepped out of his small private jet onto a runway in rural Hong Kong while sliding on his red blazer. Edmund's long blonde hair was wrapped in a ponytail, matched in elegance only by his traditional dress wear similar to that of a nobleman. To his left a young boy with a buzz cut and monks robes held an umbrella protecting Edmund from the harsh sun and to his right the boys twin led Edmund along, compensating for Edmund's lack of sight.
"Cho, please put in a call to Albrecht Krieger. Inform him of my arrival and that I have located five of the six stones of Mixcoatl"
"Yes sir" the boy with the umbrella replied as Edmund strode towards the terminal, carrying a duffel bag under his arm.