Two → Guess who's back? Back again? Batsy's back. (Don't) tell a friend.

[beyondthecowl]

[ A ● Action ● Mid-Morning ● Post Office ]

[Bruce has taken his lunch break early to go retrieve a package, a box wrapped in brown parchment. He finds that curious, and somewhat suspicious; but like most (most) things in Mayfield, he's just going to go along with it

Comments

C

[strike_you_out]

[As the night wears on, the silence on an empty street shatters along with a broken window. Should Batman decide to investigate, he will find the picture window of one of the houses demolished and in the lawn just beyond it, a drone man lay in a growing pool of blood and glass shards as he is beaten to death with a baseball bat.

The assailant, whose features are almost entirely obscured under the visor of a ball cap, is surprisingly small despite his relentless, bone-crushing swings.]

[beyondthecowl]

[Out of nowhere, a gloved hand grabs the bat. He doesn't take it away (yet), but his grip does stop the swinging motion of Slugger's arm.]

Kinda young to be working on your rap sheet.

[strike_you_out]

[Slugger freezes instantly, shoulders raised and tense. He turns his head sharply to see who it is that has managed to sneak up and catch him off guard like this. The first thing he sees is a powerful chest adorned with a familiar insignia. Traveling upward, his eyes then land on the shadowy outline of the cowl with its two distinct points like a pair of horns.]

You. You're...

[The statement goes unfinished, but it's clear he knows who it is he's looking at right now. Slugger's eyes are wide, not with fear but with curiosity, awe, and a glint of madness. After all, you happen to remind him of a certain other vigilante whom he considers his main adversary. What he doesn't know is that he's seen the face behind the mask once before. You might remember him as the boy who was tugging on the sleeve of a drunken Edward Nigma.

He doesn't move nor does he try to free his bat from your grip. Its barrel is bent at an odd angle, reminiscent of a dog's hind leg, and slick with blood. At his feet, the drone lies motionless.]

[beyondthecowl]

[The Batman simply gives a slight tug and pulls the bat from Slugger's grip. Though he could easily snap it in two over his knee, he seems to be making no inclination to do that. Instead, he starts wiping the blood off the bat with his cape.]

Why, exactly, did you do this? Did this person somehow anger you?

[He hasn't ever had to deal with kids who were killers. He'd been hoping he never had to. But yes, Slugger, he does remember you.]

[strike_you_out]

['Practice' comes to mind, as does 'boredom'. But Slugger doesn't want to risk the possible destruction of his bat for being a wise-ass, though both reasons would be true. He takes a step back, turning to fully face the Batman. his voice, when he speaks, remains low and soft.]

What's it matter? It's a drone...

[And since this is the first time he's ever been caught by you, he doubts you've been around for very long.]

Everything's restored the next day. Even the dead.