Chapter 78: Moral Dilemma
Little Omak. "What happens if you don't get off in time, following the code of a true superhero."
Events take place after Harvey Bullock hands over a vial of blood from an escaped patient.
"Knight... I have a huge favor to ask of you..." the detective hesitated strangely, and I glanced at the empty wrist where the watch should be.
"I have this... Hemorrhoids have popped up recently... Could you heal them too?
A strangled grunt from the butler came over the speakers, and my eye twitched.
***
I had to make a small detour under the noses of the local guards to grab the materials for the amulet before I left the territory of the hospitable island. Oh, I hope Ivy doesn't find out that the small ornamental trees she had grown had lost a few branches due to the efforts of one hero. I wonder if this material is considered magical, since nature's magic was used to create it. If so, I can try to expand the search radius a bit by better mana absorption by adding just a couple characters. True, if I'm wrong, the cost will increase, but it can always be compensated by my own energy.
The return to the city went by unnoticed, as cutting out the necessary runes with a knife in a vehicle bouncing a bit on the waves requires the utmost concentration. Next time, I'd have to bring my engraver with me so I wouldn't cut anything off, and I had a feeling this wouldn't be the last time I'd do it.
When the batboat reached the shore in my hands rested a crude search amulet with a small notch in the center, which should heat up and begin to glow dimly when approaching the target.
"Oracle, is the route ready?" I asked, saddling the motorcycle and trying to fasten the wooden circle on the dashboard with a few ties. So, in addition to the engraver, I'd have to carry some twine, or better yet, a whole craft kit. Ha-ha, now I would decorate everything with feathers for aesthetics.
"Yes," my companion replied, displaying a map with many marks on the lenses of his glasses. - I tried to optimize the route as much as possible, but in an hour you'll hardly have time to check all possible points.
"It's better than sitting around doing nothing," I opened the vial and poured its contents into the center of the recess, and now it was mana's turn.
The outline of the amulet flashed dimly.
"Is he around?" Wondered the butler.
"No, it's just a demonstration that this thing works... At least the light indication.
A small turn of the handle, and the two-wheeler was off. I don't have much time, and I need to explore at least part of Summerset, since I can't do anything with this thing in Old Gotham because of the vast underground area.
As I suspected, the search for Zsasz was seriously delayed.
The only entertainment was the occasional chat with the girls trying to follow the trail of a patient of a doctor named Cliff Rejdel, who thought he was another Joker and had stolen some chemical waste and taken it to Bristol for some reason. Alfred sent in a picture of the culprit obtained from Ace Chemical's security camera, and I'd like to say that this guy is clearly disgusted with the cosplay theme, unlike the First.
The man in the image looked more like the Joker from Christopher Nolan's great movie The Dark Knight. This was probably due to the disheveled hair and somewhat dull appearance. It was noticeable that Strange's altered blood didn't affect him too much, only slightly coloring his hair green, making it look like swamp slime. In addition, the pale complexion he had to create at the expense of makeup, on which a bright spot stood out healed red scars near the mouth, emphasized sloppily smeared lipstick. A drama actor, unaccomplished.
The absence of the usual smile and sparks of madness in his eyes was a little depressing, as if the man were just doing his job. What to say, if the order to break the hand of the factory guard, judging by the local video cameras, he had given to him just to keep him out of the way, and it would have been quite possible to make some spectacular trick with a pencil.
Unfortunately, we couldn't entertain ourselves by talking all the time because of the battery of the earpiece, so we decided to go into radio silence mode. And I was very surprised when, just five minutes later, Harley suddenly contacted me and told me, with a kind of delight, that Mouse had smashed up Bats's car.
"Not true!" Babs intervened. - We just walked into a trap. Besides, the car wasn't badly damaged.
"But you were driving, weren't you?" The blonde clarified.
I could directly feel her asking now, tilting her head amusingly and with a sly fox squint, becoming ten times cuter. Wait... A trap?!
"You're not hurt?
"Ah, it's nothing," Sailor replied. - It's just a hole to hold us up. I think Cliffy and his minions are so far gone that he's hard to find, and now there's no chance.
~Peep-peep-peep-peep-peep-peep~
"Shit, the battery's dying," I glanced at the indicator on the glasses, which would soon run out, too, and they didn't have the standard WayneTech induction charger because of their compact size. - Okay, I'll have time to check three more points at most anyway. At the very least, I'll contact you via batcycle.
"Good... ~krh~," the speaker wheezed one last time, ordering a long life.
A couple moments later, a text message arrived with a bunch of emoticons and hearts. That's nice.
Another point near the garages turned out to be nothing, but I was in no hurry to relax. As it turned out, not in vain. As soon as I approached one of the warehouses on the map in the southeastern part of the island, the amulet glowed softly.
Parking the vehicle in an alley, I activated the comms through the dashboard of the steel steed.
"Oracle, I found it.
"I'll send you the scheme right away," the elderly Briton responded in a flash, having compared the coordinates.
"How are Sailor and Mousey doing?" I asked, opening the floor plan of the building. The goggles were wearing out, so I had to switch to the batcycle screen. Goodbye to cool infrared vision.
"They have successfully escaped and may arrive at your aid in twenty-seven minutes.
"All right, I'll do some recon.
"Ahem," Alfred coughed, choking on the air.
"Is something wrong?
"The wizard has always had a problem with teamwork.
"In my opinion, it's better to be safe," I shrug.
Bats only teams up with the other heroes if he's absolutely pinned down, which is pretty stupid, since together it's much easier to minimize the destruction and civilian casualties.
"You know, call the police again, in about thirty minutes," I asked, glancing at my watch.
Zsasz would be better off handed over to the guards, and I don't feel like keeping an eye on a psycho instead of going straight home in the company of two stunning beauties.
Without distracting myself from anything else, I scrutinized the warehouse layout, mapping out ways to get in. After a couple of minutes, I used up the diamond with a heavy sigh, turning into a dark, blurry silhouette, and headed for the fence, feeling the search amulet clutched in my palm heat up.
It was quite easy to get into the closed territory, no cameras, no dogs, no alarm system, no elementary security... It was quite strange, because not far from the entrance I found a steel cargo container that had been converted into a hut. I cautiously peek inside, finding that someone had had some fun here, leaving a mess behind.
I continue to walk around the perimeter of the main building, and soon I come across two shallow ruts in the slightly frozen ground, as if someone had dragged someone here, and very close by I notice the traces of a short struggle, as well as a few drops of blood.
Damn, looks like one more person won't see the sunrise today. Zsasz isn't your average supervillain with complex motivations. He's a serial killer with no superpowers, but that doesn't make him any less dangerous to ordinary people, especially since he's a master knife fighter.
I couldn't find anything else interesting on the territory, so I climb up to the warehouse wall, and then use the harpoon to climb up to the roof, where there should be windows installed, through which I can get inside unnoticed. It's better not to use the usual entrances, because there are primitive, but still effective, alarms.
"What the hell?" I whispered in surprise as I reached the window.
Through the glass I could see the lone lamp illuminating the center of a not insignificant room with many tall shelves filled with assorted boxes. Beneath the light, a fugitive in an orange hospital robe stood with his arms spread wide and his head tilted back, a peaceful smile on his face. In his hands he held a bloody knife. Thanks to my excellent eyesight, I could see that outside the lighted circle there were three chairs at an equal distance from each other with bound people: a woman and two men. One of the prisoners was dressed in a guard's suit and, judging from the strange position of his head, was already dead.
We've got to hurry. The blade of the cane slid easily under the frame, and now I had to gently push it back, so as not to alert the bastard too soon.
"...releasing the inner emptiness to bring some sense to the lives of the lost. Amen," I heard the psycho's loud, joyful voice as I pulled out the glass.
While I fiddled with the barrier, Victor performed an entire ritual, bidding farewell to the deceased. In the process, he exposed his left forearm and made a deep cut, next to three vertical wounds, two of which were quite fresh. The maniac then folded his hands in a gesture of prayer.
"Please don't ~sob~," the girl began to beg through her tears, trying in vain to cope with the shivers that gripped her body as Zsasz finished his prayer and began to walk leisurely toward the captive.
"Don't worry, little one," he said, licking drops of blood off the blade, "your soul will soon find peace.
I can't make it. To slow down the maniac, I throw a card, jumping onto the beam.
~Wshuh-shuh-shuh-shuh-shuh-dzang~
Incredibly, the bastard instantly turned around and deflected the throwing projectile with his knife, grinning viciously.
"Who do we have here? Could it be Batman?" he glanced at the metal rectangle lying at the edge of the lighted circle. - Or just another hero?
Zsasz waited, staring into the darkness as I slowly descended the rope, wary of using my cloak. If I landed, I might get tangled up and become easy prey, God forbid.
"Show yourself!" he shouted. - Or I'll make you do it.
Heh, I wonder how? Damn, that was a rhetorical question!
The perpetrator rushed to the victim, and I had to jump, simultaneously unhooking the harpoon and sending another projectile into flight to slow down the maniac.
Fucking hell!
I knew the freak was a master of cold weapons, but he just threw his knife at my hearing, almost hitting me with it.
I jumped out of my seat, firing my reloaded cane to keep the woman from being taken hostage, but Zsasz didn't care about her anymore because I'd given away my location. The maniac instantly extracted several more knives from under his robe and sent them all in my direction, forcing me to maneuver.
"Ha-ha-ha, where are your manners?" He laughed creepily as I pulled up in front of the lamp-lit circle. - When you first meet me, you should introduce yourself so I know what to carve on your tombstone.
"Don't you think that's a little presumptuous?" My altered voice came from the darkness.
I could now get a good look at one of Bats's enemies. In front of me stood a tightly bunched, tall man with a shaved head and ear rings, dressed in the standard orange robe of a patient in a hospital for terminally ill criminals, but his main feature was the many scars on his face and exposed parts of his body, which he had inflicted on himself, because each of them symbolized a life taken...
Four vertical stripes and one horizontal. A similar combination was found almost everywhere except the forehead, where there were only four scars, since the fifth was reserved for Grim Mouse.
"Heh, are we going to stay quiet like this?" The fugitive asked. - If you want, I can start. My name is Victor Zsasz, and I am your savior from a meaningless existence.
To be honest, I had absolutely no desire to talk to that psycho, but I had to stall for time until help arrived, or until I created the right weave, because it would be too expensive to get into close combat against a master, as Leroy's example proved. Besides, no one would feel sorry for me here.
That reminds me of a joke. To get into a knife fight, a Special Forces fighter must fuck up on the battlefield: an automatic rifle, a pistol, a trowel, a bulletproof vest and a helmet. Find a flat area with no rocks or sticks on it, and an asshole like you.
So, I had to give up my cane, because I didn't have time to reel it in while dodging knives, I never had a helmet or a machine gun, and my body armor is replaced by Kevlar plates sewn into my suit. Shit, I should take a gun with me too, like Harley, so I wouldn't get into situations like this again.
"So?" Zsasz rushed me.
"Call me: Knight of the Moonlight," I said, trying to sound as pathetic as possible.
"Ha ha ha ha," he laughed, clutching his stomach. - Are you serious now? Hell, even Enigma or Penguin doesn't look so cheesy compared to this. Ha ha ha ha.
"Hey, I've been thinking about him for a long time!" I was outraged to the core.
I admit, my superhero nickname is not ideal, but I chose it to harmonize my duet with Harley. It's a cool reference that, unfortunately, only I understand...
"It's better to just call yourself Knight," he advised me, and then he suddenly sprang into action.
Fortunately, I was ready for such an outcome, so I tried to deprive him of his sight, activating the flash spell, which all this time was filled to the maximum with mana, for which the spell had to be slightly modified, increasing the energy storage and the analog of the capacitor, giving the strongest possible impulse.
"Bitch!" he grabbed his eyes with his free hand, not stopping his attack.
"Hah!" I barely missed the knife trying to rip my stomach open, and with all my might, I kicked it with a lowkick to the leg.
"Fuck!" there was a satisfying crunch, and the bastard flopped onto his side, managing to send another deadly gift to my thigh.
Shifting slightly, I dodge the blade and kick Zsasz in the stomach, sending his carcass flying to the huge dusty panes of glass leaning against the multi-meter shelves, which he was just a little short of reaching, stretched out on the concrete floor. I wonder what idiot put them up like that?
"Ugh," the serial killer struggled to sit up and spit up blood, holding his stomach. - You're strong, bitch, and that sudden outburst... Ha-ha-ha, but your name's a mess anyway.
After blinking a little, he leisurely pulled out his knife and bare his right forearm, and with a smile he made another vertical cut.
"What?" Turning my head, I see the prisoner with the hilt of a cold weapon now sticking out of his eye socket. - You bastard!
I almost teleport to the maniac, who calmly allowed himself to be disarmed and lifted up by the collar of his robe.
"Wasn't that funny?" He asked hoarsely, wincing a little at the pain in his broken leg. - I kind of liked it. Ha-ha-ha-ha, that was a productive day.
"Why?!" I shook him, holding his weight.
"You're funny. Ha-ha, you ask as if you hadn't read my file. I'm just saving people from a meaningless existence," he said with a grin.
There wasn't an ounce of remorse in his flash-blackened eyes, just the absolute certainty that he was right. I held my gaze over the numerous scars covering his hands, gritting my teeth. How many innocent people have been hurt by his activities, but every time he's just sent to a cell where he escapes or kills other inmates or clinic staff. And I read that in his box, except for a mattress, there is no other object, and within the walls of the hospital Zsasz moves only accompanied by guards, holding him with several special collars on long sticks, but still it does not stop him when the time comes...
"Look, ahem... That was a real good one. For a moment I thought you were going to kill me before I could complete the mission, so I decided to do you the honor," the psycho continued to say, "I just had a horizontal strip left on my forearm, and I decided to reserve that spot just for you. Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha, ugh-" he coughed, spitting up some blood again. - Are you glad?
I lowered the fugitive to the floor and silently pulled his arms down with zip ties.
"Oh, don't play innocent. I don't get that kind of offer very often.
I try to remove myself from the whole situation, but hundreds of innocent victims of a serial killer come to mind, and I have to do my best not to end it all here and now.
"Knight!" A familiar, excited voice called out to me, snapping me out of my trance.
I woke up aiming my cane at the forehead of the happily grinning bastard.
"Mousey?" I turned my head, glancing at the worried-looking young heroine. Sailor was looming behind her back, and with an eloquent swipe of her finger across her throat, she glanced at my captive.
"Are you all right?" Batgirl asked, taking a hesitant step forward.
Deep down, I have a feeling that Babs will understand me. Not immediately, but he will... The problem is that I don't want to become a criminal, because Bats, unlike the valiant policemen, is very hard to hide from, so I need to act smarter.
"Huh, in full," I put my cane away, cutting my palm lightly with the blade. - Are the police around?
"Yeah. Waiting out front," Batgirl nodded, exhaling a relieved breath when she realized I wasn't going to do anything stupid.
"Call. Zsasz," I approached the psycho, who was watching with interest. - I'd like to kill you, but I won't stoop to your level.
"That's right, because there are so many more unfortunate souls in the world, kha-kha, who need to be saved. Like these hotties. Maybe I should make room for the three of you. Uh-huh. Damn, I think you broke a rib, but that's okay. Arkham has great doctors, so I'll be back on my feet soon enough to save the world.
"Let's go, let's go, let's go!" voices were heard at the entrance, hidden by huge shelves, and the light of the lanterns danced along the walls of the room.
Without saying a word, I passed the serial killer by touching the windows and then used my harpoon to fly up to the ceiling where my loved ones were already stationed, watching the "capture" operation and the rescue of the sole survivor.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone