Like A... You Know Perfectly Well What He's Like
The city was empty without the Bat.
Empty enough that men who thought of themselves as good were willing to try a little looting in desperation, to help their families survive.
Empty enough that even with Technomancer and Robin making their presences known, gang wars have been raging in the streets.
Empty enough that a few select prisoners have started wondering what's keeping them from hatching escape plans.
Jack stuffed the cash jewels into his bag and bolted. Clever as the idea of grabbing stuff out of a war zone had seemed when he was puzzling out how to avoid the police, the implementation was unnerving. Almost as unnerving as the fact that Batman was standing an inch from his face. “You - you were gone. People were saying you died.”
“I did.”
Jack shook his head, looking the Gotham Guardian straight in the eye. Whatever the guy had really been doing, he'd proven he wouldn't always be here, that he wasn't so invulnerable. “Sure you did.”
Faster than he could react, Batman had grabbed him by the throat. He flinched, then opened his eyes when he felt heat all around him. Fire, lava, caves, distant, uncannily human figures. A burst of panic and a quick attempt at rationalization, both shut off by an otherworldly screaming. “This is your only warning.”
Batman let him go and gave a gentle shove. He fell to the ground, scrambled up, and took a quick look around him. The Bat was gone, of course, but Jack was on a roof with the Jokerz and T's he'd just gotten done sneaking past. All of them were tied up, some tighter than others. One of each group was noticeably limper than the rest.
He winced again at a light up in the sky, then strained to try and see it. Of course.
The most dangerous prisoners in the city were all gone, too; nothing left in their cells but a black winged calling card.
Empty enough that men who thought of themselves as good were willing to try a little looting in desperation, to help their families survive.
Empty enough that even with Technomancer and Robin making their presences known, gang wars have been raging in the streets.
Empty enough that a few select prisoners have started wondering what's keeping them from hatching escape plans.
Jack stuffed the cash jewels into his bag and bolted. Clever as the idea of grabbing stuff out of a war zone had seemed when he was puzzling out how to avoid the police, the implementation was unnerving. Almost as unnerving as the fact that Batman was standing an inch from his face. “You - you were gone. People were saying you died.”
“I did.”
Jack shook his head, looking the Gotham Guardian straight in the eye. Whatever the guy had really been doing, he'd proven he wouldn't always be here, that he wasn't so invulnerable. “Sure you did.”
Faster than he could react, Batman had grabbed him by the throat. He flinched, then opened his eyes when he felt heat all around him. Fire, lava, caves, distant, uncannily human figures. A burst of panic and a quick attempt at rationalization, both shut off by an otherworldly screaming. “This is your only warning.”
Batman let him go and gave a gentle shove. He fell to the ground, scrambled up, and took a quick look around him. The Bat was gone, of course, but Jack was on a roof with the Jokerz and T's he'd just gotten done sneaking past. All of them were tied up, some tighter than others. One of each group was noticeably limper than the rest.
He winced again at a light up in the sky, then strained to try and see it. Of course.
The most dangerous prisoners in the city were all gone, too; nothing left in their cells but a black winged calling card.