Post by Trailfoot on Mar 30, 2010 3:27:54 GMT -5
98 East Wharf
Alexander ran.
That's all he knew to do, at a time like this. A form, dark, caped, moved from rooftop to rooftop effortlessly as Alexander sprinted through the streets. It was getting closer.
The Bat was getting closer.
He didn't know anything, he was just there for the money, he didn't expect it to go down this way... but now he was going to prison, unless he could escape. He knew he couldn't escape, but he had to try anyway... had to run.
He slammed into the wooden fence before he saw it, falling to the ground in the alleyway, and his heart nearly stopped when he realized what had happened... he'd allowed himself to be chased to a dead end, and now he had two walls and a fence too tall for his overweight body, exhausted from running on pure adrenaline so long, to scale.
The figure that had been pursuing him dropped from the rooftop to the ground before him, and rose to its feet. It took Alexander a moment to realize he wasn't facing Batman, and his heart sank.
Pale skin, long red hair, lips the color of blood. Batwoman strode toward Alexander. As he trembled, searching for any way out, she leaned forward, lips almost touching his ear, speaking softly enough that he barely heard.
"Whisper in my ear... tell me your secrets."
Wayne Manor
Alfred finished pouring the three cups of tea, then took a seat, sitting at the small table in Bruce Wayne's office with Barbara Gordon and Selena Kyle. "I'm afraid, Mistress Barbara, that Master Dick has no idea who the Batwoman is, and if Master Bruce knew he neglected to tell me. Why do you ask?"
Barbara frowned, glancing to Selena. "The same reason I called the two of you..." She reached into her satchel, withdrawing from it a sheet of paper. "Dick told me about his run-in with the Batwoman... Rupert Thorne from Intergang was planning to cut her heart out and use it in some ritual or other to create a fire-pit in downtown Gotham... to create Intergang's own little Apokalips here on Earth. They - the Religion of Crime - called her the Twice-Named... I've not been able to dig up much on the meaning of that title. But I got this..." She unfolded the paper, laying it out on the table. "It's two hundred years old, and the composition of the paper itself matches that of the lost Volume of the First - one of the few copies of the Crime Bible known to exist. Without more than that, I can't verify its authenticity, but it's what it says that I think will interest us."
Alfred made a sound. "Carry on, then. You could have moved past most of that with 'I think this is important, but I'm not sure.'"
Barbara smiled a bit to Alfred, then frowned again at the paper. "Most of it is gibberish, or written in a cipher I've not been able to decode. But, in Aramaic, plain as day, almost in the center of the page... The Nightwalker shall fall, his wings clipped by the Source, and Cain's children shall feast to his demise. Three shall rise to take his place, his second son shall walk the Fourth Book's path, his third shall wander, and his first shall be his heir. And in that time shall the Nightwalker's beloved seek revenge for their daughter, and her path shall lead to the Twice-Named."
Alfred blinked. "I am sorry, Mistress Barbara, but I do not understand..."
Barbara nodded a bit. "The Dark Faith's holy texts refer to Darkseid as the Source, Alfred. The Fourth Book is their Fourth Book of Blood - murder. Jason killed. Tim left. Dick's wearing the cowl." She sighed. "This prophecy... I can't find a reading for it that doesn't lead straight to the Nightwalker being Bruce." She looked to Selena. "Which is why I wanted you to see it. Because you're in it, too."
Alexander ran.
That's all he knew to do, at a time like this. A form, dark, caped, moved from rooftop to rooftop effortlessly as Alexander sprinted through the streets. It was getting closer.
The Bat was getting closer.
He didn't know anything, he was just there for the money, he didn't expect it to go down this way... but now he was going to prison, unless he could escape. He knew he couldn't escape, but he had to try anyway... had to run.
He slammed into the wooden fence before he saw it, falling to the ground in the alleyway, and his heart nearly stopped when he realized what had happened... he'd allowed himself to be chased to a dead end, and now he had two walls and a fence too tall for his overweight body, exhausted from running on pure adrenaline so long, to scale.
The figure that had been pursuing him dropped from the rooftop to the ground before him, and rose to its feet. It took Alexander a moment to realize he wasn't facing Batman, and his heart sank.
Pale skin, long red hair, lips the color of blood. Batwoman strode toward Alexander. As he trembled, searching for any way out, she leaned forward, lips almost touching his ear, speaking softly enough that he barely heard.
"Whisper in my ear... tell me your secrets."
Wayne Manor
Alfred finished pouring the three cups of tea, then took a seat, sitting at the small table in Bruce Wayne's office with Barbara Gordon and Selena Kyle. "I'm afraid, Mistress Barbara, that Master Dick has no idea who the Batwoman is, and if Master Bruce knew he neglected to tell me. Why do you ask?"
Barbara frowned, glancing to Selena. "The same reason I called the two of you..." She reached into her satchel, withdrawing from it a sheet of paper. "Dick told me about his run-in with the Batwoman... Rupert Thorne from Intergang was planning to cut her heart out and use it in some ritual or other to create a fire-pit in downtown Gotham... to create Intergang's own little Apokalips here on Earth. They - the Religion of Crime - called her the Twice-Named... I've not been able to dig up much on the meaning of that title. But I got this..." She unfolded the paper, laying it out on the table. "It's two hundred years old, and the composition of the paper itself matches that of the lost Volume of the First - one of the few copies of the Crime Bible known to exist. Without more than that, I can't verify its authenticity, but it's what it says that I think will interest us."
Alfred made a sound. "Carry on, then. You could have moved past most of that with 'I think this is important, but I'm not sure.'"
Barbara smiled a bit to Alfred, then frowned again at the paper. "Most of it is gibberish, or written in a cipher I've not been able to decode. But, in Aramaic, plain as day, almost in the center of the page... The Nightwalker shall fall, his wings clipped by the Source, and Cain's children shall feast to his demise. Three shall rise to take his place, his second son shall walk the Fourth Book's path, his third shall wander, and his first shall be his heir. And in that time shall the Nightwalker's beloved seek revenge for their daughter, and her path shall lead to the Twice-Named."
Alfred blinked. "I am sorry, Mistress Barbara, but I do not understand..."
Barbara nodded a bit. "The Dark Faith's holy texts refer to Darkseid as the Source, Alfred. The Fourth Book is their Fourth Book of Blood - murder. Jason killed. Tim left. Dick's wearing the cowl." She sighed. "This prophecy... I can't find a reading for it that doesn't lead straight to the Nightwalker being Bruce." She looked to Selena. "Which is why I wanted you to see it. Because you're in it, too."