A swoop brought a blur over to the Church of Deacon Blackfire. Harry took a good look around the Church. It was abandoned, no one was here. At least no one was present on this level.. So there was a great amount of eeriness which brought goosebumps to Harry's arms. Harry turned his neck around from one side to the other until he saw someone standing in the shadows.
"I was wondering when you would show up."
Batman stared down Superman. The two locked eyes for a long moment.
"You shouldn't be here," Batman said. "Gotham City is too dangerous for someone like you. Gotham is nothing like Metropolis."
"Oh yes," Harry remarked. "There are differences. For instance, I don't think Metropolis has an eight year old boy who got shot by his parents and decided to cope with it by dressing up like a giant bat and fighting criminals."
Batman did not say anything. However, Harry knew he knew and Harry knew that Batman knew. And likely Batman did his share of homework regarding who Harry was. Although, what he knew, Batman was not playing his cards just yet.
So it was up to Harry to be the one to break the ice.
"It wasn't that hard to figure out. Very few have the means to do what you do. Even less have the motive. But, your mask, it really is good. And I don't mean the cowl either. I mean the useless Playboy Billionaire who can barely match his own socks without his butler's assistance. People won't make the connection. Because people don't want to make the connection."
Batman and Superman spent the next few seconds engaged in a battle of wills, until Batman decided to speak up.
"There's a secret passageway."
Harry scanned the doorway and pulled back with a smile on his face.
"So there is," Harry said. "After you, Detective."
Batman kept his eyes on the stranger to his city. The door clicked open and the duo descended dowards. They were in a secret room in the church basement. And that was only the weirdest part. Books dealing with the occult or so it filled lined the walls. Stones with strange carvings.
Harry flicked open one of the books. It had been written in a language that he could not understand. After a brief check to ensure the book was not cursed, he passed it to Batman.
"Make anything of that?"
The Detective studied the tome for a long moment. "No more than you have."
Fair enough. The screams filled the church. And they got louder as they came from the shelter up above. Screams increased the louder they got.
A loud grumbling sound and a smashing sound caused Superman to bolt up to face the source of the violence. Batman was hot on his heals.
X-X-X
It was just a myth, or so they said, but Harry came face to face with the one and only Solomon Grundy.
"SOLOMON GRUNDY, BORN ON A MONDAY!"
Harry zipped in and pulled the terrified bystander out of the way. And took the hit from Grundy hurling a candle stand at him. The candle stand bounced off of Harry, but it was more of the pride of the matter than anything. He deflected a couple of hits and pounded him with punches rocking Grundy.
Batman charged the gauntlets on his suit and punched Grundy in the back. Grundy growled and turned around. He grabbed Batman by the neck.
"Christened on a Tuesday!"
Batman flew hard into the confessional. The rattled man rose up as Grundy stampeded towards him. Superman flew in front of Grundy and sent a beam of light. Grundy howled in agony and pulled out a large knife. He grabbed the nearest victim by the throat.
"You don't want to do this," Superman said.
"Married on a Wednesday!"
A stinging hex repelled the knife from Grundy's hand. Another swift attack ripped the captive victim from Grundy's clasp. Grundy howled in misery as Harry swung for the fences. Punch, punch, punch rocked Grundy hard. Grundy staggered and groaned from each punch nailing him in the head.
Batman returned and sent the chandelier crashing down on Grundy. This only served to enrage the beast.
"Something has empowered this thing," Superman said.
"Yes, we need to draw it out in the opening."
A lasso from the other direction caught Grundy and ensnared him. Grundy screamed as the magical lasso dug into every section of his body. Grundy thrashed and tried to break from the grip.
Batman and Superman looked up and saw a stunningly gorgeous dark-haired woman dressed in battle armor which showed off her chest and legs. A silver tiara rested on her forehead and allowed her long dark hair to flow. Wonder Woman arrived and lassoed Grundy.
Grundy smashed through the ground and broke Wonder Woman's grip on the lasso. Grundy jumped up and sent the pillars smashing down.
Superman and Wonder Woman dove to the pillars and steadied them with their super strength without any further pause. The shelter started to rock as Batman swung the terrified people out of the building before it collapsed completely.
A dozen people, all of them scared witless, disappeared into Gotham City. And one rampaging swamp zombie disappeared into the fog.
X-X-X
"Legends are real."
Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman met on the rooftop. They were able to overlook Gotham City from their vantage point. Although Grundy, after his rampage at the Church disappeared into the night.
"Many are," Diana said. "The truth is a lot stranger than fiction. And it's good to see you again."
"Good to see you again," Harry said. "Gotham's resident vigilante."
"Right, I've heard a lot about you," Diana said.
"The truth is a lot stranger than fiction," Batman said.
Diana responded with the merest flicker of a smile. "So I heard."
"Down to business," Harry told them. "Grundy. He couldn't have gone far. You can't disappear in Gotham City."
"Grundy is the least of your concerns. The man who unleashed him should be considered the graver threat."
Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman turned around to see Talia appear on the rooftop, from the shadows. Harry could not mistake the look in Batman's eyes, and understood there might have been some history there. Batman took a few seconds to consider her.
"We meet again," Harry said.
"And I told you we would cross paths," Talia said before she turned towards Batman. "It's been a long time."
'Yes," Batman said. "I'm glad to see you got out from underneath your father's thumb. Although, you still aren't exactly…"
Talia lifted her hand. "I do what I do to preserve the world. We are not too much unlike."
"And that's why we parted ways," Batman said.
"Why are you here Ms…" Diana asked.
"Talia," she responded. "Just Talia. But, we are getting off of the subject. Deacon Joseph Blackfire is trying to tap under a reserve of deep supernatural power located beneath Gotham City. He has acquired artifacts which will allow him sacrifices and releasing Grundy gives him more power."
Harry figured about as much. Everything was adding up.
"An artifact…"
"One which belonged to the League."
"The League of Assassins?" Batman asked. "Your father, he was careful not to let any prized possessions out of his sight."
Harry sensed Batman's suspicion. And could not fault the man for it. Just because someone was paranoid, did not mean they were not out to get them. Very slowly, Batman turned his full attention to Talia, who very carefully pulled out a photo of the item. Diana, Harry, and Batman all gazed upon which looked to be the demonic clown mask from hell.
"The swamp monster is a distraction," Talia said.
"And his campaign for Mayor is just a smokescreen," Harry concluded.
"Yes," Batman said. "But, as long as he's holding Grundy's leash, he is the most obvious route back to Blackfire."
"Thankfully, we don't have to wait long," Harry said. "Although, we better move quick, to snag Blackfire. And make sure we do it without riling up his legions of followers."
The Trinity moved off and Talia stayed to the shadows. She would watch this matter closely to see how it played out.
X-X-X
The night would shine bright soon. Deacon Blackfire sat in the middle of a room surrounded by candles. He sat with an opened shirt with strange runic symbols carved onto his chest. The ever present mask, which he became more bonded with, shined in the light. Soon, Gotham would burn and salvation would be for those who needed it.
A loud knock took Blackfire out of his musings. The Deacon put his shirt back on and walked over to open the door.
"My lost brother, welcome!" Blackfire cheered in a jubilant voice.
The man dressed in bandages and purple stepped into the room.
"I just want to thank you, Father. I'm learning more and more about myself every day. How it all started, but not necessarily how much how I got here."
Blackfire inclined his eyebrow a half of an inch up before he faced the man in question.
"That's great, my brother," Blackfire said. "The first step to salvation is embracing yourself for who you are and how you've gotten here. And that is…"
"My father, he was a cruel man," the bandaged man persisted. "A right old bastard. He preached love and tolerence for everyone. He was a progressive man, who tolerated everyone no matter what sort of lifestyle they lead. Or claimed he did. The real funny thing is when he got loaded, he beat myself and my mother senseless."
The man cackled in a very uncomfortable way. Even Blackfire could feel a few goosebumps.
"And my mother, oh, you know, I don't know if that man was my father. She kind of was a useless whore who brought the beatings on herself. You might say she had them coming. Night after night, she had a different man. So I guess the possibiltieis would be that man could be my father or he might not be my father. It's one of those things that is multiple choice. And now I can see that I have many choices in front of me. Am I the man I want to be?"
"My brother, just relax and listen to God's will. He will guide you."
The bandaged man smiled and leaned against the wall.
"I felt good liberating those people from their sad pathetic lives. You know, when you really think about, life is just one big joke. And then you die. And when everyone you know dies, unless you're the one percent of one percent who is someone, no one will remember you. Hell, no one will remember who you are unless you do something groundbreaking. That's life's biggest joke."
Another loud cackle followed, as the bandaged man broke out inside.
"I feel something, something good," the bandaged man said. "Something meaningful."
"Yes, it has meaning," Blackfire said. "Embrace the power within."
"Good talk, Reverend. And nice mask."
The bandaged man eyed the demonic clown mask and chuckled before leaving. Blackfire waited until the door had completely shut before he turned back around.
"I can feel him coming," Blackfire stated. "It's like nothing else that Gotham has ever seen and it will be the end. No one can stop me, not even the fabled Batman!"
Blackfire's eyes glowed with malignant power. Each victim brought him power. Each victim brought him peace. And each victim would bring him one step closer to the realization he saw when the green meteor rocks descended from the heavens some time ago.
X-X-X
Wonder Woman, Batman, and Superman arrived to meet with Nightwing, who stood with her arms folded. Straight to the point, Batman spoke to her.
"You have something?"
Nightwing answered with a crisp nod.
"I looked at those runes from the secret room in the church," Nightwing told them. "I've seen something similar. I found it in a dusty old library book in the Gotham City library. He's going to tap into the power deep beneath Gotham City which people say makes this city what it was."
Nightwing provided the book. Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman all looked around.
"He's heading deeper underground," Superman summarized. "Whatever, he's planning to do, he's going to do in by the full moon."
"Tonight," Batman said. "He's going to do it tonight."
"Not if we find him first," Wonder Woman said.
"Excellent work," Superman said to Nightwing.
Nightwing just gave a nonchalant smile and a shrug. "Happy to help you out in any way I can. Just glad to be part of a team."
"You should," Superman said. "I've been meaning to ask you about your name?"
"Oh, Nightwing," she said. "Years ago, I found a book. Someone must have left it behind a long time ago. It details a duo of heroes, named Nightwing and Flamebird. They were…"
"Proctectors of the lost city of Kandor," Superman summarized. "I've heard it too. It was a story regarding my training."
"Cool," Nightwing said.
Superman leaned towards the budding young heroine. "Indeed, Ms. Gordon."
The casual acknowledgement of her secret identity caused the masked vigilante to flush. She should have know and by looking at the young man, her keen mind pieced things together.
"Almost didn't recognize you without the glasses," she responded coyly. "So, now what?"
"Save Gotham, worry about the rest later,' Superman said.
Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman all moved out. Nightwing had been left in the dust, but while they were dealing with things under ground, she would take care of everything above ground. Namely the large swamp zombie known as Solomon Grundy who was patrolling the city.
He would have to pop up sometime. Nightwing hoped that the upgrades of her suit would be more than enough to stall or stop Grundy. Or at least slow him down until help was on the way.
X-X-X
The trinity arrived in the tunnels. And they had been met with a group of well toned men dressed in sheep masks with weapons. Behind them, stood Joseph Blackfire. Wonder Woman, Batman, and Superman all squared up against them.
"Death to all of the non-believers!" they yelled.
Batman quickly took out the nearest goon with a sweeping kick. The World's Greatest Detective slammed down onto the back of the head of the rushing goon. Batman twisted around the attack and came back with a striking motion. The Detective slammed him down with a sliding kick to rock him back. Then Batman jumped on the man's back and elbowed him down repeatedly with multiple strikes.
Superman gently tapped on the attackers. That was all of the force the Man of Steel needed to wipe them out one at a time. Superman twisted around the attackers, and with a loud crack rocked him. Superman came down with an elbow planted down across the back of the neck.
Wonder Woman repelled the laser fire with her bracelets. The Amazon Warrior slid underneath the attacks and propelled the attacker back. The Amazon bound the attackers forward.
Blackfire stood in the shadows. The lights on the walls flickered and the rune stones crackled to life.
"Solomon Grundy, come forth and protect him from these harlots!"
Grundy charged in. Wonder Woman dodged the attack of the swamp monster and hit him with a few kicks. She hoisted up the attacker on her shoulders and slammed him down. Grundy rose up with a solid roar until Batman zipped down and cracked the zombie down across the back of the head.
"Lure him this way!" Superman called.
Studying Grundy, his movements, and the magic coming from him, resulted in Harry coming up with a plan to take him down. The Man of Steel skidded back a few steps and dodged Grundy's huge and impressive punch. Superman came back with a sickening uppercut to rock Grundy. More punches clipped the beast's jaw until Superman rocked the creature back with a thunderous punch.
"This is going to hurt you a bit Grundy," Superman said. "But you need to see the light."
A pulse of intense magical energy rippled through the air and caught Grundy. The swamp zombie screamed in agony when he had been lit up. Superman hoisted him almost to the ceiling and made him crash down to the ground hard. The Man of Steel pulled down his hands.
"Grundy, rise!"
Grundy turned and noticed the preacher man, the same man who tried to control him. Grundy lifted up a huge rock and began to stalk Blackfire who took a few steps back.
Batman, Wonder Woman, and Superman watched as a few more of Blackfire's acolytes swooped into the tunnel. The trinity turned around and knocked them all out.
"He is coming."
The mask slipped on and Blackfire assumed a more grisly, and demonic form. Blackfire grabbed Grundy's throat and slammed him down to the ground.
The laughter filled the entire tunnel. Superman came face to face with the monster clown who stalked them. And he moved with uncanny speed as he appeared in a blink of an eye behind them.
X-X-X
Batman barely dodged the attack from Blackfire. Blackfire raised his hands and summoned bolts of lighting. Superman grabbed Batman and zipped him out of the way. The walls in the underground tunnel had been bombarded with an attack.
Diana dove onto Blackfire's back. Blackfire turned around and slammed Diana into the ground. The Amazon blocked Blackfire's hands from going around her throat. The crazed individual cackled madly as he bit towards Diana's face. Diana pushed off and sent Blackfire back a few steps before driving down onto him with punches.
Grundy rose up with a huge knife. The creature roared and slammed the knife into Blackfire's back. Blackfire turned around, knife jammed between his shoulder blades. Then Blackfire grabbed Grundy by the throat and slammed him viciously into the wall.
Blackfire released hellfire from the ground to block the heroes from attacking him. The possessed Deacon lifted a huge rock above his head and smashed into Grundy's head on a repeated basis, until Grundy had been turned into a fine paste.
Diana managed to find a way around and wrap up Blackfire with a lasso. The second the rope wrapped around Blackfire, the Amazon screamed in absolute agony. More evil than she thought could be handled passed through her body. The shaking Amazon Princess barely could hold the lasso around Blackfire's body. Her hands blistered and she had to let go of it.
"Hera, what is this devil?" Diana asked.
Batman came down onto Blackfire with a huge electrical pulse. Harry sent a shockwave of energy and heat vision at him. The two heroes made an attempt to yank the mask off. However, the mask did not budge, not for a second. No matter how hard the two pulled, Batman and Superman could not get it off.
"The mask is now a part of him," Superman said.
"Which means he will only get stronger," Wonder Woman managed.
Blackfire slammed them all down at the same time. A loud crack echoed when the three fell down to the ground. Superman closed his eyes. There still might be a chance to get the mask off, if they timed it right.
He summoned the Genesis Blade. Batman and Wonder Woman had been surrounded in cages of mystical energy. Superman released them from Blackfire's grip. This got Blackfire's attention and ensured that Superman was poised to attack.
The blade swung and Blackfire's head ripped from his body. The mask came off and faded into embers and ashes. Harry watched Blackfire's head roll to the ground, resting in a contorted and gross smile.
Seconds passed and a stunned Batman stared down Superman for a good long moment. Superman crossed his arms and returned the stare. The mystic energy in the temple faded straight to black, but there was still an unsettling aura left around them.
Seconds passed, each tick of the clock a bit more frustrating. Superman's gaze fell upon Batman for the longest moment.
"Did you have an alternate idea to stop him?"
Batman finally responded. "There has to be another way?"
"Was there?"
Diana held up her hand and the two put their attention to them.
"In war, there is sometimes not another way," Diana said. "I don't like it, but in battle, you need to take a decisive move."
Batman said nothing else. The lack of mask disturbed Harry on a certain level. He would have liked to think this was over but something was just burning away at him. Something was not like.
X-X-X
"To the holy father, about our friend, our dear Deacon. A man who should have quit before he lost his head. And for he is now gone, but we remain, all lost with Gotham City pain."
The man in purple rags with his face wrapped in bandages lead a prayer of the few remaining devoted followers of Blackfire.
"Chaos is opportunity," he narrated. "We need to show the rest of them the way. I've finally seen the light. I feel the energy, I see the power. And we're going to take our dear departed Deacon's work to an entirely new level."
"Yeah, well, we need a leader," one of the followers said. "But who put you in charge."
A loud bang and the man who questioned had been dropped dead.
"That puts me in charge. But I saw the Deacon's true face on his last day. It's finally time that I reveal you mine."
The slow unraveling of bandages had been combined with giggles. Giggles turned to chuckles as more and more of the mysterious gentleman's face had been revealed. They all got a good look at him as the man's laughter increased. Green hair, sunken in eyes, a pale white face, and the contortion of a permanent smile stretched over his face. The man's face resembled Blackfire's mask.
Only in this case, it was not a mask. The laughter only got more malicious as the men in the church backed up, not wanting to incur the wrath of this mysterious man who laughed.