Red Hood
The Chase Part VII
The dark skies roll over the dimly lit city of Gotham. In the farthest stretch of the industrial district, a lone plot of land lies in the shallow darkness of the night air. Four small buildings that make up the long forgotten Vertigo Labs rest behind a closed net of run down chain link fences. The doors to the buildings are shut tightly, locked by chains and iron bars. The windows run vertically and horizontally in organized lines, evenly spaced with only a thick concrete hide between them. The grimy and smog stained glass tints the windows in an eerie fashion - making them just as transparent as the steel girders keeping the elderly buildings upright.
All is still at Vertigo labs; the aged compound experiencing another lonely night. But despite the appearance of inactivity and desolation, unseen acts take place inside building VL3 of the facility. Amongst the scattered shadows inside one of the labs, a figure works by the light of a flickering strip of fluorescent lights. He toils mercilessly in front of a large table covered in test tubes and beakers. He watches a solution percolate over a gas burner, the the flames blue light dancing about, illuminating the white mask over his face. As the man lets out a sigh of satisfaction, he leans back and grins beneath his facial covering.
"Perfect," he says with pleasure.
"Making more of that gas, Red X?" A voice calls from the darkness. As the man turns from the table in surprise, he sees a figure emerge. Instantly he recognizes the red helmet, the black jacket, and the cocky arrogant attitude.
"Or would you like me to call you Alex?" The man asks proudly. Red X's eyes grow wide at not only the astonishing return of his would be stalker, but also at the discovery that his secret identity is no longer the enigma he had hoped to keep.
"A vigilante and detective," the thief says slyly, his smooth demeanor returning.
"Once again you've managed to impress me, Red Hood."
"So glad I didn't disappoint you," Todd says with pride.
"I must say," Red X begins as he begins to turn back to the table.
"I'm more surprised that you've found my hideout than anything else." He says in an unthreatened manner.
"Especially since we've only met twice, and both times, I left you to die."
"Well," he begins, stepping forward slowly.
"Most of this was just a hunch. Thanks for confirming things for me, though." Red X frowns, irritated by his uninvited guest.
"You can never be too sure of anything."
"It would appear so." He grunts.
"I take it you took my advice about the re breather, yes?" He asks, taking a subtle step backward to the table.
"Well, I'm sure you expect me to say 'yes', but, then again, I could be deceiving you so you won't gas me again."
"Like you said," Red X grins.
"Never too sure of anything."
"How's the facial cream working out?" Todd asks, nodding slightly.
"Dagget's research anything like your original work on the project?"
"So you know about that too," X growls.
"Then you know how hard I worked here to advance Gotham's chemistry sciences."
"Oh, yes, Dr. Sartorius. I know all about the impressive research you did here at Vertigo. Such a shame this place went under."
"Just another example of the disrespect the rich businessmen of this city show the intellectually brilliant." He says in a biting tone.
"Yes, and how despite your best efforts, all your work was bought out within a year. How much did you get from that?"
"Nothing!" He shouts suddenly, his suave demeanor disintegrating fast.
"Oh, that's right," Todd smiles.
"And then your life's work was continued by countless young scientists - some of those you trained yourself here at Vertigo." Todd shakes his head, laughing slightly as he hams up his performance - doing his best to anger Dr. Sartorius.
"How insufferable and degrading it must have been to watch the very same people you previously employed take credit for your work."
"Because they were sell outs." He snarls, the muscles in his arms beginning to tense as his blood boils.
"I refused to be bought out! Refused to compromise on anything!"
"But patents only last so long."
"And the assets of the wealthy never end."
Jason shifts his weight to his right leg as his arms hang in the pockets of his jacket. He takes in a long breath as he watches Alex Sartorius stew in front of him, reliving the anguish of the embarrassing and infuriating ordeal of his life's story. As Red X stares angrily at Red Hood, the test tube behind him begins to steam as the fire beneath is burns.
"See, Doc, I get most of it. I understand your anger, the desire for revenge - for 'compensation.' But the only thing I don't understand, X," Todd says in a falsely sincere tone.
"Is why it took you so long."
As Todd inquires with an insulting voice, Sartorius simply lets out a lite sigh, relaxing his body and calming himself. As Todd's eyes stay fixed on his opponent, Red X brings his arms in close to his body, allowing the deep black cloak to slide down and cover his torso.
"Isn't it obvious," he asks in a clever tone, his arms moving beneath the thick cloth. Suddenly, his extremities spring outward, a collection of small red 'x' throwing stars grasped tactfully between his fingers.
"Preparation!" He shouts, tossing the sharp blades forward toward Jason.
"Holy-" Jason says, cutting himself off mid thought as he drops to the floor. The 'x's fly past him and embed themselves in the crates behind him. As Todd jumps back to his feet and turns to face his enemy, he's met with an unsettling sight - one for which he wished he were ready. Red X's arms rise quickly over his head, two capped test tubes held securely in his hands. The muscles in his arms tighten and he prepares to thrust them down to the ground in a violent toss, his care for his own well being irrelevant.
"Thought you finally had me, didn't you?" He snickers in delight.
"Well, I did think I had the upper hand." Todd says wide eyed, his body anxiously standing on his toes.
"See, what you didn't count on were the limits of a desperate man." He grins as his fingers grip the glass tubes tightly.
"Come on, Sartorius, this is crazy." Todd pleads, trying to convince his adversary to think with reason.
"You'll die too."
"I might," he smirks.
"This suit is flame guitarant and I've got a thick bromide foam beneath as well." Suddenly, the sound of wailing sirens echoes in the distance, and Red X's haughty smile turns to a frown.
"Cops?" He grunts in displeasure. Todd shrugs his shoulders, cocking his head slightly to the side.
"Preparation."
"Argh, you fool!" He yells in rage.
"You've chosen our fate!" Red X's arms twitch in one slight move as he drops his arms quickly and releases the test tubes, chucking them to the ground.
"Alex, wait-" Todd says, his plea too late. As the thin glass cylinders hit the ground, they shatter into a plethora of tiny translucent fragments. The two chemicals held inside spill out on the ground, meeting in the center and reacting in a sudden burst of pure flame. Todd leaps backward, instinctively moving to avoid the fire before him.
As he drops back and rolls behind a stack of crates, he hears a blood curdling cry beyond the blaze. As he braces himself, a wall of heat shoots past him, setting the air into a boiling hot inferno. The sound of a sizzling, popping squeal sounds, and Jason hears the thief shout in agony. He closes his eyes tightly as the air around him continues to get hotter and hotter, causing the room to turn into a literal bad place. He holds his breath as the oxygen around him burns out, the atoms reacting in a chemical explosion - a series of reaction after reaction all happening in only a few seconds.
In no more than twenty seconds, the blaze suddenly stops - cutting out in a final 'pop'. The air begins to cool, and Jason opens his eyes in faith that it is safe. As he sees only a wavering trail of gray smoke move about, he lets out a heavy breath, and begins to breath. Instantly, Todd jumps to his feet and moves out from behind the crates.
"Sartorius!" He shouts, hastily moving to where the doctor had been standing only a moment before. As Todd reaches the wall where the table once rested against he finds only debris. The table is now a smoking piece of ash on the ground, the test tubes simply shattered pieces of glass strewn about on the floor. As Jason carefully inspect the area, he discovers something he'd wish he hadn't.
"Oh God..." he says in shock as he stares. His eyes move up and down the burnt outline on the floor of a body - a perfect trace of what once was Dr. Sartorius. Only charred bits of his suit and a smell of phosphine remains, a haunting sight to behold.
"Police!" A voice shouts loudly as the door at the back of the room suddenly bursts open; breached forcefully as a squad of Gotham Police storm the area. They hold their guns out forward, aimed and ready to fire at any intruder they may find. As four of the officers take their positions from their practiced breaching procedure, a man in a long brown trench coat steps between them as he enters the room. He looks about carefully, examining the torched surroundings with a scrutinizing stare. His nostrils flair as he inhales a whiff of the smell and his eyes squint tightly as he grits his teeth.
"Fan out," he says, turning back toward the officers positioned like statues.
"Search everything." The officers nod and quickly spread out, moving between the endless stacks of crates and torched pillars.
Soon the man in the coat stands alone by the door, standing poised like a sentinel - watching for anything. A rush of air blows past his neck and he moves to speak but a hand comes over his mouth and gags him before he can make a sound. The man's body tightens and his neck tenses, his eyes widening as he moves to resist.
"Easy, Burke," a voice says.
"It's me." The man's body relaxes and the hand covering his mouth releases its grip. As the man turns his head to look over his shoulder, he sees the Red Hood standing by the door - his mask black with suit and ash.
"You look like bad place," he grins.
"You have no idea, detective." Jason replies in a whisper.
"Got your call," he begins, moving his hands into the pockets of his long coat.
"Where's Sartorius?" Jason nods to the wall at the far end of the room, directing the detective with his gesture.
"All over." He says in a harsh tone. Detective Burke tilts his head in confusion, unsure of what the Red Hood means.
"Before I could apprehend him he went rogue and dropped a couple test tubes on the ground. Tried to take me out with him."
"And how do I know you didn't throw the test tubes at him?" The detective inquires, eyebrow raised.
"Here," Todd says, reaching into his pocket. He pulls out a small voice recorder, the one he has previously at his residents. He holds it up to Burke, offering it as a gift.
"I taped the whole thing from the moment I got here. Figured it would be an easy way to get him convicted without a reasonable doubt. Take it as my personal testimony." Burke reaches up and takes hold of the recorder, holding it carefully between his fingers.
"Not bad, 'Hood." He says in a pleased voice.
"But I think the DA will take it as 'Exhibit A'." He smiles in a proud manner, trying to make the dark moment a bit lighter. Though he can't see the Red Hood's face, he senses a disgruntled vibe from his body language.
"Problem?"
"Nothing, Tom," he says, brushing off his feelings lightly.
"Just disappointed, I guess."
"Disappointed?" He scoffs.
"Six cases you've worked with me to catch some of these nut jobs and not once have you been 'disappointed'. What's different this time?" Todd pauses, looking to Burke and staring at the man closely.
"He was a clever SOB, Tom. Just a shame the chase had to end like this." Burke chuckles as he raises his free hand and takes hold of Todd's shoulder.
"Gonna miss the game of cat and mouse, huh?" He says with a smirk.
"No," Todd says as he takes in a breath of smokey air.
"It's just that, even after I had him cornered - the b****** still found a way to escape."
" ... I can never figure you out completely, Hood." Burke says, surprised by his ally's answer.
"What can I say?" He says in a perkier tone.
"I like to keep you guessing." Jason laughs subtly as he walks past Detective Burke and makes his way through the open doorway into the hallway.
"Oh, Hood," Burke calls, causing Todd to stop for a moment.
"There's a unit down the stairs, an officer guarding the front entrance and two SWAT teams in the lot outside." Jason grunts in frustration as he looks over his shoulder to Burke.
"You gotta get Gordon to get over his vigilante-phobia."
"Hey, you're lucky I'm on your side." Burke smiles.
"Back's wide open." Jason smirks as he turns looks forward.
"Who'd you say tipped you off?" He asks as he walks slowly down the hall.
"Oh ... just some guy." Todd smiles widely as he raises his hand over his head and gives Burke a wave. He runs forward and turns at the end of the corridor, ducking behind the corner and disappearing into the shadows.
Burke shakes his head as he turns back into the room, laughing to himself quietly. As he fidgets with the recorder in his hand he brings it up to his face, staring at it thoughtfully. As he muses one of the officers approaches and Burke looks away from the small device.
"What have you got?"
"Nothing, sir." He says in a monotone. "Room's tight as a safe - no way anyone got out."
"I don't think he escaped, officer." He says, making a gesture toward the impression of ash on the wall a head. The officer stares at the wall and then turns back to the detective, a look of uncertainty on his face.
"What makes you say that, sir?" He asks with an inquisitive voice.
"Oh," Burke says as he slips the recorder into his pocket.
"Just a hunch."
