Damn it --!
His plan to stay hidden didn't count on the interference from Gordon's daughter. Determined to keep herself alive for as long as she could, she was going to try and fight it - worse, she was trying to fight it in the middle of a room full of armed hitmen, enforcers, and drug runners with a knife already cutting right into her throat. His blood already burning through his veins from witnessing her mistreatment, seeing the blood stained blade about to go straight for the kill only fueled his adrenaline and his rage. He wasn't going to waste another second and risk the girl's life in the process - now was the time to act.
KRASSSH!
"HOLY-"
"Jesus! What the hell is that?!"
Without so much as thinking about how he'd get the girl to safety, Batman's sudden entrance provoked enough of a distraction to give him the hands-on strategy he'd need. With all eyes on him, he quickly moved for Mandrake and flipped, smashing his boot down upon the wrist that wielded the knife. A violent crack and snap caused Mandrake to scream out in pain, dropping the weapon and falling to his knees in trauma. Landing infront of the bound Barbara Gordon, Batman turned to see the gunmen that were all-too-quickly bearing down upon him, ready to start pulling triggers. He turned back to the terrified girl, eyes wide with shock upon his startling form. From now until this was over, her life was his sole responsibility.
Got to get her away from the gunfire.
*BRAKABRAKABRAKABRAKABRAKABRAKA*
Grabbing her while she was still petrified and scooping her into his arms, The Dark Knight immediately clutched tightly so as to shield her from the blasts, as the weapons went off towards his direction. Bullets ricocheted around them and caught into his armor, as he sprinted towards a heavy set of shipping crates. The girl screamed and closed her eyes, as Batman leaped, and jumped the crates one-by-one, narrowly avoiding bullets with each vaulting step. Finally reaching a vacant gap between four of the wooden crates, Batman threw Barbara over his shoulder and dove in, tumbling headfirst to make sure he wouldn't cause her injury as they landed. Putting her down as hastily as he could, he didn't make the time to examine her as more bullets grazed the edges of the crates, each easily capable of blowing his head off if he hadn't been protected.
"Stay low and keep your head down,", He commanded, emphasizing urgency so that she'd listen to him.
"I'll come back when it's safe."
Without awaiting for her reply or compliance, Batman pushed himself over the crates and jumped out, spreading his cape in a bodyslam-like maneuver that kept him falling fast, so he wouldn't be killed by the blasts. Keeping his knee towards the ground, he pushed and rolled across it, continuing to dodge as much as he could and keeping what hit him in the more heavily armored portions of his suit. The gunmen were wielding all sorts of heavily artillery, ranging from Uzis to automatic rifles and magnum pistols. Whoever hired them wanted to make sure that they succeeded at their jobs... and paid no expense to give them the tools necessary to do so.
Black Mask,, He remembered Mandrake referencing, just before he attacked the girl.
They called him Black Mask...
Grabbing a crate full of imported heroin, Batman spun and forcefully tossed it into the air, blocking off the gunfire that was still coming his way. The crate exploded instantly, hitting the thugs with plastic bags full of contraband and splintering wood. Taking full advantage of the momentary shock that graced the criminals, The Dark Knight dementedly grinned, lunging for them at full force. They had been fully prepared to attack and kill a seventeen year old girl just to send a message to the Commissioner. They had might aswell attempted to take the life of a
child. For that, he'd break each and every one of their jaws. If not their spines, in the process.
"Come on,", He hissed like an animal, daring them to attack.
"Show me what you've got!"
The thugs looked at eachother, wide-eyed, unsure of how to react. They were startled enough by the way he had crashed through the skylight - but the way he moved, the way he spoke... even the way he stared at them through those glowing eyes. It was nothing short of inhuman. They had already heard of The Batman, and they all thought he was just some clown in a pair of tights out to try and put up a pathetic fight against the mob. But this man - this
monster, was nothing like they imagined. If he really was human, then he was clearly out of his mind. And even facing that possibility that did little to comfort them.
Nevertheless, they had their orders, and they knew what'd happen if they went against them. So they attacked. Running after him as he effortlessly sprinted their way, some wildly shot into the air to try and scare him, others tossed away their weapons just to prove that they didn't need them to waste this freak. But the closer they got to him, the more menacing he looked, making it harder for each criminal to approach. Finally, Batman himself broke the standoff, diving into the group of thugs head-on and going right to work on them. Slamming two of them at once with a brutal elbow, Batman spun and grabbed another one by the shoulder, twisting it and slamming his knee into the spine. As his knee connected, it writhed back, brutally kicking another in the midsection and knocking him into another.
Other thugs actually stopped and stared as the vigilante furiously sparred with every punch coming at him, instinctively edging himself and pushing his body's limits to go into devastating combinations and counters. Bones cracked, blood was flying, and unconscious bodies were piling all over the floor, as Batman tirelessly continued on, slamming his fists, head, and boots wherever they needed to be. Barbara Gordon couldn't help but slowly look up out of intrigue for the noises she head, watching her savior make quick work of the oncoming druglords. She was shocked, scared... but oddly exhilarated by what she was seeing. It was like watching a high-adrenaline movie come to life. And this was coming from the daughter of the Police Commissioner, who had seen plenty of real life shootouts and takedowns to know what she was talking about. Batman was like nothing she had ever seen before in her life.
Snapping a thug's arm into three joints rather than two, The Dark Knight pulled him up and tossed him into an idle steel girder before he could even manage to scream. But despite his focus on keeping himself ahead, he would manage slight glances towards where he had taken and hid the girl. She was watching him like a hawk, keeping track of his every move. As much as the new costume seemed to be doing it's part to scare the hell out of criminals, it seemed to be having the same effect on the innocent aswell. For the first time in his crusade, Batman actually felt as if he had finally mastered the manipulation of fear and intimidation. And the feeling brought him one step closer to realizing his goal - soon, if he kept at it, all of Gotham's denizens would be clamoring out of the city. Never had victory over evil felt more within his grasp.
Then came a narrow gunshot, blasting off a portion of his bicep's protective armor. The sensation of pain caused Batman momentary pause, as he grunted, grasping at the wound just as blood began to trickle out of his arm. It instantly humbled his delusions of victory, and brought him back to reality, causing him to turn with caution. Standing on the other side of the warehouse was Mandrake, his wrist still visibly broken as he weakly held the smoking gun in his other hand.
"F-Freak, sta... stay back...", He muttered, trying his best not to pass out from the shock of his injury.
"I'm warnin' ya... I work for powerful people. You got no idea what you're messin' with!"
Batman sneered, still trying to plug his bleeding wound.
"Yes, I do."
Before Mandrake could fire another bullet, Batman slammed his foot down, causing a wooden splint from one of the damaged crates to fly up into the air. Grabbing it, and breaking it in two so that it'd have a jagged edge, Batman lunged after Mandrake just as he fired the gun, the bullet ripping through one of the seams in his cape and hitting an overhead lightbulb. Grabbing Mandrake by the collar of his jacket, Batman slammed the sharp wooden splint into his trigger hand... and pushed it all the way through, causing a painful stab wound that made the thug scream even louder in agony than before.
"JESUS!", He exclaimed, dropping his gun and clutching his new wound with his broken hand.
"Jesus ****in' Christ, it hurts!"
"Good,", Batman growled, lifting him off of his feet and slamming him hard into a metal shaft.
"Because I know exactly what I'm dealing with, Mandrake! A petty coward who hurts helpless girls!"
Mandrake's fear overcame him, as he began to whimper while watching as Batman grabbed his tie and yanked it high, nearly choking him by the force. Now came the moment of truth - now he learned why Gordon and his daughter were targeted by Mandrake's boss.
"Tell me about Black Mask,", Batman instantaneously demanded.
"Now!"
"D... Don't...", Mandrake pleaded, before foolishly changing his mind.
"Don't know what you're talkin' about! There ain't no Black Mask! Where'd you hear that name?!"
"From your lying lips, you lowlife piece of scum!", The vigilante barked back.
"Why does he want Gordon?! What does he know about the family?!"
"I... I..."
Batman growled even louder.
"ANSWER ME!"
"E... everything!", the thug blurted out.
"He's... he's had us steal files from old man Gordon's police records! That's how he knew where the kid went to school!"
"Why?!"
"Retaliation!", Mandrake screamed.
"Gordon didn't know when to back down! Years ago, he brought down some of our boys, and Black Mask... he... he's held a grudge ever since! Even when we killed his lady, he didn't let up, so we grabbed her..."
Tears streamed down Mandrake's face, as his lip quivered.
"Oh, dear god, please... please don't kill me..."
Batman was silent, upon hearing why the Gordon family was targeted. It explained so much, yet solved so little. Gordon's inactivity towards rooting out the corrupt officers of his branch, his low tolerance of vigilantism, his quick and irrational judgment... it was actually all just a response to tragedy and bloodshed in his life. To say that he couldn't relate to such a feeling would be an insult to the people he's lost, aswell.
"If you ever get the chance, tell him,", Batman stated, much more calm, but still enraged.
"Tell him that if he ever sends anyone after the school, the police department, or their home again... I'll find each and every last one of you. I will hunt you down until your dying days, and make you suffer in every way imaginable. Do you understand me? The Gordon family is off limits."
Mandrake managed a nod.
Throwing the thug down onto the ground, and slamming a boot into the back of his head, Batman watched as the body fell limp and unconscious, just like his fallen partners-in-crime. Turning the abrasive hitman into nothing more than a whimpering coward before his very eyes would send a clear message to his employer. Whoever Black Mask was, wherever he was hiding... he had just bought himself a war. And if things went according to plan, he was about to be on the losing side of the battle.
Turning around and walking back over to Barbara, Batman carefully approached her so as to not startle the already rattled young woman. Looking down at her with a combination of remorse for having to witness what he did to those men, and pity for how they stole her mother away, The Dark Knight's emotions were nevertheless masked by his fearsome cowl as he spoke.
"You were supposed to keep your head down."
"I-...", She stuttered, unsure of what to say.
"I was careful."
"Yes,", He agreed, trying to hide his slight surprise of the fact.
"You were."
Looking around at the unconcious thugs, Batman turned around, realizing he should probably leave as soon as possible. At least before the police arrived, no doubt hearing the gunfire from the fight.
"Do you have a cellphone?"
"I lost it,", Barbara quickly admitted, still visibly in shock.
"Back there. When they grabbed me, I dropped it."
Silently, Batman walked over to Mandrake's unconscious form. Inspecting the pockets of the criminal's wardrobe, The Oracle automatically went to work, immediately identifying the contents of them and their exact height, weight, and demensions.
Foreign Objects Identified As - Common House Keys. Matchbook. Leather Wallet. Standard Grade Swiss Army Knife. Wireless Cellular Phone.
Reaching into the indicated pocket and ripping out the phone, Batman inspected the 'Contacts' list and checked for any signs or traces of Black Mask and his gang. There was nothing. Turning back, he tossed the phone to Barbara, before leaping onto a crate just below the window.
"Call your father. Have him bring you home."
After Barbara looked down at the phone, she looked back up and realized something startling - The Batman was
gone. Disappeared, without a single trace to his existence or involvement in the struggle.