Chapter Ten: Beginnings
"Let me SEE!" A platter of surgical equipment was sent across the cramped room. The platter clanged against the wall as a man that appeared to be a doctor gave a man a mirror. His face had been removed of the bandages, and the doctor stood frozen.
"I-I-I did the best I could," he said, "but these tools," he pointed at the remaining ones on the surgical table, "they aren't no good. I-I-I-" A bandaged hand went up to the man's throat, squeezing tightly. Laughter filled the room, as the doctor was thrown against the wall, a crack sounding the breaking of the doctor's neck The man stumbled from the chair, only one thought in mind, revenge!
I0I
The Batman stood onto of the Auror/Police headquarters. He watched the crowded streets lessen in the dead of night. He was waiting for someone, his only ally in his fight. "You're late." He said in an even, but dark voice.
"Sorry, had to calm down the media," Commissioner Gordon said. "Crime Alley has gotten worse."
"Arkham is yet to be filled," came the even voice from the darkness. The Commissioner could not see him, but neither was fazed by the lack of sight. The Batman had long adjusted to living in the night. He was taking it back from them.
"Yes, we've received countless reports of your activities, picking up mainly the small timers," the Commissioner said. "The big guns have yet to come to London I suppose." He paused for a moment. "But I believe that one has already come here." He held out a piece of evidence. It was a report, but Batman returned it immediately. "I take it you've already read it then? Very well. There have been a great deal of smuggling going on in by the docks, and with a town this crooked, I don't know if there is much I can do about it, but," the commissioner turned in the direction where Batman was. Or at least, his silhouette was. "I hate it when he does that."
The Batman swung upon his grappling hook to the next building, disappearing so quickly that on would think he was but a shadow. He head down to the docks, using the Batmobile to finish the route toward the docks. He planned on being there for the delivery.
The men on the docks unloaded boxes upon boxes of what looked like rabbits and teddy bears. He had collected one of each earlier in the week, finding that they were used for different things, but there were far more teddy bears then rabbits, leading him to believe that the rabbits were for another person's use. He watched as one of the crooked cops from Gordon's precinct made his way toward a mob car. The same car of the Boss Maroni, a man he had been trying to get for weeks now. A man who was the cause of the corrupt business in the town.
He moved closer, hopping across the crates that were stacked at the docks and down onto a lower one. He did not care at the moment of the conversation, knowing that he would not be able to listen to them, and with the windows tinted, he could not read their lips. He instead moved toward the men who were unloading the crates, and onto the truck. He moved onto another stack of crates, catching the thugs attentions. Good.
"What was that?" they all looked up, trying to figure out what was going on. They began to spread out, the Batman chose his target, the straggler closest to him, with his back turned to the rest. Their backs were turned to the straggler as well, making him the easy target. Attaching his grappling hook to the crate above him, he jumped down, and within a second, repelled back up, the unconscious man now on top of the crate.
The men began to fire at random into the air, though it was unnecessary, the fired shots aided in his landings from one crate to a next. This time, as he jumped down before the thugs, he did not repel back up. He stood slowly with his cape draped around him as the men froze before him in fear. In less time it took to enter the scene unnoticed, the thugs were down and most likely not getting back up.
Swiftly he moved back toward the car where Maroni waited, ready for him. Maroni had stepped out of the car, looking in the direction of the fight he just finished. Landing on the ground, he took out the driver from the car, laying him down on the side of the street before Maroni had returned.
"Get going," Maroni said as he stepped back into the car. He was still looking out the window and took him a moment to notice the absence of his driver. Maroni removed a shotgun underneath the seat in front of him. He never got a chance to use it though.
"Lets talk," the Batman said in a voice that would haunt Maroni for the remainder of his life. With that, he took Maroni into the air with him, hearing the sirens of the police that he called coming. He would have smiled if he could, both at the screams of terror in Maroni and the justice about to be served.
I0I
Hermione had heard from her stepfather that they had managed to capture Maroni, finally. It was all after a raid upon the docks where Maroni had received a shipment of drugs. They had succeeded in not only getting the drug possession on Maroni, but also several murder charges and gang related charges. She let out a sigh of relief now that the maniac was off the streets, his control ending. There were still problems with the other gangs in the city, and the corrupt Aurors and cops, but she understood the necessity that her stepfather was pushing for.
With a sigh, she relaxed after her evening run. She had just come back from another failed date with her boyfriend. She had only gone out running because she was trying to blow off steam, and nothing in her house. He was just so controlling, and he didn't want her around her parents or any of the friends she had managed to make at Oxford. She wanted to call it quits so badly. But the last time she tried, he had threatened to hurt her mother. She knew he could do it too, and probably get away with it. It was the only reason she stayed with him. He did have some redeeming qualities, but for the most part, she avoided the bad ones. Now it seemed that some of his poorer qualities were coming into the limelight, and she did not care for those too much.
She looked over at the phone, debating if she should give him a call. She just needed a friend at the moment, and she didn't know if he really wanted to talk to her. But that had been mainly her doing as he had tried to contact her several times to set up a lunch date with her after the ball he held, and she kept putting it off, coming up with reasons after reasons. None were all that good either. Summoning her calendar from her bedroom, Hermione did a quick check of the week's schedule, finding an opening on Friday. Plucking what courage she could, she hoped that he would be willing to take her out to lunch or, she thought with a blush, dinner.
Dialing the number, Hermione waited with baited breath for the phone to be picked up. She was not all together disappointed when Alfred picked up, figuring that he must screen Harry's calls.
"Alfred, its me, Hermione," she said, after the butler introduced himself.
"Ah, such a wonderful surprise," he said. Hermione smiled at this, happy that Harry was there at this hour and not out on some date.
"Can I speak to Harry please?" There was a pause on the line. She assumed that Alfred was getting Harry at the moment.
"I'm afraid he is not in at the moment," Alfred said with a saddened voice. "He is out on business, attending to a shipment that was late I believe." Hermione let out a defeated sigh that Alfred must have picked upon immediately. "I'll have him call you when he gets home, though it must likely will be early tomorrow morning." There was a pause in the conversation, as Hermione gathered up her courage.
"I wanted to know if Friday would be a good day for our lunch," Hermione said. She almost blurted it out and was blushing as she waited for Alfred to respond.
"If it isn't I'll clear his schedule," Alfred said with a sense of finality. "He needs to get out of the house a little bit more, Ms. Granger. Frankly I'm worried about him."
"Me too Alfred," Hermione said. They spent a few more moments with pleasantries before each said their good nights. Hermione turned to look toward the window of her flat. There was a storm brew outside; she wrapped herself in a blanket as he walked to the window. In a bolt of lightning, she could have sworn there was the Batman was outside her window, watching her. But in the next he was gone. She let out a sigh and went to bed, dreaming of the man who had saved her twice. She only wished she could thank him for what he had given her.
I0I
Harry slumped against the elevator as it carried out of his cave and into the library. He made his way toward his bedroom, which conventiantly was located two floors up and on the other side of the manner.
"Master Harold," Alfred said, spooking Harry slightly. He jumped and was in a position to attack almost immediately. "I am surprised you made it in before dawn."
"It was a rather long night," Harry said with a sheepish look on his face.
"Well, I best say we get you up the stairs then," Alfred said. With strength beyond his age, Alfred assisted Harry up the stairs. He managed to change for bed without Alfred's help, but getting into bed had been a different story.
His entire body ached, and it happened from a fall that occurred slightly before Maroni's capture. While he normal was able to keep his footing on anything, slippery or not, the shot to his chestplate in combination with the slick rooftops as he made his way toward the docks created danger for him as he fell almost thirty feet onto a group of metal boxes. No doubt by now they would have a slightly body impression of him in the police records. He would have to be more careful from now on, it almost cost him Maroni.
"Master Harold," Alfred said as Harry relaxed. "I am to inform you that you have a lunch scheduled for this Friday." Harry ran over his schedule in his mind and opened to say that he couldn't, he had a board meeting, where he had to pretend to be bored. "I've already notified Mr. Malfoy about it and he says that he will cover for you. You will not miss this, and that is an order."
"Yes sir," Harry managed to get out. A sense of relief flooded him and he was surprised at it. He did not even know who he was having lunch with, but there were rare times that Alfred ever ordered him to do something. And most of the time it was for his health. If Alfred thought it was okay and safe, then Harry believed him. After all, there were only three people he trusted more than Alfred in the world, two were dead and the third probably hated him.
He was slightly upset at Hermione and felt hurt she did not want to see him. She had done everything she could it seemed to brush him off each time he called her. Now, it seemed that it didn't matter. She really did not want to see him, and he had lost one more friend. Was he truly that bad of a person? Maybe he had been too pushy and needy, it was probably better for him to back off just for a bit. And give her the space she deserves. After all, he only just returned and she seemed ecstatic then. Maybe all she needs is time. With his resolve strengthened, Harry let sleep overcome him
Alfred watched his ward go to sleep and shook him head. He knew that Harry was killing himself for what had happened with Hermione, and the lack of progress at maintaining their friendship. He hoped that the right pushes would get him the love he deserves. He had been alone for so long. He deserved a little happiness in his life, not the mask he wore. He turned toward the window, where the symbol that Maroni made upon the searchlight lit up upon the clouds. A bat floating the sky. Alfred shook his head. There were a many of dark nights ahead of Harry. He only wished that Harry did not have to go alone.
A/N: I don't write many of these, but from here on out. I'm separating the storyline into "Comics" with ten chapters in each. I don't know how far I'm taking this, and if it seems slow, tell me and I'll see if I can do something about it. But this comic was for background info, the first in the series. You met the characters for the most part already and soon, you'll meet the rest of the ensemble and how they are going to interact with the rest of the world. Thank you for the patience with this story. I'm just happy to finish this part of it, and being able to continue on with it. I'm sorry for waiting for so long to post, but this has been a difficult chapter to write, just creativewise. Later and thank you all for reading and review. Thank you.
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