Not My Diagnosis

I turned in a snap, my arms crossed over my chest as they absorbed a two-footed blow that pushed me to my back. I skid on my shoulders for several feet, my body taking advantage of the momentum and rolling backwards to my feet. As I caught my balance I looked up to see him several yards away. It seemed endearing somehow. He charged me, throwing a punch with his right hand; I strafed. He carried himself through with a kick as he spun towards me, which I caught against my body. I attempted to throw him, but I was out of shape and his newer costume was far too heavy. Needless to say, it was a failed attempt as he turned and stomped his foot, breaking my grip and balance, wherein he took the opportunity to grab me by the back of my collar.

I found my footing moments after and before he had time to react, kicking his feet out from underneath him, though, to my miscalculation, the force gave him strength enough to throw me over him and to the ground. I hit with a forced exhale and looked to him. We exchanged horizontal glances and both rolled backwards to our feet, engaging in a expeditious fist fight, though none of them landed.

He eventually grabbed my right hand and pulled my body onto his right hip, running his left hand up my shirt and along my back, exhaling shakily. I grinned to myself and inserted my left leg behind his right, pushing his body over it as I rolled across him. He reached for me, but narrowly missed as my roll turned into a cartwheel while he gave way to my body. I turned to face him as he hit, laughing and removing my mask. I looked around at this point and realized we had migrated out into the street. It seemed quiet for the air quality, but I suppose most of them had done away with themselves or each other by now.

Absorbed in my thoughts of the impossible recovery Gotham would have to make, I failed to notice the rise of my enemy and his approach upon me. I turned to face him just in time to receive an open-handed blow to the chest, stumbling back until I hit one of the cars. I couldn't believe we had managed to unconsciously maneuver around them so far. I placed one hand on the hood and the other on my chest as I tried to regain a normal breathing rate. He closed the space between us and I held out my hand to try and stop him, but he captured it and held it off to the side while his other hand made the same approach to my jaw, a longing, forceful kiss finding my lips. My body immediately surrendered, my other hand finding his waist, delicately placed while his hips ground against mine. One of his legs manipulated itself between mine and stroked up against my groin which forced a weak moan from my skill recovering lungs.

He relinquished my mouth, a gasp taking the place of his lips. Meanwhile, his other hand made its way down my body and to the hand I had upon his hip, forcing both back against the car. His mouth seized my neck as he lapped at my jaw-line and, subsequently, my neck. He bit tenderly and lapped harshly, making his way down as far as he could before my collar restrained him; he proceeded to fix that in whisking the back of his forearm down the front of my shirt, my tie slicing in two along with my shirt. He was nice enough to spare my coat, though he did mange to tear the buttons off.

He relinquished my hands and grabbed my open shirt, shoving it down my shoulders with my coat, but only to mid-arms' length. His grip found itself on my upper-arms, and his mouth to my collarbone and lower. During all of this you may be wondering why I let him do what he did, but by this point I'm sure you all know. I writhed slightly, gasps and pants the adornment to the array of noises stifling themselves in my throat. I could feel the sheen of sweat I had from fighting build to pathways down my jaw and along my neck.

He eventually navigated himself to the peculiarly sensitive raises of flesh upon my chest and bit down, therein causing my throat to release one of its restrained cries, my stomach tightening along with my seam-line as it neared the pinnacle of its capability to expand. I attempted to move my arms, but to no avail as they were well bound within my clothes, the rest of my body victim to his... devices. He made his way back up to my neck, his hands meanwhile in a hurried effort to remove the gloves on themselves.

They were cast down and away, and his hands weren't slow to find my waist, hungrily stroking my damp flesh and tracing patters in my musculature lower and lower until...

"Batman! Hey, it's Batman! Are you a'right?" My eyes opened slowly and my heart leaped more. I lulled my head forward and met his eyes, both of us at a loss of what to do. He glared into my eyes and turned around to the adolescent man behind him, though, in the process, took me with him. His arm was wrapped tightly around my neck and his cape followed to cover my disheveled body. He reached down for his gloves and my mask, shoving them into my arms under the cape and made a gesture which seemed like a nod to the boy, and the approaching crowd, then proceeded to fire his grappling hook to one of the tops of the building, us following it in another click.

I winced as we strung along, very thankful as he held my very close to his body, which assisted in my neck not being broken as I had no capability to hold onto anything except his thigh for the time. I rested my head back against his shoulders, my eyes closed in pain and lack of blood flow. It seemed like an eternity that we were in the air, but the time came where I tumbled across the rooftop of the building we were flung to. I coughed when I stopped rolling, sitting up and shrugging my clothes back on with more than some effort.

I reached to either of my lapels, adjusting them as I could, one of my hands navigating itself to my neck, massaging it in tender hope nothing was damaged. I looked up as a shadow found itself over me. I sighed, and uttered, "You left my briefcase." He frowned to me as I stood, staring down his gaze. I quirked a brow with, "Something bothering you?"

"Always," was all he said. Since he didn't seem in the mood I decided I wanted my suitcase before those dirty children got anywhere near it. I quickly snagged his grappling gun from his belt and walked over to the edge of the building, hooking it onto the railing. He had started to run over me once he had caught on to my plan, but it was too late and I was over the edge of the building, repelling down some twenty stories. Not precisely my best idea.

I looked up and saw him standing over the edge, seemingly uncertain as to what his next move would be, but that was no concern of mine. I reached the ground with a lighter than expected landing and released the gun, letting it coil itself upwards again. I ran across the street and over to my briefcase that was still, fortunately, there. I stopped and looked up with an aggravated twitch of my lips. That boy was back, and he had friends.

"What did you do with Batman!? We know you're a criminal!" he shouted, surprisingly belligerent for a child of his teens; that may be normal for the other side of the bridge near the narrows.

I couldn't help but smirk, stand straight and say, "I killed him." You should have seen their eyes flood with rage and contempt. The presumption that they will one day help the world was adorable when their fall was just on the brink.

I watched it flow through the rest of their body, bleeding over every fiber as they withdrew their armory of pipes and bats and rushed towards me. I inhaled, looked down at my feet once, then back to them, taking the glasses out of my coat pocket and setting them just right on my face.

Their leader was the first to reach me and as he swung at me with what must have been a four foot steel pipe, I merely ducked and he bumbled over me, though as I rose again and his momentum carried him around to face me I softly whispered, "Don't breathe," and unleashed a concentrated dose of psychoppharmecutical into his face. I put my hand up to catch the flailing pipe as he relinquished it and stumbled backwards screaming. The others had caught up by this point and I made quick work of their pathetic attempt to avenge their Knight.

Five had fallen by this point and the two that hesitated still stood their ground, though not nearly as threatening as they should have tried to be. I grinned to them, their comrades at my feet in battered piles of flesh; their expressions turned to horror as the ill-fated reality set upon them. I straightened myself, holding the pipe as a cane with one hand and adjusting my glasses with the other, staring at them. They began to shake, but soon to their relief was their hero.

"Don't worry; he's mine," was the growl that came from above as The Batman landed in the circle of fading bodies. I grinned darkly, my attention redirecting to the man a few feet in front of me, much to the delight of the children upon his arrival. I suppose they expected my time was near.

"Oh, look, boys. It's The Batman, come to save you," I chuckled and circled around him in our alter of fallen. I got a good few feet away from him and opened my arms welcomingly, still grinning maniacally. "Well? Aren't you going to save them?" I raised my right hand, which was closest to the onlookers and thrust it towards them, an open bluff of what I am known for. They flinched and ducked, expecting to be doused in a white cloud, but glanced up to see him holding my wrist. "I was merely joking. You should lighten up," I breathed with a small laugh, recalling the incident in my apartment a while back.

He frowned deeper and threw a punch towards my gut, my left hand pushing it aside, sidestepping behind him and placing my arm around his neck, holding tightly. He growled and the kids looked on in terror, their hope once again being dashed to pieces. "Now... that wouldn't be fair of me to just kill you now, would it? What would they think? Look into their eyes; so full of terror. That's primal fear. No drug can induce that. That's the fear of death; more powerful than that of falling. Tell them your last words, Batman." My tug on his neck tightened and he coughed a bit, my stomach flittering at the gaze of the children; paralyzed with dread.

"Run," was all he managed to cough out. I laughed and let him go, my hand tracing down his back as I pushed him forward. I walked delicately around the circle, a grin on my face that I couldn't dispose of. I turned to a fist flying at me, but it was expected. I caught it in the parallel hand, and then the other as it was carelessly flung towards me.

"Reckless in company? You aren't usually this casual, or are you just trying to make me look good?" I landed a rotating kick into his side, throwing him away from me and kept spinning, taking his feet out from underneath him. He hit the ground flat, groaning when his breath found him. I stood over him and smiled softly, my eyes empty as I watched him breathe.

My ears perked up to something and I turned to one of the boys running at me, bat rotated back. He swung full force and I put my arm up to block it, grasping it in my hand to allow it give and a chance for my body absorb the shock. I could feel my eyes gloss over with delight as he couldn't turn his face away in that split second. In the second half of that second I released my toxin towards him in a burst, letting go of the bat as he dropped it to grab his head.

"You should have listened to your savior." I walked towards him as he scrambled backwards, screaming, tears rolling down his face. He eventually backed into his friend who devoted his last moments to trying to console his friend. I just smiled hollowly down at them, a joy sending my heart a flutter. I hadn't done this in so long. Not personally. And I had never left one to live. This would be fun to catch up on and check the obituaries for recent suicides.

Perhaps I should sit him down for a talk.

I stepped to the side, narrowly avoiding what would have been quite the devastating blow. I watched my nemesis stop himself in front of the others, though I was still watching them around him. I glanced up to him and kept smiling, though my demeanor changed and my urge to continue what we had started earlier arose. I suppose it was the revival of my passion to kill, but it made me crave what only Mr. Wayne could give me.

I quirked a brow to the carelessness of his dancing, wondering if he was far more distracted by what I was thinking about than I expected. "Please... Batman," came the struggle of a plea. I took a quick glance to the boy who's friend's eyes had glazed over in the too familiar way and back to the warrior of justice.

"Well?" I asked, my eyes scouring his body for the slightest hint of action, but he just stood there. It must have really tried him; trying to deliberate what to do with me. And, I have to admit, I couldn't help but feel, somewhere, deep down, a bit of pain for his plight. The seeded pain of betrayal, and that's what I must have been putting him through. I was free to do what I wished, but I suppose forcing him to witness what I did was a bit too much.

His eyes rose and met mine, his gaze dark and terrifying; it pierced into my soul and made me fearful. I stepped backwards, cautious of every breath he took. He stepped towards me and I would have run had my pride allowed such. We both inhaled and took to each other, our forearms and punches meeting time and again. On one poor throw of mine, which I tried to recover, only to fail, he captured my wrist and twisted it around behind my back. I winced as I was turned to face the sole witness; he stared in fear and hope.

"I know you won't feel closure about your friends right now," The Batman spoke, "but this is about justice, not revenge." I stared pensively at the young man, but had no desire to do more than scare him. He would age with the consequences of being a fool. The lad nodded and the man behind me wrapped his arm around my waist, firing his grappling hook towards some building and we took off again in a flurry of dust.


{For those who found my note, my computer is fine. I will be updating weekly, every Thursday evening for the next several weeks. These will be my first consistent updates, and I thank you for reading. Please, let me know what you think. I thrive on knowing people aren't just glancing through or accidently clicking. For better or worse, please, review.
~Dr. Crane}