Legends of the Batman #4

[Spider-Man Beyond]

Legends of the Batman #4
Boy Wonder
Part 3:
Croc Attack

Written and Edited by Daniel Dyer

"Fresh, meat,” snarls Killer Croc as he steps closer to Dick, his snake like tongue slithering along his lips, intimidating his prey.

Dick, however, isn’t intimidated. “Waylon?” he says as he stands his ground. “Yeah, I remember you.” A smirk spreads across the boy’s face. “One of the circus’s freaks. I gotta say, your looks haven’t improved much.” Dick, seeing the reptilian man begin to lunge for him, leaps up, grabbing a hold of the ceiling fan. Unfortunately, it doesn’t quite hold and comes crashing down on Jones’s head.

“Run,” comes a voice from the doorway.

Dick looks up, only seeing an outline of a dark figure, shadows falling across his entire form, only the white eyeslits visible.

“Out the window. NOW!” shouts the dark newcomer.

Dick almost protests, but then he notices Croc beginning to stir. He readily follows the mysterious dark man’s advice. Is it a man? He has no time to ponder who or what has come to his rescue as he hurries out the window.

“Jones, I presume.”

Croc, standing up, throws a fan blade towards the dark being. The mysterious... being jumps, gripping the top of the door trim, lifting up to avoid being hit. In one swift motion, as Croc charges, the being swings down, kicking Croc backward. The figure then steps closer, the big, black bat on his chest suddenly illuminated by the moonlight shown through the window.

“Ha! The Batman? I guess it’s time to find the fact within the myth.” Croc throws a punch, which the Bat barely avoids.

“Why go after the boy? You have your revenge on the Graysons.”

Croc just laughs at that as he’s able to grab Batman and throw him, sending the Dark Knight through a wall. “Ha! Revenge. Ha!” Going to the hole in the wall, he hopes to come across the unconscious body of the Batman, but finds nothing. “Where...?” Looking off, into the nearby forest. “The boy.” And Croc hurries off, into the wooded area in search of his prey.

***

[Spider-Man Beyond]

Dick Grayson isn’t a boy who scares easily. He’s not stupid, either. The Boy Wonder stops, catching his breathe. He hears someone else running. Waylon. Looking around for a place to hide, then looking upward. Suddenly, he leaps for a tree branch, swinging, then to another, and another, gaining altitude as he goes. They don’t call me “Boy Wonder” for nothing.

As Dick moves higher, Croc reaches the base of the tree. “Dickie, come on down,” the monstrous man says as he grips the tree, shaking it.

Dick starts to fall, barely catching himself on a limb.

“Fly on down, little birdie.”

Just then the Dark Knight leaps from a neighboring tree, snagging the boy, throwing out a customized boomerang in the form of a bat, a rope attached. This “Batarang” wraps itself around a branch, allowing the Batman to swing himself and the boy to the ground safely. “GO!”

Following his savior’s instructions, he runs again, but as the Bat turns, he’s hit square in the face by Croc. “You bleed like a man, freak. Lucky for you I got a job to do,” and Croc hurries after Dick.

Batman tries to get back up, but falls back down. The punch, that of a super strong crocodile, has taken a lot out of him. “No...” he says weakly as he fades into unconsciousness.

***

[Spider-Man Beyond]

"Bullock,” Commissioner James Gordon says as Harvey Bullocks sits in the Commissioner’s office. “I’ve asked you in here because I’d like to discuss a matter with you and a possible new assignment.”

“What’s up, Commish?” asks the portly detective.

“The Batman.” Gordon hands Harvey a rather thick file on the vigilante.

“Awfully big file for a myth, eh, Commish?” Harvey flips through the file.

“Exactly. Now, I don’t buy for a minute the hoopla about a monster bat. I’ll wager dollars to donuts he’s just a man in a Halloween costume.”

Noticing a box of donuts on Gordon’s desk, Harvey takes one. “A nutjob dressed up as a bat? What is the world coming to?” Tossing the file on the Commissioner’s desk.

“A vigilante dressed up as a bat, Harv. I shouldn’t have to tell you my stance on vigilantes.”

“Nope, Commish. My assignment involves this reject from a Dracula movie?” Harvey dunks his donut in Gordon’s coffee and takes a bite.

“I’m working on putting together a team to bring in this Bat. And I want you to lead it. I assure you know of the corruption within the department? I’ve tried to weed out the bad from the good, but that becomes difficult.” Gordon pauses a second before he continues. “I want you to pick your team of fellow officers you trust.”

“Yes, sir,” Bullock says as he starts to leave.

“Oh, and Bullock, this conversation is only to stay between, you, me, and your team. We don’t know if this ‘Batman’ has an inside man on the force or not. We don’t want to inform him we’re making him a priority.”

“Gotcha. You can count on me.”

***

[Spider-Man Beyond]

"Ugh,” groans the Dark Knight as he begins to regain consciousness. Standing to his feet, he looks around, seeing he’s alone. Batman quickly rushes in the direction the boy was heading before he had lost consciousness. The dark detective then comes across a few downed trees and uprooted bushes. He put up quite a fight, he thinks as he kneels down, noticing indentations in the grass, leading into a lake. Removing his cape and shirt, then taking off his boots and belt, he sets them aside. No equipment, only this, pulling out a rebreather from his belt, and my wits against this creature. And with that, he dives into the lake.

***

[Spider-Man Beyond]

Deep down, below the surface of the lake, rests a cave. This is where we find Killer Croc, with a tied up Dick Grayson, who struggles against his bonds.

“Quit your struggling, kid. Even if you get free, you can’t get out. Not without me,” Croc tells Dick as he pulls out some kind of communicator. “Yeah, I got the boy. You can send Wilson to pick him up.”

Wilson...? But before Dick can ponder more on who Jones is talking to he notices the cowl of Batman barely emerge from the water, a finger pressing to its lips, hushing the boy. Hmm, looks like the cavalry. “So, Wayly, who wants me so badly?”

“You’ll meet him soon enough.”

Noticing Batman emerging more from the water, Dick continues trying to distract Croc. “And why me? What good am I? Obviously no ransom since you slaughtered my parents.”

“He wants to utilize your skills, Dickie. He thinks you have potential, now shut your trap, brat.” As Croc turns from the boy, he’s hit square in the jaw by Batman. “Ugh! I’ve had enough of you, hero!”

“Leave the boy alone, Jones!” Batman dodges a plow from Croc. “You’ve already put him through enough!”

“Yeah... and it’s only the beginning,” Killer Croc says as he grabs Batman by the head and tosses him over next to Dick.

“Having trouble, Bats?” asks Dick.

Not responding, Batman quickly unties the boy and gives him the rebreather. “Use this to breath and swim out of here.”

“What about you?”

“GO!” Batman yells as he points towards the water.

But before Dick can even respond, Croc grabs Batman from behind. “Gotcha.”

“Dick... go,” Batman says as he struggles against Croc’s hold.

“He ain’t going nowhere.” Croc throws Batman into a cave wall and approaches the boy once again. “Hand it over, kid.”

“Not a chance, freak!”

But before Jones can advance on Dick, Batman slams his hands on both sides of the monster’s head, hitting pressure points.

“ARRGH!!”

“GO! NOW!”

Dick puts the rebreather in his mouth, and with one final look, dives into the water.

Croc then turns towards the Caped Crusader. “You’re done, hero!” he shouts as he charges Batman, pushing them both into the water, bringing the fight to his natural element.

***

[Spider-Man Beyond]

Dick emerges from the lake after swimming for his life. Gotta get help, and he runs and searches for help. The Batman’s real. Wow, and he saved me. The question is, saved me from what though? Who was he talking to on the phone? Seeing a plain clothed cop up ahead. The officer’s badge on his belt. “Officer! Officer! Help! It’s the Batman, he needs help!”

“The Batman, huh? Lead the way, kid,” says Harvey Bullock as he follows Dick.

***

[Spider-Man Beyond]

Under the lake’s surface, Waylon Jones moves with the ease of that which he was turned into. A crocodile. The Batman does not share this advantage as he wrestles with the human crocodile, but he tries his best to hit as many pressure points as he can, which, unfortunately, aren’t many.

***

[Spider-Man Beyond]

The surface, as Bullock and Dick arrive at the lake. “See, there’s his cape. He must be fighting Croc still.”

“Okay, kid, okay,” Harvey says as he takes out his cell. “This is Detective Harvey Bullock. Yeah, we’ve got him nailed this time. Send all available units. The Bat’s going down, now.”

“What? I brought you here to help him.”

“Look, kid. We’ll deal with this crocodile yahoo you mentioned, but there’s a warrant out for the Bat also.”

Great, what have I done? wonders Dick just before he sees what appears to be Killer Croc emerge from the water. “NO!” But, as he emerges more and more, Dick sees Croc is being carried, unconscious, by Batman.

As Batman throws Croc down, Bullock pulls his gun. “Alright, freak. You’re coming with me.”

Darn it. This is all my fault. Noticing Batman’s utility belt and seeing that Bullock has his attention fully on Batman, Dick decides to take action.

“You have the right to remain silent. You have the right to...”

But before Bullock can finish, Dick tosses out smoke pellets between Harvey and the Batman. Not wasting a second, the Dark Knight grabs his gear and vanishes before the smoke clears.

“Where...?”

“Oops, sorry. My bad,” Dick admits as Harvey glares down at him.

***

[Spider-Man Beyond]

The next night, as Harvey Dent talks with the Batman. Harvey in his office, Batman on the ledge.

“He’s locked up in a holding cell, being tranqed every hour, on the hour to keep him sedated,” explains Harvey.

“Any news on how he became reptilian?”

“Couldn’t tell you. Now, if you’ll...” noticing Batman’s no longer on the ledge, “...excuse me.” Harvey then pushes the intercom button. “He’s gone.”

As Harvey let’s go of the intercom, in walks a man, built like a true soldier. He has short, white hair, a white goatee, and an eyepatch over one eye.

“Mr. Wilson, sorry about the interruption.” A nearly sinister grin spreads across Harvey’s face as he flips his coin.

To be continued...