Lightning flashed, illuminating the silent forms of two caped figures. The light drizzle turned to a heavy downpour as they watched and waited, ever vigilant on the roof of the Second National Bank in the Central Business District of Gotham.
Suddenly, a brilliant light erupted from the cascade of rooftops and cut a smooth path through the crisp night air. The beam of light zeroed in on a portion of the sky and the image of a bat in flight surrounded by a yellow oval of light could be seen through the pelting sheets of rain.
Batman and Robin looked up from their crouched positions and, seeing the Batsignal's massive beam, took off like streaks of light towards the rendez-vous place.
Commissioner Gordon was waiting near the Batsignal on the roof of Gotham Police Headquarters. He checked his watch for like it seemed as the hundredth time, as he took a sip from the steaming mug of coffee in his hand. The sudden jolt of caffeine woke him up considerably but it didn't stop the freezing rain from eating through his tan trench coat.
Two minutes had passed. At this time the rain had somewhat stopped but it was still pretty brisk out. Taking another sip of the warm liquid he walked over to the wet concrete ledge on the roof and looked down onto the city; watching as people, the size of ants just waiting to be stepped on by an oversized giant, bustled about in a hurried manner to return to their homes in time for a few hours sleep before the new day greeted them.
James Gordon was lifting the heavy mug to his lips for another huge sip when he heard a deep voice erupt from the shadows behind him. "You sent for us, Jim?"
The Commissioner ended up wearing most of the drink. With a disgusted look on his chiselled face he set his favourite mug down on the roof and took out a clean handkerchief from his front breast pocket. Wiping the coffee stains from his used-to-be clean shirt he couldn't help but think that there'll be a bad stain when it sets.
"Why do you keep doing that?" the Commissioner demanded with an exasperated look. "You'd think that after all these years I'd be used to that, but I'm not. Sheesh, give an old man a break, would you?"
The menacing silhouette of Batman materialized out of the shadows, the less intimidating figure of Robin appearing close behind him. "Sorry, Jim. Force of habit." The Dark Knight's eyes shone brightly in the dark. "What's the problem, Commissioner?"
Jim Gordon cleared his throat and wiped the edges of his mouth with the handkerchief. "Well," he said after a long pause, as he folded up the soiled material and stuffed it back into his pocket, "there's been trouble with some of the inmates at Gotham State Penitentiary." He paused briefly then added, "Particularly with Tony Zucco."
At the mention of the name, Batman cast a barely perceptible sideways glance at Robin, who was fuming.
Batman looked deadly serious. "What about Zucco?" he demanded, in a deathly cold voice. His eyes shone ghostly white. In the semi-shadows behind the Dark Knight, Robin was trying to will himself to pay close attention to what the Commissioner was going to say. If it's about Zucco, then it's bound to be bad news, he thought to himself, as he clenched and unclenched his fists in unrelenting fury.
Commissioner Gordon chose his words carefully. "Tony Zucco has been making threats against a certain... someone. He annoys everyone with his talk of revenge and he practically caused a fellow inmate to choke to death while they were eating." He took a deep breath as he considered his next words. "He's a maniac and he won't stop raving until his victim is dead."
"Who is Zucco seeking revenge against?" Robin asked hesitantly, almost predicting what the Commissioner's answer will be.
James Gordon looked at the Boy Wonder solemnly. "You are." he said. "You were the one who brought an end to his reign of terror and now he wants revenge. Revenge paid in blood."
Robin looked deadly serious, while Batman looked on sullenly. "So far Zucco is still locked up in Gotham State Penitentiary." Robin's eyes suddenly flashed menacingly. "We've got to keep it that way," he stated in a flat tone.
"Robin's right." Batman said, after a moment of thoughtful silence. "Zucco can not escape. Not this time; not ever."
The Commissioner was thoughtful for a few long minutes. He stood there wondering why whenever Zucco was mentioned, both Batman and Robin appeared somewhat disturbed. Particularly Robin. Of course he couldn't blame him. With a madman on your heels it would be enough to make the strongest of men act totally out of character.
While the dynamic duo were conferring with the Commissioner, at Gotham State Penitentiary Tony Zucco was planning his escape. He was pacing back and forth in his cramped cell when one of the guards came towards him. He stopped pacing and looked up from the floor he was barely concentrating on when he saw an attractive woman standing behind the guard. Oddly enough the lady looked very familiar, but at the moment he couldn't quite place the face.
"Hey Zucco, I've got a visitor here for you." the guard grumbled. "Although why anyone would want to visit human trash like you is an answer beyond me."
Zucco muttered something uncomprehensible.
The guard loomed closer to him. "I'm sorry, would you mind repeating that? I didn't quite hear you the first time."
"I said thank you." Zucco responded out loud. You big son-of-a-bitch, he thought to himself. Just wait 'til I'm out of this shit-hole. Then you'll really be sorry.
Zucco and the guard both exchanged a look that could kill the deadliest of creatures.
"Ahem," a high-pitched female voice spoke up for the first time. Both of the men had forgotten about Zucco's visitor. Now she was waiting impatiently near the cell, her blond hair being played with between her fingers. "Are you guys done yet?" she bellowed in a voice that could be heard throughout the whole building. "I ain't got all day, y'know."
"Sorry, miss." The guard composed himself and walked down the hall to the far door. Before he exited the cell area, he turned around and said, "I'll be back in 15 minutes. Nothing had better happen when I'm gone." With those final remarks he left the room, the door slamming shut behind him.
As soon as the guard left, the woman stuck out her tongue in the direction he took. At least my puddin's not like that, she thought to herself. She almost fell into a love sick trance but, at the thought of her current mission, she brought her mind back to reality.
"Who the hell are you," Tony Zucco demanded from the far corner of his cell, before the woman had a chance to say anything. "And what are you doing here."
"I'm here to help you," she began. "I represent -"
"I don't care who you represent! And I don't need any help; especially not from a damn slut like you!" he interrupted.
"Maybe if I showed you who I am first, then you could decide whether to hear me out or not," the woman offered. "Now don't go anywhere!" Tony Zucco grumbled at this last remark. Where the hell am I going to go? I'm in prison for God's sake!
The woman scampered behind a small outcropping of wall and stayed behind there for a few minutes. She seemed to be doing something in a hurried manner because a lot of her things were being thrown carelessly around in the area.
When she was finished she gathered all of her things and did a smooth front flip, where she landed just in front of Tony Zucco's cell. "Ta daaaa!!!"
His eyes bugged out of his head. "You!" he exclaimed. Then his face darkened. "Why are you here?"
"As I've told you, I'm here to help you," Harley Quinn said, a wide smile on her painted face. "My puddin' has an interesting proposition for you. It's a deal you don't want to miss! And you can't be part of it when you're stuck in here!"
Tony thought about what the psycho clown girl said. Any place was better than here and if it meant getting out and helping the most respected of criminals in one of his twisted schemes, so be it. At least he would be able to get his revenge on the Boy Wonder.
"You've got yourself a deal," he responded after a long silence of consideration. "Now how do I get out of here?"
"Don't worry," Harley exclaimed as she went back behind the jutting portion of wall in the corridor. Behind the wall her voice was muffled but it was still clear enough to decipher. "Tomorrow night, my puddin's men will come and break you out. Then when you reach the hide-out you'll be home free!" She came out from behind the wall, looking like the woman she was impersonating when the guard was with her.
Seeing the sceptical look on his face she added, "Don't worry, everything will work out fine! The plan won't fail because..." she let out a big sigh full of love and devotion. "Because... he's a genius...!"
Oh brother! Zucco thought to himself, as he watched the lovesick clown girl rave on and on about her so-called 'puddin'. What the hell am I getting myself into?
Dick Grayson woke up early the next day, after getting hardly any sleep at all. When he came home from patrolling with Batman the night before, it was around three o'clock in the morning and he had felt totally drained. When his head had hit the pillow, however, his peaceful dreams were shattered by the recurrent images of Tony Zucco laughing over his parents' graves, thus jolting him awake each time. He'd had dreams like this before but not with the same intensity that these images were showing.
Running a hand through his dishevelled black hair he got out of bed and went into the bathroom across the hall. I look like hell incarnate, he thought to himself, as he looked at his reflection in the mirror. Even the left side of Two Face looks better than I do; and that's pretty gross. He splashed some cold water on his face in an attempt to wake himself up, then left the room.
Alfred Pennyworth, the faithful British butler to the Wayne family, was in the kitchen making himself some breakfast when Dick came downstairs. Wearing only shorts and socks, Dick sat down on a stool by the wooden island in the middle of the room and put his head in his hands.
Alfred looked on in genuine concern. "Are you alright, Master Dick?" he inquired, as he took out a small frying pan from the cabinet under the sink and set it on the stove top. "It looks like you've had a rough night."
"I feel like crap," Dick mumbled in a barely audible voice. "I didn't get any sleep last night, no matter how hard I tried." He sighed. "It's Zucco. He's what's keeping me awake like this." Dick looked up at Alfred. "He's constantly on my mind!"
The butler walked over to him and sat on a stool on the other side of the island. "Master Richard, you mustn't let Tony Zucco get you down. He's safely locked away in the penitentiary and he can't pose a threat to anyone while he's in there -"
"But he's still in my dreams, Alfred!" Dick interrupted. "How do I keep him from haunting me? He's driving me crazy -"
Now it was Alfred's turn to interrupt the young man. "You must defeat your demon, Master Dick. Fight him! Only you have the power to control your dreams!"
"It's not easy," Dick replied. He shook his head. "I've had dreams like this before and each time I tried, I couldn't get rid of him."
"You must try harder. The demon will go away. They always do." Alfred reached across the counter and put his hand on Dick's shoulder. "And Master Bruce and myself will be right here with you every step of the way."
The young man smiled at this. "Thanks, Alfred," he said.
The older man smiled back. "My pleasure, young sir." Then he turned serious. "Now put a shirt on. You're bound to catch a cold in this drafty place."
Dick grinned a boyish smile and started upstairs to his room, leaving Alfred sitting alone in the kitchen. Alfred glanced up the stairs at the retreating teen and smiled to himself as he stood up and continued the preparation of his somewhat delayed breakfast.
Later on in the day found Dick Grayson in the Manor gym practising a skilled routine on the parallel bars. With perfect form, he executed a number of somersaults and flips that would bring shame to a gold medallist at the summer Olympics. Bruce was away at a WayneTech board meeting and Dick just needed something to do to take his mind off of the current situations.
For a dismount he decided on something his father had shown him long ago; a one in-a-half twist with two somersaults. To do this type of manoeuvre the gymnast has to gain enough height so as not to crack their head or any other part of their body on the bars. Dick still wasn't too skilled at this move; he just wanted to try it, just for old times sake.
Taking a deep breath Dick went into the closing of his routine. This is for you, Dad, the teen dedicated. The muscles in his arms strained and bulged as he tried to muster up enough energy to give him the correct amount of height to complete the dismount safely.
Dick let go of the bars. One twist,... the half twist,... both were completed and he still had enough height left to continue with the two concluding somersaults. He concentrated really hard; this was the difficult part.
First somersault completed. He was actually going to do it! As he started the second somersault he felt a blast rock the whole house, making him lose his concentration and plummet the remaining centimetres to the floor.
"Argh shit!" he swore as he felt his left arm make contact with the wooden bar just before he landed on his left side on the floor. Clutching his sore arm, he figured it to be badly bruised; nothing broken.
What the hell was that? he wondered. Another huge blast was heard, shaking the Manor with another powerful jolt of energy. Still gripping his injured arm he got up from the floor and made his way over to the huge ceiling-to-floor windows on the other side of the massive room. He looked out and opened his mouth in shock.
"Master Dick!!" Alfred rushed into the gym, a panicked look on his lean face. "What's going on? What's this terrible noise?"
Dick continued to stare out the window. "It's what I've feared, Alfred." He moved to the side so Alfred could look out the window. "The penitentiary is under attack. Zucco's going to use this opportunity to escape. He's going to hunt me down."
"Oh my word!" the butler gasped in shock. "This is dreadful news! We must contact Master Bruce at once -"
"No, Alfred," Dick interjected. "Bruce is probably aware of the situation as we speak."
Meanwhile at the WayneTech board meeting, Bruce Wayne was excusing himself from the group of executives the moment the first charge shook the building. His associate Lucius Fox was looking at him strangely.
"Where are you going, Bruce?" he asked. "The meeting isn't over yet!"
The billionaire turned around briefly. "I'm sorry, but I just remembered that I have some pressing business to attend to."
"More important than this?" Lucius inquired.
"Afraid so. You know how it is." Bruce Wayne turned around and left the office.
"Hmph, I certainly do not know how it is." Lucius watched as the president of WayneTech left the office, and then they resumed the meeting.
OK...well...I had a problem getting this whole story on one page. I don't know why, but for some reason it just would_not_work! So, to read the rest of Demons, just follow the link!
