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Post by johnreiter902 on Feb 14, 2024 2:06:25 GMT
Bob Peters chuckled quietly to himself as he turned another page in his comic.
He did so quietly, even though nobody was around who could be offended even if he broke down laughing and pounding the floor. The Gotham Central Bank had been closed for hours. At 12:30 AM, he was the only person in the building.
Still, the big place could be as creepy as a graveyard, and the large open rooms echoed loudly. This imposed a strong need to keep quiet.
It took strong nerves to be a night watchman. Bob fortified himself against loneliness, darkness (electric bill’s you know, no more than one light on at night) and quiet with funny magazines, and the ability to keep his imagination in check.
Bob wasn’t a man given to deep thinking in general. To be a night guard, you needed to be chill. You take what life sends you, and you roll with it. You never wonder about anything. You fix the problems you can fix, and then you move on.
He did NOT fit the description of the typical “dozy watchman.” A professional nightman, he slept a full eight hours during the day, and was wide awake, his only concession to the late hour was that his chair was leaned back on two legs, propped up against the large vault door. He liked to sit by the door, as it gave him a commanding view of most of the bank, and the main entrance in particular. Sure, he could sit in the security booth and watch the place on the cameras. But all cameras have blind spots, and in the end he trusted his own senses more than any machine.
Because he was so close to the door, and quiet, his alert ears quickly registered a sound which he had never heard before. At first, it was so soft he was barely conscious of it. But, as mentioned, he was a professional. Strange sounds in the bank at night immediately registered as disturbance, and must be investigated.
Bob stood up quickly and smoothly, turning around and listening. Crinch, crinch, crinch. What was that sound? Was there somebody in here? Doing what? He stepped out into the room, but the sound faded. On a hunch, he backtracked, and there it was again! Crinch, Crinch, Crinch. He turned around to stare incredulously at the huge steel door. Was he going nuts? The sound seemed to be coming from inside the vault!
He pressed his right ear to the vault door. No doubt about it! CRINCH, CRINCH, CRINCH.
He stepped back to consider his options. Open the door? Even if he could (which he couldn’t) he wouldn’t, as that would obviously make the bank much less secure, and this could all be some kind of ruse. Call and report it? Report what? It didn’t sound like tunneling or blasting. After racking his brain, the only think he could compare it too was watching his nieces and nephews rip open presents. That was it, it sounded like somebody tearing through paper. LOTS of paper.
He could imagine what the bank president would think of THAT. Settling on what seemed to be the best course of action, he headed toward the security booth and called up the scene from the vault camera.
What he should have seen was total blackness. The lights in the vault only turned on when the vault was open.
What he actually so was a room dimly lit by the glow of the streetlights behind the bank, light streaming in from a large hole in the wall!
Bob stared in shock. How in the heck could somebody blow a hole that big without making a noise? It should have woken up the whole neighborhood.
Then he saw something that was even stranger. The room wasn’t filled with rubble, and the edges of the hole were no jutting pieces of steel or broken bricks. Instead, the room was overflowing with hunks of turn up paper, and the edges of the hole were ruffling slightly in the wind from the street.
Paper, his eyes insisted. The wall was turned to paper.
And not just the wall, the security boxes along the wall ripped open too. “ripped” being the literal term, as there were pieces of paper dangling from their edges too.
Taking several deep breaths to calm himself down, Bob sat down and reached for the phone. Time to call this in
Well, he thought, it is Gotham after all.
Still, a successful robbery would NOT look good on his record. |
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Post by johnreiter902 on Feb 14, 2024 2:08:41 GMT
Well, I'm going to try to write another story. Wish me lots of luck
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Post by DocQuantum on Feb 14, 2024 2:48:12 GMT
Yayyyyy!
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Post by lawrenceliberty on Feb 15, 2024 15:50:07 GMT
Nice start!
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Post by johnreiter902 on Feb 17, 2024 20:25:27 GMT
Hours later, the GCPD had cordoned off the bank with crime-scene tape, and uniformed officers were combing the area for evidence.
Like a pool of artificial shadow, Batman was in the center of everything. Squatting down, cape pooled around him, he was examining some of the shreds of tissue paper that littered the scene. The opaque white lenses of his mask concealed his eyes, yet you could feel that his penetrating gaze was taking in every detail of the scene, missing nothing.
Crime scene technicians move around him collecting as much of the paper as they could into bags while trying not to stare too curiously. It wasn’t often the average man in the force got to see Batman in action.
Commissioner Gordon stepped out of one of the newly arrived cars and smiled slightly at the sight of his old ally. If Batman hadn’t already been there, Gordon would have signaled him.
Walking over, Gordon quietly interrupted the caped crusader’s study of the scene. “Find anything interesting?”
Batman rose smoothly from his crouch. “Nothing you can’t see Jim. Based on the volume of tissue paper, the robber transmuted the brick wall, the outside wall of the vault, and then the front of the security boxes.” He held up a sample of the paper he had been examining, and placed his mini-spectrograph back into his batbelt. “As far as I can tell, the paper is ordinary, non-anomalous. I’ll take a sample back to the Batcave for further analysis.”
Gordon nodded. It wasn’t as if there wasn’t plenty of the stuff to bag. “The lab boys will check on all that too of course, not that I doubt you.” Long experience had shown him that Batman could see in a glance what experts would take a week to be sure of.
“I’ll appreciate that, and also an itemized list of what was stolen from the vault as soon as you have it.”
“You think they were after something besides money?”
The masked hero shrugged slightly. “It’s too early to rule out anything. And after all our experiences over the years, I’ve learned to not ignore any piece of evidence.”
“Hmm.” Gordon considered the scene of the crime again while he collected his thoughts. “Maybe we’ll get lucky, and he left his fingerprints while he was tearing his way in.”
“Maybe” Batman allowed, without optimism.
“Transmuting things isn’t something that happens every day,” he said speculatively. “I guess you won’t have many suspects for this one, unless it’s a new player?”
“More than you might think.” Batman said, before launching a Batline to the nearest building and vanishing into the night. |
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Post by dans on Feb 17, 2024 21:24:43 GMT
well, of course, Batman suspects EVERYONE at the start!!
Good start! Well written, and a good mystery... transmutation to tissue paper isn't something you see every day. Don't see how this could look bad on Bob's record, though. I hope he comes out OK, he seems like a very conscientious guy!
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Post by lawrenceliberty on Feb 18, 2024 14:52:11 GMT
I like the obvious trust and respect shown between Batman and Gordon. I never liked the way some writers portrayed Batman and ordinary police at odds with one another in post crisis comics.
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Post by johnreiter902 on Feb 18, 2024 20:17:02 GMT
Bruce made two calls as soon as he got back to the Batcave
The first one, to Las Vegas, didn’t get picked up, and he wasn’t surprised. It would have been luck if his consultant happened to be available right at that moment. He left a coded message for her to call him back ASAP.
The second call was picked up after a few rings. “Jason Blood here, What’s up Batman?”
“Jason, I believe you took possession the Philosopher’s Stone after Flash confiscated it from Dr. Alchemy last summer, right?”
Over the phone, Blood snorted. “Re-possession would be more accurate, since the Stone was made by Merlin and entrusted to me for safekeeping. Neither of the Desmond brothers have a legal right to it; for all that they can’t seem to keep their hands off of it.” He continued, “but yes, in answer to your question, I have it here in my apartment, with a number of other dangerous items, safely under lock and key.”
“Do you mind double-checking it for me? I’m sure you’re right, but I’d rather have positive confirmation.”
There was a pause “Wait a few minutes, and I’ll let you know.” Bruce held the phone, and busied himself calling up and cross referencing files on the Batcomputer while simultaneously running a more in-depth electro-chemical analysis of the paper in the background. The analysis still hadn’t revealed anything when Jason picked up the phone again. “It’s still here, and it’s the real thing alright. I did a simply scrying spell to double-check.”
“Thanks Jason, that’s the response I expected, but it’s good to hear.”
“You need any help? I could be over there in a few minutes.”
“Thanks, but no thanks. I’ll handle this case solo. You can leave Etrigan at home.” With a last friendly exchange, they both ended the call.
Carrie Kelly, who had just finished up practicing her marksmanship with Batarangs, happened to walk over to the computer station right at that moment. “Solo? Hey, what about me?”
Bruce smiled, and shook his head ruefully. “Much as I’d love to bring you along, no. Not with those big tests coming up you have to study for.”
“Argh, phooie.” She looked over Bruce’s shoulder to examine the files he had pulled up on the computer. “This is all your suspects? There aren’t that many.”
“Matter transmutation is, thankfully, not a common power-set." Bruce told her “Otherwise, think of what it would do to the economy. I ruled out Shimmer right off, since she’s in jail and her power can only transmute an object for about 3 minutes. If she had done this,” he indicated the paper, “it would have long since turned back into brick and steel. I also ruled out Dr. Alchemy for the same reasons, but I thought it would be wise to check with Jason Blood first. The Philosopher’s Stone has been used by other people in the past, and we know from Merlin and Morgan le Fey that there is a way to make the changes permanent, instead of temporary. And we can eliminate Matter Master from consideration. Mandrill’s powers only work on ‘natural’ substances, though how he defines those is a bit vague. Still, even if he could have transmuted the bricks, his Metachem wand could not have affected the steel in the vault.”
It was then that the computer notified him on an incoming call. Batman punched it up. “Zatanna, I’m glad you were able to get in touch so quickly.”
“You caught me at a good time Bruce, just finishing up my show. What can I do for you?”
“I have a piece of tissue paper in my hand. It used to part of the wall of a bank. I’d like you to tell me if it was changed by magic.”
“No sooner said than done. Eussit repap ni snamtab dnah emoc ot em.”
The paper disappeared from Batman’s hand. Over the phone, Bruce and Carrie heard Zatanna say another spell. “Llet em fi siht repap saw degnahc yb cigam.”
After a few seconds, Zatanna gave them her findings. “No results Bruce. No magic was used here. Is that a good thing?”
“In this case, definitely. It means I can concentrate on my top three suspects. Thanks Zatanna. Go ahead and send the paper back to Robin. I’m heading out.” |
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Post by DocQuantum on Feb 18, 2024 21:24:51 GMT
This is turning out to be a nice, solid Batman story. It's been a while since we've had one that was focused on a mystery. Very nice.
Also like seeing the guest appearances by Jason Blood and Zatanna. I'm in the middle of writing a Times Past sequence with Jason Blood for a Books of Magic story, and he's a great character, both as Jason and as Etrigan.
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Post by lawrenceliberty on Feb 19, 2024 20:15:07 GMT
I agree. A pleasure to read.
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Post by johnreiter902 on Mar 18, 2024 17:13:33 GMT
A stocky, square jawed man with dark hair trudged down a cracked sidewalk. The wind is cold, and his old brown jacket doesn’t really give him the insulation he needs. Setting his jaw, he hunkered down and shouldered on, his eyes rarely leaving the pavement in front of him.
In the crook of his farm, he nestled a brown paper grocery bag, and he was very careful not to drop it as he got out the key to his small, unassuming apartment building. The steps were littered, ad the walls had picked up some more graffiti.
Perhaps, because he was so focused on simply getting home, or simply too jaded to notice the world around him anymore, he didn’t notice at one the quiet figure standing inside his apartment until he closed the door. When he did notice him, the man let out a yelp and dropped the groceries on the floor.
“Paul Strobe,” Batman said, his back to the window, “we need to talk.”
* * *
“For God’s sake!” gasped Strobe. “Get away from the window. What if somebody sees you here? Oh man,” he started scrambling to pick up the groceries. “I hope nothing broke. I can’t afford another trip this week.”
Behind his mask, Bruce raised an eyebrow. This wasn’t quite what he was expecting. “Nobody saw me come in Strobe,” he said. “Why are you so concerned?” “Do you have any idea” Strobe said as he deposited his groceries on the counter “how hard it is to get a job as an ex-con? I have a PHD in electrical science, and now I fix radios for a living. Thankfully, most people don’t know I was once a supervillain, or I’d be living on welfare.”
Stooping, Batman retrieved a can of bean that had rolled under the table. “Here”
Strobe took it, slightly bemused. “Uh, thank you.” Taking a deep breath, he sat down at the table. “Sorry I blew up like that. It’s just that. . . life has been tough the last five years or so. It wears on you.”
“I heard that you got time off for good behavior.” He glanced around. “I must say, I’m surprised to see a man of your accomplishments living so rough.”
Paul snorted. “’Accomplishments’ what a laugh! Have you heard of the Mordecci Act Batman?” Without waiting to see if the hero nodded, he continued. “It was passed while I was in jail, making it illegal to artificially produce precious or valuable materials, to prevent flooding the market and ruining the economy, you see? My matter transmuter was the work of a life-time, my magnum opus, and now it’s worthless to me.”
“Not quite worthless.” Bruce said levelly. “I seem to recall you giving me quite a run-around in the old days.” In fact, he had had to replace the entire Batmobile after Strobe – then known as the Atomic-Man – had turned it into glass.
Paul shook his head firmly. “That’s one way I’ll never ruse it again, not even now. I’ve given up crime Batman. I’ve put that baggage behind me.” He finally looked up, and made eye contact with Batman for the first time. “In a way, I think I need to thank you.”
“For what?”
“For catching me.” He suddenly grinned. “There, now I bet you never thought you’d hear that from one of your old enemies.”
“I’ll freely admit.” Bruce said. “I don’t hear it that often.”
“Well you should.” The former Atomic-Man took a deep breath. “Thank you Batman, for stopping me from hurting anybody else, for putting me away, and getting me to give up on crime, and the Atomic-Man, before I ruined my life more than I already had. I know I am the architect of all my problems. Thanks to you, if I’m remembered at all, it is as a one-shot supercriminal who was never heard from again. And that is for the best.”
Bruce nodded to himself. He had search the apartment carefully for evidence before coming over, this conversation with Strobe only confirmed his certainty. The Atomic-Man had not returned from obscurity. He turned to the window, prepared to leave the way he entered, but paused to deliver some final words.
“People like you, Mr. Strobe, give me hope for every man and woman I have put behind bars. But you deserve better than this. You’re still one of the best electronics engineers in the world. If you apply to Wayne Enterprises, I guarantee my old friend Bruce Wayne will give you a better job. He needs good men like you.” |
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Post by DocQuantum on Mar 18, 2024 17:55:03 GMT
Now that Batman is a class act.
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Post by lawrenceliberty on Mar 19, 2024 18:43:12 GMT
I agree. I'd say that is proof, not that we need it, that this is an E-1 story drawn on good pre-crisis continuity since the post crisis Batman just wasn't as nice a guy. Did he like anybody?
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Post by johnreiter902 on Mar 22, 2024 2:32:52 GMT
This is a short one, sorry. The next two will be long “I’m sorry to say Batman, you’ve come all the way here for nothing.”
Dr. Tyler put down the chart he was reviewing and looked over at his guest. Batman’s own eyes were focused on the withered figure in the hospital bed.
He was not an elderly man, though he looked it. His hair had mostly fallen out. His body was withered and emaciated, and his muscles atrophied from long months in the bed.
“Dr. Carver is in the final stages of radiation poisoning” Dr. Tyler continued. “His mind began to deteriorate first, with symptoms resembling dementia. That was why he was granted early relese from prison, and remanded to our care here. Since then, his nervous system has continued to deteriorate, until he is now functionally paralyzed. Our diagnosis indicates that the atomic accident which cost him his eyesight did far more damage than was originally suspected.”
Bruce continued to look on sadly at the sleeping man. Dr. Lee Carver had suffered an accident years ago which made it impossible for him to see in normal light. Like Dr. Mid-Night of Earth-2, he found a way to partially restore his sight, but unlike McNider, he had then used his scientific genus to commit crimes as the Lamplighter, using a matter re-arranging ray.
“There’s no possibility of mistake here doctor?” He had to ask, even though the answer was obvious.
“No possibility Batman. Not only has Dr. Carver not left the hospital grounds, he COULD not leave them unassisted, nor is he capable of operating his transmutation ray any longer, let alone rebuilding it.”
Well, that leaves only one suspect then. “Thank you doctor.” Batman prepared to depart.
“Oh, one last thing Batman.” Dr. Tyler reached out to halt his progress. “Sometimes, when he is lucid, Dr. Carver asks to see Green Lantern. I think he would like to make amends before the end. I know you are both members of the Justice League. If you could reach out to Green Lantern, it would be a great kindness if he came.”
“I’ll let Green Lantern know to come as soon as he can.” And with that, Bruce vanished out the window, and headed for the Batplane |
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Post by dans on Mar 22, 2024 10:37:23 GMT
This was the Batman that was best friends with Superman. It really is evil that DC just had to put an end to that!
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