C.3

After finally leaving the alleyway by climbing up a small building through its fire escape and descending on the other side, Max began to walk on the sidewalk of a street he didn't recognize.

Looking up at the sky, he saw the beautiful full moon that showered the city in dim light.

'This must be Gotham. I need to know more about this place first; a computer would be useful.'

He walked a bit more until he suddenly stopped after looking at a random store's glass display.

In it were a few luxurious wristwatches and some other accessories, but that wasn't what made Max stop.

What made him stop in his tracks was his reflection.

Instead of his usual 40-year-old appearance, what he saw was the body he had 15 years ago when he was a 25-year-old man.

Max's face was nothing special, sporting only a dark-brown buzzcut and trimmed beard of the same color. His light-hazel eye color combined with his almond-shaped eyes added a slight seriousness and coldness to his overall appearance, but nothing much.

His large build was very apparent even while using clothes bigger than his usual size. With bulging muscles all over his body, it was only natural to think Max wasn't very agile, but that was a misconception. Max was incredibly agile and fast when he needed to be, which was one of the pros of being trained by the Master Assassins of The Black Hand, a large number of which were former Special Forces, SSG, Navy Seals, and MI-6, just to name a few.

'What the fuck?' He couldn't help but think.

Thanks to Agent 47's combined with his own Indomitable Will, he managed to keep his composure and clear mind, but it still surprised him a bit.

'Do I still have my muscle memory and stuff?'

He did some stretches in the middle of the side-walk and then did some shadow boxing for a few minutes to test his theory, receiving quite a few strange looks from passersby, which he obviously ignored.

'Haha, everything's the same as it was in my prime! This is great news because I was a beast in my younger days if I do say so myself!'

Happy with the outcome of his test, a white smile bloomed on his face.

'If only Nat and Julia were here with me... well, I'm sure we'll reunite someday. I shouldn't get stuck on the past.'

Now with the right mindset, Max continued his walk along the sidewalk until he approached a TV store.

Entering the store, Max was greeted by a large interior with at least a couple dozen of TVs inside.

Walking to one of the few that was turned on, he listened to the news channel that was currently passing.

*And tonight's latest news! Gotham's Dark Knight has claimed yet another victim. 29-year-old Bellamy Trother's deceased body was found in Crime Alley, the infamous place where billionaire businessman and philanthropist Thomas Wayne and Martha Wayne's son, 8-year-old Bruce Wayne, was shot and killed by an unknown individual. 19-year-old Lara Ponty found Bellamy Trother's body with the notorious 'Batarang' stuck into his skull and brain, along with an additional 5 bullet wounds to his head, stomach, and chest. Now, the question that is flooding social media and forums all over the internet is: Is the existence of Batman positive or negative to Gotham City? Let us know by voting on our Twitter poll @GNN. We'll take a short break and be back in a bit with the results.*

'Things have really changed. Since when does the Batman kill? I guess this is what happens when Bruce Wayne dies instead of his parents. Martha becomes the Joker and Thomas becomes the Batman. How comical.' He said in his head, 'But this is important news. It means that killing him won't be as easy as once thought. If I miss, I might actually die. However, when have I ever missed a shot?'

He chuckled at his thoughts and left the store without saying anything.

Without much to do anymore, he went ahead and began searching for one of the necessities - shelter.

Max spent only 10 minutes walking aimlessly until he eventually ran into a motel.

It didn't look like a very fancy motel, but he only had $450, so he didn't really have the benefit of selection.

Entering through the damaged wooden doors in the front, Max was greeted by an old lady in her 60s smoking a cigarette behind the reception.

Approaching the counter, Max smiled and said, "Good evening. Do you have any free rooms for the night?"

The old lady took a puff of her cigarette before answering, "Yes. $30 for a one-bedroom for the night."

"I'll take it," Max handed her a $50 bill.

The old lady smiled, showing her near-rotten set of teeth, and handed him the change along with the key to his room. "Room 28. Glad doing business with you."

Max awkwardly smiled and replied, "Likewise."

Grabbing the key, he headed to his room which was on the second floor of the motel.

On the way, he passed through a couple of people who looked like drug addicts, which didn't give him a good review of the motel right off the bat.

Now, finally in room 28, Max firstly inspected every inch and corner of the room for any recording devices, hidden cameras, and the like.

Thankfully, he found none.

Looking at the old-school clock device on the small bedside table, Max saw that it was nearing 10 pm and decided to sleep.

Before that, though, he arranged the 3 pillows on his bed under his blanket to look like a body before grabbing the 1 pillow left and sleeping with it on the carpet floor.

One can never be too careful was a saying Max took to heart.

Falling asleep was an easy task for him since he had learned a breathing exercise that would make him fall asleep in just under 5 minutes.

As he drifted off to dreamland, a rare occasion happened in which he had a dream.

He was on an empty beach sitting on the sand, watching the beautiful orange sunset.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" He heard a voice from his left.

He turned his head to his left and discovered that the voice belonged to Natalee, the love of his life.

"Yeah." He replied with a smile.

"What do you think, Julia? Isn't it beautiful?" Natalee said to the little girl sitting on top of her shoulders.

"I love it, mommy. Can we come here every day?" Little Julia asked while clapping her tiny hands together.

"Hahaha, we can try, dear." Natalee smiled back.

Max watched this scene unfold with tears nearly dropping from his eyes. No matter how powerful his will was, this scene crumbled his tough appearance to dust and instead replaced it by one of a dad and husband who had lost the most important people in his life.

"You both know I love you more than anything, right?" Max said.

Natalee turned her head and saw the tears dripping down his face, "Honey, what happened?"

"Nothing," he cleaned his face using his hands, "I just wanted you guys to know that I love you, that's all."

"Aww. I love you too, dear. Always and forever." Nat spread her arms and wrapped them around his neck, bringing him closer for a kiss.

"I loooooooooooooooooove you, daddyyy!" Julia said.

A smile of peace appeared on Max's face, and he simply sat there and enjoyed the sunset in silence with his family.

Until the dream ended, that is, bringing him back to the cruel reality where he lay alone on the carpet of a rundown motel in a foreign world with only one mission: Kill the Batman and the Joker.