Chapter 3 - Crossroads
Year 2XXX/01/02, Gotham city, Church of blood
Destroyed after a gang war between Black Mask's men and a newly installed Triad branch, the old church in the 5th district was left in ruin for two years until an external group restored it last month and rename it Gotham's Church of Blood the 5th.
Since then, Gotham's city welcomed a growing number of monks clothed in crimson attires who preached the Old Blood without any clear explanations about it nor the mysterious savior they revered. The media interviewed a few monks and produced some articles about that religious group but not much was discovered except for their many acts of kindness toward the poor and destitute, offering food, drink and rest.
Isaac's first impression of them was good.
The church, however made him uneasy.
Made of grey stones and iron bars reaching the sky, the new building welcomed any newcomers with its heavy shadow and stained glass displaying the many feats of an unknown being covered in crimson flames. One of the scenes pictured that being protecting a city from strange beasts of blue and green patterns wielding hundred of distorted arms and legs and the last one showed that being coming from the sky covered in a holy aura.
When Isaac walked past the last stained glass to follow the old monk, he had to step back and observe the painted images. Did something just move right now, wondered Isaac. Four eyes or what it seemed to be eyes on the painted glasses glowed with a reddish light at the same moment Isaac noticed a monk inside set alight candles with red incense sticks.
Isaac sighed and his shoulders relaxed a bit, there was nothing supernatural, everything was as it should be. The corner of his lips rose a bit as he saw the old monk in the cathedral's main hall exited through one of the doors leading to the inner garden. That old man invited him inside but didn't care if he was followed or not, complained Isaac in his mind when someone grabbed his sleeve.
She was someone he'd never seen before, he would've remembered her eyes. Despite the blue dress covering her body and face, Isaac noticed her hesitation as if she saw something special. The book she carried under her left arm was voluminous but she showed signs of fatigue or discomfort. Her violet eyes stared at him for another second before her grip let go.
Her hand reached for Isaac's face, just above the left eye. There was no physical contact but something resonated like a spark inside Isaac's brain. He couldn't move. That feeling was strange and yet not unfamiliar but he couldn't recall where and when he felt the same.
" Sorry, I thought you were someone else. ", she covered her face with the hood of her dress in one move and hurried away without checking for any kind of response. A couple of passersby who witnessed the scene covered their mouths and whispered to each other while pointing with their finger to the running girl and stunned boy.
Isaac opened his mouth, he wanted to ask what has she done to his mind, who was she, who she confused him for, and what was she looking after. He touched the place where her hand almost reached.
Isaac froze.
That area was when he...
His head started humming. Noises of cars driving away, passersby talking to their phones about the next news on Gotham's prison or the background chants in Latin from the church were one by one ignored by Isaac's mind.
As if time played backward, before Isaac's mind he followed a past copy of himself wandering the streets, leaving the school, stopping the chair flying toward his skull then he stopped at that image. That moment was seen in great detail, every inch of the wooden chair with metallic legs, the smile on Marco's face when he thought it would injure Isaac as well as the other students in the classroom.
At that moment, Isaac recalled a sharp pain hammering his brain at the same time as the chair's leg moved by one inch, and the impact was completely negated when he grabbed it before leaving.
That feeling wasn't unknown to him but way weaker than another occurrence.
Isaac's memories flash backward to two days back when he and his mother visited the giant slabs in the Old Gotham district. His mother laid flat on the ground while the person next to her in the crowd was burned to a crisp by the lunatic man's fire. In the same manner, that moment was pictured in great detail in his memories but the pain he suffered at that time made him see things that he didn't notice at first.
Something invisible was pressing his mother's body outside of the danger, something he felt familiar yet stranger too. If he kept avoiding that memory, he wouldn't have noticed it. For a fraction of a second, he noticed a handprint on Emma black's robe even after it returned to normal as if it'd never been there in the first place or maybe his mind was playing some tricks on his actual conscious.
From that moment through the madman killing spree to the days and days among weeks and months he was in the hospital recovering and exercising to the instant he saw red lasers cutting buildings, concrete and cars alike. When the sky was red and dark, Isaac saw, remembered or imagined debris falling from the destroyed planes on the city's ground.
Then it was pitch black. All that time he was in a coma, Isaac didn't recall anything from that period, no dreams, no feeling, no time.
When the bullet pierced through his brain with no effort nor resistance, 'Was it what death feels like', Isaac paused his introspection, his fingers caressing his scar.
" Are you alright son ? ", the old monk was back with three bags on his back and sides. " There take that bread, backed from this morning. ", his wrinkled hands lightened the weight he supported. His face bore a smile when Isaac took the food. Working toward a better world was part of the Church of blood teaching.
" Don't worry son, I was your age long ago and I can sympathize with you. It's normal, there is no shame in feeling down when you are rejected by a girl in public. Don't worry you will find someone in the future. May the old blood bring you peace. ", the monk chuckled before walking down the street toward the next district.
Isaac was left bewildered by the old monk's assumption.
And yet, the short monk's words brought him some peace. That was strange, it shouldn't and yet it did, why. Isaac moved out of the main entrance to not block the passage. Mysteries surrounded the Church of blood and this conviction into the Old Blood was one of them.
Isaac found a bench near the building and started eating the bread with one hand while the other one checked on his phone. Two missed calls from his mother and one message telling him to explain why the school's director contacted her during school classes.
Isaac didn't want to call her back and wrote her a message saying he was going out and would come back later before he watched some old conversations on his screen.
...
'Wanna eat a pizza at Bamonte's Restaurant, Edouard got some cash'
'Ur'
...
'Frank u ok ?'
'I'm at your door, open it Frank'
...
'Where tf are u Frank ?'
'fuck u bastard'
...
Isaac grimaced, those last messages he had with Frank dated from one year and a half ago and Frank never responded. Too busy with those clown freaks, too busy to train at shooting schoolmates even if some deserved it, thought Isaac. Frank was just a stranger to him now. Could he forgive him and the man who shot him in the head wondered Isaac.
Maybe he could, maybe not, did they even deserve forgiveness, He asked himself.
When Isaac chewed the last piece of bread he was pushed forward. He wasn't ready for that and stumbled four feet away, wasting his clothes and his phone. He didn't have the time to take a look when someone punched his face two times above the right cheek.
Isaac felt his face burning. He saw the third blow coming his way and instead of jumping out to avoid it, he pushed hard with his legs and crashed against his aggressor. The punch's impact was weakened. He didn't feel it. He was angry. He was going to beat the crap of that bastard. Both fell on the concrete with Isaac on the top.
With no hesitation, Isaac grabbed the neck of his aggressor but didn't try to squeeze until suffocation, no, instead he kept it under his grasp and seized it like a hammer to slam that head into the ground. He didn't stop when pain and confusion colored the face of his aggressor. Who the fuck are you, thought Isaac.
The one Isaac was fighting against was a pure stranger. Light brown-haired bastard with similar eyes color and no tattoo, no scars, nothing to catch the attention and second-hand clothes with brand new shoes was almost the definition of common thugs or civilians in the street of Gotham in Isaac's eyes.
Did he look like an easy target, someone to use for everyday beating, Isaac gritted his teeth.
He didn't pay attention to the small crowd of five people watching the spectacle away. Isaac wanted to hit that bastard's head on the concrete for the second time. His arms rose and slammed down the guy's skull when he saw in the corner of his sight a movement getting closer.
He didn't hesitate and rolled to the side, avoiding a kick aimed at his head.
So they were two of them, Isaac scanned the duo and their surroundings but there was no sight of any other accomplices or they were hiding. The backup seemed to be the same age as him, clothed in everyday blue jeans but he had a colored hoodie covering his face.
Isaac spitted on the ground.
Today wasn't a good day he thought at the same time he noticed his phone was gone and nowhere near the place with the red dot. He didn't pay attention to the few bystanders who witnessed the scene without intervening, instead he sprinted toward the end of the street where he saw the duo's shadow. One of them supported the other while they ran through a crowd of workers in black or dark blue suits who did their best to not block their path.
Seeing the distance, Isaac decided to run on the road to catch them up. Despite the cars' protestations and conductors' insults, he didn't hesitate and jumped over their blocking cars. After three minutes of pursuit, his lungs were on fire but only twenty meters separated him from them.
He was prepared to run for the whole night if he had to when he saw them crash into a cyclist appearing on their right from Cherry's street. Luck was on his side. Soon he would catch them. If they continued forward for a few streets they would reach the Granton District and he knew a shortcut there to stop them.
The traffic light turned green for the pedestrians and Isaac cursed. The duo didn't continue forward, they rushed to their right into a back alley. The alley wasn't illuminated like the main street, instead one street lamp out of two worked fine when the bulb was present. Isaac heard the sound of water, they were getting closer to the docks.
At the same time as he ran, Isaac grabbed a bin's lid and threw it at the weaker runner, the one who punched him in the face. The lid hit true. The duo stumbled and fell. They didn't have the time to get up when Isaac finally reached them. He didn't hesitate and kicked the masked one into the back and grabbed the other one before throwing him against a wall.
Isaac turned around, the alley was empty but one window on floor three was opened. When his gaze met the young kid wearing a superman pajamas at the window, the latter shut it down and switched off the light. At the same time Isaac heard a small 'mommy' away, he kicked the masked one who lay on the ground, catching his breath and protecting his head with both arms.
" c'mon man, just let us go. ", the other thief rested on the wall he impacted earlier. His head was bleeding. He shouldn't have messed up. " That was just a phone, here take it. ", he took the phone from his pocket and threw it at Isaac. Maybe the madman would go away, he hoped. Crazies like that were too common in Gotham's street he lamented.
Isaac recognized his phone. The broken glass was broken, it couldn't turn on. He stomped on the broken phone.
" Man, that's just a joke, a bad joke, I promise. Here's the real deal. ", the thief gulped and slid another phone toward Isaac. " Listen we just- ", he tried to calm down the situation when the phone he offered was thrown back and crushed against the wall just above his left shoulder.
Isaac surprised himself y grabbing a metallic bar lying next to the trash bin in the alley.
" Calm down dude, calm down, I got cash, I got cash. ", the thief grimaced when his colleague tried to sneak on Isaac but received instead a swing at his right knee.
The masked man screamed. Isaac swung his arm. This time he didn't try to aim at anything specific. He just hit and hit the man in now lateral position. He wanted to hurt him, to make him suffer. Why, he wasn't sure anymore. He wasn't like that. Isaac strengthened his grip. The masked man was trembling on the ground.
Isaac returned his focus to the other thief.
Walking closer, he didn't listen to whatever that bastard spouted, the grip on the metallic bar tightened. Fear was on the man's face. He wanted to get up and run but something was pressing against his legs, fear maybe he thought. The moment the bar got closer to his face, the thief prayed in his heart.
" Please, I got cash, a lot of cash pleas- ", some tears appeared in his eyes, maybe today would become his last.
" I DON'T WANT YOUR CASH !!! ", Isaac hammered the thief in the face. The metallic bar broke the thief's jaw, then his shoulder, then Isaac didn't care. His arm was numb. The bar was heavy in his hand. " ...I don't want your cash. ", Isaac took a deep breath.
All of that, it wasn't him. He couldn't recognize himself and yet, all he wanted was to smash that person one more time, it felt natural.
Isaac didn't have the time to reflect when three strange-looking projectiles hit his back.
" Who the- ", Isaac turned back to receive a heavy blow in his stomach.
" Why. ", under the street light Gotham's hero scrutinized the teenager catching his breath. He arrived a bit late but Batman knew what occurred in this place as he had installed a couple of cameras before in this street for one of his global city scrutiny security.
The project was put off, but a dozen of places in his city were still watched by his own camera network which allowed him to reach areas unsupervised by the city's eyes because of time deterioration or conflict destruction. And today he was alerted by a frenzy behavior driving seven, now eight citizens into fights, deadly fights if he didn't stop them.
" You... ", Isaac vomited blood on the ground. Undigested bread combined with stomach acid colored the reddish stain. He was on his knees when he saw a dark fist getting closer to his right temple. The impact didn't register as he lost consciousness.
Batman just delivered the blow when he stopped for a second. His gauntlet which had a small percent of titanium in addition to the kevlar skin which helped to resist and almost nullify the impact of punches displayed a small crack. With a frown, he removed the external steel layer and replace it with a new one from his utility belt.
He didn't change that layer since twenty-six days, which was a bit earlier than his usual twenty-eight to thirty days period he was used to. That was a small detail, but he took note of it in his mind at the same time as his ears listen to a police alert about a gruesome fight going on on lower levels of the docks.
He couldn't rest. So many crimes in Gotham. With years of experience, he gathered the three teenagers and cuffed them to a streetlamp in no time before leaving and sending a programmed message to the nearest police station about criminals arrested at this address.
'Gordon won't enjoy his dinner tonight' thought Batman taking a sample of blood coloring the ground, the metallic bar and the teenager's clothes before using his grapple to reach faster the dock from the buildings' roofs.
Year 2XXX/01/02, Gotham city, Police station
Andrea Garcia was a police officer for three years. She had seen many cases, many criminals ranging from common thieves to murderers. And after reading the report of today' special delivery as they called it when Batman beat and tied up thugs in the street, she knew something was off.
All three suspects were injured which was quite normal but the youngest of them, after blood analysis showed the presence of a new drug. It was a variant of an anabolic steroid with a potency three times higher than the normal drug which was already known for its increase in violent/aggressive behavior.
That would explain why that teenager beat up quite brutally the two thieve Henry Grey and Pietro Miller who weren't unknown to the police as they were caught for the same reason several times in the past.
Henry lost teeth, had a dislocated jaw, broken arms and plenty of hematomas while Pietro suffered from internal bleeding as well as fractured bones. If Batman didn't intervene they would have died Andrea thought. Being a murderer at that age would destroy any of his future dreams, she hoped her daughter wouldn't fall victim to that drug.
She walked to the police station common's cell where Isaac remained after his interrogation. Next to him, two drunken white collars slept on the ground. Pietro and Henry were moved from here to the hospital half an hour earlier because of their medical condition worsening in this place.
" Isaac, your mother is here. You have twenty minutes. ", Andrea brought the teenager into the interrogation room where Emma Stradaniya waited for her son. She looked at Emma for a moment before leaving them alone for the time being. She sympathized with the mother as she would feel terrible in her shoes.
Isaac sat down and stared at the table.
" Did you ? ", Emma examined her son. The bandage on his torso and blood on his clothes, she noticed it all but the report the police officer told her stayed on her mind.
Emma shook her head.
Isaac was silent.
" I can't believe it. ", Emma grabbed her son's hands. They were cold and humid. She squeezed them. " What was on your mind, why did you leave school and I don't care about your bullshit. ", she stopped herself. She took a deep breath. " Are you hurt ? ", she knew it was obvious he was but she couldn't not ask.
" Batman hit like a truck. ", Isaac tried not to lean on his left as part of his ribcage was damaged and hurt, not broken according to the doctor.
" Do you still feel, strange ? ", Emma caressed her son's head.
" I'm- I don't know... ", Isaac shook his head. He felt a bit nauseated but it was normal according to the doctor. He tried to remember how much of it was in his body, but he couldn't recall. I knew it was now under 2g per liter of blood. " The doctor told me tomorrow the drug would flush out as it wasn't in big quantity anyway. ", he scratched his head.
They stayed silent for a few moments, taking re-comfort in each other presence.
" I want you to stop all of your 'training' Isaac. ", Emma met her son's eyes and continued despite his visible confusion and protest. " All that anger, it's not healthy. Yes Isaac, the headmaster told me you, on your first day back to school you, you tried to beat up your classmate and now you fight with thugs- ", she tried to keep her calm but ended up slamming her hand on the table.
" I didn't they- ", Isaac was interrupted before he could explain himself.
" The drug, where did you obtain it ? When did you start ? Was it when they couldn't find Andrew's whereabouts ? ", Emma felt guilty. It was probably his way to cope with Andrew's absence and she failed to protect him from that danger. " Was it Frank ? Did you meet him or one of his new friends ? Did you do it on the underground floor of our building ? ", scenarios worse than the preceding appeared on her mind.
Isaac tightened his fist. Where did she think he was a junkie, he didn't know how he entered in contact with that steroid plus ultra. Didn't she read or heard what was report by the doctor, he wondered. " That bastard can die anywhere for all I care. ", he spat on the ground earning him a slap he avoided at the last moment. He resisted the urge to slap back.
" He's your friend despite his shortcoming and wrong choices. ", Emma controlled herself, she shouldn't try to physically reprimand Isaac. " Frank didn't shoot you, it was Peter Stumpp, not Frank, it was not Frank's fault. ", she didn't want her son to lose the very few friends he had even if Frank seemed to take the wrong path. Everyone deserved a second chance she hoped.
Isaac refused to agree with Emma even if Frank was not the culprit, he was part of the same gang that shot him in the head. Even if he wasn't the mastermind, the boss, or any important gang member, for him, they all deserved to die. It was entirely personal and he couldn't not deny it even if it was wrong.
" Promise me you'll stop. Promise me Isaac. Isaac. ", Emma started to cry.
" I'll try. ", Isaac hugged his mother. Even if he didn't feel in the wrong, and resented her accusations, he couldn't hate his mother.
" I'm worried Isaac. ", Emma clean her face with a tissue. " Gotham is not safe, it never was but- now, it feels worse. " " With what we received from Andrew's insurance- ", Emma bite her lips.
" Dad is not dead, he's just not found yet. ", Isaac cut his mother short.
" Andy, Andy would want, even if he's not here right now, he would want us to leave Gotham. " " I need just a few months, maybe eight or nine, then I'll have enough for us to move to Metropolis, it'll be safer and I have a distant cousin there. ", Emma wished to talk more about her plan but the door opened with the police officer entering.
" Sorry madam Stradaniya, the time's visit is finished. You can come back tomorrow from 10:00 am but the custody will last for another three days because of some complications, I hope you understand. ", Andrea listened and responded to the best of her capacity to the mother's worries and she accompanied her outside the police station and returned Isaac to the common cell.
Isaac sat on the free corner of the cell while trying to remember anything suspicious during the day which could explain how he entered into contact or injected the drug. His right hand contracted itself as he recalled the cold metallic bar hammering the man on the ground.
Night had fallen for hours but Isaac couldn't find the sleep.
He watched as all policemen left one after the other until only the night-time team stayed in their office at the back of the hallway with the light switched on and the sound of a drama lightly reverberated up to his ears.
Isaac almost fell asleep when the main entrance opened with no sound. He thought he was dreaming as it wasn't a policeman at the door nor a security agent but a woman cladded in a skintight bodysuit and stylized mask he recognized as some articles had descriptions, robot portrait of the famous Gotham thief, Catwoman.