52 - The Novel
He pointed to a color photo of a striking redhead with a cool aristocratic air. She looked slimmer than Kate, but twice as haughty. The photo appeared to have been taken covertly by a long-range surveillance camera. Pretty glam, Renee conceded. But not my type. t
"A'Daire reportedly inherited something from al Ghul: an alchemical serum capable of turning men into monsters. She also travels with a bodyguard-slash-legman named Abbot. If that's his first or last name I don't know, but the guy's a stone-cold killer."
A second photo showed the scowling face of a dark-haired man who looked to be in his early forties. His cruel eyes, completely devoid of any trace of warmth or compassion, reminded her of any number of hit men and gangbangers she had busted over the years. Heavy black stubble carpeted his cheeks and chin. Bushy eyebrows met above his nose. Renee committed his face to memory.
"If they're here," Vic concluded, "then there's no question that Intergang has Gotham in its sights."
The very idea scared the crap out of her. "So we need to confirm that they're here, and that they're still moving in soldiers and weapons for the takeover."
"Exactly," he agreed.
"And how do you suggest we do that?" she asked.
"Same way I get most of my questions answered." He scooped the papers and photos back together. "Breaking and entering ..."
"Will you hurry it up?"
Renee paced across the darkened hallway of the downtown office building. A pair of glass double doors blocked off one end of the hall. A sign above the doors read Ridge-Ferrick Holding, LLC. Through the transparent glass, she could see the empty reception area on the other side. The receptionist's desk was unoccupied, not too surprising considering it was nearly midnight.
"If you can do this faster, please be my guest," Vic replied. Wearing his Question mask, he crouched in front of an electronic card reader mounted next to the door handle. The reader's plastic housing rested upon the floor as he carefully manipulated the exposed wiring.
By Renee's count, they had already committed four misdemeanors and at least one felony getting this far. She figured that should bother her, but somehow it didn't. Maybe "Charlie" was a bad influence on her, but she was curious now and she wanted some answers. Plus, if she was totally honest with herself, she had to admit that part of her was enjoying this. Poking her nose where it clearly didn't belong. Asking the questions that nobody else seemed willing to ask....
"Here we go," Vic whispered. Electricity sparked and the double doors swung open. He jumped quietly to his feet. "Camera," he prompted her.
"Got it," She darted forward and blacked out the surveillance camera over the receptionist's desk with a can of spray paint. The hiss of the spray nozzle sounded alarmingly loud in the nocturnal silence.
"Quietly," Vic urged her unnecessarily. They crept furtively down a hallway beyond the reception area. A narrow strip of light shone out from beneath a pair of closed wooden doors at the end of the hall. To her surprise, Renee heard voices coming from behind the doors.
Somebody's working late, she thought.
She and Vic pressed their ears against the doors, the better to listen in. Renee could make out most of what was being said:
", . . for the second stage is scheduled. Arming them won't be a problem, but converting the actual manpower base is going to be more of a challenge."
"We're expecting another shipment from Kahndaq within the month...."
Kahndaq? Renee's eyes widened at the name. If Black Adam was part of this, then things were even worse than she thought. That guy's in Superman's league.
And Superman hadn't been seen in months....
A low growl drove every other thought from her mind. She looked away from the door to discover an enormous wolf padding toward them, its eyes glowing red. The shaggy black beast was larger than any wolf Renee had ever seen outside of fairy tales. Its lips were pulled back, exposing ivory fangs. Drool dripped from its slathering jaws.
Oh crap, Renee thought.
The beast lunged at them, hitting her and Vic like a large furry battering ram. The impact knocked the wooden doors off their hinges, sending the two humans tumbling into the conference room. The office's bright lights came as a shock after the shadowy hallway. The wolf's hot breath, stinking of blood and raw meat, blasted Renee's face. Its massive forepaws pinned them both to the floor. She tried not to gag as she struggled for her ray gun.
"That's enough," a female voice declared.
The wolf grunted in disappointment, then began to change. Breathless upon the floor, Renee watched in amazement as the beast's sable fur retracted into its skin. Flesh and bone loudly twisted into new configurations. A hairy human chest replaced the beast's lupine torso. Its snout contracted into a stubbly male face Renee had made a point of remembering. The hellish red glow faded from the man's eyes, revealing the same cruel orbs she had noted before. Black trousers emerged from beneath the shaggy pelt. A powerful hand, complete with opposable thumb, closed around her throat. A hairy palm scratched her neck.
A wereivolf? The beast's stink lingered in her nostrils. I'm fighting a freaking werewolf now?
Abbot effortlessly lifted both her and Vic from the floor. Gasping for breath, she fought to pry the killer's fingers away from her throat even as she instinctively surveyed her new surroundings. A trio of goons in suits sat around a large oak conference table. Charts and reports were spread across the top of the table. A floor-to-ceiling window offered a spectacular view of the Gotham skyline. A string of halogen lamps hung from the ceiling. The goons grinned evilly at the captured investigators. One of them licked his lips.
"Let's have a look at them, shall we?"
The speaker stepped into view. Renee recognized Whisper A'Daire from Vic's surveillance photo. She'd changed her hair slightly, but otherwise the aristocratic beauty hadn't aged a day. A sinuous figure was poured into a slinky black sheath that accentuated its enticing curves. Her low voice had the sound of something ancient sliding across scalding sands.
" Ah, our faceless friend. What a surprise." She smirked at Vic before turning her attention to Renee. Her exotic perfume filled Renee's lungs as Whisper came close enough to touch. She looked the squirming prisoner over like a cobra inspecting a tasty mouse. A cool hand stroked Renee's cheek. "But you, you're new."
The woman's eyes captivated Renee, especially after they underwent a sinister transformation. All at once, they became the eyes of a snake, the pupils slitted and vertical, the irises an iridescent green. A hint of reptilian scales spread across Whisper's neck and shoulders. Renee tried to look away, but the hypnotic eyes held her fast. Her limbs went limp, abandoning their futile struggles. She offered no resistance.
"What's your name, morsel?"
She had no choice but to answer. "Renee Montoya."
Whisper smiled. A forked tongue flicked out and licked Renee's cheek.
Okay, that's gross, Renee thought. The sheer ickiness of it jolted her out of the snake-woman's spell. Charlie is never going to let me live this doivn—assuming we live past the next few minutes.
"Renee Montoya," Whisper repeated. "Nice to have met you, however briefly." She shifted her gaze to her lycanthropic lieutenant. "Mr. Abbot?"
"Whisper?" His hands still clutched the captives' throats.
"They'll have to die, I'm afraid." She stepped over to the conference table and started gathering her notes. The three goons rose from their seats, tonight's business evidently concluded. She stuffed the papers into her briefcase and started toward the door.
"Wait! Wait wait wait," Vic called out hoarsely. "C'mon, don't you even want to know why we're here? What we heard?"
She kept on walking. "That you heard anything is enough to satisfy my curiosity, sir." She glanced back at the three goons, who were closing in on Vic and Renee with bloodthirsty expressions on their faces. "Gentlemen, indulge yourselves."
Her dress rustled as she slithered out the door, leaving the conference room behind her. The sound of her high heels tappi
ng against the hallway floor faded away. Abbot roughly shoved Vic and Renee onto the carpet before following after her. The remaining goons surrounded the prostrate intruders. They growled at the back of their throats.
Oh Christ, Renee thought. Now what?
If she had thought Abbot's metamorphosis was a shock, she hadn't seen anything yet. Bones snapped like broken twigs, and tailored Italian suits came apart at the seams, as each of the three thugs transformed into a different kind of beast. A full-sized gorilla beat its chest. A roaring lion, flaunting a shaggy mane, stood erect on two legs. A spotted leopard-man extended its claws. The tattered remains of their clothing littered the floor as the trio of monsters loomed over the outnumbered humans. A musky odor filled the room. Their feral eyes glowed like hellfire.
"Hey, you know that gun from last time?" Vic said. "Now would probably be a good time to use it."
Not a bad, idea, Renee admitted, drawing the weapon. Even still, the odds were against them. Just one of these monsters had nearly killed them both back at the warehouse. Gun or no gun, she figured that this time there was no way they were getting out of this alive. She found herself pining for the good old days when all she had to deal with was mobsters, meth-heads, and the Joker's occasional killing sprees. When did Gotham become the Island of Doctor Moreau?
The monsters lunged at them simultaneously. Vic jumped up, meeting one of the attacks with a spin-kick that nailed the gorilla in the jaw. Gun in hand, Renee dived out of the way of the were-lion's slashing claws. She fired the ray gun, but the sizzling beam missed the lion, vaporizing an ugly abstract painting instead. She found herself trapped on the other side of the conference table, far away from the exit. Growling, the lion and the leopard circled her warily. They moved in opposite directions, making it hard to keep an eye on both of them. Her gun swung back and forth as she hesitated, uncertain what to do next. If she targeted one of the cats, the other would be on her in a heartbeat. Heavy paws padded against the carpet. The leopard licked its chops.
Suddenly, without warning, some sort of metal missile came spinning through the air, taking out the hanging lamps one after another. Glass shattered and sparks exploded as the entire room was plunged into darkness. The prowling monsters looked about in confusion.
The missile slammed into the wall only a few inches away from Renee. The scalloped edges of the weapon caught the moonlight coming through the panoramic window. Renee grinned, suddenly feeling a whole lot more hopeful about her chances for survival. She knew a Batarang when she saw one.
I knew it, she thought smugly. Despite all the talk, the wild rumors. He didn't leave. He's still here. Gotham City will always have—
A masked figure burst into the room. A lithe body, wrapped in tight black latex, was silhouetted against the crimson lining of a billowing black cape. Flowing red hair spilled out from behind her forbidding mask. A crimson bat-symbol was emblazoned upon her chest, matching her dark red boots, gloves, and utility belt. The scalloped cape spread out like wings behind her.
Batman?
Renee watched in awe as the masked woman threw herself into combat against the startled monsters. A judo flip sent the lion-man flying headfirst into a wall. His head cracked loudly against the thick wood paneling, and he dropped to the floor. She whirled in place, slashing the leopard across the face with the pointed tips of her cape even as she extracted a collapsible staff from her utility belt. Forgetting Vic for the moment, the gorilla pounced at her from behind, but she slammed the length of the pole backward into his throat, then used it to backflip over his head, landing nimbly on the floor behind him. A backhand strike caught the leopard-man in the chin just as he was sneaking up on her. His skull slammed into the wall behind him. Blood sprayed from his mouth.
That's not Batman, Renee realized, her eyes agog. It wasn't even Batgirl. This was an honest-to-god Bat woman.
"Hot damn." .
So enraptured was she by the breathtaking sight of the woman in action that she almost didn't notice when the gorilla came charging at her instead. Renee drew a bead on the oncoming simian, her finger tensed upon the trigger. She had the shot.
And just like Batman, the masked woman didn't let Renee take it.
"No!" she shouted, jumping between Renee and the beast. She knocked Renee aside with her fist, then nimbly flipped the gorilla through the nearest plate-glass window. The massive ape landed with a thump on a balcony several stories below.
Batwoman's blow knocked Renee to the ground. Wow, she thought, impressed. Somewhere along the line, someone had taught this woman how to punch.
How to punch ... •
Renee experienced a sudden moment of deja vu. She rubbed her jaw, remembering a similar punch only a month ago. She took a closer look at Batwoman, as their rescuer paused to make sure that the two remaining were-beasts were down for the count. A bat-eared mask concealed the upper portion of the woman's face, and opaque white lenses hid her eyes, but there was no mistaking that lustrous auburn hair, nor the athletic body squeezed inside the skintight costume. Renee knew those seductive contours better than she knew her own.
I'll be damned, she thought, lowering her ray gun. Kate?
If Batwoman knew her secret identity had been compromised, she didn't acknowledge it. "The police are en route," she said, making an effort to disguise her voice. She unclipped a grapnel gun from her belt and fired it out the broken window. A de-cel jumpline affixed itself to a skyscraper across the street. "I'd appreciate it if you left me out of it."
Renee and Vic watched as Batwoman swung away into the darkness. Bruised monsters moaned behind them. Their unconscious bodies melted back into human form.
"I think she likes you," Vic said.
"Shut. Up."
WEEK 12
KAHNDAQ.
The village was dry and dusty. Houses of sun-baked bricks squatted alongside simple structures of mud and straw. An obsolete electric generator wheezed and moaned. A mechanical pump labored to extract whatever traces of water remained beneath the thirsty soil. The omnipresent dust had settled over every surface, rendering the entire community gray and colorless. Hungry livestock, their ribs protruding above their swollen bellies, wandered listlessly, gnawing at the meager desert brush. The hardscrabble setting reminded Adrianna of the small Egyptian village where she had grown up—before Intergang and Black Adam came into her life.
She stood on the outskirts of the town, surrounded by the local villagers. A severe drought had punished this region for years now and taken its toll upon the struggling townspeople, who looked tired, thirsty, and without hope. Reddish dust coated their faces and threadbare garments. Uncertain why they had been gathered here, they milled about listlessly, muttering amongst themselves. Careworn faces testified to years of hardship and deprivation. Scrawny children, their faces frighteningly lean, lacked the energy to play. They clung fearfully to their mother's skirts, while pleading in vain for something to drink. If they were lucky, their parents rationed out a few precious sips of water.
Life has not been kind to these people, Adrianna thought, deeply moved by the suffering of the hapless villagers. But perhaps that is soon to change.
A barren desert, its arid monotony unbroken by even the slightest trace of vegetation, stretched for kilometers before them. A flowing green robe and matching headcloth protected Adrianna from the merciless sun, but offered little relief from the suffocating heat and lack of moisture. Not a single cloud could be seen in the sky. Even though she had been here less than an hour, her mouth already felt dry and parched. She looked expectantly toward the east.
Any moment now ...
Sure enough, a loud whooshing sound came from the east. A tremendous cloud of dust suddenly appeared on the horizon, rushing across the desert at supersonic speed. Many of the villagers turned to flee, fearing a sudden sandstorm. Their faces filled with terror. Children bawled as their parents prayed for deliverance.
"Wait!" Adrianna cried out to the panicked people. "It's only him. Black Adam!
" ■
Few paid heed to her words, but it didn't matter. There was no time to escape from the approaching storm. A sudden wind whipped up the dust and sand all around them as Black Adam, flying at ground level, zoomed past the gathering, his mighty fists held out before him. So swiftly did he fly that Adrianna barely caught a glimpse of his muscular form before he disappeared from sight. The windblown sand settled in his wake, revealing a deep trench carved into the sun-baked floor of the desert. Wide-eyed villagers gaped in wonder at the freshly excavated furrow. Excitement began to show upon their haggard faces.
The ground rumbled promisingly. Raising a hand to shield her eyes from the sim, she pointed "upstream" back the way Black Adam had come. "Look!" she exhorted the crowd. "Just as I promised!"
Her triumphant words were drowned out by the roar of mighty waters surging down the length of the trench, creating a cascading river right on the edge of town, where none had ever existed before. Adrianna felt the spray of the water against her face, tasted its cool freshness on her lips. The river flowed past her, showing no sign of abating. The roar softened to a soothing murmur.
Cheers and jubilation erupted from the astounded villagers. Men, women, and children raced forward to immerse themselves in the life-giving wraters. Little boys and girls splashed each other merrily, getting thoroughly drenched. Laughing men and women enthusiastically filled buckets and bowls from the river. Tears of happiness streamed down the faces of young and old alike, washing away the accumulated dust of too many thirsty years. The flowing river carried their pain away.
Adrianna felt her own eyes moisten in turn. She knelt and helped herself to a sip of water. If it tasted this good to her, she could only imagine what the precious liquid tasted like to the parched townspeople. Their intense emotion tugged on her heartstrings.