Chapter 52: Batman But Better #52

I felt my vision grow hazy as I continued to lose blood from my bleeding neck, but I didn't stop my assault with the pent-up frustration and irritation from the past two days fueling my aggression.

The fact that the bastard slit my throat and the lack of oxygen in my system also helped me stay focused as I channeled energy into my fist and buried it in the werewolf's skull that was already exposed at this point.

I heaved, feeling my head become lighter with every punch, wet squelch, sickening crunch, spray of blood, and howl of agony as the wolfman's head kept breaking and restoring itself at a slower rate after each cycle, and I didn't stop. 

I'd already forgotten why I was there, what I was doing, and my mind went blank as only thoughts of murdering the damned lycanthrope who didn't understand the concept of staying down remained in my head.

However, I was quickly brought back to my senses when I felt something hit me in the back of my head, snapping me out of my bloodlust as I turned and saw a man in a domino mask and tight black suit with a blue stripe over the chest.

The man was well built, roughly 5.10 feet tall, with broad shoulders and a muscular body. He had short black hair and a frown as he stared at me with his arms crossed in front of his chest.

"I think he's had enough," the man said with a frown visible under his black domino mask, resting a hand on the distinctive utility belt around his waist.

My gaze turned to the wolfman, maimed beyond recognition, barely a mishmash of fur, broken bones, and wiggling, still healing flesh. I grunted in frustration, burying my fist into the ground to vent the last vestiges of my irritation before standing up.

"Anger management issues, much?" the man said, removing his hand from the utility belt, his posture relaxing. But he still looked bemused and somewhat disconcerted by my violent display.

"The guy is an immortal werewolf. I needed to make sure he stayed down," I replied, retrieving a piece of cloth from my hand and using it to wipe the blood off my helmet and gloves.

"Why are you here?" I asked, trying to change the subject, as I wasn't comfortable discussing my homicidal tendencies with one of my childhood's favorite superheroes.

Dick Grayson, formerly known as Robin and currently as Nightwing, was one of the few reasons I managed to read as far into DC comics as I did in my past life.

Whereas almost every superhero and villain in DC comics (including mortals like Batman) was like a living god dealing with human issues, Dick Grayson was the complete opposite.

He was likable and relatable to me back then, maybe even now. Dick Grayson was Batman, but better, and I don't mean that he's more capable as a hero or a vigilante.

Bruce Wayne was arguably the greatest here in fiction, but he's too obsessed with the mission, making him sound both inhuman, despite being human, and unrelatable for me.

What made Nightwing special, however, is that he became everything Batman couldn't be.

Dick Grayson didn't choose to linger in the darkness, unlike Batman. He moved on, formed genuine relationships, and became a true leader instead of following in the caped crusader's footsteps to become some menacing night demon whose only job was to instill fear into others, both friends and foes alike.

"I was asked to keep an eye on Harley Quinn..." The man, Nightwing, replied, raising an eyebrow in bemusement as he crossed his arms in front of his chest.

He didn't say who asked him, but it went without saying.

"As it turns out, it was you that I needed to keep an eye on," he added, turning to the werewolf, who was still nothing more than an assortment of disfigured, slowly healing flesh and bones.

As if she was waiting for those exact words, Harley burst into the place, carelessly skipping towards us with her baseball bat (surprisingly unstained by blood) resting on her shoulder.

'For fuck's sake...' I cursed in my head as I watched the crazy blonde skip towards me, my expression darkening under my helmet as another plan of mine went to shit.

I might have come here to blow some steam and appease Harley's, but I'd hoped she'd end up killing someone, so I'd have an excuse to hand her over to Batman or Catwoman, and get rid of her to focus on grinding the Computers skill for the meantime.

However, my plan backfired since Harley seems to have actually avoided killing anyone by how relaxed she looked even after seeing Nightwing and how he didn't react to her presence.

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And to make things worst, Nightwing even caught me literally red-handed as I was unloading my frustration on the werewolf, almost killing the guy in the process.

"Like I said, immortal werewolf. I couldn't hold back any punches," I calmly remarked as I finished wiping the blood off my helmet, boots, and gloves, replacing my bloodstained shirt and pants with another pair from my inventory.

Batman already knew about my ability to make shit appear out of thin air, and he wouldn't hide that kind of information from Nightwing or any other hero since he shares his database with the Justice League.

So yeah, everyone with a mask and a caped affiliated with the justice league and their mothers probably knows to some extent about my inventory, so there was no point in hiding it.

"Cool trick," Nightwing remarked, giving me an amused look, to which I didn't react or bother commenting as I made my way towards the snake lady's discarded energy whip.

I stored it in my inventory without saying anything and turned to leave. However, Nightwing got in my way, making me feel an urge to sigh in exasperation.

The urge grew even more when I turned to Harley and noticed her eagerly grinning as she watched his actions, expecting a show with her eyes alternating between Nightwing and me.

"What do you think you're doing?" Nightwing asked as he stood in front, clearly disapproving of my actions of pocketing the alien weapon, to which Harley's eager grin only became more pronounced.

"I'm taking a piece of dangerous alien technology before the GCPD could get their grubby hands all over it and sell it to some gangster or the other," I replied, shrugging my shoulder as I tried to walk past Nightwing, only for him to get in my way again.

"That piece of dangerous alien technology will only stay in the GCPD's hands for a day at most before going to STAR labs for testing and reverse engineering," Nightwing replied in a mocking tone, doing air quotes as he shook his head.

"Commissioner Gordon will never let it get to the wrong hands," he added, firmly gesturing to the side as if his words, and James Gordon's name alone, are supposed to assure me.

"Commissioner Gordon is only one man in a wholly corrupt organization. He can't do shit," I replied with a dismissive shrug of my shoulders as I sighed.

"Even if you were right and the GCPD managed to hold on to it long enough to be transported to STAR labs for study..." I added, my tone biting as I trailed at the end of my sentence and copied Nightwing's gesture by making air quotes.

"I'd only give it a week before some villain or the other broke into the STAR labs and stole the whip as a bonus along with whatever research data or alien doomsday machine they were there to steal," I concluded, still copying Nightwing's gestures as I firmly waved to the side, much to his discomfort.

Even though I was speaking the truth about STAR labs and the GCPD, my motives weren't so selfless, and I was just spewing sophistry and rhetoric to justify myself.

I just saw something I wanted and took it. It was nothing more and nothing less.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, your mentor had left me a shit ton of work that I need to attend to," I remarked as I walked past Nightwing, and he didn't try to stop me this time, only frowning as he watched me leave.

...

"Ain't he a ray of sunshine?" Harley said with a smirk as she skipped towards Nightwing after watching Gray leave, causing the latter to turn to her with a sharp look. 

"Don't think I don't know what you're trying to do, Harley," Nightwing said, frowning as he regarded the crazy blonde with a scowl. "I don't know why Batman decided to leave you with the kid, but if you keep egging him on, I'll deal with you myself, regardless of Batman's wishes," he added, his tone growing cold.

"No idea what yer talking about, ya Batman mini-me wannabe," Harley replied, grinning as she shrugged her shoulders and started walking away, following behind Gray, who was already outside the shipyard.

Nightwing watched her leave, but said nothing despite having his doubts about the arrangement out of respect for his former mentor.

'Just what the hell were you thinking, Bruce...?'

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