Batman Crashes the Black Masquerade by Sean Tulien

Author:Sean Tulien
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: 9781434244864, 9781434263735, Fiction, The Dark Knight, Action & Adventure/General, Comics & Graphic Novels/Superheroes, Law & Crime
Publisher: Stone Arch Books
Published: 2013-10-19T04:00:00+00:00

The hero sidestepped to put the crook’s back to the wall. Sensing he was being cornered, the thug tossed a lunging kick at Batman to back him off. The Dark Knight deflected the blow with his wrist, knocking the agile thug off balance. WHAM! Batman’s uppercut sent the False Facer crashing into the wall. His mask fell to the ground as the thug slumped down hard.

Batman spun around, prepared to help Catwoman fight the remaining False Facers. However, he found her leaning casually against a pillar.

“What took you so long?” she asked. The two other thugs were near her feet and tied up with thin black rope.

“Nicely done,” Batman said. “But next time, try to be a little more cautious.”

Catwoman put her hands on her hips and frowned. It reminded Batman of Selina’s posture when he left her back at the ball. “Fine,” she said. “Then you lead.”

Batman glanced around the chamber. There didn’t seem to be any doors, aside from the front entry. He approached the rear wall and ran his hands along it. “A dead end?” he muttered to himself.

Catwoman snickered. “Interesting choice of words.” Casually, she walked over to the wall and yanked on a skeletal mask above Batman’s head. CLICK! It swung to the left.

RUMBLE! Batman leaped back as the stone wall parted. Inside was a dank, musty hallway leading down into the darkness.

Batman glanced at Catwoman in disbelief. “How did you —?”

“There’s heat coming up from beneath that wall,” she said. “Don’t your goggles have infrared vision?”

Batman grinned. “You want to take the lead back?”

Catwoman walked toward the hidden passageway and playfully pushed the Dark Knight toward the secret entrance. “I think I made my point,” she said.

Batman crossed his arms. “You wish.”

Catwoman chuckled as she followed Batman down the stairs.

They descended what seemed like countless steps until they reached a long, dark tunnel at the bottom. They saw a small source of light at the end of the tunnel, which opened into what looked like a very large room made of stone.

“That, my friend, is a bottleneck,” Catwoman said.

“Agreed,” Batman said. “I’ll go first.”

“What if it’s a trap?” Catwoman asked.

Batman smiled. “It probably is. And you’re going to be the ace up my sleeve.” He pointed upward. There was a gap in the stone between the wall and the ceiling.

“So, you trust me?” Catwoman asked.

“I trust your instincts,” Batman said. And with that, he entered the dark corridor and headed toward the light at the end of the tunnel while Catwoman scurried up onto the ledge and into the darkness.

* * *

After a few minutes of walking, Batman emerged into a giant arena-like chamber.

Several flaming torches illuminated the entire scene. Stone seats were carved into the stone along the side walls. They all surrounded a throne-like chair at the front and center of the seats. It reminded Batman of a small stadium. Or a gladiator pit, he thought grimly.

Batman looked around the room. There weren’t any exits or doors. “I think I’ve hit a dead end,” he said to Catwoman through his earpiece.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.