Far beneath the grounds of stately Wayne Manor, in The Bat Cave, Batman is hard at work going over the crime scene photos he had taken at the sorority house earlier that morning.Coming down the stairs from the Wayne family mansion is Bruce's butler, Alfred Pennyworth, carrying a tray with a steel thermos and a coffee cup. He pours a cup for his employer and hands it to him.
"Last night's murders?" he asks.
"Yes. Something about it bothers me."
"If you ask me, Master Bruce, it couldn't have happened to a nicer chap."
"No arguments here, If anyone deserved what happened to Victor Zsasz last night, he did."
"Then why are you puzzling over this?" asks the butler.
"Because last nights killer was too good. Too efficient. He got in and out without being seen, and left no trace evidence behind."
"A professional perhaps?" suggests Alfred, "Maybe Mr. Zsasz crossed the wrong people. That tends to happen with these criminal types."
"Possibly," says Bruce as he sips his coffee, "But my gut tells me that last night was just the beginning."
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War Journal: Entry #236
Tracked one of the enemy into the sewers. This is a bad one. A killer, and a cannibal. He's also one of those super powered types. Stronger, faster, tougher than most normal people. According to research, most small arms fire only gets him angry. I'll have to see what I can do to change that.
In the sewers beneath Gotham City, an explosion echoes throughout the labyrinth of tunnels. Then a series of shotgun blasts, one after the other. Frank Castle, otherwise known as The Punisher, runs desperately through the network of tunnels, splashing through the filthy sewer water as he tries to stay ahead of what's chasing him. Following not far behind is Waylon Jones, better known as the super criminal Killer Croc. His skin is as thick as that of an actual crocodile, making him practically invulnerable to all but the most high powered firearms. The Punisher runs straight into a dead end. The Punisher reaches up and grabs a length of rope dangling down from the pipes along the ceiling, giving it a good tug. The rope releases what appears to be a really large double barreled shotgun. Frank catches it as it drops, then backs up against the wall, pressing the butt of the rifle against the bricks and pointing the barrels at Killer Croc. When Croc sees that his quarry has nowhere else to run, and was reduced to using a double barreled shotgun, he slows his pace down to a walk and approaches slowly, chuckling.
"Your grenade messed up my hideout, Your guns didn't even slow me down. Buckshot bounces offa me like hail stones. Once You empty them barrels, I'm gonna eat your face."
"You're missing one vital fact," says Frank.
"Yeah?" says Killer Croc, "And what's that?"
"This isn't a shotgun," and he fires one of the barrels point blank into Croc's chest.
Killer Croc goes flying backward into the sewer wall, a gaping hole in his chest. His blood pours out of the wound. Croc clasps his clawed hand over the bullet hole in a futile attempt to stop his blood from slipping away. He slumps down to the sewer floor, looking at The Punisher with a dumbfounded expression on his face.
"Wha . . . Wha . . ." he gasps as he tries to speak with blood filling his lungs.
"Elephant gun," says Frank, "Designed to take down a charging bull elephant at five hundred yards. Point blank range? It'll even cut you in half."
"Who . . ." gasps Killer Croc.
"They call me, The Punisher."
With that, Frank Castle aims the elephant gun right between Killer Croc's eyes. Croc's eyes widen in fright, then The Punisher pulls the trigger. The back of Waylon Jones' head explodes, splattering blood, brains, and gore all over the sewer wall. The Punisher slings the spent elephant gun over his shoulder and calmly walks away.
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