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Rated M for Mature
Appropriate for readers 18 and over. May contain extreme violence, sexual themes, nudity, or profanity.
Batman: Secret Files, Chapter 1- Dark Blood
A dark storm was brewing through the cemetery. There weren't any people waiting to put flowers on their loved ones. The rain was dropping like piles of bullets which just killed a person's life. The memory always come to me at that moment, when I was a child. A sad and lonely child who lost his parents due to a man being desperate for money. Even though my father did try to give some cash to him. But without hesitation, the mugger just gave two droplets of rain which struck my beloved parents on the floor. I felt the pain when these droplets were falling through me. The pain that could never be stopped until my crusade of crime will end. But it won't end since the criminals are popping up out of the darkest corners of Gotham and other parts of the world.
I stood towards the graves of my parents. The times I always cherish them with the love that they had given me. But there were no flowers this time. Because the rain will wet them easily and get dry later once the storm stops. The cemetery was dark, cold, and scary, which some kids come here often to have fun. They scare themselves as if they are the scariest monsters coming out of the dark shadows. Just like a bat would come out from the depths of the cave. I used to come here as a child who went running through the grass fields and accidentally fell down through the hole of the cave. It was dark and scary alright. The injuries weren't that bad since my legs got treated by none other than Alfred. My parents were there as well but that time they went out to some family dinners in some occasions. The memory still flashes through my mind as the lightning storm still brews throughout the dark night. Whenever I visit my parents' graves, I recall these precious times often. Sometimes, a person will never forget those childhood days unless they get amnesia.
As Bruce Wayne, I would always come here by day or night. For Batman, it happens sometime in the night when he's looking out for criminals whom they wander around the darkest city. A criminal named Francis de Lontaine, a French pale man who was claimed to be a centuries-old vampire. The picture showed that he had a quite long black hair and blue eyes. It seems that he was attractive to women in certain events. The news report have said that several female victims' blood have been drained out. It's not unsual for a vampire to appear in Gotham City. Maybe, the vampire had found good tastes in this city and had the opportunity to suck people's blood while other crimes are still happening. The good thing is that I had several comrades or partners at my side so that I don't have to do more work around Gotham. If they weren't available, I would still prowl though the night and defeat the criminals in an instant.
My visit to the cemetery was meant to find this vampire. I had a hunch that a vampire would come to these dark places and looking to feed the people in the night. A few people who only wanted to visit and give flowers to their dead loved ones. But people don't believe in such things. I saw many impossible things happening throughout the world and the universe. For a vampire, it was kind of not different at all. The past fight with the Man-Bat was certainly the first thing to believe that if such vampire exist in this world. Not only the bats would suck the blood out of their victims. But it also creates a fine tune sounds that goes ringing in your ears.
There are clues behind the cemetery where it would lead to the vampire himself. I did some several investigations including the fact that Francis was the real one. There is no doubt in my mind that he could have sunk the victim with his own sharp teeth. Alfred never used to believe in vampires as such he would say they were just scary tales. But this tale could be true for all I know.
I looked at the footprints in other cemeteries carefully and identified them with the same tools. This tool is a scanner that tells whether it's human DNA was normal or something different. Even without the samples, the device had to be used in some strange cases. There used to be TV shows that describes the existence of this otherworldly beings. And the cases has to be solved in such matters that people wouldn't believe they truly existed. They do know that Batman existed even though he's not a vampire.
My other thought was vampires could hang out in dark and exotic places. Gotham was a dark, exotic place and it always has been. But these vampires had to stay somewhere from the light. A nightclub could be a place for many vampires to hang out. But there is only one vampire whom I have to find before the Stranger may call me or send a message from my computer. There was another feeling that comes to me in all of this supernatural mystery. What if these victims did become vampires themselves? Those women haven't been turned yet as I went to the morgue and examined their bodies a few hours ago. Sometimes, the vampire suck the entire blood out of the victim's body and leave them dead. There is a possibility that a vampire could turn that person into his own kind. I had to find that vampire before any dead victims keeps piling up in Gotham. So far, Commissioner Gordon was still investigating the deaths of the drained victims. I didn't want to tell him that I had to capture this criminal for the Stranger and his strange organization. It means that my Batman identity could be gone for good. It's even a matter of time before anything bad happens.
I walked out of the cemetery until I reached my batmobile. The left door was automatically opened for me. I got inside the batmobile and turned on its engine. My next stop will be a famous nightclub that I used to hear from some of my work colleagues from Wayne Enterprises. It was....Club Desaad.
To be continued in Batman: Secret Files, Chapter 2- Dance of the Damned.
Wait! What? Club Desaad? In Gotham? Hmmmm......You'll find out once Batman comes to visit one of the late Darkseid's minions. Stay tuned for the next chapter of.... BATMAN!
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