Batman: Revolution

Batman: Revolution

Chapter 1

Pizza delivery guy. Motorcycle. Cable repair truck.

Batman watched from the shadows of the alley as the evening traffic went by in the streets of Gotham City. He hadn’t spent much time in midtown in the months since he’d started his crime-fighting career. There was rarely a need. But there had been a mysterious death near here several nights earlier—someone murdered by an arrow, of all things. And he had evidence that the burglary ring he’d been following was about to hit one of the local businesses.

Second pizza guy. Pickup truck.

He recognized the van he was looking for as it pulled into the alley. He watched as it passed his hiding place.

That’s them. Go!

Gotham City never changed; crime knew no neighborhood. The time for vigilance never ended. And some cases involved characters with extreme abilities or ambitions; earlier in the spring, he had faced the macabre Clayface and his puppet master. But Batman had been active long enough to realize that sneaking up on a break-in was one of his easier challenges. He just had to use his cables to get into a position over the heist. Once they’d broken in and were hauling out the goods, burglars were relatively easy pickings.

Especially these guys. He didn’t know what the black market for stolen foreign car parts was like, but the burglars entering the specialty auto parts distributor had evidently decided that the heaviest things were worth the most. The first two emerged from the building struggling to move an engine, with a third lugging a transmission. The final thief had made it easy on himself, carrying a stack of hubcaps.

Just like you, Ronnie Dee. Make the other guys do all the heavy lifting.

Batman leapt from his perch and landed on the engine, causing it to slam downward—and onto the foot of one of the burglars carrying it. As the surprised man howled in pain, Batman stepped to the ground and turned. He slammed both engine-carriers’ heads together, taking them down.

The guy carrying the transmission dropped his burden and went for his gun. Batman acted first, firing a grapple. The cable wrapped around the thief; Batman yanked the thief forward. He tripped over the transmission—and his face fell into Batman’s rising boot.

Three down. One to go.

Or rather, he was going. Ronnie Dee had decided against helping his employees and against trying to get back into his van. Expensive hubcaps still tucked under his arm—he hadn’t forgotten his priorities—he ran back up the alley, heading toward the street.

Batman prepared a Batarang and hurled it. But just before it reached him, Ronnie Dee happened to look back—and almost by accident, blocked the Batarang with the hubcaps. Batman’s device struck them hard and went spinning onto the pavement.

Ronnie Dee laughed. “Missed me!” Then he turned back to the intersection and took off.

They always run. This wasn’t going to take long, but it was a nuisance.

He began running—only to hear a gruesome cry, and the clatter of falling hubcaps, from around the corner. A woman screamed. He doubled his speed and stepped into the street—

—where he saw Ronnie Dee on the ground.

With an arrow sticking out of his chest.

On his guard, Batman backed up and looked around. There was still traffic in the busy thoroughfare, but no one was stopping. Pedestrians had heard the cry, and some had seen Ronnie fall. There were low rooftops across the street, but Batman saw nobody there.

He stooped to examine Ronnie, hoping to help, hoping to find some kind of clue. But the single arrow, fired at a running man from a great distance, had found his heart. He was dead.

For the second time in three days, someone had been fatally struck with an arrow. And no one seemed to have seen an assailant.

Gotham City had a hero in Batman—but it also had a new kind of killer. This was a situation where menacing criminals wouldn’t be good enough. It called for a detective.

Hearing sirens approach, he stood up. It’s time to go to work.