173 Clue Master #173
'Straight to business, eh...?' I mused, frowning as I watched The Question slit Abattoir's neck with his own knife through the Sentry Drone I'd sent to monitor the former.
I had to keep an eye on The Question and learn about him as much as possible. Besides, I still had to bale his ass out of trouble if he chewed on more than he could swallow.
If someone had the gal to say they were coming after to my face, I'd be more than happy to sit back and watch them kick the bucket, but The Question was Richard's student.
I owed Richard too much to let his student die at the hands of some psychopath, especially since he didn't have long to live anyway, and I goaded him into the death trap myself.
I wasn't afraid of what The Question might learn about me, even if he was known as one of the best detectives in DC comics. If Bruce Wayne couldn't put me away, then Victor Sage sure as shit can't.
I still wanted to teach him a lesson, petty as I was, and the footage of him slitting an Arkham inmate's throat was a good start, even if he wouldn't care much for it.
'Whatever... I need to focus on the Asylum situation for now...' I mused, shaking off any stray thought as I diverted most of my attention to my machines as the second sentry squad neared the location of a likely ambush.
...
Arkham Asylum
West Wing
As one Sentry Spider slowly strolled through the long-term care sections' communal area, it froze as a jet of red liquid shot out of a dark corner, hitting it and covering its visual input device.
A loud cackle came for the corner as a man dressed in a tight suit, armed with two strange-looking guns and strange contraptions to his back, stepped out of the shadows.
"How do you like the taste of that, monster...?!" the man exclaimed as he leveled his two guns at the Spider Sentry and fired two streams of liquid, one red, one white.
"Take this and that...!" he added as he retrieved several packets from his pockets and started throwing them at the Sentry Spider until another one appeared and tased into unconsciousness.
The First Sentry Spider shook itself dry of the condiments and prepared to continue moving without giving the unconscious man a second glance, only to suffer a secondary surprise attack.
It came in the form of a whip equipped with razor-sharp blades that managed to pry one of the Sentry Spider's limbs, and before the second machine could react, the whip shot toward it as well.
The whip's welder, a man with light pink hair and a dark pink costume, laughed as he watched the two machines stagger, retrieving a grenade from his belt.
Before he could pull the pin, the rest of the Spider Sentries appeared and subdued him, having already scanned the area and found no more ambushers lying in wait.
The Sentry drone then showed itself and quickly fixed the damaged Spiders before tying the two deranged villains on its back and leaving to escort them back into police custody.
...
Beneath Arkham Asylum
"Blackfire... soon... you will be upon us once more. Soon..." said a blonde man as he stood in a hidden underground basement, his tone fervid as he stared at a man dressed in white greek robes, tied to an altar.
"Soon... the agony will cease... soon..." he muttered, a quiver in his voice as he kneeled, putting his hands together in devout prayer to the altar that shined in a sinister black hue.
The man was none other than Clue Master, once a dangerous villain who would give even Batman a run for his money. However, he was no longer that as months of torture had turned into a mindless, raving lunatic.
He was not the only one to receive such treatment, as many of the inmates in Arkham Asylum had suffered the same fate. Most could not withstand the mental torture and took their own lives, but Clue Master was not so fortunate.
He was made of sterner stuff, much to his misfortune, as he resisted until he no longer could. The dark entity which called his name every waking moment and even in his dreams stripped him of his will and turned him into a willing slave.
He had no choice but to comply and cater to the entity, known simply as Deacon Blackfire, whims. It didn't promise Clue Master great power or vast riches, only the sweet release of death in exchange for his services, and he gladly took the deal.
Clue Master had been working behind the shadows for months, preparing the dark ritual that would call upon the damned soul of Deacon Blackfire from the depths of hell and allow him to occupy a body to be reborn in the world of the living once more.
And when Brimstone attacked Gotham, he risked it, freeing himself and other inmates, even going as far as to make deals with Scarecrow and The Joker to ascertain his mission would go unnoticed.
And it was finally paying off. Clue Master only needed the time to wipe Maxie Zeus's mind and prepare his body to host Deacon Blackfire's soul, and it would mark the end of his suffering.
"Soon... I will be free..." he muttered, his eyes glinting as he looked up at the dark ceiling.
"Soon... I will have release..."
...
Conference Hall
The Question calmly walked through the walkway between the seats, surveying the area. Surprisingly, Sage hadn't encountered anyone in this spacious room that seemed like a prime location for an ambush yet.
Still, he had a hunch that would soon change, and it couldn't have come at a better time as the lights suddenly died, turning the hall pitch black, much to Sage's chagrin.
"I hate being right..." The Question muttered to himself as he looked around and saw nothing but darkness, only to suddenly throw himself to the side as he heard a faint flapping sound.
He didn't react in time and felt an impact on his abdomen that sent him flying toward a line of chairs, shocking the air out of his lungs and causing him to grunt in pain.
"Another pretender here to steal the night from me..." Sage heard a gruff, growling voice from the darkness as he got to his feet, holding back a sigh as he missed dealing with regular thugs after fighting several lunatics.
"He is no bat... just a man, and so are you..." the voice continued, unmindful of Sage's annoyance as the latter tried to locate him through the noise and failed.
"You can't steal the night from me...! I will not let you...! I'll eat you and the bat-pretender next...!" the voice bellowed angrily as the speaker charged Sage again.
The Question braced for impact as he heard the flap of wings again, but it never came as the lights suddenly came back, and he saw a tall humanoid bat flying toward him.
As soon as the lights came back, the creature screeched in pain, covering its eyes, which caused it to crash into the ground. Sage didn't question it and immediately charged the Man-Bat, hoping to catch him off guard before he could recover.
Still, it was not meant to be as the Man-Bat recovered sooner than Sage hoped and caught the latter's fist as he punched. "GIVE IT BACK! GIVE ME MY NIGHT BACK...!" Man-Bat exclaimed, clearly enraged as he lifted sage effortlessly and slammed him into the ground.
Man-Bat raised his hand, brandishing his sharp claws, intent on fileting Sage's flesh with them, only to halt as an insectoid-looking machine suddenly bounced on his back.
The Sentry Spider began channeling electricity through Man-Bat's body to stun him as seven more machines appeared and bounced on the crazed supervillain, burying him in an avalanche of metal.
Still, the Man-Bat was nothing if not persistent as he shrugged off the machines, breaking more than half of them in the process, but he didn't account for the flash grenades they left for him.
More than four of the flash grenades exploded, temporarily blinding him and Sage took advantage of it, charging the Man-Bat alongside the remaining machines.
Sage and the Sentry Spiders unloaded everything they had at the humanoid bat villain, but it seemed to have no effect, and he quickly recovered, making quick work of the machines.
"YOU WILL GIVE ME BACK THE NIGHT, OR YOU WILL SUFFER, PRETENDER!"
...
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