Ch 2

Looking at the recording once more it still didn't make sense.

He was struggling to survive in the backseat one moment the very next, the complete opposite. When I saw Joker throw that canister in the vehicle I already knew what it was. But his goons that rushed out the building stopped me and Robin. 

At first I was surprised when a car door came blasting past me. I never imagined a flaming skull to come out of the back seat. 

He looked at all of us like he was above us. The skull looked at me the same way he did the goons. When I looked into his eyes I was stunned. Things I have done that I swore never to tell anyone came to the forefront of mind. The things I had to do in the league, the things they made me do. All of it came and it felt like he was judging me with his stare. Then he looked at the Joker and the world seemed to just stop. Nothing moved, no one made a sound.

When he said those two words I knew I had to stop him but every instinct in my body told me to run. To tell Robin to retreat and hope to never cross this things path again.

I don't know what he did to Harley but when the cops got there she was still balling apologizing to the police officers and even confessing to thing I never knew she did.

Joker was still in the hospital. Non responsive. He was in a complete catatonic state. The doctors said it was like he was sleeping. His brain waves looked like he was dreaming. Whatever it was it wasn't good because every now and then he would chuckle.

Dick was fine with just a dislocated knee. He popped it back in place himself after getting home. He was angry at himself for not being more useful but I told him he did the best he could. He still didn't accept that but he would in time.

The batcomputer was searching any database it could find for the name of the person that turned into that skeletal being but no matches were found yet. Same with reports of a flaming man on a flaming bike, nothing. It was like he just disappeared, but I knew better.

Getting up from my bat themed chair I walked over to my suit. 

It was ruined. Solomon Grundy tore the cap off of it and after fighting the flaming skull man burn marks were all over it even though it was supposed to be fireproof. It just didn't make any sense.

"Master Bruce, I hope I don't have to remind you that you need to rest as well."

Alfred came out of the secret elevator that went to the mansion. Ever since I got back he was telling me to rest.

"I can't do that Alfred, he's out there right now probably terrorizing the citizens of Gotham."

He was out there and all I needed was just one lead. One lead to set me on his trail no matter how small.

Alfred walked over to the batcomputer and typed something in.

He pulled up a live video of Gotham and everything looked normal. I noticed some drug deals here and there. A couple people playing dice but nothing out of the ordinary. It was as peaceful as Gotham could get.

"Might I remind you that you are human, and us humans have limits, yes even you Master Bruce, as shocking as that conclusion is, you need to rest." I knew he was right but I still needed to find him. To get answers and to bring him to justice.

"Let me put it this way, what did he do that was illegal?"

That was a weird question. He hurt Robin, he almost killed Joker and he made Harley delusional.

"He hurt people." That's what he did; he was a monster that needed to be stopped.

"In a court of law, what did he do that was illegal in a court of law?"

Then I thought about it. From a court of law he did nothing wrong. The Joker almost killed him and he defended himself. A jury would look at this and just laugh at the prosecutor.

"Sometimes Bruce it's alright to take a step back and rest. I don't think you have seen the last of your Skeleton rider, after all you're in the same business."

Alfred bowed and walked back to the elevator. I shuffled after him still feeling the second degree burns around my torso.

Yeah I would see him again, and I would be ready when I did.

…

Tower of Fate

…

I hated this fucking tower every goddamned time I was in it. Bloody lava pits. 

I was here because I got a message from the other side and I had no idea what it meant. The occult side of the world has been quiet for the past four days. Usually I would at least perform an exorcism but bupkis.

I asked what was going on from my contacts down in hell and I got an answer but only from one of them and it was cryptic as hell.

"He Rides again"

What in the bloody hell did that mean? So I decided to cross the pond to see my favorite American wizard. 

Kent Nelson is an old chap but trustworthy, I couldn't say the same for his dusty old helmet though. I walked into his study, he was meditating at the moment and i didnt want to disturb him. I sat down in the wood chair that was conveniently close by. Soon a mug that had some tea in it flouted down to me and I happily took it. 

The tower wasn't so bad.

When I finished my cup of tea it vanished from my hand. I didn't know where it went, probably to the kitchen. My focus went back to Kent but he wasn't in his meditation spot. I looked around but I couldn't see him. Wherever the old timer went he made no noise, he was like Batman without the spandex.

Soon there was a thump as an old book landed on the table in front of me. 

"This is what you're looking for'' the gravely voice of a hundred year old said. 

Looking at the book it was written in old sumerian. I flipped through it and there were pictures of skulls on almost every page. I didn't know how to read sumerian much but I did know one word. Death and that was written everywhere. "How do you know i'm looking for something i could be just catchin up with an old friend." 

"You got the same message I did from the same demon, 'He Rides again' those three words have not escaped hell for millennia before Christ was even thought of" he sat down in a chair he conjured himself. 

"Who is this 'He'? What is so bad about him?" So what if He rides again? I fought plenty of powerful demons. I could do it again, and if I couldn't I would just call a bigger bad than him.

"John i know how you work, i dont like how you work but were still friends, but whats so bad is that this He is someone you dont fuck with." he seemed stress.

"So who is he?" all of this fuss and bus but i didnt even know the fuckers name.

"Summerian doesn't really translate well to any of the modern languages, but what i can get is many names none of them the true name of him." he sighed before continuing. "Vengeance, Penance, The Rider, Punisher, Death, and I can keep going if you would like?"  He got back up and exited his study I followed right behind. "So how do we deal with it?" he chuckled at that question. 

"Deal with it? There is no dealing with it, this being kills all he finds guilty and doesn't stop until he wants to." he walked up some stairs that made us walk on the ceiling.

"How powerful is this thing" not much got Kent Nelson spooked.

"In the really old book you were looking at like a toddler, its recorded that he has been to earth twice and both of them were seen as acts of God." we were no walking sideways on the stairs know this damn tower in its mind fucks. 

"The first was The Flood, no matter what the bible tells you Noah wasn't floating on water." damn thats something, "the second time the demon was on earth Sodom and Gomorrah was wiped off the planet, this demon will stop at nothing to bring those he finds guilty to hell." we were riding the stairs know, make up your fucking mind tower.

"So you said he was vengeance, is he like the specter?" he turned around faster than anyone his age should. 

"In the same book it's said this thing was the first specter then God banished it, God made the specter as a replacement. The specter is like comparing a handgun to Little Boy." 

"Ok so, we can seal it back in hell, easy peasy." It was no problem sending something to hell. Kent scoffed at the idea. 

"Yeah and having every demon come running up here, great idea" he sounded like he couldn't do anything. Like he didn't fight off Trigon before.

"What do we do then?" We walked up to a door and Nelson opened it up to a bedroom. 

"I'm going to sleep, hoping he can't sense me from inside the tower. all you can do is pray to god and hope whatever demons you sold pieces of your soul don't torcher you too badly." Then he slammed the door on me. When i turned around and i was outside the tower, in the middle of chilled night air of Salem Massachusetts

"Fuck you too!" I yelled into the air knowing the tower was long gone by now. 

So what if The Rider was so dangerous that demons ran from him, demons ran from me too. I would show Kent what a good old Liverpool beating looked like.

…

Undisclosed Military Black site

…

"Has anyone else seen this?" I asked the general.

"Just some data nerds and the lieutenant that showed me." he answered.

"Take care of them." I ordered. I needed this quiet, and I needed this done right. It was time to pull them out. I walked out the room before he could ask what my order meant he already knew. My secretary was standing outside and I had orders for her. This had to happen fast and before Batman could find him.

"Get me Deadshot, Pied Piper, Croc, King Shark, Bloodsport, Ratcatcher, Deathstroke, Psimon, Enchantress, Boomerang, Cheetah, Manta, Cold, Reverse, and Ivy, I want them by tomorrow at Alpha Base." As I was talking she scribbled down as fast as she could. I went right at an intersection and she went left, she had her instructions and I had things to do. 

This man made of fire was going to be part of my Task Force if it was the last thing I did. If it was what I think it was and I could control it then it was an answer to a lot of problems, including the Justice league. It was a race and I wasn't going to lose.

…

LA

…

Today was supposed to be a good day then a little imp had to fuck with it. It's gone, he said, well it didn't just grow legs. Actually knowing that thing it probably could.

I walked into the back of my vault to see the secret latch open and indeed it was gone. Maybe it was a trick dear father was playing on me or one of these stickied fingered mongrels grabbed it. I didn't know but I would find out. 

I walked back out and back up to my penthouse past the pile of ash that was once the imp that told me the news. I grabbed my phone off the counter and dialed a number.

"Mazikeen I need you to find something.'' Hopefully the oaf that took it wasn't dumb enough to actually use it. Then we would have a whole nother problem to deal with. I rubbed the scar that ran down my chest that he gave me.

"It's important, it's time sensitive and I need someone I trust," I pleaded. Knowing my brother he would destroy the world just to get to me.

"The contract is gone and it needs to be found asap, if you do this i'll owe you a favor."

I heard the phone hang up before I could say thank you, if the cunt that stole the contract used it then I would have to go back to hell and wait until daddy dearest handled it and i didnt want to leave just yet. 

"Lucifer can we continue or do you have to go?" I almost forgot. I turned towards my bed and saw three blond supermodels that were in it.

"I'm so sorry girls, yes we can continue, why would it be just devilish of me to stop." I chuckled at the pun that I truly only got.

…

Gotham

…

Why was that thing after me? Sure maybe i did force myself on those girls but they were whores and they were asking for it. They should be thankful they got into movies they wouldn't have if i didn't help them. It was all a fair trade.

I ducked under a desk in the office building hoping that it would lose me. It felt like death was after me. I couldn't shake the thing and it always found me.

It wasn't important there were worse people than me like that Joker fella and word on the street was that he was in the hospital, easy pickins for him but no this bag of bones was after me. I held my breath as I heard his steps enter the room.

He passed by my desk and I felt some relief when he kept walking. Then he stopped and my stomach dropped. I ran out from under the desk, before it was split in half by a flaming chain. I ran out of the room into a dark hallway as I heard a demonic scream behind me.

"GUILTY!"

I needed to get outside, it was safe there. Batman was there and he could handle this freak. Then I could give him a believable excuse and get away scott free. I just needed to get outside.

I saw a red sign that said 'Exit'. It uplifted me when I slammed into it seeing the Gotham night sky. The stars never looked so beautiful. 

Then the chain wrapped around my ankle and I was pulled off my feet. My chin hit the pavement and I felt my teeth rattle.

"Help, someone help, Batman help me!" I screamed into the night air pleading anything to help.

"Guilty."

Those cold words were what I heard as I was dragged back into the building. I was hoisted up onto the wall and all i saw was a flaming skull. No eyes no skin just a deep abyss that was only made darker by the flames that surrounded the skull.

I looked into the abyss and it looked back. 

"Please, I'm sorry, I'll give you anything you want, please" I was pleading for my life now. Maybe this is how that girl felt when I strangled the life out of her. 

"Anything?" oh thank god it knew words more than just 'guilty'.

"Yes, anything, name your price" maybe i could get out of this. 

"Your SOUL!" it screamed at me and for the third time today my stomach dropped.

I screamed as my insides lit on fire. I wanted it to stop, I would do anything for it to stop. Please god, please.

Visions flashed through my vision. Every time I did it, I killed her, but the feeling was reversed. I felt what they felt and I wanted my pain to stop and it did. But i wasn't in the office building anymore i was in a desert.

"Where am I" 

A howl of a wolf made me look behind me. A wolf with a pitch black coat was on a hill and soon more and more came over top of the hill. The wolf howled again and now they were after me.

I ran the other way but I was barefoot.

Why I was fully clothed a little while ago but now I was naked.

The heat got to me and I collapsed, the wolves tore into me. My entrails flew by their vigor. My blood stained the sand. The mercy of death didn't come until I was fully devoured.

Then I was back in the desert fully naked again and the wolves came after me. I ran and then I fell, then the wolves tore into me. Over and over it was a cycle, I ran, I tripped, I was eaten, then I was running again. It never stopped.

If there was a hell this would surely be it. 

That was the punishment of the photographer, Edward Forish, serial rapist. Hunter of women now hunted to forever feel what his victims felt.

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[A/N]

Wow thank you guys for the insight with the first chapter. I hope you like this one as well. I know there were some hurt feelings about the Joker not dying and stuff but I have plans for the little old Prince of Crime himself. What plans i'll never tell *cough* Darkest Knight *cough*.

Thank you for your kind words and your views. Remember to vote for your favorite story, doesn't have to mine and have a good day or night whenever you're reading this. Peace.