Batman: Equilibrium

CHAPTER FOUR

  A small tablet on top of a Mahogany table emitted a red light. A hand wearing an orange glove took it. The tablet showed a red dot on a map of Gotham City, it started moving. A middle-aged man, covered in blood, was running from the police in an old, red car. There were three cop cars behind him, one by one, they all got blown away. The man looked behind him and saw a mess of cars. A hand grabbed him by his jacket and took him out of the car through the window. He was now being held twenty feet in the air. He saw as his car was destroyed with a few blasts coming from whatever was holding him, he looked up behind him. It was Killer Moth. It flew him away and left him at a fire escape ladder of an apartment building. "Give me the button," he said. The bloodied man reached into his pocket and pulled out a small device with a red button that was blinking. Killer Moth took it and pressed the button. It stopped blinking. He then flew away.

  Inside a dim lit room of an unknown building, five men were pointing their guns at a group of three other men. The three had their hands on the back of their heads. One of the five lowered his gun and walked towards the three. He looked into the pockets of the other man's jacket. Nothing. He reached into his pant pockets, he found a wallet, car keys, and lastly, a small device with a blinking red button. "What the hell is this?" He asked. The sound of shattered glass interrupted a brief moment of silence. The three men heard gunshots behind them, the sound of bodies hitting the ground, what sounded like blood splattering on the floor. All of that in a few seconds, before all that noise stopped and they could only hear their heavy breathing. The three men turned around, they saw the other five men on the floor, all clearly dead, some with multiple holes in their bodies. Killer Moth was standing among them, he approached one of the bodies and opened their hand to take the small device it was holding. He pressed the button on it and the blinking red light turned off. He looked at the three men before flying away, leaving through the window he had broken.

  In another part of the city, two men were driving along a quiet road. They stopped the car near a bar that appeared to be closed. They were both wearing dark leather jackets, and the car seemed a couple decades old. One of them got out of the car, walked to the other side of the road and stopped at the door. He looked both ways down the street, making sure no one was watching. He took out a flashlight and turned it on, it emitted a UV light. He looked around the door with the light, making sure he didn't miss anything. But he didn't find what he was looking for. He went back to the car, with a look of disappointment in his face. In another street, the same men check another bar, looking for something around the door. Nothing. In another part of town, the same men stopped at another bar. One of them went to look around the door, slowly searching for something. Suddenly, his hand stopped. He found it. It was a symbol, an A over a circle. The symbol of anarchy. The man looked back at the other one waiting in the car.

  Killer Moth flies through the city, collecting those devices he had previously handed out, and bringing death along to every stop he makes. Eventually, he stopped receiving signals. He had time to rest, so he did. He descended onto a rooftop of an apartment building, leaned against a wall, and took a deep breath. He relaxed while listening to the sounds of the city, cars, sirens, people talking, music. Suddenly, a voice was heard through the earpiece in his helmet. "Are you there?" It said. "Yes, did you find it?" Killer Moth responded. "We did, I'll send you the coordinates."

  In the basement of the bar marked with the symbol of anarchy, a large crowd was gathered around a small stage. A voice echoed through the place and everyone listened to what it had to say. They were all loyal to those promising words that came from the person on that stage. Because it offered a better future. A future that they could build themselves. Fortunately for one person, that is an opportunity many would kill for.

  Suddenly, the sound of a door creaking as it opened silenced the voice. Everyone turned around to look at the door. They all looked at the figure quietly as it descended down the steps. Once it did, it got close to the crowd, and they realized who it was. Killer Moth. "I've heard a lot about you," said a strange, almost robotic voice from the opposite end of the room. It was clear that the person talking to Killer Moth was using a voice modulator. Moth started slowly walking into the crowd, everyone stepped out of his way as he got closer. "Hopefully only good things," Moth responded. "What is good or bad only depends on the critic." Moth could hear the voice clearer with every step, he was getting closer. "So, do I get a thumbs up, or thumbs down?" Killer Moth replied. "Let's say that for now, my review is a little mixed…" At last, a few people got out of the way, revealing the person with the modulated voice. It was wearing a golden, expressionless mask, dressed all in red, including a cape, wearing the same symbol Moth's men found outside on its chest. It also carried a golden staff and wore a red hat. "...Killer Moth." The voice finished.