Mr. Kent And ME [BL]

Shadow of Steel and Wings of Light

From above, he spotted the center of the blast.

A few abandoned residential and commercial buildings stood there, battered and crumbling.

Among the wreckage, shadowy, small figures moved within.
Click.

He heard it — the distinct sound of a rifle being cocked in the darkness.

There was no doubt that Batman heard it too.

A 5.45mm bullet, fired from an AK-74M assault rifle, equipped with a bayonet, folding stock, and optical sight.

Even in Gotham, a city notorious for its high crime and gun violence, a weapon like that would make anyone tense.

Every window of the building had been boarded up.

The earlier explosion had blown off some of the boards, exposing parts of the interior.

Without thinking, Soren grabbed a loose plank from a top-floor window and yanked it free, slipping into the building.

Batman glanced at him, a hint of restrained frustration flickering in his steely blue eyes.

He parked the Batmobile on the roof of a nearby building, shot his grappling hook, and swung toward the window.

As he neared the boarded-up window, he smashed through the planks with his elbow, and he and Soren entered the building almost at the same time.

Because of the massive power outage, the inside of the building was pitch-black.

In the dimly lit top floor, Soren and Batman could both hear the sounds of people's crying and running coming from downstairs.

The crying included the voices of both adults and children.

Someone was shouting curses, and there were occasional thuds, like bodies colliding with hard objects, but the AK-74M remained silent.

At the same time, the strong smell of blood began to mix with the darkness, snaking its way up and reaching Soren's nose.

Soren's nerves were on edge.

He turned around and saw that Batman had found an air vent between floors and was already crawling inside.

Soren quickly followed, silently shifting back to his human form as he entered the vent behind Batman.

Batman glanced at him sideways but didn't say anything.

He focused on the eavesdropping devices and small gadgets he was placing by the vent on the floor below.

Soren opened his mouth as if to speak but then stopped himself, holding back.

Instead, he concentrated, crawling quietly toward the vent to peer through the slats into the room below.

The smell of blood was even stronger here, overwhelming his senses.

Mixed in with it was the stench of burning flesh, a sickening smell different from anything else.

It was the kind of smell that came from human fat being burned by a high-temperature laser gun—a scent Soren knew all too well.

Below, he could barely make out rows of rectangular pods.

The walls were lined with circuits, many of which had been burned and broken by the explosion, sparking occasionally and briefly lighting up the dark space.

In those moments, Soren could clearly see the scene below.

A group of men and women, ranging in age, were huddled in a corner, trembling.

Among them were old people, young adults, and teenagers.

But they all had one thing in common—they were frighteningly thin, their faces gaunt, skeletal even, with almost no body fat left.

In front of them stood about a dozen heavily-built men, each armed with large, heavy guns.

At the center of this group stood a man dressed in all black: black combat gear, a black mask, and black goggles.

He had a fully metallic robotic arm, made up of hundreds of perfectly fitted metal plates, resembling a living creature that could breathe.

The arm reflected cold light in the darkness.

On his upper arm, near the bicep, was a faded red star.

The man held the AK-74M in his left hand, while his right hand gripped another gun.

He said nothing, but his presence alone, radiating menace, was enough to send the huddled people into terrified silence.

A little girl, curled up by the legs of the adults, looked up at the ghostly man before her.

Her small face was streaked with tears as they silently rolled down her cheeks.

She seemed to understand that tonight, none of them would leave this evil building alive.

The man stood like a figure of death itself.

The overwhelming stench of blood and strange chemicals clung to him, stripping away any sense of life from his presence.

A teenage boy, with dark skin, was being dragged forward by two strong men, his arms twisted painfully behind him.

They threw him onto the open floor in front of the crowd.

One of the men whispered something to the guy in the center.

He nodded and walked up to the boy, grabbing a fistful of his hair.

The boy's tear-streaked face was pulled upward, full of terror and panic.

The man then pressed the barrel of the AK-47M against the boy's temple.

Just as his finger was about to pull the trigger—

A black batarang flew from the vent, headed straight for the man's trigger hand!

With a loud crash, Batman kicked through the vent, dropping into the room below.

He landed with a smooth roll, and before the armed thugs could react and aim their guns, he had already appeared behind them.

In one swift motion, he fired his grappling hook, the wire wrapping around one of the thugs, yanking him backward and slamming him into the wall!

Soren followed suit, evolving into Angemon right behind Batman.

His six glowing wings lit up the entire room, causing the men inside to shield their eyes from the bright light.

Only the man in the black mask and goggles stood unaffected.

He stepped forward, tossing aside the damaged AK-47M that had been hit by the batarang.

Without hesitation, he raised another gun and opened fire on Soren!

Soren and Batman exchanged a quick glance, understanding each other instantly.

Batman would take care of the thugs, while Soren would deal with the man with the iron arm.

Soren swung his golden staff, dodging the bullets raining down on him.