DC Adventures presents: The Batman, Vol. 1

Issue 6: Den of Thieves

It had been a month since the fire at Kipp Manor. Harvey Dent had been admitted to the hospital for severe burns on the left side of his face. One day he escaped and has not been seen since. Batman had searched for the culprit. All he found was that his name was Slade Wilson. His past was a complete mystery. Even Jonathan Crane had vanished. He had been kidnapped by the Black Mask gang.

Currently, Batman was in the Ice Pick club. It was owned by a rival of Black Mask named Rupert Thorne. The vigilante had entered the establishment in an attempt to gather information on Slade. Unfortunately, the crooks had a more violent response to his presence. He was able to fight each one of them expertly and take down anyone who got in his way. He kept one of the goons conscious and tied up for interrogation.

“Where is Slade Wilson?!”

The goon looked scared. “I-I can’t.”

Batman punched him in the gut. “WHERE IS HE?!?!”

“If I tell you, he’ll kill me.”

“I can do worse to you if you don’t!”

“Okay! Okay! The guys said that they saw him…”

A bullet drove its way through the goon’s head, exiting through the back. Blood splattered across the wall. He had died as the bullet had driven through his brain. Batman looked toward the origin point of the shot. It came from a man standing at the entrance. He had a dark blue jacket and a redshirt. His identity was hidden under a blue balaclava with a red circle on the face.

“Who are you,” Batman demanded to know.

“The man who keeps you away from my boss.”

“Slade.”

“Correct. He wanted to leave you with a gift.”

The Assassin stepped aside. A man stepped inside. He was in his mid-seventies, but still tough with a rugged appearance. He was followed by a younger man, who was wearing a strange-looking gas mask that his only his mouth.

“So, your the Batman,” the old man asked rhetorically.

“Slade brought you here to kill me.”

“All the way from Mexico City. They call me ‘El Azote.’ This is my son, the greatest street fighter in Mexico, Eduardo Del Toro.”

Eduardo turned on this mask. It hissed and he produced a loud, primal roar. Batman charged at him, but the son hit him so hard that he flew backward several feet. The armor on his chest was cracked.

“A little souvenir I got him. It was from a GreyTech warehouse. It makes him stronger.”

Batman got up and threw a Batarang at Eduardo. It got lodged in his shoulder, but it did not phase him. He then charged at the vigilante, grabbing him and rammed him through a wall. Next, he threw him to the ground and held him down with a knee on his chest.

“This is the end, murciélago,” Eduardo told him. “Enjoy the great beyond.”

Before this strong foe could crush his head with his hands, Batman pulled the lodged Batarang out and stabbed his mask. Eduardo got up and tried to fix it, however, this provided the vigilante with a distraction. He jumped to his feet and repeatedly punched Eduardo in the head until he fell on the ground and was rendered unconscious. El Azote threw a knife at Batman, but the vigilante dodged and ran at him. He tackled him and knocked him out.

Meanwhile, at the Gotham airport, two men come out of two separate planes. One came from England and informs customs that his name is Floyd Lawton. Out of a plane from Detroit, there was a man named Garfield Lynns.