They clashed.
Ethan gripped his sword a little tighter.
"You've been tailing me," Ethan said, voice low and processed through his mask.
Batman's voice cut through the storm like gravel over steel. "You've been leaving a trail of chaos. I needed to be sure what kind of predator I'm dealing with."
"Predator?" Ethan scoffed. "You are a bat for hell's sake."
Bruce's eyes narrowed behind the cowl. "You broke into my base.You broke into my city."
Without another word, Bruce moved.
The cape snapped forward—like a slingshot from all sides—yanking him forward with terrifying speed. Ethan barely raised his sword in time to parry the first punch, which cracked the air with enough force to jolt his stance.
CLANG!
Reinforced gauntlet met reinforced blade. Sparks flared. Bruce followed with a low spinning kick, sweeping under Ethan's guard. Ethan was fast—but not fast enough to fully dodge. The kick slammed into his hip, and he stumbled back.
Ethan retaliated with a downward slash from his broadsword, aiming to knock Bruce back. Batman didn't dodge. He angled his body instead, absorbing the force across his armored forearms. The blow was heavy, but Bruce took it—grunting—then twisted his wrist and jammed a rod out of his gauntlet.
The rod clicked into the bat symbol on his chest.
A second rod followed.
THWACK—THUNK—KSHINK!
The makeshift weapon took shape in seconds—a battleaxe, fashioned from modular rods and the reinforced spine of his chest plate. Bruce spun it in his hand.
"You made a medieval cosplay axe in two seconds." Ethan muttered.
"I'm resourceful."
Bruce charged again.
Ethan ducked and lunged, sidestepping the swing of the axe. The weapon whistled past his helmet. Ethan pivoted and delivered a brutal punch to Bruce's ribs. There was a muted thunk—the armor absorbed most of it—but the power behind the blow still staggered Bruce a step back.
"You're fast," Bruce admitted.
"You're as heavy as you look,thick boy." Ethan growled, stepping back, sword angled low.
Bruce's cape suddenly lashed out again, hooking into the ledge of the building. A twist of his shoulders sent him flying upward and around, turning him into a living wrecking ball. He kicked off the ledge and brought the axe down like thunder.
CRACK!
The rooftop beneath Ethan cratered from the impact. He raised his sword just in time, the shockwave sending dust and shards of rooftop into the air.
Then Ethan did something unexpected.
He let go of his sword and caught the haft of Bruce's axe.
Bruce blinked. "You caught it?"
With a snarl, Ethan wrenched it from Bruce's grip and flung it back at him.
FWOOOM—THWANG—
The axe spun toward Bruce like a thrown guillotine. Instantly, Bruce's gauntlets flared—and from either side of his cowl, he plucked out the twin bat-ear blades with a flick of his wrists.
CHING—CHING!
Two spinning arcs of metal. He struck the flying axe with both blades, diverting its path. It sailed past him, landing in the rain-soaked street below with a loud clang.
"Nice trick," Ethan remarked. "How many toys do you have in there?"
Bruce didn't answer. Instead, he took a deep breath—and rushed again.
This time, it was a flurry.
Jabs. Hooks. Palm strikes. A rising elbow.
Ethan parried the first two, blocked the third, but the elbow smashed against his jaw with a crunch of reinforced armor.
Blood touched the corner of Ethan's lip behind the mask.
He replied with a sudden gut punch that lifted Bruce a few inches off the ground.
The Dark Knight groaned, but he didn't back away.
He leaned in.
"Who are you really?" Bruce hissed.
Ethan's eyes narrowed behind his helm.
"I am the knight of the living dead."
He ducked low, swept Bruce's legs—and tackled him into a water tower on the side of the building.
The wooden frame collapsed, water gushing out and cascading over both of them. They rolled over steel and shattered ceramic.
Bruce broke the grapple first, kicking Ethan off and retreating to the ledge.
Ethan stood slowly.
Both men were soaked now. Breathing hard.
Lightning flashed.
They stared at each other again, this time in eerie silence.
Bruce's cape curled around him again—fibrous and weightless now—and began to compress toward his back, compact and sleek. The Bat-Ears had been reinserted. The gauntlets hissed and reloaded.
Ethan looked at his broadsword lying across the floor. He didn't move to pick it up.
"I'm not your enemy," he said flatly.
"You're wearing armor, beating the hell out of criminals, and leaving a trail of blood and questions," Bruce shot back. "That makes you everyone's problem."
" Don't you do the same thing? And have I left corpses?"
Silence.
"Didn't think so," Ethan replied. "They're breathing. Even the Party Animals."
Bruce studied him closely. "You arw a stranger."
"You're a poorly disguised semi-truck playing ninja."
Tension hung between them. The storm began to fade. Only the low rumble of traffic from far below interrupted the night.
Bruce finally said, "Stay out of my way."
Ethan gave a slow nod. "Likewise."
And then, in a flutter of cape and shadow, Batman disappeared over the ledge.
Ethan stood alone, rain trickling down his armor.
He reached down and retrieved his broadsword. His shoulder,which was displaced healed with a crack. He felt no paon,of course.
He only smiled.
"...Batman is so cool," he muttered.
As much as he tried to keep it cool and professional. That man was still a version of his childhood hero. One of them at least.
Over 80 years of history,revamped. Quite interesting by Ethan's standards.
Then he turned—and vanished into the night.
<><><>+<><><>
Looking into the Party Animal masks he saw that they were quite technologically advanced.
He used took of them,crow themed one because why not, and was currently in the process of breaking it down.
There were 4 different chips on the outer weave.
These chips could act as a GPS. Telling him where the Party Animals were going to attack next because they are all comnected.
This was a great discovery.
And the other other chips were quite premier.
They could do a lot of things. Very advanced. Better than a lot of military grade tech.
Ethan hacked into the mask.
Inside were various increments of data,as expected.
But what shocked him was what the data listed.
Various bounties and prizes for various crimes.
Do a robbery?,50,000 plus what you robbed.
Attack a police officer?,60,000.
Kill a police officer?,100,000!
And then there were special bounties.
Martha Wayne and Mayor Gordon.
Each worth...a million dollars.