Super powered

Priorities

Gotham

The weakness in most criminal plans is the getaway. Countless hours and clocklike precision go into the setup and execution of some daring heist, but not the getaway. The very word, getaway, has a vague, childlike quality to it. If the criminals would just put as much time and energy into what happens after the crime as they do in planning it, they might actually, get away.

Gotham's East End has long been known as a haven for some of its less than upstanding citizens. Currently three of its lesser lights are running for their lives. Running away, that was their getaway plan.

In Batman's city, you have to do better.

The first of the three went down only a few blocks from the jewelry store they'd robbed. Bolos around his legs sent his face crashing into the pavement. He didn't get back up.

The second received a boot to his back that altered his coarse into a brick wall. He managed to stay conscious long enough to feel the blinding pain of his broken nose and cheekbone. The sight of his own blood splattered on the wall and his hands was the last thing he saw before the lights went out.

The third robbery was the alpha of this admittedly third rate outfit. He was the 'brains' behind the heist. Since running away wasn't working, he came up with another getaway plan on the fly, take a hostage.

The young woman was just a worker in the local McDonalds. It had been a long day and her black uniform smelled of grease and French fries. Her shift had finally ended and she made it to her used car. She was only thinking of going home.

The knife to her throat pushed all those thoughts aside. Silently she cursed the manager that transferred her to this part of town.

"Let her go." A cold, gravelly voice said out of the darkness. The man behind her turned so she was in front of him, the knife shaking in his hand. She got her first look at the Batman. He seemed to be half shadow, part of the darkness.

"Stay back! I'll cut her, I swear," the criminal shouted.

"No, you won't," Batman replied.

"I said stay back! I'll cut her heart out if you come any closer!"

The young woman gave a terrified scream that pierced through the night. Batman stepped back, so he was almost completely in the shadows. To all outward appearances he was deathly calm.

Bruce had been pushing himself harder and harder lately. Functioning on minimal sleep, his body was being taxed to the limit. This situation should have been routine for him, but something else happened.

His vision blurred for a moment and suddenly the woman in the black McDonald's uniform appeared to be Selina. Bruce blinked, trying to clear his head, even as he felt his pulse race. There was tightness in his chest and he was having trouble breathing. He could feel a cold sweat cover his body under his armor. The criminal's words,' I'll cut her heart out' reverberate around in Bruce's mind. Chest pains only made it harder to catch his breath.

A rage seemed to well up inside of him and he wasn't going to let anything stop him. A Batarang came out of nowhere, hitting the criminal in the face. In the next moment, Batman was holding the robber's wrist in his vice-like grip. Fear and panic filled the criminal as Batman pulled the young woman away from him.

"You'll hurt no one! I won't allow it to happen again!"

The sound of the criminal's wrist snapping was followed by his high-pitched scream. It was cut off by Batman's fist repeatedly striking him. It was over in a matter of moments. The criminal lay on the ground unconscious, his face a bloody mess. The sound of police sirens finally stopped Batman.