As promised, here it is: our
second
Middle Eastern Batman story! And possibly our last. Oh dear - you're worrying now, aren't you? Here you were with this amazingly excellent idea, and the submissions will be closed? Is there no justice, in the night, wrathful, righteous justice? (Maybe you have ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT, in which sad case, look here:
.) Well, fellow crime fighters, leave the ranks of the superstitious and cowardly, and submit away, either in the comments on the original post, or by emailing me an idea. We like ideas here. I'll even give you an absolutely and utterly consequence-free deadline: the polls will close on October 15th.
This second interpretation,
The Bat of Bahrain
, is submitted by loyal devotee of the Aviary (and, completely coincidentally I'm sure, life-long friend) Davey Cruz. He's got a gem of a 'blog himself:
. Check out the cut of his jib. You shan't be disappointed.
The Bat of Bahrain
by Davey Cruz.
Based on ideas by Davey Cruz and Mark Hubbard.
Based on characters created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger.
This is my city, the one I choose. Al-Manama, jewel of the Arabian Gulf; capital of Bahrain: first to submit to the will of Allah, and follow his prophet Mohamed. Bahrain was ruled by his envoy Al-Ala'a Al-Hadrami since the seventh year of the hijra. Al Manama has grown since that time, constantly adapting to the outside world. There is the Bahrain World Trade Center, and the newer Bahrain Financial Harbor buildings. On the other side of the city, Abraj Al Lulu sits, newly opened and ready for residents. From my position on The Dark Tower I can see the international airport, the naval port, the brightly lit neighborhoods of Hoora and Adliya. In the distance, on a clear night, I can see the old capital of Muharraq. But all that concerns me is the rape about to happen on the 40th floor.
I slip back down the stairs until I reach the 40th floor, home of R.B. Alwayn and Associates, one of the largest business groups in the region. Not wanting to leave a trace of my passing, I duck in a rarely locked janitor's closet, up into the ceiling and weave my way though the ducts. I check my watch. 2:45 in the morning. Perfect. I can hear the voices of two men 5.2 meters down and to my left. That would be the rapists.
Yesterday I overheard them saying that they wanted to take the new girl down a peg; and luring her here at this time, claiming a phone meeting with a client in Sydney was the way to do it. They didn’t even have to say how they were going to take her down. I just knew. Crime against women outnumbers crime against men by five to one in my home. And yet it is almost never reported. Women can vote, hold office, own companies, and still they will not report crime for fear of the backlash against them and their families. Sound of an elevator slowing and stopping on this floor; she is early. I have less than three minutes for her to get all the way though the secure doors and into the conference room. Time to move.
As I drop into the room behind the two of them, I notice that they have not even bothered to set up the video phone, or bring in a smart board or even laptops to set the scene. What they did have were two lengths of rope on a chair, a pair of handcuffs, a bottle of some clear liquid, and a open container of what claimed to be “Extra Strength Horny Goat Weed.” I flung my arms wide, spreading my cloak like wings and stage whispered “Justice, like the bat who catches a bird in flight, shall be swift and unseen.”
I dropped a miniature flash bang in front of them as I closed my eyes behind my mask. I knew where the men were, and had time to let my eyes adjust after the small charge went off. They were both stronger than me, and full of adrenaline, the thought of what they were planning had emboldened them. Were they common criminals, my presence might have given them pause; I am beginning to get a reputation, but these educated men had no time for superstition. Fortunately for me, they were as stupid as they were educated.
Both charged at once, nearly tripping each other for me. I blocked the clumsy and blind first strike of the larger, and guided the second’s attack around my body and into the large conference table. A kick to the chest as he went down and I could hear him crying in the dark. The first had wound up for a second blow, but seeing the inner door open and their target enter the main room of the office, I didn’t have time to dance with him further. I chopped his throat, and while he gasped for air, put the handcuffs he had so thoughtfully provided on his elbows, pulling them behind his back. I placed a pre-typed message on the conference room table and, kicking both of them for luck, slipped back up into the ceiling as the young woman entered the room. She had the good sense to run and scream and call for security. I had the good sense to make sure that one of the security on site that night was a decent man, and not likely to take a bribe.
Back on the roof I slipped into my helicopter, throwing off the niqāb and signaled my servant al Fraheed to take us back to my home on Nabih Saleh Island. I had to hurry back and change. I was due back though those doors in a few hours as Ms. Alwayn herself.
17 August 2011 UPDATE:
Check
out...