A Matter Of Life And Death: Batman And Michael Myers (2) “In case you hadn’t noticed, I saved your life just now so I’d say you owe me one. And I do intend to collect. When you get that girl to safety, meet me out on the runway. We have a little unfinished business if you know what I mean.” Lady Shiva said to Batman. Batman knew exactly what she meant. She wanted to fight him again. He hated fighting for fighting’s sake. He fought to save lives, not for pleasure. Lady Shiva sickened him. Nevertheless, he left her with the impression that he’d go along by nodding, then disappeared into the bathroom to check on Laurie. She was gone. Batman quickly searched the bathroom but found no evidence of her presence. She simply wasn’t there. Since the restroom had only one way in and out, he was puzzled, but only briefly. Upon closer inspection, the Dark Knight noticed that the vent for the air duct had been removed and put back in place. She hadn’t done a sloppy job of covering her tracks or he would have noticed it sooner. A single screw lying of the floor under the vent was all the proof he needed. He later found her nun’s disguise buried deep in the trash. She was covering for herself pretty well he thought to himself. Good for you Laurie. She was obviously use to running from this madman by now. He flipped the screw into the sink and listened as it rolled down the drain when he heard commotion outside. Just outside the door to the restroom Batman found Michael Myers back on his feet and struggling with Lady Shiva. He had two sais buried up to the hilt in his back at each scapula. Somehow, Michael had gotten hold of her throat and was choking the life out of her. She resisted with every ounce of strength she had. She landed blow after blow to the side of his head but nothing fazed him. She performed a double ear clap which should have deafened him (a maneuver she had intended to use on King Snake to handicap his hearing as well as his sight) but the attack had no effect. She was on the verge of losing consciousness when a cloud of smoke appeared from behind the Shape. Batman was behind him holding a small cylindrical object which resembled some kind of firecracker. Not in my city. He pulled up part of the Shape’s mask on one side, revealing his cheek, then forced the object into his flesh, causing him to lose his grip on Shiva. He reached towards the source of the intense pain and Shiva took advantage of his discombobulation. She brought both of her legs up with full force into his groin which oddly only stunned him. He was far more concerned with the object that had fused itself onto his cheek and melted part of his mask. He violently pulled it away leaving a hole in the mask. The skin which showed through the hole was badly burned. The severity of the injury had caused Michael to once again slip into unconsciousness. Batman knew this would not last. In fact, he wouldn’t have dared done anything like that to a normal man. However, he had seen Michael withstand everything so far including bullets. He already checked for body armor and there was none. If a gun could not kill him, he doubted this would. The last thing he wanted was a death on his conscience, even a murderer’s. “I call that Phosphorous Flare,” he said in the same arrogant tone she had talked to him in a few minutes earlier. “Now I guess we’re even,” he said looking down at Shiva who was lying on her back. Shiva got to her feet and took off without a word to Batman. He knew he would cross paths with her again someday. With her gone, there wasn’t a single person still left in that area of the airport... Except! Too late. By the time Batman saw the lone Ghost Dragon hiding in the rafters where he had been a short time ago, it was too late. The young punk had already fired at him. Something had pierced the skin on his neck and he felt himself fade into blackness... 6:09 AM (1 hour and twenty minutes ago)--After being unconscious for nearly an hour and a half, Batman finally regained consciousness. He found himself in a bathroom, a men’s room he assumed judging by the urinals, and the familiar face of his young ally Robin watching over him. “You had me worried there for awhile,” the young man said to him. “I’m just glad I didn’t take your advice about staying away tonight or you’d probably be dead--” “Enough!” Batman hollered. He hated being wrong but the boy was right. He would be dead now if it wasn’t for him. He hated being responsible for the safety of others, especially in the presence of men as dangerous as King Snake. Robin had already gone at it once with Sir Edmund and barely escaped with his life and he knew the contempt he harbored towards his partner because of it. King Snake believed that it was Robin who left him for dead even though it was actually Lady Shiva. He never did learn the truth about that night. For that reason Batman didn’t want Robin anywhere near Sir Edmund Dorrance. But Michael Myers presented a threat more serious than King Snake and Lady Shiva combined. Robin had put himself in mortal danger by coming to his rescue. While he was grateful to Robin for saving his life, he was angry at him for disobeying. “OK, here’s what happened,” Robin said, “That punk who shot you jumped down and started coming after you with a switchblade. I knocked it out of his hand just in time with a Batarang. I’m pretty sure he was gonna cut your throat with that thing. Anyway, he charged after me but I put him down pretty easy. Lightweight.” Robin’s weapon of choice was his collapsible staff. He didn’t normally like to brag, especially in front of his mentor, but this time he couldn’t resist. Batman let it go this time. “I analyzed that dart he shot you with,” Robin continued, “It matches King Snake’s new super drug. Highly concentrated, of course...” Batman seemed unimpressed with Robin’s detective work. He expected good detective work from Robin. This was nothing exceptional. He didn’t have time to praise the boy. He had lost way too much precious time already. Michael had to be stopped. “Have you secured this location?” Batman asked Robin as he got to his feet. Robin had locked the doors to the men’s room as he had anticipated Batman would have wanted. “Yeah,” he answered. “Get me Oracle on the laptop--” Batman froze in midsentence. He saw something written in blood on one of the mirrors. It said SAMHAIN. He had heard Loomis use that term earlier. “What do you know about that word?” he asked Robin. “Haven’t got a clue. I was just about to ask Oracle when you came to,” Robin replied. Oracle was a lifeline for Batman, Robin, and every other crimefighter who was worth anything in Gotham City. She had once been a crimefighter herself. In fact, she use to fight side-by-side with Batman himself as Batgirl. When the Joker shot her in the back and paralyzed her, she felt useless. She felt no longer able to help until she discovered her amazing adeptness with computers. She understood computers better than anyone Batman had ever known including himself. She assumed the new name Oracle and became an invaluable source of information for Batman and the others. Almost anything they needed to know, she found it out for them by way of the Internet or by hacking into secured files. Batman felt especially close to her not only because of her usefulness but also because she was Commissioner Gordon’s daughter. Gordon did not know of her life as Batgirl or Oracle. Though he’d never admit it, Batman viewed her as one of his personal failures. He blamed himself for her condition and did not want to see the same thing happen to Robin. “Barbara, I need a huge favor from you,” Batman said, “I need you to dig up everything you can on the following keywords: Michael Myers, Laurie Strode, Haddonfield, Dr. Sam Loomis, and Samhain.” “I’m on it,” a female voice replied on the other side of the computer monitor. After a few minutes, she returned with a grim expression on her face. “I’m afraid the news isn’t good,” she said, “Here goes... In 1963 in Haddonfield, Illinois, a six year old boy named Michael Myers brutally stabbed his sister to death in her upstairs bedroom on Halloween night. He got locked up for 15 years in the Smith’s Grove Warren County Sanitarium under the care of his physician Dr. Sam Loomis. In 1978, again on Halloween, he escaped and went after his other sister Laurie Strode. Her last name’s different because she was adopted after her parents died in a car wreck. He attacked her two different times that night. The first time Loomis shot him six times but he didn’t die. The next time he set him on fire in the hospital she was taken to. Somehow he still lived because twenty years after that he came after her again. She’d changed her name to Keri Tate and moved all the way out to California but he still found her. Apparently they both disappeared. I assume he must still be chasing her. Oh, and I’m not sure how this connects but Samhain is the Celtic word for the Lord of the Dead.” Batman didn’t say a word to her. She would have been surprised if he had. He turned off the computer, handed it to Robin and said, “Get home, NOW!” Robin could feel the sense of urgency in his voice. 7:01 AM (28 minutes ago)--The storm had all but passed. Most of the flights had been canceled but one was preparing to leave. The Delta terminal was infested with policeman, FBI agents, and reporters. Loomis seemed lost in the shuffle as he searched for answers. The sun was almost up outside and the United Airlines red eye flight to Lyon, France was finally about to leave. Only six hours and fifteen minutes late. Only two passengers were seated, a man and a woman. The man looked over at the woman and said, “Hi, my name’s Bruce Wayne.” She cut him off. “How come we’re the only ones onboard? What’s going on here?!!?” The man smiled and spoke softly. “Because I bought all of the tickets.” She regarded him with a profound sense of curiosity. “Why?” she asked. “Because I want to make sure you get to where you’re going safely.” Thoughts raced into her head faster than she could form them into questions. She tried to focus her confusion but she became preoccupied. There were no other signs of life at all on the plane except for her and this man. No flight attendants, no other passengers. She wondered who was going to fly the plane. “Don’t worry,” the man said trying to comfort her, “It’s going to be all right.” She stormed up out of her seat and rushed towards the cockpit. She found it locked and began pounding on the door. When she turned back around, the man was gone. She returned to her seat as fast as her legs would carry her. There were no flight attendants present to give the obligatory safety speech so she imagined one in her head to distract herself. She buckled her seat belt and waited for several minutes until the plane finally began to ascend. In a matter of minutes, the plane was airborne and over the Atlantic Ocean. The whole situation felt creepy to her. After a few moments, her thoughts returned to the man. She began to contemplate where he could have disappeared to. Her attention was not on the stranger for long, however, because it was forced away by the sound of movement behind her. She turned to find Michael emerging from the small bathroom at the rear of the plane. This time he was wielding a kitchen knife as he advanced towards her. “Oh shit!” she said out loud. She scrambled for a place to hide but there just wasn’t any. The plane may as well have been a prison. She was trapped. For an instant she considered jumping from the plane but ruled that out because it would take way too long to get on a parachute. Even if she had one she doubted that she’d survive the jump anyway. She had no experience with skydiving and she was terribly afraid of heights. Frankly, the thought of jumping out of a plane scared her to death. Live or die, she resolved to fight. Her choice of weaponry was extremely limited. Meanwhile, Michael was almost upon her. He lunged at her with the knife but she dodged just in time and the knife buried itself deep into the plane’s upholstery. She reached for a fire extinguisher. Michael ripped the knife back forcefully causing the fabric to tear and the stuffing to fly into the air. Before he could get off another swing, she swung the fire extinguisher around towards his head like a baseball bat, connecting perfectly. Michael fell backwards onto the seat behind him stunned by the blow. She knew this wouldn’t last. Michael never stayed down long. She pressed her advantage and went for the door. If she could figure out how to open it, maybe she could just throw him out. Laurie did not get the chance to investigate for very long. She overestimated how much time she’d have and Michael made her pay for it. He slashed at her back and left a gaping wound that stretched from one shoulder to the other. Laurie screamed out in pain and dropped to the floor like a pile of bricks. She was bleeding badly and Michael hovered over her with his knife. He was ready to finish the job he had started over twenty years ago. Laurie stared up at her brother helplessly. He had no more compassion for her than a predator has for his prey. It was the moment Michael had been waiting for for almost his entire life. From behind Michael, she saw her last hope. The vigilante she had seen in the airport had come down out of one of the baggage compartments and was trying to sneak up behind him. Michael lowered the knife with a powerful thrust but the cutlery did not meet its target. It had been knocked from Michael’s grasp by another of Batman’s Batarangs. Michael turned his attention from Laurie to Batman. He was enraged. This man had interfered again. He would have to die. Batman wondered if Michael’s unhinged mind was even capable of reason. He knew it was hopeless to fight Michael. He had already seen him subdue both King Snake and Lady Shiva and withstand bullets as if they were mere punches. Nevertheless, Batman got into fighting position. He had to try. He was the best there was in the world and he hoped that his cat-like reflexes would at least buy him some time. When Michael bent down to grab his knife, Batman delivered a power kick to the throat. The blow hit its mark, however, it did not stop the Shape from retrieving his weapon. Meanwhile, Laurie was motionless. She was either playing dead or had gone unconscious from blood loss Batman thought... OR maybe she really was dead. The Shape thrusted his knife at Batman and he gracefully stepped aside, then grabbed Michael’s arm and twisted it into an Aikido-style arm-lock and flipped him across the plane into one of the windows. The window cracked upon impact and air from the outside of the plane struggled to enter. The pressure on the fissure was great and the window looked as if it might give out the rest of the way. If this had been a martial arts tournament, Batman would have surely won points for style but the maneuver had little impact on its victim. It only angered Michael. Michael rose to his feet and resumed his course towards Batman. This time he struck too quickly for Batman to escape entirely. The blade of the knife penetrated the biceps on his right arm and Batman hollered out in pain. He was hurt badly. Pain shot all the way up the right side of his body and his right arm was totally useless. He could not lift it to save his life. In addition to his paralyzed arm, Batman was badly handicapped by the lack of space within the plane. He was far too cramped to be effective. He needed to end this soon or he’d probably be killed like the others. There was nowhere to escape to. His mind was working faster than his body. Batman lifted his leg as if he were going to kick Michael, then instead brought the heel of his boot down hard on the Shape’s wrist causing him to lose the knife again. “Enough!” he said through gritted teeth. Enraged, Batman then let lose on Michael. He made it a habit never to do so on most people he faced for fear of killing them. He had no reason to worry in this case. One of the masters whom Batman had trained under had no arms. Nevertheless, he was one of the finest martial artists the Dark Knight had ever encountered. While he trained with Master Shao, he pretended as if he had no arms either. He wore a straight jacket to avoid the temptation of using them. While Master Shao had no choice, the point of the exercise for Batman was to be able to continue fighting even in the face of a severe handicap. He never had to use what Master Shao had taught him until this very moment. He imagined that the straight jacket was on again, even though he still had one good arm. Batman attacked with determination and swiftness. He was deadly accurate. Nothing missed. Every time the Shape raised his arm to defend himself, Batman kicked it to the side and continued to punish him. He kicked Michael so hard that he stumbled backwards into the door. The door rattled on its hinges from the stress of the impact. Michael did not seem affected but it did give Batman an idea. For his idea to work, he needed a break from Michael. He could not continue to exchange blows with him forever. He was only a man, but Michael was something more. He knew he’d be the one who’d wear out first. He needed to win this fight with his mind, not with his body. Batman frantically searched around the plane for an edge. He needed something that would buy him some time. Finally, it came to him. Michael became vertical once again, this time in a fit of rage. His rage was the only thing that convinced Batman that he was not a machine. Only a machine could take the kind of abuse he’d taken and keep coming. Conversely, Michael had become increasingly more frustrated by his inability to put down this man. He’d never had so much difficulty killing anyone save for Laurie. He came after Batman like the Wrath of God. Stunned, Batman did not have time to avoid the knife which the Shape had sent his way. It buried itself partially into Batman’s chest where his heart lied beneath and blood splattered out like a faucet. The Dark Knight dropped. He had lost life as instantly as an appliance does when it is unplugged. Not satisfied Batman was dead, Michael squatted down on two knees and inspected the body. Blood was everywhere; his eyes were closed; And most of all, he was not breathing. Good enough. The Shape moved on to the cockpit. He found the door locked but forced it open with little effort. Upon entering, Michael found the room empty. The plane was on automatic pilot. He carefully looked around as if he were expecting to find the pilot hiding but he found nothing. An explosion coming from the first-class section drew his attention away. He returned to find Batman on his feet. He had blown the door off with some kind of incendiary device and was now wearing a parachute and goggles. The cabin had become depressurized and wind blew around like a fierce tornado. Laurie’s body was gone. Michael again advanced towards Batman. Batman was careful not to step away from the doorway. Michael probably realized he was being set up for a trap but he didn’t care. His bloodlust had consumed him and he could not possibly allow this man to survive. When Michael got to within hand-to-hand range, Batman swiftly stepped aside, tripping Michael in the process. Michael fell forward landing flat on his stomach. He put both hands down on the floor to push himself back up but Batman kicked them away causing him to roll over on his back. Michael starred up at Batman with blind fury. He was only inches away from the doorway. Batman wanted to test just how badly Michael wanted him and how far he’d go. He moved to the edge of the doorway as if he were going to jump. But instead, he started to climb out onto the side of the plane. From the ground, Michael reached up and slashed at Batman’s parachute, cutting its cord. Batman disappeared from Michael’s view, his wings clipped. Michael got up and stepped to the threshold himself. He looked out the doorway to each side of the plane but saw nothing. It then dawned on him to look up. He did so just in time to see the bottom of Batman’s boot descend down onto his forehead. The kick staggered the Shape, causing him to stumble and fall forward. He grabbed onto the foot rail just in time. Batman climbed back into the plane while Michael hung desperately from it. The strain on Batman’s body was intense. He was already exhausted from all of the fighting but the one-armed climbing had nearly finished him off. He had Michael just where he wanted him. He couldn’t afford to allow him another chance. Batman thwarted all of Michael’s attempts to reenter the plane. He scrambled for his utility belt with his only good arm and produced another small incendiary device which he placed on the inside of the plane just over the foot rail. He set the timer for three seconds then flipped backwards as far as he could. The bomb detonated, causing a large chunk of the floor at the bottom of the doorway to break away from the plane and Michael with it. Batman watched out the window as Michael descended towards the ocean until he vanished from view. Only then did he allow himself to take in a deep breath. He removed the chest portion of his costume to reveal a Kevlar vest and a Ziploc bag containing ketchup that he had taken from one of the airport’s restaurants. Batman knew Michael would strike for the heart so he hid it there. He hoped the Kevlar would protect him and it did, mostly. The tip of Michael’s knife had actually penetrated and Batman had a small wound on his chest. It hurt, but it wasn’t fatal. Laurie emerged from the bathroom very relieved to find Michael gone. Batman went into the cockpit, radioed the Coast Guard about Michael, and proceeded to land the plane. He hoped for the sake of the sharks down below that they’d leave Michael alone when he landed. 7:29 AM (Now)--”I have Laurie Strode here. I believe the threat presented by Michael Myers is, for now, over. I’ve radioed the Coast Guard to watch for his body and I’m bringing the plane in now. Batman out.” Gordon and Loomis glance at each other after hearing the radio message but neither can find the right words. The night has taken its toll on both men and even though Michael has been stopped, neither find any satisfaction. After a few minutes, Loomis breaks the silence. “Happy Halloween Commissioner.” And then he leaves Gotham for Haddonfield. Michael’s body is never recovered by the Coast Guard. End July, 2000
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Copyright © 2000 Mark Brittan |