seven

i haven't got your blood sample yet.

i know. i haven't decided if i'm going to or not.

its important, i need you to trust me.

trust you? trust YOU? trust a guy who runs around in a costume, wont show his face, and beats up guys like me as a hobby? listen, pal. nobody trusts you. this whole damn city does not trust you. they are afraid of you. we are all afraid of you. and why shouldn't we be? you do whatever you want, the cops are your friends and let you get away with it, you answer to nobody, and you apparantly can't be stopped or killed. there is no other alternative, everyone fears you.

your perspective is limited.

what are you talking about? my perspective on a guy who lives in the shadows and comes out at night is limited?

you are afraid of me. criminals all over this city, even the powerful ones, are afraid of me. they are afraid, or else they are fools. they would be afraid of you, too, if you did what i do.

i'm nothing like you.

what about those gangbangers you scared off last week, the ones attacking that woman. they were afraid of you.

they were afraid of what i'd do to them.

but what about the woman? did you see her face? was she afraid also?

i didn't look. i just got the hell outta there. its not something i do alot, picking fights.

let me explain something to you. the thieves, the murderers, the gang kids, they are afraid. even the ones who use my name in their crimes, they are afraid. it doesnt always stop them, but when they see me, i see fear in their eyes. they know who i am.

but the other people...the victims, the old women out after dark, the mother who sends her kids to school in a rough neighborhood, the police who are in over their heads with organized crime...they are not afraid. they have no reason to be.

for you, for some who work in the shadows and hide like rats, there is fear. but for others, for the innocents, who are no more like me than they are like you, there is hope. they believe i will protect them. they hope i am looking over them at night, keeping their street safe. next time you are out, breaking up fights or helping some old woman, look at her face. they used to be afraid, but in time they learned. they know whose side i am on. think about it.

six

a dozen scenarios are playing out in my mind, keeping me awake. i could wait for you to come check the drop for my blood, and jump you right there. that would be a great end, i would finally have some peace. something you said is still bothering me though. if you wanted me dead, and you knew which roof i was on, its a simple matter to take me out from a distance, but you haven't yet. instead you want a blood sample? i don't know what sort of weirdo you are, i certainly dont trust you. i suppose i shouldn't expect you to act rationally; i mean i'm not dealing with some normal sane person here. what do i care what you want with my blood? you can drink it for what it matters. you want something from me, that means i have the upper hand, right?

maybe i should just ignore your request altogether. we'll see how you like not being in control. i'll go back to planning our next meeting on my own terms. i change my mind a dozen times an hour, while i should be sleeping.

i can't let you get into my head like this. i should throw out the phone, go back into hiding and wait.

five

there is a gang of seven or eight kids in the street below me, harassing an old woman, making her drop her groceries, scaring her half to death. i don't see you anywhere. bigger fish to fry, i'm sure. its not something i want to make a habit of, but i drop down to help her out. five of them split, cowards. even though they could probably take me if they worked together, they weren't expecting any sort of resistance. the leader of remaining three gets up in my face, and i drop him to the ground quickly. he'll live, but that doesnt mean he's lucky. the last two run. i see that the one on the ground is wearing a mask, like me. a crude version of the thing you wear, actually. are these guys with you? is this your new game now? running a mob of little kids around the city, scaring old widows? what are you getting out of this? i think you just like to be in control. i tell you this when you call again, a week after the first time we spoke.

do you know what your kids are doing out there?

those aren't my kids

they were wearing your mark

i can't stop them from doing that. you know better than to think they represent me.

they almost killed this old woman, if i hadn't stepped in...

but you did

and where were you when this was happening?

i can't be everywhere at once.

yeah, yeah...what are you calling me for anyway?

i need something from you

yeah i bet you do. you want me dead, or close. you want to punish me for what i've done. you want my blood.

actually, i do want your blood.

what? they say you really are a vampire, but...

not like that. i need a sample of your blood. it could be important.

i don't think so. there is no way i'm letting you near me.

listen. if i wanted to take you down i would have done it by now. i wouldn't be wasting my time. are you on the roof?

i'm on a roof...

on the ledge of the north side of the building, the 6th stone from the left is loose. behind it you'll find a syringe and vial. take a sample of your blood and leave it for me in that space. put the stone back.

how do you know where i....

you hung up. damn. you know where i am, thats no good. i should run. but you're right, if you could find me that easily, you could have killed me in my sleep for all i know...what on earth do you want?

four

i know it should have been obvious that you would try to call me, but it startled me nonetheless when the phone rang at midnight last night.

hello?

hello. you know who this is.

what do you want?

you have something of mine.

what? oh, right, the phone. i suppose you want it back.

no, you can keep it.

then why are you calling?

isn't that what you wanted?

what?

well, you took my phone. you had to guess i would at least dial the number. i assume its because you have something to say to me.

well...i don't know. i mean...no. look, i'm not one of those crazy types that goes out of his way to get your attention, you know.

but you were following me.

how did you know i was...

i've been doing this for a long time. good job clearing the water tower, by the way.

uh, thanks.

so is there something you wanted to say to me, or did you have some other plan for my phone?

well...i think you should know...i know that you are after me.

after you?

yeah. i've seen you around here, since that time we met last month, we fought, and i ran. i remember.and i've heard people talking. i know that you were looking for me.

ok. so now what?

and i just want to tell you to stop.

stop?

stop chasing me.

i can't do that. why don't we just meet tonight and i'll explain.

oh i'm sure you'd love that. you think you can just call me up and say "hey lets get together, have a few beers, talk about old times" and then you break both my legs and leave me in an alley somewhere. i can't believe you think i'm that stupid!

thats not what i had in mind.

well of course you have to say that, now!

...

well?

you don't understand me. we need to talk, to know each other a little more...

i know everything i need to know about you. and you know me already, so don't pretend otherwise.

what do you mean?

we speak through our actions, don't we? i know who you are, that you are on the side of the law. that you punish those who break it, to whatever means you think are right. you know that i am a thief, i break the law. i think that defines our roles pretty clearly.

i think there's more to it than that. you are more than just a thief.

well, see, that makes it worse doesnt it? i knew you'd find out about that. i did what i had to do, to protect myself. i didnt want to shoot that idiot in chinatown, but he wouldnt shut up. he would have ruined everything. i knew you'd have to bring that up. that makes it worse for me, doesnt it?

thats not what i meant.

yeah i'm sure, listen, you aren't going to trick me into just laying down, and giving myself up. i'm warning you, stop trying to find me or you'll be sorry.

i hung up. i can't believe you'd try that bit on me. i need to get some sleep.

three

i can't believe i did it. i am a thief, but i steal from old ladies and weak men, who have more than they need. i saw you go overhead last night, and even though i was afraid, i followed you. you're not the only one who can climb a rope, you know. again, you were working the small time last night. i still don't understand that. plenty of big fish in the sea, begging for your attention, daring you to come after them, but you still have time for the little guys. some kids unloading stereos out of the back of a truck, and when you stop, one of them pulls out a gun. even i know thats stupid. everybody knows that you hate guns. i'm sure when his broken nose heals in a few months he'll remember the look on your face. i was still a few rooftops away, but i could see you all from above. and then i saw it, two blocks away.

the car. the big shiny stupid superhero car. i wanted to follow you, but i had to see it up close. maybe i could learn something, find something i could use against you. so many lights, buttons. its a wonder you can even drive this thing, and keep your eyes on the road, with all this stuff lit up and flashing all around you. i was about to leave it and go back to where you were, when i saw something small and almost familiar on the passenger seat. a phone. not of any type i could buy in a store, but it was clearly some sort of cell phone. there is something so strange about the thought of you using this thing, something that makes you seem almost human. so i took it. its what i do, i'm a thief.

i'm not even sure why i took it, what i plan on doing with it. steal your address book? make prank calls to the police from it? i dont know. but i have something of yours now. i stole from you and you could not stop me. i am a little disappointed by how easy it was. granted most people wouldnt have seen your car where you left it, but you don't have a monopoly on rooftop jumping and the perspective it grants on the city. you are getting sloppy.

i'm sure this is only the start of better things for me.

two

the paper this morning had an article about those other weirdos. lady writer called them super-villains. i never realized they all had names, like made up, saturday morning cartoon character names. i don't pay that much attention to other people's work i guess. you know, you were the first guy around here to do this stuff. the mask and cape bit. there was no super villain problem until there was a super hero. does that bother you? do you feel responsible for all the pain they've caused?

the lady at the paper didn't mention it, but she must have noticed. you came first. i don't think they want to say anything to upset you. they are afraid of you. hell, i'm afraid of you too. but they are more afraid of the clown guy, and that fat ugly cobblepot. they choose which fears to indulge, i guess. the people out there on the streets tonight, the ones who, five years ago, wouldn't go out after dark, are now walking down the street. laughing, feeling safe, because of you.

trust. trust a guy in a mask? trust a guy who dresses up like every night is october the 31st? who bends the rules and gets the cops to look the other way? i wear a mask too, but i never asked anyone to trust me. i never claimed to be anything other than a thief.

i read another thing about these big timers in that paper, something real strange. they seem to want to get caught. its like some little game they are playing with you, an adult sized, life and death cops and robbers game. they leave little clues, little signatures so you know where they were. even warnings about what they are going to do next. no ransom demands, or offers for peace, just an advertisement. like the comedians on letterman, that always tell you where they are playing next. "catch my next show on thursday in atlantic city." those comedians, they've already made it onto national television. they are on the couch next to dave or jay or johnny, and still they have to ask, beg, for people to notice them. come see me. see me. me.

these big time freaks, they are the same way. it seems like they aren't even doing their work for the money, or the power, or the girls, or anything. its like the thing they really want is to be seen. to know that somewhere out there, a guy is looking for them. granted, its a scary guy with a mask, dressed like a bat, who will probably break their legs given the chance, but that doesn't seem to bother them. like i said, nobody was doing this stuff before there was a hero. there was no point, i guess.

you are the reason they do what they do. i'd love to say that to you some day, but i'll probably never get the chance.

those guys aren't anything like me, though. i've got this guy chasing me, and i hate it. i hate you. it feels strange to write that and see it staring back at me from the paper. i don't know that i've ever hated anyone before. the people i steal from, even the ones i hurt while doing it, i don't hate them. its never personal. i do what i have to do. but now you are chasing me, keeping me from what i need, keeping me awake with this fear, this nightmare of black surrounding me, and there is absolutely nothing i can do about it.

one

it wont be long now, i can feel it. you're out there, hunting me down, stalking, finding clues. planning your revenge, probably. counting the ways you can make me pay for what i've done. you won't turn me into the police, i'm sure. there is no way you'd let me off that easy.
i'm writing this because i have time. i have time because i'm hiding. i'm hiding because once you find me, i may not do anything else ever again.

i'm not sure why you picked me. there are a thousand other criminals in this city that are worse than i. plenty of thieves, murderers, rapists, dealers out there that you could be, should be, dealing with instead of coming after me.

i was just small-time until recently. there were plenty of lines i had not crossed. but that was before i saw you. i never would have come this far, crossed those lines, if i didnt have to run. if you had let me go, gone after the bigger fish, the real criminals out there. the supervillains, for crying out loud! there is a guy out there dressed like a clown, with this crazy laugh that'll give you nightmares a month after you hear it. a real sicko. shouldn't you be doing something about that? i'm doing what i have to do, he is out there hurting people for fun. fun.

i haven't had fun in years. i can't remember the last time, really. now there is just fear, and hiding. and writing to pass the time.

i thought about turning myself in to the police to hide from you. maybe inside a cell i'd be safe, out of your sight. but maybe thats what you want...to get me into a place where i can't run...i'm sure you could get to me on the inside. not from the inmates, the people you put there, but maybe some guard, or worse. they say you know the commissioner, that guy gordon. no tellin what you can get away with, with those sorts of connections. which one of us is the real coward? me, i've got a few friends here and there. two of them are homeless, one's a junky, and one in prison. is it any wonder that i'm hiding? i can't fight you, not yet. they say you can't even be killed, but i'm not sure i believe them. i'm still limping from our last fight, i didn't have what it takes then, but i will find a way.