Chapter 4: No to the bats
"On The Prowl" Price thought.
『Prowler Phase Activated - Cell activity becomes extremely limited. Digestion system halts momentarily. Skin pigments darken. Heartbeat and blood flow slow down. Respiratory system slows down. | Extension of Hunting Phase』
Price's Heart beat was basically nonexistent. The rushing of his blood came to a snails pace. His rate of inhales decreased exponentially. The visible skin on his body dimmed considerably. His body was frozen still and he didn't blink once.
Price was stationed at the third floor of a shady motel. He was layed prone position and in his hands was a precision rifle chambered for the powerful 338 Lapua USO cartridge. It came with a 2x scope and a simple cross hair. In a traditional sense, the sniper rifle had a comically large scope and a short barrel. It was closer to a rifle than the sniper branch of the gun family. This too was a personal gift exchanged from the system. It had a low fire-rate but like anything from the system hub, the fire power was nearly un-replicable by modern standards.
Well, if one ignored the introduction of alien technology than this weapon would be supreme. Price doubted that this weapon was the best sniper-rifle in the world when villains are able to go toe-to-toe with literal gods with a couple power suits. And those were just the publicly seen villains. Who knew if there were bounty hunters like himself running around with alien-powered weaponry.
In the Hunter Phase, and in extension the Prowler Phase, Price could see a reddish outline of a body through the grand exterior of a nightclub. This was one of the perks Price unlocked in the earlier years of his career.
The Prowler Phase was made for these types of situations. Unlike even the most accomplished snipers, Price wasn't impeded by the constant thumping of his heart or the pulse of blood in his hands. In this state, he was more accurate than professionals in the various militaries around the world.
The reddish outline was rubbing his hands across something and laughing. Because the perk could only allow Price to see his target, he didn't know what the outline was doing. However, using context clues, Price thought it was reasonable to conclude that it was a human body his target was caressing.
But with Price's invisibility and a variety of other perks, couldn't he just kill the target like he did the general? No.
His target was a complex subject. Head on, Price doubted he could kill them before the cops arrived if he did a frontal attack. His last brush with Death made him realize that he needed to take bounties that were worth more credits. This meant that he had to go after super-powered individuals.
The bozo in his sights was capable of turning his molecules into a liquid state. Before he got his abilities, he used to be a little shop-owner who had to bend to the will of the gangs around him. With his new found powers, he terrorized the smaller gangs around Gotham and took protection fees from small shops. It was a sort of conflict that wouldn't have been grand enough to reach the Bounty Board but one of the people he tried to terrorize was actually an incarnation of a lesser Incan God.
Therefore, this was not only high-paying but also less dangerous. It was a steal from every angle. So as long as he completed the job and quickly dipped away before the vigilantes find him, he should be good.
The outline stopped caressing the body and leaned in. Price saw the outline's tongue stick out and swirl around. Price's cold eyes automatically filled in the gaps. He used his hearing and smelling to reconstruct the person his target was foundling.
The steady heart beat indicated a healthy body. Cheap vanilla perfume showed humble backgrounds. The lack of fabric rubbing on the stool meant exposed clothing. The shortness of her beath...
A stream of information was coming into his brain and he organized it methodically. He came to the conclusion of a stripper. Sadly the stripper didn't have a bounty on her.
Price automatically blocked her out of the equation and her form disappeared from his mind. Price smelled it earlier but it seems like his target was also drunk. The alcohol coming from his mouth was strong enough for Price's nose to crumple up. But at least now he didn't have to worry about missing his shot.
Price re-adjusted his posture and got into a comfortable position.
'Showtime.'
Price didn't need to make calculations for the shot. There was essentially no wind and the distance was close enough to disregard the other factors like wind pressure, target movement, and air density. Price was confident enough to make the shot.
He put his finger on the trigger. The familiar texture of the trigger gave him some comfort. He needed two pounds of force to even fire the bullet.
He adjusted his mind for the strong kick-back of the weapon and when the outline leaned back a bit, he took the shot. In just a second, the red outline disappeared. No one was in the way of the bullet so it harmlessly punctured through the floor.
_
[Bart S. Clemson has been assassinated | +490¤]
[After Services: GCPD has been dispatched - ETA 11:10, Batman is approaching - ETA 5:10, Robin is approaching - ETA 5:13, Batgirl is approaching - ETA 5:13, Bat-Wing is approaching - ETA 5:01, Red-Robin is approaching - ETA 5:19]
[Disposable Evidence: Corpse(E), Bullet(C)]
[Witnesses: 38]
[Body Condition: Extremely Healthy]
[Mental Condition: Fear-Driven]
_
Immediately he put the VC32 Sniper Rifle away and activated the Invisibility Perk.
'The entirety of the Bat-family? For me? No thank you.' Price didn't have the time to see the assessment of his mind and quickly darted away.
Just Batman alone was enough to halt his heartbeat.
On the bounty board for Mortals in the universe, Batman ranked number one. His death has been commissioned by half of the crooked community on Earth, multiple entities representing Death, a couple gods equivalent to Death, and even something called Darkside. Darkside was top five in the most dangerous beings on the Universal Bounty Board.
How much b*llshit do you need in your body to say that Batman was still a mortal after this? And he even has helpers coming Price's way? Say less, Price was already out.
With both Invisibility and Prowler Phase, it was almost impossible for mortals to find him. But then again, he didn't want to take his chances with that reality-defying force of vengeance.
Price jumped off from the third floor and landed with barely any noise. He bought a feather-falling inscription tattoo last year and ever since then he could fall off ten stories with almost no noise.
It was this jumble of scientific enhancements, magical powers, and cool gadgetry that allowed Price to live so well in a world so dangerous.
.
.
.
.
*Phewp-Trghgh*
A hook flung around the guard-rails of the three story motel where Price was minutes ago. With a grunt, a costumed individual pulled himself upwards and methodically scanned the surrounding area.
He knelt down by the open window of the furthest room and calculated the distance from the bar.
'Here.' He thought.
Mentally, he already gauged himself for a trap. Assassins in Gotham were rarely seen after he took to fighting crime but those who were left were of elite status.
'What could they be here for?'
When Batman heard the police transmission of a shooting down on the corner of Peckinpah Street and Saint Avenue, he immediately thought of Sean Noonan, a former hitman. Sean Noonan was a veteran of the Korean War who became a hitman shortly after. He eventually left the profession to open up his own bar in the Cauldron section of Gotham City and often settled disputes between the hitmen who hung out at this bar. It was safe to assume that things got out of hand before Noonan could stop it.
The bat-family who were on patrol also got the signal and headed towards the Noonan Bar.
Although they didn't think into the incident as much as batman did, they also assumed it was a gang-war type of situation. When they got to the bar, they immediately split up into individual task forces.
After confirming from Noonan that this incident had nothing to do with him, he immediately followed the trail of clues.
1. There was a bullet hole in the wall. This kind of shot couldn't have been done unless the killer had accomplices. There is reason to believe that this is a highly trained assassin unit.
2. The corpse is unidentifiable. The bullet exploded the head and decorated the bar with brain matter. The weapon used isn't open to the public.
3. Following up #2, the bullet is stuck ten inches in the ground.
With the help of Alfred, Batman soon found the best location to take that shot.
*Phewp-Trghgh*
Two teenager flung themselves towards Batman's position. They also came to the same conclusion after looking at the area. Robin along with Batgirl asked the stripper some questions about what happened but found no real clues.
When they got to Batman's side, they didn't talk at all. They knew this was a crucial situation and the killer might've left some traps.
However, that wasn't the same for the high-tech Bat-Wing.
"Found anything?" He asked as he landed on the walk-way towards the window.
"Ughh." Red Robin groaned following straight behind him. Robin slapped his forehead while Batgirl rolled her eyes.
Although loud, Bat-Wing wasn't an idiot. The threat was probably inside the open windows.
"There's no heat signatures." Bat-Wing announced trying to make them forget his fumble.
"hmm." Batman agreed. "They aren't here."
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