Flipping Through the Pages
Copyright© 2026 by Dragonpig
Chapter 25
Ultimate Bruce Wayne raised his hand, blue energy flickering as a portal began to form. “So where do you want me to open it? Right in front of the place, or inside?”
Batman 47-X shook his head. “With people like that, you’ve got to make it dramatic. You’ve got to make an entrance and get the point across that they should fear you.” He gestured toward the window. “Open the portal outside the hideout.”
The swirling doorway expanded until it was large enough to step through. Batman 47-X moved first, followed by Bruce and Selina. The portal snapped shut behind them with a soft hiss of displaced air.
They stood across the street from the abandoned Blockbuster Video store, its boarded windows and door looking even more fortress-like in the dim streetlight.
Batman 47-X studied the building, his civilian clothes still in place. “Haven’t seen one of these in years. I guess in this universe, the business didn’t last either.”
“So who took them over in your universe?” Bruce asked. “Was it Netflix?”
“Netflix?” 47-X tilted his head. “No, it was a company called Wave Journey.”
As he spoke, his clothing began to shift and transform. The button-down shirt and slacks rippled like liquid, the fabric restructuring itself into the familiar lines of a Bat suit. Black and gray materials flowed across his body, forming armor plates and the distinctive cape. The transformation culminated with a full cowl and mask that covered his entire face, leaving only featurelessness where his face should be. Serrated blades extended along the outer edges of his gauntlets.
Selina watched the transformation with wide eyes, clearly impressed. “Whoa. I like that. Can I get one?”
Batman 47-X gave her a single nod, then turned toward the building. “Time to go to work.”
He strode across the street and drove his boot heel into the door. The metal barrier exploded inward, torn from its hinges and frame in a shower of splinters and twisted steel.
Inside the hideout, chaos erupted instantly. Mark’s voice rose above the shouting: “What the hell—everyone open fire!”
The Alley Cats had prepared for this moment. Guns appeared from hiding spots throughout the store—pistols, shotguns, even a few automatic weapons. The air filled with muzzle flashes and deafening gunfire as they poured everything they had at the dark figure in the doorway.
Smoke and dust filled the air. Spent shell casings clinked to the floor. The smell of cordite was overwhelming.
When the firing finally stopped and the smoke began to clear, Batman 47-X stood exactly where he’d been before—completely unharmed, arms crossed, head tilted slightly as if he’d been mildly inconvenienced.
The gang members stared in shock and terror. Several of the younger ones had already dropped their weapons and were backing away.
All except Roman.
The older teenager let out a roar of rage and charged forward, swinging a crowbar at Batman’s head. “Die, you freak!”
Batman 47-X didn’t even move. He simply raised his left forearm, blocking the swing effortlessly, then snatched the crowbar from Roman’s grip with his right hand. In one fluid motion, he brought the metal bar down across Roman’s skull with a wet crack.
Roman crumpled to the ground, blood streaming from his scalp. Batman 47-X raised his boot, preparing to crush the boy’s throat—
The Gatling gun opened up.
Mark had wheeled out his heaviest weapon, a belt-fed monster that spat fire and death at over a thousand rounds per minute. But when he pulled the trigger, Batman 47-X simply ... vanished.
“Where are you?!” Mark screamed, swinging the gun wildly around the store. “Where are you, you demon?!”
He kept firing, the heavy rounds chewing through walls, boxes, even some of his own gang members who’d been too slow to find cover. Mark didn’t care—he just wanted to kill that thing that had stood in the gunfire like it was rain.
Then he felt a gentle tap on his shoulder.
“This is the part where, if I were stupid, I would give you some speech,” Batman said quietly. “But I’m not.”
The razor-sharp blades sliced through Mark’s neck, severing his spinal cord with surgical precision. The gang leader dropped to the floor like a puppet with cut strings, his body convulsing as his nervous system shut down.
Batman 47-X looked down at him with cold satisfaction, then raised his boot and brought it down on Mark’s throat. The crunch of cartilage was audible throughout the silent store.
Behind him, Roman was stirring, trying to push himself up despite the head wound. His hand reached for a dropped pistol.
Before Batman could react, Selina appeared beside the fallen teenager. She’d picked up the discarded crowbar, and she brought it down on Roman’s head with all her strength.
“This is for Tommy!” she snarled, hitting him again. “And this is for Sarah!” Another blow. “And this is for every kid you helped Mark hurt!”
She kept hitting him, her face twisted with rage and pain and years of suppressed trauma. Roman’s movements grew weaker with each impact.
Bruce started forward to stop her, but Batman 47-X turned and gave him a look—a slight shake of the head that said Let her finish this.
Bruce crossed his arms and stepped back.
Finally, Selina stopped. Roman lay motionless beneath her, his skull clearly fractured, blood pooling around his head. She dropped the makeshift weapon and stood over him, breathing hard.
“I knew I liked you for some reason, kid,” Batman 47-X said approvingly.
Selina glared down at Roman’s still form. “He was always a jerk. He had opportunities to help. He was just like us. We could have worked together, gotten out of here.” Her voice hardened. “But no, he wanted just as much control as Mark did.”
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