Chapter 42: When Bats Bring Bombs (Patreon)

The next morning, Kara stepped into the Iceberg Lounge. Despite the early hour, activity had already begun, staff moving preparing for the day ahead.

Near the main avenue, she spotted Alfred standing beside Jay, the two engaged in a conversation. Kara approached them.

“Good morning!”

Alfred turned toward her. 

“Good morning, Kara,” he replied. Jay nodded politely, acknowledging her presence.

“Mr. Alfred,” Jay said, “I will let you know when it is ready.”

“Thank you, Jay,” Alfred answered.

Jay gave a final nod before turning and walking away, leaving the two of them standing together. Kara asked. “Did I miss anything important?”

“Not particularly,” Alfred said as they began walking toward the Penguin’s office. “I asked Jay to oversee the preparations for the new massage parlor.”

Kara nodded then said with a smile. “Thanks again for the gift, Uncle Alfred. I really liked it.”

“I am pleased it met your expectations,” Alfred replied, “I hope your day off was restful.”

Kara said. “It was probably the exact opposite of that.”

Alfred glanced at her briefly. “If you do not mind me asking, why is that?”

Kara replied. “I don’t even know where to start. It was… strange. But I guess the strangest part is that we found out there’s an actual Cocaine god. Created by someone I know. And that same person has a whole religion built around it in Colombia.”

Alfred hummed lightly “That’s interesting.”

Kara blinked. “You believe me?”

“Should I not?” Alfred asked calmly.

“Well… I expected at least some doubt,” Kara said. “The person I’m talking about has been called insane many times. Most people think everything he says is nonsense.”

Kara paused for a moment then said slowly. “I never thought he was crazy. I just assumed he liked to mess with people in his own way. But yesterday… Yesterday kind of proved that he’s not a liar or crazy. If anything, it showed me and the others how smart and how scary he really is.”

Alfred considered that as they reached the corridor leading to the office. “I assume the others involved were heroes. Did you act or plan to act  against him?”

“No,” Kara said. “He’s empowered by… whatever that god is, and he has access to a lot of kryptonite. But more importantly, he’s not actually hurting people. If anything, he’s helped multiple times in his own strange way.”

Alfred gave a slight nod. “But he is unpredictable to you, and that’s a concern, right?”

“It is,” Kara admitted. “Everyone thinks he could turn into a dangerous criminal like the Joker, especially with all the cocaine involved in his life. But after yesterday…I don’t think so. He’s… dealing with a lot. He sees the world in a really dark way, but he still tries to keep going. Keep smiling through it. It’s… kind of admirable.”

Alfred’s tone remained neutral. “From your description, he does not sound admirable to me.”

Kara glanced at him, then smiled faintly. “Now that I think about it, he’s basically your opposite. You’re disciplined, respectful, and everything you do has a purpose. He just says whatever comes to his mind, no matter how absurd or inappropriate. He doesn’t seem to believe in purpose or meaning at all. He treats everything like a joke. If your style of clothes are the opposite, you are formal and prefer black, he is informal and goes for white.”

Alfred replied. “He does not sound like someone I would get along with.”

“Probably not,” Kara said lightly. Then she added, “But you do share one thing.”

Alfred looked at her.

“You both have a good nature,” she said.

For a brief moment, Alfred said nothing. Then, in a quiet tone, he replied, “I don’t have a good nature. I am merely a butler.”

Kara chuckled softly as they reached the office door. “Yeah,” she said. “I know.”

Alfred and Kara stepped into the office together and froze.The scene before them was completely unexpected. Behind the desk, the Penguin sat bound tightly to his chair, his arms restrained and his mouth gagged with a strip of cloth. Standing in front of him were three figures.

Each wore a variation of the Batman costume.

The first stood in gray with a blue cape and yellow bright bat symbol on his chest. The second resembled a medieval knight, armored in black and gray. The third wore a full black suit without a cape, just the way he stood showed how aggressive he was.

Kara’s eyes narrowed immediately, a faint red glow beginning to form within them. “Who the hell are you people?”

The one in gray and blue stepped forward. “We are all Batman.”

Alfred spoke in a cold voice. “You are, of course, at liberty to indulge your… theatrical aspirations elsewhere. However, to intrude upon this establishment and to bind its master in so unbecoming a fashion…” His gaze hardened. “is an offense of a most serious and unforgivable character.”

The blue Batman raised a hand, attempting to ease the tension. “We don’t want to fight you or Supergirl. We only wanted to talk. The Penguin refused to cooperate.”

Alfred stepped forward. “Then we shall converse,” he said, “once you have been made to partake of the very same courtesies you have so liberally extended to my master.”

There was a brief pause.

The knight Batman shifted his stance. “Change of plans”

The one in black reacted instantly. He raised his arm toward Kara and fired a small projectile. Kara met it reflexively with her heat vision, but the moment the projectile burst, it released a cloud of green smoke.

The effect was immediate the moment Kara inhaled, and her expression collapsed into shock as she began coughing violently. Her knees gave way beneath her as she struggled to breathe, her strength draining almost instantly.

The blue Batman moved the moment she dropped.

Alfred stepped forward to intercept him, but the man’s fist came forward with unexpected force, golden light erupting from his strike as it connected with Alfred’s chest. The impact sent Alfred crashing backward into the wall, causing it to crack under the force.

The attacker lowered his arm.

“I’ve heard about you,” he said. “You went through the Ancient Tibetan monk training. Tell me, have you learned the Kai Fist? Or perhaps they never taught you this technique.”

Alfred stood still for a brief second.

Then he straightened and dusted his sleeve calmly. The next moment, his form dissolved into smoke and reappeared instantly behind the blue Batman. Without warning, Alfred seized him by the back of the head and drove him face-first into the floor with controlled, brutal force.

The knight reacted immediately, drawing his sword. Flames ignited along its edge as he lunged forward. Alfred responded with a simple motion of his hand, fine wires flashing into existence, wrapping around both the blade and its wielder, binding movement in an instant.

From the opposite side, the black-suited Batman charged, his hand morphing into claw-like extensions crackling with electricity. Alfred caught the incoming strike mid-motion and flung him directly into the knight.

The two collided hard.

The blue Batman, still on ground, lashed out with a sudden kick toward the back of Alfred’s knee. Alfred jumped above the strike and drove a downward stomp, but the attacker rolled away at the last possible moment, tossing a smoke bomb as he moved.

The office filled with smoke in an instant.

Golden light gathered around Alfred’s fist as he clenched it, then released a sweeping motion. A powerful wave surged outward, dispersing the smoke completely and slamming into all three attackers as they attempted to advance through the cover.

They were thrown back, forced into a brief retreat before landing and stabilizing themselves.

The blue Batman rose first. 

“That,” he said, “is the most refined Kai Fist I have seen. So it’s true. The monks taught you and you reached an impressive level of mastery.”

Alfred did not respond.

Instead, he raised both of his hands.

Wires tightened suddenly around the three batmen from every direction, binding their limbs and locking them in place. Only then did the three realize, at some point during the earlier exchanges, Alfred had spread wires across the office without notice.

Now with their movement completely halted, Alfred moved to the Penguin, removing the restraints.

“Are you alright, Master?” he asked. “My apologies. I did not anticipate… three intruders.”

The Penguin pulled the cloth from his mouth. 

“I’m fine,” he muttered, then added with a strained grin, “You handled that nicely…” His expression shifted suddenly. “Kara! Are you alright?”

On the ground, Kara was still coughing, her breathing uneven as she struggled against the lingering effects of the green gas. Despite it, she forced herself upright slightly and gave a small nod, her eyes then locked onto the three restrained figures with clear, burning anger.

The Penguin said “Alfred, these three freaks came asking about you and your relation to the demon god. When I told them they got the wrong person, they didn’t listen.”

The blue Batman said “We suspected that you are the apostle of the demon god, but the fact that you learned from the Ancient Tibetan monk made us uncertain and we needed to confirm.”

Alfred said “I care nothing for your justifications, nor for whatever delusions you may presently entertain. You have overstepped a most definite boundary, and I shall see that such impertinence does not pass without consequence.”

The knight Batman said “Oh, you need to care because the evil apostle can spill the end of all worlds, he plans to open a gate to the nightmare world and summon the demon god to destroy us all. We have been called from other worlds to help stop the apostle of evil.”

The black Batman added “We were told that he was in the Iceberg Lounge and preaching a new vile religion where the demon god is a good entity while the god of hope is a controlling evil. We have seen the vision of the end and he must be stopped at all costs!!”

Alfred went completely silent hearing their words.

Kara stood up slowly and said “Are you talking about Sebastian and his Cocaine religion?”

The three batmen glanced at her with the blue saying “You know the apostle of evil?”

Alfred behind the mask narrowed his eyes, these three had a relation to the petty god, no doubt.

Kara narrowed her eyes and said “That’s none of your business.”

To the surprise of Alfred, Penguin and Kara, the wires tying the three were cut easily by the Black Batman while the Blue one lifted what looked like a detonator and said “Let’s have a proper talk, or do you prefer this entire establishment to go up flying?”

The Penguin frowned and said “You planted bombs?”

The blue batman smiled “There was a possibility your butler is the apostle of evil, worst case scenario we planned to go out with him.”

Kara said angrily “This won’t go unpunished!!”

Finally, Alfred spoke “You will explain yourselves thoroughly. Or I will remove the need for further discussion.”

He wanted to know what that god is up to.