Hello readers! So this is just the first chapter, a bit of an introduction. Short and sweet. When a hooded menace makes his way into Gotham, he brings the threat of changing Gotham forever. Question is, is it for the better, or for worse?

Disclaimer: I own nothing Batman related.

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Gotham. A cesspool of scum and corruption. A breeding ground for criminals. One of the highest yearly death tolls of any city in America. And yet, despite all of its horrors, it would be infinitely worse were it not for one man. One man who made a difference. Who put everything on the line to protect the innocent, and bring the evil to justice. The Batman was a symbol of hope for the good, a figure of fear for the bad. For years now, he has made the city a safer place. He cut crime in half since he first started protecting the dark city.

But one man could only do so much. One man could only prevent so many criminals from wreaking havoc at once. On another dark night in the city, two brothers in crime were awaiting a victim, hiding in the dark alleyway, Dan with his knife drawn. Paul hung back with his gun drawn, backup in case their unfortunate victim tried to fight back. Dan grinned, motioning to his partner to get ready as a young woman with a fat looking purse approached them. He heard a muffled cry and a thump, and turned to see that Paul had been snatched away. He paled. Batman was no longer a legend, and he was well known and well feared by the criminals of Gotham. "B-Batman! Come out, or… or I'll…" he remembered the woman right as she passed by the alleyway. He grabbed her, covering her mouth and pressing the blade against her throat. "I'll cut her open! I swear to God I will!" He screamed at the shadows, eyes darting back and forth as he searched for the crime fighter in the darkness.

His eyes shot to the outline of a figure shrouded in black. "Don't come any closer!" He commanded, fear gripping his heart as he struggled to keep to the squirming, terrified woman to his body. She was the only thing standing between him and broken bones and prison.

The figure stepped out of the shadows, and Dan's eyes widened. "You… you're not…" he was cut off by the sudden movement of the figure, gasping as a fist closed around his throat, his vision going hazy as he was ripped from the woman, who in turn fled the alley. He struggled for air, his vision going black, slipping into black unconsciousness…

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The brothers woke at the same time by warm liquid splashing against them. Dan was the first to regain his vision, staring into a black void. He screamed as the full figure came into his vision. He seemed to loom over them, a black tunic topped by black leather armor, a hood shrouding his face in complete darkness. A scythe hung on his back, a silver crucifix hung from his neck, and in his right hand he was clutching the handle of a gasoline tank. Paul groaned, and Dan looked at him to see him strung up on… a cross? He gasped as he saw his own bound hands and feet, strung up on a cross of his own. "Who… who are you?" He stammered.

The man seemed to bore into him. "I… am divine justice. I am the one who delivers the sinners of the world to their fiery fate. I am Death." He spoke, his voice gravelly and rasping. "Dan and Paul Buckhold, you are here on this night to answer for your sins."

Dan and Paul shared a glance of fear. "W-we didn't do nuthin'!" Paul stammered. "W-we were framed!"

"Shut the hell up. You can lie to me, but the one judge that matters, you can't lie to him." The man growled, anger resonating off of him. He reached into a satchel at his side, and removed a handful of photos. He tossed them to the ground at their feet, and the brothers recognized them. Crime scene photos, of a woman with her clothes torn, violated and her throat cut. "Janine Goldberg. Two weeks ago, the two of you broke into her home, and raped her. Cut her throat when you were done. Stole her jewelry and valuables, leaving her for her husband to find when he returned from work." He growled, his voice never rising but the intensity of his rage increasing. Dan and Paul averted their eyes from the photos, and the man grabbed their heads and snapped them back to the photos. "Look! Look at what you did." The man commanded. "And I know she is only one of many. There is no forgiveness for what you have done, and you shall face the fires of Hell for your sins." he hissed.

"P-please, don't…" Paul begged. "W-we'll plead guilty! We'll go to jail, just don't kill us!"

The man let out a mirthless laugh. "No. You must suffer for what you've done." He tossed the tank away, pulling a box of matches from his satchel.

Dan remembered waking up to the feeling of liquid splashing over them, and the smell of gasoline hit him, causing his eyes to widen. "NO! No, please! We'll do anything!"

The man stared at him as he lit a match. "Anything?" Dan nodded furiously. "Then burn." he tossed the match at their feet, and the brothers screamed as the flames engulfed them, their bodies writhing against the cross. The man watched, unmoving. He watched until they stopped screaming, until all that could be heard was the hissing of flesh and flame, the crackle of the fire. He turned silently towards the exit. These men were only one of many in this city, and The Reaper didn't intend to leave until the city was rid of the monsters that it was plagued by.

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An hour later, the abandoned factory was swarming with police. Commissioner Gordon and Detective Bullock watched as the forensics team combed the area for evidence, trying to keep from looking at the grisly scene in front of them. Gordon glanced at his partner, cringing. "How are you eating right now?"

Bullock glared at him as he bit down into his donut. "Lay off, I didn't eat dinner. I'm hungry."

Gordon rolled his eyes. Sensing a familiar presence, he turned in time to see Batman drop from the windows above, walking silently towards the scene. He watched as the Bat kneeled down, examining the bodies. "So far no DNA has been recovered. All that was left when we arrived were these two skeletons strung up on these crosses, traces of gasoline, and these photos." He informed the detective, handing him the photos. Batman took them, studying them. "The woman in those photos is Janine Goldberg. About two weeks ago she was found by her husband, raped and murdered in their home. We identified her attackers as Dan and Paul Buckhold, but we were unable to apprehend them. We need to perform a DNA test with the bones, but I'm fairly certain those skeletons are the remains of those two."

Batman handed the photos back to the Commissioner. "So this was a murder of vengeance."

"That's what we think. I've already sent a squad to find Mr. Goldberg, he's a prime suspect for this." Bullock said.

Gordon glanced at the detective. "Wasn't Mr. Goldberg a history professor? I don't think we would be capable of pulling this off, especially without leaving so much as a hair for evidence."

Batman gazed around the factory. "I agree. This was done by someone who knows what they're doing. And if I recall correctly, Goldberg was an outspoken atheist. There's obviously a religious factor here, these men were burned alive on a cross."

Gordon nodded. "So, anyone in mind?"

The Bat furrowed his brow. "It doesn't match the MO's of anyone we know of… Zsasz is still in Arkham… and this isn't the Joker's doing." Gordon scratched his chin as he thought, while Batman switched to Detective vision. He gazed around the room, and writing on the wall caught his attention. Smack dab between the bodies. He pointed at it. "What's that?"

"The writing? We didn't think anything of it, there's graffiti all over the damn place." Bullock dismissed, looking around.

Batman narrowed his eyes, walking over to the wall. He read aloud, "'The soul who sins shall die. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself. Ezekiel 18:20.'" Batman raised his eyebrow as he looked at further writing beneath the quote. "'Sinners, beware the Reaper, for the time for redemption is passed. Divine justice shall be enacted by my blade, the Reaper cometh.'"

Bullock's donut fell out of his mouth. "The fuck was that? What kinda wackjob are we dealing with?"

Gordon walked up behind the Bat, furrowing his brow. "A new vigilante. And this one doesn't seem to follow your morals, Batman."

Batman turned to his friend. "No. He doesn't. I get the feeling this 'Reaper' isn't stopping with these two."

Gordon looked back at the defeated forensics. "No DNA… no fingerprints, blood, hair, nothing."

"Which means he's been doing this awhile." Batman thought aloud, frowning. "I'll be going. Goodnight, Commissioner." He said, firing his grapnel at the window and disappearing into the night.

Gordon turned to the rest of the officers and lab geeks. "I think we've found everything we're going to find. Let's head back to the station and analyze what we have so far."

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Aaaand that's the first chapter! A new force in Gotham, this one with a thirst for blood. Will the Bat be able to stop him before any more murders occur? Let me know what you think so far in the reviews.