Chapter 2:New Duds

"Where's a Ralph Polo when you need one."the Creeper groaned, looking at disgust at his inmate clothes,"This won't do in crimefighting. I mean I look like jailbait for an exotic prison!"

The Creeper cackled at his joke as he leaped from building to building. Without even breaking stride he kicked a Two-Face goon off a rooftop and down into a dumpster. He noticed a closed down fashion store a block away, and quickly made his way there.

"Poor place, this economy is so bad." Creeper said as he leaped into a broken window of the abandoned building," I blame the Canadians. Up there riding their moose and plotting!"

Luckily, there were still tons of clothes in the store. He browsed through the women's clothing. Hey! They fit better than men's clothing and it showed off his curves more! He found a red boa similar to his old one, only bigger and more ragged looking. Guess the moths had a good meal with it. He also found some red gloves and boots to match it.

He stripped down to his green boxers, happy to get rid of the jailsuit. He was about to leave when he saw snow through the store windows. Oh yeah! It's winter! He would freeze to death outside in just his undergarments. Guess the old look won't work in freezing cold.

He searched the entire clothing store until he found some green pants and a black vest as well. This should keep him warm enough. Besides, he would be fighting baddies all day, so that workout would keep him nice and toasty.

Just as he finished putting his new hero costume together he heard the front door of store crack and give way. Creeper quickly dove into a rack of clothes to hide just as a group of Arkham thugs entered the building. They were rubbing their arms and blowing into their hands. Obviously Gotham in the winter was too much for them.

"Man how is the boss expect us to work if he doesn't even give us decent clothes!"one of the them complained.

"Well I would rather have no clothes at all than walk around in the get-up those losers who joined Two-Face or Joker wear."another one of the goons commented.

"Shutup!Let's just grab us a few coats and get going!"another thug shouted at the rest,"The boss wants us to keep a close eye on the competition!"

As Creeper watched the men walk around the store he realized something was off about them. He had seen what the thugs who work under such villains as Joker,Two-Face, and Penguin wore, and these men wore none of those. They had no trademark whatsoever of who they belonged to. Perhaps there is another criminal overlord in Arkham City? He would have to "politely" ask one of the men who they worked for.

Creeper counted five of them. Unforunately all of them had machine guns. Hand-to-hand combat won't work here. He would be dead before he could take them all down. Creeper prefered to stay alive, at least until he saw the Spongebob marathon next week. For some reason he could relate to that quirky box with legs. Guess it was because they were both yellow. He would have to take the sneaky approach.

One of the thugs was looking through the clothing rack where he was hiding. The Creeper took the opportunity take this one out. He reached out and pulled the inmate into his hiding place before the man could even cry out. With a swift punch in the face the man was out cold. One down, four to go.

Using the many clothing racks as cover, the Creeper crawled around the store without the men even knowing he was there. Once another of the criminals was near him Creeper leaped out of his hiding place and performed a quick takedown. Although he wasn't exactly quiet taking this thug out.

"What was that!"one of the men yelled as he made his way towards quickly made himself scarce as the man came to his fallen comrade,"Oh god! I found someone!Everyone on me!"

"Dear lord! Who did this to him!"one of the men asked.

"Was it the Bat!"another of the them asked, terrified.

"Spread out and find whoever did this!"one of the three remaining goons ordered.

Creeper leaped up onto the wall and crawled onto the rafters above. He had the perfect vantage point of the area. Two of the men were on the opposite side of the store while the third was coming his way below him. The Creeper sneered and waited as the man walked beneath him. He jumped down from the rafters and landed on top of the man. He whimpered and crumbled underneath the the yellow man. He was soon out and there was only two left.

The Creeper once again hid in a rack as the men circled their friend on the ground. He let their panic decrease so they could split up and he could take them down separately. As one of the men walked by he used his new red boa to wrap around the lackey's ankle and pull him. He caused the thug to fall to the ground and get pulled into the clothing rack, where Creeper quickly took care of him,that's when the last inmate realized he was all alone.

"Oh crap!" the goon panicked, firing all around him in fear,"You're not going to take me down too Batman!"

The Creeper rushed back up into the rafters as the last man started firing wildly inside the store. It was almost fun watching the man look into the darkness of the store in fear. However it annoyed him that all these men thought he was the Dark Knight. Geesh, didn't these low-lifes know there were other superheroes in Gotham? Guess he would have to remind this one.

"Batman is not here!'Creeper shouted down below at the man,"Only little ol me!The Creeper!"

As the man looked up and spotted the yellow skin maniac he pointed his machine gun and pulled the trigger. That's when he realized he was out of bullets. The man simply dropped his weapon and made a break for the front entrance. The Creeper took this opportunity to jump down from the ceiling in front of the Arkham City resident, blocking his way out. He grabbed the thug by the throat and hoisted him off his feet.

"Before I beat you black and blue tell me who you work for."The Creeper demanded.

"Please don't hurt me!"The criminal begged,"I work for the Black Mask!"

"Ok thank you."The Creeper smiled and curled his hand into a fist.

"Wait wait! Don't you want to know what he's planning!"the goon yelled, trying his best to delay the beating.

"Nah."The Creeper answered,"I'll figure it out as I go along. Besides I hate spoilers!"

With that the Creeper took him out, ending the conversation. Now he had to find the Black Mask and find out his plans. Why had he sent those men to spy on the other supervillains? He'll just have to beat up some more thugs to find out! Creeper ran out of the store on all fours and started searching around for any law-breakers to break. He was pretty sure Batman could handle the Joker and the rest of those other villains, however, Black Mask was his.