The Full Moon is Rising. Return of the Beast

It had now been four weeks since Joker's ****, and Batman was **** to slowly distance himself from this case. He wasn't any smarter than he was before. There were occasional rumors that Harley Quinn had survived, but his research had revealed nothing. Meanwhile, the paralysis had fallen away from the criminals and they had crawled out of their holes again. First of all it was Black Mask who wanted to take the opportunities. For the last three days he had been out almost every night to fight the gang wars. Joker may have been dead, but most of his crew was still alive. Only the hard kernel had been killed with Him in the warehouse, which meant there was a power vacuum in his group. The internal power struggles were another reason for Black Mask's troops to strike hard and focused. Batman used his entire family to end the street fighting, but at the moment it didn't look very good for them. By the way, Bruce had also hired Oracle for the Romanian nobleman, but she had not been able to find anything suspicious yet. All the data had been satisfactory. Bolg Varcolac may have had a strange dialect that was barely spoken, but he also came from a corner of Romania that was almost as modern as a torch. There was not the slightest indication that Count Varcolac was part of any group involved in illegal transactions. The man's family tree, however, was ancient. According to Oracle, he was persecuted until the 11th century AD. Even if he had briefly made him insecure for Dr. Mendez, Bruce was now very sure that Varcolac was not necessarily a criminal. He had nothing to do with the **** of Joker, as all the evidence indicated that he had only arrived in Gotham two weeks after the incident.

Besides, he didn't have time to put up with such speculations. Standing in front of his computer, he activated his com.

"Batman here. What does it look like?"

"This is Oracle. It's quieter right now. I got a fire in third and South Square. But it seems that some of the guys from Black Mask will try to rob an arsenal from the Jokers tonight. I found traces on the net. Looks like it's starting at quarter to 11:00pm. Do you want me to let Nightwing in on this or are you doing it alone?"

"I'm on my way. Inform Huntriss and Nightwing that I am on my way. And let Red Hood try to find out what kind of weapons were stolen yesterday. I want to know what kind of firepower Black Mask has."

With these words he jumped into his car and ignited the engines. On the way to the city there was hardly any traffic and so he could enjoy the ride. As he drove through the night, he looked at the HUD for the latest information. He also looked at the floor plans of the surrounding buildings around his target. It didn't take him long to find the perfect spot to keep an eye on things. With a roaring engine he accelerated in a tunnel and shot past the few cars that were trying to avoid his car in a hurry. About 1 mile from the destination he drove his car into a dark alley and got out. With one command he activated the ablative armor and watched how 2 cm thick armour plates were running up around the car and secured it against most dangers. He was sure that nobody in this area would try to get his hands on his property, but better save for sure. With his grappling hook gun he was on the roof after seconds and looked around. No one could be seen and so he would be able to approach unnoticed. The sky had been cloudy for days and today was the first night when the cloud cover was supposed to break open, at least partially. Too bad it was the last night of the full moon. Strangely, criminals were always afraid of the full moon. It was good to finally get him back active. He had spent the last few days in the ring again and again with different training sessions, but he was still full of energy and drive. He hasn't been going out enough lately.

But tonight would change that. A look at the sky showed him that he would have an appropriate atmosphere. The clouds slowly moved and behind the last pieces of the clouds the full moon slowly appeared in its splendid glory. Bruce looks at him for a long time... It was one of those nights when the full moon was clearly visible. Bruce didn't even notice how he looked at the moon longer and longer admiring..... Something about the moon was incredibly attractive today... He felt an unbridled power awakening in him. His heart started beating faster and faster. It pelted in his chest like a steam hammer. It beat as hard as after a dozen marathon runs at once. Actually, any of his instincts should have warned him, but somehow he wasn't worried. His gaze hung completely enthralled on the moon. Its bright shine, its fine contours... everything on the moon was fascinating. He felt his muscles start burning and stretched to the point of tearing. Like he's about to make a round of arm wrestling with Superman. He went to his knees as his mind was slowly overrun by a wild desire. His hand grabbed the parapet and grabbed himself with pain. His muscles felt like they were gonna explode. He didn't even notice how easily he pulverized the stones of the balustrade. His armor was woven from the best materials available for money. Reinforced steel and various alloys. They were light and stable. Hard enough to intercept bullets or catch blows from superhumanly strong enemies. But even this armor had weaknesses. And those were the stitches. He heard how the seams on the gloves began to tear and his whole figure seemed to change under the influence of the moon. Even the armor could not withstand this pressure for a long time and gave way. He didn't care that his body was just changing massively. First it was the facial hair... in seconds he grew a beard... before the rest of the face also showed a slight trace of hair. Screaming in pain, he bent as his chest stretched. His bones were broken by the expanding muscles and yet they grew together again almost immediately... but much bigger and stronger. His rib bones stretched and adapted to the new body. The breastplate of his armor was simply thrown away when the reinforced seams couldn't withstand the pressure. He bent again as his spine expanded and a dozen new spines emerged. Kneeling on the roof, Bruce could not help but willingly surrender to the transformation. He felt the skin tearing open around his jaw and mouth and his jaw began to push forward. As his jaw continued to expand, he felt many new teeth forming. His eyes changed and became yellowish and wolf-like.

As his armor fell from his body, his stature became more and more powerful. His hands turned into huge claws and his fingernails became sharp enough to cut through the stone. He sensed the animal side awakening within him and treasured up. The transformation was completed with a loud howling. A monstrous wolf knelt where Batman had stood 2 minutes ago. When he straightened up and raised his enormous arms towards the moon, he was almost 13 feet tall, covered over and over with black fur. His teeth were sharper than anything man could ever make. His muscles were clearly visible despite the dense coat. His yellow wolf-eyes glowed with untamed power and little of Bruce Wayne was to be seen in it. But Bruce Wayne was not just any ordinary man! He was Batman. No one else had such strong willpower. Even now, under the influence of one of mankind's oldest curses, his willpower fought against the savagery of the beast. For generations the werewolves had been insane because they had only transformed weak and simple minds. But finally the curse had found a worthy body. But in order to gain his full power, the will of Bruce would have to pass some trials.

The werewolf slowly straightened up. Each of his movements testified to an animal power and elegance. With one leg on the balustrade he looked at the road below him. His wolf eyes were a hundred times sharper than a man's, but his nose was even sharper. His instincts were craving for food and hunting, but there was something on the edge of his mind. An unbridled willingness to focus the animal on one point. A mission... mission... mission... a destiny. The wolf shook himself violently as he tried to resist this will... be free! That's what he was thirsty for. And yet. This gnawing feeling could not be ignored. But then he sensed something new. The air gave him a smell! A familiar smell!

A Female Wolf!

At the same time, only one mile away from him in a warehouse, 30 Jokers were facing the Black Mask troop. The surprise attack of the Masks had gone into their pants thoroughly, and so they were now facing each other with weapons at gunpoint and were only a heartbeat away from a massacre. However, both sides knew that a pointless firefight would not do anyone any good. Even the stupidest members of the gangs had long since realized that only very few would get out alive. That's why the leaders of the two groups were just about to speak. The Masks demanded the handing over of all weapons in the warehouse as well as that the Jokers would join the Masks from now on. Of course, this was absolutely not in the sense of the Jokers and so the simple words slowly became loud screams.

But when through a window the full moon became visible..... Her fate was sealed. In the midst of the Jokers, one of the rackets suddenly began to scream and bow in pain. His AK-47 fell to the ground as he dropped to his knees.

"What the fuck is this Jokers?! What the fuck is this?"exclaimed the leader of the Masks when he saw this. "Do you think the shit drags here? Dude! That's an old man's number."

But then his eyes widened as he could see how the Jokers panicked and in their midst something straightened up..... Almost looked like a big wolf... A big big wolf. The men and women of both gangs stared at the werewolf who was standing in their midst, staring at the werewolf in horror. With an angry scream the wolf reached out and stared at the people around him. While the Jokers surrounding him cheered after the first shock and thought that the wolf was on their side, the werewolf only growled down on them and snarled their teeth. With a quick swing, he tore up his arms and shredded the razor-sharp claws 2 Jokers surrounding him. As soon as the werewolf saw the first blood splattered, he fell into a blood frenzy and grabbed the leader of the Jokers with his snatch. The man cried out in pain as the huge set of teeth around his head closed only to be silenced suddenly when the werewolf closed the mouth again.

Like a wild dog, the werewolf whirled its prey back and forth a few times before he simply threw it into a corner. More out of panic, the surrounding Jokers opened fire on the giant monster in their ranks. Most of them even hit but others were so scared that they fired blindly on it and shot their own men behind the monster. After they emptied their magazines, they stared at the monster in disbelief.

Even if a few of the bullets had missed him, most of the bullets had penetrated the werewolf to the nearest range and had ripped countless wounds. The werewolf stood in front of them, overflowing with blood and gazing angrily down at them. His wounds, even those of greater caliber, closed almost instantly. The wolf went to his knees and his strong rear legs hurled him forward like a cannonball. With arms wide outstretched, he ripped a dozen fighters at once to the ground and mauled another one with his dentures. Now it was clear to all people that they had a shared enemy and pointed their weapons at their enemy. The slaughter had begun.

The Riddler sat trembling in front of his computer. His matted hair hung in his face and his eyes were bloodshot. He hadn't slept well in days. In the meantime, 1 dozen bodies had accumulated in his chambers. His master was almost insatiable.

His master. The Riddler giggled lunatic. His master. For 2 weeks he tried to solve this eternal mystery. That one riddle that held him captive. In the meantime he had found out that his master preferred to call himself Count Dracula if he didn't use his camouflage identity. It wasn't long before Nigma found out that he was the real and true Dracula of Bram Stoker. But it wasn't him after all. He had found traces. Ancient traces. Even in ancient Greece there was a mighty Lamia who spoke about the origins of the Lamien. The trace of Dracula ran through countless centuries and even in the Bible he had found traces. The Bible text of Cain and Abel could be interpreted to mean that the god cursed Cain to feed on what he had soaked the earth. And that was his own brother's blood.

Nigma had not yet dared to approach his master because he knew how easily his anger could be ignited. But even in a world full of alien superhumans or Greek Amazon princesses, there was simply no logical explanation for a creature like him. That was the eternal mystery. The riddle that held him captive for two weeks. He laughed crazy again and looked at a cockroach that flashed over the ground. Didn't his master call him like that? He grabbed it and looked at the little animal. So that's how his master saw him. What would it be like if his master would feed on him? With a quick movement he put the small crawling animal in his mouth and for a second he imagined how Dracula felt. But the feeling disappeared immediately as he felt a hand on the back of his head ramming him into the table.

"I'm getting impatient! It is the third day of the full moon Lakai! And still you haven't found anything,"he heard Dracula growling in his voice and hastily Nigma tried to suppress the pain. He felt the blood flow over his mouth.

"Yes, master! I know Master! But there is still no trace of a wolf..... And the full moon won't be seen until tonight! But... I may have a hint master. I think so."He inflicted with a low voice.

The hand left him and when he turned around there was no one there. A look upwards and he saw Dracula walking upside down along the struts of the ceiling. Not even gravity dared to defy his master, Nigma giggled.

"Speak ****! I'm running out of patience! Prove your usefulness to me before I get your blood."Droned it from everywhere at the same time.

"Tonight, the Black Mask supporters are about to rob a Joker's department warehouse. Since the last attack of your..... wolf... also aimed at the members of Joker's gang, there is a big chance that he could show up there. But I'm not sure."

Dracula looked down on his servant from high above and thought briefly. With an elegant jump, he pushed himself off the ceiling and slowly fell to the ground, like a feather. Shortly before the ground, he turned 180° and landed on the ground like an elf from a Fairytale.

"So say servant. Show me on the magic screen you call computers the place."

Minutes later, Dracula was on the road and arrived just as the werewolf had turned in the warehouse. Unfortunately for him, Bruce Wayne stood in his back for one mile. Not even his fine nose could perceive the metamorphosis of the 2nd werewolf behind him and the distance was too great for him to have heard the angry howling of the Alpha Wolf. But that wasn't important to him either. He had finally found the wolf he was looking for. And with a little luck tonight, it was finally over. He'd rip that miserable mutt to shreds here and now.