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Batman stared outside the cockpit window of The Batwing into th dreary scene that was Gotham. A large boom erupted from the bowels of the engine as the sleek black aircraft accelerated into the depths of the city. Small droplets of water left trails say they rolled down the thick glass of the cockpit window. Bruce loved the sound of rain, like some sort of calling drawing him to the city, his city. This was Gotham..

In the previous weeks there had been several occurrences, murders to be exact. No relation between murders, no motive and most importantly no suspects. Only thing Gotham's Detective could find was small traces of a mysterious residue which upon further examination had magical properties. Bruce's opinion on magic were mixed. It. Oils be useful, but it could also be extremely dangerous and unpredictable. It was better not to add an extra layer of risk to his operations in Gotham. Hence him requiring aid from someone more diversed in the subject.

Upon arrival to the rendezvous point the patter of rain could be heard as it dropped down his cowl. He cloaked his aircraft a few buildings away as to remain inconspicuous to any lurking eyes. "You're looking well, Zatanna...". Batman said in a rather unsual friendly less broodier tone,as he emerged from the shadows behind the female magician..

"I've been investigating the several bodies appearing throughout areas in Gotham, specifically The East End. Originally it seemed like a serial killer had been in Gotham, until I ran a forensic scan of the crime and found no residue, prints or traces of DNA. The only recurring variable in each area was a spike in the temporal field similar to that of the magical field surrounding all magic users". Bruce said, the unpleasantness of the subject of magic could be heard in his voice, as a tight-lipped grin was revealed under his cowl.

The sky was pitch-black and the large rain clouds were moving forward. People ran for cover outside and umbrellas were opened as the clouds spat out their beads of water. Puddles began plinking as the rainfall became heavier. The roofs of the cars danced with spray and Batman could hear the murmuring of the rain from the alley. It sounded like the buzzing of angry bees. "Let's get to work...Where should we start Zatanna?". It was odd... Batman, The World's Greatest Detective asking for direction, then again the arcane arts weren't his strong suit.

Bruce entered a command into his wrist interface summoning the Batmobile, while programming The Batwing to head back to The Batcave. Tonight... Justice would be served!

The sleek black titanium coating shimmered under the moonlight, as The Batmobile cruised down the tattered asphalt,traveling south. 389 horsepower, jet engine... At seventy miles per hour the engine wasn't even breaking a sweat. One touch from the leather clad chauffeur and The Batmobile would leap forwards Ashe headed towards the first crime scene. " Arnold Sutterfield, Blood Type: O, Age: 50, Weight: 210lbs, Last Known Residence: Apartment 4A, East End Towers ". Batman paused as a dossier of the victim's information appeared upon the dashboard adjacent to Zatanna.

" Susan Shrider, James Ackerson, Johnathan Smith and Leslie Kaufman. These are all the victims who have been murdered in the past two weeks since the occurrences began. No relation except for the fact they all reside in the East End. I've overlooked each crime scene but found nothing, but thin traces of magical energy perhaps another user. However, I've run inventory of all of my rogues and all criminals related to magic are nowhere near Gotham.". His voice was low an hoarse resembling that of broken-glass, formalities had long since passed, now there was only eagerness. Every second, minute and hour meant the chance of more bodies appearing. Batman swore he wouldn't let another innocent die... not tonight. His gloved hands clenched tightly around the steering wheel of the vehicle.

"As for how they were killed, I found no traces of blood almost has if they died without bloodlust, their eyes were completely blacked. These were all constant in each victim. Therefore we have a serial killer and/or killers. It's impossible to tell when the murders were committed but the bodies are found every night at 12:00PM in less than normal places. We have less than five hours to find and stop the killer before someone else dies". The Batmobile came to an abrupt stop as they arrived to a tenement four-story building.

Upon making a casual entrance through the front, the two stumbled upon a wooden door covered in yellow and black police tape, with a label that read '4A'. Batman ripped the tape from the door walking in, Hopefully Gordon's men didn't trouble too much of the crime scene to tamper with the evidence. Upon walking into the bedroom with a pinkish-orange ceiling, a chalked outline of a body had been drawn on the ceiling outlining a body. His body was found nailed to the ceiling similar to that of a crucifix. I found the traces of energy more than 90% present in this room. Batman said investigating the crime scene using his wrist interface to run several variables including; air quality, temperature, and any evidence missed during his first investigation.

The scene within the apartment was just as expertly controlled as something out of a movie. It no longer was why, but how? How was it that someone could commit a crime without any lesions or ligatures to the body. Batman looked around at the scene, quickly scanning for any evidence left behind. On his first glance of the room, Batman noticed something odd about the ceiling in which the body was crucified. Batman used the built in mask camera to zoom in on the ceiling, uploading the photo to the bat-computer. His leathery gloves rubbed against the ceiling revealing a powder-like residue.

"There's a good chance the next target is a woman. I wouldn't rule out the possibility of it being a man if these victims were random, but if this is spell work or something ritualistic, there's going to be an equal ratio of men to women. I'm guessing age has nothing in common between our victims or you would've noticed. Lack of a common age rules out some other things like fertility rituals or sacrifices. Has the GCPD put out any information to the public? People need to stay in pairs throughout the area if they can, presuming our victims didn't leave any witnesses in their wake."

"Ritualistic is right, I've found talc powder on the ceiling upon further examination it's a transmutation circle. I study under a shaman in The Himalaya's talc was used for some sort of soul sacrifice".

Batman pondered, he'd moved one step further into the madness but had yet to crack the icing of this mystery.

Like a thief in the night, the two detectives vanished. Waves of heat coursed through his blood, a cold sweat glistened within his cowl. His eyes sunken and his skin sallow. His stomach felt like a boat being vigorously slammed against the harsh waves. "Never again..." Bruce retorted coldly, as his white optics glared at Zatanna. "We're here..., Gotham's Meat Packing Plant.." The meat plant was as white as death. It smelt of blood and sawdust and its tiled interior offered a refuge from the heat without. It could be described as odd, all the crime scenes had taken place in strange locations around the city, each more sporadic than the next.

Batman grabbed the pocket-like flashlight from his utility belt and ventured to the location where the body was found... the storage unit. Upon arrival into the frozen storage unit, an assortment of fowl, cows and swine dangled in a row , hung by their forelegs. An empty hook stood along, this had been where they had found the second victim, hung like a pig. " Our second victim was a worker here at the plant, no criminal record, described as a peaceful and kind-hearted man. The GCPD autopsy reports found no injuries in his body besides the entry point of the hook used to hang him upside down. He could have died from a number of things, hyperthermia, dehydration or he could have been killed by magical means ".

Bruce paused crouching to the ground, dabbing his gloved finger into a puddle of blood, still warm to the touch. "This blood is still warm..impossible with the below freezing temperature of the room".