The Nightwatcher Chronicles: Hunt Turned War

After helping the police and SWAT teams take out the rest of the Black Snake terrorists, I returned to my girlfriend's house on my motorcycle. I was outraged that I missed Hamato. He was an enemy that I thought I could put behind me. That wasn't the case anymore. He was back, and I had let him get away. On the way to my girlfriend's house, I boiled in anger and frustration there.

My girlfriend was Jessie Anderson. Her family took me in after my parents were killed in a store shooting that Hamato orchestrated. She was 18 years old at this point.

Her dad, Timothy (Tim) Anderson, was an employee at one of Wayne Enterprises' local offices. Her mom, Diana, died after a five-year battle with cancer. Her brother, Todd Anderson, was a US Army Ranger stationed in the Middle Eastern country, Afghanistan.

As I drove up in the Andersons' driveway. I noticed that there was a limousine parked in my spot. I typically hate it when someone does that but saw a familiar "W" printed on the side. I parked my motorcycle next to the side of the house. As I walked up to the door and knocked on it, someone opened the door, and standing there was Alfred Pennyworth, Bruce Wayne's loyal butler.

"Mr. Wilson, it is a pleasure to see you again," Alfred chirped.

"Right back at you, Alfred," I said as I entered the house, and he closed the door.

Sitting on the couch was the famous billionaire playboy himself, Bruce Wayne. Next to him on his left was his son, Damian. On Bruce's right was Jessie. She had a relieved look on her face.

She jumped out of the chair and ran into my arms. Jessie pulled off my damaged breathing apparatus and kissed me on the lips. Jessie pulled away and glared at my forever scarred cheek.

Jessie is about 5 feet and 8 inches, has long blonde hair and the most beautiful blue eyes I've ever seen. Unlike my friends and me, she is not a mutant.

"Thank God you are safe," Jessie said. "What the heck happened to your cheek? Mr. Wayne, take a look at it."

"Jessie, it's just a cut. I've had worse," I responded.

Jessie constantly worries when I get a cut like this. She even had Todd take me to the ER to get a tetanus shot when I cut myself on a shard of metal. I have a belonephobia, so that wasn't a pleasant experience.

"Damn, Matthew. I think a 'cut' is an understatement. You may need stitches," Bruce said as he examined my face.

I walked over to the kitchen sink. I turned the water on and splashed it on my cheek. It stung like crazy. I sucked in air through my teeth as the water ran over my cheek. The dried blood caused the water to turn bright pink.

"What happened besides those Joker clowns and ninjas taking over the elementary and junior high?" Jessie asked.

"You remember Headhunter, right?" I asked. Bruce nodded. "Joker, Harley Quinn, and Hamato escaped Arkham Asylum," I explained. "He also enlisted his older brother, Jon Kornata, to help him. Fortunately, Joker and Harley Quinn are on their way back to Gotham, and Jon is dead, but Hamato got away."

"Yeah. That is why I came," Bruce said. "Joker and Harley escaped with Headhunter two to three days ago, and I came to warn you, but I got here a few hours late."

"Didn't think to use the Batwing?" I asked.

"I didn't want to attract too much attention to the Andersons," Bruce responded.

"Where did Hamato go?" Jessie asked as I grabbed a cup towel and wiped my face off.

"The funny thing is he went through a portal," I responded.

"A dimensional portal to Earth-Two?" asked Damian.

"I don't think so. This portal was invisible, unlike the ones to Earth-Two. Those portals are blue. This one, in particular, flashed pink when Hamato went through it."

"What the hell is going on here? Hamato escaped Arkham Asylum, and now this?" asked Bruce.

When he asked that, an orange rabbit walked down the stairs. The rabbit was my sidekick and friend, Orange Bunny. Orange, which is her nickname, was more than a regular rabbit. She can talk due to being a part of an experimental project created by the military and sponsored by Stark Industries.

The experiment was to make animals more human-like. Anthropomorphic, if you will. They would use them primarily for espionage. Large animals, like deer and bears, were more successful, but Orange was not. Some parts of her fur turned orange, and she gained human intelligence. She went into a rage and killed two scientists with a syringe. She escaped a black military site under darkness and made it to East Texas. I found her drinking from my grandpa's pond and took her in as my "pet".

"Wait, did I hear you say something about Hamato Kornata?" Orange Bunny asked in her somewhat natural stuffy nose squeaky voice. That's the best way I can describe it. Don't ask me how she got that voice.

"Yeah. He escaped Arkham Asylum, along with the Joker and Harley Quinn, and enlisted his older brother, Jon, to help him," I responded.

"I also heard something about a pink portal that leads to a different dimension," announced Orange Bunny.

"I'm pretty sure Matthew created that story, so he doesn't have to deal with the fact that he let Headhunter get away," Damian suggested.

"Can it, Boy Wonder-," Orange snarled, "-or I'll slit your throat."

And yes, Orange Bunny is homicidal due to the mutation. And the reason we know who Bruce and Damian's alter egos are that Orange and I found out when we went to Gotham City for a mission.

"Wherever he went, Hamato can't be up to any good. You probably need to go after him," Bruce said.

"I was planning on it, Bruce," I responded.

"WHAT?!!" Jessie yelled.

Everyone shifted their gaze at Jessie. She rarely ever raised her voice.

"Matthew, are you out of your mind?! You nearly got yourself killed when you last went after him. I can't lose you to that...that...monster. Besides my family, you're the only one I love."

I walked over to her and placed my hands on her shoulders. I planted a kiss on her forehead. I have to admit; she had a point.

"Look, Jessie, I know how much you love me. I do. It's nice to know you worry about me when I go on my assignments," I soothed. "What if you came with me?"

"Dad really wouldn't go with that idea," Jessie notified.

"Don't worry about it. I got you covered," Bruce assured.

"Hey, Orange. Go pack my computer and such while I call a few friends," I ordered.

Orange turned and went back to my room upstairs. I pulled out my phone and dialed my friend, Brody Kriegel.

Brody is one of the mutants that went to my school. He has the same enhanced abilities and invisible shield I have, with a little extra. He can shoot lightning from his hands. He can also control the voltage, too. Brody calls himself Shadow Charger. When he graduated high school, he worked as a "government assassin-for-hire", or that's what the CIA called it.

My phone rang for about thirty seconds. Then, Brody picked up.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Brody. Listen, get a hold of the rest of the gang and meet me at the bus lane at the Junior High at 6:30 pm tonight. We have a mission to do-" I explained, "-and Jessie is coming, too."

"What is the mission, and why does it require all of us, including your girlfriend? Plus, why do we need to meet at the bus lane?" Brody asked.

By the way, he asks a lot of questions. He's a global learner, if you know what I mean.

"The 'Jessie' part is complicated. I need the rest of the gang because I need all the brainpower and strength to catch Hamato Kornata. He escaped from Arkham, took the Junior High and Elementary School hostage, and escaped to a different dimension," I responded.

"Wait…did you say Hamato escaped from Arkham Asylum?"

"Yep."

"Oh, crap. Alright, I'll get a hold of the rest of the guys. What about Hannah?"

"I talk to Hannah. You do the rest. They'll listen to you."

"Alright, bye." Brody hung up, and I put my phone in my pocket.

You are probably wondering who Hannah is. She's my adopted little sister. Well, both of us are adopted from Brazil by American missionaries. She isn't my biological sister, though.

Hannah is who is also a mutant. She's what she calls a speedster, like the Flash. At that point, she was living in Central City. Unlike me, she was a hero-in-training. The Flash was teaching her. Her hero name was the Neon Streak since she has bright colors on her super suit.

I dialed Hannah. She picked up quicker than Brody.

"Hey, big brother," She sounded tired and worn out.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"I just ran around Central City 150 times."

That caught me off guard. At our local track, she would run around it 150 times and be worn out.

"How fast can you run now?"

"The speed of light, or a little faster," Hannah responded.

"I'm impressed, Hannah. But I didn't call you to chat," I said.

"Then, what's up?"

"I need you to come to the Andersons' house," I ordered.

A few seconds later, light green lightning flashed past me. I turned around to see a person dressed in neon green and purple suit, with long, flowing brown hair. It was the Hannah.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't the Neon Streak," Damian said.

"Damn, you're fast. You were in Central City just a few seconds ago, and now you're here," Bruce said, astonished.
"Barry has taught you well.

"Thanks, Mr. Wayne," Hannah responded as she removed her mask.

"Anyway, we have a problem. Hamato Kornata escaped Arkham Asylum. Long story short, he took the Carleton Elementary and Junior High captive and escaped to a different dimension. Don't say a portal to Earth-2 because the portal was pink," I explained. "I have to go after him."

"Wow, sounds like fun. And you called because…."

"You need a better gig than being number three to the Flash. I could use your powers as an advantage," I responded. "Besides, Kid Flash is the sidekick, not you."

"That's true." Hannah was quiet for a moment, then she spoke. "Okay, I'm in. Who else is coming along on this little adventure?" asked Hannah.

"The rest of the guys."

Hannah rolled her eyes. It isn't like she hates the rest of my friends. She just doesn't like my friend, Justin Williams, aka Arsenal. They've gotten into several arguments over various things. I won't get into the details.

"Meet me at the bus lane at the Junior High at 6:30 pm," I said.

"Okay, I'll see you tonight," Hannah said as she slipped on her mask. She gave Jessie a high-five and opened the door. Hannah ran off and caused a sonic boom down the driveway as she ran. Once again, Alfred closed the door.

"Well, I hate to shit on this reunion, but Damian and I have to go to the hotel. Jessie, I'll call your dad when I reach the hotel," Bruce notified. "Good look on catching Headhunter, Matthew… or Agent Nightwatcher."

"Thanks, Batman. Hey Damian, tell Ace I said 'Hey'"

"I let the dog know," responded Damian.

Alfred followed the Waynes and closed the door behind them.

I turned around to get upstairs when Jessie stopped me. She had a look in her eyes I recognized. She wanted something from me.

"Hey, Matthew. I meant to tell you this before you went to Lima. You should get TOCB back together. It was amazing to watch you play along with the rest of the guys," Jessie said.

As I mentioned in the introduction, I can play the guitar. About six months before the death of my parents, I started a Christian heavy metal rock band. The band was named Teens of Christ Band. I was the lead singer and lead guitarist. Later, we added rappers for some variety.

Jessie was the band's manager as she booked all of our gigs. She spent two-and-a-half hours trying to convince our principal to do a concert at the Junior High Football Practice Field. It eventually became a fundraiser for the High School Band to go to Disney World for a week. That took a lot of convincing on her part.

"That isn't a bad idea," I said as I pulled my phone out.

"Dude, I'm the band manager. I always have good ideas," Jessie responded.

She stood on her tiptoes and kissed me. She went upstairs to pack.

I texted Brody to tell the rest of the guys to get their band equipment and bring it to the band's van. The van was his responsibility.

Brody responded, "For what reason?"

I texted that TOCB was getting back together, and Brody texted "👍🏻". I turned off my phone and slipped it back into my pocket.

As I went upstairs into my room, Orange had already packed her laptop, weapons, and stuff. I pulled my suitcase out from under my bed and put it on it.

I packed most of my clothes and pulled out my gun case from under the bed. Well, it's a clarinet case I converted to hold my guns as a disguise. I removed my gun belt and put it in the case along with my guns. After I closed it, I set it aside.

Then, I pulled out another case that looked like a trombone case from under the bed. This case was also a disguise as it held my katanas and my sheaths. I opened the case up, removed my katanas and my sheaths from the patient, and closed it.

I put all my cases and luggage on the edge of my bed. I sat on my bed and scanned the room for anything I had forgotten. In the corner of the room, closest to the closet, there was a large plastic guitar case. I walked over to it, grabbed it by the handle, and placed it on my bed. I undid the buckling and opened it.

The body was a glistening dark blue with light blue lightning streaks across the body. Along the edges of the body was pitch black. The neck of the guitar was the same. The six strings are black or blue that will glow if strummed.

I cracked a smile at a memory of TOCB playing a song that Brody, Hannah, and I wrote called The Last Night.

"This is the last night you'll spend alone. Look at me in the eye, so I'll know you know I'm everywhere, you want me to be," I sang. Orange gave me a funny look as I closed the case and put it in front of the bed.

I walked down the hall to Jessie's room, and she had no idea I had walked into her room. She placed a sports bra in her suitcase when she noticed I was standing there. Embarrassed, she threw a softball as hard as possible, but I caught it mid-flight.

"Do you mind?! I don't need you to watch me put my underwear in my suitcase. I don't need you to see what my underwear looks like," Jessie lectured me angrily.

"Chill. I've seen a girl's underwear before," I responded.

"I'm not going to ask," Jessie said.

You probably think I asked a girl to send nudes, but that isn't the case. When I was younger, I had to do laundry and fold my mother's and Hannah's underwear. I stood there, with my back turned, until she finished packing her unmentionables.

"Matthew, do you need something?" Jessie asked.

"We might need to use your truck," I said.

"What for?"

"We have more luggage than I anticipated, plus Brody's band van will get full with everyone's luggage, our amps, instruments, and weapons."

"That makes sense. Alright, we'll use my truck but under one condition." Jessie said.

"What is that?" I laughed.

"You have to let me book all of your gigs of my choice. I'll choose good ones. I promise," Jessie notified.

"You got yourself a deal. Although it is a stupid condition just to use your truck."

"Oh, whatever. Now, if you excuse me, I need to… um… pack my clothes."

I left Jessie's room and returned to mine. Orange Bunny was sharpening her knife. She might be an adorable bunny, but it will be dead if any threat comes her way.

I laid down on my bed and started thinking about Jessie's safety. If Hamato had figured out she was with us, he would kill her.

The reason is that Hamato had a crush on her when I did. We didn't realize that until later. He asked Jessie out, but she turned him down due to his horrible character. When I asked her, she said yes. That made Hamato angry. After that, he swore to Amatsu Mikaboshi, the Japanese god of evil, that he would kill her. Fortunately, he never carried out the threat.

I eventually closed my eyes and fell asleep. I heard my mom's call and noticed that I was at my old house with my BB gun in hand, playing "War" in the woods. I ran onto the porch, hungry for my mom's delicious food and emotionally hungry for Mom and Dad's smiles. But when I somehow stepped into the darkness, I heard the thundering rattle of an AK-47 and the slicing of a bladed weapon. Then, the chapel of the funeral home replaced the darkness with the chapel of the funeral home. I was on the front row of chairs, dressed in my blue dress shirt and tie. Hannah is dressed in her black and white dress. The chapel was full of people who were crying or had downcasted faces. Then I noticed two stained pine caskets, Mom and Dad's. Out of nowhere, I heard the evil laugh of Headhunter, and a burst of rage tore through my body. I yelled and tried to run down the aisle, but my vision was blurred due to the floods of tears pouring out of my eyes.

I started yelling for Hamato to show himself. Then, I felt someone trying to restrain me. As Hamato's evil laugh grew louder and louder, I gave one final yell, and my eyes flew open, and I saw Jessie holding my shoulders to the bed. I gave a deep sigh of relief.