In this issue things have changed a bit. Our great superhero actualy has something to do.

He spends the giving advice to a girl he recently met. Helping her out in her time of need. She was pondering the thought of suicide. He may have talked her out of it. At least that is what he hopes.

She suggests that he get some coffe, and get out of the house for a while. The thought is welcomed. Thustly he takes leave.

After a rather uneventfull drive he arives at his destanation. Pulls into a space, and is almost hit by the door of a plumbers van. The plumber gives him a strange look. They lock eyes momentararly. Our superhero decides to continue on into the resturant.

After getting up to the counter, and placing an order of eggs and a muffen some odd comments are heard in the kitchen.

"This has to be human flesh!"

"I don't care what's stuck in the pipes, clean 'em out."

"Shure thing, but you know this is the second time this week...

The conversation dies down to a subaudible level, and our superhero grabs his cup of coffee. Wandering to a secluded table near the back of the resturant he sits down.

Slowly he eats the food. Pondering the comments from earler. Suddenly he looks up and realizes that somethng truely hanus and very uncool has been going on here. This makes him a little bit excited, and scared at the same time. He hasn't done anything realy heroic lately. Gotten a little bit lazy lately, didn't even bring all of his batbelt with him today. He came here to relax, not to fight crime. So in truth he's a little bit annoyed at the situation as well.

Quickly finishing he meal, then having a quick smoke he thinks about the problem at hand. Not realy in that much of a hurry since it's been going on for a while, and the guy is already dead. He decides to wait for a bit and watch the people work. Maby he can get a clue from them.

Before long one of the wait staff goes on break. She sits down at a table nearby our superhero. Looking a bit distraut she looks like she's about to break down crying.

One of the cooks walks out of the kitchen yelling. He stops one the other side of the dining room, and proceds to yell in the general direction of girl.

"You fucking wench, I'm going to stick you in the dumpster!"

The girl looks up sobbing. The cool looks directly at her and begins yelling again.

"This is the last time you fuck up. Do you wana end up like the others? Do you wana be shoved into the garbage disposal too!?"

Quietly the girl crys, trying to hide it. Not succeding very well. Momenterary she gets her composure back and replys.

"I won't do it again! I swear!"

"You best not bitch, next time, next time... I'm gona make you suck it in front of that guy!"

The outraged cook points out our superhero.

Suddenly a chill goes down our superhero's spine. He knows what's going on here, or at least thinks he does. This guy is using the girls that work here for sex, and kills them if they start to cause a problem. Simple. Now how to solve it?

The cook glares at our superhero and shouts "What the fuck are you looking at? And, why the hell are you wearing a mask?"

"I'm batman." our superhero replys.

"I bet you like little boys too, still fucking robin?"

"I think you have mistaken me for somebody else sir. Now if you would please calm down and stop giving this girl so much grief. It would be much appricated."

"Mind your own buisness you fuckin wierdo!"

The insane cook storms back into the kitchen. Not long after you hear all sorts of crashing and banging soounds coming from the door. Apparently he's takeing out his agression on helpless shelving, and dishes.

Thinking of what to do next, our superhero lights up another smoke. Sits pondering the situation. Glancing over at the still distraut girl from time to time. Moments later she gets up, and sits across from him at the table. They look into each others eyes for a brief instant. Suddenly she calms down. Wipeng the tears from her eyes, she begins to tell her story.

"You can't tell anybody, but I realy need to talk to somebody about this. And you look wierd enough that nobodys going to belive you. I got this job a couple weeks ago because one of the girls disapeared. Plus I needed a job. So, ya know, I start and everything is good. Or, at least I think it is. About a week later one of the other girls disapears right in the middle of a shift. It kina wiered me out at first, I thought this place was haunted or something. She didn't seem the type to just up and quit like that. She was crying the last time I saw her. Sitting in the kitchen, all curled up in a ball. I tryed to talk to her, and she just pushed me away, saying that I didn't want to know. Telling me that maby he was satisfied now. She mumbled something about a monster, then the bell rang. I had to take care of the customer. My hands trembled as I took his order. When I went back into the kitchen she was gone, only a scrap of her clothing caught on the corner of the sink."

"Did you notice anything else wierd?"

"Well, thier was this wierd smell, something I've never realy figured out yet. Kina like the smell of rotted flesh mixed with urine. It was so bad I had to run to the bathroom and puke my guts out. It made me feel realy weak. When I got out of the bathroom, the head cook was standing by the door. Keeping me from leaving. He didn't say anything, but you could just tell what he wanted. I wanted to puke again as he pushed me back into a stall."

"The same guy that's in the kitchen now?"

"Yes, the same. He hurt me that night. It hurt a lot. After he was finisned, he told me that if I ever told anybody that I'd end up like the other girl. I was so scared, I didn't know what to do. I cleaned up as well as I could, then tried to smile for the rest of my shift. As to not let on to what had just happend to me. That morning when my shift ended, I took a hot shower. I just couldn't get clean. After about an hour all the hot water was used up, and I still didn't feel clean. So I went to the cabnet and started washing my mouth out with mouthwash. I couldn't get his taste out of my mouth. Three bottles later i was feeling a little better. Then I cryed myself to sleep."

"Has he done this since then?"

"Every couple of days he would take me into the bathroom as force himself uppon me. I didn't know what to do, didn't want to end up like the other girl. I just wanted it to be over with. It never got any better, and as time went on, he got more violnet. Sometimes grabing my hair, and slamming my head aganst the wall if I didn't please him right. I didn't even try to resist, the pain of what he did to me was better than being dead."

"What changed? I mean tonnite."

"I found out what else he's been doing. I saw it happen. Walked into the kitchen to make a salid, and saw him hacking up one of the other waits with a cleaver. Chopping her into pieces small enough to stick into the garbage disposal. I didn't hear her scream at all. I stood there watching him dismember her, then run the disposal to get rid of her body. I stood there for a minuite unable to move, frozen with fear. He didn't notice me at first. I should have left just as quietly as I came in, but I just couldn't. I had to say something. I just had to. I asked him what he was doing. The only response I got was a very sullen order to get out. I left as quickly as I hade came. Not wanting the same fate for myself."

"When did this happen?"

Maby an hour before you came in. He plugged the drain, and decided to call a plumber."

"Yes, I heard the plumber mention something about human flesh, it caught me a bit off guard there."

"The plumber was pretty suspicious, but had no clue what as going on. I tried to drop subtle hints to him that thier was faul play involved. But he just shruged them off. He was quite groggy from being woken up. Why didn't he listen to me? Didn't he care? After he left, the monster had a little talk with me. Not realy much talking, he gave me a look as if he knew what I was upto, then started to beat me. Somehow I got him to stop. Just long enough for me to come out here. I thought I'd be safe out here with other people watching, but then he came out yelling. You heard all that."

By this time she had calmed down quite a bit. Somehow feeling better after shareing her terible story. Our superhero offered her a smoke to help calm her nerves. She gracesly accepted it. Nervously smokeing she spent most of her time looking into the eyes of our superhero. Trying to figure out what sort of person was behind that mask. After they had both expunged thier treats, our superhero decided it was time to say someting.

"Why did you let him do this to you for so long?"

"Aside from living in fear, after a few times I thought I deserved it. He hurt me more than you can imagine. Not just his actions, but his words. He made me feel realy small, like I was totaly powerless to do anything. Made me feel like he was somehow doing me a favor. Once I got to that point, I just kina expected it to happen. He kept control over me. He had total control over me. The shock of what I saw in the kitchen snaped me out of it. I think he knows it too. I'm so scared right now."

"I'll keep you safe, I'm batman"

"I'd realy like to belive you, but I just can't bring myself to it. Why am I even talking to you? Your a total loony. Do you realy belive that you batman?"

"What I say is true madam, have no fear. I will see that justace is served."

He's realy not batman, he just likes to think he is. Afflicted with many strang mental disorders it's how he keeps himself sane.

"If your realy batman, you can help me, right?"

"Yes"

"So, are ya gona go back in the kitchen and kick his ass?"

"No, not my style. I'm going to chalenge him in a game. Only the winner will walk away from. Could you get me to glasses of soda? Oh, and a glass of buttermilk.

"I don't see how that's going to help, but shure."

She wanders off behind the counter for a little bit. Walking back slowly with a tray of drinks. After setting them down she gives a questioning look.

He quickly gulps down the buttermilk.

"Now tell him I'd like to make a bet with him."

Suddenly she gets very pale, but complys. The cook walks over to the table with an evil smile on his face.

"So, what we gona bet masked man?"

"That girls pride, and her life."

"Yah, ok, she's not a very good fuck anyway. So, what sort of game are we gona play?

"See these two glasses here? I'm going to let you put this sleeping agent into one of them, then mix them up. After that, we walk over to the other side of the room while she does the same with them."

"Sounds good to me, but you gotta drink first."

"No problem. It's my game, so I might as well."

Our superhero hands over the bottle of sleeping agent, and the vilan dumps it into one of the glasses. Almost instantly it disolves, giving no hint that it was ever there. The glasses are moved around a couple times, then the two walk over to the other side of the room.

The girl switches them a couple more times out of thier sight, makeing shure to put them back in thier origional places as to aide her savior.

The two walk back over to the table. Not even bothering to sit down. They stand there looking at each other, not saying a word. After the evil vilen decieds this is takeing to long, he picks up the glass nearest to him, and hands it to our superhero.

Our superhero sniffs it, smiles and drinks it down quickly.

"Ahh, well it's your turn sir. Looks like I won. The sleeping agent doesn't take long to" Suddenly he falls to the floor as if in a deep slumber.

The vilan lets out an evil laugh, then takes a sip out of the other glass as sort of a vicroty ritual.

The glass drops to the floor, smashing into thousands of pieces. He lets out a short gasp while crashing to the floor himself.

Our superhero stands back up and brushes himself off. Takeing a couple pokes at the evil vilan to make shure he's out. The girl runs up and jumps into his arms.

"Thank you! How did you do it?"

"Quite simple my dear, while you where getting him, I laced both glasses with the sleeping agent."

"Why aren't you out like him now?"

"Quite simple my dear, after not having much to eat lately I didn't have much in in me. That's where the buttermilk came in. It created a protective lineing on my stomich wall. That's what protected me from the concoction."

"Your my hero!"

"If you could come back to your sences madam, he's going to wake back up before long with a very bad headache. I highly suggest calling the police."

Our superhero sets her back down, and begins packing up his belongings. In hopes of leaving before the police arive. He may be a superhero but the cops don't like the way he does things. On his way out, the girl hands him a slip of paper.

After leaving the town, he unfolds the paper. It's got her name, and phone number on it. Tossing it out the open window he wonders what to do next.

EOF