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[quote=@AndyC][color=RoyalBlue][b]"I don't know how you've gotten wrapped up in the Toyman's plot,"[/b][/color] I say, lunging towards him and giving him a shove that sends him sprawling back.  [color=RoyalBlue][b]"And right now, I don't really give a damn.  I've let you go unchecked for too long, let you snap limbs, put police officers in the hospital, attempt to assassinate a district attorney."[/b][/color]

I rush him again, grabbing him by the front of his costume, clenching the bat-symbol in my fist and feeling it tear free.  The part of me that's seeing red right now wants to really unload on this lunatic, show him the same kind of brutality he's inflicted upon this city.  Another part of me is holding my fist back, pleading that maybe there's more to this than it seems, that I'm missing something.

I won't hurt him, if I can avoid it.  But I [i]will[/i] stop him, here and now.

[color=RoyalBlue][b]"You've turned the people of this city into a cowardly, superstitious lot,"[/b][/color] I say, hoisting him up off the ground, [color=RoyalBlue][b]"convinced them that you're a monster, a bogeyman, something to be feared.  But [i]I'm[/i] not afraid of you, Batman.  I'm not going to fall for your tricks, or buy into your illusions.  You're not some creature of the night.  You're a sick man who needs help before he hurts anyone else."[/b][/color]

With that, I toss him up and back, not with the intent to do damage, but to get the message across that he's not going to win this.

[color=RoyalBlue][b]"I'm only going to tell you once,"[/b][/color] I tell him.  [color=RoyalBlue][b]"Stand down, or I [i]put[/i] you down."[/b][/color]
[/quote]

My back hits a nearby tree under the speed and force of what feels like a normal man's throw multiplied by five. Were it not for the plating of my armor, the trauma could have likely put me down for the count as it is. Head's spinning, likely because of everything catching up to me tonight. Not only the blunt force of Superman, but the combined effort of trying to save Lois Lane and her companion, the victims of this... 'Toyman', the strain of fending off Clayface, and the injuries that I've suffered over the last few weeks, ever since that night in The Narrows. I've been putting off some much needed rest ever since, and I can feel the tank starting to run on empty, as it were. 

But something about the way that he speaks to me - his self-righteousness, his contemptible sense of authority over matters he doesn't even begin to understand, combined with all of this power that he's misplaced in trying to apprehend me when there's a [i]real[/i] threat to take down - it turns my fear in facing him and twists it into a boundless rage. I honestly didn't know what to expect if it ever came down to meeting him, but so far, the 'Man Of Steel' is coming up short of any expectations I would place on someone of his capabilities. Were I to wield his strength alone, I would know how to better utilize it. He seems to operate purely on ego. 

That makes him dangerous. And if he's been going into battle like this every time, his headstrong attitude is liable to get someone killed. He needs to be brought down to Earth and taught what it really means to be afraid. 

[b][color=#656565]"You think that I made Gotham like this? That I [i]alone[/i] put the fear into them? Look at the hell that surrounds us!"[/color][/b], I growl, pointing out towards the cityscape. [b][color=#656565]"Gotham's been bought and sold to corrupt politicians and the mob long before you or I were ever born. I [i]held back[/i] with the police because of Gordon, and he's the rare exception in a sea of thugs under the payroll of a crimelord named Salvatore Maroni. The people have nowhere to turn. No one to stand up for them, unlike [i]your[/i] insufferable residence." [/color][/b]

I can see some of Superman's rage subside for a moment, as he considers whether or not I'm telling the truth. In all honesty, he has no reason to believe me. What I've been blamed for in the media is damning enough, but it wasn't until now that I realized by allowing those stories to perpetuate what the public thought of me, it was only a matter of time before I brought about contenders and potential fellow vigilantes coming in to bring me down under their own sense of moral obligation. I've unwittingly invited this sort of behavior to Gotham by refusing to clear my name. 

[b][color=#656565]"I [i]already[/i] know that the people of Gotham are afraid of me. But I'm only doing this out of a sense of duty to them. I'd rather have them scared than [i]dead[/i], which is what they would be if I'd stood by and allowed the mob to continue their reign on the streets."[/color][/b], I elaborate, slowly picking myself up. [b][color=#656565]"Do I want them to be afraid of me? No. I only want to evoke fear in the guilty, to make the men that prey on their fear too scared to go out at night. But things have been escalating out of my control, lately... and that's largely because of people like [i]you[/i]."[/color][/b]

Pointing an accusatory finger toward that damned S on his chest, I narrow my eyes as he looks down at it himself, wondering what I'm about to say next. 

[b][color=#656565]"Clearly, symbols don't mean a hell of alot to you. But they mean something to [i]me[/i]. And that thing that you wear on your chest? I've got news for you. Some believe that it stands for hope, but there are others who look at it and see the symbol of a world's that's only become [i]more[/i] dangerous ever since you crawled out of your hole and started imparting your authority on everyone weaker than you. I took the fight to the criminal underworld, but you? You're scrapping with giant robots. Metahuman threats. Insane opportunists looking to challenge you because of your very [i]existence[/i]."[/color][/b]

Gesturing my hand across the space of the Park around us, where burning debris of the machinations of this 'Toyman' still burn with an open flame, I shoot Superman a glare that would likely mean another man's crippling. But I'm way past the point of reason with this idiot. He's got the entire world on edge, and he thinks I'm the damn problem. 

[b][color=#656565]"Your intentions may be genuine, and they might be even noble. But it's clear that I'm not the only one who's been operating under a cloud of naivety. The truth is, 'Superman'... you came into my city. You attracted this madman to my doorstep, and then had the nerve to blame me for it. Your reporter friend? She'd be dead if I hadn't intervened. That other man was going to be rammed to death by cars under the control of Toyman, but I got to them and saved their drivers in time. And I did [i]not[/i] try and kill Harvey Dent. That's simply another lie perpetuated by the same people I've been taking the fight against. People that cops like Gordon are powerless against."[/color][/b]

Placing my hand squarely against my chest, where my own symbol used to be, I openly challenge him to continue his attack. There's certainly nothing I can do to stop him. But maybe, just maybe if he listens to reason for a moment, we can end this before it gets worse.

[b][color=#656565]"This may be a foreign concept to you, but not everything you see infront of you is black and white. Sometimes there are gray areas that no one wants to face. But in Gotham, we're [i]all[/i] exposed to it on a daily basis. We live in fear of the true oppressors and the power that they wield. Compared to them, I'm nothing. But at least I'm trying to do something about it."[/color][/b]

Producing three batarangs, in the event that none of this works, I stare him down and raise them behind my head. I don't expect these to do any damage, but if I'm going down, I might aswell go down fighting. 

[IMG]https://i.imgur.com/DU5I4Mh.png[/IMG]

[b][color=#656565]"So do your worst. Because I'm [i]not[/i] standing down. Not for anyone, but especially not for [i]you[/i]."[/color][/b]