Friendship Is Funny

She half expected to have a bullet in her by now. "What happened to--" Her thoughts were cut short by a mass of swirling black cloth crushing the last of the clown's party-crashing goons beneath its weight. The other dozen or so were right where they had been, except, now lying motionless on the shiny hardwood floor. "Oh."

"Bats...always stealing the show." The sore clown groaned as he straightened himself.

Hope stared at the imposing figure, mouth agape. "So this is the Batman." She mused. In her travels, she had heard about this famous masked vigilante -- or infamous, depending on the perspective. From what she had gathered, Batman is beyond extraordinary; from his fine-tuned skills in the martial arts to his array of advanced technological gadgets.

He started toward the only two left standing in the room, his long black cape skimming the floor's surface. His entire head, excluding his mouth and jaw, was covered by a sturdy mask featuring what resembled two pointed bat ears sticking out from the top. "Get yourself to safety." He ordered Hope, without removing his focus from his enemy.

She hesitated, wanting to take in his impressive armored full-bodied suit, but reluctantly made her way to the exit.

A whining voice sounded from behind her as she went, "You just interrupted a budding friendship!"
She smiled slightly, somewhat impressed. "He doesn't seem too afraid of Batman." She shrugged it off, "Maybe he has a death wish." As she passed through the doors and began down the hall, the sounds of a struggle could be heard emanating from the ballroom. Suddenly, she had an idea.
"Wait!" She spun around on her heel, running back to the room. Poking her head through the doorway, she scanned the floor. After determining the closest target, she soundlessly crept into the room and quickly reached her goal: one of the unconscious thugs. Ignoring the semi-automatic weapon lying next to him, she began to search the lifeless body, working hastily for fear of being seen.

CRACK!

She jerked her head up and saw the clown on his back in a pile of furniture debris. Without delay, Batman lunged at him. Hope returned her attention to her objective as a shrill cackle echoed off the walls. After digging through the man's varied pockets and pouches, she held up the loot she had uncovered, examining it. One of the items was what looked to be a powerful handheld taser and the other, some sort of canister with a trigger. Satisfied with her find, she stood while retaining her crouched posture. But, before making her silent retreat, she caught a glimpse of the brawling, costumed rivals. The clown was lying on the floor with Batman hunched over him. The vigilante's back was to her, obscuring most of her view of the other man. Nevertheless, from what she could make out, his previously white painted face now looked red and wet with blood. Batman continued to beat him with his fist while he struggled to defend himself; his bouts of laughter lessening more and more with each impact.

Hope was frozen in place. Her mind told her to get out of there but a nagging twinge in her heart told her otherwise. She frowned in defeat. "Maybe I'm the one with the death wish." After letting out a deep sigh, she paused only briefly, then, rushed at them. She switched on the taser in her right hand and thrust the electrified end into the giant bat's neck. The clown scurried out from under him as Batman grunted and twitched in pain. Wasting no time, he lunged at Hope. She reflexively recoiled backward as he snatched the canister from her left hand. He then pulled the trigger and tossed it at Batman's feet. A thick smoke rapidly filled the room. Hope ran. Barely out-running the cloud, she ended up in the hallway. She looked to her left down the corridor and then to her right. He was gone.