NightScream (A DC Elseworld Story)

Analysis and Infiltration

After relaying all his info on The Penguin to Batman, stating that Penguin was operating out of an old cargo ship off of Dixon Docks called the Final Offer. They agreed to call once Batman had dealt with Cobblepot. Sylas was dropped off at Gotham City Radio tower. Batman was off to investigate a disturbance from the radio towers that were jamming the Batwing's auto-nav system.

Sylas had tapped into the police radio and had overheard about a murder over at Lacey Towers. Roman Sionis was the murder vitcim.

Sylas's curiosity was beyond peaked.

After making his way over to Lacey Towers, Sylas was perched on an adjacent roof top, listening in to the cops conversation.

Sylas then noticed two cops out on the balcony.

"That's Rubio and Jimenez. Out for a smoke. That's my way inside." Sylas then grappled to a gargoyle above them.

"Open and shut case. Penguin murdered Black Mask and his lady friend. I mean we found the bastard's stubby little fingerprints right by the bodies." Spoke Rubio.

"Yeah, we got Penguin now. Like to see him squirm outta this one. Fingerprints. Two dead bodies. He's about to do some time." Replied Jimenez.

Sylas dropped down behind them, grabbed each of their heads and slammed them against each other, knocking them out. "Sorry boys, but daddy needs to work undisturbed."

Sylas then snuck into Sionis' Safehouse, only to find it in chaos. It was a mess. Not from the police but from the actual crime. As he walked in he could see a male body lying dead on the floor, looks pretty similar to Black Mask, only his suit was black not Roman's traditional white, which Sylas found suspicious.

Walking further into the apartment, Sylas noticed that the floor was badly burned and ruined. What's worse, was Sionis' girlfriend hanging lifelessly from the chandelier.

"The police believe Penguin murdered Black Mask, but Cobblepot has been lying low for the past week. And now all of the sudden he comes out of hiding just to murder Black Mask? Doesn't add up."

Sylas walked over and analyzed the Black Mask on the floor.

"Hmmm. The crimes seems to have taken place days ago. The fire and the exposure to the elements make identifying the victims difficult. The male victim is wearing a Black Mask, but I can't positively identify him as Roman Sionis without a DNA analysis- something I can't do in the field."

Sylas walked over to analyze the female victim.

"But I can Identify her. Tiffany Ambrose. Roman's girlfriend- one of them anyway. Unlike the way she died, she was no angel. Long list of priors. But nothing says that she was the target."

Looking over at the charred floor, Sylas noticed remnants of glass.

"The fire seems to have spread as a result of a Molotov cocktail thrown into the room. Probably to destroy evidence."

Walking back to the male victim Sylas noticed something.

"The shallow trajectory of the bullet suggests the shooter could be someone of Penguin's height. But the grooves on the floor suggest that the victim was killed by someone leaning back in a chair."

Back to Tiffany's body.

"Hmm. This bullet was fired from a revolver. Ballistics analysis indicates a low angle of trajectory. The shooter could have been someone of Penguin's height. But the pattern in the gunpowder residue suggests the bullet was actually fired by someone lying on the ground."

There was a handprint on the wall next to him. "These fingerprints are a match for Oswald. But their on top of the soot from the fire."

"So the cops were right - Penguin was here at one point but the prints show that he was here after the murders were committed. He didn't kill Black Mask. But someone did. A fourth player? One thing I know for sure is that Tiffany's shooter was lying on the floor. But why?"