For over a year a powerful cartel had been funneling a new, horribly addictive, drug into the city aimed mostly at young school kids. A "vigilante", had been on their trail for months but couldn't discover who was in charge of the operation. All the dealers he'd caught either died fighting or killed themselves with poison. Even the lunatic he'd thought was behind it all originally was appalled by the "senselessness", of it and was trying to stop it! Then, in one sweeping rush, it ended! Nine hideously mutilated bodies turned up floating in the river or as mangled corpses clogging city storm drains. Early in the morning, on the day the last dealer was found dead, the "vigilante", saw the body tossed into the river from a city bridge. A shadow streaked away and he caught up with it on top of a low rise building a few blocks away. When he saw it he wasn't surprised: he'd ceased being surprised by strange things a long time ago. He stood there a while, watching the tall, slender Rat-biped a while, aware that the giant rodent knew he was there. "How did you know who to go after," he said quietly.
The Rat turned to him and, from somewhere, produced a playing card and held it up in its long, bony fingers. There was a Joker on it.
The "vigilante", didn't say anything for a while and the Rat went back to gazing quietly out over the city. "Does this mean you and I are going to have trouble", he asked.
The huge Rat turned back to him, smiled and shook his head.
Fair enough thought the "vigilante". Plenty of time to wait and see. The two of them watched the city below for a while and, suddenly, the whip of a cape told the rat, the other was gone.


Artists note: this is all I have to show for the month of August.