The Actor meets Don Smocky

One night in Gotham City a man walked into a bar. The bar had a red neon sign outside, it said BAR. It was late at night, and the man was thirsty. The bar was a hole in the wall and, at this time of night, it was mostly empty. There was a seat open to the right as the man entered. He took the seat. It was unclear if the bar was still serving. The bartender, an older gentleman with long white hair, was at the other end of the bar. Another gentleman was sitting to the right of the man who just walked in. He had his hoodie on, you could barely see his face. He was on his phone, writing something. He was in a state of deep focus.

"Hey, do you know what time this place closes?" asked the man to the gentleman with the hoodie.
"Whenever that guy says so," replied the gentleman as he pointed to the bartender with his right hand. He did not take his eyes off his phone nor did he lift his head. His face did not move a muscle. No reaction. The bartender walked over from the other side of the bar.
"You're a good guy, tonight we close whenever Don says so," said the bartender.
"Who's Don?" asked the man.
"The guy who can't take his eyes off his phone," said the bartender. Don was yet to make a single reaction or movement. "What can I get ya?"
"I'll have Tito's soda," said the man.

The bartender made him the drink. For the next ten minutes, the man sat there drinking his drink while Don stayed focused on his phone. He was still writing something. Neither of them said a word. The man was intrigued but wouldn't dare talk to Don again. Then, all of a sudden, Don dropped his phone and removed his hoodie. He finished what was left of his Heineken.

"I'll have another when you get a chance Peter," said Don to the bartender. Peter bought him another beer.
"Are you Batman?" asked the man to Don. Don had a reaction for the first time. He smiled.
"I couldn't tell you if I was, now could I?" replied Don.
"No, I suppose not. Do you live in the neighborhood?"
"No, I'm in midtown. You?"
"Just moved here a week ago. Still finding my bearings. Is this the go-to spot?"
"Welcome. This is my go-to spot."
"Good to know. I'm Allen by the way but all my friends call me 'The Actor'."
"And why do they call you that?"
"Because I'm an actor."
"Ah. I'm Don." They shook hands. "What brings you to this part of town?"
"Needed a change of scenery."
"Ah. So who you running from?"
"What?"
"Change of scenery? You owe money to the mob?"
"No."
"Running away from an ex-girlfriend?"
"Yup, how'd you know?"
"It's usually one or the other."
"I guess that is true."
"How long were you guys together?"
"Five years. She was the love of my life."
"So why did it end?"
"I started cheating on her."
"And you got caught."
"And I got caught."
"You miss her?"
"More than I care to admit."
"Why'd you do it?"
"Why'd I do what?"
"Why did you cheat?"
"Because I could I guess."
"That makes sense. A story as old as time."
"What about you? Is there a woman in you're life."
"C'mon now. Batman can't have a girlfriend, you know that."
"I guess that is true. So I guess we're just two single guys sitting at a bar talking about women."
"What else is there to talk about?"
"Amen." They clinked their drinks. "You want to do a shot?"
"I never say no to a shot."

The Actor waved the bartender over.

"We will have three of your finest shots, sir," said The Actor.
"Shots of what?" asked Peter.
"Tequila. Always tequila," interjected Don.
"I guess tequila," said The Actor. Peter poured out three shots of tequila.
"Who's the third shot for?" asked Peter.
"You know the answer to that Peter," replied Don. The Actor smiled.
"What should we toast to?" asked The Actor. They raised their shot glasses.
"To new friends," said Don.
"To new friends," said The Actor.
"To new friends," said Peter. They drank their shots.

The conversation continued for a little while longer. The time got away from them. The night got later and later.

"What's a man got to do to get a good slice of pizza around here?" asked The Actor.
"Follow me, I know the best spot," replied Don.

Without wasting a second Don rose from his chair, bid adieu to Peter, and walked out of the bar. The Actor followed suit. It was very dark outside and the warm spring day had turned into a cold night. Don put his hoodie back on and the two of them walked in unison to the end of the block. The Actor took out a cigarette from his jacket pocket and started smoking it. He offered one to Don but he declined. They crossed the street and kept walking past an alleyway. They heard a shriek.

"What was that?" asked The Actor.
"Sounds like a woman, it's coming from the alley. Someone could be in trouble," replied Don.

Don darted off into the dark alley. He heard more shrieks the more into the alley he went. He saw two large guys holding a woman while a third was in front of her. She kept kicking and screaming, there was blood on her face. One of her eyes had a bulge under it.

"Get the fuck away from her!" yelled Don as he tackled the guy who was in front of the woman.

The other two guys let go of the woman and focused their attention on Don. Don got on top of the guy he tackled and punched him three times in the face. Blood gushed from the large man's face. One of the other men shoved him off the guy, and Don tumbled to the back of the alley. The guy he had tackled was still down, one of the other men checked up on him.

"He's unconscious," said one of the men. He looked at Don."You motherfucker, you're a dead man."

The two men each took out a switchblade. The woman they had let go of was sitting on the ground. She was still in a state of shock.

"Run! Get out of here!" yelled Don as loud as he could.

The woman came to, got up as quickly as she could, and started running for her life out of the alley. Don was relieved. The third man was still unconscious. Two-on-one. Both the guys were bigger than Don. His back was against the wall. He smiled.

"Why are you smiling punk? Don't you know you're about to die?" asked one of the men.
"That's funny, this is the most alive I've felt all day. You guys just gonna stand there or are we going to get this party started?" replied Don.

Clunk! One of the men went down like a sack of potatoes. The Actor! He had a glass bottle in his hand. Don charged the other guy. The man swiped his knife at Don's head. Doin ducked and hit the man square on the chin with a right uppercut. He grabbed the arm with the knife and banged the arm against the wall. The knife fell. Don got to work. Jab, cross. Both connected. The man countered with a cross of his own. Don slipped. Cross, hook, cross, hook to the body. All connected. The man started stumbling. He threw a flailing left hook. Don ducked. Jab, jab, jab, right hook. The man went down.

"Holy fuck! You kicked that guy's ass!" said The Actor. Adrenaline was coursing through his veins.

Don started viciously kicking the beaten man in his stomach.

"Ganging up on a woman! You fucking scum!" yelled Don as he kicked the man's abdomen.
"Let's get out of here! Before more people see what went down," said The Actor. Don didn't listen, he kept kicking the man. He wound up for a huge kick to the man's head. "Stop!" The Actor charged Don before he could deliver the fatal blow. "What the fuck are you doing? You're going to kill him!"
"He deserves to die! They all fucking do!"
"Not today. Not by you. Let's get the fuck out of here before the police."
"This is Gotham. No police are coming."
"Batman doesn't kill, let's go."

Don looked The Actor in the face. He saw a man who had his best interest at heart. He calmed down.

"Okay, let's get the fuck out of here," said Don.
"Thank god," replied The Actor.

They began their walk outside of the alley. Don swiftly turned around and gave one massive kick to the abdomen of the other guy, the one The Actor had knocked down.

"That's the last one, I promise," said Don as he resumed his walk out of the alley.
"So about that pizza?" asked The Actor.
"Right, this way." They took a right out of the alley and kept walking.
"Can I ask you a question?" asked the Actor.
"Shoot."
"What were you writing on your phone?"
"Huh?"
"What were you writing on your phone when I met you?"
"Oh, poetry."
"Ah, so Batman also writes poetry. How poetic!"