PLOT:
Michael Washington Lane used to be a lot of things. He used to be a football star, a Marine, even a GCPD officer with a clean record and a happy family life. But somewhere along the line all of that
went away. After losing their three year-old son in a car accident, Michael's wife Chanté would take her own life. A short time after that, he would also lose both of his
siblings in what was believed to be
a sacrificial act of a murderous Satanic Cult. But what a lot of people don't know about Michael is that he also used to be Batman. Not the Batman - but a Batman. Part of a team of
GCPD officers who undertook a strange experiment run by the villainous Dr. Hurt in an attempt to build an army of sleeper-soldiers ready to be called into action as replacements for the Batman
should anything befall the Dark Knight. Each of these sleeper-agents was instilled with the exact psychological and physical prowess
necessary to fill the blue soled boots of Gotham's protector.
When his hidden programming was triggered by Doctor Hurt, Lane was called into action - serving as the 'Third Batman' -
a flame thrower toting madman who once held all of GCPD hostage before torturing the Dark Knight himself for hours. Lane would serve Hurt
'til the very end, operating the helicopter that carried both Dr. Hurt and the Batman to
what he believes to be their water graves in the depths of the Gotham River. Feeling despondent and seeking contrition, Michael Lane stepped into his local
parish and sat down to confess his sins
before God.
Unbeknownst to him however, the priest on the other side of the confession booth
is a member of a secret cabal operating within Gotham City called the Order of
Purity. After splintering off from the Order of St. Dumas, the Order of Purity has sought protection through it's own version of Azrael. Outfitted in armor constructed out of the melted blades and breastplates of
dozens of fallen soldiers and armed with two blazing Swords - the Sword of
Sin and the Sword of Salvation, the Azrael served as Death's Dark Knight for the Order for centuries. That is until the armor, otherwise known as the Suit of Sorrows was stolen by Ra's al Ghul
and was most recently given to Bruce Wayne as a token of affection from Ra's daughter, Talia. When the opportunity presented itself to retrieve the Suit of Sorrows from
Wayne during the fallout of the Black Glove's attack, the Order jumped at it and reclaimed what they feel is rightfully theirs.
As of late however the Order has run into a bit of a problem with their most recent Azrael. Although the wearer of the Suit of Sorrows has always paid a high personal price for donning the cursed
armor, this Azrael is already behaving erratically within six weeks of being given the Suit. Seeing Michael Lane as the perfect candidate to replace this Rogue Angel of Death, the priest reports
back to his cabal members, each of them highly respected members of the Gotham community, and has them look up more information on Lane. After uncovering his sorted past, the Order of Purity confronts
Lane with their offer shortly after he finishes visiting his loved ones graves. Lane barely
hesitates to accept the offer, his only request is that someone wipe the Bat-Symbol off of the Suit of Sorrows which Talia had once
painted on for Bruce.
It would appear however that Talia al Ghul does not appreciate someone stealing a gift she had given to her beloved. After stepping out of the church where the Order met, Lane barely escapes certain death as one of Merlyn's arrows
whizzes right by his head. He runs back inside and instructs the members of the Order to hide while he cuts the lights and dons the Suit of Sorrows. When one of the members of the Order of Purity is struck down by an arrow, Lane uses the
man's blood to paint the sign of the cross on his chest where the Bat-Symbol once was and goes to confront the Men of Death wielding the flaming sword of Sin. But as the newest Azrael stands before the minions of Talia al Ghul, the daughter of the Demon
herself is sneaking up behind Lane with the Sword of Salvation in her hands. She thrusts the Sword through Azrael's back and appears to be quite set on getting back what was once hers.
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