The sunken red eyes began to glow, and Batman moved with instinctive speed.
"Cassandra, look out!" he called, stepping sideways so mat the girl's body was shielded by his own.
A searing beam of energy crackled toward them.
The bolt took Batman full on his chest-symbol, the triple Kevlar layer below cushioning the worst of
its effects. That was one of the reasons Batman had adopted it—it made such a tempting target for any
assailant to aim at.
The sheer impact blasted him off his feet and sent both him and Cassandra careening into a wall. He
fell the thin plasterwork crack and give beneath him as his body smashed right through it.
Batman turned his uncontrolled fall into a roll, deftly springing to his feet. As the Stone King's gaze
swiveled, its eyes once more beginning to glow, Batman grabbed Cassandra's hand and pulled her
through the jagged hole into an adjacent display room.
She was barely through when a second, stronger energy bolt exploded around them.
Cassandra's body went limp and sagged against Batman. Her eyes were closed, and her breathing was
slow and shallow.
Batman cursed quietly to himself. She must have been knocked unconscious by the second bolt.
Swiftly, he dragged her unresisting body behind a heavy oak desk. She would be relatively safe there
while he dealt with this monster.
The dividing wall shattered suddenly, and the Stone King strode leisurely through the enlarged hole.