New Year's in Gotham City. It was a day long awaited by the Dark Knight. Every year it was something big. Every year, one of his many Rogues attempted some sort of assault on the city. And just like every year, he was prepared to do all that was necessary to defend the innocents of Gotham. Jim Gordon. The police Commissioner and his good friend, was working with him, as he did every year. The entire department was on call, prepared for whatever may come once the clock struck midnight. Emergency Response squads were on standby. Everyone was waiting for the clock to strike midnight. Everyone was waiting for it all to break loose.
Barbara Gordon. Jim's daughter and one of the Dark Knight's closest allies, Oracle, was live in the system and keeping him updated on any anomaly which could possibly become the bearer of disaster. Nightwing and Robin were out in the vast jungle of buildings doing random sweeps. Looking for anything that could lead to the probable disaster that Bruce Wayne knew in his heart, was soon to strike.
His eyes peered into a set of stealth binoculars, the light green lenses giving his mortal eyes the vision necessary to see in the night. His view was set upon Gotham Square where the annual countdown was taking place. The Square was the best target for a night like tonight. It had the largest gathering of people in the city. More victims. More chaos. Batman trusted his opponents to know that he would have a harder time defeating them with mass hysteria enveloping the crowd. And even more so, he trusted them to utilize that knowledge to it's further extent.
There was only a few more seconds until the current year was behind them. Another moving in to take its place. The crowd chanted. Everyone was hyped up…here we go…
"Five!"
His
pace quickened.
"Four!"
Those agile eyes of his couldn't
detect anything amiss
"Three!"
Was he missing
something?
"Two"
His chest tightened
"One"
Here
it comes…
"Happy New Year!!!"
Confetti flew about the
skyline and screams of celebration filled the air. Gotham Square was
intact. The riot of partying civilians were safe. Nothing had
happened. The city was safe? No….words from his training played
across his mind. 'When you first start to feel safe…it's time
to worry.' And as if on cue, an explosion sounded from at a
distance behind him. He turned to look; it was a good way's away.
Alas, his mind already had a firm grip on what he knew in his head
was sure to be the truth. He could only hope he was as wrong as wrong
can get.
"Oracle, report!"
"It was Arkham. A large
explosion was just triggered there, but I'm not picking up any
alarms, which is odd. But at this point inmates have to be flooding
out of there like water from a busted dam."
There was no time to
waste.
"Check. Nightwing, Robin; Mobilize towards Arkham. We've
got to repel the escapees before they get too far. Move!"
With that, the Dark Guardian leaped from his perch, disappearing into the abyss of shadows cloaking the alley below him. The eclipsed alleyway, however, was quickly illuminated by the glaring lights of the Batmobile. Its engine thrumming to life as the vehicle shot out of the alleyway, the engine roaring as it raced the vehicle towards its destination. There was a feeling in his gut though. An instinct that something was terribly wrong. As if the shadows of the night weren't even upon him yet. And that TRUE darkness was just around the bend…
------
"You heard the man, Robin. Let's roll."
arose the voice of Dick Grayson. Nightwing knew that war was upon the
horizon. And it was going to get real bad, real quick. Dick had done
the New Year's thing countless times. Joker, Two-Face, Riddler,
innumerable villains have tried to use the celebration to bring a
year of utter chaos, right from the start. Every year, whichever
scoundrel decided to use it was defeated. He hoped this year would be
no different. But he had a bad feeling about this one. It was like
the calm before the storm. That point where the rain hadn't even
began to fall, but you knew. You KNEW it was coming.
The former Boy Wonder and the current moved quickly through out the shadows. They were close to Arkham. They could navigate the Gotham skyline easily enough to get there in no time whatsoever, moving with the shadows as if they were specters of shade as well. They could only hope, however, that they wouldn't be too late. Arkham housed the most psychotic loons Gotham had to offer. And this was a town that had A LOT to offer.
Nightwing and Robin descended from
the rooftops on a small gang of escaped convicts, putting them down
with ease as the Batmobile came to a skidding stop, just alongside
them, its caped occupant swiftly hopping from the cabin, landing at
their side. "We need to contain this. Any visuals on the major
Rogues?"
"None." Robin replied.
"It's almost like
they disappeared into the air…you'd imagine them to be the first
to be out here…"
The young boy's words caused Batman's
eyes to narrow in realization both enraged and horrified at the same
time.
"They were…"
He mentally damned himself for not
thinking at the time. He should've listened closer. But he was too
focused on getting here and putting out the fire before it started.
His first mistake of the night.
'No Alarms…'
Oracle had
said that she wasn't tracking any alarms from Arkham. Which
should've started practically shouting alarm once the revolt took
place. Which could only mean one thing. The alarms had been
previously disabled. A dirty insider. Not something uncommonly found
in Gotham. The Rouges were gone before the explosion. Which led to
the second horrific realization of the night. The explosion. The
escaped convicts. It was all just a simple ploy. A
distraction.
Gotham Square…
--------------
Another explosion erupted among the Gotham skyline. This time the Dark Knight's original expectations were correct. Gotham Square was in utter chaos. A large building, randomly chosen, was blown to bits by an infernal detonation so large that the windows blew out in all the neighboring buildings. The debris, chunks both large and small, rained from the heavens, hitting the ground like a miniature meteor shower. Countless died instantly. Worse was only to come.
"Finally, we've got it right!" thus was the voice of Jervis Tetch. The Mad Hatter. One of Batman's many Rouges. Though he was not the only one out here tonight. No…in fact…it was them. It was all of them. The Rouges Gallery had finally found what it would take to get the New Year's scheme down pat. And that? That was allegiance. They'd taken several shots at it over the years. Each going at it by themselves. With their own predictable gimmicks. But now….now there were no gimmicks. There was only destruction. And it was from every Rouge Gotham had to offer. This year…this year the downfall would not be their's. It would be Gotham's.
Killer Croc moved as one would predict. Just sifting from one screaming civilian to the next, killing with joyful glee. It was indeed New Year's, but to the villains it was Christmas all over again. Quite literally in fact, for Victor Fries, the arctic opponent known as Mr. Freeze. He froze up the streets, watching with his usual unamused scowl of a face, as Bane and Croc had a race to see who could kill the most the fastest. His chilly eyes rested upon Jonathan Crane, the Scarecrow, whom was going upon in his usual manner. With all the chaos ensuing, his gas was probably completely unnecessary. He didn't seem to mind.
The Joker aimed a firearm with a ridiculously long
barrel at a little girl in search of her parents. His gloved finger
moved to pull the trigger when a shadow all too familiar set over
him.
"Oh poo…"
The Dark Knight descended upon him from
above, lurching forward, his boots connecting with the clown's
upper back, his momentum pushing Joker down, Batman standing atop
him.
All hell was breaking loose in Gotham Square he couldn't even count how many were already dead. All he could do was keep the fatality count from ascending any more than it already had. This was a slaughter of epic proportions. It had to be stopped. And it had to be stopped now.
Nightwing and Robin moved into action alongside Batman. Robin's eyes couldn't believe what they were seeing. There were so many Rouges here that….he just couldn't believe it. So many deaths. So many parents who'd never see their children again. So many people who'd never see their lovers again. It was chaos, by every definition of the word. Just seeing the loss on this epic of scale gave him the will to fight. It was the only choice that he and the rest of his allies had. It was war. Time to fight.
------------
Oracle worked ferociously at her holopads. She couldn't believe the destruction she was seeing. The young redhead managed to redirect Gotham traffic from the Square, and at Batman's command, she had directed all Gotham Law Enforcement to Arkham to wrap up the other escapees, while he dealt with the Rouges. It wasn't the most desirable option, but it was their best shot at taking down the whole thing.
Barbara was currently working at
contacting outside heroes. She had nearly established contact with
Clark and Kara in Metropolis when suddenly her entire command center
went dark. It couldn't be a power-failure. She had back up
generators that would've kicked in the instant outside electrical
works failed. What the hell was going on!? Suddenly the lights kicked
back in, her systems were back online. But just as she moved to type,
a voice all too familiar filled the air. That voice belonged to Noah
Kuttler. The Calculator.
"Sorry, Oracle. But this game can only
be played in person. Unless you're already in Gotham Square, then
you're not going to be saving the day anytime soon. That goes for
your little back up buddies in tights as well. I have control over
all telecomm in Gotham. There's no way to get word to the outside.
Happy New Year's."
------------
The battle for Gotham raged as any war zone would. It was almost every Rouge the city has to offer. The Joker. The Riddle. Bane. Mr. Freeze. Lady Shiva. Clayface. Penguin. Two Face. Mad Hatter. And many more. It was the ultimate battle between good and evil. This was so much more than any typical good guy versus bad guy fight. Yes. This was so much more. This was, in fact…the fight for Tomorrow.
All of those opponents utilized in their prime. Bruce knew that they all must've been just waiting in their cells for this day while the plan was formulated. It had to have been over a year. That explained why the city had been so quiet up to this point. The Dark Knight would've mentally damned himself again, but there was no time. He had a war to win. It was him, Dick and Tim, against everything. Those three were Gotham's last chance. The last stand. Just three. But that would be enough. Because each of them had the heart of the hero. And maybe….just maybe that would be enough, to make it until dawn….
Batman dodged a punch from Bane, the oversized fist digging into the wall that it struck, the Dark Knight then threw his boot into Bane's temple. It was a drop point, simple but effective. He didn't have enough time to get fancy. Bruce had to move as quickly as he could. Time simply wasn't a luxury allowing them to play games with these scumbags. There was too much at stake this time. Too many lives had already been lost. And he knew that more were going to be before dawn reached the horizon. But that didn't mean he couldn't slow the kill count. He could see that Nightwing and Robin had already disabled a few more of the Rouges. But there was still plenty to go.
But something caught his eye. Something that didn't add up. The villains. They were…..retreating? Why? They had the upper hand in this match. Not only that but even when they had the lower end of the stick, they never gave up until Bruce had broken their jaw in eight places. Why would they be pulling out of their victory now? He wasn't being tricked again. He knew something big was going to happen. Something real big. And they didn't want to be around when it happened.
Batman stepped
through the debris, grabbing the fallen form of the Joker and
slamming him against a ten foot tall piece of debris, forming a
makeshift wall. More cracks covered its surface as he did so.
"Why
are they fleeing!?" He demanded, applying more pressure to the
Joker against the wall. Blood ran from they psycho's nose and lips,
as well as several cuts spanning the surface of his face.. One of his
cheeks was swollen. But he still managed a chuckle.
"The
lousiest thing….bat infestation…"
The Dark Knight gritted
his teeth and pulled the Joker off the wall, pulling his insane face
close to his.
"The games are over, damnit!! Tell me why!!" He
pushed the Joker against the stone once more, chunks of it cracking
off.
"Heh…well…the best way to get rid of a bat
infestation. Get rid of everything…boom. Simple as that."
Batman's eyes widened. A normal human would've instinctively asked himself, 'Could it be possible? Would they really blow up the entire Gotham Square?' But Bruce Wayne was not a normal human. He knew these people. Better than they knew themselves. And he knew that they could, and would do it without hesitation.
"Where are the
explosives!?"
"Subway. Big security room. Just know…"
The
Joker, despite all the pain that his body was feeling right now from
the beating the Dark Knight had laid upon him, still managed that
sick grin of his.
"If you go in….you're not coming back
out."
Batman released his grip on the scumbag, letting the Joker
fall to the ground. His body crumpling down just before the Dark
Knight's boots, he then stepped away from the madman, looking back
over his shoulder at the defeated clown.
"I'm just going to
have to find a way to live with that…"
Nightwing
watched from a distance as Batman moved away from the clown and into
the subway. All the villains whom hadn't already been defeated were
fleeing the surrounding area. He knew deep in his gut that the
feeling he had earlier? The calm before the storm? Was just about up.
Sure the calm had been long gone, but he knew, somehow, he just knew
that everything that had just happened would seem like a light
drizzle compared to the storm that was about to break loose. With
Batman heading off to do whatever it was he was about to do, that
left him and Robin still up here. The majority of the civilians had
already fled the area. But there were still more than enough in the
immediate proximity.
"Robin, we…." he started, before
realizing he really wasn't sure what to do. There was nothing he
could do to get them to get out of here faster than they were already
moving on their own. Dick's eyes took in all the chaos and he just
wished to know what he should do. But he quickly spoke, knowing that
'spare time' simply didn't exist anymore. Hesitation was
unnectable.
"Guide the civilians out. Do whatever it takes to
get them out of here as fast as possible. Let's
move."
-------------------
As Batman descended a
stairway leading to a path in the subway, all he could hear was the
Joker's maniacal laugh from above. He didn't care. Let the damn
clown laugh. The Dark Knight had higher priorities right now.
The
security room.
He'd have to get there quickly. If the villains
were already fleeing then the detonation of the explosives had to be
soon. The caped crusader carved his way through the shadows, easily
finding his way to the security room.
Joker's warning
resounded in his head. If he went in, he wasn't coming out. That
was just a risk he was going to have to take.
And possibly even a
sacrifice he was going to have to make.
With a movement both firm
and swift, his large boot kicked the door clean off its hinges. The
Dark Knight stepped into the room, seeing a device laid out across
the control panel. He hunched over it, examining it carefully. It
wasn't the explosive. It was the remote control mechanism. He could
see the countdown to the detonation. Pulling a small black box apart,
he tore apart the cables, disengaging the weapon. As far as he could
tell the timer linked up to several explosives strategically placed
all across the subway. If they had gone off, Gotham Square and all
the surrounding buildings would have been leveled. It would've been
a smaller version of No Man's Land. Only, it would've been
manmade this time around.
It was then that he heard it. The
swift hissing sound of a sliding door, followed by the gentle thud of
it shutting. Turning, he saw a titanium door in place of the one he
had kicked off. It must've been installed for the soul purpose of
trapping him in the security room. And then a second sound caught his
ears. A ticking. He looked up, seeing a smaller explosive strapped to
the ceiling. The countdown timer on it reaching five seconds.
This
was it. The moment he'd been waiting for all of his life. The
countdown continued, and the numeric display hit 'one'. And in a
single instant his entire life flashed before his eyes. From going to
the Opera countless times with his parents, to playing with little
Tommy Elliot. Falling into the cave and for the first time, seeing
what he knew would become his destiny, to witnessing his parent's
murder. And the promise he made. That his life would be nothing less
than a war. That he would fight with every inch of strength afforded
to him by hard years of training under various masters of all
arts…that he would save Gotham. It was a fool's errand. But it
was HIS errand. And he gave everything to see that it was carried
out. He pushed aside compassion. He threw aside the 'normal life'
that he could have easily snatched up. And the evil that stole the
parents away from an eight year old Bruce Wayne still plagued the
streets, regardless And despite it all. Here he was. Soon to be
another casualty of the war on crime. Was it worth it? That was a
question that he never once needed to ask himself. He already knew
the answer.
Absolutely.
--------------
Nightwing and Robin had effectively evacuated the civilians. The people, however, did a lot of the work themselves. People had a way of initiating that whole 'fight or flight' instinct when the time was right. Even if they were just your ordinary lazy party-goers. They knew when their lives were in danger. That took a lot of the strain off of Nightwing and Robin, gave them a few spare seconds to put down any Rouge which still could be standing. And sometimes just a few seconds were enough.
He personally hated it, but he knew
it was the right thing to do. So Nightwing quickly grabbed the Joker
and threw him over his shoulder. "We need to clear these guys out
of here before—"
He was cut off by a loud explosion. The
ground shook but for the most part, remained intact. Had Bruce
failed? Was this going to be it? A large piece of the ground erupted
and chunks of gravel and debris flew about. Dick braced himself for
the rest of the street to explode, taking him, Robin, and the Rouges
with it…..but nothing happened.
And the realization hit him
and rocked him harder than any explosion could ever hope to do. He
threw the Joker aside like a useless rag doll and darted towards
where the Earth had split, screaming a single word as he
went.
"BRUCE!!!"
His Flying Grayson grace was forgotten.
All he could do was run as quickly as his legs could carry him before
leaping up and disappearing into the large crack in the ground.
Robin followed, running to the edge of the crevice and staring into it, seeing nothing through the thick haze of smoky fog that came from the eruption. But when it cleared…there was Dick, crouched before and holding the body of a destroyed Batman. His costume was tattered and torn all over, his cowl was half disintegrated. Tim watched in horror…coming to the same realization he knew Dick had already met. Batman was dead. The former Boy Wonder stood slowly, holding the body of the broken bat in his arms. Much the way Bruce had done with Jason Todd so many years ago. Or the way Clark had done with Conner Kent. Only this time….it was the mentor whom had fallen. Batman…Bruce Wayne….was gone…
