Disclaimer: All these characters belong to DC Comics and the Time-Warner Corporation.
Rating: PG-13 for death and a four letter word.
Summary: (This story is AU: Barbara and Dick are married.) The Joker is loose in
Bludhaven and Batman and Nightwing pursue him, but they don't know what he's about to take
from them.
Author's Note: This is my first fanfic. Or, at least, it's the first one worth anything
and that's not saying much.
* * * *
Breaking Point
By: Chameleon
* * * *
"I'm going out tonight."
Dick Grayson says this quietly but with conviction. He stares intently at the vegetables
he is cooking, so he doesn't have to look at his wife's face.
Barbara Grayson, his new wife, looks at him. She sighs, then nods.
"Okay."
"It's been a month," he says. He says it more to convince himself than her.
Barbara nods again.
"Besides, this will give you time to yourself. You haven't had that in a while."
Barbara looks up at him.
"Dick, it's fine. You're right, you should go out tonight."
She starts to set the table.
"And I do have things to do," she adds.
In her mind, Barbara sees a jumble of Oracle's computer equipment-some transferred from
her old headquarters in Gotham, some brand new-currently unassembled in a spare room.
Oracle will assemble it tonight while Nightwing patrols the city.
The honeymoon is over. It's time to get on with life.
* * * *
Dick is standing in what will soon be the headquarters of arguably the world's greatest
hacker. Right now, however, it is a maze of equipment and wires.
Dick is dressed as Nightwing, save the mask. He is watching as Barbara hooks up her
equipment.
Or, rather, as Oracle hooks up her equipment.
Dick has come to realize that, despite her lack of a mask to symbolize the transformation,
Barbara and Oracle are as different as Dick Grayson and Nightwing.
"Hey, Mrs. Grayson," he says, using his new nickname for her.
"Hey," she replies. Her face is hidden behind a computer terminal.
He manages to make it to her without tripping over too many wires. He doesn't know how
Barbara is maneuvering in here, especially with her wheelchair.
She looks at him.
"Already?"
"It's ten-thirty."
Barbara blinks. She's hadn't realized that is was that late.
"Oh," she says.
Dick bends over and places a soft kiss on her cheek, but Barbara will have none of that.
She pulls him into an impassioned kiss and he comes away from it breathing heavily.
Perhaps he won't go out tonight.
Barbara reads his expression and laughs.
"Have fun," she says. Then she sobers, "And be careful."
"Always," Dick says, leaving the room.
He puts the mask on, completing the transformation into Nightwing, and prepares to, once
again, for one night, save Bludhaven from itself.
* * * *
From a car, a man looks up, watching as the shadowy figure of Nightwing leaps from rooftop
to rooftop and disappears into the night.
A grin spreads across his face.
* * * *
In Gotham City, up the coast from Bludhaven, Batman is holding a rather upset individual
up by his neck.
"Where is he?" Batman asks in a voice that has made grown men cry for their mothers.
This particular individual is no less afraid of the Batman. He is, however even more
afraid of what will happen if he talks.
"I don't know," he croaks. It is rather difficult to talk with someone holding your
larynx.
Batman tightens his grip.
"You're making me angry."
He lifts him several inches off the ground.
"I do irrational things when I'm angry. Now, I will ask you one more time. Where is he?"
The man swallows as best he can.
"Bludhaven," he whispers. "He's in Bludhaven."
* * * *
A car door swings open and a man gets out. He is grinning like a madman, which is how he
supposes he ought to grin. He is a madman after all. No sane person would argue with
that. No insane person for that matter.
He chuckles.
He checks to make sure that his gun is loaded.
He heads for the apartment of the newly married Barbara and Dick Grayson.
* * * *
Batman arrives in Bludhaven within a half hour. Ordinarily, one criminal would not
convince him to leave Gotham City in pursuit. But this is no ordinary criminal.
* * * *
Nightwing is crouched on the rooftop of one of the many high-rise projects in the Zee
Moores. He is scanning, looking for signs of trouble before he continues on his way.
He hears a sound behind him. No ordinary person would have caught that sound, much less
equated it with anything.
But Nightwing is not an ordinary person and he knows exactly what--or, rather, who--is
behind him.
"On Vacation?" Nightwing asks sarcastically. "Or are you just here to check up on me?"
His relationship with his former mentor is better than it once was, but Nightwing still
feels a certain bitterness when Batman shows up unannounced.
"I'm in pursuit of a criminal."
He says it tersely, revealing that this is not a laughing matter. Not that Batman
considers much a laughing matter, but this is more serious than usual.
"Which criminal?" Nightwing asks. He has a sinking feeling in his stomach. Batman
wouldn't have left Gotham for just anyone. In fact, Nightwing can think of only one
person and the thought of him loose in Bludhaven makes his skin crawl.
Batman confirms Nightwing's fears: "The Joker."
* * * *
Joker steps off the elevator and makes his way down the hallway toward the Grayson's
apartment.
* * * *
"You would think that they would be able to keep him in Arkham, for once."
Dick feels as angry as he sounds. This particular member of the "Rogue's Gallery" has
earned Nightwing's extreme hatred.
"You would think," Batman echoes.
He sounds angry as well. No, not angry, frustrated.
"What's he doing in Bludhaven, anyway?"
"That's what I want to find out."
Nightwing looks out over the city. If the Joker is in Bludhaven, chances are, somewhere,
he is causing some pain, some destruction. He must be captured.
"So, where do we find him?"
Despite his initial annoyance at Batman's intrusion, Nightwing is actually glad that he's
here. He isn't sure he can go up against the Joker without him.
"I don't know."
* * * *
The door to the apartment isn't locked. The Joker walks in as if it were his own home.
There is a door, obviously meant to be hidden when it is closed, open in the far wall. He
strides over to it.
"Didn't daddy teach you to always lock the door."
Barbara looks at him. Shock turns to horror turns to hate.
"What are you doing here?"
"Finishing some business. And proving a point."
He pulls the gun from his jacket.
"Goodbye, Barbara. Or should I say Oracle?"
He pulls the trigger.
* * * *
"How's Barbara?" Batman asks as he leaps with Nightwing from one building to the next.
"Okay. She's setting up her equipment tonight. The rest of the superhero population
should be happy to know that Oracle will be up and running in a few days."
"That's good."
"Where are we going?"
"The trainyard. One of Joker's old associates has a night job there."
Nightwing hears the edge in Batman's voice. He is tense, as he always is when the Joker
is out. He knows as well as anyone--better than anyone--how dangerous a man the Joker
really is.
Nightwing knows this fact well also. He knows because his own wife cannot move her legs
because of this man. He knows because he himself was shot by this man once and it nearly
destroyed his relationship with his mentor.
Nightwing knows. Joker must be captured.
* * * *
Joker places a hand on Barbara's neck. It is an unnecessary gesture. She is quite
obviously dead. But Joker wants to make sure.
A lot rides on her death.
* * * *
The Joker's former associate, a man by the name of Winston Halliday, steps out into the
chilly early October air for his midnight cigarette. He is obviously nervous. His hands
are shaking badly; he can barely light his cigarette. Nightwing and Batman land in the
shadows behind him.
Batman starts forward, then stops. He gestures for Nightwing to go ahead of him. This is
Nightwing's city. Batman defers to him for this reason.
Nightwing is careful to hide his pride of Batman's confidence. He steps out of the
shadows.
"Halliday."
It is always best to start with the person's name. Letting them know that you know their
name makes them wonder what else you know about them. Batman taught Nightwing this.
Halliday jumps and drops his cigarette. His looks around frantically for a moment before
his eyes find Nightwing.
"Aw, sh*t!"
He looks as if he might start running. Nightwing prepares for a chase.
But the man does not run. He merely stands muttering to himself and shivering for reasons
other than the cold.
"What's the matter?" Nightwing asks. "You look nervous about something."
"I didn't do nothing."
"That's a double negative," Nightwing says. "If you didn't do *nothing,* than you must
have done *something.*"
The man does not grasp the meaning of Nightwing's words. Partly because of his lack of
education, but primarily because of fear.
"Didn't do nothing," he says again.
"Joker's in Bludhaven," Nightwing says. He watches Halliday's reaction carefully. There
is fear and a measure of anger, but no surprise. He knows something and it is directly
related to the Joker.
"You remember the Joker, don't you?" Nightwing says. Batman has filled him in on the
particulars of their relationship, so he continues, "You worked for him while you lived in
Gotham. When Batman took him down, you went with him. Did some time in Stonegate. Now
you're out. The way I figure it, you hooked up with him again. Tell me if I'm right."
"I didn't do nothing."
"You're becoming redundant."
Nightwing is frustrated. Halliday should have cracked by now. Batman could have cracked
him by now. And Batman is standing in the shadows, watching him fail. He decides to use
his frustration to his advantage.
He reaches out and grabs the man by his shirt, shoving him against the wall. "Why don't
you just tell me what I want to know, before I become angry."
Halliday swallows and in the poor light, Nightwing can see beads of sweat on his forehead.
"At the very least I can bust you for a parole violation, leaving the city limits. You
play ball and you may not see the inside of a jail cell again."
Halliday struggles. He curses and turns red. Nightwing looks down to see urine leaking
out of the bottom of the man's pants. Nightwing manages to get his feet out of the way.
"The sooner you sing, the sooner I'm gone."
"I didn't do nothing."
Before Nightwing can do anything else, Batman moves in. With a swift gesture he shoves
Nightwing aside and grabs hold of Haliday.
"Talk," he says.
Haliday does: "I--I didn't wanna do it, honest. I only left Gotham because my friend said
he could get me a job and I couldn't get one in Gotham. I wasn't in the life anymore. I
even got a girlfriend. Baby on the way."
"Joker," Batman growls.
"He, uh, he shows up at my door one night, says he wants to 'renew our friendship.' I
said I didn't wanna, but he says that I better, if I ever wanna see my baby alive."
"What did he want?"
"He said it was real simple. All I had to do was give him the keys to certain warehouse
and make sure that nobody had any plans to go in it on a certain night."
"What warehouse? What night?"
"37-B. Tonight. He didn't say nothing else. I swear."
Batman lets him go. With a jerk of his head he gestures for him to leave.
Halliday does so, his feet almost slipping out from underneath him as he races away.
Batman watches him go.
Nightwing stares at the ground, humiliation burning throughout his body.
"Time," Batman says after a moment, "Is of the essence."
This attempt at an apology does not make Nightwing feel any better.
* * * *
Joker is quite sure she is dead. The bullet has pierced her heart.
He places a finger to his lips, thinking about the best way to do this. He drags
Barbara's wheelchair out from behind the computer console she was working at. He places
her in the middle of the room and kicks the wires out from in front of the chair. He
takes one of the "Joker Cards" out of his jacket, careful not to cut himself on the sharp
metal edges, and places in the clear area in front of her chair.
"Let the games begins!" he yells, laughing.
* * * *
There is a hand-painted sign above the door reading 37-B. It only takes Batman a moment
to pick the lock, then they are inside the warehouse.
The warehouse is small, only about twenty feet by thirty. At first glance, it does not
appear to have been altered in any way. Often, when Joker inhabits a residence, he
changes it, makes it his own. But this warehouse has not been changed. At least, not in
any way that one would equate with the Joker.
It is empty, however. Boxes or equipment which may have been stored there has been
removed. The only furniture is a wooden table and chair in the center of the room.
Before either Batman or Nightwing has a chance to look around, a phone begins to ring.
Batman can see a cell phone on the table. He picks it up, mid-ring.
A voice comes over the other end. One which Batman knows, hears even in his dreams.
"Batty," the voice says, "How ya' doin'?"
Batman is silent.
"Not feeling chatty tonight. I understand. Hey, listen, is Nightwing with you tonight?
Yes? No?" A pause, then, "Well, if he is, you might want to tell him to check in on his
wife. A woman alone, at night," he chuckles, "There're a lot of sickoes in this world,
ya' know."
Batman drops the phone. It hits the concrete floor with a loud crack.
Nightwing looks at him. "What is it?"
"Barbara."
* * * *
The Graysons' apartment is on the other side of town. Yet, it takes only ten minutes for
Batman and Nightwing to get there. To Nightwing, this seems an eternity.
They enter throughout the window.
"Barbara! Barbara!" Nightwing yells. He walks toward the door to her control room.
"Barbara!"
*Please, no,* he thinks, *Please, don't let it be true.*
But it is. He can tell even before he reaches her.
She is slumped over in her chair, her blouse blood-stained. Her skin is cold to the touch
and Rigor Mortis is already setting in.
He wraps his arms around her lifeless body. His anguish seems to seep through his pores.
Yet, he does not cry. He wishes to, but the tears do not come.
* * * *
The Joker Card is an unnecessary clue. Batman knows who did this and he will see him
punished.
Nightwing continues to rock his wife's body. He moans softly.
Batman walks forward and places his hand on Nightwing's shoulder. Batman removes his
mask.
"Dick," he says softly.
Nightwing turns slowly and removes his own mask. He blinks and it takes a minute for his
eyes to focus.
"Bruce...she's dead."
"I know."
"She's dead," he repeats. "Dead."
Bruce nods.
Then, Dick collapses, into Bruce's arms. He begins trembling and his breathing is
labored. Still, he does not cry.
* * * *
Batman returns to the warehouse. He didn't want to leave Dick, but the Joker must to be
caught.
Batman had hoped to find a clue in the warehouse. Instead, he finds the Joker.
"Took ya' long enough."
Joker's voice echoes.
"You killed Barbara Gordon."
"I killed Oracle, yup."
Joker watches Batman for a moment then says, "Oh, come on, aren't you the least bit
curious how I know that?" A pause. "Bruce?"
Batman shifts his gaze. He can no longer look at the madman. Not only has the Joker
killed his daughter-in-law, he now knows his secret and can expose him to the world.
"Come on, don't you want to know?"
Batman is still silent. He cannot trust himself to speak. He has managed to maintain a
stone exterior, but he is afraid his emotions may get the better of him.
"I suppose it doesn't matter how I know. The important thing is, I know. You can relax
though. I didn't tell anyone else. Yet. The way I figure it, once it's out, everyone'll
be knocking down your door for their chance at revenge. I wanted first dibs."
Batman's whole attention is focused on the Joker. He does not notice Nightwing standing in
the shadows.
"Now," the Joker continues, "Comes the hard part. What do you do? Do you kill me? If
you leave me alive I'll let the bat out of the bag."
Batman remains silent.
"Here," Joker throws a gun to Batman.
Batman catches it almost without thinking. He examines it for a few moments, than throws
it away.
"No," he says. "I will not."
The gun lands at Nightwing's feet. He picks it up.
Batman begins to advance on the Joker. Nightwing's voice stops him.
"I will."
Batman turns and sees Nightwing holding the gun.
"I will," Nightwing says again.
"Nightwing," Batman begins but is cut off by the Joker.
"Ah, do you have the guts to do what daddy won't?"
Nightwing reaches up and rips off his mask. Dick's voice is dangerously calm when he
speaks.
"You killed my wife. You have caused so much evil in the world. I will kill you, not
because I want to, but because I have to. For myself. For the world. You cannot be
allowed to continue on."
"Dick," Batman says, "Don't you see. If you do this, he wins. This is what he wants.
You may kill him, but you will destroy yourself in the process. You're not a murderer,
Dick."
For a moment, Dick's hand begins to lower. Then, his eyes squeeze shut and when he opens
them again, a shot rings out.
The bullet goes through Joker's skull. He slumps backward to the ground. Dick walks
slowly over to him. He examines the hideous grin and wide surprised eyes.
"Congratulations," Dick says, "You won."
Then he slumps to the ground and begins to cry.
* * * *
Copyright October 2000