Batman Beyond

Issue #1

"Agent of the Bat: Part One"

The cool night air was damp and murky, hiding things that the regular men and women of Gotham City didn't want to be aware of. To most of its inhabitants Gotham was a technological utopia, complete with most everything they needed to be happy. They had surpassed Metropolis' computer industries over two decades ago and were happy enough relishing in their economical boon.

The things that went bump in the night were of no concern to the majority of the populace. Hearing about it on the news was much better than worrying while walking down the street at night. To the lower echelons of the social hierarchy this made the general populace look naïve and ignorant. As they say, ignorance is bliss.

"Marta, I don't want to cut down that alley," a middle-aged man told his much younger date for the evening. "Let's just call a cab instead of taking shortcuts through the underbelly of Gotham."

"Niles, you insufferable stiff," Marta replied playfully. Her stark white hair bounced in the artificial light provided by the city's illuminators while she pulled at Niles' arm. "Afraid of the dark? C'mon, it's just a shortcut. My place is right on the other side and I run through here all the time."

Regretfully, Niles gave in to her date's pleas. After all, it wasn't every night he met up with a drop dead gorgeous specimen of a woman half his age. The couple walked arm in arm across the sidewalk and into the dimly lit alleyway.

Even in this day and age Gotham City still had a trash problem. It was no where near the refuse pile it had once been during Mayor Grange's tenure but in the seedy back streets the local gangs made trash collection slightly more than difficult. Empty cartons and used food dispensers spilled out of the bins, blown up against the sides of the buildings and crunching under the couple's feet.

It had become a cliché: the city was mostly clean in appearance only. The topside that people chatted about in their high rise apartments was the envy of other, lesser cities while the underbelly remained a hidden blemish. Leaps and bounds in technology could only go skin deep.

"Well, look what we have here!" a giggling baritone voice said from the shadows.

Niles stopped, tossing his arm up in front of Marta. His eyes bulged as he saw the street hoodlums melt away from the recesses of the alley and into his field of vision. There were four altogether, wearing various costumes of purple, green, red, and white. Each had a sickening smile placed on his face as if constantly amused by some sick joke.

"Mr. Uptown with his fancy overcoat and platinum I.D. rings…maybe he's lost? Maybe we should help him, boys?" the voice continued. Niles could see it belonged to the largest of the group, a tall black man with white face paint and a red vest. "Maybe he just needs a good joke to get him on his way? Hehe…haha…HAHAHA!"

The other three Jokerz started laughing along with the ringleader, their voices echoing up and down the alley walls. Niles began to loosen his apparel, preparing to hand it over in order to hopefully save his life.

The large black Joker leapt forward, crossing the gap between them in a heartbeat. "Lemme ask ya this, Uptown," he began. "Why did the rich man cross the road? Hehehe…"

Two high pitched sounds split through the night and sliced into Niles' ears. He couldn't tell where it was coming from, almost as if the shadows themselves were whistling. Just as the two piercing sounds suddenly stopped, twin metallic clangs exploded out to replace them. Two of the Jokerz that had been holding crude clubs grasped their hands in pain as their weapons fell uselessly to the ground. Their leader's face was cast in terror as he took a step back from Niles and Marta, his mouth opening wide in fear.

Apparently, he knew those sounds all too well.

"Always the same sad story with you clowns," a deep, resonating voice said from somewhere above them. "Hiding yourselves among the garbage where you belong."

"Jack Jack!" one of the underlings whispered. "Come on, man! Let's get out of here before--"

"Shut it!" the leader, Jack Jack, yelled back. "Ain't no urban myth going to--HYUK!"

Jack Jack's chin shot straight up as he teetered back from some invisible assault he had been the target of. His pupils shot back and forth rapidly in search of his attacker, just as Niles was doing. Had the gang leader been faking it to mess with him even more? Some kind of twisted joke?

"What the h--HUFF!" Jack Jack doubled over, this time as a result of an imaginary kick to his abdomen.

Niles felt Marta gripping his arm, snapping him back to reality. Whatever was going on he had to get them out of there. He tried to bring his other arm around her to guide them back into the open street but her finger nails were dug so far into his coat sleeve that it was obvious she wouldn't budge. In fact, her eyes never left the fallen clown leader, as if she was in a trance.

"How many times do I have to teach you this lesson?" the mysterious voice continued. "Gotham is my city and you're not welcome in it."

Jack Jack fell to the ground as if pushed. Niles stared on in disbelief as right before his very eyes the invisible assailant finally revealed himself and shimmered into focus. He had heard stories about a dark vigilante roaming the city at night, insanely taking it upon himself to force a wild idea of street justice onto whoever crossed his path. This had to be him, had to be the legend people called…

"Batman," Marta whispered. It sounded more like an accusation than an observation.

Dressed completely in black from head to toe, aside from a crimson symbol in the shape of a bat splashed onto his chest, the tall and lean looking man before Niles stared down at the fallen Jack Jack. This man, whoever he was, was the most intimidating person Niles had ever seen.

The remaining three Jokerz had rallied together and found strength in their numbers, now charging the man in black. Niles thought for sure that even with his impressive stealth capabilities this man was definitely not a match for three crazed gang members. If the stranger shared Niles' worries, he certainly didn't show it by standing completely still and waiting for the Jokerz to come to him.

The first one, garbed in a red and white bodysuit, lunged at the man in black with his fists flying high and fast. Batman, if that's who he actually claimed to be, easily sidestepped the novice attack and retaliated with one of his own. A split second later, the Joker was down for the count on the alley floor beside Jack Jack.

The second and third Jokerz attacked in tandem, one high and one low. Batman hopped up in the air effortlessly and batted away the high kick aimed for his head, while simultaneously avoiding the low kick meant to knock him over. Before touching the ground again, Batman returned the kick to both of their heads, hitting them both in one amazing aerial roundhouse sweep.

All four Jokerz now lay on the alley floor, softly moaning from the pain Batman had dispensed.

"C…c-c'mon, Marta…" Niles muttered to his still shocked date.

"The only place she's going is a jail cell," Batman responded, turning to face the pair. "Her name isn't Marta. It's Harriett. As in Mad Harriett of the Jokerz. She set you up, pal. Her job was to get you into this alley so the laughing boys here could take you down."

"You watch what you--Marta?"

The white-haired woman finally let go of Niles' arm to toss her handbag and fluffy coat off. No sooner had her things hit the ground than she launched herself at Batman, her nails clawing at the air between them.

Niles fell back on top of her coat, utterly stunned. He watched as the woman who had been so eager to leave the nightclub with him broke out in a series of moves that would surprise action film stars. Her forearm met Batman's again and again as they dueled inside of complex motions until she finally slipped up and he backhanded her down beside Niles.

"Marta!" he exclaimed.

"Oh, stuff it already," she shot back. "Can't you take a hint?"

"She's right," Batman said dispassionately. "Get up. Call the police and tell them to come pick up five Jokerz members."

Niles, as stalwart as he was, obeyed the strange vigilante. He took a deep breathe, picked himself up, and backed away from the entire scene into the open street. He opened his overcoat in search of his phone, and when he raised his head again he saw his pseudo-date cuffed to the unconscious Jack Jack with Batman no where in sight.

No one was going to believe him about what had happened. Especially his wife.

"You're late," Bruce Wayne scolded as the man in black hopped down from the landing pad.

"I would have called but…you know," Batman shot back. "Fighting the good fight every night kind of keeps me preoccupied."

The urban myth known as Batman walked across the expansive chamber affectionately referred to as the Batcave. Mounds of equipment lined the stone walls as the echoes of his footsteps reverberated into the deep chasms. The vessel behind him, a black and red airship that was among the most sophisticated military vehicles on the planet, gently hummed as it powered down from the previous flight.

Batman climbed the short flight of steps that led to an impressive computer array with dozens of monitors surrounding a lone, elderly man with white hair and a black suit. All of this once aided the older man, Bruce Wayne, in his own crusade against the underworld. Now he merely used it to help the current holder of the mantle, a much younger man who he had stumbled across years ago.

"Jokerz?" Bruce asked abruptly.

"Led by Mad Harriett no less," Batman responded as he slid off his face mask to reveal a youthful twenty-something with dark hair. "She's apparently back in town and that can't mean anything good."

"Hh," Bruce shallowly commented as he spun back to face the monitors. "They're organizing. Calling back in their leaders to close ranks. You'll need to start actively searching for them again."

"First thing tomorrow night," the unmasked Batman replied. "I have to see Dana before she forgets I'm her boyfriend."

"Still holding that together, huh?" Bruce remarked over his shoulder.

"Every once in a while I like to let Terry McGinnis out to play. It keeps me from becoming some kind of recluse."

One of Bruce's eyebrows rose slightly at Terry's comment but he kept clicking away at the console. The pair had been working together for several years now and the occasional potshot, while unnecessary, was expected every now and again. Even though he didn't show or share the sentiment, it pleased Bruce that his newest charge was able to keep a sense of humor. It meant that the rough business they were in hadn't totally overtaken him yet.

"Any special occasion?" Bruce asked.

"Sort of," Terry replied. "First day of classes begin tomorrow at Gotham University. Vacation's over so it's time to hit the books again. I promised my mom I wouldn't slack off in college like I did in high school so that means even less time with Dana. Speaking of which, I need to jet. You going to be okay?"

Bruce casually waved his hand as a motion that he would probably remain at the console for another few hours. Terry smirked, remembering how useless it would be to argue with his mentor that the city would survive without him if he decided to get some sleep. Some things never change.

Silently the dark figure crept alongside a platform underneath the monorail system that sprung in and out of the city. Cloaked in a bizarre costume of red, black, and yellow, the figure fell into a crouch as the Gotham Savior Institute came into his view. Tonight his crusade would begin anew.

The moon was high over his head, and just as a passing cloud blocked what little light it offered, he pushed out into the air and fell toward the street. Fear was something that he refused to allow into his mind as the wind rushed against his black and red full face mask, the hood covering it flapping rapidly. A segmented cape fluttered behind him bearing the same colors of his mask, and the source of his total freedom in the night air. At the last possible moment the figure somersaulted forward so his feet were pointed at the quickly approaching ground, spreading his arms wide to activate the anti-gravity generator that lined his cape. Miraculously, the figure gently touched down on the pavement where he should have fallen to his death.

Moving faster than any normal man could the figure ran to a side entrance of the building he was targeting, striking the keypad near the door with flying fingers. He punched in fifty different combinations before finding the correct one, causing the door to slide open. He slipped through the entry and sealed the door behind him, breaking the interior keypad. No one would be able to leave through the door, which was exactly what he wanted.

The figure clenched his fingers, a motion that caused twin daggers to push out from the tops of his gauntlets. The blades extended a foot out from his balled fists, glistening in the artificial light. Another snap of his wrists triggered the deadly capabilities of the twin daggers as they began to vibrate and hum. The blades soon changed from their natural silver to a bright and fiery orange, now able to pierce most anything.

The figure stalked through the inside of the Gotham Savior Institute, beginning his crusade against the blasphemers. None of them would leave the complex alive.

"Hey, wake up, bonehead!" a little kid yelled. "And shut your stupid alarm off!"

Terry smacked his alarm clock to stop the annoying chirping as he rolled onto his side. He had only gotten a few hours of sleep after his night at the club with Dana and it showed. Right now all he wanted was to roll back over and pass out, along with the freedom of shutting up his brother Matt the same way he had his alarm.

"Come on," Matt continued. "Mom's going to go thermal if you don't get downstairs right now. She's pacing back and forth like that time she thought you had been arrested."

Terry finally opened his eyes to see his little brother's cynical smile in the doorway. He loved his brother, he really did…he just had to remind himself of that every time he saw the little punk.

"What's going on?" Terry lazily asked.

"Something with Mr. Wayne. Better hurry up."

Terry immediately snapped to attention, springing out of bed and vaulting down the stairs. Despite his brother's abusively annoying behavior he knew that whatever was going on it had to be serious. His first thought when he turned the corner into the kitchen and saw the worried look on his mother's face was that he shouldn't have left the cave last night.

"Terry…" she whispered.

"What is it?" he implored. "What's wrong, Mom?"

"The hospital called this morning," she explained. "It's Mr. Wayne…He was found in his house this morning by the maid service with a puncture wound to his chest."

Terry's world crashed down around him. Images swirled around inside his mind, taunting him with the idea that he could have prevented what had happened. With a great amount of effort he pushed the worst fears aside and walked closer to his mother. She clasped his hands in hers and leaned in to him to try and give some type of comfort to her oldest son.

"You were listed as his primary contact," she continued. "You had better get over there as soon as you can. They said he'll be in surgery for the next few hours but you should be there now."

Terry let his fingers slip out from in between hers as he ran for the front door. She was right, he had to be there now. He tried to suppress his thoughts until he had more information but there was one in particular that crept up no matter what.

Which one of their enemies had done it?

Beyond the Issue

The first issue of Batman Beyond is finally here! Along with the brand-spankin'-new imprint for the most explosive DC fan fiction website out there, DC Infinity! This is a part of the new Elseworlds imprint, so I hope you enjoyed it. I have tons of plans for this ongoing series and I promise to explore every inch of the Bruce Timm animated universe.

Speaking of that universe, where exactly does this series fall in with it? Well, after careful thought, I've decided to place this title two years after the last episode of the Batman Beyond cartoon, but before the Justice League Unlimited episode entitled "Epilogue." While that JLU episode was well down and a nice end to a terrific cartoon, I'm not entirely crazy about the whole "Terry is Bruce's genetic son" angle. I may decide to explore it later in this fanfic series, but for now, I'm not considering it canon.

Next issue: the mysterious bladed prowler strikes again while Bruce and Terry try to figure out just exactly what is going on!

-D. Golightly

11/24/06