Batman: Zsasz's Mark

Chapter 1

"Don't make me hurt you, Jervis." Batman had Jervis Tetch, a.k.a. the Mad Hatter, by the throat. "Oh Batman," Hatter replied, "You are so irritable, just like the last Alice. Why don't you have some of my special tea? My special-tea. My spe-"Before Hatter could finish, Batman knocked him out cold. "Why the hell would you do that? We needed HIS information!" The Gotham City police Commissioner James Gordon had arrived with the police force. "Not exactly, Gordon. Hatter isn't working alone. He has forced Scarecrow to work with him again. You interrogate Jervis while I hunt down Scarecrow." "But how on earth are you going to find him? I mean, nobody has seen him sin-"as Commissioner Gordon turned around, he just barely caught Batman fly into the night.

Chapter 2

"30,000$?! Of course I'll do it!" One of Batman's most versatile enemies, Oswald "The Penguin" Cobblepot, had realized that he himself couldn't take down Batman himself; he needed an assassin. "And just to finalize, Mr. Deadshot, no deaths and any medical bills will not be covered by me. Understand?"

Chapter 3

Ring ring! A phone booth's telephone rang in Lewis Lane, one of Gotham's desolate streets. The homeless person that had been sleeping in the booth jumped at the piercing sound. He snatched the phone. "What the hell do you want? You woke me up!" The homeless man continued his verbal assault until his voice grew hoarse. As he turned to leave the booth, a knife, gleaming in the moonlight, sliced the man's throat wide open.

Chapter 4

"Ron Richards, 54. He formerly was a GCPD officer but went corrupt on a criminal and murdered him. He escaped before we could send him to jail." Police forces had gotten a call about a dead man in a phone booth. What they did not know was that the homeless man was propped up like he was talking on the phone; his eyes forever open. "Zsasz." The Dark Knight had arrived. "It matches all of his traits; slitting the throat, phone booth murdering, and the lifelike pose. Send some of your men to investigate and find his whereabouts. I'm going to continue my search for Crane." With that, Batman took off into the night.

Chapter 5

"Alfred, search the Batcomputer for anything on Victor Zsasz." "Why hello Da-a-a-ark Knight. What a pleasant surprise hearing my-y-y-y voice must be." "Nygma! What did you do to Alfred?!" Edward Nygma, a.k.a. The Riddler, had recently escaped from Arkham Asylum. "You are mista-a-a-aken, as usual. Is your brain incapable of deducing a reason-o-o-o-onable solu-u-u-u-ution? And you call yourself a de-e-e-etective? I simply ha-a-a-a-acked into your weak communica-a-a-a-ation system. Your butler is pe-e-e-e-erfectly fine." The glitchy voice of The Riddler angered the Dark Knight. "Listen, Nygma. You better turn yourself or I will…" "Do what, Caped Crusader? Ki-i-i-ill me? Normally I would liste-e-e-en to you-oh wa-a-a-ait, no I wouldn't. Honestly though, I would li-i-i-ike a challenge. Let me-e-e-e-e give you a hint, you bu-u-u-u-umbling sha-a-a-aved monkey; what is like a-"BANG!

Chapter 6

As the Dark Knight arose, he was greeted by a familiar voice. "Hello you sorry excuse for a hero. I finally got you." Batman tried to tackle The Penguin but found himself retrained to two metal poles. "That's right. You're all tied up thanks to my new assassin, Deadshot. He wanted to kill you, but I wanted to have some fun first." The Penguin than struck his captive with the point of his umbrella. A satisfying crack came with the smash. Batman could feel the blood gushing from his nose. "You-*splutter*, you will pay Cobblepot." "The only person I am paying is Mr. Deadshot here. A whopping thirty grand! Now, I have some business negotiations to have with Mr. Deadshot about future assassinations, but don't you worry; I'll be back for you." The Penguin then left the backroom of the Iceberg Lounge that he now had his enemy captured, cackling his horrific laugh.

Chapter 7

Batman used this alone time to inspect his injuries. He was sure he had a broken nose and could also feel the burning sensation of a gunshot wound in his left shoulder. "He-e-e-ello once aga-a-a-ain, imbeci-i-i-ile. Did you miss me?" "Damn it!" Batman yelled. Trapped with one of his most hated enemies AND having to listen to one of his most irritating. "We-e-e-e never got to fi-i-inish our conversation from earlie-e-e-er." "Shut the hell up, Nygma!" "No tha-a-a-anks. I don't ta-a-a-ake orders from bu-u-u-umbling hai-i-i-irless a-a-a-apes. Now, ba-a-ack to the inte-e-e-elegent one's me-e-essa-a-age. The ri-i-i-i-iddle to my-y-y first clu-u-ue is ve-e-ery si-i-imple: Ri-i-idle me thi-i-is; Wha-a-a-at are bla-a-ack and whi-i-ite and re-e-ead a-a-all over?" Then nothing.

Chapter 8

"Want some more, Batman?" The Penguin had returned from his negotiations to continue torturing his prisoner. The brass knuckles gleamed on Penguin's fist as he struck Batman. He had surveyed his surroundings and found no way of escape; both his legs and arms were attached with metal chains to two metal poles. Batman once again felt blood gushing down his face. He had no way to escape. "Isn't this fun? I'm sure you will enjoy having some more company. Deadshot! Bring him out!" Deadshot then entered the room, hoisting the former Gotham District Attorney, Harvey Dent a.k.a. Two Face. "Hang him up right there next to Batman. I'll let you too say your final words before my assassin blows your brains out! Ha ha ha ha ha!" Batman observed his unconscious "cellmate"; he was bruised and bloody, just like himself. Two Face had recently been in a gang war with Penguin which he had been winning. The Dark Knight felt helpless. He turned to his last resort.

Chapter 9

"Nygma! I know you're there!" Batman waited for a response. "Sir, I think you might have the wrong number." "Alfred! Nygma hacked into the communicator. I'm trapped in a backroom in the Iceberg Lounge with Two Face. Penguin hired Deadshot to capture us. I need you to-""Well, you blokes, it seems your time is up! Deadshot, come and kill these blokes! Deadshot? Get your ass out here!" As he said that, Deadshot rolled into the room, clutching his face in pain. "It, it's…" A knife struck the assassin in the back. Deadshot was dead. "I told you I'd come back for revenge, you lying, cheating bastard!" The man walked into the room. Deadshot's blood gleamed as the man pulled it from his back. He took the knife and carved another tally mark into his body. "Zsasz!" The unpredictable killer walked up to Penguin. "Now, Mr. Zsasz, you understand that I only did what I did for-umph!" Zsasz stabbed the mobster mid-sentence. Blood gushed from his stomach. "That's two new marks." Zsasz said as he carved another scar into his shoulder. "And maybe another two. You should know by now, Batman, I have a special mark for you." Zsasz approached the Caped Crusader. "Wha-, who-, where the hell am I?!" Two Face had awakened. "Zsasz! Penguin was mine! You know that!" Zsasz leaped to the former DA and put his bloody knife to his throat. "If I killed you, would I have liberated one or two people?" "NO! No, I'll stop now." "Good." Zsasz paced around the room. "The same person who cheated me out of my own money has been liberated and now I can liberate the one who has prevented me from doing so. Are you ready to be freed, Batman?" Zsasz approached. "Prepare, Batman!" Zsasz raised his knife and-

Chapter 10

"At the end of fear, oblivion!" Lightning flashed. Batman could see the rusted street sign; "Crime Alley". He saw his parents and a younger version of himself walk out of the theatre. He saw Joe Chill's cold bullet run through his parent's bodies. He saw the young version of himself, kneeling by the bodies, bawling.

Two Face saw the acid come at the younger version of himself, the District Attorney Harvey Dent. He tried to move but found himself trapped in a control room. There were two switches. One would save his darling Gilda Dent from falling into acid and the other would send Carmine Falcone to his death. On the panel lay his coin. He tried to pick it up, but thousands of coins flowed out of thin air.

Zsasz held his knife. He saw the people he had liberated over the years. All were alive. He looked at his body. All his scars burned with fury. None of them were right. It was all off!

Chapter 11

Scarecrow observed the squirming bodies that lie before him; Zsasz was swinging his knife around mindlessly. Batman was kneeling, moaning about his parent's death. And Two Face was grabbing thin air. Scarecrow had figured it would be more enjoyable if he let Batman and Two Face go.

"Ughh!" Batman looked at the knife impaled through his chest. "Finally!" Zsasz was standing behind him. "I get to make the final mark! He pulled the knife out of The Dark Knight. "It's time to be liberated!" and with that Zsasz slit his own throat and collapsed, dead.

Epilogue

The GCPD arrived at the Iceberg Lounge. They found Zsasz dead, Scarecrow knocked out, Two Face scared beyond belief, and Batman standing over them all. "Batman! We feared the worst; that you died. We don't know what we would do without you." "You almost did lose me." Batman replied. "What do you mean? You looked unscathed." Batman explained. "Zsasz was under the fear gas still but after the effects wore off, he became delusional. He thought that he had murdered me and so he sliced the spot he had saved for me; his throat. I guess his worst fear was realized. His marks are off by one."