Disclaimer: All characters in this story are property of either DC or Marvel comics. No profit is being made from this story.
Author's Note: Warning, this story contains dark humour and character death.
Batman frowned darkly as he strode through the dark depths of the Bat-Cave. This was not good. Not only had the Joker escaped from Arkham Asylum (again), but there had also been a robbery at the Ace Chemical Plant.
He sat down at the Bat-Computer and with just a few keystrokes he brought up a list of everything that had been stolen. His worst fears were confirmed. The Joker had stolen all of the chemical components and equipment needed to make his signature Joker Venom in gaseous form. Furthermore he had enough of it to engulf all of Gotham City.
There's no time to waste.
He accessed his database of all abandoned buildings in Gotham and selected those that had a clown or circus motif. He then cross-referenced that list with one of any buildings large enough to house the necessary equipment. Once he'd narrowed down the list of possible hideouts he then checked the city's traffic cameras until he found what he was looking for. A number of large trucks all heading for the same location.
There! The abandoned Jolly Jester cola factory. That's the most likely choice.
Batman landed on the rooftop of the abandoned factory, gravel crunching lightly under his boots. He peered down cautiously through a skylight and although his face remained grim he smiled inwardly as he saw that he'd been right. Men in boiler suits were mixing chemicals together in large tanks.
But then he noticed something odd.
Those aren't Joker's henchmen.
He took a closer look and his eyes bulged as he saw a pile of bodies in a corner. Prominent among them was a white-skinned man with green hair dressed in purple. His body was riddled with bullet holes while his eyes were fixed open and unblinking.
Batman smashed through the glass, hurling smoke grenades ahead of him. The grenades hit the floor, spewing out clouds of white smoke. Predictably the goons began panicking and flailing around wildly. Batman moved silently through the confusion, taking the goons down swiftly and efficiently. Within minutes he had taken down everyone in the room.
Or so it seemed.
As the smoke cleared Batman heard a faint clapping. He whirled around to see a figure stepping down from a catwalk. He wore a black military-looking uniform with matching boots and gloves. A pistol was strapped to his side. His face was a gruesome skull-like visage with blood-red skin. Batman recognised him immediately as the infamous Nazi war criminal, the Red Skull.
"Not bad" he said in German-accented English. He regarded Batman with a sneer. "Clumsy and awkward compared to Captain America of course but that is only to be expected. After all he was a super-soldier while you are merely a man."
"Why did you kill Joker?" Batman demanded.
"The clown was a gaudy buffoon, unworthy of a place in my new world order" the Red Skull said disdainfully. "His gas however, that will prove most useful to me"
"I'll stop you" said Batman firmly.
"Stop me" the Red Skull repeated with a mocking laugh. "Herr Fledermaus, from what I have heard you would be a superb Nazi."
Batman leaped at him with a flying knee strike. The war criminal dodged and came at him with a volley of jabs. Batman was forced to give ground, surprised by his foe's speed and strength, but he managed to block each blow.
For a while they seemed well-matched, with Batman's greater skill making up for the Red Skull's physical might. Eventually though the war criminal started to become frustrated with his inability to defeat a "mere man." That frustration made him sloppy.
Finally Batman was able to throw the Red Skull to the ground. He pinned him before he could get up and pulled his fist back ready for the knockout blow when…
"You are letting him kill Martha!"
Batman froze. "What does that mean? Why did you say that name?" He struggled to focus as flashbacks of his parents murder flooded his mind.
"Why did you say that name?" Batman bellowed.
"It is my mother's name" the Red Skull replied.
Batman managed to stand up. He stumbled back and then fell to his knees in shock and disbelief, a look of utter confusion on his face as he tried to comprehend what he'd just heard.
The Red Skull grinned savagely. He pulled his energy pistol and fired. A bolt of blue energy hit Batman directly and instantly disintegrated him. He didn't even have time to scream.
Getting to his feet the Red Skull smiled evilly.
"Fool."
He heard a sudden whoosh of air and looked up to see a caped figure descending through the broken skylight. The Red Skull raised his pistol but before he could fire, twin beams of heat vision melted the barrel, forcing him to drop it.
Superman floated down to the floor and with one carefully controlled blow he knocked the Red Skull out. He then gazed sadly at the spot Batman had stood at.
"Bruce."
Author's Note: Sorry Batman fans. When I read "Death of the Red Skull" and learned that the Red Skull's mother was named "Martha" I just couldn't resist poking fun at the scene in "Dawn of Justice."