New Gotham 01: The Wrath of Clayface

I don't own anything... just the ideas...

This story is inspired by Batman Beyond, The Dark Knight Returns, Batman #666, and a few other stories to build my solid continuity

I'm not Batman.. at least.. that's what they say about me. It's funny that despite saving the world multiple times I still don't qualify as anything near the last three guys in the cowl... or was it four guys? Five? Anyway, I'm currently on the side of a skyscraper ready to get the jump of a new gang that surfaced, "The Rockies," rumor has it, they pay homage to Clayface, one of the original Batman Rouges... it's a funny thing to call them that you know, especially considering how fun-loving Flash's Rouge Gallery is... While any villain out of this city will without a doubt be psychotic and dangerous, I guess that's what Bruce meant by Gotham Charm. Looks like they're finished loading up, time to follow them...

"Damian, I'm on the move.. thermal sensors are picking up items of both extremes in the back of their pick-up, I'm following in stealth," speaking into his com-line to his mentor and previous Batman Damian Wayne.

"Your vitals seem flaccid, Terry, is the neuro-path technology overwhelming you?" A sincere, yet condescending voice from an apathy rich mentor said to his extremely sarcastic apprentice.

"I'm just dandy, no lyin', I even have time to bring back the bad puns without barfing in my mouth," Terry quipped as only he knew how. "Hey, hold on a second, I've gotten a bit closer, there's someone in the back, and the core body temperature is really low.. It's to small to be Fries, right? Are these guys trying to clone him... man, that was so rookie year." Terry was basically commenting to himself as Damian often ignored his quips entirely, but the possible clone did catch his ear.

"Get as close as you can and scan for a GPS, they aren't on a usual route, it's possible they could be going to an unmarked location off road. Or were you already going to do that, seeing as how it seems to be a rookie move?"

Terry smirked, "I already scanned for a GPS and I didn't find one, but I hacked the cellular signals for each of these guys, it's giving me a signal in a remote area between Bludhaven and that nuclear landfill they've got buried 19 miles off. And by the way you're getting slow on me Damian, you're thinking like a rookie," he said, even though he'd regret that on upcoming drills.

"Hey Damian, I'm closing the com-link down, I'm getting some magnetic interference from the disaster zone, check-in in 15," He said as he shut down his head-set and flew ahead of the speeding pick-up toward their presumed destination."

I'm not Batman.. at least.. I'm a very different one from my predecessors. I like to be talkative and spread my charm through the battlefields, I guess that's why me and Dick Grayson get along, but he's the only one among this team who came out of this life happy. I like to let my mind wander, it's not a trait you'd expect from Batman.. my wandering thoughts are the things that keep me going though.. I don't expect to die in action, I only expect to win, that's my only endgame in this life. All the previous Batmen had entire parts of their life crumble from the job, Dick is the only one that truly recovered from it.. I plan on avoiding the crumbling all together, I plan on being happily married without a mention of this life.. I plan on saving the world until it reaches a point where Batman isn't needed. It's funny that people call this dangerous thinking

"So this is where they're headed, tracker shows em staying on path, waiting game is over, time to find out what these "Rockies" are all about," he talked to himself, a habit he gained overtime wearing the cowl, at the very least it helps to break the silence.

"Damian, can you hear me, I've got a dome shaped building in the safe-zone... I've never seen it before neither," relayed Terry.

"Double negatives Terry, really? Do I have to school you on grammar now too? Anyway, after you've found an opening, plant some surveillance and get some more info on what they brought in that truck. If it's weapons below grade-3 then ignore for now, if it's grade-4 or above then call for back-up and just wait. If it's something else entirely, well, proceed how you want but keep me informed."

Terry went to work, he found a magnetic lock panel, and he was reading a couple of human heat signatures behind it, mostly armed with grade-2 tech, Blastgats and Chainsnipes, nothing too serious if it were four or five, but he was reading at least 25 individuals all armed.

I'm not Batman... at least.. I don't think Batman always makes the worst decision out of a hard dozen. But that's what I usually do, and then I go and fix it. But staying in stealth will be key here, otherwise it'll be suicide. And who the hell is funding the Rockies, that much tech must've cost a fortune. Looks like the pick-up arrived, I'll follow it in and watch em upload, it really didn't matter what kind of security this place has, the combined experience of the previous Batmen ensure I can sneak in anywhere. Hell, I've gotten the jump on Superman before.

Terry began to follow them in as the metal dome opened up in a spiral pattern just large enough to drive through, the security system didn't detect the Batsuit at all. He followed them to a loading dock and placed surveillance nodes in each room he went through along the way. They started to unload the truck and pull out different containers. The first one to catch Terry's eye was the one with the hazard symbol an had a high temperature on the thermal scan. Luckily the Rockies were a talkative bunch.

"What the hell does the boss want with all this crap. We lost two of our group just moving it out of Jokerz territory last week. You know they got 20 times as many splicers they had last year. One of them ate Lonnie's face and used his blood to draw smiles on the wall. I've never been so freaked out in my life."

"Yea, if wouldn't for Batman tossing their new Hyena Cerberus Splicer through the ceiling we wouldn't have made it either."

"Stop complaining, shithead! I had to ride in the back with this shit! The fumes were killing me, I even had a gas mask on. We need to get it to Karlo, so we don't have breathe it in anymore."

Terry instantly knew the name Karlo, it was the real name of the extremely super resilient and original Clayface. He contacted Damian.

"I've got trouble, real trouble, you remember that guy who kicked my ass before, who I froze and blew up. He's not dead, apparently these containers are for him, I think Clayface is looking for another deadly upgrade. If he's in the building, I have to stop him right away, he's impossible to beat without the right tools, and if he's looking for an upgrade, he's probably weak right now, it'd be the best time to take him out."

Damian wasn't too happy about that, "Stand down Terry, don't do anything rash, your only option if you fight Clayface and the Rockies right now is death."

"I won't die." Terry forcefully stated. He started doing calculations in his head.

I'm not Batman.. at least.. I won't be forever. This suit holds 15 mini-impact Batarangs, 10 coin sized explosive disc, 4 smoke pellets, 4 sleeping gas pellets, 4 tear-gas pellets, and a wide area taser. I have enough to take down all of these thugs right now if I come up with the right strategy. But if Clayface walks in, I'm in for some deep shit. At best I could only hold him at bay with the wide area taser. Taking a single shot from a grade-2 weapon will hinder my mobility and effectiveness, my suit is enough to keep it from killing me from a couple of shots, but those shots hurt like hell.

"Three smoke bombs, two tear gas pellets, these guys are all wearing mask, so I'm counting on the irritation from the tear gas to really mess up there game. Once the smoke is in the air, it's a systematic takedown, I've just got to watch for wild shots from terrified gunners. Have to save my taser for Clayface." Terry quietly thought out loud, making sure Damian heard the message. He didn't disagree about this approach.

"Make sure you scan those other boxes after you take them down," Damian calmly said, letting his faith in Terry show.

With that Terry launched the smoke bombs and tear gas. With random gun fire busting in every direction Terry went in for the hunt. The Rockies were afraid.

"Who the hell is there!"

"You idiot, that's the fucking obvious part!"

"Oh shit, shit, shit, shit!"

"Shoot the summabitch!"

"Fuck! one of you dickheads shot me!"

"FUCK! HE'S GOT ME!"

"Get the fuck out here, I'm not afra-!"

"Damn! You guys are dropping like flies!"

"I don't wanna be next, I'm getting the hell out of here!"

"Look! I dropped my gun, I surrender! I surren-!"

"Oh hell! He doesn't sound like he's taking prisoners!"

"Someone call the Boss! Hurry up!"

"No, no, no, no, no, no!"

"Ahh.. somethings wrong with this smoke!"

"You idiot! Keep your mask on!"

"Damn! He just got Jim!"

"Fuck, I just shot Marvin in the face!"

"He's got explosives, he just sent Manny packin'"

"Damn, we should of got some hostages!"

"Idiot, he'd just hurt us wor-, ahrgh!

"I'll tell you anything you want, don't break my arm!

"Fuck him! I'll let you fuck my wife!"

"You guys are pussies, he's just one fucking man, shoot him in the f-"

"He really likes cutting our sentences sho-, just kidd-"

"What the fuck are you!" this was the last Rocky, so he answered him back

"…I'm Batman."

So this was New Gotham 01. Please Review. I have New Gotham 02 (chapter 2 in this case) Ready to upload upon the 10th review of this.

- Character Preview For Next Chapter – Enter the mysterious young girl from the pick-up, Carrie Kelly!