Chapter One,
The Prologue to the Second Act :
The passengers waited silently for the Gotham express train. The express trains were popular in Gotham for many reasons; first, there's safety in numbers and the crowds on every side offer a sense of protection. Second, parking was paid for through the nose. Worse was the car insurance; insurance companies in Gotham make a fortune off of trashed property. And then, of course, it was always clean and smooth, keeping Gotham's scum out of everybody's mind. It was also a landmark; the railway lines were built by Dr. Thomas Wayne, one of the city's folk heroes.
But today, the people would get a shock, and maybe begin to rethink the trains. They crowded along the edge of the platform, waiting for it to slow to a stop. It didn't. Eyes widened, and people backed away from the station as it soared past, not slowing down. As they watched the passengers inside the train screaming and pounding at the windows, the heard the eerie laugh of its captor.
The people crowded along the platform muttered in shock. Then they smiled, and cheered, and pointed, as a green bolt shot through the air behind the train.
Green Lantern caught up to the train easily and landed on the front car. "It's over Clayface!" She yelled. "Give up now!"
Clayface turned dramatically, sweeping his cloak. Basil Karloff was once a famed actor, until he was turned down for the monster role in the remake of one of his more popular movies, Clayface. He was asked to be on the creative team, but instead opted to pay the producer, director, and lead actor back for their insult by dressing up as the monster Clayface and killing them all.
"I think not Lantern!" He announced. "This is not yet the climactic battle, but merely the beginning of the second act! Look around you!" He gestured grandly. "The heroine has finally uncovered the malevolent mastermind behind the crimes! He stands before her, a suitcase of stolen money in his hands. What he plans on doing with it she doesn't know, but she is determined it ends here. But!" He held up a finger triumphantly. "The villain has an ace up his sleeve!"
He pointed and Green Lantern looked. As the tracks curved away, she saw something on them. She used her ring to magnify her vision, and she realized it was Jason Bard tied to the tracks!
"Yes, the villain had captured the hero's loved one!" Clayface cackled.
"Why does everybody keep assuming we're together?" Green Lantern yelled. "We aren't!"
"No matter!" Clayface said. "In moments this train will reach him, and the explosives I've planted will detonate with the impact! He and countless others will die unless you go rescue him! And in the meanwhile, I shall make my dramatic exit, and you will be forced to attempt to stop me at a later date!" He took a bow, and reached up. A helicopter intercepted the train's path and Clayface grabbed the bottom rung of the rope ladder dangling from it. "I will see you at the third act!" He yelled as he made his getaway.
"Not again." She gritted her teeth. She flew in front of the train and summoned a pinball coil from her ring. The train pressed against it and slowly lost its momentum. After what seemed like minutes to Green Lantern the train slowed to a stop.
She turned around and cut Jason Bard's ropes. "Do you think you could not keep getting kidnapped?" She asked as she helped him up. "You're not making my job any easier."
"Well maybe if you stopped acting all interested in me, these freaks wouldn't assume we're together and kidnap me in the first place." He said, brushing himself off.
"I don't – we're not – there are explosives in the train. Take care of them." Green Lantern flew off in a huff, in hot pursuit of Clayface's helicopter.
He saw her coming as the helicopter flew through the Gotham's buildings. "What do we do sir?" One of his henchmen asked, pulling him into the helicopter.
"Cover fire." Clayface said.
The henchman pulled out a machine gun and started firing at Green Lantern. She blocked it easily, and formed a megaphone with her ring. "I am a deputized member of the Gotham police department." She said. "This is your last warning. Land."
"She's still coming sir." The Henchman said in a panic. He turned around and a silver hammer shot out and cracked his skull.
"Damn." Green Lantern said as the corpse fell off of the helicopter. She scooped it up and dropped in off on a roof to pick up later. She flew straight ahead of the helicopter and created a laser gun, carving a circle in the glass. She popped it out, hitting the pilot on the head and grabbing hold of the ignition keys, tearing them out. As the helicopter started to fall out of the sky, she made a landing platform and lifted it onto the roof.
"I'm coming in Clayface." She said, taking a green crowbar to the door. She tore it open to reveal… the corpse of the dead henchmen.
She took a moment to process it. "No…" She flew over to the roof where she'd dropped the body. The body was gone. A note was pinned to the ground with an ornate dagger.
"Good show Green Lantern." The note said. "But like I said, you're not allowed to find me until the third act."
She heard his dramatic laughter in the wind and crunched the paper up in her hand. "Did you catch him?" Her dad, Lieutenant Gordon asked through the radio.
"No." She said. "It was Clayface. And as usual, he got away in preparation for a 'third act'. We haven't seen the last of him"
"We never see the last of him." Gordon said. "Nothing stays quiet in Gotham."