Note: Batman is owned by DC Comics and was created by writer Bill Finger and artist Bob Kane.
Batman was pacing around the Batcave, thinking about his crime-fighting career. He wondered if he should keep being Batman. Was he doing the right thing or was his vigilante sense of dealing with things a mistake? These questions were on his mind, while continuing his walk around the Batcave. Batman's butler, Alfred Pennyworth, saw him and was concerned about him. Batman looked at him and said, "Hi Alfred."
Alfred replied, "Hi sir. Are you alright?"
Batman responded, "You could say that. In fact, you could say a lot of things."
Alfred had a confused look on his face, while asking, "What do you mean?"
Batman kept his head down, while saying, "For years, I've been the Batman. I've fought dozens of criminals, maybe even a few hundred. I've stopped robberies, acts of violence, and countless other crimes. Despite that, I don't know if, what I'm doing, is for the best."
Alfred replied, "Of course it is, sir. Why would you doubt that?"
Batman wiped dust off the Batcomputer, while saying, "Think about it, Alfred. I do stop the villains and they get sent back to Arkham Asylum. However, they break out and cause more trouble. Am I being the hero Gotham needs or am I just delaying the bad guys' next crime?"
Alfred replied, "You're source of hope for a majority of Gotham. Don't lose sight of that." Alfred started cleaning Wayne Manor, while Batman looked around and thought about his feelings.
A short time later, the Bat-Signal was flashing in the sky. Batman decided to follow it. He got into the Batmobile and started driving around the city. He heard, on a news radio station, about a nearby robbery. He decided to go after it.
Batman parked the Batmobile and started heading into the jewelry store. He looked around and saw Oswald Cobblepot, the Penguin. The Penguin squawked and said, "Hi Batman. How are you doing?"
Batman replied, "Skip the mundane questions and let's focus on the ones that matter. Why are you in here?"
The Penguin responded, "Hold on a minute, Batman. I have some business to attend to." He broke a display case and started packing up some of the jewelry. He had a smug look on his face, before Batman used his grappling hook on him, and punched him across the jewelry store.
Batman grabbed the Penguin and asked, "What type of scheme are you up to?"
The Penguin smiled and answered, "Don't worry. It's nothing your simplistic, repetitive mind couldn't figure out."
Batman asked, "Simplistic and repetitive? How ignorant are you? I'm a detective, not some kind of simpleton."
The Penguin had a smug smile on his face, while saying, "Don't squawk around, Batman. I know what's really going on. You're running out of determination, out of energy. You go around, beating up every criminal that you can find. You can act like you do it for justice, but you do it to make yourself feel better."
Batman sternly replied, "You're wrong about that. I care about the citizens of Gotham and making them feel better, not just making myself feel better. If you don't understand that, you're the simplistic and repetitive one. So, what are you up to?"
The Penguin smirked and responded, "Just a jewel robbery."
Batman asked, "Just a jewel robbery? Come on. Knowing you, you have something up your sleeves."
The Penguin replied, "That reminds me of something. Hold on, dark knight." He pulled some crackers out of his sleeves and said, "I was going to give these to my birds, but I forgot about them."
Batman punched the Penguin and responded, "Come on, you have to have something else planned."
The Penguin calmly replied, "You need to take some chill pills, Batman. There's nothing else going on here." He paused and said, "Well, after I take these jewels, I could start selling them. Good way to make some quick cash, don't you think? Thanks to you, it's hard to get any scams done."
Batman paused, wondering if he really had been bringing down the crime rate in Gotham. He asked, "Am I really responsible for scaring away Gotham's criminals, from doing scams and robberies?"
The Penguin said, "You can say that, if it benefits your ego. However, it's hardly anything the police can't handle."
Batman lightly smiled and replied, "If you think that, then criminals, like you and Joker, aren't as threatening as they think they are."
The Penguin responded, "Sure, us criminals can be easily defeated. However, we can easily get out and start doing more robberies. If we ever get lucky, we'll finally get lucky. Doesn't that sound great?"
Batman grabbed Penguin and confidently said, "That sounds like something that's never going to happen." He punched and kicked Penguin. Penguin tried to put up a fight, but he couldn't keep up with Batman's fighting skills. After the fight was over, Penguin passed out.
The police came by and arrested the Penguin. Commissioner Gordon walked up to Batman and said, "Thank you for your help."
Batman asked, "Help? I'm not so sure about that."
Commissioner Gordon had a confused look on his face, while asking, "What do you mean?"
Batman pointed around the city and said, "My goal was to make this city safer, but I have doubts about my progress. This city still has plenty of criminals. In fact, it's gained dozens of criminals, since I started being Batman. Am I actually making things better?"
Commissioner Gordon answered, "Yes you are."
Batman replied, "Frankly, I'm not sure if I'm doing anything the police can't handle."
A short time later, the Penguin was back in Arkham Asylum. The Joker broke out of his cell and walked up to Penguin's cell. He looked at him, while saying, Pengy wengy, what's going on?"
The Penguin angrily said, "Stupid Batman sent me back here." He paused and said, "However, his spirit is breaking."
The Joker had an intrigued look on his face, while saying, "You've captivated my interest. What's going on with our old enemy?"
The Penguin boastfully said, "I was able to use my brilliant brain, to figure out Batman's secret emotions."
An overly excited and impatient Joker replied, "Skip the self-compliments and just tell me!"
The Penguin responded, "Batman feels like he's not important, like Gotham doesn't need him. If we can trick him into thinking he's not important, we can get him off our hands."
The Joker thought about it, while pacing around. He started jumping up and down, while saying, "I have the ultimate scheme: I'm going to spray Gotham's biggest bank with laughing gas. It'll be a big, glorious crime, but it's nothing the police can't handle. That way, I'll break Batman's confidence and become rich."
The Penguin asked, "How about letting me out? I'd be a big help."
The Joker replied, "Oh Pengy, you're more than just one of my favorite animals. You're also one of my favorite suckers." He left Penguin behind, while doing an evil laugh. Penguin shook his fist at him.
A few hours later, the Joker showed up to Gotham's biggest bank, while having a big tank of laughing gas. He burst open, with an excited look on his face, while saying, "Greetings, bankers and average customers of Gotham." He looked at them and saw the citizens being scared and annoyed, by his presence. He said, "Wow, there's no sense of humor in here, no fun. It's time to change that." He started spraying laughing gas at all of the bank employees and customers. They burst into laughter, while Joker said, "Oh, I love your new personality. It's so much more fun loving than your previous life of blandness. While you guys laugh your heads off, I have the biggest bank to rob." He started breaking into the bank vault, while doing an evil laugh.
Meanwhile, Batman was watching TV, while in the Batcave. He saw a news report about the Joker's bank robbery. Batman asked, "A bank robbery? That would normally be something I'd stop, but I don't think I should bother, anymore. Bank robberies are a mundane type of crime, the thing police officers can easily stop."
A short time later, the police started heading into the bank. The Joker had a disappointed look on his face, while saying, "I only had time to bag up a few thousand. You guys are making this robbery anti-climatic." He had an evil smile on his face, while saying, "It's time to change that." He sprayed laughing gas at the police officers. The police officers tried to fight the Joker, but they started bursting into laughter. Joker looked around and saw dozens of police officers, all of which were failing to stop him. Joker pranced around, feeling a great sense of victory.
Suddenly, more police officers burst in. These ones looked more fierce and they had guns pointed at the Joker. Joker quickly grabbed his laughing gas and started using it on the police officers. The stern, harsher police officers were helpless against the Joker's laughing gas. They went to the ground, while bursting into laughter. Joker examined the situation, while saying, "Wow, this is going better than I thought it would." He had a proud look on his face, while saying, "I defeated Gotham's top police officers and because of that, Gotham's top bank is mine!" He did an evil sounding laugh.
A half hour later, Batman was watching an update, about the bank robbery. He found out that Gotham's two best teams of police officers had been defeated by the Joker. He had a nervous, guilty look on his face. He was starting to realize he had a strong importance to Gotham and that he should continue his life of crime fighting. He got into the Batmobile and started heading to the bank.
The Joker bagged up all of the bank's money, while thinking, "I wonder what Gotham will do without their police officers and their biggest bank. Without the police, security will be a nightmare and without the bank, dozens of citizens will go broke. Perhaps I can get the normal, boring citizens to move out and have the crazies take over Gotham. I might even have the city renamed." He did an evil laugh.
Batman burst into the bank vault and replied, "Greetings, clown prince of crime."
The Joker had a smug look on his face, while saying, "I'm going to become more than the clown prince, soon enough. I'm intending on becoming the King of Gotham, sort of like a Mayor."
Batman sternly replied, "You'd never become the Mayor."
The Joker responded, "Penguin's tried to be the Mayor a few times, so electing me wouldn't be so bad."
Batman replied, "As rotten as Penguin is, he'd be a better mayor than you."
The Joker had an offended look on his face, while saying, "Sheesh Batman, where's the respect for your arch-enemy?"
Batman grabbed the Joker and replied, "Being an arch-enemy earns fear, not respect."
The Joker had an amused look on his face, while saying, "Scarecrow would appreciate that sentiment."
Batman started kicking the Joker. He kicked the Joker across the bank. The Joker looked around and noticed that Batman seemed to have something on his mind. However, he wasn't one to let Batman sort things out, so he kicked him and said, "One of the few things I remember about childhood is being one heck of a soccer player."
Batman punched the Joker and said, "Your scheme is all over."
The Joker asked, "Do you think punching me around will stop my scheme? I still have tons of laughing gas and I'm going to spray it all over Gotham." He did a villainous laugh.
Batman shook his head and replied, "That's not what's going to happen, Joker. After I kicked you, I used a special batarang to break your laughing gas machine. Also, while I was just talking, I was also putting handcuffs on you."
The Joker looked down and saw that he had handcuffs on. He had a confused look on his face, while asking, "How did you make that happen?"
Batman explained, "I haven't been thinking or working as hard as I should. Gotham does need normal heroes, like the police, but it also needs me. Oddly enough, I have to thank you. You made me realize I'm important." The Joker had a fake smile on his face, before angrily shaking his fist at Batman. Batman smile, while finally feeling like the hero Gotham needs and deserves.