It was morning at the city of Metropolis and the city is busy as usual. People are seen, hurrying to their offices, students are going for their schools or colleges. In short, no one has time to look at another person beside them. That's why no one noticed a man dressed in a violet coat walking down the streets with a suitcase in his hand and his face obscured by his large hat. There were at least ten men who were following the man in violet coat walking in front of them. They were also wearing long coats with their hands inside their pockets. The man was keenly aware that he is being followed but said nothing, instead after walking a few paces he turned left and then kept walking straight towards the Central Park of Metropolis. Without disturbing anyone he entered the park and sat down on a bench with the suitcase settled beside him. One of the men who were following him, came near him and sat down on the same bench.
"Boss, we are ready. Waiting for your orders." The large man said to the thin man in violet coat.
"Call the trucks in." Came the reply in an unusually cackled voice. The way he talked was not normal. The man who sat beside him contacted someone and ordered the trucks to come in. Several minutes passed before a large, black truck stopped in front of the park gate.
"Bring it in." The strange man replied, in his unusual cackled tone.
"Right away, boss." His men acknowledged his order and went to the truck. With struggle they pulled out a heavy machine from the back of the truck. They were having difficulty to hold the machine up but they knew if they dropped it, their boss will shoot them in the head without a second thought. The park was empty so they needn't worry about unwanted attention. A few of the passerby's glanced at them but didn't pay much attention. They carried the heavy machine into the center of the park and stepped away.
"Execute the second step." The boss ordered again. They nodded and each one of them got out of the park and went towards the bus stop where several children were waiting for their buses to arrive. Without warning they pulled out automatic rifles and sub machine guns from underneath their coats and began firing them among the crowd haphazardly but not hitting anyone. Two or three policemen who were in the area tried to stop them, but they were instantly gunned down by the automatic fire from the goons' weapons. The crowd went into chaos and people began to run in different directions for their lives, or there were parents trying to find their child who got lost among the chaos. But none of the children were lost or dead. They were surrounded by the gunmen and now being escorted towards the park. The children were almost shoved inside the park when they got pushed by the men with gun. They all fell at the feet of the man who was sitting on the bench, with his face still hidden.
The children got up and looked at the strange man and then towards the men with guns in hand. Their faces were reflecting the horror and fear they are going through. Most of them were crying and were asking for their parents. But the gunmen showed no mercy.
"Why are keeping us here? Let us go! Now!" One of the children who wasn't crying demanded. He is in fear but he looked up to Superman who was always brave in any situation. Superman is everyone's hero, including his.
The man sitting on the bench cackled in laughter. "Let you go? Not now child."
"You should let us go, before Superman comes and smash your face." The same child demanded, bravely.
The man laughed again. It was an unusual laugh. The sounds of the laughter made the hairs on the back of the children's neck stand up. They felt a shiver ran down their spine. "Superman? Well, I am waiting for him."
This will be the end of him. This will be the end of his heroism. Finally, I will win. He thought and laughed again.
An hour has passed since the children were abducted by the stranger and his goons. Reporters from around the city tried to get a glimpse of the situation but the police kept them at bay. Policemen were having a very hard time as they had to keep both the reporters and children's parents away from the park. Parents were crying, some were trying to get past the police. The peaceful morning turned into chaos within an hour.
"Sergeant, what is their demand? What does that man want by keeping the children as prisoners?" The head of the police asked.
"We don't know, sir. They haven't made any demands yet." The Sergeant replied.
"They are not keeping the children as prisoners as nothing. They must want something in return." The head of the police, Mr. Rupert Benjamin said to himself. Then he looked up at his Sergeant. "We must do something, Sergeant. It is getting harder and harder to contain the parents of those innocent children."
"We cannot blame them, sir." The Sergeant said.
"True. What about the SWAT team?" Mr. Benjamin asked.
"They are already on their way, sir. But what can the SWAT team do? Those goons are out in the open and if anyone tries anything they may kill those children. We cannot let that happen." The Sergeant explained.
"What about snipers? The park is surrounded by these numerous tall buildings. If we can take down all of them at the same time, then we can save the children. That may be our only chance." Mr. Benjamin deduced.
"Aye, sir. But still there are risks."
"We have to take the chance, Sergeant. There's nothing else we can do."
At that moment another policeman came running to the Sergeant and Mr. Benjamin. "Sir. They have responded. They are demanding to bring a reporter to them."
"Do it." Mr. Benjamin gave permission.
Within a few minutes a reporter and his cameraman was sent inside the park according to the demand of the goons. The cameraman was ordered to fix his camera on the leader of the goons who was still sitting on the bench with his legs crossed and hiding his face with his long hat. "Superman!" He said in his unusual cackling tone. "I know you are seeing this live broadcast. So, I demand you to show yourself with your friends within an hour, otherwise with every passing minute, I will execute one children. Won't that be wonderful?" He cackled with laughter again. "I bet when you get here, we will have lots of fun because I wouldn't mind a private wrestling with you, Wonder bra woman if you won't mind, Superman. She will be a good company." He cackled in laughter again. He then snatched away the mike from the reporters hand to look directly at the camera. "Remember, you only have an hour." The wide unnatural grin on the white face of the man was everyone's nightmare who knew him. His red lips, short jet black hair and a hooked nose. His eyes dancing with mischief and something violent. The Joker pressed his face against the glass of the camera. "Hey, Bats don't make me wait! Come quick or it will be just boring to kill these children. Ha! Ha!" The Joker jumped away from the camera and pressed one of the child's cheek with his fingers and then kept on laughing. It was madness. The clown's madness upon the city of Metropolis.
"Sir, the SWAT team is here." The Sergeant said.
"Good. Tell them about the plan." Mr. Benjamin ordered.
"Sir, if I may….."
"Yes, Sergeant?"
"Sir, shouldn't we wait for Superman and the others?"
Mr. Benjamin scowled. He didn't like the fact that the police have to depend on the heroes so much. The police can do things on their own. They are perfectly capable of it and today they will show it. "No. Do as I said. Ready the snipers."
"Yes, sir." The Sergeant saluted and agreed to the order of his superior officer reluctantly. He had heard things about the Joker and since he is involved, it won't be easy to save those children. The police will need the help of the heroes. He walked towards the back of a large building where the SWAT team was getting ready secretly without revealing their presence. The Sergeant arrived and debriefed the team about the plan of rescuing those children. Within a few minutes the team was ready. They divided into four teams with each team consisting of four SWAT members. They scattered in different direction and accessed the four building by the back entrances that were overlooking the park. The SWAT team quickly got to the roofs of the buildings and begin to prepare their snipers. Suddenly without warning, a violet ray struck one of the SWAT member at his back. He shrieked in horror as he was pushed by the force of the hit and over the wall. The others tried to catch him but it was too quick and too surprising, so no one could catch him. He fell from the 36th floor on the ground, which caused his death instantly. The other members on the roof was also assaulted by something unknown. They had no time to react. Within a few seconds, they all lay dead on the ground. The other teams also met the same fate.
The Sergeant came running to his superior officer. "Sir. I have bad news."
"What is it Sergeant?"
"All members of our SWAT team is dead, sir."
Mr. Benjamin's eyes widened in shock. "Dead? What are you talking about? How?"
"The Joker knew sir. He knew that we will try something like this. Our team ran right into an ambush." Mr. Benjamin could only stare at his Sergeant with shock and horror etched on his face.
WAYNE MANOR, AN HOUR AGO
The black haired sleeping beauty on the bed sighed as she began to wake up. She had a contended smile on her face while sleeping. She turned on her stomach and felt the spot on the bed beside her which was empty. Immediately her eyes blue eyes snapped open. She got up from the bed covering herself with the bed sheet as she was completely naked under it. She looked around for her husband but didn't see him anywhere nearby.
He must have left for his job. She thought. She sat down back on the bed with a contended sigh. She still felt tired after the last night's activity. As she recalled the events of the last night a contended smile appeared on her lips. She smiled at the thought how everything turned from simple kissing to such passionate activities. Her husband has worn her out. She still felt sore. But this didn't surprise her as she thought about it. After all Bruce Wayne was one of the famous playboys. She knew that he didn't slept with all the women who he used to bring as his dates but he wasn't any saint either.
Her train of thoughts were broken by a gentle tap on the door from outside. "Miss Diana, are you up?" It was Alfred.
"Yes, Alfred. I am up. I will be there within ten minutes." She replied and discarded the sheet standing completely naked now. She took her clothes and went straight for the washroom to get ready for the day. True to her word, Diana met Alfred on the couch in the living room. "Where's Bruce?"
"He has left for work, Miss." Alfred said, handing her a cup of tea. Diana kept sipping her tea with her eyes on the newspaper. With the corner of her eyes she saw Alfred still standing there which was unusual for him. "Alfred is there anything you wish to tell me?"
"I need to show you something, Miss."
"What?"
Alfred simply went to the TV and switched it on. The news was showing the chaos in the Metropolis city. Diana's eyes turned wide in shock. Then, when she realized what is going on and who is responsible for all the chaos, her jaw tightened in anger. She turned to Alfred when he turned off the TV. "Does, Bruce know about this?"
"Yes. He is already on his way, Miss. And I must inform you that Master Kent was trying to contact you for some time now."
"Thanks, Alfred. I will see what he have to say about this." Diana said getting up from the sofa. She quickly got her communicator and contacted Superman. "Kal! It's Diana." She said.
"Diana. Have you seen the news?" Superman asked.
"Yes. I have. Where do you want to meet?" Diana asked.
"Diana we have no time to waste. Meet me at Metropolis Central Park. I will bring the others. But where is Bruce? I couldn't get in touch with him."
"He is already on his way. I will meet you there within thirty minutes." Diana said disconnecting the communicator.
METROPOLIS, CENTRAL PARK, 30 MINUTES LATER
The team of superheroes gathered near the Central Park to show themselves to the Joker. Superman approached the Park first. "We are here, Joker. As you demanded. Now, let the children go."
"Not so fast, Superman. Let's have some fun, first." The Joker cackled.
Batman stepped beside Flash silently. "I will distract them. You and John get the children to safety." Wally jumped at the sudden voice near his ear. "Geez, Bats. One day you will give me a heart attack." Batman only gave him a glare in return. He instantly shut up. Batman moved forward towards Superman who was ahead.
"I thought Diana has loosed him up. Buy no. He is still the same Bats I know." Wally whispered in John's ears who rolled his eyes.
"I heard that." Batman growled.
Flash gulped and zipped away. John cracked a smile even in this dire situation. Shayera shook her head while J'onn begin to observe the surroundings. Batman stepped beside Superman. "Joker is not willing to let children go free." Superman whispered.
"Flash and Lantern will handle it. I will distract them. And expect ambush." Batman said.
"Yes. I am ready for it." Superman said.
"You mean we all are ready for it." Diana said when she, Shayera and J'onn stepped beside Batman and Superman. They nodded at each other and begin to approach the park slowly.
"Welcome, Bats. I was waiting for you." The Joker greeted and grinned at Batman. Batman said nothing. He observed the gunmen who had their weapons pointed at the children's heads. Then faster than blinking he threw a smoke bomb at the ground obscuring the vision of the gunmen and the Joker. The Flash and Lantern was waiting for this moment. The Flash gathered the children faster than a person could blink and Lantern used his ring to create a shield around the helpless children and brought them back to their parents. The parents were happy to get their children back as they embraced their children and shed tears of happiness. But John knew this was not the place to celebrate. "Officer, immediately vacate this area." The Officer nodded and ordered his men to push the public away from the hostile zone.
Superman sent six men flying away with his breath while Diana tied the rest of them with her lasso, after quickly disarming them with the help of Batman. Batman had his eyes set on the clown who was on the ground clutching his bleeding nose. "You broke my nose, Bats. My beautiful nose. That's not fun." He complained. The Batman took a menacing step forward and lifted the Joker up on his feet and above the ground by his collar.
"What are you planning, Joker? Tell me!" He growled. He knew this cannot be all because this was too easy. The Joker must have planned something else.
"Wouldn't you like to use your brain to find it out Bats?" The Joker laughed.
Superman was standing guard over the gunmen. One of them suddenly got on his feet and kicked Superman hard on his chest. Superman flew away and landed on the street after destroying the wall of the Park. Superman immediately got to his feet but he was shocked that a mere man had strength to hit him that hard. He scanned the man with his X-ray vision and his eyes widened. The gunman had no internal organs or bones in his body, all he has was metal.
"Metallo." Superman whispered. From the corner of his eyes he saw several more super villains arriving at the scene – Grundy, Bizzaro, Parasite, Cheetah, Giganta, Deathstroke, Gorilla Grodd and several more. The team of super heroes suddenly found themselves being surrounded by their enemies. Batman threw the Joker roughly on the ground and assessed the situation. He could see that they were greatly outnumbered. His brain quickly tried to formulate a plan to survive the ambush. Suddenly his eyes fell on the large machine at the far end of the Park. Immediately his eyes narrowed. From the looks of it he could tell that it was a bomb. J'onn also knew that they needed assistance. He telepathically contacted as many other heroes he could before he could hear Batman's voice in his head. "J'onn there is a bomb."
The battle immediately started. The villains and the heroes clashed among themselves to gain the upper hand. Batman knocked down the Joker with a powerful punch and contacted J'onn to disable the bomb. J'onn was having difficulty as he was surrounded by villains. "Diana, help J'onn." Batman said.
Diana acknowledged his request without question. She distracted the villains surrounding J'onn for enough time to let the Martian slip past undetected. When he approached the bomb he examined it carefully as his eyes glowed orange. He simply phased himself and tear out the wires inside it, successfully disabling the bomb. The superheroes were so busy, fighting the villains that they didn't see the lone sniper on top of the building. As the time passed by, most of the super villains were brought to their feet when other heroes arrived for assistance. Just when the situation seemed under control a sound was heard and someone fell to the ground. Everyone's eyes widened in shock when they saw Batman on the ground clutching his stomach which was bleeding profusely and the Joker was standing over him with a gun in his hand. Superman immediately spotted the sniper on top of the roof but before he could shot towards either Joker or the sniper, another shot rang out. This time it was from the gun of the Joker. The bullet hit Batman directly in his head and he was dead instantly.
"NOOOOOOOO!" Diana screamed and rocketed towards Joker, who was laughing like a maniac. When the clown saw the heroine heading towards him, he aimed his gun towards her. But she was simply too fast for him. She quickly disarmed him and held him by his collar. In the meantime, Flash had managed to get the sniper. He was none other than Deadshot. But there was nothing to celebrate their victory. Because the Batman was dead.
Tears of pain and grief were running down Diana's eyes, blurring her vision. She couldn't think straight anymore. Actually she couldn't think anymore. Her husband is dead. The man she loved, who was everything to her is dead and there was nothing she could do to prevent it. She looked at the clown who was still laughing. "I brought down the Bats. I won. Finally. Must tell, Harley."
"You will not see, Harley." Diana said through gritted teeth. Everyone watched in anticipation what Wonder Woman is going to do. Except her closest friends, no one knew that she is married to Batman. They all knew that she is married to Bruce Wayne.
"Of course, I wi….".The Joker couldn't finish his sentence because at that moment Diana's fist went through his stomach and the laughter of the clown died forever. His body went limp in Diana's hand. She threw away the dead body of the Joker is disgust and set her focus on the assassin. Deadshot's eyes widened seeing the fury of Wonder Woman. The woman with short black hair, blue eyes and a black armor standing before him had murder in her eyes. He could see that. Within the blink of an eye Diana pulled out her sword and beheaded the assassin, before he could even scream or knew what was happening. The other heroes were shocked at her behavior and actions. She just killed two people in cold blood. Then she broke down and kneeled down in front of Batman's still form. She buried her face in his neck and cried her heart out. But that wasn't enough. No matter how much she cried, the grief won't go away. There is no way she can live without him. No way. Never. She will kill herself too. She will die too. But suddenly she remembered something. Shayera and Zatanna who were silently consoling her, flinched when she got on her feet suddenly.
"Kal, you remember what happened last week?" Diana asked.
"What are you talking about, Diana?" Superman asked. His face filled with sadness and eyes never leaving the still form of his best friend, lying on the ground.
"You remember the cross-dimensional device, Luthor talked about?" Diana asked.
"Yes. What about it? What do you want to do?" Superman asked.
"I will tell you later. But first we need to finish an unfinished business." Diana said.
"What?"
"Get rid of these scums forever. We should've done this a long time ago." Diana said, looking at the super villains her eyes filled with hate and anger. She unsheathed her sword and walked menacingly towards the villains who were kept imprisoned. "You are right." Superman agreed. The others nodded too.
Moments later there were only sounds of screams. The entire police force watched the scene in horror, silently.
TO BE CONTINUED…
NOTE: Well that's all. This is the sequel to the Justice League: Vengeance. And yes Batman is dead. He is not coming back. Review please.