Disclaimer: I do not own Batman
Gotham Nights
A slow fear was permeating Gotham the next morning. News of the Joker and Scarecrow's escape was all over the place, especially considering the fact that they'd had help. The fear that the Joker had caused a while before was creeping back in. The day was dark and dour, hinting of an oncoming storm.
In Wayne Towers, Alfred was busily making Bruce's breakfast. While he approved of him being Batman, he did wish he could get home a little earlier, and preferably not make as much noise when he did. He was like a teenager the noise he made. Alfred spooned two sugars into Bruce's coffee and observed the news as he did so.
The fact that the Joker was out was very disturbing. The Joker had nearly destroyed Gotham, and Bruce with his antics. He had also shattered Bruce by organising the death of Rachel Dawes. Alfred frowned sadly at the thought. Rachel had been a lovely girl, and her only failing was that she'd been dating Dent when the Joker had appeared. Alfred wished he'd convinced her to stay at Wayne Towers that fateful day.
Sighing, he put Bruce's breakfast onto a tray and entered the penthouse area where he and his master had been living since Ra's al Ghul had burned down Wayne Manor.
He took the tray through, and opened the door to his charge's room. He was immediately distracted by the sight of blood on the floor.
"Master Bruce?" he asked in concern.
Bruce gave a weary groan from the bed.
"Are you alright sir?" he asked, putting the tray down and rushing to the young man.
Bruce slowly pulled himself up, showing a puddle of blood that had absorbed into the bed covers.
"Master Bruce!" Alfred exclaimed with shock and concern.
"It's nothing Alfred."
Alfred shot him a dirty look.
"You've bled all over my clean sheets, have a gaping hole in your back and expect me to believe it's nothing!?"
Alfred put on his glasses and gently forced Bruce down as he observed the wound.
"How did this happen?" he demanded.
"Last night, when I was trying to stop them escaping. Scarecrow shot me." Bruce moaned as Alfred prodded the wound.
"Master Bruce, while I'm full of admiration for what you're doing in fighting crime, this has got to stop! You have limits master Bruce. Please don't make me bury you as well as your parents." he implored.
Bruce shot him a hurt look.
"Don't look at me like that. I worry about you. You're the closest thing to a son I have and I don't want you killed by any of the madmen you chase after. I know what you're doing is important, and that Gotham has certainly improved since you did all of this, but you have limits Master Bruce. And I don't want you to find them out when it's too late to do anything about it."
Bruce grunted and sat up, wincing heavily as he did so.
"Thanks Alfred. I know you're right. But I cant afford to rest now, especially now that the Joker's back in action."
Alfred sighed.
"Well if you insist on fighting the maniac, then you're going to hospital."
Bruce shook his head adamantly.
"Someone might recognise me. If it gets out that Batman was shot…"
Alfred gave a wheeze of exasperation.
"Master Bruce, you cant go around with a gaping hole in you! You might have kidney damage!"
Bruce shook his head.
"No Alfred. I'm thankful that you're looking out for me, but I cant afford to be identified."
Alfred gave a gobsmacked look as Bruce went to get dressed. Sighing, he called Lucius.
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Wayne Enterprises was the rest of the large penthouse building that they had been living in until Wayne Manor was rebuilt. It was a tall building, in the centre of the city, and it controlled all of Wayne Enterprises businesses across the world. In the capable hands of Lucius Fox, it was the centre of economical development in Gotham.
As Bruce entered, the one topic that was on everyone lips was the escape of Scarecrow and the Joker. Bruce ignored all this, even the stinging comments that he overheard that Batman had helped them to escape, and entered the CEO office.
"Morning Lucius." he said, sticking the kettle on.
Lucius looked up and smiled.
"Morning Mr Wayne. Busy night? Heard there was a hole blown in your plans."
Bruce shot him a withering glare.
"What's Alfred told you?"
"Only what I needed to know. For what its worth Mr Wayne, I agree with Alfred."
Bruce rolled his yes, and Lucius shrugged.
"Oh, Commissioner Gordon wishes to talk to you."
Bruce dropped his cup in surprise.
"Don't worry, I don't think he knows. He wants to talk about the experimental weapons we're bringing in next week."
Bruce sighed and picked up the broken shards of china.
"Don't do that to me." he complained.
Lucius smiled grimly.
"Mr Wayne, you need rest and treatment. Go to hospital."
"I'll be fine Lucius. But, is there any way we can make the suit more armoured?"
Lucius shook his head sadly.
"Afraid not. Not without making it back to the original version."
Bruce sighed, defeated.
"Thanks anyway."
Lucius nodded to him as he headed for the board meeting.
"Look after yourself. If anything happens, Alfred will have me strung up."
Bruce smiled. He knew they were trying to help. He looked out at the dour day. The Joker was out there, backed up by Scarecrow and the woman who got them out of there. He'd have to face them all eventually.
There was a knock at the door, and James Gordon came in.
James Gordon was now the Commissioner of Gotham City Police Force, credited with saving Gotham from a terrorist strike and for stopping the Joker's reign of terror. Since getting the top job he had vastly cleaned out his department, acting on Harvey Dent's information. Corruption in GCPD was at an all time low, many thugs had been taken off the streets and the Mob's power was severely weakened. However, he wasn't that strong a match for the Joker. Not yet anyway.
"Commissioner. Congratulations on your appointment." Bruce said, shaking his hand.
"Thank you sir." Gordon said, shaking back vigorously.
Gordon was a good and kind man. He had comforted Bruce after his parents had been murdered, and had remained a bulwark against corruption ever since. Bruce was considering revealing his true identity to the man, knowing that he wouldn't betray him.
"I want to talk to you about the weapon shipment you're bringing in next week. With the Joker running around again, we cant be sure its safe." he said, getting straight to business.
Bruce nodded gravely.
"I heard he escaped. How did he manage it?"
Gordon sighed.
"With help. Apparently the FBI knew of him from Washington. He had an accomplice, Dr Harleen Quinzel, alias Harley Quinn. They kept it quiet that she could factor in when we announced that we'd caught him. She bust him out, and they took Scarecrow, former Dr Jonathan Crane, with them."
Bruce shook his head.
"Bad news all around then. You think they will try to get the weapons?"
"I think it's a distinct possibility sir." Gordon said, stroking his moustache.
Bruce gave a great sigh, and got up. As he did, the world swirled around him and went black as he crashed to the floor.
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The black car came to a stop beside the old house. It was a grand place, of Italian design, in one of the wealthier parts of town. It was a black Alfa Romeo. As it stopped, two burly men got out from the front seats. They opened the door and a tall, skeletally thin man stood out. He had close cropped black hair, was dressed in a form hugging Armani suit and had a power about him that they couldn't quite place. He was thin and gaunt, and intelligent to boot.
He was Tommy Capricelli. He was the new Mob boss for Gotham City. After the disintegration of Carmine Falcone and Salvatore Maroni's organisations, along with the defeat of most of the other gangs in Gotham due to the Batman and the Joker and Harvey Dent, it was time that someone high up and ruthless went out and brought the formerly ludicrously profitable Gotham City back into the Mafia's fold.
"Mr Capricelli. Welcome to Gotham." a stooped man said.
"Thanks. Now, let's get this place back under control." he said with a grin.
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"Thank you." a familiar voice said.
Bruce woke up groggily. Looking around, he saw that he was in a hospital room, most likely in Gotham Central due to Gotham General being wiped out by the Joker.
"Mr Wayne. Good to see you're finally awake." a woman's voice said.
The woman came out from behind the screen. She was quite beautiful. She had dazzling green eyes, and vivid red hair. She wasn't particularly tall and seemed relatively normal in stature. However, something about the way she carried herself let Bruce know that she was a brilliant woman, was very intelligent and was quite capable of looking after herself.
"I am Doctor Pamela Isley. Alfred here was just telling me how you received your injury." she said, arching a pencilled eyebrow.
Bruce grunted and pulled himself up.
"How long have I been here?" he asked.
"A few hours. Now, stay there while I go and get your new injection."
As she left, Bruce's eye wandered over her body.
"Can I say it just this once?" Alfred asked as he appeared.
"If you must." Bruce said, sighing resignedly.
"Told you so." Alfred said, the mirth clear in his voice.
Bruce rolled his eyes.
"What happened?"
"I don't know enough about it. Commissioner Gordon was extremely quick off the mark. He got help for you within minutes. Lucius is calming it all down. And if anyone asks, you were out hunting with friends up north, and a bullet caught you by accident, but you refused to have it treated at anywhere buy Gotham." Alfred explained.
Bruce chuckled weakly.
"Thanks Alfred."
"But I did bloody tell you to go to hospital." he said, unable to restrain himself.
"Oh shoosh. What does she suspect?"
Alfred pursed his lips.
"I think we unfortunately have a perceptive woman on our hands, and I don't think she really believes me. But I don't think she'll say anything. Not without concrete proof anyway." Alfred counselled wisely.
"She seems nice."
Alfred's eyebrow raised.
"Oh yes?" he asked, teasingly.
Bruce shot him a dirty look as she entered the room.
"Well Mr Wayne. You've certainly had a bit of a bash, but I've done you up. You can go home anytime you wish. But I don't recommend going hunting for a while." she said, a glint in her eye.
Bruce smiled at her.
"Don't worry about that Doctor Isley. I'm going nowhere near any hunting grounds."
She grinned.
"No strenuous exercise. Your stitches are soluble, so will dissolve when they are finished with. But be careful lifting heavy objects in case the wound reopens."
Bruce nodded as he started to get up.
"And if you need me, Alfred has my number. Call me if you need me." she said.
"Well Doctor Isley, you've done me a great job. You're very good." Bruce said, feeling the wound.
She blushed a little.
"Thank you Mr Wayne. I will give Alfred instructions for your medication. Not that I don't trust you." she said with a wink.
Bruce began to get changed. She certainly had patched him up well. She could heard her telling Alfred what medication she was to take and when. Finishing getting changed into a shirt that Alfred had borrowed, he went outside to where Alfred was shaking Pamela's hand.
"Thanks doctor. He's a bloody nightmare to get to hospital." he whispered conspiratorially
"I'm right here you know." Bruce said, put out.
Pamela laughed, and listened to a call on the announcer before turning to them.
"Well, I best be getting on. Mr Wayne, a pleasure to meet you. Alfred, make sure your boss does as he's told." she said, mock-sternly.
"Oh he will, or he wont get out to play at night." Alfred said, shaking her hand.
Pamela shook Bruce's hand, and turned, then looked back.
"Oh, and be careful out there. Not safe with the Joker out anymore. Especially if the Batman's helping him."
"Batman fights for good!" Bruce said, a little too strongly and quickly.
Alfred went a bit paler beside him, and Pamela raised an eyebrow.
"Sorry. Just, he wouldn't have saved Gotham if he was another criminal would he?" he asked pointedly, trying to cover things up.
Pamela looked thoughtful about it.
"Well, safe journey. I'm on break, and if I don't hurry, the nurses will swipe all the custard creams. Nice to meet you both." she said, and dashed off.
Alfred let out a low whistle.
"That was a little too close for my liking. Come on. Lets get you out of here before you put your foot in it any further." Alfred said.
Smiling to himself, Bruce obeyed as Alfred pulled him along.
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Pamela sat down in her favourite seat, a comfy sofa. With a steaming mug of green tea in one hand, and a handful of custard creams in the other, she had all the signs of a perfect break. Except someone to talk to. As if on cue, her nurse, Sally, came in, made her own cup and sat down, a handful of digestives in opposition to Pam's custard creams.
"Well, what's he like!?" she asked excitedly.
A small, blonde, plump woman, she was Pam's best friend at the hospital. Like Pam, she had been getting transferred to Gotham General before the Joker had blown it up.
"What's who like?" Pam asked, sipping her tea.
"Duh! Bruce Wayne! Billionaire playboy, eligible bachelor and one of the hottest men in Gotham to boot!" she exclaimed excitedly.
Pam laughed.
"I don't believe you. The Joker and Scarecrow are running around amok, and you're only interested in what Bruce Wayne's like?" she asked incredulously.
Sally laughed too.
"Oh come on, the Joker's in prison."
Pam snorted.
"Honestly Sal, don't you watch the news? He escaped last night."
Sally looked a bit thrown by this comment, then shrugged.
"Ah well, who cares? What's Bruce Wayne like!?" she asked like a teenager at the prospect of meeting a rockstar.
Pamela rolled her eyes in amusement.
"Well he's relatively good looking." she purred.
"And?" Sally pressed excitedly.
"Well he seems nice enough. But he seems a bit, you know, distant."
"Distant?"
"Yes, distant."
Sally thought about this, then pressed on.
"So what was wrong with him?" she urged.
"Cant tell you Sal." Pamela said as the bell rang.
"Yes you can!"
"Oh no, doctor-patient confidentiality and all that." Pam said, and waved goodbye as she went out the door, leaving Sally fuming.
Pam mused on her latest patient as she went to see Mr Aitkens, and to check on his kidney stones. Bruce Wayne certainly was enigmatic. Mysterious, untouched by most, and she had treated him. Something to put in her memoirs.
He was certainly mysterious. And Pam couldn't shake the belief that she would soon be seeing rather a lot of him.
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The bank was small, on the edge of town. However, it was the local bank of one of the major betting shops. The bus pulled up beside it, then revved the engine so that the wall was brought crashing down.
"What the hell!?" the manager screamed as people ran crying out of the way.
He got his gun out of his belt and rushed out of his office.
The bus door opened, and Harley Quinn came out.
"Right folks, this is a raid! Everyone down on the floor!" she ordered.
"Excuse me, who do you think you are!?" the manager yelled, aiming his gun at her.
She laughed manically, and levelled her gun.
"Down honey." she said sweetly.
He shook his head, and fired at her. Harley cartwheeled out of the way and blasted him right in the chest. People on the floor screamed in terror as he dropped to the floor, blood pooling around him.
"Now, you all just sit there a sec." she purred.
Three men in clown masks got out of the bus, also armed with guns.
"Tie em up boys!" Harley said as she skipped through to the vault.
The three goons did as instructed as Harley looked at the vault. Sighing, she blew the latch with three bullets and it creaked open.
"Jackpot!" she said gleefully.
Outside, while she emptied the contents of the vault into her bag, the three goons had tied the customers up, who were all quivering in terror. They then saw the strange woman dressed in the jester's outfit skip out of the vault, a bag of cash in her holdall.
"Well done boys! You know what happens now?" she asked in a syrupy voice.
She then blew the brains of all three goons across the room with her gun, leaving the people screeching in terror and horror.
There was a sound from behind her, from the security guard.
"You maniacs are going to be locked up!" he said stoutly.
Harley began cackling insanely. It was in that moment that he understood that this woman was just as insane as her boss.
She knelt down beside him. He was an older man, but he still had the fire of youth burning within him. Not for long.
"Hey honey, let's no beat about the bush. I am robbing this bank. You are all trapped. Thus, no one in here, will stop me. The police cant stop us. With all that we're going to do, this city, this city, it'll dissolve within the month. And as for the Batman…well, he won't be able to stop us either. So you see sweetie, that leaves no one to stop us!" she said, clapping her hands in glee.
The man glared at her. Defiant. She liked that.
"Gotham will unite against you murderers, and you'll be stopped! I swear!" the man said, and others made noises of assent.
Harley laughed. She then took a small ball off her belt.
"You're sweet lovey. Real sweet. But you know, even if someone does try to stop us, um, I don't think you'll be here to see it!" she crowed, and showed him the ball.
It was a grenade.
"What're you going to do!?" the man asked.
Excellent. She had broken him. She could tell by the fear in his voice.
"Hmm. I'm going to carry out a physics experiment. I want to see how loudly you'll all scream as the counter goes down!"
She took out a small stop clock, and set it on the counter which many were looking at.
"See that clock? It's set at two minutes. When I start it, you start screaming."
"How?" a small boy who was in with his mother, asked in terror.
Harley laughed again.
"Don't teach you much at school do they?" she asked in a sugary tone.
The boy went white as she knelt down beside him.
"Because that clock has the same amount of time as the bomb until it goes off duckie." she purred.
The mother looked at Harley with imploring eyes.
"Please! He's just a child! Let him go! Please!" the woman begged.
Harley turned to face her. The woman's spirit broke as she looked into the white faced criminal.
"No." Harley said simply.
She then walked behind the desk they were tied to, and put a grenade into the boys hand. She then did the same with the old security guard. A line of string attached both rings to her. She walked to the door, picked up her bag, and skipped to the broken wall.
"That's all folks!" she said, then skipped out, cackling insanely.
She then came back in, pressed the clock on, and pulled the string. The two pins fell out of the grenades.
"Goodbye!" she said happily and left.
As she did, the screams and cries got louder and louder.
She slid into the Ford Fiesta, and prodded Scarecrow awake.
"Reverse." she said, throwing the money into the back.
Scarecrow brushed his hair out of his eyes and put his foot down. The car shot backwards.
"You said no explosions." he said sternly.
Harley gave him a toothy smile.
"I lied!" she said brightly.
They got to a safe distance.
"Any time…" Harley said.
A massive explosion ripped out down the street.
"Now!" Harley cried in jubilation.
Fire blasted out from the bank, and the bus was blown backwards with tremendous force. It crashed into the building opposite, and then blew up also. Rubble fell about the street, and fire blazed from both locations. Charred bodies that had been caught in the blast were lying on the ground. The bank was in ruins, the building sagging backwards with the vast majority of the main foyer missing. Windows had been smashed, and smoke was billowing from all possible openings.
Secondary explosions ripped into the apartment block the bus had been blown into, and the entire complex then disintegrated into rubble.
"Oh, you got to be kidding me! That was amazing!" she screamed in joy.
Scarecrow, despite himself, was mildly impressed.
"Impressive. Most impressive." he conceded.
Cackling madly, Harley pointed to the approaching police cars. Scarecrow reversed them into an alley, and they drove off.
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The man stood on the shadowy street corner, watching intently. Hudson Overpass connected several business centres to one another, and was the main form of connection for businessmen.
At that precise moment of time, it was the lunch hour, and many cars were going back and forth over it, heading back to their respective offices. A tight, efficient system.
However, if one thing was disturbed, chaos would reign.
The man grinned wickedly, his red painted scars widening as he did so. A policeman over the way saw the man raise his head.
"Stop the car! It's the Joker!" he cried.
The Joker saw them, and grinned wickedly. The two policemen scrambled out of the car, their guns being brought out from their excessive waistlines.
"Hello boys! Be with you in just a minute. I've got a masterpiece to finish!" Joker crowed, and raised a small remote.
The lead policeman saw what he was going to do and aimed. It was too late. The Joker pressed the button on the remote, and an explosion ripped the motorway out from underneath the two men. Six cars fell from the top level onto the second level, which was also blown apart, sending a cascade of cars and bodies falling from the various levels of the overpass. Cars thudded to the bottom, where they exploded, taking out more cars that were going along the street below the pass, and people were killed in the resulting explosions. The Joker gave an insane cackle and shimmied down the service ladder to a waiting Ford Fiesta.
"That was great puddin!" Harley cried as she kissed him.
"Great fun! Come on Wurzel, get us out of here!"
Scarecrow drove the car away as fire spewed behind them and destroyed cars and bodies smouldered.
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The crime wave continued. After blowing a hole in the overpass, the Joker and Harley raided another bank, flooding it with gas grenades. As the people suffocated around them, they broke the vault and hopped off with the cash.
Meanwhile, Scarecrow was in the hideout, busily working on his fear toxin, which he would use to break Gotham.
Later, a police car, with two policemen inside eating doughnuts was idling in a hard shoulder. As the driver finished his last one, he turned to let himself out to put the rubbish in the bin.
The door was locked.
"Hey, did you lock the door?" he asked his companion.
"No. Why?"
"No. I did." a gravely voice said from behind them.
They both spun around to see the Joker, grinning manically.
"Morning." he said politely, his grin widening.
"How did you get in here!?" the passenger demanded in fear.
"Through the door."
"When!? We'd have heard you come in!" the driver protested.
The Joker laughed sarcastically.
"Very careless, you leaving the door open like that while you went to get your, um, snack. Any lunatic could have gotten in." Joker purred.
"We don't need to be scared of you." the passenger said definitely as he slowly brought his gun out.
"Um, yes you do. See, you police boys are all part of the established order. But, all it takes is a person like me for example, to come along, and the entire thing…disintegrates."
The passenger had his gun out at last and cocked it. The next second, the Joke leaned forward and stuffed a small canister in his mouth and took his gun. He moved with such swiftness that he stuck a piece of masking tape on the passenger's mouth before he could register what had happened. The man couldn't get it out of his mouth, and the Joker then took his two hands, forced them onto the dashboard and slammed his shotgun's handle into them with such force that his fingers broke. The passenger made a noise that could qualify as a scream, then started to whimper. The driver was trying determinedly to get out, but to no avail. The Joker then pulled him back against the seat.
"Don't you know its rude to walk out on someone?"
The Joker then dragged the man out of his seat and into the back of the car. A small wicked knife appeared in his hands, and he pressed it into the man's mouth.
"Do you want to know how I got these scars?"
The man looked at him in terror.
"You see, where I lived, it was a nasty area. Drugs, gangs, violence… So, one day, I'm walking home, and this kid, high on drugs, comes up to me. He demands I hand over my money. I naturally refuse. He doesn't like that. Not at all. He tackles me and forces me down, and brings out a knife, just like this one. He presses it into my mouth, and asks 'its only a bit of money. Nothing important. So, why so serious?'. I don't answer, and he cuts…right up, to give me the so called Glasgow smile. Since, I'm always the exact opposite of serious. So, what I ask you is…why…so…serious!?"
The Joker then sliced the knife through the man's throat, and he was dead. The Joker then leaned forward and forced the hysterical passenger to stare at him.
"Why so serious?" he asked, and punched the man in the mouth.
As blood poured from the man, a blue gas seeped out from his mouth. A second later, the man was screaming uncontrollably, and crying his eyes out.
"Yep. Definitely works." Joker said gleefully, and picked up his phone.
"Right Wurzel, it works brilliantly. This guys gone Daffy Duck on me!"
He heard the satisfaction in Scarecrow's voice.
"Excellent. See you later. Enjoy yourself."
"I intend to."
He hung up, and finally unlocked the doors. He shoved the blood stained body in the back out of the car, and then turned to the hysterical other man.
"Come on. Show and tell!"
The Joker got out the car, walked around and dragged the man out. A crowd of people who had seen the body drop out watched in horror as the Joker pressed the man in front of them.
"He's but a taster!" he promised gleefully.
He then ripped the tape off, and let the man sink to the floor, where he blubbered ceaselessly. People watched in shock and horror.
"You know, chaos is essential. You selfish people never understood that. That's why I'm here. Chaos is needed, in life. Otherwise, it's…pointless. But, when a guy tries to help…you, uh, brand him a crazy criminal. See, I don't hold grudges, usually, but, well, I tried to help, and you threw it back at me. So, a little payback is in order. Then, then we'll be even."
The Joker, who had his audience transfixed, then quietly took a grenade off his belt and stuck it down the policeman's shirt.
"We're even." he whispered as he took out the pin.
He got into the car and drove off, then stuck his head out of the window.
"Introduce a little anarchy, remove the status quo, and kill the ones who don't really matter, and everything dissolves into red, bloody chaos! People protest and cry out, and everything falls apart like a sand castle in a whirlwind. Gotham's the sandcastle, and we're the whirlwind! See ya later!"
He turned the corner, and as he did so, the grenade went off.
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The Joker went tearing along the streets in the car, his machine going off and mowing down pedestrians as he sped past them. Cackling insanely, he checked under the steering wheel for the bomb he had planted. There was enough explosive material to level a building packed into the insides of the car. The car was headed for one particular place.
Gotham Duke Street Train Station was the main terminus for all trains in Gotham. At that precise moment of time, a train bearing ammunitions for a military base in Arizona was passing through. It was going to be blown up.
He burled the car around the corner, and saw the train, a massive, boxy green model, carrying massive carriages. He began laughing manically.
"All comes to chaos. 'Get in the middle of a chain reaction'." he sang, and revved the engine.
He then shot forward in the car, heading straight for the massive train. Two more passenger trains were just arriving under the platform awnings. The middle track. He had to get to the middle track.
People who saw him coming screamed and leapt out of the way, but others didn't. The Joker laughed as he heard the sickening crunch of bone and flesh as the car rolled over them.
"Five, four, three, two, one!" he cried, then sprang out of the car, rolling to his feet and whipping out his gun.
The car shot off the platform, and hurtled right into the ammo train. There was a split second delay.
Then the car exploded. The inferno spread right up the length of the track, then caught the two other trains in the blast, incinerating the people inside the metal carriages as the intense heat spread. People screamed as the blast dislodged the glass roof and sent hundreds of thousands of shards of glass falling towards them. Metal electricity poles fell and crushed people, and massive fuses blew out, blowing things into bits.
The Joker was cackling manically as the awnings of stone above them were dislodged and fell to the ground, crushing more people.
"That went well." the Joker said proudly, and skipped away from the station, as the main infrastructure crumbled and the first two platforms were destroyed.
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Scarecrow finished injecting the small amount of air into the toxin mixture. There were still hundreds of caches of the stuff hidden across the city, and due to the death of Ra's al Ghul, Scarecrow was the only one alive who knew were they all were. He'd taken a small amount, and was making it into a more potent mixture, that would drive people totally insane through fear a lot quicker. While the Joker didn't have a plan, or so he claimed, Scarecrow did.
And he knew Batman wouldn't like it one bit.
The door to the hideout opened, and Harley Quinn sprang in, looking delighted. She, like the Joker, had been slaughtering her way across Gotham with drive-bys, while the Joker had been blowing up the station.
"About time. I'm almost ready to go. You better hold up your part of the bargain."
Harley linked her arms around him. Scarecrow knew she was obviously flirting with him, but wasn't about to respond to the bait.
"I will sugar." she said sweetly.
The door banged open, and the Joker strolled in. The Joker's eyes narrowed when he saw Harley clasping her hands around Scarecrow. Scarecrow looked up, and saw that the Joker was only glaring at Harley, so went back to work.
The Joker then grabbed Harley roughly by the wrist, and forced her down to the ground.
"You know how I got these scars don't you?" he asked maliciously.
"Yes puddin! Don't worry, I weren't betraying you!" she wailed.
He took out his knife, and went to put it into Harley's mouth, but Scarecrow stopped him.
"We need her in one piece for tonight." he warned quietly.
The Joker stood up, and went to check on his weapons.
"He loves me really. We just play fight." Harley said in a confident voice.
Scarecrow arched his eyebrow as she went off after her master.
Some people were so deluded.
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"'Hundreds of people have been killed in today's attacks, with the destruction of a section of the Hudson Overpass and the bombing of Gotham Duke Street Station. Various banks have been robbed and drive-bys perpetrated by both the Joker and his new assistant, going by the name of Harley Quinn. The GCPD has been run off its feet with various reports. The utmost is being done to apprehend these criminals, and we urge Gotham City to be vigilant." the reporter on TV said.
Bruce narrowed his eyes in rage. The Joker had lost all bounds now, and had gotten ten times worse. He had to stop him.
"Master Bruce, you aren't seriously thinking of going out again?" Alfred demanded in shock as he saw Batman make for the route from the penthouse to the hangar below where he kept his Batman things.
"I have to Alfred. The Joker, Scarecrow and Harley Quinn are getting more and more dangerous. Look at all they've done today. They'll just do more."
Alfred sighed, then pulled Bruce to the couch and sat him down. Alfred sat down opposite him and looked into his eyes.
"Did you ever hear about a little country called Messina?"
Bruce shook his head.
"I don't have time for this Alfred."
Alfred shot him a penetrating glance, and Bruce kept quiet.
"It's in Africa. Belongs to South Africa now. Anyway, this dictator takes over. And always at his arm is this gorgeous young woman. Lovely looking girl. Now, every night, in clean view of his people, he takes her out onto the balcony of the palace and beats her, because she was a woman, and he believed women were second class. Yet she still stayed with him, as she loved him."
Bruce looked confused.
"What does this have to do with me?" he queried.
"I'm talking about that woman of the Joker's. He obviously mistreats her, and she accepts it."
"So?"
"Well, I haven't finished me story have I? Well, the dictator stays in power a couple of years, and then these rebel soldiers get into the palace. They get to the throne room without firing a shot. Now, even his own generals had turned against him, and they all knew he wouldn't go quietly, so they had to get rid of him. The rebels enter, aim for the leader, and shoot. But he doesn't die. His woman, this mistreated and abused girl leaps in front of him leaps in front of him and takes the bullet. She gave herself up for love. She sacrificed herself on the misguided notion that despite all he does to her, he loves her. And you know what he does when she takes the bullet? Laughs."
Alfred fell silent.
"I take it that's a warning that Harley Quinn, even though the Joker doesn't love her, he will use her because she loves him?"
Alfred nodded.
"Love is a dangerous thing master Bruce. Misguided love especially."
Bruce stood, and smiled grimly.
"Thanks Alfred. I'll remember that."
And he vanished.
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Arkham Asylum was dark and quiet. All was in darkness, with no moon and all the smoke rising into the air after the days nightmarish events. After the break-out of the Joker and his cohorts, security had been intensified to prevent anyone getting anyone out.
But that was only on the inside.
On the outside, an entire stretch of wall was rigged with small shaped charges. A bit away from the wall was a box, full of guns of various strength and power. And beside the box was Scarecrow, once again in his sack mask. He had a small remote in his hand. In the other was a phone.
He speed dialled the first number.
"I'm in position."
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A couple of kilometres along the road was the Gotham Chemical Plant, where oil was distilled into various fractions for export. And it was here that the Joker was. The three thugs he'd found where backing him up. He'd received Scarecrow's call, and agreeing to follow the plan for a change, he was doing the guy a favour.
The plant was shutting for the night. The last three trucks, full of natural gas were leaving the plant. Two went past, and as the third was coming up, the Joker and his goons moved. One of them leapt into the truck's path, thinking it would stop. However, the Joker had timed it so that he would be run over rather than stop the driver. As the man was crushed under the gargantuan wheels of the truck, the driver stopped, and opened his door. The Joker then entered the cab from the other door, and put his gun to the back of the guy's head.
"Sorry, I want to drive." he said, and fired.
The dead body toppled out of the car, and the Joker gave a maniacal laugh. The other two folk clambered in, and the Joker turned to them.
"Heres a riddle for you. What do you do with out of date food?"
The two goons, dressed in clown masks, looked at each other in confusion.
"You get rid of it."
The Joker then fired two more bullets off, and their bodies fell out of the cab.
"I prefer the silent drive." he said, and phoned Scarecrow.
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"Excellent." Scarecrow said as he hung up.
He pressed the remote and the wall was blown to smithereens, revealing the disorientated prisoners within.
"If you want out of there, follow me!" Scarecrow said.
They all clambered out the small holes and rushed to Scarecrow.
"Good choice boys. Now, take a gun and let's go!"
As they did so, massive spotlights thundered on and covered them all in a blaze of light.
"Stop! This is the Gotham City Police Department! We have you surrounded!" Gordon's voice boomed across the area.
"Oh good." Scarecrow said, and phoned Harley and the Joker.
It had begun.
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The Gotham Slaughter House truck was passing down an alleyway that would take it to the freeway outside the city. However, a van was blocking the alleyway exit. The driver cursed and honked the horn. As he did so, the door beside him opened.
"Hey honey. Sorry about this, but I need some wheels." Harley purred and blew the man's head off.
She dragged his body out and clambered in, flashing the lights so that the thugs she'd hired would move the van. They did so, then came up the alley to meet her. Cackling evilly, she gunned the trucks engine and drove right over them. She then flicked a switch, and the hundreds of sheep in the back were suddenly released.
"Off you go little sheepies! Now, lets go play with the pigs!" she cried in joy, and took the truck out of the alley and sent it towards Arkham, phoning as she did so.
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The police cordon around Scarecrow and his ill-gotten help was made up of cars and vans, along with several prisoner transport vehicles. Gordon surveyed the situation grimly. Two policemen had already been killed by Scarecrow's thugs and their weapons. However, the police had numbers and position, and Scarecrow was trapped.
"Oh Commissioner!" Scarecrow cried.
Gordon narrowed his eyes behind his glasses at the man in the sack-mask.
"Catch!" Scarecrow said in a poisonously triumphant voice.
Gordon knew what was coming.
"Duck and cover!" he cried.
The canister landed in front of several officers, and the blue gas went straight for them. They immediately began hallucinating.
"No! Get away! Back away! He's got his fear gas!" Gordon cried, taking his gun out and firing a few potshots at Scarecrow.
He then saw Scarecrow laughing evilly.
"That cant be good." Gordon said, and turned to see what he was laughing at.
A massive fuel truck, with the Joker at the wheel, was coming straight for them. The Joker was cackling as he threw open the door and leapt out.
"SCATTER!" Gordon bellowed.
His men jumped to the task, but it wasn't quick enough. The truck smashed into the first car, and the massive gas filled trailer toppled over. It then exploded, sending out a massive fireball that took out many cars and vans and sent flaming policemen to their deaths.
"Come together!" he yelled.
His remaining men marshalled together as Scarecrow and the thugs and the Joker came at them, all firing their guns.
"Take cover!" Gordon cried as bullets from the Joker's machine gun crashed into the car beside him.
Gordon then saw an upcoming shot. Scarecrow was running out of firepower, and would have to reload. If he could take him out, the thugs may panic.
Gordon cocked his gun.
"Be careful!" Ramirez called.
Gordon was about to shoot Scarecrow when another machine round from the Joker made him put his head back down. As he ducked, another truck came screeching up. The thugs clambered into the back, while Scarecrow and the Joker ran to the cab.
"Shoot! fire!" Gordon yelled.
The police, unencumbered now, all popped up and began shooting. Bullets pinged off of the metal truck as the two criminals clambered into the cab. Harley Quinn then sprang out, equipped with a grenade launcher.
"Scatter!" Gordon screamed.
She fired, and the canisters of gas shot out.
"Hit the dirt! It's the fear gas!" Gordon, who had an immunity to it, bellowed.
With most of the enemies removed, Harley ran to the back of the truck, avoiding Gordon's shots.
"NO! Blast it!" Gordon screamed in rage as the truck began to move away.
"Sir!" Ramirez called, pointing to a dust cloud.
Gordon allowed himself a small smile.
"It's Batman." he said in relief.
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Batman was coaxing every bit of speed out of the Batpod that he could. He saw the fiery wreckage that had been the police cordon a few minutes before. That would be Gordon's problem.
He accelerated, and was getting closer. He could see Harley Quinn in her jester outfit aiming a gun at him. He put on the breaks, expanded his cape and flew straight at her.
Harley gave a squeal as he landed beside her, and punched her in the stomach. As she doubled over, Batman threw a Batarang at the control panel, shutting the various thugs in the various cells of the slaughter truck. Now it was him and Harley.
Whoever was driving must have known Batman was there as they were driving like they'd been drinking, obviously trying to dislodge him from the vehicle, which was picking up speed. Behind it, the Batpod was accelerating, its remote control, operated by Alfred from the penthouse, was keeping up.
Harley had recovered and aimed a high kick at Batman. Batman ducked and grabbed her leg, yanking it so that she crashed onto her back. She hissed in pain as she thudded down, then kicked him with her other foot. The shock of the hit threw Batman off her. He wasn't as fast as he normally was, or as good. His wound was still affecting him obviously. Harley smiled, her black painted lips forming a wide grin.
"Come on Batman! You know who I am! Come and get me!" she taunted.
She was clearly a mad as the Joker, and clearly wanted to break Batman like he did. She dashed at Batman, but he was ready for her. He leapt up to the next ramp, and then came hurtling down at her, crashing his shoulder into her. She gave a frightened squeak as she was knocked into the wall of the truck. Batman then fired his wire gun at her, allowing the wire to wrap around her.
"Got ya." he muttered.
Harley gave a cackle, and did the splits. Batman was pulled down by the unexpected move, and Harley wriggled out of the rope as it had yet to tauten. She then leapt onto Batman, who was still off-balance from her trick. Batman crashed backward into a pile on manure, and Harley crashed her knees into his chest.
"Aw, Batman, I thought you were better." she said sweetly, and pulled out a knife.
"I am." he growled.
He fired the blades from his wrist gauntlet and they sliced across her suit, making her yelp in pain. He then crashed his feet into her before springing up. Harley sagged against the opposite wall, and Batman hurtled right at her. She then gave a coy smile, and a barrier shot up right in front of him. Unprepared, he crashed right into it, and was thrown into another barrier as she activated the entire lot. He could hear her laughing madly.
"Alfred, fire at the truck." he whispered.
"But…" Alfred objected, miles away.
"Do it." he said, and vaulted over the barrier.
Harley wasn't there. As he looked around in confusion, Harley's feet smashed into his back, and he landed at an awkward angle at the bottom of the cage. He rolled over to avoid her stamping foot, and then hit her in the stomach so that she bowled over into the next cage. He leapt after her, and saw that this was the end of the line. As the door should be closed, there was nothing stopping either of them falling out. Harley was pulling herself up as he arrived. He punched her in the cheek, and she fell to the ground with a screech, and he held her over the rim of the truck.
"Come on Batman! Kill me, you'll only have to kill Jokesy and the Scarecrow! Do it!" she encouraged happily.
"Not a chance." Batman grunted, and prepared another rope.
Harley gave an inexplicable grin.
"The Joker said ya wouldn't. Bye for now Batman. Maybe next time, you'll develop some balls to do what needs to be done, rather than what you want to do." she purred.
Batman looked at her in shock, as she sliced his wrist with her knife. He felt blood gush from the wound as he recoiled, and then knew she had him. Her feet slammed him backwards, and she got up and grabbed his wrist.
"Bon voyage!" she shouted as the truck picked up speed as it was leaving immediate danger.
She then put all her weight into throwing Batman out of the way, and he went flying out of the truck, crashing to the road as the truck made it's escape. Harley gave a cheery wave and shut the door. At that minute the Batpod appeared and fired two harpoons. The harpoons blew through the door, and Batman gave a grim smile when he saw that Harley was minus her jester's hat and was screeching abuse at him. However, it was too little, too late, and the truck faded into the distance of the freeway.
"Blast." he grunted as he got onto the bike.
They had escaped again, and Batman wasn't as good as he normally was. His previous wounding had cost him a bit he reckoned. He sighed.
"I need a holiday." he said wearily, and headed for home.
Alfred would not be happy with the new wound. On the other hand, he may get to see the attractive doctor about it. Slightly mollified, he vanished into the night.
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"Batman failed as well." Gordon reported to Anthony Garcia, Gotham's mayor.
There was a despairing sigh from the other end.
"It's not your fault Jim. We just aren't equipped to deal with the Joker's madness all over again. Sit tight." Garcia said, and hung up.
Gordon closed his eyes wearily. Twenty cops dead, and twice that injured. Also, ten of them had been hit by the fear toxin. Ten cars destroyed, along with eight vans. The Joker had escaped with his cohorts, and some of Arkham's most dangerous criminals were now with Gotham's greatest opponents.
It hadn't been a good day.
"It's days like this that make you want to stay in bed." he said wearily.
The Joker is back with a vengeance!
Batman and Gordon have both failed to catch the lunatic and his allies, and things are about to get worse. There were some bad guys introduced this chapter, and some of you should already know who one will be. Stay tuned for that one.
What will happen next? All I can tell you is the next stage is called the Pinnacle, and the Joker and his friends get even more ambitious!
Deaths and flirting abound next chapter!
Please read and review, as I am really enjoying writing this.
P.S I know it may not affect you, but could you please vote in ym poll? I would be very appreciative!
Bye for now!
