8:12 PM
Gotham City Outskirts
The Batmobile was racing towards the northern edge of Gotham City, Batman at the controls. Soon he saw, in the distance, in a virtually disused part of Gotham, an old five story building with a broadcast satellite dish on the roof. The Gotham News Station had moved out of this building some five years ago to a new building near the center of Gotham and so the old station had sat abandoned since then.
Across the front of the building, rows of dilapidated red-white-and-blue bunting were strung up beneath the windows and a large banner read "Joker-4-Mayor-dererer Campaign Headquarters." The Batmobile came to a stop nearly a block away, the Batman ejecting several dozen feet straight into the air before he opened his cape, gliding towards the entrance and landing at the front door. A cardboard cutout of the Joker in his Uncle Sam costume stood just inside the door in the typical Uncle Sam "I-want-YOU" pose. Batman opened the door cautiously but no traps went off as he stepped inside.
The lobby of the old news station was largely dilapidated. The old marble topped reception counter had a drop cloth thrown over it and a poster of the Joker in the Uncle Sam costume and pose reading "I want YOU to go CRAZY!" He made his way up the stairs towards he next floor but all it had was a mannequin dressed in the Joker's usual purple suit, vest, and shirt combo with a hand painted smile on it, propped up in a chair at the top of the stairs, a sign in its lap with an arrow pointing up and written "Candidate Joker's Office – 5th Floor." The arms and legs of the mannequin were also unusually long too. The rest of the floor was wide open office space for cubicles with only an elevator, the stairs, and a men and women's restroom located near the center and had been clearly abandoned for several years.
Batman scowled at the mannequin before turning and resuming his gradual climb up the stairs, not noticing the mannequin's head turn slowly towards him, watching him head up to the next floor. The third floor was similarly vacant only it had the abandoned and gutted offices for the news anchors and staff. Another poster of the Joker was hung up on the back of a chair only this time it read "I want YOU to go LOONY!" The fourth floor contained the empty editing and A/V rooms where all the cameras had been stored. A sign with an arrow pointing up the stairs read "Almost there!"
Finally, Batman reached the fifth floor, the broadcasting room where the old anchor desk once sat. The painted backdrop of the Gotham City skyline still remained but off to one side was the torn open American Flag that the Joker had burst through in the opening of his surprise broadcast at the debate. The camera and lighting equipment, the cheap title card, a pair of discarded plastic kazoos, an old television monitor, and a darkened production booth still remained from when the Joker had been there. Batman immediately activated his cowl's Detective Mode, looking around for traces of where the Joker might have gone or might be now. As he looked around, he unknowingly tripped a laser light sensor which caused the TV Monitor to turn on, depicting Harley Quinn with her hair down in a black and red dress suit with a small four red diamond cluster in her lapel sitting behind an anchor desk in front of the backdrop, holding a sheaf of papers in front of her.
"Ah-hem! Tonight on the Nightly Snooze, the Dark Knight tries to find the great Mista' J, and send him back to Arkham before Mista' J can fulfill his campaign promises. We now go to our intrepid field reporta', Mista' J. O. Ker, do ya hear me pud-er-I-mean Mista' Ker?" Harley asked as the camera panned over towards the Joker who stood in front of the blacked out windows of the production booth, wearing his usual purple suit, vest, and shirt combo.
"Thank you, Harley! It would appear that the Batman has very foolishly come to crash our broadcast! Sorry Bats! Too little too late! Oh but don't worry, I left a fun little surprise, just for you Batman! Don't worry, it's not the blowey-uppy kind. It's more of the, leave-the-bat-in-a-pool-of-his-own-blood kind." The Joker said with a dark grin as Batman felt his heart starting to race, a sense of panic trying to overtake him, sweat starting to run from beneath his mask.
"You probably are feeling my little gift right now! Feeling a little scared are you Bats? A little difficulty keeping a clear head? Probably a need to change your bat-briefs for some reason?" Joker asked coyly, still grinning.
"They could be Bat-Boxahs, Mista' J!" Harley chimed in from off-screen.
"Well whatever they are, they probably need some changin' right now but you don't know why. Fact is, I wouldn't breathe too deeply if I were you Batsy. Because the moment this TV turned on, the entire building started filling up with gas! So now it's time to play my favorite game! What-Gas-Is-Batman-Breathing?! Anyone care to take a guess?" Joker asked, Batman bracing himself against a support column, fumbling to retrieve his gas mask from his utility belt, not noticing the tall and lanky figure with inhumanly long arms step into the room behind him.
"Oh-oh-oh! I know Uncle J!" a third voice exclaimed off-screen. This voice belonged to a younger female. Joker merely grinned.
"That voice you hear, Batman, is the voice of the latest addition to my jolly little Joker Family. Allow me to introduce you to the person likely sneaking up on you at this very moment! Oh and I should warn you, Bats, she's not happy with you!" Joker said before descending into giggles as Batman glanced over his shoulder to see the figure rearing back a metal baseball bat. Batman leapt forward, turning to see the figure reach for its mask, pulling it off to unveil a grinning teenaged girl with a Cruella De'Vil hairstyle of bright red and blue put up in two pigtails like Harley's. She had white clown makeup on her face, blue and red eyeliner that mirrored her hair, red Joker lips. Batman recognized her immediately.
"Carde! Wilhelmina Carde! The Slender Woman!" Batman grunted as the girl grinned madly as the recording of Joker continued.
"That's right, Bats! The Slender Woman herself! Wilhelmina Carde, or as I call her, Wild Card!" Joker said as Carde giggled insanely before ripping off the Joker suit to reveal a tight blue and red leather brassier, blue and red leather arm braces inside of a pair of arm extenders while she wore a low pair of tight leather blue and red pants, black and red boots, and a pair of spring stilts.
"Oh Willy, do your Uncle Joker and Auntie Harley proud and give us a rousing good game of Whack-a-Bat! Oh and Batman, the correct answer was: Slender Gas!" Joker laughed dementedly as the deranged teenager's grin widened and immediately took a swing at Batman who ducked a swing but staggered out of fear, resisting the urge to flee. He reached for his emergency antigen injector to reduce the effects of the gas but was dealt a vicious blow to the back.
"Oops. I think that one might've bruised his spine." Wild Card said, spinning her bat around while prancing around on her stilts. Batman staggered to climb to his feet as Carde raised her bat again, preparing to strike him again but Batman quickly rolled to one side, narrowly dodging her swing which struck the ground with a loud metal clunk as it hit the concrete floor. Carde grinned anyway as she swung her bat across, striking him in the arm, Batman almost too disoriented by fear from the Slender Gas to fight back.
"Oh-ho-ho-ho-ho, it looks like the big-ol' Bat is too afraid to hit a girl." Carde said, taking a deep breath of the gas filled air, grinning with an excited shiver that ran down her spine.
"That's the thing about Slender Gas, Batman. Something my uncle discovered before you let him die a month ago, Slender Gas will usually make you afraid, but in rare cases like me, it's like breathing pure adrenaline!" She said before she started painfully prodding Batman in the stomach with her bat, a wild look in her eyes. She then raised her bat to deliver a particularly vicious blow but when she swung down, Batman threw a smoke pellet into her face, causing her to cry out in alarm as the pellet exploded, causing her to drop the bat and stagger backwards through the smoke, giving Batman enough time to inject himself with the antigen which quickly dispelled a lot of his fear. By the time Carde had recovered and the smoke dissipated, Batman was on his feet and ready to fight her.
"Aww, no fun B-Man! You took the antidote! Oh well, I still love that high I get from this stuff!" she said, still with a wild eyed grin. Before she could move however the windows into the room exploded, Robin and Blackbat rappelling into the room, gas masks already in place.
"Sorry to be a buzzkill then!" Robin said but Carde's grin widened.
"Oh but you're not killing my buzz! In fact, having all three of you here is only heightening it! A little parting gift from the new and improved Joker Family! Ciao!" Carde said as she twisted something in both arm extenders before dropping them, causing the darkened glass in the production booth to shatter, revealing that the entire booth had been filled to the brim with explosives. The Batclan saw the explosives and froze as they saw the timer on the explosives start counting down from five seconds.
"Toodle-ooh!" Carde chortled as she tossed a grenade shaped like a black cartoon cherry bomb at the backdrop wall, the wall exploding and leaving a hole to allow her to escape through while the Batclan raced out the shattered windows, gliding across to a vacant lot across the street. They waited ten seconds before they realized the bombs hadn't gone off. They turned back to see several large banners drop from the upstairs windows reading "Boom!" At the same time, they saw a helicopter in Joker Green and Purple taking off from on top of the building, flying off into the sky with Wild Card waving a cheery farewell and Harley Quinn at the controls, both laughing maniacally as they flew off into the moonlight.
"Ugh, those fake explosives really get on my ne-!" Robin said before the entire upstairs floor of the building exploded followed by the other four floors, the Batclan quickly diving for cover from the explosions. Once the explosions had died down, the three looked up to see the building had collapsed, practically demolished and burning.
"You were saying?" Blackbat asked by poking Robin in the shoulder rhythmically in Morse code.
"Stop poking me! And was that my imagination or was that two Harley Quinns in the chopper?" Robin asked, confused.
"U 2?" Blackbat tapped out in Morse code only this time with a gauntlet equipped tone emitter.
"It's your old friend, Wilhelmina Carde from the Slender Man case a month ago. The Joker broke her out of Arkham just yesterday." Batman replied as Robin groaned.
"Oye I thought we'd seen the last of her!" Robin grumbled.
"I'm more concerned about where the Joker is. He managed to flee the scene before I arrived and had Wild Card holed up and waiting for me to arrive." Batman explained.
"Wild Card? Oh how original." Robin said, sarcastically. Blackbat nodding in agreement.
"The Joker's given us the slip for tonight. We'll need to make sure the candidates are safe for now. Oracle, what's their location?" Batman asked into the radio.
"The Commissioner's got them together still at the Civic Center. Nothing happened after you left. Everyone's safe. A little rattled but safe." Oracle said as Batman pressed a button on his utility belt.
"Ask the Commissioner to stall them until I get there. I have a few questions I need to ask them." Batman said as the Batmobile rounded a corner, the canopy already opened as the Batmobile rolled up and stopped next to them, the three climbing in with Batman at the wheel, Robin riding shotgun, and Blackbat riding in the back.
"I'll try but I don't know how long he can keep them there." Oracle replied.
"He will, trust me, I know he will." Batman replied as the canopy closed. The Batmobile then tore off down the streets back towards the Civic Center.
8:49 PM
Gotham Civic Center – Auditorium.
"This is an outrage! The Joker threatening to kill me after I win the election!" Alex Ronson said angrily. The crowds had left as soon as the Joker's broadcast had ended, leaving only the police that were already there, the three candidates, and some of their staff, the Commissioner and Detectives Bullock and Montoya.
"That's assumin' you win, Mr. Ronson." Harvey Bullock replied.
"Harv!" Montoya snapped, embarrassed at her partner's lack of tact.
"This is simply one of the Joker's empty threats. I have the utmost confidence that the Batman and the GCPD's finest will resolve the issue without incident." Congressman Hunter said with a confident air.
"Empty or not, any threat from the Joker should be, and always is, taken very seriously by the GCPD. I'm ordering around the clock protection for all three of you and I strongly encourage you to consider avoiding any public appearances until Election Day." Gordon said.
"Or we simply postpone the election until that lunatic is back in Arkham!" Ronson suggested.
"That would be the biggest mistake you could make, Mr. Ronson." A voice said from nearby. They all turned to see Batman descend from overhead, landing near them, his cape pulled around him at the front.
"Commissioner, I demand the Batman be removed from this building immediately!" Ronson ordered, Gordon glaring at him.
"You're not mayor yet, Mr. Ronson. Besides, Batman probably is your best line of defense against the Joker." Gordon said, earning a scowl from Ronson. Hunter on the other hand eagerly stepped forward with a hand extended.
"Batman, Congressman Hunter. It is a privilege to shake your hand." Hunter said but Batman merely stared at him. Hunter wasn't offended by the refusal of the handshake and merely shrugged, putting his hands behind his back.
"So, Batman, did you track down where the Joker sent that broadcast?" Gordon asked, Batman turning towards him.
"I did but he was ready for us. He's taken on some kind of an apprentice. The girl from the Slender Man abductions last month. She's now entirely his devoted servant." Batman said as Gordon sighed.
"Oh great. From what you were telling me about her, he might as well have some kind of fanatical zealot on his payroll." Gordon said as Batman gave a nod.
"And that is precisely what he has. He calls her Wild Card." Batman replied.
"Which is why we need to postpone the elections until the GCPD apprehends the menace!" Ronson said as Batman turned back to him.
"In his broadcast, the Joker said he'd met someone who would insure that the election continued as scheduled. At first I thought it was Wild Card but now I'm not so sure." Batman said as Hill scratched the side of his head.
"Balderdash! Only the governor has the power to suspend a city election! I have every intention to call him as soon as I get home and request the suspension until the situation is under control." Hill said but Gordon was clearly reluctant.
"Not until we have all the facts, Mayor." Gordon said. Batman's cowl radio suddenly clicked on.
"Batman! Are you near a television?!" Oracle asked.
"What's going on, Oracle?" Batman asked, silencing the others.
"Joker's partner's made his appearance. You're not going to believe this! Tune into the Channel 7 News! Hurry!" Oracle said as Batman turned towards the TV Broadcast booths that had been setup in the stadium, flipping on the TV and quickly changing it to channel 7. On the screen was a red backdrop with a large letter A in white within a large round white circle. A filtered and distorted voice then started speaking.
"Citizens of Gotham! We the people have been cowed and cullied for too long by corrupt self-serving politicians! Now Gotham stands upon the brink of electing one of three uniquely corrupt individuals to serving Gotham as its Mayor. The people of Gotham will have been cowed and intimidated by corporate and criminal influences to elect the candidate that will give the most power to their corporate masters. But not this year." Suddenly, a man in a large red hooded polar suit with a pale white mask, black trousers, a belt full of grenades, and an armband with the same Circle A logo on the left arm stepped out in front of the camera.
"People of Gotham, I am Anarky, and this year, the Joker has promised to assassinate the winning candidate! We will hold this assassination high as an example to the world that we will not allow corporations and corrupt politicians to rule over us any further! We will make the people choose who dies as the winning candidate will be the one most heavily under the thumb of the elite! We have planted a bomb in a random location somewhere in Gotham. If these elections are postponed or canceled, or if the Batman attempts to interfere and prevent the Joker's execution of the winning candidate, we will detonate the bomb! We will move the bomb to a random location each night so we are expecting every citizen of Gotham to do their civic duty and vote. If voter turnout is below last year's, we detonate the bomb. Embrace the Anarchy!" The man said before the video cut to static, cutting back to the news station.
"Oracle?" Batman asked.
"The feed came directly from the news station!" Oracle said as Batman turned and started for the exit.
"Anarky? That mad bomber?! I thought he was in jail!" Mayor Hill asked.
"He is, so is the second Anarky. Batman's helped us take down two of them. Both of the Anarkys we've taken down were separate people. Different motivations, same goals, same insane vendetta against the government." Gordon explained.
"Then I suggest Batman go and-…" Congressman Hunter said but paused when he noticed that the Batman had vanished.
"Where'd he go?" Ronson asked, confused.
"Who knows? He just does that." Gordon sighed.
"Didn't you hear Anarky? He warned that if the Batman got involved, he'd detonate a bomb! Batman's going to get a lot of innocent people killed!" Ronson said, mildly panicked.
"Have faith, Mr. Ronson. If anything, Batman is our only hope of all three of us getting out of this alive." Congressman Hunter said with a confident air.
"I'm always hesitant to trust the Batman but in this case, I share Mr. Ronson's reluctance to let him run free. I'd rather we let Batman simply intercept the Joker after the election." Hill suggested.
"You might prefer it but that's not going to stop the Batman. I can't predict what he's going to do but I trust him to resolve this better than anyone." Gordon said, reassuringly.
End Chapter 2
Please R&R.
I'm kinda envisioning Wild Card almost like the Margot Robbie version of Harley Quinn only younger, non-acid bleached, and wearing clothes similar to the Arkham City Harley Costume. A great reference would be to look up the LEGO Minifigure for the Suicide Squad version of Harley Quinn and use that as a reference for Wild Card's color scheme and appearance except with a leather top instead of a corset. Harley, as stated before, uses her Arkham City attire. Her Arkham Knight attire is also a good alternative. I'm not picky there.