LOTS OF VIOLENCE BEWARE!!
Also : I don't own anything, so don't sue me
PART 3
"Did you see the look on her face? HA!" The Joker exclaimed as he skipped to the car. He grabbed Reese's chin and shook him back to consciousness, "Priceless I say, priceless!" In that moment all of the pain and anger that Reese was feeling came to a boil and he spit in The Joker's face. "Now that wasn't very nice…" The Joker said as he wiped the blood from his face. The Joker punched Reese in his gunshot wound and the screams of pain were enough to make the psycho the happiest man alive.
--------------------------------------
The Hummer skidded to a stop outside the alley where Huntress lay unconscious in the dark. Barbara couldn't move; she had never been this terrified before. Dinah turned to look at her guardian and saw the mixture of rage and emptiness in her eyes. She took her hand to comfort her, but instead was once again thrown into someone else's thoughts. She saw flashes of the past that Barbara tried to forget… the pain, the anger, but mostly guilt… "Guilt? Why does she feel guilty?" Dinah thought as she let go of Barbara's hand and nudged her to get out of the car. "You know, it's not your fault."
"I should have known…" Barbara stopped talking as she saw the closest person to her lying on the ground in a pool of blood. "Oh my God…" They rushed to Helena's side to make sure she was still alive… she was. "All right Babs, no more screwing around… people's lives that you care about are at stake here!" Barbara silently scolded herself. Dinah helped her pick Helena up and put her in the back of the Hummer. Barbara was back to her commanding self, "Move over, I'm driving."
---------------------------------------
McNally chained Reese to the wall in The Joker's office. "Why, Mac?" Reese strained to say.
"Oh, you know… a cop's salary sucks." McNally laughed as Reese winced in pain. "Besides, I get a kick out of watching him work." He noticed that Reese's wound was beginning to clot, so he kicked it making the injured man vomit and bleed again. "You just couldn't keep well enough alone. You had to know what happened after dark!" He kicked him again.
"Now, Mac, do be nice… we want Huntress to watch him die. She'll watch all her friends die… HA!" The Joker could not contain his excitement. He turned to a young man standing next to the door. "Did you do as I asked?"
"Yes sir."
---------------------------------
"Dinah, call Alfred. We need him here." Barbara ordered as she rushed Helena to the lab. Before she could stop to think, she heard Dinah screaming. She hurriedly wheeled herself out to see what was wrong. Tears welled up in her eyes as she saw Alfred lying on the floor. His eyes were branded with smiley faces and a knife protruded from his chest. "Oh, that's it! I've had it…" She turned to take Dinah's hand, "It's gonna be okay." Dinah looked at Barbara like she was crazy as she wiped the tears from her eyes.
"I'm not touching that." Dinah said as she pointed to the note stuck at the end of the knife.
Barbara took a deep breath and pulled the knife from her friend's chest. "'Take care of kitty. And don't worry; he called Batsy before he died.'" She flipped the note over and written in blood over a picture of the docks was the word 'Soon'. Barbara shuttered. "I hate that man."
"That is one cryptic note…" Dinah had finally composed herself to be ready for the task at hand.
"I repeat… I hate that man." Barbara sighed. "I guess he wants everyone to join the fun. Great… Dinah, there's an old sheet in the closet. Will you please cover Alfred up?" Dinah nodded her head as Barbara wheeled herself back into the lab. "You're awake!"
"Yeah, Dinah's screams could wake the dead." Helena winced.
"Lay back down, I've got to get that cleaned and stitched up." Barbara reached for her supplies and began to dress the wound.
Helena bit her lip, "Is he dead?"
Barbara did not look up from her task, "Who?"
"I saw The Joker shoot him…" The tears flowed freely now as she replayed the image in her mind.
"I don't know if Reese is dead, but Helena…" Barbara looked into her eyes now. "Alfred is."
Helena cried even harder, "This is all my fault!"
Barbara grabbed Helena's hand. "No it's not. I should have been more prepared…"
"No, Barbara, it was my fault back then and it's my fault now. It's because of me everyone I love is dying!"
Barbara finished taping the bandage to Helena's side. "We don't know that. The Joker left a note that said he had Alfred call Batman before he killed him. Lord only knows what that psycho is up to." Helena hopped off the counter and followed Barbara to her computers being careful not to disturb Alfred's body.
"Hel!" Dinah ran and hugged her friend. "This is so awful. I heard the stories about him, but had no idea." She shook her head as she moved to the other side of Barbara.
"Helena, are you sure you're okay to…"
"I need to find Reese." She pleaded.
"Fine." Barbara flipped the note that had lain on Alfred to show a certain section of the dockyards. "You know The Joker wants you to find him…"
Helena squeezed her eyes shut. "I know."
"I'm going with you!"
"The hell you are Dinah!" Helena changed into Huntress. "You are staying here with Oracle. She needs you and don't give me that look."
A man appeared in the window, "I am going with you."
Huntress whipped around to see her father standing in front of her. She clenched her teeth as she walked up to him. "This is my fault… you're not getting in the middle of this either."
"Actually Helena, I believe this all began with me." He looked at Barbara with sorrow in his eyes. "Babs…"
Barbara nodded, "I know."
"Fine Batman, let's go." Before they jumped out the window, Helena turned and looked her family in the eyes. "I… I'm sorry." She ran back and hugged them tightly. "I love you." And with that remark she was gone.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
McNally sighed, "I'm bored."
The Joker threw his last dart at Reese's stomach making him cough up more blood. "HA! I'm not beating you that bad! If I remember right, you got a couple of bullseyes too." They both laughed at that remark. "Batsy and his little girl will be here soon and the party will begin!"
"The boys are ready for the bat. Are you sure Huntress won't put up a fight?"
"Once she sees this mess over here…" The Joker pointed to Reese and laughed. "I don't think we'll have a problem. The explosives are in place?"
"Yes sir." McNally jumped when he heard the glass above his head break.
"Batsy!" The Joker's grin grew wider as his minions pounced on the old and broken man.
--------------------------------------------
Huntress rushed to Reese's side. "Oh my God, Jesse…" As hard as she tried, she couldn't stop the tears from falling. "Wake up, please wake up!"
Reese's eyes fluttered open and he tried to smile. "Helena…"
"Shh, I'm here." She kissed him gently on the lips. "I'm so sorry, Jesse." She ripped the chains off the wall and cradled him in her arms.
Reese squeezed his eyes shut as he coughed up more blood. He stared into her eyes and finally let his tears fall. "I wanted you to know that I loved you."
"Don't… you're going to be fine…" Helena shook her head.
"No, I made it this long because I needed to see you one last time… I needed you to know."
Helena let her forehead fall to Reese's. "I love you… I need you… don't leave me…" Reese kissed her soft lips one last time and fell limp in her arms as she rocked back and forth.
----------------------------------------
"Well, Batsy… what are you gonna do now?" The Joker cackled as his minions held him on the floor. Before Batman could reply, an alarm clock started ringing. "OOOH! HA!" The Joker began to dance around Batman and then Helena. "The party has begun, the party has begun!"
"What are you rambling on about?" Batman hissed.
"HA! Five… Four… Huntress, you might want to pay attention." The Joker sang and Helena looked up to see the clock tower on a large monitor next to the wall. The Joker saw the look of fear cross her face. "Three… Batsy, are you paying attention?" Batman just glared at the maniac dancing in front of him. "Good… Two… HA!" The Joker couldn't contain his excitement and began to jump up and down like a kid on Christmas. "ONE!" One second the clock tower was standing tall, the next it was crumbling to the ground. The Joker could not stop laughing.
"No!" Batman yelled and finally got his strength back. He threw the men that had tackled him into the monitor. He saw the blank stare on his daughter's face and realized that The Joker had broken yet another person he loved. "This ends here!"
The Joker smiled evilly, "Good." Then he nodded to McNally who smashed a mallet against Huntress' back. She didn't even scream; she just fell backwards to the floor. "HA! I haven't lost my touch!"
Bruce heard Helena's spine shatter and a fire that had not been there before flared in his eyes. He took the knife from The Joker's hand and threw it at the man standing above his daughter killing him.
"HA! That's what I wanted all along!" The Joker pulled out his gun and his grin grew wider. "Now, time for me to go."
Batman grabbed The Joker by the neck. "I don't think so."
"Oh, I do." The Joker pulled the trigger and Batman staggered back a bit but never released him from his grip. The Joker saw the evil in Batman's eyes and laughed triumphantly. "I own you now." With that remark, Batman snapped his neck.
Bruce grabbed his chest, finally realizing where he had been shot. He crawled to where Helena lay and checked for a pulse. "She sure is a fighter." He shook his head wincing in pain, "I'm sorry. I should have done this a long time ago." He coughed up some blood and finally let the darkness take him.
------------------------------------------
"I wonder what happened here… think it had anything to do with the explosion at the clock tower?" One of the officers asked as they charged through the door and saw the carnage.
"This is New Gotham, what do you think?"
"Hey, this one's still alive!"
"You're kidding…" The officer radioed the ambulance and Helena was rushed to the hospital.
-------------------------------------------
"What's your name?" The doctor asked. He flashed the light in her eyes once more but received no response. He turned to the officers in the room. "You won't get anything out of her."
"Well, we just needed an explanation… she's the only survivor and witness to what happened. Is she going to be okay?"
"Physically… she's recovered from all but one injury." The officers gave the doctor a confused look. "She's paralyzed from the neck down. As far as mentally, I can't tell if anyone's home… she's completely unresponsive."
THE END