Chapter 3
Sorry I'm late. Personal stuff. I'll try to be on time.
Thanks to luci-nana90 for favoriting and following me and this story.
Thanks to 3241 for favoriting and following this story.
Thanks to Pandora-Dono for favoriting.
Thanks to Glassea for following.
Thanks to Chronicles of Potter for following.
Thanks to the awesome MarvelHero1610 for reviewing again. Glad you're enjoying it, and thanks for pointing out some mistakes on my part, really appreciate it. Hope you keep reading!
Thanks to Warhawk'42 for reviewing. Glad you got that Dark Knight Returns reference, hopefully I'll find a way to slip more Easter eggs in here somewhere.
Thanks to the Guest who reviewed. I admit, your review kinda got me off guard. I've never gotten a request for a lemon scene before, nor have I ever written one before (although I do have plans to) but I'll take your suggestion under consideration. I'm not saying Jason and Barbara will get together, and I'm not saying they won't. You'll have to read and see.
Thanks to StyxxandBethany for following and reviewing. I like Jason too :) as for Terry, I don't know if Jason has been Batman before Batman Beyond but I do think the black and red seems like something Jason would wear.
Speaking of Batman Beyond, I was thinking of maybe making Jason's suit in this story the Batman Beyond costume. Give me some feedback on that you guys.
Crack!
Another bone shattered as the crowbar hit the teenager boy over the head.
"Oh, be still!" The Joker yelled at the teen who struggled to crawl way with what strength he had left. "It'll only hurt...a lot."
Smash! Crack! Wham!
The hits kept going until the teen felt his life start to slip away.
"Oh no, you can't die yet!" The Joker yelled at the boy. "You still haven't seen the grand finale! Oh, what to do, what to do..."
The Joker walked to the door of the warehouse and smiled once again.
"Ah, I'll just leave ya here," he said. "If you can escape, more power to ya. The bat should be here soon. I wonder what he'll say when he finds out I broke his little toy. Oh, I'm getting shivers just thinking about it! Ahahahahaha!"
With that, the Joker left the warehouse, closing the door behind.
Y...yes..., the teen thought. It had stopped the beating had stopped. And the Joker left. He had an opportunity. A chance! He could get out of here, find Batman, and then everything would be okay again. Everything would be fine.
With all his strength he crawled towards the large door that sat at the front of the warehouse. He hardly made it before having to stop. He somehow found the strength to climb to his knees and grab onto the door handle and twist.
It was locked.
Oh course it's locked, the teen wondered. He's not that crazy. He probably just wanted me to get my hopes up, sick bastard.
The teen slumped to the ground in front of the door, tired. So very tired...he had to find a way out. Maybe there was a window around here. He started looking around...
And noticed a red digital clock, ticking down from 00:01 to 00:00.
Fuck.
"Agh!" Jason yelled as he woke up in his apartment building, waking from his dream.
Just a dream...
He'd had the dreams numerous times before. For as much as he joked around, and acted like he was okay, he knew it wasn't true. Being murdered and brought back to life had taken a toll on him. Physically he was fine. Mentally? Not so much. Ra's al Ghul had once told him that the affects from the Lazarus Pit would eventually take his mind, turning him psychotic. Maybe as crazy as the Joker. It made him shiver about it every time he thought about it.
And he thought about it a lot.
Jason got out of the bed, slowly. He was wearing nothing but some pajamas pants, and his black hair was unruly and uncombed. He could feel a little fuzz growing on his cheeks, and wondered if he should let it grow.
He pulled on a t-shirt and walked outside barefoot.
He walked down the streets of Gotham, taking in the scene. He'd once said the city was a cesspool, and maybe it was, but he'd be damned if it didn't look down right gorgeous at night. The numerous lights from streetlights and lit windows, didn't make the city bright, but instead gave it an ominous glow that suited the city perfectly.
Now I see why Bruce wanted to protect this place, Jason thought. That, and maybe a little psychosis.
Jason turned and saw a bar that he often visited as the Red Hood. It was full of Gotham's worst. He'd regularly go in there and kick all their asses, then get a beer. He wasn't really dressed for the occasion, but maybe he could make an exception.
He strolled into the bar, ready for a fight.
And saw...people.
People just drinking and watching reruns of the football game from yesterday.
...huh?
"Ah, you must be a new costumer!" the older Asian man said to Jason, walking to him. "We're getting a lot of those lately."
"Uh, what happened to this place?" Jason asked. "Isn't it, y'know, normally filled to the brim with assholes?"
"Turns out, they all were led by the Penguin!" the man said, a large smile on his face. "But since Penguin is invalid, they don't come here any more. Maybe they ran away, maybe they're dead. I don't care, as long as they're not in my bar."
"That's...great..." Jason said. "Can I get the us..."
He was about to say the usual, but remembered he wasn't wearing a certain red helmet.
"Uh, can I get a beer? Any beer?"
"Okay, but if you say any beer, I'll get you the cheapest we have."
"I'm fine with that."
"Good man," the man said. "I like you."
Jason took a seat at the bar and waited for his drink. He took this time to think about things. About his future. He was Batman, does that mean he'd have to do the things the way Bruce did them? Bruce isolated himself from others so he wouldn't get too attached to them, if he even could get attached to something. Or someone. Jason didn't think he could do that, or that he'd even want to.
"Your beer sir," the man, who's name tag read Mr. Moon, said.
"Thanks," Jason said, reaching into his pocket...and realizing he was in pajama pants. No wallet.
"Uh, I forgot my wallet..." Jason started.
"There's an ATM right outside," Mr. Moon said.
Jason again walked the streets of Gotham.
I'm sure Damian won't mind me taking just a couple hundred dollars from the Wayne Enterprises bank account, Jason thought.
"Hi sweetie," a scantily clad blond woman said. "Wanna have a good time?"
Hm...tempting..., Jason thought. And I do have a couple hundred dollars left over...nah, no condom.
"Sorry ma'am," Jason said, before taking out seven hundred dollars. "Maybe later. But here."
"Th...thank you so much!" she exclaimed. "Make sure you come back soon. I could...repay you..."
"I might have to take you up like that," Jason said as he walked away.
Isabel could be doing the same thing right now, Jason thought. No wait, she'd probably just be sold and not even have a choice in the matter.
Jason hated being so helpless, but there was nothing he could do. Not until he got word back from Black Mask.
Blam! Ba-Pow!
Gunshots? Jason pondered. Of course there were gunshots. This was Gotham, there was no such thing as a peaceful night.
Jason started sprinting down the road. Bruce head once told Jason that Superman used to change into his costume in a phone booth. Jason didn't know if Bruce was joking (but knowing Bruce...) but Bruce had sort of adopted the idea.
Jason ran into the Wayne Enterprises phone booth he found on the sidewalk. He took the phone off the hook and typed in the numbers 4-11-26. Suddenly, the booth shifted, and the bottom lowered like an elevator to a mini Batcave stockpiled with different equipment. He walked past the equipment towards the center where his suit was. He smiled.
"Is all this really necessary?" the goon asked the other.
"Boss says we move crates, we move crates," the other goon said.
"If the boss said to jump off a bridge, would you do it?"
"If he paid me enough," the other goon replies.
The two goon step over the bodies of the dead guards they shot, although one of them falls.
"Shit!" he exclaims as he hits the ground.
"Goddammit Bobby!" the other goon exclaims. "This is what your Uncle Tom-looking ass gets!"
"Shut up Joey!" the goon, apparently named Bobby yells in defiance before mumbling under his breath. "'Uncle Tom.' Dick."
Vroooom!
"Ya hear something Bobby?"
"Yeah," Bobby says, getting up from the ground. "Sound like your mom did last night."
"Fuck you Joey."
"Your mom already did."
"I said shut up!" Joey yells.
"Aw come on, you gotta admire his creativity...," a voice calls out. Suddenly, flying up off a ramp on a red and black motorcycle, the new Batman descended upon the two goons.
"Ah, how I knew you'd arrive on time," a calm and suave voice came from the shadows.
"Black Mask?" Batman asked as the crime lord strolled out from his hiding place.
"The very same."
"You got these guards killed just to get my attention?" Batman asked incredulously. "Well, you got it. I don't play games, Mask."
"Oh, then maybe you don't want to know the whereabouts of your precious Isabel?" Black Mask asked, feigning friendliness.
Batman said nothing.
"You see, this might be a game," Black Mask replied. "But I have all the cheat codes."
Mask held out a small file.
"This is all the information I could find. It states where she is and who has her. Should be easy enough for you to get her out," Black Mask said. "I hope this means you'll remember your end of the bargain. One favor. Anything I ask."
"What do you want?" Batman asked.
"There'll be time for that later," Black Mask said, walking back into the shadows. "For now, get your princess back, Dark Knight."
Batman stood there as Black Mask left. He noticed the two goons from earlier staring at him, literally shaking in their boots. He could swear he saw a wet stain on one of their crotches.
"Boo," Batman said.
This caused the men to run away. Jason threw a batarang that stabbed into their leg, making them fall.
"Not so fast," Batman said as he walked to the crawling forms. "You still killed two people."
Batman kicked them in the face, making their lights go out.
Jason stood on the edge of the building, looking out towards a large boathouse at the harbor. This, according to the information from Mask, was where Isabel was being held.
He jumped down and extended his wings, wasting no time.
Crash!
Jason crashed through the window, throwing batarangs at the people inside, then dropped a smoke bomb so they couldn't see him.
I'm gonna get you back, Isabel. Jason thought. I swear.
The Joker sat in the nursing home room, his face once again stoic and unemotional. A black woman, who was his nurse, walked in with a plate of food on a metal tray and placed it in front of him. Joker just looked at it.
"You know, you have to eat something," she said. "Unlike everybody else, I don't think you should die."
Joker looked up to her, emotionless.
"I just...I never thought of you as...evil. Just, y'know, sick," she said. "I want to help you become someone. Not this, but..."
Joker pulled his arms apart, showing that he undid his straight jacket.
"You...how did you..." the nurse started.
Joker got up and picked up the plate, smashing it across the face of the nurse, causing her to break her nose and fall to the ground.
"Sorry Hun," Joker said as he put the woman in a headlock. "I already have a Harley Quinn."
Joker kicked open the door to his room, the woman still in a headlock. This caused all the nurses and few guards to look at them with surprise, with the guards aiming guns at Joker.
"Now now," Joker said. "We wouldn't want me to get angsty, would we?"
The guards slowly lowered their guns, but kept them in their hands.
"Lalalala," Joker sang as he strolled down the hallway. He walked by the guard, snatched his gun out of his hand and shot him in the face, then aimed it at the other guard and pulled the trigger before he could react. "Oh, looks like the janitor's got some work for him tonight. Hope he gets a raise."
Joker walked towards the door and turned towards the remaining nurses.
"Pl...please," a auburn haired nurse pleaded to the Joker. "Let Amy go. You're free."
"Hehehe...," the Joker giggled. "You know, before I got to the bat hunting biz, I was a magician. I would snap my fingers, and disappear."
"Get it," Joker said, his smile gradually growing. "I would snap and disappear."
"Please...no...," the nurse in Joker's grasp pleaded.
Snap!
The nurse fell to the ground as the nurses screamed. Joker just strolled right out, smiling all the way.
