Night had again descended upon Gotham. The Dark Knight stood on the ledge of a building, scanning his territory.
"Sir?" Alfred's voice crackled over the comm.
"Go ahead, Alfred."
"Police scanners indicate that the Joker is currently robbing the Gotham City Metropolitan Bank."
"Thanks, Alfred," Batman said, already walking to the other side of the building. He jumped down and fell straight to the ground, from the nearly hundred-story building. He waited till he reached twenty-five before he activated his memory cloth cape. The cape billowed out and he gracefully landed on the ground without a sound. He could already see the Bank. There was an armored truck with a large clown face on the top.
Original, Batman thought. Usually they wear the clown masks, not drive them.
He cautiously made his way towards the building and then climbed to the second floor. There were two of them outside guarding the door. He took out his smoke bomb and launched it at the door.
"Hey, what the-?" One said.
The two kicked the door open and walked in, armed. One had a standard issue Beretta 92 SD, while the other had a Tommy gun.
"What's with the smoke?"
"I dunno," the other said, getting impatient.
"Think it's him?"
"Man, just cuz the Bat's caused us misery, it don't mean he's done everything."
Batman quietly rose behind them. They never even noticed him. He grabbed the closest one and spun him around, his fist connecting with the guy's masked face. The other, holding the Tommy gun, aimed it and fired. The rounds struck him, and Batman lurched and moved back, but he didn't go down. The gun jammed and the thug hurriedly tried to fix it.
"Come on, come on," he said. Then he looked up. Batman's masked skull hit his and he went down hard.
"Okay, bats, let's see how good you are."
It was the first thug, brandishing both a knife and a bloody nose. His mask was on the ground, broken. He lunged, but Batman caught the arm with ease. He twisted it and the guy screamed.
"Please don't kill me," he whimpered, tears in his eyes. He looked at Batman, sobbing. Batman grabbed him and slammed him into a nearby railing.
Clap, clap, clap.
Batman whirled, looking up. There stood the Joker, with his white face, that blood red grin, and a green suit.
"Well played, batsy," He said, walking down calmly while drawing a gun. He pulled the trigger, and Batman flinched at the same time a small flag popped out of the barrel. Joke looked at the gun incredulously and sighed, shaking his head.
"Okay!" He proclaimed. "Take me, bats. I'm all your, but before that, truce?"
He held out a gloved hand, and Batman looked at it for a few seconds before looking at Joker.
"You're going to Arkham," he replied, grabbing his hand.
Joker smiled as Batman started shaking suddenly.
"HAHAHA! How dumb can you get?" He asked as Batman dropped to his knees, groaning.
"Boo, would you do the honors?" Joker asked.
"Sure, sweetie," a young, female voice said from behind Batman. Then something hit him on the back of the head, and he was out.
Joker sighed as his boys hauled Batman away. One of the goons tried to take the mask off, but Joker stopped him.
"No, no, no," he scolded the man. "Look at this face," Joker said, grabbing Batman's chin. "We don't want to ruin an average man's face. This is Batman. The Batman. He should die a hero's death."
He suddenly stood erect, and threw a mock salute.
"He was a good man," Joker said, using a cheesy British voice. "A Batman. He flew over the skies and dumped guano all over Gotham. Even got me a few times. But it appears, once again, that I get the last laugh."
He finished up and broke out laughing as they hauled him away.
"OH! I haven't laughed that hard in ages," he said to Harley, leaning back and wiping his brow.
His walkie-talkie suddenly crackled.
"Boss?"
"This better be important," he said, boredom in his voice.
"We found the Bat's car."
Joke shot up, almost hitting Kitty in the face.
"Where?"
"The back alley."
Joker smiled.
"I'll be right there. Come on, boo. Time for some fun."
The two thugs chained Batman up and prepared to throw him over.
"Shouldn't we at least take his suit? I mean, if we have the Bat's suit…"
"You kiddin'? If we took that, boss would take it for himself. He already looks like shit, and with this…"
He shook his head in disgust.
"He'd think he was some kind of superhero."
"Okay," the other relented and prepared to throw Batman. But apparently, Batman had other ideas. The moment he woke, he spun, and the two jumped away.
"JESUS!"
"What the hell?!"
Batman took advantage of their surprise and twisted his body until the chains neatly fell off. Another one of Bruce Wayne's twisted hobbies. But it helped him hone his skills. The closest one grabbed the chain Batman had just wiggled out of, and pulled as hard as he can. Batman jumped, the chain sliding under his feet without hitting them. The thug wasn't finished. He threw the chain, and Batman brought his right hand and grabbed it, forming a fist. Then he pulled hard, and thug flew at him. Batman calmly stepped to the side and watched the man fall into Gotham Harbor.
"I can't swim!" The guy screamed, thrashing in the water like a madman.
"Should've thought about that beforehand," the Batman said quietly. The other one grabbed a 2x4 and swung it, hoping to knock Batman himself over the edge. But Batman ducked and the man lost his balance, spinning wildly on one foot.
"Help me! Help me!!" The man teetered on the edge and Batman pulled him away.
"Thanks," the guy said. Batman grabbed his head and slammed it into the railing. He turned around and raced towards his car. He suddenly realized that if Joker wasn't here, he must have gone to his car.
And the devious jokester did.
Joker trotted over to the Batmobile, whistling.
"Oh, batty-boy, what will you do without your toy?" He asked, throwing a couple of bombs around it.
"HA! I should have been a poet," he said. Then he put his hands together and cried out:
"Romeo! Romeo! Wherefore art thou, Romeo?! HAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!"
He jogged away from the vehicle, laughing in a high-pitched tone. Then the car exploded.
Batman landed, too late to stop Joker or save his car.
Mr. Fox would not be pleased.
And he wasn't.
The next day, Bruce walked into the large room that was Lucius's playground. It was empty.
"Come to explain why my prized possession is now a burning piece of wreckage, Mr. Wayne?" A voice came from behind.
Bruce turned around, smiling.
"Did someone pass around more weaponized hallucinogens? Did you think that vehicle was some kind of monster?" Despite his stern expression, Bruce knew Lucius wasn't really mad. He had been good friends with his father, after all.
"Well, you know how it is, Mr. Fox. At night, things are harder to see," Bruce said.
"I'm sure. Now, follow me. At least that contraption proved useful," he said.
"That, it was, Mr. Fox. It was also my one and only means of transportation," Bruce added.
"Are you saying the legendary Bruce Wayne of Wayne Enterprises only had one car?" Lucius feigned surprise.
"Only one that was special," Bruce answered.
"I'm touched. Here we are," Lucius said, pointing to a storage hold. He pulled it out, revealing what appeared to be a more advanced version of his Nomex survival suit, which had become the batsuit. And it already had the bat symbol on it, within a yellow oval.
"So, what's this one have?" Bruce asked.
"Still the same properties as the old one. Tear-resistant, waterproof-"
"So how is it better?" Bruce interrupted.
"I was getting to that. The armor is a bit thicker than the one you're used to. So it can now be considered fully bulletproof," Fox explained.
"How about mobility?" Bruce wondered.
"A little harder. You might have to work at that before you try it out, but knowing you, you'll learn the hard way," Fox said.
They both smiled at that.
"On to better things. Since many of your recent nightly ventures have included harbors and docks, I though it would be best if you had better transportation," Fox said, walking towards what appeared to be the largest indoor swimming pool Wayne had ever seen.
"Pool parties are not allowed inside the building, Mr. Fox," Wayne said.
"Why? Sometimes even I have to kick back, Mr. Wayne," Fox replied.
There at the end of it, was what Bruce surmised to be his next "gift."
"Advanced hydro-reconnaissance patrol boat. It's fast and lightly armored, but has some pretty good countermeasures. First off, active camouflage."
With that, the boat seemed to shimmer lightly and soon disappeared from view. A while later, it reappeared. Wayne looked at Fox, who was smiling and waving a small transponder. He tossed it to Bruce.
"In addition to that, there's another function you might like," he said, getting into the watercraft. After hitting some buttons, he looked at Wayne.
"Touch it," he said.
Bruce cautiously stretched out his hand and touched it. He immediately jumped back after he received an electromagnetic shock.
"You're right, I like it," Bruce said. "But now I can't feel my fingers."
"Ehh, it'll last a while. Prolonged contact with that when it's on can be rather hazardous to one's health," Fox said.
"What about my car?" Bruce asked, rubbing his fingers.
"After your news debut with the Tumbler, I thought a more nimble vehicle was in order. So here it is."
He flipped a switch, and a barrage of lights struck the ground, illuminating the vehicle. It was long, sleek, resembling a Corvette.
"The defense for this car is a bit different. Watch," Fox said. He pulled out a key and pressed it. Suddenly, the car seemed to cocoon itself in a shroud of armor. It wrapped around the car and blipped when it finished.
"Bulletproof, fireproof, it can even withstand rockets and other projectile weapons. Graffiti is another matter, so I advise watching where you park it. However, here are some offensive weapons," Fox stated.
He punched another button and two machineguns slid out at the front.
"These should come in handy. Also, should you feel the need to slam through concrete objects…"
He keyed another button and rocket launchers opened up on the sides. And behind them were what appeared to be tow cable launchers.
"What are those for?" Bruce asked.
"The ones on the sides can help you maneuver through rather difficult turns. The main tow cable up front can be used to pull you out of ravines and such, or of course, to attach to the rear bumper of another vehicle. The rear one can be applied for the same reasons."
"No other defenses?"
"Honestly, I didn't have time. If you clean up this mess quickly, maybe I can work something out," Fox said.
Bruce nodded.
"Then I better get to work. Thank you, Mr. Fox. Keep up the good work," he said, shaking his hand.
"They'll be delivered to your address tonight," Fox said.
"But what about the reporters?"
"I'll handle them. Along with the equipment, I'll send over other supplies you can give to charity," Fox answered, smiling. Bruce nodded. Fox knew that Bruce was Batman, but what separated him from Alfred was that Alfred knew from the start, while Fox learned through the news. How time and time again, the Batman used equipment that Lucius had given to the heir of Thomas Wayne's business empire. Of course, Bruce had been warned by Fox to not think of him as an idiot. And Bruce didn't.
If anything, Bruce respected him. Lucius could do something he couldn't-build the things he could. Bruce walked out of the large room to prepare for his nightly run.
In the batcave, at 10 in the middle of the night, Bruce Wayne trained his body and senses for the following night. While he had a mode of transportation, he hadn't yet used the new suit, so he donned it and trained. Besides, Batman wasn't of any use to Gotham anyway if he was dead.
He threw a punch at his test dummy and watched it topple to the ground again.
"Perhaps a break would do, Master Bruce," Alfred said, setting a tray down.
"In a minute, Alfred. This new suit is heavier, and it's tougher throwing a single punch," Bruce said, setting the test dummy in place.
Alfred walked over to the newly-added control center designed for Batman. Wayne Enterprises had recently installed it, after certain people found out that young Bruce was the Batman. Of course, it wasn't widely known, but Fox had pointed to employees and board members who would take the news in a good way.
"Master Wayne, I think you should see this," Alfred said.
The command center was basically a typical office, only it was equipped not with pencils and papers, but with video monitors, computers, audio surveillance, radar, sonar, everything the Batman needed to take care of Gotham City.
Alfred hit a control, and all the screens were filled with the Joker's grinning, maniacal face.
"Hello, fair citizens of Gotham City. I am the Joker. And I am here to lighten up your daily lives, which seem to be…boring and meaningless. And I am also here to give a message to the so-called Batman, your protector, your guardian devil, so to speak," he began.
