Chapter 7: New Hero Or Villain In Town?

"Well you do remember me!" the Joker laughed shrilly. "I'm so honored!"
"Well if it isn't rich boy!" Harley Quinn emerged behind him. "How about it Mr. J, let's steal his credit cards and go on a shopping spree like last time!"
"Last time?" Joker looked at her funny. "I wasn't there, what did you do?"
Quinn gasped. "Oh yeah…heh heh…me and the Poison Ivy were—"
She was cut off by the sound of Joker's hand slapping Quinn's face.
"What did I tell you about that woman!?" He asked angrily. I told you not to get involved with her again!"
"S-sorry Mr. J…" she whimpered.
He sighed. "Ah good help so hard to come by these days…"

Suddenly, a blast of yellow energy came towards him.
"W-what the!?" both Joker and Harley jumped out of the way of the incoming blast. The energy struck the ground and exploded violently.
"That's enough Joker!" James's voice rang out.
Joker stood up and growled. "Who was that!?"
"Up here moron." James called.

Everyone looked up, and saw James standing on a high catwalk in his new costume. His Valiant costume was mostly black with gold gilded around his arms and legs. A gold "V" went from his left shoulder, down to his belt, and back up to his right shoulder. A utility belt was visible too. He wore black boots, and black with gold tinted gloves. His black mask covered his eyes and nose.

"You can call me the Valiant Warrior." Valiant said. "Valiant for short."
"Oh how exciting!" The Joker laughed. "Another sheriff in town huh? Ha ha ha ha!"
But Valiant laughed too, enabling Joker to glare at him.
"What are YOU laughing for?" he asked.
"Because I already know you don't stand a chance against me." Valiant replied.
"Why you insolent brat!" He barked.
"You don't insult Mr. J like that!" Harley yelled. She took out her bazooka and fired at Valiant.
He jumped from the catwalk and flew at high speed, dodging the missile and turned towards Joker and Harley.
"What? He can fly too?!" Harley said in disbelief.

But the Joker smiled, and took out a grenade. He waited for Valiant to get closer, and was about to pull the pin from the grenade and throw it when…
A batarang flew out of nowhere and struck his hand, knocking the Joker grenade away.
"OW!" he groaned. Before he got tackled, he saw Batman and Batgirl swing into action.
Valiant grabbed Joker and punched him into the wall. But Harley managed to get another missile off, hitting him square in the chest and knocking him hard into the wall. He fell to the ground, covered up in rubble.
"Valiant!" Batman yelled.
"Direct hit Mr. J! He ain't comin' back up!" Harley whooped.
"Good good!" Joker applauded. "Now for you Batsy!"
But before he could do anything else, the pile of rubble suddenly exploded, and Valiant emerged, brimming with anger.
"You wanna try that again, Joker!?" Valiant shouted angrily, eyes flashing red.
Batgirl gasped. "Oh no! Is he possessed again!?"

Valiant put both of his hands together, and started charging up a tremendous surge of energy.
Batman quickly realized something was wrong.
"Valiant stop!" he yelled. "That's enough!"
"Shut up Batman!" Valiant shot back. "He crossed me he needs to be destroyed!"
"That's right James…" Nero's voice echoed in his mind. "FINISH HIM!"

"NO!"

The blast was so ferocious the energy turned red instead of his usual yellow.
Batgirl was forced to swing in snag Harley out of the way, while Batman grabbed Joker and grappled to the ceiling.
Barely clipping past the blast, it triggered an enormous explosion that started a huge fire.
"VALIANT!" Batman yelled.
Suddenly, James's eyes turned hazel again. He looked around, and saw the Iceberg Lounge on fire.
"W-what!?" Valiant looked around, shocked at the carnage he just inflicted.
"Oh no!" James thought in horror. "I did this! I…nearly killed everyone…"

He sank to his knees. "No….NO!"
Valiant banged his hands on the ground.
"I failed to contain it…" He thought sadly. "There's only one thing I can do now…"
"HELP!" a voice yelled out.
Valiant looked around, and saw Cherie under a pile of rubble.
He quickly ran over to her, while looking at Batman and Batgirl.
"Get out of here!" Valiant yelled. "I'll handle this!"

"But Valiant-!" Batgirl started to protest.
"No! Go now!" he interrupted.
Carrying the unconscious Joker and Harley, Batman and Batgirl escaped through the damaged wall.
Quickly throwing the rubble off, he picked her up bridal style and flew out of the fire. He placed her down near a police car that had arrived.
"Stay here." Valiant said.
She nodded, and he dove back into the flames.
Going in the middle of the ruins, he closed his eyes.

"Concentrate…use the water in the club and douse the flames…"
He thought hard and focused his energies. He raised his hands into the air, causing the water to rise. He then brought his hands down, sending the water splashing onto the flames, and putting them out.
He then clapped his hands together.
"I just want to fix this mess…" He thought. "Repair everything…"
Focusing, he raised his hands again, and the ashes disappeared. Then the ruins of the club started coming back together one by one. Soon, the wall was repaired, and the rest of the club was soon stable. It wasn't completely fixed, but most of the damage was gone.
Batman couldn't believe his eyes. The Iceberg Lounge was fixing itself from the inside. Yet he thought about this for a moment, and came to a quick conclusion:

"James…"

Batgirl seemed to have gotten the same idea, for she looked around for him. She then caught a glimpse of black and yellow on a rooftop.
"Batman! Over there!" she pointed.
He looked, and saw James standing on a higher rooftop overlooking the lounge. He then made eye contact with him. They stared for about a minute, and then Batman nodded. Valiant/James nodded back, and he flew into the night.
A few minutes later Nightwing and Robin showed up. Robin gasped, as Batman and Batgirl were in their costumes, killing his lie. Nightwing said nothing, for he knew Tim was lying.

"Guys!" Robin called. "What happened here?"
"A big fight at the Iceberg Lounge." Batgirl said.
"Joker." Batman said.
"He attacked a club?" Nightwing asked. "Why? There's no money or jewels there to be stolen."
"We don't know yet." Batman replied. "We're going to look into it.
Batgirl suddenly realized the same thing Tim realized earlier.
"Oh no!" Batgirl thought, horrified. "If we start dating…Dick isn't gonna take it well…"

"Where's Valiant?" Robin asked.
"Valiant?" Nightwing wondered. "What, another superhero?"
"S-sort of…"Batgirl started. "You see…he's gone now."
"W-what?" Tim stuttered, surprised. "What happened?"
"He lost control again." Batman said. "Set the club on fire."
"W-WHAT!?" Tim yelled in disbelief. "But…the club isn't on fire now…"

"Valiant put the fire out and tried to fix the place as best as he could." Batgirl answered. "He made eye contact with Batman and—"
"Wait, there really is another crime fighter on the streets?" Nightwing asked.
"Valiant has left to figure out himself and who he is." Batman said. "He still doesn't know himself completely. He still has a dysfunctional family that needs to be fixed, and he may still have a problem containing that rage."
"Ohhhh…" Robin and Batgirl said.
"What happened to you too?" Batman asked.
"Catwoman again." Robin said nervously. "Same old same old. Cat jewelry, caught by us, escaped police capture, rinse and repeat."
"Figures." Batgirl said.
"I'm still a bit confused about this "Valiant" person you're telling me about…" Nightwing stated. "I want to know more."
"You will." Batman said. "You may run into him tonight or tomorrow. You will eventually."

Nightwing nodded. He turned and left.
"Let's go." Batman said.
"What about Vali—James?" Robin asked.
"Let him have his alone time." Batman said. "I know how that feels. And I'm pretty sure you know how that feels too Tim."

"I rather not remember."