Chapter 8

Trouble Everywhere (part 3)

"Batman and company are heading to the Aviary: all Everywhere Men to the Aviary." was the last thing the PA system managed to get out before the combined company of the Dark Knight, Captain Gordon, and Kuki/Numbuh 3 found themselves thrown into what could be best described as an indoor jungle. As they fought off the essentially literal one-man army to the best of their abilities, Numbuh 3 took notice of a brief conversation between Batman and James Gordon:

Batman: You fight well.

Captain James Gordon: Had a rough childhood…this doesn't make us friends, you know.

Batman: I know.

Later on, Kuki would find it heartwarming that these two were becoming fast allies/companions without even realizing it. Right now, however, she was just wishing that the onslaught would be over soon. Unfortunately, Murphy and his ever-present Law were alive and well, as John Marlow's Copy Number One suddenly interrupted their concentration with, "Oh come now, Batman: how long do you, do ANY of you think you can last. It hardly matters how many of me you, Jimmy, or your little companion break: I'll just make more." True to his word, despite having taken down a considerable number of copies, they were soon out-numbered again.

Despite finding time to chuckle, however, John Marlow's first copy soon found his bravado briefly shaken by a declaration of "And will they all be as butt-ugly as you?" before finding himself being thrown off his feet by a determined Wally/Numbuh 4, not to mention a number of the copies taken down curtesy of some quick maneuvers by Nigel/Numbuh 1 and some admittedly pretty decent shots from the gun of one Harvey Bullock. Getting up and glaring at the trio, Copy Number One quickly regained his confidence, boasting that "Three more enemies doesn't quite make a difference against my army."

One would think that he was right, especially when two of his soldier suddenly became two-dozen, yet the trio remained firm. "Yeah, but what if we're not just THREE more?" Harvey quipped, the cop showing a devise on his belt that looked strangely like… "What are you doing with my prototype?!" the John Marlow Copy demanded, before registering that Numbuh's 1 and 4 had similar devises. Then, as a show of bravado as well as an answer to the spoken question, all three active the gadget attached to their belts. As three quickly became thirty, Numbuh 1 declared, "Check out OUR army."

Needless to say, the battle quickly turned in favor of the KND, Batman, and the members of the BPD. However, as the trio steadily took away the Everywhere Men's advantage of sheer numbers, Copy Number One FINALLY noticed some people not actively participating in the battle: Barbara Gordon, who was currently hacking into his systems to free his hostages, and Tina/Numbuh 10, who was busy guarding… "Well, if it isn't old Johnny boy," he said with a sneer, "I THOUGHT it might be a good idea to just eliminate you: I suppose I always WAS a bit too sentimental, though."

"True enough," the REAL John Marlow agreed, "You even made sure to keep the old Quantex prototypes around: that's going to be your downfall." "I don't think so," Copy Number One declared, "There's a reason a prototype's JUST a prototype. After all, the original isn't always the best." As if on cue, the three devices on Harvey, Nigel, and Wally started to spark. "That doesn't look good," officer Bullock whined. "The units are all overloaded," John Marlow quickly stated, worry evident in his voice.

"Oh, it's MUCH worse than that, Johnny boy: the duplicates are unstable," Copy Number One smugly corrected him, even as one of Numbuh 4's copies started to round on him. "One solid punch…" he further explained, dodging the fiery boy's assault, before proceeding to demonstrate: "…and poof." A few of the Everywhere Men destroying a few copies of Numbuh 1 and Harvey Bulluck clearly demonstrated it wasn't an isolated incident.

Nigel experimentally tried to activate his Quantex prototype anyway, only for it to spark some more, before giving off some smoke and... "That's it: it's dead," John Marlow grieved, "We're on our own." "Fine with me," Wally quipped, quickly tossing his prototype aside without bothering to follow sector leader's example, "Math never WAS my strong suit." With a shrug, Harvey quickly followed the kid's example, declaring, "If I'm going down, I'm going down fighting."

The battle raged on, Barbara Gordon even surprising a few combatants, including Batman and her father, by taking out a dozen or so of the Everywhere Men who had stopped her hacking attempt at one point. Unfortunately, despite their best efforts, the prototype spawned copies were soon all destroyed and the combatants soon found themselves being overwhelmed again. Eventually, the original John Marlow found himself being taken hostage by some of his rouge copies. Amused at his templates protests, Copy Number One briefly surveyed the battle, greatly pleased to see the combatants all running short on ammo and resources: "You might as well give up. I mean, the battle's essentially over anyway: it's only a matter of time."

However, despite being surrounded himself and wielding only his grappling gun, Batman remained defiant. Turning his attention to his opponents, he declared, "Did you hear what he said? 'It's only a matter of time.'" "Before you're finished," was the immediate response he got from one of the copies. Nodding, Batman then added, "And before you ALL cease to exist." "Think about it," he said, raising his voice bit by bit so that more and more were able to hear him, "Where's Copy Number One going to be able to store a few hundred John Marlows, and how long would he be able to stand the competition?" With finality, he shouted for the entirety of the room to hear, "You destroy us, destroy ME, and you'll only be destroying yourself."

For the briefest of moments, James Gordon began to ponder the hidden message in that last statement. This was all interrupted, however, by one of the John Marlow copies asking whether Batman was possibly right. Despite Copy Number One's best efforts, one defiant copy became two, then ten, then twenty, then a hundred. When a few of the copies declaring that they'd be sticking by his side started to ease his mind, however, the REAL John Marlow dropped the bomb: "They all look alike: how will you know who's with you and who's against you?"

"Quiet: you want him to recall all of us?" one of the copies holding him down snapped. Despite the obvious threat, the original John Marlow simply smirked. "Why not? It's what I'D do," he declared with finality. This one statement was the straw that broke the camel's back, as many more of his copies started to surround Copy Number One. Not seeing any other alternative, the original Everywhere Man recalled the entire army. His relief was only brief, however, as Batman swung up to the balcony, ready to fight alongside, among others, Barbara Gordon, Numbuh 10, and James Gordon.

"You haven't won yet," Copy Number One declared. "Yeah, I'm pretty we have you outnumbered," Numbuh 4 deadpanned. "I'll create another army of Everywhere Men," the Copy said lamely. "With the same result," Batman promised, to which the Copy started to panic, stating, "I can just recall it, as many times as I have to: eventually, you WILL fall."

If there was any validity to his threat, he wouldn't get to show it, because at THAT moment, the REAL John Marlow grabbed the arm that housed the Quantex. "Do us all a favor and just SHUT UP!" he barked out, pressing a button on the devise and FINALLY recalling his first copy. Slumping to the floor, he moaned, "I wanted to help people EVERYWHERE, but all I did was let myself become…NOWHERE Man." "I'm sure the investigation will turn up exactly that," assured James Gordon, giving Harvey Bullock a glare that told him to keep quiet. Looking to Batman, the police captain then declared, "I SHOULD be trying to take you in, but I'm not sure I'd win THAT fight."

Smirking, the Caped Crusader turned and started to walk off. Despite the earlier glare, however, Harvey found it in him to protest, "Hey, wait a minute: he's NOT allowed to just walk away." "You want to stop him? Be my guest," Captain Gordon replied with a slight grin. Needless to say, when Officer Bullock turned around, the Dark Knight was long gone.

(line break)

"John, it's nice of you to have donated your entire collection to the children's museum," Bruce Wayne commended his old friend during a visit to said art gallery two weeks later. Nodding, John Marlow, who had been given a pardon on condition of handing over his research to the local science committee replied with, "It seemed like the right thing to do after everything I did." "What you…John: YOU didn't do anything," Bruce corrected him. "Perhaps," John said with a nod, "but…I don't know: the Quantex used the core being as a starting point and well, part of me always wanted to be like that other Marlow: commanding, cool, confident…but I guess on some level, it's a good thing the only place I felt comfortable was inside my shell."

"There room for one more in that shell?" inquired a new voice. Turning, the two friends spotted Tina, with Nigel and Kuki a good distance away (Wally having apparently elected to stay home this time around). Nervously, John approached his long-time crush. Taking pity on her mutual attraction, she sighed, "Johnny, you've been spending WAY too much time locked up in your labs with just yourself. Maybe you like to stick around and hang around…" "…with you?" he inquired, before taking her hand, "You have no idea how much I wanted you to ask that." Needless to say, nobody was surprised when the two kissed.