Batman: The Animated Series 'Fan Fiction Love Story'
By Tayla Drago
Episode # 10 - It's Never Too Late
In his estate, Arnold Stromwell, Gotham's reigning but aging crime boss, is watching the news. The lead item is the worsening conflict between himself and upcoming boss Rupert Thorne. That much he knows, but he has other concerns regarding his son Joey, who has been missing for days. He and his son were estranged, but Stromwell is convinced that Thorne is behind this and orders his men to set up a meeting with him. As Megan was listening in from outside of Arnold's home from her car quietly to report back to Bruce in time.
"Yeah, Bruce? It's me. We got a problem between Arnold and Rupert's rivalry…"
Batman, disguised as a hobo, is eavesdropping on Thorne, who plots to assassinate Stromwell after receiving his message. As Megan was there to eat and drink to minding her own business; but she was aiding Batman to eavesdrop to find out on what Rupert was up for her partner, with a recorder set up being a small pin on her jacket in disguised. Clever. For the man in charge of the place kicks the hobo 'being Bruce Wayne as Batman' to leave the place.
"Boss?" one of Rupert's men asks about Megan.
"Not her, not just yet." he said. "Invite her to sit with me. Megan Tsuki won't pose a threat to me…I love a good challenge."
The clerk tells the hobo to leave.
"Come on, buddy, you're out of here. Let's go."
The man sees the hobo out of the place.
"Huh?" he acted confuse and leaves.
Now with the restaurant locked up but with Megan and the man in charge who was still inside, Rupert's man calls out to Megan as she acts like she was about to leave next.
"Oh, Megan. Come. Come. Sit next to your handsome Rupert Throne." he calls out to her.
Looks like his men makes sure that Megan does so and to hold on to her gear and gun.
"You heard the boss, have a seat." he said.
"Okay." she goes along with it. "(Bruce, you know what to do on your end now, just hurry back here so we can aid Arnold together…I can't believe I have to hang out with the likes of this weirdo!)"
Hang in there, Megan! You can do it! In a way, Rupert will 'at times' hit on her.
"So, Arnold wants to have a meeting with us tonight." Rupert explained. "We'll put a sign on the door to say, 'private party' only for us gentlemen."
The other members laugh for Megan already knew what that met.
"Yeah, a go away party…"
"Is what you boys do?" Megan asks them. "Planning before hand to kill off another mob member? Real mature."
Rupert puts his arm around Megan to feel gross out.
"Now, now, Megan, I want you to join us until he arrives. You're a bounty hunter to catch the bad guys like him. I'm much different than Arnold Stromwell is. Believe me. Is that so wrong?"
Megan moves away a little from him sitting next to her.
"(In murdering someone it is!) Well, that's the life of a mafia? Maybe? You got me, Rupert."
"And if Batman does appear, if he does…He'll get the message the other way around…Lucky for you, Megan, I'm a gentleman to be gentle to a pretty woman like yourself. So relax and enjoy the food here."
She tries to for Rupert wasn't Megan's type at all.
"Sure…" she tries putting on a strong face with the recorder still going on for Batman to still be listening in. "(You owe me big time after today, Bruce!)"
Now with the plan for Megan to try to hear while enjoying the meals with Rupert and his men, with a brave face on this girl to pull it off.
"In any case, I wish you the best of luck, my dear. No hard feelings, too much. We just might slow you down only than Batman." Rupert tells about his plan. "Now for the plan, once Arnold gets here…We act happy to put on a nice mood for him. Make him feel welcome. All everybody must do is to follow my instructions. It has to go clockwork here, from Pete and then the rest of you know what to do for us to get at Arnold for good."
Ha! Megan has gotten it all down to make some code go off in beeping sounds for Bruce to go into Batman mode to think of a plan, as she leaves a tip to make her leave now.
"Well, gentlemen, thank you for the meal. I think…" she said. "Whatever happens tonight on our ends to stopping it, maybe…Well, you know the rest." Rupert grabs Megan's hand to kiss it before taking off out of nowhere.
"And thank you for joining me, Megan, perhaps we can do that some other time? A little bit special if possible?"
"Ah…If possible…Please excuse me." Rupert's men just laugh all together for Megan gets out the back way, and far from the restaurant for her to wash her hands off right away to meet up with Batman. After feeling gross out and all. "(So gross! Fat freak! How dare he kiss me like that!)" Megan calms down after that to contacting Batman. "Hey! I'm ready whenever you are, Bruce! I hope you got all of that plan down!"
Poor Megan…On the way to the meeting, Stromwell passes an old rail yard, and has a flashback: two young boys, Arnie and Michael, are arguing on their way home. Arnie has stolen a handful of candy and is offering half to Michael, who refuses to take any. Arnie swears that one day he will own Gotham. But as they walk home, a train roars up the tracks at the boys. Michael dives out of the way, but Arnie's shoe is stuck. He manages to free himself and jump onto the neighboring track in time, but is immediately faced with another approaching train and freezes in fear...Shaking off the memory, Stromwell enters a deli controlled by Thorne for the meeting. Megan sees Arnold's car passing by 'as Batman does the same on top of the church', for her to catch up to him.
"Sorry to make you stay in that place alone with Rupert." Batman said to her.
"It's fine, Bruce, no worries." she forgives Bruce. "Still, we need to stop him before he gets to Arnold since we already know about the plan will go off."
"We will, but we need to take care of something here first."
Megan was kind of lost.
"Someone to meet at a church?" ask Megan.
"You'll know why we're here. Follow me." Batman approaches an elderly priest and asks for his help, with Megan tagging along. He seems to know of them and such to tell him that something was about to come on someone he knows of. "Excuse us, father." Batman calls out to him.
"What can I help you with?" the priest turns around to see Batman. "You! And you are…?" he asks Megan.
"I'm with Batman, his partner Megan Tsuki the bounty hunter of Gotham." she shakes hands with the priest man. "Please to meet you."
Batman gets to the point at hand to tell the priest about it.
"It's going down tonight, father. He's going to need you."
"Both a war and some misunderstanding." Megan said to the man.
"Is it Arnold?" he asked.
"It is." said Batman.
A big yes on that part indeed. With a sigh, the priest says that Arnold Stromwell is someone he wishes he could let go.
"Arnold?" the father was right on that part "That's one soul I wish I could give up on."
All the same, Batman encourages him to help.
"I wouldn't believe that you would give up on anyone, father. Please be there."
Looks like that father just might for Batman and Megan leave the building, and for her to ask her partner about the man and Arnold know each other.
"So…Ah, how does that man know so much about Arnold?" she asks. "Sounds like they're close."
Yeah, Batman tells Megan on the way out…At the deli, Thorne acts affable, but Stromwell seizes him and demands to know where his son is. Seeming genuinely surprised, Thorne swears he had nothing to do with Joey's disappearance. Calming down, Stromwell accepts Thorne's invitation to sit—then realizes he has been set up as Thorne and the deli owner run out the back.
"No!" Arnold panics to be trapped inside.
Batman and Megan enter in to getting this man out of there, since there was bombs inside of the place. A set up!
"Batman! There's Arnold! My computer book is detecting lots of bombs all over the deli!" she said to him. "We need to get that man out! This place is about to blow!" Batman and Megan did just that and for Arnold's safety. A bomb inside the deli explodes for the two to do just that and the rest didn't know what was going on. The rest leave, for the others were alive and well. Batman and Megan saved Stromwell. "Wow! My fire proof sheets pulled up from the explosion and fire proof!" Megan said to liking her handmade work. "Batman, is Arnold alright?"
Seems like it.
"Yes, but we have to hurry."
Stromwell has been saved by Batman, for he uses the grappling hook to carry the man to safety, as Megan had her own being a type of special yo-yo to catch up with him. The man comes to.
"You okay?" Megan asks Arnold.
"Huh? What…?" he was lost. "Where am I…I'm alive…!"
"Easy there…"
Arnold knows of Batman, but Megan's first time for her and Arnold to meet with each other in person.
"What are you doing here?" Arnold asks Batman. "And who are you?"
"I'm Megan Tsuki. A bounty hunter of Gotham and Batman's new partner." she answered. "Batman and I are here to help you out."
Didn't sound like Arnold didn't trust in them.
"Help me out?"
"More like saving your hide." said Batman.
As Batman 'and Megan helps put as well' asks him to give up his criminal ways and turn state's evidence. Stromwell acts defiant, but Batman decides to take him on a 'tour'.
"Ah, boys…? We should get going before more cops arrive." said Megan.
As the police investigate the bombing, a hobo comes forward and states that he saw Batman and Megan saving Storm as well. Batman carries Arnold to be very annoying while he and Megan jump from one building to another to make their getaway.
"Hey! Let go!" demanded Arnold. "Put me down!"
"Oh, shut up and hold on to Batman!" Megan said while catching up to her partner. "(Both Bruce and I are very skillful at this.)"
One of Thorne's thugs overhears this and informs Thorne as Gordon and Bullock go to the area to investigate.
"What are you looking at?" Gordon questions Bullock.
"Your hair. It looked better on TV."
The fireman told both Gordon and Bullock about the event that just went down tonight at the blown up deli.
"There's no evidence there was anyone inside."
Soon, the bum told to the three boss on what he just saw.
"There was somebody in there!" the bum spoke. "Batman saved his butt! I've seen it, man! He was just leaping' on the rooftops carrying' somebody on his shoulders! And some kind of hot chick following them! I seen it! Like a dark angel snatching' the guy from the fires of Hades, man! Along with a pretty girl!"
Fearing that Stromwell will be persuaded to testify against all his associates, Thorne orders a manhunt for Batman, Megan 'for his personal needs with her only', and Stromwell.
"Get everyone the streets to find Batman and Stromwell!" demanded Rupert.
"And Megan Tsuki, sir?" ask one of his men. "What about her?"
"Bring her to me alive, as the other two…Find and break a leg or two if you must."
That didn't sound good at all! The first-place Batman takes Stromwell to is his old neighborhood, where he started his career as an ordinary drug peddler, working from distribution to manufacture.
"Okay, why did you two bring me here?" ask Arnold.
"Ah, for the record, Arnold, Batman did. I just followed." said Megan.
Seems important for Batman and Megan to take somewhere for Arnold.
"You got something I want."
"Oh, yeah?" confused Arnold. "And what's that?"
Batman gets the grappling hook set up before doing anything else.
"Information, about the gangs."
"Seems that you and Rupert are enemies." Megan said to him. "Besides helping you out, Batman and I really want to stop them. Gang wars in Gotham, I think we have so much to deal with every night."
Arnold just laughs.
"Yeah right! Though I'm grateful for you two saving me, but it'll take more than earning my trust."
Batman lowers the grappler down from the roof building.
"I'll try to keep that in mind." Batman said while smiling. "Megan, try to keep up."
"We'll do." Megan shoves Arnold next to Batman to be carried down this time. "Let's go, Arnold."
Down the three go for Arnold hates being carried around again.
"Oh, no…! Not again!"
What a baby…Arnold's fine! With Megan uses her gloves with giant long claws to claw down from one wall to another safely to catch up to Batman.
"What?" Megan mocks Arnold. "You're still alive."
"You're going to pay for this." he was angry at Batman to then see the area. "Hey, I remember this place. This is where I started everything."
Yep, Batman takes Arnold and Megan helping her partner out. To the Sunrise Foundation, a drug rehabilitation center.
"Selling drugs."
"Yeah, I heard about that." Megan explains. "Arnold, you were the top of the mafia group in this part of Gotham. You sold powerful drugs for anyone gets too attached to it without quitting. It can kill anyone if they do it so much with an overdose. Crystal meth, wasn't it? Surprise that you never got arrested but your other men to go down and Batman to correct you from the law, like a house arrest; other than that, this type of crime for your wife to leave you and your only son, the only crime you ever did was go to battle with Rupert Throne and his men."
She was right you know to make Arnold a bit speechless.
"How…How do you know…?"
"Megan does what she does best." Batman answers Arnold's question already.
But does Arnold think that Batman and Megan knows that he does sell the drugs in this part of the area of Gotham? Anything at all?
"Well, prove it!"
Batman's words said enough.
"You own it all because of it."
"Prove that too!" said Arnold. "Nobody twisted anybody's arm, and for the record I make candy."
Megan smacks him upside the head to come through his senses since Arnold was in denial.
"Quit hiding your dark past!" angered Megan. "You did it all and you know it already! And this candy you make, it's disguise as its mix in to be crystal meth itself! Batman, shall we?"
"You got it." he said. "Stay with me, Megan."
"Okay."
Batman does that to drag Arnold inside of the building.
"Hey! Hey! Where are you two taking me now?!" Arnold questions them again to see the building's name. "Sunrise Foundation? Means nothing to me."
Megan and Batman pull Arnold inside of the place.
"Oh, yeah? Let's go in and you'll see the rest for yourself, shall we?" Megan tells him so.
Once inside for Arnold still didn't get on why Batman and Megan brought him there.
"What is this place?"
"A drug rehab center." answered Batman.
Arnold thought that the two brought him there to get him fixed, but him denying from not being fixed at all.
"No!" Arnold refuses to go inside. "I ain't going in! Ten cent tour of the city is over!"
"Knock it off! (He's acting like a little brat of a child!)"
With Megan's yelling at Arnold and Batman punching the wall sure in front of Stromwell made him stop from going anywhere.
"So, what could it hurt? One little look, right?" he goes on in.
Megan sees why Batman wants Arnold to go inside of the room.
"Oh, I see what you're trying to do now." she said to the Dark Knight. "I know why you want to help out Arnold."
"That's part of it." said Batman.
Inside, Stromwell is shocked to find his estranged wife, Connie, who is attending to Joey, suffering from severe drug withdrawal pains. Stromwell rages, but is brought up short when Connie says that it was one of his own dealers who got Joey addicted, and it was Batman who rescued him and alerted her. And Megan getting some of the report back, she gets the whole thing to see it all for herself up close.
"You see now, Arnold?" Megan asks him. "It was your drugs that almost killed your son, Batman saved him in time."
"And your rain of crime spree needs to stop." Batman said to Arnold. "All of your money and empire has bought you nothing more than misery."
And thanks to Batman and Megan, Arnold gets it now to admit his guilt.
"What do you two want me to do?" he asks either of them.
"Close the origination. Talk to the DA. Turn in all of the records." Batman said. "It has to stop, Stromwell. It must stop. Now."
Megan had her computer book all set to go and to hear and to give to the cops about Arnold's case.
"Batman and I really wish to help you out." she said. "You're not a bad person, just a misguided mafia boss to make it big to hurting others without knowing about it. Even from your son who's lucky to still be alive."
And so, thanks to speech there, for Arnold takes Megan and Batman to give him everything at some building, with all his records are at. Appearing contrite, Stromwell agrees to hand over files incriminating himself and Thorne to Batman and the same with Megan.
"Here are the records, look them over." Arnold hands them the folder.
Megan scans them down from her computer book.
"I'll be the judge of that." Megan was having some trouble getting some answers out of it.
"Something wrong?" Batman asks her.
"I don't know…I think my computer book's having a glitch again, or the files are mis-printed. Help me out here, Batman."
"Let me see."
But at the empty office he leads Batman to, Stromwell slips him a stack of dummy files and the reason why Megan's computer wasn't working. And unaware for Arnold had something to do with Megan without her seeing it from behind.
"Find anything?" ask Megan.
"These are dummy files."
"Yeah, and you two are the dummies!" Arnold points a gun at Megan.
She was now Arnold's hostage for Batman was worried that she would get shot.
"Batman! (Are you kidding me, Arnold?!) He's got me!"
Arnold uses his distraction to grab a gun to point it at Megan's face from behind her, saying he won't go down so easily.
"Don't move, Megan." Arnold order Megan not to. "I don't want to shoot you, but I will if you try to be the hero."
"Easier said than done!" she had to get out of this mess.
Batman surrounds Arnold around the desk while using Megan as his hostage.
"You think I would go down that easy?" Arnold questions Batman. "Ha! I got scores to settle. I bring bad news, always have been! Always will be!"
"What about Joey?" Batman asks him.
"Yeah!" Megan agrees with him. "Your son! You don't want him to suffer, do you?"
"I'm going to get him out of that freak hole so he will get better."
Arnold was still in denial about it all. Megan wishes she could talk some sense to the man like Batman was trying to.
"Ah, Batman? A little help here please?"
"You're fooling yourself again, Stromwell." said Batman.
"You and Megan are both fools, Batman." Arnold said. "Now if you just stayed nice and quiet…"
Then Megan sees trouble from outside of the building as she, Batman, and Arnold were attacked by Thorne and his gang throwing tear gases all over the room.
"(No! Not now!) Incoming Rupert's gang!" Megan altered the two men.
"Tear gas!" shouted Batman.
Hard to breath for Arnold to go down and Megan too as she tries hanging in there, Batman uses a chair to break a huge window to get some air out in time. Incoming Rupert and his men heading inside of the building, as Megan comes to somehow looks like she's glowing all over her body 'for some strange reason', she moves her arms down to somehow make a powerful wind to blow something away from the gas out of here and give Arnold some fresh air to breath in time. She stops after that to not know how it happened.
"(What the…? What just happened?)" Megan didn't get what she did. "(I knew that Arnold and I were about to pass out from the gas, but we didn't…) Arnold!" she gives him mouth to mouth to give him some air to save his life in time. "Oh, thank God!"
"Huh…? You, you saved me…"
Batman puts on the mask in time for Megan to do the same now and tries to keep in mind on what just happen to her, so weird.
"Megan! Are you alright? And is Stromwell…?"
"He's fine! I'm okay too thanks to you." she said. "(I'll worry about that thing later…This mafia fights comes first.)"
Megan was all set to still be fighting by Batman's side to make sure that Arnold gets out of this mess alive.
"Stay here." Batman said to Arnold. "Don't move. Here they come."
Batman grabs one thug entering in the room, for Megan to slamming the door on the other one.
"Sorry! No freaks allowed!" she laughs.
Trying to break in again to see his friend out cold by Batman's doing.
"Stach? You in there?" he asks his partner.
"He sure is!" Megan said.
Thanks to Batman holding the man's out cold body, he throws it back at the other man and for Megan to fire off some gun shots to knock the other one out of the man's hands. Batman and Megan of course both subdue with Thorne's thugs, while Stromwell flees, with Thorne himself in pursuit. Megan sees that Arnold has left the room.
"Stromwell?" Batman calls out to him.
Megan couldn't find him either.
"Not good, Batman, he escaped."
Form the chase of Rupert and his men going after Arnold; while Megan uses her yo-yo's with spikes to stop some of them and Batman too with the other using a gun to kick some senses into him.
"You!" Rupert points out to the two.
"Sorry, Rupert!" Megan had her gun out. "But Arnold's not going to die tonight by your hands, or to anyone else!"
As Stromwell runs, he finds himself back at the old rail yard, and remembers the rest of the flashback: Just before the train hits, Arnie manages to get his shoe free, and stumbles out of the way—straight onto the next track as a second train is bearing down on him. Michael pushes Arnie out of the way, and the train roars over him, Arnie screaming…
"Michael! Michael...!"
Megan was with Arnold to know his problem was to get help from, Michael was Arnold's brother and a priest who lost a leg.
"Arnold, we can still help you. Michael wants to. You see?" Megan was right.
Stromwell then collapses, sobbing…
"Michael...Michael..."
A voice answers…
"I'm here, Arnie."
The old priest steps into the light, Father Michael Stromwell. As I said, he wasn't killed, but he did lose a leg, something for which Stromwell never forgave himself.
"From losing your family, being something big, you should've, and almost had your son killed, and hiding your guilt…It isn't healthy for you, Arnold." Megan said. "I'm the same way to feel a bit different than you are, but I know how it feels. I want to find those answers while you need some help. But you're not alone. Not anymore you're not."
Out of guilt, he angrily rejects Michael's help, only to be reminded of the current dismal state of his life: his family is broken, his son is gravely ill, his empire is crumbling, and his enemies are closing in.
"I don't need your help!" said Arnold.
"Is that a fact? An empire crumbling? A marriage shattered? A son lost?" questioned Michael. "Sure, you're doing fine."
Seems that Megan trusts Batman to stop Rupert and his men just fine to leave him be while seeing through Arnold and Michael for her to do something about it.
"Stay away, Michael!" Arnold said to walk away from his brother. "The last time you help me, you lost your leg!"
"Oh, I get by..." Michael hits his wooden leg as his replacement of his real one he lost. "Knock on wood."
"So why help me?" Arnold questions his brother. "I'm no good."
"Arnie, what else could I do? But I can still save others, by saving you."
A brotherly moment here…Kind of touching, you know?
"You knew I was no good, Mike. Why did you save me?" said Stromwell.
"Arnie, what else could I do?" ask Michael.
And soon enough, Michael appeals to Stromwell, asking him to do the right thing, for his family and for himself. Stromwell hugs his brother, sobbing. Megan knows that Arnold was still good.
"Michael…" Arnold said in tears.
"He's right you know. Do it for yourself on what's right, your family, your son at least, and for your own brother." she was happy. "I know what you can do it, and so does Batman."
"Thank you…"
Thorne suddenly appears with a gun was Rupert, ready to kill them both for Megan got out hers.
"(Rupert!)" Megan stood her ground. "You two, get behind me!"
"Ah, Megan, we'll have some fun dancing as soon as I stop them…Nice touching family reunion story, Stromwell." he aims his gun. "Now, say good night."
But Batman arrives just in time to subdue Rupert to lose a gun by using his Batarangs.
"(Nice one, Bruce.)" Megan fights Rupert with her own moves. "Don't you ever…! Mess with others in the Stromwell family again!" she restrains Rupert. "And that's for kissing my hand…!"
Batman cuffs Rupert and the other men of his.
"Nice work, Megan." said the Dark Knight.
"Thanks for the backup. And just in time too, the police are coming."
The police arrive on the scene and Stromwell prepares to give them a statement as Batman slips away into the night. Megan sees through that Arnold will live a good life now and having Rupert and his gang arrested by Gordon, Bullock, and the other cops once again. Seems that Michael will see his brother and his nephew through this time.
"Thank you again, Megan. Tell the same thing to Batman when you see him again." Arnold leaves. "Commissioner Gordon, I have something to tell you…"
And for that, Megan joins with Batman back on top of the building to see another good deed they did together and saving a life in the very end.
"(One thing at a time, Megan…)" she'll keep another thing in mind for later. "Well, it sure is good to help out a misguided one, huh Bruce?"
He smiles to know that for sure, they did it together as Batman and Megan look at the church bells to be bringing further down the block to see from afar.
"I believe you're right about that, Megan. It was all worth it."
Batman was enjoying from Megan's loving looks to see her face in the moonlight. Yeah, good to save a life in time indeed.