The Harlequin and the Bat
This is the story sequel to: The Harley and The Ivy.
Important notes: I do not own Batman or any portion of the franchise. I give all credit to DC Comics and respective owners.
Warning: Violent scenes to come. These stunts are done by highly trained professionals and should not be imitated by anyone. Except those proficient in martial arts training and weapons, even then it shouldn't be imitated.
Chapter 21
Nightwing and Robin took to the caucus race trying to stop people from collapsing from exhaustion, Bat-Shard and Impact went to find Hatter and Zsasz.
(Dick's POV)
Robin managed to subdue some citizens using his grapple hook line as a crude limbo stick and Nightwing began stripping the Wonderland masks off the civilians. "Nightwing…" Robin asked
"Yeah, what is it Robin?" Nightwing replied removing a three of clubs mask off of a woman.
"Does Impact seem…out of it to you?" Robin asked trying to hold back the several people back. But jumps into the fray taking the masks off.
"Yeah…He's seemed crazed, ever since we got Batman back." Nightwing said "Crap! Card soldiers!" Nightwing pointed to a group of goons wearing card themed clothes and the same type of masks the civilians were wearing.
"I'll handle the civilians, you get them!" Robin shouted
Nightwing twirled his nightsticks and entered a ridiculous battle between him versus Wonderland dressed footmen. 'I just hope Bill doesn't go crazy with Hatter and Zsasz.' Nightwing thought
(Harleen's POV)
"Impact, Impact…Bill!" Bat-Shard asked then shouted
"What?" Impact snapped
"What's with you? Ever since you heard Zsasz and Hatter got out, you've been acting…not yourself. What's going on?" Bat-Shard asked
'God not you too…' Impact thought "It's for my list." Impact didn't deny it he was tired of hiding it. "I want revenge on Zsasz and Tetch for what they did to me back in Arkham."
"So that's why you were eager to come? For a revenge list? Does Ivy know?" Bat-Shard asked
"Yes…Ivy knows, I told her…don't worry about trying to stop me killing the two of them. I promised Ivy I wouldn't." Impact explained "Look we've got to find these two before they cause permanent damage."
"Okay…just…just don't go over the edge Impact." Bat-Shard spoke worriedly.
"I Promise." Impact nodded then turned to see a large tea table with numerous people sitting there.
"What the…?" Bat-Shard wondered
"Tetch…"Impact whispered.
(Bruce's POV)
Bruce was now sitting in his chair, drinking a cup of tea that Sonia has prepared for him; he's reluctant to drink it but, imbibes with caution. "Hmm…this is good." Bruce spoke
"Thank you, Master Bruce…" Sonia bowed and left Bruce continue thinking.
Bruce looked at the drink then placed it down on the table besides him, rubbing his temples he tried to recall: why he said he was sorry to Harley and asked if Harley was hurt. Soon the memories were coming back…they pained in his mind like a thousand nails through his brain; the millions of tiny thunderbolts that defined every experience, every thoughts, everything that made humans human. "ARGH!" Bruce called in pain
"I'm sorry…but this must happen. I know the pain of it, but you must endure." Sonia said while holding his hand
"What…did…you…do…? Argh!" Bruce struggled to speak through the pain.
Outside the room Alfred raced to Bruce's aid "Master Bruce!" he flung the doors open and saw Sonia holding Bruce's hand. "Sonia! What have you done?" he said pulling his daughter back.
"I'm sorry…but it's something that I had to do…for Master Bruce." Sonia spoke in her defence
"What? What did you have to do?" Alfred expected an answer to explain why his Master was in pain.
"T-Talia…she…Argh! No…she…not even she…would go that far…" Bruce strained to talk while remembering what Talia did back two days ago. "Harley…Why? I'm sorry…" Bruce groaned hoping for forgiveness from Harley for what happened "Talia…!" he seethed remembering what happened. Bruce turned to Sonia and looked at her installing fear into her; Sonia looked into Bruce's burning with rage eyes. "Tell me, what happened. Now…" Bruce said sternly but calm.
"Of course, Master Bruce." Sonia feared for her safety
(Nightwing's POV)
The card soldiers kept on getting back up regardless of being knocked down, Nightwing was running on steam. "Robin, any luck over there?" he called out to his partner
"Not really, these guys are frog footmen! They're not going down easy!" Robin answered
"We've got to regroup." Nightwing said unsheathing his grapple gun.
"But the civilians?" Robin asked
"They'll be fine; they ran away while we were fighting!" Nightwing retaliated
"Got you, let's fly!" Robin said using his grapple gun.
As they zipped up the rooftops the card soldiers and frog footman travelled upwards to grab them.
"Damn it, these guys don't quit do they?" Robin panted
"We've got to…get to…Bat-Shard and Impact…let's hope he hasn't killed Zsasz and Hatter yet." Nightwing answered
(Harleen's POV)
*the same time Nightwing and Robin were fighting the card soldiers and frog footmen*
Bat-Shard and Impact saw several persons sitting around a lengthy tea-table, some wearing Wonderland masks and some with their throats slit with coagulated blood down their necks. Hatter was laughing and smiling singing a nonsense song. Zsasz was carving another mark on his person, the sign he has killed another. "Such fun…another mark…Hatter…"
"Don't kill ever one Zsasz; otherwise we'll have no-one for the tea party." Hatter said breaking from his song.
"Don't worry…we have many, for this party." Zsasz said wiping his blood away from his fresh mark.
"You're party is about to be cut short." Impact whispered
"Okay, we'll rescue the people first. You can distract Zsasz and Hatter…just don't kill them." Bat-Shard urged Impact to remember.
"I know, I know…" Impact moaned
Bat-Shard slipped into the shadows of the ceiling, while Impact walked towards the tea party. The music stopped and the two criminals and goons looked at him. "Well, well, who do we have here? The Cheshire Cat dropping in on our Un-Birthday party?" Hatter asked
"He must be a new mark for me! I'll take this one!" Zsasz grinned maliciously
"Bring it, you self-mutilating schizophrenic psychopath!" Impact growled
The guards and Zsasz jumped down from the table and approached closer to Impact; as impact gripped his hurt arm he set the Impact Force to: two, as not to strain his already hurt arm. "Any last words…Vigilante?"
"Yeah…say your prayers!" Impact said knocking back the first two controlled goons.
Bat-Shard snuck down attacking Mad Hatter from behind, he screamed in pain because of the earlier encounter he had involving the Rogue Assassin. "ARGH; you? Bat-Shard! You'll pay for that!" he swung an executioner's axe only missing her slightly, Bat-Shard unsheathed her tonfa for defence.
"Didn't your mother ever tell you not to play with axes?" Bat-Shard quipped
"She taught me how to defend myself!" Hatter groaned then swung his axe.
(Bill's POV)
Impact was knocking people around making sure to keep the controlled people out of harm's way, Impact defended against Zsasz's knife swings with his damaged arm…casts maybe cumbersome but they can be helpful in a pinch. "You." Impact threw a frog footman to the left "Are." Knocking the cod footman out "Dead." Throwing a drone civilian to the other drones "Zsasz!" Impact threw a punch towards the crazed psychopath, the impact from his gauntlets and knocked the knife from his hand.
"ARGH! You…I'll kill you for that!" Zsasz roared trying to strangle Impact, as the two struggled Nightwing and Robin descended landing down on the footmen knocking them out.
"How many is that now? Fourteen?" Robin asked
"Sixteen…there was the other two down the alley." Nightwing corrected "Impact, No!" Nightwing shouted calling out to Impact who was beating Zsasz.
Impact and Zsasz struck blow for blow except Impact had the strength enhancement. "Remember me now Zsasz?" Impact said grabbing Zsasz's arm and twisting it behind Zsasz's back.
"Should I?" Zsasz insulted Impact then he screamed as Impact broke his right arm.
"Fifty one marks…do you remember that?" Impact said holding Zsasz's unbroken arm now.
Suddenly it dawned on Zsasz, through the pain and wanted to numb it with another mark he realised… "You're…you're Bill…the one who saved those guards! You stole my marks!" he panicked and struggled to be free
"About time you remembered…too bad you've realised it with no arms!" Impact said breaking his other arm. As the screams of Zsasz echoed through the place, Impact left him there and raced to get Hatter.
"He let him live…" Robin saw the neutralised Victor Zsasz
"Yeah…maybe he isn't going crazy after all…Oracle get your dad down here. We need back up!" Nightwing contacted Oracle
"Already on it; and there's something you need to know…it involves Bill." Oracle spoke
"What about Bill?" Nightwing asked
(Harleen's POV)
Bat-Shard and Hatter fought where he led her to a statue covered garden. There stood statues of Alice, The Duchess, The Red Queen, The White Rabbit, the Mock Turtle and the Jabberwock. "Hiding out in your own Wonderland, Hatter?" Bat-Shard asked
"Yes…this place is now a paradise. Gotham is my Wonderland. No-one and I mean no-one will change this! Not you, not the Batman and not that rogue assassin who slammed me into the wardens table!"
"The Rogue was here? What did he want with you?" Bat-Shard asked searching for the Wonderland crazed villain
"He wanted to find a green suited man. I told him I didn't know where he was and he threw me into the warden's table! *roar*" Hatter pushed the Red Queen's statue down onto Bat-Shard.
"*scream* Oof!" Bat-Shard was captured by the Red Queen. She couldn't get up; her body was caught by the metal dress of the Queen. "No…no, no, no! Not good!" Bat-Shard panicked
"Now…off with your…" Hatter quoted the red Queen and rose his axe to Bat-Shard's neck
"Tetch!" Impact roared crashing into him pinning him into the Duchess. "Remember me?" Impact said while holding Hatter's arms above his head
"The White Knight?" Hatter asked attempting to free his hands
"No…I'm the person you humiliated back at Arkham…I'm the kid, you forced to do those ridiculous things…Jervis!" Impact reminded him
"Bill?" Hatter realised a little too late and Impact threw him down to the ground. "Ah!"
"It's over Jervis…the caucus race is over." Bill toppled the Jabberwock on top of Hatter, keeping him pinned.
Hatter screamed as it fell down upon him he then lost his hat; the one used to control the captured citizens, Bill crushed it in his hands freeing them. Jervis looked at Bill and quoted "Would not, Could not, would not, could not…oh could not join the dance…" and he fell unconscious
Bill lifted the statue off of Bat-Shard; she brushed herself off "Thought we lost you there for a minute…" and smiled
"Thought I lost myself there too." Impact reciprocated
Gordon arrived with the police and ambulances to make sure the goons were captured and the people were in the hospital, Gordon asked for Bat-Shard… "So I guess with your new identity and Impact over there…Harley Quinn is a memory only to us?"
"Yeah…" Bat-Shard smiled then changed the subject "Impact has one name left. Jonathan Crane…" Gordon looked confused then she explained "You better make sure that he's kept an eye on. I trust him; but what he did to the first four…it's frightening." Bat-Shard explained
"So what do you want to do?" Gordon asked
"He's only got one name left…just make sure he doesn't kill Crane." Bat-Shard explained waving to Impact while checking his arm with a close by ambulance.
(Bill's POV)
The paramedic checked Impact's arms and said that there was nothing wrong with them "Ah…good. Thanks doc. What about Nightwing and Robin?" Bill thanked then asked the medic
"They're more tired than hurt…they'll be fine." The paramedic smiled being happy to fix up heroes.
"Thanks doc." Impact smiled
*Back at Wayne Manor*
Ivy heard about what happened with: Bill, Zsasz and Tetch…she wasglad to see that Bill didn't kill the two, but she was concerned for what was going on in his mind.
"…So Bill took on Zsasz and Hatter, while I was trapped under a metal statue; he saved my life." Harley spoke to Bruce.
"Well, I'm glad you're safe Harley…Bill, good work keeping your cool around Zsasz and Tetch." Bruce thanked Bill
"No problem…Ivy…can I talk to you…privately?" Bill asked Ivy
"Sure…" Ivy answered
As Bill and Ivy left Barbara spoke "I hope they're going to sort everything out…I'm worried for him."
"After what you told us…how long does Bill have left?" Dick answered.
To be continued
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