"We have him, Brother."
"Of course you do. Bring him." Ezekiel Rage was in a very good mood. He didn't realize that his scarred smile and his unconcerned approach to the Batman made many of his fellow brothers and sisters, native Gothamites, nervous. They knew Rage was crazy, but could anyone really be that crazy? But even if they wondered, that didn't change anything. The Revolution had begun and they must follow Rage into the New Age.
People who thought of the Brotherhood as a cult probably imagined his headquarters as exotic and dark, lined with stone walls, grotesque carvings, cryptic religious symbols, and candlelit shrines. Rage wasn't above these trappings, knowing that power was based in loyalty, fear, and greed, all of which an exotic secret society fostered. The pageantry and robes were part of the show, something he had been exceedingly well-trained to create by the United State Government. But the show only went so far.
The true Brotherhood of Rage lived in their hearts. Those allowed into the command center believed as fully in his dream for the future as he did. They knew that only by bringing mankind to its knees could the fate of the planet truly be saved. When the government marked people as numbers, and the people ignorantly accepted their role as sheep, radical changes were required. Sacrifices were required. The men and women he personally selected for the command center were willing to make them.
There were no shrines in here. Only the cold modern tools of necessity. From the center platform he observed nearly thirty of his Brothers and Sisters at their works stations. Video reports flowed in from around the city, documenting the destruction of the Gotham City Postal Processing Center, three wings of the municipal airport, and the IRS office. The last one, he believed, would not be missed. They had failed at the Courthouse, but it would not survive a second attempt. Other acolytes were relaying orders to various teams in the field, ensuring the disruption of all communication systems but their own. He especially liked to look over to the teams that were monitoring other cities, such as Metropolis, Boston, and Washington, that were also feeling the hot and vengeful reach of the Brotherhood of Rage. A few more weeks of planning and the devastation could have been total and simultaneous. Even so, his brothers and sisters were carrying out their duties with zeal.
Years ago, he thought all of mankind flawed and wished to cleanse the entire planet of its presence. But humans were also intelligent and willful, stopping him from carrying out his mission and evangelizing the Book of Rage. After his failure and months of brooding, he realized that he had been arrogant, believing the vision was his alone to see and bring about. He had followers in the past, but they were just that. Now he had found true Brothers and Sisters. Even Pamela, with her poisoned view of the world, agreed with the Book of Rage.
Rage looked with amused pity at the chained man now being led into the command center. Batman probably believed that in stopping him, Ezekiel Rage, he would stop the Revolution. But it wasn't so. Too many people now believed in the fiery dream of the New Age. The Brotherhood would live on even if he fell. Even those who opposed the Book would assist them in bringing about the dream, willfully destroying each other during their struggle to survive in their shattered world. How easy it will be, Rage thought, to destroy this man and remove one more roadblock in their path to the New Age.
"Welcome, Dark Knight. I have been expecting this meeting for a lot time."
"Rage, you're just one in a long line of angry people who have earned face time with me." One of the Brothers of Rage viciously kicked the back of Batman's knee, forcing him to the floor.
"So I understand," said Rage. "I can see why they are drawn to you, the villains of this city. They eat away at all that is fair in your city, and you try to hold them back. You stop one, but they keep rising from the darkness. They keep returning from the edge just to challenge you. And you take their hatred on yourself, sparing the citizens of Gotham from the worst of their crimes and their wrath. Does it work, Batman? Every day you must wake to new horrors, new nightmares that you didn't think the human mind could even conceive. Is Gotham getting better?"
Batman paused for only a moment and then said, "I will never give up hope for Gotham."
"Tsk-tsk, Batman. That's no answer. Hope is not enough when evil permeates the world. You need conviction. You need action. Don't you see that we want the same thing?"
"We do not." Batman practically growled his answer.
"We want a brighter future," Rage continued, as if Batman hadn't said anything. "What kind of a world is it to live in when people no longer know the names of their neighbors? How many leaders of this city do you know to be corrupt liars? How much sensele—"
"Spare me the speech, Rage. I've heard it before, from people crazier than you. You would kill millions to bring about your "New Age,' an age of destruction and suffering."
"Temporary." Rage waved it off as if the death of millions was no concern. "Once the planet is balanced again, when people are valued as individuals and not numbers, the healing will begin. The few survivors will by necessity be strong, intelligent, and cooperative."
"With you and these soldiers as role models?" Batman scoffed. "You're a coward, Rage. And your 'brothers' and 'sisters' are cowards. Angry at the world, you hide under robes, looking for the magic pill, afraid to face your problems as individuals. Afraid to struggle like so many good and honest people do in this city." Everyone in the room was listening.
"This city?" Rage asked, his benevolent tone replaced with anger. "Why do you think I chose this city? Because it was so easy! Ambition, greed, corruption… Those few good and honest people you speak of slave away for despots they do not see. Their struggles have brought them no where, and many were glad enough to join me. I must admit, though, I thought more of the people of Gotham would gladly join the Revolution."
"The people here are survivors."
Ezekiel Rage shook his head, sadly. "It's not survival, Batman. They hold fast to their shacks, their run-down evacuation centers, and their city government because they don't know what else to do. They have been raised to believe that the problems of the world are made and solved by other people. They believe that they can do nothing."
"Rage, I was born from the streets of Gotham. If I believed that, I wouldn't be here."
"And neither would we." Commissioner Gordon stood at a doorway on the other side of the room. At least fifteen heavily armed members of the G.C.P.D. S.W.A.T. team flanked him. They trained their weapons on all sides of the room, and Rage in particular. "Ezekiel Rage, you and your followers are under arrest. Thro—"
In a fraction of a second, Rage had his finger on a button. It was small, harmless looking, but he immediately had their full attention.
"If you value your lives, you will leave now," Rage announced, speaking to Gordon and his men. Some of the Brotherhood looked like they suddenly wanted to leave too, but they held their ground in the silence. Rage's smile was cold. "All good government installations of the cold war had self-destruct systems, and so does this one. I've even upgraded it. If my finger leaves this button, this entire base and the three block radius above us will be vaporized."
No one moved.
Gordon's forehead broke out in sweat while he formed an ultimatum.
Rage was serene as he composed a farewell speech.
The silence dragged on as the temperature rose in the room.
"Take him."
The voice came from everywhere and nowhere. The response was immediate. Everyone watched in shock as Batman vaulted to his feet and crossed the distance to Rage. The Dark Knight slammed his forehead into Rage's scarred face, crunching bones. No one in the room even had time to to scream as Rage fell, his finger slipping from the button.
Everyone in the room squeezed their eyes shut and waited for the new age, whatever that might be.
Nothing happened. Cult members and police officers alike opened their eyes and breathed a sigh of relief. They exchanged guilty looks among themselves and then with each other. The moment passed quickly. Just when members of the Brotherhood started looking fidgety, they heard the same commanding voice that had given the order to take down Rage.
"To the misguided followers of Ezekiel Rage, in Gotham and elsewhere: I am in control of your computers, your network, your broadcasts, your command centers, and your doors." One by one the computers around the room blinked and then died. "I also control the air entering your rooms and the bombs beneath your feet. When the authorities come to collect you, I suggest you surrender yourselves peacefully."
Batman's chains dropped to the floor and his former guards backed away in fear and wonder.
"Carry on, my brothers and sisters! Continue the fight!" Rage was struggling to his feet.
Batman grabbed him by the throat and dragged him back toward Gordon and his officers. The acolytes who had brought in Batman in chains parted to let him pass. They were soon handcuffed by the police, who were fanning out around the room. The Dark Knight tossed Ezekiel Rage at Gordon's feet and walked out of the room without a word.