Revised Epilogue


James Gordon opened the newspaper, smiling over his morning coffee at the headline "BATMAN STILL ON THE LOOSE: POLICE HAVE NO LEADS." He had been afraid, for a full 24 hours after the explosion of Nigma's barge, that Nigma had been telling the truth and the explosion that reportedly killed the Joker had also ended the life of Batman. Batman and Bruce Wayne had both resurfaced by the following evening; but after six weeks, the Joker still had not.

Maybe he did do us a favor, Gordon mused, shuddering at the thought of the mass murderer being loose among the Gotham populous again. Even with all the criminals he'd seen, no one had every quite chilled Gordon the way that one did. And the Joker's last scheme had made the violence personal in the worst possible way.

As though beckoned by this thought, the children swept past him on their way out the door.

"Bye Dad!" Barbara proclaimed brightly, planting a brief kiss on his cheek. "I've got karate at four, remember, so don't freak out when I'm not home by three."

Gordon grinned a bit guiltily as the door slammed behind the children. Perhaps he had become a bit overprotective of them since the kidnapping. But at least he was not the only one; his wife had been at least as bad. Barbara and Jimmy were now both enrolled in self defense classes, and Barbie was taking to it—and to an interest in her father's job—like a fish to water.

'If Batman doesn't watch out, he's going to have some competition,' he had told her after watching her enthusiasm begin to grow. Gordon chuckled at his little joke, and turned the page in the paper.

The articles on this page warranted a slight frown; another chemical plant had been broken into and some of its contents apparently pilfered. This time, the assailant seemed to have gone one step further; explosives had incapacitated the factory's waste disposal abilities, shutting it down for weeks at least. All of Gotham's production facilities had been rattled by the string of burgalaries, but none seemed to be able to deter them; neither could the GCPD.

He scanned the rest of the paper only briefly, and contemplated how Gotham's crime scene had changed in recent months. The mob and drug cartels were making a resurgence with the disappearance of the Riddler, as previously low-ranking members climbed into vacant positions of power. But the police had been able to do some work with the brief lull, shutting down some operations, hopefully for good.

And there were signs that vigilante activity was actually on the rise in Gotham; in some cases the vigilantes were dubious, like one particularly enthusiastic youth who had tried to bust a drug ring with a homemade bomb. The use of Batman's testimony in indicting the Riddler seemed to reinspire the imitators previously discouraged by Batman's charges of murder, possibly in an unhealthy way.

There were reports from all over the city not only of Batman sightings, but of muggings and robberies foiled Batman imitators or even a few original "masks." Most were inept and either quickly apprehended or smart enough to retire after a few dangerous exploits. Still, the trend was worrisome—more than one costumer had turned up dead after apparently trying to take on an armed criminal.

And somewhere in the back of his mind, he wondered something more. Whisper Lieng had never been re-arrested after her kidnapping by the Joker. The unofficial attitude in the GCPD was to hope that without Edward Nigma on the loose to control her, the poor woman might have fled the city and made a normal life for herself.

Harleen Quinnzel had also evaded police custody shortly after testifying in Nigma's trial. It bore all the signs of an escape planned with an outside accomplice. Having no actual record of violent crime, Quinnzel was also assumed to have fled the city and was fairly low on the GCPD's list of priorities. But he had to wonder, in a city as crazy as this one, if a couple of equally crazy women might not stick around. And who knew, a couple of female costumers had been reported…

He shook his head, finished his coffee, and grabbed his coat to head for his temporary office at the Department of Justice. On the bright side of things, Gotham was certainly the most interesting city in his field of work.


For any readers who might have been confused by the shortening of the epilogue, here is the reason for it: the long-awaited sequel to "City of Sorrows" is now in the works! The second scene of the epilogue was intended to wrap up the Harley/Whisper plotline, including the problem of Whisper's immortality serum; that, however, was not the original solution to the problem we'd intended. Now that we know we'll have time to write the sequel we had hoped for, that solution and the other events of the Harley/Whisper scene have been canceled.

It's only fair that we warn you readers that the Joker will not be sprung from his watery prison in this sequel; we do have plans for him eventually, but not just yet. Instead, we'll be bringing back and old friend (Doctor Jonathan Crane a.k.a. The Scarecrow), along with appearances by the Riddler and a brand-new rival, Pamela Isley. We hope you'll come with us for the ride as our plotline continues to develop.

And now, check the next chapter for a preview...