ARKHAM ASYLUM
He felt groggy as consciousness slowly came back to him. Whatever had been in that injection had been potent and for a few moments after regaining consciousness he hadn't been sure who he was. He definitely had no idea where he was but at least he was somewhere.
He was surprised to find himself to still be alive after his confrontation with Jason...no, The Joker. He hated admitting it to himself but after facing him at Axis Chemicals he came to the realization that Jason Todd had fully taken on the persona of The Joker.
He stiffly turned his head to observe his surroundings. He was in a completely white room. He could hear the whirring of a large mechanical machine behind him. He tried to move his other muscles but then realized he was lying on a steel cold table strapped down by thick leather restraints. He was also wearing a white straight jacket while still costumed as Batman.
"Welcome, Batman."
He turned to see Hugo Strange standing in the doorway to the stark white room. He was wearing a white coat that matched the bright whiteness of the room. The Joker was standing behind him, looking bored as he twirled his purple pocket knife in his hand.
"I have waited a long time for this, Batman." Hugo stated.
"Waited a long time for what?" Batman asked dryly.
"The ultimate patient, of course." Hugo explained. "I've had many fascinating patients during my years here at Arkham Asylum but I knew I'd never be satisfied until I had you."
"I'm not your patient, Strange. I'm not a psychotic."
"Oh, I beg to differ. Before you donned your cape and cowl we never had the colorful individuals that we now have. Before the Batman there was no Joker, Penguin, Catwoman, Riddler, or any other number of villains that have surfaced throughout the intervening years. You are the original psychotic."
"What do you want, Strange?" Batman asked.
"The mind is a very fragile thing and the existence of alternate personalities has always fascinated me. Take your mind for instance. By day you masquerade as Bruce Wayne, the famed billionaire playboy. By night, you lurk in the shadows as Batman, the caped crusader who brings justice to the criminals of Gotham. I have dedicated my life to studying the mind and trying to cure patients of their alternate personalities. My goal is to cure your mind. Bruce Wayne is the false personality. I will endeavor to delete him from existence and have Batman become your sole personality."
"I don't have a split personality," Batman explained. "Underneath this mask I am Bruce Wayne. I choose to be Batman as a symbol of hope for the people and a symbol of fear for the criminals like you."
Hugo took a metallic headband attached to the machine located behind Batman. "Perhaps that is what you believe at the moment but when our sessions have come to an end you'll think differently."
"Don't count on it," Batman said. "My mind is stronger than you think."
Hugo attached the headband around Batman's head. "You insult me, Batman. I've spent my career perfecting this science. Take Harvey Dent, Jr. for instance. When he was brought to me he was just a young boy with an anger problem. I molded out of him an alternate personality that claimed to be called Face."
Batman stared icily at Hugo. "He already had that personality. You forget that I funded his treatment. He was sick prior to seeing you."
Hugo shook his head, "Wrong. He made up the existence of Face as an alibi for the violence he enacted on the kid he nearly killed. What I did was turn his lie into a reality." He pointed at the headband on Batman's head. "I accomplished it by using this device. My very on shock treatment therapy."
"You're a sick bastard." Batman stated.
Hugo continued as if Batman hadn't made that comment, "Of course, I underestimated young Harvey. He was stronger than I realized and managed to quell the Face persona. I was so heartbroken at the time but I was also still a novice in my studies of the mind back then."
Batman struggled within the straight jacket and restraints. He wanted to get his hands on Hugo Strange. He imagined the doctor's blood on his fists.
"The treatment of Harvey Dent, Jr. had a good result in the end though. It just took a long time to come to the surface. I have your former protege to thank for that. The explosion he set knocked the dormant persona of Face back to the forefront of Harvey's mind. As a result, Two-Face took the reins of his mind and tonight he will truly shine bright."
The Joker chuckled in the corner, "He's probably at Falcone's getting his revenge already."
Batman glanced at The Joker then glared back at Hugo. "Are you the reason Jason is what he is now?"
Hugo nodded. "Oh, yes but it wasn't nearly as hard as you might think. When you brought him here his mind was already gone. He had no personality to speak of. I helped to give him one. What better personality than that of The Joker. To come full circle and carry on his father's legacy."
Batman shouted in rage. "You insane son of a bitch! You can't just play God with people's minds!"
Hugo chuckled, "There is no God. There is only the mind which God was derived from." He then switched the machine on.
Everything became white from the intense pain as Batman's mind began to fry.
The Joker yawned. "I'll leave you with your new toy, Strange. I wouldn't come checking up on me again if I were you. You might not like the end result if you do."
Hugo smiled fondly. "Take care of yourself, Joker. You've been an exemplary patient."
Damian Kyle was dressed as one of the Arkham Asylum security guards as he stealthily made his way through the lower levels of the facility.
He had managed to get one of the security guards alone and questioned him about Batman's arrival. He learned that Batman was taken to the lower levels where the most insane inmates were kept. He then knocked the guard unconscious and took his uniform.
After searching for several minutes, he heard gut wrenching screaming. He recognized the screaming voice belonging to his father. He took out the .38 revolver and began rushing toward the sound of the screaming.
As he got nearer to the screaming, he noticed The Joker exit out of a room. He hadn't noticed Damian's approach.
"Jason!" Damian exclaimed.
The Joker looked up in surprise. "Who are you?"
Damian approached. "I'm Bruce's son, just like you are. You have to help me save him. "
The Joker studied him a moment as if in deep thought and then he burst out laughing. "Why would I do that?"
"Batman's not your enemy!"
The Joker took out his purple pocket knife. "Yes he is and if you're really his son then so are you."
The screaming became more intense and frenzied from within the room.
Damian pointed the gun at The Joker, "I don't have time for this shit."
The Joker stepped closer, "Would you like to hear a joke?"
Damian shot him in the leg and The Joker fell to the ground. As Damian rushed toward the door, The Joker grabbed him by the leg and tried biting him. Damian kicked him three times in the face until he laid there unconscious with a bloody face and broken teeth.
Damian rushed inside the room and what he saw shocked and infuriated him all at once. His father was strapped to a table being electrocuted by some large strange looking machine. His screams had subsided and he was convulsing and salivating out of his mouth.
A bald man with circular glasses and wearing a white coat was watching Batman with a smile of satisfaction. The bald man looked up in alarm once he noticed Damian had entered the room.
"Who are you?" The bald man asked.
For an answer, Damian angrily approached him and hit him in the mouth with the butt of the pistol. The force of the blow knocked out teeth as the bald man fell to the ground unconscious.
Damian inspected the strange machine and realized he had no clue how to turn it off. He tried taking the headband off of Batman's head but only managed to get shocked himself to the extent that he nearly convulsed.
Damian then took his pistol and shot three bullets into the machine before it finally sparked and stopped its shocking assault on Batman's brain. He then removed the headband, undid Batman's restraints, and removed the straight jacket.
Batman was still convulsing and his eyes were rolling in the back of his head.
Damian shook him, trying to snap him out of the seizure. "Dad, wake up!"
Batman soon stopped convulsing but also stopped breathing as well.
Damian panicked, "Dad, no! You can't die!"
He immediately started CPR as he tried reviving his father.
THE PAST
A young Bruce Wayne peeked into his father's study room.
He knew he wasn't supposed to be near his father's study when he had company inside but it was his tenth birthday today and he was ready to go to the Monarch Theatre like his father had promised. Mom had been upstairs for the past thirty minutes getting ready.
Sitting across from his father, Thomas Wayne, was an elegant looking man dressed in a blue pinstripe suit. Standing against the fireplace mantle beside the elegant dressed man was a young man dressed similarly but he had a fedora on his head and was lazily chewing on a toothpick.
Thomas Wayne sipped scotch from an expensive looking glass. "So, what brings Carmine Falcone himself to my home? On my son's birthday, no less?"
The man called Falcone shrugged, "You've been a hard man to get a hold of, Mr. Wayne. Every time I tried making an appointment with your office I kept getting shunned."
"That should tell you something, shouldn't it?" Thomas asked matter of factly.
The young man with a toothpick glared at him. "Show a little respect when you talk to Mr. Falcone."
Falcone held up a hand, "Behave yourself, Jack." He then addressed Thomas, "You'll have to forgive Mr. Napier here. He's an impetuous young lad but loyal."
"Loyalty is admirable," Thomas said. "But speaking out of turn to his betters is not."
The young man called Jack Napier sucked on his teeth as he stared coldly at Thomas.
Falcone chuckled, "I've always admired you, Thomas. You never were a man to mince words. My partner tried to talk me out of coming to meet with you tonight but I felt this meeting was necessary."
"Carl Grissom was always a little smarter than you anyway," Thomas stated.
Falcone stared at him coldly before continuing, "Be that as it may, I had to ask you in person. Why cut ties with us? Without our funds and resources, Wayne Enterprises wouldn't be what it is today."
Thomas answered, "Why do you think? When I learned what you and Grissom really were, I couldn't allow my company to be associated with your kind of business."
"You didn't mind our money at the beginning."
"Thats before I knew about your criminal dealings," Thomas said. "And I paid back the money with considerable interest. Therefore with all debts paid for, our business has concluded."
Falcone shook his head. "We didn't invest in your business as charity or as a debt to be paid back. We wanted to profit from your profit and it always helps to be connected to a legitimate philanthropic enterprise."
Thomas stood up and upon noticing young Bruce peeking though the door, addressed the two well dressed goons. "My company will not be tied to your organisation now or ever. Now I promised my son I'd take him out for his birthday so I'm going to have to ask you to leave."
Falcone stood up from the chair and sighed, "I'm sorry to hear that, Mr. Wayne. I had such high hopes for you. It appears my hope was misplaced as you're just another meddlesome rich fool."
Thomas smiled smugly. "Better to be a rich meddlesome fool than a rich meddlesome criminal."
Falcone chuckled as he exited the office and walked by young Bruce without giving the boy a single glance. Napier flicked his chewed up toothpick at Thomas as he passed by.
Once they were gone, Thomas knelt down to his son. "What are you doing, nosey son of mine?"
Bruce smiled guilty. "Pretending to be a detective."
Thomas laughed heartily. "And a superb detective, you'd make. Now why don't you go get your mother before we're late for the show."
Young Bruce ran off excitedly to do just that. He was completely unaware that in four hours time his life would change forever as he and his family traversed down that fateful alley after leaving the Monarch Theatre.
THE PRESENT
His eyes snapped open as consciousness returned and he gasped for breath that hadn't come for a few minutes. He saw his son leaning over him looking terrified and relieved all at once.
"I thought I had lost you!" Damian exclaimed.
Batman smiled as he admired his son. "Not yet."
Damian helped him to his feet and motioned to the man on the ground. "Who the hell is he?"
"Just another psycho," Batman answered. "I have to go to Falcone's now."
"Why?"
"Two-Face is going there to confront him and because it's time Falcone paid for all his crimes. For what he did to the Dent's, your mother, and for what he did to my parents."
Damian stared at him questionably. "What?"
"I just had a memory from a time I had repressed," Batman explained. "Jack Napier didn't just randomly kill my parents because he wanted to rob them. Carmine Falcone sent him to do it after my father rejected working with them."
Damian's eyes widened in shock at the revelation. "I'm going with you this time, Dad."
Batman nodded.