The Dark Knight Initiative
Hey guys! Hope everyone is well and taking good care of themselves, especially during these times. First, I wanna say, I deeply apologize it took me another 2 years again to update. I was having trouble with the next couple chapters along with job hopping. But now I have a more stable job, though it gave me more responsibilities, ;_;. But when I saw the trailer for The Batman, I got SO hyped, and it gave me inspiration and ideas.
Once again, I apologize for the very, very late update, but I guess better late than never? Lol.
Also, thank you to everyone for the reviews and for pushing me to continue with this fanfic. I'm striving to finish this one, lol.
Oh, I hope everyone had a Happy Halloween! And a Happy All Saints Day, All Souls Day and Day of the Dead as well. I really wanted to post this one before or on Halloween Day, but stuff happened. Anyway, enjoy!
Reviews:
Shazam!: The movie was great overall, the main characters were relatable for me. Though the way they resolved the thing with Billy realizing his real family over his mom could've needed more development, same thing with Billy and Freddy mending their argument. It does feel like there were a few key scenes cut off from the final movie. Favorite part is the Shazam! family appearing at the climax, a neat way of bringing in comic continuity to film without dragging it on for several movies.
Avengers Endgame: Two words: HOOLLLYYYYYYY SSSHHHIIIITTTT! What else can I say that no one hasn't thought of themselves or heard about from other reviews. If I try to go down the list it'll take about a whole page to type, but here it goes.
Let's break down the movie, and for me let's start from the ending. Tony's sacrifice, I went through the grieving process, though I skipped a couple, when they showed him dying after using the stones, I was in denial, then they showed the funeral, I went straight to bargaining and after a few weeks passed I finally accepted it. Lol. Thor is now a part of the Guardians of the Galaxy crew, that's how they teased it anyway. Clint gets his family back at the price of Natasha's death, and that part when they were at Vormir, I realized that 'shit!' to attain the souls stone they'd have to sacrifice someone, how did I forget that?!
The way Natasha went I felt a slight bit of anger, and that's only because I wanted all six original Avengers to participate in the final battle, which I'll get to in a second. And how Steve got a chance to live a peaceful life, ever since his speech at the Age of Ultron about 'if you die, walk it off' seemed like a bit of a flag to me saying that Steve doesn't care if he lives or dies, just keeps working to the bone, so his ending about finding happiness and letting the fight go, was a nice touch, and since this is the end of the OG Avengers, they're setting it up for the New Avengers, yeah!
The climax, oh dear god the climax, let's put it in this perspective, this is a 3-hour long movie, so are movies like 'The Hobbit' or 'Lord of the Rings'. And to Endgame's credit it did not feel like it was 3 hours, and to me it means that not once did I start feeling bored or sleepy during Endgame like I did other long movies. And I did not specifically mean Hobbit or LotR, just long movies have slow parts that I just don't get interested in. And the reason why it worked here is that this film is the culmination of 22 movies spanning 11 years, and the reason why people are invested in it is because there are several different characters that millions of people can pick and choose to invest themselves in.
Back to the climactic battle, two more words, Avengers Assemble! Cap finally said those two words! As for my favorite part, seven words, Captain America with his Shield and Mjolnir, baby! The way Cap uses the shield and hammer combo against Thanos was the highlight of the movie for me. Then there's the epic charge between all the Avengers and honorary member against Thanos and his army! Thor duel-wielding Stormbreaker and Mjolnir.
And I applaud the Russo brothers for making a benchmark for Captain Marvel's strength. At the end of the climax when she went up against Thanos with the stones they did it right. Yeah, I accept that Captain Marvel is super powerful, but if Kevin Feige's plan was to make her stronger than an Infinity Stone? I would have been pissed, and the way they showed how Danvers is naturally stronger than Thanos was cool, but when Thanos uses the power stone and knocked her out, that added character. And Danvers' banter with the others and especially with Rocket, loved it, this movie showed that Danvers is not perfect, she still has some flaws, Captain Marvel is powerful, but not OP. Heck, this movie made me like Captain Marvel better than how she was in her own movie!
I was iffy at first about the whole time-traveling thing, but they somehow managed to pull it off, not in a timey-whimey Doctor Who sort of way, but enough to mostly make sense for a 3-hour film. I'd go into more details about the time traveling but I'm already over a page of text just for one movie!
And then there's some stuff that I have tons of questions about. Oh Thor, what happened to you man? One moment your body looks like it's sculpted out of stone, now you look like The Dude just like what Tony said. But hey, if this is the direction they're planning to go with Thor, then The Dude abides. Also, Hawkeye's family I think got retconned somehow? Cuz from what I remember in Age of Ultron the son was older than the daughter, and in Endgame the daughter is older than the son? Or am I remembering wrong? Then there's Bruce and Hulk who merged to become one, that was cool, if only they showed how that happened?! I could read it from the comics but I wanted to know what was their idea of how they'd do it for film?! Is Hulk gone for good?!
They obviously used a lot of humor in the first act of the movie to make us forget just for a moment how we felt at the end of Infinity War, just to build up our hype and bring us to tears again at the end of the film. Once again, this movie lived up to the anticipations, I applaud the Russo brothers, they know how to balance characters, story, humor and action very well.
Dark Phoenix: What else can I say that everyone else hasn't? To be honest a part of me really hoped this movie would put a different spin on what happened in X-men The Last Stand. But somehow it re-told the same story as X3 but made it even worse! At least The Last Stand had memes made from it.
Spiderman Far From Home: I liked the movie, we got a small break from Endgame and we're back to street level, for now, until No Way Home happens and we deal with the multiverse.
Joker: Really loved this movie, a surprise directional change from the one who directed The Hangover movies, but a welcome surprise. And the fact that Joaquin Phoenix played the Joker? I had a feeling it was gonna be good, and it didn't disappoint. The part towards the end where you realize it was all in his head when he visited the woman's apartment, to the build up to when he kills Murray. This movies was tension filled and gives a backstory to the Joker without giving his real name. Though my head canon is that at the very end when he's laughing and talking with the psychiatrist, that is him telling her some BS story about his past, making him an unreliable narrator and that the movie we just watched was nothing but a joke. Which is really something the Joker would do.
Birds of Prey: Wanted to like this one, unfortunately the only parts I liked about this movie are the scenes with Harley Quinn, and that's it, and Ewan McGregor cuz he's an amazing actor. Other than them, the uniforms of the actual Birds of Prey seem like it's straight out of the Arrowverse.
Wonder Woman 1984: I thought this one was decent; I liked the first one better though. In all honesty, I already forgot many scenes from this movie, but Pedro Pascal, Gal Gadot and Chris Pine did great jobs.
Black Widow: Loved it, but yeah, this definitely would've been better if it came out after Civil War and before Infinity War. That stinger at the end though, if you watched Falcon and the Winter Soldier, you know what I mean, and it probably leads to the Hawkeye TV series coming out from Thanksgiving to Christmas. Not sure how I feel about what they did to the character of Taskmaster, he could've been a great villain in the MCU against the Avengers, but they did the character dirty. Overall, I think it's still good.
Justice League Snyder Cut: Now this is the Justice league movie I was expecting back in 2017, 4 hours long instead of 2, it's still not perfect by any means, but at least it has more context and none of that humor that Whedon always likes to put in his movies. Hopefully, in some shape or form, Zack's vision for this storyline will continue and reach its conclusion, cuz I'm interested to see the rest.
The Suicide Squad: Dark humor, blood and gore, phenomenal editing and transition from scene to scene. What else can I say? James Gunn is damn good at what he does. Glad he was able to make this, and that he'll be able to do Guardians Vol.3
Shang-Chi: The first third of this movie, reminded me of old Jackie Chan movies I used to watch as a kid, choreography was awesome in the bus fight and building fight. I also like the worldbuilding, what with Wong and Abomination in a short scene shows you how big the MCU world is.
As for the Disney+ shows:
WandaVision: I feel like there were parts in the middle that could have been cut, reducing the episode count from 9 to 6 or 7. The first couple episodes set the mystery, the final third gave a good ending.
Falcon and the Winter Soldier: Really liked this one, it shows the aftermath of Endgame on a global scale instead of the personal aftermath that Wanda went through. Everyone did a great job in their roles to me. And though I wanted Bucky to be the next Cap, I think Sam as a person is the better choice, because he also has similar qualities that Erskine found in Steve, he's a good man, and the fact he said no to Zemo about taking the serum without hesitation makes me respects him more. Cuz I would have taken it, but Sam worked hard for it. Makes me remember that saying, 'Life's greatest shortcut is hard work.'
Loki: Wasn't sure what I was expecting with this one, I think it couldv'e been shorter than 6 episodes and still be good, but the ending got me excited, they didn't say if it was Kang or not, but talks of a multiversal paradox has piqued my interest.
Thank you Marvel for making all these movies. Now it's time for you catch up DC! You did great with Joker, but right now more than anything I'm hyped up and can't wait for The Batman! If you've seen the trailer, then you know what I mean.
Reviewers:
RHatch89: Thanks!
Tyrannosaur King 'Crusher: Thank you!
TheWriter946: You're awesome for catching those! Thanks for the review.
LuisPerez77: Gracias!
Dracomancer1: Really!? I guess we do feel the same about movies. And thanks for your review!
locolycan777: Dude, I'm really touched with what you said. I'm honored.
timijaf: Thanks for the review.
TobiGB: I appreciate you review.
quoththeraven5: Thank you!
Omega Magnus: That's a possibility.
Wolf Mike: I can't wait too!
JumpingToaster: I'm honored you said that, yeah I know they went realistic in The Dark Knight Trilogy, but now he's technically in the MCU, where people are more durable. Thanks for the review.
mikemagnus7: Lol! Yeah, I'm still alive.
Kyuubi-Titan: Thank you!
MadforMads: Sorry I had to keep you waiting for the updates. But I appreciate that you liked this.
masterchief1229: Thank you so much!
LegitimateDamage: Yup, continuing it now.
zejaykay: Sorry about that, I apologize for the late updates.
Dark Claw: Sorry about the wait, I'm almost there though.
zachhoevel: Lol, yup, I'm hoping to end it soon, juuuust taking a slight detour.
Disclaimer: I don't own either of these movies or franchises, if I did, or rather if anyone did, they wouldn't be putting it on the internet but rather make the crossover happen in reality right now. Lol
Ch12: Darkness Before the Dawn
Selina could barely see anything in front of her since Batman brought them to one of his hideouts. Shrouded in darkness inside a secret elevator, she could feel the passage of time during their descent, each second starting to feel like minutes as the thief ponders over everything; how much time she's got til the bomb explodes, the inevitable war that's about to break out against Bane, and then there's Natasha's situation. And considering who has the SHIELD agent, that would be a cause for concern; Selina herself has never met The Joker, but she has seen him on TV and what he's done to Gotham. Add to the fact that throughout the whole trek to this shelter Batman's brought her to, he hasn't once talked to her, just brooding more than anything, making the master thief realize he probably has something personal against the clown, more than anyone else.
Starting to feel a slight draft coming from her legs up, Selina squints her eyes when she is slightly blinded once white lights come on. Realizing the lift has reached its destination, the thief looks around her to find an entirely empty room. Everything from the side to the bottom seemingly made of concrete, with the ceiling being the only source of light.
"Well that's a slight disappointment," Selina comments on the severe lack of color and décor.
Batman walks up to one side of the lair and presses a hidden button. Just then, coming out from the floors and walls are numerous computers, counters and contraptions as they turn on at the same time. Walking up to one of the instruments, Batman delicately scrapes off specks of the frozen dried blood from the card, a joker card no less, then inserts the sample into the apparatus.
"What's that?" Selina asks as the humming sound of the computer comes to life.
"It's a DNA Sequencer," Batman replies, "It will be able to confirm if the blood on the card is agent Romanoff's."
"How long will that take?"
"As of right now, about sixty minutes," came the response without a hint of humor.
"Are you serious?!" Selina replies in an outburst, "We don't have that kinda time to waste!"
"I know," Batman simply replies and walks up to another work desk, placing more samples from the joker card under a microscope and gazes under the scope.
Selina lets out a huff of exasperation, realizing that as much as she fancies him, when he gets like this she might as well be talking to a brick wall. Deciding not to bother him, she goes to one of the computers to see what information she can access from it. Discovering several encrypted files, she smiles slightly as she attempts to hack into them, careful not to alert tall, dark and brooding over there.
What she got from it though, fascinated her. Classified reports dating back from the history of World War II til present. What she read amazed her, Bruce was able to dig up enough information about not only SHIELD, but also each of the Avengers; there were also some redacted intel about several high-profile people, events and organizations, some of them which she's unfamiliar with. She even found some listed theories about protocols that could be used against them should they become potential threats.
An apprehending feeling coursing through her, Selina realized the dichotomy of what this implies, Bruce doesn't completely trust anyone. Typing in her name, she even found information about herself, but there doesn't seem to be any implemented strategy to be used against her. Not sure if she should be relieved or insulted, Selina checks the log date and it seems the last time Bruce logged in was almost half a year ago, right around the time they first met, until Bane... Feelings of guilt now in her mind, she gazes towards Bruce still in his corner analyzing blood and dirt trying to track down the Joker.
Her curiosity getting the better her, she typed in a name, well it was more of a title than a name, and what she found was surprising to say the least. The Joker; real name: unknown, blood type: unknown, birthdate: unknown. The whole file was more a list about the clown's crimes than any solid facts about the guy, not even where he came from. Her nerves beginning to shake, starting to feel anxious for Natasha, Selina simply closes the computer and continues on with other things.
Batman in the meanwhile, continues to gaze under the scope for the better part of over half an hour. Though it looks like he's just sitting there, his mind has been racing non-stop. Since investigating the playing card, he found out that aside from blood, the card also contains minor residues of soil. Magnifying the scope, he identified several different sediments, excrement and dirt, all of them could be found in different parts of Gotham.
'What's he planning this time?' Batman thinks, engrossed in his examinations, as he switches from the microscope to his own eyesight, taking some of the residue and rubbing it between his thumb and index to get a feel of the texture before situating more fragments of the residue to another machine.
With the hour mark slowly approaching, Batman finally figures out the minerals and deposits within the soil, and the revelation gives him a slight shiver, it could only be from one place. As soon as he concludes his discovery, the sequencer finishes its processing as well. Getting up, he reads the analysis. The blood confirms it is indeed Romanov's but the place where they are heading slightly unsettles him.
Coming up to Selina, who has become absorbed in her own inquiries, Batman tells her, "I have leads to where The Joker is."
Jolted from her own inquiries, Selina stands up, "Finally!" she says as the two board the secret elevator, "What did you find?" she asks as the various computers, devices and lights start to switch off and automatically put themselves away.
"The contrasting minerals and deposits I found on the card can all be found in different areas of Gotham, but there's only one location in the city that has all of them," he explains to her.
A grim feeling in the pit of her stomach telling her she might not like the answer, Selina still decides to ask, "So where do they lead?"
Batman looks at her as they ascend the lift, "The Narrows, more specifically, Arkham Asylum."
Elsewhere…
During the time Batman was examining the joker card, Captain America, in his new stealth suit, is sprinting through the streets of Gotham as noiselessly as possible. Having already traversed roughly six miles in twenty minutes, occasionally slowing down for a moment to sneak around any onlookers or threats he sees approaching. Hardly breaking a sweat, the super soldier halts as he comes up near the location Gordon is supposed to be. Crouching from his position as he peeks over the guardrails, he spots Commissioner Gordon and some of his men being held at gunpoint by half a dozen of Bane's men.
Reaching for his shield, he grasps it then silently jumps over the guardrail, sliding down the slope as he approaches them from the side, waiting for the right moment to pounce. As soon as Gordon and his men walk far enough from close range, Cap throws his shield as hard he can prior to sliding to trip one of the men as the shield lays out the first one, before ricocheting against another two, knocking them off balance. Quickly propping himself back up, Cap catches the shield midair, swings it upward against another mercenary, sending that soldier rolling a few feet in the air before landing on the ice-cold pavement.
Cap then swiftly delivers a push kick to the next thug, sending another one flying to the pavement as well before shifting his stance to deliver a low kick to the one he first tripped to the head, knocking him out. From there the super soldier begins combating the remaining two who were knocked off balance earlier with a combo, hitting one then the other in the knee with his shield, followed up by striking them both in the head.
Having taken them all down, the super soldier composedly locks his shield back in place, though he didn't notice the first one he clipped with his shield regain consciousness, reaching for a rifle and taking aim. When suddenly the man is blasted back, getting knocked out. Looking at the direction where the blast came from, Cap sees nothing, as if the blast came out of nowhere.
"You're welcome, Cap."
Hearing Tony's voice, Steve looks around but still could not find him. He scans the area again until he spots from a few feet away a silhouette similar to heat haze hovering towards him. When suddenly the silhouette's colors and textures begin to become visible, showing a black and silver armor, revealing a new Iron Man Armor he hasn't seen before.
"Tony, you were ordered not to engage until further instruction!" Cap reprimands his teammate.
"Well, I was instructed to engage," Stark replies in a low voice nonchalantly as his face plate opens up.
"By Fury?"
"Nope," the smugness could be heard from Tony's voice, "By Bats," he starts as he reveals the conversation between himself and the Batman.
Moments ago…
"Count me in, gimme the details," Stark says in a one-sided smile, looking between himself, Thor and Batman.
Bringing up a map of Gotham, Batman zooms the screen to the location where Gordon will be, then focusing on the adjacent bridge near it, "On this bridge is where I'll need you to put up the signal."
"Lemme guess, a bat-signal?" Tony says jokingly, that was until he sees the agitated demeanor of the Dark Knight, "Forget I asked," Tony responds as he tries to annoy their guest, "You know, you really take this bat theme too seriously."
Still not taking the bait, Batman continues to explain his plan to Tony, "After you're finished arranging the signal, make a trail of gas to where Gordon's location will be; you should also be rendezvousing with Captain Rogers there."
"Why the commissioner?" Tony asks curiously, "Wouldn't it be more efficient if I went ahead and fire up the signal myself?"
"You'll have to ask him first, I'm sure he'll want to be the one to ignite it himself," Batman reaches for another thing from his belt, "one more thing Stark," he calls out, "give this to Gordon when you see him," he tosses what looks to be a flare, "tell him to light it up."
A mischievous smile forming, Tony simply replies with, "Got it."
"How will you go there without being noticed?" Thor asks.
Smirking, Stark brings his to his ear, "JARVIS, activate 'Nightclub' for me." From within the giant aerial vehicle, one of Tony's numerous equipment that he brought inside his private room comes to life as it crashes through the chamber window, it then fires a foamy substance at the hole in the glass to seal it shut. Flying around the helicarrier, the suit scans for Tony's signature and crashes again through the window where they're located before wrapping itself onto its owner to reveal a red, gold and silver suit.
"Ladies and gentlemen meet Mk XVI, one of currently forty," Tony declares proudly as he seals the gap in the window shut.
Thor looks mildly impressed at the relatively new armor while Batman subtly shakes his head at Stark's idea of covert.
Inspecting the armor, Batman asks, "What are its specs?"
"Glad to see someone's interested in the finer details," Tony declares as he pulls up a hologram of the suit's designation, "JARVIS, take the seat."
"Thank you, sir," the voice of JARVIS begins explaining, "Mk XVI, aka Nightclub. Specializing in maximum concealment, this suit is designed to integrate advanced stealth and cloaking technology to evade various early warning systems. Possessing advanced color camouflage," he demonstrates as the colors of the armor slowly interchange from red, gold and silver to black and silver, "this armor is able to turn its change its colors to blend in with its environmental surroundings, especially dark places and dense urban environments."
Noticing the sleek and slim appearance, not to mention the lack of usual armor compared to the other ones he's already seen and lack of armament, Batman realizes one thing, "This armor isn't suitable for heavy combat like your other armors, is it?" he asks.
"It's not, this suit still retains the basic weaponry as with all my other suits, but most of the energy is directed toward its cloaking system, it's not as combat-ready as the others," Tony elucidates, "Nightclub's only suited for stealth and infiltration missions."
"Not bad," Batman gives the best compliment he could as he realizes he should meet up with the others soon.
Stark begins to grin when Thor interjects, "And how exactly are you going to get pass Fury to get to Gotham?" he asks.
Looking at the Asgardian Prince for a couple seconds, Tony just shrugs, "I'm sure you can come up with a great excuse buddy."
Stark gives Thor a couple pats on the back as the Thunder God looks completely unsure.
"So, what do you think?" Tony turns to Batman, only to find the man nowhere in sight. "What the?" Tony and Thor look around, a look of surprise on their faces, "How does he do that?"
Thor gives an ecstatic look, "Haha! Amazing! For a mortal he could give Loki a run for his money with that trick!" he gives a couple claps of applause.
"Show off," Tony says briskly before closing his helmet and activating his armor's cloaking system before sneaking away, leaving Thor by himself.
Present…
Raising an eyebrow at Tony's summary, Cap asks, "So are you done with the signal?"
"Just got done," Tony states with a smirk, "Then I saw you performing your kung fu on some of Bane's men, you took 'em down before I even got to show off what else this baby can do."
"Ahem…" Both Avengers turn to see Gordon staring at them, "Gentlemen, thank you for saving my men and I," he says, giving a nod to Stark and Captain America a salute.
"No problem, Jim," Steve salutes back.
Tony tosses the Commissioner the flare, "Your batty friend told me to tell you to light it up," then points at the trail of gas.
"So, he's alive?" Gordon's eyes widen from hearing Iron Man's words.
"Somehow," Tony replies with an annoyed tone.
"And from what he's told us, he somehow made it through whatever torment Bane put him through," Cap further comments.
A look of hope appearing on Gordon's face, he ignites the flare and is about to set alight the flames of revolution, when suddenly Tony calls out.
"Wait!" the billionaire tells him, "Before you do that lemme fly up there first," he points to the top of the bridge he set the signal on.
"For what?" Gordon asks.
"For a better view," the way Tony phrased it might have sounded like his usual jeers, but the look of reckoning on his face says otherwise. The armored avenger closes his face plate, "and next time you see Bats, tell him that he better show me how he does that disappearing trick," he says before flying to the top of the bridge.
Understanding how Tony feels, Cap gives a knowing smile. He turns to see the look of confusion on the Commissioner's face, he then pulls out from his back the device Batman gave him, which he in turn hands to Gordon.
"What is this?" Gordon asks.
"It blocks the remote detonator's signal to the bomb, you just have to get it real close to it before sunrise, they might push the trigger before it starts."
"Before what starts?"
"…war."
Proceeding to drop the flare, Gordon and the remaining officers witness the flame ride up along the side to the top of the bridge and igniting ablaze a symbol they all recognize, a bat. Sending a signal all across Gotham for those who can see the fiery emblem that the Batman is here.
Up top on his vantage point, Tony uses the scope on his suit to get a better view. Eventually spotting on top of City Hall, he locates the monster of a man watching the giant bat-signal. He didn't know what Bane was saying, but he could see the alarmed look on the mercenary's eyes that says it all, "What do you have to say now you son of a bitch?" Tony sneers as he witnesses Bane hurry back into the building.
Swooping back down to the ground, Tony informs Steve what their next objective should be, "Cap, it should be about time to meet up with Barton," he announces.
Nodding, Cap turns to the Gorham Commissioner, "Well Jim, I'll be heading off to meet the rest of the team, we'll take care of Bane and his army, I'm leaving that bomb to you," Cap reaches out his hand.
A surge of honor and joy across his face, Gordon shakes Caps hand firmly, "We won't let you down Cap, and tell Batman when you meet him, that I said thank you," he says as the group splits up, Gordon and his officers off to find the bomb while Cap and Iron Man head off towards Barton's position.
Meanwhile…
On the other side of the city, though his route is closer, Clint is still making his way towards his quarry in a steady pace. Though he isn't as swift or superb as Captain America, the SHIELD agent known as 'Hawkeye' is not one to be taken lightly.
As he's nearing the blockaded subway where the majority of the GCPD are being held, he hears a gunshot, followed by the sound of a hand grenade going off. Picking up the pace, Clint takes hold of a grappling arrow, drawing the string along with the specialized arrow, aims with his left and releases, using a nearby construction to launch himself on top of an eighteen-wheeler tractor trailer to get a better viewpoint. About a couple hundred feet away, he watches a group of people dressed in military outfits push what looks to be a civilian off the street and into an underpass leading down to the tunnels.
Witnessing seven armed commandoes follow the civilian down in an execution formation, he realizes this is the barricaded subway where the police are being kept. Using another grappling arrow, Clint aims at the bridge atop his objective, releasing the bowstring, he lets the arrow fly and clamp itself on the bridge. Swinging from his position fifty feet in the air, Clint does a roll as his feet touch the ground and immediately sprints as fast as he can. Still halfway until he gets there, he takes hold of a flashbang arrow, aiming high while running, he releases and watches the arrow take off and arch downward into the underpass where the soldiers are, exploding as it touches the ground, deploying a blinding flash of light as well as a deafening sound.
Hearing the wails of the disoriented mercenaries, Clint grasps two arrows from his quiver and jumps into the passageway, landing in between the leading soldier and the civilian. Directing his sight at the circle of troops, Clint discharges both arrows, the first one unfastens and sets loose a conductive net that traps four soldiers inside, the other one darts inside the net and unleashes jolts of electric current around and toward the captured guerillas.
With more than half the body count down, Clint utilizes his recurve bow as a makeshift bo staff and spins the bow to gain momentum, he then twists with his body to add more force as he swings the bow against jawline of the thug in front of him, swatting his opponent into the other soldier on the left. Rearming quickly with a bolas arrow, Clint launches it towards the guy flanking in from the right, the whiplash from the sudden shift of gravity knocking him out.
"You missed a spot," the voice of the civilian from behind Clint warns him of the last remaining conscious thug, the one that just had his teammate push against him. But the Hawk already saw this coming and just rushed over to deliver a push kick across the thug's plexus, knocking the wind out of him.
With all the mercenaries down, Barton takes a deep breath and faces the civilian, "You okay kid?"
"For the most part," the person replies, "And no offense, but don't call me kid, I'm a Gotham police detective."
"What's your name?" Clint asks, lending a hand.
"Blake," Blake responds, taking the hand to lift himself up.
"Clint," Barton replies, suddenly sensing someone behind him, he turns around, aiming with bow and arrow in hand, only to find out the one behind him is Captain Rogers. Lowering his weapon, the archer gives a bemused look, "Well that was fast."
"Cap?" Blake looks over from behind the archer, "Been a long time."
"Good to see you're okay," Cap tells the detective as Tony silently descends from above them.
Raising an eyebrow, Clint looks at Tony's new suit and is about to comment on the billionaire's presence, but Cap cuts him off.
"It's a long story, Clint, I'll explain in a moment, but first where are the trapped policemen?"
"Right behind this rubble," Blake points to the pile of rocks nearby, "I tried to free them myself, but…"
"Didn't quite work out did it," Tony snarks at the detective.
Looking at Iron Man, Blake rebukes, "I wasn't always alone, I was working with the Commish and others, but Bane's men captured them."
"Relax. We saved Jim and the others," Cap calmly informs Blake, who lets out a relieved sigh.
"How's their condition looking like?" Clint asks.
"Not good," Blake shakes his head in reply, "the guys down there have been deprived of proper food and sleep for five months, not to mention a bath."
The three Avenger's look at each other, "Not good is an understatement," Tony says, "Sounds like we'll be working with half-dead cops."
"We'll still need their help for what's coming up," Clint tells the billionaire, "Can't exactly apprehend thousands of convicts and mercenaries and not kill them without help."
"Wait—what're you talking about?" Blake asks the half team of the Avengers, "You plan on letting the malnourished officers fight with you?" he says in bafflement, "I'm not sure you know the current count, but even if you get all of them out of that rubble, not only will they not be in peak condition, there's also the fact that even with all of them we're outnumbered two to one against Ban—"
"Blake," Steve calls the detective's name, "I know the situation may not be the best we could hope for, but Clint's right. We're here for detainment, it's not like what happened in New York, that was a fight for survival of the human race. But this, we're up against fellow humans and are still bound by legislative laws, the Avengers are not judge, jury and executioner. We can't do this without their help."
Understanding what Captain Rogers meant, Blake stands aside, watching Agent Barton pull and release an arrow, hitting the pile of rocks before releasing an explosion. Observing that the explosive arrow didn't exactly work as he thought it would, Blake comments, "You got something bigger in that quiver?"
"That was just a warning signal," Clint informs him.
From the left, Tony walks up, scanning the inner layer of the tunnel making sure no one is near the rubble, he gears up and readies himself, gathering power at both his palms, Tony fires a dual repulsor blast, blasting away at the concrete. After a couple minutes, the tunnel is finally pried open, freeing all the Gotham Police Officers from their confinement.
"What now?" Blake asks.
"Apart from the all-out assault on Bane, we also need to get people out of the city," Cap declares the mission objectives.
"Why?" the young detective wonders aloud.
"In case we fail. Blake, you lead an exodus across the bridge, explain to the officers guarding the exit the situation and to let you pass. Tony, once Banner is finished clearing the tunnels, you can get your suits guide the rest of them through, right?" Cap asks as he gives his orders.
"Of course, I can. Who do you think you're talking to?" Tony says boastfully.
Walking up to Captain Rogers, Blake asks, "What, you don't need me here? I'm not afraid to be seen standing up to these guys."
"You're not the only one carrying out evac, Officer Blake. Some of the other officers who are either too elderly or gotten sick will have to take a step back and help with evacuation as well, and you'll have to lead them,"
"But why me?"
Looking the young cop in the eye, Cap explains his thoughts, "Back then, when you identified me, before all this happened, you didn't reveal anyone who I was even though I never asked you to. You helped me out without asking for anything back, you just wanted to do what was right, and though I have little experience working with you, I can tell you're reliable, that's why I'm assigning this to you. Because in this moment, the only ones I feel I can count on to finish this mission are my team, Gordon, and you."
Slowly nodding his head, Blake starts to head off, but not before telling the three members of the Avengers, "Hey, thanks. And tell Batman I said thanks as well, I might not get a chance later."
Steve looks slightly surprised that Blake figured out that they're working with the Batman, but before he could voice his question, the junior detective was ahead of him.
"Saw the bat-signal, and now you guys are here? Doesn't take much of a genius to put two and two together," Blake says as he takes off.
Cap merely shakes his head with a small grin as he watches Blake head out, realizing the detective has a noteworthy future ahead of him.
"Kid's not half bad," Tony comments as he gives JARVIS a call, "Say JARVIS, I'd say it's time we try that," he says with an eager smile on his face.
"You mean the House Party Protocol, sir?" JARVIS' monotone voice asks for confirmation.
"Exactly," Tony replies as he crunches some numbers in his head real fast, "We're good to go in four hours Cap," he tells his leader.
Taking his cue, Steve assumes position as he glances at all the police officers gathered around him, "All right, everyone!" he addresses loud enough for all to hear, "I know these past few months have been frustrating, believe me when I say you're not the only ones who suffered because of this. I know your concerns. I know how frightening it is to contemplate the amount of control Bane has over Gotham. I know you're afraid. But the antidote to fear… is faith." Steve begins to walk among the policemen, "In my time, I've seen several men triumph in battles they thought were lost, but they didn't. Because they believed in their cause, because they refused to have their human spirit be extinguished. Because… deep down inside, every man and woman know that the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil… is for good men to do nothing."
The officers look around at each other, some watching how others react, while some begin standing taller, their eyes becoming focused.
"Now, get something proper to eat, and prepare yourselves. I won't lie to you, this may be our last meal, tomorrow we'll be staging an all-out attack on Bane and his army. The road ahead of us is full of risks, we must strike hard and strike fast, because if we fail, Gotham will fall, and millions will die. But I promise you, we will not let our wills be bent, believe that we'll get through this, believe in the prize. So, let's bring this regime down and save as many lives as we can while we're at it!" Cap calls out, finishing his speech and getting all the officers riled up and roar with passion.
Coming up beside him, Tony says something loud enough for only Steve and Clint to hear, "You had to have written that speech down somehow, right?" the comment causing the trio to chuckle while the whole police get themselves ready.
The Narrows…
Driving through the middle of the night, the road not having even a single streetlight to brighten their path, Batman dangerously speeds through with Selina in tow. Approaching the front gates of Arkham, Batman parks right in front of the broken entrance gate, he and Selina get off from the Batpod, cautiously entering the main doors. As the two walk through the lobby, they couldn't help but notice the atmosphere around them, how unnerving and surreal it seems.
"Jesus, first time coming here, and it already gives me the creeps," Selina comments as the cold winter breeze coming through the broken windows whirls around them causing her to slightly shiver on top of having the jitters.
Agreeing with the thief, Batman nods his head, Arkham Asylum wasn't like this from when he last remembered. Long before Bane and Daggett bankrupted him, even before he became Batman, the place was nothing but a front for Carmine Falcone to send his men over if they get arrested so they can just walk right out the gates days or weeks later. After the defeat of Ra's al Ghul, Doctor Crane and Falcone; As Bruce Wayne, he gave a fair amount of donation to the asylum so they can rebuild from the ground up and give the proper treatment the patients deserve. Measures were also taken so that no corrupt deals or anything would be happening inside the asylum walls.
All went well for a while, until right around the time the Joker was finally apprehended and sentenced to Arkham, and Batman was framed for Dent's death. Everything went fine per status quo, until one day, one of the patients injured a male nurse by stabbing him right through the eye with his IV needle. The nurse later died of optical infection due to trauma and the contaminated needle. The patient who did it cried out that his wife was having an affair with the nurse, even though evidence shows that the patient never even had a wife.
Weeks later, this time another patient hangs himself with his bedsheets, yelling out that he is a reincarnation of an olympian god and that he can prove his power and immortality, the man's been buried eight years since. The only common statement between the staff, witnesses and fellow patients is that the victims or aggressors were actually doing very well with their rehabilitation before they committed these horrendous acts. That was until they spoke to the clown.
One thing's for sure, all these incidents happened ever since the Joker was administrated to the asylum. As Bruce Wayne, he donated more money to have a special cell built so that no one can come in contact with the Joker, the only ones who could even come close would be the one who gives the clown his food, and even then, the staff member would have to slide the tray through a special window underneath the door and leave. The routine went on like clockwork for years, until now.
Suddenly hearing something drop to the floor, his attention focusing back to the present, Batman sees a grenade a few feet away from them. Turning to Selina, who also sees the explosive, the both of them immediately hit the deck headfirst against the upcoming explosion. Pulling the thief close to him and positioning his arms over his head, Batman made it in time when the grenade goes off, sending hundreds of shrapnel upwards and sideways. Feeling most of the shrapnel repel off his arm guards and helmet, Batman feels a slight pain in his shoulders, some of the debris must have punctured his suit but didn't penetrate all the way through. It still hurt, but it's manageable.
Once it was over, The Bat and The Cat got up. Selina, who's unscathed thanks to the Bat, is the first to see a guy suited up in a firefighter's gear and helmet, but he's also armed with a military-grade looking flamethrower that's aiming at them. Her eyes widening, she takes Batman by the arms and rolls them both to the side, barely avoiding the torrent of flames coming at them with Selina landing on top.
"Now we're even," Selina whispers, telling the Dark Knight that since he saved her from the grenade, now it was her turn since she saved him from being burned. But as she stands up, a pair of arms come up from behind her, putting her in a chokehold with a knife pointed at her neck, dragging the thief away.
"Selina!" Batman shouts, about to give chase when a wall of fire blocks his path.
"Yeaahhh-hahaha! Let's do this! Get some more!" the deranged fireman roars with a maniacal laughter as he aims his flamethrower at the Caped Crusader, firing another blaze of inferno.
Batman blitzes towards a nearby table, the closest thing he can use as cover. Kicking the furniture over and taking shelter right as the flames graze him, he quickly takes inventory while assessing the situation. He can't just throw a batarang and puncture the fuel tanks the fireman is wearing, he can't count on the possibility that it wouldn't blow up the psycho along with the rest of the room. Instead, deciding to wait for an opportune moment, he listens as the heavy thuds of the pyromaniac's footsteps inch closer.
"How do you want to die, Batman? A nice, slow burn? Or… a quick… incinerating flash with an EXPLOSION!?" the psycho yells out as he grabs another grenade from and tosses it at the Bat.
Hearing the familiar sound of a grenade's safety pin come off and dropped to the floor, Batman quickly leaps away from cover. The ensuing detonation shakes the entire lobby, enveloping the surrounding area in fire and smoke. Reveling in the destruction he caused, the fireman took a second to admire his handy work, watching as the flames swirl around him.
But that second was all Batman needed, using the smoke as camouflage, the Caped Crusader sneaks up from the side, using the spikes on his gauntlets to strike downwards on the assailant's arm, causing him to drop the flamethrower to the floor. Following up with a knee strike to the abdomen, and finishing with a left hook to the head, smashing the fireman against the wall and shattering the mask. As Batman continues disarming and dismantling the flamethrower along with the fuel tank the fireman has been carrying around, the psycho yells in protest.
"NO!" was all the man uttered when Batman pulled off the helmet. What the Bat saw rattled him, the face of this person he was fighting was horribly disfigured, covered in third degree burns that looks like it might even go across his whole body. The man probably barely feels any pain if his nerve endings were destroyed.
Coughing up and spitting out some saliva mixed with blood, the terribly scarred fireman looks Batman in the eye, "You think you can save this city Batman? I've seen the answer. The flames, they talk to me. You can't stop it… the fire will consume Gotham. It will burn… all of it will burn and reduce to ash!" he keeps going on, mumbling even more words in his delirium.
Having enough of this, Batman delivers a swift elbow strike to the temple, knocking the man out cold. Wondering how this man came to be and what set him off to this path, the Bat could only blame the Joker for altering the man… or perhaps maybe this fireman has always been like this, and the Joker only brought his deepest, darkest urges, who knows? But now is not the time for speculations. With this skirmish done, he lays the unconscious body down and ties him up before setting off to find Selina.
The woman in question, still being dragged in a chokehold through a hallway and a knife closer to her neck than she'd like. Selina quickly overcame her captor by grabbing the hand that held the knife and twisting it to turn the blade away from her followed by a front stretch kick that hit the subduer right in the face, throwing him off balance and allowing Selina to get away to get a good look at him.
The man is bald and lean with a goatee, wearing an Arkham inmate attire along with wielding a combat knife and is marred with what looks like tally marks around his neck and arms. Selina recognizes the man as the infamous criminal Victor Zsasz, an ex-hitman for former Gotham mob leader Carmine Falcone years ago, the pyscho likes to kill for fun, but really prefers murdering women over men. A repugnant look crossing her face, Selina also remembers reading on Bruce's files that Zsasz is a sadomasochistic and psychopathic serial killer with a penchant for putting tally marks on his body for each of his victims. She knows she can take him, he doesn't seem that much of a fighter, but she also realizes that if she's not careful, she might be the next tally mark on Zsasz's body.
"Hello, kitty kat," Zsasz hums, "Wanna play? It's been years since I've had the pleasure of killing someone as beautiful as yourself," he says to himself while wiping some saliva from his mouth.
"Gee, do you say that to all the girls you meet?" Selina feints flattery.
Getting into a stance, Zsasz readies himself, knife in hand.
"Now that's not fair, you have a weapon, and I don't?" Selina quips, "Don't make me fight dirty," she says in a sultry tone.
Chuckling, Zsasz throws the knife at her head, Selina dodges in time, the blade brushing against her cheek, only for Zsasz to take that slight distraction to rush over and grab her by the hair and punch her in the abdomen. The wind knocked out of her; Selina grits her teeth as a couple more punches land on her face. Lifting her foot, she jams her serrated boot on Zsasz's foot, making him yelp in pain and let go of her hair. A ferocious look in her eyes, Selina hits him in the face with a right hook, then a left hook, followed by a knee to the abdomen, sending Zsasz up against the wall, finishing up by running and delivering a knee strike right to Zsasz's skull against the concrete wall, knocking him out cold.
With that over, Selina huffs, looks at Zsasz, "I warned you," just as she finished, the door she was dragged in from bursts open, Batman having arrived, "You're late," she tells him.
"Got a little sidetracked," he replies. And with that, they open the next door to go deeper into the asylum. What they found in the next hallway, stunned them. The previous section they were in was just empty, ransacked and abandoned, but here… here there are bodies littered around the corridors looking like they were mangle. Limbs and organs tossed around; the walls stained with blood that looks like it's been caked on there for weeks.
The putrid smell of all the decaying bodies makes both the Bat and Cat cover their noses. As they proceed through the pitch-black corridors, with the only light they have being the moonlight shining through the broken windows, they begin to hear the faint sound of opera music playing in the background. Advancing further, it becomes clearer the music playing is 'Ave Maria', followed by the sounds of mumbled screaming. As the music becomes louder, they approach a sanguine caked door that leads into the main asylum wing.
Cautiously opening it, the two come across a degraded medical room, there were some computer screens and pharmaceutical equipment that were covered in dust, yet they still seem functional. Not surprising though, the city's been in lockdown for months with no power or water.
With the source of the music coming from the operating room next to them, they spot what seems like a doctor operating on someone. Nearing the area, the two guardedly peer inside, only to find more organs encompassing the floor, though these ones seem more… raw.
Distracted, the doctor is so entranced singing along with the opera music that he didn't hear them enter, what they find on the operating table is a woman in hospital robes, her head wrapped in bandages, random cuts and slices around the body, the sexual organs surgically removed, all with a doll mask sewn to her face. As the doctor is operating on her cranial cavity, next to the operating table is a plate with what looks like half eaten cooked liver and fava beans, what got the both of them noticed is that the liver looked way too big to be from a small animal. It took all of Selina's constitution not to throw up.
"Stop what you're doing!" Batman orders.
The man turns around, harboring a stout physique and wearing a butcher's apron, along with hospital gloves and a pig mask, "Who dares disturb Pyg's artistry?!"
"What have you done to her?!" Batman walks to the doctor threateningly, ready to beat the man within an inch of his life.
However, the woman slowly gets up, along with other people scattered around the room, all of them with the same conditions as the one on the table, men and women alike, with bandages and doll faces sewn to their faces. About a dozen of them surround Batman and Catwoman, their bodies twitching in an unusual manner.
"Get them my creations!" the doctor orders his victims.
Before they get completely fenced in, Batman leaps and punches one of them in the face with a right straight to the chin, then uses the same arm to deliver an elbow strike to another right in the bridge of their nose and a left push kick on a third. Selina, following suit rushes over, hangs on to one of them by the neck as she sends a swift roundhouse to the side of the head to another two dolls nearby, followed by kicking the one she hung on to by the back of their knee, causing their legs to buckle and giving Selina an open throat to land a karate chop on. The two of them fighting, hitting each of the dolls all the while having each other's back, until finally knocking them all down.
Taking a second to catch their breaths, Batman and Selina start to walk towards the mad doctor, when they hear something behind them. The dolls start getting up again, surprising both the Bat and Cat immensely, considering they've been striking vital points to end the fight quicker.
"That will not work! Pyg has lobotomized them, took away the receptors in their brain so they feel no pain, no emotion, no matter how hard you hit them! Pyg has made them perfect!" Pyg cackles.
Batman feels beyond furious for what Pyg did, and nothing but sympathy for the victims. But now knowing that regular strikes won't take these poor victims down, he takes a second, grabbing some pellets from his belt, he throws them across the floor underneath the doll faced attackers, smoke exploding from them, swirling around the dolls for a few seconds.
"No mere smoke will affect them!" Pyg taunts.
Looking at Pyg as calmly as he can, his fists tightening as he tries to keep himself in check, Batman tells him, "It's not smoke, it's anesthetic gas," he says with a snarl, as the doll faced people start dropping to the floor from breathing in the substance.
"NO!" Pyg screams as Batman comes up closer, a right hook to the jaw, grabbing Pyg by the apron to deliver a left knee to the solar plexus, an elbow strike down the back of the neck, hit after hit, the beatdown Batman is giving only makes the stout man squeal in pain. When Pyg finally starts to limp, not able to stand straight anymore, Batman tosses the deranged doctor in one of the padded cells and locks the door.
"I'm sorry, Mommy! Are you upset? Pyg tried his best, Pyg tried help them!" the psycho starts yelling loudly, as he rocks himself back and forth in a fetal position while trapped inside the padded cell. Selina watches on through the small window as the deranged doctor keeps talking to himself, unsure if she should feel pity or disgust. Then again, she was thinking that maybe everyone here that they've been facing most likely weren't like how they are now, until they met the clown.
Once the two were done with the altercation, they traverse furtherer down the grisly, desolate hallways to the section where Joker's cell would be. Coming up to the entrance door, the duo get ready, with Batman kicking the door open and the two enter their fighting stances, preparing themselves for another fight, only to find it completely empty.
"Well, that was oddly anti-climactic," Selina remarks.
Batman lowers his arms and continues walking around the area, inspecting everything that might clue him to where the clown may be. Coming closer to the clown's cell, he glances upwards to look at the Joker's patient cell number, 0801, he scowls, he didn't know how or who came up with the idea to place the Joker in this particular cell unit, but to him it's a bad joke. 0801, take the eight letter of the alphabet and the first letter, H and A… HA. That implication leaving a bad taste in his mouth, Batman opens the metal doors, to find inside the cell what looks like a dead body lying on a bed, with a newspaper of Gotham Gazette covering the face, though it looks like the body died recently, there were no signs of decay. Slowly lifting the paper from the body, the vagrant's hand unexpectedly clutches Batman's forearm, the paper falling from his face.
What the Bat and Cat saw, was nothing but ghoulish, the man's face is warped to a distorted smile, his bloodshot eyes nearly bulging out from their eye sockets, saliva frothing from the orifice as he just stares at the duo with a terror in his eyes, "h—ehh—eha—heeh," the only words coming out, as if he has been struggling to laugh, until he collapses to the floor. Startled and pondering as to what just happened, Batman checks the man's pulse and breathing, only to confirm that he is indeed dead. Not knowing how, but knowing that whatever happened to this poor soul is because of the Joker, Batman closes the victim's eyes covering the body with cloth, and continues searching for something, anything, only to come up at a dead end, "Let's go, there's nothing else here."
On their way back, Selina steels herself, tonight's been a long, unnerving night, she can handle the usual criminals, from murderers to rapists, the greedy corrupted politicians to the lowliest thugs who'd kill for a buck. But this, what she's just seen tonight is on a whole other level. She thought it was just going to be helping Bruce get back in action so he can stop Bane from blowing up a nuke, then it became a race to save Natasha from a mad clown, now it's become a survival from a place much darker and twisted than the human imagination, she doesn't know if she can handle continuing downward into this abyss, she wonders as she looks at Bruce, who still seems to be holding himself better than she is right now. She begins to question why Bruce was so angry when she showed him the joker card, why he's so fixated on this.
As the duo come back to where they left the psychopathic surgeon, Batman figures that maybe there's something here he can use to locate the Joker. "Read through the documents, see if there's anything that can tell us what went on here regarding the Joker," Batman tells Selina, who only nods in agreement.
Going through every hard copy, Batman and Selina read every record they could find, from incidents regarding the clown, conversations, including several profile reports from previous psychologists who took their shot at the Joker. Selina found an interesting one though, one doctor seemed to make more headway with the Joker than anyone else. The interviewing doctor goes on to hypothesize that, 'The Joker's actions may seem irrational, but are actually meticulously researched and brilliantly orchestrated, not the signs of a madman, but a genius who should be declared sane, sent to prison and executed,' the unnamed physician's initials were just listed as 'H.L.'
Finishing reading the report, Selina glances at Bruce, her mind wandering again why Bruce would let himself be sidetracked with finding the mad clown when Gotham is about to go to an all-out war against Bane. "Can I ask you something?" she inquires, only to be met with silence, though Bruce does glance at her in acknowledgment.
"Why are we even bothering with the Joker? I mean, yeah, he has Natasha, but she's an Avenger, I doubt she'd be easily killed by a psychopathic clown," but there was no reply, "Is this personal?" still not being given an answer, Selina sighs, "I don't know what's the deal you have against him, but I can't help if you don't at least talk to me," she ends the conversation, promptly handing the file she found to Batman.
Reading the analysis, Batman lays it down on the table, "This is not just about putting the Joker back where he belongs because of justice, nor is it just because of saving agent Romanoff. He took so much from me Selina. He took someone who was important to me, my chance to start fresh, the people's faith in the justice system, not to mention Harvey Dent went insane because of the Joker," Batman tells her, the tone of his voice sounding as if he resigned to all of this years ago, "Bane just added fuel to the fire the clown brought to Gotham. So, in a matter of speaking, yes, the Joker is a personal matter to me, he must be stopped before he kills anymore people, whether they're close to me or not."
Hearing the anguish in his voice, Selina couldn't help but feel sorry, "Bruce…" she whispers as she walks closer to him, laying a hand on his cheek, "I'm sorry for what happened to you, I'm also sorry what I did to you back then. I'm not asking you to forgive me… just to give me a chance… anyway, thank you for being honest with me." The two gaze into each other's eyes, slowly inching closer and closer, their lips so close they could feel the other's breath.
Just as their lips were about to lock, a screen nearby suddenly comes to life, revealing the Joker himself trying to adjust the camera. As he backs up from his side of the screen, he says, "Hey Lazlo, are you done ye—" the clown began but soon stops as soon as he sees the Bat and Cat on the screen, a brief look of surprise on his face before smiling, "Well well, welcome back from the dead," The Joker says with a wry grin, clapping his hands in an applause, "Didn't think you'd be able to track where I've been, I was extra careful this time, you know? Looks like an old dog can learn new tricks…or should I say old bat?" the clown comments as he stops clapping and starts fidgeting around in his chair "Have you met my new friends?" Joker asks in an excited tone, "Did you like 'em?"
"We've met," Selina quips as she crosses her arms, "And if you don't mind me saying, I think your new friends need professional help."
Catching Selina from the corner of his eyes, Joker lights up with a smile, "Mmm, I like her, she's got spunk, she looks like she can put up more of a fight than that Rache-"
"What did you do to the inmates?" Batman interrupts, not wanting to hear Rachel's name coming from the monster's mouth, he even puts himself between the clown and his view of Selina.
"What?" Joker wonders aloud with his hands up in a confused way, "I was just looking. You know, the whole 'look but don't touch'?. Honestly, don't be so apprehensive every time I start staring at a woman Bats, people might start getting the wrong ide-"
"I don't have time for games," Batman cuts him off.
Looking disconcerted from being interrupted again, Joker replies with a straight face, "Oh fine, I didn't do much. Just gave them a little push in the right direction. You should know, it worked wonders with Dent," Joker says as he lets out a small snicker.
"And the people with the disfigured smiles?" Batman inquires, glaring at the Joker even more.
"Oh that?" Joker huffs as he adjusts his tie, "I've learned some new tricks myself while at Arkham, what with all the doctors and shrinks trying their hand at figuring me out, some even resorted to using narcotics or stimulants to make me more cooperative. Though I did enjoy the high for a bit, nothing invigorates me more than watching people tear themselves apart. I mean, have you looked outside lately? Now is it just me? Or is it getting crrrraaaazzier out there?"
"How did you even evade the death sentence? After everything you've done?" Selina answers back.
"That's easy, little kitty, because people are intrigued by what they don't understand."
"You're nothing but a psychopathic clown," she argues back.
"Ooor, they just like my playful personality," Joker replies with a shrug.
"Where's the woman?" Batman demands.
"Oh, she's doing well, currently taking a nap actually. Just waiting for her to uh, wake up," the clown replies while twirling a knife in his hand, "Why are you interested in her? Is she someone important?" the question was met with silence, causing Joker to raise an eyebrow, his interest piqued, "Anyway, I hope you two enjoy your stay over there, I'm just gonna go say hi to my special guest, she should be up and at them soon," he says with glee in his voice, until he finishes with a grating, guttural, "good luck," The Joker comes closer to the screen, and promptly shuts it off.
Batman hurries over to the cell he left Pyg in, opening it to find Pyg still rocking himself back and forth, "WHERE'S THE JOKER!?" Batman roars, lifting the husky psychopath up by the collar and slamming his back to the wall.
Shaking in fear staring at the Bat, the chunky man mumbles, "P-pyg not know… Pyg only did what was t-told of him… the clown, he asked Pyg to do it for him…"
"DO WHAT!?"
"T-the cure…"
"Cure?" Selina wonders aloud.
"Yes… the medicine that will help make people… perfect…" Pyg replies.
Realizing that he was talking about the drugs in the victim's system, Batman asks, "What about the drugs!?" he roars as he applies more pressure to Pyg's throat, just enough to let the man breathe, though it will be difficult.
"H-happy clown asked Pyg to make a cure that will have people smile, no more sorrow, no more rage, just happiness…"
"Is he the one who supplies you with what you need?" Batman asks again.
"Y-yes…"
Hearing all he needed, Batman brutally bashes Pyg's face in, rendering him unconscious and shattering the pig mask. From there, Batman hurries and goes to the blood-stained operating table the demented doctor was using to conduct his experiments, searching for a clean needle and vial.
"What're you doing this time?" Selina asks.
"Pyg said he doesn't know where the Joker is, but he did say that the clown is providing him supplies. Wherever he is, it must be someplace that produces multitudes of chemicals to be able to create everything Pyg needed," Batman says as he uses the needle to draw blood from the victim's body that died with a warped smile to store in the vial.
Taking the vial and moving to where the medical equipment are, setting it down on a centrifuge, Batman turns the machine on and begins tying up all the unconscious inmates with Selina while they wait, rounding them all up in separate cells and locking the door.
Once they're done, the machine finishes as well. Looking the chemical list, Batman finds several narcotics in the blood. Ethane, Strychnine, Hydrogen Cyanide, Chlorine, Methamphetamine, MDMA, Nitrous Oxide, etc. even Aspirin was in there.
Reading the list several more times, Batman kept scoping through it. Then it clicked, he saw the pattern, he turns to leave, prompting Selina to follow.
"Hey, where we going this time?" Selina asks.
"Joker left a clue; he wants me to go to him."
"What did you find?" Selina knows that brainy is sexy, but she's starting to become impatient when Bruce doesn't clue her in.
"The toxin he's infected his victims with is a concoction that should never exist, the main killer is hydrogen cyanide, which causes asphyxia, causing its victim to die from low oxygen. Then there's strychnine, in a similar manner to cyanide causes asphyxia, but it also causes muscle spasms in the face, neck and the rest of the body, add with that nitrous oxide and the victim will die laughing and end up with a smile on their face."
"…What horrible way to go," Selina remarks.
"Methamphetamine, MDMA and the rest must be used as a catalyst to synthesize the compound," Batman continued, "Yet there were three chemical composites that didn't fit. Aspirin, Chlorine, and Ethane, none of which would help add to the deadly compound whether they were added or not."
"And?" the Cat wonders where he's going with this.
"The first letter of each of the non-essential composites, take each of them and together they say 'ace'. He's at ACE chemicals," Batman tells her as they both leave the Asylum.
To Be Continued…