There are infinite universes in the multiverse and an infinite amount of Gothams. They vary quite a bit but they seem to share a similar 'fingerprint' if you will. Almost all Gothams have a Batman and almost all have his rogues gallery. This is a story about two different Gothams. One ravaged by an unknown force and another more lucky Gotham that ends up encountering and helping the denizens of the latter.
Things start off rather normally for the world. Gotham was very much a normal Gotham. Crime was rampant as usual despite the Wayne family's efforts to help stop all the corruption. Things were hard for the normal everyday Joes just trying to get by. This was especially the case for a young man named Jack who just got out of high school a few years ago. He wasn't from a rich family. Far from it. And while they were never physically abusive, his parents were never particulary kind to him either. So he was more than glad to move out into the world with his high school sweetheart, Jeannie. They moved from place to place for awhile until Jack got settled into a job at a local chemical plant. It didn't pay particularly well but it was a steady job and he was about to propose to his girlfriend, confident he could support her. But then everything became chaos. Not just in Gotham, but the world as well.
No one really knows exactly what happened. The world just started falling apart one day. Weird anomalies started showing up everywhere destroying everything in their path. It was as if the very fabric of time and space was unraveling.
Jack and Jeannie, being stripped of their normal lives, ended up becoming part of a group of people that helped rescue and take care of survivors of the destruction these anomalies caused. There wasn't much left of Gotham that wasn't destroyed or changed so there was little else they could do. The group created a shelter for people inside the ruins of Arkham asylum.
As Jack was carrying supplies through the shelter one day, he heard someone sobbing. He put the supplies down and went searching for the source of the sound. He came across a boy no older than eleven or twelve sobbing in a corner alone.
"Are you ok kid?" Jack asked the boy.
The boy looked up and quickly tried to stop crying. He looked down at his feet and shook his head. "No. I'm not ok. Everything's gone...They're gone."
"Who's gone?" Jack asked, pulling out a handkerchief and handing it to the boy.
"My parents! And Alfred! They're all gone! They're dead!" The boy yelled.
"Oh geez. Sorry kid. That's rough." Jack said shaking his head. The he thought of something. "Hey kid. Come with me. My girlfriend, Jeannie, helps out in the kitchen. She can make you something."
"I'm not hungry." the boy sniffled.
"Trust me. The minute you smell Jeannie's cooking you'll be hungry. Plus it's better if you aren't alone right now. Come on. Let's go." Jack helped the boy to his feet and grabbed the supplies he left on the floor. He led the boy to the kitchens.
When they got there, Jack got Jeannie to whip up some soup for the boy and Jack sat him down. The boy was apparently pretty hungry actually and he scarfed down his soup, talking to Jack between mouthfuls.
"My parents were at Wayne Tower when it went down. They didn't make it. Alfred, our butler, was all set to be my legal guardian. But then he died too when he went out for supplies. I'm all alone now."
"Wow, you had a butler?" Jack whistled, impressed, then he noticed how sad the boy was and got serious. "So what's your name kid?"
"Bruce. Bruce Wayne."
"Wayne, huh?" Jack said surprised. "Like Wayne Enterprises, Wayne?"
Bruce nodded finishing off the bowl of soup.
"How come I found you all alone? I would think there would be a lot of people that care about the Wayne heir." Jack asked.
"I wanted to be alone. All anyone sees is a poor little rich orphan. They don't really care about me. Just my money. Even now that the world has gone mad, that's all they care about."
"Well you don't have to worry hon. We don't care how much money your family had." Jeannie said sitting down at the table. "Money shouldn't matter in times like this anyway. You are welcome to spend time with us anytime you want. Right Jack?"
"Right." Jack nodded smiling at Bruce.
Bruce ended up spending a lot of time hanging out with Jack and Jeannie. It was refreshing to him to have people that just treated him like a normal kid. Jack didn't mind having him around. Bruce insisted on helping Jack do stuff around the shelter. People just accepted it after awhile. Even though no one ever paid Jack much attention or even remembered Jack's last name, they still accepted that he was going to look out for Bruce. They had unofficially adopted the boy as their own. Bruce got along with them and just accepted it.
Bruce wasn't the only kid in the shelter. There were several kids. Most of them were a bit alienated by the fact he was the Wayne heir. One kid though, a redheaded boy about his age, didn't seem to care and spent time with Bruce. The boy, named Eddie, deemed Bruce intelligent enough to have a conversation with and so they spent time together theorizing what could be happening to the world. Eddie loved puzzles and it seemed like one big puzzle to him. Eddie's father had died and so he was alone just like Bruce. Eddie didn't seem all that sad about it though. According to Eddie, his father had been very emotionally abusive so he was better off.
Things started to settle a little in the world. Anomalies happened less and less. People started to rebuild. Bruce decided to stay in the Arkham shelter and help out while Wayne manor was being rebuilt. He hoped to help Jack and Jeannie financially, and help them get a house, as thanks for their care but they had decided to stay at the shelter as well. Bruce's friend, Eddie, had nowhere to go really so he also stayed. Things seemed to be getting better in the world. Not quite back to normal, but recovering. But then the memories arrived.
Jack was helping out in the shelter infirmary when the memories arrived. He was sorting through supplies when he felt a million feelings at once. A rush of jumbled visions suddenly entered his head. Distantly, a though through a tunnel, he could see that Jonathan, a young med student who acted as a medic, was similarly effected, clenching his eyes shut with a terrified look on his face.
It felt like there was a movie going through Jack's head. A trippy horror film it felt like. Memories that didn't feel like his own ran through his head. None of them made sense. He could see bright garish colors. He could see himself doing horrible things...and through it all he heard the most disturbing laughter. Then he experienced the most horrible memory of all. Jeannie dead!
"Jeannie!" Jack screamed as he came to. He ran to the kitchens to find her. He found her passed out on the floor and for a moment he believed her dead. He rushed to her and shook her. "Jeannie wake up! Oh god please wake up!"
When she regained consciousness, she repeated over and over, "I died. I died."
"No Jeannie! You're alive! Please snap out of it!" He hugged her close as she stopped repeating those words and just stared into space.
People all over the world suddenly had nearly a lifetime of memories that they had never lived. It drove many people to the brink of insanity, some even beyond. There were those that suddenly had memories of dying, just like Jeannie had. Most of them had gone into a catatonic state that only a few had come out of. Others suffered from traumatic memories that never happened. Bruce's friend, Eddie, became obsessed with figuring it all out. He theorized that the memories were of things that would've happened in the future but never would now due to the world falling apart. He spread this theory around as far as he could get it and people actually seemed to accept that theory. He became known as sort of an expert in the subject.
People all over Gotham compared notes about stuff that they saw. There were whispers of a man called Batman. Some people said they were saved by him in their new memories. Others had memories of fighting him. But almost all of them couldn't help but wish he was there right then to help them through all the chaos. But Batman was just a memory. He wasn't real.
Many people were suddenly looked at quite differently. People had memories of villains like the Riddler, Penguin, Catwoman, and others. The people that had names that matched the villains real names were treated like they were already criminals. Considering that most of these 'future villains' were still pretty much children, teens, or very young adults, it was pretty hard on them. Jonathan Crane, a promising med student who was helping in the Arkham shelter infirmary was stripped of his duties and told he would never practice medicine. No one wanted the 'Scarecrow' treating patients. Eddie on the other hand, while he was still pretty alienated by people, he was also given quite a bit of respect from the science community given the knowledge that the 'Riddler' wasn't just insane, he was extremely intelligent too. That made Eddie pretty pleased.
Jeannie was still not doing well. She had snapped out of her catatonic state but still couldn't deal with the fact that the memory of her dying ran through her head. She could barely get out of bed. Jack spent so much time looking after her that he had hardly even proicessed his own new memories. The memories didn't make much sense anyway and were too horrifying to focus much time on.
Bruce had changed as well, but he refused to talk about what his new memories contained. Eddie was very curious about them but didn't press Bruce for more information, especially since he didn't want to alienate Bruce. Bruce was already treating Eddie a bit differently. Eddie figured it was because he was one of the 'future villains'. Bruce started to spend time with some of the cops helping out in the shelter, especially an officer named Jim Gordon. He also spent time with a girl named Selena. She was also one of the 'future villains' named Catwoman. No one really knew why they seemed close all of a sudden. She also seemed to know more about what Bruce's memories contained despite him never talking about it. It annoyed Eddie quite a bit. And made him a little jealous that she would be so close to his friend like that.
Even though Bruce had changed and become a bit more serious and adult about things, he still felt close to Jack and Jeannie. He was very concerned about Jeannie and would check up on her often, when he wasn't out trying to get Gordon to teach him how to fight. She appreciated his concern since he was like the son she never had by this time. Bruce was also very concerned about Jack as well since he noticed that Jack seemed to be having trouble controlling his emotions.
After awhile, Jeannie opened up with Jack about what she experienced.
"It was awful. I was in pain and then there was just nothing. Nothing! Is that what there is after death Jack? Nothing? I can't stand thinking about it." She sniffled, holding onto Jack as if he was a lifeline. "The even sadder thing was that it isn't just bad memories I have. In the memories I saw that I married you. And got pregnant! We were going to have a baby, Jack! And then I just died! Testing a goddamn baby bottle heater! What are the chances?"
"A million to one."
"What?" She asked confused.
"A million to one chance is what the cop told me when he told me you died. I can see that memory now. It's one of the few I have that's really clear." Jack got choked up when he thought about it.
"What did you see? What are your memories like?" Jeannie asked, drying her tears.
"Every time I try to process them at all I start to feel like I'm going insane. What I can tell though is that they are pretty horrifying. I do have a memory that involves finding out you died. I think I went completely nuts shortly after I found that out. There was an accident. I fell into something that burned and then just lost it because of it all." Jack said trying not to think too hard about it.
Soon Jack had a name to put to the garish face he saw in his memories. He overheard two thuglike young men alone in the mess hall talking about stuff that they saw and they described a terrifying clown. A clown named Joker. The name made him feel really strange.
"Who's that? Who's Joker?" Jack asked one of the men.
"None of your damn business, nosy fucker!" One of the men snarled at him.
One of Jack's only remaining possessions was a knife his father had given him. Right after the thug had snarled at him, Jack lost it and put the knife through the man's hand, pinning it to the table.
"Language! Didn't your mother ever teach you not to be rude to people?" Jack snarled right back at the man.
The man screamed and tried to pull out the knife. The other thug however, stared at the knife with wide eyes as if he recognized it. Then the man calmly got to his feet and faced Jack.
"The name's Johnny. Johnny Frost. Nice to meet you Mr...?"
"Jack. Just Jack. No one ever remembers my last name anyway for some reason." Jack said shaking himself out of his weird mood.
"Well Jack, I'd know that knife anywhere. I've seen it before in those weird memories that just appeared recently. In them I had a boss...a boss named Joker. He had a knife just like that. I'm not an idiot. If I had to guess, you probably have some some fucked up memories now right?" The man still screamed in the background drawing a bit of a crowd so they stopped talking. One of the people that had shown up to see what was happening removed the knife from the man's hand.
"What the hell happened here?" Jim Gordon came up to them.
"I don't know. Mike just stabbed himself for no reason. I think he's unstable." Frost said giving the man named Mike a pointed look.
By this time it had dawned on Mike that Jack might be a pretty dangerous person to cross. "I...I don't know what happened." he said gasping in pain.
Mike was led to the infirmary, sobbing the whole way.
"Damn. People are losing it. I wish I knew what was going on." Gordon said shaking his head. "You two alright?"
"We're fine, officer. No idea why Mike lost it though. Maybe it was all the stress." said Frost. Jack remained silent.
Jack and Johnny Frost became quite close after awhile. They knew they weren't the men in their memories of the future but they didn't care because they shared a connection.
Jack came to terms with the fact that he would've been the Joker. It did scare him to think that he could lose it like that but as long as he didn't think about it too much he figured he was fine. He did fly off the handle at times though and Frost and Jeannie had to talk him down. Without Jeannie, Jack thought that he'd lose it completely. But she hadn't died so he knew he'd never be like that man. Only Jeannie and Frost, and possibly that guy named Mike, knew who he would've become and he planned on keeping it that way. He didn't need that kind of attention. People treating him like he was insane might just make him that way. Bruce knew that Jack wasn't telling him something but he respected him enough that he figured that Jack would tell him when he was ready. Jack knew he didn't deserve that kid and made sure to keep Bruce's view of him positive.
The world got used to the new memories. Most simply ignored them since they didn't have any really bad memories. The ones who had trauma in their memories mostly came to terms with it. The rebuilding of the world continued. But things were about to get much worse.
The anomalies started getting worse again. And that wasn't all. Strange creatures started coming from the anomalies. Most of the creatures were very violent and would attack anything that moved. The world's population had already been drastically reduced due to the anomalies themselves. The creatures made that quite a bit worse. The world seemed to start crumbling around the survivors. Things looked quite grim.
Jim Gordon led the survivors. He had them reenforce the Arkham shelter so it was more secure and armed every able bodied man and woman. Bruce spent his time at the radio, trying to contact other survivors. Jack, Jeannie, and Frost went out for supplies from time to time. Jack tried to get Jeannie to stay behind but her memories had hardened her and she fought the creatures just as effectively as Jack and Frost did. Eddie spent time researching the anomalies. He invented several devices that could measure data from the anomalies. He was obsessed with it. He placed one of his devices in ground zero where the anomaly that made Arkham a ruin used to be located because he thought he'd get some really great readings there.
Meanwhile in a Gotham in a much more stable universe, a young security officer at Arkham Asylum was having trouble with his radio. It was acting really strange. Then he heard a garbled voice come through it.
"This is Arkham Shelter...Come in...Survivors...Come to...shelter...for safety..."
The voice sounded young. That confused the officer since the source had to be coming from somewhere on Arkham island because that was the range of the radios. But there wasn't a children's ward in Arkham and he had no idea how such a young person could be hanging out on the island. And what was this about a shelter? He went to his supervisor about it.
"It was weird, sir." he told his supervisor. "I mean, how would a kid be on the island? So I thought I'd tell you about it."
"Must've just been interferance from a radio station or something." the supervisor named Glen said dismissively. "Don't worry about it."
Just then the voice came through the radio again.
"...Arkham shelter...Survivors...come to...for safety...can anyone hear me?"
"What the hell?" officer Glen said. "Is this a joke, Karl?"
"No sir. That's the voice that I heard." officer Karl said fiddling with his radio. "Come in. I can hear you. Where are you?"
"...This...Bruce...I'm...Arkham shelter...do...need help getting here?"
Glen grabbed the radio. "This is security officer Glen speaking. You are on the Arkham Asylum radio frequency. If you are in range to be on here, then you are trespassing. Please tell us your location so we can escort you from the premisice."
"...what?...is this...joke? Arkham shelter...not...asylum anymore...was destroyed...anomaly..."
What they could hear on the radio didn't make much sense. "I repeat. Tell us your location."
"...Arkham Shelter...do you...help?"
Officer Glen alerted the rest of security and Warden Sharp and searched the island for the source of the voice on the radio. They couldn't find anything. They stayed at high alert because of it though. Batman somehow learned of this and came to Arkham.
Warden Sharp was glad to see Batman when he arrived. "I suppose you've heard about our little radio issue? We've searched the island and haven't found anyone but the voice hasn't stopped."
"Let me talk to them." Batman said.
They led Batman to the security office. Officer Karl was talking on the large radio. He looked up as Batman arrived. "Batman. It's an honor to meet you sir."
"Let Batman use the radio, officer." the warden said.
"Oh of course. The voice is still on the other end. What he says doesn't make much sense though." He got up and let Batman sit down at the radio.
"...still there?...come in...confused...Arkham Asylum?"
"This is Batman. Do you need help? Where are you?" Batman said into the radio. Batman recognized the voice from somewhere but couldn't think where.
There was a pause and then. "...Batman?...Batman...recognize...voice...how can...I'm..."
Another voice on the other end appeared that sounded equally as young but a little pompous. "...let me...Bruce...might know...is going on...Hello...Arkham Asylum?"
"We're here. We can hear you." Batman said.
"This...Eddie...friend is...Bruce...Think that...different world..."
The first young voice came back on "really...Eddie? That...seems..."
Batman knew now where he recognized the voice. It sounded like him when he was young! And the other voice had called him Bruce? Things were getting strange.
"...still there?...hear me?...Different world...different Gotham...device...invented...anomalies...must have opened...tear in...between worlds...fascinating..."
"This all seems hard to believe, you realize right?" Batman said.
The voice on the other end seemed annoyed. "...other ideas...how this..happening? In this...Batman...just a memory...a memory...never existed...but here...talking to you now. Come...thought you...smart..."
"Eddie..."
"...hard to believe...true...we...in Arkham...ruins...because...anomalies...need to believe...maybe...can make...device to...between worlds...get to safety...would...Gotham...fine with...refugees?"
"I'm going to analyze this radio frequency to find out if any of what you are saying is true. Try to stay on the line. I will be back." Batman said getting up.
"Hurry...not much time...will need...on your end..."
Batman called Jim Gordon and had him come to Arkham. When Gordon arrived he found Batman retrieving some equipement from the batmobile.
"What you said on the phone doesn't make much sense. But I trust your judgement. If you believe it then who am I to argue." Gordon said.
"I'm not sure why...but I think I believe them. I can't really explain why. And if what they are saying is true then there are people that need our help. I can't ignore that." Batman said as they made their way back inside.
Batman analyzed the signal. It was coming from the island but at the same time wasn't. The signal seemed strange. While he analyzed the signal, Gordon called the mayor. If they had possible refugees coming then the mayor needed to know.
After Gordon got off the phone with the mayor, he went up to Batman. "Well, I'm not sure the mayor believes me but he agreed to host refugees in the city if it is true. I think he was just humoring me but its a start. Have you found the source of the signal?"
"I traced the source to this very room strangly. But the signal is odd. It doesn't quite match the security frequency but is still connected to it. I'm going to talk to them. To see what they have planned." Batman said.
Back in the falling apart Gotham, Eddie was pacing back and forth in front of the radio. "Why haven't they answered back yet? It doesn't take this long to analyze a signal."
"Are you sure they are from another world? It all seems hard to believe." Bruce said from where he was sitting staring at Eddie pace.
"Well who do you think is on the other end then? I don't think someone would joke about something like this and I traced the signal already. It's coming from this room. Explain that." Eddie said irritated.
"I don't know how to explain it. If it weren't for all the other weird things happening, I'm not sure I'd believe we're talking to people from another world. But I'll believe a lot of things now." Bruce said sighing. "Do you think that's really Batman?"
"Who knows. It sounded like what the memories tell me his voice should sound like." Eddie said finally collapsing in a chair.
"I still think we should tell Gordon about this." Bruce said.
"Do you think he'll believe us?" Eddie said doubtfully.
"You just got people from another world to believe you. Why not Gordon?"
"Fine. Go tell him." Eddie sighed irritably. "I'll stay here and wait for them to answer."
"Gotham Shelter...this...Batman...What...you have planned...bring people here?"
Eddie rushed to the radio. "This is Eddie. First I think I should make the radio connection a bit clearer. Then I'll explain my plan. Wait for me to do that."
"I'll wait...not...long."
Eddie rushed out and grabbed some various tools and scrap and ran back to the security room. He opened up the radio and attached a few things and did some alterations.
"Alright. Now I need your help. Do exactly as I say and hopefully it will make the connection clearer." He walked Batman through the alterations that needed to be made on his end and then waited impatiently for Batman to get back to him.
"Are you there? Did it work? Come in."
Eddie smirked. "Yeah I hear you much clearer now. Lucky I'm the expert in these anomalies and could figure out how to use them to our advantage. Anyway, introductions are in order. I'm Edward Nygma. My friend, who went to go grab the unoffical leader of our little group of survivors, is Bruce Wayne. We have a slight problem here in our world right now."
"Wait did you say your name was Edward Nygma?"
"Yeah yeah. That Edward Nygma. I'm assuming you aren't on good terms with your version of me right?" Eddie said as Gordon entered the room.
"...So Edward, some explanations are in order I think."
"I recognize that voice. But it can't be. He's not real." Gordon said in response to hearing Batman. He went up to the radio. "This is Jim Gordon. I'm sorry but...are you the Batman?"
They hear someone on the other end gasp. "That's me! But it can't be! So it is true."
"So what Bruce was saying is true. Is all of what he's saying true? That you can create something that will get us to safety, Eddie?" Gordon said hopefully.
"I think so. No I know so. I just need some time and help with the more physical aspects of it all." Eddie said before turning back to the radio. "You wanted an explanation. Well to start with, I believe our world is dying. Anomalies started appearing everywhere. And then...then suddenly people received memories of things that hadn't happened and never would now. That's how I know about my colorful future self and know about you. You're a myth in my world Batman. A memory. Anyway, I was testing some equipment to research the anomalies when Bruce told me about the strange conversation he had on the radio. I figure that something I did with my equipment caused this connection to form. If you help me on your end, I think we can use it to bring people over."
"...I'm not the type to let people die even if they aren't from our world. What do you need us to do?"
Eddie spent hours talking to Batman and the two Gordons about his plans. Then he had this world's Gordon go out and get people to gather the materials he would need. Batman and the other Gordon had people gather what they needed on their end.
Eddie's plan was simple, at least to him. He would have their Arkham island surrounded with devices of his own making and they would manipulate the radio signal to move not only audio but physical things as well. He planned on moving the entirety of their Arkham island to the other world. The only real problem was moving the physical location of their island when it got to the other world. They didn't want two different Arkham's in the same location. He coordinated with Batman as to what location would be suitable.
Arkham Shelter was buzzing with excitement at Eddie's plan. Survivors from other shelters around Gotham made their way to Arkham when they heard his plan. They couldn't save everyone in the world and radio signals from places other than Gotham had gone dead so they didn't spread the news to the rest of the world.
Jack and Jeannie actually got a bit optimistic about their future. They both were alive and they might make it out of their crumbling world. Jack and Frost, among others, went out for the materials that Eddie needed, while Jeannie stayed and helped defend the shelter.
Eddie decided to test his theories first before the main event so he didn't accidentally kill everyone. He set up a much smaller version of his devices surrounding a piece of rubble that he marked with spraypaint. Batman, Gordon, and a few officers stood in the designated location on their end and waited for the rubble to arrive. There was a shimmering bubblelike object that, after a few seconds, became less and less bubblelike and turned into a piece of rubble. The rubble had a green question mark spray painted on it.
Eddie was very excited when Batman got back to him on the radio after analyzing the rubble.
"A question mark? Really?" Batman said.
"I just thought I'd get into character. Don't worry. I'm not like my adult self. Relax. Anyway how was it? Did it make it through alright?"
"It seems to be as you described. I recommend some further testing before you bring the whole shelter over."
"Noted. I'll keep in touch."
They didn't have enough time to test it much more though. The creatures were getting more aggresive and there were cracks forming in the ground everywhere. Eddie figured that they didn't have mush time left before they were out of time. He convinced Batman of this and they made plans to start the main event.
"Everyone make their way inside! All the way inside!" Gordon ushered everyone into the Arkham shelter. He trusted Eddie's intelligence but he wasn't sure that this all would be entirely safe.
Eddie and Bruce fiddled with equipment in ground zero of the former Arkham anomaly. Essentially, they'd be waking it back up. Bruce had wanted to help and Jeannie couldn't convince him to stay inside.
Jack clutched Jeannie and waited with baited breath. There was bright light and swirling colors. And then everything went dark. When Jack came to he saw that everyone in the room was still there and accounted for. He rushed outside with Frost and a few other armed people to see if it worked.
When Jack got outside he noticed Eddie and Bruce celebrating.
"It worked! Look! There's the coastguard I think!" Eddie said pointing at boats in the nearby water.
Suddenly a swarm of the anomaly creatures came out of the ground.
"Get inside!" Frost yelled at Bruce and Eddie. They ran inside the shelter.
Jack and several other people fired at the creatures just as Batman and the older Jim Gordon arrived with several officers. Soon both the survivors and the officers were fighting the creatures.
"Jack!" Jeannie rushed out with the younger Gordon and several other survivors who joined the fray.
"Jeannie why didn't you stay inside?!" Jack yelled as he finished off a creature.
"And let you have all the fun?" She said smiling at him. Suddenly a creature darted out behind her and speared her in the chest with one of its talons.
"Jeannie!" Jack screamed. He dodged a blow from the creature and grabbed a heavy pipe lying on the ground and, in a rage, beat the creature to death with it. Then he fell to his knees and stared at Jeannie's dead body. The rest of the creatures were finished off but he hardly noticed. Frost went up to him after the fighting was over.
"Are you ok, Jack?" Frost asked.
"Do I look ok? Do. I. Look. Ok?!" jack screamed at him. He rushed to his feet and held a gun to Frost's head.
"Woah. I didn't mean to ask a stupid question. Of course you're not ok. Please put the gun down Jack. Its me. Its Frost."
Jack dropped his arm and and seemed torn between whether or not to cry or laugh.
Frost stared at his friend concerned. He actually had found it refreshing that Jack was mostly sane. He didn't know whether or not Jack would get through this though. Not when losing her had been one of the things that drove him over the edge in Jack's memories. Jack had told him that awhile back.
The older Jim Gordon walked up to them and noticed Jeannie laying there dead. "Damn. Are the EMTs over with their boats yet, officer?" He asked a passing officer. "Well you better get them up here." He looked at Jack on his knees staring at the dead body. "You alright there? You need any medical attention?"
Frost spoke up for his friend. "I think my friend is in shock. Could he have some space please? That was his girlfriend."
"Oh. Damn I'm sorry. I really am." Gordon said awkwardly.
"Jack!" Bruce said running out of the shelter and not noticing Jeannie yet. "Did you get them all? Are you ok?"
"Dont let him see her, Frost." Jack said quietly, still staring at Jeannie.
"Sure thing boss..I mean Jack." Frost said before going over to the boy. "Hey kid. Jack's gonna be ok. Yeah we did get them all. You need to stay over there right now."
"Why whats wrong?" Bruce said concerned.
"Just humor me kid. Please?" Frost said desperatly.
Batman walked up. He had some idea of what might've happened and decided to distract Bruce. "Is your name Bruce?"
Bruce looked up at Batman in a bit of an awe. "Are you really Batman? The actual Batman?"
"I am."
They talked for a bit. Well, Bruce asked a bunch of questions and Batman tried to answer them. Then Eddie arrived.
"Oh. So Batman is real. Lovely." Eddie said sarcastically as he walked up.
"Edward Nygma, I would assume?" Batman said.
"Yep. In the flesh. gonna start comparing me to older me? Everybody does." Eddie said.
"I don't see the reason to judge someone on what another person has done. You are your own man in my mind. Able to make your own choices." Batman said.
"Damn. And I was hoping for a philophical debate." Eddie smiled. He got in a conversation with Batman and Bruce about what they had just done. It effectively got Bruce distracted from what was playing out just a few yards away.
Frost finally got up the courage to go up and help Jack get to his feet. He led a nearly catatonic Jack away as a few EMTs got the body of Jeannie onto a stretcher. "Can my friend get some help here? I think he's in shock."
Young Jonathan Crane came over and, despite Frost glaring at him, had a look at Jack. "Yeah. I'd say that's shock. Not surprising." Crane pushed Jack to sit down on a nearby piece of rubble.
"Screw your bedside manner, Crane." Frost snarled.
Young Crane put up his hands to say he was harmless. "Just let me help. No one's let me help since the damn memories arrived and look around. No one else is bothering."
"Fine. Do what you can." Frost said concerned.
"What's wrong with Jack?" Bruce said as he walked up to where Jack had been sat down. Frost cursed. "I'm gonna tell him, Jack. He's got a right to know." Frost said hoping for a resonse from his friend and not getting one.
"Tell me what?" Bruce said staring at the shell shocked looking Jack.
"Jeannie's dead. One of those damn monsters killed her." Frost said shaking his head.
"What?" Bruce said staring at him in shock. Bruce just stood there silently trying to process the information. "Are you sure?"
"Pretty sure kid. Jack saw it happen right in front of him. I don't think he's doing well." Frost said.
Bruce went up and hugged the nearly catatonic Jack. Bruce started sobbing.
Batman stood nearby giving Bruce some space. He figured that the boy had been quite close to the one who died.
An EMT finally went over and helped with Jack. After they had taken Jack into a boat to go to the hospital, Frost threatening an EMT into letting him go along, Bruce walked up to Batman, trying not to sniffle too much.
Batman wasn't good with emotions, even in other people. "Bruce...Do you want me to take you home?"
"What home? My home is gone. Everything and everyone is gone."
"I'm sure that Bruce Wayne...the other Bruce Wayne... would be more than happy to take you in." Batman said, putting a hand on the boy's shoulder.
"That would be a good idea, Batman." the Commissoner said walking up. "I'm sure Mr. Wayne wouldn't mind caring for the boy. But first I think young Bruce here should get looked over by an EMT to see if he is in good health."
"Can I go to the hospital to see if Jack's alright? Ever since my parents died he's been looking after me. Him and...Jeannie." Bruce said trying not to cry.
"Whatever you want Bruce." Batman said. "I'll take you to the hospital when you are ready."
"...Thanks."
All of the survivors were checked over by EMTs and those that were injured were taken to the hospital. The rest stayed at Arkham shelter for the time being. They didn't really have anywhere else to go and their stuff was already there.
Bruce followed Batman into his batplane and got strapped in. He knew what the batplane in his memories looked like but it was so different to see it in real life. He noticed there were small differences here and there with how the plane was designed but they were very small differences.
"How much do you know, Bruce?" Batman said as he started the plane and it lifted into the air.
"All of it. At least my version of it all. In my memories of the future, I become Batman and protect Gotham. So...are you Bruce as well? Are you this world's version of me?"
"I am. I want you to know that you are welcome at Wayne manor. I could adopt you if that's what you want." Batman said flying towards the hospital.
"I don't really have anywhere else to go. I guess I'd like that. But on one condition." Bruce said.
"And that is?"
"I get to change my name. There is already a Bruce Wayne here and I don't want the confusion."
The batplane landed on the roof of the hospital. "That makes sense." Batman got out of the plane and helped Bruce out of the plane.
The batplane then flew away on its own. Bruce followed Batman into the hospital. Batman asks at a nurses station about where Jack's room was. Then he led Bruce through the hospital to Jack's room.
Frost was itching to go smoke a cigarette but he didn't want to leave Jack alone. The doctors had given Jack a sedative when they arrived and he was currently asleep. He wasn't entirely sure how Jack would act once he woke up. So he had to stay. He slouched in the chair near Jack's bed, staring at his friend with a worried look on his face. Jack didn't look good. Physically he was mostly fine. The nurses had bandaged up some minor wounds but nothing too bad. But Jack still looked terrible.
As Frost was debating whether or not to go outside real quick for a smoke, young Bruce entered the room followed by Batman. Frost got very uncomfortable when Batman entered the room. Bruce went up to Jack's bed and stared at him lying there. Batman stood at the door.
"Is he going to be ok?" Bruce said concerned.
"The doctors said that theres nothing physically wrong with him. They think he's just in shock. They gave him a sedative a little while ago." Frost said. "but to be honest with you...I'm not sure if he's going to be alright. Without Jeanne in his life...I really don't know. Are you ok kid?"
Bruce was trying really hard to hold back tears. "I really wish people would stop asking me that. Of course I'm not ok."
Bruce walked up to the bed and looked down at Jack. "Jack. Jack wake up."
"Its no use kid. They gave him a sedative." Frost said.
Bruce sniffled a little and went up and hugged Jack's sleeping form. "Look after him please, won't you Mr. Frost?"
"No worries. I'll see that he's looked after." Frost looked at Batman. "Can you take Bruce somewhere where he can get some sleep? Jack would never forgive me if the kid got sick or something and I'm sure he's exhausted."
"I plan on taking him to Wayne manor and explaining the situation to our version of Bruce Wayne. I'm sure he will be welcome there." Batman said.
"Well I'm sure that the older version of Bruce could take care of little Bruce much better than I could. So thank him for me...and for Jack, will ya?" Frost said relieved. "Go on then kid. I'll tell Jack where you are when he wakes up. You need to take care of yourself, for Jack's sake. Please?"
"...Ok." Bruce said.
Bruce left with Batman.