Steven's DC Universe: Dawn of The Trinity

by Leolamin1997

A sequel to Superman X Steven Universe: The Shield of Hope After the Brainiac attack on Beach City things have seem to gone back to normal. Superman and the Gems are regarded as Heroes by many and potential threat to others. But even with their powers combined they will need help to uncover a conspiracy that threatens the stability of the world and to defeat the evil behind it

10. Ch 9: Gems in the Dark Knight (Part 4)

Steven's DC Universe:

Dawn of the Trinity

(Note: Hey everyone guess whose back :D I know it's been a long while since the last update, but you know life got in the way and 2020 has been one heck of a year for everyone. A lot of personal stuff and world stuff made me put this project on the backburner , working on new SU crossover ideas as well as fleshing out my own original ideas. Things have managed to calm down for me significantly and I feel comfortable getting back to work on this project. I can't promise updates will come fast, I got a new co-author to work with and projects like Invader Pink and others in the works. But I still have a lot of ideas and fun concepts for this universe that I will hopefully be able to share with you all. No telling what the future holds and what will change, but for now enjoy this the conclusion to the Gems in the Dark Knight storyline.

"So let me get this straight. He would commit a crime and then leave a clue that when you solve it tells you how he did the crime and potentially where he is?" Steven asks

"Yep. Also, they're riddles. Not clues." Robin explains

"That actually sounds kinda fun. Like a scavenger hunt." Steven says

"He did a scavenger hunt once. Only the things you were trying to find were hostages with bombs attached to their necks." Robin replies before noticing the horrified look Steven gave him.

"OH-NO! But no one got hurt! Batman was able to save everyone. Man, you should've seen Nigma's face when the cops carted him off. It was hilarious! He was screaming that Batman cheated and that it wasn't fair." Robin said with a laugh

"Oh, ha, ha, ha, oh ok!" Steven laughed

Steven was looking at a display case. Inside was a golden cane with a question mark shaped handle. The best way he could describe this area of the Bat Cave was a trophy room. There were rows of display cases. Most were empty, but some were filled and they had some of the coolest stuff Steven had ever seen.

"Batman seems to keep a lot of trophies." Steven thought out loud as he taps a display case with a weird straw mask and what looked like that thing exterminators use to spray bugs

"Yeah. He says it's to make sure he doesn't forget the wrongs that have been committed, but I personally think it's an ego thing." Robin says leaning against another display with looked to be a torn of end of a whip, a bag of Caltrops, and a card with a cat face on it

"Well it's pretty cool, there's so much cool stuff here." Steven says

"Yeah, he probably wouldn't want you wandering around here but, eh." Robin says with a shrug

"Oh I don't want you to get in trouble." Steven says

"Nah it'll be cool, follow me I got something else I wanna show ya." Robin says gesturing Steven to follow

Steven does so exiting the trophy room and going out to a large cavern. The two make their way down a set of stairs, again Steven couldn't help but marvel at the size of this cave. Steven swore this place was almost as cool as the Gem Temple, maybe on the same level if not a little cooler than the Fortress of Solitude. As they made their way upstairs Robine with a bored expression on his face suddenly jumped up onto the stairs railing and balanced himself perfectly onto it walking up it. Steven gasped in awe as he watched how easily Robin balanced himself on the railing, the seemingly bottomless chasm. He then flipped forward and did a handstand on the railing and continued to move up without any trouble.

"THAT IS SO COOL!" Steven says amazed

"Aw it's nothing, just something I do." Robin says with a smirk

"Reminds me of a trick a new friend of mine did." Steven said

"OH DOES IT?!" Robin replied much louder than he intended as he flipped back onto the stairs to walk normally.

"Yeah his name is Dick Grayson and he's really cool and nice." Steven says completely unaware

"Yep sounds like a super cool guy! ANYWAY HERE'S THE ARMORY!" Robin says wanting to change the subject gesturing to a new area

It was a fairly large and open space that kinda looked like a workshop, there was a table with tools, a laptop and what looked like a grindstone. On the work table was a short baton of some sort, and what looked like a type of grenade still being developed. Away from the table there was a row of targets against a wall that had dozens upon dozens of holes in it. And to the side was a human shaped dummy that had four batarangs stuck into it.

"This is where Batman develops a lot of his gadgets. He's always working on something new in here." Robin says

"I guess he tests them here as well?" Steven says looking around

"Bingo." Robin says walking to the table and picking up the small grenade

"Like this. It's for non-lethal restraint gel, it's to explode on contact and release an adhesive on whoever ya throw it at. Basically it's a Glue grenade." Robin explain tossing the Grenade in his hand before clicking the top

With a beep Robin grunts tossing the Grenade at one of the dummy's. Steven watched in awe as with a WA-SPLAT, it exploded. in a glob of White and yellow it spread to the whole mid-section of the dummy

"Wow, it's so cool." Steven said in awe.

"Yeah I know right." Robin says with a laugh leaning on the table

"Do you have any gadgets?" Steven asks

"Well I've been learning to use most of the stuff Batman uses, but I do have one special thing." Robin says picking up the baton next

He held it presenting it to Steven who was curious at what was going to be shown. Robin twirled it between his finger tips before grabbing it fully and flicking his wrist. With a SNAP, it extended into a staff that was as tall as he was.

"WHOA!" Steven said amazed

"Yeah a collapsible staff, made from a metal that's as hard as steel with half the weight." Robin said as he began to spin it masterfully

The way Robin moved, Steven could almost compare it to Pearl though a bit more playful and free. He knew what he was doing was, spinning it over his head before slamming it to the ground.

"Oh check this out! You're gonna love this!" Robin said as he spun it overhead and then with another SNAP the staff broke in two Robin holding both with both hands

"SWEET COOKIE CAT, THAT'S AMAZING!" Steven gasped

"Yeah it's pretty cool." Robin says smirking as he starts to juggle them enjoying Steven's adoration

"That is such a cool weapon, cooler than mine." Steven says

"You have a weapon?" Robin asks

"Y-Yeah it's nothing special it's a….. It's a shield." Steven says embarrassed

"Shields are cool, they help protect people." Robin says reassuring

"Y-Yeah I know, but sometimes I….. I feel like the gems are expecting more from me. Or maybe I'm expecting more from myself. They don't bring me on a lot of their missions, they say I'm not ready." Steven says sadly

"I know the feeling. Batman tells me the same thing. 'Keep training, your not going out there until I'm 100% sure you can handle yourself, you need to be ready' and so on." Robin quoting Batman

"... Do you ever think you'll be ready?" Steven asks

"... I don't really know." Robin says

"... Me too." Steven says

"... You wanna learn how to throw one of these?" Robin says holding up a batarang

"What?" Steven asks

"Yeah come on it will be fun." Robin says walking over to a clean Dummy

"So this can be used as a blunt throwing instrument, as well as a sharp projectile. Batman says this thing could critically injure someone if you aim for the neck, eyes,or any vital organs so its important on how you throw it or where you aim it." Robin explains showing off the weapon

Robin took a few steps back focusing on the dummy, he took a breath readying the Batarang. With his eyes narrowed he threw it with a grunt towards the Dummy's head. Steven could barely keep up with it in the air it being more than a glint as it smacked against the Dummy's head.

"Now you want to aim at the guns or cut their arms without hitting the major arteries and if you throw the right way you could do this cool thing where it lands in the gun hole where the bullet is about to be released and when it fires it causes the pistol to explode. It's really cool." Robin says grabbing another batarang and throwing again but this time with more force, it impaling into the dummies bicep

"It seems really dangerous." Steven says concerned

"It is, I need to focus to get that right. Batman can do it on the spot no hesitation, when he throws he knows what it's gonna do 100% of the time." Robin says

"Oh well ok." Steven says

"Now you try." Robin says handing him a batarang

Steven looks at the Batarang, taking a gulp, taking a moment to feel it's lightness in his hands. His fingertip touched the edge seeing that it was sharp. He looks at the dummy worry filling him as he did. He attempted to copy Robin's stance looking at the dummy he then threw the Batarang. It flew through the air like a frisbee only going half of the way.

"S-sorry." Steven said disappointed

"Two things Universe. 1. Don't copy me, do it the way that feels right for you. And 2. When you throw it, throw it with purpose. If you want it to hurt someone it will, if you want it to slice it will, but only if you want it to. You're not gonna kill someone." Robin says smiling

Steven nods, taking another Batarang and focusing on the dummy. He takes a moment to think before taking a stance as if he was throwing a frisbee. He calmed himself for a moment thinking about only throwing the Batarang and not impaling it in the dummy. With a FWISH the Batarang flew across the air and then BAM, slammed onto the dummies face knocking it to the ground. Steven was speechless looking at what he's done until a smile and a laugh came out of him and he looked to Robin who smiled back.

BEEP-BEEP-BEEP!

"What's that?" Steven asks surprised

"The computer, Batman trying to pull information from it." Robin says

"Maybe they have a lead on what's going on." Steven says

"Yeah… you wanna see what they're up to." Robin asks with a sly smile Steven nodding excitedly

The two raced down to the main hall, Robin rushing to the computer seeing a Bat logo flashing on it. Robin pulled up a chair as Steven came in close. Robin began to type away at the computer.

"Let's just peek in on what he's looking - you mind turning around for a second, gotta put in the password." Robin asks

"Oh sure." Steven says turning around

Robin smirks inputting the password and bringing up a screen showing various files being gone through in a search for something. Steven turns around and sees just as one image takes up the screen.

"Whose Harleen Frances Quinzel?" Steven asks

"A whole lot of trouble." Robin says seriously

"She's a bad guy?" Steven asks

"Yes, one of the worst thanks to the company she prefers. If Batman's looking for her, this must be even more serious than we thought." Robin says with narrowed eyes

Steven frowned as worry started to fill him as he looked at what looked to be a mugshot of a woman in her mid to late twenties. She had blonde hair done into pigtails and skin that was chalk-white. She had a wild grin on her face, one that made Steven feel uncomfortable like she was laughing at something Steven wouldn't find funny. She was scary, but there was something else from the photo, something else Steven felt. Sadness, loneliness, and longing for something. With the fear there was also pity, and he didn't know why. Still Robin said she was dangerous and thus Steven thought only of the gems and what they will do.

Downtown Gotham

Light illuminated the dark and trash ridden streets of downtown Gotham. Random Vagrants and homeless walked down the smoky streets. Suddenly all the people on the sidewalk suddenly parted as a figure carrying something made their way past them fear and concern evident on their faces. The figure paid their looks no mind before making their way to a rundown apartment. A black boot kicked open the door as the person made their way inside. The man sitting at the front desk looked visibly frightened as the figure made their way upstairs. They went up to the 4th floor of the building before walking down a hallway. The sound of doors slamming shut filled it as it was eerily quiet and empty. At the end was a lone little girl playing with a doll not noticing the figure coming towards her. Once she did notice the girl looked up at them with a oblivious smile on their face as she waved at them only to get harshly pulled into an apartment by their mother the door slamming shit and then locking. The figure grumbled before going to the door at the end of the hall and opening it.

The figure walked into the dilapidated room throwing a black and red duffel bag with stickers and card symbols drawn on them. They then hung a red and black helmet on a hat rack followed by a pair of similarly colored skates with white poofs on the laces ends. The figure marched over to a bathroom and turned on the lights looking at themselves in the mirror.

The figure was a woman with pale white skin, she had long hair that was dyed black on one half and red on the other. She had on black eye shadow and was wearing a zip up tank top with the same half and half color design as well as having a black diamond on the left breast and a red star on the right. She had a pair of short shorts with three black diamonds on one end. With shoulder pads, knee pads, and elbow pads she looked like she just got back from a sporting event. That and the bandage under her right eye as well as having a small bruise on her cheek She looked at herself in the mirror and sign

"Dr. Harleen Quinzel, ya look like shit." Harley sighed looking at herself before splashing water on her face. As she grabbed a towel to dry herself off, she yelped as she suddenly tripped over a rope-like object tied at the bottom of the bathroom door frame. Harley reacted quickly by leaning forward, landing hands first onto the floor to spin herself up right in a cartwheel maneuver. "The hell?!"

Harley looked back at the bathroom to notice that whatever had tripped her, soon vanished in a violet colored light. "Not bad." A confident raspy voice spoke out. Harley turned to see Amethyst smirking. "Even Pearl usually trips over when I pull that prank." Before Harley could even question who this intruder was, Amethyst summoned her whip once more.

"And just who the hell are you small fry? I know a few short stacks in my day and you ain't one of them." Harley says defensively

"Names Amethyst. And I got some questions for ya, Chalkie." Amethyst answered as she tugged on her whip

"Well golly gee Amy. I'd just love to help ya out, why don't ya take a seat? I'll brew up some tea and-DWARF PUNT!" Harley yells bringing her leg and swinging it at Amethyst full force

Amethyst caught the kick by the ankle before it could hit her. Harley let out a surprised yelp as her leg was pulled from under and she was swung to her closet door smashing into it.

"Cough-okay ya-cough-ya got some power in those stubby arms." Harley coughed out pulling herself out of the closet. "But, I can dish it just as well as I can take it!" She pulled a large red and black mallet out with her. One side of the hammerhead having a red heart symbol while the other had a black club

"OH DANG!" Amethyst yelps as Harley easily lifts it over head and swings it down at Amethyst

The Purple gem jumps back letting it smash into the floor creating a hole. Harley pulled out her mallet looking down at a terrified man looking up at her.

"Just a pest problem, shouldn't take more than a minute. Call the landlord." Harley says before chasing after Amethyst

Amethyst wrapped her whip around the table and used all her force to throw it at Harley. The woman easily breaks it into pieces with a swift swing of her hammer. As Amethyst performed her spin attack, Harley cartwheeled sideways out of the way. Amethyst crashed into the wall, making shelves fall. A loud crack could be heard as a picture frame off. Harley looked wide eyed to see a crumble picture underneath the shards of glass and wood of the picture frame.

"You broke my picture of puddin!" Harley yelled

"Puddi-" Before Amethyst could even ask, she was struck into her side by Harley's mallet swing once more. Sending her crashing through the door of the apartment sending her sliding down the hallway and down the stairs with a groan and an "OW!" Amethyst heard footsteps

" I'm gonna flatten your head like a pancake!" Shouted an enrage Harley as she marched out of the Apartment holding her hammer ready to chase after Amethyst

She was stopped however by a kick to the back, that sent her to the floor. And she turned around to see Pearl standing over her.

"I'M guessing your gonna be difficult." Pearl says annoyed

"Oh great! More of ya! And which 80s album did you fall out of, Stretch?" Harley said with a smirk

"Allow me to put this more eloquently than my companion. Put down the hammer, calm down, and answer our questions." Pearl says calmly

"Allow me to make a counter offer." Harley says before springing up to her feet and swinging at Pearl who ducked under it letting it smash into the wall.

Pearl then kicks Harley stomach. Forcing her back with a growl before attempting an overhead swing. But as it came down Pearl raised her hands and with swift graceful movements deflected the swing and managed to get the hammer out of Harley's hands throwing it back into her Apartment.

"Okay that was cool." Harley says looking at her empty hands

"Ready to stop?" Pearl asks

"Let me think about that… No." Harley says bluntly before throwing a punch at Pearl's face and

Pearl catches the fist in her palm surprising Harley once again as a shot of pain went up her arm only to then have her arm twisted and forcing her to her knees.

"You can't beat me. Stand down, Quinn." Pearl sternly commanded as she summoned her spear and placed it on the Kneeling Harley's shoulder

"Girlfriend, you're not the first person to tell me that tonight. And guess what! you won't be the last!" Harley says with a strained laugh as she eyed up Pearl from her kneeling position

Harley swept her leg swiftly. Knocking Pearl's spear out from her other hand in shock. She quickly caught her opponent's weapon from her free hand to swiftly swing the side up. A loud whack sound echoed through the halls, followed by a winded silent yelp. Pearl's eyes widened and her grip on Harley loosed due to the spot she attacked her...right between her slim legs. Harley was then able to pull the spear from Pearl's grip and with a quick twist she forced the end of the spear into Pearl's throat making her let go and fall onto her back with a gag.

"Hitting a gem down there with her own weapon…" A calm voice began to speak. Harley turned to see Garnet make her way towards her, cracking her knuckles as she did. "That's low for a fighter." said Garnet

"Hey, you gotta do what ya can. Something tells me ya never fought dirty before?" Harley smirked, paying no mind to how the spear suddenly vanished in her hands as she got up to her feet.

"Allow Harley Quinn to pop ya brawler cherry". Harley said smirking as Garnet got ready

"NOT!" Harley says with a laugh before reaching behind and pulling out a very stylized revolver

Garnet's eyes widened as she saw the gun and her future vision activated. She could easily deflect the bullets but in the narrow hallway the ricochets would hit the humans hiding in their homes, thus leaving one option. Garnet rushed forward like a blur as a glow enveloped her right hand.

BANG!

Garnet's gauntlet covered the gun just as Harley shot. Harley looked shocked at the fact that Garnet tried to stop a bullet with her hand, and succeeded in doing so. Garnet easily tore away the gun from Harley's hands. She then grabs Harley with her Free hand and slamming her against the wall keeping her pinned.

"I've seen humans fight with guns before..." Garnet looks at the pistol in one hand as her other firmly holds Harley against the wall in the other.

"I never interfered with their conflicts, no matter how much I wanted to. No matter how many lives they take from one another." Her hand begins to squeeze at the firearm. Easily crushing it in her grip.

Harley gagged and growled as she threw a kick to Garnet's face, getting no reaction from her. Garnet then threw Harley back into her room, the clown girl tumbling in and coming to a rest on her back with a groan. She then looked up to see the Scowling Batman standing over her.

"Oh great, it's you. Should have known these technicolored broads were with ya" Harley groans as Batman grabs her by the shoulders and forces her up.

Amethyst made her way up the stairs shaking off dust with a "WOO!" before meeting up with Pearl in the Hallway.

"I'm alright, clown girl's got an arm on her. She sent me tumbling to the first floor. How about you Pearl, you alright?" Amethyst asks Pearl as she got up gagging

"I'm-gag-ugh, that giggling little-!" Pearl growled holding her throat until she heard a loud BANG, turning to see Batman holding up Harley by the shoulders and pinning her against a wall staring directly at her

"MAGPIE! WHERE IS SHE?!" Batman yells in Harley's

"What?! Am I supposed to know every nut running around this city?!" Harley shoots back

"Magpie was involved with Human trafficking tonight? One of her contacts told me you were involved with her. I want her location, NOW!" Batman says throttling her a little

"And you believed one of the dipshits of Gotham's criminal underworld? What are ya, freaking dense?" Harley shoots back

"I would trust anyone of them more than I trust you." Batman growls

"Of course you do. Well guess what Bats, I don't know Magpie! I don't sell my services on the street like some hooker, so you're outta luck!" Harley says

"I don't believe you." Batman says

"Oh really? So what you gonna do abo-?" Harley says defiantly

POW

Batman just socked Harley right in the face, the back of her head hitting the wall. She shook her head going cross eyed a bit as a little blood dripped out her nostril contrasting with her chalk white skin.

"Feeling better now?" Harley asks

"Every Time I don't get an honest answer out of you, I am going to break something!" Batman threatens

"And how can you tell I'm telling the truth huh? That a secret power ya got?" Harley asks mockingly

BAM

"WHERE IS MAGPIE?!" Batman yells

"I DON'T KNOW YOU DUMBASS!" Harley yells

BAM

"How long are you gonna keep this up, huh bats? You think I haven't taken worse than this? And we all know that this is as far as your 'Threats' go. So you can either PISS OFF or HIT ME!" Harley yells not having a bruise on her cheek

Batman reared his fist back to punch Harley again only to have Pearl grab his wrist stopping him from striking Harley again.

"STOP! Just stop! This is just needlessly brutal." Pearl says concerned

"And it's obviously not working, man. Maybe she doesn't know anything?" Amethyst reasons

"She's lying!" Batman said

"And what? You're gonna get the answers by pounding her brains against her own freaking wall?" Amethyst asks

"Everyone has their breaking point." Batman says

"And you're gonna break her before she reaches it!" Amethyst says

"There's clearly a lot of anger you have towards her." Pearl said

"You don't know what she's done. What she allowed and participated in." Batman said growling

"We don't. I want to get Magpie, but this path is leading to nowhere. We need a different route." Garnet says walking up

Batman glares at Harley who glared back before dropping her. Harley stumbled a little and shook her head but regained her composure, fixing her hair and clearing her throat.

"Well it was nice having you all. Now if you could be so kind as to piss off out of my apartment, that would be lovely. I'm going to go to the hardware store so I can fix the door you ruined." Harley says casually before making her way to the door only to have Garnet block the path

"And what the hell do you want? Wanna take a few swings yourself with your thunder thighs and stupid hair?" Harley asks with a scowl

Garnet remained silent only reaching into her pocket and pulling something out. She held it up in front of Harley.

"Who the hell is this?" Harley asks

"His name is Steven Universe. He's 13 years old and lives in Beach City, Delmarva." Garnet says holding up the picture of the smiling Steven holding MC Bear

"13? Kid should drink more milk! He's looking a little short." Harley says with a chuckle

"Magpie's Human trafficking job? He was the sole item she took." Garnet said seriously. Harley immediately stopped giggling once she heard that.

"He was walking through town like any other day when they came, drugged him, and took him miles away from home against his will." Garnet said. Holding her serious tone as Harley suddenly trying to look away from the picture

"I want you to look at him." Garnet says

"Why?" Harley shoots back clearly uncomfortable

"LOOK AT HIM!" Garnet yells making everyone flinch and with a bit of hesitation Harley did so

"Steven is the sweetest, kindest boy you will ever meet. He plays the ukulele, he loves Cookie cat ice cream sandwiches. He has never swatted a fly or hurt a person intentionally. He loves the ocean, plants, and animals, and once cried over snakes cause he realized they didn't have any arms." Garnet said softly. Harley starting to rub her arm

"And these people came and drugged him, tossed him in a car, drove him across a state in darkness. Held guns to him, scared him, and nearly poisoned him to death. He-does not-deserve this." Garnet said each word in that last sentence hardly. Locking eyes with Harley seeing her discomfort, but also deep within them she saw what she was looking for humanity and pity

"... Alright listen, Magpie did approach me like 2 weeks ago. She wanted to bring me on as one of her 'generals' for her growing empire or whatever. I told her I wasn't interested so the bitch tried to have me killed. I broke free and…... dealt with the goons she left to finish me. I was feeling pissed so the last goon remaining, I had them tell me where Magpie was so I could get her back. Took a little convincing but he spilled the beans…. The old Gotham Museum of Antiquities. Ya know the one that was left to rot when they built that fancy shiny one uptown? That's apparently where she set up shop. Don't know if she's still there but that's what I got." Harley said exasperated

"You never went to confirm it?" Pearl asks

"Eh ,I got over it." Harley said

"Her trying to kill you?" Pearl asked getting a shrug from Harley

"Thank you" Garnet said pocketing the photo once again and walking off the gems following her, Batman was last giving Harley another glare before following as well

"Hey you guys…. I'm sorry…. About the kid." Harley said

"He's fine, just a little shaken." Garnet says

"What ya gonna do when you find Magpie?" Harley asks

"Make sure she doesn't do this again." Batman said as they all left leaving Harley in the ruined Apartment

Harley took a deep sigh holding her shoulder. She looked down the hall seeing the fearful eyes of the fellow residence who quickly shut and locked their doors. Harley let out a grunt as she went to pick up various items that were destroyed in her small home. She picked the broken picture frame and looked at it lovingly. She reached for her cheek only to let out a pained hiss from the bruise Batman gave her. Suddenly images flowed in her head as she looked at the picture and felt the bruised memories, painful ones. Anger filled her and she screamed, throwing the picture at a wall, completely destroying it. Harley breathed heavily before slumping against a wall sobbing a little. She did so for a minute before looking to her side seeing from the closet a red and black spandex outfit had fallen to the ground. She picked up the outfit and examined it wiping tears from her eyes, she reached into the pocket of the outfit and pulled out a note

HE'S NOT COMING BACK. AND HE NEVER CARED. YOU NEED TO MOVE ON.

-P.I

Harley examined the note and clutched it letting out a sigh before getting up. She went to her bed and reached under it pulling out a bedazzled laptop. She sat on the bed and opened it up pulling up a search engine. She stared at the screen for a bit thinking before typing in

BEACH CITY, DELMARVA

Gotham Museum of Antiquities

Once again the darkness of the downtown Gotham streets was only matched by the maddening silence. The latter seemed to be in abundance around this area. No one was around, not people simply passing by or even a homeless person trying to make the area around them a potential home. The exterior of the building was like that of any museum built from the 1860's with a Greek like design with large steps and marble pillars. However the exterior also looked run down with paint chipping and cracks littering exterior. The walls may be considered an art collection with all the graffiti that filled almost every space, from names, to symbols, to full on murals. It was both a beautiful and saddening sight. Eight pairs of eyes that glowed in the night looked down at the building with determined glares. They all exchanged a look before leaping off the building towards the museum.

The interior was just as bad as the exterior minus the intriguing street art. It was totally rundown with smashed in display cases, dust covered signs on the ground, tattered banners hanging from the ceilings. The place was totally lifeless or rather somewhat lifeless. Footsteps filled the air and flashlights shined around, Two goons made their way through the empty halls armed with pistols. Broken glass crunched beneath their feet as they made their way down the museum aisle. As they walked, one of the goons stopped to look at the broken display cases. He looked at the broken glass seeing his reflection in it as well as his partner looking around. Then from the reflection he saw something shot down from the ceiling and then his partner was pulled towards the ceiling letting out only a yelp as he dropped his flashlight. The Goon turned around quickly terrified, pointing his flashlight and gun to the ceiling trying to find his partner or whatever took him into the shadows. As he searched the ceiling a shadow grew behind him. Powerful arms shot out and wrapped around his neck cutting off his air flow, the man struggled and gagged trying to escape but to no avail eventually losing consciousness. Batman placed the goon on the ground silently as the gems dropped from the ceiling behind him. With a simple gesture they all moved forward.

In a large hall, the faint sound of classical music echoed throughout as multiple gunmen patrolled the halls. A trio walked together as they partoled. Scanning the walkways and idly chatting about mundane things. Suddenly from behind a light TAP was heard causing them to turn around weapons raised. The only thing they saw was a bright white flash before something ran past them.

SHING

Pearl ran past the trio quickly. Already drawing her spear and getting behind them. The Goons were completely frozen as Pearl twirled her spear with a smirk making it vanish into sparkles. As soon as it did, the three goons let out pained gasps as they fell to the ground unconscious. Their guns sliced in half. Pearl looked back with a pleased smirk before jumping to a pillar and then up towards the ceiling. The gasps were heard by another goon who got his gun ready and started to approach the area. As he did, he ran into another goon and the two quickly partnered up as they made their way.

CRASH!

The two let out a panicked scream as something landed behind them, shaking the very ground they stood on. They didn't have time to turn around as two strong hands grabbed the both of them by the face and brought them together. The heads came together with a BAM and the two fell to the ground knocked out, Garnet wiping her hands of the two before walking down a set of stairs. The 3 remaining goons were in full panic mode as they huddled together weapons pointed in every direction the massive crash sending worry through them. The came decided to make a run for it towards the exit. They went full sprint until a terrified scream made them stop the group of three becoming two. They searched for their partner before shining their lights up and perched upon a gargoyle Amethyst sat holding the goon up by the leg. She gave the two a mischievous smile before dropping the goon. He screamed in terror before he was stopped by Amethyst's whip around his ankle. He stopped before he hit the ground right in front of another goon making him flail and stumble back. Just then Amethyst jumped from the gargoyle to the stumbling goon, She descended and wrapped her legs around his neck then using the momentum of her fall performed a hurricane, slamming him to the ground. Amethyst took a breath and moved her hair from her face until a gun click was heard and a barrel of a machine gun pressed against the back of her head.

"You know he's right behind you." Amethyst said with a smirk

"Who?" The gunman asked confused

"Me." Batman says coldly before wrapping the screaming goon in his cape

Garnet made her way to a large set of doors where the music seemed to originate from. She examined it before Pearl landed beside her.

"The room is clear. I expected more security to be honest." Pearl said

"They're all behind this door. They're waiting." Garnet says

"So they're gonna ambush us?" Amethyst says walking up besides them

"No, only about 25% of them are armed. They're all seated in the main exhibition hall looking towards the center at one person. That's Magpie, she wants us to approach her." Batman says looking at the door a digital visor going over his eyes as he did

"What? You got X-Ray vision too?" Amethyst says annoyed

"Something like that." Batman says as the visor disappears

"This is obviously a trap. So what's our move?" Pearl asks

"We spring it." Garnet says as she kicks down the door

As they entered a spotlight was shined down on the four heroes. Taking a moment to adjust their eyes they saw that in the seats of the exhibition hall were dozens upon dozens of goons all looking at them. Some eagerly have their fingers on the triggers of their various weapons. They made their way down a walkway to the center of the hall where Magpie was doing ballet to the music coming from the album player beside her.

"Pffft, what is with this town?! Look at this fruity broad!" Amethyst said with a chuckle as they approached

"Don't let your guard down for even a second. She's planning something." Batman said

The music ended in a crescendo as Magpie struck her final pose. The goons in the room gave her applause as she bowed.

"Enjoyed your little recital?" Garnet said seriously as she and the others stood a few yards away from Magpie

"Very much so. Sorry to keep you waiting, it's just an excellent way to limber up." Magpie says calmly as she stretches her leg behind her

"I know." Pearl says with narrowed eyes

"Well I be! I knew you were real from all the chatter underground, but looking at you in person. The one and only Batman. Tall, dark, and handsome just as described." Magpie says with a chuckle

"Hey fashion disaster! Let's skip the flirting and get to the hurting. Unless you're gonna play nice and answer our questions.' Amethyst says stretching out her arms

"And you are….?" Magpie says uninterested looking at Amethyst

"Call me a concerned citizen. You hurt somebody I cared about." Amethyst replies

"Hmmmmmm, you're gonna have to be more specific. I hurt a lot of people. There was the jewelry store owner I blew up, that auctioneer who got a face full of acid. Oh wait! Maybe you're referring to that police officer who I dropped off the 7th floor. I heard he's showing brain activity now." Magpie says with an evil grin

"Alright Birdy! I've had enough of you!" Amethyst yells as she charges at her

"Amethyst stop!" Batman yells as she reaches out for her

Magpie smirks as she holds out her hand towards the charging Amethyst. But before she got close Batman grabbed her by the back of her shirt. Before she could protest she noticed a glint before her. Her eyes widened as she saw a thin sharp piece of glass extended from Magpie's hand right between Amethyst's eyes.

"How'd you know that was there?" Amethyst asked surprised as she swatted the weapon away shattering it

"Because I was looking for it." Batman says as he pulled her away from the Magpie

"Aw ya figured me out. Clever little bat." Magpie says smirking

"ENOUGH GAMES! You were involved with the kidnapping of a little boy! We wanna know why?! Who hired you? What do they want with him?" Garnet says as she and Pearl surround Magpie

"Little boy…..? OH! You mean the one with the precious sparkly in his belly! So you were the ones that took him from me." Magpie says smirking

"Why did you want him?" Pearl asked

"I could care less about that snot-nosed brat. What I really wanted was that shiny." Magpie says as a crazed look grows on her face

"His gem?" Pearl asked confused

"Oh it was a beauty. Even from a photo it teased me, begging me to save it from it's fleshy prison." Magpie says

"Y-You were gonna tear out his gem?!" Pearl yelled. Her eyes widening in shock

"Of course I was! What would I need a kid for? It was the other who wanted the boy unharmed, though I'm sure they wouldn't mind a few stitches to remove that gem. They were going to pay me in fine gemstones, and they were sparkly, but nothing compared to that. It's luster! its shine! It has to be mine. Would probably need a nice cleaning after ripping it from the boy's belly, but it would become the center of my collection. You wouldn't happen to know where he is now would you? I promise to be gentle. I'll even give him a new one if he's upset about losing that pink precious." Magpie says with an evil grin looking back at pearl

Pearl's eyes widened as she heard Magpie speak so coldly and joyously about removing Steven's gemstone. Her mind flashes back to Rose before she gave birth. The fading gem asking Pearl to take care of him. Pearl's body moved on it's own as she let out an angered roar charging at Magpie fist raised, and the villain smirked. Magpie shot her leg back and threw a kick to Pearl's gut. Pearl was stopped by the kick letting out a pained gasp as she froze in place. She looked down to her gut as Magpie removed her heel showing it had a razor sharp edge. Pearl grunted as she held her gut and stumbled back only for Magpie to zip behind her and grab her by the hair. Another kick to the back of her knee, the razor heel piercing her again forced Pearl down with a scream as Magpie reached to one of her feathers and pulled out a blade and holding it over her head.

"You look to have a trapped shiny yourself. Not as alluring at the pink, but a fine addition none the less." Magpie laughs evilly as she looks down at Pearl ready to bring the knife down.

A batarang hits Magpie in the side of the head forcing her to release Pearl. Batman came in and tried to hit Magpie with a kick to the face. Only for her to bend backwards dodging it. As she bent backwards she threw her dagger stabbing it into Garnet's foot who was ready to run in. Garnet hissed as she was pinned to the ground having to remove the dagger. While that happened, Magpie sweeped Batman's leg sending him to the ground. She then backflipped over Amethyst who got kicked in the back of the head. She backflipped away from them until a rope descended from the ceiling, she quickly grabbed on and it pulled her up off the center stage. Magpie smiled as she pulled out a small device and pushed the button.

BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!

Multiple explosions surrounded the stage and the floor collapsed under the heroes sending them falling. There was a moment of panic but they quickly recovered. Batman used his cowl to glide safely to the ground as the Gems flipped in the air landing on their feet. The gems looked up as Batman landed, seeing that they were in a surprisingly deep hole. The walls were metallic and smooth large cables streaming down it.

"What is this? This your big trap? A giant hole?" Amethyst yells up at Magpie who was standing on the rafters

"COME DOWN HERE AND FIGHT US YOU COWARD!" Pearl yells up at Magpie as she healed her stabs

"How about no. But don't worry you'll have a fight. You will serve as lovely entertainment for my men and become an excellent reminder to anyone who tries to cross me." Magpie says smirking as she readies the device again

Batman readied his grapple gun only for Magpie to press another button on the remote. A loud creaking was heard as a massive door that stood before them slowly creaked open. The heroes watched in anticipation taking ready stances as it opened. The door fully opened with a BOOM and then silence, tension filling the air as they stared into the darkness.

"Gggggggrrrrrrrruuuuuunnnnn..." A wheeze/growl coming from the darkness

Magpie smiled as she held the remote and pressed a button. Then the cables strewn across the walls came to life with electricity and flowed into the room. From within the darkened room electricity crackled as a humanoid figure was shown amongst the sparks, a beast like roar echoing out as the body jerked. And then the surge stopped and it was quiet again.

"What the actual Hell was that?" Amethyst said shocked

"S-S-Sooo-Solomon-Grundy." The figure said as a massive footstep filled the air

"Born on a Monday." He groaned the sound of chains following him

"Christened on a Tuesday!" He roared louder stepping more out of the room

"Oh-my-stars." Pearl said in absolute shock looking at the creature before them

"Married on-A WEDNESDAY!" The creature yelled reaching out for them with it's massive grey arms

Before them was a massive monster of a man towering over all of them. His skin was grey and leathery, his eyes milky and sunken, his hair short and white as snow. He wore what looked to be a black pinstripe suit with the sleeves ripped off and unbuttoned showing his massive chest. He had matching pants that were tattered and with a rope serving as a belt and his massive feet bare. He had a snapped noose around his neck and 5 knives sticking out of his back. He was held back by chains around his arms and let out a vicious roar saliva and the smell of death coming from his mouth.

"OKAY SERIOUSLY! WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!" Amethyst yelled freaking out

"Im guessing your mommy didn't read you many nursery rhymes as a kid" Magpie grinned as she watched grundy struggle to get out of them

"Th-this isn't a corrupted gem…. I don't know what this is!" Pearl yelled

"Oh hoho! Have you ever heard of Cyrus Gold?" Magpie laughed

"Who?" Garnet asked

"Cyrus Gold. An old school gotham gangster from the late 1800s." Batman says

"Yes, he was a greedy brute who left bodies behind with every step and carried enough gold to make ladies swoon. He was the boss of this town until he crossed the wrong people." Magpie explained

"His own subordinates killed him. Hung him, shot him, stabbed him, and dumped his body in Slaughter Swamp." Batman says

"But what does that have to do with stinky here?!" Amethyst yells holding her nose to the monster

"Legend has it that something in the swamp changed him. Made him into an even greater monster than he already was, the stuff nightmares are made out of. He rose from the swamp and took his revenge on those that wronged him and killed whoever got in his way. No one who saw him lived to tell about it, until one day he vanished. Would you guess my surprise when I came in and discovered the museum was connected to the old Gotham sewers. And behind 5ft of brick and 2 ft of pure steel did I find-THIS!" Magpie says as she gestured down to the roaring Grundy

"Wha-NO! When humans die, they don't come back to life! Especially not like-!" Pearl shouted in disbelief

"No offense Pearl, but proof to the contrary is currently screaming at us." Batman says as Grundy continues to struggle

"He looks like one of those zombies from Ronaldo's movies... only way bigger." Amethyst says

"You think this is going to stop us?!" Garnet yells up at Magpie

"Yes, Yes I do. Grundy-Kill them." Magpie says with a cold look as she presses another button

CLANK!

The chains became undone and the monster was free charging at the heroes with arms outstretched. They all quickly dodged to the side as Grundy charged forward slamming into a wall. He dented the metal with his head but quickly shook it off glaring at the heroes.

"GRUNDY KILL!" Grundy roared shaking the room

"You wanna go dead-head?!Let's go!" Amethyst yells as she readies herself and charges at the monster

"AMETHYST WAIT!" Garnet yelled

Amethyst yelled and did her spin dash going right for Grundy who ran at her with large limbering stomps. Before she got close Grundy swung his arms back and then up towards Amethyst. A large BAM filled the air as Amethyst was knocked into the air, the purple gem screamed as tumbled in the air. She flew out of the hole hanging in the air for a moment and then falling back in the goon cheered. Amethyst continues to fall only to have Grundy's large grey hand wrap around her, the zombie jumping up and grabbing her out of the air ready to slam her into the ground. But multiple Batarangs stabbed into his wrist making Grundy roar in pain and let go of Amethyst. A grapple hook grabbed onto her shirt and pulled her out of the air to Batman who caught her and put her on the ground.

"Can you think before acting, FOR ONCE?!" Batman growls aggravated as Amethyst shook her head

Grundy roared again. This time going for Batman who grabbed Amethyst and jumped out of the way, Pearl doing the same. Garnet however took Batman's place from where he stood and summoned her gauntlets.

BOOM!

Both Garnet's and Grundy's fists met, shaking the hole they stood in. The shockwave sends ripples through the metal. Garnet grunted as she felt that punch. Realizing the monster's strength would be a challenge. Grundy grabbed onto Garnet's hand, keeping her in place before throwing out his free hand, only to have that caught by Garnet. Both brawlers' feet dug into the metal as they fought for dominance.

"Grundy crush square head!" Grundy roared

"You can try." Garnet said. Sounding determined despite the struggle

From above, Pearl descended with a kick to the back of Grundy's head, getting a small grunt from the beast. But that gave Garnet her opening as she began pushing forward and rammed her head into Grundy's gut. He gagged leaning forward and Garnet wrapped her arms around his neck and with some effort flipped him over her shoulder sending him a bit away landing on his back. Pearl ran forward and vaulted off of Garnet summoning her spear in mid air shere she then fired a bolt from her spear at Grundy making a small explosion.

"Just when I thought I was beginning to understand humans, now I find out they can come back after dying?! Make up your mind on if you're alive or dead already!" Pearl says in annoyed disbelief

"I like to believe it's not a common thing they do." Garnet said bluntly before Grundy bursts from the smoke enraged

Garnet charges at Grundy fist raised only to get a backhand from the monster sending her stumbling back. Grundy then grabs her by the shoulders and tosses her into the air. She is stopped from soaring any higher by Grundy who jumped up and grabbed her by the ankles. Roaring, he then swung Garnet onto the ground like a hammer back first. She let out a pained gasp, bouncing off the ground only to be grabbed by the face by Grundy and then slammed face first into the floor. Grundy was not done grabbing her by the leg again and scooping her up into a piledriver position.

"Grundy Smash You!" Grundy yells as he jumped into the air and smashed Garnet's head into the floor burying it

Garnet's legs hung in the air and Grundy prepared to pull her out only to have Pearl blast him in the chest again. His attention now on her he charged and Pearl twirled her spear into a battle ready position. Pearl began to dance past Grundy's swings and punches, twirling out of the way when he tried to smash her. She quickly got to his side and jammed her spear into it hoping to do some damage and wear him down. But when her spear jabbed into his grey flesh from it came the foul stench of death and a thick black ooze where there should've been blood.

"Oh sweet Heavens what is this!? OH-gag-OH STARS ABOVE THE SMELL!" Pearl gags as she pulls on the spear more of the black muck spewing out maggots and insects could be seen crawling in it

Pearl looked like she was on the verge of throwing up whatever was in her only to have Grundy grab her by the face and lift her off the ground.

"Grundy BREAK YOU!" Grundy roars as he slowly starts to squeeze Pearl's head, the gem screams as she feels the pressure being put on her gem.

She uses her spear and jabs at his arm trying to get him to let go getting no reaction. Grundy roars in rage at Pearl but as he did a Batarang flew in and stabbed into the roof of his mouth. Grundy couldn't scream as from the Batarange what looked like firefighting foam filled his mouth. He gaged letting go of Pearl as he tried to clear his mouth of the foam. As he did Garnet freeing herself came from behind and kicked the back of Grundy's knee forcing him down. Garnet then grabbed a hold of the back of his suit and lifted him off the ground. She screamed as she spun him and then threw him to a wall.

"Th-thank you." Pearl said as she felt her gem Batman walking up and helping her stand

"Okay…. this guy is tough for a human." Amethyst growls

"Ex-Human is more accurate. This thing isn't alive." Garnet says with hard breaths

"I have to agree. No living organic has….. Whatever this is flowing through them. And certainly not insects." Pearl gagged. Disgusted seeing her spear was still covered in the ooze and bugs, throwing it away and summoning another.

"If he isn't alive then that means we don't have to hold back." Batman says

"If that's the case I hope you got a little something with a little more POW-BAM in that belt." Amethyst says readying her whip

"I got a few things." Batman replies as Grundy stands up again

"No matter how tough he is, he's still built like a human. Eyes, neck, ears, all vulnerable. We find one point and hammer at it until he breaks." Batman says reaching for his belt

"I vote chest!" Amethyst grins

"Easy enough target." Pearl says summoning another spear

But as she did, Batman holding a weird spray can grabbed hold of her wrist and started spraying a bluish goop all over the spear.

"What do you think-?" Pearl say confused looking at the substance

"Excuse me please." Batman says taking the spear from Pearl and walking forward to Grundy who was ready to charge.

Batman took a breath and ran forward with the spear. And looking like an olympian with perfect form threw the spear like a Javelin. It flew and stabbed into Grundy's chest perfectly, though it didn't stop him.

"Nice form, but that didn't do much!" Pearl yells as Batman presses a button on the spray device

click-KABOOM!

A current went through the goop on Pearl's spear that was embedded in his chest and in a second the goop ignited. Grundy's chest exploded and the beast was sent back roaring in pain before collapsing to the ground. The gems looked on in surprise.

"Explosive gel, I use it to break weak structures and clear small debris. Never used it on something that moves before." Batman says holding up the device

"Well it was super effective. Awesome!" Amethyst laughs

"Well you guys are just a bunch of bullies ganging up on poor Grundy. Let's see if we can give him a pick me up!" Magpie says from above as she turns a dial on the device and then presses the button

All the wires lit up bright like it was christmas illuminating the hole to an almost blinding level. As the heroes adjusted to the brightness Grundy grabbed onto one of the wires. His roars filled the air as the energy coursed through him his veins glowing and his skin becoming nearly translucent. His eyes glowed as he turned around and let out another roar of the heroes getting ready for battle. Their eyes however went to his chest. His rib cage is now exposed. The bones being massive and behind that wall was a pumping glowing heart. Garnet's eyes narrowed focusing on the Heart as Grundy leapt into the air. The heroes jumped out of the way letting Grundy smash the ground.

"You didn't really think that was the finale, did you?" Magpie giggled over a megaphone. Looking through the gated cover of the hole to watch the fight. "That was merely the pre-show. Grundy won't go down THAT easily!"

As Grundy turned to face Garnet, who saw her opening. The leader of the CRystal gems aimed both of her gauntlets at the undead brute who was beginning to charge at her. Once close enough, she shot both of her gauntlets towards him. Like rockets out of a bazooka. The impact sent him flying into the wall and made a loud ringing sound throughout the hole.

"Hell yeah! Nice shot!" Amethyst cheered as Grundy pushed himself out of the newly made hole. His heart being more visible and pumping slower

Above Magpie grinned as she pressed the button once again causing another surge of power. There were exposed wires in the hole and the spark of electricity arched out and flowed into Grundy's back. A glow emitted from his spine and began to flow through all his bones, then his veins, his muscles, and finally the heart. The massive organ began to pump faster as Gundy roared out again. His ribs moving to cover his heart and then hidden from his undead flesh forming the hole in his chest closed

"WHAT THE?! Doesn't anything slow this guy down?" Amethyst yelled

"It's the electricity. It's powering him. Everytime he get's shocked it flows through every part of his body making him stronger and healing him. And that heart's the battery, we need to take it out." Batman says pointing to the organ

"Okay, we just need to get through that wall of ribs and skin." Amethyst says

"Yes, but we need to cut off his supply first. Magpie is controlling the energy. One of us needs to reach her in order to end this." Garnet says

"Garnet, you can get me up there. I can handle her." Pearl says determined

"We'll need to restrain him to give us a chance." Batman says

"No problem." Amethyst says with a grin as her gem starts to glow

Batman couldn't help but raise an eyebrow as Amethyst's whole body started to glow. All the goons watching let out amazed "Whoa!" as Amethyst's body began to grow.

"You mooks want a fight? THEN GET READY TO MEET THE ONE AND ONLY PURPLE PUMA!" Amethyst roars as she turned into her wrestling persona

"Really?" Batman says in annoyed disbelieve

"Sup pot, I'm kettle." Amethyst says with a smirk before launching herself at grundy with a roar

She jumped onto Grundy's face making the monster stumble back. And before he could reach for Amethyst to throw her off, she grabbed hold of the arm and slipped around it. She wrapped around the arm in an armbar and twisted it behind Grundy's back making the monster scream.

"Now's our chance, use this." Batman says handing Pearl the Grapple gun

"How do I use this?" Pearl asked examining the device

"You point it at where you want to go and then pull the trigger." Batman says

"But does this attach to certain structures, does it have enough strength to lift me, this structure is very old what if it breaks…" Pearl lists off

"PEARL GO!" Garnet and Amethyst yell making her yelp as she pointed it to the ceiling

A small POW filled the air as the grapple shot up. The hook easily latching onto the scaffolding Magpie was on. The villainess let out a confused "Huh?" hearing the grapple only to have Pearl leap onto the scaffolding staring her down.

"Give-me-that-controller!" Pearl said seriously

"Oh you want this~? Come and get it!" Magpie says with a manic grin pocketing it

"You seriously don't know what your up against. Now just hand it over before I-!" Pearl says annoyed

Magpie then shoots out a kick to Pearl's head, Pearl leans back letting the kick soar past her face. The kick then passed a rope and with a SWISH, the rope was cut and a sandbag fell. Pearl looked befuddled at the rope and then Magpie. The villainess held up her leg and smiled showing that on her heel was a blade that looked razor sharp.

"Be Careful. I may cut up that pretty little face of yours. Then again, I may just do that anyway." Magpie says eying Pearl's gem before lunging at her

Back on the ground Amethyst was in Grundy's grip, the purple puma struggling as she was squeezed. Then the sandbag Magpie cut free landed on his head getting a pained grunt making him loosen his hold. With that Amethyst wrapped her legs around the massive arm and swinging herself around twisted it behind Grundy's back. The Monster screamed out in pain as Amethyst held him in place, as this happened for Batranag's stabbed into his massive rib cage. Garnet ran in yelling, launching herself forward and punching his ribcage, sending him stumbling back as the thick bones started to crack. Amethyst let go before Garnet's punch could land flipping over and landing beside her.

"We gotta keep pounding away at that bone while Pearl gets the controller." Garnet says taking a fighting stance

"Give him multiple targets, hit him everywhere!" Batman says

"Can do!" Amethyst says running to the side and doing her spin dash

Amethyst zipped around Grundy repeatedly, the zombie trying to keep up with her, only for a Batarang to hit him on the side of the head. Once his gaze went to Batman Amethyst rushed in bouncing off her head making him stumble forward. And as he did that Garnet ran in and uppercutted his chin. Grundy swiped at Garnet only for her to flip back and Batman flew in from the side and kick his head vaulting over him. Amethyst then spin dashed him in the back. Grundy roared out angrily before slamming the ground forcing the 3 to retreat.

Back on the scaffolding Pearl kicked magpie at the face sending her back only to flip back and throw a flurry of kicks to Pearl's face. Pearly weaved past the razor kicks being forced back bit by bit. Pearl then countered one of the kicks with her own. A THWACK filled the air and Magpie recoiled her leg with a hiss Pearl's counter doing some damage. Pearl attempted to grab her only for Magpie to flip over her and grab onto the railing doing a handstand. Pearl turned around to see Magpie's upside down grin and another kick flying at her face. Pearl was put on the defensive again a kick grazing her face and leaving a cut on her cheek. Magpie then launched herself over pearl once again this time throwing her razor feathers at Pearl.

Pearl quickly rolled out of the way as the feathers stabbed into the scaffolding. Pearl got to her feet only to let out a pained scream, looking down to see one of the feathers stabbed into a calf, the wound glowing. With her vision on that for a moment Magpie rushed in with a wide grin and swung a kick at her.

SLASH!

Pearl was sent back with a glowing slash across her chest landing on her back with a thud. She groans holding the wound on for Magpie to stomp down on her chest keeping her pinned.

"Such a pretty little gem on your head you got there" Magpie taunts pulling out another feather as her eyes focused on the gem on Pearl's forehead

"You'll be a fine addition to my collection of shinies." Magpie says as she traces the knife along the edge of where Pearl's gem met her body

"Once I'm done here and grundy squishes your little friends I'll be sure to find the Pink shiny that boy has." Magpie says grinning wildly raising the knife over her head

"YOU-WILL NOT-TOUCH-HIM!" Pearl growls with rage in her eyes

"Oh yeah? Whose gonna stop me?" Magpie asks with a grin as she swings the knife down

At that moment Pearl brings her hand up blocking the stab with her hand letting the knife go through it making Pearl scream out, but also grab hold of Magpie's hand

"Who do you ya think?!" Pearl ask as she starts to strain the glowing wound of her chest slowly healing up as well as the wound on her leg.

Magpie grunts trying to pull free from Pearl's grip only to have Pearl kick magpie at the back of knee caps and cause Magpie to bent down and pearl grabbed the mad woman by the collar and pull her closer to pearl as the gem finished what she was saying

"You are trying to hurt my BABY!? NOT IN YOUR LIFE!" Pearl yells enraged and swing a left hook at Magpie's face

The villainess was sending reels back trying to stay on her feet. Pearl leaning on the railing her healing trick having taken something out of her. But she regains her sense and rushes Magpie. Magpie yelps seeing Pearl come at her wrapping her arms around her waist and then with a yell tossing her to the other side of the scaffolding. Magpie rolled across the ground quickly getting to her feet as Pearl was on her fours breathing heavily. She then however looked up and grinned revealing that she now had the controller. Magpie gasped as Pearl threw it off the scaffolding sending it plummeting below

On the battleground the controller smashed on impact becoming nothing but bits of wiring and plastic. At the same time Amethyst was sent flying with a yell hitting the wall when Solomon Grundy roared holding up Batman who was kicking his leg trying to get free. Grundy squeezes Batman letting out a pained yell only for Garnet to jump onto his arm and pry it open allowing Batman to escape. He lands and falls to his knees clutching his side breathing hard until his eyes saw the broken controller.

"GARNET! GO FOR THE RIB CAGE! HE'S VULNERABLE!" Batman yells to Garnet

Garnet hears this and immediately flips over a swing from Grundy summoning her gauntlets and bringing them overhead. With ferocious roar and a huge WACRACK she slammed her fists onto the rib cage further making a large crack. The air filled with BAM-BAM-BAM as Garnet furiously punched at the ribcage trying to break through. She landed quite a few punches until Grundy grabbed her and prepared to squeeze her. But then with a BAM Amethyst slammed to his chest with a spin dash making him let go of Garnet. Garnet landed beside Amethyst and the two rushed forward hitting the ribcage at the same time a larger crack formed on the boney structure. Just then Batman leapt over them and threw 5 batarang into the ribcage and then they all exploded at once.

"HIT IT NOW!" Batman yells

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" Both Garnet and Amethyst yelled as they charged

CRACK!

The rib cage broke revealing Grundy's black and malformed heart. Amethyst immediately threw her whip out wrapping it around the heart as Garnet and Batman pulled at the same time.

"NOW PULL!" Batman yells

The three yell and strain as they pull on the organ until it was finally torn out. With a spray of black gunk it soared overhead and plopped on the ground still beating. Grundy roared out in pain as the heart's beats slowed down until nothing. Grundy went still his eyes going black the heroes looked at him curiously until the massive beast fell back with a crash not moving.

"...Did we just kill a guy?" Amethyst asked

"Technically he was already dead, so I think it's cool." Garnet says as Batman grunts

"GRUNDY! YOU IDIOTS, KILL THEM! SHOOT THEM DEAD!" Magpie yells pointing down from the scaffolding

Within an instant the hole Batman, Garnet, and Amethyst were in was surrounded by Magpie's goons. Each pulled out their guns aimed at the three and prepared to fire until.

"FREEZE GCPD!"

The doors were kicked down and the police lead by commissioner Gordon rushed in and surrounded the goons' guns trained.

"WHAT?!" Magpie yells

"Whoa, who called the cops?" Amethyst asked as Garnet smirked at Batman

"DROP YOUR WEAPONS NOW OR WE WILL OPEN FIRE!" Gordon orders as the police cock their weapons. With guns aimed at their backs the goons dropped their guns and raised their hands.

"NO! NO! YOU RUINED EVERYTHING!" Magpie shrieked

"Good." Pearl says simply
"I'LL RIP THAT ROCK FROM YOUR HEAD AND SHOVE IT DOWN YOUR-!" Magpie yells rushing Pearl

POW!

Pearl punched Magpie clean across the face sending her flying back and sliding down the scaffold unconscious.

"No shinies for you, you loon." Pearl says with a grunt

The police quickly started to round up the criminals making arrests by the dozens. As Garnet and Amethyst looked up at the procedure Batman quickly pulled out another grapple hook and shot up to the scaffolding. He quickly got up to the scaffolding seeing Pearl shaking the unconscious Magpie. As Batman walked over to her Garnet and Amethyst made there way up with Amethysts whip.

"Care to warn us when you run off like that." Amethyst says

"Stay out of the police's sight. We don't want to cause a scene." Batman says

"I think we already have." Garnet says looking down at Grundy's body

"WAKE UP! WAKE UP! YOU HAVE QUESTIONS TO ANSWER!" Pearl says shaking Magpie

Batman stops her shaking and gestures Garnet to come forward. Garnet does so holding up Magpie and restraining her movements. Batman then pulls out a capsule and snaps it in front of Magpie's nose releasing some powder she inhaled. Magpie coughed and shot awake her eyes darting about. She squirmed and flailed trying to escape but it was impossible in Garnet's grip.

"Wh-WHAT?! HOW?!" Magpie flails

"Magpie. Why did you kidnap Steven Universe?" Batman asks as Magpie looks around

"THE POLICE?! NO, NO! MY SHINIES, THEY'LL TAKE MY SHINIES!" Magpie yells terrified

"ANSWER OUR QUESTIONS, WHY DID YOU TAKE HIM!" Pearl yells angrily

"NO MY SHINIES, NOT MY SHINIES! THEY'RE MINE! I STOLE THEM, I DID THE WORK THEY'RE MINE! MINE! MINE!" Magpie shrieks

"She is really freaking out of it ain't she?" Amethyst says

"THIS WASN'T SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN! THIS WASN'T SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN LIKE THIS! IT'S HER FAULT! SHE'S THE REASON THIS HAPPENED!" Magpie shrieked getting everyone's attention

"Who? WHO?!" Pearl says

"THAT MANNEQUIN WOMAN! SHE WOULD'VE GIVEN ME THE SHINIES IF I JUST HELD ONTO THAT BRAT AND MOVE HIM OUT OF GOTHAM!" Magpie rants

"WHO ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT CRAZY?!" Amethyst says

"THIS ISN'T FAIR! THIS ISN'T FAIR!" Magpie yells starting to cry

"CHECK UP THERE!" a police officer says from

"It's time to go!" Garnet says

"But we haven't learned anything!" Pearl says

"We learned enough." Batman says

"What?!" Amethyst asks

Just then the police ran up to the scaffolding guns aimed and ready. Before them was Magpie tied up and crying in hysterics. Below Gordon was overlooking the bizarre scene before him.

"What the hell am I looking at?" Bullock asks looking at the body of Grundy

"I don't know, but I want it loaded up and brought to the morgue." Gordon says

"We're probably gonna need a crane." Bullock says with a sigh

"Commissioner we caught Magpie." A police officer says holding the hysterical Magpie

"Get some cuffs on her and bring her to the station. She's up first for questioning." Gordon as Magpie gave no resistance mumbling to herself

"Doesn't look like we'll get any answers from her Jim. Geez I thought we were done with all these Crazies once the Joker croaked." Bullock says annoyed

"He's not dead Harvey, just missing. And we both know that this is just our new normal." Gordon says looking up seeing a shadow on the ceiling his eyes narrowing

The Batcave

"Sooooo, why would Batman need something like this in a city?" Steven asks looking up at something

"Says he needs to be prepared for anything. Part of me feels this is a little excessive, but another part of me thinks this is freaking awesome." Robin says looking up at the same thing

"You think he'll let your ride it?" Steven asks

"I really hope so." Robin says

Beep-Beep-Beep!

Robin's ears perked up upon hearing the beeping sound and he runs off. Steven was surprised and takes off after him running back up to the Computer where the beeping was coming from. On the screen was a bat symbol that was flashing.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Steven asks

"It means it's time to go. Batman and your friends must've finished whatever they were doing and now Batman is sending the Batmobile to pick you up." Robin explains just as the roar of an engine was heard

The two go to the lower level to see the Batmobile waiting. The side door automatically opens waiting for Steven to enter.

"Yeah I knew they could do it!" Steven said happily

"Well it was cool while it lasted. Guess it's time for you to go home with your magic ladies." Robin says

"Yeah… but hey this isn't goodbye. I'm sure we'll see each other again." Steven says

"Hopefully you won't be poisoned again when that happens." Robin says

"Heh heh, yeah." Steven says nervously there being a moment of silence

"I really want to thank you for what you've done for me tonight. This whole experience was… terrifying, but having you hear talking to me made it a lot less scary." Steven says appreciatively

"Oh well, don't mention it. I just-." Robin explains until Steven hugs him. Robin froze up but then relaxed and returned the hug

Steven broke the hug with a huff and marched up to the Batmobile jumping into the passenger seat. He got comfortable as the seatbelts locked in place keeping him stable. Robin walked up again but this time he was holding a blindfold.

"Sorry but we can't let ya see where we are ya know. After I put this on once you feel yourself going count to 20, once your done you can take it off." Robin says as Steven nods letting the hero blindfold him

"You know Batman is lucky to have a partner like you." Steven says

"And those gems are sure lucky to have you. I'm sure one day they'll give you your chance to show what your made of." Robin says

"I'm sure the same will happen for you Boy Wonder." Steven says smiling as the door closes

Robin steps a few feet back as the Batmobile turns around and takes off out of the cave. Robin waves as he watches the car drive off a peaceful smile on his face and letting out a sigh.

"He was a delightful young man, wish I could've had the chance to speak with him face to face." Alfred said walking up from behind

"Yeah he was… you think Bruce is gonna be angry about this whole thing?" Dick asks removing the domino mask

"If he is you leave Master Bruce to me." Alfred says ruffling Dick's hair

Gotham Alleyway

The gems stood atop a roof all looking incredibly impatient as Batman stood to the side scrolling through a small tablet in a deep focus. Pearl was pacing, Amethyst flipping a stone between her fingers, and Garnet meditating.

"He's here." Garnet says calmly out of her state

Pearl immediately jumped off the roof and down to the alley, the others following after her shortly. After a minute the Batmobile rolled into the alley and came to a rest, the door opened and Steven popped his head out. Before he could even get a word out he was swung into the embrace of the gems. All happy he was safe and sound Pearl crying promising she would never let anything like this happen again.. As the family reunited Batman walked up to them.

"Magpie is dealt with, but I need to ask you a question Steven, about your attacker." Batman asks

"I'm sorry it's a little fuzzy." Steven says

"Can't you give him a minute he's been through alot?" Amethyst asks annoyed

"Does a Mannequin woman mean anything to you?" Batman asks

"I-I think it does but… I can't put it together right now." Steven says holding his head

"He needs rest and security, we'll bring him back home." Garnet says

"Then we need to stay in contact. You can't call me, but I'll call you." Batman says as he reaches into his belt and pulls out a small black flip phone

"What's this?" Pearl asks

"Think of it as a signal." Batman says as he walks to the car

"Cool it has a little bat on it." Steven says looking at it

"Oh my stars it has a little bat on it." Pearl says in disbelief.

"WAIT, Mr. Batman sir." Steven says stopping Batman in his tracks

"I want to apologize for how I reacted earlier, you were trying to save me and I freaked out." Steven says

"Can't blame ya, the guy is terrifying. But it does have its advantages." Amethyst says with a grin

"You saved my life, you're a hero. You and your partner Robin." Steven says

"Partner?" Batman asks confused only for Steven to hug his leg

"Thank you so much. You're amazing." Steven says happily as Batman freezes from the contact but relaxes and pat's Steven's head

"Get home safe." Batman says as Steven lets go

He goes to the Batmobile, the gems giving him silent thanks. Pearl smiles, Amethyst waves, and Garnet nods, it sends a good feeling through him. He enters the Batmobile and it drives off into the dark streets.

"Sooooo, who the heck is Robin?" Pearl asks

"Oh man do I have a story for you guys!" Steven says excited

"Well we got a story for you as well." Garnet says as the family walks out of the alley and into the city

Elsewhere

"Tonight the infamous Criminal Magpie has been apprehended. Now identified as Margaret Pye, age 28, she is now being transported by police. People at the scene say they saw the Batman leaving the scene with 3 unknown persons. We will keep covering this and the Kings club attack as they unfold." A new reporter said before being shut off

In a dark room a woman sat at a lab table with an assortment of chemicals littered about. To one side there was a phone, to the other was what looked to be a plastic mask of part of a mouth, a nose, and cheek. An annoyed growl was heard as the phone rang and the person picked up.

"She failed."

"Well you wanted someone who was under the radar. Looks like Batman works under." The woman says

"She's a loose end."

"One that I can deal with easily." The woman says

"No, I have another job for you."

"What? You want me to grab the boy again?" She asks

"No. He'll be even more heavily guarded now after this. Your needed back in Africa, General Slaycroft needs his weapon completed. It's almost time for the final stage."

"Very well, I was eager to get back there anyway. What I have crafted will be the greatest the world has ever seen, a perfect killer, A Poison with no cure or protection. This will be my MASTERPIECE." The woman says grabbing the mask and putting it on her face as she laughs evily