THE BATCAVE

"Don't do it, buddy!"

The Joker hovered over Bruce Wayne's shoulder as he applied the correct amount of serum into the syringe to counteract the effects of the hallucinogenic that he'd been exposed to. He was still wearing his batsuit except for his cowl which was lying atop the desk beside him.

"You can't get rid of me," The Joker implored. "Not after we've just so recently found one another again."

"I know now why you're the one I'm hallucinating about, Napier." Bruce addressed the figment that had once been his greatest enemy. "You were the first."

"First what?" The Joker asked.

"You were my first failure that has haunted me all of these long years." Bruce explained.

"Failure?" The Joker laughed loudly. "Look at me, Batman! I'm a success. A genuine work of art. All thanks to you."

"No, Jack." Bruce disagreed with him. "You're a dead rotting corpse in some unnamed plot in a cemetery. That's my fault. You were a sick deranged man who needed help. You hurt and killed people and that made you a villain but I should have done more to help you. I was filled with rage and a need for revenge because you killed my parents but I should have tried harder to save you.

"Justice is acquired through the system of the law and one day perhaps rehabilitation could be attained through that system. I acted as judge, jury, and executioner and never realized until this hallucinogenic got into my system that I'd been feeling guilty about your death all these years."

The Joker shrugged. "We were at war with one another, Bats. I tried to kill you but you killed me first. Congratulations."

Bruce shook his head. "No, I could have done it another way. I know that now. You would have gotten away that night on that helicopter and me and Vicki would have survived anyway. I could have caught you and brought you to justice another day. My anger and thirst for revenge was what made me use my grapple gun to anchor you to that gargoyle which in turn made you fall to your death."

The Joker became serious. "I liked the Batman you were back then better. This revelation of the heart and soul you're experiencing is disappointing me. What brought this new found theory of yours on, anyway?"

Bruce sighed. "It became apparent to me when Derek Powers genuinely thought I was going to kill him back at Wayne Enterprises. He saw me as a murderer and he was right. This drug enhances a person's fears and failures. My greatest fear is that I'm no better than you and that I am nothing more than a glory seeking murderer."

"Oh, for God's sake!" exclaimed the Joker. "So you let me fall to my death. Boo hoo hoo. Let it go already."

"You weren't the last victim of the Batman's, Napier." Bruce said. "Their was another. Oswald Cobblepot aka The Penguin. He too fell victim to the Batman. The longer this hallucinogenic is in my system the more of my past failures I see. "

He stared across the Batcave and standing in the distance was indeed the Penguin. He was wearing a suit with his top hat on his head and an umbrella in his hand. He waved at Bruce from across the Batcave. Emerging next to him were several of his own henchmen that had died because of the Batman. Some of the Joker's henchmen also came into focus.

The most painful of the hallucinations then emerged from the darkness. It was his mother and father looking at him in sadness and disappointment. He knew that their deaths were not his fault but he still blamed himself all the same and would continue doing so until the day he died.

The Joker glanced in the direction of where the haunted Bruce Wayne was staring. Tears formed in Bruce's eyes and soon began falling down his cheeks.

"I don't see anything," The Joker said.

"That's because they're not real," Bruce explained. "Just like you're not real."

He then injected the syringe into his neck.

The Joker lashed out angrily, "You'll never be rid of me, you son of a b..."

And just like that, The Joker disappeared along with all of the others that had materialized within the cave.

Bruce sighed wearily and nodded at the last statement that the Joker had made. "I know, Jack."

His cell phone then rang. He saw that the number belonged to one of the board members that were most loyal to him. It was a man named Robert Kane.

Bruce cleared his mind and wiped the tears from his eyes as he answered. "Hello."

Robert noticed from on the other line that Bruce's voice didn't sound quite right. "Is everything okay, Mr. Wayne?"

"It is now," Bruce assured. "Just had to come to terms with a few things that have recently come to light."

"Would one of those things happen to be Derek Powers?" Robert asked.

"It is indeed," Bruce stated. "What do you know?"

"I know that he had made a power play against you to the board of directors. He even said that you assaulted him and that you were mentally ill." He then chuckled, "I also know that he just packed his bags and fled the city with his tail tucked between legs."

Bruce smiled and couldn't help but chuckle himself. "Please assure the board that my mental capacity is just fine and that Derek was the one who tried assaulting me."

"I'll do that, Mr. Wayne." Robert assured. "I'm not going to lie to you, their are a lot of things needing to be set right at Wayne Enterprises."

"I know," Bruce agreed. "Start with firing an employee by the name of Jonathon Crane."

"Gladly, sir." The approval in Robert's voice was evident. "Anything else?"

"Set a board meeting for Friday morning," Bruce said. "Wayne Enterprises is going to get back to doing what it was designed for and we're going to weed out anybody on the board that doesn't share that same vision."

"It will be done," Robert assured.

"Goodbye, Bob." Bruce then hung up the phone.

AXIS CHEMICALS

The members of what was once called the Mutant Gang were assembled at Axis Chemicals and had been strongly debating what their next course of action was. Some were still dressed in the customary attire of a Mutant Gang member while others had changed completely.

One of the members, who had changed their Mutant Gang appearance and shaved their mohawk completely off, spoke up, "Perhaps we should just disband as Batman said do. Go back to who we were before this."

One of the female members who was still dressed as a Mutant with an orange mohawk sneered. "I say to hell with that! We are the Mutants! Batman is still just a man underneath that costume. He can be beaten!"

Another one shook their head, "Did you see what he did to Killer Croc? No ordinary man could do that."

Garret Hodges, better known as Hodge, had enough of the debate and stepped forward. His appearance had changed drastically. He had shaved his mohawk and on his left arm was a bright tattoo of Batman's emblem.

"You are all idiots!" He declared. "It's obvious what we should be."

They all looked at him curiously. He had remained silent since they'd all gathered there, which was quite a feat for Hodge because he generally never shut up. With their attention fixed on him, he continued:

"We should become the Batman Gang! Bring justice to the streets instead of chaos. He defeated our former leader so we should change our ways to Batman's ways. We should kill the criminals of Gotham!"

"Batman doesn't go around killing people!" One of them proclaimed.

Hodge looked at the speaker as if he were an idiot. "Catch up on your history, dumb ass. Batman's killed plenty."

"Name one person."

Hodge sighed. "The Joker, for one."

An uproarious laughter erupted throughout all of Axis Chemicals. The gathered crowd looked around frantically.

"Show yourself!" Hodge shouted.

The laughing continued as the Joker came into view. He was clad in his purple suit and wore a purple hat identical to the original Joker's hat from year's past.

"How can The Joker be dead when I'm right here?"

Hodge stared at him incredulously for a long moment and then burst out laughing. "You're not the Joker!"

The Joker approached Hodge and with a serious expression and asked, "Why are you laughing? I haven't made a joke yet."

"You're the joke, dude." Hodge said. "Why don't you run off before the Batman Gang slices and dices your clown ass. I couldn't think of a better way to begin this gang than by offing a Joker wannabe."

"Fair enough," the Joker said. "But before I go, would you like to hear a joke?"

Hodge chuckled. "Sure, freakshow. Tell us your joke."

The Joker cleared his throat dramatically and made his joke. "Why did the buzzard cross the road?"

Hodge stared at him incredulously. "Seriously!? That's your big joke. A buzzard crossing the road?"

The Joker nodded, "Thats right. So? Do you know why the buzzard crossed the road."

Hodge crossed his eyes. "Duh! To get to the other side, of course."

The Joker shook his head, "Nope."

Hodge was growing impatient. "Okay, why did the buzzard cross the road?"

The Joker smiled maliciously, "To peck out the eyes of your dead carcass."

Hodge asked curiously, "Huh?"

The Joker immediately brought out a purple colored pocket knife and stabbed Hodge repeatedly in the chest. Hodge gasped in shock and pain as he fell to the ground.

The Joker stared down at Hodge as he drew his last breath and then burst out laughing hysterically:

"Now tell me that wasn't funny! Hahaha!"

The crowd of former mutant's squirmed nervously and a few of them awkwardly chuckled. The Joker knelt down and cleaned his bloody knife off on Hodge's shirt. Once it was clean he stood back up and put the pocket knife away.

"I'm here to offer all of you the chance to be a part something really special. You all have the privilege of being part of The Joker Gang. Basically you'll do what you did before. Run around causing chaos and killing people but you'll do it dressed in clown masks."

Everyone remained silent.

"Come on," The Joker said. "Get excited! Being The Joker Gang will be way more fun than being The Batman Gang or the Mutant Gang."

"What if we don't want to be part of your gang?" One of the former Mutant's asked.

The Joker sighed and looked down at Hodge's dead body before looking back up. "Then I'll let you leave, of course. But before you leave I'll feel compelled to tell you a joke."

The Joker then laughed sadistically as if he'd made the funniest joke in the world.

THE BATCAVE

Bruce Wayne had spent his entire day in the Batcave after having slept for several hours, allowing the cure to the hallucinogenic to fully take effect. He'd tinkered with the Batmobile for a large part of it after he'd awoken. The large black tank sized vehicle had developed several mechanical issues since it hadn't been driven in the past decade. He hadn't been able to use it when he'd resurfaced as Batman that first night because of those issues and he very much wanted to rectify that problem. It was about the only thing he felt that he could successfully fix at the present moment.

He now sat contemplative at his workstation, staring at the large computer screen with a profile of a younger looking Carmine Falcone. The old man had him reeling from what he'd told him the previous day at the hospital. He had to be lying about being connected to his father. To appease his troubled mind he had went through everything he had on Falcone and to his satisfaction he had found nothing that included the name Thomas Wayne and Carmine Falcone.

Falcone's crime record went back fifty years. He and Carl Grissom had become best friends while serving a short stint in prison together and after getting out, they had started their own gang back in 1962. After several years of leading the gang together they eventually had a falling out. Grissom's crime syndicate had prospered far better than Falcone's had until he had been murdered by Jack Napier aka The Joker in 1989.

He cringed at the thought of Jack Napier. He grabbed the file of Napier on the desk and stared at the man's picture for a long time. He could see the resemblance between Jack Napier and Jason Todd. The facts were there and couldn't be denied. The DNA was an undisputed match. Jason Todd was his son.

How ironic was it that I'd adopt the son of my greatest nemesis. He thought bitterly.

"What happened to Jason Todd?"

He jumped at the approach of Vicki Vale. "Jesus, Vicki!"

She smiled sheepishly. "Sorry. Journalistic ninja skills."

Bruce chuckled, "I'll say. You rival my ninja skills."

"Sorry for sneaking up on you, Bruce. I just wanted to check on you. Make sure you were okay after yesterday. Did you find the cure for the Joker hallucinations?"

Bruce nodded. "I did and I'm fine, Vicki. Back to normal."

She smirked at the last statement he made.

He rolled his eyes at her. "Okay, I'm back to my semblance of normal."

She laughed at that and the sweetness of her laugh and the beauty she still imbued caused him to spring from his chair and start kissing her passionately. She kissed him back and for several moments it was nothing but the two of them as they rekindled a flame that had been benign for thirty years.

After the moment passed, Vicki looked up into his eyes and asked. "Will you tell me about Jason now? I can see the scars of having lost him and the toll that it's taken on you."

"Scars?"

"The scars are in your eyes," she said. "Every time the name Jason Todd is mentioned, your eyes become haunted. Please tell me."

Bruce sighed and closed his eyes. He began:

"When I found Jason he was just a fourteen year old street orphan. I caught the kid red handed trying to steal the wheels right off the Batmobile.

"Jason's mother, Maria Todd, was a junky prostitute and had recently overdosed, leaving him with no other living relative. He hadn't stayed in the orphanage long before escaping and living on the streets for the better part of a year.

"I took pity on the boy and in the blink of an eye I'd adopted him and taken him in as my ward. I felt that had I not had Alfred when my parent's had been murdered then I could have very well ended up just like him.

"Jason was a nosey young man and eventually discovered my secret identity as Batman and was persistent in wanting to join in on my crusade. The kid had been a natural protege and learned everything with a quickness. He was extremely smart and excelled at everything. He became Robin and together the two of us had been unstoppable. I had taken so much pride in him. The pride of a father.

"As Jason grew older though, he became more erratic. He became angry and stopped taking my advise. He began relishing in the violence that we enacted on the criminals and eventually his zeal had resulted in the death of an innocent person. I had to kick him off the team.

"He eventually took on the identity of the Red Hood and began brutally murdering criminals. I had to stop him. I managed to barely beat him but afterwards his mind had broken. He felt betrayed by me and became catatonic.

"I had to place him in Arkham Asylum and for so many years I hoped that he'd come back to me. I had hoped his fractured mind could be cured like Harvey Dent, Jr.'s had been."

Bruce was silent for a long moment as he fought back tears. "Instead, that deranged maniac Hugo Strange broke him even more. Broke him to the point that now my boy thinks he's the goddamned Joker!"

Vicki hugged him tightly after that and Bruce no longer fought the tears. They fell freely down his cheeks.

She looked earnestly into his eyes. "Bruce, I want you to listen to me very carefully. I know how you like beating yourself up and blaming yourself for everything. Even for the death of your parents.

"What happened to Jason Todd is not your fault. Do you hear me? None of it was."

Bruce smiled and caressed her cheeks. "Thank you for coming back to me, Vicki. I love you. I always have."

She smiled and kissed him passionately once again.

After their kiss, Bruce sat back in the chair and placed Vicki in his lap. "I feel like fate may be giving me a second chance."

"With us?" Vicki asked.

Bruce nodded. "Yes that, but also with my failure as a father."

Vicki sighed. "Bruce, you have to accept the very real possibility that Jason Todd is gone and all that may be left is The Joker."

"I'm not talking about Jason. I recently found out that I have a son."

"What!?" She asked incredulously.

Bruce nodded. "Damian Kyle. He's Selina Kyle's son. Our son."

Vicki bolted up from his lap and blurted, "You had a kid with that crazy Cat Chick!?"

Bruce rolled his eyes, "Catwoman and yes. He told me a few days ago."

Vicki was flabbergasted as she tried comprehending this new revelation. "That cop at the hospital. Officer Kyle. Holy Crap! He actually does kinda resemble you." Her cellphone buzzed then and she glanced at it. Her face took on an infuriated expression.

"What?" Bruce asked.

She looked back up to him. "We have a new Mayor."

He moved over to the computer console and changed it over to the Gotham City News site. A live video was playing with an immaculately dressed Carmine Falcone in a grey pinstripe suit giving his acceptance speech.

"It is with great remorse that I accept being Mayor of Gotham City. Tragedy after tragedy has struck our city within the past week. Criminals and vigilantes have been running rampant within our fair city. It is time we take this city back. My first act as your new Mayor is to outlaw vigilante justice. I have just tasked Commissioner Ellen Yindel with assembling a special Task Force with taking down the Batman once and for all."

Bruce clicked the screen off angrily.

Vicki looked at him worried. "What are you gonna do?"

Bruce looked across the Batcave where his Batsuit was waiting. "I'm gonna have a chat with our new Mayor."

FALCONE ESTATE

Carmine Falcone walked smugly into his office just after midnight. He took off his jacket and walked over to the counter where a bottle of bourbon sat waiting. He poured a glass and took a long reflective gulp of the beverage.

"Enjoy it while it lasts, Falcone."

Without turning around, Falcone smiled, "I figured I'd be seeing you before long...Batman."

He turned around to see Batman standing just inside an open window. The wind blew the dark curtains behind him, blending into his grey suit and black cape, giving him an almost phantom like appearance.

"Would you like a drink?" Falcone offered.

Batman remained silent while glaring at him.

Falcone sighed and brought out a cigar from his coat pocket. "Are you going to say anything or just stand there ominously by the window?"

Batman remained silent.

Falcone lit his cigar with a match and took a long drag, "I'm going to make you this one time offer, Batman. Go back into retirement. I have a city to run and don't have time for the likes of you. I can finely truly mold this godforsaken city into my own image and my image does not include any Caped Crusaders lurking about with an insatiable savior complex."

Batman still remained silent.

Falcone shook his head and placed his cigar between his teeth as he went to his desk and grabbed a check book. He began writing down a sum. "How bout a generous amount of money to enjoy your retirement with."

When he looked back toward the window, the room was empty. The wind still blew the curtains of the window where Batman had been standing.

Falcone sighed as he took his cigar from his mouth and placed it in the ash tray. "Insufferable fool."

A DARK PLACE

He didn't know where he was!

Harvey Dent, Jr. felt like he'd been running for days. He was on a long dark road. Nothing but darkness surrounded him. Something was chasing him. He knew what it was.

The darkness grew darker as it approached him. No matter how fast he ran, it seemed to always catch up to him.

He yelled into the darkness. "STAY AWAY FROM ME!"

"Harvey," the darkness spoke to him. "Stop running from me. It's time."

"Time for what?" Harvey asked frightened.

"Time for us to be together. To be one. You turned your back on me long ago but now it's time to come back together. No more dual identities. No more just Harvey Dent and no more just Face. Together as one we shall become Two-Face!"

The darkness then enveloped him completely and he screamed.

GOTHAM GENERAL HOSPITAL

He woke up screaming in the Gotham General Hospital. He was in a hospital bed with several tubes connected to him. The pain he felt in his face was unlike anything he had ever felt in his entire life.

He brought his hand to his face to feel that it was completely covered in bandage wrap.

He disconnected the tubes and bolted from the bed and ran to a mirror across the room. He frantically unravelled the wrap and once he saw the face beneath it, he screamed hysterically.

The right side of his face was the same handsome face he'd taken pride in for all his life while the other side was irrevocably disfigured. It was burned to a black and red crisp.

He smashed the mirror as the doctors ran into the room. They tried to subdue him and he fought them off. He head butted one doctor and slashed another one across the face with a piece of the broken mirror.

"Mr. Dent, please calm down!" One doctor tried to calm him down.

"Don't call me that!" He growled. "Harvey Dent, Jr. is dead! I am Two-Face!"

A security guard entered the room just as Two-Face tried attacking another doctor. The guard took out his tazer gun and tazed Two-Face until he was lying, writhing on the ground.