FALCONE ESTATE
Carmine Falcone sat behind his desk smoking a cigar and watching a replay of The Joker's broadcast on television.
He smirked at The Joker's antics on television. He had no idea if the megalomaniac could actually defeat Batman but he certainly hoped so.
Batman had made it abundantly clear that he was going to be an ongoing thorn in his side based on the visit that the Dark Knight had paid him the previous night. He honestly didn't know what that visit had accomplished really. Batman had made only one statement during his brief visit and that was it. Perhaps he felt that his mere presence could intimidate a kingpin like Falcone.
He's sorely mistaken if he thinks a fool dressed like a bat could frighten me. Falcone thought smugly.
The clown on the other hand was another matter. The Joker appeared to be a valuable ally but if the tables were turned then the psychopath could prove to be very cumbersome. He was unpredictable whereas the Batman was predictable.
The antics he was pulling right now was a clear sign of his unpredictability. The Joker and his goons could hijack a news station but could not kill a simple man who no longer even had the police to back him up. Damian Kyle was still out there and that brash youth needed to be dealt with after storming into his home and making those insults. Even though his insults and accusations were true it still irritated Falcone immensely.
Falcone concluded that his own henchmen would handle Kyle and that the clown may need to be dealt with sooner rather than later. But first he'd allow the The Joker's antics against Batman to play out.
Ellen Yindel stormed into his office looking very irate. "Is this one of your bright ideas, dad? Unleashing that mad man?" She indicated to The Joker on the television.
Carmine smiled and snubbed his cigar out in the ash tray. "No, I didn't put him up to this one. I am curious to see how it all plays out though."
She folded her arms angrily and sat in the chair opposite him. "How is this stunt supposed to make Gotham City feel safer? We could have easily taken Joker and his goons down before they'd gotten two blocks from the News Station if you hadn't ordered us not to."
Falcone stood up and walked around to her. He knelt down and kissed her forehead. "My sweet daughter, you have my intentions mistaken. We don't want Gotham City to feel safe. We want them to be afraid. Fear is the basis for power. You see, if the people fear you then they will never oppose you."
She smiled up at her father. "Your wisdom never ceases to amaze me, dad. We will eventually have to take that mad dog you've unleashed off the street though."
Falcone nodded as he approached the large window and looked out at the night sky. "Of course we will. But first let the mad dog take care of Batman. It'll be like knocking out two birds with one stone."
"As you wish."
"Any word on Kyle's whereabouts yet?"
Yindel shook her head, "He dropped off the radar after Joker's goons failed to do the job. Maybe he got smart and left the city."
Falcone shook his head. "No, I doubt that. That young man is way to headstrong to leave the city. He'll resurface and then he'll be summarily eliminated. Perhaps I'll dispose of him the same way we did his mother. Nothing would be more poetic than the son following his mother into oblivion due to a drug overdose."
Yindel smiled. "It's a shame really. He was actually kind of cute."
AXIS CHEMICALS
The Joker was walking around in circles as he anxiously awaited Batman's arrival. He held a 9MM pistol and waved it at some of the hostages, taunting them and laughing while he did it. He had made the threat to kill one of them in one hours time at 11:00 on the dot and it was now 11:59. One minute to go.
He watched the clock on the wall as the minute slowly ticked by. Tick tock. Tick tock.
Ding Dong! Midnight struck and there was no sign of the Batman.
The Joker sighed as he chambered a round and mumbled. "Very disappointing, Bruce." He approached his first victim and pointed the gun at his head. "Batsy didn't show, so away you go. But first, would you like to hear a joke?"
Then he heard it.
It sounded like a tank outside speeding in his direction.
There were about thirty Jokerz gang members present and they started shuffling around nervously at the noise of the approaching vehicle.
Then with a crashing roar, what appeared to be a large black tank, crashed through the wall. The debris that sprayed from the decimated wall crashed onto several of his henchmen. Ten of them were knocked out cold and no longer of any use in the fight. The others effected by the crash limped away with only minor injuries.
The Joker's eyes lit up and he grinned excitedly. "Oh boy, what joy! Hell of an entrance!"
He surmised that the Batmobile had X-Ray technology seeing that Batman managed to crash into just the right spot to injure several of his goons without so much as harming a single hostage. Batman now had a more tactical advantage with so many henchmen already out of the fight.
The Joker laughed as he called out. "Come out and play, Batman!"
As if on command, the hatch to the large tank sprang open. Nobody came out.
The Joker motioned for some of his goons to approach the tank. They had their assault rifles raised at the ready and nervously did as they were told.
The tank made a loud whining sound and then emitted a blinding white light that temporarily blinded everyone in the room.
The Joker blinked and rubbed his eyes, trying to regain his vision. In his short interim of blindness he heard several of his goons start yelling in terror and screaming in agony. He soon could see again and saw that only five of his goons remained conscious. The others were scattered across the ground immobilized while some were dangling from wires hung from the roof.
The Joker chuckled. "Very impressive, Batman."
The remaining conscious goons looked around frantically. One heard a noise in the ceiling above and started shooting frantically.
The Joker angrily shot the trigger happy goon in the back. "I want him alive, you idiot."
Damn it, The Joker chastised himself silently. Now I'm down to only four henchmen.
"This ends tonight, Jason!" A gravelly voice called from somewhere above them.
The Joker shouted up at the ceiling, "Don't call me that! I'm not that weakling anymore! I'm The Joker!"
The voice chuckled mockingly. "I'll never call you that, Jason."
In a blink, Batman descended from above them and landed on top of one goon, knocking him unconscious. The next one bravely punched him in his armored chest and received a broken hand for his efforts. Batman smiled at the injured goon and then head butted him to the ground to contend with not just a broken hand but a broken nose as well.
The final two attacked him at once. He dodged one who was wielding a large knife and kicked him in the side of his leg, instantly breaking it while he caught the fist of the other in mid flight and drove his fist through the assailant's elbow, thus driving it to the wrong side of his arm. He then knocked that one out cold and then kicked the one with a broken nose and leg in the head thus leaving no other henchmen conscious.
The Joker clapped enthusiastically, "Just as impressive as ever."
Batman sighed. "Let the hostages go, Jason. This is between you and me now."
The Joker ejected the magazine from the pistol he held and discarded the weapon as he started circling his opponent. "Yes, it's just you and me now but seeing as you've taken out all of my men I now need an audience. Who better than my literal captive audience?"
Batman readied himself for the fight to come. "I failed you Jason and I'm truly sorry for that but that doesn't give you the excuse to do all of the horrible things that you've done."
"I told you already," The Joker sneered. "Stop calling me that!"
He came at Batman full force and started swinging. He landed several punches in the weak points of his armor until Batman caught one of his punches and attempted to head butt him. The Joker evaded the assault and slammed his elbow into the side of Batman's head as hard as he could. Even with his mask on, Batman felt that blow and staggered back.
The Joker did not hesitate as he drove his purple pocket knife into Batman's side as he tackled him to the ground. He pinned him to the ground and repeatedly punched him in the face until Batman managed to wrap his legs around The Joker's waist and pulled him into a bear hug and squeezed tightly.
The Joker winced under the strain as breath refused to escape his lungs. He almost blacked out until he remembered a move that Batman had taught him long ago. He took both of his palms and slammed them against the side of Batman's head with as much force as he could muster.
Batman grabbed his head in agony as The Joker stumbled away, trying to catch his breath.
"You almost got me, old man." The Joker gasped between breaths. He picked up the discarded gun and placed the magazine back inside the magazine well.
Batman slowly got back to his feet. The part of his face visible beneath his mask was a bloody mess. He pulled the knife from his side to reveal a bloody blade.
He threw the knife aside and glared at his opponent. "Done already, kid? I thought we were just getting started?"
The Joker shrugged. "I just needed to weaken you down, Bruce."
"You needed to weaken me just so you could shoot me?" Batman asked as he limped toward his foe. He looked down at his side and saw that it was bleeding pretty bad. "You could have just shot me from the beginning."
The Joker shook his head. "No. Shooting you is not part of the plan. Killing you would be too merciful."
"Then what is your plan? Do you even have one?"
The Joker snickered as he held up an injection needle with a clear substance inside the tube. "You're going to inject this into your neck."
"Why would I do that?" Batman asked mockingly.
The Joker pointed the gun at the initial hostage he was originally going to kill before Batman arrived and shot him in the chest.
"NO!" Batman shouted in fury as he watched the man fall to the ground dead..
The Joker laughed maniacally at the horrific look on Batman's face. "That look right there on your face is far better than any blow I landed on you in our brief fight. Please keep refusing to take the injection so that I can watch you suffer as I end each and everyone of their miserable lives!"
Batman glared at him in seething anger. "Give me the injection."
"Ahhh, you're no fun, Batman!" The Joker pouted as he slid the injection across the floor at Batman's feet.
Batman slowly picked up the injection and carefully inspected it. "What's this supposed to do?"
"It's just gonna put you down for a little nap, is all."
Batman immediately drove the needle into his own neck and injected the clear liquid into his system. It worked almost instantly as the room started to spin around him and his vision became blurry. He then fell to knees and looked up at the blurred image of The Joker who was laughing victoriously.
Then everything went black.
Damian Kyle had gotten there too late. He had borrowed one of Bruce's cars and raced to help his father face off against The Joker and his goons.
By the time he'd gotten there, he saw men in white uniforms loading Batman's unconscious form into the back of a white van with the words ARKHAM embroidered on the side. Then he saw the clown fiend exit Axis Chemicals and climb into the back of the van with Batman.
Damian punched the steering wheel angrily and thought about how he could rescue his father by himself. Before he could think of a solution, the white van started pulling away from the old building.
He now had no choice but to follow the van to its destination. He grabbed a .38 revolver out of his coat pocket and checked that it had all six rounds. That was all he had so he'd have to make it count.
He put the car in gear and followed the van at a safe distance.