FALCONE ESTATE
Gotham City was his at long last.
Carmine Falcone stood staring out of his window, feeling nostalgic as he took an occasional drag from his cigar. He was now Mayor and he'd just received word that The Joker had been successful in defeating Batman. His beloved daughter was the Commissioner and their was literally nothing else left out there to stand in his way.
He'd worked all of his life to get where he was now and it had been a long journey but finally he had won and gotten everything that was owed to him. He reflected upon the years and the many hurdles that he had to go through to get into his current position.
It began back when he and Carl Grissom had become best friends while in prison and once they'd gotten out, they had started their own crime organization in 1962. Before long, they had begun to prosper as the opposition at the time had started to fear them. They were ruthless and had ruthless men working for them. They had helped popular socialites get into positions of wealth back then which thus put them in positions of wealth. Wayne Enterprises was founded because of their involvement in 1963 and nothing could touch them. The cops had been paid off, as well as all of the popular politicians at the time.
Unfortunately though, with power came greed and he and Grissom had started coming into conflict. That conflict had boiled to it's breaking point in 1968 when he'd made a drastic move that hadn't been sanctioned by Grissom.
That pompous and arrogant Thomas Wayne had shut them out of all dealings with Wayne Enterprises which didn't sit well with him at all. Grissom had said to let it go and that they didn't need the company, but who was he to tell Carmine Falcone what to pursue and not pursue. After trying to get Wayne to see reason had failed, he'd had one of their most ruthless goons, Jack Napier, take the insufferable man out of the equation.
Carl Grissom had been furious and cut all ties with him. He argued that killing a man of Thomas Wayne's repute had caused too much attention. Some of the men sided with Falcone but most of them stayed with Grissom, including Jack Napier, who up until the split had been one of Falcone's strongest supporters. Falcone had to pretty much start back over from scratch while Grissom's organization continued to flourish.
They went to war in the 1970's and he'd suffered even more losses. Many people on both sides had been killed but he ultimately lost against Grissom. They eventually brokered a peace and Grissom said that the only reason he didn't off him then was because of the close friendship that they had shared back in the day. Everybody eventually forgot the name of Carmine Falcone.
Then in 1989, Jack Napier had taken on a drastic change and as The Joker, had killed Grissom and taken over his organization. The Batman had proven very useful back then and took The Joker down, thus leaving the criminal organization without a leader.
Carmine Falcone stepped in at that point and had quickly risen back to the top. He'd had a couple of run ins with The Dark Knight throughout the years, but the vigilante had been more concerned with taking down the freaks that kept popping up all over the place rather than dealing with organized crime.
The years that followed continued to be prosperous and then when Batman disappeared 2004, he ascended higher than ever before until he now stood there in his large house as the Mayor of Gotham City.
His victorious reverie was interrupted by gunshots coming from downstairs and the sound of his men shouting. Falcone tossed his half smoked cigar out the window and grabbed a revolver out of his desk.
Who has the audacity to come into my home and try to off me? He wondered furiously as he cracked open the door and peeked out.
His bodyguard at the door was lying on the ground and groaning in pain from a gunshot wound to the stomach. He sighed and put another bullet in him to finish his suffering. He looked over the balcony and saw several of his other guards scattered around, either dead or dying.
He sighed in exasperation, Good help really is hard to find.
Perhaps he had been too arrogant in not hiring a larger protective detail but he honestly thought that all his opposition had been taken care.
Who is left that would dare challenge me?
He didn't see the aggressors anywhere around. He saw a couple of discarded semi automatics lying beside his dead bodyguards but didn't see the person or persons who had wielded them. He concluded that he'd best call the police before the aggressors found him.
He stormed back into his office and as the door shut behind him, he saw something move out of the corner of his eye and before he knew it, he felt a sharp pain in the back of his skull and he fell to the floor.
He didn't completely lose consciousness but the hit to the head really hurt. He blinked several times to clear his head and then he saw his aggressor. It had been only one man who had caused all that chaos.
The man who stood before him was none other than Harvey Dent, Jr. He had not gotten a good look at him when he'd visited the hospital but he got a good look now.
The one side of his face looked just as it always had, except now it displayed a look of severe rage verging on the point of maniacal. The other side of his face was another matter entirely. It was burnt to a christened black with veiny red streaks throughout it and the bulbous eyeball was large and bloodshot as it no longer had any eyelids. He wore an immaculate suit where one side was colored white which conveniently was the side where his face was not marred and the other side was a dark black to match the grotesque side of his face. His tie also matched either side of the suit, respectively.
Standing before him was not Harvey Dent, Jr. It was Two-Face!
Two-Face had retrieved Falcone's revolver and was now pointing it at him. "Remember me, Falcone?"
Falcone had to use the desk for support as he slowly climbed back to his feet. "You've seen better days."
Two-Face knocked him across the desk and shouted, "You did this to me! You should have finished the job."
Falcone spat blood from his mouth as he again struggled back to his feet. "Granted, I didn't shed a tear when you had your unfortunate accident but I seem to recall a certain clown had been involved with your misfortunes."
"I know you put The Joker up to it, Falcone!"
"What makes you think that?"
"Because he told me so," Two-Face answered. "He told me just before setting me free so that I could come here and kill you."
Falcone shook his head. "You poor lad. Look how far you have fallen. A week ago you were a good man of outstanding morals and now look at you. You're a cold blooded murderer. You'd really kill an old man in his own home?"
Two-Face smiled, or rather the unscathed side of his face smiled. "Just as easily as you'd killed my father in his home."
"That was Killer Croc!" Falcone shouted.
Falcone was beginning to see the futility of his current predicament and he didn't like it. He thought he'd covered every angle and was nigh unbeatable but he'd underestimated the younger Dent and apparently he'd underestimated that treacherous clown also. The Joker had clearly put all of this into motion.
"For once in your life own up to your crimes, Falcone!" Two-Face shouted. "You may have not done the deed personally but it was done on your orders."
Falcone fumbled into his coat pocket for a cigar and stuck it into his mouth. Two-Face shot the cigar out of his mouth with the revolver. Falcone screamed as he felt the gunpowder from the shot singe his face.
"Confess!" Two-Face shouted.
Falcone held up his arms. "Alright, damn it! If I confess, will you let me live?"
Two-Face held up his dollar coin, facing on the heads side. "There is a chance that I'll let you live." He then reversed it to the tails side. "There is also a chance that I won't let you live."
Falcone rubbed his temples in exasperation. "You're insane."
Two-Face chuckled. "Only half insane, Falcone. Will you confess or not?"
"Okay, I did it!" Falcone confessed.
"Did what?" Two-Face asked smugly.
"All of it!" Falcone shouted, overwhelmed by the whole situation. "I had Killer Croc murder your father and your mother happened to become collateral damage from the situation also. I then had The Joker blow you up in the hopes that it'd kill you too. Every rotten thing that has happened behind the scenes was designed by me.
"Hell, I've been having people killed as far back as I can remember. I had the Wayne's murdered in '68. I've also killed people with my bare hands. I've lost count of the many people I've had killed throughout the years. I even killed my own daughter. I injected an overdose of drugs into her system and watched her as she drew her last breath. Are these the things that you wish to hear!?"
Two-Face looked at him with an incredulous cold stare. "You don't deserve to live, Falcone. I'll give you a fair chance though." He flipped the coin high into the air and then caught it. The coin landed on heads.
Falcone sighed with relief. "See there. Fate doesn't want me dead, after all."
Two-Face looked at him curiously. "What? We're not done yet. I flipped it for just one of your crimes. That was for trying to kill me. Now I'm going to flip it for my parents."
He flipped the coin. It again landed on heads.
"You're a lucky man so far," Two-Face said. "I was sure that would've landed on tails. Let's try flipping for the sake of your dead daughter."
He flipped the coin again and again it landed on heads.
"Stop this farce!" Falcone shouted in panic.
"Calm down, Carmine." Two-Face warned. "I wouldn't want you to die from a heart attack before I've had the chance to kill you myself. Besides, you started this farce. You started all of it. Let's go back to one of your earlier crimes. Let's flip for the lives of Thomas and Martha Wayne."
He flipped the coin once again and that time it landed on tails.
Two-Face smiled menacingly. "Well, how about that. Finally, justice has given us an answer." He aimed the revolver at Falcone's chest. "Goodbye, Falcone. I promise you that nobody will miss you."
Falcone smiled. "Don't be so sure about that."
Two-Face stared at him curiously. "Who would miss a scumbag like you?"
"Me!"
Two-Face felt the muzzle of gun being pressed to the side of his head.
Falcone laughed mockingly. "Yes, I may have killed the one daughter but it turns out that I have another one that is far more deserving of my affections. Meet Commissioner Ellen Yindel."
Two-Face glanced to his side to see that it was who Falcone claimed it was. He glared furiously at her, "I presume the apple doesn't fall to far from the tree?"
Yindel gave him a smug smile. "I guess not. I helped my old man with disposing of my sister. Granted, I didn't realize she was my sister at the time." She glared at her father with that last statement. "Now, I'm going to dispose of you myself."
"Don't even think about it, you cold hearted bitch!"
They all turned around to see Damian Kyle standing in the doorway with his revolver pointed at Yindel's head. It was evident by his expression that he had heard her last statement.
"So, you're just as guilty as Falcone is. You helped him kill my mother?"
Yindel sighed. "She threatened my father, Kyle. What else was I supposed to do? What would you do to protect your father?"
"Definitely not murder somebody," Damian sneered. "Besides, my father is a hero. Not a masochistic monster like yours."
As if on cue, Batman crashed through one of the windows in the office. Everyone turned to stare at the caped crusader in awe.
Batman looked somewhat weakened from the recent events of the night but his resolve was not in question. He glared daggers at both Falcone and his daughter.
Falcone chuckled, trying to make light of the situation. "If I'd known I was going to have this many visitors this late at night, I would have brought out snacks."
"Justice has come for you tonight, Falcone." Batman declared. "Your sins have finally caught up to you and it has bled out into your daughter also."
Falcone snickered as he addressed his daughter. "We seem to be out numbered here, Ellie."
Yindel smiled. "Don't worry, Dad. I have back up en route as we speak. They'll arrest the vigilante, the psychotic man with half a face, and the young idiot behind me who has aided and abetted this vigilante."
Batman smiled as he held up a recorder in his hand, "Perhaps they'll be more concerned with the confessions from both you and your father, instead of us."
Falcone chuckled. "You're bluffing, Batman."
"Am I?" Batman asked. "Why do you think I visited you the other night. It wasn't because I wanted to chat. I bugged your office. Everything that's been spoken in this room since then is on this recorder."
He flicked a button and Falcone's voice was heard on the recorder: "I had Killer Croc murder your father and your mother happened to become collateral damage from the situation also. I then had The Joker blow you up also in the hopes that it'd kill you too. Every rotten thing that has happened behind the scenes was designed by me."
He hit the fast forward button and Ellen Yindel's voice was heard next: "I helped my old man with disposing of my sister. Granted, I didn't realize she was my sister at the time."
Both Falcone and Yindel were left speechless as Batman had just proven to them that he hadn't been bluffing.
Batman looked at Two-Face with sympathy. "We've got them, Harvey. They'll go to prison for the rest of their lives. We'll get you the help that you need. You have my word on that."
"Not good enough!" Two-Face sneered. "Falcone doesn't deserve to live after what he's done!"
"No, he doesn't." Batman agreed. "But it's not our place to be judge, jury, and executioner. You know this better than anyone. You're a District Attorney."
"No, I'm Two-Face!"
Many things happened at once after his outburst.
Two-Face was about to pull the trigger when one of Falcone's goons turned out to be alive and crashed into Damian. They both fell to the floor.
Yindel abruptly turned and shot Batman in the abdomen. The force of the shot knocked him to the ground hard.
And with Two-Face temporarily distracted, Falcone tackled him to the ground, causing the revolver to slide across the floor.
Falcone head butted Two-Face several times in the face until he was barely conscious and then he placed his hands across Two-Face's throat and started strangling him. "I'll end you once and for all, you freak!"
Damian struggled with the bodyguard until he managed to get his arms around his neck and choked him until he lost consciousness. He then stood up and tackled Falcone before he managed to finish strangling Two-Face.
Yindel retrieved the recorder from Batman's side and then looked up to see Two-Face get back onto his feet. He grabbed the dropped revolver and pointed the gun toward the struggling Damian and Falcone. She pointed her weapon at Two-Face and pulled the hammer back as she was about to pull the trigger.
She didn't notice Batman as he rose back to his feet behind her. He knocked her upside the head and she fell down to the ground unconscious. He retrieved the recorder again and placed his other hand to his abdomen. The armor had taken the brunt of the shot but it still hurt like hell. Not to mention, he was still in great pain from the stab wound he had sustained from the Joker, earlier that night.
"Move out of the way!" Two-Face ordered Damian, who had gotten the better of Falcone during their brief struggle.
Damian slowly stood up, placing himself between Falcone and Two-Face's revolver. "You're better than this, Harvey. Let the law deal with him. He deserves to suffer through his final years in prison."
Two-Face cocked the weapon. "You're a good person, kid but if you don't move, I will shoot you to get to him."
Batman stepped forward. "Aren't you forgetting something, Harvey? You haven't flipped your coin yet to decide his fate."
Two-Face glance toward him. "Yes, I did. It landed on tails when I judged him for the deaths of the Waynes."
"Not Falcone," Batman said. "Damian won't move which means you'll have to shoot him. You can't do that without the coin deciding whether or not he deserves it."
Two-Face hesitated as he contemplated Batman's words. "Please move out of the way!" He implored to Damian.
Damian shook his head. "I can't do that. If I let you kill this man then I'm just as guilty as you are."
Two-Face growled as he fumbled through his pocket in search of the coin.
Batman held the coin up. "You dropped it during the struggle."
Two-Face's eyes widened. "Give it to me!"
Batman flicked the coin toward the shattered window.
"NO!"
Two-Face frantically ran toward the window and jumped through it in a vain effort to retrieve his discarded coin.
Batman was there in a flash and grasped Two-Face by the legs before he completely fell down to the ground far below. The coin was long gone by that point.
"Let me go!" Two-Face shouted up at him.
"Never." Batman said. "You're going to get the help you need."
"There is no redemption for me!" Two-Face argued. "I've already murdered dozens of people tonight. Let. Me. Go."
While Batman struggled to hold onto Two-Face's legs, Carmine Falcone had managed to get back on his feet. He tried sneaking out of the office door, only to be pulled back inside by Damian.
"Where do you think you're going?" Damian asked.
He then punched the old man with every bit of strength he could muster. Falcone flew across the room and landed flat onto his back. He was completely rendered unconscious.
Batman continued to struggle to hold onto Two-Face's legs. "I can't let you go, Harvey. I already failed your father. I can't fail you too. Please stop fighting me."
Two-Face looked up at Batman with tears in his eyes. "It's okay, Batman. I've accepted my fate." He smiled encouragingly. "You can let go now."
Batman started losing his grip on Two-Face's legs. He struggled with all of his might but after everything that he'd gone through that night, he hardly had any strength left in him.
At the last instance, Damian was by his side and took a hold of one of Two-Face's legs. Together, they both struggled and brought him back through the window and all three of them then crashed onto the floor.
Two-Face howled in anger and frustration. Then he started to cry, having finally realized what is rage and animosity had caused him to become .
Batman wrapped his arms around him and Two-Face buried his head into Batman's shoulder and continued to cry uncontrollably until the police arrived on the scene.
ARKHAM ASYLUM
Hugo Strange awoke with a start. He had no idea how long he'd been unconscious.
He tried to get up but then realized that he was strapped down. He saw that he was restrained to the same table that he'd previously had Batman tied down to. He then realized that the headband to his machine was fastened around his head.
"Rise and shine, Dr. Frankenstein!"
He glanced over and saw that The Joker was standing in the corner, with a hideous grin planted on his face.
"What are you doing?" Hugo asked nervously.
"I thought you might like a taste of your own medicine." The Joker answered.
Hugo nervously watched as The Joker limped behind him, toward the machine. The Joker started pressing buttons. "Your machine was somewhat damaged but I managed to get it operational again."
Hugo stammered. "Listen to me, Jason. I cured you. Remember? Now release me this instant!"
"Jason?" The Joker looked confused. "Whose that? I'm The Joker. Don't you remember?"
"No, you're Jason Todd!" Hugo shouted in panic. "You were once a good person and the ward of Batman himself."
The Joker laughed as he placed his face only inches from Hugo's face. "You killed Jason Todd or don't you remember. With this machine right here, you created your very own monster. Jason Todd went away and in his place...I emerged!"
Hugo's eyes started tearing up. "What do you want from me?"
"I just want to tell you a joke." The Joker simply stated.
"Okay," Hugo sniffled. "Tell me your joke."
"Why did The Joker electrocute the crazy doctor with his own goddamned machine?" The Joker asked.
Hugo began crying at that point. "I don't know. Why?"
The Joker went back over toward the machine. "Because the crazy doctor failed and let Batman escape. Because the crazy doctor tortured the poor lost boy once known as Jason Todd for all those years with this very same machine. And most importantly, simply because I can."
Hugo sobered up from his crying fit at that point and chuckled, realizing that his fate was sealed and that there was no longer any use in crying about it. "That's not a very funny joke, Jason."
The Joker shrugged and then pulled the lever down. The machine shot to life, thus electrocuting Hugo Strange.
The doctor screamed in pain for a long time and The Joker laughed sadistically as he stood their and watched his suffering. The damaged machine caught fire before long and the fire spread across the room and soon engulfed Hugo Strange in flames.
The Joker stood right where he was, steadily laughing at his favorite joke. The joke was his life and he resigned himself to letting the flames engulf him so that the joke could finally end. Before he could become baptized by the fire, the machine set off another spark and a magnificent explosion enveloped the entire room, thus ending both Hugo Strange and the man who had once been Jason Todd.