BATMAN: DARK SIDE 2 – DARK PRINCE Chapter 2

BATMAN: DARK SIDE 2 – DARK PRINCE

CHAPTER 2: DARK REVELATIONS

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STAR WARS™ and all other related characters are the trademarked property of LucasFilm, LLC. The characters are used here without permission for not-for-profit, entertainment purposes only. The fact that LucasFilm, LLC, refuses to exercise their rights concerning their copyrights should not be construed as an endorsement of this story.

Imperial Super Star Destroyer Executor, secret TIE fighter training area, a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…

Darth Vader, Dark Lord of the Sith, apprentice to the Emperor Palpatine, commander of the Imperial Armed Forces, studied the holovid playing before him. Behind him, two white-armored stormtroopers stood at the ready, their blaster rifles held in a manner that indicated any who approached the Sith Lord without permission would meet an untimely end. From behind his black helmet, the eyes of the former Anakin Skywalker watched with great interest as a dance played out before him.

The holovid, captured by a secret satellite shrouded with a cloaking device, had come alive twelve standard hours before. Its sensors detected a rip in the fabric of space, as tachyons scattered from a specific point some two hundred thousand kilometers away from it. Immediately, from seemingly nowhere, a ship returned from hyperspace into the real world. Lord Vader watched the tactical data scroll at the bottom of the screen. The powerful passive sensors of the satellite were able to derive a plethora of information about the craft. All of it interesting; none of it useful.

The Dark Lord turned away from the screen, his cape swishing as he did so and as if on command, an officer, clad in the olive drab uniform of a captain stepped across the bridge towards Vader. "My Lord," he said with a slight bow.

"Your opinion, Captain Ardel?" the Dark Lord asked.

The intelligence officer cleared his throat. "Analysis of the data indicates that the power generated by the craft is equal to that of a dreadnaught, Lord Vader. The ion residue from the ship's engines does not match any in the Imperial database. It appears that it is a unique craft. There did not appear to be any armaments, which would lead to suggest it is a scout craft of some type."

"I disagree," Lord Vader said, turning and walking to the turbo lift. The officer fell in beside him in a hurried step to keep up with the imposing figure in black. The stormtroopers followed without pause or haste. "A scout craft generating that much power would be useless. It would be easily detected by even the most primitive of sensors. More likely, it was a smuggler's vessel."

"With all due respect, Lord," the officer began, contemplating his words carefully. "It simply isn't big enough to carry a sizable cargo. The fuel required to power the engines it must have would outweigh any smuggling benefits."

As they stepped into the turbo lift, Darth Vader turned to the officer. "Unless it was smuggling a very precious cargo."

The Captain nodded slowly. "If that is true, my Lord, then we must act quickly. Prudence dictates that if this is a new type of smuggler's craft, it very well could be used to smuggle rebel personnel or weapons."

The mention of the rebels momentarily caused the Dark Lord to pause in his thoughts. Only recently, he had escaped the destruction of the Death Star, the Empire's most powerful weapon. The space station, armed with it's planet-destroying laser, had been defeated by a single snub nose fighter, piloted by a young rebel warrior named Luke Skywalker.

The name caused conflicting emotions in Darth Vader as he contemplated the meaning of it. He had felt the Force in Skywalker, as he pursued him through the trench of the Death Star. It had been strong, but at the time, Vader had paid it no mind. There were many beings strong in the Force. At one time, many years before, those with enough strength in the Force became Jedi Knights.

He had been one as well. Until the day he allowed his anger, his frustration to overcome him and open him up to another aspect of the Force. The Dark Side.

He had trained in the Sith ways under the Emperor and then betrayed his fellow Jedi, killing all of them save for one, his former master, Obi-Wan Kenobi. He had thought his master dead, since it had been nearly twenty years since he had last saw him and it was on the Death Star that he had discovered how wrong he was. He had sensed his former master's presence and it had masked the presence of Luke Skywalker, who was there to rescue the Alderaanian princess, Leia Organna.

In a duel of lightsabers, he had defeated Obi-Wan, killing the last Jedi, ridding the universe of their kind. Or so he thought.

When he had discovered that the pilot he had pursued in the trench was his own son, something happened in Darth Vader. In that moment, he had become the lonely child again, tinkering away at his podracer, dreaming of becoming a Jedi Knight, though he had no idea he was the so-called "One Who Will Bring Balance to the Force". In that moment, he felt something he had not felt since the last time he had held her in his arms, his beloved Amidala.

"Excuse me, my Lord?" Captain Ardel asked, a quizzical look on his face. "I'm afraid I have never heard of the planet Amidala."

Darth Vader cleared his mind, calling the Force to him. "You were saying?" he asked.

The turbo lift doors opened and the group stepped out into one of the many hanger bays that filled the massive star craft. "I was saying, Lord, that it appeared from the vectors we could obtain when the ship jumped next that it was heading to Imperial City."

Darth Vader nodded and stopped. "Order my craft prepared, I will leave immediately for Imperial City and bring this matter to the attention of the Emperor."

The Captain nodded, another puzzled look on his face. Darth Vader could sense the apprehension in the man through the Force, but paid it no mind. He had to investigate this craft personally. He tried to convince himself that it was to ensure it was not a rebel plot to assassinate the Emperor, but deep inside, the truth burned into him. He was going to make sure his son had not been captured. If Luke Skywalker were to be brought before the Emperor, it would not be before he ensured that this truly was his heir.

JLA Watchtower, Earth's moon, present day…

"I'm forming a Justice League Task Force," the Batman said with certainty.

Superman only nodded. "You're sure that Darth Maul is behind this?"

Batman gave him a look, indicating he was more than sure. "The video of the abduction of Nightwing clearly shows and individual that spoke with the same accent that Darth Maul had. I've done the research, there is no accent like that anywhere on the planet."

Superman was about to protest, saying that simple human hearing was not enough to make this assumption on. Then he considered the seriousness of the situation. An armored individual had managed to kidnap Nightwing, the former partner of the Batman, the day before. That in and of itself was impressive, as Superman knew that Richard Grayson, the man behind the Nightwing mask, was a formidable opponent, having few equals in hand-to-hand combat. The fact that the individual had also managed to take town the Titans and Deathstroke, the Terminator, at the same time, indicated that they were dealing with someone who was very professional at his job.

The mention of Darth Maul's name, however, was the exclamation point to Batman's argument. A year before, an individual going by that name had somehow been transported to the Watchtower by accident and had managed to defeat the League members present. He had journeyed to Earth, Gotham City specifically, and had captured the Huntress, one of the many operating vigilantes of the city. He had challenged Batman to martial combat for control of the city. It had been a furious battle, with Batman barely holding his own. The Dark Knight had eventually gained the upper hand and then Darth Maul had resorted to using a telekinetic attack to choke the life out of the Batman. Had the Martian Manhunter not intervened when he did, there was no doubt that Batman would be dead now.

It had taken Batman weeks to recover fully from the battle, and if he was this sure that Darth Maul had returned, and was now going after the man that Batman called son, the Superman knew that all he could do was offer whatever support he could. "Have you decided on a team?"

Batman nodded from his seat at the JLA meeting table. The entire active membership, minus the Flash who was busy on a case, was present. "Yes, I've contacted all of them…they are waiting outside right now. I want J'onn," he nodded to the Martian Manhunter, "to give them a briefing on what he was bale to pick up from Maul's mind."

Superman sighed. "Alright, let's put it to a vote. Our charter clearly indicates that a vote of the active membership is required whenever a Task Force is formed. Remember people, these individuals will be representing the JLA, so if you have any doubts about this, speak them now."

Batman spoke first. "I vote yes."

Aquaman was next to speak. "That bastard hurt Garth," he said, indicating his former partner and current Titan's member Tempest. "Go kick his ass!"

Superman interrupted. "A simple yes would do, Authur."

Wonder Woman stood up. "If what you say is true, Batman, then it is likely that Nightwing may already be dead. Worse, this could all be a trap to lead you away from Earth. Perhaps this Darth Maul is preparing an attack of some sort. He certainly believed that you were the so-called king of the super-heroes. However, I can't bear the thought of leaving that noble man in the clutches of someone so…despicable. I vote yes, with reservations."

As she sat down, Green Lantern cleared his throat. "I'm sorry, Batman, but I saw the group you formed and, well…I just don't think they are JLA material. I vote no."

The Batman stared down the young ring-slinger and Kyle Rayner knew that someday, he was going to pay for his vote. Plastic Man stretched his neck out over the table. "I vote no, too, Bats, but only because I agree with Wonder Chest over there. It smells like a trap and our first priority is to Earth. Nothing personal."

As Plastic Man's head snapped back to his body, the Martian Manhunter removed his hands from his chin, which had been supporting it as he contemplated the issue. "Next to the Batman, I have the most knowledge of Darth Maul, perhaps more so since I invaded his mind temporarily. The thoughts still…bother me, for lack of a better term. He comes from a world of complete darkness, where our moral standards mean nothing. This is not simply a trip into Hell; this is a suicide mission as far as I am concerned. While I share the Batman's worries, I also know what it is like to have a world destroyed. If this is a diversion, we would be leaving the people of Earth unprotected, if even only slightly. If the forces of Darth Maul were to attack, we would need every single one of us. I vote no."

Superman rubbed the bridge of his nose. It always seemed to come to him. "The arguments put forth are all good ones. I completely agree that this could be a trap, with the hope of leading the League away from the Earth. However, I would point out that the Batman has considered this as well, which is why he has asked to form a Task Force, instead of allowing the entire team to go with him." He paused and looked into the Batman's face and he knew that despite what his vote was, the Batman was going. He sighed a final time. "Besides, Nightwing is a friend of mine and I know he would come after me. I vote yes."

An hour later, Superman, Batman and the Martian Manhunter stood in the meeting room as Batman's Task Force took their seats. They were all familiar faces: Arsenal, Booster Gold, Blue Beetle and the Huntress.

Batman spoke first. "I want to thank the four of you for accepting this mission. Each one of you has skills that may be useful in this task. You'll notice that none of you are metahuman types and there is a reason for that that J'onn will explain."

The Martian Manhunter looked them over. He could feel apprehension coming from Arsenal, anger from Huntress and giddiness from the others. He shook his head. "You will be traveling via a hypertime conduit; or at least we believe it is. At first, Batman believed that Darth Maul came from Apokolips, the world ruled by Darkseid. That was a mistake. I cannot tell you where Darth Maul came from, or even the time period. Even now, we have the best astronomers on Earth, Rann and Thanagar working on a star chart I drew up from memory that Darth Maul related to his home. In one year, we still have nothing, which leads us to believe that Maul may come from an alternate reality."

"If this is true, then time is of the essence. Too much time spent in an alternate reality causes that reality to merge with ours, which in turn causes another reality to merge and the entire space-time continuum begins to collapse. However, we do not believe this is the case. We have no idea how long Darth Maul's agent was here before capturing Nightwing, but we can assume he probably spent some time observing him, which means, more than likely, you will be still in this reality. Where in the galaxy, who knows?"

"What we do know is that Darth Maul represented something called the Sith, some type of religious order dedicated to gathering of power through violent means. The opponents of the Sith are called the Jedi, and seem to possess abilities far beyond those of normal men. Maul was not human, but he seemed to know what humans were, which is the reason why you were selected. We believe that the Sith can sense metahuman abilities and therefore any attempt at stealth would be futile. As normal humans, you may be able to blend into the population."

Booster Gold raised his hand. "What about me? My power suit gives me extra normal abilities."

Batman answered. "This world is technologically advanced, as was evident by the weapon that Maul employed. We believe that you power suit could be our ace in the hole. You will keep it powered down until told. Understood?"

Booster Gold nodded and the Martian Manhunter resumed his speech. "The language of the human peoples is very complex, but I was able to, for lack of a better word, download it from Maul. Before you leave, I will telepathically implant the knowledge into your brains."

Superman was next to speak. "Your mission will be simple: find Nightwing and bring him home, destroying any technology you find that allows travel to here."

Batman placed his hands on the edge of the table and leaned towards the group. "There are three other things. First, I am in charge. This will not be a democracy. You will do what I say, when I tell you to without question." He eyed the Huntress, who looked away. "Second, no killing. I don't care what the situation is…no killing. Third, because we will be traveling out of uniform for the most part, those of you who don't already know it will find out who I really am. That means that J'onn here will wipe that information from your minds upon completion of this mission, except for Arsenal." The red-haired hero grinned and stuck his tongue out at Booster Gold. The reply was a middle finger in the air.

The Huntress looked up. "So, why not let us know now?" she smiled like a cat.

Batman stood up and pulled back his cowl, revealing the face of Bruce Wayne. "Son of a bitch!" the Huntress cried. "I don't believe it! I don't f---"

"Shut up!" Arsenal said.

Blue Beetle shook his head. "I don't believe this…I'm working for my biggest competitor. Your company stole that damn contract from…"

"We don't have time for this," Superman interrupted. "Get your gear and meet in the workshop in fifteen minutes."

Imperial City, Black Sun safe house

Xizor, Prince of the Falleen and absolute ruler of Black Sun, looked at the human in the interrogation couch, stroking his chin. "Impressive, for a mammal."

Guri, his bodyguard as well as attendant, nodded. "Yes, for a human, he is in top form. However, a midi-chlorian count indicates no Force potential at all. Hardly a worthy candidate for the Sith."

Xizor nodded and walked closer to the still form. It was sleeping, again. He had never encountered a human, or any other sentient, that seemed so relaxed, despite the danger the man found himself in. Boba Fett stood in a corner and shifted on his feet. Xizor caught the movement and turned to the bounty hunter. "You wish to say something?"

"I wouldn't get too close. I saw the way he moves, he could be playing like a dead womprat."

Wise advice, Xizor thought. It wasn't that he was afraid for his own safety, it was for his prize. If the human were to somehow break the bonds and attack him, he had no doubt that Guri and Fett would cut him down immediately. That would not do, since the Emperor had been very explicit about the fate of this man. Imagine, he thought to himself, that this was the apprentice of a man, a non-Jedi, that actually fought a Sith Lord in hand-to-hand combat and lived!

Xizor himself was a master of many martial disciplines, and he had studied what little there was on Darth Maul. He knew that the Sith Lord had devastated Black Sun decades before, killing most of the organization with his bare hands. Maul had been the favorite of the Emperor, someone he had raised from boyhood to follow in his footsteps. After Maul, came Vader.

The name left a bad taste in his mouth. He once again swore that one day, Darth Vader would kneel before him, just before he killed him. It was Darth Vader that had ordered the orbital bombardment of Xizor's homeworld and killed his family. The blood of many Falleen were on the Sith Lord's hands and Xizor planned to wash it off with Vader's own blood!

He knew the hot thoughts must have started his skin to change from its normal green, for Guri stepped up and placed a hand on his shoulder. "We have almost finished here, my Prince, perhaps we should leave the rest to your subordinates."

Xizor turned to the android and could almost detect concern in her eyes. She had definitely been worth the credits! "You are right. Come Hunter Fett, and we will discuss your fee. Guri, inform the technicians that should even one hair be pulled from this man's head, I will kill them and their families and everyone within a five kilometer radius of their homes."

Mara Jade turned off the commlink and tucked it in her belt. She would have to report to the Emperor, inform him that Xizor had secured the package he had wanted.

The young woman, barely out of her teens stood up and reached out with the Force. She sensed no one near here and she began to make her way through the maze of tunnels underneath the Black Sun safehouse. Of course, she had no idea that Xizor was connected to the organization and assumed that the small complex located in the lower parts of the Imperial City was another perk of being rich.

She despised the reptilian being, but her orders from her master had been clear. She was to follow and monitor Xizor's progress, to ensure there was no duplicity. While she could not fathom how Xizor had come to know someone like Boba Fett, she had nothing to report that would indicate that the Falleen was not obeying the commands of her master.

Still…

Xizor was not of the Force, like the Emperor, Lord Vader or herself. Vader frightened her on a level she couldn't discern, but he was loyal to their master, and for that, he had her respect. But this prince, that was another story. He was a snake with legs and arms as far as she was concerned and she could feel it in her bones that he was not as loyal as he appeared.

Without evidence, however, even the Emperor's Hand, as she was called, could not bring such allegations to Palpatine. She would be reduced in status, worse yet, Xizor would probably demand retribution. She stifled a chill as she thought of what that would entail. Xizor's reputation for desiring young women was known throughout Imperial City.

With barely a sound, Mara Jade made her way towards the upper levels, stretching her senses with the Force, a hand on her lightsaber. Had she lingered a minute more, she would have seen a flash of light and five figures step into the tunnel seemingly from nowhere.

"God, it stinks in here!" Ted Kord said. He was in a simple blue jumpsuit, his Blue Beetle costume back somewhere through reality. He had a stun pistol in a holster slung low on his waist.

"Shut up," Booster Gold said. Michael Jon Carter was in his battle suit, which looked oddly out of place in the dark tunnel. He pulled his mask back. "What if someone hears you?"

"Who the hell is going to live in a sewer?" the Huntress asked. She, too, was in full uniform, without the mask. She scanned the tunnel for movement. "You planned this didn't you, Brucie?" she said in a sarcastic tone.

The Batman, clad in a black leather jumpsuit, complete with utility belt said nothing. He would have to bear with her remarks. Finding his son was what was important right now.

Roy Harper, the hero called Arsenal, in his costume, pulled down his sunglasses. "I hear something."

Ted Kord snickered. "I think the Huntress ate chili last night!"

The raven-trussed heroine turned to reply when she cried. "Holy freakin' crap!"

Batman turned to where she was looking and saw an army of moving creatures. They scurried like rats and made slight grunting noises. He could tell, from the dim light, that they appeared to be armored.

As the team took defensive stances, ready to fight, Booster Gold commented. "This sucks. Why couldn't we pop up in some intergalactic brothel?"

The Huntress cocked a bolt into her crossbow and spat on the ground. "You kiss your mother with that mouth?"

As the wave of rodents surged towards them, he replied with a cry. "No, I kiss yours!"