Chapter 4: The Gauntlet I
The Joker is a consummate trickster and dramatist of the worst degree, making any step outside his set path a veritable minefield. Therefore as the Batman exits the circle of light, leaving his battered friend behind, he enters the darkness the exact same way Joker had done so before him. Night-vision goggles ensure the pitch blackness is as bright as day to the Batman. He pauses and notes that the wooden crates surrounding him make a very singular path. 'He wants me to follow him, to enter his gauntlet,' the Batman thinks. Outlined in the dust are the Joker's own footprints and he uses them as a guide. Each step forward is a cautious one. It seems to take an eternity before he arrives to a cold steel wall with a single opening. A voice calls from within, "Come in Batman! Come in! I promise to play fair this one time. You can find me at the end of this passage, if you survive of course."
The Batman hesitates and scans the area.
"Don't bother," The voice calls again, "This is a bunker. Two inches of steel protect me from you, and I'm beside the only exit from this building. Only I know where it goes. You can either enter and play by my rules, or I end this…unpleasantly."
The Batman thinks of his friend and what he had said earlier. 'This is war,' he thinks, 'the Joker cannot escape.' With that he enters the opening.
Once inside the exit is quickly sealed by a sliding steel door which clicks in place. At the same time the room lights up in a brilliant radiance that magnifies through Batman's light amplifying goggles, blinding the dark knight. He removes the goggles and shuts his eyes. He listens for any telltale sounds of the trap being sprung, but there's nothing. Nothing at all, aside from the Joker's voice being broadcasted. "Sorry about that Bats. Or should I say Bruce? Your friend Gordon didn't really believe it, you know. He only suspected. Lucky for him he was right or he'd have a bullet in the head instead of a mangled arm, and you'd be out another compadre!"
Batman's eyes start to adjust to the light. He opens them and sees a blur.
"Poor Bruce. Lost your mommy and daddy? Tell you what. Since you're my favourite playmate, Bruce ole' pal, I've spared no expense to make you feel right at home! First off I've managed to put together some family photos…"
Batman's eyes are able to focus now. What he sees would send any normal man back and would either fill him with rage or madness. All around him are images taken from various sources, depicting a man and woman. Each face is covered by a cut-out photograph of Bruce's mother's or father's kindly face. And the images themselves, pasted all about the room, depict every form of debauchery two human beings could be subject to. Whatever a sick mind could imagine was there, and each victim was either Bruce Wayne's mom or dad! Each and EVERY ONE!
Yet Batman did not flinch, nor did he even seem to notice. Instead he notes the camera and speaker in one corner of the room. He notes the closed door behind him and another door ahead of him. 'Both two inches of steel, no doubt,' he utters silently. He notes four walls and a ceiling, all likely thick steel as well. And finally he notes the tell-tale smell of gasoline in the air.
"Sorry again, Bats. It must be hard seeing your mom and dad so vibrant and full of life! Tell you what; since I'm such a gracious host I'll get rid of them for you!"
The camera then crackles and pops, emitting bright sparks as it overloads which ignite the paper laden and gasoline soaked room. 'No use trying the belt extinguisher,' Batman thinks, 'it's not powerful enough to put out a gasoline fuelled blaze.' Instead he calmly walks over to the next door and feels around it. 'A sliding door,' he thinks, 'It could be pushed off its hinges. Two inches thick, but I've got no choice.' The Batman begins to push against the door. The Joker laughs.
"That's two inches of steel, Batman! No one can push through it! No one!"
Muscles tense and bulge as he heaves with all his might at the cold steel. At first time seems to stand still, until a screech is heard as the door begins to give way. Flames begin to lick at his boots and despite the fireproof material his costume is laden with the Batman can feel the heat building, sapping his strength. He keeps pushing with unrelenting pressure until the door finally gives way and bends into the adjacent room. Batman quickly enters and shoves the door back as best he could to keep both flame and smoke out.
"Good job, Batman," another loudspeaker calls directly adjacent to him. "I've spent years putting this place together into my perfect dream house, and in all that planning you'd think I'd have purchased a better brand of door. Oh well, live and learn. Say, do you like home movies, chum?"
A projector starts up on cue and shines an image across the dark room, projecting it on the opposite wall. The Batman continues to stand as close to the door he entered through as possible. A movie flickers across the wall and Batman recognizes the footage. This was the only recording of the bridge to catch every painful moment, including the final, deadly explosion. And when it ends, it starts anew in an endless loop.
"See Bruce, you've always been a loser. In our game the score is kept by body counts, and you're way behind. That's probably why I enjoy playing so much, you always let me win!" he laughs. "I mean look at you, trying to catch me in some bizarre hide-and-seek after each of my wacky adventures, and what do you do when I'm caught? Knock me out and stick me in a straight jacket. Look, I kill 25 people…BAM…KO, straight jacket. 100 people…BAM…KO, straight jacket. 1000 people…BAM…KO, straight jacket. I kill some of your closest associates and what do you do? BAM, straight jacket! Good lord man! If you ask me you belong in the straight jacket."
The Batman continues to stand rooted to the spot.
"Let's revue today's events to prove you're loony. You let some poor schmoe dressed like me get killed. You battle you're best, and probably only living friend, and if you didn't kill him you must have come close. I could hear his scream even in here, good job!" Another laugh follows before the mad clown continues, "You've lost it, my friend. Absolutely, completely, lost it. Maybe you'd like to come with me to Arkham and get your own straight jacket? Hey, we could be bunkies! Why don't you just step through the door and seal the deal."
At that instant a door slides open at the other end of the room. He would have to pass the projector in order to reach it and the next stage of his torment. But what lies between?
The Batman removes his cape and hurls it into the centre of the room. making as big a target as possible. It falls with a thud due to its lead weighted tapered ends. Upon impact the movie's sound is drowned out as machine guns beyond the projector, in the darkest part of the room, spit out their deadly projectiles. Batman braces himself against the wall as he feels and hears hundreds of bullets whiz by mere inches away. The barrage seems infinite, and all at once, as suddenly as it began, the guns are silent. He then leaps to his cape, puts it on, and leaps to the open doorway. At the door he takes Alfred's handgun from the utility belt and fires a single round at the loudspeaker/camera. He then removes his left boot and wedges it in the doorway before stepping into the third darkened room.
"Bravo, Bruce, bravo! And what's this, a nice and shiny silver gun? Have you finally decided to play by my rules? Afraid it's too little too late." Batman can hear the door slide shut, but his boot prevents it from closing completely. He then hears liquid gushing in through all four walls from hundreds of tiny holes. "Hear that? That room is about to fill with the very compound that made me the man I am today. Well, not exactly the same. This stuff is at least 10 times more corrosive, noxious, and all round nastier. Nose filters, gas mask, whatever, they won't do any good when you're drinking it. And forget about the door. It's not the same piece of crap I used on you earlier. And forget about going forward... there isn't another door!" The Joker venom begins to rise. "Well, this looks like the end of the road. It's been a blast. If you don't mind, I'll just watch you squirm…"
The Batman merely walks over to the door and slides it open. He puts his boot back on and enters the projector room. He closes the door as best he can so that only a trickle of the joker venom flows in. Standing against the wall he removes the acetylene torch from his utility belt and brings its lit flame down close to the seeping liquid. 'Such a concentrated form of the liquid may be flammable,' he thinks.
It is.
The flame ignites into a small fire that follows the trail of liquid into the adjacent room and becomes a raging inferno. The Batman braces himself as the flames continue to spread up seeping trails and out into giant vats located against the flooding chamber. The concentrated vats then flicker with flame for only a moment before exploding with the force of cannons! After the initial spectacular explosions cease Batman opens the door and runs through the flame into the opening they created. Just beyond the fire Joker can be seen with Tommy gun in hand trying to make his exit. 'This is war,' the Batman thinks. Like a possessed demon he runs at the Joker through the fiery inferno and becomes a bat out of hell as he leaps through the final wall of fire. He lands and aims Alfred's handgun. The Joker simultaneously turns and aims his machine gun.
"Well well," the Joker starts, "this looks like a good ole' Mexican standoff, with one crucial difference. We both know you'll never pull that trigger. Your moral fibre may allow you to shoot a camera, but not a human being. Besides, kill me Brucie boy and you'll never see Mommy and Daddy. You'll end up spending your time in places much hotter than this. So I'll just end this farce right now!"
A sickening shot and a man falls, blood flowing from an open wound. He grabs his gut and tries to stem the tide in vain. A gun falls beside him as he tries to stay conscious…
TO BE CONTINUED…
The Joker is a consummate trickster and dramatist of the worst degree, making any step outside his set path a veritable minefield. Therefore as the Batman exits the circle of light, leaving his battered friend behind, he enters the darkness the exact same way Joker had done so before him. Night-vision goggles ensure the pitch blackness is as bright as day to the Batman. He pauses and notes that the wooden crates surrounding him make a very singular path. 'He wants me to follow him, to enter his gauntlet,' the Batman thinks. Outlined in the dust are the Joker's own footprints and he uses them as a guide. Each step forward is a cautious one. It seems to take an eternity before he arrives to a cold steel wall with a single opening. A voice calls from within, "Come in Batman! Come in! I promise to play fair this one time. You can find me at the end of this passage, if you survive of course."
The Batman hesitates and scans the area.
"Don't bother," The voice calls again, "This is a bunker. Two inches of steel protect me from you, and I'm beside the only exit from this building. Only I know where it goes. You can either enter and play by my rules, or I end this…unpleasantly."
The Batman thinks of his friend and what he had said earlier. 'This is war,' he thinks, 'the Joker cannot escape.' With that he enters the opening.
Once inside the exit is quickly sealed by a sliding steel door which clicks in place. At the same time the room lights up in a brilliant radiance that magnifies through Batman's light amplifying goggles, blinding the dark knight. He removes the goggles and shuts his eyes. He listens for any telltale sounds of the trap being sprung, but there's nothing. Nothing at all, aside from the Joker's voice being broadcasted. "Sorry about that Bats. Or should I say Bruce? Your friend Gordon didn't really believe it, you know. He only suspected. Lucky for him he was right or he'd have a bullet in the head instead of a mangled arm, and you'd be out another compadre!"
Batman's eyes start to adjust to the light. He opens them and sees a blur.
"Poor Bruce. Lost your mommy and daddy? Tell you what. Since you're my favourite playmate, Bruce ole' pal, I've spared no expense to make you feel right at home! First off I've managed to put together some family photos…"
Batman's eyes are able to focus now. What he sees would send any normal man back and would either fill him with rage or madness. All around him are images taken from various sources, depicting a man and woman. Each face is covered by a cut-out photograph of Bruce's mother's or father's kindly face. And the images themselves, pasted all about the room, depict every form of debauchery two human beings could be subject to. Whatever a sick mind could imagine was there, and each victim was either Bruce Wayne's mom or dad! Each and EVERY ONE!
Yet Batman did not flinch, nor did he even seem to notice. Instead he notes the camera and speaker in one corner of the room. He notes the closed door behind him and another door ahead of him. 'Both two inches of steel, no doubt,' he utters silently. He notes four walls and a ceiling, all likely thick steel as well. And finally he notes the tell-tale smell of gasoline in the air.
"Sorry again, Bats. It must be hard seeing your mom and dad so vibrant and full of life! Tell you what; since I'm such a gracious host I'll get rid of them for you!"
The camera then crackles and pops, emitting bright sparks as it overloads which ignite the paper laden and gasoline soaked room. 'No use trying the belt extinguisher,' Batman thinks, 'it's not powerful enough to put out a gasoline fuelled blaze.' Instead he calmly walks over to the next door and feels around it. 'A sliding door,' he thinks, 'It could be pushed off its hinges. Two inches thick, but I've got no choice.' The Batman begins to push against the door. The Joker laughs.
"That's two inches of steel, Batman! No one can push through it! No one!"
Muscles tense and bulge as he heaves with all his might at the cold steel. At first time seems to stand still, until a screech is heard as the door begins to give way. Flames begin to lick at his boots and despite the fireproof material his costume is laden with the Batman can feel the heat building, sapping his strength. He keeps pushing with unrelenting pressure until the door finally gives way and bends into the adjacent room. Batman quickly enters and shoves the door back as best he could to keep both flame and smoke out.
"Good job, Batman," another loudspeaker calls directly adjacent to him. "I've spent years putting this place together into my perfect dream house, and in all that planning you'd think I'd have purchased a better brand of door. Oh well, live and learn. Say, do you like home movies, chum?"
A projector starts up on cue and shines an image across the dark room, projecting it on the opposite wall. The Batman continues to stand as close to the door he entered through as possible. A movie flickers across the wall and Batman recognizes the footage. This was the only recording of the bridge to catch every painful moment, including the final, deadly explosion. And when it ends, it starts anew in an endless loop.
"See Bruce, you've always been a loser. In our game the score is kept by body counts, and you're way behind. That's probably why I enjoy playing so much, you always let me win!" he laughs. "I mean look at you, trying to catch me in some bizarre hide-and-seek after each of my wacky adventures, and what do you do when I'm caught? Knock me out and stick me in a straight jacket. Look, I kill 25 people…BAM…KO, straight jacket. 100 people…BAM…KO, straight jacket. 1000 people…BAM…KO, straight jacket. I kill some of your closest associates and what do you do? BAM, straight jacket! Good lord man! If you ask me you belong in the straight jacket."
The Batman continues to stand rooted to the spot.
"Let's revue today's events to prove you're loony. You let some poor schmoe dressed like me get killed. You battle you're best, and probably only living friend, and if you didn't kill him you must have come close. I could hear his scream even in here, good job!" Another laugh follows before the mad clown continues, "You've lost it, my friend. Absolutely, completely, lost it. Maybe you'd like to come with me to Arkham and get your own straight jacket? Hey, we could be bunkies! Why don't you just step through the door and seal the deal."
At that instant a door slides open at the other end of the room. He would have to pass the projector in order to reach it and the next stage of his torment. But what lies between?
The Batman removes his cape and hurls it into the centre of the room. making as big a target as possible. It falls with a thud due to its lead weighted tapered ends. Upon impact the movie's sound is drowned out as machine guns beyond the projector, in the darkest part of the room, spit out their deadly projectiles. Batman braces himself against the wall as he feels and hears hundreds of bullets whiz by mere inches away. The barrage seems infinite, and all at once, as suddenly as it began, the guns are silent. He then leaps to his cape, puts it on, and leaps to the open doorway. At the door he takes Alfred's handgun from the utility belt and fires a single round at the loudspeaker/camera. He then removes his left boot and wedges it in the doorway before stepping into the third darkened room.
"Bravo, Bruce, bravo! And what's this, a nice and shiny silver gun? Have you finally decided to play by my rules? Afraid it's too little too late." Batman can hear the door slide shut, but his boot prevents it from closing completely. He then hears liquid gushing in through all four walls from hundreds of tiny holes. "Hear that? That room is about to fill with the very compound that made me the man I am today. Well, not exactly the same. This stuff is at least 10 times more corrosive, noxious, and all round nastier. Nose filters, gas mask, whatever, they won't do any good when you're drinking it. And forget about the door. It's not the same piece of crap I used on you earlier. And forget about going forward... there isn't another door!" The Joker venom begins to rise. "Well, this looks like the end of the road. It's been a blast. If you don't mind, I'll just watch you squirm…"
The Batman merely walks over to the door and slides it open. He puts his boot back on and enters the projector room. He closes the door as best he can so that only a trickle of the joker venom flows in. Standing against the wall he removes the acetylene torch from his utility belt and brings its lit flame down close to the seeping liquid. 'Such a concentrated form of the liquid may be flammable,' he thinks.
It is.
The flame ignites into a small fire that follows the trail of liquid into the adjacent room and becomes a raging inferno. The Batman braces himself as the flames continue to spread up seeping trails and out into giant vats located against the flooding chamber. The concentrated vats then flicker with flame for only a moment before exploding with the force of cannons! After the initial spectacular explosions cease Batman opens the door and runs through the flame into the opening they created. Just beyond the fire Joker can be seen with Tommy gun in hand trying to make his exit. 'This is war,' the Batman thinks. Like a possessed demon he runs at the Joker through the fiery inferno and becomes a bat out of hell as he leaps through the final wall of fire. He lands and aims Alfred's handgun. The Joker simultaneously turns and aims his machine gun.
"Well well," the Joker starts, "this looks like a good ole' Mexican standoff, with one crucial difference. We both know you'll never pull that trigger. Your moral fibre may allow you to shoot a camera, but not a human being. Besides, kill me Brucie boy and you'll never see Mommy and Daddy. You'll end up spending your time in places much hotter than this. So I'll just end this farce right now!"
A sickening shot and a man falls, blood flowing from an open wound. He grabs his gut and tries to stem the tide in vain. A gun falls beside him as he tries to stay conscious…
TO BE CONTINUED…