A/N: What's up everyone! As you've seen in the category section, Static is back with another story, crossing over with the 2004 Batman Animated Series! While it's not favorite Batman(Beyond is my favorite version), it's definitely underrated. While some of the designs of some of the characters are hit or miss depending on the person, the character writing is great. A great way to stay true to the source material while not being afraid to add fresh ideas, or even new characters made for this series such as Ethan Bennet and Ellen Yin.
This one won't be that long of a story. Most likely just a two-shot. At most a three chapter story.
Without further ado, I hope you enjoy!
Context:
The Batman 2004: After season 3, episode 4: "A Fistful of Felt"
Static Shock: After the end of season 2 and my crossover story, "Going Primal." Like in the previous Static story I wrote, he is still using his original costume.
Dakota City
Detroit, MI
Vergil Hawkins, also known as the superhero Static, a fact that is only known by his best friend Richard "Richie" Foley was flying over the streets of Dakota as his superhero persona. It was the weekend, and in this case, he decided to kill two birds with one stone, patrol, and study.
"From this day fourth, my thought be bloody, or be nothing worth!" Richie said in his best imitation of the Hamlet character over the shock vox.
"Richie could you take this serious? We've got a double whammy on Monday! Hamlet and a U.S. History test." Vergil said.
"Take it easy man. If I didn't know any better, I would've thought you were on the verge of failing." Richie said.
"I'm not. And I want to keep it that way. The better grades I have, the more opportunities I'll have of getting scholarships. Pops has done so much for me, I don't want him to have to pay a dime when I go to college." Vergil explained.
"Hey, I respect it man. I don't want my parents to have to pay either. I can apply myself and have a little fun while I'm at it." Richie said. "Anyways, next question. What does M.A.D. mean and how does this relate to the U.S.?" He said, reading off a study guide he and Vergil created on Friday.
"Mutually Assured Destruction- no way." Static said.
"Actually yes way, you got it right V. Keep going." Richie said.
"Not the question, Richie." Static said as he was descending.
Richie raised his eyebrows. "What's up? You find something?" He asked.
"Yeah. Three somethings actually. Or should I say someone." Static said.
"Who is it?" Richie said.
"Two words. Batman. Ebon." Static said.
"Woah. Do your thing man. I'll be here if you need any help." Richie said.
Three Minutes Earlier
Talon and Ebon were in front of the Caped Crusader and his partner-in-crimefighting Batgirl.
Ebon's Theme Plays(A/N:It's not on Youtube but if you've watched the series, you'll be familiar with the music that plays)
"Well look what we have here. A bat in broad daylight." Ebon said.
"I heard bats that come out during the day can get picked off by birds." Talon said confidently.
"What do you say we do a hands-on study?" Batgirl said.
Talon flies at the two, who dodge her advance. Batman attempts to use a bola to immobilize her, but she dodges it.
"That's not working on me a second time." Talon said, to which Batman's only reaction was the lowering of his eyes in his cowl.
"A little young to be playing dress-up." Ebon said to Batgirl.
"Oh, this is no costume." She said confidently, before using her own makeshift grappling hook to grapple onto a lamppost, swing and launch herself at Ebon, to which he was able to dodge easily by going into the wall and moving into the ground quick enough for her to not be able to react and strike. This caught her by surprise and her face showed it. Ebon tried to get behind her and grab her but Batman was able to throw a batarang in Ebon's direction, causing him to have to contort his body to dodge it.
Getting back to focusing on his own fight, Talon began to use a hyper-sonic shriek, causing Batman to be on the move again.
Batgirl was getting frustrated by the fact that she couldn't hit Ebon. "Give it up. You can't hit me." Ebon said as he kept dodging all of her futile attempts to attack her with ease. He was toying with her now.
Out of nowhere, a flash of electricity hit Ebon.
A short segment of Static's season 1 theme plays
*Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!*
"Batman's in town and y'all gave him a welcoming party without me? That's cold, even for you Ebon." Static quipped.
"Static." Ebon said, with distaste in his voice.
"Thanks. How about we skip the introductions for now and shut this guy up." Batgirl said to Static.
"You read my mind." Static responded.
Talon attempted to get close to Batman, which was a mistake. When she did, the Caped Crusader punished her with a flurry of quick kicks and punches. While she was able to dodge the first few, the rest were too quick for her to dodge. She didn't expect him to be this fast since the last time they met when she aligned herself with The Joker. It's as if he got younger and gained an extra step.
Meanwhile, Static and Batgirl were fighting Ebon.
"His weakness is intense bright light! If I can hit him with a concentrated blast he's toast!" Static said.
"Got it!" Batgirl said. "Think Barbara. He's obviously not gonna let him hit him." Barbara thought.
On cue Static attempted to hit him with a concentrated blast that missed. "You're gonna have to do better than that!" Ebon said.
Vergil got back on his saucer and attempted to maneuver around Ebon in a way to attack him and finish the fight. But what Static didn't notice was that there was a building tall enough for Ebon to travel across and catch him while he was in the air, allowing Ebon the opportunity to grab and throw the hero back down, separating him from his saucer. Batgirl attempted to throw batarangs at him while his back was turned which did nothing more than annoy him.
"Get off my back!" Ebon said, stretching an arm to knock Batgirl down. He then turned his attention back towards Static to finish the job.
Batman was still dealing with an airborne Talon. She continued to try and attack him from the air, not even daring to go back on the ground and get hit with the punishment she took before. Batman knew what he wanted to do, he just needed to lead her where he wanted her to go. So he kept moving. And when he got her into position, he threw two batarangs, both of which missed her.
"Looks like you've taken a step back in your range game." Talon said, confidently before she prepared to unleash another shriek.
What she didn't notice were the buckets of paint on an elevated platform behind her in front of a building that was under construction. The batarangs cut a rope, causing several buckets of paint to cover her, impairing her vision and distracting her enough for him to immobilize her with another bola.
"Consider your wings clipped." Batman said.
Ebon was over Static, towering over him as a large shadow, like a monster in a nightmare.
"Surprise!" Static said before hitting him with a blast in his eyes, forcing him to have to step back and return to his normal size.
"What would Batman do?" Barbara thought.
Batgirl saw him step back towards a fire hydrant. This was her chance. She threw a batarang at the cap of the hydrant, which sprayed water all over Ebon. The sudden sensation of water caused him to quickly regain his vision.
"Hit him now!" Batgirl said to Static. He realized exactly what she was thinking. He hit the water, which caused the electricity to travel across the ground and follow the path of the water. When Ebon saw what was happening, his eyes widened in fear. But it was too late. He was already hit with the electricity and was obliterated into nothing.
Before Talon was allowed to escape, Static got some metal to wrap her in.
"Ebon's not gone for good. He'll be back. But the authorities will take care of Talon." Static said before turning his attention toward Batman and his sidekick.
"Nice to see you again Batman." Static said. No response.
"Right." Static said. He had to remember that this was Batman he was talking too.
"So, what brings you back to Dakota?" Static asked.
"Uh, back?" Batgirl asked, confused.
"Yeah, Batman's been here before." Static said.
"Have we met before?" Batgirl asked.
"You? No. Batman? Yes." Static responded. "Though, I thought you were older." He said.
"Okay, now I'm confused." Batgirl said, hands on her hips.
"Riddler. If I know him whatever he hit us with wasn't to do me in. It's all part of his game." Batman said.
"Riddler!? Just what exactly is going on here?" Static asked, knowing that Riddler was one of Batman's toughest enemies due to his complex puzzle/riddle-theme crimes. "And hearing you now, you sound different."
Batman tries to contact Alfred. "Alfred. This is Batman." No response. All he heard was static. "Alfred, can you hear me?" No response. He tried to bring the Batmobile over to him as well. Still nothing.
"No signal." Batman said, putting away the communicator. "Wherever we are, it's far from Gotham." He said.
"You said we've met before. How?" Batman said. Hands concealed in his cape again.
"Can't remember when exactly it was. But I remember what happened like it was yesterday. Joker was in town, on the run because his crew got locked up by you. That's when he started recruiting bang babies to form a new gang. One of em had the guts to say no to Joker for joining so he sprayed him with laughing gas, something I didn't know about until later. I went to see him in the hospital to figure out what could have possibly done this to him. And by your words, it wasn't a what. It was a who. Joker. That's when you and Robin told me he was here in Dakota. You... gave me a communicator but I lost it, so I contacted you with my own Static electricity powered Bat-signal. Unfortunately, it was right to a trap. You and Robin got captured. With some help from a friend, I was able to save you guys, and we worked together to take down the Joker." Static said.
"Sounds like the Joker's work. But, none of this seems familiar at all." Batman said.
"And who's Robin?" Batgirl asked.
"Boy wonder? Batman's first sidekick?" Static said.
"Last time I checked, I was Batman's first partner." Batgirl said.
"None of this ringing a bell at all?" He added.
Batman shook his head.
"Nope." Batgirl says as she shrugs.
"How'd you two get here?" Static asked.
"It was a report from the Commissioner. Stolen tech was all being sent to one distinct location. I went to the location that he mentioned. And it led me to a warehouse." Batman said.
"Of course, as his new partner, I tagged along." Batgirl said.
"Riddler. The warehouse was only the beginning. I followed the clues he left behind. All to lead me to a boat. He told me he had bombs set. If I could solve the riddle, he'd disarm them. If not, he'd destroy the city. The last time he tried this, he tried to figure out my secret identity. Now, it's the same thing here." Batman said.
"So he's threatening to destroy Gotham, and trying to figure out your secret identity. I'll give him points for creativity." Static said.
"With the Riddler, things are never as simple as they seem. The Riddler gave me a device to answer his questions, giving him clues about my identity with a lie detector device attached to me. If I get them right, no harm, no foul. If I get them wrong, the time on the bombs would advance for an hour. The bombs were armed to detonate in 8 hours. But, if he figures out my identity, Gotham is spared." Batman said before looking at his PDA phone that usually gave him access to the technology at the Batcave. Though this is no longer the case at the moment. "I was able to sync this up with the timers for Riddler's bombs. We have 7 hours and 40 minutes before the bombs detonate."
"Obviously, Riddler figuring out his identity isn't an option. So we've got to beat the robot before he figures it out or the bombs detonate." Batgirl said.
"If it's a lie detector device, then there's a chip somewhere. Computer chips are sensitive to static electricity. I should be able to remove it. That should make things a lot easier." Static said.
"Don't. If you remove it, Riddler will think something's wrong if he doesn't get results back from the questions and detonate the bombs early." Batman said.
"Plan B. Anybody got some gum?" Static asked.
"You sure you're a superhero?" Batgirl asked.
"Look, it's not like it isn't viable when it comes to polygraphs. Besides, you're not exactly my image of Batgirl either. You don't look too older than me." Static reasoned.
"I'll have you know I'm learning to drive soon." Batgirl said.
"So you are about as old as me!" Static said.
"I might be as old as you, but-" Batgirl said before Batman interrupted.
"Enough. We don't have time to waste with petty bickering. Last time I checked, the best superheroes in any part of the world don't bicker like children amongst themselves." Batman said. "If the Riddler's going to be defeated, it'll take more than just brute strength, powers and martial arts. It'll take the strength of the mind as well. The key to beating the Riddler is to outthink him. His greatest strength is also his greatest weakness." He looked down at his PDA. "Strange. A question should have appeared by now. He said a question would appear every 20 minutes."
"The world. That's it! Think about it, the Batcave has some of the best technology in the world! And you don't have a signal from it now. And you're not getting whatever question the Riddler was supposed to send. I don't think it's a case off him cutting of your communications. I think it's a case of receiving communications from neither because they don't exist in this world. At least not in the same way." Static said.
"What are you saying?" Batgirl asked.
"I'm saying that I don't think this is your Earth." Static said. "Like an alternate universe or reality. I'm not saying this from personal experience because it's never happened to me. But it's one of the only other things I can think of. You two don't know about anything I'm talking about. Batman doesn't sound like... well Batman, and Batgirl doesn't look like Batgirl. I mean come on, you don't even know who Robin is!" Static said, raising his hands in the air at the last part, still in disbelief that they don't know about the Boy Wonder.
"There isn't enough evidence to back up your claims. But it's the only thing we have to go off of at the moment." Batman said. He knew they needed some sense of direction as they didn't need to going around aimlessly, which could waste even more time.
"For starters, I think it's time we get to know each other a little better. So let's start from the beginning. Batman." He said, extending a hand. Static took it.
"Static."
Batgirl extended her hand to him. "Batgirl." He shook hers as well.
"Sorry for earlier." Batgirl said.
"Hey it's all water under the bridge. And if it means anything I was a part of it too. So I owe you an apology myself." Static said.
Static, on his saucer, flew beside Batman and Batgirl who were running on rooftops.
"So, bang babies. Who are those people?" Batgirl asked.
"They're people that got powers during the Big Bang incident here. It's just the name they were given. A derogatory one, might I add. It's how I got my powers too, but I decided to call myself a metahuman instead. Someone that has superpowers. Like some of the Justice League or Avengers." Static explained.
"Big Bang incident was when Dakota's gangs converged in an effort to 'finish things' as they described. How do I know? Two of the guys that used to go to my school were part of gangs. And they were rivals of one another. Wade and Francis Stone. Francis used to bully me until Wade intervened. The first time was free since we go to school together. But the second time, not so much. He caught me again outside of school. Until Wade intervened again. The price of that intervention was that I had to join his rival gang against Francis. My mom was killed because of gang violence, so I hated gangs with a passion. I didn't give him an answer because I didn't want to go. But I wasn't in a position to say no because of the fact they go to school with me every day. The price for declining wasn't something I was willing to pay. And I'll admit it was a because of peer pressure too. I should have had the guts to stand up to em and say no. But against my better judgement I did what he told me to do and went to the docks."
"When I got there, I wanted to talk to him and drop out until he told me what was going on and showed me that Francis' crew was coming. He gave me a towel. When I opened it up, there was a gun. That was when I knew I was in too deep. I didn't care how much I was bullied, I wasn't gonna kill him for it. So I threw it into the water. But my day got even worse when Francis spotted me. And then the police spotted us. We just so happened to be in a restricted area. After someone got the bright idea to shoot at the police, they shot tear gas to try and flush everybody out and reel us all in. What they didn't count on was the vat of chemicals there. The police shot one of the vats on accident. And a chain reaction started, making them all explode, releasing the gas inside. Everybody there but the police was affected by the gas, including me. The incident was so bad, even people that weren't even involved took in the gas too just from being in the area around it. And it affected everyone in different ways. Sometimes it even changed how they look. I can say I was one of the lucky ones as I got out unscathed. Can't say the same for everybody else. Not everybody made it out." Static said.
"I didn't get my powers until the next day. And I immediately wanted to help people. With the help of my best friend that is. As for Wade and Francis? Well, Francis got arrested but broke out. He looks fine like me, but he got powers like I did. Fire powers. Hotstreak's his alter ego name. Which is how he was able to break out. He's not in school anymore but I've been having to go against him since as Static. I'm just glad he hasn't put two and two together and realize that Static and the kid he used to bully back in school are the same person. And as for Wade, I haven't seen him or his gang since the incident. I don't think any of them ever made it out that night."
"I commend you for wanting to make a difference Static. The world needs a lot more people like you and Batgirl." Batman said.
"Wow. Thanks. That means a lot coming from you. Even if you're from another Earth." Static said.
Static turned his head back forward and saw something that almost made him lose control on his saucer, even though no one else saw it. It was some sort of robot. It was larger than what Static expected. "I'm guessing that's your robot." Static said.
"You'd be right." Batgirl said.
"Where's the Batbot when you need it?" Static said.