Chapter 10: Siege
The Story Thus Far: Bruce Wayne is alive and well after his latest encounter with Ra's al Ghul thanks to a quick dip in the Lazarus Pit provided by Harley and Ivy. He's silent on his death experience, and they are almost as silent on the events following his demise, aside from the obvious fact that they have Talia's son, Beal, with them. On Harley's urging Bruce takes them away from the mid-Atlantic via a JLA teleportation device that was secreted on his person; Meanwhile in Gotham General Hospital, Det. Bullock barges in on a secluded Two-Face who appears to have performed surgery upon himself. Commissioner Gordon intervenes and asks Bullock to check the perimeter, and on the fallen Batgirl. Gordon quizzes Two-Face on what he was doing and is given the cold shoulder. Gordon isn't amused, and when Two-Face answers with "we" and "us" instead of "me" and "I" Gordon tries to shock him back to normal. It works as Harvey Dent's persona reasserts itself, submerging Two-Face. Dent explains that he was all but shut out since the Riddler inserted a tiny mind control device in his skull, and it was all he could do to keep Two-Face from completely taking control and going on a much less restrained rampage. He only recently removed the chip, mere moments before Bullock's interruption. Regardless, even with a restrained rampage Two-Face and Penguin still managed to instil misdirection among the police for their master, while he completed his plan. They then make it to the roof where a police helicopter is waiting to take them to the asylum, and the Riddler…
…
Up above there is a driving downpour with dark storm clouds expunging their mass upon the ground. Rain droplets seep into the already moistened soil, penetrating a few layers of earthen nature. A chill wetness is the only testament to the torrents above a few meters farther down, and if one dug even further there would be nary a sign at all. All would be tranquil and serene within nature's folds. Even here, in a cave of incredible girth, there isn't a clue to the insanity without.
Unexpectedly an iridescent blue light builds throughout the cave as if from nowhere, followed by a thin whine in the background. If any witnesses were present they would soon be able to make out several figures emerging in the midst of the light, each a prime human specimen. As the blue light fades Bruce Wayne makes his way towards the Batcave nerve center, leaving Ivy and Harley to contemplate their trip.
"Oh vey," Harley croaks, her cheeks starting to bulge, "That's not good. Do you mind holding the kid for a sec, Red?" she asks hurriedly, not even waiting for an answer before tossing the child in Ivy's arms. She runs into a darkened corner of the cave and makes very uncomfortable noises. Ivy smirks, "Looks like teleportation doesn't agree with Auntie Harley, does it Beal?" and they head off after Bruce.
Ivy's wound is still tender, although the Justice League headquarters' medical facilities did an excellent job of mending. She still finds it incredible that they didn't encounter another human being during their brief stay, but as Bruce stated, "It's a big place, and they'll only see us when I want them to." She thinks those words could also be used in regards to the Batcave.
Beal and Ivy arrive to a large, well lit steel platform, housing several computers and even old paper file folders. On the monitors are flickering images of Two-Face, Penguin, Riddler, Joker, Mad Hatter, Scarecrow and various other rogues. She nears the image of Two-Face and frowns, her mind attuning to his as she attempts to gather what information she can. She's already performed it once before, at the JLA Citadel, and what she provided to Bruce set him to earth in a flash. This time there is nothing new, save for the fact that Two-Face and his party are en route to the asylum…
She feels a cold hand upon her shoulder and gasps, instinctively tightening her hold on the infant in her arms. She turns with a start, and the sight that greets her is no more comforting. Where Bruce Wayne was a creature now stands before her, black as night with long, pointed ears that may have been forged by Lucifer himself. The creature smiles at her fear, it's been a long time…
…
High above the Gotham skyline a solitary police helicopter struggles its way through the fetid night, shimmying and sighing with every gust of gale. The pilot is a seasoned veteran, his nerves are like steel and he will neither yield nor bend to the storm. Using every ounce of skill at his disposal the helicopter stays the course, drawing ever closer to the asylum. And then he sees it, as bizarre a sight as could be expected; a plump little man with a long nose and top hat floating in the air, in one hand is an umbrella-handle leading up to a set of rotating blades, at best it could be described as a miniature helicopter. In the other is a closed umbrella, its tip pointing at the police helicopter's cockpit. Most of all the pilot will remember the eyes, those vapid pupils whose stare was one of pure death, the kind of eyes that whisper death on a night when only monsters come out to play. The pilot is about to call out when the umbrella tip explodes and a hail of bullets pierce through the cockpit glass, riddling the pilot with their lethal tips. He slumps in his seat and the co-pilot screams.
In the passenger hold Det. Harvey Bullock is equally taken aback, "Geez!"
"Swing us about!" Commissioner Gordon screams at the co-pilot as he rushes to the cockpit, "Don't let him get another clear shot! Do it!"
His nerves shot, the co-pilot does his best to comply. Penguin's assault now strikes the hull of the craft and the bullets ricochet harmlessly off the steel exterior, but only just.
Bullock yells out as he grabs his gun, "Get us down! He's gonna bust through and kill us all if we don't get down!" There is only a sad whimper from the co-pilot and Bullock turns away. He grabs a hold of the cabin door and gives a hard tug on the latch, unlocking it. With his unarmed hand he tries to open the door with no success.
Harvey Dent then rises up from his seat. He pulls on the side door of the craft and draws it open for Bullock. Bullock rolls to one side of the opening and Dent to the other as Penguin fires another volley through the hatch.
"Come on you bastard, reload," Bullock growls, "Reload!"
The gunfire abruptly ceases and Bullock fires back at the cagey bird. Penguin's tiny little craft darts back and forth as he reaches for another umbrella on his belt. Penguin then opens fire once more, this time advancing towards the craft as he fires, his bullets starting to cause some serious damage as parts begin to spume smoke.
"He's moving too fast, I can't get a bead!" Bullock screams, "Straighten up!"
"I can't!" the co-pilot yells back, regaining some of his nerve, "If I do he'll just come to the front again! He'll come after me!"
Gordon sighs heavily, he can't fly a helicopter and so he's powerless here. He also knows that if the Penguin manages to get onboard, in his current state, he could very well kill them all!
As Penguin continues to advance, Harvey Dent takes a deep breath and rises to his feet. "Time to do something stupid…" and he dives through the opening just as he sees the Penguin's umbrella tip peek through. Several slugs riddle his body, yet somehow he manages to grab a hold of the Penguin. Bleeding profusely he struggles to seize the miniature helicopter in the cagey bird's hand.
"Give it up Oswald," he sputters as his added weight forces the Penguin to relax his grip, "Don't you know, penguins can't fly…" and the Penguin's hand lets go. Together the two plummet earthward as the rotating blades fly upwards, neither combatant making a sound as they disappear into the blackness below.
Onboard the police helicopter Bullock is aghast, "Son of a bitch! Son of a…"
"What?" Gordon yells, seeing Harvey Dent is now missing, "What happened?"
"Just land the thing," a clearly riled Bullock mumbles, "We've got a job to finish…"
…
Her fear has been replaced with a feeling of deep loss as she looks at the creature before her, "Bruce…" Her face contorts into anguish as she tries to make a sense of this sensation, "…Harvey…Harvey's gone…"
And just like that his mood is changed: From a creature of the night to a broken, dishevelled man in the blink of an eye. He falls back into a waiting chair. His cape and cowl providing little comfort he removes them and stares at the empty mask in his hand, "I only wore it for seconds… just seconds…and already…"
"It's not your fault," she whispers sensitively.
"Don't even try, Ivy, don't even waste your breath," he replies in the voice of a defeated man, "I should have been on this case from the beginning, I should have made this my priority. Instead I went after Ra's, why? Why couldn't I do the right thing, just this once? He came to me, damn it, he came to me for help! Why?"
She kneels before him, holding the tiny infant within Bruce's gaze, "You had to save him, Bruce, that's why; you had to save Beal for Talia."
Bruce Wayne turns away in disgust with himself, "You don't understand, Ra's was right. He was right all along. Beal would have been safe for months, years, before Ra's would bother shaping him. And Ra's' plan was still nowhere near completion; there was time…there WAS time! He was right all along, I did it all for myself, for that damned lust in my eyes that would let everyone go to hell so long as I was the one that SPILT THEIR BLOOD…" and he slides towards the console to stare at the rogues. After a second he groans before depressing one button to change the images into those of Robin, Nightwing, Huntress and the original Batgirl. His head then falls onto the console's surface and he shrouds himself around his black covered sleeves, "Good lord…what have I become?"
She rises slowly, softly, and makes her way to his side, sitting adjacent to him. She looks at him with a worried expression before beginning to speak, "One of us Bruce, that's what you've become, that's probably what you've always been…just in a different vein is all. It doesn't have to stay that way, though…"
He stays silent, immersed in self pity. She frowns at him and looks over the console. Typing in several letters into the search engine she pulls up a file all too familiar to her. Hitting the enter key she displays the file on the screen. An image of herself appears in her more sinister past light. She nudges him, still holding the babe in her arms, "57, Bruce, your own file says so. FIFTY-SEVEN! They weren't like yours either, Bruce, these were real, these were intentional, and these were by my hand. No second hand death like with the Joker, no attempted murder of an immortal, no slaughter of a soulless mockery of life army; just real, loving, healthy people dying…sometimes before my very eyes…" she looks away from the monitor and stares at the child, "but that was then, I'm not like that anymore. I'm not saying it's easy, I still see the faces…I always will…you just don't have to add to the collage in your nightmares."
Bruce has managed to raise his head as she continues, "Once I was that creature on the screen, but now…now I've managed to help save the world and am holding a chubby little tyke in my arms… life's a curious thing, isn't it?"
…
Even in daylight Arkham's Asylum for the Criminally Insane is an imposing structure, with its staggered stonework throughout the exterior, decaying wooden window sills and iron bars. Even its tall, jagged towers add to the effect by pointing to heaven as if to beg for salvation. It would send a shudder down any pedestrian's spine. Now picture a sky filled with black clouds and lightning bolts to give it an eerie light, with sheets of rain and crackles of thunder thrown in to heighten the effect, and you have the sight that greets Gotham's finest as they surround this most antiquitated of abodes. Each man's hand is shaking and none would blame them.
At the center of the conflagration is the Commissioner, with his most trusted officer Det. Harvey Bullock at his side. Gordon has a megaphone in one hand and tries to think of something to say. Instead his mind wanders back to the sight of Batgirl's blood soaked body folded in his arms, and he freezes. It's his greatest fear, to lose another human being so near to him, and she's the closest thing to a living relative he has left in this God forsaken city…and she was bleeding to death in his arms…!
He shakes it off and prepares to speak once more, and once more the image fills his mind…
Next to him Bullock has his gun drawn and is waiting for the Commissioner to give the order. Within Arkham are hundreds of Gotham's most depraved minds, all likely under the control of a single, demanding taskmaster. If they're summoned to storm the building it may very well become a bloodbath for both sides. Many will die, inmate and cop alike. Inmates like Harvey Dent and cops like his partner, Det. Allen. Dent fell several stories to save their lives. Bullock would've wanted to search for him, to at least make peace with him, but the job takes precedent and the Commissioner sent a task force instead. And then there's Det. Allen, a cop Bullock thought was on the take and who turned out to be about as honest as possible. He fell several stories too, into a bloody mess, like how this rush is going to be. How many partners has he lost, Bullock wonders, how many more? It's now his greatest fear.
He shakes it off and prepares for the assault, and once more the image fills his mind…
And what of the officer whose hand is shaking, his gun bobbing with each spasm? He can recall a standoff similar to this on a night like unlike any other…a night where a child was caught in the line of fire. An accidental shooting it was ruled, tragic and impossible to prevent. He can see the small face each time he draws the gun. Each time he draws a bead it could happen again, it could happen tonight. It's his greatest fear…
Gordon could see it occurring all about him, good men and women, respected veterans and novice rookies alike, each one is flush cold in sweat and shaking like a leaf. He's seen this before, why didn't he see it sooner?
He closes his eyes and sees Batgirl's bleeding body once more as he mutters in a hoarse voice, "Scarecrow…"
TO BE CONTINUED…
The Story Thus Far: Bruce Wayne is alive and well after his latest encounter with Ra's al Ghul thanks to a quick dip in the Lazarus Pit provided by Harley and Ivy. He's silent on his death experience, and they are almost as silent on the events following his demise, aside from the obvious fact that they have Talia's son, Beal, with them. On Harley's urging Bruce takes them away from the mid-Atlantic via a JLA teleportation device that was secreted on his person; Meanwhile in Gotham General Hospital, Det. Bullock barges in on a secluded Two-Face who appears to have performed surgery upon himself. Commissioner Gordon intervenes and asks Bullock to check the perimeter, and on the fallen Batgirl. Gordon quizzes Two-Face on what he was doing and is given the cold shoulder. Gordon isn't amused, and when Two-Face answers with "we" and "us" instead of "me" and "I" Gordon tries to shock him back to normal. It works as Harvey Dent's persona reasserts itself, submerging Two-Face. Dent explains that he was all but shut out since the Riddler inserted a tiny mind control device in his skull, and it was all he could do to keep Two-Face from completely taking control and going on a much less restrained rampage. He only recently removed the chip, mere moments before Bullock's interruption. Regardless, even with a restrained rampage Two-Face and Penguin still managed to instil misdirection among the police for their master, while he completed his plan. They then make it to the roof where a police helicopter is waiting to take them to the asylum, and the Riddler…
…
Up above there is a driving downpour with dark storm clouds expunging their mass upon the ground. Rain droplets seep into the already moistened soil, penetrating a few layers of earthen nature. A chill wetness is the only testament to the torrents above a few meters farther down, and if one dug even further there would be nary a sign at all. All would be tranquil and serene within nature's folds. Even here, in a cave of incredible girth, there isn't a clue to the insanity without.
Unexpectedly an iridescent blue light builds throughout the cave as if from nowhere, followed by a thin whine in the background. If any witnesses were present they would soon be able to make out several figures emerging in the midst of the light, each a prime human specimen. As the blue light fades Bruce Wayne makes his way towards the Batcave nerve center, leaving Ivy and Harley to contemplate their trip.
"Oh vey," Harley croaks, her cheeks starting to bulge, "That's not good. Do you mind holding the kid for a sec, Red?" she asks hurriedly, not even waiting for an answer before tossing the child in Ivy's arms. She runs into a darkened corner of the cave and makes very uncomfortable noises. Ivy smirks, "Looks like teleportation doesn't agree with Auntie Harley, does it Beal?" and they head off after Bruce.
Ivy's wound is still tender, although the Justice League headquarters' medical facilities did an excellent job of mending. She still finds it incredible that they didn't encounter another human being during their brief stay, but as Bruce stated, "It's a big place, and they'll only see us when I want them to." She thinks those words could also be used in regards to the Batcave.
Beal and Ivy arrive to a large, well lit steel platform, housing several computers and even old paper file folders. On the monitors are flickering images of Two-Face, Penguin, Riddler, Joker, Mad Hatter, Scarecrow and various other rogues. She nears the image of Two-Face and frowns, her mind attuning to his as she attempts to gather what information she can. She's already performed it once before, at the JLA Citadel, and what she provided to Bruce set him to earth in a flash. This time there is nothing new, save for the fact that Two-Face and his party are en route to the asylum…
She feels a cold hand upon her shoulder and gasps, instinctively tightening her hold on the infant in her arms. She turns with a start, and the sight that greets her is no more comforting. Where Bruce Wayne was a creature now stands before her, black as night with long, pointed ears that may have been forged by Lucifer himself. The creature smiles at her fear, it's been a long time…
…
High above the Gotham skyline a solitary police helicopter struggles its way through the fetid night, shimmying and sighing with every gust of gale. The pilot is a seasoned veteran, his nerves are like steel and he will neither yield nor bend to the storm. Using every ounce of skill at his disposal the helicopter stays the course, drawing ever closer to the asylum. And then he sees it, as bizarre a sight as could be expected; a plump little man with a long nose and top hat floating in the air, in one hand is an umbrella-handle leading up to a set of rotating blades, at best it could be described as a miniature helicopter. In the other is a closed umbrella, its tip pointing at the police helicopter's cockpit. Most of all the pilot will remember the eyes, those vapid pupils whose stare was one of pure death, the kind of eyes that whisper death on a night when only monsters come out to play. The pilot is about to call out when the umbrella tip explodes and a hail of bullets pierce through the cockpit glass, riddling the pilot with their lethal tips. He slumps in his seat and the co-pilot screams.
In the passenger hold Det. Harvey Bullock is equally taken aback, "Geez!"
"Swing us about!" Commissioner Gordon screams at the co-pilot as he rushes to the cockpit, "Don't let him get another clear shot! Do it!"
His nerves shot, the co-pilot does his best to comply. Penguin's assault now strikes the hull of the craft and the bullets ricochet harmlessly off the steel exterior, but only just.
Bullock yells out as he grabs his gun, "Get us down! He's gonna bust through and kill us all if we don't get down!" There is only a sad whimper from the co-pilot and Bullock turns away. He grabs a hold of the cabin door and gives a hard tug on the latch, unlocking it. With his unarmed hand he tries to open the door with no success.
Harvey Dent then rises up from his seat. He pulls on the side door of the craft and draws it open for Bullock. Bullock rolls to one side of the opening and Dent to the other as Penguin fires another volley through the hatch.
"Come on you bastard, reload," Bullock growls, "Reload!"
The gunfire abruptly ceases and Bullock fires back at the cagey bird. Penguin's tiny little craft darts back and forth as he reaches for another umbrella on his belt. Penguin then opens fire once more, this time advancing towards the craft as he fires, his bullets starting to cause some serious damage as parts begin to spume smoke.
"He's moving too fast, I can't get a bead!" Bullock screams, "Straighten up!"
"I can't!" the co-pilot yells back, regaining some of his nerve, "If I do he'll just come to the front again! He'll come after me!"
Gordon sighs heavily, he can't fly a helicopter and so he's powerless here. He also knows that if the Penguin manages to get onboard, in his current state, he could very well kill them all!
As Penguin continues to advance, Harvey Dent takes a deep breath and rises to his feet. "Time to do something stupid…" and he dives through the opening just as he sees the Penguin's umbrella tip peek through. Several slugs riddle his body, yet somehow he manages to grab a hold of the Penguin. Bleeding profusely he struggles to seize the miniature helicopter in the cagey bird's hand.
"Give it up Oswald," he sputters as his added weight forces the Penguin to relax his grip, "Don't you know, penguins can't fly…" and the Penguin's hand lets go. Together the two plummet earthward as the rotating blades fly upwards, neither combatant making a sound as they disappear into the blackness below.
Onboard the police helicopter Bullock is aghast, "Son of a bitch! Son of a…"
"What?" Gordon yells, seeing Harvey Dent is now missing, "What happened?"
"Just land the thing," a clearly riled Bullock mumbles, "We've got a job to finish…"
…
Her fear has been replaced with a feeling of deep loss as she looks at the creature before her, "Bruce…" Her face contorts into anguish as she tries to make a sense of this sensation, "…Harvey…Harvey's gone…"
And just like that his mood is changed: From a creature of the night to a broken, dishevelled man in the blink of an eye. He falls back into a waiting chair. His cape and cowl providing little comfort he removes them and stares at the empty mask in his hand, "I only wore it for seconds… just seconds…and already…"
"It's not your fault," she whispers sensitively.
"Don't even try, Ivy, don't even waste your breath," he replies in the voice of a defeated man, "I should have been on this case from the beginning, I should have made this my priority. Instead I went after Ra's, why? Why couldn't I do the right thing, just this once? He came to me, damn it, he came to me for help! Why?"
She kneels before him, holding the tiny infant within Bruce's gaze, "You had to save him, Bruce, that's why; you had to save Beal for Talia."
Bruce Wayne turns away in disgust with himself, "You don't understand, Ra's was right. He was right all along. Beal would have been safe for months, years, before Ra's would bother shaping him. And Ra's' plan was still nowhere near completion; there was time…there WAS time! He was right all along, I did it all for myself, for that damned lust in my eyes that would let everyone go to hell so long as I was the one that SPILT THEIR BLOOD…" and he slides towards the console to stare at the rogues. After a second he groans before depressing one button to change the images into those of Robin, Nightwing, Huntress and the original Batgirl. His head then falls onto the console's surface and he shrouds himself around his black covered sleeves, "Good lord…what have I become?"
She rises slowly, softly, and makes her way to his side, sitting adjacent to him. She looks at him with a worried expression before beginning to speak, "One of us Bruce, that's what you've become, that's probably what you've always been…just in a different vein is all. It doesn't have to stay that way, though…"
He stays silent, immersed in self pity. She frowns at him and looks over the console. Typing in several letters into the search engine she pulls up a file all too familiar to her. Hitting the enter key she displays the file on the screen. An image of herself appears in her more sinister past light. She nudges him, still holding the babe in her arms, "57, Bruce, your own file says so. FIFTY-SEVEN! They weren't like yours either, Bruce, these were real, these were intentional, and these were by my hand. No second hand death like with the Joker, no attempted murder of an immortal, no slaughter of a soulless mockery of life army; just real, loving, healthy people dying…sometimes before my very eyes…" she looks away from the monitor and stares at the child, "but that was then, I'm not like that anymore. I'm not saying it's easy, I still see the faces…I always will…you just don't have to add to the collage in your nightmares."
Bruce has managed to raise his head as she continues, "Once I was that creature on the screen, but now…now I've managed to help save the world and am holding a chubby little tyke in my arms… life's a curious thing, isn't it?"
…
Even in daylight Arkham's Asylum for the Criminally Insane is an imposing structure, with its staggered stonework throughout the exterior, decaying wooden window sills and iron bars. Even its tall, jagged towers add to the effect by pointing to heaven as if to beg for salvation. It would send a shudder down any pedestrian's spine. Now picture a sky filled with black clouds and lightning bolts to give it an eerie light, with sheets of rain and crackles of thunder thrown in to heighten the effect, and you have the sight that greets Gotham's finest as they surround this most antiquitated of abodes. Each man's hand is shaking and none would blame them.
At the center of the conflagration is the Commissioner, with his most trusted officer Det. Harvey Bullock at his side. Gordon has a megaphone in one hand and tries to think of something to say. Instead his mind wanders back to the sight of Batgirl's blood soaked body folded in his arms, and he freezes. It's his greatest fear, to lose another human being so near to him, and she's the closest thing to a living relative he has left in this God forsaken city…and she was bleeding to death in his arms…!
He shakes it off and prepares to speak once more, and once more the image fills his mind…
Next to him Bullock has his gun drawn and is waiting for the Commissioner to give the order. Within Arkham are hundreds of Gotham's most depraved minds, all likely under the control of a single, demanding taskmaster. If they're summoned to storm the building it may very well become a bloodbath for both sides. Many will die, inmate and cop alike. Inmates like Harvey Dent and cops like his partner, Det. Allen. Dent fell several stories to save their lives. Bullock would've wanted to search for him, to at least make peace with him, but the job takes precedent and the Commissioner sent a task force instead. And then there's Det. Allen, a cop Bullock thought was on the take and who turned out to be about as honest as possible. He fell several stories too, into a bloody mess, like how this rush is going to be. How many partners has he lost, Bullock wonders, how many more? It's now his greatest fear.
He shakes it off and prepares for the assault, and once more the image fills his mind…
And what of the officer whose hand is shaking, his gun bobbing with each spasm? He can recall a standoff similar to this on a night like unlike any other…a night where a child was caught in the line of fire. An accidental shooting it was ruled, tragic and impossible to prevent. He can see the small face each time he draws the gun. Each time he draws a bead it could happen again, it could happen tonight. It's his greatest fear…
Gordon could see it occurring all about him, good men and women, respected veterans and novice rookies alike, each one is flush cold in sweat and shaking like a leaf. He's seen this before, why didn't he see it sooner?
He closes his eyes and sees Batgirl's bleeding body once more as he mutters in a hoarse voice, "Scarecrow…"
TO BE CONTINUED…