ElseWorlds™: Saving James

Chapter 8

By: Christopher W. Blaine

e-mail: darth_yoshi@yahoo.com

DISCLAIMER: Refer to chapter 1 for the disclaimer for this entire story.

"You are served," the man said, handing Barbara the manila envelope. She cursed at him, as it appeared to be the proper thing to do and he replied with a middle finger.

She closed the door to her apartment, ignoring Dick's call as to what was going on and opened the envelope. She couldn't imagine why a process server was visiting her and her curiosity was overriding her good manners. She pulled out the papers even as Dick entered the foyer with little James in his arms. "Your baby is wet," he said, trying to get her attention. He noticed her hands were shaking and he was suddenly very confused.

He needed to put James down, but the baby always cried when left alone. That was the only problem any of the doctors could find, if that was really a problem. James was a baby that simply loved to be around other people. His favorite, of course, was his mother, followed by, much to Dick's chagrin, Alfred Pennyworth, the former butler of Bruce Wayne. Then came Dick.

In the year since James's birth, things had changed so much for all of them. Batman had a new partner in Gotham City; a black-haired woman called Batwoman and Dick was pretty sure that it was the former Catwoman. Selina Kyle was spending a lot of time at Wayne Manor now and Dick wasn't sure whether or not he approved. Certainly, Bruce's attitude had changed because of it. But then again, so had the Batman's.

Gotham City was a place transformed, especially since Jim Gordon had recovered from his heart attack. With the Catwoman no longer part of the Oracle Group, Huntress and Obsidian had nothing to hold them back. Just three months before, the Riddler had been taken down, permanently, when he had pulled a knife on the Huntress. According to Dick's contacts in the Gotham underworld, she hadn't even blinked.

In fact, crime was very rare in Gotham City. People were no longer afraid to go out at night because of muggers; they feared breaking any law and having Obsidian step out of the shadows. There were unconfirmed stories that he had taken to attacking citizens for offenses such as littering. None of this was confirmed because the GCPD thought it was great. Jim Gordon was finally cleaning up Gotham and the governor was using the city as a model for his anti-crime platform.

Dick was so happy he had decided to remain in Metropolis with Barbara. After she had recovered from James's birth, Dick had poured his heart out to her, telling her the truth about his feelings for her that he had hidden for so long. She had nodded, smiled in all the right places and then patted his hand. "That's nice, Dick, but do you think I could possibly see my son now?"

After leaving the hospital, she had invited him to move in on a trial basis. Within six months, they were sharing the same bed. Now they were sharing the same butler. "Let me take Master James, sir," Alfred said as he entered. Dick nodded and handed the child over before going to his girlfriend's aid.

She looked at him and he saw genuine fear in her eyes. He wondered if that was the look she had given the Joker the night he had raped her. She handed the papers over and he scanned them. His own jaw dropped. "No fucking way," he said. Barbara was surprised to hear him curse. She cursed, but he never did no matter what.

As if to punctuate the statement, he shook his head. "No fucking way."

The Batman dropped into a crouch, the Batwoman close behind in her yellow and red costume. She started to fall forward slightly and he reached out for her. She was steadied by his grip, just as she had steadied his life with her presence. He nodded to her and they slowly stood up. The security cameras had already been bypassed and Batwoman almost laughed; the security cameras were always being bypassed here at Arkham Asylum.

This particular weekend was supposed to be spent in passionate lovemaking on a small Greek island. Unfortunately, a phone call from Dick Grayson had changed all of that. She knew that Bruce and Dick were working on their relationship, but she couldn't help but think that Dick resented her being Batman's new partner.

Batman started walking through the passageway, looking straight ahead. Had he turned either left or right, he would have seen the eyes of what were once some of his greatest foes looking with mocking stares. Batwoman followed close behind; she saw what could be described as betrayal when they gazed upon her. She was a traitor to their ranks, first when she joined the Oracle Group and second when she teamed up with Batman.

Nothing was said, none of the normal catcalls and whistles that were so often characteristic of such a place. Arkham was much more subdued now, but it had nothing to do with the quality of treatment. The ranks of the insane had been thinned out; the Huntress was taking no prisoners. Where the Batman made threats, the Huntress carried them out.

But worse than the painful death that the Huntress promised them if they didn't behave was the agonizing life Obsidian granted. The spectral hero had even bested the Scarecrow in a battle of wills. There was a rumor going around that Obsidian's father, the original Green Lantern, had tried to reign in his son. The elder hero had not been seen in public for over six months and Obsidian's sister, the green-skinned Jade, had trying to petition the Justice League to look into the matter. Gotham, however, was still considered off-limits by the League.

They stopped in front of one cell and Batman hesitated. It held Pamela Isley, the villain Poison Ivy. Her sobs could be heard from inside and Batwoman knew that Bruce Wayne had a small soft spot for the crimson-haired eco-terrorist. Ivy wasn't as evil as the others in this building, just simply confused about what form of life was worth saving. If she were willing to put the dedication she showed plant life towards human life, the world would most likely be a better place.

Still, Ivy was a killer and killers had to be prosecuted and punished. Ivy's unique state made her a true enigma as to whether or not she was genuinely responsible for her actions. There was no way for her to escape and she was being kept away from her precious plants. The word was that any time she tried to grow even the smallest weed, Obsidian would come walking out of the shadows and crush it.

They continued on until they came to an all too-familiar place. Batman opened the door with his own key he had made several months before. Inside, the Joker sat in the grey coveralls of an inmate, reading a book. Batwoman saw it was "Lord of the Flies".

The Joker looked up and smiled. "Batman and…is that you, kitty-kitty?" He set the book down and stood up. "I was just to the part where they dropped the boulder on poor Piggy. Would you like me to read to you?"

"This isn't a joke," Batman said coldly.

The Joker snickered. "You can cut out the act, Bats! You're old hat…you don't scare me, not that you ever did. But all of that is in the past now. I've been responding to treatment."

"You're suing for visitation rights. You must be insane," Batwoman said.

"On the contrary, my record for the past two years is exemplary…"

"Like calling Jim Gordon and giving him a heart attack?" Batman asked.

"Did I develop mental powers? Can I cause cardiac arrest just by speaking? If so, Batman, I assure you I would have used that ability to my best advantage years ago." He sat back down and crossed his legs. His manners and speech indicated someone in full control of their emotions, but the Batman did not believe it. He was sure this was an act, part of an elaborate ruse. "I would like to see my son."

"You lost your right!" Batwoman hissed.

"Actually, I didn't. Maybe in other states or countries I would have, but we have some very liberal laws on the books, dear, despite the best efforts of our current governor." He looked very proud of himself as he was speaking and Batman guessed Harvey Dent, also known as Two-Face, had coached him. "I'm requesting supervised visitation, under the watchful eye of my doctor."

"And your doctor thinks this is a good idea?" Batman asked.

"Dr. Quinn understands me, Batman, in a way that nobody ever has. True, I'm her very first patient, but she just seems to be able to unlock the doors of my mind…"

"Trapdoors is more like it!"

The Joker laughed, but it seemed forced. "Oh, kitty-kitty, you always were the clever one. I envy you, Batman; she's a fine specimen. Good childbearing hips on her and believe me, I know a lot about women's hips. In fact, I consider myself an expert on the female body."

"You bastard!" Batwoman stepped forward, but Batman held her back with an extended arm.

He stepped up and leaned down at the Joker. "Stop this now."

"No. He's my son. I'm responding to treatment; that's why I'm here…to get better, to contribute to society." Batwoman remarked that as soon as he was better, he would go to prison. "Perhaps," he responded, "perhaps not. That, however, does not make my parental rights any less legitimate."

"You will regret this," Batman warned him.

Joker stood up and got nose-to-nose with his adversary. Batman looked deep into the madman's green eyes and couldn't get a read on anything. Whatever the Joker was up to, it was grand in scale and was occupying his every waking thought. That did not make the Caped Crusader feel comfortable. "You mean like how you are? How you punish yourself for not protecting Jim Gordon or his daughter? I don't get you, Bats; when I was sick I killed hundreds, yet when I create a life, you get all weird and lose control of Gotham." He licked his lips. "Is that it? Did I shatter your reality, Batman? The Joker can only kill, not create; that is how God can justify having someone like me here, isn't it? I'm just like you. I can fuck and make babies. I'm a well-hung stallion! Hey, maybe that's your problem…maybe Batman can't get it up! Tell me, Selina, are you on the pill? Surely you and the Bat are rolling in the kitty litter. No bats in your belfry I bet!"

Batman shoved him back into his chair and then reached down, putting his hand around the Joker's throat. It would only taker a small amount of pressure to crush the windpipe. "Do it!" the Joker said. "At least then everyone will know you have some balls still!"

The Batman's arm began shaking as he stood poised on the edge. Batwoman's voice brought him back. "He's not worth it."

"Batman fires blanks! Nutless faggot!" The Joker gave another squeak that may have been the beginnings of another insult, but the Batman applied more pressure. Batwoman put her hand on his shoulder and whispered into his ear. A moment later, Batman released his grip.

"Your time is over, Caped Doofus," the Joker said after taking several large breaths. "The entire underworld knows that you're soft. You won't stand up to Gordon and you won't even punish me for violating your ex-partner!" The Joker noted Batman's sudden change in stance; it was the first time he had ever seen his foe in shock. "That's right…Bruce," the Joker laughed.

"It doesn't change anything. If you know who I am then you know the resources I have at my disposal. Leave Barbara alone."

"Why? Jealous that I got what you wanted? They say I'm crazy but momma didn't raise a fool! There's more here than meets the eye!" The Joker settled back into his chair and picked up his book. "You've got issues, Bats, you need to deal with them. I'll give you the name of my doctor, she's pretty good. Oh, don't worry about your secret…I'm not telling anyone. It wouldn't do any good anyway, would it?"

"No, it wouldn't."

"Just think how uncomplicated your life would be if you would just kill me," the Joker mused aloud. Then he started reading again. "Poor Piggy…damn shame. The boy had such potential…"

Twenty minutes later, Batwoman asked Batman about the Joker's comments. "Did anything he say hit the truth? Were you in love with Batgirl?"

Batman adjusted the windshield wipers of the Batmobile as it began to sprinkle. "We were very close for a time, that's all."

She could here the pain in his voice. How many demons did the man she love carry? How many ghosts and how many dashed dreams. Nobody should have to carry the emotional burden that he did. "How close?"

"I'd prefer not to say. You don't like to discuss your time as a prostitute," he said, caution in his voice. She understood she was on the boundary of his defenses.

"That's because I'm ashamed about it."

"Then you understand."

"No, I don't. Not completely anyway," she said as she pulled her cowl down. Her eyes sparkled in the light coming off of the instrument panel and for a moment, Batman's heart skipped a beat as he not only saw, but also felt her beauty. This was someone he could open up to and she was offering no-strings attached opportunity to do so.

"The Joker was right when he said that I never expected him to have children, that the idea of him spawning sickens me just as it does Jim. Unlike Jim, though, I refuse to allow my anger and regret consume me." He sighed and turned the headlamps on bright as the entered the outskirts of the Wayne property. "I can't help my friend and I'm afraid that my presence around the child will only bring, somehow, my enemies upon him. Dick was right, I've pulled too many innocents into this fight…"

"Including yourself?"

He nodded and then swallowed. He felt warm all over and his mind was shrieking for him to be quiet, to internalize his pain. "Barbara and I had a…relationship that went beyond being partners."

"Serious?"

"Serious enough. Dick was gone. Jason was, well, being Jason. Barbara was intelligent, outgoing, beautiful…"

"Awestruck by the man in the leather cape and cowl? Yes, dear, I've been down that road. But she's so much younger…" she stopped mid-sentence. She wasn't that much older than Barbara.

"It was…a strong temptation, one that I did not give in to," he said as they turned onto an abandoned road that would eventually lead into the Batcave. "I wanted to."

"More willpower than Green Lantern," she chided him, secretly relieved that she didn't have another former lover to compete against. "How did she take it?"

"Pretty well, considering she tried to seduce me."

"Really?"

He shrugged. "It was a one-time thing and even though I refused, we were…closer after that. I think I was just…"

"Horny? Normal? Bruce, you maybe the Batman with the costume off but out of it you're just a man. A younger, attractive woman makes a pass at you, a woman with whom you already have a bond…neither of you are attached…" Batwoman laughed and ran a hand through her hair. "All I know is if it had been me I wouldn't have taken no for an answer."

"If I remember correctly, you didn't," Batman replied. "Barbara was different. I can't explain it."

"Innocence. She was innocent. She had a crush on you and it appealed to you on a level that you didn't know was there. Your sense of chivalry prevented you from taking advantage of it, even though your body was craving it." Batman nodded his head as she spoke. "I suppose the Joker does have a point then. I mean, potentially, Barbara could have been your…girlfriend?"

The side of the mountain in front of them opened up, providing them entrance into the Batcave. Batman slowed down as he made his way through the treacherous driveway to the inner sanctum. "That's a long shot, but a possibility, I suppose." The Batmobile finally came to a stop and they got out. Both of them started to shed their uniforms, only this time the Batman costume was thrown onto the Cave floor.

"Bruce?"

He turned to her. "I can't do this anymore. I'm tired of the pain, of the hurt, of the threats, of the broken relationships and broken hearts. I'm tired of feeling sorry for myself every time I see Jim. I'm not effective anymore. I've lost my city." She came up and took him into her arms. "I look in the mirror everyday and I don't see the person I was when Barbara was so fascinated with me. I don't see the man who took in Dick and Jason. I don't see the man who forged a relationship with the greatest cop Gotham City ever had. I see a failure, a man who let his dream get away from him, a man who never really understood his son or his friend."

He kissed her lightly on the lips; she noticed he tasted like frustration. "Criminals are no longer afraid and I will not kill to get their attention. When I started this mission, I needed Jim Gordon. I lost Jim Gordon. I can't do this without him. God help me I wish that Barbara had been killed that night instead of this daily slap in the face, and that makes me feel more guilty than ever. Maybe then Jim could…maybe Dick could…maybe I could do something useful!"

He stepped away from her and beckoned her to finish taking off her costume. "Tonight was the last night of the Batman," he said before pulling her down onto the cold, hard floor.