Batman/Resident Evil: The Gotham Protocol
Chapter 15
By: Christopher W. Blaine
e-mail: darth_yoshi@yahoo.com
DISCLAIMER: Resident Evil™ is a registered product of Capcom Inc./Batman™ is a registered product of DC Comics Inc. Neither of these properties is used here with permission. This original story idea is ©2003 by Christopher W. Blaine.
The Huntress opened her eyes to see Nightwing looking down at her, a wide grin on his face. She started to say something but stopped when a sharp pain ran from her back to her neck. She remembered the attack by Vandross and blew out. From the smell, she knew she was in a doctor's office. From the feel of the sheets, she realized she was naked.
"You took my clothes off?" she asked weakly.
He continued to grin. "It was either me or Arsenal." By the look that crossed her face he knew that he was definitely the better choice to her.
"What about the doctor?" she joked.
"No fun in that," he told her. He stepped away and offered a hand in sitting up. "How do you feel?"
"I'm sore, but alive," she said before sniffing at her chest. "I don't smell like vomit anymore."
"Yeah, well, it was Black Canary that scooped you up and brought you here. Doc Thompkins said I could take you home after a few more hours' observation. You needed stitches." He waited as she reached around and felt the bandage and she shook her head. He laughed. "We all have out battle scars."
"If I ever find that S.O.B., I'll…"
Nightwing held up his hands in defense. "Whoa, there, Helena; you aren't going to be doing anything for awhile. A back injury is nothing to fool around with in our line of work."
"It's a scratch," she retorted.
"Then it's a deep one," he said as he stepped over to the door to the room. He opened it and peeked outside and then slowly closed it. "We need to stay in here."
Huntress indicated the door with her chin. "What's up out there?"
"Batgirl was infected," he said silently as he came back over to her. "Doc Thompkins is examining her right now."
"And you looked?"
"They are behind a screen, for your information," he told her. He then explained that while Batgirl had indeed been exposed to the T-Virus, she had not been turned into a zombie. "Rebecca thinks that Batgirl may be the one individual on the planet whose body chemistry was able to fight off the virus."
"How is everyone else?"
He sat on the table next to her and she pulled the sheet up around her. He smiled at her modesty for it was so out of character for her. "Most of them are okay, but extremely unhappy. Green Arrow is gone already, saying something about getting drunk with Arsenal. Chris is in another room with Jill…"
"I wonder if she got to take off his clothes," Huntress added with sarcasm. "I mean, it seems like the going thing…undressing the helpless."
Nightwing ignored the jab at his honor. "Batman is gone, though; he and Jill got Man-Bat out of the facility before it exploded…"
"Exploded? Christ, is it safe to breathe the air?" she asked, suddenly concerned. She had fears of becoming one of the walking dead.
"I guess so; Batman said it should be safe enough. Umbrella was trying to destroy evidence, not throw it up into the sky for everyone to see." He sighed. "Man-Bat got away, though. Jill said the second they were outside in the open air he turned on the super-strength and was gone."
"Is he looking for him?"
Nightwing snorted. "No, that job goes to me and you when you're ready. Batman is pretty sure Man-Bat is not infected with anything…"
"Oh, great, a giant man-sized bat, something so normal finally!" She pinched the bridge of her nose. "I can't get the image of Perot out of my head," she said before laying her head on Nightwing's shoulder.
"Careful, Helena, you're showing emotion," he chided her.
She gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Thanks for saving my life, hero-man," she whispered.
"That's what friends are for," he told her. She seemed to blush at the comment and he understood that she probably didn't consider too many people, especially former lovers, as friends. He didn't say anything else and they simply sat there for most of the night.
Somebody has made a big mistake.
Years ago, I made a vow to protect this city and the people that have chosen to live here. I could not save my parents, I was not strong enough at the time to prevent their murders, but I'm not the same little boy that I was then. I'm a man now.
A Batman.
Gotham City has its secrets, my existence being one of them. Go to one of the other major cities, Metropolis, New York, Keystone City, and mention the "Batman" and they'll snicker. I'm an urban myth like the alligators in the sewers. Even my membership in the Justice League is constantly called into question, but that suits my needs just fine.
Yes, to the outside world and I am impossible to conceive. Now I know how the common man feels because the facility that Umbrella set up here in MY city is simply too much for me to comprehend. I've seen my share of death and I've dealt with the worst kind of madman on a nightly basis for well over a decade. Once you start trying to play God, however, when you can say that you've not only defeated death, but subjugated it, bent it to your will, you've crossed the line into pure evil.
Evil has many forms, it wears a variety of masks in the play of life, but I never would have conceived of the depravity I have borne witness to this night. My friends and comrades have been hurt; good cops are on the run because they WANT to enforce the law and a tortured soul has been made the catalyst of a terrible reaction.
I look out onto my city and realize that there is a cancer growing in it. Before I thought Gotham City was simply sick and I was working on a cure. Now I realize it is diseased and a part of it must be cut out to ensure that it does not whither and die.
The destruction of the Petro site was complete; any and all evidence that would have proven what was going on there is now ash. Agents from every federal agency are even now trampling on any clue and even I would have a hard time slipping in. My appearance would probably not bode well for Jim either.
I tried to track down the CEO of the site, but he has already flown out of town, most likely spirited away by the mysterious Vandross, someone else I have to investigate. More viruses threatening the health of my world.
The Bat-Signal now hangs in a sky filled with black smoke, a dark shroud covering the emblem of justice. It's fitting for today justice is being buried under the lies of a company called Umbrella.
Felix straightened his tie as he waited in the waiting room outside the meeting room. In a corner of the room, Vandross was busy picking his nails with a long black knife. Felix did not bother to make conversation with him because he could already guess that they had nothing in common. Vandross was a man of action while Felix was a man of administration. They were archetypes that fed off of each other and that was fine with him.
The door opened and a pretty blonde secretary, who was more plastic than flesh with a porn star smile, welcomed them. She then told them it was time to answer. Vandross slid the knife back into a sheath on his belt and then followed Felix in.
The board of directors for Umbrella Corporation was seated at a long table with the lights behind them. There were only silhouettes to greet the two men as they entered. A faceless man waved an arm for the blonde to shut the door and once the lock clicked, the board wasted no time in beginning their inquisition.
"Mr. Vandross, you may step back," a female voice said. "We have no questions for you." Vandross chuckled and stepped back, but Felix wasn't worried. Lesser men would be in fear of their careers, even their lives, but Felix knew he hadn't screwed up. The grilling was just a matter of form.
"You were responsible for ensuring that the Gotham Protocol was initiated and fulfilled," a voice called out.
Felix smiled. "And I did; certainly it took longer than anticipated and was perhaps a little more messy, but compared to many other operations recently carried out, it was a resounding success."
The figures leaned into each other and whispered. One on the far end leaned forward. "You got the heroes involved."
"What? Batman?" Felix scoffed at the idea. "A lunatic in leather…"
"And he brought the renegade S.T.A.R.s with him!" another figure exclaimed, smashing a fist down. One of the others laid a hand on his shoulder. He seemed to calm down. "Redfield and Valentine of all people!"
"And it was only a matter of time before they resurfaced," he replied, his tone indicating that he thought that it had been obvious. "They will dog us until we can kill them." He turned his head to regard Vandross. "Seems to me your hired gun didn't do his job."
"The facility was destroyed and the appropriate witnesses were eliminated," the figure in the middle said calmly. The other figures seemed to tense up when he spoke, their body language indicating that they were surprised he had spoken. "We are not here to discuss Mr. Vandross; we are here to discuss you."
Felix suppressed a shiver and gulped air. "I'm sorry, sir, I just…"
"You just need to answer our questions." The man leaned back and lit a cigar. "Give us your report."
Felix squeezed his hands into fists to calm down. "The project was a success. We were able to mutate the T-Virus so that it provided effects similar to the Man-Bat condition. Most of the samples were destroyed in the protocol, but the master samples are already on their way to our Pacific facility." He took a deep breath. "All personnel issues were taken care of according to the guidelines of the protocol."
"We lost Perot," someone said.
"Regrettable, but he killed himself. He used our technology to dispose of a lover, very messy."
"He also turned us in to the hero Nightwing," Vandross added. "It very well could have violated the protocol." There were murmurs of agreement.
Felix snatched opportunity. "I take full responsibility for that; it was my security that should have dealt with him." It seemed to impress some of the board members. Too many times the buck got passed around. "I have dealt with that issue as well with Mr. Vandross' aid."
"Excellent," the center figure said.
"Yes, most excellent, indeed," a new voice called out from the darkest reaches of the office. A figure stepped forward and into the light. He was dressed in European fashion, complete with a cane topped with a devil's head. He wore his beard short and it was streaked with white. His most amazing feature was his eyes, however; they were cold, omniscient orbs.
When he spoke, his accent was heavy, but Felix could not place the country of origin for it. "You have tied up all of the loose ends, then?"
Alarm bells went off in Felix's skull with the question. His first instinct was to answer yes, but he held off and decided to play it safe. "Except for the Batman. He knows too much."
The stranger laughed. "The Detective will always know 'too much', and it is something you have to plan for. Now that he is involved, operations in Gotham City will be near impossible to continue."
"Yes, well mister…I'm sorry, I didn't get the name," Felix said, trying to get control again.
"Al Ghul. Ra's Al Ghul. Remember the name, because it is the name of your destiny." Ra's stepped closer to Felix and the Umbrella man had to will himself not to shrink away. Al Ghul's presence was palatable. "The goals of Umbrella and myself are the same. You have the technology and I have the vision."
Ra's began to circle Felix, his cane tapping on the tile floor as he stepped. "Gotham City is the perfect place to continue our work. It is the last place any of them, be they renegade S.T.A.R.s or Caped Crusaders, would think we would start work again."
Felix saw his dreams of South Seas islands and young island men beginning to disappear. "The Man-Bat variant virus is impressive, but it is not enough," Ra's continued.
"But…"
"Silence!" Ra's said, slapping the floor with his cane. "Your skills are required and you will either perform or you will die." Felix's jaw dropped; nobody was ever quite that literal in one of these meetings. I allowed for plausible deniability. "I am not a man to be taken lightly. I have invested more money and resources into Umbrella than you can possibly imagine, you morality-impaired primate!"
The center speaker chuckled. "You will provide our new partner with all of the support he requires. You will begin a new facility that is to be up and running in six months and compile a new protocol." He held out a folder that Felix quickly moved to get, so long as he was able to put some distance between himself and the fearsome Ra's Al Ghul.
Felix took the folder and opened it. His eyes strained to read the pages inside with the dim light. "My God…" he whispered.
"Yes," Ra's said with a smile. "We will be taking the T-Virus to the next level."
There was a dramatic pause. "Reanimating the dead regardless of time. And I know exactly the first two corpses we are going to test."
"I'm afraid I do not understand your explanation," President Luthor said, handing the glass of whiskey over. The lobbyist on the payroll of Umbrella accepted it with a polite smile. In the shadows, the president's personal Secret Service agent remained impassive. He had been personally chosen for his assignment by the president because of his willingness to take orders no matter what.
His silence in anything said here was assured. And if it wasn't, Lex Luthor had ways of dealing with that as well. "Eco-terrorists…who would have known?"
The president merely smiled and nodded. He, of course, knew differently, knew that Umbrella had been trying to cover something up, but he hadn't yet been able to figure out what. He hoped to bribe the lobbyist into telling him, a sort of reversal of roles, but the other man simply wasn't giving.
"I have the Department of Homeland Security looking into the matter; such a shame. But it seems that your benefactors have attracted some unwanted attention," Lex replied. "I certainly hope that I won't find out that one of the country's leading defense contractors hasn't been doing anything to overly anger our animal-activist friends."
"I assure you, Mr. President, that Umbrella Corporation is not doing anything that your own company, LexCorp, has not done in the past." Lex got the message, though he wanted to shoot the messenger. Umbrella was not going to divulge what it was doing, but it was going to make sure it cleaned up its messes as well.
He sighed and allowed the lobbyist to continue rambling on, letting him believe that he was pulling the wool over the president's eyes. An hour later, he had several Secret Service agents escort the man out of the White House. He made a small note to have the man killed in a day or so, just to send a message to his "friends" at Umbrella.
If they wanted to tell him to piss off, they needed to do it in person.
He prepared to turn in for the night, taking only a passing glance at the preliminary reports on the Gotham City incident. Every federal law enforcement agency in the country had representatives there and the body count was finally evening out at around 200. Luthor's own people from a special branch of LexCorp confirmed that many of the bodies had irregularities that could not be immediately explained.
That had peaked the president's interest. His best advisors had told him that Umbrella may have been testing biological weapons and something went wrong. The stated that the prudent thing to do was to destroy the entire complex and kill all of the witnesses. It was exactly what LexCorp had done in the past.
For some reason, Lex couldn't shake the feeling that Umbrella was not done with Gotham City and while he had faith that the Batman would be a pain in their ass, he preferred to have his own people on the ground. People who were loyal to an ideal because they always made the perfect sacrifices in the end.
He dropped the folder onto his desk, next to the papers ordering the transfer of the Metropolis S.T.A.R.s to Gotham City.