I don't own Halo of Justice League; they are the property of 343 Industries and DC Comics/Warner Brothers respectively.
{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}
It was not a good day to be the Commissioner of the Gotham City PD.
Of course, this being Gotham City, any day could be described as a bad day. With the escalating number of gangs, crime families, and supervillains that popped up every few weeks, if not days, it would be safe to say that Gotham was the Yin to Metropolis' Yang.
That being said, today would most definitely be considered a very bad day for Commissioner James Gordon.
He watched as the paramedics loaded the last dead police officer into the back of the van. They carefully maneuvered around the body and closed the door behind them. Once the van drove off, he turned back towards the one survivor still on the scene. Sergeant Renee Montoya was giving her statement to another officer, all the while another paramedic attended to her injuries. She had a few bruises and a slight concussion, but nothing life threatening. Constable Murray had already been taken to the hospital, and was about to undergo emergency surgery.
He would live, but it was doubtful he would be able to use his shooting arm again.
That was about the only good news to come out of this.
Half a dozen good men were dead, killed in a shootout that should never had happened. A whole group of gangsters had been completely slaughtered, if the bloody remains were anything to go by. And an entire street had been turned into a warzone riddled with bullet casings and bomb craters.
Frankly, it was a miracle that no civilians had been caught in the crossfire.
That, of course, was of little comfort to the Commissioner. Nearly seventy gangsters had been killed by an unknown party, just like all the other gangsters, drug lords and crime family associates that now lay in the Gotham morgue. This time, they had escalated to using heavy munitions right within a major city district.
And the primary witness to what had happened was being rather tight lipped about the whole ordeal.
Looking back, Gordon couldn't help but notice how Montoya had become increasingly distant over the past few weeks. She would intermingle when it was necessary, though mostly when out on patrol or writing out police reports. Other than that, she would keep her distance from the rest of the PD, including himself as of late. And, whenever he approached her on the matter, she would respond with, "Like how you're not too busy hanging with the Bat family?"
And tonight, she was thoughtful in how she explained what had happened. While she provided a brief overview, she was reluctant to go into the exact details. The paramedics assumed this was due to the trauma of barely surviving an all-out gunfight against overwhelming odds. Gordon, however, remined unconvinced.
He was hoping that he could provide some insight of the night's events.
"How're you doing, Jim?"
And speak of the devil…Gordon didn't need to turn around to know who it was. By this point, Batman showing up out of the blue had become the norm.
"Multiple attacks on Gotham's leading crime bosses. Loeb's arrest. And now, this." Gordon pinched the bridge of his nose, his migraine now worse then ever. "I gotta tell ya, retirement's lookin' pretty damn good right about now."
"What happened?"
"I kinda thought you would know already," Gordon sighed. "Six cops dead, one in critical condition. We've counted at least sixty-seven gangsters dead. No civilians, thank God; the few people who were around took off when the shooting started."
"Any witnesses?"
"Aside from Murray, who's in surgery right now, just Sergeant Montoya," Gordon motioned to the Sergeant. "She was the first to arrive on the scene before the shooting started."
"Details?"
"Bases on what little she's telling us, hardly enough to warrant a slap on the wrist. She's been tight lipped about the whole thing, save for the fact that she's alive and conscious. Actually, she's been acting like this for a while, since before all these attacks started."
Batman watched as the Sergeant tried to pull away from the paramedic. She glanced over towards them for a moment, then averted her gaze as the paramedic finally finished patching her injury.
"She's hiding something."
"I figured as much. Though, for the life of me, I can't figure out why…" Gordon trailed off as he saw Batman staring at Montoya. "You think she's gone to the other side."
It wasn't a question.
"You sure she hasn't?"
"She's a good cop, probably one of the few good ones we've got left," Gordon said. "She's always been vocal about fighting the good fight. She's hardly the sort to be bought off so easily."
"That hasn't stopped it from happening before, Jim. If she's involved in this, she's a danger to herself and the city. You can't let this go. You'll have to make the call."
"I know," Gordon sighed. "The mayor's been breathing down my neck for weeks, demanding that I take her off the force; claims she's too aggressive and unstable to be an officer, much less out patrolling the streets."
"Maybe he's right."
"Honestly, I don't know anymore. With all that's been happening, I'd rather not push away another good cop just because they're a bit tight lipped. This isn't the first time Gotham's experienced a sudden spike in violence; we've handled it before, we can handle it again. I'm hoping that, whatever is happening, she'll open up about it."
"And if she doesn't?"
For all his reluctance, Gordon knew better than to argue with him. "The best I can do is put her on temporary suspension pending the investigation, as well as mandatory psychiatric sessions. It'll give her a chance to recover from this ordeal, and will get the mayor off my back. I'm hoping to be wrong on this one. The last thing we need is for another-"
He turned just in time to see a black cloak vanish around the corner.
Gordon sighed. "Hard to believe I've actually gotten used to that." And with that, he walked over to speak with the paramedics…and Sergeant Montoya.
From the rooftop, Batman watched as Gordon walked over towards the paramedics. Despite Gordon's assurances, he was convinced that Montoya was directly involved with the recent attacks. Her less then informative reports, and her reluctance to share who was responsible for these attacks.
There was no if's or buts about it. She knew who the killer was.
Whoever was doing this was far too dangerous to be allowed on the streets, much less carrying lethal firearms. This was his city. And he would be damned if he didn't find whoever this killer was, and put a stop to them.
By any means necessary, if he had to.
'You need to deal with this, Gordon. And if you won't…then I will.'
{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}
In a warehouse in Star City, a group of men were unloading a large crate from a semi-trailer. The crate had been shipped from their boss' contacts overseas. Their orders were to have it delivered to a safehouse close to the city's industrial area. However, some of the men were less than pleased with their current wages, and decided to sample some of the merchandise within the crate for themselves.
After all, what their employer didn't know wouldn't hurt them.
One man grabbed a crowbar and began prying at the lid, prompted by his fellow 'employees'. Soon, the crate lid was open, and they got to see the contents within. They were disappointed to see that it wasn't smuggled weapons, money, or special stones. Instead, they saw a yellow-skinned humanoid with pointed ears, green pants and wrist bands, and a black hair tattoo on his head.
One man tried to prob the humanoid with his crowbar…only for the humanoid to grasp the crowbar in his hand. The man could only stare as the humanoid's eyes opened, revealing lifeless blood-red irises.
He then suddenly felt a terrific pain in the middle of his chest. Looking down, he saw that the figure had shoved its hand straight through his chest cavity, crushing his lungs and heart. His last moments of life were of the humanoid ripping his body in half, then flinging the pieces at the remaining workers around them…
{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}
Meanwhile, at Arkham Asylum…
Alarms were blaring all throughout the facility, and search lights were scanning the area within and outside the perimeter walls. Of course, given that it was a single cement wall lined with barbed wire, and an iron gate at the front entranceway, it wouldn't be too difficult for one to get in and out.
If they put in the effort that is.
And for one certain former inmate, it was as easy as a walk in the park. Or, in this case, a walk through the sewer.
The inmate strolled out of the sewer drain, taking a moment to breath in the air with a flare of mock-exultance. Then, he turned to look towards the city, a maniacal grin of glee stretched tight across his face.
"Good-bye Arkham…Hello, Gotham…Heh-heh-heh-heh-heh-heh-heh-BAH-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HAAAAAAAA!"
{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}
Well, low and behold, the Joker's escaped from Arkham…again. And he's planning something big for the citizens of Gotham…again. I'm sorry it's not as grand or bloody as some would prefer. I'm currently running on four hours of sleep, and had to shovel my driveway of snow at least five times today. And it's still snowing out there.
And, of course, Batman and Gordon are suspicious of Montoya's refusal to go into detail about our Spartan. This will obviously create tension between Montoya and her boss, as well as build up to the inevitable…well, you'll just have to wait and see.
And, I'm sure you can all guess the identity of the other character I've introduced in this chapter. Rest assured that you'll be seeing him again really soon.
Until then, please read and review.