Batman/Command & Conquer: Red Gotham

By Christopher W. Blaine

e-mail: darth_yoshi@yahoo.com

DISCLAIMER: Batman and related characters and situations are ©2003 by DC Comics Inc./Yuri and related characters and situations are ©2003 by Westwood Games. All are used here without permission for fan-related entertainment purposes only. All original content is ©2003 by Christopher W. Blaine.

CHAPTER 4

The Hummer drove slowly down the broken highway towards Wayne Manor. In the large open field there could be seen an Allied Chrono Miner digging into the soil where it would extract every mineral and element of use. A little farther down they spotted the first of many patrols of troops, some walking a perimeter, others sitting behind walls of sandbags.

The Batman, Robin and Batgirl had been gone for a week as they slowly made their way into Gotham City. It took time to gain intelligence for two reasons. First, none of them spoke Russian fluently and overhearing conversations only got them so much intelligence. Second was that the Atom, at his six-inch height, normally took a great deal of time to get anywhere inside a Soviet compound.

As they approached a half-built pillbox, two soldiers approached with their weapons drawn. The Hummer was bulletproof and there was really no danger to the occupants. Regardless, Batman, though upset at the intrusion on his ancestral home, he wanted to play it cool to find out what was going on.

Robin stopped the vehicle and rolled the window down. A soldier, clad in the familiar blue fatigues of the American forces, looked in the vehicle. It was obvious by his expression that he did not know what to make of the occupants. "Sir, I need you to step out of the vehicle," the trooper said.

Robin turned to Batman, who shook his head. "Take us to your leader," Robin replied.

The grunt behind the first one stepped up and seemed ready to open fire when a sergeant stepped forward and waved the men away. "Sorry about that," the senior enlisted man said. "If you drive up to the estate you will be met and taken to see the Commander."

They started back down the road, passing by even more troops. Eventually they came up next to a giant pre-fabricated ore refinery. The funnels at the top of the building belched out black smoke into the air. Batgirl stirred in the back. "They've been busy," she said as she adjusted her top. She then pulled one of her knives from her boot and examined the edge. The knife had never been drawn on anger, but that could always change and that was the Batman secretly feared.

The eventually stopped in front of Wayne Manor itself and they were soon surrounded by several more troopers. The three heroes stepped out of their vehicle, but not before Robin set the security devices on it. As soon as they stepped away from it, a shimmering orange field enveloped it. One of the troopers touched it and received a mild shock.

They were met at the front door by a man who could only be Special Forces Batman guessed. Professional warriors had a certain look about them and this man, who wore no rank insignia and was dressed in brown fatigues. The man merely glanced at the troopers and they started to move off to other posts. "Mr. Wayne, if you will please follow me, sir," Petty Officer Smith said as he opened the main door.

Not so long before, Alfred would have been responsible for seeing him in. "What have you done to my home?" Batman asked, not moving to step inside. Batgirl grinned evilly and Robin chewed some bubble gum loudly.

Smith pushed back his bush hat. "Sir, I've done nothing to your house except treat it with respect, per the orders of my superior. The Commander is now in charge of this area of conflict. Any questions about property should be directed to him." He then lowered his weapon slightly.

Batman had no doubt he could disarm the man should need to, but what would it solve. There were Allied troopers and vehicles scurrying everywhere. There was no place to go and it was basically his won fault for allowing the estate defenses to deteriorate. All of his efforts had been put into protecting the Batcave. He wondered of they had found it as easily as they had discovered his identity.

Batman nodded and Smith took that as acceptance and the party moved into the manor proper. For the most part, nothing had changed. Sheets were still over much of the old furniture and none of the paintings had been taken down. There were, however, machine gun emplacements at every window, manned by young kids who should have been worrying about keg parties instead of killing other human beings.

They moved through the familiar hallways and Batman cast a glance over to the grandfather clock that hid the stone staircase to the Batcave. It was open and now he was sure that it had been the Allies that had hacked his computer network.

They finally entered the library and for a moment Batman was taken in with a bit of nostalgia. Ever since the war had started, he had visited this part of the house very rarely. It had been here, as a twenty-year old man, not much older than the GI's manning the windows that he had come upon the idea of becoming the Batman.

Standing next to the fireplace, reading a copy of The Hobbit stood a man who was obviously the person in charge. His uniform was different than the standard military issue, blue fatigues with the Allied Eagles on the lapels. Batman knew enough about the new international ranking structure to understand that this was someone working directly with highest points of command.

The Commander saw the group enter and his gaze remained cool. He gave them a quick once-over and then nodded to Smith, who stepped back to the doorway. "Mr. Wayne," the Commander started as he laid the book on the mantle. "It would be inappropriate to welcome you."

Batman pulled back his mask to reveal a grimy face and long dark hair. His features were still, despite the sweat and dirt, movie star rugged. "You're right about that," he said. Batgirl moved to her normal spot in the far corner and the Commander found himself slightly perturbed that his troopers were ogling her. She was attractive in her revealing outfit but he had already been briefed about her unique skills.

"Let's dispense with the formalities, then," the Commander said. "This area is now the forward line of a push to move the Soviets out of Gotham City. We have been hoping to link up with you and your people to see of we could combine efforts."

Batman shook his head. "We don't need you. The Allies had their chance and they left Gotham to rot two years ago."

The Commander nodded, having expected there to be an argument. "We were overwhelmed and you know it. If you remember, many brave Americans died trying to save your city."

"And many more died afterwards because you weren't prepared," Batman countered.

"It looks like you weren't either," the Commander said before turning around.

"Get out of my house," Batman told him.

The Commander stopped and his shoulders slumped. Slowly, he turned back to face the hero. He found it hard to believe that there really was a Batman and to think he had been a billionaire playboy was simply astounding. He didn't look like a fop. "It is no longer your house Mr. Wayne."

"The hell it isn't," Robin snapped. "Who the…"

Batman raised a hand for silence and his partner quieted down. The Commander narrowed his eyes. "We are at war, Mr. Wayne; Gotham City is considered a territory under the control of the enemy and therefore you have no rights as far as property goes that are acknowledged by the United States. President Luthor extends his personal regrets for your monetary loss."

Batman chuckled darkly. "I'm sure the president does." Again he came to a crossroads of what to do and action did not seem appropriate. There was something about this Commander the Batman liked and he realized they were kindred spirits. They were driven men in difficult circumstances.

"However, under the new war powers acts that the auxiliary Congress passed, I am authorized to grant new deeds and titles for land to individuals who contribute to the war effort," the Commander said.

"Save it," Batman told him. "I'm not interested in fighting your war. You come in here, take away private property and then demand that the rightful owners become soldiers in your war. I've been doing fine on my own. Keep the mansion with my regards."

The Commander shook his head. "We're here to liberate your city and you just want to turn your back on it? It is your city, correct?'

Batman narrowed his eyes. "I was here fighting for the people of Gotham City long before Kirov airships started appearing in the sky. Don't try to play any mind games with me; it won't work. You can't make me feel guilty for not accepting the aid of a force that will most likely destroy more than it will save." Batman then pointed outside to the fields that were being torn apart by the miners. "If you want to help, quit tearing apart my home. If you want to help then quit trying to kill people and find out what the real problem is!"

The Commander narrowed his own gaze and stepped towards Batman. Both men were of similar height and build but there were many sharp contrasts. The Commander, for one thing, was clean and wearing fresh clothes. "The problem is Yuri; we know that and you know that. It does not change the fact that there are Soviet soldiers violating the sovereignty of the United States right now."

"So, what have you done about Yuri?" Robin asked, the humor gone from his tone. "If you knew all along he was the one controlling Romanov, then why haven't you moved against him?"

"It's kind of hard to do when your country is being overrun, kid," Smith said from the doorway. "Just because Yuri controls the Premier doesn't mean there aren't Soviet generals who didn't want this war to happen."

"You mean Vladimir," Robin replied and Smith nodded.

"So, tell me Mr. Batman," the Commander said as he moved over to a table with a map of Gotham on it. "What have you done to further the Allied cause?"

Batman refused to be baited and stepped over to the map. It had the city divided into its 23 sections, boroughs and precincts. Most of them were colored in red, representing the Soviet occupational forces. Bristol, where they were currently and the Lower East Side were in blue. "According to my map here, you haven't done squat."

"We do what we can," Robin said in an attempt to defend their actions over the past two years. The truth was that Batman's policy of not taking lives had cost them many allies, including Helena Bertinelli, the Huntress. Others had left their camp as well until there were only the three of them, the Atom and the remains of the Gotham City Police Department. Batgirl was starting to question their methods when they were alone together and more than once she had whispered she was tempted to join up with the Huntress and her Outsiders.

"And it has had pretty dire results," the Commander replied, looking the younger man in the eye. Robin could not help but look away and the Commander turned his attention to Batman. Batgirl remained in the corner, her face still hidden by her long dark hair. "Gotham City had 8 million residents when the war started. There are roughly 800,000 left. I hope your high morality keeps you warm at night."

Batman said nothing but his mind was working overtime. He had not been aware that the casualty rate had been so high and for a microsecond, he did begin to wonder if it had all been a waste. He had tried to maintain some sense of the morals his parents had taught him. He was about to respond when the Commander dropped the biggest bombshell. "And, they killed Nightwing in Bludhaven two weeks ago."

Batman stood erect and there was a slight gasp from Batgirl, the first sound to come from her during the entire confrontation. A change came over the face of Batman and suddenly he wasn't the dark freedom fighter, but was instead a grieving father. The Commander wondered of he had pushed the hero too far with that information, but he also understood that he needed to get across to the Batman that this was serious.

All of the information that had been hacked out of the Batman's own computer network by the Lieutenant indicated that even though the sabotage missions of his force had been largely successful, his unwillingness to take out so-called "soft targets" had done nothing more than slow the Soviet advance. General Carver wanted the Batman on board for a special mission and that mission involved going up against Yuri's own clones and forces while he built up the forces needed to take down the regular troops.

Batman said nothing but turned around and slowly walked away. Robin's eyes were already teary and he surely would have collapsed had it not been for the sudden appearance of Batgirl by his side. There was no way for the Commander to know that Nightwing was perhaps the most beloved of the entire "Bat Family".

He was the son of the Batman and the mentor to Robin. For Batgirl, he had been a first crush and to Oracle, who probably did not know yet, he had been a lover.

"I need a secure video line," Batman said. It wasn't a request for men like the Batman did not ask for anything. The Commander nodded to an engineer that was sitting nearby and the man got up and asked the Batman to follow him. The Caped Crusader half walked/half stumbled into the kitchen where a serving line had been set up. Through the kitchen they moved into a small passageway that led to the former quarters of Bruce Wayne's butler, Alfred Pennyworth.

Old Alfred had been in England on the day the war started, a vacation long overdue. Bruce had not heard from him since.

At the small desk the butler had used to write letters to the few relatives that were still living had a laptop computer with a satellite link. The engineer asked whom Batman wanted to call and he made a link instantly. Without another word, the engineer exited the room and closed the door. Two GI's passed the engineer as he moved back into the kitchen and they took up positions at the door.

"Bruce?" Barbara Gordon, a.k.a. Oracle, asked. She saw the tears in his eyes.

Batman turned his head away for a moment, trying to figure out the words to convey his feelings. This was the woman who, at one time not so long ago, could have been his daughter-in-law. He took a deep breath and returned his gaze to the web cam.

"Dick is dead."

She said nothing at first and then all of her composure melted away as the grief assailed her and broke down all of her defenses. Together they poured out their sadness and together they made a promise.

Those responsible would be brought to justice.