Title: Night of Knights (1/?)
Author: Lord Maedhros
Rating: R (just to be safe)
Fandom: Gargoyles/ Batman Crossover
Summary: Batman/Gargoyles crossover. Goliath will do anything for Elisa's safety, but strengths become liabilities when one loses control. . . something the Joker is adept at exploiting.
Feedback: Any you are willing to provide would be very much appreciated
Archive: Anywhere, just tell me first
Genre: Action/Adventure
Disclaimer: All related characters are the property of Disney/ DC Comics. They are NOT my characters (as cool as that would be), nor are they being used for profit of any kind. As always, hats off to Bob Kane and Bill Finger, the immortal creators of Batman.
Warnings: Violence; maybe some spoilers but just in the general sense, nothing particular
Author's notes: I am a confirmed Batman freak, and reading Gargoyles fan fiction (which I started doing last year) got me to thinking of how cool it might be to see the two together. A good deal of my Gargoyles background is fanfic based, but any relevant Batman history or character background is based on the comics, not TV or movie-verse.
iitalicsi/ = thoughts
Chapter 1: Happy Cadavers
It was quiet down near the dockside warehouses of Manhattan at night. Sounds of the city drifted in, the honking of horns and the collective thrumming of car engines. Distantly, the wail of a police siren cut through the night air. The lights from the rest of the city shone between the warehouses and boatyards, providing enough light to see by but also creating an inky labyrinth of deep, black shadows. A few of the docks nearby were active, even in the small hours of the morning, but for the most part the area was deserted for the night. The persistent smell of fish and salt lingered in the air, and a radio could be heard, playing static-laden country music for the workmen on the docks.
Around the particular warehouse that held the interest of two police officers tonight, however, there had been no activity whatsoever.
"How long are we going to sit here?" An exhausted Elisa Maza asked her partner.
"Until something happens," he replied, glancing at his watch.
"It's been four hours, Matt," she pointed out. "Maybe someone was informed about your informant . . ."
"Don't even joke about that."
"Sorry."
Having finished arguing, Elisa and Matt settled back in to wait, and watch. They had sat thus, in silence, for a further fifteen minutes, when the police band radio crackled to life.
"All available units please respond . . . disturbance at Nineteenth and Washington streets . . . Shots fired, all officers proceed with extreme caution."
Elisa and Matt looked at each other for a second, and then Elisa scrambled to pick up the radio.
"Detectives Maza and Bluestone responding, en route. ETA ten minutes, over." She turned on the ignition, and drove towards the address specified by the call. Once clear of the docks, she ignited the siren and lights of the stakeout car, and they raced off into the city.
* * * * *
When Elisa and Matt reached the scene, the perpetrators were already gone. Fire fighters were just arriving, dealing with a major blaze belching out of a storefront on the street corner. The two got out of the car and checked on the officers involved in the shooting.
"What happened?" Elisa called, flashing her badge.
"We got a call saying someone tripped a silent alarm at that store," one of the uniformed officers answered her. "Crazy shit. When we got here, there were two cars outside, blasting the place with automatic weapons. We pulled up, gave them a warning to stand down, and they started firing on us, too. Last thing they did was to fire bomb the whole place, then they took off. We're all okay, but the car is a little worse for the wear. Crazy shit." The officer blew out a deep breath, shaking his head slightly.
'Worse for the wear' was an understatement. The front tires on both of the squad cars involved were shredded, every metal surface visible from the front of the car was perforated by bullet holes, and the windows and windshields had all but disintegrated under the hail of gunfire.
It was amazing that none of the officers had been hit.
With nothing to do there but sit and guard the scene, Elisa and Matt got back in their car, and waited for the firefighters to finish their job.
What seemed like hours later, the fire was finally dead, and Matt and Elisa were told that they were clear to investigate the scene. iIt's about fucking time,i/ she thought. Elisa sighed, rubbed her eyes, and got out of the car. Matt was called over to talk to a lieutenant who had just arrived, and Elisa continued without him. Choking down the last mouthful of her cold coffee, she walked over to the crime scene, and into the store.
The distinctly unpleasant scent of smoke and ash filled the store, tainted further by a strange, lingering chemical smell. The room was dimly lit, but as her eyes adjusted Elisa began to see the items strewn about the room. A broken set of shelves, various common and random items, and the door to one of the refrigerators at the back of the convenience store lay on the floor. And there were several other objects, too, but Elisa could not quite make out what they were. She pulled her flashlight for a closer look.
The oddly shaped objects, seven in all, were bodies.
Two of the men had fallen, apparently to automatic weapons fire, with their hands firmly locked around each other's throats. Across the room, another man was propped against the wall, on his knees, with his pants down and his ass in the air. He looked as if he had died while mooning his shooter. The other four were in similarly strange positions. Horrified, but also morbidly fascinated, Elisa checked the men more closely. Most of the men's features had been burned beyond recognition in the fire, and she found no tangible clues there until she circled back to the front of the store, to the first two men she had seen upon entering. These two had apparently been furthest from the flames, and both faces were intact. Elisa recoiled involuntarily at what she saw.
iMy God, they're smilingi/.
Hideous, maniacal grins were fixed to their pale, dead faces. Eyes wide, mouths agape, and cheeks pulled back into a macabre vision of two men halted in the seemingly… joyful process of slaughtering one another.
Elisa ran from the room, fighting the urge to vomit. She pushed past a confused-looking Matt, and headed for the alleyway, keeping the scene as clear as possible for the forensics team.
Elisa stood back up, then immediately dropped her head between her knees again, facing the small, lumpy puddle that had once been her dinner. iGreat,i/ she thought. iThat's the last time I eat lo mien for a while.i/ She tried again, more slowly this time, and was able to stand upright. She breathed deeply, trying to purge the last traces of her nausea. At that moment, a huge, dark figure descended from the roof above.
Goliath landed just outside the small pool of light cast by the alley's only street lamp. He touched down lightly, exercising a smooth grace that belied his great size. Goliath was enormous, well over seven feet in height, with large muscles, a tail, and clawed hands and feet. He settled his large, leathery wings about his broad shoulders, and addressed the only human he fully trusted.
"What happened in there?" he asked Elisa, concern showing in his deep voice.
"I'm all right, Goliath, really," she replied, still coughing. "I just wasn't prepared for what I saw a few minutes ago." She told him, briefly, what she knew about the incident, finishing with the descriptions of the two men's faces.
Goliath said nothing. He merely grunted, shaking his head in resignation.
Elisa continued. "Look, I'll make some copies of the crime scene photos for you, and then I think I'll see what I can dig up out of the police files. I feel like I've heard of this before, but not here . . . I just hope I'm wrong about who the perpetrator might be here." she finished, not wanting to panic Goliath unnecessarily.
"Elisa," Goliath began, extending a huge, gray-purple hand into the light. "We will help you find the one responsible for this. This kind of carnage has no place here."
"I know you will. And you're right; this shouldn't be allowed to happen anywhere. But it does."
He let out a deep, rumbling sigh. "I know."
Elisa looked at her watch. "You only have a little under an hour before dawn. I'll tell you more tomorrow night."
"Very well," he said. "Come to the Clock Tower at dusk, and let me know what you find."
"I will," she promised. They embraced briefly, Goliath's wings enveloping Elisa's comparatively small body completely. The two parted, and Elisa glanced towards the street. "I've got to get back out there."
"See you tomorrow night, then," he said, and mounted the nearest building, climbing straight up the brownstone with his razor- sharp claws. Elisa still remembered the first time she had seen him do that. She had been clinging to his shoulders for dear life, watching his jackhammer fingers driving straight into solid stone. It had since never failed to impress her. Goliath disappeared over the lip of the roof. A moment later, a deep whooshing sound signaled his departure.
Elisa stood still for a few seconds, then turned and walked back to the scene.
Elisa caught a few hours of sleep that morning, and then she was back at the police station, searching the database for anything that fit the profile of what she had seen the previous night. The database took only a very short time to cough up a match to the very distinctive style of the killer in this case. Fearing the result, but as always more curious than anything, she opened the page and began to look through it.
For the second time in the same day, Elisa looked at that face, staring up at her. Pale, white skin, wavy green hair, and red, painted lips accentuated the expression on the mug shot. It was the same as on the two dead men she had seen the night before. Elisa set her jaw firmly, and began to read the long criminal record and file on the man known only as the Joker.
* * * * *
Just before dusk, Elisa stood alone on the roof of the Clock Tower, holding a copy of the files she had downloaded earlier. Around her were a ring of fearsome statues, winged gargoyles made of cold, dark stone, perched on the edges of the roof. This high above the city, silence reined. Only a few stray sounds from the streets below ever wound their way up here.
Then night fell completely. All around, the statues began to crack open, warm flesh showing through the thin lines in their outer shells. Flakes of stone fell away, and the Gargoyles awoke into the night with a deafening roar, shedding their daytime outer casing in an explosion of stone chips and debris.
Elisa spoke first, startling Lexington, who was closest. Small, bald and green skinned; Lexington had large, round eyes to match his endearing curiosity. He greeted her cheerfully, but couldn't hide the nervousness she had caused in him.
"H-hi, Elisa," he said, eliciting quiet laughter from his clan mates. The other Gargoyles greeted her in turn, finishing with Goliath, who embraced her warmly. Brooklyn, Broadway, and Lexington left the rooftop to stretch their wings, while Goliath, Hudson, and Elisa went inside the tower. Bronx, less mobile than the others due to his lack of wings, followed them in and settled down, curling up at Elisa's feet.
Elisa pulled out the files she had printed during the day. The two Gargoyles looked them over, with growing concern showing on both their faces. Elisa couldn't help but notice that Hudson's ability to read was improving steadily, and she told him so. He smiled briefly at the compliment, but quickly grew serious again as he continued to read about the Joker's extensive criminal record.
"You're chasin' a madman, lass," Hudson commented, dropping the papers on the small table.
"Do you think he's still in New York?" Goliath asked. Before she could answer, he continued. "Elisa, we are this city's guardians. We need to do something about this 'Joker' if he's still at large here."
"I agree," Hudson confirmed. "We canna have this madman runnin' free in our city, murderin' innocent people."
"That reminds me," Elisa put in. "I checked out the I.D. on the victims of last night's attack, and the Joker's targets were hardly innocent. Turns out they were mob. Gotham mob, who got booted out of their territory in a gang war a while back. They tried to move in here a couple months ago," she sighed, ". But it looks like this 'Joker' character tracked them here somehow. Anyway, it could be a sign that he's not staying. . ."
"Pity, that," Hudson muttered.
". . . But I'd still like to know what he's doing. Follow my logic here. It would be relatively easy for a supposed 'master criminal' like the Joker to lie low if he wanted to. That means that his not being found in New York doesn't tell us anything. On the other hand, if he was spotted, say back in Gotham . . ."
". . . We'd know he was gone," Goliath finished for her.
"Exactly," Elisa responded with determination. "I've got some vacation time coming in a few days, so I was thinking I could take a little trip up to Gotham, ask a few questions in the right places . . ."
"bNob/, Elisa," Goliath roared, eyes on the verge of glowing their signature white. "You've seen for yourself what he's capable of. Don't go looking for him, not on his own ground."
"Goliath, as much as I appreciate the thought, I can handle myself," Elisa snapped back. As sweet as it was of Goliath to be so concerned over Elisa's safety, it could idefinitelyi/ be annoying at times. "There's something else I haven't told you yet," she said bitterly. "Someone I knew was among the victims. He was a rookie officer, working undercover as the shopkeeper. He was supposed to be one of the gang's contacts, linking their drug money to legitimate business. When the place was attacked, he . . ." Elisa left off the end of the last statement.
"Elisa, please," it was Hudson. "We all know ye can fend for yourself, lass, but he's right. This madman is dangerous. If nothing else, what he did last night proves that. It'd be folly to go seekin' him out on your own."
"That's why I'm not seeking him out," she argued. "I'm just going into the city, asking some questions to make sure he's left New York. The chief and my squad captain have already been in contact with Gotham's police commissioner. He's a good cop, from what I hear, and a good leader. The GCPD are more than capable, and they can deal with him from there,"
"I do not like this," Goliath grumbled. "If Gotham's police are so good, why not let them track him down?"
"Because we have to know if he's really gone or not," she countered. "They are good, but he's been evading them consistently, evading everyone, for a long time. I'll be there and back by this time next week. Nothing's going to happen."
"Whenever you say that, my tail starts to twitch," Goliath said, sighing heavily. "Very well. But keep in contact with us while you're gone."
"I will. Don't worry," she said, laughing lightly.
"There goes that tail again, lad," Hudson chuckled. "Have a good trip, Elisa. God speed."
"See you both later. I'm on duty in twenty minutes." They said their farewells, and Elisa descended the tower, heading for the station.
* * * * *
Elisa stepped off the train at about ten that Saturday, into Gotham City. Right away, she saw the differences between this city and her own.
Gotham was an old city. New York was even older, but most of the buildings in her city were much newer, more modern in appearance. These were, well, gothic in style, for lack of a better word. The entire city gave the impression of darkness, even in broad daylight, with lots of sharp, jagged peaks, numerous pedestrian causeways between buildings, and a virtual army of grotesques and gargoyles.
She smiled to herself. iExcept these will still be stone come nightfalli/.
Elisa merged with the crowd, found a cab, and told the driver to take her to a relatively inexpensive hotel. The cab took off, into the city.
As Elisa expected, everyone with even a minor link to Gotham's underworld knew whom 'the clown' referred to. Most of the men she talked to tried to warn her away from him. The Joker was a legend here. Based on what she was hearing, he was a nightmare to deal with, but he could pull off virtually anything. He had escaped from Arkham Asylum too many times to count, and it was rumored that no prison in the world could hold him indefinitely. He was already sentenced to serve the next few thousand years incarcerated in Arkham, for everything from petty larceny and minor property damage to gang running and mass murder.
And the list was still growing . . .
By the end of her third day in Gotham, Elisa was getting nowhere searching for someone to talk about the Joker's whereabouts. She'd heard of several 'little places' on street corners where well meaning men had offered to take her, but none of that was very useful. And they all had stories. 'Mister J' pulled this off, 'that smiling bastard' killed such and such, and 'the Clown Prince of Crime' was untouchable. Yadda yadda yadda. Every potentially shady character in the city was too scared of him to say much of anything. Elisa, not particularly inclined to give up on anything, decided to pick up her search again the following day, after she had gotten some sleep. Hungry and tired, she got on the subway train, and headed back to the hotel.
* * * * *
Elisa opened the door to her hotel room, and flipped on the light. She showered, changed, and shuffled back into the room, intending to take another look at the street atlas of Gotham and determine what section of the city she had yet to cover. The presence of the ghoulish clown, grinning madly at her from the center of the room, did not even register as unusual until he was right in front of her.
"Hello there!" Joker beamed at her, extending his hand for Elisa to shake. "How nice to finally meet you!" He grabbed her hand to shake it, and Elisa woke up more completely as she felt a jolt of electricity shoot up her right arm, accompanied by a loud buzzing noise. Joker's mannerisms made her imagine she could hear carnival music, although she knew it was just her imagination. "Whoops! Sorry about that," he continued, removing the buzzer ring and dropping it into his pocket without missing a beat. He flopped on the couch, completely at ease. "So, my sweet, what is it that brings you to lovely Gotham? Furthermore, why have you suddenly taken such an interest in little old me?"
"I-I, ah, umm, wh- what are you. . What do you mean?" she stammered.
"Oh, dear, we've picked up a bit of a st-stu-st-stutter, have we? But to your question, what I mean, miss, is that you've been sniffing around in this happy little burg for three days now, asking anyone and everyone you can find about where my latest little hidey hole might be. I don't always appreciate that, you know. Very rude. Ever hear of a simple phone call? Fax? Telegram? Honestly, no common courtesies at all anymore . . ."
Elisa's police training began to overpower her initial shock. Seeing no one else in the room, she pulled out her badge and gun. "Okay, Joker. You're under arrest for arson and the murders of seven men in New York, five days ago. You have the right to remain . . . "
Joker leaped to his feet, vaulting over the back of the couch. "What, do you mean to say someone's actually iinvestigatingi/ those poor saps? How exciting! I see now. Wait a tick, did you say seven? I could have sworn there were at least eight, what with that not-so-well-undercover officer you had there . . . oh, well, who can remember? I never was very good with faces . . . no, no, faces I can do . . ." Joker paused, thinking and smiling to himself.
"Hands behind your back, clown," Elisa snapped at him, in no mood to play games. "Up against the wall, NOW."
"Oh, o-of course, officer," he responded meekly, and then to her surprise, he did exactly as he was told.
Elisa pulled her handcuffs, and walked carefully towards him, gun extended. iHe's not stupid,i/ she told herself. iHe knows I can still shoot him if he tries anythingi/. She just touched his wrist with the first cuff . . .
The Joker exploded out at her, launching himself away from the wall and spinning, getting behind Elisa and grabbing her gun arm. He bit her, hard, on the forearm, and used her surprise to wrench the gun away from her. Joker continued his spin, knocking Elisa to the ground, and danced his way across the room, singing and laughing. He stopped on a dime, turned, and pointed the gun at Elisa.
"Now iI'lli/ be the cop, and iyoui/ get to be the crazy evil mass murderer! I like this game!" Joker laughed hysterically. He jumped at her, waving the gun over his head. Elisa, sure he intended to kill her, punched him hard in the face and ran for the door.
She was met in the hall by four large men, all armed with guns. A chloroform soaked cloth went over her mouth and nose, and she slumped to the floor, unconscious.
tbc. . .
Author: Lord Maedhros
Rating: R (just to be safe)
Fandom: Gargoyles/ Batman Crossover
Summary: Batman/Gargoyles crossover. Goliath will do anything for Elisa's safety, but strengths become liabilities when one loses control. . . something the Joker is adept at exploiting.
Feedback: Any you are willing to provide would be very much appreciated
Archive: Anywhere, just tell me first
Genre: Action/Adventure
Disclaimer: All related characters are the property of Disney/ DC Comics. They are NOT my characters (as cool as that would be), nor are they being used for profit of any kind. As always, hats off to Bob Kane and Bill Finger, the immortal creators of Batman.
Warnings: Violence; maybe some spoilers but just in the general sense, nothing particular
Author's notes: I am a confirmed Batman freak, and reading Gargoyles fan fiction (which I started doing last year) got me to thinking of how cool it might be to see the two together. A good deal of my Gargoyles background is fanfic based, but any relevant Batman history or character background is based on the comics, not TV or movie-verse.
iitalicsi/ = thoughts
Chapter 1: Happy Cadavers
It was quiet down near the dockside warehouses of Manhattan at night. Sounds of the city drifted in, the honking of horns and the collective thrumming of car engines. Distantly, the wail of a police siren cut through the night air. The lights from the rest of the city shone between the warehouses and boatyards, providing enough light to see by but also creating an inky labyrinth of deep, black shadows. A few of the docks nearby were active, even in the small hours of the morning, but for the most part the area was deserted for the night. The persistent smell of fish and salt lingered in the air, and a radio could be heard, playing static-laden country music for the workmen on the docks.
Around the particular warehouse that held the interest of two police officers tonight, however, there had been no activity whatsoever.
"How long are we going to sit here?" An exhausted Elisa Maza asked her partner.
"Until something happens," he replied, glancing at his watch.
"It's been four hours, Matt," she pointed out. "Maybe someone was informed about your informant . . ."
"Don't even joke about that."
"Sorry."
Having finished arguing, Elisa and Matt settled back in to wait, and watch. They had sat thus, in silence, for a further fifteen minutes, when the police band radio crackled to life.
"All available units please respond . . . disturbance at Nineteenth and Washington streets . . . Shots fired, all officers proceed with extreme caution."
Elisa and Matt looked at each other for a second, and then Elisa scrambled to pick up the radio.
"Detectives Maza and Bluestone responding, en route. ETA ten minutes, over." She turned on the ignition, and drove towards the address specified by the call. Once clear of the docks, she ignited the siren and lights of the stakeout car, and they raced off into the city.
* * * * *
When Elisa and Matt reached the scene, the perpetrators were already gone. Fire fighters were just arriving, dealing with a major blaze belching out of a storefront on the street corner. The two got out of the car and checked on the officers involved in the shooting.
"What happened?" Elisa called, flashing her badge.
"We got a call saying someone tripped a silent alarm at that store," one of the uniformed officers answered her. "Crazy shit. When we got here, there were two cars outside, blasting the place with automatic weapons. We pulled up, gave them a warning to stand down, and they started firing on us, too. Last thing they did was to fire bomb the whole place, then they took off. We're all okay, but the car is a little worse for the wear. Crazy shit." The officer blew out a deep breath, shaking his head slightly.
'Worse for the wear' was an understatement. The front tires on both of the squad cars involved were shredded, every metal surface visible from the front of the car was perforated by bullet holes, and the windows and windshields had all but disintegrated under the hail of gunfire.
It was amazing that none of the officers had been hit.
With nothing to do there but sit and guard the scene, Elisa and Matt got back in their car, and waited for the firefighters to finish their job.
What seemed like hours later, the fire was finally dead, and Matt and Elisa were told that they were clear to investigate the scene. iIt's about fucking time,i/ she thought. Elisa sighed, rubbed her eyes, and got out of the car. Matt was called over to talk to a lieutenant who had just arrived, and Elisa continued without him. Choking down the last mouthful of her cold coffee, she walked over to the crime scene, and into the store.
The distinctly unpleasant scent of smoke and ash filled the store, tainted further by a strange, lingering chemical smell. The room was dimly lit, but as her eyes adjusted Elisa began to see the items strewn about the room. A broken set of shelves, various common and random items, and the door to one of the refrigerators at the back of the convenience store lay on the floor. And there were several other objects, too, but Elisa could not quite make out what they were. She pulled her flashlight for a closer look.
The oddly shaped objects, seven in all, were bodies.
Two of the men had fallen, apparently to automatic weapons fire, with their hands firmly locked around each other's throats. Across the room, another man was propped against the wall, on his knees, with his pants down and his ass in the air. He looked as if he had died while mooning his shooter. The other four were in similarly strange positions. Horrified, but also morbidly fascinated, Elisa checked the men more closely. Most of the men's features had been burned beyond recognition in the fire, and she found no tangible clues there until she circled back to the front of the store, to the first two men she had seen upon entering. These two had apparently been furthest from the flames, and both faces were intact. Elisa recoiled involuntarily at what she saw.
iMy God, they're smilingi/.
Hideous, maniacal grins were fixed to their pale, dead faces. Eyes wide, mouths agape, and cheeks pulled back into a macabre vision of two men halted in the seemingly… joyful process of slaughtering one another.
Elisa ran from the room, fighting the urge to vomit. She pushed past a confused-looking Matt, and headed for the alleyway, keeping the scene as clear as possible for the forensics team.
Elisa stood back up, then immediately dropped her head between her knees again, facing the small, lumpy puddle that had once been her dinner. iGreat,i/ she thought. iThat's the last time I eat lo mien for a while.i/ She tried again, more slowly this time, and was able to stand upright. She breathed deeply, trying to purge the last traces of her nausea. At that moment, a huge, dark figure descended from the roof above.
Goliath landed just outside the small pool of light cast by the alley's only street lamp. He touched down lightly, exercising a smooth grace that belied his great size. Goliath was enormous, well over seven feet in height, with large muscles, a tail, and clawed hands and feet. He settled his large, leathery wings about his broad shoulders, and addressed the only human he fully trusted.
"What happened in there?" he asked Elisa, concern showing in his deep voice.
"I'm all right, Goliath, really," she replied, still coughing. "I just wasn't prepared for what I saw a few minutes ago." She told him, briefly, what she knew about the incident, finishing with the descriptions of the two men's faces.
Goliath said nothing. He merely grunted, shaking his head in resignation.
Elisa continued. "Look, I'll make some copies of the crime scene photos for you, and then I think I'll see what I can dig up out of the police files. I feel like I've heard of this before, but not here . . . I just hope I'm wrong about who the perpetrator might be here." she finished, not wanting to panic Goliath unnecessarily.
"Elisa," Goliath began, extending a huge, gray-purple hand into the light. "We will help you find the one responsible for this. This kind of carnage has no place here."
"I know you will. And you're right; this shouldn't be allowed to happen anywhere. But it does."
He let out a deep, rumbling sigh. "I know."
Elisa looked at her watch. "You only have a little under an hour before dawn. I'll tell you more tomorrow night."
"Very well," he said. "Come to the Clock Tower at dusk, and let me know what you find."
"I will," she promised. They embraced briefly, Goliath's wings enveloping Elisa's comparatively small body completely. The two parted, and Elisa glanced towards the street. "I've got to get back out there."
"See you tomorrow night, then," he said, and mounted the nearest building, climbing straight up the brownstone with his razor- sharp claws. Elisa still remembered the first time she had seen him do that. She had been clinging to his shoulders for dear life, watching his jackhammer fingers driving straight into solid stone. It had since never failed to impress her. Goliath disappeared over the lip of the roof. A moment later, a deep whooshing sound signaled his departure.
Elisa stood still for a few seconds, then turned and walked back to the scene.
Elisa caught a few hours of sleep that morning, and then she was back at the police station, searching the database for anything that fit the profile of what she had seen the previous night. The database took only a very short time to cough up a match to the very distinctive style of the killer in this case. Fearing the result, but as always more curious than anything, she opened the page and began to look through it.
For the second time in the same day, Elisa looked at that face, staring up at her. Pale, white skin, wavy green hair, and red, painted lips accentuated the expression on the mug shot. It was the same as on the two dead men she had seen the night before. Elisa set her jaw firmly, and began to read the long criminal record and file on the man known only as the Joker.
* * * * *
Just before dusk, Elisa stood alone on the roof of the Clock Tower, holding a copy of the files she had downloaded earlier. Around her were a ring of fearsome statues, winged gargoyles made of cold, dark stone, perched on the edges of the roof. This high above the city, silence reined. Only a few stray sounds from the streets below ever wound their way up here.
Then night fell completely. All around, the statues began to crack open, warm flesh showing through the thin lines in their outer shells. Flakes of stone fell away, and the Gargoyles awoke into the night with a deafening roar, shedding their daytime outer casing in an explosion of stone chips and debris.
Elisa spoke first, startling Lexington, who was closest. Small, bald and green skinned; Lexington had large, round eyes to match his endearing curiosity. He greeted her cheerfully, but couldn't hide the nervousness she had caused in him.
"H-hi, Elisa," he said, eliciting quiet laughter from his clan mates. The other Gargoyles greeted her in turn, finishing with Goliath, who embraced her warmly. Brooklyn, Broadway, and Lexington left the rooftop to stretch their wings, while Goliath, Hudson, and Elisa went inside the tower. Bronx, less mobile than the others due to his lack of wings, followed them in and settled down, curling up at Elisa's feet.
Elisa pulled out the files she had printed during the day. The two Gargoyles looked them over, with growing concern showing on both their faces. Elisa couldn't help but notice that Hudson's ability to read was improving steadily, and she told him so. He smiled briefly at the compliment, but quickly grew serious again as he continued to read about the Joker's extensive criminal record.
"You're chasin' a madman, lass," Hudson commented, dropping the papers on the small table.
"Do you think he's still in New York?" Goliath asked. Before she could answer, he continued. "Elisa, we are this city's guardians. We need to do something about this 'Joker' if he's still at large here."
"I agree," Hudson confirmed. "We canna have this madman runnin' free in our city, murderin' innocent people."
"That reminds me," Elisa put in. "I checked out the I.D. on the victims of last night's attack, and the Joker's targets were hardly innocent. Turns out they were mob. Gotham mob, who got booted out of their territory in a gang war a while back. They tried to move in here a couple months ago," she sighed, ". But it looks like this 'Joker' character tracked them here somehow. Anyway, it could be a sign that he's not staying. . ."
"Pity, that," Hudson muttered.
". . . But I'd still like to know what he's doing. Follow my logic here. It would be relatively easy for a supposed 'master criminal' like the Joker to lie low if he wanted to. That means that his not being found in New York doesn't tell us anything. On the other hand, if he was spotted, say back in Gotham . . ."
". . . We'd know he was gone," Goliath finished for her.
"Exactly," Elisa responded with determination. "I've got some vacation time coming in a few days, so I was thinking I could take a little trip up to Gotham, ask a few questions in the right places . . ."
"bNob/, Elisa," Goliath roared, eyes on the verge of glowing their signature white. "You've seen for yourself what he's capable of. Don't go looking for him, not on his own ground."
"Goliath, as much as I appreciate the thought, I can handle myself," Elisa snapped back. As sweet as it was of Goliath to be so concerned over Elisa's safety, it could idefinitelyi/ be annoying at times. "There's something else I haven't told you yet," she said bitterly. "Someone I knew was among the victims. He was a rookie officer, working undercover as the shopkeeper. He was supposed to be one of the gang's contacts, linking their drug money to legitimate business. When the place was attacked, he . . ." Elisa left off the end of the last statement.
"Elisa, please," it was Hudson. "We all know ye can fend for yourself, lass, but he's right. This madman is dangerous. If nothing else, what he did last night proves that. It'd be folly to go seekin' him out on your own."
"That's why I'm not seeking him out," she argued. "I'm just going into the city, asking some questions to make sure he's left New York. The chief and my squad captain have already been in contact with Gotham's police commissioner. He's a good cop, from what I hear, and a good leader. The GCPD are more than capable, and they can deal with him from there,"
"I do not like this," Goliath grumbled. "If Gotham's police are so good, why not let them track him down?"
"Because we have to know if he's really gone or not," she countered. "They are good, but he's been evading them consistently, evading everyone, for a long time. I'll be there and back by this time next week. Nothing's going to happen."
"Whenever you say that, my tail starts to twitch," Goliath said, sighing heavily. "Very well. But keep in contact with us while you're gone."
"I will. Don't worry," she said, laughing lightly.
"There goes that tail again, lad," Hudson chuckled. "Have a good trip, Elisa. God speed."
"See you both later. I'm on duty in twenty minutes." They said their farewells, and Elisa descended the tower, heading for the station.
* * * * *
Elisa stepped off the train at about ten that Saturday, into Gotham City. Right away, she saw the differences between this city and her own.
Gotham was an old city. New York was even older, but most of the buildings in her city were much newer, more modern in appearance. These were, well, gothic in style, for lack of a better word. The entire city gave the impression of darkness, even in broad daylight, with lots of sharp, jagged peaks, numerous pedestrian causeways between buildings, and a virtual army of grotesques and gargoyles.
She smiled to herself. iExcept these will still be stone come nightfalli/.
Elisa merged with the crowd, found a cab, and told the driver to take her to a relatively inexpensive hotel. The cab took off, into the city.
As Elisa expected, everyone with even a minor link to Gotham's underworld knew whom 'the clown' referred to. Most of the men she talked to tried to warn her away from him. The Joker was a legend here. Based on what she was hearing, he was a nightmare to deal with, but he could pull off virtually anything. He had escaped from Arkham Asylum too many times to count, and it was rumored that no prison in the world could hold him indefinitely. He was already sentenced to serve the next few thousand years incarcerated in Arkham, for everything from petty larceny and minor property damage to gang running and mass murder.
And the list was still growing . . .
By the end of her third day in Gotham, Elisa was getting nowhere searching for someone to talk about the Joker's whereabouts. She'd heard of several 'little places' on street corners where well meaning men had offered to take her, but none of that was very useful. And they all had stories. 'Mister J' pulled this off, 'that smiling bastard' killed such and such, and 'the Clown Prince of Crime' was untouchable. Yadda yadda yadda. Every potentially shady character in the city was too scared of him to say much of anything. Elisa, not particularly inclined to give up on anything, decided to pick up her search again the following day, after she had gotten some sleep. Hungry and tired, she got on the subway train, and headed back to the hotel.
* * * * *
Elisa opened the door to her hotel room, and flipped on the light. She showered, changed, and shuffled back into the room, intending to take another look at the street atlas of Gotham and determine what section of the city she had yet to cover. The presence of the ghoulish clown, grinning madly at her from the center of the room, did not even register as unusual until he was right in front of her.
"Hello there!" Joker beamed at her, extending his hand for Elisa to shake. "How nice to finally meet you!" He grabbed her hand to shake it, and Elisa woke up more completely as she felt a jolt of electricity shoot up her right arm, accompanied by a loud buzzing noise. Joker's mannerisms made her imagine she could hear carnival music, although she knew it was just her imagination. "Whoops! Sorry about that," he continued, removing the buzzer ring and dropping it into his pocket without missing a beat. He flopped on the couch, completely at ease. "So, my sweet, what is it that brings you to lovely Gotham? Furthermore, why have you suddenly taken such an interest in little old me?"
"I-I, ah, umm, wh- what are you. . What do you mean?" she stammered.
"Oh, dear, we've picked up a bit of a st-stu-st-stutter, have we? But to your question, what I mean, miss, is that you've been sniffing around in this happy little burg for three days now, asking anyone and everyone you can find about where my latest little hidey hole might be. I don't always appreciate that, you know. Very rude. Ever hear of a simple phone call? Fax? Telegram? Honestly, no common courtesies at all anymore . . ."
Elisa's police training began to overpower her initial shock. Seeing no one else in the room, she pulled out her badge and gun. "Okay, Joker. You're under arrest for arson and the murders of seven men in New York, five days ago. You have the right to remain . . . "
Joker leaped to his feet, vaulting over the back of the couch. "What, do you mean to say someone's actually iinvestigatingi/ those poor saps? How exciting! I see now. Wait a tick, did you say seven? I could have sworn there were at least eight, what with that not-so-well-undercover officer you had there . . . oh, well, who can remember? I never was very good with faces . . . no, no, faces I can do . . ." Joker paused, thinking and smiling to himself.
"Hands behind your back, clown," Elisa snapped at him, in no mood to play games. "Up against the wall, NOW."
"Oh, o-of course, officer," he responded meekly, and then to her surprise, he did exactly as he was told.
Elisa pulled her handcuffs, and walked carefully towards him, gun extended. iHe's not stupid,i/ she told herself. iHe knows I can still shoot him if he tries anythingi/. She just touched his wrist with the first cuff . . .
The Joker exploded out at her, launching himself away from the wall and spinning, getting behind Elisa and grabbing her gun arm. He bit her, hard, on the forearm, and used her surprise to wrench the gun away from her. Joker continued his spin, knocking Elisa to the ground, and danced his way across the room, singing and laughing. He stopped on a dime, turned, and pointed the gun at Elisa.
"Now iI'lli/ be the cop, and iyoui/ get to be the crazy evil mass murderer! I like this game!" Joker laughed hysterically. He jumped at her, waving the gun over his head. Elisa, sure he intended to kill her, punched him hard in the face and ran for the door.
She was met in the hall by four large men, all armed with guns. A chloroform soaked cloth went over her mouth and nose, and she slumped to the floor, unconscious.
tbc. . .