Batman AC
A Batman Beyond and Gundam Wing crossover by Night Hunter MGS
Foreword: That's it, it's
official, I've watched far too much Batman Beyond.
Disclaimer:
Look, I don't own 'em! OK?!
Prologue: The Immortal Bat
It began with a single man, a man driven by vengeance. When he
was but a child, he caught a glimpse of what evil is as that evil
took what he held most dear away from him. He swore upon the graves
of his murdered parents that he would avenge their deaths and prevent
the tragedy that struck him from ever happening again. The child,
angry and needing a focus to pour that anger out upon, left his home
and used the vast fortune that his parents left him to travel the
world. For well over a decade, he journeyed from country to country,
never stopping in one place for long. And as he journeyed he sought
teachers: martial artists, detectives, chemists, magicians, scholars,
soldiers, escape artists, spies, thieves, ninjas, illusionists,
scientists, mechanics, gymnasts, and many more; any one who knew a
skill that he needed in his self-appointed mission he sought out and
learned all that they knew. After he had obtained all of the skills,
talents, and knowledge that he required and passed the hurdle of
manhood, he returned to the city that gave him birth, raised him, and
took his parents away. It was time for his crusade to begin, and it
was in this place that his war would take place.
It is
unsure when the man known as Bruce Wayne truly began his one-man war
on crime. After he returned home to the Wayne mansion located just
outside of Gotham City, a metropolis located within the area formerly
known as the United States of America, reports came in several times
of somebody halting a crime in progress. It was always someone
different, but it may have been Bruce Wayne scouting out his new
territory when one considers the fact that he was a master of
disguise. The legends suggest that Wayne realized that as things
stood, the criminals of the city were too hardened and bold with the
lack of any serious police resistance. He would have to make them
fear him, but how? How could he strike terror into their hearts and
keep himself and those he cared for safe from retaliation? As he
pondered this question, it is said that a giant bat crashed through a
nearby window and he was reminded of a time when he was a young boy
and was frightened by a bat. It was then that he adopted his
symbol.
Approximately one month after Bruce Wayne's
return to Gotham, the first sketchy reports of a giant bat attacking
the criminals of the city began to trickle in. At first the police
were skeptical of such a man or creature, but their doubts were
silenced when criminal after criminal began being left on the steps
of the police station bound and gagged. Others were found at crime
scenes and known hideouts, beaten and so terrified that they were
begging the officers to arrest them. Some officers were disgusted
with such vigilante justice and wanted to bring the mysterious figure
known as the "Batman" in to the jail, but many more saw him
as doing their jobs for them better than they ever could and silently
cheered Batman on. The mayor and police commissioner, both horribly
corrupt and on the payrolls of the major crime bosses, did nothing to
either discourage or support the Batman's efforts since he was only
going after minor operators and small pieces of the crime bosses much
larger machines. That attitude changed when Batman began attacking
the crime bosses directly and they ordered the mayor and police
commissioner to do something. Batman was now officially declared an
enemy of the law as arrest warrants were put out on him, and a heroic
police captain by the name of Captain James Gordon was assigned to
the task of Batman's arrest.
This proved to be no easy
task as Gordon laid trap after trap for the masked vigilante but none
met with success. Gordon also had to battle it out with the corrupt
members of the police department who wanted to see Batman dead at any
costs, and with his own sense of right and wrong. Within his mind,
Gordon was forced to ask some very hard questions. Should he abide by
the letter of the law in a town where those supposed to enforce it
were instead the biggest offenders against law and order, or instead
support a man who broke the rules so that he could serve the spirit
of the law and protect the innocent? Eventually, after seeing some of
Batman's exploits firsthand, which included the rescue of Gordon's
own child from the hands of the police commissioner's criminal
lackeys, Gordon threw his silent support behind him and even became
the most trusted friend of the Batman. Eventually the police
commissioner was arrested for his crimes, other corrupt officers were
found out, the mayor was forced to resign, and the crime bosses
either killed each other off, were arrested, or fled from Gotham City
in terror. Soon, James Gordon was made the new commissioner of
police, and police policy changed from a massive manhunt for Batman
to active support of the costumed crime fighter.
Over
the years, some found out Batman's secret and became the Dark
Knight's allies. The first was an orphaned circus boy, Dick Grayson,
whose parents were murdered much like Bruce's were. Feeling sorry for
the boy, Bruce adopted him. Living at Wayne mansion, it was only a
matter of time before the curious Grayson stumbled upon the massive
caverns underneath Wayne manor, which served as the home and
headquarters for the Batman. Driven by the same forces that motivated
Bruce, Dick joined him in his fight. Soon, Robin, the Boy Wonder,
joined the imposing Batman in his nightly crusade. His life as a
circus acrobat served Grayson well in this role, and he grew up as
Batman's right hand man. Of course, as children always tend to do,
Dick Grayson became rebellious and argumentative with his surrogate
father. Tired of living within the imposing shadow of Batman, Dick
retired as Robin around the time he went to college and struck out on
his own as the vigilante known as Nightwing.
After Dick
Grayson left Bruce Wayne's side, there was still a need for a Robin.
The records of the second and third Robins have been lost, so we are
unsure who they were. However, we do know at least their first names
thanks to Bruce Wayne's personal journals, which mentions them often.
The second Robin was named Jason. Much like his predecessor, Jason
was an orphan. Unlike Dick however Jason was a loose cannon and
refused to play by Bruce's rules. Bruce suspected but was never able
to prove that Jason actually killed a criminal that had murdered
Jason's girlfriend. However, this suspicion did not have long to come
between Bruce and his second surrogate son as Jason was murdered by
the greatest rival that Batman ever had to face, the laughing madman
known as the Joker. The third Robin, believed to be Tim Drake, was
abnormal compared to the patterns that surrounded the first two
Robins. His parents were alive and he had no real reason to commit
himself to justice. While we are not sure why, Tim also took up the
mantle of Robin and fought for many years beside Batman. After
college, Tim also retired the Robin mantle, this time for good. Tim
was the last Robin and there has never been another since. Unlike
Dick however, Tim retired from his life of crime fighting and became
a normal, ordinary citizen.
Counterpart to both Batman
and Robin was Batgirl. Like Tim, she had a normal family and a usual
life. However, unlike Tim she had clear reason for her decision to
fight crime. The mantle of Batgirl was created by Barbara Gordon, the
daughter of police commissioner James Gordon. Raised by the model
hard-boiled police officer and immersed in the struggle of law
enforcement from an early age, it was natural that she would also
fight against crime. When her father was wrongfully accused of
criminal activity, she became a costumed vigilante to discover
evidence that would prove Gordon's innocence. She was later recruited
by Batman and formally became a member of the "Bat family".
She actually dated Dick Grayson before he left. However, when Dick
left she stayed by Bruce Wayne's side as his partner, and according
to Bruce's journals as his girlfriend. In this role, she joined the
ranks of many women who had managed to capture a small piece of the
Dark Knight's heart. Eventually Barbara also left Bruce and pursued a
more normal life, marrying the district attorney of Gotham and
unsurprisingly filling in her father's role of commissioner after his
death.
Despite being abandoned by his "children",
Bruce continued his lonely crusade for many more years before his
body finally could not support his iron will any longer. When Bruce
Wayne finally retired, he was well over sixty years old. Only weeks
after his forced retirement from the life of a vigilante, opportunity
to continue his war presented itself in the form of Terry McGinnis, a
young high school student who had actually gotten on the wrong side
of the law in the past. After fighting off members of the Jokers gang
alongside Bruce Wayne, Terry helped him into the house after Bruce
collapsed from his exertion. While there, McGinnis stumbled upon the
Batcave and Bruce drove him out of the house. Returning home, Terry
found that his father had been murdered, apparently by Jokers in a
failed robbery. However, after inspecting his father's belongings
Terry found that his father had been murdered by the powerful
corporate executive Derek Powers, chairman of Wayne-Powers
Enterprises. Apparently, his father had discovered that Powers was
manufacturing a horrific chemical weapon, and with the information
that his father had collected Terry went to Bruce Wayne for help due
to his fear of police corruption. Unfortunately, Wayne's long
struggle had worn him down and he turned Terry away. On his way to
speak with Commissioner Barbara Gordon, Terry was ambushed by Powers
and lost the data he'd collected. There was only one thing left that
he could do now.
McGinnis sneaked back into the Batcave
and stole the latest Batsuit; an advanced cybernetic system designed
to give a person near superhuman abilities. Using the suit, he
infiltrated the Wayne-Powers building and set about stopping Powers'
plans. Unfortunately Wayne discovered Terry's plans and activated the
Batsuit's safety mechanism, which froze all of the suit's systems.
Helpless and at the mercy of Powers' security force, Terry begged
Wayne to let him bring the man who murdered his father to justice.
Moved by Terry's words, Wayne unfroze the suit and Terry proceeded
with his mission. In the resulting fight, Powers was infected by his
own weapon and the henchman who had actually killed Terry's father
died in an airplane crash. The biological weapon actually reacted
with the radiation therapy used to destroy it, turning Powers into a
walking nuclear reactor who used the name "Blight" when
committing criminal acts with his new superhuman powers. Afterwards,
Wayne actually offered Terry the mantle of the bat and McGinnis
accepted.
Training with Wayne, McGinnis eventually became
a worthy successor to Bruce's mission. His relationship with Barbara
Gordon was much like the one Bruce had with her father, and he
experienced many of the same things that Bruce had in one way or
another. Terry's friend Maxine Gibson soon found out his secret and
became a valued ally. After years of training Terry, Bruce Wayne
finally died, leaving a great legacy of business and prosperity and
the even greater, secret legacy of the Batman. In his own time, Wayne
had become a living legend and Terry inherited that legacy. Wayne
also left Terry his fortune and the Wayne manor. After many years,
Terry had made the mission of the Batman as much his as it was
Wayne's. Sadly, McGinnis was killed during one of the many global
wars preceding the creation of the space colonies and much of the
technology of his day, along with those humans carrying the
superhuman gene, was destroyed and lost. Nobody knows what happened
to Maxine Gibson after Terry's death. However, what is known is that
despite the destruction of Gotham City and the death of Bruce Wayne's
successor, there were several more Batmen. Some guarded the cities
back on Earth while others journeyed with mankind to the colonies.
Sadly, it has been well over fifty years since the last reported
sighting of the Batman, and it seems that the eternal struggle
against the evils within the hearts of men has finally ceased.
-Christopher Langley, "The Way of the Vigilante";
Chapter five "The Immortal Bat", first published in AC 142,
reprinted in AC 174
Editor's comments: Not much
concerning the mysterious figure known as the "Batman" has
changed in the thirty years since Professor Langley wrote this
article, which was later included in his book "The Way of the
Vigilante" which has been reprinted as "The History of
Vigilantism" with commentary by other authors. There have been
no substantiated reports of the Batman, although there have been
minor rumors every now and then throughout the years of the emergence
of a new Batman. However, since the original is probably more myth
than history, there is little doubt that these rumors do not have any
truth to them. Still, considering that the legend of the Batman has
lasted for more than two centuries, it is not surprising that there
are rumors about yet more successors to the so-called "mantle of
the bat". Nonetheless, despite the power of the old legends that
still cause criminals to shiver in fear, even if there was a Batman
at one time and he had successors, there is no Batman in this day and
age.
End of Prologue
Afterword: Look folks,
even I don't understand what goes on in the twisted maze of my mind.
Sufficed to say, send in comments and criticism to
NightHunterMGSaol.com. If people like this, I will definitely
continue it. If they don't, I might still continue to write it if I'm
inspired enough. Please send me reviews, and give me any suggestions
you may have. Also, be sure to check out my other fics, particularly
the Ranma fic A Ranma by any Other Name, the Dragonball Z fic
Neo-Saiyans, and the upcoming GI Joe fic Molding a Soldier. Until
next time, go read an actual book or something. Educate yourself!