Batman and the associated characters are owned by DC and the Matrix and it's characters are owned by Larry and Andy Wachowski. This is set before the original Matrix film. All reviews welcome!
Chapter Five – Hostile Takeover
A street mime was pretending to go through an invisible door. The passers by were pretending he was invisible as well. Down the street two women dressed in tight leathers with wrap around sunglasses were busy shooting at two agents that were following them. Two police officers in front of them tried to stop them. One of the women gave the first officer a scorpion kick to the head whilst simultaneously spinning round and pushing the other officer spinning into the path of the two agents. The two women leapt over a bench and raced towards a ringing pay phone.
The "mime" drew a gun from his pocket and shot at the phone. The phone disintegrated under a fusillade of bullets. Grinning like a Cheshire cat he pulls another cartridge from his pocket and reloads the gun…
Morpheus frowned. This Batman was proving to be more than a little uncommunicative. He had his foot down and the traffic was zipping by either side. He had the car up to 150 mph but the Batmobile just coasted ahead. For some time they had been finding gifted people, rebels mostly, to explain the realities of life to. This was the first time that not even Morpheus could catch up with this rebel! His phone rang.
"Morpheus."
"This is Tank. We've lost three people in the past hour. I dunno how but Agents are all over them."
"How many people do we have left plugged in?"
"Twelve all told. Including you and Trin."
"Get them out here. Now." Morpheus grimaced as he took the car past a police car. Immediately blue lights started following him.
"Okay sir, what about you?"
"I need to talk to Batman."
"How do we know his system's clean?" There is the sound of tapping. "There is a hard line in Wayne Manor, sir. If there is a problem, you could get out that way, otherwise…" There is some further tapping. "you don't want to know how far the nearest exit point is."
"We don't. We need to take a chance." The blue lights soon disappeared into the distance. This car could outdistance most vehicles.
"Shit. I've just lost another life sign."
"Let me know if the agent signals converge on us and get everyone else out of here!" Morpheus pressed the button to end the call.
Batman was out of the city and zooming up a country road. He pressed a button on the car dashboard. A security sweep was conducted of the local area. A green light appeared on the dashboard to show it was clear and a small section of the hillside lifted up leaving just enough space for the batmobile to squeeze in. The headlights blazed out and behind him he could see the hillside clunk back into place. Motion sensor lights about him blazed giving the cave an eerie affect with dark shadows and stygian depths either side of the road. He slowed the car to a crawl and parked on the turntable.
He was angry with Tim and Alfred. What on earth possessed them to see him out of costume? Especially in front of all those police. There were some fine analytical minds amongst them and even if they didn't want to think about his identity it wouldn't take much to put two and two together.
He got out of the car and stalked up to the computer. The light above him went on as it detected him. The lights by the tunnel went out and the turntable hummed as it turned the car round to face the tunnel entrance.
A beeping sound resounded around the cave. Someone had just walked in the door of the manor. Bruce quickly changed out of his costume and into some casual wear. He walked up the stairs to the top. He stopped just before opening the door and took a deep breath. He had to calm down. He didn't want to just go out and start shouting at Tim and Alfred. After a few seconds he felt his pulse go down he opened the door and walked out…
Tim was pretty apprehensive. Bruce was in a pretty bad mood. True his mood did tend to move from dour to harsh with the occasional burst of fury but this looked different.
Alfred was one of the few people who didn't fear Bruce's temper. Tim hadn't been with him long enough to warrant the sort of affection that Alfred garnered in his affections. The mysterious Morpheus and Trinity were standing like statues in the corridor. Bruce came through the door.
Bruce jabbed a finger at Morpheus. "Do you mind telling me who the hell you two are?"
"I am Morpheus."
"And I am Trinity."
The bald man smiled at Batman. "We can understand you are upset. Believe me what I have to tell you is more important than any petty squabbles."
"More important…" Bruce clutched his head. "Do you realise that the Joker has just escaped. He is probably the most dangerous psychopath I have ever met and believe me I know…"
"We share your concerns Bruce…"
"That is another case in point. How did you find me?"
"We have the ability to monitor all communications in the matrix?"
"What are you talking about? What is this matrix?"
"Twelve years ago I met a man, a great man, who said that no one could be told the answer to that question. That they had to see it, to believe it." Morpheus's voice is quiet almost hypnotic in its persuasion. "He told me that no one should look for the answer unless they have to because once you see it, everything changes. Your life and the world you live in will never be the same. It's as if you wake up one morning and the sky is falling."
"I asked you a straight question."
"I can not tell you, I have to show you." Morpheus opens his hands. He has two pills there. A red pill and a blue pill. "Take the red pill and you will see what the world really is. Who is really running it. Take the blue pill and you carry on your life. Fighting crime, running a company, maybe even start a family. All without knowing or caring what is really happening."
Bruce looks down at his hand. He stares at it long and hard.
"I don't do drugs," he says and turns away.
Alfred has been looking out the window whilst listening to the conversation. The floodlights are on in the grounds. He stops and stares. "My, my that is peculiar…"
Something about his voice makes Trinity turn around. "What is it?"
"Vulpes vulpes. The common fox. I saw one dash across in front of the fountain. The next second I could swear it ran past again."
Trinity looks over at Morpheus with concern. She looks back at Alfred. "Was it the same fox you saw or a different one?"
"No it was Sabre. Well I call him Sabre. I rescued him last year from some barbwire out the front of the house. The poor little creature had got stuck. I know it's him because where the barb wire cut into him he has a long white scar down his side."
"Shit."
"What is the concern madam?"
"An anomaly like that normally means they have changed something in the programme."
Tim looks out the window. Helicopter spotlights can be seen coming over the horizon. Lots of them. The headlights of several police swat team lorries can be seen out the front. The sound of running feet can be heard outside. Suddenly small thin red lights come through the window. The lazer sighting of police marks men.
Morpheus gets a phone from his pocket. "Tank this is Morpheus. Activate the local hard line. We are leaving."
"That's a negative sir, they've just cut it."
The mansion lights cut out. Dirty yellow emergency lights emerge from the chandeliers casting the room in a strange glow.
Bruce walks up to the window, the lazer sights are all over him.
"For god's sake Bruce get down," hisses Tim. He is crouched behind a high back settee.
A fusillade of shots erupt. The mansion glass shatters but stays in place. "The glass is bullet proof," Bruce says calmly. "Something seems to have annoyed them." He turns to Morpheus. "Or someone. Why don't I just turn you in?"
Morpheus gives a half smile. "You know too much. They would kill you."
Bruce carries on standing at the window. The sound of shooting is nearing a crescendo. The glass has turned white and it is starting to buckle inwards under the weight of fire. Small broken bits of glass start to trickle onto the carpet. He comes to a decision. "Okay, we're getting out of here. Follow me."
He walks to where the clock is in the corridor. He sets the time of the clock to the time when his parents died and the clock slides back revealing… A brick wall.
Trinity looks at Morpheus. "That's what they've changed…"
Tim looks back at the front door. There is a burst of white smoke and the doors come flying off. The Joker comes mincing through the smoke, behind him two agents wielding guns and ten police swat team members come running through the smouldering embers of the door…