Batman and the associated characters are owned by DC and the Matrix and its characters are owned by Larry and Andy Wachowski. This is set before the original Matrix film. All reviews welcome.

Chapter Eleven – Hostile Takeover

When Bruce Wayne next woke up he could hardly move. He tried to raise his head and could see his body pierced with hundreds of needles. He could hear Morpheus talking in the background:

"His body is extremely weak. He needs a lot of work to rebuild his muscles."

He passed out again.

Alfred was staring into the eyes of Bane. Normally this would not be possible but because Bane had lifted him clear off the ground he was staring into Bane's eyes.

"Are you a snitch, boy?"

"I can assure you, sir, that I would not snitch out on any of you gentlemen."

Two-Face, far below, had got a coin out of his pocket. He tossed it in the air and caught it with one hand. "We think you should let him go, Bane."

Bane started sniffing Alfred like a huge dog. "I smell bacon."

This was too much for Alfred. "Please sir, I don't smell of bacon. There might be a hint of lavender. That was the only scented soap I was able to obtain in here."

Zsasz got a plastic knife from the table and started throwing it from hand to hand. "I've never sliced anyone with a plastic knife before." He looked up at Alfred. "I would love to have the chance to try."

"Please, gentlemen," said Crane. "His skeletal structure shows he is averse to the rough stuff. His cranial structure shows a remarkable mind and a disturbing amount of honesty. He also looks too scared to be a," his lip curled with distaste at the word he was about to say, "a snitch. Please Bane, let the gentlemen down. The intelligent conversation in this place is sparse enough without you killing every new man you see."

Bane slowly lowered Alfred to the ground. He patted Alfred on the head. "Sorry, Alfred. Force of habit." He lumbered off.

Alfred sat down at the table again and started to try and eat the food. It really was quite disgusting food. He pushed it away. "Thank you for saving me from Bane, Mr Two-Face."

"We didn't want you to leave us just yet."

Zsasz said. "We've got other plans for you."

Bruce wakes up again. He is lying on a bed in a metal room. It looks almost like the room of a submarine. There is something attached to his arm. It is a metal tube. He unplugs it and examines his arm. There is a row of metal holes up his arm. He twists his head and feels something strange. There is another big metal hole. He gets down from the bed and feels strange. Weak. Not as athletic as he once was. There is a mirror on the wall and he stands in front of it. He is completely bald. Hair is just starting to grow. He takes his grey top off and turns his back to the mirror. There is an additional row of metal holes running down his spine. His body looks thin. Wasted. His skin, aside from the metal holes, is smooth as well. No scars. He had led an active life and as a consequence his body was a network of scars old and new. From bullet wounds to knife slashes. Now his skin is like a baby's. The door hisses open.

"Good morning, Bruce. I trust you slept well?"

"Where am I? What happened to me?"

"You have been released. You are free."

"Just answer me a straight question."

"You are still in Gotham." Morpheus presses a button on the wall and a metal porthole opens. Bruce walks to the porthole. Outside is a desolate waste ground. All is bare earth. The sky is black and the clouds seem to be boiling. Lightning lances down sporadically, striking the earth.

"That is not Gotham."

"But it is. It is Gotham in the year 2197, give or take a year or two. You were in a neural-interactive simulation of Gotham City. Based in the late twentieth century. We do not know the reason it chose that particular time frame."

"What happened to the earth?" Bruce is starting to tire out already. He sits down on the bed. "Why do they keep us prisoner?"

"Sometime in the twenty-first century an artificial intelligence was born. This intelligence spawned an entire race of machines. They were given the same rights as humans. Treated as equals. This was not enough for them." Morpheus sits down opposite Bruce. "We don't know who started the war but it lasted for decades. In the end our ancestors burned the sky. The intelligence was solar powered. They thought that denying it sunlight would kill it. It needed a new power source. It discovered a new form of fusion. All that was required to initiate the reaction was a small electric charge. The only animal that could generate that precise electric charge is homo sapiens. The human body generates more bio- electricity than a 120-volt battery and over 25,000 B.T.U.'s of body heat. We are, as an energy source, easily renewable and completely recyclable, the dead are liquefied and fed intravenously to the living. The matrix is a way to placate the mind while they use the body."

"So they created this artificial reality to placate us. What were you doing in the matrix? What do you want with me?"

"We have been looking for the One. He is someone who can bend the matrix to his will. When the Matrix was first built there was a man born inside that had the ability to change what he wanted, to remake the Matrix as he saw fit. It was this man that freed the first of us and taught us the secret of the war; control the Matrix and you control the future. When he died, the Oracle at the temple of Zion prophesied his return and envisioned an end to the war and freedom for our people. That is why there are those of us that have spent our entire lives searching the Matrix, looking for him." Morpheus leans back in his chair and smiles. "I do not think you or your companions are the person we seek but I do think you could aid in our battles against the agents and the Joker."

"Where's Tim?"

"In the next cell to you. He is young. He handled the change easily."

"What about Alfred?"

Morpheus grimaces. "He would not take the pill. We have been monitoring him. He has been captured and placed in Arkham."

Agent Smith was talking to Agent Brown. As with all agent "conversations" it was less a chat and more an agreement of minds.

"I don't trust this Joker."

"Neither do I. We need an alternative plan if Morpheus does not return."

"We still have one contact in Zion." Smith put one hand to his earphone. "They are in the matrix at the moment." He got a small black mobile phone from his pocket and dialled a number. "This is Smith." There was a burst of expletives from the phone. "Patience. Your family are still plugged into the matrix. They are too old to survive the transition. If you don't help us we will delete them. Permanently." Smith smiled at the comment on the other end of the phone. "Well it is quite simple; this is what we want you to do…"

Bruce followed Morpheus through the bowels of the, well, Morpheus called it the Nebuchadnezzar. Morpheus was explaining all the controls and what the ship did. Bruce was only half listening. This was incredible. Unreal. Except it was real. Bruce interrupted him.

"If you want my help we have to get Alfred back."

Morpheus turned around. "We can not risk an attack on Arkham. Not with the agents being permanently camped there. The hard link to the core matrix has been switched off there as well."

"This is not negotiable."

"I am sorry about your friend, but there are always casualties in war."

"You want my help. You help me get Alfred back."

"We will return to the matrix but under my terms."

Bruce lunged forward and grabbed Morpheus by the throat. He was still tired and weak but it was knowing the arteries to squeeze that was important. He lightly pressed the carotid artery. "We are going back in to rescue Alfred; unless you want to be a casualty of this war you are in."

Morpheus struggled against Bruce's grip. "We know you. You won't kill."

Bruce tightened his grip. "There is always a first time. Help me and I'll help you."

Morpheus started choking. "Okay, we will help you."

Bruce let go of Morpheus's neck. "Carry on."

Morpheus, coughing slightly, carried on walking down the corridor. They walked into a small chamber with ten seats on the walls. Four of them were occupied. There was a mass of wires sticking out the back of all the chairs. As they walked in. the four people in the chairs suddenly jerked to life and stood up. With the help of two other people they started taking the wires out.

Morpheus gestured over to the other people. "This is Tank, Mouse, Doter, Keapis, Mortive and Link."

Bruce started to feel weak again and sat down. Morpheus sat down opposite him again. "I can understand you wish to rescue your friend now, but please reconsider. We need to train you up. We need to build you up. We need to prepare your mind fully for the return."

"What are they doing to Alfred?"

Morpheus looked over at Link. He was sitting in front of four computer terminals. All of them were showing streams of constantly changing green figures.

"He's cooking."

For the first time since he had been in Arkham, Alfred was starting to feel vaguely at home. He was in a huge kitchen. He was used to catering for lots of people. Not so much now, but in his old army days he had done some work for the catering corps. He really didn't understand this place at all. His assistant in the kitchen was Zsasz! The mad knife man. He was surprised that Jeremiah Arkham, the prison asylum's governor, had let him help out in the kitchen, let alone with Zsasz, Two-Face and Crane as his assistants. Jeremiah Arkham said it would be useful for them to learn a new skill. Too be fair, there were two heavily armed guards behind him. Zsasz was currently chopping up a sun-dried tomato under Alfred's tutelage. Alfred looked over his shoulder. Well, he was good at it, he had to admit. He didn't like to tell him he was chopping it too finely. And there was really no need to splatter all the tomato's innards over himself. Oh well, at least it was being chopped up.

Two-Face spoke. "What are we cooking?"

"We are cooking Tuscan Prima Verde." Alfred checked under the grill. The lamb was coming along nicely. He looked over at Professor Crane who was making faces at the cheese. He shook his head. "You don't need to scare the cheese, Professor, just grate it."

"Sorry Alfred. Force of habit." He got out a cheese grater from the side and started grating the cheese.

Alfred walked over to the pan on the oven and checked that the onions, turnips and olive oil was cooking nicely and added the eggs to the mixture. Stirring it gently he added some sea salt and pepper. He got a teaspoon and tried out the mixture. Ah! Done to a turn. There were two heavy thumping noises behind him. "I just need the tomatos, Zsasz, and have you finished with the cheese, Professor Crane?"

The two guards had been knocked out by Two-Face and Professor Crane. In front of him, Zsasz was holding a knife at his throat.

"We needed to get into the kitchen, it is the only place they don't have cameras, and you were the perfect excuse," said Two-Face. "Now we've got three hostages and a way out of here."

"We only need the guards as hostages," said Zsasz, looking at Alfred with a hungry look. "Please let me kill the old man. I haven't killed in so long."