Katt Girl & The Harley Kidd: Chapter 10: Ripple Effect by Chad Sheefel 11/16/19

"Even though I had already told them too much, there was no way in Hell I was going to bring Chad and Selina with me to encounter The League of Assassins. It would be far too dangerous for them. Hell, It is too dangerous for me. While they are sleeping, I will simply pack up a few things and head out tonight."

Bruce Wayne slipped out the back door. He dashed out into the night. It almost felt like complete freedom to him as the darkness shrouded his entire being. For the last 6 years, he had been training to blend into all his surroundings. If you were lucky, you might have caught a glimpse of his silhouette. He knew he still had a lot of training to do before he was completely ready to take on all the biggest criminal elements of Gotham City. That is, if he makes it back to Gotham ... alive

He made it to a wooded area where he kept a motorcycle. It was just a mile outside of the city. As he revved it up and began to take off, he could still hear the sirens in the background. He still didn't quite understand the whole story about Gabby and Lola's mom being from the future. The picture in the paper should have been proof enough, but he had never believed in such a thing as time travel. He also didn't believe that he could watch someone come back from the dead, and then watched as the dead man's spirit drifted away. So, at this point, anything could be possible. He is about 3 more miles down the road when suddenly he saw a shadowy figure in the middle of the road. He had to slam on the brakes as hard as he could to avoid hitting whatever it was. Him and his bike skidded across the ground almost 40 feet before they stopped. He looked back toward the road to see what it was that he almost hit. It wasn't there anymore. Out of nowhere a voice called out to him.

"Bruuuce Waaayne." It called out in a ghostly voice. He looked around to see where the voice was coming from.

"Wheeere are yooou goooing Bruuuce Waaayne?"

The sound seemed to be all around him. Suddenly, flashbacks started storming through his brain. He began to remember the Pit of Lazarus. He saw himself submerged in the liquid. He remembered being carried into the pit by the Doctor. At that moment, he remembered the name of the Doctor and recognized the voice that was calling out to him.

"Ra's al Ghul! Show yourself!" Bruce demanded.

The shadowy figure moved quickly. It used the darkness to his advantage just as Bruce had trained himself to do. Suddenly, Bruce took a punch to the face and was knocked to the ground. He didn't even see the punch coming. Then another punch. And another. He pulled the flashlight out of his pocket and tried to shine it all around hoping to get an advantage on the next punch.

"You created me Bruce Wayne." The shadow proclaimed.

"What are you talking about?" Bruce asked while continuing to shine the light into the darkness.

"You found a timeline to stop what you thought could change the future." The shadow said.

"What time line?" I have no idea what you mean!"

Suddenly the shadow surprised Bruce from behind and put his hands on Bruce's temples. Bruce felt paralyzed from the touch. Bruce's head began to see fire and brimstone. He saw everyone around him dying. Then he saw Gabby and her mom. Selina told him that she loved him as they slowly disappeared. He managed to free himself from the grips of the shadow. He turned around and shined the light. The shadow wasn't there.

"My soul has traveled back to finish what you already know is inevitable. That is why I brought you back from the dead. Without you, there is no me." The shadow proclaimed.

Bruce started to remember more. He remembered he was shot by the Landlord and then went into a coma. Then he had visions of the Pit of Lazarus again. He saw himself rising from it, the same way the slain assassin arose. A vision of Ra's al Ghul taking Gabby, Lola, and Selina tormented him.

"Nooooo! You can't take them!" Bruce screamed.

Bruce ran back to his motorcycle and started it up. He began driving it as fast as he could, trying to make his way to the mountain side where he would have to make his long journey toward the League of Assassins. Every second, he looked back to see if the shadow was still behind him.

"I am in your head Bruce. You can't get rid of me. Even in death, I would find you."

Meanwhile, back at Wayne Manor, Selina awoke in a cold sweat. She got up and looked around for Bruce and Chad. Both of them weren't there.

"Damn it! They left without me!" She said as she grabbed her jacket and started to head out the door.

All of a sudden she was startled when Chad fell to her feet. She began trying to wake him.

"Chad! Chad! Wake up! Bruce is gone!

Then, in a last ditch effort, she gave him a kiss. His eyes suddenly started to open.

"What's going on?" He asked faintly. "What am I doing out here?"

"I don't know. I woke up, then I noticed that you and Bruce were gone. You must have been walking in your sleep or something." Selina replied.

"It was the potion that I drank. Something unexplainable has been happening to me ever since I drank it. Somehow, I don't think I was supposed to be investigating the gun store robbery. I think this is all a ripple effect from your future self coming back. The Shadow Stranger wasn't trying to help me that night. He was planning on using me to continue his goal." Chad said.

"What goal?" Selina asked.

"It is a man or a spirit trying to find a body that is strong enough to summon a powerful demon. One that will try to destroy the world." Chad replied.

Suddenly a premonition came over Chad. He saw Gabby, Lola, and their mom.

"I know where they are at! Bruce is going the wrong way! They are still here in Gotham!"

"What? Where?" Selina asked.

"They are tied up at Axis Chemical." Chad replied.

Selina helped Chad gather himself and they headed toward Axis Chemical. Once they got there they could hear the machines roaring even though the place was empty. They made their way inside and heard the footsteps of someone running.

"Stay away from me!" A man yelled.

"Come on Jack! You should have known better than to think we would let you be in our squad! You are a nobody and Falcone knows it!" Another man yelled.

Chad and Selina rushed around the corner to see where the yelling was coming from. Once the men come into their eyesights, they saw three guys cornering a man with a red hood covering his head. The hood seemed to be tied around his neck as if they were trying to blind fold him with it. He had nowhere left to run and was only inches away from falling off the catwalk and into the vat of green toxic waste below. Selina found a rope and figures she could use it as a whip. Chad jumped down to confront the men that had cornered the man in the red hood. He recognized them from the comedy bar. It was Jimmy Snipes and a couple of his goons. They suddenly recognized him also.

"We've been waiting for some pay back. Now it looks like we will get it! Jimmy Snipes said.

They lunged at Chad and he was quickly able to move out of their way. He punched one of the goons square in the jaw and watched him fall to the ground. The other goon stepped up and tried kicking Chad, but Chad was able to block it. Then, in one punch he knocked the goon out. Chad looked at his fists, as was surprised by his speed and strength. Out of nowhere, Jimmy Snipes managed to jump on Chad's back. Chad struggled for a bit, but managed to get the best of Jimmy, then threw him over his shoulder. Jimmy was thrown so hard that he bumped into the man wearing the red hood and they both fell over the side of the catwalk. The man in the red hood was able to barely grab hold of the catwalk with one hand as he looked down to see Jimmy Snipes fall into the vat of chemicals. His grip was slipping and he began to fall. Suddenly, a rope swung around him and stopped his momentum just enough to keep him from landing in the chemicals. On the other side of the catwalk, Selina stood there, gripping the rope as tightly as possible, but was barely able to hold on to it. Chad quickly jumped across to the other catwalk and grabbed a hold of the rope. He then helped Selina pull the man up. They untied the red hood from around his neck and pulled it off of his head. Chad recognized him.

"Aren't you one of the comedians from the Gotham Laugh House?" Chad asked.

"Yes, I remember you. You were there when Harleen started smashing up the set."

"What is your name? Selina asked.

"Jack Napier." He replied.

"Have you seen a woman and two little girls here tonight." Selina asked.

"No, I was down in the basement trying to clean out the vault. The vault was empty and I realized I was being set up. That's when Jimmy and his men jumped me. They tied this hood around my neck and said they were going to set me up to look like I was the leader of their gang. I could barely see through the mask, but I managed to get away. Unfortunately, I ran out of room once I made my way onto the catwalk."

"I guess it was lucky for you that we showed up." Chad said.

"Not so fortunate for Jimmy Snipes. You threw him into the vat of toxic chemicals. You damn near killed me too." Jack replied.

Suddenly, they heard screaming coming from off in the distance. They ran to the sound.

"Help us! Help us!" The young voices were screaming.

When Chad and Selina finally got to them. It was Gabby and Lola. They were tied up to a pole and there looked to be a bomb strapped to the ground next to them.

"Hurry, it only has 30 seconds before it blows up!" Selina yelled

The girls looked up with confusion as they gazed at Selina. She looked almost like their mom. Chad ripped the rope away from Gabby and Lola. He helped them up, and they all start running for the exit.

5, 4, 3, 2, 1,...Boom!

They were barely able to make it out in time as Axis Chemical blew up. The toxic chemicals from the plant erupted into the air like a volcano. Chad quickly covered himself, the girls, and Selina's body with a sheet of metal that blew off the building from the explosion. They could hear the sizzling noise of the acid as it hits the top of the metal. When the acid finally stopped raining, he threw the metal away from them. They seemed to be okay. Suddenly, they looked over to see that Jack wasn't so lucky. Half of his face and body was laying down in a pool of the acid. They pulled him out as fast as they can. They turned him over to see if he was still alive. He was barely breathing. Half of his face looked like it had almost melted away.

He began to talk in a faint voice. "Is it bad? Do you think people will laugh at me now?" He said as he finally passed out.

Chad, Selina, and the girls stood there, baffled at the events that just unfolded.

"You must be the one that our mom told us about. You are the one she tied up. You are also Selina Kyle, aren't you?" Gabby asked.

"Yes. Yes I am." she replied.

"Do you know where our mom is at?" Lola asked.

"No, but we are going to find her. I promise."

Chapter Recap: (As Bruce headed off to the League of Assassins. Chad and young Selina found Lola and Gabby tied up at Axis Chemicals. While at the same time spoiling a plan by Jimmy Snipes to frame Jack Napier as the Red Hood leader. Origins changed as Jimmy Snipes fell into the toxic waste instead of Jack Napier. Although, Jack gets badly scarred on half of his body when Axis Chemical explodes.)