Katt Girl, Robin, & The Harley-Kidd: Chapter 37: BATMAN VS SUPERMAN 2
Batman had already been missing for five days since the explosion of the Batmobile. Everyone thought he was dead. The police found his cape near one of the crime scenes, and fragments of his Batmobile were scattered throughout the Gotham Harbor. The news channels continued informing viewers any time something new came up. Crime started getting worse about three days after there was no sight of Batman. Drug deals were happening in broad daylight. Gangs began killing each other over turf wars. Stores were continuously getting robbed. Worst of all, Roman Sionis was beginning to grow his group called, the False Face Society. They all wore dark masks. Many of them were either skilled in electronics, fighting, shooting, robbing, or driving. Roman wore a black skull mask and in fact called himself Black Mask.
Many citizens had gotten used to Gotham becoming a better city, thanks to Batman. New vigilantes emerged because the decent citizens didn't want to see Gotham City become a terrible place to live again. The vigilantes wore homemade Batman outfits. They called themselves the Dark Knights. Two of them tragically managed to get themselves killed on the first night they went out. Roman Sionis already had henchmen looking out for Batman. The two Dark Knights were in the right place, but at the wrong time. They tried stopping a drug deal, but they were shot to death before they could even get a punch in. Despite their tragic deaths, the Dark Knights continued to grow. The police were working overtime. The officers who stayed home were probably being paid by Roman's crew, or threatened by them.
Alfred, Selina, Gabby, and Lola were worried because Bruce hadn't been seen for so many days. Selina and the girls would go out everyday trying to find any sign of Bruce. They didn't like watching the City become corrupted again. So, they did as much as they could to keep the city safer at night. Gordon let Alfred know that Batman's body was never recovered after the crash. Alfred knew Bruce always stood a fighting chance in nearly any situation. Gordon also let Alfred know that Batman's cape was stolen from the evidence room at GCPD. Alfred was worried, but he also remained patient because all signs were leading to Bruce being alive.
With all the new Batman vigilantes in Gotham City, Hugo Strange came up with a brilliant idea. Instead of letting Roman kill the vigilantes, he would rather capture them, then control their minds with Jervis Tetch's brain-wave corruptor. Jervis didn't like the idea, but Roman and Hugo kept supplying Jervis with more and more money. After setting the plan in motion, one by one, the Batman vigilantes were captured, then they were hypnotized to obey Roman, Hugo, and Jervis. They managed to capture almost twenty members of the Dark Knights. Every night, the news channels would talk about how the Batman vigilantes decided to turn bad. The news even hit Metropolis.
Clark Kent had been a new hire for the Daily Planet newspaper. He was mostly hired to assist other reporters, like editing, typing up reports, and filing paperwork. Perry White was the editor-in-chief. After hearing about the strange Batman incidents in Gotham, he decided to send Lois Lane to get the report. She was willing to take on the cases that most of the men at the Daily Planet were too afraid to look in to.
"Take the Olsen boy, for pictures!" Perry insisted.
Clark popped his head up over his computer, he quickly went to raise his hand, but he accidentally knocked over a cup full of pencils, causing them to fly through the air. Everyone ducked out of the way.
"Sir, Mr. White? Could you let me go along with them?" Clark asked. "I think I could be of great help. Besides, it would be a nice way to get some experience in the field." he declared.
"Sure! Lois, take the new guy, Kant!" Perry ordered.
"Oh no, not Kant, he's a clutz! He can't even manage his pencil holder yet!" Lois exclaimed.
"It's Kent, Clark Kent." Clark reminded them.
"Who cares! Let's go Jimmy, and … Clark!" Lois demanded in a frustrated voice.
As Clark was standing up, he accidently bumped into his keyboard, causing it to break off of the computer stand. "Whoops!" Clark blurted out.
"For the love of God! This trip is going to kill me, isn't it?" Lois rhetorically asked. "Is there anything else you would like to destroy before we leave, Clark Kant?"
"Kent." Clark reminded her again while trying to grab his jacket off the back of his chair.
The jacket got stuck causing the chair to tip over. "Golly! I guess I am a clutz today!" Clark declared.
Lois could only shake her head, then she gave Perry an evil look as she walked out of the editing room.
Later, after Clark, Jimmy, and Lois were about to enter the hotel they were staying at, Clark heard a woman screaming. The scream was from about a half a mile away, but he was the only one that could hear it because he had super-hearing.
Lois got the three room keys from the desk clerk. She handed one to Jimmy, then tried handing another to Clark, but when she turned around, Clark wasn't anywhere to be found.
"Where's Clark?" Lois asked Jimmy.
"I don't know. Maybe he had car sickness." Jimmy replied while shrugging his shoulders.
... Meanwhile, a half a mile away, three thugs had cornered the screaming woman into a dark alleyway. "You can scream all you'd like lady. But, ain't no cops patrolling this area." One of the thugs said.
"Get away from her!" A voice yelled out.
The thugs turned around to notice three men dressed in Batman outfits, and they were holding baseball bats in their hands. The thugs started laughing. "Ha Ha! You fellas brought bats! That is hilarious! Bats holding bats! … Unfortunately for you, we have guns!"
The thugs pointed their guns towards the group of Dark Knights, then they pulled their triggers. BANG! BANG! BANG! Three shots rang out. The three men in Batman outfits flinched as the bullets flew towards them. Suddenly, Superman flew in and stopped the bullets. After the thugs saw Superman, they began unloading all their bullets on him, but to no avail because the bullets bounced right off of him.
Superman looked at the men wearing Batman outfits, then said, "You boys might want to get out of here! Call the police! Let them know that three thugs are about to be put into a pretzel!"
The thugs took a huge gulp in their throats because they knew they were about to get messed up. The lady quickly ran off with the Dark Knights and called the police. After the police made it to the scene, they found the three thugs literally tied up together like a pretzel, and their empty guns laid next to them. Superman was nowhere to be found.
Back at the hotel, Lois and Jimmy made their way up the elevator towards their hotel rooms. As they were coming out of the elevator, Clark was standing there waiting for them.
"Sorry about that guys. Golly, it must have been a little bit of car sickness." Clark stated.
"Told you!" Jimmy blurted out.
"Golly! You are a puss, Clark! About ten police cars went flying past the hotel. I wanted to go see what the fuss was all about, but I didn't know where you disappeared off to. You better get some rest. We don't need you passing out on us tomorrow. We are heading out first thing in the morning to investigate these bats." Lois declared.
"Aren't bats nocturnal?" Clark asked.
"Exactly! We will sneak up on them while they are sleeping! Now get some sleep!" Lois demanded as she shut her hotel room door.
A few minutes later, Lois turned on the local news while she unpacked a few things from her suitcase. Reporter Vicky Vale was on the scene of the Superman sighting.
"We are bringing you an exclusive report of a Superman sighting! Yes, I said it, Superman was here in Gotham! With the new growing crime rate over the last few days after the disappearance of Batman, perhaps Superman is here to take Batman's place."
Lois dropped the deodorant she had in her hand. "Superman!?" She said aloud. "Hmm … That just happened!" She said as she headed out of her hotel room, then knocked on Jimmy and Clark's door. "I lied about the rest. Get your camera, Jimmy! Clark, grab a pencil and paper, or whatever it is you do, and let's go!" She demanded.
"What is it Lois?" Jimmy asked.
"Superman sighting! This could be bigger than a few vigilantes and criminals dressed up like Batman. I want to get the scoop before this pretty woman Vicky Vale gets anything else on the story. This is Pulitzer Prize winning stuff!" Lois replied.
Lois, Clark, and Jimmy walked the six blocks to the crime scene that Lois saw on the news. There must have been a thousand people trying to get a glimpse of the scene. Every news station in Gotham City were there. Citizens of Gotham were hoping to spot Superman for themselves.
Lois punched Clark in the arm. "Ow!" she yelled after her hand felt like she punched a wall. "See Clark! If you weren't in the bathroom puking, we could have been the first ones here!" she yelled. "Follow me, I'm going to see if there is another way around to that alley."
As they walked around the crowd, Lois could see all the news cameras surrounding Vicky Vale. "What does she have that I ain't got? … besides reddish blonde hair, pretty eyes, luscious red lips, and a knockout figure?" Lois said in a low whisper.
"Gee Lois, I think you are gorgeous just the way you are." Clark responded.
Lois looked surprised and blushed at the same time. "You could hear that, Clark?" she asked.
"Yeah, I can hear pretty good." Clark said, then he accidentally bumped into somebody, sending them falling to the ground. "Golly gee! Sorry mister!"
"You can hear pretty good, but you sure can't see very good, can you!" Lois declared while helping the fallen man up from the ground.
Moments later, they made their way around the side of the building. There was a door leading into the building just outside the alleyway which the crime took place. Lois pulled a hair clip from out of her hair, then used it to try to pick the lock.
"Gee Lois, we don't want to be criminals, do we?" Clark nervously asked.
"Would you toughen up, you Puss! We aren't going to steal anything … well … other than a Pulitzer Prize story. He he he." Lois giggled.
Clark used his x-ray vision to see through the walls of the building. It looked completely empty. So, he decided to go along with the plan Lois had. Lois seemed to be having trouble trying to pick the lock.
"Let me give you a hand, Lois." Clark said. "I've locked myself out of my apartment once or twice and had to get back in."
Clark walked up to the knob, then blocked the vision of Lois and Jimmy as he turned the knob and broke it. The door came open.
"How did you do that so fast? How many times have you locked yourself out?" Lois asked.
"A few times too many I suppose." Clark joked.
As they entered the building, Clark's ears started ringing due to a high pitch sound coming from all around. He plugged them to muffle the irritating sound.
"Clark are you okay?" Lois asked because she didn't hear the sound because the pitch was silent to her like a dog whistle.
Clark couldn't hear her, but he was able to read her lips. "I think I might have to throw up again!" Clark yelled out while running back out of the building.
"What a puss!" Lois yelled out. "I don't think he is cut out for this kind of stuff."
Clark dropped down to the ground on his knees while still plugging his ears, then he began trying to pinpoint where the noise was coming from. He used his x-ray vision to look through the walls of the surrounding buildings. He noticed three men entering a building about two blocks away. Clark couldn't see beyond that because the building was built with lead walls. He realized that must be where the noise was coming from. He got up off of the ground, found a hiding place, then changed into Superman. After he made it to the building with lead walls, he ripped off the entry door. The high pitch ringing noise was echoing off of the walls from inside. He tried looking around with his x-ray vision, but he still couldn't see through the walls because they were all made out of lead. He ripped another door off of its hinges, then tried looking around again. Each door only seemed to lead to another door. The closer he got, the louder the pitch was getting.
"I might not be able to see through these walls, but eventually I will rip through them all!" Superman declared as he continued quickly removing doors and tossing them aside.
Finally, he made it to the room where the high pitched noise was coming from. It seemed to be encased in a lead box. He walked up to the lead box, then smashed it. Suddenly, the loud pitch was gone, but he began feeling sick as a green glowing shard of Kryptonite stuck out of his hand. He tried pulling it out, but he grew weaker with every touch. A door opened up.
Lex Luthor was standing in the doorway. "Superman! So excited to finally meet you!" Lex declared. "You always fly off too quickly to make a proper introduction."
"What have you done, Luthor?" Superman asked while stumbling to the ground. "What is happening to me?"
"Hopefully, you are dying. I studied fragments from your destroyed planet. It appears as if you are highly affected from it. You see, you have super-strength, but I have a super-brain." Lex declared as he walked up and kicked Superman in the stomach. Superman had never felt pain like that other than his battles with Zod.
Another door opened up. Superman could barely look up. It was Hugo Strange, Roman Sionis, and Jervis Tetch. Hugo was holding a red stone in his hand, and Roman had a set of Hypnotic earbuds. They placed the red stone into the one earbud, and a piece of green Kryptonite in the other.
"This is red Kryptonite, Superman. From my studies, I imagine it will highly irritate you until it finally drives you mad." Lex proclaimed.
Suddenly, Superman's eyes turned red. His face became very angry, then he flew through the air busting directly through the ceiling. The other men covered their heads as the debris fell down.
"I think the red Kryptonite literally drove him "Mad!" Jervis declared.
"How do we control him?" Roman asked.
"Use the remote!" Hugo demanded.
Jervis grabbed the remote, then he was about to use it to control Superman, but suddenly, Lex took it out of his hands, then smashed the remote on the ground.
"What are you doing!?" Hugo yelled.
"Look at him! Why would we want to control him? He is about to destroy everything! By tomorrow morning, Gotham City will be rubble!" Lex declared with an evil grin. "Soon, I will take him down once and for all, then I will be looked at as a superhero!"
Superman began swooping down into the city. Cars were getting destroyed as he smashed right through them. Citizens began running away as he would rip signs out of the ground, then hurl them in their direction. Vicky Vale noticed the crowd of people running in her direction. Then, she saw Superman as he smashed through a building sending concrete fragments flying through the air. The small stones began pelting innocent bystanders as they tried covering their faces. Police officers pointed their guns at him, then began firing. Superman's eyes glowed a brighter red. Suddenly, heat rays began shooting from his eyes towards the cop cars causing them to start exploding. Thousands of people began running in all directions as Superman fired the death rays from his eyes. Out of nowhere, a pothole cover flew into Superman's head causing Superman to stop firing his heat vision towards the crowd. Superman looked to see who dared to throw the pothole cover at him. It was Batman. He was in a mechanical steel outfit shaped like his Batman outfit. Superman sped towards him, tackling Batman to the ground. Batman quickly recovered, but his armor took a mighty blow. Not wanting to take another hit like that, Batman pulled out a glowing green kryptonite ring, then slipped it on his armored fist. Superman flew towards Batman, but Batman reacted quickly, punching Superman with the ring just as he approached. Superman flew through the air, then crashed into a building. Batman ran towards him trying to get another punch in. Superman grabbed Batman's fist as it came within inches of his face. He tried squeezing Batman's hand, but Superman's fingers went numb to the touch. Batman landed a few haymakers on Superman's face, and then he knocked the wind out of him with a punch to the midsection. Superman was helpless. The longer he was near the green Kryptonite, the more he weakened. Superman finally dropped down to his knees. His face was bloodied, bruised, and beaten.
Batman kneeled down, then picked up Superman by the throat. "I want you to remember, … I BEAT YOU!" Batman yelled out.
Suddenly, Batman noticed Superman had a pair of earbuds in his ears that looked just like the earbuds that the crazed mob had when they attacked him. He pulled them out of Superman's ears. He noticed they had green Kryptonite and red Kryptonite attached to them. Superman's eyes stopped glowing red.
"This is what happens when someone creates a monster! I can't allow you to live!" Batman exclaimed as he held his fist in the air ready to deliver his final blow.
Suddenly, news cameras and flashing lights were blinding Batman. They all stood witnessing the fact that Batman was about to kill Superman.
Lois Lane ran up to Batman, then grabbed Batman's arm. "You can't kill him! He is a hero!"
"Get off of me!" Batman yelled as he shrugged her away causing her to fall to the ground.
"Batman! Stop!" Commissioner Gordon yelled out causing Batman to pause.
In that moment, Superman suddenly got a burst of strength, then managed to throw Batman off of him. He got up off the ground, then gathered himself a bit more. He mustered up enough strength to fly up into the air. He looked back down at Batman. Batman stood ready to continue the fight. Instead, Superman flew away. Batman stood watching the reporters take their pictures. He shot a grappling hook into the air, then ascended out of sight. All of Gotham, including Commissioner Gordon, wasn't sure what to think of Batman.
Lex Luthor stood in anger. "Rauuuuhhh! He stole my glory! I was supposed to stop Superman! I have given a name to my pain, and it is, Batman!"
Chapter Recap: (Perry White sent Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen, and newcomer Clark Kent to Gotham City to get the scoop on the Batman disappearance, and the sudden rise of criminals dressed as Batman. Clark managed to sneak off to become Superman, while deterring three thugs from robbing a helpless woman in a dark alleyway of Gotham. Lex Luthor, Roman Sionis, Hugo Strange, and Jervis Tetch managed to cripple Superman with green Kryptonite, while at the same time discovering red Kryptonite turned Superman's mind into a madman. Superman was about to destroy everything in his path, but Batman reemerged in his new steel Bat-suit to stop him.)