The Dark Knight Initiative

A/N: Hey guys! Hope you had a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! Sorry for the long wait, a couple reviewers pointed out that the pacing was quite fast, and that bringing the Joker in might add or hurt the plot. So, I got to thinking, and I mulled over it for a few months until I finally figured how I will approach this.

Anyway, to talk about the final 2 superhero movies that came out since my last update. Doctor Strange was the best one of the two, considering Benedict Cumberbatch showed us that he didn't just play Doctor Strange, he WAS Doctor Strange, plus the humor and effects and overall origin story is one of the best! And the climax between Strange and Dormammu was also entertaining, Strange won not by overpowering, but by outthinking the evil deity, which is something I haven't seen from any superhero movie to date.

Also, Suicide Squad, hate to say I'm a bit disappointed with how it went, granted I loved the first part where they did introductions and there were cameos of Batman and Flash. Will Smith being badass as Deadshot, Margot Robbie was a hot Harley and Jared Leto was a creepy Joker. The cast actually helped the movie; the plot, editing, and director, not so much.

And if we compare Leto's to Ledger's, let me put it this way. If you are in a room all by yourself with either Joker, Leto's Joker would creep me out with how he seems to invade your personal space and his mannerisms, like being stuck in a room with Alex DeLarge from A Clockwork Orange, the good ol' ultraviolence.

Ledger's Joker would terrify the hell out of me with just his presence and charisma, like being in a session with Hannibal Lecter, he won't eat you, but he could either kill you, or turn you into a deranged psychopath if you let him, or if you're really lucky, he might just ignore you.

One is a criminal mastermind, while the other is a force of nature. They are both scary in their own right; providing the right scenario, but for me one is scarier than the other.

Last but not least, some answers for my dear reviewers:

devi no kaze – You'll see the Joker's part in the plot soon, but guaranteed he'll still be in Gotham.

Miss Singing in the Rain – The cell number 0801 reference? Weeelllllllllllllll, the clue for that answer will be later down the road, but it's definitely a reference to one of the Batman comics, unless you managed to figure it out already.

Omega Prime – Yeah, sorry about that, but for those who think the pacing might be a bit too fast especially with a month passing per chapter in-story that is because the way I am writing this is as if we are watching/reading a movie. I am not aiming to write a 900-page book the size of a Harry Potter book.

Disclaimer: I don't own either of these movies or franchises, if I did, or rather if anyone did, they wouldn't be putting it on the internet but rather make the crossover happen in reality right now. Lol

Ch8: Second Month

Arkham Asylum…

After Joker's laughter stopped echoing within the walls of Arkham Asylum, the clown merely looked at the towering figure in front of him, "Sooo, where is he?" a smile on his face, yet his eyes had a fire to them that hasn't been there in years.

Bane didn't have to ask twice, he knew exactly who the Joker was asking about, "He's hidden somewhere around the world as a broken man, physically… and soon, he will be broken spiritually as well," he says as he grips a fist in front of the clown, glaring at him, "And when this is all over, when Gotham is ashes… then he'll have my permission to die."

"Heehee-HMMMMHMHMHMM!" The Joker holds his stomach as he hunches over, trying to hold his giddy laughter in, "I knew he's not dead!" suddenly he looks up and glares back at Bane, "Because if you DID kill him, I would have to return the favor… heh!" grinning one more time before he starts walking away.

"Hold it!" The other mercenaries point their assault rifles at the psychopath, only to be stopped by Bane signaling them to stop with the raise of a hand.

"What makes you sure that he's still alive?" Bane asks, everyone believes the Batman is dead due to the bloody broken cowl he displayed to the world, and yet here is a man who never regarded that.

Cracking a smirk, Joker raises both hands and gestures to himself, "Because I'm still here…" as if that would explain everything.

"Hmm," Bane ponders over what he was just told, "So you expected to see him again?"

"Of course! It'll be like a reunion!" Joker throws his hands in the air, excitement in his voice.

"That would be impossible. In the state I left him in, it is insurmountable and futile for him to even conceive of the idea."

"Hehehe-he-Ha-hA-HA-HAAA! Then you don't know him as well as I do."

"You know who he is?"

"Don't know, don't care. I'm not interested in who he is; I'm only interested in what he'd do. And he never, ever disappointsss…" Joker drags it out to emphasize his point, "I mean, here you are talking about - having broken him, taken everything from him. You're not the first one to do that my big, frightful, masked friend. I took the love of his life… what's her name? R—Ra-Rae?—"

"You mean Rachel Dawes."

"Yeah her! Beautiful woman! Sad to see her go up! Heh-HA-HAA!" Joker laughs at his own joke.

"Ms. Dawes, Harvey Dent. You took away the people's trust of him, turned the entire city of Gotham against him. He may have defeated you, but you certainly left him in a crippled state."

"And yet despite everything I've taken from him, he came back. And that's just a fair warning I'm giving you, he always comes back and does something that surprises. Whatever he's got planned, I can't wait to see it! You and him are going into a collision course with each other… and it'll be FANTASTIC!"

Keeping silent, the mercenaries feel more and more creeped out at the psychotic clown. Something about the way he looks at you, talks to you, acts toward you, at one moment it's like he tries to be friendly making you drop your guard for an instant, the next moment he puts you on edge, putting you on alert as you feel chills running down your spine. The kind of fear the Joker utilizes is different from Bane's, whereas the bulky behemoth implements physical and mental fear, similar to the Batman's tactics, Joker's is more like a deep-rooted, ingrained, instinctive sense of dread and chaos in the human psyche.

Meanwhile, Bane sees that the clown has belief that the Bat would come back, "Hm, if that is what you believe then. You are sure you're not interested in a possible alliance?" he asks, already knowing the answer.

"Nope," Joker says, "Not interested. I've been more of a solo act, though I may have found somebody who might be willing to share my interests," he spoke out loud, the image of a cute face and blonde hair coming to mind. He smiles as he began rubbing his hands together, an idea coming into his head. Turning to the group of armed men and their leader, he bids them adieu, "Would love to chat longer, but I have a date with a cute and young psychiatrist. So, you do you, and I'll do me, and we won't do each other… probably," he jokes as he continues to head towards the back exit, "Now what was that cutie's name again? It sounds kinda funny…" he mumbles to himself while rubbing his chin with a hand in thought.

"…Sir, are you sure we should just be letting him go like this?" one of the mercenaries asks.

"He won't be a hindrance to the plan, if anything he'll just be a distraction for the opposition, just as he said, let him do what he does while we focus on our plan," Bane assures them as they all walk back out towards the front entrance.

SHIELD Helicarrier…

A month has passed since Bane's takeover of Gotham, and the situation is still dismal, and becoming more troublesome than what SHIELD expected. Fury had Banner try to find a way to disarm the bomb, but before the doctor could even begin, Bane placed the neutron bomb on one of three huge truck constantly cruising around Gotham, each one accompanied with a fully equipped tumbler. Now, other than trying to disable the bomb, Banner must find a way to locate it.

Walking into the meeting room, Banner still tinkered with the device he created to locate the nuke. Inside, he found Fury, Steve and Clint sitting around. The SHIELD director scowling at his monitor, looking over data. The Super Soldier has a map of Gotham in front of him on the table, several cross marks and even some chess pieces placed on top the map, perhaps planning some strategy? While Clint is watching TV, throwing a rubber ball against the wall that bounces off to the ceiling, down to the floor, to the other wall and somehow landing neatly right back on the archer's hand before he throws it again in the same manner.

Glancing up from their tasks at the door, Fury asks, "Dr. Banner, is the equipment I asked you for operational?"

"Yeah," Banner nods his head as he displays his device, "Due to the way this particular bomb is made, it's not made from a fission reactor if you want to know. This gadget on the other hand, can track down the specific radiation signature from the bomb, all you have to do is point it at the trucks and it will show you which one has it. You need to be close to do this though, the trucks they're using to store the bomb has a thick lead lining to it, we can't track the radiation signature using satellite cams."

"That's relatively good news, and the way to disarm it?" Steve inquires.

"Well, see that's the thing, I don't have a way to disarm it," Banner says, looking away to avoid eye contact.

"WHAT?! Then what have you been doing this whole time?!" Fury roars.

"I told you, this thing is not made from a fission reactor, it's something else!"

"Wait, what do you mean the bomb doesn't have a fission reactor?" Fury simply glares at the doctor, not going any further, remembering who he's talking to.

"I've looked it over repeatedly, it's similar but the process from which this bomb is made is completely different. I have a theory, but I'm not entirely sure."

"How different?" the SHIELD director continues questioning.

"Well, if I'm not wrong, the neutron bomb seems to be made from combining two light nuclei instead of splitting one nuclei into two," Banner speculates, rubbing his chin in thought before he looked up at the others, "a fusion reactor," Banner concludes.

"Dr. Banner, a fusion reactor is something the world's top scientists couldn't accomplish, Stark has come close with his Arc Reactor, but the blast radius of Bane's bomb surpasses any of what Stark has made," Fury clarifies.

"Well, if we can get more data on it, we can have Tony deconstruct and find a way to disable it!" Looking at the three, Banner asks, "Wait, where are Thor and Tony?"

Fury shot him a glare, "Stark went back to his mansion, something about building an army."

Raising an eyebrow, Banner looked towards the other two. Steve explained, "Last we heard from Tony, he's already working on Mark XVII?"

Groaning, the doctor already knew what that meant, Tony must be constructing several Iron Man Armors, probably his way of coping with the humiliation and a form of retaliation against the behemoth of a mercenary.

"And Thor switched with me from stake out duty," Clint adds, "I told him I got it, but he insisted he should watch over for a bit."

"Mmhmm, and Agent Romanoff?"

"Right behind you," the Russian Assassin said out of the blue, surprising him.

"Don't do that!" Banner nearly shouted, taking quick, deep breaths to calm down before anything happens.

"Sorry," Natasha comes up from behind, sporting her new look, walking up to Fury, "Is everything set, boss?"

"Affirmative Agent Romanov, you're departing in half an hour, get ready," Fury nods to Banner, "Dr. Banner here will show you how to work the device to locate the explosive, from there you will use whatever you can procure on-site to give us reports and plans of attack."

"Understood, sir," Natasha salutes her commander as she walks towards the drop site, followed by Banner. Taking the apparatus from the doctor as he explains to her how to use it. "Thank you, Dr. Banner."

"Please Agent Romanoff, we've been teammates for a while now, just call me Bruce," Banner tells her sincerely.

A smile tugging on her lips, Natasha answers back, "Then please, just call me Natasha," she smiles as she walks away, her gesture snapping Bruce to attention. Shaking his head, Banner scratches the back of his head, figuring she must be playing with him.

Gotham Bridge…

On the only remaining entrance to Gotham, several trucks stroll by, delivering relief supplies for the month, one of the many arrangements Bane has made with the government when he took over. Ranging from food, medical, clothes, dozens of men and women walking in and out of the trucks leaving the supplies behind for the people of Gotham, all of them re-embarking on the trucks once done and leave the hostile city, all except for one. Slipping into the closest abandoned house, this person carefully scanned her environment, making sure no one saw her illegal entry into Gotham.

With the coast clear, the individual steps into view. Wearing a beggar's attire consisting of a ragged jean skirt with black stockings underneath, white long-sleeved blouse covered by a torn-up denim jacket, messy black hair in an inverted bob hairstyle and a plain porcelain complexion, 'Nancy Rushman' took to the streets looking for any viable source of information.

She must admit, she heard how decadent Gotham is, but this is worse than she thought. Graffiti scattered everywhere, wandering homeless people, even some dead bodies here and there, people with guns in charge and rules everything. It was like Budapest all over again.

On foot for about half a mile now, Nancy perceived she was being tailed. Glancing back, she sees half a dozen tattooed men trailing behind a few feet away. Most likely these men are part of the convicts who were broken out of prison.

Inwardly cursing, she still kept her cool and continued onward, if she so wanted to, she could take them on right now. But all things considered if she fought them now, out here in the open, all that time Fury had SHIELD spent on creating this identity for her would be a waste.

In an instant, she sped off running, leaving the pursuers to chase after her as well. Turning around a corner into an alley she thought she could easily escape, big mistake. Before she knew it, she was blindsided from her left, slamming her into the wall. Apparently, the ones chasing after her had working radios and called ahead for someone to intercept.

Down on her knees, Nancy glared at the men, "W-what do you want from me?" she breathed out, concerned that her cover got blown so easily. Holding up her hands as their kicks land on her abdomen and face, despite being attacked mercilessly, she just can't fight back, if she fights back now her charade would be over before she even got any intel.

"Heh, we just wanna have a little fun with you babe," one of the convicts hummed, "You see, a lady with a pretty face like yours, even if it's a lil messy now, is hard to come by."

Relieved that her cover isn't blown; yet also disgusted, Nancy for a moment didn't care about the mission, she wanted to put these people in their place, until one of the gang said something intriguing.

"I mean, the only other face I've seen that fine is this chick on the other side of town, and boy, she was a hottie!" the convict's expression suddenly glowered, "But kitty got claws, and she put me and the boys in the infirmary for a couple weeks before we were deemed okay to get out."

"Hey, shut up!" The one who spoke seemed to be in charge, with how he spoke compared to the others, "That bitch will get what's coming to her! But you better be careful with that one, don't you even know who she is?"

Interest piqued, Nancy kept quiet, laying down on her side from the beating and taking a fetal position; feigning panic while watching and listening in, her intuition telling her this lady their talking about may be of use.

"She's just some chick, right?" the mook questioned foolishly.

"No, you idiot! Haven't you ever heard of the Cat?! She's a famous thief 'round here. Word has it, she helped Bane kill the Bat…"

Now that is some important information alright, Nancy's eyes widened a bit, whoever this Cat person is maybe she might know some intel on Bane's stronghold and the triggerman. Knowing that no one else is there to witness this, she was about ready to retaliate when someone called out, "HEY!"

Her attackers stopped and turned to see a young male looking to be in his mid-twenties with short brown hair walking towards them, holding an iron pipe in his hands, "I would say 'didn't your parents ever tell you not to hit on girls?' but being in Gotham that would be redundant!" the male stops in front of the group.

The leader of the gang stepped up to face the challenger, "Oh yeah? You gonna stop us? You and what army?" soon as those words left his mouth, a dozen people came right up behind and quickly knocked out the convicts.

"This army," The brown-haired male boasted.

Struggling to get up, Nancy gave her gratitude, "Thanks, they really did a number on me back there," she says as she wipes the blood off her lips.

"No problem, we try to do what we can, name's John Blake," The short-haired brunette offers his hand to help her stand as he introduces himself.

That name, Blake, she recognized that name from Steve, he mentioned some detective by that name, looks a bit wet behind the ears but has potential. And now that she met him personally, she can guess why Steve held him in regard, as soon as they locked eyes Blake tilted his head, staring at her in slight bewilderment.

"Name's Nancy Rushman, I'm an accountant" She used her cover identity, utilizing her training to not let up any suspicion, "So what are you guys? Some kind of guardian posse?"

Chuckling, the lot of men shook their heads, "No missy, we're cops, well, what's left of us anyway," one of them answered.

"But I thought all the cops in the city are trapped underground?" Nancy asks in an innocent manner, using her feminine wiles to interrogate without being suspected of anything, it's such an effective way instead of using threats, something she is a master of.

"Not all of us, very few of us managed to avoid the trap, though with our numbers, the only thing we can do is buy time," Another cop responded, "Come on lil miss, there's a shelter we can bring you to, it's only a few blocks away," gesturing for her to follow them.

"Where you from?" Blake asks as they walk.

"Rapid City, came here to Gotham to watch the big game last month, never coulda dreamed all this would happen," wrapping her arms around herself, shivering and shedding a couple tears, Nancy convinced everyone in an instant she was nothing but a helpless woman.

Well, everyone except for one; Blake continued to watch Nancy. Her disposition, her conduct, it was convincing, but it was all fake. He's seen an act similar to that before as a kid, and it won't work on him now, he's not sure why, but he'll keep up the charade until he can get alone one on one with this 'Nancy Rushman', or as everyone might know her by, the only female Avenger, the Black Widow.

As for the Widow herself, she knew her cover might already be blown this early because of Blake, but he hasn't done so yet. Either he's still trying to figure her out, or he's planning to get her isolated so they can have a private conversation. She's gonna have to leave the shelter as soon as she can, as much as Steve can vouch for Blake, her instincts tell her the young man has no experience with things like these, he can't be trusted with that much yet.

As they kept walking, the chilly wind signaling the upcoming arrival of the cold season. Natasha tugged on her jacket, blending in between the company of the only cops left to protect Gotham, keeping an eye out for anymore of the escaped prisoners or of Bane's men. This mission has just started, and it's already on the wrong foot, she'll have to pull out all the stops of her infiltration skills if she wants to survive.

What she doesn't know, is that the ones she must look out for aren't the prisoners, serial killers or the mercenaries, but rather citizens of Gotham itself who actually prefer this form of regime. Having seen the skirmish that went down, a couple of Gothamites simply looked at each other, nodding as they went to find any of Bane's men to report what they've seen or heard.

City Hall…

Later that evening, standing on the roof of city hall, Bane simply glanced across the city, gratified that everything is going according to plan, that was when he spotted someone coming in the corner of his eye.

"Yes?" Bane with recognition and, surprisingly, tenderness in his voice.

"Bane, do you realize that one of the Avengers is here in the city?" the woman hidden in the shadows says in a sultry voice.

"Indeed, It's the assassin they sent. She's infiltrated the outer threshold of the city, so far she has made very little progress," Bane responds.

"Do you need some assistance?" the woman suggests.

"No need milady, I have eyes everywhere, she may be a master assassin, but she is not the type to rush in for the kill, knowing how delicate the situation is. No… anticipating her move, she most likely will play the long game, searching for any information, allies and attempts to relay any intel back to SHIELD and the Avengers."

"And you're not worried at all that she might actually succeed?" The woman asked, slightly perturbed.

"She has her purpose," Bane tells her ambiguously, "Until then we shall let her keep doing what she is currently doing."

Soon after he said that is when she then realized what Bane has planned, and she sneered.

She must admit, she herself may be the better strategist, preferring to stay in the shadows and act the part for however long it takes until she finds the opportunity to strike. But Bane is a brilliant tactician, able to adapt on the fly and a master martial artist on top of that as well. The two of them practically made the perfect team, no one, not even the combined efforts of Batman, SHIELD and the Avengers would be able to stop her revenge.

"Well, I'll leave it to you then, beloved," The mysterious woman says before walking down the stairs. Staring thoughtfully at the woman, Bane's hands curling into fists in displeasure. As much as he loved her; her thirst for revenge seems to be her main priority, no matter who it may hurt.

His thoughts running a mile a minute, reflecting on everything that has happened when his mind wandered off to a month ago, the conversation he had with the Joker still left something in the back of his mind. Puzzled over what the homicidal harlequin mentioned…

Did he really believe that the Batman will come back? The man has a broken back, left to rot in a prison with no hope of escaping. And even if he somehow recovered, there is no way he can be here on time, nor would he be able to find some mode of transportation without anyone questioning identity, much less payment.

Scoffing, Bane shakes his head in amusement, realizing he let the Joker play some of his mind games on him. But he entertained the thought, if Bruce Wayne DID somehow manage to find a way back here, then he will once again have the pleasure of breaking the Batman twice. Forget letting Wayne live to watch his city burn; he will torture, maim and kill the Batman before the bomb takes out the entire city.

Somewhere on the other side of the world…

Halfway around the world, in a secluded underground prison nobody even knows exists except for those who are privy to its information. Amidst the dozens of men being held captive, there is one man in particular who is being held in a cell. Presently doing push-ups, the man known as Bruce Wayne has been currently watching to make sure he didn't further strain his back, having just recently recovered from the injury Bane dealt him.

Yet despite that worry, he doesn't have much time to lose, Bane had the sick idea of installing a TV in the prison solely so Bruce can watch the destruction and mayhem that's ravaging his city. With anger and determination, he keeps pushing his body to make the 'impossible' jump. And when he makes it out, Bane better keep both eyes open and pay attention to his surroundings, otherwise it would be too easy…

To Be Continued…

A/N: Once again I hope you guys had a Merry Christmas and have a Happy New Year! Til the next chapter! Later guys, see you next year! Lol