Present Day
Gordon wrote a report at his desk absentmindedly. The feeling had only gotten stronger the past few days but he had no idea what to prepare for. No news from Batman, no updates from his detectives; the quiet before the storm. Penguin's known activity had suddenly ceased an hour ago and everyone in the precinct was on standby, despite it being the middle of the night. He put the wrong date on one of the lines and sighed in frustration.
Picking up the white out, he squinted trying to cover all of the mistake with one go over. He was getting to the year when all the lights in the precinct shut off simultaneously. He jumped out of his desk and looked out the window, the one light left in Gotham was a small explosion in the general direction of the power plant. He made his way through his office with ease and burst into the GCPD headquarters. He could not see the faces of his men, but he could feel the tension in the room. One by one the officers in the room turned on their standard issue flashlights and spot-lit the man who they had grown to trust and respect over the years.
"Hell's armies knock at the gates to our city once more, boys! I say give them the hell they so desperately want, but on our terms! I don't want to hear about one single case of miscarriage of justice! When fighting threats like this, it's tempting to stoop to their level, but we must keep this by the book! I want the might of the GCPD felt and feared tonight! Now what are we standing around for?! Surely you don't want Batman to have all the fun! Go get 'em boys! Give me an Ooh-Rah!"
"OOH-RAH!" The GCPD chorused with one voice and then dispersed into the night in force.
…
The mayor was of course one of the first people grabbed all over the city. Penguin knew Gordon would be too well-defended so he avoided capture, but almost every other high-ranking official in Gotham was grabbed. They were all also kept in separate strongholds in order to mitigate potential losses and prevent the Batman from taking away all of Penguin's leverage at once.
The strongholds dotted the city, controlling key points such as bridges, major roads, government buildings, and the GCPD itself. The police had been hard-pressed to do it, but they had escaped the encirclement of the precinct in no time flat. The Penguin did not expect a ragtag army of goons to be able to take on the full force of the GCPD, all he needed was the time it afforded him to solidify his claims in other parts of the city. Ultimately, the police were outnumbered and would be ineffective over such a large area; however, Gordon knew this too.
As soon as the police had escaped the encirclement they set up a defensive perimeter of several blocks and switched their focus to getting bystanders within the perimeter. They then pushed their luck by reclaiming Gotham General Hospital and using it as a second base of operations with armored transports carrying supplies and people between the two hubs. By this time the entire Batclan was aiding the police in establishing the necessary shelters and supply lines.
Outside of Gotham proper, Wayne Manor was vulnerable, and Batman paid dearly for abandoning his parent's house. Thugs arriving at Wayne Manor and finding no Bruce Wayne, took Alfred instead. In their eyes he was a meaningless consolation prize to prove their worth to their superiors; they had no idea how wrong they were.
…
"AALFREED!" The communicator went to static as Batman accepted what had happened. Cold, calculating, anger burned behind his lenses as he stood atop a building scanning for any signs of attack on a police convoy.
"Wonder Woman!"
"What is it?"
"Alfred's been taken, as soon as you get here find him and get him to the police precinct."
"Alfred?! Ἑρμῆ δίδου τὴν ταχυτῆτα ἐμοῦ (Hermes grant me speed)! I'm on my way!"
Batman switched to communicating with everyone. "Nightwing, are you in position?"
"Almost, give me five more minutes."
"Oracle, direct Robin and Red Robin on how best to aid the police, on my mark pull the plug on his finances."
"Roger that." Oracle began to prattle off instructions to the two Robins over the communicator.
Batman landed behind Commissioner James Gordon. "You know, I've never once heard you coming, but I'm starting to be able to just feel your presence." Batman grunted in response. "Anyway, we've developed about as accurate a map as we can hope for." The commissioner was looking at a map of Gotham that had been labeled and drawn on showing all known locations of Penguin strongholds. "As far as we know, he hasn't made an attempt on Arkham Island, thank God."
"You're missing a few." Batman pointed to a few spots on the map. As he did Gordon marked the locations without even a question of how that information was acquired.
"Do you have a strategy?"
Batman nodded. "More or less. Right now I'm waiting for Penguin to make the next move. There are too many hostages in too many locations to attempt any rescues without more manpower. I've called in reinforcements, but we'll still need to weaken his forces before attempting to challenge him at so many points."
"I hope you've got something in mind other than all out warfare."
He nodded again. "I have gained access to Penguin's finances. I can cut off funding to all of his troops at the push of a button. However, we would need the majority of his men to find out all at the same time and in a way that lets them know that the money is not coming back. Otherwise the military structure of his organization may hold out long enough to cost lives."
"So the emergency broadcast system for the city?"
"My thoughts exactly. Penguin has turned it into one of his strongholds, but Nightwing can regain control. As soon as Penguin reveals his location, I will go after him. I need to humiliate him. While this is happening the GCPD will need to position itself to disperse any remaining forces at all strongholds simultaneously. Robin, Red Robin, and Wonder Woman will all help you with this task."
"Sounds like a- Did you just say Wonder Woman?" Gordon looked behind him. "And he's gone again."
…
Diana alighted on the steps to Wayne Manor, she had heard the plan in its entirety as Batman had left his communicator on during his conversation with Gordon. She realized that she might have to wait to save Alfred until after the plan was set in motion, she just hoped it would not come to that. Alfred was the closest thing that Bruce had to parents and now that she thought about it, he had begun to take on a similar role in her heart. She supposed it made sense, she had never really had a father and she had been denied a mother for a while now. That was not what surprised her; what surprised her was that Alfred had somewhat encouraged that just by being the loving person he is.
I will find him. She walked into the house through the broken down door and saw the signs of struggle. To her surprise she could imagine the scene playing out before her. She saw Alfred fight off several men with his bare hands before being tackled to the ground, saw him almost escape at the last minute before being pinned against the wall and dragged out of the house, saw him be stuffed in a trunk, and saw the car peel off leaving skid marks on the driveway. Bruce had taught her more than she thought.
After putting in the code and allowing the grandfather clock to scan her eye, she made her way down into the cave. She immediately made her way over to the supercomputer that was the centerpiece of the whole cave. She sat down and was once again scanned before the monitor displayed the Batman's custom desktop. It had a similar layout to the Watchtower computer systems so she had no trouble finding the security footage and confirming what she already knew.
"Oracle, can you send a current map of Penguin's strongholds to the cave's computer?"
"Of course, Wonder Woman. You should have them now."
A prompt appeared on her screen asking for approval of the file transfer. She approved it and opened up the newly acquired data. Luckily, there was only one stronghold anywhere near Wayne Manor, but she was not about to act based on the assumption that he would be taken to the nearest camp. She got an idea.
"Batman, is there some way for me to run a license plate and/or specific car through the city security camera network?"
"Use the search function to find an application called 'vehicle locator'. I designed it especially for that purpose, it should be fairly intuitive." Bruce almost smiled, she was becoming a detective.
"Thank you."
She found the application and opened it, there were many different fields for different types of vehicles and different information about the vehicle. She just filled out the ones pertaining to the car in the security footage and pressed the search button. A progress bar appeared and it was clear that it would be a few minutes until it finished, so she decided to do some snooping.
She knew exactly what she was looking for, the files on members of the Justice League. She wanted to know her weaknesses, and who better to tell her than Bruce. She looked at her file, hovering over it with the mouse pointer. Who better to tell me than Bruce himself. She abandoned her snooping and decided to just walk around the cave enjoying the displays once more.
The sight of something familiar stopped her in her tracks. Her mouth fell open; in a glass case before her was an unlabeled, broken piece of technology. No label was needed, she knew exactly what it was, a crushed missile detonation computer. Also in the case was a small piece of a clay-like substance that took her longer to place; it was the same material that had restrained the entire league except for Batman during the Imperium's invasion. She put her hand against the case before lifting it and placing one of her earrings between the two artifacts.
After replacing the case she made her way back to the computer and by the time she sat down the process had finished. Security cameras had picked up the car going no further than that closest stronghold. She readied herself for battle.
…
The Sun rose and the Penguin made his move. Everyone's TVs, phones, computers, and other devices began displaying his face.
"Gotham City...is mine. I have all your government officials, all your wealthy; anyone with power in Gotham is under my control. Except for one. One person still eludes me. One person arguably more influential than anyone else in the city, The Batman. But that changes now. If he does not bend the knee to me at City Hall in the next hour, then I will execute everyone who runs this city. I am already the only authority left, but I will not hesitate to end any hope for the revival of the city he holds so dear."
The camera zoomed out to reveal five judges behind him. He shot all five in rapid succession. "Oops, my finger slipped. Oh well, I hate judgmental people anyway. One hour!"
Batman communicated everyone including Gordon simultaneously. "He couldn't have made it any easier for us. Mark."
…
Oracle hit a button on her computer and Batman's code executed. She watched as all the funds from the Penguin's account were drained into various charities until there was nothing left.
"Nightwing, Mark."
…
Nightwing who had been waiting for a while now descended upon the thugs broadcasting Penguin's message. He had already taken out the perimeter guards silently and was now clearing out the actual broadcast center. They did not stand a chance. All the goons saw was flashes of clack and blue and all they heard were crackles of electricity and the occasional stray gunshot with no chance of finding its mark.
In no time, he had cleared the entire emergency broadcast center. He moved to the main console and patched Oracle in.
"Everyone, Mark."
…
Oracle quickly took over the broadcast and filled it with images of Penguin's empty account, and for her own artistic touch, a caricature of Penguin turning out empty pockets.
…
The generator that Penguin was using to keep the lights in City Hall on, suddenly blew. He looked around frantically holding a gun.
"I know you're in here somewhere! Don't fucking test me, I'll give the order, there's no way you can save them all."
Oswald Cobblepot was scared, he held all the cards, he knew he did, why was he scared. He saw, or maybe heard, he wasn't sure, movement. Then he heard body after body of his guards hit the floor. He began to sweat. He took out a walkie-talkie to give the order but I shape flew out of the darkness and knocked it from his hand. He cried out in pain, it had cut open his hand. He fired blindly into the darkness.
"You think you can stop me, Oswald? Put me in chains?" The dark gravelly voice boomed from every direction. "I am not a petty gangbanger, I am not a corrupt cop, I have no face, I can not be bought, threatened, or manipulated. You say I cannot save them all, but you underestimate me. I am not a man. I am vengeance! I am the night! I am Batman!" With that he leaped at the Penguin who was already cowering and the video feed abruptly ended.
…
As the video ended some of the thugs at the Northernmost stronghold put down their weapons slowly and bolted, looking up at the rooftops and into the night sky for their nightmares to swoop down upon them. Others checked their phones to confirm that their pay was not coming and then put down their weapons and ran off into the night. In seconds, the garrison disbanded at every level. Only a few remained sweating and looking in every direction keeping their guns at the ready.
"There!" One of the thugs shouted, pointing into the sky.
The night was filled with automatic weapon fire, but with it came the clanging of metal on metal. They stopped firing and looked at each other confused before the shape they had fired at landed violently in front of them, indenting the ground. A woman in armor straightened up before them, and glowered at them sword and shield in hand. The rest ran.
Diana burst through the walls of the building incapacitating all the remaining troops inside. Alfred Pennyworth and a few other hostages stood up to thank her.
Alfred stepped forward. "I think I speak on behalf of the whole city when I thank you, your highness." Alfred bowed deeply while winking at her. He knew she preferred he did not refer to her by her proper title, but Alfred could not resist the chance to get away with it.
"You're welcome, Sir, but my work is not done. Would everyone please get in the car outside? I'm to escort you to safety."
The freed hostages piled into the car she had indicated, and were startled when they were suddenly lifted off the ground and sped towards the GCPD headquarters. She placed them gently on the ground and took off into the night sky. Similar stories would be told about the other strongholds cleared by heroes, the ones wearing capes and the ones in uniform.
Diana flew around the city making sure every stronghold had been cleared before alighting atop City Hall. She flew in one of the windows to find Batman escorting a semi-conscious Cobblepot out of the building.
"Took you long enough. We have nothing else to worry about from this maniac." Batman shook the Penguin slightly. "I did a thorough enough interrogation to know that there are no more tricks up his sleeve."
Cobblepot's head lulled to the side, then he picked up his broken monocle, now dangling from its chain, and replaced it to his eye squinting. "Wonder Woman?" He asked in slurred speech before going back under for a moment.
Bruce cocked his head at her.
"What?" She asked, suddenly feeling self-conscious.
"You're missing an earring, I pity whoever managed to knock it off you."
"Actually, I just chose not to wear it."
"I see." He squinted at her, but quickly became disinterested as they both heard something approaching.
A brand new motorcycle carrying Red Hood came flying over the hill. "You fucking BASTARD!" Red Hood shouted as he leaped off his bike, catapulting himself at Penguin.
Penguin woke up immediately, and Jason took the opportunity to shake him and then knock him back out. "I'm going to fucking kill you! And you!" He pointed at Batman. "Are not going to stop me this time!"
"Red Hood, stop!" Batman leaped at him trying to wrest Penguin from his grasp, but Jason knocked Bruce aside.
"Why don't you use my real name, old man! Isn't that what you want to do?! Appeal to my 'rational side'. I'll tell you what is fucking irrational! Letting this bastard live when it's costing good people their lives!"
Diana stepped in, but thought it best not to attempt to stop Jason. She spoke in a soft, maternal voice. "Jason. What are you talking about?"
"Oh! That's right! You people wouldn't have even fucking noticed, would you?! Because people like us are below your lofty moral standards! You sit on your high horse in space looking down on the rest of us who are actually making a difference by ending the problem instead of locking it up until later!"
"Who is us, Jason?" Bruce had now stood back up and was standing next to Diana, adopting her tactic.
"Helena Bertinelli you degenerate narcissists! She's in the hospital half dead because you didn't have the balls to kill this freak years ago! But you probably didn't even notice!"
"Huntress regularly goes off grid and refuses to contact the League, if we had known-" Diana shook her head at Bruce signaling him to stop.
"We're sorry, Jason. We'll do everything in our power to help her. Why does she mean so much to you?"
"It doesn't fucking matter now, does it?!" He reached for a gun and pointed it at Penguin.
Before he could pull the trigger Bruce restrained his hand. "No, let me help you."
"I don't need your he-"
A gunshot, no one had noticed Penguin regain consciousness and fire a gun directly at Jason's head. Diana threw her body in the path of the bullet, but it was too late. Penguin was only inches away from Jason and Diana was feet away. All she would have needed was a little warning, just a fraction of a second more, but she was too distracted. By the time the sound of the gunshot had alerted her, the bullet was already halfway to its target. Instead of blocking the bullet, she just wound up tackling the Penguin.
Jason fell lifeless and limp into Bruce's arms. He looked on in horror, not believing his eyes. Not again, not again, I can't do this again! He gently put Jason in the Batmobile nearby and then descended upon Penguin, beating his unconscious body viciously.
"Bruce, NO!" Diana held his arms behind his back, and they sat there for a bit. Bruce did not try to break free. He knew she was right. When she felt his body calm down, she released him. He slowly moved to the Batmobile and took off towards the Batcave.