Wayne Manor
Bruce Wayne was not having a good night. First a wanted murderer slipped through the Justice League's fingers, then an influential corporation puts him under their protection, then learning that two of his exes have sided with them, and to top it off he had to keep his regular image by going over countless business reports. On the bright side, things couldn't possibly get any worse.
Ring
The sound of his cell phone went off. Looking at the caller ID he had a feeling that this wouldn't be a social call.
"Hello?"
"Bruce, Venom struck again."
Looks like he stands corrected, this night could get worse. It seemed that anytime Clark Kent called him it was never just to say hi.
"Who's the victim this time?" he asked, hoping it would just be a common street thug with bruises and broken bones.
"Scarecrow."
The phone nearly slipped from Bruce's grip before he snapped out of his shock with a glare. "I'm on my way."
Later
The Batmobile sped through the streets of Gotham before stopping at the bank where the police have taped the area. The driver hopped out of the vehicle to see the Man of Steel himself waiting for him.
"Batman, glad you made it." The bat nods and they head inside. The police were still patrolling the area to see if there was anything left behind in the attack.
The World's Finest continued to look around when they saw Commissioner Gordon and Detective Bullock.
"Batman, Superman, glad you're here."
Batman steps forward and stands in front of the commissioner. "What happened?"
"Venom had stopped Scarecrow and his boys from getting away. There's a majority of them in critical condition and one of them with their head missing." Gordon explained. "But here's the strange part. The hostages said Poison Ivy was with him, helped him take out the rest of Crane's goons before taking him to the vault. I don't even want to know what they did to him in there, but we managed to break his body out of the roots, except the bastard was dead before we could get him out."
Batman narrowed his eyes. Not only was Venom protected by a corporation that endorsed and protected him, but somehow he had managed to sway one of the Dark Knight's rogues to his side to take down another dangerous individual.
"Why would Poison Ivy team up with Venom?" Superman asked.
"Isn't it obvious already?" Bullock spoke up. "There's been a few crazies from Arkham that tried going legit. Ventriloquist's working at Wayne Enterprises, Riddler's become a sorta lone wolf detective, and Mr. Freeze is still somewhere out there trying to find a cure for his wife, yet Venom hasn't even tried taking 'em out. Scarecrow and his boys were exceptions."
"Which means that the next guy on Venom's hit list might get thrown in a cell rather than be torn apart." Gordon concluded.
"We'll look into it. Thank you for your time, Commissioner. Have a good night." Superman said before he and Batman walked out of the bank, going over this new information.
"Bullock, anything you found on Crane's body?" the commissioner asked the detective.
"Scars, bruises, broken bones, leftover plants, lack of pulse. That's about as much as I can get except for that drug glove he carries around." Bullock bluntly listed off.
Gordon looked at him with surprise. "What?"
"Apparently, they're making trophies now."
Eddie's Apartment
Eddie and Ivy arrived outside of the former's apartment, who currently held the large bag Scarecrow's goons attempted to use to stuff the money in, before they both entered and made their way to Eddie's room.
Half of the room was empty by now, and Anne sat at the table in the kitchen before she noticed them and got up to greet them. "Hello Ivy, glad you decided to join us." she said as she shook the botanist's hand.
"Ivy, this is my girlfriend, Anne Weying. Freelance lawyer. She'll be the head of our legal team." Eddie introduced.
"Girlfriend, hm?" Taking one look over at Anne, she couldn't resist a chance to torment the blonde lawyer. She walked closer to Eddie and rubbed a finger up across his arm. "Oh, I think we're going to be good friends."
'Joke's on her, she doesn't know we're in a relationship with other hot girls.' Venom hissed gleefully.
"Hey, guys. Check this out." Jason called from the living room as he turned up the volume to the television. The news was currently on, and Eddie smirked a bit as he saw Vicki Vale reporting on the scene.
"Half an hour ago, Venom, the vigilante of San Francisco, had foiled a heist at the Bank of Gotham that was masterminded by Jonathan Crane, aka the Scarecrow.
According to witnesses, he did not come alone. With him was the known eco-terrorist, Poison Ivy, who had escaped from Arkham Asylum since last month. The witnesses said that she had incapacitated a few of Scarecrow's men before engaging him in close combat until Venom apprehended the madman, taking him to the vault for a gruesome end. His body was found mangled and held up by large roots, while Venom and Ivy escaped the scene.
Is Venom truly giving those he spares a second chance? Or is there an ulterior motive behind this Lethal Protector's crusade?"
'Looks like we made a bigger impression on Gotham than we thought.' Venom remarked.
"One less murderer on the streets." Eddie murmured silently before turning to his friends. "Anyway, look what we got." he reached into the bag and took out a metal object before setting it on the table.
"Scarecrow's injectors?" Anne asked in surprise as she observed the broken device.
"I thought it would be better if we kept it as a souvenir, but then I figured it would come in handy when we hand it to Global later." Eddie explained before turning to Ivy. "Make yourself at home, Pam. We'll be taking another patrol."
"Again?" Anne asked. "There's no doubt Batman or any of the League caught wind of this by now."
"If that stunt of ours somehow gets people on our side, then there won't be much of a problem." Eddie retorted before heading out the door.
Leaving the room in silence as Ivy and Anne stared at each other, the latter more focused on the former's… attire.
'God, she's hot.' she said mentally as a blush began to appear on her face before she broke out of her thoughts. "Alright, Pam. If you're gonna be a part of this team, we need to get you out of those clothes."
She could have sworn she heard Jason spill his drink from the living room.
Sinestro didn't know how or why, but he got a signal leading to an old warehouse in an abandoned part of Metropolis. He clearly did not expect to see Sean Kruger along with one of the allies of the Justice League waiting for him.
"Sinestro." Sean greeted as Zatanna stood beside him looking cautious.
"Kruger. What do you have to offer for this little meaning?" he asked.
"I've got a proposition for you." The man raises an eyebrow and nods. "I get the authorities off your back and in exchange you lend me your strength to help keep the world safe."
"I'm not interested in how much money you're offering." He denies immediately.
"Of course not. You'd be a part of my own newly formed group. You'd be in charge of making sure that no criminals do as they please with innocents. Even if it means killing them." Sean said seriously. He knew Sinestro was a protector at one point but his methods were frowned upon.
Sinestro stays quiet and just stares at Sean as he pondered the deal. Even with all of this in mind he responds, "I'll admit, I find the idea of keeping those in line appealing, but I don't exactly feel fond of being under someone else's control."
Sean sighed, knowing that not everyone would be swayed so easily, and Sinestro was one of those people. "Think about it, there's no doubt that we'll eventually go up against the Justice League, which includes Green Lantern, over whose method truly works best. You don't have to decide now, but think about what you can do on the outside alongside us." Sean says before tossing a card to Sinsetro, who caught it with ease. "Come to this address if you change your mind."
He knows that Sinestro hates Green Lantern and is hoping that his hate of him will sway him over. If not, then he'll just find another way to get him to join.
Knowing her friend had said his piece that will surely have Sinestro reconsidering, Zatanna casted a spell over herself and Sean that caused them both to vanish someplace else.
Meanwhile…
"You know something, V?" Eddie said as he walked through one of the few empty streets of Gotham.
'What?' Venom asked.
"It's times like these where I think that somehow, someway my life is being played out for another's amusement."
'How so?'
"Well… I find myself in the possession of a borderline horny, chocolate-addicted alien slime, I'm in a sort of open relationship with a lawyer, an extremely hot magician, an Amazon, and now a chick who controls plants."
'When you put it that way… it does sound like your life is designed for someone's entertainment.' Venom hissed in amusement as Eddie stopped in front of a sidewalk.
"Not as entertaining as having a team of superheroes that care more about maintaining a status quo on our asses." the reporter muttered.
'What are you bitching about, Eddie? We're semi-government until our team is done being formed.' Venom said. 'What shouldn't be entertaining?'
As if hearing him say this, a scream came from the streets. Rushing to a corner, Eddie saw a woman and a man being pursued by a half dozen other men, all holding various melee weapons.
'Wanna relieve some stress?'
"You know it."
Before the thugs could catch up to their victims, a large figure landed in front of them, leaving two large prints and cracks in the pavement that reached all way to the back of the group.
"Alright, boys." Venom cracked his knuckles for emphasis. "It can go three ways right now. One. You all turn around and haul ass back home. Two. We pound the living shit out of you all in three seconds. Or three…" He licked his chops for emphasis, knowing the thugs would get the hint.
The couple behind stared in open shock while their pursuers trembled from the intimidating figure, entrance and words of the Lethal Protector.
For the first time since Venom came here, they made the right choice in turning and high tailing it out of there.
"Smart decision." Venom murmured before turning back to the couple. "Are you alright?"
The couple shook themselves out of their stupor, still reeling from the sudden arrival of Venom.
"You're that Venom guy I've been seeing all over the news." The man pointed, shaking a bit with excitement and awe.
"Thank you so much." The woman said with a slight tear in her eye, the fear of being chased still fresh on her mind.
"How far are you from home?" Venom asked.
"We came here by car." The man informed.
"Head there." Venom instructed. "We'll keep watch over head."
"You don't need to do that." The woman said with sincere gratefulness.
"We're not taking any chances." Venom said. "Get a move on."
"We can't thank you enough for this." the man said. "I don't know what Batman or Superman's problem is with you. You don't seem like a bad guy at all."
"Don't thank us." Venom stepped back. "We're just doing the job as they should be doing."
And so, Venom was the angel over their shoulder, making sure that no one else had any funny ideas.
Once the two reached their car, they searched the rooftops for their guardian before the girlfriend spotted Venom standing high above. The two waved to him happily and gratefully; Venom simply nodded and watched as the car drove off.
"That was quite a show." a feminine voice said from behind.
Venom whirled around to see the feline vixen of Gotham City, Catwoman (Arkham City version since she's also sexy).
"Well, there's an old phrase that would fit perfectly right about now, but I guess it's past tense at this point." she purred, intentionally posing provocatively.
"Is there something you want?" Venom asked. "Or are you just trying to irritate us?"
"Oh, I just wanted to meet the new guy in town before the Bat got a hold of you." Catwoman replied, grinning slightly. "Pretty brutal from what I hear. Just got word that you and Ivy killed Scarecrow not too long ago."
"Looks like our reputation precedes us." Venom grinned. "There's no doubt your ex would be pissed off if he heard about it already, or the fact we're here talking to one of his exes."
Catwoman blinked in surprise at Venom's knowledge of her past relationship with the Dark Knight, before she regained her composure and grinned even further.
"So, how'd you do it?" she asked curiously. "How did you get Ivy to be Beauty to your Beast?"
"We probably have so much in common, aside from our different names." Venom said bluntly with a shrug. "So, what's a girl like you doing dressed up in a cat suit and acting as a sort modern day Robin Hood… with tits?"
'Yep. Totally a perv.' Eddie commented.
Catwoman smirked as she walked up towards Venom with a sway in her hips and a bit more confidence in herself. "Oh, you know, just trying to help out the less fortunate and making the lives of rich crime bosses hell."
Venom chuckled as she stood right in front of him, her chest just almost brushing against his torso due to his height. "Is that all you can do?"
"Wouldn't you like to know." Catwoman said with a smirk as she trailed a hand down his muscular chest and licked up lips out how solid he felt. "Hmm, I may decide to help myself to something else aside from shiny diamonds tonight… that's assuming that you're up to it?"
'You're right. Rich boy's loss is our gain.' Eddie said with a little more confidence as Venom chuckled.
"Sorry kitty, but as much as we want to, we still have other things to attend to in this cesspool of a city."
"Aww, why?" Catwoman pouted cutely. "Don't tell me you don't have a wild side to you. Every man has one."
Venom grinned some more. "We do have that side you crave so much… but we're not like any man you've seen." he finished in a much deeper tone that sent a shiver down the thief's spine.
'Wow, on second thought, you do have a way with Earth chicks.' Eddie complimented his other when they heard the sounds of sirens going off in the distance.
"That's our cue." Venom said before going to the ledge, only taking one last look at Catwoman with his grin still present. "You going to stalk us some more, or do you still have a heist of your own to carry out?"
"For the record, I was following out of curiosity." Catwoman said with a smirk.
"Then you know what curiosity does to cats."
Catwoman was a bit taken back by the dark growl his voice became and watched as the creature stepped back, gave her a two finger salute and made an inhuman leap into the air before shooting out a tendril and swung towards the city.
Selina watched him vanish from sight before she adopted an excited grin on her slightly flustered face, an odd rush beginning to course through her. A rush she hadn't felt in years. An intrigue that started with Batman all those years ago that remained today.
Catwoman couldn't help but lick her lips sensually at the thought of learning more about this… Lethal Protector.
Two-Face (design from Arkham Knight) sat in the passenger seat of the armored truck he and three of his men had hijacked. Driving was one of his goons while the other two were in the back with the two million dollars worth of coins.
"Easiest heist ever," Two-Face said to the driver. "The Bat's wrapped up in his own case, so I figured now would've been perfect to get some additional fundings."
"Sure thing boss." The driving goon said, paying more attention to the road, only looking at the side mirror to see if the cops were on their tails, and returned his focus. "I think we're good."
Suddenly, the roof of the truck suddenly caved in, the windows shattering and the windshield cracking from something impacting on top of it.
Followed by a face with a gaping maw and narrowed eyes coming into view in front of the windshield.
"No… you're anything but good!" Venom growled.
"Oh shit, it's Venom!" gasped the driver as Venom climbed to the roof of the truck.
"But I thought he was in San Francisco, or Metropolis!" said one of the thugs in the back.
Two-Face then spoke up. "Quit gawking and start throwing lead!"
The thugs in the back took aim at the ceiling and opened fire, leaving a series holes through the back of the vehicle.
Venom merely shrugged off the shots before digging his claws onto the sides of the truck and began rocking it side to side to get the driver to lose control of the vehicle.
"Shake him off!" Two-Face ordered the driver, who tried and failed to keep the vehicle on the road.
"He's too heavy!" the driver panicked.
With one final thrust to the side, Venom sent the truck landing on its side with Two-Face's window facing up before sliding across the street as the pedestrians scurried out of the way until it came to a complete stop.
The disfigured former DA pushed the door upwards and climbed out into the street, not even bothering to check on the unconscious driver as the other two goons forced open the double doors on the back of the truck. They climbed out and a few hundred silver dollars fell to the ground.
As they regained their composure, the ground beneath them shook as Venom jumped in front of them with a snarl.
Before the thugs could get their guns out, their faces were suddenly seized by two tendrils shooting out from Venom's arms, which eventually slammed them onto the underside of the flipped truck, effectively knocking them out.
Two-Face couldn't believe what he was seeing. He shook his head roughly to regain his wits before pulling out and aiming his .45 pistol at Venom, who shot out a tendril to grab his wrist and twisted it, nearly breaking it. "GAH!" Dent yelled in pain as Venom approached before grabbing him by the throat.
He kept his hands on the Lethal Protector's wrist, trying to keep himself elevated slightly. His eyes fearfully stared at the razor-sharp teeth on the anti-hero's grinning maw.
"You won't do it. You won't kill me!" Two-Face shouted.
"We're not Batman." Venom snarled as Two-Face prepared for the worst.
Only to have his lights punched out and be thrown to the ground as Venom looked down at the former DA.
"But we're not mindless killers either." he finished before hearing the shuttering of camera lens and several flashes of white light. He looked around and saw several reporters for whatever news channel they worked for. They got in a circle around him and the unconscious Two-Face. They all began asking him questions which he ignored as he began walking away. In the direction he was going, the circle of bystanders parted like he was Moses and they were the sea.
"Venom, why did you spare Two-Face after you killed Scarecrow?" one reporter asks.
"Harvey Dent is still a good man inside. It's best you all remember that." Venom answered firmly.
He ignored many of the other questions coming his way before he paused at one, "Venom, how did you persuade Poison Ivy, a notorious criminal, to help you take down Scarecrow earlier?" A reporter asked making Venom stop before he turned towards said reporter.
That reporter being none other than Vicki Vale, who looked at him expectantly.
"We did what no one else could: we opened her eyes to see how her ways in protecting nature are hurting innocents. She's not crazy like the rest of the lunatics from that revolving door you call Arkham Asylum, just misguided. We knew she could be saved, and the same can be said for Dent here. As for Scarecrow, he tortured and murdered many with his toxins and experiments without remorse, and all he had were either weeks or months in Arkham as 'punishment'. People like him don't deserve a chance." Venom stated calmly making several of the people blink while more questions were coming in at once.
"Venom! How can you justify Poison Ivy's actions which are criminal and unlawful?" Another reporter asked.
"Because the real crime is the fact that all of our supposed Great Humanitarians and Leading Researchers have never once offered her a chance to be studied and possibly cured and no one has ever offered her help in funding her research to turn herself back to normal. Yes, she has done wrong, but that's no reason to shun her to the point she becomes the monster that everyone fears she is. If Arkham can't fix people like her, then Global Tech can." He stated seriously and with a tone in his voice that people could tell he was passionate about what he was saying, while a few were surprised at his affiliation with one of the most successful companies in the world.
Without another word, Venom walked away before leaping up to the rooftops and disappearing just as the police arrived to take Dent and his goons away.
On top of another building away from the scene, Venom perched on a ledge as he looked over the city.
'Just a few steps closer to getting the people on our side.' Eddie spoke mentally.
"This night can't get any interesting." Venom grinned.
The club was filled with smoke and flashing lights. Music thumped loudly, giving the dozens of bodies on the dance floor something to dance to. A single DJ stood on the stage at the front of the club, twirling records with practiced precision, keeping the music coming constantly.
In the back of the club at the employee entrance a single bouncer stood, smoking a cigarette. A panel truck suddenly turned down the alleyway and parked in front of the entrance. The bouncer walked down the steps and moved to the truck, knocking on the driver's side door.
"Hey, man! You can't park here. If you have a delivery, you have to go over to the side."
The door stay shut and the window stayed up. The bouncer slammed his fist onto the door again.
"Hey, I'm talking to you!"
The bouncer felt a tap on his shoulder.
"Excuse me, sir…"
The bouncer turned around and came face to face with a wide, toothy smile. The bouncer looked at the clown-looking man momentarily.
"…you seem upset. I think you just need to smile!"
The flower on the clown's jacket lapel suddenly sprayed a green mist out of it and into the bouncer's face.
"What the fu-hehehehehe…"
The bouncer's face slowly started to stretch into a smile as he started laughing uncontrollably.
"Hahahahahahaha!"
The bouncer howled in laughter before flopping back and falling to the ground dead, his face frozen in the horrid, freakish smile. The Joker removed his hat, smoothing out his green hair as he looked down at the dead bouncer.
"That's better."
The Joker let off a slight chuckle as his man climbed out from the cab of the truck as the rest of his men walked down the alley behind the Joker. A woman dressed in a red and black checkered spandex suit walked out from Joker's group of men, wrapping her arms around the Joker, her mask covered eyes fluttering with the 'puppy dog' love she felt for the Joker.
"Ready when you are, Mistah J." said Harley Quinn.
"Delightful, Harley… now be a doll and have some of the fellas pull out our party popper. Me and the rest'll head inside and warm up the crowd."
"You got it, puddin'."
Joker laughed as he and a few of his men went up the steps and through the employee entrance. Harley stood with her hands on her hips as the other thugs opened the back of the panel truck and climbed in, pushing the large, brightly colored box to the end where a few more thugs ready to lift it out of the truck.
"And be careful with that boys… wouldn't want that popper to go off too soon."
The men looked at each other as they carefully lifted the big box down from the truck.
The long awaited first confrontation between Venom and the Joker finally begins! Might put in a little Venom vs. Batman Round 2 to go along with it.
I should've mentioned this earlier when I introduced the Joker in Chapter 4, but the design I'm using for him would be in fact the one from the DCAU, as in the one seen in Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, Static Shock, and the Justice League cartoon, with the usual purple suit with the green shirt and flower and purple bowtie, along with the yellow eyes with red pupils. As for Harley Quinn, I'll be using the original version for now.
Anyway, Two-Face has been spared, Catwoman has taken an interest in our Lethal Protector, and Sinestro (Injustice: Gods Among Us version) is considering the offer to join the team. Stay tuned for more!