Wow, has it been 5 years since I wrote this? I wrote most of this chapter back then, but figured I'd finish it and post it. Maybe there will be more chapters after, but I kind of wrapped up the arc here. If anyone was waiting 5 years for this, I apologize deeply, and to any new readers, I hope you enjoyed.
Revival Chapter 4
The Joker watched evilly as Tim Drake was putting the finishing touches on his machine. It appeared that Drake was typing some commands into the programming.
What the Joker didn't know was that Drake's commands were really a distress signal being sent out to whoever would receive it.
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The collected heroes in the Batcave were trying to decide where to search next for the Joker. Batman, Nightwing, Static and Gear were gathered together in hopes of stopping the Joker and rescuing his hostages. They were just about to set out when Gear's Backpack started beeping. He put down his visor to decipher the information.
"I'm getting a distress signal. Please help, Joker holding hostages, little time left."
"Can you trace it?" Batman asked.
"Yeah, I have the location locked and I'm trying to home in on it." Gear walked over to the computer and brought up the map of Gotham. "He's here."
"The Gotham Joke factory. Figures." Terry muttered.
"Lets go" Static shouted. He took out his flying disc and magnetized it as he lifted off the ground.
"Max, its best if you head home. We can use the Watchtower as our base now. Plus, the Joker could target the mansion at any moment." Batman told her.
She nodded and headed to the cave exit.
"And take Ace with you for safe keeping." Batman added.
"Great, my parents are going to love me when I come home a day late and with a dog the size of a horse." She laughed.
The heroes left the cave through their various sets of travel. Batman took out the Batjet, while Terry hitched a ride with Static. Gear used his rocket boots to fly to the target.
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The Joker looked at his surveillance cameras around the city and noticed the group of heroes heading toward his base. He looked at Drake and saw the distress signal that he transmitted.
"Aww shucks. It seems someone invited Batman and his friends to the party. I guess we'll have to send them a welcoming committee. The device better be finished now Birdboy."
"Forget it Joker," he retorted. "You're done once Batman and the League gets here."
The Joker pulled out a gun and pointed it at Barbara Gordon's head. "You have 60 seconds to make that machine work or I'll paint the walls with the Commissioner's brains."
Tim recognized defeat and started finishing the machine as fast as he could. Barbara's face showed panic and urgency.
"57, 56, 55…" The Joker counted down as Drake frantically typed in some code and readjusted wires on the computer.
"33, 32, 31…" Beads of sweat started falling from Drake's face. His friend's life was at stake here, and if he failed, there's no telling what the Joker would do. In fact, there was no telling what the Joker would do even if he succeeded.
"9,8,7.."
"Done. It's ready for your use" Drake said solemnly.
"Well done," the Joker said pistol-whipping him out of the way. A Kobra guard took Tim Drake and tied him back up next to Barbara and Dana. "Now lets see what this baby can do." The Joker set the coordinates to intercept the approaching heroes.
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Nightwing was admiring the scenery as he flew through the Gotham sky with Static on Static's magnetic disk. Batman flew overhead in the jet while Gear flew alongside. Nightwing looked up and saw the sky reddening in one spot. "Is that supposed to do that?" he asked Static.
"NO! It's the Joker's laser. Take evasive action!" he commanded the others.
Nightwing jumped off the disc and spread his wings, using his rockets to soar through the sky. The beam intensified as it fell through the atmosphere and into Gotham.
It centered on an office building that Batman was about to fly over. He veered the jet to the right as the building began to rumble before exploding to the ground. People on the streets ran in panic. The laser beam stayed on the ground and started moving toward Batman's jet. Batman turned to the south and headed for the harbor to avoid serious damage to the city. While flying away, the beam cut a path through the street blowing up cars and ripping up the pavement. It destroyed the elevated train track bridge as an oncoming train was heading to cross it.
Static went over and used his electric powers to slow down the speeding train before it could plummet off of the broken bridge. He used all of his strength to stop the massive vehicle. It finally screeched to a halt, just inches away from the gap.
Gear and Nightwing meanwhile flew through the sky to save pedestrians that were falling after the laser beam cut through various bridges that spanned hundreds of feet above the ground.
Batman was on communication with the J'onn in the watchtower. "Do you have a lock on the satellite?"
"Yes Batman, it's on the other side of our orbit. I have dispatched Superman and Green Lantern to take it down, but it's going to take them about 5 minutes until rendezvous."
'That's too long' Batman thought as the laser beam seemed to be gaining on him. He was almost out over the docks and had about a 100-foot lead on the beam and shrinking. The Joker was definitely out to get him, leaving the others to do the rescuing.
The gap between the beam and the jet's tail continued shrinking as Batman tried to do maneuvers in different directions, taking sharp turns around the harbor. No matter what he did, the beam honed in on the plane and continued its approach. There was now less than 20 feet before impact.
Batman could feel the plane begin to shake as the beam started to engulf the tail. He knew he had to bail out before the plane exploded. Flames were already starting to appear in the back. He opened the hatch as the rushing air started to suck him out. He opened his wings and took a dive down toward the water, and away from the beam's path. He had fallen about a hundred feet when he heard the plane explode. He could feel the debris passing by his head.
There was a solid beam of electricity now being formed at the laser. Static tried to break it apart using his powers, but the beam was too powerful. It started moving toward Batman who had regained his balance and was flying toward the shore.
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Up in space, Superman and Green Lantern had reached the satellite. Green Lantern was a human and Thanagarian hybrid. He was a tall muscular African-American man, but he also had the Thanagarian wings and honored his alien heritage by wearing a winged mask that covered his eyes, scalp and forehead while forming a beak around his nose.
Superman tried to pull the cover off of the satellite casing to pull apart the wires, but he felt very faint. There was kryptonite casing the wires. Green Lantern used his ring to extend his force field to cover Superman who was wearing his spacesuit. The field would protect Superman from the kryptonite's effects. He then used the ring's powers to pull the kryptonite off the casing and send it flying into deep space. Superman began to feel his strength returning and started ripping wires apart, but the beam still kept strong.
"The controls must be deeper within the satellite." Superman told Green Lantern. The satellite was 100 feet tall with a 10-foot diameter. Superman tried using his X-ray vision to assess the situation, but the satellite was made out of a lead based material.
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Back on the surface of the Earth, Batman was fighting for his life trying to avoid the beam coming from the satellite. 'What's taking them so long?' Batman thought to himself. He couldn't fly over land because it would cause a lot of damage, so he had to continue gliding over the water.
Nightwing was done saving the victims on shore and decided to continue toward the Joker's hideout in order to put a stop to it at the source. Gear followed him while Static continued to find ways to disrupt the beam using his powers.
It took a few minutes, but Nightwing and Gear had arrived at the Joke factory, which was a few miles from where they were attacked. The heroes were greeted by a large mob of Kobras and Jokerz who were armed and standing guard on the roof. They started firing bullets and lasers at Nightwing and Gear. Nightwing tossed a smoke bomb down at them to blind his attackers, while Gear tossed down some knockout gas. Most of the attackers fell to the ground as the smoke cleared. The two heroes easily dispatched the remaining guards and walked into the hideout.
Things seemed quiet. Gear looked at Batman's young protégé and wondered how he became Bruce Wayne's apprentice. Gear had met Batman when Brainiac had attacked the Justice League years ago and taken over his body. Even then, Batman seemed like a loner.
They decided on the stealth approach now that they had made their entrance. There was no doubt the Joker was aware of their presence, but it would be easier if they made it through undetected. Backpack was already feeding the schematics of the building into Gear's metahuman mind. It picked up a high rate of data being transmitted from a room in the back of the building, which had to be where the satellite was being transmitted.
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"Enough of this" Superman shouted. He flew down to the bottom of the satellite and started to clamp the barrel of the gun using his super strength. It was coming out of a 2-foot wide hole, so it took all of Superman's strength to reach his arms around and squeeze it shut. Green Lantern watched in amazement as the hole began to shrink.
Down on Earth, Batman noticed the effects as the beam began to shrink. Static's blasts were beginning to have an effect now that it was smaller allowing Batman to gain some ground on the trailing beam.
Meanwhile the Joker was getting upset. He knew there were invaders in his hideout, and the league was putting an end to his plan. There was one other way for him to still win. He pushed a button that changed the content of the laser beam.
Superman continued to squeeze the satellite's gun shut, but he began to feel weak. The beam was emitting the energy of a red sun. He used his remaining strength to shut it, but ran out of energy with the laser only 50 % reduced.
Green Lantern tried using his ring to finish the job, but it had little effect. It wasn't as strong as the Man of Steel.
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Back in the Joke Factory, Nightwing and Gear began to make their move. Nightwing used his cloaking device to move through the hallway undetected toward the back of the building. Along the way he took out a few guards so that Gear could follow without being detected as well.
He drew closer to the door and there was a heavy presence of guards. It was impossible to take them all out without being detected, so he simply walked by them while Gear waited in the shadows. The door to the control room was wide open at this point. Terry figured the Joker would close it if he knew that his enemy was about to walk right through it.
He could see the hostages tied up. Tim Drake looked to be in a little bit of pain while Barbara and Dana appeared worried as they watched the footage of Batman and Static trying to avoid being killed by the Joker's laser. Nightwing saw that the machine that was sitting next to the video screens was controlling the laser. Nightwing had to move quickly, because he could sense that the Joker was onto him.
Nightwing quickly threw an exploding batarang at the machine just as the Joker fired an electrical gun in Nightwing's direction. The machine exploded as the electrical cords interacted with Nightwing's suit, frying his circuits and causing him to pass out once again.
Dana gasped when she saw what had happened to Terry, while Barbara and Tim were secretly hoping that Batman would soon be here now that he no longer had a death beam on his trail.
Gear heard the commotion and decided there was no more waiting. He made his presence known and started fighting his way through the Jokerz and Kobras that were standing on guard.
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Static released one last energy wave and the laser beam dissipated. Batman flew over to him and regrouped. "Guess I got it" He smiled at Batman.
"More likely Superman and Green Lantern took out the satellite."
Up in space Superman and Green Lantern look puzzled as the satellite stopped emitting the laser beam. Green Lantern used his ring now that the satellite wasn't powered and summoned enough energy to send it out of orbit and hurling toward the sun.
"Lets go down to Gotham. Batman might need backup," Superman decided.
Green Lantern, Superman, Static and Batman all rendezvoused at the Joke Factory. By now the Jokerz and Kobras were waking up from the effects of Gear's knockout gas and got ready to start fighting the assembled heroes.
Their lasers and bullets bounced off Superman who started moving toward them and used his strength and quickness to disarm them. Green Lantern and Static used their powers to disarm the guns while imprisoning them against the wall or in energy bubbles.
They marched into the factory and were met by more guards. The fight continued on, but this time there were more surprises. One of the Jokerz was operating a giant clown robot. Static tried to melt it using his electrical powers but they had no effect, the machine was made out of a rubber and plastic alloy. The machine fired rockets at the heroes. Batman dove out of the way of the blast while Superman took a direct hit. He figured that it would have no effect on him, but he was wrong and was down for the count. Green Lantern tried to deflect another with his shield, but it broke through and sent him falling to the ground.
Batman fired his grappling hook around the robots legs and started to pull to trip it up, but the robot spread its legs apart, breaking the rope that was tying it up. Static meanwhile flew around the machine, trying to distract the driver by firing blasts at the cockpit. Batman glided up the back of the robot and planted an exploding batarang in its midsection before diving out of the way.
There was a powerful explosion and the machine fell to the ground. The batarang was placed right at the battery, so there was no way the machine would come back up. The rest of the room was empty. Static looked at Superman and Green Lantern who were recovering from their injuries and decided to stay with them while Batman moved on.
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Nightwing opened his eyes trying to remember where he was. The Joker had just electrocuted him a few minutes ago after stopping the satellite. He looked up to see the Joker looking down on him.
The Joker kicked him in the ribs and Nightwing winced in pain. "Well isn't this nice? Another guest for my party."
Nightwing turned and saw the hostages. Gear had fought valiantly, but he was outnumbered in his battle and as a result was now part of the group. The Joker had stripped Backpack from him and tied him up with the other hostages. Gear looked at Nightwing and gave a quick, secretive wink.
Gear's powers had developed greatly over the years since he fought through the second big bang where he regained his fading powers along with Static. He worked hard on strengthening them and began to develop some telekinesis, as he got older. He incorporated this new power into Backpack so that he could use Backpack even if they were separated.
Nightwing got the message and started to distract the Joker. "What? No party hats? Couldn't we get a better clown?"
"NOT Funny." Joker gave him another kick to the ribs.
Backpack began to silently creep from its spot on top of some wooden crates and worked its way unnoticed up the wall, across the ceiling, and down the wall to the back of Gear's seat and began to cut the ropes binding Gear to the seat.
Nightwing decided to act fast and leaped to his feet, at the same time as Gear broke free and Batman burst through the door.
Joker was shocked at the developments and decided he had to make his final stand. He pulled out a gun and pointed it at Barbara's head.
"You know you loved her Bats, but now she's going to be joining daddy in the big police station in the sky." Just as Joker was about to pull the trigger, a batarang flew and knocked the gun astray. Unfortunately, the trigger had been pulled, and the bullet flew out, striking Tim in the abdomen. He screamed out in agony.
Batman was furious and lunged at the Joker while Nightwing and Gear rushed to Drake's side. Batman started pounding on the Joker with everything he had in pure rage. Blood started dripping from the Joker's mouth. "Go ahead, you know you want to. Finish me."
Batman paused for a second. He never considered killing, but he had to think under these circumstances. The Joker had taken Drake away once, and might have just done it the second time. He had caused so much pain and anger.
"Pussy." The Joker used the pause to pull a knife and slash at Batman's arms. "You never were man enough Batman." He slashed again as Batman backed away in pain. Sparks were flying from the suit where the cuts were being made. "Even now you are holding back. You could have finished me right here and now." Another swipe, this time Batman dodged it. "I know all of your secrets Bruce."
Finally Batman snapped and kicked the knife from the Joker's hands. His arms stinged from the cuts, but he just wanted to continue beating on the Joker. Batman unleashed a total fury on the Joker throwing punch after punch into his body. The Joker's face became bloodied as one of Batman's blows cracked his lip.
The Joker finally fell into unconsciousness as Batman stood over his broken body. He turned and looked as Gear was using backpack to operate on Tim. The bullet was removed, but there was a lot of blood all over the place. Barbara ripped off a piece of her trenchcoat to use as a tourniquet and found a phone in the room to call police headquarters and get an ambulance down as soon as possible.
By this time Static, Superman and Green Lantern had come rushing in to see the Joker defeated and Tim Drake breathing shallowly as he lay in a pool of blood. Superman motioned to pick him up and take him to an emergency room, but Gear stopped him "Wait for the ambulance. If you move him, it might do more damage."
Superman turned to his old friend Bruce. "That was quite a beating you gave him. Now what? He knows your secrets."
"J'onn will have to go into his mind and erase them."
Nightwing looked at Dana who was standing in the corner, still in shock of the events that she witnessed. He wanted to say something to her as their eyes met, but she beat him to it.
"Terry, I know its you."
"Dana.." he started, but didn't finish. She embraced him in a hug and lifted his mask so that she could kiss him on the lips. Terry felt at ease by her touch. He knew that the hardest part of his relationship with her was in the past, and he didn't want to think about the dangers in the future, he only wanted to live in the present where everything seemed so right.
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The Martian Manhunter stood over the captured Joker in a cell at Arkham Asylum, surrounded by Superman, Batman, Nightwing and Commissioner Gordon. He was in a trance as his mind interacted with the Joker's in an effort to erase his knowledge of Batman's secrets.
J'onn came out of his trance and regained his surroundings. "That man is not the original Joker, he is a clone. Whoever created him put a resistance to my powers in there. I can not erase his memories."
"Can you tell me who cloned him?" Batman asked.
"Negative, I can't read any of his thoughts." The Joker let out one of hideous maniacal laughs.
"What do we do with him then?" Batman looked at Commissioner Gordon who was just as much a part of this as he.
"I honestly don't know Bruce."
"That's right Brucie, so what are you going to do with me?"
"We have no choice but to send him to the Phantom Zone." Superman answered.
"For once, I agree with you." Batman replied.
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For the first time in 30 years, Batman was on the watchtower that he helped commission. As a founding member of the league, he was invited back onto the head council that now consisted of Superman, J'onn Jones, Rex Stewart aka the Green Lantern, Static, Gear, and a face that Bruce hadn't seen in that same period – Wonder Woman.
Batman relived his strongest and most powerful romance when he saw her walk into the council chamber. She hadn't aged a day thanks to her eternal youth granted by being born an Amazon princess on Themyscara. Her face lit up when she saw her former lover. She was disappointed when he pushed her away because of the ravages age was taking on him, but now that he was young again, she was hoping that they could renew what they once had.
"Bruce, it's so good to see you again."
"And it's good to see you Diana." Batman was smiling under his mask, but she could not see his facial expressions now.
"I hope you're back to work with us for good."
"My status hasn't changed. If you need me, you know where to find me."
Superman cleared his throat. "Let's get down to business."
He sat down in the center chair and pressed a button. A cage holding the Joker teleported into the room. He had an evil grin when he saw the assortment of heroes staring him down.
Superman stood up and read the charges. "Your crimes against humanity have been grave. You are a threat to the human race and the security of Earth. Normally we'd let you rot in a jail cell, but since you have knowledge about secrets of the members of this league, we have no choice but to banish you to the phantom zone."
He pressed another button and called up the Phantom Zone projector. Using his Kryptonian ability, he opened up a vortex that sucked the Joker in. Batman watched in satisfaction as another chapter of his life was closed.
"Now, onto happier business." Static proposed. "I think it's time we add a new member to our ranks. We all know how much Batman loves us, but there's another Gotham hero that has earned his way up here."
Suddenly, Nightwing was teleported into the council chamber. He had met most of these heroes just hours ago, and was still in awe that he was in their company. Static had told him to be on standby for a trip to the Watchtower, but didn't think it would be under these circumstances
"I'd like to nominate Nightwing for league membership" Static finished.
"Seconded" Gear stated.
"All in favor?" Superman asked. Everyone raised their hands in agreement, even Batman. He figured Terry was adult enough to make his own decisions.
"Welcome to the Justice League." Superman said he has extended his hand.
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Back on Earth a sinister being looked toward the sky. The Joker was gone, but there were still other ways to defeat Batman and the Justice League.