Beyond Fullmetal
Chapter 5: By Any Means
A Fullmetal Alchemist / Batman Beyond crossover
By: Legato Deathscythe
Edward had finished talking to Blight and Shriek. He had more specific instructions for the two, and decided that no one else needed to know them. Grapevine and Elysia were going to stick around and coordinate things with the group while Batman ad Fullmetal went to make further arrangements. Fullmetal had been thinking the whole time and had figured that Ra's would be hitting major cities first, including Gotham. Especially Gotham.
"We need to make a few stops. Who do you know that would still put up some half way decent opposition aside from our friends in the warehouse?" Fullmetal asked Batman.
"A couple of people, why?"
"Because when we head out, except for the police, Gotham will be totally defenseless. Ra's is going to strike here as soon as he feels it's possible. He's obsessed with Batman and Bruce specifically. He'll want to hit Gotham and shove Bruce's face in how right he's always been," Fullmetal explained.
Batman nodded, "I was afraid you'd say that."
Fullmetal fell into thought for a moment, "Find us the nearest collection of Jokerz."
"What are you thinking now?"
"What better army to defend the city then a gang of territorial nuts?" Fullmetal answered.
"Most of them are just kids," Batman shot back.
Edward smirked and looked out the window. His voice seemed tinged with nostalgia as he said, "So are you, so was I."
Batman didn't press for more information. They found a group causing general mayhem close by. When Batman got a good look at him he just groaned, "I know this group. Didn't think they'd be dumb enough to go back to it after that business with the Joker."
"Pam told me about that, but didn't really have specifics. Sounds way too much like soul attachment alchemy for my tastes," Fullmetal said.
"Watch out for Woof, if we're lucky he won't be hungry today," Batman mentioned.
"Went up against a guy like that once. There was a reason that particular homunculus was called Gluttony."
"More alchemy type stuff?"
"Yup."
"Well, Woof is defiantly not a product of that," Batman said as they descended.
They swooped in, giving the jokerz on the ground a good scare. They tried to scatter as Batman and Fullmetal dropped out of the car. Batman just clung to a wall as Fullmetal stuck his hands in his pockets and walked over. They were all thrown a little off as Fullmetal said in a cheerful voice, "How ya' doin' tonight kiddies?"
That he was addressing them as Joker had creeped them out a bit. Batman had to admit it was a good idea. Fullmetal just kept his hands in his pockets as he said, "Batsy tells me you guys had some fun with and old acquaintance of mine a while back. You know who I mean, pale skin, big eyes, kind a kooky."
The Jokerz just started to circle Fullmetal as they started to feel a bit more confidant. Batman noticed, but instead of moving to assist he stuck with the plan and asked, "Need any help?"
Fullmetal pulled out his right hand, the light glinting off the steel and waved back, "Nah, I'm fine."
Ghoul, in his scarecrow-esque make up and hat said, "I heard about this guy, set one of J-Man's crew on fire."
"Whoa, look at you. I thought you were supposed to be a joker flunky, but you look more like the grandson of Dr. Crane. Sure you're in the right gang?" Fullmetal quipped.
Woof at that point jumped back and forth laughing like the hyena he was spliced with. Fullmetal stared at him and immediately his intellectual curiosity got the better of him. His left hand went to his chin while his right went to the small of his back. He leaned forward eyeing the human/hyena hybrid and said, "Fascinating. I know I've been gone forty years but this is something I didn't expect to find. I have seen some chimeras in my life but you take the cake. How was this done to you? How much of your mind is still human?"
Woof started to feel very uncomfortable with the examination. Batman took that moment to clear his throat and said, "Focus."
"Come on, Bats. It's not like they're going to be alive to talk to in a week or so," Fullmetal shot back.
That got their attention a lot more, "What are you talkin' about?"
"Didn't I mention? Well you see, Batsy and your Uncle Fullmetal are heading out to take care of some business. It's completely possible we'll end up dead in a ditch somewhere. Thing is that the guy we're going after wants to pretty much wipe out every human being on the planet. That includes you guys, your families, everyone you know. Obviously the bat and I will be going after him. But he might decide to hit Gotham while we're gone," Fullmetal said.
"Wait, did he just call himself Fullmetal DeeDee?" the DeeDee on the left asked.
"I believe he did, DeeDee," her sister on the right said.
"I swear I've heard that name before."
"Maybe Nana mentioned it once or twice."
Fullmetal turned on them, "I see my reputation precedes me girls. Though, you two both share a resemblance with someone I knew a long time ago."
"Wait, what do you expect us to do?" Ghoul demanded.
Fullmetal shrugged, "Well, spread the word around to your buddies about what's coming. You probably all want to go hide, or see your families. Things go sour, then you won't have much time left. Of course, if you want you could back up the police. They are going to be more interested in stopping these guys if it comes down to it then you doing whatever."
Fullmetal just strolled away with his right hand thrown back in a single wave, "We'll be heading off now. Tah. Oh, and DeeDee. Tell your Nana, 'Eddie and Red say hello.'"
Batman jumped up from the side of the building and flew up to the car as Fullmetal shot a grapple out to the car and reeled himself up. Once they were in they headed off to find their next contact Batman asked, "What was that about with the DeeDee's?"
"I think they're related to an old friend."
Batman just shook his head. He asked, "You think it will make a difference?"
"Can't hurt."
--
Back where the pair had left the jokerz, there was a little bit of panic starting to set in. The DeeDee's were starting to worry over their Nana Harl, "What are we gonna do? Maybe he was just kidding. You know, one big joke."
"Bats wouldn't be in on that sort of joke though DeeDee. He's not the type to threaten death and destruction," Ghoul pointed out.
Woof started whimpering in fright at the implication. Both of the girls started nervously petting him to try and calm him and their selves down, "Then what do you think we should do?"
"We're Jokerz, and this is our town. We need to warn the others, and then decide on what to do," Ghoul said. He wasn't stupid. If Batman was heading out that would usually be a good time for everyone. But stopping by with some guy who could wrap people up in walls, and if J-Man could be believed start a fire with a snap of his fingers to warn them about this meant something big was coming. They had to prepare. They all had families, even if they ran around causing general havoc. He even knew a few Jokerz who already had small kids.
"I say, we treat what Bats and Fullmetal said on the level. If it comes down to it, it's on us to protect everyone we even remotely care about. The way they were talking then no where is gonna be safe unless we take a stand," Ghoul said. His companions started nodding in agreement.
"So what do we tell our families? Where do we take them?"
"The main hideout is big enough for us to hide a bunch of people. Let's get to work, I got a feeling we ain't got much time. Call in all the gangs, and we might want to let the T's know as well. This is gonna be one big party. The more the merrier," Ghoul said. He took Woof with him and headed out to start making calls and setting a city wide meeting.
Delia and Deirdre nodded and followed Ghoul's lead. Still, they had a stop to make first. They shouted to Ghoul, "We'll meet up with you. We want to check on Nana Harl first!"
Ghoul turned to them and said, "Okay, and bring her down if it will make you feel better. I'll go on ahead and start assembling the troops."
They split up and headed to prepare for the worst.
--
It had been a quite night at the restaurant. Not many people felt like coming out in the middle of the week. Tips had been lousy, her feet hurt, and one of the cooks was making eyes at her in a way she really didn't like. At least having her brother working there as a dishwasher kept the more greasy idiots off her.
Melanie Walker sipped her coffee as she leaned against the wall. When the back door opened and her brother Jack walked out she felt a little more comfortable. It had been rough the last year, but she had managed to make it through. Both of them had, though neither had ventured out to pursue a personal life. It was all they could do to keep a roof over their heads.
"I can't wait to get home. My feet hurt, and Larry keeps undressing me with his eyes," Melanie said.
"If you want I can go see if we still have Mother's scepter in working order," Jack said, his voice joking.
The voice that answered however was the gruff deep voice of Batman, "You're probably going to need it."
They both looked up and saw Batman hanging above them. Fullmetal was no where to be seen, having been told to let the kid handle the pair. He wasn't too far away though, watching and waiting. Fullmetal didn't know what was going on but had a feeling there was a history between the new kid and the pair. Melanie was the one that spoke back to him, "We've gone straight Batman. We don't do that sort of thing anymore."
"Mummy and Daddy haven't broken out of jail have they? The divorce was bad enough," Jack said.
"If only it was something like that. You've been watching the news?" Batman asked.
"When we can," Melanie said.
"The guys wiping out entire towns. I'm going after the guy responsible, along with a few others. Thing is the guy has a bit of an obsession with Gotham. While I'm gone, the city will be defenseless except for the police, and maybe the military if it comes to it. I felt you two deserved a warning," Batman said.
Melanie's hand slid over her mouth. Jack placed a hand on his sisters shoulder and said, "How bad is it really?"
"Bad. So far they've left no survivors. If they hit Gotham, it's a good bet they'll do the same thing here. I'm not going to ask you to fight them, but you should at least be prepared to defend yourselves," Batman said.
Jack's eyes glanced sideways at his sister. He looked Batman in the eye and said, "Thanks for the warning."
Batman just gave them a two fingered salute and disappeared into the night. When he linked up with Fullmetal the older man had the decency not to ask for details. They just got back in the car and headed on through the night. Melanie started shaking a little as Jack wrapped an arm around her shoulders. They had to be ready.
--
"Nana Harl?!" the twins rushed in calling for their grandmother.
"What's with all the racket you scamps?" the old woman asked as she hobbled out on her cane.
"Bats found us tonight, he had some guy in a red cloak with him!" Deirdre said.
"He had a metal hand, and we heard he had actually set fire to one of J-Man's guys just by snapping his fingers!"
Nana Harl's old hands were shaking a little. She asked, "Did you get a name?"
"He called himself Fullmetal," Delia said.
"It was weird, he looked at us and said we reminded him of someone he knew," Deirdre continued.
"Told us to tell our Nana, Eddie and Red say Hello," they said at the same time.
Nana Harl just hobbled towards a chair and sat down, her old bone shaking at what the girls had told her. She was shaking her head slightly and just whispered in a shocked voice, "No, it couldn't be. He was killed."
"He told us something bad might be coming to Gotham. A bunch of guys trying to kill everyone they saw," Deirdre said.
Harl looked at her granddaughters, "And Batsy was there with him?"
They nodded, "He seemed serious, but he was talking like the Joker."
Nana Harl nodded, "He always did know how to get a point across."
The girls looked at her with wide eyes, "You really do know him?"
"It was a long time ago girls. I was a different woman all together. If he's warning us then we got to get out of here," Nana Harl said and tried to stand.
The DeeDee's just placed hands on her shoulders to steady her, "He said if he and Batman didn't manage to stop the guy behind it there wouldn't be anywhere safe to go."
"He also said that the guy they were after had a thing for Gotham."
"Ghoul and Woof are already heading to get the rest of the Jokerz gathered together."
"We figure we got enough space to hide a bunch of people down there."
"Jokerz ain't gonna let no body take our town from us."
"And we can at least cram in a bunch of our families down there if we need to."
Harl nodded at them, "That makes sense girls. But you and the rest of that gang are just kids. What do you think you can do against an army?"
The twins looked at each other then back at her, "Maybe a lot, maybe nothing at all."
"But we can make them work for every inch of street before we go."
"And maybe we can stop them from hurting anyone we care about."
Harl looked between the two and sighed, "Not even around him for two seconds and Eddie's already starting to rub off on you. So what do you think you are going to do then?"
"Right now we get the other jokerz to start preparing." they both said at once.
Harl nodded, but was floored when the twins said, "And we want you to come with us."
"Girls, I'm a old woman. I won't be of any help," she said.
They smiled honestly at her, "We just want to know your safe."
Harl smiled and pulled her girls into a hug. At least their hearts were in the right place this time around.
--
Jack and Melanie had found a emergency stash of their old equipment and were going over everything that could be helpful. They had even found parts to rebuild Ace, something Jack was working on while Melanie checked the weapons. They had decided on modifying things slightly however. They were done with their lives as professional thieves, that was all there was to it. They didn't want anything to do with the Royal Flush Gang ever again. So they had stripped any and all similarities to the time before from their gear.
The only hold over was Ace's programming, as neither was skilled enough to pull off the relatively simple process of renaming him in his code. It was hard work, but making everything seem less like bad playing cards would take them a while. They had already changed the scepter to be more of a staff. It still had the same capability to discharge a high energy blast, but was now also useful if Melanie needed to go close quarters. The sword was a little harder.
"I'll have to find a way to modify the blade later. We just don't have the material to change it's look and usability," Jack said, finishing with his connecting of Ace's arm.
"Well, at least we have something to protect ourselves ready. I'm just hoping Batman is wrong," Melanie said, her voice showing she was scared if only a little.
Jack noticed, "I've got the flying cards ready so we can at least make a quick escape. We'll stick to our first plan. If he's right and the worst happens we run fast."
Melanie nodded and sat down on the couch. She had her hands in her lap and was just starring at them. Jack noticed and sighed. His sister had been getting like this every now and again ever since that boy she liked had chosen his girlfriend over her. He understood why the kid had done what he did, going along with a life he had instead of following a girl who had arguably betrayed his trust. Still, he could tell what's on her mind.
"You're worried about that McGinnis kid aren't you?" Jack asked.
Melanie looked up with a melancholy smile, "Am I that transparent?"
"Only to someone who knows," Jack said.
Melanie shook her head, "I only have myself to blame for loosing him. I betrayed him, lied to him, and got myself locked up. I shouldn't expect anything, but I just can't help it."
Jack pulled her into a hug and held his sister close. He hated seeing her tear herself up over some guy, but in a way he could understand. She had never really been happy when they were part of the gang. That it had destroyed the one relationship she had been happy in just clinched it for her. Jack said, "I'm sure he'll be fine. He'll hold up with the old man he works for. Wayne probably has a panic room most people would be envious of."
She seemed to relax some at that idea. They settled down for a bit to rest, wary of the near future. They just hoped Batman was wrong.
--
The main hideout for Gotham city's most notorious gang was always a place of chaos. Fights broke out at random, young men and women cavorted without shame, gang members laughed and raised hell all night long. It was mayhem, pure unadulterated mayhem. Ghoul had been a part of this group of people for several years. To him this anarchy was the purest form of humanity one could find. Even though there was a respect among Jokerz for the heads of each gang and each other that didn't stop them from pranking their fellows. It was almost expected.
It was in fact a big shock at the mood of the assembled gang members to be so electrified with fear. Ghoul had been insistent that every member show up, that something major was going to happen and it was life or death. He hadn't gone into details, just told them to be there and then they would know what he knew. Chucko had caught up with him after he and Woof split from DeeDee. He had told his overweight buddy the news and what they were heading into. Chucko decided to let Ghoul do all the talking, he was better at it.
As Ghoul looked at the assembled mass he had to wonder how many people they actually had. The hideout was almost completely packed. He could eve hear some babies crying in the crowd as he stood before them on an elevated dais. It was then he got a hint at how big the gang might actually be. There had to be over a couple thousand people there, then there were those who hadn't gotten the call out or were in juvie or county. He took a breath to steady himself then cleared his throat.
"Listen up! We just got a warning from Batman and the guy calling himself Fullmetal. They said someones coming to kill everyone, and they weren't just talking about us Jokerz. They meant everyone, every person in Gotham. We all know bats doesn't go in for that kind of fun. We get roughed up, but he'd never off any of us. He wouldn't even kid about it, or let one of his buddies either. We all know that," Ghoul said, speaking loudly.
J-Man was the first to scream back, "That little monk flash fried one of my guys! And trusting Batsy? Are you losing your sense of humor Ghoul? You and the rest of your crew have been all weird ever since that crap with the guy claiming to be the original!"
"That guy was the original, J-Man. Don't ask me how he pulled it off but he was able to come back from the dead, until Batman finished him off. Even then, Bats wouldn't threaten our lives. We all know that. And this Fullmetal guy can set people on fire with a snap of his fingers. Even if they are lying to us, we can't afford the risk," Ghoul said.
A bigger dark skinned joker with white face paint and an orange coat named Trey asked, "So what do you want us to do? We ain't like the army or anything."
"Maybe not, but we do have a lot of people we all care about to watch out for. It ain't funny, but it's true. How many of you have family that stays topside? What are you gonna do if they are right and this guy comes and kills all of them? What about when he makes his way down here? How many of you got kids of your own already? You willing to just sit back and wait for some humorless stormtroopers to barge in and take us all out? To take them out before they can even walk?"
That had the desired affect. A lot of the crowd was now starting to shout back in the negative. There was still a strong voice of decent from J-Man. He had apparently been drafted as the voice for all the crews who didn't care or believe this was real, "Are you serious? This dreck is just completely unfunny, Ghoul! So what if Bats and some dreg in Red say the world is coming to an end. You actually believe them? Slagit! They can't be trusted, and this has to be the biggest joke in the world!"
"If Eddie says so then it's true ya rotten scamp!" an older voice rang out. Ghoul looked behind him and saw an old woman he knew to be Nana Harl walk in from the shadows behind him, DeeDee flanking her on both sides.
Ghoul set his hands on his hips as he smiled back at DeeDee. J-Man however was not impressed, "Whose the old mummy?"
Harley locked in on J-Man and immediately got pissed, "Who the Hell do you think you are dressing up like Puddin'!"
There was a moment of silence as J-Man incredulously answered, "Puddin'? Just who the Hell are you anyways mummy dearest?"
Nana Harl held her self with as much dignity as she could, "Forty years ago I used to be Harley Quinn. Barely survived the night Mista J bit the big one."
There was a burst of noise from the crowd. If Joker was the ideal the men in the gang lived up to, then Harley Quinn had always been the perfect moll for the girls. Harley's eyes though were anything but amused, "Let me tell ya! He wouldn't bother sticking around for any of ya. He'd run and leave you all behind to fight and take the fall for him, while he got out of dodge safe and sound. Did that to me more then a few times, letting me take the fall with the old Batman while he ran off. Are you gonna just run off and leave everyone else to take the fall for you? Are you?!"
No one spoke up at that. Harley kept going, "I know Fullmetal. Even if he's sixty he's still been able to kick your asses. He doesn't make things up either. He'll come out and tell you exactly what is going on, and won't pull any punches. If he says Hell's coming to Gotham then you all better listen."
That had turned the tide. Sure, they could write off any one of them saying this as a joke. But THE Harley Quinn backing them up made a big difference. Even if she was old and feeble she had a rep no one was going to argue with. Ghoul stepped up and took over, "We need to start planning. Get together everything you can; food, water, weapons. We need blockades ready to go at all the exits, and we need fast ways to get as many people as we can from the surface to here as possible. We don't have much time, move it you clowns!"
The Deed's lead Harley over to a chair to let her rest while the others got to work. She was honestly smiling for the first time they could really remember. They looked at her as she sat there and let her get more comfortable. Deirdre asked, "So why do you trust this Fullmetal guy so much?"
Harley just smiled, "He was the only man who ever put an honest smile on Red's face."
–
"The final preparations are set. We'll be ready to move in three hours, My Lord."
"Excellent. Ensure the Gotham Strike force is clear on their orders. I want the Detective and his protégées brought before me, as well as the Alchemist. I want them to bare witness to the dawn of the new order," Ra's said from the shadows.
--
The car came in and landed in it's spot easily enough. As the pair jumped out they were met by Bruce. The trio continued down the stairs towards the super-computer that dominated the cave area. Bruce confronted Edward, "I don't like the idea of positioning the Jokerz as a defensive force."
"I know, but I also know that we don't have many other options. League's going to be tied up all over the planet. Push comes to shove I'd rather have them making Ra's life a little harder then joining the general chaos," Edward said.
It was sound military strategy, Bruce had to admit. He had to remind himself that Edward was a military officer, not just a solitary nighttime protector. He was approaching the issue in a way Bruce wouldn't, and there were aspects he didn't agree with. He didn't trust any of the six people Edward was taking in to do the job, but he was sure Edward didn't either. His plan was rather simple, if a bit difficult to pull off. Inque had already been transported out to the site and had begun her infiltration. The rest would go in by JLU transporter in three hours. All except him and Batman, they would be heading out in the car.
"Are we set?" Edward asked.
Bruce nodded, "Everything is ready. I've set your radio's to pick up both the frequency you have for the group as well as the frequency from here. Only you two will have the channel for the cave."
"You'll be monitoring through the suit as well, so at least you'll have a heads up as we go," Terry mentioned.
Bruce nodded, and then turned towards them. He appraised both his protégées and his old friend. He remembered the last time Edward had flown off with him to face Ra's. Hopefully this time however he would be coming back. Edward turned to Terry for a moment and said, "Go let everyone know we're heading out soon."
Terry got the message behind that, that Edward needed to talk to Bruce alone. Terry nodded and left the two to speak. Once he was well gone Edward turned to Bruce and said, "You know what I'm going to have to do this time."
Bruce fixed a hard look at him and said, "You're planning on killing Ra's."
Edward shook his head, "It's not just about killing him Bruce."
"Taking a life is never an acceptable option. You know that."
Edward sighed, "That's when your talking about justice. This isn't just about that, or avenging the lives of the millions of people dead or condensed into stones. Can you tell me truthfully that Ra's technique of transferring his consciousness from body to body frees the victim's soul?"
Bruce shook his head, "No."
"And that's why I have to kill him. We don't know if he's still in Talia, or if he's had to switch. But, if I'm right all he's done is erase the mind and over write it with his own," Edward explained.
"Do you really think killing him will bring them back?"
Edward smiled sadly, "Of course not, but that's the thing. Their minds are gone, and their souls are trapped. This isn't about just ending Ra's once and for all. The best thing I can do for the soul still trapped to that body is to ensure it can rest in peace."
Bruce couldn't argue that logic. It was a sick situation, where a death had to happen to allow an innocent soul peace. Still, he didn't like it. He just understood it. He also knew that Edward wasn't one to kill unless he felt it absolutely necessary. He was a soldier, he had to make that call that Bruce never would. Nothing more was said as Terry returned followed by Pamela.
Edward looked at the kid as he pulled on his mask. He asked, "You say your farewells kid?"
Terry just nodded and went to the car. Edward walked over to Pamela and pulled her into his arms. Edward just inhaled the ever present floral scent from her and said, "I'll be back before you know it."
"I know you will. We'll see what we can do about saving the plants of the world after you finish saving it in general," she said.
"I'm all for protecting that which can't protect itself," he said, with a confident grin on his face.
She smiled at him, then pulled him in for a deep passionate kiss. When they finally broke she smiled, "At least this time you don't have to stay behind."
"When I get back, we'll figure out the details."
Pamela smiled and kissed him again. They separated and Edward walked backwards until he had to turn around, his cloak billowing in his wake. As the car lifted off the pad and headed out she felt a tear fall down her cheek. She turned away and went to sit with Bruce and wait.
As the car headed out Edward took a look back and saw something in a window in the upper floors of the manor. He smiled as he saw the light flashing from one of the windows. He chuckled as he said, "Take a look behind us."
Terry checked the reverse view and saw the light, "What are they doing?"
"Flashing a light in the window, so we can find our way home," Edward said.
Dana, Iris, Max, and Matt watched the retreating form of the Batmobile as they kept flashing the lantern General Hughes had set up.
To Be Continued...
Author's Notes: Some setup for the coming storm. Also finally decided that this fic is in the wrong category. It really is supposed to be in Batman Beyond as I see this focusing more on that continuity with Ed being a visitor.
Thanks to Ryan and datdude