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Caped Crusader
All Hallows

November 1. All Hallows Day. Like any good predator, Batman knew the moves his prey would take to evade him. He used that knowledge to his advantage. This new player in Gotham, this Catwoman, had not sided with either the mob or the League of Shadows. She worked on her own.

Rats deserting a sinking ship could not fully describe what had happened in Gotham. The botched arms deal had finally triggered the long-awaited war between the Falcones and Maronis. The weapons brought on a ship from Kasnia fanned the flames of their mutual hatred.

The mob-controlled police felt the worst of it. Already Commissioner Gillian B. Loeb contemplated his plans in a Gotham without the mob. Rā's al Ghūl had dismantled the mob but most likely for his own warped reasons. Rā's al Ghūl, like Batman, had a crusade of his own.

"Hello there, stud." A whip shot out at Batman's face. Unmoved, he grabbed it and pulled it out of her hand. That really put her over the edge. The two exchanged blows. She had decent training, probably from one of the many back-alley dojos in Gotham. When Batman asked about the burglaries, she hissed and scratched at him. "Trust me. Carmine Falcone owes me this money."

Catwoman delivered a roundhouse kick to his throat. For a moment, Batman had trouble breathing. "You're good," Batman confessed as she walked into his snare. "But not that good." As she hung upside from the monofilament cable, Batman smiled. "Steal in my town again and I'll tell everyone your secret . . . Selina."

With that, Batman departed. Batman drove home to Wayne Manor. There in the front lawn waited Rā's al Ghūl and the entire League of Shadows, all wearing gas masks just as he said. Rā's al Ghūl made the terms simple. Defeat him in a sword duel and he'd leave Gotham without a fight. Lose and he would kill Alfred.

Before the fight began, Bruce Wayne took off his mask and asked the crucial question. "Why? You live for seven centuries and you'll know why. You'll know the disgust of watching history repeat itself. You already know the desire to make the world a better place." Rā's al Ghūl patted his grandson Damian on the head. "Join us, Detective, and we can rule Gotham together as a family."

Bruce shook his head in disappointment. "I don't want to rule anything. I just want you and your thugs out of my town." With that, the sword fight started. Rā's al Ghūl moved into striking range. Within minutes, he had disarmed Bruce, never realizing that he had allowed him the easy victory. Bruce launched a batarang into his left eye.

Jack, back at the circus, let him read the Anarchist Cookbook once. It had a lot of helpful hints. Though Bruce hated guns and killing, loading himself down with homemade explosives to stop an immortal madman from plunging his city into a dark age fell comfortably into his gray zone. The scarecrow had released his hallucinogen this morning in a subway station on Washington Boulevard. Many died.

Bruce donned his mask again. Bruce could tell he had broken the fighting spirit of the immortal Rā's al Ghūl, the Demon's Head. "If I ever see you in Gotham again, you'll lose more than an eye." Rā's gave the signal. Bruce had broken the rules of the contest. Quite simply, Bruce had gotten himself disqualified. His butler would have to die.

At that moment, Lady Shiva looked ready to break Alfred's neck. On cue with his daring performance, Bruce showed them the self-destruct mechanism of his utility belt. He considered using a mock-up but he could not run the risk of the assassins knowing the difference. "As you know, I could not live with myself if I killed anyone. Having said that, I have no qualms about killing myself and taking you all with me."

The League of Shadows had no choice but to accept their defeat. Even the Lazarus Pits could not save them if Bruce Wayne pushed that button. As they carried their fallen leader away, Bruce pulled Talia aside. "Take care of Damian, Talia. Don't let him turn out like his grandfather." Bruce paused. "Or his father."

Batman visited Arkham Asylum. Harleen Quinzel, a resident intern, unlocked all the cells in the maximum security wing. In the ensuing mayhem, Victor Fries escaped. Batman still hadn't tracked down the scarecrow, wanted by Homeland Security for domestic terrorism. There, amidst the sounds of madmen, feelings of recognition came over him like brief glimpses of the future intruding on the present.

All Hallows' Day ended at midnight with Bruce Wayne visiting the graves of his parents for the first time. As he left roses on their tombstones, Bruce looked to see something unusual. He saw his bat symbol in the last place he would have looked, in the skies high above the city. James Gordon promised to set up an alternate means of communication as soon as he made Captain.

Rā's al Ghūl had left Gotham in shambles. His attempt to make history nearly destroyed a city. Gotham needed the Caped Crusader. With gang wars tearing the streets apart, the city needed a savior. And the good people of Gotham would have one for as long as Bruce Wayne drew breath.

The End