Accessing archives…
Universe 43: the Nightmare Universe…
Accessing personal files: Harvey Dent…
Gotham's district attorney had been having a bad day. Then again, everyone in the planet had been having a bad day. The reemergence of dark forces that blanket the Earth tended to put a damper on morale. For the people of Gotham though, it was much worse. There were only three fortifiable locations in the whole city that hadn't been compromised: Arkahm Asylum, the Iceberg Lounge, and the recently opened to the public Batcave. Harvey had the eternal misfortune of being in the foremost of those.
"So, lover boy, how long do you think it will take the bat this time? A few hours? The whole night? I have things to do." Poison Ivy asked
"Have a little faith dear. We all know Batsy will come through in the end." The Joker said.
"Would you two be quiet? Those of us who aren't homicidal freaks are trying to do something here." Harvey said.
"What did you ever see in him?" Scarecrow asked.
"A corpse." Ivy said, prompting the Joker to burst into laughter.
"How do you stay sane in here?" Harvey asked the psychiatrist nearby.
"They're much nicer when you get to know them." She said.
"Thanks Quinzel." Ivy said. Before Harvey could say anything, something black burst through the window.
"If you shoot me Cash, I'll break your fingers." It threatened, causing the security officer to holster his weapon.
"Batsy! Did you miss me?" Joker asked as the caped crusader stood up.
"Please tell me you're here to throw Sewer King to the monsters." Scarecrow said.
"Shut up. Dent, how's everyone holding up?" Batman asked.
"Would be better if we didn't have psychos all over the place. I don't suppose you have a Bat-bus that can get these people out of here?" Dent asked.
"No. More importantly, I wouldn't want to leave the inmates to the monsters either." Batman said.
"Alright, maybe I misunderstood, you want us to protect the killers that we had to put in cages?" Dent asked.
"They're bad enough alive. Do you really want to see what a vampire Joker can do?" Batman asked.
"Fine, I won't let them die. But that's all you get from me." Dent said.
"That's all I ask." Batman said.
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The bat had been turned. It was all over the news. Hell, it was the news. Dracula had fallen just to be replaced by the one who brought him down. Gotham had hit a new level of desperation. Which meant they needed to stoop to new levels.
"You're sure this is the only way?" Dent asked, walking the halls of Arkham.
"Yes." Huntress replied.
"We can't just have Zatanna summon something?" Nigma asked.
"No." Huntress said.
"Is she always like this?" Scarecrow asked from his cell.
"Yes." Dent and Nigma said.
"Ah, the old warden. Haven't seen you in a while. Finally time for us to kick the bucket? I should warn you, I've died before. It didn't work." Joker said.
"Shut up clown, you're getting out." Dent said. For a few seconds, Arkham was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
"So, you need bait?" Ivy said.
"I'll take it from here my friend with personal vendettas." Nigma said, stepping in front of the D.A. "I'm sure you've heard of the Batman's recent run-in with Dracula. Even in here, you probably get some form of radio. If not, we have lost our greatest hero. As such, Huntress, Cobblepot, myself, and a handful of others elected to recruit you, the only individuals that ever stood a chance against Batman before, into our little band. We believe your expertise in our new… opponent, will give us an advantage. Plus, it will allow us to consolidate to the Iceberg Lounge exclusively as our base of operations. Now that the Batcave has been compromised so to say, we no longer feel it is safe to keep civilians there. So what do you say? Are you willing to fight the good fight, save Gotham, and win a get out of Arkham free card?"
After a few moments, Joker spoke up, "I don't hear any objections."
"Then let's get out of here. I don't want to stay in this place any longer than I have to." Man-Bat said.
"Hang on Langstrom, you're under my surveillance." Huntress said, walking over to the cage he had been put in.
"Special treatment already?" Langstrom asked.
"Hardly. We don't trust you to fight with us against the vampires." Huntress said.
"Um, guys? Some creeps seem to be heading our way." One of the cops that came with the 'rescue team' said.
"Lovely. Alright, here's your first test. Looks like we're shooting our way out." Dent said, pumping his shotgun.
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Zombies. Why did it have to be zombies? Of all the monsters, the plague on legs had to be the worst. The only way to put them down for any real length of time was a nice shot between the eyes, and most rookies weren't that accurate. More men were lost to the hordes than even Joker could have laid claim to back in his criminal days.
So, when Harvey was caught right in the middle of a whole building full of zombies with only Dr. Crane and officer Montoya, he was less than happy.
"Crane! We gave you an axe because you can't shoot. Don't tell me you're too slow to hit a zombie before they get to you too." Montoya joked as she capped off a handful of the zombies around her. Her comrades were somewhat less successful.
"There are dozens of them! I need to have a discussion with Mr. Fox and Miss Quinzel when we get back. Their little 'weapons upgrades' aren't exactly helping." Crane said.
"Would you two quiet down? I have a plan." Dent said, "Make for the elevator. At close range, even you two can take out anything in there. I'll distract them out here for a bit, then go out the window."
"There's a fire escape right?" Montoya asked.
"That's what I'm hoping for." Dent said. Less than a minute later, the elevator was at their floor.
"See you at the bottom." Montoya said as the doors shut.
Dent loaded his shotgun for what he hoped would not be his last time. All he had to do was cut a path to the window. He charged. The shotgun took out almost anything in front of him. It didn't need to kill at this point, just clear. So when Dent crashed out the window and onto a flagpole, he had managed to not get injured. However, considering he was hanging just a few feet above the second floor of the building, that probably wouldn't last.
Just then, the door opened below. Shots went off, knocking a few zombies away from the door as Crane came out lugging his axe and taking swings.
"Hey you two! Think you can catch me if I drop?" Dent shouted. Crane looked up and tossed his axe to the side, holding out his arms. At that point, Dent was alerted to a piercing pain in his left knuckles. One of the monsters had crawled out and gnawed on his hand. Dent made sure to blast its head off before dropping.
The descent put him more on top of Crane than actually in his would be savior's arms. Still, there weren't too many broken bones. Montoya had already managed to hotwire a car, so the three were able to evade the monsters after that and got back to base.
End log. Playing next in profile…
"Can you heal him?" Nigma asked. A handful of the more successful survivors were all crowded around a table that Dent had been laid out on. Zatanna was attempting to tend to his wounds.
"Heal? No. The virus already hit his entire left side. I've tried to buffer it from getting any further, but that effectively means his heart has stopped temporarily." The mage explained.
"So he's gonna turn?" Quinzel asked from behind Joker.
"I call dibs on shooting him if he does." The psycho clown said.
"Shut up. He won't turn unless the virus spreads further in his blood stream. Does anyone here have any medical experience?" Zatanna asked. Quinzel and Crane raised their hands.
"Non-psychiatric medical experience." Zatanna clarified. Quinzel's hand went down.
"Crane, I need you to stop blood from getting out." Zatanna said.
"What are you going to do?" The good doctor asked.
"Give him a new heart. An enchanted one. It'll stop the blood from circulating in his left side while still providing energy to that side so he can control it." Zatanna said, "Now, get ready. Three. Two. One."
With a light poof, a pumping heart appeared above the operating table. Crane caught it and put it onto a mostly sterile tray.
"Joker, you can burn that later. We don't want any contagion spreading." Nigma said.
"There." Zatanna said, standing back from Dent's body.
"He looks… fine." Crane remarked, glancing at the heart monitor. Miraculously, it showed a faint beat.
"That'll change. Remember, half of him is zombie now. In a couple of days, it'll show. He'll still be himself, but I don't want him out in the field for a few weeks." Zatanna said, shooting Huntress a dirty look.
"What? Fine, I'll keep him here. At least until we know what's going on." Huntress said.
"So where is the split, exactly?" Crane asked, leaning over Dent's body. Zatanna traced a line, practically right down Dent's center, from his head to his feet.
"That will make for an… interesting look." Nigma said.
"Ah, he won't mind. What's life without a little flair?" Joker said, "Now, if you don't mind, I have some zombie heart to incinerate."
End all logs in profile.