Season 2 Episode 9: God Vs. Man

My name is Bruce Wayne. When I was 8 years old, my parents were killed by an evil. And so I made a promise to fight that evil. I traveled the world for 18 years, and returned to Gotham City to protect it. Now I have new allies, helping me in my crusade, but I also have new enemies. New threats have arrived in my city, and I must stop them. I am vengeance. I am the night. I am the Batman.

Previously on the Batman...

Bruce has visited Metropolis before

Batman has complicated relationships with the police

I really want to write down more but that's really it.

A bath is drawn and a man steps in and lies down. The water goes up to his chin and he closes his eyes. That's when he hears a loud bash coming from outside the bathroom. He opens his eyes and looks through the crack of the door. In comes a man in a trench coat with a gun and fires it. It hits the man in the head twice, killing him. The killer leaves as the water in the bathtub turns red.

Gordon and his team is looking at photos of the crime scene.

"This murder was done on Thanksgiving. Just like the murder done on Halloween, and the one done on Labor Day. There's a serial killer on the loose in this city and he only strikes on holidays, in case you haven't noticed. Luckily, one witness was able to identify him last week. He's Julian Day. With this lead, we've tracked him down to his apartment. That's why I've called you here, gentlemen. We're going to storm that place and brings this son of a bitch to justice. Am I clear?" Gordon explains.

The cops nod their heads.

"Then move out!" He orders.

A SWAT team runs into the apartment building in which Day lives in and break down the door. They look through the apartment but find no one.

"He's gone." One of the officers states.

They see his computer, but it's password protected.

"Dammit." Gordon says upon seeing this.

Batman walks in from the shadows and plugs a flashdrive into the computer.

"I've got this. Oracle..."

Barbara, with an earpiece and in the Batcave, starts hacking into the computer and eventually unlocks it. Batman looks through the computer.

"Batman, I've already checked the entire computer. I've found nothing except for a recent purchase of plane tickets." She says.

"Plane tickets? To where?"

"Metropolis. The flight it's for took off 30 minutes ago."

"Damn. He's already gone."

The Batman

Batman drives into the Batcave with his Batmobile.

"What now?" Barbara asks.

"Now...I go to Metropolis." Batman says as he takes off his mask. "He's just going to start killing again there."

"But...Metropolis isn't Gotham."

"So? Batman doesn't just protect one city. If Julian Day is running, I'll chase him. I'm not just going to let him go because he moved."

"What about Dick? Should he come, too?"

"No. He still has to recover from the fear toxin. I'll go by myself in the morning. I'll be back in a few days."

"Gone so soon?"

"I'm not letting Julian Day get far. Holiday must be brought down. You can help Dick protect Gotham while I'm gone."

A/N: Yes, I know Julian Day is Calendar Man and Holiday is (Spolier Alert for the Long Halloween, great book, you should read it) Alberto Falcone. But since I'm not going to the Long Halloween storyline in this series and Calendar Man is a pretty stupid name, (At least Holiday doesn't sound too bad) I'm changing his name. It's not a big deal. Get over it.

"On it. Good luck, Bruce."

Bruce nods and walks out of the Batcave.

The next day, in the afternoon, Bruce's private jet lands on the runway in Metropolis. He walks out and steps in a car. He puts his stuff in the back and starts driving into the city. He stops off and walks into his penthouse.

Later that day, Bruce opens up a laptop and contacts Barbara.

"Barbara, I need leads on Julian Day. Have you got anything?" Bruce asks.

"As a matter of fact, I found a huge house near the outskirts of Metropolis, and it's owned by Mr. Day."

"Thank you, Barbara. I'm heading out there now."

Bruce suits up in his Batsuit and reaches the roof of his penthouse. As he swings across the buildings towards the house, inside, Julian is loading his gun and then scratching off the serial number. Then Batman breaks through the window and sees Mr. Day. He throws a Batarang at him but Julian grabs his gun and jumps to the ground to dodge. He tries firing to hit Batman in the leg but he misses. He gets up and runs across the room. He grabs his trench coat and fires again. Batman uses his gauntlets on his forearms to block the bullets, as their bulletproof.

He protects himself with his forearm by putting it in front of him and charging at him. Julian then runs out of bullets and exits the house. He runs down the street as fast as he can as Batman breaks through the window. Batman throws a tracker and it attaches to his coat. Julian reaches the end of the street and runs over to a taxi and hops in. The taxi drives off and Batman misses it.

Batman stands atop a tall skyscraper in Metropolis, and then he checks where the tracker has gone. To his surprise, Julian is at the Metropolis Police Department, or MPD. Batman calls Oracle.

"Oracle, what's going on at the MPD building?" Batman asks.

"Hold on, give me a second. ... Nothing. It's clear."

"Was Julian Day arrested?"

"...nnno."

"Then why does his tracker lead to the MPD?"

"I have no idea."

Batman checks the tracer again.

"Now he's leaving."

"I should tell you that one of the officers in the MPD has been really suspicious. Some other officers say he has ties to Julian Day, though nothing's confirmed."

"There's a corrupt officer in the department. I'll take him down. Thanks, Oracle."

The corrupt officer, Jones, steps out of the MPD building and walks over to his car. He uses his keys to unlock it before a rope gets tied around his legs, and he zips up to the rooftop. He yells as he reaches the top and is hung upside down.

On the roof, he sees the Batman.

"What the hell? Who are you?!" He yells.

"Julian Day. I know you work with him."

"WHAT?!"

"I tracked Julian Day here, to this building, and you have ties to him. I know it."

"Who the hell even is Julian Day?"

"DON'T LIE TO ME!"

"Ah God...Jesus CHRIST!"

"Shut up!"

"I didn't work with him! I don't work with him!"

"I know the truth. You're wasting your time. Which you don't have much left of."

"Please!"

Batman stares at him, before headbutting him, knocking him unconscious, and lets go of the line, and he zips back to the ground, stopping before he hits the concrete, and then getting let go.

Meanwhile, Julian Day drives down the street in his car. He looks out the window and sees Batman standing atop a building at the end of the street.

"Oh shit." He says.

Batman throws a Batarang and it breaks the front window. Julian swerves the car and takes a U-Turn down another street. Batman grapples to another building and goes after the car. He runs across the rooftops, jumping between the gaps. Batman eventually catches up with the car but takes out some smoke pellets and tosses them to the car.

The car drives straight out of the smoke cloud and steps on the brakes. Batman jumps from the roof towards the car. The car reverses down the street and takes a left, and drives away. Julian looks around and breathes a sigh of relief. Then he sees Batman gliding above his car.

He rolls down the window and points out his gun, firing at Batman. One bullet cuts through his cape and Batman grapples to a building down the street. Once he reaches the buildings, he hangs onto the grapple hook, and pulls out four Batarangs.

He then dive bombs down to the street and throws the four Batarangs in mid-air, and they all hit the tires. The car slows down as Batman swerves up at the last minute, and slams down onto the ground. Julian Day steps out and runs into a nearby hotel.

Julian reloads his gun and fires at Batman out the door, and then runs up the staircase. The residents of the building hear the gunshots. One man steps out of his apartment on the second floor and sees Holiday. Holiday knocks him down and beats him with a gun. He turns and sees Batman break into the building. Holiday then runs through the hallways. Batman chases after him.

Later, a SWAT truck rolls up to the hotel and hop out. They run into the hotel and run down the hallway. Holiday pokes out from behind a pillar and fires at them. Batman then rolls out a couple of smoke pellets that explode, and stun the SWAT officers. Batman then charges Holiday and grabs him. He break out of the window and fall from the floor. Batman dives bombs towards Holiday and grabs him. He then extends his cape to slow the fall before they land in the pool.

Julian climbs out and rips off his trench coat. Another SWAT team run out to the back. They throw tear gas towards the pool. Julian grabs a hat and covers his face and runs. The tear gas dissipates as Batman hops out of the water. The officers look at Batman.

"Freeze!" They yell.

"Julian Day is getting away. I am not your priority."

"Is this that Bat thing from Gotham?" Another asks.

"He's a vigilante!"

"Arrest him!" They all shout.

Batman turns and sees Julian running down the street, escaping.

"Hands on your head!"

Batman grapples to the roof of the hotel and gets away. They fire but miss.

Julian looks up as he's running and sees Batman gliding towards him. Julian immediately stops running and runs over to a sewer grate. He slips into a sewer and runs down the tunnel. Batman drops down the hole as well. Batman throws a Batarang at Julian that hits his legs. He trips and falls into a pool of sewage water.

He swims back up to the top and swims over to a ladder. He climbs to the top of the ladder. Batman jumps across the gap towards the ladder, and holds onto the rungs. Holiday reaches the top and climbs into the tunnel. He runs down the tunnel as Batman reaches the top. He sees Julian running towards a split path at the end of the tunnel.

Then a huge gust of wind enters the tunnel, almost a sonic boom is heard as Batman is pushed back down the tunnel and over the edge. He grabs onto the ladder and climbs back up to the tunnel and peers over the edge of the tunnel.

There he sees a man, floating, and holding Holiday against a wall. The Superman. The SWAT team runs from the tunnels and surround Holiday.

"Thanks, Superman!" The SWAT officer says.

"No problem. I've got to go." Superman says.

He drops Holiday and he gets surrounded and put in handcuffs. Batman grapples across the gap to the other tunnel. He runs down there before he sees more SWAT officers hop down the ladder into the sewers.

"Hey! Batman's here! Don't move!" He shouts.

Batman turns and sees the other SWAT officers across the gap around Holiday. He's surrounded. Batman then goes over to the gap and grapples up the hole. He runs through more tunnels and runs into a room. He sees several tunnels leading in each direction. He hears running and yelling coming from a couple of the tunnels. He's not sure which.

"The vigilante! He's in here somewhere! We have to find him! Orders say shoot to kill!" They say.

Batman calls Alfred.

"Alfred, call in the Batwing to my location." Batman orders.

Static is heard on the other end. Only sentence fragments.

"Alfred? Alfred?"

Batman runs down a tunnel and around a corner. He sees a SWAT officer who points his gun at Batman. Batman jumps up and then ducks down to throw off his aim. He grabs the bottom of the gun and points it towards the ceiling. He pulls it out of his hands and elbows him in the side of his face. He drops the gun and runs down the tunnel.

He sees the police captain poke out from behind a corner. Batman grabs him by his collar and throws him down the tunnel. Batman hops on top of the officer. He punches him in the face over and over again until another SWAT officer runs up behind Batman and points his gun at him.

"Hey! Get off of him! Captain?" He starts.

Batman slowly stands up and turns his head to the officer.

"Listen rookie, if you ever want to see your family again, you'll drop your weapon, and RUN."

The rookie listens and runs down the tunnel.

Batman turns a corner and climbs up the ladder to the street. He closes the sewer grate and looks around. No one is on this street. He sees a building and pulls out his grappling hook. He fires the hook, but it gets caught by Superman in mid air before it even reaches the building.

"You need to stop." Superman tells him.

"I don't need to do anything you tell me." Batman says.

Superman tears the grappling hook from Batman's hands.

"I'm bringing you in. Whether it's forcefully or willingly, is up to you."

"Why should I be brought in? I'm here to bring in Julian Day. He was a serial killer that needed to be defeated. It didn't look like YOU were doing it. Someone had to."

"You think you're doing the right thing, but what about those SWAT officers you attacked? What about Jones? Do they not count?"

"Jones was corrupt. Those officers attacked me first. I needed to get through them to do my job. I didn't kill anyone. They'll heal."

"Yeah, well that job is called vigilantism. And it's a crime."

"It's the right thing to do. And I do what the law can't. What about that gang you recently fought? Metropolis 78? You could've defeated them, but you followed the laws rules, and it got innocent people killed."

"You still broke the law. That makes you just as bad as Julian Day."

"No." Batman firmly states. "I'm not. There are lines even I won't cross. But vigilantism isn't one of them."

Batman picks up his grappling hook and points it toward a nearby building.

"I'm heading back to Gotham. Worry about your own city." Batman turns to Superman. "Don't follow me."

Batman turns to the building when Superman flies in front of it.

"I'm not just letting you leave. You come into my city and start beating on it's police. I told you I'm bringing you in. Tonight. Now I'll give you one last chance. Are you going to be brought in peacefully, or aggressively?"

Batman pretends to throw a punch from his left hand, but Superman grabs his wrist. Then Batman uses his right hand and places a sonic device on his head. The loud frequency stuns Superman, but Superman destroys the device and super speeds Batman up against the wall of a building. Batman reaches into his belt and pulls out a container of acid. He drops it on Superman's eyes.

Superman lets Batman go, stunned once again, and Batman places a bomb on his chest. Superman gets knocked back, and then gets up again a few seconds later. He then sees Batman fleeing down an alleyway. Batman grapples up to a roof and breaks through a skyline window into a museum. Superman then breaks through a wall.

"I've had enough." He states.

Batman throws several Batarangs at him but Superman claps and crushes the Batarangs. The clap knocks Batman back. The Batwing then flies overhead. Batman grapples up to it towards it. Superman fires the lasers from his eyes and burns the zipline. Batman starts falling but then he starts gliding down to a lower ledge on another building.

Batman replaces the cut hook with a spare hook on the grapple. He aims the grappling hook towards a building but Superman flies in front of the hook, blocking his aim. Batman then quickly aims behind him and fires it at another building in the opposite direction of Superman.

"Fool me once."

He zips up the street and then starts gliding. Superman then grabs Batman in mid air and they land on the ground, but Superman lands first to make sure Batman doesn't die. They both get up from the crash, and turns to Batman. Batman is hurt, and then, as a last resort, throws a punch towards Superman. Superman speeds behind Batman. Batman turns and sees him there.

Batman throws a punch again but Superman once again speeds away. Batman starts throwing punches but Superman dodges each punch with super speed. Superman stops dodging and Batman actually hits Superman. Superman rolls with the punch, and all of Batman's fingers in his left hand breaks. Batman yells and grabs his left hand.

Superman then slams an open palm into Batman's chest, and Batman slides across the ground. Three ribs break. Superman walks up to Batman.

"You're lucky I rolled with that punch. You could've crippled yourself." Superman says. "Look, I'm sorry. Let's get you some help back at the MPD."

Four SWAT officers run up and surround Batman.

"Thanks. Wanted this jerk for a while." The officer says.

"Alright. He needs medical attention though. Be careful, he's a tricky one. I've got to go. Someone's in trouble." Superman states and flies away.

Batman slowly stands up, one hand tucked beneath his cape, and hunched over from his ribs.

"I didn't even think this guy existed." One officer says.

"Alright. Let's put him in cuffs."

Then Batman drops a smoke bomb down, and the officers take a step back. Batman stands up straight and takes a breath as the SWAT officers move in. Batman pulls out the grappling hook with his right hand and fires it at their guns, and pulls it out of their hands. Without their guns, they all charge into the cloud of smoke.

Batman kicks on officer in the gut and knees him in the forehead. He punches another officer with his good hand and roundhouses another. He dodges two punches from the last officer but his ribs hurt while doing so. He dodges another punch and gives the officer a headbutt. He elbows the officer he punched when the first officer tackles him from behind.

Batman falls on his back, crushing him between him and the ground. Batman struggles to get up when one officer kicks him in the head. Batman uses his good hand to grab his foot and trip him. Batman stands up when his good hand gets grabbed by an officer.

The 3 officers all charge Batman. Batman kicks one in front of him in the groin, and then kicks him in the forehead. He elbows another one in the face and then kicks the first officer down. The other officer throws a punch, but Batman moves his head back to dodge. He blocks another punch using his forearm, and knees him in the stomach. An officer runs up from behind and throws a punch. Batman ducks his head, and when the officer goes back to elbow Batman, Batman blocks the strike with his arm, swipes his hand away, and headbutts the officer away. All while his hand being held by the other officer. He turns, and with all his strength, punches the last officer in the face with his broken hand. He yells in pain, but the officer lets him go.

Batman grabs an officer with his good hand and tosses him to the ground. He kicks another one in the chest, then the groin, and when he keels over, kicks him to the ground from the side. One officer sneaks up behind Batman and kicks Batman in his broken ribs. Batman falls to a knee, but pushes the SWAT officer back. He gets up, and with his good hand, punches him across the face. The officer rolls with the punch until he spins around and is facing away from Batman, and then falls to the ground, face first.

The last SWAT officer comes charging at him with a gun, but Batman throws a few Batarangs, two knocking the gun from his hand, and the last hitting him in the face, knocking him out.

Batman looks around at the unconscious bodies around him, before stumbling down the street, and into the night, injured.

The Batman

To Be Continued on the Adventures of Superman...

Next Time on the Batman: Under New Management (2x10)

Batman, Robin and Barbara all team up with the GCPD to track down the shadow and his team, but the shadow enacts the next step of his plan.

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