Season 2 Episode 16: Nowhere to Run

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...

Scarecrow stole mind control drugs basically

Mixed them with his fear gas

Lucius got fired out of Cobblepot Enterprises

Shadow kidnapped Batgirl

Gordon sees Barbara's dead body

Shadow gave Gordon evidence on Batman's true identity and tells him to make Batman and Robin outlaws

I have issued an arrest warrant on Bruce Wayne and his ward, Dick Grayson, now known to be the vigilante duo Batman and Robin. If you have any info on these two, or the location of my daughter's body, please contact us.

Bruce and Dick watch Gordon make this statement at a press conference on the TV at Wayne Manor.

"This is bad..." Dick comments.

"How the hell does Gordon know who we are?" Bruce asks.

"Barbara's dead.."

"Dick, I'm sorry. But we have to go. The police could be on their way here."

Bruce hears police sirens coming from outside. Dick turns. He runs outside to the balcony and sees a SWAT truck park on the front yard and a SWAT team step out.

"Dammit!" Dick says and runs back inside. "They're here."

"Into the Batcave. They won't find us there."

The SWAT officers break down the front door and start running up the stairs. A few other officers run down the halls on the first floor. Bruce and Dick run into the library and run inside the study. Dick closes and locks the door.

"Don't lock it. They'll know we're in here, and when they break in, they'll notice we're not here...they might think something's suspicious." Bruce warns.

"Goddammit!"

Dick unlocks the door. Bruce unlocks the grandfather clock entrance and runs inside. The SWAT officers run into the library and see the door to the study.

Dick runs inside the entrance and pulls the grandfather clock close. He yells as it shuts, just as the SWAT officers break down the door. They look around, but no one's there.

"There's no one in here. Move out!" He says.

The Batman

Bruce and Dick walk into the Batcave. Bruce walks over to the Batcomputer and clicks on a file. He types in a password, and all doors and entrances to the Batcave close and lock.

Batcave Lockdown Initiative: Activated

"Alfred always told me I was paranoid when I installed that protocol." Bruce states.

"Barbara..."

"I'm sorry, Dick...we have to stop this. It won't be long until the police find us. What I don't understand is Gordon. Gordon would talk to me first, he wouldn't automatically try to bring us down. And how did he find out our identities? Including Barbara's. He said he received evidence but from where?"

"Scarecrow stole drugs that open up people for suggestion. What if he tested it out on Gordon to make him turn on us?"

"That would explain a lot, Dick."

"Who knows? Maybe Barbara's body was a fear gas hallucination. It WAS Scarecrow who stole the drugs, and as far as we know, Gordon was the only one to see Barbara's body. And it went missing."

"We have to cure Gordon. But first thing's first. We need to get that evidence Gordon has."

"It should be at the GCPD building. Are you saying we should break in and steal evidence? That's not going to help our public image."

"What else can we do, Dick? If we have that evidence, maybe we can clear our names or something. Gordon made it out that WE were the ones who killed his daughter. With the police off our backs, we can work together and find Shadow."

"So we break into the GCPD?"

"Yeah."

"This is crazy."

"It's our last chance."

Dick nods.

Bruce walks over to the suit chamber. He also presses a button on the belt of his suit and a platform rises from the ground, revealing a motorcycle.

"I had Lucius make that for you with all the tech we had left. Ready to ride, Robin?" Bruce asks.

Dick smiles.

Police searched Wayne Manor earlier tonight, and found no one there. Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson have gone missing, and the GCPD has issued a citywide manhunt for the vigilantes. They are armed with gadgets and weapons, and extremely dangerous.

Alfred watches the broadcast on his TV wherever he is. He has a look of worry on his face. Leslie Thompkins watches from Gotham General, and shakes her head. Lucius watches at his house, before hearing a knock on the front door. He answers it and standing there is a man holding up a badge.

"Detective Bullock. I heard you used to work at Cobblepot Enterprises, formally Wayne Enterprises?" The detective asks.

"Yes, that's true." Lucius answers.

"May I come in and ask you a few questions?"

Later that night, Lucius and Bullock sit across from each other, with Bullock asking several questions.

"So you claim that you never worked with the Batman?" Bullock asks.

"No. I never did."

"Did you notice anything suspicious while you were working there?"

"No. Well...there were a few things I had to make for Mr. Wayne...that were pretty suspicious, with little reasons as to why he needed them."

"Remember any of them?"

"I...remember one. A car. The same type as that car Batman drives."

"Interesting."

Batman and Robin drop down on a rooftop across the road from the GCPD building.

"There it is. We get in, get the evidence, and get out." Batman states.

"Okay, but where would the evidence even be?" Robin asks.

"In Gordon's office."

Batman turns on his voice changer.

"Robin, we may be able to convince them that we're not who they say we are. Don't call me by my real name, and I won't call you by yours."

"Got it."

Batman jumps off the rooftop and starts gliding towards the building. He lands on the side of the building and grabs onto a windowsill. He pries open a grate on a ventilation shaft. Batman climbs inside. Robin hops off and starts gliding as well. He lands inside the vents and starts crawling through them.

Batman climbs out of the vent in the shooting gallery. They see some cops practicing.

"Go." Batman says.

Batman and Robin sneak through a door and into the hallway. They try walking down it, but hear some officers rounding the corner, and so they sneak into the server room.

"Give me a second." Batman says and plugs his flashdrive into one of the servers.

"What are you doing?" Robin asks.

"There. I've hacked into the electrical system."

Batman pulls out a Remote Hacking Device and shuts off the security cameras in the hallway outside.

"Let's go."

Batman and Robin sneak down the hall and peek out from behind the corner. Three officers stand around at the end, near the elevators.

"Jim's office is upstairs. If we can make it past them we can make it onto the elevators."

Batman looks around. He takes out the security camera at the end of the hall and inside the elevators. He looks around again, this time realizing something. He takes out the Remote Hacking Device again and turns off all the lights on the floor.

"What the hell? What happened? The damn lights turned off! Get them back on! Why'd they turn off?" The officers mumble.

Batman and Robin walk right past them and step into an elevator, which also has it's lights turned off.

"Nice one." Robin comments.

The elevator goes up two floors, before Batman and Robin step out. Batman takes out another security camera. They hear a beeping noise and turn around. The security camera in the elevator is on.

"The guard was able to turn the cameras back on. They know we're here." Batman states.

They hear yelling from the stairwell.

"He's up here! Get him! Go, go, go!"

Batman and Robin run out of the hallway and see Gordon's office.

"In here!"

Batman and Robin break into Gordon's office. Batman looks around with his visor, and sees a flashdrive plugged into the computer. Batman grabs it.

"This should be the evidence."

Gordon busts into the office, pointing a gun at Batman.

"Freeze, you son of a bitch!" Gordon yells.

Robin punches Gordon across the face, knocking him out. Robin shrugs. The officers start running towards Gordon's office. Batman drops down a smoke bomb, stunning the officers. Batman and Robin switch their visors to night vision. Batman pulls out a needle, and takes Gordon's blood. After getting a sample, he hooks it onto his belt and grapples up to a nearby ventilation shaft. Robin follows him, as the smoke cloud dissipates.

Batman and Robin crawl through the vents and hop out onto the rooftop.

"Robin, we need to go. Now!" Batman yells.

A police helicopter rises with a sniper aiming at Batman. Batman throws a Batarang, knocking the sniper out of his hands. The two vigilantes run across the roof to the edge when another chopper rises.

BATMAN! ROBIN! GET ON YOUR KNEES AND PUT YOUR HANDS ON YOUR HEADS, OR WE WILL SHOOT YOU!

Batman jumps off the roof and falls towards the ground. Robin follows. Batman starts gliding at the last minute and crashes onto the street. Robin lands next to him. The civilians around them start screaming and running away from him. The doors of the GCPD building burst open and several cops start firing at them. Batman calls the Batmobile which comes roaring down the street. Batman jumps and lands in the front seat.

Robin calls his motorcycle and rides alongside Batman, away from the GCPD. Meanwhile, Barbara, still tied to a chair, watches the news station from Shadow's base. Still alive.

"What have you done with my father?" She asks.

"Well, with all those mind control drugs you tried to stop us from stealing, we mixed it with the fear toxin, and tricked your father into thinking you were dead." Shadow explains.

"You tricked him into thinking Batman killed me and turned him into an outlaw."

"Yeah. It's about time Gordon reinstated the anti-vigilantism act. Every cop in this damn city is after him. Batman's going to spend the rest of his life locked in a cell. I'll make sure of it."

"Need any help with that?"

Shadow turns and sees Oswald Cobblepot entering the base, smiling. Shadow stares.

Back at the Batcave, Bruce is standing in front of the computer, as it finishes analyzing Gordon's blood.

"My theory was right. Gordon does have a strange substance in his blood. It's the drug you tried to stop Crane from stealing from Cadmus. He mixed it in with his fear gas." Bruce explains.

"That's why Gordon's acting so weird." Dick states. "He's barely in control of his own body. Shadow's controlling him."

"I can separate the drug from his blood, and then make a cure to it."

"What about the evidence?"

"I've looked through it. It's pretty convincing. There are photos of us with our masks off. Inside Wayne Manor."

"What? But how-"

"I don't know, Robin. I don't know. And the designs I asked Lucius to make are in here. The Batmobile and the Batsuit. Penguin was able to dig them up and hand them straight to Shadow. Dammit. We need to be more careful."

"How are we supposed to counter these?"

"These photos could've been tampered with. That could be a defense. ...I don't know. We need to work on this. Anyways, we have to find another place to set up our base. Returning to the Batcave when Wayne Manor is being investigated is too risky. I have a safe house in the outskirts of Gotham. We can make it there in the Batmobile and on your cycle."

"So that's our next stop? Let's go."

They both put their suits back on and collect their evidence. Bruce collects Gordon's blood sample and puts it on his belt. Batman steps into his Batmobile, and Robin on his cycle. Batman presses a button in the Batmobile, shutting down all power. They open up the door and drive out of the Batcave. As they drive out, the Batmobile is hit with an RPG, creating an explosion, knocking it into a tree.

"BATMAN!" Robin calls, stopping his bike.

Batman slowly crawls out of the Batmobile.

"I'm fine. I'm fine. What hit me?"

"That." Robin says, pointing to another RPG, that hits the ground right in front of them, knocking them both back.

Batman and Robin get up, injured. Batman notices that Gordon's blood sample shattered and is spilling out onto the grass.

"Dammit! Who's firing the RPGs?!" Batman yells.

"Whoever that guy is!" Robin yells back.

Batman sees a figure walking towards them, pulling out two pistols, and a line splitting down his face.

Deathstroke.

"My name is Deathstroke, and I'm here to bring you in alive." He states.

Robin throws several shurikens which Deathstroke dodges. Robin charges, dodging the bullets and kicking the gun out of his hand when he gets close. He headbutts Deathstroke and kicks him back. Deathstroke pulls out a bow staff and he and Robin fight. Robin uses his forearms to block swipes from the staff, and sometimes even blocks some strikes with his foot. Batman joins in, headbutting Deathstroke and knocking him to the ground. Deathstroke pulls out another pistol and fires. Robin dodges but Batman blocks with his gauntlet. Deathstroke gets back up but Batman uses his grapple to pull the gun away from Deathstroke, and grabs him by the throat.

"Did Gordon hire you?" Batman asks.

"No...it was another person who wants to see you rot in a cell for the rest of your life." Deathstroke answers.

Deathstroke grabs Batman by the throat, and throws him to the ground. Then several police cars and helicopters appear, aiming guns at Batman and Robin. Deathstroke escapes, and Batman calls his Batmobile towards him. Batman and Robin both hop in as bullets practically bounce off of the car. Batman drives the Batmobile across a bridge and into Gotham being chased by a convoy of police.

"Can't we go any faster?!" Robin asks, worried.

"The RPG damaged the car. This is top speed." Batman states.

Batman drives down the street before a helicopter flies overhead them.

"They're catching up!" Robin states.

"We're going to have to eject!" Batman states.

"What?"

"It's the only way to escape them. Get ready. Follow me, Robin."

Batman presses the eject button, as the roof of the car opens up and he launches out. Batman starts gliding down the street, onto a rooftop, and jumps into a dark alleyway, disappearing into the darkness. Robin sees this and pushes the eject button. He launches out and starts gliding as well, but this time the officer in the chopper starts firing, creating holes in Robin's cape. Robin soon loses air and starts to fall out of the sky. Robin turns and grapples onto an apartment building to slow his fall. It does slow it, but the hook slips out of Robin's hand and he crashes onto the sidewalk. He gets up, bruised, as several police officers show up in cop cars and aim their guns at him. Robin throws his shurikens at them and starts running, dropping a smoke bomb along the way.

Batman is hanging onto the side of a building on the left side of the alleyway, six stories up. He peeks from behind the corner and watches Robin run. More cops start firing, and eventually a bullet hits him in the leg. Robin yells and falls as cops surround him. Robin gets put in handcuffs and dragged back to the police.

"Robin..."

Robin's mask is torn off, revealing that he's Dick Grayson.

"It is Wayne's ward. Where's Batman?" A cop yells.

"He got away." Another cop answers.

Robin is carried into the cop car as they drive away.

"Damn..."

Back at the site of the Deathstroke battle, Gordon walks through the field, until he finds something in the grass. The flashdrive containing the evidence. He puts it back in his pocket. Later that night, Bruce returns to the Batcave. Everything is offline. Lucius walks inside.

"You said you wanted to see me?" Lucius asks.

"Yes, Lucius. What did you tell the police about me?" Bruce asks.

Meanwhile, Shadow, Scarecrow, and Penguin all watch the news about the car chase with Batman. The Batmobile drove away after the chase and made it's way back to the Batcave. It barely made it. Shadow grows angry.

"Batman just won't seem to go down so easily. I even hired the Terminator to bring him in and he couldn't do it." Shadow says.

"Whatcha thinking?" Penguin asks.

"I'm thinking that if you want something done, then you've got to do it yourself." Shadow replies and leaves the base.

"So you told the police that I had you make the exact same car as the Batmobile, and the exact same suit as Batman's?" Bruce clarifies.

"I'm afraid so, Mr. Wayne. I'm sorry."

"No, Lucius, it's okay. They had that stuff anyways. The flashdrive with evidence Gordon had, they had the blueprints of the suit and car you made for me."

"Only the suit and car?"

"Yeah. They didn't have the weapons or Batboat or Batwing."

"What did you do with those?"

"I locked the weapons and gadgets away. I destroyed the Batboat and Batwing, figured I didn't need them anymore. Only thing left in this damn cave is that suit on that mannequin and the Batmobile."

"Why didn't you destroy that?"

"Figured I needed SOME way to travel."

"And you chose the Batmobile instead of the Batwing because..."

"The Batcave's on lockdown. The only thing that opens on lockdown is the door the Batmobile leaves from. The flashdrive also had photos of me and Robin with our masks off in Wayne Manor."

"What?"

"I thought about it. The evidence had to be given to them by Shadow. He must've placed several cameras inside Wayne Manor to get his evidence."

"That means he-"

"-he knew who I was before the whole city. And that he somehow snuck into Wayne Manor without me noticing. That's not easy to do. This guy went through a whole lot of trouble just to try and ruin my life. I started this crusade to honor my parents lives. What would I have to do, to get someone who hates me so much that they would want to end that?"

The elevator to the Batcave behind Bruce lands.

"Why don't you ask him yourself?"

Bruce turns. On the elevator is Shadow.

"Hello, Mr. Wayne."

"Lucius, run!"

Lucius runs out of the Batcave as Shadow starts slowly walking towards Bruce.

"How did you get in here?" Bruce asks.

"Easy. I blew up the entrance. I also alerted the GCPD of the location of the Batcave. Gordon has a whole task force on his way here right now." Shadow says.

"You gave Gordon the evidence. You're controlling him. How did you infect him with the toxin?"

"Easy. Just run it through the ventilation in his apartment. After he thought Barbara was dead, we were easily able to manipulate him into turning the whole city on you."

"Where's Barbara?"

"She's alive. But not for long. We're keeping her for leverage. As soon as you're behind bars, we'll kill her. Give Jimmy's story some validity. Maybe say that you were keeping the body. Hell, with that, and the dressing up, you might be surrounded in padded walls then bars. One can only hope." Shadow laughs.

Bruce and Shadow circle each other, before stopping in the opposite position they were in.

"Why are you doing this? Why are you going through so much trouble just to ruin my life? What did I ever do to you?" Bruce asks.

"I don't have to tell you that." Shadow replies.

They both hear sirens.

"Oh, the police are nearly here."

"How did you get cameras into my house?"

"Easy Bruce. You welcomed me in."

The SWAT team runs into the study and sees the hole in the wall, leading to the elevator.

"What? I never...the Halloween party." Bruce says.

Shadow chuckles.

"Clever, but no. I placed them during a different time." Shadow answers.

"Who are you?"

Shadow thinks for a second. Half the SWAT team gets into the elevator and presses the down button. Shadow presses the button on his helmet. His mask lifts off his face, and slides up. Bruce looks angry and punches him across the face. Shadow collapses to a knee.

"What the hell is going on? Why don't you tell me what the hell is going on..."

Shadow stands up and turns to face Bruce, wiping the blood from his nose, revealing his handsome yet young face, with curly ginger hair.

"...Tommy?!"

"I'll tell you some other time, Bruce. I promise. Stick a needle in my eye. Oh, and please...call me Hush."

Bruce and Tommy stare at each other, as the elevator slowly descends.

The Batman

Next Time on the Batman: Trial (2x17)

Bruce is arrested by the GCPD, and with Barbara's life on the line, he must make sure to get out of jail, or else Barbara is dead.

A/N: Woah! What a cliffhanger! It was Tommy the whole time! Yes, the main villain of the season isn't an original character named Shadow, but is actually Hush. But why change his name, and appearance?

Well, I wasn't really a fan of the man in bandages and a trench coat and so changed him to a more militaristic description. The original plan was to just call him Shadow, until the Mid Season Finale, where his real name would be revealed as Hush, and ALL the comic fans would realize who he was, but he wouldn't be revealed as Tommy for a few more chapters.

But then I thought, maybe I should just reveal his real name and who he was at the same time, which was here. Maybe keep his name as Shadow and see if this reveal actually shocks some people!

I'm sure almost no one was shocked seeing as this season also fleshed out the character of Tommy Elliot, and a mysterious watcher in the shadows who wants revenge on Batman and recruits other villains including Scarecrow and sort of Riddler, (in the book Riddler was the one behind it all) is basically the exact same description as Hush.

If I did shock some people, that's great, because then that means all the changed names and descriptions payed off, but I'm pretty sure most people saw this coming. But yeah...the main villain of Season 2 is Hush. Let's see what happens next episode.

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