Chapter 12: Gotham's Worst Nightmare
The flight to Gotham felt as if it had been going on forever. For the French teens who were secretly costumed superheroes protecting Paris from the evil akumas of Hawk Moth, this was a new experience for them as neither Marinette or Adrien had ever travelled so far before. They were just thankful they were travelling in 5-star luxury thanks to Bruce Wayne's private plane that was accustomed to his very strict needs. Thanks to the soft beds and carpeted floors of the interior, Marinette and Adrien barely even acknowledged the fact they were on a plane and hundreds of feet in the air. They had slept through much of the journey, the events of last night catching up to them so fast that once the plane had taken off, they had fallen asleep almost immediately.
They had slept for so long that the journey had passed by and when the two had finally woken up, they had been surprised to hear that they would be there in a couple of hours. That time had been spent with the two teens chatting to each other, mostly about what they enjoyed the most about their superhero lives and their abilities. Bruce Wayne had kept to himself, thinking that it would be best if he let the two interact with one another without him getting involved. He couldn't help but smile at the two, seeing how close they really were. It reminded him of Tim Drake, the current Robin, and how close he was to one of his fellow comrades, Stephanie Brown. Young love in superhero costumes, that was what he thought about them.
He might be a real hard guy, but it didn't stop him from finding certain things cute.
The vibration of his phone, however, pulled him out of that thought and he instantly opened it after seeing who it was that was ringing him.
"Hello Barbara. Anything you've got to say?" he asked quietly as he retreated into his private quarters on the plane, where a good load of computer work had been set up. The Bat just wouldn't take a break, would he?
"I can see you'll be landing shortly. I thought of waiting to tell you when you gotten back, but I think it's best you hear it now." came the reply of the brainy crime fighting girl, a sharp tone to her ever so calm voice.
"What is it?" Bruce asked in a levelled tone, not really liking what he was going to hear.
"Well, Mr Agreste might've kept a secret about being Hawk Moth but he seems to be a bit stupid. I've been keeping watch of his data activities and I saw he used his credit card on a machine in a French airport. That was three hours ago in our time." Barbara informed him, making Bruce's eyes widen slightly.
"You have any idea if Joker was with him? Tapped into any security cameras?" he questioned once more.
"I did but given this is Joker he's working with, they both probably got one of the best disguises out there to slip past security. Even I couldn't spot anything out of line. But they could still be coming to Gotham, so you'll need to keep your eyes sharp" she responded, earning a nod from Bruce even though she couldn't see it.
"I'll have Dick keep a lookout at Gotham's airport when we get back. We'll be touching down shortly." he informed the redhead.
"Good. Glad to have you back home." Barbara replied with a hint of happiness in her voice, something of which Bruce smiled to.
"Glad to be home. Though I do miss Paris" he added with a chuckle, getting one out her too.
"Oh! Before you go, I gotten a good bit of info about the Miraculous and their items. It's something I'll have to share with you in person though, cos it contains a lot of details." she quickly added, getting an intrigued "Hmm" out of Bruce. Info about the Miraculous was definitely something he had to hear about.
"Sounds interesting. Alright, hopefully I'll see you at Wayne Manor, we'll talk about it there. Take care of yourself, Barbara." he said in a kind tone.
With that done, Bruce turned his phone off and gazed out of the window, casting a sharp look at the end of the plane. The Joker and Gabriel could only be a few hours behind them, and that meant they could strike at any moment. He'll be ready for them, and so would Adrien and Marinette.
"It maybe they know we're fleeing France now or it could be a coincidence." Bruce muttered, "Either way, those two are not going to stay in Gotham for very long."
He could already imagine Dick catching them at the airport and having The Joker arrested and escorted back to Arkham Asylum whilst Hawk Moth would be shipped back to France to pay for his crimes in the European country he'd just left. Comforting thoughts that much was certain but he knew just how dangerous it could be to let a comforting thought relax him. He'd only relax once he heard that Joker and Hawk Moth had been caught.
The thought of the two in Gotham was still on the Gotham vigilante's mind even as his plane touched down and he, Marinette and Adrien passed through the VIP Lounge and straight into his private limo. Alfred was the driver as usual and he had greeted Marinette and Adrien with a slight hint of enthusiasm in his usually calm, even voice.
"A pleasure to meet the heroes of Paris themselves." he had said, "I am Alfred Pennyworth, Master Bruce's butler and most trusted ally in his crusade against crime. I hope you two enjoy your stay with us."
"Thank you Mr. Pennyworth." Marinette said graciously, "It's nice to meet you."
"You're a lot more sociable than my bodyguard is." Adrien chuckled, "And less intimidating looking too."
"That maybe the case Master Agreste but I can tell you that there's a reason why I'm Master Bruce's most trusted ally." Alfred replied, his words sounding a little menacing but his tone still even so as not to frighten the teens, "I can be quite a force of nature if I need to be."
Adrien believed the butler. He knew too well on what it was like to see that people were more than what they seemed. Last night in particular had shown him that much with Hawk Moth and Ladybug's true identities. Alfred could be a skilled fighter or even a secret spy despite his harmless appearance as far as he knew. Alfred's hardened look then switched to a smirk and a wink.
"But I know a good person when I see one. So rest assured I won't bite you both." he chuckled, making Marinette and Adrien sigh in relief, actually pleased that the old man was just using a bit of humour. Bruce smirked as he got in, hearing the whole conversation.
"That's his sense of humour, so you can relax." he added as he put his seat belt on.
"Buckle up, it's a ten minute drive." he informed, making the two French teens follow suite as Alfred started up the limo, the old British man glancing back into the middle of the limo.
"Shall we give the two youngsters a tour of our ever so famous city, Master Bruce?" he asked with a hint of sarcasm etched back into his voice, making Bruce himself roll his eyes.
"They'll see most of the city as we drive through, Alfred. Besides, they're not here to see the gritty stuff." came his reply, gaining a slight chuckle out of the butler.
"Ever so serious you are, master Bruce. Still, off we go" he stated as he put his foot down slightly and the limo took off at a steady speed.
Bruce glanced out of the window and caught of his dark and grim city in the distance, it growing ever so slightly in size as they headed onto the road that would take them into Gotham. Marinette and Adrien followed his gaze and were quite surprised to see the dark city itself with their own eyes. Sure, they saw it countless times on the news but to actually see it in person gave them a taste of excitement and nervousness.
Alfred's hardened look then switched to a smirk and a wink "But I know a good person when I see one. So rest assured I won't bite you both" he chuckled, making Marinette and Adrien sigh in relief, actually pleased that the old man was just using a bit of humour. Bruce smirked as he gotten in, hearing the whole conversation "That's his sense of humour, so you can relax" he added as he put his seat belt on "Buckle up, it's a ten minute drive" he informed, making the two French teens follow suite as Alfred started up the limo, the old British man glancing back into the middle of the limo "Shall we give the two youngsters a tour of our ever so famous city, Master Bruce?" he asked with a hint of sarcasm etched back into his voice, making Bruce himself roll his eyes "They'll see most of the city as we drive through, Alfred. Besides, they're not here to see the gritty stuff" came his reply, gaining a slight chuckle out of the butler "Ever so serious you are, master Bruce. Still, off we go" he stated as he put his foot down slightly and the limo took off at a steady speed.
Bruce glanced out of the window and caught of his dark and grim city in the distance, it growing ever so slightly in size as they headed onto the road that would take them into Gotham. Marinette and Adrien followed his gaze and were quite surprised to see the dark city itself with their own eyes. Sure, they saw it countless times on the news but to actually see it in person gave them a taste of excitement and nervousness.
"Whoa! This is quite a place!" Adrien gasped as the limo passed through Park Row, "Look at this architecture! The buildings here are like nothing I've seen before!"
"I think I can guess where the name "Gotham" comes from." Marinette said with a humorous smile on her pretty face, "This place is the definitive example of gothic! And yet there's something quite...I dunno, fascinating about it? Words can't describe what this place is like..."
"If only Nino and Alya could've joined us Mari, they'd be geeking out like crazy!" the blonde teen cried out.
The bluenette giggled in response. Yes, it would've been funny to see how Nino and Alya would've reacted to the idea that they're in Gotham City right now. The Ladyblog would be updated with paragraphs of text written by Alya just expressing how exciting it is to be in Batman's home city! The sudden thought of her best friend suddenly made her realize just how far away from home she was. Marinette fell silent briefly as she thought back to the long flight from Paris to Gotham. It was as if she'd left her own world and landed in another, one so very different to her own. The sights and even the smells were nothing like Paris. Gotham was its own character, and one very different to the personality that made Paris so famous. She hadn't been in Gotham for even a day yet and already she was finding herself beginning to miss her home city. This, she supposed, was what it truly felt like to be homesick. Adrien could sense that something was wrong and he put an arm around the secret-superheroine.
"Don't worry Marinette, we'll come back to Paris soon. This is just for a little while." the teen said softly.
Marinette nodded. While it wouldn't stop her missing the City of Love, she wouldn't let it ruin this brief holiday with Batman and her crush. The teen girl would see to it that she enjoyed her stay. Glancing at Adrien, she put her arm around him in return.
"I know. It'll be great to tell everybody how it went and what it was like." Marinette said brightly, "You know, it's kinda funny when you think about it isn't it? Batman comes to our city and now Ladybug and Cat Noir come to his city!"
"Next thing you know we'll be getting a visit from Superman or Wonder Woman or even somebody like Green Lantern and then we'll be visiting places like Metropolis or whatever!" Adrien exclaimed, chortling with laughter.
"I wouldn't be too surprised if we even met Plastic Man at some point!" Marinette giggled in response.
"That guy will definitely give you a good laugh if you ever meet him, that much is certain." Bruce snickered, enjoying the joking that was going on between Marinette and Adrien about his super friends in the Justice League. One day soon, he'd let them meet the entire league when there wasn't anything to worry about. The two teens would certainly like that.
Alfred peered into the back in the mirror above him, smiling lightly at the sight he was witnessing. Oh how it reminded him of the early days of young master Dick Grayson back when he was only a young teenager like Marinette and Adrien. Tim Drake and Stephanie Brown brought a similar light feeling of that whenever they popped around. Jason...well, he was a different story altogether, one that many would be familiar with. Alfred just thanked the heavens that no mystery child of Bruce with a nasty attitude ever entered their lives. And he was hoping it would stay like that.
They then circled through the business centre of the gothic city, where Wayne Enterprises Tower stood tall and proud, being one of the few shining stars of Gotham either in the day or night. Adrien took notice of this and looked at Bruce.
"So, if you're the head of your own company, how can you manage the hours without giving anything away? Like, you must fall asleep at board meetings because their in the day and all." he pointed out. Bruce merely smirked and a very rare twinkle appeared in his eyes. It almost looked strange to see it there.
"Now that would be spoiling a bit too much of my training and skills, don't you think?" he noted, getting a chuckle out of the pair of teens. Bruce glanced out of the window and felt a tiny bit of gladness they didn't dare pass Crime Alley. It would've brought up too much bad memories and feelings for him, though he noted to himself he'd have to thank Alfred later.
Soon enough, they came across the large bridge that connected Gotham to the mainland and sure enough would take them to the less frightening area Wayne Manor was located in.
"We'll be arriving very shortly now." Bruce announced, almost sounding relieved to be saying those words.
Marinette and Adrien nodded in acknowledgement. They were looking forward to seeing Wayne Manor and were glad to hear they were nearly there. Bruce himself could feel the slight twinge of fear building up slightly in his gut as the journey was drawing to a close. He hadn't received any updates from Nightwing, indicating that Hawk Moth and The Joker hadn't been caught yet. Every moment that passed made it more and more likely they had slipped by his former Robin and he wouldn't be able to relax until he heard the good news. Why couldn't anything ever go right for once?! Over the years he had donned the Batman cowl, nothing ever seemed to go right in his lifetime, even when he was victorious. But he was still alive and kicking now so why worry about things going wrong again? He'd handled the worst of the worst so when push came to shove, he'd take on the two purple enemies and send them packing. But he would prefer it very much if he could just be content with the knowledge that he wouldn't have to deal with them right now, not when he was supposed to be helping Adrien recuperate from what had happened to him.
Then again, though, he had to have more faith in his old protege. If Joker and Gabriel had indeed sneaked onto a plane, they were most likely a few hours behind him and the two teens, and Dick would report something to him straight away if anything caught his eyes. Dick might've been more combat skilled and while he wasn't as smart as Tim, he was well trained in spotting anything out of the ordinary. He gazed out of the window and looked into the high open sky. Sometimes he was thinking if it was best he could get Clark to help him in this particular case. Sure, he often struggled against magic, but he himself was an incredibly smart person. But then it would be a lot of short notice to get the Man of Steel involved now. That and he had enough on his plate already.
Trying to put his worries to the back of his mind, Bruce was slightly stunned to find that they were coming onto the long driveway for Wayne Manor already. Goodness how time tends to fly in such a quick speed of things. Always his, and possibly everyone's, best frenemy.
Steering the limo to the right, Alfred parked it in the left hand corner of the manor and soon found himself coming to the rear end of the limo and started unpacking it of Bruce's belongings. Though he was old, Alfred's ears picked up on the awed gasps of Adrien and Marinette, making him peek over the corner to see how stunned they were. Ah, old memories and old feelings were creeping back into him yet again, as it was for Bruce as he stood by their sides. The two teens were clearly amazed at the sight of this huge, centuries old yet strangely majestic building he called home. Every time somebody new saw the place, they were amazed. Wayne Manor hadn't lost its charm.
"I do apologise if it looks a little gothic, but I can only hope this'll do for you both." he said kindly, to which Marinette nodded politely.
"It looks...just, wow. It looks old yet beautiful." she said in awe.
Adrien bowed his head in agreement, "Yeah. I like seeing stuff like this. Don't know how old it is, but it looks old enough and well looked after to still be here this day." he noted, gaining a chuckle out of Bruce.
"Well, wait till you see what's on the inside, Adrien. Also I hope your parents will like it here, Marinette. We've got plenty enough rooms for them too." he reassured, patting their shoulders gently.
"By the size of this place it could house in our whole class, so I'm sure mom and dad will love it!" the bluenette responded as Bruce escorted them inside his home.
A few hours later, a standard model DC-10 plane, famous and easily recognizable thanks to the third engine built into the tailfin, touched down at Gotham City airport. The vehicle itself bore the colours of the American Airlines company, the sparkling silver with red, white and blue stripes adding a sense of beauty to the aircraft. The DC-10 taxied towards the airport terminal and parked, allowing its many passengers to disembark.
There were many people on-board from foreigners on holiday to locals returning from their own holidays. Some people would be reluctant to return to Gotham. Others couldn't really find it in their hearts to stay away forever and still managed to call it home despite the horrendous crime rate. The passengers were quickly filed out of the plane and taken through passport control so they could collect their bags and be on their way. There was an odd couple that many people had chosen to ignore on the flight. One was an elderly looking man with a bad skin rash and rather badly cut hair. He looked unwell and like he had been taken care of very poorly. His partner wore a long trench coat and a fedora that obscured most of his features. He also wore huge flashy spectacles that hid most of his face had, peculiarly enough, a green handlebar moustache. Many people assumed the man was crazy and died his moustache green for no reason. Little did they realize was that they had fallen for the most spectacular disguises The Joker could've possibly coined up.
The idea behind these disguises was that they would look so odd and unappealing that nobody would want to look at them for very long. People would glance at them and quickly look the other way, leaving no chance of them being found out. That was the big secret behind the success and The Joker was pleased to see that they had worked so brilliantly. Gabriel Agreste had hated his disguise but had forced himself to put up with it. It would be worth it to finally get his hands on those Miraculouses! He did rather like the effect that his fake skin rash had. Even though it was only prosthetic make-up, it looked very convincing and made him look unrecognizable. People just screwed their faces up at him and looked away, disgusted by his appearance. The prejudices of mankind were playing into his favour.
Now the two villains were making their way towards passport control, The Joker snickering to himself at how stupid these people were, letting him walk by in an airport for a second time this week.
"Heh, heh, heh! I knew these disguises would be perfect!" he cackled quietly to his comrade, "We're so strange looking that nobody looked at us for more than three seconds!"
"I'm just glad nobody will know that the man with the bad skin they've been disgusted at was really me..." Gabriel muttered, "I look forward to donning my villainous attire once again."
"Heh hoo, I can see you fitting into the grittiness of Gotham just fine, Gabe babe. Still, if I were you, I'd say it best we walk with a larger group of people." the Joker noted, a tiny hint of seriousness etched into his voice. Gabriel glanced at him and, keeping the act up, scratched his cheek tenderly.
"And whys that?" he asked quietly, earning a wave of a finger from the Joker in response.
"My dear fashion designer, have you ever played Assassin's Creed? The rule to hiding in plain sight is by hiding amongst a huge crowd. That and some birds might be keeping a watch out for us." he winked as he explained, making Gabriel sigh in dread as it sunken into him that they weren't quite out of being spotted yet.
"Urgh, so am I right to assume any one of these people can be an accomplice of Batman's? You could've at least warned me." he spoken in a hushed tone, earning a jab in the arm from the Joker.
"I just like to see you get irritated, and I like seeing people think on their feet. Adds so much tension." he giggled as his glassed eyes scanned the exit of the airport, taking note of someone hiding his face behind a newspaper and wearing a brown coat.
"See that chap there? I know it's a cliche thing to occur, but that's how spies get about these days, hiding their faces behind newspapers and wearing long coats. If you ask me it makes THEM stand out more. Tut tut tut I say, when will they learn?" The Joker shook his head with an ever so calm smile on his face. Gabriel had followed where he was looking at and spotted that particular person in question, making him sigh as his cold eyes took notice of the green moustache on Joker's face.
"If that could indeed be a friend of Batman's, you do realise he could take your stupid moustache as a hint it's you" he grumbled irritably, gaining a slight pout from the nutty clown in response.
"My dear Gabe, it is not stupid, it is a work of classical art. And always have the perfect timing to make the right move. Like, right now!"
Before Gabriel could question him, the Joker pinched him in the side, making him yelp slightly and spring to his feet, with the disguised clown following swiftly. Indeed they made the right timing as a big crowd of people had begun walking by them. With this settling in, Gabriel walked by the Joker's side and kept to the right of the crowd so they could stay out of the stranger's sights. The Joker's own hideous eyes danced back and forth behind his glasses, keeping a little look on the stranger as he best could see him. If Gabriel were to have pulled off those sunglasses, he would've seen his accomplice's eyes were playing table tennis with each other. Oh how odd...
Shortly enough, they found themselves leaving the doors of the airport, allowing Gabriel to let out a sigh of relief as he and the Joker broke away from the group of people they were walking alongside with. He looked at the air above him and gave it a sniff, trying to get a good taste of what the air in another country was like. Last country he ever visited was Tibet and he remembered how mixed the air was over there. But here though...it made his nose burn in slight excitement. This type of smell the air was giving off was something he often only gotten a small whiff of back in Paris. Was it a shred of misery he was sensing?
He was yanked out of his thoughts when the Joker grabbed him by the wrist and waved down an incoming taxi.
"AGH! Watch it! I'm not used to being handled like this!" Gabriel grunted in a quiet tone, earning a gentle pinch on the cheek.
"Oh birdman give it a rest. You're in Gotham now so you better get used to it. As a famous actor once said, my city, my rules. So just stick with me and hope you don't get the Gotham Handshake!" the clown informed him as he clung to his side, leaving Gabriel a bit crept out, though curious about this Gotham Handshake he mentioned.
The taxi driver peeked his head out of the window and gave them a disgusted look.
"Ew! Where're you two heading? Metropolis's Suicide Slum?" he asked confusedly. The content in his voice was obvious, no attempts made whatsoever to hide it. The Joker just gave an innocent grin and clapped Gabriel on the side, making him stifle a yelp as he looked at the driver.
"No, actually. To the industrial estate please!" he replied as calmly as he could, earning a sigh from the driver.
"Ugh, you mean near ACE Chemicals? Whatever, just get in." he grumpily ordered.
The Joker and Gabriel quickly took their seats and buckled up as the driver started the car and drove off, clearly keen to get away as quickly as possible. A cloud of dirty smoke coughed out of the taxi's exhaust as it sped away. Gabriel clung onto the seat as the taxi took off, amazed at how fast the driver was going. Did all taxis in Gotham drive like this?! He also glanced over at The Joker, who seemed to be enjoying the ride.
"Is Gotham always full of grumpy, miserable people?" he mused.
"You bet!" The Joker cackled, "Heh, heh, heh! I swear I'm the perfect guy to traipse around Gotham! The city's so full of misery that I'm always welcomed to give people a laugh! Even if it's the killing laugh!"
The Hawk Moth in Gabriel was very intrigued to hear this. A thin smile spread out across his disguised face as he took all of this in. Gotham was full of miserable people was it? How delicious this was to hear! This would be a city ripe for the his wicked akumas! Oh what fun it would be to corrupt some poor sod in Batman's home city! And if Batman was to come back here to solve the problem and maybe even bring Ladybug and Cat Noir to catch the akumas, he could get yet another shot at getting the Miraculouses! And maybe even succeed at last. The Joker noticed his accomplice's smile with curious fascination.
"Say hawk eyes, that's the first time I've seen you smile since we left Paris! What's up?" he inquired.
"Oh I just have a wicked little idea on what we can do to really get under Batman's skin and bring him to us..." Gabriel purred, his voice now sounding more like Hawk Moth's than his own.
Joker grinned, somewhat satisfied to hear this "Ah, how much I love seeing that ever so sweet smile of evil innocence. That's a bonus for me, getting a rather snooty chap like you smiling. Something tells me this'll be the holiday of your life, Gabe old chum!" he giggled, patting the former rich man on the shoulder.
Gabriel nodded in agreement as he gazed out of the window to see the source of darkness, Gotham City, growing bigger in the distance as they neared it.
"Something tells me you're right, dear comedian. I genuinely think I'm going to enjoy this..." he chuckled lightly as he latched hold of his pendant.
Little did they know that the certain stranger they had been trying hard to avoid was now in a phone booth, dialling away on the panel as he had urgent news to give off. Those of you would know very well this was Dick Grayson, once again on patrol at the airport. His eyes were full of seriousness as his call gotten answered.
"Yes, hello Alfred. Could you patch me through to Bruce please? I think I might've caught sight of something. I'm not a hundred percent certain it's them, but it could be them." Dick spoke, really wanting Bruce to hear what he had to say.
"At once Master Dick." Alfred replied, not even sounding concerned. He preferred to let Bruce be the concerned one out of the two.
Dick sighed with relief as he waited for his call to be accepted. Batgirl had of course warned him about the possibility of The Joker coming back to Gotham with the villain of France, Hawk Moth/Gabriel Agreste, with him and he felt that he had spotted them. Those two couldn't have been anyone else! The Joker's green moustache was what had sent the alarm bells ringing and he was keen to let Bruce know what he'd seen...
Meanwhile, Marinette and Adrien had been given the tour of Wayne Manor in the time it had taken The Joker and Hawk Moth to arrive in Gotham. They had seen everything about the mansion from the bedrooms to the ballrooms and even the kitchens and studies. They were impressed with just how big the house was. Adrien in particular felt as if his own house seemed underwhelming in comparison. There was so much vintage beauty contained in this impressive mansion that really gave Wayne Manor its own character and the size of it made everything he could see look grand and spectacular in comparison. This was the home of a billionaire alright! He could scarcely imagine how much the house would cost to buy if Bruce ever sold it!
Right now, Bruce was showing the two teens the best part of Wayne Manor. He felt that they would get a kick out of seeing his base of operations so as he positioned the hands on the grandfather clock and opened up the secret passage behind it, he led the two down the rocky stairwell into the underground cavern the huge, opulent house hid from the world above. Marinette could scarcely keep the smile off her face as they walked down into the one thing she knew this place was.
"Eeee, I can't believe it! I'm actually gonna see the Batcave itself!" she exclaimed, "I've had many thoughts on what the thing looks like and now I'm gonna see it for real!"
"As exciting as it maybe, please don't take any photographs while you're in here." Bruce requested. That was the thing about the billionaire superhero. He always seemed to be rather calm and using an even tone of voice when he spoke to the teens. Marinette and Adrien wondered if he was just going easy on them because of their age but they appreciated this bit of humility from their host.
"I kinda gathered you wouldn't want any photos taking anyway." Marinette said truthfully, "You wouldn't want the pictures to get onto the internet somehow and everybody knows what your big secret cave looks like."
"Exactly. I keep secrets to protect myself and others. Right now, I'm keeping the secrets to protect you two as well." Bruce said softly, "In the meantime, do prepare yourselves for the Batcave is quite a sight."
Giving him a curt nod, Adrien and Marinette followed Bruce through the deep grey doors that slid open. Their jaws hung in shock and awe at what they were seeing. Before them was a wide open and dark cave, which stretched almost to infinity below and outward under the ground. But of course, that wasn't the only thing worth noting, as built into the wall of the cave to their middle left was a huge blue screen that stretched from one end of the wall to another, with several smaller screens patterned beneath it, some showing digital blueprints of several vehicles Batman tended to use, one of which was sitting on a large circular platform just off to the right, parked right on the very path that connected to a mechanical bridge that reached off to the far end of the cave on the right. This vehicle, of course, was the Batmobile, all in its dark and shiny glory. It was like a beast! Two huge wheels sticking close to its rear end, with a slightly smaller pair on the front end of the dark vehicle, with it's doors open wide and hanging tightly by it's sides, showing off the multiple controls that helped it work.
Adrien took notice of several steps creeping down to the level beneath them, catching a very small glimpse of, what he assumed to be, was the first ever Robin costume! From what he could see, it had a good material of thick leather on the red, while its shoulder pads were a deep forest green, with a pair of grey leggings slipping out of the knee long green shorts, with a leg pouch clinging to it's right leg, holding a baton of sorts.
Marinette could only gaze on in wonder as she saw two Batsuits contained in glass cylinders to her right, the first one looking rather basic with a more lighter grey colour, a deep shade of blue on the cape and cowl, with leg pouches attached to the thighs and a thin colour of yellow on the boots, while the other Batsuit had black muscle pads on the tummy section, the Bat emblem very huge to the point it spread right across its chest, a black belt clinging to the waist, with a thick black now on the cape and cowl. Marinette could only imagine Alya getting jealous if she ever found out about this. And that was a big IF!
"This place...I...I don't know what to even say! I mean, what I get up to on a daily basis is pretty miraculous but this place beats anything I've ever seen!" Marinette gasped.
"I can totally see why this is the place Batman hangs out in when he's not fighting crime..." Adrien blustered, drawing breath as he finished his sentence, "This is where all his hi-tech gear and fancy gadgets come from!"
"You could even say that "this is where the magic happens"." the French girl murmured, her eyes sweeping over the Batmobile, "Bruce Wayne certainly needs the billionaire lifestyle in order to afford all of this stuff! This must cost a fortune!"
"It did when I started building the whole thing." Bruce admitted, "A lot of hard work and money went into this place and I couldn't be happier with the results. There's room for everything I need, it's in a place nobody will ever find and it gives me just what I need to do my work. Repair works, building of new gadgets, chemistry, crime forensics and analysis, it all happens here. And even my closest allies can still scarcely believe what they're seeing."
"No wonder...I right now can't believe what I'm seeing!" Adrien exclaimed.
"So what do the computers do?" Marinette asked curiously, "They help you with tracking down criminals and that kind of stuff?"
"Exactly." the philanthropist/superhero answered, "They're quite advanced, able to hack into almost anything and analyse even the scarcest of chemicals. They also pick up anyone trying to call me..."
Just as he said the words "call me", a sudden bleeping sound rang out around the Batcave. The two hero teens jumped in alarm, wondering what was happening. Bruce worked it out instantly. It was coming from the computer.
"What a coincidence..." he murmured, "I'm getting a call."
"Who is it?" Marinette asked.
"The screen says it's from Dick Grayson. He must have some urgent news." Bruce murmured, "And to think I brought you two here to rest and recuperate..."
Before Adrien or Marinette could respond, Bruce tapped the answer button. The screen cleared for a moment until a voice line spread across it, bouncing up and down as Dick himself began to talk. Bruce looked sharply at the screen, worry hidden in his hard features.
"What is it, Dick? Did you see them?" he asked quickly, really wanting to get the answer out there.
"I did, Bruce, but I seriously hate to tell you that they managed to slip past me and gotten into a taxi. The Joker and Hawk Moth have come to Gotham and are on the loose as we speak." came the reply of the original Boy Wonder, causing the trio's eyes to widen in shock.
"Wait, what!?" Marinette exclaimed in disbelief upon hearing this.
"My dad...and The Joker...here?! But how?! Why?!" Adrien exclaimed. How had his dad managed to slip past security like this, get out of France and all the way to Gotham City?!
"What exactly did they look like, Dick!? Tell me quick!" Bruce called as he began to tap away at his controls, a hint of nervousness in his voice as he got a data page up.
"I managed to see the Joker had some sort of Hawaiian gear on and he had a green moustache too. For the Agreste guy, he had a really bad set of hair on him, just little spikes really, and his skin was a huge bright red like he had some kinda rash." Dick informed, making Adrien resist snickering. It was a serious situation, but the thought of his dad in such a bizarre state kinda brought his spirits up a bit more.
Marinette then spoke up, her voice mixed with firmness but a hint of shy etched into it.
"Did you see the number plate of taxi they got into?" she questioned, earning a sigh from the dark haired vigilante of Bludhaven.
"I'm afraid I didn't, but it did stand out from the others. It has some kinda graffiti on its tail end, read something like "Gotham Equals Hell" or something." came the blue boy's reply, though he sounded very certain of it.
Letting this process in his head, Bruce gotten up as many cameras he could patch into, from street corner CCTV, to mounted cameras on cop cars.
"When exactly did they leave, Dick?" he asked once more, his eyes not leaving the screen he was looking at.
"About four minutes ago. They should be coming in through the main lane entrance road now." came the reply, making Bruce's eyes dart to a particular camera on the screen, his brow sinking into a deep scowl.
"Got it. Dick, if I were you, spread word out to Tim and Steph and make sure they keep a lookout as well." the top of the bat family ordered.
"Great idea. I'll get to them immediately." Dick replied, "With any luck, we can catch those two before they cause any trouble."
"That's exactly what I'm hoping too." Bruce muttered.
He switched off, leaving Dick Grayson to get to his duties. He turned around to face Marinette and Adrien, who looked very pale upon hearing everything. They had just come all the way here to avoid the two villains for a while and yet here they were, in Gotham just as they were and no doubt, looking to cause trouble! Now they knew the true meaning of the phrase "No rest for the weary". The world clearly hadn't had enough of throwing hardships their way.
"I can't believe it! The Joker getting back here, I can believe, but Gabriel managed to get here too?!" Marinette shrieked, "I can't understand how he was able to get past security! The whole of Paris was on the lookout for him!"
"He may have been disguised but surely something should've given him away!" Adrien cried.
"Something did give him away." Bruce explained, "Batgirl picked up on the fact he used a credit card in a machine at the airport so that's why I had Dick on high alert. But The Joker's good at disguising himself. Even the most skilled members of the Bat Family can be fooled by them. The disguises obviously threw Dick off long enough for them to get away."
"Well at least we know they're there so we can be ready for them!" Marinette declared, "If Gabriel seriously thinks following us here is gonna make us surrender our Miraculouses, he's got rocks for brains!"
"I dunno Mari, do you really think that they followed us here?" Adrien asked curiously, "They couldn't possibly have known we were coming to Gotham. My dad has a lot of resources thanks to his vast wealth but even he couldn't have known where I was going!"
"It may well be that it was a coincidence they just happened to come to Gotham as we did. They arrived after us so it's possible." Bruce murmured, his meticulous brain whirring as he assessed the situation, "Maybe The Joker came up with some idea that involved coming back to Gotham and brought Gabriel along for the ride. Given he still has the Moth Broach, he'll be able to akumatize anybody in Gotham City. The city itself is already full of misery thanks to the high crime rates so anybody could be a victim. Including..."
His face suddenly went very pale as a horrible thought came to his head. Marinette and Adrien could even see the colour draining out of the billionaire's face as if performing some kind of colour-changing trick like a chameleon. They had a feeling that Bruce had just thought of the worst possible outcome of Hawk Moth being in Gotham.
"No...Arkham Asylum!" he whispered hoarsely, "Most of my biggest enemies reside there! They're full of negative emotions so they'll be ripe for the picking! If Hawk Moth akumatizes any of them, Gotham could be heading for disaster!"
Plagg then popped out of Adrien's pocket "Have they ever reinforced those cardboard walls inside and out? Nothing will surprise me!" he declared, only to get a glare from Adrien.
"Plagg, now's not the time. Bruce is right. Unless we do something about the Asylum's inmates, they'll be akumatised!" he exclaimed, looking to Bruce as he finished his lecture.
"Is there any way we can get the, secured somewhere without risking a breakout?" he asked sharply, hoping there would at least be some sort of answer the billionaire could give.
"Or at least find Joker and Gabriel before they even get to the Asylum?" Marinette brought up, to which Bruce hummed to himself and rubbed his chin in thought.
"In all honesty, they could be either heading for ACE Chemicals or Gotham's port. There's secret routes there they can use to get to Arkham." he noted as he turned to the screen.
"But is there any way in safely removing the inmates?" Adrien brought up again.
"There is." Bruce replied, "But it'll require me having to come to the asylum itself to inform the guards, and to make sure nobody tries to break out while they're being escorted." he added, "It'll surprise them to see Batman coming to them in the afternoon but there are times where exceptions have to be made."
"We could come with you!" Marinette offered eagerly, "Me and Cat Noir could provide extra back up in case any of the inmates get any ideas!"
"And maybe I can get the chance to arrest my demonic father myself." Adrien said grimly.
Bruce turned around and was considering refusing the offer. His brain was already forming the answer before he was ready to speak. He didn't like to let anybody else join him in this kinds of missions. The inmates at Arkham were his responsibility and the only one who was capable of taking them on. He couldn't let Ladybug and Cat Noir become the victims of somebody like Killer Croc, Poison Ivy or The Penguin. Their lives had barely begun, they couldn't be wasted like this. But they had managed to survive The Riddler and The Joker so it was possible they would be OK in this fight. He had seen them in action, they were clearly able to take care of themselves. Maybe it wouldn't be foolish to let them come.
He sighed but looked to them both, before handing a data pad to Marinette.
"That'll help you get there. The Batmobile only has room for two, so I'll meet you there as soon as I'm in costume. Meet me at the gates." he instructed, to which Marinette nodded with a small smile.
"Got it. See you there, Mister Wayne." she said softly, before turning to Adrien.
"Let's get there and end this." she said to him, making him smile.
"Agreed." he responded, before dashing out of the cave alongside the bluenette.
Smiling briefly, Bruce then turned to the spare spaced wall next to the Bat-Computer, pressing his hand against it. A blue light traced over his hand and a large section of the wall opened up, revealing another Batsuit inside, only the scowl on the cowl was a lot deeper, the ears slightly longer, with lines of yellow on the exit sections of the gloves and boots. The emblem lacked a yellow outline, though the torso looked rather padded and slightly mechanical. Bruce traced his finger over the emblem and, with a low hiss, the suit opened up from the middle, revealing it was indeed tech heavy and mechanical. If he and the French superheroes were going to end up battling more of his enemies, then he would have to go in heavily prepared, so his earlier suit wouldn't be of much use.
As he approached the suit, preparing to put it on, he allowed himself on brief moment to consider the events of the last couple of days. To think it had all started with The Riddler running away to Paris! It was amazing just what can start off a train of events. The Riddler's runaway, The Joker following suit, the team up with Hawk Moth, Chloe's murder at The Riddler's hands, Hawk Moth's reveal and now this! One thought ran through his mind as he stepped into the suit, allowing it to close around him as it encased him like a shell.
"It started in Paris...now it ends in Gotham." he declared just as the cowl came down over his head...
Meanwhile, The Joker and Gabriel had reached the ACE Chemicals building and had quickly run inside. As soon as they were out of sight, they discarded their disguises since they now had no need to keep them on. They had made it into the city and hadn't been spotted so now they could roam around and reveal themselves at just the right time. All was going according to plan and they couldn't be happier.
Pleased to be out of his disguise, Gabriel decided that now was the perfect moment to suit up again. He would need Hawk Moth for his big idea. He put the broach on and braced himself for the transformation. Nooroo looked down sadly, depressed that he was about to be used for yet another evil scheme to get the Miraculouses. How he longed to be with a nicer master!
"Nooroo! Dark Wings, RISE!" Gabriel bellowed.
For once, even though it lasted for about four seconds, Nooroo tried his hardest to resist the pull of magic that had been commanded by Gabriel. But he could do little as he had little choice in the matter. He was just a small floating, talking battery of magic, that had to do what he was told to do...there was nothing the poor little Kwami could do as he was sucked downward and became absorbed by the broach. A flash of violet occurred throughout the chemical plant, making the lights flicker briefly, then there he was, clad once more in the deep purple of his suit and silver mask fixed to his hole head, Hawk Moth stood in all of his villainous glory.
"Pff, at least Captain Marvel has to say one word." the Joker muttered after watching the event, looking almost unimpressed, but a grin soon reappeared on his face as he gotten his moustache off and brought out a few deadly clip on flowers, obviously getting ready for his and Hawk Moth's next big move.
Speaking of the French fashion designer, he sniffed the air and blocked out the strong smell of chemicals that filled the surrounding air, his sense of smell now increased stronger than a normal humans. He grinned as he gotten a strong whiff of one foul thing ever to exist: misery! Oh such beautiful misery, Gotham really did reek of it! Oh he was going to enjoy this day.
"Lovely smell, hmm? You oughta drink some at a time, Hawk old boy!" the Joker called from above, standing on a platform next to a vat of chemicals, making the purple clad villain shake his head in disgust.
"I'd rather not, thank you very much, Joker. So how do we get to Arkham from here?"
"I wouldn't have thought it'd matter given you just send your evil butterfly things out to corrupt people!" The Joker snickered, "But if you really wanna know, you just make several sharp turns, make a left turn at Albuquerque and there you are!"
Hawk Moth sighed in annoyance. Did The Joker have to be such a clown, even in serious moments like this?! Would it kill the guy to, just for once, not make any bad jokes in times like this?!
"Try that again. This time, without any of the joking." he snapped.
"Sheesh, and I thought Batman was a grumpy bastard..." The Joker scowled, "Anyway, the true way to Arkham is one sharp turn right and a long straight down through The Bowery and through the forest just outside the city. I've done the journey so many times that I could do it blindfolded!"
"How fortuitous." Hawk Moth purred, "So you'll get me there easily enough. I want to be there so I can get those Miraculouses for myself!"
The Joker then tapped his sharp chin in thought. "You know...you're good at teleporting. Can't you just...you know, teleport there?" he said simply, a frown of confusion on his face. Hawk Moth looked like he had brick chucked into his gut upon realising this.
"Well, I could, though it's short ranged. I need five minutes to get back to full power after each go. You mentioned there's a forest of sorts near Arkham, yes?" he asked sharply as he thought a different plan over.
"Well yes, I only mentioned it a few seconds ago." came the simple reply of the mad clown. Hawk Moth grinned in response.
"Excellent. Hate to say this, but I need you touching me so I can draw closer to that specific area." he explained, to which the Joker clapped his hands and rubbed them excitedly together.
"By George at last! Let's get the mad house rocking and rolling, shall we!?" he giggled, earning a yank of a wrist from Hawk Moth, who closed his eyes and muttered "Nooroo, warp dash".
In a split second, the two purple clad villains vanished in a blur of purple, the huge dash line of purple zipping out through the back entrance of ACE Chemicals.
Meanwhile, Warden Quincy Sharp was overlooking the latest figures in his office. His spectacled eyes swept over the sheets that lay on his desk before him and displayed their latest information. Financial figures, bills, prisoner income, it was nothing he hadn't seen before.
Sharp was in charge of Arkham Asylum, though he had recently been running for office in the latest elections for the next Mayor of Gotham. He felt politics was more his area of expertise than prison work and hoped he would win the elections. Sharp was a rather ordinary looking man, not tall but not exactly short either. He looked well suited to his grey suit and tie that he wore and the round spectacles made him look more cold and serious than smart. He had been in charge of Arkham for a while and was showing his age, what remained of his hair now beginning to grey.
He was expecting another normal night in the asylum, though he would never describe a day or a night in Arkham Asylum as "normal". How could he considering what the murky place contained? Killer clowns, crocodile men, flower ladies, clown girls, ice men, even nutcases obsessed with fear and calendars! This was more like a fantasy land than anything he would ever consider "normal". In Arkham Asylum, all things normal stopped at the gates and all that lay before you was the rabbit hole and how deep it went. And yet he had managed to keep his sanity despite coming close to losing it many times in his career. He considered himself lucky, that wouldn't have looked good on his record in his political campaign.
Although he was expecting smooth sailing, he was about to see that things were going to get interesting. A knock on his door diverted his attention from his sheets and he narrowed his eyes.
"Come in." he ordered, his voice as sharp as his named suggested.
The door opened and one of the guards walked in. He was a black man with a small beard and a hand missing thanks to an encounter with Killer Croc. He looked tough, like nothing in the world could worry him and he could handle anything. His name was Aaron Cash, and he was one of Arkham Asylum's most loyal, trusted and toughest guards. Quincy raised an eyebrow in interest.
"What is it then Mr. Cash?" he inquired.
"Warden, you ain't gonna believe this, but we've got Paris right on our doorstep." Cash said rather casually, though at the same time slightly surprised.
Quincy frowned and stood up, following the big man through to the CCTV room, where Cash pointed at the screen monitoring the main gates of Arkham. They were surprised to see Ladybug and Chat Noir standing directly outside the gates, conversing with the guards by there. Quincy couldn't help but smile at the bright coloured costume of Ladybug, who brought a glimmer of light into this grim part of the country.
"Those are the French superheroes, yeah?" he asked, just wanting to be sure, earning a nod from Cash.
"Spot on, boss. They've been all over the news lately. Perhaps they've come on over for a visit?" the big African man suggested, earning a "Hmm" from Quincy in response. He could see that the warden was very quickly mulling this over, something he was quite famous for in his line of duty.
"Possibly so. Let me get through to the guards." he requested. Stepping aside, Cash watched on as his boss patched himself through to the guard's coms.
"This is the warden here, I can see them. What exactly do they want?" he asked firmly, not wanting to be rude or aggressive like most wardens do.
"They say it's an emergency and on Batman's orders we have to evacuate the Asylum ASAP." came the reply from the other end.
Quincy frowned slightly, not sure whether to believe this. He knew they were fellow heroes, but he only really acted on such orders if Batman himself was there to give them out. That and he couldn't shake off that terrible feeling that Arkham could be facing another breakout situation. However, his doubts were cast aside as he then noticed an all too familiar bulky vehicle roll towards the gates at a steady speed, making the good warden smile in relief as he saw Ladybug and Chat Noir jump onto the sides of the Batmobile.
"Well, they're clearly speaking the truth. Let em through, officer, so we can see what can be done." he ordered calmly, getting a "Copy that." from the guard he had spoken to. Straightening his tie, Quincy watched as the gates opened and the Batmobile rolled its way up towards the asylum's entrance.
Turning to Cash, he said, "Alright young man, get the guards in standby. We'll need every staff member available to help evacuate this place if it's THAT serious." nodding upon hearing that, Cash exited the room to find the main office and give out the orders of standby.
With where they were, Ladybug tapped on the window of the Batmobile and gave its driver a smile.
"Good thing you arrived in time, Batman. They seemed a bit unsure at first." she noted. Though he could hear her, there was probably a good chance that she wouldn't hear him, so the vigilante responded with a thumbs up.
"Well, I can't really blame them. Arkham suffers breakouts twenty four seven, so it's no wonder the guards are a big hard when it comes to unexpected visitors, heroes or not..." Chat Noir pointed out as they neared the entrance of the Asylum.
Finally reach the large driveway, the two French teens slid off the Batmobile as its roof opened up with a hiss, with Batman calmly rising from its seat and made his way out of his heavily armoured vehicle. He certainly looked more menacing and battle ready in this armoured Batsuit, and if things were to get ugly here, then Ladybug and Chat Noir couldn't blame him.
"I'll have to give you both a tour later, we need to see the warden right away." he instructed as they made their way up the steps towards the doors .
"Fine by me. This place is creepy enough by just looking at it, but we've gotta get the job done." Chat responded as the guards at the doors opened them up, allowing them inside.
Though they were pacing through the entrance, Ladybug and Chat Noir couldn't help but gaze around at the dark and grimness of the mad house of super villains. They took note of how heavily armed the guards were, from hand held machine guns to electrical stun batons, leaving them slightly unnerved as they never saw such weapons up close before. They also took note of some of the battered and damaged parts of the building, with cracks in the concrete walls, shattered windows, and stains of blood on the marble floor. Ladybug cringed in disgust.
"Ugh, have they ever thought of cleaning up this place? What about keeping it more tightly locked up?" she asked as they reached the other side of the room.
"Warden Quincy has been demanding for such changes, but the current mayor of Gotham tries to brush Arkham under the carpet as best as he can by barely taking interest in it." Batman dully replied, though a hint of annoyance in his voice, which they couldn't blame him for. Why should he have to round up all these loonies and throw them back in if no such changes are being made in preventing their escapes?
"That's why I hope Quincy does become the next mayor. He might be able to bring about some changes." he mused to himself as the door ahead opened, revealing the man himself, Warden Quincy. He gave a polite nod to the trio as he approached them, an armed guard by his side.
"Surprised to see you in the afternoon, Batman. From what these special visitors told the guards at the gate, there's an emergency regarding the Asylum. What exactly is it?" he asked, getting straight to business.
Batman regarded him with a friendly blink of the eyes and explained away, "You've seen the news if what's been happening in Paris lately, haven't you?" he asked in a firm tone. Quincy nodded, a softer look on his old features.
"Oh yes, you and these two youngsters fighting the Joker in Paris, and unmasking that moth guy or whoever he was. I pity whatever family that guy might've kept those secrets from." he said in a sympathetic tone, pretty much confirming he knew what Batman was talking about, though he took no notice of Chat's eyes trailing to the floor.
"I've got reported sightings that he and Joker are in Gotham as we speak, possibly heading this way. They want to Akumatise every prisoner in here." Batman responded, earning a confused look from the warden.
"Akumatise?" he asked.
"Basically turn them into more powerful super villains and grant them magic powers." Ladybug quickly responded, making Quincy's eyes widen.
"Ah crap. Well, if that's true then we better get them transported. I'll give orders to my boys to start moving the more weaker ones out in the yard for the helicopters to come in" he stated as he turned around and headed back the way they came, with the trio of costumed superheroes following after him.
"Where will they be taken to, exactly?" Ladybug asked, curiosity in her voice.
"We've got an underground stronghold underneath the main police department back in Gotham. Me and Mr Terrific helped construct the cells there for every villain I come across in my city." Batman explained as they headed up the flight of stairs that led to the warden's office.
"Not being rude but shouldn't we call in the Justice League or some of the Teen Titans help out in all this? I mean, they're your buddies, right Bats?" Chat asked as that realisation dawned upon him.
"I'll only call in those two groups in as a last resort, as long as they're not too busy." Batman replied as they reached the floor they were heading to, standing back as Warden Quincy readied his microphone to give out the message.
"This is the warden. If any personnel are on standby, you are clear to start moving the prisoners. I want armoured men on patrol so best to get suited up to help the Batman escort out the stronger prisoners. Kitchen personnel are to leave right now. Ready any medical tools needed to numb the prisoners. Those are your orders! Over and out!" Quincy spoke, a strong power in his voice to get the message across to all the workers in the Asylum. He then opened the draw to his right and pulled out a grey and swipe blue card, handing it to Batman.
"That's the card that'll give you full clearance to the lower levels of Arkham, you can start taking out the bigger guys. The armoured guards will be down there waiting for you." he explained, getting a nod from Batman, who turned to Ladybug and Chat Noir.
"You two, with me." he ordered. With that, the trio swiftly left the room, two armed guards following after them in case any backup was needed.
So began the intense task of removing each prisoner from their cells. The weaker prisoners were right now having their "homes" being stormed into, huge waves of guards in black and blue uniforms slamming into them, whacking their riot batons against each prisoners legs to bring them down. They weren't giving them a chance, given the criminals' reputations. That and they wanted to land as much nasty blows on them as they could for everything they did while out on the streets. The ones getting handcuffed around the wrists and ankles right now were the likes of Penguin, Scarecrow, Firefly, Bird, Copperhead, Victor Zasz, Killer Moth and more. The guards were thankful these criminals were stripped of their weapons and tools, not wanting a dose of fear gas from Scarecrow, or get poisoned by Copperhead (who's hands were in special gloved gauntlets) or wanting to get burned by Firefly.
"Argh! You bastards! I'll have you all sued by the time I'm released from here!" Penguin snarled as he was hauled off his small feet, which were handcuffed together by the ankles.
He was smacked on the head from behind by a guard, who yelled, "Quit your whining, Cobblepot! The only thing you have a right to is to shut your damn mouth!" with another whack at the ankles, Penguin was dragged out of his cell and found himself at the rear end of the queue consisting of his fellow weaker inmates from above.
Scarecrow had a gag over his mouth as the guards couldn't stand the sound of his taunting and soothing voice, trying to find out the secret of everyone's fears.
Victor Zasz's eyes twitched constantly, a mad thought going through his head or his way of coping with the multiple scars on his body.
Bird was just glaring at the guards, probably giving them a silent threat regarding the whereabouts of her pet falcon, Talon.
Killer Moth, being the weirdo that he was, kept on muttering "Moth...Moths...Need moths". It's clear his latest encounter with Batman left him more nutty. Copperhead was the only one who found her voice as they began to steadily walk out of the room under heavy watch.
"So, mind telling us what it is we're being extracted for? We getting imprisoned in an alternate dimension?" she questioned, her voice dripping with sarcasm, though a tiny edge of nervousness in it too.
"None of your business ya bitch! Not another word out of you, understand!?" came the nasty reply of another guard, who kept his gun aimed at them as they came walking out of the room they were stationed in, coming across more of the weaker bunch of criminals Batman tended to handle, like Calendar Man, Carmine Falcone, KGBeast (who had his deadlier cybernetic parts removed), and Two-Face.
Over in the kitchen side of the madhouse, the staff stationed there were doing as they were told, grabbing as many belongings as they could before leaving. They were probably the ones that had the most safest of the jobs in the Asylum, just simply making food for the inmates, and for each other. They hated it though, given they had to primarily make food for the criminally insane and for utter monsters the Asylum housed in its grim walls. Yet as soon as the kitchen was empty for about four minutes, it ended up getting two certain sinister visitors as a purple blur zipped into the room, revealing the all too familiar boys in purple.
Hawk Moth glared at the Joker as he sniffed over a recently cooked bit of chicken.
"Oh goody, just in time for supper!" he chuckled as he rubbed his hands together, trying to find a fork he could use to pluck it apart. Instead, Hawk Moth yanked him by the hand and dragged him to the middle of the room.
"I had to wait five minutes for you to take a tinkle while we were near the fences and I'm not waiting any longer! You understand!?" he angrily yelled, almost popping a blood vessel under his silver mask. Joker giggled and softly patted his accomplice's shoulder.
"There there, monsieur Papillon, we're here now, so we can now work that magic trick of yours." he reassured, stepping back from the French villain, who was about to let out another yell of annoyance, only for him to stop and stand as still as he could.
His cold eyes trailed over to an air vent on the fair right of the room. Frowning but growing curious, Hawk Moth allowed his nose to guide him over to it, sniffing the air constantly as he neared it, a deadly smirk spreading across his almost masked features.
"Ahhh...I can sense a lot of misery coming from that vent. Tell me, Joker, your a constant resident of this Asylum, you must know where this vent leads to, surely?" he requested politely as his hands glowed purple, attracting the attention of his flying tools in the nearest miles of Arkham.
The Joker ignored the incoming four Akumas that flew in through the open window as he approached Hawk Moth. He grinned after staring at the vent for a while.
"Ohhhh. You've hit the jackpot, Hawkboy. That vent goes down to the lower sections of Arkham, where they hide the big guns." he winked as he finished his sentence, making Hawk Moth smile in delight.
"Brilliant. Some big guns will do certainly well for this" he chuckled as he corrupted the first butterfly that came to his hand. Unclamping his gloved hands, he gave the Akuma a little wave as it flew into the air vent...
Back with Batman, Ladybug, and Chat Noir, they had been accompanied by the more heavily armoured guards as they reached the first cell door that had come across in the dark and dank hallway. Batman paused for a moment as he stood outside the door, his heartbeat increasing slightly as he realised who he was about to introduce Ladybug and Chat to. One of the few villains who made him feel fear, fear for his life, fear for his friends, and fear for his city. But he couldn't let that be shown, especially right in front of him. It would give the man an advantage in beating him once again.
Without anymore hesitation, Batman readied the card key he had been given, glancing back at Ladybug and Chat.
"Let me do the talking. He's one of the few people in here that has a huge vendetta against me. Last thing you two want is him to target you both." he warned, making their young eyes widen slightly, though mostly out of confusion. Who on Earth in here didn't have a huge personal vendetta against Batman? He locked them all up here after all!
But they gotten their answer as soon as Batman unlocked the grey door, which slid open to the right, letting them in. Stepping in after the Dark Knight, the French duo were stunned to see who occupied this rather large cell. In the middle of the dark room was a big cage, big enough to contain a grizzly bear. It's occupant could be as well considered as one of them. He was quite lean in the tummy, but his chest and arms were huge, probably ten or twenty times bigger than the average strongman. Superman's biceps were a lot smaller compared to this guy's, but both could probably do a huge ton of damaged.
Suspended in the air inside the cage was none other than Bane himself, clad in a black and white mask, with his mouth exposed yet his masked eyes red. His legs were covered in black army combat trousers, while he wore a padded, armoured brown vest. Batman kept his eyes dead focused on the man that not only outsmarted him, but broke him too. He only had to take one look at those biceps to be reminded of what the six foot eight inches brute did to him all those years ago. He could only hope the cage itself could be transported out of the cell without having to remove Bane, given each time he fought him was mostly a fight to the death.
Bane tilted his head upwards and his red eyes made Ladybug shiver a bit. Though they were part of the mask, she could tell they suited him. The man certainly looked monstrous, but she wouldn't dare to think of what he had done in the past. Bane greeted them with a rather charming smile.
"Ah, so the Bat returns. So surprised you came to see me. Brought more children for me to fight?" he said soothingly in a strong Hispanic accent.
Batman blinked, trying not to falter or shrink away from the sound of the man's voice. Oh how much he wanted to put a tape over the brute's mouth, so he didn't have to be reminded of that chilling speech he gave him that night.
"No, Bane. We're here to escort you out." came the dull reply of the vigilante, who turned to one of the guards, "Get ready to open up the whole wall. Think you can roll him out?" he added quietly, getting a nod off the man he questioned.
Bane then turned his focus onto Ladybug and Chat Noir, his masked eyes full of curiosity "Ah, I didn't know the rumours were true. But here we are, the young saviours of Paris. What service can I do you today?" he greeted, his voice rather charming, which didn't suit his appearance at all.
Ladybug wasn't getting charmed that easily, however, so instead she gave him a hard frown.
"You can be quiet. We don't know that much about you of all villains, but you have the right to remain silent, like every single other criminal!" she responded, getting hard on the brute mastermind already. Bane just chuckled, highly amused.
"How cute, petite young lady. You never heard much about me? No? I'm not surprised, given I'm the Bat's greatest secret." he mused as he glanced at Batman, who glared darkly at him. Not liking the looks of this, Chat Noir stepped in.
"Well your not so special or secretive now, buddy. Your locked up in here, by your lonesome self, put in here by none other than the dude in black himself!" he smirked as he gestured a thumb at Batman, making Bane grunt in annoyance.
"Your cocky facade bothers me, young boy, but thank you for reminding me over how much of a nuisance the Bat is for me. Gives me more will when it comes to fighting him again." he said in an irritated tone, clearly not liking the praise Batman was getting.
"You don't like Batman because he kicks your butt twenty four seven like he does with all over criminals? You must have a big ego on you to hate him that much" Chat noted with a waving finger, mocking Bane, who growled angrily, making Ladybug place her hand in front of her partner.
"Now now, Chat, best we don't irritate him." she firmly reminded, only for a bitter laugh to escape Bane's lips.
"Foolish children. Hatred is something so overlooked in the emotional spectrum. Some claim it to weaken you, but to me, it only makes me smarter in stronger. Especially when it comes to breaking plenty of bones." he hissed as he clenched his fists, the bones of which crunched and crackled, making the French duo cringe in disgust.
That was when it happened. As it wasn't until this conversation came to an end that a guard noticed a pair of purple wings fluttering down towards the cage. He nudged his fellow colleague and spoke aloud.
"Hey, since when did we get butterflies in here? A pet of Killer Moth's?" He asked confusedly. Just simply saying that rang the alarm bells in the costumed trio, with Ladybug's blue eyes scanning the air above the cage, laying her sights on the demon as soon as she saw it.
"NO!" she screamed, swinging her yoyo out at the Akuma, which flew down faster to avoid getting swatted by the yoyo. Chat tried to swipe it with his baton but had no chance as it managed to get through the gaps of the cage, settling on the head of Bane, who went into a trance as a construct of a butterfly appeared over his masked face.
Batman's eyes widened in horror as he realised what was happening "...Oh shit." he muttered, a shred of fear in his voice.
Bane grinned evilly, his grin full of joy and hatred, a strange combination as he heard Hawk Moth's voice speak out to him in his head "My dear brute of a mastermind. You won the first round and broke the Bat, but he's broken you constantly since then. Accept these powers so they can give you more the might to break him once more!"
With that done, the construct of the butterfly vanished from Bane's face and a purple mist descended upon him. Ladybug turned to the guards with a sharp look in her eyes.
"Out! All of you go! Get the other prisoners and get them out! Move it!" she ordered as the mist thickened. The guards didn't need to be told twice, getting a horrible feeling from the sight of the purple smoke covering Bane and the cage, dashing out of the room as fast as possible.
As soon as the last guard left, a tear of metal was heard and the trio ducked to avoid getting whacked by what appeared to be the roof of the cage. Batman felt his heart pause as a pair of glowing yellow eyes glared at him from inside the smoke, which faded to nothingness in thin air, giving way to the monstrosity it helped create. Standing there before them was Bane, clad in the same clothes, but his body now hideously bulky, his height now having shot up four feet, making him about ten feet tall. His skin was a dark crimson red, while his veins and eyes glowed a hideous yellow, his knuckles almost ripping out of his skin. Bane grinned horribly as he glared down at Batman, who stood there with his jaw dropped, his stoic look gone as Bane spoke once more in a deeper, menacing voice.
"I BROKE YOU ONCE! I SHALL DO IT AGAIN!"
HOLY SHIT! BANE'S BEEN AKUMATIZED! 0_0
How the hell will Batman, Ladybug and Cat Noir survive this encounter?! Find out next time to see if they do or if they get broken!