Author's Note: Hm... What to say... I'm not going to guarantee anything, but this might end up being the final chapter of this story (with the possible exception of a short epilogue. That may or may not come at some point in the future. Then again, this could not be the last chapter at all. Rest assured, if it is, it'll definitely be on the long side. I've got a box of cheez-its and my Rush playlist on hand, so let's GET THIS DONE. PS- I swear, that no matter how tempting it gets, this chapter will not end with Diana holding a gun and having to choose which is the real Batman and which one is an imposter. Maybe as an alt ending...
Batman deactivated his comms link and stepped out of the Batmobile. "This is close as we can get without risking detection." He said to Wonder Woman, who had just landed next to him. "Any further, and we'll be in range for proximity alarms. You'll have to wait here with the Batmobile." He'd managed to trace the communicator that he'd given to Catwoman to an abandoned factory in Gotham's Industrial district; suspiciously close to where Firefly had been killed. He double-checked the information that the transmitter was still sending. "Definitely a trap. They've disabled the audio feed from Selina's transmitter, but it's still sending out a homing beacon. They're luring me in, and they don't care if I know it."
"I'm really not sure about this plan." Wonder Woman said, sounding slightly anxious. "You of all people know that I'm normally not one for nerves, but Bruce... This is suicide!"
"That's the point. I'm counting on Strange getting comfortable with his advantage and getting sloppy."
"That's an awfully big risk to take, even for you..."
"Relax, Diana... Remember, I have an ace up my sleeve too, this time."
" That's the part of the plan that I'm having issues with. I really wish that your plan didn't involve me rushing in with seconds to spare. There are too many variables. What if he decides to just off you?"
"Hopefully it won't come to that." Bruce said grimly. He knew that deep down, he wasn't as confident as he was leading her to believe, but he had no choice. It was either this, or let Strange kill Catwoman and escape. "I'm not going down without a fight. But think of that as a backup plan, just in case I can't beat him."
"Right..." She shook her head, still not believing what she was agreeing to. "I know you can do this... But that doesn't mean that it's isn't the craziest thing that I've ever heard."
Batman nodded slightly, and made to get moving, only to be stopped by her hand on his shoulder. "Bruce... If this doesn't go well... I just want to say..." She trailed off, trying to find the words to properly express what she wanted to say, but he held up a hand.
"You don't have to." He took her by surprise, leaning in to kiss her. For one shining moment, all of the danger that they were about to face melted away, and nothing mattered except that she held on to him for as long as she could. But all too soon, he'd vanished as quickly as he'd moved, becoming lost among the tangle of buildings that formed Gotham City.
"I hope you know what you're doing, Bruce..." She whispered, climbing into the Batmobile so she could keep an eye out for vital spikes.
Batman wove around the enormous towers, growing ever closer to the homing signal as he grappled from building to building. Finally, he found the right building. Heat signatures showed two warm bodies in a CEO's office on the fourth floor. He landed silently on a nearby rooftop, crouching below the room so he could recon the situation without being spotted. One of the heat signatures was wriggling around on the floor; he assumed that that one must be Catwoman. The second was a tall, lanky figure standing over her, gesturing animatedly; the height and other dimensions were a close match to the Joker's. There was no sign of Hugo Strange; although Batman knew that if his suit had been copied, Strange would have the same thermal cloaking capabilities that he did.
'Alright...' Batman thought to himself, gritting his teeth and preparing himself for battle. 'Showtime. No time to waste beating around the bush... It's time to be direct.' Not giving himself time to second-guess his judgement, he jumped off the rooftop, spreading his cape out to glide. He felt a terrifying sensation of falling, a brief relief as he caught the wind, and finally a brief triumph as he crashed through the window, landing in a neat combat roll. In one swift motion, he hurled a batarang, aiming to incapacitate the Joker. However, his projectile had scarcely made it halfway across the room before it was knocked out of the air.
The room was exactly as Batman had predicted, save one rather important detail. Catwoman was lying on the floor, tightly bound and gagged (and evidently quite unhappy about it, judging by her angry hissing), and the Joker was on the other side of the room, giggling manically. However, there was one more presence in the room; a tall figure, garbed in a suit not unlike Batman's own. Upon closer inspection, Batman could see the subtle differences that hadn't been readily visible on the grainy video that Commissioner Gordon had provided him with. The mysterious figure's suit was a much deeper shade of gray than the original, and the cowl had been reconfigured so that it covered his entire face. However, the most apparent change was in the lenses that covered the eyes; the stranger had abandoned the original design in favor of circular mirrored lenses that gave the impression of staring into one's very soul. The result was rather alarming; his face was entirely featureless, with the exception of those horrible, shiny eyes.
"Greetings, 'Batman...'" As soon as the figure spoke, it was obvious that the Question had been correct. Strange's voice came through as a muffled hiss, as though he were speaking through some sort of gas mask, but it was clearly him. "Finally, you have arrived, and we can begin at last." Batman could hear a disturbing impatience in his voice that hadn't been there before. "I have waited so long... And now... I am so close..."
"Not as close as you might think." Batman growled, charging forward with an elbow extended. As he'd feared Strange hadn't been simply boasting when he claimed to have memorized every technique at Batman's disposal. He was able to sidestep as easily as if Batman had told him what he planned to do in advance. Batman feigned a punch with his right hand, aiming for Strange's chest. Strange easily blocked, and just as effortlessly parried the right hook that Batman had been preparing.
Realizing that he'd never win if the fight kept going that way, Batman opted to change his tactic to go on the defense. Strange's jabs weren't quite as powerful as Batman's, but they were practiced and well placed enough to have the same effect. Batman felt each strike getting closer and closer to hitting it's mark, and knew that he wouldn't be able to hold off much longer at this rate.
Meanwhile, the Joker had settled himself in an office chair, propping Catwoman up against the wall so she could better see what was going on. He'd produced a bag of popcorn that he'd stashed in the desk, and seemed be thoroughly enjoying himself. "You can do better than that, Bats!" He shouted, waving a fist in the air. "Come on! If the back of your head isn't touching your tailbone, then you're not trying hard enough!"
Batman knew that he was outmatched; Strange had had god knows how long to train specifically to fight Batman, whereas Batman had only discovered that Strange had the slightest combat experience.
After what seemed like forever, Strange finally managed to break Batman's guard with a well-timed punch to the chest. He followed with a solid hit to the face, and before Batman knew it he was on his back on the floor. He saw Catwoman's eyes widen with shock, and he could have sworn that he even saw a flicker of surprise on the Joker's face. Before he could stand again, Strange had pinned his shoulder's down with his knees.
"So long... For years I have awaited this very moment..." Strange murmured, sounding as though he hardly dared to believe his eyes. He slowly reached down with one hand, and began to press on the Dark Knight's throat.
"Ooooh, I can't watch!" The Joker squealed, covering his eyes. "You'll tell me when it's over, won't you?" He peeked at Catwoman between his fingers. She stared daggers at him for a moment before turning her full attention back to the horrifying sight before her eyes.
Strange reached out with his free hand and slowly lifted Batman's cowl. "Years of hard work... And finally, I can reap my reward. I shall purge Gotham of all the scum and filth that you've encouraged with your charade. You can rest peacefully knowing that Gotham is safe in my hands. Now... I shall watch the life drain from your eyes, as a new era begins." Perhaps it was just a trick of his imagination, but Batman could have sworn that he saw the longing in Strange's reflective eyes as his surroundings grew progressively darker. Despite his fading consciousness, Batman had to struggle to keep the triumph from showing on his face; Strange's attention was entirely focused on him, to the point that he didn't notice a distant whistling from outside. As blackness closed in over Batman's eyes, he suddenly felt the pressure lift from his throat.
Author's Note: Awkward cutoff point, but that's the way it goes. It'll actually work out for the best; what I did was cut and paste the rest of the unfinished chapter into another document, which I plan to upload when it's finished later tonight. Until then, this'll have to do. My only concern is that last time I posted two chapters in such a short period of time, a lot of people completely missed the first part. That would be bad, because assuming you've read this chapter,which you have; unless you're the type of person who reads the author's end comments before the chapter, in which case, I like your style. But I digress. I had a point that I was trying to make... Either way, coming soon... THE FINAL COUNTDOWN BEGINS!