9:13 PM
Batcave
Batman stood in costume, making some final adjustments to his gauntlets as Robin and Blackbat approached in costume for that evening's crime-fighting work.
"Hey, Cass made a good point a while ago. She said that regardless of if we stop the Joker and Anarky or not, this whole election's going to be rendered moot anyway. The state legislature will order a do-over due to the circumstances." Tim said, Cassandra nodding in agreement.
"I know. Likely the Joker knows this as well." Batman replied.
"Then why go through with it if he knows it's just gonna get nullified?" Tim asked.
"Because it's the Joker. It's all a joke to him. Anarky's the one to watch out for. I suspect that if we don't stop him, he'll make a bombing threat if they talk about negating the outcome of the election and calling for a do-over." Batman said as they started for the Batwing.
"Any leads on where he might be hiding?" Robin asked.
"Unknown. Commissioner Gordon and the GCPD CSI Techs found trace elements on the bomb casings found at the mall. Oracle's tapped into their system to get the results from their tests. They've also been interrogating the Anarky supporters we caught after Anarky's broadcast last night. If any of them knows his location, they'll talk." Batman said as they started to climb into the Batwing.
"Any news on if Dick will be joining us?" Robin asked.
"Nightwing's busy in Blüdhaven. We're on our own for this." Batman said as the batwing started up, the canopy closing over them.
"So where do we look first?" Robin asked.
"We wait for Joker to make the next move. Knowing him, he enjoys the attention too much to pass up an opportunity to appear on camera. He'll be making another broadcast tonight. I'd bank on it." Batman said as the Batwing screamed out of the batcave. No sooner had they left, a console next to Cassandra started beeping.
"B.G." Cass tapped out in Morse code. B.G. was her way of saying Barbara Gordon/Batgirl in a hurry.
"Go ahead, Barbara." Batman said, answering the call.
"Batman! The Joker's making his move! He's on all the channels!" Oracle reported.
"Talk about timing." Robin mumbled as he flipped on a monitor inside the Batwing, allowing a video stream of one of the local channels to appear. The feed showed the Gotham City Skyline for a moment as a kazoo rendition of the National Anthem started playing.
"The City…of Gotham! And wouldn't you know it, it's an election year! What fun! NOT!" Joker said before stepping into frame dressed in his gaudy Uncle Sam costume. At the sight of the Joker, Batman quickly veered the Batwing towards Gotham.
"You know, I've been grinning at you closet lunatics for years but lately my grins have been everywhere! Sometimes from a bus, on a park bench, even grinning down at you from on billboards. But every two years it's the same tired gag. Run a bunch of mean spirited ads, make some flowery speeches, and then make a few silly promises that never get kept. Just once I'd like to see someone just drop their pants for a change! I know I'm not alone in this. Especially for when Councilwoman Sandy Dimmons ran. Me~ow." The Joker commented with an implying grin. There was an off-screen "Ahem" presumably from Harley. Joker shifted his gaze towards her with a coy smile for a moment before looking back at the camera.
"But this year's definitely different! Remember Gotham, you too can make a difference, by deciding which candidate lives and which candidate gets severe lead poisoning. Just remember, no backing out and no calling the whole thing off! My running mate Anarky is making sure of that. By the way, I heard that the Jezebel Plaza Mall lost a few windows last night. Must've taken some great panes for that to happen!" The Joker commented with an insane giggle. There was a collective groan from off camera between Harley and Wild Card. Robin groaned as well as did Blackbat although hers was a silent groan.
"Oh shut up. What politician hasn't made a crummy pun during a speech before?" Joker grumbled to his crew before turning back to the camera.
"Just a reminder to my opponents out there: You drop out, I drop you. Oh and Batsy! I hope to see you real soon! Ciao! I am the Joker and I approve this message!" the Joker said before descending into insane laughter, the cheap campaign card reading "Joker for Mayor-derer" being held up in front of the camera for a moment before the feed cut out.
"Oracle, did you get the trace?!" Robin asked.
"I did but he piggybacked the signal off of at least seven different satellites. It's going to take a few minutes to sort it all out." Oracle said.
"Don't bother. I know exactly where he is." Batman replied, confusing his two sidekicks.
"You do? How?" Robin asked. Batman pressed a button on the console, rewinding the recording of the stream back to the beginning to where it showed the Gotham Skyline.
"Only one place in all of Gotham offers a view like that. I'd know it anywhere. I spent over a year there." Batman replied.
"Huh?" Robin asked.
"Years ago, back when I was first starting out as Batman, I built an apartment atop of the old Wayne Towers Hotel while renovations to Wayne Manor were ongoing. I operated as Batman from there. When the work was finished, I had the special modifications to the apartment removed and converted into an ordinary living space, turning the apartment into the hotel's penthouse suite. I saw that view every day for over a year. That's where the Joker is now." Batman explained as the Batwing started to approach the Wayne Towers Hotel, one of the tallest hotels in Gotham, second only to the Gotham Royal Hotel, as well as one of the tallest buildings in town. As they approached the tower, they could tell the lights were on in the penthouse.
"Batman, I just tapped into the Hotel reservations logs. The penthouse is checked out to a Mr. Joseph Keller and a party of three. A man and two women. Sounds like the Joker alright." Oracle reported.
"We're almost there. Alert GCPD of the Joker's position." Batman said as he brought the Batwing in over the apartment, the Batwing having engaged noise bafflers to allow it to silently approach the penthouse. The Batwing flew in to idle over the penthouse, hovering in the air as the canopy opened, the Caped Crusader and the Batclan climbing out of the jet before leaping off the side, gliding down to land on the roof before Batman remotely transferred the Batwing to Oracle's control, sending the Batwing flying away.
The Penthouse was an art-deco themed semi-dome shaped suite with large bowing windows and a flat roof. There were sections of the apartment where, provided the curtains were all pulled back, one could see clear through the apartment. Thin decorative walls made up the rooms and only the external hallway leading from the elevator and the master bathroom were fully enclosed. Large curtains and shutters on automated tracks allowed for privacy.
Batman looked inside through the large arching windows and saw several armed Joker Goons wearing clown masks or clown makeup stalking through the apartment with SMGs or shotguns. Attempts to look inside the master bedroom were blocked as the curtains had been drawn but his cowl's detective mode allowed him to see three individuals, highlighted as orange colored skeletons with faint blue outlines of their true shapes, in the master bedroom, all three on the bed. He could tell by the pelvic bones on the outer two figures that they were females. The females were most likely Harley and Wild Card while the male sat resting with his hands behind his head in the center of the bed. Likely the Joker. Batman quietly stepped over towards where Robin and Blackbat were crouched and waiting for his signal to move. Batman quietly knelt down next to a Wayne Tech Control box near the roof where the penthouse power supply was located.
Inside the apartment, the goons were still patrolling when the lights all suddenly went out.
"Huh?!" "What happened?!" the goons asked.
"Well that was fast! Remind me to tell the manager that we have a bit of a rodent problem!" Joker could be heard commenting from the bedroom.
"You boys betta not be slackin' off out there! Mista J, Wild Card, and I ain't done yet!" Harley yelled. One of the patrolling goons was making his way towards the kitchen area when he found an unconscious goon lying near the oven.
"What the hell happened to-MUMPH!" he yelped before a black gloved hand covered his mouth from behind, the goon getting pulled into the shadows just seconds before a third rounded the corner, seeing nothing.
"Uh, Boss! I just lost sight of Laurel!" one of the goons reported.
"Want me to go look for him, Uncle Joker?" Carde could be heard asking.
"No need. Knowing Batso, he's probably stringing Laurel, Hardy, Ricky, and Lucy along somewhere." Joker said just as Robin and Blackbat both snagged the last two goons in a double takedown. The Batclan then took up positions near the master bedroom and threw open the door, batarangs ready to throw but they froze at what they saw. There was indeed a man and two women in bed but they weren't the Joker, Harley, or Wild Card. Instead it was a terrified family of three, a man, his wife, and their fourteen-year-old daughter, all lying in the bed together, bound and gagged. The wife and daughter both lay on their sides facing inward and had one of their hands inside their top facing hip pockets, pressing down on something while the husband had his hands tucked behind his head. On the headboard of the bed was strung up three wireless speakers above the three hostages. The speakers each had the face of either Joker, Harley, or Wild Card painted on them. Joker's was center over the husband, Harley's was on the left over the wife, and Wild Card's was right, over the daughter.
"Surprise, Batman! You fell for that old fake Joker trick again! It never gets old!" Joker cackled through the speaker in the center as Batman switched to his detective mode and immediately saw why the hostages were so afraid. The women were both pressing down on pressure sensitive bombs in their pockets, their hands pressing down on one end and their own bodyweight pressing down on the one between them and the bed. The husband had his hands tucked behind his head, holding a grenade with the pin tied to a piece of string running to the bedframe. This insured that they stayed in the positions they were in. Batman and Robin quickly checked for explosives.
"Blackbat, restore the power. Use code cipher Alpha-Lambda 7." Batman ordered, Blackbat quietly rushing back out of the apartment while Batman and Robin moved towards the bed, removing the gags from the hostages.
"We're rigged! Please help us!" the wife pleaded, tearfully just as the lights came back on.
"Batman, are you seeing what I'm seeing?" Robin asked as Batman looked closer at the devices on the women. Batman quietly reached into the wife's pocket and pulled out the device and cracked it open, dumping its contents onto the floor: confetti and silver glitter.
"Don't move. Those two bombs were fakes but the two under you and the grenade behind your husband, are not." Batman said as Robin tossed away the other dud which broke upon hitting the floor, spilling more confetti and glitter onto the floor.
"Are we gonna die?" the daughter asked.
"Don't bet on it." Robin asked with a reassuring smile as Batman gently and carefully rolled the wife over to look at the bomb under her more carefully. It was a triangular device with a large silver button on the top for the pressure sensor. Batman pulled a small injector-like device from his belt, carefully injecting a clear sticky liquid into the crack between the pressure sensor and the explosive. Robin did the same with the other.
"Sorry about the manhandling. Normally I don't get so grabby with women. I'll owe you dinner and a movie. Sound good to you?" Robin asked the girl, using the levity to calm her down.
"This is going to take a few seconds. I need to turn the bomb around. Robin? On three. One. Two. Three." Batman said as he and Robin both carefully and slowly turned the bombs so that they could access the other side. They then injected the liquid into the cracks, a slight crackling sound coming from the liquid around the bombs. After a few seconds the Dark Knight and Boy Wonder calmly reached in and with their thumbs pressing down on the weight sensors, pulled the explosives free from under the women, the liquid forming a powerful adhesive and keeping the sensor held down.
"Pass that one to me. Blackbat! Window! Now!" Batman ordered, Blackbat rushing back towards them while grabbing a heavy decorative statue and using it to smash one of the windows as Batman stuck two explosive devices to the bottom of the Joker's bombs, throwing them out one at a time where they harmlessly exploded high in the air. Meanwhile Robin reached over and carefully snipped the string tied to the pin in the grenade the husband was holding.
"Alright. The good news is you can move now. Bad news, the grenade was a phony all along." Robin said as the husband pulled his arms back around forward, pulling the gag from his mouth.
"Oh boo! Ol' 'Snobbin' just stepped all over the punchline!" Joker's voice rang through the center speaker. The TV across from the bed suddenly clicked on, showing the Joker sitting at a card table with Harley and Wild Card, playing cards.
"Joker." Batman growled as he stepped into the room.
"Sorry I couldn't be there, batfreak. You know the life of a mayoral candidate. Constituents to poison, babies to slap, hands to break. You know, the usual." Joker chuckled.
"What did you want with these people, Joker?" Batman asked but the Joker merely chuckled again.
"Why Batman, I haven't even told the joke yet! But since you're such a good audience, I'll tell it to you anyway. It's a pretty good one too. You see, there was this guy who wanted to blow up a building! So he kidnaps the building's owner and his family and ties them up all the way across town! Want to know the punchline? I'm not the guy." Joker said with a dark grin, chuckling for a moment.
"Harley, Wild Card, I think it's time you go get ready for the bat. He'll likely be showing up soon. Toodle-ooh bats!" Joker giggled before the TV turned off. Batman immediately turned around towards the family in the bed.
"Alright, who are you and what buildings do you own?" Batman asked as the man scratched his head.
"I'm Joseph Keller, I'm the V.P. of Gene-Grow Industries based out of Metropolis. I came to town to tour one of our fertilizer factories here in Gotham. I'd just finished the tour when I got snatched. My wife and daughter were with me since the tour was only one day and we were going to make a vacation out of the rest of our time here." The man explained as Batman narrowed his gaze.
"Have there been any sort of labor disputes within the past ten years involved with that plant?" Batman asked, the man thinking for a moment.
"Uh let me think…uh, yes-yes there was! We'd gotten some new equipment to help streamline the production of the fertilizer! It was going to replace some of the older equipment and we wouldn't need as many employees. Well, the union caught wind of the plan and sent out some insane rep to our offices. He said to get rid of the machines or the employees would strike. We refused and he tried to organize a strike the next day!" Joseph explained.
"Tried?" Robin asked, curiously.
"Only two or three of the workers joined him for the strike. We'd announced long before the machines would arrive that we needed workers in a different but similar part of the production, so if anything the employees who lost those jobs would simply be put in a different area. No jobs were to be lost and we communicated that heavily to the entire company! We even bragged that no one would lose their jobs from the new machines! But that rep, Weems, he just went into a blind rage! We had to call the police to remove him." Joseph said as Batman gave a nod.
"I've notified the GCPD. They'll be here soon. Don't go anywhere and don't worry about the Joker's men. We've taken care of them." Batman replied as he and the batclan turned and headed out, the sound of police sirens echoing from outside.
…
On the Batwing outside, the Batclan were flying towards the industrial district of Gotham, the sound bafflers disengaged since the Joker knew they were coming. As they flew, Oracle came on over the comms.
"Batman! It's Anarky! He's making another broadcast! I'm running a trace on it now!" Oracle reported, Batman quickly switching on the television monitors, showing Anarky standing before the same backdrop as before.
"Citizens of Gotham, my warnings have not been heeded. The Batman continues to attempt to prevent the Joker's promise. I am giving you this warning Batman. Stand down. I won't ask again. The corporate regime will not win this time!" Anarky warned. Suddenly the feed was interrupted by the Joker sitting in front of the Joker colored American Flag.
"Spoken like a true lunatic, A-Frame! You and I are going to make great things explode together!" Joker commented before Anarky's feed reappeared.
"Our goals align, nothing more." Anarky replied, calmly. Joker then reappeared.
"Oh? And here I thought we were running mates because you liked my puckish charm." Joker giggled. Back to Anarky.
"Remember my warning, Batman. If I see you or your team anywhere near my bombs, they're going off, and don't think I didn't notice what you did at the mall! I've set the bombs to go off instantly if you tamper with them! Embrace the Anarchy!" Anarky warned before the feed cut out.
"Oracle, did you get the trace that time?" Batman asked.
"Yes but Joker and Anarky are using two separate signals. Both are bouncing off of as many as twelve different satellites. It's going to take time to sort them both out." Oracle replied as Batman pondered for a moment.
"Get on it, Oracle. Have the GCPD and Fire Department standing by." Batman ordered as the fertilizer plant came into sight.
End Chapter 5