Chapter 7: Connection

"That…was insane." James breathed.

Joker had taken the titan formula and transformed into a titan himself. However since he was already insane, his mind and personality remained the same. Despite the newfound power, Batman was able to use James's Solarium to knock Joker into a high voltage circuit breaker on top of the cellblock, plus use the antidote to cure himself and the wretched clown.
Soon Commissioner Gordon and the Gotham Police worked with the remaining Arkham security guards to reestablish control over the prison.
James turned to Batman.
"Alright, no more games." He said angrily. "You knew about my sister. Didn't you?"

Batman looked at him for a moment, then nodded.

"Years ago." He started. "A war was brewing on the streets of Gotham. Joker released a chemical bomb in North Gotham in an attempt to kill the populace with laughter. But at the same time, Scarecrow attacked South Gotham with nerve toxin and tried to kill that populace with fear. It caused a war between Joker and Scarecrow's men that spilled out all over Gotham.
"It nearly ripped the city apart." Batman continued. "It took the combined efforts of Barbara, Dick, Tim, and myself to stop the war. But during that time, hundreds of people were kidnapped or hurt during the confusion. I managed to track down nearly all of them except…"
"My sister Hanna." James finished. "Alright, so you lost track of her. I'm upset at that, but I'm even more confused as to why I suddenly remember her now? I mean she's my older sister! It's like her memory was wiped from my head years ago. What happened?"
"Not here." Batman said. "We'll continue this at the Batcave."
"Uh actually Batman…" James started. "I'm sort of with a team right now..."

"What?"
"An apartment complex exploded near my college." James explained. "And a few of the people I rescued had superpowers. They all wanted to join me in crime fighting."
"They can wait." Batman said finally. "You and I need to talk."
Nodding, James flew off.
"Hey how's Max doing?" James spoke over his Ari1 to Pam.
"Being a little fussy, but overall pretty good." She replied. "He's not one to readily accept green into his diet, and that annoys me."
James as Nightshroud flew high above the city towards Wayne Manor. Even though he had been to the Batcave many times, he still tries to stay out of sight by flying high and letting the darkness hide him.
He laughed. "Well that's what I get for cooking chicken two weeks in a row."

"Bastard."

Soon James had made it to the Batcave. He flew down next to the computer and sat on a nearby chair.
Suddenly, all the emotions came flooding back to him with memories flashing through his mind; he fell to his knees and cried.
"Hanna…" James wept. "Where are you? Please tell me you're not dead…"
"Get up."
He looked up and saw Batman staring down at him. Wiping the tears away, he stood up to face him.
"You know you could have a heart once in a while." James muttered.
"Forget it. Before you demanded an explanation about your sister." Batman/Bruce said. "I will tell you. Sit down."
James nodded and sat back in his chair. Sitting down at the supercomputer, Bruce removed his cowl and stared at the young student.

"6 years ago." He started. "I've already told you about the war between Joker and Scarecrow. But there's more. More about you."
James leaned forward. "What's so special about me?"
"Think back to the night you were first abducted." Bruce ordered. "Where were you and why were you there?"
James pondered for a moment, then answered.
"I was at the Star Rizz Club." He explained. "I had gone with a few classmates to the club for some dancing. I remember being very depressed that night and just wanted to unwind. While we were in there a few gunmen burst into the club and started shooting up the place. However they also started taking hostages. My classmates made it out, but I escaped through the back entrance. However that was when they came after me and well…the rest you know."

"Notice anything wrong with that scenario?" Bruce asked him.
James went silent for a moment then answered again:
"They had plenty of other hostages, but they suddenly released them and went for me when I escaped." He said.
"Correct." Bruce nodded. "Why do you think that is?"
"I don't know!" James exclaimed. "Maybe I had something they wanted?"
"Close." Bruce nodded again. "The truth is James, I've known about you much longer than you realize."
The college kid blinked. "How long?"
"Since the Joker and Scarecrow war." Bruce replied. "6 years ago."

His eyes widened. "That long!?"

Bruce nodded. "It's because another incident occurred around the same time. Your high school for instance."
James was astonished. "H-how do you know that!?"
"Because I was forced to intervene." Bruce responded. "By the sounds of it, you're starting to regain some old memories. You know about your sister, but do you know about the other girl?"
He slowly nodded. "A tad. That girl was blond with green eyes. She was very pretty but for some reason I have this intense feeling of hatred towards her."
"I know why." Bruce said. "And you won't like it."
"Tell me!" James jumped up from his seat angrily. "I need to know!"
"Alright." Bruce tapped a few keys on his supercomputer and images of his high school appeared.
"Th-that's my high school!" James pointed. "But…it's in ruins!?"

Bruce turned to him and dropped a bombshell.

"You destroyed the school."

Barbara Gordon jogged towards Wayne Manor with her backpack in one hand and her cellphone in the other.
"Yes Kara I know." She said. "I've been seeing it on the news too. These murders are not isolated events. It can't be. I'm going to look into it myself."
As she arrived to Wayne Manor, Alfred came to greet her.
"Good evening Mistress Gordon." He nodded and stepped aside.
"Hey Alfred!" She gave him a smile and walked in.
As soon as Barbara opened the grandfather clock to go in to the Batcave, he could hear shouting.
"I can't have!" She heard James yell. "How could I possibly be even capable of such an act!? It doesn't make sense!"

Barbara quickly rushed downstairs where she saw James with his back to Bruce and his face buried in his hands.
"Bruce!" Barbara quickly settled next to him, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek.
"Hey Barb." Bruce greeted. "This isn't—"
"I know." She answered. "But I heard James and I grew worried.
James turned around to face them.
"I'm sorry you had to hear that Barbara." He said sadly. "But apparently I just found out I destroyed my own high school!"
"What!?" Barbara gasped. "No way! That can't—"

"It is unfortunately." Bruce tapped a few more keys and a few pictures of the second floor hallway came up.
James looked, and gasped.
He could see his 16-year-old self with his whole body glowing red with his hands over his head and the other students cowering away from him in fear.
"But…" He stammered. "I…didn't have superpowers then!"
"You did." Bruce corrected. "But your memories were wiped…by me."
James rounded on him. "Y-you wiped my memories!?"
"Yes." He replied. "It was for your own safety."

The young student's hands started to shake with rage, but he sat down.

"Explain…how." He demanded livid.
But suddenly, his head exploded in pain again.
"ARRGH!" James grabbed his head as more images from high school appeared in his head, but this time the pain stopped immediately.
Gasping for breath, he stood up and looked at them.
"No need." He said sadly. "I already know."

Six Years Ago

"Hey man what happened last night?" Daniel asked worriedly.
James leaned against his locker and scratched his head.
"I actually don't remember." He replied. "Last night was the party, I was with Abby, then nothing."
"You don't remember what happened?" Daniel grew more worried. "Look man I gotta tell you somethi—"
"OH LORD WHAT THE HELL!?" A girl suddenly yelled looking at her phone.

Everyone looked, and saw a very graphic image of someone with his pants down.
"Who the hell sent that to you!?" One of her friends asked.
"I don't know! It just popped up!" She exclaimed.
"Oh god I just got the picture too!" A boy yelled.
"Me too!" Another student yelled.
"What the hell?" James looked around.

"James…" Daniel whispered. "That's a picture of you."

His eyes widened. "B-but…I never took a picture like that!"
"Apparently you did." He whispered. "You should leave class for a little while and figure out who—"
"Ah there he is." A voice sounded.
They both turned, and saw the blond-haired Abby looking at them. Arms crossed.
Everyone turned and looked at the three kids in the middle.
"Abby, where were you last night?" James walked up to her, only to get slapped across the face.

"Fuck you asshole." She spat.

"What the hell are you talking about!?" He raised his hands in confusion. "I don't remember what happened!"
"Convenient." Abby glared. "You mean you don't remember last night when you tried to rape me?"
Everyone gasped, including James.
"WHAT!?" He shouted. "I would NEVER do that!"
"Really?" Abby asked, furiously. "Then that's NOT you in the picture!?"
She took out her phone and showed him the picture. James looked and gasped.

"It is me!" He thought, terrified. "But why would I take such a horrible picture!?"
"I don't know who took that picture but for god sake! I would NEVER do that to you!" James protested.
"Just forget it. I'm done." Abby turned to walk away and James reached out, only to be shoved by one of the kids.
"So you like that kinda shit huh do you!?" One of the boys shoved him again.
"I DIDN'T DO IT!" James yelled, but he could see that nobody believed him.
"The police are on their way James." Abby said as she walked away. "Go fuck yourself."
Another kid suddenly shoved James again, this time a girl.

"Rapist!" She shouted.

Another girl scratched him across the face. Then another boy punched him hard in the ribs, sending him to the ground.
A few kids were suddenly on him punching and kicking him.
James crawled into a fetal position and took the abuse.
"I didn't do it…I didn't do it!" He thought. "Why would someone want to do this to me!? Please! Stop!"
But it never stopped, they spat at him, threw things at him, and kicked him, then suddenly it stopped.

He looked, and saw that everyone staring at him. Laughing.

"What the—?"

"I just realized." One of the kids said, looking at the picture. "You are never having children, because god no girl will ever feel that."
Everyone burst out laughing.
"Good lord, that's barely a few centimeters at best!" Another girl said.
The laughter continued, and the humiliation continued to weigh him down.
Tears started falling from James's eyes. He just wanted it to stop.
"Ooh that's too bad James." A voice spoke above him.

He looked and noticed that everyone was frozen in place as if time had stopped. In front of him he saw Abby staring down at him smiling.

"What do you want…?" James whimpered.
She suddenly grabbed him and slammed him in front of his locker.
"Who do you think took the picture?" Abby whispered in his ear. "I did."
He gasped. "W-wha-?"
She slapped him. "Shut up. I'm talking now."

He fell silent as she explained.

"You were one of the best students in this school." Abby whispered. "You beat me in every subject. I always finished below you in everything. Now normally this would just drive the other me to beat you, but I also know you hold something I want."
"I want your power." Abby whispered coyly. "You have this energy inside you that I cannot figure out what it is. I couldn't take it before because you were so confident and had a strong will. All my attempts failed to extract it. So I decided to become your "girlfriend" so I could find your weakness and exploit it."
"And your weakness was a boring one: Sex." Abby muttered. "It was simple really. A 15-year-old virgin who went to Catholic school for most of his life and practiced abstinence? It was too easy. You see, I can sense hormone levels, and you were just the horniest out of all the boys in this school. I control this place! So that night at the party, I pretended to be "ready to fuck" and just as you were at your weakest, I knocked you out with my powers. Then I took your phone, took the picture, and programmed it to send to every phone in this school. Wrecking your reputation and any confidence you might still have. "And now I can extract that power of yours because you're so weak and defeated. You never went to the gym, never took self-defense, and never learned to fight because you were a pacifist. You honestly think I could ever be your girlfriend? Get fucking real."

The moment she stopped talking, he heard everyone laughing again as if time had resumed again. The humiliating noise was ringing in his ears and he couldn't take it anymore.
He felt a fist plunge into his stomach. Hard. Blood spurted out of his mouth as he was too weak to fight back. He took blow after blow and could not retaliate.

And then suddenly, he felt something. It felt…hot. It felt like he was burning. Like he was on fire.

He could feel his sanity slipping away as he realized that his relationship was a huge lie. Crazy fantasies flew through his head as he pictured everyone dead on the floor by his hand. He pictured the school burning as the kids screamed to death.
James could feel his body becoming more and more energized with each fantasy. He pictured Abby bleeding to death by him. He pictured every single kid nailed to the walls of the high school alive.
He then began to feel his teeth changing. James's eyes flashed red, and his teeth bore fangs.

Rage burned through him, hatred clouded his judgment, and he finally snapped.

He opened his eyes at the still laughing students and Abby. Suddenly, a fist flew forward and connected with Abby's left cheek, sending her to the ground in agony. Seeking out the nearest student he suddenly sprang up, grabbed the boy, and smashed him into the wall.

Everybody stopped laughing, and students began to back away.

James then noticed the teachers and staff were also in the hallway but doing nothing, which only fueled his rage.
"They could…have…HELPED ME! BUT THEY DIDN'T!" He screamed in his mind.
The young teenage boy raised his hands high over his head and glowed red. He opened his mouth and an animalistic roar sounded from his vocals, forcing everyone to cover their ears. The windows shattered, the ground cracked, and the lights went out.
Just then he charged and punched the boy in front of him, he coughed out blood and slammed into the wall, unconscious.
Everyone suddenly turned to run, when James slammed his hand onto the ground. Red energy seeped into the doors, walls, and windows, which locked everyone on the second floor.

"You like to laugh at me huh…?" James spoke in a voice not his own. He slowly walked towards the students, who cowered in fear.
Flames suddenly erupted all around them as the temperature of the hall started to rise rapidly.
He flicked his hand, and suddenly another boy was yanked by the energy and dropped in front of James.
You think I'll never have children huh?" He asked calmly.
The boy shook in fear when James suddenly pointed at the boy's pants and set them on fire. Yelling, the boy quickly removed them to avoid burning his skin, but that's when James suddenly tore off his boxers too.

Then he burst out laughing.

"HA!" He laughed. "I'M not having children? That's not even a millimeter!"
"Stop this!" A girl cried out. "Please!"
James locked eyes with her, who quickly hid behind a boy he assumed was her boyfriend.
He grabbed the pant less boy in front of him and hurled him through the window. The boy landed on the bottom rooftop, unconscious. The angry kid then suddenly appeared in front of the boy she was hiding behind and grabbed his neck.
Choking, the boy was lifted up and smashed into a locker as he stood face to face with the girl.

"Ah! You're the one that made the centimeter comment!" James grinned evilly.
"I-I-I d-didn't—" She started but he cut her off.
"You meant every word." He said. "Now let's see if you have any goods."
He reached for her when suddenly a blast of energy struck him in the back. Turning around, James could see Abby standing there with her hand out.
"Nobody does that to me." She growled.

Suddenly, more rage energy started to leak out of his body.

"What did she just say?" James thought in a rage. "That's MY LINE!"
"Nobody…does that…do YOU!?" He roared. "WHAT ABOUT ME YOU BITCH!? I've…I'VE HAD ENOUGH!"
He raised his hands in the air one more time and looked at everyone, including Abby.

"DIE!" James roared and unleashed an immense shockwave of rage energy that blasted the second floor apart. The second floor gave out as Fredrickson's High School went up in flames, and finally collapsed.

Nobody saw the small metal device rolling around in the hallway that was casting a large barrier around the school and the unconscious students.