A/N: I hope you all enjoy my new chapter!
Isaac Clark: I hope you enjoy this chapter, I think it's a good one!
ThecreepyBiscut1: I'm glad you're enjoying the story! And as for your suggestion, I'll keep it in mind.
Jenicide24: Well I'm glad I could deliver!
Chapter Eight: A New Beginning
Batman kicked down the doors of the Ace Chemical plant violently. It was time to end this; Identity would pay fro his crimes. There would be no hiding in the shadows, no silent takedowns, only his fists beating in that disgusting mask of his.
"IDENTITY!" Batman yelled, "WHERE ARE YOU!"
Batman pulled out his grapnel hook and shot it upwards towards the catwalk. Once the hook had a firm grip on the railing, he ascended up onto the walkway overlooking the different chemical vats.
Why was Identity hiding here? What did the chemical plant have to do with his ideals of anarchy and revolution? Batman looked around, scanning for any signs of life in the room. There was nothing, had Identity gotten away? No, it wasn't possible, with all the tech Identity used to broadcast; he had to still be here somewhere. He wouldn't have had enough time to leave.
"Oracle, I can't locate him," he reported over the comm. link.
"But you're in the right place, that was definitely the Ace on Ace chemicals in the backdrop."
Batman continued to search, where the hell could the terrorist be? As he searched, he noticed an especially dark corner of the room. Batman pulled out a flashlight and turned it on, then shined it towards the shadows. When the dark corner was lit up, Batman dropped his flashlight in horror.
"Eve… are you seeing this?"
Eve made a noise over the radio as if she had just thrown up, and rightfully so.
In front of him, hanging from a noose, was the corpse of Identity. The head was bloodied and bashed in, the limbs all cut off. The dead bodies of some of his followers were positioned in a worshipping crouch in front of their equally dead leader. Batman just stared at the horrifying spectacle, unable to form words to describe how gruesome the scene was. He noticed something stuffed in Identity's mouth. When he got a closer look, it seemed like it was a small slip of paper. Batman pulled it out and unwrinkled it, taking a look at the message. On the sheet of paper, written in blood, was "The real show begins at twelve o clock tomorrow."
"Do you think it's really him? What if he wants you to think he's dead?" Eve asked
Batman shook his head, "Not, it's him. Identity was not one for sadistic enjoyment like this. This, this is different then anything I've seen."
Suddenly, Batman heard sirens wailing outside. The police, of course they had to come now. If they saw him next to Identity's dead body, he would become a prime suspect, further angering those who already disliked him. He was going to be hunted for this.
"Batman, we know you're in there!" yelled Jenna Carmen from the outside, "Come out with your hands up!"
Batman took a deep breath; the league was not going to like what he had to do. He pulled out three smoke grenades and threw them out the window. As the smoke dispersed, eliminating all visibility, Batman jumped out through the window and into the cloud. He ducked and weaved through coughing policemen, who didn't notice him through the black fog.
"Somebody clear this stuff out!" Jenna yelled, signaling for the police helicopter. Batman just got into his car as the smoke was being blown away by helicopter and raced out in between the police blockade.
"There he goes, after him!" Jenna yelled, pulling the door too her car open and jumping in.
The police tailed Batman as he sped down the highway at ungodly speeds. "It was a setup," Batman told Eve over the radio, "whoever killed Identity wants to frame me, wants to try and break me."
"Who could it be? Even Marone doesn't have the capacity for that kind of cruelty."
"I don't know," Christian answered, pulling out the sheet of paper, "but I have a feeling that we're going to find out tomorrow at twelve."
The blinding spotlight from the police helicopter made his usual escape more difficult, he had to lose the chopper. The car could take police gunfire, but not forever. The tunnel; that was it! If he could go underground he could ditch the police cars and the helicopter in one bold move.
Batman swerved to the left at the nearest tunnel exit and the police followed him just as he thought they would. Once they were all in the tunnel, Batman flipped a switch on his car and activated a sonic burst that caused the lights to flicker off. As the police cars continued to drive on, Batman pulled to the side and clicked the camouflage button, which projected a holographic image of a normal van around the batmobile. As he promised Kara, he kept the property damage to a minimum, though he had a feeling it wouldn't really matter at this point. For the time being, he was a prime suspect for the murder of Identity, and even when he was proven innocent the city government would not be happy that he embarrassed the police force like he had. The more important matter was who the hell actually managed to off Identity. The terrorist was practically untouchable, only he and Identity's followers knew his location. The display that had been put on for him was beyond sadistic; it was pure evil. Mocking the dead and killing in such a gruesome way was quite frankly horrifying.
"Eve, did you download the pictures I took from the crime scene," Batman asked as he pulled out of the parking spot and drove off towards the batcave.
"Yeah, I got it, unfortunately," Eve answered, "Even after all Identity had done, no one deserves a brutal death like that."
Yeah, Batman thought, no one deserves to be killed in such a terrible way. God help me if I ever do meet someone so malevolent and vile.
Batman watched as some of Identity's followers walked out on the street publically and through their Oni masks into the road. Good, at least they might be able to move on to something better now.
Batman turned off the freeway into the forest path to the cave. He decided to take the more scenic route to clear his head and help him think. Turning on the tapped police radio, he listened in on the relayed messages.
"Commissioner, do you think the Batman's really snapped?" he heard one of the policemen ask.
"No," Jenna answered, "but he is a prime suspect and for a crime like this he needs to face the justice system. Also, the governor has been pressing me to make an arrest for weeks now, and at this point I can't keep making excuses."
The governor wanted his head? That meant one thing; that he and the league were now sure to collide in some way no matter what. Kara was probably given about a week to reign him in before they started tearing down his establishment, but with her watching his activities closely, he couldn't really get much done. Or maybe he could…
Maybe, if he somehow stayed close to Kara, throwing off all suspicion she may have, he might be able to have someone work on defenses.
Batman activated the thrusters an jumped over the small pond under the waterfall that concealed the batcave, then swerved to a stop inside.
"A dramatic entrance as always Mr. Wayne" Eve commented, walking over to meet him.
"Have you done any more analysis on the photos?"
Eve laughed, "Mr. Wayne you don't pay me enough for things like this."
Christian pulled off his cowl and gave her a skeptical look, "I thought you were one of the highest paid employees of Wayne Enterprise?"
Eve shook her head and answered, "I believe Mr. Fox is still ahead of me. Then again, he does deal with the industry section of your company."
"How has Mr. Fox been doing?" Christian asked as he pulled off his cape.
"I believe he just came back from his vacation, why do you need to meet with him?"
Christian shook his head, "No, I need you to meet with him?"
"Excuse me?"
"Eve, his grandfather used to work with my father. I need him to do a couple favors, favors that should stay between you and I."
Eve nodded, "So I can't tell my ladies at the hair salon?"
Christian laughed; Eve had a good sense of humor when she wanted to, though she was not the joking type. He handed her an envelope with some of the designs for a defense protocol he had been working on, then walked over towards the bat computer to analyze the murder scene. Who would do something like this?
0000000000000000000000000
Christian decided the best way to get close to Kara and show her how 'reformed' he had become was through spending a bit more time as Bruce Wayne. So when he got a call from her, telling him about a large party thrown to honor reporters and other news related things, he couldn't really decline. Unfortunately, this meant putting Eve on the monitor for the night to keep an eye out for whatever was going to start at twelve. He knew she was losing a lot of her personal time to this mission, and he was beyond thankful that his most faithful friend had stayed with him this long. Christian decided to give Eve the week off after this, just to show his gratitude. She had earned it.
"Hey Eve?" he called over to her.
Eve turned away from the bookshelf she was organizing, Christian still had no idea why she insisted on it so much, and responded, "Yes Mr. Wayne?
"I've been invited by Kara to a ceremony, but the problem is that it's tonight. Do you mind watching the monitor for the mysterious killer?"
Eve surprisingly agreed more quickly then he thought she would. "Of course Mr. Wayne, you go out and enjoy yourself. I'll report to you if I see anything."
Christian smiled, "Thanks Eve, you can take next week off if you want."
"I don't know, Kara told me you can't cook without me," she said, "I would feel bad if Gotham's dark knight starved to death in a kitchen."
Christian nodded; somehow he knew she would say something like that. He pulled out his phone as he walked out and texted Kara, confirming that he would be attending. Before he went out the door to grab something to eat, he called over to Eve, "Do you mind going to see Fox today?"
Eve nodded, "I'll head out right away sir."
She watched as the door closed behind Christian, and then continued to work on organizing the bookshelf. Once she had finished making everything perfect, she grabbed one of the keys and went to the garage. One of the benefits of being Mr. Wayne's secretary was that you got to use his cars, which she had to say were nothing less then impressive. She opened the doors to Christian's Jaguar and got in, turning on the GPS to Wayne tower. She felt bad for not knowing the directions to the building where she worked, but one of her awful flaws is she didn't have a very good sense of direction. Christian used to joke that she would be the next Jesus if she didn't have that one flaw, which of course she would roll her eyes to and continue working.
Eve backed out of the driveway and drove off towards Wayne tower. As she drove, she thought about Christian's plan on defense. Unfortunately, he seemed extremely adamant that the conflict between he and the league could not be avoided. He had begun designing machines and suit applications to fight against specific members and she had to admit, she was impressed. She had always known that under his playboy exterior, Christian actually had a genius level intellect, but these designs were still incredible.
After about thirty minutes, she pulled into the Wayne tower driveway and parked her car in the executive parking lot. By now it had been established that Eve basically transcended most positions, and thus got privileges that most secretaries would not.
Eve pulled the yellow folder out of her purse as she stood in the elevator, waiting for it to take her up to Mr. Fox's office. Finally, a little bell sounded and the door slid open to the top level of Wayne towers, where all the big wigs of the corporation lived. Her high heels clicking on the marble surface, Eve walked over towards Mr. Fox's office and knocked on the door. Mr. Fox was sitting at his desk, messing around with one of his many trinkets. Eve sighed and knocked again, more loudly this time, to get his attention. Fox looked up to see who it was, then gave her a toothy grin when he saw it was Eve.
He opened the door, letting her into his office, and greeted, "Ms. Eve Wesson, what can I do to you today?"
Eve smiled and put the folder down on the table, "Mr. Wayne has a request, it's a bit strange and he'd rather you keep it on the down low."
"Well let me take a look at it," he told her, putting on his reading glasses and picking up the papers in the folder.
He frowned as he read over it, "I knew my grandfather worked with some powerful people, but this is… a surprise."
"Yes, Mr. Wayne has taken up a rather strange hobby as of late."
Fox nodded and handed the papers back, "A robotic suit? A light speed response camera? An anti matter conductor? This may take a bit to make."
Eve nodded, "All he needs you to do is have this constructed without drawing attention from the league."
"And the kryptonite is for girl problems I assume," commented Mr. Fox, who was among the many who knew the history between Christian and Kara.
"Call it insurance against angry family members."
Fox chuckled a bit, and then stored the blueprints in his desk. "Will that be all Ms. Wesson?"
"I believe so, Nick," Eve answered, picking her purse up from his desk and standing up from her seat.
"Oh and Ms. Wesson," Fox told her, "Please do continue watching over Christian. He really does need you."
"Don't worry Mr. Fox, he's in good hands," She answered, and then headed out of the room.
As she walked back to the elevator, her phone went off, playing Beethoven's 6th symphony. Eve picked it up, stepping into the elevator, and answered, "Hello?"
"Hey Eve, it's Wally,"
She should have recognized the lighthearted tone over the phone, but her mind was elsewhere. Before Christian became Batman, he had many business deals with Star Labs, a company that was spearheaded by the goofy scientist's work.
"Hello Mr. West, what can I do for you?" she answered as she waited in the elevator.
"I was just calling to tell you to tell Christian to take things seriously with Kara. I'm seriously trying to prevent the fight that I think might happen by telling you this. If he doesn't listen to Kara, then Conner's not giving him anymore chances."
"I'm sure he's aware of that," Eve answered as she stepped into the car.
"Oh, well I know that, but could you still tell him? I would hate for things to get worse then they already have."
Eve sighed, "I will let him know you called Mr. West." She was about to hang up when she heard Wally's voice over the phone again.
"Wait, Eve!"
"Yes Mr. West?"
"You wanna grab dinner sometime?"
"Good day Mr. West."
Eve hung up the phone and put it back in her purse as she started up the engine and drove off back towards Wayne Manor. She needed to be ready for tonight; Mr. Wayne was counting on her.
000000000000000000000000000
Christian pulled his Lamborghini up in front of the Plaza Hotel, the car stopping smoothly and silently. As he stepped out, he was immediately mobbed by hordes of paparazzi and reporters, of course what could he expect from a ceremony appreciating them. Handing his keys to the valet, he headed into the hotel lobby, pushing both double doors open to make his usual large entrance. Tonight was all about playing nice for the league, as long as he did that he could stall the conflict for a bit longer. Christian smiled and waved to the flashing camera, and was greeted by one of the servers at the party.
"Mr. Wayne, the celebration is on the top of the hotel on the roof."
Christian nodded and entered one of the elevators along with a couple other members of the fundraiser brigade and waited. Usually partying on the roof would be considered unsafe, but the plaza was famous for its spectacular, well, plaza on top of the hotel.
The elevator doors slid open, revealing the incredible view of the Gotham night. Christian walked out and grabbed a drink from one of the passing waters and took a small sip. He couldn't drink much tonight, he needed all his senses for what may come.
He looked around at the small thriving community Gotham had. Unfortunately, the line between the wealthy and the poor was very definite, thus the incredibly high crime rates. Sometimes he wondered if Batman could ever get rid of the leading cause of crime, desperation. As he looked at the jewelry, the drinks, the fat spread that was laid out on the table, he thought of how many were going hungry tonight.
"Christian, how's it going buddy!"
Christian turned around and saw Jimmy with Kara around his arm, giving him a big smile.
"Hey Jimmy," Christian greeted, shaking his hand, "How's it going?"
"Well you know how it is, the daily planet is getting recognized at this ceremony and I'd really hate to miss out."
Christian nodded, "Can't say I've ever gone to one of these before. The press and I, we usually don't agree."
Jimmy laughed, "Well we might if you stop giving us so much to write about!"
"Well you know me," joked Christian, "stuck in my old ways."
The irony was not lost on Kara, who raised her eyebrow at him skeptically. "Yeah, still the Christian I knew in college."
Christian gave a fake smile, "but I've been on my best behavior lately, so hopefully I can duck out of the spotlight for a bit."
Jimmy took a sip from his drink and nodded, "It's very possible, what with Identity dead and Batman still at large. I was planning on leaving Gotham earlier, but what kind of head editor would I be if I let opportunities to get firsthand coverage on these stories go to waste!"
"A safe one I suppose," Kara told him, she was obviously worried about Jimmy staying in Gotham for so long.
"Don't worry sweetheart, I'll be fine," he reassured her, "besides, I remember when I was just a photographer with Louis Lane, she was always in the heat of danger for the report."
"Jimmy, Louis had Superman on her waiting call. She was practically never in danger," Christian said as he grabbed a cheese square from one of the waiters and popped it in his mouth.
Jimmy nodded, "The man of steel was nothing like Batman, always so noble and so honorable. Though if there's one thing I respect Batman for, it's his steadfast. I was personally shocked that he never ended up killing anyone, that is except for the Joker."
"Yeah," Christian commented, "I guess he just snapped under the pressure."
"It was so unlike him though. Batman was so determined never to cross that line, then one day he just does? I don't believe it," Jimmy said as the lights began to dim.
A man walked up onto the stage that had been set for handing out the awards and stood in front of the podium. "Thank you for coming," he announced, "I am proud to host the annual, hee hee, the annual hee hee hee…"
Christian and the others watched in confusion as the host bent over and started laughing hysterically, what was so funny? The man started to laugh even harder, gasping for air as he fell down in front of the crowd. Christian ran over and took a look at the host, who was beginning to turn blue.
"What's happening to him?" Kara asked as she bent over the laughing man with him.
"I-I don't know! Someone get him medical attention quickl…"
Suddenly, a mad laughter started playing on the speakers surrounding the plaza's roof. Christian tried to look around and find where the laughter was coming from, but to no avail. The maniacal laughter continued, growing louder and more sinister as fog began to cover the stage.
"What the hell is going on?" Jimmy asked, backing away from the stage with Kara.
Christian squinted at the fog and noticed a dark figure inside. The silhouette of the man became more defined as the fog began to clear, though Christian still couldn't tell who it was.
Suddenly, Identity's courier jumped out of the fog, doing three flips and landing perfectly on her feet with an assault rifle in her hands. Something was different about her though, instead of the Oni mask, she had a strange white make up on with black around her eyes. Was she Identity's murderer?
Three other men ran out of the fog, wearing what looked like clown masks and all holding submachine guns.
The fog was now only a thin veil that barely covered whoever was still inside it, in a couple seconds Christian would be able to see exactly who it was.
"Hello Gotham!" the figure announced in a sick, twisted voice as he stepped out of the fog. When Christian saw the man in full light, his jaw almost dropped. It couldn't be. It was impossible! The crowd gasped, some of the older members immediately screaming and falling over.
The man gave the crowd a wicked smile and laughed, "Joker here! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHH A!"
Christian couldn't believe what he was seeing. The bleached skin, the green hair, and the laugh, that horrifying laugh, it all pointed towards the obvious.
"I've been away for a long time, and I must say I am a bit disappointed," the Joker said, shaking his head in 'disappointment', "Gotham seems to have lost its edge, its pizzazz! What with criminals running around wearing the SAME DAMN THING! HA HA!"
"You aren't the real Joker," a brave man yelled at him, shaking his fists, "the Batman killed Joker years ago!"
The Joker just simply laughed, "Ho ho kiddo, I'm feeling more alive then ever…"
Joker pulled out a strange looking purple gun and shot the man in the chest, causing him to crumple over on the ground. The crowd screamed and backed away, looking in horror as the man twisted and turned in agony on the floor.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA, this one always cracks me up," Joker laughed, "Honey, would you kindly speed up the process?"
Identity's courier saluted him, "A-OK Mr. J!"
She turned towards the man and kicked him in the ribs as hard as she could, causing him to roll onto his side. As she continued to kick him, the man's muscles began to bulge, pulsing out to abnormal sizes. Suddenly, the man roared loudly and his spine burst through his skin. Bone spikes began to pop out from his elbows and head as he grew to inhuman sizes, roaring and wailing as loud as he could.
"Such a good girl," Joker laughed, "reminds me of my mother!"
He then turned towards the crowd and yelled, "Say hello to the new era of humanity!" pointing at the monster that was once a party member and taking a slight bow.
The monster lunged forward and picked up three of the partygoers, and reporters, throwing them off the edge of the roof.
"HAHAHAAAA! Is this a party or what? Unfortunately, we're still missing our guest of honor. He just has to be here before I make my big announcement!"
As if on queue, Batman dropped down in front of the Joker, landing on top of the podium, causing it to smash into splinters.
"And here we are! Ladies and Gentlemen, the Batman!" Joker announced, snickering after he finished.
Three of the armed guards ran towards Batman, but were unable to get three steps before Batarangs went through their hands, causing them to drop their weapons. Batman was not going to waste a second on the gunmen; he was going to stop this before it even started.
Joker looked towards his men, who were clutching their hands in agony and snorted out a laugh, "Well right to the point, aren't we?"
"I'm taking you in," growled Batman, holding his fists up threateningly.
Joker doubled over laughing, almost tearing up at the eyes. "B-but Batman, we haven't even started yet! I mean come on, what good is a performance if it's cut short?"
Batman lunged at the Joker, but was quickly grabbed by the cap by the behemoth that was once an innocent man. The monster held Batman close to his face, snarling ferociously.
"Hold tight people," Joker told the crowd and Batman, "Cause right now marks Gotham city's decent into insanity. Some of us are a little closer then others," he gestured towards Batman, "But hey, who am I to talk? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA!"
Batman pulled out a concentrated bear mace from his belt and sprayed it in the Titan's eyes, causing it to drop him. The beast flailed around, trying to swat the burning foam out of its eyes. While it was distracted, Batman turned towards the Joker and ran at him, but was quickly kicked aside by the Joker's hench girl.
"Now, now Batsy, do you really want to focus on me, or that titan whose about to kill around two hundred people? MWUHAHAHAHAA!"
Batman growled in frustration. He knew he couldn't sacrifice everyone there just to stop this man, and the titan was starting to recover. Batman turned around and threw three explosive batarangs at the beast before it could orient itself. The titan whirled around in anger, knocking down two of the innocents as it did. Batman lunged forward as powerfully as he could, tackling the Titan.
The beast struggled as Batman began to punch the creature while it was on the ground. This time he had come prepared for another encounter with these monsters. He had reinforced his glove so that his fist was more protected, and also more painful. After ten punches to the jaw, Batman grabbed the monster by the temples and started slamming the back of its head violently against the ground. As the creature started to lose consciousness, he heard more screams from the crowd.
Batman turned around and saw that Joker had shot three more bystanders, causing them to transform.
"Sorry," Joker laughed, "I got a little excited."
The three beasts charged at him all at once. Batman quickly dived away from one of them, but was grabbed by another and thrown against the ground. Before he could get up, the third ran over and kicked him as hard as it could, knocking Batman over the edge. He heard the people scream and the Joker's terrifying laugh as he descended at an alarming speed downwards. He had to think quickly and act fast if he wanted to survive. Shooting out a grapple at this speed would surely rip his arm off, so he was going to have to take his chances with gliding with a ripped cape.
Batman extended his arms outward, trying to expand his cape so it would stop his fall. The tares in the cape were messing up its ability to become rigid and take form, so Batman had to try a different approach. He grabbed the two corners of his cape and held his arms up, allowing him to slow his fall.
Batman hit the ground with a crash, falling straight through the overhead of a small shop. He stood up shakily, clutching his ribs in pain. Stupid, he had made a stupid mistake by going. If he hadn't, he could have changed more quickly and arrived before the Joker even began his address.
"Oracle," he coughed into his radio
"I'm here Batman, do you need to be picked up?"
"Yes," Batman answered, stumbling over towards an ally, past confused civilians. This was a whole new game now. The Joker had returned.
A/N: It had to happen sooner or later! Prepare for the clown's reign of terror...