Chapter 3: DOOM
Earth-5
Batman had saved Gotham City from certain destruction when he managed to fly a nuclear weapon, created by Talia al Ghul and Bane, far enough over the bay before the detonation occurred. When this happened, many Gothamites felt that Batman had finally met his demise because he had informed Commissioner Gordon that there was no auto-pilot and the "BAT" plane would need to be flown manually. But… that wasn't entirely true. Lucius Fox had found out that the auto-pilot was indeed fixed…by Bruce Wayne himself. This left a smile on Fox's face, knowing that Bruce could potentially be out there somewhere, living whatever life he so desired. However, at first Alfred Pennyworth actually did believe that Bruce had died. He blamed himself for not keeping his promise to Bruce's parents that he would look after him. Bruce donated Wayne Manor to an orphanage and left his remaining fortune to Alfred. John "Robin" Blake was given the coordinates for the location of the Batcave. After he discovered the cave entry behind a waterfall, John realized that Bruce wanted him to take over the mantle of The Bat. Alfred did finally realize that Bruce was still alive when Selina Kyle suddenly came up missing… along with several items that once belonged to Bruce, and Bruce would have been the only one who knew where those specific items were secretly located. From that day on, knowing that Bruce was always concentrating on stopping crime, Alfred truly believed that Bruce was out there somewhere, taking on a much bigger agenda than Alfred could even fathom… AND THAT WASN'T TOO FAR FROM THE TRUTH!...
5 Years Later…
"That's not the real Batman!" Joker blurted, sitting back in his holding cell, speaking to his psychiatrist.
"How exactly do you know that?" Dr. Harleen Quinzel asked, nervously tapping her pencil on the surface of her clipboard.
"How do I know?… HA! Because this new guy doesn't have any class. Sure, he's out there saving the day, and he may be wearing a similar outfit, but he doesn't leave a sting on his targets quite like the BAT DID!"
"Then, who is he? How would he have access to things that only Batman could possibly have access to?"
"Open your eyes, BLONDIE! YOU WANNABE-CLARICE! He's a two-bit FRAUD! A FUNNY DUDDY! I could do a better Batman impersonation than this guy!" Joker declared.
"Two years ago, when several inmates broke out of here, you refused to try and break out along with them, claiming that you didn't want to return to crime because the REAL Batman hadn't come back yet... Why not use that opportunity to go after this, 'so-called,' new Batman?"
"This new guy, he's clever, I'll give him that. But he isn't a TRUE challenge like the man that I faced off against thirteen years ago. He's the Bat to break…not this guy! No- this one would snap like a twig, I'm sure of it."
"So, if he really is dead… you will just sit here stewing in your holding cell forever because you'll never get the opportunity to challenge him again?"
"Oh! He's alive alright! He is just biding his time… just like me! I've got all the time in the world, Ay Batsy!"
"That's true. Your paperwork does say you are doing two consecutive life sentences. Maybe you will get a chance to face off against him in the afterlife." Harleen smirked. "I would have figured you'd be smart enough to flush him out into the open. Are you even sure you could beat him if he ever does come back?"
The Joker lunged at the tempered glass window of his holding cell, forcefully ramming into it, causing Harleen to jump backwards. "Hahahahahahaha! I've still got it!" Joker laughed. "I'm sure there is someone out there that Batman truly cares deeply about, someone special I bet. When I find out who that person is… That's how I'll get to him. I almost broke him once before when I killed his wannabe girlfriend. I promise I will finish the job this time. And I'm a man of my word hahahahahaha!"
"And what about you?" Harleen piped up. "Do you, or have you ever had a 'special-someone' that you deeply cared about?" She implored, nibbling on the end of her pencil, hoping to find out what type of woman he prefers.
"Have I ever told you how I got these scars, Clarice? You see… I was dating this one broad… but her brothers- OH they hated me. One day, she and I got into a little argument and she ran home, telling her brothers that I hit her… well, they didn't take very kindly to that…NOT ONE BIT! No- they found me and held me down… and then, one of them took out their knife and placed it in my mouth… 'YOU MESSED WITH THE WRONG GIRL,' THEY SAID, HA HA HA HA! And then… he began carving me up like a jack-o-lantern! Needless to say, it didn't work out between us. Although, I've heard she's been dying to get back with me Hahahahaha!"
Suddenly, from out of nowhere-
BOOM! The back wall of Joker's holding cell exploded, causing the dust from the brick and mortar to cloud up the cell, not allowing Harleen the chance to see what was going on inside it.
Finally, when the dust had settled, the Joker was gone.
Alarms began blaring from all over the building as several other explosions could be heard coming from outside of the other holding cells, making it sound as if Arkham Asylum had become a war zone.
Harleen took shelter, and waited for the explosions to finally come to a stop. She was scared, but also at the same time, she felt a rush of excitement coursing through her veins. And the danger made her feel so very much alive.
30 minutes later… at a hideout for the Court of Owls…
"WHERE IS LINCOLN MARCH!?" John Blake/Batman demanded to know. "WHERE HAVE YOU TAKEN THE INMATES OF ARKHAM ASYLUM!?" He growled, pinning William Cobb face-down onto the floor with his knee on his back.
"I haven't the slightest idea of what you are talking about." Cobb retorted, squirming, still trying to get himself freed.
"I KNOW THE COURT OF OWLS WAS INVOLVED! YOU'RE THE ONLY ONES THAT COULD HAVE SCRAMBLED THE FREQUENCY ON THE CAMERAS THAT I INSTALLED WHICH OVERLOOK THE ASYLUM!" Batman proclaimed, kneeling down even harder on Cobb's back.
"OOMPH!" Cobb groaned, feeling the pain in his kidney. "ALL RIGHT! ALL RIGHT!" Cobb bellowed. "They took Lincoln too!" he professed.
"WHO DID!?"
"I don't know, I SWEAR! They were wearing masks!" Cobb proclaimed. "It all happened so fast!"
"BULLSHIT!" Batman pressed even harder. "I KNOW YOU HEARD SOMETHING! WHERE WOULD THEY TAKE HIM?"
"OKAY! OKAY!" Cobb cried. "They took him to some island. They are planning something big! But that's all I know… I SWEAR!"
"Thanks! But NO THANKS!" Batman declared, punching Cobb over the back of the head, knocking him out instantly.
Batman decided to snoop around the Owl's hideout. He was looking for anything that might give him any other clues about the island Cobb was referring to. Plus, he was hoping to find out who "THEY" are that took Lincoln March.
He began looking behind a few of the statues, when suddenly- he heard a noise coming from the main entryway. He quickly ducked behind one of the statues and waited for the person to enter.
The mysterious fellow was dressed in a hooded outfit as he entered the room. He began looking around the room, the same way Batman was snooping around.
While the man's back was turned-
Batman snuck up from behind, put his hand on the hooded man's shoulders, and then spun him around so that he could see the man's face. He was shocked when he saw who it was.
"ALFRED PENNYWORTH?" Batman blurted. "What are you doing here?"
"I wanted to stay away, but… after I heard the Joker had been broken out of Arkham, I knew I had to figure out where he might be. He is one of the most dangerous men Batman has ever faced." Alfred declared. "I mean… the most dangerous man the other Batman had ever faced. I don't believe you have had the pleasure of facing him yet. Isn't that right… Mr. Blake?"
John Blake wasn't surprised that Alfred knew who he was under the mask, especially since he was Bruce Wayne's butler for several years.
"How did you know about this hideout?" Batman asked, still looking around for clues.
"Do you think you are the only one with eyes on this city?" Alfred replied.
"Do you know who did this? Do you know why they would have taken Lincoln March?"
"Well… I'm not exactly sure who took him. My original assumption was that maybe the Court of Owls was behind the breakout, but now that doesn't seem to be the case." Alfred replied. "And… as for why they took Mr. March… I might have a theory about that."
"Please…enlighten me."
"Lincoln March might be Bruce Wayne's biological brother… kidnapped at birth by the Court of Owls."
"Bruce's brother?" Batman responded with disbelief.
"It's hard to explain. The details are fuzzy and I wasn't the butler until after Bruce was born. In fact, Bruce might not have ever been born if it wasn't for the fact that Lincoln was kidnapped at birth. The doctors lied and told Martha and Thomas that their son had died at birth. The two of them desperately wanted to start a family, so… when they lost their first child, they decided to try again shortly after. They never knew he was kidnapped."
"Whoa! That's deep!" Batman exclaimed. "How do you know about this?"
"I hear things. I used to be a private investigator before serving the Wayne family."
Hours later…
A few former Arkham patients, such as; Joker, Scarecrow, and Zsasz, were sitting blindfolded at a remote location.
When the blindfolds finally came off, the criminals were surprised to see who else was also there.
Bane
Talia al Ghul
Two-Face
Lincoln March
And…
"Welcome to The Legion of Doom!" Ra's al Ghul announced.
To be continued...