In the heart of the expansive and bustling Gotham City, a mysterious and daunting figure skulked in the shadows, meticulously planning his next move. It was none other than Taskmaster, the notorious and elusive mercenary renowned for his unparalleled ability to replicate the combat techniques of anyone he crosses paths with. Taskmaster had arrived in the city with one sole purpose in mind - to sow discord and disorder. His sights were firmly set on the hefty bounties placed on the heads of two legendary figures: Spider-Man and Batman.
From the moment they confronted the formidable Killer Croc at Blackgate, Taskmaster had been tailing them, a silent and relentless presence throughout the night. Unseen, he observed their every move, diligently studying and absorbing their formidable skills. Even as they soared away in the sleek and elusive Batwing, Taskmaster persisted in his pursuit, leveraging a serendipitous link on the police radio to swiftly close the gap and resume his vigil.
Finally, as both Spider-Man and Batman gazed upward, Taskmaster made his grand entrance, gracefully descending to the ground with a sudden and surprisingly elegant swoop of a small cape attached to his attire. It was a testament to his unwavering vigilance and dedication, showcasing just how thoroughly he had scrutinized and internalized their every action throughout the night.
"Am I supposed to be impressed?" Batman asks.
"Uh, trust me, that's his opening act." Spider-Man promises.
Taskmaster then pulled out a remote that revealed turrets he had placed on the ground. Batman ran backward to find some cover behind some barrels in the area while Spider-Man leaped into the air and did a few flips around the air to get out of the way.
When Spider-Man webbed the turrets up, Batman revealed an explosive Batarang that he flung towards the turrets and watched them explode. Batman and Spider-Man then stood side by side as they looked at Taskmaster.
"If you know our moves, then you know how much this is going to hurt," Spider-Man promised.
Taskmaster then drew a heated sword, showing how he learned from the webbing Spider-Man gave him in the past. "Surprise me. If you can."
Batman and Spider-Man raced in and prepared an opening strike. However, Taskmaster expertly dodge their attacks and use their own moves against them. Spider-Man flipped and spun through the air, narrowly avoiding Taskmaster's rapid punches and kicks. Meanwhile, Batman moved with calculated precision, countering Taskmaster's strikes with his martial arts prowess.
Amid the chaos, Spider-Man shot webs to temporarily blind Taskmaster, giving Batman an opening to launch a batarang. However, Taskmaster had anticipated the move, effortlessly somersaulting out of harm's way using his sword to smack the Batarang towards Batman. Batman grunted as the Batarang made contact with the small gap in his armor, causing him to wince.
The battle raged through the darkened streets, the sounds of combat echoing in the silent night. As Christmas lights blinked and carolers sang in the distance, the three figures danced a deadly ballet through Gotham's rooftops.
Taskmaster flung a bola towards Spider-Man, causing him to lose access to his web-shooters and miss the roof as he smacked face first and began to fall. Batman saw this and ripped the Batarang out of his shoulder and grabbed his grapple gun. Working fast, he ran over to the ledge where he shot out the rope that then wrapped itself around Spider-Man's leg before he could hit the ground.
Spider-Man let out a sigh as he then got to work undoing the bola on his hand while Taskmaster went in to try and kill Batman while he was hanging off the ledge holding on to the grapple gun. But luckily Batman saw him coming and let go. Spider-Man fell when Batman came down and he grabbed the hero who saved him.
Taskmaster came flying down, using his cape to fly down, and dropped to the ground. "You two are a good duo. Almost a challenge for me." He commented.
"We're not a duo," Batman stated.
"Seriously?" Spider-Man asks. "You almost died trying to save me. Admit it, I am growing on you."
"Like a mole," Batman proclaimed.
"Ouch," Spider-Man said.
Batman then charged once more towards Taskmaster while Spider-Man quickly followed. With quick reflexes and sharp instincts, Spider-Man and Batman continued to press Taskmaster, forcing him to defend against their combined assault. At one point, Spider-Man used his webs to create barriers while Batman flanked Taskmaster, using the cover to launch a surprise attack.
The showdown reached its climax at the city square, with Christmas lights casting a warm glow on the snow-covered ground. Taskmaster, panting but unyielding, faced the two heroes who refused to back down.
In a final, coordinated effort, Spider-Man and Batman combined their acrobatic prowess and martial arts skills, executing a precise and seamless series of attacks that left Taskmaster stumbling and struggling to defend. Their teamwork was unparalleled as they closed in on their formidable adversary, overwhelming him with a relentless barrage of strikes and maneuvers.
As Taskmaster lay defeated at their feet, the two heroes locked eyes with a profound understanding of the magnitude of their shared triumph. Their unyielding resolve and extraordinary combined abilities had once again vanquished the sinister forces sent to destroy them.
Standing amidst the gently falling snow, a distant chiming of bells revealed that midnight had arrived. It was now Christmas Day. Batman and Spider-Man paused to listen to the echoing chimes, a serene moment interrupted by Alfred's warm Christmas greeting playing through a second channel for Batman. As Spider-Man gazed out into the night, he realized that New York was in sync with Gotham's time, marking Christmas Day's arrival in both cities.
Taking a few steps away, Spider-Man contacted Diana first. He listened to the phone ringing for a good second before someone finally picked up.
"Peter?" Pamela called out as she was the one who picked up.
"Hey, Pam. Where's Diana?" Peter asked because he was expecting Diana to pick up.
"She's in the kitchen. I saw it was you so I picked it up." Pamela explained. "So are you okay? Are you coming home soon? I-"
"Yeah, I'm fine. I just...kinda wished I was there to say this to you in person, but it looks like it's going to be a long night for me. Just wanted to wish you a merry Christmas."
Pamela smiled on the other end of the phone, wishing she could be with Peter right now. "Merry Christmas, Peter."
Peter smiled at hearing her voice, reminding him what he was there for. He had people to protect. And there were people in this city that needed his help and protection. He smiled and remembered there was someone else he needed to talk too
"I'll try and get home for Christmas," Peter told her as he knew he needed to hurry. "I have to go. Listen, I love you." Said Peter which caused Pamela to blush and hold the phone tight.
"Right, yeah, good luck," Pamela said as Diana walked in.
"Is that Peter? Let me talk to him?" said Diana which caused Pamela to hold the phone even tighter because she didn't want to let Peter go but she gave it to Diana. Peter sighed as heard Diana's voice. "Peter? Hey, I was getting worried."
"Yeah, sorry, time has escaped me tonight," Peter said as he looked at the time. "Things have only gotten worse down here, the plot got a lot thicker than stopping Kraven. I've teamed up with a new friend I've made here, although I think he isn't a fan of my mouth."
"That mouth has gotten you into trouble." Diana laughed. "You know I can still get to Gotham if you and your new friend need help. You know I'm always here for you." Said Diana but what she didn't notice was that this caused Pamela to clench her fist out of jealousy because she wanted to be the one that is there for Peter and not Diana
"No. It's alright. It's more important that you stay in New York in case something happens or if one of my villains starts to act up."
"Okay. Well, me and Pamela are here with your aunt. We told her you were on a trip and got held up in the snow."
"Not exactly false." Peter agreed. "Well, I'm going to try and wrap things up to be home for Christmas dinner. I've never missed one, and I don't plan on missing this one."
"That's the optimistic attitude that got you this far," Diana stated with a smile. "Get home, Peter. I love you."
Peter didn't know what he did to deserve such an amazing woman, a goddess even, but he was glad to have her and Pam in his life. They were the best things in his life outside of Aunt May. "Love you, too. I'll give Kraven a broken jaw from you for having missed Christmas Eve."
"You better," Diana said as they hung up.
Upon reaching the bank, the duo was greeted by the sound of alarms blaring from within. The heroes made their entrance through the rooftop, swiftly disabling the alarm and unlocking the barred door with Batman's Cryptographic Sequencer. Beyond the door, they emerged onto a ledge that gave them a view over the building. What they saw next "was both shocking and horrifying: the interior was strewn with bodies, arranged grotesquely as if they were macabre holiday ornaments.
"Oh… oh my god," Spider-Man said as he looked at all the bodies that were either covered in Christmas lights or wearing masks over their heads.
"Bodies everywhere. The Joker may still be here, in the vault. We should use caution." Batman thought as he jumped down and surveyed the room. "They're all dead, but there's something more sinister going on here."
"What could possibly be worse than this?" Spider-Man asked in disbelief as he saw all the dead.
As Batman approached the vault, Spider-Man awaited a response that never came. Employing his detective vision, Batman identified armed goons inside. Attempting to open the vault door, he quickly realized it was locked, necessitating an alternate entry.
Glancing to his left, Batman noticed an air duct high on the wall. With a swift use of his Batclaw, he removed the cover and ascended into the duct, Spider-Man following closely. They navigated through the duct, emerging above an area with a fragile floor, directly over the unsuspecting thugs.
"So, what do we do now?" Spider-Man asked, using his detective vision to see the guards below them.
"We introduce ourselves," Batman replied, preparing to use his explosive gel on the weak ceiling below them.
"Woah woah, wait, let's talk abou- " Spider-Man was cut off as Batman denoted the floor.
As they plummeted, some of the wreckage from the blast landed on two of the henchmen, causing them to lose consciousness. However, the remaining guards swiftly pointed their weapons at the dynamic duo. While Batman had braced himself for the descent, Spider-Man relied on his heightened spidey senses to arrest his fall.
As both heroes regained their footing, one of the goons relinquished the duffel bag he had been carrying and brandished a pistol, aiming it at the head of a secretary who was held hostage alongside them. Her disquieting smile sent shivers down their spines.
Black Mask walked up to them with a pistol in his hand, "Think you two can just waltz on into my bank, huh?"
"Look, I'm sure you pride yourself on being a criminal mastermind and all, but why are you robbing your own bank?" Spider-Man said, pointing to the duffel bags full of cash and the ambulance.
"I'd say that's the least of your concerns right now, boy." Black Mask threatened. However, Spider-Man could have sworn he heard him stifle a small giggle.
"Roman, we're here for the Joker," Batman stated, trying to get back to the topic at hand.
"The Joker?" He said before suppressing a laugh. "Never heard of him. How 'bout you doll?" He continued before pointing his gun at the secretary. "Know the Joker?"
"The who?" She laughed.
Suddenly, two of Black Mask's men brought out someone wearing the same attire as Black Mask with a bag over his head and his hands tied behind his back.
"And you, sir? Name Joker ring a bell?" He said as he pulled the bag off his head to reveal none other than Roman Sionis, covered in cuts and bruises with a piece of duct tape covering his mouth. Black Mask rips the tape off his mouth to let him speak.
"You son of a bitch! You think you can steal from me and get away with it? You're a dead man! Dead!"
"Can't… you just… play… along!?" Black Mask screamed, in between each word he whipped his pistol across Roman's face.
He then kicked him causing Roman to fall over as the secretary began laughing hysterically. The heroes tried to run over and stop him but the men with guns pointed at them made them think twice. Spider-Man raised his hands in concern while Batman stayed still, preparing to strike if they tried anything.
"You're insane!" The secretary howled as Black Mask began kicking Roman over and over.
Wait… if that's Roman, then the guy in the mask must be…" Spider-Man thought, putting two and two together.
Black Mask gestured to his henchmen, who promptly hurled Roman into the back of an ambulance. As Roman landed inside, Black Mask faced the crowd and removed his disguise, unveiling a shock of green hair. The heroes stared at the man's ghostly white complexion, marked by a grotesque red grin that seemed to be slashed across his features, and dark, hollow circles framing his eyes.
To any onlooker, he would resemble a malevolent clown, the kind that haunts the depths of a terror-filled dream. It dawned on the heroes in that moment—they were looking at the Joker.
"It's been you this whole time, you hired the assassins. You've been running Sionis' operation." Batman took a guess.
"Well, technically, it's MY operation now. Isn't that right boys?" Joker said as his men took off their masks to put on new ones, masks that looked like clowns. This caused the secretary to laugh even harder than she was already.
"You've got us. Now let her go." Spider-Man said, seeing the secretary was a hostage.
"Oh, life would be so simple if you two were all I wanted. No, you're just teeny little distractions, compared to what I've got up my sleeve." Joker laughed as he grabbed the secretary before shooting at Batman.
Luckily his armor took most of the impact. Joker then aimed his sights on Spider-Man, but thanks to his spidey-sense he was able to dodge the bullets by moving out of their way. Unfortunately, one of the bullets managed to graze his shoulder. Spider-Man grabbed his shoulder in pain, watching as a trail of blood came from the wound.
"Here! Have a laugh on me." Joker said as he shoved the woman who was still laughing towards the heroes and hopped into the back of the ambulance. "Do you hear that? Sounds like eight tiny reindeer."
The Joker's laughter echoed as he sped away in the hijacked ambulance, leaving his henchmen scrambling in his wake. As the vehicle cleared the building, he gleefully triggered a detonator.
Batman, with quick reflexes, seized the woman beside him, and together with Spider-Man, they leaped for the exit. The vault erupted behind them, blasting the door open and propelling them from the room. The force of the explosion knocked both heroes unconscious momentarily.
Regaining consciousness, Batman's gaze fell upon the secretary. Tragically, she had not survived; her eyes remained open, frozen with the same eerie smile that the Joker wore.
"Is she...?" Spider-Man tried to ask as he picked himself up.
"She's dead," Batman confirmed. He then tried to use his Detective Vision to learn what happened. "She was poisoned. The laughter was a side effect of it. She wasn't laughing, she was dying."
"Oh, god," Spider-Man said in horror.
"If we can find out what kind of poison this was, we might have a chance to save the next victim," Batman said as he took a scan.
Before anything else could be said, they heard the entrance to the front door open. Both of them quickly shot up to the fox statues above the lobby and saw more of Joker's crew walk in.
"I'm tellin' ya, they ain't dead." Said one of the armed mobsters
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Must be a bad connection. I thought I heard you say that after I SHOT THEM, and BLEW UP a building on them. THE BAT AND THE SPIDER BOTH SOMEHOW SURVIVED?!" Came Joker's voice from the thug's radio.
"If they were dead, there'd be bodies. There aren't any bodies."
"Since I know that's IMPOSSIBLE. I'm going to let you reconcile my vision of reality with your version of reality and in case your pea-brain can't parse big words, I'll translate it into thug-speak for you. KILL THE BAT AND THE SPIDER OR I'LL KILL YOU!"
The Joker knows we survived the explosion, we need to hurry before he kills Sionis or anyone else. Batman metallied planned.
"Hey Batman? I think there's a bad wifi connection in here or something, my Detective Vision isn't working. How is it for you?" Spider-Man said through the communicator.
Batman activated his Detective Vision to find that it also wasn't working. "Something's jamming our signal. We need to figure out what it is and take it out."
"See that guy with the weird backpack-looking thing is definitely not the cause right?" Spider-Man asked as he spotted a thug wearing a jammer on his back coming up a set of stairs. He silently zipped behind him before jumping on top of him and webbing him to the ground and breaking the antenna.
Alright, now that should do the trick, Spider-Man thought as he turned on his Detective Mode again to find that it was working again. He then web-zipped back up to the fox statue he was previously perched on.
One of the thugs walked by a window that, unbeknownst to him, Batman was hiding behind. So imagine his surprise when Batman reached through the glass and grabbed him. Before the thug could scream, Batman punched him in the face and effectively knocked him out.
Another mobster was unknowingly walking over an air grate that hid Spider-Man. Once he was in the right spot, Spider-Man jumped out behind him pressed his foot onto his skull, and slammed it into the floor.
"What the-!?" One of the nearby goons said, however, once he got there, all he saw was a passed-out thug and Spider-Man nowhere in sight.
Two thugs had decided to stick together thinking that it would better their chances. It didn't as Batman snuck up behind the two and knocked their heads together, making them fall to the floor unconscious.
Just as one thug reached the top of a ladder, he suddenly stopped when he saw a pair of red boots in front of him. Looking up, he saw Spider-Man standing there with his hands on his hips.
"Hello there." He said before kicking him underneath his chin. Which made him lose his grip on the ladder and fall to the ground, knocking him out.
"Please, don't hurt me!" The last thug said from the walkway above the lobby as he dropped his gun and raised his hands.
"That didn't take long. Maybe I should've left a few more of Black Mask's goons alive, uh?" Joker said over the bank's intercom.
Spider-Man and Batman walked over to him before Spider-Man pushed him over the railing and shot a web to his leg before he could hit the ground. He then leaped in the air and landed on the ceiling, where he dangled him to let Batman interrogate him.
"Stop! Stop!" He begged.
"I will, just as long as you tell us where the Joker is going," Batman replied.
"Guy's nuts man. Killed about a quarter of Black Mask's men when they wouldn't take orders from him."
"Unless you want to join them, talk." Batman threatened.
"He- he said something about the Steel Mill."
"Sionis' Mill?" Spider-Man asked from above.
"It's Joker's mill now. Ain't no way you're gettin' in there." The thug laughed.
"We didn't ask for your opinion," Batman said before turning away to let Spider-Man deal with him.
"Here buddy, let me help you up," Spider-Man said as he yanked the thug into the air and slammed him into the ceiling. "Now be a good unconscious thug, and stay there."
"Alfred. Pull schematics on Sionis Industries' steel mill. Joker's taken Sionis there. He's going to kill him unless we get there first." Batman had said while Spider-Man was still webbing the thug.
"This Joker sounds dangerous…"
"He's taken over Black Mask's operations and slaughtered the men who wouldn't turn. He's the one who hired the assassins." Batman stated.
"And it must be he who ordered the bombing of the GCPD. Oh dear lord. Shouldn't you think about letting the police handle this one?"
"Not a chance. He's ours." He said before hanging up.
The two heroes walked to the entrance before stopping.
"Shall we?" Spider-Man said as he turned his head to Batman.
Unsurprisingly, he didn't respond and instead opened the door and walked out. Spider-Man sighed before following him.
"Uh, sir?" Alfred contacted them. "There has been a recent report. A body that was burned."
"Could be Firefly," Batman commented.
"If he's killing people, we should check it out," Spider-Man said.
Batman sighed, "We have time to kill while Alfred figured out the poison. I guess we can check it out."
Making their way to where the body was discovered, they found a GCPD team already at the scene. They saw the body was indeed scorched to death, to the point it was unrecognizable as a body.
"My god," Spider-Man said in horror.
"We need to get a closer look, but the GCPD are in the way," Batman said, preparing to take them out.
But Spider-Man was quick to stop him, confusing Batman. "We can spend our time punching cops just doing their job, or..." he then pulled out what looked like a grenade. "We let me try out a new gadget I've been developing."
"What's that?" Batman wonders.
"I call it a Web-Grenade," Spider-Man said. "Incapacitates enemies quickly, allowing us to leave them alone, and to do our job."
Spiderman then dropped the grenade, watching as it was making its way down to the ground. It bounced off of the cop car and rolled its way down into the middle of the street where it blew up, releasing webbing Chemicals that hardened when it reached the air, and then caught the cops and kept them contained.
"Shall we?" Spider-Man said.
Batman nodded as he dropped down and looked over the body. "It was recently left here. No signs of anything flammable in the area. He was dropped here."
Spider-Man walked over and kneeled over the body. "I feel like I've seen this before."
"Where?" Batman asks.
"A few cases my officer friend and I worked on," Spider-Man said, moving the body to get a look at the chest, and saw a strange flame mark. "The Flame..."
"The What?" Batman asks.
"Some strange cult that worships this guy. We never found his name, but he goes by the Flame." Spider-Man recapped. "They believe some sort of prophecy that the world will be purified or something, brought to them by the Flame."
"You ever learned how to locate them?" Batman asks.
"Nope," Spider-Man said, looking at the snow and saw there were car tracks. "But these guys don't believe in subtly."
"Then let's see where these tracks lead," Batman said, shooting his grapple to get a higher look at the scene.
Spider-Man carefully followed the tracks using his detective vision, which stood out against the white snow. The subtle skid and track marks indicated the recent disposal of the body and led Spider-Man in pursuit of the Flame.
The tracks eventually guided him to an eerie, abandoned firework factory, a peculiar sight for the web-slinger. Climbing to the top of the building, he gracefully slipped through the glass skylight and stealthily trailed the voices deeper into the heart of the factory.
"The prophecy says we don't die today! You want to be a Follower of the Flame!" They heard someone proclaim. "Start trusting him!"
When the two heroes made their way to a gap with grates where they saw there was a group of men with one wielding a branding iron. Two others were holding down someone who didn't seem to want to be there.
"This must be the Flame," Batman commented.
"Yep. Well organized. And fanatical." Spider-Man confirmed. "But what are they doing in Gotham?"
"We'll figure it out later," Batman said.
"I never said anything to the police! Never mentioned the Flame!" The hostage proclaimed. "I just...I wanted out."
"You should remember we all go out the same way we came in. Painfully!" He then raised the branding iron, ready to strike.
"Time to do something!" Spider-Man proclaimed.
Spider-Man then shot a web and grabbed the branding iron, which gave Batman a chance to glide down and tackle one of them. He threw two batarangs and knocked out the two holding the hostage.
"Get out of here!" Batman tells him.
Spider-Man came down swinging and tackled one of the cultists while the hostage took off running. Batman and Spider-Ma stood as more of the cultists came from a connecting room.
"The fool's beacon!" One cried as they saw the heroes. "The prophecy said you'd face us eventually!"
"Wait, which one of us is the fool?" Spider-Man asks, pointing to himself and Batman. "I just wanna clarify that, since I've wanted to be a part of a prophecy."
"You really need to stop talking," Batman said, shooting a grapple to yank one of the cultists towards him.
Spider-Man shrugged as he jumped into action, leaping where he shot several webbing to blind the cultists. "So, what's the prophecy?" He then tackled one of the cultists, yanked the branding iron from them, then threw it at another one. "Endless fighting? Death by Batman glare? Growing four limbs and turning into a giant Man-Spider?"
Batman threw a Batarang as he spun and kicked a cultist. "To burn with the rest of the Unworthy!" One proclaimed before Batman knocked him out.
"That's it?" Spider-Man asked, sounding disappointed in his prophecy. "Ah, okay."
The last cultist saw the heroes preparing to take them down and ran for the exit. But it didn't take long for Spider-Man to shoot a web on his back, yanking him back where Batman leaped into the air and kneed him in the face.
Seeing that was the last of them, Spider-Man dangled on his web next to Batman. "Admit it, we make a hell of a team!"
Batman didn't respond and continued to walk on but as they did, some projection appeared, revealing a man with curly red hair and a matching beard on the wall behind them. What nobody noticed was Batman pressing a button on his gauntlets. He was beginning to track the frequency that this cultist leader was using to find him.
"You should really know better than to stick your finger into the Flame, Spider-Man." The Flame said. "You're likely to be burnt."
"Oh, fire puns." Spider-Man scoffed. "You're one of those kind of psychos." He then dropped from the web and approached the projection. "Surprised you managed to trick followers after last time."
"Love is not a trick." The Flame said.
"This is not love," Spider-Man stated, looking at all the crazed people.
"I extended my hand when nobody else would!" The Flame proclaimed. "This city is corrupt. The helpless are left to die in the cold, while the rich and powerful stay in command thanks to their suffering. I doubt you or your following Fools Beacon there would have done the same."
"We're both the Fools Beacon?" Spider-Man asked.
The Flame chuckled as he saw Spider-Man was still behind. "I look forward to when we meet face to face."
"Why don't you tell us where you are, and we meet tonight?" Batman dared him as he stepped forward.
The Flame chuckled and closed the transmission, not allowing them to track or locate where he was. Spider-Man and Batman then walked off and headed outside in anger.
"He came to Gotham to expand his followers," Spider-Man sighed as he walked outside. "He probably isn't even here. He's likely still in New York. Sending his loyal followers to recruit."
"No, he's in Gotham," Batman stated as they made it outside.
"Wait how do you know?" asked Peter while Batman contacted Alfred
"Sirs. Did you find out who burned the body?" asked Alfred
"No, but he is in Gotham somewhere. Can you analyze the video I just sent for similar radio frequencies," said Batman while he pressed a few buttons on his gauntlets.
"Of course, sir." After a few moments, Alfred responded by saying, "The signal isn't clear so you will have to find another source using that same frequency. I marked a few locations where you too can investigate."
"Thank you, Alfred," Batman said.
"Anytime, sirs. Also, I'm sorry I didn't say this before but Merry Christmas young man." Said Alfred to Peter
"Thank you. Alfred. Merry Christmas to you too." Said Peter. "Well, I guess Sionis Mill has to wait more."