Batman and Spider-Man are now in the Batwing, racing back towards Wayne Manor before it's too late.
"Alfred," Batman said, trying to contact him. "...Alfred?"
"I am in your house, Bruce." A different voice replied.
"Bane," Batman growled as Bane appeared on the screen in front of him.
"Come home. Say your goodbyes. Once you've had time to turn grief to anger, then you'll be ready to face me."
"You maniac! What have you done?!" Spider-Man shouted from behind Batman.
"You will see. Once tonight is over, I shall travel to New York and tell the people of your death, Peter Parker." He said before cutting out the feed by hand. "I have left enough life in him for some final words… if you hurry."
"Alfred!" Batman screamed as he set the jet to move faster.
Bursting through the waterfall, they saw the Batcave in flames. They quickly hopped out of the Batwing and began to search.
"Alfred?! Alfred?!" Batman called out.
Spider-Man tried to activate Detective Vision but it wasn't working. "Bats! Something's wrong, I can't get my Detective Vision to turn on."
"The computer isn't working. I need to repair it if we want to get Detective Vision back on." He said as he pressed a few buttons on the computer before it turned back on. "There, that should do it."
"Alfred?! Alfred?!"
"I see him!" Spider-Man said as he zipped down below towards a cave ledge covered in debris. Beneath it all lay Alfred, coughing and wheezing.
"No!" Batman whispered as he followed.
"Alfred, can you hear us? We're going to get you out of there." Spider-Man said as he began to remove the pieces of rubble that were on top of him.
"Alfred? Alfred?!" Batman yelled as Spider-Man removed the last piece of debris to reveal Alfred. "Alfred, you can't..."
"Don't add me to the weight you carry." Alfred gasped out before going still in Batman's arms.
Batman dropped his head in sadness as he closed his eyes, letting him rest in peace. It was like that day all over again. The day his parents died. He swore he wouldn't let anyone close to him die ever again, but now… now Alfred's gone too.
"I'm sorry, Bruce," Spider-Man said as he placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'm so sorry."
Batman let out a scream of rage as he punched the ground. As he did, he activated his electric shock gloves. He almost forgot that he was wearing those.
This gave him an idea. He began using the shock gloves to resuscitate him, but he still wasn't moving. Spider-Man took a few steps back as he wasn't sure what else he could do in this moment.
"Come on, dammit!" Batman pleaded as he put more and more power into the gloves.
"All units, code 10, repeated Code 10 at Blackgate Prison. The suspect identified as the Joker."
Batman gave him one last powerful shock when Alfred came back to life, coughing up a fit.
"Alfred! You're alive!" Spider-Man said with joy.
"You're going to be alright," Batman said, nearly choking up. He grabbed Alfred and grappled up towards the med bay in the cave. Spider-Man followed after him.
After giving him some time to recover, Alfred found his voice and began to speak to Batman who was now unmasked.
"I know I haven't always been supportive of what you do, but I understand now. Go. They need you out there." Alfred said.
"I can't defend Gotham. I can't even defend my own home." Bruce said dejectedly as he walked away.
"Master Bruce-" Alfred said as got off the bed and followed after him.
Up near the Batcomputer sat Spider-Man resting his head in the palms of his hands as the police radio went off. "Any available unit, repeat any available unit. Please re-"
Batman turned off the radio, catching Spider-Man's attention. He wanted to say something, but the look on Batman's face told him he was in his own world right now.
"Master Bruce. Now is not the time for doubt." Alfred said as he came up the stairs.
"I can't do it. I can't stop them." He looked toward Spider-Man. "You'll have to go on your own."
"You're right, you can't stop them. At least not on your own." Alfred cut in before Spider-Man could reply. "And maybe he can't either. If tonight hasn't already been any indication for you, then it's high time you realize that you're a man, not an island." He said as he pushed Batman's mask in front of him. "And a man's strength comes not from just brawn and intelligence but also his allies." He said as he gestured towards Spider-Man.
Alfred walks around Batman and turns the radio back on. "Priority one alert: The Joker has escaped from his cell and is leading the riots at Blackgate. Repeat: the Joker has taken over the entire prison. Multiple casualties. Multiple hostages, civilians, and prison guards. Again we have lost Blackgate. Captain Gordon is calling on anyone, anyone for assistance."
Spider-Man pulls his mask off as Batman turns to look at him. "My… uncle once told me that with great power comes great responsibility. You may not have powers like me, but that doesn't make you any less of a hero. You have your own unique set of skills that make you just as powerful as me. Hell, maybe even more. You've held yourself responsible for this city so far, don't let this stop you. " He extends an arm toward Batman. "I'm gonna guess Kraven is going to Blackgate; it would be a lot better if I had some help. What do you say?"
Batman just stares in silence.
"They need you. Both of you." Alfred says.
"No," Batman responds as he picks up his mask and puts it on. "They need all of us." He says as he shakes Peter's hand.
A smirk crawls up Spider-Man's face as he nods before putting the mask back on. They both walk over to the Batwing and hop in. Batman fires up the engines and speeds off towards Blackgate.
The Batwing dropped the two off near the main entrance, where three guards were about to be executed by ten Blackgate prisoners. Before they could do anything, the two leaped down and began attacking them.
One of the prisoners had gotten a hold of a gun and was prepared to fire but was stopped by a web. Spider-Man ripped it out of the prisoner's hand and threw it back at him in one swift motion. He was knocked out instantly.
Batman had knocked over another prisoner and broke his leg when another tried to tase him with a stun rod. Batman grabbed his hand and knocked him off his feet with a fist to the face before tazing the prisoner in the stomach.
Another thug tried to use a car door as a shield and bash Spider-Man with it. Spider-Man forced the door down before shooting a web to his face, blinding him. He then ripped the shield from his hand and broke the glass over the thug's head, knocking him out. His Spidey-Senses suddenly tingled, causing him to spin around and throw the shield at a charging prisoner. Once he went down, he didn't get back up.
One of the remaining thugs got his hands on another gun and tried to fire, but Batman was quickly able to dismantle it before hitting him with a big knee. Another tried to hit him with a baseball bat but Batman countered and used it to break his foot.
Spider-Man kicked one thug towards the wall before webbing him in place. Another prisoner tried to attack him with a knife, but Spider-Man dodged it before hitting a few punches to the face and finishing him off with a spinning kick to the face.
"Hey! Heads up!" Spider-Man shouted. He had fallen back onto his hands to spring his feet up into a prisoner's chin, which sent him high in the air. Batman positioned himself under the prisoner and grabbed his feet, pulling him down and slamming him to the floor before leaping up and knocking him out with a punch to the face.
"Not gonna lie, that was pretty awesome." Spider-Man complimented, "High five?" Spider-Man raised his arm but was met with air as Batman gave him a stare. "Right, not-" Batman gave him a high five, shocking Spider-Man as he looked down at his palm in surprise. "I knew you liked me."
"Thanks. Thanks for-" One of the prison guards started.
"We could use your help." Batman interrupted. "Captain Gordon is on his way. Secure the gates for him, then help him lock this place down. The Joker cannot be allowed out of here."
"Yes sir, we're on it." He said before taking out his radio, "Prison officer 4-7 to Captain James Gordon. What Is your ETA at Blackgate?"
"About five minutes. You getting those gates open?"
"Be ready by the time you're here." He said before hanging up.
Turning around, the two looked at the state of the entrance. It was locked from the inside and had one of the guards strung up in front of it. The windows around them were broken open, but the flames coming out from them prevented the heroes from going in.
"How are we getting in?" Spider-Man asked.
"There." Batman opened up the man-hole cover beneath them and slid down the ladder.
"Sir, I've been listening to the reports coming out of Blackgate. Are you two OK?" Alfred asked over the communicator as Spider-Man entered the sewers.
"I should be asking you that. How are you feeling?"
"Well, it's not every day that one's heart must be crudely resuscitated by defibrillation, but I must say, I feel remarkably well, considering."
"Good to hear. Any arrhythmia let me know immediately."
"Of course. But, honestly, Bruce, I do think you have bigger things to worry about right now." The call ended as the two continued through the sewers.
After using an elevator shaft to ascend, the duo found themselves in the Blackgate Nexus. Their Detective Vision showed multiple armed hostiles in the area with them, as well as a few hostages. They split up and began the game of cat and mouse.
One of the prisoners had been walking around when suddenly the wall around him blew open, catching him in the explosion and knocking him out. Two other guards rushed to the noise but were similarly caught in another explosion behind on the opposite side of the hall where the previous victim was. Though they looked, there was no sign of the two anywhere.
One of the prisoners was walking by a glass panel, when Batman appeared on the other side and grabs him through the glass, knocking him out with a punch to the face. The sniper at the vantage point saw this and prepared to fire, but was suddenly knocked off his feet by Spider-Man and webbed to the ground.
One of the prisoners was walking along the catwalk when he was pulled over to the side. A nearby prisoner had seen him fall, but couldn't say anything as something dropped down and grabbed him. After he was brought up high in the air, he saw his attacker was Batman. He dropped the prisoner as a wire around his leg kept him from crashing to the floor.
The last three prisoners tried to buddy up near the hostages on the catwalk, but one got pulled up towards the ceiling by a web and the other got knocked over the ledge by a Batarang. Panicking, the guard grabbed a hostage, he was immediately knocked out when Batman dropped down on top of him through the glass panel in the ceiling.
Walking over to the hostages, Batman saw that one of them was tied to a chair. Her name tag read Harleen Quinzel.
"Are you okay?" Batman asked as he untied her.
"What's it to ya?" She responded as Spider-Man checked up on the other hostages.
"You were almost killed."
"Eh, Occupational hazard." She then walked over to the catwalk. "Look, I know why you're here. He's in the panopticon. And he's waiting for you two."
Batman looked over to the door labeled 'panopticon' before turning back to her. "Stay here where it's safe till the police come."
"Yeah. I'm sure I'll feel a lot safer around a bunch of cops." She retorted sarcastically.
Batman turned towards Spider-Man. "Let's go," he said as he moved towards the door.
As they left Spider-Man had one fleeting thought, She was oddly calm about all of that. Weird.
"Well well well, what do we have here?" Spider-Man joked as they approached the cell of Slade Wilson. "Thought you'd be in a retirement home or something."
"I'd count yourself lucky if I were you. Apparently, the Joker's afraid of me. Wouldn't let me out, and for good reason. I don't like having my time wasted." He said while doing push-ups with his feet perched on the bed.
"You should have known, that trying to kill us was a waste of your time," Batman stated.
"Heh… Well, you won't have to worry about that anymore. Not unless someone else puts up fifty million bucks." Slade stated.
"We weren't worried." He said before the two moved on.
"I mean, I was a little..." Spider-Man admitted quietly as he walked off. "I mean, dude is a psycho."
As they battled through the labyrinthine corridors, they eventually arrived at the imposing entrance of the panopticon. This was the moment they had been preparing for - the ultimate showdown. The very structure from which their journey had commenced would now serve as the stage for their decisive mission's conclusion.
"This is it," Spider-Man commented with a sigh.
"You ready for this?" Batman asked as he looked at Spider-Man.
"As ready as I'll ever be." he breathed out.
Batman then walked to the door and stopped. "Uh, look, I am not good at expressing emotions."
"Stating the obvious." Spider-Man quipped.
"But... despite our differences, I don't know how this night would have turned out without you," Batman said to him. 'Thanks for not leaving when I told you to get out of my city."
"Thanks... I guess." Spider-Man commented.
"You're a good man," Batman said as he gave him a pat on the shoulder. "Now let's end this, so you can go home to your family."
Batman then pushed open the door and the two of them entered. The area had been set up like a battle arena. The prisoners watched from above behind bars, with the Joker on a platform right above the arena. He had two guards with him while he held Warden Joseph hostage with a knife. He put a thumb up while looking around before turning it down with a giggle.
"Let him go!" Batman yelled.
"I understand you. You two had a chance to let me die and you guys didn't take it." Joker stated as he swung his gun around. "Hohohohoho! I bet right now you're wishing you had. I've killed… a LOT of people, haha! I've brought the city to its knees, crippled the police force and it's not even time to unwrap our presents!" Above them, the prisoners cheered loudly through the bars. "Zip it!"
Suddenly, someone came walking out on the catwalk. "Let's do this." It was Bane, without his mask.
"Ok okay. So. What our friend Bane holds in his hands is a heart monitor. Once he clamps it on, every beat of his vacant little heart will charge the battery…" Joker hopped into the electric chair behind him, "...on this electric chair. And when it's fully charged-" He pulled the head clamp down to his skull and pretended to act like he was being electrocuted. "So either you guys kill Bane, haha!"
"No, we won't kill him," Batman stated.
"But you will. You will fight me with all your resolve, or you will die. Someone IS going to die. You, me, Spider-Man, or the clown. The question of whichever one of us it is... is in your hands." Bane said before hooking up the heartbeat monitor. The screens on the walls around them showed his heartbeat as he dropped down in front of them.
"Do you have a plan?" Batman asked as he got into a fighting position.
"Isn't that my line?" Spider-Man gulped as he readied himself.
Bane activates his venom and charges at the two. "A compassionate man would be home mourning the loss of his servant and lifelong companion right now. Yet here you are."
The two dodged the attack before Bane charged at them again. After a third time, he jumped up and crashed back down with his fist smashing into the ground. Batman used this moment to knock him off balance with his cape and attack him with a barrage of punches. He then kicked Bane, causing Bane to stumble towards Spider-Man who grabbed one of the tubes on his back and ripped it off. He lunged for the heart monitor but Bane swatted him away like a fly.
"Oh. And just in case either of you were thinking of getting smart, try to remove the heart monitor and… KABOOM! More minced meat on the walls than in a house made of hamburgers. How's that for a helpful hint? We got one more surprise for you two." Joker informed.
"Crap, now what?" Spider-Man said to himself as they started to hear rumbling. "Please tell me that was your stomach."
Kraven suddenly appeared, leaping down and landing with a powerful thud that caused the two onlookers to freeze in shock at the sight before them. It was clear that he had undergone a dramatic transformation, having infused himself with a concoction derived from Bane's venom and the genetic material of the creatures they had been battling. The result was a startling mutation that resembled a hybrid of a tiger and a human, with Kraven donning a jacket crafted from lion skin.
"Okay, I can't tell if that is adorably terrifying or terrifyingly adorable," Spider-Man tells Batman.
"Kraven!" Batman stepped forward. "What have you done to yourself?"
Kraven turned, his smile twisted into a snarl. "I have become more than a man, Bat! I am the ultimate predator! No longer bound by the limitations of humanity, I shall hunt you down like the vermin you are!"
Spider-Man braced himself, instinctively feeling the tension in the air. "This isn't you, Kraven! You're better than this!"
With a roar that echoed through the streets, Kraven lunged at Spider-Man with unnatural speed. The web-slinger barely had time to react, dodging to the side as Kraven slammed into the wall, leaving a massive dent. The mutated hunter was stronger, faster, and more unpredictable than ever before.
"Okay, you want a plan? I handle Kraven, you handle Bane!" Spider-Man cried as he dodged a strike from Kraven, quickly webbing his face.
"How do you plan that?" Batman asks.
"I'm improvising!" Spider-Man cried as he webbed Kraven by the shoulders, treating it as if he were wrangling a bull. "Do the same!"
As Bane charged at Batman, inmates from above hopped down and joined the fight. But to Bane, they were just objects in his way as he ran over them to get to the duo. Once he jumped up and created a shock wave again, Batman stunned him with a shock to the face and attacked.
As he went for an overhand punch, Bane caught it before grabbing him by the neck and lifting him up. Bane held Batman over his head by his neck and feet before throwing him into a set of monitors. Batman broke the screens on impact.
"Is this what you wanted, Kraven? To be a mindless beast?" Spider-Man shot a web to the opposite side of the prison, swinging away from Kraven's relentless pursuit. He needed to buy time, to think of a plan. But the constant shouting of inmates wasn't helping. "That venom will corropt you, just like it did with Bane!"
"I want to be the best!" Kraven shouted, his voice distorted by rage. "And now, I am! No more games, Spider! You will be my greatest trophy!"
Spider-Man flipped through the air, landing gracefully on a nearby handrail. He could see the twisted glee in Kraven's eyes, a man consumed by his own ambition. But he also saw the pain—a man who had lost himself to his own desires.
"Kraven, listen to me!" Spider-Man shouted, trying to reason with him. "This isn't the way! You don't have to be a monster!"
But Kraven was beyond reason. With a primal growl, he charged again, this time leaping high into the air, claws extended. Spider-Man barely had time to react, using his webs to swing out of the way. The mutated hunter crashed into the ground, sending debris flying.
Before Batman could get up, Bane grabbed him by his neck and held him over his head again. This time, however, he flipped him over and brought him down on his knee before rolling him away. Batman was too injured to get up as Bane slowly walked over to him and placed a foot on top of him.
The battle raged on —Spider-Man using his agility and intellect, while Kraven relied on brute strength and sheer ferocity. They fought all across the room a dance of predator and prey, each clash echoing through the urban landscape.
As they fought, Spider-Man began to notice something strange. Kraven's movements, though powerful, were becoming erratic. He was losing control, the mutations affecting his mind as much as his body.
Above them, Gordon entered the area where the Joker, his thugs, and the warden were.
"Don't move." He warned, pointing his gun at the men restraining the warden.
"Maybe you shouldn't move." One of the thugs responded as he held the knife closer to the warden's neck.
Gordon fired off a round into one of the goon's shoulders and another into the other's knee. Bane looked up at the commotion as Batman tried desperately to get his foot off him. The warden handcuffed both men to the railing as Gordon approached.
"Oh, good lord." He said as he saw the electric chair Joker was strapped into. The battery showed that it was halfway charged. He began to undo the straps while aiming his gun at the Joker.
"Careful, Jim. When that chair goes off, that's two thousand volts. You won't make it." Warden Joseph warned.
"You don't need to-" Gordon was interrupted when Joker freed himself from the straps, grabbed Gordon's gun, elbowed Joseph, and brought Gordon's head down onto his knee. Joker put him in a headlock and pointed the gun at his head.
"Hohohoho! Jim, Jim, Jim, Jim. Have a seat, Jimbo. We'll fry together, like two little potato latkes." He joked as he placed the headpiece on Gordon.
Batman began to try and squirm when he remembered something.
'Clear, charging.'
'I got a pulse!'
'I'm-a jumpstart your hearts, and kill you two again!'
"May you find the peace in death that you did not find in life," Bane said.
Batman looked over to Spider-Man and saw him start to regain consciousness. Spider-Man turned his head as Kraven grabbed him by the throat and the two seemed to be mentally planning something.
"I'm not looking for peace." Batman punched his leg, causing Bane to recoil and move off him.
Spdier-Man then charged his legs and did the strongest kick he could manage and knocked Kraven backward. Slamming into the wall, Spider-Man shot a web towards Batman who charged the gauntlets. Then he shot a second webbing toward Kraven and sent an electrical charge to knock Kraven out. That gave Spider-Man the chance to walk over and remove the tube feeding the venom to Kraven, turning him back to normal.
Batman would rip out another venom tube, but this time adding an electric shock to Bane's back as he did so. This went on and on until Bane was weak enough for Batman to initiate his plan.
As Bane was on his knees, he grabbed onto Bane and sent current after current of electricity into Bane. He knocked him down with a punch. Bane tried to resist by grabbing his neck but Batman knocked it away from him and grabbed him again. Spiderman then came in and landed constant hard punches on Bane staggering him even more. The heartbeat on the monitors started to quicken until finally… he flatlined.
"Hahahaha! They did it!" Joker laughed as he threw Jim off him. Down below, Batman ripped off Bane's venom pack and threw it away.
Unknowingly causing it to fall through a floor grate and into the sewers. "The game's over. Joker. Let Captain Gordon go."
"Yeah. Put the gun down, freak." Warden Joseph said as Joker walked backward on the catwalk, keeping his gun aimed at the two.
"How 'bout I put you down?" Joker asked as he fired a shot at the warden, but Gordon jumped in front of him, taking the bullet instead.
"Gordon!" Batman yells.
"Well, that's the Christmas Spirit!" Joker complimented Gordon. "Well, I'd love to stay and celebrate your victory, but I've got stockings to stuff, mistletoe to hang, and about fifteen skyscrapers to blow up before sunrise. Ciao. Hahahahaha!"
He begins to laugh as he runs off. Joseph kneels down to check on Gordon and sees he's wearing something.
"Thank God you had your vest on," Joseph commented.
"He's - He's got my gun," Gordon says as he stands up.
"Gordon, Joseph. We need your help, to stop the Joker." Batman said.
"Our help? You're the so-called vigilantes. Or is one kill enough for you two tonight?"
"Bane's in cardiopulmonary arrest. I have only minutes to resuscitate him before it's too late."
As he says those last few words, Gordon realizes what Batman had planned all along. "You mean you didn't-"
"That's not how we do things. Now go." Both Gordon and the warden nod and run off to catch up with Joker.
Batman gets his gloves ready when Spider-Man crouches down next to Bane, opposite of Batman.
"You should probably go with them and keep them safe," Batman noted.
"No way in hell am I gonna leave you by yourself with him. I have a feeling he's not gonna be a 'happy little camper' when he wakes up."
Batman merely smirks and begins to defibrillate Bane.
"Come on!" Batman grunts as he continues to shock Bane to no avail. He gives him one last big shock when Bane starts to come to, unknowingly the man trying to save him.
"Hey, I think he's waking u-ghhhk!" Spider-Man tries to warn them before Bane grabs them by their necks and stands up.
Both heroes struggle for breath as Bane growls at them. He checks for the venom trigger on his arm but sees that it's missing.
"You leave me no choice, Mr. Wayne and Mr. Parker." Bane chokeslams Spider-Man onto the floor before placing a boot on top of his chest, keeping him still. He then takes out a device that looks similar to Batman's Explosive Gel, except it's full of the TN-1 venom the two saw in Bane's hideout.
He injects the venom into his arm, causing his muscles to grotesquely morph. He lets out beastly grunts as his eyes flash a bright green and his body gets bigger and bigger. The venom pack's tubes begin to break due to the size increase. Spider-Man is struggling to breathe as more weight is being applied to his chest as Bane grows. Bane lets out a loud yell and throws Batman to the floor. He lets out another terrifying screech at both men as he steps back and releases Spider-Man.
Bane roared and charged at Batman. What he didn't know was that Batman had found the floor grate beneath him. He waited for the right moment before jumping out and kicking him into the nearby electrified door. At the same time, Spider-Man comes in with a swing kick. After getting kicked into the door again Bane fell to his knees, out of breath.
"Is he out?" Spider-Man asked as he walked up to Batman.
"No, just too weak to stand," Batman replied before contacting Alfred. " It's over, Alfred we've defeated Bane.
Suddenly, Bane gets up and grabs both of them. The two are powerless to do anything as Bane throws them into a nearby wall, damaging it.
"Master Bruce? Master Parker" Alfred asks in concern as Bane approaches the two, both struggling to get back to their feet. "Master Bruce, are you alright?" Bane punches Batman in the stomach with his right arm and Spider-Man with his left before grabbing Spider-Man and shoving him into Batman so hard, that both men go through the wall.
"I thought you said he was too weak to stand." Spider-Man mocked.
The two get back up to see Bane running straight at them. Thinking quickly, Batman took out his Remote Claw and attached two lines from Bane's arms to the anchor points on the generators next to them. The lines stop Bane in his tracks before getting pulled back and sending volts of electricity into him. Finally, he was down for good.
With the brute now unconscious, Batman tied a rope attached to the ceiling around Bane's leg and pulled on it. The rope took Bane with it as he dangled a few inches from the ground.
"The Bat Man. I will… I must find the Bat Man," Bane muttered.
"Good luck with that," Batman said as the two walked away.
"Master Bruce, Master Parker can you two hear me?" Alfred asks in a panic.
"Yes," Batman said. "We took care of Kraven and Bane."
"I trust he's down for good this time," Alfred asked.
"He's secure. And It appears the TN-1 Bane took damaged his memory, permanently."
"Does that mean he won't be revealing your identity?" Alfred asked.
"Looks that way." Batman guessed. "Would go to say the same thing for Kraven."
"Glad to hear it, sir. And the Joker?"
"He's still on the loose, but not for long," Batman said before ending the call.
"I hope we never, ever, have to do that again." Spider-Man groaned as he cracked his back. "Everything hurts. Haven't felt like that since my first encounter with Rhino."
"Hopefully that will be the last time," Batman replied as the exited the Control Room.
"This is Captain Gordon at Blackgate Prison requesting immediate medevac! Warden Joseph has been shot. Repeat Warden Joseph is down." Gordon said via radio.
"EMT chopper en route ETA fifteen minutes."
"Tell them to hurry up!"
The two found themselves back on Death Row, below them laid Warden Joseph clutching at his wound. The two jumped down to check on him.
"Where's Gordon?" Batman asks.
"...Sniper…" Joseph warned.
The two looked up to see a sniper aiming right at them. But before they could make a move, Killer Croc bursts through the door.
"Would ya look at who's back for more?" He said before grabbing both of them by the throat.
"We've had enough of you for one night," Batman said.
"Not yet you haven't."
"Ugh, you've been in here for how long and you still haven't brushed your teeth?" Spider-Man quipped.
The sniper had his sights aimed at Batman's head and was ready to fire when Gordon came up behind him with a baseball bat.
"Sunova bitch!" He cried as he whacked him in the back with the bat. Inadvertently causing the sniper fire anyway.
"Why you-" before Croc could finish his sentence, the sniper bullet hit him in the shoulder. This caused Croc to throw both men away from him. "Screw this. Want the Joker? Take 'im." He said before running off.
Gordon jumped down from the vantage point before Joker's thugs burst into the room. "Help me keep these guys off the warden."
The three of them ran into action and began taking down the thugs. Even without his webbing, Spider-Man wasn't going to fo down so easily. He leaped and used his acrobatic skills to fight back as he used his strength to throw one of the goons into the crowd, giving Batman a chance to use his skill to knock them out.
"You fight well," Batman comments as he tased a thug with his own tase stick.
"Had a rough childhood," Gordon grunts as he swings a left hook at a thug, knocking him out.
"Maybe you should put on a costume as well." Quipped Spider-Man.
"I rather fight in the law," said Gorden.
"Where's the Joker?" Batman asks as the last goon falls.
"He went through that door, towards the chapel," Gordon said.
"Thanks."
As the two walk through the door, they see that the chapel doors are wide open. As if they were waiting for someone.
"Looks like this is it," Spider-Man says. "We do this together?"
Batman turns towards Spider-Man and gives him a small nod.
"Alright, Let's do this," Spider-Man says.
Batman says nothing but silently gives him a quick smile and continues walking. Inside the chapel were rows of wooden benches. Candle lights illuminated the room, and at the other end of the room sat Joker. Resting on the altar. Behind him was a large stained-glass frame.
"Hohohoho hohoho oooohhh. Oh bats hahahahahaha! its ju-haha! What a night!" Batman begins to walk faster toward him as he talks until he's close enough to grab him and lift him up. "Fresh off a kill and back for more, eh?"
"Bane's still alive," Batman informed him.
"Yeah did you think we didn't have a plan?" Said Spider-Man.
Joker loses his smile and takes out the heart monitor. Sure enough, it shows a beating heart. "Now that's not FUNNY."
Joker then throws the monitor to the floor and takes out a gun. Batman swats it away and releases Joker, who punches Batman and aims the gun at his face.
"All this, all this rage. All directed at me, and for what? You know if you two actually let me finish a sentence, you might learn something. You two might learn that we're not so different. You might even learn something about yourselves."
"You need to learn to shut up." Said Spider-Man who was clenching his fist tighter than usual.
Before Joker can pull off a shot Spider-Man webbed the gun away pulls Joker closer with a web line and hits him with multiple harder strikes than normal sending him flying into a cement column.
"Is all this for you two or for me? You two must know that I'm a lost cause. But there's still hope for you guys. Hehehehehe. Yes. I've got great hopes for you guys. So c'mon. Don't stop now!"
Batman then grabs him and throws him into another stained glass window on the other side of the room, breaking it.
"You just can't get it through your thick skulls!" Joker shouts as he gets up, grabbing pieces of glass to use as a weapon. "We all exist because of them!"
"Give up. You lost." Spider-Man yells as he walks toward him.
Joker tries to slash Batman but he dodges it and hits him. Joker tries again but Batman grabs his arm and hits him in the ribs. He grabs him around the neck and hits him a few times in the chest, making him let go of the glass.
That's when the beatdown came. Batman stunned him with his cape and Spider-Man began to hit him over and over again. When he was done, he swapped and allowed Batman to take control as they both knocked Joker over and over. With each punch, it was as if their hands moved faster and faster. Eventually, they both started to land hard punches at the same time. Batman finally finished with an uppercut that caused the Joker to land on the altar.
Despite the beatdown, the Joker was able to still laugh as Batman walked over to him and raised a fist.
"That's why you two do it, isn't it? You two like the way it feels. It's what you two need." Batman then punches him in the face. He lifts him up and slams him to the floor. "Come on, baby! Beat me 'til your knuckles bleed… And why quit there? Hehe! You know there's only one way to stop me."
Batman puts both hands around the Joker's throat and begins to choke him. The Joker struggles for air when Batman unexpectedly changes into a nightmarish-looking creature and Spider-Man looks like some sort of Man-Spider to his eyes. However, this is all in his mind as Batman and Spiderman both knock him out with a hard punch to the face breaking some more bones
"Is it over?" Spider-Man wonders, exhausted from the night they had.
"...Yes." Batman finally confirmed.
Spider-Man walks over to him and looks down at the Joker. "Good."
"Any one of my guys would have killed him," Gordon said as he walked in, causing both men to look at him.
Batman picks up Gordon's gun and hands it to him. "This city deserves better than that."
"You know, my daughter thinks you guys are heroes," Gordon says as he looks at his gun. Unexpectedly, to Spider-Man at least, he aims his gun at the duo. "But I still have to bring you two in."
"Gordon come in! What's your 20?" Bullock says via radio.
"I'm in the chapel. We got the Joker." Gordon says as he turns his head and looks down at the radio on his shoulder. When he looked back up, both of them were gone. He looked away for a second, one second.
"Sunova bitch, you caught him? And how'd you do that?"
"I had some help." He replies, looking around and finding a business card with a phone number on it saying :
"If you ever need help you can always call- Your Friendly Neighborhood Spiderman- P.S Please return my villains to New York" Gorden then smirks and lightly chuckles at this,
We see the entrance of the prison surrounded by police cars and helicopters.
"I keep asking myself why I didn't bring them in. And I now know, the truth is I let them go because of you. Because you believe in them, people like them."
The next scene shows paramedics lifting an injured police officer into an ambulance.
"I don't know… They put me in charge of a station full of rotten cops. And I can't change them."
The next scene cuts to some of Joker's men, Killer Croc, and Deathstroke, being escorted by armed SWAT officers. The same with Taskmaster, Vulture, and Kraven who are being escorted to a prison transport to be sent back to New York.
"any more than I can change this… this damn city." We now see officers finding Bane strung up.
"...Or at least that's what I used to think."
Next, we see Joker strapped to a gurney being escorted through the prison, giggling to himself.
"…stopped his heart. Haha. That is funny. Hmhm. Good one, Bats and Webs. Hahaha! This is going to be fun." Little did they know that this night put them on a crash course with The Joker for many years to come.
The next scene shows both Batman and Spider-Man leaping off the roof of the prison, one man using his cape to glide while the other is swinging on a web. "But maybe, maybe I can give them something to believe in." We see Gordon walking out the entrance of the prison with his daughter. They look up to see the duo moving quickly through the air. "Maybe THEY can give them something to believe in." We hear a victory shout from Spider-Man as the two disappear into the night.
"Figured you'd be by sooner or later." Deathstroke is still doing push-ups in his cell as a woman walks up and throws a contract for something by his face.
"And what happens if I don't sign?" He asks as he stops his workout and looks at the paper in front of him.
"You rot in here, or you work for me." The woman is revealed to be none other than Amanda Waller.
As they made their way back to the Batcave, their footsteps echoed through the cavernous space, a solemn reminder that this would be their final journey together. Tomorrow, their paths would diverge, and the weight of that impending separation hung heavy in the air. Peter let out a heavy sigh as he unmasked himself, the weariness of their impending parting evident in the lines etched on his face.
"Man, I thought the sun would have been up by now," Peter said as he walked inside the cave. "This has been one really long and chaotic Christmas, hasn't it?"
"That's one way of putting it," Bruce responds, removing his cape and cowl.
"I don't know how you'll clean up this city on your own," Peter said as he turned to face his new ally. "But I have no doubt you will. If tonight has been anything to go by, those criminals better learn to fear the Batman."
"Thank you Spider-Man, for everything." Bruce extended his hand out, and for the first time since he had met him, he saw a smile. Spider-Man looks at him in shock, before grasping his hand with his.
"It was a privilege working with you. If there's anything you need, anything at all, don't hesitate to call." Peter said while giving him his personal phone number
"How do you plan on getting home?" Bruce asks.
"Well, if I catch a rental, I might be able to make it back by noon tomorrow." Peter guessed, looking at his watch. "Not what I really wanted, but I can make it work."
Bruce looked over to Alfred who seemed to be getting what he was asking. "No, come on." He said, gesturing towards the BatWing. "I'll give you a ride home."
"Really?" Peter was surprised to hear. Then he decided to get another idea. "Wait, no, I am not going to use you as a taxi service."
"You're not. I am offering." Bruce tells him.
"No, if I am doing this, I have one request," Peter said as he looked at Alfred. "For both of you."
NEW YORK:
Pamela sighed as she woke up early and looked out the window where she saw the snow blazing in the city of New York. Seems it was going to be a truly white Christmas. She sighed as she got up and walked down the stairs, checking her phone, and saw there was no message from Peter. She sighed as she walked towards the stairs to the smell of someone cooking. May must have woken up and was already getting to work cooking. But as she was walking down the hall, she bumped into May, causing her to gasp.
"Oh, May, I thought you were downstairs," Pam commented, looking down where she heard the kitchen. "Wait, is that Diana?"
"No," May said in worry. "I just saw her wake up."
Making their way downward, they were confused when they saw people leaving the kitchen and were surprised to see it was Peter. "Oh, hey, I thought you guys were waking up."
"Peter?" Pam was shocked as she ran over to hug him. "Oh, I am so happy to see you."
"Whoa, watch it, I do not wanna drop the food." Peter laughed as he tried to keep his balance. "He's been cooking for the last hour."
"Who?" Pam asks.
"And who is your friend?" May asked, noticing Bruce.
"May, Pam, this is Bruce." Peter introduced them. "Bruce Wayne."
"You must be May Parker," Bruce said as he walked over and shook her hand. "Pleasure to meet you. Peter talked about you a lot."
"You... you met Bruce Wayne?" Pam asks.
"We met last night while I was working," Peter told the lie, hoping Pam would get it. "He got me here on his private jet."
"In this snow?" May asks.
"I have a good jet." Bruce joked.
"I invited him over as a thank you," Peter explained why he was there.
"Ah, this must be everyone," Alfred said as he exited the kitchen. "I hope you don't mind, I helped myself to cook the food."
"Ha! Do I mind?" May asked as a joke as she looked over the food. "I will gladly take the time to relax."
"No worries Ms. Parker," said Alfred as he greeted May.
"Is Diana awake?" Peter wonders.
"Yeah, she should be down soon," Pam said as May walked off. "So. You went to fight Kraven, met Batman, and now you know Bruce Wayne? Is there... some sort of connection?"
"I have no idea what you are talking about." Peter chuckled.
Pam smiled as she looked upward and saw a mistletoe hanging on the ceiling. "Hey," She gestured upward to the mistletoe. Peter looked down as Pam leaned in and gave Peter a quick kiss on the lips. It was short, but she reveled in every second her lips locked with his. "Merry Christmas, Peter."
"Merry Christmas, Pam," Peter said with a smile.
That was when Diana strolled down and saw everything. "Peter."
Peter turned toward Diana and smiled. She ran over as Peter approached and hugged her. "Oh, I am so happy to see you. You will not believe the night I had."
"How was Gotham?" Diana wonders.
"Uh... not putting it on my top ten vacation spots, I can tell you that," Peter promises.
Diana chuckled as she leaned in and gave him a passionate kiss. "Merry Christmas, love."
"Merry Christmas," Peter replied as he kissed her again.
As Pam gazed upon the scene, her heart constricted with a mix of emotions. The sight of Peter and Diana locked in a tender embrace caused an intense ache within her. Despite her unwavering love for Peter, she found herself silently grappling with the pain of watching him hold another woman. Determined to find a way to separate them without causing Peter any distress, she yearned to express the profound depth of her affection.
However, she understood the need to tread carefully, as she feared the possibility of losing him or inadvertently pushing him further into Diana's arms but she pushed this part of herself down for now so she could enjoy the holidays finally. In the end, they had a very Merry Christmas with lots of laughs and love.
Everyone is sitting around the table laughing and just enjoying each other's company and showing how one moment can form many strong bonds that will last a lifetime.
Little did they know that the next adventure is right around the corner. Outside the window, a meteorite can be seen flying through the sky and crashing many miles away. Once it crashed a black gooey substance can be seen leaving the meteorite as if it was alive looking for someone to attach to.