Well, there's been a title change, mainly to separate the confusion of the title with the Wanted movie. Anyway, here's the next chapter of the story. Hope you enjoy!
Chaos: Stage Two
Barbara Gordon sat on her bed, shaking and stirring from a terrible nightmare.
In her nightmare was the two-faced monster she once knew as Harvey Dent, holding her and her children hostage, asking her if Jim ever told her what happened to Rachel Dawes. Even though she was quivering with fear, she managed to shake her head and could feel the cold metal of his gun pressed up against her chin.
"Barbara, Barbara, Barbara. Do you know where we are?" the man she refused to call Harvey Dent asked her.
She shook her head a second time.
This caused him to throw back his head and laugh bitterly.
"This is the place where Rachel died. Did Jim ever tell you how she died?"
Barbara shook her head for a third time.
"It was your husband's fault that she died. It was because of him that she never made it out alive. She was tied up to a chair, like me, and there were barrels of gasoline around her. How do I know this? We were able to talk together through a phone. Her last words to me were..."
He never finished that sentence, but what was disturbing about it all was how calm he remained when he explained it. Not once did he scream or yell at Barbara Gordon, or even raise his voice. He was just... calm whenever he talked about Rachel.
But Barbara couldn't believe him when he told her it was Jim's fault Rachel died.
Or maybe it was more along the lines that she didn't want to believe him.
"N-no, it wasn't his fault," she slowly stammered.
"What's that?" Harvey asked, this time a little bit more angry.
"I-it wasn't Jim's fault. I know I don't know much about the situation, but-"
She was silenced with a slap to the face. Her children squeaked when she was slapped, and one very angry district attorney yelled at them, telling them to shut up.
"That's right. You know nothing! You don't know what happened, and you may never accept the truth, but I have, Barbara. I've accepted the truth a long time ago. Your husband failed to save Rachel, your Jim. He's going to pay for that, because I want him to understand what it feels like to lose the ones he loves the most. Now, I'm going to make a little phone call to your husband, and let him know where you are. Then," as he said this, he held up a quarter that had one normal side and one scarred side.
"We'll let fate decide what happens to your boys."
Barbara didn't even want to know what that meant, but she already had a good idea.
Harvey took out a cellphone and made the call to Jim Gordon.
A few minutes later, Jim Gordon made his arrival to Avenue X, (unarmed as demanded by Harvey) and saw his family held hostage by Harvey.
"Harvey, you don't want to do this," he pleaded, hands grasped together, as if he were praying.
"Oh, but you're wrong Jim. You know how much I want to do this."
"No, you don't. Harvey, please, don't do this to my family. If anybody, kill me. I'm sorry for what happened to Rachel and I deserve this. Please, don't bring this on my family."
The man he once knew as Harvey Dent looked thoughtful for a moment and walked away from his tied up family and faced him. Then he grabbed his little boy with force from Barbara (who held James Gordon Jr. as tightly as possible) and made sure he was a distance from Jim. Jim wouldn't be the one playing hero this time.
He pointed the gun at James Gordon Jr, and held up the old familiar quarter of his. Just like he did with Barbara, he held up to show it to Jim.
"You die."
Then he held the scarred side, and put the gun to the head of Jim's son.
"He dies."
It was pretty much a lose lose situation for Jim Gordon and he knew it, but he knew that he had already lived a good life, made many friends, and had done so much that many others wish they would have done in their lifetime. Jim Gordon knew he was an old man, but his son was just a child. James Gordon Jr. was everything to Gordon, and the boy had so much to live for, but all of that was resting on the decision of what side a quarter would land on.
And it was all because he hadn't been able to reach Rachel in time, and that was wrong. It shouldn't be chance deciding whether Jim died or his son died! He knew his son was innocent, and he knew he deserved to die.
He tried convincing Harvey not to kill his son one more time.
"Harvey, don't do this. Please. Don't shoot the boy. shoot me."
Harvey could only shake his head and point at the quarter that was in is hands. Before he flipped it, he asked Jim one simple question.
"Jim, do you remember that old nickname they had for me down at the D.A.?"
Jim didn't dare say it, but both he and Harvey knew what that name was. Well, Barbara probably knew it, as it was a nickname that spread around quickly, but that wasn't the point.
That nickname they had for him at the District Attorney?
It was Two Face.
Exactly what this monster in front of him was right now. Jim Gordon didnÆt believe it was the real Harvey Dent. Of course it had the body and face of Harvey Dent, but this monster in front of him had transformed so much that Jim believed it had turned him into a two-faced man with a perverted sense of justice.
The sickening site of flesh and bone on his face was the only side that grinned before flicking the quarter up in the air and catching it with his hands, waiting to see what fate held in store for the Gordon family. It wouldnÆt matter too much what side it landed on, because the way he saw it, either way, he won. One of them would die, and he would get sweet, sweet revenge.
Jim could only close his eyes, hoping that it landed on the normal side, and not the scarred one. His son didn't deserve any of this. His daughter didn't, and his wife didn't deserve any of this.
"Please, please, please, please," he begged, no, prayed, hoping the quarter didn't land on the scarred side.
"Oh Jiiiiim. Open. Your. Eyes." HarveyÆs voice rang, completely mocking the commissioner of the police department.
Slowly, Jim opened his two eyes and saw Harvey with a closed fist, revealing the quarter to him. His eyes widened, and he pulled his hair when he saw what side it landed on.
And Barbara, along with her daughter, screamed when she saw that it was on the scarred side.
Harvey could only. He was going to enjoy this. He held the gun and brought it to aim at Barbara and Jim's little boy. His finger toyed with the trigger, and-
"Barbara? BARBARA!!!"
This caused Barbara's eyes to shoot open suddenly, finding herself in a cold sweat, in a now fully lit room, staring at her husband. She still felt her heartbeat from that terrible nightmare, and relief filled her when she saw her husband.
ôJim, honey, youÆre home,ö she said as enthusiastically as a woman who had just been woken up at three in the morning could ever say. Still somewhat shaken after her nightmare, she managed to will herself to get up and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him in for a deep kiss.
ôMmm,ö Jim replied.
Barbara frowned. She didn't like the tone in that response.
ôLong day at work?ö she asked carefully.
ôVery,ö he responded with a heavy sigh.
Not wanting to get into a conversation about it, he decided to change the topic. Besides, the topic he changed the conversation to really worried him.
"You were shouting in your sleep," he said, concerned.
"I-I was?"
"Yes. You were."
"Oh, well, you know how nightmares can be, pretty intense," she tried to fake a laugh and failed miserably.
Gordon took his glasses off and wiped them with his shirt before talking.
"Was it about Harvey?"
Barbara just sighed. She didn't answer him.
"Barbara..." Jim said, changing his tone into a more comforting one.
"No, Jim, I'm alright, really, I am."
She was lying and both of them knew it. She wasn't alright, and she was still being haunted by what had happened a few days ago.
That moment when she saw herself and her two little treasures at the hand of death terrified her even more than it did her own children. The last thing any parent wanted was to see their children die before they did, and that applied to Barbara Gordon. Her children were her life, and along with Jim, they were her whole world. Losing them was her biggest fear, and that fear nearly came true when the troubled and disturbed Harvey Dent had that gun of his raised at them. She knew things went down differently, but that night was never wiped out from her mind completely, and she feared the same for her children, and Jim as well. That was, if he even managed to get sleep these days.
The point was that she had come seconds away from nearly losing her whole world, and if Batman had never existed, her world would have been taken away from her. She sighed. And to think that she first thought of Batman as some sort of criminal for doing what he did. Now she understood what he really was, and she owed him everything for saving her whole world.
"Barbara, we've talked about this before, haven't we?"
"I, I know Jim, but... but I'm just not as strong as you are. I... we almost lost our children that night, and that possibility is still there, laughing at me, mocking me, torturing me! I wish I was as strong as you were, but I'm not. I'm not."
She started to break down in tears before Jim surprised her by giving her a sweet kiss on the lips and then embracing her in an impassioned hug.
"Barbara. You need to stop doing this to yourself. You are strong. Take this from me. I know you, and I know that you... that we can get through this. It's going to take a while yes, but-"
*BZZT! BZZT!*
*BZZT! BZZT!*
Jim looked down at his pants pocket in disbelief.
"Not now.... he groaned, rubbing his temples.
After wiping up a tear, Barbara smiled at her husband.
"I-it's okay. It's your job. It's important. Take the call."
Talking with Jim always seemed to help her. It didn't help her 100 percent or anything, but she always felt better when he comforted her. He was her true knight in shining armor, and she knew Jim was the right choice to marry.
She smiled. She still had a lot of troubles on her mind, and many things were uncertain for her, but one thing was for certain. Whatever he said to her, it always calmed her down and made her forget why she was worried in the first place.
Cursing, Jim reached into his pockets and pulled out his cellphone.
"What is it?" he growled.
He listened to what the officer on the other line had to say, and frowned when he received the news.
ôIs Officer Conroy okay?ö
ôOfficer Conroy is still alive, but he had to be rushed to the emergency room. He lost a significant amount of blood and was very badly damaged, even left with third degree burns."
Gordon winced as he heard this. He knew the answer to his question wasn't going to be pretty, but he had to ask.
"Where did he get the burns?"
"They say it reached up to 40 percent around his back, and some of his arms too. They also say that he's very lucky to be alive.ö
The Commissioner shook his head. He knew all the risks and dangers of being a cop, and he also knew you had to understand completely what you were getting into when you agreed to be a cop for a city like Gotham.
Unfortunate events happened to many in his line of work, and he had been through more battles over his life than could count. It was a wonder that he was still alive after all his time spent working. Even if he didnÆt know Officer Conroy as well as he would have liked to, there was something in the rookie that reminded him of a younger version of himself. He hoped Conroy would make it out okay. It would be a shame to lose one of the few completely reliable men in his police force.
"Do you know exactly what happened to him?"
"Not yet, but we're going to have to ask him some questions when he wakes up."
"I understand. Is there anything else?"
ôYeah. YouÆre needed back at the station.ö
Gordon sighed. He saw that one coming. He didn't even know why he had to ask that last part.
"Uh-huh."
He looked at his wife, who just nodded, already knowing what he was about to ask.
Gordon ran his hands through his hair and nodded, even if Detective Ramirez couldnÆt see him doing so.
ôIÆm on my way.ö
He hung up and took one more look back at his home, then back up at the dark sky before going to get his car.
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ôMaster Bruce, are you sure you want to celebrate LuciusÆs birthday at Wayne Enterprises, tonight?ö
Bruce Wayne replied while he was flipping a newspaper that covered his head.
ôOf course, Alfred. I would hold the surprise at Wayne Manor myself, but well, with the current rebuilding process, you know.ö
ôYou are aware that the JokerÆs escaped from custody.ö
Bruce didnÆt respond to that, hoping to avoid a conversation about the Joker for one day, as he knew what tomorrow was, which made things even worse for him.
Alfred understood that Rachel's death still hit hard home and his young master would like to avoid a conversation on the twisted clown, so he respected Bruce's wishes and the rest of the drive remained in silence. When they reached their destination, Alfred spoke once more.
ôSir, weÆve arrived at our destination.ö
Bruce Wayne let down the newspaper for a brief second and sure enough, Alfred was right. They were at Gotham Hospital.
ôThank you Alfred.ö
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When Officer Conroy woke up, he found himself on a hospital bed with tape with bandages wrapped around both his arms. Also, when he woke, he had a splitting headache and immense back pains, but found he already had a visitor. He brought himself to smile when he saw who it was. He had the energy to speak, but it was clear that he wasn't at 100 percent, or even 70 percent, as his voice was almost a little bit higher than a whisper.
ôBruce? Alfred, you too?ö
ôItÆs good to see you, Master Conroy,ö Alfred replied.
Conroy could only laugh, then cringe, while coughing.
ôAlfred, how much times have I asked you to just call me plain old Kevin, yet you still refer to me by that manner?ö
ôYou know how Alfred is, Kevin, stubborn.ö
Alfred had some of his own remarks for Bruce in mind, but he chose to keep them quiet, since this wasn't the proper place or time to bring them up.
Kevin turned to see his old friend Bruce Wayne holding a newspaper above his head, reading with a look that resembled some sort of interest in whatever story he was reading.
Kevin would have chuckled if it didn't hurt so much.
ôBruce. ItÆs been awhile.ö
Bruce Wayne put down the paper in his hands once his name was spoken and nodded at his childhood friend. Kevin was right. It had been a long time. The last time they saw each other was a few days before he left to Princeton, and they hadnÆt really spoken since. He knew Kevin from his childhood because his parents had been good friends with KevinÆs, and they spent a lot of time together.
Sometimes the two of them would play with Rachel when they were little. Those were good times, but all of that was behind him now. Gotham City was a completely different place now and both he and Kevin were trying to do their best to make it a better place.
ôYes it has, Kevin. Or is it Officer Kevin now?ö he asked, proud to call his best friend an officer.
Conroy just shook his head.
"You know you can still call me Kevin, Bruce. IÆm pretty sure IÆm gonna be out of action for a while, as things are now.ö
ôYouÆre a strong man Kevin. I know all youÆll need is a few weeksÆ rest and youÆll be good to go in no time.ö
ôThanks. And Bruce?"
"Hm?"
"IÆm sorry.ö
ôExcuse me?ö
ôAbout Rachel.ö
There was a strong, uncomfortable moment of silence that followed once her name was actually mentioned. Bruce knew talk about Rachel was going to come up sooner or later, and Kevin certainly didnÆt beat around the bush.
It had been a couple days since RachelÆs death and Bruce didnÆt have the time to mourn over the passing of a loved one with everything going on as Batman. Every now and then when he was alone by himself, thoughts of her did come to his mind, but they were painful for him. Batman always helped to take his mind off Rachel for a good amount of time, but when he was back to Bruce Wayne, thoughts of her still lingered in his head.
And then thoughts of her lead to thoughts of the man he saw as GothamÆs true hero, Harvey Dent. And of course, those thoughts continued to lead up to the Joker, who caused all this.
Kevin spoke up once more, breaking the awkward silence.
ôI know what she meant to you. Even when we were kids, I could always see there was something special between you two. I didnÆt know her half as much as you did, but she was still a great person to be around and itÆs a shame that sheÆs gone. Knowing you, I know youÆre gonna somehow put the blame on yourself for what happened to her, but trust me when I say this: there was nothing you could have done in that situation.ö
Bruce could only shake his head.
ôOh, you have no idea how wrong you are this time, Kevin. You have no idea.ö
ôIà Ià it was Rachelà sheà Iàö he paused and stopped himself, before he nearly revealed his secret life as Batman to his old friend, and to stop a ghost of a tear coming down from his eyes.
Alfred didnÆt fail to see this.
ôMaster Wayne, what happened back there happened. RachelÆs death was not your fault. It was the JokerÆs and the JokerÆs alone.ö
ôExactly.ö
Bruce sighed and chose not to answer to Alfred.
ôWhen is it going to be?ö
ôThe funeral? Tomorrow.ö
Kevin sighed.
ôThen I guess I won't be able to make it. It's a shame, I really would like to pay my respects to her. I may not have known her as well as you did, but I still considered my friend, and she was a great person to be around. I hope you'll tell her that when you're there tomorrow."
Bruce could only nod his head. He still wasnÆt sure whether or not he was going to attend the next day, because he still put the blame of her death on himself. If he had gone to fetch Harvey instead of her, then maybeà
ôYou will be there too, right?ö Kevin asked, as if he read Bruce's own thoughts.
Bruce didnÆt respond.
Kevin sighed.
ôBruceà donÆt put this blame on yourself. There was nothing you could have done in a situation like that,ö Kevin repeated himself.
This time Bruce sighed, the topic of Rachel's death becoming a bit too personal for his liking.
ôIf you donÆt mind, could we please just drop this subject?ö
Sensing there was too much on BruceÆs mind, Kevin hesitated. He felt like talking it out with Bruce, but he knew how Bruce was, and he understood how thickheaded he could be. He also knew that Bruce would end up doing the right thing, so he decided to respect BruceÆs wishes.
ôAlright then. IÆm sorry for bringing it up.ö
ôDonÆt be. Now, if you donÆt mind telling me, what exactly happened last night? The doctors wouldnÆt tell me a thing, and when I came in, there were already a small group of cops around talking in low voices, so I never caught a word that came out of their mouth.ö
It was amazing how quickly Bruce could change the subject of conversation, but he was always like that.
Conroy sighed.
ôIt was the Joker.ö
Bruce faked a gasp. Alfred, who was still standing next to Bruce listening to their conversation, simply rolled his eyes. Bruce may be a great actor and could fool others when he was playing Mr. Naive , but there were two men in the world Bruce would never be able to fool: himself and Mr. Fox. When they were making the trip to visit Conroy, Bruce simply told Alfred he was visiting an old friend who had been brutalized by the Joker. Alfred was sure this was more than just a friendly visit. With Bruce, it was never that simple.
ôThe Joker?ö Bruce asked.
ôYeah. We had him in custody, but he managed to get away underà reasons IÆd rather keep to myself.ö
ôUnderstandable.ö
BruceÆs watch started beeping and he looked down at it.
ôKevin, IÆm sorry, but IÆve got to get going. IÆd love to stay but-ö
ôI know. YouÆre a busy man these days.ö
Bruce nodded, and then carefully patted his friendÆs shoulder in the lightest way possible.
"Stay well, Kevin."
"I'll try my best," Kevin replied sarcastically.
Alfred simply chuckled at the sarcastic remark, and then bowed before he making his way to the door.
"Do try not to give the hospital a hard time. They're not butlers, you know?"
Kevin only grinned at this, as memories of how he treated Alfred as a little boy still surfaced somewhere inside his head.
ôThanks Alfred, I'll try to remember that. And Bruce?ö
Bruce was also on his way to the door, but he stopped and turned around when Kevin called his name.
ôI hope youÆll show up at the funeral. For RachelÆs sake.ö
Again, Bruce chose to evade talk relating to Rachel and just gave an old friend somewhat of a bittersweet smile.
ôI hope you feel better, Kevin,ö he said as he left closing the door.
Kevin just sighed.
ôStill as stubborn as ever, eh Bruce?ö he just asked while staring at the ceiling.
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Day turned to night, and in Gotham City, nighttime was always longer than daytime. Two men found themselves having a short conversation in an old abandoned jokeshop that served as a proper hideout for the Joker and his henchmen.
One could tell it was a broken down place just by looking at the signs on the outside. The letters that made the words ôJoke Shopö were lying on the ground. Instead, the word ôJokeö still remained, with a spray-painted (in red) backward capital R on the end. Next to that was a poorly spray-painted smiley face that was, of course, in red.
The hideout was in the middle of nowhere, so it seemed that the only ones who knew about the place were the Joker and his henchmen, who were talking with each other.
For the most part, the JokerÆs henchmen wore clown masks whenever they did their business, but when they were off duty, their masks were just resting on a desk that was covered with dust. One thing was for sure, and the hideout was a very stuffy place, as there were many coughing in the room. Out of all the men, the Joker was the only one who constantly wore that weird face paint of his, almost never taking it off. Nobody really knew what he looked like underneath all that facepaint and nobody wanted to know. It was probably better that way. Rabid dogs locked up in steel cages could be heard barking viciously, but that was a sound one had to get used to while being in the abandoned jokeshop.
ôHey Chuck-O, why do you think weÆre still doing this?ö
ôDunno what youÆre talkinÆ about Lar.ö
ôYou know exactly what I mean. I mean the cops and the Batman have already been hunting all of us down ever since Boss has been taken into custody, and look at us. WeÆre all just a bunch of nothings. A bunch of sorry little nothings working for somebody who probably ainÆt cominÆ back t-ö
That was when a certain somebody came barging in through the doors, causing everybody else to swarm around the door the moment he entered the room.
ôIÆd shut it if I was you, Lar,ö ôChuckö advised his fellow henchmen known as Larry.
ôH-hey boss, long time no see.ö one of his men nervously said.
The rest, except for Larry nodded.
Larry walked up to the Joker, and the others didnÆt see anything good coming from this the moment he started to open his big, stupid mouth.
ôYeah boss. Long time no see. We thought youÆd never get-ö
ôDrop it, Bozo.ö
ôI do have a name you know.ö
ôWhy don't you tell me more?ö he asked, rather sarcastically.
ôSee thatÆs one thing I donÆt get about you. You call all of us Bozo.ö
ôIs there a problem with that?ö
LarryÆs voice increased, and when you were talking to the Joker, (unless if you were Batman) you never wanted to raise your voice at him. Ever.
ôYeah thereÆs a problem. I donÆt appreciate beinÆ called Bozo when I already gotta name. You call each of us Bozos and we all have real names, and another thi-ö
Larry never got to finish his sentence as the Joker drew out a gun and shot a bullet into his head. The others in the room looked at each other, then at the Joker, then looked down to see the pool of blood lying on the ground.
Chuck shook his head.
That idiot. Anybody who had half a brain could tell the Joker wasnÆt in a mood for any of that and could see that ending coming once he was all riled up. Well, Larry never had half of the brain and it was only LarryÆs fault that he didnÆt have half a brain. Otherwise he might still be standing and talking with Chuck right now.
The Joker raised his gun at the others, who backed away the moment it was moved.
ôDoes anybody else have any more wise comments for the Joker?ö he asked defiantly, still pointing his gun at the others, who shook their heads quickly. Everybody could see that he wasnÆt in the mood for any jokes (which was rare) and knew it was best to keep their mouths shut.
ôGood,ö he replied.
There was a slight pause from him, but he spoke again.
ôYou know, I think this deserves a celebration!ö he spoke with enthusiasm.
ôCelebration?ö one of his men asked.
ôYou betcha.ö
ôWhere at, boss?ö
His trademark smile appeared.
ôI know just the place.ö
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ôHappy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday Lucius. Happy Birthday to you,ö a crowd of fellow employees and good friends sung, following the Happy Birthday song to a clanging of wine glasses.
Lucius Fox had just entered the rooftops of Wayne Enterprises and there was a startled expression on his face once the singing began. He had gotten a phone call from Bruce a few hours ago and was told that he wanted to discuss business matters on the massive top floors of Wayne Enterprise. It did seem a bit strange to Lucius that out of all the places to choose for a private meeting was on the top floor of Wayne Enterprises, so his suspicions arose. If he was given more time, he probably would have been able to put the pieces together, but he wasnÆt, and instead found himself pleasantly surprised when Bruce walked up to him, patting him on the back.
ôYou shouldnÆt have, Mr. Wayne,ö he whispered.
ôOh, nonsense, Mr. Fox. I canÆt think of a single man who deserves such a surprise party other than you. Now, if youÆll excuse me for just one moment...ö
Bruce Wayne tapped a wine glass in his right hand with a spoon, stood up, and the cheering stopped, as people wanted to hear what Bruce Wayne had to say. Especially one Lucius Fox.
Bruce made sure to speak as loudly and clearly as possible so that everybody present was able to hear.
ôEverybody, I'd like to thank you for coming to Wayne Enterprises to celebrate such an occasion. Mr. Fox is a good friend of mine and also a great man, so I would like to be the first to personally say it to you, Lucius. Happy Birthday.ö
Bruce and Lucius shook hands while the crowd cheered, yelling ôHappy Birthday!ö
ôLucius?ö Bruce Wayne asked, setting Lucius up to make a short birthday speech.
ôI have to say that I wasnÆt expecting anything like this, and was very surprised when I found out Bruce Wayne was holding my surprise, and I do mean surprise, birthday party here. I want to thank all my fellow employees and good friends on coming here. And IÆd also like to give a special thanks to Bruce.ö
Bruce Wayne held up a wine glass, and the rest of the guests followed his actions by holding their glasses in the air.
ôTo Lucius,ö he said.
ôTo Lucius!ö the guests cheered.
Alfred stepped in, carrying a tray of wine glasses and gave Lucius one. He smiled and said, ôHappy Birthday, Lucius.ö Lucius nodded as Alfred briefly put down the tray to take a wine glass of his own. The two old men let their glasses sound together before drinking the rest of the contents down. Bruce walked up to Lucius, and gave him a friendly pat on the back.
ôLucius, if you donÆt mind, thereÆs a little something IÆd like to show you,ö he said.
He leaned in and whispered to LuciusÆs ears:
ôThe JokerÆs escaped.ö
The eyes of Lucius Fox widened and he nodded at Bruce Wayne, understanding there were more reasons for throwing his surprise birthday party at Wayne Enterprises just convenience.
ôAnd you want us to help you track him down?ö
Bruce Wayne nodded. The two were exiting the doors (accompanied by Alfred) before they were stopped by a friend of LuciusÆs, a stunning (in BruceÆs opinion) young woman who couldnÆt be a year or two younger than himself. She had fiery red hair along with deep, captivating dark brown eyes. Whoever she was, she was a very alluring woman, and Bruce wanted to know her better.
ôGoing somewhere, Lucius?ö
ôJust taking a trip downstairs is all, Ms. Kyle.ö
ôU-huhà well, happy birthday, Lucius. ItÆs good to see you again.ö
ôAs it is you, Selina.ö
The woman named Selina Kyle glanced at Bruce Wayne for a second before looking back at Lucius.
Bruce nudged Lucius on the elbow, and Lucius got the drift.
ôOh, uh, Selina, this is-ö
ô-Mr. Bruce Wayne. Come now Lucius, everybody knows who Bruce Wayne is,ö Selina said, laughing at this.
ôI wasnÆt aware of that,ö Bruce replied.
Selina simply smirked at this.
ôYour modesty act doesn't fool me. LetÆs just say that your reputation precedes you, Mr. Wayne.ö
ôPlease, call me Bruce.ö
ôAll right then, Bruce. ItÆs a pleasure to meet you.ö
ôLikewise. Now, if you pardon me, I must discuss certain matters with Mr. Fox, but I hope you stick around to enjoy the rest of the party.ö
Selina nodded again.
ôThank youà Bruce. And Lucius, Happy Birthday,ö she said, giving him her birthday wishes.
ôThank you, Selina,ö Lucius said, before exiting off with Bruce Wayne.
Bruce could see that when Selina walked off, there was a certain way she carried herself when she walked, which was different from most of the women he usually met. It seemed like she had a great deal of confidence, and that was just in the way she walked.
When they made their way to the elevators, Bruce gave Lucius a look, to which Lucius simply shook his head. He already knew what Bruce was thinking even before the words came out of his mouth.
ôBelieve me when I say this, Mr. Wayne. Ms. Kyle isn't your type..ö
Bruce just kept quiet on the rest of the way to the elevator, sporting a strange smile on his face when it closed.
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A man dressed in all white was in his warehouse, repairing some of his many broken weapons. This man had many names in the past, probably far too many that he could count at this point. While he had many aliases, he was the only man in the world who knew his birth name, which was, somewhat ironically, Ezekiel White.
He didnÆt hate his given name, in fact, he cherished it. But in his line of business, it was better not to reveal your true identity to anybody and have it remain secret. And whenever he wasnÆt working, he had to have another identity, one name he made up himself called Drake Metal. He had tons of fake IDs with various wallets lying on the floor of his warehouse and at times, it was hard to keep track of which wallet to use, so many times he just randomly chose a wallet whenever he went outside.
His cellphone rang and he picked it up. When he spoke, his voice always remained smooth and calm.
ôWhat?ö
ôHeÆs about to strike.ö
ôWhere?ö
ôWayne Enterprises.ö
ôSomehow, IÆm not surprised.ö
ôYouÆll be there?ö
ôOf course IÆll be there. As long as heÆs there, the cops always follow. And thatÆs when I get to work. You should probably hang up now, or else suspicions from your boss will arise.ö
ôYes, good idea.ö
There was a click on the other line, and Ezekiel loaded up his sniper rifle and walked out of his warehouse.
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ôMr. Wayne, I know this isnÆt the proper time to bring this up, but IÆm sure like me, you find it a shame the Tumbler was destroyed,ö Lucius said, looking around the hidden area in Wayne Enterprises that held all the Batman equipment.
Needless to say, it felt very empty without the Tumbler, even if the Batpod was right next to the Batman costume, which Bruce was currently getting into.
When Bruce had completely changed into the Batman costume, he put the cowl on and turned to Lucius, his voice now different, deeper, and darker once he became Batman. He tapped his fingers on the Batpod.
ôItÆs no Tumbler, but it gets the job done.ö
ôI understasnd youÆll soon have some business to attend to, but, if you wonÆt mind, there are some variousà vehicles that I should have prepared in the future."
"Looking forward to it. Now, letÆs start the search for the Joker with the comp-"
From the bottom, they could hear screams coming from the guests, and Alfred looked at Batman.
"You were saying?ö he asked.
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Screams from guests came the moment the Joker stepped into the top floor of Wayne Enterprises.
"Hello ladies and gentlemen. The Joker's back in town, and I think it's only appropriate that we set this party off... with a bang!" while he said this, he took out a gun and fired it at the ceiling, causing even louder scream, with the guests running around the area, trying to find any means of escaping. However, this proved impossible as the Joker's men sealed every exit possible, leaving the guests as cornered dogs. Every exit door was guarded by the Joker's men. Even the windows were sealed off. There was no way the guests could enter the room, or exit the room.
"Oh, don't you all worry. I'm only here to have some fun, like the rest of you! By the way, I've been wondering, does anybody know where I can find Bruce Wayne? I just want to say hi."
There was no answer from the guests.
"Anybody? Come on, I just need a few seconds with Bruce Wayne. How about you, do you know where Bruce is?" he asked, pointing to an old man dressed sharply. Then he shook his head.
"No, no, of course you wouldn't know," he said, shoving the old man, before resuming his inquiry.
"How about you?" he asked, while facing a blonde woman in a dark blue dress. She simply shook her head. Then he walked around the room, on a search from somebody who knew where the host of the party was.
"Or how about you? Do you know where I can find Bruce Wayne?"
He looked around the room and guests continued to shake their heads.
"Oh come on now, we could be here all night, and I know none of you want that. I have to have a word with Bruce Wayne," he said, trying to make sure the guests understood what he was trying to say.
From the corner of the room, he spotted Selina Kyle and walked over to her, licking his lips.
"Excuse me, would you happen to know where he is?"
She simply shook her head. The Joker would have walked away, but there was something about her that reminded the Joker of somebody he once knew, so he didn't move on.
"You know, you're a very attractive woman."
Selina didn't say anything, and kept her own guard when the Joker slowly began to approach her.
"Yes, yes... redhead, brown eyes.... you know, you remind me of somebody I once knew."
Selina still kept quiet, keeping her every eye on the Joker. She knew that taking her eyes off the Joker wasn't something she should be doing right now. She, along with everybody else in Gotham City, knew who he was, and how dangerous he could be.
"She was an ex-girlfriend of mine, this lovely redhead, very much like yourself. And oh, she brings back a lot of memories. Would you like to here a very funny story? Of course you would. There was this one time when the two of us were just sitting back and drinking as much as we could. I have to say, I was never a good boyfriend to her, and eventually, after drinking so much, she began to let everything out on me."
He looked around the room while he was talking and when he saw a small wine glass, he picked it up in his right hand, swirling around the wine and taking a sip of his own. Then he continued his story, still holding the cup.
"She began to yell at me, and at first, I found it kind of funny. Then, she goes on a loooong rant, telling me how worthless I am, and that I'm a real piece of trash. She yells some more, talks about how she's threatening to leave me, and then, she grabs a knife."
At this point, the Joker threw down the wine glass and then he reached into his pockets, pulling out a knife. By now, he was inches away from Selina, waving his hands in front of her and carefully showing her the knife.
"She starts getting violent, and I try to be as well-behaved as I could be back then. You see, back then, I lacked the balls to do anything about it. But thatÆs not what IÆm trying to get to. See, she threatens to take out her knife and cut me apart, telling me how much she's gonna enjoy this."
While saying this, he held the knife, making sure she felt every bit of the amount of pain that he felt when he got the scars on his face. Selina Kyle didn't even flinch when the knife was drawn out, so there was no point in flinching even when it was brought closer to her skin.
ôAnd then she moves it around slowly, like this.ö
With the knife still in the air inches away from her, the Joker moved it diagonally as slowly as possible.
ôEventually, this reaches my cheeks, and well,ö he simply pointed to the scars around his painted face, knife still held too close to the redhead.
She gave a knee to the area of manhood, causing him to fall back a little, wincing in pain for a moment.
The Joker groaned and took a few moments' recovery before looking back at her.
ôYou know, you're quite the hellcat.ö
"Funny, youÆre not the only one whoÆs said that to me," Selina replied.
ôYou're gonna be sorry for that,ö he finished grimly, pressing the knife closely to her cheek.
"If you didn't like that kick, then you're going to hate these ones," Selina replied, giving him two knees to the stomach, causing him to fall to the ground and let the knife slide to the floor.
The Joker groaned a little as he was on the ground, rubbing the area where he was kicked. He was starting to understand that old saying "hell hath no fury like a woman scorned."
Selina saw that as her chance to run for the knife and pick it up, but it seemed that she underestimated the Joker a bit, as he started to shake off the pain quickly and rise slowly to his feet.
Any normal man would have called it quits after shots like that, but the Joker was the Joker, so calling him a normal man wouldnÆt be fair to him. He was much tougher than he looked, and while he wasn't as tough as Batman, he was incredibly tough in his own right. There were few who could take some of the dark knightÆs hardest punches like the Joker could.
After numerous encounters with Batman, he'd been through some of his worst battles, so while he found the knee shots to be painful, he managed to bring himself to his own two feet, and gave Selina a knee of his own when she tried to rush for the knife.
Many guests in the room tried to come to her aid, but they seemed to forget the Joker still had a gun in his hand, as he raised it in the air, pointing it at them. They slowly backed away as far as possible when he picked up his knife, still pointing his gun, moving it in circles at them, making sure nobody tried to play hero.
Meanwhile, the Joker's strong kick caused Selina to fall on the floor and many of the guests gasped as she fell down. One of the Joker's men guarding the windows walked up and held her down by her hair as the Joker went to reach his fallen knife.
Selina was able to fight the man as she bit on his arm, but she was simply outnumbered by the Joker's men. She had a lot of fight in her, but when five men came to hold her down, there wasn't much she could do at that moment. It was true that Selina was a very strong woman, but as strong as she was, there wasn't much else she could really do in her situation. She was being guarded by three strong men, and while she was certainly a tough woman, again, the numbers game put a toll on her, giving her a heavy disadvantage.
All this time allowed the Joker was able to walk over and pick up his knife, walking as slowly as possible to Selina. He let his hands grab her cheeks with force while shaking them and getting close to her face. He spoke and carefully, making sure she heard his every word. If there was one thing the Joker hated, it was not being heard by others.
ôWhen I was little, my mother once told me that I should never hit women because it's not something a "gentleman" would do. I followed that rule for the longest time, but when my ex-ex-exàex gave me scars on my face, that was when I started to think that my motherÆs advice was a little flawed. And after the horrible, horrible (he said these words with sarcasm, of course) ôaccidentö that ended up with her death, I donÆt listen to my motherÆs words anymore.ö
As he held his knife up and tried to bring it to her skin, he heard the sound of windows crashing, and then he could hear a few punches. This caused him to turn around and smile, once he saw what exactly came through the window.
It was at this moment that Batman sprung through the windows, tackling one of the men who was guarding the area and adding in some more punches to his head for good measure. There was a second guard who came after him, but Batman had a strong right elbow connect to his head, followed up by a left elbow, and then a punch to the face, sending the guard down on his backside.
ôMaybe you should have listened to her words,ö he growled, giving him a headbutt.
The startling entrance of Batman 's caused men guarding Selina to divert their attention, and Selina to take advantage of this. Since they were all standing close together, she was able to trip all of them with a sweeping motion from her foot. When they fell down, she knew that there would still be more of the Joker's men coming for her, as there were still quite a lot of them left. She counted a total of ten men, five of them ones she already took down with a leg trip and five surrounding Batman. Well, if you counted the Joker, that would be a total of eleven.
And chaos ensued.
Two men at his back and front rushed Batman, but Batman was too quick for them. He landed a hard punch to the stomach on the one on his front, and brought his other back elbow to the other's chin, leaving three other men left to rush after him.
But Batman had faced much more men coming after him in the past, so he was more than used to these situations. He moved around swiftly, making it hard for others to be able to hit him. With his knowledge of the martial arts, he was able to land a roundhouse kick to the ribs of one opponent, and then he rotated his body into a spinning left elbow, connecting with the second opponent. Then he finished off the other opponent with a kick to the stomach, leaving bodies down on the floor.
It looked like LuciusÆs friend was handling herself very well, and Batman could even say that she looked like she had been fighting for years. Two men had already been knocked out on the ground, and three others were coming at her. Batman knew she was giving in a tough fight, and saw that she could handle herself, so he decided he would move on to the Joker, who was laughing wildly while seeing all this. He still had that knife in his hand.
When Batman came face to face with the Joker, sirens could be heard, and so could the police, from a loudspeaker.
ôBatman and the Joker, we have the building surrounded, surrender quietly, or surrender the hard way,ö Detective Ramirez shouted into the loudspeaker.
The Joker turned away from Batman and dropped his knife, reaching for something that was deep inside those pockets, of his.
ôYou know, I never really liked her that much. Something about that voice.ö he said, slowly taking out something in his pocket.
ôNo!ö Batman yelled, rushing to tackle the Joker so he couldn't take out whatever he had in mind for the detectives on the ground.
A grenade was revealed from the Joker's suit, and it fell to the ground.
The Joker felt his head slam against the ground, much harder than it had at that ever so memorable interrogation session with Batman.
ôI guess you never really took my advice about starting with anywhere other than the head.ö
He was answered with a hard punch to the stomach.
The Joker opened his mouth to say something, but he shut it when Batman slammed his head on the ground a second time.
ôYou killed Rachel Dawes and Harvey Dent,ö he seethed.
ôOh, come on now. Killing isn't exactly the word I would say. I hardly even put my hands on either of them, so I'm not really their killers.ö
ôYou planned it all!ö he shouted, adding a few extra punches to the stomach to make sure the Joker felt his anger.
"Well, it wasn't really-"
He was cut off once more by another punch. The Joker groaned a bit, because he knew he was really going to feel those tomorrow morning.
ôNow, you're going to feel their pain.ö
Batman threw in some of the hardest punches he had ever given in his life, taking his aggression and anguish over Rachel's loss out on the Joker. He made sure the Joker would feel every second of his own pain and torture. The Joker caused all this. The Joker caused Rachel's death, Harvey's death, and now his hunt with the police.
It would be better if the Joker would cease to exist.
Anger kept on boiling up in Batman, punching the Joker's in the stomach so much times that he caused the Joker to cough out blood. But even while he was getting punished, the Joker never seemed to care too much about the punches Batman was landing, because he could see that he was really starting to get under Batman's skin.
He knew that he was able to corrupt Harvey Dent, so what was the difference when it came to Batman? Batman was just like everybody else. Like all Gotham citizens, he knew Batman was corruptible, but it just required harder work than it did with the others. With a little gasoline and fire, plus the death of Rachel, the Joker transformed Harvey into the monster he loved to call Two-Face. And now he could see that Batman had some sort of tie to Rachel Dawes, so he found that he could use it to his advantage.
Batman was no hero.
Batman was every bit the same as he ever was.
At a situation like this, most other men would be knocked out cold, be finished wetting their pants. But of course, comparing the Joker to other men would be insulting to him, as he wasnÆt other men.
The Joker began laughing wildly, coughing out blood every time he laughed some more, actually enjoying his victory. He wasn't really enjoying the punches, but he was enjoying the fact that he had the edge over Batman. If he continued to push the exact buttons, then Batman could easily grow into the top villain of Gotham. In reality, the Joker could fight back. He knew it. He had every opportunity to do it, but he had his methods in leading others to their downfalls, and if that took a few punches and blood to do it, it had to be done. Batman was a hard one, but the Joker believed that Batman was every bit as vulnerable as Harvey Dent was, and once Batman was exploited for who he truly was, maybe the two of them could even team up together!
The simple thought of him and Batman working together didnÆt bring him disgust, because Batman was every bit the same as himself. No, he wouldnÆt reject the opportunity to work with the dark knight, rather, he embraced that opportunity, and could see that he was succeeding.
"Come on, keep hitting me, do it for HarveyÆs sake. Do it for Rachel's sake," he continued to taunt.
Somewhere inside his heart, Bruce Wayne could feel a dark transformation in Batman, and he could see the monster that he was becoming. He felt that same transformation many times before when he encountered the Joker, but this time was different than the others. Much different. There was just so much anger and aggression deep inside his heart that he hardly realized he was seconds away from becoming everything he had been trying not to. He was becoming vengeance.
He didn't know what came over him, but the punches stopped. Batman had his heart set on giving the Joker his own pain and grief. Batman had been giving the Joker all the destruction that the Joker had given Bruce Wayne. And Batman was giving the Joker nothing but vengeance.
Batman was doing all this. And Bruce Wayne was completely lost in it all, completely transforming into a darker side of Batman, losing any traces of humanity.
Those last three words hit him hard: for Rachel's sake.
For Rachel's sake?
If Rachel could see him doing what he was doing to the Joker, then Batman knew exactly the words she would say to him.
Your father would be very disappointed in you.
It was all a mental slap to the face for Batman, no, for Bruce Wayne, as he realized what he was truly becoming.
Batman wasnÆt about vengeance. Batman was never about vengeance. Batman was about helping the citizens of Gotham to make it a better place, notà not this!
He let go of the Joker, and he sat back a bit, dazed at what he had truly done, once the Joker sat up, coughing up blood, while guests could only watch in confusion and disgust at Batman and what he had become. He remembered once telling Alfred that Batman "had no limits" but all that was a lie, and the two of them knew it.
Batman did have limits, and his limits were that he could not kill. He nearly crossed those limits this night. The looks from the guests told him that.
Their looks said, "Of course he deserved retribution and some kind of punishment, but from you? You're just one man trying to take the law into your own hands, and we can see it now. We can see what you truly are. You're no hero."
Again, those very same words Rachel once said to him when he was back at the docks, showing that gun in his hands, they lingered over his head.
Your father would be very disappointed in you.
She was right.
They were right.
"What have I become?" he mentally asked himself in horror.
Bruce looked at his blood-stained hands, and then back at the Joker, who had trouble walking, as he had staggered walks, trying to regain some sort of balance.
It was at that moment that the police barged through the doors, staring at what was going on.
"Both of you, put your hands up now!" Commissioner Gorden yelled, pointing his gun at the Joker and Batman.
The Joker put his hands up, but fell to the floor the moment he put his hands up, as all balance had become lost.
Batman looked at Gordon, the police, and then at the glass window he was inches away from.
Without a moment's hesitation, he jumped through the window, opening his cape to let the air carry him where he wanted to go. He saw the police from below trying to shoot at him, but he was too far away from them, so he knew none of their bullets would connect.
While he was able to escape, the Joker wasn't. In fact, the Joker was still trying to regain consciousness when he found himself handcuffed by Jim Gordon, being walked down the stairs and lead to the police cars. In his state, it was hard to hear the words from Jim Gordon shouting "you have the right to remain silent, anything you say-" or something along those lines. But, he could see the shattered glass that Batman left, and he only smiled.
Batman had proven he was as corruptible as everybody else was, and as the Joker, it was his job to exploit that, and it looked like he had exploited a main weakness, well, two weaknesses, of Batman.
Those weaknesses were the deaths of Harvey Dent and Rachel Dawes.
END CHAPTER
Also, I know Selina's either mostly had dark hair or has been a blond in other Batman incarnations, but I wanted to try something new with her in this story. Well, that's it for this chapter. On to writing the next chapter!
Chaos: Stage Two
Barbara Gordon sat on her bed, shaking and stirring from a terrible nightmare.
In her nightmare was the two-faced monster she once knew as Harvey Dent, holding her and her children hostage, asking her if Jim ever told her what happened to Rachel Dawes. Even though she was quivering with fear, she managed to shake her head and could feel the cold metal of his gun pressed up against her chin.
"Barbara, Barbara, Barbara. Do you know where we are?" the man she refused to call Harvey Dent asked her.
She shook her head a second time.
This caused him to throw back his head and laugh bitterly.
"This is the place where Rachel died. Did Jim ever tell you how she died?"
Barbara shook her head for a third time.
"It was your husband's fault that she died. It was because of him that she never made it out alive. She was tied up to a chair, like me, and there were barrels of gasoline around her. How do I know this? We were able to talk together through a phone. Her last words to me were..."
He never finished that sentence, but what was disturbing about it all was how calm he remained when he explained it. Not once did he scream or yell at Barbara Gordon, or even raise his voice. He was just... calm whenever he talked about Rachel.
But Barbara couldn't believe him when he told her it was Jim's fault Rachel died.
Or maybe it was more along the lines that she didn't want to believe him.
"N-no, it wasn't his fault," she slowly stammered.
"What's that?" Harvey asked, this time a little bit more angry.
"I-it wasn't Jim's fault. I know I don't know much about the situation, but-"
She was silenced with a slap to the face. Her children squeaked when she was slapped, and one very angry district attorney yelled at them, telling them to shut up.
"That's right. You know nothing! You don't know what happened, and you may never accept the truth, but I have, Barbara. I've accepted the truth a long time ago. Your husband failed to save Rachel, your Jim. He's going to pay for that, because I want him to understand what it feels like to lose the ones he loves the most. Now, I'm going to make a little phone call to your husband, and let him know where you are. Then," as he said this, he held up a quarter that had one normal side and one scarred side.
"We'll let fate decide what happens to your boys."
Barbara didn't even want to know what that meant, but she already had a good idea.
Harvey took out a cellphone and made the call to Jim Gordon.
A few minutes later, Jim Gordon made his arrival to Avenue X, (unarmed as demanded by Harvey) and saw his family held hostage by Harvey.
"Harvey, you don't want to do this," he pleaded, hands grasped together, as if he were praying.
"Oh, but you're wrong Jim. You know how much I want to do this."
"No, you don't. Harvey, please, don't do this to my family. If anybody, kill me. I'm sorry for what happened to Rachel and I deserve this. Please, don't bring this on my family."
The man he once knew as Harvey Dent looked thoughtful for a moment and walked away from his tied up family and faced him. Then he grabbed his little boy with force from Barbara (who held James Gordon Jr. as tightly as possible) and made sure he was a distance from Jim. Jim wouldn't be the one playing hero this time.
He pointed the gun at James Gordon Jr, and held up the old familiar quarter of his. Just like he did with Barbara, he held up to show it to Jim.
"You die."
Then he held the scarred side, and put the gun to the head of Jim's son.
"He dies."
It was pretty much a lose lose situation for Jim Gordon and he knew it, but he knew that he had already lived a good life, made many friends, and had done so much that many others wish they would have done in their lifetime. Jim Gordon knew he was an old man, but his son was just a child. James Gordon Jr. was everything to Gordon, and the boy had so much to live for, but all of that was resting on the decision of what side a quarter would land on.
And it was all because he hadn't been able to reach Rachel in time, and that was wrong. It shouldn't be chance deciding whether Jim died or his son died! He knew his son was innocent, and he knew he deserved to die.
He tried convincing Harvey not to kill his son one more time.
"Harvey, don't do this. Please. Don't shoot the boy. shoot me."
Harvey could only shake his head and point at the quarter that was in is hands. Before he flipped it, he asked Jim one simple question.
"Jim, do you remember that old nickname they had for me down at the D.A.?"
Jim didn't dare say it, but both he and Harvey knew what that name was. Well, Barbara probably knew it, as it was a nickname that spread around quickly, but that wasn't the point.
That nickname they had for him at the District Attorney?
It was Two Face.
Exactly what this monster in front of him was right now. Jim Gordon didnÆt believe it was the real Harvey Dent. Of course it had the body and face of Harvey Dent, but this monster in front of him had transformed so much that Jim believed it had turned him into a two-faced man with a perverted sense of justice.
The sickening site of flesh and bone on his face was the only side that grinned before flicking the quarter up in the air and catching it with his hands, waiting to see what fate held in store for the Gordon family. It wouldnÆt matter too much what side it landed on, because the way he saw it, either way, he won. One of them would die, and he would get sweet, sweet revenge.
Jim could only close his eyes, hoping that it landed on the normal side, and not the scarred one. His son didn't deserve any of this. His daughter didn't, and his wife didn't deserve any of this.
"Please, please, please, please," he begged, no, prayed, hoping the quarter didn't land on the scarred side.
"Oh Jiiiiim. Open. Your. Eyes." HarveyÆs voice rang, completely mocking the commissioner of the police department.
Slowly, Jim opened his two eyes and saw Harvey with a closed fist, revealing the quarter to him. His eyes widened, and he pulled his hair when he saw what side it landed on.
And Barbara, along with her daughter, screamed when she saw that it was on the scarred side.
Harvey could only. He was going to enjoy this. He held the gun and brought it to aim at Barbara and Jim's little boy. His finger toyed with the trigger, and-
"Barbara? BARBARA!!!"
This caused Barbara's eyes to shoot open suddenly, finding herself in a cold sweat, in a now fully lit room, staring at her husband. She still felt her heartbeat from that terrible nightmare, and relief filled her when she saw her husband.
ôJim, honey, youÆre home,ö she said as enthusiastically as a woman who had just been woken up at three in the morning could ever say. Still somewhat shaken after her nightmare, she managed to will herself to get up and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him in for a deep kiss.
ôMmm,ö Jim replied.
Barbara frowned. She didn't like the tone in that response.
ôLong day at work?ö she asked carefully.
ôVery,ö he responded with a heavy sigh.
Not wanting to get into a conversation about it, he decided to change the topic. Besides, the topic he changed the conversation to really worried him.
"You were shouting in your sleep," he said, concerned.
"I-I was?"
"Yes. You were."
"Oh, well, you know how nightmares can be, pretty intense," she tried to fake a laugh and failed miserably.
Gordon took his glasses off and wiped them with his shirt before talking.
"Was it about Harvey?"
Barbara just sighed. She didn't answer him.
"Barbara..." Jim said, changing his tone into a more comforting one.
"No, Jim, I'm alright, really, I am."
She was lying and both of them knew it. She wasn't alright, and she was still being haunted by what had happened a few days ago.
That moment when she saw herself and her two little treasures at the hand of death terrified her even more than it did her own children. The last thing any parent wanted was to see their children die before they did, and that applied to Barbara Gordon. Her children were her life, and along with Jim, they were her whole world. Losing them was her biggest fear, and that fear nearly came true when the troubled and disturbed Harvey Dent had that gun of his raised at them. She knew things went down differently, but that night was never wiped out from her mind completely, and she feared the same for her children, and Jim as well. That was, if he even managed to get sleep these days.
The point was that she had come seconds away from nearly losing her whole world, and if Batman had never existed, her world would have been taken away from her. She sighed. And to think that she first thought of Batman as some sort of criminal for doing what he did. Now she understood what he really was, and she owed him everything for saving her whole world.
"Barbara, we've talked about this before, haven't we?"
"I, I know Jim, but... but I'm just not as strong as you are. I... we almost lost our children that night, and that possibility is still there, laughing at me, mocking me, torturing me! I wish I was as strong as you were, but I'm not. I'm not."
She started to break down in tears before Jim surprised her by giving her a sweet kiss on the lips and then embracing her in an impassioned hug.
"Barbara. You need to stop doing this to yourself. You are strong. Take this from me. I know you, and I know that you... that we can get through this. It's going to take a while yes, but-"
*BZZT! BZZT!*
*BZZT! BZZT!*
Jim looked down at his pants pocket in disbelief.
"Not now.... he groaned, rubbing his temples.
After wiping up a tear, Barbara smiled at her husband.
"I-it's okay. It's your job. It's important. Take the call."
Talking with Jim always seemed to help her. It didn't help her 100 percent or anything, but she always felt better when he comforted her. He was her true knight in shining armor, and she knew Jim was the right choice to marry.
She smiled. She still had a lot of troubles on her mind, and many things were uncertain for her, but one thing was for certain. Whatever he said to her, it always calmed her down and made her forget why she was worried in the first place.
Cursing, Jim reached into his pockets and pulled out his cellphone.
"What is it?" he growled.
He listened to what the officer on the other line had to say, and frowned when he received the news.
ôIs Officer Conroy okay?ö
ôOfficer Conroy is still alive, but he had to be rushed to the emergency room. He lost a significant amount of blood and was very badly damaged, even left with third degree burns."
Gordon winced as he heard this. He knew the answer to his question wasn't going to be pretty, but he had to ask.
"Where did he get the burns?"
"They say it reached up to 40 percent around his back, and some of his arms too. They also say that he's very lucky to be alive.ö
The Commissioner shook his head. He knew all the risks and dangers of being a cop, and he also knew you had to understand completely what you were getting into when you agreed to be a cop for a city like Gotham.
Unfortunate events happened to many in his line of work, and he had been through more battles over his life than could count. It was a wonder that he was still alive after all his time spent working. Even if he didnÆt know Officer Conroy as well as he would have liked to, there was something in the rookie that reminded him of a younger version of himself. He hoped Conroy would make it out okay. It would be a shame to lose one of the few completely reliable men in his police force.
"Do you know exactly what happened to him?"
"Not yet, but we're going to have to ask him some questions when he wakes up."
"I understand. Is there anything else?"
ôYeah. YouÆre needed back at the station.ö
Gordon sighed. He saw that one coming. He didn't even know why he had to ask that last part.
"Uh-huh."
He looked at his wife, who just nodded, already knowing what he was about to ask.
Gordon ran his hands through his hair and nodded, even if Detective Ramirez couldnÆt see him doing so.
ôIÆm on my way.ö
He hung up and took one more look back at his home, then back up at the dark sky before going to get his car.
0000000000000000000000000000000000000000
ôMaster Bruce, are you sure you want to celebrate LuciusÆs birthday at Wayne Enterprises, tonight?ö
Bruce Wayne replied while he was flipping a newspaper that covered his head.
ôOf course, Alfred. I would hold the surprise at Wayne Manor myself, but well, with the current rebuilding process, you know.ö
ôYou are aware that the JokerÆs escaped from custody.ö
Bruce didnÆt respond to that, hoping to avoid a conversation about the Joker for one day, as he knew what tomorrow was, which made things even worse for him.
Alfred understood that Rachel's death still hit hard home and his young master would like to avoid a conversation on the twisted clown, so he respected Bruce's wishes and the rest of the drive remained in silence. When they reached their destination, Alfred spoke once more.
ôSir, weÆve arrived at our destination.ö
Bruce Wayne let down the newspaper for a brief second and sure enough, Alfred was right. They were at Gotham Hospital.
ôThank you Alfred.ö
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When Officer Conroy woke up, he found himself on a hospital bed with tape with bandages wrapped around both his arms. Also, when he woke, he had a splitting headache and immense back pains, but found he already had a visitor. He brought himself to smile when he saw who it was. He had the energy to speak, but it was clear that he wasn't at 100 percent, or even 70 percent, as his voice was almost a little bit higher than a whisper.
ôBruce? Alfred, you too?ö
ôItÆs good to see you, Master Conroy,ö Alfred replied.
Conroy could only laugh, then cringe, while coughing.
ôAlfred, how much times have I asked you to just call me plain old Kevin, yet you still refer to me by that manner?ö
ôYou know how Alfred is, Kevin, stubborn.ö
Alfred had some of his own remarks for Bruce in mind, but he chose to keep them quiet, since this wasn't the proper place or time to bring them up.
Kevin turned to see his old friend Bruce Wayne holding a newspaper above his head, reading with a look that resembled some sort of interest in whatever story he was reading.
Kevin would have chuckled if it didn't hurt so much.
ôBruce. ItÆs been awhile.ö
Bruce Wayne put down the paper in his hands once his name was spoken and nodded at his childhood friend. Kevin was right. It had been a long time. The last time they saw each other was a few days before he left to Princeton, and they hadnÆt really spoken since. He knew Kevin from his childhood because his parents had been good friends with KevinÆs, and they spent a lot of time together.
Sometimes the two of them would play with Rachel when they were little. Those were good times, but all of that was behind him now. Gotham City was a completely different place now and both he and Kevin were trying to do their best to make it a better place.
ôYes it has, Kevin. Or is it Officer Kevin now?ö he asked, proud to call his best friend an officer.
Conroy just shook his head.
"You know you can still call me Kevin, Bruce. IÆm pretty sure IÆm gonna be out of action for a while, as things are now.ö
ôYouÆre a strong man Kevin. I know all youÆll need is a few weeksÆ rest and youÆll be good to go in no time.ö
ôThanks. And Bruce?"
"Hm?"
"IÆm sorry.ö
ôExcuse me?ö
ôAbout Rachel.ö
There was a strong, uncomfortable moment of silence that followed once her name was actually mentioned. Bruce knew talk about Rachel was going to come up sooner or later, and Kevin certainly didnÆt beat around the bush.
It had been a couple days since RachelÆs death and Bruce didnÆt have the time to mourn over the passing of a loved one with everything going on as Batman. Every now and then when he was alone by himself, thoughts of her did come to his mind, but they were painful for him. Batman always helped to take his mind off Rachel for a good amount of time, but when he was back to Bruce Wayne, thoughts of her still lingered in his head.
And then thoughts of her lead to thoughts of the man he saw as GothamÆs true hero, Harvey Dent. And of course, those thoughts continued to lead up to the Joker, who caused all this.
Kevin spoke up once more, breaking the awkward silence.
ôI know what she meant to you. Even when we were kids, I could always see there was something special between you two. I didnÆt know her half as much as you did, but she was still a great person to be around and itÆs a shame that sheÆs gone. Knowing you, I know youÆre gonna somehow put the blame on yourself for what happened to her, but trust me when I say this: there was nothing you could have done in that situation.ö
Bruce could only shake his head.
ôOh, you have no idea how wrong you are this time, Kevin. You have no idea.ö
ôIà Ià it was Rachelà sheà Iàö he paused and stopped himself, before he nearly revealed his secret life as Batman to his old friend, and to stop a ghost of a tear coming down from his eyes.
Alfred didnÆt fail to see this.
ôMaster Wayne, what happened back there happened. RachelÆs death was not your fault. It was the JokerÆs and the JokerÆs alone.ö
ôExactly.ö
Bruce sighed and chose not to answer to Alfred.
ôWhen is it going to be?ö
ôThe funeral? Tomorrow.ö
Kevin sighed.
ôThen I guess I won't be able to make it. It's a shame, I really would like to pay my respects to her. I may not have known her as well as you did, but I still considered my friend, and she was a great person to be around. I hope you'll tell her that when you're there tomorrow."
Bruce could only nod his head. He still wasnÆt sure whether or not he was going to attend the next day, because he still put the blame of her death on himself. If he had gone to fetch Harvey instead of her, then maybeà
ôYou will be there too, right?ö Kevin asked, as if he read Bruce's own thoughts.
Bruce didnÆt respond.
Kevin sighed.
ôBruceà donÆt put this blame on yourself. There was nothing you could have done in a situation like that,ö Kevin repeated himself.
This time Bruce sighed, the topic of Rachel's death becoming a bit too personal for his liking.
ôIf you donÆt mind, could we please just drop this subject?ö
Sensing there was too much on BruceÆs mind, Kevin hesitated. He felt like talking it out with Bruce, but he knew how Bruce was, and he understood how thickheaded he could be. He also knew that Bruce would end up doing the right thing, so he decided to respect BruceÆs wishes.
ôAlright then. IÆm sorry for bringing it up.ö
ôDonÆt be. Now, if you donÆt mind telling me, what exactly happened last night? The doctors wouldnÆt tell me a thing, and when I came in, there were already a small group of cops around talking in low voices, so I never caught a word that came out of their mouth.ö
It was amazing how quickly Bruce could change the subject of conversation, but he was always like that.
Conroy sighed.
ôIt was the Joker.ö
Bruce faked a gasp. Alfred, who was still standing next to Bruce listening to their conversation, simply rolled his eyes. Bruce may be a great actor and could fool others when he was playing Mr. Naive , but there were two men in the world Bruce would never be able to fool: himself and Mr. Fox. When they were making the trip to visit Conroy, Bruce simply told Alfred he was visiting an old friend who had been brutalized by the Joker. Alfred was sure this was more than just a friendly visit. With Bruce, it was never that simple.
ôThe Joker?ö Bruce asked.
ôYeah. We had him in custody, but he managed to get away underà reasons IÆd rather keep to myself.ö
ôUnderstandable.ö
BruceÆs watch started beeping and he looked down at it.
ôKevin, IÆm sorry, but IÆve got to get going. IÆd love to stay but-ö
ôI know. YouÆre a busy man these days.ö
Bruce nodded, and then carefully patted his friendÆs shoulder in the lightest way possible.
"Stay well, Kevin."
"I'll try my best," Kevin replied sarcastically.
Alfred simply chuckled at the sarcastic remark, and then bowed before he making his way to the door.
"Do try not to give the hospital a hard time. They're not butlers, you know?"
Kevin only grinned at this, as memories of how he treated Alfred as a little boy still surfaced somewhere inside his head.
ôThanks Alfred, I'll try to remember that. And Bruce?ö
Bruce was also on his way to the door, but he stopped and turned around when Kevin called his name.
ôI hope youÆll show up at the funeral. For RachelÆs sake.ö
Again, Bruce chose to evade talk relating to Rachel and just gave an old friend somewhat of a bittersweet smile.
ôI hope you feel better, Kevin,ö he said as he left closing the door.
Kevin just sighed.
ôStill as stubborn as ever, eh Bruce?ö he just asked while staring at the ceiling.
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Day turned to night, and in Gotham City, nighttime was always longer than daytime. Two men found themselves having a short conversation in an old abandoned jokeshop that served as a proper hideout for the Joker and his henchmen.
One could tell it was a broken down place just by looking at the signs on the outside. The letters that made the words ôJoke Shopö were lying on the ground. Instead, the word ôJokeö still remained, with a spray-painted (in red) backward capital R on the end. Next to that was a poorly spray-painted smiley face that was, of course, in red.
The hideout was in the middle of nowhere, so it seemed that the only ones who knew about the place were the Joker and his henchmen, who were talking with each other.
For the most part, the JokerÆs henchmen wore clown masks whenever they did their business, but when they were off duty, their masks were just resting on a desk that was covered with dust. One thing was for sure, and the hideout was a very stuffy place, as there were many coughing in the room. Out of all the men, the Joker was the only one who constantly wore that weird face paint of his, almost never taking it off. Nobody really knew what he looked like underneath all that facepaint and nobody wanted to know. It was probably better that way. Rabid dogs locked up in steel cages could be heard barking viciously, but that was a sound one had to get used to while being in the abandoned jokeshop.
ôHey Chuck-O, why do you think weÆre still doing this?ö
ôDunno what youÆre talkinÆ about Lar.ö
ôYou know exactly what I mean. I mean the cops and the Batman have already been hunting all of us down ever since Boss has been taken into custody, and look at us. WeÆre all just a bunch of nothings. A bunch of sorry little nothings working for somebody who probably ainÆt cominÆ back t-ö
That was when a certain somebody came barging in through the doors, causing everybody else to swarm around the door the moment he entered the room.
ôIÆd shut it if I was you, Lar,ö ôChuckö advised his fellow henchmen known as Larry.
ôH-hey boss, long time no see.ö one of his men nervously said.
The rest, except for Larry nodded.
Larry walked up to the Joker, and the others didnÆt see anything good coming from this the moment he started to open his big, stupid mouth.
ôYeah boss. Long time no see. We thought youÆd never get-ö
ôDrop it, Bozo.ö
ôI do have a name you know.ö
ôWhy don't you tell me more?ö he asked, rather sarcastically.
ôSee thatÆs one thing I donÆt get about you. You call all of us Bozo.ö
ôIs there a problem with that?ö
LarryÆs voice increased, and when you were talking to the Joker, (unless if you were Batman) you never wanted to raise your voice at him. Ever.
ôYeah thereÆs a problem. I donÆt appreciate beinÆ called Bozo when I already gotta name. You call each of us Bozos and we all have real names, and another thi-ö
Larry never got to finish his sentence as the Joker drew out a gun and shot a bullet into his head. The others in the room looked at each other, then at the Joker, then looked down to see the pool of blood lying on the ground.
Chuck shook his head.
That idiot. Anybody who had half a brain could tell the Joker wasnÆt in a mood for any of that and could see that ending coming once he was all riled up. Well, Larry never had half of the brain and it was only LarryÆs fault that he didnÆt have half a brain. Otherwise he might still be standing and talking with Chuck right now.
The Joker raised his gun at the others, who backed away the moment it was moved.
ôDoes anybody else have any more wise comments for the Joker?ö he asked defiantly, still pointing his gun at the others, who shook their heads quickly. Everybody could see that he wasnÆt in the mood for any jokes (which was rare) and knew it was best to keep their mouths shut.
ôGood,ö he replied.
There was a slight pause from him, but he spoke again.
ôYou know, I think this deserves a celebration!ö he spoke with enthusiasm.
ôCelebration?ö one of his men asked.
ôYou betcha.ö
ôWhere at, boss?ö
His trademark smile appeared.
ôI know just the place.ö
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ôHappy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday Lucius. Happy Birthday to you,ö a crowd of fellow employees and good friends sung, following the Happy Birthday song to a clanging of wine glasses.
Lucius Fox had just entered the rooftops of Wayne Enterprises and there was a startled expression on his face once the singing began. He had gotten a phone call from Bruce a few hours ago and was told that he wanted to discuss business matters on the massive top floors of Wayne Enterprise. It did seem a bit strange to Lucius that out of all the places to choose for a private meeting was on the top floor of Wayne Enterprises, so his suspicions arose. If he was given more time, he probably would have been able to put the pieces together, but he wasnÆt, and instead found himself pleasantly surprised when Bruce walked up to him, patting him on the back.
ôYou shouldnÆt have, Mr. Wayne,ö he whispered.
ôOh, nonsense, Mr. Fox. I canÆt think of a single man who deserves such a surprise party other than you. Now, if youÆll excuse me for just one moment...ö
Bruce Wayne tapped a wine glass in his right hand with a spoon, stood up, and the cheering stopped, as people wanted to hear what Bruce Wayne had to say. Especially one Lucius Fox.
Bruce made sure to speak as loudly and clearly as possible so that everybody present was able to hear.
ôEverybody, I'd like to thank you for coming to Wayne Enterprises to celebrate such an occasion. Mr. Fox is a good friend of mine and also a great man, so I would like to be the first to personally say it to you, Lucius. Happy Birthday.ö
Bruce and Lucius shook hands while the crowd cheered, yelling ôHappy Birthday!ö
ôLucius?ö Bruce Wayne asked, setting Lucius up to make a short birthday speech.
ôI have to say that I wasnÆt expecting anything like this, and was very surprised when I found out Bruce Wayne was holding my surprise, and I do mean surprise, birthday party here. I want to thank all my fellow employees and good friends on coming here. And IÆd also like to give a special thanks to Bruce.ö
Bruce Wayne held up a wine glass, and the rest of the guests followed his actions by holding their glasses in the air.
ôTo Lucius,ö he said.
ôTo Lucius!ö the guests cheered.
Alfred stepped in, carrying a tray of wine glasses and gave Lucius one. He smiled and said, ôHappy Birthday, Lucius.ö Lucius nodded as Alfred briefly put down the tray to take a wine glass of his own. The two old men let their glasses sound together before drinking the rest of the contents down. Bruce walked up to Lucius, and gave him a friendly pat on the back.
ôLucius, if you donÆt mind, thereÆs a little something IÆd like to show you,ö he said.
He leaned in and whispered to LuciusÆs ears:
ôThe JokerÆs escaped.ö
The eyes of Lucius Fox widened and he nodded at Bruce Wayne, understanding there were more reasons for throwing his surprise birthday party at Wayne Enterprises just convenience.
ôAnd you want us to help you track him down?ö
Bruce Wayne nodded. The two were exiting the doors (accompanied by Alfred) before they were stopped by a friend of LuciusÆs, a stunning (in BruceÆs opinion) young woman who couldnÆt be a year or two younger than himself. She had fiery red hair along with deep, captivating dark brown eyes. Whoever she was, she was a very alluring woman, and Bruce wanted to know her better.
ôGoing somewhere, Lucius?ö
ôJust taking a trip downstairs is all, Ms. Kyle.ö
ôU-huhà well, happy birthday, Lucius. ItÆs good to see you again.ö
ôAs it is you, Selina.ö
The woman named Selina Kyle glanced at Bruce Wayne for a second before looking back at Lucius.
Bruce nudged Lucius on the elbow, and Lucius got the drift.
ôOh, uh, Selina, this is-ö
ô-Mr. Bruce Wayne. Come now Lucius, everybody knows who Bruce Wayne is,ö Selina said, laughing at this.
ôI wasnÆt aware of that,ö Bruce replied.
Selina simply smirked at this.
ôYour modesty act doesn't fool me. LetÆs just say that your reputation precedes you, Mr. Wayne.ö
ôPlease, call me Bruce.ö
ôAll right then, Bruce. ItÆs a pleasure to meet you.ö
ôLikewise. Now, if you pardon me, I must discuss certain matters with Mr. Fox, but I hope you stick around to enjoy the rest of the party.ö
Selina nodded again.
ôThank youà Bruce. And Lucius, Happy Birthday,ö she said, giving him her birthday wishes.
ôThank you, Selina,ö Lucius said, before exiting off with Bruce Wayne.
Bruce could see that when Selina walked off, there was a certain way she carried herself when she walked, which was different from most of the women he usually met. It seemed like she had a great deal of confidence, and that was just in the way she walked.
When they made their way to the elevators, Bruce gave Lucius a look, to which Lucius simply shook his head. He already knew what Bruce was thinking even before the words came out of his mouth.
ôBelieve me when I say this, Mr. Wayne. Ms. Kyle isn't your type..ö
Bruce just kept quiet on the rest of the way to the elevator, sporting a strange smile on his face when it closed.
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A man dressed in all white was in his warehouse, repairing some of his many broken weapons. This man had many names in the past, probably far too many that he could count at this point. While he had many aliases, he was the only man in the world who knew his birth name, which was, somewhat ironically, Ezekiel White.
He didnÆt hate his given name, in fact, he cherished it. But in his line of business, it was better not to reveal your true identity to anybody and have it remain secret. And whenever he wasnÆt working, he had to have another identity, one name he made up himself called Drake Metal. He had tons of fake IDs with various wallets lying on the floor of his warehouse and at times, it was hard to keep track of which wallet to use, so many times he just randomly chose a wallet whenever he went outside.
His cellphone rang and he picked it up. When he spoke, his voice always remained smooth and calm.
ôWhat?ö
ôHeÆs about to strike.ö
ôWhere?ö
ôWayne Enterprises.ö
ôSomehow, IÆm not surprised.ö
ôYouÆll be there?ö
ôOf course IÆll be there. As long as heÆs there, the cops always follow. And thatÆs when I get to work. You should probably hang up now, or else suspicions from your boss will arise.ö
ôYes, good idea.ö
There was a click on the other line, and Ezekiel loaded up his sniper rifle and walked out of his warehouse.
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ôMr. Wayne, I know this isnÆt the proper time to bring this up, but IÆm sure like me, you find it a shame the Tumbler was destroyed,ö Lucius said, looking around the hidden area in Wayne Enterprises that held all the Batman equipment.
Needless to say, it felt very empty without the Tumbler, even if the Batpod was right next to the Batman costume, which Bruce was currently getting into.
When Bruce had completely changed into the Batman costume, he put the cowl on and turned to Lucius, his voice now different, deeper, and darker once he became Batman. He tapped his fingers on the Batpod.
ôItÆs no Tumbler, but it gets the job done.ö
ôI understasnd youÆll soon have some business to attend to, but, if you wonÆt mind, there are some variousà vehicles that I should have prepared in the future."
"Looking forward to it. Now, letÆs start the search for the Joker with the comp-"
From the bottom, they could hear screams coming from the guests, and Alfred looked at Batman.
"You were saying?ö he asked.
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Screams from guests came the moment the Joker stepped into the top floor of Wayne Enterprises.
"Hello ladies and gentlemen. The Joker's back in town, and I think it's only appropriate that we set this party off... with a bang!" while he said this, he took out a gun and fired it at the ceiling, causing even louder scream, with the guests running around the area, trying to find any means of escaping. However, this proved impossible as the Joker's men sealed every exit possible, leaving the guests as cornered dogs. Every exit door was guarded by the Joker's men. Even the windows were sealed off. There was no way the guests could enter the room, or exit the room.
"Oh, don't you all worry. I'm only here to have some fun, like the rest of you! By the way, I've been wondering, does anybody know where I can find Bruce Wayne? I just want to say hi."
There was no answer from the guests.
"Anybody? Come on, I just need a few seconds with Bruce Wayne. How about you, do you know where Bruce is?" he asked, pointing to an old man dressed sharply. Then he shook his head.
"No, no, of course you wouldn't know," he said, shoving the old man, before resuming his inquiry.
"How about you?" he asked, while facing a blonde woman in a dark blue dress. She simply shook her head. Then he walked around the room, on a search from somebody who knew where the host of the party was.
"Or how about you? Do you know where I can find Bruce Wayne?"
He looked around the room and guests continued to shake their heads.
"Oh come on now, we could be here all night, and I know none of you want that. I have to have a word with Bruce Wayne," he said, trying to make sure the guests understood what he was trying to say.
From the corner of the room, he spotted Selina Kyle and walked over to her, licking his lips.
"Excuse me, would you happen to know where he is?"
She simply shook her head. The Joker would have walked away, but there was something about her that reminded the Joker of somebody he once knew, so he didn't move on.
"You know, you're a very attractive woman."
Selina didn't say anything, and kept her own guard when the Joker slowly began to approach her.
"Yes, yes... redhead, brown eyes.... you know, you remind me of somebody I once knew."
Selina still kept quiet, keeping her every eye on the Joker. She knew that taking her eyes off the Joker wasn't something she should be doing right now. She, along with everybody else in Gotham City, knew who he was, and how dangerous he could be.
"She was an ex-girlfriend of mine, this lovely redhead, very much like yourself. And oh, she brings back a lot of memories. Would you like to here a very funny story? Of course you would. There was this one time when the two of us were just sitting back and drinking as much as we could. I have to say, I was never a good boyfriend to her, and eventually, after drinking so much, she began to let everything out on me."
He looked around the room while he was talking and when he saw a small wine glass, he picked it up in his right hand, swirling around the wine and taking a sip of his own. Then he continued his story, still holding the cup.
"She began to yell at me, and at first, I found it kind of funny. Then, she goes on a loooong rant, telling me how worthless I am, and that I'm a real piece of trash. She yells some more, talks about how she's threatening to leave me, and then, she grabs a knife."
At this point, the Joker threw down the wine glass and then he reached into his pockets, pulling out a knife. By now, he was inches away from Selina, waving his hands in front of her and carefully showing her the knife.
"She starts getting violent, and I try to be as well-behaved as I could be back then. You see, back then, I lacked the balls to do anything about it. But thatÆs not what IÆm trying to get to. See, she threatens to take out her knife and cut me apart, telling me how much she's gonna enjoy this."
While saying this, he held the knife, making sure she felt every bit of the amount of pain that he felt when he got the scars on his face. Selina Kyle didn't even flinch when the knife was drawn out, so there was no point in flinching even when it was brought closer to her skin.
ôAnd then she moves it around slowly, like this.ö
With the knife still in the air inches away from her, the Joker moved it diagonally as slowly as possible.
ôEventually, this reaches my cheeks, and well,ö he simply pointed to the scars around his painted face, knife still held too close to the redhead.
She gave a knee to the area of manhood, causing him to fall back a little, wincing in pain for a moment.
The Joker groaned and took a few moments' recovery before looking back at her.
ôYou know, you're quite the hellcat.ö
"Funny, youÆre not the only one whoÆs said that to me," Selina replied.
ôYou're gonna be sorry for that,ö he finished grimly, pressing the knife closely to her cheek.
"If you didn't like that kick, then you're going to hate these ones," Selina replied, giving him two knees to the stomach, causing him to fall to the ground and let the knife slide to the floor.
The Joker groaned a little as he was on the ground, rubbing the area where he was kicked. He was starting to understand that old saying "hell hath no fury like a woman scorned."
Selina saw that as her chance to run for the knife and pick it up, but it seemed that she underestimated the Joker a bit, as he started to shake off the pain quickly and rise slowly to his feet.
Any normal man would have called it quits after shots like that, but the Joker was the Joker, so calling him a normal man wouldnÆt be fair to him. He was much tougher than he looked, and while he wasn't as tough as Batman, he was incredibly tough in his own right. There were few who could take some of the dark knightÆs hardest punches like the Joker could.
After numerous encounters with Batman, he'd been through some of his worst battles, so while he found the knee shots to be painful, he managed to bring himself to his own two feet, and gave Selina a knee of his own when she tried to rush for the knife.
Many guests in the room tried to come to her aid, but they seemed to forget the Joker still had a gun in his hand, as he raised it in the air, pointing it at them. They slowly backed away as far as possible when he picked up his knife, still pointing his gun, moving it in circles at them, making sure nobody tried to play hero.
Meanwhile, the Joker's strong kick caused Selina to fall on the floor and many of the guests gasped as she fell down. One of the Joker's men guarding the windows walked up and held her down by her hair as the Joker went to reach his fallen knife.
Selina was able to fight the man as she bit on his arm, but she was simply outnumbered by the Joker's men. She had a lot of fight in her, but when five men came to hold her down, there wasn't much she could do at that moment. It was true that Selina was a very strong woman, but as strong as she was, there wasn't much else she could really do in her situation. She was being guarded by three strong men, and while she was certainly a tough woman, again, the numbers game put a toll on her, giving her a heavy disadvantage.
All this time allowed the Joker was able to walk over and pick up his knife, walking as slowly as possible to Selina. He let his hands grab her cheeks with force while shaking them and getting close to her face. He spoke and carefully, making sure she heard his every word. If there was one thing the Joker hated, it was not being heard by others.
ôWhen I was little, my mother once told me that I should never hit women because it's not something a "gentleman" would do. I followed that rule for the longest time, but when my ex-ex-exàex gave me scars on my face, that was when I started to think that my motherÆs advice was a little flawed. And after the horrible, horrible (he said these words with sarcasm, of course) ôaccidentö that ended up with her death, I donÆt listen to my motherÆs words anymore.ö
As he held his knife up and tried to bring it to her skin, he heard the sound of windows crashing, and then he could hear a few punches. This caused him to turn around and smile, once he saw what exactly came through the window.
It was at this moment that Batman sprung through the windows, tackling one of the men who was guarding the area and adding in some more punches to his head for good measure. There was a second guard who came after him, but Batman had a strong right elbow connect to his head, followed up by a left elbow, and then a punch to the face, sending the guard down on his backside.
ôMaybe you should have listened to her words,ö he growled, giving him a headbutt.
The startling entrance of Batman 's caused men guarding Selina to divert their attention, and Selina to take advantage of this. Since they were all standing close together, she was able to trip all of them with a sweeping motion from her foot. When they fell down, she knew that there would still be more of the Joker's men coming for her, as there were still quite a lot of them left. She counted a total of ten men, five of them ones she already took down with a leg trip and five surrounding Batman. Well, if you counted the Joker, that would be a total of eleven.
And chaos ensued.
Two men at his back and front rushed Batman, but Batman was too quick for them. He landed a hard punch to the stomach on the one on his front, and brought his other back elbow to the other's chin, leaving three other men left to rush after him.
But Batman had faced much more men coming after him in the past, so he was more than used to these situations. He moved around swiftly, making it hard for others to be able to hit him. With his knowledge of the martial arts, he was able to land a roundhouse kick to the ribs of one opponent, and then he rotated his body into a spinning left elbow, connecting with the second opponent. Then he finished off the other opponent with a kick to the stomach, leaving bodies down on the floor.
It looked like LuciusÆs friend was handling herself very well, and Batman could even say that she looked like she had been fighting for years. Two men had already been knocked out on the ground, and three others were coming at her. Batman knew she was giving in a tough fight, and saw that she could handle herself, so he decided he would move on to the Joker, who was laughing wildly while seeing all this. He still had that knife in his hand.
When Batman came face to face with the Joker, sirens could be heard, and so could the police, from a loudspeaker.
ôBatman and the Joker, we have the building surrounded, surrender quietly, or surrender the hard way,ö Detective Ramirez shouted into the loudspeaker.
The Joker turned away from Batman and dropped his knife, reaching for something that was deep inside those pockets, of his.
ôYou know, I never really liked her that much. Something about that voice.ö he said, slowly taking out something in his pocket.
ôNo!ö Batman yelled, rushing to tackle the Joker so he couldn't take out whatever he had in mind for the detectives on the ground.
A grenade was revealed from the Joker's suit, and it fell to the ground.
The Joker felt his head slam against the ground, much harder than it had at that ever so memorable interrogation session with Batman.
ôI guess you never really took my advice about starting with anywhere other than the head.ö
He was answered with a hard punch to the stomach.
The Joker opened his mouth to say something, but he shut it when Batman slammed his head on the ground a second time.
ôYou killed Rachel Dawes and Harvey Dent,ö he seethed.
ôOh, come on now. Killing isn't exactly the word I would say. I hardly even put my hands on either of them, so I'm not really their killers.ö
ôYou planned it all!ö he shouted, adding a few extra punches to the stomach to make sure the Joker felt his anger.
"Well, it wasn't really-"
He was cut off once more by another punch. The Joker groaned a bit, because he knew he was really going to feel those tomorrow morning.
ôNow, you're going to feel their pain.ö
Batman threw in some of the hardest punches he had ever given in his life, taking his aggression and anguish over Rachel's loss out on the Joker. He made sure the Joker would feel every second of his own pain and torture. The Joker caused all this. The Joker caused Rachel's death, Harvey's death, and now his hunt with the police.
It would be better if the Joker would cease to exist.
Anger kept on boiling up in Batman, punching the Joker's in the stomach so much times that he caused the Joker to cough out blood. But even while he was getting punished, the Joker never seemed to care too much about the punches Batman was landing, because he could see that he was really starting to get under Batman's skin.
He knew that he was able to corrupt Harvey Dent, so what was the difference when it came to Batman? Batman was just like everybody else. Like all Gotham citizens, he knew Batman was corruptible, but it just required harder work than it did with the others. With a little gasoline and fire, plus the death of Rachel, the Joker transformed Harvey into the monster he loved to call Two-Face. And now he could see that Batman had some sort of tie to Rachel Dawes, so he found that he could use it to his advantage.
Batman was no hero.
Batman was every bit the same as he ever was.
At a situation like this, most other men would be knocked out cold, be finished wetting their pants. But of course, comparing the Joker to other men would be insulting to him, as he wasnÆt other men.
The Joker began laughing wildly, coughing out blood every time he laughed some more, actually enjoying his victory. He wasn't really enjoying the punches, but he was enjoying the fact that he had the edge over Batman. If he continued to push the exact buttons, then Batman could easily grow into the top villain of Gotham. In reality, the Joker could fight back. He knew it. He had every opportunity to do it, but he had his methods in leading others to their downfalls, and if that took a few punches and blood to do it, it had to be done. Batman was a hard one, but the Joker believed that Batman was every bit as vulnerable as Harvey Dent was, and once Batman was exploited for who he truly was, maybe the two of them could even team up together!
The simple thought of him and Batman working together didnÆt bring him disgust, because Batman was every bit the same as himself. No, he wouldnÆt reject the opportunity to work with the dark knight, rather, he embraced that opportunity, and could see that he was succeeding.
"Come on, keep hitting me, do it for HarveyÆs sake. Do it for Rachel's sake," he continued to taunt.
Somewhere inside his heart, Bruce Wayne could feel a dark transformation in Batman, and he could see the monster that he was becoming. He felt that same transformation many times before when he encountered the Joker, but this time was different than the others. Much different. There was just so much anger and aggression deep inside his heart that he hardly realized he was seconds away from becoming everything he had been trying not to. He was becoming vengeance.
He didn't know what came over him, but the punches stopped. Batman had his heart set on giving the Joker his own pain and grief. Batman had been giving the Joker all the destruction that the Joker had given Bruce Wayne. And Batman was giving the Joker nothing but vengeance.
Batman was doing all this. And Bruce Wayne was completely lost in it all, completely transforming into a darker side of Batman, losing any traces of humanity.
Those last three words hit him hard: for Rachel's sake.
For Rachel's sake?
If Rachel could see him doing what he was doing to the Joker, then Batman knew exactly the words she would say to him.
Your father would be very disappointed in you.
It was all a mental slap to the face for Batman, no, for Bruce Wayne, as he realized what he was truly becoming.
Batman wasnÆt about vengeance. Batman was never about vengeance. Batman was about helping the citizens of Gotham to make it a better place, notà not this!
He let go of the Joker, and he sat back a bit, dazed at what he had truly done, once the Joker sat up, coughing up blood, while guests could only watch in confusion and disgust at Batman and what he had become. He remembered once telling Alfred that Batman "had no limits" but all that was a lie, and the two of them knew it.
Batman did have limits, and his limits were that he could not kill. He nearly crossed those limits this night. The looks from the guests told him that.
Their looks said, "Of course he deserved retribution and some kind of punishment, but from you? You're just one man trying to take the law into your own hands, and we can see it now. We can see what you truly are. You're no hero."
Again, those very same words Rachel once said to him when he was back at the docks, showing that gun in his hands, they lingered over his head.
Your father would be very disappointed in you.
She was right.
They were right.
"What have I become?" he mentally asked himself in horror.
Bruce looked at his blood-stained hands, and then back at the Joker, who had trouble walking, as he had staggered walks, trying to regain some sort of balance.
It was at that moment that the police barged through the doors, staring at what was going on.
"Both of you, put your hands up now!" Commissioner Gorden yelled, pointing his gun at the Joker and Batman.
The Joker put his hands up, but fell to the floor the moment he put his hands up, as all balance had become lost.
Batman looked at Gordon, the police, and then at the glass window he was inches away from.
Without a moment's hesitation, he jumped through the window, opening his cape to let the air carry him where he wanted to go. He saw the police from below trying to shoot at him, but he was too far away from them, so he knew none of their bullets would connect.
While he was able to escape, the Joker wasn't. In fact, the Joker was still trying to regain consciousness when he found himself handcuffed by Jim Gordon, being walked down the stairs and lead to the police cars. In his state, it was hard to hear the words from Jim Gordon shouting "you have the right to remain silent, anything you say-" or something along those lines. But, he could see the shattered glass that Batman left, and he only smiled.
Batman had proven he was as corruptible as everybody else was, and as the Joker, it was his job to exploit that, and it looked like he had exploited a main weakness, well, two weaknesses, of Batman.
Those weaknesses were the deaths of Harvey Dent and Rachel Dawes.
END CHAPTER
Also, I know Selina's either mostly had dark hair or has been a blond in other Batman incarnations, but I wanted to try something new with her in this story. Well, that's it for this chapter. On to writing the next chapter!