Bubblegum Crisis
Batman: The Animated Series
S M I L E
A tale of knights, past and present.
--------------------------------
Part 6: Return to Gotham
--------------------------------
:)
Gotham.
I soar through her towers, horrified at what she's become.
Gotham's towers reach up to the sky higher than ever before,
dozens of towers of Babylon housing men believing themselves
gods, and the working class drones that serve under them.
Her streets are darker than ever, choked away from the sky
by a myriad of towers. Her children are savages, warring
tribes setting the night on fire.
No more.
I have been away too long, injuries and old age denying me
the night. But no longer. I am resurrected, a second
chance to make things right.
I will.
Mother. Father.
Your son has returned. The war goes on.
:)
[From the morning edition of the Gotham Gazette]
Batman Returns?
Scores of witnesses reported last night
seeing a large bat-like figure, causing
speculation that the legendary Batman
has returned.
Bernard Williams, a cab driver, saw the
possible Dark Knight as he was driving
from the airport to midtown.
"It was huge, like ten feet tall huge,
black as night, and had bat wings," said
Williams. "I damn near had a heart attack
when the thing flew over my cab. Is it
Batman? Could be."
Winnie Taylor, a nurse, was rescued by the
mysterious figure when a street gang member
assaulted her at a bus stop.
"I always heard about him, but thought that
he was, you know, an urban myth," said
Taylor. "Thank God he's real. I owe him
my life."
:)
The Joker grinned as he read the newspaper article, giggling
happily.
It was too good to be true.
Batman was back.
'Woohoo! YES! Looks like dreams really CAN come true, eh
Harley?'
Harley nodded happily.
He thought about it for a moment.
'Y'know, it's almost like the good old days, y'know? All we
need is good old Commish Gordon with us. Too bad he's dead.
Haha!'
'Yeah, too bad,' lamented Harlequin. 'I kinda liked him.'
'Now what can I do for Batman tonight...'
While the Joker mulled over the possibilities, the being
that called itself Harley awaited dutifully by his side,
smiling.
Somewhere locked inside of her, Priss Asagiri screamed.
:)
[Gotham Grand Hotel, 3:30 pm]
Linna took a long look at the room that they'd managed to
get with Sylia's mysterious friend pulling the strings. A
large window graced the north side, giving a majestic view
of Miller Harbor. A stocked bar, 60 inch flatscreen
television, lush carpeting, and a sauna also came with the
room.
"This looks exactly like the sort of place I'd expect Sylia
to stay in," she murmured. "Don't you think so, Nene?"
"Zzzz..."
Linna blinked, then turned around. Nene was already
sprawled on her bed, fast asleep. She understood perfectly
why. They'd left Gotham only hours after their disastrous
encounter with the Joker, hot in pursuit of a bloody trail
from MegaTokyo to Gotham that began with a hijacked freight
plane and ended in a fiery wreck a few miles outside of
Gotham.
They'd gone via private flight, thanks to Sylia's mysterious
associate. It was a necessity, since Linna had packed her
hardsuit, repair kit, and loads of Nene's hacker toys along
as well.
They were in the Gotham Grand to check on Sylia's
whereabouts, hoping that she'd left some clues in her hotel
room.
The lack of rest from the Joker encounter, the long flight
from MegaTokyo, and the rough cab ride had drained Linna
severely. It obviously had the same effect on Nene, only
worse, as she'd whimpered, whined, and squirmed every
agonizing step of the way. Linna had to admit, Nene showed
a lot of heart and soul, traveling all this way despite her
cracked ribs and broken arm.
Linna frowned as she thought about her teammate. She didn't
want Nene along, mainly to make sure she stayed safe and so
that she'd recover from her injuries. However, Nene argued
long and hard, and finally pointed out three facts.
One, they might need to do some hacking in Gotham.
Two, if Priss was being controlled by an implanted device,
as Nene's sensor recordings from the blimp roughly
suggested, Nene was in a far better position to do something
about it than Linna.
Three, they were a team, and solo stunts weren't allowed.
Linna hated it when Nene was right.
Hopefully, they'd find Sylia soon. After that, she would
surely know how to handle the Priss situation.
Though if the Joker surfaced before they found Sylia,
rescuing Priss would immediately become priority one.
Getting her away from that maniac was something that had to
be done as soon as possible. She hoped the Joker
didn't force Priss to do anything... unpleasant.
With a shudder, she shook that thought away and decided that
a brief nap certainly wouldn't hurt. Besides, it'd be best
to start their investigation wide awake.
:)
[Genom Tower, Madigan's office, MegaTokyo]
//Madigan.//
The second-in-command of all Genom looked up from her desk
and stood respectfully at the image of her commander in her
vidphone. "Yes sir?"
//I see you have a six o'clock flight to Gotham.//
"Our renegade Largo unit with the Momus mindsim is there."
//Cancel your flight.//
"What? But sir-"
//The Knight Sabers will clean up as they always have. If
it's hardware recovery you're concerned about, I already
have a team watching the situation carefully.//
"Sir, did I do anything wrong?"
Quincy smiled. //No, Madigan. You're still the Genom
second-in-command for a reason. I need you to go to
Antarctica and solidify our grasp on the region.//
"Yes sir, I undertsand."
//That is all.//
Quincy's image faded from view, leaving Madigan disgruntled
and irritated. She loathed the Knight Sabers, and while she
saw why Quincy hadn't made a major move against them yet,
their involvement in this matter still left her feeling
burned.
"One of these days..."
:)
It was a quiet house in a quiet neighborhood, part of a
pleasant suburbia safely outside of Gotham's mean streets.
Norman Rockwell would have liked this house, with its large
front yard, shady trees, and classic design complete with
a white picket fence.
Inside, a family was gathering and discussing current
events. Grandmother Barbara and grandfather Richard
presided over the Grayson family. Their two children, Jim
and Mary, brought along their significant others and their
beloved children.
The two grandchildren, Carrie and John, 14 and 11, didn't
get involved in the conversation, preferring to stick close
to the television set, the saviour of children stuck in
places they'd rather not be. It wasn't that they disliked
their grandparents, Carrie actually displayed quite a bit of
affection for her grandmother, it was just that they didn't
care to get caught up in the mundane chit-chat of adults.
Besides, the conversation was terribly embarrasing at times.
'Carrie's gotten in trouble again?' asked Richard in mock
disbelief. 'Gosh, I can't imagine where she got it from.'
He cast a sly eye towards his wife, which earned him a quick
swat on the head with a pillow.
"Wasn't my fault, granpa!" yelled Carrie from the
television. "In my defense, I have to say the other kid
started it!"
The grandparents laughed along with the parents, and the
childrein cringed.
Yes, just another nice evening in suburbia.
Until the knock on the door.
'Would someone get that?'
'I got it, I got it, no need for everyone to get up.'
Grandmother Barbara rose from her comfy chair,
ruffling her granddaughter's hair as she passed, leaving the
room.
A moment later, the family heard a scream of terror.
The family turned towards the door, except Carrie, who
immediately ran, and Richard, who was right at her heels.
The sight that greeted them made Richard's blood run cold,
an all too familiar grinning figure holding his unconscious
wife.
'Well, Harl, I guess she stil remembers me,' muttered the
Joker.
'Let go of her!' yelled Carrie. She charged, and to
Richard's horror he saw the gun, aimed at his granddaughter.
Richard reached for her. 'Carrie, wait!'
Harlequin aimed and fired.
*BLAM*BLAM*BLAM*BLAM*BLAM*
With an overdramatic sigh and a hand to his forehead, the
Joker said, 'An ordinary gun. How mundane, and messy too.
Look at all that blood. No boxing glove gun?'
'Sorry, Mista J. Didn't have time ta get one.'
:)
When Linna opened her eyes next, the sun was gone from the
sky and replaced by the endless lights of downtown Gotham at
night. Cheecking the clock revealed that four hours had
passed.
She considered leaving Nene behind, but she knew Nene would
be essential if they had to break into Sylia's room. All
the doors in this hotel were of the card-swipe variety,
something Nene could get past with ease.
"Hey, Nene, time to move out."
"Mmm... a little later, mom."
"Nene!"
"Wha- huh?"
"C'mon, we're gonna check Sylia's room."
"Oh."
Sylia's room was, of course, the penthouse. Nene had to
wire into the elevator control panel to get there, then had
to use a magnetic card wired to her laptop to pop open the
door.
As the door swung open, they heard a rustling noise from
within.
"Someone's here," whispered Nene.
Linna motioned for Nene to back away to the elevator, then
cautiously made her way into the suite. The main room was
dark, but there was a light in the bedroom door.
As she advanced to the door, Linna drew her gun, drawing a
gasp of surprise from Nene. Slowly, she peered inside and
saw someone searching over the bedroom desk. A man.
Linna kicked the door wide open and brought her gun up.
"FREEZE!"
"Aaaah! Don't shoot! Don't shoot!"
Everone blinked.
"Mackie?"
Linna lowered her gun and sighed, while Nene rushed forward
and tried to give Mackie a hug.
A second later, Nene screamed in pain as her cracked ribs
reminded her that hugging was not an option. Scowling in
pain, she immediately landed flat on the bed, taking shallow
breaths.
"Let me guess," said Linna. "Looking for Sylia."
He nodded, then asked, "What happened to you?"
Linna brought Mackie up to speed with current events: the
Joker's emergence, his acts of terrorism, the zeppelin
battle over the skies of MegaTokyo, and finally the Priss
situation.
Mackie was, to say the least, impressed.
"Jeez, and all I've been doing for the last two weeks is
studying Advanced Robotic Theory."
"How long have you been here anyway?" asked Linna.
"About an hour. Haven't found anything."
Linna nodded. "Let's keep on looking, then."
:)
He landed atop the Gotham Police Department building
undetected, as he knew he would.
It was far different than the GCPD building he remembered.
Gone were the classic and timeless walls of brick, replaced
by smooth glass and steel. It saddened him, this change.
As he paced around, something came in his sight and lifted
his heart.
It was still there.
The old GPD building.
Sort of.
The old building was now an auxillary building, attached to
the side of the new building, strangely appearing as if it
were an egg from which the new GPD building hatched.
It was dwarfed in size by its offspring, with the new
building a good thirty stories higher than its predecessor.
Actually, it was dwarfed by everything in this new Gotham
town.
Why did they keep it? Nostalgia, perhaps?
It didn't matter.
What did matter was that IT was still there.
The Batsignal.
Smirking a little at the irony, the Joker examined the
ancient piece of equipment. It was nothing much, really;
just your basic 150,000 watt searchlight, with a large metal
bat-insignia affixed over the lens. Though it'd probably
only been serviced two or three times in the past twenty
years, all parts were in good working order.
The Joker grinned. 'Perfect,' he said. He then reached into
his vest pocket and pulled out what appeared to be the
receiver handle of a Edwardian era brass-and-ivory
telephone. He yanked an antenna out the top of it with his
teeth, and opened up a comms channel.
//Harley girl? You there?//
//Readin ya loud and clear, Mister J.//
//Is everything set up?//
Harlequin tittered. //Sure thing, puddin. We got the goons
and the props and the transport, just like ya said.//
//Good job, Harl. Get going, move it all out.//
//Ummm..... ain't'cha comin' with us?//
// Oh, I'll be along, Harl. I just have a..... sight gag to
set up.//
//Oh! Gotcha, Mista J. Headin' out!// The transmission
ended.
The Joker giggled. There was just one more thing to do.
Ripping off the access panel to the Batsignal's inner
workings, he stuck his arms elbow-deep into the mass of
wires, capacitors, and transistors, and began to work his
magic.
'If it ain't broke....'
:)
An hour into their search, things weren't going well.
"Find anything?" asked Mackie.
Linna shook her head. "Not much. Just a few notes.
Looking into some guy named Bruce Wayne, apparently. But
there's nothing on where she went or where she might be
going. You got anything, Nene?"
"She rented a car four days ago, and that's it. Nothing
else. I guess I could try getting in contact with Oracle to
see if-"
"Who?" asked Linna.
"Oracle. Legendary hacker and information broker that got
in touch with Sylia before she disappeared. She might...
might..." Nene's gaze glazed over them, staring out at the
night sky with a curious expresion. She pointed out at the
night sky and asked, "Um, guys? Is that... is that what I
think it is?"
:)
On the Aparo Expressway bridge, a number of extremely
massive, tarpaulin covered vehicles lumbered slowly
southward, much to the irritation of the motorists behind
them who found it impossible to maneuver around. From the
small, ground-level cab of the lead vehicle, a womans face
peered out into the night.
'I hope Mista J's okay....' mumbled Harley, as she absently
tugged on one of the clown bells on her head.
THUMP!!!! A heavy weight dropped onto the vehicles roof.
Harley produced a .45 Magnum and leaned out the window,
looking up.
'Wooo!' said the Joker, swinging into the cab form the
opposite side. 'All that running around on the rooftops....
I don't know HOW Batsie does it. How goes it, Harl?'
'Mista J!' she squeeled. 'Everythings goin' just like you
planned. We got all the men ready, an the stuff hooked up
and everything.' Harley frowned, pouting slightly. 'But you
still ain't told us what you wanted to do to set it all
off.'
'Patience, Harley girl.' The Joker produced a penlike object
from his pocket that would, on closer inspection, reveal
itself to be a remote detonater. 'I was just rigging up a
little light show.'
The Joker depressed the activation stud on the remote.
:)
It hit like a wave across the collective consciousness of
Gotham.
In the high towers above the streets, old men paused and
remembered what it meant, and wondered what it meant for
them now.
In the crime infested sector of Crime Alley, young turks and
young punks looked up in the sky and wondered if all those
stories of old were really true.
Gotham held its breath for a moment as the Batsignal blazed
through the night sky.
It could have only meant one thing.
He was back.
:)
'The greatest rule of comedy, Harley, is this; timing is
everything.' Grinning madly (as if he could ever do
otherwise) the Joker reversed the remote trigger and
depressed the stud on the other side.
:)
On top of the old GPD, the classic lines of the Batsignal
suddenly began to be reshaped in new and untirely
unwholesome ways. Hastily jury-rigged arc welders and preset
metal solvents triggered themselves; a purple gel was
sprayed over the pure white of the spot bulb; new pieces of
metal that had been afixed to it's side slid up and into
place as other pieces of metal boiled away.
And the Gothamites watched with horror-laced confusion as
the Bat seemed to morph before their very eyes into a
grotesque, purple, smiley face.
It looked not unlike a death's head.
'Oooh. Nice tag, Mista J.' said Harley appreciatively.
'Well, I like it.'
:)
Linna took one look at the Batsignal-cum-Jokersignal and
knew what she had to do.
"I'm suiting up."
She turned to her teammates with a solemn look they had
rarely ever seen on her face.
"We all know the Joker's behind this. And if he is, Priss
isn't far behind."
"You're facing him alone?" asked Nene, protest in her voice.
"You can't suit up and Mackie is out of the question."
Seeing the look on Nene's face, Linna thought for a moment.
"Tell you what... keep your ear on the radio and stay near a
terminal. I may need your help with something. I don't
know what, but it never hurts to be prepared."
"Hey!" Mackie yelled suddenly from the window. "Come here
and listen to this, guys!"
Linna and Nene crowded the window with him. "Listen to what,
Mackie?" asked Linna, slightly annoyed.
"Shhhhh. Over in that direction."
Nene and Linna strained their ears hard. From over towards
the southern part of the city, they could just barely make
out a few faint strains.....
//Oom-pah oom-pah, oom pah-pah, oom-pah oom-pah, oom
pah-pah. Oom pah-pah-pah-pah-pah-pah, oom-pah oom-pah, oom
pah-pah...//
Nene blinked. "It sounds like...... a calliope?"
:)
It was, indeed, a calliope. And a big one at that. It was
accompanying the parade floats that were currently making
their way down Moench Row, into the heart of Old Gotham.
There were about six of them, of several varying makes and
sizes. They were all clown themed in some way: one had a
miniature big top set up on it, another an assortment of
clown cars chasing each other in an endless loop. One was
simply a massive group of youths on a raised platform,
decked out in full white-face, with big red noses and wigs
on.
And on the biggest float of all, a garish purple-and-white
monstrosity with grinning faces decorating it, there was a
raised dais. And atop that dais, a stick-figure of a man
stood with his attendant.
The Clown Prince of Crime had returned to assume his throne.
'A-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA!!!!! Now THIS is what I call a
homecoming.' The Joker threw back his head and cackled madly
again. 'Heyhey Gotham! Didja miss me?'
The Joker surveyed his surroundings. 'Hmmm. You know, I
never did like the whole gargoyles-and-spires motif. All
dark and depressing like, where's the laughter? I think it's
time for some urban renewal.' He stuck his hand out. 'Harl!
Pie me!!'
'Here, Mista J!' Harley presented the Joker with a pie tin,
which appeared to be covered with a rich, thick whipped
topping.
Joker tossed it once experimentally, then heaved it
one-armed with incredible force through the window of a
Brownstone.
KER-BLAMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The Brownstone was summarily reduced to a cooling pile of
rubble.
'Ahhhhhh. MUCH better.' The Joker reached for another pie,
this time pausing before his throw to sample it with his
finger. 'Mmmmm. Coconut-cremed plastique. My favorite.'
It was just then that he noticed the relative inactivity of
his new gang. After announcing his presence to Gothams
underworld, goons and thugs had literally come swarming out
of the woodwork to serve him; he WAS, after all, a legend.
But now most of the clowned-up men seemed unsure of what to
do, now that were actually out here in the midst of the
scheme.
'Feh. Kids these days, I tell ya, Harl.' Artificially
jacking his voice up by about 60 decibels, Joker shouted
'Hey! Guys! What are you waiting for? Show the good people
of Gotham your props and gags! This is a PARTY, after all!
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAHAHAHAH!!!!!!!!'
Slowly, but with increasing confidence, the 'Jokerz'
complied with their leaders order. Confetti bombs burst into
the air, releasing monomolecular edged bits of paper that
could rip almost anything apart; acid-squirting flowers sewn
into the lapels of some of them were turned on various
parked cars, mailboxes, and sundry items on the sidewlak;
and on the extreme low end, simple rubber chickens with
spikes jutting out of them were used to smash in windows and
bludgeon those few pedestrians unfortunate enough to have
not been able flee.
And above it all, stood the man who had arranged this
spectale solely for his own amusement.
'A-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA!!!!!!'
The parade continued on it's way through the night.
<Oom-pah, oom-pah, oom pah-pah, oom-pah, oom-pah, oom
pah-pah ...>
:)
Linna looked down at the scene down below, feeling daunted.
Her, alone, against so many...
She'd guessed there was at least a hundred of them, and all
certainly human. This was a double-edged problem.
On one side, these were just people, only a few with any
cybernetic enhancements, and they'd certainly be easy to
defeat with the hardsuit. The problem was in doing so
without killing them. The suit was built to take down
boomers with deadly force. Fighting unarmored people in the
suit without killing them would be difficult.
On the other hand, there was strength in numbers, and if
they were all armed like the boomers in the Joker's zeppelin
stunt, she'd be in trouble.
After a moment of indecision, she decided she'd jump in
there, grab Priss, and break away fast.
She stood at the edge of the roof, preparing to jump down.
Something dark suddenly obscured her view, then landed on
the ground below.
Linna was speechless.
:)
'JOKER!'
The Jokerz all came to a stop, all of them silent as they
stared in disbelief.
He was large, larger than they could ever imagine, dark
knight with fearsome ebony wings raised high as he descended
to the street.
The Joker had the advantage of cybernetically enhanced
vision, and it quickly dissected what stood before them.
Seven feet of ebony high-powered armor, made of something
the Joker's sensors couldn't readily identify.
The face... the Joker sighed... Batsy seemed to have decided
to cover his face entirely now, covering his striking jaw
with a metal grill plate.
But the eyes... oh the eyes... how they burned...
'Batman! Darling! Aren't you glad to see me?' yelled the
Joker merrily.
Batman took a moment to glare at the Joker, then stared at
his motley crew.
'Leave,' he said in his deep, barritone voice. 'Now.'
Unsure of what to do, the Jokerz looked first at Batman,
then at the Joker.
The psychopathic clown sighed. 'Do I have to do _all_ the
thinking here? GET HIM!'
And suddenly a tide of Gotham's worst rushed forth, charging
at the dark knight. With stunning speed and grace he fought
them all, whittling down their ranks with power and speed
that seemed impossible for something as large as he was.
A quick elbow to the back of the head of one thug, a kick
that knocked the wind out of another, a twist of the arm
followed by a throw that sent another thug flying. Still
they came and still he fought.
Meanwhile, on the Joker's float, a giant candle rose from
below, with an unconscious elderly woman tied to it. The
Joker turned to Harley and tossed her a giant matchstick,
nearly as tall as himself.
'Light'er up, Harl!'
'Okay, puddin!' She struck the match against the floor,
lighitng it up, then lifted it towards the fuse. Suddenly
she went into an epileptic fit, then crumpled to the floor.
The Joker frowned. 'Was that an EMP burst or was that just
me?' He looked down at Batman, who was still busy knocking
away hapless thugs. No, couldn't have been batsy. Then
who?
A warning beep from his sensors barely warned him in time as
a green shape came down from above. He nimbly dodged left
as an armored figure whipped by, coming close enough to
graze his arm.
The Joker turned quickly, then frowned. 'Hey, didn't I
leave you behind in Japan?'
:)
Linna quickly took stock of the situation. The Joker was,
mercifully, not being agressive on offense, instead
preening, posing, and making witty comments in English.
Priss was knocked out, so she'd be able to grab her and run.
Yes, the Batman was there, and yes, that did nearly blow
Linna's mind, but she had to focus on her mission.
But that would mean leaving behind the hostage which the
Joker had.
Linna couldn't do that.
Quickly, she shot the ropes which bound the woman to the
giant candle, then sprinted towards them. And then she
nearly collided with the Joker, stepping in front of her
with alarming speed.
'Not so fast,' snarled the Joker. 'This show's for Batsy
and you're definitely not invited!' He wound his arm back,
then lashed out a punch at Linna, who nimbly ducked away.
Behind her, two cars exploded and a building collapsed under
the sheer power of his gravity blast.
Linna lashed out with a backfist followed by a roundhouse,
both of which the Joker dodged with ease. Suddenly, Linna
found herself under a barrage of punches, elbows, and kicks,
finally sending her through the air with a jarring punch to
the stomach.
Warning lights flashed on her heads up display as she flew
through the air, the breath knocked out from her and her
head throbbing.
And suddenly something caught her.
A dark, rumbling voice spoke.
'That's enough, Joker.'
The killer clown laughed happily. 'Ah! Done with the
appetizers, Batsy?'
Still dazed, Linna looked up into the massive and dark form
of the Batman. Two narrow glowing eyes looked back down at
her.
'Get the others clear,' he told her.
Fortunately, her grasp of English was good enough to get the
general idea.
:)
Perfect.
All perfect.
The Joker giggled with glee as the massive juggernaut that
was the Batman approached.
'Nice upgrades, Batsy,' said the Joker. 'Love the heavy
metal look. Hehe!' He held the flower on his lapel up,
aiming it at him. 'You're not the only one to get a
tuneup.' The flower suddenly spewed forth a burst of
flames, engulfing the dark knight.
'HA! Fell for it!' crowed the Joker.
And as the flames fell away, the Batman stepped forward,
unscathed. The Joker's grin fell.
'Whoops! That's right, I guess it would be kinda useless if
you're in a tin can.' He held his left hand out, and his
fingers suddenly morphed into sharp points. 'I've got the
can opener right here!'
The two rushed each other, and the sound of metal striking
metal rang loud into the night.
:)
Priss' pulse seemed to be fine and her breathing was steady.
She was still unconscious, which to Linna was a good thing.
She could end up being a distraction if she was awake.
Linna looked from Priss to the unconscious woman, wondering
what to do. Couldn't just leave the hostage there, no.
She'd have to take them both, drop the lady off at a
hospital or something.
As she began lifting Priss, the loud maniacal laugh of the
Joker caught her attention. She turned, and saw the Batman
on his knees, wicked spikes driven through his side. As the
Joker pulled away, she saw the spikes were the fingers of
his hand.
:)
The Joker held the slumped Batman by one of his wings.
'What's the matter, Bats? We're not done yet!' The Joker's
clawed hand morphed into one large hook, lifted up high.
'Pucker up, honey! I'm gonna carve a smile on that tin face
of yours! HAHAHA!'
It was to be a triumphant moment.
The Joker, at last, driving the Batman to humiliating
defeat.
And then something nailed him square in the back, burning
into him exlosively, sending him reeling forward.
'Ow! What the- YOU!'
The green Knight Saber stood protectively in front of the
fallen knight, arm aimed at the Joker's head.
'This is between Batsy and ME, you-'
Sensors came to life within him, sending off alarms.
Something seemed to be stuck on his back?
'What the-
*BOOM*BOOM*BOOM*
:)
Linna shielded her eyes as the magnetic bombs went off, a
bright chain of fire erupting from the Joker's back. Fire,
debris and smoke engulfed the street and Linna wondered if
that was possibly enough to destroy him at last.
Her sensors swept the area and found nothing.
Behind her, something massive and dark rose. She whirled
around in fright, bringing her weapon arm up. It was caught
easily. With a sudden gust of wind, the smoke cleared,
revealing the wounded Dark Knight holding her arm.
'Ah! Gomen!' she said quickly.
Batman Batman this was Batman in front of her holy cow Nene
would be blown away if she was here oh my gosh-
"The hostage," he asked, his voice commanding in its
synthesized baritone rumble.
'Ano...'
'The hostage,' he said again, this time in fluent Japanese.
'where is she?'
'F-fine,' replied Linna. 'Unconscious, there.'
'Good.' Batman released her arm, turned, then walked
towards the elderly woman slowly, the blood from his gaping
wound flowing steadily.
And then he staggered.
And then he fell.
Linna rushed to his side. 'Batman-san! You are hurt...
need a hospital!'
He shook his head. 'No... no hospital.'
'But-'
He cut her off with a raised hand, then pointed to the sky.
Above them, something large began to descend.
:)
Unseen by all, a dangling mass of wires, flesh, and metal
scuttled away into the sewers, surprisingly fast for
something dragging itself by its arms only.
Though its body was mangled beyond recognition, the head
was still recognizable, a grinning face, pale as death.
'Heh... good joke... the little tart. Bombs on my back.'
He thought about it for a moment.
'HA!'
Yes, it was a good joke.
He'd have to kill her for it sometime.
When he was feeling better.
:)
//Nene?//
The redhead stopped her typing immediately and grabbed her
microphone.
"Linna? What happened? Is everything okay?"
//I've got Priss, but... you're not going to believe this.//
"What?"
//I'm... I think I'm in the... I guess it'd be a Batjet.//
Nene blinked. "The... the what?"
//Batman's here with me.//
"WHAT?!"
//It's his jet, I mean, so...//
"You're with BATMAN?!"
//It's... ah.. a weird story... but Batman came to my rescue
and now we're headed... um... somewhere. Can you track my
signal?//
"Hold on," said Linna. She quickly dug into her large bag
of equipment and pulled out another laptop, this one with a
few bulky attachments and wires connected, and plugged it
in. "Okay... tracing... now. I got you."
//Where am I headed?//
"North, and pretty fast too."
//I don't know where we're going, but try to follow us.
Might need help with Priss.//
"Priss? How is she?"
//Priss? She's f-ne -ut I'm w---ied th-//
"Linna? I'm losing you. Linna? Hello?"
Staring at her screen, Nene watched the small blip that
marked her location suddenly disappear.
"Linna? Hello?"
:)
Linna blinked.
She had been staring out the side window of the, er, Batjet,
while talking to Nene, when suddenly the dark skies and
distant lights of Gotham disappeared. The world seemed to
be swallowed in darkness.
"What the..."
And then there was light.
They emerged in a dark cavern, enormous in its size, dimly
lit by runway lights from below and warning lights on the
ceiling.
The Batjet, still running on autopilot since they'd left the
city, slowly made its descent. It landed with slight jolt,
then hissed as the deck ramp lowered.
Batman rose slowly from his chair, his breath ragged as he
walked. Linna quickly rushed to his side and helped him
down the ramp, but found herself pushed away at the bottom.
"Batman?"
He didn't acknowledge her call, continuing to walk down the
runway with a hand over his wound.
"Batman, wait!"
This time he hesitated "See to the others."
"But you-"
"I'll... be fine."
Reluctantly, Linna turned back to the craft, letting the the
Dark Knight disappear into the shadows.
:)
Priss would be a problem.
That is, if she was still Harlequin.
Linna looked at Priss nervously, wondering how she'd be able
to restrain her. She found several... for lack of a better
description... bat-cuffs, and used a number of them on
Priss' arms and feet. She wasn't sure how strong those
enhancements on Priss were, but she had a feeling the cuffs
would eventually break if Priss was determined enough.
After snapping on the last of the cuffs, she turned her
attention to the elderly lady that had been taken hostage.
Aside from a mild concussion, she seemed fine, and started
to come around as Linna checked on her.
Linna realized, as the woman woke, she'd have to keep her
helmet on. The lady seemed nice by appearances, but Sylia
drilled it into her never to be too careful.
Damn. It was starting to feel stuffy in there.
:)
"You sure this is the right way?" asked Mackie, feeling a
bit uneasy about driving on American roads.
"Linna's signal cut out in this direction," replied Nene as
she checked over her laptop map. "Nothing much out there...
some cliffs, undeveloped land, and... this is not
coincidence."
"Hm?"
"The old Wayne Manor. It's out in the direction where we're
headed. Sylia said she was checking out some stuff about
Wayne. This can't be a coincidence."
"So you think..."
Nene nodded. "Head for Wayne Manor."
They drove onward in their little hatchback rental car,
through long unused roads and dark forest paths, their car
shaken by the turbulent winds and their path darkened by the
overcast skies. Finally Wayne Manor appeared on the
horizon, looming at the top of a cliff justting above and
away from the rest of the land.
Mackie whistled. "Wow, looks impressive."
"Hey, what's that?" Nene pointed to the gates of Wayne
Manor, where a car was parked and apparently abandoned.
They parked by the car, then Nene took a good look at the
license plate and typed it into her laptop. A moment later,
her suspicions were confirmed.
"Sylia's car."
"Looks like it's been sitting here a while too," said
Mackie.
"This is definitely not a coincidence." Nene walked around
Sylia's car, trying to peer inside. "Hey, I think I see
some of her stuff inside. Can you-"
-click-
Mackie deftly put away his lockpick set, whistling casually.
This clearly surprised Nene. "Hey, when did you learn how
to lockpick?"
"Sis taught me. Said it could come in handy someday. Guess
she was right."
"Open the trunk while you're at it."
:)
The first thing Barbara saw as she woke up was a woman in
battle armor standing by her. She remembered the woman as
the one that saved her from the woman that was calling
herself Harlequin.
The next thing she saw was the new Harlequin, handcuffed
excessively, in the seat next to hers.
Looking around again, she realized what she was in.
"The... the Batwing. What am I..."
The girl in the armor said something, but it was in
Japanese, a language which Barbara had no fluency in aside
from 'sayonara'.
"Sorry," she said, "I don't speak Japanese."
The woman tried again. "You... feeling okay?"
Barbara nodded. "Who are you?"
"I... ah... Knight Saber."
Ah. Them.
"Where... where's Batman? Where are we?"
The figure pointed to the exit ramp, where Barbara noticed a
trail of blood leading outward. "Is he okay?"
The Knight Saber shrugged.
"I'm going to go check on him, okay? Make sure Harley here
doesn't do anything."
:)
She stepped across its barren floor, feeling nostalgic as
she did. It had seemed like a lifetime since she and Dick
retired, the end of an era for them.
"Batman?"
Her words echoed through the cavern, with no reply. She
followed the trail of blood past the main cavern, and saw
by the trail that he hesitated in front of the case holding
the Robin costume.
Tim's.
She followed the trail as it went deeper into the cave, down
some stairs, towards the area she rememberd as Bruce's
med center. It made sense to head there.
Finally, she arrived in the med room. The lights were all
dimmed, nearly hiding the large, armored figure sitting upon
a throne of steel in the back. She could see dozens of
thin, spindly mechanical arms moving about the armor,
automaton surgens working their patient over as they weaved
around his gaping wound.
'Bruce?'
'Barbara,' he replied. Even though his voice was
electronically masked, she could hear the weariness and
exhaustion in it.
'Bruce, what.. what's going on? What are those things doing
to you?'
'Automated... surgeons... and medical... nanites.'
'I'll... I'll let you get patched up,' said Barbara. 'But
we need to talk. You just... you just return from out of
nowhere and you're batman again. Bruce, you're too old for
this... and we've missed you.'
:)
Linna tended to Priss, placing her on a fairly large table
off to the side of what seemed to be the main room of the
Batcave.
While the suit gloves were made for good handling, it wasn't
good enough for caring for the wounded. At least, that was
Linna's opinion. That -- well, and the fact that the suit
slowly losing power -- were both reasons she felt that she'd
have to risk blowing her identity.
Linna deactivated her powesuit and slipped out of it. She
immediately regretted it, as the cave was not only chilly,
but drafty. The garments worn under the powersuit were
terribly thin and not made to withstand extreme weather
conditions.
Looking around, she found a sink, as well as some towels and
a bathrobe hanging in a small stand-alone closet of sorts.
She quickly donned the bathrobe, despite the musty smell and
the fact that it was a few sizes too big. Linna dampened the
cloth and began wiping away the Harlequin's makeup.
As she was wiping, she noticed something metallic, latched
onto Priss' head, hidden behind her ear. She tugged gently
at it, and immediately stopped when she saw it might take
off a significant amount of skin with it.
"What is this?"
Hearing footsteps approaching, Linna turned around. She saw
the woman, Barbara, approaching slowly. Well, thought
Linna, she saw my face. Hope Sylia doesn't kill me for
this.
'How's Harley?' asked Barbara.
Linna shook her head. "She's not Harley. She's Priss."
Remembering that she probably didn't understand Japanese,
Linna tried it again in simpler terms, pointing to Priss and
saying her name.
'Ah. I see. A friend of yours? Your friend?'
Linna nodded, then went back to examining the chip behind
Priss' ear.
'What's that you're looking at, dear?'
Hearing the inquisitive tone on Barbara's voice, Linna was
guessing she wanted to know what was so interesting. Why
not show her, mused Linna. Couldn't hurt. It would go a
long way towards explaining Priss' condition. Linna leaned
out of the way and pointed the chip out, clearly increasing
the woman's curiosity.
'So he's doing that again... just like before.' Barbara
said. Gently, she pulled at the metal device. As blood
began to run down Priss' neck, Linna placed a hand on
Barbara's and gave her a questioning look. 'Trust me,' said
Barbara. 'It's not as bad as it looks. I've seen this
before; I know what I'm doing. It's a trick he stole from
the Mad Hatter, mind control chips. Take it out and she'll
be fine.' Barbara hesitated again and then looked at Linna
carefully. 'Do... do you understand what I'm saying?'
Linna nodded.
Barbara took a deep breath, then pulled the chip the rest of
the way out. The pins, surprisingly long, released their
grip on Priss and eased out, leaving a circular red wound
bleeding in a steady stream. Linna quickly moved the towel
to cover her wound. From nearby, Barbara retrieved a
bandage from somewhere Linna didn't see and applied it to
Priss' neck.
Priss remained surprisingly sedate as the chip was removed,
twitching only once.
ednote: you need to either note that there was shielding on
the chip, or that it appeared to have been damaged when
Barbara removes it.
Linna sighed in relief, then seemed contemplative for a
moment as she watched Barbara rinse the chip of its blood in
the sink. The old woman seemed familiar with the place,
making Linna wonder how she was connected to it.
She thought it over.
In this situation, Sylia would've probably kept a mask on or
something, and had a knife handy in case the woman turned
out to be a danger.
That was Sylia's way, not hers.
"Ah... thank you," said Linna, hoping she wasn't mangling
her English. 'Watashi wa.. er... my name is Linna.' She
held a hand out to the woman, smiling.
"You're welcome," replied Barbara, shaking Linna's hand.
"Barbara." The woman looked thoughtful for a moment, then
pointed at herself and said, "Batgirl."
Linna nearly did a double-take. "You?" she asked. Barbara
nodded.
"Oh, the stories I could tell... too bad you don't know
English well enough," sighed Barbara. "Listen, I'm going to
check on Batman. If you need anything, I'll be over there."
Barbara pointed to one of the dark passages to the side,
where Batman's trail of blood ominously trailed into.
"Is he... ah...," said Linna. She shook her head and tried
again in English. 'Is he okay?'
Barbara nodded, then left Linna to watch over Priss.
:)
'Bruce?'
Still sitting in his throne of steel, still clad in battle
armor, the Batman rested. The small metal pincers had ceased
their work. Sitting there like that, he looked like a lord
of darkness brooding after a battle.
'Bruce, are you okay?'
'I'm here, Barbara.' His voice was even more weary than
before, troubled and tired. 'Just tired.'
'Do you know who that young lady is?'
Batman nodded. 'Linna Yamazaki. Part of the project.'
'Project?'
'Curran.'
'You mean she's...'
'Not directly, no. She was recruited by Sylia Stingray.'
Barbara nodded. 'So, how's it feel to see your heir in
action?'
'It... feels good.'
'She seems to be up to the job. I'm sure Dick would
approve.'
Batman lifted his head slightly. 'Dick... how is he?'
'He's fine, Bruce.' Barbara smiled. 'You should see the
grandkids some time.'
'Grandchildren.' Batman shook his head slowly. 'Dick...
and you... you made the right decision, retiring.'
'And you?'
'I... I couldn't stop. I never will.'
'Bruce, you're 74 years old. It's time to put your
ghosts to rest. You found heirs in other countries,
perhaps it's time to finally find one for your home?'
'Perhaps.' Batman drew in a long breath, then sighed.
'Once I finish with the Joker.'
'The Joker,' said Barbara, frowning. 'Bruce, how... I mean,
he looks like he hasn't aged a day. He shouldn't be alive.
He was killed when you...'
'That's not the Joker. Not the original. He's a boomer, a
highly advanced boomer.'
'A boomer? But who'd be mad enough to make a Joker boomer?'
'I don't know.'
'He wounded you pretty badly... when did you get this fancy
chair?'
'Rossum. And Stingray.'
'Sylia's father, right?'
Batman nodded.
'Bruce, are you sure using those nanites is okay? I mean,
even today they're highly experimental, and unless you've
been updating them lately....'
'I'll be fine. The nanites work.'
'How do you know?'
Batman's reply this time seemed a bit tense, with an edge
to it. 'I know.'
Barbara stepped closer, resting a hand on Batman's steel
gauntlet. 'Bruce... why haven't you taken off the suit
yet?'
He didn't respond.
'Bruce?'
Still she was ignored.
'Bruce, take off the helmet. Please.'
Slowly, Batman removed the seals of his helmet. One by one,
they snapped and hissed out of place.
Finally, he lifted the helm away from his face.
Barbara gasped.
:)
end part 6
:)