Chapter 10: Split Decisions

“Agent Drake was right…” Bruce said at the helm of the computer, the bat-computer as Carrie had come to call it.  He refused to call it that and told her as much. “…the message is a map.  Geo scanning matches it to the historical district.”  Carrie looked on “But that’s three square miles of terrain, how are we going to know where it means to go.  I mean there’s no x-marking the spot.”

“Yes there is.  The only way to complete the map is to misassemble the body itself.  In 1978 Preston Payne, a sculptor with hyperpituitarism, which caused him physical deformities, created a piece called “Life Out of Order”, which features a human form with the limbs out of order.”

“I’m guessing ‘Life Out of Order’ matches the way we have to assemble the doctor’s body to get the map.”

“Correct.  And that gives us two locations where to look.  The sculpture itself is housed in the Gotham Museum of Art, and the artist lives here…” he indicated on the map.”

“So do they mean the artist or the art?”

Bruce pushed a button on the console.  The computer dialed Barbara Gordon’s phone.  “Hello?” Gordon answered, not recognizing the number, likely confused by the bat emblem that appeared on her caller ID.  “Commissioner…” Batman said “I need to meet with you.  Sundown, GCPD HQ.”

“You know the FBI is watching that location?”

“I know.  Bring them.  We all need to talk.”

                Standing on the rooftop, Barbara pulled her coat in tighter, shielding herself against the harsh wind.  She watched the sunset, as red, orange, and purple ribbons of light slipped away under the heavy veil of darkness.  It was almost peaceful.  It would have actually been peaceful had it not been for the supermodel trio that stood behind her, geared in their new body armor.  “How long before he gets here.” Todd asked.

“I’m already here.” Batman said emerging from the shadows.  “He said sunset…” Barbara said.  “Dad always said that of your many personality faults, tardiness wasn’t one of them.”

Grayson stepped forward.  “Alright, what’s all this about.  You have to know that simply by standing here, we should arrest you and bring you in.”

Batman ignored him “The map leads to the historical district of Gotham, narrows down to two locations, the Museum of Art and the residence of Preston Payne.  I can’t search both locations by myself.”

“So you thought you’d just recruit the FBI like we’re hired help?” Todd grumbled, indignant.

“I thought I’d enlist the aid of law enforcement agents that I can help bring an end to this nightmare.” Batman said flatly.

“Fine.” Grayson said, shocking almost everyone “We go in two teams, but I don’t trust you.  Jason, you go with Batman, we’ll take the museum.”  He gave a hard look at Batman “Like this or not at all.”

“Fine.  Agent Todd, my car is down below.”

Batman bled back into the shadows.  Jason moved towards Richard “You want me to play side kick to a lunatic in a Halloween costume?”

“No, I want you to investigate the Payne residence.  It’s a house, less room to loose Batman in.  When you’re done, you bring him in.”

Todd gave him a long, hard, glare.  “Fine.”

Gordon nodded.  “I’ll secure perimeters of both locations with squad cars, in case you boys need assistance.”

Todd made it to the ground level and watched as Grayson and Drake drove off in the SUV.  A black shape tore around the corner.  What looked like a cross between a formula 1 racer and a dune buggy mixed with tank armor pulled up and skidded to a halt.  The passenger side had a panel that lifted up, out, and down the side of the vehicle.  “Get in.” Batman said from within the cockpit.

Sitting and buckling himself with a five point harness, he looked at the array of controls on the dashboard.  “Alright, this is kind of cool.  Nice tires.”

The hatch closed and the vehicle tore into the night.

Grayson and Drake entered the museum, noting that the upper level was designed as a medium sized restaurant, with a skylight dominating the ceiling.  “That’s gotta be dangerous in this kind of city…” Drake mused.

“Where’s this stupid statue?”

“Upper level, security has cleared out the building, Gordon called ahead.”

“Good.  Something doesn’t feel right.  Feels really cold in here.”

“In 1989 a lunatic murdered two dozen people in here.  Maybe ghosts?”

“What kind of mad man would…” but Grayson was cut off by a high pitched cackle screaming over the PA system.  Suddenly the skylight exploded as Joker’s Daughter crashed through, machine guns firing randomly, sending the agents running for cover.

“Well this was a well thought out plan…” Grayson chastised himself.  She ceased fire briefly “Here I was hoping batsy watsy would be the ones showing up here.  Guess he was smarter than we thought.”

“We?” Drake said quietly.  The doors to the museum burst open and in came the Mad Hatter, twin men dressed as Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, a man in a tuxedo with a red executioner’s mask and cape, a woman dressed in a white corset with rabbit ears.  “You’re going to attack us with a playboy bunny?” Grayson quipped.

“Worse ways to go, I guess.” Drake shot back.  They shot up from their cover and returned fire at the assorted villains as they ran to the back of the museum.

                Batman and Todd entered from a second floor window.  “Don’t we need a warrant?” Todd pointed out.  “You’re following a wanted fugitive.” Batman answered continuing to creep along.  “Just not following too fast.”

“Good enough for me.” The house was two stories tall, basic design, sparsely furnished.  “Someone does live here, right?” Todd whispered.  They made their way down stairs where they could hear the television on.  A sickly sweet odor emanated from the living room.  “Maybe not anymore.” Todd answered himself.  “You’re a real chatter box, ya know.”

Batman didn’t respond, he just moved towards the living room, silent as a ghost.  When they reached it, they found Preston Payne sitting in an overstuffed chair eating something as he faced away from them.  Batman held up a hand, indicating Todd to wait.  “Preston.” He said.  Payne continued eating, not reacting to Batman at all.  He and Todd moved around opposite sides of the chair.  Preston Payne’s deformed body was seated with a bucked of stale, popcorn.  A wire connected his wrist to a motor next to his head, pulling and releasing the arm imitating the motion of eating.  A large envelope sat in his lap.  Payne had been dead for at least a week.  Todd groaned in disgust.  He reached for the envelope.

“No, wait.” Batman said, but Todd had already grabbed the envelope.  They heard a click and tanks discreetly hidden around the house started spraying methane gas.  Batman shoved Todd to the large window as a spark ignited the gas, turning the first floor the house into a fireball that launched Batman and Todd out.  Batman rose up and looked back.  “Who the hell would do all that?” Todd asked.  “Victor Zsasz and Firefly.” Batman growled.  The problem was much larger than he thought.  They both heard gunfire from the direction of the museum.  “Car, now!” Batman roared.

                Grayson and Drake did their best to avoid the weapons fire as they dodged through exhibits.  “We gotta get out of here.”

“Well, we’re on the second floor, there are roof exits, and gun fire coming up behind us.  I’m open to suggestions.”

Batman barreled the car towards the museum, vehicles in the road skidded to the sides to make way for the intimidating vehicle.  He pulled up a monitor that displayed thermal imaging.  “There.” Todd said, accurately guessing that the two figures running were in fact the agents.  “Second floor.”  Batman looked away from the screen and sped the vehicle forward.  “Hold on.”

Joker’s Daughter rounded the raised platform that held the best tables for the restaurant and looked to the sweeping bay windows that overlooked the rest of the historical district.  Bright lights bled in heavily from the window.  “You must be joking.”

The car tore through the windows, sending glass and the Tweedle twins flying.  The cockpit snapped open and Todd sprang from the vehicle tackling the robber known as the Red Hood.  Batman fired a grapple line into the ceiling and flew out of the cock pit catching White Rabbit in the face with the heel of his boot.  He spun midflight and sent two small balls sailing towards the recovering forms of Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum.  The flash bang grenades sent both men flying into the rubble that was the far wall.  Duela Dent smiled “Where does he get those wonderful toys.”

Mad Hatter tucked himself behind a display and aimed his machine gun.  He felt a tap on his back.  He turned and found Agent Drake there.  Before he knew it, a fist landed on his jaw and he was unconscious.

Jason Todd rounded on the Red Hood, grabbing the mask and delivering a hard head but, then bringing up his foot into the man’s chest and kicking him off the second floor railing to the ground below.  The action tore the hood away and left the man sprawled below.  He wasn’t sure if he was dead or unconscious and didn’t care much at that moment.  He glanced at the clump of crimson fabric in his hand.

“Is that all of them?” Jason said looking around.

“Where’s Dent?” Batman said.  Jason heard a noise down below “Gotta jet, handsome!  See you around!” she shouted from below firing a grenade at the agents.  They scattered as it exploded into a noxious green gas.  Grayson and Drake were far enough away, Jason shielded himself with the red hood, and Batman threw himself through the gas, his cape dispersing the cloud as he went.  When he landed on the first floor, Dent and the man who was the red hood were already gone.  The agents went down the stairwell expecting to find Batman, but the caped crusader had vanished.  The sound of grinding mortar and crunching glass alerted them to the car as it backed out of the museum.  Todd bolted up the stairwell “He’s got the envelope!” he shouted but the car had already sped off into the night.  Grayson stood there, not knowing how to feel.

                “Commissioner…” an officer yelled from the shadowy line of police cars. “Dispatch just got a call from city hall.  Killer Croc is going after another city council member.”  In the distance Batman’s car sped into the night.  No, she told herself, this was still her city and she will protect it.  She got into the officer’ patrol car “Let’s go.”  The officer nodded and sped towards city hall.  “Should we call for back up?”

“No, I can handle Croc.”

In the time she’d been with the department, she always felt like she was trying to catch up to her father’s ghost, be every bit the cop he was, and better.  Sometimes that came at great personal cost.  As they arrived at city hall, she exited the vehicle and ran through the double doors.  The officer called out to her, but she didn’t hear him.  She bolted up the stairwell to the fifth floor.  Across the hall from the Mayor’s office was the city council chamber.  It was dark empty.  She could hear her heart beat thudding in her ears, felt it slam against her chest.  A soft growl came from the dark hallway.  She reached for a light switch but nothing.  Then a roar and croc lunged out of the shadows, sending her through the Mayor’s office door.  She pulled herself out of the wreck of glass and wood and saw the silhouette of the officer approaching.  “Stay back!” she yelled “Its Killer Croc.”  The officer kept coming forward.  “Bravo…” he said, until he was standing under the lights.  He took off his policeman’s hat and revealed half of his face disfigured and contorted.  “Did I say council member?” Two-Face asked.  “I meant he was kidnapping you.”

Croc slung the unconscious woman over his shoulder, but as he turned he paused.  Something caught his attention.  He stepped into Mayor Wayne’s office and took a few deliberate breaths through his nose.  He then laughed.

Chapter 4: Gotham Knight

They pushed forward like modern Spartans, shoulder to shoulder in a phalanx.  Their Plexiglas shields were pummeled by insane fists and crushing weight of orange clad lunatics.  Those who tried to clamber over the blockade were met with bean bag rounds from riot shot guns.  Officers shouted at officers, each looking to the other for strength.  Police Commissioner Barbra Gordon shouted orders over a megaphone, orders that were lost in the din of the living, breathing nightmare that threatened to explode into Gotham.  Then a roar in the distance, like a growling beast from the darkness, began to rise up.  Inmates backed away from officers, as the police in the back looked over their shoulders.  Commissioner Gordon lowered her microphone and looked at the flickering lights that grew larger.

Some kind of motorcycle, long, narrow and black burst onto the roadway and flames erupted from its undercarriage, launching it and it’s rider into the sky, sailing over the officers.  As it glided over the inmates, midnight black wings seemed to snap out from its sides.  Small metallic balls fell on the ground of the insane, exploding into flashes of blinding light and deafening sound.  The vehicle came down hard and skidded to the side to a halt.  The rider rose his head up, looking at the dozen or so inmates still standing.

“Oh my god.” Gordon said, seeing this ghost from the past.  Her hand trembled on the microphone.  The figure was stock still, as if giving everyone an opportunity to take it in, analyze and accept what they were seeing.  Finally one inmate uttered what no one else could, the word caught in their collective throats, locked in by terrifying legend that, given the evidence of their own eyes and ringing ears was very much a reality.

“BATMAN!” he roared into the night, and charged forward in pursuit.  The Batman banked the cycle towards the front gates of the asylum and roared into it’s dark halls with the remaining inmates in foot pursuit.  Gordon seemed to regain sense of her surroundings.  “Row one, secure them.  Row two, with me into the asylum!  She shouted as she drew her sidearm and ran after the crowd.

“Quite the groupies you have there, sir.” Carrie said over the intercom.  “Are you sure you can get back out?”

“I’ll be fine.  Can you see if anymore got away?”

“I’m connected to the traffic cams, I see about thirteen loose and running the streets.  Looks like at least four of them have somewhere specific they’re going.  The rest are either running rampant to going to ground, trying to shed their jumpsuits quickly.  Oh, I did not need to see his balls.”

“Keep an eye on the group.  Gotham’s enemies don’t like to work together so if they’re going to ground together, they’re probably linked to whoever engineered the escape.”

“On it.  And the others?”

“Let the police know where they were last seen.  Hopefully patrol officers can collect them.”

“Yes sir.  I’ve got the Asylum’s cameras back up and running.  The bat-cycle’s going to run out of room soon.”

“...Batcycle?”

“Room sir.  Focus on that.”

Carrie was accurate in her description, the hall was closing in fast and there was too much debris to effectively maneuver the vehicle.  Batman cranked it to the side and slid to a halt.  The massive black motorcycle blocked the hallway and he stepped back from it into a dead end hall.

The first, the most physically fit inmates arrived first.  Six of them clambered over the vehicle as Batman waited.  As they reached the top, he tapped the button of a remote control in his hand.  The jump jets gave a deafening boom as the vehicle and inmates were launched into the hard ceiling and came crashing back down to the tiled floor.  Bloodied and broken, the inmates fell to the severely damaged floor.

Gordon and her team rounded the corner.  They had lost track of where the group had went due to the echo nature of the hospital walls.  The bone rattle explosion shook her to the core.  Inmates fled into the police officer’s arms as the cycle roared through the halls.  Batman, on the cycle sped past her out the doors, through what remained of the police blockade, and off into the night.  No officer could be spared to give chase, and none of the patrol cars could keep pace with the seemingly alien machine.

                Hours later and the inmates were back in their cells, some secured to their beds with their injuries being tended by doctors.  The immense amount of paperwork had quickly become her worst nightmare, threatening to engulf her desk.  The governor and mayor both wanted answers.  Dr. Strange would be giving her a statement in the morning.  Lines furrowed her pale skin; she closed her emerald eyes and removed her wire rimmed glasses.  She leaned her head back against her chair, vaguely noting her trench coat, the same coat her father once wore, hanging on the door to her office.  Her eyes drifted open and closed briefly.  There must be a breeze in her office, the coat was moving.

Her eyes snapped open as she realized that was not her coat, but rather some kind of entity emerging from the shadows.  “Jesus!” she launched forward, reaching for the pistol in her desk drawer.  Batman remained motionless.  “I’d appreciate if you didn’t do that, commissioner.  I’m here as a friend.”  Gordon took her hand away from the drawer but remained standing, maintaining eye contact with the friendly intruder.  “Is it really you?  I mean...really you.  Not some half assed replacement.”

“I am him.” Batman said gravely.  “I came to tell you, four inmates escaped in the break out, they were working together, likely working with an outside source.”

“A few more than four escaped.” Gordon said steely.  “I know.  But these four are together.  They’re planning something.”

“Who?”

“Harvey Dent, Johnathan Crane, Waylon Jones, and Duela Dent.”

“Two-Face, Scarecrow, Killer Croc, and Joker’s Daughter.  Thats an interesting combiation.”

“They were seen in mid-town, at West and Ward.  They’ve been missing ever since.”

“Well that helps, she glanced down at the files on her desk.  Anything else you ha...” but Batman was gone.  She shook her head.  Now she understood how dad felt.  “I’m going to nail his feet to the floor.” She whispered reaching into the drawer with her sidearm.  She lifted a secret panel under the drawer and pulled out a thick file with the words in bold black sharpie marker.  It read “Batman”.

Never told you what I do for a living...

Harvey Dent was crouched on his bunk in his cell, the moon light the only illumination in his stone prison.  Absently he thumbed a double headed coin, his signature.  One side was as shiny as the day it was minted, the other charred black and scarred.  He adjusted the collar to his bright orange jump suit.  An enveloped slid under his door.  He gave it a side long glance, flipping the coin.

Beneath Arkham lay the flooded basement.  Once a boiler room it was repurposed into a containment cell for a prisoner so dangerous that not even Blackgate prison could hold him.  Something large and powerful stirred the black water, causing a few bubbles to surface.  From a grate above, a black envelope fell onto the concrete landing at the edge of the murky, man made swamp.  A vaguely man shaped head surfaced, two red eyes peered that the letter.

Deula Dent bounced a tennisball off the walls of her cell.  She’d been placed at the end of the hall to avoid disturbing the other “patients” but allowing her the tennisball often kept her calm and complacent with the guards.  Her short, spikey hair was cropped and pulled away from her thin, pale face.  She giggled quietly to herself as she bounced the ball, her pixie like frame pulled inward at odd angles.  A knock came to her door and she caught the ball.  “Who is it?” she asked.  It was too late at night for an orderly, certainly nowhere near feeding time.  Her feeding slot slid open and a black envelope was pushed through with a flat black box tied with a green ribbon.  She took the box and envelope quickly and the slot closed shut.  She opened the box and, upon seeing it’s contents gave a wide, wild eyed grin.

Dr. Johnathan Crane paced his cell.  Given his former stature as head of the asylum, he was afforded a few liberties.  His cell was not the same cold stone as the others.  His had a thin layer of carpet and tiled walls that he kept pristine.  Still, not even the cold comfort of his obcessive compulsive disorder could calm his nerves.  His wriy body was hunched over as he moved his hand furitively.  An envelope slid under his door.  Nervously he picked up the envelope and opened it.  It contained a carefully folded white paper.  As he unfolded it, numbers appeared.  “Three...” he said aloud.  “Two...one...” the lights all across the asylum flickered off replaced by red emergency lights.  Claxion alarms sounded as the heavy bolts that secured the cell doors released.  Guards began racing about as screams of rage and roars of pain emerged from the inmates.  Crane smiled.  “Its about time.”

                “Mr. Wayne!” Carrie called, skidding to a halt outside his study.  “You need to see this!” she snatched up the remote off the end table and flicked on the big screen television.  A blonde woman came onto the screen with a severe expression on her face “We bring you to the outside of Arkham Asylum where a massive riot has erupted within the walls.  Police and asylum security staff are struggling to push back the building’s dangerous inmate population.  The seige has been going on for approximately an hour now...”

Carrie ran out of the room.  “Carrie, where are you going?” Bruce called after her.  “Arming up, sir.  It takes an hour to get from Arkham to here.”

With that, the front doors of the manor burst open and ten men in inmate uniforms burst in wielding makeshift knives and clubs.  Five tore up the stairwell upon seeing Bruce.  Slashing outward with his shive, Bruce deftly caught his wrist and twisted him around, planting a foot square in his sternum, where he heard a satisfying crack.  For good measure, Bruce struck down on the inmate’s forarm with his elbow, snapping the bones within.

He kicked outward and sent the unconcious assailant sprawling into the one behind him.  He saw three advancing on Carrie, but now had two more to deal with, each of them calling out and cursing the name “Wayne.”

Carrie hadn’t made it to her firearm yet, but she didn’t need it.  She was a graduate of Charles MacPherson Academy for Butlers and Household Managers, but prior to that had served four years in the USMC.  “Lets get the maid!” one of the inmates shouted.  Carrie, to her credit, saw red and caught the speaker in the throat with an open palm.  Gagging, he staggerd back and fell unconcious, unable to breath.  The next one she tore into with a hard forward kick, catching him in the chest and sending him backwards down the stairwell.  One lashed out with a makeshift club, which she snatched away, spun, and plowed into the side of his skull, causing his nose to explode blood over the far wall.

Wayne moved with speed that belied his age, snatching away weapons and rendering foes unconcious without regard to how they would function when they woke.  If they woke.  One came up behind him bringing a kitchen knife to his throat.  Bruce rocked his head back, throwing the assailant off balance, allowing him to spin in place and crash his forehead into the thug’s nose.  Temporarily blinded, the thug stumbled back and down the stairs.  The comotion brought the others from the ground level up to fill the ranks of the fallen, but even then they were no match for the combined might.  When one was left semi alert, he looked blearily at Carrie.  “Thats a hell of a maid.” He muttered.  Carrie leaned into his face, anger twisting her face.  “I’m the goddamn butler.”

Straightening her shirt, Carrie turned to Bruce.  “Sir...there is a crisis in the city.  I’m afraid I’m going to have to disclose to you, I know you are the Batman.”

“Was...Carrie.  I was the Batman.”

She looked past him to the pile of half dead lunatics.  “I’d say, sir, that you are still very much the Batman.  Gotham needs you.”  She walked into the study and turned the grandfather clock hands to 10:47.  The clock gave a small click and a panel on the wall groaned to life, pulling to the right and exposing a dark tunnel leading down.  Bruce’s eyes darkened.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Wayne.  I know I should not have pried, but I had my suspicions and after some investigation, well...”

“Why?”

Carrie didn’t bother asking for clarification.  The dark tone in his voice made the intent of the question very clear.  “You stopped the Joker, sir, but not before he killed my mother and crippled my father with the Smilex gas.  We lived off the parade route, my parents wanted nothing to do with the parade, but that didn’t stop the gas from spreading out before you destroyed the balloons.”

Bruce led her down the tunnel.  “There should be more cobwebs here.” He noted.

“About that.  I’ve been cleaning.  I was hired to ensure the whole house was clean.  The crew took care of the rest of the manor.  I handled the cave.”

“All by yourself?”

“What did you think I did while you were at Wayne Enterprises all day?”

“Honestly I thought you slept.”  She smiled at that, and the sound of their foot falls echoed off the thick rock walls.  The tunnel swelled out into a massive caveren.  A bank of computer monitors dominated the far wall.  A motorcycle rested in the center of the chamber, on a massive turntable that bridged the command center with a long narrow stretch of rock that led into another tunnel.  “We’ll need a new car.” Bruce mused.

“In the meantime, the cycle will suffice.  We don’t really have time to re-equip the heavier stuff, but your belt and your suit are cleaned and ready.  I can coordinate from here.”  She danced her fingers across the keyboard and a red light appeared on the control panel.  “The manor is secured.  No more unexpected visitors.”

The Batman spoke from the shadows in a cold voice that it sent chills up her spine.  “Then we need to go to work.”